and those who think they won't get it...

Guess who was the lead investigator in Pearl's case?

Dave Didion, who is now at Auburn, and just hired Pearl.

Huge factor as you said, and due to his background in this case most helpful to Auburn. If appeal is successful, NCAA hypocrisy? There will be much written in the national press.


BG

Along with Miami and Ohio State.

He's a dual-threat QB who seems to fit Butch's system well. Rivals gives him 4 stars and has him as the No. 2 dual-threat QB in the '15 class (and No. 49 in the nation). 247 has him at 5 stars, No. 1 QB and No. 5 overall.

Gibson would be a huge get for UT. Butch has apparently gone all-in on him; supposedly telling him they didn't recruit a QB this year because they want him next year. He has an offer list a mile long.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Torrance-Gibson-136015

Excellent prospect. Glad to to you use prospect ratings from Rivals and 247. For my money those are the two best services. I also like 247's composite rating which gives you the big picture of all the major recruiting services ratings.

BG

Yeah, please read the emoticons while rading my posts.   I clearly put a   after my bammer comment.  I believe the more posts and posters the better (although many may disagree since my recent return).    

Yes, I did get your intent, and knew you weren't bashing personally, but this was a good opportunity for me to explain why I post here to some. As you know I love a good debate on the issues, and most any here can give me that. My posts aren't personal slams, just slams maybe on arguments and issues. The fact I get good arguments here (I nearly always learn something new), and the high level of maturity on the board is a draw for me. As I said, that's a compliment to the posters here, and the Crimson Tide-Volunteer rivalry is very special to me. This is an excellent board with insightful posters, and I don't want to negatively effect that or the positive energy here, but just add some good debate and an opposing view on issues for discussion.


BG

Until I hear it from Bruce Pearl himself, it is all rumor and conjecture.  All we have is a report from a group of knuckle-heads and sportswriters.  Just think back before Butch was hired, we had word that we could take to the bank that Gruden had been hired.  It came from a source on the inside that it was a done deal.

I am sure the Auburn fans hope it is Pearl.  I am also sure that the sites will say anything to get them and keep them on-line or listening.  That is how they make money.

Do I know Pearl is not negotiating with Auburn? No.
Do I think Pearl will take the first job offered? No
Do I think Pearl can do better than Auburn? Yes.

That is JMO and I have been wrong before.  I also do not care because I cannot get upset over things I have no control over.

I hope he doesn't go to Auburn and certainly hope you are correct. However, Pearl reportedly was on JOX radio in B'ham Friday and said he was interested in the Auburn job. Some posters on the Auburn 247 site say it probably won't happen since they are an Under-Armour school, and consequently at a disadvantage in recruiting with Nike schools, and to a smaller extent with Adidas, due to their ties with AAU basketball. I do know UT is a Adidas school, and while their pull with players is as not as great as Nike, it sure seems it didn't hurt Pearl at UT. Anyway, as I said, I hope you are right.

BG

[and Auburn is filling the arena to the rafters every night,]

What really disgusts me about this situation is the fact that Dave Didion is on the staff at Auburn...so by making Pearl their top pick, Auburn is sending a clear message that blows all those theories about why Tennessee SHOULDN'T rehire Pearl right out of the water.

Obviously it's a moot point for Tennessee now, because we're headed to the NCAA Tournament and you can't just fire a coach who has just taken your team to the NCAA Tournament. But next season, when Tennessee is struggling to win more than 12-13 games and looks clueless on the court without McRae, and Auburn is filling the arena to the rafters every night, I'm gonna want to puke at the mere thought of college basketball.  

That's it. CW. Pearl is an instant attraction and pure entertainment, besides being a great coach. In a football crazed state, those attraction and entertainment factors are big in getting the fans immediately in the seats.


BG

I would imagine that every school with an opening will be all over him.  That's probably why Auburn fired Barbee so quickly, so they could get in first.

Yep, BDV. Wish we had an opening so we could have hired him. Battle says he's behind Grant but I doubt the team is. Great hire for Auburn if they can come to terms.


BG

You guys may already know, but I didn't until it was reported on the local news. Auburn's 247 site has an article up for those with a 247 account.


BG

You know, if they let bammers in here, they'll let anyone in.    By the way, is your youngest still the adventurous type?  

Tell your B-U-T-FUL wife I said, "Hey baby",    um, I mean, "Hi".  

Well, you can say I have a vested interest here as I actually have met and tailgated with several Vols here many times. I've posted with them for years, and one person I go back as far as about 94 or 95 with on the boards. Besides, most Tide fans are all about the Bama-Auburn rivalry, and second now is probably LSU (until UT beats us),  but I'm a Bama Guy (BG) who loves the Tide-Vol game like no other. It's my favorite rivalry, and I first saw UT play in person when I was only a small kid in 1963 against Auburn in B'ham. I've lived several years in Tennessee, and actually went to some games with my UT friends, and went to Knoxville for the first time in 1972.

I like this board as it's more Disney than gutter talk, and the level is more mature than some sites. That's a compliment to the posters here. My only problem with the board is that there aren't enough posts, and if I can spur some on to post more with my pro-Tide leanings, then that's a good thing, or least it is in my eyes. But if most want me to leave, I will surely do that.




BG (justifying my existence) Harper

Would Hotel California by the Eagles count?

Speaking of "Hotel California," I know there are some Eagles fans here as I remember a thread about them. I didn't realize until recently that Don Felder wrote the music for that song, and Henley and Frye only wrote most of the lyrics. I also didn't know he was a southern guy from Gainesville Fl. and while very young taught Tom Petty to play guitar. He also played in a band as a teen that included Stephen Stills and later original Eagles member Bernie Leadon. As a teen he knew Duane Allman and Allman taught him how to play slide. Sounds as if he caught a raw deal from Henley and Frye when he was fired after wanting to see just how much the band was making, and he deserved to know as he was a full member of the group and not a paid employee as Joe Walsh and Timothy Schmit. Never mind though as he got a big settlement after suing both.


BG

Just goes to show how inexact a science recruiting is

I hate to admit it, but while at Auburn Pat Dye was really great at evaluating players. He often came up with guys hardly anyone knew about. Andrey Bruce and Tommy Agee are two that came to mind. Dye was great at projecting what they would be in the future after getting them on a S&C program and coaching them up.


BG

http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv21/CFHSNv21n3a.pdf

http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv21/CFHSNv21n4d.pdf

I consider Cafego the best special teams coach ever. period. dot.

He was, and no doubt to it.


BG

Thought it was George Bush's fault?  

Herb,yep, before CNN gets through with this, it will be!

Awaiting a new Michael Moore documentary concurring this was all on Bush. Note if he did, (you know, not really that much more unbelievable than his others) it will be a favorite for an Academy Award.


BG

[anything else?]

I must admit I am puzzled. Here's possibilities

1 - It exploded in mid air. However, if that happened, satellite imagery would have picked it up, and there would be a lot of debrish, including large chunks of the plane, suitcases, etc.
2 - It has major mechanical or electrical issues and crashed. However, same applies - where is the debris?
3 - Pilots in on it, and crashed it as an act of terrorism - does not seem likely, and the debris would be huge
4 - Plane was hijacked and taken somewhere. The transponder was off - forced to turn it off? The plane did veer off course, but how did it escape detection, and where did it go? A plane that big can't just land anywhere. Plus, hijackers make demands, no one has made any
5 - Pilots in on it and took it somewhere. Planned in advance. Plane has landed and can't be seen because it's inside a hanger or something like that. But... where could it land like that undetected? Why would they do that and then keep quiet?
6 - Lost is happening in real life
7 - Langoliers
8 Twilight zone

anything else?

9-Nick Saban is to blame.


BG

Here's the possible good news. I hope this means Brad Nessler moves up the ladder, as it's long overdue. For my money, he's the best college football announcer in the business and has been for a long time.


BG

They already signed TJ Ward and Aquib Talib (if he had a problem with Welker's "cheap shot", he must gotten over it pretty quickly), and it sounds like they're the favorites to sign Demarcus Ware.

It's amazing how some high school players are just considered also-rans then develop into future high draft picks like Demarcus Ware. He was teammates at Auburn High School in Alabama with Osi Umenyiora, and their best offers were from Troy State, which both attended. Ware ended being a first round pick, while Umenyiora was drafted in the 2nd round.  


BG

Hate Musberger. Hate Palmer. Cannot imagine a worse combination for the SEC Network.

Palmer always seems a day late and a dollar short. His initial impressions often seem to be short sighted and lacking. He'll eventually come around and get it, but it seems to take him awhile.


BG

Brent Musberger is a cultural icon?!? WTF?

Not a Musburger fan, either. However, one thing I do like about him is he really loves the game he covers and is really into it. One of our posters on Tide Sports mentioned he stayed at the same hotel as the ABC crew in Atlanta a few years ago for the opening Bama-Clemson game. After the game the poster and his friends headed back to the hotel bar, and there was Musburger and an ABC crew member at a table. They went over to greet him, and he was so receptive he wanted them to sit with him, and he ordered up the next round for all. They sat with him for a long time, and all he could talk about was the game and wanted their impressions.


BG

Although technically it's not the same artist (Beatles), here's some by the same vocalist and original song writer.

McCartney redid several of his old Beatles songs in the studio years ago in the eighties:

Eleanor Rigby
Here, There and Everywhere 
For No One
Long and Winding Road


BG

Wow, I didn't know that.  He is a Ga Tech man, but I guess anyone can be bought.   

Rogers was a great "employee" during his tenure as head of the SEC officials. We miss him and his service, and it's a shame we get far more holding calls since Bama grad Steve Shaw took his place as supervisor of the SEC refs.



BG

It wasn't a comment on you specifically, but on your fanbase as a whole.  For the past four years, you guys were calling Kiffin a liar, a cheater, a pimp, and a criminal (and you weren't exactly wrong, either).  But now that Saban has hired him, he's A-OK.  It just reminds me of how the citizenry of a certain despotic Asian regime views their "Great General".  Sometimes I get the feeling that Saban could shoot up a convent, and half your fanbase would wonder what those nuns did to deserve it.

Most fans on the boards thought along the same lines as I. I see no problem with that. We didn't like him, but Saban does deserve some trust; he's earned it. While I wish he had hired someone else, I hope it turns out well.

BG

You call that a "personal attack"?  

It's called satire.  Google it.

It can be, so OK. What do you want from me? An all out attack on a coach who has produced three national titles just because he hired someone I don't like? I've already said I don't like Kiffin, and wish Saban had gone in another direction. I'm not wringing my hands over it though, because Saban is a proven commodity and has earned trust. Of course he has, and rightfully so. Not who I wanted but hope it turns out well. To my way of thinking, your questioning of me on this is trivial and nothing more.


BG

Oh my.  This is worse than I thought.  You have "Dear Leader" Syndrome.  Stand back, everyone, I've seen this before.

Now BG, I realize this is a tough situation for you down there in The Worker's Paradise, but we're here to help.  So be honest- you're afraid to question Saban, aren't you?  If you were to say something like, "Hiring that guy who pimps out coeds to football recruits was a huge mistake that Saban will live to regret", what would happen?  Would they ship you and your entire extended family to Camp 47?  Yes, we know it exists.  We've seen that big blurred out area on Google Maps between Opp and Elba.  It's where they sent your Cousin Milt, isn't it?  It's ok, you can let it all out.  You're among friends.  Are you under surveillance right now?  If so, blink twice.

At any rate, please remain calm, because help is on the way.  We have our top man en route to you even as I type this:

I try to stay away from initiating personal slams It's an immature form of posting, and usually reserved for those that lack the ability to make good arguments based on reason and fact. One reason I liked this board is there is not much of the personal stuff here. I will say one is clueless on the facts, or have no idea what an issue may be, but that is an issue related argument, and not a personal shot. Count me out of the personal attacks.


BG

Kiffin will have them on probation in a couple of years and he will be on here crying about us laughing at them and not posting enough about CBJ...

I don't like Kiffin either, and still don't. Not who I wanted, but I trust Saban because he's won 4 national titles and the last time I checked, I had yet to win a scrimmage.


BG

Nice slap!!

And if Saban is SO WORRIED about player injury why does he play way outmanned teams like Chattanooga, Georgia State, Western Carolina, etc....Does he not care about the well being of the players of those small schools?

You forgot to add Tennessee.



BG

Uh, really?  REALLY?  Because it wasn't too long ago that your sites were blaming Phil Fulmer for everything from hunger in Sudan to global warming.  Pot, kettle, etc.

But it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.  Butch Jones has not made any news since signing day.  He's largely been out of the public eye.  When he gives us something to talk about, we will.  YOUR coach, on the other hand, has spearheaded a potential rule change that could undermine the very integrity of the game.  And yes, I used the word "spearheaded".  Don't even try to tell us he had nothing to do with it.  Because no one outside of tree-poisoning country is buying that line of crap.

With the exception of perhaps one year, when the Vols got the majority, the slamming variety of posts on Tide sites at that were pretty much level between UT and Auburn. Now when the put downs come it's Auburn and then LSU. No he didn't spearhead anything, and Redding said so.


BG