Sunday, November 22, 2009

Knoxville's Gameday Experience (An Outsider's View)

Great article about a "Pilgrimage" to Neyland Stadium. I always find articles about our fair city, along with our unique gameday experience to be extremely interesting, especially when done from a tourists perspective. It's also nice to see the BackRoom Barbecue Pit get some props.

To read the article click here.

Vols vs. Depaul

This is what I gathered from watching the second half.....

*Tyler F'n Smith once again proves what kind of leader he is. The 2 free throws to seal the win were absolutely huge.

*I may have spoke too soon about Scotty Hopson. You can not be the best player on the team if, when your 3 ball doesn't fall, you completely disappear. Very disappointing.

*Melvin Goins is the point guard we have been looking for. He ran the offense well, made smart decisions, played shut down defense and can his a shot when it was badly needed. Dare I say...Solution?

*We lose this game last year. No doubt about it. Depaul slowed the game down, protected the ball to negate our press, and completely shut down Hopson. Wayne Chism and Tyler F'n Smith are showing great senior leadership against a team who played a Big East style game. I know I'm a glass half full guy, but in my mind, winning close games like this, against a team like this, is a big step towards showing the all of the guys who weren't around for the Lofton, Jujuan years, that they CAN win close games. Good win.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Vols vs. East Carolina

I didn't get to watch the game, but here is what I gathered from listening to the second half on the radio.....

*If radio has a 2-second delay, John Wilkerson turned it into a 5-second one. He seemed so far behind just based on the crowd's reaction. On the other hand, he can make a made free throw sound as exciting as a last second game winning shot. Not sure whether or not that is a good thing or not.

*So much for a sophomore slump. The thing I don't get about Scotty Hopson's incredible play so far this season, is that he has gone from maybe the 3rd best player on the team, to arguably the best player on the team. Are we to really believe that all it took was a slight adjustment to his outside shot? It's easy to see that he is playing w/a ton of confidence. After seeing that, I can't help but wonder if the older guys held him down last year. Tyler F'n Smith made a point to get across in his post-game interview that "his" team does not care how the stats read as long as they get the win. He said it more than once. Hmmmmm......

*Speaking of Tyler F'n Smith, I have one word....Leader. I'm don't know if he knew his role last year. I don't know if the other players accepted his role last year. But both of those things are definitely last year's problem. He repeatedly referred to the team as "my team" in his interview with Wilkerson & Bert. "Whatever I can do to help MY team win". Next Level.

*Speaking of Next Level, A well timed "Money!" from Bert next gets old.

*Can anyone really say after today that Cam Tatum & J.P. Prince are the same player? Tatum is miles beyond Prince.

*Some may think that these blowouts are just blowouts. I disagree. These 30+ point wins are gonna help us a lot as the season comes to a close. Depth is only a predicted possibility when the season starts. In years past, our depth was not used to our advantage because it wasn't actually there. In 2007-2008, UT's greatest year ever. We actually went 9 deep in any game that played. Coach Pearl didn't have to shrink his bench like he would often do last year, and had to do his 1st year. Last season, with essentially the same team, he never went beyond his 8th man. Sure, more than that may have played in every game, but I never believed that the only guys playing significant minutes, sans foul trouble, were Tyler, J.P., Weezy, Maze, Cam Tatum, Tabb, & Scotty Hop. This year Coach Pearl is going to have actual depth because these games are allowing his 9th, 10th, and 11th guys off the bench the opportunity to get real game experience. I can honestly see Kenny Hall, Goins, McBee, & Williams in the game at key stretches. And real game experience for those guys means the press can be run consistently no matter who is on the floor That, in turn, means when February & March get here, we are still going to be running teams out of the gym.

*And finally, Maples should enjoy the ability to speak w/all his new ECU friends about how much more awesome his alma mater is than theirs.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Vols vs. UNC-Ashville

Tate's Take

My thoughts from the first half of the UNC Ashville game because I do not think I can watch much of the second half of this blowout. I have never seen a team up by 52 at the half

First of all, I do not care how good or bad UNCA is the defense played tonight is nothing short of great. Also, the shooting, especially early on, was outstanding. If Scotty keeps shooting like that then he will definitely be gone after this year, which of course goes without saying. I love the way this team came out and fought and played hard the entire half even when they got up really big. I like how Kenny Hall plays and the leadership shown by Tyler Smith. Wayne, Brian, and J.P. did what they needed to. I was happy to see Swiper Boy get some early PT and played fairly well I thought.

Now for some negatives. I know some here do not like JP at all. I know he plays well and then makes a boneheaded play. I just don't get Cam Tatum. To me the guy just looks lost and seems to play with no confidence. Honestly he really looks bad at basketball. My thing is if you don't like JP I get it that’s fine and I clearly understand it but Tatum is worse. Skylar McBee may turn out to be a good player, but right now he kinda reminds me of Dane Bradshaw which is not all negative. I think he is a better shooter, but he hasn't proven it yet in a game. Point Guard play is average I think. Goins seems to be a bulldog on defense, but what can he do on offense. B Maze still seems about like last year which is just OK. Finally, with all he does good Scotty needs to be more unselfish on the break. He almost never gives the ball up.

Fritts' Take

*When I turned the game on it was 25-1. I watched the rest of the game and was completely entertained throughout. I would not have been had it been a Lady Vols game. That is the single biggest difference between the men's & women's game.

*The last time we beat a team like that was 2007-08 when we beat MTSU by 69. The time before that was the 1966-67 season. The 2007 team was #1 in America at 1 point. The 67 team won the SEC all by itself.  I'm just saying.

*I don't see how in the world you can say that Cam Tatum & J.P Prince are any where similar. The only thing that is the same about them is that they are both African-American. And they can dunk. Tatum is twice the offensive player J.P. is. He can shoot the three, drive to the basket, and offensive rebound. He is also not a lazy bum who salutes after doing the only offensive move he has. J.P., you are not a f*cking soldier.

*While watching Brian Williams attempt to catch basketball after basket ball last night, I thought to myself, "I wonder if ole' Briany Boy has ever seen a pait of tits when he was in charge of the bra?". He just looks too clumsy to deal with anything like that.

*We need to rebound better. We should not have the same number of rebounds as a team whose tallest guy is shorter than our small forward. We just shouldn't.

*For the people who say, "It was just UNC-Ashville", please note that UNC-Ashville has a Big South Player of the Year Candidate on it's team and is also considered a contender in their Conference. So while UT should have handled the Bulldogs easily, a 75 point margin of victory is a 75 point margin of victory.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Vols Vs. Austin Peay

As you may know if you follow our little blog, while the colors on our page may be green and red, everyone here bleeds Orange & White (and occasionally Black.) With that said, the Centeroak Poker Room is going to start dedicating some time to the Tennessee Volunteers Men's Basketball team. Tennessee is not just a football school any more. UT Men's Basketball has some serious fans. Some of those serious fans happen to be members of the Poker Room. This kicks off what we hope will be season-long commentary on Bruce Pearl's 5th team. So without further ado, here are some thoughts on the Vols 83-54 victory over Austin Peay.

*Tyler Smith should now be known as Tyler F'n Smith. That is different than F'n Tyler Smith. F'n Tyler Smith would be his name if he were a player that consistently had turnovers during our patented 10-0 runs, didn't hustle, and was no where to be seen if we needed a basket. Basically, his name would be that if there were ever a time during a game when my SO (significant other) was in the other room, heard me throw together a string of obscenities, and then when she asked what was wrong I reply "F'n Tyler Smith". That would never happen w/Tyler F'n Smith. My bold prediction is that if Tyler F'n Smith doesn't get himself hurt (which is entirely likely considering how he plays) there will be a time this year when the lead on Sportscenter is that Tyler F'n Smith has a quadruple-double in one of our games against Kentucky where the game is marked by a 4 possessions for each team where Tyler F'n Smith scores 4 points, has 2 assists, 2 blocks (on John Wall & DeMarcus Cousins of course), causes a jump ball, steals it away from Patrick Patterson, then, in a fit of exuberance at what an awesome college basketball player he has become, grabs Calipari by the back of the neck and shoves Calipari's head into his crotch while screaming "Suck my nuts bitch" just as if his name were actually Rick F'n James. He is going to be an unstoppable force, not because he is better than everybody else, but because he wants it more than everybody else. His only weakness is that I also see him setting a new SEC record for technicals in a season. He might get 1 in every conference game we play, not because he's a jerk, but because it matters so much to him. He is a different player than last year. And as soon as you argue, "Fritts, it was just Austin Peay", go back and watch the damage he did immediately after rolling his ankle the FIRST time. If he wants it that bad against Austin Peay, well all I can say is Calipari better get ready to find out what Tyler F'n Smith's nuts taste like.

*F'n J.P. Prince. I am so tired of watching him play basketball I could puke. He does everything a player could do to have F'n put in front of his name. Every part of his game is lazy, the only offensive move he has is dunking, and expects to get every call that Tyler F'n Smith should get. The worst part was he missed 3 dunks tonight. 3 dunks. The only move in his repertoire and he can't even finish those. The only good game he has ever played was 2 years ago against #1 Memphis. I blame him for every problem our basketball team has had since he joined the team. The fact that Crompton got death threats while J.P. Prince goes to sleeps every night just fine, is another example of how stupid our fan base is. I'm just saying.

*The press is back! Sort of.

*The freshman look good. Skylar McBee is going to help us w/hustle plays as much as he will help us with his shooting. Melvin Goins is super quick, plays great D, and seems as if he may have some range. Kenny Hall already has the low post game that Brian Williams is still trying to find. Of course it's only 1 game, but the future of UT basketball, in the hands of McBee & Hall, looks bright.

*Great win overall. I'm sure some will complain that Austin Peay played us too close, but our stupid fan base needs to realize that we are going to get those kind of games from in-state schools. Sure we were a bit sloppy, but it was the 1st game. Our score was in the 80's. Theirs was in the 50's. We did what we had to do.

Remember, all feedback is welcome in the comment section below or by emailing us.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Poker Chips

This is if you didn't see this on the Fantasy Message Board. Butch has taken it upon himself to find us some poker chips for when Maples takes for his Centeroak Poker Room Satellite Game. (It's kind of like a church plant.) Anyway, if you wanna check them out click here

We all would split the cost. We will discuss this next week on Poker Night. Remember to thank Butch for taking initiative. You don't have to thank him for taking are money.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

This Week's Ridiculous Centeroak Poker Room Top 16 College Football Poll

We will discuss these ridiculous rankings on the ridiculous Podcast this week, but until then here is our ridiculous poll......

1.) Alabama/Florida
2.) Texas
3.) Cincinnati
4.) TCU
5.) Boise St.
6.) Georgia Tech
7.) LSU
8.) Pittsburgh
9.) Utah
10.)Houston/Oregon
11.)Miami
12.)USC/Ohio St.
13.)Tennessee
14.)Iowa
15.)Oklahoma St.
16.)Stanford

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Podcast Tonight & Top 16 Poll Change

Live from the Centeroak Poker Room will kick off around 7:09 or after the late afternoon NFL games end. Topics will include UT-Memphis including the UT Fan's changing gameday experience and a thought on Johnathon Crompton, as well as Wednesday's poker night, and today's Fantasy Football action.

Also, starting this week, Centeroak Poker Room Online will make a change regarding College Football Top 16 submissions. Maples has graciously accepted the opportunity to compile our polls. This is due to my inability to get them posted each week. In other words, when it comes to doing it myself, I suck. So from this week on, please email your polls directly to him, or better yet send them to our email address, centerpokerroom@gmail.com. Hopefully Maples will do a better job with it than I did.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Fantasy Football Power Rankings

During the Podcast tonight Maples & I compiled Fantasy Football Power Rankings for our League. We had discussed doing this for a couple weeks, and now that the season has passed the half-way mark, we decided that we had enough information to make somewhat informed decisions. Maples and I alternated picks and did a little fantasy draft of which team we would take if we could swap teams. Here are the unofficial Centeroak Poker Room Fantasty Football Power Rankings (along w/some comments):

1.) Fritts' Pick- Fat Fart Man (Butch)
*Scored the most points of the 3 top ranked teams. Could be only 6-2 team after tomorrow. Least amount of points against doesn't hurt.

2.) Maples' Pick- Advertise Here (Walker)
*3rd highest point total. 3rd highest points against. May be more of a projection than a reflection of the body of work.

3.) Fritts' Pick- GATA (Knapp)
*These next 4 are interchangeable. Highest point total in league. Inconsistency has led to record, but has scored the most points the last 2 weeks.

4.) Maples' Pick- Trojan Horse (Piercy)
*Could be 3rd in the league if this week's win holds up.

5.) Fritts' Pick- Fitin' Jeff Fishers (Tate)
*Only has 7th highest point total, but if the season ended today, this team would be the 2nd seed in the playoffs (if this week's win holds up).

6.) Maples' Pick- Super Developed (Jeremy & Milani)
*Again, a bit of a projection pick. Has 2nd most points against vs. 4th highest point total as of Sunday night.

7.) Fritts' Pick- _______ Bastard (Fritts)
*Some might call it a homer pick but this is the 7th ranked team. Could be ranked 5th by Tuesday. 6th highest point total.

8.) Maples' Pick- Hardesty Fan (Maples)
*Another homer pick. Would be ranked 7th had team won today. 9th most points scored. In 8th place.

9.) Fritts' Pick- Jimmy Johnson (Levine)
*May be 1-7 come Tuesday, but has scored the 5th most points, while having the most points against him. Schedule has been this team's worst enemy.

10.)Maples' Pick- Team McNair (Johnson)
*Probably will be 4-4 despite lead through Sunday, but this team has scored the fewest points while having the fewest points scored against them as of Sunday. Schedule has been this team's best friend.

If you don't like it, oh well....there IS a comment section.