Daily Archives: January 29, 2018

January 29, 2018 · 8:00 PM

We know what you are; we’re just haggling over the fee.

I love the way this stuff dribbles out.

UGA is set to raise the price for tickets to football games when the school’s athletic board meets Tuesday.

It is expected to be a modest increase from the $50 per-game price last year, according to someone familiar with the plans. That, of course, does not include donations to the Hartman Fund, which are required to give fans the right to purchase season tickets. The minimum donation levels were raised two years ago.

It was not clear whether the price increase would happen for the 2018 season.

We’ve gone from an amorphous “adjustment” to a slightly more specific “modest increase”. It’s like McGarity thinks if he breaks the news over time, we won’t really notice. All the slow walking in the world won’t change this:

The school is planning this increase after the Bulldogs’ run to the National Championship Game this past season. The home schedule for the upcoming season is not overwhelming (it includes Auburn, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, but also UMass, Austin Peay and Middle Tennessee and Vanderbilt).

Commit to the “G”, peeps. And just think — if the Dawgs roll again this season, look forward to that 2019 adjustment, too. Those Notre Dame tickets won’t fill the reserve fund coffers by themselves, you know.

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Filed under Georgia Football, It's Just Bidness

January 29, 2018 · 1:49 PM

SEC returning starter numbers

Georgia, at 13, is middle of the conference pack (note that the author defines returning starter as someone who started at least seven games in 2017). Eight return on offense; five on defense. What’s interesting is the complete flip from a year ago at two positions: four returning starters on the offensive line and zero linebackers. Makes you wonder who will be carrying the heavier load early on this season.

The two most interesting tidbits? Alabama has to replace its top six defensive backs and must do so with a new defensive coordinator/position coach. No problem for the Sabanator, right? And Dan Mullen left his successor in pretty good shape, experience-wise, as Mississippi State returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense.

38 Comments

Filed under Georgia Football, SEC Football

January 29, 2018 · 6:48 AM

But they meant well.

Wouldn’t this be one mother of a hoisted petard?

But the Redmond letter could complicate the NCAA’s investigatory efforts. For starters, Nassar’s victims who are already suing Michigan State and USA Gymnastics might seek to add the NCAA as a co-defendant. The victims could cite article 2.2 of the NCAA’s constitution—the same article that the NCAA has warned Michigan State about. The article makes clear that “intercollegiate athletics programs shall be conducted in a manner designed to protect and enhance the physical and educational well-being of student-athletes.” It would seem this language ought to bind the NCAA as much as it binds the schools the NCAA oversees. It certainly wouldn’t be a stretch for lawyers representing the victims to raise this type of argument.

If the NCAA becomes a co-defendant, it would be awkward, at a minimum, for the NCAA to investigate a fellow co-defendant, whose interests are not all aligned with the NCAA. Michigan State and the NCAA could seek to blame the other, along with USA Gymnastics, for any institutional liability for Nassar’s crimes. Under these circumstances, it’s hard to imagine how the NCAA could credibly conduct an investigation into Michigan State. A court might be asked to review such a topic.

Given the NCAA’s litigation track record, it would be an act of malpractice for anyone retained as plaintiff’s counsel not to consider in a serious way bringing the organization in as a defendant. The Mark Emmert deposition alone would be worth it.

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Filed under See You In Court, The NCAA

January 29, 2018 · 6:35 AM