Negedu Hospitalized After Collapsing

Sophomore forward Emmanuel Negedu collapsed at the football practice facility after lifting weights on Monday, and had to be revived with a defibrillator.

He is still at the UT Medical Center resting and having tests run on Tuesday morning, according to a source that spoke to CBSsports.com.

The source said that Negedu had no pulse when members of Tennessee’s training staff arrived to attend to him after he had collapsed.

He averaged 7.2 minutes/game last season and played in all 33 of the Volunteers’ games last season.

“We just spoke with E-Man and he is in great spirits,” Griffin Guess, the Hollywood producer who is married to supermodel Marisa Miller, told CBSSports.com early Tuesday. Guess graduated from Brewster Academy – the same school Negedu hails from – and Guess and Miller befriended Negedu during a trip to Brewster two years ago.

“Marisa and I are going to go see him,” Griffin added. “We’re just happy he is feeling well.”

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 5:47 pm by bryan

Pearl Apologizes for KKK Joke

Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl may have stepped over the line with one of his jokes on Thursday during a charity fundraising event.

WBIR-TV caught Pearl “describing the challenge of shaping a team of players from different backgrounds,” according to Sports Illustrated.

“I’ve got a tough job,” Pearl said. “I’ve got to put these guys from different worlds together, right? I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit. I’m talking about the ‘hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood!”

While the audience responded positively at the event, negative reactions started pouring in after WBIR-TV aired Pearl’s remarks.

“I made the statement in jest to describe the diverse group our staff recruits year-in and year-out,” Pearl said in a statement released Friday to The Associated Press. “Unfortunately while I was trying to excite the crowd and encourage employees to give, I made an inappropriate joke.” He said he “certainly did not intend to offend anyone and I apologize to everyone, especially the people of Grainger County,” the northeast Tennessee county home to freshman basketball player Skylar McBee.

For what it’s worth, McBee’s father said he holds no hard feelings towards Pearl, and understood the coach was joking.

Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 1:51 am by bryan

Kiffin has more words for Meyer

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin isn’t happy with the latest comments from Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer.

Meyer accused Kiffin and his staff of playing things safe in their matchup so as to avoid getting blown out.

Then Meyer said that several of his players are battling the flu and he is concerned about the virus spreading throughout the team.

Kiffin isn’t pleased that Meyer is trying to play off the close game as a result of his players having the flu.

He said it was interesting how there was no talk of it leading up to the game, but now it’s all he wants to talk about.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 9:04 pm by steve

Tennessee falls to Florida, 23-13

The Tennessee Volunteers put up a solid effort but it wasn’t enough in a 23-13 loss to the Florida Gators.

This game was circled on everyone’s calendars in the offseason after Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin predicted the team would go into The Swamp and emerge victorious.

With Tennessee rebuilding their program, everyone figured the vindictive Urban Meyer would run up the score on the Volunteers.

I’m sure he would have if he could, but the Gators were surprised by the strong effort from Tennessee.

Look out for the Volunteers, which will be a force in a couple of years.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 7:12 pm by steve

Vols Turn Into Gator Bait

The oft-predicted massacre never unfolded, but the Tennessee Volunteers did fall to the Florida Gators on Saturday, losing 23-13.

Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton had his second straight miserable week, only completing 11 of 19 passes for 95 yards and two INTs, including one towards the end of the fourth quarter that put the game away for the Gators.

The Vols’ playcalling has drawn some ire from Florida coach Urban Meyer since the game, as reporters questioned why the Gators didn’t put their foot on the throats of the Volunteers like nearly everyone thought they would.

Meyer claimed that the Volunteers played a conservative offense on Saturday and never put the pressure on the Gators.

“When I saw them start handing the ball off, I didn’t feel like they were going after the win,” Meyer said.

“The way we lose a game there is throw an interception. Why put yourself in that position? Let’s find a way to win the game. We’re not trying to impress the pollsters. We’re trying to win the game. A lot of it had to do with the way they were playing. It made our life a little easier.”

Monday, September 21, 2009 at 11:01 pm by bryan

Tennessee to Face #1 Florida

After suffering a loss to lowly UCLA last Saturday, Lane Kiffin and the Tennessee Volunteers now face a trip to the Swamp to face #1 Florida on Saturday.

This could be an especially painful experience for the Volunteers given Kiffin’s gum-flapping in the offseason. Kiffin accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of potential recruiting violations, and clearly demonstrated his unwillingness to lay over to Florida in the SEC this year.

Unfortunately for Kiffin and the Vols, Meyer’s the type of coach who remembers those types of slights. After Georgia’s Mark Richt pulled a team-wide end zone celebration stunt two years ago, Meyer made sure to squash Georgia last year and rub it in until the very last second of the game.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kiffin on the receiving end of a few late-game Florida time outs… to rub in the 30+ point defeat they’re likely to experience on Saturday.

Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 9:46 pm by bryan

Tennessee Embarrassed by UCLA

Lane Kiffin suffered his first loss as Tennessee coach on Saturday, as his Volunteers may have been looking too far ahead to their matchup with #1 Florida this Saturday.

The UCLA Bruins took advantage of a Jake Delhomme-esque meltdown day from Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton en route to a 19-15 victory.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel allowed his defense to win the game for the Bruins, as the Bruins D stopped Tennessee’s Montario Hardesty on fourth-and-2 late in the fourth quarter.

“We will be a better offense,” Neuheisel said. “But given the way our offense was playing, I thought it was better to put it in [the defense's] hands.”

Tennessee’s defense was a bright spot in the game, constantly harassing the UCLA offense into less than 200 yards of total offense. Late in the game, Dennis Rogan sacked UCLA QB Kevin Prince in the end zone for a safety, giving Prince a bloody mouth in the process.

at 9:20 pm by bryan

Tennessee destorys Western Kentucky, 63-7

For the Tennessee Volunteers, it was the type of performance that made some reminisce back to their glory years.

The Volunteers started out very slowly, failing to put any points on the board in an underwhelming first quarter.

They then proceeded to pound out more than 650 yards and nine touchdowns en route to a 63-7 win over Western Kentucky.

Granted, it wasn’t exactly like facing off against a quality SEC opponent, but the way they dominated the final three quarters was very impressive.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Lane Kiffin can do against the big boys of the SEC.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 5:26 pm by steve