So, out of morbid curiousity, I just checked my status on the funofficepools.com Bowl Pick-Em and see that I'm the only "player" with perfect picks thus far. Where it came from? Who knows...maybe through the help of the Almighty Tebow or something? Any guesses (straight up W/L) when my streak will end? I'm thinking I had too much Wake Forest kook-aid vs. the Bulldogs of Miss St. in the Music City Bowl.

Greetings from Iraq, RTT-ers!

This upcoming Autumn, I find myself not only geographically separated from SEC football by being stationed in the north/midwest and away from the beautiful confines of Knoxville...I find myself on the opposite side of the world!  Life over here is VERY different than back in the states for obvious reasons in addition to no network TV (CBS, NBC, ABC), ESPN (and their myriad of sub-channels), and Fox Sports.  Fortunately, we do have access to 'these here internets' but the bandwidth and up/download speeds are much to be desired. As such, streaming of ESPN3 is not a viable option for me.  For years now, RTT has been my first site-of-the-day to get the latest news on Tennessee athletics and CFB in general.  This habit is still in effect while in a forward-deployed environment and I feel just as knowledgeable about this year's team as I have in year's past.  (Thanks, Joel & staff!)  Having said that, this Airman has a simple request for my brothers and sisters clad in orange:

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RTTers:

I just got this, via mass-email, providing a quick rundown of ongoings at our beloved institution.  In case some of you aren't privy, I've copied and pasted it for your reading pleasure.

 

Dear Friends,
 
It’s a great time to be a Tennessee Vol!
 
As we begin to wind down our winter sports, I’m extremely proud of the work our coaches and teams have done this season. Coach Pearl has done a tremendous job over the past two months. Not only has he had five consecutive 20-win seasons, but this team has played through adversity to beat the #1 and #2 teams in the country at Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time in our basketball history. Our spring sports are off to a great start. Men’s tennis is currently ranked 2nd with three players ranked in the top 10 in the country.  Baseball led off the season with a sweep over Xavier and competed very well against #17 Oregon State recently.
 
Coach Dooley and our football staff are hard at work getting ready for spring practice, which starts on March 18. I am continually impressed at the way he approaches every aspect of the program. He’s building a tremendous foundation for the players, and I look forward to many great seasons of Tennessee football to come. The Dish Network Orange and White Game is set for April 17. I hope you can make it out and show your support for this team and staff.
 
On the facilities front, there is a lot going on at Tennessee. 
- If you are in town this spring, join us for a baseball game at the newly renovated Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. We’ve moved the backstop closer to home plate, added MVP field level seating and replaced all of the grandstand seating along with the addition of brick work around the entire interior of the stadium. You’ll continue to see more work done throughout the season, including the batting cages that were delayed due to weather. We’ll also be adding a pavilion and kids’ playground area that is scheduled to be complete for the 2011 season.

- The second portion of Phase III of Neyland Stadium renovations are well underway with the construction of the Tennessee Terrace and new Gate 21 plaza and amphitheater. The masons are getting ready to start bricking the west side in the coming weeks.

- Excavation for the new football complex is almost complete. We are close to having a finalized design document, and are working closely with Coach Dooley to gather his thoughts on the layout.

-  We will be adding 3,000-square-feet to Thompson-Boling Arena in the coming months. This space will be added to the ticket office on street level coming toward Phillip Fulmer Way. We will also be renovating the entrance to the Tennessee basketball offices along with the men's and women's basketball offices over the coming months as well as adding better lighting and brickwork along the street level of Thompson-Boling Arena to enhance the appearance at street level.

We are in the process of redesigning utsports.com and utladyvols.com. We have already launched a new Tennessee Fund site, which offers fans the opportunity to select seats and pay their donations online. If you would like to provide us with your thoughts on what we can do to improve our sites, click here to take a brief survey.
 
Last fall the University’s administration began evaluating athletics’ reporting structure. The committee will make its recommendations to the Athletics Board and the Board of Trustees over the next several months. We appreciate all the hard work that has gone into these discussions.
 
Thank you for your continued support of Tennessee Athletics!
Expect to Win!

Mike Hamilton

The following was emailed to a large community this afternoon (and will probably be in tomorrow's KNS) with respect to the resignation of Lane Kiffin and staff.  Although it's content is mostly fluff with little insight into the ongoings of the current search for a new HC, it...well...it is what it is.  Without further ado...

13 Jan 2010

Dear Vol Fans,

As you’ve heard Coach Kiffin resigned last night as our head football coach. While this does come at an inopportune time, remember that we are still Tennessee.  Tennessee Football has been around for more than 113 seasons.  We’ve been winning games for a long time and will continue to win games for a long time to come.  It’s a special place, rich in football tradition.  The University of Tennessee is among the top 10 winningest programs in college football, has six National Championships, 13 SEC Championships and has tremendous student-athletes that have and are representing us well.
We have already begun a search for the new head football coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and we’ll complete this process as quickly as possible to put the right person in place to lead our great football program forward in the months and years ahead.

Kippy Brown, who has been a critical piece of our success in years past, will serve as interim head coach until this process is completed.  Please be patient and know that we are giving our all for Tennessee and there is a bright future ahead of us.

Go Vols! 
   
Mike Hamilton
Men’s Athletics Director
University of Tennessee

Hello all, from lovely Montgomery, AL!  Weeks ago when I provided an update, I had no clue about what the following weeks would entail.  I was struggling with the early-early mornings combined with the late-late nights.  Well, I wish I could say that the sleep-deprivation situation has improved...but we've at least learned how to deal with it.  As our upper class always contested: "things don't get easier, but they do get better."  Now that we're at week 7 in the program, we're half way done!  WOOO!  I know y'all can't wait to have me back on here!  Right?

I'm able to check RTT pretty much daily now and I love the discussions that have taken place.  I just wish I could contribute a little more, but hey...such is life.  I've now got secured tix to the UT-Auburn game on 24 Sept., so let me know if you'll be there as well. 

See you all soon!

OT Aerobab

First things first...I am alive!  Not sure how, but I am!

Week 1 is complete and boy, was it a rollercoaster!  The "indoctrination to the military" week here at OTS would straight up kill the common man.  Wake up at 0445 (yes, I've learned the 24-hr clock now), get yelled at, eat a sub 3-min. breakfast, get yelled at, march around, get yelled at, sit through numerous 'welcome' lectures, forced to memorize numerous tidbits of info, get yelled at for not remembering the tidbits, ... well, you get the idea.  Oh, did I mention that lights-out is at 2300 and then having another 2 hours of work to do?  Yep...so sleep from 0100 to 0445.  You do the math...my brain is shot.

As odd as it sounds, I'm loving every minute of it.  No, seriously, I am.  Even the yelling part.  It's amazing to think that less than 700 of America's finest graduate from this program annually....and I'm one of them.  Right now, I'm working side by side with 1/7 of them.  Each, with very unique stories about how they got here.

Anyways, I'm tired, loopy and ready for dinner.  "That will be all, Sir."

 

Chest bumped to the front. We'll miss you, Aerobab.

-- Joel

A very short eight weeks ago, I revealed a mystery in the fact that I had achieved a career-goal, having been selected to join the U.S. Air Force as an Officer Trainee!  I'll be heading down to enemy territory in Montgomery, AL this coming Monday and will start Basic Officer Training on Tuesday.  While I can not be any more excited about the next 12 grueling weeks of military training in the southern Alabama sun (yay, humidity!), I'm certainly going to miss all of the daily banter and chit-chat that goes on at this site.  (Apologies for not contributing to much this past week -- been kinda busy.)  I likely won't have much (if any) "outside" web access during my training, so I hope to have LOTS of catching up later this fall! 

I'm slated to graduated Sept. 24...a mere 3 days prior to the game @ Auburn.  Depending on my orders that I receive, I'm going to try like heck to make that road game.  I'd love to meet up with any of you if you'll be down/up/over that way!  My email, if not posted on my profile thingy is aerobab [at] gmail.com.  Feel free to drop me a line and I'll write you back when able.  Have a great summer/fall, y'all!  Oh, and one more thing...please, please, PLEASE put up a win vs. Super Tebow!  That's all I ask of you!

Go Vols!

Aerobab OT, USAF

I'm an avid listener of Rush Limbaugh during the week, generally for his political commentary, insight, and opinions.  However, during Friday's (5/16/08) "Open Line Friday" show, he took some time to venture away from the usual politics and interviewed one of his good friends, CBS Sportscaster Jim Nantz.  Jim's latest book, Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other, hit the shelves not long ago which, in short, is an autobiographical recanting of his 2+ decade career and the things that he's learned about himself, sports, and the world as it presently exists (full synopsis, here).

I've listened to many interviews of prominent, modern, sportscasters, but never before have I heard one from a man as genuinely and incredibly humbled by his life experience as that of Mr. Nantz.  The radio-interview was exceptionally long (by radio standards), so I'm sure the transcript (linked above) will be quite a long read as well.  Personally, I'm not a fan of reading books for leisure, but I may just have to go out on a limb and give this one a shot, just to hear about the details of some of the antedotes that Mr. Nantz discusses in the interview.

The world (of sports, specifically) would certainly be a better place for all if there were more Jim Nantz's and fewer of this type.  Class, respect, and humbleness is what gets you to the top of your career, good friends.

This is only tangentially related to Tennessee sports, but it concerns one of Rocky Top Talk's first, longest, and best community members, so it's getting bumped to its rightful place. Show your congratulations and support to Aerobab below.

-- Joel

Early Monday, I revealed the fact that "I was dealt a "hefty sum" of GREAT, LIFE CHANGING news over the weekend", which wound up putting a pretty big hamper on any type of productivity for the remainder of the weekend.  That statement was quickly followed by inquiring minds wanting to know the whole story.  I had planned on writing an eloquent, coming of age narrative, but I just couldn't make it work out.  In short, it was going to be about a boy (me) who dreams big (wants to become a rocket scientist/astronaut), works towards those dreams (college, internship), only to have them altered by misfortune on a grandiose scale (Space Shuttle Columbia accident).  Then the boy settles for a local job in a field that he is not particularly interested in (nuclear work), marries a beautiful woman (wife), picks up a mortgage, dog, car payments, and children.  While boy loved to see the paycheck, he just wasn't happy with his professional career-track.  He was working down a track perpendicular to that of what he had always dreamed of.  This dissatisfaction started to take a toll in other aspects of the boy's life.  Boy looks for a change.  After some personal soul-searching and many conversations with family, friends, and numerous other mentors and other individuals whom I hold high esteem, I decided to start the pursuit of a U.S. military career.

I have been working diligently towards receiving a commission in the USAF for nearly two years.  The commissioning process for civilians not seeking a flying position is one that is quite lengthy (one selection board per fiscal year) and loaded with many other highly qualified applicants.  This past Saturday, my hard work was realized, as I was notified of a Selection Status to serve as an Active Duty Aerospace Engineer!  Although this news is much more than just a career change (I like to call it a life change), I couldn't be anymore thrilled to get my career back on my dream-path...let alone while serving this wonderful country of ours!

Based on several factors beyond my control, my departure for Officer Training School (OTS) will be much quicker than the standard process.  I will be reporting to Maxwell AFB located in Montgomery, AL for 12-weeks of instruction and training this coming June 24th.  Upon my graduation from OTS, I will likely attend a several week technical school to learn the AF engineering processes/procedures and then I'll be assigned to a duty station -- unsure exactly where, but certainly away from the Knoxville area where I've called home for the last 12 years.

Needless to say, I've got a plate full of stuff on my plate in the coming months.  Given the schedule at OTS, there will be little (if any) time to post here in the RTT community this summer and early fall.  (Yes, I will miss a significant amount of the football season...talk about personal sacrifice!!)  I expect each of you to pick up my slack and to keep the "Junior Papa's" Corvette running smoothly and efficiently!

Reporting for duty,

Future Lieutenant Aerobab

Via si.com: J.P. "P.J." Prince recently had arthroscopic reconstructive surgery on his shoulder and will be sidelined for the summer.  Should be back to mad-ballin' this fall.

Bumped from the diaries. Many thanks to Aerobab for recognizing the need for commentary upon the current poll.
The polls really need to have the ability to leave comments!  Feel free to leave yours.

With respect to the Was the 2007-2008 basketball season disappointing? poll, I voted for "Not at all" based on the team's regular season play.  Simply outstanding, with a few hiccups at Vandy and Kentucky.  Any time that a team wins a regular season conference championship, the season is a success.  Any time that you can claim #1 in the RPI and media/coaches polls late in the season, and finish the regular season with a 28-3 record, the season is a success...not to mention when it's accomplished with the #1 strength of schedule!

They accomplished all of this with unselfish teamwork (Department of Redundancy Department?), hard work, hustle, desire, care of the ball, skill, design, and strategy.  Mission: Accomplished, sirs!  In the voice of Borat: "Great Success!"

However, I was horribly disappointed in watching the team's various performances (wins and losses) in each of the tournament games (SEC and NCAA).  I wasn't disappointed in the fact that we simply lost to Arkansas and Louisville in the post-season; losses happen.  However, I was disappointed that the quality of the product had diminished.  As a team, the ball handling was atrocious, players weren't working to get open, defense went to sleep, and we were just out-played, out-hustled and generally out-wanted by the majority of the various tournament teams we faced.  Nearly enough to make me puke, regardless of the SEC Semi-final and NCAA Sweet-Sixteen appearances.

The good news is that this partial-disappointment is entirely based on high-expectations.  Under former Coaches Green & Peterson hot starts to seasons were known, rather--expected, to completely fizzle come the end of a season where we oft found ourselves lucky to just receive an NIT, let alone an NCAA, tourney bid.  I can accept loosing to superior competition; it's part of the game.  However, I have a difficult time in accepting an inferior product from what I became accustomed to watching over the preceding five  months.  Aside from the "J.P. Prince Experiment" in the NCAA Tourney (which I believe was a failure, but more on that later), I have no idea what changed or why.  It's certainly painful though.

However, looking at the season's work and realizing that I'm purturbed over a 31-5 mark?  Wow!  There's no shame in that!

It's great to be a Tennessee Vol!

On SEC Tournament Eve, I figured that I'd go ahead and post my picks for the 2008 SEC Tourney.  Here's the blank bracket where you can fill out your own.

Troubles:
Vanderbilt - Shouldn't have a problem with Auburn, but for some reason I have them beating Ar-Kansas.  Arky edged out a home win vs. the 'Doors by 4 earlier this season, so I think VU will get the 'revenge win'.

Florida - When they're on, they're on, when they're off, they're off.  Coach Eddie Munster won't be denied from the Big Dance and will get to the Final round of this Tourney.  IF he can keep his team on.

Tennessee - The Vols have no reason NOT to win it all.  They've beaten every team at least once, so there shouldn't be any mental hurdles to overcome.  Conversely, if UF and UT meet in the final, expect (yet another) dogfight.  Sorry, WVVol.  Beating a team twice in a season is hard.  Three times?  Well that's...hard-er.  As I stated above if UF get's confidence, we could be in trouble.  However, the Vols have shown their resillance this year and can pull out the hard-er wins when they truly want it.

All-East Semifinal?  Has such (East or West) ever happened before?  I may need to rethink this tonight.

Does yours look any different?

I just heard on Knoxville radio (can't find any linkage yet, so deal with it!), that our very own Coach Hulk and Kentucky's Coach Gillespie have split the 2007-2008 SEC Coach of the Year Award!

I don't really know the criteria (if any) for this award (e.g., by "SEC" does that mean it only looks at the 16 conference games, or does it look at a season's work amongst SEC teams?).  Either way, the homer in me thinks it's odd that this would be a split decision, but I certainly respect what Coach G. was able to accomplish after with the start of the new calender year. Both coaches can make a great case, both in their favor and against the other.  Leave your opinion below in the poll.  With that said...

CONGRATS, HULK!

Update [2008-3-11 16:30:4 by Aerobab]: Here's a link.

Poll

Who should be the 2007-08 SEC Coach of the Year?

20%

Kentucky's Coach Gillespie

3 votes

6%

Split between Coaches Pearl and Gillespie

1 votes

0%

Neither. All ya'll are wrong.

0 votes

73%

Tennessee's Coach Pearl

11 votes

15 votes | Poll has closed