Smoltz will be tricky because I think he compares unfavorably to the one HOFer that he can logically be compared to-- Dennis Eckersley. He falls short if you compare him to other starters or if you compare him to other closers, so Eckersley is  one of the few HOFers who can set any kind of standard for comparison. Smoltz did win a Cy Young award as a starter, but was not really a top starting pitcher for the bulk of his career-- just a handful of really good seasons (which Eck also had, though never a Cy Young). While he was a very good closer for the short time he did that, was not as dominant in that role as Eckersley and a few others have been, and certainly not over a long period of time. He was also never an MVP.

He's not a first ballot guy, IMO, though I wouldn't be shocked at all if he eventually got in.

We'll have to disagree on that CO.  I think he will be a first ballot HOFer. 

213 wins, 154 saves,and a lifetime 3.33 ERA in the juiced hitter era are more than good enough to get him there on the first ballot, in my opinion.

Guess we'll find out a year from today. 

What he said.

I wish some ESPN (or FOX, I don't care) talking head would come up with some cleverly name category for coaches like Petrino and Kiffin and others who, regardless of ability or history or merit, seem to get top-tier coaching jobs. For lack of a better suggestion, and with admitted bias, I'll make the first suggestion: "Kiffin Klown."

Coaches of Fortune. 

Been concerned that he might be one to slip away.  Good to have him in school, along with the other 10 high schoolers and 3 juco guys.

http://www.timesnews.net/article/9071780/tennessee-announces-arrivals-of-14-new-players

Disagree on Glavine, BDV.  He is a 300 game winner at 305-203 and a lifetime ERA of 3.54.  300 wins is one of those "automatics" that bring with it HOF status.  He's a first ballot hall of famer on his own, in my opinion. 

[against]

One guy wouldn't vote for Maddux because "he played in the steroid era" and he wasn't going to vote for anyone that played during that era. He didn't bother to consider that there was never a hint that Maddux did PEDs and that he actually had a great record pitching against guys who did do PEDs. Idiot.

Yep.  I saw that.  I had the same exact thought that you did.

And at 6' and 170, I don't think anybody with half a brain would accuse Maddux of juicing. 

Craig Biggio missed by 2 tenths of a percentage point of inclusion on the necessary 75% of ballots. 

Maddux just missed Tom Seaver's all time high percentage of 98.2%.  He was included on 97.4% of the ballots cast. 

Dish Network is far cheaper than DirecTV, but that comes at a price. They play hardball with the networks more. Nothing like losing one of your favorite channels due to contract negotiations.  It happens far too often, and I've threatened to leave several times because of it. My contract with Dish expired over a year ago, but every time I compare prices with DirecTV I wind up stalling on making the switch.

Not sure what kind of deal DirecTV has going on right now, but my in-laws just switched from local cable back to Dish and got two free IPad 2s out of the deal.

Agreed, but Dish has also eventually ended up getting those channels back. Only once or twice has that happened with channels I watched, but they were channels that Direct was negotiating for lower pricing, too. 

Can't go wrong with either Dish or Direct. 

Yep.  I was impressed. 

Now, let's see if they can follow it up with continued good play. 

He will never be fast but the AJ we saw at the end of the season was much improved.  He was able to get sideline to sideline far, far better than earlier in the season and, on occasion, actually cover a receiver.  His zone pass defense skills improved greatly.  If he builds on the late season surge then he will be a very good LB for us at Mike and as a leader of the defense.

Yep, we'll be better on defense with him than without him, so I am good with his staying. 

That said, I don't see him improving his NFL stock much, so maybe he is taking a huge risk.  He could be drafted this year, make somebody's team, and earn a year's rookie pay, which still isn't a bad thing right now. 

Not sure I understand this one. 

Same as Vinnie, except with Dish Network.  No issues, pricing is good, and customer service beats Comcast, who is the devil, all to pieces. 

Probably be 4 or 5 more heading out the door after spring practice, too. 

And there needs to be.  Dooley left our roster with way too many scholarships tied up in non-SEC caliber, if not non-D1-A caliber, talent. 

Over.

Rated.

I'm watching the game on ESPN News.  There are a bunch of current college coaches doing analysis as the plays are going on.  No Mussburger.  No Herbie.  Actually guys who know what they are seeing.  It's good stuff. 

LOL.  How the hell did this guy ever work for Saban?

Nekkid pictures is all I can figure out. 

So everyone ask themselve this, If the Tennessee job were open would you want Hart to interview and offer Him? I say yes.

If he weren't such an asshat from a personality standpoint, and based purely on his coaching ability, yes.  But it's hard to say he would have rubbed us all the wrong way had he been coaching somewhere other than Vanderbilt.    

Let me rephrase that - if he were coaching somewhere else besides the SEC and had done a similar turnaround job with a program that was as bad as Vandy has historically been, then absolutely we should consider him.  

Been seeing Tweets yesterday and today of some EEs moving in to Gibbs. 

Helm (TE, first name escapes me at the moment) and Hurd are two that come to mind whom are here. 

Once they attend their first class they are ours. 

The optimistic side of me hopes you are correct.

The pessimistic side of me asks the question that if he was the answer and was better than the QBs we already have on campus, then why wasn't he playing before the injury?

I'm so conflicted.  I want to believe!   

Tonight I am pulling for:

Meteor.

Earthquake.

Deadly swarm of locusts. 

Not necessarily in that order, however.  Whatever it takes. 

Without Tennessee and Florida being down he wouldn't get to nine wins though.

Do you disagree?

No, I don't disagree.  I said that even with the SEC East being down to win 9 games AT VANDERBILT, coming from where they were just 3 short years ago when Franklin took over, is an impressive feat. 

The fact is that he beat those teams, along with Georgia.  Past Vandy teams wouldn't have done that. 

Take the blinders and orange colored glasses off for a minute and ponder this:  Vanderbilt has won 9 games for the last 2 years. 

There is just no reasonable and rational way to realistically poo poo that. 

Barring the meteor/hurricane combo, how about a freak lightning strike? 

Followed up by man eating locusts. 

Agree on the first part Herb. On the second...have you lost your mind?

Many would probably tell you that I have no mind to have lost in the first place.

My Dook basketball fandom goes back to my college days in the mid/late 70s, first at a juco in North Carolina, and then at Western Carolina University.  Most of my baseball team mates were either UNC or NC State fans, and of course I had to find a way to be the contrarian that I naturally am, so I started pulling for Dook just to be different.  Dook had a pretty solid program even then.  Bill Foster was the coach at the time, and some of his players back then included Mike Gminiski, Jim Spnarkle, Kenny Dennard, just to name a few.  I saw several games, the first of probably 20 in my lifetime, at Cameron Idoor, during that era.

I continued to be a Dook fan after Coach K came and the incredible run began. 

Coach K and Bobby Knight haven't forgotten their West Point roots, by the way.  Every year they both return to The Academy for a leadership seminar for a small group of Cadets.  My son was one of those who had the opportunity to be in one of those small groups during his Firstie (senior) year at West Point and loved every second of it.  He still gets handwritten notes from both Coach K and Coach Knight several times a year, even now 6 years later.  Say what you will about both of them, but I think highly of both of them, and especially Coack K. 

Impressive job at halftime and the 3rd quarter for sure ...

And in spite of the third quarter meltdown they still won by 17. 

I repeat - VANDERBILT - won 9 games for the second year in a row. 

Yet James Franklin hasn't done a good coaching job.   

Two words for you, Pirate:

Cold.  Shower.   

That really conflicted me at the time.  It was while I was in college, right before my hatred for all things Kliempsein Rat Bastards began. 

On the one hand I always thought that Woody Hayes was a genuine nut job. 

On the other hand, it was a Kliempsein player that he hit.

Conflicted and confused.