Wednesday, October 05, 2005

The New sports56whbq.com is Here!

After a lot of work from a lot of different people, we've finally got our new site up and running. I have to tell you that a lot of the reason I haven't updated the blog so often lately is because I've been busy with the new site. I hope you will enjoy it--we, along with the folks at RDG, have put a great deal of time and effort into it. It will grow and get better, but I think you'll already see a lot of the improvements.

The biggest improvement for me is that you can now download a lot of our interviews! If you missed, for example, Jerry West on with George and Geoff this morning, or you missed Michael Heisley on with me and Ron yesterday, you can now download those interviews at your convenience on sports56whbq.com! We'll also have pictures and other great stuff on the site as time goes on, but, for now, enjoy the new look. Let me know what you think.

I was in Knoxville this past weekend to watch Tennessee take on Ole Miss. First of all, I love getting back up to Neyland Stadium--most of you know that Tennessee's my alma mater, so it's always awesome to see the stadium where I spent many an hour watching Tennessee play. Not much has changed, although they've put together a plan to upgrade a lot of the interior and exterior of the stadium to modernize it. Looks cool.

I watched from a seat high up in the stadium, which afforded me a nice view of routes, holes, etc. From there, I saw why Phil Fulmer just isn't convinced about Rick Clausen--Clausen missed several open, and I mean WIDE OPEN receivers because his vision and his arm just aren't that good. He's undoubtedly a great leader, and definitely the right QB for the team right now, but I'm just saying I understand now more clearly why Fulmer took so long to come around on him. Fulmer still bungled the QB thing tremendously, don't get me wrong, but it's just easier now to see how and why he actually did it.

Tennessee's defense is for real. That front four is scary. Jesse Mahelona is a complete freak, and Justin Harrell and Parys Haralson are underrated. The CBs are coming around, and (knock on wood) Kevin Simon hasn't been injured yet. The defense has carried Tennessee this year, and will have to do so for the rest of the season--the offense is WAYYYY behind.

As for Ole Miss, well, let me be blunt. They are a bad football team. With a few notable exceptions, the talent simply isn't there. Mico McSwain has a bright future, Patrick Willis is the heart and soul of that defense, and Michael Oher will be a great lineman--other than that, I don't see, um, anything at all to get excited about. I still have a lot of questions about Ed Orgeron's long-term leadership of that team. Maybe when the talent level increases (and it better), then Orgeron can properly be judged. For now, I'm not on the bandwagon.

Quick Ole Miss question: Did Ethan Flatt run over Ed Orgeron's dog or something? Is Flatt still alive? Couldn't Ole Miss, you know, at least TRY him at the QB? It's not like Spurlock is freaking Eli Manning or anything--hell, he's barely Stuart Patridge. And the less said about Robert Lane the better...

Random Thoughts to Finish this Random Blog

--Kudos to Karl Malone for helping clear out the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He worked 12 hours a day for two straight weeks free of charge and did that town a huge service in the process. While I was never the biggest Mailman fan on the court, off the court, the guy is outstanding.

--Pau Gasol's beard? Unless it's made of lead, it's not going to help.

--Be sure to check out the brand-new NHL on the Outdoor Life Network! I believe you can catch it right after Buck Slapjack's World of Bowhuntin' and right before the World Fishing Federation. OLN is like Channel 200-something on most of your cable outlets. It's before you get to the Chinese News Channel, though.

--Joe Theismann > Tyrone Prothro, but barely.

--I still contend that Tyrone Prothro and Brodie Croyle should not have been in that game. Alabama was up 4 touchdowns in the 4th quarter against an offense that had shown NOTHING in the entire game--no reason for those guys to be in the game. That said, Alabama is the best team in the SEC, and Brodie Croyle is the best quarterback.

--Tennessee could play five teams ranked 6th or higher this season, four of them on the road.

--On a personal note, my broadcasting professor is featured in those University of Tennessee ads you see during UT football games. He's sitting outside with the class in a circle, something that NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED when I was in school. Just sayin'. He's a good guy, though.

I'm done, but you've got to check out the new sports56whbq.com and let me know what you think!

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