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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > August > 17
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Back to dear old Athenstown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I always enjoy visits to my hometown, but especially this time of year when football season is so close you can practically smell the bourbon and barbecue on Lumpkin Street.
I spent a few days over in the Classic City this past week visiting with the folks and helping get my son moved into his new place for his last year as a UGA grad student. And while over there, my daughter and I hit a number of favorite Athens spots, including the UGA Book Store for Bulldog regalia and school supplies (the No. 7 black jerseys are back in stock, though outnumbered about 3-1 by the No. 24s); Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, where we picked up the 2008 football poster, which features both the red and black jerseys (and we saw some of the players, including freshmen who’d gotten on the bad side of an upperclassman’s razor); and the soda fountain at Hodgson’s Pharmacy in Five Points, where I got to chat with my lifelong friend Hal Hodgson. We missed our old downtown haunt Barnett’s Newsstand (now a dress shop) but had lunch with my brother Jon at the reconstituted Allen’s, now on Hawthorne across from the Athens YMCA. And we got caught in the usual Milledge traffic jams that accompany students moving in before classes start on Monday and sorority rush.
While we were having lunch at The Grill downtown, one of the waitresses noticed my red UGA shirt and my daughter’s red dress and asked if something special was going on at the university. Nope, just another mid-August day in Athens!
OUT ON THAT LIMB: While in Athens, the No. 1 topic of conversation usually was about our consensus No. 1 Dawgs. Confidence is high, as they say, despite the killer schedule, the big hit to the offensive line in the loss for the season of Trinton Sturdivant and how that, combined with Brannon Southerland still being out at fullback, makes Matthew Stafford’s protection a little iffy. Few fans I’ve talked with are willing to predict an undefeated season, but many feel pretty comfortable envisioning nothing worse than a one-loss season … which nowadays probably would still have Georgia in the national championship game. As my brother Tim said, if the Dawgs take care of Georgia Southern convincingly in the manner in which they should (instead of playing down to their opponent’s level and just getting by as UGA has tended to do in the past), he’ll feel a lot better out on that limb predicting no losses.
As for me, I’m like my other brother, Jon, who hates to ever pick the Dawgs to lose, but I’m realistic enough to know that most years that’s not reasonable. Last year, I predicted Georgia would go 9-3 before the bowl and they bettered that by a game. I was happy to have them prove me wrong. So I hope they do it again this year, as I’m joining those who see an 11-1 regular season record.
BULLDOG BITES: I can see the arguments for and against using star tailback Knowshon Moreno and third-string QB Logan Gray to return punts and kickoffs. In Moreno’s case, how much sense it makes might depend on how quickly his backup (whether it’s Caleb King or Richard Samuel) develops. But in the case of Gray, I think it’s a great idea, having seen him show off his impressive speed and moves during the G-Day Game. And it’s good to know the redshirt freshman is anxious to get on the field, even if he’s not taking the snap. Special teams coach Jon Fabris reportedly has other unnamed uses in mind for Gray as well, which brings to mind maybe some fake kicks. … Work continues on the garden plaza at the corner of Lumpkin and Pinecrest honoring Vince Dooley, though it’s hard to see how even the garden part is going to be finished in time for the Georgia Southern game (the statue won’t be in place until later in the season). I’d still prefer adding his name to the stadium or field, but considering Dooley’s horticultural bent, this should wind up being a nice tribute. … In addition to the First Friday festivities in Athens kicking off the football season, Aug. 29 is the fourth annual College Colors Day, on which everyone (even those misguided souls who went to other schools) is encouraged to wear their college colors throughout the day, wherever they are. Just another day for me, since I do that most of the time anyway.
