Monday's Meatloaf - The Bracketology of Dancing

Today there is something we can say that Tech, Auburn, Bama and Jim Harrick can't...we're dancing baby!

Just stuff it Charles.

After sweating it out most of the weekend, it turned out that we were a virtual lock since the SEC tourney started. We not only made it in the big dance, but we grabbed a 10 seed to boot. This news upsets Lunardi some analysts as well as Updykes other basketball fans. Leaving Bama at home without a date despite losing to them twice in the last week, is hard for many to fathom.

“Georgia got in easily,” analyst Charles Barkley said on CBS. “I thought Georgia should have been in, but everybody had them last four out or last four in, but nobody had them as a 10.” 

But the season didn't start 10 days ago. It started back in November and that's when the Dawgs started working on their resume. While some teams were frantically tying and fiddling with their bow tie this weekend, Coach Fox could point to his RPI and his SOS. There was no need to look in the mirror for one last check.

“This is about a four-month marathon, not a four-day postseason tournament,” Fox said. “I think people forget that.”

The body of work had spoken for itself. Shoes are shined. DJ is plugged in. Raftery's got the onions. Well done Coach Fox. Do us proud!


Today's Ingredients

• Weiszer breaks down the scene at Stegeman when the team found out. Fletcher Page does the same.
• Andrew Miller reminds us that there can be only one true Dawg.
• We'll tip off Friday night in Charlotte after the Heels. Gentry Estes has the full TV slate for the first weekend.
• Got an extra couple hours at work today? Need a clean bracket to scribble on? King's got the hook up.
• Dawgola Tesla wishes Bama well, in the NIT.
• hoopdawg is pretty excited. And like most of us, Exile is surprised by the seeding. He also runs down some other eye-openers.
• Bubba n' Earl are dancing (boy, that's a sight I bet) and looking for hoop fans ready to bust their bracket. ugakerri is also running one, if you have Football Withdrawal.
• When I watched Perno's squad from my soggy seat last Wednesday I thought they were in the midst of turning things around. But I never expected the Diamond Dawgs to sweep the west coast.
• I'm sorry Senator, what's this good Samaritan news concerning the football team of which you speak?
• The Buckeyes sell their soul to win one game against the SEC and now suddenly their fans are acting like a bunch of Updykes.
• They're even forcing Herbie to get his highlights done down south now, kicked him out of Columbus.
• I think Hinton wraps up the Herbstreit saga pretty well. But am I the only one that finds the whole story a little less harmful when this fanatical fan mentioned is a high school kid?
• Now that Hewitt is gone, Rivals has an interesting name as a possible replacement on North Avenue. Personally, I've heard Bob Knight is willing to interview.

And Knight definitely knows how to swing, if you know what I mean. I'm sure Jay Bilas and Furman Bisher would provide their endorsement. Dickie V too. Terrance Moore I hear is sticking with Mike Vick.

Please...help.

But forget all that Dawgs. Let's get to groovin'.

Dawgs can dance if we want to
We can leave the Tide behind
'Cause your nerds don't dance and if they don't dance
Well their bubble burst this time
I say, we can go to Charlotte
A place where the Bizarro Dawgs we will find
And we can act like we come from the Steg
Leave the real one far behind
And we can dance

That's the end of the meatloaf Reader. Hope it fortifies you on this National Bracket Monday. Remember, if you get a gravy smudge on your printout...you probably don't want to run it through the fax.


Bernie

Braine Era Closes: Hewitt finally craps out

Now that Coach Hewitt has been fired at Georgia Tech, does this officially close the book on the legacy of Dave Braine? You know, the mastermind who engineered the contracts of both Chan Gailey and Paul Hewitt.


If so, it's an especially sad day to be a Dawg. That was one glorious, craptacular era of engiNerd athletics. Here's Hewitt's parting remarks:

“I’m no longer the coach at Georgia Tech. … I feel very fortunate to have 11 years at Georgia Tech. They’ve been more than fair to me and my family. I wish them all the best. I think Tech is in good hands.”

More than fair indeed. The former coach is still due $7.2 million dollars, unless he feels he owes his former employer a negotiated settlement. When Gailey was fired he still had four years at $1 million remaining and Radakovich honored it.

7.2  +  4  =  11.2 MILLION!!!1

That's a lot of damn cokes and hotdogs folks! And it puts the dark era of having Goff, Donnan and Jirsa on the payroll post-firing to shame.


I miss the Dave Braine algorithms. 

Glass half full, still thirsty

Yesterday sucked. Should we have won? Yup. Was it an inexcusable loss? Absolutely. Was the fallout a sign that things are on the rise? Of course it was.


If you're currently calling for Coach Fox's head, I applaud your allegiance, but you should probably take an hour or so off from the twelve ounce curls.

Really. Step away, take it all in.

• We're about to make the NCAA Tourney. 
• Am I sure? Pretty much. I suppose it's possible we don't make it. But I'd be just as shocked at that as I was when there wasn't a whistle at the end of regulation against Tennessee in Athens.
• We're back in the serious discussion among AAU hoops around Atlanta and beyond. To react dramatically is to embrace the idea of starting all of that over again. Remember that guy named...Felton?
• Fox has yet to stock the roster. If When we make the tourney tomorrow we'll be a small part of every water cooler discussion on Monday morning. Everyone takes notice of that, especially big BIG recruits around Atlanta.

Yes, it wasn't a great second half for Coach Fox as he was upstaged and outcoached by Anthony Grant. I didn't see it live, but later watched the replay in near entirety. I'm baffled by his reluctance, er stubborness...??...to call a timeout that late. And then when he did we hit the winning shot after the whistle.

Ugh.

But he's got the wheels moving in the right direction. It's just that right now the seat belt is needed much too often.


- Weiszer's notebook
- Exile's initial reaction
- currently, Lunardi has us as a First Four game in Chicago

Tamburo to transfer

Former  North Gwinnett star Michael Tamburo is transferring from Boise State to UGA. He will be a preferred walk-on.

"I could have gone other places," Tamburo said, "but I just felt UGA was the right place for me. This decision was not all about football. I wanted to also major in business, and Georgia has a great business program. I didn't really look at depth charts either. I just wanted a fresh start.

"I have always had a ton of respect for Mark Richt and Mike Bobo. I mean, it is Georgia, and it is the SEC. I’m ready to get there."

Tamburo threw for 6,598 yards and 57 touchdowns during three years as the starter for Bob Sphire at North Gwinnett, but has not been able to crack the depth chart during his two seasons at Boise State.

The chances of Tamburo cracking the depth chart under center are just north of slim. But he's a gifted athlete that is looking forward to being closer to home. Glad he gets the chance to study in Athens. Both academically and athletically.

Call it sCam Envy

I suppose amateur football doesn't pay as well on the plains as suspected.

According to the five victims present, three black males entered the residence with one displaying a handgun.  Personal property was stolen during the incident.  No injuries were reported.  A patrolman responding to the area observed what he believed to be the suspect vehicle based on a description he was given.  Officers stopped the vehicle in the 1200 block of Wire Road and four suspects were taken into custody.  A pistol and the stolen property was recovered at the scene.  Goodwin, Kitchens,McNeil, and Mosley were transported to the Lee County Detention Center where each is currently being held on a $511,000 bond.

All four players were immediately suspended by Coach Chizik. No word on if they are still eligible at Ohio State.

Dome Music

Beat Bama today and the melodies coming from the Georgia Dome will really be something we can dance to. I tend to think we're playing NCAA ball next week regardless, but it'd be nice to see Fox's Hounds have a more successful business-like performance than Saturday's against the Crimson Tide.


I didn't get a chance to watch a single minute yesterday. I caught the last 100 ticks of Scott Howard's voice on the radio. Promised Exile I'd follow the same exercise today...tomorrow...even Sunday if necessary.


So the ball is in Thompkins and Co.'s court. Two words - rinse, repeat.


Go Dawgs!

Happy Spring Practice Day!

Don't feel like you need to stretch too hard. We get more than a week off starting tomorrow.


Some reading to start the spring off - Chris Low has a summary piece up on where the Dawgs stand heading into spring. Check it out if you haven't already. I think it hits on most all of the questions heading into spring. Here's a couple highlights that especially intrigue me:

• Really glad to hear that Ealey and King are working hard off the field. We're desperately thin and inexperienced at RB without both of them.
• Leadership: “We’re holding each other accountable and have the right kind of attitude,” Robinson said. “I think we’ve eliminated some people maybe that were cancerous, whether it was people who graduated or might not be here anymore. We’ve become a team of guys that want to be here and want to do well for Georgia.”  - Christian Robinson ladies and gents, #45 in your program.
• Sanders Commings...eager to see where he ends up. I personally would like to see him be able to stay at corner. For that to happen we have to have the current safety depth chart step up.

A couple of things I would add:

• New assistants. How well do Friend and Olivadotti adjust to Woodruff Field?
• Murray's ankle. He should be a full go by the time Spring Break is over. I want the younger guys to get lots of reps, but hope it's not out of necessity.
• Bulking up, up front. Low has some nice quotes on the S&C front. But the battles in the trenches will be a focus this spring.
• And along that notion, nose tackle. Who's ready to compete with Jenkins?

Lastly, I don't think I mentioned in any previous posts, but Boykin has tweeted once or twice about his new blog. Check it out. 

Johnathan Taylor Update

In case you hadn't heard, Taylor's surgery went as planned. But there's no news...which is a good thing really. It will take a while before they can make any type of prognosis going forward. In the mean time, you can visit his Caring Bridge site and leave him some well wishes if you have not done so already. (h/t Streit) Although it's impossible to imagine what Johnathan and his loved ones are going through right now, I'm sure the supportive words of the Dawg Nation are much, much appreciated.


Quite an emotional win last night in Macon for the Diamond Dawgs. The black jerseys were worn and Cone wore #2. Great write up here by Weiszer to catch you up. Go Dawgs!


As for tonight, the rain's not really expected to start tapering off until well after first pitch is scheduled. In short, it doesn't look good for baseball tonight in Gwinnett. I would offer to host a soggy tailgate in the parking lot regardless...but Mother Nature would just drink all the beer and belch in our faces anyway. *sigh*


Stay tuned.

One wacky Professor running the asylum

There's a lot in the OSU story saga that can turn the stomach. And I'm not sure that what's coming to light now is all that uglier than the NCAA and tOSC officials allowing their tatt'd up players to play in the Sugar Bowl despite the improper benefits.


For now we have the coach failing to admit he was wrong after being caught in a lie. Coach Tressel knew nearly a year ago that his players were given the tattoos and lied to his bosses about it. Yet he's still pretty comfortable in his own skin.

On Tuesday night, we learned Tressel isn't any different from a lot of coaches in college football. He's apparently more concerned about winning games and championships than following rules and doing things the right way.

In fact, Tressel might be even worse than other coaches who are corrupting college athletics. He won't admit he's wrong even after he has been caught.

Facing the biggest crisis of his career, Tressel never once apologized for knowingly breaking NCAA rules during a news conference on the Ohio State campus on Tuesday night. Worse, Tressel never owned up to not telling his bosses or NCAA investigators that he was aware that at least two of his players might have accepted improper benefits from the owner of a tattoo parlor in Columbus, Ohio.

When Tressel was asked if he was worried the scandal would tarnish his reputation, he said he's always been his biggest critic.

"I don't think less of myself at this moment," Tressel said.

Whatever. I didn't fall off the college football turnip truck yesterday. I realize most of these coaches feel they're entitled to have respect, even when their own actions continually strip that down to nothing.


But it's easy to see why the sweater vest  has this pompous attitude when the campus brass can't stop browning their own noses.

Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee said he never considered firing Tressel.

"No, are you kidding me?" Gee said. "Let me be very clear. I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."

That's insanity folks. Plain and simple. No matter what a Georgia coach does in the arena, I never want him running the show. No one should be above the rules. And they should never be above the institution.

Thompkins - 1st teamer

Trey Thompkins became the first player since Jarvis Hayes to land consecutive mentions as a first team SEC player.

Thompkins was the presason SEC Player of the Year after being a unanimous first-team All-SEC pick last season, but he missed the first three games of the season with a high ankle sprain and has also dealt with a shin injury and an in-grown toenail.

“He has not been as powerful because his lower body hasn’t been healthy,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said on his radio show Monday night. “Hopefully we can continue to try and make him a little bit better every day so we can go into the postseason here with as good a chance to play well as we can.”

Travis Leslie was named to the 2nd team. The Dawgs take on Auburn tomorrow at 1pm in the GA Dome.