Hey @KirkHerbstreit...Coach Richt has tarnished the Irish.

Felony assault of a police officer. Jeez.

The Irish reserve from Austintown, Ohio, was arrested Sunday night in his home county, per Mahoning County Sheriff Department documents. He faces five charges, three of which are considered felonies in the state of Ohio.The felony charges are assault of a police officer, intimidation of a public servant/party official and vandalism of a government entity. He also was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. (h/t AHD)

Let me know if you need Richt's phone number again Herbie.

Sanford ranks third among SEC Stadiums

Yeh yeh yeh. Off season fodder and all that. But Athlon took a poll of 12 SEC experts (which I take to mean media guys that cover the conference - it includes Barrett Sallee, Seth Emerson and Steven Godfrey among others) and Sanford ranked just behind LSU's Death Valley (of course) and Kyle Field. Here's their rundown:

3. Sanford Stadium, Georgia

Opened: 1929 Capacity: 92,746

It may not be the SEC’s biggest or loudest stadium, but it is the most beautiful. The Bulldogs' home stadium is located in the heart of the plush greenery of the gorgeous Athens campus. The famed privet hedges line the field and separate the Georgia fans from the action on the field with style that matches the dolled-up student section. Mark Richt is 68-14 “Between the Hedges” and has his team poised for another perfect home slate in 2014.

All in all, a fair assessment I think. Especially the part about the most beautiful. A couple things that stuck out to me overall: 1) I don't think I realized Kyle Field had so many seats. Over 102K. Wow. 2) Georgia gets two one votes which is a little surprising, but not as much as a nine vote by Sallee who even had South Carolina's William-Brice ahead of Sanford. Interesting.

Glad they completed this before McGarity got a chance to get jiggy with it. What do you think?

"Volition", the new theme?

The team worked out with some Navy SEALS this weekend. Afterwards the word volition emerged heavily. I decided to take a closer look at its meaning:

volition, n. - the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; the choice or decision made by the will; the power of willing.

Starting to see how this could become a recurring theme in the practice/workout/team meeting vocabulary.

Regardless, there's a continuing trend towards a new air around Athens. Sure, words (especially tweets) are cheap. But there's greater accountability, as well as a definite lean away from a country club feeling and more towards a business like atmosphere.

Stay tuned.

Happy Father's Day - appreciating Mr. Bailey

Can't think of a better way to celebrate.

Please don't get me wrong, I pumped my fists while reading Sterling Bailey's dad go off on how it's the kids and not the system at UGA. In many ways I felt it was Coach Richt saying what he really can't say.

Such as this:

“When I read some of the things said, it just made me sick to my stomach,” Bailey said. “That young man (Matthews) needs to realize who opened doors for him first. I’m speaking as a member of the Georgia Bulldog family, of the Bulldog Nation, because my son goes to school down there, too. I love Tray. I love his mom and dad, too. We’re good friends. But the comments I read made me feel like they were putting down the University of Georgia, the system and the coaches. Not one time did I see it mentioned what Coach Richt or the other coaches have done for him. That’s what made me mad.

“Coach Richt and the coaching staff opened their arms to this kid. They welcomed him into the Bulldog Nation and they stood behind him. For him to come out like that and make it seem like the University of Georgia had done him wrong, that’s what makes me so mad. Same with Shaq Wiggins and the other kids who had the opportunity to play at the University of Georgia. They leave and transfer and get dismissed from the team and they blame it on the school system. It’s not the system; it’s the kids. If you come and do what you’re supposed to do and do it right, you wouldn’t get in trouble and things like this wouldn’t come about.”

Preach. I mean, how many times have you heard yourself saying the same things in your head? How many times have you wished you could've heard Coach Richt be given the chance to set the record straight? Kudos to Mr. Bailey for standing up for his son's coach, his son's program. His own program.

But he wasn't done. What he said next I think is even more powerful. Because his own son Sterling has seen trouble while at UGA...

“Sterling, when he first got down there, he did something wrong,” he told me.

Mr. Bailey explained that, when his son was a freshman, he got a call from Ron Courson, UGA’s director of sports medicine. He learned that Sterling had failed one of the football program’s drug and alcohol screenings.

In this particular case, Sterling had violated the Bulldogs’ alcohol policy. Then underage, his blood-alcohol content at the time of the surprise morning test was enough to still be legally drunk, Mr. Bailey said.

Sterling was not suspended as a result of the failed test, but he was subjected to much discipline, Mr. Bailey said. Not only was his son subjected to a long period of early-morning extra conditioning runs but, more importantly in his eyes, Sterling was ordered to attend drug and alcohol counseling. 

So there's the story we don't usually hear. The one where the kid's name isn't thrown into the headlines, but the coaches and the counselors (and the parents!) help the young man work through his transgressions. Most importantly the player decides that playing in Athens is where his heart truly is. What a great ending!

And Auburn loses yet another quarterback prospect.

If you can't bat em down, join em.

Coach Mark Voorhees

Happy Friday the 13th y'all!

h/t BassinDawg

"Come play receiver for the Leak..er!"

Doesn't have quite the same ring.

Florida coach Will Muschamp announced Wednesday that receivers coach Joker Phillips has resigned from the position.

“I'm thankful for the opportunity that the University of Florida and Will Muschamp provided to me and my family, but at this time I have decided to step down from my position on the UF coaching staff for personal reasons,'' Phillips said in a release from the school.

Muschamp and the Gators didn't have to look far for a replacement either, as former Florida quarterback Chris Leak has been promoted from his role as an offensive graduate assistant to take over Phillips' old job. Leak spent the spring working alongside new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper this spring as the Gators installed a new up-tempo offense.

Seriously. I'd feel sorry for Mill Wuschamp if he hadn't asked for this shit.

Darkness falls on the Classic City

Coming July 5th...

Humpday Hilarity - children in church

h/t Mac

A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd.     While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar.      So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear." One Sunday in a Midwest City , a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle.    Finally, the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out.      Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!"

Coach Richt has lost control of ponytails...

...on his practice field. GATA girl!