“Jakar has been through many obstacles.”

I understand why Jakar Hamilton intends to transfer.  Williams and Rambo are juniors, ahead of him on the depth chart, and there’s more Dream Team talent at safety.  So it’s crowded back there for a guy coming back from serious injury.

But I don’t have a clue what his mom is talking about.

“Little disappointed in Georgia, but thank them for the opportunity. You hear different pitches, and you have to beware. I challenge every mother to do your research before sending your son off to college.”

Unless the coaches guaranteed her son a starting spot in the lineup no matter what – and they would clearly have been deranged or dishonest to have done so – her complaint befuddles me.  It’s not like Jakar didn’t get an opportunity to become a starter.

Sure would like to hear more details on this.

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Nobody’s clean.

I’ve had a few people ask me what I think about Taylor Branch’s impressively researched article in the Atlantic Monthly about college sports.  My response is that no piece like that gives a complete picture of the problem without seriously acknowledging the understandable passivity of the NBA and NFL with regard to creating a professional alternative to big boy college athletics.

Why should they, of course, is the valid response.  The pro leagues get a free pass on the risk and expense of training.  They also benefit from the free marketing of new stars.  It’s a fabulous deal for them.

It’s not so great for athletes who don’t want to be student-athletes, though.  The thing is, I have a hard time placing all the blame for their situation on those on the college end.  It seems to me that the NCAA is well within its rights as an organization to insist on certain rules and regulations that it expects its members and its student-athletes to adhere to.

The problem is that the NCAA and the schools are a little bit pregnant themselves.

It’s one thing to say to a student-athlete that he or she cannot be allowed to profit from his or her name to preserve some sort of amateurism standard.  It’s quite another to take financial advantage of that name while simultaneously denying the same opportunity to the player.  You can argue whether that may or may not be corrupt, but it certainly corrupts the very standard those academic institutions claim to uphold.

All of which is my long-winded way of seconding Dan Shanoff’s excellent, elegant solution to the mess college sports has gotten itself into:

… The easiest solution is to simply create a true minor-league for pro football that takes the best potential-pro players out of the college system and puts them in a paid training program, leaving everyone else comfortable with the deal they are getting.

That being said, if it were truly easy, somebody would have already done it.  That’s one reason I’m amused by Mark Cuban’s bluster about a college football playoff – if you’ve got the money to do something big that bypasses the BCS, why not go for the whole enchilada and set up your own pro league and playoff?  Could it be that as the owner of an NBA team, there’s only so far you’re willing to go?

Necessity is the mother of “Smoke & Mirrors”.

Buck Belue has an interesting take on Mike Bobo’s offensive strategy (ixnay on the arksnay, people):

… Spoke with a former SEC O-Line coach yesterday and he wasn’t real impressed with the ‘Dogs OL. Ben Jones was described as “OK.” Cordy Glenn is “a guard playing tackle” and that’s not an endorsement. And those 2 guys are our best 2 OL.

Because of our situation on the OL, Coach Bobo has to continue to use the “Smoke & Mirrors” Approach. Do a little of this and a little of that. Mike will continue to get criticized, but those in the know understand that the issue isn’t play-calling…it’s a below average O-Line.

I can see there being something to that.  And it might even work out, if (1) Bobo for the most part stays away from the stuff that doesn’t fit well with a struggling offensive line and (2) Aaron Murray gets more consistent with his mechanics and his sense of timing.

That was then, this is now.

This is rich.

“This is a case that involves broken commitments, secret dealings, breaches of fiduciary responsibility, the misappropriation of conference opportunities, and predatory attempts to eliminate competition.”

So said University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg in 2003, when Boston College, Virginia Tech and the University of Miami decided to move their sports teams from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Is there a reason to believe a single word coming out of the mouths of these guys when they talk about realignment?

Stats on the hot seat

The SEC maintains a handy, dandy chart on the last page of the stats it compiles which tracks where the twelve schools rank relative to each other in fourteen categories.  In a head-to-head comparison, Georgia comes out ahead of Ole Miss in ten of those fourteen (the Black Rebel Bears lead in scoring defense, punt returns, interceptions and sacks).

Georgia’s statistical advantage is especially pronounced on offense, as Ole Miss is eleventh in the conference in rushing, passing and scoring and dead last in total offense.  In a conference with wheezing offenses like those of Vanderbilt and Kentucky, that’s quite an accomplishment.

And keep in mind that to date, Georgia’s played Sagarin’s 19th toughest schedule, compared to Ole Miss’ 62nd ranked one.

All of which suggests that Georgia should win in Oxford this Saturday.  But we all know with this team what stats and five dollars will get you at Starbucks.

An old dog can learn new tricks, if he’s desperate enough.

While I understand where Paul is coming from with this comment…

Spurrier may have a lot of flaws, but he knows how to get his best player the ball.  Compare that to Mark Richt who waited til Boykin’s fourth season to even try getting him the ball on offense, and we STILL haven’t seen Branden Smith on offense again despite being the biggest homerun threat on the UGA sideline.

… I’m not sure he’s leading with the best examples there.

Me, when I look at Lattimore’s career to date, I’m reminded about Richt wasting Knowshon Moreno’s freshman year.  Even if you don’t think it would have had a huge impact on the 2006 season had he taken the field, given the quarterback situation, how much of a difference do you think an experienced Moreno would have made in the offensive game plan in early 2007 (South Carolina game, hint, hint)?

That’s not the case this year, Boykin and Smith notwithstanding.  Richt pretty much telegraphed Crowell’s future on signing day and the freshman became the starter in week three.  Malcolm Mitchell leads the team in receptions.

So I’m willing to give a little credit where credit is due here.  It’s just that, like so many other things that have marked Georgia’s recent decline, it never should have gotten to this point in the first place.

Tuesday morning buffet

Trying to keep the tidbits warmer than the seats…

• Richard Samuel, Tripp’n.
• Just when I think Gregg Doyel can’t get any more wretched, he hits me with this piece of dreck.
• This seems a mite optimistic.
• The NCAA has accused South Carolina athletes of receiving $55,000 worth of impermissible benefits.  I have no doubt I’ll find the penalty imposed completely fair and consistent with you-know-what.
• Worried that Georgia’s defense has only racked up one sack in its first three games?  You’ll be surprised by who says that’s not that big a deal.
• Obligatory hot seat story here.  It won’t be the last.
• A blogosphere fight… over Clemson?  It hardly seems worth it, fellas.
• I don’t get this – Oklahoma doesn’t trust Texas enough to hold the Big 12 together, but is willing to jump to the Pac-12 with them?