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Live @ Pilot Rutledge Pike
 Posted: Thursday, May 16th, 2013, 11:11 AM
Vol Colonel has some great inside stuff on this. As he usually does, the Colonel has a way of distilling this down so you get the real deal. 'The insanity just never ends around here. One scandal or soap opera after another. Folks, this stuff is getting old. Where is the leadership over there on the hill. Who's in charge? I think that's a very valid question. Is Joe DiPietro in charge? He is the President of the University of Tennessee. Is it just me, or does it seem like he's one of the most detached Presidents we've ever had over there? I've yet to see him get a little dirt on his hands, so to speak.  Photo by The Daily Beacon Is Jimmy Cheek in charge? He's the chancellor. I'll admit he seems to be more in charge than Joe DiPietro, but is that really saying much. Is Dave Hart in charge of Athletics? His job title would suggest he is or should be. Who's calling the shots over there? Who’s in charge and making sure athletics and academics work together like a fine oiled machine? Is it Joe DiPietro? I'm going to say no. Is it Jimmy Cheek? It seems like when the spotlight on this subject comes up, he's always telling folks he understands the importance of working hand in hand, but for some reason, it always seems like this guy is a day late and a dollar short. Dave Hart is going to get a pass from me on this one. He's not been here long enough and didn't come in here with the ties to have any real power. Wait a minute, hold the phones, how could it have slipped my mind. I know who's in charge over there. She's the one in charge of handling this latest fiasco. It's Susan Martin, yep she's the one in charge. She's the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Don't you feel better now? Well folks, I’m here to tell you, I DO NOT FEEL BETTER!  Provost Martin just had to get to the bottom of all this and there was just no way she could allow Jenny Wright to resign on her own accord. The Provost would not accept Wright's resignation, she had to follow protocol and have what amounts to a closed door hearing on the matter. Letter's and/or emails fired off back and forth between UT's Legal Eagle's and Wright's lawyers. When it became apparent Wright wasn't going to show up and give her side of this story, The Provost fired her for “failure to comply with the directives of authorized university officials to cooperate with a university investigation"  Here's the questions I raise and my concerns: If this is just a case of inappropriate relationships with student athletes, then why not just accept Wright's resignation and move on? I fully understand Martin's job at The University of Tennessee, but like I said, if this is just a case of inappropriate relations, why proceed as if you're trying to hold congressional hearings on the matter? We're told this isn't a NCAA matter, well call me a hillbilly, but if it's not potentially a NCAA matter, then why not move on. I mean, Wright tried to resign. What are we after here, all the alleged juicy details? Look, I hope this story goes away, but where there's smoke, there's usually some fire. I really hope this is just a case of inappropriate relationships and not academic fraud in any way, shape or form. We've been through too much around here the last few years. We do not need any more black eyes. I'll leave you with this, we need real leadership over there on the hill on both sides of the fence, athletics and academics. I can assure you this kind of junk wouldn't be going on and most certainly wouldn't be handled this way if men like Doug Dickey and Joe Johnson were still in power over there ! Vol Colonel Map of Recent Visitors @TonyBasilio.com  Map data ©2013 Google, INEGI, MapLink - Terms of Use   What an incredible era we live in. If you stepped off the planet 30 years ago, you wouldn't recognize college football. Nothing about the game feels, looks or is the same. It's a completely different world. And money rules. And make no mistake about it, it's not done reinventing itself. In fact you could make the case that we are still in the early childhood of college football as we know it. It's going to a playoff soon but that might not be all that we will see. Is this superconference idea really worth considering? Link  I love the New York press. They invent ways to rip their sport teams there. How about a crossword puzzle devoted the Knicks collapse? This is sweet. Link UT and Memphis are signed up for another four years in hoops. The Vols need to get the Tigers in football. How about if we replace Oregon this year with Memphis? The Tigers have a punter....that's right, a punter on their media guide. A freakin' punter? Yeah...That will really boost recruiting. BTW...Great job by Bob Kessling a few weeks back when he publicly chided Memphis for ducking Tennessee. Now, I'm calling for UT to Duck the Ducks with Memphis and this fierce punter. Link  Enter Tony in the Promotion Code box and get a discount on your umbrella! It's not kid friendly but David Ortiz has found a creative way to give back to the victims of the Boston Marathon terror attack. I can't help but love this guy. He cares. Link Madden 25th Anniversary Edition comes with a free NFL Sunday Ticket? Now, that's a swingin' deal right there. Link Can Orb make it two straight @ the Preakness? Link Cal says that even without Wiggins, UK is 'chasing perfection' next season. Link How predictable is this. Chris Broussard was thrown under the bus by ESPN for espousing his opinion, which was solicited by a show host, on the Jason Collins coming out party from a couple of weeks back. Beam me up Scottie. Link  Call now for an appointment! Notre Dame. Are they chicken or greedy as it relates to the Michigan football series? Link Somebody actually keeps stats like this one from Katie Sharp last night on Twitter. Maybe you can impress at the office with this one today. 'David Adams is 4th player in last 95 seasons to get a hit in his MLB debut on his birthday. Last to do it was Dave Clark in 1986. Who?' OK, raise your hands if you had the Grizz in 5 over OKC. And the scariest thing about that series is that one game OKC won was a lucky result in game one. The Grizz have a lot of old school in them. Led by a quality point guard who gets everybody involved. Randolph is a complete man. OKC must get a 5 who can consistently score or they will go home. I'm talking with or without a healthy Russell Westbrook. It wouldn't have mattered in that series the shoot it well and play amazing defense. Either San Antonio or Golden State better take these guys seriously in the Western Semifinal. TB | |||||||||
 Calhoun's Atop Bearden Hill6515 Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 865.673.3377 Calhoun's on the River 400 Neyland Drive Knoxville, TN 865.673.3355 Calhoun's at Pellissippi Parkway 10020 Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 865.673.3444 | |||||||||
Live Wednesday @ Sushi Spot
Come Out and Eat & Enjoy The Show!
Posted: Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 9:18 AM Call now for an appointment! Tennessee's track program has devolved into something unrecognizable. It's really a shame. Its one thing for Mike Hamilton to get hood winked into consolidating both programs under the control of JJ Clark. It's quite another to allow this charade to continue. Dave Hart must terminate Clark or at least reassign him to the women and go get a legitimate men's coach. As Patrick Gildea told me Monday during a full throated rip job of Clark, 'I'm surprised he's even to drive his car from West Knoxville to campus. That guy is lost.' And Tennessee track is all time bad. Sort of like football under Dooley. But hey, I'm getting to that. Even in places where hope springs it's been a rough go on the Vol fan. Baseball is on the verge of doing the unthinkable. I know they are young. We all get that. I also know Dave Serrano is a great baseball guy. Even he agrees that you just can't finish out of the money in regards to the SEC Baseball Tournament. Yet, Tennessee is on verge of doing just that. 12 out of 14 teams go but the Vols have work to do with one series remaining. Missouri holds the final spot at 8-19 in the league while 7-18 Tennessee who hosts Texas A&M this weekend probably needs a sweep. I know the future is bright but baseball this spring like many things on the men's side has been a blight. When you look at what we've been through in a school year across all sports it's a miracle that anybody even bothers to care at all. Thanks God for Sam Winterbotham. In 7 years he's got UT Tennis running like a clock. The Golf program at Tennessee is OK but not great. It's a school year with no SEC Titles on the men's side unless I'm missing something. How can you have this kind of budget and not win the league in something? Not only this but your major sports have been a real mess. This off-season so far in hoops? Are you kidding. UT fans deserve so much better. This is a wonderful place. We are a great people here. We support our teams and our school. We pay top dollar to do so. Sorry is something we never hear from our administration. Somebody needs to say it. Tennessee has been sorry. You've upheld your end of the bargain. They not only aren't delivering but serve up embarrassing off field crap like this latest bimbo eruption far too often. Something needs to change and soon. Until then, one thing to say to you.........I'm sorry....
Will Kentucky/Louisville go away soon in football? Link How did Kansas get their man? Link Tennessee sits out the first year of the Big 12 SEC Challenge. Doesn't hurt my feelings. Need to get a point guard soon. Map of Recent Visitors @TonyBasilio.com Map data ©2013 Google, INEGI, MapLink - Terms of Use Enter Tony in the Promotion Code box and get a discount on your umbrella! Chase Headly is big-time. Has own spread in GQ. Link I really love the honesty of Dave Serrano. He called last night's victory over Morehead State by his guys a 'bad win' Link Fox is going all guns at ESPN. They may be launching two national sports networks at once this summer. Link This would make Mike Rice blush. Link BTW, I noticed an oddity while watching last night's game. Look at the makeup of both rosters and colleges represented and see if you can find what I did. Spurs roster here. Now, Check out the Warriors. Link Florida assistant coach Tim Davis said Saban is 'the devil'. Sounds like a smart guy. Link TB | |||||||||
 Stover's Wholesale Knoxville4505 Asheville Hwy Knoxville, TN 37914-3607 865.523.4449 Stover's Wholesale Cookeville 452 W Broad St Cookeville, TN 38501-2334 931.526.2591 | |||||||||
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Live Wednesday @ Sushi Spot
Come Out and Eat & Enjoy The Show!
Posted: Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 8:57 AM
Somebody needs to say it. I did this about 6 months ago and every once in a while, you need to hear this. I'm here to say to you that this is unacceptable. If you're a UT fan and more to the point one who spends time, talent and treasure on this program in any way shape or form you're owed an apology. So, I'm sorry. Its one thing to be bad in just about every sport but it's quite another to be embarrassing while doing it. We are about to close the books on yet another dismal overall sports campaign for this school year. From September 2012 through May 2013, there has been pretty close to next to nothing to cheer about. Take tennis out of the equation and it's a real mess. Tennessee's track program has devolved into something unrecognizable. It's really a shame. Its one thing for Mike Hamilton to get hood winked into consolidating both programs under the control of JJ Clark. It's quite another to allow this charade to continue. Dave Hart must terminate Clark or at least reassign him to the women and go get a legitimate men's coach. As Patrick Gildea told me Monday during a full throated rip job of Clark, 'I'm surprised he's even to drive his car from West Knoxville to campus. That guy is lost.' And Tennessee track is all time bad. Sort of like football under Dooley. But hey, I'm getting to that. Cuonzo Martin? It hasn't exactly been a great run for him since he's been here. Twice he's been on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament and twice he's teased the fan base only to crash and burn in the 11th hour. And now, he appears to be on the verge of going into a make or break year minus a point guard. Yesterday 2014 PG Chris Chiozza chose Florida. So, Cuonzo's search for a quality point guard is coming up dry. This doesn't even call into account the immediate, pressing need for a decent point guard this spring. Even in places where hope springs it's been a rough go on the Vol fan. Baseball is on the verge of doing the unthinkable. I know they are young. We all get that. I also know Dave Serrano is a great baseball guy. Even he agrees that you just can't finish out of the money in regards to the SEC Baseball Tournament. Yet, Tennessee is on verge of doing just that. 12 out of 14 teams go but the Vols have work to do with one series remaining. Missouri holds the final spot at 8-19 in the league while 7-18 Tennessee who hosts Texas A&M this weekend probably needs a sweep. I know the future is bright but baseball this spring like many things on the men's side has been a blight. Football: I thanked Butch Jones yesterday on the air for pitching a perfect game through 7 innings. He's done everything in his power to this point to help UT fans get the taste of the Derek Dooley era out of our mouths. He's been spot on perfect to this point. No doubt about it. And the recruiting has been off the charts. The guy has an infectious way about him. His staff has energy and purpose. But last season is last season. And a 5-7 season should NEVER happen at Tennessee. And it did. And we endured it. And to you the Tennessee fan somebody needs to say I'm sorry. When you look at what we've been through in a school year across all sports it's a miracle that anybody even bothers to care at all. Thanks God for Sam Winterbotham. In 7 years he's got UT Tennis running like a clock. And Tennessee Men's Swimming and Diving finished 4th this year at the SEC Championships. Good stuff. Not great but good. Passable. The Golf program at Tennessee is OK but not great. It's a school year with no SEC Titles on the men's side unless I'm missing something. How can you have this kind of budget and not win the league in something? Not only this but your major sports have been a real mess. This off-season so far in hoops? Are you kidding. UT fans deserve so much better. This is a wonderful place. We are a great people here. We support our teams and our school. We pay top dollar to do so. Sorry is something we never hear from our administration. Somebody needs to say it. Tennessee has been sorry. You've upheld your end of the bargain. They not only aren't delivering but serve up embarrassing off field crap like this latest bimbo eruption far too often. Something needs to change and soon. Until then, one thing to say to you.........I'm sorry.... TB As the Vol Colonel told you first yesterday, Susan Martin was all over the Jenny Wright story. Anything that besmirches athletics is Martin's game. She is such a pest within that university. Link Will Kentucky/Louisville go away soon in football? Link How did Kansas get their man? Link Tennessee sits out the first year of the Big 12 SEC Challenge. Doesn't hurt my feelings. Need to get a point guard soon. Chase Headly is big-time. Has own spread in GQ. Link I really love the honesty of Dave Serrano. He called last night's victory over Morehead State by his guys a 'bad win' Link Fox is going all guns at ESPN. They may be launching two national sports networks at once this summer. Link This would make Mike Rice blush. Link Spurs rolled the Warriors last night. Golden State is very good but may not be ready to take the next step. Link BTW, I noticed an oddity while watching last night's game. Look at the makeup of both rosters and colleges represented and see if you can find what I did. Spurs roster here. Now, Check out the Warriors. Link Florida assistant coach Tim Davis said Saban is 'the devil'. Sounds like a smart guy. Link TB | |||||||||
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Get out to a Pilot Remote to register for our July 13th bus trip to
see the Reds take on the Braves in ATL!
