TankTalk

I miss Roane County as well, but things are looking much better where I am. It's tough when you spend your entire un-professional career in one area and then change. I am slowly getting to know people and learn the ways of middle Tennessee. By the way, despite the debate I think east Tennessee football fans are much more enthusiastic as a whole than where I am. It is interesting that they don't participate. I know injuries are a concern and all, but it would help the overall gate if the county's biggest school played in this game...quite puzzling.

Goose or anyone for that matter, are the Jackets participating this year?

...the Murphy Fair book because they are so much more in-depth and are written by people who know the teams. Plus like swamp said, they won't put a dent in your wallet. That $10 could go to the concession stand Friday night, hehe.

Man what a mess. And the owners can be blamed. But to be honest, now that football is here, my last baseball game of the year has been watched.

I bleed orange, but do not look through orange-colored glasses. I am not huge on Casey Clausen, but he has been effective. I see him as an Andy Kelly type QB who keeps his team in games and while not the most-talented signal caller I have seen, does win games. Kelley Washington...you can take his "I am God" attitude and send him packing to a college like Florida State...and I would not lose a second sleep. I like our O line, think they will beat people down. Running game...wait and see. Should have depth and loads of that ever-popular word "potential." But potential doesn't mean much to me, results do. Young receivers will have to step up....young D linemen will have to do the same. I like our secondary and linebackers and of course, our overall coaching. Miami, homecoming? Someone smack Dickey before I do. Win between the hedges and beat Florida in one of their last Spurrier-talent years and the homecoming game will be the biggest Neyland has seen. More anaylisis to come. Here are my game by game picks, with scores to be added after pre-season practice is complete and I get a look at injuries. Actually, with that in mind, this whole thing may change. 08/31/2002 Wyoming Nashville, Tenn. ESPN2 (BIG WIN) 09/07/2002 Middle Tennessee KNOXVILLE (BIGGER WIN) 09/21/2002 Florida KNOXVILLE CBS (TINY FIELD GOAL WIN) 09/28/2002 Rutgers KNOXVILLE (MTSU LIKE WIN) 10/05/2002 Arkansas KNOXVILLE (BIG WIN) 10/12/2002 Georgia Athens, GA (TINY LOSS) 10/26/2002 Alabama KNOXVILLE (WIN) 11/02/2002 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. (TINY WIN) 11/09/2002 Miami (Homecoming) KNOXVILLE (1/2 POINT WIN) 11/16/2002 Miss St Starkville, Miss. (POSS. UPSET, WIN) 11/23/2002 Vandy Nashville (TIGHT WIN, I know, sue me) 11/30/2002 UK KNOXVILLE (BIG WIN)

Point guard and coaches son from McMinn County, and I am drawing a blank about his name. Chris something. Anyway, spent a couple of years in hoop camp with him, really nice guy and one heck of a passer. If not mistaken, he went on to play at one of the Carolina schools. Oh, and it was the late 80s.

He did throw away a great chance and I talked to him about it a couple of years after he graduated high school. We were playing in a softball tournament in Crossville (By the way, the kid was more than a basketball star, he was one heck of an athlete and could hit a softball a country mile). Anyway, he made no excuses about it and simply said "I may have messed up, but I have to live with my decisions and I missed home." Many would dream of having half of his talent and accomplishing things. Perhaps later he had regrets but he didn't then.

If you have thought about calling friends to tradeout "good" post votes. Ok, I admit it...I thought about it once!

As much reasoning as I see in some of these posts, I can't go with the elimination of pee wee football. I could go with, however, elmination of parents being involved in head coaching. I have seen some doozy situations involving parents who need some serious anger management. But, I also know, finding enough volunteers to field coaches would be a problem as well. Bottom line, these kids should NEVER be pressured into playing pee wee football. I have seen many "I used to be an average player who thought I was better than I really was" fathers who have pushed their sons into playing, only to see them turn out to be band members later. (And no, not saying there is a thing wrong with that, I love a good high school band.)

In Roane County is a tough one and I am sure Goose can either agree with that or will soon learn to. I remember going to Kingston activities and getting "Hey, you are from Rockwood, they get favortism." Then going to a Rockwood function and getting "Kingston always get the best coverage." And of course in Harriman I got both of those comments. Bottom line in the fickle business of the media, if you can please 3 out of 5 people, you are doing an above-average job. That stat is when you cover a county with more than one school, by the way. In Roane, where you have 5...forget about pleasing the masses. P.S. I re-read your post swamp man and I humbly apologize. You didn't say I picked the Tigers by 3 touchdowns. Sorry 'bout that. [Edited by TankTalk on 8-7-02 5:01P]

I have not done Rockwood radio in MANY years. Are you sure about your information? I must admit, I am very opinionated and when I was at the Rockwood station and being a grad of RHS, I was for them. But during my TV stint and newspaper work, I felt I was right down the middle and never leaned to one side. Kind of something I was proud of in Roane County because you know how Roane County fans are. Anyway, as far as me picking Rockwood to win by three touchdowns against Kingston, I have to say prove it! In 12 years of predicting games, I don't ever remember picking the Tigers to win over your mighty Jackets by that much. In fact, I remember taking MUCH heat from my friends in Tigerville for taking the Orange and Blue on most occassions. In your post you said that I stated "We really moved the ball on Kingston" and I may have, despite losing 33-0. Have you never seen a game where a team has moved the ball well offensively and perhaps turnovers and/or penalties stalled several drives? I think I remember the game you are talking about and if I am not mistaken, the lowly Tigers were just 26 yards (or so) less than Kingston in total offense, so my "They really moved the ball" comment was probably accurate. But back to me picking a Tiger 3-touchdown win...prove it. [Edited by TankTalk on 8-7-02 3:30P]

Please lead me to some additional information on this please. If something was posted earlier I missed it.

Not that I am a coach of any level right now, but if one kid comes and is not "uniform" and the coach lets him slide, what does it say to the rest of the team? The other members seemed to remember what the team uniform was going to be and while this may seem like a harsh punishment, the kid will do one of two things, he will be bitter and resentful, therefore showing he isn't a team player anyway, or he will stink it up and learn a valuable lesson. On all levels it seems there has been a deterioation of attitudes. You always hear the term "player's coach" and I think that can have a double-edged meaning. There are coaches who can't deal with the primadona attitudes of players and therefore let them get away with anything, then there are coaches who can use some psyhcology and get players to follow when they really don't know they are. I love old-school coaches, who will get in a player's face and let them know they are doing something wrong. But, political correctness is phasing those coaches out quick. The cue from pro athletes is becoming more and more evident on all levels of play. I remember reading the Bobby Knight thread on the basketball board recently and while I didn't post, I did think to myself "would I want my son to play for him?" You dang right I would. And I would hope that my son would have the values of hard work and discipline already installed in him by my parenting. [Edited by TankTalk on 8-7-02 12:52P]

But Gannett has so much money and power in the newspaper world. Hard to find someone who doesn't care about selling out for big bucks. Someone comes in, establishes themselves, their staff works their backsides off to build a good product and then the owner decides to bail out for the big payday. I don't see any serious competition lasting in Nashville for The Tennessean.

I followed the Tennessean's coverage on the web last year and was a little dissapointed in it. With their resources, they should realize how important in-depth coverage of high school football is in Tennessee. They could do a much better job. Now, if they want someone who has lived, breathed and wrote high school football for a few years, I am open for negotiations. Just playing around. But they should seriously open up their high school coverage full-force!

I know you are quite a busy man, like most of us. I also know that you probably share my intense love of helping others. Finding the time, however, is the problem. Also, finding the people to help is a problem. Everyone may agree with a certain idea but so few would actually be willing to sacrifice the time. Myself, I have helped cordinate several fundraisers. I also have many contacts at various schools and athletic organizations in east Tennessee. You have the same I am sure in middle. I would love, when the time is right, to get some more people together and seriously discuss what we could do together. It would take getting some heavy hitters with big hearts together though. To do it right, I would suggest researching and asking questions of those who have done it before. Civic organizations who give out annual scholarships would be a good source for the legal issues. While schools themselves would be a great source for fundraising and event advice. Anyway, it's deadline day so I am going back to work. I am always here to help out with these issues or anything for that matter Coach. Just give me a yell. BTW, the site looks wonderful, but my Palpal thingie won't process. I am sending a check, and please don't bounce it too high...hehe.

<<< I know, I misspelled CoachT.com in the title of this thread...man, I should use spellcheck more often!(ever had one of those days?>>> I posted this in this forum because I felt it was the most read at the time. So hang in there with me for a moment while I ramble. CoactT.com is a phenomenon in Tennessee. The numbers and growth are staggering and I dare to venture even Coach himself didn't dream it would grow into the juggernaut of information and entertainment that it has. So, with that in mind, why not allow CoachT.com's popularity help those in need? Think if you will for a moment, various sporting events accross the state to raise money. Then imagine, officials (coaches, teachers, administrators..etc.) going through this site and nominating scholar-athletes for CoachT.com scholarships. Then imagine a selection committee put together by Coach T to filter through these and choose the deserving ones, depending on the funds raised. I think, with this site's popularity, it could raise money for SEVERAL $500 scholarships, which may not sound like much to some, would help a great deal to some who want to further their education. Now I know, time is a valuable thing and precious to many who come here. But I also think the spirit of helping is still great and conquers most. CoachT.com could become so much more than what it is. It could become something that actually makes a difference in the life of a young man or woman. It could be that one factor for a few that they look back on one day and say "If it hadn't been for CoachT.com, I may not have made that next step in my future..." Now this is just the tip of the iceberg of what this site could accomplish, but it's not my site...thank goodness. hehe. I do love it, and it is my homepage and I will still stop in SEVERAL times a day and look at the fantastic creation that Coach T gave us sports lovers. But I will also continue to think...that with a medium like this, many great things could be done statewide. Post your thoughts on this, negative and positive. Maybe some ideas would be great as well. [Edited by TankTalk on 8-5-02 12:19P] [Edited by TankTalk on 8-5-02 12:29P] [Edited by TankTalk on 8-5-02 12:30P]

That so many of the so called "experts" rely on the past and hearsay when they decide on these type of things. That's one of the reasons that the whole pre-season polls, and all-this or that team has been something I haven't paid much attention to. Tennessee has had a reputation as a not-so-good football state for talent in the past, which is not a fair assessment. The experts fool people for a while, then they get lazy and don't do as much research. Don't worry about the pre-season gargage because the recruiters do a fairly good job of finding the talent. The cream does rise to the top.

..you start finding some monetary backing and I will do just that. Find some share holders and we can begin building the sports publishing empire of East Tennessee. =)

It would be nice if I could convert this into an all-sports paper. But seeing as it is more of a hobby and been here for 20 years, doubt they will let me. But one day!! Anyway, I miss doing what I used to do. This "real" reporting is for the birds. I guess it can be considered a stepping stone for getting something I like down the road here in middle Tennessee.

Talking about Rockwood doesn't even rile me up...getting old I guess. UConn? They have a football team? You learn something every day. (Waits for a Women's Basketball comment) And something else...do you think Florida State and Miami have not had chances to be members of the SEC (along with other schools)? They have. And they wouldn't even consider it. You want to know why? Because they knew it would diminish their national championship hopes in the future playing in a league that is much more competative week to week. [Edited by TankTalk on 8/1/02 1:48P]

I will save my money and not buy the book this year. The book in no way could compete with the information that one can get on CoachT.com. If you read close, the stories seem so canned and informal with the names changed from team to team. (That was not a mean remark, just an honest opinion) Here, you get fans, coaches and even players who can give you all the insight you need on any given team in the state. Thanks Coach T for saving me some money! I will say this, however. Murphy should be commended for seeing how football crazy Tennessee is and publishing this book. It was a stroke of genius and the book was one of the best informational tools to me as a member of the sports media for years. Until CoachT.com [Edited by TankTalk on 8/1/02 1:25P]

Ah, takes more than that to rile me up, but nice debate is fun. I think Miami is the only one who could compete each year for the SEC Title. The others are hit or miss each year, depending on fortunate developement of average recruits. I have no data in front of me to prove it, but after watching the game a year or two, I feel that the SEC is much more dominate than the Big East. Everyone loves throwing the bowl matchups out there, but you have to remember playing an SEC regular-season schedule is a little more rigorous than playing a Big East one. I feel the biggest flaw for the SEC is that when bowl season comes along, they have already beat the heck out of each other. And of course, it is a fact that is the what hurts the SEC when it comes to the national championship. Having one week to prepare for Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Alabama (I know they are down, but trust me, enjoy it while you can Bama haters)and even the mediocre SEC teams is a big advantage compared to having four weeks or more to prepare for the seventh-ranked SEC team in the Music City Bowl. [Edited by TankTalk on 8/1/02 1:19P]

I do agree with you about the money situation in college football. I personally hate the new uniforms for Tennessee, especially that grossly large stripe on the pants now. However, to compare the Big East and SEC on the football field is a no-brainer. Big East loses. You do have Miami, a fine football program with multiple National Championships and an equally large number of off-field arrests. The rest of your league is well-kept and run well but not known as yearly contenders for the big one. The SEC product is much more visable and desired when it comes to bowl games, television and those big shoe companies because the SEC has been known as one of the most dominant football conferences in the nation for a LONG time. I will agree that the gap has got much more narrow with the SEC and other conferences. I do feel, however, that the SEC is still the best and most visable football conference in America. Call me crazy. But remember when you do, you will be calling most of the so-called college football "experts" around the nation crazy as well. It's just a fact, the SEC is known for it's brand of gridiron.

I would have to say Coalhill vs. Brushy Mountain...man, what an annual event.