SB Nation - Erik Ainge

Tennessee @ Kentucky 2009: What it Means

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:13:36 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

UK will need a lot of #18 (Randall Cobb) in the game today when they host the Tennessee Volunteers.

Kentucky fans often think of the Tennessee Volunteers and Kentucky Wildcats as rivals, and in many ways, that's true. Among the northernmost SEC schools, Tennessee and Kentucky have more in common with each other than they do with the rest of the teams in the SEC. That similarity produces a natural sense of rivalry, along with the fact that both states share a long border and are culturally similar.

But sports rivalries generally require a competitive situation, a case in which both teams win. Rivalries become "cold" when faced with long stretches of futility, like the current 24 - year stretch in which the 'Cats have not managed a single victory against the Volunteers. There have been many competitive games in that period -- in fact, if you discount the period between 1992 and 2000, Kentucky has been competitive in almost every game. Competitive, but losers every time.

Today, UK hopes to begin the revival of what used to be a thriving and acrimonious rivalry back in the 1950's and 1960's. To do that, this long streak of losses against the Vols must come to an end. UK doesn't have to dominate Tennessee in order to begin the revival, although a domination would go a long way toward making this a rivalry faster.

To get everyone in the spirit of the game, below you will find Ken and I talking With Will and Joel of Rocky Top Talk about the game earlier this week. I meant to put this up earlier, but unfortunately, the Cancun Challenge dominated most of our attention this week, and there are only so many blogging hours in the day. But excuses aside, here we go:

Be sure to give it a listen, I think you will find it interesting.

More after the jump.

Over at Rocky Top Talk, Will has a terrific article about the futility Kentucky has suffered (as well as some of Tennessee's best moments) over the last 24 years. These aren't the 48-0 blowouts, but the really competitive games like the 52-50 overtime loss the last time the Vols brought the Big Orange into Commonwealth Stadium. Here is a taste of some of the memories Will offers up:

2004: #15 Tennessee 37 - Kentucky 31 (Knoxville)

With freshman Erik Ainge having gone down against Notre Dame two weeks earlier, the Vols found life difficult with Rick Clausen under center: after losing to the Irish and surviving 38-33 against Vanderbilt, the Vols were pushed to the limit by Kentucky. The offense put up plenty of numbers - 606 yards on the afternoon - but Clausen's pick six gave Kentucky a 17-7 second quarter lead. The Cats led 24-22 at halftime, then got a huge score to make it 31-22 going to the fourth quarter. But the Vols used a trick play, with CJ Fayton passing to Robert Meachem, to set up one fourth quarter score, then went 60 yards in four minutes to finish the job via a Gerald Riggs touchdown run, 12 yards with 12 seconds left.

That was a classic example of a game Kentucky should have won, but the trick play took all the wind out of their sails and they collapsed in the end, instead of coming out victorious.

In a way, today's game represents a validation of the 2009 season. I don't mean that the rest of the season is meaningless without this win -- to the contrary. Kentucky has three SEC victories, every one of them on the road, and two against teams that are most often ranked somewhere in the top 25 in the country -- in fact, both Georgia and Auburn have been ranked this year. Winning on the road in the SEC, particularly against teams of that quality, is a feat usually reserved for the division champion.

But UK has been futile against the SEC in Commonwealth this year, and it's hart to argue that a truly great season can be composed of a 0-for-the-SEC record in your home stadium. As recent Kentucky teams go, this team is perhaps as good as the 2006 team with a loss today, clearly better than last year, but not as good as 2007. With a win today, UK would manage eight wins in the regular season for the first time since 1984 (ironically the same year we last defeated the Vols), but it must be said that there were only 11 games in those days, and UK went 8-3.

Even with a loss today, this team will be remembered for all the road victories, breaking a long streak of losses to Auburn, and defeating Georgia between the hedges for the first time since 1977. This team has accomplished a lot, and contributed a lot to Kentucky history, including the third straight defeat of Louisville.

Another subtext to this game is Tennessee native Randall Cobb, who's legend at Kentucky seems on a trajectory similar to that of Tim Couch. Couch, of course, was a Kentucky boy and one of the best players ever to put on the Blue and White, but Cobb is from Alcoa High in Alcoa Tennessee, just a few miles from Knoxville. As everyone knows, Cobb wanted to go to UT, but the Vols ignored him until long after he had accepted an offer from Kentucky. When Fulmer & Co. finally did offer, Randally Cobb stuck with his commitment and turned down the Volunteers.

If Kentucky does defeat Tennessee in Commonwealth Stadium today, it will likely be in no small part due to Randall Cobb, and he may become one of the most legendary players that Kentucky has produced. Cobb may be crowding out some other guys, like Derrick Locke and the entire offensive line (which is arguably the best o-line at Kentucky in so many years I can't even remember), but someone will always emerge as the media and fan darling. Cobb fits that bill to a "T."

So ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, lets get ready for some FOOTBALL, and hopefully, some history.

The Record of Wrongs: Memphis Tigers

Joel — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:00:41 -0000

Hear ye, hear ye. It's Time. Time for Tennessee Volunteer fans to gather for the ceremonial reading of the Record of Wrongs, a litany of the offenses committed by the Memphis Tigers.

September 30, 2006. Memphis punter Michael Gibson punted seven times for 356 yards and averaged 50.9 yards per attempt. He booted one 73 yards, and his teammates were able to down three of his punts inside the five yard line. Because he punted so well, Erik Ainge had to go much further for his five touchdowns in a 41-7 victory.
1996. Tennessee 17, Memphis 21. The "he's down, he's not down game." Video evidence:
1988. Tiger fans had the audacity to greet the Volunteers when they arrived for the game with a chant of "Oh-and-six! Oh-and-six!", the Vols' record going into the game despite Tennessee having beaten Memphis State 11 times in a row. After the game, Vol fans chanted, "Oh-and-12! Oh-and-12!"
Highly scientific studies have concluded that Memphis has the ninth-worst logo in college football:

The abnormally-colored Memphis Tiger looks less like a blood-thirsty carnivore than your paraplegic grandfather rolling his wheelchair toward you looking for an inappropriate hug.

Probably not true

Due to a quirk in the Tennessee Code, when Memphis State was stripped of its right to use the word "State" in its name, it's first choice for a substitute name was in fact "Tiger High," but the General Assembly thought that "too uppity" considering the institution.
The first eight live tigers Memphis attempted to use as mascots were all killed in a single caffeine-fueled all-nighter because that's how long it took the school scientists to learn that making the tigers orange and blue by depriving them of oxygen wasn't working.
Tennessee's two senators in 1993 petitioned then-governor Ned McWherter to sign a highly secretive and unusual "reverse annexation," quitclaiming the entire city of Memphis to the State of Arkansas without their consent. It was thwarted at the eleventh hour by a swarm of 13-year cicadas.

I'm certain I've missed some. Whatcha got?

The California Golden Blogs Hall Of Fame Part II

TwistNHook — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:30:25 -0000

This morning we had the introduction of our California Golden Blogs Hall Of Fame, centered on our initial entrant, Mark Bingham. Tonight, we look at all the other members of the initial class, presented in no particular order. Thanks for your votes, guys! GO BEARS!

Tony Gonzalez

via imagecache.allposters.com

Tony Gonzalez, perhaps the greatest tight end in NFL history (although John Mackey and Mike Ditka might have something to say about that) starts off our list. Let's take a look at a brief sampling of his career.

Since we can talk about Gonzalez's accomplishments, people might be interested to know that Gonzalez toyed with veganism for awhile, at his peak, as a pro, in his contract year (it's crazier because all these things happens at once).

Tightwad Hill reflects:

It took Mooch and his West Coast offense to fully exploit Tony's skills as both an explosive run blocker and deep receiving threat. In his junior season of 1996, Gonzalez caught 46 passes for 699 yards and 5 touchdowns. He was named all-Pac 10 and first team All-America by the Football News and Sporting News magazines.

All the while, of course, Gonzalez was logging double duty as a starting forward on Cal's basketball team. In 1996-97 he developed an offensive game to complement his rugged rebounding and led the Golden Bears to a surprise berth in the Sweet 16.

LeonPowe adds:

1. He was so giant catching balls in the 1995-96 season, that among my group of dorky friends we subtituted "Tony Gonzalez" as a synonym for "huge" as in: "Jeez, that burrito is Tony Gonzalez"

2. After losing to UNC, Coach Dean Smith said about Tony G "I believe that man has a great future in football. He’s certainly very strong"

3. I once asked NBA All Star Antawn Jamison what was it like to play against Tony G – he said "he’s not an NBA player – but that’s no knock on him. He’s a really really good basketball player, and strong as hell. He was a tough defender"

Jack Clark

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

Carp has nothing but great things to say about his former coach. Here's his writeup.

Coach Clark, a Cal rugby alum himself, deserves to be up there on the list of integral people associated with Cal. He has guided Cal rugby to 19 national titles since he took over in 1981. He led Cal to an unprecedented 115 game winning streak.

Winning was not necessarily the aim. Rather, it was a by-product of excellent preparation, attention to detail, dedication, and perservearance. He teaches his players to be thoughtful, selfless, and responsible adults. Clark is quick to point out that Cal rugby is completely self-sufficient and is comprised of non-scholarship athletes who earn their keep on and off the pitch.

After all, Clark is accustomed to overcoming incredible odds:
The following month Clark attended a party at the house of an acquaintance in San Francisco and went outside to help break up an altercation. He ended up squared off against a man with a 9-mm Magnum. The assailant, who was under the influence of PCP, fired at Clark, hitting him four times. One bullet shattered his left femur, another the left fibula. At San Francisco General Hospital, heavily sedated and suffering significant nerve damage in the leg, Clark was confronted with the possibility of amputation. One night, while drifting in and out of consciousness, he awoke to a lecture on prosthetic limbs from a hospital counselor. "I called up one of my mates," Clark recalls, "and said, ‘I need you to get down here, and whatever you do, don’t let them take my leg.’"

Clark hung on, enduring a 45-day stay at the hospital and then more than a year of physical therapy. Eighteen months after the shooting he ran a 10K. "When something like that happens," he says, "you’re either going to be a victim or you’re not."

For example, rather than his team do bench press excercises, he has them do pullups:
"We do a lot of pullups because they’re great for grip strength" said Coach Clark. Picture this: if you’re lifting your opponents up into the air by gripping onto their shorts – be it in a scrum, a ruck, or a maul – you have to rely on your gripping, pulling and hoisting muscles.

On top of this, Clark volunteered to coach the USMC rugby team in the offseason.

via www.bigcsociety.org

To honor his efforts, the marines presented Clark with this American flag (above) that was flown over Camp Ripper in Iraq on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. It is one of his proudest possessions.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Clark on Stanfurd refusing to play Cal in rugby:
"We lose to Stanford in many sports, but if you want to make a Cal team quit, bring a weapon."

Jeff Tedford

via bleacherreport.com

It'd be hard to find Cal fans who didn't have a positive opinion of Jeff Tedford.

Ohio Bear: He has done an unbelievable job. If you followed Cal football in the 1980s and 1990s through the Holmoecaust, you know what I’m talking about. Perhaps something I read a long time ago on a Michigan blog said it best (and I’m paraphrasing): before Tedford, Cal was the Indiana of the Pac-10 in football.

Beast Mode:

59-30 Overall
5-1 Bowl Games
6-1 Against Stanfurd
1 Co-Conference Championship
Pac-10 COY
SAHPC
Hope

For people who might want more background on one of Cal's finest coaches, check out this widely circulated Gameday profile from 2004.

Leon Powe

via msnbcmedia.msn.com

Not many Cal fans can find a bad word to say about Leon. ragnarok has this classic story from the old blogsome of Powe's greatest performance in gold & blue:

Already demanding notice after setting a tournament record with 20 rebounds in avictory over USC the previous night, Leon Powe had what is probably his signature game at Cal during the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament. Seventh-seeded Oregon was fighting for its season; with a 15-17 record, the Ducks knew there would be no postseason for them if they didn’t win the Tournament. Still, they had managed to beat hapless Washington State and then upset second-seeded Washington the next night, and early on, it looked like they might pull off their improbable run to the title game, sprinting out to a 32-16 lead in the first half. Then they ran into Leon Powe.

Of course, it took a team effort from the Bears to battle back from a 16-point deficit, including trailing by 7 with less than 3 minutes to go, but it often seemed that most of that team effort involved feeding Powe in the low post over and over and over again. And why wouldn’t they? The man was virtually unstoppable that night, shooting 14 of 17 from the floor and 13 of 18 from the line. You don’t really need an offense when you have Leon Powe, but the Bears did need every one of his tournament-record 41 points (and two overtimes) to hold off the Ducks in a game that had me (alone at home) screaming at my television and nearly convinced me to drive down to LA for the final. These Bears should have been upset, but Powe put them up on his back and barreled them into the final virtually singlehandedly.

As great as that performance is, we love Leon for a lot more than his put back dunks or even being the Show in the NBA Finals. His story from rags to riches would have left Jamal Malik reeling and Latika swooning. Leon Powe is where amazing happens.

Zack Follett

via imgs.sfgate.com

Well...we'll let Spazzy talk about Pain Train:

OH MAKE NO MISTAKE, PAIN TRAIN IS NOT LEAVING BERKELEY.  PAIN TRAIN IS *SPARING* BERKELEY.  PAIN TRAIN REMEMBERS THE FIRST TIME HE BROUGHT HIS PAIN UPON BERKELEY.  HE TRIED TO OFFER A VAGRANT HIS LEFTOVER PAD THAI BUT THE VAGRANT DEMANDED COMPENSATION FOR BEER INSTEAD.  ALCOHOLISM WRECKS FAMILIES, SO PAIN TRAIN WRECKED THE VAGRANT, WITH A TITANIC HELMET CRUSH BLOW TO THE COLON.

DO YOU RECALL THE FENCES AROUND THE TREE SITTERS?  THEY WERE NOT BUILT TO PROTECT PEDESTRIANS, THEY WERE PUT IN PLACE TO PROTECT THE TREE SITTERS FROM PAIN TRAIN.  OTHERWISE, PAIN TRAIN WOULD HAVE REMOVED THE TREES WITH HIS BARE, SHARP TEETH.  *ringtone chimes, playing I'm On a Boat ft. T-Pain.*  PARDON ME, PAIN TRAIN IS RECEIVING A TELEPHONE CALL.

OH HELLO THERE, DUMPSTER MUFFIN.  WHAT'S THAT? YOU DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO USE SILK OR COTTON SHEETS ON THE GUEST BED? AND YOU'RE TIRED OF YOUR JOB?  WELL, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU JOINED YOUR LITTLE PROTEST.  THEN THE JUDGE WOULDN'T HAVE SENTENCED YOU TO BE MY BUTLER FOR LIFE.  I REALIZE YOU THINK THAT'S UNFAIR, BUT WE WILL TALK ABOUT IT LATER, I'M CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW RIGHT NOW.  NO, I HAVE TO GO, NO, YOU CAN'T SIT ON THE OAK CABINET, IT'S AN ANTIQUE FROM THE ESTATE OF SIR THOMAS CALHOUN.  NO, LIKE I SAID, YOU C--NO!  NO!  DO NOT ANTAGONIZE PAIN TRAIN FURTHER.  PAIN TRAIN JUST MAY EXTRACT YOUR ARMPIT HAIRS ONE BY ONE JUST LIKE HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO REMOVE THE OAKS ONE BY ONE.

JUST LIKE HE REMOVED PRETTYBOY QUARTERBACKS ONE BY ONE.  FOR FOUR YEARS.  ERIK AINGE STILL HAS A TRAIN SHAPED IMPRINT ON HIS EIGHTH AND NINTH VERTEBRAE.  LET IT BE KNOWN: TOM BRADY WILL WISH HE TORE BOTH HIS ACL'S AND BE OUT FOR HIS CAREER, BECAUSE PAIN TRAIN IS ABOUT TO TEAR TOM BRADY'S SOUL WITH THE AMOUNT OF PAIN HE WILL IMPART. DO YOU HEAR THAT, NFL QB'S?  PAIN TRAIN IS ATTENDING YOUR POTLUCK.  AND HE IS BRINGING ONLY PAIN.

Marshawn Lynch

via www.mybearterritory.com

Avinash: That Washington game was awesome. You could feel the tension in the stadium, that all our Rose Bowl hopes were about to slip away to some 4-6 team (probably a warning sign of things to come). Then Marshawn entered Beast Mode and would not let us lose. Great great game.

I also have fond memories of him playing second backup to Arrington. Underscores the importance of having two not just capable but dynamic running backs. Forsett had his struggles in his backup role to Marshawn, Vereen did the same with Best. There was no real drop off with Marshawn though. 8.8 yards per carry, 8 touchdowns on only 71 carries.

Natalie Coughlin

via cache.daylife.com

Beast Mode gives us the brief intro of Coughlin for those unfamiliar with her accolades:

11 Olympic Medals
3 Olympic Gold medals
Holds numerous US records and set numerous world records

I was planning on putting some of her sweet Olympic backstroke races, but NBC, being the total dicks they are about copyright, pulled them all off YouTube. Great job fellas. Way to promote your athletes. So I'm left with this article about the physics/fluid dynamics of dolphin kicks which Coughlin is famous for using off the turns, and an even cooler video of a female swimmer simulation (probably Coughlin?) of the fluid dynamics of the kick.

Twist once did a fine YouTube Thursday post on her (for the 4th of July!) which includes some interviews, highlights and training tips. He also showed Coughlin's pre-Beijing profile, which includes her NCAA accolades at Cal. Check it out below.

via www.nbcolympics.com

Natalie Coughlin
Country: USA
Event: Women's Swimming - Freestyle/Backstroke/IM
Hometown: Vallejo, Calif.
Years at Cal: 2001-04

Arguably the greatest female swimmer in Cal history, Coughlin won 12 NCAA titles with the Golden Bears (the second-most career titles for a women's swimmer in NCAA history). She was a three-time NCAA and Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year. Her success only grew more after her collegiate tenure. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Coughlin became the third American woman to win five medals at one Olympics (the others are Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller). She took gold in the 100-meter backstroke and the 800 freestyle relay, breaking the world record in that event. Coughlin also won silver medals in the 400 free relay and the 400 medley relay, and a bronze in the 100 free. At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Coughlin lowered her world record in the 100 back to 58.97. In addition, she finished second in both the 100 free (53.83) and 200 individual medley (2:10.32).

I predict you already have a solid appreciation of who Natalie Coughlin is. Although it states her hometown is the Valley Jo. I always thought it was Concord.

Also, she's one of our many athletes on Twitter! Everyone who saw her Olympic profile knows she's grown huge on the cooking thing to keep her from going crazy during all the swimming training. Thus, posts like "Fava bean puree on garlic toast, dungeness crab/avoc/beet salad, saffron chick w/ parm pudding, & cheese tart w/ blueberry lemon cream" "Making dinner. Just when I thought I had nothing to eat...found frozen artichokes in freezer. Voilà: artichoke-lemon risotto!" are not the least bit surprising!

Joe Roth

via www.joeroth12.com

To learn more about Roth, let's listen to the impeccable Keith Jackson.

"Dying is not so tough. For the last three years I've lived with the realization that the next day might be my last. I'm lucky to be here as long as I was, so don't feel any pity. A lot of people younger than me and older than me have to face up to this sort of thing. I'm nothing special. I'm Joe Roth, a student and a football player."

– Joe Roth

You can find out more about Roth here.

On a lighter side, this gives us a chance to showcase that great 1975 season again! Check out this sweet retro footage and vintage Roth.

Jason Kidd

via lh4.ggpht.com

Our basketball historian, LeonPowe, reminisces:

On the short list for best point guard of all time.

* In basketball history. Pac-10 Rookie of the Year. National Rookie of the Year. Pac-10 POY. Top 3 NBA pick. Top 5 pro assists of all time.

(I put Magic, Isiah, John Stockton and Oscar ahead of him . . .but I’d take Jason over Gary Payton, Bob Cousy, Walt Frazier, Kevin Johnson, Mark Price and Tiny Archibald.)

...

Overachieved in his freshman year (Sweet Sixteen), underachieved in his sophomore year (Bozeman’s biggest crime wasn’t cheating . . .it was that he couldn’t coach). But we finished 2nd in the Pac that second year and were ranked in the top 15-20 most of the year.

Now sit back, and watch some sweet Justin Kidd Cal highlights, capped off by the upset vs. Duke (to find out why I called him Justin, see the second video). These fourteen minutes are worth 10,000 words.

Chuck Muncie

via i.cdn.turner.com

From newcomer PunchCards4Ever!

"Muncie set six school rushing records, including most touchdowns and most yards gained in a single season. He was instrumental in Cal’s NCAA-leading offense which propelled the team to the co-championship of the Pac-8 in 1975, and he appeared for the first time on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Muncie was a strong candidate for the Heisman Trophy and finished second in the voting in 1975 behind Archie Griffin of Ohio State. After Muncie graduated, the New Orleans Saints selected him in the 1st round of the 1976 NFL Draft with the 3rd overall selection"
And he more than anyone else destroyed Stanford in the big game that year:
1975 California 48 Stanford 15

And now...time to dust off that slick 1975 footage! Muncie's domination starts at 3:34.

The California Golden Blogs Hall Of Fame

TwistNHook — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:00:20 -0000

There are a lot of great awards out there. The Heisman Trophy, annually selected by a series of intoxicated monkeys. And the MLB Cy Youngs Awards, which are seemingly given to whichever pitchers happened to have the best combination of luck, matching offense, and moxie. Plus, up until very, very, very recently, the Nobel Peace Prize.

But all of these awards pale in comparison to entry into a most elite group. No, not the Mitchell Brother's Kopenhagen Lounge. I refer to the California Golden Blogs Hall Of Fame. This is perhaps the most elite company of men, women, and legends there has ever been. Yankee Stadium should take down Monument Park and put up plaques in favor of all these people.

The first person to enter the CGB Hall Of Fame was American hero Mark Bingham, who was placed in without a vote. Then, CGB voted in Tony Gonzalez, Jack Clark, Jeff Tedford, Leon Powe, Zack Follett, Marshawn Lynch, Jason Kidd, and Chuck Muncie. After that, CGB had one last chance to vote people in with a Wild Card vote where they voted in Natalie Coughlin and Joe Roth. Joe Roth had been beaten out by Jeff Tedford in a highly contested match up in the 2nd round. And Natalie Coughlin (along with Sandy Barbour) was crushed by a bunch of radio station-addled Lions fans who found out about the voting and toads cheated. Even Zack Follett himself got in on the action! Key people unfortunately left out this year included Aaron Rodgers and "The Play" Players. But there is always next year! Of course, each class after this shall be smaller. It was the first year, so we allowed 11 in compared to the standard 4. See the entire bracket here and see the voting on the Hall Of Fame here.

We wanted to present the entirety of this class today. I asked resident rugby expert, carp, to write up a post on Mark Bingham for the post. What he produced was one of the most moving pieces I've seen in a long time and I wanted it to get its due. So, we'll have that right now and then the rest of the class this evening. After the fold, learn more about one of the finest students to ever matriculate at Cal. It is not often you can say somebody is a true American hero without any trace of irony, but this is one of those situations.

In many regards, Mark Bingham is the finest person to be affiliated with the University of California and, because of this, Mark is the consummate founding member of your California Golden Blogs Hall of Fame.

Mark was born in Phoenix, AZ, but graduated from Los Gatos High before attending Berkeley. While he was at Cal, Mark was President of the Chi Psi fraternity and, at 6’4" and 225 lbs, was a star flanker on Cal’s 1991 and 1993 national championship rugby teams. Prior to graduating in 1993, Mark impressively tackled both the Bucky Badger (Wisconsin’s mascot) and the Furd’s tree, the latter of which was a monster smash during the ’92 Big Game.

via www.markbingham.com

Mark continued to play amateur rugby for the San Francisco Fog, where he was known as "Bear Trap," and became CEO of his own public relations firm the Bingham Group. Mark lived in Cole Valley, and had offices in San Francisco and Manhattan. Throughout his adult life, Mark was an advocate for gay rights. Upon learning that his club had been accepted into the Northern California Rugby Union, Mark wrote the following e-mail:

Wow! What an inspiring email. This is a huge step forward for gay rugby.

When I started playing rugby at the age of 16, I always thought that my interest in other guys would be an anathema — completely repulsive to the guys on my team — and to the people I was knocking the shit out of on the other team. I loved the game, but KNEW I would need to keep my sexuality a secret forever. I feared total rejection.

As we worked and sweated and ran and talked together this year, I finally felt accepted as a gay man and a rugby player. My two irreconcilable worlds came together.

Now we've been accepted into the union and the road is going to get harder. We need to work harder. We need to get better. We have the chance to be role models for other gay folks who wanted to play sports, but never felt good enough or strong enough. More importantly, we have the chance to show the other teams in the league that we are as good as they are. Good rugby players. Good partiers. Good sports. Good men.

Gay men weren't always wallflowers waiting on the sideline. We have the opportunity to let these other athletes know that gay men were around all along — on their little league teams, in their classes, being their friends.

This is a great opportunity to change a lot of people's minds, and to reach a group that might never have had to know or hear about gay people.

Let's go make some new friends…and win a few games.

Congratulations, my brothers in rugby.

mb

via upload.wikimedia.org

A few weeks later, at the last possible minute, Mark boarded United Flight 93 in Newark, NJ en route to San Francisco. Forty minutes after departure, the plane had been taken over by terrorists and the plane had been redirected towards Washington, D.C. Upon learning this, it is known that Mark, from row 25, tried to reach his mother Alice Hoglan (a retired flight attendant) but was only able to reach her voice mail at 9:37 AM. In his message, Mark explained that 3 men had overtaken the plane and had a bomb. Alice returned his call, but got Mark’s message. In her message, she instructed Mark to reclaim the aircraft after it became apparent that it was a suicide mission. It would not have been the first time Mark had protected others. Paul Holm, Mark’s partner for 6 years, said Mark had twice successfully protected Holm from attempted muggings, one of which was at gunpoint. Friends also recall that Mark once crossed several lanes of traffic to remove a distressed young girl from oncoming cars.

Mark is believed to be one of several passengers who attempted to storm the cockpit to prevent hundreds or thousands of people from being killed. What is known is that he is a true American hero. "The Revolt" as described by Flight 93’s Wikipedia page:

The revolt on Flight 93 began at 09:57.^[21] Passengers used the service cart and fire extinguishers in attempts to smash through the cockpit door. The hijackers in the cockpit became aware of the revolt at 09:57:55, exclaiming, "Is there something? A fight?"^[32] Edward Felt dialed 9-1-1 from his cell phone from the lavatory of the aircraft seeking information.^[31] His call was answered by dispatcher John Shaw, and Felt was able to tell him about the hijacking before the call was disconnected.^[47] There were reports of Felt hearing an explosion and seeing smoke coming into the lavatory from under the door.^[48] These reports were reported to be false in other sources.^[49] Lyles called her husband once more from a cell phone and told him the passengers were forcing their way into the cockpit.^[19] Jarrah began to violently roll the airplane left and right to knock the passengers off balance. He told another hijacker in the cockpit at 9:58:57, "They want to get in here. Hold, hold from the inside. Hold from the inside. Hold."^[32] Jarrah changed tactics at 9:59:52 and pitched the nose of the airplane up and down to disrupt the assault.^[21]

The cockpit voice recorder captured the sounds of crashing, screaming, and the shattering of glass.^[50] Jarrah stabilized the plane at 10:00:03.^[21] Five seconds later, he asked, "Is that it? Shall we finish it off?" Another hijacker responded, "No. Not yet. When they all come, we finish it off."^[32] Jarrah once again pitched the airplane up and down. A passenger in the background cried, "In the cockpit. If we don't, we'll die" at 10:00:25. Sixteen seconds later, another passenger yelled, "Roll it!"^[21] Jarrah ceased the violent maneuvers at 10:01:00 and recited the takbir several times. He then asked another hijacker, "Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?" The other hijacker responded, "Yes, put it in it, and pull it down."^[21] Nevertheless, the passengers continued their assault and at 10:02:23, a hijacker said, "Pull it down! Pull it down!" The airplane descended with the yoke turned hard to the right. The airplane rolled onto its back, and one of the hijackers began shouting the takbir. Amidst the sounds of the passenger counterattack, the aircraft plowed into an empty field in Stonycreek, Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes' flying time from Washington, D.C.^[21] The last entry on the voice recorder was made at 10:03:09.^[32] The last piece of flight data was recorded at 10:03:10.^[51] There is some controversy between some of the family members of the passengers and the investigative officials as to whether the passengers managed to breach the cockpit. The 9/11 Commission Report asserts that "the hijackers remained at the controls but must have judged that the passengers were only seconds from overcoming them".^[21] Others claim that there is no doubt the passengers breached the cockpit.^[52]

^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{^{Out of respect for a hero I did not know, I leave you with excerpts from others:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

via www.tallmentogether.com

Mark’s eulogy at Wheeler Hall:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., delivered a eulogy on Saturday to honor Mark Bingham, one of the passengers on hijacked Flight 93 who may have helped prevent the plane from hitting a Washington, D.C., target.

Speaking before a crowd of 500 people who gathered at the University of California at Berkeley for the memorial service, McCain praised Bingham's heroic sacrifice that may have saved many lives.

"It is now believed that the terrorists on Flight 93 intended to crash the airplane into the United States Capitol where I work, the great house of democracy where I was that day," the senator said. "It is very possible that I would have been in the building, with a great many other people.

"I may very well owe my life to Mark and the others who summoned the enormous courage and love necessary to deny those depraved, hateful men their terrible triumph. Such a debt you incur for life."

Sen. McCain flew from Washington to honor Bingham, a former star rugby player for Berkeley who was also an openly gay supporter of McCain's presidential campaign last year.

"I know he (Bingham) was a good son and friend, a good rugby player, a good American and an extraordinary human being," the senator said. "He supported me, and his support now ranks among the greatest honors of my life. I wish I had known before Sept. 11 just how great an honor his trust in me was. I wish I could have thanked him for it more profusely than time and circumstances allowed."

via upload.wikimedia.org

Mike Silver:

Let me tell you about one other act of defiance, this one coming up on its 10-year anniversary. As Cal was getting spanked in the 1992 Big Game at Memorial, Stanford fans, elated over their 5-0-1 stretch in the once-balanced rivalry, actually showed a pulse and began a taunting chant. The Tree ventured closer and closer to the Cal student section, gyrating in its insipid outfit, until a Cal rugby player named Mark Bingham could stand it no longer. Bingham jumped from the stands, made a beeline for the Plant from Purgatory and chopped its sorry ass to the ground, reminding everyone in attendance that there are some things that simply can't be tolerated. And while I would never advocate such a renegade display of violence, I sincerely hope that if such a gesture ever were to take place again, the culprit would honor his predecessor by pointing a finger to the sky.

That's because 14 months ago Bingham was one of the Flight 93 passengers who fought back against the Sept. 11 terrorists and made the ultimate sacrifice. And though I'm in no way comparing the magnitude of events and circumstances, I will say this: That is a California Golden Bear.

via www.markbingham.com

Amy Callaway, Mark’s college friend:

I met Mark my first week at Cal - welcome week, the week before classes.It was at Chi Psi, the place where Cal really welcomed me, the place I would find myself spending a great deal of my time at during my four years there. I remember formals and crashing in Mark and Tony's room, I remember walking the plank in Mark and Tony's room at the drink-a-room. I remember Mark and Tony waking Steph and I up in the middle of the night in our dorms when Pi Kap was on fire behind Chi Psi and 4 of us cramming in the smallest twin beds you've ever seen. I remember Mark carrying me home one night when I wasn't able to take myself home. I remember Luaus, I remember many many nights of talking and drinking and some just talking.

Then later I remember his 30th birthday party. He spent most of the night not focused on HIS day but on everyone else. Telling us how much he loved us, telling his fondest memories of each of us. I remember him dressed up as Brandy Chastain in the most ridiculous looking bra on Halloween. I remember him pouring Jaeger down everyone's throats at my white trash going away party and finding the bottles on the kitchen door jam the next morning and just smiling because that was Mark.I remember numerous bear hugs, words of affection, genuine love, a fierce loyalty, a man who truly loved life and would defend anything that was important to him. I remember one of the most incredible people I have ever know. I love Mark and he will always be a part of me. I hate that he is gone, but we all know that he went a hero, loyal and loving to the end.

Goodbye Mark. I love you. Go Bears!

Amy Callaway

via www.markbingham.com

Coach Jack Clark:

In 1991 and 1993 he helped the University of California earn national titles in rugby. Jack Clark, the coach of the rugby team, said "He marched to his own beat. This guy was anything but a follower. I don't know if we'll ever know what happened in that airplane, but it would not surprise me that Mark would resist."

If Bingham was part of the struggle with the hijackers aboard Flight 93, it wouldn't surprise his former rugby coach, Jack Clark. "Mark was very brave," Clark said. "He would have tried to look after others and provide some resistance." Bingham, a formidable 6-foot-5 starter for the Bear ruggers, had recently attended a 10-year reunion of the 1991 championship team, Clark said. "He was a fine guy, his own man, something of a free spirit and real bright," Clark said. "He was in the prime of his life."

via z.about.com

Mike Silver x 2:

In April 2001 the '91 squad held a 10-year reunion that began with a reception outside the rugby field house and ended two days later with a pub crawl through San Francisco. Over the course of the weekend Mark Bingham, a flanker on that team, informed some of his old teammates that he was gay. Bingham had worried that the revelation would jeopardize his standing with his old friends, but most reacted as though he had said, "I hope you don't mind that I drive a Pinto."

"Mark was a member of the brotherhood," Clark says. "It's a lifetime membership, and he and his teammates sacrificed so much together that nothing could ever diminish that."

Well, almost nothing. The coach winces at the mention of Bingham's arrest at the 1992 Cal-Stanford football game for leaping out of the stands and laying a monster hit on the Cardinal's mascot, the Tree. But Bingham, for the most part, lived up to Clark's lofty standards once he left the program. More than once he fended off assailants on the streets of San Francisco, including a scary incident in which he wrested a gun from a would-be mugger. Friends also tell of Bingham's crossing several lanes of traffic to scoop a young girl out of harm's way.

Last Sept. 11 Bingham participated in a shared sacrifice that made the rigors of rugby seem trivial. After boarding United Airlines Flight 93 in Newark, he kept his cool when the plane was hijacked by terrorists, and he is believed to have joined other passengers in preventing their captors from striking a target in Washington, D.C. No one knows exactly what happened in the moments before the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board. Bingham's mother, Alice Hoglan, who along with other victims' relatives recently listened to the cockpit recording, is certain that her son had bravely taken one for the team. "We heard enough to convince us that there were some true heroes on board, and the terrorists were frightened," Hoglan says, choking up. "There was an amazing assemblage of take-charge, resourceful people used to acting decisively and as a team, and we heard them urging each other on. It was powerful, fierce and awesome.

"Mark lived vividly and unapologetically, and he had his share of fun," says Hoglan, "but he was gentlemanly and loyal to a fault, and he was a team player who knew how to motivate and inspire people. I'm really grateful to Jack Clark for at least attempting to whip my son into shape. Playing rugby at Cal was a rich and rewarding experience for Mark, and it definitely helped shape the values he carried with him into adulthood."
As Clark, sitting in his Cal office, contemplates Sept. 11's unfathomable horror, his voice trails off. It has been a trying year for Golden Bears rugby, and not just because of Bingham's death. In December popular senior scrumhalf Dominic Cooke smashed his car into a tree and was paralyzed from the waist down. The coach presides over his empire with a heavy heart. The titles bleed into one another, and he keeps turning boys into men, but to his dismay, everything else is beyond his control. Mark Bingham was our brother, and we miss him," he says, his booming voice reduced to a whisper. "He left his mark, and it will never be erased."

via farm2.static.flickr.com

Wheeler Hall Memorial Service:

McCain quoted the Gospel of John—“Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends”— adding, “The only way I can thank Mark is to try to be as good an American as he was.”

McCain’s remarks were much appreciated by the audience, and he got a long round of applause. But not a standing ovation. That was reserved for the final speaker, Mark’s mom, who got two. The first came when McCain introduced her: Everyone rose as one to thank her for producing and nourishing such a wonderful son. The second came when she sat down again, after she said, “God bless you for coming here, God bless Mark Bingham, and God bless America.”

via www.markbingham.com

The Mark Bingham Foundation.

The Cal Fund.

The Bingham Cup.

Latest Mark Bingham news.

Thank you, carp. And thank you, Mark Bingham, for representing all that is good about Cal and America. GO BEARS!

Tennessee-Georgia: This Week in History

Will — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:32 -0000

Because when you're playing Georgia, it's always fun to remember the past:

5 Years Ago: After freshmen Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer helped the Vols stun Florida 30-28 in Knoxville, they were ambushed by what would become the undefeated Auburn juggernaut 34-10. The very next week brought the Vols to Athens, where Georgia was fresh off a 45-16 rout of defending national champion LSU, and carried a #3 ranking and were giving 12 points in Vegas. It would become one of Phillip Fulmer's greatest upsets, as Ainge fired a touchdown pass on the opening drive en route to a 13-7 halftime lead, then added another to put the Vols ahead 19-7 in the 4th quarter. Georgia cut the lead to 19-14 and David Greene was on his way to leading another heartbreaking final drive, but it ended at the UT 19 with an incomplete pass in the end zone, and the Vols locked up the SEC East 19-14. It's #11 in the 50 Best Games of the Fulmer Era. This was UT's first win over Georgia since...

10 Years Ago: The Vols were defending National Champions but Georgia was undefeated coming into Neyland Stadium, both teams in the top ten. But as they did so often to the Dawgs during the late 90s, Tennessee jumped out in front and never looked back. Behind three touchdown runs from Tee Martin, the Vols led 30-7 before Georgia tried to mount a comeback. Two scores cut the lead to 30-20 in the 4th quarter, but Leonard Scott ran the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards to seal it, 37-20. The Vols sacked Quincy Carter six times and scored their final victory in a nine game win streak over Georgia.

15 Years Ago: Definitive proof that you can still play well when your quarterback is a liability: Todd Helton lined up under center in Athens in his first career start, and the #19 Vols made a point to run, run, and run some more against #23 Georgia. The bulk of the work was done by James "Little Man" Stewart, who ripped Georgia for 211 yards and 4 touchdowns, tying a UT record for touchdowns by a back in one game. Stewart's performance included a 71 yard touchdown run with six broken tackles that is still one of the best I've ever seen. Tennessee rolled 41-23 in Helton's one and only win as a starting quarterback.

20 Years Ago: The final performance of the CobbWebb attack came in Neyland Stadium, as the 4-0 Vols were 6th in the country and would use the arm of Andy Kelly and the legs of Sterling Henton at quarterback to jump to a 17-6 lead, and an opportunistic defense would make it stand up in a 17-14 win. It was Tennessee's 10th in a row dating back to the previous season, and their first in the eventual nine game win streak over Georgia. Cobb would be dismissed from the team the following week for failing a drug test. And we've got a Bill Goldberg sighting in the highlights:

Crompton and the Vols Trade Perception for Reality

Will — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:43:33 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

3 months ago: Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Compton (8) looks for a receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. UCLA won 19-15. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Browse more photos »

This is how little faith Tennessee fans have in Jonathan Crompton:

On the Vols' final drive of the game, dozens of UT fans where I was sitting headed for the exits on third down. They didn't stop to watch 4th and 14. They didn't turn around when an offsides penalty created 4th and 9. They didn't listen when other UT fans chastised them for doing so.

And Crompton, true to the form that is without question a more accurate picture of his abilities than the one we saw last week, didn't give them a reason to be wrong.

Maybe I'm just tired of blaming Jonathan Crompton, and am looking to blame someone else. Maybe I'm frustrated by people like the guy sitting behind me, who tapped me on the shoulder on the second play of the game and told me to sit down. (To people like that: stop being part of the problem, and start being part of the solution.)

But then the crowd was at its best when the defense needed them the most: UCLA's consecutive 4th quarter drives that produced three and out and the safety were some of the loudest moments in Neyland in five years. Tennessee fans seem very willing to support Lane Kiffin and to rise to the occasion when the defense needs us.

But Tennessee fans enjoyed one week of sobriety from turning their emotions on Jonathan Crompton, and it'll be one week only: 13 of 26 for only 93 yards, 3 interceptions and a fumbled snap (which Kiffin blamed on Cody Sullins going on one when Crompton called to go on two).

Without the interceptions, it was a Rick Clausen-like performance: lots of checkdowns, with almost half of his pedestrian 13 completions going to backs and tight ends. And more than that, an inability to throw downfield, which to no surprise produced 4 of 16 on third downs and no prayer on the game's final drive.

But with the interceptions, it becomes something worse. And something frustratingly familiar.

Lane Kiffin is a man of his word: he said he would not rotate quarterbacks, and he didn't. He's held true to everything he's said thus far in his tenure, so don't be surprised if Nick Stephens doesn't see any action next week either (plus, if you think Stephens is going to give us the best chance to win the rest of the year, perhaps you don't throw him to the Gators in The Swamp in a game Tennessee has less chance to win than any I can ever remember in my lifetime...perhaps Crompton takes the fall next week and Stephens starts against Ohio).

Or perhaps Kiffin is riding Crompton to the finish. If that's the case, he's going to risk doing serious damage to the goodwill and momentum he's built in the program thus far. I feel like I should type "unless Crompton improves"...but how much longer can we truly make that case?

Adding to the frustration is the way Crompton handles himself in postgame interviews. Last year, when the Vols lost to UCLA, Jon had this to say:

"We don't need to get our heads down because we played good."

It was a giant red flag from our new quarterback, because neither the team nor his 19 of 41 performance could be considered playing good nor well.

Last night, after Tim Priest did his very best to word a question about his four turnovers in a positive way, Crompton made a comment about four turnovers being "part of the game".

You know, Jonathan...it doesn't have to be part of the game. We could not shoot ourselves in the foot and see how well that works out for us.

I like trying to stay positive, which Crompton was doing in the larger context in saying that despite the struggles, the Vols still had a chance to win. Kiffin went that route as well at the start of his postgame interview with Bob Kesling.

But two years and lots and lots of emotional mileage ago, Erik Ainge threw two fourth quarter interceptions in the biggest game of his life, and almost single-handedly cost the Vols an SEC Championship. In a way, Tennessee fans were probably more upset with him in that one moment than we've ever been at Crompton, who's never had the luxury of playing for those kind of stakes.

And you know what Ainge said in the postgame?

I shouldn't have thrown the ball out there. I mean, just as much as he made a good play, I made a bad decision. We played good, we protected all night. The guys played hard, I throw an interception for seven points when it's a tie game, it's going to get you beat. It's on me.

The best players take responsibility for their mistakes. And yes, we win as a team and lose as a team, something Kiffin was quick to point out. But with a defense that gave up only 186 yards and has been at or near the top of the FBS leaderboards for the better part of the last 14 games, Kiffin is going to have to do some serious management, quickly.

Having seen plenty of him now, we can't fully expect the Jonathan Crompton we saw last week to show up again unless the Vols play Western Kentucky again. Everyone else on the schedule is a significant upgrade from the Hilltoppers.

Tennessee's defense, and a running game that works hard will keep them competitive in plenty of the 10 remaining games on the schedule, and give the Vols a chance to make it 11 with a bowl of some kind. The offensive line, if it stays healthy, we hope will continue to mature.

Jonathan Crompton comes to work every day for this program, and I appreciate his effort. We can't ask him to be the guy he was against WKU. But all the coaching staff and the team need from him in games like today - of which I feel there will be several before we're done this year - is to not hurt us, not get us beat.

The perception was that this was a new day for the Vols and for Crompton. The reality is we'll still go as far as a quarterback can take us, only instead of watching him carry us to victory, we're just hopeful he doesn't carry us to defeat.

I'm curious about next week, but Florida is so good I'm not sure what we can learn definitively from it (much the same with WKU being so bad). But for the rest of the year, can this defense and this running game bring us home?

I'd much rather see them do it with our quarterback than in spite of him.

Kicking Off Week 2 with Good Sportmanship and Uncertainty // 09.07.09

cocknfire — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:10:54 -0000

GATOR HYPE-O-METER
On a scale of 1 to 100

Even Lou Holtz concedes that the Gators will "upset" Notre Dame for the national title. Meanwhile, a competitor for BCS game (Oklahoma) loses to BYU and the biggest threat in the SEC East (Georgia) looks like it's unable to score points.

UPS AND DOWNS
A look at who's going which way in college football

DAN MULLEN
Guides Mississippi State to largest point total in seven years. Next up: Auburn and a sequel to 3-2.

RICH RODRIGUEZ
What scandal? It might have been Western Michigan out of the MAC, but Saturday's game was the second-highest point total for Michigan under Rodriguez and the highest margin of victory. Oh, and Michigan beat a mid-major or FCS in its home opener for a change.

SEC QUARTERBACKS
Greg McElroy, Jevan Snead overcome slow starts to look impressive. Tennessee's Jonathan Crompton looks light years ahead of last year's imitation of Evil Erik Ainge. Now, about Georgia's Joe Cox, South Carolina's Stephen Garcia ...

AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION, NCAA
Dubbed the first weekend "Sportsmanship Week," asked for teams to shake hands at midfield. How'd that work out for you?

LEGARRETTE BLOUNT
Latest example of bad behavior in sports. Upside: Closest anyone came on Thursday night to landing a knockout blow.

ACC
When does basketball season begin?

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
A few things to think about

The first week means nothing -- sometimes
It's easy to get wrapped up in the first weekend of college football. It is, after all, the first time we've seen any of these teams, and it's the only basis we have for any analysis at all.

Take, for example, South Carolina's woeful performance on offense. No, not Thursday's; the season opener back in 2006, when the Gamecocks scored just 15 points and produced just 274 yards of offense, until this week the worst offensive output of any Spurrier-era South Carolina team. That 2006 squad ended up as Spurriers best so far in terms of points per game (26.6), rushing yardage per game (144) and total yardage per game (395). It fell 21 points short of going 11-1 overall, 7-1 SEC and came within Jarvis Moss' fingertips of upsetting eventual national champion Florida.

That was two days before Arkansas got crushed 50-14 at home by Southern Cal. The Hogs would reel off 10 straight wins until losing to LSU in their final regular season game. Arkansas ended up winning the SEC West crown and were ranked 15th or 16th in the polls when the year ended.

You might remember last year's victory by UCLA against Tennessee. That was good enough for the Bruins to show up at No. 23 in the AP poll and just outside the Top 25 in the USA Today poll. That is, until BYU waxed UCLA 59-0 the next week; the Bruins would win just three more games all year.

Of course, sometimes season openers let us know exactly what a team is. Also last year, Mississippi State lost to Louisiana Tech in the season opener. The Western Division Bulldogs would win just three games against FBS foes the rest of the way and Sylvester Croom "resigned" at the end of the season.

So it might be that Georgia and South Carolina are as awful as they look or that Alabama will cruise to its second straight SEC West title. Excuse me if I wait a bit longer to pass judgment.

Where can I go to get my reputation back? Week 2
This could mark a redemption weekend of sorts for the SEC. Tennessee will have an opportunity to prove that it's turned things around since last year when UCLA comes to Knoxville after last year's 27-24 loss in overtime marked the point at which the wheels essentially began to come off of the Fulmer Era.

Meanwhile, Auburn will take on Mississippi State in a repeat of the infamous "baseball game" of last year, which say the teams combine for 431 yards of offense, 20 first downs and five points.

Can we start over again?
Perhaps no conference had a Saturday as bad as the ACC. The newest "superconference" went 0-2 against the CAA -- Colonial Athletic Association -- with losses by Virginia to William & Mary and Duke to Richmond. The conference also lost ~~all~~ four of its five games against other teams in the FBS (excluding Monday's intraconference game between Florida State and Miami, which one of the teams presumably must win). [C&F: Clemson beat Middle Tennessee State, after which all of its fans went on a cow-tipping spree. The sentence has been edited to reflect this.]

This was a significant step backwards for the SEC's closest neighbor, which also had an embarrassing outing last year but won all its first-week games against FCS schools and saw its worst losses in blowouts by Southern Cal at Virginia and Alabama against Clemson and a close East Carolina victory against Virginia Tech.

At some point, this could have severe consequences for the ACC. If it falls too far in the public eye, the rankings of its champion will begin to fall, and the league could join the Big East in hoping that it avoids getting axed under the BCS rules for letting one of the major conferences go. That is, assuming anyone really considers the ACC a major conference anymore.

SEC NEWS

Game recap of the week
The obituary of Manic Kyle is also a hilarious and devoted recounting of the Mayor's disappointing trip to Stillwater. Anyone who has ever seen his team lose a heartbreaking game will empathize.

I know one game he didn't watch
Spurrier knocks his own gameplan for N.C. State, which might be considered a bold move by anyone who didn't watch the game. "We certainly can’t bring that game plan to beat Georgia on offense." Coach, I'm not sure about that one, but it is best not to tempt fate.

Well, it was his first game
Auburn talks up the win by Gene Chisek.

Makiri Pugh has swine flu
No joke here, because it's actually a case of swine flue. Here's hoping Pugh recovers quickly.

And then there are the important things
It's easy to hate puff pieces, but anyone who finishes fighting in Iraq and makes three attempts to get on a football team before making it deserves an article or two.

Jesse Mahelona dies
Thoughts and prayers to his young family.

John Parker Wilson a Falcon
But another former SEC quarterback, ex-Dawg D.J. Shockley, is gone as a result. Shockley did sign with the practice squad.

Injury Report

Trinton Sturdivant (Georgia)
ACL, season-ending.

Permit me a side note. This sucks. I don't care who you cheer for -- and as a Gamecock fan, I'm no devotee of the Dawgs -- but it seems unfair for any player, particularly one as apparently talented as Sturdivant, to have to overcome this twice.

Rodney Paulk (South Carolina)
ACL, season-ending

Carl Johnson (Florida)
Bone bruise, probable.

Lawrence Marsh (Florida)
Ankle, probable.

Larry Smith (Vanderbilt)
Arm, not serious.

ELSEWHERE

Blount apologizes to Boise State
I still wonder why Byron Hout hasn't been suspended for at least a game. Let's be honest -- Hout's antics are no excuse for what LeGarrette Blount did, but it's not too difficult to believe that if Hout had kept his mount shut, Blount might still have a football future and this whole ugly situation could have been avoided.

In fact, one could argue that Hout should have been suspended even if Blount didn't punch him. To say something after you've lost is bad enough. To do so after you've won is completely classless.

At least he had an insurance policy
No telling how much he took it out for, but Sam Bradford appears to have covered his bases before returning to college. The question for the Sooners, of course, is whether they have enough insurance behind Bradford to keep their Big XII and national title hopes alive until he returns.

Instant Impact: The Top 10 Freshman Performances at UT in the Last 20 Years

Will — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:44:45 -0000

More photos » by Amy Sancetta - AP

Jamal Lewis: the standard for success as a UT freshman, still going strong a dozen years later.

Browse more photos »

Under Phillip Fulmer, we became used to only a handful of freshmen seeing action right away. Lane Kiffin came in with promises of playing time for freshmen, and thus far in camp has lived up to his word. Between Kiffin's new philosophy and a rash of injuries at unfortunate spots, the list of freshmen who could see immediate action on the two deep is at least a dozen deep.

It's tempting to believe that (choose from Bryce Brown, David Oku, Marsalis Teague, Nu'Keese Richardson, Zach Rogers, Montori Hughes, Jerod Askew, Greg King, Mike Edwards, Eric Gordon, Janzen Jackson, Darren Myles, I could keep going) is going to have an incredible breakout season and be great as soon as they put the jersey on, but with freshmen you just never know until you see it.

So until we do, here are ten impact performances turned in by freshmen at the University of Tennessee in the last 20 years. This list is freshmen from high school only - no juco transfers, no ex-professional baseball players. These guys don't come along every day or every season...but there is a precedent for kids coming on campus and having an immediate impact.

10. K Jeff Hall 1995

The most famous name in a lineage of freshman UT kickers, Hall earned Freshman All-SEC honors in '95, and booted home the game winner against Georgia in his second career appearance. He also hit key field goals in wins over Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and knocked home two fourth quarter field goals in the rain as the Vols beat Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl. His performance in the clutch gives him the edge over Daniel Lincoln, who was also named Freshman All-SEC in 2007.

9. Freshmen Offensive Linemen: Jeff Smith (92), Bubba Miller (92), Cosey Coleman (97), Michael Munoz (00), Arron Sears (03), Josh McNeil (06)

Every once in a while, the Vols have brought in an offensive lineman who was capable of contributing immediately, and in the case of all six of these gentlemen, being thrust into a starting role in their first season. All six would earn Freshman All-SEC honors.

8. WR/DB Carl Pickens 1989

This redshirt freshman was so talented in 1989, he played both ways and returned kicks. As a free safety, Pickens grabbed five interceptions and was named the Defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl win against Arkansas. His only problem on offense was the talent around him, giving him fewer receptions because guys like Alvin Harper were taking them instead. Pickens left defense behind in 1990 and turned in two more incredible seasons at UT, and he is arguably the most talented Vol wide receiver ever.

7. RBs James Stewart & Aaron Hayden 1991

Where we'd be today if we didn't have Montario Hardesty. With no returning experience in the backfield in 1991, the Vols gave the keys to a pair of freshmen from the opening game, and Stewart and Hayden would respond with four solid years in the orange and white. In their debut at Louisville (in the first-ever ESPN Thursday Night game), both rushed for over 100 yards in a 28-11 Vol win. Stewart would later run for 215 against Ole Miss and for over 900 yards by himself on the season.

6. QB Peyton Manning 1994

Forced into action when senior QB Jerry Colquitt blew out his knee on the seventh play of the season, Manning waited behind Todd Helton for three games and then battled with fellow freshman Brandon Stewart the rest of the season. The Vols were a 1-3 team when Manning got his first start; Tennessee won seven of their last eight under his leadership. His freshman numbers weren't as good and his freshman wins not as big as two other quarterbacks on this list, in part due to his split reps, but in 1994 he was good enough to earn SEC Offensive Freshman of the Year honors. He did alright after that.

5. QB Casey Clausen 2000

A preseason shoulder injury kept Clausen on the sidelines for most of the Vols' first five games. Like Manning, when Clausen took over the Vols had already lost three games. In his first start, the Vols beat Alabama 20-10, then upset South Carolina in Columbia the following week. Clausen's numbers exploded in wins over Arkansas and Kentucky, in which the Vols scored a combined 122 points. In all, he led the Vols to six straight wins to close the regular season, and still holds the passing yardage record for a freshman QB at Tennessee with 1,473 yards.

4. QB Erik Ainge 2004

Where Manning and Clausen waited their turn to play, Ainge was thrown to the wolves immediately, and then missed the end of the season due to injury. Against the Gators in his second career appearance, Ainge turned in a performance for the ages in a 30-28 Tennessee win. A few weeks later, he led the 12-point underdog Vols into Athens and escaped with a 19-14 win that essentially clinched the SEC East. He was 21 yards away from breaking Casey Clausen's freshman yardage record when a shoulder injury ended his season against Notre Dame; the Vols were 7-1 with him taking the majority of the snaps, and Ainge gets his share of credit for the Vols' Eastern Division title. His 17 TD passes are still a UT freshman record.

3. SS Eric Berry 2007

He started in the nickel package in his first game. He became the starter at strong safety in his second game. He made a national name for himself in his third game, picking off Tim Tebow and racing back 96 yards for a touchdown. It would be one of five interceptions on the year for Eric Berry, along with a UT-record 222 return yards on turnovers. He also came up with a key fumble recovery against LSU in the SEC Championship Game, and tried to kill Tyler Donovan in the Outback Bowl. Berry was the SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year, led conference freshmen in tackles, and was a first team Freshman All-American. That was the warmup.

2. RB Chuck Webb 1989

The holy of holies, who's only at #2 on this list because he didn't get as many carries as the feature back as the guy at #1 did. That's because for the first half of the 1989 season, Webb teamed with Reggie Cobb (who also had a terrific freshman year in 1987) to form the vaunted CobbWebb attack. Coming off a 5-6 1988 season, the duo helped the Vols to a 5-0 start that included huge upsets over UCLA and Auburn. When Cobb was kicked off the team the week of the Alabama game for a substance abuse violation, the Vols lost to the Tide 47-30...but wouldn't lose again. As the feature back for the final six games of the season, the freshman Webb turned in the school's two greatest individual performances: 294 yards against Ole Miss, and 250 yards in the Cotton Bowl against Arkansas, and the Vols shared the SEC title. With only six games as the starter under his belt, Webb still ran for 1,236 yards. He is, to me, the most talented individual player I've ever seen at Tennessee. In the second game of his sophomore year, Webb blew out his knee, and was never seen in Neyland Stadium again.

1. RB Jamal Lewis 1997

The Vols waited three games to get Jamal the ball, including the 33-20 loss to Florida in Peyton Manning's senior year. Didn't know the blocking scheme, they said. When Lewis was named the starter in game four against Ole Miss, he responded immediately: 155 yards and a touchdown. The following week, he responded authoritatively: 232 yards against his home-state Georgia Bulldogs, a performance that still ranks in the Top 10 all time at UT. He would top 200 again against South Carolina later that season, would finish with 1,364 yards (3rd best season ever at UT) and 7 TDs, and helped run out the clock as the Vols won the SEC Championship. Both Chuck Webb and Jamal Lewis averaged 5.9 yards per carry in their freshman seasons.

Talking Points: Bryce Brown, Brian Butler, and the NCAA

Hooper — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:00:17 -0000

As much as I'd like to spend the Talking Points waxing poetically about the fall practices, including information about the rising stars on the defensive line, the hunger to win across the whole team,and Erik Ainge's struggles to advance in New York, the big news is obviously the NCAA's intiial ruling that Bryce Brown is currently ineligible. To that end, I've gathered as much information as I could on the case to try to make some more sense of it.

The focus of the investigation was on fundraising activities that Brian Butler engaged in for the sake of a tour of schools in the south for his players. From the Wichita Eagle:

Brown was one of 10 players who went on a summer 2007 tour to college campuses in the southern part of the country. Butler billed it as an academic tour. Players on that tour included Brown and his brother, Arthur, who is at Miami (Fla.); Rose Hill graduate Blaize Foltz, now at Texas Christian; Northwest graduate Chris Harper, who transferred from Oregon to Kansas State; and 2008 Top 11 selection Jaydan Bird, a Conway Springs graduate now at Oklahoma.

...

Butler said money was raised for that tour by hosting barbecues at Wal-Mart and Sam's, a fund-raiser at Texas Roadhouse, as well as money given by four donors whom Butler did not identify.

"I deemed it initially, and marketed it that way, as an academic tour," Butler said. "I know you can't get money donated when it has anything to do with athletics....

That is the heart of the issue. It's worth noting that, at the time of this writing, only Bryce Brown has been targeted by the NCAA for any disciplinary action. This implies that either Bryce received extra-special benefits on this tour (as a sophomore in high school) that nobody else received, or that the NCAA is making a statement.

Brian Butler believes it's a statement by the NCAA. He was on a radio interview Wednesday morning with KGSO of Wichita. Some Volnation members liveblogged it here if you're interested. In it, Butler asserts that the investigation that ended in Brown's ineligibility was birthed in this New York Times article, which painted Butler in a rather dim light. It's an article that made Doc Saturday change his opinion on Butler.

We had a roundup of the Brian Butler articles and discussion last spring that you may want to revisit. The NCAA investigation has been over for a while, and they have just now gotten round to issuing judgment, so the real information of concern is the information we knew back then. Again, if you're interested, I recommend revisiting the articles from the spring to better understand the context.

Potential Players, Butler's organization, has issued a statement regarding the investigation. Here is the link, but from the article, here is a list of the players affected by the fundraiser:

Here is a list of players who have been involved with Brian Butler's training, or camps:

2009 Class and School Attended

Jaydan Bird-University of Oklahoma, Bryce Brown-University of Tennessee, Devin Gfeller-Kansas St. University, Wil Richards-University of Nebraska, Riley Spencer-University of Kansas, Forrest Stucky-Pittsburg St., Huldon Tharp-University of Kansas, Kevin Young-University of Kansas, Aaron Wilson-Butler County, Jeff Page-Butler County , Garrett Kraft-Coffeyville C.C., Justin Puthoff-University of Kansas, Jake Snodgrass-McPherson,

NFL

Kamerion Wimbley-Cleveland Browns (2001)

Players Currently in 4 year Colleges

Tysyn Hartman-Kansas State University (2007), Frank Delarue-Kansas State University (2007), Matt Bowie-University of Kansas (2007) , Arthur Brown Jr.-University of Miami (2008), Chris Harper-University of Oregon (2008), Chase Meija-Northern Illinois University (2008), Blaize Foltz-Texas Christian University (2008), D.J. Breathett-University of Oklahoma (2008)

Scholarships Commits for 2007 -2008 Camp Participants

Blake Bell-University of Oklahoma(2010 Commit), Devin Hedgepeth-Oklahoma St. University(2010 Commit), Nathan Stanley-University of Mississippi, Ethan Powell-Missouri Southern, Brayden Burris-Iowa State University, Brock Bell-Emporia State University, Bart Voegeli-University of Kansas, Austin Yeargain-Southwestern Oklahoma St. University, Romero Cotton-University of Nebraska , Garrick Williams-Wake Forest University, Jake Morse-Missouri State, Trey Stead-Emporia State University.

With a list that extensive, it's very difficult to believe that only Bryce Brown is worthy of NCAA attention, if there is indeed some foul play afoot. More details will come out in time, and perhaps there is information that is not yet public about this incident that will clarify the NCAA's actions, but for right now, the NCAA appears intent on making an example out of Bryce Brown in order to create the precedent they need to shut down handlers like Brian Butler.

ATVSQBPI: Past is Prologue

Richard Pittman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:30:14 -0000

Former Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson put on his old jersey and celebrated his pretty good ATVSQBPI from 2007.

You wanted more information about the And The Valley Shook Quarterback Productivity Index, and I am here to give it to you. I have the data going back three years in the SEC. The first year can be found here, and we will reproduce it for this post.

Again, reminding you that the formula is as follows:

ATVSQBPI = (yards passing + yards rushing - yards lost by sack + 20*Number of Touchdowns - 30*Number of Interceptions)/(Number of pass attempts + rush attempts).

The explanation for why we use this particular formula is found here, but realize we are not using the complete formula because First Down stats are not quite as readily available, and it should pretty much wash out anyway. Plus, we've all gotten used to the scale this particular metric gives us.

Would you like to see 2006 and 2007? How about after the jump?

2008:

Quarterback	ATVSQBPI (y/play)
Tim Tebow, Florida	8.73
Matthew Stafford, Georgia	8.49
Jevan Snead, Ole Miss	7.84
John Parker Wilson, Bama	5.87
Casey Dick, Arkansas	5.68
Jarrett Lee, LSU	5.56
Chris Smelley, South Carolina	5.12
Jordan Jefferson, LSU	5.11
Nick Stephens, Tennessee	5.10
Kodi Burns, Auburn	5.02
Chris Nickson, Vandy	5.01
Stephen Garcia, South Carolina	4.95
Tyson Lee, Mississippi State	4.86
Mike Hartline, Kentucky	4.77
Jonathan Crompton, Tennessee	4.34
Mackenzi Adams, Vandy	4.03
Chris Todd, Auburn	4.02
Wesley Carroll, Mississippi State	2.85

Alright, we've been through those numbers once before. Let's take a look at 2007:

Quarterback	ATVSQBPI (y/play)
Tim Tebow, Florida	9.11
Ryan Perrilloux, LSU	8.20
Erik Ainge, Tennessee	7.12
Andre Woodson, Kentucky	6.89
Matthew Stafford, Georgia	6.78
Casey Dick, Arkansas	6.15
Matt Flynn, LSU	6.08
Blake Mitchell, South Carolina	5.81
Chris Smelley, South Carolina	5.69
John Parker Wilson, Bama	5.62
Mackenzi Adams, Vandy	5.16
Seth Adams, Ole Miss	5.03
Brandon Cox, Auburn	5.00
Wesley Carroll, Mississippi State	4.73

What are my take-away messages from this?:

Numbers were generally better in 2007 than they were in 2008.
Wesley Carroll was the worst starting QB in the SEC in both 2008 and 2007.
Tebow was a little better in his Heisman year than in his junior year. Or at least, he was a little more productive.
You really can win with average QB play, if you consider that LSU won the national championship with middle of the pack quarterback play in 2007, while Auburn was a pretty decent team with one of the least effective QBs in the conference. It sure makes it easier, though, if you're really good.
Just look at Ryan Perrilloux. That's what we didn't have in 2008. Well, that and a defense.
Andre Woodson was held back by his awful rushing numbers (not shown).

Let's move on to 2006, in which I lift the numbers straight from my old website:

Quarterback	ATVSQBPI (y/play)
Jamarcus Russell, LSU	9.16
Blake Mitchell, South Carolina	8.26
Erik Ainge, Tennessee	8.07
Andre Woodson, Kentucky	7.79
Chris Leak, Florida	7.02
Syvelle Newton, South Carolina	7.00
Casey Dick, Arkansas	6.99
Chris Nickson, Vandy	6.55
Brandon Cox, Auburn	6.37
John Parker Wilson, Bama	6.14
Omarr Conner, Mississippi State	6.13
Michael Henig, Mississippi State	5.82
Matthew Stafford, UGA	5.78
Mitch Mustain, Arkansas	5.68
Brent Schaeffer, Ole Miss	4.27

What are my take-home messages from 2006?:

Jamarcus Russell had the best ATVSQBPI of any quarterback between the years 2006 and 2008.
But on the other hand, numbers in general declined steadily in those years. Just look at John Parker Wilson. His ATVSQBPI actually fell each year he was a starter, but his ranking increased. Some of the worst QBs in the league in 2006 would have been pretty average in 2008 with the same production. Look at where Omarr Conner and Michael Henig would have ranked in 2008? Does this mean that Michael Henig was as good a quarterback in 2006 as John Parker Wilson was in 2008? Heck no. The steady decline of the mean from year to year, and the reduction in production of John Parker Wilson as he went from sophomore to senior, suggest the reduction is due mostly to better defenses.
Look at the steady progression of Matthew Stafford.
What the heck happened to Blake Mitchell?

If you have any additional thoughts, I welcome you sharing them.