Apparently the Blogging Police have been recruiting. I know I've been a little "vacant" lately, but that's a combination of about three things. The first is that work has been draining me lately for some reason (it's bonus time so I'm just a little stressed over that...and free money is SUPPOSED to make you feel better). The second is I feel a little less inspired to write for whatever reason that may be, and the third is some small circumstance that I can't seem to get out of my head, even though it's not that big of a deal.

As you saw in the last post, the Dawgs needed to pick up a win against LSU and they did on a last-second buzzer beater. It was a helluva game even though we shot like shit from the floor, but we gutted our way through it and came up with an emotional finish that Dawg fans should remember for quite some time. It's gotten the media to buzz a little bit about us too, which is never a bad thing. And for the record, I don't believe the loss to the Vols hurt us that much. SEC road teams have not fared well this season, so we have that excuse.

On a side note, I realized that I'll be single for the rest of my life. I was on a quasi-date during the LSU game and even though she's not a fan of B-ball, we had to "check the score...only for a second." Low and behold we watched nearly 2/3 of the game. God bless her...and me because who knows if I screwed that one up for good or not.

Anyway, there's really not that much going on recruiting/football/basketball/baseball/other sports wise that I care to talk about. Truth is, I'd be more than happy to rap a little bit about myself, but I can't think of shit to say. I will say that reading BeerBlogPongThis's most recent back and forth with a Georgia State Senator will spawn some interesting debate sometime soon between he (meaning Ru$$) and I. I'll look like an idiot, but after about 5 of my favorite beverages, I won't care that much.

Hey if you read this and have my cell phone number, give me a call. I need to tell you about Friday. If you don't have my cell phone number, then I don't like you that much (I'm only kinda kidding).

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Today, the Dawgs play against a pretty good LSU team at 3:00 PM. Right now UGA is playing two entirely different halves each time they hit the hardwood. When they played Alabama, they were lights out in the first half and atrocious in the second. Against Kentucky, it was the opposite.

However, today's game isn't all about basketball. As PWD broke earlier in the week, today will be a UGA "Red Out" in honor of Kevin Brophy with a memorial ceremony before tipoff. I wasn't able to follow the program as much when Brophy played, honestly due to the fact the Dawgs just weren't on TV. However, for whatever this kid lacked in talent, he made up for in heart. He was a true lockerroom guy and led with his desire to win, which inspired the others around him.

Today, shortly after tipoff, our guys in Nikes have a decision to make: Are they going to really do it for Broph, or are the going to get caught up in the moment and become overwhelmed with emotion? It's very possible that they could do both.

Let's hope that today the students and alumni show up with their best red, and honor someone who made a difference in a program that really needed it.


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

I sat and watched the State of the Union address tonight. At some point I realized that almost two years ago, I cared for politics much more than I do now.

However, I liked the speech. Now it's time to talk about shit you really care about.


OUR State of the Union:

Expect more of the same, which is great news.

The end.


Moving on, I promised a couple of weeks ago that I would touch on a couple of different subjects soon. Well, soon has become "now" so let me go ahead and keep my word.

1) Why Urban Meyer is not the reason the Gators won the championship. Again and again it has been said that offense wins games but defense wins championships. Charlie Strong has been an extremely talented defensive coordinator for a while now and it is very surprising to me that he has not been chosen for a head coaching job somewhere else. His defenses have been stout, kept Ron Zook in a job, and ultimately have been under-appreciated in the "era of the head coach."

"Era of the head coach" you ask? Well it's basically what's happening right now throughout college football. Take a look at coaches like Urban Meyer, Charlie Weis, and Nick Saban. All have had moderate to good success in college football. The one that has had the least would be Charlie Weis, with Urban Meyer having the best in my opionion. However, they are overtaking the mantra of their team and casting a long shadow on their respective programs.

As soon as the media stops yapping about a hit or miss "spread" offense (I'm sure Richy Rod laughs his ass off every time someone refers to Meyer's offense as the spread) at Florida, they'll realize that solid linebacker and secondary play have kept them in every game they played this year and in years past.

2) I said I was going to break down the men's bball schedule and how I see it panning out. However this is going to have to wait since I'm still pissed about the 'Bama game.

3) I have one thing to say about the College Football Blogger Awards. EDSBS is the best blog out there, but I do believe PWD and Dawgnoxious got snubbed over at the Georgia Sports Blog. To not even be considered in the category kinda of bugs me. That's just my own opinion. I feel better now. It is good news, however, that Georgia Sports picked up a nomination for Best SEC Blog and Dawg Sports picked up a few nominations including one in the same category.

4) A huge recruiting update is coming, but I want to wait after this weekend's visits since we have a huge one coming up in regards to hosting big name guys.

5) Wait patiently on the personal rant.


Well, there you have it.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Well, I had a helluva weekend. While it doesn't matter to you specifically what I did since it involves hardly any sports related to UGA, I did want to let everyone know that I drank this weekend. A lot. And today I'm paying for it.

Moving on...

* The debate rages on still for what is an "artistic athletic competition" or "performance art" or whatever vs. a "sport." Apparently one the previous commentors (amazingly an anonymous person) made a quick note that I'm not the most athletic person they've ever seen. To this, I will simply reply "REALLY?!?" (shout out: PWD) I guess whoever that is has seen me before, which further confirms my suspicion that Stevie Wonder does not read this blog.

* Anyway, I'd like to speak briefly (i.e. two points) about the game we lost against Alabama on Saturday in Basketball:

1) We should've never blown an 18 point lead.
2) We got hosed with the last few calls.

* I'd also like to mention that regardless of who plays who in the Super Bowl, I don't believe I'll be rooting for a Florida quarterback. Of the currently two teams that are making a charge for the final Super Bowl spot (even though Indiapolis is down right now, I'm not counting them out), both of them have Dawgs on their rosters, which makes either an automatic choice. Hey, it helps us in recruiting.

* The last thing I ever want to do is get into a war of words with The King, since my approach to subjects tend to me more simplistic and his is much more detailed. However, I have to call him on the carpet about his take on Jack Kingston's refusal to vote for the Gators. The truth be known, all politicians suck. Every single one of them. I don't believe 30% of the officials we elect into office do the job they're GIVEN in general. But a man that knows where his loyalties lie in regards to the University of Georgia is, if only for one vote, one I support (for only one vote). His act wasn't classless. It was college football at its finest.

* Finally, in "well damn that's great" news, it appears that Kevin Butler's son Drew has been offered a scholarship to the University of Georgia. Aside from the feel good aspect of the story, it turns out that Drew Butler has a helluva leg. I think he's going to be a punter for us and maybe will merge into a FG kicker role, but either way, he has a cannon.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

1. BeerBlogPongThis is weak. He kung fu'd for somewhere around 15 minutes and then crapped out on night two of the Jack Bauer Power Hour(s). To his defense, he did call and said he found two muscles he never thought he had. 1) The one that surrounds your butt and 2) The giant pussy that was hurting.

2. Some anonymous individual left this comment:

________________________________________________________________________
You need another catagory Artistic ATHLETIC Competitions cannot include competitions that the participants are not required to have any athletic skill. IE marching band. You need to add an artistic competition catagory.
________________________________________________________________________

Sorry, but I must disagree. marching band IS athletic. Is it athletic like football? Hell to the no. However, (ALERT!!! BAND DORKDOM IMPENDING!!!) marching band is an activity whereas you must control the amount of air you're breathing while you work your way around 60-70 yard area. You can march quite slow or extremely fast to where you'd BEG someone to let you jog through it. It's physical. Every up-tempo song nearly killed Poteet.

Also, don't forget the dance line, drum corps, and majorettes. I'm not always their biggest fan, but they do work awfully hard to make the thing look nice. Besides, I dare a mofo to tell one of the Georgettes they don't work hard. I made that mistake once.

3) The above comment from anon sounds eerily familiar since the same damn thing came out of the mouth of the 14-year figure skater mentioned in the last post. On a side note, she was hot with great hair.

4) The King has been going back and forth with some asshats over on the west coast about the Pac-10 being a real conference or some bullshit. I can end the argument in one sentence:

"Do you play a conference championship?"

Now, that'll draw a little heat from the Big-10(1), Pac-10, and Big East, but the truth is, if you want ultimate supremacy and respect, then divide the damn thing up into two sides and battle it out at the end of the year. There's no reason why Florida should have played one more game than Ohio State.

Let's look at it like this. USC (out west) had locked up the National Championship bid before they played UCLA. However, earlier in the year they lost to a decent (at best) Oregon State team. Now, assuming Florida was undefeated going into the SEC Championship game and they lose that instead, do you think a one-loss (to Arkansas) Florida team overrules a one-loss (to OREGON FUCKING STATE) USC team that happened to have the luxury of losing early? Hell no. Florida is out of the game and USC coasts into it.

Anyway, if you want respect Pac-10, Big East, and Big 10(1), then play a conference championship for fuck's sake.

Who am I kidding? Even if you did, you'd still be average at best.

5) I'm going to wake up tomorrow with a lot of hate mail...again,


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

It appears that my own personal idea of exactly what a "sport" entails is not exactly the most popular one.

Last night at a birthday dinner for a friend, I was surrounded by one male co-worker, the birthday girl, and 3 of her birthday girlfriends when I slipped up and said that figure skating was not a sport. One of the 3 birthday girlfriends happened to be a 14-year figure skater.

Oops.

While I still think my argument is very much a valid one, I'll proceed to break down in further detail the rules of what I consider is and is not a sport.

NOTE: It is important to start off by saying that what I consider a "sport" and what I consider an "artistic athletic competition" are absolutely on the same level. I just believe they should be in different categories. Just because I don't consider figure skating a sport, that doesn't mean it is "lower" than golf, for instance.

Sports:
1. Points are determined by black and white measures. You either did or you didn't score. Granted, there is usually a human official determining whether or not you crossed the plate, but the act of getting a score is determined by a measure that is black or white.

2. Sports can never include "style" or a "program." It should never matter how pretty or ugly you did something as long as you did it.

Examples: Football, Baseball, Basketball, Golf, Bowling, Darts, etc.

Artistic Athletic Competitions:
1. Humans play a crucial factor in determining scores. You might have "stuck the landing" perfectly, but according to this judge, you didn't. Everyone else saw it, including the two other judges, but this judge believes you twitched somewhat and gave you a 9 instead, thus costing you the win.

2. There must be some type of dramatic element involved in the process. You must dance, dress, or act a certain way to increase your chances of winning. Music is usually involved and so is a certain amount of acting or other form of artistic influence. You may have a certain number of jumps, flips, dives, and dashes that you must do. However, you cannot just go out, do them, and leave. You have to add some type of artistic element to make your performance stick out to the judges.

Examples: Gymnastics, Cheerleading, Marching Band, Figure Skating, etc.



There ya go. The only other competition I can't seem to place is boxing. With the judges making decisions as to who boxes better than the other, I just can't seem to put it in the category and feel good about it.

Again, just because I think something is not a sport, THAT DOES NOT MEAN I THINK IT IS LOWER THAN WHAT I CONSIDER A SPORT. As soon as I get that through people's heads, I believe they'll stop thinking of me as such a pig and more of a person that likes to have a little organization in life. Is it such a bad thing to no longer want to see bumper stickers saying that "Marching Band is a Sport?" There would be no need for such "campaigning" if we just a little order in this world.

There you go. Hate me all you want.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Yeah, sorry about the non-blogging. The good news is the Blogging Police never came after me, so I'm writing because I actually want to, which is something that I couldn't do this week for some reason.

So here I sit, relatively hungover and smelling like I frequented an adult establishment last night and I really have nothing to talk about. There are a couple of long-drawn out posts bouncing around in my head, but nothing that appears to have any length in order to make a worthwile argument.

A couple of things on the agenda in the next few weeks are as follows:

1) Explain that for one night Urban Meyer's offense won the National Championship, but it's Charlie Strong's defense that got them there.

2) Break down the Men's Bball schedule and how it might shake out.

3) Give my thoughts of what football blogging in general should be about. This has a little to do with the recent College Football Blogger awards and how I think one prominent blogger got hosed.

4) With signing day rapidly approaching, I want to catch everyone up on how recruiting is going for us. Due to some recent coaching changes at UGA as well as at other schools in our vicinity, we have a great shot at a lot of quality guys.

5) Probably a personal rant at some point.

Well, there you have. UGA plays Vandy on the "theatre of the mind" at 4:00 PM. Be sure to tune in to your favorite AM powerhouse.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Over recent weeks I have found myself in a bit of a pinch trying to decide who exactly I wanted to win this obvious "Meteor Game" between Ohio State and Florida.

While I will NEVER consider myself to be a fan of the Gators, I must throw my support behind our jort clad SEC rivals. Here are the reasons why:

1. Any win for the SEC is a good one. Especially against the Big 10.

2. It will make our victory over Florida next year that much sweeter.

3. Charlie Strong (the reason for Florida's title appearance) will become a hot commodity and might leave if given the right opportunity.

4. I cannot tolerate the Ohio State fans that I work with any longer. The Florida ones have always been classy and respectful, while the Ohio State ones just get worse and worse (Editor's note: Ohio State IS the best team in the land. They have "earned" their annoying demeanor).

So, I have decided that the best thing to do is not to cheer for Florida, but to root openly against Ohio State, while supporting the conference that my beloved Dawgs call home.

Go SEC!


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

I didn't foresee myself posting again so soon (i.e. two days in a row -- over a WEEKEND), but my brain just got hit with a post, so I wanted to get it out before I forgot.

I wanted to let everyone who reads the crap I write what to expect from this site going into the new year. Residential site girl Keira Knightley still brings the most readers to my corner of the internet, so I felt it necessary to give all the new people an idea of what you'll be reading up until kickoff of the 2007 season.


Any mention of the site girl must come with a picture, of course. Photo from UKhotmovies.co.uk.

As you can see from the previous post, I'm a fan of UGA basketball unlike some other bloggers. While the last thing I want to do is get into a debate with The King, I WILL NOT cover anything to do with the Gym Dogs, excluding passing along the nugget of when we win another national title. The truth is (and bring on the heat for this), I do not list gymnastics as a sport. I'll briefly tell you why.

I have listed (generally) a sport as any athletic competition that is won or lost by points that are black/white. You either did it or you didn't. "Pretty" doesn't count in sports, but "winning ugly" does. Essentially what this does is eliminate the human element. In baseball, for instance, you either crossed home plate or you didn't. It doesn't matter how pretty you ran; did you cross home plate? I understand this will open up the "well what if the umpire blows the call?" Yes, I have thought about this and you can nit pick details like that, but honestly, either you cross the plate or you don't. A blown call is an unfortunate case of human error, but the system it is based upon is without fail. You either did or you didn't.

In gymnastics, swimming, cheerleading, etc. there are a panel of people who decide how well you did. There is no black and white, and "pretty" absolutely counts. When you incorporate a system to which human interpretation plays a factor in winning or losing, then it loses its sport status and moves into being an "artistic athletic competition." The Gym Dogs cannot win ugly. It doesn't exist, so therefore it's not a sport.

Plus, I've been to a Gym Dogs meet and apparently booing is unacceptable. In a word, that sucks. If I can't "boo" my rival no matter what happens, then that is a "sport" I'm not willing to follow. It is what it is.

So now that I've opened that can of worms, here's what you can expect from me going forward.

1. Commentary and news on the (football) Dawgs. An example would be UGA's recent hiring of Stacey Searels. In a later post, I will explain how great of a hire this is, but the 10 peso version is that he's a good man (won the NCAA Award of Valor), a good recruiter, and a helluva coach. Just look what LSU has done with their O-line over the last few years and you'll know what I'm talking about. In my opinion, he might already be a better hire than Neil Calloway was, just by resume alone, but we'll see how this works out.

Also expect recruiting updates and coverage on the spring game. I have learned recently that the college football season never ends.

2. I will cover Dawgs Basketball as much as I can, but I will rarely cover any other team unless what they do relates to the Dawgs. Basically, I'm a home team guy and I plan on staying that way.

3. Any news relevant to college football, such as the Saban hiring. Sometimes I will comment on stuff that directly impacts UGA and sometimes I won't. This is a blog related to the Dawgs, but I think everyone that reads this appreciates college football in general.

4. I tend to be a little opinionated (oops), so you should expect any kind of commentary on something that I feel strongly about. In the past I've written about Terri Shiavo, the Iraq War, and voiced my opinion on politics. If I feel the need, I'll do it again.

5. Any tidbits about my personal life that I feel the need to throw in there just for shits and giggles. Sometimes, I just wanna talk about "me," people.


So, now you know.



Until next time kids.

Be safe.

I had every intention to sleep in today. And I don't mean sleeping in like "Hey I'm going to sleep until 10:00 AM." I mean "I'm going to sleep until I can't sleep any more. In fact, after traveling every weekend since the 3rd one in November, I'm going to sleep until I can't tell if I'm dreaming or awake."

But the Dawgs played Florida today at 12:00.

I should've stayed in bed.

I can't tell you how frustrated I am at our basketball team. The problem is I don't see it being a problem with coaching. Our inside game has improved leaps and bounds over last year, we're scoring more points, and our defense is still pretty good. However, what I keep seeing time and time again is our players running around on the court looking lost. No one understands their role.

For instance, we have a 7' tall behemoth in Singletary. Do you think he's playing like the tallest bastard on the court? NO. He gets the ball and instantly looks for someone to give it back to. Our guys need to fill the roles their in and do the job they have been given scholarships to do.

In fact, there are only two players on this team right now who I think are contributing on an appropriate level. Those two are Gaines and T. Brown. Takais Brown has really impressed me with his ability to score from everywhere within 10' of the basket, his ability to block shots, and his inside presence with rebounding. Sundiata Gaines has been a constant contributor since he arrived at UGA, so no surprise there.

We've got guys like Mercer, Bliss, Humphrey, and Woodbury who are hit or miss. Mercer was on fire the first 9 games of the year. Since then he's tapered off. The other guys are the same. Bliss is sometimes physical inside. At others, he's drawing stupid fouls and looking lost in space. Woodbury has come on late, but neglects to find ways of getting open. Humphrey is beyond me because last year he was a force and he even had a good game today against Florida.

Our team has got to spend some Disney-movie quality time learning to gel or we won't even come close to 7-9 or 8-8 in SEC play. They have got to find an identity and stick with it.

The good news is I don't see Florida repeating this year as national champions. Noah has never really impressed me, and if you've ever watched him shoot a foul shot, you'd realize that he's worthless beyond arm's reach of the basket. Plus, he's so damn ugly it's painful to watch him play just like it's painful to watch Dirk "Caveman" Novisithishtsiekehsid play. He's a good basketball player, but does anyone else think he should be in the next Geico commercial?




You be the judge.


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Well by now it's old news because I'm just not as quick as some of the other guys. I gotta say that Nick Saban taking the job at Alabama completely took me by surprise. I don't know what it was, but I guess for some crazy reason, when a man "vowed" not to take a job I thought he meant it.

I guess it's ok to go against your "vows" when you're speaking to the media.

I've heard a little bit of the arguments on both sides of the coin. I've read articles where people think it's good for Alabama and I've read some where they think Nick Saban sold his soul. I tend to lean more towards the latter because if he lied to get there, he'll lie to get out.

Some people tend to think that Saban's contract is too high to fire him and too high for him to be bought out. I say that with the new standard of pay that he recently just set, in the four years it'll take to find out if he's the real deal at 'Bama, $4 million a year won't mean shit. Truth be known, I think he wins at Alabama and then bolts for another top tier program that waves greener pastures into his wallet; like a USC for instance.

I just don't see a guy like Nick Saban staying at a program for long time. If you looked at his tenure with the other places he's been at, you'd realize it reads like a Paris Hilton black book. He tends to be with the "hot right now" and then moves on to find the next warm eye on the stove. I hope he wins at Alabama (just not against us) and then leaves them wondering what in the hell just happened. I've said many times that if I weren't a Dawg fan I would be a 'Bama fan because of their tradition, style of football, and girls. However, there's no way 'Bama wouldn't deserve for their program to be left in dismay after a hire like this. It's calling down the thunder.


AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!!!

As it relates to us, I don't believe his hiring hurts the Dawgs a bit. As far as games go, 'Bama will be a little tougher, but only at home (next year). Recruiting will not be an issue since no parent is going to believe a word Saban says now and it seems that 'rents love Richt. It's that whole "honesty" thing. Gets 'em every time.

I'd be interested to know what you guys think. Feel free to bloviate in the comments section. Also, check out the Georgia Sports Blog for a post on what PWD thinks plus some links to some great articles (I'm a VERY big fan of the Pat Forde article).


Until next time kids.

Be safe.

I had said not too long ago that Boise State did not deserve a shot in the BCS. I had pointed out that their weak ass schedule didn't warrant the chance to play on the national stage against the big boys. If they wanted to sit at the table with the grown ups, then they needed to act grown up as well.

And every once in a while, I'm really friggin' wrong.

We can talk over and over again about the Dawgs' victory on Saturday and there is a post in the near future about the good and bad from the Peach Bowl, but last night while I was asleep, one team figured out exactly what "bowling" meant.

Do I think Boise State is a better team than Oklahoma? Depends. Were they better coached? Possibly. DID THEY WANT IT MORE? Abso-f*cking-lutely.

I'm not a fan of Jared "Tha Big Z" Zabransky. He doesn't appear to me to be a total team guy, and watching him melt down in Sanford Stadium two years ago showed me that, at that time, he wasn't ready to take the good with the bad in college football. However, since then he has been well coached and has bought into a system that was perfectly designed for his strengths.

I also can't say enough about Ian Johnson, when after being asked "Do you deserve a shot at Ohio State?" he responded (paraphrasing) "No. We had our bowl. We had our win, and we're happy with that." He conducted his interview in a very classy manner and even though his emotions were probably running wild after pulling a definitive "Cinderella story," he kept his composure and didn't talk smack like "The Big Z" did. Then he proposed to his hot ass cheerleader/fiance, and then probably got a threesome opportunity.

The truth is, as tired as I am right now (and I'm REALLY tired), I wish I would've stayed up last night and watched the game. I had a feeling I would regret it as soon as some people called me and told me I would. Then I KNEW I regretted it when I woke up with the text message "You just missed one of the all time great college football games." You guys were right. Sorry I suck.

I'll eat my crow and I'll enjoy it. Everyone loves a feel good story and regardless if you think Boise State deserved to be there last night (now I'm on the fence instead of completely opposed), or if you think that Boise State deserved to be whipping Georgia Tech instead, the truth is for one night a team played with heart and determination. They had the spirit to win at all costs.

When you have the spirit to win at all costs, you literally can't lose.


Utnil next time kids.

Be safe.