Talking to Larry Vaught of Vaughtsviews.com, something doesn't add up with Kentucky football. Where has Jo Jo Kemp been? Without him, Kentucky doesn't have their signature win of the season over South Carolina. That kid willed them to that win doing some amazing work out of the wildcat. Now he's buried on the bench at UK. He's not the only producer in the Stoops doghouse. Leading receiver Ryan Timmons has also been demoted. That's really strange to demote guys at a time when you're failing to finish drives.



With the receiver position a little thin for UT this weekend perhaps Von Pearson has a breakout. Link



Michael Carvell of AJC calls UT signee Alvin Kamara one of this year's feel good stories in college recruiting. Check it out. Link






Dave Hart confirmed what we all knew over the weekend, Santa Claus isn't the only one coming to town really soon. The NCAA's coming to town. No timetable on when the NCAA will be here. Jeez. Why don't those damn people go away. What I can't help but wonder if this is a former assistant turning state's evidence on DT is why now? Why right before signing day. Who gained from this? I guess what I'm saying is that the timing of all of this is dubious to say the least. Something like this leaks to the media less than a week before signing day? Nice. An immediate flip by UT's top prospect? Job well done. Do you really believe this was just a shot in the dark? Another unhappy accident? Dr Sean Sinclair said the way it works generally is that if a rival school discovers somebody has a beef with a head coach, administration and they have the goods on them, promises are made and perhaps some money changes hands. If we come to find out that a former Tyndall underling IS in fact the impetus behind this investigation then we need answers. Who pushed this individual? College basketball recruiting is a cesspool. These guys all CHEAT! Rarely do they get caught because while blurring the lines, most are smart about it. Let's hope Tyndall was cunning in his alleged rule bending.


As for Dave Hart, I'm not counting on him going to the wall for Tyndall. I do believe Tennessee will have representatives sitting in on that interview and if they hear that Tyndall cheated, they will move on him. That's all we need around here. Another damn coaching search...Hopefully Donnie Tyndall can weather this storm, perhaps tighten up his approach and be the coach here for a long time. Meanwhile the season begins tomorrow amidst all this crap. Talk about a kick in the cup. Generally speaking, hoops season doesn't begin around here for most UT fans until the final football game is played (SEC season). This year, you wonder if UT fans will give their hearts, minds, money and time to something that could be fledgling. Why here? Why now? Was this an unhappy accident? Or did money change hands in this deal to get Tyndall and slow his roll here at Tennessee? We may never know but I'm not going to stop digging. There's always a back story. So, while the hoops season begins, let the speculation begin.


BTW, Dave Hart was looking rather dapper in his media appearances yesterday. He looked a little extra shiny shall I say. He had the David Pollack glow going long and strong. This led to this observation from Bryan in Knoxville.




LOL. Hart is such a classic. He's done a lot of good things here and he's also had some serious missteps. Where will the hire of Tyndall fall in this spectrum? Time will tell. If the NCAA will leave him alone, I believe Tyndall could be a huge winner in time here. I would hope Hart would fight tooth and nail for his restoration here though I don't believe UT will go to the wall for him. Kind of sucks if you think about it. Hopefully this blows over though anytime the NCAA comes to town we could get a lump of coal in our Big Orange stocking.




Speaking of Dave Hart, I can't believe I'm saying this but I've changed my opinion on this whole Lady Vol rebranding issue. I was stopped the other day by a former Lady Vol athlete from way back when who asked me how I would feel if they took away the identity of my favorite team. The question stopped me in my tracks. How would I feel if the Volunteers or Philadelphia Eagles in name ceased to exist. And the way she phrased it to me was 'at least when an NFL franchise moves the keep their name. Here, they are just throwing it away like it has zero value.' I'm telling you, I was speechless. Who am I to say anything to any of these jilted feeling UT athletes. You talk about something that would really suck? This would suck.


Plus as Dr Sean Sinclair told me yesterday, not only is this horrible pr for UT, it's seemingly bad business. As Dr Sinclair stated on the air 'now one item of clothing will cover all teams instead of having to buy separate items.' He has a great point there. Plus, why pick on the poor Lady Vols. What harm was there in them keeping their own thing? I wrote 15 months ago that Hart was internally thinking of doing away with the Lady Vol name and several called me a muck racking liar. It's OK. I get it. Shoot the messenger. Well, at that time many said to me, 'what are you talking about?' And 'This makes no sense.' In the final equation, Dave Hart decided to do go 80% and leave the Lady Vol hoops program alone....For now. And it makes zero sense now that I've had a chance to think about it. Hart should do a face turn here and quit playing the heel.


Meanwhile, Dave Hart is selling that the response to the name change is 'mostly positive.' Link


Skal announces tonight. 13 days ago, Tennessee felt like they had him. Now it's down to UK or Memphis. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.


Hatfield IX time. Remember, you get a double shot of Keith tomorrow night as he will be on live from 1-3pm with Show cause and then will stick around to co-host our first Smartway/Daulton Bearing and Hydraulics Tennessee Basketball Overtime. We will have a live call in show immediately following UT's season opener with VCU.




About Keith's item #9. Link


Tennessee is using a 6 on 5 approach to prepare for VCU. Link


Here's a UT hoops video practice diary. Link




How is Mississippi State preparing to play 18 on 11? That's exactly what it will be if that game is close in the final 5 minutes. How many calls do you think will go for Bama on Saturday? If the LSU game is any indication, Bama is getting the call from the league office. NASCAR conspiracy theorists know about the call. Just ask em.



Another NBA player gets his name mispelled (sic) on his jersey. Link




Top 10 student sections. Where's love for UT? Link


Is Saturday Spurrier's last go around at Florida Field? Link


We have lots to discuss today with Mike Huguenin of nfl.com/cfb247. Link

TB

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