Your 4.26.21 Playpen

I’ll keep this simple:  as much as I enjoy blogging, I hate policing the comments section.  It’s a lather, rinse, repeat experience.  Folks cross a line, I complain, announce steps in response, the guilty parties promise to turn over a new leaf, but are soon back to doing the same old things.  No matter what, some of y’all won’t change.  So, I give up.  It’s time to cull the herd.

Here on out, there are no more warnings.  No more time outs.  You cross a line — if there’s one thing I can confidently say, it’s that nobody has the excuse of not knowing where the lines are — and I will stop it permanently.  Whether that means closing a comment thread, deleting a particular comment, banning a particular commenter or some combination of those, that’s what’ll happen, depending on the moment.

It’s a shame that some who don’t respect the ground rules are the same people whose comments I most enjoy reading and engaging with, but I no longer care.  I’m not going to try to coax y’all to moderate your behavior.  Life’s too short.  If you want to discuss irrelevant topics or inflame others, my advice would be to find other forums to pursue those interests.  But that’s entirely up to you.  Until it isn’t, that is.

Also, the Playpen under its current format is finished.  It’s outlived its purpose of being a heat sink to keep comment threads on other posts clean, so there’s no reason to continue with it.  There will be some sort of Playpen going forward, if only because I get some good topic suggestions from readers via email, but staying on topic in the comments will be the rule there, too.

GTP is about Georgia football and college football.  (Not to mention the occasional Musical Palate Cleanser.)  That’s not to say outside matters like politics don’t sometimes enter into the discourse; I can’t discuss player compensation outside of politics, for example.  However, that’s not an invitation to show your ass about Biden, Trump, the VA, or any other subject you feel it’s important to get off your chest, regardless of the post topic.  Nor is this a place for personally insulting others who take the time to comment, just because they have the audacity to disagree with your world view.

And with that, back to regular posting again.

Your 4.21.21 Playpen

This week’s Playpen topic is another email request, this one from miltondawg.

While you don’t often discuss basketball on GTP, how about a play pen question about whether or not it is time for Georgia to drop the futile men’s basketball program once and for all.

While that’s a little over the top — UGA isn’t going to disband a program that makes money, silly — I have to respect the level of despair.

Along those lines, check out these endorsements of Tom Crean.

This new fella came in and completely trashed everything we had accomplished.. told us we didn't do anything, we weren't good enough to play SEC basketball.. looking real funny in the light.

— Juwan Parker (@wans_world3) April 20, 2021

Honestly, if y’all really still think this is a “home run hire” ya fooling yourself .. i once did but not anymore and it is what it is

— JJ Frazier (@jfrazier30) March 12, 2021

When you’ve got Mark Fox’ former players dissing Crean, you know the program isn’t headed in the right direction.

Here’s the thing, though:  nobody really cares.  The program’s been on automatic pilot for decades.  Apathy is its defining characteristic.  Combine that with an incredibly lazy run of coach hirings (a McGarity specialty) and what you’ve got is Crean making nearly twice as much as Fox did to deliver arguably weaker results.

Crean, of course, does what any well paid coach in his situation does.  Deflect.

Statement texted from Georgia head coach Tom Crean regarding Sahvir Wheeler’s decision to enter the portal and apply for the NBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/tdgchu2Za7

— Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) April 20, 2021

Can’t say I found that persuasive.

When you’re paid the big bucks, you’re paid to adapt to the times.

That being said, why should we expect the next guy to be any better?  As long as the program isn’t losing money, the incentives won’t change.  Hell, the smartest thing Brooks could do is wait a year for Crean’s buyout to drop and then find another mediocrity to take the job at half the cost.  Believe me, in certain quarters, that will come off as a win.

And some of you wonder why I only post about Georgia football.

With that, the floor is yours.

Your 4.14.21 Playpen

I’ve got to say that I’ve never had a stretch where I’ve had so many of you send me Playpen topic suggestions.  In fact, to clear the backlog a little, I’m presenting a twofer today.

The first of these is the topic of more suggestions than I’ve ever received before.  It’s for a worthy cause you may have heard about (well, given the number of emails and comments I’ve gotten, have heard about is like more accurate), Spencer Hall’s Charity Bowl.

The link to donate is here.  With three days to go, they’ve raised almost $300,000 for refugee assistance.  Doing good with trash talking is a heady combination.  Feel free to jump in.

Today’s second topic comes from MileHighDawg, who assures me it will result in result in ‘lively’ discussion.

Herschel Walker, who had been encouraged by Trump to run for Senate in Georgia and is a Texas resident, says on Fox he is considering a 2022 bid against Warnock

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 11, 2021

The only thing I’m curious about is what a Venn diagram of those supporting Herschel running and those urging other athletes who offer political opinions to “stick to sports” would look like.  Why do I have a vision of a perfect circle?

And on that note, the floor is yours in the comments.  You don’t have to stick to sports.

Your 4.7.21 Playpen

You may have heard about this exchange ($$) at Smart’s weekend presser:

Smart avoided weighing in on Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game being pulled from Atlanta in the wake of the state’s recently signed election legislation. The coach was asked Saturday if there was any concern about the SEC championship or future national championship games. being pulled from Atlanta.

“Yeah, I try my best to keep my head down and continue to work on our team, and what we have to deal with with our players, and I certainly worry about the mental state with our players, and I talk about what we’ve talked about before, the ability to have safe space and open conversations,” Smart said. “But I don’t get into the political side of it.”

Discretion being the better part of valor, I don’t blame him a bit for deflecting.  But you know who doesn’t have that luxury?

The SEC, which took a stance on the Mississippi flag last year, is now going to face a lot of pressure to move the championship game. https://t.co/R3g0KiQd71

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 2, 2021

That would be Mr. Greg Sankey.  If he’s not hearing anything yet, give it time.

Be interesting to see how long it takes for the pressure to build on the conference. December is a lot farther out than July. https://t.co/N5QXYJeeXm

— Ivan Maisel (@Ivan_Maisel) April 2, 2021

Before you scoff, the NCAA, the SEC and the UGA football program have been public about making sure college athletes are empowered in positive ways.  Here’s an example from last fall:

Ahead of arguably the biggest game of Georgia’s season, the Bulldogs will not be practicing on Tuesday. The Florida Gators, who have lost three straight to Georgia and missed practice time in October due to a COVID-19 outbreak, will also not be practicing.

The entire sport will not be practicing on Tuesday due to an NCAA mandated off day to allow student-athletes the opportunity to go vote…

“I think it’s very important for them to give us a chance to do that,” offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer said. “Us being allowed to go have our voice heard is probably one of the most game-changing things I’ve seen in a while. Our age group is one of the most influential age groups across the country. For us as football players to go out and voice our opinions to get to say who we want to be in office I think is really important.”

The day off does cause a disruption for teams, as Tuesday is usually a key day in preparing for the coming Saturday. And for Georgia, not that many players will actually be voting on Tuesday.

But that’s because over 90 percent of the Georgia football team has already voted according to Kirby Smart’s estimate.

“It’s unique now that it was such a point of emphasis on our athletic department and our athletic administration did a great job of getting 100 percent of our student-athletes to vote,” Smart said.

And let’s not forget the impetus behind Mississippi changing its state flag last year.

And on June 22, in the sleepy town of Starkville, Kylin Hill called for the state of Mississippi to remove from its flag poles a chilling reminder of the Old South. Mississippi was the last remaining U.S. state to feature the Confederate battle flag cross on such a celebrated symbol, all the while holding a larger proportion of Black residents (38%) than any other state.

“Either change the flag,” Hill’s tweet read, “or I won’t be representing this State anymore 💯 & I mean that .. I’m tired.”

They opened a door.  It won’t be possible to close that door.  If the cries to move start coming hard over the summer — it should make for some interesting questions at SEC Media Days, for one thing — and players start chiming in, Sankey won’t be able to, as Smart put it, stay out of “the political side of things”.  Either way, he won’t have an easy choice to make.

Your thoughts on this and anything else are welcomed in the comments, as always.

Your 3.31.21 Playpen

If stupid is as stupid does, which of these two geniuses wins?

Mr. A?

When police showed up at Garret Miller’s Dallas home earlier this year to arrest him on charges that he had participated in the Capitol riot, his wardrobe spoke for itself.

The 34-year-old unemployed man, who allegedly forced his way into the U.S. Capitol building and threatened a congresswoman and a police officer, was clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with a photograph of former president Donald Trump and text declaring: “I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021.”

(Hard to believe someone that sharp doesn’t have a job.  Also, the only thing that would have made this better would have been for one of the cops to have worn an “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt when they perp walked him to the police car.)

Or Mr. B?

A mafia fugitive has been caught in the Caribbean after appearing on YouTube cooking videos in which he hid his face but inadvertently showed his distinctive tattoos.

Marc Feren Claude Biart, 53, led a quiet life in Boca Chica, in the Dominican Republic, with the local Italian expat community considering him a “foreigner”, police said in a statement on Monday.

He was betrayed by a YouTube channel in which he showed off his Italian cooking skills. The videos never showed his face, but the tattoos on his body gave him away, they said.

(Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta cook.  I hope he keeps it going in prison.)

Anyway, the floor is yours.  Comment away.

Your 3.24.21 Playpen

This week, we continue the musical theme for the Playpen, but it’s a twofer.

First, from reader Jason:

So I grew up playing the piano. The “piano-forte” – literally “soft-loud” because the player could control the volume based on how hard the keys were struck was invented in the 1700’s, and those musicians who have stood the test of time, were first and foremost masters of that instrument: Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Debussy, et al. The guitar, and especially the electric guitar, were invented in the century where we have lived. What musicians from this era will survive and be called “classical” music in the year 2200?

My first thought would be someone like Miles Davis, but honestly, I have no clue.

Speaking of classical music, though, I got a hoot out of this:

A Mendelssohn piece that you hear constantly in classic cartoons, and even more recent ones like REN & STIMPY and SPONGEBOB, is "Frühlingslied (Spring Song)," which is used to denote peace and tranquility. This is my favorite instance, from the first Ralph Wolf-Sam Sheepdog film. pic.twitter.com/XJjup7nWU7

— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021

Make sure you scan through the entire thread, because it’s great.  How many of you got your first exposure to classical music through cartoons?  I know I did.

Your 3.17.21 Playpen

I must say, some of y’all have been sending me great suggestions for Playpen topics.  Today’s comes from JP McDonough:

… how many followers are UGA grads, and, more specifically, what was their favorite Athens dive…secondary subject, possibly being what was the best live performance music act they witnessed in their time in Athens?

Share it all in the comments, peeps.

Your 3.10.21 Playpen

Another Playpen, another reader request.  This one comes from Mark:

… have readers list one SEC or UGA topic they believe in that runs against the grain or is generally unpopular.

For example: I am very happy that Mizzou is in the SEC. CoMo is lovelier than any SEC town besides Athens, their fans are nice and bring a bit of a Midwestern touch to the conference, and their football team is sometimes a tough out (two division titles compared to none for Ole Miss, aTm, Vandy and UK).

I’m looking forward to seeing some of the responses to this.  Have at it in the comments.

Your 3.3.21 Playpen

A reader came up with a topic suggestion good enough I wish I’d have thought of it first (thanks, Donald!):

Who here has personally met a former UGA coach or player randomly in public, and how did that interaction go?

Have at it in the comments.  This should be interesting.

Your 2.24.21 Playpen

One irritating thing about politicians, usually on the state or local level, is why they seem to go out of their way to court lawsuits.  Like this stupidity:

Tennessee Republicans are up in arms over a state college basketball team’s decision to kneel last week during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” prompting legislators to warn the public university system not to allow student athletes to do so again.

A firestorm of controversy has surrounded the action by players on the men’s East Tennessee State University basketball team, who during a Feb. 16 game at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga dropped to one knee on the court as the national anthem played.

Coach Jason Shay and ETSU president Brian Noland have said the team did not intend to disrespect that nation’s flag or military, but are seeking to prompt discussions about racial inequality.

After voicing their outrage in legislative meetings, local television news segments and social media posts over the players’ act of peaceful protest, Senate Republicans on Monday sent a letter to all presidents and chancellors of public Tennessee colleges and universities.

“To address this issue, we encourage each of you to adopt policies within your respective athletic departments to prohibit any such actions moving forward,” reads the letter, signed by all 27 members of the Senate Republican Caucus, including Lt. Gov. Randy McNally.

It’s an empty gesture.  Were it to be put into effect, it’s a guaranteed loser in court, despite astute constitutional scholarship like this:

“The First Amendment is sacrosanct,” said Sen. Janice Bowling who does not believe university athletes should be allowed to kneel during the anthem. “I would never resist anything that’s going to allow them to exercise their First Amendment on their own time, absolutely.

“They’re representing the school and the school represents Tennessee and Tennessee shows preference to our time-honored people and institutions who went before us. We respect our heritage and our history.”

Sen. Rusty Crowe questioned whether freedom of speech extends to athletes in uniform, while Sen. Mark Pody said he was concerned that student athletes would engage in an act of protest while “they’re taking state money, they’re in our state schools, in our state uniforms.”

The First Amendment is sacrosanct, except when it’s not.

This isn’t a left or right thing.  I’ve seen equally dumb stuff from liberal politicians.  But, not only is crap like this empty, it costs taxpayers money to defend the inevitable litigation it brings.  What’s the point?

Ah, hell, don’t answer that.  Thus endeth the vent.  Have at it in the comments.