Have a bite or two…
- Cornelius Washington, don’t make me dust off the “lost control” meme.
- Minor league baseball isn’t exactly thrilled with Mark Emmert.
- Ed Aschoff thinks half the teams in the SEC could surprise us this season. I doubt it.
- Alligator Army argues that Gator fans are only really happy when their team is winning big (although I think they’re probably okay with their 2006 title). That’s a problem for Boom.
- Pat Haden breathlessly announces that Southern Cal will begin offering four-year scholarships in its revenue producing sports.
- When’s the last time you saw a head coach also working as a position coach?
- Herschel Walker visits Athens, Tennessee.
Get The Picture 
Nice article about ole #34. What a credit he is both to himself and UGA.
LikeLike
Excellent article on the FU lizzards. I believe this is Agent Muschamp’s last year- schedule is too tough and he will not beat either the Dawgs or Free Seafood U. Dan Mullen the next corch?
LikeLike
Lane Kiffin
LikeLike
I was sitting in the nosebleed seats the night Herschel introduced himself to Bill Bates in Knoxville. And before much longer, the air had gone out of Big Orange country that night. From that point forward, #34 never failed to amaze. Couldn’t agree more, Spike. He is indeed a treasure to Bulldog Nation. IMO, the only other highly respected figure in SEC history that can match Herschel is Archie Manning.
LikeLike
“the only other highly respected figure in SEC history that can match Herschel is Archie Manning.”
Ah man, seeing those two names in the same sentence makes me grind my teeth.
Archie is a legend in his own mind…never won anything, nada, nothing…but has great kids.
Herschel needs no companion.
LikeLike
C’mon, man.
LikeLike
I don’t doubt Archie Manning is a hale fellow well-met, but he had tottered off into retirement from the NFL following a remarkably horrific NFL career in New Orleans. Until….tah da…his kids became household names…suddenly Archie was back from the grave…an ESPN expert etc, etc, etc…
Some could say he was responding to the marketplace. Others might say he was…well, whatever.
LikeLike
Playing for shitty teams in and of itself doesn’t make you a shitty player.
LikeLike
No and I never said Archie was a shitty player…he was a helluva great college player, no doubt about it. And, apparently, pretty good at responding to the needs of the marketplace.
LikeLike
Oops, my bad. You’re quite correct. Archie never won anything, nada, nothing. I should herewith replace him with that universally respected figure Cam Newton, who won EVERYTHING. Not sure about his kids, though.
LikeLike
Not sure what your point is…are you comparing Herschel Walker, who did win something to Cam Newton?
Part, maybe a large part, of Herschel’s legend is that he led us to the promised land and that for three years in a row, while he was at Georgia, we had a shot at a crystal football.
I can find no record of Archie Manning (or any of his chillun…in college) doing this, thus my objection to your packaging Herschel with Archie.
LikeLike
My point is not that I’m comparing Cam with Herschel. Rather, it’s that Archie is a highly respected figure in SEC annals for both his play and his demeanor. And that respect and admiration came well before his kids were stars in their own right. Your point, I gather, is that sort of widespread respect comes exclusively with winning, which I just don’t buy, especially in this case.
LikeLike
If you are saying that Archie is a legend at Ole Miss for the stuff you seem to admire, then I agree.
Let me rephrase…Herschel is a legend at Georgia because of who he was and what he did on the field, there was also some winning involved, which, to those of us who value that yardstick, also meant something.
LikeLike
No disagreement on Herschel. None whatsoever. But when it comes time to possibly have Garrison Hearst or Champ Bailey enshrined in the CFHOF, two highly respected DGDs, I assume you’ll be okay with it even though they didn’t win anything either. Or will you?
LikeLike
I read Scorp’s comment and looked to see if it were delayed in cyber space from April Fools Day. Nope, he really said that, and his follow up comments. It may be the first negative take I have ever read on Archie, and or the Mannings. I guess if you live long enough it is true, you will see it all. He not only has great kids, I am pretty sure he is responsible for their greatness beginning with the DNA he gave them, to the way they were raised. They are great because of him, not the other way around.
Archie was the Herschel of the 60s in the SEC. No, he wasn’t the athlete HW was, no one was before or since, but he is a remarkable person. I stood outside Sanford when he brought the Rebels to play and for the only time in my life, was unable to buy a ticket to get in. Sorry I missed that one. He went on to become one of the few celebrities to life a decades long,very public, life marred by zero controversies or stumbles. Not only that, his kids learned from him and have pretty much done the same.
As a pro player, he was mired in a franchise that was just starting up and was one of the 5 worst NFL teams I have ever seen. He never complained, never demanded to be traded, nor blamed any of the shortfalls on the lack of talent around him. Archie picked himself off the field after all those sacks and gutted it out another play. Oh if athletes today had his loyalty and class, and that is both in college and in the pros. Afterwards he became an active community leader and never abandoned the Nawlins area even with all their screw-ups. He is one of the key reasons I trust the Selection Committee to do their job well, his integrity and character should not be in question.
LikeLike
Look folks, all I am saying is that to put Archie on the same level as Herschel as an SEC legend is a reach.
There are counterpoints I could use to some of Mac’s points, but I really don’t care about Archie, or for that matter Peyton or Eli.
I do care about Herschel.
LikeLike
Here’s your SEC sense of perspective
“But it definitely had that impact because of a skinny junior quarterback who became a folk hero in the manner that Southerners have mastered throughout this nation’s history — in a losing cause.
On Oct. 4, 1969, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning completed 33-of-52 passes for 436 yards and two touchdowns. He ran 15 times for 104 yards and three touchdowns. He gave the first indication that the program that coach Paul (Bear) Bryant had built at Alabama had begun to slide (the Tide would finish the season 6-5).
To put Manning’s performance in perspective, no player had ever thrown for as many as 300 yards and rushed for 100 in a major-college game. Manning did all of that, and yet the No. 20 Rebels lost to the No. 15 Crimson Tide, 33-32.”
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7099289/college-football-first-major-primetime-game-stands-out
LikeLike
I met Archie in the fall of 1969 (when he was the SEC POTY) at a party after a great game in Oxford where he had literally lit the place up. He was as humble and down-to-earth then as he is now.
I agree he’s a tremendous selection to the Committee. There are some horrible selections, to be sure. But Archie is the ideal member.
~~~
LikeLike
He may technically have a secondary coach, but everyone knows DBs are Saban’s baby–much like Special Teams under Urban.
LikeLike
If I’m not mistaken, Kirby’s officially the Tide’s secondary coach this season. That’s gonna be awkward. 😉
LikeLike
I’ll give him credit for getting it right last year, but this year it looks like Aschoff drank a little too much koolaid at Athfest.
LikeLike
Senator, did you mean to say Gator fans are only really happy when their team is scoring big?
LikeLike
Oops. I guess you meant winning by big margins. Nevermind.
LikeLike
Cannon.. GATA!
LikeLike
Archie Manning was a great SEC player. Much of his rep was made on our backs with the proud D we had back then. Does anyone have the photo of Archie poised to deliver a pass with two Bulldogs hanging onto him, one on each leg? DiF? While one Dawg is finishing his tackle on one leg the other was caught in mid-pendulum swing on the other leg with both his feet off the ground. Archie delivered that pass to his target.That photo gave you an idea how large (and strong) Archie’s legs were when he eked out wins in classic SEC D battles. He built part of his rep on our bloodied nose and you can’t take anything away from him.
Archie has great respect in Bulldog lore. He was one of our greatest single player opponents who deserves our respect. We busted a gut trying to beat him, but he was too much athlete; much as in the same respect that Herschel is held.
LikeLike
Good post.
~~~
LikeLike
Here’s one of the paterfamilias
LikeLike
Archie is also on the selection committee for the college football playoff…an evil collection of people which apparently will devalue the game and put us on a basketball like slippery slope.
LikeLike
If he clears it with Olivia, maybe he can flirt with Condi to distract her
LikeLike
Tangent off the Gator article but Florida fans would do well to remember that their championships were won because of defense regardless of how flashy the offense was. Everybody talks about Tebow but the man who should have a statue in Gainesville is Charlie Strong. Both of Urban’s MNC had incredibly stingy defenses, while the year Tebow won the Heisman, the Gators lost 4 games due to a young and inconsistent defense.
LikeLike
And kudos to Boom for his masterful maneuver in letting Dan Quinn go to the Seahawks
LikeLike