Georgia Sports Blog: July 2008

July 31, 2008

Boling's Suspension Reduced to 1 Game

ATHENS -- The two-game suspension originally handed Georgia offensive lineman Clint Boling has been reduced to one game according to Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.

The reduced penalty came as a result of original charges against Boling being lessened from an alcohol-related offense to reckless driving.

“With the change in the charges and the attitude that Clint has demonstrated I have reevaluated his situation and decided on the one-game suspension as a fair penalty,” said Richt. “Clint has been remorseful and pro-active in handling all his responsibilities in a mature manner with a good attitude. He’s learned a strong lesson that I’m sure will serve him well from here on.”

Boling appeared in all 13 games last season including 11 starts as a true freshman.

PWD

Ring the Chapel Bell

The University of Georgia Chapel Bell is almost back from "the shop." Travis Fain of the Macon Telegraph has a look at the bell's repairs.

PWD

Georgia Bulldogs Football Media Guide on Sale

Click to Buy
You can order your 2008 UGA Football Media Guide today from our store, and it'll be in your hands by next week. The price is only $15.

Per the official description:

You can now own every bit of Georgia football history with the 2008 Football Media Guide. Hot from the press in black and white, this 208-page book highlights the past, present and future of the Bulldogs' football program.

Thanks for ordering!

PWD

Damon, I have a brief suggestion for you. This week, I got my refund check for the road game tickets I didn't have a high enough score for. Thanks. But, I'd like to have the option to have that money go directly to the Hartman Fund and increase my score so that I eventually won't get refunds on my ticket orders.

How about a box on my ticket order form that, if I check it, will let you directly deposit my ticket refund to the Hartman Fund as a contribution? I'd get credit for a donation that, frankly, I already counted as spent money (after all, I haven't seen it since February) and the Athletic Association/Hartman Fund gets the money earlier. Plus, you don't have to waste the time and expense of sending me a paper check and I don't have to go to the bank. It's all about efficiency and the time value of money. What do you think?

Quinton

July 30, 2008

Clint Boling's DUI Charge Dropped

According to DawgPost.com and the AJC, the DUI charge against Clint Boling was reduced to "reckless driving." Technically this means that Boling is no longer in violation of the University of Georgia's alcohol policy. No word from Richt (yet) when, if or how much of Boling's suspension will be lifted.

According to the AJC:

Alcohol-related convictions are automatic suspensions under the Georgia Athletic Association's conduct code but misdemeanors are left to the coach's discretion, and Richt typically doesn't discipline players for traffic offenses.

I've been away from TV and the cyberwebs all day, but I'm pretty sure Richt was in Bristol, Connecticut for ESPN College Football Live. So he was unavailable for immediate comment. I imagine this will be resolved by midday tomorrow.

(Image: DawgPost.com)

DawgPost says that Boling has already taken care of the community service related punishment associated with his initial charges.

See Also:
-- Richt's Chat with ESPN - David Hale

PWD

Richt on ESPN's College Football Live

In case you missed it, Coach Richt and Rece Davis chatted today.

Quinton

Worst List Ever

A look at the Top 8 QBs in the country. The list doesn't include you know who. You won't believe the dudes on this list ahead of him.

What I Want to See: Arizona State

Today I'll look at one of the most anticipated road games in decades. Is this the first game that the players will fly to since, what, the 2000 O'ahu Bowl?

#1 A Sea of Red in the Desert. This is the first long distance road game in a long, long time. As Paul has repeatedly documented, the anticipation for this game is surprisingly strong despite the time and expense of a trip to Tempe. What I want to see is how many Dawg fans make the trip. I know the ticket office has sold the few thousand tickets officially allotted to Dawg people, but the real question is how many Georgia fans bought ASU season tickets or will scalp a pair before the game? My guess it that the upper deck at Sun Devil Stadium will have a strong red tint on September 20. What do you think? 10,000 Georgia fans? More? Plus, what has ASU's ticket office done to part this Red Sea?

#2 The Arizona State Experience. I've heard great things about their coeds, but terrible, terrible things about their tailgating. Judging from this video, it looks like tailgating takes place in a parking lot and only requires a case of beer, a funnel, and willingness to scream at anything loudly. The girls are cute, though.

I also note that everyone is wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Maybe I'm off here, but I'd say most Dawg fans are usually in long pants and a shirt with a collar on game day. Does George Dean's sell red shorts?

#3 Drunk, obnoxious Georgia fan. Heat + Booze - Water = An Old-Fashioned Blackout. I talked to an LSU fan who went out to Tempe in 2005. He said that the heat is no joke. Being a Tiger fan, he had done his fair share of industrial-grade drinking, but he said the heat was like a booster rocket on normal consumption. By the end of the game, he had "embarrassed" himself because the booze had suddenly gotten away from him. Paul's water, booze advice should be heeded, but it won't be. I can't wait to see a drunk, shirtless Dawg fan telling some poor Arizona State fan about Pac 10 inferiority and how stupid their mascot is, all while asking the same fan for directions to the stadium.

#4 A dirty Rudy Carpenter. Arizona State's offensive line provided less resistance than Astroglide last year, allowing 54 sacks. That's more than four a game. That's 19 more than Hawai'i. The Sun Devils return only two members of that offensive line, so I suppose they can be worse than that. No matter who lines up on scrimmage, our D line should get familiar with Rudy Carpenter by slamming their bodies into him repeatedly. Arizona State has some quality receivers and running backs, but I think Rudy will have a difficult time throwing it to them under Jeff Owens and lying on his back. Look for '02 Florida levels of screen passes from the Devils.

Quinton

Visine Games Of the Year: SEC West Edition

The Georgia Sports Blog's "Visine Games of the Year" are those games that open a fan base's eyes to the type of team they really have this year.

Everyone enters the season with an inflated view of their talent and a deflated view of their opponents' players. The Visine Games are those early season encounters that wipe away the goo, gunk and blinders. They let you know what sort of hand you've really been dealt. With that in mind:

Alabama vs. Clemson - Tide fans have the shortest wait of anyone to gauge their progress against The Saban Process(tm). A Bama victory could set them up nicely for 4-0 start heading into Athens. A loss and they don't get another "peer" match-up (meaning a program not noticeably better or worse than them) until Tennessee in late October.
Arkansas vs. Alabama - The Razorbacks host the Tide in Week 4. A Hawg fan may argue that their Week 3 game at Texas is the true measuring stick. To that I say, keep dreaming. The gutted Hawg roster will head into Austin for a likely thrashing. If they can topple Bama at home in Week 4, they have a shot a bowling and respectability. A loss against the Tide will leave the Hawg fans wondering where the wins on the schedule come from.
LSU at Auburn - The big boys of the SEC West tangle in Week 4, and this is the eye opener for both programs. Winner controls their destiny in the West. The loser of this game has never represented the SEC West in the Title game. The winner has repped the West six of the last eight years, and seven of the last 10 years.
Mississippi State at Georgia Tech - You could argue that their Week 3 match-up against Auburn will be a wake up call. But losing it wouldn't really change the expectations for the season among most reasonable Starkvegas residents. The Tech game on the other hand is more of a peer match-up. Beat Tech and they've got some wiggle room on the schedule as they look towards back to back bowls for only the third time in school history ('98-'00 and '80-'81).
Ole Miss at Wake Forest - Houston Nutt can't ask for more than a regionally televised ABC game against a beatable yet respectable opponent in Week 2. Take this one, and the Rebels should be 4-0 when they go into the Swamp for a thrashing. Games against South Carolina, Arkansas and MSU look a lot more winnable when you've got a televised, respectable win under your belt. Lose to Wake and the win opportunities start to look bleak.

What are your thoughts?

PWD

(Note: Visine is not an official sponsor of the blog. Unless they want to be. lol.)

July 29, 2008

SC's QB (Garcia) to return on Thursday?

To the shock of exactly no one, Stephen Garcia may return to the Gamecock program as early as Thursday. Garcia has been arrested three times. He has never been suspended from a game...only practices.

I used to think the head ball coach had some integrity when it came to the way he ran his program. I guess it's a lot easier to do the right thing when you've got Parade All-Americans at every position and a world of high school talent just down the road from your Gainesville office.

Garcia was a Top 20 quarterback coming out of high school. He is by far the top QB recruit signed by Spurrier during his Gamecock tenure.

To quote a message board post a while back....South Carolina plays its first two games on Thursday nights. That gives Garcia consecutive Fridays and Saturdays to get himself arrested again before the Georgia game.

Stay classy Columbia.

See Also:
-- NY Times Reviews the Coots (ht - gtp)

PWD

Quick Hitters for the Afternoon

Some random quickies:

Vandy Preview -- LOLCats style. You'll either think this is very, very funny or not at all. I laughed. But then again, I would.
Atlanta Bulldog Club Recaps - You can find them here and here.
Why we're not #1 in the SEC - Barnhart's thoughts.
SEC Things to Look for - From DawgSports.com

PWD

Sweetie, that hair is just too butch

Ever been in a cockpit before? Do you like movies about gladiators? Ever spent any time in a Turkish prison? Ever gone bar hopping with UVA offensive linemen?

Two Virginia offensive linemen including ~~lady killer~~ Captain Sexy himself over on the right were arrested because:

Junior offensive lineman Will Barker and redshirt freshman lineman Dave Roberts were picked up at Club 216 on Water Street at 3:45 Saturday morning. Police say both men admitted to stealing beer from a cooler at the nightclub. Both face larceny charges. Roberts, who is 19 years old, is also charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol and with using a fake ID.

That's not a funny story until you learn that Club 216 is "Charlottesville, Virginia's only gay and lesbian bar and dance club." (Club216.com: This link is exactly what you think it is. So click with caution)

As Orson Swindle points out,

"if you’re going to steal something at a gay club, sweetie, make sure it’s someone’s heart, not a few beers from behind the bar."

Hell...if the big lugs had just worked their money makers on the dance floor, I'm sure they would've gotten the beers for free.

The UVA players caught a huge break in that the place was more discreetly named "Club 216" as opposed to The Lonely Poker, Served Straight, Rods, Swish or The Manhole.

Note: I'm not saying anyone involved in this story is gay. You can find yourself in some weird places at 3:45 in the morning. Regardless, doesn't make it less funny.

See Also::
-- Stealing beer is the least of your problems - TSN
-- UVA Players Arrested - WithLeather (hysterical comments. Profanity)
-- Bend Eauxver - EDSBS on Gay Athletes at LSU (safe for work)
-- Airplane Quotes - IMDB

PWD

Tidbits on 2008 and 2009 recruits

The AJC and Athens Banner Herald both checked in with Zach Mettenberger to get his thoughts on the Elite 11 Camp. Generally it seems like he used the time to focus on his footwork and understanding coverages. Speaking of which (per the ABH)

"(Stafford) helped me and Aaron more than anyone else," Mettenberger said. "We did a lot of stuff with coverages. He showed us routes that can beat any coverage. ... I learned so much more about basic coverages and more complex coverages."

UGASports.com also talked with Aaron Murray about his Elite 11 experiences.

Looking into a shorter horizon, DawgPost.com talked with Jeff Owens to get his feedback on Jeremy Longo and AJ Harmon. They also spoke with Massaquoi about AJ Green. Owens was specifically impressed with Harmon's ability to move at his incredible size, and Mo Mass's comments on AJ Green:

“He’s a stud,” Massaquoi said. “I think he can be as good as he wants to be, as good as this conference has ever seen.”

Well...so much for poor mouthing. lol. (Both articles are premium content)

PWD

Will new clock rules help Georgia?

Dave Paschall with the Chattanooga Free Press discussed the new 40/25 second play clock rules in Sunday's paper. As you may have heard by now, the rule basically works like this (per the Free Press)

In February, the NCAA Football Rules Committee voted to implement a 40/25-second play clock similar to what the NFL employs. Instead of using a 25-second clock that doesn’t start until officials mark the ball ready for play, college football will now use a 40-second clock that will start at the end of the preceding play.

The 25-second clock still will be used on the first play following a change of possession, as well as after penalties, measurements and timeouts.

Most coaches think the rule change favors teams spread offenses who have a natural predisposition to go no huddle anyway.

Richt's specific comments were interesting

“Seven years ago, I would have been thrilled about it,” Richt said. “My ambition was to play as fast as we could possibly play and run the no-huddle and get to the line of scrimmage as fast as possible and get the ball snapped in a hurry and run as many plays as possible. We were not allowed to do that.

“In my opinion, the officials in this league were more deliberate than in any league I had been. The SEC, to me, was grinding it to a halt. Now, all of a sudden, you can play as fast as you want to play.”

If his preference is to move faster, then let's go. No reason not to bring that aggressive tempo to Athens.

My one concern with this rule change is the impact on Georgia's defense. It seemed that we struggled a bit last year when the other team's offense went to an aggressive no huddle tempo. I believe it was Troy and UK that created some issues for the Dawgs when they accelerated their pace.

Do you think we'll move faster next year between plays?

See Also:
-- Go, Go, Go, Go - Blutarsky
-- Does the rules committee hate football - SMQ
-- Not to belabor the point but... - SMQ

PWD

'08 Georgia Bulldogs Schedule T-Shirts


Georgia Bulldogs Red 2008 Schedule T-shirt	Georgia Bulldogs Ash 2008 Schedule T-shirt

The 2008 Georgia Bulldog football schedule t-shirts seem fairly popular in our store this year. Click on either the red or ash shirt to see a close-up of the design.

Also - the two most popular overall items in the store are the 2008 Red Nike DriFIT Polos (Design A and Design B). I have one of these, and I really like it.

Thanks for supporting this site!

Paul Westerdawg
Georgia Sports Blog

July 28, 2008

ASU Trip: Tempe expecting big UGA crowd

The Arizona Republic included a feature story on the Georgia Bulldogs' upcoming visit to the desert. The article is similar to many others we've seen basically saying that we're probably taking about 10,000 fans out there.

One interesting tidbit involves the scarcity of lower level tickets for UGA fans at ASU. Apparently, Georgia was alloted 7,300 tickets to the game. However, we only got 600 lower level seats.

As we already know, the cut-off for tickets to the game (overall) was 27,007 Hartman Fund points. However, the cut-off for those few lower level seats was $141,000. Damn.

See Also:
-- Tickets: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Arizona State Sun Devils

PWD

Video: Looking Back at 2007

I love this Georgia Bulldog video because it flashes back and forth between the media pundits saying what UGA "can't do" vs. what the team actually did. (ht - battledawg on The Porch)

Video uploaded by gdawgydawg.

PWD

Spurrier Toning It Down a Bit?

By all accounts the head ball coach is trying to reel expectations in a bit after telling fans/media that the Gamecocks were ready to contend last year. Here's a look at some of his comments at SEC Media days regarding the 2008 season. (video: OnlineAthens.com)

SC Stories of Interest:

Spurrier Tones Down Title Talk

Spurrier Speaks

10 Questions Facing the Gamecocks

Caution as a Precaution

Mediocrity Challenges Spurrier

A confidence problem?

Spurrier Addresses Play Calling Questions

Spurrier has that look again

If the Chickens can find a QB (Garcia looks more likely to return each day), the Gamecocks could open the season with a 6-1 run again as their opening slate of NC State, Vandy, UGA, Wofford, UAB, Kentucky and Ole Miss is incredibly manageable. Unfortunately for Spurrier, the schedule ends with LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson. So another trip to Shreveport or Memphis could be in the works for bowl season.

See Also:
-- Quinton McDawg's SC vs. UGA Preview - GSB
-- Gamecock's Schedule - Rivals.com
-- Tickets: Georgia Bulldogs vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

PWD

AJC asks should athletes get paid?

The AJC looked at the idea of paying college athletes. They wrote pro and a con piece in Sunday's paper. Senator Blutarsky has also written a piece on this topic called "Chasing the Almighty Dollar." I suggest reading all three for a balanced view of the issue.

Here's my take on the issue:
Proponents of paying student-athletes generally ignore or belittle the investment in them currently. Without a full appreciation for that investment and the future benefit derived from those resources, you can't judge what an appropriate level of compensation really is.

In the 2004-2005 academic year (source: NCAA Financial Reports Database), UGA's football related expenses were $12.5 million. Even if you remove coaching salaries from the equation, we still spent $8.7 million on our football program that year.

Split across 85 scholarship athletes
that's over $103,000 per player.

That money goes towards:

Educating football players
Tutoring them
Mentoring them.
Feeding them
Housing them
Transporting them
Training them
Clothing and equipment for them
Repairing / healing / treating them
Recruiting more of them so the current ones will keep winning
Paying other teams to come play them

That doesn't include the additional cost to:

Marketing and promoting them (they DO benefit from this via future endorsements or professional networking / visibility opportunities for non-pros)
Giving them world class facilities from which to be pampered. Facilities well beyond the normal eating, sleeping, studying or non-standard learning facilities available to other students.

Over a 4 year career, Georgia invests $400,000 per player into its football program (not including the coaching salaries needed to make them champions).

Yes. Georgia does make a profit from football. That same academic year the net football related profit was $38 million. But it's UGA that is assuming the bulk of the risk in recruiting the player.

Obviously, the player risks injury. Obviously, the player is required to work extremely hard; however, the risk in having that player "pan out" is enormous. The University recruits about 100 players over a 4 year period. Only a fraction of those players will ever be starters. As Paul Hewitt pointed out, only 1-2 players per year will actually move the needle on merchandising or attendance more than the player backing him up.

So beyond the $400k per career that we're investing. How much more should we really look at spending? Particularly when MOST athletic departments operate at a loss, most sports operate at an even bigger loss and most athletes don't pan out in a way that generates revenue for their school.

I respect all of the effort that student-athletes put into becoming champions and entertaining us as fans. However, paying them would wreck collegiate sports, and more importantly it would belittle the current investment already made in them.

Am I way off base?

PWD

(BTW -- If you're wondering. The metric is roughly the same for men's basketball. About $130k per year spent per athlete NOT including coaches salaries on the program)

July 27, 2008

Williams St. Parking Pass for Trade

This year, I got a UGA Donor Level Parking Pass for the Williams Street parking lot. This is the parking lot near the old O'Malleys.

I've received some generous financial offers for the parking pass, but I would prefer to trade the pass straight up for 2 UGA at LSU tickets. If you're interested let me know.

Otherwise, I'll just sell the pass and use the cash to buy LSU tickets.

My email is:
decaturdawg at hotmail d0t com

Make me an offer via email if you're interested in trading for LSU tickets.

PWD

Coach Richt compares '08 UGA team to '88 FSU

According to Coach Richt, he showed this year's team the 1988 Seminole Rap video. He basically said, the '88 FSU team worked hard on making a great video to emulate the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl Shuffle. Unfortunately for the Noles, the '88 Canes spent their off season working to emulate that Chicago Bears defense.

That year the pre-season #1 ranked FSU went into Miami and lost the season opener 31-0 to the Canes. Richt's point...you've got to work to win, and you have to focus on what's really important. Richt's comments come from his SEC Media Days interview, and they were uploaded to YouTube by DawgPost.com.

In the interview he also talks about his approach to player discipline. Good stuff all around.

See Also:
-- The New Mark Richt - DawgPost.com

PWD

NFL WR Praises Aaron Murray

The Murray Love Fest Continues. From the Tampa Tribune:

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh took one look at Aaron Murray and knew he was a winner.

Check out the full article if you get a chance. It basically recaps Aaron Murray being named Best of the Best at the Elite 11 QB Camp, and it gives context for why the Bengals WR would have any insight on the topic.

Good stuff.

PWD

WSB to re-air 2007 Football Broadcasts

From WSB.com.
Atlanta's Newstalk 750 WSB, the flagship station of the Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network, announces some exciting news to get UGA fans ready for what should be an incredible year of football.

Beginning on Saturday, August 2nd, the station will air select games from the 2007 season.

UGA at Alabama 1:00 p.m.-5:00 EDT.

Sat. August 9: UGA at Georgia Tech 1:00 p.m.-5:00 EDT.

Sat. August 16: UGA vs Florida from Jacksonville 1:00 p.m.-5:00 EDT.

Sat. August 23: : Auburn at UGA 2:00 p.m.-6:00 EDT.

PWD

July 26, 2008

Tickets: Faculty Cut-off Scores Announced

Jeff Owens (Image: Georgiadogs.com)
Per Georgiadogs.com:

The University of Georgia Athletic Association Ticket Office has released the following cut-off score requirements for the 2008 season.

Faculty/Staff Season Tickets: Faculty/Staff patrons who ordered this year and have a priority level of 1A-29F will receive season tickets

Central Michigan University: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-9B will receive tickets.

South Carolina: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-14D will receive tickets.

Arizona State University: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-22B will receive tickets.

LSU: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-7A will receive tickets.

Florida: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-26D will receive tickets.

Kentucky: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-30F (all orders were filled).

Auburn: All faculty/staff with a priority of 1A-9B will receive tickets.

PWD

Charleston Paper: "What's Not to Like About Richt"

This is a must read. It'll make you all warm inside. The Charleston Post-Courier talks about Mark Richt -- the man and the coach. You don't normally get this sort of press from a rival's back door paper.

PWD

DawgPost Roundtable: The Off Season

The DawgPost.com guys, Dean Legge, Josh Kendall and Quentin Grant, talk about the off season distractions, Southerland's recovery, recruiting and managing expectations in 2008.

PWD

July 25, 2008

The More Animated Mark Richt

The New Orleans newspaper wonders aloud if the schedule is too much for the Dawgs. My favorite part of the piece includes this exchange about the more animated, more emotional Mark Richt:

The icy Richt demeanor, one forged as offensive coordinator at Florida State and then honed as the sole play-caller at Georgia, had a chance to melt when he turned over game-day signals to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Untethered at last, Richt realized he could show more emotion on the sideline.

Despite the obvious success against Florida, Richt said the new persona had some critics. After he'd spent "two or three games getting in the ear of officials, " he said one of them looked at him with astonishment during a game and said he thought Richt was a class act.

"I am a class act, " Richt said he barked back.

Like I've said numerous times. Let "Nice Richt" do the press conferences, but let Evil Richt out of the cage for game day. Man, we'd never lose.

Other Dawg Headlines from Cajun Country:
-- 3 in a row for SEC-based national title winners? - Baton Rouge Advocate

PWD

Kentucky WR Dreams of Stafford Beating him Up

Not a joke. Dickie Lyons Jr. (who has been at Kentucky since Bear Bryant first recruited him) talked at length during SEC media days about a crazy dream he had regarding his fiancée, Matthew Stafford, Blake Barnes, army choke holds and late night texting.

David Hale, the new UGA beat writer for the Macon Telegraph, has the details on his blog. Total comedy.

More from The State's blogger on the story. Plus more hilarity from Lyons.

PWD

Massaquoi and Owens = Leaders

Welcome to Mo's (Image: Hipple)
Richt took two players with him to SEC Media Days in Birmingham -- Mohamed Massaquoi and Jeff Owens. Below are articles profiling their roles with the team in 2008 and/or including quotes from them about the team.

Georgia Counts on Massaquoi's Leadership

Embracing the expectations

The Hype: Blessing and Curse

Mo Mass on Knowshon

Jeff Owens Video Interview

Massaquoi Video Interview

Jeff Owens on Prince Miller

Massaquoi on the UT Loss

The kids represented themselves well.

PWD

Richt: Coping with Expectations for 2008

The Georgia Bulldogs are currently the pick of the litter when it comes to media hype. Particularly at SEC media days. Some highlights from articles around the country:

Dennis Dodd (Sportsline): Can UGA Hang on to #1

AP: Coping with the Buzz

Birmingham News: The Team to Beat

Rivals.com: Avoiding the Look Ahead

Dealing with Expectations: Independent Mail (SC)

July 24, 2008

Coach Richt answers The Celebration questions

"...and when we score, we're going to celebrate right over there."
At SEC Media Days, Richt was asked if The Celebration may have intensified the rivalry with the Florida Gators. His response (per the AJC):

"I don't think there's any doubt it's intensified the rivalry," Richt said Thursday. "But what intensified the rivalry is that we won. OK? I mean, that's the reality."

"You know, people want to talk about streaks in that game. The way I see it, we won last year. We won two out of the last four," Richt said.

"And if you want to start going back in history, you might as well go back to the beginning of the history of the series and see where Georgia is there. I don't know why everybody wants to go just 15 games back. I mean, if you want to go back, go back to the beginning. If you want to talk about recent history, let's talk about last year, the last few games, you know."

In other words, 47-37-2. So check yourself.

John Kaltefleiter at the ABH wrote this, and I loved the wording:

As for Meyer's retaliation plans for Nov. 1, who knows? One thing's certain, though — what was a one-sided rivalry for the last 18 years is now all-compassing. For the first time since Georgia dominated the series before Steve Spurrier's arrival in Gainesville, Florida has more venom for Georgia than any of its other opponents.

Shouldn't it be that way every year with these schools?

More more Georgia vs. Florida headlines:

Winning grows the rivalry

Meyer's Grudge Good for the Rivalry

Georgia / Florida looking toward November match-up

Win spiced up rivalry

Urban Vows to Get Even

Richt's Wrong Ploy

Richt: "I shouldn't have done that"

PWD

Aaron Murray's High School Team on ESPNU

Aaron Murray's Plant High School will face Armwood High School on Sept. 5th at 8:00 pm on ESPNU according to TampaBay.com. The two teams are cross county rivals and powerhouses in the State of Florida. MaxPreps.com's preseason poll ranks Armwood No. 1 in the state -- and 14th nationally -- and Plant sixth in Florida.

This is the second year in a row that an elite UGA recruit will be featured in a nationally televised high school football game. Last year, AJ Green's Summerville High School opened their season on ESPN.

Separately, Murray and fellow UGA quarterback recruit Zach Mettenberger continue to impress at the Elite 11 Camp. Zach is described as having the strongest arm of the campers while Murray is getting rave reviews as well.

Elite 11 Headlines:

UGA QBs gather in LA

Elite 11 Day 1 Coverage

Aaron Murray Diary Day 2

Elite 11 Day 3 Coverage

PWD

Sturdivant and Anderson will not be suspended

The BellyGate fiasco from this summer (aka the overblown story about Trinton Sturdivant and Bean Anderson allegedly touching the belly of a pregnant woman without authorization) has apparently been resolved as it relates to playing time.

UGASports.com and DawgPost.com are reporting that Sturdivant and Anderson will not be suspended for any games (Towers from the AJC is also hinting at it).

UPDATE: The AJC Story is now online.

At worst their "crime" involves incredibly poor taste, bad manners and lack of basic awareness that pregnant chicks are not to be trifled with. At best, it was a blown out of proportion mess.

This is exceptional news. Boling is currently suspended for the first two games. The idea of starting *any* games (even against lowly Georgia Southern) without three starting offensive lineman was incredibly unappealing.

Game 1 Offensive Line looks to be:

PWD

Cheering Your Guts Out: Six Rules Leading to Laryngitis

(Image: Red & Black)

I know I have some odd ideas. My wife reminds me often that I am not like normal people. There are all sorts of things that all of us believe that run counter to the normal population. These ideas are not strange enough to require medication or even social ostracism, but they do put a distance between you and your friends when they are finally exposed. So why do we continue to do these things despite the mild problems they cause us? Because we are right, damn it, and everyone else just doesn't get it. Cheering at a Georgia game is one of those things for me. Here are my general rules.

#1 When the opponent has the ball, yell at them loudly. It doesn't matter what you yell at them as long as you are directing sound waves in their direction. On this, I will likely get no debate in theory. In practice, however, Georgia home crowds don't always heed this rule. If we want Sanford to enjoy the type of reputation for noise possessed by Neyland, the Swamp, or Tiger Stadium, our fans need to yell loudly on every down. Georgia crowds are often sluggish on first and second downs. On third downs, we sometimes need prodding from the PA announcer who dramatically calls the down and distance when the opponents break huddle. This is all wrong. There should be noise, at a minimum, from the time the opponent huddles until the snap on every down. The object of stadium noise is to make it difficult for the opponent to communicate. If you yell after the huddle breaks, you're not maximizing communication disruptions.

#2 When the opposing team is checking a play at the line, the noise should increase. Again, if you want to disrupt communication, the best time to do this is when the opposing QB is changing the play at the line. His players are spread out and should never be able to talk over the noise. If you see an opposing quarterback checking a play at the line, your volume should go up.

#3 Watch the red hat. Cheering when the opposing offense is standing around waiting for a TV break to end shouldn't really bother them. When the TV timeout guy is on the field (usually in a white shirt and a red hat) the refs aren't going to start play. But, I've seen us cheer and cheer when the guy is out on the field. There have been times that the loudest moment before a play happens was while the game was in commercial break. This is wasted noise. Start cheering when Mr. Red Hat leaves the field.

#4 Silence for the offense. If the goal of noise is to hinder communication, then the home crowd should be silent when we have the ball. Allow Stafford to check plays at will and ensure that the team has no excuse for not picking up the check. I remember watching a Duke basketball game once and the crowd was going nuts when the other team had the ball. When Duke brought the ball up the court, it was like the arena was empty. It sounded like a practice. That is what I want when we are on offense, practice level noise. This isn't to say you shouldn't cheer for a big play, just that the period from huddle to snap when the Dawgs have the ball should be calm and quiet.

#5 Don't participate in or encourage stupid cheering. Crowds can sometimes descend to the level of its stupidest member, even if only briefly. I consider this principle most often when I hear the "Overrated" cheer. There is no more stupid cheer in all of sport. It both diminishes your accomplishment and faults the opposition for something they didn't do. If you think your team is good, why would you say that the team you are beating isn't that great? If anything, you should be talking that team up. Don't you want to say that you beat a good team rather than one that didn't deserve pregame hype? Plus, the opposition doesn't control where they are ranked. It's a stupid, stupid cheer and should never be uttered. The same goes for "The Wave." Folks, it is no longer 1988. Stop doing the wave. It accomplishes only one thing, annoying the hell out of people who want to watch the game. If my children do the wave, it will be an immediate and unappealable reason for corporal punishment.

#6 Booing. I know this is a controversial subject, but I have a couple of general principals here. First, never boo a Bulldog. I don't care how bad the screw up was, how many passes are dropped, or how many tackles are missed. These guys aren't getting any take home pay for their sacrifice to the university. They are out there for the glory of your university. Cheer them on and don't humiliate them. Not only does it make us look terrible as fans, but it also makes an impression on recruits (see 1999 Auburn game).

Second, boo the other guys as much as you like. My momma told me never to boo anyone, but momma was usually surrounded by 80,000 drunk LSU fans doing the dirty work for her. As I've gotten older, I've found the boo is one of the milder forms of opponent or official derision, so boo away. More aggressive forms of belittlement should be used only when absolutely necessary. Cursing by sober people should always be avoided, but I understand if Penn Wagers upsets you. Just be careful. Parents don't want to have to explain to their kids what you want to do to the referee's wife and why.

My final piece of advice on booing is to try the hiss every now and then. I find its noise is far more unnerving than the simple boo to which every player no doubt has built in resistance. The hiss is rarely used and is likely to provoke more of a reaction. I know what 95,000 people booing sounds like, but 95,000 people hissing could be far more scary. Think about it.

So there are my general principals for cheering at Georgia games. If executed properly, you should feel exhausted after the final play. You should feel like you played in the game and be hoarse until Tuesday.

Should I add anything to this philosophy or maybe scrap a rule entirely?

Quinton

July 23, 2008

The Celebration "flips the script" in Jacksonville

Thank you Urban Meyer. Thank you for continuing to help Georgia re-write the script on the Cocktail Party. In Meyer's newly released book entitled ~~"Why I'm Such a Raging Asshat and Douche Bag"~~ "Urban's Way," Meyer discusses the excessive celebration penalty following Georgia's initial TD in Jacksonville. Per the AJC:

"That wasn't right. It was a bad deal," Meyer says in the book, which is scheduled for a September release. "And it will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team. ... So we'll handle it. And it's going to be a big deal."

"It was uncalled for," he said. "First of all it's against the rules. If you really look at it, some players could have been thrown out the game for leaving the bench. "As for the impact on the game ... I understand the motivation of it. It was a big deal. It was just a big deal."

According to the AJC article linked above, the player interviews at SEC Media Days continued this theme of Gators being pissed about The Celebration.

The Past 17 Years
During the weeks leading up to the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the media had to find a parade of different ways to ask the same questions about the streak and the Gators "ownership" of Georgia.....

"How frustrating is it for you to have lost to the Gators seven in a row.....or 12 of the past 13....or 13 of the past 15, etc."

That sort of constant reminder of repeated failure wears on a team mentally. Especially when your fans have been asking you and the teams before you the same questions that the media asked year after year.

Don't think those questions are a big deal? Try reading the annual quotes from Georgia Tech players about their similar frustrations associated with losing to UGA 14 of the past 17 tries. The Albany Herald's interview with Tech's Vance Walker shows a man with a seething desire to win, and how many times have the Jackets wet themselves against Georgia? Just wanting revenge isn't enough.

Going Forward:
You can pretty much forget the 15 of 18 questions for the Bulldogs this year. This season the questions leading up to the game will center around one primary topic. The Celebration.

The script has been re-written.

And SO WHAT if the Gators bring their "A game" to Jacksonville. Bring it. The problem Georgia was having for the bulk of the match-ups (post '98 when the talent mostly evened out) was mental anyway.

Let the other guy pissed. As long as Georgia matches their intensity, I'm more than eager to watch UGA take the other guy's best shot.

I. Can't. Wait.

See Also:
-- More "It's not in their heads" - Blutarsky

PWD

Getting to know Central Michigan

Image: Georgiadogs.com
Central Michigan might have raised a few Bulldog eyebrows because of their bowl performance against Purdue (51-48 loss). The offense, which averaged 34.8 points per game last season, is particularly intriguing because quarterback Dan LeFevour returns as one of only two players in NCAA history to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.

Hmmm...returning 16 starters and a ton of offensive firepower....could this be a dangerous team coming into Athens?

A look closer reveals that they averaged only 22.75 points per game against BCS teams in four match-ups (Kansas, Clemson and Purdue...twice). Most of those points came against a Purdue squad that was ranked 50th-75th nationally in every major defensive category of interest.

As Sportsline.com's CMU preview shows, these guys have a defense that teeters around keystone cops territory. Last year, they gave up 303.5 yards passing per game (118th in nation), 460 total yards per game (109th in the nation), and 36.93 points per game (111th in nation). They lost three key performers from a defense that struggled, and their returning defensive line averages 246.5 pounds.

Points Allowed Defensively Last Season:

Or put it another way...we have absolutely no idea who is going to start along the offensive line for Georgia against CMU. Trinton Sturdivant, Justin Anderson and Clint Boling all look at risk for this game, but it may not matter.

This is the perfect defense to face if you are breaking in young wide receivers and a patchwork offensive line. Particularly against a pass rush that finished 94th in the nation in sacks last year.

Are you at all nervous?

See Also:

Previewing CMU

CMU All Star Candidates

About CMU: Catch a Predator Style

Scouting CMU

Central Michigan vs. Georgia Bulldogs Tickets

PWD

Pay for Tailgating Plan at Alabama

You may have seen this yesterday over at Blutarsky's blog. According to the Tuscaloosa News, Alabama will start charging for premium tailgate spaces on The Quad, their version of our North Campus or Ole Miss' The Grove.

The plan doesn't encompass the entire Quad, but it does involve 155 tailgate spots that are being sold for $729 each. Each spot "comes with a tent, electricity and a parking spot near the engineering buildings."

I'm with Blutarsky on this one in that I saw it coming. When the new "family friendly" tailgate rules were announced -- particularly those involving large "corporate" tailgates, I thought the auctioning off of tailgate spots on North Campus was inevitable. I'm only shocked that Bama beat UGA to the punch. As yet, no plans in this area have been announced from our guys.

In Bama's Defense:
Alabama officials estimated in other articles that approximately 35,000 fans attended the Georgia and LSU games without tickets last year. They simply showed up, tailgated and partied all day.

With modern tailgate enhancements such as portable generators, "bag" furniture, satellite TVs, and light weight tents, tailgating continues to explode in the SEC. Anyone who saw the chaos surrounding The Quad last year for our match-up could see that more structure was needed there.

Their Pricing:
For groups who tailgate with 4-8 people, $729 for a tent, roughly 10x10 worth of reserved premium tailgate space for the season, power, and a premium parking spot isn't that bad of a deal. If they were to throw in cable access, it would be a sweet setup.

It would never work for my group as we need 6-7 times as much space for our configuration, and that price per square foot would cost us $6000 or so. But I digress.

My Beef with These Types of Plans:
My real issue with selling tailgate spots isn't the cost. It's the continual fleecing of the fan base. Much of the affection I feel for The University of Georgia is wrapped up in the entire game day experience. It's not just what happens on Saturday Between the Hedges. It's the complete experience, and that starts with the way we tailgate.

I don't mind more tailgate structure, and I recognize that clean-up and policing of an expanded tailgate experience costs money. But isn't the simple answer to fine or punish people who abuse the rules, generate outrageous amounts of litter (this is bad fan issue #1 that pisses me off), set-up too early or behave boorishly rather than price loyal givers out of the market?

If they would enforce existing rules, some of the problems surrounding tailgating would fix themselves.

PWD

Stereotypes Exist for a Reason: GT Edition

Let's start with the fact that "producer" of this video learned his math skills at the legendary feet of Reggie Ball. Tech has lost 7 in a row leading up to Paul Johnson's hiring. Not six as the video suggests. The sooner they come to grips with the totality of their futility, the better.

Silly nerds.

PWD

Update: Please tell me it was this guy who uploaded the video.

July 22, 2008

More Aaron Murray Headlines

The gunslinger from Tampa really heated up the news this week. Quinton posted an article earlier asking if Murray is the best Prep QB in the Country (video Sunshine Preps). Here are some more quick headlines from around the country:

No longer the water boy

Working with Stafford at Elite 11 Camp

Florida HS wide receiver wants to play with Murray

News and Notes

In other news, Urban Meyer says that Tim Tebow is "the greatest player of our era." The thing I like about Meyer is his humility and relentless focus on subtle nuance.

PWD

ACC Bowl Predictions

I'm a sucker. Let's get that out of the way. I know better than to pick Tommy Bowden to win anything of substance, but I can't help it. The Tigers avoid Miami and Virginia Tech on the schedule, and they own FSU lately. (Image: I prefer unhappy Tigers if given the choice.)

With FSU still rebuilding, the Clemson schedule shapes up in such a way that as long as they beat Wake Forest, they should win the ACC Atlantic Division with a 6-2 record or better. With that in mind, I'm predicting them as ACC Champs. I realize they have OL issues, but the entire ACC has issues. Unfortunately, I'm not alone. Here's how the experts pick the ACC.

Darkhorse ACC Team - UNC
I don't think the Tarheels can win the ACC or even their division; however, if they can make some real noise. After playing Virginia Tech and Miami in weeks 3 and 4, they UConn and Notre Dame at home to build back some confidence. If the Heels get to 8 wins, they could be a Gator Bowl selection.

ACC Bowl Predictions:

I keep wavering on whether or not Georgia Tech has a Bowl eligible team. The Mississippi State and UNC games loom enormous on their schedule if they want to go bowling, and the more I learn about UNC...the more I like the Heels over the Jackets.

See Also:
-- Clemson Preview - CFN
-- Athlon's Clemson Preview

Agree or Disagree?

PWD

Is Aaron Murray the Best Prep QB in the Country?

This week is the Elite 11 quarterback camp in California. UGA is well represented. Stafford is a counselor and both Georgia quarterback commitments were invited to participate. Only 11 prep QBs are invited, so it's a luxury to have both of our guys there. (Image: ESPN.com)

Speaking of quarterback recruits, ESPN.com's Tom Luginbill has this comparison of Aaron Murray, current UGA commit, and Matt Barkley, a USC commit and the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country according to Rivals.com. The comparison is a dead heat according to Luginbill and the ESPN's scouts, who must know what they are talking about because they refer to obscure points like wrist velocity and RPMs. (Zach Mettenberger also gets a mention in the article because of his huge arm strength.) Pretty nice to think that we could have the best QB recruit in the country heading to Athens, and from Florida no less.

Note that this story was done after the national 7-on-7 football tournament. Murray's Plant HS team won the national championship and beat Barkley's team in the semifinals. If these comparisons hold up over the Elite 11 camp, could Murray move ahead of Barkley in the eyes of the scouts? Barkley won't participate in the Elite 11. He and LSU commit Russell Shepard declined the invitation.

Quinton

Ladies Georgia Bulldog Jerseys (Knowshon Moreno and Matt Stafford)


Classic Black Logo T-Shirt	Classic Ash Logo T-Shirt	Classic Red Logo T-Shirt

Our store just got the new 2008 Georgia Bulldog Ladies Jerseys in stock. We have Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford numbers with light weight red or black options.

As always, thanks for shopping.

Paul Westerdawg
Georgia Sports Blog

July 21, 2008

SEC Coaches Name All-SEC Team

Ellerbe vs. Ok State (Image: Hipple)
The SEC Coaches have voted, and they have provided us with their pre-season All-SEC teams. The Georgia Bulldogs placed nine players on the three team roster. Two of them (Dannell Ellerbe and Knowshon Moreno) were named first teamers.

Among the first, second and third team All-SEC squads, you'll find 11 players who attended high school in the State of Georgia. Only 3 of the 11 players enrolled at the University of Georgia. Some were players that UGA missed on, some had academic issues and others just didn't want to enroll in Athens.

Regardless, half an All-Star team could be filled from in-state. That doesn't mean we shouldn't recruit out of state. Six of the Dawgs' nine all-stars were out of state kids.

Georgia's Pre-season All-Stars are:

First Team:
-- Knowshon Moreno (RB) - NJ
-- Dannell Ellerbe (LB) - NC

Second Team:
-- Matthew Stafford (QB) - TX
-- Mohamed Massaquoi (WR) - NC
-- Geno Atkins (DL) - FLA
-- Asher Allen (DB) - GA

Third Team:
-- Jeff Owens (DL) - FLA
-- Rennie Curran (LB) - GA
-- Brian Mimbs (P) - GA

Bulldogs I like for Post-Season All-SEC Awards (1st-3rd team):
-- Trinton Sturdivant (OL)
-- Reshad Jones (DB)

Biggest Miscarriage of Justice:
-- 3 UF defensive backs made 3rd team All-SEC. I'll give you Major Wright, but the other two? Get serious.

What were your thoughts on the list?

PWD

What I Want to See: South Carolina

Image: Georgiadogs.com (2005 UGA vs. SC)

Paul's got some preseason looks at our 2008 opponents upcoming, but I couldn't wait any longer to roll one out myself. Originally, I was going to do an in-depth analysis of each team on the schedule, but I decided to provide a few things I'm looking for in each game instead. I have a couple of reasons for this.

First, most of you are hardcore Dawg fans who have already bought several of the preseason magazines because the Dawgs are ranked No. 1 in many of them. Those magazines have all sorts of information about every team, but don't necessarily analyze teams from a Georgia perspective. Second, there are people who do a far better job of team analysis than I can do. What I will provide is a set of things I look forward to about each game, either because they signal good things for Georgia or they are things we as Dawg fans enjoy.

I don't mean to insult Georgia Southern or Central Michigan, but I'm starting with Carolina. The Central Michigan game is important if only because it provides a trial run for offenses we will see later in the season.

If any of you watched the Motor City Bowl last year, you saw Dan LeFevour running the Chippewas spread offense. LeFevour is Tebow-light and the only player other than Vince Young to finish a season with 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. Facing him early will help in Jacksonville and presummably against Auburn's new Tony Franklin spread.

But, the real first game of the year is Carolina in Columbia. Here's what I want to see:

#1 - 17 points or more. Since 1997, South Carolina has scored more than 16 points once in the series. That was in 2000 when Quincy gave them five picks (and even with five picks, they scored 21). In the three losses during that period, UGA has scored a single touchdown. I foresee the same Gamecock offense as we've always faced, lots of cock, but not much fire. The Dawgs need 17 points or more, from a historical perspective, to get out of Columbia with a win.

Those points won't be easy. Phil Steele has a high regard for Ellis Johnson's group and predicts that they will be greatly improved. I've even heard Steele saying that Carolina shut Georgia down last year, which is true, so this year should be even more of a challenge for the Dawgs against essentially the same personnel in Columbia. But, I disagree. Even if you take for granted that Johnson, a fine DC, will have his troops in top form under a new scheme, I think the UGA offense will be much better than what SC faced in Athens last year.

Knowshon had a big game behind what was at the time a green offensive line. Stafford was good enough to win, but his receivers kept dropping balls. Mike Moore and Tony Wilson dropped key passes that could have turned the game's momentum to the Dawgs. You didn't see much of those two guys after that game and I don't recall many drops by wide receivers in the second half of last year.

Bottom line: the Cocks will have a good defense just like last year's group, it's just that the Georgia offense will be better.

#2 - A couple of catches from A.J. Green. Everybody's heard the whispers from the practice fields. Supposedly, Green is all that he was cracked up to be based on summer workouts. Will it carry over to fall camp when the pads go on? If A.J. gets playing time in the Carolina game, gets open, and catches a couple of balls, that means the coaches, the team, and Stafford are confident in him, even as a true freshman. It also means he'll have beaten out some upperclassmen for PT. If Green, or any other receiver, can turn into a legit threat to take pressure off MoMass, we should be tough to stop. A big game here for the South Carolina native will go along way toward validating the hype and scaring some future defensive coordinators.

#3 - A pass rush. Carolina's offensive line should be solid. They have everyone back from last year except their center. Last year's line gave up two sacks to a UGA defensive line that still lacked the cohesive flash of force and speed that almost killed Colt Brennan. This year, the prospective pass rush looks like last year, a solid group of returning tackles with two question marks on the ends. If we can rush off the ends in this game and apply pressure, I'll have all my questions about the defense answered.

#4 - Lots of visor tossing.

So there's what I'm looking for. How about you?

Quinton

Around the ACC: Media Days 1

The sixth most relevant BCS conference is having their media day extravaganza at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA. A quick look at the headlines of interest for the snooziest league in college football (note: You guys don't care about most ACC teams, so I'm ignoring many of them):

Overall:
-- ACC needs to bolster its resume - Charleston Post and Courier
-- ACC projected starting QBs - Charlotte Observer
-- 5 Burning Questions about the ACC - Barnhart

Georgia Tech:
--Tech OL to heavily leverage cut blocking - AJC
-- NCAA '09 video game confused by GT offense - AJC

Clemson:
-- Clemson: In theory a national title contender - SportingNews
-- Eager to live up to expectations - AJC
-- Attention and expectations for Harper - GoUpState
-- Harper no longer off the radar - AndersonMail
-- Tigers Convinced they are the best - UpStateToday
-- Bowden carrying "label" - Charlotte.com

Tobacco Road:
-- Davis may have Tar Heels turned around - AJC
-- Wake's CB talks a good game - Washington Post
-- UNC a trendy pick to knock VT off - Scout.com
-- Wolfpack duo sets the pace - Charlotte Observer
-- Cutcliffe Cuts Up with Area Coaches - Charlotte Observer

Miami / FSU:
-- Miami / FSU hope to return to power - Rivals.com
-- FSU QB talks about last year - AP
-- FSU's QB not in a daze - Orlando Sentinel
-- FSU hopes rest on youth movement - Jacksonville Times
-- Bowden: "On our way back" - Bradenton.com
-- Canes will use two QBs - Jacksonville.com

UVA/VT:
-- Cavs retool offensive line - Charlottesville Daily Progress

That's it for now.

PWD

July 20, 2008

Conference Media Days Schedule

The ACC media days started today, and the SEC's start on Wednesday.

At the SEC event, each team takes its coach and two players to their press conference. Richt will bring Massaquoi and Jeff Owens to represent the Dawgs on Thursday morning at 8:40 am. I think it's a classy move by Richt to stick with seniors instead of the flashy pick of taking Stafford (Jr.) or Moreno (So.).

The most interesting attendee to me is Michael Oher from Ole Miss. After the hype surrounding the book The Blind Side, it'll be interesting to see how he handles the spotlight and media questions on stage.

Here's a look at the full national conference by conference schedule sorted by start date.

BCS Conferences

Mid-Majors

One thing that jumps off the page at me...the Pac-10 has so little media interest that they only devote one day to the event, and they host it at the LA Airport Hilton. They want people to be able to get in, and get the hell out of there.

PWD

(ht - NCAAFootball.com)

July 19, 2008

Mikey Henderson's Catch vs. the Gators

Scott Howard with an exceptional call of the action. This catch was directly in front of me, and it's one of the best / toughest big game catches I've seen up close. The endzone view was even more impressive.

By the way, watch how two Florida linebackers and a safety react to the play action fake to Moreno. That's the power of establishing a running game.

Another one uploaded by ugahairydawgs.

PWD

July 18, 2008

Georgia Tech NCAA Video Game Cover

That's one of my all-time favorites. There was also a classic floating around with Al Bundy on it, but I couldn't find it.

On a related note, Citizen Crane at GatorsWearJeanShorts has some covers with Les Miles, Joe Paterno and Mark Richt on them.

PWD

Sanford Stadium Expansion Rendering

One of the posters ("spoidkills") on DawgPost.com's message board posted an interesting, hypothetical image of what Sanford Stadium would look like with a new expansion at the open, bridge end of the stadium (click image to enlarge).

As you can see, his image maintains the view from the bridge by elevating a new upper deck high enough over the existing seats as to leave a view into the stadium. He envisions using some sort of column structure to support the massive weight of a new upper deck.

Unfortunately, the expansion might still leave the ability to see into the stadium; however, the view of campus from inside the stadium would be shot to hell.

How would it work?
I'm clearly no structural engineer, but this might not be so far fetched. The existing 600 level at Sanford Stadium is essentially a free standing structure with platform and deck on top. The image below shows how they built it (side view from OnlineAthens.com):

Why couldn't you use a similar column supporting structure to support a new deck at that end? Of all the conceptual designs that I've heard described, this one makes more sense than most.

How many seats would it create?
In his post, he estimates that this type of expansion might add 15,000 seats. As a point of comparison, the 1981 expansion that enclosed the railroad track end of the stadium (upper and lower level) added 19,000 seats in 1981.

As further comparison, the new endzone upper deck at Bryant-Denny Stadium added 8,300 seats, and it looks roughly the same size as the diagram above....if taken literally. My guess, we'd be adding 7,000-9,000 new seats. Thereby pushing our capacity to approximately 100,000.

I think I remember seeing that the ticket office delivered 9,000 refunds for season ticket holders. So, there is probably demand to fill these seats with contributors.

Overall:
I'm beginning to think that Stadium Expansion is an eventual necessity / reality, and I don't think that wrapping the 600 level around makes any sense. First off, what would you do with East Campus Road? Secondly, 600 level seats in the end zone would essentially be an entire football away from the 50 yard line. I sort of explain that here.

To be clear, there's no evidence that any sort of plans like this are in the works. It's just a "what if."

But it's something to think about. What's your reaction to this conceptual design?

PWD

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