Posted by Colliervol on February 24, 2008 at 1:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sweet. Nothing else needs to be said.

Posted by BillVol on February 24, 2008 at 1:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Could not have written a more perfect script for this game. JP, player of game, and Chris at the line for the final FTs.

Posted by Hunter on February 24, 2008 at 1:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"Coach (Bruce Pearl) asked me, 'Do you want a timeout?' and I said, yeah, so he called a timeout," said Prince.

Do any of you think HS All-Americans paid attention tonight. Calipari is a complete selfish turd, which only magnifies CBP's incredibly self-less attributes.

The above statement shows that he is a true players' coach.

The piece on T. Smith on GameDay this morning? Pearl tearing up made my wife and I a little misty-eyed.

Indiana is going to come after Pearl, as will several others. We MUST pay him what he is worth! It's GREAT to be a Tennessee Vol!

Posted by Hunter on February 24, 2008 at 1:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"Coach (Bruce Pearl) asked me, 'Do you want a timeout?' and I said, yeah, so he called a timeout," said Prince.

Do any of you think HS All-Americans paid attention tonight. Calipari is a complete selfish turd, which only magnifies CBP's incredibly self-less attributes.

The above statement shows that he is a true players' coach.

The piece on T. Smith on GameDay this morning? Pearl tearing up made my wife and I a little misty-eyed.

Indiana is going to come after Pearl, as will several others. We MUST pay him what he is worth! It's GREAT to be a Tennessee Vol!

Posted by chefjorge on February 24, 2008 at 2:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This UT team's so much fun to watch. So many weapons. Shut Lofton down and look what happens. Memphis is a really good team no question and we dealt with them very well. They don't have that ridiculous start and the outcome is more lopsided. There are other teams out there that I think are better than them, and winning the NCAA's is so hard, but this was really excellent.

Posted by Colliervol on February 24, 2008 at 2:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

chefjorge, the Tiger fans used to have a pet name they liked to call us. After last years' beatdown, it was UTLofton as if he's all we had. Guess they'll have to come up with a new name now.

You are correct about winning the tournament. Got to get on a roll for six straight games and that ain't easy. But we can sure enjoy this one for a few days!

Posted by chrisw2967 on February 24, 2008 at 2:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Pay Pearl so he will never leave , somebody better pay him. After this season he will have all kinds of schools wanting him. As far as Indiana there on their way to probation so I dont see him even thinking about that job.

Hamilton and UT and the Boosters , just PAY THE MAN

Posted by Cherokee on February 24, 2008 at 2:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Typical Calipari stuff. He's a horse's rear.

Posted by bmaples on February 24, 2008 at 3:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

That's just so middle-school, messing with the other team's names. Glad it came back to bite Cal in the butt. "J.P." is important, but "Prince" is most appropos -- he is one. And Coach P is a prince as well.

Posted by calivol on February 24, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

FatherVol, since you are John Calipari's priest, will you please consider telling us if the name "P.J." Prince comes up in Coach Cal's next confession?

Posted by cphil on February 24, 2008 at 5:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

What do you expect from a man who's named after fried squid? Coach Calamari.

Posted by eb502us on February 24, 2008 at 7:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I was screaming at the TV to get Prince out of the game in the first half because he was making his usual bad decisions. But it's obvious we need him regardless as he is talented and has the ability to take over games if his head is in the right place. Glad to see him make the most of his opportunity in the second half and couldn't be happier for him that he did it in his hometown of Memphis.

Posted by vol88 on February 24, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"Hamilton and UT and the Boosters , just PAY THE MAN" Hey chrisw2967...I'm sure UT would take your check, too!

Great game!

Posted by Alphafemale on February 24, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

A mediocre SEC is better than a stellar Conference USA.

Hey, Coach Cal, are Houston and UAB still your biggest rivals?

Posted by THE_VOL on February 24, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The biggest thing that JP understood is that that name on the FRONT of the jersey is FAR more important than that name on the back!

Despite JP's terrific second half, Tyler Smith was THE BEST player on the floor tonight. He scored, he rebounded, he played hellacious D, he was around nearly every loose ball and got a bunch of em, he passed and he made one helluva play to put us on top in the closing minute. The 3 THUG TRIO of Dorsey, Dozier and Taggert had NO answers for him!

Finally, a word to Scotty Hopson and Leslie McDonald - YOU BOTH can be a part of the greatness so JUMP ON BOARD NOW!!!!!!

Posted by givehim6 on February 24, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)

JP you and UT comp. played lights out, and your hearts out! #1 is where you need to be!

Posted by General_Watermelon on February 24, 2008 at 10:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yea, ole what's his name tore up the Tigers. Did anyone see what color his PJ's were again? \

Vols painted the entire worthless town Orange.

Posted by johnlg00 on February 24, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I hear you, eb502us. I was thinking the same thing. It is clear that "where his head is at" at any given time is the key to J.P.'s performance in any particular game. I doubt he will ever be a polished, fundamentally-sound player who delivers predictable performances, but he is a true wild card who can be the difference against anybody. If you look at his cousin Tayshaun, he is not the "prettiest" player you will ever see, but he gets it done most of the time and is a nightmare matchup for every opponent. If there is any coach in all of America who can effectively harness J.P.'s mercurial nature for the benefit of the team, it is CBP. We are so fortunate to have both of them! GO VOLS!!! FINISH THE JOB!!! SLAM THE 'DORES!!!

Posted by nicavol on February 24, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I thought JP handled himself well during the free throws with 8.8 left and the THUGS from Memphis getting in his face while he is at the line. TN showed they were the best team last night but also the best people. Super win and JP did give us a big second half boostbut I must say Tyler Smith was the best. That 2-pointer in the lane while a defender was beating on him was the Play of the Year! Tough and not to be denied!!!

Posted by Madkels on February 24, 2008 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Memphis may the home of the "King", but Knoxville is where the "Prince" (JP) reigns!! And on this night, The "Prince" showed Memphis he is king!! Go Big Orange!

Posted by ssukonic on February 24, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

nicavol-- I agree.......that shot by Tyler while getting bumped and battered was some shot. However, I loved the pass by Lofton ahead to Prince from flat on his stomach.....and the big rebound by Lofton with just a few seconds left which affectly closed the door on the Tigers......cause as we all know, he's MONEY!!!

Posted by Michael1204 on February 24, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well done team! I think the fact that Lofton didn't play that well shows how deep we are and how much everyone contributes to the team effort.

Posted by VolJunkie on February 24, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Nice post Hunter, I could not agree more. Coach Pearl is a player's coach and you can see how this team responds to him. The piece ESPN did on Tyler Smith and the interview with Coach was priceless. I have tried to take the high road leading up to this game but Calipari is a punk, just like the rest of his team. They way they talked about JP, treated UT leading up to this game (i.e. 3500 at Game Day), the taunting during pre-game and Dorsey's woofing at JP as he went to the line shows what a classless act Memphis is ... somewhat talented but classless. Fathers, where do you want your sons to play college hoops?

Now it's back to the real competition, let's take care of Vandy on Tuesday and deliver some serious payback next Sunday when that other team in blue comes to town.

Great job Coach Pearl and all the Vols, it is great to be a Tennessee Vol!

Posted by volchamp on February 24, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

God thank you

This win just made my week on this campus so much easier. Watched the game at a bar here in MTown last night and was constantly yelled at and got ice thrown at me after the game.

We beat a hell of a talented team last night fellas, lets enjoy this and move on to Vandy!

ITS GREAT TO BE A TENNESSSEE VOL

Posted by Colliervol on February 24, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Just a little note here too folks. Several Memphis fans on the Tiger postgame show were railing about the officiating and how we were so "physical" and the refs let us get away with murder on poor little Joey Dorsey and that the reason Dozier walked at the end was because he was pushed by Chism. Poor babies. (Guess they weren't watching Lofton being manhandled all night and Tyler getting mugged on his shot at the end but that's just an editorial opinion. It all evens out.) Maybe they'll issue 'em skirts next time so we can be nicer to them.

Posted by Chainsaw on February 24, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Very nice article, Mike Strange.

Posted by EB3 on February 24, 2008 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

CollierVol, how much time did you spend listening to the Memphis postgame radio show, taking notes, so you could post them here like some sort of mole? Just enjoy the win, guy.

General_Fritter, nice wide brush there, chief.

AlphaFemale, Pearl was the one yakking about how the Auburn Tigers were the most important Tigers on the Knoxville schedule this week, and then telling Prince to rebound like his life depended on it. Please.

For those of you who think this guy is some kind of warm, fuzzy, selfless mentor to the kids, wake up and put down the orange kool-aid. This guy is as selfish as they come! Body paint at the women's game? Inviting (probably begging) ESPN to come into the locker room for his pregame speech? If you keep believing this, it's just going to hurt more when (and he will) he leaves for the better job he's constantly auditioning for.

Posted by murrayvol on February 24, 2008 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

2 center ct. tickets for college bball game of the yr.: A lot

Dorsey woofing at J.P. before his free throws: Cheap

J.P. nailing both to put UM on the ropes: "Princely"

Posted by tigervol9802 on February 24, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

EB3 -

Get over yourself and quit crying. You have no clue. He's got the best facilities in the country right now and I have a feeling will be made a very rich man after this season. As long as Hamilton is smart, which he is, Bruce Pearl will be at Tennessee for a long, long time.

So go play in your mid-major conference so you can win 30 games every year and then take your beating from big brother and take it like a man.

Posted by volchamp on February 24, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

eb3

yeah body paint at a womens game=showing support for your school. What a selfish thing to do.
ESPN in the locker room - how many coaches have you seen do the same exact thing and you didnt say a word about them now did you.
Oh and I guess shedding a tear in front of the nation while talking about one of your kids on the team that has lost his father, god what a heartless SOB Pearl is.
Bottom line bud, it was a great game and UT won, get over it and move on

Posted by Colliervol on February 24, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Oh EB, I am enjoying the win, trust me. I only listened to hear the inevitable excuses. And two of the first three callers provided them. Didn't have to listen long. To most of them's credit though, most were fairly pragmatic about it.

Posted by GoVol on February 24, 2008 at 5:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

EB3 - put your tiger tail between your legs and go home! You lost fair and square on your own home court.

Excuses are made for losers!

GO Vols

Posted by EDis4UT on February 24, 2008 at 6:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Colliervol:

Oh, I would love to have been able to hear the tigger broadcast last night! I bet Woloshin & Co. were having a hissie fit! If you thank Larry Munson is a homer, you have never heard anything until you hear the tigger broadcasting team! Of course, if they would have won, it would have been all about how great the officiating was by letting the two teams play.

Kesling is a TV guy on the radio, but he and Bertelkamp does a damn good job broadcasting basketball games, IMO. In Football.....God, I miss John. Can you believe he has been gone almost 10 years?

Mr. Ward would have a field day with the interviews with Coach Pearl and calling games for his teams!

Posted by pdhuff on February 24, 2008 at 7:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

There is no joy in Mudville, Cocky John has struck out.

Posted by brvol on February 24, 2008 at 7:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Go university of tiger high. Or is it low? Im certain its the latter.

Posted by rabidvolfan on February 24, 2008 at 7:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

THE KNS IS THE BEST PAPER IN AMERICA SIMPLY BECAUSE JOHN ADAMS IS THE BEST WRITER IN AMERICA. I ASK THAT EVERYONE BE ON STAND BY TO DONATE $50 TO KEEP JOHN ADAMS WHEN SOMEONE LIKE THE USA TODAY OR A MAJOR MAGAZINE HIRES THIS MAN OUT FROM UNDER US. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN OFFER JOHN A COMPETITIVE SALARY! THIS WAS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

Posted by Colliervol on February 24, 2008 at 9:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ED, I'm not that big of a glutton for punishment. I was coming back from downtown and only listened to a little of their post game show. I'd sooner get a root canal as listen to their announcers. Heck, the Tiger fans laugh at Woloshyn's inability to call a game.

Kudos to EB though. At least he had the courage to show up. Some of the other Tiger loud mouths just can't seem to find the website anymore. Funny how that happens when that gorilla mouth overloads that canary tail.

Posted by budrhon on February 24, 2008 at 9:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

When you look at the core of Memphis team they only have a few player actually from Memphis. In the past the Memphis High schools produce so many division one players that the Tiger teams of the past consisted mainly of home town kids. Calapari has decided to recruit more outside the City which really leaves the Vols open to getting the 5 star players from out of Memphis.

Posted by johnlg00 on February 25, 2008 at 7:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I noticed that, too, budrhon. Coach Cal's apparent desire to wall off Memphis to CBP's recruiting brings the expression "dog in the manger" to my mind. IIRC, his two local guys, Kemp and Niles(?), didn't even get in the game. And when I hear Memphis people cry about the officiating, another expression comes to mind: ROFLMAO! Chris was not only held and shoved OFF the ball all night, he was knocked to the floor on drives to the basket at LEAST three times that I recall with no call from the refs. Not only that, but they have bragged about their toughness all year, and they have used it with great determination in most of their games I've seen.

Posted by marc_ash on February 25, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

EB3,

You sound about as ignorrant on our message board as you do on the CA site.

You cite Pearl putting on body paint as selfish? Wow, get the facts straight before you spout off. He was showing support for the program and was honoring the school. What you also don't know is that he spent every game day in the student lunch lounge meeting and greeting students while encouraging them to come to the game. What you also don't realize is how UT basketball had to struggle for years under losing seasons. For you to say Pearl is selfish shows how ignorrant you truely are.

And FTR, ESPN asked Pearl to film his halftime speech. Don't be pissed off because nobody wanted to see Calamari give his.

Posted by trylikeafool on February 25, 2008 at 12:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm a U of M student and have been following Tiger basketball all season. Never have I been more disappointed in my own team than this game. Tennessee deserved to win not only because of their hustle, but because of their composer. Pearle was the smarter coach in this game and he kept his team focused even when things weren't going their way. Calipari I think left this game to his players and as a result, many unwise decisions were made. He lost his own head in this game, for whatever reason.

Rose played a "B" game, CDR was almost non-existent. Dorsey and Allen seemed more concerned with being in the Tennessee player's faces rather than getting the job done. Tennessee did the honorable thing and walked away from them.

Tennessee may have deserved to win this game, but I do believe that Memphis lost it for them. Memphis is fully capable of beating Tennessee when they play their best. They missed a lot of shots that they normally make, and a lot of the wrong guys were taking stupid shots. UAB forced Memphis into an outside offense, but Memphis did not give in to it. They won that game by driving inside. I agree that Memphis was not rebounding like they normally do, they were not executing their offense like they normally do, and they were not playing smart like they normally do. Maybe Tennessee rattled them a little, but it was their game to lose. And they did.

I'd like to say congrats to all of the Vol fans. You came into our territory and got the job done. Enjoy being number one for a little while. It's fun. But I also don't like the superior attitude that a lot of "big name" schools take. Memphis has a better record of NCAA tournament appearances and wins than Tennessee does. This is a basketball town. It always has been, and it always will be. That's just the way it is. Knoxville is a UT town...and frankly that's about all you have there. The University of Memphis is not a bad school. It happens to be in the biggest and richest city in the state with a lot more opportunities available to many students that they would never find in Knoxville. Your medical school is in Memphis for a reason - we're one of the region's and world's best medical centers. FedEx among many other international businesses have their headquarters here. So, don't discount Memphis in any way.

We may not be able to beat you in football...but no one really cares about football around here. It's the last sport that anyone plays. Give Memphis a chance - they're a much better team than the nation saw on Saturday night. They needed to lose and I'd much rather them lose that game than in the tourney. They'll get to at least the elite 8 (as they have done the previous two years) and I think they get to the final four. They have a shot at the championship, but there are so many good teams (Tenn included) that it's hard to say.

Posted by trylikeafool on February 25, 2008 at 12:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

By the way...I just realized that I spelled Pearl wrong. My apologies. I know someone else who puts an "e" at the end of their name.

Posted by johnlg00 on February 25, 2008 at 1:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

trylikeafool, your post sounds like "sour grapes" to me. Part of what makes one team win is often that the victor takes the loser out of its Plan A. We stopped Memphis from doing what it likes to do best and it had no Plan B, or at least none that it executed properly. You took us out of our Plan A--a big night by Chris Lofton (by holding, pushing, and grabbing him all night, BTW)--and we had other guys step up. There is an old saying that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy--that's why he's called the enemy; it's his JOB to screw up your plan. The winner of the battle is the side that executes when his original plan goes in the dumper. Not to lay down another gratuitous slam at CUSA, but Memphis has not often been forced out of its battle plan. You surely can't say that UT played its best, either; it's just that they have had to learn how to win when they don't. You have enough talent to go far in the NCAA's; whether you do or not depends on how you deal with adversity. You are welcome for the lesson, if your team chooses to learn it instead of griping about their bad luck or whatever.
As for UT med units being located in Memphis, that is because of political pressure--and rightly so. There are LOTS of UT grads and state tax payers who live in Memphis, and they want to see their tax dollars at work. Since the med units have been there for quite some time now, it is likely that the other great med facilities you have there grew up around them. My family is from W. TN and I have relatives in Memphis, so I am not going to slam the city. We recognize the size and importance of the city and the Memphis basketball history--though many of you seem to have forgotten that we now have a 12-7 edge over you--but it was the easy assumption on the part of so many of your fans that we didn't have a chance in the game that makes the win so satisfying to us.

Posted by Colliervol on February 25, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Some good points, trylikeafool. I have no doubts that Memphis will run the table now until they get to the NCAA's. What you have to question is if they can get six consecutive consistent performances from Dorsey and Dozier to win the NCAA and my bet is they can't. And make no mistake, if those two don't show up in the Sweet Sixteen, they won't even make it to San Antonio. As far as Tenn. goes, you have to give them credit. They stepped into the "Belly of the Beast" Sat. night against all odds and came out with a win because of their toughness and focus. UT didn't play it's best game either in shooting 37%. They can shoot much better than they did, I can assure you.

As far as Memphis goes, I've lived in Shelby County for 30 years and know the problems and the plusses. But to say that Memphis is the "richest city in the state" is just wrong. Have you been to Nashville lately and seen what's going on there?

Posted by trylikeafool on February 25, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tennessee had a chance. The U of M fans who said they didn't were just being blindly ignorant. I had no idea who would win because I recognized the talent of both the players and the coach of Tennessee. The game was a toss-up as far as I was concerned. I warned people who I talked to that Tennessee might just beat our guys. Both teams are pretty evenly matched. Lofton, the three Smiths, and Prince are all good players. Your bench is deep and you play a honorable style of basketball. You guys deserve to go far in the tourney as far as I'm concerned. I think you'll make it to at least the final four. You have a genuine shot at the championship. You out-hustled us, out-rebounded us, made more free throws when it counted, and out-coached us. You threw us off our game-plan by sagging the middle.

That being said, Memphis can beat you guys. Dozier should have made that last unguarded lay-up. I haven't seen him miss that shot all season. Memphis should have at least tried their offense instead of throwing up so many 3-pointers. I've never seen them make so many stupid decisions - coach or player - the entire season. All I'm saying is that they're more than capable of beating Tennessee if they have their act together.

I was alarmed when I saw that ESPN was hyping the "perfect season" by those interviews and clips of our players. Calipari has been trying to keep their focus off of an undefeated season and here they are talking about it for the ESPN cameras. When Dorsey said that perfection was what it was all about, I knew we had lost the game. There's no way you can go against a team of Tennessee's caliber with everything on the line, everything to lose, and win the game.

I respect that Tennessee has won more regular season games against Memphis. Congrats. But the real test is the NCAA tournament. Even though you won in the regular season last year, Memphis was the team that went to the elite eight. If you want to compare game histories, let's compare the NCAA appearances. Tennessee hasn't made it past the sweet 16 and Memphis has experience in the final four and championship. This year, we'll see how things play out. Memphis will make it to the elite eight as they have the previous two seasons, and I'm sure that they'll make it to the final four. I don't know who all four teams will be, but I do think that two of them will be Memphis and Tennessee. Both teams have very stiff competition to make it to the championship, so it would be stupid to try and boost either of our teams to that level prematurely.

Posted by trylikeafool on February 25, 2008 at 6:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

So, it's not sour grapes. I'm giving Tennessee its props and I didn't mean for it to sound otherwise in my previous post. But I think that people are now discounting Memphis because they lost one game. It's funny that Duke, NC, UT, UCLA, or any of the other big name schools can lose one, two, or three games and still be declared major contenders for the championship. Memphis loses one and suddenly there's no hope left for them. Yeah I know the whole CUSA argument, but the SEC isn't that much better this year. I'd like to see Memphis switch to the SEC or Big East. At least they'd be challenged a little more instead of blowing out most of the games by 30 points. Memphis is a SEC caliber team. It could play competitively in any conference for that matter. So what if they play in CUSA? Does that automatically make them a worse team? Would they still not be one of the top teams in the country if they played in one of the so-called big conferences? I think they would.

Free throws - yeah, Calipari is arrogant to say that they don't matter. Memphis needs to fix this weakness before tournament time. If they had made 4 more free throws Saturday night, it would have been a tie game. The only way I know to fix it is to shoot at least 100 in a row, daily. I got to where I could shoot 88 out of 100 consistently using that method. I don't know what kind of free throw "games" the Tigers are playing in practice. All I know is that they're not working.

Memphis will get its act together come tournament time. Dorsey and Dozier will start playing like themselves again. This loss was a wake-up call. I'm glad they lost because I would be very nervous going into the tournament undefeated. Apparently their non-conference schedule wasn't challenging enough until Tennessee. I'm glad they got to play that caliber of a game. Now we'll see if it lights a fire under them come tournament time. I think we'll be seeing you guys in Texas.

Posted by trylikeafool on February 25, 2008 at 6:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Colliervol (I guess you're from Collierville) - I didn't mean that Memphis is the richest city in monetary terms. We've got the largest poor population in the state here. Nashville is by far the "richest" if you put it that way. All I meant was that Memphis has a lot going for it. It is the largest city in the state, it is the medical epicenter of the region (or the world in regards to St. Jude), it is the headquarters for several of the world's largest companies, it is the home to a NBA team, it may not be Hollywood but it has a good entertainment heritage, it brings in a good portion of business to the state, and it provides a lot of opportunities to people who want to make a life here - ala a lot of UT grads living here. The University of Memphis is not that bad either. It has several top ten graduate schools in the country, it does major research in several fields, and I have some of the top people in the country in their respective fields as my professors.

The politics of Tennessee are such that UT gets most of the attention, therefore, other schools aren't able to progress at the rate they are. Granted, some of the fault lies with Memphis as well, and I hope that one day soon we will make the changes necessary to reach our full potential. Knoxville is a college town. Everyone I've ever known from there, it's UT this or UT that. Hey, I like Tennessee. But I'd like you even more if you'd give up the ego trip. I know you have to root for your school, but resorting to calling Memphis "Tiger High" and its players "thugs" is unnecessary, rude, and disrespectful. I'm not saying that you were doing that - your response was respectful. But I can't tell you the countless comments I've seen by UT fans who have said all of that and more about my school. It doesn't make them any better than the Tiger fans who were throwing insults at UT. I wish we could both respect each other's programs and keep the competitiveness civil.

Posted by General_Watermelon on February 25, 2008 at 8:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Colliervol - we were physical? They held Lofton all night. I thought Pearl's comments were hilarious at half time when asked why he thought Lofton was not getting a fast start.

J. Smith got 10 rebounds. A guard out rebounded Memphis' big guys. LOL.

Posted by General_Watermelon on February 25, 2008 at 8:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tiger High
You'll always be
second place
in Tennessee

Actually, Vandy may be in second place. Back to the tough SEC slate where fans don't cry about being too physical.

Posted by General_Watermelon on February 25, 2008 at 8:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

trylikeafool: You were only in the game due to 7 uncharacteristic 3 point shots. You haven't shot that well from outside all year. The 2nd half showed you are not a great outside shooting team.
In the 2nd half, when Lofton was shooting and missing the 3's, that was as uncharacteristic as you hitting them. JaJuan Smith sitting on the bench with ice packs on his leg hurt us as well. Consider yourself lucky that the game was close.

Posted by budrhon on February 25, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

trylikeafool on your assessment of Rose having a "B" game is ludicrous. The game I watched saw a young man put a team on his shoulders down the stretch. He made Howell look like a deer in head lights. He is as advertised. I would say every Vol Fan in here had to be impressed by him. The mistakes in the closing minutes is Calapari not taking a time out and Anderson thinking he was the stud on the team and taking a shot that should not have left his hands. Even Jim Rome was questioning his decision on not getting the ball to Rose or CDR. Regardless the stats tell it all. Poor rebounding, poor free throws, and poor motivation as a team going into the game. But all of that was contributed because a better team out played them that night. I'm a fan of both schools so my opinion is objective.

Posted by trylikeafool on February 26, 2008 at 2:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You guys are laughable. All I have learned from reading your comments is that I'm wasting my time with you. You have no respect for any other school than your own. You're not willing to admit that you came close to losing that game. Four points is hardly a margin big enough to call it a grand slam victory for Tennessee. You ignore Memphis' tournament record, and you ignore the fact that less than stellar teams have already beaten you this season. I guess those two teams are better than you because you lost to them. I guess Kentucky's a better team than you are...and they even beat you by 6 points. A whole two points more than you beat Memphis.

Where were you guys in the tournament last year after beating us by 20 points? We were still playing after you had gone home. I know my team and I know without a doubt that if there was a rematch, Memphis would win - and by more than four points. I hope there is one in the tournament so that we can put you in your place. I also hope that Memphis will join the SEC where it belongs...maybe the Big East would be a better choice considering the competition this year. Then we would be able to "come up" to your holier-than-thou level and teach you a lesson in humility. Pearl is an arrogant ass and the fans are ten times worse. UT is a school with no class apparently...I can't believe I was stupid enough to give you a chance.

Guess what - the state doesn't revolve around you. I'm going to go back to talking with my fellow Memphians where we can think rationally about things because we're not blinded by the bright color of orange. I guess Tenneessee chose the color orange so that they wouldn't get shot when the rest of the hillbillies went huntin'. By the way - UT's dental school is in Memphis because they had to come all the way to west Tennessee to find a full set of teeth. Just so you know.

I'm out of here. I'm tired of going around in pointless circles with you. Go ahead and trash talk me all you want. I won't be back to see it. Thank God.

Posted by goVOLSgo09 on February 28, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

J.P. Prince is on the verge of becoming a really special player for UT. He just has to be more consistent. But I'm sure it was nice to go home and hand is hometown team a royal a** whoopin.
Happy to say I was there to witness it in person.
Oh and has anyone seen this kid's girlfriend? Can you say HOTTIE? She was definitely at the Memphis game wearing a shirt with his name on it and a hot mini skirt and although it is the middle of winter, I couldn't have been happier! GO J.P.!