Rocky Top Talking Points: Abominable Smurfs edition

by Joel Hollingsworth on Feb 26, 2007 7:00 AM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Basketball

CornShine. First off, many thanks to Corn from a Jar for keeping this thing thriving while I was attending a conference and flirting with personal bankruptcy in Orlando this past week. Also, thanks to Aerobab for keeping the conversation lively. I was able to check in now and then, and it was really cool to be a reader for awhile. Sounds like I missed a couple of really good games, though.
Experimenting with ethanol. Speaking of corn and conversations, SBN is beta testing a new commenting system that should make the game day open threads even better by eliminating the need to refresh. Head on over to Corn Nation to check it out. We're actively soliciting feedback, so leave your thoughts over there or send them to me, and I'll get them to the right people.
Return of the Abomination. So how big is tomorrow night's game against The Abomination? I think it's setting up quite nicely to be an enormous party despite the fact that it's not all that important. Florida should win. After all, they are the better team, and they clobbered us last time. But that was then, at their place, against a Discombobulator-less (say that out loud! It's fun!) Tennessee team. This is now, and the Gators, having lost their last two away games, are fighting for a No. 1 seed in The Tournament. Tennessee, on the other hand, has locked up its bid to March Madness, and any posturing with regard to seeding for the Vols is probably marginal. Even if Tennessee loses, the seed-planters will likely give them credit for a "good loss." If Florida loses, they will no doubt be penalized. In short, all of the pressure is on Florida, and our guys can just go out and have fun. I'm looking forward to it. Oh, and Lady Vols' coach Pat Summit has a secret that she's going to unveil prior to tip off. So that could be fun, too.
Perfect. Speaking of the Lady Vols, they beat Vanderbilt yesterday to finish 14-0 in the SEC. Perfect.
Quote of the Day. Football coach Phillip Fulmer on the team's secondary, which includes Marsalous Johnson and Antonio Gaines, both of whom stand only 5'9":
That's kind of the smurf patrol right there, all those little guys running around. Y'all remember the series, The Rat Patrol? You know, they run around and kill everybody all the time? That's what I want them to be, a little pack of smurfs just going around and kicking everybody's butt.

Let's hope they're more like Gremlins than Smurfs.
Pop quiz. Which two college football teams have the most former players at the 2007 NFL Combine? Florida (13) and Tennessee (9). Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Texas each have eight.
Which nine players from Tennessee are there? Glad you asked:
- Cory Anderson
- Justin Harrell
- "Claude" McBride (who knew?)
- Robert Meachem
- Marvin Mitchell
- Arron Sears
- Bret Smith
- Jayson Swain
- Jonathan Wade
All for now. Have a great day, and as always, thanks for reading!

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That's a pretty good Fulmer quote, but I think Pearl's from Dane's "Glue" article is the quote of the year. For those who didn't read it, it goes a little somethin' like this:

"Dane embodies everything that is good about intercollegiate athletics. The only thing that's missing is he has yet to propose to marry my daughter. That, and his shooting percentage lately."

Having The Hulk as your Father-in-Law...now THAT'S SCARRY!

by Aerobab on Feb 26, 2007 9:32 PM EST reply actions