Before we get cranked up today...We really are heading to Keeneland. And yes, we are leaving Sunday morning at 8:30 from Ingles on Emory Road (across from Tennova North/Sushi Spot et al). If you want to come, I've got a few slots left at $75. See the graphic below for what all you get for that price. It's the deal of the year IMO. Hope you'll join us!
Now it's Orange Throat time!
Orange Throat
'Random musings as we look forward to a nice East Tennessee weekend after some rough weather today:
JOHNSON BACK? NOT SO FAST: JUCO DT Alexis Johnson had one serious charge reduced and one other dropped yesterday. Insiders say this situation was never close to rising to the level of a felony and the accuser was not very credible. Interesting to note that the accuser did join the Title IX lawsuit as a plaintiff. Johnson next will reportedly face the UT student conduct board, and then AD Dave Hart and HC Butch Jones will need to decide what to do about Johnson's status with the football program. One school of thought is to let him rejoin the program but suspend him from playing until the six month probation is complete. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, especially in the current environment of the Title IX lawsuit and the constant pounding being administered by The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING NEEDS A BOOST, AND IT COULD COME TODAY: From a ratings standpoint, the 2017 UT football recruiting class has been underwhelming so far, but it is early and most top players are uncommitted or will change their minds between now and next February. Still, momentum is real in recruiting and highly-regarded DT Eric Crosby from Virginia Beach, Va., is expected to announce his choice today between Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Crosby is not a massive guy but is highly athletic and is ranked around #125 nationally overall by most services.
The Hokies have gone from the tired Frank Beamer to the energetic Justin Fuente and the new coach has made this one closer than comfort, as UT has been on this kid of quite a while.
BIG OPPORTUNITY FOR BASEBALL VOLS: Though the weather tonight may force a doubleheader tomorrow, Dave Serrano's team has a chance to strike a blow against rival Vanderbilt (#5 nationally) at home this weekend. HC Tim Corbin has built the Commodores into a true national power and there is a large gap between the two programs. Still, Serrano's team has been game against teams like South Carolina, so maybe some of today's lightning can be bottled and can strike for the Vols this weekend.
LADY VOLS WITH A GREAT MATCHUP: The Tennessee Classic softball event is on tap this weekend and the highlight will be #9 Oklahoma vs. the #13 Lady Vols on ESPN tomorrow at 2 pm. UT is 18-0 at home, so this one should be fun to watch.
Still no word from Dave Hart as to why there are former Lady Vol coaches and administrators in the new UT Athletics Hall of Fame and no one from the men's side.
Orange Throat'
Throaty: That Johnson story is an interesting one. I think we all need to be reprogrammed as it's no longer the world we once lived in. This is a complete crapshoot as to what happens with that kid. Does Tennessee expend some political capital and bring him back with everything swirling around here? Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Things are never boring around here. On Crosby, it would be great to see him fall UT's way, but some people I've talked with this week near this are sweating it. On the UT/Vandy Baseball series....Can Tennessee get credit for half a win if the entire weekend gets rained out? Just thinking out loud here.
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We decided yesterday on the air that the Vegas win total for Tennessee in 2016 that will induce the most action is 9.5 wins. Think about it..If Tennessee wins 10 we will all consider it a wonderful year. If they only win 9 it's a coin flip as to how the season is viewed. Would 9 overall wins be good enough for Tennessee to get to Atlanta out of a weak SEC East? I guess anything is possible. 5-3 teams have gone to the conference title game in the past 25 years. It does happen. What if Tennessee loses to Fla & Bama & A&M but still sneaks into the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta? Is that a successful year? 9-3? Both blights on the schedule still alive in the Bama and Florida streaks. Yet the Vols land in Atlanta. Would you call this a satisfactory hypothetical outcome to the 2016 regular season. I think 9.5 is a perfect Vegas win total for this football team. 10 wins is too high and most folks would vote the under while 9 is too low. 9.5 really makes you think. In fact we will kick this around today on the show.
In hour one I'm visiting with Donnie Tyndall who will break his silence today live on the show in an exclusive interview that's sure to get emotional. Donnie feels like the NCAA has knee capped him with their verdict. A 10 year show cause is beyond excessive for what Tyndall was accused of doing. Sure, the do-gooders will say, "But Tony, he covered up and he lied and he doctored documents." And I say pullleeeeeeezzzzeee. First of all, let's get something straight, college basketball is as cesspool. Everybody is cheating. Secondly, when you're unaffiliated and unmarried to any program and facing those bullies in Indianapolis, you have no chance in their court of law. Firstly, they have no rule of law. NCAA jurisprudence is the definition of arbitrary.
Do I think Tyndall was perfect? No. Of course not. He was a damn good college basketball coach that happened to have poor judgment with hires he made and the trail he left. Tyndall is no NCAA choir boy when it comes to their rule book, but neither is Roy Williams, K, the late great Dean Smith, or, for that matter, John Wooden himself.
Should be some emotional and explosive radio when Donnie Tyndall breaks his silence on the NCAA issue.
RIP Prince. On the show we talk lots of sports and some music. Prince's untimely death yesterday shook me up as it did a lot of people. He was weird, mysterious, and over the top at times. He's one of the few people to jump the shark (when he became symbol boy/girl) and still maintain respect and integrity. He played 27 instruments proficiently enough to play everything on his first couple of records. You know of his hit songs and that's beautiful.
Did you realize that he wrote Manic Monday for the Bangles? That's a really catchy pop song with a slick little repeating motif Prince came up with.
Nothing Compares To U: Recorded by Sinead O'Conner. That's a GREAT song!
Stand Back: Stevie Nicks gave Prince credit after borrowing from Little Red Corvette. In fact, I think she even had him come in on the production of this number.
I Feel For You: Chaka Kahn. In 1984 Chaka covered this Prince original, added the intro from Grand Master Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five fame and the rest is history.
Jungle Love: Morris Day And The Time. Know this. Morris Day and the Time was a Prince creation. He wrote and produced the tunes. Prolific doesn't begin to describe his output in the early days.
Glamorous Life: Sheila E. She hails from a talented Oakland musical family but Prince picked her from the bunch and set her on a different stage. Sheila E is a talented studio musician but Prince made her a household name.
My Favorite Prince Song Written For Someone Else You've Probably Never Heard. Here's a live version of COOL by the Time that jams out. Viva The Capital Theater in Passaic, NJ.
Link
I echo the sentiments of Dr. Sean Sinclair yesterday when news of this broke. Prince was different because he was, well, different. He's an entertainer that didn't play the game. He never needed a political cause. He never cancelled a show because he disagreed with the politics of the moment. Don't get me wrong, he did have some wacko Jerry Colquitt type views but he just shut up, sang, produced, wrote, dreamed and lived his life. RIP Prince.
Here's an interview I recorded with Alan Light, author of Let's Go Crazy.
Link
My Five Favorite Prince Songs:
5. Controversy. So many hooks Bill Dance would blush.
4. Pop Life: Saw Elvis C cover this in Philly in '86. Greg Miller what up?
3. Raspberry Beret: Love his ad lib Vocal in this one.
2. Diamonds & Pearls: What range he had.
1. Do Me Baby: A hidden gem off the Controversy release from '81.
One just for fun.
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.
The three breakout superstars of the 80's, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Prince are all gone before their time. All apparently casualties of drugs. Sad. Let us learn from this.
T-Mail
'Hey Tone - Here’s my input for your 2016 Vol Football Slogan. My 2015 slogan was “Return to Competitiveness”, with the goals of a) be competitive in every game, and b) end two of the four SEC losing streaks. Having accomplished that, my goals for our 2016 team are a) Win with Style, b) end one of the two SEC losing streaks, and c) be able to fight toe to toe against the best teams in the country. Any fan that expects perfection is virtually guaranteeing themselves serious disappointment. We need to go into this season of Hope and Expectations mindful of our recent seasons of carnage, and we need to appreciate the pain, work, and sacrifice that has improved our Gameday prospects going forward.
I’ve consulted the work of my musical hero, Bruce Springsteen, for a slogan that captures this pain, sacrifice, and hope. I submit three to you, each with a killer backing soundtrack.
“The Rising”: “Lost track of how far I’ve gone, How far I’ve gone, how high I’ve climbed. On my back’s a sixty pound stone, On my shoulder a half mile of line. Come on up for The Rising” (alternate slogan “Orange Rising”)
“Land of Hope and Dreams” (“Live in New York City” version, please) “Leave behind your sorrows, Let this day be the last. Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine, and all this darkness past. Big Wheels roll through fields where sunlight streams. Meet me in the Land of Hope and Dreams.” … Cue Jumbotron video of Hurd, Barnett, Dobbs, and company abusing opponents to massive cheers
“Don’t Look Back” (Either studio or “Live in New York City” version) “There’s nothing to lose, it’s a heartache, the deck’s stacked. So put your foot to the floor, darling. Tonight we’ll blow off their doors, baby. We’re gonna even the score, and honey we won’t look back.”
Bigger Al'
Bigger Al: That's some great stuff. Love the musical tie in with the passing of Prince, plus the way we love to tie sports to music on the show. Love the titles. Lemme investigate and I'll get back to you.
'Tony,
Thanks for including my email about the Eagles trade in the blog…..it’s always neat to see and be part of your blog.
I’ll bite on your “small mind” tactics. I’ll keep it simple: “FORWARD”
It’s not flashy, it doesn’t have a double meaning or rhyme with anything, but when you get down to it, no matter what happens, injuries, losses, police investigations et al…..this team must move forward. And keep moving forward. College football never lets up, neither should we. Gotta keep our heads down and continuously pushing forward. There’s time for players to reflect after their eligibility runs out. Can’t get caught up in the hype…..or anything else for that matter.
Peace
Kevin'
Kev: Twice in one week? We got a love thing going on here. I like FORWARD. I would like it more if it wasn't so close to MSNBC's slogan. Forward feels like a political mantra but you get an A for effort!
Final Thought: Left blank in honor of Prince cause I didn’t feel like coming up with a final thought.
TB
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