FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY

BAMA BLUES: Remember that prediction I made that Nick Saban would never win another National Championship at Alabama in the midst of my delirium following Auburn's glorious Kick-6 victory over the Tide in 2013? Well strike that. A mere 25 months was the life of that bold proclamation and it wouldn't have lasted that long without the one game career of Cardale Jones as Ohio State's QB. Not only did the Tide erase the memory of Auburn fan's hysteria -and most other college football fans alive- they did it with two -makes me sick to say this- beautiful special teams plays of their own. The on-side kick was perfectly timed and executed so much so that it even elicited a smile from Nick THE "rhymes with his first name” Saban. After Clemson partially recovered from Alabama's TD on the heels of the on-side kick with a FG drive, Kenyan Drake drove what would prove to be the coup-DE-grace with a kickoff return that sent most of America -with the exception of those hoping for a back door cover- to bed. Most of which were sick to their stomachs with the thought of another year in a world where Alabama is celebrating a fourth National Championship in the last seven seasons. Makes me want to puke on the keyboard just thinking about it buuuaaahh.

SETTING ASIDE REGIONAL PRIDE...CONDITIONALLY: As I've said many times on the air my long-term affection for SEC teams in general and Alabama in particular stems from my formidable years when Southern Football was discriminated against in terms of rankings, National Championships and awards. Alabama at the time was the only member given deserved national recognition so they carried the banner for other SEC teams not afforded deserved opportunities. Well, times changed, demographics changed, exposure is unlimited regardless of the region of the country in which you play and notoriety and recognition more times than not now comes to those who deserve it. Add to that the world is too small to get away from fans of the Southeastern Conference that you would rather not converse with. So, I've changed too. With the exception of matchups with the upper crust of the Big-10 -who's followers and media shills after last season's Ohio State championship returned to their pompous, self-aggrandizing ways- I say to hell with SEC pride. I am sick of Alabama and Florida winning championships, the recruiting boost it engenders and the increasing number of bandwagon jumping Tennessee residents associated with that success. I will still pull for many league members in select matchups but rarely again will that include the Gators and Tide. Unless those two insufferable pains in the ass and their equally intolerable followings go up against Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots or ISIS there is no one I else I can think of that I would pull for them against. Enough is -a flippin- enough.

BARNES BARKS: Man I love Rick Barnes' candor. There are so few coaches in any sport that will tell the media and fans exactly what's on their mind. His blunt -yet compassionate- description of Robert Hubbs less than all-out approach to the game delivered earlier this week is just one example of his willingness to publicly bare his soul. All of our past coaches have forgotten more about their specific sport than I could pretend to know but many insulted the intelligence and sophistication of their followers by being evasive, condescending or down-right dishonest about what occurred on game day in the course of meeting their media and fan interaction responsibilities. I know what I see when watching a game and hate it when a coach tries to convince me otherwise. Barnes doesn't play that mess. He doesn't spare himself when it comes to pointed criticism either as illustrated by this gem: “I’ve said before that there’s not a game that goes by that I don’t look at that tape and say, ‘I could have done something different or done something better to help these guys…..“But the fact is I can tell you I can do a lot better job.” I'm not sure you can be more honest in personal accountability than that. I know I love that he is unafraid to pull back the curtain for the fans to see. I'm not sure how well that will be received by the players over the long-haul but as a fan you can't beat brutal honesty.

Just to show you that I ask nothing of Coach Barnes that I am unwilling to do myself here is a mostly unedited glance at basketball game day in the living room with my lovely Wife of 30+ years Sheno who is a basketball Hall of Famer at Lenoir City High School and Tennessee Wesleyan and a former basketball coach:

Me: Any basketball question I may ask

Sheno: What do you watch during the game?

Me: The ball

Sheno: Then you're missing the point!

Me: No that's what would happen if I wasn't watching the ball

Sheno: Just watch the game!

Me: Thanks

VOLS DESERVE TO BE DAWGED-OUT: We saw something new from the Basketball Vols in their 16th game of the season. We've seen them get out rebounded; seen them lose on the road; seen them blow leads; seen them fail to execute down the stretch but we hadn't seen them quit. Well you can mark that one off the list because Wednesday in Stegemen Coliseum the Vols totally failed to compete in the second half. After spending the first 20 minutes of play actively extending their defense and forcing Georgia into 16 turnovers -which the Vols far too frequently failed to capitalize on- they played the second half as if the Biddy Ball Rules Committee had outlawed the double-team and stealing the ball. Vol defenders more times then not looked like TDOT flagmen and I don't mean the ones eating a sandwich with the stop sign pointed your way. Up until the visit to Athens this had been a fun team to watch even in defeat due to the effort they displayed. Well they were anything but fun to watch or easy to cheer for against the Dawgs. I understand the challenges this team faces with no true scoring or defensive options in the paint, no point guard, as of late little scoring from Armani Moore and for the first time in a number of games Admiral Schofield failed to show up. None of those things however have a dang thing to do with playing hard. That should be -and better from this point on- be an every night occurrence.

NFL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: Went 2-2 last week but was a Blair Walsh chip shot FG from the best pick of the week. So close; so wide left. Here are this week's guesses

Kansas City over New England: I think this is more than just a 'get Belichick and Brady out of my sight” heart pick. The Chiefs have looked like a Super Bowl contender for weeks while the Pats are a beaten-up shadow of what we are accustomed to seeing them be.

Green Bay over Arizona: Everything tells me to pick the Cardinals except my memory of Colt teams shutting it down late in the season THEN waiting through a bye week for their first playoff action. I'm pulling for Bruce Arians and the Cards so I hope they're better at that turning it off then back on thing than the Colts were.

Carolina over Seattle: I know many Super Bowl runs were fueled by an unlikely escape as the Seahawks pulled off last Sunday. A second straight cross-country trip and a much better opponent however will prove to be more than the suddenly offensively-challenged Seahawks can overcome.

Denver over Pittsburgh: The Steelers escaped a blood-bath in Cincinnati but the collateral damage is more than they could afford to advance further. Pittsburgh needs a healthy Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Deangelo Williams to have any chance of winning and I believe that's a 0 for 3 proposition. There's a better chance they get shutout than there is of winning the game.

FINAL FRIDAY FUSILLADE: If the Vols don't begin to win some closely-contested games versus quality opponents and SEC road games I think The Impressions sum up my feelings perfectly LINK

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