Remember Bill Bates?He was the Tennessee player famously run over by Hershel Walker who went from undrafted free agent to special teams dynamo and one-time Pro Bowler for the Dallas Cowboys (that second link is definitely worth a watch).
Bates was a fan favorite with both teams, which makes the fact that the UT journalism school's news Web site wants him dead surprising.
The cleverly-named Tennessee Journalist held two stories on its site, four days apart, both claiming Bates was dead.
The stories are now 404'd, but that magical 'cached' link on Google saves the day.
Story 1: Published Oct. 24, Bates dies in a plane crash en route to giving a motivational speech in Kansas, complete with quotes from former teammates.
Story 2: Four days later, Bates' wife confirms he died in Rome, Italy, but he apparently also died of a heart attack in Texas while riding a horse (near bottom of story). Merrill Hoge gives a touching remembrance quote.
Outside of the obvious major factual differences between the two stories (the second one even puts different ages in the headline and first paragraph) there's another big problem.
Bill Bates isn't dead. Not even a little. He even owns a Cowboy Ranch.
Clearly, things aren't going well in Knoxville right now. Two weeks ago, the Vols gave coach Phil Fulmer the axe and they're trying to kill off Bates.
Watch your back, Peyton Manning.
