Sorry, the other blog calls.

Perhaps I’ll get back on track after work tomorrow.

The Tennessee Volunteers hosted the Arkansas Razorbacks in sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena this afternoon. Chris Lofton had a subpar game. So did Dane Bradshaw.

It almost didn’t matter. Behind C.J. Watson, who was wearing a No. 53 Bernard King jersey and was really the only Vol who had a good game, Tennessee was neck and neck with the Hogs until a technical was assessed against Arkansas’ No. 5 for yelling “There you go, Bradshaw,” after dunking on him. Tennessee then went on a 16-4 run and gradually pulled away to a double-digit lead and maintained it through most of the second half.

But then the Hogs closed to within 4 with about 5:00 minutes left and took the lead on a three-pointer with about 4:00 minutes left. From that point on, Tennessee could not hit a shot (except for one trey by Lofton) and could not stop Arkansas’ big men from scoring under the basket.

Oh, well. Not much at stake for Tennessee, and the Hogs were motivated by bubble-dwelling.

By the way, when did Montel Williams start coaching Arkansas?

UPDATE: Permalink on this thing keeps changing. It’s working right now, but if it breaks again, let me know.

This will be made into a movie.

Hat tip to Burnt Orange Nation.

From TennVolChamp:”Vols beat the Gaytors just about the way they beat them the 1st time. Gators with the ball ready to go ahead – turnover – layup by Bradshaw. GAME OVER!!!!”

From Big Orange Michael: “The screaming you heard last night as Dane Bradshaw stole the ball and drove the lane to score the winning basket for Tennessee over the evil empire that is Florida was me. How exciting was that?!? Two games vs Florida this year, two games decided by four points, two games in which Dane Bradshaw scores the winning bucket.”

Voluminous: “What a great story these guys have been all year!”

Oh, and there’s mine: Bradshaw’s sweet steal-and-spin move seals Vols’ victory over Gators.

From the MSM:

GoVolsXtra.com: New Beasts of the East:

Watson answered with a 3-pointer, but Florida hung tough, and with 1:34 left, Brewer hit a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game 69-69.

“After he hit it, he winked at me,” said UT’s JaJuan Smith, who played four years of AAU ball with Brewer. “So I came back down and hit a three and winked back at him.”

GoVolsXtra.com’s Mike Strange: You had to be there.

Scout.com (Florida) ($): Inexperience rears its ugly head for Gators.

Scout.com (Tennessee) ($): Dane steals win for UT, and Simply Amazing.

Rivals.com (VolQuest.com) ($): From “whipping boy” to “golden boy”, and Believe it, Vols clinch SEC Title.

ESPN.com: Bradshaw’s late steal, layup lift No. 11 Vols past No. 9 Gators.

SI.com: Deja Vols.

A thing of beauty.

No, not coach Bruce Pearl’s game-long impersonation of a soaker hose. Definitely not that.

And no, not Noah’s multiple blood-seeping facial lacerations. Well, maybe that.

And no, not the over-contrasted Jefferson-Pilot telecast of the game, rendering all things orange the color, saturation, and hue of a solar flare instead. Somebody please tell me it’s not my t.v.

No, the thing of beauty was Dane Bradshaw’s game-sealing play of the game.

With the game tied at 72 with 18.8 seconds remaining and the Gators’ Corey Brewer inbounding the ball at half court, the Gators just need to hold the ball for the last shot. If it goes in, they win. If not, they go to overtime.

When the whistle blows, Brewer’s fake pass to his left is tracked inch-for-inch by the long arms and big body of Tennessee’s Major Wingate. Brewer shakes Wingate to the right before attempting a bounce pass back to the left, but Bradshaw explodes out of Wingate’s shadow to get a hand on the ball at the top of the key.

Several things then happen all at once.

Four players — Bradshaw, still looking for a handle on the ball, two Gators, and Vol guard C.J. Watson all converge on the ball. One Gator sprawls to the floor after bumping into Watson. Meanwhile, Bradshaw gets traction on the ball and does a sweet, sweet, sweet 360 spin move away from the remaining defender, covers the distance to the basket in a single step, and finger-rolls the ball into the goal.

Brewer stands slack-jawed at the top of the key, and coach Pearl wets the sole remaining dry spot on his two-thousand dollar suit.

On the other end, Brewer misses a three-point attempt, and the Gators foul Chris Lofton, who clinches it with two free throws. Vols win 76-72, sweep the hated Florida Gators, hit the 20-win mark, and clinch the SEC East Championship. They are well on their way to a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance.

All after beginning the season unranked.

Somebody say sweet!

ESPN2 is profiling the Tennessee men’s basketball team and head coach Bruce Pearl on its reality show The Season at 7:30 p.m. tonight. The show was shot in Knoxville last week.

Apparently, the ESPN crew followed Pearl to the cafeteria, where he often eats and mingles with students in his ongoing effort to sell UT basketball, and players C.J. Watson and Andre Patterson to class.

Get an inside-the-huddle look at coach Pearl keeping the team loose by instructing Patterson and Dane Bradshaw to play rock, paper, scissors to determine who would start the second half against Georgia.

Hey, make it an evening — Jefferson Pilot is showing the Vols-Gators game at 8:00 p.m. Tune in to see how Major Wingate responds to Pearl’s public criticism of his desire.

Oh, and now seems like a good time to refer to Pat Dooley’s column on Gatorsports.com on why everybody hates the Gators (Hat tip to EDSBS). I would add a few to the list, not the least of which involves the showering of visiting fans with cups of urine and post-game murders.

The Kentucky Wildcats are to be greeted by a giant orange and white human checkerboard when they visit on March 1, 2006:

The University of Tennessee basketball program will experience another first on March 1. For the home finale against rival Kentucky, the Vols will attempt to make the entire lower bowl of Thompson-Boling Arena become an orange and white human checkerboard with specially designed Tennessee basketball T-shirts. By strategically alternating the arena sections so that fans in one section adorn orange, with adjacent sections dressing in white, the goal is for Vol fans to create a first-of-its-kind human checkerboard.

Very cool.

Oh, and the game’s sold out, but it’s on Jefferson Pilot.

The Tennessee Volunteers’ game at Florida on Wednesday night is big. Win, and Bruce’s boys will clinch the SEC East championship with an 11-2 record in league play even if they lose their remaining games.

Lose to Tennessee, and the Gators will finish 11-5 even if they win their remaining games, and they still lose in the head-to-head against the Vols.

Tennessee beat the then No. 2 Gators earlier this year in Knoxville, and even though all of the pressure will be on Florida Wednesday, the home-court advantage and the payback factor may be too much for the Vols.

Scout.com profiles the top five sleepers in the Tennessee football class of 2006.

Okay, back in the saddle. College Football News has posted its early analysis of the strength of schedule of each SEC team. CFN concludes that Tennessee could go anywhere from 11-1 to 6-6 and that while it’s schedule isn’t any walk in the park, only South Carolina has an easier schedule in the East.