posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/30/2010 09:48:00 AM |
| Monday, September 27, 2010 So Let Me See If I Have This Right...
So, let me see if I've got this straight.
Last week, a bunch of parental groups lost their minds because Katy Perry was dressed "too sexy" in her video with Elmo but the upcoming skit based on "True Blood" hasn't raised one single eyebrow or word of protest?
Surely there aren't many crossovers in the demographic audience between "True Blood" and "Sesame Street." I know the show tries to have things in there for the grown-ups who watch the show with their kids, but this may be pushing it a bit far.
As for the Perry thing, I wasn't outraged by the video. And my first thought was--if the outfit is such a big deal, why not bring her back and just reshoot the video?
Of course, then there wouldn't be a week or so of howls of protest and free publicity for the show and Ms. Perry.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/27/2010 12:22:00 PM |
| Sunday, September 26, 2010 Tennessee 32, UAB 29 (2OT)
First the positive--the Vols found a way to win the game yesterday. And that at least made the drive back to Nashville a lot more tolerable than it would have been had they completed the collapse and actually lost to UAB for the first time in four games.
Also, the Vols did give me my money's worth for attending the game yesterday. And no matter what, it was nice to be back in God's house with the Neyland Stadium faithful. I hadn't been to a home game since the last season Fulmer was here and there's nothing like being in Neyland on a Saturday afternoon. Of course, I was expecting a lot from the Vols than I got (esp. given how well the first half went), but hey, at least I was there...
Now, onto the less positive.
A couple of years ago, I was watching a Florida vs UT game and we'd get the Gators into third-and-a-mile. And every single time they'd convert, leading a fellow game watcher to say, "Well, they've got us right where they want us" every time third and more than three came up. Same thing yesterday. The Vols had UAB in long down and distances multiple times only to see UAB somehow come up with a huge play to get a critical first down.
Of course, part of that could be that the offense did nothing for two or so quarters. As good as Matt Simms looked on a few deep balls, he was pitiful at times either underthrowing or overthrowing receivers on short routes. That coupled with the fact that we couldn't run the ball worth a damn and that the right side of the offensive line was allowing UAB defenders a free shot on Simms just about every time he dropped back in the second half didn't help things.
The Vols were woeful on third down. Just plain woeful. As positive as finishing off the first drive with a touchdown was, it shouldn't be overlooked that we had to convert a fourth and one to get there. At the time it seemed like a smart move by Derek Dooley. Later as our failures on third down mounted up, I began to wonder how much more Dooley knew that we didn't.
Of course, it wouldn't be a complaining post without a little lack of love thrown to the officiating crew. Apparently they sent the crew most in need of eye exams to this game. Or else they had decided since it was on the SEC regional game and those have six hours of commercials anyway, that they wouldn't want to make the game go longer by doing silly things like calling blindingly obvious penalties on UAB.
I hate to say this, but the team just phoned it in in the second half. After the collapse against Oregon and then the rebound last week against Florida in terms of effort, it was shocking to see how uninterested the team was in the game in the second half. Did they team decide that we were up by enough at halftime and that they could just coast? Well, that almost came back to haunt us.
Driving home and listening to the call-in show, I was struck by how suddenly Phil Fulmer has become a genius and some fans want him back. I'm sure this was the same group that wanted him out two years ago.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/26/2010 07:00:00 AM |
| Thursday, September 23, 2010 Vols vs UAB Hiaku
UAB visits Blazers could be tough to beat Win not guaranteed
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/23/2010 10:38:00 AM |
| Monday, September 20, 2010 Some Short Sports Thoughts
A couple of things not long enough for a full post, but too long for a Twitter update...
All weekend, I kept hearing about how tragic it was that Reggie Bush returned his Heisman and he was turning away all this heritage, rich tradition, etc. Yeah, not so much. See the Heisman lost all meaning as an award in 1997 when ESPN campaigned for Charles Woodson to get it over Peyton Manning. Since that time, the award has been a meaningless one....
Phil Fulmer goes on live TV and while he didn't open hand slap Tim Brando (who is the smarmiest sports reporter EVER), he did verbally slap Lane Kiffin. And I loved it. Can he be the next AD for the Vols, please?!?!
As proud as I am of the effort the Vols game Saturday against Florida, it still sucks to lose to the Gators for six straight years. My poor nephew doesn't recall a time when the Vols beat Florida. This needs to change starting next year.
If Vandy can beat Ole Miss, then so can the Vols. Houston Nutt, welcome to the hot seat.
Joining you will be Marc Richt of Georgia, who still has a loss to Florida looming and could lose to the Vols. I know, it seems unlikely, but Georgia tends to find ways to lose games they shouldn't and the UT vs Georgia game could qualify.
It was a terrible weekend for my favorite teams, football-wise. The Titans started a QB controversy when Vince Young was replaced by Kerry Collins. Thing was, neither was effective. Pittsburgh showed that if you shut down the run game and dare Young to beat you, you can rattle the Titans offense. If I were the defense, I'd be mad as hell as the offense. They gave us a lot of chances to win.
As for the Redskins, we still have kicker issues. How many times will this haunt us? Last year it was the Saints, this year the Texans. I will weep if the Texans make the playoffs and actually win a game.
On a good note, the Cowboys lost. I laughed a long time about that one.
Finally, ComCast gave us a free sample of NFL Red Zone and I've gotta say it was pretty awesome. Interestingly, the feed for CBS games was five seconds faster on NFL Red Zone than it was on my local CBS affiliate. I can see myself spending the five bucks a month to have this during the season.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/20/2010 11:59:00 AM |
| Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Dooley Calls Out The Team
First year coach Derek Dooley isn't pulling any punches this week. In his Sunday conference call, he called out the Vols for their lack of effort in the second half and giving up once they got down by a huge margin.
“We get so caught up in being behind, we start thinking about losing the game,” Dooley said on the call. “And we don’t compete.”
Dooley directed his most pointed comments at the offense. Despite only scoring two field goals and a touchdown, the Vols had thrived into the third quarter, Dooley said. UT had not taken a sack or committed a turnover until Matt Simms’ interception with 6:27 left in the third quarter. Oregon took a 27-13 lead with the score, and Dooley noticed a change in his team.
“We absolutely shut it down after the pick-six on offense,” he said.
Dooley, whose Vols face No. 10 Florida on Saturday, explained his team’s problems with a short lecture on today’s college player. Citing sociologists, he deemed his players part of the “Entitlement Generation” and criticized their work ethic when circumstances grow negative.
“Children are groomed from the beginning about winning and losing, not competing,” he said. “It’s something that, they all want success, and they all want personal gratification, and they lose sight of what it takes to get that.”
On one level, it's good to hear Dooley not making excuses for his team. Watching the game Saturday, I felt like we ran out of gas with about two minutes to play in the game. Also, having the weather delay allowed Oregon to regroup a bit. I'm not saying we would have won if there were no delay, but it doesn't give them 70 minutes to counterpunch and maybe, just maybe, Dooley and the team come up with a few more touchdowns and then hang on for a win.
However, I still like hearing Dooley say this and not pull his punches.
But on another level, I think that the kind of culture change he wants starts with he and his coaching staff. He needs to instill the work ethic we wants onto these players and this team.
I loved what I saw in the first half with a team that was fired up, competitive and was doing a lot of things well.
That, coupled with these comments, continue to assure me that the Vols made the right choice at the head coaching position and that while we may have some growing pains this year and next, that the future for the Vols is bright.
It's certainly head and shoulders above where it was under the Jackass....
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/15/2010 08:56:00 AM |
| Saturday, September 11, 2010 Vols vs Ducks
It was a wonderful quarter and a half tonight as the Vols dominated things early in this game against the Ducks.
And then the gas ran out and we into half-time tied with the Ducks...and from there, they never looked back.
Of course, I'm bitterly disappointed we couldn't pull an upset tonight and stop the Quack Attack. As I said elsewhere, I think our lack of depth reared its ugly head this evening--on both sides of the ball.
However, I'm still encouraged by what I saw for a quarter and a half. I saw a team that was giving their all, playing with passion and giving a full effort. I saw a pride in being the underdog and not wanting to take it. We gave it our best punch and Oregon countered. Of course, there will be a part of me that wonders what might have happened had there not been a long rain delay. Would we have run out of gas as quickly? I'm not saying we would have won, but could we have put up some more points or kept them on the ropes longer? Would the rain have slowed down their running attack a bit more?
Woulda, coulda, shoulda....doesn't matter. We still didn't get it done.
It stings now, but in the long term I see some glimmers of hope. And that's what I'll hold onto.
And hope that next week if we can get Florida on the ropes early that we'll keep them there and make some better luck for ourselves.
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/11/2010 10:11:00 PM |
| Thursday, September 09, 2010 UT vs Oregon Hiaku
Ducks fly to Neyland Quack Attack on the horizon Big test in week two
posted byMichael Hickerson at 9/09/2010 12:09:00 PM |
| Saturday, September 04, 2010 The Dooley Era Kicks-Off
This time last year, we were kicking off the jack-ass Kiffin era at Tennessee.
Who knew that a year later we'd be kicking off another new era, this time with Derek Dooley as the Vols' head coach?
Short-term, I think we'll struggle because of the shenanigans of the past couple of years. Long-term, I think that Dooley will be the right answer to the all the questions.
As I've said before, I think 6-6 is a good goal for the Vols this year, though I still think 7-5 is attainable and that we will sneak up and beat someone we shouldn't.
As for today, what I'm looking for most is to see what the Dooley era will bring. I will especially be interested to see what happens late in the game, if we're up by a good number. Will Dooley be like the jack-ass Kiffin and run up the score some more or will he be like Fulmer and show a bit of sportsmanship to the other team. I'd like to see it somewhere in the middle where a team is put away when we have the chance but the Vols don't feel we have to run up the score on anyone (unless it's Florida, Georgia, or Alabama....then it's OK by me).
No matter what happens, it's the beginning of a new era for the Vols and one I hope is the start of a great run for UT. This year and next couple be the growing pains for what could be a return to the greatness of the 90s and early half of the last decade.
