Hungover in Knoxvlle - Tennessee Falls to Alabama 70-67

Excruciating. That's the word I would use to best describe today's 70-67 loss to Alabama. The three point prayer by Anthony Brock at the buzzer spoiled the Vols chances for 20 regular season wins.

From the beginning, the the body language of both our players and fans was horrible. Everyone in the arena behaved as if they were suffering from a hangover. And the students were apparently still sleeping theirs off. The student section behind the basket was practically empty.

With about ten minutes to go in the first half, Wayne Chism motioned and pleaded to the students to get up and get loud. The response? About five of them stood up and clapped. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the mascot game of musical chairs and the kiss cam get more of a reaction than the basketball game.

As for the players, it was glaringly obvious they didn't bring the same level of intensity they showed the last two road games. With the exception of a couple stretches in the second half, they played uninspired basketball .

The bottom line is fans didn't create a hostile environment and the Alabama players wanted this game more than the Tennessee players. The Crimson Tide deserved to win.

On the positive side, I give props to the person that came up with the idea to honor Ryan Childress. During warm-ups, the players all wore shirts that stated: "Childress #34 Senior".

The other positive was Wayne Chism. I thought he was the only player that played with any passion and energy. His outside shooting and defense ignited the run that erased a double-digit Alabama lead.

I'll close with this thought: can we please stop talking about Anthony Brock and his "great story" now? I mean, he missed his flight and drove from Arkansas. Good for him. But it's not like he walked... barefoot... uphill the entire way. The media is always looking for an angle.

What other bloggers had to say:

• 3sib is the only other Vol blog I could find that already had some post game commentary -- Sleep Walking
• Chris Rich at FanHouse says the Vols are a team without a clue.
  

I Hate the Alabama Crimson Tide

If you are a Tennessee fan, you've got to check out the I Hate the Alabama Crimson Tide post over at VolNation.com. It's priceless. They have some good video of the 82 Tennessee Bama game as well.

The SEC Power Poll is out at Garnet And Black Attack. LSU is no surprise at #1 but who could have guessed that South Carolina and Kentucky could be #2 and #3 respectively in anyone's power poll at this point in the season. I think they have Auburn a little overrated considering the pathetic performance they showed at Arkansas but the SEC is so up and down from week to week, who knows.

Roll Bama Roll has a piece giving props to a Vol fan they actually like. Of course they don't hesitate to to take a few jabs at our coaching staff in the process. You know, the usual fat jokes. Yawn.

I haven't run across too many Bama blogs that are focusing on the upcoming game as of yet. Most seem to still be focusing on analyzing the outcome of their squeaker against Ole Miss. Of course the Bama fans think justice was served and they were merely the better team but Loser with Socks thinks the Bammeroids got a break. Regardless, I think it's offical that Ole Miss has turned into the Vandy of the West under Coach-O. Even worse.

How bad is Georgia and how awful is FSU? Both of those teams are horrid this year and they both beat Bama.

I did find a Tennessee Week post at Tide Druid who posts a video of Bama students coming out of the closet. You'll see what I mean.

It's not Bama related but how long has it been since you've seen a quote like this about a Tennessee offensive line? --"Basically, that big offensive line just laid heavy on us and just wore us down," Croom said after Saturday's game. "That’s the bottom line."

Oh, by the way, Todd Helton and the Rockies just swept the hapless Diamondbacks and are headed to the World Series. How hot are they? They've won 21 of their last 22. Unreal. At least now I have somewhat of a reason to watch baseball. Think we'll see any Todd Helton Tennessee football trivia during the series?