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Crews-ing back into the UT lineup

 Jan 25, 2008

Not that the Tennessee men’s basketball team was exactly in need of reinforcements, even after a Tuesday night loss to Kentucky, but some much-welcomed help’s on the way.
Sophomore forward Duke Crews could return to the lineup tonight when the No. 3 Volunteers welcome Georgia to Thompson-Boling Arena for a Southeastern Conference game at 7:05 (FSN South).
The 6-foot-7, 233-pound Crews hasn’t played since an echocardiogram Dec. 14 diagnosed him with a potential heart condition. Further examination and tests revealed it was only an “athlete’s heart.”
Crews has practiced fully with the team this week and coach Bruce Pearl said after Wednesday’s workout that he might play against Georgia.
Crews missed the last eight games, but his absence was glaring in the 72-66 defeat at Kentucky, when UT was outrebounded 36-27. A healthy Crews gives the Vols 12-point, 10-rebound potential every night.
Pearl said Crews would be restricted to 10 minutes a game for a while, since his physical activity has been limited for the last month. When Crews gets back into game shape, though, it will allow UT to field the 10-man rotation Pearl prefers.
A second unit of Crews, Ramar Smith, J.P. Prince, Ryan Childress and Brian Williams would give the Vols all kinds of potential mismatches.
PASS THE ROCK, PLEASE: Selfish is the last word which comes to mind when discussing UT.
Yet the Vols strayed from the norm at Kentucky, failing to run their offense with poise and not making their trademark extra pass. They had just eight assists, tying a season low.
Point guard play was an issue. Starter Jordan Howell and backup Ramar Smith combined for two assists and four turnovers in 40 minutes.
Look for a return of the unselfish Vols tonight against Georgia. One factor that will help, besides the home court, is a three-day break between games.
Tuesday night’s game at Kentucky was the third in a six-night stretch, and although the players didn’t want to use it as a crutch, it was evident that their legs weren’t there in the last five minutes. Just look at all the long jumpers which fell short and the lack of turnovers the Wildcats made.
BRUCIE P?: Pearl took a break from his team to comment on the Lady Vols’ game Friday night, working the analyst’s chair on a local telecast with play-by-play man Bob Kesling.
Reviews on Pearl’s guest spot were generally positive, although a Dick Vitale impression early in the first half beseeching Arkansas to “take a TO, baby” came off as forced at best.
You could tell Pearl wasn’t a TV veteran just by looking at his outfit – a peach-colored suit. Most long-time spielers stick with the traditional dark suits. 



Posted by The Continuous News Desk
College Sports

The lefty Iverson comes to Bristol

 Jan 24, 2008

A left-handed version of Allen Iverson. The best point guard in Oak Hill Academy history.
Both tags have been heaped on senior Brandon Jennings, who will appear in Bristol Friday night as the Warriors meet The Miller School of Charlottesville in an 8 p.m. game at Virginia High.
While this edition of Oak Hill basketball won’t win a national championship, Jennings isn’t the reason why.
The 6-foot-2 Jennings, who will play at Arizona next year, is averaging a staggering 35.3 points and 7.1 assists per game for the 20-3 Warriors, who have needed all his production.
Coach Steve Smith tossed senior wings Malik Story and Willie Warren off the team just before the season started, leaving Jennings to carry most of the load.
Although losses to former No. 1 St. Benedict’s (N.J.), Richmond Benedictine and Houston Yates dropped Oak Hill from No. 1 to No. 19 in USA Today’s prep top 25, Jennings has played as well as any player in the school’s history.
That’s saying a lot, considering the program can boast of alums the caliber of Carmelo Anthony, Rod Strickland, Calvin Duncan, Jeff McInnis and Josh Smith—just to name five. Oak Hill has won seven national championships since 1992 for coach Steve Smith.
Yet Smith, who just this decade can claim to have coached point guards like Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) and Ty Lawson (North Carolina), has no qualms about Jennings’ talent.
“For us, the two years he’s been here, he’s been as good as anybody,” Smith told the Roanoke Times on Jan. 12. “Maybe better.”
Jennings and the Warriors usually put on shows at VHS, where they have never lost, dating back to 1992. The Miller School owns an 11-2 record, meaning Oak Hill will have to play well.
If recent history is any guide, Bristol fans can count on the Warriors’ No. 3 playing like the No. 3 he’s said to emulate. 



Posted by The Continuous News Desk
High School Sports Basketball

What changes are needed in NASCAR.

 Jan 22, 2008

Play the role of NASCAR chairman Brian France for a day. What suggestions and decisions would you make.

It’s clear that this sport needs a dramatic change in course.
Some alterations are obvious, and some are open to debate.
For example, NASCAR officials should follow the lead of the wildly-popular National Football League and start races at the same time each week.
Remember the days when every event began at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. That was before the shift to the major media markets, such as California.
How about placing more emphasis on winning. There were far too many follow-the-leader parades last year.
And let’s do something about the dang Car of Tomorrow. How many races were dreadfully boring in 2007. Remember the COT debut at Bristol Motor Speedway? Now, that was a sleeper.
Stop penalizing drivers for every little infraction. Let them be men.
And please, let’s honor the heroic drivers who built this sport.
How many new fans can recognize the face, let alone the name, of legends such as David Pearson, Junior Johnson and Cale Yarborough.
Instead, we get pre-race shows with egomanicial Hollywood or American Idol types.
Basically, let’s get back to the roots.
Suggestions, please.



Posted by Allen Gregory

Orange you in handcuffs?

 Jan 22, 2008

Another week, another Tennessee football player running afoul of the law.
The latest miscreant is freshman tailback Daryl Vereen, who was arrested early Monday morning outside Gibbs Hall and charged with public intoxication when police responded to a fight outside the Volunteers’ athletic dorm.
This follows an incident earlier this month, when rising sophomore wide receiver Gerald Jones and freshman wideout Ahmad Paige were stopped for having a burnt-out license tag light. When police searched the car, they found a couple of marijuana cigars (a.k.a. blunts), leading to charges of marijuana possession.
What made the first incident even more embarrassing was that Jones and Paige were hosting a recruit. Think Clemson coaches (the other school this recruit is considering) were quick to use this situation against UT?
The snap judgment is to blame coach Phillip Fulmer for not having his players under control. That would be right—and wrong.
While one can wonder why Fulmer keeps bringing in guys who find trouble, you can’t ask him to hold players’ hands 24/7/365. At some point, you’d like to think these guys would figure out the cost of a scholarship doesn’t give them the right to puff weed, get soused, etc., so on and so forth.
That having been said, it sure doesn’t make the program look good when players keep screwing up off the field. Apologists might try to say that it happens at other schools, and they’re right, but how does that justify it happening in Knoxville?
Why not try to be unlike other programs? Why not try to impress earlier upon the players that it’s not all right to light up a joint, get inebriated with officers on the scene or get into needless fights (as other UT players have done in the past)?
Fulmer is assuredly furious over the events of the last week and a half. To get his point across to the players, he returned Monday night from a recruiting trip and made the team embark on a punishment run at 6 a.m. today.
Vereen’s punishment consists of community service with a drug rehabilitation facility, participating in police ride-alongs and a curfew for the entire winter semester.
“These young men need to understand that they represent the University of Tennessee and our football program and these immature actions need to stop,” Fulmer said in a press release issued by the university this afternoon.
Maybe they will. But recent history tells us that sometime before the Aug. 30 opener with UAB—probably well before then—someone will probably forget the 6 a.m. running and Fulmer’s admonitions to stay out of trouble. 



Posted by The Continuous News Desk
College Sports

Do you still love NASCAR?

 Jan 21, 2008

Judging from the first day of the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe’s Motor Speedway, there are more dark clouds on the horizon for NASCAR. 

The tone at the NASCAR Research and Development Center was far from jubilant Monday.
There were certainly no headline-grabbing changes or announcements. Instead, NASCAR chairman Brian France seemed to be reaching into the past to protect the future.
The theme of “Back to Basics’’ was stressed by series officials. Reporters also viewed videos which showcased pioneer drivers and their heroic feats.
Moments later, we learned that NASCAR has actually scaled back on the number of weekly tracks it sanctions while creating fancy new commercials that appeal to the ‘’Hometown Tracks’’ in the sport.
Unless you are a fan of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Hendrick Motorsports or Toyota, it’s hard to find much to be happy or optimistic about here.
And yet, some folks still assure us that all is well.
Nearly every sport has experienced a slump in ratings, they say. And the Nationwide (formerly Busch) is still the second most-popular form of motorsport in the United States.
And the decline in attendance can be traced to the slumping economy.
Good points all. Except they are nearly always made by some media type either working for or affiliated with NASCAR.
This media type has covered NASCAR for two decades, and grew up with a passion for speed.
Nearly every fan and associate he knows feels that NASCAR needs a spark, and quick. Some of his friends have already given up for various reasons, including the high cost of tickets, trinkets, motels, gas, etc.
Where are all those NASCAR diehards who still make the weekly pilgrimages to cathedrals such as Bristol Motor Speedway?
Are the cynical media types simply spoiled or overreacting? Maybe so.



Posted by Allen Gregory

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