Kiffin gets Major(s) stamp of approval

By Jayson D. Henry

Much like when Bruce Pearl took over the University of Tennessee basketball program, Lane Kiffin seems to be pushing the right buttons to excite the fan base in Knoxville.

Pearl used his high energy personality and personal magnetism to quickly win over the local folk in east Tennessee. When the wins started to come in numbers Vol fans were somewhat unaccustomed to the love affair between coach and fans grew.

Kiffin too has created a spark, even before he has ever coached his first game in Neyland Stadium. His sometimes outlandish comments, and sometimes inaccurate comments, have brought new attention to a football program that had grown stale, boring and mediocre. Many in this area are showing an renewed enthusiasm for football that is noteworthy, even for the football crazed SEC.

Like Pearl, Kiffin has reached back into history to score points with the fan base. In the Vols’ most recent practice Kiffin had a previously alienated UT legend on site for a special visit. That legend was none other than Johnny Majors.

Majors is one of the great players and coaches in UT history. In 1956 he finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind Notre Dame great Paul Horning. That particular Heisman balloting is still held in low esteem in the Knoxville area, by the way.

Majors also triumphantly returned to his alma mater to coach just after having won a national championship at the University of Pittsburgh in 1976. He led the Vols to several fondly remembered victories including a 1985 Sugar Bowl win over Miami among others.

However, he suffered a heart ailment and was replaced on an interim basis by Phillip Fulmer in 1992. Then, Majors’ downfall at UT began. After a couple of upset losses upon his return to the sidelines and a dust up with some key higher-ups in the UT hierarchy Majors was forced out at the end of the ‘92 season and replaced by Fulmer permanently.

Needless to say, that did not sit too well with the coach and he has distanced himself from UT ever since, until yesterday.

Now that Fulmer, the symbol of his ouster, is gone Majors appears ready to embrace his old school and its new head coach. On Thursday, he attended a UT football practice for the first time since 1992 and he seemed to like what he saw.

“I thought it was outstanding in every way.” Majors declared. “That’s the way football should be practiced.

“The tempo, the energy, the effort and the attitude was superb. There was a lot of continuous coaching going on from the time they got on the field to the time they left. Nobody was standing around, players or coaches.

“There wasn’t a dull moment.”

There was probably a dig intended for the more demure Fulmer in there somewhere.

Whether intending to or not, Lane Kiffin is following the lead of Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl by bringing in pieces of the past. Now, like Pearl, he will have to produce wins to solidify his relationship with the Volunteer faithful. But for now, he has earned one Major(s) stamp of approval.

Contact me by e-mail at neverenoughsports@yahoo.com

NASCAR's Chase will never match NCAA Tournament

By Jayson D. Henry

Here we are in the midst of the NCAA Tournament to decide the college basketball national champion. This tournament is one of the most exciting events in all of sports. It creates water cooler talk, is the cause of numerous office pools and just generally stirs interest.

In 2004, NASCAR introduced its own playoff system in the hopes of creating the same kind of interest. Of course, that playoff system is called the Chase for the Championship. It was hoped the Chase would help NASCAR maintain a solid television audience after the college and NFL football seasons began in the fall.

With the NCAA Tournament getting so much attention here in the month of March it would seem like a good time to compare NASCAR's version of a playoff against the college basketball championship.

The NCAA Tournament generates so much interest for a variety of reasons. For one, not just the big and powerful have a chance to get into the playoff. Since the winners of conference tournaments are given automatic bids even teams like George Mason from smaller conferences are given a chance to compete.

Another reason why the NCAA Tournament is better than the NASCAR Chase is that there is always the chance of the big upset. A #16 seed has never beaten a #1 seed in a first round game but there have been many other major upsets. Everyone wants to see the little guy knock out the big guy, provided it's not your team getting knocked out that is.

In NASCAR, that type of thing will never happen. For one thing, the little guy will never even qualify for the Chase for the Championship. Take last year as an example. The 12 drivers who made the Chase only came from 4 power teams. Someone like Robby Gordon will never make the Chase, much less pull off the monumental upset of winning the thing.

The NCAA Tournament is a made for television event that stirs all sorts of interest and boosts ratings. The Chase has not managed to do the same thing for NASCAR. As a matter of fact, TV ratings for NASCAR have been in a steady decline over the last few years.

Maybe part of the problem is that many NASCAR fans have never accepted the Chase winner as a legitimate champion. Some would argue that Jeff Gordon has been robbed of two championships because of the new system.

The old, season long points standings system was in place for so long that the new system has been seen as repulsive by more than a few. On the other hand, post season tournaments have long been a fixture in basketball and other sports.

The bottom line is, the NCAA Tournament is an awesome event that has done great things for college basketball. The Chase for the Championship has not had such an impact in NASCAR.

Please contact me with your thoughts by e-mailing me at NeverEnoughSports@yahoo.com.