Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo today will be my last radio show and blog for the indefinite future. Three years ago when I interviewed with Tony Basilio.....in a subway.....located in a gas station....in the middle of summer....as he wore a winter coat....he asked me why I wanted to do sports radio. I told him that the sports radio product in this town wasn't as good as it should be and I thought I could do something about it. Tony then told me that he would be putting me on the air the following Tuesday and if I didn't suck too bad he would hire me. Keep in mind I had NEVER done talk radio before. When I was at UT I took a broadcasting class and they wouldn't even let me do their sports show. I had zero experience, no idea what I was doing, no idea what I was supposed to do, all I knew is that I loved Tennessee sports and I had an idea what I thought good radio was supposed to be. I have never gone back and listened to any show I have ever done (mainly because I hate my own voice) so I am sure I sucked. I remember I did a 3 hour show by myself in July my second week on the job. Looking back I have no idea how I made it through those 3 hours but I am sure it was god-awful. 

Very few people have ever done sports talk radio and for those who have, you know how hard it can be. I went into that studio every day for 2 years scared out of my mind. I was so worried about people saying I sucked or people making fun of me. Every day you have thousands of listeners judging you, critiquing you, analyzing everything you say. It is a weird and foreign concept that most people have the luxury of being ignorant to. Everyday I waited for those emails or tweets to roll in telling my how awful I was. I nervously read the message boards scared to see what some anonymous poster was saying about me. However, much to my surprise, the hate really never came. In fact, just the opposite, almost universal support. The more emails I received from listeners telling me I was doing a good job or that they enjoyed listening to me, the more my confidence grew. It honestly shocked me a little bit how supportive people were. That's why I am always so quick to defend this fanbase because they are the same people who listened to me. Who supported me. Who encouraged me. This town is full of so many good people you have no idea. You simply can not do quality sports radio if you are not full of confidence and I could never have done it as long as I did without people boosting mine. There are way too many people to name in this blog. But rest assured that I noticed and appreciated the stuff you guys and girls were saying. 

I loved doing the show with Tony and he is one of my best friends and a great guy. However, when I got offered a chance to do my own show last March I had to take it. Since I was a little kid I have always wanted to have my own sports talk show talking about Tennessee sports. When presented with the opportunity I had to take it just to see if I could do it on my own. I knew it would be much more difficult but I had to try. It would have been very easy for me to continue to do a show out of the template Basilio set. It obviously worked as he has stood the test of time. However, I wanted to give people something different. I wanted to give people something unique. And even though it always wasnt what I was confortable doing, I felt like people would like to hear something different and fresh. Even if you didn't always agree with what I was saying, or my methods, I hope you at least respected the effort I put into my show to make it youthful, entertaining and comical. If I could just make people's day a little more enjoyable. Make them laugh. Make them think. Give them an enemy to take out their daily frustrations on. Give them something to look foward to whenever I was on the air. If I could do all of that, then that would be enough for me. People around here always say 'I wish we could have someone like us on the radio. A Tennessee guy. A guy that thinks like I do. A guy that talks like I do.' Well, I hope that in my 3 years on the air you felt like I was one of you. I hope you felt like I spoke for you. Because that was my intention. 

As I said, I grew up always wanting to do sports radio. Not just any sports radio but sports radio centering around Tennessee athletics because those are two of my true loves. I have had several opportunities to "move on" to other, larger markets but that is not what I wanted to do. My passion was for talking about this stuff. I wanted to give the people here quality radio. Not in some other town, with some other fanbase. Plus, what other place is going to have the constant show material that this place gives you? Alas, even though I love what I do and I am doing something I always wanted, real life does get in the way. That is the case here. Unfortunately, I have to take care of myself first and foremost and continuing to do the radio show - even though I love it - will not allow me to do that. (Don't worry I am not dying or anything) I am not ruling out doing some radio down the line or at the very least continuing to write somewhere (not here though) but I have to sort a few things out and get my feet under me as I move on to the next stage of my life. 

I'm really proud of myself for accomplishing something I set out to do a long time ago. I hope I provided you with a product you could enjoy. I've met a ton of great people - now great friends - who I would have never gotten a chance to meet had I not done this stuff. Thank you all for listening, reading and supporting me for the last 3 years. 

Go Vols

AA

When you look at the 2012 Tennessee signing class it is pretty impressive. It ranks 13th in the country on rivals.com and is projected to move up as Tennessee will close with some highly coveted guys. Around town, be it on message boards, talk radio, twitter or just chatting around the water cooler, Tennessee fans have lavished Derek Dooley with praise for his ability to recruit. When you look at it on its surface what Derek Dooley has done on the recruiting trail this season is nothing short of amazing considering all the adversity - some self-inflicted, some not - he has had to overcome. For instance, take a look at the classic recruiting pitches and selling points that college football coaches make to prospects from coast-to-coast.

So signing day is just around the corner. (Wednesday for those of you who don't keep up with the dealings of 17 year olds) I will be honest with you, I used to love krootin' when I was 14-15-16-17 I was into that stuff. I remember listening to Bill King and Max Howell and some of those guys on radio back in the pre-internet days for my info. I became a borderline junkie once rivals.com and scout.com hit the scene around 2002ish. However, it is my opinion that you can really only follow that stuff closely for 2 player generations. I.E. High school ----> College Graduation. Approximately 7-8 years. After that you just see so much of that crap that surrounds it that you just lose interest in the process and want to see the final result. A man can only take so much of the commits, the de-commits, the re-commits, the not qualifying, the 3 stars that become All Americans, the 5 stars that become incarcerated. It is just all so taxing that your emotional investment eventually wears down. Some of you are reading this now saying; "this won't be me. I will always love it."

and the Balla Vols got run last night in Nashville by stupid Vandy and its dumb stupid coach Kevin Stallings (seen here looking stupid)

It was a horrid game from start to finish. It was the first game that Tennessee has been really blown out of all year. It was something that we should have seen coming. 

Experienced Vandy Team (4 seniors and a junior starting)

One of the toughest places to play in the country 

Cuonzo Martin's first attempt to coach in that goofy dump of an arena

Tuesday road game following an effort draining big win against UCONN on Saturday. 

It was something that was just gonna happen. Once Vandy hit the Vols in the mouth with the 9-0 run out of the gate it was all over. Just one of those nights that happen in college basketball. They are hot. You are not. They are hot home. You are not. Bang. Game gets out of hand. Im chalking this game up as a complete wash and moving on. 

Super Bowl 

The more and more I think about this game the less and less excited I am. I am not a fan of rematches at all especially not a watered down one. Think about it, both of these teams are worse than they were 4 years ago. The Patriots aren't as good at any aspect of the game as they were 4 years ago. The Giants are worse across the board outside of the passing game. The storylines are worse. No undefeated season. No 'The Giants are back'. No can Eli win a Superbowl. Just a diluted version of what we got in 2007. It is like if Ali and Frasier fought in their prime and then rematched when they were in their late 30s. Yea, it is the same guys and yea I will watch but what does it even mean?

Either way, we have to talk about it. Here are my top storylines for this Superbowl. Notice there is a trend here. Im not sure we have seen a Superbowl with more legacy defining implications than this one. 

1. What is Brady's legacy if he wins?

He will tie Montana and Bradshaw with 4 Superbowls if he wins next Sunday. Where does this put him in the pantheon of quarterbacks? Does it change anything?

2. What is Eli's legacy if he wins? 

There is no doubt this is the year of Eli Manning. From back in the summer when he told us he was an elite QB and we laughed at him, until now when we laugh at ourselves for laughing. Eli has cemented himself as a great QB. What happens if he wins number 2 though? Does he go ahead of big bro? Is the Hall of Fame a lock?

3. Tom Coughlin's legacy

Bill Belichick has the 'coach of his generation' title locked up. But who is number 2? Mike Tomlin? Mike Shannahan? Mike McCarthy? Tony Dungy? You can make cases for a lot of people but if the Giants win it will be tough to argue against Coughlin.

4. Bill Belichick's legacy

Belichick is Belichick. He is the best. No one from this generation is going to pass him. However, he is at the point now that if he wins, you are going to have to start the greatest ever discussion. And not just in football. He is going up against Lombardi, Noll, and Walsh - true - but he is also going up against Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, John Wooden etc.

5. On the field the story is simple. Do the Giants get to Brady with their front four?

If they do. It is over. If they don't it is over. They got to him in 2007. They got to him in the matchup this year. If they can get to Brady without bringing blitzers the Patriots are going to half to keep those dangerous TEs in to block. The Patriots do not have enough WR weapons if the can't release Gronkowski and Hernandez. 

Back to Tom Brady though for a second. First off, I am not a Tom Brady hater. In fact, I really like him. I think he is a great QB and a pretty cool guy. (I actually really like this entire batch of QBs we have in the NFL right now outside of Rivers who is stupid) That said. I don't think I can remember a more infallible quarterback - if not overall athlete - in my lifetime. I was listening to Colin Cowherd the other morning as I was doing some show prep (I really like Cowherd on the radio for the record) and he was somehow spinning that Tom Brady outplayed Joe Flacco in the AFC Championship game. Huh? Look, I know Cowherd has a man crush on the guy and maybe he was needing to burn a few calories because he was sweating trying to get there with this spin job, but I still could not believe my ears. 

The national media is straight up afraid to be critical of this guy. This isn't just on the field either, remember when he left his pregnant girlfriend, Bridgette Moyanhan for Gisele? No one said a word. I don't know if it is his charm and they just want to be friends with the cool kid or what, but it is like the guy is off limits. Every time you speak of him you have to bring up just how clutch he is and how great he is. No one can ever say the guy played bad, or choked like they do with every other athlete. The truth is since Brady re-upped with his massive deal in 2005 and has been forced to go the Manning route with a cheap surrounding cast, he has been just like him in the playoffs....yet no one brings this up. 

What we are seeing Brady do this year and in the previous few seasons is what Peyton Manning ( and Eli ) have had to do for their entire career. It's not as easy to look 'clutch' when you are surrounded by scout teamers. Look at Brady's playoffs stats pre and post his big deal he signed prior to the 2005 season. 

                         Pre 2005               Post 2005

Superbowls             3                            0

Playoff record         9-0                      7-5

QB Rating               92                         87

 TD/INT                  11/3                   25/16

What has happened to Brady? Is the guy not 'clutch' anymore? Is he 'choking' now? Why is he getting worse as he enters the prime of his career? The answer is the surrounding cast. Brady and doesnt have that great run game anymore before the Patriots can not afford it. Brady doesn't have that great defense to bail him out anymore because the Patriots can not afford it. Brady doesn't have a deep receiver corp anymore because the Patriots can not afford it. The truth is, this would be the first Superbowl win for Brady under the high-priced QB structure that the Colts and Manning had to navigate for Peyton's entire career. No need for the media to spin it for us when he plays poorly because just like with Peyton it is not really his fault. Brady is not a worse player now, he just has less to work with, he has to take more chances.

My wool coat for Real Cuonzo Martin continues to grow thicker and thicker by the game. As first reported here on Thursday, Tennessee beat UCONN on Saturday. A total defensive clinic put on by the Vols as their effort and competitiveness continues to elevate them despite personnel deficiencies. The story of the game of course was yet again Jarnell Stokes who went for 16 points, 12 boards and 2 blocks on Saturday against the defending champs. Not only were they the defending champs, but Stokes dominated a front line of Andre Drummand and Alex Oriakhi are both projected first round picks in the 2012 NBA draft, with Drummand going 1st overall. ( click ). Now that Stokes has not only held his own against the projected #1 and #2 draft picks (Anthony Davis), but outplayed one of them, it is time to start to wonder just what we have got here.