I won’t be able to watch the game this weekend. I have tickets to the Northwest Arkansas LPGA Championship

Critter has taken a liking to golf so she gets priority, even over my rampant fandom

This year is no different. A big help in the work game from the fans at RockyTopTalk who gave suggestions for audio track!

With a Internet handle like mine you get to have a little creative licensing on how you title articles. Especially when the article pertains to ones predictions on players for the up coming season.

Totally apropos of nothing, and with little to no technical background, knowledge, formal data or engineering ability I decided to rattle off what I consider to be the Five players whom I think will be our Zephyr‘s, or players who will work deep in hostile territory, create plays, and otherwise be the sleeper agents of our 2011 Tennessee Volunteers line up.

So come on! Drink the Dool-Aid! Kick back! If you missed my first prediction you can check it out here. Grab a cold frosty  and join me as we embark upon the yellow brick road of fandom, as we take our second of five trips towards my 2011 breakout player predictions.

At the end of the year we can compare my totally inane, and completely without any rhyme or reason for picking these guys against the experts and we can all point and laugh at me together.

Now I didn’t pick Mr. Brewer because he is from the state of Georgia.

No sir.

I would not stoop low on bended knee to otherwise reduce myself by selecting somebody just because the hail from what I more or less consider my home state.

The fact the guy allegedly screwed up royally at the beginning of this year has nothing to do with his selection this year. He did his time, Dooley cleared him, lets move on shall we?

Scouts honor.

At 6 ft 5 and 215 pounds, I chose this Defense Back for a different reason all together.

For once I’m breaking out the calculator.

This big ol fella started 6 games last season.

In those 6 games he walked away with 20 tackles, 10 Assists, a tackle for a loss and a 3 yard Punt Defense.

He also scored a fumble recovery and a pass break up.

Did you know he was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft as a 2nd round pick?

I detest baseball. Don’t get me started. But I found it interesting.

So why would I pick this guy for a prediction?

Because a big chunk of his stats up there took place in the last 3 games of the year, including the game against North Carolina in the Bowl. Which tells me that he was getting better at his position.

The next thing is speed.

The average speed of a Major League Baseball Player is around 4 seconds and under.

By comparison, our beloved Eric Berry clocked in at 4.4during scouting.

Brewer? 4.12

Dude is smoke on Adidas and if he’s getting his hands to where they need to be this is going to be one bad hombre in our back field.

Combined with a 32inch leap he may not be the highest reaching player, but at 215 he won’t be the smallest or the slowest. Once you get something that big rolling down, it’s going to be a heckuva crunch at impact. Just ask North Carolina’s Tight End.

His personal life aside, he has all the makings of a solid defender who could be a cornerstone in our defense in my opinion.

He just needs to stay on this side of that straight and narrow.

With a Internet handle like mine you get to have a little creative licensing on how you title articles. Especially when the article pertains to ones predictions on players for the up coming season.

Totally apropos of nothing, and with little to no technical background, knowledge, formal data or engineering ability I decided to rattle off what I consider to be the Five players whom I think will be our Zephyr‘s, or players who will work deep in hostile territory, create plays, and otherwise be the sleeper agents of our 2011 Tennessee Volunteers line up.

So come on! Drink the Dool-Aid! Kick back! Grab a cold frosty  and join me as we embark upon the yellow brick road of fandom, as we take our first of five trips towards my 2011 breakout player predictions.

At the end of the year we can compare my totally inane, and completely without any rhyme or reason for picking these guys against the experts and we can all point and laugh at me together.

Player number one for my predictions is none other than Zach Rogers.

Standing 6ft 2 inches and coming in at 170 Lbs Rogers came on to the field during dark times the last two years.

The UT website is showing that now he has gained 10 lbs and lost 2 inches. So either he has been pumping and at some point Dooley chewed 2 inches off him or someone got a typo somewhere.

But what is not a typo is what he did on the field.

14 receptions for over 200 yards, the longest UAB at a cool 72 yards. He even managed to squeeze a  touchdown in there.

And who can forget the play in 2009 against Georgia?

Where he shows that for a big guy, he can move, and whats more he’s going to force defenders to bring 2 or more to stop him once he’s got the ball.

In fact it looked like he was ready to light the field on fire until he got hurt during our game with Vanderbilt.

Intro 2011.

Zach is listed on our Roster currently and from all indicators looks as if he is ready to show us what he was denied a chance to do last year.

The down side? Injuries. Even the UT trainers call his body frail. But with that extra poundage comes one of two things, cushion or more damage. For certain his frame can handle the weight, whats not for certain is how beneficial it will be yet. If the weight and work he has put in to beefing up: look out. This man could be a dangerous player to have in a slot, and defenders could seriously not look forward to having those legs churning at them at full throttle.

Charlie Baggett agrees.

“I’m very hopeful that Zach will be able to play quite a bit this year and contribute in a lot of different ways,” Baggett said. “He can play outside, he can play inside, he can get deep. He has a lot of skills, but he just has not been able to stay healthy. Hopefully he can do that this year. He didn’t weigh very much and he wasn’t as strong as he needed to be to play at this level, but he has really improved that over the course of one year. If he continues to progress like he has the first few years I think he can contribute quite a bit for us this year. In fact I’m expecting it.”

Thusly my prediction?

Look for this guy to make big plays, when it counts. If he stays healthy he will be more than just a weapon, he will be an asset. Whats more his experience will come in very handy as a resource to the other players around him.

And whether we admit it, like it, or not, we are still a young team, and every bit of experience counts right now.

However, one will end up in the junk yard this week and the other might gain national prominence and be assured longevity.

For those located in Hawaii, or in Tennessee both are landmarks that are easily remembered and well known.

The Honolulu TV Tower has been a landmark since 1962

Honolulu is scheduled this month to lose the radio and TV broadcast tower that has stood in its urban core since 1962, according to Broadcast Engineering.

Crews have been attempting to take down the 432-foot tower since October of last year but have so far been stymied by adverse weather and the lengthy process of unseating pilings that reach 66 feet underground.

A crew from Sky Jack Communications, in Hanapepe, HI started dismantling the structure in October of last year and were supposed to be finished by now, but weather conditions and structural challenges have held up consistent progress.

The painstaking process of bringing a tower down in a dense urban area forced crews to remove the 70-foot mast and cut it into 1,500-pound pieces before lowering it to the ground. Crews are now working on the tower itself, unbolting the legs in smaller sections and lowering them to the ground.

“We’re taking this down in a neighborhood with people walking underneath on the sidewalk and cars going by on the street,” Rick Blangiardi, general manager of Hawaii News Now, a Raycom Media company.

The tower appears to be a victim of consolidation in the broadcast industry. It was used to air digital TV signals for KGMB-TV (CBS) before it combined news operations with two other stations, KHNL (NBC) and KFVE, and collocated at KHNL’s facility, which overlooks downtown Honolulu. The tower site and studios were purchased by a developer for $12.35 million and will be converted into 17,000 square feet of commercial space.

Mean while the WSM Tower (see my write up on the WSM Tower, including my own ascension) in Brentwood, TN is looking to go another route entirely.

If Tennessee’s State Review Board recommends it, and the U.S. Department of Interior agrees, Brentwood’s iconic WSM transmitting tower at Concord Road and Interstate 65 will become the newest historic site on the register. It was built in 1932.

On Wednesday, the State Review Board will meet to discuss whether the radio tower and transmission complex, plus eight other proposed Tennessee sites, should be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For almost 80 years, the WSM-AM 650 radio antenna on Concord Road has transmitted a signal that has brought The Grand Ole Opry to the world.

WSM, which first went on the air in 1925, started using the tower on Oct. 5, 1932. Previously, the station started using a much smaller tower in Nashville.

A local historian said the tower’s installing contractor hired out mules in the area to pull the cabling that would erect the antenna.
In the early years, broadcasts came from a studio at Seventh Avenue and Union Street in Nashville and were carried to Brentwood and the tower through analog telephone lines.

Today, WSM transmits from a studio at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center via digital phone connection.

When it was built, the Brentwood tower was the tallest in North America. Originally, the diamond-shaped Blaw-Knox tower was 878 feet, but the top 70 feet were removed in 1939 to provide better reception.

The Blaw-Knox company was a manufacturer of steel structures and construction equipment based in Pittsburgh, Penn. The company was best known for its radio towers, most of which were constructed during the 1930s in the United States.

WSM Broadcast Tower, Nashville, TN taken by yours truly

Although Blaw-Knox designed and built many kinds of towers, the term Blaw-Knox tower usually refers to the company’s unusual “diamond cantilever” design, which is held upright by guy wires attached only at the vertical center of the mast, where its cross-section is widest.

Hat tip Wireless Estimator

Before I start let me say this: What Jackson did was inexcusable.

The Late hit by Tomlinson? Also poor.

However.

WHAT KIND OF MONKEY MOLESTING GOAT HUMPING REFEREE DECLARES THE GAME OVER THEN STARTS IT AGAIN!?!?

WHAT IS THIS?? !)@#$%^ LITTLE #$%^&*( LEAGUE!?

Big 10/Big12 what ever the fuck they call themselves, their referee’s are neither Legends or Leaders.

!@#$%^&

For that bone headed, inane, candy ass, pathetic, lousy excuse for play calling both in the UT vs UNC and the KState vs Syracuse games, the Big10/12 (which in either figure probably represents their combined IQ) Officiating crews earn the last What a Weasel Award from 2010.

If you are a fan of Tennessee or Alabama football there are two rules to live by: Don”t get married on the
third Saturday in October, and try not to die — because in either case, the
preacher might not show. For the href="http://govolsxtra.com/news/2007/oct/15/no-national-spotlight-vols-vs-crimson-tide-be-regi">first
time since 1988 the Third Saturday in October will not be
televised.

But What exactly is the 3rd Saturday in October? For those who don’t know, it’s the day that University
of Tennessee Volunteers plays against University of Alabama Crimson
Tide. And it’s game that dates back to1928.

On November 18, 1901, the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee first locked horns on a football field. At the contest’s end, the score was tied, nothing had been resolved, and about two thousand fans were on the field at Tuscaloosa, fighting.

Since that day the Tennessee-Alabama game has developed into one of the premier football rivalries in the nation. To many of the faithful, it is much more than a game — it is a crusade. The intensity with which these games have been waged makes victory as satisfying as the warm crimson and orange leaves that dance in Knoxville”s cool Smoky Mountain breezes. Defeat, however, is more bitter than the choking smoke of
Birmingham’s steel mills.

Beginning in 1928, the annual game has been played on the Third Saturday in October, and the contest has
produced enough heroes to fill several books.From Wallace Wade,Frank Thomas, Red Drew, Paul “Bear”
Bryant, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, and Mike Dubose of Alabama, to Robert Neyland, Bowden Wyatt, Doug Dickey, Bill Battle, Johnny Majors, and Phil Fulmer of Tennessee, the game has been directed by legendary coaches and played by heroic young men who have risen to greatness on the third Saturday in
October.

This is one of the greatest rivalries in college football, mostly because of the great coaches and players who have taken part in it. Of course, the two coaches that come to mind are Bear Bryant and General Robert Neyland.

Like most notable rivalries, it has a history characterized by wildly improbable upsets, high-stakes games, and intense passion. The rivalry dates back to the 1920s. The state schools of the border states have faced off many times with the winner often going on to win the SEC.

In the 1950”s, Bear Bryant started the tradition of passing out victory cigars after a victory over Tennessee. There are two stories that exemplify the effect Neyland and Bryant had as the coach of their respective
programs. Lindsey Nelson, the famous announcer and Tennessee graduate, was waiting for Neyland with two former Tennessee players after the 1952 Sugar Bowl, which the Vols had lost, 28-13, to Maryland.
One of the former players was smoking, and the minute Neyland came out of the dressing room, the player dropped the cigarette and stomped on it so Neyland wouldn’t see him smoking. Nelson turned to the player and said,”You don’t have to do that — you don”t play for him anymore.”The player replied, “You know that, and I know that, but I don”t think the General knows that”

After Joe Namath won the Super Bowl and was the toast of Broadway, Namath talked to Paul Zimmerman of
the New York Post. In the interview he told Zimmerman, “The Bear always said defense won games.” The next time Namath saw Zimmerman, he claimed to he was mis-quoted. Zimmerman said, “That’s what you said
about the defense.” Namath answered, “Yes, I said that about
the defense, but I never said ”Bear.” I either called him Coach Bryant or Mr.
Bryant, but I never called him ”Bear”.

Yessir.
It’s safe to say that some folks in Tennessee href="http://www.sectalk.com/boards/sec-football-talk/12506-third-saturday-october.html">Hate
‘BamaBut nobody hates the game.

And if someone don’t televise it, yours truly may be in the news for standing on top of his home with numerous antenna’s and dish’s trying to steal it from someone.

I got to Knoxville Friday around 18:00. Got checked in to my hotel and unpacked ready to rock and roll.

Being the glutton for punishment that I am I immediately headed for Cumberland.

The Cal Ecker Band was the live venue of the night and they rocked, absolutely rocked. I bet they played Rocky Top a half dozen time in the almost 8 hours I was in the club, with the entire room screaming the song at the tops of their lungs.

I partied out at The Tin Roof until about 15 till 3 am. I was pumped, tired, blitzed and psyched all at once. (I have since learned that there is a Tin Roof in Nashville, which means at some point I may have to check it out) I wandered back to my truck and drug my exhausted carcass in to my hotel room at about 03:30.

****

<-The best damn shirt of the night!

****

06:00. Alarm goes off and I’m up and at them again. Cold shower, hot coffee, throw my duster on since its raining and head down the stairs witht he music from last night still ringing in my ears.

Grab some biscuits from the continental breakfast. One thing I have learned from years of road work: The reason why they call it a continental breakfast? Eat enough of them and you become the size of one. My present frame not withstanding I was in the truck and headed to Neyland by 8 am.

I have a spot on Maplehurst that never let me down. I parked the truck and headed for the Stadium. Picked up some spending cash from the ATM line, and grabbed my tickets from the Will Call gate.

I made a bee line for the Volunteer Village. I can almost always get some good souvenirs here and you can usually get autographs as well later.

The Tennessee Dance Team

Here is where I began to get nervous. While it was early there was still people milling about fairly well. A good sized crowd had gathered. The Tennessee Dance Team was present and they tried to get several cheers started, but the reaction was muted at best. Out of about 70 people present, maybe 3 responded, myself one of them. I began to worry. This was not typical of my past experiences on such hallowed ground as campus.

Smokey arrived, and attempted to get a rise out of fans. Posing for numerous pictures, and even going so far as to harass the Game Radio Announcers he managed to bring a almost silent crowd of the lethargy that seemed to permeate the area.

Still the crowd remained solemn.

The mood was quaint, people milled about. Children got their face painted, but still it was almost as if over 100,000 people as one stood on baited breath: will we win? Will we fall at home?

I lined up with the rest for the Vol Walk. Most felt as I did. We wanted win, but a loss was not going to surprise us. But we wanted the win.

Scalpers were out in force “Hey man, sell me your ticket?” I must have looked perplexed based on his reaction to my face but I asked for curiosities sake “How much?”. After all it had drizzled all morning, and the three hour drive to Nashville on Friday night was akin to driving in a car wash for the same amount of time: torrential down pour. “$20 bucks” came the reply. I was astounded. “I’m gonna sell you a $70 ticket for $20 bucks? Are you kidding?” “Hey man they’re not gonna win anyway.” he retorted and stormed off.

The weather, his reaction, and the crowds mood seemed to all coincide. Cloudy, cool, rainy. Dreary. As if at any moment the thunder would roll in, lightning strike and the rain wash out our hopes for a SEC win. If only we had known just where the lightning would hit.

****

The bus arrived. The lead bus, no sooner than was halted, began to rock to and fro like a thing possessed. The crowd stirred. Smokey and the Band began their march down the corridor of fans, the crowd began to move…

The door finally opened, and out stepped Tennessee’s heralded hopeful: Lane Kiffin. His dress belayed the weather, a suit of Grey. Our Gandalf the Grey would soon become our Gandalf the White, but we did not know it at the time.

The Team itself finally spurred the crowd as the boys came out, dressed in black like undertakers for a soon to be passing UGA, grinning ear to ear, slapping hands, high fives, shaking hands almost as if they knew. They knew what they held in store, they knew they were not going to let Georgia out of Neyland Stadium with a win. They gleamed it, and just exuded it. They crowd roared for the first time in the 3 hours I had stood on campus. It would not be the last.

Pride of the South Land Band

As the entered the stadium, so followed the crowd. Many of us knew we would miss other parts of the entertainment for the day, but I for one was anxious. I wanted the game to start, I wanted the bleachers to rumble, the clouds to part, sun pour down on our team and the score board to sing. I got part of my wish anyway.

My View of the Field

My view was decent, for being in the nose bleed seats. The only real downside is the blasted lights across the field after a while hurt the eyes.

There were a few, like myself, who were anxious for the game to begin. They too had already made themselves comfortable, retrieved their drinks, and had no intention of leaving until Half time.

Hell I didn’t intend to leave then, nor did I.

To the bitter end, I thought to myself. I just didn’t yet realize for whom.

The team gathered at the end of the field. They got fired up, they got motivated. What ever they all did, they need t do it from now on.

Georgia took the field to get warmed up as well.

I took this picture thinking to myself I would caption it “Georgia already playing dead on the field”…apparently it was a precognition, but I’m still proud to use it.

Finally it was to begin.

The Pride of the Southland band took the field.

The opening ceremony a time honored tradition at UT.

The T was formed, and the boys took the field.

Georgia attempted to usurp the moment by taking the field at almost the same time.

Sadly for them, they never took the field, they only borrowed it for a few moments at a time before ultimately plain giving it back to us.

**************

The game began.

It started as a dull roar, that escalated throughout the stadium. The Vols were on the field, not to play dead. Not to make interceptions. But to play ball.

The thunder did come, as 100,000 people beat their feet against the bleachers.

The lightning did blast as fireworks over the Tennessee River exploded again and again.

The rain came too, but only on poor Georgia, who despite every effort, every attempt to get momentum on their side, proved to be an effort in futility.

The scoreboard did hum as the number just kept climbing.

As completed pass, after pass, after run after Hardesty run, after touchdown. The crowd at first seemed unbelieving, almost unwilling to acknowledge what their eyes saw after the first touchdown. After Cromptons first five completed passes, the crowd was beginning to understand. Our boys had come to play frickin football, by gawd.

Someone behind me started the old yell of “WhoooooooooooOOOOAAAAA NELLY!” and then the game was off to the proverbial races with Hardesty leading the way.

The famed flying squirrel took place right in front of me (and 2 stories down) , and I have to confess from our view it looked like he was completely out of bounds. The replay told the story though, and I can assure you no one cheered the less.

Mid game motivation

Half way through the game the boys again got fired up, a breather, a blast of fresh air. Why was it needed I have no idea, but the Orange Volunteer freight train was in full force, and running wide open over a horridly unsuspecting Uga, who while residing on the tracks in process of licking himself, came to be staring in horror as they came bearing down on him without even so much as a whistle for warning.

*******

The game was over. Like a lamb it came in. Like a Lion it went.

The crowd was over the top excited. We had won our first SEC game of the season, we had destroyed a neighboring states team, and low and behold our Quarterback (whom I will readily confess I have been a huge detractor of) suddenly was performing…well like a quarterback! Spirits were high, and by the time I made it to Calhouns, I was tired, elated, and ready for cold beers.

Seasonal Harvest Beer and Hot wings at Calhouns

***

Calhouns holds a sort of special memory for me.

The first time I was married, the ceremony was performed about 30 minutes east of Knoxville, in town called Sevierville. The Justice of the Peace there ran a Feed & Seed store called Temple’s. Thusly I can say I was married in a feed and seed store, standing next to bags of grass seed and fertilizer.

Afterwards we went to dinner. At Calhouns.

I haven’t ate here since. But today was special, and I had hoped to meet some other folks here. Unfortunately between issues with my truck and a parking space, as well as the game itself we missed each other. We’ll work it out in the next run.

Still the beer was indeed cold, and the hot wings divine.

From there it was back Cumberland, and to the Tin Roof where Tony Phillips was playing live that night. It proved to be another late night for yours truly. After several hours of beer, and dancing, it was almost 3 am when last call was sounded.

Once again I crawled my way back to my hotel.

In the end it’s your typical Knoxville game day weekend. Crowded bars, boisterous fans, and myself.

Now as I sit recovering, and trying to concentrate on my work for the day I have to ask myself one very important, burning question.

Should I buy tickets to South Carolina this coming weekend?

Peace out!

That’s how long it’s been since these two former SEC Goliath’s have faced each other with both teams holding losing records. The last time was in 1906.

v00d3w and I struggled to decide what to call this week. We settled on Civil War. Not only because he and I are rooting for the opposing teams, but because Derrick Dooley, the current Tennessee football coach, is the son of Legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley.

Vince Dooley, who still works on the UGA campus a few days week jokes that “My blinds are closed.” referring to his office that overlooks the stadium.

But even that story is not the biggest of this match up.

If Georgia loses to Tennessee this weekend it will be the first time the school has had a 5 game losing streak in 50 years.

These two schools used to be the powerhouses of the SEC. The game, while not outright called a rivalry, was one of the biggest games played, probably second only to Tennessee and Alabama in game quality.

This weekend however, the two teams will be going head to head for a different type of game entirely. Not for championship, bowl contention, or rivalry: but the right to keep from being winless in the SEC.

“There’s a lot of history of us being ranked when we play, and now we’re sitting there without a win in the SEC,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “A little bit different circumstance for each team, but a very important game for both of us.”

Both teams are coming in from nasty losses. Georgia still in shock in being overpowered by non-SEC team Colorado, and Tennessee from a heart breaking and gut-wrenching final seconds loss to LSU.

Even some Bulldog writers are saying that a Dooley is being favored to win…just not the Dooley Dawgs fans love. While some Tennessee fans are predicting a Georgia win. Name a game where both fans are predicting the other team?

Both teams want, no need a win, badly. As much for their teams moral as for their conference record. Both teams have struggled on and off the field, Tennessee with coaches, Georgia with Athletic Directors. Both teams have had players suspended, injuries abound. Both team are starting freshmen, more so than any other teams in the SEC.

Both teams are former champions with a long pedigree and distinguished records, who in the last few years have struggled mightily. The schools combined histories are impressive. UGA was founded in 1785, Tennessee 1794. They have played against each other as far back as 1892. They share more than just a state line, they share a history, a tradition.

Has ever in SEC or NCAA history for that matter, have two teams more alike on a more equal footing and with as much at stake played against each other? I do not think so.

The only real difference is that Derrick Dooley’s job is in tact, while Mark Richts may be threatened at this stage.

Vince will not attend the game this weekend featuring his son. No point in creating a wound should the game go badly. Or for that matter creating one because it goes well.

One thing is for absolute certain: no matter who wins or looses this weekend someone is not going to be happy. Someone will be hurt, and someone will not take it well.

But that’s football, ladies and gentlemen. That’s life and ultimately? That is the SEC.

In the south, football reins supreme. Keep your baseball, and your soccer. Talk to us some other day about your hockey record down here it’s 4th and 1 with 45 left.

Make no mistake, this game is 4and 1 for both teams. it’s about Georgia reclaiming victory after losing to an outsider. About Tennessee gaining a win in the conference. About Georgia breaking a losing streak to Tennessee and Tennessee proving that they are a football team and that they can succeed in the SEC with what they have.

On Saturday, Smokey will face against UGA. A true dog fight.

May the best dog win.

Who cares if we don’t have Eric Berry anymore, the only player who could physically cause Tim Tebow to wet himself?

Who cares if we are in a rebuilding year?

It’s frickin Florida. The only team we hate almost as much as Ala-Damn-Bama. They are the antimatter for everything we stand for. They are like East Coast hippies.

They wear jorts. Sandles. Only thing missing is more tie dye shirts and patchulli.

So with that in mind, lets get our blood pumping. So what if there was a oil spill in that general vicinity a few months ago? I’m craving boiled gator!

GO VOLS!