The fun never stops in Knoxville

Bryce Brown's father tells ESPN that the NCAA wants to meet with the former Volunteer running back to discuss his recruitment by Lane Kiffin's staff. I'm sure they're just trying to find out more info on those minor secondary violations though, since Lane assured everyone there was nothing for Tennessee to worry about. I know this will sound like crazy talk, but just on the chance there might have been something funky about the recruitment of a player who dragged his signing process out for weeks while a former cel phone dealer acting as his "advisor" tried to charge for recruiting updates perhaps Derek Dooley's decision to antagonize the Browns by refusing to release Bryce to any other schools wasn't the best idea. Meanwhile, former Vol NuKeese Richardson has moved from Hampton to a Kansas junior college where he's reuniting with one of his partners in the Great Prius Robbery attempt. Hopefully he'll keep tweeting about his pot use as well, because this guy is a strong contender for the biggest imbecile I've ever seen in college sports.

The list of people in broadcasting who have less credibility than Jim Gray at this point is a really short one. For some reason the same guy who was mocked for his insipid performance as personally selected interviewer for LeBron James during his informercial is now doing something for the Golf Channel. Gray reported US Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin had told him he would select Tiger Woods for the team if he didn't automatically qualify. Pavin denied that, leading to the hilarious spectacle of Jim Gray trying to come off a tough guy by telling Pavin "You're going down!" That's right, the guy who asked LeBron about his fingernails rather than getting to the point is suddenly acting like someone from a bad '80s movie. We'll see how the PGA Championship goes today, but given Gray's increasingly desperate efforts to stay relevant in the sports world don't be shocked if he tries to start a "look at me" confrontation with Tiger on camera like he did with Pete Rose at the World Series.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame is not doing anywhere close to the business they expected in year one. It's a nice facility too, which only drives home what's been a recurring them with these kind of places. They always open with great attendance expectations and typically fail to come anywhere close to meeting them. Either the HOF will have to get more aggressive about its regional marketing and possibly trim its prices for locals to attract more repeat visits or it will eventually find itself in a major financial hole. The College Football Hall of Fame currently slated for Atlanta should be taking notes.

I'm fascinated by players in pro sports who think they have the right to demand a trade when things aren't to their liking, particularly when the guy doing it doesn't grasp that no one would want to trade for him. Jeff Francoeur thinks he's got some muscle to use on the New York Mets, with his agent saying he wants to play everyday. The fact he's been bad enough for his hometown team to dump him and now has failed miserably to put up numbers with a second team doesn't seem to have registered at all with him. MLB Trade Rumors does a terrific job of breaking down just how incredibly delusional and arrogant this is.

I mentioned yesterday that casting had begun on Redneck Riviera, the southern themed version of Jersey Shore. I sure hope that this guy put this together as his audition tape, because it's just depressing to think there's someone walking around who's like that every day.