May 24, 2011
Quick Slant is an array of brief insights and occasionally opinionated overviews of collegiate athletics in general and the Vanderbilt Commodores in particular.
Vandyville is expanding once again and the time to order your tent is now. Tents are reserved on a season basis and you can get information or make the reservation by contacting Allison Bradley in our Sales and Marketing Office (615-343-0245).
Did you notice last week’s announcement that Vanderbilt had 10 of the Southeastern Conference’s 23 programs that were singled out by the NCAA for making the top 10 percent academically in their respective sports? I wonder if those chat room yahoos that claim we don’t contribute to league success even know there is such a thing as the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report.
Once again Vanderbilt Athletics hosted the Tennessee Special Olympics last weekend. Memorial Gym, McGugin Olympic Strength and Conditioning Center, the John Rich Football Practice Complex, our track and the Rec Center played host to the participants.
Our SEC tri-champion baseball team has the fourth seed at the SEC Tournament, yet is ranked No. 2 in two major national polls.
We’ve received a stack of terrific entries in the Name that Horn Contest we announced here last week. We encouraged you to have some fun and over three dozen of you certainly have. The suggestions range from Foghorn Leghorn of cartoon fame to clever plays off Cornelius Vanderbilt. Others refer to Biblical or literary horn names – several are very “Vanderbilt” in highbrow style and might blow (pardon the reference) the minds of non-Vandy fans but win points with our faculty! We’re still getting entries so the contest continues at least another week before we go about the business of picking a winner. Be creative, have fun, name that horn! The entry box is on the lower front page of the web site.
May 31 is the deadline to renew National Commodore Club membership and also for men’s and women’s basketball tickets to be renewed before opening up sales to the general public.
Name dropping – Johnny and Ann Johnson hosted the women’s golf team during its stay at the NCAA Golf Championship in College Station last week. Both Johnny and Ann are Vanderbilt alumni and long-time generous and enthusiastic members of the National Commodore Club from their Houston home. …with the announcement that our Saturday starter Grayson Garvin is the SEC Pitcher of the Year, it starts to make sense that we look into insuring gifted pitching coach Derek (D.J) Johnson with Lloyds of London…Josh Burgner is the run-away leader in the Commodores On Board Contest, accounting for 20 new NCC members; it’s not too late to get that neighbor or golf buddy of yours involved.