UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > December > 03
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Richt now dean of SEC coaches
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ladies and gentlemen, your new Dean of SEC football coaches is …
Mark Richt.
That’s right, the still relatively young head coach of your Georgia Bulldogs is now the longest-tenured head coach at his current institution with eight whole years. Yes, South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier has coached longer in the league when his years at Florida are taken into account. But it’s our own, mild-mannered man in Athens, where Richt has resided since December of 2000, that now is senior member of the SEC coaching fraternity.
Of course, that’s because Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville bought the farm on Wednesday. No, he didn’t die. He simply got his farm and a lot of other things paid for with his resignation Wednesday and what turned out to be a $5.1 million buyout to his contract (which was extended two years after last season, by the way). According to newspaper reports in Alabama, half is due in 30 days and the other half will come around next June or July. I thought Tuberville was making $2.85 million a season ($50 large more than CMR) but all the papers over there are saying it’s $3.3 million. So considering Tuberville was contracted through 2013, I guess Bobby Lowder, er, I mean, Auburn, is saving money. But hooray for Tuberville. He put up with more than his share of grousing on the Plains.
Speaking of grousing, now that Coach Richt is the ol’ timer of the SEC bunch, wonder how much longer he’ll hang around. He moves to the top of what is a slippery-with-blood totem pole this season. Phillip Fulmer (golden) parachuted off Rocky Top a month ago, followed by Sylvester Croom’s modest exit from Mississippi State this past weekend. Say, perhaps Tuberville could take Croom’s place over there in Starkville. That intra-divisional, change of address thing worked pretty well for Houston Nutt last year, and Ol’ Ears knows a thing or two about the Magnolia State.
Anyway, seems like just yesterday a fresh-faced, fair-haired Richt was stepping up to the podium at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall and introducing his young family that was sitting at the side of the room. Now that family is half-grown, with one of his four children already out of the house, and the gray hairs are starting to defeat the blond ones on Richt’s always-tanned pate.
It was during that first introduction in December of 2000 that Richt told the Bulldog Nation he had come there from Florida State because he believed Georgia was a program with massive amounts of untapped potential, that he felt it should be competing for SEC championships almost every year.
Eight seasons later, having tied for or won four SEC East titles, two outright SEC championships, having taken the Dogs to three Sugar Bowls and finished in the Top 10 six times, everybody is bitching and moaning that Georgia is not in the championship game this year and will probably have to settle for the lowly Capital One Bowl.
Yep, Georgia has come a long way. Congratulations Dean Richt! …
Speaking of Tennessee, here’s the latest out of Knoxville on new coach Lane Kiffin… .
Mike Leach and Bobby Petrino are among those contacted by Auburn about its new coaching vacancy, according to the Birmingham News… .
By the way, apparently it’s a big deal that this prospect, Ray Ray Armstrong of Sanford, Fla. loved meeting Georgia’s coaches and now wants to take an official visit to UGA, according to TotalUGA.com… .
All you “Willie Hatahs” will love the long diatribe here at a blog called dawgsports.com.
Permalink | Comments (171) | Post your comment | Categories: Football
By the way, hoops have started
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anybody see Georgia’s basketball game last night at Western Kentucky? The Bulldogs lost 67-63 but it was a very good game and a pretty good effort. The Hilltoppers, coach Dennis Felton’s old team, knocked off No. 3 Louisville just this past weekend.
Georgia was the victim of some tough luck once again. It was ahead by five to seven points toward the end of the first half and, even after a 14-4 WKU run, stayed close throughout the second. But center Albert Jackson aggravated an ankle sprain and had to leave the game for a long spell, and he had been playing very well defensively. Also, freshman Trey Thompkins was playing well for a while but, again, ended up having to sit for a long time in the second half because he was gassed. Having missed all that time with foot and leg injuries, it’s going to be several weeks before Thompkins approaches anything resembling good condition.
A couple of ill-conceived 3-point attempts by Zac Swansey and Dustin Ware ended up costing Georgia the game. Terrance Woodbury was the leading scorer with 18 points but, once again, it took him 15 shots to get and that’s just way too inefficient. He needs to take fewer shots and the Dogs need to run more stuff for Thompkins, in my opinion.
But overall what I saw from Georgia was encouraging. As always it plays hard on defense and, if it can get everybody healthy for a stretch, has a chance to be a decent offensive team.
The Bulldogs are in the midst of a killer scheduling stretch. From Western Kentucky they go to Chicago for a game against Illinois (this was the one arranged for Billy Humphrey well before he was kicked off the team this past summer. Billy’s third arrest — the last one for DUI — led to his dismissal). They’ll play Virginia Tech in Athens next Tuesday and play Missouri and Georgia Tech the first week of January before SEC play begins.
“I probably over-scheduled to be honest,” coach Dennis Felton told me last week. “But I wanted to challenge these guys.”
Meanwhile, some links:
Macon’s David Hale puts a bow on Georgia’s football season and identifies the next generation of stars for the Bulldogs… .
Coach Mark Richt has walked the fine line of trying not to make excuses and trying to explain what the Bulldogs’ season did not turn out as planned. But it’s hard to overlook the fact they had 18 season-ending injuries (including redshirted players, of course). That number’s actually 19 if you add linebacker Darryl Gamble, who suffered a broken fibula from one of those hundreds of cut blocks by Georgia Tech this past Saturday. Anyway, Pete Thamel of the New York Times points out in this story how Alabama was very fortunate regarding injuries this season and that’s a big reason it got to the title game… .
Looks like Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is snooping around outside Lubbock… .
Alabama’s bearded players and other such important tidbits from Birmingham’s Ian Rappaport.
Permalink | Comments (45) | Post your comment | Categories: Football and basketball
