by design | Mar 13, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
The ball is not heavy By Tom Mattingly Legend has it that an enterprising journalist once asked Southern Cal head coach John McKay why he gave the ball to O. J. Simpson more than 20 times a game. His response was, “It’s not heavy.” It is an article of faith that...
by design | Mar 6, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘A cold and rainy afternoon in Nashville’ By Tom Mattingly The “experts” say tie games aren’t memorable, to the point the powers-that-be at the NCAA abolished the tie as a viable ending to a game, starting in 1996. Now the collegians play overtime, the game awarded to...
by design | Feb 27, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘Inordinately quick, combative, and hard-running’ By Tom Mattingly Super Bowl LVII is now in the rear-view mirror, but the memories of former Vol All-American guard John Michels (Feb. 15, 1931 – Jan. 10, 2019) coaching in four Super Bowl games remain fresh in...
by design | Feb 19, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly, Stories In This Week's Focus:
A for-sure ‘Vol for Life’ By Tom Mattingly Gus Manning, a respected and legendary figure in the University of Tennessee Athletic Department and across the expanse of the campus and state, and wherever Vol fans gather, died Feb. 12 in Knoxville. Across Vol Nation, soft...
by design | Feb 13, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
‘You have to be 21 to win the Heisman’ By Tom Mattingly In the context of Tennessee football history, consider the impact of Sunday evening, Jan. 9, 1994, when Vol quarterback Heath Shuler held a media conference that filled Vol fans with dread and all those other...
by design | Feb 6, 2023 | Columnist, Mattingly
The decade of the 1950s was an exciting one for Tennessee fans By Tom Mattingly In 2007, Sports Illustrated named Tennessee the “Team of the Decade” for the 1950s as the Vols compiled a 72-31-4 record overall, 38-20-4 in the SEC, and earned a consensus national title...
