“It’s not a gimmick; it won’t be a surprise.”

It’s official, then.  Georgia will be wearing black jerseys once a season.

McGarity said the Bulldogs already have the black tops in stock and plan to whip them out eventually. When they do, it will be determined by head coach Kirby Smart and it’s not going to be unexpected.

“Whenever the black jerseys are worn, people will know well in advance of it,” McGarity said…

“We already have them,” McGarity said. “It will be one game a year. It’s not that big a deal; it’s one of our team colors. But we still think our red jersey is one of the best in college football.”

That’s actually… sensible.  Black as a non-hyped change of pace is a good way to go.  Nicely played, fellas.

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Mack Brown, master of the sick burn

Boom, Texas A&M.

"I'll tell you one thing Paul, I've never lost a women's clinic" – @ESPN_CoachMack pic.twitter.com/SYmi5zAtyA

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 1, 2016

I never thought he had it in him, to be honest.

You wanted a little Dawg porn this morning? Okay.

Somebody asked for an Elijah Holyfield pic.

Will be a lot of eyes on this young man during the month of August. Dawgs need RB depth quickly. pic.twitter.com/OU20hifsrp

— Rusty Mansell (@Mansell247) August 2, 2016

Man, those upper arms are yuuge.

Another day, another SEC East preview

I keep finding this pieces projecting the division’s 2016 to share, because each one helps paint a picture of what’s ahead… or at least what the pundit class thinks lies ahead.

I do like what the folks at Pick Six Previews have done here, though, because it’s nicely organized, with easy to read charts of five-year won/loss totals, 2015 stats (maybe the best part), projected starting lineups and, of course, the schedule.

A few items that caught my eye:

• Tennessee’s 2015 stats are noteworthy, because with one exception, the Vols weren’t bad at anything.  Their polar opposite was South Carolina, which stunk at everything except turnover margin.  Gawd help Boom if regression to the mean rears its ugly head this season.
• Missouri’s 2015 offense was almost unimaginably awful.  Florida’s, by comparison, was just imaginably bad.
• We knew how crappy Georgia’s offense was on third down last year.  What’s amazing is that was the case for every team in the division except Tennessee.
• Best recruiting in the division over the past five years?  Georgia’s.

If you’re looking for some subjective optimism, here you go:  “While Tennessee is getting all of the preseason accolades, Georgia is 1B, not a distant 2, to the Volunteers in the SEC East.  Look for the Bulldogs to compete for an SEC Title.”

“I’m ecstatic to get out there and get going.”

Here’s Smart’s presser before yesterday’s opening practice.

I wouldn’t call it earthshaking, but I like where he’s putting his emphasis over the next month.  Baby steps.

Tuesday morning buffet

Eat.

• There may be a difference between compliant and committed, but some preseason happy talk in Athens always sounds familiar.
• In Columbia, too.  They’re buying in!
• Where have you gone, Georgia transfers?  (Sad to hear about Tramel Terry’s latest setback.)
• Just because most SEC coaches participated in satellite camps doesn’t mean they have to like it.
• Seth Emerson ranks Georgia’s 2016 opponents in order of importance.
• Larry Fedora is an advanced stats advocate.
• You can take Kirby Smart out of Tuscaloosa, but you can’t take Tuscaloosa out of Kirby Smart.
• Commitment announcements just keep getting sillier.
• Junior’s gonna Junior.
• Andy Staples sets the bar:  “Unlike former co-worker Jim McElwain, who didn’t face high expectations when he took over at Florida, first-year Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart is expected to compete for championships immediately. Otherwise, why did Georgia fire Mark Richt? “

What, no condoms?

Evidently this Saturday’s open practice will be a lower key affair than #93k G-Day was.

None of the candidates took control of the quarterback job during spring practice, which included a record turnout of 93,000 fans for the G-Day spring game at Sanford Stadium. It was an impressive response — more than doubling the previous record of 46,000 — after Smart called for a packed house.

Smart is not making a similar request for Saturday’s practice. He said opening practice is a reward for fans and extra motivation for the players.

“I’ve always felt like that’s an opportunity to give back to your fan base,” Smart said. “Not only is it exciting for them, but it’s exciting for the players. I think that’s a good way to give back, to give them an opportunity to come out and watch a practice. I don’t think they know exactly what our players go through in practice.”

Damn.  I was so looking forward to McGarity fumbling around looking for another musical act.

Musical palate cleanser, baby, baby, baby edition

When it comes to music, I’m pretty broad-minded about different opinions than mine.  But one argument I can’t accept is that “River Deep, Mountain High” isn’t the greatest achievement of Phil Spector’s career.  It marries his production to an incredible performance by Tina Turner.

The song’s backstory is fascinating.

Written by Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, “River Deep – Mountain High” was among the first recordings that Ike & Tina Turner did for Phil Spector’s Philles Records. Spector was well aware of Ike Turner‘s controlling attitude in the studio, and therefore he drafted an unusual contract: the River Deep – Mountain High album and single would be credited to “Ike & Tina Turner”, but Ike was paid $20,000^[5] to stay away from the studio, and only Tina Turner‘s vocals would be used on the record.^[6]

The track was recorded using Spector’s “Wall of Sound” production technique, cost a then-unheard-of $22,000, and required 21 session musicians and 21 background vocalists. Due to Spector’s perfectionism in the studio, he made Turner sing the song over and over for several hours until he felt he had the perfect vocal take for the song. Turner recalled, “I must have sung that 500,000 times. I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing.”

If you’ve never seen the official promo for the song, it’s awesome.  (And, yes, Ike is in it.)

Wow.  Just wow.