Georgia Sports Blog: January 2007

January 30, 2007

Auburn to open season against Kansas State

And in Auburn News...

Per Wildcatdaily.com:

An agreement in principle has been reached between Kansas State University and Auburn University to open the 2007 football season at Auburn.

Kansas State associate athletic director Jim Epps confirmed this morning that the game will be played on Sept. 1, and will be televised by ESPN.

No word yet on whether or not Auburn has to provide a return trip.

For Dawg Fans this means the ESPN inventory for Sept. 1st just got a bit more crowded. I still think we're going to have an ESPN or ESPN2 night game against Oklahoma State, and I believe a game between Georgia and Oklahoma State will be a better TV draw than KSU vs. Auburn. I also still think we're kicking off between 6:00 and 8:00 pm.

SEC Non-Conference Games of Interest in 2007:

And of course:

PWD

OCC info hat tip - collegefootballresource.com

UT's Lofton looking doubtful for Wednesday

The Nashville Tennessean is reporting that Chris Lofton is "doubtful" for Wednesday's basketball game between the Tennessee Vols and Georgia Bulldogs. Bruce Pearl says:

"We put him through some paces, and he did fine," Pearl said. "But I just don't think he's ready. He's got a pretty good bruise on the bone from where he turned his ankle. Right now, that's what we're dealing with. He's doing everything he can to get back out there, but he's just not ready."

Pearl said Lofton ran a little bit Saturday and did a little more on Monday. He shot some on the side, but didn't do anything with the team.

"He's making good progress," Pearl said. "We'd all love to have him back right away, but we're not going to put Chris in any kind of position to fail or risk further injury. That's just where we are, and we're not treating Chris any differently than we would any other player."

The Macon Telegraph also reports that Lofton isn't looking very likely for the Georgia game.

Update from Chattanooga Free-Press: "He's not ready."

I'm still expecting him to play because this is an absolute must-win for the Vols. However, his absence would be a windfall for Georgia. Anytime you get the chance to face a rival on their home court without the best three point shooter in the country, you have to like your chances.

Regardless, it'll still be a war.

PWD

DeadSpin's Barbaro Tribute

If you read Deadspin, you know about their long history with Barbaro. It's the comedic engine that has no peer. They close the loop with this....

Best. Photoshop. Ever.
PWD

Quick Bulldog Headlines

Basketball Articles:

In the Center of it All: Dave Bliss

Georgia not dawging it

Bulldogs worth watching

Football Recruiting:

spoke at AJ Harmon's football banquet

on recruiting season

weighs in on this recruiting class

PWD

Remember the dingy old NIT Banners in Stegeman?

If you haven't been to Stegeman in the past few years (and judging by attendance the past few years you hadn't), Felton did away with the old stank looking banners. Particularly, the embarrassing NIT banners. I found a great pic of the new stuff over at SicemDawgs.com.

The new banners run along the wall above the old stage/students section. They also have them up for women's hoops and gymnastics.

You may also notice that the 2002 NCAA tourney and 2002 SEC East Co-Champs banners don't show up there. I'm pretty sure that because we had to vacate them due to ColeGate. (BTW -- GT still hangs their NIT banners; which is odd given that they have two final four banners.)

You can see more pics from Sunday's game vs. LSU in their photo library.

PWD

Photos: The Buzzer Beater From Stukes

Iron Chef Tailgate took these from the cheap seats using her snazzy new camera. You need to click to enlarge the pics to really appreciate them. Stukes buzzer beater vs. LSU.

PWD

January 29, 2007

Basketball: More LSU post-game articles

Image: ABH

More articles on the last second win over the Tigers.

Cardiac Canines Do it Again

Video Highlights

Georgia Sinks LSU at Buzzer

Georgia makes LSU pay for late lapses

They did it for Brophy

Brophy Family Views Thriller

Dawgs Honor Fallen Hero

PWD

Dawgs move to 5-2 in the SEC

If you had asked me to list the least winnable games on the 2006-2007 schedule before the season, then yesterday's LSU game would've definitely been near the top of my list. To win it, is huge. To win it in such dramatic fashion in the face of such overwhelming distractions surrounding Brophy's Memorial day, is especially huge.

(Stukes hit the game winner. To buy a #14 jersey, click on the image)

The Dawgs are now 5-2 in SEC play. With the tie breakers Georgia currently holds over Vandy and UK, the Bulldogs are in second place in the SEC East. Suddenly the world is full of hope, optimism and trains that run on time. An NCAA tourney bid is now a very, very obtainable goal.

We get the Vols in Knoxville on Wednesday night. SEC road wins are always tough to come by, and this year is no exception. Teams are 9-30 on the road in SEC play this year. The SEC West has won exactly one road game so far, and teams not named Florida are 6-30 on the road.

Dawg hoop fans should keep their eyes on the Tennessee papers for news of Chris Lofton's health. Without Lofton, the trip to Big Orange Country looks very manageable.

The team still has miles of work to do in its half court offensive sets. But we found a way to win, and that's a great thing.

Georgia's Tourney Resume (per RealtimeRPI.com):

RPI at 38

See Also: Georgia Beats LSU -- Recap Articles

PWD

Recap: Georgia wins against LSU in a thriller

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- The last time Levi Stukes sank a game-winning 3-pointer, the first teammate off the bench to jump in his arms was Kevin Brophy. On the day Georgia honored Brophy, who died in an automobile accident on July 19, Stukes delivered another last-second 3 to lift the Bulldogs to a 57-54 win over No. 21 Louisiana State on Sunday. (more from the AP)

-- Photo Album - georgiadogs.com
-- Georgia remaining schedule - georgiadogs.com
-- Dogs Cap off Special Day - AJC
-- AJC Photos - AJC
-- Did it for Broph - UGAsports.com

PWD

January 28, 2007

Georgia vs. LSU Preview

Remember. Arrive by 2:45 pm for the Brophy ceremony.

(UPDATED) Articles of interest:

Bulldogs Honor Brophy

The road to Recovery

ESPN.com game preview

Ugasports.com preview

Georgia looking at NCAA push

Beatings not lost on Georgia coach

Tigers Seek to Prove Themselves

Tigers Try and Break out of Shooting Slump

Go Dawgs.

January 27, 2007

Hoops Links of Interest

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Do it for Brophy

Chip Towers has an inital salute to Kevin Brophy on the AJC's site. Towers will have a longer piece on Brophy in Sunday's paper. He also reminds everyone:

As you all probably know, there is going to be a tribute BEFORE the game to the late Kevin Brophy, the Australian player who was killed in a car accident in Greensboro last summer. Coach Dennis Felton asked me to ask our readers to please get to the game early as the ceremony will begin several minutes before the scheduled 3:05 p.m. Sunday tipoff. [Felton] suggests being there by 2:45.

The Red & Black has its preview of the LSU game already up. About 1,500 seats still remain for the game Sunday against one of last year's Final Four participants.

Update 1: Georgiadogs.com has an article up about the ceremony to honor Brophy's family.
Update 2: The Game will be televised on LF Sports.

The following promotional events are also scheduled for Sunday’s game vs. LSU:

Lastly, UGASports.com has video from the UK win.

PWD

See Also: Kevin Brophy Killed in car accident

FireTubbySmith.com

Proving once again that you can never make UK fans happy. Here's a T-shirt for sale on FireTubbySmith.com. Pretty funny actually. Particularly this article about the recent UK stampede.

Remember, FireTubbySmith.com is a very different site than FireTubby.com, which actually supports UK's coach.

PWD

January 26, 2007

Video: Frank Broyles is just keeping it real

A few weeks ago a web site called "SavetheHogs.com" debuted. That site, combined with a full page ad in an Arkansas paper, called for the resignation of Frank Broyles and Houston Nutt in an effort to save the program from the soap opera that swirls around Nutt, Broyles, Gus Malzahn, Mitch Mustain and the rest of the Springdale Trio.

The SaveTheHogs.com site described a meeting in Dallas of the Arkansas Alumni Association at which Frank Broyles, the athletic director, spoke about the program. Despite the controversy surrounding the program, the site said that Broyles took questions from the crowd.

The web site's description of Broyles' answers about the Soap Opera and the football program were so absurd and inappropriate that one would be tempted to write the entire web site off as the ravings of a loon. Something slightly more credible than FireRonZook.com.

Well...it looks like their info was rock solid.
Broyles' did in fact say that Arkansas had the #8 ranked potential in the SEC, and that most folks tell him that "You will never get a top coach at Arkansas." And there's quite a bit more. See for yourself.

Frank Broyles. A graduate of the Dave Braine School of Sandbagging, Crippling Expectations and Bad Quotes.

That place is a zoo.

PWD

hat tip - EDSBS

Elmo in Flames

Seriously, this has nothing to do with anything. Just something to watch while you're goofing off at lunch.

PWD

ACC Releases 2007 Composite Football Schedule

The ACC's football schedule for next year has been released. Obviously, that means Georgia Tech's schedule for 2007 is also out.

The ACC's schedule brings good news for Georgia Bulldog fans who are hoping for a night game vs. Oklahoma State to open the season. The ACC's schedule shows no overly compelling games that will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC for Sept. 1; therefore, ESPN and ESPN2 still have inventory for the season opener at night.

ACC Schedule for Sept. 1:

The only quality games on Sept. 1st appear to be Tennessee at Cal (televised as part of the Pac-10's contract), GT at ND (televised as part of the NBC/ND deal) and UGA vs. Oklahoma State. Most of the big name schools are playing cupcakes, directional schools and fictitious state universities that weekend. A kickoff in Athens vs. the Cowboys continues to look like a 6:00-8:00 start time. CBS doesn't televised the SEC on opening weekend due to US Open tennis coverage.

GT's Schedule for 2007:

I'll post some thoughts on Georgia Tech's schedule at a later time.

PWD

Wear Red vs. LSU on Sunday -- Pregame Tribute to Brophy

On Sunday, the men's basketball team will have a special pregame ceremony to remember and pay tribute to Kevin Brophy. Brophy was killed in a car accident this offseason, and his parents and family are in town from Australia for the event.

The game starts at 3:00 pm on Sunday vs. #16 LSU. Also, fans are encouraged to wear for this game. Please remember to arrive early for the pre-game events. This is an extremely big deal, and it's a chance for our program to thank the family of one of fallen Dawgs. Please remind others to get there early and wear red.

Thanks.

Paul Westerdawg

January 25, 2007

Allen Bailey Eliminates Dawgs from Recruiting Process

Bailey is a stud LB/DE prospect, and he has eliminated Georgia from his list. Anyone trying to downplay his abilities now as badly as UGA appeared to want him until 30 minutes ago is nothing more than a Sour Grapes whiner. He's a talented kid, and the Dawgs would've and still would take him in a heartbeat.

All the grumbling about "We wouldn't promise him that he'd play LB. Everyone else lied to him." That's weak. We appear to have gone hard after him, and we got beat.

As for the bitching about our signing class missing out on 2 or 3 kids this week. Are you freaking kidding me? We have 23 commitments. Most are studs. The ones who are more lightly recruited are at positions where we have extreme need and large numbers. Out of all the kids we most desperately appear to have wanted, we lost two alpha studs in Bailey and Eric Berry. It won't be a Top 10 class because we're signing a kicker and we signed 8+ offensive lineman.

AND because we locked up so many players so early, we're off to a ultra fast start for 2008 already.

If I had the success in my dating life that Coach Richt has on the recruiting trail, I sure as hell wouldn't have time to blog.

PWD

More UGA vs. UK articles of interest

ESPN Bracketology:
-- Dawgs a 9 seed vs. ND first round
It's really nice to see us on a projected bracket again. Hopefully, Tennessee's Lofton can miss a few more games, and Georgia can pull out a win in Knoxville on Jan. 31st. With 9-7 and 10-6 both obtainable in the SEC, Georgia could both work its seed higher and stay on the East Coast for the tourney.

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:
-- Say It Ain't So, Joe
-- Better Then Much Worse
-- Cats Manhandled by Brown
-- Photos from the Game

From the Louisville Courier:
-- Dawgs Top Cats

Others:
-- UK: A Football School -- DawgsOnline
-- The Broken Axle -- FireTubby.com
-- Plenty to Shout About -- ABH
-- Proving to Themselves -- ABH

pwd

Tickets Available: Georgia vs. LSU Basketball

Georgiadogs.com still has a some good tickets left for our game against #21 LSU in Athens this Sunday at 3:00 pm on Lincoln Financial Sports. Based on the size of the crowd vs. UK, this will end up being a sellout.

Additionally, tickets remain for our game against #1 Florida on Wed, Feb. 7. For the rest of our home game tickets, check here.

PWD

Note: These are all tickets available from UGA. They aren't links to my Stubhub.com account.

Takais Brown is More Man Than You'll Ever Be

Image: AJC.com
Brown scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, and all of his points were from the low post block. I have never seen a Georgia player shoot 10 of 15 from the low block, face rough and tumble double teams and not get a single foul called in his favor.

UK leaned on him, they muscled him, they pushed, they slapped and they prodded. But not once did a Foot Locker Sales Rep blow his whistle and send Brown to the foul line. A game called with more opened minded officiating on Takais' block gives him 4-5 more points. But I digress.

Think back. When was the last time you remember a Georgia front court player scoring 20 points all from the low block with his back to the basket? Steve Thomas, Jonas Hayes, Ant Evans, Jumaine, Zo Hall, etc. I don't remember any of those guys hunkering down on the low block in an SEC game and putting 10 shots in the hole. Much less 18 points in a half.

Brown is a weapon.

Felton said the game plan from the beginning was to get the ball inside to Takais, but we failed miserably at that in the first half. In fact, Felton joked after the game that he threatened bodily harm during halftime to the next player that jacked up a three before passing the ball inside to Takais. (paraphrase)

If we can run the offense through Brown, mix in some nice drives to the basket and some occasional kick out threes, we're a much tougher team to stop. We just can't go 10 minute stretches of forgetting about Brown.

If we keep feeding the beast, he'll keep filling the bucket.

The Georgia Sports Blog salutes Takais Brown. The Grown Ass Man of the Year for UGA Hoops.

See Also:
-- Brown's Brawn -- ABH (Wednesday)

pwd

Dawgs Win: Best Half of Basketball since 2003

Dawgs Skin Cats. Image: Dawgpost.com

The Georgia Bulldogs beat the #25 ranked Kentucky Wildcats 78-68 in overtime on Wednesday in front of a packed and rockin' house.

For the second game in a row, the Dawgs played two completely different halves of basketball. Against Alabama on Saturday, the Bulldogs built a 19 point first half lead before collapsing in the second half. The opposite happened Wednesday night. The Dawgs outscored the Cats 38-16 in the game's final 17 minutes to pull out the victory.

UGA could do virtually nothing right in the first half, and UK punished us for our mistakes. We ended the first half down by 13. I'm not sure what was said at halftime, but to quote Iron Chef ~~Turducken~~ Tailgate, "They certainly didn't sing Kumbaya for 15 minutes." In order to win the game, the Bulldogs had to overcome a 17 point lead by the Wildcats. And the can of whoop ass was opened to make that happen.

Georgia came out with a purpose in the second stanza and played its best half of basketball since the win over Florida in 2003. That was Harrick's last home game.

Quick Thoughts from the Box Score:

Truesportsfan blog

"When he's on his game, he provides relentless on the ball defense, exceptional floor leadership, excellent rebounding, a solid shot and very good vision. He still occassionally disappears, but those times are drawing fewer and fewer as he matures."

Great win for the Bulldogs. The crowd was amazing. I told my friend that "Coming to the UK basketball game is like coming to church on Easter. It's the one game you never miss no matter what." What a way to build up a crowd for LSU on Sunday!

More articles on the game:

Soft Roster Leaves UK Searching for Answers

UK Message board Meltdown

Dawgs Tame Wildcats

UGA rallies past UK

A reason to believe

UGA RPI up to #41 with UK Win

PWD

January 24, 2007

"I hope you watch it over and over"

I once made a video with my friends during the 8th grade. It was a Ninja movie. The special effects were ~~such that only a mother could admire~~ glorious given our primitive technical tools . Had we had access to the internets, Microsoft Movie Maker and the youtubes back then, I would still be humiliated by that piece of cinematography.

With that as a backdrop, I encourage you to check out this slam dunk video montage that DeadSpin unearthed. Don't miss the comments.

We've all been there right? Right????

pwd

uk game tonight

I like our chances. I'm heading over there with eager anticipation. However, today will probably be light day of posting. Check the usual AJC/ABH/recruiting sites for uk preview articles.

Go dawgs. work calls.

pwd

January 23, 2007

Makes Super Bowl Shuffle Sound Like Rapper's Delight

What do I love the best? The mad rhymes? The edgy synthesizer baseline? The high production values and state-of-the-art split-screens? Oh heck--I love all of it. You'll have to figure out how to get it on your iPod yourself...
See if you can top the 1988 Seminoles.

Dawgnoxious
Bureau Chief
Bad Hip Hop Division

The Butler Did it -- Dawgs Get Football Commitment

Image: Kevin Butler. Athens Banner Herald
Kevin Butler's kid just gave Richt his verbal commitment to punt for the Dawgs (Source: DawgPost.com). Per Drew Butler:

“Coach Richt let me know that they wanted me real bad,” he said. “They know my personality, and they know that I am going to work hard. I think I have the right mindset to handle my father’s legacy and to handle the scholarship offer.”

I know there are some Dawg fans who are troubled by UGA offering a scholarship to a kicker when we've had such success with our walk-on program vs. the scholarship offer to Andy Bailey.

My answer to that is simple. A coach either thinks that a kid is worth a scholarship, or he ain't. Just as many kickers bust out as anyone else. So just because one kid doesn't pan out doesn't mean you write off ever offering another kicker a 'ship. People used to complain that we were offering fullbacks after the success we had with walk-ons like JT Wall, Verron Haynes, etc. That panned out pretty well with Brannon Southerland.

Drew Butler had a scholarship offer from Duke on the table. A scholarship from Duke is worth about $45,000 per year in tuition, books, room and board. When you have the opportunity to get a premium education worth almost $200,000 for free, you have to seriously consider it. If it took a scholarship offer to land him, that means we wanted him pretty bad.

As for the Andy Bailey factor...who cares if Bailey was or wasn't a bust. Not offering another kicker because Bailey didn't pan out is like saying, "We'll never offer another running back because Jasper Sanks was a bust."

Jonathan Kilgo and Brent Kiroauc (sp?) were both offered scholarships out of high school. They worked out fairly well.

Also, it's not like kickers and punters are unimportant. If we had a better backup kicker this year, we would've won two more games. Remember when our punter was Wynn "30 yards after the bounce" Kopp? Donnan offered Kilgo a scholarship after seeing Kopp in action week after week.

If we offered Butler a scholly, it's because he deserved it. We've certainly let other "legacy" kids pass without a scholarship offer under Richt. See Keith McLee's kid up at WVU for one example.

Good move for Richt, and a great move for the Butler family.

PWD

Bruce Pearl goes Topless for Women's Basketball

Dawgnoxious called me last night with one of those, "You ain't gonna believe what's on ESPN right now" moments. Apparently, Bruce Pearl went topless for last night's Tennessee vs. Duke women's basketball game. He painted his chest orange with a big "V" on it as part of a student section group that spelled "Go Vols." Give the guy his props...he knows how to win over the Vol Nation. Pics below. Click to enlarge any of them.

Hat tip to VolsMcFall for the pics. See also:

Grin and Bear It

Well, that's one way to scare of Summitt's recruits

Pearl in Student Section for Lady Vol Game

PWD

Ranking the SEC's Top Coaches

This is a topic that's going around the internets lately. So I'll take my shot. First, let's look at what everyone else is saying about the SEC's top coaches:

Paul Finebaum

College Football Resource

Orange and Blue Hue

Statistically Speaking

DawgSports.com

So what about the Georgia Sports Blog's list? My list is based entirely on "Who would I want coaching one ball game?"

"My ego is this big."

longest drought without a BCS bid

Hard to get past this ridiculous image

As the Hawg Turns

longest tenure of a BCS coach without a BCS bid

What are your thoughts?

pwd

Hammer Time: Darren McFadden Video

Some comedy to start your day. Funnier now that Malzahn has bolted town.

Orson tipped me off to the creator of this video's YouTube page.

pwd

January 22, 2007

AJ Green Highlight Video

Most of you guys have probably seen this already. It was linked in the comments section last week, and it has been all over the recruiting message boards. The video shows AJ Green (WR from Summerville, SC) during his junior year of high school.

Green is a rising senior this year, and he is projected as one of the Top 10 overall players in the country. He's committed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs.

The video isn't as ridiculous as the Noel Devine clips, but it's pretty damn jaw dropping.

See Also:
-- Summerville HS Coach talks about Green - AJC

PWD

Longest Tenured Coaches without a BCS Bowl Appearance

Have you ever wondered....Who are the longest currently tenured coaches at a BCS Conference school that haven't guided their program to a BCS bowl game? Well, I'm glad you asked.

Here's the Top 10:

Almost on the list:

In the "Camel Club" of folks who've "gone without" the longest, you've got Phil Fulmer standing head and shoulders above the competition. The Vols haven't been to a BCS game since their trip to the Fiesta Bowl following the 1999 season. No other active coach has tasted the thrill of BCS success followed by a longer dry spell than Fulmer.

So the question is...how long is "long enough" to wait for your head coach to deliver a BCS Bowl bid? Update: Consider that 35 different BCS schools have made BCS appearances since 1998. There are only 65 schools in BCS conferences.

ACC Teams	Big 12 Teams	Big 10 Teams
Florida State Maryland Virginia Tech Wake Forest	Texas Texas A&M Oklahoma Nebraska Kansas State Colorado	Michigan Ohio State Wisconsin Iowa Illinois Purdue Penn State
Big East Teams	Pac 10 Teams	SEC Teams
Miami Pitt Syracuse West Virginia Louisville	USC UCLA Washington Washington St. Oregon Oregon St. Stanford	Florida Tennessee Georgia Alabama Auburn LSU
Others: Notre Dame Utah Boise State

PWD

January 21, 2007

As the Hawg Turns -- Arkansas Soap Opera Continues

Woo Pig

The blood letting in Arkansas over the Mitch Mustain, Houston Nutt, Frank Broyles, Gus Malzahn, alumni hate ~~triangle~~ trapezoid continues. The story continues to move national with editorials in the NY Times and Orlando Sentinel. But the real beatings are coming from the Arkansas media:

Drama not tied to Springdale

Instead, my friend is left without as much hope for the long term after a divorce between Malzahn, Mustain and the Arkansas program. It's a taste that is even more bitter given that seemingly every top football recruit in the state is finding a way to leap that imaginary fence as quickly as possible on their way to top programs elsewhere.

The Sinking Ship of Arkansas Football

As much good as Broyles has done for Arkansas in the past 50 years, it's time for him to gracefully accept his accolades and turn the reins over to somebody else. Why would he even want to stay around through this mess? As for Nutt, he'll coach himself out of a job before too long.

Sadly for Razorback fans, by keeping Nutt and losing Malzahn, Broyles just traded a Cadillac for a (Danny) Ford -- one that can't pass.

Hawgs Only Solution: Clean House

According to a Dec. 8 column by Matt Mosley on the Dallas Morning News’ CowboysPlus.com Web site, Nutt (and/or Broyles) approached David Lee about becoming the co-offensive coordinator in February 2006 ... after National Signing Day. After Malzahn had delivered three of the Springdale players to Nutt’s doorstep. Think about the dishonesty involved in that scenario.

Malzahn convinced players to attend UA based on those promises. But behind his back, there was already scheming and plotting to demote him before the Razorbacks even went through spring drills.

There's more, but it gets redundant. It seems like a race between all parties to see who can be the most self-destructive, petty and spiteful.

At the end of the day, Mustain is still at Arkansas while he looks for another school to accept him.

pwd

SNL's Weekend Update on Mike Vick's Airport Problems

Total comedy. Hat tip to Dawgrun.com. SNL goes off on Vick's stupidity. Great stuff.

PWD

Stegeman Basketball Practice Facility Photos

Georgiadogs.com has updated pics from the construction. They're making huge strides with the project. Check out their photos. ht - redstripedawg from the dawgvent hoops board.

pwd

FSU at Clemson on Labor Day Night 2007

Clemson, FSU and ESPN announced yesterday that Bowden Bowl IX will be televised on ESPN at 8:00 pm on Labor Day night.

It will be Clemson's first Monday night game since the 1982 season opener vs. Georgia on ABC when the defending national champs from '80 and '81 squared off under the new Sanford Stadium lights. Of course, the Dawgs won that one.

The Clemson announcement is only relevant to Georgia fans in that it further frees up TV inventory on Saturday, Sept. 1st, and it makes room for a strong national time slot for Georgia vs. Oklahoma State.

As I said a few weeks ago, the so far announced national college football schedule is shaping up for an ESPN night game when the Pokes come to Athens. I'm guessing a kickoff between 5:00 and 8:00 pm.

pwd

ht - VT message board

January 20, 2007

Hoops: Dawgs blow 19 point lead to Bama

Well, that sucked.

The Georgia Bulldog basketball team shot lights out in the first half leading by as much as 19 points over Alabama. The first half ended with Georgia up 50-35. The Dawgs played exceptional defense, shot 9 of 13 from beyond the three point line and out hustled Bama....in the first half.

Unfortunately, UGA was out scored 43-26 in the second half. The Bulldogs finally surrendered the lead on the last shot of the game as Alabama won 78-76. The good guys from Athens were out scored 16-3 in the game's final 4 minutes.

(Image: Takais Brown. AP)

In my opinion, our players out played their players in the first half. And their coach out coached ours in the second half.

Yes, our players made bad decisions with the ball in the final four minutes. However, when the game is tied 76-76 with roughly 32 seconds left and 15 seconds on the shot clock, you have to execute something in a half court set. We couldn't. We passed around with a confused look on our players' faces until Sundiata Gaines missed an off balanced jumper at the shot clock buzzer.

The turning point of the game was Bama's switch to a 2-3 zone from the man to man defense that they had played for much of the first half. When the Tide went to the zone, the Dawgs looked totally and completely baffled. I'll post more later on the game.

At the end of the day, this loss doesn't really change anything. No one expected us to win this game to begin with, and there are still six SEC wins left on the schedule for an NCAA tourney bid. But the win would've been huge.

Kudos to Gaines, Mike Mercer and Takais Brown who played lights out.

PWD

January 19, 2007

Georgia Tech loses top recruiter and resident math expert -- Patrick Nix

Big news on The Flats. Georgia Tech's offensive coordinator Patrick Nix is headed to the Miami Hurricanes to take the same position at Da U (Source: ESPN).

Nix and Giff Smith are GT's two best recruiters. Losing Nix is a big blow to what was becoming a solid staff...at least from a recruiting front.

It doesn't appear to be much of a blow to Tech from an Xs and Os standpoint.

His greatest QB protege is Reggie Ball. His most infamous play calling moment was sending in the "spike" call on third down vs. Georgia in 2004. He is also notorious for not finding ways to get Calvin OMG Johnson the ball in huge games (see: Clemson '06, UGA '06, the second half of the ND Game in '06, etc.).

Nix calls for the spike. Click to enlarge (Image: Anti-Orange Page)

As for the Canes, one has to ask..."Huh?" It's one thing to appreciate Nix as a recruiter. It's an entirely different thing to appreciate him as a play caller, QB coach or a guy that can count to four. Nix is a big step down from Dirk Koetter, former ASU head coach, who was initially announced as the offensive coordinator in Miami before taking a job with the Jacksonville Jags.

While FSU dramatically upgrades its coaching staff, Miami hires a guy who managed the #91 ranked passing offense and #54 ranked scoring offense in the nation and only created six points vs. Wake Forest in the ACC Title game. But I digress.

It is a win professionally for Nix. Randy Shannon, Miami's head coach, will likely give him a longer play calling leash than Chan Gailey gave him. Also, with Gailey's new found professional wandering eye, he may end up with greater professional stability in Coral Gables.

Either way, it doesn't make Georgia Tech look like much of a destination employer. Just sort of a stop over on the path to something "better."

pwd

Update:
Nix Confirms Things with the AJC

Uncle Ron is Back on ESPN -- The Voice Returns

Last year, ESPN demoted legendary broadcaster Ron Franklin to ESPN2. This year, they are bringing him back to cover the ESPN Primetime College Football Games (Source: SI.com).

He is the voice of college football today, and it'll be great to hear him back in his rightful place doing the big games.

See Also: Franklin's Exile is Over

Check out Franklin at his best doing the Auburn vs. Georgia intro before the 2005 telecast.

PWD

Friday Quick Hits

Chris Hatcher to Georgia Southern is a done deal. No word on what kind of offense he'd run, but Tim Guidera of the Savannah Morning News thinks there is only one option for GSU.

The Savannah Morning News ran an interesting interview with Brian Van Gorder. Local station WTOC also has a great video interview in which BVG discusses his courtship with the Falcons and decision to step down as head coach. Apparently BVG's family was not happy in Statesboro. That surprises me because from my understanding Statesboro is a pretty hospitable place, but then again, no one I know ever took a Cleveland Steamer on the city's greatest source of civic pride. Seriously, what kind of mean-spirited locals wouldn't embrace a coach who lobs these little hand grenades: "If our community and Eagle Nation were better educated, they'd respect what's going on here and what's happening."

On the deportation list? But compared to his brother, he's a saint! Remember Mike, it's about suppressing bad behavior, too.

Jeff Schultz thinks the Falcons need to let go of Michael Vick. It'll be interesting to see if Arthur Blank hangs on to embarrassing but talented bad boys the way he hangs on to worthless good boys.

Just like Mike Vick, minus the talent, the marijuana, and the (alleged) itch below the border.

Dawgnoxious

Hoops: A couple of Nuggets

Newman and the gang celebrate their win vs. ARK (image: georgiadogs.com)

The Georgia Bulldogs are currently 3-1 in the SEC, and they are riding a three game winning streak in league play. How big a deal is this? Consider:

against Vandy, Bama, SC and Ole Miss

SEC standings

favorably back loaded

The Bulldogs face Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday (1:30 pm EST on CBS). The Tide is coming off a complete beatdown loss to Vandy on the road. At first blush, you might assume the Tide is reeling.

However, a closer look shows that Bama has beaten LSU, Oklahoma and Iowa at home. It's the road where Alabama struggles getting blown out by Notre Dame, Arkansas and Vandy away from Coleman.

Regardless of what happens on Saturday, next Wednesday's game at home against Kentucky looms enormous. It's a game the Dawgs can win, and it's a game the program BADLY needs.

BTW -- Georgia is averaging 10-13 turnovers per game in its SEC wins. It's giving up 20 or so turnovers in the recent losses. If we don't turn it over, we have a shot against almost anyone. If we make unforced turnovers by the bucketload, we'll struggle to beat everyone.

pwd

Update: Check out Groo's thoughts on the Arkansas win.

January 18, 2007

College Football Blogger Awards Update

As I mentioned last week, the Georgia Sports Blog was nominated for Best SEC Blog as part of the College Football Blogger Awards. Pretty soon, we'll find out who won.

In the meantime, I wanted to make sure you saw all the nominees in each of the categories. There are some exceptional blogs on that list, and the folks from Rocky Top Talk did an awesome job of making the entire list available via importable bookmarks.

PWD

Update: Gailey to Dolphins?

It worked so well last time. Why not?
Chan Gailey's future with the Yellow Jackets is still up in the air. Earlier today the UK (the one on the other side of the pond...not the one north of Tenn.) Daily Mail reported that Gailey to Miami is a done deal.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel says that Gailey and Cam Cameron are the two front-runners. The paper also says that Gailey is telling recruits like Morgan Burnett that the situation should be resolved one way or the other by Thursday (today).

More vaguely, the Miami Herald was still listing Gailey among one of 5 finalists for the job including Mike Shula, Jim Mora Jr., Dom Capers and Cam Cameron. Cameron is the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, and the former wildy unsuccessful coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.

Realistically, if you look at that list of finalists...Gailey is the most qualified for the gig. That has to be scary if you're a Dolphins fan.

GT caught a break with this happening in a year with few scholarships to offer. The recruiting class is pretty much wrapped up because of the NCAA sanctions. However, the lingering nature of this three week long situation puts even greater pressure on Tech's athletic director to move quickly. Signing day is about 2.5 weeks away. They can't have a long drawn out search. They would need to have a coach in place within a week or so. Or the recruits could get very nervous.

Personally, I hope he stays. I'd rather take my chances with Gailey and his 0 for 5 streak against Georgia, than see what life might look like against Jimbo Fisher.

pwd

Jack Kingston = Great American

Well, I have no idea if he's a great American or not, but he's a whale of a Gator Hater. (Hat tip - jmac). He voted against a Congressional Resolution to say congrats to the Florida Gators.

Verily.

pwd

Ga. Southern to Hire Hatcher?

Despite our hopes that Georgia Southern would hire Tech's recruiting coordinator and Georgia Southern legend Giff Smith, it appears Georgia Southern has its sights set on Valdosta State's uber-successful head coach Chris Hatcher.

While it may be a good hire for Ga. Southern, it doesn't hurt Georgia Tech, and that's the news in which we really wanted to delight.

It's not too late to call him home and wreck Tech, too!

Dawgnoxious,
Statesboro Bureau Chief

For more on Giff Smith see GT Fanhouse

January 17, 2007

Dawgs Steal Win in Bud Walton Arena

Georgia escaped from Arkansas with an impressive road victory late Wednesday night. More importantly, the Dawgs have a three-game winning streak in SEC play going into a two-game road trip that begins Saturday.

Steve Newman drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to seal the deal. UGA shot three straight 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the game. It had been over a year (Jan. 11, 2006) since the Hawgs lost at home.

[Photo: ESPN]

Updates:
AJC: Dawgs Win on Newman's Buzzer Beater
ABH: Newman Beats Buzzer, Hogs
Scott Howard's Call of the Buzzer Beater with Video - Gdawg's Myspace

Dawgnoxious

Ninja Fights for His Rights...to an Apology

We usually stay on top of the Ninja news at UGA. Somehow, this one slipped past the editorial staff. UGA's much-maligned Methodist Ninja is seeking an apology from the ATF agents who violated his civil rights and beat the unshirted hell out of him for...well...nothing.

My first thought is Ninja Dawg should have thanked his lucky ninja stars that he didn't get taken ~~out~~ down in DeKalb County. DeKalb County police officers make overreacting beer-gutted good old boys in the ATF look like pushovers. I know we can't expect much from ATF agents, who after all are still government workers, but the part about the ATF agent accusing him of having a gun is just ridiculous. Who ever heard of a ninja packing heat?

Of course, a real ninja would not seek an apology, he would just take it and leave a few scars as a lesson. But I suppose a Methodist ninja is more forgiving than the run-of-the-mill whirling dervish of death.

Photo Credit: Dan

Think the ninja onslaught is just a local phenomenon? Then you obviously aren't a regular reader of PiratesVersusNinjas.net.

The worst part of the whole story: "Ransom was treated for injuries, including a large bruise on his back. Marc Jackson, a spokesman for the Atlanta Field Division of the ATF, declined to comment, saying the agency doesn't want to "breathe new life into the story." Marc Jackson, you are a horse's ass. Is it too much to concede that your mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging goons regret any injuries to the kid?

The Jeremiah Ransom was unavailable for comment at press time...or perhaps he was just covertly moving around in your home. Here's hoping he gets his apology.

Dawgnoxious,
Bureau Chief
Ninja Division

When Going Gets Tough, Van Gorder Bolts for NFL

The only guy besides Nick Saban who could make Bobby Petrino look like a loyal employee accepted an offer from Petrino to become linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Brian Van Gorder bailed out of the Georgia Southern job (his fourth in four years, if you are keeping track) after a single, dismal 3-8 season. I was just saying how I thought Brian Van Gorder lacked career management skills, and ironically he seems to have made a decision that may keep him out of college coaching for a good while.

I think Coach Van Gorder is a good man and a good coach. However, I think his career decisions in the last four years have indicated that he is impatient, short-sighted and lacks Strategery. The move from UGA DC to Jacksonville Jags LB coach seemed hasty and lateral at best. I actually expected BVG to be successful at Georgia Southern. But his aborted stint there reminded me that being a successful head coach is about more than just knowing your X's from your O's. It's about winning while appeasing multiple constituencies. Van Gorder proved himself not up to that task. He can be prickly and he was reluctant to embrace the program, its people, or its traditions.

"Would you still be smiling if I went 3-8 and left you coachless after a year in the middle of recruiting season? I mean, you know, rhetorically speaking."

Before he coached his first game in Statesboro Van Gorder scrapped several school traditions, alienating students, alumni, and community supporters he'd later need after his loss to creampuff Central Connecticut set the tone for the year.

When Erk Russell installed the triple option at Georgia Southern, he realized the types of kids he would be able to successfully recruit would be small but fast--and well suited to the triple option scheme. The trouble is, big schools don't want a triple option coach these days (which may be why Navy's Paul Johnson--despite an impressive won/lost record-- hasn't risen any higher), so Van Gorder installed a pro-style offense that would make him a more attractive candidate to larger schools down the road. Inheriting a playoff team from the previous season, Van Gorder's edition was worse in almost every conceivable measurement. His scheme and his personnel were mismatched. I doubt a more mature coach would have attempted something similar.

Making matters worse, Van Gorder scrapped GSU's tradition of arriving at Paulson Stadium in yellow school buses. When Erk created the program, the yellow school buses were the best they could do, and Erk (and every successor until BVG) kept the tradition in observance of the program's humble roots. But, Van Gorder didn't think the yellow school bus was classy enough. He also tinkered with the uniform. A wiser man would have asked and been told by more experienced peers that if you are going to go monkeying with a school's tradition, you'd better win BIG.

[Pictured: Candidate Van Gorder, with resume hanging from his belt]

Unfortunately, Erk Russell's death didn't help matters, in part because of the unflattering comparisons, and in part because Erk wasn't around to offer a vote of confidence to keep the haters at bay. In hindsight, Van Gorder was poorly matched to the job. His upward mobility was transparent, and when the going got tough, he took the first train out of town rather than wait around to get fired next season if he couldn't make the playoffs.

I have to think it will be a long time before anyone offers him a college head coaching position, and not just because of his modest ~~losing~~ winning percentage. He leaves his school in the lurch, having to fill the head coaching position days away from the all-important February signing day deadline. If I were an athletic director, I'd think twice before giving BVG an opportunity to leave me for the next best thing.

Dawgnoxious,
Career Consultant &
Statesboro Bureau Chief

Worst. Mic. Man. Ever.

UCLA's mic man in action. No seriously. This isn't parody. Click on the video...wait....no......not yet.......not yet.........not yet...............now! now! now! now!

I. Am. Speechless. His suckiness overwhelms me.

Hat tip - FireMarkMay.com and The Wizard of Odds.

PWD

January 15, 2007

Georgia Sports Blog at the Movies: Rocky Balboa

I recently saw Rocky Balboa. On my Rocky Scale (One = Best picture and Five = horsesh*t), this one is a Two. If you loved the first one, but you thought Rocky V = Phantom Menace, this movie is for you. It's been out for a little while now, but you if you haven't seen it yet, it's worth a trip to the theater. Others reviewed the film here.

I have to mention that one of the previews was for a Nicholas Cage movie called Ghost Rider, in which his head catches on fire and he rides a motorcycle and stuff. What is up with Nick Cage? He's a great actor. He's an Oscar winner for crying out loud...and he can't pick a script lately to save his life. The gawd-awful trailer prompted me to make the following observation to PWD: "I think Brian Van Gorder must be Nick Cage's career coach."

Rocky Balboa dramatically exceeded my expectations, which is more of a comment on my expectations than anything. The film is a throwback to the grittier first and second films, rather than the over-the-top cheese fests of the third and fourth flicks [sidebar: even to this day Rocky IV is a sublime guilty pleasure. RIP, James Brown. No political system could withstand an assault by Ronald Reagan and Rocky].

To its credit, the movie confronts the age issue head on, instead of pretending a mid-fifties Rock hadn't lost a step. In fact, one of my favorite scenes is when Apollo's former corner man Duke tells Rock his only chance is "blunt force trauma...heavy duty punches that will rattle his ancestors," followed by classic training montage (c'mon you know you love the training montage...flying high now!).

I defy you to visit the Philly Art Museum and NOT run the steps. It CANNOT be done I tell you!

I hope people will give it a chance because Stallone, who wrote and directed, put together a well-paced, often quiet film that includes many knowingly self-referential moments as a treat to franchise fans. The fight sequence is almost beside the point because the movie is the most character driven since the first. The fight is handled realistically, Rocky once again an underdog from the streets of Philly whom no one gives a chance.

Rocky Balboa is the movie the fighter deserves to retire with. Check it out.

Other Georgia Sports Blog at the Movies reviewed here.

Martinez a Candidate for Rice HC?

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Willie Martinez is one of four candidates for its vacant head coaching position. Former Rice coach Todd Graham resigned to take the head job at Tulsa.

The list apparently began with 200 recommendations, which was later whittled to 50 names. Other than Martinez, the "serious" candidates are Arizona defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, and former Rice defensive coordinator Paul Randolph.

Rice athletic director Chris Del Conte does not appear to be troubled by the impending signing day deadline, offering the following great quote regarding the seach: "Got a lot of suspects, but we don't know if we have any prospects."

Who has two thumbs and needs to blitz more?

Update: Martinez withdraws from consideration.

Brandon Miller Returning to UGA

Despite a brief flirtation with leaving early, Brandon Miller decided not to enter the NFL draft and will return for his senior season. Whether he changes positions from linebacker to defensive end remains to be seen. I'm not convinced he has the speed to replace Charles Johnson and Quentin Moses, but someone has to play end.

There's more where that came from, bizatch.

Steelers, Dolphins Hanging with Ruben Houston

Clearly the top brass in the Steelers and Dolphins organizations have been hanging with Reuben Houston. How else to explain the inexplicable? Not one but two NFL teams think Gailey would make a Chantastic head coach. Yet I have a hard time imagining Wayne Huizenga and Dan Rooney, pea-soup thick clouds of ganja smoke in their offices, simultaneously reaching the odd conclusion that they need to achieve Chan Gailey Equilibrium.

What is my recipe for success? Um. Ah. Hey, Mr. Rooney, pull my finger.

It is purely a question of science: much like water will find its level, Gailey will find five losses. Of course, a five loss NFL season will get you into the playoffs.

Mark Bradley weighs in this morning, accurately perceiving the ambivalence of the GTU fan base (both of them) toward Gailey leaving for the NFL. If you want Exhibit A in the case against Chan Gailey, it is Reggie Ball. Gailey's handling of his quarterback was the equivalent of a four-year train wreck. Bradley hits the nail on the head:

Even when the Jackets gave West Virginia a tougher time than anyone anticipated in the Gator Bowl, more than a few folks were left wondering why, if Taylor Bennett was capable of throwing for 326 yards against a stout opponent, Gailey hadn’t turned to him when Reggie Ball was having one of his many dreadful days.

Exactly. Obviously we hope Gailey stays at Tech forever.

January 12, 2007

Auburn still has 2 open slots on their '07 schedule

Auburn's AD Jay Jacobs says road games are for chumps

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make
as they fly by." -- Douglas Adams (author)

"How does a project get to be a year behind schedule?
One day at a time." -- Fred Brooks (former IBM scientist)

I'm very familiar with the whole procrastination scene. In fact, I'll blog about that one day if I ever get around to it. But procrastination has been taken to a whole new level in the sports world by Auburn's Athletic Department.

We're less than nine months away from the start of the football season, and the TigerPlainsEaglesJungleDwellersMen still have two open slots on their home schedule for 2007.

Auburn's current home football schedule consists of:

Let's start from the top with what's wrong with this scenario. First off, nine months away and still two open slots? One open slot isn't totally uncommon. We didn't nail our 12th game until a few weeks ago. But two? That's requires being totally asleep at the wheel. or......

Secondly, Auburn is trying to land two more home games. EIGHT HOME GAMES? Seriously? Hey Auburn, if you're wondering why you're struggling with the schedule, it's because you're not returning games. The 8th home game is part of Auburn's strategy to raise ticket prices without raising ticket prices.

Georgia went damn near 50 years without traveling outside the South. So we're a bit of an expert on the topic. However, since the release of the 12 game schedule experiment, we've booked home/away series with Clemson (twice), Colorado, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Louisville and Oregon. If you want to fix your schedule issues, you're going to have to accept the fact that 7 home games is enough.

Thank heavens for Damon Evans and crew. We're finally getting to schedule decent teams, and we're not seeing the bumbling keystone cops articles as much anymore. Plus, we've got quality non-conference games booked through 2016. Auburn...not so much.

For a quality Auburn perspective on this check out the AU FanHouse.

PWD

Petrino Tribute Song from Louisville

Petrino Song -- This is exceptional.

PWD

SEC Women: Power Ratings

Sportsline.com's Clay Travis has posted his Power Ratings for SEC Women. He based his ratings on his tour of SEC venues this season. I've been to 11 of 12 SEC venues (most 4-6 times) having only missed the Swamp. However, I've been to the Cocktail Party 13 or so times so I'm well versed on this topic. With that in mind, I've developed my own list to counter Clay's.

Sportsline's Ratings	Georgia Sports Blog's Ratings
1. Ole Miss	1. Ole Miss
2. Georgia	2. Georgia
3. Vanderbilt	3. Auburn
4. Auburn	4. Alabama
5. South Carolina	5. Kentucky
6. LSU	6. Florida
7. Tennessee	7. South Carolina
8. Alabama	8. LSU
9. Kentucky	9. Arkansas
10. Arkansas	10. Vanderbilt
11. Florida	11. Tennessee
12. MSU	12. MSU

When Ole Miss girls won Miss America in back to back years in the late 50s, the saying was born, "At Ole Miss, we redshirt Miss America." So, it's no shocker to see them listed so high. However, Orson has an odd take on the whole Ole Miss chicks are hot situation. I think the best post on his comment thread comes from his wife..."Massive eyeroll." (Hint: she's The Conscience of a Nation).

BTW -- What day was Clay in Nashville? I don't think you could list Vandy in the Top 3 if the entire Miss America contest was held on campus.

pwd

ACC Champ Winless in Bowls over the past 7 years

Some interesting stats from the Fredericksburg paper. Turns out that the ACC Champion hasn't won a bowl game since 1999 (FSU vs. VT). Additionally, the ACC has never had a second team chosen for the BCS. And, this year the ACC only won two bowl games against other BCS Conference teams. So much for the whole "ACC Sooper Conference" discussion.

ACC Football: It's better than the WAC!

PWD

January 11, 2007

Grossman takes it

Quien Es Su Padre?

Photo of the week from DeadSpin.com

PWD

Most Classless Acts of 2006 Football Season

The Wizard of Odds has a great list; although, I'm actually going to side with the Georgia Tech fans on this one. The WVU fan who took a dump in the GT band section is the real winner here. Everyone else is just battling for 2nd place.

Top 11 Most Classless Acts in Football - Wizard of Odds

PWD

(ht - edsbs)

Georgia Plucks the Gamecocks in Hoops

image: Georgiadogs.com

The Dawgs got a much needed SEC win and broke a four game losing streak vs the Gamecocks with an 80-56 win. Georgia out rebounded, out shot and out played the Gamecocks. This was exactly what the doctor ordered. We get Vandy at 4:00 on Saturday in Athens. Per the AJC:

Everything they were doing wrong during the losing streak they did well against the Gamecocks.

• Averaging 20 turnovers during the previous four games, they had only 10 Wednesday.

• In a team shooting slump from 3-point range, they made 10 of 25, including 7 of 14 in the first half.

• After going 3-for-14 against No. 2 Florida on Saturday, Mercer was 7-for-14 against the 'Cocks.

• Bothered with a sprained ankle the past three weeks, point guard Sundiata Gaines played only 18 minutes and scored 12 points in that span.

Go dawgs.

PWD

College Football Blogger Awards News

I'm very proud to announce that the Georgia Sports Blog was nominated for Best SEC Football Blog in the first annual College Football Blogger Awards. We're up against:

Dawgsports.com

EverydayShouldBeSaturday

Rocky Top Talk

RollBamaRoll

To see all the nominees in the different categories, check out the announcement chain:

If you're a college football blogger and you'd like to vote, head over to Brian Cook's Voting Machine.

PWD

Ohio State's Script Ohio Humor

After the national title game, I remarked that a photoshop version of the Ohio State band doing their "script ohio" formation could have some nice humor possibilities. Ask and you shall receive.

Overrated: By SWGDawg

O-Shit. by Milldawg.

Our readers rock. Thanks fellas. As always, great farks are welcome here.

PWD

eBay to purchase StubHub for $300 million

FYI -- Stubhub has been purchased for $300 million. eBay was their chief competitor for aftermarket ticket sales. I doubt this will affect anything related to my affiliate relationship with them. And this isn't unexpected.

PWD

January 10, 2007

Should Google Buy Tivo?

From the Georgia Sports Blog's entertainment and home theater beat comes these stories.

John Fortt of Business 2.0 magazine last month suggested that Google should buy Tivo. He makes a compelling case; however, I would be against such a merger for two reasons:

trust us wink-wink

The flip side of the coin is Google's ability to innovate is staggering. Cable providers innovate at a level slightly above their customer service. The consumer generally wins as innovation is driven into the marketplace. Regardless, the future of Tivo is an interesting story to watch for all home theater buffs.

Big. Ass. TV.

However, nothing on the home television front is quite as eye catching as a 108 inch flat screen LCD TV. With a 9 foot tall television, you would have to tape your ankles and wear elbow pads before watching football. The linked article also includes a blurb of interest to those of us with elaborate tailgates:

Satellite TV provider DirecTV introduced a suitcase-sized system called SatGo that will allow users to access the company's signals at the beach, while camping or at a tailgating party.

So there's that.

PWD

Rodney Garner Loves His Job

Sounds like Rodney has finally found peace again after 2 or 3 consecutive off seasons of looking around. What's a fella gonna do? He had an itch, and he scratched it.

Anyway, he's in a good place, and he says he knows it. Good interview by Josh Kendall with Georgia's top recruiter.

pwd

January 9, 2007

Final Top 25 Polls Announced

The final AP and Coaches Polls are out.

Speaking of season ending recaps. How about the finals for how the ACC and SEC stack up in the final polls, and let's look at the Bowl results for the various leagues.

I wish I could photoshop this to say "overrated"

SEC Teams (AP/Coaches):

ACC Teams (AP/Coaches):

Conferences in Bowls:

BCS Teams vs. Other BCS Teams or ND in bowls:

PWD

Dawgs vs. Defending National Champs

Kyle King has your stat of the day. Look at the bright side, the Dawgs are 5-1 vs. the defending national champs over the past 43 years. DawgSports.com has the details.

Oh...and the last time the Georgia Bulldogs lost to Kentucky, beat Auburn, beat Georgia Tech and the Gators won the National Title all in the same season, we went on to have our best season in 14 years ('84-97) the very next year. So there's that.

PWD

Tony Barnhart had the Dawgs at #16

He has his early look at next year's Top 25 up. We're at #16.

I didn't realize that next year Auburn travels to LSU, Arkansas, Florida and Georgia. Even with all that he has the Aubies as #14.

The AP and Coaches polls come out later today. Hopefully, we ended the season ranked.

pwd

Damn. Just Damn.

You can't count on the Big 10 for anything. Congrats to the Gators I guess. But damn.

Some random thoughts from the game:
-- Shouldn't Troy Smith be required to return this Heisman? If Vanessa Williams had to return her Miss America crown for posing nude, shouldn't Smith have to give his trophy back for getting on his knees and blowing the game?

-- Did Ohio State's defensive coordinator borrow Willie Martinez's old VCR? Why did tOSU think that the secret to stopping the Gators is to let Leak stand there, get comfortable and slaughter them? A 3 man front with a linebacker playing noseguard? Yeah....that'll work. Everyone knows that you start blitzing Leak when he gets off the bus. During halftime, you should blitz the Gator band.

-- Did Urban Meyer actually send the Buckeyes film of this year's team? It looked like tOSU had been studying film the '79 Gators. Certainly, not this year's edition.

-- Laurinaitis is a french word meaning typical overrated slow Big 10 linebacker. His old man is cool, but good grief could he be more overrated?

-- If any Buckeye fans complain that Ted Ginn, Jr. wasn't in the game, laugh in their face. Ted Ginn Jr. wasn't worth 35 points.

-- Best post-game line predictably comes from Orson Swindle, "It was like watching Roy Jones in his prime boxing an Olsen twin."

All in all, it's always suck watching the Gators win. I can't even take solace in the fact that Georgia with a freshman QB and a banged up defense gave the Gators a much better game than the Sooper Unbeatable Bucknuts. Puke.

PWD

January 8, 2007

Rockin the Sweater Vest Tonight

Here's hoping.
Am I pulling for the SEC tonight? Hell to the no!

I wouldn't piss on the Gators if they were on fire. Much less actually pull for them. So per Iron Chef ~~Turducken~~ Tailgate's suggestion (she got promoted), I'll be sporting the sweater vest in honor(sic) of Jim "Cheaty McSweater Vest" Tressel.

Go Buckeyes!

As suggested elsewhere, here's hoping Tebow throws 5 INTs and single-handedly causes the Gators to lose.

PWD

PS -- Bonus reason to hate UF and Meyer. Is anyone else sick of hearing him weave Alex Smith into any conversation about great college QBs. I'm like dude...we get it. He was the #1 overall pick, and he played for you. Enough. Please.

Calvin Johnson Declares for Draft

Not sure who Taylor Bennett will throw into triple coverage to next year, but Calvin Johnson has declared for the draft. Best of luck to what seems to be one of the real nice guys in college football. It's a shame that the Falcons, who pick at #10, won't be able to select him. He's a sure fire Top 3-5 pick.

Best line on the announcement came via email to me...."Calvin declared after hearing that Paul Oliver was coming back."

PWD

Gamecock Lost and Found

It's a little known fact that the Athletic Department at South Carolina serves its players cereal on plates. Why? Because they lost all their bowls.

The Gamecocks were legendary losers of their first eight bowl games. But the program is making progress...of sorts. They have gone from losing bowl games to just losing the bowl trophy.

After the Liberty Bowl, the SC coaches and administrators accidentally left the game trophy back in Memphis. Luckily for the program, they also left one of their players in Memphis. The State has the story of how senior long snapper Scott Morgan and three of his buddies saved the 80 pound trophy. The story involves a long road trip and of course a stop a Hooters in Conyers, GA.

It's pretty easy to see how something like this happens. It's not like they're experienced in bringing home hardware.

My only question...did the Athletic Director have to move any of their Preseason National Champion trophies to make room for the Liberty Bowl mini-monument?

PWD

Quick Recruiting Links

This and that from the recruiting world.

UGAsports.com reports that offensive lineman Joe Blaes has changed his verbal commitment from Georgia to Iowa State. If you remember, Blaes was the JUCO OL that wanted to enroll early a few weeks ago with the other JUCOs, Prep kids and high schoolers. At the last minute, UGA ran out of scholarships for early enrollees because one of our existing seniors didn't graduate in December as originally planned. Blaes still had an offer for Fall enrollment, but he decided to go elsewhere.

Fact is, this commitment never made a bit of sense to begin with. This was another Neil Callaway special. An early commitment from a kid no one else wants that scares other kids away because our depth chart starts looking full. We went all the way out to Kansas to beat out Baylor for this guy? Insert shaking head. Best of luck to Blaes, but I'd be shocked if this has any impact on us one way or the other.
David Ching reports that the Dawgs are looking to make a final push on the recruiting front. Ching talks a bit about Allen Bailey (MLB/DL recruit). While we're talking about Bailey, DawgPost.com says UGA will get one of his final 3 visits.
A Northeast Louisiana newspaper speaks highly of our new OL Coach Searels.
UGASports.com catches up with Trinton Sturdivant in a premium article about his early enrollment.
Dawgpost.com talks with Cam Heyward. We're not currently scheduled for an official visit, but we still sound strong with him.

Overall, everything I've seen points to the Dawgs closing with a few more big name guys and another Top 10 class.

PWD

Falcons Hire Petrino from Louisville

Image: SI.com
Kudos to Blank for hiring Bobby Petrino. With the Falcons struggling on offense, they went out and hired one of the best offensive minds in football. Petrino was a successful offensive coordinator in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jags so this isn't quite the Spurrier to Redskins scenario redux.

The AJC is giddy with the hire.

Bradley - A Great Hire

Petrino a QB Guru

Louisville Coach hired by Falcons

PWD

Sidney Rice and other SEC foes declare for draft

Our week two match-up against the Gamecocks just got easier as South Carolina wide receiver Sidney Rice declared for the NFL Draft. Other big name SEC guys are joining him:

Jamarcus Russell (QB) - LSU

Robert Meachem (WR)- UT

Jamaal Anderson (DE) & Chris Houston (DB) - ARK

Calvin Johnson hasn't announced yet; however, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Calvin is trying to figure out if the Raiders are looking to draft him #1 overall. Their comment:

"There is speculation that Johnson is gauging whether the Oakland Raiders, who own the top pick, would draft him. If so, despite more than $26 million in guarantees, Johnson likely would return to college."

PWD

January 7, 2007

Basketball: Dawgs lose to Gators

This was expected. The Gators are an exceptional basketball team. We aren't. The Dawgs had a lead at half but poor shooting and turnovers did them in as we lost 67-51 in Gainesville.

The Bulldogs get two in a row at home to settle back down.

Both are winnable games for Georgia, but we're going to need to turn it over less, shoot better and Mercer has to return to form. If you're a football fan looking for a reason to care about hoops, remember that Jan. 13th is a big recruiting weekend for Coach Richt's boys. A good crowd for the basketball team always helps with the vibe for the weekend.

PWD

Video: Chick-Fil-A Bowl Highlights

UGA Mumm-Ra has his Chick-Fil-A Bowl video up on his site. As always, it's very good.

PWD

January 6, 2007

UGA Names LSU's Stacey Searels as OL Coach

Georgiadogs.com has the story. It's a great pick-up. I did something a few hours ago on Brad Scott and Searels. Looks like I was more behind than I thought. lol. Check that out for some more bio links and what not. Bottom line, he's from Trion, Georgia originally. Anyone that knows me, knows that I have no earthly idea where Trion is. However, Google Maps says it's due north of Rome, Georgia. So I'll take their word for it.

Anyway, Searels played for Pat Dye and Neil Callaway at Auburn, and he played a few years in the NFL. He was an All-American offensive lineman in 1987. His most recent coaching stop was at LSU for the past four years. Two years with Saban and two with Miles.

I think this is a HUGE hire for Richt. Searels is a proven SEC winner as an assistant and a player. As a player and coach...

When Searels first went to LSU, he wrote an article for American Football Monthly magazine. It's hard core nuts and bolts about the OL drills he teaches.

Also, while serving as an assistant at Appalachian State, Searels was awarded the NCAA's Award of Valor. The Award has only been given 8 times since 1974. It was awarded for his for act of courage following a head-on collision involving a van carrying members of the Mountaineer football team and support staff on Sept. 30, 2000.

With the Appalachian State van burning, Searels pulled out two staff members, who were trapped in the vehicle (11 other passengers in the van were able to escape on their own). Moments after Searels got the two staff members to safety, the van was engulfed in flames. Searels, who had been traveling on the team bus behind the van, had saved the life of his student assistant coach (Jonathan Taylor) and assistant athletic trainer (Tony Barnett). Taylor, who was airlifted to a hospital, spent three weeks in intensive care before making a complete recovery.

The NCAA Award of Valor honors those who, "when confronted with a situation involving personal danger, averted or minimized potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery."

So, basically...he's a badass person and coach.

Incidentally, if Les Miles loses his OC/QB Coach Jimbo Fisher to FSU or Bama and his OL coach in one offseason, how will it affect his recruiting and preparations for 2007.

PWD

Update: The AJC has their article on the hiring up.

Coaching Rumors: UGA OL Coach

I'm late to the party here, and this is hardly breaking news. But to recap from earlier this week....Two names emerged this week as possible replacements for Neil Callaway as the University of Georgia's offensive line coach. The candidates are Stacey Searels of LSU and Brad Scott of Clemson.

Scott and Richt worked together for Bobby Bowden for several years before Scott began his unsuccessful tenure as the Gamecocks' head coach. After leaving the University of South Carolina, Scott joined the Clemson coaching staff serving as tight ends coach, offensive line and offensive coordinator at different times. Earlier in the week, Dean Legge from DawgPost.com felt that Richt and Scott might be close on a deal while the AJC's Chip Towers was less optimistic.

On the other hand, UGASports.com's Steve Patterson has reported that Georgia is talking with LSU offensive line coach Stacey Searels. Coach Searles, original from Georgia, was an All-American offensive lineman for Auburn under Pat Dye and Neil Callaway in 1987. He served for two years on Coach Saban's staff at LSU. He was one of only two holdovers in the Saban to Miles transition.

Both coaches have won National Titles as an assistant coach (FSU '93 for Scott and LSU 2003 for Searels). Both would be quality hires.

Personally, I'm most intrigued by Searels. He's a helluva a recruiter and talent evaluator, and his lines play incredibly tough. He also saved two guys from a burning van a few years back. To sign him, Richt would probably have to beat out Les Miles and Nick Saban for his services.

In non-Dawg coaching rumors:
-- The Wishbone has a great recap of other coaching moves around the SEC.
-- Alabama's Scout.com site has an in-depth premium article on the candidates for all their open spots.

PWD

Of Possums, PacMan and Camera Phones

Image: Deadspin

Two of the weirdest stories I've seen in a while come to us from DeadSpin. First, NFL defensive back PacMan Jones and country music legend George "The Possum" Jones have become "good friends" in the wake of an ATV incident involving the two Nashville area neighbors.

Frankly, Pac-Man isn't man enough and doesn't have nearly the street cred to roll with one of the wildest men to ever walk the planet. No Show Jones once got so high that he had a fist fight with himself in order to kill his "other" personality...Dee-Doodle the Duck. He also famously rode a lawnmower to the liquor store and was once describe by the Austin Chronicle as:

"a locomotive bound for hell, fueled by bourbon and riding endless twin rails of cocaine to a terminal somewhere way, way down the line."

In other words, the Tennessee Titans resident bad boy is way, way out of his league hanging with George Jones.

Separately, we learn why Sean Salisbury, one of the most grating and condescending tools on ESPN, was suspended for several weeks. At the risk of a libel suit, I'm just going to link to this one. All I'll tell you is it allegedly involves female co-workers, his junk and a camera phone.

So there's that.

PWD

January 5, 2007

Rumor: Gailey to the Dolphins?

Now this is certainly interesting. Nathan Fowler of GT's AOL Fanhouse says that rumors are flying that Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey may interview for the Dolphins job. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel weighs in on the rumor.

UPDATE: Tech's Athletic Director confirms that the Dolphins have asked for and received permission to speak with Gailey about the position (source: AJC)

Nathan lists Ken Whisenhunt among his dream candidates. GT would need to get in line. Today, Bill Cowher resigned as head coach of the Steelers. And everyone on the planet thinks the Steelers will offer the head coaching job to Russ Grimm or Whisenhunt, the Steelers current offensive coordinator.

Whisenhunt, a GT alumnus, is also a top candidate with the Falcons, Dolphins and every other NFL team with a job opening.

Nathan also lists Jimbo Fisher as a top candidate / someone of interest for the Yellow Jackets. Suddenly, Fisher is the prettiest girl in school. UAB wanted to make him head coach. Les Miles, Nick Saban and Bobby Bowden are competing to have him run their offenses, and now Tech might call him? It's nice to be loved.

Personally, I'm hoping Whisenhunt gets locked up by the Steelers. Then I'm hoping Gailey stays on North Avenue while Tenuta leaves to be someone else's defensive coordinator. That's pretty much the best case scenario for UGA.

PWD

How the Bama deal went down

Who knows how true this is, but this is one version of the truth. Regardless, it's an entertaining read.

pwd

More Chick-Fil-A Bowl Pictures -- Offense

Jim Hipple's photos from the game. Click to enlarge.

Matt Stafford on the run.

Martrez Milner after the long pass down the sideline.

Milner scores.

Milner and Fernando Velasco celebrate the catch with Hairy Dawg.

All photos by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.

PWD

Another Nick Saban Fark

Image from GeauxToHellSaban.com

PWD

If you dislike Bill Curry

And I do.

Then you'll enjoy this interview with Gene Stallings from yesterday's Paul Finebaum Show. Curry went on ESPN talking about how unrealistic the Bama fans are in their expectations saying, "Bama fans are only happy if you win all your games and find a way to beat Auburn twice that year." Then he went on to talk about the "Alabama Mafia", his name for the trustees and Bryant Jr., that run the program.

Gene Stallings went on the air with Finebaum and gave his retort (audio). Classic. Basically saying (paraphrase):

Stallings: "Statements like [Curry's] embarrass me...If you’re a football coach and you want to win big time games…not many people are gonna go from Alabama to Kentucky. Maybe if you're a basketball coach."

PWD

Saban names his Defensive Coordinator

Saban's defensive coordinator is going to be Kevin Steele according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Steele is the linebackers coach at FSU. He has no ties to the University of Alabama, but his parents live in Tuscaloosa.

He has also hired Lance Thompson from UCF. Thompson has worked at GT and Bama in recent years. And he's talking with Jimbo Fisher about being his OC. In fact that Tuscaloosa News has a great look at many of his possible assistants.

pwd

January 4, 2007

Richt talks with the AP about 2007

Pretty tame interview. Richt talks with Newberry about next year. He says we were really close to 11-2 this year, and really close to a losing season.

pwd

Hat tip - dawgbone.net

More Chick-Fil-A Bowl Pictures -- Defense

Jim Hipple sent another batch of pictures from the game. Click to enlarge any of them.

Moses clobbers their QB.

Charles Johnson and Quentin Moses converge on Glennon.

Danny Verdun-Wheeler and Ray Gant attack the runner.

Mudcat Elmore bottles up Glennon.

Click to enlarge any of the images. Again, thanks to Jim Hipple for sending the pics.

PWD

How much for a good time?

No idea who farked this, but it's comedy. Click to enlarge.

For another great Saban fark check Orson's site.

PWD

Bleaux Out -- LSU Clobbers Notre Dame

Image: ESPN.com

Year 2 of the "Charlie Weis Sooper Genius Reign of Success and Championships" ends with a blowout loss in the Sugar Bowl. In 2005, the Fighting (sic) Irish didn't beat a team that finished the season ranked in the Top 25.

Unless Penn State (9-4) finishes the season ranked, ND will end the season once again without a victory over a ranked team. In fact, versus ranked teams this year the Irish were outscored 136-59. In the Sugar Bowl's second half, Weis' magic offense was outgained 72 yards to 304 for LSU.

However, I'm sure they'll draw comfort from proudly displaying their Commander in Chief trophies gained via their numerous victories over the service academies. Feast on Cupcakes like a Champion Today.

PWD

Nick Saban Coverage and Commentary

The national press on Saban's hiring falls into three main camps...

Saban lies when his lips move

You can't Trust Anyone

Saban is a Short Timer

Bama Gets its Man - At a High Cost

Bama bought a coach

My Reaction:
Personally, I didn't think Bama had any shot at Nick Saban. Not because Bama isn't relevant anymore, but I felt that way because Miami would pay more. And, that Saban wouldn't leave until he turned the 'Fins around. And more importantly, I felt that Mal Moore and company lacked the professional competency to land a coach of Saban's caliber.

In the end, Saban is taking a short term pay cut to come to Bama ($4.5 million at Miami vs. $4 million in Tuscaloosa); although, it's a more lucrative deal in the long run. All the credit in the world goes to Mal Moore for landing Saban. (Note: Union money only came to Tuscaloosa a few years ago. Hopefully his agent, Jimmy Sexton, asked for the right kind of dollars)

As to the comments that he won't stay long at Bama...who cares?
1. Bama can't fire him. It's a $30-32 million guaranteed contract. It ain't like they can eat it. He has a contract large enough to finally say "blow it out your ass" to Bryant Jr., Lee Roy Jordan, and anyone else that tries to meddle.

2. He burned bridges in the NFL with his departure from Miami. Especially with his endless denials about taking the Bama job. He can still go back, but not for several years.

3. For him to go elsewhere he has to win huge at Bama. He has to make people so excited about him that they will overlook his professional wandering eye.

If he wins big enough at Bama that other organizations pursue him, then he's winning. Isn't that what they want?

When was the last time Bama had a coach that other top programs wanted to hire away?

So what if leaves in 4 or 5 years. Bama will be left with a full cupboard of recruits, and it's much easier and less expensive to go "coach shopping" when you're winning than when you're on probation, 3-8 or dealing with stripper scandals.

At the end of the day, Bama made the best hire that they could make to put them back on track. And as a Georgia fan, I'm eager to see Tennessee and Auburn pick up more losses each year. Especially to a program that we only play 2 out of every 5 years.

PWD

BTW -- There are some other takes on this that are a bit out of the above three main buckets. They're all excellent.
-- NFL isn't the end all be all now - Len Pasquarelli
-- The NFL was a bad fit for Saban - SI.com's NFL writer

January 3, 2007

Paul Oliver Staying at Georgia

Paul Oliver in action

Paul Oliver is staying at Georgia. This is excellent news for our defense.

PWD

Looks like Bama got their man

Image: Tuscaloosa News
A coaching search that until today could only be described as "embarrassingly public" should get a different description shortly. The new description would be "successful."

The Orlando Sun-Sentinel, the Birmingham News and the Tuscaloosa News are reporting that Nick Saban will become the new head coach at Alabama today. As with any Alabama coaching search story, it is obviously still developing.

Bama fans won't rest easy until they see him at the press conference, but this looks like a done deal.

Nick Saban is a proven, established winner with a national championship and two SEC championships under his belt in five years at LSU. His head to head record vs. Tuberville was 2-3 with both coaches holding serve at home. He's also a proven recruiter with consistent Top 5-10 recruiting classes at LSU.

Bottom line: He was the best coach in America that was willing to come to Alabama. Bama did the right thing by offering the money to get him there.

He also has the personal gravitas/cojones to run the Alabama football program "his way" and not the way that Lee Roy Jordan, Paul Bryant Jr., or Mal Moore think he should run it. With a rumored $30 million contract (roughly the same amount they paid Albert Means*), they can't fire him if he gets on their nerves. He'll assemble a world class coaching staff, and he'll recruit gang busters. Plus, he has burned a ton of bridges with the NFL over his departure from Miami. So where else can he really go?

It's a good thing that Georgia plays Alabama in 2007 and 2008. That way we get him before he reloads their talent pool. It's also a good thing for Georgia that Saban is coming to the SEC. A strong Bama rises at the expense of Tennessee and Auburn.

The only real downside for the Dawgs and Tech...he will most certainly come into Atlanta for recruits. The good news...there's plenty of talent for everyone.

PWD

*the Albert Means line was shamelessly ripped off from MakoDawg on ThePorch.

2007 Georgia Schedule -- Ultra Early TV Thoughts

In 2006, we were stuck with a tough combination of a bad home schedule and painfully early kickoffs. Some of that due to bad luck (see: Colorado's implosion) and some due to the SEC's divisional rotation. With that in mind, I put together some early thoughts on possible game times for next year. (See also: Georgia's 2007 Schedule) I can't help it....I'm already thinking about next year's tailgates.

Sept. 1: Oklahoma State (Home)
ESPN brokered the deal between the two schools, and there is only one other quality SEC game that day. The UT at Cal game on the same day will be televised by the Pac-10's TV contract. Expect an ABC 3:30 or 8:00 kickoff for them, and GT at Notre Dame will be on NBC. Our game is a near lock for ESPN or ESPN2 at night in a match-up of two likely Top 20 teams.

Sept 8: South Carolina (Home)
Spurrier's crew comes back to Athens. Traditionally, CBS doesn't begin its television contract with the SEC until the US Open Ends (Aug. 27-Sept. 9th 2007). LSU hosts Virginia Tech on the 8th in a likely ESPN Primetime slot. Our game is the second best SEC game of the day, and it would be a great fit for an ESPN2 game. I'm thinking a kickoff around 5:00-8:00 pm.

Sept. 15: Western Carolina (Home)
Obviously, no network TV for this Div I-AA game. Possible Pay Per View coverage. A jobber/payout game like this is perfectly scheduled before our first road game in Tuscaloosa. Near lock for a 1:00 pm start.

Sept. 22: Alabama (Away)
The only other interesting SEC game on the 22nd is South Carolina at LSU. Pencil this one in for CBS at 3:30; although, a night game is possible. Hopefully, it won't be as hot as our last trip which was 6 billion degrees Kelvin.

Sept. 29: Ole Miss (Home)
This game screams LF Sports at 12:30 pm. Bama plays FSU in Jacksonville and Florida hosts Auburn on the same day. The only way this game ends up on CBS is if they use a double header this weekend, and we end up as the noon CBS game. Either way, it looks like an early start.

Oct. 6: Tennessee (Away)
The kickoff times start to get much more difficult to project at this point. The other big SEC game of the day is Florida at LSU. We'll either be at 3:30 on CBS or a night game. Either way, the crowd will be plenty liquored up and loud in Knoxvegas.

Oct. 13: Vanderbilt (Away)
Auburn at Arkansas is the big game of the week. The rest of the SEC's power teams are playing the bottom half of the league. Given the lack of quality match-ups, I have no earthly idea when this will air. My default expectation for the Vandy game is 12:30 on LF Sports. South Carolina plays UNC on this weekend, but it's at Chapel Hill so it's on the ACC's TV contract.

Oct. 20: BYE WEEK
The long awaited off week before we play the Gators. Even better, the Gators have a game against UK that week! The big SEC TV games this week will be Auburn at LSU and UT at Bama.

Oct. 27: Florida (Jacksonville)
The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. UT vs. South Carolina is the only other interesting game of the day. This game has filled the CBS 3:30 slot all but once in the past 10+ years (2002 at night on ESPN). CBS usually locks this game up before the season starts.

Nov. 3: Troy (Home)
ESPN Primetime. KIDDING. LSU hosts Alabama and Arkansas hosts South Carolina. This is almost definitely a non-TV game at 1:00 pm. Note: This will be our first home game since Sept. 29th vs. Ole Miss.

Nov. 10: Auburn (Home)
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the SEC has taken steps to make sure a quality game like this doesn't air at 11:30 CST in the future. As part of that reshuffling, this game will likely end up at 3:30 on CBS or an ESPN night game. It won't end up on LF Sports again.

Nov. 17: UK (Home)
Shockingly, this could be the best SEC game of the week. Last year, the SEC mandated that all the teams in the league had to play on Thanksgiving Weekend. Traditionally, Alabama and Auburn met the week before so that the winner of their game had a bye week before the SEC title game. In the reshuffling, this ended up being a weak TV weekend. LSU vs. Ole Miss is the only other good game of the day. Again no idea when this game airs. However, the University of Georgia has historically only supported one or two night games per year at home. If the first two games are at night, I could see Adams and the UGA police department working to make sure this one isn't a late start.

Nov. 24: GT (Away)
This game will be broadcast as part of Georgia Tech's ABC contract. Expect a 12:00 or 3:30 start on ABC. Usually, this one airs at 3:30 pm.

Quick tailgate guide to home games might look like this:
Oklahoma State (Home) - Night Game
South Carolina (Home) - Night Game
Western Carolina (Home) - 1:00 pm
Ole Miss - 12:30 pm
Troy - 1:00 pm
Auburn - 3:30 pm or 7:45 pm
Kentucky - No idea.

If the schedule were to break like that, it would present a nice mix of kickoff times to please and piss off everyone. Some night games, some late afternoon starts and a few early as hell kickoffs sure to please little old ladies and Mike Adams.

The Road Games:
Bama - 3:30 pm or 7:45 pm
Tennessee - 3:30 or 7:45 pm
Vandy - 12:30 pm (LF Sports)
UF - 3:30 pm (CBS)
GT - 3:30 pm (ABC)

All of these start times are my best guess as of today. I don't warranty them. Book hotel rooms at your own risk. Agree? Disagree?

UPDATE: This discussion was continued on the DawgRun message board as JimFromDuluth offered some other insights. You should check it out.

PWD

January 2, 2007

Chick-Fil-A Bowl Pictures

Kelin Johnson's INT (Image: Dawgpost.com)

Some pictures from the game:

DawgPost.com

UGAsports.com

AJC.com

ESPN also has a rather lengthy video highlight display up on their site.

PWD

2007 Schedule Comments from the Banner Herald

The Athens Paper took a quick look at the 2007 schedule in Sunday's paper. I've got a follow-up article for tomorrow about possible TV start times next year. Things look very interesting on that front.

In the meantime, just consider that the following teams will be markedly better than they were in 2006:

Also, we're swapping a bad Colorado team for a Big 12 offensive up and comer, and we drop Mississippi State at home for Bama on the road. Next year will be markedly tougher than this year schedule wise.

PWD

Falcons Head Coach Candidate - Ken Whisenhunt

Ken Whisenhunt
With the firing of Jim Mora Jr. by the Falcons, Arthur Blank should look to the Steelers in their search for a new head coach. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is a proven NFL assistant coach with a Super Bowl ring, and he has ties to Atlanta.

Whisenhunt primarily played tight end for Georgia Tech from 1981-1984; however, he filled in at QB for the Yellow Jackets in their upset win at Alabama in 1981. Their only win of the season.

Unlike Jim Mora, Jr. whose experience as a coordinator consisted of only two winning seasons in 5 years and a parade of stops for generally unsuccessful organizations; Whisenhunt has been around a winner at the pro level long enough to know what it takes to be successful. His Super Bowl ring will also command respect with the players.

More importantly, if the Falcons hire the guy, he can't rescue the Yellow Jackets when the Gailey Experiment finally ends.

Other articles on Whisenhunt:
-- A top candidate for the Raider last year - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
-- Tough guy for a tough job - Post-Gazette
-- Official bio -- Steelers site

The AJC lists the following as possible replacements for Mora:

pwd

January 1, 2007

Post Chick-Fil-A Bowl Thoughts

Taylor the Terrific

Overall, we showed the Heart of a Champion / Finish the Drill mentality that has defined the Mark Richt Era at Georgia our victory over Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Considering the circumstances, it was probably our third most impressive come from behind victory of Richt's tenure:

It was the biggest rally based on points, but I think we faced longer odds in the other two situations. Regardless, it was an impressive comeback.

Offense - Bobo and Richt had a great plan even in the first half. Our guys just weren't making plays. The bomb to Harris was a magnificent call, but Stafford just overthrew it a tad. In the second half, the calls and execution were some of the best we've seen all year. We still need to iron out the drops, but otherwise a solid effort in the second half. We can build on this.

Defense - Wilie Martinez's defense has been absolutely outstanding the past three games. Sure, the trick play bomb caught us with our pants down. However, the rest of the points were a result of Georgia giving Virginia Tech great field position. Our defense physically whipped Auburn, Tech and Virginia Tech. More to build on for next year.

Special Teams - The onsides kick call and execution was probably the third most important play of the season (more on that later). We out BeamerBalled VT. More to build on.

Basically, there's very little that I could say on this one that you haven't already read. There wasn't a whole lot of nuance or subtle themes here. We dug deep and came back huge against the #1 ranked defense in the country with a freshman QB and a rookie play caller. More to build on.

Mostly, I want to focus on "What's Next?" I'm excited for signing day, pro announcements, summer drill and talk about the '07 schedule. I'm excited to talk about how we're going to build on all of this momentum.

pwd

PS -- Most importantly, we finished with a better record than Tech. 9-4 vs. 9-5.

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