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Every year, just before kick-off of the first game, I'm reminded of just how much I missed football during its eight month hiatus.
The same feeling swept over me Friday night as I watched the orange and white come out onto the field for the first time in 2012 at the Georgia Dome. In a crowd that was decided slanted toward the Vols (lots and lots of orange), the Vols came out and took care of business against NC State with a nice 35-21 victory. Much of the credit for the win goes to a dominating thirty seconds of game play in which the Vols scored 16 points--two long TDs and a safety.
As I said Friday to a fellow fan, "And to think we've got three more quarters to go."
I saw a lot of positives in the game and for the season, setting up what I think could be one of the biggest showdowns the Vols and Gators have had in years when they visit Knoxville a week from Saturday.
The first encouraging sign was two long, sustained drives to end the first half and during the third quarter. One particular drive saw the Vols methodically drive on NC State and saw the Wolfpack take a TD because our offense had them on the ropes. Watching Derek Dooley get visibly excited when NC State took the time out and celebrate and congratulate his offense was a nice moment and I hope that this team can provide him with a lot more of these moments as the season unfolds.
The second encouraging sign was that the offense didn't abandon the running game when it wasn't necessarily paying dividends early in the contest. Tennessee slowly wore down the NC State defense until by the end of the first half and much of the second, the Wolf Pack was giving up more and more yards on the ground.
Possibly the most encouraging sign was that it looked like the staff made adjustments at half-time and the team executed them on both sides of the ball. The defense came up with four picks on the day, one bigger than the fourth-and-short that sparked the thirty seconds of scoring fury to end the first quarter.
On the negative side, I still worry that the Vols were too dependent on the long play to spark the offense and set things up. We've got a lot of potential there, but better teams in the SEC will take away those long plays and I'll be interested to see how Tyler Bray and company respond to that.
I will also point out that we got the short end of the stick from the officiating crew. I have no clue which replay they saw, but the one in the Georgia Dome from ESPNU clearly showed Bray breaking the plane of the end zone and scoring a TD as the first half wound down.
I also still have questions at kicker. I was worried the missed extra point would come back to haunt us, but thankfully the defense bailed Palardi out. He did redeem himself as the game went along and maybe it was early season jitters. Let's hope those are out because his leg could be the difference between a win and a loss at some point this year.
All in all, a nice way to start the season. Let's hope the Vols build on it into game two and aren't looking ahead to the Gators visits on September 15.
Labels: tennessee, tennessee football, tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 9/04/2012 09:40:00 AM |
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Rick and Bubba are fond of saying they don't consider themselves comedians, but they just report on the funny things that happen to them. Consider this me reporting on something funny that happened to me yesterday.
I got a call from the Vanderbilt University athletics department. My first thought was--oh no, they've read all the disparaging Commodore remarks I've made over the years and have finally called to tell me enough is enough.
Nope.
Their record indicated that I've attended the UT vs Vandy football game each time it's been in Nashville over the last decade or so. And they were wondering if I'd like to think about a season ticket package for this year's Vanderbilt schedule, which includes UT, of course.
Salesman: However, when I heard your ring tone (which is Rocky Top), I figured you were probably headed to Knoxville for games.
Me: As many as I can get to, yes.
The salesman (who had a good sense of humor about the whole thing) then quoted me the price for tickets and told me about some of the other big games Vandy has this year. I politely declined the tickets and thanked him for calling me.
At no point did I give into the obvious temptation to point out how I keep hearing how awesome James Franklin is (he's not) and how excited the Vandy fanbase is about the season and yet somehow they're telemarketing to sell tickets.
He then concluded by saying that he figured I'd be on hand for the UT vs Vandy game and that they looked forward to seeing me then.
Sometimes you just can't make this stuff up....
Labels: tennessee football, tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/27/2012 07:17:00 AM |
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I jumped into my car yesterday to head out to the Y, only to be greeted by news about the Tyler Bray situation. If you missed it, here's what Wes Rucker has come up with over at GoVols247.com.
There are two separate incidents here. One is solved and not a police matter, and the other is an unsolved police matter that doesn’t seem to include Bray as a direct suspect.
Bray and some other people were at their off-campus apartment on Friday night, and they admitted to tossing some empty bottles and golf balls off their balcony. I don’t know was drinking beer and who wasn’t, but I know there were empty beer bottles and golf balls that were tossed off the balcony. The guys said they didn’t mean to hit anyone’s car, but obviously they did. They claim they were just having some fun and being careless. Bray has admitted to being included in that group.
The first woman went out to her car the next day and saw a crack in her windshield and a dent on the top. She also found a note from a second woman who said she saw what happened to the car. The second woman also called 911 as she was watching the guys throw the bottles and golf balls. I don’t know what happened immediately next, but I know that the guys (including Bray) agreed to pay the damages and move on. The first woman was satisfied with this and didn’t want to press any charges. It’s a college apartment complex. Things happen.
Where things get interesting is this: The second woman found damage on her car in a separate incident that happened during the day on Monday, around lunchtime. She suspected that group of guys was responsible for what she considered retribution, and she went to the police, who took down her story but couldn’t do anything about it because there were no witnesses to the event. The police looked into that situation but haven’t learned much, and Bray apparently couldn’t have done it because he wasn’t at the apartment complex during the only time her car could have been vandalized. This is why Bray’s friends were telling me he wasn’t there — because apparently he wasn’t there for the second incident, the only one that’s a police matter. Bray and his roommate were evicted from the complex for the first incident, and Bray learned that earlier in the day Monday.
On the field, Bray has all the physical football gifts in the world, as evidences in last year's blow out of Cincinnati. But then you hear reports about Bray's football gifts between the ears, where it counts the most. That coupled with rumors that Bray and several underclassmen didn't give their full effort in the Kentucky game last year, not wanting to go to a "lesser" bowl game and then this incident....it makes continue to question if this guy will ever the quarterback he could be at Tennessee.
We've heard so much about how Bray has grown up in the off-season, but then you have a boneheaded move like this one and a lot of questions come back into play. Whether it's fair or not, Bray is the starting QB at UT, he's supposed to be a leader on the team. It's time for him to grow up and start acting like one.
Next Thursday as fall practice starts, the focus won't be on the team and expectations for the year, but instead on Bray acting like a nimrod.
If I'm Derek Dooley, I have to be shaking my head and feeling that knot of tension in my gut get just a bit tighter today. Dooley's future at UT is directly tied to Bray's success on the field this year and how big a step Bray makes. Bray falters, Dooley is gone, pure and simple.
It should be an interesting season....Labels: tennessee football, tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/26/2012 08:26:00 AM |
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There will be a lot of sports stories today--the Stanley Cup playoffs, NBA teams making a final push to the playoffs, baseball scores, etc.--but none of them will have the lasting significance that the news coming out of Knoxville today did.
After thirty-seven years as the coach of the Lady Vols and the face of women's college basketball, Pat Summit is stepping down as the head coach at the University of Tennessee. She leaves with a legacy of winning, tradition and transcending the game. Among all of her impressive stats, it's not the SEC titles, the multiple twenty win seasons, the Final Four appearances or the national titles that will leave the longest lasting legacy. It's the fact that for thirty-seven years every young lady who stepped onto the court at Tennessee graduated. One hundred percent. That's one hell of a legacy.
I feel fortunate that I was able to be a fan of the Lady Vols and Pat Summit during one of the golden ages of Lady Vols basketball.
It's going to be strange next year when the Lady Vols take the court for the first time and Pat isn't on the sidelines, making changes, glaring at players and running the team.
When we got word of her health last year, we all knew this day was coming.
As a fan of Tennessee, it came too soon. My thoughts and prayers go out to Summit and her family during this time.
As does my thanks to Pat Summit. She elevated the game of women's basketball to a new level. She did it with dignity, grace and a commitment to making her players better people when they left the doors of Tennessee than when they entered. She was a classy, intelligent, motivated person and truly one of the greatest who has ever or will ever coach.
I'd wished the Lady Vols could have won it all this last year and sent Pat out on top. But in the end, that doesn't really matter. She was going to go out on top no matter what.
Thank you, Pat Summit for all you did for the Lady Vols. I know you'll still be around as coach emeritus, bt somehow it just won't be the same without you on the sidelines coaching our Lady Vols.Labels: tennessee, tennessee basketball, tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 4/18/2012 07:01:00 PM |
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The Mike Hamilton era at UT is over.
Hamilton resigned as athletic director at my Alma mater this morning, bringing to a close an era that's seen one bad decision after another. For those of you keeping track at home, Hamilton bungled the end of the Philip Fulmer and Bruce Pearl eras, inflicted the Lane Kiffin era on us, fired the baseball coach he hired and rushed to get a new men's basketball coach who may or may not be a good fit for the program. About the only athletic program left unscathed by Hamilton is the Lady Vols and that's probably because he was (rightly) afraid of messing Pat Summit. (I'd be afraid to face down the glare, myself...)
It's news that's been a long time coming. It still puts the athletic department in turmoil and facing an uncertain future thanks to NCAA sanctions that are coming for the Kiffin and Pearl eras. But maybe we can start with a a clean slate as we move out of the cloud that's been over us the past couple of years and return to the winning ways and tradition that make the Big Orange faithful so proud.
I've said it before and I'll say it again--the first call should be to Phil Fulmer. Whether he's a good fit or the right guy for this job, he should be one of the first calls to possibly interview for the job.Labels: tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 6/07/2011 10:45:00 AM |
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Forty-eight hours before the Vols are set to begin play in the NCAA Tournament in an arena they've struggled in and facing clouds of uncertainty about the future of the program, Mike Hamilton goes on the radio and throws Bruce Pearl and the team under the bus.
Yes, there are questions surrounding the future of Pearl at Tennessee. And yes, Tennessee probably needs to resolve those before the NCAA hearing comes around in June (at the very least, it will have a major impact on whether players go pro or not). But the timing of this whole thing just stinks to high heaven.
Instead of the epic battle between Tennessee and Michigan being the story for the game tomorrow, the story will be all about Bruce. CBS probably is loading up their graphics and their commentators are busy getting ready to regurgitate the entire saga again on the off chance that someone from Mars just wandered in and hasn't heard it just yet. It wouldn't shock me to see this distraction and circus, again created by Hamilton, doom the Vols to a one and done in the tourney this year.
And I bet Hamilton will use that as part of the reason cited for dropping Pearl when and if that axe falls.
See, because Hamilton is playing a great game of CYA at this point. Realizing that his fate as AD is tied to Pearl, realizing that he bungled the end of the Fulmer era and realizing that he's responsible for the whole Kiffin fiasco, it's easy to imagine Hamilton feels the heat. It's coming to a slow boil and I think if and when Pearl is let go that serious consideration needs to be given to cleaning house and showing Hamilton the door as AD at the University of Tennessee. As the leader of the athletic department, the responsibility for all of what has gone on rests firmly at his door.
And the fact that he's willing to throw his subordinates under the bus with a big game looming just shows how he's not the leader the UT athletic department needs right now.
I won't jump on the bandwagon and say that we should hire Phil Fulmer as AD if and when Hamilton is shown the door. But I will say it's probably time for a change at the time, regardless of how events with Pearl play out.Labels: tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/17/2011 12:33:00 PM |
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Local sports-columnist and talk-radio show host Joe Biddle has a column today about the Bruce Pearl situation at Tennessee.
It's pretty much the same bias as every other Biddle column or rant on the radio--Biddle has no love for the Vols and hold the entire athletic department in disdain. We can do nothing right and any infraction, misstep or mistake is an opportunity to jump on his soapbox and talk about how horrible the University of Tennessee is.
I can pretty much sum up every column in this way---"Wah, wah, wah. UT is horrible. I wish Vanderbilt was better. Wah, wah, wah."
Today's could also be subtitled--boy, I sure how UT gets rid of Pearl because he owns Vandy in basketball.
I realize that columnists are paid to write their opinion. I just wish that when it came to UT, Biddle and the other Tennessean columnist might occasionally have a new take or different outlook.Labels: tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 11/20/2010 07:29:00 AM |
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One for the men, one for the women.
Vols are underdogs
Ohio State stands in the way
Of Elite Eight
Let's go to Memphis
Set up showdown with UConn
Eliminate GinoLabels: tennessee basketball, tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/25/2010 03:22:00 PM |
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A column by a Daily Beacon sports columnist about the UT men's run to to the Sweet 16 has raised the eyebrows of one of my favorite UT blogs Rocky Top Talk.
The column, written by UT Daily Beacon student Nash Armstrong, contains a lot of errors according to the research done by RTT.
As I read the article, I was reminded of my own time working on the Daily Beacon, many, many moons ago when I was a student at UT. In those days, writing for the Beacon was meant to be a kind of proving ground, a place to hone your skills and get some real world experience before you graduated from the school of journalism. (That and a perpetual humbling experience when you knew that no matter how great an article you wrote or edited that it was only read after most of the campus population flipped open to the Crime Log (which for the record includes some of the most unintentionally hilarious moments in print journalism)).
I will admit that the column could use a couple of passes by a good editor and it could use some tightening. I read it a couple of times and I can't really figure out what the central argument is other than "Scotty Hopson sucks." It feels a lot like a column or article written coming out of Spring Break when maybe Armstrong and the editorial staff of the Beacon wouldn't have had as much time to put the polishing touches on it that it deserves or give it another edit or two to hone it down a bit.
I love the line about how he doesn't want to "belittle Scotty Hopson" when that's precisely what he's done for the past several paragraphs. It reminds of that saying about how you always preface a criticism with "I don't mean to criticize, but..."
The column does made the error of not really researching its points well or coming up with concrete facts to back up the assertions made. RTT is able to do so and I hope that Armstrong will learn from the experience and that this may make him a better writer in the long run. The bad part is that in my day if a student journalist wrote and published a story that was refuted or as unpolished as this one, it only existed in the print world and would probably be forgotten by the student population as a whole within a few weeks after some debate in the letters to the editor section. Now in the day and age of the Internet and Google, the story will lurk out there forever and ever thank to the digital footprint.Labels: tennessee basketball, tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/23/2010 01:30:00 PM |
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CSS repeated the classic (well, if you're a UT fan) 5 OT UT vs Bama game from 2003. For those of you who don't recall, that's the one the Vols won in the fifth overtime, after holding Bama out of the end on the final play of the fifth overtime.
As I watched some of the game this afternoon (including the entire overtime), I was reminded again of just how much I love football. In one of the first overtimes, the Vols are facing a fourth and nineteen. They make it, they can then look at getting in the end zone and keep the game going. They don't make it, game over and the evil empire wins. And even though I know how the game comes out and that it will all work out for the greatest college football team in the known universe, I still couldn't help getting the butterflies in my stomach as each team took a time-out and then the play went in motion. And the feeling of complete and utter euphoria when the Vols converted....sorry, but no other sport can duplicate that. And it's just a repeat, folks!
(Yes, I am terrible to watch a game with if I'm really into it....ask any member of my family or close friends who have been crazy enough to watch a game with me).
I felt this same thing a few weeks ago. The Y has the NFL Network and they were showing a re-air of the Titans vs Colts game here in Nashville last year. You know, the one that ended on a 60-freakin' yard field goal kick with about two seconds left and the Titans won. Yeah, that one. I watched it and even extended my time doing some cardio so I could see the end. And again, even though I knew how it would all end, I still felt that anxiety and then euphoria when Rob Bironas lined up and then made the big kick.
Great games...but they also bring back some memories of where I was when they aired. The UT vs Bama classic was the first week of my nephew's life and I remember telling him that UT would beat Bama to start his life on the right note and hopefully, they'd never lose to the Tide in his lifetime. (Alas, this turned out to not be true, but I think we can start a streak now so that he'll never REMEMBER a time the Vols lost to Bama. That'd be almost as good).
Ah, I love football. And just think--these were re-runs. I cannot wait for actual games to start up--games where I don't know the outcome and can be on the edge of my seat, rooting for my teams.
The first of September cannot get here fast enough!Labels: football, tennessee sports, Titans
posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/15/2007 07:34:00 PM |
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Dick Vitale will be in Knoxville this evening as the color analyst for the UT vs Florida basketball game.
I could mute the ESPN commentary and turn on the Vol Radio Network coverage of the game. But that means I'd have to listen to Bob Kesling, who, well, let's just say covering basketball games is not his strong suit.
So, which is the lesser of these two evils? I am honestly not sure....Labels: tennessee sports
posted by Michael Hickerson at 2/27/2007 10:33:00 AM |
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