……..You Can Go Home Again…

As we first told you Friday night, Watson Brown is to be named the head coach at Tennessee Tech Saturday. We understand that Watson and Tech have agreed to terms and it would take something HUGE for this not to happen.

For new people to Middle Tennessee, Watson Brown might be just another coach getting another job, but to a lot of us, Watson is a local boy, from Cookeville, who went to Vandy and was a very good player, became a great offensive mind and just worked his way up the coaching ranks.

He got hired in 1986 to coach his alma mater Vanderbilt but like many coaches before and many after have found out, it is a very tough job. He then went to Miss. State and finally, UAB.

Now he was being forced out at UAB and has found a great situation at Tennesee Tech. Tech has a great frosh QB in Lee Sweeney and some decent talent walking around the campus at Tech so it should be fun to watch Watson next fall.

Houston is going nuts!

I received a call from a good friend in Houston tonight. He told me Texans fans are going out of their minds. You know the reason……. The more Vince Young wins, the more frustrated Texans fans get. Just in case you don’t remember the Texans picked first in the NFL draft and passed on native son Vince Young and Reggie Bush. They Selected Mario Williams. Texans fans have been told time and time again that David Carr is their man. Problem is, Carr is in his 5th season and the Texans have only won 4 games this year. 2 against Jacksonville. Any NFL fan knows if you haven’t started to turn the corner your 5th year it ain’t gonna happen! I can’t blame Texans fans for being so upset.

Just ask a Portland Trailblazer fan how they felt about the 1984 NBA Draft. The Trailblazers picked Kentucky big man Sam Bowie with the 2nd overall pick. The 3rd pick in that draft,,,,,Michael Jordan. And don’t give me that “they had Clyde Drexler.”

You’ll probably hear more cheers for Vince and the Titans this Sunday. All the Titans care about is their 4th straight win.

Perfect time for a contract extension!

Jeff Fisher and the Titans front office have denied he has been offered a contract extension to stay with Titans after this season. That may or may not be true. But talk about the perfect time to lock up one of the best coaches in all of football…….. All Fisher has done is take a team that wasn’t supposed to win much of anything this year and lead to a 5-7 record in early December. After an 0-5 start the Titans have gone 5-2. You could easily argue this is his best coaching effort to date. This team tripped and stumbled out of the gates and had several off the field distractions. All the while Fisher maintained his team was improving and working hard. I’ll say!

In my opinion there are two things going on: The Titans and Fisher are being honest about “not talking contracts until the season is over”. Or it is a done deal and they don’t want any distractions while the team is on a roll. But if I were Bud Adams I would lock Fisher up with an extension he could not refuse. If they don’t Fisher will be able to fill in a blank check just about anywhere else in the NFL.

Being new to the market I can tell you that Fisher is the epitome of what NFL and major college programs would call the “Perfect Coach”. His skills on and off the field are virtually untouchable.

What would you do if you were Bud Adams?

Chris Stout

TITANS END COLTS STREAK! ASK THE COACH???

If you didn’t believe the Titans have turned the corner last week, maybe this week will make a believer out of you. If not, maybe you should start rooting for the Raiders. Rob Bironas nailed a 60 yarder with :06 to go. That is the 4th longest field goal in NFL history. It wasn’t easy as the Colts built a 14-0 lead late in the 2nd quarter. But the Titans kept chipping away scoring the go ahead touchdown early in the 4th quarter. The defense held the Colts to a field goal before Bironas hit his 2nd straight game winner. The Titans have won 5 of their last 7 and are only two games out of the sixth playoff spot in the AFC. It is still a long shot for them to make the postseason, but the fact that we are talking about this is amazing. Not many thought this team would win five games all season. Last week I asked you if the Titans could run table. After Sunday’s win I think they might.

Don’t forget you can ask Coach Fisher a question. He denied a report that the TItans have offered him an extension after Sunday’s game. He also told me the last six weeks have been his most rewarding as a coach.

By the way, the coach loves X’s and O’s questions.

YOU GOTTA SEE VINCE. FRIDAY 7PM.

It’s gonna be cold and nasty Friday night. What better way to spend your night than watching the Titans on 2 with Jeff Fisher. If you want to know more about last Sunday’s win and get to know Vince Young this is the night to watch. Vince Young spent about 30 minutes on the coaches show taping Thursday night. He talks about everything from Sunday’s win to religion. Vince is as focused on his faith as he is football. If you can’t watch the show let me assure you that the Titans have a true gentleman in rookie Vince Young.

I hope you can join us. If not make sure you ask coach Fisher a question for next weeks show.

…..He is going, He is staying, He is going, He is staying…

It happens every year at this time in the college football ranks. Coaches leaving, coaches staying, rumors, innuendo, they are everywhere involving coaches.

So here are a couple that we have heard, some might come true, some might not. But here they are.

1) West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez to be the new head coach at Alabama. Paul Bryant Jr. was spotted in West Virginia on Monday. Now why would a guy from Alabama go to West Virginia in late November? To listen to John Denver music? We will have to wait and see.
It is true that they asked Spurrier about the job and offered to buy him out of his South Carolina deal and offered him 10 year, 33 million. University says that isn’t so but I am sure he was contacted by some booster or boosters with a lot of money to do it. Spurrier turned it down and that was probably a good move for him.

2) This is the one that keeps coming back and back and back. Bill Cowher heading to N.C. State. Cowher said himself that last year getting to the Super Bowl was the hardest coaching year of his life. His youngest daughter goes to N.C.State, his wife just bought a huge vacation home there and N.C. State has an opening. Cowher denied it on Thursday but then again, don’t coaches deny everything anyway.

3) Dave Mcginnis of the Titans going to Arizona State. Mcginnis is a former head coach with the Arizona Cardinals and loves the southwest. Also, it is reported that Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow might go with him, and Chow is also mentioned for the N.C. State job because he coached there back in 2000.

4) Pat Sullivan will be named the new head coach at UAB. Watson Brown will be the fulltime A.D. and will let Sullivan run the team.

5) Fomer Vandy player, now current Cowboy coach Mike Mcintyre, will be named head coach at Samford University.

6) Former Tennessee Offensive Coordinator and current Kentucky assistant coach Randy Sanders will be named the new head coach at Tennessee Tech.

Once again, most are rumors but rumors 99 percent of time are grounded in some sort of truth. The most intriguing one has to be Rodriguez, going to Bama from West Virginia. If he does, expect LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher to be named head coach at West Virginia, or they are saying Jimbo Fisher will be the new offensive coordinator at Florida State.

Let the carousel begin.

Preds win again…

I know it is early, but the Predators have something special cooking. If they can stay relatively healthy they’ve got a great shot at home ice throughout the playoffs. I know they got drilled by San Jose last year, but that is exactly why they are playing so well this year. Look at Buffalo. Teams with a sour taste from last season’s playoffs are hot under the collar. That usually leads to a great season the following year. And if they Predators put together a great playoff run Nashville will never be the same.

I’d love to hear what fans think about the Preds so far. Do you think they’ve got a Stanley Cup run in them?

Comeback for the ages! Ask Coach Fisher…

Did you leave LP Field before the Titans comeback Sunday? If you did you missed one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. Here’s the proof: The Titans 21 point 4th quarter comeback ties them for the 3rd biggest 4th quarter comeback in NFL history. I’m still shaking my head. Even Coach Fisher, who is usually stoic in wins or losses, said “WOW” to begin his post game press conference.

So how is Vince Young doing? Let me tell you this much. Troy Aikman was 1-15 as the Cowboys starter his rookie season. Peyton Manning was 3-13 with 28 interceptions his rookie season. Vince Young is 4-4 after eight starts. He’s already passed Manning and Aikman for rookie wins.

Keith Bulluck said the Titans will probably run the table. If they do they would finish the season 9-7. Some years that is good enough for a wild card spot in the playoffs. Do you think they will run the table? After Sunday’s come from behind win anything is possible.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE WELL REPRESENTED IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

A number of our area team competed in the state semi-finals of the TSSAA Playoffs. Here are the scores from across the state.

East
Maryville 44 , Morristown West 19

Middle
Alcoa 42 , Smith County 14
Friendship Christian 24 , Hampton 7
Hillsboro 42 , Henry County 7
Knoxville Fulton 26 , Pearl-Cohn 12
Smyrna 28 , Ooltewah 25

West
David Lipscomb 42 , Dyersburg 10
Goodpasture 34 , Milan 21
Jackson Christian 42 , Mt. Pleasant 14
Ravenwood 35 , White Station 28

CHECK OUT THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PREP BLITZ

A Big Sports Weekend…

Normally, this time of year, everything starts to wind down, sports wise. But this Thanksgiving weekend, it is packed with sporting events.

Friday night, high school football and we are down to the semi-finals. Area teams like Smyrna, Ravenwood, David Lipscomb, GoodPasture, Pearl-Cohn, Friendship Christian, are all going for state final berths tonight, all over the state. I gotta tell ya, if you have not been to a high school football game this year, tonight and next week, are your last chances to do it. So lot’s of opportunities to do that.

Saturday, it is the biggest football game in MTSU’s history. Sure there have been some mega games in the school’s history, but Saturday’s game against Troy is the biggest. A Sun Belt Conference Title is on the line, a berth to the New Orleans Bowl is always awaiting the Blue Raiders if they can pull it off. 10 years ago, this seemed impossible but you can’t spell that word without possible. Go Blue Raiders on Saturday.

Then Saturday night, the Nashville Predators have a chance to make a huge statement as they take on the Detroit Red Wings at the GEC. The Preds have a 3 point lead over the Red Wings and a win Saturday night would give them a 5 point lead a quarter way thru the year. Let’s go Preds.

Sunday, the surging Tennessee Titans have a chance to make a statement as well when the New York Giants come to town. The Giants are struggling and a win by the Titans would send some serious shockwaves all over the NFL because the Giants are only half a game out of first. It is supposed to be beautiful outside on Sunday as well.

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