I'm tired of writing posts I don't like

I really don't want to be a Richt-basher. I want very much for him to turn the program around and get it headed back in the direction we were going at the end of 2007.

But two quotes from his press conference today moved me to respond, and considering the sporadic nature of my posting here you know that takes some doing.

(All quotes courtesy of Seth at Bulldogs Blog)

Quote #1: "Mike Bobo’s the coordinator, Mike Bobo’s the quarterbacks coach. Stacey Searels is the running game coordinator. And they’ve done a great job.” (emphasis added)

No, Coach...they have not. I'm not nearly as upset with Bobo as a lot of folks are (though I am more disappointed in Coach Searels's O-line than I am with any other unit on the team), but you went 6-7. SIX and SEVEN. That means NOBODY is doing a "great job". The quote SHOULD have read something along the lines of "We are all on notice, myself included. Our entire staff is aware that we failed at our jobs this year, and we will fix it no matter what it takes."

Quote #2: “All I know is that whoever comes back is going to be 100% motivated to help us get back on top of the Eastern Division.”

Our goal should be the National Championship. Period. It's not that I don't understand the logic (win the East, play for the SEC Championship, which probably means you are playing for the MNC), but this goes back to a problem that I have had for a while now. Namely, our goals are too low, and I think it permeates the entire program. Being on top of the Eastern Division? That's our goal? Who are we, Kentucky? (Don't answer that)

Finish the Drill. Remember that? It seems like a long time ago.

I love Coach Richt. I think he's a great man.

I also love the Georgia Bulldogs.

I wish those two loves weren't at such odds with each other, but that's the way it feels right now.

This is (probably) my only post about the Liberty Bowl fiasco

I have always been a huge Coach Richt apologist...I love the man. But I no longer have any argument against those calling for a coaching change other than "He's a really good Christian man".

6-7 record with this collection of talent, and a putrid performance in the bowl against a team that we out-talent at virtually every position? Absolutely indefensible. I'm not saying I WANT him fired...I'm just saying I have run out of arguments to the contrary that have anything to do with on-field performance.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!!

And, as always...

GO DAWGS!!

I've been out of the loop, obviously..

I've been awfully distracted the last few weeks, not really active online anywhere, and I had not really been feeling the Hate that normally is associated with this week.

Then, I was reminded of THIS.

Yeah...it's back. And there's nothing Clean or Old Fashioned about it.

The end to a friendly rivalry

Let's get this out of the way up front...absolutely nothing that is to follow in this post has anything to do with why the Dawgs lost yesterday. Auburn is a better team than Georgia is right now. I think that without a doubt, we are a better team than the 5-6 record would indicate, but Auburn is the #2 team in the country for a reason, and they showed it yesterday. We never even looked like we MIGHT stop their offense at any point after the first quarter, and another very good performance by our offense could not overcome our defensive deficiencies and poor special teams play.

Now....on to the point.

Unlike some Dawg fans, I have never really hated Auburn. There are a lot of reasons for that...some of them as innocuous as the fact that my high school was the War Eagles, so we shared a fight song and the same color scheme. There was also the Pat Dye-Vince Dooley institutional incest. And when I got older and visited their campus, I was always struck by how much it reminded me of Athens. On top of all that, about ten years ago my parents moved to the Opelika area and my father now pastors a church full of Auburn fans who happen to be great people who treat their pastor and their pastor's family very well.

So, yeah...I'm one of a minority of Dawg fans who has always sort of pulled for Auburn a little, as long as they weren't playing us.

Never again.

Cam Newton is a thief, a liar, and a cheater. These aren't allegations. Not "allegedly". As Captain Jack Ross said, "These are the facts of the case...and they are undisputed". On top of that, over the last couple of weeks there has been a ton of smoke regarding pay-for-play allegations, including the latest news that Cam's father has allegedly admitted soliciting money in exchange for his son's prodigious football talents. Now that part of the story IS still in question, but I ask this: Knowing what we know about the kind of person that Cam Newton has repeatedly shown himself to be, why are we supposed to give him the benefit of the doubt?

Along those same lines, why do we keep being told that this is a "feel good story"? When does the "feel good" part kick in? This story makes me want to take a shower.

And yet...the Auburn administration, coaching staff, and fan base continue to be, in their own words, "all in". Not only are they not embarrassed or ashamed by any of this, they have anointed this player as the face of their program, and seem to be reveling in the controversy, flaunting the fact that they are going to support this individual, NO MATTER WHAT.

As for Nick Fairley, well...I don't understand any fan base who can look at THIS:


and THIS:


..and feel anything other than embarrassed. (By the way...Fairley was NOT "blocked into" Aaron. He was blocked, yes...but he saw Aaron's exposed knee, changed direction, and INTENTIONALLY drove his helmet into his knee). But that's not what I saw or heard last night...instead, I saw Auburn fans (some of whom I have known and respected for a long time) sticking up for him and saying that he was just "playing hard", that this was "just football".

Those who know me know that I am for the most part disgusted by the rule changes that we have seen in recent years that try to "soften" football. I have no issue with football as a violent sport. But what this man (not kid...man) did yesterday was intentionally try to injure an opponent in the most cowardly ways possible. Not only the two plays above...he repeatedly picked up Aaron and drove him into the ground with his shoulder, which is against the rules but repeatedly not called yesterday. (slight caveat...I know it's a rule in the NFL, not sure about the NCAA. But the point remains...there is no reason for that move other than to take advantage of an opponent in a defenseless posture and try to injure him).

I was also told last night that these are just 18-21 year old kids making "mistakes". I mostly agree with that sentiment. That's why it becomes incumbent on the adults surrounding them...their coaches, administration, and the so-called adults in their fan base...to teach them that there is a right way and a wrong way to go about your business, and the wrong way will not be tolerated.

But that's not what's happening.

The Auburn coaching staff, administration, and fan base has made it quite clear that they not only accept these two individuals...they celebrate them. They obviously represent everything that Auburn now wants to be.

Which is why, at least for me, this rivalry can never be friendly again.

I'll end with this...Auburn is 11-0. My Dawgs are 5-6.

Without a doubt...I would still rather be a Bulldog.

GO DAWGS!

Gone fishin'

I just can't do this right now. I love this team, and I'm not giving up, and I will be pulling like crazy. I just can't do the blogging thing right now. Too much negativity in the Dawgs online community already, and I'm not going to add to it.

Until later...GO DAWGS.

Guess I was wrong about A.J., huh?

Just got back from Athens, and wow...what an opener. I'll have more to say about it in the next day or so after I watch my recording, but there was very little to complain about in that one.

But since I have been so ADAMANT in my stance that A.J. Green would not miss any time due to the whole NCAA inquiry nonsense, I figured I should at least come back and say I was wrong.

Lesson learned...never underestimate the incompetence of the NCAA, nor their ability to mess things up for absolutely no reason.

Off to watch the late games! So glad to have my Saturdays occupied by college football again!

GO DAWGS!!

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.

Writer's block...good thing Blutarsky is around

As you can probably tell, I have been struggling to come up with the motivation to put together a lot of blog posts lately. Part of that is the lack of subject matter...not much else can be said about the fact the Braves are really good, football is in the last days of the dead period, none of the summer TV that I watch is good for blogging (until Mad Men comes back!), and I don't think many of you are nearly as interested as I am in the transfer period of the English Premier League.

So part of it is lack of content...the other part is that the stuff I WOULD be talking about, I don't really want to talk about.

Luckily, the good Senator takes everything I would have said and says it MUCH better, as is often the case.

Just click HERE for a great summation about how I feel about the "discipline problem" that UGA and Coach Richt supposedly have.

Oh, and...Paul Finebaum is an idiot.

That is all.

GO DAWGS!!!

The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

Consider this a very public cry for help...


Ummm....

How do I say this?

OK, fine, just out with it...like ripping off a Band-Aid....

Ahem....

My name is Scott...and I have been watching a LOT of soccer lately.

There...it's out there.

And I don't mean just the World Cup...heck, everybody is watching at least SOME of that. (Right? What do you mean, NO?) ANYway....I have even been watching some of the stuff from overseas that comes on the Fox Soccer Channel. You know, the stuff that comes on in the middle of the day. Which means...I have been setting my DVR to record soccer every day and then watching it when I get home from work.

Yeah...it's like THAT.

All of this can only mean one thing...I am REALLY ready for football season to get here. The REAL football.

Luckily, today marks only FIFTY NINE days to kickoff. I know I have fallen WAY behind on the countdown, but yesterday was Clint Boling Day. I celebrated by being consistently excellent at everything I did, only to receive minimal recognition for my efforts.

Couple other "newsy" items that have happened while I was off watching Arsenal vs. Liverpool in an English Premier League match from last October:

- Nothing much left to be said about the Damon Evans situation. The saddest and most frustrating part of this story to me is this...if you had asked me a week ago what the ceiling was on Damon Evans' career, I would have struggled to come up with one.

SEC commissioner? NCAA President? Governor? Senator?

Seriously...all of that was on the table. This was a guy who was handed the AD job at one of the most prestigious athletic departments in the country at 34 years old, and has done a fantastic job with it in the six years he's had it. He was the Golden Child. Not only one of the most respected AD's in the country, but a flag bearer as the first black AD in the SEC.

Now? I don't think his career is "over" per se...he's too talented. He'll get another job, and if he keeps his nose clean for a few years he may even resurface as an AD at another (probably much smaller) school. But all of those other opportunities listed above? Gone. Completely off the table.

And, to me, even that knowledge pales in comparison to what he is putting his wife and children (11 years old and 8 years old) through, and the fact that he has probably lost his family.

And for what? A few drinks and a 28 year old "Asset Manager".

Wow.

Let this be a lesson, kids...what takes a lifetime to create only takes a few hours and a couple of bad decisions to destroy.

- The Jordan Love situation really ticks me off.

The situation as I've heard it (mostly from UGASports.com), for those who may not be aware (Hi, Mom!):

A bunch of students (including football players Jordan Love and Shawn Williams) are hanging out in a common area outside East Campus Village shooting off fireworks and lighting sparklers. A neighbor calls the police to complain (which...come on, seriously? It's 4th of July, you communist!). The neighbor then informs the group that the police have been called, and the group breaks up. Jordan and Shawn stick around to talk to the police, which I assume was because they didn't want it to look like they were "running" from them. Police show up, question the players, and ask for their name. Jordan gives his first and last name, but when asked for his middle name he initially says he doesn't know it, then says he DOES know it, but isn't sure of the legal spelling. For this egregious offense, Campus Police slap handcuffs on him and arrest him for obstruction of justice, and initial reports are that he was "uncooperative" with the police and "refused to give his name". He was released two hours later on $5000 bond.

The "rest of the story"...Jordan's middle name comes from his birth father, who he has no contact with. It's not listed on his driver's license. Jordan's mother, who is an FBI agent, has reportedly instructed Jordan that, when asked, to give his first and last name and then to invoke his right to remain silent if questioned further.

Campus Police Chief comes out the next day and says it was a "breakdown in communication" and plans on asking the Judge in the case to drop the charges.

Let's look a little deeper...

First of all, the arrest happened at 11:35 PM, which means that it couldn't have been any later than 11 when the fireworks were being shot. So the neighbor really is a dillhole.

Second, Jordan CHOSE to remain behind and talk to the police voluntarily, when he was well within his rights to leave the premises before the police arrived. So..."uncooperative"? I don't think so.

Third, even if the "rest of the story" wasn't what it turned out to be...THAT'S what you're going to arrest somebody for? Not spelling their middle name? So, because of that, he has an arrest on his record, had to go to jail for two hours, had his name plastered all over the papers, has to appear in court...ridiculous.

Way to go, Deputy Fife. That's some high quality police work right there.

Those of you who know me know that I am not one to play the race card at all...but I wonder if the player had been, say, Kris Durham, would it have gone down the same way?

Or, for that matter...what if it wasn't a football player at all? Think things would have been handled differently?

Whatever...I hear the Loves have acquired an attorney and plan on suing the University police. I say more power to them.

PLEASE...can we PLEASE just get the season started? I'm sick of talking about crap like this, plus I think I'm becoming a Euro pantywaist soccer fan.

Pathetic.

Ugly.
Putrid.
Nauseating.
Horrible.
Ridiculous.
Perplexing.
Depressing.
Terrifying.
Disgusting.
Inept.
Infuriating.

And most of all...embarrassing.

I came back for THIS?

Sorry, I've been pretty out of commission the past week...some traveling for business, and then snowed under at work.

And, now....after that game today, I don't really have it in me to write a full recap right now. I feel like I got kicked in the stomach by a mule about fifty times in a row.

So...I'll be back in a day or so with full thoughts. I don't think it's as bad as we all feel right now...but it ain't good.

Schadenfruede

With all apologies to the victims and their families, here is my reaction to this story regarding Braves killer and all-around tool, Jim Leyritz.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHA.....(gasping for breath)...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....hee....hee...AAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Why it's harder now than ever to be a sports fan...

These are all of the stories currently linked in the "headlines" section of ESPN.com (the synopsis is mine, if you couldn't tell):

Stallworth gets 30 days in jail in DUI fatality - Browns (and former Vol) WR hit and killed a 59 year old man while driving drunk
Favre speaks about return, Vikings - The continuing downward spiral of Brett Favre's reputation
Leaf faces Thursday deadline to turn himself in - Former NFL draft bust indicted on drug and burglary charges
NASCAR says Mayfield expert lied about degree - NASCAR's Jeremy Mayfield, also known as "that NASCAR driver who tested positive for crystal meth"
Phelps gets first endorsement since scandal - Michael Phelps, Olympic gold medalist and recreational drug user
Burress hearing delayed to Sept. 23 - Hero of NY Giants Super Bowl run two years ago, facing gun charges after accidentally shooting his fool self in the leg.
Report: Marshall seeks trade; Broncos mum - This would be Brandon Marshall, serial girlfriend abuser, as well as....aw, forget it, there's too much to go into. Just look it up.
UK's Meeks opts to stay in NBA draft - Hey, LOOK...it's an actual sports story! What, did nobody actually get arrested today?
Judge rejects sale of Coyotes, move to Canada - Sports as a business...this is a team that was already taken away from one group of fans. They used to be the Winnipeg Jets.
Insider: Nebraska football's shot at 11 wins - What, TWO actual sports stories? AWESOME.

I know, it's a slow period in the sports universe. NBA and NHL finals are over, golf's next major is still a couple weeks away, baseball is in the dog days of summer, and football is still a couple of months away. But, still...that is an awfully depressing front page, isn't it?

Urban Meyer IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS!!

Further proof that we are 100% correct in despising Urban Meyer.

No one is allowed to question him, even under the pretense of doing THEIR JOB, apparently.

"Either you're a Gator or you're not," he says. I wonder if he feels that way about the Utes. Or whatever Bowling Green's mascot is.

Shane Matthews is more of a Gator than Urban Crier will EVER be. He sweat and bled for that team, as the former Miami player said in the article. Urban has been there for, what, four years? And that makes him some sort of authority on who's a "Gator" and who's not?

Idol thoughts on hiatus

OK, after the hot steaming garbage they have shoved at us this week, I am officially shutting down "Idol Thoughts" until we get to Hollywood week.

So much for the "new look" of Idol. Seemed like the same old audition show crap to me.

The hits just keep on coming...

Crap.

***UPDATE***
You know, sometimes I'm embarrassed to be a Dawgs fan. In the aftermath of Asher's announcement today, the Dawgvent and the blog comments are full of people condemning Asher, as well as Stafford and Moreno in some cases, for their decisions to leave school early (although, to the credit of the Dawgvent admins, they are trying to nuke some of the more mean-spirited comments as soon as they can). Posters are using words like selfish, not a team player, no leadership, etc...

Are you KIDDING ME????!!!???!? These young men have busted their butts their entire life to get to this precise moment in their lives. They have spent the last three years of those lives sweating, bleeding and generally giving everything they have for the team and university that these "fans" supposedly pull for. They are now making decisions that affect their lives, their livelihoods, and the future for themselves and their families. If they feel that they are at the point that they are ready to leave college and enter the workplace, they don't owe ANYBODY another year of their lives...not the coaching staff, not their UGA teammates, and CERTAINLY not me. Who's really being selfish in this situation?

Good luck and God bless to all three of these men, and if I ever got the opportunity to meet them, I will either thank them for the great memories they gave me as a Dawg fan and for the hard work and effort they put forth during their time in the Red and Black, or I will keep my mouth SHUT. I sure as heck won't condemn them for making the decision that they felt was best for them and their family, no matter how disappointed I am that I won't get to see them between the hedges in '09.

OK, this makes me throw up in my mouth a little...

This is a picture of the world tilting slightly on its axis.

Blutarsky did my work for me...

I was planning on doing a lot of research to see how our 2008 opponents fared against us vs. what they did the rest of the year on offense.

The Good Senator did the work for me.

Nothing really shocking, other than that the 49 points the Gayters put up against us was their SIXTH best offensive performance of the year.

Daaaannnnggg.

From about the Alabama game on, our defense was CLUELESS. We gave up 41, 38, 49, 38, and 45 points. And we don't play in the Big 12, either. One of those 38's was Kentucky. KENTUCKY!!

I don't like calling for people's jobs...after all, these guys have families. But this defense has gotten progressively worse since Van Gorder left, and this year was (hopefully) rock bottom. I just think a message has to be sent somehow that this is NOT acceptable at the University of Georgia.

Blown assignments and missed tackles have become the M.O. for this defense. And, I'm sorry, but that has nothing to do with injuries, or the schedule, or any of the other excuses that Coach Richt was throwing out there yesterday.

Pathetic

This season is now an unmitigated disaster.

I love Coach Richt, but if Willie Martinez is still here next year then Richt deserves whatever criticism is thrown his way. We just lost to a much less talented team, and the blame falls squarely on Richt's BFF.

Stafford threw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, MoMass had what seemed like 30 catches (both in their last game in Sanford Stadium), and we lose because our defense can't stay disciplined and refuses to wrap up on tackles.

Embarrassing.

So, in this "dream season," we have been embarrassed by our two biggest rivals, and we don't have a signature win for the entire year.

Ugh.

Disgraceful

THIS is an utter disgrace.

This is the kind of crap that makes me wonder how much longer we are going to remain the "lone superpower" in the world. It seems that more and more, the trend in this country is to punish achievement and promote mediocrity. It's one of the reasons I love football so much, I think...it's one of the few places left where you still hear words like competition, toughness, will, strength, hard work, accountability...I know, I know, I'm starting to sound like Lieutenant Kendrick.

I feel bad for the kid, for his parents, but most of all I feel sorry for the children who have the misfortune of having these cowards as parents. Thank God I had no such disadvantage...my Dad's advice if I had to face this kid would have been something along the lines of "Do your best, and if that's not good enough, work hard and get better." Not, "This guy is too good, so he shouldn't be allowed to play." This story makes me very angry and very sad.

OK...back to your regularly scheduled game week programming.