Do not fail to read this Dawg fans - 2011 recruiting (HT: A Bulldog in Exile)

Schools are monmitoring social networks (HT: SEC Expats)

UDiligence was founded by Kevin Long, a former congressional press secretary, and a business partner. They have invested more than three years and a substantial financial sum into the patented social network monitoring system, complete with bells and whistles, and currently work for more than a dozen athletic programs nationally.

Long says his system is monitoring Facebook, MySpace and Twitter pages — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — of more than 6,000 student-athletes from New Jersey Institute of Technology to the University of Nebraska.

Pricing depends on the number of student-athletes and portal configuration but costs from $1,350 per year for 50 athletes or less to $5,000 per year for over 500 athletes.

“It only costs pennies a day per athlete to protect the athlete’s reputations and the image of the school,” said Long.

Coaches Hot Seat has it’s final top 10 list and CMR is not on it

5.  Lane Kiffin, USC – 12 – 21…..12 – 21…..12 – 21…..12 – 21…..12 – 21…. Those are the numbers that keep coming up when we think of Lane Kiffin, and of course the record 12 – 21 is  Kiffin’s overall win/loss record in 1.5 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and 1 season at Tennessee.  12 wins and 21 losses!  Can you believe it?  12 wins and 21 losses and the University of Southern California, one of the most storied football programs in the history of college football, just hired a guy that has three years experience as a head coach and he has an overall record of 12 – 21.  One can only wonder what the morons at USC were thinking, but then we wondered what the morons at Tennessee were thinking when they made one of the worst hires in college football history by bringing Lane Kiffin to Tennessee in 2008.

Urban Meyer reconfirms his sleaziness

Now, it’s possible that it could just be a heck of a coincidence and that relentless control freak Urban Meyer was blissfully ignorant that his defensive coordinator was about to bail on him, even though a radio host who’s been out of coaching for a decade—since then-Notre Dame wide receivers coach Urban Meyer was about to start his first head coaching job at Bowling Green—knew it was happening beforehand. Maybe Coach Meyer’s recent health reversals have left him that oblivious to major events inside the program he micromanages obsessively . . . but I don’t believe that, and neither do you.

Bernie opines on several topics in his usual insightful manner

It amazes me how caught up in the recruiting rankings some people get. There’s no trophy given out for first place in that race ladies and gents. Those rankings take subjectiveness and add a whole nutha level to it. Take my hand, don’t be afraid and just throw those things out the door. Don’t care what this class is ranked compared to others’. Actual tackle football games are won in the fall. Gimme a small class of kids that wanna be Georgia Bulldogs and you’ll see me smile each and every first Wednesday in February.

Yet, even the idiots have voices. No sooner had CMR and Coach Searels answered the first question Wednesday on the health of Trinton Sturdivant, than a simpleton raised his hand for the next opportunity to speak. This guy had evidently read that Coach Richt and his staff were becoming complacent. He wanted to know if it were true.

And while the head coach handled it with his usual measure of aplomb, I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief. The man just fired his close friend, let go the same colleagues who helped him lift the SEC Championship trophy just a few years ago. And there are fans who think he’s complacent? Go back to your basement and suspend that message bored account for all that’s good on God’s green Earth.

“Over the last 11 years, I’ve evaluated a lot of players from this state, and I’ve always believed that if we took the best players in the state of Georgia and within a five-hour radius of our school, if they come to the University of Georgia, we can win the SEC championship and compete for a national title, I think you can be better than Florida, you can be better than Texas, and you can be better than Southern Cal if those players come to Georgia.” – Todd Grantham

Touted El Camino College (Torrance, Calif.) wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins did not sign Wednesday and is still awaiting his release from Tennessee, ESPN affiliate Web site DuckTerritory.com reports.

Old pros shill for many and varied products at Super Bowl – from Wall Street Journal

UGA filled needs with quality recruits – where is the fail?

Georgia’s is not going to be one of those lauded Top 5 or 10 classes this year. But that distinction hasn’t meant much the last couple of seasons anyway.

We have great fun poking fun at our rivals but occasionally one of them does something classy. It’s not UF or Bama!

…what the people at Clemson did for this teenager and his family should be roundly and loudly applauded, and serve as a reminder that, regardless of how cynical we all are, there are indeed some very classy people in the game.

Chan Gailey hires the Gators’ DC – Dr. Saturday’s post here

Remember that whole leave of absence Urban Meyer was going to start immediately following National Signing Day?  The Florida head coach may have to delay it yet again as he has yet another vacancy to fill on his coaching staff.

And it’s a fairly large vacancy that he’d just filled less than a month ago

So one day into the latest round of Gator Euphoria, here’s what’s going on: Urban Meyer, your future head coach, begins an indefinite leave of absence to deal with serious health issues. Oh, and the defensive coordinator you signed to play for has dumped you for Buffalo.Funny, none of the stories we’ve read on the suspect address the central question: Did the recruits know that George Edwards was taking a job with the Bills?

Willie may be jumping from Stanford to Oklahoma

On Jan. 29, it was reported that former Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez had agreed to become the defensive backs coach at Stanford.Now, three days later, he’s apparently the ex-defensive backs coach at Stanford.According to the Twitter page of Rivals.com’s Tom Dienhart, and citing an unnamed source, Martinez “has taken an assistant job at Oklahoma.”

Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens certainly improved their draft status at the Senior Bowl, just how much they move up remain to be seen

Writing in today’s edition of  Sporting News Today, Lande said Atkins’ strong performance will move him into the second round of the draft and, if sustained in spring workouts, could get him into the bottom of the first round. Owens, Lande writes, was considered “a likely third- or fourth-round pick” before the Senior Bowl practices and game but is now seen “as a definite second-rounder, with a good chance to move into the first round.”

The 50 Most Loathsome People in College Football: 20-11

20. Jimmy Clausen – Charges: Notre Dame fans, you might think Charlie Weis was the overwhelming reason the rest of us have hated your team for the past few years, but just as much blame rests on Clausen, the smug, emu-coiffed golden boy whose every action has screamed “prick” ever since he showed up at the College Football Hall of Fame in a Hummer limo just to announce his oral commitment to the Irish. From his overwrought signing announcement to his douchebag behavior at the ‘06 California state high-school championship game to taunting Boston College players during pre-game warmups last season, perhaps no player in the country is more convinced of his own awesomeness with less to back it up (16-18 record as a starter, a career QB rating lower than Joe Cox’s).

Better continuity than most SEC schools has helped Georgia keep salary costs in check

Georgia’s total salary for its football assistants this past season was $2.03 million, which was the 15th-highest in a survey compiled by the USA Today. Tennessee had the highest at $3.33 million, and among the others ranking ahead of the Bulldogs were Arkansas, Missouri, West Virginia and Washington.

Scout’s UT blog sees UGA at 6-6 or 7-5 in 2010

The good news for Georgia is that former defensive coordinator Willie Martinez no longer maintains an Athens mailing address. Addition by subtraction at its finest. The bad news is that new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has to replace six defensive starters, including Rennie Curran and Reshad Jones, both of whom bolted early for the NFL. The Bulldogs will most likely replace recently-departed quarterback Joe Cox with Aaron Murray, a redshirt freshman from Tampa, Fla. Defensive question marks and a new QB? No thank you. Georgia finishes at 6-6 or 7-5. The bigger question is, will that kind of record cost Mark Richt his job? 6-6 will. 7-5 probably won’t unless one of those losses is, say, at Colorado.

Five potential position changes going into spring.

Spring practice every year brings a couple position changes for players, as coaches look to figure out any way possible to get players in the best position to make plays.

Georgia is no different in this regard, and they should have even more than ever before with a new defensive coordinator and a new 3-4 scheme this spring.

Fabris leaves Louisville.

“He’s not coming back,” a person close to the situation said Tuesday. “I know he’s got a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old and that his mom lives near Athens, and it’s my understanding that family was a part of his thinking. I know he wants to be close to his mom.”

Coach Grantham calls the 3-4 “balanced”.

“In the 3-4 you can be balanced,” Grantham said. “The thing with the 4-3 is the guys that are putting their hand in the dirt are the guys rushing. Whereas in the 3-4, I can tell you that the three guys with their hand in the dirt are coming but one of those other outside backers is going to be coming 95 percent of the time, so they have to account for all four of those guys on every snap. But yet only one of those guys could be coming.”

Dennis Dodd Doesn’t think much of the Dooley hire at UT.

Suddenly, David Cutcliffe looks like Vince Lombardi in Knoxville. Early word is that a lot of recruits are bailing on UT. That might be the ultimate penalty Mike Hamilton pays for Kiffin’s quickie divorce. Dooley wasn’t a “name” and faces a huge task of learning how things work at a top 15 program. Getting Louisiana Tech to the Independence Bowl is one thing. Fighting Florida in the SEC East is another.

Tebow to the Falcons?

Give me a minute before you start screaming at me Falcon & Dawg fans. I agree as much as anyone that the dude will not make it as a prototypical NFL type quarterback. My thoughts are that he may be able to play a slot/tight end hybrid position; occasionaly lining up in shot gun to do what he does best.

Oh, and there were also strip clubs on wheels, which is convenient and seemingly approriate, given the occassion and setting.

Tennessee Football: Could Mike Leach Replace Lane Kiffin …
However, college football is a fickle world. The program cannot just sit and feel sorry for themselves as Kiffin returns home to USC. With recruits on the line and a teams future at stake, Tennessee needs to find a new coach and …

Tennessee Vols Football: Lane Kiffin To USC | College Footballogy
I wish I could say it was a blindside hit. However, I wrote just Friday that Kiffin could be the choice for USC. I thought maybe the sixth or seventh choice. It turns out he was only their fifth. I wrote that a move such as this would …

Fromtheeditr: Wishing Kiffin Well, Tennessee Football Better
OK, Im going to say this and see if I can believe it: Losing Lane Kiffin is not a disaster for the University of Tennessees football team. It has the facilities, tradition, fan support, stadium and money to hire well. …

Lane Kiffin leaves Tennessee football for USC Tampa Tribune …
Lane Kiffin leaves Tennessee football for USCTampa TribuneKiffin reportedly plans to bring his father Monte, who gained a strong reputation as the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the.

VolQuest. com – Kiffin bolts for West Coast
For the second time in 14 months Tennessee is searching for a new head coach for the football program. In a surprising turn of events, Lane Kiffin is leaving Knoxville after just one year on the job to take the newly vacated head …

Fantasy Football Drafted Team and Final Team.?
Im watching the Tennessee and Virgina game.

What football game are you watching tonight?
Which college has the best tailgating? (food, girls, atmosphere, view, etc.)
In my opinion, its obviously one of the SEC schools (ole miss, lsu, alabama, tennessee, south carolina and florida are all awesome tailgating)

Best Tailgating in college football?
Hi my name is shae im 18 i was born in ohio moved to tennessee when i was 5 grew up there played football everything that a normal kid would but never had the friends…..i had girlfriends but they all cheated now im in michigan no girl one friend money online today girls dont look at me…. girls dont want me… my most recent girlfriend left me for another guy this sounds gay but i just feel like crying anymore i dont know wat to do if u can plz help me….

Im depressed, lonely, and dont know wat to do……?
UCF
Uconn
Kansas
Wyoming
Washington will be back in a major way
UCLA?
UNC?
Middle Tennessee is a rising program

Which college football teams will be “national name brands” 5-10 years from now that aren’t today?
Happy Holidays and have a Merry Christmas guys!
BQ: Who will win today’s game?
San Diego @ Tennessee

I wish everybody in the football section a Merry Christmas…?
Get a load at all the Midwestern Teams that havent won a Super Bowl or have Super Bowl droughts lasting more than 25 years. Other than the Green Bay Packers, the Midwest has some piss poor football clubs.
- Chicago Bears (1, last one was in 1985-1986)
-Green Bay Packers (3 last one was in 1996-1997)
- Minnesota Vikings (0)
-Detroit Lions (0)
-Cincinnati Bengals (0)
- Cleveland Browns (0)
- Kansas City Chiefs (1 Last one was in 1969-1970)
- St. Louis Rams (1 Last one was in 1999-2000, however they spent many years in Los Angeles but never won a Super Bowl in the City of Angels)
- Arizona Cardinals (For Years played in Chicago and St. Louis before Moving to Arizona and has never won a Super Bowl although they were robbed of a championship by the fucking Steelers)
**Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Tennessee are not Midwestern teams, they are Southern Teams, Pittsburgh is technically a rust belt city but I considered them on the same boat as New England, New York, Philadelphia and Buffalo**

Why do Midwest NFL teams have so few Super Bowl Trophies.?
Watching a football game (San Diego & Tennessee)?

Suggested Category-Health > Dental. Explain that one.

Is it bad that the only thing I’m really looking forward to tomorrow is…………..?
Hightower is playing ST. Louis and Tomlinson is playing Tennessee…Thanks for your help.

Who should I put in, Tim Hightower or Tomlinson for week 16, Fantasy Football?
Okay…so i was wondering what happened with all this Houston Texans and Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. Something happened with the teams changing or the a franchise got changed or…
I don’t know. So could someone tell what happened and please be specific. Thanks.

What happened in the season of 2001 or 2002 of NFL football?????
I am entering the championship week in my fantasy football league and would love some help on my starting lineup…It’s extremely vital that I play the right QB and defense this week. For my QB, I have to decide between Matt Schaub (playing Miami) or Philip Rivers (playing Tennessee)…Tough right??? As far as defenses go, I have either the Denver Broncos or Minnesota Vikings. Denver plays a tough and explosive Eagle offense while the Vikings, who haven’t been playing all that great as of late, get the Bears in Chicago on a Monday Night. Who would you start? Thanks in advance to all those that respond.

I just got back from almost a week in Pittsburgh. Snow sucks. Yeah-yeah, I know it’s fun when you see some once in 5 to 7 years and it stays on the ground for a day or two. Snow sucks – especially when one is trapped in the company of WVU, Pitt and Penn State fans. It is really great to be back in Georgia and to have the DC situation resolved. The best thing I’ve heard from Grantham:

“I look forward to developing an aggressive, physical, attacking style defense that offenses will not look forward to playing against.”

DawgSports has a Q&A with a Dallas Cowboys blogger about Grantham. Here’s an excerpt:

He is a sparkplug; I would hate to see him leave Dallas. He’s one of those coaches that gets fired up on the sidelines and his players seem to respond well to that. During his short tenure with the Cowboys as the D-line coach, I’ve noticed an improvement in the players’ techniques in both the run-stopping and pass-rushing aspects.

DawgBark's  Community Blog has a good discussion on existing and incoming player personnel and
 how they may fit into the new 3-4

I have been harping on strength and conditioning for some time now and have gotten my
shareof criticism for even suggesting that there could be a problem in that area of the program.
Here is a quote from Buck Belue's blog that shows there are others of the same mind:

…the Georgia strength program. It’s got a reputation of being less than outstanding. Some football guys even refer to it as being “outdated.” There are reports that have some Georgia players going to see a strength coach outside the program. Spoke with one NFL guy who commented that even when Van Halanger was at FSU, the OL/DL prospects coming out of there were great athletes, but not NFL strong. Coach Smart was concerned by this, after all doesn’t Alabama have one of the top strength programs in CF right now? Another person close to the program told me that Richt has been approached by 2 former Georgia strength coaches, who were interested in helping again, and they were told by Coach Richt that “they don’t have a strength issue.” The DC wants his DL strong. Sounds like this was an issue.
Reason #3 is that Saban put the hammer down with this idea that he doesn’t support assistant coaches making lateral moves. When that head coaching opportunity comes up for Kirby, maybe Saban trashes him behind his back. That thought isn’t encouraging. Don’t want to upset Nick Saban, right? Play it safe, work for Nick and get that awesome endorsement when the time comes.

If the report that Coach Richt stated that there is no strength problem is accurate, maybe Coach Grantham can convince him otherwise. It will be difficult for Grantham (or anyone) to hold UF and Alabama if his D-linemen are under-prepared for the top level of SEC competition.

The AJC has 5 questions about the 2010 Dawgs. The answer to #1 – Murray, #5 – yes.

David Ching (ABH) examines the DC hire and Richts critics

Rum-Dawg Millionaire is looking for to spring practice and the personnel changes

I’m sure that this post from the New York Times was linked to by several blogs after Kiffin jumped the shark ship but if you missed it click here

Hitler finds out that Kiffin has left Tennessee. NSFW- F bombs

Matt Hayes (Sporting News) is not impressed with Hamilton’s handling of the Tennessee coach search

Thanks again to all of you for your kinds words. It is gratifying to know that DawgNation is populated by caring folks.

I understand that a few things have changed in the last few days. Actually, I have kept up with the news on my new smart phone but found little time actually write.

The only thing that really surprised me was Tennessee and Derek Dooley. Maybe that’s because I did not follow anything happening in Knoxville after the mattress ceremony. I was really shocked when I heard the announcement. It will be just fine with me if he wins 11 games per year.

Kiffin leaving was a bit of a surprise. Mainly it was that USCwest wanted him. Hopefully, between Kiffin and NCAA sanctions they will be out of the national spotlight for a few years.

From what I have read everyone is responding well to the Grantham hire. I have to catch up on the details but it was exciting news to me. MaconDawg has a nice post on Grantham and from the “I wish I’d said that department”.

Make no mistake about this hire – it represents the most significant change in the program since Richt’s start. My personal feeling is one of great excitement.  I think the program was in need of some new energy and needed to be shaken up, but none of us knows if Grantham will prove to be the right man for the job.  But I do know this:  if I start seeing kids learning proper technique, tackling consistently, playing their assignments, pass protecting the middle of the field, I’m gonna be one happy fellow.  That’s a process I can look forward to watching play out.

I’m off to catch up on my reading and will resume posting tomorrow morning.

Well, that coaching search wasn’t painfully long, full of misplaced rumors or resolved with a painful ending at all.

Yikes.

Source:
http://bustersports.com/blog/buster-blog/2010/01/15/derek-dooley-hired-by-tennessee-from-louisiana-tech-reportedly/

Arenas on his way to court. This one wasn't made of hardwood!

—Gilbert Arenas pleads guilty to felony gun possession.

He is supposed to be sentenced March 26th.

This article does a great job of telling the story.

—Derek Dooley hired as Tennessee football coach.  

Some argue that Mitch Barnhart panicked in 2007 after Billy Donovan and Rick Barnes rejected his offer to become UK’s next coach after Tubby Smith left. The result: Billy Gillispie.

To say that Mike Hamilton (UT AD) panicked after Lane Kiffin left is an understatement. Dooley is 17-20 as a head coach. Less than impressive, especially by UT’s standards.

Dooley may be a young coach with a lot of potential, but that’s not what Tennesee needs or wants.

His contract is reportedly for five years. I give him two…

Cheers, Phillip Fulmer!

—Southern Indiana basketball player may have died from a heart condition.

There are still some tests to be done, but it looks as if the cause of his death may have been due to an enlarged heart.

It sounds like Lewis will really be missed.

—Quick shout out to Natalie Novosel, who plays basketball for Notre Dame.

You might remember her from her days at Lexington Catholic. 

Today will be the first ever ESPN College Gameday that features a match-up of two women’s teams. Novosel’s Fighting Irish will take on the UConn Huskies. Both teams are undefeated.

Congrats and good luck to Novosel!  

On this date in…

1974- Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford are elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Again, no steroids.

1988- The St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL announce their move to Phoenix.

Happy Birthday to…

Dizzy Dean- MLB player (1910)

Roy Jones Jr.- Boxer (1969) from Pensacola, Fla.

Albert Pujols- current first basemen for St. Louis Cardinals (1980)

Joe Flacco- current QB of Baltimore Ravens (1985)…wonder what he wants for his birthday???

I hope everyone enjoys this weekend of sports!

Determined to go out making even more noise than when he arrived, Lane Kiffin’s last night in Knoxville began when he told his players he would be headed out West. This NY Times Article claims they weren’t too happy.

“Coach Kiffin recruited me, Ed Orgeron came in my living room and recruited me, and now they’re gone,” said Robert Nelson, a redshirt freshman from Stone Mountain, Ga. “I don’t know what I’m doing yet, whether I stay. I need to see what the older guys are going to do. There are a lot of guys who are not sure if they are staying after this mishap.

“Guys were really angry at him last night, really angry.”

After breaking the news to his players, Kiffin made his way to some sort of UT media room, where he forced the press to obey his first wish as a man free from the stifling confines of Knoxville.

Do not question “Left Coast” Lane. He is Hollywood now.

Before he arrived at the presser, a UT rep made reporters aware of Mr. Kiffin’s odd TV/print demands, after which this spirited exchange took place -

Click to watch the pre-presser reporter mêlée.

Notice how the angry asshole in the sweater vest handles his stack of papers like it is a butterfly knife ready to bury deep into journalist flesh.

The pre-presser seems on par with watching the 6 tape, VHS box set of ‘Lonesome Dove’ compared to Lane’s one and a half-minute press conference.

The reason he was so anxious to get out of there seems to have had something to do with the angry mob that was gathering outside.

Kiffin needed a police escort out of town, and angry UT students proceeded to “riot”, torching Kiffin T-Shirts and a mattress.

Even in the midst of the bedlam, Ed Orgeron managed to put in some work for USC while he was still present on Rocky Top. The Trojans are getting their money’s worth with Ed – no one in the business can apply their trade quite like “The Ogre”, as shown in this last video.

Yes indeed, exciting night in Knoxville.

Watching UT students whipped into a berserker rage and Rocky Top descending into anarchy gave me a great deal of pleasure – until Derek Dooley decided to play mister buzzkill.

It’s sacrilege I tell you…

—Gilbert Arenas has been charged with felony gun possession.  

Gilbert Arenas and his teammates making light of a felony weapons possession charge.

Maybe he wears the number zero to advertise how many working brain cells he has in his head. 

The past two years he’s been in a competition with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady to see who could miss the most time. 

I vividly remember saying and typing “PLEASE DON’T GET HURT AND MAKE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL,” before drafting him in multiple fantasy basketball leagues. 

—Southern Indiana forward Jeron Lewis dies after suffering head injury during game against Kentucky Wesleyan. 

Lewis got tangled with another player during the game against KWC, and fell to the ground and hit his head on the floor. Less than an hour later, he was pronounced dead at Owensboro Mercy Health System. 

His team and coaches were unaware that Lewis had died and finished the game with a win.  Thirty minutes after the game’s conclusion, his team and the staff found out that Lewis had died. 

Again, my thoughts and prayers go out to Lewis’ and the USI family. 

—Breaking news: David Cutliffe reportedly is the leading candidate for the UT football job.  

If you don’t know who Cutliffe is, you must not know college football. 

Cutliffe has a record of 53-44 in his eight years at the football powerhouse known as Duke University. Quite impressive. 

Oh how the mighty have fallen. 

—Former Georgia guard hits game-winning shot against Lebron’s Cavs. 

I was watching this game live on TNT.  

Thankfully, I pushed through an extremely boring second and third quarter, where both teams combined for a painful 70 points. 

The fourth quarter was a gem. Lebron took over, scoring close to 20 points in the last 12 minutes, which helped put his Cavs ahead by two with 5.6 seconds left.   

The Jazz, who were without Deron Williams due to injury and Carlos Boozer, who had fouled out, pushed the ball up the floor and relied on rookie Sundiata Gaines to hit a fade away three-pointer as the horn sounded. 

Gaines, a former Georgia Bulldog, was called up from the NBA D-League on January 5th. Currently, he is on a 10-day contract. 

Something tells me he might get an extension. 

Varnado has 19 blocks in four career games against the Cats. He is 3-1 against UK all-time.

—Jarvis Varnado records his second career triple-double and moves past Tim Duncan for third on all-time block list.  

Two SEC basketball headlines that didn’t involve Kentucky? Who said the South doesn’t know how to hit the hardwood. 

Varnado’s second career triple-double consisted of 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks. 

I’m very interested to see how DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton and Patrick Patterson will play against the best shot blocker in the history of the SEC. 

—Marvin Harrison’s possible connection in shooting case being investigated. 

Before this story broke in July, I had Harrison as one of the nicest and most classy guys in pro sports. 

I’ve been wrong before, and looks like Harrison may prove me wrong again. 

On this date in… 

1942- FDR asks for baseball to continue during WWII despite many players enlisting and/or being drafted. 

1993- Former Oklahoma State (formerly Oklahoma A&M), Henry Iba dies. Iba finished his 40-year career with 767 wins, including 655 at OSU. He won two national titles, and yet somehow OSU’s court is named after Eddie Sutton. Yes, the stadium is named after Iba, but he deserves the floor much more than Sutton. 

Happy Birthday to… 

Randy White (1953)- former NFL tackle for the Dallas Cowboys. 

Delino DeShields (1969)- former MLB second baseman. 

Drew Brees (1979)- current QB of the New Orleans Saints. One of the saviors of the Saints football franchise. 

Matt Holliday (1980)- current OF for St. Louis Cardinals. Just signed a seven-year $120 million on January 7th. Not a bad early birthday present!

After arriving at UT, Lane Kiffin immediately began a pattern of unscrupulous behavior, starting with a verbal salvo fired across the bow of Meyer and the Gators.

Besides a bad case of diarrhea of the mouth, Kiffin also worked his craft of recruiting sleaziness the way other artists do clay sculpture or oil paint on canvas.

The degree of Kiffin’s douchebaggery was as plain as the nose on every Vol fans face. It was impossible to ignore – there was almost one controversial comment or incident per week since he came tripping over his tongue into Knoxville.

One would think that Kiffin’s actions would be abhorred by fans of the tradition-rich program of Tennessee, a team whose stadium is named for a war hero. Instead, not only were Kiffin’s antics permitted, they were encouraged and embraced.

Volunteer fans delighted in every instance that Kiffin opened his mouth and spewed his venomous rhetoric, claiming all the while he was “energizing the program”, and that those who complained were only doing so because deep down they “feared” the inevitable return to glory of UT football.

Al Davis’ warning that Kiffin was scumbag went ignored, just like Kiffy’s repeated transgressions as the Vol’s head coach. As long as Kiffin was dressed in Orange, the Vols could have cared less how he acted.

Now that their chickens have come home to roost, Vol fans have taken to the web to air their grievances about their former savior, bitching and moaning on message boards and YouTube and expecting some sort of condolences from the rest of the SEC.

Should we feel sorry for them? Hell no.

Many moons ago, a wise old drunkard told me the following tale one evening over some heartache and cheap bourbon. The subject matter was not related to football, but still, I find this yarn to be the perfect analogy for how the rest of the college football world should feel about the Vols current predicament:

A man is walking  into a bar on a cold winter evening. Outside the bar he sees a rattlesnake.

The rattlesnake says to the man:

“Hey pal, it’s cold. How about picking me up and stuffing me into your coat?”

The man replies:

“Hell no. You are a rattlesnake. You will bite me.”

“Please!” says the snake “I promise I won’t bite you.”

“Sorry pal.” says the man, as he strolls into the bar.

After having a few drinks, the man decides to leave the bar. On his way out, he sees the snake again, coiled up and shivering in the parking lot.

“Hey buddy! Pick me up and put me in your coat! It’s so cold out here! I’m freezing!” says the snake.

This time, slightly buzzed, the man begins to feel sympathy for the snake. He reaches down, picks it up and stuffs it into his jacket, at which time the snake promptly bites him.

“You bit me!” The man exclaimed.

To which the rattlesnake replied:

“You knew what I was when you picked me up…”

Even though I know I shouldn’t feel pity for our enemies to the north, my humanity got the better of me last night when I made the following video:

The song is from The Chris Vernon Show, FOX Sports Radio, AM 730, Memphis Tennessee. Great stuff as usual from Chris.

CLICK HERE to download the ‘Runaway Lane’ MP3

Head Football Coach of the Tennessee Volunteers?

Rumors are flying that Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun has scheduled a meeting with his players to let them know he has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Tennessee.  Is it true?  Wikipedia thinks it is thought it was.  For a very brief time, Wikipedia had Calhoun listed as the head coach of the Vols.

What a soap opera!

UPDATE: Coach Calhoun will not take the Tennessee job:

Calhoun’s statement: “We are more than grateful and proud to be closely involved with the character building of our cadets and the mission of the United States Air Force Academy. We are diligently recruiting and working with our team to prepare for the upcoming season. We look forward to coaching and being a part of the Air Force Academy team both on and off the field in 2010.”

—Lane Kiffin formally introduced as Trojans new coach.

It will be interesting to see who stays at UT and who doesn’t. With signing day quickly approaching, it’s also unknown who will commit, decommit or stay put.

I’m already a little tired of this story. If you thought Kiffin was always in the news when he was in the sleepy town of Knoxville, Tenn., it will be ten times worse in L.A.

Also, random question: What exactly has Ditchin’ Kiffin done to deserve two of the top jobs in college football? How can we tell if he’s a solid coach or not? He hasn’t been a head coach anywhere long enough to be judged.

Reports have also said some Tennessee board members have contacted Phillip Fulmer to return. I can’t decide if this is arrogant or pathetic. Maybe a mix of both.

All I know is if I was Fulmer I would still be laughing at anyone who asked me to come back to Tennessee. Stay away, Phil. Sit back, relax, enjoy retirement and sleep well knowing that Tennessee knows they made a mistake for running you out of Rocky Top.

Nowtizki entered the 1998 NBA draft without going to college. If he hadn't entered his name, he was headed to the University of Kentucky.

—Dirk Nowitzki becomes the first European-born player to score 20,000 points in the NBA. 

He’s a seven-footer that has completely changed the NBA. Backing down your opponent in the post is no longer good enough for a big man in the league. Now, thanks to Dirk, you have to have a J!

The Mavs lost to the Lakers, even though Kobe Bryant barely cracked double-digits. Congrats, Dirk!

—Clemson finally beats North Carolina.

10-game losing streak is over! The Heels were swamped from the start thanks to countless turnovers. Carolina drops to 12-5 on the year and should plummet in the rankings.

This might be Roy’s worst year at UNC, which is understandable considering how much talent he lost the past couple of years.

Player to watch: Trevor Booker of Clemson. He not only led all scores with 22, but shut down Ed Davis.

—WLEX reports Morgan Newton to have precautionary MRI on throwing wrist.

If you know me, you know I know a few things about wrist injuries. They don’t sound real serious, but I can assure you they aren’t fun, they can aggravate your whole arm.

Hopefully this turns out to just be a sprain or something minor.

—Blake Griffin to undergo season-ending surgery.

The Clippers are cursed. This is proof.

However, why did it take them close to three months to decide to operate on his knee? Get well, Blake.

Happy Birthday to…

Graham Marsh- professional golfer (1944)

Byron Leftwich- QB for Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1980)

Hakeem Nicks- WR for New York Giants (1988)

On this day in…

1954- Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe. Eight months later, Monroe filmed the famous scene in “The Seven Year Itch” where her dress blew above her knees. Strangely, DiMaggio wasn’t too crazy about that. 

1987- James “Catfish” Hunter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In case you were wondering, Catfish didn’t use steroids. But he did have a great mustache!

Well, a new era in coaching may be dawning. With the  movement of Lane Kiffin to another coaching position we see where a coach gets his dream job and then what ramifications others have to deal with. The timing of these moves place student athletes in positons of conflict as to what they should do. The domino affect of a coach’s move continues to cause warious emotions of anger, confusion, heartbreak and even excitement in the lives of others who have depended or will depend upon the word of that coach. The coaching business has really come to the forefront with this incident as student athletes are really taking the brunt. Listen to talk radio and look at the blogs and you will obtain opinions about what people are really thinking of some coaches who are making a move on the ladder of the coaching profession. The era of climbing this coaching ladder has gone to skipping a ladder wrung. Buyouts and breaking of contracts have gone to a new level. As the coach of a recreational league team or a professional team or the in-between levels, one must decide and walk out what they believe about one’s word to a team and the athletes that will be playing for that individual. TCC stands firm in it’s belief that coaches must carefully weigh their words and “their promises” to an athlete before they proceed with exhaling those words out of their mouths. The timing of a coaching move affects more than just the coach and his family. Has the business of athletic coaching and his W-L record overrun the character of a coach being a good platform to hire a coach? Recruits who depend upon a coach’s word in choosing a place to get an education and play a competitive sport need to evaluate what personal character is inside the coach before the recruits commit to a team.

When I had the privelege of playing football for the University of Tennessee in the early-mid ’80’s we had a tradition, in the locker room after every win, Coach Johnny Majors would lead the entire team in a resounding song, to the tune of The Old Grey Mare:

“We DON’T give a D-MN about the whole state of [Fill in the Blank], the whole state of [blank]; We DON’T give a D-MN about the whole state of [Blank]. WE’RE from TENNESSEE!!”

One of the awesome things about playing football for the Volunteers was taking part in the wealth of this tradition-rich institution.  Many of the traditions had been observed since General Robert Neyland instituted them in the 1920’s and 1930’s.  Some of these traditions, such as the reciting of General Neylands maxims, are so integrated with the sport of football that they have been adopted by other colleges and high schools across the country.

But evidently the Tennessee traditions were not much to the liking of our now dearly departed coach, Lane Kiffin.  Author and blogger Clay Travis writes in Fanhouse that Kiffin apparently had his own rendition:

“I don’t give d-mn about the whole state of Tennessee, the whole state of Tennessee, the whole state of Tennessee; I don’t give d-mn about the whole state of Tennessee, My love’s for USC.”

OK, maybe that’s not exactly what Travis reported. But in a column titled: Kiffin Never Embraced Tennessee, we can see how close the Vol Nation came to being victim of a covert hostile takeover. 

Not that I needed one, but here is yet another reason I am glad Tennessee will get a fresh start under a new coach.

Who saw this coming? I heard rumors surfacing yesturday and refused to believe them. I mean the guy named his son after Knoxville. Although, I told my friend before the season started I could see him leaving for a bigger opportunity. I was still in shock. I want to encourage UT fans to hold their heads up and look foward to the new opportunities we will have. I’m looking foward to seeing who our new coach will be. Hopefully, we will match up with USC one day.

Wow, who saw this coming? I heard rumors surfacing yesturday, but refused to believe them. Even though I predicted he would grab the first big opportunity that would come his way, I was still in shock. He had a great thing going at UT. I would encourage UT fans to hold their heads up and look foward to the new Coach who will take over. Who Knows, we might end up matching up with USC one day.

In the most un-shocking move of the year, Lane Kiffin ditches the University of Tennessee to head back to the University of Southern California.  People in the south are not happy with ol’Laney right now.

I mean, people really can’t be surprised that this guy is packing up his sh*t and leaving town?  Look at his track record!  The guy is rivaling Bobby Petrino in head coaching moves. I’ll tell you one thing, the folks at Mayflower Moving love this guy!

But honestly, I think most people are fine with loosing Lane as a coach.  He was kind of a loose cannon who didn’t give a sh*t about NCAA violations. And seeing what USC is going thru in regards to NCAA investigations, this is a match made in college football heaven.  What folks are really pissed about is losing his wife, Layla Kiffin.

(Infamous orange dress pic after the jump.)

She’s a good lookin shorty and obviously the best thing the entire state of Tennessee had going for itself (pictures don’t lie).  Sorry for your loss, Tennessee.  Life on Rocky Top must roll on….

Good Luck and God Speed to the entire state of Tennessee.

The man I want as the next Tennessee Volunteers Head Football Coach, Chris Petersen!

Wow!  Lane Kiffin gave his all for 14 whole months at the University of Tennessee.  Can someone give him a medal?  Call the Nobel Prize committee?  Wait… is it too late to make him man of the decade in the entire universe?  I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but maybe Al Davis was right about this guy when he basically called him a con artist.  At the very least, he’s what the cool kids might call an opportunist (Okay, so I don’t know what cool kids say these days).   

Rather than take a look at the plethora of minor NCAA violations he committed last year as a coach, let’s just look at how he coached.  Against Florida (A team he boldly predicted Tennessee would beat), he displayed some of the worst clock management skills I’ve seen in a long time.  Down by 10 late in the fourth quarter, he played as if he was trying to run out the clock instead of trying to score quickly.  He needed two scores, (unless he had a top secret method of getting 10 points for a touchdown and extra point) and he played like he had a lead.  Urban Meyer even commented that Kiffin didn’t seem to want to win the game. 

Against Alabama with a chance to win, he elects to run down the clock and try for a long field goal to win the game.  A great strategy if your kicker hadn’t missed two field goals earlier from shorter distances. The kick was easily blocked.  The worst part was they had 30 or so seconds left on the clock before Kiffin decided to let the clock run. 

Against a team (UCLA) from the conference he supposedly knows so well (PAC 10), he couldn’t manage to score from the 2 yard line in Neyland Stadium.

Kiffin is not a very good coach.  Not yet anyway.  Maybe he will be one day, but right now he is not deserving of a head coaching position in the top division in college football.  I know he’s supposed to be a recruiting wunderkind, but a stable of great players without a guy that can get them to play at their highest level is useless. Add the fact that he isn’t able to make good coaching decisions during a game when it counts and you’re stuck with a guy who is an unproven assistant coach at best.     

All that being said, is there any way Monte Kiffin can stay at Tennessee?  Now that guy can coach!  As far as who really should be Tennessee’s next football coach, I know the popular choice right now is the defensive coordinator for Texas, Mushcamp, but he’s a Georgia guy, and as soon as that position opens up, he’ll be gone in a heartbeat.  I say the Vols go after Chris Peteresen at Boise State.  He gets good players, and he can coach the hell out of some football.

Kiffin was previously at USC from 2001-2006 as a WR coach and offensive coordinator.

—Lane Kiffin leaves Tennessee to coach at Southern California.

I did not see this coming. Call me crazy, but I don’t know if hiring Kiffin is a great way to shush the talk of suspicious activity involving recruits.

I can’t blame Kiffin, though. Knoxville or LA? In-state recruiting in Tennessee or California? SEC or Pac-10 schedule?

Seems like an easy decision to me. By the way, whatever happened to the concept of a contract?!

—The Cats stay perfect with a win in Gainesville, move to 17-0.

Question: Who benefits the most from all the John Wall hype?

Answer: Eric Bledsoe. He had a career-high 25 points Tuesday night against the Gators, 15 of them came in the first half.

My disappointment of the game was definitely DeMarcus Cousins. He puts up somewhat solid numbers all year long, but he does not play like a man of his size should. He had 13 this game, but picked up too many stupid fouls and missed a few point-blank baskets.

For all of you big guys out there, I’m begging you…PLEASE dunk the ball! PLEASE! For all of us short guys!

—Mark McGwire is still a cheater. So is Jose Conseco.

Long story short: Conseco says he and McGwire would inject together before games and McGwire says that’s not true.

Then, they both seek your sympathy for what they’ve been through. Sorry guys, none here.

Congrats to Roger Maris and his family! He now owns the record for most home runs in a single season.

—Turner leads Buckeyes past Boilermakers.

Evan Turner is the real deal…Purdue is not.

Yeah, maybe Purdue will end the regular season in the top-10, but only because they may pad their record with some easy wins in the Big 10.

Purdue doesn’t have the talent or offensive fire power to contend for a trip to Indianapolis.

However, keep your eyes on the Buckeyes. If Evan Turner stays healthy and continues to produce, this team might be a sleeper for the Big 10 title and a surprise run in March.

ON THIS DAY (January 13) IN

1999- Michael Jordan announces his retirement. However, he returned in 2001.

Happy Birthday to…

Golfer Mark O’Meara (1957)

Reggie Brown (1981) of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Right now I am hearing reports of students “rioting” on the UT Campus in response to Kiffin’s move to USC, but from the looks of this video recently posted on YouTube it appears to be little more than teenagers running through the streets while smiling and laughing.

Kiffin is now on his way to Southern Cal, where they know how to riot RIGHT dammit! They don’t just run through the streets like the last day of 6th grade – they break and burn stuff.

Now Vols, for your pleasure, I present  BigVOLdaddy -

This Vol fan knows how to properly express his displeasure with Kiffin through copious amounts rage and venom (AKA: urine and lighter fluid)!

There would be no shop window left unbroken or police cruiser left unturned if this man was roaming the streets of Knoxville.

“It’s time.”

"Say it ain't so Lane..."

This is truly a sad day in the world of college football related internet hilarity. The Animated YouTube series “Lane Kiffin Show” is no more.

The creator of the YouTube show, featuring the foul mouthed, shirtless Lego figure, will be wrapping up the series tomorrow after hearing the news of Kiffin’s departure to USC.

“I guess it has finally run it’s course” stated Marlon Jablonski, creator of the show, “They threw me off YouTube anyway, and I only finished moving all the videos to Dailymotion today. It’s actually been a lot of work, but part of me hates to see him go because he was just so damn stupid.”

When asked if he would miss Kiffin at Tennessee, Jablonski replied “Probably. It’s been a pretty fun year. Ask me again next year when he’s back in the NFL.”

To view the complete saga of Lane Kiffin and his time at UT, click the link below.

Lane Kiffin Show “Official” Homepage – 20 Episodes

So long Lane – you were a comedy goldmine for that one shining year you spent here in the Southeastern Conference. You will be missed.

Don’t say you weren’t warned Vols – Behold the prophet Al Davis!

UPDATE: Kiffin held a ninety second press conference and then bolted. Click the link and observe how he never even took a seat, then hauled ass before he could be asked any questions.

UPDATE: It just keeps getting better. Here is a report of Orgeron trying to snatch up some UT recruits for USC at the last minute before he jets out to Cali.

• Smart says he’s looking forward to coaching at Bama next year
• Article on TCU DC Dick Bumpas HT: RealTexasDawg
• Bubba & Earl’s 10 reason to be excited about 2010
• Willis, after a second look at the Vols hostesses, de-commits
• TXTech fans stick up for Leach
• DawgStephen says Richt is smart
• ESPN’s mistake in the James/Leach spat HT: Get The Picture
• Sunday tweet from a GA cop – BPD707: This could be a good day. 1st stop was a gator fan going 103mph.
• Georgia: By blasting Texas A&M in last Monday’s Independence Bowl after defeating Auburn and Georgia Tech late in the regular season, Mark Richt’s Bulldogs proved they’re still quite relevant. They have slipped from 11 wins to 10 to eight the past three seasons but have 10 offensive starters returning next season along with some stout special teams and the potential of renewed energy defensively under new leadership.”When you have a group of guys that will not give in and will not quit and will not surrender to adverse times, then I think it is a sign that your program is strong,” Richt said. “I’ve never really had any doubt about that whatsoever. We certainly don’t want to say that 8-5 was the greatest season in Georgia football by any means, but I like the way we finished.”To reflect the consistency Richt has produced in Athens, the Bulldogs were the only SEC team to suffer just one five-loss season last decade.
• More on hiring a DC
• Spurrier apologies for his team – no need Coach, it’s South Carolina!
• SEC #1 in defense
• Fun? Saban don’t need no stinkin’ fun!