Scout.com, Rivals.com, Georgiadogs.com, DawgBone.net and the AJC will have recruiting covered inside and out tomorrow. Posting totally redundant info ain't my bag. I'll link to it after it's all said and done.
Tomorrow evening, I'll post some thoughts on how our signees map to my perception of our needs. The offensive report is already written pending the outcome with Knowshon Moreno. The defensive report will be up by Friday if all goes well.
Knowshon is pretty damn critical.
pwd
January 31, 2006
Signing Day Coverage
Tech Loses Recruit to Cincy
That's the Bearcats...not the Bengals.
Ricardo Matthews has decommitted from Georgia Tech and will sign with Cincy. Matthews is a two star 6'2" 260 lb tight end / defensive tackle prospect.
The kid de-committed after his official visit to Georgia Tech over the weekend promoting one Tech fan to say, "Good grief, what on earth did we feed that kid."
If the kid was being recruited by a Tight End, he may have been troubled by Tech firing their Tight Ends coach. But still...what kind of recruit turns his back on an education from a school like Georgia Tech AND turns his back on the chance to play in the ACC for the life of a Bearcat?
Having said that....if the kid comes out and says that he thinks Cincy has more upside than Tech, then the tone of my posts on this topic will take a different turn. 
Coach Fever, Recruiting Coordinator for Cincy
These ARE the Good Old Days at Georgia
Wow. Every so often someone comes along and posts an incredible comment in regards to an article. Earlier this week, I wrote a piece called "Top 10 Pivotal Moments in Georgia History."
The following appeared in my comments area. It's amazing. And very long. But worth the read. I only wish that the author had written their name! He starts in 1892 and ends in 2005! To his post, I only say:
Post is below.
You would be hard pressed to deny that These are The Good Ole Days now, PaulWesterDawg.
The 40-4-1 Recruiting Class of 1941 was truly the beginning of This BuLLdawg Football Program, and the 1983 Class that went 43-4-1 was even better, but our 26 Seniors on the Team last season went 44-9 and that certainly is better than the Senior Class the year before of David Pollack and David Greene that went 42-10.
Putting history into perspective, UGA has 6 National Championships in Football listed in the NCAA 1-A Official Football Records Book, and now with the 2 of the last 4 have 12 SEC Championships, one less than the vols for 2nd place.
Starting 1997, only Florida State and Georgia have been ranked in every Final AP Poll these 9 years and both have 87 Wins. Georgia's 87-27 starting 1997 also includes a strong run of sending players into the NFL that Rodney Garner is our Recruiting Coordinator for, and he also is an Auburn graduate. In fact, he was All-SEC there as Nose Guard for SEC Champions Auburn.
But, it is not just only Rodney Garner who signaled the return to Glory for The Bulldogs, for it is this little 8-Year $19.2 million dollar contract, with incentives, that continues this Coach Mark Richt Era for The BuLLdawg Nation. Never before in our history have the recruiting analysts stated that Georgia has averaged a ranking in the two Primary WebPages ranking recruiting averages that combined have made Georgia Bulldogs' Recruiting the # 5.8 Best Average in the Nation for these last 5 recruiting classes.
# 3 in 2002
# 6 in 2003
# 6 in 2004
# 10 in 2005
# 4 in 2006
We went 19 years of not winning the SEC Championship before the Coach Mark Richt Era ended it right there.
Of these 9 years of 87-27 starting 1997, Georgia has Won 7 of the 9 Bowl Games, have owned Tennessee and humiliated Georgia Tech as well.
Tennessee, in the meantime, has now gone half of the last half a dozen years, not even ranked in the Final AP Polls. That is 3 of the last 6 years not ranked for the vols.
And, Georgia Tech is on Probation in Football for the next complete entire two full years.
Florida, in the meantime, has had 5-Loss Years every season after Steve Superior bolted for the Washington Redskins after the 2001 season.
2002-2003 Crocodiles had 5 Losses
2003-2004 Crocodiles had 5 Losses
2004-2005 Crocodiles had 5 Losses
And, now last season, 2005-2006, Urban Cryer had 4 Losses.
And, while those are all great runs for UGA
42-10 Class Ending 2004
40-4-1 Class Interrupted by World War II of Charley Trippi
43-4-1 Class of 1983
44-9 is quite remarkable that this perspective shared with you here now by me is required to put this all into view.
Comparing these two programs of where Coach Richt accepted this gig from December 2000 and where he is now, who are the only two Football Programs in America who have been ranked every year starting 1997, is even more profound.
21 Losses since Coach Richt accepted this gig at FSU including two ACC Championships with 5-Loss Seasons both times because specifically FSU has "replaced" Coach Richt with Jeff Bowden and done nothing at the Quarterback Position. FSU has averaged a # 17 Ranking in the Recruiting 5 Years Available to Average at both Scout.com and Rivals to Coach Richt averaging # 5.8 over these 5 years of recruiting that make up FSU's team and Georgia team, with redshirts, this up-coming season. And, # 9 Average Finish in the Final AP Poll for Coach Richt Era at UGA to # 17 Average Finish in the Final AP Poll for Bobby Bowden without Coach Richt.
Two weeks ago, UGA had 16 Bulldogs on the NFL rosters of the Playoff teams competing to play for the NFL Championship Sunday last week. NFL Championship Sunday Bulldogs on the rosters of these 4 teams numbered 10. Now, we send 5 more to the Super Bowl next weekend.
It seems to me that you are begging the question in this PaulWesterDawg Blog, are These the Glory Good Ole Days Today ?
I thought that I would clarify the perception for the fans of the nerds, criminoles, Crocodiles, and unqualified for a bowl vol fans of just where The Bulldog Nation is now today.
We have finished in the Top 10 of the Final AP Poll 4 years in a row.
We have a Head Coach in Football who left his previous employer, but not alma mater, is total disarray at Quarterback since.
And, for all the success of The Bulldogs' Football Program at # 11 All-Time in Wins, Coach Richt has certainly gotten a lot out of his Quarterbacks here as he has in his two entire decades teaching Quarterbacks. First, he took Jim Donnan's Quarterback David Greene and made him the All-Time Division 1-A Winningest Starting Quarterback. And, then he took his own recruit, DJ Shockley and taught DJ Shockley to set the All-Time Bulldogs' Record for every season of our Glorious 114-Year History with both 24 Passing Touchdowns and 28 Total Touchdowns responsible for with his 4 Rushing Touchdowns.
Indeed, these are the good times.
And, what do we face this up-coming season now ?
Doubts that Coach Richt can find a Quarterback; that is what we have as the perception of this football program on this day.
Coach Richt has Joe Tereshinski III who is certainly a # 20 Dual-Purpose Threat Quarterback he recruited, Blake Barnes a # 9 rated Quarterback, Joe Cox a # 3 rated Quarterback recruit and adds in for good measure Matthew Stafford generally considered the # 2 Best Quarterback in the Nation this season.
Oh, I think we can win 9 games next season.
9-4 is my prediction. If we could make it the SEC Championship, we could go 10-4.
We have a really good thing going on here at UGA in the Coach Richt Era.
These are the Glorious Good Ole Days for certain today, right now, at the moment, in the present day – not yesterday.
Now, a couple of Defensive Tackles who can tackle wouldn't hurt.
And, by the way, you left off that Georgia Won our 1st Football Game in 1892 over Mercer by 50 to Nothing with John Kimball and Park Howell stars for us when Georgia Tech instead LOST to Mercer and in fact, Tech lost every game in 1892, their 1st year too. Therefore, Tech hired said Park Howell and John Kimball in 1893 to beat Georgia. We stoned them in a Train where the barricaded themselves Wrecking near Lawrenceville and showing up in Atlanta AJC snapping a photograph of the Wrecked Train that rear-ended a freight train in its rush to get out of Athens and put a Caption that read Rambling Wreck Returns Home.
Nowadays, at On Probation Georgia Tech that is called a 1930 Automobile.
The Ramblin' Wreck is not an automobile but a Train.
The players during World War I at Tech were from every other school in the nation, as they stayed behind while UGA Football Coach Army General W.A. Cunningham, took our men to France and Won the War. So, this crap about World War II at Georgia Tech with their V-12 was nothing new for those cheaters. By the way, the Tech Coach in World War I who did this then too, was none other than John Heisman.
Today, they name their football stadium for a college dropout of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Bobby Dodd, who Vince Dooley never lost to, not once, and beat every game.
But, we were trying to Dump Dooley and make Erk Russell our Head Football Coach, but that is not to be confused with the fact that while 3 Yards and a Cloud of Dust was not always the most exciting play, certainly as our Football Coach and Athletics Director Vincent J. Dooley built Sanford Stadium himself. His 41 Years at UGA have clearly been defined as him being our Best Athletics Director.
3 of his Final 6 years as AD, UGA led the SEC in the Sears Directors' Cup as the Top Athletic Department in the # 1 Conference for the 22 Sports we compete in.
Vince neither wanted Jim Harrick and had narrowed the list down to the Coach at Notre Dame now, nor would go around the State Nepotism Law for Jimmy Harrick , Jr., nor would go around the Admissions Department at UGA for Tony Elasco Cole, when we already had a great Point Guard and didn't even need him.
Michael F. Adam$ gave Tony Cole the Presidential Admit, insisted that Vince hire Jim Harrick because they both worked at Pepperdine together where Adam$ was NOT the president of the 1,700 students there, and it was Adam$ who went around the Admissions Department for Tony Cole.
Have a fine day, and don't miss how Coach Richt Era continues with the recruiting Signees tomorrow morning.
How 'Bout Them Dawgs ?
Michigan Fan attempts to Explain Auburn in Pictures
The M Zone is working to educate Big 10 fans on the subtle nuances of other traditions at other schools. Recently, they took on Auburn's famed tripled headed mascot.
In an effort to make things easier for college football fans everywhere (and save a page on the Auburn University website), we here at the M Zone have come up with a simple solution that should please everybody: combine the two mascots. Duh.
Here in pictures is their work:
Mayor Kyle tipped me on this one. Don't miss the comments from pissed off Aubies on this one.
January 30, 2006
Cheerleaders in Chaps and Football Schedules
FanBlogs.com is posting 2006 schedules for a variety of teams. Texas Tech stands out in the sheer candy assness of their non-conference schedule -- SMU, UTEP, TCU and Southeastern Louisiana. No. Seriously that's their list. Virginia Tech is another pansy scheduler with OCC games vs. Kent State, Southern Miss, Northeastern and Cincy. Also, Auburn plays inside the State of Alabama nine times next year although their schedule is quasi-reasonable in that they open with Washington State.
BurntOrangeNation has a great photo of Texas Cheerleaders in Chaps.
Ain't nothing wrong with that. Click to enlarge.
The Orlando Sentinel ranks schools around the country by how hard they are for a recruit to get into. Georgia and Georgia Tech are both given "7" rankings. This news comes as a shocker to many Tech fans. Rather than dwell on the UGA side of things, the GT Sports Blog takes a different approach to the story. He says the issue with GT isn't how tough it is to get IN, but how tough it is to get OUT.
Deadspin points out that we should...Fear the Steelers fans. Speaking of Super Bowl participants, White Castle (aka Krystal for Yankees) is proposing a Day After the Super Bowl holiday.
Lastly, with Signing Day right around the corner, here's a great picture of Super Recruit Matt Stafford leading Highland Park to the State Title game in Texas (Dallas News).
Spring should be interesting. Photo from a DawgVent sig.
ESPN's Maisel on Recruiting
He suggests that you look at the bottom of your recruiting list. Not just the top. He uses the Hoage vs. Herschel comparison in the article:
That's how Georgia coach Vince Dooley stumbled onto a defensive back from Huntsville, Texas, in 1980.
"When we signed Herschel [Walker], the number one recruited player in the country, we also signed Terry Hoage, who was the least recruited player in the country," Dooley said. "Nobody in Division I offered him. A professor at Georgia knew his daddy at Huntsville, Texas. He taught at a state college. He contacted us. Terry was a quarterback who hurt his knee. We had one or two scholarships left. I told my coaches, 'Let's see if we can find a good student, a hard worker, who could hang around for four years and maybe help us.'"
Hoage became a two-time All-American safety and played for many years in the NFL. Hoage and Walker came into Georgia at opposite ends of the recruiting spectrum, but both made it to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Four years ago, Georgia again experienced this with Tim Jennings. He was the last player we offered, and his only other offer was South Carolina State. Some other recent Dawgs who were *very* lightly recruited but hit it big:
- Thomas Davis: Became a first round draft pick safety for the Carolina Panthers. Got caught up in coaching transitions at Georgia and Alabama during the recruitment process. His only other offer was Grambling. Brian Van Gorder offered him while watching him play a basketball game.
Davis gets UP.
- Arnold Harrison: Just named to the Steelers Super Bowl roster up from the practice squad. Recruited as a 6'3" 210 lb defensive end. Worked himself into an 235 lb+ outside linebacker. No other Div I-A offers. He thought it was a mistake that he was invited for an official visit to Georgia so he brought a camcorder. He didn't think anyone would believe him in a few years so he needed the evidence.
- Randy McMichael: Miami Dolphins starting Tight End. 6'3" 215 lb Tight Ends don't draw much attention. Donnan said, "We were the only coaches in America who recruited him. Most folks thought he couldn't play dead in a western."
Randy soars for six.
10 Pivotal Moments in Georgia Athletics History
I'm not going to rank them. Just publish them by dates.
Jan. 30, 1892 - Dr. Charles Herty organizes the first football game at Georgia against Mercer. The most amazing thing is that the first game was in late January likely conflicting with the Super Bowl.
Oct. 12 1929 - A capacity crowd paid $3.00 per ticket to watch the Georgia Bulldogs beat then powerhouse Yale, 15-0, in the opening of Sanford Stadium. The new stadium legitimized the Georgia Football program, forcing Tech to play Georgia in Athens regularly. Left to his own devices, Vince Dooley probably would've put Yale back on the schedule in the early 1990s. He scheduled every other half assed team he could find.
The stadium in 1929. So let me get this straight..did they take this photo from a bi-plane or what?
1946 - John Wooden interviews with Wally Butts for the head coaching job with the Georgia basketball program. Butts apparently levels with him admitting that the SEC, State Government and the university won't let Wooden recruit players of all races. Wooden turns Georgia down. Two years later he accepts the job at UCLA. Wooden's decision rescues Georgia from becoming a nancy boy southern athletic program like Kentucky only interested in roundball success.
Wooden would've own Rupp's ass at Georgia. Just like he did at UCLA.
1964 - Vince Dooley hired as Georgia Head Coach. When he was hired, Tech had a larger stadium, more media pull, a larger fan base, and a three game winning streak against Georgia. 40 Years later, Georgia beats Tech 70%+ of the time, their stadium was briefly 1/2 our size, and it takes a world class search and rescue team to find a Tech fan the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Even the A-Team has trouble finding Tech fans after "Clean Old Fashion Hate"
April 1980 - Herschel Walker signs his letter of intent to play football at the University of Georgia. Walker waited two full months after national signing day to sign his papers on Easter Sunday. Thus beginning his journey as one of the greatest college football players of all-time. If Herschel signs with USC or Clemson, there is no national title.
Nov. 8, 1980 - Georgia defeats Florida on the strength of a 93 yard pass completion from Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott. Called by some one of the greatest finishes in college football history. Earlier that day #1 Notre Dame tied Georgia Tech opening the door for the Dawgs to be ranked #1 in the AP poll for the first time ever with a win in the Cocktail Party. If Buck doesn't complete that pass, he wouldn't be working in sports talk now. And my head wouldn't hurt when I accidentally let the station rest on 680TheFan in the afternoons.
RUN LINDSAY RUN!
Jan. 1, 1981 - Georgia defeats Notre Dame to win the National Championship in football. Georgia had won a piece of several other national titles, but this was the school's first undisputed title. Tech fans weep openly at the realization that they helped make this game possible with their tie vs. ND earlier in the year.
Herschel runs over Notre Dame
March 1983 - Georgia defeats Michael Jordan and the North Carolina Tarheels to advance to the Final Four. Prior to that, the underdog Georgia team beat #1 seed St. John's led by Chris Mullins. Before to the UNC game, Sam Perkins insulted the Bulldogs by saying he "didn't even know what conference Georgia was in." Oddly, most Georgia fans didn't know either at the time. We all just assumed it was the SEC, but if it had been the MEAC or SWAC we wouldn't have been the wiser. This is still the biggest oddity in UGA hoops history as it happened the year after 'Nique left.
Georgia's Final Four Team
December 1988 - The Georgia Athletic Department manages to screw up the biggest hire in 25 years by naming Ray Goff as Vince Dooley's replacement. Erk Russell was right there, and he wanted it. But somehow the whole process went to hell. Suddenly, Tier 5 coaches all over the country are climbing out of the wood work to turn the job down. If he had taken it, there is no way that Spurrier owns us, and there is no way that the program falls apart defensively. The entire decade of the 90s would've been different for the entire SEC.
Photo: God Bless Erk Russell. The definition of bad ass.
Dec. 20, 2000 - Mark Richt turns Georgia Down. Only to reconsider later that night and ultimately accept the job. If Richt hadn't accepted the job, we could've ended up with someone like Chan Gailey. Frankly, Gailey would have been about as successful a football coach at Georgia as Bela Karolyi. Only Bela has more charisma and is better at developing short athletic kids with spunky attitudes who clearly aren't football players.
What did I leave off the list?
Starting the equestrian program didn't quite make the list
New Look for Georgia Sports Blog
What do you think? Thanks to Tiff Iron Chef Turducken for helping me with it.
pwd
January 29, 2006
Georgia vs. Auburn Hoops: Patience Huh?
Just trying to coach 'em right
It's hard to score while just standing around
The ball don't like being stuck in a crowd
And the shots don't change but maybe the game
We ain't got time for these droughts
'Cause we need wins
Yeah, yeah well we need wins
Oh, we need wins
Whoa, we need wins
Ooh, it's time.... to start Mercer.
- Guns N Roses
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[Photo: Axl wouldn't have let them stand around.]
We all knew that it would take time to dig us out of the hole left from Jim Harrick's recruiting and NCAA problems. We knew that the first recruiting class was a train wreck and beating UK, UF and the conference elite would be difficult given the talent gap caused by some elements both within and beyond Felton's control.
HOWEVER -- Auburn is in basically the same boat that we are. They are dealing with NCAA sanctions, coaching turnover, players leaving the program and horrible facilities. In fact, Auburn started 4 freshmen in this game.
Georgia entered this game with a huge edge in experience and a modest edge in overall talent. Georgia exited this game with a 66-65 loss because of coaching, effort and our inability to leverage the limited assets that we have. This wasn't a patience game. This was a right now type of game.
In the blow out loss to LSU, the Dawgs started the game down 19-2 without Felton calling a timeout to stop/slow the bleeding. In his defense, he didn't wait that long to call a TO in this one as the Dawgs started down 12-2 until Gaines hit a 3 pointer with 13:54 left in the half.
The first 6 minutes of the game saw Georgia only attempt 6 field goals (missing all of them), and grab only 5 rebounds. While Auburn went 4-8 from the field and grabbed 9 rebounds. Those first 6 minutes saw Georgia AGAIN starting the game without Mike Mercer in the lineup.
[From ESPN.com: Chart shows the dead period at the beginning]
Mercer entered the game, and the Dawgs outscored the Tigers 28-16 to close out the half with Mercer playing most of those minutes.
To start the second half, Georgia again went cold. Again without Mercer in the lineup. We didn't make a field goal for the first 3:21 of the second half while only attempting two shots! During that brief period, we missed 2 FGs, grabbed only 3 rebounds and committed 5 fouls. Auburn went 1-3 from the field, grabbed 5 rebounds, and only committed 1 foul.
You can't beat anyone shooting less than once per minute for long stretches. Especially not when you shoot sub-50% from the field.
In other words, with Mercer -- our most productive player for the past several weeks -- sitting on the bench Georgia consistently finds ways to climb into dark holes that we aren't talented enough to climb out of.
When he's on the bench, we get less ball movement, less penetration to the basket, fewer rebounds, less steals, slower tempo and less overall effort.
Mercer's stat line was 12 points on 5-10 shooting, 5 steals, 2 assists and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. Channing Toney's line was 7 points on 2-5 shooting, no steals, no assists and 5 fouls in 15 minutes.
So I again ask, when does Mercer begin starting games?
Other thoughts on the game:
- UGA was out rebounded by Auburn 42-30. We were beaten up inside by a younger and less experienced group.
- UGA shot 13 Free Throws to AU's 39. Some of that was bad officiating. Most of it is because you don't earn free throw shots standing around the perimeter waiting on the shot clock to expire.
- UGA only had 16 turnovers to Auburn 24.
- Stukes played very well, but he continues to settle for 3 point shots. 9 of his twelve shots were beyond the arc. Although in fairness to Levi, he was much more accurate from longer range.
The season goes on.
pwd
January 27, 2006
OnePeat.com Update: LSU vs. USC Fans
Update on OnePeat.com. First some background. OnePeat.com is a fundraising mechanism for LSU (and I guess Texas fans) to mock the Trojans failed attempt at a three peat.
The arguement being that USC never won the BCS title in 2003, therefore a threepeat was impossible to start with. OnePeat.com has so far raised over $11,000 to purchase billboards near USC's campus to mock them.
OnePeat.com's billboard ideas.
So the USC fans have returned fire, and they plan a billboard of their own in Baton Rouge:
USCDynasty.com's billboard.
Orson at EverydayShouldBeSaturday.com's take is similar to mine. Do you *really* want to piss of a cajun? Do the USC fans know what they are getting into?
Personally, I enjoy the spite; however, the entire OnePeat.com argument is frankly stupid. USC was #1 in the AP and Coach's Poll at the end of the season in 2003. Through no fault of their own, a poorly designed system shut them out of the Sugar Bowl. Thus, LSU had to play an Oklahoma team that didn't even win their conference.
When you finish the season ranked #1 in both human polls, you should get to play for the National Title. That's the way that it has been for 110 of the past 120 years. When the BCS avenue isn't made available to you, you revert back to pre-BCS polling, and there is not a single program in America that wouldn't have handled things the EXACT same way as USC.
USC is just as much the 2003 Champ as LSU is.
It's a national title, and they should claim it.
That said, I did enjoy the USC loss in the Rose Bowl. Hook 'em.
some recruiting links of interest
In a hurry this morning. More after work.
Knowshon Moreno is either about to commit to Georgia, or if he hasn't maybe he's already made up his mind. Scout and Rivals have different takes. UGA must sign a tailback in this class.
Dawgs may pull coup - Stafon Johnson update
Chapas must knock off rust - Dawg recruit missed senior season due to injury. Sounds like a redshirt candidate anyway.
Reshad Jones enjoys LSU in-home visit - Dawgs get visit this weekend from best player left in-state.
Lots of this and that updates from the Athens paper.
January 26, 2006
Absurdity of the Day
Not college football, but funny. Meet Steelerbaby. Be sure to check out the Q&A (Sample:Q: What were your first words? Sample A: Cleveland sucks) and "Baby Food" links.
Y'ens got Irn City n'at?
Bud Light Signs on with Rock Paper Scissors Championships
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With better pacing than tic-tac-toe, but with less chance for serious injury than thumb-wrestling, Bud Light obviously saw the enormous potential of the USARPS, helping to fund a tournament beginning this month in bars across the country. In April, 250 finalists will be flown to Las Vegas to compete for the $50,000 grand prize at The House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
According to BrandWeek Magazine, A&E Network will become the official network for the telecast, and it will will "devote a one-hour special to cover the finals." Personally, I prefer Bud Light's other idea. Per BrandWeek:
In October, A-B pulled its previous bar promotion, Bud Pong, where players tried to bounce a ping-pong ball into opposing players cup. Game kits sent to distributors in 18 markets starting in July instructed that the game be played with cups of water which the player had to drink when the ball landed in their cup. However, the brewer ended the promotion after a front page New York Times story noted that college students were playing Bud Pong at bars and in their dorm rooms with cups of beer.
I thought that game was called Chandeliers and played with quarters, but what do I know?
Actual front page graphic from the site.
Haven't You Heard? 19 is the new 49
Georgia lost to LSU tonight by the score of 81-52. The sad thing is that Georgia was down 50-19 at the half. 19 points in a half? With this team? Hell, with any team? That's about as bad as it gets.
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You know the scene in Scarface where Tony Montana finds out that his kid sister is sleeping with his friend Manny Ribera? Tony storms into the bathroom and slaps Gina to the ground almost knocking her into the toilet?
It was kind of like that. Tony didn't miss, and neither did LSU.
Unfortunately, Georgia did. The game was lost early as the Dawgs missed 12 field goals in a row after making their first attempt.
The game wasn't on TV, and I wasn't in Baton Rouge. So here's what stood out to me from the Box Score:
1. We didn't give up. Georgia actually outscored the Tigers 33-31 in the second half. Sure, it was too little too late. But they didn't quit after being down by 31 at the half.
2. We had more offensive rebounds than LSU; although, one could argue that is partially because they missed fewer shots.
3. We shot 1-14 from the 3 point line for the game, and 0-11 from the beyond the arc in the first half. What the hell was this team doing shooting 11 three pointers in one half? Especially, when they weren't dropping. Felton put the brakes on that at the half with only 3 more attemps, and the Dawgs gave LSU a game in the 2nd. However, we can't wait 20 minutes to make such a basic adjustment.
4. Georgia had 5 assists to LSU's 24. That is pathetic ball movement and reinforces my growing concern about Felton's ability to teach offense.
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[Photo: He wasn't there, but you wouldn't know it from the stats]
6. Don't be fooled into thinking that we caught up entirely because LSU's 3rd teamers were in the game. LSU only plays 8 guys. That's all the played tonight.
Frustrating.
NCAA to release official RPI Data for Hoops
Upon reading the news that the NCAA will begin publishing their official RPI data, Warren Nolan, Mike Greenfield and this guy immediately opened a bottle of Jack Daniels and attempted to drown their sorrows.
The interesting thing from the NCAA's press release is this statement:
"One of the committees' primary objectives over the last few years has been to increase the transparency and understanding regarding the process of selecting teams for the tournament," said Craig Littlepage, chairman of the Division I men's selection committee. "We think that announcing the results of the RPI ranking on a weekly basis has its benefits."
Essentially, the NCAA Selection committee sits inside a smoke filled room and fills out a bracket for 65 teams using a combination of RPI Data, Polls, gut instinct and guidance from Coach K at Duke. The process is confusing and vague at times because it exists entirely behind close doors.
[Photo: NCAA Officials await Coach K's call for a heads up on his preferred site location and matchup. Greensboro anyone?]
HOWEVER, the NCAA is sensitive to public perception in this area, and they are moving towards more transparency in the process.
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One gets clearer and easier to understand. The other gets more confusing. The fact that they are run by the same people baffles me.
pwd
January 25, 2006
2007 Recruiting News - Rennie Curran
This struck me as odd, but interesting. In other words, perfect content for blogging.
DawgPost.com reports that there's standout linebacker in the 2007 class from Brookwood High School in Georgia by the name of Rennie Curran.
According to his profile, he's a 5'11" 202 lb Junior. Scout.com's praise for him is fairly high. But that's not what interested me.
He's from Liberia. The native homeland of standout Georgia freshman wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.
I read in an interview somewhere that Massaquoi never talks about his Liberian heritage or his family's time there with the media. I don't blame him. After reading the CIA link above and glancing at the Wikipedia entry on Liberia, I wouldn't want to talk about it either.
From reading the interview with Curran, it looks like the shared background with Massaquoi will really help us on the recruiting front. All of this just goes to reinforce that it is indeed a small world.
Mo Mass in Action
Richt's New Extension
The AJC and Banner-Herald are reporting that Coach Richt is expected to get an extension today that would make Rick James jealous. The Executive Committee of the Athletic Association will meet today to discuss "a personnel matter" during which they are expected to finalize terms of a new deal. Details of the extension have not been made available, but it is a good bet that it will be north of $2 million (not including any secret payments from Michael Adams), putting Coach Richt back among the highest paid coaches in the conference. Fulmer, Tuberville and Meyer are all paid around the $2 million level. Here's hoping the Athletic Association throws in a DVD player for Willie Martinez. 
[Nice Extension: "I'm Mark Richt, Ma'am!"]
FAQ on Georgia's use of Hargrave and Fork Union
I wrote this FAQ on Georgia's use of Hargrave last year around signing day. There were a few Tech fans complaining about UGA using these prep school like Hargrave so "they must be dirty."
Duke, UVA and UNC all send players to these schools. In fact, UVA sends a bunch of players to Hargrave including superstar Ahmad Brooks. Many Big 10 and Big East schools use these and similar prep schools.
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Alabama (1)
Auburn (1)
Florida State (3)
Georgia (1)
Illinois (1)
Kentucky (1)
Maryland (2)
Mississippi State (1)
North Carolina (1)
Ole Miss (2)
Syracuse (1)
Tennessee (1)
West Virginia (1)
The FAQ also briefly talks about what the kids get out of going, and what their intended schools really get out of it. Here's an article about Eddie George and Vinny Testaverde's time at Fork Union.
My feelings when I first wrote the article were the same then as today.
There is a difference between a dumb kid and a lazy kid. And not all lazy kids will be lazy forever. How long should a kid be penalized for the decisions he makes a a FR and SOPH in High School?
Bottom line: When they get out of Hargrave they STILL have to pass the same SAT that every other recruit has to pass in order to meet the same NCAA standards that they had to meet before they got there.
CrackerJacket, one of The Hive admins, was nice enough to archive the post for me back then. Given that it's almost signing day, I thought it was relevant to repost.
Given that signing day is so close, I thought it was worth reposting the link.
pwd
January 24, 2006
2005 SEC Predictions -- How did I fare?
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Unfortunately, when I looked to the SEC East, the picture wasn't as clear.
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[Photo: yeah, I didn't fare so well in the East]
Although in fairness to me, no one in America saw Vandy and Tennessee's seasons ending like they did. So, without further pause (stalling), here's a link to my 2005 Preseason Predictions.
My SEC West Predictions: (actual in parenthesis)
1. LSU and Overall SEC Winner (1)
2. Auburn (2)
3. Alabama (3)
4. Arkansas (4)
5. Ole Miss (6)
6. Miss State (5)
See, I'm a genius. Ok. Stop reading. Go back to your coffee or lunch. Get back to work. Move along. Please don't continue. Oh the humanity.
My SEC East Predictions:
1. UT (5) - ouch
2. UGA (1) - SEC Champs
3. UF (3) - nice. See, I'm a genius. Stop reading.
4. SC (2) - Or not.
5. UK (6) - Off by one.
6. VU (4) - This one wasn't my fault either.
But that's not where it gets ugly.
Predictions within the predictions:
- UT: I was right when I said that they didn't have the offensive coordinator or schedule to be a Top 5 team. Unfortunately, Ainge wasn't one of the best young QBs in America. I was mostest offest there.
[The worst play in college football in 2005 had to be his goal line INT for a TD vs. LSU]
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- UGA: I was right that we needed to stay healthy. We didn't and it cost us vs. Auburn and Florida. The predicted need to be healthy supercedes the predicted split between UF and AU. So I wasn't wrong there.
- SC: I said 7-4 was doable, and that their running game would be weak. Check. Unfortunately, I said Blake Mitchell would suck. He didn't. Well, not for entire games usually.
- UK: I said Brooks wouldn't last the season. It isn't my fault that they retained him. I think we can all agree that since they SHOULD have fired him, I can't have this count against me.
[Photo: If I were UK AD, I would've made him fight his way out of this ring to save his job. (Courtesy of Dawgbone.net)]
- VU: Apparently, they do care about athletics. Sometimes. Whiff.
- LSU: I couldn't have seen the hurricanes coming, or I would've warned people. Otherwise, I was almost dead on.
[Photo: Note the ridiculous earpiece from the first game in Baton Rouge. Never has there been a coach less aware of his surroundings and more aware of his stylish appearance.]
- AU: I was way, way, way, way, way wrong about Kenny Irons. Although, I nailed my Tre Smith prediction cold. Oh yeah, and their OL didn't maul GT. A fact that haunts scientists to this day.
- Bama: I said if Brodie stayed healthy, they would exceed all expectations. Well...he did. Although, I never figured on every other player in crimson getting hurt. I think Bama played three female cheerleaders along the offensive line vs. Auburn.
[Photo: Honk if you've sacked Brodie. Classic.]
- Arkansas: I will never understand anything Houston Nutt does. Seriously. I said they would beat SC, and they wet the bed. I can't be blamed for him having an 8'11" WR who is consistently covered by 5'9" DBs yet Nutt doesn't force a hot route fade. I can't be held accountability for such stupidity.
- Ole Miss and Miss State predictions: Sort of a wash.
Outside of the SEC, I called for Joe Pa to be put down like Ol Yeller. Whiff.
And my Top 25 looked like this preseason (ouch again):
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Iowa
4. Michigan
5. Miami
6. Louisville
7. Oklahoma
8. LSU
9. UT
10. UGA
11. VT
12. Ohio State
13. Auburn
14. Purdue
15. FSU
16. UF
17. Boise State
18. UVA
19. Texas A&M
20. Boston College
21. Oregon
22. Arizona State
23. Texas Tech
24. Pittsburgh
25. Colorado
I got tripped up by the same teams that tripped almost everyone up. Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UVA and Pitt. All finished the season as massive underachievers while Notre Dame and West Virginia exceeded almost everyone's expectations. It took me way, way too long to get on board with West Virginia, but I was quick to dismiss Pitt and apologize for such a pick.
Overall, a rocky start, BUT not too much worse than many of the mainstream "gurus." If picking were so obvious as to be easy, there would be no point in playing the games right?
Here's to looking forward for 2006.
three minor updates
During or shortly after lunch, I'm going to post an evaluation of my pre-season predictions from 2005. Check back later for that so that you can get your punches in. It's mostly finished, but I forgot to include pics and links to other articles when I wrote it last night.
Also, you may have noticed that I joined the Google Adsense program over the weekend. Google's ad engine essentially reads my blog, and it delivers ads based on my content. That's why at the end of this post, you probably see an advertisement for Georgia Bulldog clothing or tickets to some college football game.
I tried to make the ads match with my template so that it would be as unintrusive as possible. However, if you see something that interests you, feel free to click on it.
Lastly, I'm going to do a series of "Review/Preview" articles on our SEC football opponents for next year. The articles will look at what went right or wrong last year, and what might change or needs to change for 2006. I'll also likely look at Georgia Tech and Colorado because they are on our schedule along with some other key regional teams of interest such as FSU and Clemson.
We'll see how it goes on that front. I wrote most of the UF article last night, and I seriously doubt the others will be as long as that first one.
pwd
January 23, 2006
Kobe Bryant Scores 81. Issues Statement Condemning Teammates
(Reuters)
Los Angeles -- Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers issued the following statement following his team's 122-104 win over Toronto.
"It disappointments me greatly that my teammates were so incredibly selfish during this athletic contest. On two separate occasions, I passed the ball to my teammates. They inconsiderately opted to shoot the ball upon receiving it resulting in possession ending baskets for the Lakers.
"The result of their self-absorbed antics was two meaningless assists for me. I fully expected that they would simply pass the ball back to me, and at such time I would shoot it again. Their 'me first' actions cost me the opportunity to get six more points. They knew that 87 is my lucky number, but they were conspiring against me to keep me from achieving this special goal."
"It is my hope that one day, I'll have teammates who respect me and work to improve my game the way that my wife and I feel like I deserve."
The Lakers front office was unable to comment on this story as they were busy washing Kobe's car.
Kobe ponders the need for more mirrors around NBA courts. So he can admire himself.
Recruiting: Good News on Several Fronts
Some exciting football and basketball news to report. In football, we had two official visits go extremely well while the hoops team scored a big commitment.
On the football front, the Dawgs are putting together an elite class ranked by almost everyone in the Top 3-4 in the country. However, there are still two glaring needs in the group. One priority area is at running back and the other is offensive tackle.
Stafon Johnson is the #2 RB in the country per Scout.com. Georgia normally doesn't look that closely at California tailbacks, but one of Johnson's high school coaches is a former Dawg. He contacted us in a similar fashion to Albert Hollis II. Johnson came away from his trip extremely impressed. There is a good chance that he commits to UGA. Next year, Ware, Brown and Lumpkin will all be Juniors. We have no other tailbacks on the roster once they leave. We must sign a big time RB in this class. Knowshon Moreno from New Jersey is still up in the air so the news that Stafon is so excited about us is huge. Interestingly, Johnson could play either safety or running back for the Dawgs.
[Photo: Brown and the other RBs will be Juniors next year. We need some guys behind them. Photo from Georgiadogs.com]
The Bulldogs also addressed a huge need at Offensive Tackle in Josh Davis. Davis is 6'6" and listed at 295-315 lbs. He was previously committed to Ole Miss; however, he flipped us verbal to Georgia over the weekend.
The Dawgs have a bunch of Offensive Linemen committed for the Fall. However, most look to be guys who won't contribute for the first 2-3 years. Given our lack of players currently on the roster at that spot -- Inman (SR), Shackleford (SR) and Turner (SR) are basically all that we have -- we need guys who can contribute sooner rather than later.
Justin Anderson will start at OT, but he may end up at guard when all is said and done (similar to the evolution of Max Jean-Gilles. John Miller is barely 17 now, and he is a lock to redshirt. Perez is almost definitely an OG, and Tripp may end up playing defensive end instead of OT. So the committment of a kid like Josh Davis is huge for us. We still need one more elite OT in this class, but this is progress. The good news is that the state looks to have a variety of solid OL in the 2007 recruiting class with Georgia already having Tanner Strickland commited.
[Photo: More photos like this require more Offensive Tackles in the pipeline. Photo by Jim Hipple]
In Hoops News, Felton got a commit for a 2007 Point Guard in Keegan Bell. According to Justin Young of Rivals.com, Bell is one of the Top 100 players for the 2007 recruiting class. In a class so loaded with great guards, breaking the Top 100 is good news. Rivals has him as a 4 star kid while Scout.com has him as a 3 star kid. Scout shows the Dawgs with 2 commits for 2007 while