February 10, 2007, 1:00 EST Thompson-Boling Arena TV: Lincoln Financial Sports Radio: Vol Network Internet Broadcast: Yahoo! Live Stats: CSTV GameTracker Live
16-8, 4-5 NR		16-7, 6-3 #23

Orange Jacket Game, y'all.

So the Abomination defeated the Hulk and the Pantheon last week. No worries. Today, in a battle that really matters, the basketball Vols host our historical archrival across the way, the Vanderbilt Commodores, a team that is strikingly similar to the gamma-irradiated super-genius and Hulk foe known as The Leader.

The Leader

a.k.a. The Vanderbilt Commodores

Samuel Stearns was transformed into The Leader when the radioactive materials he was moving as part of his job with a chemical research plant exploded and exposed him to, you guessed it, gamma radiation. Well, they say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and that was certainly true of Stearns, who was transformed from a high-school dropout with average intelligence into a "a green-skinned, super-intelligent criminal with an oversized brain housed in a towering cranium." The Leader now possesses superhuman mental acumen, perfect recall, and the ability to master any subject, including tactical and strategic scenarios.

Despite his vast intellect, The Leader's arrogance makes him prone to rash and dangerous decisions, and he continues to pick fights with the Hulk despite his many defeats at the hands of the physically superior enraged Hulk.

Vanderbilt, one of the Southern Ivy schools, has won five of its last six games, and that stat, plus road wins over Kentucky and LSU, has them playing with confidence. They are, however, 3-4 away from home, and the Vols are 12-0 at Thompson-Boling Arena, possessing wins over Memphis, Texas, Georgia, and LSU.

Leave your pre-, in-, and post-game thoughts below.

Go Vols! Hulk Smash Leader!