Heeee's Back......Maybe.

Well it seems that Lane Kiffin's path of destruction through college football isn't quite finished yet and about to possibly make another stop in the Southeastern Conference.

 

 photo credit: BleacherReport.com

CBS Sports reports today the former Oakland Raider, Tennessee Volunteer, and USC Trojan head coach Lane Kiffin is about to interview for the offensive coordinator job at Alabama.  During Kiffin's various tenures in the NFL and NCAA as a head coach, he has developed a not so pleasant reputation as man with a lot of baggage. Fans of every program he has been at the helm of would be more than happy to tell you how much dislike and distrust they have for him. That said, he also has the reputation of being a decent offensive minded coach and a great recruiter.  But does that make him a good fit for Alabama? They certainly need some offensive help after the 2013 season, but I'm just not sure that Alabama needs his kind of help. Especially when you consider the baggage he brings with him and his history in the Southeastern Conference.  Time will tell though.  Personally, I would love to see him get the job. It would add another interesting angle to future Tennessee - Alabama matchups. Plus, it would give those Tennessee fans who still have a chip on their shoulders plenty of opportunity to vent some of the pent up venom they have carrying around for the last four years. Spring practice isn't that far off and it will certainly be interesting to see if Kiffin's path of NCAA destruction continues through Tuscaloosa or if he actually makes a real contribution to the Crimson Tide program. Interesting indeed.

Til Next Time........Cheers!

Bad Things Happening to Good People

Today was one of those days where you wish you could turn back the clock and find a way to prevent the days events from occurring.
As many of you have probably already heard, Dick Clark, America's oldest teenager passed away after suffering a massive heart attack at the age of 82.  Most remembered for his role as the iconic host of the country's favorite music and dance program American Bandstand, Clark embodied everything that was cool about music throughout the second half of the 20th century. That said, Dick Clark was much more than the host of a long running tv show. During a career than spanned the 50's through 2012, he was also a game show host and the owner of a production company that was responsible for dozens upon dozens of television specials, including "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve, that entertained people around the world for many years.  Last, but not least, Clark was the inspiration for many of today superstars in the entertainment world and helped launch the careers of many more.
So tonight, as we pause to reflect on the passing of a true American treasure, lets travel back with a few memories of Dick Clark over the years.

American Bandstand "Rate a Record" (late 50's/early 60's)


American Bandstand "Abba Interview) (70's)


$25,000 Pyramid Bloopers (80's)


EmmyTvLegends.Org interview ecerpt on the origins of Rockin New Years Eve (1999)



Then there is Pat Head Summitt, head coach of the Lady Vols basketball team from the University of Tennessee. Today she announced her resignation/retirement as Lady Vols head coach due to ongoing health problems.  Last year she announced to the world that she had been diagnosed with the initial stages of dementia. Determined to fight the illness as long as she could, she remained as head coach despite the shocking revelation. During the 2011/2012 season she took the Lady Vols deep into the NCAA women's tournament before losing to Baylor in an Elite Eight match up. Throughout her career she led by example. With hard work, class, sportsmanship and a balanced sense of priorities, she led her teams to eight national championships, 18 final fours, and 31 consecutive tournament  appearances over her 33 year Tennessee career. She also is the winingest coach in NCAA basketball (including men's) history with a 1098-208 record. In her lifetime coaching career, she never had a losing season. The only NCAA record she didn't break was one held by UCLA's legendary John Wooden of  10 national championships. She has eight. But her proudest accomplishments has nothing to do with wins, losses or championship trophies. Summitt's top priority has always been the well being and education of her athletes. Summitt, through her career, always maintained high standards without compromise which resulted in one of the highest graduation rates in NCAA history.  As we watch Coach Summitt leave UT as an active coach, we wish her the best and offer our prayers as she embarks on the fight of her life....and some would the fight for her life.  God speed Pat! You will always be in our thoughts and prayers.

Pat Head Summitt the Heroine (2009) Natchez, MS Blog
Reaction to Pat Summitt stepping down as head coach -- WBIR TV Knoxville, Tennessee

NCAA Video Honoring Pat Head Summitt


Til Next Time.........................

This, That, and The Other Thing! October 17, 2006

THINGS SEEM TO BE HAPPENING at a rapid pace the last couple of days. Almost so fast, it's impossible to keep up with it all. Earthquakes, storms, floods, wacky world leaders, out of control football players, more border problems than anybody could imagine, and an election that is just around the corner......whew!!!! Almost makes you wanna go buy a cabin up in the mountains and hibernate for the winter doesn't it?

First off, I hope all my friends in Texas are ok after all the storms and heavy rain. The last couple of days have been kinda rough. Judging from what I've seen this evening, the folks down there still have a lot to deal with and probably will for a few days to come.

The North Koreans are at it again too....threatening to conduct more underground nuclear tests. I wonder how long we are going to have to listen to this before someone really does something about it. I don't necessarily think we should use the "military option." The playing field here is alot different than in the Middle East and many more lives hang in the balance should Kim Jong Il decide to start lobbing missles into Seoul or nearby Japan. If negotiations don't yield some progress soon, things could get ugly quickly....especially if Japan decides to go nuclear.

And if real life wasn't intriguing enough, Hollywood has decided to weigh in the North Korea issue with today's (Tuesday) release of "Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil." This is the straight-to-DVD sequel to the 2001 big screen hit starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson. The plot of the action film revolves around a group of Navy SEALs dropped into North Korea to destroy its long-range missile. Twentieth Century Fox, which released the DVD, said its timing was planned months in advance and was purely coincidental. Rumor has it though, the release was delayed twice with no apparent reason being given. I guess the conspiracy theorist out there will have fun with this one. As for the movie itself, I got to see a preview copy a few days ago and I must say it was kinda errie watching what a mix of real history (complete with actual news footage at the beginning) and potential future all wrapped up into a slickly produced Hollywood production. It was a pretty good movie that I would recomend if you don't mind the somewhat blurred lines between reality and fiction.And then there's this from the world of college footbrawl: THE MIAMI HURRICANES FOOTBALL PROGRAM SHOULD BE GIVEN THE DEATH PENALTY FOR A COUPLE OF SEASONS. Yes, I said the death penalty. Basically that's a phrase used to describe shutting down a college football program for a pre determined amount of time for extreme rules violations. Remember SMU from several years back? Many people believe it's time for the sports governing body to bring this form of institutional punishment back. The NCAA has it in it's power to do so and should in order to send a strong message to athletes around the nation that behavior like we saw Saturday on national television (from Miami and Florida International) will not be tolerated....period. Today we learned that a total (from both teams)of 31 players were suspended for 1 game. In addition, FIU kicked 2 players off the team (but let them keep their scholarships)and suspended 16 players indefinitely, with all attending 10 hrs anger managment and 50 hrs community service. Miami removed no one from their team and only suspended one indefinitely. University of Miami president Donna Shalala (remember that name???? Yep it's the same lady!) refused to comment publicly, but later issued a statement calling the incident outrageous. That's some great leadership there Ms Shalala! I guess some things never change. The University of Miami (who was responsible for starting this latest melee) has had a reputation for this punk thug like behavior for years. Most recently during last seasons 40 to 3 Peach Bowl loss to LSU and earlier this season at Louisville when Miami players tried to provoke the hometown Cardinals by stomping on the Cardinal logo at midfield during pre game warmups.

It doesn't appear that the University of Miami, its current president, athletic director, or head coach is interested in changing this situation. Considering the schools track record over the last 25 years or so, maybe the NCAA should step in and drop the hammer for a couple years and send a message that is long overdue in South Florida. What do you think?

Til next time..............

Should the University of Miami receive the "death penalty" for it continued brawling ways?(closed poll)

Yes 6

No 0

Don't Know 0

(originally posetd 10-17-06 on Yahoo360)

Football Time In Tennessee! , September 02, 2006

It's that time of year again!!!! Football Time In Tennessee!!! Erik Ainge and the rest of the 23rd ranked Volunteer squad take the field against the #9 Cal Bears. We've got David Cutcliffe, our offensive coorindator from the Vols National Championship team, back on the coaching staff again. Now we're ready to charge back to the top of the SEC and hopefully even further. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....YOUR FUTURE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP TENNESSEE VOLUTNEERS!!!

Sorry Sassy and G-Diddy, but this is BIG ORANGE COUNTRY!~

Everybody have a great weekend and I hope your team wins.....unless your cheerin' for the Cal Bears!!!

UPDATE......................................................

FINAL SCORE: #23 TENNESSEE 35 #9 CALIFORNIA 18

UP NEXT: THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY SAT. SEPT. 9TH

Originally posted 8/2/06 on Yahoo 360

NCAA Basketball Tournament, March 19, 2006

Ok, so we're about half-way through the tournament so far. Tennessee and Kentucky have killed my chances of winning any office pools. How about you guys? Are you watching any of the games? Are your teams still in? Who are you picking to go all the way?

Who is going to win the 2006 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament! (closed poll)

Duke 1

LSU 0

Georgetown 0

Texas 1

U Conn 0

Florida 0

Villanova 1

UCLA 0

Boston College 0

OTHER 1

(originally posted 3-19-06 on Yahoo 360)

UT Lady Vols 2006 SEC Champs, March 05, 2006

Congratulations to the University of Tennessee Lady Vols
2006 Southeastern Conference Womens Basketball Champions

Today the 8th ranked Lady Vols defeated #3 LSU 63 to 62 to win the title game that was hard fought until the final buzzer. The Lady Vols take a 27-4 (11-3) record into the NCAA Womens Tourney which starts later this month. Seeds for the tournament are expected to be announced sometime this week.

In other weekend sporting news, the NASCAR Busch Series took its show south of the border again for its second race in Mexico City. Denny Hamlin held off Boris Said to win the Telcel-Motorola 200. Nextel Cup veteran and current Busch Series points leader Kevin Harvick finished third driving the US Coast Guard Chevorlet. Other service teams also fared well in Mexico City. The #25 Marine Corps Ford piloted by Ashton Lewis finished 13th and the #88 Team Navy Chevorlet driven by Mark McFarland had its best race of the year so far finishing 15th.

And finally, don't be suprised if you wake up tomorrow morning and find that one or more superstars from your favorite NFL team is standing in the unemployment line. Tonight, contract talks broke down between the players union and team owners. Long story short is that if an agreement isn't reached by midnight, it's expected that owners will start dumping the contracts of high priced veterans before they go into free agency in order to meet a salary cap that will be as much as 10 million dollars lower than it would have been if an agreement had been reached. It looks like they didn't learn much from the NHL fiasco of a couple years ago. Get the whole NFL story here.

(originally posted 3-5-06 on Yahoo 360)