Listener Watch Party IV is Saturday @ Bearden Hill Fieldhouse right on top of Bearden Hill! Thanks to our friends at Miller Lite we will have terrific prizes for you to win for the 7:30 kick. Hope you can get there to this 21 and over establishment. We've had such a wonderful time enjoying this season together. It's been a terrific season. A real blessing to have fellowship with the living fan.



The healthier Vols are going to put a hurtin' for certain on South Carolina. Are you feeling this? Vegas has this at 13.5 pts and I don't think it will be that close. Then again the Vols haven't played four full quarters yet this season in any game. Then again South Carolina looked beyond pedestrian with UMass. Then again these games never go as planned. Then again Tennessee will run all over this team. Then again UT has never beaten Will Muschamp as HC. Then again Butch Jones owns SCjr. Then again Dobbs owns these guys. Then again Tennessee could struggle on the road. Yeah. These things never go according to script.



Tony B Events Schedule: Today Live @ Copper Cellar Cumberland Ave Tonight MyVLT TV: 10PM In The Pocket W/Tony Robinson Tonight 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





It dawned on me last night that some really deserving fan base is going to win a World Series Championship. The Fox Sports intro featuring a handful of seasoned citizens talking about their fandom and heartbreak was chill inducing. Really well done on their part. I love the connectivity of sports. You don't need to be a baseball fan in any way to understand the heartbreak of the Indians. It's been 20 years since they've been in the World Series and since WWII since they won one. The Cubs of course are well past 100 years since their last title. I'm cheering for Cleveland because I identify with those people from that hard scrabbled city. I grew up listening to Pete Franklin on the old WWWE 1100. Those were great days indeed! Cleveland and Chicago both deserve it. It's so refreshing seeing somebody else at the top of baseball. The Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers can peace out as far as I'm concerned. We get tired of seeing the same teams.


Which leads me to this today. When Tennessee played on CBS earlier this year, they had better #'s than Bama nationally. Why? Because Bama fatigue is a real thing. I'm sick and tired of them taking the air out of college football. My hope is that their lack of a passing QB comes back and bites them. They’re going to come up against somebody able to keep that running game in front of them. When this happens, will Hurts be able to make the throws? It's going to be very interesting. Hopefully LSU will help us find this out. Bammers may not believe this but it would be terrific for college football if they got off the stage and let somebody else win.










Tonight on In The Pocket on MyVLT, Terry Brown joins Tony Robinson and me for our annual, mid-season Tony Awards.

Tony Awards MVP Vols
Dobbs
Hurd
Jumper
Barnett
Other


UT Play Of Half Yr:
Ga Pass at end of game
TD @A&M. Dobbs caught
Jennings Catch Fla
Downed Punt By Trevor Daniel


MVP SEC
Hurts. Bama
Dobbs Tennessee
Bama Defense
Chad Kelly Ole Miss


Biggest Surprise Vols
Jennings
John Kelly
Jumper
Shy Tuttle


Coach of half yr SEC
Saban
Jones
Malzahn
Sumlin


Freddie Mercury Big Disgrace Award
Mizzou Football
SEC Officials
SEC Office in Birmingham
Kirby Smart

Tennessee MVC. Most Valuable Coach
OC Mike Debord
DC Bob Shoop
RB's Robert Gillespie
DL Steve Stripling
LB's Tommie Thigpen
ST Larry Scott


We will announce the winners tonight at approximately 10:26pm on MyVlt. Please vote on Twitter @inthepockettv. If you want to write in, have at it! We would love your input!













The initial signing period for basketball begins on November 16th. Somebody needs to get word to Rick Barnes that he has 2 scholarships available. Somebody also needs to tell him that he's been picked pre-season #13 in an SEC that has (count em) 1 team in the initial top 25. Rick Barnes seems lost in space. Earth to Rick Barnes. You're driving the good ship Tennessee into Houston. And that's not a good thing, my friend.


I saw where Cal announced that Cuonzo Martin got a raise and an extension yesterday. Great for him. I always appreciated Cuonzo the man. He was a great guy, though a fish out of water here. It's odd how Cuonzo left here and grew a stinger in recruiting while Rick Barnes has left his in Austin. You can't make this stuff up.


People ask me how we're going to handle hoops season here on this blog and on the show. Same as we always do. I hope the Vols win 'em all. I don't doubt the coaching ability of Rick Barnes. It's his fierce laziness in recruiting that I have serious issue with. Any Vol fan should have a problem with this level of output on the recruiting trail. Hate to say I told you so but......


The Vols have five players on opening day NBA rosters. The SEC has 62!! Link


Grant Williams looks like a nice young man. Passed up the Ivy League to play for the Vols. Link



I'm not sure if Rick Barnes is in favor of it, but I've long thought another signing period in football makes great sense. Do it in the summer and let's have another holiday on the football schedule. Why not? Link




Don't look now but Alabama actually has a real, live issue to worry about this week. Link



Auburn is fixing to grind up Ole Miss Saturday. Auburn is the team I was dead wrong about. Link










Eric! Classic stuff. What would be Florida's gripe? In their one true test to date (in Knoxville) they were scolded in that secondary. Tennessee ran circles around those guys. Make no mistake about it, Jennings used and abused Tabor. I'm really looking forward to watching Florida try and navigate that back end of their schedule. They've got losses coming to Arkansas, LSU and probably Florida State. Oh well. At least the Gators got off to a good start. Do you realize what LSU is going to do to them? Words can't describe it. BTW, I love the second link!!! That is some rich stuff. There's very little doubt that Foley used that storm as a pretext for pushing off the inevitable. Quoting Terry Funk, "those egg sucking dogs can't hide anymore." Anytime I quote Terry Funk I KNOW it's going to be a great day!

Terry Funk is the ALL TIME greatest on the stick! Link




Final Thought: Arian Foster's retirement brought a rather tepid response from Big Orange Country. I purposefully didn't mention him in yesterday's blog or show just to see what the reaction would be and ........wait for it.....crickets. It's like nobody cares about that guy here. And I'm sure that's not it but Foster never endeared himself to folks before, during or after his career. He retires as a really accomplished NFL running back. He earned everything he got at that level as undrafted free agent. We should be celebrating him as one of our own yet Foster seems like an outsider. That's really a shame because Tennessee fans want to love our own. I'll take on this fanbase when necessary but this one is on him.



Final Thought II:
If it can happen in Cleveland or Chicago, then it can happen again here! Beleeeee.

Tony B
IGYV

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