Lane Kiffin's first Vol walk, from high above. This photo was taken before the game, so I think I'm on safe legal ground here. Although someone did mention I'd be tasered if I used it. He was joking, I think.

I'll bet you'd like to run through the "T" with the Vols on Saturday afternoon. Ya know, hear the cheers, feel the vibration, absorb the accolades?

Ok, now imagine what Vols starting quarterback Jonathan Crompton will experience. 

Think it's fun having 105,000 pairs of eyes glaring down on you-- knowing the quality of their week depends on your ability to move the ball? Sounds extreme, and it is. 

So I'm sitting at home this morning, putting the finishing touches (I hope) on scripts and rundowns for our Vols preseason football special, and I feel the ground shake. Literally.

We were hit with a 3.3 earthquake!

I spent the last two years opening the season with the Vols in California, and I never felt one. I once lived near Los Angeles for almost a year, and I never felt one then either. 

I'll never forget Sam Brown.

I was a young-pup sports anchor when I arrived here in 1990, and Sam was the main anchor at WATE 6.  Back then, it was 6 Eyewitness News and Sam, along with co-anchor Ann Rollins, made this Knoxville newcomer feel comfortable and welcome. Just like they did with viewers.

I didn't work with Sam long-- but I quickly came to realize how popular he was. 

I anchored sports Saturday and used the afternoon to defrost my office fridge. Later that night, I also used it to tune-in the Titans-Bucs game on Telstar 4. 

I've always thought the Southeastern Conference was about unabated capitalism. Turns out, there is some old fashioned Soviet-style oversight going on too.

The SEC is rolling in dough. More dough than it has ever had. Times are good. Chairman Slive wants to keep it that way and I can't blame him. 

Except for this-- in the effort to make more money, the SEC wants to limit, and in some cases prohibit, certain kinds of coverage of athletic events.

What I learned at the Vols 2009 football media day: 1) Wear sunscreen. 2) I was amazed so many players were willing to talk on such a hot and humid day.  3) Coaches, not so much. I think they consider Media Day a necessary evil, and who can blame them when they're peppered with the same questions at every turn. 4) Gerald Jones is a class act and will focus on playing receiver this season-- something he's excited about.

The Tennessee Titans will honor Steve McNair this season by wearing his #9 on their helmets. It seems the obvious first-step toward eventually honoring McNair in a bigger way-- by actually retiring his now-familiar number.

Despite the circumstances surrounding his death, McNair is still revered for his accomplishments on the field. He ranks second behind a legend-- Warren Moon-- on most of the organization's career passing charts.

The Vols opened practice for the 2009 season on Tuesday afternoon.  It was a whirlwind day of coverage for WATE 6 Sports, but here's a shot of new quarterback Nick Lamaison.  He's a junior college transfer from California.  Can he possibly give Jonathan Crompton and Nick Stephens a run for their money and compete for a starting job?  Not likely, at least not immediately.

I don't get the whole NFL player infatuation-with-guns thing. 

Plaxico Burress is the latest case. He testified before a New York grand jury about an accidental shooting last November. He could be facing three years in jail.

I recently heard Titans quarterback Vince Young explain how he carried a gun for protection.

We all know the sad story of Steve McNair, please don't tell me if he HAD a gun it wouldn't have happened. McNair was known to carry.