You know you are a Tennessee homer...

if you were impressed by Lane Kiffin's opening press conference. The only thing missing was actual urine running down his leg. It reminded me of when I was in 7th grade and the teacher made the shy kid get up in front of the class to speak. I wish the guy the best, but if you thought that was anything other than an uncomfortable joke, you my friend are officially incapable of being objective regarding this subject. He may turn out to be great, but the presser was just another red flag to me. Gotta give it to him on the wife though, he obviously can recruit.
Delivery- F
Content- D-
Inspirational meter (Houston Nutt is an A)- F
Corny Jokes- F- (not one moment of humour intentionally created)
Bravado (false or real)- F- (no stones, he even laid the Florida prediction on Hamilton)
Wife- A

Philanthropy (Turkey Weekend Picks)

Philanthropy record is now 43-24 (64%) after going 4-1 last week.
This week Vinnie Verno takes...

Texas Tech -21 over Baylor
Nevada -4.5 over La Tech
Ole Miss -16 over Miss St
Oklahoma -7 over Okla St.
Southern Miss -15.5 over SMU

Wallace and Denunzio (The Audio), Mayo for PG '08

I could not get the audio to load in the player, but I got it up another way.

MAYO FOR PG '08... Change we can believe in (has that already been used?)

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was on for his weekly segment and we spent the majority of the time talking about the point guard situation. We also talked about what the Grizzlies are looking to add to this team, coaches getting fired, etc.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (11-26-08) part 1
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (11-26-08) part 2

The World's Greatest Handicapper Jimmy Denunzio joined us for a Thanksgiving Day edition of picks.
Jimmy Denunzio (11-26-08)

Grizzlies look for shooting help...

That was the title of the article in the CA this morning. I agree with the idea that the Grizzlies need more guys that can hit shots, but that is not a major problem to me. They really need...

1) to move O.J. Mayo to the point, play Ross at the SG (this would change the dynamic of a hapless offense that now has point guards that are an offensive abyss). The idea of getting a shooter is to open the floor. Hello! Put a guy that can hit a shot at the point and things may open up some more. Mayo and Ross helps you offensively and defensively. It is a no-brainer to me.

2) offensive sets. There are only one of two answers to the question of why the Grizzlies look ridiculous on offense. Either a) they don't listen to the coach, or b) they are woefully unprepared.

3) Get Rudy Gay in better position to score. There was a Hubie mantra about the function of a coach is to get guys into sections of the court where they are most successful. I fear that the coaches don't even know where guys are in best position to shoot a high percentage.
Rudy would be helped by having a PG that can make plays and open up the floor with the threat of scoring. Rudy is not without fault. He clearly is not responding to the coach and has little confidence in the man leading the team. That is the fault of everyone. The organization for leaving Iavaroni dangling instead truly empowering him, and Rudy for not just getting past his problems. Multiple times I have seen Rudy not do what the coach told him to do, or roll his eyes when told what to do. This is a major problem. I fear that this dymamic will only change when the coach does. You can blame Rudy, or blame the coach, but the problem is real and it hurts the team.

I would like for the Grizzlies to get more shooting, but they can fix some of their problems without having to.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Philanthropy record is 39-23 (63%) on the season. Here are the games this week...
Had to roll with some NFL games this week too.

Ole Miss +4 over LSU
Boise St -6 over Nevada
Giants -3 over Cardinals
Titans -5 over the Jets
Bears -8 over Rams

Bruce Pearl and Bobby Bowden (The Audio)

Pearl and Bowden were on the show today and we loaded up the audio from earlier in the week. Check it.

Season preview for Tigers (AOL FanHouse)

AOL's FanHouse is one of my favorites, and so I was honored when they asked me to write a season preview for the site. I think you will agree that I am a regular Bill Shakespeare. In fact, I might be the greatest writer of this era and I didn't even know until I penned this masterpiece.

FanHouse NCAA Hoops BlogPoll: No. 10, Memphis Tigers

Show news: Bobby Bowden and Bruce Pearl...

are scheduled for the show on Thursday. I will try to get the audio from earlier in the week up on the site today (Bill Romanowski, Jeff Goodman, Easterwood, etc.). Today, Hasseltine will be in studio because the Grizzlies travel tomorrow, and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will be on for the weekly segment at 5.

UMASS coach Derek Kellogg (The Audio)

Coach Kellogg was on the show before the game tonight. Audio is below if you missed it...

Philanthropy (The Misery)

2-3 on the weekend, making the season record 39-23 (63%).
We won on Texas easy and we won on Washington St. The rest of the picks were rough. Georgia gave Auburn about 90 yds of offense in penalties and by the end of the game I was hoping Kodi Montana, I mean, Kodi Burns would just go ahead and beat them. When Oklahoma St. kicks a FG from the 1 on their first drive, you get the feelin it is gonna be a long night, and it was. The last game was South Carolina and that might have been the quickest cover in history, and it least it was a quick death. And the positive of the weekend... we didn't have the Steelers. That was seriously shady.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Philanthropy season record now stands at 37-20 (65%) after Vinnie Verno killed it last week. Now it's go time. You can't stop this train. Philanthropy this week...

Texas -13 over Kansas (I love Kansas, they have been good to us, but they can't stop the Melrose Wildcats. Kansas is 92nd in the nation in defense, 117th against the pass. Uh-oh. Texas needs style points, Reesing has been throwing picks under pressure. This could get ugly for the Jayhawks.)

Georgia -9.5 over Auburn (Auburn is awful. 99th ranked offense, come on. Georgia has the 14th best rushing D in the country, which leads us to...Kodi Burns. 1 td, 8 picks. Georgia rolls Auburn here, just like they have the last 2 years when Auburn had a better team)

South Carolina +23 over Florida (That is just too many points to cover against an SEC team that is not terrible. South Carolina has the 3rd best defense in the nation and I get over 3td's? I'll take it.)

Oklahoma St. -17 over Colorado (Blow. Out. The Cowboys are awesome against the spread this year at 8-1. Colorado had the whole team fall apart from injury and grades in October. Buddha can't help you in this one Dan Hawkins. This is gonna be a mercy killing)

Washington St. +36.5 over Arizona St. (I know, I know. The Cougars might be the worst team in the world, but they did score 28 last week. Their coming on! Actually, I don't believe that, but I do believe that this is too many points to cover for an Arizona St. team that is 82nd in the nation in total offense. They are 110th in rushing, and Wash St actually is 33rd nationally in pass defense. Give me over 5 tds.)

Mic Check

This week the TV bit was based on the article I posted a few days ago about Mike Conley Jr. I would like to thank ABC for the way the screen is frozen on the video before it starts. Hahaha. Mic Check is on CW 30 at 9:45, and ABC 24 during the 10pm news on Wednesday nights.
Here is the bit if you missed it...

MIC CHECK 11-12-08

Kenny Mayne and Big Jack Eaton (The Audio)

The legendary Big Jack Eaton

Jack Eaton is one of my favorite people ever. When I first got a job in radio I worked with him for the first several years. I didn't grow up in Memphis, so I did not grow up watching Jack on Channel 5 and listening to him call Memphis games on the radio. I just worked with him, everyday for 5 years. He was always there to help me, which can be rare sometimes in a business where many times older guys can be resentful, insecure, and take themselves so seriously. In a business where so many people take themselves so seriously, I always noticed that the guy that was the most beloved in town was also the most self-deprecating. That is not a coincidence. Also, I looked forward to seeing him at work everyday and never remember him being in a bad mood. Anyway, Jack now has a new book coming out. The book is of his famous poems he wrote, and it is available at www.memphissport.net. I would imagine if you are a Memphis sports fan, or know one, this would be perfect. Jack was in studio in the 5 oclock hour yesterday to talk about some of his favorite stories of calling Tiger games, and to talk about the book (I will get the audio up soon). He also brought a poem about the show...

Ode to Chris Vernon

Great Caesar's Ghost what do you know
Here I am on the Chris Vernon Show.
He's come a long way I'm telling you
From his days working at WHBQ.
At 56 he just couldn't find his spot
But 730 said-go for kid- and look what he's got.
Checking those ratings-they go up and down
But he has the # 1 Sports talk show in town.
Chris,you've done very well working alone
So if Weinberger calls-don't answer the phone..