Blowout Win Cause For Optimism? ... Maybe
By Brian Estes

If you’ve followed the University of Tennessee football program at all over the past eight months, there’s no doubt you’ve heard it all. All the hubbub about new coach Derek Dooley, all the melodrama about former coach Lane Kiffin, and how the Vols are supposed to be just too darn young to compete this season.

Well at long last it’s time to forget about all that. Football season has finally arrived in Rocky Top.

Dooley and crew set out to prove doubters wrong in the season opener against the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. Granted, no one’s going to crown you world beater for vanquishing an Ohio Valley Conference team, but the orange and white jumped on virtually every opportunity in pasting their in-state foe 50-0.

This year’s Vols team returns very few starters. Quarterback Jonathan Crompton wasn’t exactly the greatest player to run through the T, but no one had really stepped up to take the reigns of the QB position headed into fall camp. Another huge loss was that of Eric Berry, who the Kansas City Chiefs selected as their first round draft pick in April.

Though it’s still early, Tennessee may have discovered some key playmakers in running back Tauren Poole and quarterback Matt Simms. Poole led all rushers with 110 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. But it was David Oku who got the ball rolling with five minutes to go in the opening quarter when he darted 44 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Oku finished with 77 yards and a score on six carries.

As you might expect, the defense had a dominant day as well. The highlight reel will belong to Prentiss Waggner, who returned an interception 54 yards to paydirt. But that wasn’t the only standout performance. The defense recorded a safety, three forced fumbles, and held UT-Martin to just 142 yards and three first downs. Waggner led the team with six tackles, while Johnson also had an interception.

However, there were some troubling injuries to the wide receiver unit. Star wideout Gerald Jones injured his left hand, and Dooley estimates he may be out two to three games. Receiver Denarius Moore suffered an ankle injury and could miss time as well. Jones and Moore are two of the major go to guys for the Vols offense, and their absence could be a huge blow to UT’s hopes.

The highlight for UT-Martin may be that they didn’t give up a touchdown on special teams. Julius McNair led the way for the Skyhawks offense with 34 rushing yards on six carries, including a 22-yard scamper. The defense also picked up a fumble recovery and interception.

It seems the immediate impulse is to be jubilant about UT’s chances this year following such a big blowout, but in many ways I’m not so impressed. I’m reminded of how Tennessee pounded Western Kentucky 63-7 last year, then posted a less than stellar 7-6 record. Big opening wins do not a season make. On the field, there were some mistakes that may cost the Volunteers against tougher competition. One of those was a Gerald Jones fumble that gave UT-Martin possession on the Volunteer 36 yard line. There were also some penalties, but nothing huge.

On the other hand, you can’t underestimate the importance of getting out to a good start. Compare it to the 2005 season, when the Vols were picked as preseason national title favorites. UT struggled in its season opener against UAB that year, winning a narrow 17-10 decision in a game that was expected to be a blowout. It perhaps set the tone for the rest of the season, as the Vols stumbled to a 5-6 record.

Will this year’s Volunteers have enough? The reigning Pac-10 champion Oregon Ducks are coming off an even more impressive blowout – a 72-0 rout of New Mexico – and visit Neyland Stadium this week. I’m not going to predict a win against Oregon - the Ducks are deep and experienced, something Tennessee is not.

However, I find it interesting that other teams on UT’s schedule struggled in some of their opening games. Florida played a relatively sloppy game against Miami (Ohio) while breaking in new QB John Brantley. UNC pushed LSU to the limit, and exposed the Tigers defensively. And then there was lowly Jacksonville State, whose two point conversion heard round the world shocked Ole Miss in the grove. In light of Tennessee’s dominant performance, might this be reason for optimism?

One thing’s for sure – there are many teams in the SEC that possess more raw talent than Tennessee. For Dooley and his young squad, the emphasis will have to be on growing up quickly.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
By Ethan Lannom

To tell the story of the MTSU-Minnesota game on Thursday night, let’s first look back to the turmoil that was the Blue Raider offseason.

Coordinators on both sides of the ball left Middle Tennessee for greener pastures. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz took the same position at Mississippi State, while Tony Franklin became the offensive coordinator for Louisiana Tech. Randall McCray and Mike Schultz took over these job vacancies respectively. Also, John Palermo stepped in as defensive line coach after the resignation of Les Herrin. The Blue Raiders did manage to keep head coach Rick Stockstill from going to East Carolina by giving him a $200,000 raise.

I’m not diminishing the talent and effort of these coaching replacements. However, it is difficult to lose the coaches that guided Middle Tennessee to a 10-3 record last year. On top of that, star quarterback Dwight Dasher was suspended by the NCAA for taking a $1,500 loan in violation of NCAA rules. With three new coaches and a first-time starting quarterback in Logan Kilgore, the game looked bleak as the Blue Raiders kicked off to begin the game.

The first drive wasn’t much more promising as Minnesota drove and scored a touchdown with an 11 play, 79-yard drive. Nobody was more nervous to start the game than replacement Logan Kilgore. With less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter, wide receiver Garrett Andrews tipped a pass from Kilgore, and Minnesota got the interception. Fortunately for Middle Tennessee, the defense held and forced the Golden Gophers to punt.

After another failed MT drive, Minnesota scored again on a long drive to extend the lead to 14 points. The Golden Gophers got the ball back, but missed a 39-yard field goal on their next possession to keep the lead at 14. This seemed to ignite the Blue Raiders as they proceeded to score in less than two minutes on a 7-yard run by running back Phillip Tanner.

Middle Tennessee forced Minnesota to punt on its next possession, and Kilgore guided the offense down the field. In just 44 seconds, the Blue Raiders tied the game at 14. Minnesota missed another field goal at the end of the first half, and the score remained 14-14.

Tanner broke a huge run on the opening drive of the second half to the Minnesota 17. The Golden Gopher defense forced Middle Tennessee into a 31-field goal to make the score 17-14.

In the fourth quarter, Minnesota methodically marched to the Blue Raider 2-yard line before being stopped by the MT defense. The 20-yard field goal tied the game at 17 with 14:11 remaining in regulation.

After a short-lived Middle Tennessee drive, Minnesota took the lead with a grinding effort lasting 9:10 to take control 24-17 with 3:09 left in the game.

Even with that effort, the Blue Raiders still had a chance. You know what happens next. In true blue fashion, Middle Tennessee fumbled the game away on the kickoff return before even giving Kilgore the opportunity to win the game. Minnesota held the ball for the final three minutes and took the win 24-17.

A lot of people will blame this loss on the absence of Dwight Dasher, but this is not the case. Kilgore played a great game for his first time out and just had the one unlucky interception. If anything, blame the usually steady Blue Raider defense that allowed the Minnesota offense to stay on the field for 45 minutes of the game. It’s hard to win when your offense has the ball just a fourth of the time.

All things considered, for MTSU to lose three coaches and its Heisman-contending quarterback and only lose by seven to a Big Ten school, it’s really not so bad. Sometimes a team is just a little better than its opponent, and that was the case on Thursday night.

Kili Hood - Staff Writer for
Nashville Newzine Sports

Column for The Nashville Sounds
Baseball Team

Kili's Linked Article Index:
1) There Is A Lot Of Hard Work Going On Behind The Scenes
2) This Is The Time Of Year It Gets Tough      
3) For The Love Of The Game
4) They Say You Can't Go Home Again***
5) The Sounds Should Be Able To Get A Good Chemistry Going***
6) Interview w/ Nashville Sound's Outfielder Trent Oeltjen
7) The Sounds Returned Home***
8 ) "Rained Out" Takes On Whole New Meaning***
9) There's A Whole Lot Of Baseball Left To Play***

It’s Drastically Different From The Big Leagues
By Kili Hood

One of the biggest advantages that fans of minor league baseball teams have is the access they have to the players. It’s drastically different from the big leagues, where the players are rushed through private entrances and rarely have time to stop and sign autographs for fans. The Sounds have had four Autograph Days this season (one of which was rained out), saving the biggest for last – the final home game of the 2010 season.

Despite the rain, and let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be a Sounds game this season without a little rain, over 8,000 fans turned out for the end of the season celebrations at Greer Stadium, including Autograph Day, where players lined the field before the game and met with fans. Sounds players were also out at the opening gates, greeting fans as they entered the stadium for the final time this season.

One of the fans taking advantage of the opportunity was 5 year-old Madison Martin, of Nashville. He was so excited, that he hardly noticed the rain. “I don’t care how hard it rains,” Martin exclaimed, “I’ll wait even if I get all wet!” Once Madison got his hat signed, he was grinning from ear to ear. “This is the coolest thing ever! I wanna be just like them when I grow up. Maybe I can even play here,” Martin gushed.

The players seemed to enjoy the day too, smiling and laughing with the kids (and adults) as they walked through the line. Autograph Day wasn’t the only attraction for the season finale, as the Christian-based group Sonicflood performed a pre-game concert. Throughout the game, fans also had the opportunity to bid on the gameday throwback jerseys, and the winners were presented the jerseys by the players following the conclusion of the game.

And what a game it was! The Sounds certainly wrapped up the home schedule in style, with a convincing 10-1 victory over the New Orleans Zephyrs, highlighted by the team-voted MVP Brendan Katin’s grand slam and 3-run homers, and an outstanding pitching performance by Sounds starting pitcher Josh Butler.

The Sounds hit the road to try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive for the final road trip of the season, starting with five games with the Oklahoma City RedHawks. The team then wraps things up with their final four games in New Orleans against the Zephyrs.

That’s probably why so many sentences in my columns about Vanderbilt sports begin with the word “I.” That, and also I am not a very good sports columnist.

I realized, after the Mississippi State loss, that the proverbial wind was entirely out of my sails. I tried (and, more or less, succeeded in) summoning a small breeze through relentless youtubing of great Vanderbilt moments. Oh, times were good, and possibilities endless.

I tried to think positively, especially about AJ Ogilvy. There’s been a tendency among many (myself admittedly included) to come down on Ogilvy for recent struggles (himself admittedly playing poorly).

I forgive Ogilvy any errors for many reasons:
• He was not the biggest letdown in the Murray State game.
• He seems like a very sensitive guy.
• Bashing on college kids, though my natural tendency, is not cool, unless they are thugs who do not do the things normal college kids do (read: go to class, learn, not carry guns and sell drugs [read: the “college kids” playing basketball at UT and UK ((by the way, Tennessee’s season is not inspiring. It is sad and embarrassing.))]).

Now, unfortunately, I have one person who, I think, can be blamed for both losses, and, if you must, bashed a bit for them:
Kevin Stallings
Gasp!
Now. Before you jump on me (or Stallings) consider this:
• Stallings is my favorite coach in the world, and I don’t want anyone else at the helm, ever, unless, perhaps, Stallings voluntarily leaves for Purdue and UNC boots Roy Williams.
• I am blaming Stallings for the final two losses of the 2010 season. I would also readily blame Stallings for every win of the 2010 season.
• Kevin Stallings is the man.

Both of those final losses were poorly coached. In both games, we had significant advantages that we failed to exploit through our game plan. Keeping Beal out of most of the Miss State game? Putting Jenkins in the post? Having Goulbourne defending the final shot of the Murray State game? Keeping AJ on the bench? PRESSING? AGAINST A TEAM OF GUARDS?

For both of those games, I struggled to find moments where the person I wanted with the ball had the ball. It was uncharacteristically bad Stallings coaching.

I’ve said before that this team has had a leadership issue. Our athletic leaders—Beal, Taylor, and Ogilvy—have struggled to fill that void, which is not entirely anyone’s fault. In all my interactions with Beal, I’ve found him to be quiet; in games, he rarely got vocal and emotional on the court. Taylor, too, seems to be an incredibly gifted player, but not much of a commander or emotional leader. And Ogilvy, despite his penchant for double technicals, rarely seems to be at the helm.

But the man who is paid quite a bit of money to be this team’s leader, Kevin Stallings, must be held accountable, on some level, for this issue.

In early games, the team would come out flat and discombobulated, only to put together some incredible second halves. Late in the season, the second halves dropped off. I have to think that Stallings, in some way, isn’t motivating the team the way some coaches do.

Part of that is what I love about Kevin Stallings: he’s a nuts-and-bolts, blue-collar coach. He’s not interested in loudmouths or thugs on his team, and he’s not interested in stirring controversy or getting infractions. He just loves the game of basketball, and for the most part, his coaching style shows that. Consider the Stallings time-out style: always reluctant to call time outs to “cool off” the other team, never reluctant to use a time-out to make mechanical adjustments. The prior shows a belief in biorhythms and mild superstition. The latter shows a belief in schemes, matchups, mechanics.

It’s that non-flashy, tried-and-true methodology that I love about Stallings. So I don’t really want him to change his style.

But this team was a perfect reflection of that style: impressive on paper, but often flat, disinterested, and cold, unprepared for a hot little team to put our pants on the ground. It’s how we played in every one of our losses, no matter the stakes.

So for “NEXT YEAR” to be the “NEXT YEAR” we’re all dreaming of, Stallings needs to look through his personnel and find an emotional leader. Steve Tchiengang plays with heart, but he isn’t enough of an athletic leader to rally these troops. John Jenkins, perhaps, could have the mix of voice, skill, and emotion to lead the team, but he still feels young to me.
Who’s it gonna be?

This Chick LIVES For Football Season.
By Staff Writer for Nashville Newzine Sports
Bethany Reynolds/Titans Chick

Last Saturday night around six p.m., I began to shoo my family out of our family room. I cleared up the pile of books, sheet music, lesson plans and grade books from earlier that day. I was tired but also fired up. I cooked some popcorn and got a Diet Rite from the fridge (five years ago it would have been a Miller Lite). I turned on our 42-inch plasma TV and muted the sound. I turned on my little portable radio to 103.3. Hearing the voices of the Mike Keith and Frank Wychek, my cats ran for cover, as they knew it is that time of year again - when their loving mother turns into a screaming lunatic for three hours every week.

It is game time. My time! This chick LIVES for football season.