Saturday DawgNews

Turns out, Ohio State brought a bag of softballs to Tallahassee. 

The Diamond Dawgs exploded for season highs in runs, hit and total bases on their way to 24-8 weather-delayed butt whoopin'. They'll take on the host Seminoles today at 4pm (tv ESPNU, radio 960theRef).

• UGAs Track and Field is heading into the weekend tied with Tech in the NCAA East Regional up in Greensboro. Note to readers: always stand behind junior Chris Hill when he's throwing the javelin.
• Mark Bradley has us losing four games this fall...one of which is to NATS. We're meeting at 9pm to go roll his house. Bring at least two rolls of TP and a healthy dose of angst.
• Damon Evans is bringing home a BIG wad of cash from Destin.
• Lastly, you may have heard that Erin Andrews wants to wear skimpy outfits and dance around on a reality tv show. Over at Blogging Pantsless, Mackie has you set up with a useful list.

If you have a spare couple a hours and just love being outside in the yard...my lawn could use some attention. Preeesheeate it!

From Destin With Love...

SEC coaches were destin'd to make some headlines...

Master planner, Laney "Cookies" Kiffin showed up at the league meetings with bells on. Turns out making an ass of himself and a mockery of the program with the guts...er...idiocy to hire him was all part of a grand scheme. 

I won't rehash the quotables for you, but it basically boiled down to: I make plan. Make Daddy happy.

So when the voWels are floundering in SEC East obscurity, our dear hillbillys can thank Al Davis for setting this scheme in motion. In related news, KiffyBaby also asked media members if they would like to buy some beachfront condos with indoor plumbing in Knox County.

What an oxymoron. The good news in all this is that Corch Meyer is as ornery as toddler slinging peas. Not in the cute YouTube way either. More like the I just cleaned the floor and this brat is painting it green kind of way.

If you're a parent...you get that.

Friday Feedbag

• Long overdue, but congrats to Nama for finishing last weekend's SCAN Foundation's 5K Run/Walk. If Bernie hadn't used a well hidden Segway half-way through, Nama would have easily walked away with (another) free-t-shirt. 
• So what's worse that losing you're cheatin' coach to college roundball's most storied program?...being that storied program.
• Diddy...sit on these hot coals for a little while longer.
• It took nearly two centuries, but Georgia Sports Blog found a way to celebrate gamechicken athletics.
• Weiszer discovered that CMR feels a little "weird" at the head of table this week. Spurrier reportedly tried to sit in Richt's chair, but SEC bylaws reserve it for a coach who actually has a QB on roster. 
• Lots of great stuff from Hale this week as he clearly has made the most from his travel allowances. He's got a good blog post on how (vastly) different CMR and Slurban are when it comes to handling criticism, a piece on what it's like to prepare for a daunting schedule (something floriDuh's coach knows nothing about as well) and a great interview with '09 signee Jordan Love.
• As for next year's recruits, TotalUGA has two (free) reports on a couple of stud GA players.
• The WLOCP has been a hot topic for the crapfest that is the AJC the past month. CMR is now mum. This Bulldog Illustrated post about sums up how I feel. 
• Outside the hedges, spring sports' post-season play has commenced. The women's softball team dropped their opening game in the CWS out in Oklahoma City. Perno leads his team out of the dugout today at noon. And the men's golf team is surviving the new NCAA format up in Ohio...barely.
• And Exhile has discovered that NBC thinks John Salley is actually a celebrity. Supposedly, the former tech hoopster even took his own entrance exam for the reality tv series.

I made my usual $5 weekly donation to GA 

Lottery funds last week. Since I am typing this still under the weight of a mortgage, you can surmise that I also made a donation this week. 

But, as luck would have it I found a genie's lamp last weekend and my first wish was granted.

It was hard to focus through my fly eyes, but I was able to see Slive throw two empty tylenol bottles at the Mouth from tha Outhouse, yelling This is what you've done to me!!  The SEC head honcho then handed out some serious benjamins before I had to skedaddle. That reptilianTweebot lover was eyeing my perch on the wall while showing his tongue.

I sure do hope Charleston Southern School for the Blind Nuns scores a touchdown on those gators.

Oh well, better shut this down before I get pulled for another BUI. Enjoy your weekend Reader. Whether you earned it or not.

Bernie

Rules IS Rules...but...

Roundtable Wednesday. 

About three months ago I wrote this post recalling the round ball phenom that was Len Bias and his subsequent, premature passing. It was the height of the A-Rod saga, or at least I thought it had reached it's apex.
Since then, we've seen a couple of Dawgs suspended by Coach Richt. The reports seem to match the supposition - failed drug tests. And I was about over it, until a story broke late last week that is related...and should really have Dawg fans wondering.
Jeremy Jarmon failed a drug test. He's a stellar D-end for Kentucky; he's an even better man. Model citizen, holds one degree, working towards another, team leader, community volunteer.
Big news, right? It got even bigger when Jarmon called his own news conference to clear the air. Seems he had decided to drop some weight and visited a local GNC, purchased an OTC product and began taking it.

Jarmon said his goal in the offseason was to become leaner. He bought a dietary supplement while shopping for vitamins on the recommendation of a worker at a nutrition store, not knowing that it contained a banned substance.

Unfortunately, Jarmon skipped a crucial step: he didn't take the product to a trainer until the it was in his system. By the time he did...it was too late.
Then it got worse. Jarmon was entering his last year of eligibility. The mandatory penalty is one season.
Jarmon's collegiate career is now over.
All that to say, this guy buys something over the counter and loses what's remaining of his college career. Other players get caught with an illicit drug in their system and they lose a couple games. What Jarmon did was careless. What Figgins and Houston did was stupid. Jarmon will no longer wear Kentucky blue. Figgins and Houston will grace the field together by mid-season.
Crawford said it best in his editorial:

Yes, Jarmon made a careless mistake. It should not define him. Jarmon is one of those guys whose jersey you could be happy to let your kid wear. Still.

Something doesn't add up. There's not an ounce of me that would condone what Jarmon did. And on Saturday November 21st, I'll be real glad he's not 'tween the hedges. But the NCAA is basically saying to youngsters across the nation that it is one thing to roll a joint....but you best not visit your local GNC.
Ever.

Memorial Day Weekend Wrapup

Great weekend of grillin' and chillin'. If you unplugged even more than I did, here's what you may have missed.

• The Diamond Dawgs struggled through the Saturday rain in Hoover and dropped two shortened games to eventual champion LSU. Yesterday, the NCAA field was announced and Perno has the bus pointed south to Tallahassee.
• During the post-season, junior hurler Alex McRee will work from the bullpen. Hale's blog has a good recap with a look at some telling stats.
• Magill had a look at Dawgs who have lost their lives in service to our great country.
• Sticking with the Memorial Day theme, Rex Robinson had a nice tribute to every person who has paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we hold so dear. He also has a fresh perspective on a new F word and is ready to draw a line in the sand.
• Men's golf team is Toledo bound as they take dead aim on what would be their third Nat'l Title in 11 years.
• And Catfish and Cornbread has Eric Zeier as third on its countdown that ends Friday. Speaking of the former QB, the announcement should come soon on who will be manning the radio booth this fall.

Diamond Dawgs Drenched Out of Tourney

Coach David Perno's Diamond Dawgs faced LSUs murderers row of bats Saturday needing just one win to advance to the championship, but their greatest enemy was the weather. They dropped both rain shortened games and were eliminated from the tourney. Now we wait until Monday to find out our NCAA fate. My guess would be a visit to Clempson's regional.

TotalUGA write up

ABH write up

the SEC sports play by play

UPDATE: Dawgs headed to Tallahassee 

to the FSU regional. Will face Ohio St.