Spring in their step
As former UT coach Butch Jones was being announced as an 'intern' on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama, new UT football coach Jeremy Pruitt was getting the Big Orange ball rolling in Knoxville.
Here's TFP Big Orange Beat Beast Dancin' David Cobb's breakdown of the first day.
The action on the field Tuesday and the 14 spring sessions that follow are really immaterial for a UT team that has to rebuild and overhaul so much in so many areas.
In fact, this quote from Cobb's report is a monster statement about what the top three or five items on the checklist pertain to for Pruitt.
"The first thing is we want to become a team," Pruitt said. "We think that's important for us. We want to learn how to practice. We want to see how much knowledge we can retain at each individual position. We want to see who the competitors are. We want to see who handles adversity."
And, if you want more, here's another telling comment from the new UT coach: "To me, getting to know them is getting to know what kind of player they are," Pruitt said. "I think you find out a lot about somebody's personality and their competitive spirit out there on the practice field. There's plenty of time to build relationships and all that. But at the end of the day this is a performance-based industry, so you must perform on the field. Then I think over time, the relationships will take care of themselves."
There are no slogans, thankfully.
There almost assuredly will not be any quick-fix promises either.
And in truth, the hill facing this UT bunch is quite daunting, and it's more than just overcoming the first eight-loss season in program history.
Yes, for Pruitt, focusing on the how - how to practice, how to compete, how to overcome adversity - makes a ton of sense for a lot of reasons.
One of those reasons is if the focus is on how, then the monster questions about the who - painful questions for proud Johnny Vols Fans like, who is going to a difference-maker for this team at any position - and all-too-real knowledge of when - as in when the season starts - can be handled later.
Basketball changes
Wow, this is a pretty sizable shift, even for suggestions.
NBA and USA Basketball announced some sweeping changes for youth basketball leagues. Both organizations understand that not all groups can - or even will - follow these guidelines but still.
Here are some of them:
' Lower goals for younger kids. This is pretty standard in most leagues. The suggestions were 8-foot rims for 7-8 leagues, 9-foot rims for 9-11 (if possible) and 10-foot rims for 12-and-up.
' No zone defenses for ages 11-and-younger. This, according to the leagues, encourages more movement and more player-on-player skill development on offense and defense.
' Small basketballs for younger kids.
' Equal playing time for ages 7-8 and equal playing time in the first three quarters for ages 9-11.
' Shot clocks of 24 seconds for high-school players and 30 seconds for players 12-14. Also, the suggestion was for high school players to play under the international rules used by FIBA.
' And finally, No 3-pointers for 11-and-younger leagues.
Those last two need some discussion. First, we need to be clear that these suggestions are not for high school action as much as they are for the high school kids playing AAU or tournament basketball in the summer. TSSAA and the GHSA and the individual state governing bodies will set the rules for their participating schools. Will the TSSAA, the GHSA, et al. act on these suggestions? Hard to know, but a high school shot clock would be interesting right? (That said, we do not see many schools embracing the FIBA rules that include wider lanes and different 3-point lines.)
As for the no 3-pointers, well, as someone who has coached a wide array of youth basketball, yes, there are not a lot of kids that should be shooting 3s. But shot selection is a coachable skill as much as dribbling and rebounding.
Also, and I know this as both a coach and a daddy, but there are few basketball smiles brighter for kids than making a 3. It's pretty cool.
Thoughts?
Will it work?
We're not sure if any of the three proposed new professional football leagues will work.
We know the XFL made its announcement for a 2020 launch, and Vince McMahon is backing it.
We know that NFL super agent Don Yee, who represents Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo among others, has announced his intention for a new league, which will be focused on a more of developmental league for players who may not want to either go to college or wait three years before getting drafted.
Now comes news of the AAF - the Alliance of American Football - and its announced plans. Here's more.
The AAF - which, in truth, could use a better name - is being founded by Charlie Ebersole, the son of former NBC sports executive, McMahon's former XFL partner and the director of the "30-for-30" documentary on the XFL's failed one season.
The AAF gets serious bonus points for getting the jump on the XFL, starting a year ahead of the McMahon plan. The AAF also gets props for landing a deal for the opener and the title game to be on CBS as well as a weekly game on the CBS Sports Network.
There also are some interesting rule changes involved. Here are some of the basics:
* Eight teams in cities that will be announced in coming months.
* 50 players on each roster, focusing on players who did not make the NFL. (In this area the Feb. 9 opener, a week after the Super Bowl, means rookies will be guys from last year's waiver wires.)
* There will be no TV timeouts in the AAF and there will be 60 percent fewer commercials.
* There will be no kickoffs. (Instead of an onside kick, if teams trailing want to try to convert a fourth-and-10 from its own 35, then they can.)
* The play clock will be 30 seconds.
* Every team will be required to go for two after TDs.
Thoughts?
This and that
- Want to see how the transfer system in college sports should work? Look to Wichita State and how Gregg Marshall allowed a four-star signee named Alex Lomax out of his letter of intent to play for his former coach Penny Hardaway. Here is Marshall's statement: "I have a lot of respect for Alex Lomax and his family. When they chose Wichita State in the fall, over several other very nice offers, my staff and I were honored. Obviously, we take commitments to the Shocker program very seriously, but this is a very unique situation where a young man's mentor and coach since the fifth grade has become a Division I head coach. Allowing him out of his NLOI without any kind of penalty is the right thing to do at this time." If we had more dudes realizing that every situation is different and acting with decency, man, that would go a long way to helping college hoops improve its filth-muck image.
- Tony Romo is making his PGA Tour debut this week. Color us interested. (Here's a look at Romo's clubs. So there's that.) And it's a great call for the folks at the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, a PGA even that is opposite the World Golf Championship event that is also this weekend and has a vast majority of the household names in its field.
- Speaking of the Puntacana Resort & Club Championship here are the tee times with Harris English (7:50 a.m. with Retief Goosen), Keith Mitchell (8:20 with a couple of dudes who have never been in your kitchen) and Stephan Jaeger (1 p.m. eight Len Mattiace, who gave the Masters away to Mike Weir more than a decade ago. Also of note, three former Masters champs - Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman and Weir - are in the same group, too.
- Our man Mark Weidmer is on a roll. Here's another home run column, this one from UTC's pro day catching up with Dy'Kari Hickey, son of Cleveland High all-timer Dante Hickey.
- Speaking of a roll, TFP SEC ace David Paschall is about to be rolling out the bylines. Here's his report on Alabama opening spring practice with a thumb injury heard around the region. And here is Georgia opening spring practice with Kirby already using Smart cliches like "Change is inevitable, but growth is optional" and "We're going to continue to hunt." Ah spring football news conferences.
- Speaking of Paschall, here's his story on Luke List, who made the Match Play field, which tees off this morning. List (a Vandy grad) is in a four-player pod with Justin Thomas (Alabama) and Patton Kizzire (Auburn) as well as Italian Francesco Molinari. Here's betting SEC football is talked more than international futbol.
Today's questions
We mentioned Butch Jones earlier, and there has been some social media jokes tossed around about the actual title for Jones. Well, here's betting at least a few UT fans would be happy to call him an Alabama ASS-istant coach.
Speaking of football strangeness, we'll ask this: Do you think Chattanooga would support a franchise in any of these new professional football leagues? Why or why not?
As for today, March 21, well, 55 years ago today, Alcatraz closed.
Rosie O'Donnell is 56. Adrian Peterson is 33 today.
On this day in 1891, a Hatfield married a McCoy ending the long feud in West Virginia that had lasted 20 years after a pig-stealing accusation.
Matthew Broderick is also 56 today. Broderick, of course, was Ferris Bueller.
Rushmore of actors/actresses who are forever known for their first starring role.
Go, and remember the mailbag.