Tradingo Blog

Tradingo.com and The Vol Network are proud to announce a new storefront, The Legend of Stokely.

The Legend of Stokely Storefront features the original wood & metal arena seats and seatbacks from the famed UT sports arena, Stokely Athletic Center.

Additional items such as 6″x6″ and 12″x12″ court blocks, banners, backboards and shadow boxes will be added to the storefront in the next 2 weeks.

The Vol Network announced today the winner of the “Memories of Neyland Contest”.

The story which was submitted to Tradingo.com’s Big Orange Store Blog by Mr. Benjamin Cowan, describes his time spent at Neyland with his grandfather. His grandfather was a Tennessee Vol that played on the 1937 and 1938 teams under Major Neyland (he didn’t become the General until later).

An excerpt from his posting:

“I went to games with Grandaddy until he got cancer in 1993, succumbing to the disease in 1994. One of my greatest regrets was not having the opportunity to attend a game with him as a student (enrolled as a freshman on The Hill in 1995).

My first game that year was Georgia, which I attended alone. I spontaneously cried when the Pride of The Southland Marching Band broke the T and the Vols tore onto the field just thinking of Grandaddy looking down on me. My student ticket assignment put me in a 50-yard line aisle seat (thanks Grandaddy), and we won on a field goal as time expired”.

The full story can be read at: http://blog.tradingo.com/2010/07/15/memories-of-neyland/

Congratulations Mr. Cowan we will be sending you out your Neyland Stadium Chair!

From Neyland Stadium’s Bookstore: 4 single and 1 double Neyland Stadium Chair have been released for sale to the public.

This release represents the last of the 264 Stadium Chairs from the West Side Renovation at Neyland in January of 2010.

Twice in the last two years the NY Jets go to the AFC Championship, with a young quarterback, a tough as nails head coach and a UT Vols favorite legend Shaun Ellis.

It looked like the party was over for the Jets after a rough first quarter and then a questionable call that produced a turnover and a Steelers touchdown before the half.

We can only imagine what was said in the locker room by Coach Rex Ryan and the Jets Veteran players to light a fire under the Jets but whatever it was it worked.

The Jets came to life and dominated the Steelers in the second half of the game.

Unfortunately, it was not enough and the Steelers stopped what could have been the greatest comeback victory in a conference game.

I’m sure there are a whole lot of Monday morning what ifs and they should have done this or that. The bottom line is the Jets lost and the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl this year.

Next year will be a different story.

We at Tradingo.com, especially our CEO & Founder TJ McNamara (who is a long time Jets fan and former New Yorker) would like to say congratulations on a great season and we are PROUD of the New York Jets.

J-E-T-S. Jets, Jets, Jets

Keep the faith Jets fans

As 2010 Ends, Vols and Fans Should Embrace Future.

Tradingo Sports Blog by Scott Felts

The 2010 football season has come to a close for the Tennessee Volunteers. New head coach Derek Dooley and the Vols finished 6-7 after the Music City Bowl “loss” to North Carolina and now they look toward the future.

I for one am ready to do the same.

A week ago as the Vols were preparing for the bowl game everyone thought that after the game the Vols would be looking for their fourth defensive coordinator in as many years.

Rumors swirled that Justin Wilcox was leaving for Texas.

Most signs pointed to this happening. Dooley gave comments that suggested he was already aware and annoyed at the prospect, saying that “a thousand other coaches want a job at Tennessee” and that he wasn’t worried about finding replacements for any coach that may leave.

Texas’ search for a coordinator just suddenly stopped, suggesting “their guy” was going to wait until after his current team’s bowl game was over to make the move.

I even spoke briefly with Wilcox in the lobby of the team hotel on Thursday, thanking him for being at Tennessee, “this year” and thought that the look he gave me as he shook my hand and thanked me for being in Nashville to support the team, suggested he was gone.

Well, he’s not. Vols 1 Coaching Changes 0.

As I write this, there are rumors that Graduate Assistant Peter Sirmon is about to receive a full time slot on the Vols staff. This would be a good thing, but would mean someone is on the way out. Most insiders say they have heard nothing of anyone leaving.

Only time will tell.

The Vols need stability. They need it in the coaching offices, they need it in the weight room and they need it in the classroom as the next several months play out.

The 2011 Vols will see more freshmen join the team and more than likely, more freshmen start and play in games. In 2010, the Vols played 16 true freshmen at various times of the season.

Looking at the depth chart, the Vols may have 5 senior starters on the entire team in 2011.

The Vols’ first opponents in 2011 are the Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse Montana Grizzles.

The 2011 Grizzlies return 15 starters – seven on both offense and defense, and kicker/punter Brody McKnight. UM returns 45 lettermen from a team that went 7-5 in 2010.

That is a step down for a Montana program that has been in the hunt for the National Title on their level for the past several years.

Dooley told the Vols that as they lay in bed not wanting to work this offseason, that they should remember the end of the Music City Bowl and the end of the LSU game and then use that hurt and anger to work to get better.

For a program and its fans that have spent too much time looking back and casting blame, I hope everyone is ready to look forward and embrace the future as we forget the recent past.

Our main office will be closed from 12/24-01/02 for the holidays. Orders will still be accepted and processed through our online checkout.

Our Customer Care department will remain open through the holiday season and can be contacted at customercare@tradingo.com

Thank you for a great year and Happy Holidays!

Tradingo Sports

Tradingo.com/sports: NY Yankees Commemorative Seat with authentic seat back and bottom from the old Yankee Stadium.

Only 1 Available: $599.99 plus shipping and taxes.

All orders placed by 12/18/2010 on the Big Orange Store at www.tradingo.com/utstore and Tradingo Sports at www.tradingo.com/sports should be delivered before Christmas as long as the delivery is within the continental United States.

Tradingo.com/utstore & Tradingo.com/sports – Great Gifts for Sports Fans!

Music City Bowl Prediction

Well, it has been a long season and it’s not over yet. In fact, some would say that their favorite part of the season is here. It’s College Bowl Season and for the Tennessee Volunteers (6-6) and their fans that means an instate matchup with a border state rival named the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-5).

Most young fans would not consider the Tar Heels a rival. However, the two teams have met 31 times with the Vols holding a 20-10-1 advantage in the series, which hasn’t seen the two meet on the field since 1961 which was a heartbreaking 22-21 loss for the Volunteers.

The current versions of these teams may not know each other well or have a lot in common but there is an eerie similarity in the coach’s records.

Tennessee’s first year head coach Derek Dooley has an overall record dating back to his years at Louisiana Tech of 23-26. Butch Davis’ record at the University of North Carolina is 26-23.

The Tar Heels’ last bowl win was in the 2001 Peach Bowl against Auburn.

Tennessee’s last bowl win was the 2008 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

The Vols have opened as slight underdogs to the Tar Heels. Various sources have them anywhere from 1.5 to 3 point underdogs which might be good news for the Vols. Underdogs have won the Music City Bowl in six of the nine games.

The inaugural Music City Bowl was the 1998 edition which pitted Alabama and Virginia Tech. The Hokies destroyed the Crimson Tide 38-7.

True Freshman Eli Manning got his career off to a hot start in the Music City Bowl being thrown into action against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the fourth quarter in 2000. Manning led the Rebels to 22 unanswered points in a 49-38 loss.

The largest crowd in Music City Bowl history is 68,621 which watched the 2007 contest between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida State Seminoles.

This year’s matchup should be a mostly orange affair as the Vols should be the home team, wearing their orange jerseys and a good number of Tennessee fans bought up tickets before the Tar Heels even knew they were going to be attending the bowl.

This brings us to the statistical matchup of the two teams.

The Vols come into the game on a four game winning streak and playing as well as they have all year. The freshmen and young contributors are starting to gel and Tennessee fans can only wonder how good their team will look after the bowl practices which amount to an extra spring practice session.

The Vols are averaging 27 points per game while giving up 24.7 on defense.

The Tar Heels are averaging 24.9 points per game and allowing 22.9 while they have won only one of their last three games heading into the December 30th matchup with the Vols.

The Vols and Tar Heels shared a common opponent in 2010 and that was the LSU Tigers. The Tar Heels faced LSU in Atlanta to open the season amid the cheating scandal involving most of their roster. Since and including the 12 players suspended for that game, the Tar Heels have lost over 32 players this season to either injuries or suspensions at various times. Obviously some of those players have since returned.

Tar Heels senior quarterback T.J. Yates is second in the ACC in total offense. He threw for over 400 yards against LSU, FSU, and NC St., as well as 325 yards against UVA.

Two key players are injured and are unlikely to be back for the Heels.

RB Johnny White, who was the Heels most explosive player this season, broke his collarbone in the FSU game and Yates’ favorite target TE Zach Pianalto broke his leg against UVA.

Baring any injuries in practice, the Vols will have most of their players healthy and ready to play.

The Vols will not care about personal achievements when they take the field in Nashville but several of them can reach milestones during the game.

Freshman quarterback Tyler Bray who didn’t play meaningful snaps until the second half of the Vols last loss at South Carolina, needs 463 passing yards to reach 2,000 on the season.

Senior wide receiver Denarius Moore should have an easier time with his milestone. The Vols wide out needs just 88 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season.

Junior tailback Tauren Poole should have an even easier time getting his six rushing yards which will have him top the century mark for 2010.

The Vols under the on field guidance of Tyler Bray should have a pretty easy time throwing the ball around the field against the Tar Heels. The front seven of the Tar Heels is strong defensively and their quarterback and wide receivers are strong but the defensive backfield will be overmatched against the Vols size and speed.

Bowl games are oftentimes won by the teams that show up focused and prepared. Those are staples of Dooley’s game plans. This game won’t be one that the Vols can show up for and prance to an easy victory, but if they continue what they have been building during the second half of the season, a fifth win in a row and a winning overall record await them.

Prediction: Tennessee 37 Tar Heels 17

One last thing, for those fans attending the game, don’t forget about the MusicFest and Battle of the Bands on Wednesday the 29th from 5-7pm central. MusicFest is the ultimate party atmosphere downtown the night before the game. Thousands of fans will converge on world-famous 2nd Avenue (corner of 2nd & Broadway) for the outdoor party featuring the bands and cheerleaders of the Tennessee Volunteers and North Carolina Tar Heels.

The band Little Texas will perform a FREE concert prior to the Battle of the Bands. Multiple venues will open their doors to Bowl fans for a memorable downtown event where various genres of live music will be played. Also Zac Brown Band will be performing at Bridgestone Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets for that concert are $25.