Randy Smith
2016 is just a few days old and there is already some good news to talk about.
Tennessee football team: The Vols completely dominated Northwestern in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day. The 45-6 win was one of the best performances of the year and will give the 9-4 Vols plenty of momentum heading into next season. The recruiting class for 2016 looks to be very impressive as expected. In looking ahead to the 2016 season, the Volunteers should be a huge choice for the pre-season pick in the SEC East.
Why? Because Florida won't be able to have the "magical" season the Gators enjoyed in 2015. Georgia should be okay, but with a new coach coming in, (Kirby Smart) the Bulldogs likely won't be as good. Vandy should be improved, but Kentucky, South Carolina and Missouri will all struggle.
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning: What a great story! With the Broncos needing a win to wrap up home field advantage for the AFC playoffs, Peyton came off the bench and led the Broncos to a 27-20 win, helping his team to overcome four first half turnovers. Manning is expected to start the team's first playoff game in two weeks. He has missed more than half of Denver's season with a torn plantar fascia ligament in his foot. On Sunday, Peyton moved better than he has all year, and make no mistake about it; he won this game against the Chargers with his head. He was constantly able to audible into the right plays, which opened up the Broncos running game considerably. His passing was fabulous, though he only hit on five of nine and ran the Denver offense to perfection. Peyton's big nemesis, Tom Brady and the Patriots have lost four of their last six games after winning their first ten. If the Pats get to the Super Bowl, they'll likely have to win at Denver; provided they're able to get past their opponents in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Baseball season is less than three months away. I must admit, while being in Tampa last week for the Outback Bowl, I had a longing to watch some baseball. You see, the New York Yankees spring training stadium; George Steinbrenner Field is just across the street from Raymond James Stadium, where the Outback Bowl is played. The field had been manicured as if the teams would be reporting this week, rather than the middle of next month. I may have to go back for a few days in March.
The College Football Playoff Committee: The committee got it right. Top-ranked Clemson (14-0) will face second ranked Alabama (13-1) on January 11th for the national championship. Both the Tigers and the Tide easily won their semi-final games; Alabama shutting out Michigan State 38-0,while Clemson scored a 37-17 decision over Oklahoma, despite the fact the Sooners were favored to win. Before the lights went out in Dallas following 'Bama's shellacking of the Spartans, Alabama had been set as a seven point favorite in the title clash.
Just this week however, not all the news was good for Clemson. Since the spring semester starts this week at Clemson, the Tigers are restricted to the NCAA's 20 hours per week practice schedule. The spring semester begins next week at Alabama, so this week, the Crimson Tide can have all the practices they want for as long as they want. It doesn't seem fair but it is the rule. I look for this rule to be modified in the next few years to allow both teams to have equal practice times.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.