Thursday afternoon delight

Now that the craziness has died down, at least for today, here are a few items to nibble on.

• I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna be more than a little depressed if these guys light up Bill Young’s defense.
• Do you think Tater Tot’s lining them up numerically or alphabetically?
• “The top 10 or 15 teams in I-AA football can play with anyone in the country.” The next thing you know, they’ll be lobbying Congress.
• I bet they score more than five points combined this go ’round.
• Does this chart prove anything more than that it’s easier to score on lower level teams?
• And here’s another thought on conference property rights versus media rights.

Holy freaking cow

Rivals is reporting that Joe Cox has shoulder problems and won’t play Saturday night.

If that’s the case, I’m incredibly sad for the kid and floored by the news, to say the least.

Also, if true, when did it first surface?

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UPDATE: Here’s a link to a message board post with the details.

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UPDATE #2: David Hale is skeptical about the story.

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UPDATE #3: On the other hand, ESPN is also reporting that Gray is likely to start Saturday night.

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UPDATE #4: Per the AJ-C, Mike Bobo puts the rumor to bed.

“Joe is the starter,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said in a text message to the AJC. UGA spokesman Claude Felton said in an e-mail,” Joe will be the starter Saturday.”

That’s good news on two fronts.  First, I’d like for Cox to have the opportunity to get the bad taste out of his mouth from the OSU game.  Second, the idea that Gray wasn’t ready to start ahead of an injured Cox in that game, but would be expected to do so against a stout defense this Saturday didn’t exactly give me the warm and fuzzies.

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UPDATE #5: So, what to make of this note from ESPN?

Earlier Thursday, a person close to sophomore quarterback Logan Gray told ESPN’s Joe Schad that Gray was expected to start due to an arm issue that limited Cox’s repetitions this week.

Who doesn’t like a challenge?

One thing to keep an eye on this Saturday night is the kicking game – for both Georgia and South Carolina.  You’ll never quite know what to expect.

Get ready for another round of adventure on kickoffs, Dawg fans.  It’s just how Jon Fabris rolls.

… If you’re wondering what happened, former Georgia players A.J. Bryant and Kelin Johnson, now regulars on the “Fifth Quarter Show,” put it all into perspective. Both of them played on special teams for Fabris, and they said that it wouldn’t matter whether the Dogs had a kicker who could put it in the end zone or not; Fabris likes “the challenge” of directional kicks. That’s just Coach Fab, they said, get used to it.

Evidently, Georgia isn’t man enough to cover kickoffs consistently.

Oh, and about that return game and letting a freshman run out kicks eight yards deep?  Evidently that was a collaborative decision:

Freshman kick returner Branden Smith took some heat from fans for twice deciding to return kicks from deep in his own end zone, but Tony Ball said it wasn’t Smith’s decision.

“It’s on (Shaun) Chapas,” Ball said. “The returner can sometimes get disoriented trying to field that type of kick, especially a young player like Branden. And I told (Chapas) if you have to, you go in the end zone and grab him and don’t let him come out. Those are the trials and tribulations, but they’re not issues that can’t be fixed.”

Chapas, who works as the upback, was told to make the decision on whether to return the kick or take a knee in the end zone for a touchback, but the angle of the kick made the choice difficult.

“My initial thought was Chapas should have kept him in the end zone,” Ball said. “After asking Chapas about it, he felt like it being a line-drive kick, that threw things off. There was some dynamics there where he had to make some decisions, but Chapas has done it for a couple of years, so I trust him.

Note to South Carolina special teams:  don’t even think about kicking line drives this week.

On the other hand, at least Blair Walsh nailed his opening field goal attempt, which is more than you can say for his Gamecock counterpart.

“no swine flu is catching me…”

In case there’s any doubt, I heart Rennie Curran.

Q: With Georgia 0-1 for the first time in 13 years, how big is this week’s game?

A: Definitely, it’s going to be a huge game for our reputation at Georgia. … A huge game, just as if we were playing in the SEC Championship Game. I’m ready to fight.

If attitude is as contagious as the flu is, Georgia should be in great shape Saturday night.

Mandel: Kids, don’t be an Irish hata.

Leave it to Stewart Mandel to devote a big chunk of his weekly mailbag to putting things in perspective about poor ol’ misunderstood Notre Dame.  We’re all just a bunch of envious, jealous rubes – except for Stew’s buddies from Montana, I suppose.

Seriously, how do you write a credible piece on the subject (1) without mentioning Notre Dame’s unique BCS guarantee (Mandel obliquely refers to how “the BCS treats Notre Dame as a conference unto itself” without any specifics); (2) referring to the school’s “(perceived) arrogance” without delving into the high-handed way it’s handled scheduling lately; (3) and not discuss the pass the school has received in poll voting until very recently (due to how badly Weis’ previous two teams played)?

You can’t, of course.

But the topper is this awesome non sequitur:

And in light of the hubbub about the Irish’s preferential bowl treatment, it’s incredible to think that for more than four decades (1925-68), the school did not allow the team to play in bowl games, period.

I’m too befuddled about the point he’s trying to make there to be disgruntled.  Hey, maybe that’s progress!

More tales from the recession: “It went over like gangbusters”

The City of Memphis, in serious need of revenue, elected to allow beer sales at the Liberty Bowl during Memphis’ (the school) home games.  How’d that work out in the first week?

Pretty damned well.

Beer sales totaled $114,576 after Sunday’s opener, meeting 40% of the revenue goal the city had hoped to take in for the season to pay for recent stadium improvements.  [Emphasis added.] “We’re tickled pink,” said Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery.

40% of what they were hoping for from six games?  Yeah, I’d say that’s alright.  And as for all the clucking about alcohol sales,  check out the double standards listed in the article:

… The NCAA does allow alcohol advertising on televised championships but limits it to 60 seconds an hour.

Amid concerns about binge and underage drinking, most colleges have continued their long-standing relationship with alcohol. Alcohol is available at many stadiums in club suites and most schools have some form of beer advertising.

Of the 50 schools marketing company Learfield Sports represents “30% allow (beer) advertising on the venues and 90% allow it on the broadcast (radio, TV),” Learfield president Greg Brown said. That revenue is substantial. Wisconsin recently decided to end beer advertising agreements and “more than a half of million dollars was left on the table and that’s just for radio,” Brown said.

Of the more than 50 schools marketing company ISP represents, half to three-quarter of those schools have some form of radio or “limited print” advertising that involves alcoholic beverges, according to spokesman John Justus.

Expect more beer to be poured, folks.  They need the money.