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Gran to FSU and Wilson to LSU

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:41:00 -0500

More to come later.....

Tennessee pulls away from Kentucky in OT, 30-24

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:42:00 -0500

Tennessee senior running back Montario Hardesty had a career night as the vols won 30-24 in OT. Hardesty scored three touchdowns including a game winning touchdown run. The victory against Ketucky makes the streak 25 straight victorys for the Vols over Kentucky. At halftime the score was 21-14. To start the half Tennessee marched down the field, but was stopped on 4th and goal from the 1 yard line. When Tennessee got the ball back they responeded with a strike from Johnathon Crompton to Luke Stoker for the touchdown. Devin Mathis also added a 30 yard field goal. Tennessee went into the fourth quarter leading 24-21. In the fourth quarter the game seemed to be over when suddenly Stoker fumbled the ball. The crowd was into the game when Kentucky offense got on the field. Kentucky started off with a 13 yard scamper from Alco native Randall Cobb. However, Tennessee defensive back Dennis Rogan made a huge play by shedding a blocker and tackling Morgan Newton to hold Kentucky to 4th and 3. Knoxville native Lones Seiber kicked the 21 yard field goal to tie the game. Going into overtime the score was all tied up at 24 a piece. In overtime, UT won the coin toss and chose to play defense. Knoxville native Lones Seiber missed the field goal. Tennessee would captalize off the missed field goal as Hardesty score the game winning touchdown.

Montario Hardesty carried the ball 39 times for a total of 179 yards. Johnathon Crompton was 13 of 23 for 220 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Gerald Jones had 5 catcheds for 113 yards while Luke Stocker had 5 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. UT had 22 firstdowns while kentucky had only 13. UT had a total of 466 yards. Tennessee did a good job of avoding penalties as they only had 2 for 24 yards. Kentucky had 6 penalties for 64 yards Tennessee was 7-15 on third down conversions. Both teams accounted for 2 turnovers.

With a win over Kentucky, Tennesssee clinched a 2nd place finish in the SEC East, a likely Outback Bowl apperance, and continued the streak of dominace over kentucky for a 25th straight year. Kuddos to Lane Kiffin for the way he has led this team. There could have been no better way to end this season. Tennessee is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Gorockytop, Rocky Top Nation site owner

Young strings together another solid night as Wiz drop Heat: NBA.com

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:51:00 -0500

By Chris Perkins, for NBA.com

Posted Friday November 27, 2009 11:16PM

MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- It's rare when Washington guard Nick Young is a bigger story than Miami superstar guard Dwyane Wade. But that was the case in the Wizards' 94-84 victory over the Heat Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Young, the third-year player from the University of Southern California, scored a season-best 22 points one game after scoring a previous season-best 20 points against Philadelphia. And this is from a guy who was inactive two games ago and hadn't played in three of the Wizards' previous five games.

"It was just going out there and playing hard, really," Young said.

Even more impressive was Young, along with help from reserve guard Randy Foye, held Wade to 18 points (nine fewer than his season average) on 6-for-19 shooting. The defensive combination of Young and Foye was so good Wade, who entered the game averaging 11.1 free throws per game, only attempted seven.

Washington's defense was so effective that it held the Heat to 41.5 percent shooting and a season-low 14 free-throw attempts.

"We had very good defensive concentration," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said.

Washington's defense really affected Wade. Although he ranks among the league leaders in free throws per game, his numbers have been down recently. Wade has attempted fewer than 10 free throws in four of his last seven games. Friday marked the second time this season he hasn't attempted a free throw in the first half. In Miami's 105-90 loss at Atlanta 10 days ago Wade didn't attempt a free throw in the first half. In fact, he finished that game1-for-2 from the line.

Wade thinks the problems stems from the offense.

"We've got to find a better way to get me the ball in better positions," Wade said.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra agrees.

"We have to break him free and get him some better opportunities where he can get to the rim, get to the free-throw line and get a little bit more space," Spoelstra said.

Washington (5-9), on the other hand, had no such complaints. Forward Antawn Jamison finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds and now has double-doubles in four of his last five games. But Jamison is traditionally trouble for Miami. He had three double-doubles against the Heat last season, averaging 21 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games.

"He's always going to be there when you need him," Saunders said.

Among Wizards bench players, 5-foot-5 guard Earl Boykins (10 points, nine assists in 21 minutes) and forward Andray Blatche (eight points, nine rebounds) kept the pressure on Miami in a game the Wizards practically led wire-to-wire. Boykins played so well that Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas (nine points) didn't play at all in the fourth quarter.

Washington punished Miami badly in numerous statistical areas, including second-chance points (Washington had 26, Miami had eight) and points off turnovers (Washington had 20 points of Miami's 14 turnovers).

Miami (9-6), which has now lost five of its last eight games, had its only lead at 2-0. The Wizards took a 67-64 lead into the fourth quarter. The Heat had a chance to take the lead going into the final period but it misfired on its last four shots.

That started a streak of poor possessions by Miami and good defense by Washington that led to the Wizards taking what was then their biggest lead of the game at 82-70. The Heat were content to fire up 3-pointers -- they shot a season-high 26, making just six -- and ill-advised jumpers, and the Wizards, when not harassing Miami into poor choices, was simply grabbing rebounds and going the other way. Washington crushed the Heat on the boards, 48-36.

But everything started with the Young-Wade matchup.

"I knew I had a big assignment," Young said. "My goal was to try to keep him under 40 [points]."

Mission accomplished.

Notes: Washington forward Antawn Jamison hit the 16,000-point mark for his career. He joins Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan as the only active players to reach that level...Washington center JaVale McGee has 11 blocks in his last three games. He had a career-best six blocks in 14 minutes against Philadelphia on Tuesday...Arenas is now 1-19 against Heat guard Dwyane Wade. ...Heat center Jermaine O'Neal made it to back into town just in time for Friday's tip-off. O'Neal was with an ill uncle.

Janzen Jackson will start against Kentucky

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:27:00 -0500

The charges of attempted armed robbery have been dropped and Janzen Jackson will start against Kentucky. Head coach Lane Kiffin had this to say about the manner, "As I've said before, we wanted to take our time and get all the information in regard to his situation," UT coach Lane Kiffin said in a prepared statement. "These were very serious allegations and we had to make sure we handled this properly." Lane Kiffin went on to say, "After an extensive and thorough investigation by the Knoxville Police Department and the District Attorney's office, they've cleared Janzen of any wrongdoing in this situation and he had no prior knowledge of this incident. Janzen will join team activities today. As I've said before, we hold our student-athletes to an extremely high standard on and off the field, and Janzen has seen the effect personal decisions had on his former teammates and he is excited to rejoin our team activities." Jackson had missed two straight games and the defense in his absence. "He's very rested," joked Kiffin, at his weekly press conference. "He'll be ready to play. He's a great player for us, and we expect him to have a really good week of practice and he'll contribute for us on special teams like he has." Former teamates Nu'keese Richardson and Mike Edwards are still charged and have been dismissed from the team. Jackson, 6-foot, 174 pounds from Lake Charles, La., had 33 tackles before missing the Ole Miss and Vanderbilt game during the suspension.

-Gorockytop, Rocky Top Nation Owner

Hardesty runs over Vandy for 171, TD as Tennessee eyes bowl bid

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:37:00 -0500

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin has had to reach so far down his depth chart because of injuries that even he wasn't sure who was on the field.

The Volunteers beat in-state rival Vanderbilt 31-16 on Saturday night playing with a third-string middle linebacker, a walk-on outside linebacker and walk-on placekicker Devin Mathis.

"That's the kicker, right?" Kiffin quipped when asked about Mathis.

After missing the postseason last year, the battered Volunteers (6-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) became bowl eligible with the victory. Tennessee hasn't missed out on a bowl game in consecutive seasons since 1977-78.

The Commodores (2-10, 0-8) finished without a conference win for the first time since 2002.

Tennessee entered halftime with the momentum, but Vanderbilt had plenty of chances to take advantage of a Vols defense fielding inexperience players and guys like senior linebacker Rico McCoy, determined to play despite having an injured knee.

"We just couldn't take advantage of some opportunities," Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said. "It's a tough way to end the season."

The Commodores had a chance to tie the game before halftime but stalled on fourth-and-2 at the Tennessee 38 with 51 seconds left. Instead, Tennessee drove for a quick touchdown to go up 24-10.

Vandy's Steven Stone was called for a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty, and Jonathan Crompton was perfect on four pass attempts. His 16-yard TD pass to Luke Stocker capped the 30-second drive.

"That was a big momentum shift," Vanderbilt linebacker Chris Marve said. "That just put us down even further, so we had to come out for the second half with an ever larger deficit."

Crompton finished 20-for-34 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Montario Hardesty ran for a career-high 171 yards and a touchdown.

The Vols struggled to move the ball in the second half, and Vanderbilt had a shot to pull within four points with about 6 minutes left.

On third-and-goal at the 3, MacKenzi Adams attempted a pass for John Cole in the end zone. The ball bounced off Cole and into the hands of Tennessee's Dennis Rogan, but a pass interference call on Rogan kept the Commodores' drive alive.

With a fresh set of downs, Vanderbilt couldn't move the ball, and Adams took a sack for a loss of 9 yards. Ryan Fowler kicked a 32-yard field goal to make the score 24-16 with 2:54 left, and the Commodores couldn't pull any closer.

Adams was 19-of-35 for 174 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Vandy's Warren Norman had 73 yards rushing and 61 yards on kickoff returns. Norman's 1,923 all-purpose yards broke Herschel Walker's SEC freshman record of 1,805. He also became the Commodores' single-season leader for all-purpose yards.

"It doesn't mean too much to me because I'm not about breaking records," Norman said. "It's an honor though, just being mentioned with Herschel Walker. That's pretty cool."

Crompton's third-quarter interception ended a streak of 142 straight pass attempts without one, one shy of Casey Clausen's school record of 143.

After struggling to find consistency on field goals with an injured Daniel Lincoln and punter Chad Cunningham, Tennessee called on Mathis for the first time this week. Mathis hit a 25-yard field goal and connected on three extra point attempts.

Mathis was a walk-on last season and nearly earned a starting job as Lincoln struggled. He spent the spring semester studying in Mexico and did not participate in the Vols' fall camp.

Tennessee finished its senior day in style when senior defensive tackle Wes Brown, who's played with injured knees for the past two seasons, intercepted Adams' pass and ran 25 yards for a touchdown with 3 seconds left, carrying Norman on his back for the last 5. His teammates piled on top of him in the end zone.

"Everybody was saying, 'That might have been the ugliest thing I've ever seen,'" Brown said. "I felt [Norman] hopping on my back, but I didn't want to be denied. I wanted to score, and I couldn't ask for a better ending."

Miami Heat vs New York Knicks Recap: NBA.com

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:15:00 -0400

MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade liked what he saw from center Jermaine O'Neal in Wednesday's 115-93 season-opening victory against New York.

O'Neal, the former Indiana Pacers All-Star now in his 14th season, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in perhaps his best performance in 28 regular-season games with the Heat.

"That's the (O'Neal) I like," Wade said, "And that's the (O'Neal) I disliked in Indiana."

New York, on the other hand, struggled all around. The Knicks tied a franchise record by attempting 39 3-pointers. They only made 10, which translates to a miserable 25.6 percent.

"I thought we were going to win 82 (games) this year, but now it's only 81," New York coach Mike D'Antoni said, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Wade, who led the league in scoring last year at 30.2 points per game, had a tidy 26 points, and second-year forward Michael Beasley, the No. 2 pick of the 2008 Draft, finished with 21 points.

Overall, it was a good home opener for the Heat, which shot 56.6 percent from the field and led by as many as 31 points. After the game was tied at 46 with 2:49 left in the second quarter, the Heat went on a 44-15 run through the end of the third quarter. That allowed Miami to take a 90-62 lead into the fourth quarter, and at that point the game was over.

"We couldn't make shots, we couldn't stop them," D'Antoni said. "That's not a good combination."

The Knicks, who have had eight consecutive losing seasons, are in their second year of D'Antoni's up-tempo offense. And after one game things don't appear any more promising now than they did in last year's 32-50 season.

"A number of people did not shoot the ball well," New York point guard Chris Duhon said.

Knicks center David Lee (22 points, nine rebounds) was back to his usual pogo-stick ways, but he had very little help. Forward Al Harrington started 3-for-4 from the field but then missed eight of his next 10 shots to finish 5-for-14. Second-year forward Danilo Gallinari, the No. 6 pick of the 2008 Draft, missed six of his first nine shots and got hot after the game's outcome was determined. Reserve guard Nate Robinson missed all eight of his shots. Swingman Wilson Chandler missed nine of his first 13.

Wade, who missed eight of his first 11 shots, was more low-key than he was in last season's two home games against New York. Wade averaged 50.5 points in those contests, finishing with 46 in one game and 55 in the other. On Wednesday, Wade only flashed his dazzle. In the third quarter, after a Beasley field goal, Wade stole an inbounds pass meant for Chris Duhon, did a 360-degree turn in the air, and converted the layup for a 73-53 Miami lead.

Wade said he wasn't concerned about starting slowly on offense.

"I know what I can do in the flow of the offense," he said. "I just want to make sure everybody else is doing well."

O'Neal, who suffers from creaky knees, did just fine. Coach Erik Spoelstra thinks it's a result of O'Neal's offseason work. O'Neal, the 31-year-old known to teammates by his initials, J.O., spent six weeks working with the Heat's trainers in Miami and eight weeks working with well-known trainer Tim Grover in Chicago.

"We called him 'The young J.O.' tonight," Heat guard Daequan Cook said.

Notes: New York center Darko Milicic went down with 8:28 left in the third and left the court limping on his left leg. He returned to the bench a few minutes later. ... Former Heat guard Tim Hardaway had his jersey (No. 10) retired in a pregame ceremony. Hardaway played five-plus seasons for the Heat. Attending the ceremony were Hardaway's former Golden State teammates Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, the trio that formed the famed "Run TMC" combination. ... Beasley got called for back-to-back traveling violations in the second quarter as he tried to create off the dribble at small forward. ... New York rookie guard Toney Douglas, the 29th pick in the Draft, ended 1-for-4 from the field in just 6:13. ... Heat forward Udonis Haslem, a starter the past six seasons, came off the bench for eight points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes. Beasley, who played 36 minutes, got the start at power forward. Miami used former Knicks player Quentin Richardson (five points in 17 minutes) as its starter at small forward.

Tennessee at Alabama Review: Gorockytop

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:30:00 -0400

1) Stop the Run - Tennessee struggled early on against the wildcat package, but picked up the slack as the game went on. Mark Ingram was held to just 99 yards. All in all, Alabama just didn't do as good as they normally do against this Monte Kiffin defense.

2) Control time of possesion - Tennessee did a very good job of this. Tennessee was always marching down the field and getting first downs. Problem was that they weren't converting their drives into points.

3) Get off to good start early - Tennessee and Alabama were tied 3-3 to begin the first quarter, but going into halftime the score was 9-3 Bama. Not a great start for Tennessee.

4) Play great on special teams - Tennessee failed this part. Kickoff coverage was crappy. 2 field goals were blocked and 1 was missed. Unfortuantley, special teams cost Tennessee the game.

5) Create turnovers - Tennessee didn't get a lot of turnovers. However, the one turnover they did get was huge. Causing Mark Ingram to fumble the ball changed the game.

Keys to beating Alabama: Gorockytop

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:30:00 -0400

Here are my keys to victory for the Vols:

1) Stop the Run - If Tennessee is going to have any chance of beating Alabama they must stop Mark Ingram and the rest of the Alabama running backs. Players such as Middle Line Backer Savion Frazier must have a great game if they want to accomplish this. Defensive lineman such as Ben Martin and Chris Walker must come out and cause trouble for Alabama's offensive line. If Tennessee can stop the run and make Alabama a one-dimensional team Alabama could be in for trouble on offense. Alabama quarterback Greg Mcelroy has struggled as of late even when Mark Ingram was having tremendous days.

2) Control time of possesion - With a such a great defense lead by Monte Kiffin it's a shame that the offense has had trouble in the past of keeping them off the field. In order for Tennessee's defense to be affective Montario Hardesty and crew must gain first downs. Both Hardesty and Bryce Brown have to be on there A-game against Alabama. If Tennessee can run the ball and keep the defense on the sidelines Alabama is in for a pleasent suprise.

3) Get off to good start early - There is no question that the Vols play better when they get off to a good start. Just ask Georgia. If Crompton can get going early and throw a couple of good 10 yard passes everything will start to come together for this offense. Tennessee needs to come out early and gain some confidence. Crompton's play seems to be 5 times better when Tennessee has a good start and hes gaining confidence.

4) Play great on special teams - One of the bad parts of this year for Tennessee has been special teams. Kickoff coverage has been absolutley horrible and Daniel Lincoln hasn't been the best either. It's extremely important for Tennessee to have good kickoff coverage or Javier Arenas and Julio Jones will be running into the endzone. It's also equally important that Daniel Lincoln connects on field goals or he could end up costing Tennessee the game. Special teams must improve in order for Tennessee to have a chance against Alabama.

5) Create turnovers - Last but not least, Tennessee needs to get into Greg Mcelroy's head and pick some of his passes off. By creating turnovers Alabama will start tear apart and the crowd will settle down. Watch out for Eric Berry as we all know he is very close to breaking the interceptions return yards record and would be more then glad to do it against Alabama. Also heisman canidate Mark Ingram might not like Eric Berry after the game either.

Kiffin signs 6-year, $14.25M contract

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:41:00 -0400

Tennessee Vols Head Coach Lane Kiffin

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, who had been working under a memo of understanding, has signed a six-year, $14.25 million contract. As agreed to when he was hired in November, Kiffin will earn $2 million in 2009, which includes pay for broadcasting responsibilities and endorsements. His salary will gradually increase each season, topping out $2.75 million for the 2014 season. Should Kiffin be fired without cause, he will receive a buyout between $5 million and $7.5 million. Kiffin must inform Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton if he is interested in any other college or professional coaching job or is approached about another position. He will owe the university between $200,000 and $1 million should he take another job.

Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron recruit in style: gorockytop

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:19:00 -0400

Lane Kiffin(left) and Ed Orgeron(right) arrive via helicopter to the M.L. King vs. Stephenson game.

Just when everyone thought Lane Kiffin couln't get anymore crazy, he did. Both Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron hoped in a helicopter and flew down to Martin Luther King High School to watch them play Stephenson in a game that featured many D-1 prospects. One of those prospects was Mike Thornton, a Rivals 250 defensive tackle. Mike Thorton plays at Stephenson and is one of the most underated players in the Class of 2010. After the game Thorton said this to ESPN, "It blew me away, you know," Thornton said. "We have a linebacker that goes to Tennessee [Nigel Mitchell-Thornton], so it would be nice for me to get up there and play on the team with him. I am going to give them a look. I am going to give Tennessee a look." Tennessee also went after current Florida commit, Mack Brown. Brown is a highly rated tailback who has been commited to Florida for quite amount of time. Brown had this to say about Kiffin, "Yeah, he was at my school earlier," said Brown, the state's top-ranked tailback and a Florida commitment. "I ran into him, shook his hand." Asked if Kiffin was trying to get him to flip on the Gators, Brown said politely, "Yes, sir." Both Mike Thorton and Mack Brown could potentially return the favor and visit UT. Without a doubt this visit from the coaching staff paid off for UT.

Orgeron (right) and Mitchell-Thornton watch the game from the sidelines.