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Live @ Copper Cellar
Cumberland Ave
Posted: Wed, November 8th, 2017, 9:11 AM • Permalink
Listener Watch Party: Tennessee/Mizzou. Saturday Night at Bearden Hill Fieldhouse. Presented by Miller/Coors. Going to be an awesome time! Come out and celebrate the fun and fellowship of being a part of the best fanbase in America.


Let Me Down Easy: Credit Cade Mays for his most classy de-commitment to Tennessee. That young man handled this situation as well as humanly possible. I do believe Mays would very much be open to giving the next coach at UT an opportunity to re-recruit him. Those ties that bind that family run deep. Anybody that thinks the Mays news yesterday is related to some sense of loyalty to Butch Jones is fooling themselves. Mays wants to compete for championships and play at a school that will help him develop in his craft. Tennessee football in its current state will do neither. This is hard to take but it's stone cold truth. Again, I credit that young man by shining his light in that de-commitment.







Oh No John...You Didn't ‘They came for the boys. That’s what they said. Saturday’s are for the boys.’ So, John Currie is a Barstool Sports guy!!! Who knew? Congrats to Currie for not once mentioning his dumpster fire football program during his speech to the Rotary Club Downtown. Also congrats to that entire group for not mentioning the football program in any of their questions. I’m sure this wasn’t orchestrated. Why bother???


The Elite Eighteen!!! I believe there are only 18 jobs in the entire country in college football where you can have National Championship hopes from day one as you take a job. Every program we will feature below has all the bells and whistles to win big if a head coach surrounds himself with a great staff and players.


Tennessee is on the list below and I'm unashamed to say publicly that although it doesn't seem possible, Tennessee still belongs on this list. As you think through this exercise today, I want you to play along. Who belongs on the list that isn't. Who's on it that belongs on a rung below?

Big 12 Oklahoma: Tremendous tradition. Fanbase.

Texas: They have $$$ plus recruiting base



SEC Bama: The Fans. Saban/Bear. Pawww.

Tennessee: The old boy is barely breathing but he's alive here.

Fla: Right coach can win big 24/7.

GA: All there to win big still.

Auburn: Sustained success a problem but right guy could win it all there.

LSU: Saban awoke this sleeping giant. Tons of talent, interest & passion.





Click to The Garza Law Firm
Big 10 Michigan: Tennessee's sister program in Big 10 Ohio St: Best suited to win big consistently in Big 10 PSU: Glorious tradition. Tenuous member of this list



Pac 12 USC: Hurray For Hollywood. Oregon: Nike U will always be on this list during shoe company era.



ACC Clemson: 10 yrs ago not on this list. Now they're top 10 FSU: Talent is all in reach. Miami: The U could still be great.



Major Independent: Notre Dame: Still have own network and terrific history.


The Teasers List: These teams look and feel like Elite 18 teams but something is missing that keeps them from ever seriously contending. UCLA Wisconsin Michigan St Oklahoma State TCU Va Tech




Next Tier Down: Arkansas Nebraska Texas A&M West Virginia



All of these teams would be at least a tier higher if they weren't screwed by the lack of geographical integrity in today's major college football. Every one of these programs is muted by their conference affiliation. None of these teams will ever contend Nationally as long as they remain in their current conferences. This might seem harsh but it's reality.


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Ranking The Enchanted Eighteen:

This is how I see these jobs as being potential places to win a National Championship. Factors here are recent performance. Health of the program. Recruiting base. History also plays a part here. 1. Bama 2. FSU 3. Oklahoma 4. Ohio State 5. USC 6. Texas 7. Michigan 8. Clemson 9. Florida 10. GA 11. Oregon 12. LSU 13. Auburn 14. Notre Dame 15. Tennessee 16. Miami 17. Penn State 18. Washington



Click to Performance Medicine!
How does this relate to Tennessee? If this next head coach hire isn't done correctly, this will be the last time Tennessee will be in the Elite 18. Read that and weep. The only thing holding Tennessee back is leadership and administration. It's painful to say this but the Vols are in real danger of falling back into the group of teasers if they don't get this thing right.


As for the bottom four of the list above, any of those teams could face relegation into the teasers with poor administration.



Click to YMCA of East Tennessee!
The Great News: While they're not at the top of the list by any stretch of the imagination, Tennessee IS very much at home here among the pantheons of the game. The great news is that it's very hard if not impossible to play your way off this list. You have to go to great lengths to play your way off of this list. In fact the only thing that has taken the Nebraska's and Arkansas' out of the Elite 18 is the reorienting of conferences. Still it should be noted that Tennessee's place in the Elite 18 is very much in question if this place wastes another decade. At this point, Tennessee would become a glorified Arkansas.







'Tony B,

Today’s blog is one of the best and most insightful you have ever written. It’s hardcore informative candor.


That said, even if Butch Jones miraculously pulled off winning all remaining games, I’m no sucker. He can’t gimmick and sucker talk me back to the table.


The Kiffin consideration, for example, is logical and smart business if executed with a strong contract of contingencies. However, no way am I negotiating with Butch.


Butch is a scorpion offering to carry the gullible frog, Currie, and other soft hearted and sympathizing fans, across the river. Butch might be able to lure Currie to hop on his back, but I’m no fool. I’m looking for a different fare!


MidState Heath'



MidState. This place is so interesting. This coaching search is one of competing rumors. On one hand we have Charlie Ergen going 'all in' on the Haslam's power hold on the UT apparatus. On the other hand I have people telling me that Gruden has agreed to be the next UT coach. Meanwhile, a guy claiming to be close to the HOH called the show Monday with a tip that UT has their next coach hired and it isn't Gruden. Meanwhile Butch Jones is still holding out hope that he can return for 2018. So, in other words we have two booster families holding the same alpha dog position while three different guys are serving as head coach. This can’t all be true. Maybe none of it is. But at least any of this is more interesting than what will happen Saturday night at Missouri.


Busted
Posted: Sun, Mar 24th, 4:22 PM
by Alison
Final Thought: 20 Quarters...That's how much football Tennessee has played since their last touchdown pass. That's roughly 300 minutes of football. And Butch Jones has been granted an audience with the HOH in the hopes of returning in 2018. If the goal is to really empty Neyland, I'd encourage them to consider bringing him back. Can we get a rebate on Butch Jones?



Final Thought II: That 30 For 30 on Ric Flair last night was equal parts classic and sad. Ric Flair was blessed with genius in the ring but he just seemed like a guy trying to fill himself up with everything but what really satisfies. Sad story of a legendary performer.



If you missed it yesterday, here's Eric S's history lesson on Tennessee coaching searches. He waxes poetically on "mental reps," and he's kinda low-key pissed.

Eric S.
'Tennessee is currently playing a Where is Waldo game with John Currie wondering when the AD (or anybody else at UT) is going to speak up and make an announcement or at least come out and give Jones the dreaded, “vote of confidence.” Instead, they’re more worried about …..stadium renovations.


Earlier this week, John Currie breathlessly broke the news of the thing he had been working hardest on, a $340 million dollar renovation to Neyland Stadium. Strange. A couple of Athletic Directors ago, Mike Hamilton put on his hard hat, did a photo-op at Neyland Stadium, and promised us the Mother Of All Stadium Renovation. Yet, Hamilton’s Folly didn’t rid us of the 60 year old trench urinals-which even Dr. Bill Bass cannot positively prove have ever actually been cleaned. But, THIS series of renovations could possibly make that a reality. (For the low low price of $340,000,000)


As we remember the glory days of Lord Hamilton’s reign, we can look fondly back upon the days when bowl eligibility was nearly a guarantee. Ah yes, the good old days when “8 was enough”. And so, it is that history repeats itself. Currie puts on the hardhat for a stadium renovation-just as Hamilton once did. Jones puts on the Chick-Fil-A leather helmet of doom in Atlanta, just as his predecessor before him.


As a quick aside, the king of bad headgear photo-ops, Mike Dukakis looks like Braddock from Missing in Action when he put on a helmet clowns like Currie and Hamilton in a hard hat. I opine, you decide.


Link

By the way, that photo was in 1988 when Tennessee started the season 0-6. Does anybody else think that the 88 Vols would curb stomp the 2017 crew? Heck I’d even take the ‘88 Vols over the 2017 crew if they had Mike Dukakis as their head coach!


In the middle 2000’s, UT began a huge campaign to renovate the stadium and ignore the results on the field. Predictably, the stadium, looked great and the product on the field continued to decline. After completing our first decade of decline, it’s now time to launch the next glorious phase of renovation so that the destruction of UT football can be completed. Tennessee is no longer on the 8-win plateau though. Instead, this football program has slumped into the realm of scratching for a .500 record and bowl eligibility in late November, multiple losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Championships hidden behind bricks under stairs. For the 5th time since 2010, Tennessee enters November under .500 and in danger of missing a bowl.


But take heart, Tennessee fans! The stadium will have its appearance improved by Botox extracted DIRECTLY from the rotting flesh of the football program that will play there. Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends! With bad plastic surgery and predictably bad results, it’s like a Dolly Parton kabuki theater played out in front of a hundred thousand fans. (For the low low price of $340 million dollars.) (And yes, Dolly has had about three too many surgeries.) The silence from the weasels at UT must be because they’re honestly calculating the balance; How much more money can we extract from the paying fan such that those who are alienated no longer matter? How much Botox can we extract from the patient’s buttocks without killing them? How much better can we make the façade look while not causing attendance to tank?


Of one thing you can be sure; UT administrators are incapable of doing more than one thing at a time. As long as they’re talking stadium renovations, they’re not going to have anything to do with the messy business of hiring and firing coaches.


In other news this week, Lane Kiffin said possibly the most adult thing I’ve ever heard him say-and perhaps the only complimentary thing I’ve ever heard him say since leaving Tennessee. On your show, he said that Tennessee has everything that Alabama has. Well. Yes. Thanks, we knew that when you were here in 2009. I submit that the only reason that Alabama has been so dominant in the last decade is because Tennessee has been so abysmally bad. The Tide have had no counterweight in the conference. Tennessee under Kiffin could have been that counterweight. But he’d have wound up like Hugh Freeze too. That ship has sailed and whatever maturity Lane Kiffin may have suddenly gained, it doesn’t offset his family effectively stealing $1M from UT. It doesn’t excuse the trouble that he got UT into. It doesn’t excuse his behavior while he was here. It doesn’t forgive the jerk he’s been to UT since he left.


Based on this interview and the national media’s tendency to troll Tennessee, Lane Kiffin now is being advanced as a legitimate candidate to be Coach 24. Fool me twice much? If Lane Kiffin is hired by Tennessee, then they deserve him, and they can have each other. If Lane Kiffin is hired by Tennessee, then I am done with Tennessee forever because there is no place for me there. I might be the only one that feels that way, but I’ve made up my mind and my heart on this. Because the thought has been expressed publicly, I am certain that someone at UT is giving this serious thought.


The script UT goes like this for nearly all recent hires I can think of:

· There will be a sure-thing, can’t-miss, alpha wolf, who might even bleed orange.


· There will be a long, inexplicable delay. This is where we are now. UT’s top administrators are sitting around giving each other Leadership Reps™ and going through their Mental Reps-practicing what they’ll say to Butch Jones when they fire him. I like to call this period, The Silence of the Weasels. (see movie poster attached)


· There might even be a random encouraging sign that the fan favorite known wolf is “still in the running”.


· A compromise candidate’s name will be floated. This is a troll to Tennessee Volunteers. Yes, someone local/orange/wolf was considered-and quickly dismissed.


· There will be a “national search”. This is primarily to disabuse Tennesseans of the notion that a native Tennessee born and bred candidate might be the best candidate for Tennessee. Strangely, the national search won’t get its arms around truly great candidates-just candidates that aren’t from here. Additionally, the national candidates will be complete strangers to anyone who cares about Tennessee. But in the hallowed halls of the college administrator and among their peers, the ignorance of the rubes about your chosen candidate is prima facia evidence that this candidate is a good one.


· In the end, weasels hire weasels. The leaders then count on UT’s fans to slip into cognitive dissonance. “This guy could be a good hire in time.” The administrators hope that their weasel will have a couple of early successes to make fans forget that a guy who absolutely would have been a great hire from day 1 was completely bypassed.


Now when the here’s a great story; Is John Currie dealing with Jimmy Sexton to find Butch Jones a “landing spot” and thereby reduce the buyout amount? Isn’t your heart warmed by these Leadership Reps™? UT could be acting as an outplacement employment counselor for Lyle Allen Jones, Jr. Don’t you feel better as a Volunteer knowing that our administration is trying and help ease Butch’s pain, while doing nothing for our suffering? Wouldn’t you be glad to know that UT is more concerned about Butch than they are about the football program? Wouldn’t you be glad to know that UT is going to treat Butch better than they did two coaches who had 4 SEC Championship rings and 2 National Championship rings between them? (and would be future Hall of Fame inductees as coaches). Wouldn’t that make you feel like a Life Champion?


Perhaps the outplacement search is going slow. (Unexpectedly!™) It’s like the rest of the nation can see that Jones is a failed coach who speaks clichés instead of football, who has no real knowledge or feel for the game, no solid staff around him, who can’t handle tough times, and who makes enemies all around as times get tougher. To put it another way, if Jones was any good as a coach, he wouldn’t be getting fired. Why in the world UT might be doing Jimmy Sexton’s job for him is beyond me. But as a bonus, Tennessee could be getting “serviced” by an agent who may choose to shop one of his “available” coaches to Tennessee for his own enrichment.


Busted
Posted: Sun, Mar 24th, 4:22 PM
by Alison
Whatever he’s doing, I’m sure that John Currie is getting in “mental reps”, just as the idiotic announcers said Saturday night.


Trillions for stadium renovations, but not a penny for a decent coach. Mental Reps. Leadership Reps. Lower extremity injuries. Empty calories and junk football, but never the meat of a solid football team that can pound the bottom half of the conference and compete with the top half.


Perhaps they can outplace Jones as a smoothie stand operator. (For reference, Smoothie King does not have a shop in Saugatuck, Michigan.)


Well at any rate, there is another road trip coming up this week. Another jet flight for the team. Another SEC opponent preparing to hit their peak against us and hand us an epic beat down. Another chance to hand Jones a backpack full of his buyout money and a parachute so that he can exit the plane before it gets back to Knoxville. I’m partial to seeing Jones go Full DB Cooper because it would mean that he was never heard from again.


Last thought: Do you remember Checker Neyland? The first one. It was borne out of a fan’s idea that got picked up by 100,000 people and it was a thing of beauty. The imagery was amazing. And terrifying. The Axis of Weasels had to recognize that if they didn’t take control of this themselves, then fans could recognize the power that they had. Checker Neyland and Empty Neyland are just different sides of the same coin. The passion is still there. It’s just a matter of which direction it’s aimed. The Axis of Weasels might do well to remember that.

E for Exile.'



Tony
A New Direction At TonyBasilio.com: Here at Tonybasilio.com we’re creating a series of programming with little to mostly zero commercial sponsorship. In other words, you will be digesting the following programs in coming days with almost no interruption. This is unprecedented in the history of my business. Nobody has ever done this. Here are the offerings coming your way.

Our Family Of Offerings:

‘X-Cast: A Recruiting Podcast’: Featuring Tony Basilio & ‘X’ where we discuss the latest moves, behind the scenes machinations and all the intrigue from the world of recruiting. This will hopefully be offered twice monthly with lengths varying. If this takes off perhaps we can even do some live offerings of this show. THIS IS BEING OFFERED COMMERCIAL FREE!!!


Busted
Posted: Sun, Mar 24th, 4:22 PM
by Alison
Fifth Quarter Fan Reaction: Back for season 4. Sponsored by Marcos Garza. This year with NO OTHER SPONSORS. This will be pure content for you. I’m taking a chance here but I know you will reward me for not bombarding you with messages Vol Network style. This program will run for at least 3 hours following Tennessee Football Games. We will have new visual presentation of this feature as well that we’re investing in. Thanks to Jayson Swain for helping me with the technical side of our visual presentation.


Southeastern Sunday Night: 7p to 9p on Sunday Nights airing on Periscope/Facebook Live and other platforms including your Tony Basilio Show App. This will be a regional program that aims to keep it real. We will tell the truth on us, them and all with you. This could be a lot of fun if you help me spread the word across the region. This hopefully will turn into a free for all that is free for all. ZERO SPONSORS. COMMERCIAL FREE OFFERING.


Vol-Scars: A podcast featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly and Eric S where we go back in time and commemorate the painful losses in UT football history that left a mark. These shows are extremely time intensive to put together. I’ve worked all summer on these offerings and am really proud of what we’ve compiled thus far. I think you’ll really enjoy this. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Gate Twenty Won: A podcast Featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly where we celebrate the greatest wins in UT history in time capsule form. These are a breath of fresh air and the type of programming I’m aiming to bring to you . COMMERCIAL FREE


Chill Cast: Tell Me A Story: A podcast where I grab folks from the sports world and our community and allow them to share their stories with us. This will be done in the spirit of the recent re-launch programs that I did. We’ll aim to go deeper here. Stay tuned. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Tennessee Basketball Overtime: Back for year 5! Immediately following Tennessee Basketball Games. A Tennessee Basketball Call-In show featuring ONLY ONE SPONSOR…GARZA LAW FIRM. Therefore we keep the conversation going without bombarding you Vol Network style. What a concept!!!!


Garza On The Law: A Podcast dealing with the legal issues that invade the sports world featuring the great Marcos Garza. We will go deeper here. I promise that you will find this interesting. Presented by Garza Law Firm.


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FAQ's Asked Of Tony Per Our Relaunch Announcement:

Q: Tony, you didn't say anything about your daily show yesterday. Will you continue to do this?

A: Absolutely. I'm looking forward to year #24 with you.


Q: Tony, you used the word 'subscribe'. What Am I subscribing too?

A: Great question. 'Subscribe' is a misnomer. What you actually are doing if you choose to help us monthly (and we need this for budgeting reasons) is actually acting as a patron. The goal is to keep the content (ALL CONTENT, from postgame offerings to various podcasts) free for all.


Busted
Posted: Sun, Mar 24th, 4:22 PM
by Alison
Q: So, if I'm not subscribing and I'm already reading this, why give?

A: Because you value the content and our contribution to the market and you want to help us keep this stuff free for everybody.


Q: Are you going to beat us up for money all the time here?

A: Absolutely not. I will bring this up a few times heading into the football season as we attempt to meet our financial goals and create new programming. I'll also mention it in the post-game format as well as the regional programming. I will not however wear you out with this. Either you feel the need to help us or you don't. This is why I'm taking today to field some question I received after day one.


Q: What happens if this doesn't generate the revenue you're seeking?

A: We will scale back our online offerings accordingly. The blog itself could even disappear. I really don't want this to happen but will be forced to spend my time in the most profitable way necessary. That's why we're having the conversation. All my cards are on the table here.


Q: Where can I find these new podcasts, like that X-Cast?

A: Click on "Podcast" wherever you see it on the site, and it will take you to our Podcast page.

Caitlin Clark
Posted: Fri, Mar 1st, 2:21 PM
We can now officially congratulate Caitlin Clark on breaking the record for the most points scored in women’s basketball!

Caitlin Clark is the biggest superstar in college basketball (men’s or women’s). That’s not just me being a fan, Caitlin Clark is HER! Caitlin scored 49 points on February 15th to pass Kelsey Plum’s NCAA record for the most career points in women’s college basketball..... [more]
It's a Love Story
Posted: Wed, Feb 14th, 11:23 AM
Jared (the redneck from Roanoke, VA) thought the Taylor Swift coverage would end with the Super Bowl, but this love story isn’t going anywhere. In a game that was four hours and 18 minutes (that’s a total of 15,480 seconds). Swift only appeared for around 55 seconds! 55 SECONDS from the moment the game kicked off to the overtime touchdown.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3ONwhRyugP/.... [more]
Missouri Game Preview
Posted: Thu, Nov 9th, 12:56 PM
by Josh
The Vols did what they were expected to do against UConn. There's not really much to say about that game. The game this Saturday in Columbia, Missouri will decide whether or not this season is a failure in my opinion. If they Vols lose, they are staring at 8-4 and probably the Gator Bowl. Maybe Reliaquest..... [more]
Connecticut Game Preview
Posted: Thu, Nov 2nd, 6:19 PM
by Josh
The Vols are coming back to Neyland Stadium and I am returning after a discretionary bye week. I'll be honest with you. This year it seems like I've been writing the same preview over and over because the formula to win has been the same pretty much every SEC game. I didn't want to sound like a broken record so I needed a bit of a break from that.

I'll start with some general observations..... [more]



Calhoun's Atop Bearden Hill
6515 Kingston Pike
Knoxville, TN
865.673.3377

Calhoun's on the River
400 Neyland Drive
Knoxville, TN
865.673.3355

Calhoun's at Pellissippi Parkway
10020 Kingston Pike
Knoxville, TN
865.673.3444



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