Bleacher Report - Articles by Joel Barker

Tennessee Vols Football: An '09 Retrospective of Ups vs. Downs

Joel Barker — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:53:59 -0500

I personally cannot remember a season that featured more ups and downs than the one that the Tennessee Vols and coach Lane Kiffin just completed.

Some might say '01 compared slightly. That's partially true. From the heartbreak of the last minute loss to Georgia to the ecstasy of defeating Florida in the swamp back down to the depths of despair in losing to LSU in the SEC title game.

As rough a ride as that season was, I have to say that this one has been even more-so. I think having a rookie head coach take over for a living legend has as much to do with that as anything.

The '09 season brought with it anticipation like Vols fans had not seen in nearly a decade. There were other seasons that Tennessee was ranked highly and hyped even higher, but even those pale in comparison to the "Lane Train's" inaugural ride around the SEC.

Many of us knew coming in to this season that the coaching change was not about this season. '09 was to be just the first step in a hopeful championship odyssey.

With eight games at home, I felt that the Vols would finish 8-4. Seven wins would be acceptible and should be considered a step in the right direction.

The Vols finished with seven wins and looked better through much of that process.

And a process it was.

Vols fans were giddy with the season opening win over Western Kentucky. Forget that Western Kentucky is in it's first official season in the FBS. Forget that many of their players would not make it on most FBS rosters.

Scoring 63 points in their first game after last season's miserable offensive showing was something to be proud of.

That was true until UCLA came to Knoxville. "It's time for revenge" I wrote. UCLA never should have won the Labor Day matchup in '08—this time the Lane Train was going to get them. Wrong. The Vols lost 19-15 and Jonathan Crompton looked every bit like the Jonathan Crompton of '08.

Score one for the Up's and one for the Down's.

The next week was the annual grudge match with Florida. This time it was supposed to be a complete and utter dismantling of all that Lane Kiffin and the Vols had worked for. Wrong.

Tennessee kept it close for much of the game and brought it to within 10 in the final minutes. Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer didn't get their wish of putting up 60. I was pleased with the moral victory when compared to the loss to UCLA the week before.

I consider this one a half-point each for team Up and team Down. That's 1.5 to 1.5.

Ohio payed a visit to Neyland stadium the following week and the Vols looked pretty much atrocious throughout the game. There were issues on special teams and the offense struggled to get going all night long. But a win is a win.

Another half-point each for Up and Down.

Auburn came next. The game started quite positively for Tennessee when Nu'Keese Richardson took off on the first play of the game for a 40-yard run out of the Nu'Gun package (A package that wouldn't rear it's ugly head until a few weeks later at a Knoxville gas station).

The Vols would eventually miss a field goal on that drive, the first of many future problems with the kicking game, and Auburn took off.

Crompton again looked terrible in that first half. However, once he was utilized in the hurry up offense late in the third quarter, Crompton actually started to look like a quarterback.

Auburn won 26-22 in a score that was actually closer than the game really was.

Score one for the Down's and a half-point for the Up's based on the Vols fourth quarter performance. Down's lead 3-2.5.

The hated Georgia Bulldogs came to town the following week. The game featured a couple of the up's and down's in the first half as Tennessee allowed a kickoff return. That was all erased, however, when Jonathan Crompton playaction passed his way to Lane Kiffin's first SEC win. Tennessee won 45-19 and Vols fans were giddy again.

Score 1.5 for the Up's. Up's lead 4-3 after five games.

Then came the annual Alabama rivalry. The Tide was ranked No. 1 at the time and Tennessee was a 17-point underdog.

Tennessee held the Tide out of the endzone all day. The Vols would force a late fumble, the first in Mark Ingram's career, and would drive for a last minute touchdown to make the score 12-10.

Then the Vols got the onside kick. Jonathan Crompton would put the Vols into position for the gamewinning field goal with three seconds remaining. A 44-yard attempt was all the seperated the Vols and instant respect for their new coach and the program. Unfortunately Terrance Cody had other plans.

The blocked field goal took this from a definite Up to a resounding Down.

5-4 Down's take the lead.

Sitting at 3-4 after losing to the No. 1 team in the country on a blocked field goal the Vols could have packed it in. With No. 24 South Carolina coming, however, they found more resolve than we fans could have imagined.

Tennessee forced three first half turnovers en route to a 31-13 blowout. The worst beating a Steve Spurrier-coached team had received at the hands of the Vols.

Score two for the Up's. 6-5 Up's lead.

The next week was homecoming versus Memphis. The game was over by halftime. Tennessee won 56-28. Score another for the Up's, 7-5.

At this exact point many, including myself, declared the Vols the hottest team in the SEC. Florida and Alabama were scraping by their opponents. Tennessee had just beaten two respected SEC opponents by a combined 44 points and played No. 1 'Bama to within it's final breath.

Next came the biggest down of the season. Nu'Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards decided to create their own "Nu'gun" experience by holding up three men in a gas station parking lot in Knoxville with a pellet gun.

Janzen Jackson was there, but was apparently oblivious to the attempted armed robbery as he was inside the store at the time.

All three were charged and booked for a night in jail. The charges against Jackson were later dropped, but the other two were kicked off the team.

Score a two-spot for the Down's. 7-7.

Of course that incident happened roughly 50 hours prior to a visit to Ole Miss. The Vols got McClustered to death in Oxford. The team wasn't even close to ready and the issue just days before clearly had it's effect in the 42-17 beatdown.

Two more point for the Down's.

Thankfully time heals most wounds—even the incredibly stupid one's. Vanderbilt came to town and did their annual job of padding the Vols stats and win column.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the season came as the game was winding down. Senior DE Wes Brown intercepted a Vanderbilt pass and rumbled into the endzone on his two weak and hobbled knees for his first and only collegiate touchdown.

Score two for the Up's not only because of the win, but the added bonus that the win brought bowl eligibility. 8-8 tie.

Which brings us to Thanksgiving weekend.

Kentucky, fresh off it's first win over the 'Dawgs in Athens in over 30 years, was primed and ready to stop the Vols 24-year win streak over the Big Blue. The rabid fans and the team was hyped and ready to go.

The Vols survived the first half and dominated the second half. Still as the Vols were trying to salt away the clock, TE Luke Stocker fumbled in Kentucky territory to set up the gametying, overtime forcing field goal.

Tennessee's defense would not be denied and forced a missed field goal on Kentucky's first OT possession. Tennessee would score a touchdown six plays later to continue the streak and improve the Vols final record to 7-5.

Score two big one's for the Up's.

The Up's have it 10-8 for '09.

When changing coaches and forging a new identity for a program having more up's than down's, or more wins than losses, is never a bad thing. If you don't believe me just talk to a Michigan fan for about five minutes. Your opinion will change.

'09 was supposed to be the first step, the foundation, of a building process. After 12 games I'd say mission accomplished.

Still, a 13th game remains. Where it will be played and against whom is anyone's guess at this point. The Outback Bowl vs. Wisconsin or Northwestern; the Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma State; and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. Virginia Tech are all very real possibilities.

No matter who the final opponent or where the final venue of '09 is the first step will still be complete and it will still be considered a success.

SEC Turkey of The Year Voting and More

Joel Barker — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:26:45 -0500

SEC Turkey of the Year Nominations

A local radio station has been handing this award out for nearly 20 years. So this is anything but original. However, they do not hand their's out to sports figures. So I will begin that tradition myself.

But I'm going to let you, my readers, vote from my list of candidates.

Here they are in no particular order:

Lane Kiffin: Do I really have to explain?

Urban Meyer: If you've won two national titles in three years, do you really have to turn to a rookie coach's words for motivation?

Les Miles: Once again, no explanation needed.

SEC Officials: Keep on spittin' out the obvious, Joel!

Houston Nutt: For not letting Dexter McCluster loose sooner.

Mike Slive: For being an all-around terrible commissioner.

Willie Martinez: For turning Georgia's defense into gelatinous mess.

There you have it. Vote early and often!

My 2009 Thankful (and not-so-thankful) List

What a season this has been.

Two great teams are going to duke it out in Act One of the National Championship Game (otherwise known as the SEC Championship). The SEC West has taken the overall balance of power in the conference.

The top-half of the SEC East is nowhere close to what it once was.

I know these things are cyclical and it won’t last, but the SEC East has ruled the conference since the league split into two divisions in 1992. Now it’s the West’s turn. Goodness knows they’ve waited long enough.

That being said, here’s my list of things I’m thankful (and some not-so-thankful) for in the SEC for ’09:

I’m thankful the top two teams in the country are from the SEC. I’m not thankful that they’re my team’s two biggest rivals.

I’m thankful LSU fans are finally seeing Les Miles for the fraud that he is. I’m not thankful that he’s still deflecting blame for his brainfart.

I’m thankful for the best conference in the land. I'm not thankful for it's commissioner.

I’m thankful for Lane Kiffin’s ability to turn Jonathan Crompton into an SEC-caliber quarterback. I’m not thankful that it took until the fifth game to happen.

I’m thankful that Kentucky, of all teams, can finish second in the SEC East. I’m not thankful that the 'Cats could end their 24-year hex against Tennessee’s to do so.

I’m thankful Georgia has finally come down from their lofty perch. I’m not thankful that some of their fans still trash talk as though the ‘Dawgs are the greatest.

I’m thankful Ole Miss finally got going and started living up to their hype. I'm not thankful that it began against the Vols.

I’m thankful some rogue officials were suspended during the season. I'm not thankful they are still employed.

I’m thankful for a new direction in Knoxville. I'm not thankful for all the baggage that has come with it thus far.

I’m thankful I got to attend two games this year! I'm not thankful that I walked a total of eight miles and spent a combined four hours in traffic.

I’m thankful Lane Kiffin's first season wasn't a total failure. I'm not thankful that the Vols lost to UCLA.

I'm thankful that I'm through telling you what I'm thankful for...

Thanksgiving Week SEC Picks

I was 5-1 last week to improve to 17-4 overall.

Clemson @ South Carolina: South Carolina usually struggles in November but I think Clemson will get caught worrying more about Georgia Tech than their in-state rival. Gamecocks 27-14.

Ole Miss @ Mississippi State: I wonder how hard Houston Nutt will kick himself for not depending on Dexter McCluster through the first 8 weeks of the season? Ole Miss 41-13.

Florida State @ Florida: Remember when this game was fun to watch? Florida 45-17.

Arkansas @ LSU: Arkansas has actually won the last two meetings in this rivalry. Les Miles needs a win to take the attention off the fact he can’t coach. Arkansas 24-23.

Tennessee @ Kentucky: It’s been 25 years since the Wildcats defeated the Vols. This just might be the year for Kentucky. You would be surprised at what a streak like that can do to an opponents' psyche. Tennessee 28-24.

Georgia @ Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets had a week off to prepare while the Bulldogs got beat by Kentucky on Senior Night. This one gets ugly quick. Tech 52-20.

Game of the Week

Alabama @ Auburn: A few weeks ago when the Tide and the Tigers were 5-0, this looked like a potential brouhaha. Now that Auburn is 7-4 and Alabama is 11-0, it looks more like a blowout.

Of course if you have watched this rivalry more than a few times you realize that’s not usually the way this one goes (’08 being the most recent exception). Bama wins it, but not by 36. Tide 30-14.

Random Musings (Football and Non-Football Thoughts)

Well I've been writing on this site for over a year now. I must say it's been a blast and I look forward to doing this for quite some time.
Les Miles, seriously dude... what we're you thinking!?!?
Bon Voyage, Charlie Weis
The Colts have been extraordinarily lucky of late... but I'll take it!
Congrats to Bruce Pearl's Vols for making the finals of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands this week. Played a great Purdue team down to the wire. I'm positive this Vols team will be special.
The Dan Patrick show is quite possibly the greatest radio show in the history of sports radio. Those guys crack me up every day!
Jimmy Johnson--Four titles in a row, wow! In one of the big three sports they'd still be talking about it.
PETA needs to get a life! A robotic Uga?!
Speaking of Georgia--I'm surprised to hear the growing echo of unrest concerning Mark Richt's job. Has he not earned at least one more year?
I love Hot Stove League Baseball, but it's just way too early to get any good rumors right now. I've heard everything from Miguel Cabrera to Prince Fielder. The Braves need a bat, but I seriously doubt anything close to that caliber.
Finally, Thanks to all those who have read this column over the last few weeks. I wish I had started with this concept at the beginning of the season. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

'Til next week...

Is a Win Over Kentucky the Key To Tennessee Vols Happiness in 2009?

Joel Barker — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:25:49 -0500

How did we get here? How did this happen? Are we really happy about this? Do I have a case of sports amnesia? Have we really fallen this far?

All these questions have been asked by many proud programs through the years.

Alabama fans had to ask these questions through the late-90’s and early 2000’s. Nebraska was in this same haze for nearly a decade. Oklahoma was there for over a decade. Michigan is going through it now.

The process of a proud program going from perennial top 10 to barely relevant is a painful one to say the least. It goes from shock, to denial, to reality, and finally to shame.

As a proud Vols fan for over 20 years I can give you the process or synthesis, if you will, from a fans perspective of watching your program decline.

As a longtime fan there are certain things that eventually get taken for granted. As a Vols fan through the 90’s these things were January bowl games, finishing near the top of the SEC east, being in the top 15 every year, and going into every game with a very good chance of winning it.

These facts become ingrained into a football fan’s psyche and results in high expectations. No proud program in America is immune from this process.

However, when that paradigm begins to shift, our expectations often stay the same.

While we realize that our favorite program is not what it used to be, we still get upset when we open the preseason magazine and see that our team is not ranked anywhere near the top 25.

We still have the mentality that a January bowl game is a given and that we have a shot at winning the conference because that’s just what we’re used to.

Then one day the cold, hard reality slaps you in the face and you realize that Peyton Manning is not our quarterback. That Tennessee has not finished a season in the top 10 since 2001. And that we no longer expect to beat Florida, Alabama, or Georgia (Although not many UT fans have ever expected to beat Florida in any given year).

Throughout the 90’s there was no doubt that we would beat Georgia.

There was no doubt that Alabama was going to pay for their 70’s and 80’s dominance over UT.

We knew that even though Kentucky and Vanderbilt might keep it close, there was no way they were going to defeat us. Back when the worst case scenario would be playing in the Citrus bowl, the most prestigious non-BCS /Bowl Alliance bowl game for an SEC team to play in.

It's Kentucky week 2009 and the headlines are “Tennessee is Going Bowling!” The very fact that the moniker, “Kentucky Week” is used is even a telling fact. Usually that classification is held for ‘Bama Week’ and ‘Florida Week’.

In the 90’s and the early part of this decade that wouldn’t even be considered a headline because that fact was locked up before November even began. All November meant was improving the bowl we played in, not actually making it to one.

It’s a reason that the seats were no longer full every time Neyland Stadium opened its gates.

It’s a reason teams like Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky began sneaking up on and overtaking Tennessee in the SEC East pecking order.

It’s a major reason one of the most successful coaches in the nation over the past decade-and-a-half was fired and a rookie was hired to rally the base and recruit his head off.

I know if the Vols beat Kentucky a January 1 bowl game is very likely. I realize that’s unbelievable considering what this team and program has been through over the past 24 months. But I just recently woke up to the fact that beating Kentucky is the prerequisite to achieving that dream.

It’s sort of like the Prodigal Son when he realized that he was sitting in slop with pigs and eating from their trough and went running back to his father whom he had walked out on to forge his own way.

It’s a stark realization that says, “Wow, I never realized things were this bad until now!”

Not to say that the future isn’t looking brighter now. Not to say that I don’t think Lane Kiffin has it in him to return the pride and national relevancy back to Tennessee.

I think things are better than they were, and I am hopeful they’re not yet as good as they’re going to be.

But one cannot deny that hoping to be 7-5 and worrying about Kentucky is never a good thing.

A good thing is that Tennessee still has a chance to finish second in the east. A good thing is that Tennessee will probably play in Florida, on New Year’s Day if they do finish second in the east.

A strange and bitter wake-up call is that Tennessee has to beat Kentucky, a team that hasn’t beaten Tennessee since 1984, to do so.

Tennessee Vols Basketball: Purdue Will Be Biggest Test So Far

Joel Barker — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:13:50 -0500

We all love the preseason publications. I read two of them from cover-to-cover on a yearly basis—usually in more than one sport.

When I read this season's Athlon basketball publication I was surprised to see how far they had Purdue going in March.

As a matter of fact, in their mock tournament they had Purdue defeating Tennessee in the Elite Eight, advancing the Boilermakers to the Final Four at the Vols' expense.

If that prediction is to hold true, it won't be the first time these two have met in 2009.

On Monday night, Tennessee will face Purdue in the finals of the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands. Consider this the biggest test of the young season.

No. 7 Purdue features dynamic playmakers like JaJuan Johnson and great defenders like Chris Kramer. Guard E'Twuan Moore can light you up from anywhere on the floor, but the straw the stirs the drink is small forward Robbie Hummell. So good is Hummell he is considered one of the top three small forwards in the country.

Rivals.com actually has Hummell No. 2 and Tennessee's Tyler Smith at No. 3 on the Top 25 small forwards in the country. Talk about setting up nicely for an early season duel.

Tennessee struggled a bit against DePaul on Sunday, but was able to eke out a four-point win over the Blue Demons. DePaul played great defense all night and smothered the ball any chance they got. They held the Vols to a season-low 57 points.

Bruce Pearl hopes that was just a reflection of that defense and not the potential flaws in his offense.

Scotty Hopson has thus far been dynamic on the young season. Of course when you are playing the likes of UNC-Asheville, Austin Peay, and East Carolina that is bound to happen. Can Hopson prove his worth against the No. 7 team in the nation?

Can Tyler Smith win the battle against Robbie Hummell?

Who will match up with JaJuan Johnson?

A lot of questions will be answered tonight. I realize the season is young, but winning an early matchup against one of the nation's best will surely create confidence for the winner.

Purdue mirrors Tennessee in that it has four upperclassmen leading its team. Tennessee's are mostly seniors, while Purdue's best are just juniors. The fact remains, however, that experience abounds in this game.

After an early season run against weak opponents the Vols finally get someone who is potentially better than they are. If you believe the hype and preseason publications this game is just a preview for a much bigger matchup four months in the future.

Who will come out victorious tonight? The Vols hope to pass this test and, at least temporarily, prove a prediction or two wrong.

SEC Bowl Projections

Joel Barker — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:53:10 -0500

With one week remaining in an up-and-down season, the SEC bowl picture is still as muddy as ever. Even after all the games are completed we still won't know anything for sure until the Sunday following the SEC Championship game. That is not commonplace in the SEC. Usually there are two elite teams, three to four fringe teams, two to three decent teams, and one lucky-to-be-.500 team in the SEC by this time in the season. This year the elite teams are there (Alabama and Florida). There are two fringe teams (Ole Miss and LSU). The SEC has a whole slew of decent teams (Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas). The one lucky team still holds true (South Carolina). The liklihood of having four teams finish 7-5 in the SEC is mindboggling to say the least. Throw in the fact that three teams could finish 6-6 as well, and well, you see why the SEC is not quite what she's cracked up to be outside the top teams. So without further ado I will look into my crystal ball and attempt to predict the unpredictable.

Begin Slideshow

SEC Football: Kevin Bacon-Style

Joel Barker — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:22:47 -0500

SEC fans have made the ACC, and every other conference for that matter, the butt of their jokes.

Ask any SEC fan and they’ll tell you that their conference is supreme. Whether they pull for Kentucky, Ole Miss, LSU, or Tennessee, the theme will always be the dominance of SEC football.

The fact remains, however, that the only reason the SEC is perceived as the best conference in the land is because its top two teams are undefeated. The SEC championship game has become a de facto play-in game for the BCS National Championship; year-in, year-out.

Does that really make the SEC the best league?

Consider that the three through 12 spots in the league are merely average. Consider that the Big 12, outside of the top team, Texas, looks almost identical to the SEC. Consider that the ACC, which has one really good team in Georgia Tech, closely resembles the SEC on a weekly basis.

It has been the running joke in my picks league for over a year now that all you do is flip a coin on ACC games to achieve success on picks from that conference. The SEC has quickly become no stranger to that method either.

Just look at the results to this point in the season.

Ole Miss started out the season ranked in the top 10. The Rebels actually made it all the way up to No. 4 before South Carolina’s defense stymied them in a 16-10 win in week four—the same South Carolina team that later lost 31-13 at Tennessee, who two weeks later got blipped by Ole Miss 42-17.

Georgia got walloped at Tennessee 45-19, one week after Tennessee was completely outplayed in a home loss against Auburn—the same Auburn that lost at Georgia last weekend 31-24.

Want more? Auburn was beaten by Kentucky two weeks before Kentucky lost to Mississippi State, which lost 49-24 to Auburn in week three. Arkansas defeated Auburn by three touchdowns, two weeks before the Razorbacks lost by 13 at Ole Miss, who lost to Auburn the following week by the same margin.

So what does all this mean? Does it mean that the SEC doesn’t fall in natural sequence of life as illustrated in every SAT test ever taken? (If A+B=C, then C is greater than A. True or False?) It completely defies logic.

As a result of the topsy-turvy nature of the SEC this season there could potentially be seven 7-5 teams at season’s end. Seven SEC teams at 7-5 would be unprecedented.

The next closest resemblance to SEC wishy-washiness is the Big XII. Outside of No. 1 Texas, the league has been an absolute free-for-all! That’s nothing new to the Big XII North, but even the South division has been affected this year.

In week five, the north division got off to an interesting start when Bill Snyder’s Kansas State Wildcats defeated Iowa State by one. The following week, Texas Tech, from the Big XII South, defeated Kansas State 66-14. In week seven, Kansas State spanked Texas A&M 62-14. The very next week Texas A&M throttled Texas Tech 52-30!

Oklahoma lost to Nebraska, who lost to Iowa State, who beat Baylor, who beat Missouri, which lost to Nebraska. Oklahoma became the fourth team to put up 60-plus on Texas A&M, which beat Iowa State by 25. Iowa State lost to Kansas before the Jayhawks lost to Colorado who lost to Iowa State.

It’s the six-degrees of Kevin Bacon-football style!

I know the Big XII North is traditionally much weaker than the Big XII South, but this is just ridiculous!

The ACC is much the same way. Clemson lost to Georgia Tech, which lost to Miami, which lost to Clemson. Virginia Tech beat Miami handily before losing to North Carolina, who lost to Virginia, who lost to FCS William & Mary.

So is it fair to laugh at these conferences if you are an SEC fan? I think not. Your conference has the same instability and parity as any other conference in America.

The only supremacy that the SEC can claim this season is the top two teams. Whichever team wins the SEC Championship will have taken part in two straight No. 1 vs. No. 2 match up’s when all is said and done. That’s a testament to two incredible teams at the top of the conference. But don’t get those two teams confused the rest of the SEC.

The other conferences are catching up quickly. It’s time to start giving the other conferences their due, SEC fans, because our conference is not what it used to be.

SEC Week 12 Picks

After two weeks, I am 12-3 picking SEC games.

Chattanooga @ Alabama: Chattanooga is my hometown. I love going to Mocs basketball games. I do that because they are competitive. The football Mocs? Not so much, until this year at least. Still 6-5 vs. mostly Southern Conference foes does not translate well against SEC foes. - Alabama wins 60-0.

Florida International @ Florida: Hmm... yeah... um... - Florida 59-3

Mississippi State @ Arkansas: State has definitely shown improvement this year, so has Arkansas. Both programs still have a tough hill to climb in the SEC West. LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Auburn will be good for a while. - Arkansas 37-18

Vanderbilt @ Tennessee: The Vols need some good news. The 'Dores need sharp object. Those two storylines will likely converge in Neyland Stadium as Tennessee trounces 2-9 Vandy. - UT 41-9

Kentucky @ Georgia: The key to the Wildcats chances lies in the injury report. If Randall Cobb can go, Kentucky can compete. If he can't Kentucky can't. I am going to fall somewhere in between on it since we won't officially know until gametime. - UGA 31-23

Game of the Week

LSU @ Ole Miss: Before the Rebels took advantage of a lackluster defensive performance by Tennessee last week many of us thought 7-5 was a possibility for the preseason top 10 pick. With LSU's recent offensive struggles and the Rebels apparent resurgence things look much different. Ole Miss finishes strong with a win over a big rival. - Ole Miss 27-17

Random Musings from Around the Nation

Kudos to Jim Harbaugh. Pete Carroll didn't seem to mind running up the score on virtually every team he's ever coached against.
Brian Kelly is my coaching hero. Enjoy the off week, coach. You deserve it. Oh, and please, please, please don't go to Notre Dame.
The new BCS Director, Bill Hancock is a hoot. Dan Patrick interviewed him on his national radio show Wednesday. In the interview, Hancock sounded like a Washington spin doctor. Dan repeatedly pressed him about a playoff and the fairness of the BCS. Hancock's resolution for an undefeated TCU, Cincinnati, or Boise State being left out of the national title picture? A hearty pat on the back, and a congratulatory comment for the team having a great year. Yes, he actually said that.
Anyone else think Rich Rodriguez could be in trouble if Ohio State wins by more than 30?
UGA VII has died. This is Georgia's second mascot to pass away in two seasons. Sad, indeed.
Why would Mike Shanahan want to coach at Colorado when he's likely to become the most sought after coach in the NFL after the season?
I continue to marvel at the job Nick Saban has done at 'Bama. He's easily the national coach of the year, if the Tide wins it all.
Congratulations to new head coach Russ Huesman at UT-Chattanooga. 6-5, considering how bad this team was a year ago, is a tremendous turnaround. Collect that $400,000 from Alabama with pride this weekend, coach.

Non-college football thoughts

Thank you, Bill Belichick!
If the Braves trade Javier Vazquez and do not get a ton in return, I will be rather ticked.
Cant wait to see The Blind Side this week. The previews look great!
Is Sarah Palin still talking?
Congrats to Bruce Pearl and the BasketVols. Tobias Harris, highest rated prospect to ever sign at UT.

'Til next week!

Tobias Harris: Latest Addition To the Tennessee Vols Basketball Family

Joel Barker — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:19:29 -0500

To say that Tobias Harris was a big catch for Bruce Pearl and the Tennessee Vols would be a massive understatement. As a matter of fact, Harris is quite possibly Pearl's biggest catch yet.

Harris officially signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday night and announced his decision at the ESPN Zone in Manhattan on Thursday.

In just four seasons on the job in Knoxville, Bruce Pearl has raised the level of play and the level of expectations to unprecedented heights.

Tennessee is a football school. It's been known pretty well for basketball too, but that had much more to do with Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols more than anything the men ever did.

Of course that's expected, since Pat Summitt is the greatest coach in the history of the women's game, maybe in the history of basketball, period. Still, Bruce Pearl had quite a job on his hands.

Four years in, his program is on the verge of equaling the dynamic duo of Vols football and Lady Vols basketball. This signing almost assures that.

Not to say that a 5-star, top-rated prospect is a "cant-miss" player, but in basketball, the flops are much fewer and farther between than in football recruiting.

Tobias Harris will bring a big-bodied, physical presence to the wing that the Vols have never consistently had. At 6'8", 210 pounds, Harris is a versatile big man who can play any position on the court.

Harris chose Pearl and the Vols over Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, and Gary Williams. There were other high-profile coaches involved in his recruitment, but those four are about as big as it gets in college basketball.

Looking into the crystal ball for 2010-11 seems rather silly since '09-'10 is just getting underway, but let's take a look, shall we.

I fully expect Scotty Hopson to bolt for the NBA after this season. The way-too-early glimpses into his sophomore campaign reveal the player that we all thought would bolt after his freshman season.

Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism, and JP Prince will hopefully lead the Vols to some much higher heights this season before graduating. They will all be on NBA rosters next season.

Highly touted freshman Kenny Hall will be starting next season. He and Harris should fit well in that Vol frontcourt. As a matter of fact, having those two 6'8", 200-plus-pound forwards in the mix might become a force to be reckoned with.

In the backcourt the Vols will welcome guard Trae Golden, who just signed his letter of intent to play for Pearl as well. Throw in Melvin Goins, Jordan McRae, Cameron Tatum, and Renaldo Woolridge, and you see why Vols basketball fans have a lot to look forward to.

Back to the present.

I think the most telling fact of Harris and Golden's signings lies in their quotes immediately following their decision. Both said they "like the family atmosphere" in Knoxville.

Score another big compliment for Bruce Pearl and Co.

Harris felt so much like family that he decided to stop in Tuesday night on the way home from a visit to Georgia Tech. Harris and his father watched the Vols thrash UNC-Asheville from the upper deck of Thompson Boling Arena. He just couldn't stay away.

Pearl's recruits have never been to the level of Roy Williams, Coach K, or John Calipari, but Pearl hasn't coached at Kansas, UNC, Duke, or Memphis.

No, Pearl took over a basketball program that was third on its university's athletic totem pole and had experienced minimal success over the past two decades. The pedigree was not there.

There were no Dean Smiths or Adolph Rupps in Bruce Pearl's bloodline. Only a young, energetic coach with fire in his veins and a drive to succeed.

Pearl has made basketball in Knoxville a family environment and it's drawing in some of the nation's best to play there.

The coach who did not come from a big-time, coaching family tree has created his own family atmosphere in Knoxville.

In the world of college basketball, family is everything. Pearl's blood line doesn't run Tar Heel blue or contain the Rupp DNA, but he's establishing his own family in Knoxville just fine.

Tobias Harris wont be the last high-profile prospect to experience that.

Tennessee Vols Football: Vandy and Kentucky Usually A Safe Landing

Joel Barker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:34:37 -0500

For years, no matter how inconsistent Tennessee was thoughout the season, no matter how much adversity they faced, no matter how tough that schedule seemed, there was always Vanderbilt and Kentucky at the end of the rainbow.

Many years the final two games began with Kentucky and ended with Vanderbilt, but that changed in 2002 when Vandy was played the week before the Kentucky game. No matter the order, however, it's almost always been a safe landing place after a long grueling schedule over the season's first two months.

Vanderbilt has beaten Tennessee once ('05) since I've been alive (almost 28 years). I have yet to see Kentucky defeat the Vols.

Somehow though these two always save their best for last. For many years these two games have been Vandy and Kentucky's bowl games. Vanderbilt's only trip to a real bowl since 1982 came last season. Kentucky has had more success in recent years, but it wasn't always that way.

I remember epic games in '97 as Peyton Manning outdueled Tim Couch in Lexington, 59-31. I remember watching that same Peyton Manning-led team follow that up with a 17-10 win against a much weaker Vanderbilt team the following week on Senior Day.

The year before that, '96, Peyton carved up the Wildcats 56-10 before eaking out a 14-7 win over Vanderbilt.

In 1998 we drove to Knoxville in hopes of obtaining a scalped ticket to watch the No. 1 Vols take on Kentucky. After the prices were still $150 per ticket midway through the first half, we decided to listen to John Ward call the game on the radio and we drove back to Chattanooga without seeing a down. The Vols won 59-21.

The next week they carried the SEC sign around Vanderbilt stadium, 41-0 winners on their way to the SEC title game, and eventually the national championship.

In '03 my dad and I drove up to Lexington to watch the Vols play at Commonwealth Stadium. It was classic UT vs. Kentucky as it took a last minute Casey Clausen drive to finally put the Wildcats away 20-7.

I still cringe when I watch Kentucky games on tv and hear the P.A. announcer say "FIRST DOWN KENTUCKY!" We heard those words too many times that day, and it's an inside joke in the Barker family to this day.

Another highly anticipated season in '05 quickly became disastrous. Ranked No. 2 in the preseason, Tennessee would quickly fall flat on their face in the season. Going into the Vanderbilt game on Senior Day the Vols were 4-5 needing two wins to become bowl eligible.

Vanderbilt senior QB, Jay Cutler seemingly willed the 'Dores to the win, shutting the Vols out of the postseason for the first time since 1988 with a 28-24 victory. After so many years of being able to count those final two wins, the door was shut in the Vols face.

Tennessee finished 5-6 that season as they beat Kentucky 27-8 to finish the year.

In '07 all Tennessee had to do to win the SEC East was defeat Vanderbilt and Kentucky to finish the season.

It took a last minute missed field goal by Vandy for the Vols to hold on 25-24 in Knoxville. The Kentucky game ended up being an instant classic as it took four overtimes, a blocked field goal attempt, and a great defensive play for the Vols to overcome the 'Cats 52-50 before stamping their ticket to Atlanta.

Last season was one of the worst in Vol memory, yet Tennessee followed up the devastating Wyoming loss on homecoming, with 20-10 and 28-10 victories over Vandy and Kentucky respectively.

This season has been about as up-and-down as any UT fans have seen.

It started out on a high vs. Western Kentucky; quickly dropped vs. UCLA, Florida, and Auburn; back to high with the 45-19 win over Georgia; then back to the heartbreaking column after 12-10 loss to Alabama; back to another high with two straight wins over South Carolina and Memphis; and now it's back down after the infamous arrests and a blowout in Oxford.

Thank goodness for Vanderbilt.

The Vols are one win away from bowl eligibility and luckily this is about the worst Vanderbilt team we have seen in quite a while.

On one hand that's kind of disappointing. I really respect and admire Vandy head coach Bobby Johnson and I pull for the 'Dores to do well until late November every year.

On the other hand, however, I am relieved that they are so bad, because the Vols need to whip someone. At this point, with the yo-yo season they've had, someone needs to pay dearly. It might as well be Vanderbilt.

I expect nothing short of a 41-9 victory on Saturday to send the 'Dores to 0-8 in the SEC and 2-10 overall.

Kentucky will be a taller order as they are clearly better than Vanderbilt, but we'll worry about that one after taking care of the Commodores.

Lane Kiffin's first season has been cleared for landing. The decent begins Saturday night at 7 p.m. Here's hoping for another in a long line of safe landings.

Tobias Harris Signs with Tennessee, Becomes Bruce Pearl's Biggest Catch

Joel Barker — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:58:24 -0500

High School phenom Tobias Harris has signed on to play basketball with the University of Tennessee Volunteers.

In what has been a highly anticipated announcement, the young man is quite possibly the biggest recruit that coach Bruce Pearl has landed in his five years as head coach at Tennessee.

Harris was the No. 7 rated recruit in the nation by ESPN and some publications have him as high as No. 5 overall. He is the No. 1 rated power forward in the country.

The 6'8, 210 pound forward chose Tennessee over offers from Maryland, Syracuse, West Virginia, Louisville, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech.

Since taking over the program, Bruce Pearl has quickly made Tennessee a destination for talented players from all across America. Last year's big signing of Scotty Hopson came with plenty of hype and the expectations appear to be coming to fruition in his sophomore season.

By following that signing with a high profile player like Harris, Tennessee becomes a major player for the nation's top recruits, a distinction Tennessee basketball has never had.

Harris made headlines in Knoxville just two nights ago, as he purchased his own ticket and sat in the upper deck for Tennessee's 124-49 thrashing of UNC-Asheville.

According to multiple recruiting services, Harris is the highest rated recruit in Tennessee basketball history to sign with the Vols.

To read more about Tobias Harris and the Vols basketball future, read this.

Tennessee Vols Football: If This is the Lane Train, I'd Rather Walk

Joel Barker — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:29:04 -0500

I’m not going to spend this entire article explaining my past support for Lane Kiffin. I don’t have to tell you how many articles I’ve written in his defense or how many times I’ve felt the need to explain his decisions, words, and actions.

In retrospect, I wish I had never taken that path, but my passion for all things Tennessee Vols and the program’s new direction took over. Even still, I have relayed concerns about Lane Kiffin in multiple articles (here, here, and here ).

As of this very minute, it seems that maybe I should have stuck with that line of opinion rather than going all-in on a coach who now appears to be a novice.

I recently came to this conclusion after almost an entire season’s worth of cheering for and believing in what he is doing at Tennessee.

Even though Kiffin’s early remarks were ridiculous and classless (as I wrote here), it showed us fans that we had a coach who was going to go to the mat for this program. Most of us felt that the passion was back.

During the Memphis game, Kiffin was the last man off the field at halftime. He went to speak with the Conference USA referee to discuss his displeasure over certain calls made toward the end of the half that allowed Memphis to close to within 35 points. Thousands of fans, including myself, gave the man a standing ovation.

You have to understand, coming from my perspective, we haven’t seen a coach with that much passion in a while. Phillip Fulmer was great in his heyday, but over the years, his passion began to erode, and UT fans could easily tell that it wasn’t the same as it used to be.

Even in the early losses this season, the team played with passion, and they left it all on the field. That’s why so many of us were proud when the Vols lost by 10 at Florida after being expected to give up 60 points to the furious Gators.

During the nice ride from the Georgia game through the Memphis game, there was no doubt in my mind that Lane Kiffin was the right hire for this program. For that four-week stretch, the Vols were one of the hottest teams in the conference. Even with the two-point loss at then-No.1 Alabama, the team was playing lights out.

Then came that fateful night, four days after the win over Memphis and three days before Ole Miss. Two freshmen attempted to rob two men at a Pilot gas station in Knoxville.

A third, Janzen Jackson—a potential Freshman All-American—was there as well, though charges may be dropped against him soon as he apparently had no part in the attempted armed robbery.

However, it was revealed that Jackson failed a drug test before the Memphis game, which is why he was suspended for that game.

You know, back when discipline was easy to come by in Knoxville.

Now it appears that Lane Kiffin does not believe in curfews for his players.

Kiffin told reporters on Tuesday, "I don't like to make rules or have things that you can't really enforce," Kiffin said. "What are you going to do when they're broken? I'd be interested to hear anyone around the country that has one, because we have 120 kids on our team. Are we going to go to 120 houses at 11 o'clock at night and knock on their door and find out if they're there?

"I've never heard of that, and I don't really know how you do that."

Actually Lane, it’s quite easy. That’s what Residential Directors and Residential Assistants are for. That’s what leadership is for.

What happened to leadership? What happened to accountability? What happened to rules and expectations?

To hear Coach Kiffin say things like, "I've never heard of that, and I don't really know how you do that" shows me that this is a young coach who is in over his head. What else does he not know how to do?

Apparently, he does know how to lie and cover things up.

We found out just yesterday that Kiffin actually lied twice, before and after the Pilot incident, about not having an incident.

Nyshier Oliver, who is currently a redshirt freshman, was cited for shoplifting the day of the Memphis game. Kiffin dealt with it and managed to keep it under wraps until yesterday.

Lane Kiffin has preached a big game. He’s rallied the base with his flamboyant attitude. He has talked about how Tennessee will have the biggest and best recruits. He’s even had this team playing above their capability (see: Jonathan Crompton).

But Kiffin is no leader. Not even close.

A leader gets his players on the same page before a big game after a huge distraction. A leader deals with a detrimental situation promptly. A leader rallies the troops and takes a no-holds barred attitude toward the enemy in an adverse atmosphere. A leader leads.

The program that I have adored for more than 20 years now has a kid attempting to lead kids.

I apologize for ever stating, “as long as he wins, we don’t care how he acts or who he recruits.” That statement was dead wrong, and it has slapped me in the face repeatedly over the past two weeks.

I hope Kiffin proves me wrong. I hope that I will, once again, have to eat my words.

I am pulling for Kiffin to turn things around at UT, because I love Tennessee football and I don’t want the Vols to go through what Alabama and Florida went through before finding the right coach.

I find it ironic that almost a year ago to the date, I wrote this article about the coach who I wanted to take over the Tennessee program.

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is now an even hotter commodity and will soon be the top candidate at Notre Dame once Charlie Weis is cut loose. It will be interesting to compare the two programs in a few years if that hire takes place.

Less than a year into the process, I think I’d rather walk than stay on the Lane Train.

Tennessee Vols: The Truth About Lane Kiffin and the Three Banditos

Joel Barker — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:04:54 -0500

Much has been said over the last four days about Lane Kiffin and the arrest of three freshmen players for attempted armed robbery.

We've heard nonsense like, "'Lil Wayne made them do it," to, "Kiffin's an irresponsible jerk! How could he not be watching these kids every single minute of the day!?"

So I decided to set the record straight and give folks a glimpse into what is actually happening in Knoxville. I'm fairly sick of all the ridiculous comments being made by people who have absolutely no clue about what is going on.

Fact is, those folks have only one source: their undying hatred for a man that they have never met.

It's true that Lane Kiffin brought a lot of this on himself. But to unfairly characterize someone as being complicit in a crime of this magnitude is not only irresponsible but quite reprehensible as well. It's borderline slander.

As a matter of fact, if anyone important was actually reading some of this crap, some folks could actually be held liable for the ridiculous misinformation that is floating out there.

It reminds me of something else that floats in water. Something that stinks and is putrid...if you catch my drift.

So to attempt to set the record straight here is what Lane Kiffin told the Knoxville News Sentinel yesterday:

"They won't play or practice until I get all the information in, because this is too critical," Kiffin said. "No way would we ever, with something like this possibly having happened, no way would we ever let one of those guys ever play for us. We don't let them come to the functions over here, meetings or practice or anything."

Does that sound like a coach who is ignoring the situation? Does that sound like a coach who is proud of what happened with the three knuckleheads?

Does that sound like a coach who would allow a program full of miscreants to ruin everything he has built up so far? I think not.

Kiffin went on to say, "I'm not calling it anything except for telling you that they're not part of any of our activities until we get more information in.

"There's no way I would ever let them be around our team and be around our functions with what's been said that may have happened."

Kiffin ended his comments with this: "We've got to make sure we have all the accurate information and know exactly what happened before we make any rash decisions."

Accurate information. Now there's the phrase of the day. Some folks are so hellbent on Kiffin being made a fool that things have been made up, sensationalized, and just outright lied about.

These people have no clue. Absolutely no clue what Lane Kiffin is all about. These writers/haters just know one thing, Kiffin has a big mouth.

Congratulations! What a big shock that is! Even Tennessee fans know the guy has a big mouth and comes off like a jerk when he's at pep rallies and talking with the media.

When it comes to three players ruining their lives, however, the man is serious. The man is reserved and ready to act once he finds the accurate information.

When it comes to propaganda from bloggers and yellow journalism from writers, Kiffin and the Volnation could care less about fiction and more about fact.

The facts are that Kiffin is taking care of business. He hasn't rushed to judgment like the thousands of anti-fans who hate him because he made inappropriate remarks to a bunch of big-money Tennessee supporters.

Hopefully, his quotes set the record straight for those of you who like truth and accurate information.

The rest can just keep lying because it makes you and your coaches/teams "better" than the loud-mouthed coach who has never done anything to you personally.

The truth will set you free.

-All quotes were taken from the Knoxville-News Sentinel

Tennessee Vols Biggest Opponent This Season: Adversity

Joel Barker — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:15:36 -0500

Merely one week ago Tennessee fans were rejoicing. For nearly a month, the Vols were the hottest team in the SEC. A 45-19 beat down of Georgia began a streak of positive momentum on the field for the first time since 2007.

A week later we saw a heartbreaking loss to then-No. 1 Alabama. Only to be followed up by a 31-13 thrashing of South Carolina. Homecoming was over before it started as the Vols had their way with Memphis. Fans were giddy.

The Vols lost two close games to two No. 1 teams, Florida and Alabama. It's other losses came when the offense was still trying to find any semblance of rhythm (UCLA and Auburn).

Once the Vols got on track against UGA and continued that momentum through last week, many of the Vol-faithful were excited about football again.

Folks were making reservations for New Year's in Dallas, Orlando, and Tampa.

Then came that terrible Thursday. Vols fans awoke to the terrible news that three key freshmen had been involved in an unspeakable act of stupidity in the overnight hours.

Momentum vanished. Adversity appeared.

At approximately 2:30 Thursday morning, Nu'Keese Richardson, Mike Edwards, and Janzen Jackson, all freshmen, attempted to rob two men sitting in a gas station parking lot. They had a weapon, a pellet gun. The charge? Attempted Armed Robbery.

Defensive standout, Jackson was supposedly in the restroom at the time, but he was still out, after curfew, with the two troublemakers.

In the days and hours since that terrible moment, Lane Kiffin has been flooded with questions and concerns about the incident. And rightfully so.

At the time, I wrote that we would see just what kind of coach we had this weekend. Could he take care of the issue? Could he focus his player's attention past the issue and onto a big football game?

Those were questions I asked. Unfortunately I received the answer.

I will not blame the 42-17 loss solely on the three amigos and their ridiculous lapse in judgment. No way. The majority of this loss is on a defense that simply could not stop Dexter McCluster. But I am not so naive as to think that Thursday morning's incident had nothing to do with this loss.

By and large the defense looked listless on Saturday. Missed tackles, missed assignments, and overall terrible play was the determining factor. For a defense that had been swarming and hitting hard all season long, this was definitely a departure from the norm.

No one can argue against the fact that the wind was completely taken out of the Vols sails on Thursday.

I felt Lane Kiffin should have taken action immediately. He did not. I can certainly understand his wanting to get all the facts before reacting. I can certainly understand wanting to keep the focus on the game.

I cannot understand how he expected 80 other 18 to 22-year-olds to keep that focus when three friends, compadres, and teammates had just committed the stupidest act of their lives.

Did it contribute to the loss? No doubt in my mind. Should it have? I do not know.

I do know that this has been quite possibly the worst week for Tennessee football in a long time.

When you have momentum and it's suddenly snatched from your grasp, it's tough to deal with.

Lane Kiffin has a lot on his plate this week. He has to prepare for two opponents. One on the field and one in the minds of his players. Vanderbilt and adversity go hand-in-hand as big time obstacles in the week ahead.

At this point adversity is a much larger threat than the Commodores ever could be. Losing to one, however, could equal losing to both.

Once again, Lane Kiffin has an opportunity. An opportunity to show that he's a leader. An opportunity to prove that he's more than a big mouth. An opportunity to seize momentum once again.

Will adversity become the theme of '09? Or will overcoming adversity be this team's destiny?

The ball is in Kiffin's court, it's time to act.

Tennessee Vols Basketball: Puzzle Pieces Finally in Place

Joel Barker — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:25:24 -0500

Experience. Depth. Bruce Pearl.

All are pieces to the Big Orange Basketball puzzle. The question is, will they all come together to form a championship picture?

Bruce Pearl leads his boys into battle for another season.

This, however, is no ordinary season.

This team is more talented, experienced, and deeper than any team that's been assembled by the energetic coach.

Puzzle Piece No. 1 - Experience

Returning seniors, Tyler Smith, J.P. Prince, and Wayne Chism have guided the Vols to quite a few wins during their time at Knoxville.

When Tyler Smith decided to come back for his senior season the expectations for a special year began to percolate.

His ability to do whatever needs to be done cannot be understated. Smith has a tremendous basketball IQ and if you are Pearl or one of the many fans, you want the ball in Tyler Smith's hands most of the time.

J.P. Prince, himself, has been a puzzle for much of his time at Tennessee. Prince has shown the ability to run the point, play the 2 and 3 positions, and be a game changer. He just hasn't done any of the three consistently.

Of course, injuries have been a factor for him, but a stellar, consistent senior campaign would be just what the doctor ordered.

Wayne Chism is probably one of the more versatile big men in the conference. At 6'9", he plays the post the majority of the time. His versatility comes from the fact that whether at Center, Power Forward, or on the perimeter, the guy can shoot. Not only can he shoot, but he's a terrific rebounder and defender in the paint.

Puzzle Piece No. 2 - Depth

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of Bruce Pearl's transition-minded coaching is depth. Depth is a key at any program, for any sport, regardless of it's style of play. But at Tennessee it's more than a key, it's a requirement.

At the point, returning senior Bobby Maze hopes to build on last year's hard fought season. He didn't quite live up to the big expectations, but after a year under his belt the senior is ready to take on a new season.

Sharing time at the point with Maze will be Melvin Goins. Goins is a JuCo transfer from San Diego, California. Two season's ago Goins earned MAC all-freshman team honors at Ball State.

Pearl hopes to utilize Goins' small frame in transition as well as at the point. He will challenge Maze for playing time much of the year and could end up being a starter soon.

Scotty Hopson was a McDonalds All-American coming into Knoxville last season. He found the transition to the college game a little more steep than he thought, however.

Hopson's youth played a role in his inconsistency last year, but still, he showed glimpses despite a rough start. Hopson has gained some muscle over the offseason and has reportedly worked on his game for months.

Hopson will start. He plays the 2 well, but can also be utilized at the 3.

If he plays to his potential he and the Vols will be much better for it—he could land the Vols in the Final Four before landing in the NBA next June.

Cameron Tatum is another hybrid two/three who will provide valuable minutes off the bench. He has a knack for the big shot and is a three-point threat.

Brian Williams is another valuable asset off the bench. The 6'10" post can always be counted to give Chism a breather. Williams is no slouch on the court either. His wide 267-lb frame is hard to defend and he always makes his presence known in the paint.

Renaldo Woolridge, even though he didn't make the first 10-rotation, will provide a breather as well. Woolridge has the ability to become a special player, but he'll certainly have to play better than he has in practice so far.

Steven Pearl, Coach Pearl's son, is a scrappy junior that plays pretty good defense and will contribute minutes off the bench.

Newcomers Kenny Hall and Skylar McBee are expected to contribute this season as well. Hall is a 6'8, 215-lb power forward whose frame is quite deceptive. The freshman from Stone Mountain, Ga will get playing time, but I wouldn't expect a breakout in his first season.

McBee is a preferred walk-on who chose Tennessee over scholarship offers at various mid-majors. The 6'3 guard could become an intergral part of this team with his ability to shoot from the perimeter. Keep an eye on this guy, he could make a lot of noise this season.

Emmanuel Negedu's absence will hurt. The small forward may never play basketball again after collapsing with cardiac arrest following a a short workout during the summer. His health is more important than any game though. He will definitely provide some inspiration this season.

Puzzle Piece No. 3 - Bruce Pearl

Coach Pearl came to Tennessee four full seasons ago. Two Sweet 16s, one outright SEC title, and three SEC East titles later the Vols are potentially on the verge of a big season.

Pearl has rebuilt this program into a perennial SEC contender. With him at the helm the Vols have vaulted to the forefront of SEC competition.

Pearl is not only a puzzle piece, but the crafter of the puzzle. He has built his game on transition basketball and utilizing pressure defense. He recruits players to fit into that mold.

Mission accomplished for 2009.

All coaches have to make adjustments. Adjustments are based on a variety of factors, not the least of which is personnel. With the personnel on this team fitting perfectly into Pearl's design, the sky is the limit for this team.

Pearl will definitely have his work cut out for him as the SEC is light-years better in '09-'10 than it was last season.

Kentucky went down the "hired-gun" route when it hired John Calipari. With Coach Cal came a highly touted recruiting class that instantly made the Wildcats a Final Four caliber team.

Vanderbilt and South Carolina are both better than last year and could easily make the tournament. Florida is ready to get back into the mix this year as well.

In the West, Mississippi State and Ole Miss could be in for very special seasons as well.

In the end, however, I believe Tennessee's overall depth, experience, and coaching will make it the team to beat in the SEC.

The puzzle is in place. It has taken four seasons to get there and they've had some success on the way, but '09-'10 is potentially the season where it finally comes together for Big Orange Hoops.

Tennessee Vols Football: Kiffin's Quandry

Joel Barker — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:45:26 -0500

A horribly, unexpected thing happened on my way to writing about the great future that the Tennessee football team has begun to build prior to the Mississippi game.

I was going to write about how the Ole Miss and Tennessee programs are looking up! I had it all planned out.

Houston Nutt vs. Lane Kiffin: Which coach will return their program to glory first?

It was really cool too. I was going to talk about how the young talent that Lane Kiffin has put together in less than 12 months on the job was quickly turning things around in Knoxville. Bright futures and big plans for the Big Orange was going to be the theme of the day!

I was going to contrast it with what Houston Nutt is doing at Ole Miss.

Alas, I will not have that chance.

The story now has become three idiots on Tennessee’s football team that have completely trashed their futures and have become a gigantic distraction for the Vols heading into a big game.

At 2 AM this morning, promising freshmen Nu’Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards attemped to rob two men waiting outside a convenience store. Jackson was with the two but reportedly was in the restroom as the crime was taking place. Whether he did anything or not, he was with these guys after curfew just days after missing a game due to a failed drug test.

The first question becomes, why? These are three extremely talented football players. Three players that likely were going to help return the glory to Tennessee football before forging nice NFL careers for themselves.

Hope it was worth it, fellas.

So now we shift from returning the glory to regaining respect.

Whatever Lane Kiffin decides to do in the next few hours will be extremely important to his future at Tennessee.

The fan-favorite, rock star coach has a chance to earn a ton of respect in the immediate hours that follow this morning’s dreadful news.

Lane Kiffin must make an example out of these players. “Do not pass Go. Do not Collect your Scholarship!”

Once Kiffin lays down the law, he must then turn his team’s attention to a big game—the biggest game remaining, as a matter of fact.

The freshman trio could not have worse timing for committing their first felony. This situation automatically becomes a huge distraction based solely on their roles on this team.

Jackson is a starter on defense—a starter that just two weeks ago won SEC Freshman of the Week honors.

Richardson caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown this past weekend.

Losing those two has to have an effect on this team.

Once again, the focus shifts to Lane Kiffin. The coach who has had so much attention for nearly a year; the coach who has called out referees, fellow coaches, and even a few players; the coach who loves the spotlight, must now prove just what he’s made of.

Kiffin must deal with the situation by kicking these players to the curb, and then he must immediately deal with the remaining players on his team.

He has to prove his leadership abilities right now.

Having to deal with a situation like this one, two days before a big game is not what any coach wants to do. But Kiffin must do it now.

Will he send a message to his current team? Will he send a message to future recruits? What will that message be? How will his current team respond on Saturday?

There is no doubt two days before kickoff against a talented Ole Miss team; Lane Kiffin has the spotlight he so lovingly craves. What will he do with it?

SEC Football Weekly: Coaching Carousel, Game Previews, and More

Joel Barker — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:53:15 -0500

SEC Coaching Carousel Stalls... For Now

Last season at this time we knew at least two SEC coaches would be gone at seasons end. A few weeks later a third joined the unemployment line.

So far the replacements have been quite successful. Lane Kiffin, Gene Chizik, and Dan Mullen have begun to carve their initials into their respective programs and it appears all three schools made great decisions.

As of right now there is no apparent potential hot seat in the SEC for this season.

Georgia is on its way to a 7-5 season at best, but Mark Richt has enough tenure to be allowed another season, at the least, to make changes and turn things around.

Vanderbilt has had a very disappointing season compared to last year’s bowl winning squad, but Bobby Johnson is one of the best coaches, at a perennially awful program, in America.

At Kentucky, Rich Brooks is riding out the clock until his successor, Joker Philips takes over.

Ole Miss has been highly disappointing when you consider the expectations that were mounted on the Rebels, but Houston Nutt’s job is safe.

Arkansas is just fine with Bobby Petrino and the Razorbacks could be ready to take a huge step forward next season.

Of course being fired is not the only way to cause turnover.

The more successful coaches in the SEC always face questions about turning their successes into bigger, better jobs with more Benjamins.

Urban Meyer is no stranger to that talk. This year, expect the rumors to grow wildly and become much more rampant between now and February when it comes to the Florida coach.

I know he has stated, “I’m not interested in Notre Dame. Ever.” But since when has that stopped anyone?

Notre Dame will certainly be open soon. Losing to Navy sealed Charlie Weis’ fate and the upcoming losses to Pitt and Stanford will hasten his exit.

Urban Meyer will definitely get a call.

When you consider that Tim Tebow and much of that vaunted defense will be gone after this season, Notre Dame might become more attractive to Meyer.

Throw in the fact that Florida has a tough schedule (for once) next season and you have the prefect recipe for a coach wanting to move on to bigger and better things.

But Florida does have a ton of talent coming in thanks to Meyer’s recruiting and on the field successes which could keep him around for years.

If Alabama wins the national title you can bet the house that NFL teams will once again come calling for Nick Saban. Whether he answers or not is anyone’s guess.

My guess is that Saban is done with the NFL and will continue to lead Alabama’s program for years to come. He’s had too much success in too short a time to think about leaving now—especially with the enormous talent that he continually recruits there.

If Michigan loses their final two games, which is a distinct possibility, Rich Rodriguez could find himself in trouble yet again. If the chatter in Ann Arbor reaches a crescendo I could definitely see RichRod in the unemployment line again.

If that happens, LSU coach Les Miles will bolt quicker than you can say “geaux Tigers”. He would have been gone two years ago if his team wasn’t on the verge of playing for an SEC/National title. Miles loves Michigan and I believe he would be extremely successful there.

I’ve been predicting a Steve Spurrier resignation for a couple of years now. It hasn’t happened yet, but a 6-6 season with this team which was 5-1 at one point might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, despite today’s report to the contrary.

Spurrier has had nothing but mediocre teams in South Carolina and with the competition in front of them the Gamecocks will probably never escape the SEC East shadow of the big three (Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee).

Who knows? He could end up as a candidate at Florida.

Previews—Week of 11/14

I was 7-1 in my picks last week. The lone loss coming from my South Carolina over Arkansas pick.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt : Bottom line for Kentucky; win. The Wildcats will become bowl eligible with a win here, but a loss would devastating as they must play Georgia and Tennessee to finish the season.

They must beat the 2-8 Commodores. I think they do. ‘Cats 34-17 .

Florida at South Carolina : Can the Gamecocks do it? How huge would it be for Steve Spurrier if they do? Florida has been about as unimpressive as any defending national champion in a long time.

Despite Florida’s many struggles, I just can’t see the faltering gamecocks winning this one. Gators 23-6 .

Alabama at Mississippi State : The last time ‘Bama went to Starkville it left with a shocking loss. This ‘Bama team is a far cry from that ‘Bama team.

State has plenty to look forward to… in the future. This year, not so much. Alabama 34-9 .

Auburn at Georgia : This should be another interesting test for Auburn. Simply stated, if their defense plays well Auburn will win. This Georgia team cannot keep up with them on the best of days.

Homefield is worth something in the SEC, but I think Auburn’s defense comes up with a key stop late in the game to win. Auburn 34-28 .

Louisiana Tech at LSU : One word… Blowout! LSU 45-7 .

Troy at Arkansas : Closer than some may think. Troy is no pushover. Arkansas 35-21 .

Game of the Week

Tennessee at Ole Miss : The Vols might be the hottest team in the conference right now. QB Jonathan Crompton has turned the corner and the defense is as stingy as ever.

If Tennessee can force turnovers early, this one could get ugly in a hurry. However, if the Vols continue to struggle on special teams that could be the great equalizer.

I have no reason to believe Jevan Snead will turn things around this week against a tough secondary. Eric Berry finally sets the interception return yards record this week. Vols 21-10.

Random Musings on the National Scene

I've already mentioned it once, but Notre Dame will have a new head coach next season. Shocker, I know. How do you defeat a team 43 straight times, then lose two out of three against them? Apparently the answer to that question is, Charlie Weis.
What would you have said if I would have wrote, "Jonathan Crompton will finish this season ranked third on the all-time Tennessee single-season Touchdown's Thrown list" after the UCLA and Florida games? He's three TD tosses away from that distinction.
I'll admit I didn't see Ohio State beating Penn State Saturday. As a matter of fact I don't know of anyone who would (Well other than Ohio State fans). Just further proves my point that Tressel needs to keep the shrink wrap off of Pryor and let him do his thing.
Who had Oklahoma losing four games? Not me.
Where in the world did Oregon go? I like Stanford and Toby Gerhart, but I didn't think they had it in them. Suddenly Jim Harbaugh's name is mentioned for high-profile coaching jobs (Well deserved I might add), and Toby Gerhart instantly gets Heisman talk.
If Alabama can count on Greg McElroy to stay consistent in the passing game, no one will even come close to defeating the Tide the rest of the way... including Florida.
Texas looks like the No. 1 team right now. Mack Brown has built a perennial national title contender in Austin. Goes to show that you can be a classy, nice guy and build a winner at the same time.
USC does not have a very good football team right now. After Stanford wins at the Coliseum this weekend that will be the prevailing thought. Of course they'll still only fall two places in the AP and Coaches Poll.
Temple? Are you kidding me? Seven wins!? Wow. Never saw that coming.
How can you not feel sorry for Iowa? Lose Stanzi, lose the game, lose any shot at the Rose Bowl. Sad.

Power 25—My Ballott for the B/R Top 25 this week (This weeks poll will be posted tomorrow. The link will take you to last weeks poll)

1. Texas

2. Alabama

3. Florida

4. TCU

5. Cincinnati

6. Boise State

7. Georgia Tech

8. Pittsburgh

9. Utah

10. Iowa

11. Houston

12. USC

13. Ohio State

14. LSU

15. Wisconsin

16. Oklahoma State

17. Miami

18. Oregon

19. Arizona

20. Auburn

21. BYU

22. Stanford

23. Clemson

24. Virginia Tech

25. Tennessee

My SEC Basketball Weekly Column will start one week from tonight! Stay tuned!

'Til next week!

Atlanta Braves Hot Stove Hopes: Five Free Agent Possibilities

Joel Barker — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:51:08 -0500

This has to be my favorite time of year. The beautiful leaves have fallen. The air is getting much cooler. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Gone is summer—the long days, the starry nights. College Football Bowl season is so close we can taste it, NCAA Basketball holiday tournaments are getting ready to begin, and Hot Stove League baseball is in hyper mode. The latter of that trio is one of my favorite aspects of the great sport of baseball. That time where everyone is 0-0. Every team has a shot. And depending on what your team does over the next few months can determine how realistic that shot will be. For the Atlanta Braves, this time of year in ’08 was up-and-down to say the least. We bade farewell to hometown hero, John Smoltz; just missed on bringing a fan-favorite, Rafael Furcal, back; yet we welcomed Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, and Kenshin Kawakami. My expectations, based on what I’ve heard and seen over the last few weeks, are for GM Frank Wren to explore the trade and free agent markets to fill holes in the outfield and at first base. After looking over the free agent market for a few days I have singled out five players that I believe are worthy of consideration by the Braves. As much as I want to place Jason Bay, Matt Holiday, and Chone Figgins on this list, I am realistic. I understand there might be a better chance of a snowstorm in hades than for any of these guys to sign on the dotted line with Atlanta. So I tried to keep this list as realistic as possible. This list is based on any potential signee to basically become a stop-gap for a year or two while a few Atlanta’s highly touted prospects complete their development phase. Here they are in order of my preference.

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My Top 10 Worst Tennessee Vols Losses

Joel Barker — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:36:21 -0500

With another Tennessee-Memphis game just around the corner I have decided to do a list of the 10 worst losses in my history as a UT Vols fan. Obviously that Memphis upset of 13 years ago will be very high on this list, but there have been many, many more that were as crushing and demoralizing. I must first preface this list with the fact that I have been a fanatic of Tennessee Vols football since 1990. As a result of that fact my list will include games from 1990 and forward. I would love for my fellow Vols fans, who have been around UT football much longer, to read and comment on games prior to that 1990 season. Have some fun with it. Post your own top 10 in the comments section. Enjoy... or... since it's going to feature the worst losses you probably wont enjoy, but you get the point.

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The SEC Weekly: Reviews, Previews, and Thoughts on SEC Football

Joel Barker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:55:31 -0500

Welcome to my newest venture. This is the first of a weekly article that will run throughout the remainder of the football season and will carry over to basketball as well. Hopefully you will enjoy what you see and keep coming back for more.

Mr. Slive, Where are you now?

After weeks of hearing new and improved methods for handling "rowdy" coaches who like to complain about officiating, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive had an opportunity today to flex his newest muscle.

After Coaches Dan Mullen, Bobby Petrino, and Lane Kiffin voiced their displeasure over the putrid officiating that has become an eyesore in the SEC this season, Commissioner Slive, or Don Coleone as I like to call him, issued the edict that reprimands will no longer suffice. Now when a coach publicly criticizes a missed call or uses the media to talk unfavorably about the officials that coach will face suspension and/or fines.

Some on this very website dubbed this the "Lane Kiffin Rule."

Yet today, when Slive had an opportunity to use his newest and grooviest tool, he apparently chose to look the other way.

Florida head coach, Urban Meyer publicly stated in his mid-week teleconference that SEC officials missed a late hit call on a Georgia defender who hit Tim Tebow late on a play Saturday.

Meyer told reporters, "That should have been a penalty in my opinion," Meyer said. "Obviously, it should have been. You've got to protect quarterbacks. That's the whole purpose. It's right in front of the referee. I'm not sure how they're going to handle that, but ... that was one of the plays we did send in."

At this hour there is no word on an impending fine or suspension for Meyer.

Tennessee head coach, Lane Kiffin was asked for comment on Meyer's remarks, his response was, "Urban Meyer? Criticized the officials? That will be interesting. We'll see."

I don't expect we will hear anything from Commissioner Slive about Meyer or Florida. The silence will once again be deafening and the conspiracy theorists will have even more evidence to support their outlandish conclusions.

The Week that Was

What an eye-popping, oops, I mean eye-gouging, Halloween Saturday in the SEC!

Georgia tried to use the black-uni gimmick yet again, and was, again, blown out of the stadium. This time Florida intercepted their way to a 41-17 victory over the hapless 'Dawgs.

Another team tried the black-uni gimmick. The Tennessee Vols upset many loyal fans by donning the black and orange for Halloween. Their night turned out much better as they handed Steve Spurrier his worst loss to the Vols ever, 31-13.

Mississippi State defeated Kentucky, 31-24, and Vandy held on against Georgia Tech until the Yellow Jackets proved too much in the second half of their 56-31 victory.

Auburn got up off the deck to defeat a seemingly hot Ole Miss squad, 33-20.

LSU and Arkansas both ripped their competition to shreds. Eastern Michigan gave up 63 to Arkansas by the third quarter. Tulane was clueless against LSU losing 42-0.

The Week Ahead

LSU @ Alabama

You want a playoff? SEC fans have definitely got their own version of that this weekend.

The winner of this game will be in the driver's seat to win the SEC West and will have the distinct possibility of potentially playing for a national title in a couple of months.

Alabama is coming off a much needed bye week and LSU struggled offensively all year until it picked on a weak Auburn defense two weeks ago. The Tide remains undefeated, 20-17 over the Tigers.

South Carolina @ Arkansas

Steve Spurrier finds his Gamecocks team in a must-win just weeks after being 5-1.

South Carolina is now 6-3, with Florida and Clemson remaining on the schedule after Arkansas. It's this fact that keeps the 'Cocks from losing focus at Arkansas. The other USC wins 24-17.

Florida vs. Vanderbilt

How will the Gators ever defeat the 'Dores without Brandon Spikes? Easily.

Florida 44-14

Tennessee vs. Memphis

If this were basketball the Tigers would have a shot. It isn't and they don't.

Vols win 45-6

Auburn vs. Furman

The Paladins might whip up on Southern Conference foes, but the SEC is a whole different animal.

Auburn 52-17

Northern Arizona @ Ole Miss: Close until the coinflip, Rebs 49-0

Tennessee Tech @ Georgia: 'Dawgs go 2-1 vs. the state of Tennessee, 52-21

Eastern Ketucky @ Kentucky: Yawn, Wildcats 37-13

Random SEC Musings

At least someone on the Florida team felt bad for trying to blind an opposing player. After much consideration Brandon Spikes decided to suspend himself for the entire game Saturday instead of just the first half penalty the Urban Meyer and Mike Slive agreed upon. Oddly the wisdom of the offender dwarfs that of a great head coach and the league's commissioner.
Is it just me or does the SEC get too much credit for being the greatest conference in the land? Sure the top of it is unstoppable, but the rest resembles the ACC on a week-to-week basis. You never know who is going to win!
There were reports of some fans getting up and walking out of the stadium when the Big Orange came out in the Big Black. Those fans were the one's the leave at halftime to beat the traffic every home game anyway, so it really didn't affect things much.
Has anyone ever seen a potential Heisman candidate go from hero to zero as quickly as Jevan Snead? The poor guy threw two more interceptions Saturday to bring his season total to 13.
Is Steve Spurrier ready to hang it up? If his Gamecocks lose out, which is a distinct possibility, I can definitely see it happening. His replacement? Skip Holtz from East Carolina.
Mark Richt needs to wake up and start throwing some assistants under the bus. I know loyalty means a ton in the real world, but SEC football is about as far from the real world as it gets. It's closer to cut-throat island. Cut or be cut. Richt better start chopping or he'll find his seat getting incredibly hot sooner rather than later.

Next week I'll be back with even more food for thought on the SEC. Let me know if you enjoyed the read or if you'd just like to insult and harass me for my views.

Till next week,

Good luck and happy Saturday!

Tennessee Vols Football: Way Too Early Bowl Possibilities

Joel Barker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:54:39 -0500

Well we are officially two games past the halfway point in the season. We all know what that means... time for every sports website to come out with the infamous Bowl Projections that are almost never right. I am not immune to this phenominon. It's been two years since I was able to speculate about Tennessee's postseason home and I'm ready to get a jump on the competition. There are so many scenario's still to be played out, thus making this list a rather muddied one when it comes to who the Vols will play and where. But the speculation is always fun. Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Atlanta Braves Baseball: Is Milton Bradley Joining Bobby Cox's Team?

Joel Barker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:25:08 -0500

I know, I know. It's a crazy headline. Chicago Cubs fans everywhere are rejoicing! The fact is that the latest scourge on their beloved franchise is about to be no more. Problem is Bradley, prior to the '09 season, signed a nice fat $30 million contract to play for Chicago.

With two years, and $20 million left on the deal why would the Braves want the outspoken, classless journeyman on their team?

One name: Derek Lowe.

Cubs' disappointing, overpaid '09 free agent acquisition meet Atlanta's disappointing, overpaid '09 free agent acquisition.

How does it makes sense for the Braves? Thanks for asking.

Obviously the need for a bat is overwhelming at this point. Bradley is usually a consistent .300-hitter and averages between 10-20 home runs a year. He's a switch hitter and would provide great versatility in the Braves' lineup.
Bobby Cox and the veteran players in the clubhouse have long been acquainted with turning around troubled players. Remember Gary Sheffield? He was on his best behavior in Atlanta for more than one season. Bobby Cox is just the manager that a guy like Bradley needs.
It rids the Braves of Lowe's hefty contract and would actually free up some money to go after another pressing need in Atlanta: First base. I know Lowe was decent enough in 2009, but worthy of $15 million over the next three years? Not quite.

How does this deal make sense for the Cubs?

They desperately want Bradley gone. Enough to take on Lowe's big deal? That remains to be seen, but it is definitely possible.
The Cubs need a starter or two. Rich Harden is gone. There are rumors of Carlos Zambrano potentially being dealt. Derek Lowe would fit in great at Wrigley and would probably become a fan-favorite in no time.
Having a proven October starter might just be the missing link to the Cubs and their elusive postseason dreams. He dominated the Cubs two October's ago while with the Dodgers, so they've seen his magic firsthand.

It would be one of those, "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" deals, but ultimately it could end up as exactly what each team needs to help their areas of need.

I personally cannot stand Milton Bradley. I've never liked his attitude.

If the Braves were to pull this type of deal it would show desperation on their part to be rid of Lowe's big contract and a dedication to straightening Bradley out. Both can be done, but are they willing to risk it?

Tennessee Vols Football: A Runaway (Lane) Train

Joel Barker — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:11:46 -0500

During the longest offseason in the history of mankind, I wrote numerous articles explaining how and why Lane Kiffin could be the man to restore the glory at Tennessee. Of course, I didn't know it for a fact, but I speculated as many on this site do.

By the time September rolled around, I was sure he was the man.

After Tennessee lost by only 10 points to No. 1 Florida, the team that was supposed to put up 60 on the Vols, I knew for a fact that Kiffin was the man.

I wrote, "Enjoy it now, Vol-haters! It wont be easy in the next few years," on the various social networking sites that I use. I even wrote articles containing that very phrase on this Web site.

That was before Tennessee crushed Georgia, 45-19. It was before Tennessee came within a monstrous, meaty paw of upsetting then-No. 1 Alabama. It was before Steve Spurrier's most successful Gamecock team to date came into Knoxville and left 31-13 losers.

Coach Lane Kiffin took over a team with nowhere close to the talent we've come to know and love at the University of Tennessee. He had a quarterback that was probably the most maligned to ever take a snap for the Vols. He had a patchwork offensive line that included two walk-ons. He had a running back who had spent the majority of his career on the trainer's table.

After sticking with quarterback Jonathan Crompton, despite many wishing for Nick Stephens, Kiffin has been rewarded in three straight games. Crompton wasn't as great against the Gamecocks as he was against Georgia and Alabama, but he didn't have to be, since the defense forced three fumbles in the first quarter.

That patchwork offensive line cost the Vols on the final play of the Alabama game, but had it not been beating and banging against the massive front seven of 'Bama's defense, the game would have been over long before getting that chance.

That oft-injured running back, Montario Hardesty, is a Top-Five SEC running back statistically. His spin move for a touchdown against the South Carolina defense in the first quarter was possibly his greatest play yet.

Each and every one of these areas was extremely problematic last year. These positions were the foundation for the terrible lack of success on that '08 offense.

Lane Kiffin has coached these guys up like no other could or would. Heck, Phil Fulmer, Tennessee's greatest coach-not-named-Neyland, couldn't even do it.

The freshmen Kiffin recruited in his first two months on the job have played a role, but the fact that Kiffin has these upperclassmen playing beyond their capabilities is remarkable to say the least.

Just wait until Kiffin finishes putting his next Top-Five recruiting class together. Just wait until the program is full of his players.

I would encourage my fellow Tennessee fans on this site to ignore the rambling, incoherent blabber that is coming from writers of opposing teams about Coach Kiffin.

I felt in the past that I had to defend Kiffin's honor on this site. That I had to be the one to prove all the haters wrong.

But guess what? Kiffin is taking care of that himself. We don't have to defend anyone at this point.

Let the haters keep writing. Let their fans and fellow haters comment. Pretty soon there is going to be absolutely nothing that they can do about Lane Kiffin and his success, but sit back and shake their heads in anguish.

If Kiffin can have this much success in developing sub-par, leftover talent, the sky is the limit in the future.

Before the future can begin, though, Tennessee needs to finish this season. With four very winnable games remaining on the schedule, the Vols and Kiffin can do a lot to secure even more hope for that near-future.

Tennessee fans: You better get on the train now! After these next four wins, no one will be able to stop it.

Runaway trains are impossible to board once they get rolling.

Mike Slive, SEC: Drunk On Their Own Power

Joel Barker — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:23:40 -0400

Like any typical diehard SEC football fan, I have defended my favorite conference’s honor many times.

I grew up thinking that the national media didn’t like us southerners when it came to anything, especially sports.

There was a West coast bias, an East coast bias, and a northern bias. Southerners always got the short end of the national media stick.

The SEC has long been the greatest football conference in the land. Our proud conference boasts of athletes who hit harder, run faster, and play smarter than any other. I won’t dispute that fact.

I fully believe that SEC football is the NFL of college football.

I also won’t dispute the fact that I am sick and tired of hearing about it being the best.
I am tired of Jim Bob saying things like, “Them Big 10 teams are softer than a baby’s butt!”

When Bobby Joe says, “Put USC in the SEC and see how many games they win!” I cringe because of the sheer idiocy of that statement.

I am an orange-blooded, rabid, Notre Dame-hatin’, Tennessee fan who still thinks ESPN cost Peyton Manning the Heisman trophy in 1997.

I still think that Alabama’s lack of a Heisman winner is a travesty considering how many times the Fighting Irish, Trojans, and Buckeyes have had winners of the illustrious award.

It’s no wonder why fans of the SEC still harbor that resentment. I get it. I am one of you! I completely understand.

Recent developments, however, have begun to concern me regarding the far-reaching scope of the new SEC.

Before the season even began I wrote this article about how much I hated the new $15-billion agreement with ESPN and CBS, making the SEC one of the most powerful sports entities this side of the NFL.

No team or conference in major college football should wield this much power.

No commissioner in any sport should be able to bring the national media to its knees. But the SEC did it.

The conference has simply let its enormous success go straight to its head.

The SEC has become drunk on its own power and publicity. Commissioner Mike Slive is now the Grand Pubah of all things college football.

He has arbitrarily decided to stiffen penalties against coaches who complain about bad officiating, which is really no big deal until you consider this is perhaps the absolute worst year for officiating in the history of the conference.

I’ve written about SEC conspiracy theories. I do not personally subscribe to one, but we have seen evidence to support the crazy notions. Alabama, Florida, and LSU have benefited tremendously from questionable calls all season long.

We’ve seen entire officiating crews suspended. We’ve heard public reprimands against referees.

Now the main source of fighting those terrible calls has been cut off at the neck.

Should some coaches be reprimanded? Absolutely!

My team’s coach, Lane Kiffin, deserved his latest reprimand—especially since his gripe came on a play that wouldn’t have mattered in the outcome of the game. His other complaints about the disparity in the number of calls against his second-least penalized team in the country were spot on, however.

Mississippi State’s head coach Dan Mullen was every bit justified in his public comments about the horrible call made by a replay official.

Bobby Petrino had every right to complain after his team was shafted against Florida the week before.

Georgia fans and coaches had every right to threaten mutiny after LSU was handed a win against the Bulldogs earlier this month.

Just in case anyone else gets the shaft, the SEC’s own incarnation of Don Corleone, Commissioner Slive, decided to issue the edict that anyone complaining from now on will not receive a reprimand—no, now it’s immediate suspension and/or heavy fines.

The Godfather has spoken, and now his enemies have been cut off before questions can even be asked. Slive can influence whomever he wants to allow what’s “best for the conference.”

Is it really such a shock, SEC fans? Your former commissioner, Roy Kramer, came up with the grand idea of the BCS.

In the 11-plus years since the inception of the BCS, five SEC teams have won the national championship. The very first BCS national champion was Tennessee in 1998. Florida and LSU have each won it twice (LSU in ’03 and ’07, Florida in ’06 and ’08). If I were a betting man I would not bet against LSU, Florida, or Alabama to take home the prize again this season.

Sure one SEC team has gotten screwed over the years (Auburn ’04), but five national champions in 11 years traded for one screw job is well worth it.

Why do we need all this publicity and money? We already have the best coaches, facilities, and athletes in the nation.

This monopoly of sorts is exactly what countless men throughout history have discouraged. This is why our government has a system of checks and balances. It’s why we have laws against companies monopolizing goods and services.

What you are seeing from the SEC and the BCS is illegal, and it should be treated as such.

The commissioner of the SEC has way too much power. The conference as a whole has way too much authority and influence.

College Football is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is not, contrary to popular opinion, an SEC entity.

Why do fans in the south typically hate teams like Notre Dame? Because for years they had the market cornered. For decades they were held in high regard. According to the media, Notre Dame is the greatest institution ever. They have their own network for crying out loud. The talking heads have loved them for much of the past century.

The SEC is becoming the very thing its fans and followers hate. Too much power and influence is never a good thing.

It was much more fun fighting for respect and attention than getting all of it.

Kiffin vs. Spurrier: Vols and Gamecocks Hoping History Repeats Itself

Joel Barker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:52:16 -0400

In 1990 the SEC welcomed a new coach into it's illustrious fraternity. That coach would go on to become one of the greatest the conference has ever seen. That coach was never confused as a nice guy.

He was a young 45 and had a mouth the size of Florida. That coach, Steve Spurrier, would build a dynasty from nothing. That dynasty, even though he hasn't been it's leader since 2001, is still going strong.

As a matter of fact that Florida dynasty has been the most successful program in the SEC since 1990, and no one else is really even close.

Sure, Urban Meyer gets a ton of credit for what is going on now, but if not for "The Ole Ball Coach" Meyer probably would not have had such an easy time in building that Florida program back to its lofty 1990's perch.

Spurrier came into the league with all the moxie, cockiness, and swagger of a 15-year veteran coach that had won numerous championships. He didn't care whom he offended. He called out other SEC programs.

One account has him at a pep rally in 1991, right before the Auburn game, telling jokes about the War Eagle program and it's library.

Spurrier said, "I heard a sad story today. The Auburn library burnt to the ground. The sad thing was all 20 books were completely destroyed. What's worse, 15 of them hadn't even been colored in yet!" That's one-year into his tenure as an SEC head coach.

A few years later he would throw down the gauntlet in the Tennessee-Florida rivalry, one which he won way more than he lost, by saying, "You can't spell Citrus without UT" a reference to the bowl now known as the Capital One Bowl for the second-place SEC East team.

Spurrier quipped once that in-state rival Florida State's "FSU" initials stood for "Free Shoes University" after a scandal involving athletes receiving extra benefits to attend there.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Spurrier once remarked, “In 12 years at Florida, I don’t think we ever signed a kid form the state of Alabama. Of course, we found out later that the scholarships they were giving out at Alabama were worth a whole lot more than ours.”

The bottom line is that this guy was something new. Something fresh in a conference of the old, Johnny Majors and Gene Stallings; the bad, Watson Brown and Sparky Woods; and the ugly, Bill Curry and Ray Goff.

Compared to all those soft spoken yet wily veterans this guy came off like a loose cannon. A funny, yet condescending new guy with little respect.

Sound familiar?

Lane Kiffin came in this season with even more cockiness and a greater sure-of-himself attitude than Spurrier. Would that have been possible without Spurrier first blazing that path nearly 20 years ago?

The boy wonder, as many like to call the 33-year old Tennessee head coach, came into a much different SEC than Spurrier did. Steve Spurrier came in during the good 'ole boys reign.

Back when Alabama's head coach was a previous understudy of Bear Bryant. Tennessee's head coach played for Gen. Robert Neyland. Georgia's head coach was a quarterback for Vince Dooley. Even Spurrier himself was an illustrious alumni of the Gators program--a heisman winning quarterback, in fact.

The SEC coaching fraternity was a tradition-rich group that believed in "keeping it in the family." Spurrier came into that group and dominated.

However, toward the end of Spurrier's tenure at Florida a new era dawned in the SEC coaching hierarchy. The "hired-gun" era took front and center with the hiring of Nick Saban at LSU.

Alabama hired highly successful national coaches Mike Price and Dennis Franccione, eschewing the Bear Bryant coaching lineage for the first time in nearly two decades.

Florida went after Urban Meyer after Spurrier's understudy Ron Zook failed miserably. South Carolina got Sweet Lou Holtz to come out of retirement after his days at Notre Dame. Georgia went after a Florida State offensive coordinator named Mark Richt.

After Saban left LSU the Tigers went after another successful national coach, Les Miles. Then Alabama paid Nick Saban a ton to come back to the SEC. Even the Ole' Ball Coach himself decided to come back to the league, this time with South Carolina.

It's a different league, boys. Spurrier's SEC was much easier than Kiffin's ever thought of being. Kiffin's SEC has some of the nation's best coaches, who are consistently recruiting some of the nation's very best athletes.

That's what we in the business refer to as a "far cry" from what Steve Spurrier landed in two decades ago.

Spurrier came in letting people know who he was, but there was pretty much no one to stop him. Kiffin has much greater odds and a much more hostile environment in which to work.

Spurrier became known for winning shortly after arriving at Florida. Kiffin is on his way, but until the wins start rolling he has to use his greatest resource, his mouth, to get his message out there.

I'm a firm believer that history repeats itself. Even though the circumstances are different than they were in 1990, Lane Kiffin has begun building at Tennessee just like Steve Spurrier did at Florida.

A prime opportunity to keep building on the Vols sudden momentum present itself this weekend. On Halloween night the past meets the future. Steve Spurrier and his Gamecocks takes on the Lane Train and his Vols.

For Kiffin this is the first step in winning out and potentially winding up in a decent bowl after a pretty bad start to things. For Spurrier it's the beginning of finally reclaiming the mojo for South Carolina that helped put Florida on the map in the 90's.

Spurrier had great success over the Vols and Phil Fulmer for many years (8-5). But this is a new era in Knoxville. An era that Lane Kiffin is dead set on setting a positive tone in for recruiting, coaching, and ultimately winning a ton of games.

Saturday night's clash may feature two coaches from completely separate era's, but the goal is still the same—win football games, and win them now.

Message to Lane Kiffin Haters: Keep Hatin'

Joel Barker — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:29:37 -0400

Well, lookie here. Lane Kiffin done went and got himself in a whole heap a trouble again. The SEC's favorite whipping boy got his second public tongue lashing from the almighty SEC commish, Mike Slive, today.

It's been stated that if it happens again, he could be suspended.

In other news, the only people who actually care are his SEC opponents.

The problem here is that Lane Kiffin says and does out loud what every other SEC coach thinks and says quietly.

A Bama fan will complain that Lane has no character, all the while ignoring the circumstances under which their mercenary coach came to T-Town. Remember it, guys? Remember him lying to his Miami Dolphins team? To the media?

"I'm not going to be the Alabama coach," he said. As a matter of fact, he angrily made that statement to the Florida media not once, but three times in a week's period.

If character is the issue, is Saban's lying tongue not held accountable?

How about Urban Meyer at Florida? The guy who continually runs up scores on hapless opponents to bolster his ego.

(Well he hasn't done that much lately since "The Chosen One"...you know, the QB who has made Meyer's career, has been a mere mortal lately.)

What about Mark Richt at Georgia? The guy who continually preaches about righteousness and good living, yet his players are among the most undisciplined, on and off the field, in the country.

Then you've got Bobby Petrino at Arkansas. Here's a guy who's such a coward he couldn't even face his team, the Atlanta Falcons, after he decided to ditch them in midseason for a college gig.

Houston Nutt, the guy Petrino replaced, who is now at Ole Miss, had an affair with a staffer while at Arkansas.

Steve Spurrier was the Mouth of the South long before Kiffin, and he did nothing but build the winningest SEC program since 1990.

It's like the continuous Republican vs. Democrat debate. "He's a scumbag because he believes in socialism!" or my personal favorite, "He's a Bible-totin' Christian, therefore he hates everyone!"

All the while, members of both sides have more skeletons in their closets than most graveyards do.

The bottom line is that you are whining and complaining about Kiffin while your coaches are all scumbags as well. Kiffin just says what's on his mind.

The rest of the coaches keep it to themselves. Kiffin's problem is not character; it's a big mouth.

Even with that being the case, it really doesn't matter. Lane Kiffin is the most popular man on the Tennessee campus. His players love him and they love his style.

Want proof? Eric Berry told the Knoxville News-Sentinel just today, "We feel like if we just keep buying into this staff and keep doing everything that they ask us to do, the sky is the limit."

Berry went on to say, "I mean, I feel like if we just had a little more time with this staff we would be undefeated right now.

"You see we're getting to know each other a lot as the season goes along, you can tell it by the way we're playing and the guys are buying into this coaching staff."

WR Gerald Jones said, "Man, they are unbelievable, and I enjoy every bit of playing for them and Coach Kiffin is probably one of my favorite coaches in history. He's so competitive and he has the eagerness to win, and that's the same person I am.

"To be coached by that type of person, you expect nothing over than to be the best."

In the end, isn't that what matters?

Bamablogger might call him classless. Gatrluvr on some far distant message board thinks he's a prick. Dawggystyle on the Athens Herald website thinks he's childish. Even old WarEagle himself thinks Kiffin's a bum.

But guess what, his players love and respect him. The recruits gravitate to him. The players know that he has their back, no matter what.

As a result his team has played two No. 1 teams on their own home field and has lost by a combined 12 points. The talent levels aren't even close to comparable, yet his rebuilding Vols team scared the Bear right out of millions of Alabama fans on Saturday.

Guess how many players have been arrested under his watch? Zero. Guess how many potential stars have been kicked off his team or decided to go elsewhere because they couldn't live up to his standards? 15 and counting.

His first Vols team is among the least penalized in the country (currently ranked second). He's already amassed one top 10 recruiting class in just two short months. He's currently working on a Top Five class as we speak.

So in the end it really doesn't matter what you write, type, or say about Lane Kiffin. The man knows what he's doing. He may not be doing it the way Bear or General Neyland would have done it, but he's doing it.

There's really nothing the haters or anyone else can say or do to stop it. You can just keep hatin', because he's going to keep bringing in talent. Once that talent is in Knoxville, you can just watch out because the wins will follow.

SEC Officiating: Crisis or Conspiracy?

Joel Barker — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:48:13 -0400

Say you are SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. Your conference has won each of the past three national championships. You have five teams in the preseason Top 25, four of which are in the top 10. You just signed a $15 billion deal with “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” to carry all of your football and basketball games.

Most pundits expect your top two teams to be undefeated at season’s end. Heck, it’s in the realm of possibility that the team that loses your conference championship could still wind up in the BCS National Championship Game. After all, you had the first two-loss team to ever win a national title just two years ago.

Your league is on top of the world. The Big XII, Big Ten, ACC and Big East can go play with the ugly kids, because the SEC is the NFL of college football.

But there’s one slight problem. Your officials might be the worst in the history of football.

After experiencing a month of sub-par officiating, the SEC has some real questions to answer.

Who has been the beneficiary of these bad calls for nearly a month? LSU, Florida and Alabama.

Coincidence? Who knows? But the evidence mounting against the SEC and a potential conspiracy is nonetheless intriguing.

The first major screw-job came at the expense of the Georgia Bulldogs. After scoring the go-ahead touchdown with a little more than a minute remaining against the No. 7 LSU Tigers, Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after an illegal celebration that never was.

The ‘Dawgs were forced to kick off from their own 15 and the resulting field position for LSU led to their game-winning touchdown moments later—setting up a No. 1 versus No. 4 primetime, nationally televised, much-hyped game between LSU and Florida.

The following Monday the SEC would admit the official made a terrible call. LSU still got the win and the No. 4 ranking, as well as tons of coverage for their over-hyped matchup with the Gators.

The next one involved Arkansas getting jobbed at the Swamp two weekends ago. It just so happened to involve the same officiating crew that screwed Georgia.

Two phantom, drive-continuing penalties in the final three minutes of the game allowed Florida to pull ahead for only the second time that day.

Two days later the same SEC spin doctors released a public notice that there was in fact no reason to throw a flag in those instances since nothing happened to warrant a penalty.

Two days later that officiating crew was suspended from working games until November.

Nice job of covering your tracks, Mr. Slive.

That whole dog-and-pony show was SEC football’s equivalent of Don Corleone setting up one of his murderous goons as the fall guy.

Of course, Florida received another gracious call this week from the replay official who had plenty of time to get a call right, but erred on the side of screwing the Gators' opponent yet again after a Florida defender fumbled at the one-yard line. The play resulted in a Gator touchdown.

Now we come to the Alabama-Tennessee game. Debate the final play all you want—it was over, it wasn’t over. Cody ripped his helmet off while the ball was still live and should have been penalized or shouldn't have. That’s not that play that Tennessee fans or Coach Lane Kiffin should point to.

It’s the nine penalties committed by the second-least penalized team in the country versus the one penalty committed by the nation's 66th-least penalized team, who also happens to be No. 1, that is inexcusable.

Every time Tennessee got inside the Alabama 30-yard line, there seemed to be an illegal shift, false start or holding penalty. Meanwhile, the Bammers weren’t flagged for a blatant offsides penalty on Tennessee’s first drive of the game when the ‘Bama defender was a yard into the Vol backfield before the ball was snapped.

The stats showed how the Vols offense dominated the Tide defense in the second half, but the penalties almost negated any shot at a score. Sure, Tennessee had a shot to win at the end anyway, but getting closer with 45 seconds remaining was out of the question as Lane Kiffin feared a mysterious yellow hanky would somehow find its way onto the field yet again.

Alabama won the game fair and square, but those penalties, deserved or not, hurt nonetheless.

Of course this time around there was a reprimand instead of a formal apology to Tennessee. After all, Lane Kiffin is a spoiled little brat who would be no where without his infamously smart and football savvy father, Monte. Right, haters?

Its okay for everyone else (Dan Mullen, Bobby Petrino, Bobby Johnson) to whine and moan, but the boy wonder is a snotty nosed little ego-maniac. He should be reprimanded by the big wheels in the SEC office for being nothing more than a prick, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

I hate blaming losses on officials more than anyone. It’s a tired excuse that has been used for decades. But when those officials are as blatantly one-sided in favor of the top 10 SEC schools as these last few weeks have shown, questions have to be asked.

What has caused this “crisis” all of a sudden? Is it a crisis at all? The SEC has long been one of the best conferences in the land—in talent, championships and officiating.

Now, with $15 billion and worldwide publicity via ESPN in the picture, its officiating goes down the tubes while its three most visible teams skyrocket to national hype and stardom.

There’s talk of two prominent SEC players vying for the Heisman trophy. There’s speculation that if Alabama and Florida both go undefeated, they could potentially play for a national title even after one loses to the other in the SEC title game in December.

Is there a conspiracy at the highest levels of the conference? Is this the brainchild of Mike Slive and SEC Director of Officials Rodgers Redding? Is the SEC so desperate for national supremacy that it would stoop so low as to slant games toward it’s top teams in hopes of more national coverage and hype?

Has the conference once known for cheating at its most famous institutions now shifted to allow corruption in the front office?

I’m willing to forgive one incident, maybe even two. But once Florida received their second referee-wrapped touchdown and Alabama received one penalty to Tennessee’s nine in the same weekend, I’m crying foul.

Tennessee Vs. Alabama: Instant Classic. Instant Heartbreak.

Joel Barker — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:36:01 -0400

What a game! That's pretty much all a Tennessee fan can say at a time like this. To have a shot at the win against the No. 1 team in the land and lose is probably one of the most heartwrenching things a fan can experience. Especially the way that it happened on Saturday.

The oft-maligned, Daniel Lincoln, had a terrible day kicking. Even the field goal that he made was barely off the ground. The two that were blocked, including the 43-yard attempt as time expired, killed any chance the Vols had at a win.

I could not believe my eyes when the Vols got the onside kick and actually brought it close enough to even kick it. But the heartbreak we would experience moments later almost makes one wish it hadn't even come down to that.

Losing in this fashion is rough. Losing in this fashion to Alabama is downright brutal.

Tennessee's defense held Heisman hopeful Mark Ingram in check almost all day and forced the star's first lost fumble of his Alabama career.

Tennessee's offense score a touchdown against the Tide in the fourth quarter, 'Bama's first touchdown allowed in their last 13 quarters.

There was plenty to be proud about for the Big Orange yet again.

If I hear anyone Tennessee fan complaining about Jonathan Crompton again this year I might punch them. The guy has turned the corner. Get off his back, apologize for being a self-indulged jerk-picking on a college kid, and get behind him.

The record may not indicate just how well this team has turned around since last season, but the stats do show it. Tennessee has lost by a combined 20 points to unranked-UCLA, at No 1-Florida, unranked-Auburn, and at No. 1-Alabama.

The continually impressive defense has set the tone in all three of the four losses and a rough first half offensively against Auburn was all the kept the Vols from winning that one.

Keep poor-mouthing Lane Kiffin if you want. Keep trashing Crompton. Keep up the whining if you must. The facts show that if you do, you are not only dead wrong, but borderline stupid.

This same team was getting blown out in these games last year. These games weren't this close.

Tennessee is a few players away from being relevant nationally again.

To those SEC fans that keep trashing and whining because of Kiffin's mouth; get ready for the next two years, because he's getting ready to back those words up in a big way.

I can't end this without saying how much respect I have for that Alabama team today. That defense might be one of the best ever. Your boys made plays when they had to. I have no doubt that the entire nation will watch your team raise the trophy in Pasadena on January 7, 2010.

Nothing but respect and admiration from this Tennessee fan for the Alabama Crimson Tide. We almost got you though.

I also have no doubt that one day in the forseeable future those almost's will be missing from the Tennessee fan vocabulary.

The Sideline Report Special Edition: Tennessee vs. Alabama - It's Rivalry Time

Joel Barker — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:42:27 -0400

The Third Saturday in October Rivalry What a week this has been. I started off my 'Bama Week' series on Saturday night and received a great number of reads and comments. I followed that up with my 'More than an SEC rivalry' piece and recieved my first "Pick of the Day" in the 11 months I have been writing on this site. The Third Saturday in October as the rivalry was formerly known generates a lot of interest. I knew it would. This year is my 20th Tennessee vs. Alabama game. Unfortunately the seven seasons before 1990 I was either too young to care or watching Sesame Street. Since 1990, however, I've been hooked on the Big Orange. I've watched this rivalry go in many different ways. I've watched the underdog perform well enough to win and come up just short. I've seen the favorite play so poorly that the game was never even close. I have been on the short end of the Bama-UT stick eight times in the 19 years I have been watching this game. My record as a Tennessee fan against Alabama is 10-8-1. That's actually a better record than most Tennessee fans can say. Alabama owned this rivalry in the 70's and 80's winning 15 of 20 from 1970-1989. Even though I did not get to personally witness much of the 'Bama domination, I received a crash course from any and every Tennessee fan that did. I understood the rivalry and knew all about it by the time the second-ranked Vols fell to unranked Alabama, 9-6, on that fall day in 1990. I look forward to a chance at redemption this year. I know my team is outmanned, outhorsed, and depending on whom you ask, completely without hope in this game. I still say this is Tennessee-Bama. None of that other crap matters. Now let's play some football! In this article you will find my weekly rivalry picks. Rivalry picks is a little friendly competition between me and fellow B/R writer, James Morrison. James and I have known each other since 1994 when he moved here from Los Angeles, California. James quickly became a 'Bama fan in those days. Given my lifetime of fandom for the Tennessee Vols this was not a great development. He and I have been respectfully going at it for over 15 years now. He offers his perspective on his opinion of the five biggest games of the week and I agree or disagree based on his predictions. Then I do the same on five seperate games. This week we chose our regular five games each and dedicated an entire page to our thoughts on the Tennessee-Bama game. It definitely makes from some interesting reading. Let us know what you think about it.

Begin Slideshow

Tennessee vs. Alabama: More Than an SEC Rivalry

Joel Barker — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:10:33 -0400

It has been said that football is just a kid's game. It's foolish to spend time watching it; it's wasteful to spend money on it; and it's pointless to treat it like it's life or death. Judging by the billions of dollars spent to televise, cover, and support the sport I have to disagree wholeheartedly. Maybe in some regions of our fine country it's a big deal, but here in the south it's reason to re-schedule weddings, birthdays, and even cancel church services. College football and it's rivalries are as much a part of southern culture as sweet tea, conservative values, and first-class country hospitality. One such rivalry was once known as the biggest in the south. Tennessee/Alabama has long been one of the most storied, classy rivalries in the nation much less the south. It has decided bragging rights, broken many hearts, and caused sleepless nights. Once known by the moniker, "The third Saturday in October,' fans of both programs have circled the date on their calendars for decades. In recent years the rivalry has lost some of it's luster. This is mainly due to television dollars, emergence of other great SEC programs, and the ever-increasing noteriety the sport has gained. But to many fans of both schools it is still "the big one." My earliest memory of "Bama Week" was 1990. I distinctly remember asking my dad before the game, are we 'Bama fans or Tennessee fans? His response: "Son, we hate Alabama". And another Big Orange loving, Bama hating, Volniac was born. My dad would fill me in on the great history of the series. He told me of the 1966 game in which Alabama came in ranked No. 3 and barely escaped 11-10. There was the 1982 game, 10 months after I was born, when Alabama came to Knoxville ranked No. 2 in the nation and unranked Tennessee won 35-28. In '83 the Tide was ranked No. 11 when the unranked Vols won 41-34. Of course more ups and downs would follow in this grand series. In this slideshow I will detail my most memorable UT/Bama games--the gutwrenching losses as well as the exhilarating wins.

Begin Slideshow

Tennessee Vols Football: It's Bama Week!

Joel Barker — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:48:03 -0400

I'm not quite sure if we should be happy, scared, and downright depressed about the fact expressed in that headline, but nonetheless, it's finally upon us.

As soon as the Vols were finished with their utter dismantling of the Georgia Bulldogs last weekend, I told myself that I was going to enjoy that 45-19 blowout for a week. Guess what, that week is over and now it's time to build.

Tennessee has to build on the success it achieved last Saturday. The Vols and coach Lane Kiffin have to get back to the grind beginning now. The off-week is over, wounds are healed, and it's time to hit it hard.

Make no mistake, Volniacs: Georgia is not Alabama. As a matter of fact, Georgia is not anywhere near the category of Alabama.

Alabama plays defense, has a certified football genius running the show and a legit Heisman front-runner running the ball 20-plus times a game.

Georgia had none of that.

So before you go bragging to all your 'Bama friends that since your team scored 45 on Georgia that the Vols are all of a sudden a great team, just stop. Stop right now.

I actually heard Tennessee fans talking smack to other SEC fans after scoring 63 points on hapless Western Kentucky. Western Kentucky!? And as day follows the night, it all started back up after the 45-19 win a week ago.

Do I feel better about the Vols after putting up that many points and completely demoralizing an SEC rival? Absolutely!

Do I think the ability is there to build on that and maybe pull off the unthinkable next weekend? Absolutely!

Am I going on 'Bama message boards and taunting them after Jonathan Crompton's third decent game out 12 career starts? No! Actually, heck no!

How can the Vols build off that Georgia victory? What do we have before us now considering the newfound success we experienced a week ago on the offensive side of the ball?

First of all, we have a new "method to the madness" on offense. That new method includes rolling Crompton out time and again so he can become more accurate. Crompton is not a pocket passer. He has to be on the move.

Utilizing play-action is a precursor to that rollout success. Against Georgia, Lane Kiffin ingeniously used their over- aggressiveness to stop the run to his advantage.

Georgia studied and practiced all week to snuff out the running game. They didn't think that Crompton had the ability to win the game on his own. They were wrong.

That luxury will not be afforded the coaches Kiffin this week. Alabama has the tape and you can bet they will dissect, decipher, and dredge out every last bit of it.

I think Tennessee has to approach this game more like it did the Florida game. Run the ball. Pound the rock. Play ball control offense and keep field position in your favor.

Now that we know the play-action/rollout works we have that to lean on when we have to use it.

This Alabama team is ferocious on defense. The blitz, stop the run, and have a tremendously talented secondary that can give you fits.

The Vols might be able to use their aggression against them. The cure for the blitz is screens, draws, and a stout running game. The Vols have the ability to do all three well.

On defense, well do I really have to say anything else about this defense? Perhaps the most telling fact of the Georgia game was that the 'Dawgs never made it past the Tennessee 34-yard line.

The same Georgia team that put up 52 on Arkansas and 41 on South Carolina was held without a single offensive touchdown against this Vols defense.

Of course the 'Dawgs don't have Mark Ingram, who should be the Heisman frontrunner right now. And as if Ingram's not enough, they can throw Trent Richardson and Roy Upchurch at you at any time.

Quarterback Greg McElroy is nothing to write home about, but he can manage a game and keep 'Bama out of the loss column.

Can Tennessee do it? Can they even keep it close? Will this year be another in the long line of Instant Classics in this rivalry? As a lifelong member of the Volnation and a certified Alabama-hater, I sure hope so.

This is the first installment of my "It's Bama Week" series.

Later on in the week I will discuss the game at length with my good friend, James Morrison , a rabid Bama fan and fellow-B/R writer in our weekly Rivalry Picks article.

My special look back at this rivalry will also be a part of this series.

Because for most old-school Vol fans (of which I am a proud member) it doesn't get any bigger or better than 'Bama Week.

Atlanta Braves Baseball: A New Direction Begins

Joel Barker — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:03:46 -0400

If you have read any of my columns over the summer, you know I am a die-hard, tried-and-true rabid Atlanta Braves fan. I usually watch around 120 games a year on TV, about three in person, and another 10 or so I catch on radio based on time constraints and such.

I enjoyed watching the Braves play this season. Well, that is, sometimes I enjoyed watching them. I spent a few nights throwing random objects, saying choice words about Rafael Soriano and/or Bobby Cox via this very outlet, and I even allowed myself to toss and turn over the Braves' struggles at some points during the year.

I enjoyed the highs and was nearly devastated with the lows.

The run at the end of the season brought back memories of those "worst to first" Braves in 1991—when the team that my dad and I had watched lose 90-100 games a year finally made the playoffs.

I'll never forget those early days of the dynasty.

The 40,000-plus red tomahawks waving in unison, not an empty seat in the house. Players playing like they loved the game while feeding off the energy from the crowd. Ted Turner and Jane Fonda in all their glory even though they were apparently clueless as to the intracacies of cap-wearing.

There were banners, flags, and signs. Rabid crazies were roaming the bleachers. The Braves had the city of Atlanta wrapped around their finger.

Most long-time success comes with complacency. It's just a fact of life. You get used to it. You take things for granted.

It was easy to fill the stadium those first few years of the dynasty, because the Braves had been downright dreadful in all but a handful of seasons until that fateful year.

The Braves moved from the "Launching Pad" (Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium) to Turner Field in 1997. From 1997-2000, they experienced a nice jump in attendance from the smaller and less attractive cookie-cutter Fulton County Stadium. The average attendance in those seasons was 40,000-plus.

However, from 2001-2004, the dropoff was drastic. The Braves went from a near franchise-high 42,771 average in '97 to 29,399 in 2004. Since then, the Braves' highest average attendance came in 2007, when they averaged 33,891.

The greatest cause of that decline was Atlanta's continued success in the division followed by the continued choke jobs in the playoffs.

Fans took the attitude of "wake me when it's October." Even then, the Braves were at times embarassed at the lack of fan support in the playoffs. In the 2003 NLDS, Cubs fans nearly outnumbered Braves fans in Atlanta. To this day, Cubs fans eat up all the tickets Braves fans do not take advantage of.

I live 100 miles from the stadium and I work a day job. It's dang hard for me to make a game unless it's planned a month in advance. But I have to ask, where are the Braves fans from Atlanta?

I realize there was bad blood over the David Justice trade nearly 13 years ago. I realize it was hard to watch Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Javy Lopez leave earlier this decade. I understand that we dont have fan favorites such as Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, and/or Albert Pujols. Isn't Atlanta a highly successful baseball city, though? Do we not have Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones, and Brian McCann?

What has to happen for more fans to show up in Atlanta? What needs to take place in order for people—average Joes and such—to get excited about the Braves again?

We saw relentless marketing strategies all season long in 2009. I wish I had a dime for every time I heard Boog Sciambi or Joe Simpson advertise a two-fer Tuesday, or a chance to watch BP on the field.

Tickets can be had for little to nothing anymore.

So what does Atlanta need? A more aggressive marketing strategy? A high-profile player? A bunch of new, young players with more enthusiasm? A new manager? A new direction? I personally think the Braves could use all the above.

Face it, with Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones around, we will always mistakenly view these Braves as we viewed the highly successful division title winning teams of the 90's and early-00's. It's just the way we are wired.

So why not start over again? We've been without a postseason trip since 2005. Why not make some big changes now?

I actually think the Braves are beginning to see that light.

The upcoming 2010 season being Bobby Cox's final year at the helm should bring a few sentimental fans out the park. The new blood of Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Jason Heyward, and others should be enough to get Braves fans buzzing a bit more.

The success the team had with its pitching staff this season should be reason enough to expect a continued upswing in 2010.

There's reason to believe the Braves could land a big right-hand bat this offseason as well. With the recent success of stockpiling young players in the farm system comes the ability to trade certain pieces to fill needs.

Will the Braves get a fan-drawing player? Will they offer some of that young talent for some older, more experienced, seat-filling talent?

I fully expect the marketing campaign this year to be off the charts. I can see it now, "Come see Bobby's farewell tour," and "Baby Braves, Part Deux: This time it's for keeps!"

Either way, it's nice to finally see Atlanta Braves baseball heading in the right direction again. It's taken a while to get here, but I am hopeful that it was worth the wait.