Georgia Sports Blog

Latest on the Legal Issues

2008-07-03T16:27:00.007-04:00

So much has happened. Where to begin? Ok, let me sum up. Here are my overall thoughts on player discipline issues independent of the events of this off season.

Boys will be boys stuff: Sometimes college kids do dumb and mostly harmless things. As long as no one else is badly hurt, I can live with some of that. If you have 100 boys on campus for a year a few of them will do something mischievous and dumb. It's virtually unavoidable. Regardless, this category of "offense" doesn't make me uncomfortable as a fan/alumni as long as we're punishing appropriate.
Crimes of Paperwork or Nuisance: If a player forgets to pay a parking ticket and gets his license suspended, that doesn't bother me. Nor does jaywalking, ScooterGate, or loud music. We probably punish more severely and more publicly than anyone else in this regard.
Crimes of Technicality: If you have a souvenir knife in your dorm room or a legally purchased fire arm 6 inches from being stored properly in your vehicle per a law that's coming off the books in 30 days, those are crimes of technicality. We probably over punish for these. These things don't freak me out.
Legit DUIs: If you blow over .08, you're drinking and driving. This pisses me off. There's no reason to get a DUI in Athens. Cab rides are too cheap, house parties are too common, and walking is too feasible for a student to get a DUI. Multiple DUIs should get your drunk ass booted. We punish severely for this, and I'm glad.
Drugs: I have never used drugs in my life, and I have very little empathy towards people who create trouble for themselves in this regard. Historically, Richt has been great about punishment in this area. As a fan...this worries me when I see it.
Violence Against Students / Others: I have virtually no tolerance whatsoever for this as a fan or alumni. Our society has laws that protect the strong from preying on the weak. Small time "boys will be boys" bar fights aside, this makes me VERY nervous because it is thugish.
Violence Against Women: I have zero tolerance for this. Basically, I have very little tolerance for disrespecting women in general. It's too common in our society.

So with that as a back drop...that's sort of my thoughts on off the field issues in general. It's the lens from which I see problems and decide whether or not I personally think it's a big deal or not. Not that anyone really cares, but here's what I think.

Lemon -- I'm extremely uncomfortable with the Michael Lemon situation in all regards. I seriously doubt that a player with no prior track record of violence (that I'm aware of) just walked over and started beating the shit out of a guy unprovoked, but right now Lemon's story seems pretty weak. He was suspended indefinitely by Richt today, and I think that's appropriate.

If Lemon is guilty of doing what has been described publicly, then I hope he gets booted. I don't give a damn how bad his upbringing was. The other kid is a UGA student. Parents send their kids to college expecting that big, strong athletes who are attending the university for free won't beat the shit out of their kids. It's a reasonable expectation. Regardless of "his side," Lemon is currently in deep crap.

My personal advice to the universe...if you can't go heels with a 6'4" 265 pound can of whoop ass that says "don't talk to my girl," you should probably not talk to his girl. That doesn't mean Lemon was right for stomping his ass. I'm just saying.
Sturdivant / Anderson - How stupid do you have to be to touch a pregnant woman's belly? That said, I feel like this entire thing has been blown way out of proportion by all the parties involved.

I expect this entire thing to go away once cooler heads or wallets prevail (Note: I found it interesting that the young lady wanted her name published in the AJC. Why didn't she just list a bank account while she was at it.). They are both idiots for getting themselves into a mess like this to begin with. I wouldn't touch my own wife's belly without permission. Assuming I was married.
Boling -- He was pinched on DUI charges. He got a 2 game suspension according to Richt. Good. He needs to get his head on straight because the next boozy offense will snag him a 6 or 7 game suspension. No UGA player has turned his career back around after a second DUI in the Richt era.
Lomax -- He was exonerated by the police according to Richt. It was an absurd case to begin with. It sounded much worse than it was.

Overall, I'm comfortable with the discipline approach and levels at UGA. I wish we got into trouble less, but I agree with Coach's Richt's overall comments on this...more good is happening than bad on campus right now. It's just that our bad has been much more high profile.

PWD

See what happened was....

2008-07-03T12:47:00.002-04:00

It ain't a party until someone loses their pants. In this case, Pat Dye's Caddy Shack Pants.

As Orson said, it's layers of comedy. I mean...how the hell do you lose your dressy golf pants, wallet and keys in the river? And then not remember? Then again, it is Dye. Insert audio of jingling ice cubes now.

This is one of those stories that starts with

"So I was minding my own business when..."

I guess the pants weren't man enough.

PWD

Perno Gets Paid

2008-07-02T10:39:00.001-04:00

You knew this was coming after the baseball team's bittersweet showing in Omaha, but David Perno got a new five year contract worth $2.25 million. I'm still disappointed over the way the CWS ended for us, but it was time that Perno got a new deal. He's led us in three trips to Omaha and captured two SEC championships. There was no excuse for him being in the lower third of SEC baseball coach salaries. Even if you think Perno is overrated and under-performing, it's difficult to argue with the results he has produced. His consistency has been the only legitimate knock.

He'll need the security of this deal next year when we will likely struggle with starting pitching.

Quinton

light day of posting tomorrow

2008-07-01T22:05:00.001-04:00

On the road for work. I'm not expecting any posts tomorrow. Sorry.

TV News: Contracts and Scheduling

2008-07-01T00:02:00.000-04:00

Speaking of non-conference games (Image: Hipple)
Josh Kendall of the Macon Telegraph has a couple of articles of interest. The first discusses the SEC's TV contract talks and the role that TV plays in scheduling games.

You Talk a Lot for an Irrelevant Program
I think it's laughable for Bill Curry to act indignant about the role that TV plays in scheduling. (Note: I don't know that he has another emotion beyond indignation and self-righteous condescension, but that's a topic for another post) The reason I think Curry's blustering is silly is simple. The most proven, modern model for rapidly growing a football program (particularly in a more "urban" setting") is by embracing non-traditional TV start times...and winning (obviously).

Emerging programs have to gain exposure somehow and competing for eyeballs and ticket dollars on Saturday is a tough swim up stream. Louisville, South Florida, Boise State (although obviously not as metropolitan), Rutgers, etc. have all heavily leveraged Thursday, Friday and Sunday games to grow the program. Many of those games would've otherwise been ignored.

Not Always a Bad Thing
The networks were traditionally big drivers in helping arrange marquee inter-regional match-ups like great Alabama vs. Penn State series in the 70s and 80s. Today, they help create home and home series like UGA vs. Ok State or Auburn vs. Kansas State. They aren't always a force of evil. They can create better games if teams will work with them.

In hoops, I know basketball programs work the phones heavily with all the networks in hopes of helping facilitate the scheduling of non-conference games. It's simple

Coach A: "Will you play us?"
Coach B: "No."
Coach A: "Will you play us if I line up a TV partner?"
Coach B: "Well, that's different.".

Going Forward
If I'm CBS and ESPN, I would be willing to go much deeper into my pocket financially for the new SEC TV deal if the SEC would commit to more competitive non-conference scheduling. Imagine a scenario where every SEC program commits to scheduling an average of 1.3-1.5 BCS non-conference teams per year for the next XX years.

That would force schools like Arkansas, Mississippi State and LSU into stepping up and broadening the TV inventory for the betterment of the league. It's outrageous that you have schools like UGA now scheduling 2-3 non-conference BCS teams per year for the next 10+ years while Arkansas (last year) and LSU (this year) have years where they don't play *any* non-conference peer schools.

If the SEC did that deal, there's no reason that ABC couldn't use the same philosophy in renegotiating with the Big East, Big 12, Big 10, etc. All for the betterment of college football, fan interest and yes....TV ratings.

The real problem with college football isn't the lack of a playoff. The real problem is the exceptionally high inventory of non-competitive games across the board. This problem is caused by:

How can you truly know which teams are best if the best don't play each other?

PWD

Uga VI's first game

2008-07-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Uga VI's first game vs. South Carolina. Photo from DawgBone.net's Old School Pic of the Week Collection.

PWD

Funeral for Uga VI

2008-06-30T10:01:00.003-04:00

The Seiler family has asked that UGA fans NOT attempt to view the ceremony. Please respect their wishes. For most of the animal's life it is the team mascot, and they share their pet with us in that regard.

Today, they are burying the family pet. Not the team mascot. Give them some space.

PWD

SMQ's Georgia Tech Preview

2008-06-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

Sunday Morning Quarterback takes a look at Georgia Tech's opportunity in 2008. The article does a good job of facilitating a discussion related to what sort of expectations the Georgia Tech fans (sic) should have for the program.

(Image: Hipple)

Much of their optimism seems to built on the idea Johnson has won everywhere he's been. And that Navy had great success in Div I with his triple option. However, SMQ correctly points out that Johnson was completely lacking in success against quality BCS teams.

Number of Midshipmen victories since 2002 over teams that finished with a winning record: five, against Air Force (2003, 2007), New Mexico (2004), East Carolina (2006) and Colorado State (2005), if you’re willing count the 6-6 Rams. In six years under Johnson, the Middies’ best performance was probably against Boston College in the ‘06 Car Care Bowl, which they lost only because a late pitch in the rain squirted free and set up the winning field goal for BC. None of Navy’s actual BCS conference victims came anywhere near a winning record. (emphasis added)

Where will Tech finish this year? I think a seven win season would be a tremendous accomplishment given the mass defections, recruiting woes and normal learning curve for a triple option team.

2008 Schedule

Aug. 28 (Thur.) JACKSONVILLE STATE

Sept. 6 at Boston College

Sept. 13 at Virginia Tech

Sept. 20 MISSISSIPPI STATE

Sept. 27 Open

Oct. 4 DUKE (Family Weekend)

Oct. 11 GARDNER-WEBB

Oct. 18 at Clemson

Oct. 25 VIRGINIA (Homecoming)

Nov. 1 FLORIDA STATE

Nov. 8 at North Carolina

Nov. 15 Open

Nov. 20 (Thur.) MIAMI

Nov. 29 at Georgia

I see two three sure fire wins on the schedule (JSU, GW and Duke). The rest of the games look like toss up or much worse.

However, the must win games on the schedule that will decide whether or not his team is going bowling are:

at Boston College - Tech badly needs to win this game. A loss here and 1-2 or 1-3 start becomes very likely. It will be extremely difficult for Tech to go bowling without a win against BC.
vs. Mississippi State - Jokes about whiting out Croom aside, this is a big one. Win this and they have a chance to be 4-2 or better heading into their road game against Clemson. Sweeping BC and MSU would give the Jackets a tremendous shot at extending their meaningless bowl streak. Although a trip to the Congressional Bowl vs. Navy (where they would ideally lose) could make for great comedy). Lose to both MSU and BC, and the Duke and G-Webb games will be some of the most depressing BCS home games in America.
at UNC -- A loss could mean that Butch Davis is rebuilding a much more broken down program at a faster clip than Johnson who inherited a relatively stable situation only one year removed from the ACC title game.

On the other hand, the program defining games for Johnson look to be:

FSU or Miami - Both of these programs are in transition. If Josh Nesbitt (Tech's fumble prone but race car fast QB) has figured out the triple option, either of these games are winnable. Tech currently is riding a shocking three game winning streak against the Canes. A win vs. either team would give Tech fans reason to hope for better things in '09.

I didn't list the Georgia game as a potential program defining game. They are already defined by losing to us every year. What would another "L" really change? And beating Clemson hasn't changed much of anything for Tech historically. So I left that off the list as well. Although, it would certainly be a big win if it were to happen.

So what are your thoughts? What do you expect from the NATS?

PWD

Uga VI video tribute

2008-06-29T15:41:00.000-04:00

Simple yet effective. Uploaded by "g1gemags."

Have a good week folks. The banner and black mourning border will be up til Sunday.

PWD

Uga VI's Facebook

2008-06-29T00:01:00.002-04:00

The folks who manage Uga VI's presence on Facebook listed his final status as (click image to enlarge):

"is proud to have served the greatest university in the world. He wants Georgia Nation to know that he's in a better place and the steaks up here are heavenly."

Huge hat tip to Kyle King on that one.

See Also:

I miss my friend - Loran Smith (ABH)
A look at each mascot - AJC
Uga VI's Bio - WSB

There will probably be more articles in Sunday's papers. I'm expecting particularly large features in the ABH, AJC, and Savannah News. However, I doubt I'll be able to link to them until extremely late or at all. I'll be on airplanes most of the day.

PWD

Uga VI Died Last Night

2008-06-28T11:59:00.014-04:00

DawgPost.com and the Savannah Morning News are both reporting that Georgia Bulldog mascot Uga VI passed away last night. Uga VI (aka: "Uga V's Whatchagot Loran") was born in July 1998, and he took over for his father in Sept. 1999 during a "Passing of the Bone" ceremony. (image: Si.com)

Update: Official UGA Statement with Details on His Passing

He was the adored mascot of the program, but he was also a beloved family pet of the Seiler family. The Savannah Morning News reports that Uga VI had a heart attack last night, and the family was by his side at his passing. According to the official statement:

“He was a good one,” Seiler said. “What can I say? He had a marvelous record. He was a very strong and healthy dog. He was the biggest of all the dogs, and he had the biggest heart. It just played out.”

Our thoughts are with the Seiler family today.

During his tenure the football team enjoyed a long run of prosperity going 87-27 overall, 52-23 in the SEC and 7-2 in bowl games. This was a Dawg who saw a lot of very good football perched high atop a gigantic bag of ice. (Updated: It was 87 wins. I didn't realize the SC game was the 2nd of the season '99)

To the best of my knowledge, Uga VI only missed two games during his tenure. Animal quarantine rules prohibited him making the trip to Hawaii for the 2000 Oahu Bowl, and he missed the 2005 game at Mississippi State due to illness and the remnants of a hurricane passing over the area.

Profiles

Uga VI
Uga V
Otto
Uga IV
Uga III
Uga II
Uga I

The Savannah paper also reports that Uga VI will be buried in Sanford Stadium during a ceremony on Monday. (Update: Georgiadogs says the ceremony is private)

As of 12:08 pm (when I wrote the first version of this), there was no word on how the Seiler family and Georgia officials will handle the transfer of responsibilities to Uga VII. The two biggest upcoming events/appearances for Uga VII would be the UGA Kickoff Charity event (July 18-19) and Picture Day (August).

As the news trickles in today, we'll update our article.

Damn Good Dawg.

See Also:

Uga VI takes over for his legendary father - ABH
Uga VI Photo Library - DawgPost
Uga VI's official Page - Georgiadogs.com
The Ugas Through the Years - Georgiadogs.com
Uga VI at the Blackout (CBS) - Youtube
Damn Good Dawg Movie trailer - YouTube

PWD

Billy Humphrey Dismissed from UGA Team

2008-06-27T18:36:00.003-04:00

My initial reaction to Billy's arrest on message boards was WTF? Why go through all of this hassle for a kid that blew a 0.02? That's basically just pinching him because he was underage and had 1 beer.

Well...according to police reports Billy didn't blow a 0.02. The Athens Banner Herald now says that they reported that information in error. According to their updated article with the correction:

When Humphrey was stopped on Georgia Highway 316 early Tuesday morning, his blood-alcohol content tested at .082 on the road and .129 later at the county jail, where he was booked on DUI and other charges, according to the officer's report. The Banner-Herald previously reported in error that Humphrey blew .02.

I'm no liquorologist, but if your BAC is still rising when you got arrested then you went straight from the bottle to the road. Sigh.

That's not a "technicality underage bogus DUI." That's a grown up DUI. It's a DUI under the ultra strict modern .08 definition of DUI, and it's even a DUI under the old early '90s .10 to .12 definitions.

I like Billy the Player. Hell, I even have a photo of me and Billy after the SEC Tournament Championship with us standing side by side while he has the Georgia Tech basketball goal net draped around his neck.

As much as it pains me to say it, I can't fault Felton for dismissing Humphrey. This is his third arrest in roughly a year. It's no different than Richt sending Odell Thurman, Dana Graydon, Randall Swoopes or Akeem Hebron to Georgia Military College. Sadly for Billy, he doesn't have a Juco option. He's too old for that. He's going to need to find a place in a Div I-AA program where he can play immediately.

Billy is a smart kid and a good student. He gets his business done in the classroom. On the court, he tries hard and does a lot with what he's been given. But you can't stay in the papers like this. You have to be smarter and more careful than that.

What a complete and total bummer. I think Felton can be an overbearing hard ass. But I've got to agree on this one.

PWD

Basketball Schedule: Preseason NIT Schedule

2008-06-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

As previously reported, Georgia will be participating in the Preseason NIT this year. We open at Purdue against a low major, and then we likely get Purdue. Win both games, and we advance to Madison Square Garden. Lose either of those first two games, and we return to Athens to host a 4 team mini-tournament.

Here are the latest rumored brackets based on MemphisDog's information*.

Purdue Host Site:
-- Purdue
-- Georgia
-- Loyola (Ill.)
-- Eastern Michigan

Arizona Host Site:
-- Arizona
-- Santa Clara
-- UAB (rumored replacement for Drake)
-- Arkansas State

Oklahoma Host Site:
-- Oklahoma
-- Davidson
-- James Madison
-- New Mexico State

Boston College Host Site:
-- Boston College
-- St. Johns
-- Cornell
-- Loyola (Md.)

If we don't advance to New York for the 3rd and 4th games, we appear likely to serve as a host city for two games. The candidates to join us in Athens would be decided based on geography...not bracket. Therefore, you could easily see Davidson and/or UAB in Athens this season.

All of the big boy scheduling that is rumored (as many as 8 high major or upper mid-major opponents this year) is scary with the strong possibility of Billy Humphrey out for half the season due to suspension.

NOTE: It's easier to project the top two teams in each host city than the next two.

*MemphisDog is to basketball schedules what JimFromDuluth is to football TV projections.

Georgia Southern vs. UGA Game Time Finalized

2008-06-26T17:23:00.001-04:00

Image: Georgiadogs.com
The GSU game will kickoff at 12:30 EST, and it will be televised via Pay Per View. No details on the PPV front yet. If I had my way, no games would kickoff before 2:00 pm. However, I understand that different segments of the fan base have different needs.

If I'm getting CMU, Alabama (night), Tennessee and Georgia Tech all at 3:30 or later, then I can roll with an earlier start for the GSU and potentially Vandy games.

BTW -- In case you missed it, GSU Coach Chris Hatcher "expects to beat Georgia." Bless his heart. Later in the season, he and Linus will wait through the night in an open field for The Great Pumpkin. Both weekends will end in disappointment for him.

PWD

ESPN's Mark Schlabach Projects UGA Football as....

2008-06-26T11:42:00.001-04:00

Schlabach has been wavering this offseason back and forth on where to put the Bulldogs in that 1-3 range. Right now, he has us back into the National Title game in Miami vs. the Ohio State Suckeyes. All told, he projects 10 SEC teams bowling (Image: Hipple):

Bowl	Teams
Title Game	Georgia vs. Ohio State
Sugar	Auburn vs. Texas Tech
Capital One	Florida vs. Illinois
Outback	Tennessee vs. Penn State
Cotton	LSU vs. Texas
Chick-Fil-A	Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
Music City	South Carolina vs. Miami
Liberty	Ole Miss vs. Houston
Independence	Mississippi State vs. Ok State
PajaJohns.com*	Kentucky vs. Rutgers

I agree with his SEC projections with some exceptions. I'm skeptical that we make the national title game given the schedule. So I'd see it more along the lines of Georgia in the Sugar, Florida in the Orange Bowl and Auburn in the Capital One Bowl.

Separately, I think that for the SEC to have 10 bowl eligible teams that Bobby Petrino will be in for another painful year. For both MSU and Ole Miss to go bowling, the Razorbacks will need to drop games to both squads.

But otherwise, I like those SEC picks. Not too unreasonable.

Other Projection Observations:

Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl -- No damn way. I don't see seven wins on that schedule, and you don't make the Gator with 7 wins.
Texas Tech in the BCS -- I don't see it. I see them finishing 3rd in the Big 12 South.
Georgia Tech -- Schlabach has the Yellow Jackets sitting at home this year. That would end one of the longer consecutive bowl steaks in the nation. There's no way Gailey lets that streak end with this talent.
BYU -- The Cougars are the trendy pick for the BCS at-large spot this year. I could see them making that sort of ranking, and the Fiesta would love to have them. I just hope they fall on their face before that.

What sticks out in your mind from his list?

PWD

*I must've been asleep at the wheel or maybe I forgot. But I didn't realize that the SEC had joined up with the Big East in the PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham.

Of Murphy's Law and John Wallace

2008-06-25T23:08:00.004-04:00

Over the past two games we saw a case study in Murphy's Law. Everything that could go wrong did. This season the Bulldogs made their living with strong middle relief, a lights out closer, deadly bats, timely small ball, strong defense and our morale was high.

Over the past two games we saw everything that carried us fail us (except Fields). The middle relief imploded on Tuesday. The bats went ice cold tonight. Our best defensive outfielder watched a pop fly hit the ground. Our All-American speedy shortstop got pinched stealing two more times. Our formerly white hot hitting right fielder continued his slump into the Omaha Abyss, and our noisy dugout went quiet.

We didn't lose because of one thing. We lost because of everything.

Not a Fluke
Mainly, we lost because Fresno State played lights out. In retrospect all of this Cinderella talk was garbage. They were the team that was ranked in the preseason Top 25 in several polls. Not Georgia. They weren't a fluky team.

You don't win 11 games in the playoffs against some of the best teams in baseball by being a fluke. They were a good team that made every play they had to make, and they got every break necessary to win on college baseball's biggest stage.

Congrats to Fresno State. They earned it the hard way with an outrageously difficult run through the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Disappointment
This is as disappointing and painful of a Georgia loss as I've experienced (outside of football) since the crushing John Wallace three pointer in the 1996 Sweet Sixteen game against Syracuse with 2.8 seconds remaining.

Steve Detwiler now stands alongside of Wallace, Peyton Manning, Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Kent Hrbek and Phil Fulmer in my all-time Mount Rushmore of Hate and Contempt.

Going Forward
Coach Perno is now one of the most successful active coaches in the Southeastern Conference. His record over the past six years is untouchable, and the program is clearly moving in the right direction. Next year will be another odd numbered dip, but I expect the following year to return us to the NCAA Tournament and beyond.

If I'm Damon Evans, I make Coach Perno one of the highest paid coaches in the SEC, and I start addressing our facilities. We've got the coach that can take us to Omaha with regularity. Once you get here on a regular basis, it becomes easier to figure out how to close the deal.

Good season. Just not the last two games.

PWD

Georgia vs. Central Michigan Kickoff Time Announced

2008-06-25T07:53:00.006-04:00

Image: Georgiadogs.com
According to the Athens Banner Herald:

FSN South will air the Sept. 6 home game against Central Michigan at 3:30 p.m, FSN South spokesperson Shannon Alderman said. The game will be shown in high definition.

Home Game Start Times for 2008:

If you're serious about tailgating, this is about as good as it gets. If the GSU game doesn't get picked up by FSN, I think it moves to pay-per-view with a 1:00 pm kickoff.

See Also:
-- Details on Coverage - georgiadogs.com

PWD

About Last Night ...

2008-06-25T00:05:00.001-04:00

Here's where to put last night's game ...

Watch it go round before it goes down. Erase it. It was as bad as we can possibly play. Frankly, we were due for a terrible pitching performance. I just didn't expect it in the biggest game of the year. I don't want to hear about the ump's strike zone or Cerione's called strike three or pulling Nick earlier. We got whupped, bad. It was a total team effort. Just take it and move on.

Fresno sucked it up when their backs were against the wall and their pitchers were spent. Now it's our turn. A national title is on the line tonight at 7:00 PM.

Quinton

Wallpaper from Saturday's Win over Stanford

2008-06-24T15:30:00.002-04:00

I took these after the game. Click to enlarge. They are a bit blurry at the larger size, and I'm clearly no Jim Hipple. But I think they turned out ok.

PWD

Keep Your Eyes on the Doppler

2008-06-24T14:36:00.004-04:00

The weather looks dicey tonight. There's a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms from 2pm - 11 pm CDT. The weather also looks sketchy tomorrow night where the chance of thunder storms is 40-50 percent. (ht - Kit Kitchens)

Accuweather paints an even bleaker picture. They list a 76% chance of rain fall from 1-4 pm CDT. And a 50% chance during the game hours. Personally, I'm expecting a weather delay at some point, but not a postponement.

Fresno State's pitchers need a rain out in the worst way imaginable. Here's hoping for clear skies (til 10 pm local time).

PWD

Friday Night's CWS Streaker

2008-06-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

As you probably heard by now there was quite the streaking incident during Friday night's UNC vs. LSU game in Omaha. With the game tied in the 8th inning, twenty-one-year-old Jedidian Potter became the first CWS streaker since 1974.

The kid jumped the wall just to the left of Quinton and I and made a break for center field. When he arrived at his desired location, he struck a hysterical pose of what we referred to as "The Thinker." Quinton has the photo to the right.

Immediately upon standing up after his pose, a member of the Rosenblatt Grounds Crew executed a perfect form tackle that both Thomas Davis and Terry Tate would be proud of.

Mr. Potter rode The Pain Train straight to the Omaha Prison. Video footage of the tackle is below.

Triple T would be Proud

PWD

WOW

2008-06-24T00:05:00.005-04:00

Cinderella was so close to getting the prince. After all looked lost, at the darkest time Georgia had seen in Omaha this year, the Dawgs seemed to will their way back. Down three runs with six more outs to play in a game where everything broke for Fresno, the Dawgs wouldn't quit.

Gordon Beckham hammered a ball to start the miracle rally in the bottom of the 8th and break the UGA season HR record and score Matt Olson. Cerione doubled over Tommy Mendonca, Fresno's brick wall of a third baseman, to tie it up at 6. Then Joey Lewis hit a ball off second base to put the Dawgs up and cue Joshua Fields. The national closer of the year slammed the door shut, 1-2-3. 7-6 Georgia. It was an inspiring performance by a team that looked done for when the rally started.

(Image: Online Athens)

The game started completely differently. Georgia, rested and ready, looked like the team that had played two games over the weekend. It wasn't that we played bad necessarily, but we gave up runs at all the wrong times. Alex McCree, unhittable in prior relief duty, looked arm weary in the 8th, giving up an RBI double and a towering home run that Matt Cerione took about one step toward before admiring its arc.

Starter Trevor Holder would look like an ace until a Californian would hit one deep into the stands. Our pitchers just gave up big hits in crucial situations. Fresno had six earned runs on only seven hits. All our hitters could do was hit ground balls to Fresno infielders who gobbled them up. It didn't matter that Fresno's pitchers had huge ERAs. They looked loose and ready while we looked frustrated and befuddled.

But down three, we woke up and stole a game. Beckham hadn't been overpowering in the CWS. He was solid, but his star was dim when compared to the other first rounders in Omaha. Maybe he was just saving it for the right moment. It arrived last night. Not only did he get a dramatic home run that led Georgia back from the dead, but he pulled off a slick double play on a line drive that erased a man in scoring position in the top of the 8th. The next batter homered.

Only one more victory stands between Georgia and their second national championship.

See Also (updated):

Fresno Falls Flat

Add Perno to the list

Fields Back to Basics

Georgia Wins

Lewis Knows his Role

Perfect time to break out of a slump

Fresno Took Aim at Holder

Another Late Rally

Dawgs need big outing from Montgomery in Game 2

Georgia Beats Fresno State

One More!

Beckham's Blast Makes him Top Dawg

Holder Gets it Done

Poythress Makes Pitchers Regret Moves

Quinton

Fresno State won't be Intimidated

2008-06-23T12:45:00.000-04:00

I'd say the West Coast Dogs are pretty much past being awe struck by the moment or their opposition. Here's the teams Fresno State beat to get to the Finals.

(Ranking listed is Current RPI #):

Their non-conference opponents in the regular season of note were Long Beach, Cal, San Diego and a bad Indiana team.

We beat (by Comparison):

Our non-conference foes by comparison were Arizona, Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Florida State.

I still think the Fresno pitching is mostly worn out for tonight's game, but Georgia shouldn't expect these guys to roll over and play dead. They certainly aren't going to be intimidated.

PWD

(All Stats from WarrenNolan.com)

College World Series Headlines

2008-06-23T08:15:00.005-04:00

Pretty much the best case scenario has unfolded for Georgia so far. We went 3-0 through the early bracket, and were able to set up the pitching perfectly through each step of the process. In the finals, we're facing the lowest seeded team in Omaha with a pitching staff that is absolutely chewed to pieces after Saturday and Sunday's games.

I asked Warren Nolan (RPI Guru) to compare the Cinderella Story of Fresno State to a basketball tournament seeded situation. As you all know, the basketball tournament seeds teams 1-16 in four brackets whereas the baseball tournament seeds them 1-4 in 16 regions/brackets. Warren's response:

Fresno State had an RPI of 91 during the selection process. They won the WAC (#12 ranked conference)* regular season title and conference tournament. I would say they would have been the last 13-seed, but I could make a case for them being the 3rd 13-seed or the 1st or 14-seed.

In basketball terms, Fresno's run is much more improbable than what George Mason or Villanova did in their legendary runs. It would be like College of Charleston or Oral Roberts making the NCAA Finals against a #2 seeded team.

We're sending our ace tonight against the Fresno State Bulldogs. The game starts at 7:00 pm on ESPN2.

See Also:

Year of the Dawgs

Relievers Send UGA to Finals

Final Push

Bulldog Destiny?

Scouting Fresno State

Cinderella Story

Rest of the Headlines

Recap of Omaha later.

PWD

*His site shows the WAC as the #13 ranked conference. However, that's reflective of the most recent games.