LeMay has a "Lead" Dawg

I'm at a rehearsal dinner, so I'll keep this quick...

Christian LeMay named his leader this evening. And by choosing Georgia he becomes Coach Richt's latest commitment for the 2011 class.

LeMay is from Matthews NC (Charlotte surburbia) and is considered one of the top QB prospects for the '11 class. He chose UGA over Clemson, Auburn, Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

Also check out Tower's blog for coverage since he was up there for the announcement.

Now back to your regularly scheduled open bar...

- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Casual Friday

A collection of thoughts and random musings as I spent about 7 hours on I-85 yesterday.

- if AJ Green returns punts in September I'll eat my red and black gameday boxer shorts
- technology's greatest gift to dads that drive long hours on family trips: DVD players...with headphone jacks
- the wife and I had quite the duet going to Don't Go Breaking My Heart. But I'm not ashamed to say I took Kiki Dee's part and left her with Elton's
- been making the trek from ATL area to greater Richmond for a decade and a half. Since then the potholes have gradually traveled north on Einsenhower's Interstate System from NC to VA. So by 2032....the South shall rise again!
- Feel Like Making Love is a classic song. But can't help but wonder how many doses of Viagra those BadCo dudes would need to finish it now a days. I mean it goes on...and on...and on.
- if Logan Gray leaves Athens I'll eat my red Georgia cap...and say the F word twice. In other words, I think there's a better chance AJ returns punts.
- wife used my phone along the way to research better foods for us to eat. "We need to eat sardines" she said. Through a mouth full of Twizzlers and pulls from a Mountain Dew I told her to "smpht tuhhfft it".
- somewhere near mile marker 90 or so in NC is a caution sign that says Low Flying Planes. Thanks, but they'd have to be flying really effin' low for me to be able to do anything about it. Just sayin'.
- you might see this as a sign of weakness, but if I make it through a seven hour trip with only hearing two songs by that Beaver kid I label it a success.
- first wedding I went to on my wife's side of the family was during a Georgia game in Chickumbia. This weekend they're having one at post time of the Derby....let that be a lesson to you kids out there. Read the fine print.
- those are my casual thoughts. What are yours?

Favorite horse of all time...Cigar. Tomorrow I like Ice Box. Bet aggressively Reader. Odds are always in your favor.

That's probably it for the weekend. But I am bound and determined to have meatloaf on Monday. Even if I have to set the cruise control to 90 and steer with my knees.


- Posted using BlogPress from Bernie's iPhone

Wednesday Headers

Heading out of town for a few days, so posting may be scaled back some. But as soon as Gray makes a decision, I'm sure I'll have something to say about it...as long as I'm still in an area with available WiFi.

Until then...here's the news in and around the arches.

• Prez Adams fell short of becoming NCAA Supreme Dictator. As a show of support, I invited him over for dinner. But I made it clear that he'd have to park at our neighborhood's clubhouse in a designated spot and would have to leave the pull behind trailer at home.
• Aron White takes Ms. Bailey Keigers to task, and rather bluntly suggests she not torch her Dawg wardrobe.
• Dean Legge sees next year's draft playing out much differently than this past weekend did for the Draft Dawgs.
• Steve Babik, former FU Gaytuh broadcaster pleaded guilty to being a dirtbag child porn fiend. Maybe that'll overshadow the big ass bong Hernandez left in Gayturdsville.
• Looks like Herschel Blogger's back and has some thoughts on the ups and downs of the spring so far.
• Brooms. Nerds. Another...collapse.

Regardless of any score those enginerds put up...it'll never add up to...

3 3 9

No Real Surprise - Gaytor Hernandez is this year's FU ganja mon

In what has become the newest, hippest sideshow to the NFL Draft, Aaron Hernandez is the 2010 version of Percy Harvey (Go Gaytuh!). Last year, Corch's lethal threat only slipped a few notches on the overall draft board. This year, Hernandez plummeted to the fourth round.

And were it not for a pat on the back and a promise of an endless supply of 2XL/XG gray Gayturd sweats, the former Tebow Target would've fallen even lower.

"He had multiple positive tests, so he either had issues or he's dumb," one longtime NFL executive told the Globe. "One or two tests? Fine. But four, five, six? Come on, now you've got an addiction. He's not a bad kid. He just has an issue.''

Stay classy reptiles. The bar's set even higher for next year.

The Gray Area

I'm not gonna pretend to know any more than you do. Afterall, this all started with a couple of blowhards who evidently get paid to pretend to know more than us. As of right now, the only thing that's definite is that neither Chuck Oliver nor John Kincade were right when they stirred the pot this weekend and yesterday afternoon.

Cuz Logan's still deliberating....

And more power to him. He's in a tough spot of:

• having eligibility left
• being at a school where he wants to be
• but being behind a RS Freshman who was just named the 1st string out of spring ball

Of course, I'd be upset if Gray left. We all would. Whether you dislike what he's done so far on the field, resent him for not completing more passes on April 10th or resent the coaches for not preparing him better. 

Whatevs...

For Gray to leave Athens would leave us all feeling very exposed. I won't go into all the reasons why, they're too numerous and I'm still hoping the point will be moot. And while I applaud the guy for weighing his options and wanting a better opportunity for himself...I just can't help but believe that very opportunity is 'tween the hedges.

The good news is that he gave his coaches an opportunity to change his mind. The bad news is he likely went into that meeting yesterday morning upset with one or more of them. I hope he tuned in. I hope he heard stories of DJ Shockley waiting patiently and eventually taking his team to the confetti littered floor of the GA Dome. I'm more than confident in saying that Coach Richt shared his personal story of being a backup. It's probably a tune Logan's heard before.

Hearing it another time sure wouldn't hurt. And in my mind, neither would hanging around and proving that the coaches made a mistake in the spring depth chart.

In Defense of Myron Rolle

This is a crappy post...so I apologize up front. But I tried to make a comment on this piece by Tony Barnhart earlier and they refused to take it. I can't control the AllJackCrap Quality Control (I'll wait for you to stop laughing...)...but I can damn sure post it on my little space of the intertubes.

Barnhart was making a valid point on the NFL drafting for character. I simply wanted to point out that although his points were entrenched in truth, he missed one very important counter point.

Very good points Tony. But if true, Myron Rolle would not have fallen to the late 6th round. Sure he hasn't played football during the year he was in Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. But the truth is that Rolle is EXACTLY the player EVERY NFL team needs in their locker room.

That may be paraphrased some since the original is lost in space somewhere. But you get my point.

(cue overly dramatic music) 

Take that AJC!!! Truth always prevails!!

(end overly dramatic music)

Monday's Meatloaf - Saying Goodbye, Draft Dawgs & Herbie's Balls

To lead off today, I've been making meatloaf for years. And as good as I am at it, I've never been able to quite replicate the dish I grew up to find comfort in. Love you Mom! Get well soon.

Perhaps the sting of last weekend's dismissal of Mett has subsided...or perhaps I'm just slow to come around to the idea of what all is ahead for Aaron Murray. So reading that the redshirt freshman's work is just getting started was good for my Dawg soul. It may be no surprise that Murray is saying all the right things, but with all of the rumors and turmoil it's nice to find comfort in something.

If you're like me, you already knew the kid was a winner. You already knew he had talent. But if a 19 year old is gonna get everyone in the huddle on the same page in Chickumbia SC on a Saturday night in September...well, he's gonna have to have the qualities of an SEC leader.

And reading up on Murray gets me thinking about the QB that was arguably Coach Richt's best field general, DJ Shockley. It's not that Murray specifically reminds me of #3...it's that I sure hope he does sometime...real soon.

Today's Ingredients

• Before we get to the NFL Draft redux, congrats to @The_Real_Paige for winning last week's #ThursdaysRTrivial. Many contestants were scared off of the idea of selecting Rennie as the first Dawg to go. Paige however, zeroed in on the ball carrier and laid the wood. Hope the Titans' jersey fits ya tweep!
• Here's Hale's complete draft wrap. It's always cool to read the words of guys you've followed for a few years after they've been selected by a pro team to play on Sundays. I can't imagine what that feels like...
• ...then again, maybe I have a pretty good idea. I mentioned several posts back that I've thoroughly enjoyed following some of these guys on Twitter and that Mike Moore has without question been my favorite. Reading their thoughts as they updated their status was agonizing as they waited and thrilling when it finally happened. Congrats to them all!
• If you wanna crunch some numbers, DawgInExile has the draft broken down for us SEC homers. And the Senator adds some flavor to that pot as well.
• And speaking of the proprietor of Get the Picture, I was reading it the other day when my 8yo (girl) was found doing the same over my shoulder. Before I sent her back to her homework, I was forced to explain the title. Quite simply, it's moments like those that Dawg dads live for. So we hunkered down, one more time.
• I can't confirm it from reading the page, but it appears that around the time the Support for Mett Facebook page was drawing hits by the thousands another page was being set up for Montez Robinson. The first Wall post is from last Tuesday night by the page's admin.
• What am I doing this Friday at 6:30pm? Well, according to Chad Simmons I'm checking my cell phone for an update of who Christian LeMay's leader is as I head into a rehearsal dinner.
• Remember the kid Stephen Hill that chose North Avenue over College Avenue? Well after Thomas' first round departure Hill's evidently been charged with being the next Yech receiver to run 30 yards downfield, jump and try and corral Nesbitt's stray bullets.
• Evidently, one of the benefits of naming an OC like Joker Phillips head coach in waiting is that the incumbent QB hits the spring game still ahead of the curve.
• If you're too young to have ever tasted Herbie's Balls, pardon the rest of us while we mourn the passing of one of Athens' dining legends. He cussed like a sailor, but his food was the perfect antidote to too many shots downtown. RIP Herbie. (h/t bendandbreak)
• Last point on the draft and ingredient for today's meatloaf goes to Daugman, who takes his hat off to Fred Gibson while referencing a nice piece that contrasts #82's career with Giants DE Chris Canty.

Always nice to hear of a player who comes back to earn his degree. Way to go Fab-Fly-Freddie!

To close up today, I strongly encourage you readers in and around the A-T-L to register for this year's Save Our Skin 5K Walk/Run. Many of you may be leaving town for the Memorial Day weekend. If not, this is a great event to use as a tuneup for the Peachtree or just to come out and get some exercise with some great people.

It's family friendly with great sponsors willing to give you stuff. The course is a fairly flat one around the Perimeter Mall area. And while you're there you can swing by the screening tent and have a dermatologist check that mole for anything suspicious. Skin cancer is very much treatable if caught early.

So slather yourself in sunscreen and start training. You can register through Active.com or at the Scan Foundation website. And don't forget to have a great Monday Reader. Here's your napkin.

Bernie

Polee Heading East...??

UPDATE: As Mike (Twitter) and Furban8 (comments) mentioned, Polee will visit Oregon before deciding. The Ducks have evidently settled on Dana Altman as their coach and he's hot for Polee too. If you're on Scout, Fletcher Page has been right about a lot with this kid (including the likelihood that he would delay his decision), which isn't an easy task. Especially since this kid's recruitment changes as quickly as his first step off the hardwood. So stay tuned. We may be labeled a longshot, but we're a longshot that has recruited him extremely hard, well.

_________________________

Dwayne Polee is set to make his decision tonight. This is the guy that Coach Mark Fox has recruited the hardest, racking up frequent flyer miles by the thousands between ATL and LAX.

The number of schools still in contention is still a little vague. Polee dropped UTEP, which is the program I once considered Fox's greatest challenge. Floyd began recruiting Polee when he was still writing checks at USC. Now it is down to UGA, St. John's, UNLV and Oregon.

Unless...you believe this post at ZagsBlog.

Dwayne Polee, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Los Angeles (Calif.) Westchester, will announce his college choice at halftime of Saturday’s Collision all-star game at El Camino College.

“St. John’s and UGA,” Polee wrote Thursday in a text, referring to his final two choices of  St. John’s and Georgia.

Steve Lavin is a hell of a recruiter and was out visiting Polee as recently as Wednesday I believe. But he's also the last guy to the table and Fox has made no mistakes with the Polee family, who have gone on record effusing praise upon Fox, Athens and the UGA basketball program overall.

Can Mark Fox grab a high profile recruit such as Polee from the left coast in just his second season?

Regardless, it seems as though Polee is heading east. It's just a matter of where. The game tonight starts at 6:30pm out west. So I'm thinking we'll know something around the time I'm on my fourth bourbon.

Go Dawgs!

Don't "Dismiss" This...

We've all been (at the very least) taken aback by the dismissal of one high profile scholarship player and one walk-on in the last week, bringing the number to three this off-season.

Without going into all of the drama that has ensued in the blogosphere, message boards and newspapers, it's quite simply a puzzling time for fans. We all want answers, and the issue as to what information exactly we as fans have a right to is a matter of some debate.

I'll simply add that it's quite possible that Coach Richt isn't just fed up...he may be more than a little sick of the nonsense. He may even be too tired of the late night/early morning phone calls. There's at least a reasonable chance there's more to it than that. 

And it was the dismissal of back up punter Trent Dittmer that got me thinking. Although we don't know what has occurred behind the scenes, this appears to be Dittmer's first visit to CMRs DawgHouse. The head guy has assuredly made it his last. 

Let me be perfectly clear that I in no way believe that CMR would use a kid's life simply to make a public point that he's tired of being portrayed as Mr. Nice Guy. But CMR has been more than fair in the past with his second chances. And in some cases those second chances multiplied further (read: Odell Thurman). I'm certainly of the opinion that I am on a needs to know basis with what happens within the program that I so dearly love. When I need to know, Coach Richt will tell...Mr. David Hale...and I'll in turn digest it thoroughly.

Montez's case was played out in the media more due to public access to police records. He had a much publicized extra opportunity, and sadly mishandled it.

Mettenberger's case has been well publicized for similar reasons to Robinson's, but the details (at least publicly) don't add up to a dismissal. I am quite certain however, that privately they equate.

Which brings me back to Dittmer. His dismissal affects the team the least, certainly. But of the three, it's the most curious. He got drunk and became an asshat. Something most of us have done a time...or two. Just maybe not to the extent that Mr. Dittmer did. Still, it begs the question, was it the timing that brought such a swift and definite punishment? Or are there other details?

Again, the answers to those questions are not my property. But the contrast between the Dittmer case and the one of Jeff Henson (the only other walk-on to my knowledge to have been dismissed under Richt) is at least fairly dramatic. Henson got a second chance then fumbled his long snap. With Dittmer however, the kid gloves were no where to be seen.

All of that to say this: I can't help but wonder if having made the tough choices he's made in the past few months...and having let go of colleagues, some of which he's worked with for years...maybe Richt has developed the attitude of you're either with me, or against me.


If so...it could be a long off-season if these kids aren't getting the message. I hope they are. Cuz it certainly ain't for lack of trying.

Shaking the Expansion Tree

I've read a lot on the impending expansion and subsequent contractions of NCAA football. Whether it happens or not, only time will tell. Meanwhile, in the SEC things can take a wait and see approach. The SEC is in a position of strength. The conference certainly doesn't need to expand, unless the right perfect opportunity arose.

That's why this reading over at TeamSpeedKills made perfect sense to me. Texas is the plump peach on the NCAA football tree. But it's not just a matter of choosing, then picking.

I'd love to speculate about the idea of Clempson joining the SEC...offering FSU...Miami. But in the end I think the SEC stays put. And it's not just a matter of refusing to fix what ain't broke. It's also a matter of not making a move just because others are.

Afterall, in '92 expansion worked for the SEC. When the Big Eight followed suit, they also did well. But the ACC a few years back...not so much.

It just smells to me like something that's unnecessary. I doubt Slive even shakes the tree.