This week, as the effects of my last glug of egg nog were wearing off, I realized that I had several questions bouncing around inside my skull. Here are just a few of them.

How important are wins in bowl games?

In terms of perception, very. Win and your team will have higher pre-season rankings the following year. They will also have "something to build on." And the fanbase will have something positive to chew on during the off-season.

Lose and you can reverse all of the above.

But in reality, bowl games (at least in Tennessee's case) haven't been an indicator of future fortunes.

Por ejemple, the 1986 Sugar Bowl might have been the single biggest victory in UT history. Tennessee followed it up with a 7-5 record the next year. In the 1998 Orange Bowl, UT was routed by Nebraska. Eight months later they kicked off a national title campaign.

Heck, just look at UT's last bowl win in the 2005 Cotton Bowl. Despite all of the hype, hope and good vibes following that triumph, the Vols fell to 5-6 the following fall.

Bowls are important when it comes to perception, but not when it comes to future wins and losses. So don't put too much weight on the Outback Bowl win or lose.

How can the folks at ESPN look themselves in the mirror?

Did you know that ESPN owns a stake in bowl games (like the New Mexico Bowl), the Arena Football League, and the BASS pro fishing league? Did you know that they also promote the heck out of all of them with SportsCenter coverage?

Now, I would have no problem with ESPN hustling and pimping their properties if they didn't also claim to be the leader in worldwide sports NEWS coverage. That makes for a nasty little conflict of interest, if you ask me.

Here's another example: the ESPN'ers recently ranked the most-watchable games this bowl season. No. 2 on the list was the national title game between undefeated Ohio State and once-beaten Florida. No. 2, I says.

The No. 1 "can't miss" game was the Rose Bowl between once-beaten Michigan and twice-beaten Southern Cal. Really?

Surely those rankings weren't influenced by the fact that the Rose Bowl airs on parent company ABC while the title game airs on Fox. Nah, no connection at all.

Speaking of Michigan, how can anyone say that the Wolverines deserve a title shot?

If the season really is the playoff (as so many opponents of a REAL playoff suggest), then, I'm sorry, Michigan, but you lost. You lost head-to-head, in fact. So you're out.

The NFL won't match the Chargers and Ravens in the Super Bowl just because no one in the NFC is worthy of playing the beasts of the AFC. It's win or go home in a "playoff." So tough noogies, Michigan, you should have taken care of business on the field.

Who's to blame for the Colts' horrible defense?

Sorry, Vol fans, but Peyton Manning has to take his share of the lumps on this one. Remember when he signed the richest contract in NFL history a couple of years ago?

At the time, many wondered how giving all that cash to one player would allow the Colts to be a good TEAM in the salary cap era. Big dollars also flowed to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. The cash went to the offense. Now the defense is the Colts' liability.

Speaking of Mannings, you know what the next New York Giants coach should do?

Write a Big Check and try to lure David Cutcliffe to the Big Apple as Eli's personal quarterback coach.

Cutcliffe advised Manning in the off-season, and lil' bro started off red hot. But he's finished ice cold under the tutelage of his official QB coach, Kevin Gilbride. If I were the man replacing Tom Coughlin (and he has to be replaced), I'd make a run at Cutcliffe.

Think any Tennessee Titans fans have apologized to Jeff Fisher?

A month ago, folks were calling for the coach's head. Now he has an under-talented bunch of Titans above .500 with mucho cap room next year. Fisher is one of the top five coaches in the NFL and Titans fans should be darned glad to have him. End of story.

Why should UT fans care about the basketball coaches' poll?

They shouldn't. Bruce Pearl is a lightning rod. Other coaches don't like lightning rods. That's why Pearl's teams will always be ranked higher in the media poll than in the coaches' poll.

But the polls in basketball mean absolutely nothing in the first place. The NCAA selection committee's seedings go together with the polls' rankings like alcohol and lawn darts or Britney and underwear.

How will the Vols football team do in 2007?

Here's what I wrote last January 1st in this very space:

"Vols finish 9-3 in the regular season, 6-2 in the SEC, become the first team in recent history to beat out Florida for an Outback Bowl bid, and set the table for 2007."

So for 2007, I predict a 10-2 regular-season finish (losses at Cal and at Florida), including nine consecutive wins, a tight race to the SEC championship game, and a BCS bowl game.

John Pennington hosts The Hall's Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.