Quote of the Day. From Cuonzo Martin: "One day, this team will be the last team standing. I really feel that. I don't say that jokingly, I don't say it, like, 'Oh, man, give him another year on his contract.' I say it because I truly believe it.'' I'm not exactly sure how I can believe that so wholeheartedly when the team is 9-10, yet somehow some way, that statement stirs me.

A Leader Emerges. Being the silver lining in a black cloud like Jeronne Maymon was at Vandy has a way of elevating you into a leadership position. Maymon's first words to his troops? Stokes, get your elbows up.

We Figured, but Still. Camouflaged in a recruit's comments is this slightly more definitive indication that Tennessee's defensive coaching changes will bring a change to the scheme: "It was good. We talked about their defense that they're about to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4, how they need more d-linemen, more big d-linemen. They kind of introduced me to Tennessee because I don't know anything about them. So, that was basically it," Briscoe said.

Smokey's Got a New ACL. "The surgery went well with no surprises," said Dr. Darryl Millis, orthopedic surgeon and surgery section chief at UT Veterinary Medical Center. "Smokey is a very fit dog with good muscle tone." Good dog.

How to Break the News. This is a bit insidery, but anyone who's publishing in new media, including both the new dogs and the old dogs with new tricks, should read Black Shoe Diaries' Breaking the News and MGoBlog's Never Be The First To Report Someone's Dead.