Archive for April, 2009

It was a perfect to get out and enjoy some spring football. Since it wasn’t packed there were also plenty of opportunities to get up close to the action. So, I marched up to the 50-yard line and enjoyed the game from seats I could really only dream about watching a regular season game from. I had the camera around the neck and got some nice shots of the action.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

12►

I hope everyone has a happy Easter.

A fun clip from Mark Bradley’s G-Day blog.

Garrison Hearst is a DGD. Never went to a G-Day game that he didn’t attend. So great of him to come back to the program and support the current players and pump up the Dawgs in the upcoming NFL draft.

I’ll never forget being in the student section at the ’92 Tennessee game when he caught the corner and took it the distance on a run where it looked like he had no chance. The place went crazy.

Image: GeorgiaDogs.com

The 2009 G-Day game should be one of the best ever. The weather is looking perfect, admission is FREE and ESPN will be broadcasting live with Kirk Herbstreit and Brad Nessler calling the action. Paying attention recruits?

Gates open at 10:30 a.m. and kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Tim Tucker of the AJC has a couple of good G-Day updates to share as we get closer to toe hitting leather. Outside of the bad news about the injury to Kris Durham, a couple of things in Tucker’s first G-Day post stood out.

You will see A.J. Green, and in more places than last year.

“I’m learning different sides. I’m sometimes on the short side. I’m in the slot sometimes,” the SEC’s leading receiver of 2008 said Monday. “I’m trying to extend my game to help me out and help my team.”

It’s kind of difficult to imagine A.J. Green being much better than he was last year. He seemed to catch everything thrown his way and was definitely the guy on the receiving corps that struck the most fear into opposing defenses. Now that he’s operating at 100% and has a better understanding of the offense, the sky is the limit. Life is good.

You’ll also probably get a glimpse of Fred Munzenmaier, the backup fullback the past two seasons, carrying the ball at tailback. He’s intrigued the coaches in recent practices at the position, and Richt expects him to get some tailback carries on G-Day.

Is anyone else thinking Verron Haynes? I know that’s putting the cart out about a mile before the horse but this is what I visualize when I hear about Munzenmaier lining up at TB.

Staying on the topic of TB… Carlton Thomas will be another one to watch.

He, by all accounts, has impressed teammates and coaches this spring.

“He’s a little bit like [former Bulldog] Tyson Browning,” Richt said, “because he’s not a real big guy and he can make people miss. He runs with more power than Tyson did. He’s not as fast as Tyson was, but the agility and change of direction [are] very similar. That’s probably the closest comparison to anybody we’ve had here or even at Florida State. He’s coming right along. He’s doing a nice job. Going to be a pretty good player.”

Will Caleb King end up being just another runner in a three man platoon? Will Logan Gray challenge Joe Cox? Will Murray challenge Gray for the No. 2 spot?

Many interesting story lines for Georgia fans to follow on G-Day. After all, this will be our last look at the Dawgs before they tackle the grueling 2009 schedule. Better enjoy.

See you on Saturday.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed and to follow us on twitter.

Image: AP

Tony Barnhart has a new post about Georgia’s upcoming OL for the 2009 campaign. One of the things that gives fans optimism is the projected strength of the 2009 edition of offensive line.

If Georgia can get a break on the injuries, this looks like the deepest and most talented offensive line since the SEC championship year of 2002. Sturdivant is not going through contact but he has gotten stronger in the upper body. Clint Boling played every position on the offensive line but center last season, which is a big plus. Sophomore Cordy Glenn (6-5, 340) is going to be a star—a big star. He can play guard or tackle. Ben Jones started the last 10 games at center as a true freshman. That’s not supposed to happen in the SEC.

The 2009 season is starting to look similar to the golden years of the Richt era, 2002 and 2005. Fundamentally sound teams that won by minimizing mistakes and playing fundamentally sound football. I believe Georgia will show a lot of improvement overall this year.

The only question is… Will the toughness of this year’s football schedule keep them from winning the East and playing in Atlanta for the title?

Image: Manning/ABH

The Diamond Dogs fell back down to earth at Foley yesterday. They dropped a 7-5 decision that allowed the Tigers from Baton Rouge to claim the much hyped weekend series. Up next on the schedule… the Winthrop Eagles.

The stalwart David Hale challenges the limits of hypertext with his epic recap of the week past in UGA athletics. There is a paragraph on each sport and each paragraph contains all the links you need to be brought up to speed. Beware, your browser may explode from all of the tabs you’ll be opening.

Bernie hits the nail on the head re:Logan Gray in his G-Day profile of said signal caller. Underestimated and overlooked by pundits seduced by the Rivals ratings of incoming freshman, Gray figures to use the snubs as motivation to elbow his way into the QB rotation for some substantial minutes.

Oh yeah, there is going to be an NCAA basketball champion being crowned tonight in Detroit. Given the fact that UNC has already destroyed Michigan State once this season, the Spartans figure to be a huge underdog. ACC-SEC Blog weighs in with their prediction.

Bill from Football on the Brain talks a Gator down from the ledge after a temporary bout of Kiffinitis; the disease that allows you to believe that Lane Kiffin isn’t really a knucklehead, he’s just brilliantly manipulating the psyche of his opponents to his advantage. I’m with Bill, he’s a knucklehead.

Jeff Schultz weighs in on the Mark Fox hire. And yes, he calls UGA basketball “fish sticks”.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed and to follow us on twitter.

Image: Kelly Lambert/ABH

The Diamond Dogs got the bats working again in their 10-8 victory over No. 5 LSU.

The Gym Dogs won the Southeast regional to advance to the NCAA Championship where they’ll try to capture their fifth consecutive national championship.

The AJC has a nice write-up on the oft overlooked Logan Gray.

Learn more about how Mark Fox rose through the coaching ranks to arrive at the University of Georgia. For more on Fox check out this post on the Georgia Sports Blog.

David Hale has some player reaction to the Fox hiring. Overall, the reaction seems positive but Thompkins declined to comment on his future.

For a unique take on the Fox hire check out Bubba does Basketball from the fine folks at Bubba ‘n Earl Sittin’ on the 50.

David Paschall devotes some space to a name we haven’t heard enough of… DE Justin Houston.

Buck Belue calls out the Joe Cox doubters and gives ‘em a good south Georgia tongue lashin.

Why would any fans be doubting? Joe Cox is impressing the people that matter.

Image: Sanderlin/AJC

UPDATE 2: Now we know how much Mark Fox will be making at Georgia.

Fox agreed to six-year deal for $1.3 million a year.

UPDATE: Can’t listen to the press conference? Get updates on twitter from @bulldogsblog.

Vance Leavy of Bulldawg Illustrated chimes in on the hire and he is a glass half full kind of guy on this one.

Like you, I know very little about Fox, but I am a big proponent of knowing a lot about a person by their looks. And I have to say, I like the way this Fox looks. He comes to Athens with a bit of a temper, which I absolutely love. And he definitely appears to have the smarts and savvy to walk the walk in the homes of Georgia high school hoop stars.

Georgia Bulldog super writer David Hale had to Google the name just like the rest of us. In the end though, after all of the reading and research, he gave the hire a thumbs up.

I’ve read his credentials just as you have. He has won a lot of basketball games. He has worked under some good coaches in his career as an assistant. He’s certainly earned a shot to prove he can win at the next level. For all of those reasons, this is a good hire.

Bernie from Bernie’s Dawg Blawg thinks that, yeah, Fox could be as great as Donovan or Pearl one day but Damon and UGA did a piss poor job of managing expectations.

And for that I believe Evans must take some blame; his words set the fanbase up for a BIG hire. He set his sights high and the media and the fans took off running. From the sublime (Capel) to the ridiculous (Knight). While the mutha and the AllJackCrap pimped their supremely vetted candidates, fans ran rampant with names from Anthony Grant to Tom Izzo.

Bernie also touches on the one glaring weakness that Fox has while contrasting him with Alabama’s new coach, Anthony Grant.

I am of the opinion that Grant would have made the better presser, but fall short of feeling he’s all that with a side of chips. The one advantage Grant has over Fox at this point is that he is more familiar with the recruiting roads in GA.

Image: AP

Georgia has hired it’s new men’s basketball coach. Jeff Capel or Jamie Dixon it isn’t…

Georgia has hired Nevada coach Mark Fox as its men’s basketball coach and will introduce him at a news conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Athens, according to two people within the UGA athletics department.

Fox has been coach of the Wolf Pack for the past five seasons. He was 123-43 during that span, including 21-13 this past season.

Paul Westerdawg of Georgia Sports Blog thinks it’s a damn good hire.

Specifically, he has more conference titles, more NCAA Tourney wins, more weeks ranked in the Top 25, and more wins against teams you’ve ever heard of than Anthony Grant by a long shot.

I feel a lot better after reading PWD’s post. You?

LINKS:

• What do you think of Dogs getting Fox? – AJC
• UGA basketball makes surprise hire in Mark Fox – AJC
• UGA to Hire Mark Fox as Basketball Coach – Georgia Sports Blog
• Done Deal: UGA To Hire Fox – Bulldogs Blog
• Mark Fox Bio – NevadaWolfpack.com
• Fox heads to Georgia – ESPN
• Welcome to Stegeman Coach Fox – Bernie’s Dawg Blawg
• Georgia Hires Nevada’s Mark Fox as New Basketball Coach – SicEmDawgs.com
• Is Georgia crazy like a Fox, or just crazy? – Mark Bradley/AJC
• Reports: Fox to be named new Georgia coach – Athens Banner-Herald

After the humbling rejection by Missouri’s Mike Anderson Mr. Evans and Mr. Adams have apparently come back down to earth. Now, they appear to be seriously considering second tier candidates Oliver Purnell of Clemson and Frank Haith of Miami.

Georgia athletics director Damon Evans will meet with Clemson coach Oliver Purnell and Miami coach Frank Haith in Detroit today to discuss the Bulldogs’ basketball job, sources confirmed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hardly the splash our dynamic duo was hoping to make. However if you’re feeling sick about the new names being mentioned, read this post from Dawgs Online. It gives you hope that Damon and Mike can still come through with the guy we all want.

Whatever you do, keep it together man! Don’t go off the deep end like our buddy Vance at Bulldawg Illustrated. He was so distraught over being rejected by Anderson he thought he’d beat that Bobby Knight carcass to relieve his frustrations.

Chip Towers suggests there are more names being tossed about. He mentions Baylor’s Scott Drew, Xavier’s Sean Miller and Butler’s Brad Stevens.

Ok, starting to feel a little better now. You?