My feel-good Tennessee baseball column got snowed out Thursday night. Chris Burke will be saluted another day.
Plan B isn't as uplifting.
A couple of my media buddies have noted in the past 48 hours that the Vols are desperately short of SEC wins at the moment.
In any major sport.
Basketball is off to an 0-3 SEC start. Ole Miss won in Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time since George H.W. Bush was president. Losses at Alabama and Kentucky followed.
Football had eight tries to beat an SEC opponent and succeeded once. A 37-17 triumph over Kentucky was delivered on the final day of the season.
The third most-visible men's sport, baseball, closed out the 2012 season with eight consecutive SEC losses after beating Vanderbilt on May 4.
So, let's see, what's the count? How about 1-18.
In short, it's a challenging time to be a UT fan. Not that I'm telling you anything you didn't already know.
Dave Hart, working through his second year as UT's athletic director, promotes comprehensive excellence as the department's mission.
Aside from women's basketball, his marquee sports are falling short of excellence. Some more than others.
Cuonzo Martin's basketball team has the most immediate chance to induce cheers. Three of the next four games are at home, beginning with Mississippi State on Saturday.
Martin beat Hart to town by six months. Given the situation he inherited, his first season was a success, even though the Vols missed the NCAA tournament and bowed out too soon in the NIT.
This second season has been a disappointment so far. The biggest reason — Jeronne Maymon's absence — is beyond Martin's control.
Still, with 15 SEC games left, it's too early to render a verdict. February and especially March are the most important months in a basketball cycle.
Likewise, baseball rebooted shortly before Hart took the reins. Dave Serrano was a consensus home-run hire.
But he wasn't a miracle worker. His first team went 24-31 and 8-22 in SEC play. UT missed the tournament in Hoover for the fifth consecutive year.
Serrano has revamped his roster for Year Two. Based on last year's results, that's a good thing.
Unlike basketball and baseball, Hart actually got a hands-on opportunity to change football's fortunes. He replaced Derek Dooley with Butch Jones.
Jones' first five weeks on the job have revived hope. He's won every battle on the PR schedule.
Now he has to win recruiting battles. And, soon enough, the time comes to win games.
SEC games.
Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/strangemike44 and http://blogs.knoxnews.com/strange
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 32
VOLtage writes:
Job would have trouble being patient with UT sports.
AllforTenn writes:
Thanks for pointing out more bad information. You and Adams relish that.
rockypop writes:
Losing three SEC basketball games is a major slump? How about the Charlotte Bobcats under Michael Jordan losing 18 in a row this season. Now, that's a major slump. Deceiving, sensational headlines like this won't sell more newspapers or drive more readers to the KNS website. KNS writers are the ones in a major slump.
dbc5361 writes:
Nice article.
TKO writes:
The main point would be that it has to get better
Better days are head. GBO!
volsmith writes:
All we do anymore is just field teams in sports. We're not trying for excellence in sports. Dave Hart was hired to clean house in the athletic department in order to save money. His hires have not impressed me at all. Who wants to coach at Tennessee any more? Working for Jimmy Cheek and Dave Hart is not a good situation to be in for any coach.
seofeed writes:
Great article and glad you guys are shining the light on this issue because it's disturbing.
UkJarhead writes:
Freaking great
SummittsCourt writes:
Glad the Lady Vols are winning!
underthehill writes:
UT would be undefeated in all sports if it wasn't for the KNS writers..why can't people see this..amazing...
born2ride writes:
At least we have Butch Ball to look forward.
volaholic45 writes:
Really? The Vols would be undefeated in all sports, if not for the KNS writers? And you are amazed that people can't see this obvious truth that is staring them in the face?
I think you are confusing cause with effect. You see, when the teams suck, the writers tend to write about the sucky performances. You may have noticed how unflattering columns appear in the paper after (not before) the teams lose on the field or court. That's a clue which one is causing the other. See how that works?
Rumblefish writes:
The BasketVols and Football Vols are in an SEC slump. REALLY?????
Thanks Mike Strange. Nobody would every have known that if you didn't point that out.
Are you actually trying to trump John Adams for the title of "Captain Obvious"???
Rumblefish writes:
I think you confused his post with reality vs sarcasm.
Lay off the sauce, 'aholic.
feathersax writes:
UT sports in decline since John Ward left. Boring Buckeye Bob Kesling's the jinx, gang.
volaholic45 writes:
Dang. You're right. Apologies to underhill.
arkyvol writes:
the curse of hammy.
SummittsCourt writes:
Rumor has it that Gruden was going to take the job of head coach until he read some of the artilce on KNS and decided better of it.
crmcm44#321757 writes:
I don't know "underthehill" but I'm guessing you don't get sarcasm.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Slow news day I guess..Should be talking about tomorrows game with MSU; instead we get to rehash and open the old wounds again.
SouthPaVol writes:
Now don't go lumping Mike & John together; there's quite a difference, you know. Mike mentions bad news in passing, but usually with a silver lining. John dwells long and hard on the poor and pitiful. I actually read Mike's articles; John...he ain't worth my time.
johnlg00 writes:
Gotta give you props for owning up to that, buddy. Lots of people on here fall for something like that and try to pretend it didn't happen, or come back with some personal slam toward those trying to correct them. Really smart people aren't afraid to admit it when they are wrong, and they accept correction as a way to become still smarter. Ya done good! (No sarcasm!)
Sir_Spanky writes:
MH and Cheek pretty much buried UT sports. Since Cheek's still over there, I guess one could assume they really don't care one way or the other.
Volbound1700 writes:
Actually wrong about February and March being most important unless you win your conference tournament because NCAA Tourny committee cares more about OOC games than anything with regards to the SEC because they see our league as crappy every year. TN beat Witchita State and UMass but lost to Memphis, Gtown, UVA, and Okie State. No BCS wins makes it a tough road to get to NCAA Tourny even if we win 11 SEC games. Therefore November and December are the most important months.
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
This team will not win 11 SEC games, there are only two other teams as bad as UT is right now and one of them has already beaten UT.
crappieking writes:
Our athletic program is at a all time low. The End.
Volbound1700 writes:
Georgia, the worse team in SEC, hasn't played UT yet. Neither has South Carolina, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Auburn, or Vandy. All are playing very bad.
Volbound1700 writes:
It could be worse guys, our star football player and Heisman contender could have a fake girl friend that supposedly died this past fall.
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
That's true, but aside from Aubie I cant's see UT in a lock to win any of those games..They're really awful this year.
johnlg00 writes:
I think I see your point, but the NCAA, at least in some past years, gives a bit of extra consideration to teams that finish strong. The thing is, the selection committee doesn't have the same members from year to year, so the selection criteria vary somewhat from one year to the next.
In some recent years, they have tried to reward bubble teams that seem to be going into the post-season on a bit of a roll. In other words, if two teams have similar final records, but one went 5-5 in the last ten games and the other went 9-1, the nod might go to the latter one. The Vols have to hope, first, that they CAN finish strong and, second, that the NCAA will give them some credit for it if they do so.
Another factor sometimes considered in "bubble" decisions is a team's personnel. If a team suffers a major injury to a key player, or if a team gets one back from an injury, that may well affect a selection.
In short, some factors other than pure SOS/RPI considerations may influence an at-large bid. However, the numbers ARE the MAIN factors, and these other things only become significant in choosing between comparable fairly successful teams. It is quite possible that the Vols are already in such a deep hole that it may not matter how they finish in a relatively weak SEC, unless they win the tournament, so you are right in that regard.
johnlg00 writes:
For myself, I hope the Vols haven't already concluded for themselves that there is no hope and just quit trying. No doubt they may be feeling a bit sorry for themselves right now--certainly a lot of people on this board trying to HELP them feel bad--but maybe they will turn that into determination to do better.
jmaples54 writes:
haha! now that's funny! great sarcasm! i get that! seriously, though, i'm not sure anyone takes the ignorance displayed by readers' comments as an indicator of vol fans' intelligence. coaches like gruden who have come in contact with sportswriters nationwide know that the KNS staff are just as friendly, competent, and knowledgeable as any in the country. our negative trolls are no worse than those in alabama, kentucky, or florida; milquetoast compared to fans in philly or new york. our negatrolls mainly entertain themselves.
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