SEC Bat Speed Too Much for Ohio State

Georgia destroyed the Big 10 Champs 24-8 to win Game 1 of the Tallahassee Regional. Georgia batters went 23 of 45 on the day with 7 HRs against only six strikeouts. Highlights include:

• Rich Poythress went 4 of 4 with three homers (including a grand slam), a double and seven RBI.
  
• Matt Cerione hit 5 of 6 with two home runs (including his own grand slam) and five RBI.
  
• Joey Lewis went 4 of 6 with two home runs and four RBI.

Perno used a batting order in this game I wasn't familiar with. He went with:

1. Cone - OF
2. Verdin - OF
3. Cerione - OF (typically hits 2nd or 3rd)
4. Poythress - 1B (typically hits 3rd)
5. Massanari - DH (typically hits 4th)
6. May - 3B (typically hits 3rd, 6th or 7th)
7. Lewis - C (typically hits 5th or 6th)
8. Hyams - SS
9. Demperio - 2B

Georgia has been getting nothing out of the bottom of the order for weeks. Shuffling the top of the line up around for speed so that we could push some power further down worked well. Due to lefty vs. righty match-ups we won't use this card every night, but I loved it.

Assuming the Noles take care of The Marist Fighting Mrs. Niles Crane's tonight, we'll face the FSU Clown College at 4:00 pm on ESPNU.


Go Dawgs. Not sure how much posting I'll be doing over the next few days. Quinton is without Internet due to logistical issues, and I'll be in Tally for the game tomorrow.

See Also:
-- FSU Circus School - FSU.edu

PWD

More Dancing Fever

In case you missed it on other sites, Knowshon Moreno won the UpperDeck Rookie End zone TD Celebration Contest. His winning move is at the 1:35 or so mark of the video after the jump.

I loved Moreno's move, but I wish they had video for this one from Mark Sanchez:

...[Sanchez] hurried over to the end zone and went right to work. He even incorporated [Shon] Greene to help him perform an end zone “football birth” for the competition. With Greene lying flat on his back with a towel strewn over his legs, Sanchez served as delivery doctor and - calling out QB-like signals - pulled a football from between Greene’s legs. The crowd went wild, right up until Sanchez spiked the newly born baby football!

Comedy.

ht - TheZoneBlitz

PWD

Brian Harman Putts Dawgs Into Final Four

In as dramatic a golf match as possible, senior Brian Harman (pictured) hit a four foot put on the 18th hole of this morning's match play quarterfinals to propel the Dawgs past Oklahoma State and into this afternoon's NCAA semis.  Harman and Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State were all square after 17 and the teams were tied at 2 matches a piece.  The hole, and hence the match, came down to Harman's four foot putt and Fowler's ten footer.  Fowler narrowly missed, leaving Harman a short, pressure putt for the match.  He smoothly lined up and dropped it.  Dawgs win.

Such a result looked unimaginable yesterday after the Dawgs posted a horrendous day.  After being tied for the team lead, they shot +12 yesterday. Terrible, but it was good enough for the very last spot to qualify for match play between the top eight teams.  Oklahoma State was the team score leader and led the field by 13 strokes.  Under last year's format, they probably would have won because team score was all that mattered.  Thankfully, it isn't last year.  The top eight advanced to match play today.

The Dawgs hit the course again this afternoon for a match play semifinal with the winner of the Arkansas and Washington.  You can watch live video here.  Live stats are here, but they have been having problems with their technology.

UPDATE: All the excitement of the the morning must have exhausted them because the Dawgs fell to Arkansas this afternoon in match play.  Anytime you're a top four national finisher, it's hard to complain.  By the way, Arkansas golfer David Lingmerth had a hole-in-one during today's match.  

Quinton

UGA vs. UNC in the Georgia Dome?

ht - Dean Legge at DawgPost

The Charlotte News Observer reports that North Carolina State and Tennessee will face each other in the 2012 season opening Chick-Fil-A College Kickoff game.  The article goes on to say that UNC is working with the Atlanta Sports Council to get into the game in 2010.  Per the article:

UNC is negotiating a deal to face its own SEC opponent in the 2010 Kickoff game.  UNC has three possible opponents for the game -- LSU, Georgia or Ole Miss.

UNC's problem is the same as Georgia's in 2010.  They need six home games.  If they play a game in the Georgia Dome, they will only have five without pushing an existing non-conference road game to a later year.  The News Observer says UNC is working with Rutgers and South Carolina to move a road game while UGA would need to work with Colorado on the same problem.

LSU and Ole Miss both have existing commitments on their books for the 2010 opener.  However, both would be easier to move.  LSU has a game at Tulane, and Ole Miss has a home game against Jacksonville State.

The scenario to get UGA might be as simple as Colorado moving our game there from Oct. 2, 2010 to Sept. 15, 2012.  That would involve the Dawgs likely dropping the incredibly unappealing (to me) series with Louisville and opening a road date. And the Buffs moving their game at Fresno State around.  (See how many dominoes have to fall to get us into the Dome?)

ESPN works with the schools to navigate these problems.

At the rate at which UNC is recruiting and improving, they should be a big boy opponent in 2010.  If Jevon Snead bolts Ole Miss after this season, I anticipate the Rebels having more of a rebuilding year next season.  If I were the ATL Sports Council, my preference would be 1) LSU 2) UGA and 3) Miss.

PWD

Dawgs vs. Ohio State at Noon on ESPNU

Just a reminder that NCAA Baseball Regional action starts today.

PWD

Mark Fox Era to Launch on Auburn Football Weekend

Andy Katz of ESPN.com is reporting that Georgia will host New Orleans next season with an added twist:

New Orleans coach Joe Pasternack is hoping for some good karma in his opening game at Georgia. Billy Humphrey, who sat out last season at UNO, has a chance to go back to his former school and shine.

To add to Katz's info, the game will be the Home Opener for the Dawgs on Friday, Nov. 13th, the day before the Georgia vs. Auburn football game in Athens. Kudos to Coach Fox for leveraging the football schedule to give us the best possible opportunity for a quality crowd during his big debut.

The confirmed 2009-2010 schedule includes:

Georgia Tech - Home
New Orleans - Home
Illinois - Neutral (Gwinnett Arena)
Virginia Tech - Away
Missouri - Away
St. John's - Away (Big East / SEC Challenge)

For what it's worth, I'm also glad to see Billy Humphrey coming back to Athens one last time. Billy's not a bad kid per se, he just did something incredibly stupid (DUI) after he was already on thin ice for being around the wrong kid (Mike Mercer) at the wrong time. I look forward to giving the guy a round of applause. Hopefully, we beat them senseless, but I'm clapping for the kid regardless.

PWD

Gordon Beckham Jumps Closer to Majors

Gordo's on a vacation far away
Go to Charlotte and get promoted
So many hits that I wanna see
You know Sox like their bats a little bit bolder
Huge Dawgly Baseball News...Gordon Beckham was promoted last night from AA Birmingham to AAA Charlotte. He's racing through the White Sox organization. The South Side Sox blog has the info (btw -- he's talking about a different Josh Fields in his article):

The White Sox top pick of the '08 draft -- a guy you've probably heard of, Gordon Beckham's his name -- was promoted to AAA following Wednesday's Annual Rickwood Classic game. Beckham was hitting .299/.366/.497 for the Barons, and .350/.380 (approx.) /.575 in his last 10 games since returning from an abdominal strain. At the time of his promotion his 17 doubles ranked second in the Southern League despite the time missed with the ab injury.

...the White Sox have three positions they could concievably use him at on the big club; 3B, 2B, SS (in decending order of likelihood).

See Also:
-- Beckham moves closer - SouthTown Star
-- Barons Lose Game and Top Prospect - Birmingham News
-- Beckham Moved to Triple-A - Chicago Sun-Times
-- Gordo Ends Career at Foley with Homer to 'Your Love' - YouTube
-- The Outfield "Your Love" - Gordon's Theme

PWD

Go Gamecocks?

The State, South Carolina's largest newspaper, salutes the Gamecocks. If the measuring stick is "Didn't Fail Totally," they win.

They'll probably frame this for the SC Athletic Office and place it right next to the 45 Pre-Season National Champions Trophies. I wonder if the Athletic Director gets a ring for this that says .500 on it?

PWD

ht - sullydawg

SEC Coaches Meeting Headlines

Sorted by Topic....

Coaches Poll goes secret:
-- Coaches go anonymous - Hale
-- Coaches Poll makes bad move - Barnhart
-- Heavy price for secret ballots - Pat Forde
-- Spurrier against secret ballots - TheState

Commish Slive's on BCS / Kiffin:
-- Slive gets his point across - ESPN
-- SEC Coaches will never play nice - AJC
-- I just don't get Kiffin - Blutarsky
-- Spurrier still has game - Finebaum
-- Slive to Congress: Mind your own Business - OS

Recruiting Rules:
-- SEC may end oversigning - Chris Low
-- SEC may change recruiting rules - Mobile Press Register
-- Too many signees? - AL.com
-- Richt and Meyer Unlikely Allies - AJC
-- Cap on Oversigning would Change recruiting - Cecil Hurt
-- Commish lays down the law - Tuscaloosa News

Other Stuff:
-- Richt (finally) Goes Silent on Jacksonville - AJC
-- Being Dean of SEC Coaches "weird" for Richt - ABH

My quick take on all of that....the secret ballot is ridiculous. Transparency and disclosure is a better policy in everything not involving national security and comments about your wife's butt size.

The over signing rules will hurt SEC schools. If we're talking about an NCAA rule that's one thing. Talking about an SEC rule is ridiculous. Instead why don't we just tighten the criteria for dumping a kid that's not "good enough?" That would stop Houston Nutt and Nick Saban from abusing the current system. The rural South is still in the stone age academically, and Mike Slive can't fix that. So limiting the recruiting base voluntarily seems idiotic.

And as for Richt on Jax...that's what he should've said to begin with. You can't lose a game 6 out of 8 times and complain about things like the average temperature. It makes you look small, petty and weak. And by the way....I checked...last year it was 3 degrees COOLER in Jacksonville than it was in Athens at Kickoff, and we lost by 39 points.

Prioritize fixing what's broken. Not what annoys you. It's a great rule of thumb.

PWD

I wonder if Gene Chizik feels like Jan Brady?

"It's always 'Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.'" - Jan Brady

Do a Google News search for "SEC Media Days" and sort by date. Virtually every headline involves Lane Kiffin. His gaffes, his miscues, his apologies, his non-apologies, his confrontations, new rules to shut him up, etc. It's a bit much.

Even Gene Chizik -- who hasn't traded any barbs with Kiffin yet -- got asked about Kiffin by the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa papers. As Kiffin's mouth sucks all the media's attention, Chizik avoids his 5-19 record from being the #1 question of the weekend.

Of all the articles on the subject of MouthGate, The State in Columbia does the best job of covering the issue. Particularly of Spurrier in person responding to one of Kiffin's latest dumbass remarks.

What a freak show. I liked Orson Swindle's comparison a few days ago. He said Ed Orgeron is evolving into some sort of cajun-fried Dick Cheney to Kiffin's GWB.

On the flip side, Tony Barnhart is sort of giving Kiffin the benefit of the doubt for now.

PWD

Dance Off

From the 2009 Big East Tourney it's USF vs. UConn. This is the byproduct of a five hour rain delay and the inherent comedy of college baseball.



Speaking of College Baseball...here are some articles about UGA's Regional:

-- Ohio State feels "slapped" by #3 seed - Columbus Dispatch
-- FSU disappointed about not getting national seed - Tally Democrat
-- Dawgs sticking with new pitching rotation - ABH
-- Ohio State a tough foe - ABH
-- Buckeyes vs. UGA - UWeekly
-- FSU's rotation in the regional - Tally Democrat

PWD

Happy Memorial Day Part 2

Petty Officer 3rd class Justin Griffin and Petty Officer 2nd class Josh Muniz in Iraq. This was sent to me by the guy on the left's brother.


PWD

UGA placed in the Tallahassee Regional as 2 seed

This will be tough to recreate given the schedule.
The NCAA just announced the bracket for the 2009 NCAA Baseball Tournament (as of 1:00 pm the bracket had typos affecting the right side of the page). Georgia has been shipped off to the Tallahassee regional. The teams slotted in our region include:

1. Florida State
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Marist

The Tallahassee Regional is bracketed with Oklahoma for the Super Regional. UGA vs. Ohio State airs at 12:00 pm on Friday on ESPNU.

By comparison, the Georgia Tech regional includes:

1. Georgia Tech
2. Elon
3. Southern Miss
4. Georgia State

They are bracketed against the Gainesville Regional for the Supers. UGA lands in the second toughest regional behind the UC-Irvine bloodbath, and Tech gets a pillow fight. On the bright side, Tech won't advance far. That's just how Coach Danny Hall rolls.

PWD

Happy Memorial Day

The gentlemen pictured is NCIS agent, John Berkeley. This photo originally ran on the blog in December 2007. At the time, Berkeley was spending his days working with a Marine Riverine unit that patrols the Euphrates River as it cuts through Al Anbar province in Iraq. He flew the flag on behalf of US Marine Captain R. Brett Grayson (Deputy SJA, 2d MAW (Fwd)) the sole member of the Al Anbar Bulldog Club.

I don't have an update on any of those guys, but I thought the photo was appropriate for Memorial Day.

That is Haditha Dam captured in the background. Click to enlarge for a kick butt wallpaper.

ht - FootballHuddle.net

PWD

(Photo run in 2007 with permission from Captain Grayson)

UGA Softball to face Washington in Women's CWS

The Lady Dogs Softball team (#6 seed) will face the #3 seed Washington Huskies in the first round of the Women's College World Series. The game in Oklahoma City will be played on Thursday at 1:00 pm ET. (ESPN HD)

More later.

PWD

College Baseball 2009 Regional Host Sites Announced

The NCAA just released the regional host sites for the 2009 College Baseball Tournament. All records current through Saturday, May 23rd):

SEC:
LSU (45-16), Baton Rouge, La.
Florida (39-20), Gainesville, Fla.
Mississippi (40-17), Oxford, Miss.

ACC:
North Carolina (42-16), Chapel Hill, N.C.
Georgia Tech (35-17-1), Atlanta
Clemson (40-19), Clemson, S.C.
Florida St. (42-15), Tallahassee, Fla.

Big 12:
Oklahoma (41-18), Norman, Okla.
Texas (40-13-1)Austin, Texas

Big East:
Louisville (44-15), Louisville, Ky.

Big West:
UC Irvine (42-13), Irvine, Calif.
Cal State Fullerton (41-14), Fullerton, Calif.

Conference USA:
Rice (39-15), Houston
East Carolina (42-17), Greenville, N.C.

Mountain West:
TCU (36-16), Fort Worth, Texas

Pac-10 Teams:
Arizona State (43-12), Tempe, Ariz.

By virtue of being awarded a regional, all 16 host institutions have also been selected to the 64-team field.

The remaining at-large teams, top-eight national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced at 12:30 p.m. ET, Monday, May 25 on ESPN. The selection committee will set the entire 64-team bracket through both the super regionals and the first round of the Men's College World Series, and will not reseed the field after play begins.

I think UGA is likely going to the Atlanta Regional. If GT is named a national seed, they might ship us elsewhere. Regardless, I think we'll be in an ACC site for the regional.

See Also:
-- Conference RPI - WarrenNolan.com
-- Overall RPI - WarrenNolan.com

PWD

ESPN.com Profiles Mark Fox

It's not incredibly common for a program at UGA's current place in the basketball pecking order to get a 1,500 word profile on its coach. Particularly from ESPN and particularly in May. So it's eye catching that Mark Schlabach sat down with Mark Fox to discuss the Georgia basketball program.

In the article, Fox emphasizes the positive aspects of our history. He focuses on guys like Dominique, Damien, Jarvis, Shandon, Jumaine and Litterial. He also talks about Stegeman as an asset instead of an anchor, and he discusses recruiting the talent rich Atlanta market. It's a great read.

Thus far, Mark Fox has said and done everything right. Will that translate to wins? I don't know. But I do know that belittling our tradition, reinforcing negative stereotypes about our facilities, focusing only on defense while ignoring offense, and complaining about fan support doesn't work. So this is a nice change from the prior administration. The contrast couldn't be more vivid.

SEC Hoops News:
-- Gators Star to play in Greece next year - ESPN

PWD

Dawgs drop 1st game to LSU. Links to 2nd game

I'm not going to do a recap of the 16-0 loss because I'm listening to the second game. Short answer...it was a fiasco.

The second game is not being televised tonight. It's on SECSports.com; however, they are having all sorts of technical problems. Here are the links to the audio and stats. Here's the link to the video.

UPDATE: Tonight's game is capped at 7 innings by the SEC regardless of score.

UPDATE 2: Game over. It was a 7 inning game, and we lost 3-2. The weather just didn't do us any favors. Neither did the Game 1 ground crew which sent our guys out to pitch on a slippery mound and waited until we were down 7-0 to put drying compound on the mound. Not an excuse. Just a terrible break. The weather in this one was the opposite of the SEC B-ball Tourney weather when the tornado saved us. And for the record, Perno did the right thing down 13-0 in Game 1 by putting outfielders in to pitch in the 5th. There's a 7th inning mercy rule in the Tourney, and he played it right.

I think we'll be in the Atlanta/GT regional.

PWD

Diamond Dawgs Face LSU Today

LSU eliminated South Carolina last night in game 10 of the SEC Baseball Tournament.  Georgia and the Tigers will play at 2:30 PM EST this afternoon.  If we lose, the rematch is slated for 9:30.  The Dawgs send Alex McRee to the bump in the early game, although Perno hasn't sounded confident in McRee for a couple of weeks.  Jeff Walters will go in game two, if necessary, instead of Cecil Tanner who's been exiled to the pen.   LSU has struggled against lefties, but McRee walks so many guys, they may only need a few clutch hits to run him.

The good news is that our pen should be rested and ready while LSU's staff is low on bullets.  Dean Weaver pitched two innings Thursday, but should be OK to go.  Everyone else has at least two days rest.  LSU threw their ace, Louis Coleman, last night and their other ace, Anthony Ranaudo, Thursday.  We want nothing to do with either of those guys and we shouldn't see them.  Their freshman closer, Matty Ott, has pitched at least an inning both Thursday and Friday. 

The bad news is that LSU still has a bunch of big, brawny bats no matter what the dominant hand of the pitcher and Georgia hasn't been particularly reliable in these situations.  Cough ... cough ... Fresno.   Every time I think we're in control, a downward spiral results.  

The first game will be on Fox Sports and the second game looks like it will be available only over the internet.  We only need one.  Go Dawgs.

Quinton

ESPN / SEC TV Deal News

In case you missed the official announcement (as I did), ESPNU and Comcast have reached an agreement whereby ESPNU will be carried for free on Comcast's digital level packages. Comcast is also adding NFL Network, and it will finally carry games from ESPN360 via it's internet service.

Additionally, Comcast / Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and ESPN have reached a deal whereby Comcast will televise what amounts to excess inventory SEC sports. According to TodaysTHV.com:

Comcast / Charter Sports Southeast (CSS), the regional sports channel focusing on college sports in the southeast, announced today it has reached a five-year agreement with ESPN to televise live Southeastern Conference (SEC) content including a minimum of six football games, twenty men's basketball games, and sixteen women's basketball games as well as fifty SEC Olympic sports each year.

No word on whether or not ESPNU HD will be added by Comcast. Given Comcast's pathetic inventory of HD programming, I'm not optimistic.

UPDATE: Georgia will request more noon home games per Adams and Damon's comments to the UGA Athletics Board meeting. We're also expecting more night games on the road. Damn. Just damn.

PWD

Dawgs Win Thriller in Hoover

This season the Diamond Dawgs have been crippled by intermittent nagging problems with their defense, base running, pitching, and hitting. Some games it's been just one thing and other games (like the losing streak pre-SEC Tourney) it's been everything.

Last night against Arkansas, they played spectacular ball with only two brain farts. Sure...the third base coach needs an intervention after Colby May got snagged in the second inning needlessly rounding third, and the dropped tag on the stolen base in the 9th contributed to the game going into extra innings. But otherwise....they played about as flawlessly as a college team can play winning 2-1 in the 10th inning vs. an Arkansas team that was equally magnificent defensively and on the mound.

Georgia gets a day of rest today. Their next game is at 2:30 pm on FSN. They will face the winner of the LSU vs. South Carolina game. If Georgia loses against at 2:30 pm, they get a rematch at 9:00 pm for the opportunity to play on Sunday for the SEC Tournament Title. Sunday's game is one and done regardless of the number of losses either team has going into the title game.

On Friday, we need LSU vs. SC to go into as many innings as possible. The more arms they can wear out before Saturday the better.

As for the Ladies...
In Softball news, the Lady Dogs beat Ohio State in the Athens Super Regional 6-4. They have two chances today to beat Ohio State and advance to their first ever Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. Game 2 is at 4:30 pm and Game 3 (if necessary is at 6:30 if necessary). Both games will be televised on ESPN2.

PWD

SEC Baseball Tourney Enters Day Two

Georgia broke out of its slump yesterday with a 6-3 win over Ole Miss. During the regular season, the SEC Co-Champ Rebels took two of three from the Dawgs. However, Georgia wouldn't be denied as Matt Cerione hit a grand slam and drove in an additional RBI to seal it for the Dawgs. Justin Grimm also pitched his tail off in the win.

Today, Georgia faces Arkansas at approximately 6:00 pm ET on CSS. The winner gets Friday off which is critical for resting pitchers and getting ready for two potential games on Saturday.

See Also:
-- I knew it the whole time - DawgSports

PWD

Excuse me?

David Ching has a post up on the ABH site about the national perspective of the Georgia program. He asked national college football writers several weeks ago:

"Florida and LSU have each won national championships since the last time Georgia won the SEC. Is there something missing at Georgia and what must the Bulldogs do to pull even with those programs again?"

Tony Barnhart wrote his response to Ching's question back in April. He basically said, "Absolutely nothing" is missing. When you look at the stats from Barnhart and realize that Georgia leads the SEC in overall and is tied for first in SEC regular season wins since 2001, it's hard to disagree.

We're close as a program. We just aren't there yet.

This week, Ching got one last response to his original question from a national writer. The response was, "Georgia is a program that probably lies out of the top 10 on an annual basis." The columnist goes on to explain why we're not as good as UF, LSU or Bama. Here's my replies (his answers are in bold):

National Columnist: "Georgia is a program that probably lies out of the top 10 on an annual basis."
PWD Retort: Richt has won more games over the past 8 years than any SEC school. Meyer has 2 Top 10 finishes in his four years at UF. During those 4 years, Richt has 3 top 10 finishes. So his point is basically wrong and ill-informed.

NC: "The Dawgs always seem to be missing something. The last couple of years it was the offensive line. This year, heck, it might be quarterback, or secondary."
PWD: Well...that's true. But aren't most schools "missing something" when they aren't winning a national title? Last year, the biggest problem was the injuries to Sturdivant, Owens, Ellerbe and every able bodied DE on the team. That and tackling like the team was endorsed by Charmin. If you're "not missing something" and still not winning national titles (See: Southern Cal) isn't that a bigger issue than "missing something?"

NC: That doesn't make [UGA] a bad program but it has to realize what it is -- not Alabama, not LSU, not Florida.
PWD: Bama? Seriously? Bama? Bama lost to UL-Monroe two years ago, and they're likely going to be on a 3 game losing streak come Sept. 6th. Bama is building something exciting, but Saban hasn't built what Richt has built. Not yet anyway.

NC: This might sound weird but LSU and Florida and Alabama probably have more talented recruiting bases.
PWD: Louisiana and Georgia have comparable recruiting bases based on NFL rosters, recruiting rankings, whatever. This map shows 2007 NFL Rosters by State. Our state was the #4 producer of NFL talent on 2007 rosters. Louisiana, Ohio and Pennslyvania are in a near tie for 5th place. The State of Alabama has almost half as many NFL players as Georgia on active rosters.

The problem GA faces is that Atlanta is a more transient community and there are fewer life long Dawg fans in the state. Alabama's talent base is grossly inferior from a numbers standpoint, but there are more people growing up longing to play for the Tide. Florida obviously has a deeper in state pool. No argument there.

NC: And if there is a five-star player in Alabama, he usually isn't going to Georgia."
PWD: Definitely true. Garner's Alabama connections have been near totally useless. We rarely have more than two scholarship players from Alabama at a time. Currently, we have two.

What are your thoughts? What are we missing?

PWD

Girls Tennis Fights On

The girls tennis team is fighting it out with Duke today for a spot in Tuesday's NCAA finals.  They gutted out a clutch 4-3 win over South Carolina yesterday.  The bracket sets up good for them.  Northwestern, who was the big favorite all year, lost to Cal yesterday.  The Wildcats beat UGA in the indoor finals, but we won't get them again.  If UGA wins today, they get the winner of Cal and Notre Dame.  I think the girls have a good shot at the championship.  You can follow the action here.  If you have a good computer and the right downloads, that site has some really quality video feeds.

On the mens side, UGA fell yesterday to Texas, 4-2.  It was an odd match to say the least.  The Dogs won the doubles point Saturday before a large weather system moved through College Station, canceling play.  Play resumed Sunday morning, but the Dawgs weren't ready to play and lost four courts in singles play.  The Dawgs are usually hard to beat after winning the doubles point because of our singles play, but UT did it.  Overall, it was a fine year for mens tennis.  As we've mentioned before, they lost a couple of really good players from last year's squad and couldn't replace them through recruiting internationally.  Now we'll wait to see what Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg do, but we should have another solid team next year assuming they stay.  

Quinton

UGA Softball to Host Ohio State in Super Regional

The Georgia Softball team will host the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday and Friday in the Super Regional. The games are scheduled for:

Game 1: Thursday at 7:00 pm (ESPN2)
Game 2: Friday at 4:30 pm (ESPN2)
Game 3: Friday at 6:30 pm (ESPN2) If necessary

Tickets are available via GeorgiaDogs.com, and they start at $5 for students and $7 for adults. More on the game is available via the UGA press release below:

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 6 national-seed Georgia Bulldogs (42-10) will play host to the No. 11 national-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (47-9) in a best-of-three game series this Thursday and Friday at the UGA Softball Stadium.

The Bulldogs, in their eighth consecutive NCAA Softball Championship, will be making their third Super Regional appearance but will be hosting a Super Regional for the first time. Georgia's previous two Super Regionals came in 2005 and 2008 in Los Angeles against UCLA. Georgia earned its spot in this year's Athens Super Regional by winning the Chapel Hill Regional with a perfect 3-0 mark that included a win over Radford and a pair of wins over host North Carolina.

The Buckeyes, in their sixth trip to the NCAA Softball Championships, will be playing in their first Super Regional. Ohio State advanced to Athens after hosting and winning the Columbus Regional where it went a perfect 3-0 with wins over Canisius, BYU and Kentucky.

A total of 64 teams were selected to the 28th-Annual NCAA Division I Softball NCAA Championship with just 16 advancing to the Super Regional round of play. The eight Super Regional winners will advance to the NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City May 28-June 3. Both the Bulldogs and Buckeyes will be vying to make their first-ever trip to the WCWS.

PWD

Evans: "I’m not an excuse guy.”

Me either.

I like that he didn't say anyone else was, but I like more that he didn't blame our woes on the location. It helps to remember that UGA went 2-3 while Damon was a football player at Georgia from '88-92.

It's also nice that he acknowledged that Mark Richt isn't the only constituent on this issue. And that our fans wouldn't be raising so much hell about this issue if we hadn't been spanked 49-10.

PWD

What Happened?

On April 21, Georgia was 32-8 and had just beaten Kennesaw State in Athens  The next day, the team left for a road game at Jacksonville State.  If you just look at the numbers, one would think that the bus to Jacksonville crashed.  The Diamond Dawgs are 3-12 since that trip.  32-8, then 3-12.  The latest disaster was a series sweep at South Carolina by a combined score of 20-7.  We were never really in any of those games.

It used to be that the team couldn't function well in all three phases of the game at one time.  Now, the team can't function in any phase at any time during conference play.  The only bright spot has been the emergence of Justin Grimm.  Grimm has looked strong in his Sunday starts and Saturday's game in Columbia.  But Grimm can't hit for himself and no one else can seem to get anything going.  Our biggest run producing game in the final two sets of conference play was four runs Friday night.  Four runs with the hitters in our lineup should be a given every time we play.  

Everything has just fallen apart.  At this point, a single win in this week's SEC tournament would be monumental and that's so sad.  Tournament play starts Wednesday at 2:30 when Grimm and the Dawgs face Ole Miss. 

Quinton

Mixed News for Men's Basketball

The Nashville Tennessean reports that Mark Fox has landed Tennessee State sophomore guard Gerald Robinson, Jr. as a transfer. Robinson will have two years of eligibility remaining after he sits out the upcoming 2009-2010 season. He also considered transferring to Alabama, Memphis and Marquette.

As I mentioned two weeks ago, this can definitely play at the SEC level.

On the negative side, Chris Barnes, rising junior power forward, was arrested for minor traffic violations on Friday at 6:20 pm. The State of Georgia beefed up its rules around driving without proper ID, tags, registration and/or insurance last July in an effort to run illegal aliens out of the state. I'm not sure how/if the law changes were involved here. But it's a MINOR traffic issue, and I would hope that the athletic department doesn't overreact on this one. He wasn't drinking or doing anyone harm. He just didn't have his papers in order. It's an act of stupidity (that I have committed). It's not an act of danger or recklessness.

PWD

Coach Fox met with Hoops Boosters Last Night

The first hand account I got from the meeting last night was gushing in praise. There were 300-400 folks in attendance at the new basketball practice facility, and Coach Fox set the tone for the evening by personally working the door and greeting every person that walked in the facility.

IronDawg has a pretty good recap of the night posted on several message boards. If you're a UGASports.com subscriber their hoops board has additional insight into the evening.

My friends and family who attended were incredibly impressed with the entire coaching staff. If he can recruit 18 year old basketball players the way he's winning over fans, we'll be in good shape.

Speaking of that...there are positive rumblings on the UGASports.com hoops board about a commitment / transfer. When they confirm it, I'll link over.

Note: It's no secret that there had been discussion about the future of the UGA Tip Off Club. Would that group continue to move forward? Well...Coach Fox plans to join the club, and he's eager to see it become a success. So, that question has been addressed.

See Also:
-- UGA's eclectic basketball staff - AJC

PWD

Rex Robinson's Blog

Rex Robinson, former UGA kicker, All-American and member of the 1980 National Title team , has started a blog. He's apparently using the site to talk sports and (I assume) promote his company Total Team Sports.

PWD

Richt and Fox in Savannah

The Savannah Morning News has an article about Richt and Fox's visit to Savannah. The article links to a video from Coach Fox's and Coach Richt's presentation.

Richt's comments:

-- We have a chance to compete at the highest level in '09
-- We're not redshirting any WRs or TEs
-- Brandon Smith will play some offense at WR
-- And he gushes with praise for Cornelius Washington.

Coach Fox had an interesting philosophical comment. He said that he believes "you recruit offense and you coach defense" because a kid is either a scorer or he isn't by the time he finishes high school. You can teach a kid to play defense, but it's tougher to teach them to make a basket. Amen brother. Fox also confirmed that Trey Thompkins isn't leaving. Something the AJC covered today as well in two articles.


Paul Westerdawg
Georgia Sports Blog

Tennis Update

As a heads up, the men's tennis team plays Illinois this morning at 10 AM.  This is the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament.  You can follow the action here.  If we get by the Illini, we'll play the winner of Tennessee and Texas for a spot in the final four.  We owe the Vols for bouncing us from the SEC tournament. 

The girls play Florida Friday at 1 PM and you can follow them at the same site linked above.  The team is the No. 2 seed and they are relishing that role.  The Gators beat UGA in the regular season, but Georgia got revenge in the SEC tournament. If they get through the Gators, they'll face the winner of South Carolina and Washington in the round of eight.  The guys are kind of a longshot for the title this year, but the girls have a good chance.  Northwestern has been No. 1 all year and already beat UGA for the indoor crown.  Let's hope UGA gets another shot at them.

Quinton

Regional Projections for the NCAA Baseball Tournament

Baseball America has GT, UGA, and Georgia Southern in the Atlanta Regional. While the College Baseball blog has UGA in the Tallahassee Regional with GT hosting Louisville and Ga. Southern in Atlanta.

Personally, I can't see Tech getting stuck with both UGA and GSU in the same regional. We may end up in Atlanta, but Ga. Southern would probably end up in Clemson or Gainesville if that happened.

The biggest difference between the two projections would be the Tuscaloosa vs. Fayetteville argument for hosting a regional. I agree with the Baseball America writer that Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Georgia are competing for two regional host sites. A look at our respective resumes:

Alabama:
-- RPI: 20 and SOS: 45
-- Projected #3 seed in SEC Tourney
-- Will close season at Auburn.
-- Won 9 of their last 10
-- Won series vs. UGA
-- Note: If they win 2 of 3 vs. Auburn, I think they host.

Arkansas:
-- RPI: 11 and SOS: 4
-- Projected 6th seed in SEC Tourney
-- Will close season against Ole Miss at home.
-- Won 4 of their last 10
-- Lost series vs. UGA
-- Note: Would need to beat Ole Miss at least twice to host.

Georgia:
-- RPI: 18 and SOS: 25
-- Projected 5 seed in SEC Tourney
-- Won 2 of their last 10
-- Would have to sweep SC and win at least 2 in Hoover to host.

Ole Miss:
-- RPI: 17 and SOS: 34
-- Projected 4 seed in SEC Tourney
-- Will close season at Arkansas
-- Won 7 of last 10
-- Won series vs. UGA
-- Note: If they win the series vs. ARK, they'll likely host.

It's going to be interesting to see how the selection committee slots us.

See Also:
-- Georgia at Arizona St. in Tempe Regional - Rivals.com
-- Playing for pride - ABH


Paul Westerdawg
Georgia Sports Blog

Diamond Dawgs Overcome Tall Odds

We have real reason to be proud of the baseball team this morning. In beating Tech 7-5 last night at Turner Field, the team overcame tremendous odds to win in a hostile Turner Field. Sure the tickets were split evenly between the two schools and it is supposed to be a neutral site, but Turner Field is in Atlanta, the home of Georgia Tech. There may be a lot of UGA fans in Atlanta, but the team and many of our fans had to travel for the game a much further distance than Tech had to go. Some might even say the weather was against us because it is often warmer in Atlanta than in Athens.

Despite all these factors, not only did Coach Perno and the team win last night, but they have an amazing 6-1 record against Tech at Turner Field. Given that dominant record, I anticipate Tech to call for moving the game to another location soon.

See Also:
-- Why do Tech fans hate sick children - The Hive

Quinton

Baseball: UGA vs. GT at Turner Field Tonight at 7:00 pm

Tonight at 7:00 pm (TV FS South), the Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will face off at Turner Field with major post-season implications for the Dawgs. Per the ABH:

But perhaps the biggest reason the Bulldogs have to beat Georgia Tech tonight is momentum - to extend what it gained with Sunday's 4-3 win over Vanderbilt and to build towards the last Southeastern Conference series of the year at South Carolina.

"It'll be a snowball effect," catcher Joey Lewis said. "It'll keep rolling right into next weekend."

You can be a part of the action, and help raise money to support Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). Tickets cost $10 and are available at the door. The event typically draws 20,000-28,000 fans. In fact, the 2004 game drew the second largest crowd to ever watch a regular season college baseball game.

UPDATE REGARDING MARTA: Marta does NOT typically run a shuttle from Five Points / Underground to Turner Field for this game like they do for Braves games. If you want to take Marta, exit at E1 Georgia State. It's a one mile (15-20 minute) walk from there.

According to Weather.com, tonight's forecast calls for 71-65 degree weather and less than a 10% chance of rain. It'll be a great night to enjoy a cold beer at Turner Field. That's right...the beer man will be ready for you.

In the various polls, the Dawgs are ranked 15th, 18th and 27th while Tech is ranked 8th, 8th and 7th respectively. Tech's RPI is 2nd while UGA's is 19th according to WarrenNolan.com. This is a game the Dawgs need to win.

See Also:
-- Talking Baseball with Coach Perno - AJC
-- Tale of the Tape - AJC
-- More at Stake than Bragging Rights - ABH
-- A look at the bats - AJC
-- Foley Field needs a face lift - DawgSports

I have friends who've relied on CHOA for treatment of rare infant illnesses, and they sing the praises for this organization. That's why the Georgia Sports Blog is sponsoring this year's event at the "Double Sponsor" level.

PWD

EA Sports vs. the Student-Athlete

If you're a gamer, you've probably already heard about Sam Keller's case against EA Sports. He has created a class action lawsuit pursuing EA Sports and the NCAA for compensation in regards to the NCAA Football and Basketball video games using unmistakably obvious player likeness for profit without compensation. Per the AP:

[Keller is] saying the video-game maker wrongly uses the names and likenesses of athletes and the NCAA sanctions the practice.

Keller's lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco as a class-action, suing on behalf of all college athletes depicted in the NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video games made by EA Sports.

Never mind that Keller is by most accounts a void of talent. How could his point be argued as false? As Michael Cunningham of the Sun-Sentinel points out:

The virtual players have the same height, weight, build, skin tone and biographical information as their real-life counterparts. They are from the same state, in the same class and appear in the same place on the depth chart.

The similarities can go right down to sweatbands, arm sleeves and face visors. This holds true from the biggest stars from power schools down to the relatively anonymous players at mid-majors.

I purchased every version of the EA's college football game series from '98 to '07, and I've logged an embarrassing number of hours at it. I still love it. But it is what it is. EA is clearly marketing the likeness of these players as this Fanhouse article showcases.

The one place where the lawsuit loses me is the idea that EA Sports should require security controls which prohibit the uploading of complete team rosters from third parties or by individual users. I personally have no problem with this sort of post-purchase game modification. When an individual takes the time to manually name his players, it's a labor of love...an homage to his team of choice.

If that modification is being done in mass at the expense of a player not being compensated for the use of their name in a product, then Keller's beef is with the after market roster maker. Not EA Sports. Unfortunately for Keller, the dude making that roster available to you via sketchyrostersforvideogames.com probably has nothing to give you if you sue him.

I wager that this one will end with EA Sports creating a charity / scholarship fund that somehow benefits student athletes.

See Also:
-- Sam Keller is right - FanHouse
-- Another stab at the NCAA - Sports Economist
-- A good but unwinnable point - Topeka Capital-Journal
-- Keller Sparks Debate - Big Red Network

PWD

(Image: I think I made that one last year)

About the football suspensions

As you know, Mark Richt finally made it official. He has suspended Bruce Figgins (TE) for 6 games and Justin Houston (DE) for 2 games for an unspecified violation of team rules. That is typically code for a booze or weed related offense. Tony Wilson has also been medically disqualified to play football going forward due to injuries. He would've been suspended if he were to continue his career.

I've seen much hand wringing over whether or not this means all the off season talk about leadership and improved focus is bogus. Guys...it's May 11th and there haven't been any arrests or meaningful trouble, and we're not on the Big Board for the Fulmer Cup in any significant way.

From where I'm sitting, only two players suspended as of today is improvement.

UGA isn't any more lawless or corrupt than any other school. You show me 85 college guys age 18-22, and I'll show you a group with at least two people who are at risk to flunk a drug test. I'd take that bet with any BCS school in any sport just as quickly as I'd take it with any student population on any campus.

I'm not condoning drug use. That's not me. I've never even smoked a cigarette. I'm just saying that two kids pinched this off season doesn't mean the wheels are coming off. If this action is followed by another handful of suspensions, then I'll freak.

I'm glad that we're more aggressive and consistent than some other schools regarding drug / booze related suspensions. I'm just not sure that being quite so transparent about it helps build our brand. The Gator approach of suspensions without telling anyone until after it happens seems to make more sense. Although their lack of commitment to giving the suspension on the "next" game vs. the next easy game would make me uncomfortable as a fan. Where's the disincentive there?

That said....it's an extremely big deal to face Oklahoma State's passing game without Justin Houston bringing pressure from the rush end spot. Losing Figgins is a lesser issue, and losing Wilson isn't an issue to me. Others disagree. Several others actually.

PWD

Dawgs stop skid. Beat Vandy 4-3 in the 9th

Matt Cerione hit a walk-off single to score the winning run 4-3 against Vanderbilt on Sunday. The win was made possible by the Rally Rat. Well...when you're in an 8 game tailspin...if it takes a rat to pull you out, then so be it.

The win ended an 8 game losing streak, and it gave Georgia some fresh momentum heading into Tuesday night's game vs. Georgia Tech at Turner Field.

If the season ended today, UGA would be the #5 seed in the SEC Tourney. Per SECSports.com:

*1. LSU
*2. FLORIDA (1st Place in East)
*3. ALABAMA
*4. OLE MISS
*5. GEORGIA
*6. ARKANSAS
*7. SOUTH CAROLINA
8. VANDERBILT
------------------------
9. KENTUCKY
#10. AUBURN
#11. MISSISSIPPI STATE
#12. TENNESSEE

* Clinched a SEC Tournament Berth
# Eliminated from SEC Tournament Contention

For UGA to move higher than the #5 seed, the following scenarios would have to unfold:

#2 Seed - They could land here by sweeping South Carolina in Columbia *and* the Gators being swept by Kentucky in Gainesville. That would give us the SEC East title and the automatic higher seed. UGA is only 2 games back from UF in the standings, but the Gators hold the tie-breaker. Wildly unlikely scenario.

#3 Seed - I think this is mathematically impossible due to the quirk of the Tide having played and lost one fewer game this year due to weather problems.

#4 Seed - Dawgs would need to sweep the Gamecocks and Ole Miss would need to be swept at Arkansas. This is unlikely, but it's not as out of the question as the 2 Seed scenario.

#5 Seed - UGA must win 2 of three against SC. They only have a one game lead over the Chickens.

#6 Seed or Lower - Lose 2 of 3 or worse, and it just gets ugly. It's unlikely,but we could fall all the way to 8th if we are swept by SC and Vandy sweeps the Vols.

The issue of hosting a regional isn't really on the table right now. Win the next four, make some noise in Hoover, and we might get back into that conversation. But right now, we're fighting for the best regional seed available.

See Also:
-- SEC Baseball Weekend Recap - JimFromDuluth
-- Women's softball team screwed out of hosting regional - ABH

PWD

How did we ever win 33?

It's a miracle.

I have no idea how to fix this team, but I don't think a rainout or a night with the girls from the Ice Capades will do it. It's probably going to take a fist fight or a religious awakening because these guys are completely and totally asleep. Anyone watching them lose 9-2 vs. Vandy today knows that.

I was groggy from the weight of the fail during the game, but I could've sworn we ended our shot at a big inning because two guys were standing on second base. Now, I'm no father of 6 year old boys, but I'm pretty sure they cover that rule in tee ball.

The clip above perfectly describes this team. Young, in a wicked slump and painfully in need of Perno scaring the hell out of them. We have to win tomorrow and more importantly Tuesday night against Tech.

PWD

Hoops: Coaching and Recruiting Update

From trolling the various hoops message boards we learn the following:

• Hiring News - Coach Fox has hired his 3rd and Final Assistant. Stacey Palmore joins the Bulldog coaching staff from Virginia Tech. Coach Palmore is originally from Greenwood, SC, and he was eager to move closer to home according to the Richmond Times Dispatch. At Virginia Tech, he recruited several players out of the Atlanta area.
  
  
• Recruiting / Transfer News - Coach Fox was unable to attend to the Columbus Bulldog Club meeting last night because the AJC reports that he was doing some recruiting. Kipp Adams at UGASports.com says he was specifically recruiting Gerald Robinson, Jr. Robinson is a 6'1" 165 lb sophomore guard at Tennessee State who averaged 17.8 ppg and 3.8 apg last year. At UGA, he would probably play more of the SG than the point. You may say, "He's from a small school. So what?" Not so fast my friend. Last year, he scored:
  25 points at Kentucky
  15 points at Alabama
  16 points at Georgia Tech
  
  He also scored 24 points as a freshman against Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. He would have two years of eligibility after he sits out next year due to transfer rules.
  
  
• Walk-on / Transfer News - Connor Nolte will walk-on at Georgia. Nolte is a sophomore wing at Furman. He'll transfer to UGA and have two years of eligibility remaining after he sits out this season. His little brother is Evan Nolte. Groo at DawgsOnline.com and Connor via his blog, PassersRemorse.com, let us know that Evan Nolte was named Freshman of the Year in AAAAA. Evan plays on the Milton High School powerhouse squad that includes The Milton Three in the Class of 2011. "The Milton Three" are Julian Royal (PF), Dai-Jon Parker (SG) and Shannon Scott (PG). They are three of the Top 5-6 players in the State for the 2011 class. Coach Fox will basically need an office at Milton High School given the amount of time he'll need to spend on that campus over the next three years. Having Connor Nolte talking up the staff can't hurt us.

Good news overall.

PWD

NCAA Regional Baseball Projections and RPI info

Image: Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha

The College Baseball Blog has updated their NCAA Regional Projections. They obviously no longer have UGA with a national seed, but they do see us clinging on to a Regional Speed. From the look of that bracket, we're probably the last team to get a regional.

In their projection, Miami would be the #2 seed in the Athens regional, and we would likely face UNC in Chapel Hill if we were to advance. If we don't take care of business this weekend at home against Vandy, we're going to fall out of the regional host site projections. That scenario would either put us in the Clemson regional with the Gators in the Super Regional should we advance or in Atlanta with GT.

Right now, UGA is in 6th place in the SEC. Florida and LSU will beat up on each other this weekend, and Ole Miss and Arkansas will collide next weekend. If we take care of our business, we can get back into the top half of the bracket before Hoover. But that's going to require dramatically better pitching than we got last week when no lead was safe.

Our RPI is currently 19th, and we're ranked 13th, 14th and 22nd in the various polls.

PWD

Dawgs rock APR rankings. Tech loses scholarships

I will write this using short sentences so the Tech basketball team can feel included in the discussion. UGA good. Tech bad.

The academic progress scores were released by the NCAA yesterday. Georgia football and women's basketball APR scores lead the SEC in their respective sports. Tech's men's basketball team scored below the required minimum and lost two scholarships.

BTW -- If a kid leaves school early for the draft or transfers out in good academic standing, his departure doesn't hurt your APR. The argument of "we put people into the NBA" really has nothing to do with why Tech's scores are so poor. They use the negative connotation of UGA as a "football factory" to justify our long term success and their long term failures on the gridiron. In basketball, the shoe is clearly on the other foot.

See Also:
-- APR scores for all SEC teams - ABH
-- Final AP Top 25 ranked by APR (UGA is #1) - David Hale
-- Vols lose basketball scholarship - GoVols.com

PWD

To Dome or Not to Dome

Image: AJC
Tim Tucker caught up with Gary Stokan of the Atlanta Sports Council for an update on the possibility of UGA playing a game at the Georgia Dome. He basically says what I suggested earlier....the idea of UGA giving up its 6th home game for a match-up at the Dome is NOT on the table for 2010 or any other year.

The options on the table are:

A. Push out or cancel '10 non-conference road game (ie: Colorado)
B. Play only 6 home games in '11 (ie: push out opener vs. Lville)

I've seen an uproar on this site about not wanting to move the Colorado trip in 2010. I don't get it. It won't be like the ASU trip last year. Arizona State has a 76,000 seat stadium that rarely sells out. UGA fans got their hands on a near unlimited supply of cheap tickets to the game, and 15,000-20,000 of us turned into a de facto bowl game complete with a side trip to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and/or Vegas. Plus, ASU was a pre-season Top 15 team.

Colorado won't be like that. Folsom Field only seats 53,000 people. Their tickets aren't as accessible, and the Denver area's strongest suit is the Winter. Not early October. Their program is also in rebuilding mode, and the female talent will most certainly not be comparable to the Sun Devils. It's extremely unlikely that we're going to face a Top 15 team. (Granted: ASU had started tumbling before we got there, but we were booking flights and hotels based on the assumption that they wouldn't lose to UNLV the week before)

I'm looking forward to the trip to Boulder. Hell, Dawgnoxious and I actually saw UGA play hoops in Boulder. But I don't see what the fuss is about or what the problem would be with pushing the game out a bit. Especially, if we could replace that game with a more logistically manageable, less expensive game in Atlanta versus a much bigger name team. What am I missing?

Also, Georgia's best seasons since 1964 (when Vince Dooley arrived) usually began with a game that caught the player's attention and forced them to work harder all off season.

2007 vs Oklahoma State (#2 final ranking)
2005 vs a hyped Boise State (SEC Champs)
2003 at Clemson (SEC East Champs)
2002 vs Clemson (SEC Champs)
1997 vs Ark State (10 wins. Top 10 Finish) -- EXCEPTION
1992 at South Carolina (10 wins. SEC East Co-Champs)
1983 vs UCLA (10 wins. Cotton Bowl Champs)
1982 vs Clemson (SEC Champs)
1981 vs Tennessee (SEC Champs)
1980 at Tennessee (SEC Champs)
1976 vs California (SEC Champs) -- See Update*
1971 vs Oregon State (11-1 team) -- EXCEPTION
1968 at Tennessee (SEC Champs)
1966 at Mississippi State (SEC Champs)

Update: SpartanburgDawg sent me a note -- "Total speculation, but I’m guessing the 1976 Cal Bears had our undivided attention, as well, given that they were co-Pac 10 champs in 1975 and had won 8 of their past 9 games. A year later, they opened the season by whipping Tennessee’s ass in Knoxville." (touche)

That's 11 12 of 14 seasons that we've won 10 or more games and/or won the SEC East or better that began with an attention getting game. Compare that to Richt's seasons in which we've underwhelmed or underachieved '01 (Ark St.), '04 (GSU), '06 (WKU) and '08 (GSU).

I don't want to screw the Buffs. I'm just saying....do what it takes to get us a quality opponent in Week 1. If that requires a game at the Dome. Fine. It doesn't ensure greatness to play those tough openers, but not playing big opponents immediately sure does seem to lead to lackluster seasons.

See Also:
-- UGA ponders the Dome - Blutarsky

PWD

The Future of Newspapers

Off topic, but so what...

The continuing decline of the newspaper industry made headlines again over the weekend when Warren Buffet said that he wouldn't buy newspaper stocks at any price. The topic continues a national and local discussion about the future of the daily rag.

There has been discussion about the newspaper industry's eventual shift to a pay by the drip model like iTunes or a government subsidized model like PBS-TV. I'm not sure what the eventual answer is, but I did enjoy this thought provoking, lengthy blog article a few weeks ago:

"Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism. For a century, the imperatives to strengthen journalism and to strengthen newspapers have been so tightly wound as to be indistinguishable. That’s been a fine accident to have, but when that accident stops, as it is stopping before our eyes, we’re going to need lots of other ways to strengthen journalism instead.

When we shift our attention from ’save newspapers’ to ’save society’, the imperative changes from ‘preserve the current institutions’ to ‘do whatever works.’ And what works today isn’t the same as what used to work."

The article is correct. We need quality writers and quality reporting. We don't need the physical paper. And bloggers like me are most certainly not going to fill that gap when the AJC has no one left to layoff.

Anyway...just rambling.

PWD

Football Schedule: UGA vs. New Mexico State in 2011

The Athens Banner-Herald reports that Georgia has added New Mexico State to its 2011 schedule. The NMSU game will be played on Nov. 5th. This will fall between the Florida and Auburn games on the schedule.

The home games for 2011 include:

Louisville
South Carolina
Coastal Carolina
Mississippi State
New Mexico State
Auburn
Kentucky

By timing this one between UF and AU, the lone bye week for the 2011 season will likely fall just before the UT game. SicemDawgs.com projects that the SEC will place Mississippi State vs. UGA on the weekend before the Cocktail Party. I'm not sure how he knows that, but it certainly looks right to me.

I would love to see the useless Louisville (2011/2012) series scrapped in favor of something with more teeth and intrigue as 2011 is a year in which we don't face LSU or Bama in the regular season. We can handle it.

Separately:
-- Richt on the Indoor Practice Facility vs. a Staging Area - ABH

PWD

Well said, sir

I sometimes joke with Kyle King of DawgSports.com about his tendency to get a bit...wordy. For all my joking, no one devotes more legitimate ink to UGA baseball or gymnastics than Kyle. And no one spends more time arguing with bloggers who follow other football programs than Kyle.

All of that said...he's neither wordy nor focused on our rivals in this one. It's a concise and extremely on point article about the location of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Score one for The Mayor. When you quote Erk to prove your point, you're way ahead of the game.

PWD

Coach Fox Leaning on Richt for Advice

The Macon Telegraph has four video interviews with Coach Fox on their site. Look below the big video image, and you'll see the links. This looks to be from the working lunch with all the beat writers last week. It's interesting to see the unabridged version.

Also, David Hale has more on Coach Fox leaning on Mark Richt for advice at UGA. I mentioned last week that we're not going to participate in the Hawaii tourney, and I suggested that the five high major games we already have on the books for 2009-2010 may be "enough" for Fox. Well...maybe not. The link above includes more discussion on his scheduling philosophy including an unwillingness to do a 1 for 2 with a bigger name school, and a willingness to play other BCS league schools on TV. He's got four games in the hooper. It'll be very interesting to see where those next four announced games land along the spectrum of toughness, and then we'll know a lot more.

See Also:
-- Fox on Drazen - DaugMan

PWD

(ht - ryan, begger and cedar)

Larry Munson: Hall of Famer

Today, Larry will be inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's Hall of Fame. The only question being...what took so long?

See Also:
-- Other Honorees - NSSA
-- All our Larry Munson Articles - Georgia Sports Blog
-- The Larry Munson Drinking Game - Georgia Sports Blog

PWD

Georgia Baseball is Sinking

A midweek upset loss at Jacksonville State?  It happens.  A series loss at Ole Miss that should have been a win?  Sort of understandable.  A home loss to Jacksonville State surrendering thirteen unanswered runs and a loss for our ace closer?  Uh oh.  Getting swept by the Gators at Foley Field, including giving up an 8-0 lead in the series opener to lose 10-9 and a 7-4 lead in the top of the ninth today?  Georgia baseball is nosediving at a velocity that seems beyond the realm of modern physics. 

The Diamond Dawgs have suddenly fallen off a cliff.  Losers of eight of our last ten, UGA has fallen from first in the SEC to trailing Florida by two games in the SEC East.  The problem is that the team never seems to perform well in all or even a couple of facets of the same game.  This quote from Bryce Massanari (who has been mashing during the slump) sums it up: "We just haven't taken advantage of things. When we hit good, we pitch bad. And when we pitch good, we hit bad. We can't seem to put it all together in one game."  You can add defense to that, too, because errors, pass balls and wild pitches have helped opponents get crucial runs during the streak.

Even today, when Rich Poythress hit a homer to go up 5-2, you just knew that the bullpen, already tired from all the work Friday and Saturday, was going to blow it.  The team, especially that bullpen, seems to be running on empty.  The pen gave up 9 runs in Wednesday night's ninth and 6 in today's.  No midweek games this week should help, but something has to change here.  Perno has discussed moving McRee to the pen and starting Tanner, but McRee hasn't looked in real command on the hill in a few weeks.  He'd be a great lefty to shut down a rally, but his control hasn't been good enough in his starts, much less a hairy relief spot.  

The slump is occurring at the wrong time, in the midst of the stretch run for a conference crown.  I'm not yet willing to completely surrender the SEC crown, but our chances are slim and none.  The only team in contention that we hold a tiebreaker over is Arkansas and I don't think they are going to finish atop the conference standings.  Neither Vandy nor South Carolina are in contention for the division or the conference. Given our level of play recently, though, it's improbable that we would get six wins in those two series.  We'll need all six if we want a chance to repeat as SEC champs.  At this point, it'll take two series wins to preserve a chance at an NCAA regional in Athens.  Even that is beginning to look seriously threatened.

Quinton

Auburn's limo and SEC spring practices

Tony Barnhart's Friday blog covered a variety of topics. One of which being "What's all the fuss about Auburn's Limo." As you've probably read already, the Aubies rented a stretch limo to go "prowling" for recruits. Personally, I'm glad that they are putting seven coaches in the same location for recruiting. It means they can cover less total ground during the Spring evaluation period. However, you can't review this topic without checking out Bulldog in Exile's look at Georgia Tech's possible approach to this issue.

Also, Barnhart points out that the average attendance at the SEC Spring Football games (~38,000) was greater than 63 Division I programs averaged during the regular season. That's a jaw dropping stat in and of itself.

The fact that ESPN is now covering spring practice on the flagship network and SportsCenter means that these events are considered important in the eyes of many fans. This...I would argue...explains the explosion in attendance. Wondering aloud here....when the SEC / ESPN marriage takes it next step in September, and they expand coverage of all SEC sports via ESPN2 and ESPNU, I wonder how far away we are from them deciding that College Baseball is important.

Currently Disney World Bristol only covers college baseball's post season. If they ever deem the sport worthy of full season SportsCenter coverage, we're going to need a dramatically larger facility than the current or even proposed renovation. Think they won't eventually stumble into the value of the sport as cheap TV inventory? The NHL is mainly on Versus because women's college softball outdrew pro hockey's ratings.

Sorry for the ramble. Just a stream of conciousness type of day.

PWD

Hoops Update

Earlier in the week, Coach Fox hosted a lunch Q&A session with the various UGA beat writers. The conversation shed some light onto the recruitment of Daniel Miller, Trey Thompkins' future with the team and his overall philosophy.

Overall, it sounds like Trey is sticking around. The biggest clue being that he's hosting recruits. There's no way in hell that he's hosting kids if he was about to bolt. He's a good kid that had never faced anything competitively equivalent to losing 10+ games in a row. Managing and navigating that sort of public failure isn't easy for anyone. He's got to grow tougher physically and mentally, but he's got a great future.

On the scheduling front, UGA has backed out of the ESPN Hawaii "Diamond Head Classic." I'm actually in support of this move this season. We've already got Missouri, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Georgia Tech and St. John's on the books.

This team isn't going to make the NCAA Tourney so scheduling for even greater RPI/SOS strength probably doesn't make sense. Fox probably needs to schedule for the NIT, and that means winning some games. A separate interview said that Fox is close to inking 2-3 more games; however, the final few games on the schedule (the bottom feeder "buy" games) will probably fall into place at the last possible minute. BTW -- it'll still probably be a tougher scheduled than many of our SEC and ACC peers (excluding the Vols who schedule tougher than anyone on the planet in hoops).

BTW -- You know what really excites me about Coach Fox? He has already used the term "offense" more in less than a month than Coach Felton used it in 6 years.

See Also:
-- Fox talks scholarships - ABH
-- Felton looking for work overseas - ABH


PWD
Georgia Sports Blog