We have reached hump day - Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike. We're stoked for Halloween and we're still looking for that last-minute home run costume idea.
Gang, remember Friday's mailbag.
From the "Talks too much" studios, even the best have bad days.
Are you ready for your close-up Mr. Dobbs?
Tennessee true freshman quarterback Josh DobbsIt's official. The UT fan base has been itching to see one of the freshmen quarterbacks, and with Justin Worley on the shelf indefinitely, Johnny Vols Fans will get a heaping dose of Josh Dobbs this week against Missouri.
Here's UT beat ace Downtown Patrick Brown's report.
Worley had surgery Tuesday on his thumb and will be out for the foreseeable future. Fellow freshmen Riley Ferguson and Nathan Peterman are also hobbled by injuries.
So that leaves Dobbs, the lanky freshman who is long on confidence and smarts and short on eye brows. The kid has talent and enough 'it' factor that he did not look overwhelmed when he made his college debut in the second half in Tuscaloosa against No. 1-ranked Alabama.
Granted, entering a game down 35-0 takes a lot of the pressure off - you enter a game down five TDs, it's not like one mistake is going to cost you the game - but Dobbs still looked comfortable in the moment. That's a good sign for sure.
Also a good sign is that Dobbs is athletic enough to be a running threat in the option.
That said, it would be wise to temper expectations. Sure, Dobbs could be a star in waiting and seize the moment from this point forward. But it's worth remembering that Dobbs could not wrest the starting job from Worley until Worley was injured. Whether you think Butch Jones is Vince Lombardi, Part Deux or Sam the Butcher, it's fair to assume Butch would have replaced Worley a while ago if anyone in practice looked markedly better.
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Mocs questions
What should we expect fro UTC this weekend in Boone?
UTC junior running back Keon Williams holds a football in the Mocs locker room at McKenzie Arena. Williams has rushed 687 yards with five 100-yard games and nine rushing touchdowns this season.It's the weekend after Halloween. Keon Williams' status is unknown. The ghosts of App State loom over the horizon. The possibility of being 7-2 and in control of its destiny is there for UTC.
The opportunity is large, no? It's a place UTC has longed to be for a while. It's a spot that creates magic and generates momentum. It's a spot that for the better part of the last two decades, when UTC has managed to step on to this stage, the light has been too bright and the moment too big.
As UTC beat ace Johnny Frierson tells us here, Marquis Green is ready to sub for Williams if needed. Green was good in Williams spot last week.
So what happens? Are the Mocs ready for this step, which could be a giant leap in the growth of a program?
A win sets the stage for a playoff trip and a potential Southern Conference title. A win changes the landscape and the expectations of UTC football going forward. A win could be the biggest in, well, it's hard to remember one that would be bigger, no?
The staircase that programs must ascend are built with games like this.
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Boston Red Sox's David Ross hits an RBI double during the seventh inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, in St. Louis.World Series
We have been intrigued by this World Series, more so than we expected.
Maybe it's the high-qaulity pitching. Maybe it's the drama. Maybe it's the quirkiness, as ace TFP columnist Mark Wiedmer termed it here.
Maybe we simply forgot how much we enjoy postseason baseball and the magnitude of each pitch.
We do not have a dog in this hunt, but tonight we're pulling for the Cardinals, if for no other reason than the only thing better than good postseason baseball is good postseason baseball in a Game 7.
Yes we picked the Red Sox in 6 before the series started. Still, a winner-takes-all Game 7 makes for great theater.
Is it in the cards? Is it in the Cards?
Can Cards starting pitcher Michael Wacka continue what is the most surprising and potentially greatest run in postseason history?
Also, if you're the Red Sox, you have to put all your chips in Game 6, considering you have the pitcher formerly known as Jake Peavy scheduled for Game 7.
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This and that
LeBron James- The NBA opened and the Heat won. Got a hunch LeBron and Co. are headed for 82-0. Thoughts?
- Also of note, the Lakers bench scored 41 fourth-quarter points as they rallied by the Clippers. Here's saying Kobe doesn't even know half of those guys' names.
- Tickets for tonight's Game 6 in Boston are drawing record numbers. A pair of front seats went for 24K and the average resale price was $1,860 according to reports. That some serious cabbage to go to a game. That said, if you go you won't have to listen to Tim McCarver, so that's nice.
- R.I.P. Marcia Wallace, who died at 70 this week. Wallace was Bob Newhart's secretary on "The Bob Newhart Show" and was a regular voice on "The Simpsons." Side question: Are "The Simpsons" like Oreos, French Dip sandwiches and sausage biscuits? You know, things that are good just about every time and things we kind of take for granted now?
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Today's question
Ton of stuff to discuss today.
In honor of the NBA starting, can anyone stop LeBron and the Heatles?
In honor of Game 6, who you like tonight?
In honor of Marcia Wallace, who is the best Simpsons character not named Simpson?
In honor of Halloween, will Josh Dobbs be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?