'Tonyville:

Random musings as we look forward to an interesting game tomorrow night at Missouri.


BUTCH'S NO LONGER IN CADE'S COVE. Butch Jones officially lost legacy five-star OL Cade Mays on Tuesday and we would argue this loss is more devastating to Jones than any defeat in a single game this season. The ONLY thing Jones had going for him this fall was a 2018 recruiting class ranked in the nation's Top 10. That class is disintegrating. The best RB commit, Lynn J. Dixon, defected a few weeks ago. Midstate WR Alontae Taylor, who like Mays, is a guaranteed starter next season, is also wavering.


AND, PLEASE THE FEW JONES SHEEP that are left should not insult our intelligence by saying Mays is decommitting because it doesn't look like Jones is coming back. Just don't. Jones is talking to any whale donor that will take his call and is spinning a narrative that he will bring in big-time offensive coaches and he has minions spreading the preposterous notion that UT won't be able to hire anyone with better credentials. Really?


IN THE WAKE OF THE MAYS DECOMMIT, John Currie should have announced mid-week that he was terminating Jones immediately and should install Phillip Fulmer to take over the program until a new coach can be hired in early December. The reason is not the chance to win the next three games. The reason is recruiting. We say this with full consideration that our delusional mega donor Jim Haslam is still entertaining the idea we should bring Jones and his crippled program back for an encore to this miserable season. But even at our place, we think reason will prevail.


JONES AND HIS STAFF are still recruiting as if they are going to be around next year. Make no mistake. With Tuesday's Mays announcement, Jones is gone. Thus, Jones and staff are wasting official visits on key players. Mays is a case in point. He's scheduled to make his official UT visit during the Vandy weekend. What is the possible benefit of that?


FULMER CAN BE INSTALLED and he can do the best he can in the next three games, but he can really be of benefit by getting his arms around the recruiting situation and assuring current commits and targets that Tennessee will make a first-class hire. Decisions need to be made and official visits need to be delayed. Commits and targets and their parents might like to hear a reassuring word or two from a Hall of Famer and national championship coach.


ANTI-FULMERITES should get over their bias and agree this is what the program needs to salvage a very important recruiting campaign. Fulmer also would have the gravitas to deal with disciplinary situations and keep current players going to class. And, if he can deliver a couple of wins and get us to a bowl, that's gravy.


YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF IT but our stealth-like basketball program opens tonight at The Thommy against Presbyterian, ranked 341st in the nation by Ken Pomeroy. Rick Barnes has charmed the media and employees in the UT athletics department with his folksy personality, but he has failed to excite long-suffering Vol basketball fans so far. SEC and national pundits aren't expecting much from Barnes' third UT team, so it won't be difficult to exceed low expectations. Our hoops expert Keith Hatfield thinks this team will surprise on the upside and make the NCAA Tournament.


THE VOLS will have chances to make a mark before SEC play begins. A win over Purdue in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tourney on Nov. 22 would be noteworthy and road wins at Georgia Tech and Wake Forest would be extremely valuable. And, of course, a big home court upset of the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 17 would be huge. Until we see differently, we're going to trust the judgment of our colleague, Mr. Hatfield, and be positive about this season.



FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY (21-30 SEASON, 4-3 ATS LAST WEEK):

Our theory that the Florida team would respond to interim HC Randy Shannon looked rather foolish last week but the scrappy Gamecocks did deliver an easy cover.


ALABAMA -14 at Mississippi State (51): The cow bells will be clanging in Starkville as Dan Mullen's rough and tumble Bulldogs try to spring the upset. The Tide's offense wasn't great against LSU. This will be a good old-fashioned "hit you in the mouth" game and we'll take the Under.


Arkansas (55) at LSU -17.5: The Razorbacks are going to have a hard time getting bowl eligible and an even harder time saving HC Bret Bielema's job. We'll take the Tigers and lay the points in the Battle of the Boot.


GEORGIA -2.5 at Auburn (47): Can Auburn score points and make freshman QB Jake Fromm throw it more than OC Jim Chaney wants him to? We're not sure but we do think both defenses have enough of an upper hand to make this an Under pick.


Tennessee (61.5) at MISSOURI -11: We like the way DC Bob Shoop has his defense playing, which is of course probably the kiss of death in this game. Mizzou QB Drew Lock leads the SEC in just about every category but maybe a cool and rainy night will slow Lock and the Tiger offense. The problem is the Vol offense may struggle mightily as QB Jarrett Guarantano may not be able to go. We think the combination of the Vol offense struggling and the UT defense scrapping will make this game a great Under.



Orange Throat
IGYSD'

John Currie’s indecision to blame for Cade Mays’ UT decommitment

Greg McElroy Says “Empty Neyland” Vol Fans are “a Disgrace”


Meanwhile, John Currie continues the Silence Of The Weasels as we wait for an answer-ANY kind of answer regarding the future of the program. In other words, Currie is also Decommitted.





Interesting that Greg McElroy thinks it’s disgusting for a Tennessee fan to talk about an #EmptyNeyland campaign when it was an abundance of Alabama fans in Neyland Stadium that helped to force the last coaching change. Speaking of disgusting, Harvey Updyke (Al from Dadeville), Brian Downing, Adrian Laroze Briskey or Michelle Pritchett. Disgusting behavior is a feature-not a flaw where the Alabama fan base is concerned. Tend to your own fan base, you AJ McCarron wannabe.

(A quick aside; Fans Get Ugly after Florida's Collapse? Get? This is the NORMAL state of the Florida fan. Hey Pious Greg, any comment on Jorts Nation hating on their own players? Talk about disgusting... Jim McElwain maybe should have reported those death threats to the university. The downside is that it cost him his job. The upside is that his actions got him out of there alive, immediately, and with several million dollars. Sounds like Charlie Sheen Winning all the way around to me.)

What’s so wrong of fans to decommit in order to force UT’s leaders-our sleepy weasels to make a decision? In 2012, some of these same clowns had no problem sitting on their hands during the Derek Dooley disaster when disgusting Alabama fans took over our stadium. Our own fans stayed home precisely because the product on the field was rancid. Staying home is people who deeply care withdrawing their confidence in leadership that gives no sign of caring at all. Flipping the script, if UT’s leadership wasn't so Decommitted to their RESPONSIBILITY as leaders, fans would have no reason to decommit from attending the games-even if the results were bad. (Paging Tom Mattingly; What were UT's home attendance stats in 1988 expressed as a percentage of available seating capacity? How does that compare to 2012? Or 2017? Enquiring minds.)

The reality is that the #EmptyNeyland, Decommit movement didn’t result in a half empty stadium. Yet. But Tennessee has never lost 8 games in a season either. Surely Tennessee has never had a losing streak against EVERY single SEC opponent either, but that's on the line Saturday against Missouri. (Good thing we've got that Life Championship. WOOOO!!!) As Tennessee continues to plummet, so will attendance. #EmptyNeyland describes a one-time thing. However, Empty Neyland might become a new normal. Is anyone paying attention? Do they care? One person best expressed it years ago, “If they don’t care, then why should I?” Tennessee People Still Care. The GNBs, the HoH, Aunt Edna, and John Kerry need to recognize that this level of caring isn't normal, it isn't common, and it isn't an unconditional guarantee. It can fade. It can decline. It can disappear.

Has John Currie gone backwards as an Athletic Department administrator? Currie, the alleged architect of the Fulmer firing in 2008, eager to kick Fulmer to the curb and move on, Currie apparently has no will, ability, sufficient leash, and/or the spine to do his job in 2017. What gives? Is it too late to ask for 2008 John Currie to come back? Failing that, where is the eager young assistant with an itchy trigger finger when you need him?

Cuonzo Martin, Rick Barnes, and Dave Serrano were known winners who were hired to go out and win. Instead, they simply went through the motions and accomplished little. I suppose that UT is now also a halfway house for Athletics Administrators as well given the performance of guys like Dave Hart and John Currie. Pop got Genco, look what I got. UT is now a retirement home and relaxation center for Athletics “leaders”. This is for the same reason as everything else that's wrong at UT right now; There is zero leadership. Because Up on The Hill, people never stare. They just don't care. (Thank you Steely Dan.)

For the record, I bought tickets to the LSU game back in August, which means I paid the full hopium price for them. Talk about Buyer’s Remorse! But I plan to attend that game even if it’s more depressing than a trip to Wounded Knee. I triple dog dare Greg McElroy to walk down Cumberland Avenut and say a word to me about ANY Tennessee fan being disgusting.

E for Exile

Tony,

Football hits the home stretch of its regular season and college basketball tips off this weekend. Plenty of options out there for the sports viewing audience.

1. Tennessee will have their collective competitiveness tested in Columbia. The Vols will have to summon some internal motivation.

2. People criticizing Cade Mays need to seek psychological help. He is doing exactly what any sane person would do and looking out for his best interests.

3. Plenty of matchup this Saturday that will set the course for the rest of the race to the College Football Playoff. We'll have some definitive favorites by the end of the day.

4. It is going to be intriguing to see how Rick Barnes uses the depth he has on this season's team. This is the first season that he has had the luxury of using the bench as a motivator.

5. The Bruce Pearl Era appears near an extremely ugly end at Auburn. Few coaches have ever suffered a more precipitous fall from grace.

6. I get the impression that the fallout from the FBI investigation is just beginning. Chances are that some teams will have vastly different roster than they expected.

7. Texas A&M has an opportunity notch a quality early season victory for the SEC in Germany. The Aggies could announce themselves as a league title contender along side Kentucky and Florida.

8. Dillon Brooks is yet another in a long line of shrewd personnel moves by the Grizzlies. Chris Wallace and his staff are vastly underrated.

9. Roy Hallady was a man's man in the best sense of that term. He leaves us far too early, but his impact on the game will be felt for years to come.

Clancy's is having a fantastic Sam Adams beer dinner on Sunday evening. Call 865-219-1266 for information.

Sapphire is Knoxville's premier nightspot. Stop in for one of their seasonally themed craft cocktails and join the fun.

The Blankenship Field renovation project is progressing steadily in the direction of its goals. Go to blankenshiplegacy.org to donate.

Keith

WHERE'S RICHARD PRYOR WHEN YOU NEED HIM HOW LOOOONG; HOW-LONG; HOW LONG MUST THIS BS GO ON FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY

IF TONY’S WRONG WHAT’S THE TRUTH? In Tuesday’s blog Tony turned most of Big Orange Nation’s backside bright red with the implication that not only has there been little to no movement on finding a replacement for Butch Jones but the decision to even look for one hasn’t been made. He doubled-down on Thursday with the news that Jim Haslam publicly supported the sitting head coach....

WHAT WE WILL SEE IN WEEK 9:

BEAST OF THE BIG-10 EAST:

CYCLONES BACK IN THE FORECAST:

SOUTH’S OLDEST BATTLE:

WHAT VOL FANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MISSOURI:

FINAL FRIDAY THOUGHT:...[more]

'Dear Tony,

If you don't mind I would like to discuss something other than the wretched Vol football coaching situation that we are all concerned about. I am the daughter of a now deceased World War II hero. My dad was a young East Tennessee farm boy who was sent to the European Theatre after training at Camp Shelby.


He was a medal winner and hero at the Battle of Remagen. They held that bridge at all costs and at great cost to many young men. He had to kill. He did his duty. He captured enemy soldiers after being wounded himself and THEY HELD THE BRIDGE. Remagen was one of only two bridges left standing across the Rhine into Germany. The enemy was trying to blow the bridge up. His war ended at Remagen; his health battles started at Remagen. Remagen Bridge....it is a book, a movie, part of my family history.

My reason for bringing this up is to say THANK YOU to all the vets as we approach VETERAN'S DAY. Growing up during Vietnam, I remember my pain and confusion as I witnessed the way returning military were treated. Readers, take a moment: remember, say a prayer and thank a veteran.


We have the opportunity to enjoy ( enjoy wrong word this year ) UT and other sports thanks to people like my dad, vets who came later and those brave souls serving now. We have life thanks to this generations of veterans.

The older I get, the more Veteran's Day means to me.

Kathy
UT grad 75 and 78'

'Tony:

I would like to have my voice heard on getting Jones out of here. If he is back, my family's fandom and money are out of here. How do you suggest I get my voice heard? Who can I call or email or what, how do we do this?

Thanks
Jay in Nashville'

'Tony,

We haven’t talked much about potential hires from the NFL, so I thought I’d throw one out there.

So, the Haslams are in Cleveland. They could be forced to fire their head coach…..not because he sucks, but because they suck. I think Hue Jackson would fit in the college game, and the HoH seems to like him, so why not just flip him over to UT?

Yeah, far-fetched maybe, but what I would like to see is us returning to more of an NFL factory, like we were in the 90’s (ah…glory days…..). And be up front about it. Get rid of this goofy-assed offense and run some NFL type schemes so that our player development tends toward an easier transition to the next level. Advertise that and entice the better athletes. Better recruits = better team (not that we don’t have some NFL players on the team now, I’m just saying more of them).


Anyway, just a thought.

Kevin Brown
Knoxville'

'HUMOR PUSHES ‘THOR: RAGNAROK’ TO 5-STAR STATUS


“Thor: Ragnarok” is loaded with special effects, battles, and other fights, but it’s the humor that makes the movie great.
Chris Hemsworth’s character (Thor) is responsible for the majority of the funny lines. Even though Thor is the God of Thunder, his ability to make the audience laugh is a key asset in the new film based on Marvel Comics.


The plot of the movie seems trivial compared to the action and special effects. Cate Blanchett is excellent, portraying Thor’s evil sister Hela. Tom Hiddleston is great once again as the God of Thunder’s brother Loki. Their love/hate relationship forms the basis for many of the comedic lines of dialogue.


The supporting cast is first rate as well, with many faces that the audience will recognize. Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk/Bruce Banner), Idris Elba (Heimdall), and Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster) just to name a few.


At 2 hours and 10 minutes, “Thor: Ragnarok” has a perfect running time that gives the audience their money’s worth, but is not so long that movie-goers become restless. The PG-13 rating is mainly for violence and gore, but it’s all part of the entertainment and done tastefully.


As is normal with movies based on Marvel Comics, you will want to stay for the credits to see an imbedded scene. “Thor: Ragnarok” also nicely sets up the next movie in the series, almost guaranteed to be another blockbuster film. “Thor: Ragnarok took in over $130 million during first four days. And that’s just in the United States. World-wide, the film is close to $500 million.



See you at the movies. Hold the butter.

Jack Tate'

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!!!


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.

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.


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.