Grillo. He can constructively critique himself and assess where

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Tennessee erased an early 14-point deficit at Bristol Motor Speedway almost as fast as drivers typically race around the half-mile track that circled the makeshift football field.Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores Saturday night as the 17th-ranked Volunteers beat Virginia Tech 45-24 in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway.The crowd total shattered the previous NCAA record of 115,109 who attended a Michigan victory over Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium in 2013.Just an unbelievable spectacle, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. I think the reality hit our players when we came here yesterday for the walk through with all the campers and trailers again this is truly a special evening that well remember for a lifetime.Virginia Tech (1-1) outscored Tennessee 14-0 and outgained the Vols 204-28 in the first quarter. Tennessee (2-0) responded by scoring 31 straight points, including 24 in the second period.Dobbs ran for 106 yards on 14 carries, one week after being held to negative rushing yards in a 20-13 overtime victory over Appalachian State. He was 10 of 19 for 91 yards through the air and threw touchdown passes to Jauan Jennings, Josh Malone and Alvin Kamara.We just executed, Dobbs said. In the first quarter, there was really no reason to panic. We knew that we were going to have to score more than 14 points if we wanted to win this ballgame. Theres just that expectation and confidence throughout the unit that well be fine, well go out, make our plays and our time will come.Tennessees Micah Abernathy set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries. Virginia Tech ended up losing five fumbles, and three of those turnovers resulted in Tennessee touchdowns. The Hokies have lost nine fumbles through their first two games.Weve obviously got to do a better job either teaching or understanding or emphasizing ball security, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. Were inadequate, to say the least, right now.Jalen Hurd ran for 99 yards on 22 carries. Virginia Techs Travon McMillian rushed 14 times for 127 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown.The turning point of the game came when Abernathy recovered a fumble on the Virginia Tech 5 in the opening play of the second quarter. Dobbs found Jennings in the end zone on the next play.Tennessees next three drives resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Dobbs to Malone, an Aaron Medley 34-yard field goal and a Dobbs 5-yard touchdown run.THE TAKEAWAYVirginia Tech: The Hokies simply must do a better job of protecting the football. Virginia Techs dominant first-quarter performance showed the Hokies potential, but they cant keep hurting themselves with turnovers and ill-timed penalties. Virginia Tech players said the breakdowns may have resulted from a bad week of practice.As a leader, I will do a better job of making sure my guys are in tune, Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans said. I put this all on me.Tennessee: After averaging just below 3 yards per carry against Appalachian State, the Vols regrouped this week and ran the ball much more effectively. The Vols still must improve their passing attack and gain consistency along the offensive line.SPEEDWAY TO STADIUMThis marked the first football game to take place at the Bristol Motor Speedway since the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles played a 1961 exhibition game here that drew 10,000 fans to a facility that seated 20,000 at the time.Work began on the speedways temporary conversion into a football stadium the morning after a Sprint Cup race three weeks ago. The facility will host a Football Championship Subdivision game between East Tennessee State and Western Carolina on Sept. 17.POLL IMPLICATIONSTennessee tumbled eight spots in the Top 25 after the Appalachian State game, but this decisive victory could get the Vols back into the top 15.UP NEXTVirginia Tech: The Hokies host Boston College on Saturday in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Boston College (1-1) will be coming off a 26-7 victory over Massachusetts.Tennessee: The Vols host Ohio on Saturday. Ohio won 37-21 at Kansas this week.China Jerseys 2020 . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. China Jerseys Review . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. https://www.chinajerseysreview.com/ . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. NFL China Jerseys . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Cheap China Jerseys . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.One game with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. Thats all it took for Angelo Esposito to decide he was done.It was a fun game too, in which the Komets scored four third-period goals to force overtime against the Indy Fuel before winning in a nine-round shootout. Not a bad way to kick off the 2014-15 season. That is, unless you had been tabbed for greatness as a teenager but found yourself still toiling in the minor leagues seven years later.Esposito let his coach know the next day that he was going back home to Montreal. With that, one of the top prospects in the 2007 NHL draft was ready to call it a career after a nomadic, injury-plagued pro run that never included a regular-season NHL game.I went to the East Coast, and [during] that first game I didnt feel comfortable anymore playing. I thought to myself, Maybe its time I moved on, said Esposito, now 27. Honestly, the first month [off], I did absolutely nothing. I didnt step on the ice until December, and then I started playing with my buddies in their beer league just for fun.He ultimately decided to come back, and his return to pro hockey last year helped him gain a new perspective on hockey and life.It has been 10 years since NHL central scouting ranked Esposito first among North American skaters heading into the 2007 draft. Back then, the story wrote itself.He was a lanky, agile scoring center from Montreal -- but no relation to Hall of Famers Phil and Tony, although he does have two uncles with the same names (and, coincidentally, his uncle Tony was a goalie in his youth).In his first season on a dominant Quebec Remparts club coached by NHL legend Patrick Roy, Angelo Esposito starred. He was named the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leagues top offensive rookie and helped the Remparts win the Memorial Cup. Even when he slipped to 20th in the draft, Esposito landed with a Pittsburgh Penguins team that featured talented young players?Sidney Crosby,?Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal.We were happy to get him. He did enough as a young man to show he deserved to go in the first round, said longtime Penguins scout Chuck Grillo. Patrick Roy, I talked extensively with him. He was a big fan of his. You could tell he was sincere when he talked about him.That fall, Esposito played in his first NHL preseason game in his hometown against the?Canadiens.All my family and all my friends came to the game, Esposito said. It was a great feeling.After being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in the deadline deal that sent Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh, Esposito scored the winning goal for Canada in the gold-medal game against Sweden at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. It was a fitting end to a decorated junior career. Esposito could finally embark on what would no doubt be an eventful pro career.Five years later, he was back home ready to quit.The last few years had just been a lot of downs and disappointments, so it was good just to get a little break, said Esposito. Obviously, I was a first-round draft pick and not playing in the NHL. Its not something youre proud of, but at the same time, its part of a career.Esposito refuses to use them as an excuse, but injuries did come in waves after his golden goal. Shortly after World Juniors, he tore his ACL. The following season, his first as a pro, he tore it again. After a year spent rehabbing his knee, he tore his hip labrum.Without an NHL contract entering the 2012 lockout, Esposito played in Finland, where he tore the MCL in his other knee. By the time he came back from that injury, his door to the NHL had effectively closed.He played sparingly in Italy and Austria before his one-game stint with Fort Wayne.dddddddddddd After that, his time was spent mostly playing beer-league hockey, hanging out with his girlfriend and managing Montreal properties he had invested in.There was a lot of baggage that had to be sorted out. He was pretty down, said Scott Livingston, an athletic therapist who had worked with the Canadiens, New York Rangers and New York Islanders before Esposito hired him to get him in shape and back into pro hockey.He had gone through a lot of things, as far as expectations, early on in his career. Things didnt work out and [he had] the injuries. He was in a fairly dark place when I started with him.Almost immediately, Livingston sent Esposito to a sports psychologist. As Esposito was helped to hone his mind and body, it became clear how far the player had to go once Livingston got him back on the ice.He didnt look like someone who had ever played pro hockey before, said Livingston. I didnt say that to him at the time, but it was the truth. He had a lot of work to do. But he did the work.Esposito landed with Cortina in the Italian league last season. It was not the NHL, but with 38 points in 31 games, he arguably enjoyed his finest pro season. He started this season with Ceske Budejovice, a Czech league team almost two hours by car south of Prague. The arena seats 6,000 intense local fans and serves Budweiser. It turns out the Bud in the Czech Republic doesnt taste quite like the North American version, Esposito said, but its close enough.But the stop in the Czech league wouldnt last long. After scoring a single goal in nine games with the club, Esposito was released on Oct. 24. A statement from general manager Stanislav Bednarik hinted that the decision to terminate the contract was mutual between player and team.He suffered several injuries during his tryout and his position in our team therefore wasnt as everybody (including him) expected, a team spokesman said of Esposito in a statement to ESPN.com.With that, Esposito was back looking for another shot.As for why Esposito never made his NHL debut, its difficult to pinpoint any one thing that kept the former top prospect from his dream.Theres lots of reasons for first-round picks not playing in the NHL. There are usually 15 out of the 30 that dont, said Grillo. He can constructively critique himself and assess where things went wrong. It had nothing to with skating or scoring. It may have had something to do with setting him up to succeed. I dont know. Ive seen this kid carry teams on his back at the junior level.With every new season in a new country, that elusive first NHL game becomes less likely. It took some time, but Esposito is at peace with that. And as much as hed love to play in the NHL, its not a milestone he looks at the same way he did as an 18-year-old star poised to take on the world.Am I disappointed that I havent played a game in the NHL? Of course I am. Who wouldnt be? But you have to accept it and you have to move on, said Esposito in an interview before being released by the Czech league team. If Im going to sit here and think back about why I didnt do this, Im going to be miserable for the rest of my life.Right now, Im enjoying my life playing hockey, and Im going to enjoy it as long as I can, he continued. Once thats over, then Im going to find something else to be successful in. Maybe I didnt play in the NHL, but Ill find something else to be successful in. ' ' '