Friday's Miserable Meatloaf - Lemme introduce you to Beecher

I first met him several years ago. Maybe as many as ten. Honestly, I don't remember. But I know it was before this here blog started puttering upstream along The Internet. And I know it was after my second stint through UGA, which puts the meeting somewhere between beating Arkansas for the first SECCG and that time we drank all the beer in Tempe.

Speaking of beer, I was in a bar downtown having one and this guy comes in like a runaway train. By that I mean his entrance was a chaotic event that miraculously evaded complete and utter catastrophe an incidental death. An action as simple as opening a door and entering a room instantly became a calamity of flailing arms and legs; glasses were tossed into the air creating various flight paths for the beer, whiskey, and margaritas they had previously contained; a seeing eye dog panicked while aiding in the transition of his owner from table to restroom; napkins and swizzle straws multiplied in mid-air like rabbits on a dewy April lawn; in the corner a jukebox abruptly stopped playing the second chorus of Layla; and a waitress lost all manner of control of her language just as the room became otherwise deafly silent.

"GODDAMNIT BEECHER! YOU CAN'T F***ING BARGE THROUGH THE MOTHERF***ING DOOR LIKE A GODDAMN HYENA!!"

She yelled this at the height of her tumult through the air having tripped over Beecher's leg (or maybe it was his arm) which had propelled the tray of drinks toward a large table of thirsty patrons. After making sure the seeing eye dog didn't leave his owner abandoned and then helping the waitress to her feet, I offered a hand to pull this rangy, awkward stranger up from the floor.

"Thanks mister. At least I didn't spill beer in Rowena's hair this time. That really pisses her off."

"Not a problem. Let me get you a cold one. Looks like you could use a moment of stationary rehydration."

As he drank from the frosted mug, I marveled at how strangely tall Beech was. If he was six feet and a half, roughly 74 inches of that were his legs. Which might explain where all the beer went if just one of those legs were hollow.

We sat and chewed the fat for what seemed the whole afternoon, all the way through Happy Hour. Then moved from the bar to a corner booth where Rowena took our dinner order, surprisingly, without a single f-bomb. Somehow, in some way, Beecher had been forgiven for causing what surely amounted to six unhappy customers, $50 of broken barware, two and half tables of soggy pub food, and a black lab with post-traumatic stress disorder.

And that's how I met Beecher O'Callaghan.

Today's Ingredients
- Supposedly, there's like just over 200 days left until college football in Sanford begins again. Nothing is more miserable than this cold, melancholy, heartless winter we refer to as The Offseason.
- Personally, I've been biding time Raylan up in Harlan County. And also with Tuco and Mike and some skater dudes, as well as the world's best lawyer. The only one that can argue an executioner down from the death penalty to six months of rehab. Saul Goodman.

- And hey! The Hoop Dawgs are doing swell! Just in time for a visit from Bruce Pearl and those Auburn whateveryoumaycallits.
- And baseball starts this weekend! The Diamond Dawgs take the field in the shadow of a newly renovated Foley Field against the Eastern Illinois Panthers. PING!!
- From the Lies and other Sexy Half-Truths file, Blutarsky finds new Atlanta Falcons linebackers coach Dan Ulbrich still on the UCLA recruiting trail.
- Over at The Lady Sportswriter, Kimberley wonders if the Terry College of Business could swing Roquan Smith's decision in UGA's favor.
- Congrats to Marc Weiszer of the ABH on getting some recognition for his hard work. (h/t Emerson)
- At Dawn of the Dawg, Michael Collins asks a popular question - Is Georgia football underachieving or just unlucky?
- Assuming a competent SEC officiating crew (ahem!. Ok, I'll wait for the laughter to stop....)...Greg Poole sees where the new rule for linemen being downfield would've changed the outlook of the 2013 Auburn-Bama game.
- Lastly, stay cute Rutgers.

If you're a fellow Heathen heading to the Rock Show tonight at the 40 Watt, let me buy you a drink. Better yet, buy me one!

The reason I wanted you to meet Beecher today is wide and varied. Of the many characters I've created over the years, he's the most simple, honest, kind-hearted, complex, awkwardly amazing, and down to Earth. He's never been on a beer commercial, but I believe him to be the most interesting man in my favorite college town.

Ten or so years ago I had intended to get to know him better. I aimed to tell his stories to the world and let them chuckle heartily while being humbled. But I've neglected ol' Beecher. Partly due to time constraints, sure. It's a burden on your free time being a hotshot blogger with at least four and up to as many as twelve readers. But mostly I've neglected Beecher O'Callaghan because it was just too easy not to start something when I wasn't sure where it would lead.

Now, for better or worse, I'm gonna go see where that road leads.

No, I'm not leaving. Not in the least. Any morning I wake up and have a fresh thought to share or a rant to righteously impart, you'll find it here. Hell, maybe I'll even share another tall tale from the O'Callaghan memoirs here or there. But other than that, my pauses and stops along the way towards autumn may linger a little longer than usual.

To be honest, part of me says it's really none of your business and you probably don't care. Which means there's no real reason to post this diatribe at all. But I've grown fond of my readers here. Mom and Pops raised me to treat others as you'd have them treat you. So just don't be too alarmed if the posts gather some dust in between themselves. As Beecher'd say, "All we are is dust in a breeze." Guess he's not much of a fan for Kansas' music. Regardless, that breeze is aiming this writing vane towards that hole in the wall bar in downtown Athens. Rowena's handing us a mop and telling us to clean that shit up.

Stay upright and true amigos.

Bernie

UGA Days announced

Check the calendar for a coach in red and black near your neighborhood.

Per the Alumni Association:

The University of Georgia is once again hitting the road to bring the Bulldog spirit to alumni, friends and fans around the Southeast.

From April to July, UGA coaches and administrators will travel to seven cities, sharing their insights into UGA’s upcoming athletic seasons and the latest news from campus. Attendees will also learn more about local UGA Alumni Association chapters and how to become involved.

Each stop on the UGA Day Tour will bring delight to UGA fans of all ages – you won’t want to miss out on the action.

Registration for each stop on the tour will open on this page in March.

If you are interested in serving as a sponsor for UGA Day, please click here for more information.

Go Dawgs!

Cue the Kirby Smart rumors again...

There's an opening in Athens and the message boreds are lighting up.

Assistant coach Stacey Palmore will not return next season, the school announced Thursday afternoon.

Palmore had been on staff for all five of Fox’s seasons at Georgia after coming from Virginia Tech.

“I believe that we accomplished a lot of great things in those five seasons,” Palmore said in a release issued by the school. “However, I felt that now was the right time to pursue other opportunities in my career and to be able to spend more time with my young son.”

Oh wait. Nevermind.

Monday's Meatloaf - Do you remember when?...

We used to say...

Back in college, Joe Waterloo had this phenomenon he'd point out almost anytime we got into a car, cranked the engine of the old '67 Malibu Chevelle, and then did the same with the car's stereo (appropriately modified for the late 1980's with a Blaupunkt, btw...).

"Hey. This song was playing when we got out of the car!"

The first time this happened I just played along. There was always the chance he was just a bit touched, in a slightly imbalanced kind of way. After all, we'd just met and just because we were at the University of Georgia didn't mean he talked like we do. Maybe I was misunderstanding him.

Like the time he first said "I really smacked that puppy!!" while playing some early adoption Nintendo golf game I believe. We all looked at each other like what kind of sadistic and inhumane male role models do they have in southern Maryland that produces a guy that thinks smacking puppies around is something to brag about. But I do digress.

It didn't matter to ol Joe Waterloo that there was a cassette* in the deck. One that had been patiently waiting for the right key to make the right turn and re-ignite the tales of Pyromania that had so abruptly stopped when we'd finally found a parking spot in the Russell lot (this is before parking decks were invented kids. One had to burn at least a quarter of a tank of gas to luck into a spot back then, gather the groceries cheap beer and packages of Ramen noodles out of the trunk before hiking twelve miles uphill to your dormitory.) No, it was part of the gag I guess.

Which is why I found it so funny last week when I parked the car in the driveway Thursday evening with Van Morrison blaring and the dude just sat there all night long (without the aid of a cassette deck, a compact disc or even an iPod) until Friday morning when he could finish BIP BOP BIPping along about his brown eyed girl. I sat there dumbfounded. A flood of memories returning from decades back just to make me chuckle. I quickly looked in the backseat to see if somehow Joe Waterloo was (screwing) with me.

 As my 12yo said, it's no leg lamp but it's
still a major award!

Then I chuckled again. Turned that puppy up a little louder and...FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA ti DA.

Just like that.

Today's Ingredients
- Given our victory this weekend (see inset picture and bow to our supremacy fledgling hopheads) the following bullets are all hopped up and ready to be poured as well as eaten.
- Make sure you check out the latest Junkyard Dawg Podcast. We've kegged episode three and are dry-hopping a two week long battle with iTunes for acceptance. Oh the drama!
- Fox's Hoop Dawgs boiled up to a two-seed in the NIT and will host Vermont Wednesday night at the Steg. Go Dawgs!
- Speaking of which, tickets hit the brew menu this morning for Wednesday night's game.
- Tyler has the skinny (or at least as much as teh internets will offer) on Vermont's basketball program on draft, post Tom Brennan.
- Sure the brackets are all set. But PWD is so malt-forward in looking ahead to next season's hoops schedule.
- Back on the gridiron Lugnut Dawg asks if Georgia's contract with its offensive coordinator isn't carbonated enough.
- Andrew has a spring practice primer on tap.
- If your Georgia tackle football expectations have too much yeast in the fermenter Blutarsky has some cogent and sobering thoughts on the year after the Year of the Quarterback.
- Emerson continues his look at the pre-Spring depth chart here with the defense.
- Greg found a mascot fight on the baseline! Whoa. Talk about a brew ha ha...Ahem. Sorry.
- Lastly, met two more friends of the blog Saturday up in Suwanee. Keep that internet connection paid up and the craft beer flowing Jon and Ben! Go Dawgs!

Special shout-out to my homebrewing pahtnahs Nama and Cord, the other two-thirds of BeaverDawg Brews. I'll hand over the winning medal soon enough. Just know that both Kroger and Publix frown on you wearing it up and down their beer aisle whilst screaming the lyrics to We are the Champion!

The dude so abides y'all. In closing, Happy St. Patrick's Day and all that! As the saying goes, there are only two kinds of people in the world - Irish and those that wish they were! So let's close out this end out with an good Irish Joke:

 An Irishman was drinking in a bar in London when he gets a call on his cell phone. He orders drinks for everybody in the bar as he announces his wife has just produced a typical Irish baby boy weighing 25 pounds. 

Nobody can believe that any new baby can weigh in at 25 pounds,
but the man just shrugs, "That's about average up our way, folks ... like I said … my boy's a typical County Clare baby boy." 

Two weeks later the man returns to the bar. The bartender says, "Say, you're the father of that typical Irish baby that weighed 25 pounds at birth, aren't you? Everybody's been making' bets about how big he'd be in two weeks .... so how much does he weigh now?" 

The proud father answers, "Seventeen pounds." The bartender is puzzled and concerned. "What happened? He was 25 pounds the day he was born." 

The father takes a slow swig of his Jameson Irish Whisky,
wipes his lips on his shirt sleeve, leans into the bartender and proudly says, "Had him circumcised."

Thanks for sending that one Mac, ya old bloke! Sláinte Reader! Here's your fork and a pint glass of Murphy's. Call it lón.

Bernie

Tuesday's Meatloaf - of fees and Fezziks

[Half of this post has been sitting in the oven for awhile. And I just didn't quite finish it (again) Sunday night. So to keep it from being terribly overcooked for yet another week, you get a very rare edition of Tuesday's meatloaf. Enjoy!]

-------------------------------------------

Hello this is Bank of American Corporate Greed in America, how may I direct your call to someone who can actually pretend to give a damn?

Well, what happened was I was going to the grocery store on Christmas Eve to get some last minu...

via

One moment...[insert Nickelback muzak]....[it's actually better this way I think]....[wonder if muzakians are Canadian too..] ...

Good afternoon. This is Chalonda. How can I disappoint you today?

You charged me a fee for someone else's bad check. I'd like that money credited back to my account.

I'm sorry sir. It's ours now and we're keeping it. You should be more careful who you take checks from in the future. Can I interest you in a Money Market accou...

He was a kid! Stranded on the side of the road with no gas. I gave him a ride to the gas station and gave him some money. Did I mention it was Christmas Eve?!!?

Sir, he didn't have $20 in his account to cover his reimbursement. Maybe you can be charitable with your cash, but we're going to bill his bank for every cent we can. Now, how about that...

It was Christmas Eve DAMMIT! I was being nice and now you're penalizing me for it?

Yes. Is there anything else I can not help you with today sir?

Okay. I guess just one thing. How much is the fee for closing my accounts?

...[insert Nickelback muzak]....

Yes. It's definitely better this way. Here's a plate reader. No fees added.

Today's Ingredients
- First up, Emerson covers a wide variety of red and black topics in this post, hopefully the first of many On the beats.
- Not a great start this weekend for the Diamond Dawgs, especially the pitching staff. But this is a nice preview to the season and its expectations by MaconDawg.
- After the latest NCAA tune-up, Blutarsky revs the HUNHcycle engine.
- Speaking of slowing the game down, if you haven't already, be sure you catch Spencer Hall's A Very Bielema Valentines Day before the roses wilt.
- Over at Georgia Sports Blog, PWD runs down the odds of Fox's re-energized team making the NIT. And Tyler looks at just how Fox out-coached the guy that'd rather placate Marshall Henderson's ego than his wife's libido.
- Hoop Dawgs looks at the player at the center of this hardcourt resurgence - Charles Mann.
- Bulldawg Illustrated has a nice Q&A with new Georgia Bulldog offensive lineman Dyshon Sims' mother.
- Kimberley looks a little closer at the defensive end that flipped his commitment to Georgia over the weekend.
- Good weekend for former UGA golfers. Congrats to Bubba, Harris English and friend of the blog Brian Harman!
- Lastly, just wanted to make sure you caught this Valentines Day themed post by Garbin. Just another great read you will not want to have missed.

Heard about this pic (or one similar to it) on the latest 1Beer1Song podcast. Being a longtime member of the Brute Squad fan of the movie The Princess Bride I felt compelled to catalog it here.

That's just fantastic. Unfortunately, they don't sell this shirt any more. Which is clearly not fantastic. Oh well.

But if there's another thing Fezzik taught me other than how to rhyme away the time, it was that it's important to encourage one another. Whether you're futilely throwing punches at a man twice your size or wiggling your finger after being mostly dead all day, it's important to recognize good effort and good progress. And here in the middle of February, when the height of the off season is still nowhere in sight and the journey seems to only get longer with each passing day, I just want you to feel you are doing well.

Keep it up! I believe in you! At least you didn't get your 

degree form Auburn! You look great in that Halocaust cloak dude!

It's also a time when a college football heavy blog can get pretty difficult to keep afloat. But you should know I've got some exciting developments on the horizon. And I've also been compiling a list of important off season topics we should discuss at length and ad nauseam and to the nth degree as well.

So stay tuned. And until then, here's you fork Reader. Have a great Tuesday!

Bernie

Monday's Meatloaf - Grantham, like a freight train...GONE!

So I sat down to type out this post yesterday afternoon and all of a sudden my phone blew up. Joe Schad sent out a tweet and suddenly it was Christmas morning anew. Only better. Tis better to give than receive, and boy did we give away a big one!

"They're gonna pay you how much to have
my hemorrhoids removed?"

Of course, we have the Mormons to thank. Well, the Mormons and Terry Saban. How is that? Well, BYU beat Texas back in September in such spectacular fashion that it started a whirlwind of Mack Brown out at Texas rumors. Then Mrs. Saban visits Austin and tells her husband "Hell no!" And then the Longhorns hire Louisville's Charlie Strong. And then Bobby Petrino gets on his knees, then his belly to slither back into his old gig. And then!....THEN! He does something completely irrational and professionally irresponsible.

No, worse than hiring a leggy volleyball player and propping her up on his Hog. He hires Todd Grantham. The guy that made Vad Lee into a four quarter Heisman candidate. The guy with the towel boy that couldn't stop the guy with our former defensive back under center. The guy with more dog houses for his players to sleep in than I've seen in sixteen years of marriage. The guy that had become a cancer within his own team room; to the point that when he contacted his bosses to let them know he was talking with Petrino, all they had to say was - "Welp. Ok." Then hung up and got back to their Words With Friends game.

"Buyout" can have triple the point value if played correctly. No, this ain't no temporary, typical, tearful goodbye.

I think it's important not to dismiss the positives of the last four years. In many ways, this last season's defensive regression greatly overshadows what were some good seasons where we saw renewed energy and enthusiasm on the defensive side of the ball. Unfortunately, somewhere of late, Todd Grantham lost his fellow coaches on the staff. And then he lost his own players. And when that happens, some measure of change is necessary.

For Grantham, it was too easy to take the bump in pay and just leave. Don't blame him one bit. I'm happy for him and his family. I'm happy for Georgia fans. And most of all, I'm happy for the players.

Today's Ingredients
- Not a large serving today. But some very tasty portions in here. Grab a plate.
- Groo looks back at Grantham's tumultuous career and then forward at his departure's ramifications.
- LugnutDawg was as surprised as the rest of us with yesterday's news. But took some time to compile a list of names.
- Blutarsky adds some thoughts on the Grantham news as well.
- Greg looks at the rumor of Kentucky's DB coach leaving to join Richt's staff.
- Over at Georgia Sports Blog, PWD researches David Gibbs and Tyler adds his wish list for the DC candidacy.
- Good defense and making good at the charity stripe have Coach Fox's squad sitting atop the SEC. Here's Hoop Dawgs analysis on the 2-0 start.
- Lakatos leaving kind of reopened the wound of the secondary woes this past season. I thought this summarization of the personnel by DudeYouCrazy was spot on.
- "Well, bye." Marshall recaps the week that was in his weekly Sunday post.
- As season recaps go, I think Jack has the best perspective. Fun read. But is it weird that #4, and what ended as a loss to Auburn, is my favorite?

via "The Walking DET", artwork by Jeff Rich

- And oh yeh, Shaq Wiggins was arrested early this morning for speeding on a suspended license. So when Dorial Green-Beckham has his charges dismissed, we'll be atop the Fulmer Cup standings for sure!

To wrap this up, as we were settling into our off season hibernation spots, Jason and the rest his squad were shipping off as of last Wednesday on the USS Taylor. These are the guys that fly badass helicopters and specialize in anti-submarine warfare. They're stationed in Jacksonville and Jason is a big Dawgs fan. I know they'll be working their tails off (figuratively) in the Black Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Baltic Sea the next few months before heading back home this summer. To their friends and family, we wish great comfort in their absence.

And I know you'll join me in thanking them for their service abroad. Glad there are no required 4am ESPN game telecasts to watch the Dawgs like there were in Japan for the 2012 season. We're just thankful there are brave souls like y'all out there that really and truly Get After That Ass each day. So in the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, I'll end with this - "A good navy is not a provocation of war. It is the surest guarantee of peace."

The rest of you grab a mop and swab the deck. Y'all made a helluva Monday mess in here.

Bernie

Around campus this morning...

Quick look at the headlines this morning brings some news to stir into your coffee. First, Scott Stricklin as the new baseball coach is official. I think this is a great hire. The more you read about this guy the more it sounds like McGarity went and got the right guy to turn around the program. Again, it's not going to take much.

"Scott Stricklin is a tremendous hire for the University of Georgia; he is a guy who has had a lot of success as a head coach, taking Kent State to the College World Series and perennially has had one of the best and most talented teams in the Midwest," said Baseball America executive editor Jim Callis. "He's got a background coaching in Georgia and in the SEC at Vanderbilt. As a Georgia alum, I was thrilled by the hire as well."

But we need to continue to keep a watchful eye here as Stricklin starts to round out his staff. If he can convince Mike Birkbeck to come to Athens as well and take over a talented yet raw pitching staff, things will look even better around Foley Field. Birkbeck has been putting top draft picks into the MLB draft, but could stay at Kent State as Stricklin's replacement.

Former player Jonas Hayes has been named as Kwanza Johnson's replacement. This has been expected for a few weeks and comes as welcome news for older fans of the program. Hayes should do a good job for Fox. He'll almost certainly work with big men as well as try and lure young talent to Athens (although there's not a whole lot of recruiting to be done in the coming year unless more spots unexpectedly open up). Yes, Hayes was an easy choice here. Looking forward to seeing what he can do developing players and recruiting for Fox.

Is Kenarious Gates Richt's "most indispensable offensive player"? I don't ask that as a slight against  the very versatile big man here. But I'd personally give the nod to a fifth year quarterback or a sophomore sensation at running back.

Speaking of football, tomorrow a limited number of single game tickets to North Texas and Kentucky will go on sale at GeorgiaDogs.com.

McGarity shares some perspective

If you're like most Georgia fans, you're watching AD Greg McGarity a little closer these days. The basketball team is coming off a disappointing season and lost their star player to the NBA. And the baseball team is mired in a season long slump that follows a disappointing 2012 campaign. Even for those who only concern themselves with football, decisions being made right now regarding these two programs could tell us a lot about our athletic director.

And these two links give us a glimpse into that and more. First, Emerson provides the state of the basketball program heading into Fox's fifth season. There's a distinct parallel to the manner in which McGarity is handling it here as compared to after the 2010 football season with Richt. In a word, improvement.

Improvement. During the course of five minutes Monday, McGarity used that word seven times, and he used “improve” twice more.

“It’s like any other program: You look for continuous improvement. We do not, with any coach, set any type of minimum wins, things of that nature. Coaches have enough pressure on them anyway,” McGarity said. “And, even if you ask the coaches, they would probably say the same thing as far as continued improvement. That’s the challenges that lie ahead with every sport. How do we improve every year, how do we get better.”

And for an even deeper look into the thought processes for all things UGA Athletics, here's Anthony Dasher's Q&A with McGarity prompted in part by reader questions. It covers basketball and baseball pretty thoroughly as well as other off season topics surrounding an indoor practice facility, recruiting, funding and student seating at Sanford.

"Facilities are not holding us back from anything. I can promise you that. I just came back from UCLA and I've seen their facilities. I've seen Stanford's facilities. Trust me, they're not winning national championships strictly because of their facilities. Facilities have to be nice and functional. I've seen a lot of facilities at tremendous campuses and in some cases you're asking yourself how are they getting it done because their facilities are not as nice as school A or B. It all gets down to people, it all gets down to relationships of people, coaches and it all gets down to having a great institution that's got a great academic reputation which ours does. Facilities are important, but no way are they the end all."

Personally, I think McGarity hits the nail on the head as far as facilities. Too often people just want more fancy things to look at when the purpose they would serve is minimal. As for people, I'm hoping we see the improvement our AD alludes to as his barometer in determining coaching success/failure. It's a safe way for him to deal with turmoil in those two men's programs today. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The ball's in Fox's court

Gonna give you three numbers: 4, 31 and 43. Year four, thirty-one wins and forty-three losses. So after Coach Fox's fourth season we've compiled a sub .500 record (in the SEC, including conference tournament; also, please see addendum below about conference record compilation).

Is this acceptable? No. And I would presume that's the answer you'd get from just about everybody, including Coach Fox himself. But like a road trip that has for one reason or another veered off course, this is where we are. Which is probably why this is one of those posts I've written about twelve times and deleted eleven of those.

So I'm just going to throw it out there. Can Fox get us there? "There" being in the hunt for Sweet Sixteens, Final Fours and SEC banners?

In the last four years Fox has proven to me that he can coach on par or better with every other head guy in the league. What separates the others from our stagnant place closer to the bowels is the talent he's bringing in, more specifically the talent he's not able to bring in. We had one player mentioned among the SEC elite for the season. Florida had five. That's the difference between first in the standings and ninth; the difference between 14-4 and 9-9.

Something has to change or we can just continue to get used celebrating individual player achievements.

Addendum: I found numerous errors in Fox's SEC record. For example, on the official website it has our 2010 SEC tourney record as 2-0. That of course isn't possible. Further digging reminded me that we were 1-1 with a loss to Vandy in the second round in that tournament. So all that to say that the record I've compiled above is the best I can come up with using multiple sites, the most accurate of which I believe is SicEmDawgs.com.

Monday's Meatloaf - of fatherly pride and ponytails

We stepped up to the registration desk and I could sense her uneasiness. I've only known her for eight years and 55 weeks, but I know she tenses up in new situations. Especially ones with new faces in new places; surely a character trait I evidently passed down to her. So I put my hand reassuringly on her shoulder, the way a dad does when he knows his kid is the least bit uneasy, and I wondered if she picked up my uneasiness as well.

Because like me, she's also pretty intuitive.

Flag football combine, event 2, distance throw, grade: A+

Months of negotiating had lead us to this point. Of course all of the discussion about playing football had been in private, for the most part. She kept insisting on tackling somebody. And I kept insisting she start with flags on her hips.

It's not that I'm afraid of pads on her shoulders. She can hold her own, trust me. It's just that flags seems the reasonable and logical step. When I first offered that a trail had already been blazed for female place kickers she insisted that she'd be a "quarterbacker" or a linebacker at UGA instead. I quickly recalled it is not in a father's best interest to sell his own daughter short. Ashamed, I quickly told her she could be anything she wants to be, a phrase she and her sister hear about every day from their mother and myself. After all, we'd much rather them reach for the stars than the storm clouds underneath.

So there we were, a year and a half later. Me standing by my promise and her standing at the desk where we knew the question would be raised. I cringed before he even asked. "Okay young lady, are you here for cheerleading?.....(long pregnant pause as the jersey and cleats she's wearing catches up to him)...or flag football?"

"She's here for football," I announced, louder than I had anticipated.

The rest was easy; even easier than the countless minutes of catch in the backyard, the neighborhood games and even the indoor Madden '13 matchups. Yes, as expected, she let her arm and her legs and her knowledge of the game do the talking once we were out on the field. Her pass had a tighter spiral than any of the coaches. Her routes were confident and sharp. She didn't like the cone drill because she didn't get to run it with a ball in her hands - "What's the point of that Dad?" But by the end she had made her point.

Should this experience prove too little of a challenge, I won't push her to continue if she doesn't want to. Just like I won't lower the bar because she's a girl. As far as I'm concerned the most important step is already behind us. And we took it together. Nothing against cheerleading, but she does enough of that on fall Saturdays.

Proud to be her daddy. Her mother, sister and I are pretty sure she will be the best one on the field. Regardless, I have already proven to her that while the world stands and waits for their opportunity to believe in her, I'm already at the front of the line.

Today's Ingredients
- MARCH MADNESS IS HERE!!!!!1 And we're not in it.
- But Tyler has the pool heated up. And here's a link to Kerri's #FBWD pool for you tweeps. Password is "Twittah".
- Hoop Dawg has a season wrap up in a lot more words than I can express.
- And Daugman sums up my thoughts exactly on our early exit from Nashvegas.
- Greg has some communication he'd like to impart, from the line of scrimmage.
- From Blutarsky: Animal husbandry. Cousin lovin'. SEC nuptials. Sometimes they're closer than you think. Maybe that explains WarDamnTiglesmen.
- Dawg Haus looks at the 1984 clash 'tween the hedges of Georgia and Clempson.
- Meanwhile, Kimberly wonders who ya got for the season opener.
- The GymDogs finished the regular season with an impressive road mark.
- Diamond Dawgs...swept out of College Station.
- And the Men's Tennis team took care of the Gamecocks yesterday in Athens.
- Lastly, in case you missed it, make sure you craft beer drinkers catch my talk with Kevin at College Football Zealots. We even sneak in a little spring football talk.

So how was your St. Patrick's Day? Did you end up face down?... in a pool of your own green vomit?...in the middle of Savannah?...with nothing on but a ratty pair of green silk boxers?...three sizes too small?...

I didn't. I mean there were some moments when I guess it was touch and go. I did attend a beer fest after all. And spent a good part of yesterday comparing and contrasting Irish brewing techniques. The products of those techniques that is.

But I think the highlight was eating most of the weekend's meals outside on the patio with the family. There's just something about getting back to nature after being frozen over by these harsh Georgia winters. Like I said Friday...

Y'all have a great Monday. And rest assured I'll let you know when my daughter is signing autographs. Until then, here's your fork. Go on and get after it!

Bernie

SEC Tourney - opening day presser

Coach Fox, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Neme Djurisic talk about opening up the SEC tourney from Nashville.


Dawgs open up with LSU today at 1pm. TV is listed as SEC Network, but if you're stuck at work you can also use ESPN3.com.

SEC Tourney reviews/previews

From the SEC Digital Network, here's some preview videos from Hannah Chalker and Dave Baker that look back at the week that was in the paint as well as the week ahead in Nashville.

KCP named Mr. SEC!

Not since the Human Highlight Film was simply known as Georgia's Dominique Wilkins has UGA had an SEC Player of the Year. Until today when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was selected by the league's coaches to have the honor. (note: 'Nique was selected by the media, KCP by the league's coaches)

Thirty-two years is a long time. But when you see these stats... 

Second in scoring (18.0 points per game), behind Henderson. - Second in 3-pointers made (2.5 per game, a total of 31) - Second in minutes per game (33.8 per game) - Third in steals (2.1 per game) - Third in defensive rebounds (5.8 per game) - Sixth in 3-point percentage (37.1 percent) - Sixth in free throw percentage (80.9 percent) - Eighth in rebounding (6.9 rebounds per game) - Ninth in field goal percentage (43.2 perceent)

...it's easy to see why the drought ended. Congrats to Kentavious for this honor and also having the opportunity to defend it the next two years. (kidding...no, not really)

Also congrats are in order for Charles Mann on being selected to the All Freshman team. Go Dawgs! 

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/03/12/2418238/georigas-caldwell-pope-named-sec.html#storylink=cpy

Coach Fox previews the SEC tournament

Coach Fox talks about the SEC tourney from the Georgia perspective for various media members leading up to their opening round matchup with LSU on Thursday.

The drive to the bucket was tipped.

I (thankfully) missed the first 27 minutes of the game. But what I did get to see was the very feisty and determined Georgia team we've come to know the last couple of weeks. Fox's team played hard and scrapped their way back into it. With mere seconds remaining the game was tied and we had a chance to hold for the last shot and steal the win.

Instead, the Crimson Tide did their thing. Just like football.

And I think CK put it best -

CK @McKelley19

Never really had anything against the Tide. Growing to hate them.

Yes. The hate is starting to boil for real.

Wildcats only 80 proof

I thought Forrester put it best when he said this -

Dear Kentucky -- your bourbon is better than your basketball team. Celebratory@MakersMark drink!! #UGA #UK#dawgsontop

GATA! Thanks to all who showed up and sent the "sea of blue" streaming out into the Athens night earlier than they anticipated. Now, hopefully Bama's five buckets short!

Go Dawgs!

Coach Fox teleconference

Fox talks about upcoming game against Kentucky, Thursday 7:00pm at Stegeman.

Monday's Meatloaf - plugged back in

Getting my land legs back under me. It was really nice to get away, but the pile of junk on the desk only got exponentially bigger last week.

Of course at first the feeling of not being able to access internets, phone service and twitters was a little weird. But it didn't take long to just take a deep breath and use the iPhone as a paper weight...for all the receipts being charged to the room.

Sloth like Cecilth. Verry much likes CeCILLLLsth!!!1

Seriously, one bottle of bourbon listerine smuggled onto a ship isn't enough for even a two day cruise. Luckily our waiter knew exactly what we wanted as soon as we walked into the dining room. And Antonius will keep bringing the double Makers and ginger ale as long as you keep raising your hand. Which was a lot, and very necessary.  Especially to put up with some of the crazy characters they force you to eat with while floating along. Ol' DeWayne paid a pretty penny to get on the boat with his common law wife and spend five days trying to pick up Nascar from his cabin television. (A much prettier penny than he used to get those caps on his teeth...from his dental buddy's basement...just a guess...)

But DeWayne was easy to deal with compared to the Abuurn mouth breather that insisted Gene Chizzy could coach circles around Richt all day long. Plus he continually insisted we should have spiked the ball because he knows a ton of shit about football and wants to dump it all in my ear!! OMG dude. Go back and sit with your lovely girlfriend that somehow goes out in public with you while you sport a third grade education and only basic mastery of the English language.

Coach Ricktz nice guy and (blah blah blah) and Cecil Newton [insert ambiguous NCAA reference] and spikes the ball...BLAH BLAH BLAH!! Ugh. Plus all the spittle and violations of personal space. It was all I could do to keep Mrs. Bernie from kicking him in the Eric Ramseys and punching him in the Pat Dye.

Today's Ingredients
- For you beer drinkers, be sure and check out Kyle's recap of another event I swam through while away, Brewvival. Always a great beer festival. Always.
- Did you watch last night's SEC Storied? It's the one that covers the 2008 SEC Tornado Tournament. It was a great hour of reminiscing the craziness as well as some behind the scenes commentary on how they managed the whole thing.
- And Kevin noticed something I failed to while watching: the Miracle 3 episode of the series was dedicated to Kevin Brophy, former UGA player that died in a 2006 car crash. Nice touch. Very nice.
- Lots of news in UGA Athletics. Let's start on the hardwood where the men took down Tennessee much quicker than a bare-chested Bruce Pearl could.
- And Tyler wants the students to act like they've been there before.
- On the Lady's side, they (mostly) eased through their Senior Day tilt with Vanderbilt and now head to Duluth GA for the SEC Tourney. First round bye means they play on Friday night against the Auburn/LSU winner.
- Tickets for the women's tournament games can be purchased here.
- Perno's Diamond Dawgs swept UAB over the weekend, out-scoring the Blazers 33-6. They host Western Carolina Wednesday and Liberty this weekend.
- Of course the best way to get the scoop on what's happening in UGA Athletics is from NCT's Beyond the Hedges. Here's the latest edition.
- In case you missed it, Mr. Sanchez runs down what Richt and staff will need in the 2014 class.
- Speaking of which, in today's LHB recruiting thread BigRedBaller has film of the tall kid that spent time with Coach Richt at Saturday's practice.
- Lastly, would you like a copy of Bob Knight's new book...for free? The Lady Sportswriter might just have you covered.

So back in the saddle now. I'll have you covered without much interruption, at least for another three months when another paradise calls. Until then let's enjoy some of the finer moments Gene Chizik provided the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.



Hey WarDamnSlothTiglesman...83 - 7!! EIGHTY-THREE to seven bitch!

Bernie

Dawgs beat HillBillys, no funnels necessary

SEC Storied - the tournament tornado

Or was it the tornado tournament? You remember this right?