Anchor Drop, July 22, 2022: 36 Days to Kickoff

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

(sigh... I should have used this one yesterday for Maurice Edwards.)

Today marks 36 days until Vanderbilt football’s August 27 season opener at Hawaii. 36 for the Commodores is kicker Joseph Bulovas. The 6’0”, 210-pound fifth-year senior from Mandeville, Louisiana, came in as a graduate transfer from Alabama last season and made 14-of-19 field goal attempts, including game-winners against both Colorado State and UConn.

Not a whole lot of news today, but we’re still sifting through everything coming out of SEC Media Days. Chad Bishop at the main site writes about the team’s focus on performance heading into fall camp. Michael Gallagher at the Nashville Post writes that Lea says the 2-10 season in 2021 was a “necessary experience.”

Sure, Vanderbilt probably shouldn’t have lost its season opener to East Tennessee State. And true, losses to South Carolina and Missouri were both probably winnable games as well. But from where Lea is sitting, that adversity and those should-have-beens stung in the moment but accomplished exactly what he wanted — explicating the top-to-bottom renaissance necessary to bring Vanderbilt back to respectability.

Anyway, we won something!

The Hustler writes about former Commodores in the NBA Summer League.

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 1:00 PM: PGA Tour: 3M Open, Second Round (Golf Channel)
• 2:00 PM: UEFA Women’s Euro: Sweden v. Belgium (ESPN2)
• 6:05 PM: MLB: Cubs at Phillies (Apple TV+)
• 6:05 PM: MLB: Yankees at Orioles (ESPN+)
• 7:10 PM: MLB: Guardians at White Sox (Apple TV+)
• 8:00 PM: CFL: Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Edmonton Elks (ESPN2)
• 5:20 AM: FIBA Asia Cup: Jordan vs. Lebanon (ESPN+)

Scoreboard

MLB: Astros 3, Yankees 2 (Game 1) ... Rangers 8, Marlins 0 ... Tigers 7, A’s 2 (Game 1) ... Astros 7, Yankees 5 (Game 2) ... A’s 5, Tigers 0 (Game 2) ... Dodgers 9, Giants 6.

FIBA Asia Cup: Australia 99, Japan 85 ... New Zealand 88, South Korea 78.