Amazon has plans for a Merle Haggard biopic, according to Deadline.
Based on Merle’s 1981 memoir, Sing Me Back Home, the upcoming flick is set to be directed by Robin Bissell, who is also co-writing the script with Merle’s widow, Theresa Haggard. Oscar-winning actor Sam Rockwell is in talks to play Merle. The film will be set in the 1960s during the early part of Merle’s career.
The entire music world lost a true legend when Merle died on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—from complications of double pneumonia. He was born on April 6, 1937, in Bakersfield, Calif. He often reflected on his hardscrabble childhood, being raised primarily by his mother following the death of his father when Merle was a boy. He rebelled against his strict and stern mother, running away from home regularly and spending time in reform schools.
Merle truly knew what the hard-living “outlaw” lifestyle was all about. He spent time in San Quentin State Prison in California in the late 1950s for an attempted robbery (Merle was later pardoned for his crime by California governor Ronald Reagan). But after being released in 1960, Merle turned his life around and changed country music in the process. He was always attracted to music and songwriting, and he became inspired to pursue the life of an artist after seeing Johnny Cash perform at San Quentin in 1958.
Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, Merle recorded iconic songs like “Mama Tried,” “The Fightin’ Side of Me,” “Okie From Muskogee,” “Big City” and many more.
What will the SEC decide to do with the two extra conference games it’s adding to the 2020 conference-only format it announced on Friday?
It appears the league will go with either the addition of 2021 and 2022 crossover games or some sort of strength of schedule model.
The former is easier and cleaner. The East division hosts the West division in 2021. It reverses in 2022. That could make it simple to slot in predetermined matchups and locations. That should eliminate accusations of favoritism. It’s also the format that’s been most reported to be what the SEC has often discussed.
The latter format is what would most likely achieve competitive balance in scheduling. It would potentially diminish complaints by leveling the league schedules out, top-to-bottom. I realize eliminating complaints in today’s society is impossible to achieve. The ACC used a strength of schedule model. This will be imperfect as well. I’ll explain more below.
Let’s dive into the two formats.
Future Crossovers
Vince’s View: It’s easy to overreact to the two additional SEC games by looking at them in a bubble. Just because those two games are tougher or easier for one team over another doesn’t mean the entire schedule is that way. You need to look at the 4 cross-division games each team plays and line those up side-by-side for best comparison. I’ve done that for you below.
Some teams that have difficult 9th and 10th games may have had a lesser rest of the schedule. The in-division games will match-up for the other 6 games for a more level comparison.
Here’s what those look like. Judge with the eye test, not previous season’s records. Where you play matters when judging schedules, as does when you play, which we don’t know yet. Who has the toughest 4-game set? The easiest? I bet opinions will vary.
SEC East
Permanent CO
2020 CO
2021 CO
2022 CO
Florida
vs. LSU
at Ole Miss
vs. Alabama
at Texas A&M
Georgia
vs. Auburn
at Alabama
vs. Arkansas
at Miss State
Kentucky
vs. Miss State
at Auburn
vs. LSU
at Ole Miss
Missouri
vs. Arkansas
at Miss State
vs. Texas A&M
at Auburn
South Carolina
vs. Texas A&M
at LSU
vs. Auburn
at Arkansas
Tennessee
vs. Alabama
at Arkansas
vs. Ole Miss
at LSU
Vanderbilt
vs. Ole Miss
at Texas A&M
vs. Miss State
at Alabama
SEC West
Permanent CO
2020 CO
2021 CO
2022 CO
Alabama
at Tennessee
vs. Georgia
at Florida
vs. Vanderbilt
Arkansas
at Missouri
vs. Tennessee
at Georgia
vs. S. Carolina
Auburn
at Georgia
vs. Kentucky
at S. Carolina
vs. Missouri
LSU
at Florida
vs. S. Carolina
at Kentucky
vs. Tennessee
Mississippi State
at Kentucky
vs. Missouri
at Vanderbilt
vs. Georgia
Ole Miss
at Vanderbilt
vs. Florida
at Tennessee
vs. Kentucky
Texas A&M
at S. Carolina
vs. Vanderbilt
at Missouri
vs. Florida
Vince’s View Review: Overall, of those 4-game crossover comparisons, I think Florida and Alabama have the two toughest schedules. It looks like Mississippi State and Texas A&M have the lightest schedules.
Only one SEC team doesn’t add perhaps the top four teams in the league (Georgia/Florida/Alabama.LSU) in the two add-on games…Missouri. What are the other two Western Division games previously scheduled for the Tigers? Home vs. Arkansas and at Miss State. That’s more than manageable. Texas A&M and Auburn are still tough games, so it does even-up some.
People have complained about Georgia getting an easy duo with games vs. Arkansas and at Miss State added. Maybe, but when you add that to vs. Auburn and at Alabama it seems fair.
I’ve heard Tennessee fans speak out against playing at LSU because it would give them 5 Top 10 opponents. Well, no it won’t. LSU basically replaces Oklahoma since it’s SEC only. Secondly, when you look at the 4 West opponents as a whole, UT plays arguably the two best teams in the division and the two worst. Arkansas is on a 19-game SEC losing streak. So, again, it balances out. Not saying it’s all equal. Just pointing out to look at all 4 crossovers to judge more reasonably, if you’re into that kind of thing..
This is the more complicated format and also an in-exact one. Strength of schedule is typically gauged off of the previous year’s records. However, with losses of key players, coaching changes and even team improvements from year-to-year, you often won’t get identical results or strength of teams in consecutive seasons.
With in-division and two crossover opponents already set, the league is tasked with matching up each team with two of the five remaining teams not on the current SEC schedule. I’ve listed each school’s 5 teams that are options to be added below.
Here’s how the strength of schedule of the current SEC opponents lays out. I’ve listed them for both SEC games in 2019 and overall record in 2019, which would give you a little more separation of win percentage, if they chose to use it.
Opponent Record/Win % in SEC Games in 2019 1. South Carolina 37-27 (58%) 2. Arkansas 33-31 (52%) Vanderbilt 33-31 (52%) Alabama 33-31 (52%) Auburn 33-31 (52%) Ole Miss 33-31 (52%) 7. Florida 32-32 (50%) Georgia 32-32 (50%) 9. Mississippi State 31-33 (48%) 10. Kentucky 30-34 (47%) 11. LSU 29-35 (45%) Tennessee 29-35 (45%) 13. Texas A&M 28-36 (44%) Missouri 28-36 (44%)
Opponent Record/Win % in All Games in 2019 1. South Carolina 71-34 (68%) 2. Mississippi State 68-36 (65%) 3. Auburn 66-39 (63%) 4. Ole Miss 65-39 (63%) 5. Arkansas 63-40 (61%) 6. Alabama 63-41 (61%) 7. Vanderbilt 61-41 (60%) 8. Georgia 60-41 (59%) 9. Florida 60-43 (58%) 10. Tennessee 57-44 (56%) 11. Kentucky 56-46 (55%) 12. LSU 55-46 (54%) 13. Missouri 54-48 (53%) 14. Texas A&M 54-48 (53%) *own 2019 record tiebreaker
Vince’s View Review: So what do you do with all those teams that share the same strength of schedule if you just base SOS on SEC records in 2019? Not easy. One thing is clear, South Carolina has, by far, the toughest current schedule. If any team should get a little lighter two additional games, it should be SC.
For having one of the easier SEC schedules, fans that think that UT’s schedule is already too difficult may be upset if this formula is used and the Vols end up with two tough opponents. There’s perception. There are numbers. None of this is going to be spot-on. Outrage will ensue, unfortunately.
Here are the game options for every SEC team within the strength of schedule model. Two of the 5 listed will be added. I will let you choose who should be added for each team. Try doing that puzzle. It’s not as easy as you think when you’re trying to keep the integrity of your strength of schedule rankings and there are two games involved.
The number listed next to each team is the SOS rank (in overall games,) with 1 being the toughest. That means the Gamecocks should land the easiest two games while Missouri and Texas A&M should land the hardest.
SEC East
Florida (9)
Ala
Tx AM
Ark
Aub
MSU
Georgia (8)
Ark
MSU
LSU
OM
Tx AM
Kentucky (11)
LSU
OM
Ala
Ark
Tx AM
Missouri (13)
Tx AM
Aub
Ala
LSU
OM
South Carolina (1)
Aub
Ark
OM
MSU
Ala
Tennessee (10)
OM
LSU
Tx AM
MSU
Aub
Vanderbilt (7)
MSU
Ala
Ark
Aub
LSU
SEC West
Alabama (6)
UF
VU
UK
Mizz
SC
Arkansas (5)
Geo
SC
VU
UK
UF
Auburn (3)
SC
Mizz
UT
UF
VU
LSU (12)
UK
UT
Geo
Mizz
VU
Mississippi State (2)
VU
Geo
UT
SC
UF
Ole Miss (4)
UT
UK
Geo
SC
Mizz
Texas A&M (14)
Mizz
UF
UT
UK
Geo
It’s doubtful fairness can be exactly accomplished in this format. Good luck, SEC!
Then again, as long as we get a safe, complete 2020 college football season, I’ll close my personal complaint department and instead say…’Thank you, SEC!’
Luke Combs and Nicole Hocking got married on Aug. 1 in Florida.
Luke revealed the news via Twitter on Aug. 2, saying: “Yesterday was the best day of my life. I got to marry my best friend. I love you @nicohocking, here’s to forever.”
Nicole added an Instagram post of her own on Aug. 2, saying: “Yesterday was the most special day!! I’m so happy to spend the rest of my life with you! Although we wish would could have had every single one of our family & friends there, we can’t wait to celebrate with everyone next year! So excited to share more of this day soon. much love!”
Luke and Nicole began dating in 2016. They got engaged in November 2018. Congrats to the happy couple.
KNOXVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 12, 2019 – Linebacker Daniel Bituli #35 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Here’s another update on transactions in the NFL involving University of Tennessee players in moves announced by the National Football League.
Below is the full list of players currently on NFL expanded rosters. This year’s roster max needs to get down to 80 players by Aug. 16 from the normal 90. Until then, teams can either practice in full with 80 or split squad with 90.
You’ll also find below the list of players that were at UT at one time before transferring and finishing their careers elsewhere as well as players that have local ties to the Knoxville area that did not attend the University of Tennessee. The depth chart projections are from Ourlads.com.
Look for constant updates here on my blog “Vince’s View.” Bookmark my blog page and check back often.
Recent Roster Moves 7/30 – Lions placed DB Justin Coleman on the Reserve/COVID-19 List
8/1 – Rams released rookie LB Daniel Bituli
The numbers of UT players on active rosters continues to dwindle. 9 players (6 released and 3 inactives) have dropped off current rosters. Coleman becomes the second VFL to be added to the Reserve/COVID-19 List. Nigel Warrior of the Ravens is the other. Bituli was the last of the rookie undrafted free agents to sign-on with a team due to needing to get his medicals cleared. Hopefully, he did not have an injury setback. Regardless, it’s very difficult to find work this year after being released.
The current count, through Aug. 1, on overall NFL players impacted by the pandemic looks like this: Reserve/COVID-19 List – 76 Opt-Outs – 37
Notes and Numbers On UT Players
*28 U. of Tennessee players on expanded active NFL rosters
*3 other players are inactive (Warrior/Palardy) on Reserve Lists
*San Francisco & New Orleans have most current UT players with 3
*NFC West is the division most represented with VFLs with 5 total players
*DL is the largest position represented with 7
*18 of the 32 teams have a UT player on active rosters
*There are 8 players that were once at U. of Tennessee but then transferred (see full list below)
*There are 6 players that didn’t attend UT, but have Knoxville/East TN ties (see full list below)
*7 Vols are projected as starters right now, excluding special teams
*Rookies: 3 VFLs, 2 one-time Vols and 3 Knoxville area non-UT players on current rosters
*7 players went to high school in Knoxville area (B. Colquitt, L. Smith, H. Smith, R. Cobb, T. Higgins, N. Cottrell, N. Gilliam)
Tennessee Volunteers On NFL Rosters as of 8/2/20 (28) x = Rookie
AFC East (4) TE – Jason Croom (80) Buffalo Bills – 5th team TE
FB/TE – Jakob Johnson (47) New England Patriots – 6th team TE
WR – Josh Malone (83) New York Jets – 2nd team WR
DE – Kyle Phillips (98) New York Jets – 2nd team DE
NONE – Miami Dolphins
AFC North (3)
LS – Morgan Cox (46) Baltimore Ravens – Starting LS
NT – Dan McCullers (93) Pittsburgh Steelers – 2nd team NT
DB – Cameron Sutton (20) Pittsburgh Steelers – 2nd team NB
NONE – Cincinnati Bengals
NONE – Cleveland Browns
AFC South (2)
OG – Zach Fulton (73) Houston Texans – Starting RG
QB – Joshua Dobbs (1) Jacksonville Jaguars – 3rd team QB
NONE – Indianapolis Colts
NONE – Tennessee Titans
AFC West (4)
OT – Ja’Wuan James (70) Denver Broncos – Starting RT
ILB – Alexander Johnson (45) Denver Broncos – Starting ILB
DE – Kendal Vickers (78) Las Vegas Raiders – 3rd team DT
TE – Jason Witten (82) Las Vegas Raiders – Starting TE
NONE – Kansas City Chiefs
NONE – Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East (3)
DB – Rashaan Gaulden (38) New York Giants – 4th team CB
DE – Derek Barnett (96) Philadelphia Eagles – Starting DE
DT – Malik Jackson (97) Philadelphia Eagles – 2nd Team DT
NONE – Dallas Cowboys
NONE – Washington Redskins
NFC North (4)
QB – Tyler Bray (9) Chicago Bears – 3rd Team QB
WR/KR – Cordarrelle Patterson (84) Chicago Bears – Starting WR & KR
OLB – Jalen Reeves-Maybin (44) Detroit Lions – 2nd Team OLB
P – Britton Colquitt (2) Minnesota Vikings – Starting P
NONE – Green Bay Packers
NFC South (3)
RB – Alvin Kamara (41) New Orleans Saints – Starting RB
DT – Shy Tuttle (99) New Orleans Saints – 3rd team NT
WR – Marquez Callaway (12) New Orleans Saints – x – 6th team WR
NONE – Atlanta Falcons
NONE – Carolina Panthers
NONE – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West (5)
RB – John Kelly (42) Los Angeles Rams – 4th team RB
DE – Jonathan Kongbo (61) San Francisco 49ers – 4th team DE
CB – Emmanuel Moseley (41) San Francisco 49ers – 3rd team CB
WR – Jauan Jennings (81) San Francisco 49ers – x – 6th team WR
DE/OLB – Darrell Taylor (58) Seattle Seahawks – x – 3rd team Leo DE/OLB
NONE – Arizona Cardinals
Inactives (3)
CB – Justin Coleman (27) Detroit Lions (Reserve/COVID-19)
P – Michael Palardy (5) Carolina Panthers (Reserve Non-Football Injury List/out for the season/torn ACL)
S – Nigel Warrior (39) Baltimore Ravens – x (Reserve/COVID-19)
UT Players In The NFL By Position (28)
QB – 2
RB – 2
WR – 4
TE – 2
FB – 1
OL – 2
DL – 7
LB – 3
DB – 3
P – 1
PK – 0
LS – 1
Free Agents To Watch from University of Tennessee
S – Micah Abernathy
S – Eric Berry
LB – Daniel Bituli
P – Dustin Colquitt
P – Trevor Daniel
P – Matt Darr
TE – Alex Ellis
LB – Colton Jumper
LB – LaTroy Lewis
OL – Kahlil McKenzie
TE – Luke Stocker
OL – James Stone
DL – Jordan Williams
TE – Ethan Wolf
TE – Dominick Wood-Anderson
One-Time Vols That Transferred To Other Schools On NFL Rosters (8) x = Rookie
TE – Eli Wolf (87) Baltimore Ravens (U. of Tennessee/Georgia) -x – 4th team TE
TE – Lee Smith (85) Buffalo Bills (Powell HS/U. of Tennessee/Marshall) – 3rd team TE
P – Tommy Townsend (–) Kansas City Chiefs (U. of Tennessee/Florida) – x – 2nd team P
QB – Nathan Peterman (3) Las Vegas Raiders (U. of Tennessee/Pitt) – 3rd team QB
WR – Preston Williams (18) Miami Dolphins (U. of Tennessee/Colorado St) – 2nd team WR
DE/LB – Dewayne Hendrix (40) Pittsburgh Steelers (U. of Tennessee/Pitt) – 3rd team OLB
TE – Daniel Helm (43) San Francisco 49ers (U. of Tennessee/Duke) – 3rd team TE
WR – Jalen Hurd (14) San Francisco 49ers (U. of Tennessee/Baylor) – 2nd team WR
Knoxville Area Players That Didn’t Play At UT on NFL Rosters (6) x = Rookie
WR – Tee Higgins (85) Cincinnati Bengals (Oak Ridge HS/Clemson) – x – Starting WR
P – Chris Jones (6) Dallas Cowboys (Carson-Newman) – Starting P
WR – Randall Cobb (18) Houston Texans (Alcoa HS/Kentucky) – Starting Slot WR
RB – Nathan Cottrell (31) Jacksonville Jaguars (West HS/Georgia Tech) – x – 4th team RB
OL – Nathan Gilliam (63) Los Angeles Chargers (Farragut HS/Wake Forest) – x – 3rd team RG
S – Harrison Smith (22) Minnesota Vikings (Catholic HS/Notre Dame) – Starting SS
University of Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer spent some time on SportsTalk with John and Jimmy recently.
They discussed many things including the SEC’s decision on going with a 10-game conference only schedule in 2020, what the two added SEC games might look like, capacity in Neyland Stadium, fan participation events, watching the struggles of other universities due to sports shutdowns, if Wisconsin’s projected losses are comparable to UT if there’s no football, UT athletes on the senior honor roll, if the topic of coaches giving money back has been discussed, scheduling flexibility of the current schedule, wanting to play Alabama as a 8th straight game and much more.
Fulmer on fans in Neyland Stadium:
“I don’t think there’s any question that there will be reductions. I’m kind of holding out hopeful that we can get the curve to kind of turn back down. We’ve got a month and maybe even during the season it could continue to get better. Now, we also know it could continue to get worse. So, I don’t want to put a number out there right now. We’re working on several models. We’ll listen to the state and multiple health departments, and our leadership on campus and everybody will come to the right place.”
Is it fair to say the capacity wouldn’t be a 100% in Neyland Stadium?
“No, that’s fair. That’s very fair to say. We’d love to have it at 100 (percent capacity.) The reality of it, and that’s what we all have to face. You know the economy’s been damaged and people’s jobs and everything. There’s a lot going on around this, and for us to not have social distancing and wearing of masks and taking care of our people and limiting us being all together would be impractical to do. So, we won’t be 100% (capacity.) I’m hopeful we might be 50 (percent capacity.) We could be like most folks and be looking at 20%, 25%.”
On if they’ve decided on whether to allow tailgating this season:
“No. We’ve actually talked a lot about that.We’ve got to get everybody all on the same page with that. The tailgating, the Vol Walk, the band, we’ve had tons of conversations about it. I’d like to sit here and say ‘yeah, we’ve figured that out totally.’ Again, it gets back to the safety factor for people that want to come to the games and enjoy the games, but we’ve got to be smart about what we do.”
Legendary college and NFL player Archie Manning, who is currently the chairman of the National Football Foundation, spent some time with John and Jimmy on SportsTalk in Knoxville recently.
They covered many different topics including Eli Manning being recognized by Ole Miss, the newest young Manning QB Arch, his opinion on youth football, watching football without Peyton or Eli in the NFL, his time in the NFL the Manning Passing Academy and lots on Peyton’s Places.
Listen to the full interview here.
Archie Manning / Credit: National Football Foundation
VFL basketball player Kyle Alexander, rookie on the Miami Heat, joined Heather and Vince on Sports 180 recently from the NBA Bubble.
He talked about life in the bubble, how he took advantage of the quarantine time, compliments from Pat Riley, how Rick Barnes and UT prepared him for the NBA, how he benefited from the G-League, seeing his former Vols teammates in the NBA Bubble, his NBA teammates including Jimmy Butler and much more.
Listen to that full interview here.
Heat F/C Kyle Alexander / Credit: NBA Media Central
Lipscomb Academy head football coach and Elite 11 head coach Trent Dilfer visited with John and Jimmy on SportsTalk recently. They discussed his decision to coach high school football, if he sees himself coaching at the college or pro level, coaching kids at the Elite 11 camp and his breakdown of one of those participants, Vols 2021 QB commit Kaidon Salter.
Dilfer on the social distancing:
“I hate the term ‘social distancing.’ I’m never going to say that. Physical distancing, I’m all about that. I’m all about keeping people safe. I’m not about isolating people and not letting them have social lives.”
Listen to that full interview below.
Las Vegas, NV – December 14, 2018 – Hard Rock Hotel: Trent Dilfer during the Kickoff Luncheon presented by Dignity Health (Photo by Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images)
ESPN National Recruiting Coordinator Craig Haubert joined Heather and Vince on Sports 180 recently to talk UT and SEC recruiting including thoughts on some Vols targets and commits. Listen to that full interview here.
Vols HC Jeremy Pruitt / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
Dan + Shay dropped a moving new video for their new single, “I Should Probably Go to Bed.”
The stylized clip features plenty of nifty camerawork—including some cool dolly zooms—and special effects.
Penned by Dan Smyers, Shay Mooney, Sean Douglas and Jason Evigan, “I Should Probably Go to Bed” was produced entirely by Dan, who performed and recorded every instrument at his home studio in Nashville.
“We’re so excited about our brand-new single,” says Dan. “We wrote part of this song in Los Angeles during Grammy week, but finished it at my house, on my piano, kind of by accident. Shay had come over to record vocals on another song that we had written. We took a break, went downstairs, started singing this song, and realized this song needs a big ending. So we really went for it. Shay delivered one of my favorite vocal performances of all time. We’re so proud that this is our new single.”
The new tune is the duo’s first single since “10,000 Hours,” which featured Justin Bieber, was released in October 2019. “10,000 Hours” topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart in January 2020.
Watch the video for “I Should Probably Go to Bed” below.
