ROWYJO returns, Butch Jones is bringing family back to Rocky Top, and some new tunes too

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! I would also like to thank all those that fought and continuously fight to protect this great country! Without you all this country would not be what it is today. 

We are back

After a year or so hiatus, Rock Out With Your Jock Out has finally returned. Since our last post there have been some major changes in our lives. Rez has gotten engaged and moved to Nashville. Huge congrats to him and his awesome finance, Kylee! They are due to wed in August. I cant wait to be a part of their big day. Me and Amanda are no longer a family of two. Our little girl, Garner, was born in March. She is the light of our lives and the feeling of being a parent is such a thrill. Enough about us, lets get on to the sports and tunes.

Butch Jones is bringing family back to Rocky Top #BrickByBrick

       Butch Jones was hired as the University of Tennessee head football coach on December 7, 2012. He has done nothing but impress since the day the took the job. He is a relentless recruiter, a stand up guy, and a family man. Nothing was more evident than his first time meeting his new team. Tennessee had cameras following him around his first day. Every time I see this video I want to run through a brick wall for the guy.

      Butch has made it his mission to bring the top talent back to Knoxville. He had a great start with the signing of the 2013 recruiting class that ended up ranked 21st in the country according to Rivals.com. The 2014 is the class that he is wanting to hang his hat on. It will be the first class that he and his staff have been able to recruit for a full year. The 2014 class has been deemed the "Legacy Class" by many. The class includes Dillon Bates who joins Kelly, Wharton, and Neiko Creamer as Tennessee legacies to pull the trigger. The only duo remaining from The Legacy Class is Evan and Elliot Berry, who are believed to he heavily favoring the Vols as well. 

        Butch not only gets the football side of things but he also understands what it means off the field to be leading such a tradition rich program. The Vols are more than just a football team to many around the south. They have a unique way of making an impact on others by being the state's football team. For example, like sending a signed football to a huge Big Orange Fan who is kicking cancer's ass. A buddy of mine, ChuckVols , who I met through Volquest is a die hard Vols fan. Chucks brother, a huge Vols fan himself, is battling bone cancer in his arm and has a few procedures to limit and ultimately try get rid of the cancer. Over the past week or so Chuck's brother had another procedure. Chuck reached out to one of the assistant coaches letting them know about his brother and his brother's passion for the Vols. The following days after the surgery Chuck was able to give his brother a signed football by Butch Jones himself. What an awesome move by Butch and the coaching staff. Chuck has said that his brother is doing awesome and he continues to fight the good fight. Here is a picture of Chuck's brother and his signed football! Butch gets it and his fandom as the Vols lead man continues to grow. Hats off to you Butch Jones and I cant wait to see you lift that crystal ball for the Big Orange one day!

Tunes of the Day

I just wanted to share with you some new music to close out this post. First up is Will Evans. He is the lead singer Barefoot Truth. He decided to make a solo album and it doesn't disappoint. His laid back vibe and the deepness of the lyrical content combined with his catchy melodies makes this singer songwriter a must listen. Check out his song "Life is a Photograph". This video was recorded last year, and his full album Wishin' Well was released earlier this year. 

I also wanted to let you guys know about Aero. Aero is an unsigned modern rock band from Boston. They are a true diamond in a rough in my opinion. They have the old school 90's melodies with great music and vocals. The lead singer has a voice that reminds me of the perfect combination of early Trapt, Incubus, and Hoobastank. An unbelievable combination especially if you are a rock fan. Tongue Tied and Spiral Eyes are two of my favorite songs off the album Chaos. There is not a bad song on the cd. Chaos is one of those cds you can listen to the whole thing without having to skip a song. Chaos includes 12 songs and you can get it here for $8 Hell of a deal of you ask me. 

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NBA Playoffs, Rally Squirrel returns, and a little bit of music

NBA Playoffs
Now that college basketball is over, it is time to start focusing on the NBA playoffs and the start to the MLB season. Within the next week, the NBA seasson will finish up and the playoffs will be underway. The Grizzlies clinched a spot in the playoffs last night with a win over the Hornets. Now it is just a waiting game over the next week to see who they will play. It is starting to look like they will be playing the Clippers one way or another. Right now the Grizzlies are in the 5th spot. They would be playing the 4th seeded Clippers in the 1st round,  with the Clippers having home court advantage. It would be awesome if the Grizz could find a way to jump the Clips for the 4th seed. Therefore getting home court advantage. Home court advantage would be huge for the Grizzlies. The Grindhouse is a tough place to play and opposing teams want nothing to do with that place. The Grizz have been solid at home all year, and many opposing teams have said that the Forum is one of the loudest venues that have ever been to or played in. Memphis is a great basketball town and it would be fantastic if teams were forced to play an extra game at a tough venue such as ours.

MLB is finally here

Well after a long offseason of celebrating, the St. Louis Cardinals have started off where they finished up last year. Winning games. They no longer have Tony LaRussa (retired) or Albert Pujols (bolted to the Angels). You would think without those two the Cards would be struggling. They are actually doing the total opposite. They are currently sitting atop the National League central division with a 9-3 record. They also received their World Series Championship rings this past weekend in thier opening home series of the year versus the Cubs. The rings look fantastic. There is one small thing about the ring that may go unnoticed by your casual basball fan. The Rally Squirrel makes an appearence on the ring. Rally Squirrel is the name given to the American gray squirrel  which appeared on the field and ran across home plate at Busch Stadium during a 2011 National League Division Series  game between the Phillies and  Cardinals on October 5 of last year. The squirrel captured American media attention,and was adopted as an unofficial mascot by the Cardinals and the populace of St. Louis. The Cardinals would go on to win the 2011 World Series. Hopefully the Cards can keep winning and will be able to bring home another ring this year.

Music Tidbits

I have been pleased with some of the new music and music news that has surfaced here in the past few weeks. First off, I want to reccomend the new Hoddie Allen album, "All American". This is the follow up album to last years "Leap Year". "All American" is available for download on itunes. You can get the whole cd for $4.99.  Hoodie is so orginal. He writes and produces all of his own music. He is very interactive with his fans on twitter and facebook. If you tweet at him (@HoodieAllen), we will tweet back at you. He has also pledged to call everyone who buys his album on itunes. There is a sign up list on his facebook page to put your information. Things like this in addition to his music is what makes Hoodie one of a kind. My favorite track on the new cd is "No Faith in Brooklyn". Give it a listen: 

A Name to Keep an Eye on

Phillip Phillips. Remember this name. He is so talented his parents named him twice. He is currently in the top 7 on season 11 of American Idol. He is taking the country by storm. He is a 21 year old, pawn shop worker from Georgia. He sings with this laid back, lackluster, I dont care what anyone thinks attitude. He is the closest thing to an artist on the show right now. He sounds errily similar to Dave Matthews. He adds such a unique twist to every song he sings. He does so in such a way that you know its him when he sings, and yet every time he is fantastic. He could release a CD tomorrow and I would buy it. His most memorable moment this year was when he put his own swagger to the Usher hit 'You Got it Bad. I am not saying you have to watch American Idol, but at least remember the name Phillip Phillips. I don't see how this guy won't turn out to be a star.

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Why would anyone pull for Kentucky over Kansas in the National Championship?

Why would anyone want Kentucky and Calipari to win the National Championship over Kansas? Much less win the National Championship period. I still can't find a legit reason to root for the Wildcats. Although I do have Kentucky beating Kansas in the title game in one of my brackets, I still can't root for them. The only people that should be rooting for Kentucky are: Kentucky fans/alums, Kansas State fans/alums, or Mizzou fans/alums. The only reason for the ladder two is because of their hatred and dislike for Kansas. Here are a few reasons why you don't need to be rooting for Kentucky.

1. If Kentucky wins, it probably won't count anyway

Cal has already had 2 Final Four banners stripped from him.What makes you think this one wouldn't get stripped away too. While at UMass, Cal coached 1996 National Player of the Year, Marcus Camby. However, a subsequent NCAA investigation found that Camby illegally accepted a total of $28,000 from sports agents that were attempting to lure him into the NBA Draft after his Sophomore season, and the school was forced to vacate its Final Four appearance as well as return their 1996 NCAA Final Four trophy. Camby eventually repaid the school the $151,000 in lost Final Four revenue that came as a result of the NCAA's ruling. Not to mention Cal's only Final Four appearance at Memphis was stripped. Memphis’s trip to the 2008 Final Four was wiped from the record, and the team had  its 38-2 record expunged, after the N.C.A.A. ruled  that Derrick Rose had played the season while academically ineligible because his SAT score was ruled invalid. I am still not convinced that this Kentucky team, that just happens to be full of studs, is clean. They have at least a few true-freshman who will get drafted in the 1st round of the NBA draft. Who is to say these players haven't been paid anything to come to Kentucky for one year.

2. As a Tennessee Fan, I never want our rivals to win

I know conference pride is a big deal now-a-days, but if it is one of your rivals, conference pride goes out the window. As a Tennessee fan, I do not want Kentucky to win a national championship. It would only improve their recruiting. They do not need help in recruiting. They are already a Blue Blood of college basketball. For other teams in the conference to have a chance, we need Kentucky to lose. John Calipari already gets whatever top recruits he wants anyway. Just as I did not want Alabama to win the National Championship in football, I do not want Kentucky to win in basketball. Rivals should always root for their rivals to lose. Do you think Duke fans would be rooting for North Carolina to win tonight if UNC was the team playing Kentucky?

3. Bill Self and this Kansas team is very likable

This Kansas team is a fun team to watch. They have had their backs against the wall all year and continue to fight. Kansas fought back against a very good Ohio State team to win in the National Semi-Finals. Kansas is a team that plays hard and is very resilient. Bill Self is a great X's and O's coach. Self does things the right way and you never hear about his program getting in trouble with the NCAA.

4. Self beating Calipari again in the National Championship Game

For folks here in Memphis, the last time Cal lost in the National Championship Game was devastating. Calipari then went on a few years later to bolt for Kentucky. How ironic would it be for the same coach at the same university to hand Calipari his second loss in only his second National Championship Game appearance. I would love to see Cal squirm on the sidelines again. I don't know what excuse he would have because this Kentucky team is loaded with talent. Here is what happened the last time the two coaches met in the National Championship.

 I have talked to quite a few Memphis fans around the city today. To my surprise there have been quite a few who are pulling for Cal and the Wildcats tonight. They still like Cal and are appreciative for what he did for Memphis basketball. If I remember correctly, Memphis was already a nationally relevant basketball program. They did not need Calipari. There would be nothing more satisfying to see Kansas pull out a win tonight. I am going against my bracket predictions and will yelling at the top of my lungs ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

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New Music of 2012: Spring Break Edition

Well it's getting that time of year again. The weather is starting to warm up, the grass is starting to get a little green, major league baseball spring training is underway, and spring break is almost here. I know this is usually Rez's forte, but I wanted to give some recommendations for new music in this early 2012. Rez is the one responsible for introducing me to most of the new music. There has been a ton of good new music out so far in 2012. We don't discriminate here at ROWYJO, so there will be plenty of different genres that we are fans of. So put your sunscreen on, open your itunes, and start a new playlist because this is the new music of 2012:Spring Break Edition.

Cris Cab - #Echo Boom
Cris Cab (@CrisCab) is a 19 -year-old singer songwriter from Miami. His new EP Echo Boom is blowing up right now. Cris brings a nice mellow, reggae influenced sound mixed with a little dub step. His new album features songs with Pharrell, Shaggy, Daytona, and Marc Roberge of OAR, just to name a few. The full album, #Echo Boom, is free and available for download at http://www.facebook.com/CrisCabMusic. His relaxed tone and approach to music sets this album up to be perfect for spring break. There is no way this dude is no going to be a star. Here is his song "Going Home" featuring Marc Roberge.

Under The Flood - A Different Light

Under The Flood (@UndertheFlood) is a rock band from Virginia. Their new album "A Different Light" has taken rocks fans, like myself, by storm. "A Different Light" was produced by The Cat Room Recording Studio. Cat Room Recording is owned by Brian Craddock, who happens to be a guitarist for Daughtry, so you know it has to be good. The whole CD is filled with a crisp, clean, and powerful rock sound which is very hard to find in today's rock music scene. There is not a bad song on the CD, and each song is unique in its own way. For all of you rock fans out there, this is a must get. Take a listen to their song "When It's Over".

Luke Bryan - Spring Break 4 ...Suntan City

Luke Bryan (@LukeBryanOnline) has put out yet another spring break EP. Spring Break 4...Suntan City is the latest installment of his Spring Break EPs. This EP does not disappoint. Well none of Luke's music ever disappoints in my opinion. Suntan City paints a picture of what college kids experience when they hit the beach for Spring Break. The EP is only 4 songs. It is fun, rocking county about beer, sand, girls, and all things Spring Break. This is the absolute perfect time for this EP to come out. Listen to the title track off the EP "Suntan City" .

Other New Music of 2012

Here are some more "Must Listen To" Artist,Albums, and songs so far in this 2012

*Sent by Ravens - Mean What You Say(Album)

*Nine Lashes - World We View (see Rez's review of this album here: http://rockoutwithyourjockout.blogspot.com/2012/02/band-of-day-nine-lashes.html )

* Rebelution - Peace of Mind (Album)

*Elliot Yamin - 3 Words (Song)

*John Mayer - Shadow Days (Song)

We love finding out about new music and sharing it with you guys. If you find something good out there, pass it along to us. We would love to give it a listen. Send us recommendations on twitter: @CRezFTW and @JuniorGriffy3.

PS: Rez thanks for letting me write a music bit.

Are the Knicks in a Lin-Lin Situation?

How could you miss it? Every time you turn on ESPN they are talking about it. Who ever would have thought that a 23 year old undrafted Harvard grad would be causing a city like New York to go Lin-sane. Jeremy Lin has not only taken over New York City, but he has taken over the whole United States and is the most talked about player in the NBA at this very moment. It it very hard to be more popular than the likes of Kobe, LeBron, Kevin Durrant, and even his own teammate Carmello Anthony, but he has found a way to do it.
    Lin got his first start vs the Jazz and had 28 points. This came after scoring 25 off the bench vs the Nets a game before. You may say "Ok 25 points in 1 game, whats the big deal?" Well it didn't stop there. He has gone on to put up 28, 23, 38, and 20 in his first 4 career starts. Lin scored 89 and 109 points in his first 3 and 4 career starts, respectively, the most by any player since the merger between the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the NBA in 1976–77. He is also the first player in the NBA with at least 20 points and 7 assists in his first 4 starts. Not to mention, in the game he scored 38, it was against the Lakers and Kobe only had 34. Then last night for Valentines Day he warmed everyone's hearts by hitting a game winning 3 pointer as time expired to beat the Raptors. The biggest impact he has had is in the win - loss column. Since he has been inserted into the starting line-up, the Knicks haven't lost.
    The Knicks might be in a little conundrum. See Carmello has been out with a groin injury. He has only played 6 minutes total over the span of this most recent winning streak by the Knicks. Carmello is the Knicks best player and leading scorer. It is always great to get your best player back. It is going to be very interesting to see how Carmello and Lin play together when he returns. They both score the ball very well. With that being the case, it should give opposing defenses plenty to worry about. Teams wont be able to focus on just 1 player or the other will hurt them. It is going to be fun to watch the both of them on the court at the same time, now that we know what Lin is capable of doing. The main question I have is, will there be enough shots to go around. We all know that Mello likes to shoot. We have also found out as of late that Lin likes to get his shots too.
    This stretch Lin has been going through, reminds me eerily of what we experienced this past year in the NFL with Tebow-mania. Lin has taken the NBA by storm. He has returned excitement and hope to a Knicks team that has had a down year so far. Not to mention their best player, in Carmello Anthony, had just got hurt. Lin has come on to lead the Knicks out of whatever funk they were in. In my opinion, when Carmello comes back, the Knicks will be in a Lin - Lin situation.

Band of the Day: Nine Lashes

There are few times in my life when I come across an album and am left speechless (trust me). Well...this is absolutely one of those times. Nine Lashes out of Birmingham, AL have produced what in my opinion is a masterful piece of musical art. Every single song on "World We View" took me on a different emotional journey culminating into one seriously pleasing experience. From pure adrenaline, as expressed in the said titled track featuring Thousand Foot Krutch's Trevor McNevan, to the soothing ending track "My Friend", showing a little more sensitive side of the group, this album, in my opinion, was nothing less than fantastic. "World We View" is definitely on my radar for Album of the Year, and should ABSOLUTELY be heard by all. Check them out. Nine Lashes F...T...W!

http://ninelashes.com/

Check out their video for their debut single "Anthem of the Lonely"

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, From A Sports Fan's Perspective

We consider this part of the season "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". This time of the year is filled with good tidings of great joy. When most think of this part of the year, they think of the holidays. The latter part of December brings Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. It is the time of the season where families get to come together and celebrate. There is nothing like being with your family, enjoying food, fellowship, and gifts. Most of the time everyone is in a great mood, unless they are not looking forward to Aunt Beth's annual "you gave me that as a gift?" gift. I absolutely love this time of year in more ways than one.

This time of year can't get any better for a sports fan. The only other time I can compare it to is the spring when March Madness is ending, the NBA season is coming down the stretch, and the major league baseball season is about to start. I am a huge baseball fan so I am biased there. There is so much going on this time of year in the sports world. Around the holidays has something for all sports fans. For football fans, the NFL only has a few weeks left in the regular season, fantasy football playoffs are in full force, and college football bowls are getting kicked off. Hockey fans can enjoy the regular season, along with the New Year's Day NHL Winter Classic. Every year on January 1, the NHL has an outdoor hockey game featuring 2 NHL teams. This years Classic features the Flyers and the Rangers. There is also something for basketball fans to enjoy. College basketball season is in full tilt and teams are finishing up their non-conference games and preparing for conference to start up. The NBA is usually in mid-season form, except this year it was post-poned due to the lockout. Teams will not have an official start day until Christmas. Just when you think there is nothing for baseball fans, you are wrong. The baseball winter meetings take place. This is where most of the negotiations for the free agents take place. This year saw some of baseball's bigger names sign with new teams. For example, Jose Reyes left the Mets for the new Miami Marlins and Albert Pujols left the defending champions Cardinals for the Angels.

This is truly the most wonderful time of the year. There is nothing better than getting to spend quality time with your loved ones. This time of year is also a sports fans dream with all that is going on. So this holiday season, while you are enjoying time with the family and trying to figure out what that gift is that Aunt Beth just gave you, turn on the TV and enjoy a good game or two. Nothing brings a family closer like chugging a few eggnogs and pulling for your favorite team!

NHL Realignment

by David Caudle

Rarely do you overhear a conversation that sounds like, “did you catch that great hockey game last night?” Hockey is not a commonly watched or supported sport in the south. However, cities like Nashville, Tampa, and Dallas do have strong fan bases. The NHL in general is always pushed aside for leagues such as the NBA and NFL. Hockey did steal the spotlight in 2004 with the infamous NHL Lockout. Since the lockout has resided, the NHL is in full swing and is gaining more support every year. The NHL has always tried to please the players and fans, and this may be why it is sometimes considered “the greatest sport on Earth.” Going along with pleasing the players, the NHL has recently realigned the conferences. This realignment makes travel easier and shorter by putting teams in the same geographical region within the same conference. The realignment also lets the teams have a “home-and-home” with every other team in the league. The following chart displays the new conferences: (courtesy of yahoo sports)

Conf. A Conf. B Conf. C Conf.D

Anaheim Chicago Boston Carolina

Calgary Columbus Buffalo NJ Devils

Colorado Dallas Florida NY Islanders

Edmonton Detroit Montreal NY Rangers

Los Angeles Minnesota Ottawa Philadelphia

Phoenix Nashville Tamp Bay Pittsburgh

San Jose St. Louis Toronto Washington

Vancouver Winnipeg

This system is going to be a big change for all teams, but it can be assumed that this was a much needed plan. The only teams I see as “losing” in this deal are the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. These Florida teams have to travel to Canada AND the New England area to play the teams in their conference. They will travel to each team at least three times during the season, totaling 15 trips to the North.The other main miscue with this realignment is the loss of rivalries. Teams like Vancouver and Chicago will only meet twice in the season. The Boston Bruins also lose two rivalries in the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. The playoffs start within the conference and the top four teams will play in the divisional playoffs. Overall the realignment was needed and it was known that it was going to come sooner or later. Hopefully this change will enable fans to commute to more of their favorite teams home AND away games giving the teams the support they deserve.

*David is an expert on all things hockey, ultimate frisbee, and Alabama Crimson Tide football. He grew up playing ice and roller hockey his whole life. He is currently a sophomore as Mississippi State studying Pre-Med. We are excited that he will be providing us with his hockey expertise as he will bring great insight to the game. You can follow him on Twitter at @david_caudle .

In This Cold and Flu Season, Grizz Fever is Contagious

There is no doubt the city of Memphis is a basketball town. Memphis Tigers basketball has always been the city's first love. On March 26, 2001 the Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver to Memphis. The city was ecstatic back then and has been ever since. I guess you could call it Grizz Fever. Just like any city, when things tend to go wrong, cities tend to rally around their teams. It brings the fans together. No matter the race, age, or social class, everyone is a fan of that one team come game night. Teams play a huge role in bringing cities together.

For example, the city of New Orleans rallied around the New Orleans Saints in 2006. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the city and wiped out many homes, business, and the place was unrecognizable. That 2006 season, the city rallied around their Saints all the way the NFC Championship Game. Did the Saints win the Superbowl that year?No. But it did give the city a sense of pride and something to cheer about while all of the rebuilding was going on.

The Grizzlies are getting ready to start up their season on December 26 vs. the Spurs. How ironic is it that the Grizzlies are starting off their season trying to recapture "Grizz Fever"vs the team that started "Grizz Fever" a year ago. As we all know, last year in the playoffs the eighth seed Grizzlies beat the first seed Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. I still get chills to this day thinking about it. The Grizzlies had to play hard all the way through the last game of the year just to get into the playoffs. It had been 2006 since the Grizz had last made it into the playoffs. The city was ecstatic just to be in playoffs. So when the Grizzlies pulled off the game 1 upset in San Antonio vs the #1 off of a game winning shot by Shane Battier, "Grizz Fever" was in full force. The city had a certain buzz to it wherever you went. As we all remember too vividly, the Grizzlies went on to win that series but lost in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The city had rallied around the Grizzlies and it was something I had never seen in the city before. Every single person was rooting for the Grizzlies. A ton of people who don't usually go to Grizzlies games found themselves in the FedEx forum come playoff time. The city was in the middle of a rough patch. The economy had been down for a years. People were losing their jobs and companies were having to be shut down. Not to mention Memphis was experiencing flooding around the city at the time. The Mississippi River had gotten so high that Tom Lee Park was under water. The Grizzlies were a bright spot for the city at that time. Fans could get away from all the negative things going on in their personal lives for a few hours. They were able to leave all that stuff outside when they would head into the FedEx Forum to watch "Their Grizzlies".

Grizz Fever caught on last year. Now that the new season is approaching, the city is looking to continue it over from last season. The city still has its fever bottled up from the end of the playoffs, I know at least I do. We are ready to send our team further in the playoffs than they went last year. Get your thunder sticks and growl towels ready because Grizz Fever is about to hit the city again and it is contagious!

In the Midst of Rivalries, Classiness and Respect Still Exist

The definition of a rival according to the dictionary is "one who attempts to equal or surpass another, or who pursues the same subject as another; a competitor". We can all agree that when we think of the word rivals the first thing that comes to mind is sports. Usually it comes down to the proud traditions of each school, team, or person. Location plays a huge part in the rivalry. Most of the time the teams are located within the same city, state, or region. The closeness, location wise, of the schools and the split fan bases makes the hatred of the opposing team that much stronger. When you think of rivals the first to pop into your head are Alabama/Auburn, Ohio State/ Michigan, or Duke/ North Carolina. The schools are so close to each other. With a win a team/fans can have bragging rights until the game is played again. Most of the time the teams don't play again for another year. The fans live off of winning a rivalry game. Rivalries are usually full of dislike for the opposing team and school. There is usually not much respect or classiness involved. I am here to let you know that respect amongst rivals is still alive today. I witnessed a truly classy act over the weekend that I will remember forever.

Let me start with a little bit of background information on the schools. Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) and Memphis University School (MUS) are private schools here in Memphis. They are located about 4 miles down the road from each other. Both schools are tops in athletics among private schools every year. Those two schools make up most of the private school population in the city. When you ask a young man, of high school age, where he goes to school the answer most of the time is CBHS or MUS. This in a very intense rivalry due to the closeness of the school and most of the students knowing each other outside of school. My grandfather, step dad, and uncle all attended CBHS. My little brother is currently a freshman at CBHS. Now that we have a little background on to the story at hand.

My grandfather Jim Mathis, Coach (as players refer to him) or Pappy (as family refers to him) is 77. He played sports at CBHS and ran track for Memphis State University. He went on to coach basketball at St. Dominic School for decades. He also coached at St.Agnes for many years. Pappy is such a great person and is such an influential person in the Memphis sports community. He has made such an impact on everyone he has coached. I have talked to numerous former players that have said "He helped mold me into the person I am today". He has a great sense of humor and loves nothing more than to spend time with his family. Last week Pappy had a small seizure and was rushed to the emergency room. The initial scan showed nothing. They did a follow up scan with dye and found a mass on his brain. The next day they preformed a MRI and it showed that the mass was a glioma tumor. This is not the news we wanted to hear. Our whole family is devastated and we all have been trying to spend as much time with him at possible.

Sunday night the whole family went with Pappy out to eat. We enjoyed a great meal. As we were leaving a group of guys, probably around 10-12 guys, came up to us at the car. This group of young men were in the middle of their dinner with their group of friends. What was about to happen was one of the classiest things I have ever seen. The young man who was in front said "Coach Mathis, we play basketball at MUS. Coach Peters (the long time MUS basketball coach) told us about your battle and what you are going through. We just wanted you to know that you and all of your family are in all of our prayers". They then continued to go up and shake his hand. Not one or two of them, but every single one of them. My whole family just stood there in aww for a minute. Things like that usually dint happen much any more, much less from a cross town rival. These young men could have easily continued to enjoy their social hour with their friends. Instead they took the time to get up and offer prayers and get well wishes to a cross rival. They could have easily just told one of us family members that they were keeping him in their prayers, but they instead wanted to tell Pappy face to face. I still have chills thinking about it. It was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen. I now have a whole new respect for MUS and the leadership that is at the head of that program. It goes to show that in the midst of rivalries, classiness and respect can still exist!

Please continue to keep my grandfather in your prayers. There has been a caring bridge website set up to keep up with his journey.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimmathis/journal

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so blessed and thankful for all that we have. We hope you have a wonderful holiday spending time with the ones you love!

Veterans/Military....Thank You!

We here at ROWYJO would like to send out a big THANK YOU to all the Veterans and military out there on this Veterans Day! It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Sometimes we all just need to slow down, take a step back, and realize how blessed we are to live in this great county. Men and women of the military, past and present, put their own lives on the line so we could have the freedom to live our lives the way we would like. They sacrificed thier own lives for our country. There is no greater self-less act than that. If it weren't for them we would not be able to go out and enjoy the things in life we enjoy. Today we reflect on the pride and heroism of those that have come before us and those that still serve today. All of us know someone who is has served or who is currently serving. So make sure you give them a call, send them a text, or just shoot them an email latting you know they are appreciated. They fought for our freedom, so the least we can do is tell them thank you. If you are out and about and see a Veteran, make sure you shake their hand, look them in them in the eye, and tell them thanks for their service. There is no better way to start off a great sports weekend than to pay respect and thanks to those who allowed it to be possible. Here is to a great sports weekend and an even better Veterans Day. We are and will always be the greatest county in the world. Thank you for your service and God Bless America!

How old is too old for a fan to cry over a sporting event?

While watching Saban bowl V over the weekend, the tv crew for CBS caught one of the most unbelieveable things I have seen in a long time. An Alabama fan was caught crying at the end of the game. Before you give me the "Well kids cry at games all the time when their teams lose"nonsense, the guy looked to be in the 18-25 age range. Which is unaccetable. With about 30 or so seconds left in the game, LSU was in field goal territory and preparing to kick the game winner. The camera starting panning the crowd , and all of the sudden ..BOOM! It stopped on this guy, who looked to be in a fraternity due to sporting a tie at a football game, who was tearing up pretty bad. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, who was also crying. So my question to you is how old is too old to cry when your favorite team loses?

I totally understand getting upset when your favorite team loses. It hurts worse when your team has national title/championship aspirations. I get that. But as a fan you cannot cry at a sporting events. If you do end up crying, you cant get caught on TV. There are a few exceptions. Here are my rules about crying over sporting events:

1. No crying at the stadium
There is no crying in the stadium. If you are not part of the team or a family member of someone on the team, than you are not allowed to cry at the stadium. You can at least wait until you get in the car to let the water works begin.

2. No crying is allowed during a regular season game
No game during the regular season is worth crying over. The only game during the regular that you can even think about crying is senoir day/night and it is your favorite player's last game. Even then it is not allowed.

3. No crying over professional sports
No matter what you cannot cry over professional sports. If the players don't get upset enough after the big game loss, neither should you.

4. No crying after the age of 12
One should not be crying anyway. At that age, kids are still young. It is hard to accept a loss. I can understand being a kid getting into a sport and watching your team win all the time and being very upset when they lose. I grew up in the late 90's and early 2000's. Tennessee football hardly ever lost in that time span. So when they would lose, it would ruin my weekend. I never cried though.

5. No crying on TV
If there is a chance you might cry, do not sit on the first row. There is a better chance you will make it on TV by sitting on row one. If you are on the first row and crying, there is a great chance you will make it on TV and most likely get embarassed. Especially if your girlfriend is sitting next to you and crying right along with you.

Lesson of the Day: If you are older than 12, learn to control your emotions. If you cant, at least wait until you are somewhere not on TV in front of the world to start crying.

ROWYJO on Twitter

@CRezFTW
@JuniorGriffy3

Band of the Day: Arms of the Sun

Following in the footsteps of Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots (pre 1999), Arms of the Sun brings back a sound of a lost generation. Their blend of grunge and alt rock will have you remembering the days when radio stations, well actually played ROCK music. Simply for their dedication and respect for a, well let's be honest, dying genre, I felt inclined to write about just how good this band is. Their self titled album is one, that after the first listen, will have you remembering the times when it wasn't rare and abnormal to hear distorted guitars or the raspy, voices of Layne Staley or Chris Cornell on the national airwaves. Here is to a band bringing back a classic sound that should NEVER be forgotten, and doing it rather well. Arms of the Sun FTW!

http://www.armsofthesun.com/ARMS/index.html

Saban Bowl V: #1 LSU @ #2 Alabama

LSU and Alabama will face off Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Most around the SEC will refer to this game as Saban Bowl five, due to St. Nick winning a title a LSU before he darted off to the NFL. Others around the nation have been touting it as the National Championship of the regular season. This will be the fifth time that the Tigers and Tide have faced off since Nick Saban has been the head man at Alabama. The series is split 2-2 in that time span, so whoever wins will be in the driver's seat. The winner will be picked to win out in the SEC, favored in the SEC Championship game (SEC East is terribly weak this year), and will head into the National Championship game. So needless to say the winner of this game will have a huge leg up. Don't count out the loser though. They could easily finish the season with one loss, and back door their way into the national title game for a rematch. Of course they would need an undefeated StanFord and an undefeated Oklahoma State to lose. Stanford still has to play Oregon, and OSU still has to play rival Oklahoma, so anything can happen. Back to Bama and LSU. Both teams have great defenses, great running backs, run heavy offensive schemes and neither ask their quaterbacks to do too much. So something has to give. Here is my breakdown on who has the advantage by position:

Head Coach: Alabama - It makes me want to throw up saying this due to my loyalty to the Big Orange. There is no one better in the game right now. Because of him Alabama is a NFL factory.

Offense

OL: Push - This is a tough one. Both OL's are huge and pankcake other teams like it is happy hour at IHOP. It's going to be fun watching the offensive and defensive lines for both teams faceoff all game.

RB: Alabama - Trent Richardson - Not much explanation here. He is the best in the game. With another big game here, he might just wrap up the Heisman. The dude has been incredible this year.

QB: LSU - I have to give the edge to Jarrett Lee over AJ. Jarrett has done a great job of managing the game, and not turning the ball over. AJ has thrown some picks this year. I just trust Jarrett Lee more with the ball.

WR: Push - With both teams being run heavy, they don't feature their WRs a ton. Play action will be a huge part of the game for both teams. The winner could come down to which WR corp has a bigger game.

Defense

DL: LSU - Both teams have stout defensive lines. But LSU's is unbelievable. Some have gone on to say it might be one of the best they have ever seen.

LB: Alabama - The LBs for the Tide will all play in the NFL. They all are football smart and fly around the field. Most of them are big enough to line up at DE, if needed, and be successful.

Secondary: Push - Both teams have such a great pass rush, that the secondaries haven't had much to test them. The backfields feature two of the nation's best in Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama) and Tryann Mathiu (LSU).

Special Teams: Alabama - Marquise Maze is one of the best returners in the country. He can change the game in a span of 80 yards in 10 secs. The dude has a feel for returning kicks that you just can't teach.

My prediction: Tennessee over MTSU by a score of...wait a minute my bad, wrong game. The team that turns the ball over the least will win the game. Bama will have an advantage by playing at home. Both fan bases are crazy, and are prabably the two most trash talking fanbases in the SEC. Throwing up as I type this, I can't go against Nick Saban and Alabama at home. Saban always seems to get his teams ready to play, especailly in big games. The winner of Saban Bowl five:


Alabama - 20 LSU-17


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Artist of the Day: Hoodie Allen

Stephen Markowitz aka Hoodie Allen, is a hip-hop artist from New York City who is making some big noise in the underground scene. A former Google employee, Allen grew tired of juggling his corporate life, along with writing, recording and producing his own music. So as soon as he was able to perform a few live shows, he took a huge risk and left. A good choice in my opinion. In July 2011, Hoodie released his third mixtape, Leap Year, which accumulated over 250,000 plays on SoundCloud within the first week of it's release. With his quick witted lyricism, and some damn good production it's only a matter of time before this kid blows up. Hoodie Allen FTW!

You can download his latest mixtape, Leap Year, for free at http://hoodieallen.com/

Not Golden Glove But Gold Glove - This Years Winners

I just want to set the record straight that there is a difference between a Golden Glove and a Gold Glove. Gold Glove refers to baseball and Golden Glove refers to boxing, just ask Ozzie Smith (http://twitter.com/#!/STLWizard) Now that we have that straight on to the task at hand. At the end of every season, Major League Baseball hands out awards to players who bring it in the field every night. The players who have the best year defensively, as voted on by the managers, receive the well known Rawlings Golden Glove Award. The award is given to eighteen players. Nine from the National League and nine from the American League. The award was actually created in 1957 to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. There was a big change made to the rule this year. In years past the award had categories for each position until they got to the outfield. The outfield category was not broken up into left, center, and right. So the three outfield winners could all come from the same position. For example, If you had three center-fielders that had great years, all three could win an award even though they didn't play one of the other two outfield positions. Well this year, they decided to finally break the outfield awards up into each position. It is about time they finally did this. Each outfield position plays differently, so they should be rewarded separately. On to this years winners:

American League

C – Matt Wieters – Orioles

1B – Adrian Gonzalez – Red Sox

2B – Dustin Pedroia – Red Sox

SS – Erick Aybar – Angels

3B – Adrian Beltre – Rangers

LF – Alex Gordon – Royals

CF – Jacoby Ellsbury – Red Sox

RF – Nick Markakis – Orioles

P – Mark Buehrle – White Sox

National League

C – Yadier Molina – Cardinals

1B – Joey Votto – Red

2B – Brandon Phillips – Reds

SS – Troy Tulowitzki – Rockies

3B – Placido Polanco – Phillies

LF – Gerardo Parra – Diamondbacks

CF – Matt Kemp – Dodgers

RF – Andre Ethier – Dodgers

P – Clayton Kershaw – Dodgers

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Welcome to Rock Out With Your Jock Out!

ROWYJO is the blog that will keep you up to date on all things music and sports. The blog will comprise of updates from: Rez and Griff. We grew up best friends playing sports together from our teenage years all the way through high school. We went to different colleges to play baseball, and are now back in Memphis, TN working. We are huge baseball fans, but we have a true passion for music and sports in general. Rez will cover most of the music. He knows more about music than most would forget. That is why he was drafted. His niche is finding the unknown artist/bands out there that you should give a listen to. He will also pass along his ideas and thoughts when reviewing certain albums. Griff will cover most of the sports topics. He will write about things that have to do with sports both college and pro. Griff is to sports as Rez is to music. Griff was picked up off of waivers though. We will also have a fantasy football post every once in a while, just to give our two cents. This is a blog that we have always looked for, but were never able to find. We will also share stories and experiences from things such as concerts and or sporting events we have or will attend. Time to begin the best sports and music blog ever created. THUMBS UP LET"S DO THIS!….#ROWYJO!

Feel free to follow us on twitter

Rez: @CRezFTW
Rez: @JuniorGriffy3

Band of the Day: Ballyhoo!

Bringing reggae tinged rock from warm beaches of Maryland Ballyh...wait Maryland!!! That's right this energetic, infectious surf rock posse represents Aberdeen, Maryland. Ballyhoo! brings a sound that could stand up to the best that the west coast has to offer. Their tunes will have you reminiscing the time when you passed out (corona in hand) to the sound of the waves at your favorite beach spot, to that epic 10 kegger, when you swear your buddy madeout with Bigfoot (I believe). BALLYHOO! FTW!

http://www.ballyhoorocks.com/