Don't call it a comeback...

...I've been here for YEARS!!

That's right...this is actual new material on the old Stuff of Legend blog today. The last few months have been very....well..."interesting" doesn't really seem to cover it, but I guess it will have to do. Not going to get into it, other than to say that I don't have to be nearly as careful about voicing my appreciation of my favorite television hotties anymore...no strings attached, baby!

So, I have TONS of stuff to get to, obviously. Lots of stuff happened while I was away that I started to blog about, but just couldn't work up the energy or motivation. Let's just pretend that I made my usual really cool and witty remarks about everything that has happened in the sports and pop culture worlds over the last three months or so and MOVE FORWARD.

Let's get the sports stuff out of the way first, so that my sports-only "audience" (yeah, right...as if I still have an audience at this point) can check out once we get to what is really going to be the bulk of this post...

- The Braves pitching staff has been absolutely ridiculous to this point...in a good way.

Second in the majors with a team ERA of 2.94. First in the majors in strikeouts. First in batting average against (a paltry .218). First in WHIP at 1.09.

Those are numbers that even the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz pitching staffs would be proud of. Top to bottom, this is the best staff in baseball. Philly probably has better starters, but their bullpen can't even touch ours.

But, much like some of those '90s teams, the offense has been inconsistent, and really needs to get rolling if we want to stay in contention for the division. As good as our pitching staff is, it is unrealistic to expect the kind of dominance we are seeing right now to last all season...they will have rough patches when they need the offense to carry them.

To me, the key is three guys:

Dan Uggla: .202 avg, .664 OPS,
Jason Heyward: .219 avg, .749 OPS
Freddie Freeman: .226 avg, .678 OPS

We need to get at least two of these guys going on a consistent basis if we want the offense to stay on track. I don't worry so much about Uggla...he's a proven performer who has a long history of starting slow and then heating up as the weather does. Heyward and Freeman, however, concern me, only because they don't have a proven track record. Heyward can't seem to stay healthy, and his numbers since his hot start last year are Francoueresque. Freeman is obviously going through the majors for the first time, so we have no idea what to really expect.

And, of course, those two guys were also the SI cover boys. Coincidence? (yeah, probably)

- I loved the Falcons move to get Julio Jones. Yes, we gave up a lot. Yes, I would have rather drafted A.J. But to me, this move says that our front office thinks we are ready to win NOW. The guys we would have gotten with the picks we traded away might have been nice for the future (although it could be the case that Dimitroff et. al. saw this draft as extremely top-heavy), but when you have a window to compete for a Super Bowl, you better take advantage of it.

Two more thoughts: 1) the future picks should all be even lower than our pick this year, if the move pays off. Yes, that's an IF...this was a gamble, and all gambles have risks. 2) Who's to say we don't make other deals that get some of those future picks back?

As for A.J....I would love to have him. But I can pretty confidently guarantee that we called Cincy with the same offer we made the Browns. It takes two to make a trade.

My one qualm with the pick...Julio, as good as I think he will be (and I thought he was the second best WR in this draft, but would have been the best in the draft in most years), is still going to start next season as your #2 WR behind Roddy White. And we are paying him #6 pick money. That's a lot of money to pay your 2nd WR, no matter what the new CBA ends up doing to rookie salaries.

- The Hawks. Whatever. I knew after the offseason that we had before the year started that this organization is not aiming for anything other than an occasional appearance in the second round. Larry Drew and Joe Johnson are not the foundation on which championships are built.

We got lucky in the first round that we drew an opponent that was actually more dysfunctional than us. In the second round, it came down to the fact that Chicago has a superstar, and the Hawks only have someone who makes superstar money.

Next year, we likely lose Crawford, and we don't have money to go get a difference maker because we gave it all to Joe Johnson.

Whee.

- I guess the biggest news to come out of Dawg Nation in the last couple of months is the apparent shakeup in the backfield.

I wish Washaun Ealey well, and will always remember him for the night that he and Caleb RAN THIS STATE. But I will also remember him for wasted potential and an apparent bad attitude that was even more apparent to those who followed him on social media. I think he was given multiple chances to get his act together and chose not to...at which point, it's best for the team that he move on, no matter how much it hurts to lose your top rusher.

Now we anxiously await news on Caleb King's eligibility. Yes, I think Isaiah Crowell is a real talent, maybe a game-changing talent...but I thought the same thing about some other highly recruited guys who never panned out, as well. Plus I just don't like the idea of going into the season with two guys who have never carried the ball in an actual game as your top two tailbacks, with the number three guy being an undersized back that Coach Bobo is apparently trying to murder (stop running him up the middle!!).

As usual at this time of the year, I am really excited about the upcoming season. The defense should almost certainly improve, both because of experience in the system and some upgraded personnel along the d-line. Aaron Murray should be one of the top QBs in the SEC, as long as he gets time to throw and his receivers don't let him down.

Should be more to come as we get closer to fall practice...which is only a few (well, a dozen or so) weeks away!

OK...that concludes the sports-related portion of our programming. From here on out, it's a mishmash of pop culture stuff and other random observations, so if you aren't interested in that, no hard feelings...come on back next time (promise it won't be three months).

- This week is Upfronts Week for the networks, which is when they all announce their fall schedules, introducing their new shows and confirming the demise of others. This is also the week that my phone dies around lunchtime, due to the fact that all of the TV critics and bloggers that I follow on Twitter are all tweeting the same news at the same time. I received 25 Twitter messages just while typing that last sentence.

This is also the week when I wish I could go back and be a television writer. One that could actually get paid for the mountain of words that are about to spill out all over this page.

I am legitimately fascinated by things like network strategy...what new shows get greenlit, what gets cancelled and why, putting together a nightly primetime schedule and things like lead-ins, synergies between shows, etc. I'm a geek for several things, but this type of stuff is probably where I geek out the hardest.

I am especially intrigued to see how the networks are adjusting their strategies to deal with the brand new paradigms that they are now facing. It hasn't been too long ago that a "hit" TV show drew 20-30 million viewers a week. Now, with cable stations providing TONS more original programming, some of which is considered to be much higher quality than the typical network show, plus the rapid increase of either "timeslot shifting" (people DVR a show and then watch it whenever they want) or alternative means of watching television (OnDemand, DVD/Netflix, Hulu, etc) networks can't DREAM of hitting those types of numbers, with extremely rare exception (Super Bowl, etc). In my opinion, where this has hurt the most is in the development of new shows. Quick, tell me what the big break out network hits have been in the last two years....and by "hits" I'm talking about shows that actually draw numbers that win time slots.

GO!

OK, time's up...I came up with Glee, Dancing With the Stars, The Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice, and what seems like a dozen CSI, NCIS, L&O type spinoffs. MAYBE The Mentalist? It's almost all reality show drivel or boring procedurals (all opinions in this blog are mine, obviously...if you enjoy those shows, more power to you, and congratulations...you have LOTS of choices).

Now let's look at the world of cable...for a cable channel, a "hit" doesn't necessarily mean "ratings", especially for the pay cable channels. It's all about brand prestige, reputation, and (for the pay channels) subscriptions. Mad Men. Breaking Bad. Boardwalk Empire. True Blood. Walking Dead. Justified. Dexter. I could go on, but you get my point...and that's without even mentioning shows like Sons of Anarchy, or Damages, or Weeds, or Nurse Jackie, or United States of Tara....all shows that, while they may not draw big numbers, all enhance the reputation and brand recognition of their networks.

So...what's the difference? First of all, the obvious...cable networks can get away with things content-wise that broadcast networks can't. That is a definite advantage.

But that can't be all of it. Seriously...what does Mad Men and Breaking Bad show or do that you can't get away with on network television? It's not anything that would really be missed, and it's not why the show works.

I think a big part of it is that cable networks go into it knowing that they are never going to pull the ratings that would typically be expected of a network show, which relieves some of the pressure to yank shows off the air if they aren't pulling huge numbers. True Blood is a great example...when it premiered on HBO, it got less-than -respectable ratings, and in a network environment (assuming that it was a show that had network type content), probably would have been pulled from the schedule almost immediately. Instead, it was left on the air, the buzz ramped up (even if the quality didn't), and it is now HBO's biggest hit.

I don't know what the answer is for the broadcast networks...they somehow have to find a way to sell advertising and make money, and for now their only real way of doing that is using a ridiculously antiquated Nielsen system. I foresee a future where ALL television is web based..NBC won't be a "channel", it will be a website. All of their content will be on the website, and you go and choose whatever you want to watch and it comes straight to your television. That is not something that we are years away from, at least not from a technology standpoint. We HAVE the TECHNOLOGY. What we don't have is a way of monetizing it that works for everybody...the networks, the consumer, the advertisers, the production staffs and writers, etc.

I just hope they figure it out soon...I'm tired of every new network show I start to get into being yanked off the air before it has time to find its feet, with The Chicago Code being the latest example (and Lord, Shawn Ryan deserved better after Terriers). Broadcast networks, in my opinion, have to come up with a new definition of what a "successful" show is...we can't keep using the same parameters in a completely new environment.

This isn't to say that there isn't quality programming currently on network television...but a lot of what I consider quality (Parks and Rec, Community, Chuck, Fringe, Cougar Town, etc) aren't ratings hits by any stretch of the imagination, and seem to live on the cancellation bubble, while stuff like The Voice, Biggest Loser, The Apprentice, etc. always seems to do huge numbers.

So I am very thankful that some of my favorite shows have been granted a reprieve. Looking at the numbers, it's really hard to fathom why the networks have chosen so save some, while others have gone by the wayside...but I'm glad for it anyway.

OK, I promise the rest of the bullet points will be shorter.

- Speaking of upfronts, this is the trailer from the new show that I am most excited about...believe it or not, it's from NBC (I KNOW, RIGHT?!?)

Looks pretty awesome, right? Which means that it will probably be cancelled by the time this post is actually published.

- Is there a way to tell a new girl at work that you find her REALLY attractive? I mean, without coming off like a total creep?

- Guess I should say something about American Idol. Basically, I give up. I said months ago that Scotty McReery was going to win the whole thing...based on my master thesis on American Idol Demographics (I should TOTALLY HAVE WRITTEN THAT), he has the Country Vote, the Teenybopper Vote, and the Grandmother Vote. Those are probably the three most powerful voting blocs in the American Idol Universe, so he is systematically destroying everybody in his path. I would be willing to bet that if they actually released the voting totals, he would be winning every single week. By TONS. Even before he broke out the "Vote for me or the terrorists win!!" strategy last week.

And, gah...he makes me want to punch him in the neck every time he performs.

The show has really missed both Simon and the different genre nights...without those two factors forcing contestants out of their comfort zones, everybody just does the same exact thing every....single...week. And the judges have been atrocious...the problem with praising EVERYTHING that everybody does is that it causes your praise to mean nothing. That was why it was always such a big deal when Simon gave positive feedback...you knew that if he was praising it, that praise was earned.

Anyway...I'm definitely watching out of habit (maybe even obligation) at this point. And no matter what I say, I will probably be right back there every single season until it gets cancelled and puts both me and the show out of our misery.

- Best five comedies currently on TV (either airing or just finished their season), in order: Parks and Recreation, Community, Cougar Town, Raising Hope, Bob's Burgers.

Just missed the cut: Modern Family (too inconsistent, but when it's on its game there are few better), The Office (WAY too up and down this season, and the Will Ferrell thing was a disaster), Archer (been off the air too long to qualify, but no show delivers more laughs per second).

What do you think? Let me know in the comments....next time out I will do dramas.

- So I have one question about the Fringe season finale...if it was 15 years in the future, how come everybody looked the same as they do now? I'm not counting the 4 gray hairs that Peter had. Take it from someone who knows...15 years does a LOT more damage to a head of hair than that.

Yep, that was the one question...everything else made perfect sense.

- Right now, the album I am most likely to be listening to on repeat is Manchester Orchestra's "Mean Everything to Nothing." Nothing but quality, start to finish.

And trust me, I love everything on Adele's "21", but I can't listen to it on repeat unless I want to throw myself off a cliff, only to have Superman swoop down and catch me, and then drop me from HIGHER. (tm Louie C.K.).

- I think I am officially done with How I Met Your Mother after last night. This whole season has been borderline awful (hated everything about the Zoey storyline), but I stuck with it, in large part because I felt like we were promised in the season premiere that by the time we got to that wedding, we would be getting ANSWERS. Instead, all we got was more mysteries...who is Barney marrying, and (most of all), why is this wedding so important to Ted? It was strongly hinted in the premiere that this is when he meets the mother, and maybe it is...but we are certainly no closer to knowing now than we were 22 episodes ago.

Look, I understand how hypocritical this is of someone who to this day will defend LOST with my dying breath...but the time for mysteries is over. They need to move the story FORWARD. In what way has the story moved forward this season? Marshall and Lily are pregnant (a storyline that you knew had to happen eventually), and Barney is marrying...somebody. And we still have no clue who the mother is.

It's time. And, no, I disagree with those who say that once you meet the mother the show is over. The story of a relationship doesn't end when you meet...there could still be LOTS of story to tell after that, with the mother just being another character on the show, that would HAVE to be more interesting than the water-treading that is going on now.

- I am now two thirds of the way through the Hunger Games trilogy...it's very interesting, gripping, exciting stuff. Definitely written for a younger audience, but the plot is tight enough that we older teenagers can still enjoy it. I would certainly recommend it to any parents with young adult readers...I bought my 13 year old a copy this weekend and can't wait to talk about it with her.

- I apologize to all two of you out there who were looking forward to detailed recaps of Game of Thrones. First of all, I never really could decide on a format...do I write it with readers in mind, or non-readers? There is no way I have time to do both...it would be really hard to recap it from a non-reader perspective, having read the entire series multiple times, but I know that out of what little audience I have, the majority would be non-readers.

And then...well, life got in the way and rendered the whole decision moot.

The series has been fantastic...the look is amazing, the acting is superb (and, yes, I would still want to adopt Maisie Williams if it wasn't so obvious that she must have parents far more superb and amazing than I could ever hope to be). My only real issue with the show to this point is the editing...we seem to move REALLY quickly between scenes, which I think hinders the viewer's ability to fully consume what he's just seen. This is probably due to having SO MUCH to fit in to each episode...which then makes me nervous about next season, when they will supposedly have the same number of episodes to tell tons more story.

But that's a worry for next season...for now, I am really enjoying the show. And what's better, several friends of mine who aren't fans of the book are loving it as well, which means that the writers and producers really are doing a fantastic job.

There have been several scenes, especially in the last episode, that never actually happened in the book. Since I am trying to view the show as a separate entity from the books as much as I can, I can safely say that I have really loved every single one of them, and feel like they have added even more depth to even some of the main characters than they might have had without these additional scenes.

Bravo all around, really...and for those of you who are watching and have not read the books, buckle your seatbelts. You ain't seen nothing yet.

By the way, if you're going to comment on Game of Thrones at all, please...no spoilers for non-readers. Thanks.

OK...I think that's enough for now. Even though I haven't even mentioned The Killing (liking it until last week...at which point I loved it), Chuck (perfect finale, and leads up to what I think can be a really cool final season), Firefly (watching it for the first time as it's being re-run on the Science Channel - is it too late to start a campaign to get it renewed?), or Deadwood (the one season I haven't seen, S3, just popped up OnDemand - all I can say, in the spirit of the show, is $%!@, &$*@, and %&!@#!).

Ahhh...it's good to be back.

Preseason coaches polls are stupid...and other random musings

- The first USA Today Coaches Poll was published last Friday...four weeks before any actual games have been played.

Long time readers of this blog (all four of you) know that I have made my feelings about preseason polls clear in the past. I understand Lindy's, Athlon, Phil Steele, etc. publishing them...they drive conversation and (presumably) increase magazine sales. The difference with this one is that this poll actually makes up 1/3 of the BCS formula. That is absurd.

Look, the Coaches poll is stupid in its own right. Coaches know their own team, and maybe the ones on their schedule. There is no way they are familiarizing themselves with the rest of the teams in the country, at least not enough to be ranking them intelligently. And, yes, I know that head coaches aren't actually filling out the ballots (which raises a whole other argument)...but I don't think assistants are really paying that much more attention. They're just voting for whomever Herbstreit, Corso, and May tell them to (I don't think anybody is paying attention to who Dr. Lou wants them to vote for...if they were, Notre Dame and South Carolina would play for the MNC every year).

But...a PRESEASON poll? Seriously? And not only a pre-SEASON poll...in many cases, it's a pre-PRACTICE poll! As of the time this poll was published, the Dawgs had not had a full-contact practice yet, and we were one of the first teams to start practicing. How in the world is ANYBODY supposed to rank teams at that point, especially coaches who obviously have their own team as their focus? Who knows which freshmen are going to step up, or how teams are going to adjust to new coaches and schemes, or how badly outgoing players are going to be missed?

Again, if the poll was just for fun then I don't care...but this is ONE THIRD OF THE FORMULA THAT DECIDES THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. And, unfortunately, where you start can have a lot of bearing on where you finish. Take Boise State, for instance...they start this year ranked 5th. They start the season with Virginia Tech at a neutral site, and then for the rest of the year they play NOBODY. Because they are starting the season ranked so high, they only have to win their one real game, and they are virtually guaranteed of a spot in the championship game. For that matter, since they are ranked so high, they could conceivably LOSE that game (the only one on their schedule), run the table the rest of the way, and be sitting at 12-1 at the end of the year with the idiots at ESPN touting them as real contenders for the national championship.

I'm not a BCS-hater...I'm not a playoff proponent (the only way I want a playoff is if it's GUARANTEED to be no more than 4 teams). But something has to be done about this 33.3% of the formula.

Two suggestions:
1) Start the poll later. Wait 4-6 weeks before the first poll. By that time, we at least have SOME idea of what the landscape is. I would even support waiting later, but I know that would never happen.

2) Take the coaches poll out of the equation, for all of the reasons I stated before. I would support replacing it with the Legends Poll, which is voted on by a group of former coaches. Every week, they send DVDs to all of their members of all of the games played by teams who are likely to be ranked. After they watch the games (supposedly...hey, no system is perfect), the voters get together on a weekly call and rank the teams. They also publish how they voted every week, a bit of transparency that you only get in the final week of the USA Today poll.

Some other quick musings...

- I was originally going to talk about how it's been almost exclusively good news out of fall camp. Then...today happened. So never mind.

Smith and Samuel being out for any length of time is especially worrisome...as we are installing Coach Grantham's new defense, every possible contributor on defense needs to be getting as many reps as possible.

I hate fall practice.

- It was great to have LIVE football on my television last night, even if it was a crappy NFL preseason game. Congrats to Geno Atkins...former Dawg picked up 6 tackles and a sack. That's how you make an impact!

- If you are looking for a great Braves website, check out TalkingChop.com. Superb content, updated several times a day...and rather than the idiotic commenters you get on AJC blogs (First!!), you get stuff like this, from "Lennox" in celebration of J-Hey's 21st birthday:

Did I ever tell you about the time Jason Heyward took me out to go get a drink with him? We go off looking for a bar and we can’t find one. Finally Heyward takes me to a vacant lot and says, “Here we are.” We sat there for a year and a half and sure enough someone constructs a bar around us. The day they opened we ordered a shot, drank it, and then burned the place to the ground. Heyward yelled over the roar of the flames, “Always leave things the way you found ’em!”

Something about the image of that last sentence had me cracking up all day...

Speaking of the Braves, they seem to have righted the ship in the last week or so. They are really reminding me of the early 90's Braves...ridiculously good pitching, and just enough timely hitting to get by. I still wish we would have gotten one more big bat at the trade deadline...I think we're one bat away from being a real World Series contender.

But, these days, all I really ask from the Braves is that they keep it interesting until fall practice starts, and they have certainly done that. Anything more than that is just gravy.

- If you were wondering why so many (myself included) started turning on Brett FaRve even before he started waffling like John Kerry every summer...look no further than this post.

- Summer TV continues to be TONS better than it was when I was growing up. Now that LOST is gone, Friday Night Lights and Mad Men are the best two shows on television, in my opinion (coming from someone who, for some reason, has never watched Breaking Bad).

Speaking of LOST...as a fan of both that show and Weezer, well...this pretty much made my day.

Great article on Bobby Cox

Yeah, I know...SEC Media Days are here, which normally marks the end of baseball season for me. But this Braves team has rekindled my love for baseball that had faded quite a bit over the last 5-6 years, and I probably love this team more than any since the 1991 Worst-to-First team that is probably my favorite team ever, in any sport (until the Dawgs win the MNC this year, of course).

Anyway...I got this article via TalkingChop.com, which has become a daily read for me, and it is a really fun look at Bobby Cox, particularly his penchant for getting thrown out of games at just the right time.

Thumbing His Way Back Home.

Random thoughts - Dawgs, Braves, a goodbye to one of the best in the business, other stuff...

TOLD you posting would be more sporadic now that I am back from vacation. Work has been kicking my butt pretty hard since I got back, plus some Father's Day traveling...so, yeah.

Some random thoughts that have been building up over the past week or so...

- First things first...The Dawg Nation is facing a big loss in the next month or so, as the magnificent David Hale is moving on to...um....well, let's just say different pastures, rather than greener ones.

Hale has produced a steady output of the kind of material that I wish ALL of the online "journalists" would aspire to...informative, entertaining, insightful, must-read articles, sometimes multiple times a day.

The two aspects that made him the best: First of all, he always seemed to ask the questions that we as fans would ask if given the opportunity, rather than just the typical cliches. I think that's harder to do than a lot of people think.

Secondly, his accuracy and integrity were never in question. Among all of us Dawg Tweeps, Bloggers, and 'Venters, there was one thing we knew for sure: no matter the situation (coaching change, position change, player suspensions, etc), it wasn't for SURE true unless David Hale had reported it.

Hale never attended UGA, but it's safe to say he is a DGD and will be missed by the Dawg Nation.

- My biggest regret about falling behind on my countdown to kickoff? I missed my opportunity last Saturday to post THIS:



Yep...Saturday was 77 days until kickoff, so we honor Trinton Sturdivant and his groovy dance stylings.

The other thing that means is that this week we are only TEN WEEKS from GAME WEEK! I can smell the ribs already! And the bourbon...and the VIOLENCE.

The more I think about this 2010 Dawgs team, the more excited I am. Only 73 days to go!!

- If there are any of you still reading this who were loyal readers of my American Idol recaps, I appreciate it...and you can rest knowing that you may have been witnesses to history. If this little news release turns out the way I am afraid it will, I will likely no longer even be WATCHING, must less recapping, so THIS was likely my last American Idol recap ever. With three daughters in the house, I hear plenty of 15-year-old marginally talented "singers" already...no need to expose myself to any more, thank you very much.

- U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!




That concludes the soccer portion of our blog.

(Even if you're not a soccer fan, check out the second video)

- Braves continue to play good baseball...but one of my favorite stories of the season so far is Stephen Strasburg. Between him and J-Hey, I feel like we are watching the first green shoots of two guys who may go down as some of the best ever.

Check out some of these numbers, courtesy of Buster Olney's blog on ESPN.com (daily reading for baseball fans, by the way):

"After opposing hitters have reached a count of no balls and two strikes against Stephen Strasburg, they are 0-for-20 with 16 strikeouts. That's not much worse than what happens after they fall behind in the count of 0-1: Opponents are 4-for-36 with 22 strikeouts after the first pitch goes for strike one."

"How unusual is Stephen Strasburg's efficiency? Well, consider this note generated by the Washington Nationals' staff: In 2010, only three pitchers have struck out 10-plus in a game but required less than 100 pitches to do so. Strasburg has two of these zero-walk, 10-plus K tallies. On April 6, Dallas Braden struck out 10 over seven innings against the Mariners, while throwing 91 pitches. On May 15, James Shields struck out 10 with 93 pitches against the Mariners. Then, in his debut, Strasburg threw 94 pitches against the Pirates and struck out 14 -- before striking out 10 with 85 pitches against the White Sox Friday."

Pretty amazing stuff...in fact, if J-Hey doesn't find a way out of this slump he is in, Strasburg might steal his Rookie of the Year award.

One thing I don't like about the guy...he's a Scott Boras client. And, even though Strasburg signed the largest contract in draft history, he was "undervalued", according to Boras.

Whenever the first contract negotiation between the Nats and Strasburg happens, I think Boras' end of the conversation may sound something like this:

"Our demands are these: $350 GAZILLION dollars. And a unicorn... Wait, not a unicorn...what's the one with the wings? Oh, right, a Pegasus. We want $350 GAZILLION dollars and a personal Pegasus. What do you mean, how many zeroes are in a gazillion? I don't know...that's for YOU to figure out!"

OK, that's about it for now...how about I leave you with this, just for fun?


GO DAWGS!!!

Catchin' up

Well, I'm back from Florida...which, of course, means that posting will actually be MORE sporadic, not less.

Go figure.

So...what's been going on?

- First of all, my long ago promised (and even longer overdue) apology to Troy Glaus. I was as hard on him as anybody early in the season, hitting him hard both on the blog and on my Twitter feed.

All he's done since then is win the NL Player of the Month for May and take over the NL lead in RBI.

So, maybe instead of apologizing, I should just say....you're WELCOME!

Just kidding...I was wrong, so I'll gladly admit it.

Troy Glaus for MVP!!

- While I was in Destin, the mighty Trojans of USC got as close to the death penalty as any program is going to get post-SMU.

To which I say, simply:

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! ::gasp, gasp::.....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, man, that's AWESOME.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

My favorite part was when Kiffykins said that the sanctions (loss of 30 scholarships over three years, two-year bowl ban, and most interestingly, the release of juniors and seniors to transfer to another school without sitting out) will have "no impact" on recruiting.

He followed that up with "DERP DERP DERPITTY DERP".

- Also, the Big 12 threatened to explode, only to be saved at the last minute thanks to Texas graciously accepting an additional $15 MILLION DOLLARS or so to stay put. Such a charitable gesture.

I was pretty out of the loop while all of the conversations were going on last week, so I will leave it to others to go through all the ins and outs and backroom politics. I just know that I was extremely glad that the rumored Texas A&M move to the SEC didn't happen. I really don't want to see the SEC expand at all, and I especially don't want them to make a move just because everybody else is and water down the conference by bringing in inferior teams.

I also don't like what SEC expansion would do to the schedule. I don't really want to see more than 8 SEC games on the schedule, so even if the conference was to only expand to two seven-team divisions, in order to keep from going to 9 SEC games you would have to drop one of the "rotating" games. So we would have 6 division games, the game against Auburn, and then only one rotating SEC game, which would mean we would go 10 years or more between games against LSU, Alabama, and the other teams in the SEC West. I don't like that.

Surprisingly enough, Mike Slive didn't ask my opinion, and I don't expect that to change when this comes up again in a couple of years. Expansion is inevitable, I'm afraid...I was just glad the SEC dodged the bullet this time around.

So...is the Big 12 (or whatever they will be called now) really going to go with just ten teams and no championship game? If so, can we take their automatic BCS bid away? Otherwise, won't the winner of the Texas-Oklahoma game just cakewalk to the BCS every year?

- Remember when I was so excited about the fact that the Hawks let Mike Woodson go, and maybe the team was going to go in a different direction other that stagnant mess we've seen over the last two years?

Yeah...never mind.

- Couple of key additions to the Dawgs over the last couple of weeks.

First of all, we got a big commitment from Nick Marshall. I absolutely love this story...this guy grew up a Dawg fan and Georgia was his dream school. We were recruiting him as a quarterback, as were most of the other schools pursuing him, but then we received the commitment from Christian Lemay and Coach Richt said we probably wouldn't take another quarterback in the 2011 class. The gnats were his second choice, so he came very close to committing to them...and then Coach Richt called and offered him as a defensive back. Nick JUMPED at the second chance to be a Dawg...my kind of guy.

On top of that, he is also one of the top basketball recruits in the state, and he will be playing for Coach Fox's Hoop Dawgs as well. The basketball program is making HUGE strides in the right direction under Coach Fox...with the talent we have coming back plus a couple of big recruits, I think we could really make some noise in 2010-2011.

Here are some highlights of Nick playing DB (h/t to Bubba 'n Earl):



Then, today the Dawgs got some more big news when Jarvis Jones decided to transfer to UGA from USC. Jarvis was very highly recruited in 2009, when Rivals had him rated as the 3rd best prospect in Georgia. He had a neck injury last season, after which USC released him from his scholarship, but all reports from both the USC and UGA medical staff seem to indicate that he is ready to play.

I think Jarvis fits in EXTREMELY well as an inside linebacker in Todd Grantham's 3-4 defense. If he does step in there and live up to his vast potential, we could be looking at a possible 2012 linebacking corps of Cornelius Washington (assuming he doesn't have a big enough year to jump to the NFL in '10), Jarvis Jones, Richard Samuel, and T.J. Stripling.

I'll take it.

Here are some Jarvis Jones highlights from when he was being recruited:




Getting fired up yet? Only 81 DAYS TO KICKOFF!!!

To celebrate, here is a very well done highlight video of the Dawgs win over TAMU in the Independence Bowl...our #81, Aron White, has a couple of big plays (at the 2:35 and 4:36 marks):



And, while I'm at it, since I missed yesterday, here is one of my favorite highlights from the career of #82, Fred Gibson...a fingertip TD catch against the gators:


Good to be back...

GO DAWGS!!!

An actual sports post?!?!

Yeah, I think it's about time...

Despite what regular readers of this blog (hi, Mom!) might think, I am actually interested in things other than LOST and American Idol. This blog actually started as more of a sports blog, and believe me....when football season cranks up, it will be again.

So...what's been going on?

Springtime in DawgNation:
- I am cautiously optimistic about the defense based on the reports out of spring practice. I love the change in mindset, and the energy that seemed to have been pumped into the program and the fanbase by our new coaches. And, Lord knows, I love hearing the word "fundamentals" being preached every single day, especially by our new LB Coach Belin.

As I have mentioned before, I think our personnel may actually be better suited to the 3-4 than a 4-3. Looking at the depth chart released yesterday, there are TONS of athletes across the board, and I think they are going to be much better utilized than they have been the last few years.

Having said that, it's very difficult to completely revamp an entire defensive philosophy in just one season...there are going to be some growing pains this year. So while I expect to see more plays being made by a more aggressive and fundamentally sound defense (more turnovers, more plays made in the backfield), I also fully expect there to be times when receivers are running around uncovered because somebody didn't know where they were supposed to be.

Hopefully, it will sort of balance out this year...but, worst case scenario, we may have some games where we give up 35-40 points. Which is what we were doing already, but at least now I have hope for the future.

- I take absolutely nothing from G-Day even in a "normal" year, but this year especially. We didn't run anything close to what our actual defensive scheme is going to look like, and we did absolutely nothing on offense other than run some basic plays.

G-Day is just a practice, and for that matter it's the least relevant practice of the entire spring from a scheme standpoint. Yeah, it's nice to see what they do in front of a "crowd", but is there really any comparison between 25-30K very quiet fans on G-Day and 92K going crazy on a game day? Or 108K inbred hillbillies who want to kill you in Neyland?

Fans should treat it for what it is...a nice little taste of some live football before the long dark days of summer.

Which is why I didn't get all that worked up over Zach Mettenberger outplaying Aaron Murray on G-Day, which leads me to my next point...

- Aaron Murray was ALWAYS going to be the starter at QB for 2010. ALWAYS. Losing Mettenberger certainly hurts from a depth standpoint, as we are now one injury away from a QB 2-deep of Logan Gray and Hutson Mason (::shudder::). But Mett was not going to be the starter on this team, despite having a really good day of practice on April 10.

As for the Mettenberger situation itself...what a maroon. If the accounts that most of us have read by now are true, this guy took jackass to a whole new level (pardon the language, but there is no better word for it), and was still probably going to get away from it relatively unscathed if he had just SHUT UP to the police...but he was having none of that, choosing instead to keep arguing with the police even after the young ladies and restaurant employees had declined to press charges. Then, apparently, when he met with the coaches he lied to them about it and showed little to no remorse. So, basically, he threw away a scholarship to play QB at the University of Georgia by being a gigantic buffoon. Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.

I think that Coach Richt has proven over the years that if you do show contrition and true remorse over your dumb decisions, you will get another chance...that's why I think that his attitude about the situation probably played as much into the ultimate decision as anything else.

(the previous paragraph is strictly my own opinion, and are not based on any inside knowledge of the situation AT ALL...just knowledge of human behavior and how we have seen Coach Richt handle these situations in the past)

- On offense, no matter who the quarterback is, I think the philosophy has to be a HEAVY dose of King/Ealy, with the passing game being predicated on play-action, bootleg type plays to the playmakers (Green, Charles, Wootentheballcarrier, etc). I think that fits our personnel and, fortunately, I think it fits what Bobo wants to do anyway.

I love our offensive line, I love our playmakers...if we can just get adequate QB play and, most importantly, CUT DOWN ON TURNOVERS AND STUPID PENALTIES, I think our offense has a chance to be even better than it was last year...and last year's offense was pretty darn good, for the most part.

The biggest problem with this team right now, based on the last couple of seasons, is that they play dumb football. Hopefully, the changes that have been made will result in a fresh energy and renewed focus on fundamentals, as well as increased accountability on both sides of the ball, and this team will start playing up their talent level.

Oh, and....NO MORE DIRECTIONAL KICKOFFS!!! WOOHOO!!!

Will the Braves be good enough to hold my interest until fall camp starts?
I don't ask much from the Braves anymore...just be good enough so that I have something to pay attention to until early August, when the beginning of fall camp effectively ends the baseball season for me.

So far, results are mixed....

- The starting pitching is very good...it would be great if Derek Lowe could start earning that $15M salary. The way things are going right now, I think this rotation would be better with Kawakami as the number 4, with Lowe as the number 5 starter/long relief guy. Not that this could ever happen, because of the monetary investment the team has in Lowe.

Jurrjens has been sharp other than one horrid outing, Hanson continues to develop, and Hudson seems to be fully recovered. Lowe is just the fly in the punch bowl.

- Bullpen has been excellent so far...I just hope that Wagner and Saito (combined age: 378) can make it through an entire season.

- I consider myself lucky to be able to watch Jason Heyward. So much has been said about him that I can't add much...he's a superstar, he's going to be a Hall of Famer, and we're getting to watch the first green shoots of his career on a nightly basis.

- TERRIBLE offseason for Frank Wren. We traded Vasquez (arguably our best pitcher last year) for Melky Cabrera, who is just atrocious. Yes, I am aware that either Vasquez or Lowe were going to be moved, and teams were understandably reluctant to take on Lowe and his $15M salary (see above)...but the best we could get was Melky Cabrera, for one of the best pitchers in the NL?

(SIDE NOTE: You know how some trades just work out perfectly, in that both teams are getting exactly what they need even though they are both giving up something of value? The Smoltz - Doyle Alexander trade comes to mind...this was like the exact opposite of that. Vasquez had already proven that A) he is much better suited to the National League; and B) he can't pitch in New York. So the Yankees give up what had been a pretty good 4th outfielder for them for someone who is predestined to be a disaster, and we give up our best starter for a guy who is at best a 4th outfielder, but expect him to be an everyday outfielder and leadoff hitter. Both sides lose.)

"Oh, but wait!" says Frank Wren. "We're not done yet! I know we need a big bat for this lineup, a guy you can count on for HR and run production! Don't judge this move until you see what ELSE we have planned!".

I say, "OK....awesome! Maybe this means we are getting in on the Matt Holliday/Jason Bay discussions? Somebody like that?"

Um...no. Instead we sign Troy Glaus. The same Troy Glaus who missed all of 2009 with an elbow injury, and hasn't been nearly the same player ever since the Mitchell Report was published.

I don't think I have ever yelled at my radio with as much fury as I did the day that Frank Wren was interviewed during spring training and he went on and on about how tall the middle of our lineup had the potential to be. "Man, look at us...Chipper is 6'4, Glaus is 6'6, Heyward is 6'5. That's got to be intimidating for a pitcher!"

Look, if you are in any way intimidated by the sight of Troy Glaus coming to the plate, you have no business being a major league pitcher. Any pitcher worth his salt has to be SALIVATING at watching this automatic rally killer come up in a key spot. His line so far? .170 Avg, .524 OPS, 16 strikeouts and 8 RBI in 53 AB. Yeah....twice as many strikeouts as RBI. That's not good for a #5 hitter, right?

I say we put Eric Hinske in the lineup every single day, and let Troy Glaus do what he does best. Be really tall.

Anyway...this team would fit in really well in the mid-80's National League. Great pitching, solid defense, and an offense that is going to put up maybe 3-4 runs a game. In today's baseball, that's just not enough.

Hey, did you know the Hawks are in the playoffs?
The Hawks are currently manhandling the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Without Andrew Bogut, the Bucks have absolutely no answer for Al Horford and Josh Smith inside, and they are wreaking havoc.

Josh, in particular, has been a joy to watch this season. He seems to have finally come to grips with the fact that he is never going to be a three-point shooter and is instead doing...everything else. He fills the box score up like Scottie Pippen, and also includes the whining to officials like Pippen, but without the bad hair (seriously...what was UP with that guy's scalp? It looked like it had been PLOWED or something). A typical night from him is like 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 4 thunderous dunks that fire the whole team up and keeps them involved in the game.

Here's the down side...this team isn't getting out of the 2nd round, and it's all because of their head coach. The Hawks have two glaring weaknesses...inconsistent effort on defense and an utter lack of a halfcourt offense. These are the two things that kill a team in the playoffs, especially once they get out of the first round and start facing really good teams, and they can both be attributed to poor coaching, in my opinion.

Mike Woodson has been very lucky in that he has been the coach during a time when a very young team has grown up together, so he gets credit for the win totals increasing every year. And I don't think Woodson is a TERRIBLE head coach...I just think his specific deficiencies are the ones most likely to be exploited in the postseason.

Hopefully, I'm wrong...Atlanta certainly has the talent to match up with the Magic in the second round. If we can get past them, maybe we can win one or two games against Lebron and the Cavs. That's probably the absolute ceiling for this team.


OK...that was fun! Turns out I had more to say than I thought I did...maybe I should do this more often?

We interrupt this hiatus to announce another hiatus...

OK, as you can tell, I have gotten off of whatever posting “schedule” that I was ever on…sorry (again) for the intermittent posts. I could give you a long list of excuses, but instead I will just say that I probably won’t be back on a schedule until after the first of the year.

Here’s what I expect will happen, as far as future posts: I will almost definitely have a reaction to whomever the Dawgs get as our next defensive coordinator. I will certainly post some sort of recap to the Independence Bowl, and hopefully a season recap as well. If any big recruiting news breaks, I will likely react to that here as well.

After that, I plan on doing the same type of posting for American Idol and Lost as I did last year…consider yourself warned!

So, here are all of the posts I have been saving up for the past few weeks to tide you over until I get off my lazy butt and start posting regularly again…I’ll warn you ahead of time to pack a lunch. Even by my standards, this is gonna be a long one.

THE TECH GAME

- Maybe the most satisfying win of Coach Richt’s tenure, at least for me. Others may have been more important (the SECCG wins, Auburn ’02, etc), but there is nothing more fun than beating the gnats when they are just SURE that it can’t happen. Add in the fact that so many of them were such turds after the passing of UGA VII, and what happened last year, and the fact that this is supposed to be THE year for them while it’s certainly a down year for us…”sweet” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

I also work with a bunch of Techies, and it’s amazing how much better I feel about having to interact with them on a daily basis now vs. how I felt for the past year. Many jokes have been made about how that win “set the universe right” or whatever…there is at least a kernel of truth in that for Dawg fans. I spent the last year simmering with rage every time I passed one of them in the hall…now we can all be friends again. Sort of. Until next year.

- And while it may not have been the MOST important game of Richt’s career, I don’t think you can overemphasize the fact that this win was definitely important. As bad as this season has gone (and a 7-5 season with a blowout loss to a mediocre UT team and a home loss to Kentucky is putrid), can you imagine what the fallout would be from 6-6 with 2 straight losses to the gnats? This game, plus the postgame decisions that showed that he was serious about fixing what went wrong this year, went a long way in restoring confidence in Coach Richt that some had lost.

- Many have asked where that team was all year, especially the running game. I think the resurgence of the running game started about 8 games into the season, and it can be attributed to two factors:

• Stabilization of the offensive line. Once Sturdivant went down in the opener, the o-line was in a state of flux until around the Tennessee Tech game. Once the current lineup was settled, things really began opening up.

• Caleb and Washaun got healthy. I think this was the biggest factor. Washaun is a true freshman who missed a lot of camp due to injury, so there was a definite learning curve. Caleb battled hamstring problems and then a broken jaw early in the season. Once these two got healthy enough to share the bulk of the carries (and send Samuel, God bless him, off to learn the linebacker position), the running game became a real threat.

- Overall, it was a best case scenario for me…we beat Tech, but it is not enough to keep from having to make changes. Which brings me to my next point…


THE COACHING CHANGES

- I let you know how I feel about the ongoing search here.

- As far as the actual move goes, I think it absolutely had to happen. There was no way to justify the steady decline in defensive output over the last four years, beginning with the Sugar Bowl debacle against West Virginia. I was still worried that Coach Richt would still find enough excuses to keep his friend around for another year, so I was very happy to see him make the tough move.

And once that decision was made, he decided to give whomever the new DC is the ability to hire his own staff by sending Jancek and Fabris away as well. This was less of a no-brainer for me, especially Fabris and his history of developing NFL-quality defensive ends, but it was probably the right move. Part of what doomed the Tony Franklin experiment at Auburn was the fact that Tubbs didn’t let Franklin bring in his own guys, and the old staff just never bought into his philosophy. If we’re going to go after a big-time DC, then I think a total house cleaning was necessary.

All that being said, I want to publicly thank all three of these guys for their hard work and efforts during their time in Athens. I didn’t always agree with the decisions that they made, but I never doubted that they were trying their best to bring a championship to the Dawgs.

- A couple of interesting notes that have come out in the last couple of days:

• Nickell Roby, the cornerback out of Frostproof, FL that I think is a MUST get for this class, expressed some concerns right after the decision was made to let Martinez go. Martinez was the coach who recruited him, was going to be his position coach, etc. Robey took his official visit to Athens over the weekend and had some interesting things to say ($), including that Coach Richt told him he was going to hire “somebody that I like”. That sounds to me like maybe Coach Richt might already have an idea who that person will be, especially since…
• Several reports out of the GALA banquet this past weekend are saying that Coach Richt “has his man”.
  

I have no idea what any of that means, especially in light of the fact that Kirby Smart was supposedly “in the building” over the weekend. I stand by the fact that I would be shocked (happy, but shocked) if Smart leaves Alabama, but the timing is interesting.

Oh, and also…somebody needs to take Twitter away from David Pollack. If you are following him, you know what I am talking about.

- One more quick note on the Dawgs…the Outback really screwed us by taking Auburn. If not for that, we would most likely be in either Atlanta or Nashville, instead of 5PM on a Monday on ESPN2 in Shreveport.


NON-DAWG SPORTS STUFF

- Did the Falcons build their training facility on some sort of Indian burial ground or something? We are rapidly approaching having to hear for ANOTHER year about how the Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons.

How has this promising season gone wrong? Let us count the ways:

• Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Harry Douglas, Harvey Dahl, Sam Baker, Jerious Norwood, Todd McClure. All offensive starters, and all have missed significant time due to injury.

• John Abraham has been MIA all season.

• Jason Elam has Steve Sax Disease (or Mark Wohlers Disease for you whippersnappers who don’t remember Steve Sax).

• The defensive secondary is atrocious, just like we all knew it probably would be.

Add all of that up, and what do you get? Probably 8-8, and that’s fairly amazing when you take another look at that list.

- I have no idea what the Braves are doing in their bullpen. We have replaced Soriano and Gonzales with Wagner and Saito…basically the same amount of money, but about 20 years older combined.

Wagner, in particular, concerns me…he’s 38 years old, coming off of Tommy John surgery. It always concerns me when these tiny little power pitchers start having arm trouble. They just have to produce so much torque to get the velocity that they are used to. Would not be at all surprised to see his arm fall off about halfway through the season. Maybe Lowe becomes the closer if we can’t find a taker in the trade market?

Still think the Braves are one big bat away from being contenders, but blowing up their bullpen really doesn’t help.

- I know most of you probably don’t care, but the Hawks are really good, and tons of fun to watch.

It looks like the light has finally come on for Josh Smith…he no longer fancies himself a three point shooter, and is instead going to the basket, attacking the offensive glass, and will probably make the All-NBA defensive team this year with his shot-blocking and skill at getting his hand into passing lanes.

If Jamal Crawford continues what he’s done so far, he will walk away with the Sixth Man award. Seems like he puts up 20 points off the bench every night. And we got him for Speedy Claxton and Acie Law?!?! BWAHAHAHAHA!!

Speaking of things most of you don’t care about…

NON-DAWG, NON-SPORTS STUFF

When I do get back on a regular posting schedule, I will be in all-TV, all the time mode. In fact, many of you who may have found this blog via various Dawgs football sites will probably have a whole different opinion of me once the winter TV season starts.

In that spirit…

Top 5 favorite returning shows I have been watching:

1) Mad Men. I’m counting this one even though the season is over now. Terrific storytelling, amazing writing, perfect acting performances…if you have not been watching this show, do yourself a favor and find copies of the first two seasons and enjoy television as an art form. This season was probably not as fantastic as season 2, but still better than 99% of what else is on.

2) The Office. Still makes me laugh harder than any other show, but can also pull off an episode like “Niagara Falls” that has as many heart-tugging moments as laugh-out-loud funny ones. The best ensemble comedy since Cheers.

3) Fringe. The “weird case of the week” stuff gets sort of pointless and monotonous sometimes (although no show has more cool gross stuff on a weekly basis), but when this show does shows like last week where they focus on the “big picture” story, it’s really superb stuff. Not to mention the fact that those episodes usually focus on the Emmy-worthy performances being turned in by John Noble as the heartbreaking and eccentric Dr. Bishop. Plus, it’s always good to have Pacey around, isn’t it?

4) Big Bang Theory. I just picked this one up about halfway through last season, but I have gone back and watched the entire series. Just when I thought the three camera sitcom with a laugh track was dead, this show comes along and consistently cracks me up. The only drawback is that the laugh track is overused, and it’s a little distracting. But the writing and acting more than make up for it, and Sheldon Cooper is in my top 5 favorite TV characters right now (the others, in case you were wondering: John Locke, Benjamin Linus, Betty Draper, and…Ryan Seacrest).

5) Dollhouse. I know we should consider ourselves lucky that we even got a second season of this Joss Whedon production, considering the abysmal ratings. But the geniuses at Fox really outdid themselves by pairing it with “Til Death” on a Friday night. Regardless, this season (especially the last few episodes) have been television at its best: funny (Topher Brink is hilarious), thought provoking, action filled. And the cast, especially Olivia Williams (Adelle), Enver Gjokaj (Victor), and Fran Kranz (the aforementioned Mr. Brink) have been amazing, along with superb guests Summer Glau and the always fantastic Alan Tudyk.

Honorable mention: The Mentalist, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Amazing Race, How I Met Your Mother


Top 4 favorite NEW shows I am watching:

1) Glee. Now THESE are my people. I watch this show feeling like I am watching home movies. As I’ve said before, I grew up a performing arts geek, and so much of this show is dead-on.

This show doesn’t feature great writing, subtle plot development, or any of the stuff I normally look for in a television show. It’s just FUN. Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester is…well, I can’t think of an adjective that would accurately describe my love for Sue Sylvester. It’s also fun to watch this cast of virtual unknowns (most of them had little to no prior television experience) get a chance to show off every week. And, man, do they show off…the musical performances are outstanding and are prominently featured on my MP3 player.

2) Modern Family. Best new comedy of the season. By FAR. I’m still cracking up about Fizzbo the Clown three weeks later. (People are GOING to stare. They’re not used to seeing only one clown in a car).

3) V. I was looking forward to this show more than any other one besides the very frustrating FlashForward. So far, so good, other than the incredibly annoying and clichéd “Teenage Moron” storyline. Alan Tudyk shows up on this one, too, and is his usual awesome self, as well as Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet from Lost) and the perfectly cast Morena Baccarin as the stylish, sexy, slightly murderous and evil leader of The Visitors. Tons of good stuff here, with nods to philosophy, religion, psychology, fascism, etc, etc. I think this one is going to get really good once it comes back from the long winter break, at which point it will be paired with LOST on the ABC schedule.
4) White Collar. Continues a great run of new shows on USA (Burn Notice, Psych, etc). I love how the shows on USA have a kind of “network TV in the ‘80s” feel to them. This is just another fun little show that they are getting really good at producing…likable characters, witty writing, nothing too challenging. The perfect show to tape on Friday night and then watch over breakfast on Saturday.

(Dis)honorable mention: FlashForward. This one has been a big disappointment, but still I keep watching. I feel like maybe the concept is too big to handle on a TV show. I keep thinking of all the ramifications of a blackout wherein the entire world gets a glimpse of the future, and all the cool things they could do with that, and instead...I am just waiting for something to actually HAPPEN. Not to mention that the lead is played by Joseph Fiennes in one of the most excruciatingly boring performances I have ever seen.


- On a semi-related topic, have any of you been watching Sons of Anarchy? If so, would you recommend going back and watching the first couple of seasons?


- One more note…if you are looking for a good book, and your tastes lean towards the slightly geeky (as mine obviously do), I strongly recommend the “Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin. There have been four written so far, and I am about halfway through the fourth one. I would describe it as either Narnia for grownups or a slightly more modern Lord of the Rings.

There is also production being done on a possible HBO series based on the books that I think has the potential to be phenomenal, so by reading the books you can actually be ahead of the curve!


OK, and with that…I am probably gone until the Dawgs DC is hired, unless something comes up that I REALLY want to write about.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and thanks for reading!

The week that was...

Hello, interwebs! Have you missed me?

For my longtime readers (all 2 of you), you may remember that around this time last year my posting schedule became sporadic at best, nonexistent at worst. This is my busiest time of the year at my job, and by the time I get home I tend to collapse on the couch rather than share all my remarkable insight with all of you…for that, I apologize. I’m not sure how you survive without me.

(that was sarcasm, by the way)

So…what’s been going on?

- I guess I’ll be the last Dawg blogger to remark on the comments Coach Martinez made this week regarding the play of the defense so far (h/t to David Hale).

Here’s the thing…I don’t expect CWM to say, “OK, we’ve done this, this and this from a scheme standpoint, and now we are going to do that, that, and that instead.” I understand that his answers are going to be a bit vague, by necessity. However, what I DO expect is for him to say is something like, “This is my fault. Whether it’s scheme or execution, it doesn’t matter…the buck stops here.” Instead, he says that the players are in the right position, they just have to make the play, which is another way of saying, “My scheme is fine, these players are just screwing up.”

I’m not even saying that this is not a true statement…but ultimately, as the Defensive Coordinator, isn’t it his job to make sure these guys are executing the scheme properly? I know that he can’t make the plays himself, these are 18-22 year olds, etc, etc…but this is not a problem that has just cropped up in the last two ball games. Our opponents are AVERAGING over 30 points a game against us the last nine games. Those are inexcusable results, regardless of the competition or any extenuating circumstances like offensive turnovers, etc.

Good news is that the coaching staff is at least showing some sense of urgency this week. Looks like there will be a shakeup in the playing time among the secondary, especially at safety. Bryan Evans, God love him…he’s extremely fast and he can definitely bring a lick, but he is just not blessed with the skills to cover anybody one-on-one.

The talent is there on that defense…I still believe that. I keep thinking that this will be the week when that talent meets scheme meets execution and our defense puts together a performance worthy of their Junkyard Dawg reputation. I still think that this week as well.

- ASU prediction: Dawgs continue to gel on offense, seemingly working new playmakers in every week. This week, I say we get big contributions from Brown, Wootentheballcarrier, and Caleb. And, yeah, I’ll say it again in hopes that this week it will be true...the defense finally gets their act together, aided by big games from the emerging DE tandem of Houston and Washington.

Dawgs 38, Devils 13.


NON DAWG STUFF:

- DawgSports put it best about the Ole Miss – South Cackalacky game last night…it was the huge upset everybody saw coming from a mile away. I’ve been saying for months that Ole Miss was overrated…they got WAY too much hype based on a winning streak at the end of last season.

An excerpt from my SEC Media Days coverage:

It had been 727 days since they won a conference game when they beat Florida. That says a lot about what an impressive performance and huge upset it was, but also...this is the team that so many are picking top 5 and handing the SEC West to? A team that, as recently as last year, had a TWO YEAR conference losing streak going? Excuse me if I don't jump on that bandwagon just yet.

My opinion on teams like Ole Miss is that they are going to have to elevate themselves to elite status…I ain’t putting them there until they prove that they can do it. Add to the massive hype (and pressure that comes with it) the fact that they had played absolutely nobody so far, so their first real game was on the road, at night, in Columbia against a team that had already been through a couple of real games….and that was easy pickings last night.

Oh, and something else I agree with DawgSports about…I miss Erin Andrews’ hot librarian look from last week.

- Big game coming up for the Falcons, on the road against the Patriots. This is a chance to see if we have really stepped up to an elite status. I know, the Pats haven’t exactly looked like themselves so far, but I think that makes them even more dangerous.

I think this game may look very familiar to Dawgs fans…I don’t see us shutting down the Pats offense, so we are going to have to outscore them. I say we do…Falcons win 38-34.

On a related note, how much of an upgrade is Mike Peterson over Keith Brooking? He makes more plays in one quarter than the overrated Brooking made in the last five years…interceptions, forced fumbles, recovering blocked kicks, big hits BEHIND the line of scrimmage (not seven or eight yards downfield, where Brooking made his living). Another coup by Demitrof, this one with an assist to Mike Smith and the seriously-missed-in-Athens Brian VanGorder, who coached Peterson in Jacksonville and convinced the GM to go get him.

- Looks like next year will be the end of an era, as Bobby Cox has announced that he will step down following the 2010 season. Bobby is a very polarizing figure among Atlanta sports fans…you get people saying that he couldn’t manage his way out of a paper bag, and you get people saying that he was the key to the extended run of success that the team had in the nineties and early aughts.

I think the truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle. I think that for a 162 game schedule, you would be hard pressed to find a manager better suited to be successful. However, as so often is the case, what makes you awesome is also what makes you suck…his even-keel, never-too-high-never-too-low, “that’s just baseball, we’ll get ‘em tomorrow night” attitude always seemed to carry over into the more pressurized atmosphere of the playoffs. After the first couple of playoff runs, I just never really sensed the intensity out of the Braves dugout the way I did from the opposition…not sure how to quantify that, but if you’re a longtime Braves fan you probably know what I mean.

I do, however, take issue with people who say that he had the best team in the playoffs every year and only managed to win one ring. We may have had the best pitching staff every year, but our top-to-bottom roster was usually not the best in baseball. Now, that being said, we definitely lost to teams (Padres, Cubs, Astros, etc) who I thought we were better than, but I don’t know that we were the best team in baseball any of those years.

The one World Series I thought we “should” have won but didn’t was in ’96. Braves got down 3-1 against the Cardinals in the NLCS, and it looked like it was all over. But they swept the next three against the Cards (winning 14-0, 3-1, and 15-0) and then the first two in Yankee Stadium (winning 12-1 and 4-0). For those five games, that was the greatest baseball team I have ever seen.

You all know what happened next, so I’m not going to rip the scab off that old wound.

Bottom line…Bobby Cox is a Hall of Famer and whether we know it or not, we’ve been lucky to have him for the last two decades.

Wow…I’m starting to think I should have broken this up into several posts. To those still reading, thanks for hanging with me, and I’ll be back on Sunday to recap the Dawgs win over ASU!

GO DAWGS!!!

Some quick thoughts on a very busy day

Don't know how much I'll be able to update today...work will be occupying most of my thoughts and time.

- First of all, I don't know if I've actually mentioned it here yet, but Dawgbone is back with a vengeance. Make sure you stop by there at least once a day...it is the one-stop shop for all Dawg updates. New address is http://www.thedawgbone.com/, so update your bookmarks accordingly.

I also would like to thank them for adding me to their blogroll and updates...after consistently seeing about 50 visitors a day for as long as I have been tracking, my visits jumped to 400 yesterday. So welcome to any new readers....hopefully you will be entertained by my ramblings and rantings enough to stick around.

- FINALLY the offseason is over, as practice officially starts today. There are several great reads from the usual suspects as to what to expect as practice starts....feel free to peruse the links to your right, being careful to avoid my geektastic TV tastes.

(Although, guys, I might suggest checking out Shan's latest contribution...they just don't make secretaries like they used to)

- And now that the offseason is over, I can finally talk about how smooth an offseason it was without feeling like I might jinx it. Not a single arrest and every recruit except for one is on campus and starting practice today. The players and coaches are all saying the right things, demonstrating both a team-first attitude and a general sense of being wholly unsatisfied with last year's results. There's no overwhelming preseason hype this year to distract both players and the fanbase.

All in all, I think things may be setting up for a very special season. I am most excited to see what Joe Cox is going to do with his opportunity. I have been a huge supporter of Matt Stafford, but I am already more of a FAN of Joe Cox. I love the guy's attitude, his swagger, how much he obviously loves to be a Bulldog. Check out this pic, my favorite one of The Celebration...look how pumped up he is, and this is when he knows there is almost no chance of him even being able to see one snap on the field:

And I think people forget that when he came out of Independence High in Charlotte (as an undefeated quarterback, by the way) he was the #7 rated pro style quarterback in the country, according to Rivals. He has skills...not the off-the-chart tools that Stafford has, but he's not Tereshinski, either. I think he will at least be able to throw an out pattern.

And another thing...I think his skill set actually sets up BETTER for Mike Bobo's offensive philosophy. Think about what kind of quarterback Bobo was...accurate passer, good decision maker. Wasn't asked to do too much other than put the ball in the hands of his playmakers in a position where they can make plays. If Bobo can just design an offense around Cox's skillset the way Donnan did with him in '97, I think our offense can be very effective.

- It's always a conundrum for me once fall camp starts...I'm jonesing for news and I can't wait to start getting practice reports, but I'm also terrified to read any news. You almost never get any really GOOD news out of training camp. Only thing I want to read is that there are no injuries, and the execution looks sharp.

- And now for the Braves post mortem....stick a fork in this team, they are dead. At least they stayed relatively competitive until football practice started.

I don't think this team is far away from being a real contender. I think the offseason focus should be to bring one more big bat to the lineup...I think that was truly all we were missing this year. The pitching has been great, for the most part, and there are a lot of good hitters in the lineup. There was just nobody who provided any consistent power, nobody in the lineup who scared the opposition.

Hopefully, Wren will be given the financial support necessary to make one big move...I would love for the Braves to be a contender at least one more time before Chipper rides off into the sunset.

All right, that's all I got for now...I'm going to be really quiet this afternoon, hoping to hear the sounds of pads popping, coaches yelling, and players puking. Ahhh...the sounds of the first day of practice.

GO DAWGS!!!!

Mini-weekend thoughts

I mean the THOUGHTS are "mini"...I'm actually enjoying a long weekend. Last day off work for a while, as 2010 business plan season starts next week. Somehow, I'm not nearly as fired up about that one as I am college football...

These weekend wrap-ups have been pretty much exclusively Braves and recruiting talk, so why should this week be any different?

- OK, the Braves have almost pulled me back in again...they keep winning series, which is all they can do at this point. Don't worry about scoreboard watching, because there are too many teams to try and watch. There are seven teams all within 5 games of the wild card lead. Just win, baby...let the chips fall where they may, and try not to think about that stretch a couple of months ago when we couldn't win a series to save our life.

Trade deadline is Friday, but I don't see the Braves making a move. There is just not anybody out there who is worth dealing away any significant piece of your future for. Kelly Johnson just came back, Omar Infante isn't far behind him...that's a pretty good upgrade of your bench without making any other moves.

Speaking of guys coming off of the DL...Tim Hudson is set to come back in a matter of weeks, as long as his rehab starts go OK. When that happens, what do you do with your pitching rotation? Who goes down? Who gets sent to the bullpen?

Well, Lowe, Jurrjens, and Vasquez obviously stay in the rotation. I don't think there is any way they send Hanson to the bullpen, and I don't see them sending him down, either. So it's either Kawakami or Hudson to the bullpen. Kawakami has been very effective since May, so you hate to move him out, but I think that's the only viable option they have.

Whomever goes to the bullpen, I think Medlin is the guy who gets sent down...get him back in a rotation and let him continue his development as a starter.

Whatever way they go, it's a nice problem to have. Not too many teams are dealing with too MUCH starting pitching. Which is also why, if the Braves DO manage to nab the wildcard, they are going to scare the pants off of somebody in the first round.

One complaint, and it's a repeat of one I've already made: I still think Bobby is using the bullpen too often, and I hope it doesn't come back to hurt us in September. Yesterday, Lowe pitched six innings and Bobby pulled him after throwing only 94 pitches. Which meant that Gonzalez had to make his 50th appearance of the year, and Peter Moylan had to make his 55th. Moylan leads the NL in appearances, Gonzalez is 5th, and Eric O'Flaherty, another Brave, is tied for 4th. There is no reason why our bullpen should be this overworked with the quality starting pitching we are getting. Can anybody give me a reason why Lowe couldn't have pitched another inning or so, having thrown only 94 pitches and sporting a 6-2 lead?

- To hear the AJC tell it, the Dawgs were beat out by the Gayters for the number one running back in the state, Mack Brown.

True, he did commit to the lizards (although he hasn't ruled out the Dawgs, according to UGASports.com), but let's look at a couple of numbers:

• We probably have two spots left in this class. In my opinion, we still have needs at DT, CB, and WR. Even if one of our many DE committments moves inside, we still have as many spots as we have needs, and running back is NOT one of those need positions, because...
• On our depth chart right now, we have two sophomores and two freshmen. We also have another big-time running back commit (Ken Malcome) already.

We can't take EVERY recruit in the state. I wish he hadn't decided to go to Gainesville, but it didn't make any sense for us to take him or for him to come to Athens.

That's all I got for today...be back soon with thoughts on the LOST Comic-Con panel. VERY interesting stuff, and they may be going in a very dangerous direction..

Weekend/random thoughts

- First things first...SEC Media Days start TOMORROW!!! WOOT!!

Like David Hale said earlier this week, that's our equivalent to pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training...there's no real activity yet, but it's the first sign of life since Signing Day.

This year's festivities should be fun...it's Lane Kiffen's first year, for one thing, so we get to hear 100 different variations on whether it's true that A) All of this making a public fool of himself is some sort of master plan; and B) All publicity is good publicity.

No Phat Phil this year, so the possibility of subpoenas drops drastically.

I'm personally really looking forward to the quotes from the two Dawg representatives, Joe Cox and Jeff Owens. Pretty much everything these guys say fires me up to the point of wanting to run through a wall, and they were definitely the perfect choices as our representatives, despite what Pat Forde says...he seems to think that the reps should be the biggest "stars" on the team, so he wanted AJ Green and Rennie. I think it should be as Richt has always done it, with two senior leaders going to speak for the team, and these two definitely fit the bill.

- Dawgs recruiting is continuing to roll...two more huge commitments over the last couple of days:

• Garrison Smith, DT out of Atlanta: We need DT's desperately this year (we lose three of our top 4 to graduation after this year), which made this guy pretty much a must-have. He's 6-4 250 right now, and he is so athletic that he actually plays mostly at DE in high school.

• Nickell Roby, CB/ATH out of Frostproof, FL: If the name of that city looks familiar, it should...it's also the hometown of his cousin and future teammate, Carlton Thomas. This guy is a burner, and ESPN.com's scouting report just raved about him. He's also 5-8 and 165 pounds, which means he'll wear #23 when he arrives on campus. I'm convinced that we had a special tiny jersey made for Tim Jennings when he showed up at school, and rather than throw it away, we just sign another diminutive corner every four years and just pass the jersey down. He's a little guy, obviously, but runs a 4.4, and at 165 has max lifts of 285 at the bench and 445 squat listed...that's nearing Thomas Brown territory.

This makes 17 commitments, which means I only seeing us taking about 3-4 more...if I had my wish it would be one more DT, one more WR, and then whomever we can get out of Mack Brown (highly rated running back) and TJ Stripling (pass rushing DE).

- Braves continue to be on a roll...unfortunately, it's too little, too late. This team had a chance to make noise earlier in the season when nobody in the NL East could seem to win any games...now the Phillies are on a monster roll (9 game winning streak, 12 out of their last 13), and even though the Braves are playing much better baseball over the last couple of weeks they are actually losing ground in the standings and are now 6.5 games back. We are only 4 games out of the wild card, however, so that's a possibility....but I'm not getting my hopes up. We're swinging some hot bats right now (especially the middle of the order), but I'm not sold that we can maintain that level of success...this is still the same team who, not too long ago, was losing series while only scoring 3-4 runs over a three game span pretty consistently.

And if the offense DOES fall off, we're in even bigger trouble, because Bobby is working this bullpen like crazy. Just about all of our top guys are near the league lead in appearances, which shouldn't be the case...number one, we haven't won enough games to have used our setup and closer that often, and number two, our starters have been extremely effective for the most part. The problem is that Bobby rarely lets anybody pitch past the 7th inning, no matter how effective they've been. The other night, Vasquez was throwing a gem and was lifted after the 7th having thrown only 101 pitches...we should have gotten at LEAST another inning out of him.

One more Braves note...Nate McLouth may be my new favorite player, even though he can't hit his way out of a paper bag right now. I just like saying his name really loudly with a thick Scottish accent. Try it sometime...it always puts me in a better mood.

- Doc Jensen at EW.com continues to put out pretty good LOST content, even in the long hiatus. This week, he looks at 15 reader-submitted mysteries that "must" be solved before next year's series finale.

Hate to break it to him and his readers, but some of those ain't gonna happen...I think we've seen the last of Libby, for example, and I also think we've received all of the explanation we're going to get on the numbers (try researching the Valenzetti Equation).

- And I'm about 9 games into my first season on NCAA 10 from EA...like I mentioned before, I have a PlayStation 2. The only game I play is this one, and I can't talk myself (or more importantly, my wife) into ponying up the cash for a PlayStation 3 for just one game. Apparently EA is also not ponying up any more money for improvements to games on the PlayStation 2 platform, because this one is EXACTLY the same as last year. Only updates are to the rosters. I literally can not tell any difference in the game play, and there have only been minor font changes to the overall appearance.

As for the rosters, there are the usual interesting screw-ups (Vince Vance is white, for example), and I wasn't too happy with some of the player rankings, but those were rectified pretty quickly (how is Michael Moore a higher rated WR than AJ Green? Did his mother help with the programming?).

If you've never bought the game before, I would give it an A-. It's still the best as far as gameplay and overall enjoyment. But if you have bought the game in recent years, it's only worth it if you want the roster updates.


OK, that's enough worthless stuff for now!

46 DAYS TO KICKOFF!!!

GO DAWGS!!!