Our idea of having a terrific weekend with some youngsters around the Tenn Tech game is in full bloom. In fact, Donita McCartney of Amichi Knoxville is super excited that because of your generosity, a bunch of young people with an incarcerated parent will get an opportunity to attend a real, live UT football game. Think about what a thrill this will be to be a part of this.
Here's an open letter to the Tonybasilio.com readers regarding the work of Amichi Knoxville.
'Tonybasilio.com reader.
Thanks for allowing me to help you learn a little about Amachi Knoxville.
Many of our kids have never had the opportunity to attend a UT football game and many of them share that this is a dream they have. A lot of our boys are currently playing on junior football leagues and one is a well-known senior at Fulton who is getting a lot of recognition and going on to play college ball next fall! Mentoring matters and it’s a job that doesn’t require any special skills – just a willing heart to serve and make a difference in our community. What we like to say around here is, “Be someone who matters TO someone who matters.”
Amachi Knoxville is an evidence-based mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents designed to help children achieve their highest potential and break the generational cycle of incarceration.
KLF brought the program to Knoxville in 2004 to help children of prisoners achieve their highest potential by engaging in safe, committed mentoring relationships. Amachi staff work with more than 30 community partners to identify and recruit safe, committed mentors to work with the more than 4,000 children in Knoxville who currently have a parent in state prison.
Statistically, without intervention these children of promise have a 70% chance of becoming incarcerated as adults. We've got to stop the cycle. Children with mentors do better in school, get along better with their families and are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol than their peers. Having a mentor is great for any child, but for a child whose parents are locked up, it's a lifeline. A mentor shows the child by example that there is a better way. Mentors teach these children life skills that can literally save their lives.
To provide the best foundation for a strong and lasting relationship, Amachi mentors interview with program staff, complete a background check, and receive extensive training in risk factors, protective factors, communications methods, advocacy, and life and leadership skills. Mentors commit to spend a minimum of 4-6 hours per month with their mentee, attend quarterly mentor support trainings, and complete monthly surveys to track activities, challenges, and progress. Staff match participants based on their interests and compatibility, then facilitate a match meeting to introduce mentors and mentees. Professional training, support and guidance continues throughout program participation.
We currently have 110 active matches going on. There are 12 girls and 15 boys currently waiting to meet their mentors!
To learn more, visit www.klf.org or you can call me at 865-524-2774
Thanks for the opportunity!
Danita McCartney
Director of Mentoring Initiatives
Knoxville Leadership Foundation
Danita!!! We are really excited to partner with you in this endeavor to get as many youngsters in that stadium as possible. I want to publicly express to you that we will do anything in our power to get the word out there for you for your most worthwhile cause. God bless you for what you're doing!
To the listener....If you would like to help with this, please send your Tennessee/Tennessee Tech Tix and or cash for our tailgate to
Tony Basilio Show
Box 26011
Knoxville, TN 37912
We will have a tailgate that day as Clark at Select Tix Service has donated a choice parking pass for us. If you would like to get involved with our tailgate, please e-mail me. The bigger the better as far as I'm concerned and I want you to have a part in this blessing.
Thanks again for helping us serve our community!
Orange Throat
'Tony B Nation:
Random musings as we look forward to our Volunteers getting back on the football field for the stretch run to the SEC East championship:
FIVE FOR FIVE: Five things we'd like to see develop from the UT coaches having a week to analyze and prepare for this stretch run:
1. PROTECT YOUR DEFENSE: As we opined in this space on Friday, we strongly believe OC Mike Debord should adjust his game planning and give Bob Shoop's defense as much rest as possible. This is easier said than done, but a strong running game will keep the offense on the field and defense off. It also shortens the game and the number of total plays the depleted UT defense must hold up. The South Carolina game is a great place to start, as the Gamecocks are 110th in the nation against the run. (Of course, the Vols are 108th)
2. SHOW THE BYRD: If Tyler Byrd isn't going to see some time at corner, he should play a much more important role in the offense starting Saturday, especially with Alvin Kamara out. He needs several targets in the passing game and should carry one or more times.
3. GIVE KELLY THE ROCK TOO: To be sure, RB Jalen Hurd should be poised to have perhaps his best game of the season against Gamecocks, but don't forget to give it to John Kelly. Kelly was impressive at Texas A&M and he needs to shoulder a good-sized share of the load at Columbia.
4. TRUST YOUR YOUNG PLAYERS ON DEFENSE: Kyle Phillips may see quite a few snaps inside, but the backup defensive ends need to be in the rotation.
We want to see more of DE Darrell Taylor, LB Daniel Bituli, CB/Nickel Marquill Osborne and ...
5. PLAY WARRIOR, DAMN IT! Shoop's back-end is smart and tough but not real athletic. Freshman Nigel's last name is Warrior for a reason. The son of former Vol great Dale Carter is tough as nails but his middle name should be athletic. He's demonstrated that on special teams, and he needs to get the opportunity to show it against an SEC team.
AROUND THE SEC:
SOUTH CAROLINA (3-4, 1-4 SEC): T
he Gamecocks look to have found a QB just in time for the arrival of our Volunteers. HC Will Muschump took the redshirt off true freshman Jake Bentley and he responded with 201 yards and 2 TDs in a 34-28 debut win over UMass. The Gamecock defense, which is a respectable 61st in the nation in yardage allowed and an impressive 28th in scoring defense, yielded 14 fourth-quarter points to allow the Minutemen make the final score close. South Carolina opened up as a 14-point home underdog vs. the Volunteers.
KENTUCKY (4-3, 3-2 SEC): Kentucky moved ahead of the Volunteers to claim sole possession of second place in the SEC East as Austin MacGinnis hit a 51-yard FG at the buzzer to beat Mississippi State, 40-38. The Wildcats have struggled to throw the football this season (115th in the nation in pass offense) but QB Stephen Johnson threw for 292 yards and 2 TDs. Benjamin Snell Jr. rushed for 128 yards and Boom Williams added 99. Although the SEC East might still be far-fetched, a win at Missouri this week would make a bowl game a virtual certainty and officially take HC Mark Stoops off the hot seat.
MISSOURI (2-5, 0-3 SEC): The dumpster fire at Columbia got some gasoline Saturday night as MTSU pinned a 51-45 loss on the Tigers before an announced crowd of 52,000 or so. Mizzou outgained the Blue Raiders 629-584 in yards but committed 125 yards worth of penalties. The Tigers entertain Kentucky this Saturday.
VANDERBILT (4-4, 1-3 SEC): HC Derek "Radio" Mason's running game cranked out 358 yards in a 35-17 win over Tennessee State. SEC leading rusher Ralph Webb's 125 yards was no surprise, but burly 235-pound sophomore Khari Blasingame had 100 yards and 3 TDs on only 14 carries. The Commodores have this week off before traveling to Auburn on Nov. 5.
ALABAMA (8-0, 5-0 SEC): The joyless, soulless Soviet, er, we mean Alabama Crimson Tide were challenged but prevailed in the second half over Texas A&M, 33-14. Alabama rolled up 451 yards and held the high-flying Aggie offense to 278 total yards. Freshman Jalen Hurts did his usual dual threat number on his opponent, throwing for 164 yards and rushing for 93, and of course, the Tide scored off their defense again. Alabama is off this week before a very interesting trip to LSU on Nov. 5.
TEXAS A&M (6-1, 4-1 SEC): The Aggies' national playoff hopes are still alive. After a buy game with New Mexico State this Saturday, they travel to Mississippi State and close out at home with Ole Miss, UT-San Antonio and LSU. An 11-1 Aggie team would have a strong argument if things fall right with other contenders. Ohio State's loss at Penn State potentially helps.
LSU (5-2, 3-1 SEC): The Bengal Tigers took care of Ole Miss 38-21 as Leonard Fournette looked Bo Jackson-eque in running 16 times for 284 yards and 3 TDs, averaging 17.8 yards on every carry. QB Danny Etling outplayed Rebel QB Chad Kelly with 19 for 28 for 204 yards and 1 TD. Interim HC Ed Orgeron's team is off this week before hosting Alabama in a monumental opportunity for him to stake a claim to the LSU job.
OLE MISS (3-4, 1-3 SEC): A bowl game is a probability but not a certainty for Hugh "Hakeem" Freeze's Rebels. Auburn brings a slashing run game to Oxford this Saturday. Ole Miss opened as a one-point pick and the game has been bet up to Auburn -3. (Note: Akeem Judd has 39 yards for Ole Miss at LSU).
AUBURN (5-2, 3-1 SEC): Gus Malzahn is battling Kevin Sumlin for "comeback coach of the year" in the SEC. The Tigers mashed and thrashed Arkansas, 56-3, Saturday night at home. Kamryn Pettway ran for 192 yards as Auburn outrushed a Bret Bielema team, 543-25. Auburn DC Kevin Steele's unit had another strong showing, limiting the Hogs to 215 yards and no touchdowns. Auburn is still in the SEC West picture, folks. But only if they go on the road and win at Ole Miss Saturday.
ARKANSAS (5-3, 1-3 SEC): Arkansas has an off week to pick up the pieces from the devastating loss at Auburn. The Razorback defense gave up 632 yards to Malzahn's offense. This comes at a bad time for Tennessee as Arkansas hosts Florida on Nov. 5. Perhaps the open date will be just what the Hogs need to produce a great performance against the Gators.
FLORIDA (5-1, 3-1 SEC): The Gators have to be the most rested team in college football. They come into Saturday's annual rivalry game with Georgia at Jacksonville having played only one game in 28 days. Although the long range forecast for Jax is only a 10% chance of precip this Saturday, AD Jeremy Foley reminds us that the official end of hurricane season is not until November 30 and he reserves the right to cancel a game at any time if it is advantageous to his team.
GEORGIA (4-3, 2-3 SEC): New Bulldog HC Kirby Dumb is learning that coaching 11 future NFL players on defense at Alabama is a lot more fun than being a head coach in this league, although this gig pays better. The Oct. 15 home loss to Vanderbilt was bad for the Bulldogs but all will be right with the world if Georgia upsets Florida on Saturday. Georgia is a -7.5 point underdog.
MISSISSIPPI STATE (2-5, 1-3 SEC): The opportunities for HC Dan Mullen's team to win SEC games are few and far between this season and they let one slip off the hook at Kentucky after taking the lead with 1:09 to go on QB Nick Fitzerald's seven-yard TD toss to Fred Ross. Mullen's defense played soft and let the Wildcats get into field goal position for the long game winner. Next up is a buy game with Samford.
Orange Throat
IGYV'
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Throaty.....LOVE.....LOVE...LOVE your Five 4 Five!!!
What's going to be really curious about these last five games is how much Tennessee will play them with an eye for the future. I must say that it's a little bit disturbing that some of the younger defenders haven't played more in a season with this many injuries. I completely get not playing the freshmen offensive lineman because in this league it's boys against men, but guys like Warrior and Bituli should be playing more by this point. Shouldn't they?
Your point about Tyler Byrd is so well taken. Here's a guy that's been quoted as saying he wants to be considered for defense in the future. Why won't that coaching staff let him play a little? Put it this way...If there is to be a loss in the final 5 regular season games, how much you want to bet that pass defense will be the culprit. It almost happened at Georgia. We could be talking about three losses in a row here if you think about it.
On John Kelly....He's going to have to play a bunch more with Kamara's injury, but what about getting Hurd the record? How much of a priority (it at all) does this (or should this) become?
Hatfield's Nine
Tony,
The stretch run begins in college football this weekend. We also get a World Series straight out of a Hollywood script.
1. South Carolina is an atrocious football team. If Tennessee plays relatively mistake free football, the game will not be close.
2. Alabama appears to be locked into the zone now. They toyed with Texas A&M.
3. West Virginia has ridden quality defense to the top of the Big 12 standings. They face a substantial road test at Oklahoma State on Saturday.
4. Charlie Strong appears to on his last legs at Texas. The Longhorns appear totally disorganized.
5. LSU appears to have created some magic under Ed Orgeron. They are a real threat the rest of the season.
6. Auburn has really turned the ship around in short order. The West is a true gauntlet at this point.
7. The bloom has come off the road for Tom Herman. The first loss appears to have taken the wind out of their sails.
8. The World Series will do serious television ratings. Even the most casual sports fans will be watching.
9. The Cleveland Browns are a true dumpster fire. They look worse every week.
The Pirate Party at Sapphire Saturday night promises to be a blast. More details as the week progresses. The Blankenship Field renovation project is picking up steam. Go to blankenshiplegacy.org to donate.
Blankenship
Revitalization
Foundation
(Click to donate)
Keith
College football is beating the hell out of its NFL counterpart this year and it ain't even close.
Penn State beating Ohio State is GREAT for college football. Great to see a Goliath take a few stones and fall to the ground. The win was pretty much out of nowhere for a Penn State team heading into that one that looked like it would do a straight J O B.
Targeting Rule Interpretation is a farce. If you read the rules on targeting it speaks of the peril of a defenseless receiver yet that kid from A&M getting his brain scrambled didn't constitute a penalty on Bama? Credit CBS for not going for the official word "from the office in Birmingham." The SEC is obviously defensive about the criticism of being Bama centric in the way they got word to CBS in that timely manner. Also, the whole concussion issue no doubt has the league on pins and needles as well. Just not enough to throw a flag on Nick Saban's guys. It was really disturbing to see that as a non-call as it was a clearly one college player blowing up another with the crown of his helmet. The only difference between this and hit on UT's Berry is....well,....nothing. Neither was called a foul and both are a non-player centric way to officiate. The first rule in football in this era of jacked up athletes is to protect players. If you (the rules geeks that love to e-mail me on this stuff) can tell me with a straight face that those were legal hits, more power to you.
Bammers Rule: People wonder why SEC office being in Birmingham is a strong talking point of mine. Pretty simple. A&M learned a valuable lesson Saturday. The SEC wants their TV eyeballs and stepford fanbase, but doesn't see them as Bama's co-equal. Then again, nobody matters like Bama to that league. Here's the deal. As long as the SEC office remains in Birmingham, nobody is getting a fair shake. Try this one out on your friends and acquaintances that think people like me are nutty with this stuff. If your kids attend schools around Bammers and you worship around Bammers while your wife shops with and plays tennis and golf with the Bammers, who do you think will be the shake from the league office? Just consider that for a second. I'm more convinced than ever after Saturday that the SEC needs to evacuate Birmingham at once.
Auburn is for real: Don't look now but Auburn has a seriously powerful downhill rushing attack. I'm starting to think they're a candidate to get, dare I say, Bama at year's end? Could you imagine that scene in T Town?
Throw The Ball Deep: I watched 16 hours of football easily over the weekend and can honestly say that the game if over officiated at the college and professional level. With this in mind, why not throw the ball more downfield? I'm talking to all teams here. I saw a bunch of QB's from coast to coast get bailed out on deep passes by over-eager officials.
Tom Herman? Easy on the Herman to USC or LSU rumors. Herman is coaching a Houston team that is all of the sudden reeling after getting drilled by Lil Dave Hart's son and SMU. Get ya some of that!
West vs. Least: Despite Kentucky's win over Miss State, the chasm between the East and West is as wide as the left and right in our current political climate. The East is really bad in the middle to bottom. Did you see Mizzou Saturday? What the hell was that? And South Carolina flat out struggled at times with UMass.
LSU Has Upside: Do you really think that shizzling drits Florida team is beating that LSU team that mauled Ole Miss Saturday night? That Florida bunch we saw in Neyland Stadium last month will be waving the white flag by the middle of the third quarter.
Big 12 Football Is Straight Garbage: Oklahoma won a "game" 66-59 over Texas Tech Saturday. Both teams had 1,708, just six yards shy of the all time NCAA record set by two schools you've never heard of. Give me a low scoring SEC game like Bama, A&M or Ohio State/PSU any day of the week. Big 12 football is sensory overload and it belongs in an arena on a 50 yard field.
The NFL Is Hard To Watch: Constant flags. Awful QB's. A bunch of average to bad teams littering the landscape from coast to coast. What's up with the NFL 2016? It's off to a brutal start. Just not interesting at this point. Minnesota was the last undefeated team left before losing yesterday to the Eagles. That Minnesota is 5-0 has me questioning the strength and viability of the entire NFL. The Vikings are an offensive horror show. Amazing.
Shane and Robin Reed were overwhelmed by the tremendous showing by this audience for the benefit they did for Daniel Oliver and his family. Yawl rock. This is an amazing place that we call home! Proud be there for you.
Tony B's Schedule This Week: Today: Live @ Smoothie King
Tuesday Live @ Stovers
Wednesday Live @ Copper Cellar Cumberland
Wednesday Night MyVLT TV: 10PM In The Pocket W/Tony Robinson
Wednesday Night MyVLT TV: 10:30 Jerry Glanville Show
Thursday: Live @ Bearden Hill Fieldhouse
Friday Live @ KenJo 7406 Straw Plains Pike
Friday Night 5 to 7 pm. Playing Music With David Bivin @ Bearden Hill Fieldhouse.
Saturday: Listener Watch Party Bearden Hill Fieldhouse
Saturday Night/Sun AM: Smartway/Garza Law Firm 5th Quarter Fan Reaction
Hope to see you at one or many of our events this week!!!
Peace
Tony B
IGYV
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