A week ago today, Jeremy Pruitt was still the head football coach and Phillip Fulmer still the athletic director for the University of Tennessee.

Sometime in the early 2000s, a few years after the Atlanta Braves moved to Turner Field, I got on an elevator one Sunday afternoon to make my way to the press box.

It's time for the Friday mailbag.

Last Vol in the building turn the light out please.

Hey there. You don't know me yet, but I hope you will. I only heard about you a few months ago. There is much excitement and anticipation as the family prepares to meet you.

The praise has been overflowing for the man with a throwing motion that looked akin to unfolding a rusty lawn chair that's missing a bolt or three.

Talk about your Value Meals.

Where do we begin after just another Monday in UT football?

The question came some 17 minutes into the University of Tennessee's 28-minute press conference to address the Monday firing of Jeremy Pruitt as the Vols' football coach.

Tom Brady's win Sunday got him a ticket to his 14th conference championship. (Yes really, it's 14.)

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

According to Evojets' website, chartering a private jet for eight to 10 passengers for a round-trip flight from Knoxville to Los Angeles would reasonably run you somewhere from $30,000 to $35,000.

Let's handle our business first. Deal? Deal.

How about the trio of stars, scorers and fringe personalities the Brooklyn Nets have now assembled.

A record-low number of folks watched the Tide roll THE Buckeyes, as Monday's broadcast averaged 18.65 million viewers across the multitude of ESPN platforms on which it aired.

Let's get this straight: Sometime last week, news surfaced out of Knoxville that the University of Tennessee had put a hiring freeze on the football program due to alleged recruiting violations committed by head coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff.

The 2020 Alabama team had the best offense in the history of college football.

When you're the University of Kentucky basketball program, and your current season began with a 1-6 start for the first time since 1926, the last thing you need is an off-court distraction.

The game and the season for the Tennessee Titans had just ended Sunday afternoon, and emotions were raw for both the home team and the Baltimore Ravens, who left Nashville with a playoff victory.

It could certainly be argued that if not for wise and patient SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, we probably wouldn't have had any kind of college football season, much less the four-team playoff as usual.

I love sports, my friend. Even when they don't love me back. (Which, as an Auburn fan, is a regular happening.)

So, anything happen Wednesday that caught your attention?

The Chargers got record-setting rookie QB Justin Herbert at 6 overall, and more noteworthy he was the third QB off the board.