Con-Vinced?

Well, here we go again. All he does is win. Call is the "Comeback on the Cumberland" or the "Drive for Five" and in win number 5 in a row...or "The Oh My! by VY!"....OK, lets not call it that...whatever it was, it was special. Only the "Music City Miracle" was a more special moment at LP Field that the final 2 minutes of that game on Sunday. And with Young throwing for 387 yards, no INTs and one titillating, game winning TD, it is time to ask, have we seen enough? Enough to turn this team over, once and for all, to Vince Young. for this year, next year and until he fails over an extended period of time. Vince has bought himself a bad outing without ridicule, not that one seems to be coming anytime soon. The most important numbers from Sunday are 4 for 8. That's Young's rushing line. And none of those were called runs. Mike Hiemerdinger has provided VY with a tremendous plan, and Young is executing. How well? VY managed to push an NFL record 6th straight 125+ yard effort by Chris Johnson to second fiddle status. Johnson finished with 154 yards, featuring a 85 yard TD run that, at the time, seemed to put the game under control for the Titans. That feeling lasted about a minute as LaRon Stephens-Howling brought the ensuing kickoff back 99 yards...and just helped set the stage for the Vinsanity....

Time to step aside?

Well, I'm at a crossroads. After a second straight loss to my oldest son's team in Turkey Bowl, the writing is on the wall. Joe (far right in this shot from 2007 with Alabama, before he accepted a scholarship to Middle Tennessee and below in the MT locker room after the Maryland win) has, what Charlie Wies would call, "A schematic advantage" over me. The game is 5 on 5 and he had his team running the Wildcat, Spread Option and a couple of things that I'm not sure have names. My only hope is to hang in long enough for my 12 year old son, Tommy, to become an athletic mismatch, but alas, he does not want to be on my team anymore. This years game was lost 36-12 after last season's 24-14 setback. Until then, I had never loss...
This game held one other indignity for me. On a QB throwback play I swung the ball out to Tommy and then floated into the flat. Tommy floated it back to me and as I went for the ball, the Mexicutioner, the GM of Big Dawg Productions who moonlights as my Son-in-law, met me at the ball. A monumental collision resulted in me going head over heels in a hit worthy of ESPN's JACKED UP segment. Surely, Mex was also sprawled out on the ground and my only concern was to scramble to my feet before he got up. Only he never got down. Just kind of stood over me, only glancing away long enough to see if my pregnant daughter was concerned. She was laughing. So was my wife. And my other pregnant daughter. And the dog. Now I need to go ice down. And turn in my retirement papers...I wonder if this is how Brett Favre went out...oh, wait....

Really?

On Friday, I was named 2009 "Best Talk Host" in Nashville by the Curb Records AIR Awards, for the 2nd year in a row. I can't tell you how humbling that is when you consider guys like George Plaster and Phil Valentine, legends in these parts, were finalists as well. And, as usual, I kinda screwed up the acceptance speech. I needed to thank the people who's daunting task it is to make me look good...Charlie Saunier and, before him, Jonathan Shaffer. And I needed to thank the Mexicutioner, Al Llamas, who runs Big Dawg Productions while I'm screwing off on the show. And Brad Hopkins, who joined the show a few months ago to shore me up. And, really, my wife, who has allowed me to chase this career all over the country. And finally, the listeners, who don't vote on the AIR Awards, but put up with the way I roll the show. So thanks to all of you....and we'll just keep trying to do our best, because whether they give me that Award or not, I feel like a winner because of all of you!

Here we go again!

I have received many e-mails concerning the show not being on 730 WUMP in Huntsville again, and hopefully, I can address many of you right here. It's there call. I made some inquiries as to what was up, but, as is often the case, the devil is in the details, and I really don't have all the details, nor have a desire to know all the details. I do know that the syndication that we had embarked on was moving slowly, like everything else in this economy, and the show was a bit clunky for the guys in Huntsville to manage...technical stuff. Also, the individual who really pushed to bring us back there is no longer there, and that may factor in as well. I do know that the decision was ultimately made in Atlanta, so I don't feel my blood is on anyone's hands in Huntsville. In any event, there was concern about what the future of the show would be, so they felt it was time to bail out. I appreciate the time we had on the air there, and wish everyone the best, as always. I also love you listeners down there and remind you that you can stream the show at www.thomabraham.com, and listen on several phone base apps as well...in the meantime, we'll just keep doing what we do!

PS-Curb Record AIR Awards will be announced Friday. We are hoping to defend our 2008 award for "Best Afternoon Drive" show and "Best Talk Host" in Nashville award. We are also a finalist for "Best Midday Talk" show, so this could be interesting. Next year, we're shooting for "Best Graveyard Shift Talk Show"...just kidding on that one!

Hey Bud, Really?

OK, I supposed at first that this could be a fake, but the report is being generated by Jim Wyatt, highly respected Titans Beat Writer for The Tennessean, and even though I can't get those guys to get my delivery straight, I still trust them. This was the first of TWO double barreled salutes the 86 year old Titans owner fired at the Buffalo Bills sideline during the Titans/Oilers 41-17 thumping of the Bills. The second came ON THE FIELD as time ran out. WITH THE COMMISSIONER IN ATTENDANCE!
Now some of the players think this is cute, even funny. And Bud will gain a certain measure of "Street Cred" in the locker room. Assuming this wasn't fired at Jeff Fisher for not getting Vince Young in the line up sooner, or to his own team for blowing the first month and a half of the season, or at my co-host Brad Hopkins for saying he didn't even get a letter after he retired, this is incredibly crass! If those same players let the double birds fly on the field, how much would the fine be? 10k...20k...50k per bird? I'm not sure, but I do know that a few years ago, one bird cost Jake Plummer $5,000 and Mike Vick got $10,000 for the putting the twins up to his OWN crowd...But what do you hit a guy who owns half of Texas with? I mean, the Titans are worth a reported One Billion dollars, and Adams paid $25,000. Clip him for an oil field or two? In any event, if the league has any credibility, he needs to get hammered for it. My only question is....WHY, Bud?

Sammy Sosa now a white dude?

Not much to say here...but, wow? Sammy Sosa a White guy? Here is the story....

Shemp....er, Matsui the right call...

OK, I know you have to be of a certain age to get the Shemp Howard reference...ya know, Larry, Mo, Curly of Three Stooges fame...Shemp and Joe are sometimes forgotten, if not critical Stooges...but the fact is Shemp...I mean Hideki was the right call for Series MVP. The arguments against are, DH and only 13 at bats, tied for the fewest ever by a World Series MVP. To me, those are exactly the same arguments for. In spot duty, the guy goes 8 for 13, with 3 homers and 8 RBI! Now defense and pitching are great, but someone has to produce runs and this guy did it at critical times. With A-Rod scuffling a bit and Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano MIA, Matsui came through in spades!
Captain Jeter is the other contender, and Lord knows I consider Jetes the greatest Yankee of them all, but for his .407 series average, he only knocked in one run, and struck out 6 times, often leaving men on base.
Some random thoughts; How big does the All-Star game look now when a DH wins the MVP...the AL continues to dominate the Mid-Summer Classic, get the home field advantage, and this year it paid off. Guess it does matter...Wouldn't you think that Matsui, a Yankee for 7 years now, could speak enough English to do a simply baseball interview by now? And speaking of interviews, does Chris Rose really have the gravitas to be handling the post game stage after a World Series? And finally, why is Hedeki Matsui "Matsui" and Ichiro Suzuki "Ichiro"? I mean, if Matsui goes to Seattle to finish his career with his countryman, what will they put on his jersey? I, for one, hope we never find out...