A really big (Orange) question

It's been a great off season in Vol Nation and it's definitely high fives all around for Coach Lane Kiffin. But I ran across a blog at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that UT seems to be ignoring QB prospect Nick Montana, son of legendary NFL tosser Joe Montana.

The posting focuses mostly on what Nick Montana liked about his visit to UGA. But writer Michael Carvell also asked him about his interest in Tennessee. Here's some of what he had to say:

"Tennessee hasn’t offered, but I’m still thinking about them. I haven’t really heard from them in a while." (Click HERE to see the entire post.)

Say what? You're a football program in desperate need of rebuilding, especially at the quarterback position, and you're blowing off one of the nation's top prospects?

Unless they got Jesus himself lined up to play QB (and we know that's not possible because he already plays at UF), it makes absolutely no sense at all.

Which brings me to the Orange tractor trailer pictured here. I have often wondered why the Yellow trucking company drives Orange trucks. Why not just change their name to Orange and be done with it?

Like Tennessee's apparent lack of interest in Montana, it makes no sense.

Jeff

Need an Orange pick(me)up?

It wasn't a great week for UT sports (see previous blog posting), so it's understandable if Vol Nation needs a little morale boost. So where were the little pockets of good news hiding?

One is that GoVolsXtra.com reported Nick Stephens got the cast off his right wrist and is back at practice. He may not be the QB of the future, but it's good to have him back in the mix.

It was also great to read that Vols gridiron legend and former UT football coach Johnny Majors attended a recent practice and gave two big thumbs up to the way Coach Lane Kiffin is running things. "I thought it was oustanding in every way," Majors told GoVolsExtra.com about the practice. "That's the way football should be practiced."

And then it's nice to hear that former Vols QB Erik Ainge may actually have a shot at the starting job with the NY Jets. It would definitely be nice to see other UT QBs make it big in the NFL along with Peyton Manning.

But if all of that's not enough to boost your spirits, take a gander at this Tennessee Orange Ford F-350 (or is it a 450) that Larry spotted a couple weeks ago. If this heavy lifter can't give you a lift, nothing can.

Jeff

Time to fly!

This has been a big week for Orange Nation and for the Big Orange Vehicle Blog. The basketball Vols did pretty good in the SEC championship and are in the NCAA tournament. And, of course, as per usual, the Lady Vols are in the big show as well. The BOVB hit a milestone by publishing a cool shot of Space Shuttle Discovery launching from Florida.

But arguably the best news came on Monday when the nation's top running back prospect, Bryce Brown, signed with Tennessee. It was a big win for the university and shows that, if nothing else, coach Lane Kiffin & Co. can certainly recruit and, as GoVolsXtra reported, "they can do it on the fly."

When I read that quote I thought of the photos above. My friend Larry photographed them at the TICO Warbirds Air Show in Titusville, Fla., on Sunday. Both aircraft are vintage Navy trainers. The top one is a T-28 Trojan, the other is a T-34 Mentor.

They are awesome, but here's the question: Are they really Orange? To me, it seems the T-28 is more red than Orange. The T-34 color seems to be a blend of Orange and red. In both cases I might agree that the aircraft are painted with Gator "Orange" (which ain't really Orange).

You be the judge.

Jeff

On Kiffin, sledge hammers and garbage trucks

Sometimes the subtle approach is the way to go. Other situations call for a sledge hammer. The key is knowing the difference.

Orange Nation hopes CLK (Coach Lane Kiffin) knows the difference. Kiff has made quite a splash in the Southeastern Conference the last few weeks with his brash statements about other coaches and programs.

The result has been a few reprimands from the SEC, a wrist slap from the university and -- best of all -- a host of PO'd UF and Alabama fans, coaches and columnists.

“My goal was to be the least popular coach in the SEC,” UT hoops coach Bruce Pearl told the Knoxville News-Sentinel about his first year on the job. “It took me one year. It took Lane Kiffin one week.”

Kiffin came back with this comment about all the cry babies out there:

“We’ll make sure that we don’t offend anyone in the conference or any other school. We’ll be very nice.”

Ha ha, awesome. (Click here to read more of that article).

So, clearly, CLK has opted for the sledge hammer approach -- and we're hoping his win-loss record will back him up.

To honor Kiff's in-your-face style, the BOVB is rolling out this obviously-Tennessee Orange garbage truck, which fellow UT grad and Jax resident Craig TerBlanche photographed in Knoxville recently.

Sweet, dude. There's no way poser-Orange schools like Texas, Syracuse and Florida can say "nah, that's our half-assed Orange."

Sometimes, the BOVB presents images that gently satisfy every human being's scientifically-proven need for Orange. Sometimes it just needs to be crammed down their throats. I think this pic, like CLK hisself, does a fine job of that.

Jeff

This (pic) doesn't suck

So it looks like Tennessee is expected to have a sucky National Signing Day this week. GoVolsXtra.com reports that a lot of dudes Coach Kiffin hoped to snag, and who may have shown some initial interest in the Vols, retreated from the scene. That sucks.

But what totally doesn't suck is this badass armored personnel carrier/tank that my nephew Andrew spotted in Knoxville, the Mecca of Orangeness, last week. Apparently it belongs to a unit known as The Big Orange Army.

"i saw the tank on tuesday but didn't have my camera so i went back on thursday and took several pictures," Andrew said in his e-mail. "i even ran out in the middle of the road in order to take the best pic but do to shutter delay it was just a picture of the f-150 i was almost hit by, but i got a couple good ones."

The BOVB discourages anyone from running into the road to snap pics of OVs, but I must agree with Andrew that he got a couple good ones.

Jeff

Kiffin: Lamborghini or old Beemer?

It's one thing to read about all the great coaches Tennessee has hired since the end of the 2008 season. It's quite another, though, to see how much they are being paid as a group: $5.3 million, according to the Associated Press. That's about $12 million for coaching salaries when you count the $6 million it cost UT to get Coach Fulmer out the door.

Some are understandably displeased, especially after tuition increases and cuts in faculty pay. It may not be apples to apples, though, because AD Mike Hamilton says the money generated by a winning program will help fund all athletic programs and thereby free up university dollars for other expenses.

Whatever. But here's my point: The embarrassment of 2008 will pale compared to the grief and humiliation we'll feel if Kiffin and Co. don't come out strong in 2009. Kiff might — might — be allowed to lose to Florida one time, but that's it. But he better whoop everybody else. For $5.3 million, I don't see how we can expect anything less.

Let me explain it in terms of Orange vehicles. Let's say you put up the money for the sweet Lamborghini Murcielago pictured here, but when you went to the lot to pick it up, you found this weathered old BMW instead? Yes, they're both sports cars. But you'd be pretty PO'd, I reckon (especially since the Beemer is closer to UF Red than true Orange).

Jeff

Thrown under the bus

Now, this is a real drag. The Florida Times-Union is reporting that WFXJ 930 AM sports broadcasters Robert Lamm and Joe Cowart were sacked on Monday. Apparently it was due to budget cuts resulting from the ongoing economic meltdown.

Obviously I'm not in charge of the station's balance sheets, but I can't imagine how getting rid of these guys is going to help any station's bottom line for very long. Their show was a funny and local take on local, state and national sports. It was the only reason I tuned in.

Since Cowart and Lamm were thrown under the bus, I figured it was appropriate to roll out this big Orange bus. I photographed it in November 2008, just outside Neyland Stadium moments before the ill-fated Tennessee-Wyoming homecoming game.

But just as the Vols' 2008 meltdown brought us Lane Kiffin and dramatic off-season news, this bus reminds us there is an Orange lining to every cloud.

Or at least we hope so.

Jeff

Be Thou of Orange Cheer

It's well-established by science that Orange is one of nature's best cheer-me-ups. Heck, they might not admit it, but any Bulldog, Tiger or Commodore would be upflited a little Orange therapy.

Volunteer fans have something extra to be elated about: the fact that Lane Kiffin is PO'ing just about every other SEC school by stealing their best recruiters.

Now, whether all this off-season good news translates into a winning formula on the gridiron in 2009 is a different issue altogether.

But why focus on that when we can gaze upon this cheerfully-Orange Stella made by the Genuine Scooter Co. of Chicago?

I spotted it in front of the Riverside YMCA in Jacksonville on Sunday, Jan. 18. A few blocks later I found it parked beside a couple other scooters in the Brooklyn area. It's driver, Russ, was a great sport and a man of clearly good tastes.

Russ and his scooter-riding friends were a great bunch. And while I don't know much about scooters, I can only conclude that the Genuine Scooter Co. must be A-OK since it produced a vehicle in such gorgeous Orange.

Jeff