Cocks' Saunders Suspended, QBs Remain in Tight Battle

Weslye Saunders has been suspended indefinitely from the South Carolina football team, according to multiple reports. From what I gather there are also some untruths floating out there as to what took place at yesterday's practice and I certainly don't have a source inside Chickumbia. But stick close to Travis Haney on this one is my best advice. 

Normally this wouldn't jolt the interest meter too much. But this smells different than the usual Spurrier suspension song and dance of indefinite suspension during August only to have his offensive weapon suit up against us. I could certainly be wrong. We'll see.

We should continue to follow this one closely. Why? Because Saunders is the type of player that could make our brand new 3-4 defense fail its very first test.

In other news, The Visor has his QBs in an all too familiar position. It's looking more and more like Coach Grantham's charges will be up against a duo of signal callers when SEC play opens in two and a half weeks. Connor Shaw had another good scrimmage Saturday, outplaying incumbent car keyer starter Stephen Garcia.

I don't expect either QB to distance themselves from the other in what's left of camp. And a Thursday night game against Southern Miss isn't likely to tilt the depth chart either. So the ol' Ball Coach may still be in a quandary as to who his best option is under center when the Dawgs come barkin'.

And that certainly brings back memories.

For the record...

...THIS is not how I met Mrs. Bernie. But it opens up a world of opportunities on message boards.

Have fun.

Sidenote: what is up with that OSU beat writer's hair? (h/t Jeff)

Monday's Meatloaf - Rankings...Mascots, Teams, Players and Wheels

I know, I know. You want me to be upset about this slap in the face. But truly, Uga being ranked the second best college mascot is not something to sneeze at casually. Number two in the nation is pretty good.

Ralphie's my bitch.

But Ralphie? Really? That endangered species has never graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. Plus...he's a GIRL. 


Check the Adam's apple.


But no, I'm not gonna get bent out of shape. After all, I remember what it's like to have too much buffalo dung to clean up. And really, we all know Uga's the best damn mascot to ever represent a team. He's stolen the silverscreen spotlight from John Cusack and Kevin Spacey and has been invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation.


And it's not like this AP decision is even legit. They supposedly ranked the coolest college mascots. Uga rests his manhood on a bag of ice. You can't get much cooler than that.

Today's Ingredients

• Two weeks from today we'll be digesting what remains on the Cajuns. Three weeks out we'll either be slumping through the Monday post-loss doldrums...or failing to contain our unbridled enthusiasm.
• The words preseason and poll are like oil and water. Why do they keep putting them together?
• Garbin puts the peculiarity of Georgia's pre-season ranking into historical perspective.
• Vance talked to some seniors about special teams and camp in general.
• The Senator provides a voice to go with his words. Good stuff.
• Hedges to Hardwood runs down the weekend that was in Athens.
• Weiszer tells us Tampa Plant might already have a QB with Aaron Murray's school records in sight. At least it'll stay in the family.
• ecdawg's Recruiting Update included a report of Coach Richt's newest Dream Team member.
• AJ Green isn't good enough for Ivan Maisel's Heisman list, but he does make the top two in Rivals' WR preseason power rankings. If you'll allow me to pick a nit...like Uga up above, why is AJ not #1? More catches and yards than NotHer Dame's Michael Floyd. Plus, AJ juggles.
• "I didn't want to be compared to him, but I feel like I made it my own." Brandon Boykin, on taking Asher's number. 
• Terrific analysis by Exile on what basics Murray needs to master early.
• MT has some evidence that LSwho wouldn't cut it in the Ivy League...you know, should conference expansion go that far.
• Spent so much time Friday laughing at the enginerds here and here, I totally missed that Coach PaJammies is down to bare bones behind that Nesbitt fella.
• Speaking of Clean Old Fashioned Hate...this brought back some memories. (h/t Paige and Neil) My only argument is that the Tech band didn't win halftime in '92. You couldn't even hear them play over the boos. Some of which were coming from my only tech buddy sitting beside me.
• So what now, are they trying to get me to feel sorry for Bellotti?
• Lastly, in case you missed it yesterday: cheap tickets for you Braves fans for Sunday's game at Turner Field, Skin Cancer Awareness Day.

Successful Parking Attendant, ask Ferris.

Had the privilege of a very nice dinner out with the supper clubbers Saturday. We (literally) went to Market in Buckhead. And as usual, I out-ordered my bride. The strip steak with asparagus, shitake mushrooms and a soy-caramel sauce was almost as good as the cow I pull off my own grill.

After a week of being holed up at home without the wife and kids, it was nice to get out and stretch those social muscles. I didn't even mind when Cord went into his usual rant about being one of the original Goonies. 


But by the end of the evening the only thing being stretched was my patience. The valets had lost my car.

The manager (what do you have to do to become a manager of a valet stand, hold doors open for three consecutive years without slamming one on a patron's finger?) was the second and third to assure me it was being brought up forthwith. Since nearly 20 minutes had passed I questioned the truth of his assurance and watched him jog into the nether regions of the parking lot. Another 5 minutes passed and finally my car emerged.

It seems it had been found in the area of the parking lot rankings with the others receiving votes. As I drove home I had a clearer understanding of how South Carolina fans have felt all these years.

Here's your fork Reader. Have a great Monday. And be careful who you hand your keys to.

Bernie

Braves Win, Cancer Loses

To my knowledge this is my first ever post on the Atlanta Braves. But I often post on Skin Cancer Awareness. And this time they're connected.

Marilyn wants everyone at Turner Field on Sunday August 29th. See the flyers below for details, including a chance to meet the Braves' wives and VIP access to the Hank Aaron Room. Purchase your tickets through the Scan Foundation website.

The Front Line of Perplexity

Gamble's ready to be cut loose. The safeties are as thick as thieves. The turnovers have nowhere to go but up. Of course, there are still plenty of questions with our brand new 3-4. The biggest of which is the 3.

Dobbs Miracle in Lexington. He's the
leader of the pack.

Fletcher Page says the defensive line is a quandary. At the center of the quandary is the nose. Coach Garner surprised us somewhat earlier this week by putting Bean ahead of Kwame. I say somewhat because every snap is up for grabs under Coach Grantham; the days of seniority trumping talent are gone...like a freight train.

I would hazard a guess that most of us are less concerned about who starts than the level of separation between starter and backups. But Page gives a great rundown of the personnel in the mix as well as separating what we know and what we're still waiting to find out.

Demarcus Dobbs is the leader of this segment. For some reason, and I’m guilty of this too, Dobbs gets lost in the shuffle at times. But talking to coaches on the record, and also to sources behind the scenes, Dobbs has had a solid fall camp. 

DeAngelo Tyson is probably the most talented player of the segment. At a minimum, Tyson is the most versatile of the group. I’ve heard the argument that he is not big enough to play the nose, and not fast enough to play the end. I don’t buy it. Tyson is going to play all three spots on this line, and should enjoy a great season.

With any luck we'll have some more answers as we drive home from Columbia. Regardless of Garner's intention behind publicizing the potential starting three, I hope it has the desired effect. Because those 3 up front are being counted on to to anchor the 4 behind them.

Homeless Cocks Distracted...Disrupted

Party's over. Now get out!

On Thursday, South Crackalacky had a few more players, including two or three starters according to DC Ellis Johnson, move out of the Whitney hotel.

The Visor is taking things in stride considering his players' recent homelessness:

But all of our guys are going to pay their bill and hopefully go live somewhere else. That's what we hope happens — that they pay their bills up and go live somewhere else. That's about all I can say about it.

But Johnson seemed perturbed:

Distractions, disruptions, distractions, disruptions. You know, girlfriends are distractions. Classes are distractions. Everything's a distraction. We've got to learn how to grow up and get past that, and focus when it's time to focus.

Sounds like Johnson and I had the same Biology 101 class...twice.

In other Chickumbia news, Spurrier also said that he expects potentially pro TE Weslye Saunders (a central figure in WhitneyGate) to play in the opener September 2nd as the investigation and possible rulings should be done by then. And he also said freshman Connor Shaw will play in the opener as he has outplayed junior Stephen Garcia. Shaw started Thursday's scrimmage with the first team offense.

No word on if Garcia's just been distracted...by packing boxes...or parked cars...or girlfriends.

Trivial Update - Fraternal Dawgs

#ThursdaysRTrivial episode 56  coming up right after this PSA: You can't spell DNA without a D...a N....and an A....you're welcome!

#ThursdaysRTrivial episode 56 " DNA, Dawg!" Welcome everyone to the Twitter Twivia show that's just an apple that didn't fall far from the tree...but in a good way. REPLY back your answer for a chance at a fabulous prize. Fill in the blank to finish this Coach Richt quote related to the Ogletree twins: "Alec is obvious. But Zander is a good football player in his own right and a ________ guy."

Joe Waterloo used to tell me I was the glue when referencing our group of friends. He did that even though I never took my high school football team to the state semifinals. But Zander's no Bernie...thank God.

Really enjoyed this piece by Clarkson and getting to know the Ogletree twins a little more. And the quote above summarizes the recruitment pretty well. Of course it's early. And many will see CMRs glowing analysis of Zander as just trying to justify the scholarship offer, but I think it's just a matter of time before Zander justifies the offer with his play on the field.

And this one stumped some people. Paige tried...and Alan tried. Then Paige tried again. Neil commented. But in the end it was TrT pro Ally who came up with the answer. She gets a Newnan County pompom and the rest get some leftover cake from the wedding last weekend.

You can eat it too.

Murray: Who's Got His Back?

New poll is up. So get your vote on.

Mackie posted something like this about a month ago.. Now that it's closer to time (16 days!!), who do you think will take the garbage snaps against the Ragin' Cajuns? Here are the contenders:

• Aaron "Bionic Man" Murray - leave him out there, potential injuries be damned! Save Mason's redshirt for a time of desperation.
• Hutson Mason - he's gotten plenty of praise. It's probably time to see what he can do. Leave Gray with the receivers and let the true freshman hand the clipboard to a walk-on.
• Logan Gray - sure he's done well preparing at WR, but he's the only player with actual game snaps. This game was made for him.
• Walk-Ons - it's not often we're this shallow at QB. Give these guys a chance to play.

Personally, I think it's highly doubtful Mason survives the 2010 season without his redshirt getting a grass stain or two. If the reviews of Gray catching passes were less than positive I might feel differently. But this seems like a no-brainer to me: let Mason play whenever needed, keep Gray in the game late...but on the receiving end of passes rather than under center. 

Finebaum...Go shove a thermometer up your own ass!

After an undergraduate degree and two advanced degrees I've spent a LOT of time discussing and writing about statistics. The main question is usually whether a study is significant or not. I always figured if I was being required to study it and write or present on it, then it must be significant in some way.

For nearly a month I ran the CMR Hotseat Poll to the left there. Before it closed yesterday it collected 605 votes. I call that a significant sample. And of those 605 ballots cast, FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TWENTY SIX (h/t Cojones) were a definitive No. I call that an overwhelming majority. And since it appeared on this distinguished URL...I consider it statistically significant.

So for those media mental midgets who spent all off-season discussing the temperature of Coach Richt's rear end...kiss my poll!

AJ Green: part Beast, ALL man

I'm a sucker for a good story. That's why I posted on Deangelo earlier this morning. And if you've been following AJ Green since he was a lanky, 16yo, Summerville HS Coach Richt commitment, you're familiar with the story of his relationship with the late Capt. Louis Mulkey of the Charleston SC Fire Department. Pat Forde reminds us, and it's pure gold.

It's a great blend of the story of Mulkey's passion for helping kids...

He bought dinner for kids who were hungry. He bought shoes for kids who had none. He pounded home discipline for kids who lacked it.

"They were the children he never had," said Mulkey's mom, Ann.

If a player blew off homework, Mulkey was the enforcer. Sometimes he'd pull a desk out onto the field and sit a player at it, making him finish his work before he could practice.

After spending two unfocused years in college, Mulkey was forced into the working world. He didn't want his players to make the same educational mistakes he made. 

 ...and one Adriel Jeremiah Green...

Green committed to Georgia in July 2006 between his sophomore and junior seasons. His acclaim grew, but his work ethic kept pace until octogenarian coach McKissick was moved to retire Green's jersey -- the only time he has done so in 58 years at the school.

"He always hustled," McKissick said. "He practiced just like it was a game. If the quarterback threw it too long or over his head, he'd lay out for it every time. Good player, good character, good citizenship. I can't say enough good about him."

There was so much to like about Green that rival schools kept coming after him, even after that commitment to Georgia. Green held tight to his word and signed with the Bulldogs in February 2008.

And that's the way any story on AJ should be - intertwined with the anecdotes and quotes of the parents, coaches and caring adults in his life.  As AJ prepares to lead his team with his 2010 actions and highlights...somewhere up above, Capt. Mulkey is smiling.