From a ton of you folks:
Q: So, what do we make of Tennessee now?
Gang -
Completely fair question and one that is staggeringly reverent this morning at a time when I thought Butch and Co. would be basking in the glow of a 52-13 win.
Thursday night was gross, and if the front seven defensively had not shut the door, the Vols' most anticipated season in more than a decade would have been done before Labor Day.
Without being over the top, UT was dang, Dang, DANG lucky to win Thursday night. And the fact that Butch Jones said there is no such thing as a "frustrating win" means he is completely comfortable telling the media mass anything he wants. That's complete and total crap. Ask any UT fan from Big Jim Haslam to Peyton Manning to Brad Shepard's pre-K'er, and that was the fundamental definition of a frustrating win. (There's ultimately not a 'disappointing' win, but that's a huge divide.)
In fact, Butch, if you are not frustrated by that winning performance from these Vols, well, we need to recalibrate the expectations from Atlanta in December and somewhere big time in January to Birmingham around Christmas.
In the grand scheme of things Tennessee won the game, and in that scheme maybe that's all that matters.
But the Vols were dang lucky to escape, and if their coach doesn't realize it, well, that may be an even bigger problem than the offensive line getting dominated by a Sun Belt front seven.
Good times. Happy Game Day everyone.
Georgia redshirt junior long snapper Trent Frix (69) has been awarded a scholarship by first-year Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart.---
From TT:
Q: OK, I'm sick and tired of hearing about how you think the UT Vowels are going to cruise in the East. Georgia is still talented and UT can't beat Florida. When did you become a UT homer?
-TT
Got to say that the fact that you sent this question on Wednesday and then the 'Vowels' dropped a floater on Thursdaynight seems almost fitting.
Don't believe that we've ever really been a UT homer, but we were way off in the thought that UT was going to put a 30-plus-point win on the board.
And now, in the morning light, the overarching truth is that come December, a 20-13 overtime win over App State is at its core still a win.
That said, the question surely is fair to ask, as TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer did this morning, if these Vols are who we believed them to be? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/columns/story/2016/sep/02/wiedmer-are-vols-still-who-we-thought-they-we/384675/
Maybe they purposely called a conservative game. Maybe they had first-game jitters. Maybe the Mountaineers, who looked to be every bit the Vols equal and by almost every measure deserved to win the game, would finish in the top half of the SEC East.
All of those maybes can be discussed and debated.
But, beyond the fact that winning is always better than losing, and it's easy to forget that the Vols are 1-0 no matter how much they likely deserved to be 0-1, this much is certain: We have way more questions about this Tennessee this morning than we did 24 hours ago.
FILE - In this Dec. 6, 1973, file photo, Joe Paterno, head coach of the Penn State football team, clutches the Lambert Trophy in New York, after it was awarded to his team as emblematic of collegiate grid supremacy in the East. Legends tend to linger in college football even after they are gone. At Penn State, getting out from under Paterno's shadow is more complicated than the typical transition from a coaching giant. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff, File) ---
From Larry H:
OK, they are honoring Joe Paterno later this month, and I was wondering what are your thoughts about that. As you would say, "Discuss."
-Larry
Personally, I think it's a dreadful idea and one that gets stopped before it takes off.
Especially considering the new information from unsealed court testimony through the years. Part of that testimony includes a man telling the court, under oath, that he told Joe Fraud that Jerry Sandusky had tried to molest him at a football camp in 1976.
Joe Fraud's answer, according to the sworn testimony from the man, was along the lines of "I don't have time for that, I have a season to prepare for."
If that's even roughly close to the truth, it's unfathomable, inexcusable and down right immoral. And to honor Joe Fraud after the curtain has been pulled back is a sad statement on Penn State in particular and the priorities of the college system in general.
Nevermind the fact, it stretches's staggering to believe that Joe Fraud could have worked as closely as he did for as long as he did with the monster that was Jerry Sandusky without knowing. Now add in the testimony from the last year or so, and there's simply no doubt that Joe Fraud stood by while Sanducky preyed on countless numbers of boys through the years.
And Penn State is standing by the Fraud who stood by the monster.
The entire school should be embarrassed.
Heck, we have safe spaces on college campuses because some students are intimidated by chalk messages of this candidate or that social cause.
But no one is going to step forward and do or say anything about a state-funded university honoring a paper champion who did nothing while boys were being raped and molested. Makes perfect sense.
Of course if someone at Penn State used the wrong pronoun or was not allowed to use a certain bathroom, well, that would mobilize the troops for sure.
Adrienne (Diane Lane) makes dinner for Paul (Richard Gere) in "Nights iin Rodanthe."---
From Robin:
Q: Why have you stopped updating the Rushmores? That's one of the main reasons I read your column each morning.
-Robin
Completely fair question. And one that we intend to be better about.
Side note: This is not an excuse just a statement of fact; we have suffered through a really bad week of computer issues. All is on the mend now, so there's absolutely no reason we can't participate in the back-and-forth and the Rushmores.
Let's recap this week. Deal? Deal.
Thursday was the Rushmore of Ships: We'll go Titantic, the Bismarck, the U.S.S. Constitution and of course the S.S. Minnow, which narrowly edged the Flying Wasp.
Rushmore of Richard Gere movies: Pretty Woman, Officer and a Gentleman, Primal Fear and Chicago.
Rushmore of modern-day comedies (last 20 years): Hangover, Old School, Something About Mary, Wedding Crashers.
Rushmore of QB families: Mannings, Simms, Greises, Lucks.
Enjoy an amazing Saturday.