Really, what would you say?
You’re a 52-year-old trucker, and you blew your chance with the Cincinnati Reds, blew your full-ride football scholarship at VMI, blew it all because you were just stubborn and rebellious and dumb.
And then one day, your 8-year-old granddaughter tells you that you ought to get on a thing called Facebook, and two weeks later, somebody on this Facebook thing is telling you that you have a son.
Apparently, it isn’t only the drivers in East Tennessee who freak out at the mere mention of winter weather.
A single-car accident on Nydeck Road near the Scott-Morgan county line this afternoon has resulted in apparent serious injuries to the driver. Scott County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Gary A. Sexton reported upon arriving on scene that the driver, who was pinned in the wreckage of the overturned vehicle, had “stopped responding” and urged Scott County Rescue Squad and South Scott Volunteer Fire Department personnel to “step it up” with extrication equipment.
Minutes later, deputies requested LifeStar to have an air evac helicopter en route to the scene. However, LifeStar reportedly said that it was unable to fly because a report had been received of “icing in the area.”
The temperature in Robbins is reported at 42 degrees.
According to a tweet from Ivan Maisel, Ole Miss has accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl.
The Cotton Bowl gets first pick from the SEC West after the Capital One Bowl has made its selection (sure to be LSU). There had been some earlier speculation that the Cotton and Outback Bowl might reverse their selections. The Outback gets first pick from the SEC East; Tennessee is the heir apparent after finishing second in the East with a win over Kentucky.
The Outback selection committee will vote later this afternoon, and is expected to choose Tennessee.
Want to know why, in the Beltway, the Republicans are currently on the outside looking in?
When 37% of conservatives say media personalities Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are the most influential among them, you have a problem. Compounding the problem? Nos. 3 and 4 on the list (Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin at 10% each) are each about as electable as a paper weight.
That’s a state of disarray if there ever was one.
The New York Daily News is reporting that Charlie Weis is officially out at Notre Dame:
This past weekend against Stanford Weis refused to do halftime and postgame media interviews. He reportedly cleaned out his office Thursday before the team left for the West Coast. Weis is not the only one apparently leaving. Junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen was seen giving his football helmet to his familly following a 45-38 loss to Stanford in which he threw five touchdown passes, a strong indication he will declare for the NFL draft.
Scout.Com ($) is reporting that Notre Dame and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops have “agreed on general terms,” indicating that the former Florida defensive coordinator is a heartbeat away from becoming the next head coach in South Bend.
The last few model runs (last night, early morning and now the midday run) have consistently backed away from the idea of any appreciable moisture being left behind by the time cold air arrives behind a frontal system late Wednesday and early Thursday. However, the GFS computer model continues to lock on the notion of some impressive early December temperatures.
The National Weather Service continues to call for an 80% chance of rain Wednesday night and a 30% chance of rain Thursday, with a high of around 40 degrees both Thursday and Friday. But NWS-Morristown did have this to say in a forecast discussion earlier this morning:
COLD AIR BEHIND SYSTEM THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY COULD BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO THE MOUNTAINS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. VALLEY AREAS WILL ALSO BE COLD ENOUGH THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FOR SOME POSSIBLE ACCUMULATIONS.
The GFS’s Model Output Statistics indicate a high of 42 Thursday and 38 Friday. I’m surprised the NWS hasn’t downgraded its temperature forecast for Thursday-Friday, and I think the GFS MOS is too warm as well. Maybe I’ll wind up with egg on my face, but with a trough digging into the eastern U.S. and temperatures at the 850mb layer of the atmosphere dropping all the way to -10° Celsius (14° F), I think we’re going to hold steady in the 30s on Thursday and really struggle to get much above freezing on Friday. I still fully expect that we’ll see the NWS downgrade its temperature forecast as we move through the week…these look like the coldest temperatures of the season thus far, from where I’m sitting.
We’ll watch a few more model runs for consistency, but something else that might need watching is a shortwave disturbance depicted by some models to develop over Texas and rotate around the base of the trough by the end of the week. The 12z GFS run today introduces the idea of some of the moisture from this weak system impacting East Tennessee on Friday night, which could bring a minor threat of snow if it comes to fruition.
After seeing a few snowflakes on Thanksgiving afternoon, confidence is building in a bit of a more appreciable snow event in the days ahead (just snow flurries or showers; no accumulation). Today’s midday run of the GFS computer model continues to indicate moisture remaining in the area as cold air pours in quickly behind a departing low pressure system Wednesday night into Thursday morning. If the GFS were taken literally, East Tennessee could see snow flurries all the way into Thursday night.
Forecast soundings from the GFS show temperatures crashing Wednesday night, going from the mid 40s at sunset to the upper 20s by daybreak on Thursday. Critical thicknesses depicted on the GFS are very supportive of snow by Thursday morning.
The ECMWF (European) model continues to indicate that the moisture is pretty much gone by the time the colder air arrives, however.
The National Weather Service in Morristown isn’t biting; its forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain Wednesday night, with a low of 35, and a 30% chance of rain Thursday, with a high of 41. However, the guys in Morristown do mention this in a Forecast Discussion:
MAY SEE A WINTERY MIX ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. BEST CHANCE OF SNOW ACCUMULATION SHOULD BE ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATION.
The NWS in Nashville, meanwhile, forecasts a 70% chance of rain and snow for Jamestown on Wednesday night, low of 37, with a 30% chance of rain and snow and a high of 37 on Thursday. And the NWS in Jackson, Ky., is forecasting a 70% chance of rain and snow for Whitley City on Thursday night, with a low of 36, and a 30% chance of rain and snow with a high of 40 on Thursday.
Whether or not we see any snow flakes flying in the air in East Tennessee Thursday morning will depend on exactly how much moisture is left over behind the low, and exactly what the placement is. If the GFS is correct, we’ll stand a better chance of snow flying around than if the ECMWF is correct. Either way, it doesn’t appear to be a major event; perhaps some accumulations in the mountains, or a light dusting here atop the Plateau if we wind up being surprised by the system.
But the bigger story with this system is the cold temperatures that will follow. Here’s a guarantee: We will not see the 40s during the day on Thursday. We may see temperatures in the 40s at midnight Thursday morning, but by the time most of us are up and stirring, the temps will have dropped through the 30s, and I think it will stay there Thursday and Friday. In fact, if the magnitude of the cold air mass being depicted by the GFS comes to fruition, we might not get out of the mid 30s either day. There are still a few days to watch it, of course, but I expect that we will see the forecasted temperatures slowly drop for Thursday-Friday as we go through this week.
While Tennessee (7-5, 4-4) appears to be a pretty good bet for the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., there are some reports circulating that the Vols could be Cotton Bowl bound as the new year begins.
The Outback typically takes an SEC East team, while the Cotton typically takes a team from the West, but that isn’t written in stone. In accordance with their contracts with the SEC, neither bowl can choose until the BCS and Capital One bowls have made their selections. Then, each bowl gets first pick in the division it is tied into. However, the Cotton can take a team from the East after the Outback has made its selection, and vice-versa.
This year, both Florida and Alabama look to be in BCS bowls, with the loser of Saturday’s conference championship game in Atlanta receiving an at-large bid to the Sugar Bowl. Then, 9-3 LSU seems the likely selection for the CapOne Bowl in Orlando. After that, the most logical choices are Ole Miss to the Cotton and Tennessee to the Outback. The Rebels (8-4, 4-4) are 3rd in the West, while the Vols are 2nd in the East. Houston Nutt’s team appeared headed to the CapOne Bowl after upsetting LSU, but their loss to Mississippi State yesterday (coupled with LSU’s come-from-behind win over Arkansas) probably flip-flopped the two teams’ bowl destinations.
ESPN’s Chris Low mentions a report that the Outback and Cotton may essentially “swap,” since Ole Miss was in the Cotton last year and this would be Tennessee’s third trip to the Outback in four years. The SEC is reportedly going to help those two bowls sort things out. The possibility remains that the Outback could simply skip over Tennessee for a Georgia team that has an identical record and is coming off an impressive win over No. 7 Georgia Tech. But the Vols defeated the Dawgs handedly in the head-to-head meeting last month. Going on records alone, it also seems unlikely that the Cotton would take Auburn or Arkansas, both of which are 7-5 overall and 3-5 in the conference.
So, either way, it looks like Tennessee will be either in Tampa or Dallas. If Tampa, it’s an 11 a.m. New Year’s morning showdown against a Big 10 opponent (probably Wisconsin; perhaps Northwestern), to be televised on ESPN. If Dallas, it’s a 2 p.m. meeting with a Big 12 team on Jan. 2 (probably Oklahoma State), to be televised on Fox. That’s a more intriguing matchup than Wisconsin . . . and the game will be played in the brand-spankin’-new Cowboys Stadium. That’s quite an impressive venue for a bowl game.
With its win over GaTech (coupled with losses by the Razorbacks and Auburn), UGA probably jumped the War Eagles and Hogs and earned itself a short drive to the Georgia Dome for a New Year’s Eve clash with the ACC (very likely Virginia Tech) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
With its dominating win over No. 18 Clemson, South Carolina probably jumped Auburn and Arkansas as well, and the Music City Bowl in Nashville (Dec. 27 at 8 p.m.) now looks like a good bet for Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks. North Carolina is the most logical opponent.
That would bump Arkansas—one of the hottest teams in the SEC heading into this weekend and seemingly bound for the chicken sandwich bowl in Atlanta—all the way to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, to face Conference USA champion Houston on Jan. 2 at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN).
Auburn would then be left with a bid to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport (Dec. 28, 5 p.m., ESPN), where the Plainsmen would face a Big 12 team (probably Texas A&M).
Finally, Kentucky—which could’ve been in the Outback Bowl if it had taken care of business against Tennessee—would get mop-up duty in the PapaJohns.Com Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham (Jan. 2, 2 p.m., ESPN), to face a Big East team (most likely UConn).
1.) 25.
2.) Outback Bowl, here we come!*
3.) Who would’ve projected Tennessee to finish 2nd in the SEC East in Lane Kiffin’s first year? I did, but I also thought Tennessee would finish 9-3. While 7-5 (4-4) isn’t an exceptional record, I think this team will take it and run with it. The process has begun.
4.) God bless Montario Hardesty.
5.) I was about to compliment Luke Stocker on an exceptional game. Then there was the fumble. It was a crucial mistake for Stocker, but he still had a great game. Jonathan Crompton gets all the talk as far as player improvement goes. But Stocker is also a very nice story. I vividly remember sitting in Neyland Stadium last year as Stocker dropped two passes against a hapless UAB team and was booed off the field by a disgruntled UT crowd, which cheered loudly when Stocker was pulled from the game. This year, Stocker has transformed into one of the SEC’s best tight ends. He was huge tonight, especially on the game-tying drive in the third quarter. First was a 30-yard catch on 3rd-and-18, and then the touchdown catch to knot things up at 21-21.
6.) I was also about to compliment Tennessee’s defense for shutting down Kentucky’s potent wildcat formation until Randall Cobb sliced and diced the Vols to get into range for the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. But it was an exceptional job by the defense in the red zone (what a big play by Dennis Rogan to stop Cobb short on third down, when it appeared that Cobb was headed for the game-winning touchdown), and a nice night overall. For this banged up, patched up defense to limit Kentucky to two offensive touchdowns is a great effort. (Not to be overlooked is Eric Berry’s play in overtime.)
7.) Kentucky may never beat Tennessee again. The nation’s longest head-to-head winning streak remained unbroken tonight, a night when the Vols shouldn’t have been able to beat the Wildcats. UK had an excellent shot to beat Tennessee in 2007 (the four overtime game at Commonwealth Stadium), but the Vols had the grace of God at their backs that year and played their good fortune for an improbable SEC East championship. Tonight was probably Kentucky’s best chance to beat UT since the streak started in ‘85. The curse of the Bear? Who knows. But a quarter-century is a long time, y’all. You almost feel sorry for Kentucky fans. Almost. I do feel for Randy Sanders, though. A win over Tennessee would have to be gratifying for him. I still feel he was treated unfairly as a scapegoat after the 2005 season.
8.) Good game, Rich. Tell Cal we’ll be waitin’ on him.
9.) Should college football make like the NFL and start doling out fines and/or suspensions for illegal hits? Obviously, you can’t fine a college athlete, but you could fine the school. I’m speaking of the cheap shot on Chad Cunningham.
10.) *It isn’t a certainty, but the Outback Bowl does get first selection from the SEC East, after the BCS bowls and the Capital One Bowl have made their selections. The CapOne is almost certain to take LSU. The Outback could cross over and take a team from the West after the Cotton Bowl has made its selection (probably Ole Miss), and Georgia is tied with Tennessee at 7-5, 4-4 (the Vols win the tiebreaker with a head-to-head win over Georgia) if it hangs on against No. 7 Georgia Tech tonight, but it seems probable that Tennessee is going to be playing at 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day (likely Wisconsin, on ESPN).
Jackson Sun editorial page editor Tom Bohs is catching some minor cyberspace criticism for this piece in the Sun. In part:
This is where we begin to get into trouble with citizen journalism. It’s one thing to send in a photo of a fire, holdup or other criminal act. But when citizen journalists begin interpreting what they are reporting, or they report what they think happened, the citizen journalism pool they are swimming in gets a little cloudy. You can post such information, to be sure, but who is going to check it out? And who is responsible if the citizen journalist is wrong?
I can’t tell you how many blind alleys I have gone down in my years at The Jackson Sun based on tips from sources I trusted. It happens. The other thing I know is that if I write about something and it is wrong, I am responsible, held accountable and perhaps even liable; if it is seriously wrong, so is The Jackson Sun. Trust me, this is not somewhere you want to go.
Michael Silence opines:
I know a great many people who are involved in online discussions. I know of very, very few who have any desire to be a “citizen journalist.” What most do want, though, is to be part of the conversation. Most folks I know who are active online never did want to be citizen journalists. And many more recognized years ago even if they did, they couldn’t possibly devote the time and resources necessary to regularly produce news content. So get over the us vs. them myth. They are your neighbors.
First, what Silence said. Plus, citizen journalists are here to stay, like it or not. The blog and Twitter fads may pass, but citizen journalism is permanent. Before Al Gore creating the Internet, citizen journalism was limited to the guy with access to a Xerox machine and a convenience store willing to place a few of his papers on the counter. But isn’t cyberspace wonderful?
Second, while Bohs makes some worthy points, the bit highlighted above caught my eye. When citizen journalists begin to “interpret” what they’re reporting, they’ll be no different than their counterparts who are paid to call themselves journalists. The only difference between a citizen journalist and a journalist journalist is the “layers of editorial oversight” we so often hear about. (Stop snickering.) Someday I’ll tell a story about a citizen journalist I know.
And who will be responsible for the mistake for the citizen journalist when he gets it wrong? He will, of course; just as Bohs is responsible for when he gets something wrong. The guy posting in the comments section of his favorite newspaper website, a discussion forum, a blog, or wherever, is subject to the same libel penalties as the guy who has a byline in the newspaper.
Drawing a paycheck from a credentialed media outlet may give a journalist a little more credibility, but readers will ultimately decide for themselves whether a blog, commentor, etc. is credible, just as they decide which newspapers are credentialed newspapers and websites are credible and which aren’t. And that is exactly who will “check out” the facts the citizen journalist reports/interprets. If there are no readers who find him credible, he isn’t a citizen journalist for very long.
I hate to pile on a guy, but Bohs’s column seems to represent a bit of the elitist attitude that has become all too prominent among old media types.