In a more innocent time, this is a picture that would have launched a thousand Evil Richt ships.
By the way, Hale covering a Richt presser is like déjà vu all over again, man.
Then, this would have set off rumbles in certain circles about not being serious, focused and game-faced.
Can you plateau eating a sandwich? Asking for an athletic director…
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UPDATE: Just like you draw it up.
Filed under ACC Football
I don’t know if you heard about a great gesture Kirby announced a few days ago.
Kirby Smart just sort of slipped in at SEC Media Days this week what’s a fairly big deal to members of Georgia’s 1980 national championship team. That is, UGA is hosting a viewing party for them when the 2017 Bulldogs take on Notre Dame on Sept. 9.
“They’ll get to sit and watch that game if they’re not actually going to Notre Dame,” Smart said during his opening remarks Tuesday morning. “That will be an exciting venue for those guys to come back together and watch that game.”
There’s sort of a curious backstory, though. For one thing, there were other wheels in motion on a reunion.
Actually, Smart kind of jumped the gun on Frank Ros, who in addition to being a starting inside linebacker on that undefeated, untied team of yore, also was a team captain and, as such, has since become de facto reunion organizer for the 1980 Bulldogs. He was the point man for the 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 35th reunions of the championship team, and he’s the point man for this event as well.
The reality, Ros said, is everything hasn’t quite been finalized just yet. On Thursday, he was still processing the data he’d gotten back from the survey he sent out to his 1980 teammates, and he said he has yet to have a formal discussion with UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity about it.
As the article notes, Ros is a sharp guy, and, as someone who’s worked at Coca-Cola for a long while, familiar with how to get things moving in a corporate environment. So you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t totally buy this proclamation of innocence:
But you don’t get to be vice president of Hispanic strategies for Coca-Cola International without being organized and self-motivated, as Ros is. And now that Smart threw it out there to several hundred media members attending SEC Media Days, it looks like it’s a go.
“I didn’t even realize Kirby had done that,” Ros, now retired, said with a laugh from his home in Kennesaw, an Atlanta suburb, on Thursday. “But I’ve gotten a good response so it looks like we’ll be able to finalize everything now.” [Emphasis added.]
Pardon my skepticism, but I detect a whiff of clever maneuvering here. It smells to me like Greg McGarity just got squeezed with a nifty power play engineered in part by his head football coach. Whether that would be because the two were concerned McGarity might object (why, I don’t know), or simply wanted to sidestep bureaucratic nitpicking by the man who entangled himself with condoms in a contract negotiation, they’ve managed to arrange that the optics are now such that it would be near impossible to sidetrack what ought to be a neat get-together.
Makes you wonder what else Smart is capable of manipulating. Unless it was a complete coincidence, of course.
Filed under Georgia Football
Media picks ‘Bama to win the SEC in 2017.
Georgia is narrowly favored to win the East over Florida.
Four Dawgs are named first team All-SEC: Chubb, Nauta, Thompson and Smith.
I have to admit I’m sort of curious to know how two people picked South Carolina and Vanderbilt to win the conference without first winning the division.
Filed under SEC Football
With Nick Saban (and Kirby Smart, no doubt) making plans to avoid running afoul of the new rule imposing a 15-yard penalty on coaches leaving the sideline to argue with officials, I would love to see a coach attempt a sarcastic variation of the patented James Brown Exit to get some hapless ref’s attention.
Filed under SEC Football
So, what do you figure the difference is between a healthy Nick Chubb and a Nick Chubb at 100 percent?
Because he thinks there’s a difference.
Filed under Georgia Football
I’m not sure this qualifies as much of a scoop, but it’s certainly a great story relayed to me by a reader who’s been battling with UGA for several months about the new seatback policy. You remember what that is, right?
… the policy also includes new rules about what sort of seat cushion you can carry into the stadium. Unfortunately, information emanating from the athletic department had been a bit unclear on just what that means.
On the official website, the initial announcement said: “Seat cushions — without arms or pockets — will still be permitted into the venues.” And, in the downloadable PDF linked to on the official site, it said the banned attributes included “arm rests and any large traditional seat cushions that have pockets, zippers, compartments or covers.”
However, in the latest Bulldog Monthly fan email, it said seat cushions must be “without arms, backs, or pockets.
So, are seat cushions with backs no longer allowed?
I put that question this week to Matt Brachowski, associate athletic director for event management, who clarified: “Seats with backs are no longer permitted.”
Welp, that didn’t sit well (see what I did there?) with our intrepid reader, who at one point offered to get a note from her doctor about needing a seat with a back if that would allow her to qualify for a waiver under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Apparently sarcasm works, because in response she received this assurance from someone with the Georgia Bulldog Club:
I just got word that we have slightly changed our policy on fans bringing in their own seatbacks. Fans can now bring their own seatbacks in as long as they do not exceed 16 inches wide. It still cannot have arms or pockets, but it can have a back.
Woo hoo! Savor that, friends. On the surface, it may not sound like a whole lot, but that’s the first real concession from the athletic department I’ve seen to a legitimate concern from a regular ol’ Georgia football fan attending games in some time. Take your victories where you can get them, people.
Man, if only I could talk her into starting a letter-writing campaign on Sanford Stadium bathrooms and concessions. And tailgating… and… ah, I can dream, can’t I?
Filed under Georgia Football
I’m truly torn by this Tray Matthews story.
On the one hand, it sounds like he’s matured considerably since his Athens days and made something better of his character. That’s totally admirable on his part and I don’t mind saying so.
On the other hand, how can I pass up Malzahn calling the same kid who got arrested for stealing checks and then kicked out of school by Mark Richt after further misbehavior “… the leader of our defense and really our team leader” without rolling on the floor laughing my ass off?
I ask you, what’s a poor blogger to do?
Filed under Auburn's Cast of Thousands
“Unless you’re a drunk slut, which is extremely likely if you’re pursuing a Title IX claim.”
The Education Department’s top civil rights official’s “flippant” remarks are raising questions about the government’s commitment to fighting campus sexual violence, even as she issued her second apology in as many days for attributing 90 percent of sexual assault claims to both parties being drunk.
Candice Jackson, assistant secretary for civil rights, told victims of sexual assault meeting with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Thursday that she was sorry for her remarks…
… In most investigations, Jackson told the newspaper, there’s “not even an accusation that these accused students overrode the will of a young woman.”
“Rather, the accusations — 90 percent of them — fall into the category of, ‘We were both drunk, we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right,’” Jackson is quoted as saying in an interview.
In her apology on Wednesday night, Jackson said, “What I said was flippant, and I am sorry.” She sought to issue reassurances that both she and the department believe “all sexual harassment and sexual assault must be taken seriously.”
Hey, if I’m a young coed, you’ll have to cut me a little slack if I’m not totally reassured, Candace.
Is it any wonder why places like Baylor felt comfortable turning a blind eye for so many years?
Filed under Political Wankery
One thing’s for sure. He didn’t hire Lionel Hutz.
The lawsuit complicates things significantly. Mars does not mess around. For 11 years, he served as Wal-Mart’s general counsel. He once was director of the Arkansas State Police. His bio says Mars has won verdicts or settlements worth approximately $50 million.
One source described him as one of the most powerful attorneys in Arkansas.
“Houston Nutt is the best client I’ve had in 30 years [practicing law],” Mars told CBS Sports.
The timing, something for which Mars has already demonstrated a deft touch, will continue to be bad for Ole Miss. First comes the NCAA…
The timetable will make for a fascinating season for Ole Miss. Because the committee isn’t likely to release its decision until November or later, Ole Miss probably won’t have to make any tough decisions regarding Freeze this season. The NCAA’s head coach responsibility legislation gives the committee the ability to suspend Freeze, but the season could be over before the ruling comes down.
… then comes discovery, right in the heart of recruiting closing season.
The NCAA suddenly shouldn’t be Ole Miss’ biggest worry. Unless the lawsuit is somehow dropped, it can end one of two ways: Ole Miss settling or the case going to trial.
I can guarantee you Ole Miss doesn’t want depositions under oath made public that would lay out everything. For better or worse, the NCAA process is secret.
See what I mean by Ole Miss being sloppy? The NCAA case is expected to be decided during the season, likely in November. A trial open to the public would be later — and messier.
Trial? The NCAA can tell you that what comes trickling out of sworn depositions can be just as deadly for the cause. There’s no way the school wants Freeze or Bjork going under oath in this.
You’d say it’s ripe for settlement, except one thing that appears to be motivating Nutt is an apology. Nothing that’s happened so far indicates Ole Miss is prepared to acknowledge anyone there has done something wrong, other than Barney Farrar. Hey, wait a minute — maybe they can get Barney to apologize for everything!
Filed under Freeze!, See You In Court, Sometimes You Feel Like A Nutt
Get The Picture 