Jim Wogan's blog

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.

I have plenty of reasons to NOT like Pete Rose. 

I am a fan of the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates. Rose caused me much misery during my adolescent years in the 1970s.

At one time, I was also an anti-Rose hardliner. No resinstatement in baseball, and no induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Perhaps it's age, but I have since modified my views. 

Until now, I have never seen a UT freshman running back dominate like former Vol Jamal Lewis did in 1997. He wasn't good enough to help the Vols win a national title in Peyton Manning's final year, but that wasn't his fault. The blame is on Tennessee's coaching staff.

Lewis was a hot prospect out of Atlanta. But during the Vols first three games of the 1997 season, he didn't play much. Even against Florida.