Hoops...where from here?

Good wrapup segment from the floor in Charlotte by the guys at DawgPost. I'll have some more links a little later in the meatloaf. But Dean and Fletcher spell out where we are are, and where we could be heading.

Resting under the Grit Tree, in peace

With a big h/t to AthensHomerDawg, today we remember the passing of Lewis Grizzard. I can't really type any more than I already have about how much Grizzard's words meant to me both growing up and growing old. He blended humor, realism and southern charm to perfection.


I simply give thanks that he is up there, sittin' a spell with Catfish at his side.

"The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity."

“The only way that I could figure they could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life's most delightful elixirs, which studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum or bourbon in it.”

“She [mama] had an appreciation of the language. She taught me a love of words, of how they should be used and how they can fill a creative soul with a passion and lead to a life's work.”

“The public, more often than not, will forgive mistakes, but it will not forgive trying to wriggle and weasel out of one.”

“I finally figured it out, I finally figured out how to find some peace and happiness. I sure would hate for the man upstairs to take me now. But at least I did figure it out.”  

Lewis Grizzard 1946-1994 

Buzzer Sounds on HoopDawgs' Season

Game over. As the season went, so did the Dawgs only NCAA game. It was an edge of your seat ride full of heartbreak and thrilling play that often left lofty expectations unfulfilled. In a way this one tournament game was a microcosm of the entire season. The peak always seemed within reach, but the pitfalls were hell on the tailbone.


A few thoughts on the loss:

• I don't care what Kellogg is putting in your bowl, we didn't control the tempo much at all. We tried, but succeeded very little.
• And that's mostly because Washington was very quick. Their energy level seemed boundless but they were also methodically pressing the ball from all four corners.
• If the Huskies had shot the ball any better in the first half we probably would've been run out of the gym.
• For much of the second half, it was those other dogs that played like the higher seed that they were and as if they knew what tourney play requires. Our Dawgs just held on by a thread.
• And although Washington's frenetic style helped us stay in it at times, Coach Fox's squad refused to give up. But the rally fell one basket short.

I'm sure there's a lot of disdain out there about such a talented team falling short as well. But I'm choosing to remember this season for what it was: a bumpy road full of ups and too many downs that was a firm step in the right direction for a program that's desperately needed it for many years. 


Go Dawgs!

Gettin' Knutty!

Assuming it happens, Mike Hamilton firing Bruce Pearl would be like one stooge firing another.

Hamilton - "You're fired."
Pearl - "Yeh, but I'll have a job in another year. You...??"

Important Day for HoopDawgs

Coach Fox has brought the program a long way in two years. A win today over Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament would go a long way toward taking it to the next level.

The Bulldogs got to the NCAA tournament in 2008 after an unexpected run to the SEC tournament title, but could not build on it the following season.

“Check our record, we’ve been fifth or sixth in the SEC East for the last seven years,” McGarity said. “I think if you had said coming in that you would be in the NCAA tournament Year 2, I think you’d probably cash that check right now, but I think that’s a stretch.”

After all, McGarity points out, Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings – completing his 12th season with the Commodores – never finished above .500 in the SEC in his first four seasons.

Stallings got to the NCAA tournament in his fifth season in Nashville and has made four more trips.

“To do it right, it takes a long time to develop and patience is key because you don’t want to cut corners,” said McGarity, who became AD at Georgia in September after seeing basketball success at Florida when he was senior administrator there. “You want to build your program with a strong foundation, you want to recruit the state hard and I think those are the things Mark has done.”

I'm ready to take the next step. And I think the Hoopdawgs are too.


Go Dawgs! 

Blarney Stone, Corned Beef and some Irish Muppets

I've got the corned beef brisket brined and ready. Hope your day is full o' shamrocks and serpent free!

My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

H a p p y   S t.  P a t r i c k' s  D a y!

Monday's Meatloaf, Tilted Kilt style (h/t Cord)

Woof!...laddy.

Sterling Bailey has surgery

Georgia OLB signee Sterling Bailey completed his senior basketball season and then had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Sounds like he won't miss much action in Athens though.

“He had some tears in his labrum and he just had to get those repaired,” East Hall coach Bryan Gray said this afternoon.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Bailey is slated to be an outside linebacker at Georgia.

Gray said whether the surgery would mean Bailey will redshirt is up to Georgia.

“They have been advising him and he’s been in constant communication with Georgia’s medical staff,” said Gray, who said Bailey wanted to finish the basketball season before undergoing surgery.

Gray said he thinks Georgia is targeting Bailey to be ready to practice in August. Gray believes he could be full-speed by then.

“Knowing the kid and his great work ethic, I’m sure he’ll be ready to go come August,” Gray said.

That would be a good thing. Cuz we need some as many bodies at OLB this Fall as possible.

Stephen Garcia, batting a very cool .600

Couple weeks ago I wondered if I was starting to respect Stephen Garcia a little too much. And now that we know his pre-Chick-Fil-A Bowl hotel party was indeed a reinactment of a Penthouse forum letter that Steve Tanneyhill wrote back in 1993, I will only restate that I simply no longer believe him to be a total douchebag. 

Sources told ESPN.com that Garcia's latest suspension stems from a curfew violation at the team hotel in Atlanta the week of South Carolina's 26-17 loss to Florida State last season in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The incident occurred a few nights before the game, and Spurrier considered at the time suspending Garcia for a portion of the bowl game. But backup quarterback Connor Shaw was ill and running a fever, and the Gamecocks weren't sure he would be able to play.

Following the script, it seems the ol' BC feels even less of his starting QB, if that were possible.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has suspended senior quarterback Stephen Garcia for the first week of spring practice.

The Gamecocks opened spring practice Tuesday, and Garcia was not present. Spurrier confirmed Garcia's suspension after practice Tuesday. Reserve quarterback Andrew Clifford has also been suspended for the first part of spring practice. Spurrier said both players should be back next week.

"This was something that happened earlier that we're finally getting around to handling," Spurrier said. "[Garcia's] actually been pretty good this semester. This is something that happened in the past. We just got around to handling it. It's just a violation of team rules. He'll be back next week to answer all [the media's] questions." 

Garcia's fifth spring in Chickumbia and this is the third time he's been suspended for part of it.  Tanneyhill never came close to those kind of numbers.

Coach Fox's Stock

NC State possibly wanting Coach Fox is NOT news. UNC coming after him after we trounce their baby blue asses to get to the Sweet 16 Sunday...now THAT would be news. NC State is like North Carolina's version of Georgia Tech, without the academic rigor.


Reminds me of a funny story from Joe Waterloo. He was in some bar about a decade and a half ago and was watching a football game with someone who happened to be an NC State fan. I think they had just grown a wild hair and beaten someone like FSU maybe. The Wolfpack dude grew so brave as to say, "Dude! The Pack is back!"


To which the only response was, "When were they ever here?"

Missing Man Violation: how much do we care?

Coach Richt can't make calls to recruits the month of April. On the other hand...we landed the top tailback in the country a month ago.
First of all, he knew the stunt was problematic at best. I also think we sign Crowell without him ever taking the jersey and standing in the RB position that January afternoon. However, I'm okay with Richt toeing the line. In fact, in this day and time when it's okay for parents to be paid behind their kid's back...I applaud it. If other programs are going to be able to blatantly defy the rules, I can accept a secondary violation if it helps solidify a dream team member.


Richt's facing a win or else season ahead. He took the high road during Kiffin's brief jaunt through the SEC, racking up secondary violations like they were cheap scratch off lottery tickets. This December Richt watched as one of the Dawgs' biggest rivals received a stay of execution and was allowed to play an ineligible player.


It's the new NCAA and its subsidiary, the SEC. I understand that silly rules like the one Richt broke are there for a reason. But it's been made clear the gray area is vast, as large as the area from West Opelika to Columbus, Ohio. The only given is that any misdeed in Athens will be gone through with a fine toothed comb and dealt with swiftly, harshly.


So I doubt many Dawg fans are barking too much about this latest run in with NCAA compliance. If they are, they just haven't been paying attention. It's obvious Coach Richt has.