In this week's episode......

.......Tony Romo asks Terry Bowden for a pink band-aid. And limps away with a headache.

Did I miss a memo? I wasn't aware that ESPN was switching their programming and becoming the Dallas Cowboys channel. Just when they started to back off their 24/7 coverage of Tony Romo missing 4-6 weeks, he decides he is going to play anyway. Joy! Then they start more non-stop coverage of whether this is a wise decision or not. Did Favre provide some vicodin along with his sage advice to Romo?

Oh!....did I mention Romo has a BROKEN PINKIE FINGER? With all the attention he's getting you would think he was something more than an average QB who happens to date some chick who tries to entertain people with her.....voice. If there's a plus side, the DCNN (Dallas Cowboys News Network) had to break up their coverage of another overrated athlete fighting with his babysitter (not his children's babysitter, and not his bodyguard...his own babysitter) in a drunken stupor and his punishment therein.

And all of this the week before the first BCS rankings come out in college football. It was enough to make me watch a minute and a half of that Dancing show.

There was a lot of news this week in college football, some of which ESPN mentioned on the little ticker at the bottom of the screen. Most newsworthy, Clemson canned their coach. I know the eventual headlines read he resigned, but only Momma Bowden believes that. And there was no shortage of people lining up to kick Tommy while he was down either. His former All-ACC QB threw him under the bus and then the kid's dad threw the bus in reverse. What an example for Jeff Harper to provide for his son Cullen. "When you get benched because you suck, blame someone!" Meanwhile the Thunder to the Tiger tailback tandem stood in front of a camera and wept......didn't really say much.....just wept. Captivating!

And if things weren't spicy enough, Bowden's own brother let things die down just a little before cranking up the bus again. I guess Terry (never one to enjoy not talking for more than the amount of time it takes for him to suck in some more hot air) couldn't stand to see his brother grab five consecutive days' worth of headlines so he had to throw his nickel's worth in.

Reached at his home where he was busy taking a bubble bath with his Auburn National Championship Trophy - PROBATION STYLE!!, Terry didn't mince words. "Diddy once benched me from our family Thanksgiving Day backyard game and put Tommy in at quarterback. I guess Tommy got what he deserved then. Yeh, I always say you gotta coach em real good, just like my Diddy." BDB then pointed out that his name is not on Clemson's short list of candidates. "Well they never really gave my brother much of a chance." He had ten years. "My Diddy said he shoulda gotten at least another game." He just lost to Wake Forest....again. "So'd my Diddy." Can you have a complete thought without mentioning your father? "One time back at Samford, we trailed Our Lady Sister of Mercy by 10. We had 4th and 1 from our own 13 yard line. I didn't even call Diddy. I kicked the field goal." Well, there you go.

Someone who has been mentioned as a Tommy successor is Bobby Johnson. He touched that rock at Clemson as a D-back and recruited the area well as Furman's head coach. He has lead the SEC's academic school to a torrid start this season. It says something to me when a school who has a history of just reacting to their own coaching changes comes out early Tuesday (before the ink was really dry on the headlines of Bowden's dismissal) and proactively says they will do whatever it takes to keep Coach Johnson. He helps sell the program, but more importantly to the school, he sells Vanderbilt University. Stay tuned!

Vanderbilt .........they're kind of like the kid brother. You push them around, beat them up pretty good on occasion, and consistently remind them that they are the kid brother and that they'll never be as big or as strong as you. Then puberty hits and it's a whole new ball game. For Vandy, puberty was the beginning of the Coach Johnson era. During his six years at the helm, they have always played tough. So tough that the Dawgs barely escaped Nashville with a win last year. In fact, we really snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. If a team runs away with a game against Coach Johnson's team, they likely have caught them when their depth was a serious issue. Vandy's first string, for the most part, can line up against anyone. Where they suffer is the depth behind those starters. After all, there's only so many southern football players with a qualifying SAT score for Vanderbilt.

BYU fell last night. It's a week the Dawgs could move up a notch or two in the rankings as we head for the "back nine" of the college football season. Many Dawg fans feel their beloved team is poised for a knockout, either on the receiving end or the giving end. You know - on the one hand you can see us falling flat and heading into Death Valley next week with two losses. On the other you can see us finally putting a complete SEC game together and blowing the 'Dores out. It is Homecoming week after all.

I guess I'll shoot the gap - this as a game that is close for three quarters. We'll enter the 4th with our fingers raised to the sky, staring at a 3 point lead. Somewhere in the final ten minutes we pull away with a Walsh kick or a Green TD catch. You know, a lot like last year.

Dawgs 27

'dores 17

This week's trivia: Aaron Murray of Plant Senior HS in Florida is the nation's top recruit at the QB position and is committed to UGA. I would say he is arguably the best 17 year old QB in the nation, but we all know that scouting high school recruits is an entirely objective process. Last night Murray broke his leg and dislocated his ankle after passing for over 200 yards in a little less than a half. He is one of two QB commits CMR has received for the '09 class. For this week's prize, name the other commit. Bonus if you can also explain this young man's ties to UGA.

Happy Homecoming! And remember to tune into ESPN next week for an in depth look at how botox has literally changed the face of the Cowboys.

Bernie

Rocky Top Domination....?????

After all of the interest in my little soccer team it is only fair that I bring ALL of my readers up to date on their success before we turn our attention to our favorite ample bodied Appalachian. The Big Green Machine was as successful on the field as they were remembering that we were the visitors this week and needed to wear the white jerseys for the first time this season. Still tired I guess from running laps all week after giving up so many goals against the Dolphins, the little sweeties gave up a number of goals to a big, physical group of girls that quite possibly may have Chinese versions of "tricked up" birth certificates. Soon our speed, superior skill and consistent coaching took over however. Final score - Capri Suns and pringles for everyone!

Emergency bulletin from Sanford: yellow flags are making the turf die due to lack of sunlight exposure!!

So we go from leading the nation in egregious offenses and total penalties to.......less of an egregiously penalized team. Eleven penalties for 76 yards. Still too many flags, even though two of them were self imposed. As a consolation, Tennessee was penalized 10 times for 96 yards. I went back and checked the video of the MoMass penalty. My first reaction was surprise that he was able to jump back up. Beurlein (CBS color commentator) disagreed with the call of helmet to helmet. In slow motion he may have a point. The bottom line is it was a vicious hit that evidently only knocked the breath out of our senior wideout.

But the most flagrant penalty came at the tailgate. Jenn is assessed the season's first roughing the Bernie penalty. But judging from the reaction, she will gladly take the penalty and the yards. OUCH! To be fair, I had just whipped her at cornhole. However, I did not foresee the consequences............

Back to the game. Well it certainly wasn't the blow out that was predicted here, but it was a win. The Dawgs had a chance to bring a smile to Johnny Majors' face by blowing the coonskin cap off of Phil "Et tu Brute" Fulmer, but red zone woes hurt the Dawgs, as well as those who bet on them to cover the spread.

As I checked the box score Sunday morning I promised I would not bash Bobo or Martinez since both the offense and the defense performed so well. Just a sampling of the stats: over 42 minutes of offensive possession, Tennessee possessed the ball LESS than 7 minutes the second half, 1 (uno) yard rushing for UT, 458 yards of total offense, 29 Dawg first downs to their 10. But can someone explain to me the fascination with screen plays so close to the goal line? You know, that fake screen to the right and then a quick screen to the left is nice and flashy.....when it works. Stafford has arguably his best game as a Dawg, but it was marred by two bad calls by Bobo - if you ask me. #7 couldn't have been expecting their defensive end to drop into coverage and has to throw that ball quickly as the play is designed. And the Eric Berry interception was just as bad of a call. Green was outplayed when he had about a 50/50 shot of scoring from the play's outset. For my money, I'd be less upset if we get into the red zone and settle for a field goal after handing it to #24 three times. Much better than a screen pass or a fade route.

And one more (mild) critique of the defense. They did remarkably well against the run, but how much of that was due to Tennessee's apparent disinterest in running the ball? We committed 8 or more to the run and forced Nick Stephens to beat us, we expected that. But Foster touched the ball 6 times, and half of those were receptions. He and Hardesty combined for 24 yards on 9 carries. I'm as proud of Martinez's defense as the next fan, they definitely showed an intensity that was lacking ....I don't know .......say, two weeks ago. But I'm not jumping up and down for joy at our success. Better, MUCH better offensive teams await.

In fact, if you look at the schedule ahead and the one behind, we definitely ate our dessert first so to speak. Nothing but well built, indigestible, Tempe cheeseburgers ahead of this team of Dawgs. And the injuries continue to mount. Saturday against the 'dores we'll start our fourth left tackle. Vance had done really well, and his season-ending injury will force Searels to ask the most commonly asked question in Butts-Mehre this season, "Tripp! What number do you want to wear this week?"

Shout outs!

• Blair Walsh for nearly outscoring the entire hillbilly offense by himself. Walsh uses yoga as part of his workout regimen and the results have been very exciting as he is 10 of 12 this season. Both misses I believe were beyond 50 yards.

• The entire O-line for punishing an exhausted defensive Tennessee front in the fourth quarter. 17 plays, 76 yards and 11 minutes. Impressive! Tennessee knew what we were gonna do and we did it anyway (until we got too close to the goal line).



• Knowshon. The man gets a lot of props and national attention. He certainly doesn't need a BDB shout out from the BDB Blawg. But you get what you deserve 'tween these hedges of cyberspace. And he absolutely leveled ... I mean LEVELED a UT defensive end at least twice. I thoroughly enjoy seeing a running back pull his weight in the pass protection department. I think NFL scouts enjoy seeing it even more....... Oops! Did I open up that can of worms again?



• And Adam Wynn for getting last week's trivia question right. Just when I thought Ainsley had dug up a stumper from her Daddy's library, Adam correctly identifies the Nancy Hanks as the train that transported Uga I and Sonny Seiler to Atlanta to watch Theron Sapp become The Man Who Broke the Drought. Contacted through Facebook in between study sessions on campus, Adam couldn't refrain from smiling as he commented. "Truly it was you're strong influence Mr. Burnette during my high school years that allowed me the opportunity to gain such knowledge into University of Georgia lore. I am always indebted to you." Of course I've taken some creative liberties, but you get the point. He is a fine student at a stellar academic and athletic institution and the benefits are inevitable.

Your prize is a special one Mr. Wynn. Lost in Mr. Hannon's adaptation of the events leading up to that game against the North Avenue Trade School, is the fact that there were three turkey sandwiches made by Mrs. Seiler back in November of '57. One for Sonny, one for Uga.......and one for you! (Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery, then enjoy!)

Have a great week loyal blawggers. Rest up. The road ahead is filled with adventure, ups, aches, pains, joys, monday evening quarterbacking, downs, fried dill pickles at Gnat's, cornhole, zone coverages, lots of travel, MRIs, yellow flags, sunday evening coaching, PBR and of course, leg tackles!

Bernie