One last Olympic flashback

The Olympics are fun and all, but let's get real. Swimming and beach volleyball aren't going to be revving my engines as year-around sports. I think this video captures the thrill of the battles that have been waged and the sportsmanship that has been shown during this historic Beijing Olympics.

Chow Versus Clawson

I know September the 1st has Tennessee against UCLA written down on the schedule. But is that really the most intriguing match up of this game? How about Chow versus Clawson?

Sure, Chow has the household name and everyone has raved about what a guru he is at every stop throughout his career, but this is the the time for the up and comer too shine and maybe establish himself as one of the next great coaches on the scene. Dave Clawson left D 2 jobs to take a chance at Tennessee for a reason! That reason is to position himself as a legitimate head coach on the D1 level!

The proving ground begins on September the 1st and Clawson has the opportunity to beat the mastermind in Chow and put himself front and center for the 2008 campaign. I know the Vol faithful are praying for Clawson to be the next great thing in college football, and maybe he will be?

The UCLA game will be the beginning of what I believe will be an interesting season on behalf of the two coaches, one that is older and tenured in Fulmer and the the next up and coming coach in Clawson that has hedged his bet that he is ready for "prime time". Lets hope Clawson is right.

Dis Your Opponent

Okay, I've come to an epiphany about what I should have as an onging blog going into the new season. Like most of you, there are a few opponents that I love to hate. What's more, the week of a game, I generally hate whomever we play. Yes, I really hated Air Force when we played them, not to mention that complete disdain for Louisiana Lafayette...freaking cajuns. Now I feel good about what I'm supposed to do, so every week I'll have a synopsis of my personal feelings for that week's foe. Some weeks will be short as my level of hate will probably rise to the level in which I enjoy women's basketball or even soccer. Nonetheless, I'll give it the old college try.

Week one: UCLA

Yeah, I know, this is a head scratcher...what with all the good looking woman out there, the sun, the stars, Beverly Hills, and all the Bugs Bunny landmarks all around. To be honest, I love going to L.A., and their campus is in one of the richest zip codes in the country, and you can visit some of the nicest restaurants in the country. Not a bad place to kick around for an away game; but, on the other hand, their turf isn't even on campus and their colors, while nice on the cheerleaders would get your ass kicked in the south.

Keith Jackson lives there...enough said.

If I have to see any Mark Harmon pictures or side stories next week I'm going to hurl. It's almost as bad as NBC constantly panning to Brady Quinn's ugly sister while playing OSU. Why doesn't David Keith get this kind of TV play...he was a UT trainer.



However, after googling Mark Harmon, he seems like a pretty good guy. He even supports McCain...not too shabby in that Pinko-Commie state. Man, I'm getting off track. I can't even rip them about their tree people; that was in Berkely. Well, I'll have a more vile post in a couple of weeks, I'm sure. There's not much else not to like about UCLA, with the exception of them beating us a few times and that 26 all tie back when I was in high school. Nevertheless, if you can come up with more reasons, feel free to start a thread in the new forum. I'll be back on topic after beating those sissy bears, to thrash the blazers a bit

Bring Back The Orange Pants

It is the time to put back on the orange pants with the white jerseys and get back to Tennessee fotball and forget looking like Penn. State. I remember when Keith Jackson was complaining about how hard it was to read the jersey numbers, but who cares?

Keith Jackson and the rest of the media can get over it! Tennessee is orange and white and that is the way it is! Put back on your school colors and wear them with pride! I will never forget the Vols wearing their orange colored pants in the 80's and early 90's.

I believe there was never a better road uniform than the Vols during this era and I hope that Tennesee will return to that time in the near future. The colors at Tennesee are orange and white ( not black) and it is time to return to tradition!

The rumor is that the Vols are returning back to tradition and I hope this is the case, because I miss the good "ole days" of Keith Jackson maybe not being able to pronounce a name or two of the players because he could not see them clearly but as a Vol fan staying true to tradition i really could care less! Bring back the orange and white please!

TN Vols Forum

Our new TN Vols Forum is up & running. Our goals with the new forum is to allow TN Vols fans throughout the world to communicate with one another, and have great, informative, absorbing, and interesting conversations with like-minded fans.

Forums are true communities, and once established, I'm sure this new Vols Forum will be the place to talk up and about the Vols.

Game Week

Finally ! The time has arrived as we get ready for the games to begin and of course for the Vol fans all eyes will be out west as Tennessee gets ready to take on UCLA. It should be an interesting first weekend of college football and I am ready to get things started!

Alabama and Clemson will be one of the biggest games of the first weekend of the season. This game will be played down in Atlanta, and even though the Tigers are favored by about everyone, do not be surprised to see the Tide rise up and pull off the upset. Bama is a year or two away from making big waves in the SEC but they still are very dangerous.

Another game of interest to me is Appalachian State traveling to LSU. These are the same Mountaineers that upset Michigan last year. I do not look for a repeat performance this year but this is a game to keep an eye on just based off last year. LSU will be breaking in a new QB and you never know how that will go?

The first weekend of the season will usually go as scripted and the favorites will win most of the time , but there are exceptions to this rule and a surprise upset or two may occur ? Hopefully, Tennessee will not be one of these surprise upsets! Thank goodness that the 2008 season is about to get going and finally we can separate the pretenders from the contenders!

Let the talking stop, and the games begin and we will separate all the teams across the country and find out who is truly number one in the land!

Warren to Improve Offense

Finally. For the last few years we have been waiting for that Jason Witten type of difference maker at tight end, and it appears that our patience has been rewarded by the addition of Brandon Warren. Florida State would split Warren out as much as they kept him tight, so I'm sure that hasn't been lost on Dave Clawson, who has to be beaming to have such a threat added to his offense. This is going to take alot of pressure off of first year starter Jonathan Crompton, giving him an outlet to check down to if he can't find an open receiver. Not only a special ball catcher, Warren can create alot after the catch. This will give Tennessee two big time talents catching the football this year. We've been saying that Tennessee needs that game breaker a la Percy Harvin at Florida. Now, with Gerald Jones and Warren, Tennessee has a duo capable of turning nothing plays into big gainers.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I see a very potent offense brewing, and hopefully Chavis' D will be much improved from last year. Who knows, this could be a special season. We weren't expecting a championship in 1998, so maybe we'll start a new trend with a national championship every ten years. Besides, we put a whoopin' on the current number 1 team last season.

2008 Non Confernce Preview for 2008

Here we go again as we approach the 08 season and I thought this would be a good time to look at the non conference opponents at this time for the upcoming season. The schedule is again loaded with traditional rivals, and also a inter sectional rivalry (UCLA) along the way. As usual, Tennessee will play a challenging schedule that will make 2008 very exciting to the Vol fan. Here is the way I see the non conference games on the schedule for this year.

UCLA: September 1 at UCLA. UCLA is in transition with a new coach and offensive coordinator in Norm Chow and they only return a limited amount of starters on both sides of the ball and they have no proven QB. Look for a Vol win ! Tennessee has too much for the Bruins.

Alabama Birmingham (UAB): September 13th. UAB is just not that good at all even though they will return a majority of their players from last year. This is a program a few years away from making any noise in the NCAA. Take the Vols to win big!

Northern Illinois: Forget about an upset in this one. Northern Illinois is not the same team they were a a few years ago and I think Tennessee wins this game handily. Should be a good tuneup game for Georgia.

Wyoming: The Cowboys should be improved this year as they return 17 starters on both sides of the ball, but they still do not have the athletes to compete with the Vols.

Overall, Tennessee will face a tough schedule in 08, but the non conference schedule is very manageable and I think Tennessee will go undefeated throughout the non conference tilt. You never know when you schedule these games in advance? Remember the 1979 Rutgers game?
A sure win is never a sure win, just ask Michigan about Appalachian State from last year.

Is It Time To Pay The Student Athletes?

Has the time arrived when it is time to pay the the student athletes in college sports? The debate has raged on for many years and many people offer differing views on this topic. I thought I would put my two cents in on on this subject as well.

Toady's student athletes in big time college athletics (Football, Men's college basketball) generates millions of dollars for the university on a annual basis and the student athlete only receives a free education (scholarship)? The money generated on merchandise sales and all the different apparel creates a lot more cash flow than the average scholarship! I know critics will point to the purity of college athletics, but have we not passed that a long time ago?

It is time to quit pretending that we are living in the times when school pride and tradition is all that mattered. Today, it is about the almighty dollar ,and how fast the student athlete can get to the " next level". It has become a game within the game on many levels and today's student athlete is getting tired of being used as a pawn for the next coach to go off and make many millons of dollars while the student athlete is left behind with no options.


I believe it is time to change policy and start paying the student athletes and allow them the ability to afford that pizza on a Saturday after the big game and allow the student athlete the privilege of being like the big donor ( who never played a sport) for at least a moment. The student athlete is the one that allows us as fans to enjoy the moments of college athletics and yet they are the ones often left out after the big game celebration while we as as fans continue to buy their jerseys and all the other souvenirs that go with a typical game day atmosphere.

I do not have all the answers as to how this can be done, but I do believe it is time to look at this issue and find a way to help the the student athlete in some way. I do know the schools are getting wealthy everyday on this current system and yet the persons that drive their business are still looking for enough money to enjoy their night out on a Saturday night after the big game.

The Third Season

Every August marks the beginning of a new season, a new crop of incoming freshmen, and new hopes for your football team that is starting off fresh. If you think about it, it's the first season of southern college football. We get to hear about how good Georgia is going to be; how if we can get by Florida, we can run the table to the SEC championship game. And, of course we anticipate the battles between traditional powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn, or LSU.

After the hangover of the bowl games, comes the second season. Although it was started early the previous year, and somewhat followed all throughout the first season, the recruiting season is getting to be as important to many computer potato as the first. The bragging rights that come with recruiting season almost rivals that of the regular season. How many more times do we have to hear how good Alabama will be because of their new recruting class. It's extremely inaccurate and all too many times 5 star players end up being kicked off the team or never are worth a crap altogether. {I'll refrain from naming a few Tennessee Vols that come to mind.} Thankfully, it pretty much ends in February and thus concludes the second season.

Now, there's a third season that brings out the red in many a southern football fan. It's sort of followed with a lazy eye as it's vacation seaon and the first season still seems too far away to really care a hell of alot. I'm talking about the "gotcha" season. It seems this is the period when boys will be boys, or sometimes boys will be criminals. That's right. It's time for fans to start needling their respective rivals about how many so and so's landed in the pokey in the offseason. A few years back, Tennessee was starting to get a bad rep about being "UThug". Of course, alot of this comes with being successful, but every rival is looking out for the police blotter in the opposing teams' local paper. We've seen Georgia kind of run through the blotter gauntlet this year, and I'm sure they're have been other UT fans other than me point this out to a diehard Dawg.

So, now that we know that southern football never stops, let's get this season behind us and kickoff the first.... which is alot more fun to watch on TV.

SEC East Predictions For 2008

I posted my predictions for 08 in the SEC west yesterday and today it is time to post predictions for what I believe to be the most demanding division of all of college football in the SEC east. The division looks to be very strong again as two or more teams are receiving top ten votes in various preseason polls or publications. These are my thoughts on how the eastern division will pan out.

1. Florida : Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin are two of the most dynamic players in all of college
football and how can you not discount what Urban Myer has done?

2. Georgia : Many publications and polls are picking the Bulldogs to be number one this year
and you can understand why with the amount of talent returning this year, but
the schedule is brutal and the "Dawgs" have been a poor front runner over the
years. Look for the trend to continue.

3. Tennessee : Obviously, as a Vol fan I would love to make the big orange my choice
to win the east but breaking in a new QB and an unproven d-line and
lack of depth at key positions it is hard to pick the Vols, but with a
a few breaks Tennessee will be in the thick of the race.

4. South Carolina : "The ole ball coach " will have this team better but they still lack
enough big time players to play with the big boys of the SEC.

5. Kentucky : Will take a step back after a very good 07 year. The Wildcats are
making strides in getting better talent and eventually it will show
but not this year.

6. Vanderbilt : Bobby Johnson has done a wonderful job at what has to be one of
the toughest jobs in the country, but Vandy is still Vandy and look
for the Dores streak to continue and not make a bowl game (1982 was the
last time) or have a winning season (also since 1982).

Predictions For 2008 In SEC

It is that time of year when all the football publications are out in your favorite shopping mart and all are making predictions as to what team will do what and why. I thought i would stay with tradition and make my yearly predictions on how the SEC season would unfold this year.

My predictions are just like every magazine article that claims to be the authority on college football ( which i do not). As anticipation builds to yet another year of great gridiron action here is how i see things unfolding within the greatest conference in all of America which is the SEC.

I will preiew my predictions for the SEC east on tomorrows blog.

SEC West Division
1. LSU : Until anyone can prove otherwise you have to go with the defending SEC champs and
national champions.

2. Auburn : Tommy Tuberville is one of the best coaches in the country and if the War Eagles
or tigers ( the one you prefer) get good QB play then watch out!

3 Alabama : Get Bama now because Saban is getting ready to restore Alabama football back
to the days of glory of the Bryant years. Still a year or two away though.

4. Ole Miss : A little bit of surprise team here as i think Houston Nutt will do a wonderful job.
Ed Orgeron was an awful coach but a good recruiter and the cupboard is not
empty with Ole Miss.

5. Miss. State : Give Sylvester Croom credit for what he has done at State and look for
continued improvement but the Bulldogs will not sneak up on teams this
year like last year.

6. Arkansas : Too much rebuilding ahead for Petrino and losing Mcfadden and Jones is fatal
for any hopes for the Razorbacks for 08.

Christmas in August?

Growing up as a kid in the seventies, we didn't have all the toys or distractions of today's kids. No internet, wii, guitar hero or whatever they're playing these days. I sound like an old coot, but when Christmas would come around their would always be one large surprise from Santa. Usually he was right on the money, didn't miss a beat...until one Christmas I was extra secretive about my true desire. I wanted a Godzilla toy. Yeah, the kind that you pull a lever on his neck and band-aid sized sliver of fire would come petering out. Lest I forget, for some reason he had a shooting claw, too. Don't ask me why, but that was my Christmas wish.

Disappointment wasn't the word to use to describe the next morning around 6 am. I was usually a pretty appreciative kid, so I tried to hide the waterworks that continued to well up as the moments sped along, not wanting mom and pop to sense the least bit of unhappiness on the chrismas morn.Soon enough the entire extended family had come, opened presents and noshed on some roast beast. No, I didn't get shut out; there were plenty of gifts of socks and books and a few Star Wars action figures that I would in later years burn in my pyrotec days. But by in large there was this heaviness of the toy I wouldn't get. Time would march on, and indeed I would get the Godzilla toy. I'm pretty sure my mom still has that stupid thing, but this whole ordeal reminds me that surprises aren't always the ones we want or expect.

The following year, as pictures with my hair sticking straight up remind me, would be the go-cart I had neither asked for or expected. Now that was a great surprise! I wouldn't have expected that my dad would bust my ass with a belt for running into the fence later on, but that's irrelevant to my point. As we wait for news on Brandon Warren's approval, a decision that will have a profound impact on our season IMO, we are most certainly going to experience either the godzilla or go-cart reaction within our Big Orange guts. Here's to hoping that socks and action figures aren't our consolation prize.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Am A Vols Fan

Tennessee football is obviously a passion in this area and many outsiders looking in seem confused as to why it is such a big deal. It is not only a big deal but it is a way of life in these parts. The reasons why are hard to explain to these "outsiders" but to us locals we know why.

1. It is waking up on a crisp Saturday morning and breathing in the air on a game day.

2. It is listening to local call in shows and getting fired up as fans as we prepare for the big game.

3. It is getting together with friends and family and celebrating another opportunity to share in moments of our lives that are so precious.

4. It is the opportunity to watch the Vol walk as the team enters the greatest stadium in the country in Neyland Stadium.

5. It is the anticipation as you await the kickoff as the teams warm up before the game.

6. It is the greatest entrance onto the field for any team in college football as the Pride Of The Southland marching band forms the "T" and watching the Vols run through it!

7. It is watching and living and dying with every play throughout four quarters of a game.

8. It is the orange and white checkerboard end zones.

9. It is Smokey our beloved coon tick hound.

10 It is the sound of Rocky top resonating in the air after big plays by Tennessee.

These are just some of the reasons it is "Great to be a Tennessee Volunteer"! There are many others and I am sure I may have left some off my list that others would have on theirs but that is also what makes it great to be a Vol fan because of the passion for Tennessee and what it means to us. These "outsiders" just would not understand.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The Tennessee 2008 football season is just right around the corner as the Vols prepare to take on UCLA September 1st in a primetime Labor Day game on ABC, but something seems to be a little different about this tilt between to inter-sectional rivalries that have produced some thrilling moments (Dewey Warren in the 1966 game scoring late to beat UCLA 37-34).

Have the Vols lost national respect? Many believe the program is on borrowed time with a tenured coach that has seen his best days. I however believe this is when Coach Fulmer and the Vols are at their best. Remember 1998? Tennessee was supposedly going to go in the tank without Manning, Little, etc.

All that team did was win a national title as though any Vol fan needs reminding! This year is about RESPECT. I am not saying get ready to get the national title hardware come early January but I do believe this team will surprise some fans and national pundits alike. Sure, Tennessee has not been the same program as far as success since 1998 but they have been far short of being mediocre.

The track record supports my argument. I know there has not been the SEC titles during that time but there have been four SEC east titles and three SEC championship games. The critics will point to the fact that during those appearances the Vols are winless (which is fair) but at least the program is getting there in the toughest division of college football in the country. That if far from mediocrity!

This year it is all about RESPECT and starting on September 1st the journey begins.

Top Five Reason TN Vols could struggle in 2008

1. Uncertainty at Quarterback & possible depth issues at the Quarterback position.
2. Lack of depth on both offense and defensive line play. (Must avoid injuries)
3. Turnovers lose games. TN must avoid these, by protecting the football on every play.
4. No proven Fullback in Tennessee's running game.
5. Loss of Britton Colquitt for five five games due to suspension for team violation.

Top Five reasons TN Vols Will Win The SEC Championship this year - 2008

1. Returned all starters on offensive line.
2. Proven running backs and depth at the Running Back position.
3. Quite possibly the best secondary in the SEC. (Potentially the country)
4. New Offensive Coordinator Dave Clawson presents the unknown or the "X" factor. (Tennessee's offense won't be nearly as predictable.)
5. Proven Placekicker Daniel Lincoln's abilities come into focus in close games.

"Workin Like Heck" Mug, Bumper Sticker & More.

Please take time to check out the great Workin Like Heck Merchandise we have available. Show your true colors as TN Vols fans by displaying one of the team's and the Coach's favorite phrases.

There is a wide variety of logos and products available. You can get them at CafePress. The store id is ut_vols_custom (Custom College Wear) At the right you see on of the mugs available.

At the left, is the "Workin Like Heck" bumper sticker... A favorite of Tennessee Volunteer fans everywhere, but especially Knoxville.



And last but certainly not least, is the Workin Like Heck Tote. A popular choice for fans to carry all their stuff to the game, or anywhere else for that matter.

UT Vols Checkerboard Wallpaper

Hey check out the checkerboard wallpaper I've created for UT fans to download. Take it & enjoy on your desktop~! Just right click and choose... "Save As"