Kasey Kahne was at the Ronald McDonald House on Tuesday afternoon and he touched on several topics the stretch run of the Nextel Cup season.

On the recent removal of Jeremy Mayfield as driver for Evernham Motorsports: “It’s not effected us at all. That’s something going on on the 19 side. It looks like it’s getting closer to getting squared away and getting to where they are going to be next year. That’ll be good for them to be getting ready for next year. And start helping us again and we’ll have three cars working together.”
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SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS FROM TUESDAY’S SCRIMMAGE

Now that’s a weapon
*Watching 6-8 freshman Carlos Singleton in Tuesday’s scrimmage, the team’s first of the preseason, and it’s clear that he could more than a threat in the red zone.
While it’s no secret the Tigers will take advantage of his height mismatch as they get closer to the end zone, Singleton showed Tuesday he also has a burst of speed. He quickly created separation between himself and defensive Chris Huffman on a 64-yard sprint to the end zone. It was a DeAngelo-esque escape.

And this could be a weapon
*Tiger coach Tommy West spoke at various functions before the start of preseason camp about the possibility of true freshman Duke Calhoun, the talented receiver out of Raleigh-Egypt High, earning immediate playing time.
During the scrimmage, he showed he has the potential to work into the two-deep.
Calhoun had one of the more spectacular big-play receptions, reaching over defensive back Malcolm Jones and turning what would have been an incompletion — or interception — into a 69-yard touchdown.

A few words of encouragement
*West may have lamented the lack of a consistent running game in the scrimmage and would have liked for his quarterbacks to show better accuracy — given the depth of team’s receiving corps — but one aspect of the workout caught his attention.
“The good thing was that outside of our 3s (third-team offense), the ball wasn’t on the ground a whole lot and there weren’t a lot of motion penalties, lining up offsides, the (trademarks) of an undisciplined team,” West said. “So I thought our discipline was pretty good. That’s a good sign for a first scrimmage.”

Oh Henry!
*Former Christian Brothers High standout Henry Harris, who helped CBHS to the state title game a year ago, is a walkon. He entered the scrimmage late and worked with the third offense, creating a buzz on the offensive sideline with a nifty spin move that helped him gain nine yards.

1. Tennessee said it will self-report to the SEC what it believes to be a secondary violation for a so-called speech given by receivers coach Trooper Taylor (left) to a group of Tennessee boosters last month at the Memphis home of Karl Schledwitz, a UT Board of Trustees member.

The Vols are laying this one off as Taylor receiving about $2,000 for speaking to boosters. Taylor claimed he didn’t know it was a violation of NCAA bylaw 11.3.2.2, which states that an outside source is prohibited from paying or regularly supplementing an athletics department staff member’s annual salary and from arranging to supplement that salary for an unspecified achievement.

So let me get this straight. Even though the local Tennessee alumni club regularly has meetings in Memphis with speakers – it has one coming up with athletic director Mike Hamilton and I believe Taylor has spoken at it before – a group of boosters, obviously who think Taylor is a GREAT speaker – want to hand him a couple of thousand dollars (which is probably an underreported figure) to hear his wit and wisdom.

Yeah, right. Looks like somebody got caught thinking about doing something naughty, so a plausible story was devised.
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SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS FROM MONDAY’S PRACTICE . . .

In full gear
The Tigers worked out in full gear Monday for the first time this preseason to lukewarm reviews from coach Tommy West. West said nothing indicates how far a team has progressed — or not — than a scrimmage, which will be held Tuesday.

Injury update
Defensive back Jamal Rufus (quadricep) and linebacker Rod Smith (hamstring) have yet to practice. They have been running through a series of conditioning exercises in practice.
Also, offensive lineman Willie Henderson (shoulder surgery) has been joining Rufus and Smith in conditioning drills. He isn’t expected back until mid-September. And freshman linebacker Jeremy Rockette (ankle) is on crutches and hasn’t practiced.
Sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Williams (shoulder surgery) isn’t expected to be available until mid-season.