Vols Bama Rivalry Gone to the Dogs

Evan before the two rivals took the field for Tennessee's 16-13 victory over Alabama the vols drew first blood. During warm ups Bama receiver Mike McCoy stepped on smokey the Volunteers bluetick coonhound mascot. Smokey did what any good Vol would do he snapped at him and apparently drew blood. I'm sure Smokey was only preparing his taste buds for this weekend as the Vols take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. Proving the point that the Crimson Tide not only play like chickens but they taste like them to.For more check out the Tennessean.

Go Vols

Gold Digger Parody

This is funny but these kids have way too much time on their hands.

I feel like dad of the year

My youngest daughter had a school project last week about weather. The project call for her to wright a weather alert like she might see on tv. Ok, I work at a tv station and I'm involved in weather alerts all the time. As fait would have it we had a threat of severe weather that day and they had tornados in Louisiana. So, when I got to work I popped in a tape and rolled on the radar loop. That same day I had one of our main anchors record a toss to my daughter like she would do to our regular weather talent. Later that week I took my daughter to work, put her alert in a script, put in the prompter and recorded her reading it at the chroma key wall. We edited it all together and had one cool project. Her teacher loved it and my daughter couldn't have been happier at all the attention. She thanked me over and over. I felt like the best dad in the world. I always say parenting is putting up with 99 bad things just to get to that one thing that makes you smile. I'm still smiling.

Funny Gator Joke

My girlfriend sent me this.
Three SEC football fans were out for a ride when one noticed a foot sticking out of the bushes by the side of the road. They stopped and discovered a nude female, dead drunk.Out of respect and propriety, the Tennessee fan took off his cap and placed it over her right breast. The Alabama fan took off his cap and placed it over her left breast. Following their lead, but with some grumbling, the Florida fan took off his cap and placed it over her girly part.The police were called and when the officer arrived, he conducted his inspection. First, he lifted up the Tennessee cap, replaced it, and wrote down some notes. Next, he lifted the Alabama cap, replaced it, and wrote down some more notes. The officer then lifted the Florida cap, replaced it, then lifted it again, replaced it, lifted it a third time, and replaced it one last time.The Florida fan was becoming annoyed and finally asked, "What are you, a pervert or something? Why do you keep lifting and looking, lifting and looking?"Well," said the officer, "I am simply surprised. Normallywhen I look under a Florida hat, I find an asshole.

GO VOLS!!!!

Sports Illustrated jinx threatens to derail Vols Season

Tennessee Volunteer redshirt Freshman Antonio Wardlow will be on the cover of the October 16, 2006 issue of Sports Illustrated. The photo is of Wardlow recovering a punt that he blocked for a touchdown in the 51-33 win over Georgia last week. The article is about how the SEC is the toughest NCAA football conference to play in. The question now is could the Vols or Antonio Wardlow be succeptable to the SI jinx. In case haven't heard of this it is a commen superstition that being on the cover of SI will cause you or your team bad luck. SI addressed their own cover jinx in a 2002 issue featuring a black cat on the cover. Then St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner was asked to pose with the cat, but refused. Warner and the Rams won their next two games to win their second NFC Championship in three years. I can remember a SI cover that proclaimed the Tennesee offensive line of Chad Clifton, Cosey Coleman, Bubba Miller, Jeff Smith, Trey Teague as possibly the best ever. Although they were talented they struggled and didn't live up to the hype. So, look out Vols fans!

OCC in America Chopper Show in Nashville

I was lucky enough to score some free tickets (ok my girlfriend scored them) for the OCC in America show this past weekend. In case you haven't seen it Orange County Choppers is a family owned custom chopper company in New York that has a reality tv show on the Discovery channel called American Chopper .We really had a good time. At least after we finally got there. Kim is a little on the let's say slow side and we left an hour later than planned. After getting there and listing to her yell at me for riding faster than her (ok Kim I admit it I was wrong) we had fun. A group of christian riders blessed our bikes when we got there. Hopefully that will keep me off the pavement. We had good seats right down front where we could sit until they came out then get up for a closer look. We met this nice couple from Shelbyville that we teamed up with to hold our seats. As well as take pictures of each other. We weren't able to go until Sunday. We both worked on Friday and I had morning obligations on Saturday. Not to mention we had to watch our Vols lay the smack down on the Georgia Bulldogs(51-33 go vols).

This is not the type of show you take a date that isn't into bikes or hasn't seen the tv show. Lucky for me both of use ride. The Friday and Saturday shows had live music but Sunday was the OCC guys doing some how to stuff, Assembling a bike(which they gave away), tossing out t-shirts and frisbees. Many of their bikes were on display and that was very cool. They were fenced in but you could get within about 5 yards of them. So, I got some really good pictures. The best part was when they were picking a color for the computer generated bike Paul Jr. used my shirt as reference for UT orange.

Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat on 2nd Avenue. There had to be more than 100 bikes on 2nd Sunday. It was an unbelievable site and very loud. Check out the pictures there is a funny one of Paul Sr. coming out of the porta potty(I know it's sick but it was too funny not to take the shot.

The Irony of me being a blogger

Blogging is a hobby. I don't get paid for doing it but I do enjoy it. Which is strange because the English language has never been a friend to me. I usually struggled with anything related to it when I was a kid. Ok, I'll be honest I struggled with most everything in school except for lunch. I was a skinny kid so I guess I had my struggles with that as well. I found it hard to retain it from year to year. So, every year it like I had never seen it before. Hell, I still can't diagram a sentence. Spelling dan't evan got mi started. I just never put forth the effort and let me tell you I pay for it now. I can't always tell how to spell something but I can usually tell if it wrong. I love spellcheck.net. That's one of the cool things about blogging. It is informal. I don't have to worry about viewers or readers calling me up to tell me I put where instead of wear(which I have done on here). I don't have to answer to a boss if I get a fact wrong. Who's to say that anybody would even see it since there is no real way to my knowledge for me to monitor how many people read these posts.

So, pardon my misspellings. Forgive me if I have a comma splice. Embrace my defiance of most English rules. By god i does not always come before e except after c. I may not have all these literary skills but I do have an opinion. I also have a computer(it's a Dell dude) with an internet connection. For blogging that's all you need.

Definition of Sicko: See Mark Foley

Former Congressman Mark Foley's attorney said Foley was molested by a member of the clergy when he was a teenager. Foley checked into rehab for alcoholism after abruptly quitting congress Friday over inappropriate instant messages with an underage male congressional page. The only thing worse than being a sicko is making excuses for being a sicko. Boo hoo hoo don't blame me it's the churches fault I'm a sick drunken deviant. I hope they throw the book at this guy. To violate a trust like that after speaking out so strongly against child predators for so many years is unbelievable. I take great satisfaction in the fact that he will probably be prosecuted under some of the laws he helped create. The irony of this is as deep as the ocean but as sweet as my mom's lemon pie.
His lawyer went on to say that Foley was gay. REALLY! That's shocking! That went right over my head. Talk about stating the obvious.
He even interrupted a vote on the floor of the House in 2003 to engage in Internet sex with a high school student who had served as a congressional page. So, if he was under the influence of alcohol every time he sent these messages wouldn't that mean that he was drunk on the job? Those messages were sent moments before voting in the house. This morning ABC News aired messages that imply that Foley may have provided alcohol for underage teens at his home.

Check out this video of Foley back in 2002 speaking to a group of pages that were about to leave. I'm sure it seamed innocent then but now it's kind of creepy.

Haynesworth gets 5 Game Suspenion

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was suspended five games for kicking Dallas center Andre Gurode in the face during Sunday's game. Here is the video.

Albert Haynesworth: I couldn't believe my eyes

"What I did out there was disgusting." "It doesn't matter what the league does to me. The way I feel right now, you just can't describe it."Those are the words Titans Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth after the 45-14 beat down by the Dallas Cowboys Sunday. In case you missed it Haynesworth kicked Dallas center Andre Gurode in the face causing multiple lacerations around his left eye, he left for the locker room to receive 30 stitches but returned to the sideline late in the third quarter. Haynesworth also pulled off his helmet and slammed it to the ground, prompting another flag. He was then tossed from the game.

This was despicable. I still can't believe I saw what I saw. I have followed Fat Albert(hey,hey,hey). Sorry wrong Albert. Anyway since his days at UT and I am embarrassed that he is a former Vol. What the hell would make someone do something like that. To stomp another man in the face with cleats on. Oh my god. He deserves what ever he gets. There is no place for that crap in any profession. He doesn't deserve to wear the number 92. FYI that was the number of former UT great and NFL hall of famer Reggie White.

How safe are our schools

The latest tragedy in Colorado coupled with my daughters school play this morning has got me thinking about school safety. An intruder could walk into any Metro Nashville school right now armed and there is nothing anyone could do about it. My son's high school has several entrances and anyone could gain entry from any direction. It does have a resource officer office but plenty of damage could be done before they could do anything about it. In fact if a intruder knew where that office was they could ambush it with no problem.

On the other hand my two daughter's school has all locked doors and you have to be buzzed in at the front. Even this system would not stop a gunman. When I go to the school like this morning. I just ring the bell and the secretary looks to see that someone is there and she buzzes them in. Another way to get in is to just wait until someone leaves and walk in that way. Theres no security guard or metal detectors. It scares me really. It isn't like this hasn't happened in Tennessee before.

I don't know what the answer is to keep our children safe at school. I know money is an issue. I know that no system is going to be fool proof. I just hope someone fixes it before god forbid something happens to one of my children.

Bothered by the death of Diamond Brownridge

Incase you missed it Diamond Brownridge is the 5 year old little girl from Chicago who went to the dentist and received a triple dose of sedatives. Then went into a coma. Well, she died yesterday. I can't imagine how painful this must be for her parents. For more on Diamond Brownridge.

A co-worker years ago told me that a professor told her"working in news rots your soul". It took a while but I believe that. After 13 years in the news business not much gets to me anymore. I make jokes about most of it. Death, destruction it doesn't faze me. There is one exception. That is children. I have three kids of my own and I am bothered when harm comes to a child. Remember a few years ago when there was a rash of abducted little girls around the country. There was this one girl who had been murdered. A network package had a shot of her dead body covered with a sheet. I think it was on a rock by some water. She was the same size and weight of my daughters at the time. She looked just like one of my daughters in that shot. It almost moved me to tears. I hope they sue the pants off this guy and he loses his license. This is pure negligence.

Don't try this at home

I laughed so hard I almost cried.

firecoachfisher.com

For as long as there have been coaches there have been fans that think they know more than coaches. Most sports fans have been guilty of it at one time or other and I'm no exception. Now a couple Tennessee Titans fans have taken their criticism of Jeff Fisher into cyber space. They have launched their own website firecoachfisher.com. Fire this coach dotcom sites are nothing new. Tennessee Volunteers head coach Phillip Fulmer has had one as well as the now former offensive coordinator Randy Sanders. Did you notice I said Former offensive coordinator(maybe it worked). This new site blames coach Fisher and GM Floyed Reese for the poor showing by the Titans over the past few years as well as for the current 0-3 record. There goal is to sell 67,798 T-shirts that read "Hey Bud, Fire Coach Fisher". Why 67,798? because that's the number of seats at LP Field. The site is the brain child of Bryan Griffey who designed the t-shirt and Jonathan Tucker. They launched the site after Sundays 13-10 loss to Miami.

This site is lame. They want Fisher out but don't pen point anything that he has done wrong. They criticize Fisher for the way Mcnair was handled. That was a management decision not the coaches. They have a problem with the way he handled the Volek situation. I admit I did also but I am starting to think that there is more to that than we all know. Maybe Billy was lazy. Sometimes thinking your owed something makes you stop doing the things that put you in the position to get it in the first place. They wouldn't even let the Tennessean take their picture for fear they might be recognized. Are they afraid that big Albert is going to pay them a visit. I have a name for these guys but I won't dirty up my blog with that kind of language. Heres a hint. It's starts with a P.

It appears that Bud Adams backs Fisher. During preseason Adams said: "Fisher's not going anywhere. He'll be here."As of right now I also support Fisher. His job is to Coach the players that management gives him. If those players aren't good enough it isn't his fault: YET. This is a young team and it going to take time to get them to gel together. I have confidence that Jeff will get the job done. If anyone should be worried it should be Floyd Reese.

Weatherman VS. Cockroach

I have seen some funny weather bloopers in my 13 years in TV but this one takes the prize.

Ouch put some ice on it

If you like laughing at stupid people you will love this. I think somebody greased the pole.

LV on Sports: Grading the Vols

I have mixed thoughts about the Vols this weekend. Hey, a 33-7 win is never a bad thing but there are some concerns as we get closer to a tough SEC schedule and lets not look past Memphis. We got caught doing that a few years ago when a certain quarterback by the name of Peyton was at UT and the offensive coordinators name that year; Davide Cutcliffe.

Offense: C+
The offensive line just isn't getting the job done the last two games. With the exception of LaMarcus Coker's 89 yard TD run the run (which came at the beginning of the 4th quarter)blocking was near nonexistent. The Vols only rushed for 36 yards during the first 3 quarters. The pass blocking was pretty good although Ainge was sacked twice. The receivers and the improved play from Eric Ainge are the bright spots. Ainge appears to be more confident each game and is making better decisions(with the exception of that sack he took in the second half where he should thrown the ball away). The receivers are playing well but it does concern me that I don't hear many names called other than Jason Swain (Sr.), Brett Smith (Sr.) and Robert Meachem (Jr.). Who will catch the ball if and when these guys get hurt and Graduate next year?

Defense: B-
This D-line has been run over for the 3rd straight week. Marshal had the ball for nearly 10 more minutes than Tennessee. The Vols only managed one possession in the 3rd quarter. This is large in part to Marshal's ability to run the football. Linebackers played well but missed some tackles. The secondary also did well but when a team only attempts 14 passes it's kind of hard not to.

Special Teams: A+
James Wilhoit has been phenomenal. He had made 11 straight field goals until he missed one from 42 yards Saturday night. He later nailed one from 49. He has been on fire on kickoffs. He has had 3 touchbacks per game this season and Saturday he ran down the field and made a non-touchdown saving tackle. He has stepped it up this season. Punter Britton Colquitt averaged 56 yards on 3 punts and all were downed inside the 10 yard line.

Coaching: C
I think David Cutcliffe has improved a lot in his play calling but at times it looks like the same crap that he did for years at UT. To many screen passes and he abandoned the run for awhile. You have to run in the SEC. If you can’t run you will not win. They are going to have to get creative in the run game. This line is not good enough to just line up and run over anyone. I was pleased with the play action call on third down for a touchdown. I wouldn’t have made that call but I am glad he did.

$200 shoes for under 15 bucks

NBA star Stephon Marbury has teamed up with Steve & Barry's to create a shoe and clothing line where everything is under 15 dollars. That's right folks you heard me everything for under 15 bucks. His line includes leather jackets for $10, hats, hoodies, jeans and jean jackets and a variety of sneakers. Here is the really impressive part. Unlike other stars like Shaq who have endorsed low cost basketball shows(shaqs shoes run about $40). Marbury will actually where his on the court. "My first home game I'm going to go to the store and pick up a pair of shoes and bring them to the (Madison Square) Garden and lace them up and play in them,". I'm kind of wondering if he using semantics here and we will never see him where them after the first game. This way he can say that he did where them in a game and everyone will see them on SportsCenter that night. I do give him props for doing this. He could make a lot more money by endorsing shoes that cost 10 times as much. So, I take him at his word. "Everything we're doing is motivated by us, just being a group of people who feel it's time for change."There just happens to be a Steve and Barry's at Hickory Hollow Mall in Antioch. You may not have heard of them because they cut costs by doing no advertising, relying heavily on word of mouth. I have been to the one in Antioch and I was impress by the quality of merchandise they have considering the low price.

Last Day of Vacation

I had been on six day sometimes seven day work weeks for more than 2 months so I was really due for a vacation. I can't remember the last we were fully staffed. I'm sure theres probably a resignation on my desk right now but I'll worry about that on Monday. Because today I'm still on vacation. I didn't really go anywhere or even do much this week. I just needed not to be at work. I like my job and everything. It's just that unlike most managers when my department is short handed (and we have been short a lot over the past year) I can't just schedule everyone else overtime. I also have to come in and do it myself. Luckily for me I'm not salary, so I get paid extra to do it. Then why am I bitching. All that extra money would make most people happy. Truthfully, I would rather give up the money and be at home with my family. I'd rather be less tired and have less stress so that I can enjoy the time I do spend with them. That was even the case when I was broke and working three jobs.

So, Monday it's back to the grind. If history is any indication someone will tick me off and bring back 50% of my stress within 3 hours. I owe, I owe so it's off to work I go!

Attempted Booty Assault??

I had to go to court today for some burglaries problems that have plagued me this year. This case before me was one of the strangest things I have ever heard. The witness said that she was at a local restaurant and she noticed this man come in alone and sit down. No big deal. Then she noticed that he kept on reaching behind him towards the buttocks of the woman sitting behind him. She didn't know why. She stated that he tried 3 times to touch the butt of the women behind him. She gets up and goes and asked the lady if she knew the gentleman. She replied no. She then proceeds to tell the guy that she knows what he is doing and she is going to get the manager and call the police. The guy gets up and runs out. The two women give chase and write down his plate number.

Now the man never did actually touch the women and she wouldn't have known anything if the witness hadn't said anything. The case was bound over to the grand jury but I couldn't hear what the charge was. So, when I saw the guy outside I had to ask him. "Dude what did they charge you with attempted illegal touching of the booty". He said he didn't know and he doesn't understand what he did wrong.

Granted running away doesn't make him look so innocent but what the hell did he do illegal? What proof beside one nosey yuppie do they have. This case is a colossal waste of the courts time and I don't know why they are pursuing this. All the guy has to say is I didn't do it and I ran because I was scared and confused. He had a thick mid eastern accent so he can play up on the not understanding part. I just don't understand what crime this lady thought he was about to commit. If he had touched her it isn't like he could have gotten away with it. She would have felt it. I don't think he was a pick pocket. Women don't usually store there wallets in their back pocket. I would love to find out what happens in this case. I'll let you know if I do.

Pope's words prompt true colors yet again

Have you noticed that when ever something happens to tick off muslims they turn to violence. Remember last year when cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper sparked violent protest. Here they are: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21127. You don't see christians killing people over episodes of South Park.

Now churches are being burned and a nun was killed over remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14848884/ If they are so concerned about their image why don't do something to change it. Starting with not killing nuns over what the Pope said. For god's sake it was a nun. Who has any nun ever hurt. Well beside catholic school boys and I'm sure they had it coming.
The really scary thing is that it is being done in the name of religion. This is why they are impossible to stop. I guess if I had been brain washed into thinking I would go to heaven and get ninety two virgins I'd blow myself up too.

The fact is these are violent people. For some reason they think they have the right to kill innocent people at a whim. They are elitist. No race is as good as theirs and other religions aren't worthy to live. "Kill the infidels" I can think of no other religion that is this radical. That includes those screwy Scientologist. When you hear about them sending young boys into mine fields to check for explosives. It sure makes the Catholic priest molestation thing seem a little a lot smaller by comparison doesn't it. Hmm 10 minutes in Father Mikes office or blown to bits and then finding out you don't get paradise or virgins.

Man rejects first Penis Transplant

Chinese surgeons have performed the world's first penis transplant on a 44 year old man who was left with a 1cm-long stump after an accident. He was unable to urinate or have sexual intercourse. Doctors spent 15 hours attaching a 10cm penis (10cm could the stereotype be true) after the parents of a brain dead man agreed to donate their son's organ. Although the operation was a surgical success, surgeons said they had to remove the penis two weeks later. "Because of a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife, the transplanted penis regretfully had to be cut off," Dr Hu said. An examination of the organ showed no signs of it being rejected by the body.

I hate the Gators but I had fun

I have been following the Vols since I was a child. My father got me into it at a young age. Every since I can remember I have taken a lot of crap from Gator fans in our stadium. For three plus hours ever couple of years it's the chomp and smack talking. I hate those guys. Every time I go to this game Tennessee gets beat down. I mean a royal butt kicking. It has gotten to the point where I don't even like going to that game at all. If you check the history between the two programs and see every time Tennessee has gotten beat really bad I was there. With the exception of this past Saturday. For the first time I can remember I saw us take the lead with me in the stadium. Although we lost and it sucks to lose to those guys again it was one of the best times I can recall at a Tennessee game. My girlfriend and I had a great time. With the exception of the last 5 minutes. I actually let go a little. Ok, I let go a lot. She couldn't believe what she was seeing when I screamed with elation when Tennessee intercepted a pass for a touchdown(it was called back on ticky tack roughing call). I really felt like part of the game. When they had the ball I wanted them to hear me and not be able to check off. Maybe one day I'll get to see my Vols beat Florida in person.

Another excuse not to exercise

There is a study in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology that reports that lifting weights might lead to an increase risk of glaucoma. Which by the way is the leading cause of blindness in the US. Lifting weights temporarily increases pressure within the eyes which could lead to a higher risk of normal pressure glaucoma. Past studies have suggested that people who play certain wind instruments or do things that strain their breath in certain ways also have a greater risk for NPG.

I'm not saying there isn't any validity to this but it does give people another excuse not to weight train. There are studies that show that weight training is an important part of an exercise program. Even for people who would be considered elderly. I guess I'm going to be blind because I have been lifting heavy for along time now. If you ain't straining you ain't training.

Where were you: 9-11-01

Today of course is the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. So, I was talking to my girlfriend this morning about where we both were when it happen. You hear people talk about these things all the time about where they were when they found out about Kennedy or where they were during the first space shuttle accident. 9/11 is just that kind of historic event. Funny thing is I don't remember a lot more than that about that day. I was up early watching Good Morning America. I assume that I had gotten up with my son for school but I couldn't have taken my daughter to preschool or I wouldn't have been home. Well, they were interviewing a witness who said that it didn't look like an accident to her. The anchors replied "what do you mean you don't think it was an accident". As she started to explain I remember seeing something quickly flash through the camera lens. They had a tight shot of the first tower and remember thinking it was a shadow. Then the witness screamed "oh my god another plane hit the other tower". This made me stand up and say out loud "oh &*$%^@ we are under attack. I was glued to the tube for a while then I had to leave to do something but I don't remember what it was. On my way back home I turned on talk radio to see if there were any updates and a voice said it looks like the second tower is about to fall. I thought second tower what happen to the first one. I was about a 3 blocks from my house and I burned rubber trying to get home in time. It fell as I parked the car and I got in just in time to see the last bit hit the ground. I never thought for a moment that either would collapse. I probably wouldn't have left if I had. Not that I take pleasure in seeing people die but I have worked in news for along time and I know when I'm seeing something historic.

The not so Frozen Tundra

I leave early tomorrow morning for Green Bay for the Titans pre-season game. It's a business trip but I can't help be a little excited about seeing the legendary Lambeua Field in person. It won't be frozen tundra but what true football fan wouldn't relish the opportunity to be on the sidelines of Lambeua during a game no less. I'm sure plenty of the fans in the stands would be envious. Hopefully the Titans will give us all something to cheer about but from what I've seen so far I doubt it

Snakes in a Theater

I cut this from a news script at work.

IN ARIZONA-- A SCENE RIGHT OUT OF A HORROR MOVIE.
SOME PRANKSTERS SET TWO BABY RATTLESNAKES LOOSE IN A THEATER SHOWING THE MOVIE "SNAKES ON A PLANE."THE TWO DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKES CAUSED A PANIC AND SNAKE WRANGLERS HAD TO BE CALLED IN. OFFICIALS BELIEVE THE SNAKES WERE SMUGGLED INTO THE THEATER IN BACKPACKS. THE SNAKES WERE RELEASED INTO THE DESERT.

Ok, nobody was hurt so that makes this really funny.

LV On Sports: Reggie White Hall of Fame

It was nice to see Reggie White get some much deserved recognition. White along with Warren Moon, Troy Aikman, Harry Carson, John Madden and Rayfield Wright were recently inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I followed White's career from his days at Tennessee. He was like no player I had ever seen. A player of that size, speed and strength with the best technique the game had ever seen. I hate that Reggie never got to experience the post career accolades that he more than earned. He did live to see himself inducted to the College Football Hall of fame in 2002 and to see his number retired by the Packers in 1999. White recorded 32 sacks during his 4 years with the vols. 15 of those coming in his senior year. I know that there was a moratorium on retiring jerseys at UT for awhile but why did it take so long for Tennessee to honor him? Also, why couldn't Peyton Manning's jersey retirement be pushed back a year. I think it was an insult to have Mannings jersey retired the same year as White's after Reggie had to wait for so long. Manning already had a street named after him and so does Tee Martin which I never understood. Manning never won a National championship. Tee Martin did win one but it was far from a mvp season. Matter of fact half of that year they won despite him not because of him. That street should have been Al Wilson/Peerless Price/ Dewayne Goodrich/ Jeff Hall/ Travis Henry/ Travis Stephens Road because these guys plus a few more are the ones who really got the job done. Where is Reggie's street? In my opinion Reggie White is the best player to come out of the University of Tennessee. That's right all you Manningacs. Reggie had two solo mvp seasons and a Super Bowl victory. Manning hasn't even made to one yet and that door is closing fast. Don't get me wrong. I am a big Manning fan. When the Colts play the Titans I root for the Titans to win but for Peyton to look good in defeat. I just wish that the University of Tennessee had done more for Reggie while he was still alive. A former player shouldn't have to give money to his alma mater to get the recognition that he deserves.

Lunch Money

Back to school is full of emotions. Happy to see old friends. Sad at the prospect of school work or getting up early. Never thought sticker shock would be one of them. My kids usually eat lunch at school. I'm a single parent with a full time job that often requires me to work late. So, I don't have time to worry about preparing lunch. This can get expensive. This year more than ever. My son goes to high school. His lunch went from $1.75 to $2.25. My two daughters elementary school lunch went from $1.65 to $2.00. That's insane! It's gone up before but usually like 10 to 15 cent and I wasn't happy then. That's a buck forty more per day, 7 more per week and between 28 and 35 dollars a month. Not only did the lunches go up but at my daughters school they have done away with charging. So, if I forget to buy them lunch tickets they will be fed peanut butter or cheese crackers with milk or juice to drink. Where in the past they would eat lunch and I would repay the school the next day. Many times when they didn't have tickets it was an accounting error by the school.Where is this money going? Didn't we just have a budget surplus? Why can't some of this money go directly to school districts to help with things like this and school supplies. The supply list get longer every year and they ask for more after Christmas. How about the "education lottery"? Why does all that money have to go to scholarships? Why can't we improve our public schools as well?

U rid'em U wreck'm

I had friend tell me once there are only two types of people who ride motorcycles"those who have wrecked and those who will wreck". After last night I am now officially in the "have" category. As I pulled onto Nolensville road last night from 440 I felt my bike start to go as I leaned into my turn. I tried to straighten back up but bike started fish tailing out of control and threw me across the road. I got up a little disoriented. I stumbled to my bike and picked it up. Another motorist stopped to see if I was ok but my concern was to get on my bike and get back to work. I was on my dinner break and was running a little late getting back. I hope I wasn't rude to him but I was a little out of it at the time. I got back to work, finished my shift and got my bike home. My girlfriend insisted following me home since my break controls were a little damaged from the accident.

At this point my hip, back and elbow(the same elbow that I'm still having bursitis trouble with) were really hurting. So, I decide to go to the hospital to get checked out. You never know. Something could be wrong. Two hours and about 10 X-rays later I'm on my way home. No broken bones. Just soreness and a little swelling. I guess I'm pretty lucky. Especially since it appears I put a dent in my gas tank with my elbow.

Incase you were wondering. Yes, I will get my bike repaired and ride again.