The second installment in the Georgia Sports Blog's series of interviews with bloggers from Georgia's rivals. The interviews look at pre-Spring expectations. Click here for the UT installment.
Today's featured guest is Nathan from GoldenTornado.net. Excerpts below:
- What are your expectations for Spring Ball for your team?
Honestly, I don't really have expectations simply because there's been so much turmoil around the program, and the rumors of an offensive scheme change (supposedly Nix will be taking over as full OC and using a spread offense - we'll see). I just hope we make it out of Spring without any serious injuries and that we have some kind of chemistry on offense.
Memories, sweetened thru the ages just like wine
- What is the most interesting position battle brewing for spring?
I wish I could say QB, but I have the sinking feeling that Reggie Ball can't lose the job no matter what he does. If we truly are moving to a spread offense, he's the right QB - but if not we really need to take a long hard look at Garner and see if he can get the ball down the field more reliably.
As for actual position battles? #2/#3 WR could be interesting, but to me it's all about who's in the mix for safety. We lost both starting safeties from last year, and it's going to be interesting to see if anyone steps in and fills those shoes. Tenuta's blitz schemes without solid safety play could be a recipe for disaster.
Give the devil his due. He can really play.
- What position do you feel most confident about?
No question, Wide Receiver. We have one of the deepest groups in the country, and this should be a solid strength of the GT team. Calvin Johnson headlines a group that is deep enough that talented freshmen Correy Earls and Demaryius Thomas might not see any time on the field. I have no idea why, but this is the one position that Gailey can recruit well (considering our struggles throwing the ball, that makes no sense but beggars can't be choosers).
I feel pretty good about the o-line as well, they are young but we have a pretty deep collection of what looks to be quality players in that group. Overall, this should be one of the better units we've had in Atlanta in a while.
At least one person on the planet is glad Greg Blue graduated.
- What position are you most nervous about?
Safety, by far. We got a whole lot of nobody there. Defensive line depth as well, we have quality starters but I'm not sure what's behind that. We simply cannot afford injuries or academic problems along the d-line like we had last year.
Darryl Richard missed last season, but he's very talented.
- Are you expecting any new wrinkles this Spring in scheme?
Well, we are talking about Chan Gailey ... so, no - I'm not expecting huge changes. Supposedly we'll see more of a spread look (which would make sense with our personnel), but I'm not holding my breath.
Given what WVU did to UGA, Gailey will probably get hundreds of copies of this video mailed to him by GT fans.
- Are there any big coaching changes that will impact your team this spring?
Nix will have more of a role in play calling (again, supposedly). We'll see how that works out, but it can't be worse than it was before. More importantly though, WE HAVE A NEW SPECIAL TEAMS COACH!!!!!!! Hopefully our special teams will be more excellent "special" than riding the short bus "special" like they have been in the past couple of seasons. We lost the UGa game this year on special teams play, and it wasn't the only one.
Not a DB
- What is the biggest question that you do NOT expect to get resolved this spring? (for instance at UGA it would be the QB battle)
Defensive secondary. I don't expect it to be answered at any point in the season. That's going to be a year long question mark.
- What is the #1 thing you're hoping to see at the Spring Game?
Lots of snaps for Jonathan Garner with the first team.
Gailey ponders life after football.
- Is there any program that you're following this spring other than your own? Looking for tidbits?
Georgia. If Gailey can beat them this year, he might save his job. If he loses his 6th in a row ... he's gone.
Thanks to Nathan for taking the time for this interview!
In the coming days, you will likely see a similar report on the Gators.
Photos and Captions by PWD
The Georgia Women's Track Team won its first Indoor SEC Championship over the weekend.
Georgia has never been known as an indoor track and field powerhouse. Much less in women's track. We started our women's track program for the sole purpose of signing Herschel Walker's older sister Veronica thus giving us a better shot at signing Herschel.
When you have such lofty goals as signing running backs as the fuel for your women's program (not that I object to that logic mind you), it's no wonder we've never accomplished more in that area. Sure, we've had a Gwen Torrence now and again, but nothing consistent.
Even in the men's arena, we haven't exactly blown doors. An assistant track coach at UGA once told me something like..."Internationally, we sign kids that didn't know they should've signed with Arkansas."
Congrats to the Lady Dawgs. This is the biggest thing to happen to our women's track program since Herschel Walker inked his Letter of Intent...thus ensuring that Dooley didn't shut the program back down. lol
Gwen would be proud.
In the old days, a winning record in a power conference was all it took to qualify for the NIT Tournament. A month or two ago, the NIT selection process changed. The NCAA now owns the NIT.
If you're up to speed on the rule changes, skip down to "Why this is a problem for Georgia."
The biggest rule changes they implemented were:
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In no particular order:
- Shockley ran the 3rd fastest 40 yard dash of all QBs at 4.56. (AJC). Note: Scout.com's site didn't have him that fast.
- Q&A with Greg Blue (NFL.com / syndicated by the Falcons)
- Q&A with Demario Minter (NFL.com syndicated by the Falcons)
- Shockley will work out at WR and Blue at LB at the combine. (Scout.com)
In Nerd News. The "freakishly gifted" (air quotes work better than real ones) Demarious Bilbo ran a pedestrian 4.68 and 4.73 at the combine.
And the shocker to me...Brodie "Bad Knees" Croyle ran a 4.87. That's faster than uber hyped Omar Jacobs of Bowling Green. Who woulda thunk it?
pwd
When you perfect pandering at this level, you get linked. There's just no two ways about it.
"As far as Georgia athletics is concerned, any blogger who hasn't read Georgia Sports Blog or believes Paul Westerdawg's superb column anyway deficient is either an ignoramus or an ass. Consequently, new blogs in this particular field must defend their existence. We hope one day to be Paul's best friend in the whole world. For the moment we want to offer a view of all things Georgia that's substantially our own, whether this means unparalleled coverage of women's equestrian or an idiosyncratic, family brand of irreverence and farce."
The short answer...Mississippi State has an SEC caliber big man, and they rode him like the last train to heaven in their 83-68 trouncing of Georgia.
Our inside guys struggled with fouls all night. Bliss didn't top his GT performance from last year in which he pulled 5 fouls in 4 minutes with a turnover, but he came close with 5 fouls in 5 minutes and two turnovers. I don't point that stat out to bash Bliss. It isn't his fault that he's a 6'10" version of Kris Nordholz (without the jumper). Nor is it his fault that he starts. He's giving it his all, and he's doing it while hurt.
It just is what it is.
The entire box score is a disaster:
- We missed 45 field goals and 8 free throws. Yet, we only grabbed 15 offensive boards to MSU's 34 defensive boards. (note: ESPN.com has us at 12 offensive boards)
- Georgia had 16 defensive rebounds to MSU's 14 offensive boards. Ouch
- We shot 14 percent from the free throw line in the second half.
- Mike Mercer went 0-12 from the field after starting off 2-2, and Gaines went 1-7 from the field after starting off 2-3.
- Mississippi State shot better from the field (58 percent) than we shot from the free throw line (46 percent) for the game.
On the bright side:
- Stukes had an OK game with 17 points on near 50% shooting. Also no turnovers.
- The team had 14 assists. Over half of Georgia's 25 buckets came off assists.
- We forced 13 steals to MSU's 2, and we only turned the ball over 10 times to their 19.
Bottom line:
If you can't rebound, shoot or defend, it's tough to win. We will still finish with a winning regular season, but we need post-season wins to finish with a winning record overall.
Otherwise, it was a good game.
pwd
Good story about Dan Radakovich, GT's new Athletic Director, in the AJC. The article discusses his background and his rise up from a family of steel mill workers. Interestingly, the article makes no mention of Radakovich's secret weapon during the interview process.
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This video made my day on Friday afternoon. I couldn't find a link to it on the CBS News web site that I could link to. (LINK UPDATED: Video embedded in story. It will load on the right side of the page) BurntOrangeNation found a workable link.
CBS ran an incredibly powerful story that brings you to your feet and just keeps on giving each and every minute into it. Jason McElwain, an autistic high school basketball team member in Rochester NY, served as the coach's assistant and spirit leader for several years. On the final game of the season the coach let him finally put on a jersey with the rest of the team. Watch what happens. CBS Evening News
Spring football for the Dawgs is just a few weeks away. I posted TennVolChamp's pre-spring look at the Vols earlier this week. Next week, I should have a look at the Gators ready to go.
On Thursday, Josh Kendall of the Macon Telegraph wrote an article about the WR battle brewing for Spring. The race to see who will fill the opposite slot from Massaquoi is an interesting one. But it's not the most anticipated of the spring for the Dawgs.
Without question the QB battle will be the subject of the most articles pre and post-spring. Richt recently went as far as to say that the race won't be decided until Fall.
I honestly don't think that Joe Tereshinski keeps the job despite entering Spring at #1. I don't think he has the skills. To me, it will come down to Joe Cox or Matt Stafford.
I think both freshmen will play this year with one leaving as a legendary Franklin D. Roosevelt figure and the other as sort of a John Nance Garner footnote in Georgia history. A valuable contributor, but not a legend. Stafford has me the most curious because I've seen more video of the Texas signal caller.
Either will do for me. And best of luck to all 4 QBs.
pwd
I sincerely don't care what Felton wears (other than Orange) as long as we are winning and/or scoring points at a watchable pace.
In lieu of such lofty goals as scoring 50 points a game, well dressed coaches are not a substitute for well played basketball. If he was as good at marketing UGA hoops as he is his own personal brand, we'd be in great shape. this article annoys me.
Enough about me. What do you think about me?
And it really isn't close. We are all now competing for second place. The commentary, the pictures, the overall experience. It's what we all aspire to deliver in our blogs.
hat tip to EDSBS.
Photo from Georgiadogs.com.
Georgia held SC to 16 first half points, and held on to win 48-47. I never thought that we would actually be able to win an SEC game while scoring less than 50 points. Bizarre.
It was a big win for Georgia because it ensures that the Bulldogs can't have a losing regular season. At worst, Georgia (15-11/5-8) would finish the season at 15-15 with a first round loss in the SEC tourney. Technically, if they went 15-15 and lost in the first round of the NIT, they could still finish sub-.500.
Anywho...they get a struggling Mississippi State on Saturday in Starkville. MSU has lost 10 of their last 12 games; however, they've won their last two at home. A win in Starkville gives UGA a legit shot at the #5 seed from the East in the tourney.
Box Score Notes:
- Georgia held the Gamecocks to 36% shooting from the field. We played outstanding defense in the first half, and the Gamecocks couldn't throw it in the ocean.
- Georgia grabbed only 5 offensive rebounds despite missing 30 shots during the game. That isn't a misprint.
- Georgia's offense continues to struggle with ball movement, player movement and structure. The team managed only 6 assists vs. 17 turnovers.
- Seven minutes into the game, the Dawgs had managed two field goals.
- We heated up a little in the second half and played better on offense, but we let our defensive intensity down.
- The crowd resembled that of a rhythmic gymnastics meet. Not much of a showing for "Dennis Felton Appreciation Night." No idea what that means or who's brain fart that was, but it wasn't a good idea.
pwd
...will anyone make fun of it?
Cal-Berkeley security guards surround a drunken Erin Lashnits, the Stanford Tree, during halftime of this week's Cal - Stanford game. Erin blew a .157, and was dismissed from her position as Tree. Hat tip to RJYH. For the full story.
Security surrounds coterminal student, former varsity diver and Stanford Tree Erin Lashnits following halftime of the men?s basketball team?s Thursday night 65-62 loss to UC-Berkeley. Lashnits said her tenure was the best year of her life.
If you missed SportsCenter last night it was a classic. They did an entire montage on Bruce Pearl's sweat at the UT vs. UF game in Gainesville. Bruce was in a full body lather. Not sure if this pic does it justice, but he actually had sweaty knees. Big win for the Vols as they clinched the SEC East. Pat Forde mentions the perspiration on ESPN.com.
Pic found at Dusty's Space. If anyone has a better pic from the game, let me know.
pwd
In an effort to protect the citizens of Athens-Clarke County from the sleepy, turd laden exploits of Ian Smith, the ACCPD has created a Toilet Task Force to track and monitor this monster of a man. The DawgRun has all the details on this thread. Pay special attention to the inside info presented by Dawgspeare.
All of this comes in the wake of a second arrest of Ian Smith. It turns out that during the first arrest, he gave them the wrong birthday. A birthdate that would indicate that he was 21 instead of 19. Now he's on the hook for underage possession of alcohol and giving false information. In other words, it's the same incident -- not another drunken poo.
pwd
The Georgia Sports Blog is working to pull together a series of interviews with bloggers from Georgia's rivals. The interviews will look at pre-Spring expectations. If you have additional questions you would like me to ask these guys, let me know.
We kick things off pre-spring by interviewing UT Blogger and regular GSB Reader TennVolChamp. Excerpts below:
- What are your expectations for Spring Ball for your the Vols?
Get this ship off the sand bar before the waves tear it apart. This team and program and fan base need some good things to talk about and feel optimistic about. Spring ball won't answer many questions but it's the chance to start purging the bad taste in our mouth from the disaster that was 2005 and reported below-par recruiting season. So far so good for the "off the field" side as we don't yet have any entries in the EDSBS's Fulmer Cup. 
Fark by Gator "Big Mike" from EDSBS
- What is the most interesting position battle brewing for spring?
This has to be the QB position. After our inconsistent, often poor and rarely outstanding play in 2005, our much needed improvement on the offensive side of the ball starts here. The battle will be between Ainge (can he get his head re-attached) and red-shirt freshman Jon Crompton (who had off season shoulder surgery). Also, possibly in the mix could be the new Stephens kid, a signee from Texas who supposedly has a rocket arm but only played 1 year in HS. Jim Bob Cooter will still be relegated to the most famous QB name to never have played a down in a game. 
We wall want to see a lot more Cooter on the field.
- What position do you feel most confident about?
This would be positions with "back" in their title. Running backs we feel real good about particularly with the way Arian Foster played the latter part of the season with 3 games over 200 yards. Defensive backs we feel good about with some experience coming back and what most people think was solid performance last year (except on some random 3rd and long plays). Linebackers, although we lost a couple of good ones, are solid as there were several younger guys who played a lot of time in 2005.
Fulmer has been quoted on the speaker circuit as saying our WR play last year was the worst he's seen in his tenure. Word is the younger guys (Briscoe, Rogers, Taylor) are really stepping up, putting pressure on the more experienced guys (Meacham, Smith and Swain). Also, there's been talk about the WR's losing weight to improve their quickness/speed.
Arron Sears, 32 year starter for the Vols welcomes his college roommate, David Cutcliffe, back to Knoxville.
- What position are you most nervous about?
It's not a "position" as it is the ENTIRE offensive side of the ball. We're just not used to averaging under 20 points a game (we're not Kentucky you know) so everyone's hope (or suspicion) is that the offensive will return to the productivity of the 90's where someone usually had to score 35 or more to beat us.
Cutcliffe. A man with no lips.
- Are you expecting any new wrinkles this Spring in scheme?
We're very curious if the return of David Cutcliffe to run the offense will result in many differences. We're not anticipating "scheme" changes as much as "execution" improvement. There has been a lot of talk about how demanding Cutcliffe is and how he runs practices with lots of discipline. Supposedly, in order for the offense to finish practice they have to run 10 plays WITHOUT error. Sounds like common sense to me but evidently wasn't something we'd been doing in the past. 
Fulmer licks his chops at the idea of Cutcliffe's return.
- Are there any big coaching changes that will impact your team this spring?
Obviously with the departure of tobacco-chewing Randy Sanders (who is highly qualified to run a Kentucky-style offense) and the return of David Cutcliffe there's lots to talk about. Cutcliffe brought his TE coach from Ole Miss, who's supposedly also a strong recruiter. And lo and behold we hired the Kentucky QB coach. That's a move that's been viewed suspiciously - on paper who'd want any football coach from Kentucky? Trooper Taylor - super recruiter and Mr. Chest Bump RB coach - I think is now in charge of WR's. Also, on the chat board "Gridscape" there's been some discussion expressing disappointment we didn't hire another african-american onto the staff. That type of banter only rears its ugly head when you go 5-6.
- What is the biggest question that you do NOT expect to get resolved this spring? (for instance at UGA it would be the QB battle) Will the offense improve enough? You just don't know what the team will really do until they actually play in a real game. 
Phyllis from Mulga and TennVolChamp both wonder. Who replaces Brodie?
- Is there any program that you're following this spring other than your own? Looking for tidbits?
Bama - What player will fill the role of gay college football icon (see boifromtroy) now that Brodie has moved on? If a new QB doesn't step up, how will Bama fans blame Fulmer and Tennessee for these problems?
Thanks to TennVolChamp for taking the time for this interview!
In the coming weeks, you might see similar reports on the Jackets, Gators, Aubies, etc. We'll see how it goes.
Photos and Captions by PWD
And it's no longer the Ghetto Fabulous / Xanga hangout. T. Kyle King has moved his blog, and it's all grown up. Today, he launched to DawgSports.com. All Hail the Mayor of the College Football Blogging Capital of the World.
PWD
If I were in charge of Hoops Scheduling, I would seek out similar programs as Georgia. Teams from power conferences, who are building but aren't "there yet," and teams who would give us a home and home without requiring a two for one. My ideal pool of schools would include:
ACC:
Clemson
Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Big 10:
Michigan (a reach, but not impossible)
Penn State
Minnesota
Big 12:
Texas Tech
Iowa State
Kansas State
Colorado
Big East:
Notre Dame (another reach, but not impossible)
St. Johns
DePaul
Seton Hall
Pac-10:
Oregon State
Oregon
Over an 11 game non-conference schedule, I would do the following:
2 Neutral Site Game in Atlanta and elsewhere
3 Home Games with the Above Teams
3 Road Games with the Above Teams
3 Home Cupcakes like Ga State, S. Alabama or Mercer
I just totally don't see the point of playing 8 or 9 home games against a complete slate of jobbers like Savannah State. Imagine a schedule like this:
Home - Georgia Tech
Home - Colorado
Home - Iowa State
Road - Clemson
Road - Florida State
Road - Penn State
Neutral - Texas Tech (Atlanta)
Neutral - Michigan (Detroit)
Home Cupcake - Ga State
Home Cupcake - S. Alabama
Home Cupcake - Murray State
As a point of comparison...our schedule in Harrick's last season was:
Home - Pitt
Away - Georgia Tech
Away - Minnesota
Away - Colorado
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TennVolChamp provides the heads up on this one. Visit his site.
Very cool, fan friendly promotion.
The Kyrgyzstan of college football has named Dan Radakovich as its new Athletic Director to replace the retiring Dave Braine.
Nathan has a solid take on things. And Scott gave his endorsement for the new guy before the announcement.
My favorite post on this topic came from GT blogger Dan at "What's the Good Word?" who proposed the following for Braine's retirement ceremony.
“In honor of the retirement of the venerable Dave Braine as Georgia Tech Athletic Director we are offering a family package on attendance for the retirement party. For just $40 dollars you will receive 4 tickets to the event, 4 cokes, 4 hot dogs, and a complimentary ‘Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya Where the Lord Split Ya’ t-shirt (distributed randomly in one of four completely different shades of gold.)Personally, I'm going to miss Dave "TicketMaster" Braine.
We take you around the Blogosphere
Kyle on Football continues to push "The Movement." The Movement is a grassroots campaign designed to get Damon Evans and UM's AD to schedule Georgia vs. Michigan in football. He's making progress with communication from both schools ADs.
The MZone proposes what Notre Dame would be like as a Middle Eastern Islamic University with Touchdown Mohammed.
Yost at the MZone also posts some thoughts on Classy Fans that he's encountered. He says that no discussion of Classy Fans should include teams from lousy programs so that leaves Arkansas off my list (even though their fans are beyond compare in the way they've treated us on my visits to Fayetteville. Personally, I have never had a bad experience in Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide.
ND Blogger "fightinamish" from House That Rock Built has begun the Great American Mascot Hunt. First stop Illinois.
And of course Orson Swindle at EDSBS has some fun with Ian "Tater Salad" Smith's "32 gauge cheek ripper" that resulted in Georgia gaining critical points in the Fulmer Cup Sweepstakes (awarded to the team with the most lawless and unruly offseason).
Lastly, Mayor Kyle has also ordained Brian Cook as The Lawgiver after publishing his guide to Blogging Ethics. It's a pretty good resource; although, my biggest area of discomfort with my own blogging ethics has been the intellectual property of photos hosted on other sites. I haven't found an area where I'm totally comfortable in that area. It's a moving target for me. I provide a great deal of courtesy if the photo is hosted by another dawg on their own server (like Groo or SeveredHead) vs. a photo hosted by Blogger.com or Flickr.
pwd
Georgia offensive lineman Ian "Tater Salad" Smith was arrested recently for public drunkenness. According to the Red & Black, police had to hammer through a wooden door at Amici's restaurant in downtown Athens to get to Ian, who had passed out on the shitter with his trousers and drawers around his ankles. Perhaps--just perhaps--ACCPD overreacted.
[I don't want to be drunk in public. I want to be drunk in a bar. You threw me into public.]
At first blush, you might think 'PUBLIC drunkenness?'-- Could there be anything less public than locking yourself in the john to pinch a loaf? According to Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) section 16-41-11, public drunkenness is defined as
"a person who shall be and appear in an intoxicated condition in any public place or within the curtilage of any private residence not his own other than by invitation of the owner or lawful occupant, which condition is made manifest by boisterousness, by indecent condition or act, or by vulgar, profane, loud, or unbecoming language. [emphasis added]"The Georgia Sports Blog will now hear the case of People vs. Ian Smith.
[Ian, would it have killed you to light a match?] Georgia Sports Blog finds Ian "Tater Salad" Smith not guilty. We are adjourned.
Dawgnoxious, Esq.
General Counsel
Georgia Sports Blog Legal Department
Line of the Day from Oldboy71 on ThePorch. After learning the Mudcat Elmore was arrested last night in Athens while driving with a suspended license.
"That car must be like 'Christine' from the Stephen King book. It got Ellerbe and Mudcat Elmore arrested. Can we have it removed from campus?"Amen brother. Get that hooptie off campus now.
Am I the only one to notice a string of University power plays lately? To that end, last week the Athens Banner-Herald ran a story that ominously hinted at new tailgating rules for game day that would "aim for a broad culture change in sports fan behavior", whatever the hell that means. The gist of the story was that UGA Keystone Cop Jimmy Williamson and a faculty committee have been looking for ideas to deal with "alcohol problems" on campus. The Red&Black ran a similar article today.
Among the lowlights in the article:
Over the next season or two, Williamson would like to see parking on sidewalks around the stadium eliminated in order to provide safe passage for pedestrians, who may otherwise risk an accident when entering the street to get around parked vehicles.What is interesting to me is that the article lazily accepts Williamson's assertion there is a growing problem with alcohol-fueled misbehavior on campus. However, the "solution" of restricting sidewalk parking has nothing to do with alcohol or fan behavior. Neither does a "buffer" around the stadium relate to curbing public drunkenness.
A long-term project could be to "create more of a buffer around the stadium" to improve queues and crowd control, he said. A buffer would include restricting parked and moving vehicles in that zone, which also would improve officials' ability to respond to an emergency or a homeland security alert, he said.
