AROUND THE NATION

It was never like this at the Citrus Bowl.

Thrust into a major bowl game for the first time in ages, Tennessee is sweating a little under the bright lights, resulting in Coach Phillip Fulmer issuing a three-day moratorium on the media asking questions about Peyton Manning’s status and the Volunteer publicity staff distributing daily “practice report” notes that read more like with-us-or-against-us propaganda pamphlets.

From Monday’s notes: “The next report on Peyton Manning’s knee situation will be issued Wednesday, but [Coach Phillip] Fulmer’s vow to remain mum on the subject was tested by a band of about 20 writers and broadcasters who bore in on little else as they interviewed him at practice.”

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By the way, Fulmer did address Manning’s status, sort of, Monday: “Peyton is progressing well, and we expect him to play. He’s making progress every day.”