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Talking Points: Attendance at Neyland Stadium fell below 100,000

4. Why did Mark Ingram's father being in prison get four billion times more coverage than every other parent that wasn't in prison?

I just don't get it.

Why is this story angle so compelling? So compelling, in fact, that Ingram's dad has gotten more attention than every other parent, including Ingram's own mother, who isn't in prison.

To confirm this fact, I did a highly scientific search. I went to Google and typed in "mark ingram's father" as my search query.

I got 4,180 results.

Then I typed in "mark ingram's mother," and I can't even make this up, Google asked me if I meant to type in, "mark ingram's father."
  • Mike Hamilton says that the recent negative publicity (thanks, NYT!) hasn't seemed to affect the all-important boosters, which is good. Hamilton also makes the most detailed comment on the independence of the hostess program to date:
    They have both academic and, in this case, some athletic responsibility. The individuals chosen are chosen by folks outside of athletics. They're policed by folks outside of athletics, and I think in this case this is an isolated incident that much was made of, that has been, frankly, misconstrued and sensationalized way beyond what it was.
  • Aaron Douglas was named to the Sporting News Freshman All-America team. Dude graded out at 96% this year and had only three penalties all year, the fewest of any on a line that included four seniors. Woo for three more years with this guy.
  • Not only did Matt Simms sign with the Vols yesterday, so did wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins.
  • The Lady Vols got new uniforms with their names on the backs (it's for fans, not the team, says Pat Summitt) and christened them well with a 30 point victory over Louisville.