NASHVILLE - The story will be much bigger in 20 years. The raccoon will become a bear, and Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt's dislocated right shoulder will become a severed arm or worse.
But the story is still pretty good right now. And Summitt didn't mind sharing it after her team's 92-61 victory over Florida in the second round of the SEC tournament Friday afternoon at the Sommet Center.
The story begins with a Wednesday night dinner at home for Summit and her son, Tyler. The entree is germane to the story. It was salmon.
Raccoons love salmon.
After finishing dinner, Summitt watched the Tennessee-Florida men's basketball game on television, finished cleaning the kitchen and took the trash out to the back deck.
Moments later, Summitt heard one of her two yellow labs barking furiously on the deck. Six-year-old Sally was barking at a raccoon, which obviously had caught a whiff of leftover salmon.
"I didn't think the raccoon was that big until it raised up (on its hind legs)," Summitt said. "It was huge."
The raccoon was no longer focused on the salmon. Sally had its full attention.
"They say raccoons go for the eyes," Summitt said. "I was afraid he was getting ready to attack her."
It's probably worth noting at this point that Summitt knew more about the raccoon than the raccoon knew about Summitt. Otherwise, he would have realized a barking dog was the least of his problems.
While the raccoon fixated on Sally, Summitt sprung into action.
"I came on the other side of Sally and did this," Summitt explained, demonstrating a right forearm shiver to her listener. "I knocked him off the rail. That's a long drop (about 30 feet, Lady Vols publicist Debby Jennings estimated)."
And just like that, the raccoon was gone and the dog was OK. But Summitt wasn't. She forearmed the raccoon with such force that she dislocated her right shoulder.
"I was in dire pain," she said. "I looked down, and there was an indent. I knew (the shoulder) was out."
She then called Lady Vols team physician Dr. Rebecca Morgan, who made a late-night house call, and - with the help of Tyler - put the shoulder back in pre-raccoon position.
"It did not really hurt that much when they put it back in," Summitt said.
Tyler guessed that the raccoon didn't fare as well.
"It's still wondering what hit it," Tyler said. "She loves those dogs more than anything. She was going to take that raccoon out."
The team didn't pick up on the story until after the game.
"Daniel Boone!" UT player Candace Parker shouted as Summitt returned to the locker room from post-game interviews. "Where's your hat?"
Later, Summitt repeated the story for her team's benefit. In years to come, it surely will be told again and again - with considerable embellishment, no doubt.
In fact, I can imagine a couple of basketball fans discussing the legendary coach 20 years from now.
First fan: "Boy, that Pat Summitt was some coach, wasn't she?"
Second fan: "She wasn't just a great coach. She was a great leader. And she led by example."
First fan: "Yeah, remember the time that bear attacked Summitt's team. They all might have been killed if she hadn't wrestled it into submission. Almost lost her right arm in the process."
Second fan: "No, you got it all wrong. She didn't lay a hand on the bear. She just stared at it until it was hypnotized."
First fan: "That's right. I remember reading that she was an expert in hypnosis.
By the way, whatever happened to the bear?"
Second fan: Why, after Summitt hypnotized it, the bear became her friend. Still lives on her place.
"Folks say it gets along great with her dogs."
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
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Comments » 27
pdhuff#552644 writes:
ZZZzzzzzz ZZZzzzzzz R.I.P. PC story.
brokebackvol writes:
OK, we gotta have the sugary make ya smile stories once in a while, folks. We know we are lucky to have a legend like Pat, and it won't last forever.
Someday I'll miss her like I miss John Ward - a Tennessee Tradition.
I hope this one will add more nervousness for the referees! :-)
bmaples writes:
Speaking of John Ward -- when that raccoon hit the ground at the end of his long drop, you can just hear John Ward say:
"Bottom!"
(sorry -- too easy)
CrankE writes:
Dang, why couldn't it have been John Adams in a racoon suit getting knocked off the deck and falling 30 feet?
Einstein writes:
Great story. We all need a little humor. The only problem is that it should be Davy Crockett (Tennessee) not Daniel Boone (Kentucky).
LargeOrange writes:
John you are pretty good at stretching the truth and playing fast and loose with the facts about other TN Coaches, why not embark on another SEC city media tour and spread your "bear" story?
RJ_Vol writes:
Einstein is right... It should be DAVY CROCKETT!!! What an insulting shock journalist! Don't let up on Adams until he apologizes for his continuing slanderous remarks or until he has to take a job working for his hero, Dan Rather.
BigOrangeVol writes:
"Bottom!" LMAO. Bruce that was priceless dude!
kaplan#211944 writes:
Candace Parker said Daniel Boone not John Adams.
BillVol writes:
Why is this a story? We had a mouse in our garage the other day. So what?
mtnvol writes:
Jack A$$ would know all about "considerable embellishment."
vol88 writes:
You folks are being pretty harsh on Adams just because he wrote the column about Fulmer you pretend you didn't agree with. But, how many of you said the exact same thing during the season? (All hands in room go up, I'm thinking.)
It's all about "Fire Fulmer" on this board until the sports editor says it, and then it's "Leave our coach alone." Very hypocritical, my good fellow Vol fans.
And for God's sake, the Daniel Boone comment was a quote from Candace Parker. Those two little bitty things that look like deer tracks next to a word are called quotation marks.
RJ_Vol writes:
There are 85 scholarship players on a football team. How is it that John Adams and KNS cannot find ONE positive in that student-athelete environment? Instead, he writes about a racoon. Admittedly, it's a great story! However, he's dodging the "purple elephant" in the room. As for hypocritical, I thinks its hypocritical to lower the boom on a coach for his college players' behavior. We have ALL done stupid stuff in college which I'm sure we don't want editorialized in the paper. Is that not true? Are those student-atheletes the only students on the UT campus getting into trouble? I think not! But, I don't see you trying to call for the UT President's job for their behavior.
volfan#207874 writes:
Yo, Einstein! "D. Boone cilled a bar on this tree" was carved on a tree in Washington Co. Tennessee in the community that is now known as Boones Creek...Just outside Johnson City TN. Sooo...'ol Dan'l did enjoy the good life of Tennessee as well as the blue grass of Kaintuck!
LargeOrange writes:
vol88 at 8:10 a.m.
You folks are being pretty harsh on Adams just because he wrote the column about Fulmer you pretend you didn't agree with.
LO It's not what he wrote that pi$$ed me off, it is that he goes to Birmingham and Atlanta and gets on the radio and thouroughly trashes CPF and TN. That is not journalism, that is a vendetta.
But, how many of you said the exact same thing during the season? (All hands in room go up, I'm thinking.)
LO - Wrong, only a very few (less than 20 individuals is my guess) posted the Fire Phil rants. Granted they a very prolific and used multiple screen names, so it seems like they are the majority at times, but if you pay attention, you will see 90% come from the same group over and over.
It's all about "Fire Fulmer" on this board until the sports editor says it, and then it's "Leave our coach alone." Very hypocritical, my good fellow Vol fans.
LO - See above. Most of the Fire Fulmerr crowd did not post against Adams on this article and subsequent media tour. No hyprocicy on either side this time.
Triton1 writes:
In my oppinion, the KNS is out of control, and a change is needed. John Adams should do the right thing and resign NOW!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Very few raccoons ever make it onto the KNS sports pages. His offspring should be proud.
TommyJack writes:
Ease up on Adams. Just because he has a set is no reason to hate him. The man writes opinion for cripes sake.
Vol_Fan_4_Life_615 writes:
Ive come to see that the opinion of John Adams is a very negative one if he does not like you. He will kiss your butt if he does like you. In his opinion he his the voice of the vol nation.
Well in my very humble and not worth the lines its written on opinion, I think JA should go write for The Birmingham News. Where his Fulmer hate mail, that he calls his stories, would be read with some amount of truth in the eyes of his readers.
With that said i did get a laugh out of this article. So JA write more of these and less of the Fulmer hate mail. After all you are the Sports Editor.
VO writes:
I would just prefer to have a sports writer that isnt out to find every little thing wrong with the program and just give a complement once and a while. NO program is perfect John, sorry, not even LSU.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
TommyJack, you ever knocked a raccoon out of a cart in Boerne?
b writes:
STFU, Adams!!!
You tool!!
cat54 writes:
Do you honestly think people care whether you boycott the News Sentinel or its advertisers? You're a bunch of whiners! For God's sake get a life and quit whining about John Adams. You're probably the same people who whine about Fulmer when the Vols are losing. Get over yourselves!
rootin4volz writes:
Adams, you're writing this phooey and you haven't apologized to Fulmer yet? D-E-N-I-A-L.
hueypilot writes:
Gee. I'm just distraught that this is boring to pd. I'd much rather read your lively repartee with TJ and Geoff. Talk about amateur night. Good article by Adams. Great win for Lady Vols. How any of that relates to the football team and Phil is beyond me.
xd9x19 writes:
Funny article, John!!! Enjoyed it. Gee, a lot of whiny little vol fans on this thread.
ect1983 writes:
Right on xd9x19----KEEP UP THE GREAT, and I do mean GREAT columns JA....Amazing that many of these readers think you should write Big Orange puff pieces; If, and I know it is IF before you all get your panties in a wad, Vandy doesn't hit the upright,Lones Seiber doesn't hit his kick low,USC doesn't miss their field goal, we are then 6-6 and everyone of you are screaming and agreeing with JA. We are 24-14 in the last 3 yrs, won one CRAPPY bowl game, had NUMEROUS off the field incidents, and HAmilton gives Phul Filmer 2 different extensions and raises...WHY ??
That's like UK's basketball ooach getting the same rewards for winning 2 NIT games in 3 years ((and losing 2), while getting thugs arrested ---IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. THANK GOD FOR JOHN ADAMS.
Bythe way Qwerty6969, I am sure those sponsors will miss your business...to make up for it, I will try to patronize them more.
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