Wallace and Denunzio (The Audio), Mayo for PG '08

I could not get the audio to load in the player, but I got it up another way.

MAYO FOR PG '08... Change we can believe in (has that already been used?)

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was on for his weekly segment and we spent the majority of the time talking about the point guard situation. We also talked about what the Grizzlies are looking to add to this team, coaches getting fired, etc.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (11-26-08) part 1
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (11-26-08) part 2

The World's Greatest Handicapper Jimmy Denunzio joined us for a Thanksgiving Day edition of picks.
Jimmy Denunzio (11-26-08)

Grizzlies look for shooting help...

That was the title of the article in the CA this morning. I agree with the idea that the Grizzlies need more guys that can hit shots, but that is not a major problem to me. They really need...

1) to move O.J. Mayo to the point, play Ross at the SG (this would change the dynamic of a hapless offense that now has point guards that are an offensive abyss). The idea of getting a shooter is to open the floor. Hello! Put a guy that can hit a shot at the point and things may open up some more. Mayo and Ross helps you offensively and defensively. It is a no-brainer to me.

2) offensive sets. There are only one of two answers to the question of why the Grizzlies look ridiculous on offense. Either a) they don't listen to the coach, or b) they are woefully unprepared.

3) Get Rudy Gay in better position to score. There was a Hubie mantra about the function of a coach is to get guys into sections of the court where they are most successful. I fear that the coaches don't even know where guys are in best position to shoot a high percentage.
Rudy would be helped by having a PG that can make plays and open up the floor with the threat of scoring. Rudy is not without fault. He clearly is not responding to the coach and has little confidence in the man leading the team. That is the fault of everyone. The organization for leaving Iavaroni dangling instead truly empowering him, and Rudy for not just getting past his problems. Multiple times I have seen Rudy not do what the coach told him to do, or roll his eyes when told what to do. This is a major problem. I fear that this dymamic will only change when the coach does. You can blame Rudy, or blame the coach, but the problem is real and it hurts the team.

I would like for the Grizzlies to get more shooting, but they can fix some of their problems without having to.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Philanthropy record is 39-23 (63%) on the season. Here are the games this week...
Had to roll with some NFL games this week too.

Ole Miss +4 over LSU
Boise St -6 over Nevada
Giants -3 over Cardinals
Titans -5 over the Jets
Bears -8 over Rams

Bruce Pearl and Bobby Bowden (The Audio)

Pearl and Bowden were on the show today and we loaded up the audio from earlier in the week. Check it.

Season preview for Tigers (AOL FanHouse)

AOL's FanHouse is one of my favorites, and so I was honored when they asked me to write a season preview for the site. I think you will agree that I am a regular Bill Shakespeare. In fact, I might be the greatest writer of this era and I didn't even know until I penned this masterpiece.

FanHouse NCAA Hoops BlogPoll: No. 10, Memphis Tigers

Show news: Bobby Bowden and Bruce Pearl...

are scheduled for the show on Thursday. I will try to get the audio from earlier in the week up on the site today (Bill Romanowski, Jeff Goodman, Easterwood, etc.). Today, Hasseltine will be in studio because the Grizzlies travel tomorrow, and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will be on for the weekly segment at 5.

UMASS coach Derek Kellogg (The Audio)

Coach Kellogg was on the show before the game tonight. Audio is below if you missed it...

Philanthropy (The Misery)

2-3 on the weekend, making the season record 39-23 (63%).
We won on Texas easy and we won on Washington St. The rest of the picks were rough. Georgia gave Auburn about 90 yds of offense in penalties and by the end of the game I was hoping Kodi Montana, I mean, Kodi Burns would just go ahead and beat them. When Oklahoma St. kicks a FG from the 1 on their first drive, you get the feelin it is gonna be a long night, and it was. The last game was South Carolina and that might have been the quickest cover in history, and it least it was a quick death. And the positive of the weekend... we didn't have the Steelers. That was seriously shady.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Philanthropy season record now stands at 37-20 (65%) after Vinnie Verno killed it last week. Now it's go time. You can't stop this train. Philanthropy this week...

Texas -13 over Kansas (I love Kansas, they have been good to us, but they can't stop the Melrose Wildcats. Kansas is 92nd in the nation in defense, 117th against the pass. Uh-oh. Texas needs style points, Reesing has been throwing picks under pressure. This could get ugly for the Jayhawks.)

Georgia -9.5 over Auburn (Auburn is awful. 99th ranked offense, come on. Georgia has the 14th best rushing D in the country, which leads us to...Kodi Burns. 1 td, 8 picks. Georgia rolls Auburn here, just like they have the last 2 years when Auburn had a better team)

South Carolina +23 over Florida (That is just too many points to cover against an SEC team that is not terrible. South Carolina has the 3rd best defense in the nation and I get over 3td's? I'll take it.)

Oklahoma St. -17 over Colorado (Blow. Out. The Cowboys are awesome against the spread this year at 8-1. Colorado had the whole team fall apart from injury and grades in October. Buddha can't help you in this one Dan Hawkins. This is gonna be a mercy killing)

Washington St. +36.5 over Arizona St. (I know, I know. The Cougars might be the worst team in the world, but they did score 28 last week. Their coming on! Actually, I don't believe that, but I do believe that this is too many points to cover for an Arizona St. team that is 82nd in the nation in total offense. They are 110th in rushing, and Wash St actually is 33rd nationally in pass defense. Give me over 5 tds.)

Mic Check

This week the TV bit was based on the article I posted a few days ago about Mike Conley Jr. I would like to thank ABC for the way the screen is frozen on the video before it starts. Hahaha. Mic Check is on CW 30 at 9:45, and ABC 24 during the 10pm news on Wednesday nights.
Here is the bit if you missed it...

MIC CHECK 11-12-08

Kenny Mayne and Big Jack Eaton (The Audio)

The legendary Big Jack Eaton

Jack Eaton is one of my favorite people ever. When I first got a job in radio I worked with him for the first several years. I didn't grow up in Memphis, so I did not grow up watching Jack on Channel 5 and listening to him call Memphis games on the radio. I just worked with him, everyday for 5 years. He was always there to help me, which can be rare sometimes in a business where many times older guys can be resentful, insecure, and take themselves so seriously. In a business where so many people take themselves so seriously, I always noticed that the guy that was the most beloved in town was also the most self-deprecating. That is not a coincidence. Also, I looked forward to seeing him at work everyday and never remember him being in a bad mood. Anyway, Jack now has a new book coming out. The book is of his famous poems he wrote, and it is available at www.memphissport.net. I would imagine if you are a Memphis sports fan, or know one, this would be perfect. Jack was in studio in the 5 oclock hour yesterday to talk about some of his favorite stories of calling Tiger games, and to talk about the book (I will get the audio up soon). He also brought a poem about the show...

Ode to Chris Vernon

Great Caesar's Ghost what do you know
Here I am on the Chris Vernon Show.
He's come a long way I'm telling you
From his days working at WHBQ.
At 56 he just couldn't find his spot
But 730 said-go for kid- and look what he's got.
Checking those ratings-they go up and down
But he has the # 1 Sports talk show in town.
Chris,you've done very well working alone
So if Weinberger calls-don't answer the phone..

What is Mike Conley Jr.?

I guess I need to say from the jump that I never liked the draft pick. I was convinced that if Xavier fouls when they should have against Ohio St. in the tournament that there was no way Mike Conley Jr. was gonna be a lottery pick (much less a top 5 pick). In fact, he probably goes back to school. His stock went crazy after his team went to the championship game. Beware of the guy who's stock was dependent on the tournament. I was hoping I would be wrong about this, but I wasn't.

With that being said, the same people that wanted to max-out Pau Gasol, build around Pau Gasol, and keep Pau Gasol are the same that love Mike Conley. This is no coincidence. Conley has a lot of the same characteristics. He is smart, he is nice, he is weak.
Everyone else around these type of players will get blamed for what they are. The other players, the coach, the media, whatever.

Guys with supreme talent can overcome not having any "dog" in them (see: Pau Gasol), and guys with the "dog" in them can overcome not being supremely talented (see: Shane Battier).
Conley has no "dog" in him, and he is not supremely talented. This is a problem, and it is already easy to identify. This does not change with time, this is not about coaching, this is not about the other players on the team.

Hopefully the Grizzlies can get something for him before everyone in the world realizes the truth.

You mess with the bull...

you get the horns. You knock Vinnie down, you better kill him. Vinnie Verno comes back blazin, going 4-1 on the day. Philanthropy season record moves to 37-20 (65%) on the year. We also gave you the 3 games to run away from (the traps)- AZ State, Kansas, and Rice (update: AZ St pulled out cover). You can't stop this train now. Merry Christmas.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

The record now stands at 33-19 (63%) after getting beat up last week. But Vinnie Verno ain't no punk and we are comin back swingin. Here are the picks for the weekend...

Alabama -3.5 over LSU (LSU is a fraud, we have been talking about it all season. Bama is 8-2 ats in last 10 road games. Road team is 10-1-1 ats in this matchup in last 12)

Penn St. -7.5 over Iowa (Not buying an upset or close loss for Iowa. Penn St is 7-1-1 ats in last 9 games. Penn St has 6th ranked D and Iowa can only run.)

Ohio St. -10.5 over Northwestern (Mike Kafka, your time has expired. This is revenge for NWestern beating us when we had Minny. The nerds stink. I watched them. Ohio St drills them every single year., they drill em again)

Michigan St. -9 over Purdue (Purdue is trash. 89th against the rush, 85th in overall D. Helllloo Ringer. Purdue has scored 6,3,6, and 26 in Big Ten games against teams not named Michigan)

Air Force -10 over Colorado St (People are on the Rams jock because the played BYU close. So what, they stink. We love Air Force and they are 7-1 ats in last 8 at home, 13-3 ats in last 16 overall. Colorado St. cannot stop the run. Bad news for the Rams.)

NFL Overdog Parlay of the Year!
Miami -8.5 over Seattle
Tenn -3 over Chicago
Carolina -9.5 over Oakland

Clay Travis and Chris Wallace (The Audio)

Clay Travis writes for deadspin.com, and is also writing a book about the Tennessee Vols season. He joined us the day that Fulmer stepped down to talk about the decision, and where UT goes from here.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace joined us for the weekly segment live from Sacramento.
Both are loaded in the player.

What is it with that town?

The Grizzlies cannot win in Sacramento (that is 20 in a row now). I hope my grandchildren will get to see a Memphis Grizzlies team win in that town. Sac had been getting beaten to death by teams coming into this game (which I should know does not matter) and then...
Kevin Martin goes ballistic
OJ and Rudy get in foul trouble
Sac doubles the ball constantly
Marc Gasol rendered ineffective after monster game
At least the Grizzlies fought and made it interesting in the 4th, after being horrific to start the last frame (they had a chance...Ross missed FT's, OJ losin ball on break, those hurt)

By the way, people always fancy Conley as a "Tony Parker type" which always makes me shutter/ laugh. Parker had 55 tonight. 55! There is only one Parker, he is insanely rare in what he brings to the table. There are virtually zero players you could even compare him to.
If Mike Conley ever scores 55 in a game in his career I will cut off both of my ears. I would be amazed if he ever gets half of that in a game.

Chris Wallace and Jimmy Denunzio (The Audio)

I loaded up the segments with Wallace and Denunzio from last week. Wallace joined us for the weekly segment to talk about where he watches the games, etc. His impression of the Philly fans during the playoffs is priceless.
Denunzio was in rare form, and brought to the table some terrible Halloween jokes with his picks.

Oh what a day, what a day

How was I supposed to know that the white Vince Young was the second string QB for Northwestern? Holy crap, I have never seen a slow white guy tear off more 40 yd runs in my life. I now hate Minnesota. Why are you throwing from your own 15 with no time to do anything? They got what they deserved. I deserved better. The gopher is a stupid animal too.

Florida trashed Georgia, that is about the only thing I got right.

Texas did not even show up in the first half, they were great in the second half, and then got beat on one of the best plays in college football history. Texas Tech gets respect.

Missouri was putting it on Baylor and then must have played their cheerleaders in the second half. Nice 3 pt win over Baylor, Misouri. Geez. That is terrible. I know, I know, Baylor is a tough place to play. Muahhahaa.

And the Oregon St. game is still going on but I am sure they will lose now.

Vinnie Verno apologizes to his followers. It is unacceptable to lose.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

The documented Philanthropy record for the season stands at 32-15 (68%).

This is so easy. Here are the games...

Florida -6 over Georgia (Georgia gave up almost 500 yds against LSU last week. Florida is 6-1 ats in last 7 SEC games, after losing to Ole Miss they are on a mission. Florida rolls here.)

Texas -4 over Texas Tech (I have no idea why so many people like Tech in this game. Texas has taken on the giants and punished them. 8-1 ats in last 9 games. McCoy completes 82% of his passes, and I watched Tech struggle with Nebraska. Texas covers 4 easy.)

Missouri -20 over Baylor (I thought this line would be 35. We get it at less than 3 td's. Missouri 8-1 ats in last 9 road games. They have only lost to Ok St and Texas but they beat the crap out of bad teams. Baylor is 85th in total d and 87th passing d. Bad news. Missouri in a romp)

Oregon St -15 over Arizona St (Arizona St is trash. They came off a bye and lost by 5 tds at home to Oregon. Oregon St is a covering machine at home over the years. 38-18-1 ats in last 57. Oregon St 10-1 in last 11 on turf (turf team!). Az State is 0-6 ats on turf. 15 not enough.

Minnesota -6 over Northwestern (I love this game and am counting on it. We find a team and ride them, and Minny has been good to us. Like the QB Weber. Minny is 6-0 ats in conference, 6-1 ats overall this year. Northwestern nerds have 1 win over semi-decent team, it was Iowa, and Iowa turned it over 5 times and still barely lost to them. The nerds are banged up, including their QB and they catch a beat down early in the morning on Saturday, making it for a fun rest of the day for us.

Have a great weekend, you should all be billionaires by now.

Mic Check this week

Mic Check was based on the article below.

Who the Vols should hire...

I believe Phil Fulmer is a great football coach who is a victim of his own success. I think he is judged against his own record, when he was winning 85% of his games. I think that is totally unrealistic and I think the Tennessee job is, at best, the 4th best job in the conference. But none of that matters. I may think the fan base is stupid, but I cannot deny that they have turned on him. It appears inevitable that Fulmer will be gone at the end of the year.

So we move on to who to hire if you are Tennessee. Most of the names that have come up regarding the job are hilarious to me. If you replace one of the most successful coaches ever in a conference where it is very hard to win, you better think long and hard about who that is.

Who could you hire that would leave their current job?
Who is a great coach at a place where the UT job would be an upgrade?
Who is a guy that has competed against and defeated teams in the conference?
Who is a guy with recruiting ties in the South?
Who is a guy that nobody could ever say is a worse coach than Fulmer?
Who is a guy that you would feel comfortable coaching against Saban, Meyer, and Richt?

In my opinion, you have to go get somebody proven to be better than Fulmer if you are gonna fire him. That list is very short in terms of record.

The perfect choice for the Vols is the man that will stand across the field from them in their next game... Darth Visor himself.... back up the Brinks and get Steve Spurrier. He is so competitive and realizes that it is freaking impossible to win big at South Carolina.
There is your huge name that makes sense. If he failed for some reason, nobody could ever say it was a bad hire.
Hey, and he is a Tennessee native.

That is what I would do. Steve Spurrier. I don't buy for a second that he has lost the fire or the desire to be great, I think he is at a tough place to win.

Grizzlies Roundtable w/ 3 Shades of Blue

3 Shades of Blue put together a Grizzlies roundtable about the upcoming season at the end of last week. I was part of the roundtable, along with Geoff Calkins, Chris Herrington, and Eli Savoie. The discussion covered just about every topic you can imagine regarding the team this year.
Here it is (podcast form)...
Grizzlies roundtable discussion (3 Shades of Blue)

I will never trust Joe Lee Dunn again...

3-2 on the philanthropy picks this week. The season record is now 32-15 (68%). Ole Miss gave up a late TD to Arkansas and I still cannot believe that Idaho won a game, those were our two losses. Thanks for holding the Idaho potatoes to 271 yds rushing Joe Lee Dunn. I should have known better than to trust that dude. New Mexico State should shut down their program. I am serious. Got Georgia, Minny, and Troy... but 3-2 is totally unacceptable.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Philanthropy record for the season (documented) 29-13 (69%)

Troy -24 over North Texas (116th ranked d in the nation for N Texas, bad news. N. Texas is absolute trash. 2-12 ats vs. winning team. Troy is 14-5 ats in last 19. Rice beat N Texas 77-20.

Ole Miss -6 over Arkansas (Revenge game for Houston. Ole Miss is 7-2 ats in last 9. 3-0 ats on the road. Arkansas 2-5 ats in last 7. Ole Miss kills them this weekend.)

Minnesota +1 over Purdue (Minn is 11-2 ats vs. teams with a winning record. Purdue 2-6-1 ats in last 9 games. Minnesota QB Adam Weber is the deal. Minn--sssttttraiiiight up!)

Georgia +1.5 over LSU (LSU is a phony. Georgia is 6-2 ats vs. teams with winning record. LSU has played 1 good team this year, they lost by 30. LSU 2-6-1 ats in last 9 at home. Georgia-- stttrrraight up!)

N Mex. St. -13 over Idaho (This is the insult of all insults. Idaho is the worst team in the history of western civilization. They cannot cover anything under 30. The spread in all of their games should be 3td's and then go from there. This is insane. N Mx St by at least 20)

Mic Check (TV bit) from this week

Mic Check: Return of Houston Nutt

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (The Audio)

Wallace was on for the weekly segment live from Orlando today. We talked about how the team has looked so far, the roster, etc. Have you ever wondered who the Grizzlies would have taken if they would have gotten the #1 pick? Wallace told us. Check it.

It finally happened...

We took our first losing week on the Philanthropy picks this week as I just watched Air Force get stopped at the 2 yd line and kick a field goal when a TD would have covered it for us. Heartbreak. Ole Miss we got, and we got Kansas, but Miss. St. threw two pick 6's in a row to blow that game open for UT, and I have no idea about Wake. So we ended 2-3 on the day, moving the season record to 29-13 (69%) . Unacceptable. The rest of the season is free. Muhahahahahaha.

Surprise guest Kelly Pavlik

Weekly regular Bert Sugar was on the show from Atlantic City on Friday. While we were talking he gave the phone to none other than Kelly Pavlik. Here is what happened if you missed it...

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Philanthropy season record stands at 27-10 for the season (every pick documented every week on cvernon.com). That is 73% this season. You roll with Vinnie Verno or you don't roll.

Here are the picks for this weekend...

Ole Miss +13 over Alabama (Alabama has punked out teams that have weak interior play. This will not be the case with the Rebels. Ole Miss gives Bama all they want.)

Miss St +7.5 over Tennessee (Holy crap, UT is over a TD favorite in a game. Insulting. I won't be surprised if the Bullies take them down and it gets Phil fired. Miss. St is 3rd in the nation against the pass, and UT thinks they are a passing team. The 104th ranked offense should not be giving over a TD to anyone)

Wake -1.5 over Maryland (The last time we saw Maryland they were getting crushed by Virginia 31-0. I think Wake is gonna win the ACC. Their defense is great. They are 5-1 ats on the road, 8-2 ats against winning teams, 10-3 ats in last 13 games, Maryland has 92nd ranked D in the nation and 96th ranked D against the pass. Is this enough to convince you?)

Air Force -4.5 over UNLV (This seems to be like an absolute mortal lock. You know I love Air Force and I still have no idea how they get no respect on these lines. The last 2 weeks we have seen UNLV get beat by 2td's by Colorado St, and lose by 3td's to Nevada. They cannot stop the run. In fact, they are 110th in the nation against it. Bad, bad news when you face the 5th ranked running team in the nation. Air Force is a covering machine. I hope they never get respect, they make us rich)

Kansas +20 over Oklahoma (20? what the heck is going on here? 20? Kansas is again one of our favorite teams to roll with as Mangino is a covering machine. Kansas is 6-1 ats on the road in last 7, 20-6 ats in their last 26 games, and let me remind you that they are 17-2 in their last 19 games overall. Now I get 3 tds? Crazy. I'll take it.)

Dan Wetzel gets down with Thursday underdogs, mentions show

Dan Wetzel was here yesterday for CUSA Media day because Yahoo is doing a Hard Knocks type show about the Tigers for their website. He told me that he was going to be flying out of Memphis to get to the TCU/BYU game and then I told him what was going to happen in the game. Ha! Anyway, Wetzel wrote his article about the concept today with some great research included.
He wrote...
"My friend Chris Vernon gave me the Thursday night home dog one. Vernon hosts a radio show in Memphis – which is not located in Nevada and, as a result, is a place where no gambling occurs. If he happens to buy a new HD television set anytime soon, it’s solely because of the big ratings his show gets.
However, upon hearing I was covering the game he said he felt bad for BYU for purely journalistic reasons. The Cougars were a heck of a story that unfortunately had to end because TCU was a home underdog and all of that."

Here is the whole article... BYU buried by Thursday trouble
Big thanks to Dan for mentioning the show.

Robert Vaden in studio, Chris Wallace (The Audio)

Robert Vaden from UAB was chosen as the pre-season CUSA player of the year. He joined us in studio to talk about everything. Going through the NBA draft process, Mike Davis, playing at Indiana, catching fire against Kentucky last year, Memphis, this past weekend, etc. Vaden is a really good guy with a good head on his shoulders. The audio is loaded.

Our weekly segment with Chris Wallace is also loaded in the player.
Jason Witten from the Cowboys is scheduled to join us on the show tomorrow.

ECU coach Skip Holtz (the audio)

Skip Holtz was on the show on Tuesday to talk about their season so far, dealing with injuries, the landscape of college football in the Carolina's, the Memphis game this weekend, etc.

One thing I love about NBA pre-season games...

is getting to see players that I never knew existed. Such was the case with Josh Davis, who was playing for the Indiana Pacers the other night. I had never heard of this guy in my life.

Josh Davis is a living, walking, breathing, NBA playing, avatar. I could not believe my eyes. I could not even decide if this was really a human that I was watching on the court. Here is the visual evidence (and the picture does not do this man justice)...

Josh Davis = The Avatar

Terry Bowden and Romo (The Audio), philanthropy

The Philanthropy record moved to 27-10 (73%) on the year (all documented on cvernon.com). 3-2 this past weekend. I am clearly totally unreal at picking games against the spread. I might be the best of all-time.
It is not a matter of if we win, it is only of how many out of the five games we get. Still no losing weekends this year.

College football analyst Terry Bowden was on the show today and talked about his brother getting fired this morning, Auburn and Tennessee situations, spread offense, etc. He is always money. Bowden is loaded, as is our weekly segment with Bill Romanowski.

I had to go to St. Louis...

for a family emergency, so I will not be doing the show today. I already had the Philanthropy Picks ready to post so here they are...

Season record 24-8 (75%) documented

Air Force -10 over San Diego (SDSU gave up 383 yds rushing last week, and 569 to Air Force on the ground last year. SDSU is 118 in nation against the rush. Bad news)

Ball St. -15.5 over Western Kentucky (I know a good ride when I see it. They will kill this team just like they have killed everyone else they have played this year)

Northern Illinois -11 over Miami (OH) (Miami OH is 1-7 ats in last 8, NIU is 7-0 ats, Miami just lost by 18 at home to Temple!)

Arizona -6 over Stanford (Zona is a great ats team, away team is 7-1 ats in the series. More importantly, Stanford made Jimmy Claussen look like the greatest QB ever)

Utah -23 over Wyoming (Wyoming cannot cover a number. Also, Utah is 6th against the rush and Wyoming is one of the worst passing teams in the nation. If that were not enough- Wyoming's coach flipped off Utah after the Utes drilled them 50-0 last year).

Have a great weekend. I hope to be back Monday.

Georgia coach Mark Richt (The Audio), show tomorrow on location

Mark Richt was on the show today to talk about offenses in college football, Matt Stafford, having to do two call-in shows after a loss (ha), penalty problems, the UT game this weekend, etc. I always like having him on the show, he is always good. The audio is loaded below.

The show tomorrow will be live at Ubee's on the Highland Strip. We will be there from 3-6pm before the Memphis/ Louisville game. We will give away tickets to the game if you don't have any. Come by and get some drinks and some food before you head to the Liberty Bowl.

Houston Nutt on the show

Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt joined us on the show today, and he watches Mic Check. unreal. We talked to Houston about the season so far, the Florida win, the South Carolina loss, Jevan Snead, what is wrong with Greg Hardy, etc. Audio is loaded-- and it works now.

Dan Hawkins, Bill Romanowski (the audio), added guest

We are now scheduled to have Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt on the show tomorrow. Mark Richt will be on Thursday, Jason Whitten scheduled for Friday.

The weekly bit with Romo is loaded. Dan Hawkins is loaded, and he was a gem as expected. He is seriously one of my favorite guests because he is such a different kind of guy.
remember- we are at Moe's Southwest Grill in Cordova Thursday, Ubee's on Highland Strip on Friday (before Memphis/Louisville game).

Go play intramurals brother

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins is one of our favorite coaches to have on every year. We can always count on him to wax philosophical about football and life, and give us a book to read. He will be on in the 4oclock hour.

Tommy West (The Audio), guests this week

Tigers coach Tommy West joined us on the show Monday to talk about the season so far, spread offenses in college football, changing recruiting philosophy, etc.

Scheduled for the show this week... Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, Georgia coach Mark Richt, Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Whitten.

The show is on the road this week twice. Thursday we will be live from Moe's Southwest Grill in Cordova and Friday (before Memphis game) we will be at Ubee's on the Highland Strip.

Tommy West audio is loaded...

Who takes care of you?

This is another actual photo of me bursting into flames this weekend. Vinnie Verno takes care of you. 4-1 this weekend and the NFL parlay hits for the third time this season. This is getting totally ridiculous now. I will imagine that we can all now meet in the ocean on our yachts. Let's be honest, I might be the best handicapper in the world. The picks on the show (Philanthropy) now...

24-8 (75%) ATS documented.

Philanthropy (The Picks)

Vinnie Verno picks winners, you make money. The rich get richer. Philanthropy record is now 20-7 this season (74%).

Missouri -10 over Nebraska (Daniel has 12 tds and 1 pick, Huskers gave up 377 yds to V Tech. Last years score...41-7)

Kansas -12 over Iowa St. (Mangino is a covering machine. They kill this team every year.)

Florida -24.5 over Arkansas (Arkansas is trash, they continue to prove it. Until the line against them hits 35, we keep winning)

Ball St -8 over Toledo (Toledo lost to Florida International House of Pancakes.... by 19! This is an insult)

Nevada -24 over Idaho (Every week we bet against this team, every week we win. So easy)

The NFL Parlay is the Chalk Road Warriors 3 team parlay of the year!
Titans -1 over Balt
Bears -3.5 over Detroit
Pats -3 over San Fran

Hahahahahahahahha....

Best. Postseason. Ever. I told you so. What a total embarrasment the Cubs are. Their winning this season and having all those fans buy into it makes this so much better. "This is the year!" Nope! Actually it is the year, the year that the pain gets even worse because they actually believed they had a chance. The Cubs will never win, ever. The regular season highlight video is gonna be great. 100 years... and counting. Muuahhahahahahahaha. I would implore all Cubs fans to ditch their team now and root for the Cardinals, a real team.

Derrick Mason and Patrick Willis (The Audio)

These two are truly some of the great guys in the NFL. I always thought that Willis was an amazing story considering all that he had been through. He was the best linebacker I have ever seen in person when he was at Ole Miss. Derrick Mason is the consummate pro and keeps gettin it done at 34. Both were great to talk to on the show. Audio is loaded if you missed them.

A couple of NFL guests on today...

Ravens WR Derrick Mason and 49ers LB Patrick Willis are scheduled to join us on the show today. Both should be in the 4oclock hour.

The Movies Song has been added

I put the song on the side along with the other songs. Every week we get requests to send it to people or to put it on the site and I am not real sure why we never have. Anyway, the link is on the side now.

The Romo audio is loaded

I had gotten requests to put up the audio of our bit with Romanowski from Monday. If you scroll down to where the player is, it is there. If you missed it, Romo talked about how he tried to cheat once, how he choked Tony Gonzalez, and you will hear what he called JJ Stokes (we had to bleep when it was live).

The Playmaker in Memphis...

Michael Irvin was in our studio this morning. He hosts his own show in Dallas and was in town for some business, so he used Verno's golden microphone, ha. The guy was totally cool to everyone at the station. I had never met Irvin before, so you never know with guys that are that famous, but he was way cooler and more humble than a bunch of guys that we have run across.

CVERNON.COM Exclusive: Tigers getting big time transfer

This dude looks mean.

I was told that Jon Demps is transferring from Florida to the U of M. He was ranked as the #8 inside LB in the nation coming out of high school.

When I ran a search for this dude, the article that came up was about him beating another guy with a sandwich. In fact, that was the title-- Florida player beats a guy with a sandwich.

Here is the actual story about it....

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20071206/NEWS/71205018/0/MISC

And here is the Rivals profile of the kid...

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=26821&sport=1

Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, and Kyle Lowry...

all called in to the show today from Grizzlies Media Day. We talked about the summer, the roster, Rudy Gay- Thespian, Conley having to go in public with Greg Oden, etc. The audio is loaded...

I could not see the Cowboy game...

because my TV was hidden somewhere in the piles of money. Someone told me that they lost. Well, there goes my undefeated season. Watch your kids, because Redskins fans are all pedophiles and they will all want to celebrate like they won the friggin Super Bowl.

Back to the money...
Vinnie Verno picks games and Vinnie Verno wins. 3-2 this week (and the Teams in Turmoil parlay also hit) and the overall record now stands at 20-7 (74%) so far this season. The seven we lost were clearly fixed.

For the show this week... I know that Grizzlies media day is Monday of this week, and I know that Rick Pitino is scheduled for the show this week, and I can't remember what else we have going on.

If you missed the TV bit (MIC CHECK) this week, here it is...

Philanthropy (The Picks)

17-5 (77% documented) so far this season. Get on this train or get hit by it....

Ole Miss +22 over Florida (you can make a living betting on 20pt dogs in the SEC year in and year out, and we do. Too many points)

Troy +17 over Oklahoma St. (Troy is a ATS team, in fact 13-3 in last 16 ATS. We love them. Not to mention they beat this team by more than 2tds last year)

San Diego St -11 over Idaho (Idaho is the worst team in the world. A total abomination. They have played 3 d1 opponents and lost a combined 163-35. )

Texas -27.5 over Arkansas (This is another one of the worst teams in the world. I thought this line should have been 50 or more. This is a massacre waiting to happen. Hide the women and children)

Colorado +6 over Florida St. (I don't think FSU should be a 6 pt favorite over anyone. I love Hawkins and I love that their RB is Rod Stewart. Wake up Maggie, Colorado.....strrrrr.....)

goofy parlay is...

Teams in Turmoil Two Team NFL Parlay of the Year!
Buffalo -8 over the Rams
San Diego -7.5 over Raiders

The streak continues...

While the world sits stunned by the outcome of the USC/ Oregon State game, the listeners of the Chris Vernon Show cannot help but chuckle. Watch out for that Beaver trap. This is too easy. I went to the Black Keys concert last night and I probably got a hundred text messages. They were mostly the same... "Vinny Verno, you are the greatest!" "You are the man!" "You truly are a genius!" Really it was just a bunch of stuff like that, stuff I already knew. The world is taking notice and I am using this incredible brain for some good. This year we play for keeps. 16-5 now going into the weekend, actually 17-5 because we didn't add the Colorado win from last week. Philanthropy is today.

Phil Fulmer and O.J. Mayo (The audio)

Fulmer and O.J. were on the show today, loaded in the player...

Phil Fulmer and O.J. Mayo on the show today

Fulmer will be on in the first hour. O.J. scheduled to join us in the second hour. Check it.

Bill Romanowski joins the show as a regular

4 time Super Bowl champion Bill Romanowski is scheduled to join us on the show weekly during the NFL season. Romo was on the show today to talk about who the best coaches are, the situation in Oakland, who hurt him when he hit them, what he regrets, etc. Romo will be on with us on Mondays at 5pm.
Still to come this week on the show... Illinois coach Ron Zook, Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer, O.J. Mayo.
Romo audio is loaded if you want to check it out.

Scheduled for this week...

Bill Romanowski on the NFL
Grizzlies draft pick Darrell Arthur (in studio)
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer (this should be fun, Auburn game this weekend)
Illinois coach Ron Zook (play Penn St. this weekend)
Grizzlies draft pick O.J. Mayo
Arkansas St. coach Steve Roberts (play Memphis this weekend)

Philanthropy now 15-5

I may not be at the show today. If I don't make it back in time, I will let Roser do the show. On Sunday night I bought a private jet and headed to a tropical island to stay in the mansion I bought last weekend. I will try to make it back but it will depend on the weather. In such tough economic times I am a beacon of light for the community. Vinnie Verno: Change you can believe in and country first.

Philanthropy is now 15-5. That is 75% if you are scoring at home.

Philanthropy (The Picks), new audio loaded

Philanthropy is 11-4 (73%) so far this year. Jump on this train or get run over by it. Here are the picks this week...

Alabama -9 over Arkansas (Arkansas is one of the worst teams in D1, they prove it this weekend)

Troy +21.5 over Ohio St (love this game, love this game. Troy could shock em. We will absolutely take more than 3 tds though)

Air Force +9.5 over Utah (I don't care if Utah is ranked, this game is ALWAYS close. Air Force 9-1 ATS in last 10, we will gladly take the 9.5)

Wake Forest +4 over Florida St. (I will believe it when I see it from the Noles, until then I will take the better football team as a road dog)

MTSU +6 over Arkansas St (I could not believe this line. MTSU pounds these guys every year. I like that Blue Raiders team because they covered for us last week. Take MTSU. Easy pickins)

The NFL goofy parlay is the Chalk Parlay of the Year!
Bills -9
New England -12
Giants -13
Denver -5.5

Bert Sugars picks (to cover)-- Fresno, Rutgers, Utah, Purdue, LSU

I loaded up Denunzio, Wallace, Mumme on the player if you missed them...

Micheal Heisley: 215th richest man in America

The Grizzlies owner has a net worth of 2.1 billion dollars, good enough to put him in the Forbes 400 List. Forgive me when I don't feel bad when he loses money with the Grizzlies. I have always been puzzled with contingent of fans that defend the consistent cutting back in spending on the team that has hurt the product from all angles. Grizzlies losses for him is like me losing 10 bucks. The facts are not that Heisley is a great owner that is willing to spend, the facts are that Heisley was an owner that was willing to spend. There is no debate that both the basketball and business sides have been downsized financially drastically in the last few years. Now we are at a point where there are less season ticket holders for the Grizzlies than any other team in the league. He did spend money, he did not make money back and so now he is gonna limit losses until he can get rid of the team. Listen to him talk about when the team was in the playoffs. He talks about them like they won a damn championship, or even 1 game. All you have to do is hear him and you get the sense that he sits behind a closed door and says, "We made the playoffs three straight years and these people still would not support this team enough, so screw it." The dude is so out of touch with Memphis and the fans it is amazing. "I will be around more, I will be more involved, blah blah blah." He comes in one time a year and says it, and we will hear it again this year. There is apathy from the fans and the team on the business side and basketball side is run on the cheap. Don't listen to me or any other media member (esp. the ones in Heisleys pocket), just ask any Grizzlies employee or former employee what they think about the franchise. The local owners had enough and they rolled out, and the only hope is that one day the team will be sold to someone that wants to have the team survive and thrive in Memphis (which is admittedly wishful thinking). I love the last line of the Forbes write-up:

Computer salesman became turnaround whiz. Used $150,000 profit from selling home and $10 million in bank loans to acquire Conco, maker of sewer and drain equipment. Expanded holdings; bought several near-bankrupt Rust Belt manufacturers. Today Heico operates 40 companies. Earnings generated through steel, construction, equipment. Founded private equity firm Stony Land Partners 2007; returned investors' money 2008 after credit crunch hit. Owns pro basketball's Memphis Grizzlies despite several efforts to sell team.

The team I care about, the team some of you care about, is a throw away line at the end of the profile. That seems about right.

The Article: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/54/400list08_Michael-Heisley-Sr_93KG.html

Gary Pinkel, Jim Grobe, and Terry Bowden (the audio)

#5 Missouri coach Gary Pinkel joined us on the show and talked about his team so far, building a program, Chase Daniel, etc.

#18 Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe talked about what he thought about Ole Miss, the extremely rare philosophy they used when building Wake, the Florida St. game coming up, etc.

College football analyst Terry Bowden talked about the season so far, whether coaches know what the point spread is in a game, why the spread offense is trending down, if Matthew Stafford is elite, the game he lost because he was trying not to "show to much" because of who his opponent was the next week (great story), etc.

I thought all three of them were really interesting today. If you missed any of them, they are loaded in the player...

Scheduled for this week (so far)

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel
Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe
College football analyst Terry Bowden
New Mexico St. coach Hal Mumme
New York Jets (and former Vol) Shaun Ellis

Another winning weekend (what's new?)

The Go To the Bank Week 2 NFL parlay of the year was 3-oh, 3-oh, 3-oh

The college games were 3-2. UAB could not get us one stupid touchdown. New Mexico St was on the Nebraska 2 yd line as the clock ran out, almost the backdoor. Oh well, we caught a break with Iowa taking a safety at the end.

Mental note: Kirk Ferentz has no regard for the point spread.

Kansas still covers like they were born to do it.

USC might be the Patriots this year in college. (no point spread too big)

Philanthropy record goes to 11-4 (73%)

You should easily be a bazillionaire by now.

Philanthropy (The Picks) w/ audio

Never doubt the great Vinny Verno. Comin off a blazin 5-0 last week. If you do not live in a mansion and drive a luxury car, blame yourself. I am trying to help you here.
Philanthropy Record is (8-2, 80%) this year

UAB +30 over Tennessee (if UAB can get me one TD, Tenn has to get me by more than 5tds. no way)

MTSU +17 over Kentucky (I could not believe this. Kentucky has a totally garbage offense. This is insulting)

Iowa St +13.5 over Iowa (again, totally insulting. Iowa St. always covers in this game, and now it is almost a 2td, give me a break)

N Mex St. +25 over Nebraska (I am ridin with my boy Hal Mumme and Joe Lee Dunn on this one. Nebraska struggled with San Jose till the end, 25 is too many)

Western Michigan -8 over Idaho (Idaho is the worst team in D1, and injured. This line should have been 20, we get it at 8)

The goofy NFL Parlay is the Go To the Bank Week 2 Parlay of the Year!
G- Giants -9 over Rams
T- Titans +1 over Bengals
B- Buffalo +5.5 over Jags

bert sugars picks (all against spread)---
Cal, Michigan, Virginia, Vandy, Georgia

My new favorite college football player, Sylvester Croom and John Chavis (Audio)

There is the very real possibility that my favorite player in college football this year is Karlin Brown, and I have never seen him play. When the middle linebacker at Miss. St. went down and they needed a replacement... they will now turn to Karlin Brown.
Brown will start in the Auburn game on Saturday night for the Bullies and I cannot wait. Why? Because Karlin Brown is my size. Wait until you see him. He is 5'8" 195lbs. It seems impossible. I looked up his videos on Rivals just to see if this is for real. This dude is starting at middle linebacker in the SEC against Auburn. I cannot remember the last time I anticipated watching a player more. Karlin Brown, do your thing, mangle and destroy.

I asked Sylvester Croom about Karlin Brown, his team losing to La. Tech, minority coach hires, etc. I have loaded the audio if you missed it.

I also loaded the audio of Tenn. Def. Coor. John Chavis joining us on the show.

Chris Wallace segment, Linda Cohn (The Audio), todays show

Scheduled for the show today...
Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom
Tennessee Defensive Coor. John Chavis
ESPN.Com's Ivan Maisel
Herrington and Movies

The Chris Wallace weekly segment is loaded in three parts. We busted his chops about a possible Zach Randolph deal, etc. Linda Cohn from ESPN joined us on the show to talk about her new incredibly revealing book about her life. Cohn is loaded in the player also.

What rhymes with Vinny Verno? 5 and ohhhh

And Vinny Verno is.............. 5 and oh, 5 and oh, 5 and ohhhhhhhhhh! That photo is actually of me. I burst into friggin flames, authorities had to come and put me out.

I give picks, they win, everyone becomes millionaires. The picks are always posted on Friday and if you slept on this, boo to you. Roser just told me he is drivin a Bentley to work on Monday. Philanthropy. I am a philanthropist. Woooo hoooooooo!!!!!! Updated Philanthropy record... (8-2, 80%)

Philanthropy (The Picks), Denunzio returns (Audio)

Here are the games this week, Roll with Vinny Verno or don't roll...

Kansas -20.5 over La. Tech (this will be known as the Kansas blood bath for yrs to come)

Southern Miss +17.5 over Auburn (too many points for a non-crappy team to get)

Air Force +3 over Wyoming (hard to defend team against a team we always win against)

La Monroe +12.5 over Arkansas (La Monroe could be favored in this, Arkansas is total crap)

Arizona St -14 over Stanford (last year combined score...79-6.. come on)

The goofy parlay is... The Not walking through that door Week 1 PARLAY OF THE YEAR!

Cincy -1 over Baltimore (Johnathan Ogden is not walking through that door)

Dallas -5.5 over Cleveland (Bernie Kosar is not walking through that door)

Jacksonville -3 over Titans (Steve McNair is not walking through that door)

Bert Sugars Picks

UConn -7 over Temple

Northwestern -6.5 over Duke

G Tech +7 over BC

Texas Tech -10 over Nevada

Denunzio Picks-- Dolphins, Bengals, 49ers, Saints (against spread)

You are welcome degenerates

Vandy ssssssssssstttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrraight up! How bout that? Bravo Bobby J. I had your back. Home teams catchin points on a Thursday, we love ya at the Verno household.
Giants hit too. What a beautiful Thursday night.

Just wait till tomorrow when I drop some more winners on that head. You should just go ahead a make reservations to your restaurant of choice. Philanthropy is too easy this week.

Welcome to the NBA Darrell Arthur

Nice. He and Chalmers got caught smokin some weed in their room. Hey, that rookie symposium is stressful.

Mangino tried

We were one yard away from 4-1 on the picks, ended up 3-2 instead. One yard away because my man Mangino was trying for us. The dude is up 40-10 and refuses to run out the clock. He has got his starter in behind center, and he is trying to score to get it to 47-10. Kneeling is for the weak. The RB got tackled at the friggin one yard line with the clock running out. I can't get mad about that. I still love this guy, he tried for us, even if they should have hung 70 on FIU. I could not help but laugh. Mangino has always respected Philanthropy.

Philanthropy, Bobby Bowden and Bradie James (The audio)

Audio of Bobby Bowden on the show and Bradie James on the show is loaded below.

Philanthropy (the picks)
never say that we don't give back to the community...

Kansas -35.5 over Fl. International (Kansas might score a hundy)
Pitt-13 over Bowling Green (McCoy goes over 2 bills)
Utah St +12.5 over UNLV (both these teams suck, so I take points)
Tulsa -14 over UAB (UAB is horrid, Tulsa is good, who needs more analysis?)
Ohio +11 over Wyoming (Come on Solich, come through, Wyoming is crap)

Philanthropy Record (0-0)

and as always, the goofy parlay is the...

Louisiana Losers Parlay of the Year!
Auburn -26 over La Monroe
S. Miss -10.5 over La Laffer
Miss St -8.5 over La. Tech

Bert Sugar's Picks
Temple -7 over Army
Clemson -4.5 over Bama
V Tech -9.5 over ECU
Louisville -4 over Kentucky
Fresno +5.5 over Rutgers

Excuses, Excuses

3-3 on the degenerate games. Troy, Vandy, and Wake come through
now to the losers...
--Utep is an absolute piece of crap. Almost 500 yds of offense to Buffalo? That is ridiculous and embarrasing at the same time. I hate Utep now.
--Oregon State, how about you throw a backwards pass in the endzone again with the game in the balance? Or fumble with the game on the line? Boooooooo.
--NC State was in that thing and then their QB was on a stretcher. Can't plan for that one, but geez, Troy Aikman played through 5 million concussions and he still talks well. Come on dude. Just kidding.

So we were 3-3 on degenerate games, but it is clear that the games we lost were fixed. If we lose, the game was fixed. Period.

Darrell Arthur has to pick up his mom from the airport because her flight was moved to today, so he moved him to next week. Never mess with mama.
The rest of the show for today is the same as scheduled.

The picks, the Friday show, new audio

The 6 Degenerate Game picks for the games tonight given on the show were (if you wanna keep up with my brilliance)...
Utep +3.5 over Buffalo, NC State +14.5 over S.Carolina, Troy -7 over MTSU, Vandy +3.5 over Miami (ohio), Wake -12 over Baylor, Oregon St. -3 over Stanford

The show tomorrow will feature Bobby Bowden, Darrell Arthur, etc. The rundown is below...
Friday Show:
3pm- Grizzlies draft pick Darrell Arthur comes in studio
3:40- Philanthropy (season debut)
4:20-5- Commercial Appeal's Jason Smith preps preview
5- Florida State coach Bobby Bowden
5:20- Memphis D Coor Tim Walton
5:40-- Weekly Cigar with Bert Sugar (lovable losers debut)

New audio includes the Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace weekly segment (broken into 3 parts)

Next two days on the show...

(scheduled to join us on Thurs, Fri)...

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden (Roser hit trifecta- all 3 Bowden's in a week)
Memphis D Coor Tim Walton
Tenn O Coor Dave Clawson
Grizzlies draft pick Darrell Arthur swings by the studio

The predictions from the show (SEC 2008)

SEC East
Florida wins it
Georgia
Tenn
S Carolina
Kentucky
Vandy

SEC West
Auburn wins it
Bama
Ole Miss
LSU
Miss St
Arkansas

Surprise team is Ole Miss, Disappointment is LSU, Les Miles downfall begins now Saban's players are all in NFL and he is gone within 3 years

Florida wins the SEC, Tebow wins another Heisman

Terry Bowden and Fantasy football expert Dave Richard (The Audio)

College football analyst Terry Bowden joined us on the show to talk about the upcoming season, his dad and his future plans, his brother and the Clemson/Bama game, the spread offense, etc.

CBSSports.com Fantasy Expert Dave Richard gave fantasy football tips on the upcoming season including sleepers, busts, strategies, etc.
Both Bowden and Richard are loaded in the player.

Cardinals All-Star Ryan Ludwick, Clemson coach Tommy Bowden (The Audio)

The show tomorrow, concert tomorrow night

We are scheduled to be joined on the show by Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals and Clemson coach Tommy Bowden.

Now, to the concert...

Rock For Love 2 is a concert that is going on Friday night (and Saturday) with a ton of great local music acts and it is all for a great cause. The show is at the Hi-Tone. I was asked to emcee and I was really honored. I am gonna be the emcee for the Friday night show (Lord T and Eloise, Al Kapone, etc., this is gonna be awesome). Come check this thing out if you can, it should be great. The show benefits the Church Health Center. They provide medical care for those that are uninsured or cannot afford it. I hope to see you there. Here is the release...

SunTrust Rock for Love 2 benefit for Church Health Center
planned for August 22-23 at the Hi Tone
Lord T and Eloise, Snowglobe to headline respective nights

SunTrust Rock for Love 2, the second-annual concert to benefit the Church
Health Center, is set for Aug. 22-23 at the Hi-Tone, 1913 Poplar Ave.

The concert – actually two back-to-back nights of music – will not only raise vital
funds for the Center, but it will also celebrate the diversity of Memphis music with
performances by some of the city’s best bands.

Friday, Aug. 22 – Lord T and Eloise, Al Kapone, Two Way Radio, J.D. Reager
and the Cold Blooded Three and Vending Machine. Emcee: Chris Vernon, host
of “The Chris Vernon Show” on 730 Fox.

Saturday, Aug. 23 – Snowglobe, the Coach and Four, Antenna Shoes, Oh No!
Oh My! and Royal Bangs. Emcee: Janet Wilson, host “Janet’s Planet” on WEVL,
FM 89.9.

Tickets are on sale at Goner Records and Shangri-La in midtown and online at
HiToneMemphis.com. Tickets for each night are $10, or tickets for both nights
can be purchased together for $18. Cost to get in each show will be $10 at the
door if tickets are available.

Chris Wallace (Audio), Memphis announcement

The University of Memphis is having a "major" press conference tomorrow at 3 to make an announcement they say will gain national attention. My guess was maybe there was gonna be a ESPN College Gameday game against Kansas, or something like that. Now I have heard that it might be about a deal with Nike, and I have also heard that it is about a major donation. I don't know what to think, but I will imagine that it will be extremely good news for Memphis and the athletic dept.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace was in studio for the weekly segment and we talked about marriage, the Iranian guy the Grizzlies were said to be signing, the Olympics, Marc Gasol, etc. Audio is below, broken in two parts.

Houston Nutt and Rick Neuheisel (The Audio)

Houston Nutt was on the show and we talked about his introductory press conference (my favorite ever), Kent Austin, J. Snead, J. Powe, the injuries they have sustained, what shape he left Arkansas in, what shape Ole Miss is in, etc.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel was on the show and we talked about taking over at his "dream job", what the last 5 years has been like for him, getting caught up in the fame of being a high profile coach, playing Tennessee the first game of the season, how UCLA stacks up with USC in the city and the state, etc.

I thought both of these guys were really interesting and entertaining. If you missed them.. audio is below.

Some Memphis Tigers schedule notes

Here is what I have been told regarding some dates and times for the upcoming season...

November 17th the Tigers will play UMass. 11pm tip so they can play on national TV following Monday Night Football.

December 20th is the Syracuse game at FedEx Forum.

December 22nd is a Monday. The Tigers are scheduled to play Drexel at noon-- Grizzlies play the Lakers that night. Monday double-header, huh?

I was also told that another non-conference home game will be added when it is worked out. Might be an ESPN gameday game. Names for that include possibly Ohio State, Florida, or Kansas.

Houston Nutt and Rick Neuheisel

On the show today. New coach day. Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt and UCLA coach Rick Nueheisel joining us on the show. Check it.

Mercy Killing, 119-82, muahahahah!

CVERNON.COM EXCLUSIVE: Spain is garbage.
What a beautiful day! That's what I am talking about. Defecation on the head style. That Spanish team wanted no part of the physical game the US team employed from the jump. Nice body language Spain. Muuahahhahaaha. So much for that "best in the world" talk. That's 0-9 in Olympic play vs. the USA for Spain. They didn't even put up a fight. Even Angola put up a fight. Angola! Thank you Team USA for embarrassing that team. Where was the MVP of the world, Pau Gasol? Did he play? Muhahahahahaha.

Quick reactions...
I still like that kid Ricky Rubio. He has some fight in him. He would be awesome if he played American college basketball.
Marc Gasol is not athletic enough, too slow, and too slow with the ball. Is that a Euro thing, that it takes forever to make a move? Pau always did that. You have to get the ball and make a quick, decisive move in the NBA. Big lugs are not difference makers in the league.
Spain does not have a run-stopper. Not surprising when Pau is supposed to be your best player. Geez, where have I seen that before for 7 years?
Dwayne Wade looks better than ever.
Kobe Bryant has not even been one of the top 5 players for the US in this competition.

Maybe next time we can spot Spain 40 before the game starts, so it can be a game. Talk about being worth the wait.

Here we come Spain...

I have got the American flag draped over me.
I have the Hacksaw Jim Duggan 2x4 on my shoulder.
If you read this site, you will remember all of the crap we had to endure from Spain when the Pau song came out. "Spain is best in world. Pau is MVP of world. USA is loser. Spain is blah blah blah..."
It's about time that Spanish fans get put back in their place. Had to wait a long time... but tomorrow morning is the day of reckoning. Can't wait to see that weak-ass national hero let them down.
Here we come Spain. I cannot wait. Maybe you can give each other some more fruity hugs while you console each other... just like your hero. Muuuuhaahahaha.

Today on the show

Former NBA and celibacy ironman AC Green joins us on the show. Also, longtime Chicago sports radio host Mike North will be on, and we will try to catch up with Chris Wallace when he returns from Europe.
Update: The audio is below

Just imagine if Team USA did this...

The Spanish Olympic team had an ad in their newspaper in Spain where they all slanted their eyes. I am sure it was "in honor" of the games being in Bejing. Just imagine if the Team USA had done this. It must be the culture difference, right? This is an advertisement? For what, racism?

The changing feeling about USA Basketball

Nike has put out one of the best sports commercials ever in preparation for the Olympic games in Bejing. We always talk about how winning International competition is so much more important to players from other countries and residents of other countries. I don't know if our players will ever feel the pressure or responsibility to win like the players from overseas, but this year certainly feels different. Listening to them talk, watching them play, this year feels different. USA Basketball seems fun and exciting again, at least to me. Maybe for me it is different because if you read this blog, you recall how many threats and other insane crap that was written by residents of Spain (when we had Pau and the song came out). You may remember how much trash they talk about being the "best players in the world." I hope we beat the ever-loving crap out of them, and everyone else. Only a communist could not like the new Nike commercial...

Good grief...

The problem with drinking the kool aid...

I have long been a proponent of spending money to improve this team. What happens to all of the fans that have drank the "3 year plan" kool aid and say that the team should not spend money? You are upset about this Josh Smith offer sheet stuff right? This is not what the Grizzlies said they were gonna do so you are against it? Or is it that the Grizzlies are now doing this, and so you are for it? Geez, this is gonna be funny. So now what? Is it the right decision to spend the cap space?
That is the trouble with drinking the kool aid. I say bravo to the Grizzlies. It is a smart PR move even when Smith does not sign here.
This should be a lesson to all of the fans that don't have their own opinion and just support whatever bologna is said. Now you have to change positions. Thank you Mr. Heisley, you have exposed your sheep. And you at least have made the effort.

Grizzlies going after Josh Smith?

The Commercial Appeal is reporting that the Grizzlies have signed an offer sheet with Josh Smith. The contract is worth 58 million dollars. I would be shocked if the Hawks don't match, but huge credit to the Grizzlies for taking a run at the guy. To say I am shocked would be an understatement. I would bet we never see the guy in a Grizzlies uniform, but the effort counts. As you know, I have been very wary of a 3-year plan and the idea that Memphis can survive 2 more really bad seasons. If Smith were in a Grizzlies uni, that team looks a whole lot better immediately. Please let there be an act of God that lets this happen. There are 82 games, and this team looks a lot more exciting and promising with Josh Smith on the front line.

Grizzlies sign Hawks' Smith to offer sheet

In the article, the Grizz are also reportedly signing the big center of Iran. Dude had 20 rebounds in a game against Serbia? I'm down with that. Memphis hasn't had a guy that could get 20 rebounds against air. The Grizzlies are gonna have the "foreign nightmare" front line. Darko, Marc Gasol, and this dude. Watch out. hahahaha.

The audio from the Thursday show

Memphis Tiger beat writer Dan Wolken had taken exception to some of the things that I said about the homerism in Memphis. Dan was invited to come on the show and we talked about the comments that I had made. It was quite evident from the response I have gotten that all different types of people viewed our discussion all different ways. The only one that bothers me is the idea that I hate Memphis or want more negative coverage of Memphis. There is no question that some took my comments in that way. Again, when this all began, my point was never that there needed to be more negative coverage, but rather that there is a reason that negatives about a home team are written more often by an outsider (this is not exclusive to Memphis either). I have no problem with a home team slant, my problem is with those that try to deny it exists. The home team slant is prevalent in nearly every city across the nation, so let's just not act as if it cannot be a neccessary evil of being a local reporter. Dan took exception to that assumption. I gave examples of things that I thought were slanted or ignored, and Dan responded. Who knows what was accomplished, but maybe, at worst, it was compelling radio. Here is the audio if you missed it...

The new website for the station

The new station website is www.730foxsports.com. It is already up, but is also a work in progress. They are adding new features everyday. One of the new features is a webcam installed in the studio so that you can watch the show being broadcast if you like. I was against this camera, but whatever, I guess it is kinda cool. To watch the show, click on Verno TV while we are on the air from 3-6. I have gotten tremendous response on the new lineup. Thanks to all of you that listen and support the station, the positive feedback has been awesome. People are always adverse to change, but the vast majority of response that I have gotten has been positive regarding the new lineup. Check out the new website and let us know what you would like to be added or changed.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (The audio)

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace joined us from Italy (where he is on vacation) to talk about the release of the Grizzlies schedule, how it works, if the Grizzlies are gonna be making a move soon, etc. The audio is loaded below...

Clearing some things up...

Yesterday I addressed the idea of Memphis media not wanting to report negative things about John Calipari and the Tigers. Somehow (as evidence by my email) this had been twisted to where I said that reporters know about things and do not report them. This is not what I said, and in fact the audio is below. What I did say is that it is very hard to criticize, or report the negative, and still maintain the access you need to do your job.

Let me give you an example (and let's make this about USC so nobody accuses me of anything)...

Player A pulls up to practice in a brand new, shiny Mercedes. He is wearing diamond stud earrings and a Rolex and is counting hundred dollar bills when he walks in the door. As a reporter, do you look into how this player could possibly have that much money at his disposal? Do you really want to know?

Do you see where I am going with this? Now somebody from out of town might be shocked and say "gee, how is this happening?" But if you are local and your job is riding on a program and your readers are fans of the program, do you really want to know? What is the end game? You bust someone and bring down a program? You better be ready for death threats (that is not a joke) and you better be ready to find another job. That is reality. This is what I am talking about from the point of view of someone who covers sports for a living. I was not trying to be trying to be a jerk, or trash anyone, I was trying to bring a broader understanding of the media and how it can work.

What I brought up above may be an extreme example, but one that brings up the legitimate point as to why negative things are more likely to be written from the outside and out-of-towners are more likely to dig into things. They do not have to deal directly with the repercussions of their stories. Again, I understand.

I know that every reporter fancies themselves as objective beacons of journalism. I actually defended the non-criticism of local teams on the level that you have to be able to do your job and most fans don't care if the coverage is balanced.

So let me be clear... everything that I said regarding Dan Wolken and the coverage of the Tigers was all in reference to the above explanation. When my thoughts were met with "he is full of it" "that is garbage", the hilarious- "I write negative things like the riot and Robert Dozier" -it was the pinnacle of defensiveness. My initial diatribe was not even about Dan Wolken, it was about the Memphis media and the landscape as a whole, he took it personally.

Outside of Geoff Calkins, find me criticism levied against John Calipari from the Commercial Appeal (on court, or off court) in the last 2 years. Balanced coverage would be criticism and praise, right? There is only praise and the staff spin on every topic printed in our paper here (or at least 99% of the time). If that is what is considered balanced and objective coverage, then I am wrong about this.

I was not trying to make anyone upset, I was simply giving my view on Memphis and the media and the challenges covering the local teams can present. Initially, I was not even critical, I just said that this is the way things are.

So just for clarification.. the audio of what I actually said is loaded below...

Dan Patrick on the show, Goodman takes some calls (The Audio)

Dan Patrick can now be heard from 8-11 am every morning on 730 Fox Sports. Dan came on the show this afternoon to talk about his show, his decision to make his move, the gig on Sunday Night football, the Olympics, etc. He was great, and I am thrilled that his show is on the station (he also talks about being on 730 at the end). It is loaded in the player.

Jeff Goodman came on the show to take calls from listeners about the story he reported about a Memphis recruiting violation. There have been a lot of speculation about the fact that Jeff was the one that reported the story. He attempted to explain his role and refute some of the rumors and speculation. Tiger Steve took a run at him with some good questions. The audio is also loaded below.

CLINK ON LINK BELOW TO STREAM

I know the streaming has been a mess today, but it should be fine now. If you stream the shows on a regular basis.... Copy this exact link to your favorites and it will take you to the stream...
CLICK HERE TO STREAM

Jeff Goodman, 2 Live Stews (The Audio)

After Jeff Goodman reported that Memphis was going to be investigated by the NCAA, he came on the show. The audio is loaded.

Also, The 2 Live Stews came on the show to introduce themselves and let listeners in Memphis know what to expect from their show. The begin on the station Monday and will be on from 12-3.