October, 2007

Some random mid-October thoughts:

Hip Phrases

When did "random" become a hip everyday phrase? As in, I bumped into George Bush at the supermarket on Sunday. Random, huh?

That TV Thing Again

The Vols are playing better football, but they're still not prime time material. CBS has opted out of televising this weekend's game against Alabama. The announcement comes a week after the Vols were left high-and-dry, and only available on pay-per-view, for the Mississippi State game.

Apparently the Vols 2-2 start has scared off television executives. In the world of college football telecasts, Tennessee used to be a prime time player. But now they can't even play their way into a mid-afternoon appearance on a regional network.

The UT Sports Information Department issued a release last night announcing the Vols will play Mississippi State on October 13th, at 1:30pm CT. Later in the release, it was mentioned that none of the SEC's broadcast partners have elected to air the game.

When I saw former Vol Todd Helton in San Francisco four weeks ago, the Rockies were 6 games out of first place, with only a slim chance to make the Major League playoffs.

The reason for our meeting was to produce a story on Todd's Tennessee football connection. The Vols were playing Cal in Berkeley-- just 15 miles away. Helton was playing a three game series against the San Francisco Giants that same week. It was a timely convergence.