Talking Points (with a little hacking and wheezing thrown in)

by hooper on Apr 23, 2008 10:38 AM EDT in Rocky Top Talking Points Comment 4 comments

Joel is under the weather today. Instead, you get a peek behind the curtain of my cluttered mind of sports randomness. There's lots of news out there for football (which is what we all really care about, after all), but I'll try to pick out a few tibits of loosely-UT-related sports news that you (or XRayVol) haven't already pointed out.

Kiss the Lady Vols / UConn series goodbye for a long, long time. Geno isn't in any mood to reconcile. (I realize I'm speaking to a partisan crowd here, but I became a fan of the Lady Vols and Summitt long before I ever moved out the Mountain Time Zone and had any affilitaion with UT. I can't find any reason to think that Summitt's decision was unreasonable. It was a judgment call and there isn't a perfect right answer, but I can respect her decision. I can also respect Geno's coaching ability and his frustration at losing the series, but he really does not do himself any favors with this tirade. It's like junior high, but with a lot more money involved.)
Cutcliffe is introducing Duke to SEC Spring Practices.
Know thine enemy. A good rundown of how Florida's spring practices are going.

The NFL Draft is coming up. You watching?

I'll try to get to a TV, but it's not certain. The joys of being in college and economizing by not having cable does have its price. If that's the case, I might get a bit of my fix online either through the NFL website or the ESPN website - the traditionalist approach. But I do plan on following SBNation's Mocking the Draft. It's a great time to get used to the new feel of SBNation sites (like Rocky Top Talk someday), and they'll probably update faster than the big boys. The big one to watch will be Jerod Mayo, who MtD has going 40th overall. I think it'll be a bit higher, but you never know.
As you already know, the Dolphins have taken all the fun out of the first round by signing Jake Long. With the Fish taking all the suspense out of their pick and not going with Sean Penix, we now turn our eyes to the Raiders and the Vikings for draft drama.
Yes, those were cheap shots. But when your Denver Broncos (yes, I said "your") decide to test the integrity of their plumbing by flushing a first-day pick down the biffy, you learn to take joy in the pain others experience.

Yes, I'm excited about the draft because I shun the sun and fear physical activity. And it's a fantastic excuse to dredge out one of the best songs ever recorded. H/T to Mike&Mike, who - years ago - found what should be the official NFL Draft theme song:

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Couple things...

I for one, could not possibly care less about losing the regular season game with U Con (that's right, one n. Buncha cheaters.) Anyhoo... I think Pat did the right thing by showing her dissaproval of Auriemma's actions by saying she didn't want to have anything more to do with him. That's what you do with a shady associate, cut 'em loose. And as far as Duke goes, remembering that I harbor much personal animosity towards said university, I think Pat has reached the point where she can justifiedly decide what she will and won't subject her players to and whether or not she'll participate in a series with a school who obviously has absolutely no control over their fans or gym environment. I understand, and participate in, good natured ribbing but that crap was just uncalled for. Either way, Geno's just mad because the loss of the series hurts him a lot more than it does us. We were the biggest drawing game for them every year, which I'm pretty sure is why he said that the only way he'd reinstate the series is if we played 8 straight games at their place, and that's gone now. Oh well, cry about it Geno. That's it. Cry.

Sorry. Didn't mean to go on such a rant. I just have feelings when it comes to this kind of stupidity.

Secondly, I'm still more than a little miffed that Cutcliffe had to choose to go to a school that's in my top 3 most despised (it's personal) and am finding it quite difficult to find any kind of good feelings for him or his team. Sorry Cut.

Thirdly, Florida's defense is looking better just about everywhere and thusly causing me to sweat prematurely. I dare not lose my optimism but still, dang.

Great video, by the way.

I've got something for you young man. Oh! It's Thaa Claawww!! Oh, you're afraid of The Claw...

by XRayVol on Apr 23, 2008 2:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm with you.

I had to try really hard to not write my own novel regarding Geno.

I don't blame Cutcliffe so much for going to Duke. Business is business; if he wanted to be a head coach, he had to go somewhere that was willing to hire him as one. I'm no Duke fan either, but most of those reasons have nothing to do with athletics. I feel no need to cheer for Duke, but I can at least respect that he has a chance to live a dream. (At least I can only assume it's a dream; why else would he return to coaching at a football drainage ditch after the Ole Miss fiasco?)

ABBA's great; this is the one time of the year I can justify playing them around my wife. Evidently, Swedish pop isn't her thing. Who knew?

by hooper on Apr 23, 2008 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I may have misspoke...

I don't have an ounce of any sort of ill will for Cut and I do wish him all the success he deserves. If he turns Duke around into a contender then more power. I just have a REAL hard time putting the words Go and Duke together without having two other rather descriptive words between them. But again, I digress. I'm happy for Cut that he got his job. I just really wish it had been somewhere where I can be more supportive.

I've got something for you young man. Oh! It's Thaa Claawww!! Oh, you're afraid of The Claw...

by XRayVol on Apr 23, 2008 3:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs