Tennessee Talk for February 13, 2008

Sorry for my blogging absence, but it has been a hectic week. I was able to fly to Houston last weekend, because I have the most wonderful wife, to watch my old basketball team compete for its league championship. The boys finished 3rd after a thrilling consolation victory over their San Antonio rival. Upon getting back to town, I realized that a week of paternity leave had left me way behind in grading, planning and basically every other occupational area. On top of all that, I haven't watched much sports to have anything to blog upon (missed the LSU scare), so nothing has been itching to get from my fingertips to you.

Enough about my trials and tribulations - let's get to the Tennessee Talk!

Vols Survive LSU

I saw nothing of the game, but did listen to the final minutes on XM Radio (man, that is a fun thing to have. Thanks, Budget). It sounded like we got sucked into a half court game and couldn't make a free throw. The latter has been a problem all year long, but we haven't had too much of a problem with the former.

I know many people were shocked by the close score, but I really wasn't. With John Brady being fired (which was undeserved in my book - Final Four two years ago???), I expected the LSU kids to play hard. That is an awfully big shake-up to expect anything less. It is always tough to win on the road in the SEC (ask Kentucky), so I have also come to expect tight games no matter the opponent whenever we play in someone else's gym.

I feel like Norm MacDonald citing German love for David Hasselhoff, but this game once again proved my theory that Bruce Pearl finds a way to win close games. LSU had the ball with the game tied and the shot clock off and the Vols won in regulation. There is something about this coach and something about this team.

Next game is tonight against a pretty good Arkansas team.

Lady Vols Steal One From Rutgers

That sure was a long .02, wasn't it? The Lady Vols blew a big halftime lead and should have lost to Rutgers on Monday night, but were aided by the clock stopping at .02 which game Rutgers a chance to foul Nicky Anosike. Down 1, Anosike made two clutch free throws to give the Lady Vols the win.

A few things here - I just read that Thompson-Boling Arena, like many places these days, uses a system that stops the clock on the referee's whistle. Each official has some type of device that instantly stops the clock when it detects the sound of it blowing through a tiny microphone place in the actual whistle. What that means is that it might not have been a homer clock operator stopping the clock in order to give the Lady Vols a chance to win, but a game official who anticipated a foul before it actually happened and chirped his/her whistle. Some systems can determine which of the various people stopped the clock, but the Thompson-Boling system is not one of those.

The other aspect of this that a somewhat justifiably whining C. Vivian Stringer ought to acknowledge is that there was no reason for Rutgers defender Kia Vaughn to tackle Anosike when she secured the rebound. Try to block the shot. Block out in the first place. Let it go because the clock is about to expire. Any of these would have been better options than putting two hands on Anosike's shoulders and yanking her backwards. It made the call too easy in a moment of the game when referees usually (not counting the Villanova/Georgetown debacle) try not to call anything. Even though there is a good chance the Scarlet Knights got hosed by the clock malfunction, there was no reason that Anosike should have been fouled.

Letter From Gerald Jones

In case you haven't seen it:

Dear Coach Fulmer, Teammates, Volunteer Fans and Parents:

I am sending this letter to each of you in order to express my sincere regret for embarrassing the University of Tennessee and the football program because of a most unfortunate, well-publicized situation last week. Even more importantly, I have let my parents, coaches, teammates, fans and myself down. Please accept my apology for my lack of judgment. There are no excuses.

I have been abundantly blessed in my life with a wonderful family and the unbelievable opportunity not only to play football, but also to get an education at one of the premier universities in America, the University of Tennessee.

Finally, I want to thank Coach Fulmer for the opportunity he has given me. Please know I have learned a hard life lesson, and I am committed to making sure it never happens again. I accept the responsibilities for my actions and will now move forward.

Respectfully,

Gerald Jones

Why don't more troubled athletes do this? After reading it, I like the guy more than I did before the arrest.

Chavis Flirts With Leaving

John Chavis interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons about becoming their new linebackers coach, but is staying with the Vols. Honestly, I would have been okay with Chavis leaving after the way our defense played this year. It often seems like Chavis's schemes are easy to pick up and that the defense was not always playing hard. I think Chavis knows that he is on the hot seat for next year more than Fulmer and more than Clawson. Another sub-par defensive year and Chavis will be unemployed.