Monday, May 17, 2010

UgA futball iz teh dOOm3d!



Welcome back to the 10 o'clock hour of the Paul Finebaum Radio Network. Today we're talking about the future of Georgia Football and I gotta tell you, folks...it's not looking good.

When you look around the SEC, one thing is becoming more and more GLARINGLY OBVIOUS. Coach Nick Saban is building something at Alabama and the rest of the conference isn't keeping up. It couldn't be any more GLARINGLY OBVIOUS than when you look at the SEC East...which is in shambles. Tennessee is a wreck, Florida took a hit with the departure of Tim Tebow who has MADE that team for the last 3 years. South Carolina is looking to be the strongest of the pack, and aside from the other 2 whipping boys, you've got Georgia who couldn't be in more of a downward spiral if Russ went down with heartworms. And by the way let me throw this in, MARK MY WORDS, Russ WILL be named UGA VIII for the 2010 season.

So at Georgia, you've got 3 big issues. #1. The state of the defense is up in the air, #2. The poor recruiting class of 2010 isn't going to fare well, and #3. the fans are tired of Mark Richt's excuses.

Lets take a look at these one by one.

#1. State of the defense. So the heat behind Mark Richt finally got so hot he had to make a move and kick his long-time buddy Willie Martinez to the curb to save his own job. After getting turned down not once, not twice, not THRICE, but FOUR PLUS times by Defensive Coordinators who are now currently employed and pulling serious green...Mark Richt had to settle for some NFL defense lines coach whom nobody's ever heard of in Rod Graham.

Make no mistakes about it, the Dawg fans are trying to spin this as a huge win. "OH WE WANTED AN NFL GUY ALL ALONG" or "KIRBY SMART WASN'T EVEN ANYONE WE WERE LOOKING AT" these blind fans are beating their chest over this guy and in reality they're scared to death. Nobody knows a thing about him, and all their hopes and dreams are resting on this guy turning their team around. It's GLARING OBVIOUS the Georgia Bulldogs are in for a rude awakening when 2010 wraps up and they're sitting at 8-5 again...no, I tell you what, MARK MY WORDS they'll be LUCKY to get to 7-6.

#2. Lets take a look at how shoddy the state of recruiting has turned at Georgia. 2010 had kids JUMPING SHIP because they saw it was going down quick. DaRick Rogers was smart enough to see it coming and headed to Tennessee to a team that's starting to look pretty solid with that Quarterback kid who would have been second string, but we'll hit on the VOLs another day. The Dawg fans are HOWLING about who's going to even want to step foot in Athens much less sign up to play ball.

It's GLARINGLY OBVIOUS the fanbase is writing off the latest class as a fluke down year, but the storm is coming Dawg fans, MARK MY WORDS. You're about to hear them bragging about the 2011 class, they'll start throwing around "WE GOT A VERBAL FROM THE SPORTING NEWS' #1 QB PROSPECT" or "THE FASTEST KID IN THE STATE JUST COMMITTED"...but if you see either of Christian LeMay or Justin Scott-Wesley wearing a "G" on their helmet I'll eat my crow. And lets not forget about this Sterling Bailey character either, these 3 huge commitments, with a total of nearly 50 offers between them, will have the Dawg fans barking loudly...but its only May, it took them nearly THREE WHOLE WEEKS this month to get verbals outta these guys. Lets see if they decide to stick around.

That brings me to our last point. #3, and MARK MY WORDS, I'm going on record here...Mark Richt will be looking for work in January of 2011. Trust me, I know how fickle the Georgia fanbase is. They are tired of the down seasons. Yes, this was the first one they've had in a while but they aren't going to put up with another one over in Athens this year. And it's unfortunate, I've met Mark Richt many times, he's a great guy, a good person spiritually, but the fans don't want a good person, they want to beat Florida...like Alabama does.

It's gotten so poisonous over in Athens, I've read on many message boards they're starting to burn effigies of the guy. Rumor has it, if Les Miles turns down the Michigan job he'll be heading East because he can beat Florida and he's tired of losing to Alabama in the West. MARK MY WORDS, its GLARINGLY OBVIOUS, the fans are sick of him and don't even turn out for his excuse making news conferences anymore...


So best of luck Bulldogs, and you know I mean it with the most heartfelt sincerity. I want you to do well, and I want the ship to get turned around, but the Dawg Nation is headed for a world of hurt. There are many rumblings out there that if the SEC proves too tough for the Dawgs, they might petition to join the ACC in an effort to get some wins and not have to play Alabama because they wouldn't be able to beat the Crimson Tide EVER in a million years. But after the beating they took in 2008 at the hand of their instate ACC rivals I doubt that'd be the answer...but I don't make the news, I only report it like I see it.

We're gonna pause for a break on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network, stick around after a word from our sponsor...Golden Flake Potato Chips!

Friday, May 14, 2010

DJ Mettenberger

This post couldn't be any less about football. In fact the content is the WORST ENEMY of College Football.

But it's Friday and I wanted to share the funniest video you'll see all day.
WARNING: Phil Collins in use!

Zach Mettenberger, Wedding DJ for hire. (h/t allydawg)

Hey Ole Miss...DON'T BLOW IT!

It was the Fall of 2005. I had just graduated from college and was working at Hartsfield. I met numerous Boise State fans flying into town the week before college football started. They were flying in to take on our Georgia Bulldogs and we were nervous as hell.

Like Southern Miss decades ago, Boise State had a Giant Killer reputation...and it didn't help UGA was starting a Senior QB who had only seen playing time when David Greene was resting.

But I will always remember the day we learned DJ Shockley was the real deal, and it came by making Boise State's defense look foolish.
(the defense wasn't too bad lookin' either)

All-time Boise State is 0-4 against the SEC, and perhaps it's that unique conference pride we have, but I hope Ole Miss has their act together when they open the season against the Broncos in 2011.

I harbor no ill-will against the Broncos, but I'm not a fan. I didn't buy into Hawaii 2007, and I don't buy into Boise State in 2010. Preseason #2? Give me a break.

Blatant homerism aside, I'm not sure this is UGA's year to win the East (South Carolina fans are telling me it's FINALLY their year...pptptpttttt). But I do think of all the SEC teams there are maybe 4-or-5 who could knock off the Broncos. Of course to counter myself, the SEC hasn't faced the Blue Turf Horsies without Dan Hawkins behind the wheel.

On that note Chris Petersen is a helluva coach, and he's done wonders to recruit kids to play in BOISE, IDAHO. But I stand behind my POV that if Boise State were in a solid conference (PAC-10, maybe? "solid conference" used loosely) they'd be middle of the pack with the occasional upset win over USC, Stanford, Oregon or whichever team is supposed to be good that year.

I can admit I don't know enough about Ole Miss, nor do I care enough to research and find out what year Jevan Snead is. But I hope Colonel Reb, Admiral Ackbar, or Captain Giggity fields a team competent enough to not lose their opener against these guys. Pride on the line, fellas...don't blow it.

UPDATE: Apparently Boise State's coach in 2000 was Dirk Koetter when they lost to Arkansas...Hawkins was still an assistant. My bad.

Auburn has Bieber Fever

Because you hate Auburn and because this is an actual video...


Please participate in Everyday Should Be Saturday's call to arms.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Charles Barkley, Auburn Fan

When I think of Charles Barkley, I think of 2 things.

"Fat" and "gambler".

If I were to throw in a 3rd, it'd be "bad golf swing". Make it a 4th and I might associate him with playing basketball or something.

But it takes a big man to admit when he's wrong. Barkley's bad golf swing might not be pretty to look at, but any Auburn grad will gladly cheer him on when he achieves these types of results (see 0:32 second mark).

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Keith Hernandez...I DESPISE KEITH HERNANDEZ.

Completely unrelated to anything, I read this story on Yahoo Sports today...and all I could think about is...NICE GAME PRETTY BOY!



So upon rewatching this scene, I'd completely forgotten Braves Pitching Coach Roger McDowell was responsible for spitting on Kramer and Newman...I wonder if anyone ever brings that up to him anymore?

Roger Waters: The Wall Tour

I'm a HUGE Pink Floyd fan. I've been a fan ever since I was in middle school and played little league baseball. How am I able to trace it back to little league baseball? My wife LOVES this story...

One day at baseball practice, I notice one of my teammates mom (whom I thought was HAWT) was wearing a Dark Side of the Moon t-shirt...yep...my love for Pink Floyd started because I bought an album based on the fact my friend's hot mom was wearing their shirt. But that's the shallow side of the story, once I bought the CD I listened all the way through and recognized 4 songs I'd heard from Z93's rotation (R.I.P. Z93) but didn't know the band.
Hey DaveFM, BITE ME.

That record had a listenability that was unique...you didn't put it on to listen to one individual song, you wanted to listen to the whole album start>finish. That was my first brush with concept albums and I was hooked. Pink Floyd immediately became MY band and I've been a huge fan ever since...well...ever since I found out how crappy their last 2 albums were.

How in the world could this incredible band who changed the way I listen to music produce such a poor product?!? The answer lies in the voice that is noticeably missing from those last 2 albums. Roger Waters had left the band.

For those who don't know much about Pink Floyd (or their following) this is a point of contention among the fanbase. Ford fans and Chevy fans, Georgia fans and Tech fans, Coke fans and Pepsi fans, Roger Waters fans and David Gilmour fans. The band split in the mid-80's because Roger Waters left due to the rest of the band not contributing anything worthwhile to the records...can you tell which side I took?

But I've bought all of Roger Waters' solo albums and seen him the last 2 times he came to Atlanta (1999 and 2006) on tour. To me Roger Waters is the voice and creative genius of Pink Floyd's greatest work, and he's on tour again this year.

November 18th at Philips Arena, you can catch what might be the last great rock & roll theatrical experience. He's touring The Wall which is available as an album, a film, or a live performance.

If you are a fan of classic rock, and you haven't experienced this, I strongly urge you to shell out and buy The Wall. You'll be a better person for it and chances are you'll be interested in catching the show in November after a few listens.

You can learn more about the tour at www.rogerwaters.com and if you're looking for show tickets, check out Lava Tickets if you want great seats. Now that I'm gainfully employed and can afford it, I'm flying down to Tampa for the show and THEN coming back up to Atlanta where I've landed 10th row floor seats.

I know the musicians look tacky in this...but it was 1990, I'm pretty sure they've dropped the leather pants and mullets 20 years later.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Great Tech Conspiracy

I'm not gonna lie, I got a HUGE kick out of the Senator's commentary on the cancellation of the Tech/Bama series.
The first post was the best with this little gem from Sting Talk:

My friends in Tuscaloosa say Saban admitted that Bama wimped out. He said when they scheduled us they thought they’d face a Chan Gailey-caliber team, but now they don’t think they could handle us on top of their SEC schedule. They’re going to postpone the series until after Groh is too old to possibly coach our defense.

I don't know which is funnier, the fact Tech assumes another team would "wimp out" against an ACC opponent, or the attempt at passing a lie that Tech fans actually have friends.

But as stated, once the black helicopter's stopped circling and Tech's AD, Rad Dan Rad, stated the series was postponed in order to balance THEIR schedule...the lolz commenced 3-fold at our nerdly in-state rivals.
But never fear Tech fans, you are still feared...not in football, but in Kennesaw, Georgia where they fear your LARPing will interfere with their Civil War reenactments.

...AND WE'RE BAAAAACK!!1

So I've been out for a while. I've gone on vacation, survived some nasty malware on my laptop, and worked my tail off in the past 3 weeks. But it couldn't have come at a better time because it's football off-season and with the exception of the occassional food challenge post (see KFC DoubleDown) that's my blog's primary focus.

Just because it's off season doesn't mean there isn't news going on. We, as SEC football fans, are very similar to East Cobb housewives. They don't have REAL stress because they aren't working...so instead they take the next biggest deal and blow it out of proportion just so they have a steady dose of drama in their life. (That would explain why they get hysterical about not having the snacks together for Junior's little league team...and nobody cares)

So Mettenberger tried his hand at the ladies (rimshot) and Logan Gray is 50/50 about sticking around to fair-catch punts. Does that leave us thin at QB? Yes, but the realist in me isn't expecting a cinderella season this year anyway. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect better than 8-5, but if I'm not mistaken (which I very well may be) Alabama lost to UL-Monroe after installing the 3-4...but look at 'em now (also I'm well-aware this was the first year after a coaching change so don't rip me to pieces on this).
"You will NOT bring that up again."

I still believe we've got the players and the personnel to compete for the East, but of all the stuff to fret about, the fact that football season is still 4 months away is more scary to me. The annual relinquishing of sanity will commence as usual following the MLB All-Star Game in July.