Kyle at SBNation’s Dawg Sports has an excellent breakdown of another milestone for the college sports blogosphere. Head on over to read the whole thing, but here’s the nutshell:
A MSM columnist’s lazy mis-reading of and reference to a post on Burnt Orange Nation invoked the quick wrath of the blogosphere and led to a crash course in social media. Emphasis on “crash.”
Just one click link this morning. Billingsley has crunched some serious numbers — stats from all 10,638 college football teams who have taken the field since 1869 — and found the Top 200 Teams of All Time. The best team ever, according to this computer formula, was the 1971 Nebraska team.
Second? The 1998 Tennessee Volunteers. Texas in 2005 was third and The Greatest Team of All Time (2005 USC) was 66, just to put things into perspective a bit. That’s pretty cool, but I’d wager the computer doesn’t know about Clint Stoerner.
Hat tip to John Pennington.
GoVolsXtra’s Dave Hooker displays his split personality and tells us both why the Tennessee Volunteer football team will right the ship in 2006 and why they won’t. And speaking of Dave, he returns to radio, filling the 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon slot on The Sports Animal. Good news, as he brings a bit more fun to the Knoxville airwaves.
John Pennington has some fun of his own and picks the out of conference match-ups he’d most like to see. I’m with John on the Ohio State home-and-home to share our “running through the T” one season and witness their “dotting of the i” the next. UT’s don’t-shoot-me-I’m-not-a-deer orange versus the other UT’s burnt orange would also be . . . orangey.
The season previews are coming in multiples now. College Football News publishes its preview of the Florida Gators, and Inside Tennessee’s Randy Moore draws on the past to predict the future, writing that Spurrier’s Gamecocks could very well hit the hat trick it barely missed last year and beat Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. Moore also points out that when UT and California meet on September 2, UT will run basically the same offense it failed with last year, while California will run a different offense it won with last year. One of us is making a mistake. Maybe both.
How to squander a first-overall pick:
Step 1: Pass on freaky-good Reggie Bush.
Step 2: Pass on local hero Vince Young.
Step 3: Select a defensive end . . . because linemen last longer.
Absolutely nothing against . . . wait, need to go find his name . . . Mario Williams, but come on.
Okay.
About the crack.
It’s a lot like the proverbial plumber’s proud display of his posterior cleavage: I noticed it, but I’m quickly trying to purge it from memory.
Really, though, I quite frankly didn’t even know that Anthony Passley and Jordan Smith were on the team, and I’m . . . you know . . . sort of a fan. You might say. Plus, we’re still doing well in EDSBS’ Fulmer Cup.
Still, if you want to poke fun, the comments are open. But for all you Burnt Orange Nation readers, do I need to remind you who was responsible for one of your five losses?
95-78.
It’s not exactly 41-38, but it’s something!
John Pennington says that there’s a spreading epidemic of Bruce Pearl Fever on Rocky Top:
Bruce Pearl Fever has not only hit Thompson-Boling Arena (20,000 in attendance for the Georgia game), but it’s also hit the Knoxville Tip-Off Club.This week Calhoun’s was packed to standing room only capacity as John Ward and Bruce Pearl took turns at the podium. . . .
Pearl thanked the crowd for their support and told them that they would be needed when the bubble burst as well.
That’s all well and good, right? It’s a booster club, of course it was packed. Except for one thing:
The Tip-Off Club didn’t even convene last year due to fan apathy. Now there are more folks attending the basketball meetings than have attended the football meetings of the Quarterback Club (same club, name changes with the season).
* * * *
ESPN.com had the Vols listed as an 8 seed in their mock NCAA Tourney this week. And that was before the Georgia win. This team has wins (on the road) over Texas and South Carolina. They’ve also beaten a number of mid-majors, and a few of those schools will probably be on the bubble when their conference tournaments conclude. Also, this team is a “story.” Pearl is garnering “Coach of the Year” talk from the national media. And the NCAA selection committee loves a good story.
I’m officially on the bandwagon. I love Coach Pearl both thanking the fans for their support and asking them to stick around “when the bubble bursts.” It’s all about maintaining realistic expectations. And speaking of expectations, Pennington has some thoughts on that, as well:
Last Summer, UT’s football team was picked to win the SEC (by the SEC media and coaches). They were picked #3 in the nation by the media and coaches’ polls. Then they stink it up, falling victim to “the Perfect Storm,” if you will. Last Fall, UT’s basketball team was picked for the tail end of it’s own division by the media and coaches. Top 25 lists? Uh, no. If they had a Top 150 poll, then UT might have been on the “others receiving votes” list. But now Bruce Pearl has taken a team with… well, you know the list of things this team has to overcome… and gotten them to 11-1, 2-0 in the SEC with road wins at Texas and South Carolina. So much for predictions.
Yeah. Pennington seems to be saying that pre-season expectations aren’t worth anything. I think there’s an inverse correlation between expectations and performance, at least with the Tennessee Volunteers.
So the new URL, the new look, the new content and categorization — the new blog — has been up and running FOR THREE WHOLE STRAIGHT DAYS IN A ROW ALTOGETHER BACK TO BACK ONE AFTER THE OTHER WITHOUT A HITCH, ETC., ETC., ETC.
Ahhh.
So here’s some of what I would have blogged on had the site been, you know, actually working.
Sincere congratulations to both the Texas Longhorns and Burnt Orange Nation, who blogged with excellence all season and especially through the month preceding the National Championship game.
And the cow’s still giving milk.
My three favorite BON things in the last week or two are the following pictures, which I won’t steal unless they say I can. Which makes it not stealing.
But for now:
Still having intermittent problems with the blog, both on my side and on my host’s side. Sneaking this in before the window of opportunity closes again.
1. Texas
2. Southern Cal
3. Penn State
4. West Virginia
5. Ohio State
6. Georgia
7. Louisiana State
8. TCU
9. Virginia Tech
10. Alabama
11. Oregon
12. UCLA
13. Notre Dame
14. Wisconsin
15. Auburn
16. Florida
17. Boston College
18. Miami
19. Texas Tech
20. Louisville
21. Florida State
22. Clemson
23. Oklahoma
24. Nebraska
25. California
As the bowl games draw near, here’s a list of BCS team blogs to help you keep up with the teams that are, you know, still playing football. Salty language warning for some of these.
Does anyone in Tallahassee blog?
I haven’t paid much attention to Tennessee Volunteer basketball this year, but . . .
Burnt Orange Nation will undoubtedly have the other UT’s perspective on Saturday’s game.
You are currently browsing the archives for the Texas category.
...from March 9, 2009...
I was obviously slacking 'cause I didn't write anything this day. :-(
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