Comments by BruisedOrange

Written on Robert Hubbs, Darius Thompson, A.J. Davis becoming Tennessee's "Three Amigos":

in response to miketn6:

I missed the first game that Davis played in.
Thompson is thin and looks really young, but he also looks pretty good. His contribution will grow over time.
I watched the first half of Hubbs' game, and while he was sort of feeling his way into it, he is super-athletic. Once he gets comfortable, Hubbs has stud potential, but he needs to work on the mid range jumper.

McRae is ready to go, and his progression over 4 years has been amazing. He can play.

Ahhh, yes... the mid-range jumper.

Back in the day, my favorite shot--pretty as Sweet Lou Hudson's.

Now it's the "sasquatch" of basketball skills: much discussed, believed in by most people, yet seldom seen except in grainy, '70s film footage and low-res phone videos taken by freelance recruiters in backwater gymnasiums.

With nostalgic sadness I expect we'll see "long-range teardrops" before we see a return of the mid-range jumper into the standard player's arsenal.

In fairness, the way current offenses divide the floor and distribute defenders, the mid-ranger has been relegated to big men forced out-of-position and fast breaks well-defended. To the teardrop's credit, it avoids the inner-ear issues that fast-break mid-range pull-up jumpers must contend with.

So how did Gail Goodrich make it look so easy?

Written on Robert Hubbs, Darius Thompson, A.J. Davis becoming Tennessee's "Three Amigos":

Any game stats on assists? Steals?

Probably too many to count, huh.

Ahh, just being cranky this morning. There really is long-term value in seeing what your teammates do well, what their preferences and instincts are, all those intangibles that eventually coalesce into "team chemistry."

Written on Poll: Which position on Tennessee's offense are you most concerned about next season?:

Looking at that schedule... the op-position.

Written on David Climer: College football recruiting reaches new low:

Odd, ambiguous column from Climer today. For all his bellyaching, he never explains WHY he thinks this is "too much."

Is it bad for the kids? Does it impede their maturation? Is it counter-motivational to their athletic development? Climer never says.

Is it bad for recruiting? Bad for college football? Does Climer believe recruiters have no legitimate basis for projecting who's going to be a 5-star in four years? He never says.

Climer offers no protest that a major part of recruiting is salesmanship, branding, and getting your program into the national spotlight. He even acknowledges that offering to 13-year olds is consistent with those goals.

If coaches are just using kids as PR props, and have no intention of honoring their word to these kids and their parents--sure, everyone should have a problem with that. Is that what Climer's getting at? He never says.

Maybe this is one of those two-fer articles. Monday's ambiguous whine begs the question so Wednesday's column can respond, "Well, now that you ask..."

When The Tennessean was locally owned, the editor might have returned this to Climer, said it's a good IDEA for an article, told him not to worry about submitting anything for Monday, do some research and come back with something special for Wednesday.

I'm guessing the only ones today with that kind of authority sit in the home office of Gannett Company outside D.C., and all they say is "fill the column with words before deadline as per your contract!"

Bottom line: Disappointed with the article ... sympathetic with the writer ... curious to learn something more about the issue.

Written on Sea of crimson in Big Orange country for Nick Saban speech:

"pond"

...a pond of crimson.

Written on Former UT graduate assistant Marc Gesualdo: Stop burying Julie Hermann:

in response to goldengate:

Nice post, BO.

I weep for those who have grown up in this daddy-ball-protected, everyone-gets-a-trophy generation.

Thanks goldengate. But I gotta ask... are you from San Francisco?

Y'all probably HAVE a trans-gendered bovine community out there! Who do they share office space with, LGBT or PETA?

Written on Texas A&M gets commitment from No. 1 QB Kyle Allen:

Texas A&M is the SEC's new Florida--only worse.

In addition to now having "play in the SEC" and "play before the conference's largest home crowd" appeal, A&M has...

1) a larger, richer in-state recruiting area than Florida;
2) a superior out-of-state recruiting reach--geographically they can appeal to families along the entire west coast ("Did you know Tuscaloosa is nearly 50% farther from Los Angeles than College Station?");
3) impressive game day traditions with probably the best, most disciplined fans in the NCAA.

AND they now have a first-year SEC record that says "we are here, and here to win SEC/national championships!"

The center of power in the SEC has shifted. These Aggies are no joke, and that's news for any SEC team.

Written on Former UT graduate assistant Marc Gesualdo: Stop burying Julie Hermann:

Not taking sides in this matter, but I had wondered if her father was a coach, and she grew up with that coaching style.

Back when I was coming up, the prevailing model (probably based on military drill instructors) was to verbally and physically tear down individuality until individuals bonded into a team identity. It was common to hear players speak of their relationship with a coach as a mixture of love and fear.

In my mind I can still playback the gentle memories of my adolescence: "when are you going to turn in those pink panties for a jock strap?" and "you're as worthless as tits on a bull!"

There was a certain literary quality to coach-speak back then, rich with metaphors and similes. Sadly, I'm sure they've all been removed from the school board lawyer-approved list of coaching phrases.

But at least we can be thankful we live in a time when people are finally taking a stand on behalf of the trans-gendered bovine community.

Written on Former UT grad assistant Marc Gesualdo backs Julie Hermann, calls accusations 'a glorified witch hunt':

I wondered if her father was a coach.

Back when I was coming up, that was the prevailing model (probably based on military drill instructors), using verbal "abuse" to tear down individuality until they identify themselves as a team.

I can still playback the gentle memories of my adolescence: "...worthless as tits on a bull" and "when are you going to turn in those pink panties for a jock strap?"

There was a certain literary quality to coach-speak back then, rich with metaphors and similes.

I wonder if today's public school coaches are given a list of "school board/lawyer-approved" phrases?

Written on UT preferred walk-on kicker Andrew Gantz going to Cincinnati in same capacity:

The young man said, "... I had to make the best decision for my family and myself," and getting on the field soon was the reason to switch.

I have no inside information, but it does strike me that this is what one might do if there was reason to believe someone in your family might not be around to see you play 3 or 4 years from now.

Written on Josh Dobb's calls now will be with Tennessee Vols:

in response to CoverOrange:

The young guys, Evan, Patrick, Brendan, seem to do all the grunt work (like actually go to practices, interview people) while the older guys take the perks (like go to Destin every year) sit back and write what they thought about rolling out of bed that morning with little research or fact finding. My point is is that it is not a KNS vs TFP thing but a young reporter vs old opinionator thing.

...because when the old guys were young guys, they did all the leg work, and by their persistence (survival), earned a little less stress.

Sure, some of the old guys write like they know where the publisher buried all the bodies. But give those other old guys their due: they have a storehouse of memories, insights, historical perspective, and insider relationships they can call upon--and no amount of legwork and internet research can match that.

As for why the T-FP might have better quality Vol articles... they don't write as many. T-FP can not only choose which story, they don't have to publish it a day before it's polished.

I moved from Chattanooga to Knoxville for 2 years back in the '80s. "WooHoo!" I thought. "Two newspapers writing UT stories every day!" Well, yeah, kinda. But mostly, it was just wall-to-wall criticism and second-guessing. Same thing when I lived in an NFL town.

I think it's a universal rule: The most fan-satisfying team coverage begins in the newspaper that's at least two hours from the stadium.

Written on John Adams: Recruiting will condition Lady Vols for basketball success:

The usual way to have a deep but happy bench is having role players.

Seems to me like a long time since we've had role players (other than point guards) coming off the bench. We tend to just have "do it all" players of different sizes, shapes and skills.

But maybe that's the current state of the ladies' game at the top level.

Written on John Adams: SEC basketball could use a Bruce Pearl or a 'Funny Sonny':

In the saturated marketplace of sports info-tainment it's a tougher world for print journalists. Sports talk radio hosts can fill an hour by opening their show making an indefensibly stupid remark, then sit back and answer phone calls from incredulous, irate, and aghast listeners the rest of the hour.

Print guys online can do something like that (gaining hits via the Comments section), but gaining and maintaining a reputation for insight, accuracy and inside-knowledge counts much more in their game. The radio guy can say anything, as long as he eventually admits, "I see your point, and I may have to reconsider mine." Then he closes the show bragging that he has "the smartest audience in all of radio"--though he's just duped them into filling his hour for him.

Unlike the TV boys, writers can't say "Roll the videotape..." and fill five minutes describing for everyone what everyone can plainly see for themselves.

Preachers have a week to prepare the next sermon. Comedians hone a routine over months and take it from town-to-town. Writers have to write something new, interesting, and informative EVERY day, for the same audience.

So maybe the truthier headline would be...

"John Adams: SEC basketball BEAT WRITERS could use a Bruce Pearl or a 'Funny Sonny'"

Honestly, I sympathize.

Written on Point guard Antonio Barton commits to Tennessee:

in response to oldster:

I do not know what those reasons are, but they are pretty obviously not academics. A basketball player at any major university who graduates in 3 years is a pretty rare bird. It certainly seems to speak well for his overall, if not basketball, intelligence. Hopefully, the bb IQ is high as well.

Rules Question:

Must he begin work on a Master's Degree, or can he enroll seeking a second undergraduate degree?

I'm sure he's got the ability for a Masters... just curious about the rule.

Written on Kara Lawson wins WNBA Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award:

The start of a great coaching career continues to be delayed...
by consummate performances on and off the court.

You continue to make Vol Nation proud, Kara.

Written on Changes don't change course for UT men's basketball:

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard any real discussion of finding PG help out of the JC ranks.

Are there any worthy (on court and off) JC candidates out there?

Is there any interest from CCM in going that route?

Seems I remember CPS went that direction one year and collected another Championship because of it. A lot of stars have to align just right, though.

Written on David Climer: Titles can't erase SEC football's weaknesses:

Good grief! You people are still going at it?

Happy Mother's Day...

Written on David Climer: Titles can't erase SEC football's weaknesses:

How many posters even read the article? At issue is the best conference TOP-TO-BOTTOM.

Statistically, we're not. Sagarin uses a formula that weighs the middle third more than the top or bottom. Or you can just add up the rankings and divide by the number of teams in the conference. Either way (weigh?) Big12 comes out ahead of SEC. (Oh, how the middle have fallen! But recruiting says that will change over the next 2-4 years.)

Out of curiosity I'd like to see how it comes out using power rankings. You gotta figure there should be a difference if a team's 4 losses were to Bama, A&M, LSU and South Carolina.

Has anybody seen a conference comparison based on power rankings?

Written on David Climer: Titles can't erase SEC football's weaknesses:

Admittedly the bottom of the SEC has been larger (than the traditional and perennial bottom two) AND worse than usual the past 6 or so years. I blame that on loss of program stability as so many middle-tier programs have been starting-and-stopping their trains to change coach cars on the "GottaBecomeCompetitiveInThisNewEra Express."

But something tells me there's also a statistical tipping point at work here. If the top third of the conference is undefeated or one-loss in regular season matchups, aren't the middle and bottom thirds left between .500 and winless?

In the old Big-10, where typically undefeated Michigan & Ohio State met in December to decide the conference champion and Rose Bowl representative, there was a greater statistical (and practical) opportunity for the middle of the conference to finish well over .500.

Say you're the fourth best team in the SEC East--there's 3 losses. If you also play 2 of the West's top 3--that's now 5 losses in-conference. Throw in a season ticket holder pleasing non-Conference game against a national power... and your middle-of-the-pack team that would finish .750 in most conferences is a .500 team at best.

But what do I know? I'll ask my Calculus teaching friends. They'll appreciate the opportunity to use their knowledge for the good of mankind.

Written on Source: Trae Golden's departure 'based on academics' and 'repeated plagiarism':

in response to ROADFOREMAN_KNOWS_ALL:

UT's men's basketball program graduates only 55% of its participants. Ole Trae's academic chances were a coin-flip and best.

Women's basketball graduates 100%. Clearly, there is correlation between academic and athletic success. Wondering if there is causation.

According to a Class of 2010 survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the graduation rate for colleges in Tennessee were:
* Graduated in 4 years - 19.7%
* Graduated in 6 years - 45.5%
(The national rates were 31.3% and 56%.)

For women the rates in Tennessee were 23.3% and 47.9%.
For men the rates in Tennessee were 15.2% and 42.6%.

Sad as it is, by comparison our athletes are performing far above their non-athlete cohort. If you compare statistics according to race, their performance has been exceptional.

Just offering some additional perspective.

Written on Tyler Summitt interviews for Chattanooga opening:

in response to SneakyPete:

I don't remember Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman being fired or quitting. It would be best to not comment on another school's sitiuation if you know nothing about the matter.

DOHT!!! I know that!

Can't believe I did that! I know better--basketball, basketball, men's BASKETBALL coach--not football coach. Shulman's gone, not Huesman.

But at least you were gracious in your response to my error.

Written on Tyler Summitt interviews for Chattanooga opening:

In a bad economy, UTC must in short order hire an AD [check], head football coach, AND women's basketball coach.

There's no way UTC can afford the cost of replacing the esteemed Wes Moore with another, already established "Wes Moore."

Hiring Tyler Summitt would be a bold play, but think about it...

What other hire would generate national interest and sustained coverage, attract the attention of quality recruits, and most importantly for UTC at this moment, put more fans in seats?

I've never been across town to see a Lady Mocs game. If Son of Summitt became head coach we would be Roundhouse bound first game!

Chattanooga has long been a hotbed of Lady Vols support. Most of them consider Tyler to be--in the sincerest Southern sense--FAMILY. I can't imagine a more supportive community than Chattanooga in which that particular young head coach could begin his career.

Professionally, for him it would not be as big a jump as taking the same position at a school withOUT an established program. Remember, the one situation Tyler has no experience with is having to build from the ground up.

For UTC it would be a bold play, but think about it...

Written on UT releases Travon Landry from men's basketball letter of intent:

in response to frblalack:

Not a very proud moment for the U of T. I am disappointed at the disingenuous behavior on the part of our basketball coaches. Whatever may have been gained in athleticism is lost to some degree in integrity. Sportsmanship and loyalty have been leveraged by one upmanship and winning potential. It may be a sign of the times; it's not a sign of CLASS or HONESTY which we've grown to expect from our athletic department and University. If this is the prevalent practice of our new coaching regime, I am saddened by the absence of ethics. From a football point of view, I sure hope this isn't the modus operandi of Coach Jones' new staff. Bottom line if you offer a young man a scholarship, (and he hasn't done anything to disparage the contract or been overcome by injury) then you honor it. Period! Big Orange Forever!

VFL

College athletics is, by nature and intent, a competitive game.

A National Letter of Intent ends the competition among recruiters for a player's commitment.

But an NLI does not end the competition by players for a spot on the roster.

Written on UT releases Travon Landry from men's basketball letter of intent:

in response to VFL70:

College Athletcis has become a commodity game; either produce or move on. Coaches and players alike.

If I might humbly disagree...

College athletics is a COMPETITIVE game, in-season and out. Only difference now is it's 365 days a year.

A letter of intent does not end the competition for a spot on the roster.

Written on Mike Strange: Phillip Fulmer: SEC dominance began before seven-year title run:

Comment on the PAST:
The 2001 loss to LSU illustrates how critical game-planning is in top tier college football. We had more talent and experience than LSU, but we were prepared to beat their starters.

After they lost their starting QB Davey--AND running back (Toefield?)--in the first half... they were no longer the team our guys had game-planned for.

It's ironic. If LSU's starting RB had remained in the game, they would have had Mauck handing off to him instead of running himself, and we would have won.

Comment on the FUTURE:
According to the article "Fulmer hopes athletic director Dave Hart is addressing some of the institutional issues that likely contributed to UT’s decline."

"Hopes... is" indicates he doesn't know if Hart is or not. Which means all these changes we've been reading about are evidently NOT (in Fulmer's mind) the critical ones.

I think that's the real news in this article.

Written on Grilled by Jon Gruden, UT's Tyler Bray says he needs to improve preparation in NFL:

One hour with Peyton on the topic of preparation would be enough for Tyler to reckon if he really wants to be a successful NFL quarterback.

Old Tyler won't be... but sometimes we surprise even ourselves and rise to the life-changing challenge. Give it your best shot, Tyler.

Written on MTSU fired up against Vols, 11-5:

If it's any solace, MTSU is now the larger school. More students than anyone in the state.

Big bullies!

Written on Order of protection was taken out against Yemi Makanjuola:

I always used to say, let me play basketball with a guy for an hour and I can tell everything about him except how he treats women.

Written on Chancellor's Banquet honors Herman Lathers, scholar-athletes:

Talk about giving your all for Tennessee...!

Herman has done it on the field, in the classroom, and -- alas -- in the training room and physical therapy far too often.

You're an inspiration, young man!

Written on Director of recruiting J.R. Sandlin no longer with UT football:

I understand Jones letting go the "non-SEC" recruiting person. But now letting go the very successful SEC person...?

This almost sounds like a pre-emptive house cleaning. An Auburn taint? What are the rumors?

Of course, there could be private, personal reasons for it, too.

Written on Peyton, Ashley Manning donate $500,000 to Pat Summitt Foundation:

When Peyton passes a team physical, everybody wins!

(Well, except maybe Oakland... and KC, and San Diego, etc.)

Written on Vols' defense backs up talk with big performance in scrimmage:

Would not be good if O had beaten the D this early.

Baby steps in cleats. Can't truly know anything before the season starts... but feelin' better about this team.

Written on Oklahoma given a (somewhat) healthy dose of Isabelle Harrison:

in response to kazoo:

With Harrison UT is respectable to above average on defense; without her, we play defense like Spanish matadors.

Kazoo knows you have to be specific with the Knoxville readers.

Otherwise they might think "Polish" matadors.

...or (in Fountain City) AMC Matadors .

Written on Tyler Summitt to interview at Coastal Carolina:

At 22 I'll bet Tyler would be able to out-text & out-tweet any other head coach!

-----
Me? I 'bout tore the screen off my laptop the first time I typed to the end of a line... then tried to manually return the carriage.

NOTE: mild soap and a soft rag will remove whiteout from your LCD screen.

Written on Tyler Summitt to interview at Coastal Carolina:

Yeah. I'm ready for a little context on the realities of any 22 year old taking any head coaching job in this era.

Are there things Tyler can only learn by BEing the head coach? Or is he truly ready?

I just want to appreciate everything Tyler accomplishes, and not hold him to some impossible standard out of my own ignorance.

Tall order KNS... make me less ignorant!

Written on University of Alabama president to recommend hiring of Bill Battle as new athletics director:

Karma... payback... whatever you call it, it's got a reputation for not bein' pretty.

May I suggest all Vol fans over the age of 60 pitch in to cover the cost of a Mayflower moving truck to Tuscaloosa at Mr. Battle's convenience.

Let's nip this karma thing in the bud.

Written on Back for pro day, 'humbled' Da'Rick Rogers says he wants to rebuild bridge to UT:

I have no doubt he is sincerely contrite, and has a good chance of being a changed man. He did wrong, is still paying for it, but continues working to make the best from where he finds himself.

Gotta wonder, though, if there was a wake up moment when he envisioned himself playing on Sunday Night Football... taping his own introduction as they do... and hearing himself say...

"Da'Rick Rogers, THE Tennessee Polytechnic Institute!"

Written on Cuonzo Martin continues to lobby NCAA berth for Vols prior to SEC tournament :

WAIT! -- Judge Judy's doing a two-and-a-half hour show from Nashville?

WHAT CHANNEL?

I got me a vhs recorder from four trailers down that I been dyin' to use now that I'm hooked into the next door trailer's cable!

Written on PG Darius Thompson likes Cuonzo Martin, UT program:

in response to 1volk-nowi-tall:

Thompson is the real deal. Saw him play about four times this year. He sees the floor better than any guard I have seen in many years of closley watching high school Basketball. Had he taken on more of the ofense in the Brentwood game Blackman would have won. He is so unselfish and appears to enjoy the assist as much as the slam. The kid can play at the next level and if he can gain some much need muscle he will have a hugh impact where ever he goes. Hope it is UT. Blackman did not play their game against Brentwood. Their coach did nothing to help these kids and it may be that there success had less to do with him than it did with the talent this group had.

Thanks for the insight.

I was looking at his numbers and wondering--given Martin's interest--what the heck kind of offense Blackman was running.

Written on Butch Jones says Vols are on run of 'momentum':

in response to mtnsvol44:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

What Woodbery said Coach said:
...the Vols football program is on run of “momentum” that will cause the rest of the college football world to take notice.

Coach's actual words:
"I think people around the country understand what we have here. They’ve been waiting for Tennessee to wake up. And now we’re waking up."

Are there ANY QUOTES by Jones in the story above that would cause anyone alarm? Yeah. I didn't think so.

Written on Bobby Majors, Paul Naumoff, Jackie Walker on College Football Hall of Fame ballot:

in response to tovolny:

Bobby Majors...?...of course he should be in the CFBHOF. He played some offense and had good quarterback skills, but was known for his punting, his fake punts that turned into long runs, his punt returns, his interceptions, his tackling, and his general good and smart playing. HE IS IN MY HALL-of-FAME. He is one of the players I remember the most from that era. I remember the Penn State game that, although he played defense, he was selected by the TV announcers as the offensive player of the game. His interceptions, fake punts and punt returns lit up the scoreboard. PUT HIM IN.

I was going to make a joke about how appropriate to have Bobby Majors and "Johnny Walker" [sic] being on the same ballot... but I'm not sure everyone remembers which one of the four Majors Bobby was.

Tovolny, your memory may be playing an episode of "Mighty Morphing Majors" on you.

Bobby was the one who played safety, had 10 interceptions one season, and was a punt & kick returner extraordinaire. Don't think he ever punted or played QB like his oldest brother, Johnny.

Whether true or not, the legendary stories of Bobby's alcohol-fueled competitiveness off the field include racing someone to the top of the library steps... while on crutches and wearing a cast! Seems like that one didn't end well... or maybe my memory's morphing things too.

Written on Georgia had gameplan for limiting Jarnell Stokes :

Georgia's Coach Fox rolled the desperation dice and we (every player not named McRae) came up snake-eyes. Gets a lot of attention because of WHEN it happened, but a common occurrance in college ball.

The best teams become less susceptible only by having more shooting talent on the bench... guys who average less than 5 points a game, but produce a handfull of 20+ point games each year.

I'd bet the Charlotte Observer runs thirty stories a season headlined "_____ Scores 24 Off Bench" with the subline "Difference in 3 Point Win."

We're still a good team right now. It just took us 1 or 2 games too many this year to figure out how to win without Maymon (and for Golden to get healed). Injuries to two key players on a young team, producing an undistinguished--but still not lost--regular season record, is nothing Tennessee fans should be ashamed of.

Written on VOLympics Team Rosters:

in response to AllVol1:

Interesting to see that the kickers were all drafted last on their respective teams. What does that say about them?

I am reminded of something VFL Peyton Manning once said about kickers...

Hey--has anyone in KnoxVegas posted odds on these teams? Where do you have to go to get some Volympic action!?

(Just kiddin'...)

Written on Time slipping for Quinton Chievius, D'Montre Edwards :

in response to VOLHolla:

we need offense
give them playing time - cant be any less effective

Of course, if their offensive production is more than cancelled out by the points they allow at the other end... or worse, their poor defense gets our remaining bigs in foul trouble from having to switch into bad positions... the Vols can go from low-scoring 2-point losses to high scoring 12-point losses!

CCM layed it out: they haven't shown the ability to play team defense. Either it hasn't clicked yet mentally for them and they don't yet think 2 moves ahead and have full defensive court vision, OR they are slow, forcing them to focus too narrowly on mantaining defensive position on the man in front of them.

In CCM's team defense, one unreliable defender is not a weak spot--he actually compromises every teammate on defense. I'm sure the coaching staff keeps numbers on how many personal fouls were caused by another player's inadequate defense. In today's game, most big men foul out because of poor defense by their guards.

Unless these guys are a reliable net +20 points each on the offensive end, I can't question CCM on this decision.

Written on Skylar Diggins scores 33 to lead Notre Dame past Lady Vols :

If I'm correct, the top tier teams that we've been unable to beat have one trait in common--they've never had to double-team any Lady Vol, nor switch to a zone because of an unfavorable matchup.

But as a program, we are getting there. Harrison (God bless her), Graves and Jones are the new standard, with more coming.

And then we'll make another championship run when we land that one difference maker that forces other Ds to adjust to her game.

Pat's formula hasn't really changed... there's just more top-level talent out there. Time was you could win a championship with three athletes, a point guard and a bomber. Now your first 6 or 7 all have to be superior athletes--including the point--and at least two have to be 3-point shooters.

Written on Lady Vols stress playing with passion to avoid another top-5 defeat :

in response to BruisedOrange:

Playing with passion... while minimizing turnovers.

Not the two most compatible swing-thoughts to ponder as you stand on the first tee. Easier in football than basketball.

Given this group's past performances in big games, I'd just go with the passion for Monday night.

Ummmm.... with 13:00 left to go in the game, I'm changing my earlier vote from "passion" to "minimizing turnovers"

Written on Poll: Should the Vols recruit more junior college football players?:

Seeing how it's now been 5 years since "the future is now"...
yeah, giddyup!

With offenses evolving again toward more "read/react" plays, that will shorten the learning curve at some skill positions, atleast, compared to the multi-year learning curve of a pro-style offense (see Cordarelle Patterson's route tree last year!).

Written on Lady Vols stress playing with passion to avoid another top-5 defeat :

in response to golfman1975:

Did you say swing thoughts...first tee? Do you have a foursome?

Hadn't thought about it, but it's been over 7 years since Hurricane Katrina took my clubs. I've played one round in a charity tourny since, and still miss it every time the thermometer broaches 70 degrees.

But that's what a great game it is... it sticks with you, and its lessons apply to any sport and all of life.

Using your brain, muscle memory, but mostly focus and attitude to synchronize small muscles with large muscles in a one-second recoil/explosion has legitimate carry-over to hoisting a 9.07" ball 20'9" into an 18" hole.

Main difference? We'd all rather hear Spani yelling "Three!" than me yelling "Fore!"

Written on Report: Dallas Cowboys ready to hire Derek Dooley :

in response to pj_ladyvolnMI:

LOL...excuse my multi-tasking errors. I mean, Dallas. Gracious.

Oh, good. I started to say something about that, then decided I better not, in case the "MI" in pj_ladyvolnMI stands for Mental Institution.

Silly of me. None of the mental institutions I've been in ever allowed us to wear pj's.

Features