Last night's big winner? Parks and Rec, of course. But I'll be honest...I don't think I laughed harder at anything than I did at Amy Farrah Fowler's reaction to receiving her tiara on Big Bang Theory.
But a close second was the entrance of the Leslie Knope campaign team: GET ON YOUR FEET!
(you're not going crazy...yes, it's backwards. Copyright infringement, and all that. On second thought, who am I to say whether you're crazy...you could be. But not because that video looks backwards to you. )
Adam Scott is brilliant, and extremely underrated....his excitement over both "Low-Cal Calzone Zone" and his foray into the world of claymation, followed by his awareness that he was slowly going insane was hilarious. "That can't be all there is!"
- Also watched last night...Wednesday's episode of Top Chef. I LOVE the Restaurant Wars episodes, and this was another fun one.
Grayson is my favorite, and I can't stand Lindsey or Sarah (The Mean Girls). I mean, Beverly is annoying, but I would have already gone Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on those girls if I was her. I'm looking forward to the season finale, when Beverly hits Lindsey over the head with a mixing bowl and when Sarah tries to come to her rescue, Grayson steps in front of her and throws boiling water in her face, while Jim Ross screams in the background, "MY GAWD!!! THAT'S GRAYSON'S MUSIC!! WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE??"
- As for tonight...it's the return of Fringe! And here is a great video to catch you up on what is going on in Season 4 so far...
And, apparently, we need to enjoy Fringe while we can. Kevin Reilly (Fox president) was, at best, non-committal regarding the future of the show at press tour. The show is very expensive, and loses money every single week. It's not realistic to expect the network to continue to do that. They gave us four seasons of the show, which is likely four more than they would have gotten on ANY other network.
- I've also finished my Justified season 2 rewatch...I had forgotten just how intense those last two episodes were. Can't wait for Tuesday...I'll likely talk more about it then.
- More good news for the Dawgs today...another big running back commitment from Todd Gurley (let's see how fast Crowell grows up with both Gurley and Marshall pushing him), and then the announcement that Orson Charles is in fact the only junior that is jumping to the NFL. It's gonna be a LONG offseason...
Showing posts with label recrootin'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recrootin'. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
My favorite things I watched last week (including my very late thoughts on Signing Day)
- Crowell and his AWWWWWWWW PUPPY! For any Dawg fan, the absolute best thing on television last week was probably this:
Also, pretty cool story on where that adorable puppy came from in the Ledger-Enquirer.
Obviously, I am thrilled with the way the Dream Team came together. The coaching staff did a tremendous job pulling a class like this coming off the last two years we have had on the field.
I will make one small side note...Richt got pretty lucky in the fact that in a year when he DESPERATELY needed a huge recruiting class, the state of Georgia was loaded with talent even by the state's normally lofty standards.
Even so, all of that talent was being heavily recruited by some of the biggest names in the country, and Richt and his staff was able to fend them off for the most part and put together a class that has the potential to be one that we look back on as the turning point of Richt's tenure as head coach.
The flip side, of course, is that there is TONS of pressure now on these kids...The Dream Team concept was fun, and it certainly worked as a recruiting tool, but the fanbase (myself included) now looks at them as guys who are going to turn the program around. Time will tell if that is the case, or if February 2, 2011 will be the high point.
One of the things I love about this class is how diverse it is from a positional standpoint (and Bubba 'n' Earl beat me to this point by a few days). With only a very slight amount of finagling, I can actually put together an entire starting lineup out of this class.
(Assuming a one back-3WR set on offense, standard 3-4 look on defense)
OFFENSE:
QB - Lemay
RB - Crowell
WR - Mitchell, Wesley, Conley
TE - Rome
OL - Ward, Dantzler, Andrews, Long, Debell (this one may get a little tricky, as far as tackle/guard combos, but it's conceivable)
DEFENSE:
DL - Bailey, Jenkins, Mayes
LB - Drew, Turene, Herrera, Wilson
CB - Swann, Marshall
S - Sanders, Moore
Seriously...I could make the argument that our starting lineup in 2013 might be pretty close to this, other than the fact that Jenkins will be gone after 2012. I know Bailey might actually play OLB, but he could also put on about 10 more pounds and fit right in at the 3-4 DE spot.
I also like the fact that we signed six offensive linemen, and none of them necessarily HAVE to play this year. We are really building some quality depth at that position, and that makes me happy.
Overall, fantastic job by the coaching staff, and definitely my favorite thing I watched last week.
- Most of Community. I really enjoyed last week's episode of Community, although like a lot of the really good Community episodes, it wasn't for everybody. I liked the conceit that the story was being told like a sci-fi/fantasy novel, I loved Senor Chang's costume and the entire scene setting up the game. I am in no way a D&D gamer, but I am familiar enough with the concept of RPG's in general that the way Abed was running the game brought plenty of laughs. The story itself was sort of Community at its best, in that it played around with a theme (the whole Dungeons and Dragons thing) while still having a soft gooey center of a heart (the group trying to cheer up and possibly save Fat Neal).
The one thing I didn't like is the one thing I always don't like when it comes to Community...Pierce Freaking Hawthorne. There is absolutely nothing likeable about this character or Chevy Chase's heavy-handed portrayal of him. The wonderful folks over at the Extra Hot Great podcast did a great job this week in talking about the long history of jerks in sitcoms and why they work, and why Pierce in no way works as that character. Bottom line is that I think this show would be tons better if you just took the character out of the show and gave his lines to other characters who could deliver them in a more effective way.
But Pierce is a problem every week...overall, this was one of my favorite Community episodes so far this season.
- Downton Abbey. Not going to go into a whole lot of detail on this one...it aired for four weeks on PBS as part of their Masterpiece Classics series, and the finale was last Sunday. A British period drama set in the time period between the Titanic and the beginning of WWI, it was tremendously acted, well written, beautiful to look at, and honestly...it just made me feel smart as I watched it. If it's not your thing, you would hate it...but it was one of my favorite things, and I am already looking forward to the second season. It doesn't hurt that the family that make up the main characters is the Grantham family, so I got to pretend it was actually about my ancestors.
Just for fun...one of my favorite scenes from the show, including a great line from the fantastic Maggie Smith. This scene pretty much spells out one of the dynamics of the series...the difference between even the upper middle class and the ridiculously rich in early 20th century England:
- Yep...Parks And Recreation. Again. My favorite comedy on television provided another hilarious episode. Being the only male in a house dominated by females who have totally bought into the Vampire craze, I especially loved the whole Twilight plot, especially Tom's excitement at discovering the books. The easy way out would have been to make fun of Twilight as the puffy piece of tween girl nonsense that it is, but the writers took the story in a much fresher direction, and it was ultimately much funnier because of it.
- The Chicago Code. This was technically not "last week" since it premiered last night, but since this post is a couple days late I can throw it in here. This is the latest from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield (the much respected series that is next on my iTunes list, right after I finish Deadwood), and the fantastic and much-lamented Terriers (maybe my favorite series of 2010). I was very impressed with the pilot episode, especially if you apply the grading curve that I normally apply to pilots (due to the level of difficulty involved with introducing entirely new characters in an entirely new show universe, while still telling a compelling story). I am especially excited about Jason Clarke's character (Det. Wysocki (sp?)), who seemed sort of cool, funny, dark, and quirky all at once. The acting in general seems to be top notch, the show makes good use of its on-location shooting in Chicago, and most of all...the American viewing public OWES it to Shawn Ryan to watch this show, after failing miserably at keeping Terriers on the air despite its awesomey goodness.
Pretty slow week overall, for me...some of my favorite shows (like Chuck, Cougar Town, Fringe) fell into the good-not-great category for me.
Looking forward this week to the return of Raising Hope (I know...I'm as shocked as you are that I actually have become a big fan of this show) and, especially, Justified. (Wednesday at 10 on FX...check it out)
What about you? What are your favorite things that you are watching? Am I missing anything good?
Also, pretty cool story on where that adorable puppy came from in the Ledger-Enquirer.
Obviously, I am thrilled with the way the Dream Team came together. The coaching staff did a tremendous job pulling a class like this coming off the last two years we have had on the field.
I will make one small side note...Richt got pretty lucky in the fact that in a year when he DESPERATELY needed a huge recruiting class, the state of Georgia was loaded with talent even by the state's normally lofty standards.
Even so, all of that talent was being heavily recruited by some of the biggest names in the country, and Richt and his staff was able to fend them off for the most part and put together a class that has the potential to be one that we look back on as the turning point of Richt's tenure as head coach.
The flip side, of course, is that there is TONS of pressure now on these kids...The Dream Team concept was fun, and it certainly worked as a recruiting tool, but the fanbase (myself included) now looks at them as guys who are going to turn the program around. Time will tell if that is the case, or if February 2, 2011 will be the high point.
One of the things I love about this class is how diverse it is from a positional standpoint (and Bubba 'n' Earl beat me to this point by a few days). With only a very slight amount of finagling, I can actually put together an entire starting lineup out of this class.
(Assuming a one back-3WR set on offense, standard 3-4 look on defense)
OFFENSE:
QB - Lemay
RB - Crowell
WR - Mitchell, Wesley, Conley
TE - Rome
OL - Ward, Dantzler, Andrews, Long, Debell (this one may get a little tricky, as far as tackle/guard combos, but it's conceivable)
DEFENSE:
DL - Bailey, Jenkins, Mayes
LB - Drew, Turene, Herrera, Wilson
CB - Swann, Marshall
S - Sanders, Moore
Seriously...I could make the argument that our starting lineup in 2013 might be pretty close to this, other than the fact that Jenkins will be gone after 2012. I know Bailey might actually play OLB, but he could also put on about 10 more pounds and fit right in at the 3-4 DE spot.
I also like the fact that we signed six offensive linemen, and none of them necessarily HAVE to play this year. We are really building some quality depth at that position, and that makes me happy.
Overall, fantastic job by the coaching staff, and definitely my favorite thing I watched last week.
- Most of Community. I really enjoyed last week's episode of Community, although like a lot of the really good Community episodes, it wasn't for everybody. I liked the conceit that the story was being told like a sci-fi/fantasy novel, I loved Senor Chang's costume and the entire scene setting up the game. I am in no way a D&D gamer, but I am familiar enough with the concept of RPG's in general that the way Abed was running the game brought plenty of laughs. The story itself was sort of Community at its best, in that it played around with a theme (the whole Dungeons and Dragons thing) while still having a soft gooey center of a heart (the group trying to cheer up and possibly save Fat Neal).
The one thing I didn't like is the one thing I always don't like when it comes to Community...Pierce Freaking Hawthorne. There is absolutely nothing likeable about this character or Chevy Chase's heavy-handed portrayal of him. The wonderful folks over at the Extra Hot Great podcast did a great job this week in talking about the long history of jerks in sitcoms and why they work, and why Pierce in no way works as that character. Bottom line is that I think this show would be tons better if you just took the character out of the show and gave his lines to other characters who could deliver them in a more effective way.
But Pierce is a problem every week...overall, this was one of my favorite Community episodes so far this season.
- Downton Abbey. Not going to go into a whole lot of detail on this one...it aired for four weeks on PBS as part of their Masterpiece Classics series, and the finale was last Sunday. A British period drama set in the time period between the Titanic and the beginning of WWI, it was tremendously acted, well written, beautiful to look at, and honestly...it just made me feel smart as I watched it. If it's not your thing, you would hate it...but it was one of my favorite things, and I am already looking forward to the second season. It doesn't hurt that the family that make up the main characters is the Grantham family, so I got to pretend it was actually about my ancestors.
Just for fun...one of my favorite scenes from the show, including a great line from the fantastic Maggie Smith. This scene pretty much spells out one of the dynamics of the series...the difference between even the upper middle class and the ridiculously rich in early 20th century England:
- Yep...Parks And Recreation. Again. My favorite comedy on television provided another hilarious episode. Being the only male in a house dominated by females who have totally bought into the Vampire craze, I especially loved the whole Twilight plot, especially Tom's excitement at discovering the books. The easy way out would have been to make fun of Twilight as the puffy piece of tween girl nonsense that it is, but the writers took the story in a much fresher direction, and it was ultimately much funnier because of it.
- The Chicago Code. This was technically not "last week" since it premiered last night, but since this post is a couple days late I can throw it in here. This is the latest from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield (the much respected series that is next on my iTunes list, right after I finish Deadwood), and the fantastic and much-lamented Terriers (maybe my favorite series of 2010). I was very impressed with the pilot episode, especially if you apply the grading curve that I normally apply to pilots (due to the level of difficulty involved with introducing entirely new characters in an entirely new show universe, while still telling a compelling story). I am especially excited about Jason Clarke's character (Det. Wysocki (sp?)), who seemed sort of cool, funny, dark, and quirky all at once. The acting in general seems to be top notch, the show makes good use of its on-location shooting in Chicago, and most of all...the American viewing public OWES it to Shawn Ryan to watch this show, after failing miserably at keeping Terriers on the air despite its awesomey goodness.
Pretty slow week overall, for me...some of my favorite shows (like Chuck, Cougar Town, Fringe) fell into the good-not-great category for me.
Looking forward this week to the return of Raising Hope (I know...I'm as shocked as you are that I actually have become a big fan of this show) and, especially, Justified. (Wednesday at 10 on FX...check it out)
What about you? What are your favorite things that you are watching? Am I missing anything good?
Saturday, January 29, 2011
My favorite things I watched this week
- Ray Drew. Of all the things I watched this week, I don't think I enjoyed any of them more than I enjoyed this....
(courtesy of UGASports)
I think we have a great one, folks...not only his play on the field, but he seems to be a guy who is going to be a real leader both in the locker room and in the field. He has already been identified as a guy who the rest of the Dream Team looks to as "the guy". Can't wait to see him on the field!
- Southland. I meant to say something about this show last week, but I forgot...it works out, though, because this week's episode was much stronger, and was truly one of the best things I watched this week. The ending, especially, was extremely effective.
I am not usually a big fan of "procedural" type shows, and though this isn't exactly that, there are very few if any serialized components to the show. But every week, I feel like the show tells compelling stories, it has a tremendous cast, and also has a great cinematic look and feel to it. This was one of those shows that struggled to find an audience on the network side for some reason, and I for one am thankful that it was saved by TNT. Not to mention some of the coolest opening credits on television:
- Parks and Recreation. This will likely be on this list for as long as it is on the air. Another fantastic episode from the best comedy on television, highlighted by Rob Lowe as health freak Chris dealing with some of the worst, um, byproducts of the Pawnee Flu:
- The return of Archer. In all of its politically incorrect, raunchy glory. What is Germany, the Alabama of Europe?
- Casey and Morgan sing Happy Birthday on Chuck. In an episode made most notable by a new look on Sarah (short verdict: not a big fan of the hair, HUGE fan of the outfit), there wasn't much that made me happier this week than Casey and Morgan singing Happy Birthday to the unsuspecting security guard.
- John Noble and Joshua Jackson on Fringe. Again, not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought some of the writing was downright painful, although I did like where the show took Peter in his quest to find out what is going on with him and the Doomsday Device. But both of the Bishop boys brought their A game, including some of Joshua Jackson's best work so far in my opinion.
And good news again on the ratings front, as the show was solid enough again to boost Fox to a win in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
- 30 Rock. I don't always love this show, but when they are on their game there are few funnier. This was a particularly strong week.
What about you? What were your favorite things you watched this week?
I think we have a great one, folks...not only his play on the field, but he seems to be a guy who is going to be a real leader both in the locker room and in the field. He has already been identified as a guy who the rest of the Dream Team looks to as "the guy". Can't wait to see him on the field!
- Southland. I meant to say something about this show last week, but I forgot...it works out, though, because this week's episode was much stronger, and was truly one of the best things I watched this week. The ending, especially, was extremely effective.
I am not usually a big fan of "procedural" type shows, and though this isn't exactly that, there are very few if any serialized components to the show. But every week, I feel like the show tells compelling stories, it has a tremendous cast, and also has a great cinematic look and feel to it. This was one of those shows that struggled to find an audience on the network side for some reason, and I for one am thankful that it was saved by TNT. Not to mention some of the coolest opening credits on television:
- Parks and Recreation. This will likely be on this list for as long as it is on the air. Another fantastic episode from the best comedy on television, highlighted by Rob Lowe as health freak Chris dealing with some of the worst, um, byproducts of the Pawnee Flu:
- The return of Archer. In all of its politically incorrect, raunchy glory. What is Germany, the Alabama of Europe?
- Casey and Morgan sing Happy Birthday on Chuck. In an episode made most notable by a new look on Sarah (short verdict: not a big fan of the hair, HUGE fan of the outfit), there wasn't much that made me happier this week than Casey and Morgan singing Happy Birthday to the unsuspecting security guard.
- John Noble and Joshua Jackson on Fringe. Again, not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought some of the writing was downright painful, although I did like where the show took Peter in his quest to find out what is going on with him and the Doomsday Device. But both of the Bishop boys brought their A game, including some of Joshua Jackson's best work so far in my opinion.
And good news again on the ratings front, as the show was solid enough again to boost Fox to a win in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
- 30 Rock. I don't always love this show, but when they are on their game there are few funnier. This was a particularly strong week.
What about you? What were your favorite things you watched this week?
Friday, January 28, 2011
I love our new #47 already...
Quote from Ray Drew's announcement today:
"I just want to say, after the end of Jay's (Rome) announcement, I heard your call," said Drew. "Isaiah Crowell, we're waiting on you. Antonio Richardson, we're waiting on you. John Jenkins, we're waiting on you, and Jeoffrey Pagan, we're waiting on you. Come join what we have put together as the Dream Team. But remember, a dream is only a dream, until you make it a reality. I'm calling you out on this one. I hope you're not afraid to be thrown into the fire, I hope you're not afraid to be the ones who make the change."
I literally got chills just reading that.
Here's hoping that the new #47 carries on the legacy...
GO DAWGS!!
Monday, January 24, 2011
My favorite things I watched last week
Hopefully, this is going to be a weekly feature on the blog. In a normal week I would plan on getting this up over the weekend, but some family issues kept me from doing much blogging this past weekend.
These lists will be in no particular order, and will certainly not contain everything I watched or enjoyed during the week...just my very favorite things.
- The return of Parks and Recreation. Probably my favorite comedy currently on television, and it returned in top form. Even if there was nothing else good about the episode (and there was TONS), it would have made the list just for this:
(Click to enlarge...trust me, it's worth it)
- The ratings for Fringe. The first Friday show itself was not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought it was good-not-great, even though every scene with John Noble and Christopher Lloyd was brilliant. But the really good news is that they managed to maintain the same ratings on Friday that they were running on Thursday, which was enough to win the night for Fox in the key demographics. Great news, and if they can keep that up they will have overcome the dreaded "Friday Slot of DOOOOOOOOOOM".
- Phil Dunphy eating breakfast on the floor. My favorite part of the scene was that neither he nor Claire even acknowledged it. It was just like, "Well, I'm hungry....and Claire won't let me go downstairs until we figure out how to deal with this. So I'm gonna try and salvage these eggs".
- Everything Busy Phillips did on Cougar Town. Wuh-BAMM!!
- Surprisingly enough, American Idol. I was pleasantly surprised by the judges panel, though I am still mostly reserving judgment until we get to the live shows and they can no longer edit out the awkward/annoying moments. But what I was most excited about was the noticeable reduction in freak-show/mentally challenged auditions. I liked what Jacob on Television Without Pity said: "What if the big change this year is that we are no longer playing to the Lowest Common Denominator?"
- Breaking Bad and Deadwood. Two shows on almost everybody's "Best of the '00s" lists that I had missed. I'm catching up on Breaking Bad by watching the replays on AMC, and I'm into season 2 of Deadwood on iTunes. Both are living up to their lofty reputations, though Deadwood's language is causing me some problems...I'm no prude when it comes to profanity (in that I understand that if you're going to write realistic dialogue, you have to write how people really talk), but the air around Deadwood is so blue it is actually distracting at times. But the writing and acting on both of these shows are tremendous, and I no longer begrudge Bryan Cranston beating out Jon Hamm for his multiple Emmys.
- Jay Rome's announcement. Got me believing again that the Dawgs may pull off this whole Dream Team thing, especially when it was quickly followed by his teammate Malcolm Mitchell following him to the Classic City. With Drew, Crowell, and Jenkins still on the board (and supposedly all strong UGA leans), I may actually get excited about football again.
How about you, fellow TV watchers? What were your favorite things on TV last week?
These lists will be in no particular order, and will certainly not contain everything I watched or enjoyed during the week...just my very favorite things.
- The return of Parks and Recreation. Probably my favorite comedy currently on television, and it returned in top form. Even if there was nothing else good about the episode (and there was TONS), it would have made the list just for this:
(Click to enlarge...trust me, it's worth it)- The ratings for Fringe. The first Friday show itself was not one of my favorite Fringe episodes...I thought it was good-not-great, even though every scene with John Noble and Christopher Lloyd was brilliant. But the really good news is that they managed to maintain the same ratings on Friday that they were running on Thursday, which was enough to win the night for Fox in the key demographics. Great news, and if they can keep that up they will have overcome the dreaded "Friday Slot of DOOOOOOOOOOM".
- Phil Dunphy eating breakfast on the floor. My favorite part of the scene was that neither he nor Claire even acknowledged it. It was just like, "Well, I'm hungry....and Claire won't let me go downstairs until we figure out how to deal with this. So I'm gonna try and salvage these eggs".
- Everything Busy Phillips did on Cougar Town. Wuh-BAMM!!
- Surprisingly enough, American Idol. I was pleasantly surprised by the judges panel, though I am still mostly reserving judgment until we get to the live shows and they can no longer edit out the awkward/annoying moments. But what I was most excited about was the noticeable reduction in freak-show/mentally challenged auditions. I liked what Jacob on Television Without Pity said: "What if the big change this year is that we are no longer playing to the Lowest Common Denominator?"
- Breaking Bad and Deadwood. Two shows on almost everybody's "Best of the '00s" lists that I had missed. I'm catching up on Breaking Bad by watching the replays on AMC, and I'm into season 2 of Deadwood on iTunes. Both are living up to their lofty reputations, though Deadwood's language is causing me some problems...I'm no prude when it comes to profanity (in that I understand that if you're going to write realistic dialogue, you have to write how people really talk), but the air around Deadwood is so blue it is actually distracting at times. But the writing and acting on both of these shows are tremendous, and I no longer begrudge Bryan Cranston beating out Jon Hamm for his multiple Emmys.
- Jay Rome's announcement. Got me believing again that the Dawgs may pull off this whole Dream Team thing, especially when it was quickly followed by his teammate Malcolm Mitchell following him to the Classic City. With Drew, Crowell, and Jenkins still on the board (and supposedly all strong UGA leans), I may actually get excited about football again.
How about you, fellow TV watchers? What were your favorite things on TV last week?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
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!!!
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!!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
A few more LOST links and some housekeeping notes
Well, we have finally reached the true beginning of the end...the season premiere of the final season of LOST (::sob::) is tomorrow night.
I will definitely be doing the episode recaps like I did last season...I love doing them and I really enjoyed the conversations with my loyal readers (all three of you).
One issue this week...I will be leaving on Wednesday to head to Pigeon Forge for three days. So, the recap for the premiere will probably not go up until Saturday night at the earliest. If I have time before I go, I may throw up a quick post late Tuesday or early Wednesday with just some quick thoughts on what is sure to be a mind-blowingly awesome two hours.
After that, the plan is to have the recaps up by Thursday every week. That is assuming that Lostpedia is as good as they were last season at getting the episode transcripts up the day after the episode airs...if not, I will have to do the recaps on the weekend after I've had time to go through the episode and transcribe the crucial dialogue.
Other blog related news...
- National Signing Day is Wednesday, and the Dawgs are expected to have another top 10 signing class, with some big names still yet to decide and/or announce. I will definitely have a write-up of my thoughts, as well as some video, links, etc, but it won't be until after I get back from the land of Dollywood and Dixie Stampede.
- American Idol....I plan on doing those recaps, as well, but just like last year I won't start until we get to the actual performance episodes. I think I will do a post after Hollywood week(s) with some of my favorites, and probably my initial impressions of Ellen as a judge.
Now, to hold you over until the premiere, some LOST links...
- Part three of Mo Ryan's epic interview with Damon and Carlton is HERE.
My favorite part? This gave me chills....
Awesome.
- James Poniewozik, a very entertaining TV critic for Time.com, lists his top 10 episodes HERE.
I love these lists, because no matter how many of them you see there are always a couple that are different from anybody else, or they include some that I had forgotten how awesome they are.
My personal top 10? (links are to the Lostpedia pages for each episode)
1. Walkabout
2. Through the Looking Glass
3. The Man Behind the Curtain
4. The Constant
5. Pilot (Parts I and II)
6. Man of Science, Man of Faith
7. The Shape of Things to Come
8. Cabin Fever
9. Flashes Before Your Eyes
10. Follow the Leader
And that list could change if you ask me again tomorrow...looking at it, I'm really surprised that there aren't more Season 5 episodes, since I loved almost every single episode. I guess maybe because they are more recent, and I have been re-watching the earlier seasons lately.
- Two more sites that you should check out daily, because everything they put up is awesome: Zap2It's LOST page and Vozzek's Things I Noticed About LOST.
OK...that ought to tide you over. Let the countdown continue!
Namaste.
I will definitely be doing the episode recaps like I did last season...I love doing them and I really enjoyed the conversations with my loyal readers (all three of you).
One issue this week...I will be leaving on Wednesday to head to Pigeon Forge for three days. So, the recap for the premiere will probably not go up until Saturday night at the earliest. If I have time before I go, I may throw up a quick post late Tuesday or early Wednesday with just some quick thoughts on what is sure to be a mind-blowingly awesome two hours.
After that, the plan is to have the recaps up by Thursday every week. That is assuming that Lostpedia is as good as they were last season at getting the episode transcripts up the day after the episode airs...if not, I will have to do the recaps on the weekend after I've had time to go through the episode and transcribe the crucial dialogue.
Other blog related news...
- National Signing Day is Wednesday, and the Dawgs are expected to have another top 10 signing class, with some big names still yet to decide and/or announce. I will definitely have a write-up of my thoughts, as well as some video, links, etc, but it won't be until after I get back from the land of Dollywood and Dixie Stampede.
- American Idol....I plan on doing those recaps, as well, but just like last year I won't start until we get to the actual performance episodes. I think I will do a post after Hollywood week(s) with some of my favorites, and probably my initial impressions of Ellen as a judge.
Now, to hold you over until the premiere, some LOST links...
- Part three of Mo Ryan's epic interview with Damon and Carlton is HERE.
My favorite part? This gave me chills....
Lindelof: The answer, I think, is that the best moment is when those things [i.e. the big picture and individual scenes] interlock, because each one of them brings their own frustrations. But we were working on an episode this season and there was a scene that was confounding us after the script had been written and we were sitting in Carlton’s office and we basically said, "The reason why this scene is so hard to write is because we’re actually trying to hold back this character saying what they really should be saying, and we’re in Season 6, they don’t need to hold back anymore. Just because we’re earlier in the season doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t say it."
So, we said, "What if they said this thing that we’ve been sitting on for three years?" And then we’re like, "Oh my God, we finally get to say it. We’ve known it, we’ve talked about it, we’ve inferred it, but now like someone in the position of authority is actually saying these words, giving this explanation." However the audience eventually – they might see that scene and basically go, “That’s it?” But for us, it was like this enormously exciting thing. The next morning we were still buzzing about it.
Cuse: Yeah. Or, last night, we were finishing up the script for Episode 11. On our last pass, we sit down side-by-side on the couch and we go through it and we do pencil notes on scenes together. There’s that wonderful sense of completion when we go act by act and we’re doing the final sets of revisions on each scene and it’s the final polish. There’s something really rewarding when you actually get it done and we’re both at that place where, yeah, this is exactly what we want and we get that moment of confluence, which is great.
Lindelof: Then we looked at each other and said, this is the last – you know every episode is character-centric, this is the last [fill in the blank] episode that we’re gonna write for “Lost,” ever.
Awesome.
- James Poniewozik, a very entertaining TV critic for Time.com, lists his top 10 episodes HERE.
I love these lists, because no matter how many of them you see there are always a couple that are different from anybody else, or they include some that I had forgotten how awesome they are.
My personal top 10? (links are to the Lostpedia pages for each episode)
1. Walkabout
2. Through the Looking Glass
3. The Man Behind the Curtain
4. The Constant
5. Pilot (Parts I and II)
6. Man of Science, Man of Faith
7. The Shape of Things to Come
8. Cabin Fever
9. Flashes Before Your Eyes
10. Follow the Leader
And that list could change if you ask me again tomorrow...looking at it, I'm really surprised that there aren't more Season 5 episodes, since I loved almost every single episode. I guess maybe because they are more recent, and I have been re-watching the earlier seasons lately.
- Two more sites that you should check out daily, because everything they put up is awesome: Zap2It's LOST page and Vozzek's Things I Noticed About LOST.
OK...that ought to tide you over. Let the countdown continue!
Namaste.
Monday, July 27, 2009
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:
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..
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.
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..
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Off work today...
...and taking full advantage of it, so I don't know how much I will be at the computer.
So, quickly, here's the scoop on today:
- TJ Stripling verbally committed to the Dawgs early this morning. This is just more great news on the recruiting front, as this guy is the kind of strike-terror-in-the-hearts-of-quarterbacks guy coming off the edge that we have been missing. He is our 5th commitment who is classified as a defensive end, so I would expect to see some position changes. Maybe Morant or Fields move inside, since they are both around 240 right now, or maybe Stripling (who is around 215) moves to linebacker. Either way, the Dawgs got themselves another playmaker today.
Plus, his hair is cool...looks kind of like the Predator.
- SEC Media Days start TODAY. I will be following Hale and Forde on Twitter, as well as following all of the typical outlets. Hope to have my thoughts posted on the days events each night.
- Also starting this week (tomorrow) is the annual Comic Con event in San Diego. Should be getting some cool news/updates/interviews regarding a lot of my favorite shows, so don't be surprised to see some of that geektastic stuff find its way into the blog, as well.
How geektastic? Well, last night I watched Torchwood (the Dr. Who spinoff on BBC), Big Bang Theory, and Warehouse 13 (a really cool and entertaining new show on SciFi), and I am also reading through Ender's Game again. So, yeah, I am really embracing my inner geek at the moment.
- Oh, yeah...one more thing...HAPPY BOSS BAILEY DAY!!! ONLY 45 DAYS TO KICKOFF!!
So, quickly, here's the scoop on today:
- TJ Stripling verbally committed to the Dawgs early this morning. This is just more great news on the recruiting front, as this guy is the kind of strike-terror-in-the-hearts-of-quarterbacks guy coming off the edge that we have been missing. He is our 5th commitment who is classified as a defensive end, so I would expect to see some position changes. Maybe Morant or Fields move inside, since they are both around 240 right now, or maybe Stripling (who is around 215) moves to linebacker. Either way, the Dawgs got themselves another playmaker today.
Plus, his hair is cool...looks kind of like the Predator.
- SEC Media Days start TODAY. I will be following Hale and Forde on Twitter, as well as following all of the typical outlets. Hope to have my thoughts posted on the days events each night.
- Also starting this week (tomorrow) is the annual Comic Con event in San Diego. Should be getting some cool news/updates/interviews regarding a lot of my favorite shows, so don't be surprised to see some of that geektastic stuff find its way into the blog, as well.
How geektastic? Well, last night I watched Torchwood (the Dr. Who spinoff on BBC), Big Bang Theory, and Warehouse 13 (a really cool and entertaining new show on SciFi), and I am also reading through Ender's Game again. So, yeah, I am really embracing my inner geek at the moment.
- Oh, yeah...one more thing...HAPPY BOSS BAILEY DAY!!! ONLY 45 DAYS TO KICKOFF!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
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:
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!!!
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!!!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
S-L-O-W
It's tough being a "sports" blogger around here these days, especially when blogging is a hobby at best...there is really nothing going on of interest, so if you want blog topics you either have to go out and find them or keep mining the same old territory. Guess which path I'm going to take?
- The Braves are promising to be wickedly mediocre, unless they go through with one of the rumored Yunel Escobar trades, at which point they will just be brutal. The hot rumor right now is Escobar to Oakland for Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera. Bad move for the Braves, and I hope it doesn't happen. As frustrating as Yunel can be at times, he is also maybe the biggest offensive threat this team has, as well as being above average defensively (when he keeps his head on straight) and is one of two guys on the team who actually provide speed on the basepaths.
Plus, both of the guys the Braves would be getting back are A) expensive, and B) free agents after this year. So we would basically be giving away a guy who will hopefully be one of the cornerstones of our future in order to rent two players who at best will equal what we already have in Escobar.
And, before anybody calls me out on my feelings on the Francoeur deal and calls me a hypocrite, two differences: 1) Francouer is nowhere near the player that Escobar is; and 2) the money in this proposed deal just doesn't make sense. In effect, Oakland would be doing a salary dump and getting the best player in the deal.
- Dawgs picked up committment number 15 yesterday, 4-star defensive end Dexter Morant out of South Carolina. From all reports, this guy is a player, but I would be more excited if A) we already had a committment from TJ Stripling; and B) we didn't already have Jalen Fields.
Fields and Morant seem to be the same kind of player...big, strongside defensive ends, anchors against the run, etc. But Stripling is that play-like-your-hair-is-on-fire speed rusher who can get after the quarterback...we still need one of those. I'm hoping that the fact that we already have three DE in this class doesn't chase Stripling off.
Not that I have a problem with the Fields/Morant type defensive ends. I just feel like we need the other type more at this time. Anthony Dasher at Rivals.com is still saying he thinks Stripling is on the table for us...maybe Morant, at 6-7 and 240LB, gets moved to the OL at some point? Maybe Fields (who is already 250LB as a HS junior) grows into a DT?
Anyway, we now only have about 6-7 spots left, and we still need (in my opinion) 2 CB, 2DT, 1 more RB (if it's Mack Brown, if not, no more), and one more WR. If we DO get Stripling (and he is scheduled to visit next week, per Rivals), then we really can't afford any more "surprise" committments (not going to mention names) if we still expect to sign some of the big name guys we are still in on (RB Mack Brown, DT Garrison Smith, CB Cody Riggs, WR Ted Meline, etc).
You know it's slow if I'm talking this much recruiting...I'm certainly no recrootin' goo-roo, and my mantra has always been "Trust the coaches" when it comes to stuff like this. But I'm beginning to wonder if our apparent "first come, first serve" approach to accepting committments is going to hurt us this year. I don't think we're going to have a BAD class, but I'm afraid that we may miss out on some big-time players because some less highly sought after guys jumped on the UGA offer early because it was the best one they were going to get.
That's all I got...maybe be back later with a returning feature.
(Here's a hint....WHOOOOOOO!!)
- The Braves are promising to be wickedly mediocre, unless they go through with one of the rumored Yunel Escobar trades, at which point they will just be brutal. The hot rumor right now is Escobar to Oakland for Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera. Bad move for the Braves, and I hope it doesn't happen. As frustrating as Yunel can be at times, he is also maybe the biggest offensive threat this team has, as well as being above average defensively (when he keeps his head on straight) and is one of two guys on the team who actually provide speed on the basepaths.
Plus, both of the guys the Braves would be getting back are A) expensive, and B) free agents after this year. So we would basically be giving away a guy who will hopefully be one of the cornerstones of our future in order to rent two players who at best will equal what we already have in Escobar.
And, before anybody calls me out on my feelings on the Francoeur deal and calls me a hypocrite, two differences: 1) Francouer is nowhere near the player that Escobar is; and 2) the money in this proposed deal just doesn't make sense. In effect, Oakland would be doing a salary dump and getting the best player in the deal.
- Dawgs picked up committment number 15 yesterday, 4-star defensive end Dexter Morant out of South Carolina. From all reports, this guy is a player, but I would be more excited if A) we already had a committment from TJ Stripling; and B) we didn't already have Jalen Fields.
Fields and Morant seem to be the same kind of player...big, strongside defensive ends, anchors against the run, etc. But Stripling is that play-like-your-hair-is-on-fire speed rusher who can get after the quarterback...we still need one of those. I'm hoping that the fact that we already have three DE in this class doesn't chase Stripling off.
Not that I have a problem with the Fields/Morant type defensive ends. I just feel like we need the other type more at this time. Anthony Dasher at Rivals.com is still saying he thinks Stripling is on the table for us...maybe Morant, at 6-7 and 240LB, gets moved to the OL at some point? Maybe Fields (who is already 250LB as a HS junior) grows into a DT?
Anyway, we now only have about 6-7 spots left, and we still need (in my opinion) 2 CB, 2DT, 1 more RB (if it's Mack Brown, if not, no more), and one more WR. If we DO get Stripling (and he is scheduled to visit next week, per Rivals), then we really can't afford any more "surprise" committments (not going to mention names) if we still expect to sign some of the big name guys we are still in on (RB Mack Brown, DT Garrison Smith, CB Cody Riggs, WR Ted Meline, etc).
You know it's slow if I'm talking this much recruiting...I'm certainly no recrootin' goo-roo, and my mantra has always been "Trust the coaches" when it comes to stuff like this. But I'm beginning to wonder if our apparent "first come, first serve" approach to accepting committments is going to hurt us this year. I don't think we're going to have a BAD class, but I'm afraid that we may miss out on some big-time players because some less highly sought after guys jumped on the UGA offer early because it was the best one they were going to get.
That's all I got...maybe be back later with a returning feature.
(Here's a hint....WHOOOOOOO!!)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Weekend thoughts
Some random thoughts from the last few days...
- I guess the biggest news locally is the trade the Braves made that sent Jeff Francouer to the Mets in exchange for Ryan Church. There has been a lot of differing opinions being thrown around on this one, but I come down solidly in favor of the move.
Frenchy has been steadily declining in production ever since his sophomore season, and things don't look like they are turning around anytime soon. For that reason, the Braves were looking at a scenario after this season in which they were probably not going to tender him a contract at all...they weren't going to pay the approximately $5M he would most likely win in arbitration. That is more than they are willing to pay for a .240 hitter with minimal power and virtually no run production, who has a great arm but is only slightly above average defensively.
On top of that, add the growing tension between Francouer, who is still holding a grudge about being sent down to the minors last year, and the team, which is still mad at Francouer for going outside of the organization for help with his swing this past offseason, which they saw as a show of disrespect to Terry Pendleton (which.....whatever, that's stupid and I'm not going to get into the whole thing here)...and really, it was time for Francouer to go.
I think Frank Wren did a good job in what he got back...Church is about equal in his hitting for power, and he will hit for a better average and OBP than we were ever going to get out of Frenchy. I'm not saying it's a HUGE upgrade...we didn't trade for Albert Pujols or anything. But it's an upgrade, and considering the situation I think it was the best we were going to get. Certainly compared to the NOTHING we were going to get once the season was over and we let him go.
As for the people complaining because we did the deal with the Mets, I think it's crazy to say we will NEVER do a deal with our rivals, especially if we can actually come out on the positive side as I believe we have here.
Don't just take MY word for it:
- I guess the biggest news locally is the trade the Braves made that sent Jeff Francouer to the Mets in exchange for Ryan Church. There has been a lot of differing opinions being thrown around on this one, but I come down solidly in favor of the move.
Frenchy has been steadily declining in production ever since his sophomore season, and things don't look like they are turning around anytime soon. For that reason, the Braves were looking at a scenario after this season in which they were probably not going to tender him a contract at all...they weren't going to pay the approximately $5M he would most likely win in arbitration. That is more than they are willing to pay for a .240 hitter with minimal power and virtually no run production, who has a great arm but is only slightly above average defensively.
On top of that, add the growing tension between Francouer, who is still holding a grudge about being sent down to the minors last year, and the team, which is still mad at Francouer for going outside of the organization for help with his swing this past offseason, which they saw as a show of disrespect to Terry Pendleton (which.....whatever, that's stupid and I'm not going to get into the whole thing here)...and really, it was time for Francouer to go.
I think Frank Wren did a good job in what he got back...Church is about equal in his hitting for power, and he will hit for a better average and OBP than we were ever going to get out of Frenchy. I'm not saying it's a HUGE upgrade...we didn't trade for Albert Pujols or anything. But it's an upgrade, and considering the situation I think it was the best we were going to get. Certainly compared to the NOTHING we were going to get once the season was over and we let him go.
As for the people complaining because we did the deal with the Mets, I think it's crazy to say we will NEVER do a deal with our rivals, especially if we can actually come out on the positive side as I believe we have here.
Don't just take MY word for it:
Rob Neyer, ESPN.com: "Wow. Church must really have worn out his welcome with the Mets. Since coming off the DL in early June, Church's line is .290/.336/.402 ... far from good for a corner outfielder, but decent enough compared to most of the Mets' other outfielders ... and of course a far sight prettier than Francoeur's .250/.282/.352 line for the season....So, let's review: The Braves got a decent hitter and fielder who bats left-handed, and thus can platoon (or semi-platoon) with Matt Diaz in right field. The Mets got ... what, exactly? If you figure it out, drop a line to Jerry Manuel. He's going to need all the help he can get with this one."
Bottom line...it's sad to see him go. I had really high hopes for him, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him the first year and a half of his career. For the last two years, though, he has been a disaster at the plate. Maybe the change of scenery will help him, but the Braves were really left with no choice, in my opinion.
Doesn't matter for this year, anyway. This team is done. Had a golden opportunity yesterday to end the first half on a positive note, and even reach .500 for the first time in months, but blew it. Don't know if you saw it or not, but Garrett Anderson made one of the worst throws I have ever seen from a ML outfielder in the disastrous 7th inning...from shallow left field he missed third base by about 30 feet. How is that even possible?
- Another celebrity death....Arturo "Thunder" Gatti was found dead at 37, and reports coming out now are that he may have been strangled to death by his 23 year old wife.
I used to love watching Gatti fight...he would always cut weight like a mad man, and then by the time the fight started he would outweigh his opponents by like 15 pounds and he would just beat the daylights out of them. Not exactly fair, but it sure was fun to watch.
And of course, his trilogy with Mickey Ward was just old school boxing at its finest:
RIP, Thunder....you will be remembered.
- The Dawgs recruiting train continues to maintain speed, with the committment over the weekend of 4-star safety Jakar Hamilton out of Georgia Military. With him and earlier safety commit Alec Ogletree, the safety position looks to be in pretty good shape over the next couple of years.
Dawgs now have 14 committments for the 2010 class, and probably only have about 7-8 slots left. We are already hearing rumors (and that's all they are) that guys are now being told to hold off on committing to make sure we have enough slots for the big-time guys we are still in on (like Mack Brown, Garrison Smith, TJ Stripling, etc). Just have to keep telling myself...Trust the Coaches, Trust the Coaches...
- Tomorrow is a huge day....NCAA '10 comes out for Playstation. As usual, I have a couple of days off planned over the next couple of weeks in order to be able to pull a couple of all-nighters...I'll let you know how it is. I have a Playstation 2, though, so really the only changes we ever see anymore are just the updated rosters.
I do know this...EA Sports released their preseason rankings to coincide with the release of the game...they have the Dawgs at 13, and the Gnats at 18. HAH!!! Suck on THAT, nerds!!!!
Only 54 more days to kickoff!!!
GO DAWGS!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
BIG recruiting news
Dawgs just got their 12th committment from Ken Malcome, a running back from SW Dekalb. He's "only" rated a 3-star right now, but he was hurt for much of last year and I think that rating is going to change by end of his senior year.
Checking out his highlights (I'm looking for some that I can embed here), he reminds me a lot of Knowshon in his running style, but he looks bigger than Knowshon.
Another plus here is that he is cousins with TJ Stripling, a DE prospect that the Dawgs really want, and there is also a rumor that he and fellow RB prospect Mack Brown might be a package deal...if this one leads to those two, it just makes this big news get even bigger!
GO DAWGS!!!
Checking out his highlights (I'm looking for some that I can embed here), he reminds me a lot of Knowshon in his running style, but he looks bigger than Knowshon.
Another plus here is that he is cousins with TJ Stripling, a DE prospect that the Dawgs really want, and there is also a rumor that he and fellow RB prospect Mack Brown might be a package deal...if this one leads to those two, it just makes this big news get even bigger!
GO DAWGS!!!
Weekend thoughts
Random thoughts from the last week or so....
- Checked out the Ron Moore (Creator/Producer of BSG) pilot/TV movie Virtuality on Friday night. This was originally meant to be a pilot, but then it didn't get picked up. So Fox decided to run it as a movie, even though there was no hope of any kind of storyline resolution (since it was intended as a PILOT), and then not promote it at all. Geniuses. It's a shame, too, because it was pretty good, as pilots go. Very interesting and thought provoking concept, which is why it obviously doesn't belong on American network TV. Hey, when does "More To Love" start?
Anyway, if you want to check it out (and all you BSG fans have to...you owe it to Moore and Taylor), you can check it out on Hulu....HERE.
- Just like a lot of people, I got caught up in the USA soccer hype over the weekend. I'm a little different than most in that I actually do watch the occasional soccer match, even when it's NOT the World Cup.
The 3-0 defeat of Egypt, the subsequent win over Spain (ranked #1 in the world), and the first half against Brazil were all good things for US soccer. They got a lot of attention and hype, in large part because these successes happened at a time when there is NOTHING going on in the sports world.
But, please...don't start with the whole "Now soccer will finally be a big deal in the United States" meme. We've heard it before:'94 World Cup, '96 Olympics, '02 World Cup...all of these were supposed to be some sort of "tipping point" when it came to the US sports fan embracing soccer. Not going to happen.
I've heard lots of reasons for this, including some really, really stupid ones...I actually heard somebody on the radio yesterday say that he couldn't get into it because the clock counts up instead of down. Seriously? Are you retarded? Why should that take more than about three seconds to adjust to?
Anyway, people point to the lack of scoring, or the somewhat nebulous and confusing rules, and I can buy that as to why it's never going to be football, baseball, or basketball. But I think it could be at the level of hockey if that were the only problem. But it's not.
The reason we at least sort of embrace hockey despite the lack of offense and confusing rules is that it is a sport played by MEN who behave like MEN. We admire hockey players for their toughness, and that helps sell the sport. Soccer players, especially the international ones, flop around like a bunch of pansies every time someone touches them, and the referees actually reward that behavior.
It's one of the main reasons the US will never be an international soccer power...we refuse to flop. It's 100% against our athletic DNA to actually ACT like we're hurt when we're not. In fact, we go in the complete opposite direction...NEVER let your opponent know you're hurt. And if you do get hurt, rub some dirt on that broken bone, walk that torn ligament off and get your butt back in the game. I hope we never change that mindset, but as long as we don't we are at a distinct disadvantage in international play.
I'll give Spain and Brazil credit, though...they are two of the very few international teams who don't do a lot of diving and flopping. Their mindset is to keep their feet, run through tackles and make plays, which is why the US/Spain and US/Brazil matches were so much more entertaining than watching, say, Italy. I hate those freaking pansies. Their entire strategy appears to be based on diving and flopping and drawing as many penalties as they can.
By the way, if the NBA doesn't get their referees under control, the international style of flopping and play-acting is going to ruin that sport as well.
OK, I promise...no more soccer talk until at LEAST the World Cup.
- Some quick Braves thoughts
- Checked out the Ron Moore (Creator/Producer of BSG) pilot/TV movie Virtuality on Friday night. This was originally meant to be a pilot, but then it didn't get picked up. So Fox decided to run it as a movie, even though there was no hope of any kind of storyline resolution (since it was intended as a PILOT), and then not promote it at all. Geniuses. It's a shame, too, because it was pretty good, as pilots go. Very interesting and thought provoking concept, which is why it obviously doesn't belong on American network TV. Hey, when does "More To Love" start?
Anyway, if you want to check it out (and all you BSG fans have to...you owe it to Moore and Taylor), you can check it out on Hulu....HERE.
- Just like a lot of people, I got caught up in the USA soccer hype over the weekend. I'm a little different than most in that I actually do watch the occasional soccer match, even when it's NOT the World Cup.
The 3-0 defeat of Egypt, the subsequent win over Spain (ranked #1 in the world), and the first half against Brazil were all good things for US soccer. They got a lot of attention and hype, in large part because these successes happened at a time when there is NOTHING going on in the sports world.
But, please...don't start with the whole "Now soccer will finally be a big deal in the United States" meme. We've heard it before:'94 World Cup, '96 Olympics, '02 World Cup...all of these were supposed to be some sort of "tipping point" when it came to the US sports fan embracing soccer. Not going to happen.
I've heard lots of reasons for this, including some really, really stupid ones...I actually heard somebody on the radio yesterday say that he couldn't get into it because the clock counts up instead of down. Seriously? Are you retarded? Why should that take more than about three seconds to adjust to?
Anyway, people point to the lack of scoring, or the somewhat nebulous and confusing rules, and I can buy that as to why it's never going to be football, baseball, or basketball. But I think it could be at the level of hockey if that were the only problem. But it's not.
The reason we at least sort of embrace hockey despite the lack of offense and confusing rules is that it is a sport played by MEN who behave like MEN. We admire hockey players for their toughness, and that helps sell the sport. Soccer players, especially the international ones, flop around like a bunch of pansies every time someone touches them, and the referees actually reward that behavior.
It's one of the main reasons the US will never be an international soccer power...we refuse to flop. It's 100% against our athletic DNA to actually ACT like we're hurt when we're not. In fact, we go in the complete opposite direction...NEVER let your opponent know you're hurt. And if you do get hurt, rub some dirt on that broken bone, walk that torn ligament off and get your butt back in the game. I hope we never change that mindset, but as long as we don't we are at a distinct disadvantage in international play.
I'll give Spain and Brazil credit, though...they are two of the very few international teams who don't do a lot of diving and flopping. Their mindset is to keep their feet, run through tackles and make plays, which is why the US/Spain and US/Brazil matches were so much more entertaining than watching, say, Italy. I hate those freaking pansies. Their entire strategy appears to be based on diving and flopping and drawing as many penalties as they can.
By the way, if the NBA doesn't get their referees under control, the international style of flopping and play-acting is going to ruin that sport as well.
OK, I promise...no more soccer talk until at LEAST the World Cup.
- Some quick Braves thoughts
- This is the worst hitting team we have had in at LEAST twenty years, especially with Chipper in his huge slump and Escobar on the bench with a sprained brain. There is absolutely no power in this lineup (Chipper leads the team with 9 HR, good for 38th in the NL).
- On the other hand, you can't ask for more out of the pitching staff than we are getting right now. Jurrjens and Vazquez both have ERA hovering around 3.00 and losing records, Kawakami hasn't allowed more than three runs in his last ten starts, and Tommy Hanson is the TRUTH (you heard it here first...or first-ish). He's 4-0 and hasn't allowed an earned run in 20 innings, including two starts against some pretty potent opposition (Yankees and Red Sox).
- Maybe it's time for Bobby to step aside...I think baseball managers in general are overvalued, but this is several years in a row now of diminishing performance. Time for a new voice, I think, and that means someone other than Terry Pendleton. Replacing Bobby with TP would just be a continuation of the same mindset.
- Dawg news:
- Dawgs now have 11 committments for the 2010 signing class. I have to admit, I've been a little concerned when I look at the star rankings and offer list from some of these early committments. From all reports, this is probably going to be another small recruiting class (probably closer to 20 rather than the norm of 25). Out of the 11, there are about 5-6 that are either not ranked or are ranked pretty low. I know, I know, trust the coaching staff. Believe me, I'm trying.
- We did get a committment from the Rivals.com #1 safety in the country, Alec Ogletree. Many analysts compare him to a taller Thomas Davis. I'll take it. Here's some footage, with h/t to Georgia Sports Blog...
- Also, another good article on Joe Cox at UGASports.com, with more references to his leadership ability. I am excited about his leadership, but I'm looking forward to when we can start talking about his play ON the field.
- Bubba 'n' Earl continue to do a great job counting down to kickoff...some very fun and creative stuff as they count down by the numbers.
- And, finally (cue wild applause), if you want a good way to lose several hours out of your day check out Flickchart.com. Discover your favorite movies, one agonizing decision at a time. My list is here, if you want to check it out.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
More O-line stuff
Hale's blog has a more accurate prediction of who the starting O-Line will be than mine was...that is, if you consider Trinton Sturdivant to be a more trustworthy source for such information than me(which I GUESS I do).
So, the starting line, as of right now, is:
LT - Sturdivant
LG - Vance
C - Jones
RG - Glenn
RT - Boling
Coach Searles likes to establish his starters early and get them as much work as a unit as possible, so I would say this has a pretty good chance of being the starting five in Stillwater. If both Sturdivant and Vance are healthy, this may be the best line we have had in the Richt era.
Not to mention a bench of: Chris Davis, Josh Davis, Justin Anderson, Tanner Strickland, Ben Harden, Dallas Lee, AJ Harmon, Jonathan Owens, and Chris Burnette. I'll take that.
Speaking of Burnette, I've been saying all along that he would probably redshirt, just due to the sheer volume of linemen on the roster. However, there have been several reports (from fellow players, since coaches can't be at practice yet) that he is looking very impressive. Maybe he works his way into the two-deep by the fall, but if he's not getting playing time early I still say we redshirt him.
We know Austin Long is almost definitely going to redshirt, due to injury. And I have been totally forgetting Kwame Geathers in all of this, but I completely expect him to redshirt (if he is academically qualified...did that happen already?).
I know I've mentioned this before, but I just enjoy bringing it up...out of all of these O-Linemen, only ONE (Vance) is a Senior this year. We bring back every one of these guys next year, as well as any recruits we bring in in 2010 (and we already have a good one in Benedict). Our starting O-Line NEXT season could be:
LT - Sturdivant (RS Junior)
LG - Anderson (RS Jr)
C - Jones (Jr)
RG - Glenn (Jr)
RT - Boling (Sr)
Bench would be: Harmon (RS Soph), C. Davis (Sr), J Davis (Sr), Lee (Soph), Burnette (RS Fr), Long (RS Fr), Geathers (RS Fr), Strickland (RS Jr), Owens (RS Soph), Harden (RS Jr), Benedict (Fr).
Wow. We only lose one starter off of that lineup, so the next season should set up even better, with a senior-laden starting five and TONS of quality depth.
I think it was after the 2003 season that Richt vowed to never go through another season like they just had...lost virtually the entire starting line after the '02 season and played with all freshemen and sophomores in 2003. It's taken a few years, and injuries have taken a toll, but it looks like he has finally made good on that promise.
GO DAWGS!!!
72 DAYS!!! Happy Vince Vance Day!
So, the starting line, as of right now, is:
LT - Sturdivant
LG - Vance
C - Jones
RG - Glenn
RT - Boling
Coach Searles likes to establish his starters early and get them as much work as a unit as possible, so I would say this has a pretty good chance of being the starting five in Stillwater. If both Sturdivant and Vance are healthy, this may be the best line we have had in the Richt era.
Not to mention a bench of: Chris Davis, Josh Davis, Justin Anderson, Tanner Strickland, Ben Harden, Dallas Lee, AJ Harmon, Jonathan Owens, and Chris Burnette. I'll take that.
Speaking of Burnette, I've been saying all along that he would probably redshirt, just due to the sheer volume of linemen on the roster. However, there have been several reports (from fellow players, since coaches can't be at practice yet) that he is looking very impressive. Maybe he works his way into the two-deep by the fall, but if he's not getting playing time early I still say we redshirt him.
We know Austin Long is almost definitely going to redshirt, due to injury. And I have been totally forgetting Kwame Geathers in all of this, but I completely expect him to redshirt (if he is academically qualified...did that happen already?).
I know I've mentioned this before, but I just enjoy bringing it up...out of all of these O-Linemen, only ONE (Vance) is a Senior this year. We bring back every one of these guys next year, as well as any recruits we bring in in 2010 (and we already have a good one in Benedict). Our starting O-Line NEXT season could be:
LT - Sturdivant (RS Junior)
LG - Anderson (RS Jr)
C - Jones (Jr)
RG - Glenn (Jr)
RT - Boling (Sr)
Bench would be: Harmon (RS Soph), C. Davis (Sr), J Davis (Sr), Lee (Soph), Burnette (RS Fr), Long (RS Fr), Geathers (RS Fr), Strickland (RS Jr), Owens (RS Soph), Harden (RS Jr), Benedict (Fr).
Wow. We only lose one starter off of that lineup, so the next season should set up even better, with a senior-laden starting five and TONS of quality depth.
I think it was after the 2003 season that Richt vowed to never go through another season like they just had...lost virtually the entire starting line after the '02 season and played with all freshemen and sophomores in 2003. It's taken a few years, and injuries have taken a toll, but it looks like he has finally made good on that promise.
GO DAWGS!!!
72 DAYS!!! Happy Vince Vance Day!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The hits just keep on coming...
...but in a GOOD way, this time.
In addition to Benedict, the Dawgs also picked up a WR commit, Michael Bennett of Alpharetta, or as I like to call him...Kris Durham II: This Time, It's PERSONAL.
In addition to Benedict, the Dawgs also picked up a WR commit, Michael Bennett of Alpharetta, or as I like to call him...Kris Durham II: This Time, It's PERSONAL.
This was the only video I could find that had the embed feature enabled, but if you have a Rivals membership you should check out the other highlight reels they have of him. Besides the fact that he's a white guy, he really does remind me of Durham in that he has that long stride that enables him to glide under the deep ball, he seems to have really good hands, deceptive speed, and the Rivals recruiting guy (Barry Every, I think) particularly pointed out his ability to adjust to balls in the air and out-fight CB's.
He's only a 3-star right now, but most expect that ranking to go up as more people get a look at him...he's kind of flown under the radar up to this point.
The recruiting train is picking up steam...GATA, DAWGS!!!
New Dawg - Brent Benedict
Dawgs picked up a huge committment from Brent Benedict, a 4-star OT out of Florida.
This video is basically three minutes of him steamrolling guys:
He's 6-5, 280 pounds, and right now he looks like all muscle. I'm betting he's at least 25 pounds heavier by the time he hits the field between the hedges.
GO DAWGS!!!
81 Days...Happy Aron White day, everybody!
This video is basically three minutes of him steamrolling guys:
He's 6-5, 280 pounds, and right now he looks like all muscle. I'm betting he's at least 25 pounds heavier by the time he hits the field between the hedges.
GO DAWGS!!!
81 Days...Happy Aron White day, everybody!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Token football post
- I haven't really posted anything about the non-stop thrill ride that is the Lane Kiffen administration, but that doesn't mean I haven't been enjoying it thoroughly...if you want to catch up on all that has been going on, there is no better place to start than right here. I would say the good Senator has done as good a job as anybody keeping up with the almost daily shenanigans.
However, probably my favorite quote regarding the whole situation to date was David Hale's:
Almost Famous reference, FTW!
- And, in Bulldawg news...Groo makes a good point regarding all of the "we're so much more motivated, we're working harder than ever" talk we are hearing out of the team the last few weeks. Can anybody remember an offseason where players were ever quoted saying "You know, I think we as a team have just decided to take it easy this year, and we'll just let the chips fall where they may"? Not that I don't think the players are being honest, but the true test of all of this will come in a few months, both in the offseason (no more stupid arrests, please), and of course the 1st weekend in September in Stillwater.
- I will finish up the series I started a few weeks ago on the Dawgs signees, I promise. As for why I stopped it, well, the next position on the list is WR/TE, and we're still waiting on Orson Charles, and I wanted the list to be complete. It's certainly not that the whole thing got dropped due to my writing volumes and volumes about GeekTV, no way.
- And to wrap up...Rennie Curran is a BEAST.
However, probably my favorite quote regarding the whole situation to date was David Hale's:
My guess is that by Thursday of this week we'll have a story of Kiffin standing
atop Neyland Stadium, stoned to bejeezus on acid, screaming, "I am a golden
god!" while Ed Orgeron tries to talk him back down. That'll be fun.
Almost Famous reference, FTW!
- And, in Bulldawg news...Groo makes a good point regarding all of the "we're so much more motivated, we're working harder than ever" talk we are hearing out of the team the last few weeks. Can anybody remember an offseason where players were ever quoted saying "You know, I think we as a team have just decided to take it easy this year, and we'll just let the chips fall where they may"? Not that I don't think the players are being honest, but the true test of all of this will come in a few months, both in the offseason (no more stupid arrests, please), and of course the 1st weekend in September in Stillwater.
- I will finish up the series I started a few weeks ago on the Dawgs signees, I promise. As for why I stopped it, well, the next position on the list is WR/TE, and we're still waiting on Orson Charles, and I wanted the list to be complete. It's certainly not that the whole thing got dropped due to my writing volumes and volumes about GeekTV, no way.
- And to wrap up...Rennie Curran is a BEAST.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Blessing in disguise?
Like a lot of Dawg fans, I was disappointed that we did not pick up a committment from the Player of the Year in Georgia, Greg Reid. But after reading this piece in today's AJC, I'm thinking we may have dodged a bullet.
OK, number one, has he actually looked at the UGA roster? There are currently THREE cornerbacks on the depth chart: Prince Miller, Brandon Boykin, and Vance Cuff. Of those three, only Miller has seen any significant time at CB; Boykin and Cuff have been special teams contributors, but that's about it. We have two other committments, from Branden Smith (a projected stud) and Jordan Love (a 3 star guy who we recruited based on athleticism and potential moreso than what he has shown so far, I think). So Reid looked at THAT depth chart and figured it might be too hard to get playing time? That's only 5 CB's TOTAL, only one with any real experience, and two guys who will be true freshmen. Heck, I'm getting DEPRESSED looking at that depth chart, but apparently Reid sees it as some sort of defensive juggernaut.
But regardless...even if this secondary was loaded with All-SEC caliber players...don't you want a guy, ESPECIALLY at CB, who just says, "Hey, I'm the best, and if I have to beat out some quality guys to earn playing time, then that's what I'm willing to do"?
Well, good luck to the kid...I hope he goes 4-0 against the Gnats while he's at F$U. But I am pretty happy he went somewhere else, if hard work is a turn-off for him.
Reid said Georgia did not wait to late to get serious. “I really like Georgia
and the coaches. It’s a fun place. I just felt like it was too far from home and
I’d probably have to work a little harder [to compete for a starting position]
with the other people in front of me.” (emphasis added by me)
OK, number one, has he actually looked at the UGA roster? There are currently THREE cornerbacks on the depth chart: Prince Miller, Brandon Boykin, and Vance Cuff. Of those three, only Miller has seen any significant time at CB; Boykin and Cuff have been special teams contributors, but that's about it. We have two other committments, from Branden Smith (a projected stud) and Jordan Love (a 3 star guy who we recruited based on athleticism and potential moreso than what he has shown so far, I think). So Reid looked at THAT depth chart and figured it might be too hard to get playing time? That's only 5 CB's TOTAL, only one with any real experience, and two guys who will be true freshmen. Heck, I'm getting DEPRESSED looking at that depth chart, but apparently Reid sees it as some sort of defensive juggernaut.
But regardless...even if this secondary was loaded with All-SEC caliber players...don't you want a guy, ESPECIALLY at CB, who just says, "Hey, I'm the best, and if I have to beat out some quality guys to earn playing time, then that's what I'm willing to do"?
Well, good luck to the kid...I hope he goes 4-0 against the Gnats while he's at F$U. But I am pretty happy he went somewhere else, if hard work is a turn-off for him.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Posting schedule for this week
I will be leaving to go out of town tomorrow afternoon...I will be back on Saturday or Sunday with my thoughts on how the Dawgs do on Signing Day.
Just to throw it out there, I believe we get Greg Reid, 50-50 on Marlon Brown (I think UT has really put the pressure on him). Jarvis Jones is going out of state (probably USC), Massie is going to break Saban's heart and go to Ole Miss. Jawanza Starling, I say 50-50 between the Dawgs and USC. If we get Reid and Brown, then this is a huge class...it's pretty darn good already.
As for LOST and Idol, I probably won't watch until Saturday PM, so those recaps probably won't be up until Sunday at the earliest.
Have a great week...I'm heading for Pigeon Forge, the land of Dolly, funnel cakes, go-carts, and the Dixie Stampede. I'm praying for snow!
Just to throw it out there, I believe we get Greg Reid, 50-50 on Marlon Brown (I think UT has really put the pressure on him). Jarvis Jones is going out of state (probably USC), Massie is going to break Saban's heart and go to Ole Miss. Jawanza Starling, I say 50-50 between the Dawgs and USC. If we get Reid and Brown, then this is a huge class...it's pretty darn good already.
As for LOST and Idol, I probably won't watch until Saturday PM, so those recaps probably won't be up until Sunday at the earliest.
Have a great week...I'm heading for Pigeon Forge, the land of Dolly, funnel cakes, go-carts, and the Dixie Stampede. I'm praying for snow!
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