Another Thought on The 2012 Schedule

Reading what the Senator said about the schedule, I must agree it is pure genius to put Georgia Southern the week before Tech.  I lack the desire to look it up, but Jaybo Shaw may still be playing QB there next season.  I bet you Paul Johnson wishes he still had Jaybo…

I look at the schedule and I think one thing:  EASY.  Keep in mind next season South Carolina more than likely won’t have Alshon Jeffery and definately won’t have Stephen Garcia.  Even with the addition of Alabama, there is a bye week before Florida and there are essentially two cupcake games between the South Carolina and Tennessee games.  That will give a  good bit of playing time to the reserves early in the season.  The furtherst Georgia has to travel is Kentucky, and I know Coach Richt must like that.  Georgia is looking at their easiest schedule in many years in 2012. 

Best case is that Coach Richt has a good year next year, and should have a good year again in 2012 and get some positive momentum for this program.  But say Coach Richt can’t get it done in 2011 and the team still implodes and we have to make a change.  I would rather have the 2012 UGA schedule for a first year head coach than Florida’s 2011 schedule for their first year head coach(where I think the Gators could easily stumble and lose 5 out of their last 8 games this year).    

Corbindawg

CNN’s Web Editor Needs More Coffee This Morning

Got to work a little early today, and am already one cup of coffee in.  Got up early and met a friend at Waffle House who was passing through town, so I came on into work.  I am already into my 3rd cup of coffee this moring.  Well, whoever is the editor of CNN’s website needs to drink some more.

Go to the CNN homepage.

There is a picture of recently deceased former First Lady Betty Ford, then below it a story about how Minnesota’s soon to be government shutdown will affect Miller Lite’s distribution.  Betty Ford, you know, the BETTY FORD CLINIC.  I don’t think a picture of a dude stockpiling Miller Lite for his wife below a picture of Betty Ford shows the best wisdom. 

Corbindawg

Robert Reichert For Macon Mayor

We avoid getting too political around here, but sometimes it is hard.

If you live in Macon, or know people that do, I would encourage you to ask them to vote for incumbent mayor Robert Reichert in the July 19 Deomcratic primay.  Mayor Reichert’s most serious challengers are former State Senator Robert Brown and former May C. Jack Ellis. 

As a resident of Macon since 2008, I think Mayor Reichert has done a fine job considering all the problems our town has.  He has played with a deck stacked against him, and has done as well as anyone else could do.

But even if you don’t like Mayor Reichert, look at these articles about his opponents, and you’ll get a better understanding of who else is going against him.

Robert Brown 

C. Jack Ellis

Corbindawg

Guess Who’s Back…Back Again…Tell A Friend

Summer vacations and work have kept us pretty quiet around here.  But really, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about.  No jersey sales, no players arrested.  The Braves have the 4th best record in baseball, so nothing to complain about there.  But I’m back, nice and tan from spending a week at the beach, have caught up on work stuff.  I’m ready share some thoughts on Caleb King and the Atlanta Braves:

Caleb King: Not surprised to hear that Caleb King won’t be suiting up this fall.  From what Coach Richt and Seth Emerson have said, he was a nice enough guy, and he didn’t take any parting shots on the program like some other disgruntled running back did. 

It stinks that Caleb won’t be around this fall, but as I have said many times, having Caleb King was not going to propel us to a SEC Championship, and likewise, not having him is not going to cause UGA to go 6-7 again.  Because, basically, he has done nothing in his time in Athens.  I said it a while ago, and it rings true again:

One, King is not a reliable back.  He has missed 8/24 games the last two seasons.  I am sorry, but a reliable back does not miss a third of your games over the course of two seasons.  Some the factors have been beyond his control, like injuries.  But he can control some of his off the field shenanigans. Two, King has not been very productive.  You can blame some of that on the running back by committee approach, but I contend that if he was as really good, he would be the featured back.  King had a meager 430 yards rushing and 8 yards receiving for 2 total touchdowns in 2010.  I will take out 2008 since Knowshon was the featured back, but in 2009 and 2010 King had a combined 1,024 yards and 9 rushing TDs.  That is not very impressive over the course of two seasons. 

The only person to blame here is Caleb King.  He was ineligible for the bowl game for failing to complete 6 hours…2 classes.   Surely there are 2 classes he could have taken last fall.  With the resources that are available for UGA Student Athletes, there is no excuse for this.  I had a friend that tutored football players in Rankin Smith.  There is mandatory study hall.  There is tutoring available.  There are easy majors to enroll in.  There is no excuse not to get it done.

There won’t be a veteran back to help Crowell, but that is probably OK.   The UGA offense works at its best when there is a feature back.  We won’t have to worry about much of a running back by committee approach, because there is not much of a committee.  Richt and Bobo were going to hitch their wagon to Crowell anyway, so this only helps speed along the inevitable. 

Braves:  In all fairness, in last night’s All-Star game, the American League didn’t have its full array of pitchers.   But, dadgum, the National League has some great pitching.  Phillies and Braves pitchers combined for 6.2 IP last night (and Tommy Hanson SHOULD have pitched also).  I think that sums up why those two teams are the clear class of the NL.  We should get some solace in the fact that Braves pitchers out did Phillies pitchers last night.  Check out these stats:  Jurrjens, Kimbrel and Venters-3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 R.   Halladay and Lee-3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 R, 1 K.  Both are good, but the Braves were a little better.

As we head deeper into the dog days of summer, the Braves seem like they are poised for a run at the Phillies.  I have said all season the Braves ain’t catching up with the Phillies, but damn if they might just do it.  Both pitching staffs are awesome, and the Phillies have, on paper, the clear advantage on offense.  But don’t sleep on this Braves lineup yet. 

According to DOB, the Opening Day roster has appeared in 11 total games together.  Martin Prado is poised to come back, Chipper will be back, rested and healthy for the playoff run.  Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman and Dan Uggla are all starting to come alive offensively.  Considering the Braves went about what seemed like 2 months with a Triple-A outfield, the mere fact they have the 4^th best record in baseball is astounding.  Fredi Gonzalez should be named manager of the first half.  Great job keeping things together. 

I am of the opinion Wren should make a deal to improve our lineup.  Our guys are coming into full swing (pun intended), but offense is our clear weakness, while we have an abundance of pitching.  You can’t move Lowe due to his age and contract.  Hudson, Hanson and Jurrjens are untouchable.  I think with the young depth of Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy Wren and the Braves could make a move for a solid left fielder to shore up our offense even more.  I also would not be opposed to dangling Jonny Venters out there if the price was right.  Because WHEN we met Philadelphia in the NLCS, we have the pitching to stand toe to toe with them, but runs will be at a premium. 

Corbindawg

Lewis Grizzard Wednesday

Continuing Lewis’ talk about beef, here’s an All-Amerian thought on cheeseburgers. May have to vary from ‘cue today and have one myself.

A Burger By Any Other Name 
   
I ordered a cheeseburger at lunch the other day. I had never eaten at this particular restaurant before, and whenever I am unsure about the quality of the food at a place, I always order a cheeseburger. 

How many ways can you foul up something as simple as a cheeseburger? 

The bread can be too hard, or the meat might not be cooked to your liking, but that can be fixed quite easily. 

After I ordered my cheeseburger – medium well with a soft bun – the waiter asked me, “Do you want a plain cheeseburger or one of our specialties?” 

There is such a thing as a specialty cheeseburger? A cheeseburger is a piece of hamburger meat with some cheese on top of it served on a hamburger bun. 

A pork chop is a pork chop and a cheeseburger is a cheeseburger. 

I asked the waiter to elaborate. 

“We have a Cajun cheeseburger,” he began, “with spices and cooked onions. We have a chili cheeseburger, and you can also have gazpacho on that. 

“We have a Swiss cheeseburger, a Monterey Jack cheeseburger, a diet cheeseburger – with just meat and cottage cheese on the side. And we have a mushroom cheeseburger.” 

I was astounded. 

I said to the waiter, “I’m not certain in which book it appears, but I know that somewhere in the Bible it says, `Thou shalt not put mushrooms on no cheeseburger.’ “ 

It’s just not the right thing to do. 

If I had wanted Cajun food, I would have ordered red beans and rice. If I had wanted chili I would have ordered chili. And gazpacho looks like pond scum. 

I hate Swiss cheese, Monterey Jack sounds like a California beach bum, and at 166 pounds, I’m certainly not on a diet – and I wouldn’t eat cottage cheese even if I were. 

Why do we do this sort of thing? Why do we take something as pure and simple as the cheeseburger and go fiddle with it? 

I think we should have kept telephones black. I still see no need for designer undershorts. 

Who decided to take the numbers off watches? Who decided to make modern shower knobs so complicated? 

Why does baseball have a designated hitter? Why do we say brunch instead of late breakfast or early lunch? 

Why did Cadillac change the Seville and ruin it? What was wrong with Jane Pauley in the morning? Didn’t corn flakes, Wheaties, Rice Krispies and Cheerios give us enough of a choice of cereals? 

Who changed “light” to “lite?” Why are electric typewriters the size of Plymouths? Why do potato chips come in a can? And why must we have pats of butter in those individual little packages that are so hard to get open? 

Who said it was OK for lawyers to do television commercials? 

I told the waiter I wanted a plain, as-God-intended cheeseburger and a Coke. 

“Classic, I assume,” said the waiter. 

“In a six-ounce bottle,” I answered.