Sunny with a 0% chance of rain HIGH LOW 85 60
Reality TV poses danger to culture
Ducks run by Vols in second half
Monday, September 13, 2010
PAGE 6 T H E
Issue 18
E D I T O R I A L L Y
PUBLISHED SINCE 1906 http://dailybeacon.utk.edu
Vol. 115
I N D E P E N D E N T
S T U D E N T
N E W S P A P E R
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U N I V E R S I T Y
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T E N N E S S E E
Pearl, staff mislead NCAA investigation
George Richardson • The Daily Beacon
UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and athletic director Mike Hamilton address the media on Friday, Sept. 10. Hamilton announced penalties inflicted on Pearl and his staff for providing misleading information to NCAA investigators.
Zac Ellis Editor-in-Chief UT athletics director Mike Hamilton announced Friday that basketball coach Bruce Pearl and other members of his staff admitted to providing misleading and inaccurate information to the NCAA during ongoing investigations regarding the Tennessee athletics programs. In investigations ongoing since April 2009 surrounding improper telephone calls and contact with recruits, Pearl and his staff admitted to lying to NCAA investigators during the process’s questioning. Hamilton said Pearl came forward to admit such actions and provide
the correct information, though details of the misleading information could not be discussed. “People make mistakes, and we all make them,” Hamilton said. “I’ve made them. I make plenty. Bruce made one mistake in this incident, and he came forward to correct it. “I’m glad he’s our basketball coach. This is a tough time, but we’re going to get through it together as an institution, as a basketball staff and as an athletics staff.” Though the NCAA did not lay down any official consequences as of Sunday, Hamilton announced a list of self-imposed penalties the university inflicted on Pearl and his staff. Pearl’s current salary will be reduced by 25 percent, from $2 million to $1.5 million, with an extra $1 million cut from the next four
years of his contract for a total compensation reduction of $1.5 million. Associate head coach Tony Jones and assistant coaches Steve Forbes and Jason Shay will each also experience salary reductions o-f 25 percent effective Oct. 1, 2010. In addition, Hamilton barred all four UT coaches from off-campus recruiting until specified dates ranging from Dec. 23, 2010, to Sept. 23, 2011. These self-imposed penalties join a list of consequences already handed down by Hamilton earlier in the investigation, including reductions in official recruiting visits, telephone calls and off-campus recruiting opportunities. See BRUCE on Page 5
Expert to offer grad school entry tips Rally meant to encourage reflection Blair Kuykendall Staff Writer
UT students are hard at work this fall, striving toward the ultimate goal of graduation. But what comes next? While some students will launch directly into the job market, others will be competing with their peers once again to receive a nod from one of many prestigious graduate programs across the country. So the question at hand is once again, what sets each one apart? What achievements, recommendations and activities will colleges be looking for on a resume? Donald Asher will present his approach to graduate school application, specifically how to gain entrance to competitive programs around the country, on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Asher is a highly respected authority on graduate admission and prolific author, with many of his 12 publications focusing on graduate school choice and admission. “We chose Mr. Asher because of his expertise on the topic of graduate admissions and the fact that he has spoken on this topic for 16 years at UT and always receives rave reviews from our students,” Stephanie Kit, associate director of Career Services, said. His work has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal and in articles published on MSN.com. Professional journals like the National Association of Colleges and Employers have displayed his work as well. Strategies for graduate school entrance are obviously prevalent and varied, but some tips ring true across sources and veterans of the system. “In this program, Donald Asher will be covering topics such as the timeline to apply for graduate programs, how many schools you should apply to, tips for writing per-
sonal statements, admissions interviews, information about what graduate programs are looking for in terms of the candidates they admit and funding opportunities,” Elizabeth Pallardy, coordinator for the Career Exploration Center, said. The first and most serious recommendation is to start early. Everyone wants to get into an excellent graduate program as well, so what makes individuals different? This is one of the key points that Asher stresses, specifically requesting freshmen attendance. “It is not necessary for students to prepare in advance,” Pallardy said. “In fact, Asher encourages freshmen to attend, because he will suggest ways students can become competitive applicants for graduate school, starting in their first year of college.” It takes a great deal of time and effort to compile a competitive graduate school resume, and students should take this into consideration as they progress in their studies. “I think some students underestimate the amount of time it takes to put together a good application and a well written personal statement,” Kit said. Starting early provides a jump on the competition. By focusing early on maintaining a high GPA, cementing relationships with professors and having a concrete goal in mind, the likelihood of graduate school admissions greatly increases. As far as the general performance of UT students moving on to outstanding graduate school programs, results are mixed. “Anecdotally, I’ve heard of UT students getting into very top-notch programs in their fields,” Kit said. “It really depends upon the background of each student who applies.”
Personal aspiration will go a long way toward furthering success in the submission process. Primarily, it’s necessary for students to figure out how best to begin their own application journey. “(Students should come) to learn not only the basics of the graduate admission process, but also ways to set yourself apart and be more competitive,” Kit said. “It’s a chance to hear about this topic from an expert in the field. Don Asher is a very entertaining and engaging speaker, and I think many students will feel motivated if they attend his seminar.” The seminar could perhaps help attendees avoid some common graduate snares as well, since many students end up making costly mistakes in the process of applying. Some common mistakes include “going to graduate school for the ‘wrong’ reasons, not doing enough research on the degrees and institutions of interest and failing to prepare for graduate school from freshman year forward,” Kit said. The seminar could be a wake-up call for some students, who may need to be made aware of the basic requirements for graduate school. “Typically you need a strong GPA, good test scores and relevant experience to get admitted into graduate school, so you have to prepare for that as early as possible,” Kit said. And, as always, personal motivation is the most important factor. “Graduate school is a competitive process,” Pallardy said. “And it is important that students prepare early if they are thinking of going. Admission is really dependent on that student’s individual application (including experience, grades, test scores, letters of recommendation, etc.).”
Robby O’Daniel Recruitment Editor When Jessica Magers-Rankin, one of the student organizers behind the Peace Party on the Pedestrian Mall on Friday, noticed that one of their signs said, “Love is the protest,” she gave instructions to take down the sign. “It’s not a protest,” she said to another organizer. “... Can we get rid of ‘love is the protest’? Put something in front of it, because this isn’t a protest.” The common word of the Peace Party — an event to promote peace and acceptance across groups of people — was “love.” Signs simply saying, “love,” donated from another organization’s rally, adorned the event’s section of the Pedestrian Mall, and other signs said “love our nation,” “love our troops” and “love our campus.” Magers-Rankin, senior in religious studies, and Whitney Buchanan, senior in religious studies and anthropology, came up with the idea for the Peace Party outside of a bathroom near the anthropology department, mere days before the event. “I ran into Whitney outside of a bathroom on campus and had just had this idea an hour before and was like, ‘We have to do something,’” Magers-Rankin said. “We have to plan some sort of peaceful event to encourage people to think about love and peace and equality and supporting each other, regardless of our political views, religious views, all of that.” She had read newspaper articles about the mosque at Ground Zero and the controversy surrounding a Florida pastor and burning the Quran. “I really believe in religious freedom,” she said. “I think it’s one of the important principles that our great nation was founded on, and it really saddened me that a lot of this was surrounding 9/11.” She said it was an event to pay tribute. “It is a Peace Party,” she said. “We’re here to celebrate and commemorate all Americans and especially those who have given their lives or lost their lives or been affected by intolerance of any kind.” So, the event came together thanks to student organizers and groups on campus, like the Religious Studies Association, Amnesty International at UTK, Gamma Sigma Sigma, the Anthropology Association and the Jazz for Justice Project. Religious Studies Department Head Rosalind Hackett was one of those who got involved. “Clearly there was a groundswell of belief and opinion that students wanted to do something to take a stand on this rising tide of religious intolerance,” Hackett said. People at the event carried balloons with messages like “religious freedom,” “give peace a chance” and “peace is for all.” “I feel like you can’t get much more peaceful than balloons,” Buchanan said. She said the idea for balloons came from Hackett, and balloons were donated from Party City. The balloons came in yellow to symbolize peace. Magers-Rankin said she hoped the event helped bring people together. “I’m hoping to encourage people to think about love and peace and to not be so divisive,” MagersRankin said. “I would really like to see less of an ‘us-versus-them’ mentality amongst all different groups. We align ourselves with different groups, but that doesn’t mean that your group is less important or less valid than mine.”
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Students take balloons as part of the Peace Party that was held on the Pedestrian Mall on Friday, Sept.10. The Party had a number of organizations partnering to commemorate Sept. 11 in a peaceful setting, after reports of a Florida pastor’s plans to burn the Quran on the anniversary of the attacks aired.
2 • The Daily Beacon
InSHORT
Justice Clarence Thomas Tickets U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will be visiting UT to present a lecture to the College of Law. The lecture will take place at 12:45 p.m. on Friday in Cox Auditorium. Attendance to the lecture for non-law students is extremely limited, however tickets will be available. Approximately 170 tickets for Justice Thomas’ lecture will be available to any student on a first come, first served basis at the UC. The tickets were first given away on Sept. 9, with only one ticket per student with a valid UT student ID. Justice Antonin Scalia’s speech in 1990 was the last time UT’s College of Law hosted a Supreme Court justice.
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Senior journalism and electronic media major Katie Niehaus of UT’s WUTK 90.3 informs a student about the station and drawings for upcoming concerts at the UC’s Open House on Thursday, Sept. 9. WUTK, as well as many others organizations, set up tables in the UC Auditorium to give students a bite-sized portion of what UT’s campus has to offer.
New Recreation Fields Celebrated Administrators and student leaders from UT came together on Saturday to mark the beginning of the long-awaited construction on the new student recreation fields. The former site of the Sutherland and Golf Range apartment complexes will now be home to the new recreation fields. Construction on the 38-acre complex is expected to last for two years and begin by the end of the year. Among those in attendance for the ceremony were SGA presidents from the past 12 years, UT and community leaders. The demand for additional outdoor recreation space has taken over a decade to bring about. The ceremony was in part to recognize the efforts of student, campus and community leaders to bring about the new fields. More than 25 different sites were considered over the years for possible use as intramural, sports club and general student recreation areas. Growth in the area, however, increased the challenge of finding suitable space to meet student needs, serving more than 10,000 students who participate in intramural sports. The current plot was chosen because of its connection to the Third Creek Greenway, availability of utilities and proximity to campus. Plans for the new site call for eight multipurpose fields, two softball fields and open green space as well as a first-aid stand and restrooms. The new intramural fields’ construction is funded through student activity fees from every full-time undergraduate and graduate students.
Monday, September 13, 2010
In Feb. 2009, UT announced that its last graduate- and married-student complex would close after the spring 2010 semester. Extensive evaluations led to the determination that the Sutherland complex was not economically feasible, and no renovations would take place on the property because of the age of the buildings. The decreasing demand for university-supplied graduate and married student housing was also a factor that contributed to the closing of the complex. UT Alumni to Read from Works Writers Andrew Farkas and M.O. Walsh, alumni of UT’s Creative Writing Program, open the year’s series of authors reading from their works in the Hodges Library today. Farkas and Walsh will read from their recently published collections of short stories at 7 p.m., in the library auditorium. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Farkas’ first collection of short stories, “Self-Titled Debut,” won the 2008 Subito Press Prize for Experimental Fiction. His work has appeared in such journals as The Cincinnati Review, Copper Nickel, Pank, New Orleans Review and Harpur Palate among others, and he appears regularly in The Brooklyn Rail. He holds an M.F.A. from the University of Alabama and is working on a doctorate at the University of Illinois at Chicago. M.O. Walsh is a writer from Baton Rouge, La. His first book, the story collection “The Prospect of Magic,” won the 2009 Tartt’s First Fiction Award. His work has appeared in publications such as Oxford American, American Short Fiction and Epoch and has been anthologized in Best New American Voices. He currently teaches at LSU where he lives with his wife, Sarah, daughter, Magnolia, and dog, Gus. Both Farkas and Walsh earned master’s degrees in English as part of the Creative Writing Program at UT. Today’s event is the first reading in the 2010-2011 John C. Hodges Distinguished Creative Writers Series. The series honors the same UT English professor of 40 years, author of the Harbrace College Handbook, for whom the Hodges Library is named. Readings will be emceed by Jeff Daniel Marion, the UT Libraries’ new Jack E. Reese Writer in Residence, a poet and longtime creative writing teacher.
Monday, September 13, 2010
ENTERTAINMENT
The Daily Beacon • 3
Reality TV misrepresents cultural groups Jake Lane Arts & Entertainment Editor I won’t lie, I’m pressed for time and need to give you some perspective on the world through my eyes. I won’t get paid to do so, but it’s my job. Apologies for any possible offenses to follow or ignorant generalities employed in expressing the views herein. Alas, let the madness begin. Reality TV. More so than a genre, this cultural phenomenon has sailed valiantly over the bleepand-motion-blur-filled airwaves for 20 years and continues full-speed ahead in pursuit of total denigration of the human race. That said, taking certain shows into account must force us to re-examine our values and prejudices and perhaps even the definitions of words like “racism” in the American idiom. For instance, just what were producers thinking about pitching a bunch of faux-Italians as “guidos” on “Jersey Shore,” and why do audiences foam at the mouth at the very mention of “GTL” and the ineffable, would-be Lindsay Lohan called “Snooki”? That the phrase “guido” slanders an entire group of people seems displaced by the fact that they are not a literal race: That is, they are a cultural group made of Caucasians. However, the word is no less offensive in context than the infamous “n,” “k” and other single letter abbreviated epithets that cause such disgust and shock when used out of context or by someone outside that culture. Barring a complete examination of the semantic and ethical reclamation of hate-oriented terminology as a show of solidarity in revolt against the oppressor, I can only say that there is a seriously fubared standard that emerges from the cultural popularity of such programs that endorse such regressive
behavior, even if lampooning it. Another example, one I can attest to having spent more than the length of a single episode analyzing, digesting and searching for meaning within, would be MTV’s “From G’s To Gents,” a program whose two seasons were hosted by Diddy sidekick-turned-entrepreneur and self-styled gentleman Fonzworth Bentley. While old news, the show, syndicated completely unedited on MTV Tres, follows a house full of “gangstas” searching for a new path in life to take them away from the path of criminal gain and reprimand. The problem with the show is at least two-fold: first, the inherently racist undertone of the “G” culture portrayed and somewhat glamorized by the show. With a mixed racial cast, the frequent used of the “n” word as a term of endearment on all sides of the line, and one of solidarity, stands out as a sign of how far we have regressed in the last decade. Ten years ago, the flagrant usage of such a term would appall most audiences. Now, however, this example of racial oppression now has reentered the universal vernacular and does not even merit reprimand when a white man uses it. Stop and think: When used by a Caucasian man toward an Afrcian-American, does it not imply ownership, and therein bring up the shared history and slavery and dehumanization perpetrated against the former by the latter? Then there is the double standard in the programs’s nature, playing up both the humorous and dramatic aspects of the men’s lives and actions while under Bentley’s tutelage, but also we view them from a standpoint of moral superiority, a common motif in the marketing of such shows to audiences who need to escape in the folly of others. Who died and made us God? Hint: Ask Nietzsche. But my timer has expired. These are surface scratches, no more. But please ask yourself next time you find yourself somewhat drunk and emotional at Thursday Night Therapy, at what cost do these ridiculous characters represented as “Jersey guidos” buy their fame?
Recycle your BEACON!
Photo courtesy of mtv.com
4 • The Daily Beacon
Monday, September 13, 2010
OPINIONS
Tops
Rocky
&
Bottoms
Rising — Confusion over new Google search So you’re on your computer, minding your own business, when that urge to Google something comes a’callin. You calmly reach the Google home page, anticipating the plethora of options about to arise at your fingertips. You type in your subject, and all of a sudden, BAM! Results start popping up with every stroke of the key. You haven’t ... even ... pushed “Enter” yet. At first glance, this new Google feature allows for easy browsing, a laid-back way to glance at possible results before you jump the gun and finish that glorious search. So many choices, so little time. But what happens when you’re innocently searching for “carp” and endless results for “car” pop up? How do you deal with the confusion of “car” options overloading your sudden need for “carp”? What a bold step. How dare Google assume it knows what we want to search? It’s overloading its searchees with too many options, too many results and too much mumble jumble before the “Enter” key is ever pushed. Let’s hope that the general population doesn’t stop the use of Google altogether out of sheer confusion. And let’s hope the “Enter” key doesn’t go into extinction. Falling — Likelihood of Florida Quran burning A Florida pastor originally intending to burn a copy of the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, pumped his breaks before the intended burning as a result of controversy caused over the nation’s airwaves. U.S. military leaders claimed the burnings would put the lives of the nation’s troops in danger abroad, so naturally, Rev. Terry Jones thought twice about his excessive use of the First Amendment. Because that’s really what it is, isn’t it? Just another example of a radical idealist practicing his American rights in radical ways. Sure, there’s nothing unlawful about such an action; in fact, free speech is arguably the cornerstone of America. But at what point does it become too much? Should a free speech proponent such as Rev. Jones be commended for adhering to the policies of the Constitution or questioned for the manner in which he does so? While the liberties and freedoms of living in America are the envy of many less-thanfortunate nations around the globe, taking those rights to the extreme cracks the moral foundation America intends to stand on with its First Amendment rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Individuals such as Rev. Jones may exemplify First Amendment practices, but they do so in a dark and unnecessary manner.
THE DAILY BACON • Blake Tredway
DOONESBURY • Garry Trudeau
Columns of The Daily Beacon are reflections of the individual columnist, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or its editorial staff.
‘History’ work provides perspective on life No tes on A r t a n d L i te ra t u re by
Amien Essif The main floor of our very own UC is host to an ever-changing display of art, often documenting the creativity of our students and faculty. The art is rarely disappointing, which is more than can be said for an average venue. Earlier this semester, the walls held several compelling paintings of the female body which were done in such a way that held my attention as I walked the length of the corridor, yet I never felt ashamed for gazing. Must be art. At the time that I am writing this, however, you will find in the UC a display of photographs by Diane Fox which at first seems to be in the genre of wildlife photography. The subject appears to be wild animals eating, hunting, fleeing in their very own habitat, but the first clue to shatter this illusion is a peculiar glare reflected off the image which does not move or disappear once you walk by. The glare is, in fact, part of the photograph for the simple reason that every wild animal pictured is contained within a glass box. The real subject of the photographs is not the wilderness, but the illusion of wilderness captured in a natural history museum. It is for this reason that Fox’s exhibit is titled “UnNatural History.” We, the viewers, are given that little shock of enlightenment when the reality — or rather the unreality — occurs to us. It is a pleasant shock, not only because the human mind is entertained by shifts in perception, but also because, according to Fox, the danger of wilderness and “the actuality of death” is suddenly pushed into a glass box for our civilized observation. Fox, according to erieathome.com, wishes, through her artwork, to raise the question of whether or not “taming the natural environment through artistic methods raises or dulls our
awareness and our understanding of how we might work to save it.” This is a very important question to raise, especially if it is broadened to include all forms of art. Natural history museums are the most easily ridiculed: Wild animals are killed and stuffed and frozen in perpetual life-and-death situations in which real life and death are subtracted from the equation for the sensitivity of the museum-goer. But there is also the genre of nature films, which produces a similar taming effect. The nature film essentially collects footage of wilderness, edits out the boring parts, inserts family values and creates a human story. There is no doubt that nature films direct our attention to the stories outside of our cities. But do these stylized versions of wild stories — with their artificial sound effects, manipulative music and exaggerated lighting and colors — help humanity approach its natural roots, or does the artificiality keep us contained within our own glass cases? This, I believe, is the most striking effect of Fox’s “UnNatural History.” In addition to forcing a confrontation between ourselves and the wilderness “out there” —the zebras and field mice and lions — we are also subtly coaxed into reflecting on the same division within ourselves. The glare of glass, after all, is something we usually see humans behind. The café still lifes, the classroom display cases, the office building dioramas exhibit a humanity in a state of taxidermy. Unless you work at a morgue, everyone you see today will be alive and relatively well-dressed, and most will be psychologically frozen in an artificially contrived position of life or death. What I mean is, we are accustomed to an anxiety which was evolved as a survival mechanism, yet survival has been removed from the equation and we are only occasionally aware of it. Every now and then we see the glare on the glass and breathe a sigh of relief, though we can never get rid of the anxiety that perhaps it is not the danger which is contained within the glass. Perhaps it is us. —Amien Essif is a senior in English. He can be reached at aessif@utk.edu.
Politics take more than emotional thinking A Vie w fr om T h e B o t to m by
Wiley Robinson
Zac Ellis
Ally Callahan
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With politics, as usual, being little more than an exercise in individual complacency, I’m compelled to revisit a 2006 psychological study from Emory University that irrevocably put politics in its place, and I’ll revisit it in the way only science can: hard. The study took people who merely described themselves as being left or right and, you guessed it, analyzed regions of their brain activity in response to data, specifically regarding George Bush or John Kerry before the 2004 election. The subjects were asked to think about inconsistencies in contradicting statements of the two candidates. Basically, John Kerry might say something about being in Vietnam and justly earning his purple hearts, and George Bush might say something questioning Kerry’s service. The subject would then be confronted with “new” information that might explain the inconsistencies. Across the board and regardless of the quality of the question, new information about an opposing candidate was never really given a chance to take root. “None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged,” said Drew Westen, professor of clinical psychology at Emory University. “Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively (emotionally) reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones.” No increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain most associated with reasoning and logic, was detected. With minds made up on any given scenario, brain activity greatly increased in areas that involved reward, explains Weston, a reaction similar to what addicts experience when they get a fix. These results should seem painfully obvious: The system our representatives use and the mediums they use to communicate their intentions to us are built upon emotion, because it is what we, as little more than animals that have managed to evolutionarily suppress the thralldom of instinctual drive, still respond to. And yet I venture to say that when there is such exciting concrete evidence about the very defunct nature of our culture’s (or species’) most fundamental dialogue with itself, preexisting notions about the fallible, overly human institution of government must be revisited with new vigor.
Why do we, a species considering ourselves the highest form of life, still respond to such complicated and multi-layered issues in such a roundly emotional/instinctual way? Compared to other creatures, we have the incredible power of deliberate action. We are able to abstract, and therefore defy, the instincts that enslave lesser beings, such as the all-powerful genetic drive for reproduction. We can choose to deny ourselves food and water to achieve spiritual fulfillment — the motivations that can be hypothetically broken down into a kind of instinct, which acts as a psychological grounder in the face of unexplained existence, but that's another discussion. Contraception is a fine example: While unable to actually suppress the instinctual drive to have sex, we are intellectually free of the genes’ demand for procreation, the reason we even have the drive in the first place. Objective thought takes a kind of intellectual high road and a different part of the brain from emotion. Consider the national dialogue on taxes: Apparently raising taxes and lowering taxes both stimulate the economy, so where's the simple truth? The tax game is a double-edged sword, with no consistent formula, that comes in many forms. Straightforward tax increases are politically unpopular with the voting mob out of sheer propaganda, while borrowing and spending, the deceptive alternative, actually raises taxes and debt more because of interest owed. The bottom line is everyone wants the government's money, business and government have been intertwined since the beginning, and tax perspectives ebb and flow where your interests are. Now that's fair and balanced — because objectivity requires detachment from political identities. Unfortunately, it’s usually the ones they count on you to vote with. Complacent political partisanship and the chemical sense of reward that Weston talks about result from indulging in lower instincts developed earlier in our evolution, when ambivalence tended to get one eaten. That's why it feels so “good” to know for certain that you’re correct, and new information is sort of unconsciously blocked out: Cognitive dissonance simplifies the world. It worked when the world was relatively simple. There are not two kinds of people in the world. But if there were, it would include people who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don’t. Resist the dumb little worlds the media anticipates your stupidity with. Conflict-based political rhetoric is indulged into the detriment of the species, as it discourages use of our full human potential — but much more immediately, it is to the detriment of our country. —Wiley Robinson is an undecided sophomore. He can be reached at rrobin23@utk.edu.
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Daily Beacon • 5
SPORTS
Hamilton stressed that these penalties serve as a reaction by UT, and any expected action by the NCAA will be dealt with accordingly. continued from Page 1 “We anticipate potential unethical conduct charges to be levied against coach Pearl and several members of our coaching staff,” Hamilton said. “As a result, we’ve decided that it’s necessary to take serious and proactive action to deal with this misstep in judgment.” Fighting back tears, Pearl admitted full responsibility for his and his coaching staff’s actions in front of gathered family, UT players, media and UT administrators. “I hold the University of Tennessee, its students and the faculty, staff and our fans in the highest regard and the highest esteem,” Pearl said. “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to be the basketball coach at the University of Tennessee. I’ve made some serious mistakes, and for that I’m truly sorry. “I do apologize from the bottom of my heart that I let everybody down. I let my family down. I let the university down. I let our fans down. And the guys in that room, I let my players down. I have a responsibility to lead by example, and I should expect more from myself and so should you.” Chancellor Jimmy Cheek joined Hamilton and Pearl in solidifying the university’s strict adherence to compliance. “I want to stress that the NCAA considers our obligation to tell the truth and cooperate with them very high on their priority list, and it’s one of our highest responsibilities as well,” Cheek said. “As leaders on campus, we have the responsibility to abide by rules and set examples for others, especially our students. “Coach Pearl is an important part of the University of Tennessee family, but he has made some serious mistakes. As you can see, he is paying a heavy penalty for those mistakes and has accepted the responsibility for his actions.”
BRUCE
Vols fans endure rough 48 hours
Matt Dixon Sports Editor The dark cloud that brought in an hour weather delay Saturday night in Neyland Stadium summed up a terrible 48 hours for Tennessee fans. Things began getting overcast Friday afternoon at a 3 o’clock press conference. After receiving a letter of inquiry from the NCAA regarding its athletic program, men's athletic director Mike Hamilton announced severe university-imposed sanctions on head basketball coach Bruce Pearl and his assistant coaches. The penalties include restricted recruiting for the next year and salary reductions for the coaches. It stems from coaches making excessive phone calls to recruits and then Pearl lying to the NCAA about information. For a program coming off its most successful season in school history, the news is extremely disheartening for fans. Pearl arrived at UT, took over a basketball program in the cellar of the SEC and made it into an SEC title contender and a nationally-recognized program. On Friday, with his entire team in attendance,
Pearl took full responsibility for his actions and looked worse than any lastsecond loss to Kentucky could ever make him appear. Pearl assured Tennessee fans that he wanted to coach at UT for as long as he can and that he would not let them down again. For a coach who has played the underdog role his entire coaching career, Pearl is the ultimate underdog now. The upcoming season will be interesting to watch. Fans have to wonder if his team will rally around him and enter the year with a chip on their shoulder and compete with the “us against the world” mentality. My bet is they will. Regardless, the Nov. 3 exhibition game against Brevard won’t arrive soon enough for Pearl and Tennessee fans. Friday’s news was a major “fire alarm” for fans, and Saturday night's rain storm helped drown the football team's bid for their first signature win under coach Derek Dooley. Leading 6-0 early in the first quarter over seventhranked Oregon and having the game’s momentum as well as 102,035 fired up fans, lightning sent both teams to the locker rooms for 70 minutes. After going up 13-3 in the second quarter, there were no more long runs by running back Tauren Poole, only poor tackling, a bad special teams play and an alarming attitude as the Ducks scored 45 unanswered points to win
48-13. The result of the game shouldn’t come as much of a shock for UT fans, the Vols were outmatched by a more talented and explosive team that is the favorite to win its second consecutive Pac-10 title. The team’s play after Oregon returned an interception for a touchdown to build a two touchdown lead could be. The Vols gave up, simple as that. Dooley said he was disappointed in the team’s effort. Senior linebacker Nick Reveiz places the blame on himself and the rest of the seniors for not leading the team the way they should have. The blame doesn’t and shouldn't matter. It's a problem that must be fixed for the Vols going forward. The young team must use Saturday night’s adversity as a learning experience. In all likelihood, the Vols will face double-digits deficits in the second half in other games this season, and the way the team responds then will go a long ways toward dictating the future of Dooley’s program. The past weekend was a difficult time in Knoxville. For the first time in his six-year tenure as coach, Pearl is under scrutiny from his own fans, and Dooley must get his football team ready to play the Florida Gators this Saturday. Weather delay or not, it will be a big test for the Volunteers. Fans are just hoping for sunny skies until then.
George Richardson • The Daily Beacon
UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl awaits questions from media during a press conference on Friday, Sept. 10. Pearl admitted to providing misleading and inaccurate information to the NCAA during an investigation dating back to April 2009.
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6 • The Daily Beacon
THESPORTSPAGE
Monday, September 13, 2010
back on top ITA singles Second half woes dismantle Vols Smith rankings; participants released Zac Ellis
Editor-in-Chief Tennessee coach Derek Dooley hoped duck season would come early this year. But the Oregon Ducks had other plans in their visit to Knoxville. Despite a close first half, Tennessee couldn’t keep pace with visiting Oregon as the Ducks broke free in the second half to demolish the Vols 48-13 in front of 102,035 fans at Neyland Stadium on Saturday. “I’ve been saying it for eight months,” Dooley said. “I don’t really care how we are until we hit bad adversity. We hit some bad adversity in the third quarter, and we didn’t handle it well. Then we couldn’t do anything right.” Vols tailback Tauren Poole recorded 162 yards on the ground on 23 carries, including the Vols’ only touchdown on a one-yard punch in the first quarter. UT quarterback Matt Simms completed 15 of 29 passes for 151 yards, but threw his only interception to Oregon’s Cliff Harris, which was returned for a
76-yard touchdown five minutes into the third quarter to help stage the Oregon rally. “I was really disappointed from then on in how we competed,” Dooley said of Simms’ interception. “You would have thought we were down 40.” The Vols came out early with two Daniel Lincoln field goals and a Prentiss Waggner fumble recovery, to scrape out a 6-0 lead before thunderstorms forced a one-hour-10-minute rain delay. “(The rain delay) is one of those things, though, that there is no excuse and coach Dooley always talks about it,” linebacker Nick Reveiz said, “and we can't be affected.” Tennessee jumped ahead 133 with Poole’s touchdown run at the 14:08 mark in the second quarter, but the Vols wouldn’t find the scoreboard again for the rest of the night. The Ducks would score the game’s final 45 points. Oregon running back LaMichael James amassed 134 yards on 16 carries, including a 72-yard dash to the end zone early in the third quarter to give
Oregon a lead it would not relinquish. Harris’ touchdown return off the Simms’ interception boosted Oregon’s lead, while an 80-yard punt return by Kenjon Barner put the Ducks ahead 4113 with 11 minutes to play. “That’s something we really pride ourselves on, our conditioning,” Oregon head coach Chip Kelly said. “We felt like that would really be something we could hang our hat on. We decided at halftime that we really wanted to pick up the tempo and use that.” Tennessee’s defense appeared to have Oregon’s number early in the contest, holding the Ducks to one touchdown and 13 points in the first half, despite 200 yards of offense. But defensive and special teams miscues plagued the Vols later in the game. “I think their playmakers came out,” defensive end Chris Walker said. “That tempo they were going at kind of got at us and wore us down, and we missed some tackles and made some mistakes that we usually don't make.” Dooley wasn’t impressed with
UT’s ability to stop the big play. “In their long run, I think we had six missed tackles,” Dooley said. Despite early carries by Poole with 168 rushing yards in the first half, the Vols’ ground attack slowed in the second half, as UT recorded only 14 rushing yards in the final two quarters. Simms found no consistent rhythm in the passing game, fending off Oregon blitzes, including two sacks, throughout the night. “(Oregon) did a lot of good things defensively,” Simms said. “They did a good job of regrouping, and aligning to us better, that took away a few of our looks and things we were looking to take advantage of.” Dooley said the Vols’ mistakes — missed tackles, blown kick coverage, a deflated running game — won’t bode well for future opponents, most notably next Saturday’s clash with Florida. “When you do that and you play a good team, you get embarrassed,” Dooley said. “And that's what happened.”
Staff Report Entering his senior season at Tennessee, John-Patrick Smith has returned to the top of the ITA national singles rankings, which were released Friday. Already one of the most decorated players in program history, Smith finished 41-9 in singles as a junior and was ranked No. 1 in the national rankings through most of April and May, ending last season at No. 2. He is a three-time All-America and has the opportunity to become the Vols’ first four-time winner this season. Smith, a native of Townsville, Australia, is joined in the ITA’s top 125 by Tennessee’s in-state sophomore duo: Rhyne Williams at No. 21 and Tennys Sandgren at No. 83. In doubles, Smith and Williams are ranked seventh nationally, although they have never played a collegiate match together. Williams, a Knoxville native, finished with a 41-7 record and SEC Freshman of the Year honors. He reached the singles round of 16 in the NCAA Championships and earned AllAmerica honors. The No. 21 ranking is one better than his career high; he was ranked 22nd in the January 2010 rankings. Sandgren, from Gallatin, joined the Vols in January and compiled a 23-5 record during that time. Friday’s No. 83 ranking is also his career high. His previous best was No. 105. Senior Boris Conkic, who has been ranked in the top 50 most of his career, has taken the fall semester off and is therefore, not ranked. Conkic was ranked as high as No. 20 last season and will rejoin the team in January. Smith has always had success in doubles, no matter the playing partner. He and Davey Sandgren finished their playing time together with 80 victories, including a school-record 41 in 2010. Smith has 118 career doubles victories and is 21 wins away from tying Bryon Talbot’s program record of 131. As a freshman, Smith played No. 1 in the doubles lineup with fellow Australian, Kaden Hensel, and the two earned AllAmerica doubles honors. Smith also picked up five wins with Conkic en route to a title at the ITA All-American and finished 46-9 in doubles last year. Williams, who played a majority of his matches with Conkic last season, finished 36-6.
All-American Championships Participants Released The ITA also released its participant list for the ITA AllAmerican Championships on Friday. Including prequalifying and qualifying, the full tournament runs from Oct. 2-10 in Tulsa, Okla. Smith became just the third player to ever win the singles and doubles titles at the All-American last season and is the No. 1 seed in the singles draw. Williams also qualified for main draw singles and will team up with Smith in doubles. Smith and Conkic won the doubles title in 2009. Tennys Sandgren is in singles qualifying, and senior Matteo Fago is an alternate for qualifying. The two are also George Richardson • The Daily Beacon listed as alternates for doubles qualifying. Fago and Sandgren Thousands of Oregon fans stick around and endure the downpour to congratulate their team’s performance in played six matches together and were briefly ranked 42nd nationally. Saturday night’s game at Neyland Stadium. The Ducks battled to victory over the Vols, 48-13.