An Outside View: Some Rambling Thoughts

These are just some of my rambling thoughts and some questions that probably have no answers. • A lot of UT fans got their ire up when an ESPN Game Day promo portrayed Vol fans as hillbillies. I wonder if those fans have ever listened to the words of “Rocky Top.” Talk about making us look like hillbillies and we do that to ourselves. • Am I the only one glad to see the #24 car in the winner’s circle the last two weeks? I haven’t figured out why Jeff Gordon is the driver NASCAR fans love to hate. Is his clean cut image just not compatible with racing? • Alabama football coach Dennis Franchione may not be the coach he is cracked up to be. Well-coached teams are not penalized 16 times for 126 yards. The Tide led the SEC in penalties last season. Come to think of it, they lead the league in NCAA penalties as well. • Umpires in the Little League World Series work for free. It just goes to show that you get what you pay for. They were terrible at times. • Major League baseball players make a big deal out of the fact they agreed to a limited policy to test for steroids next season. However, they won’t agree to test for cocaine. Did they not learn anything from Daryl Strawberry? • Why all of the fuss about Kelly Washington not playing in the Wyoming game? Sure, his story changed when he got some bad press. It went from “It was my decision” to “I was just following doctor’s orders.” So much for the line from the country music song, “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” But UT fans must understand that Kelly isn’t on scholarship and it is clear that this year is nothing more than a season long audition for the NFL. • What’s going on with Gary Barnett at Colorado? He is 0-4 in season openers. Last year, the Buffs lost a shot at the national title when they lost in the opener to Fresno State. This year it was Colorado State. Can Colorado State run the table and throw a monkey wrench into the BCS computers? We’ll have a better idea after UCLA this Saturday. • There is a possibility that the Seymour Eagles could be bumped up to 4A when TSSAA reclassification occurs in three years. Judging by the first two games of this season, Coach Householder may be getting his program into position to compete at the higher level. The Eagles gave 5A Sevier County the scare of its life and then took care of 4A Cocke County. In the end, this team could be special. There are no superstars but they appear to be a gritty bunch. • Two weeks ago in our special preseason football edition, I did a column on why Phil Fulmer isn’t seen as one of the great coaches in the country. Three days later, John Adams with the News Sentinel ran a very similar piece. Coincidental? I’m sure it was. After all, what is it they say about great minds? I do wish John would have responded to my e-mail though. • The baseball owners had us all snookered. They must have had Arthur Anderson cooking up their books to make it look like they were in bad shape. Otherwise, they never would have agreed to a deal with the players. I guess we shouldn’t’ be surprised that a bunch of rich guys wouldn’t be totally honest with the public when disclosing financial figures. • Why do baseball managers and coaches wear full uniforms? Coaches in other sports don’t do that. • You have to love the competitive fire of MTSU coach, Andy McCollum. His team may not have a prayer Saturday against UT but don’t tell him that. • Wouldn’t it be nice if Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer would quit whining about today’s players being intimidated by Tiger Woods? Don’t they realize they intimidated a few guys in their prime? Tiger is the best ever. Period! • Why are there only four African American coaches in Division 1 football while there are dozens in basketball? Is it fair that people say that Tyrone Willingham must win at Notre Dame to open doors for more black coaches? • A final word on baseball. They may have saved the season but they didn’t save the game. Baseball will never regain the glory of days past and Kansas City and Milwaukee will never be able to compete with the Yankees for players.