5-at-10: UT's new coach, Braves, NBA playoffs and Rushmore of patriotic sports moments

Morning gang. How's your mom and 'em?

Great. remember Friday's mailbag. From the "talks too much" studios if we can believe (in the children, teach them well and let them lead the way), we can achieve. Be the ball Danny.

photo Vols T logo

UT hoops

So there are whispers and roars that Donnie Tyndall is the next UT hoops coach. No, not that one - the other Donnie Tyndall. So it goes, and it justifies the concern of running of Cuonzo 'The Conz' Martin when the answer to the question of 'Who you going to get?' is Donnie Tyndall. (And for clarity, Martin left UT for Cal, but it's fair to say there was some running off. Not a full blown R-U-N-N-O-F-T, but there were 36,000-plus willing to Volunteer to drive The Conz to the airport.)

So what do we know about The Don. We know that when he is denied one favor, he never asks for another. We know if you cross him, you could find a horse head in your bed. We know that he is a a superstitious man, and if some unlucky accident should befall Michael, if he should get shot in the head by a police officer, or if he should hang himself in his jail cell, or if he's struck by a bolt of lightning, then The Don is going to blame some of the people in this room. And that he does not forgive. But that aside, let The Don say that he swears, on the souls of my grandchildren, that he will not be the one who will break the peace we have made here today.

Well, that's good stuff. Wait. That's Don Corleone. As for The Donn, well, this is the place to be.

Here's a video of The Donn doing the Harlem Shake. Here's the pertinent info we gleaned from the stats of his Southern Miss team that won 27 games last year: The scored more than 71 points a game with four players averaging in double figures. They were 21st nationally in steals. That screams up-tempo, sharing the basketball and pressure.

The Donn will be introduced at 2 p.m. according to UT officials. And that's what we have - and it appears what Tennessee was left with considering the various folks that either declined UT's interest at the very start (Hi, Gregg Marshall) or pulled out of the running because of contract details (Hey, it's Michael White).

And as our man Weeds wrote today, the attention of these UT moves falls on Dave Hart's desk. If The Donn experiment works, great. If not, well, then the UT supports do not forgive.

The questions for Hart will be even greater considering this speed bump in Tyndall's past. His transgressions at Morehead State are documented and seem pretty serious.

Which begs the question: If Hart was going to look the other way about past indiscretion, why not go with the devil you know and the one your fan base loves despite his flaws?

But on this first day, let's enjoy the peace we have made here today.

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photo Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel walks off the mound after pitching the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins in this July 4, 2013 file photo.

Braves

Atlanta is a resilient bunch. The Braves, built around a torrid starting rotation that is simply killing, find ways to win regardless of the obstacles.

After Craig Kimbrel allowed an unearned run in the ninth - he struck out the side with runners on second and third and no one out to keep the game tied - Evan Gattis hit a two-run walk-off homer for a 4-2 win over Miami. The Braves are 13-6 overall and lead the Nationals by 2.5 games.

The good: Next game, same theme. The starting pitching has been superb. Julio Teheran went seven strong, allowing one run - a solo homer to Garrett Jones - while throwing more than 70 percent of his pitches (67-of-92) for strikes. Crazy good.

The bad: The Braves made three more errors. It's the second consecutive time that's happened, and the Braves are lucky it did not cost them the game.

The Uggla: Dan Uggla went 1-for-5 and scored the game-winning run in front of Gattis' walk-off homer. He also made an error - his sixth in 19 games, which is less than good - and sits at .232 on the season.

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The Grizzlies

And then that happened. Well, alrighty then.

The Memphis Grizzlies have moxie. Flat out juevos.

Say it with us: BEE-NO Udrih. BEE-NO. BEE-NO.

The Grizz pulled even at a game a piece against the OKC Thunder because they refused to go away. They refused to let the raucous Thunder crowd get to them. They refused to let any of the dozen momentum changing moments in the fourth quarter sway the mission. They even overcame a did-you-see-that amazing, fall-away 3 (plus the foul) by Kevin Durant that cut a 5 point lead to 1 with 18 seconds left as the Thunder rallied to force OT

They also capitalized on a rare off-night for soon-to-be crowned MVP Kevin Durant, who was 12-of-28 from the field and is 9-of-25 in the series shooting against super-pest Tony Allen.

So the Grizz even the deal heading back to Memphis.

Game on.

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This and that

- Wow, the Clippers responded to letting Game 1 get away against the Warriors. L.A. dropped a 40-point Game 2 win on Golden State. Still, the Warriors accomplished their mission.

- Seattle traded for Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor, which begs two quick questions: How will the Seahawks use the multi-skilled but pass-limited Pryor as a back-up to Russell Wilson? They have options, which is nice. Also, how do the Seahawks continue to make moves that impress? A seventh-rounder for Pryor? Why not?

- Arkansas is changing its uniforms. Here's the new look. Now if they could change their roster.

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Today's question

There's a slew to discuss.

Did UT make a good hire? Is The Donn better than The Conz?

If you still need a talking point, how about this:

Meb Keflezighi won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American to do it since 1983. And after last year's bombing and tragedy, the entire experience was simply outstanding.

So, what's our Rushmore of patriotic sports moments? We can all agree that the 1980 hockey team beating the Soviets is far left, but else do we have?

Discuss.

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