What a fun day it was Monday on the air with Beano and Briney Boy. We had a great time recounting the football weekend. Are you still glowing from it? It's OK! It's been forever since we've had that ole feeling around here. To reiterate, the IGYV has always meant winning the East in my world. If Tennessee can somehow find its way into a national playoff then more power to us. That would be great. I'm into progress. Playing in Atlanta is progress.
Reminder before we do anything else!!! Make your plans to come watch UT/Georgia with us at Bearden Fieldhouse on Bearden Hill. Our friends at Miller Lite will pour some specials and we're going to have an awesome time watching UT/Georgia....Tell a friend....Bee There...
Today: Live @ Stover's 4505 Asheville Highway Wednesday: Live @ Copper Cellar Cumberland Ave Thursday: Live @ Smoothie King, Walker Springs Plaza Friday: Live @ KenJo Market 2601 US Hwy 411 South, Maryville Saturday: Listener Watch Party: Bearden Field House Bearden Hill Saturday PM/Sunday AM: Smartway/Garza Law Firm 5th Quarter Fan Reaction
Your Vol Colonel has you today. As he can get from time to time, Vol Colonel is an emotional sort. I love that about him. College sports is an emotional deal. We're all invested here. Above all else it's fun. I know VC made some folks mad last year when jumped the gun on Butch Jones. Look, Vol Colonel cares. He's passionate and he's in the know. Very much in the know, I might add. Therefore he'll always have a place with his own day on this blog.
Vol Colonel
'Saturday in Neyland Stadium was magic like I've never seen magic before. Being down 21-3 at the half had me looking for something I could throw into a wall at Neyland Stadium. I was cursing and carrying on like a rabid and roaring idiot. I guess you know by now I sometimes wear it on my sleeve. It sure seemed like there would be no Vol magic on this day, but then low and behold the 3rd quarter started and that old orange magic was in the air. It's as if a new team came out of the locker room, a team that would not be denied.
That 2nd half Saturday we witnessed pure magic as the 2016 Tennessee Volunteers gave us two quarters of some of the best football that has ever been played in that stadium. It was a total team and coaching staff effort as we completely took Florida apart. Our great fans were also a driving force as the noise level in the stadium got as loud as I've ever heard it.
Joshua Dobbs put on a performance that was as good as any Vol QB to ever set foot on Shield-Watkins Field. Josh threw for 319 yards and rushed for another 80 yards, accounting for 5 TD's, 4 in the air and one on the ground. All this against the #1 ranked defense in the land. I think Josh also put to rest this notion that he can't throw the football. He sure made all the throws, Saturday. Having Chance Hall back at RT sure helped the cause. I said on this blog a few weeks ago that there was a chance that once Hall got back at RT and Kendrick moved to left that everything could fall into place for our offensive line. While there's still room for improvement, this line had their best outing of the year against the Gators.
There were a lot of guys who deserve game balls for Saturday's win. Jauan Jennings, Josh Dobbs, Josh Malone, Jalen Hurd, Colton Jumper, Emmanuel Moseley, TK Jr., Derek Barnett, and what the hell, I'd give the whole defensive line a game ball. Barnett was an absolute beast out there, he completely took that game over. In the 2nd half alone Barnett had two sacks, broke up a pass and I can't count the number of QB hurries he had. He was as disruptive to the Florida QB and offense as any one man could be. Probably the biggest surprise to me was the play of Colton Jumper. I honestly never thought the kid had it in him. He made tackle after tackle and was directing our defense like a boss.
Bob Shoop has been a huge upgrade at defensive coordinator over John Jancek. Shoop has seemingly made adjustments in every game this year and the Vols defense has been lights out in the 2nd half of games. Florida's offense went 3 and out 5 of their first 6 possessions of the 2nd half and they gave up an INT, all while gaining 8 whole yards. That's right, 6 possessions for a grand total of 8 yards. That's as lights out as it gets!
I said yesterday while Tony was on the air, via tweet, that I expected Butch Jones to be here long term. TB took me to task on this as if I were just completely punch drunk in love with Butch after beating Florida. While it is true I get very emotional over my Vols and wear things on my sleeve, I do believe Coach Jones will be here long term. Beating Florida did go a long way with me, but it's not my only reason for thinking he'll be long term. It is something I needed to see, beating Florida, but for me It was the final exam. I look at the big picture, Jones has recruited like gang-busters and has more top notch players committed for 2017 and beyond. I think we have 3 outstanding QB's on campus right now waiting in the wings to replace Josh Dobbs next season. I believe Jarrett Guarantano is a future star in the making at QB here. I look how Butch has had the program continually on the climb since stepping foot on campus. We've gone from 5 to 7 to 9 wins in his previous 3 seasons here. This year has the makings of a stellar campaign and with a win in Athens this coming Saturday over Georgia, we will have a clear road to Atlanta and the SEC Championship Game this December.
I see a coach who has a work ethic unlike any other coach I've ever seen here. We're also sitting on a 10 game winning streak now. Next year would be CBJ's 5th year at the helm and I fully expect him to get a new long term deal, extension, and raise after this season. I don't see how anyone doesn't realize this guy looks like he'll be here long term. I can tell you he has my full support from here out. Yes, beating Florida, our biggest hated rival in the division, did go a mighty long way with me, but it was the final piece to the puzzle for me to realize this coach is the long term answer.
In closing here, I think our Volunteers are going to go down to Athens this Saturday and beat the brakes off of the Bulldogs for our 11th win a row. This is an exciting time right now for our program. I think we're on the verge of greatness. I can assure you this old Volunteer is happy, happy, happy. Go ahead and call me a sheep if you wish, but I've earned this wool and I'm going to be as positive as I can be from here out (or until we lose in horrific fashion) ha
Have a Great Day and Go Big Orange!
Your Vol Colonel'
VC: I'm feeling you on the great vibes around the program. How could you possibly have a better Saturday than what we just witnessed. 'X' tells me that there was in excess of 100+ recruits there from various classes. Many of these prospects were of a high caliber and this place delivered in spades. How can you not come out of that weekend with the feeling that Tennessee is a sleeping giant in the midst of an awakening. This is going to be a really fun ride. I just wish our head coach and his staff would relax and see that we're all on his side. Even the so called NegaVols want to see the program do well. I was taken aback by Butch Jones' post-game remarks toward the booing fans coupled with his weak attempt at humor yesterday. There's no need to poke this fan base. We've been through way too much here. Everybody wants to see this program succeed. Some have an odd way of showing it, while some are miserable. Still the overwhelming majority are in with both feet on Butch Jones. Why does he even care what anybody outside of his staff is saying?
I contend that a person with rabbit ears like the ones he's using right now can't succeed long-term in a job like this because he'll make himself nutso. I wrote yesterday that hopefully the Florida win would allow him to relax a little and smell the flowers a little bit. We all want to see him do well here. If he does well this community is a happier place. I just don't want him saying anything but what a wonderful fan base we have and how much he appreciates it. It's a shame that I'm taking space in this blog a couple of days after a huge Florida win to tackle this but I am because I have to get it off my chest. So there.....
Hatfield's Nine
Tony,
Vol Country is still basking in the afterglow of the comeback win over Florida. The Big Orange now moves forward in pursuit of bigger goals.
1. The biggest challenge Tennessee faces this weekend is refocusing their efforts after a great second half effort that ended over a decade of frustration. It certainly helps that the next opponent is Georgia.
2. A Tennessee win on Saturday would effectively clinch the SEC East. The Vols would hold the tiebreaker over Florida and have a de facto 3 game lead over Georgia.
3. It will be fascinating to see how LSU reacts to Ed Orgeron as their interim coach. If it is anything like what happened when he took the same post at USC, the Tigers will be a load for anyone they play down the stretch.
4. Stanford and Washington face off in a matchup with potential College Football Playoff ramifications Friday night. The winner can realistically see themselves in that group of four.
5. Michigan and Wisconsin meet in a game that will help shape the picture in the Big 10. The Badgers have a chance to wipe out both contenders from the home state of Motown in a two week period.
6. Oklahoma has one last chance to resurrect their season at TCU on Saturday. A loss and I believe you can put the Sooners down for 7-5.
7. Louisville now takes its act on the road in prime time. Clemson will have to be much better than they have at any point previously this season to derail the Cardinals.
8. Dee Gordon homering while honoring José Fernández is the kind of moment sport so often gives us. It is still the best reality show on television.
9. It appears that Chris Bosh will never play in the NBA again. That is sad, but his long term health has to be the deciding factor in this case.
Sapphire has another great small batch punch this week you'll want to try while supplies last. The Jack and Jill contains homemade infused vanilla bean bourbon, black tea, a splash of homemade limoncello, and burnt lemon juice.
The Blankenship Field renovation project is in high gear as we head down the stretch towards the playoffs. Go to blankenshiplegacy.org to donate.
CBS is exercising its rights of choosing whether or not Tennessee/Texas A&M will be at 3:30 Eastern or 7pm. We'll know something on this sometime Sunday. Of course Tennessee is at Georgia this week while A&M is at South Carolina. I see the favorite winning both games on the road outright. That means UT & A&M will both be unbeaten at 5-0. The other contender for that slot is Arkansas/Bama. Arkansas has a buy game this week while Bama plays Kentucky this weekend. Tennessee/A&M is much more compelling TV wise. Especially when you consider that UT/Florida was the most viewed college football game of the past weekend BY FAR. Therefore if both Tennessee and A&M take care of business, the Vols should be featured on CBS for 4 consecutive weeks. That's because Bama is rolling into Knoxville undefeated and CBS will surely pick that game up in the 3:30 window. While I'm on the subject, surely ESPN's College Gameday will be at College Station, Texas if both UT and A&M win this weekend. It's fun to be relevant heading into October.
Tomorrow here at Tonybasilio.com, I'll expose the latest behind the scenes twists and turns with the AD search at Tennessee. Put it this way, we've been known to screw up some two car funeral parades around here and this could be occurring as I type and you process what I'm saying to you between the lines here. I will expound further on this tomorrow but suffice it to say that David Blackburn is far from a done deal at this point. As we say in the Twittersphere, this place makes me want to #SMH sometimes. More tomorrow right here along with a whole batch of T-Mail as well.
On Thursday we'll hear from CC Hoops who will be back with some (dare I say) hoops recruiting information. I can’t wait for this as it seems every other program in the conference is cleaning up while we’re stuck in the mud. Vandy got 4 star center Ijike Obinna yesterday. That’s a total Vandy center name if I’ve ever seen one.
Finally, here's a listener/reader looking for some honest work and I feel led to help.
'Hi Tony,
A couple of weeks ago I contacted you about my need for a job. There was 1 response from that, but I never did hear back from the company the individual told me to contact. (By the way, I want to say thank you to the person who tried to help. I truly do appreciate it!.) As a result, I contacted you again about reposting to see if there may be another potential opportunity out there.
I earned a Bachelor's degree (in accounting) from UT. I have spent a majority of my professional career in mainly temp/contract accounting and auditing roles. I would definitely prefer a permanent position with a company (conducting job searches are not fun...especially over a several month period), but I would take a temp/contract role if need be to prove my skills and abilities.
Because I do not want everyone who reads your blog to have my direct contact information, please just let Tony know if you can help and he will pass on your information to me. I am hoping someone out there can help.
Thank you so much for your continued help, Tony!
Charles'
Final thought: If Butch Jones is building UT 'Brick by Brick'...Is Rick Barnes building his program 'Gold Brick by Gold Brick'? The guy had ZERO official visitors here over the weekend. Brutal.
Enjoy your day
Tony
The Tony Basilio Show
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Friday night’s Iowa-UConn Final Four game had 14.2 million viewers. That’s more than any women’s college basketball game, ever. More than every 2023 NBA Finals game and more than every 2023 World Series game. ESPN has had the rights to NBA games since 2002. But the Final Four game between Iowa and UConn was the networks most-watched basketball game, men’s or women’s, pro or collegiate EVER.... [more]
Friday night’s Iowa-UConn Final Four game had 14.2 million viewers. That’s more than any women’s college basketball game, ever. More than every 2023 NBA Finals game and more than every 2023 World Series game. ESPN has had the rights to NBA games since 2002. But the Final Four game between Iowa and UConn was the networks most-watched basketball game, men’s or women’s, pro or collegiate EVER.... [more]
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]
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]
FISH Hospitality Pantries (a.k.a. Hospitality Pantries, Inc.) operates four pantries
in East, South, Northwest and West Knoxville. They currently provide food to approximately 8,000 families every month.
FISH focuses on what more can be done to help ensure that everyone gets enough to eat.
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