Gang, for the second consecutive week, we had a slew of mailbag questions. Thanks for that. Among them is the Mrs. 5-at-10's mailbag debut.

There's a ton to get to, so from the "Talks too much studios," here we go ...

From the Mrs. 5-at-10:

Did you know that today was the second birthday of the 5-at-10?

A lot of times it kind of feels like a third child. I'm not kidding.

That said, I'm proud of you for making two years.

P.S. Will you get some milk after high school football? Thanks.

K,

It dawned on us earlier this week that it was two years today. It's been kind of crazy and has become part of the daily routine.

How regular has this become? Well, other than Saturdays and Sundays - and we did write on the weekends from the Masters - we have written a 5-at-10 for 510 consecutive days. No sick days (the Greeson clan is lucky in such matters), we wrote on vacation and we used pre-fabbed and abbreviated versions on holidays.

Know this, gang, it's been a blast, and for someone who attends a slew of meetings and manages people and budgets and the like, this has reminded us why we got into this gig in the first place. Thanks for playing along.

From CelticVol,

Hey 5@10,

I'm abstaining from talking about Tennessee football this week. It will only cause anger and blood-pressure problems. My wife tells me that I'm going to have to "man up." Let's move on to something positive. The beginning of the NBA season is just around the corner. The Boston Celtics have made a ton of moves this offseason. They've added size, length and a couple of outside shooters. Do you think they've done enough to overtake the Miami Heat?

Also, we know that there's bad blood that exists between KG and Ray Allen. In the offseason, KG stated that he didn't have Ray's phone number anymore. He said he wasn't trying to communicate with him. Allen responded by saying that it was a shame and that he (Allen) was a great person to talk to on the phone. How do you think the conversation went when Ray (Benedict) told KG he was signing with the Heat (minus KG's expletives)?

C-Vol,

To answer your first question, no, the Celtics did not do enough to catch the Heat. In fact, unless Ponce de Leon brings the Fountain of Youth to Beantown, there's no real solution, especially since a full 82-game schedule this year will magnify Boston's age.

Miami is the team to beat (more on that below), and that was even before adding Ray Allen, who will average 17 points per game because of the river of open jumpers he'll get this season.

As for the conversation, well, we'll give it a try:

Pretend Ray Allen: Hey K.G., uhhhhhhh, how you been?

Pretend Kevin Garnett: What?Arghh. &%^*^%&^%#^&.

Pretend Ray Allen: Yeah, I, uh, wanted to give you this ...

Pretend Kevin Garnett: Huh? Another copy of "He Got Game" is hardly a gift. You've been passsing these *&%$ing things out for years. ... Wait a second, what's going on?

Pretend Ray Allen: I'm taking my acting talents to South Beach.

Pretend Kevin Garnett: What?@$$%%^#@ that. Oh, you're kidding. No way you'd be that kind of "Yea, they're winning, I'm jumping ship kind of @%^$#$#."

Pretend Ray Allen: No, really, I'm headed to Miami. I'm a Heat.

Pretend Kevin Garnett: What? You're a Heat? Bull*&%$. You're a &%$#@#$ F(&^%$ dead man.

Pretend Ray Allen: So you don't want the "He Got Game" DVD?

Pretend Kevin Garnett: What?Arghh. &%^*^%&^%#^&.

From KAus

5 @ 10,

I don't even know where to begin this week. It has been two absolutely horrendous weeks of football for the Tennessee Volunteers. I have been an optimistic fan all year; I even stuck by Dooley's side going into the Mississippi State game. I still have an autographed picture of Dooley hanging in my office (which of course I get criticized for every day). From section Y9 at Neyland, which consisted of nearly as many Bama fans as it did Vols fans, C-Vol and I watched the Vols get dismantled exactly the way they did last year at Bryant-Denny. This team has the exact same characteristics of the 2010 & 2011 teams. Is it time for the picture of Dooley to officially be taken off my wall and replaced by a more demanding football coach? On a side note, I just wanted to say that C-Vol needs to "man up."

KAus,

We'll take your word on whether C-Vol needs to man up. Unless of course you're Mrs. C-Vol; then you need to cut the fellow some slack.

As for the photo, that's a question that only you can answer. You have to decide which camp you're in:

Are you Pro Dooley? If so, leave the pictures and tell everyone who comes into your office to stick it.

Are you Pack Dooley? If so, then cut bait now. The absence of said photo will speak volumes to your co-workers and/or clients.

(Side note: This has nothing to do with the giant man crush every Johnny Vols Fan has on Jon Gruden. Heck, if UT could hire Gruden, even Barbara Dooley would approve of that move.)

Here's our stance - and being an Auburn grad we're more than understanding of the dynamic of under-performing and having Lord Saban dominant the lexicon:

Leave the picture and make sure everyone knows you're pro-UT. You support the Vols and as of this morning, Derek Dooley is the coach of your team.

Regardless what people think of Dooley, they'll respect your loyalty.

As they said in the Outsiders, "Stay gold, Pony Boy."

From Stewwie,

Gamecocks over Vols. A bigger question is will Tyler Bray play the full game (or get replaced at some point)?

Stew-bert,

Great question. And one that we can only offer a best guess.

Here's what we've got: Tyler Bray is going to play the game we have all been expecting. Do we have any reason or evidence for this guestimation? Nope.

We just believe that Bray has big-time physical skills, and at some point we'd like to see them. Yes, we have said and re-said since August that we'd never feel comfortable putting the eggs of our program in the hands of someone who has showed the immaturity Bray has. Still, talent has to count for something, and at some point talent matters.

That said, if Bray gets pulled Saturday, then game over for the Bray-Dooley relationship.

From McPell

Help me out here. We know you are getting stoked for basketball since our mutual alma mater is smack dab in the middle of a doo-dah of a football season. Give me, a die-hard football watcher, five reasons to watch the NBA instead of my recordings of Auburn's 2010 season.

McPell,

Great question. Here's a quick five reasons:

1) LeBron is going to go from "Boy, I'd like to win a title," to "I'm a stud and come get some" mode. That's exciting.

2) The Lakers are legit. And when the Lakers are good, the entire NBA is better.

3) The flopping rule has become a side story in and of itself.

4) The OKC Thunder are an electric bunch that feature the best young scorer since a young MJ. They are super-fun to watch.

5) Chuck Barkley. The TNT bunch is fun, but Chuck is a full-length feature on his own.

From Muddog,

Love the 5-at-10. Longtime reader, first time making a comment. As a lifelong Vols and Braves fan, you understand my need to vent.

Until Saturday's game against the Tide, I believed Tennessee had the talent to compete with other SEC teams. I thought their shortcomings were just due to poor coaching. Botched assignments, always being out of place (and I mean ALWAYS), poor tackling were just a few things that contributed to the Vols always finding ways to lose games. But still, I thought the talent was there. Boy, was I wrong.

I've never seen Vols' corners get beat like they got beat Saturday. They couldn't keep up with Bama's receivers, much less tackle them. And in the few instances where they were in position to make a play, they didn't/couldn't. It looked like a SoCon or Sun Belt-level unit. They were utterly helpless.

Definitely looking forward to the Mocs' game Saturday. It's great to see the hometown boys play meaningful games again.

I, like you, have been riding the K-State train this year (and last year). I find college ball much easier to pick than the NFL. WHY IS THAT?? In my fewer-by-the-week NFL wagers, I'm going to take the exact opposite of what makes the most sense because that's how their games seem to end up against the spread.

I have a question for you: If Tennessee played Auburn this year, who would win?

Muddog,

NFL games are even across the board. Everyone has elite talent. The games are crap shoots and rolls of the dice. So it goes.

As for a potential Auburn-UT matchup this year, that's a great question. Just great.

Since the teams play in Knoxville in 2013, we'll say this pretend matchup is in Neyland Stadium and UT would be an 8-point favorite (heck, Vanderbilt was a 7-point pick last week, for crying out loud).

OK, so UT has a huge, Huge, HUGE edge on offense since they have NFL receivers and a quarterback who has a pulse. Auburn's defense would work like heck to keep the Tigers in the game.

Plus, there's the added bonus that Sal Sunseri's never-attempted "Bend and Break" defense would allow Auburn some options.

Still, Cordarrelle Patterson would be the difference. UT, 31-24.

From SteelersFan,

Mr. 10,

Answer me this: Why are people so fascinated with mythical NFL power rankings? One thing I like about the League is that it doesn't award style points. The NFL is about making it to the tournament and peaking in the playoffs. Period. So why do people persist in creating college-style rankings in October? It reminds me of all the BCS crap that college fans endure.

Thoughts?

SteelersFan,

This is part of today's 24-7 news cycle. We have to know who is best RIGHT NOW. Sure, the NFL is one of the only pure leagues that determines a champion.

Still, we need to know who is the best in October and after Week 14 and so on.

The league is great because there is no debate. You are what your record says. You are a champion for winning the Super Bowl.

Period. And exclamation point.

From TuesdayQB,

Who's hotter, Erin Andrews or Samantha Steele?

TuesdayQB,

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to come back - don't cost nothing.

This one is easy - the Mrs. 5-at-10 is easily the hottest.

From UTnut,

Is Gruden coming?

UTnut,

Does it matter what we say here? We have no facts either way, but if we said yes, you'd be stoked. If we said no, you'd call us nuts.

We do believe this: If UT runs Dooley on Sunday or Monday, then Gruden is in play. For UT to blow up the program again in midseason there needs to be a plan in place.

And that plan better rock. Gruden rocks.