Vols/UConn Series Might be Renewed

[Icebear]

Ever since Pat's Alzheimer's became public I have felt differently about all the issues because it is very possible they were at least in part driven by the paranoia accompanying Alzheimer's in some folks. The involvement of the idiots at The Summitt is not the responsibility of the university anymore than UCONN is responsible for what goes on here.

I think the time has come to forgive and move on and I have no problem with the series returning at this point. It can be particularly helpful since we need high ranked OOC opponents right now.

 

[alexrgct]

For all the talk about Tennessee as a second-tier program, they are still the #5 program of the 2010s thus far and will continue to be as long as they rack up #1 and #2 seeds and make the Elite 8 or better, which they are certainly poised to do. That is a decided departure from being the #1 or #2 program, which they were in the 1980s (#2), 1990s (#1), and 2000s (#2), but it is not the same as a precipitous drop. They just signed the #1 player in the 2013 class, continue to bring in AA talent, continue to be televised nationally to a significant degree, and continue to have well-attended games.

UConn currently has existing series with Baylor, Stanford, and Duke, and a home-and-home with Maryland. The Notre Dame rivalry has been discontinued for the time being, as has Oklahoma (not much of a series in any event). UConn is also entering a profoundly mediocre conference which will soon be without Rutgers or Louisville.

Personally, I'd much rather UConn have more than three interesting regular season games a year. How interesting Tennessee is as an opponent can be debated, I suppose, but to pretend that it's not a markedly better game than, say, Oregon or College of Charleston, or even Ohio State or Florida State, would be downright silly. It's a good game, one involving the two programs with the largest fanbases and the most history, and it's worth restoring. It's good for both programs, and it's good for ESPN.

I don't really give a damn about Pat Summitt's accusations, as they did not stick, nor have they materially impacted UConn as a program or Geno's standing in his field. What matters is that the top 10 programs play one another, as those programs have the lion's share of the talent and quality coaching in the sport (save the odd exception like Brian Giorgis).

The series will return. The fanfare may not be what it was in 1995. Nutmeggers may not risk life and limb in the middle of a blizzard to pack the house like they did in 2003. But they game will be played, it will feature between 15 and 25 high school AAs, it will be a hot ticket, and, when played in Knoxville, it will be one of the more hostile environments UConn will play in (never a bad thing). Knightsbridge's question as to what the appeal is at this point certainly could elicit a range of responses, but the converse question, namely what is the downside, categorically elicits the response of "none" as far as I'm concerned. Dogmatic protestations to the contrary, I'll be delighted when the series renews. If you're not interested, perhaps you can get your fill of women's basketball teams from Tennessee by attending the Memphis game. One can only imagine that tickets will be readily available.

 

[CCinCT]

No series renewal, please. If the Voles get lucky, they may get to play UCONN in the NCAA's.

 

[JS]

Oh, c'mon. The Vols will get passed out their own way with all of their NC and SOS trophies piled around them

That's just a small sample of their strongest-SOS trophies, which they awarded themselves monthly.

And nothing compared to their collection of trophies for the team which, as of the close of each month, had the coach with the most career victories.

 

[doggydaddy]

That's just a small sample of their strongest-SOS trophies, which they awarded themselves monthly.

And nothing compared to their collection of trophies for the team which, as of the close of each month, had the coach with the most career victories.

Don't forget the trophies for having the most NC's. they gave themselves one this year for tying for the most NC's.

Next they will give themselves trophies for having the most trophies.

 

[reno tony]

I don't think people are 'crying' about what the Vol fans have said... instead I believe that for many, remembering the ugliness it brings with it is a warning to pass on a repeat performance of the trouble the first go around gave us... think of it as a manifestation of a gut feeling to avoid repeating past experiences that were essentially unpleasant.

All many here are saying is that they lived through the descent into vulgarity and ugliness that eventually became the story instead of the game itself and would prefer to avoid those troubles.

I see little to be gained by UConn or the game as a whole by having the Huskies sign up for round two of this nonsense other than for ESPN to fatten its wallet... Personally, I find it hard to understand why some would like a repeat of that experience, especially in that this matchup is completely unnecessary given that there are far better rivalries to be had.

I don't doubt that this matchup will resume; I just hope for the sake of Husky nation and the game that it does not...

YOPB

I obviously feel differently. I choose not to let some who descend "into vulgarity and ugliness" dictate how I feel and prefer not to give them the satisfaction that they somehow have changed my life. I will always feel that ending that series was the most disrespectful thing that Pat and/or Geno did to WCBB. You can choose who you believe is to blame.

If some Vol fans whine, cry, curse and throw stones......that is their problem. If I waste my time complaining about it or let it affect my decisions about what I think is right or wrong with WCBB, then that is my problem. The series should begin again because I believe the UCONN team, fans and community are above these petty differences. And I believe there are tens of thousands from both sides of the aisle that feel the same way and deserve to see Blue and Orange play. And I believe that WCBB deserves to see the series renewed. I can't think of any word other than disgusting when I know that two teams that have 16 National Titles between them and can't play because one or two people have some wild hair. That is a disgrace.

There is an old joke that goes" Ninety five percent of the lawyers make the other five percent look bad." Well, maybe we just heard the small percentage of Vol fans and the rest are as sensible as all the Boneyard posters.

 

[Kevin G]

I think this "possibly" renewed rivalry will be great for WCBB; however personally I could care less if they start up again. UCONN has done alright without playing Tennessee

 

[UConnCat]

John A reached out to Holly earlier in the week to talk to her about the possibility of renewing the series:

Earlier this week I called Tennessee after seeing a picture of Geno and Holly Warlick in the Knoxville News taken on Women’s Hall of Fame induction night last Saturday.

They were smiling. Broadly. I grew hopeful. Peace at last.

So I called Tennessee on Monday and asked if I could speak to Warlick to ask her if this picture meant good things for the renewal of the series that ended in 2007.

Tennessee would not even put her on the phone.

I was told the program had made a statement in May saying the series would not be renewed and they were sticking to their story.

So take that for what its worth. I have been told by a few people that ride the fence in this rivalry, meaning they don’t take partisan sides, that Warlick will not reschedule UConn out of respect to Coach Summitt’s wishes.

http://courantblogs.com/uconn-women/

This is beyond tedious.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

John A reached out to Holly earlier in the week to talk to her about the possibility of renewing the series:

Earlier this week I called Tennessee after seeing a picture of Geno and Holly Warlick in the Knoxville News taken on Women’s Hall of Fame induction night last Saturday.

They were smiling. Broadly. I grew hopeful. Peace at last.

So I called Tennessee on Monday and asked if I could speak to Warlick to ask her if this picture meant good things for the renewal of the series that ended in 2007.

Tennessee would not even put her on the phone.

I was told the program had made a statement in May saying the series would not be renewed and they were sticking to their story.

So take that for what its worth. I have been told by a few people that ride the fence in this rivalry, meaning they don’t take partisan sides, that Warlick will not reschedule UConn out of respect to Coach Summitt’s wishes.

http://courantblogs.com/uconn-women/

This beyond tedious.

What a hoot. We certainly have been beating a dead horse. Oh well, a good if academic summer exercise. Tenn is still the Evil Empire ... just a smaller, less significant one.

 

[BooRadley]

I obviously feel differently. I choose not to let some who descend "into vulgarity and ugliness" dictate how I feel and prefer not to give them the satisfaction that they somehow have changed my life. I will always feel that ending that series was the most disrespectful thing that Pat and/or Geno did to WCBB. You can choose who you believe is to blame.

If some Vol fans whine, cry, curse and throw stones......that is their problem. If I waste my time complaining about it or let it affect my decisions about what I think is right or wrong with WCBB, then that is my problem. The series should begin again because I believe the UCONN team, fans and community are above these petty differences. And I believe there are tens of thousands from both sides of the aisle that feel the same way and deserve to see Blue and Orange play. And I believe that WCBB deserves to see the series renewed. I can't think of any word other than disgusting when I know that two teams that have 16 National Titles between them and can't play because one or two people have some wild hair. That is a disgrace.

There is an old joke that goes" Ninety five percent of the lawyers make the other five percent look bad." Well, maybe we just heard the small percentage of Vol fans and the rest are as sensible as all the Boneyard posters.

Its obvious to me that I must have been unclear...

My argument has nothing to do with giving or denying satisfaction to anyone. When I spoke of vulgarity and ugliness, I was not exclusively posting about Vol fans or their board... I am more concerned with the effect that conflict had upon us. Many here on the BY found themselves dragged down into the muck by the human instinct to fight back... As I said before, the BY became unreadable at times... the mods wore out their delete buttons and a general snarkiness would all too often become the tone of the day.

Otherwise level headed Boneyarders fell prey to this ugliness... People that thought that they never would, did. There is no one more mature, reasonable and classy Boneyarder than our own Kib. But eventually even Kib jumped into the fight... If Kib wasn't immune to the tussle, then nobody is... The game was lost in the chaos... it devolved to a point where the chaos became nearly as important as the game itself... this is the essence of my argument. It began with fun and fanfare, but ended with vulgarity and ugliness. I'd be curious to hear why you think that it would be different this time around.

As far as I can detect, nothing has changed that would suggest that a better outcome would unfold for us this time around. No rational explanations or apologies have signaled a change of heart... Maria's article would suggest that nothing has changed. So, to my mind, we have no reasonable expectation that this will end any better than the last time... So, my question is:: what is so compelling about walking the same ugly path again and why do you believe that we here on the BY would be immune to the instinct to fight back against perceived attacks this time?

As I posted, although the checkerboard was absolutely vile, our own board was also unreadable at times... Like some of my Vol friends might suggest, wrestling with a pig just gets you muddy and the pig enjoys the tussle.

Boo

 

[RadyLady]

That's just a small sample of their strongest-SOS trophies, which they awarded themselves monthly.

And nothing compared to their collection of trophies for the team which, as of the close of each month, had the coach with the most career victories.

Don't forget the trophies for having the most NC's. they gave themselves one this year for tying for the most NC's.

Next they will give themselves trophies for having the most trophies.

You both forgot to mention the tally of empty Miller Light cans....

 

[RadyLady]

What a hoot. We certainly have been beating a dead horse. Oh well, a good if academic summer exercise. Tenn is still the Evil Empire ... just a smaller, less significant one.

yea....instead of the Death Star, they're riding space scooters.....


Still, it was a good thread for a rainy day....

 

[msf22b]

For so many otherwise intelligent folk to be revisiting old grudges and worrying about what anyone says on their silly boards

I say: Sticks and Stones…forget about it, it's of no consequence.
Woman's BB needs all the help it can get…Let ESPN hype the living heck out of it.

Play Ball!

I know the matter of Pat attempting to discredit our program is no joke, but she failed and now is in such serious decline that even Geno makes warm noises.

I actually love the idea of Pat being required to sit and watch while her team of Big Mac all-stars is ripped open and demolished on National TV.

 

[Wbbfan1]

I didn't understand why Maria would write the article she did with her close ties to the Lady Vols. She knows what Holly and those associated with the Lady Vols feel. It is as John has written.

John A reached out to Holly earlier in the week to talk to her about the possibility of renewing the series:

Earlier this week I called Tennessee after seeing a picture of Geno and Holly Warlick in the Knoxville News taken on Women’s Hall of Fame induction night last Saturday.

They were smiling. Broadly. I grew hopeful. Peace at last.

So I called Tennessee on Monday and asked if I could speak to Warlick to ask her if this picture meant good things for the renewal of the series that ended in 2007.

Tennessee would not even put her on the phone.

I was told the program had made a statement in May saying the series would not be renewed and they were sticking to their story.

So take that for what its worth. I have been told by a few people that ride the fence in this rivalry, meaning they don’t take partisan sides, that Warlick will not reschedule UConn out of respect to Coach Summitt’s wishes.

http://courantblogs.com/uconn-women/

This is beyond tedious.

 

[UCONNfan1]

I didn't understand why Maria would write the article she did with her close ties to the Lady Vols. She knows what Holly and those associated with the Lady Vols feel. It is as John has written.

Maybe she wanted to sit back and enjoy the hoopla that was sure to ensue on the UCONN board?

 

[ed4ourgirls]

I mentioned that the any new series between UConn and Tenn will be less of a spectacle than games of yore (once we get through the hype and get to the actual game). One blowout, and the interest in this marquis match will wane significantly.

I agree with this. Many of the people in the media and elsewhere who are clambering for a game
do not, I think, want a game between UConn and Tennessee as the teams are presently constituted,
but rather, a game like the good old days.

But of course this is not possible and won't be possible until Tennessee regains the stature it once
had vis a vis UConn.

 

[doggydaddy]

For so many otherwise intelligent folk to be revisiting old grudges and worrying about what anyone says on their silly boards

I say: Sticks and Stones…forget about it, it's of no consequence.
Woman's BB needs all the help it can get…Let ESPN hype the living heck out of it.

Play Ball!

I know the matter of Pat attempting to discredit our program is no joke, but she failed and now is in such serious decline that even Geno makes warm noises.

I actually love the idea of Pat being required to sit and watch while her team of Big Mac all-stars is ripped open and demolished on National TV.

You weren't here then. You didn't have the Compliance office call you about a SIGN. You didn't have someone request the FBI look into one of your posts. You didn't see the ethnic slur about Geno. You didn't have posts used against Uconn.


It was personal. It still is for many here. You won't change that.

 

[JS]

When I spoke of vulgarity and ugliness, I was not exclusively posting about Vol fans or their board... I am more concerned with the effect that conflict had upon us. Many here on the BY found themselves dragged down into the muck by the human instinct to fight back...

Nonsense, my ol' pal Boo. Don't lapse into moral equivocation.

They are swinish, we are noble.

One of those immutable truths.

 

[Suebird10fan]

For all the talk about Tennessee as a second-tier program, they are still the #5 program of the 2010s thus far and will continue to be as long as they rack up #1 and #2 seeds and make the Elite 8 or better, which they are certainly poised to do. That is a decided departure from being the #1 or #2 program, which they were in the 1980s (#2), 1990s (#1), and 2000s (#2), but it is not the same as a precipitous drop. They just signed the #1 player in the 2013 class, continue to bring in AA talent, continue to be televised nationally to a significant degree, and continue to have well-attended games.

UConn currently has existing series with Baylor, Stanford, and Duke, and a home-and-home with Maryland. The Notre Dame rivalry has been discontinued for the time being, as has Oklahoma (not much of a series in any event). UConn is also entering a profoundly mediocre conference which will soon be without Rutgers or Louisville.

Personally, I'd much rather UConn have more than three interesting regular season games a year. How interesting Tennessee is as an opponent can be debated, I suppose, but to pretend that it's not a markedly better game than, say, Oregon or College of Charleston, or even Ohio State or Florida State, would be downright silly. It's a good game, one involving the two programs with the largest fanbases and the most history, and it's worth restoring. It's good for both programs, and it's good for ESPN.

I don't really give a damn about Pat Summitt's accusations, as they did not stick, nor have they materially impacted UConn as a program or Geno's standing in his field. What matters is that the top 10 programs play one another, as those programs have the lion's share of the talent and quality coaching in the sport (save the odd exception like Brian Giorgis).

The series will return. The fanfare may not be what it was in 1995. Nutmeggers may not risk life and limb in the middle of a blizzard to pack the house like they did in 2003. But they game will be played, it will feature between 15 and 25 high school AAs, it will be a hot ticket, and, when played in Knoxville, it will be one of the more hostile environments UConn will play in (never a bad thing). Knightsbridge's question as to what the appeal is at this point certainly could elicit a range of responses, but the converse question, namely what is the downside, categorically elicits the response of "none" as far as I'm concerned. Dogmatic protestations to the contrary, I'll be delighted when the series renews. If you're not interested, perhaps you can get your fill of women's basketball teams from Tennessee by attending the Memphis game. One can only imagine that tickets will be readily available.

I completely agree with all of this Alex. No down side. There is a tremendous amount of passion for WCBB in Knoxville. It's a good thing for WCBB to encourage that.

 

[doggydaddy]

We can want them to play, we can hope they never meet. But what is clear, it doesn't matter........

 

[reno tony]

Its obvious to me that I must have been unclear...

My argument has nothing to do with giving or denying satisfaction to anyone. When I spoke of vulgarity and ugliness, I was not exclusively posting about Vol fans or their board... I am more concerned with the effect that conflict had upon us. Many here on the BY found themselves dragged down into the muck by the human instinct to fight back... As I said before, the BY became unreadable at times... the mods wore out their delete buttons and a general snarkiness would all too often become the tone of the day.

Otherwise level headed Boneyarders fell prey to this ugliness... People that thought that they never would, did. There is no one more mature, reasonable and classy Boneyarder than our own Kib. But eventually even Kib jumped into the fight... If Kib wasn't immune to the tussle, then nobody is... The game was lost in the chaos... it devolved to a point where the chaos became nearly as important as the game itself... this is the essence of my argument. It began with fun and fanfare, but ended with vulgarity and ugliness. I'd be curious to hear why you think that it would be different this time around.

As far as I can detect, nothing has changed that would suggest that a better outcome would unfold for us this time around. No rational explanations or apologies have signaled a change of heart... Maria's article would suggest that nothing has changed. So, to my mind, we have no reasonable expectation that this will end any better than the last time... So, my question is:: what is so compelling about walking the same ugly path again and why do you believe that we here on the BY would be immune to the instinct to fight back against perceived attacks this time?

As I posted, although the checkerboard was absolutely vile, our own board was also unreadable at times... Like some of my Vol friends might suggest, wrestling with a pig just gets you muddy and the pig enjoys the tussle.

Boo

Since I was not posting or reading this board during the first craziness I am at a loss to answer part of your question. As good intentioned as the Boneyarders were, it sounds as though they were just as irrational as whoever they thought was causing their craziness. I guess my point is that I refuse to let someone drag me down into the mud by slinging insults toward others. I don't believe that any Vol or Husky fan should have that type of effect on other team's fans. I haven't seen that type of insanity on the BY and hope I don't.

Why should it be different? Different UT coach, talk of restarting the series and seven years. Hopefully people grow and learn from mistakes. I would like to think that other coaches, former players, friends and respected piers have spoken to the powers that be and had a positive influence. But, I don't believe the circumstances are the same and certainly don't expect UCONN to shy away from doing right because of a bunch of bloggers..... either BY or TENN.

We all have our trigger topics and the UCONN/TENN series is one of mine. I feel both school's athletic departments let all WCBB fans down by discontinuing this series. As popular as both coaches are, the A.D.'s let us down by allowing Pat and Geno to run who they play. I believe there is plenty of guilt to spread around. And if the series is not restarted I will lose some more respect for the A.D.s for both schools.

I do hope all goes well and the "ugliness" doesn't raise it's head in the BY if the series restarts. Thanks for your opinion and insight into what happened in the past.

 

[doggydaddy]

Since I was not posting or reading this board during the first craziness I am at a loss to answer part of your question. As good intentioned as the Boneyarders were, it sounds as though they were just as irrational as whoever they thought was causing their craziness. I guess my point is that I refuse to let someone drag me down into the mud by slinging insults toward others. I don't believe that any Vol or Husky fan should have that type of effect on other team's fans. I haven't seen that type of insanity on the BY and hope I don't.

Why should it be different? Different UT coach, talk of restarting the series and seven years. Hopefully people grow and learn from mistakes. I would like to think that other coaches, former players, friends and respected piers have spoken to the powers that be and had a positive influence. But, I don't believe the circumstances are the same and certainly don't expect UCONN to shy away from doing right because of a bunch of bloggers..... either BY or TENN.

We all have our trigger topics and the UCONN/TENN series is one of mine. I feel both school's athletic departments let all WCBB fans down by discontinuing this series. As popular as both coaches are, the A.D.'s let us down by allowing Pat and Geno to run who they play. I believe there is plenty of guilt to spread around. And if the series is not restarted I will lose some more respect for the A.D.s for both schools.

I do hope all goes well and the "ugliness" doesn't raise it's head in the BY if the series restarts. Thanks for your opinion and insight into what happened in the past.

And how exactly did Geno end this series?

You are clueless about this.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Since I was not posting or reading this board during the first craziness I am at a loss to answer part of your question. As good intentioned as the Boneyarders were, it sounds as though they were just as irrational as whoever they thought was causing their craziness. I guess my point is that I refuse to let someone drag me down into the mud by slinging insults toward others. I don't believe that any Vol or Husky fan should have that type of effect on other team's fans. I haven't seen that type of insanity on the BY and hope I don't.

Why should it be different? Different UT coach, talk of restarting the series and seven years. Hopefully people grow and learn from mistakes. I would like to think that other coaches, former players, friends and respected piers have spoken to the powers that be and had a positive influence. But, I don't believe the circumstances are the same and certainly don't expect UCONN to shy away from doing right because of a bunch of bloggers..... either BY or TENN.

We all have our trigger topics and the UCONN/TENN series is one of mine. I feel both school's athletic departments let all WCBB fans down by discontinuing this series. As popular as both coaches are, the A.D.'s let us down by allowing Pat and Geno to run who they play. I believe there is plenty of guilt to spread around. And if the series is not restarted I will lose some more respect for the A.D.s for both schools.

I do hope all goes well and the "ugliness" doesn't raise it's head in the BY if the series restarts. Thanks for your opinion and insight into what happened in the past.

I must say that in your lack of background you have done both the Boneyard and UConn coaches and administration an injustice. The end of the series was a unilateral Tennessee decision directly attributed to Pat Summit. There was no craziness going on here over the Tennessee hooligans. Occasionally one of their trolls would show up and try to rile things up, and once in a while they would get something going that quickly was locked down. Pat and her minions attacks upon UConn and Geno did create understandable discussion and a good deal of justifiable ill will. Personally I will be glad to see the dead rivalry stay buried as long as Tennessee carries on the attitude of the Summit era.

 

[Phil]

Don't forget the trophies for having the most NC's. they gave themselves one this year for tying for the most NC's.

Next they will give themselves trophies for having the most trophies.

I literally laughed out loud.

Once you can get a trophy for having the most trophies, the singularity isn't far behind.

 

[reno tony]

And how exactly did Geno end this series?

You are clueless about this.

Where did I say Geno ended the series?