The CheckerBoard

What's your take on Downtown Grill and Brewery in knoxville? Went for the first time last night and really enjoyed it. The Downtown Blonde was outstanding!

1. Now that you have the eyepatch, do you ever find birds resting on your shoulder and repeating the words you say?

2. Who will the 2013 starting qb at UT be?

3. Is Mike Hamilton as despised in the UTAD staff as he appears to be in the fanbase? Did people enjoy working for him while he was here (I mean, not counting the times he fired them over the radio while they were traveling to a postseason game occasionally)?

4. Based on your experience, what was the story with BJ Coleman. Was BJ Coleman forced out by Kiffin to make room for recruits and to offer them playing time, or did that staff legitimately believe he wasn't an SEC qb?

How do you feel about Hope Solo's comments in her new book about what went down in 07/08? Just wanted to get your opinion from a media perspective. Her comments in 07 about her benching, I thought, were justified. She had no intention of throwing her teammattes under a bus, yet that's what her "teammates" thought. It was very disturbing that her teammates threw her to the side like a burnt-out ciggarette. No one stood up for her. I'll quit ranting. Your thoughts?

I'm gonna add a couple more questions...

7. In your opinion, who was the breakout (i.e., not expected to win) star of the 2012 Olympics?

8. Can there ever be anything better in sports than the thought of women's beach volleyball on Copacabana Beach in 2016?

9. Johnson City: "Love it", "Hate It", or "Didn't notice it"?

I asked you two weeks ago to get me some info (Treece's HS # at Oakland). When you didn't answer, the gods smote you and your eye fell out. Now, I didn't ask again last week, cause you only had one eye left and I needed some camp news. Well, they're back from camp, nerd, so I need the info. Treece and I played against each other in high school and I may or may not have pancake video involving him. Need to know his # to confirm or deny.

Gonna ask you another one to get you warmed up and maybe save your hiney, as Chaney might say, if you can't produce on the main question. Do you think CDD really cancelled practice at the last minute yesterday or do you imagine that he might have had it planned as a motivational/reward type thing all along? You know, to bring the guys back to town with a little extra 'juice'?

Wes, no sign of you for over 14 hours. Did the Redhead incapacitate you? One patch for yes, two for no.

Wes,

1. What is your score prediction for the NC State game?

2. Better one-eyed mythological figure, cyclops or Odin?

3. Do you think UT will come out guns blazing and try to establish an early lead over NC State and then run the ball to grind out the clock, or do you think they'll try to control the clock from the onset with running, only passing when opportunities present themselves?

Nope. She learned her lesson last time, IMO.