Bouncing Balls with Magic Dust On Top

Football is a funny game. During the course of a game, the drama unfolds as it does in no other sport. The momentum of the oblong-shaped ball creates unpredictable bounces that change entire games. Sometimes it changes the direction and futures of an entire football program.

One such game, was the 2007 Tennessee-South Carolina game. Tennessee fan, AtlantaVol, reports that the University of Tennessee was on the verge of firing head coach Phil Fulmer and negotiating a deal with Wake Forest and their coach, Jim Grobe.

"Heard from a friend of mine and yours just yesterday, that the firing of PF was VERY imminent last fall and would have probably been done if we hadn't lucked out the USC game against Spurrier. Apparently the staff at Wake Forest was in pretty involved talks with the UTAD and they were under the impression the UTAD was about to pull the trigger on PF. So we went from there to winning the USC, Vandy, and KY games on almost pure luck and this translated to Fulmer and his Agent virtually getting to write their own contract on Fulmer's kitchen table! Fulmer literally went from a missed FG against USC (or the fumble recovery by McClendon) in being fired to being able to write his own contract with THE most favorable terms a HC could EVER get! Amazing thing for true UT fans!"

Fellow UT fan and avid follower of the UT program, LWSVOL, confirmed the information.

Fate is just like a football. You never know which way it is going to bounce. In this case, "fate's football" took a strange bounce that rewarded its beleaguered coach, Phil Fulmer, with a fill in the details contract that many believe will set the program back further than it has already fallen over the past nine seasons.

Someone send a memo to the front office to restrict Tinkerbell's ration of magic dust.

You're The Boss Man Warden Bowden

College is supposed to be about learning life's lessons, education, learning to work with others towards goals, and enjoying college life.

Somebody needs to pass that bit of information onto Florida State football coach prison warden, Bobby Bowden. Bobby Bowden is purported by the media to be a grandfather-like gentleman man, who is a gosh-durn nice coach. Tell that to Brandon Warren. Bowden holds Warren's fate, like a condemned prisoner, in the palm of his hand.

Former UT assistant football coach, Doug Matthews discussed the situation on a Nashville television weekend sports show. Matthews said that this entire situation boils down to Bowden giving Warren's life back to him by granting his release. Its as simple as that. Matthews said that an announcement should be made by Tuesday and probably no later than Wednesday.

When asked by show host, Willie Daunic, what he thought would happen, Matthews said that he expected calmer heads to prevail and that Warren would be granted his release by Bowden and that Warren would be free to play this season. We are seeing what kind of person that Bobby Bowden really is in his handling of this matter. He still has some time to stop acting as a prison warden and give this young man his life back.

Fear Of Words

Why is it that when a sports writer tells the truth that some fans are so fearful of the truth that they go to any extreme to discredit the writer? Not once do they make an effort to discuss and debate the specifics of what he wrote. They dread and fear every word he writes because he challenges their delusions.

Looking back at the July 29th entry on the Vol Blog, Paranoia Strikes Deep, we discussed the paranoia displayed by fans towards ESPN. Why is it that when the media is not a blatant "homer", they are out to get your team? For once, it would be nice to see fans discuss and debate the message instead of shooting the messenger. Fear is an emotion experienced by those who are ignorant to the truth and reality

From Buffalo Springfield's, For What Its Worth, "Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it will creep. It starts when you're always afraid."

Heed the words. They offer some great advice.

Mountain Values

Tennessee fans have adopted and grown fond of virtually every quarterback that the Vols have paraded out onto the surface of Shields-Watkin's Field. As long as he is wearing orange, Vols fans will overlook virtually any past transgression on the part of a Vols player.

This year, the Vols quarterback's family has done something that no other player's parent has ever done....Not even Reg Stweart. David and Janet Crompton, the parents of Jonathan Crompton have begun criticizing Phil Fulmer's and former UT offensive Coordinator, David Cutliffe's decisions to start Erik Ainge over their son the past two years. A soap opera writer could not write something this good or as whacky as what these people are saying.

AmbroseBierce, posted his latest fark dealing with this surreal situation. If these are mountain values, then the Clampetts nor Hatfields and McCoy's have anything on these people.



It will be interesting to see how the fans and coaches react when Crompton has a poor game. The problem has nothing to do with the Jonathan Crompton. The kid has good tools. He is just unfortunate to have parents who don't know how to keep their mouth's shut and their noses in their own business.

Little Fish Goes To The Big Pond

So you are a freshman going off to play college football. You were a big fish in  little pond in high school. You were able to whip virtually everyone you faced in high school with your natural ability alone. Those days have ended. Welcome to the big pond.

You are standing in line with the other freshman waiting to take your physical. The other "newbies" are checking one another out. "Look at the "pecs" on that beast!" you think. That big gulp you just took was a wake up call to let you know and understand that you are "not in Kansas anymore".

You have never seen so many other guys that are as big as you and so many that have  more developed physique than you do. Time to get some quick perspective and save my self-pride. You think, "well, lets wait and see if these guys can run as fast or hit as hard as me - I'll show them". Tomorrow is another day.

Tomorrow comes as you planned, but "Mr. New Joe College Football Player" learns that the other guys run just as fast as you do and in many cases faster! Then you learn that the upperclassmen are bigger, stronger, more developed, and even faster than the "new meat". The hits to the ego just keep coming. "Well, we'll hit in a couple of days - I'll show them", you think.

Its the first day in pads. Time to separate the men from the boys. All of these guys look really good in their pads. You think back and don't remember many of your high school team mates looking anything like this in pads. Out on the field, the upperclassmen can't wait to initiate the "newbies" in the grass drills and one-on-one drills.

"Mr. New Joe College", you just got your pride knocked into your socks in the drills. The opposing upperclassmen out-ran you and acted as if he was playing a game that was foreign to you. These guys are twice as fast and hit twice as hard as the high schoolers you whipped with ease. Now "Coach Buzzcut" is calling you every curse word in the book. Nobody ever called you names like that and got away with it....until now. 

While the game of football is still the same, the way it is taught, practiced, and played is so far different than it is done in high school. Even the best freshmen can overwhelmed in the beginning. After a few practices, a few hard hits, a few lessons, you finally "get it". This is not rocket science. Listen to what "Coach Buzzcut" says and carry it out with vigor. Block your assignment. Run your pass route to precision. Square your body to the line of scrimmage and hit the hole square. Keep your angle. Maintain depth with the ball. Inside-out containment. 

Hey! This isn't so hard after-all. Newly learned techniques and schemes even the playing field and afford "New Joe College Football Player" to utilize his athletic ability and show the upperclassmen that he too possesses the big athletic body, herculean strength, rabbit-like speed, and the power of a tank. Welcome to college football!

Vols: Start Your Day with a Glass of Demonte

The USA Today preseason college football poll is out. It took awhile before I finally stumbled upon Tennessee at #18. On ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio, I listened in to college football preview shows. The hosts on both never stumbled upon Tennessee. And here in Minneapolis, I tuned in a local radio sportstalk show that happened to be discussing the SEC. Georgia, LSU, Florida, Auburn, Alabama and even Kentucky were mentioned.

Tennessee was not mentioned.

It's one thing to be a middle-of-the-pack college football program and annually expect little to nothing in the way of coverage from the national media. When you're Tennessee - top 10 all-time in wins, top five all-time in bowl wins and appearances and second in SEC championships - and you're not even being hinted at, much less being mentioned at all, that's a problem.

Coach Phillip Fulmer began to address that problem by venturing forth into what some might call his Final Frontier: The ESPN studios in Bristol (Conn.). Fulmer went through what they call the "car wash," appearing on "ESPN First Take" and on ESPN Radio's "The Herd" and “Tirico and Van Pelt.’’ Incredibly, he even did a live ESPN.com chat. I know, I know . . . it's all a bit much to fully comprehend at one sitting. So let's all take a moment to relax, catch our breath and try to move forward. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE . . .

Throw in a few taped appearances for “College Football Live" and "The Hot List" for ESPNews and now, you've got a head coach ready for a kayak trip down the Tennessee River.

Knowing Fulmer's history, it's hard to imagine he initiated the trip to Bristol. Surely, he must have lost at cards to Bruce Pearl and Pat Summitt and when he ran out of chips, they said he'd be square if he did a little UT pub on ESPN.

While I give him credit for getting outside of himself and actually doing the Vols a great service by going up there, he stayed well within The Fulmer Parameters with safe, cushy remarks. Though that's Fulmer, that's where I think he did the program a disservice.

One of the things that's been missing with this program is fire. A little extra juice that actually makes it to an opponent's bulletin board. Someone willing to step out on a limb and say something provocative, or even borderline provocative. Someone like, say, Demonte Bolden?

Did you catch what he said to an ESPN.com writer about Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow at Saturday's media day? “I don’t care about Tebow. Yeah, he’s an All-American, but he’s a regular player. Get him back on the field. You know what I’m saying. I made hits on him last year. This year, I’m going to get back to him a lot quicker."

Now, there was nothing out of bounds with what he said. But considering Tennessee's recent history of "let's play nice," he might as well have been sending missiles across the bow, in front of the bow and at Tebow himself. These were practically fighting words. One wonders if Fulmer, upon learning of the quotes, suspended Bolden for the season.

The comment was a very small facet of media day, but they were words the rest of Bolden's teammates should hear.

A quick sampling of some Vols fans brought reactions nothing short of fear. "Oh I wish he wouldn't have said that. That'll just get Florida more revved up to play us." Another said "Great. I wish Fulmer would rein these guys in."

Are you kidding me? Those kinds of comments are exactly what the Vols have been missing for too many years. I'm not for a moment suggesting Vols players need to act like the Miami Hurricanes of old, showing little to no class for opponents. But there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. In the case of Tennessee players, what they say is usually just this side of PBS Sprout.

Recent seasons have shown the Vols to be a little less talented than their teams of the mid to late 1990's. But that doesn't mean the cupboard's been bare. Often times, the collective state of mind a team has going into a game can carry it just a bit further than their talent should reasonably allow. I contend that the converse has been the case with UT.

Rather than have a little swagger, rather than throwing a few comments out there and coming out on the field breathing fire and chewing glass ready to back them up, they have gone out of their way to out-nice everyone.

While this might seem fine and dandy to Fulmer and the coaching staff, it often strikes in the face of what makes a great player who he is.

Last year, shots of Florida coach Urban Meyer on the sideline during their game with the Vols seemed to indicate profound joy, bordering on laughing, over beating UT into submission. You almost got the idea he was annoyed the Gators didn't break 60. And leading up to the game, Florida players, though showing respect to the Vols, made it quite clear they fully expected to win the game.

The Vols have tried the Barney method of comments leading up to a game. The "I love you, you love me..." approach. Maybe now is the time to throw out that playbook, along with last season's offense, and begin bringing some heat.

So what if they ruffle a few feathers. So what if they get under the skin of a few players. So what if a rival coach takes issue. This team - this program - hasn't done anything significant in the college football world since 1998. They won't say it publicly, but the coaches know it. They know it only too well.

And let's face it, most of that has to do with what the players do on the field on a Saturday afternoon or evening. But perhaps...perhaps...what they do off the field before Saturday can begin to set the table differently than fans have seen for the past 10 years.

You don't think that matters? Think again. At the highest level of athletics, in any sport, it's often little more than attitude that tips the scales of winning or losing. Individually and collectively, it's the difference between hope and expectation.

It says here a little Demonte will go a long way towards changing the culture of this team - this program.

CGabriel is a radio talk show host, freelance writer and voiceover artist. A native of Chicago, he makes his home in Minneapolis with the three loves of his life: His beautiful wife and two daughters.

The Trouble With Tebow

Sports writers from the markets covering the Southeastern Conference recently picked the Florida Gators to win the Southeastern Conference title this season. Their prediction was due, in largely in part, to the return of Tim Tebow. Tebow you see, at the start of last season, was thought too good to be true. In year when the Southeastern Conference is lacking many big name quarterbacks, there is one team that that has the biggest name of them all.

Tim Tebow is the straight-laced kid, with good looks and the big strong body-just the kind of role model most parents want their own kids to grow up and be. Tebow went on to complete 234 of 350 passes for over 3,200 yards and 32 TD passes. He also carried the ball 210 times for 895 yards and another 23 TDs. Those are lofty numbers never before reached by anyone in the history of the collegiate game. It was no surprise that he walked away with the Heisman Trophy in just his sophomore season of college football.

Make no mistake, in order to win the SEC Championship in 2008, teams are going to have to beat Florida. In doing so, they are going to have to find a way to harness Tebow and slow him down. Only a few defenses found a way to do so last season and even then part of their equation was solved by injuries to the modern day "Superman". The trouble with Tebow is that his own strength strength has beens kryptonite. He is just so big and strong that he is able to break tackles and fight for more yards, which opens himself up to more hits.

Will football fans see the maturation of its marquee player? Will he morp into something even better this season? Will it be a repeat of his strongman act from a year ago? No matter, it will be a fun season and its still Tim Tebow's stage.