Bored Sports

Some guy on the Tigers had a perfect game going through six, so I flipped on the game and (of course) he immediately proceeded to give up a hit. The game was in Kansas City, and when the Royals player broke up the perfect game, the camera cut to a clapping Royals fan who then high-fived his friend. I took this to mean that said Royals fan was not applauding the performance of the Tigers pitcher (Armando Galarraga), but instead celebrating his team's hit. (It's worth noting that his team, the Royals, were down 7-0 at the time.) This makes no sense to me.
Dude, you're a Royals fan. Your team has finished above .500 twice in the past 16 seasons. You're at an afternoon game in July in the middle of the week and you have the chance to see one of the rarest feats in baseball, but you're rooting against it. For what? So you can say that you attended a routine Royals drubbing as opposed to witnessing something that has happened 17 times in the past 128 years?
It's one thing to support your team through the lean years, it's another to willingly thumb your nose at history. Maybe I'm wrong here, let me know what you think in the comments section.

Photo from Getty Images

It is being reported by Jeff Goodman over at Foxsports.com that Ra'Sean Dickey's career at Georgia Tech is over. He will be taking his mysteriously frustrating game overseas to play professionally.

- Speaking of Georgia Tech, Hewitt confirmed to FOXSports.com that senior big man Ra’Sean Dickey will not be returning to school and instead has signed a pro contract to play in the Ukraine. ``It was a mutual decision and was best for Ra’Sean and his family,” Hewitt said.

There are rumors of grade issues, so it will be interesting to hear if he actually leaves in good academic standing and how it impacts the APR (Academic Progress Rate). Ra'Sean's been in school for 4 years, but most Georgia Tech students don't graduate in 4 years, so I wonder how close he is to getting his degree.

For me personally, this is frustrating. I saw Dickey play in high school, and always felt that he had more potential than anyone on the team from the day he arrived. Dickey was a big man with excellent footwork in the post, a very good rebounder, and a very nice jump shot out to 15-18 feet. I was really pumped to see him running the floor again, but it's not going to happen.

The big knock on Dickey in high school was his focus, drive and energy level. From the outside looking in, it sure seems like those questions turned out to be. His had short bursts of exciting play, but was mostly quiet both on and off the court. I still feel that his potential is sky high, but until he gets his mind wrapped around it, it will just stay potential. Nobody really knows the "real" story and it would be presumptuous to think we do, but regardless, we see what we see.

For the Jackets, this is NOT addition by subtraction. We will miss him. We went from a good rebounding team with him 2 years ago to a horrible rebounding team without him - even after adding Gani Lawal. The only guy we add is Guard Iman Shumpert, and with the loss of Jeremis Smith, our muscle down low just took a hit. Make no mistake - Zach Peacock and Gani Lawal have every opportunity to step up. Truthfully, I could see Zach having a breakout season and could end up as the best player on the team. In addition, there's an opportunity for Brad Sheehan to step up and start making a contribution. So far he hasn't looked ready for much more than clean-up duty.

So the strange life of Ra'Sean Dickey continues. Potential unfulfilled. Frustration (his and ours I'm sure). Now Dickey will forever become a member of the "Where are they now" club.

At least Coach Hewitt keeps his streak alive - sending almost every guy from his program to the "pro's" somewhere (NBA or Euro-leagues).

Image: Georgiadogs.com
Central Michigan might have raised a few Bulldog eyebrows because of their bowl performance against Purdue (51-48 loss). The offense, which averaged 34.8 points per game last season, is particularly intriguing because quarterback Dan LeFevour returns as one of only two players in NCAA history to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.

Hmmm...returning 16 starters and a ton of offensive firepower....could this be a dangerous team coming into Athens?

A look closer reveals that they averaged only 22.75 points per game against BCS teams in four match-ups (Kansas, Clemson and Purdue...twice). Most of those points came against a Purdue squad that was ranked 50th-75th nationally in every major defensive category of interest.

As Sportsline.com's CMU preview shows, these guys have a defense that teeters around keystone cops territory. Last year, they gave up 303.5 yards passing per game (118th in nation), 460 total yards per game (109th in the nation), and 36.93 points per game (111th in nation). They lost three key performers from a defense that struggled, and their returning defensive line averages 246.5 pounds.

Points Allowed Defensively Last Season:

vs. Kansas: 52 points
vs. Purdue (regular season): 45 points
vs. North Dakota State: 44 points
vs. Ball State: 38 points
vs. Clemson: 70 points
vs. Kent State: 32 points
vs. Eastern Michigan: 48 points
vs. Akron: 32 points

Or put it another way...we have absolutely no idea who is going to start along the offensive line for Georgia against CMU. Trinton Sturdivant, Justin Anderson and Clint Boling all look at risk for this game, but it may not matter.

This is the perfect defense to face if you are breaking in young wide receivers and a patchwork offensive line. Particularly against a pass rush that finished 94th in the nation in sacks last year.

Are you at all nervous?

See Also:

-- Previewing CMU - The Quad (NY Times)
-- CMU All Star Candidates - CMU Athletics
-- About CMU: Catch a Predator Style - HeyJennySlater
-- Scouting CMU - CFN
-- Central Michigan vs. Georgia Bulldogs Tickets - Stubhub

PWD

You may have seen this yesterday over at Blutarsky's blog. According to the Tuscaloosa News, Alabama will start charging for premium tailgate spaces on The Quad, their version of our North Campus or Ole Miss' The Grove.

The plan doesn't encompass the entire Quad, but it does involve 155 tailgate spots that are being sold for $729 each. Each spot "comes with a tent, electricity and a parking spot near the engineering buildings."

I'm with Blutarsky on this one in that I saw it coming. When the new "family friendly" tailgate rules were announced -- particularly those involving large "corporate" tailgates, I thought the auctioning off of tailgate spots on North Campus was inevitable. I'm only shocked that Bama beat UGA to the punch. As yet, no plans in this area have been announced from our guys.

In Bama's Defense:
Alabama officials estimated in other articles that approximately 35,000 fans attended the Georgia and LSU games without tickets last year. They simply showed up, tailgated and partied all day.

With modern tailgate enhancements such as portable generators, "bag" furniture, satellite TVs, and light weight tents, tailgating continues to explode in the SEC. Anyone who saw the chaos surrounding The Quad last year for our match-up could see that more structure was needed there.

Their Pricing:
For groups who tailgate with 4-8 people, $729 for a tent, roughly 10x10 worth of reserved premium tailgate space for the season, power, and a premium parking spot isn't that bad of a deal. If they were to throw in cable access, it would be a sweet setup.

It would never work for my group as we need 6-7 times as much space for our configuration, and that price per square foot would cost us $6000 or so. But I digress.

My Beef with These Types of Plans:
My real issue with selling tailgate spots isn't the cost. It's the continual fleecing of the fan base. Much of the affection I feel for The University of Georgia is wrapped up in the entire game day experience. It's not just what happens on Saturday Between the Hedges. It's the complete experience, and that starts with the way we tailgate.

I don't mind more tailgate structure, and I recognize that clean-up and policing of an expanded tailgate experience costs money. But isn't the simple answer to fine or punish people who abuse the rules, generate outrageous amounts of litter (this is bad fan issue #1 that pisses me off), set-up too early or behave boorishly rather than price loyal givers out of the market?

If they would enforce existing rules, some of the problems surrounding tailgating would fix themselves.

PWD

Let's start with the fact that "producer" of this video learned his math skills at the legendary feet of Reggie Ball. Tech has lost 7 in a row leading up to Paul Johnson's hiring. Not six as the video suggests. The sooner they come to grips with the totality of their futility, the better.

Silly nerds.

PWD

Update: Please tell me it was this guy who uploaded the video.

The gunslinger from Tampa really heated up the news this week. Quinton posted an article earlier asking if Murray is the best Prep QB in the Country (video Sunshine Preps). Here are some more quick headlines from around the country:

-- No longer the water boy - Tampa Tribune
-- Working with Stafford at Elite 11 Camp - Tampa Tribune
-- Florida HS wide receiver wants to play with Murray - Scout.com
-- News and Notes - St. Pete Times

In other news, Urban Meyer says that Tim Tebow is "the greatest player of our era." The thing I like about Meyer is his humility and relentless focus on subtle nuance.

PWD

Mr. Irrelevant links to a video today in which Redskins rookie WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly are asked if they know who The Posse are. Neither were able to answer that The Posse was the nickname given to Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders during the Redskins heyday in the mid-80s to early-90s. This doesn't bode well, I think. (Of course, their coach doesn't know the Redskins team colors, so it's important to keep things in perspective.)
He also laments the loss of the locally-famous Posse poster showing Monk, Clark and Sanders standing in front of the Capitol Building at night with horses at their side and outlaws tied up on the ground. Luckily, that poster survived my mom's purge when I went to college, and I've hung onto it since then. I've been telling myself for the past five years that I'm going to get it framed. When I was younger, I thought that this poster was pretty much the most awesome thing ever. I think I still do.

Will Bynum walks away from an overseas contract in Itlay to sign a multi-year deal with........... get ready......... the Detriot Pistons. Turns out the Thrill is not "gone" at all. Check it out.

I'm a sucker. Let's get that out of the way. I know better than to pick Tommy Bowden to win anything of substance, but I can't help it. The Tigers avoid Miami and Virginia Tech on the schedule, and they own FSU lately. (Image: I prefer unhappy Tigers if given the choice.)

With FSU still rebuilding, the Clemson schedule shapes up in such a way that as long as they beat Wake Forest, they should win the ACC Atlantic Division with a 6-2 record or better. With that in mind, I'm predicting them as ACC Champs. I realize they have OL issues, but the entire ACC has issues. Unfortunately, I'm not alone. Here's how the experts pick the ACC.

Darkhorse ACC Team - UNC
I don't think the Tarheels can win the ACC or even their division; however, if they can make some real noise. After playing Virginia Tech and Miami in weeks 3 and 4, they UConn and Notre Dame at home to build back some confidence. If the Heels get to 8 wins, they could be a Gator Bowl selection.

ACC Bowl Predictions:

Orange - Clemson
Peach - Virginia Tech
Gator - UNC
Champ Sports - FSU
Meineke Car Care - Wake Forest
Music City Bowl - Miami
Emerald Bowl - Boston College
Congressional Bowl - Virginia
At-Large Bowl - Georgia Tech

I keep wavering on whether or not Georgia Tech has a Bowl eligible team. The Mississippi State and UNC games loom enormous on their schedule if they want to go bowling, and the more I learn about UNC...the more I like the Heels over the Jackets.

See Also:
-- Clemson Preview - CFN
-- Athlon's Clemson Preview

Agree or Disagree?

PWD

This week is the Elite 11 quarterback camp in California. UGA is well represented. Stafford is a counselor and both Georgia quarterback commitments were invited to participate. Only 11 prep QBs are invited, so it's a luxury to have both of our guys there. (Image: ESPN.com)

Speaking of quarterback recruits, ESPN.com's Tom Luginbill has this comparison of Aaron Murray, current UGA commit, and Matt Barkley, a USC commit and the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country according to Rivals.com. The comparison is a dead heat according to Luginbill and the ESPN's scouts, who must know what they are talking about because they refer to obscure points like wrist velocity and RPMs. (Zach Mettenberger also gets a mention in the article because of his huge arm strength.) Pretty nice to think that we could have the best QB recruit in the country heading to Athens, and from Florida no less.

Note that this story was done after the national 7-on-7 football tournament. Murray's Plant HS team won the national championship and beat Barkley's team in the semifinals. If these comparisons hold up over the Elite 11 camp, could Murray move ahead of Barkley in the eyes of the scouts? Barkley won't participate in the Elite 11. He and LSU commit Russell Shepard declined the invitation.

Quinton