UT
Eleven players gone since Lane Kiffin arrives? Some say “This is a sign of a good leader; he’s weeding them out.” Others say, “This is the sign of a bad leader; he can’t keep his flock together.” I say, does Kiffin has a dependable track record of being a good leader…anywhere? And with a team in despair of offensive linemen, and in his first class he either A.) didn’t recognize this, or B.) didn’t do anything about it, does he really give you any confidence if you wear puke orange…on everything you own? (And you know what I’m talking about; there are Vols out there that do not own a stitch of clothing that isn’t saturated in puke UT orange.)
Shane
Does anyone on either side really care what Shane is doing now? No offense, and he’s earned his place by taking the beatings he has taken over the air in the past, but he’s really a caricature of himself at this point. When you hear his name on the air or see his name on the screen, you can pretty much fill in the blanks for him, and his takes usually come in about three days late on the “latest” subjects. Give him his place, but I say less Shane and more intheknow72. Just my opinion.
Infotainment
I heard it again today on the Finebaum network. The old Finebaum bait and switch. A caller calls in out of the blue and asks:
Caller – “Hey, I’m just tuning in, but did ya’ll hear about that parade down in Tuscaloosa that stopped in front of that black organization?”
Paul (with a straight face) – “No, I haven’t heard much about it.” (though the story is days old)
Caller – “Yeah, it was a (as he goes into an exhaustive, full play-by-play of the whole affair for the benefit of the listening audience) an old south parade that paused in front of a black sorority having their 37th anniversary or something.”
Paul – “That’s incredible.”
Caller – “I know, and blah, blah, blah, yackity-shmackity, blah, blah, blah.”
Paul – “Well, thanks for letting us know about it. Let’s go to….Rich, from downtown.”
Caller 2 – “I can’t believe this is still happening. I think blah, blah, blah, dah, dee, dee, dah, doo.”
Come on people. I’m not saying don’t listen to his show. Again, it’s the best program in the state for infotainment. But built into the show are “perhaps” planted callers who lead the conversation to assist in dry months and dry shows. It’s just getting ridiculously easy to spot. At least make it challenging for us!
Long Cars
During the Auburn glory years (2002-2008) I instilled a ban on myself that I am still honoring today. I refuse to say the brand of car that Carnell Williams was nicknamed for. We were so bad, and hearing him called that car’s name became so obnoxious, especially when we continued losing to him, I instilled a five year ban on that word from my vocabulary. That ban ends at the end of this year, but I may still refuse to say it anyway. Now, in the wake of what AU’s coaching staff did in the kind of car they did it in–and most importantly, the ad nauseum conversation that followed–I am now officially banning that word from my vocabulary for one year. It’s a softer ban because losses to Auburn are not involved, and likely won’t be involved with anything related to the Auburn program for a while. But still, I urge each of you to join me in referring to that kind of vehicle as a “long car” for one year.
And finally…
While vacationing last week I met a couple from Athens, Georgia. They were triathletes, having just completed an event the day before. He was buying a bag of doughnuts at the best shop on the beach to shovel down his gizzard…as would I if I had the kind of discipline and stamina to do what he and his wife do in a triathlon. His body barely notices all that fat going through him as it burns it at a pace rivaling the sun. Anyway, his wife was a Georgia Bulldog. He was ’91 graduate of Alabama. She saw my Bama visor (a permanent fixture while on vacation) and joked about not liking us last year, and how they’d get us this season. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we wouldn’t play this season…because there’s no way Georgia makes it to Atlanta to meet us. As we exchanged our niceties, she blurted out that she and her husband didn’t sleep in the same bedroom for four days after we ruined their blackout, then she admitted that she was a bad loser. And then, like water springing forth from a fountain, wisdom flowed from my lips. “You’re not a fan if you’re a good loser.” That’s really what it’s about in here. People talking smack because they are passionate about the teams they love. I’ll raise the debate that we all take this too seriously (because there’s no college football in heaven or hell) another day. But wear your colors with pride. Even if your team does suck and did hire a complete imbecile to lead your program against one of the greatest recruiters and minds in college football today. Wear your colors. Talk your smack. Then accept your place once we tee it up again in August. But once you determine your team sucks again this year, that doesn’t mean you have to like it. Because if you do, you’re not a fan. In a related story, Mississippi State doesn’t have any fans.
I’m out. And now you’re in the know.
16 thoughts on “News & Notes from intheknow72”
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The “L” word..
Really ITK. The Aubbo clowns were parading around in a Lamosine. Notice how they still havent gotten a commitment. Ordinarily (when Tubby was in power) they would have signed a 2 star. And claimed the whole fiasco a huge success. (They cant even get that part of the schtick right these days.)
Finebaum makes people in Alabama look exactly like what he is. A lame-witted yob of a man, who pours ignorance out of his mouth in a juggheaded attempt at being noticed. He is the trailor park Howard Stern sans the wit and humor.
A drunken clown fart at a child’s birthday party. And those are his finer points.
Great read ITK…………I agree 100% More ITK less Shane……..At least you dont try to act like your “unbiased” and “objective”…….I also agree about the definition of a true fan. I your passionate about your colors, you want to succueed on and off the feild. To not do so is like getting kicked in the nuts.
And the only people that listen to Finebaum are the people that watch Jerry Springer. WJOX is waaay more informative and a lot less dramatic…I mean, how many rednecks can he have on in one day ? FineBaum is laughing all the way to the bank. He is a puppet master of the inbreds of this state.
Another thing. I dont care what the rest of the country says, the AU – UA rivalry cannot be defined. That Georgia fan you refered to is clueless about having passion for the game. One of the great things about our rivalry is the way it keeps us on edge during the months of April and May……Like the good book says , Iron sharpens Iron.
GREAT READ ITK! Even the end… 😉
Looks like you TAKIN Ol Shanes spot!
Good article, ITK. I couldn’t tell you the last time I even listened to Finebaum. I’m sure I’ll turn it on a few times during FB season, but even then I get burned out after about 15 minutes. It really is nothing but a Springer show now. I listen to Longshore and McKnight every morning on AM 740 out of Montgomery, and I really enjoy that show.
See, the only time I get to hear Longshore is when Paul has him on his show, and at that point it seems like it becomes a competition to see who can be the most obnoxious. So is Longshore’s show worth listening to when he’s on his own?
Great article… And I’ve listen to Finebaum for about 10 years or better and it is gettin ridiculous! All the bamers talk auburn football, all the aubies talk Alabama football, but neither bring any meat to the table! One last thing I’d like to thank my trusty blackberry for automatically capitalizing Alabama for me…RTR!
I believe the UT fans are going to be in for a disappointing season. Kiffin has no idea how to run a major college football program. I think they are hoping he will learn on the job, but look how well that has worked in the past. (Shula, Orgeron, etc.)
Precisely, BamaBrando. And depending on the “quality of job that Iowa State is” argument, you might be able to add Gene Chizik to that list as well.
I can see why you would say that……But, Texas A&M is nowhere near the cellar dwellar that Iowa St is, and look at Gene Stalling’s ability to win at Bama when he couldnt at A&M. Am I saying that will be the case with Chizik ? Absolutely not. I’m just saying that it can happen. Look at Saban’s win/loss record at Miami. Would it have been fair to compare Saban’s record and say that he couldn’t cut it at Alabama ? I wish that had been the case. But it wasn’t…….Yeah, yeah, I know , Saban had already proven himself at LSU, right ? Hold on before I hear that B.S. Yes, he won a BCS title at LSU. He turned around a pretty crappy program. But , he lost a game he shouldn’t have, and if not for Haiwaii losing a game (wich you and I both know doesn’t mean a thing) LSU would not have had a chance to play for the crystal football. Saban’s recruiting ability is the only reason he wins. He is an above average on the feild coach. How does that compare to Chizik ? I know it’s like comparing apples to oranges. But Gene has been a winner everywhere he has been, EXCEPT Iowa State. He knows the ins and outs of the college game. I’m not sold on him, and I won’t be sold on him until he wins some games. But the dude can coach a defense. And we have some good defensive players on the plains. It will be interesting to see how things unravel.
As you all know, our offense is the problem. Is Mahlzan the answer ? I don’t know, and neither do you guys. If Auburn could land ( and we possibly already have) a decent O-coordinator, with some quality players, I beleive Gene will work out. I not, I give him 2 years.
ITK, I’ve heard Longshore on Finebaum and he does seem a lot different. Obviously, he’s called to that show to play a part and that’s what he does. His “character” is a little smoother on 740. The main thing is that he and Barry McKnight work really great together. Neither one is a sidekick like Neal was. They have completely different personalities (sandpaper and silk as they say), and it works really well. McKnight is a really sharp guy and he knows his stuff, and it’s funny when he calls Longhsore out for talking out his a$$. There are occassional shows where only one of them is on the air, and it gets pretty boring when that happens.
Gene Chizik is not Gene Stallings.
Nor is he Nick Saban.
Dont confuse the facts with a delusional hope that he will turn Auburn’s football fortunes around.
Much like UT, Auburn is hurting severly in the offensive line department. And If you cant run or pass block in the SEC you wont be winning. Auburn has boned themselves for 2 straight years in offensive line recruits. So Gene Chizik’s ideas are impotent until 2011 or later. Realistically, that is how long it will take for him to get lineman in and get them ready to play. And then there will still (probably) be some growing pains.
Guys, if Bobby and Jimmy had been a little nicer to Tommy, He might have stocked the shelves a little better.
Is Longshore’s show available on the net? I’m going to try and check it out. I’m getting pretty desperate for good sports talk, because with the exception of Dunaway and Brown on 690 from 2-6, we sure don’t have it in B’ham.
tmc1 there you go talking out your rear end again…..Show me where I had ANY delusional hope….Uhhh , that’s right, I didn’t……..In fact I beleive I said I’m NOT sold on the guy….But you just ignore the facts…..Fact is, Your team is hurting on the O-line every bit as badly as Auburn is. If you want to start talking about potential of your recruits and all that hockey, look back to this years Junior class and you will see that it was ranked #1 by all sorts of recruiting guessperts on (guess what) the OFFENSIVE LINE……..I am aware that we lost chopblock Ramsey…….Dang , I miss that dude….I don’t look at our O-line as a weakness … Nor a strength. The Offensive guru Tony F. had our boys down to 285 -295 last year. That crazy in this conference. They are bulked up again , and I beleive they are hungry. Plus, you do realize that this is pretty much the same O-line we hade in 07, right ? They did really well as freshman that year. Three of them played as true freshman..Again, not delusional hope, just facts.
Ya know BI I was going to say your analogy of AUburn was as good as ITKs Peice he wrote 🙂 TMZ sure can F up something with that crazy rhetoric sometimes….Hell now Im thinking hes worse than I am
ITK, they do have a stream on their website. It’s sportsradio740.com. They’re on from 7 to 10 in the morning.