College football player ticketed for rolling through stop sign in automobile.

Front-page news.

College football player forfeits Saturday morning to make positive contribution in community.

Who cares?

Phillip Fulmer doesn't agree with the nature of the news business, but the Tennessee coach is beginning to understand it.

"It's just the nature of the beast," Fulmer said Saturday at a workday and ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new playground. "I don't think it's just in Tennessee or just in Knoxville. It's just kind of the way of the world right now.

"The soap operas or the talk shows or the negative things that happen are more interesting, I guess. They have more impact. That's something that I've not yet gotten used to, but that's something I understand better.

"It's not a great news story - a headline story - that you've got guys out here opening a playground for kids."

That's what Fulmer and players Michael Frogg, Casey Woods, Ramon Foster and Josh McNeil were doing at Western Heights Baptist Center.

Construction of the Western Heights Community Park - that's what the community opted to call it two months ago - is scheduled for completion after another workday next Saturday.

Two of the players, Frogg and Foster, are from Tennessee; the other two from Mississippi.

"But when they adopt Knoxville," Fulmer said, "we want to get them involved, and they've done a good job of getting involved."

It came naturally to Frogg, a junior from Kingston, who said he'd done events like this before coming to UT.

"It reminds me of stuff I used to do when I was a kid to help out with the church and stuff," Frogg said. "I've been raised up in a church, and it helps me a lot to give back to a lot of these families that probably don't have as much as everybody else.

"It's a great thing to do on a Saturday."

Never mind that charity work doesn't have a track record of selling papers.

"Bad stuff is what people like to hear, you know," said Foster, a sophomore from Ripley. "Hopefully, we'll catch the eye of one or two people. If we do that, it'll make a change, just so everybody sees there's something positive going on at all times."

In Fulmer's 14 years as head coach, he said the Vols have done "hours and hours and hours" of community service.

"I think it makes the kids feel like part of the community," Fulmer said. "They're accountable and they're responsible.

"There's a lot of students that just wouldn't hardly give up their day on the lake, or maybe still be asleep right now ( noon). I appreciate them coming out and being a part."

Tracy Williams was glad to have them. UT football players are always in high demand for such appearances, she said.

"We only asked once," she said, "and they showed up."

Williams, a Leadership Knoxville class of 2006 graduate and vice president at TVA, agreed there is "a lot of negativity that comes along with any collegiate sport, but now we can talk about the positive they do."

"They do this all the time," she said, "but you never hear about it."

Summer Workouts: Fulmer said the voluntary workouts are going well.

"Our team has had a good attitude about getting themselves back on track," he said. "We've got a few of our freshman guys already in for the first (summer) session. The main thing is those older guys.

"They were embarrassed about last year, and they're certainly intent on nothing like that happening again."

Fulmer cautioned there's still work to do but said he's seen some of the younger players make "tremendous differences" in their play so far this summer.

"So I'm anxious for them to use the summer," Fulmer said, "and eager to get started with a team that's in great shape and has a great attitude once we start August two-a-days."

Said Foster: "We're just ready to get last year out of our minds from everybody."

No Motorcycles: There shouldn't be any Ben Roethlisberger-type injuries with the Vols. Fulmer said his players aren't allowed to have motorcycles.

"That's a little bit hypocritical on my part," Fulmer said, "but when they get to be 55, they can have one if they chose to."

Fulmer's wife Vicky bought him a motorcycle a year and a half ago. Fulmer said he's logged about 600 miles.

"I wanted one, and had one all my life," he said. "I came to college and got rid of it because of my playing days.

"I enjoy riding a motorcycle, but I'm very careful."