R.I.P. Robert Goulet

The crooner died today and we need to pay our respect. Goulet was the subject of a parody by Will Ferrell on SNL and I was gonna post it, but the guy just died so I figured we would post one of the great college bball commercials he did for ESPN way back when. Check out that table with young Hugs, the Boilermaker, and Chaney.

What is going on with audio from the show?

I have gotten a lot of inquires about why I am not posting the interviews and bits from the show. Audio from the show is now being hosted by our website, www.730espn.com. If you click on the archives tab, you will find all of the interviews and clips from the show. I will try to link them here on my site. Here is the Jimmy Denunzio (The World's Greatest Handicapper) Segment from the Friday show. Again, you can find everything on the 730 ESPN site by clicking on the archives tab.

Verno Recommends...

One of my favorite artists is Ben Harper and he is playing the Orpheum on Monday night. I have probably listened to his CD "Live from Mars" more than any other record I have ever owned. Anyway, you owe it to yourself to see this guy if you never have.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Verno's Davydenko Parlay of the Year!
Rice +8.5 over Marshall
Pitt +10.5 over Louisville
Arkansas -40 over Florida International House of Pancakes

Verno's Halloween two-teamer parlay from Hell
Patriots -16.5 over Washington
Giants -9.5 over Dolphins

Gary's Burn your bookmaker down parlay of the year
Fresno St +3.5 over Boise
Illinois -14 over Ball State
Rice +8.5 over Marshall
ECU -14 over UAB

Bert Sugar's Picks
South Florida -4.5 over UConn
Minnesota +23.5 over Michigan
UCLA -6 over Washington St
Michigan St. -3 over Iowa
Florida -9 over Georgia

More free tickets for cvernon.com readers...

This time I have some extra tickets for the Grizzlies pre-season game against the Pacers at FedEx Forum. If you are positive you can go, and you are one of the first 4 people to email me at verno@730espn.com, I will leave you a pair at will call. They are in the upper bowl, but they are free.

The Grizzlies have "Grizz Week" going on leading up to Opening Night vs. the Spurs next week. They have events all over town, including tonights game, leading up to the first game. Here are the events...

Saturday, October 27
The Grizzlies are coming to your neighborhood! The next Grizzlies block party is Saturday, October 27th in Whitehaven from 2 to 4 PM at Dalstrom Park. Come enjoy the fun with inflatables... Live Music... autographs... free pepsi... pizza and more! The event is free and open to the public. Check Grizzlies dot com for more details and up-to-date information.

Monday, October 29
The Grizzlies seventh annual tip-off luncheon is Monday October 29th on the FedExForum floor. Don't miss your chance to have lunch with the players… coaching staff… and Grizzlies management. For more information call 205-1206 or visit Grizzlies dot com.

Monday, October 29
The Grizzlies are taking it to the streets with our AM and PM drive time blitzes. Get your day started off right or end with a bang and change up your route to work by driving by our street corners. It could pay off big time!
7 to 8:30 am East parkway and Sam Cooper
4:30 to 6 pm Highland and Poplar

Tuesday, October 30
The Grizzlies are taking it to the streets with our AM and PM drive time blitzes. Get your day started off right or end with a bang and change up your route to work by driving by our street corners. It could pay off big time!
7 to 8:30 am Harbor Town Round-about
11:30 to Noon Main Street and Gayoso

Tuesday, October 30
It’s a “New Game” Memphis. Get up close and personal with Grizzlies players, coaches, Street Team, Dance Team, even Grizz himself as the Grizzlies get fired up for Opening Night with the annual Peabody Place Pep Rally. Come out and enjoy the spirited atmosphere, festive activities, mix with fellow Grizz fans and much more. Tuesday, October 30th from 5:30 to 7:30 at Peabody Place Mall.

The Wednesday Show (guest lineup)

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will join us for his weekly segment earlier than usual today (top of the show). Our hero Rece Davis from ESPN will join us in the first hour also, and Clemson coach Tommy Bowden will join us in the last hour. Check it.

Free tickets to the Grizzlies vs. Rockets Game

The Grizzlies are having "Grizz Week" this week. We are a week away from opening night vs. the Spurs and there are a lot of events around town leading up to the game. One of those events is the Grizzlies vs. Rockets game tomorrow night (tonight if you are reading this on Wed.). If you are positive that you can go to the game and you want 2 tickets, be one of the first 4 people to email me at verno@730espn.com and I will hook you up. Thank you for listening to the show and checking the blog.

Here are some of the events coming up for "Grizz Week"...

Saturday, October 27
The Grizzlies are coming to your neighborhood! The next Grizzlies block party is Saturday, October 27th in Whitehaven from 2 to 4 PM at Dalstrom Park. Come enjoy the fun with inflatables... Live Music... autographs... free pepsi... pizza and more! The event is free and open to the public. Check Grizzlies dot com for more details and up-to-date information.

Monday, October 29
The Grizzlies seventh annual tip-off luncheon is Monday October 29th on the FedExForum floor. Don't miss your chance to have lunch with the players… coaching staff… and Grizzlies management. For more information call 205-1206 or visit Grizzlies dot com.

Monday, October 29
The Grizzlies are taking it to the streets with our AM and PM drive time blitzes. Get your day started off right or end with a bang and change up your route to work by driving by our street corners. It could pay off big time!
7 to 8:30 am East parkway and Sam Cooper
4:30 to 6 pm Highland and Poplar

SEC Commish Mike Slive on the show today

Mike Slive will join us on the show today to talk about the landscape of the SEC, the future of the BCS, a possible SEC TV network, officiating, possible rule changes, etc. Check it.

My defense for the Louisville pick (sour grapes)

I was waiting for this to hit youtube. Robbed.

Rampage Jackson in studio (the pics)

If you want to sign the petition to get UFC legalized in the state of Tennessee, go to www.groundnpound.org.

The record falls below .500

The rest of the season, and for the rest of my life, the picks will remain free.

The Philanthropy segment took a massive hit this week as we dropped below .500 for the first time this year. After a blazing start, we have gotten our head beaten in for a few weeks. The record stands at 17-18 and 4-3 on infinity star locks.

Our millions of inside sources have given us bad information. The plan is to go 50-0 the rest of the season.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Verno's wisdom teeth parlay of the year! (with wife help)

Louisville -3 over Uconn

Rice pick over Memphis

Troy-19 over N Texas

Kentucky +7 over Florida

Auburn +10.5 over LSU

Infinity Stars Mortal Lock 2 teams coming off 3 ot's 2 teamer of the millenium

Boise St -16.5 over La Tech

Nevada -7 over Utah St

Gary's TI Parlay

Tennessee pickem over Bama

Iowa +7 over Purdue

Also remember-- Gary is the kiss of death-- he is at Ohio St.-- if you believe in the trend take Mich St. +17.5

Bert Sugars Pick (all against spread)

Michigan

Penn State

Tennessee

Cal

Wake Forest

UFC Champ Rampage Jackson in studio Friday

Memphis native, and UFC Champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be in studio with me on Friday to kick off the show at 3pm. He will be at the Grizzlies game on Saturday to help promote the legalization of competitive MMA in Tennessee. Getcha popcorn ready.

Are the Grizzlies interested in Kobe?

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was in studio for his weekly segment and we talked (tried to) about the Kobe Bryant situation, Red Auerbach, how Jim OBrien saved his basketball career, etc.
The audio is up... Chris Wallace Weekly Segment 10-17-07

RC Johnson Audio up on the website

www.730espn.com

RC Johnson booked for the show Wednesday

Memphis Athletics Director RC Johnson is scheduled to join us on the show on Wednesday at 3 pm. Obviously, there are quite a few subjects to touch on with RC. If you have a serious, intelligent question that you believe needs to be answered, my email is verno@730espn.com.

I have gotten emails about the show being streamed. It is. http://www.730espn.com/

All recent audio from the show available, Carl Weathers today

Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) will be on the show today. All of the audio from the last week is loaded up in the archives page at http://www.730espn.com/. Fulmer, Croom, Kimberly Bell, Rich Rodriguez, Marshall Faulk, etc. are there now while we try to figure out the problems with our blog player.

It is not rocket surgery...

The Memphis Tigers football team problem is clear and has been for quite a while now. This is now a second straight year of ineptitude. How does it happen? How do you lose to teams that you should consistently be able to beat? I once read a book where a coach said that he gave the same halftime speech at every game, and the speech always worked a lot better when his players were better than the opposing teams players. We can make excuses regarding recruiting, and some may absolutely be legitimate. I actually do think that there are some real obstacles and you can blame whoever you want to blame and could probably make a good argument. What I do know is that the problem is pretty easy to see. Rivals ranks every teams recruiting classes every year and maybe, just maybe, it gives you an indication of what kind of team you will have in the future.

Here are the Memphis class rankings for the last 4 years according to Rivals.com...
2004- 62nd
2005- 87th
2006- 73rd
2007- 96th

So you tell me. Why on earth would the Tigers be struggling? You can blame the administration, the coach, the fans, whoever. But the Memphis football team has a talent problem more than anything else. As they would say in West Memphis, it's not rocket surgery.

On a sidebar, you can get one great player and it can make a huge difference. That player has to be either a RB or a QB and there are no two ways about it. A star player at one of those two positions can disguise a talent problem. It happened at Ole Miss with Eli, NC State with Rivers, Quinn at ND, it is happening with Woodson at Kentucky, and it happened with Deangelo. Having one big time star that is touching the ball regularly can make up for a talent deficiency. The problem is what happens when that guy leaves. Look no further than the above list for a point of reference and think about what happened when those guys left. It exposed that one player was lifting up an entire team and masking a lack of real talent. It would have happened a year earlier at Memphis but Deangelo came back for his senior season and delayed it one year. You better get that player on campus quickly at Memphis and as of tonight, there are zero commitments. Here's hoping there is another Deangelo willing to come to play for the Tigers. There is a problem that needs some covering up.

Survivor Local Coach

We have done the poll on the show, and now we bring it to the blog. What coach at one of the area schools is going to make it the longest? It is Survivor Local Coach. The contestants will include Phil Fulmer, Tommy West, Ed Orgeron, Sly Croom, and Houston Nutt. Each week we will rank these five based on who has the best chance at lasting the longest at their school.

1. Sly Croom - the safest right now. He has a few nice wins in the last few seasons. Signs of progress are evident and is a QB away from really competing. Expectations are not unreasonably high at State.

2. Tommy West- should not be so safe, but Memphis does not have the money to buy him out even if they wanted to. Is there any booster that would care so much that they would buy him out? No. His team is horrid and there are no signs that it will be getting better anytime soon. 2 TD losses to teams like MTSU are simply insane.

3. Phil Fulmer- expectations are always very high for Fulmer and he has already lost a few games this season. Needs to be in the SEC Championship game to be completely safe. His A.D. has high expectations for the program regarding playing in the SEC Championship game every once in a while, and he will eventually have to act if they are not playing in that game soon.

4. Ed Orgeron-- He is getting players to come to Ole Miss, but he is not getting wins. Losing to Bama this past weekend meant that a good win alluded him once again. Expectations are out of whack at the school so if he loses to Miss St and still has no good wins by the end of the season, it could be adios.

5. Houston Nutt-- Is there any way that Houston is the coach at Arkansas next year? After home losses to Kentucky and Auburn already, and McFadden probably losing the Heisman and then leaving after this year, Nutt is the best bet to be off the island first.

And with the first pick in the NFL draft...

The Miami Dolphins select Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky.

Much like Lazarus...

we are gonna need some help with the big man upstairs on the lock of the century and New Mex St. The QB Chase Holbrook is out and the backup is a freshman. Didn't catch that in my 8 million hours of research. Uhoh.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Last week was not kind to us, but this is Lazarus Week. That is our boy Laz to the left.

Verno's Lazarus back from the dead Parlay of the Year!

Boston College -13.5 over Notre Dame

Illinois -3.5 over Iowa

Cal -14 over Oregon State

Browns vs. Dolphins UNDER 44.5

Verno's quadruple bazillion infinity wrong team favored game of the year...

New Mexico State +7 over La Tech (lost to Ole Miss by 4td's and they are favored, hahahahaha, give me a break, how insulting)

Gary Parrish's Bobby Brown heart attack Every Little Step Parlay

Eastern Michigan +5 over Ohio

LSU -10 over Kentucky

South Carolina -7 over N. Carolina

Gary Parrish's steal from your grandparents infinity lock times 12 times 44 lock of the year

Alabama -6 over Ole Miss

Bert Sugars Picks

Michigan -5.5 over Purdue

Notre Dame +13.5 over BC

Auburn +3 over Arkansas

Georgia -7 over Vandy

Virginia -3.5 over UCONN

Thursday and Friday Shows

Thursday on the show we will be holding "The greatest Grizzlies fan ever (or at least that is listening to the show) contest." The winner will have answered a series of questions and the prize will include getting to choose any player and having a meet and greet, photo op, and autograph opportunity with that player.

Friday is gonna be crazy. Phil Fulmer is scheduled for the show, as are Marshall Faulk and Kimberly Bell (the former mistress of Barry Bonds).

Velvet Revolver Tickets (Show Tonight!)

I have a pair of Velvet Revolver tickets left for the show tonight at Snowden Grove Amphitheatre. If you can go, be the first to email me and you can have them. email me at verno@730espn.com. The concert and the tix are brought to you by http://www.tcbconcerts.com/. Hurry.

Drafting Mario Williams (and why nobody is talking about it)

Yesterday on the show I talked about how you cannot find anyone talking about the Texans drafting Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. The USA Today had a weekly blurb basically documenting what was perceived as the Texans error in judgement. Radio hosts, columnists, and analysts criticized the Texans over and over again over the decision. It happened sooner than I expected, but the fact of the matter is that the Texans were right. Never take a RB with a top 15 pick. Never. It will come up again when Darren McFadden comes out after this season. You do not want your team to take a RB with a high pick. The amount of money that is sunk into that position when you take a player that high is simply not worth it. Here is the list of the RB's selected in the top 15 of the draft in the last 10 years...

Adrian Peterson
Reggie Bush
Ronnie Brown
Cadillac Williams
LaDanian Tomlinson
Jamal Lewis
Thomas Jones
Ron Dayne
Edgerrin James
Ricky Williams
Curtis Ennis
Fred Taylor

What do you notice? That outside of Jamal Lewis, none of these players even played in a Super Bowl for the team that drafted them (maybe Thomas Jones, I cannot remember, but the starter was Pittman in that SB anyway). You do not sink an incredible amount of money into a RB because they are too easily replaceable. See: James, Edgerrin.

The Texans made the right move, it is already clear, and now nobody is talking about it. It will happen again. Somebody will take McFadden with a Top 15 pick and it will be the wrong move. I love McFadden, but you never take a RB with a top 15 pick.

This is simply about money vs. postion, and the money is better spent on other positions.

There is always next year Cubs fans...

And the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that, and so on, and so on, and we are all dead, and the year after that, and your grandchildren have grandchildren and they are all dead, and the year after that. The Cardinals imploded but this makes it completely tolerable. Listen to these losers...

The Grizzlies Spanish duo

Philanthropy (The Picks)

After being 5-0 last week, the Verno season record is now ... 13-5 overall 3-1 in locks

That's 72 % ... some guys say that they pick games for a living, I pick games to make everyone else a living (That's true philanthropy)

Verno's Mayor Herenton Shake them Haters off parlay
La Tech +13 over Ole Miss
Cincy +4 over Rutgers
Troy -19.5 over Fl International House of pancakes
Hawaiian Massacre! -39 over Utah state
S Florida -16 over Florida Atlantic

Verno's Cowboys playing an AFC team Game of the YEAR Infinity times infinity times infinity stars
Cowboys -10 over Bills

Garys WW herenton parlay (all teams against spread)
wisconsin
west virginia
hawaii
eastern michigan
RAMS (stl)
east carolina
n texas
tex am
ohio st
n mex st

Bert Sugars Picks (against spread)

Wisconsin
Miami
E Mich
Troy
Oklahoma

The Memphis Flyer "Best of Memphis" issue

Thank you. The Memphis Flyer came out with their Best of Memphis issue yesterday and never in the history of the Best of Memphis issue has anyone ever taken the radio triple crown... until yesterday.

#1 Best Sports Talk Show
#1 Best Radio Talk Show
#1 Best Radio Personality

We took them all. You mess with the bull and you get the horns. You put me in some phony bologna tie for third last year and this is what happens.

I don't have the most listeners in this city by a long shot, but I do have the most loyal listeners in this city. I really could care less if I am ever mentioned again in the Memphis Flyer. Nobody will ever touch that record. Someone will win the Triple Crown in baseball before they win all three of those categories. The other radio folks in Memphis are gonna complain, saying my listeners stuffed the ballot box, blah, blah, blah. If they mean that my listeners voted for my show and their listeners didn't vote for their show, yep, that happened. Here is what I know... nobody will never touch that record.

Thank you to all of you that listen to the show, tell your friends about the show, and support our sponsors. 2 years ago we were broadcasting from a trailer in a field in West Memphis where horses were fornicating less than 50 yards from where I was doing the show. We had one commercial and the rest of the time in the breaks was filled with drunk driving PSA's.

2 years later... we have billboards, we were on the cover of Memphis Sport, we were featured in other newspapers and magazines as well as on TV, we are loaded with commercials, and Lexus of Memphis bought the show. Now we sweep in the Flyer. It is absolutely insane. I can never describe the level appreciation I have for you even listening to the show. You are the "Best of Memphis."

Thank you!

We have some fixing to do with the audio

We are working today to fix the audio on the player. I have had to delete some of the audio, but will reload it when we get it fixed. For whatever reason, as many of you noticed, the audio sounds as if Bill Walton is talking to Buffalo Bill on the recent interviews.

Today there is a Grizzlies open scrimmage at FedEx Forum @ noon. Doors open at 11 and it is free.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is scheduled to join us in studio today for his weekly segment in the first hour.

Added guests for Tuesday...

In addition to Dan Hawkins, we will be joined by new Grizzlies shooting coach Mark Price, and Rob Neyer from espn.com to talk about the baseball playoffs. Neyer at 5, Price in the 3 oclock hour. Check it.

Lexus of Memphis buys the show, Dan Hawkins on Tuesday

You may have noticed that as of today the show has a title sponsor. Thank you to all of you that have been so loyal to the show, have told your friends about the show, and have supported our sponsors. We are thrilled to have Lexus of Memphis as the sponsor of the show. I would have never imagined the great things that have happened for us over the course of the last year. Again, thank you.

Colorado HC Dan Hawkins is scheduled to be on the show on Tuesday.

Hawkins and the Buffs are coming off a huge upset win over Oklahoma.