Waiting to pick up my car from a mechanic this week, I realized that I had a lot of questions floating around my head. Thought I'd share some of them with you.

* Why have the punishments Phillip Fulmer handed out to three arrested Vols been THE top story of the week? The Vols have a tough game at Arkansas tonight that might be the difference between a New Year's Day bowl and yet another Peachy holiday in Atlanta. But sadly the game has taken a backseat to crime and punishment. Again.

Don't get me wrong. Did it look bad to hand the starting tailback a lesser penalty than the two back-ups involved? Absolutely. But once that point's been made, why not move on? This week has become, "Here's what I'd have done to them," from media and fans.

Seems to me that while none of us ever feels that we deserve punishment for our own transgressions, we're all awfully quick to want to punish someone else. Why is that?

* Where will David Cutcliffe coach next year? Knoxville. Despite talk that he'll be an A-list candidate at places like North Carolina, Michigan State and even Miami, I don't see it.

Coaching hires are supposed to excite a fan base. Hiring an offensive coordinator who "failed" at Ole Miss won't excite many fans and boosters. And I know that he didn't actually "fail", but to the outside world, if you're fired, "failure" is the perception.

If Cutcliffe lands a head coaching job it will be as a fallback choice when a school can't land a Butch Davis or a Rich Rodriguez. Just my hunch. And no, it's not fair.

* How much better can Peyton Manning get? It's official, Manning is now half quarterback, half coach and half computer. That's three halves, I know, but only because Manning's at least a half-a-quarterback better than anyone else playing the game today.

It's scary to watch him work. And for those of you who think this is just "homerism," know that I'm a New England Patriots fan and I'm not writing this from a very happy place this week. Still, Manning is unbelievable.

* How would you like to be Mike Shula right now? A loss to horrible Mississippi State at home was bad. The fact that State was coached by another former Tide player who was passed over in favor of Shula makes the loss downright devastating. Think Bama wishes they hadn't given Shula that big extension after last season?

* Is there a red-phone-hotline between the UT Athletic Department and attorney Don Bosch's office? The next time a UT athlete gets in trouble, start your clocks and count the seconds until Bosch, Knoxville's best celebrity defender, makes a statement. The verdict is in, Bosch should get HIS name retired at Neyland Stadium.

* Why is there so much traffic in Knoxville? Seriously, this isn't a major city, folks. If I can go across Boston on a subway car faster than I can get from Emory Road to Cedar Bluff in my own car, then we've got issues. Of course, while our crosstown commutes are turning into Lewis-and-Clark-length journeys, at least road construction companies are making much money. Makes you feel so much better, doesn't it?

* Who does Les Miles remind you of? Flipping around talk radio last week, I heard sometimes-caller and sometimes-host "Philly" compare LSU's football coach to former UT basketball coach Jerry Green. I laughed out loud. Think about it. Miles has inherited great talent, his lack of people skills have rubbed much of his fan base the wrong way, and his on-field results have yet to live up to the hype. Great comparison.

* Why do I think this Vol basketball season will have a happier ending than last season? Last year, the Vols started hot and over-achieved for months (that's a compliment, not a knock). Then opponents stopped running with them (i.e.: playing the Vols' game) and the season sputtered out.

This year, UT will be much younger and the start could be rougher. But the athletes Bruce Pearl has brought in make me think the 2007 ending will be much sweeter. If the Vols can put themselves in good tournament position by February, look out.

* Whatever happened to country music? Why have cowboy hats been replaced by spiked blonde hair? Why have Nudi suits been replaced by tattoos and T-shirts? Thank Heaven for Alan Jackson, George Strait and Dwight Yoakam. The rest of this pseudo-pop, from groups like "SugarPony" and "Big and Flatts," just ain't county to me. Man, I miss Waylon.

* How did CBS get so lucky as to land Gary Danielson for their SEC broadcasts? Danielson's without a doubt the best TV analyst in the college game today. Sure, during the broadcast of last week's UT-LSU game he quoted a couple of points from my Saturday column, but that's got nothing to do with this review. He really is good. (And thanks for reading, Gary.)

* Why must I hear John Cougar Mellencamp's "This Is Our Country" jingle during every commercial break of every sporting event on TV? Move over Bob Segar's "Like A Rock," Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA, " and anything by The Carpenters ... There's a new "I hope I never hear it again" song on my list. And it took less than a month to get there. Talk about rain on the scarecrow. Yeesh.