SEE YOU IN JUNE I'm taking a few weeks off to reset the mechanism. Hope you have a great rest of May and a Happy Memorial Day. I'll be back in early June and we'll count it down to football season. Until then God Bless You and I'll talk to you on The Tony Basilio Show.

SINCE WE LAST SPOKE 5-9-13

CUONZO IN A CORNER: Cuonzo Martin by all accounts is a man of integrity. I believed that when he was hired and I still do today. The rescinding of Travon Landry’s scholarship to resolve oversigning however shows just how difficult it is to be completely honorable in intercollegiate athletics. Coach Martin and staff recruited and signed Landry based on his time at Bob Jones High School in Madison Alabama. His subsequent transfer to Huntington (W.Va.) Prep and the meager numbers he put up there (2.7 ppg; 2.8 assists; 2-29 from three) revealed his lack of ability to play at the SEC level and a poor job of evaluation by the Tennessee staff. Cuonzo is now in a conundrum with no easy answer. Do you stick by your word and principles and bring on a player that can’t help at a crucial position in a pivotal year for your job security? Or do you find someone more capable of helping both the roster and your longevity? With the announcement on Sunday that Landry was told by the Tennessee staff that there was no room for him in a Tennessee uniform we know the answer. I personally disagree with the player paying the price for a poor evaluation by the staff. The only way a player should be unceremoniously dumped is if his behavior or classroom performance dictates it be done. On the other hand I understand the position Cuonzo finds himself in entering his third season and wonder if I could be any nobler under the same circumstances.

NOT THE GOLDEN AGE: Almost immediately after the announcement that Landry had been excused came the bombshell that Trae Golden wouldn’t be returning either. The popular theory is that academic performance –or lack thereof- was his downfall. I’m sure those following the team on a daily basis have better sources than I but regardless of the reason it has been quite obvious for Cuonzo’s entire tenure that he and Trae have rarely been on the same page. Jeronne Maymon and Jordan McRae seemed to have bought into Cuonzo-ball but Golden never has. I doubt seriously that Cuonzo and staff were totally blindsided by the news which makes it even more puzzling how they are now caught with basically no one who has logged significant minutes at one of the most vital positions on the floor. It also begs the question of why more interest wasn’t paid to local product Dre Mathieu who seemingly was simultaneously committing to Minnesota as all our other PGs were being jettisoned. I am not an alarmist but the good ship Cuonzo appears to be taking on water. The departures of Golden and Yemi Makanjuola with questionable replacements Darius Thompson and Rawane Ndiaye coming on board certainly hasn’t strengthened the roster and the departure of Houston Fancher to join Buzz Peterson doesn’t smell right to me either. As a matter of fact it reminds me of staff members looking for anywhere and everywhere to land prior to Derek Dooley’s final season. Maybe it’s all a coincidence and will be addition by subtraction; maybe some current players will develop at warp-speed rates; maybe Cuonzo will begin to sign more guys that remind him of Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson rather than of himself; maybe I’m simply more of an alarmist than I think but this doesn’t appear to me to be a program on the way to becoming the pride of the State of Tennessee. As a matter of fact it looks a lot more like one in the state of disarray.

HEART GOES OUT TO LYNN: I was saddened to hear the news that Lynn Hatcher –or as most sports talk show listeners know him- W-Lynn’s wife had passed away. I remember meeting her at a radio remote years ago but did not know her. Lynn and I are only casual face-to-face acquaintances but frequent radio conversations make us much more. Through our on-air interaction I know that he and I are the same age, have many mutual interests and viewpoints. We were influenced by the same era of players wearing the orange -and on rare occasions those who weren’t- and our views on how players should perform and comport themselves are almost identical. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that W-Lynn is spiritual, compassionate, fair, loyal, a patriot, extremely proud of his family and heritage and a giver in the extreme sense of the word. I don’t have to be with him every day to know how much I like and admire him. I can’t imagine the pain, sorrow, and devastation he’s feeling after losing his life’s partner at such an early age; my heart breaks for him. I want him to know that my prayers will daily include that our great God comfort and strengthen him in these very difficult times. We love you Lynn are very sorry for your loss and we’re here for you because there is no doubt that you have, will and would do the same for any of us. May God bless you and your family.

I LOVE YOU MOM: For the first time in my life I will spend Mother’s Day without her; my mom passed away at 4:10 AM on May 9th. On Sunday as others rightly honor their beloved mothers I will find little earthly joy as mine lays in a casket at Weatherford’s Mortuary in Oak Ridge. Actually only her deteriorated earthly body will be at the funeral home. Her soul will be reaping the rewards of her faith and salvation in heaven in a Henderson celebration that will almost certainly be worthy of a divine noise ordinance violation. Mom, my dad and brother Ron are reunited and brother Mike and I will celebrate that.

Mom was and is my role model. She was caring, compassionate, sacrificial and spiritual. She was a teacher, disciplinarian, counselor and friend. Mom helped raise her brothers, raised three sons, and later was the primary caretaker for her husband and mother up until their deaths. Somehow amidst all of that responsibility (and waiting until I was old enough and she was 40) she rose from a Bookkeeper to Vice President of the Bank of Oak Ridge. She was the rock of our family and all of us have reaped the benefits of her character.

In later years the insidious effects of Alzheimer’s robbed my Mom of many of her finest attributes placing a stranger in the body I recognized. But while wiping her mind clean it couldn’t destroy the 80+ years of motherhood, friendship and love that she afforded so infectiously. On Sunday I will probably cry more than laugh but I will not be unappreciative. I will thank God that he placed an angel on earth for 86 years and that kind, spiritual being was my Mother. I love you Mom, I will use something you taught me every day for the rest of my life and I will continue to try to make you as proud that I am your son as I am that you are my mother.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU ALL.

IN A PERFECT WORLD Everyone would have a Mother like mine.

SINCE WE LAST SPOKE: 5-2-13

SPORTS WORLD ACCORDING TO BEANO: Of all the months on the sports calendar May is the most inconsequential of all for me. With College Football Spring Practices and the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror gridiron action is too far away to give a second thought. The NBA Playoffs? Wake me up in two months when it is mercifully down to two teams. I love Major League Baseball but of those who share the passion few if any are willing –especially on-air- to spend time on discussion of the sport. I also enjoy some of the high school baseball tournaments and could once again become interested in college regional action if the Vols ever make another appearance. For the most part however May is a good month for books and movies. It is with that backdrop –and a severe case of blog-block- that I present this riveting topic; My Favorite Things in Sports. Here they are in ascending order for your reading enjoyment:

FAVORITE SPORT:

5-High School Football/Basketball: Still the most pure form of sports
4-College Basketball: This will plummet if they don’t reduce physicality and improve shooting/scoring
3-NFL- The most consistently competitive and compelling sport on the planet
2-MLB- I understand baseball from a player’s and strategical standpoint better than all others and the older I get the better I like the daily play and pace
1-College Football-The winner and still heavyweight champion; it is simply ingrained in my being.
JUST MISSED: College Baseball-Will never crack the Top-5 with metal bat usage

FAVORITE MAJOR SPORTING EVENT:

5-CFB National Championship Game: Will rank higher when the playoffs are implemented. As of now it’s a Monday night with teams drawn out of a hat that haven’t played in 6 weeks
4-World Series: Too late at night and on the calendar to rank higher
3-AL/NL Championship Series: I seem to like the Final-4 better than the championship in every sport
2-NFL Playoffs: Great games played on home fields, on the days and nights they were intended to be played.
1-NCAA Basketball Tournament: Basketball is the perfect sport for post-season play. It was made for a tournament format.
JUST MISSED: SEC Championship Game-Too much Alabama and Florida and too little Tennessee

FAVORITE DAY IN SPORTS:

5-Opening Day of MLB: The most “hopeful day in sports with the added bonus that winter is in the rear-view mirror
4-NFC/AFC Championship Sunday: Much better than the Super Bowl. It’s the last day for the “real” NFL fans before the phonies take over the sport two weeks later.
3-Fantasy Baseball/Football Draft Day: The only one they will let me participate in though I would probably fare just as well if they let me face Clayton Kershaw.
2-First Two Rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament: I cheated a little since this is actually four days but it is great theatre where it’s hard to distinguish one day from the other.
1-Any Saturday of CFB Season: One thing the anti-CFB Playoff folks have always been right about is it’s the best regular season of all the sports; and it’s not close.
JUST MISSED: January 1st-Ruined by the BCS Brainiacs.

FAVORITE EVENT TO ATTEND:
5-College Baseball Regional: I’m going strictly on memory here but it is a truly fun weekend
4-Tennessee NCAA Tournament Game: I loved it when Don DeVoe’s first team won in Murfreesboro and the excitement has never waned.
3-Colts Playoff Game: NFL fans have a true win-or-go-home passion during playoff games like nothing I have experienced short of the 98 BCS Championship Game.
2-BigTime Tennessee Football Game: It’s been a while but for this old orange-hearted fool there is no place like Neyland Stadium during a big game.
1-A Day in Any MLB Park with My Brother: Baseball, a beautiful ball park, good weather and great company. That’s what sports are truly about.
JUST MISSED: Tennessee Bowl Game- Though starving to return the guaranteed conference bowl slots create matchups at the same sites against the same opponents.

IN A FANTASY FIX: I’ve admitted on several occasions in this space that I love fantasy baseball but simply can’t play dead in a western. The early returns of the 2013 season suggests nothing has changed. I am on the verge of losing 4 of the first 5 in the two leagues in which I participate. An example of my ineptitude is a pair of off-season trades I made in a keeper league that made perfect sense two months ago but now looks like Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio; with me dealing the Hall of Famer. Keep in mind it’s a long-term keeper league and I wouldn’t have made either trade by themselves but combined they looked promising. I traded:

Justin Upton for P Brett Anderson and Met’s highly touted catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud

Then:

Madison Bumgarner for Reds OF Jay Bruce and Braves SP Julio Teheran

Once the baseball aficionados in the crowd wipe the tears from their eyes as a result of uncontrolled laughter let me attempt to explain my thought process at the time. I needed more solid players on my roster. Jay Bruce has actually been a more productive fantasy player over the last three years than Upton and is only one year Justin’s senior. Brett Anderson has the potential to be Bumgarner’s equal and I got a potential star catcher and top of the rotation starter to boot.

But alas as always seems to be the case with me and fantasy baseball early returns are horrendous. Justin Upton looks like Willie Mays and Madison Bumgarner is channeling Juan Marichal. Bruce and Anderson? They absolutely suck. Let’s hope May turns the fortunes of all involved and d’Arnaud and Teheran can someday reach their enormous potential. Otherwise in one fateful evening in March I have set my team back so many years that Derek Dooley will be cracking jokes about it.

A YEAR WITHOUT RON: If you’re reading this on Friday May 3rd it is the one year anniversary of my Brother Ron’s death. Below is the memorial I wrote that appeared here last year. Although totally inadequate it is as accurate and heart-felt today as the day I wrote it. I hope you will indulge me and understand my need to re-post it. Thanks again for the kindness that all of you have showed my Brother Mike and I during the first year without our brother, friend and hero. We love you Ron and thanks to the saving blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we will see you again.

I lost a hero today. It was not an athlete that I knew only by number, stats, performance and post-game sound bites. Not an entertainer with a superficial persona and a name that may or may not be truly theirs. Not a politician whose ideals are fabricated and attuned to assure election. My hero truly impacted my life and any other that he came into contact with. I learned from, confided in, laughed and cried with and embraced him. He was my brother and my friend.
Ron died after a courageous two-plus year battle with cancer the last seven months of which were filled with nausea and pain that I can’t bear to imagine. As Ron did in every phase of his life however he exceeded the expectations of the finest cancer doctors. After being given only 6-8 months to live at the time of diagnosis in the fall of 2009 he endured it all with a selfless approach that will forever be imbedded in my heart and soul. Those who truly knew him would have expected no less. He excelled at everything he attempted and was the most accomplished yet humble man I have ever known. He was the captain and point guard of a state tournament basketball team; Student Council President; honor student at both Oak Ridge High School and the University of Tennessee with a Master’s Degree from Central Michigan. He entered the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant and rose to the rank of Major General an extraordinary accomplishment under any circumstances and almost impossible to attain without attending the Air Force Academy. During his illustrious career he was a B-52 Bomber Pilot; Instructor Pilot; Bomber Squadron Flight Commander; Base Commander; Commanding General of Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey- whose mission saved countless lives by protecting a No-Fly-Zone that otherwise would have provided Saddam Hussein’s Air Force an avenue to mercilessly murder the Kurds-; and Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Operations and Missions. Upon retirement from active duty he continued to be involved in strategic planning and assistance to the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a civilian. None of this however defined him or was his true goal in life. His family took much more pride in his accomplishments than he did. He preferred sitting under our mom’s carport listening to Tony and talking about his beloved Vols with his brothers and sons than extolling his resume. Despite all his success he was much more intent on being a great son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, mentor and above all else a witness and warrior for Christ.
Ron’s concern throughout his struggle was for others. He saw his illness as yet another opportunity to witness to those he came into contact with through whatever additional doors his battle opened. He wanted his response to adversity to comfort and strengthen others. He was ready to accept God’s reward for his salvation but wanted to assure that his family and friends were prepared for his departure. With every piece of bad news, bleak diagnosis, and painful symptom Ron’s message remained the same; “God is good”. My faith is not as strong as my big brother’s. I questioned why someone doing so much good could be taken at such a young age? Why aging Christians longing to go home linger while others with so much to contribute are whisked away? Ron steadfastly reminded me that “God’s plan is perfect”. My friend, my brother, my hero, has now gone on to be with his lord and savior. I am delighted for him but heartbroken for myself. His message however lives on and I realize beyond a shadow of a doubt its truth. You see I have another hero; my brother Mike; and he will help me through this grief and emptiness. God is indeed good.
I love you Ron, I miss you already, but I will use something I learned from you every day for the rest of my life and will always carry with me your kindness, wisdom and friendship. I look forward to the day I see you again.

IN A PERFECT WORLD: The above would have been written 20 years from now.