Recap from last week; there were twelve arrest, 9 Caucasian, 1 Asian, 2 African American.  Of the twelve only the two African American arrest came from something other than DUI, drugs or resisting arrest.  One was a seat belt violation and one was failure to dim headlights.  Both were booked on license issues.

UGA police arrested eight individuals; 3 African American and 5 Caucasian over the past week.  Half of the individuals arrested were booked for DUI and half were booked for license issues which I feel like is probably  a normal summer average.

I am aware that this does not show who was stopped and only ticketed and I know it is a small sample size.  We are just hoping to show that UGA police do not unfairly target one group over another.  Arrest percentages since June 4th

Nationally, there are some great rivalry games-both historic and newer ones.  The Red River Shootout (political correctness be damned), Michigan-Ohio State are traditional big games, and newer rivalry games like Florida State-Clemson and Stanford-Oregon are fun to watch and are appointment television for any college football fan.

Since it is the preseason and there ain’t much else to talk about, I decided to quickly run through the best rivalries in the SEC.  This might be different depending on your allegiance (a Mississippi State fan is going to put more emphasis on the Egg Bowl than me).  I tried to look at it from a wide perspective-historical importance, level of hate, competitiveness, and how much attention is given to it (is it appointment television?).

Like all of these arbitrary lists, this one is just my opinion and is certainly up for debate.  Each one I offer my reason why it is ranked where it is, and something that sticks out in the rivalry to me. If you have a different interpretation, please share.

10.  THE MAGNOLIA BOWL

Why ranked here:  I initially had another LSU rivalry listed (The Battle for the Golden Boot), but Granite suggest that I move the LSU-Ole Miss game in its place.  This is a big one for the Rebels, as they hate LSU as much as anyone else on their schedule.  LSU has won most of these games, but in recent years it has provided some excitement.

Big moment:   No matter how old you are, you’ve seen the famous replay of Billy Cannon’s punt return.  The 2009 Ole Miss win was one of the most fun games I’ve watched on TV.  I watched it with Uchee at his house, and he had small wager with Granite he ended up losing.  There have been other close, exciting games here.

9.  TENNESSEE-FLORIDA

Why ranked here:  If blogs existed back in the 1990s, this one would probably be near the top of the list.  Not a lot of historical merit here, as these teams played intermittent until the SEC went to division play in 1992.  When Georgia was down in the 1990s, this was the premier match-up in the SEC East, if not the SEC or the entire country.  We all know Spurrier’s famous quips, and if he wasn’t gigging at UGA or FSU, he was gigging at Tennessee.  But in recent years with Tennessee’s decline, this hasn’t been much of a game.

Big Moment:  Fulmer only got the best of Spurrier 4 times, and the biggest was the final time when these two teams faced off to end the regular season in 2001.  Each team had one loss, and the winner went to the SEC Championship game (with a potential BCS title game).  In Spurrier’s last game as Florida’s head coach in the Swamp, Tennessee pulled off the big upset and went on to the SEC Championship game (only to lose to LSU).

8.      EGG BOWL

Why ranked here:  This is a long standing, interstate rivalry between two fan bases who hate each other.  It is the 10^th longest uninterrupted series in college football.  Also, you have the beauty of Ole Miss and the Grove contrasted perfectly with the trashiness and Cedartown-esque feel of Starkville.  It is a fun game to traditionally watch on Thanksgiving night when you get tired of watching the Lions lose during the day.

Big moment:  This is one where I enjoy watching the game and respect the rivalry, but I mean, come on.  It’s Mississippi State and Ole Miss.  I’d say the big moment I remember was watching in 2003 after Jackie Sherrill’s last game.

7.      ARKANSAS-TEXAS AM

Why ranked here:  This is an old Southwest Conference rivalry game that was played annually from 1934-1991.  Played at Jerry’s Dome before TAMU moved to the SEC, and you got to think the ties to Arkansas was a major factor in their decision to jump ship (aside from all the cash money and their ability to give the finger to the Longhorns).

Big moment:  Not really in tune to this rivalry game, but the recent renewal at Jerry’s Dome has produced some exciting games in 2010 and 2011.

6.      FLORIDA-LSU

Why ranked here:  Despite what Les Miles wants you to believe, this is a big deal.  These two teams played every year from 1953-1967 and annually since 1971.  When the SEC split into two divisions, this game was permanent cross divisional game.  Funny, Les didn’t complain about playing the Gators in 2010 and 2011?  Always a classic SEC game, and you can expect hard hitting action.

Big moment:  The 2007 game was classic Les Miles football.  The Tigers went for it on 4th down 5 times.  They converted 5 times.  The brass balls of Les Miles strikes again.

5.      THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER

Why ranked here:  From a historical perspective, probably should be ranked a little higher.  The last time this game was really competitive was in 2009 when Lane Kiffin almost pulled the rabbit out of the hat.  Had it not been for Terrance Cody’s massive hand, the Vols could have very well beaten the Crimson Tide.  Still, as far as historic SEC rivalries go, this one is still one of the best.

Big moment:  Phillip Fulmer being served a subpoena while attending SEC media days tells you the sheer hatred this rivalry still has.

4.      DEEP SOUTH’S OLDEST RIVALRY

Why ranked here:  I think I’ve covered this adequately enough in previous posts.

Big moment:  Two of the best football games I have ever been to in person are the 2006 and 2007 Auburn games.  Both were special for a variety of reasons.

3.      WORLD’S LARGEST OUTDOOR COCKTAIL PARTY

Why ranked here:  Florida’s dominance in the 1990s took some of the luster off, but UGA has won 3/6 and 4/9 to help turn the tide.  I refuse to dignify the swamp boat paddle that is used now.  If When Georgia wins in 2013, it will be 5 wins in 10 attempts.  I think the ship has been turned around there, don’t you?

Big moment:  I have been to 8 WLOCP since 2003.  I was so pissed after 2008’s debacle that I flat refused to go in 2009, and 2010 hurt my heart so bad, and other things kept me from going in 2011.  The wins in 2012 and 2004 I was there to witness in person were sweet, but nothing compared to the 2007 ass whipping we put on the Gators.  Nothing.

2.      ALABAMA-LSU

Why ranked here:  A newer rivalry game, this one has extra emphasis since Nick Saban’s arrival to Alabama.  This might be the most controversial ranking on my list, but I contend that no other SEC game has received as much national attention the last few years than this one-3 times!  It may be recent, but these two teams have played annually since 1964.  Since the Bear left, LSU is close in the all-time series.

Big Moment:  My dad grew up in Alabama and is huge fan of the Crimson Tide.  He naturally doesn’t care for Auburn, but one team he HATES is LSU.  He came down to my house to watch the 2011 classic and we had a great time grilling out and watching football all day, and this instant classic capped off a wonderful day.  He cursed Nick Saban’s name after that game.

1.      IRON BOWL

Why ranked here:  When Bear Bryant took over Alabama in 1958, the series was in Auburn’s favor 13-9-1.  The Bear knew how important it was to beat the Tigers, going 19-6 in the rivalry.  Interestingly enough, 2 of the losses came in his first and last season.  Recent history has helped Auburn make up ground, as they won 6 in a row in the middle 2000s.  Saban is 4-2 against Auburn.  You can’t really make a case for any other SEC rivalry.  The entire state of Alabama is focused on this one, and the likes of Harvey Updyke and Paul Finebuam have just added unnecessary fuel to the fire.

Big moment: Auburn’s comeback one point win over Alabama en route to an undefeated 2010 season in Tuscaloosa.

Corbindawg

I would like some help with something.  First off, a little back ground.  I am an OK griller.  I am not good at anything fancy, but I can grill a mean hamburger, steak, and piece of chicken.  We all have particular things we are good at, and though it is pretty simple, I am good at those things.

You must also know your own limitations.  I am leary of trying new things, for fear of messing them up.  I tried to grill a pork tenderloin one time, and it didn’t turn out so hot (literally, it was badly  undercooked), so I just stick to what I know and do well.

Anyway, this past weekend we grilled out in celebration of Father’s Day.  My in laws aren’t big grill people, so at any family gathering I am the designated griller.  They like my burgers, I like sneaking a cold beer around my teetotaling extended family, so it is a win-win.  We were discussing an upcoming beach vacation and who was doing meals, and I said I’d handle burgers and hot dogs.  My father-in-law said some ribs would be good, and I replied I don’t know how to grill ribs.  He said I could learn how.

I don’t want to seem unmanly in the eyes of my father-in-law, and since there will be other food options available, I am open to experimenting with some ribs while we are in Florida.  I am sure many of you are superior grillers, so I am asking for an easy recipe or way to grill ribs.  The house we are staying at does not have a charcoal grill that I am aware of, so I will be having to (unfortunately) be using gas.

Please supply any suggestions in the comment section.  Not only suggestions on how to actually cook them, but any marinade would be good.

Kind regards,

Corbindawg

As part of my Father’s Day weekend, my wife took the little one out for errands Sunday afternoon.  Her ideas as for me to watch the Braves game in peace, since the Braves had the night game, I decided to jump head first into my Steele.  I took some notes this time to put in a post.

Whenever I read the magazine, I pick up on randon tidbits and factoids of information.  Here are a few random observations I noticed and, later on today or this week I’ll share some scheduling notes I made.

*Last year, Aaron Murray was a better passer than Johnny Manziel.  No doubt that Manziel deserved the Heisman-he lead the SEC in rushing-but from a quarterback’s perspective, Murray was better.  Murray threw for 3,893 and 36 TD-10 INT.  Manziel threw for 3,706 and 26-9.   But what A.J. McCarron did with a 30 TD-3 INT ratio is remarkable.

*The last two times Vandy has played Auburn (2008, 2012), The Commadores are 2-0 and only scored a combined 31 points.

*I always thought you can measure how good a team is by how they are performing ATS.  The last two years, Georgia is 8-6 and 8-5-1 ATS.  Last year, it should come as no surprise the games the Bulldogs struggled in were the games they didn’t cover (Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Buffal0).  In some cases, it isn’t entirely fair, as UGA didn’t cover against Florida Atlatnic, but still had a record day and by anyone’s measure played well.

*But what was surprising to me is that last season, the two best teams ATS were Ole Miss (10-3) and Vanderbilt (9-4).  If you are making regular bets on Vanderbilt or Ole Miss, you either are a wise guy or have a problem.

Just some initial, random observations.  I’m sure I’ll have some more.  If you have already got your Phil Stelle and have something you want to share, please do so.

Corbindawg

The past four and half months have been a blessing beyond any measure.

Like most men, I’d imagine, I was hesitant to the idea of having kids.  Sure, I wanted to have kids, but I wasn’t in a big hurry to make that commitment.  My wife and I would talk about it, and I’d always say, “Let’s wait another year.”  We’d agree it was best to wait.  We talked again last year, and I used my same old lines of “Well, let’s wait one more year.”  I was told waiting another year was not a good idea this time, so we proceeded on trying.

Last summer (it was July 1), when my wife told me she took a pregnancy test and it had the two bright blue lines, I was shocked.  My initial response probably goes down in history as one of the worst responses a man could give his excited wife as she is waving around a urine soaked stick in your face.  But after a few hours of letting it process, I was excited.

When we found out we were having a little girl, I became terrified.  The toughts of weddings, proms, and teenage boys coming over to the house scares me senseless.

The day our baby was born, I was a nervous wreck.  Even the night of, once all the family had left and the baby was in the nursery down the hall, I just had relief.  The next day, my mother-in-law came to the hospital to stay and I went back to my house to shower and grab a quick nap.  It was on the car ride that afternoon it finally hit me.  And the nervousness and anxiety I had been feeling turned to sheer joy.  And it was unlike any other feeling I had ever experienced.

Everyone told me that having a child was the best thing ever.  Fathers with daughters told me that having a little girl was extra special.  Boys are great, but there is something special about a little girl.  After hearing that so much, I just thought that people said that becuase it was what they were supposed to say.  Well I can sit here and say it is the God’s honest truth.

It is something else seeing this little girl grow up.  She is growing like a weed, and each week it seems like she is doing something else new.

I think these holidays like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day are overblown Hallmark creations.  I told my wife the only thing I wanted for my Father’s Day this year was to play golf with some college buddies yesterday (as an aside-36 holes of golf in one day, the hotest day of the year, isn’t as awesome as it sounds).  I don’t need anything too special becuase every day is Father’s Day.  I don’t need a special present because it arrived on February 6.

Corbindawg

Two, Bill Belichick is the best coach in the NFL.  He can take players who aren’t successful elsewhere and make them successful in that system.  He knows how to maximize his talent.  They will figure out a way to make Tebow successful, or at least use him in a way that puts him in the best opportunity to succeed.

Corbindawg

But he is full of crap. Since no one else in the UGA beat has the balls to say the truth, I guess I will.

Chief Jimmy Williamson is a prick. Simple as that. He might be a fine human being away from work, but the “power of his job” makes him an egotistical jerk. Somewhere, leadership starts at the top. Chief Williamson’s officers are given no leeway and are nothing more than glorified traffic cops with a chip on their shoulder. Ever wonder why they only pull over a speeder or do traffic violations at East Campus Village and on River Road? That is the only place they have jurisdiction. It just so happens you have a lot football players living over there. Funny, you don’t hear often of football players getting arrested for off campus infractions (aside from the usual drunk in public type offenses).

Here are the comments that really get me off in Towers’ article:

I called Chief Williamson Friday evening and asked him about it.

“There are a bunch of good guys over there,” he said of the Bulldogs’ student-athletes. “We have a great program. We don’t have nearly as many problems as we did 10 years ago or so. They’re not trouble-making kids. They’re just like all young people, they make mistakes sometimes. Sometimes they’re not thinking and they find themselves in conflict with the law. When they do, we have our job to do.”

According to the UGA police daily log, another UGA student was stopped on East Campus Road Friday for not wearing their seatbelt. That student, a young woman, was cited for underage possession and also went to jail.

The point being, UGA police weren’t targeting Georgia athletes that day. They were targeting people driving without wearing seatbelts. Last I checked it’s a good idea to wear your seatbelt. And to have a valid driver’s license.

Man, I am so glad that the UGA police department is working hard to protect the campus from students and student athletes not having proper driver’s licenses and seat belt use. That is an excellent use of resources!  It is not just this one offense.  UGA fans don’t complain about the police squad when a player is arrested for weed (JHC), guns (Crowell) and assault (Michael Lemon).  But this petty stuff is what makes us think there is something there, Chip.  I don’t know how you can’t see that.

I’m going to say it, and it might not be a popular place to go, but I’m going there anyway:  Today, I am wearing a crisp, starched white Polo button up shirt and  Ralph Lauren tie. If I get pulled over for not having a valid driver’s license-say I forgot it in my wallet in my other pants, or it had expired and I forgot about it-would I be taken to jail? No. A preppy white boy ain’t going to jail for that. But if a 6’4″, 300 lbs. black teenager is pulled over on campus, they are clearly a football player. And they are getting arrested by Jimmy Williamson’s crack squad for something trivial.  That is not a fair application of the law.

And that young lady, Chip, you refer to who was arrested for underage possession (after a seatbelt violation), her arrest wasn’t put on the AJC for people to see. Not with headlines “Georgia football player won’t be benched for arrest”. That headline not only makes it look like Mark Richt is giving him a slap on the wrist, but it also alludes to an arrest-yes he was arrested-and not simply a traffic violation.

So, yes, it may be a law that says you can go to jail in Georgia if you don’t have a valid driver’s license. How many of us have been pulled over and gotten a warning or a free pass on something that trivial?

How about, Chip Towers, you grow a backbone and not be yes man to the University.

And maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the University doesn’t target student athletes in particular. I think that is a lie, but whatever. Maybe they are all just assholes. No, never mind. No maybe about it. They are assholes regardless. If they are not targeting student athletes (football players), it sure as hell seems that way. Maybe, use a little more discretion next time.  It would certainly help your perception the general public has about you all.

Because, Chief Williamson, you might think you are a hero who is offering an invaluable service to the University community, serving, protecting and all that.  Well, you can rest assured that no else thinks that.  Quite the opposite.

Corbindawg

______________________________________________________________________

Sidenote:

While it is a very small sample size, UGAPD has arrested twelve individuals in the past week, two of which are black.  Of those twelve I’ll let you guess which two did not involve drug possession, disorderly conduct or dui.  The two black men in question were arrested and booked for a seat belt violation and failure to dim headlights.  I’d like to look at these numbers as the summer goes on and see if UGAPD has a trend with these types of arrest.  I know I feel much safer that I won’t be blinded by bright headlights.

Athens-Clarke County Arrest Reports

When my mom and dad started dating in the late 1960s, my two grandfathers got to talking.  Both were born in 1919 and served in the War at the same time.  They grew up not far from each other on rural Sand Mountain, Alabama, but never knew each other until my parents began dating.  They were sharing old war stories, and in the course of their conversation, they realized they were talking about the same thing.  They soon realized they were stationed on the same island at the same time, talking about the same battle.  How cool is it that two poor farm boys who grew up probably 30 miles from each other traveled halfway around the world and were stationed on the same island just a couple of miles apart, then their two kids got together and eventually got married.

Not many WWII veterans left these days.  Folks my grandparents age literally saved the world.  It was a total war effort.  My grandpas served in the Army, and my grandma stayed over here and worked in factories.  They were certainly the greatest generation.

June 6, 1944 was a remarkable day.  Those men and women who grew up poor during the Depression and either went around the world to fight a just fight or stayed at home and sacrificed the luxaries of the time to support the boys overseas.  Truly remarkable people.

Corbindawg

But we here at The Grit Tree like to believe if we are anything, we are fair.  So when I saw yesterday that Coach Perno had called new Coach Stricklin (h/t Tyler), I was impressed with this classy move.

You know, when a relationship ends, a lot of bitter feelings are held.  I have often feared that the if the day came and UGA had to cut ties with Coach Richt, our idiot fringe of the fanbase (is it still considered a fringe when there are a lot of them) would rejoice in his demise as our head coach.  There would such a positive response to him getting kicked to the curb, it wouldn’t reflect all the good that was done.

It was clearly David Perno’s time to go.  But he was a member of the 1991 CWS team, from Athens, and gave a long time to the University.  At his core, he is still a life long Bulldog.

Very classy coach.  Well done.

Corbindawg

It was great, as usual. I would have eaten two if my stomach would have held another because we beefeaters need to do all we can to tell the wimps and weenies who have put themselves in charge of our lifestyles to go eat a bucket of worms (a.k.a. sushi). 

It’s cow meat they’re after now. One group says we’re being cruel by killing cows and chopping them into steaks. 

There’s a book out about the evils, both social and physical, of eating beef as well. I refuse to name it here and give it any publicity. 

And then, I read a story in the papers about a report from the American Chemical Society saying the natural substance that gives beef its meaty taste has been synthesized in the laboratory and may be used to turn tofu into a substitute for beef. 

Do what? 

I asked a health nut to tell me what tofu is. It sounds to me like a ballet dance step. 

“It’s soybean-based,” she explained. 

So let me see if I have this straight. 

Some scientist has come up with something in his lab to put in something made out of soybeans, and I’m supposed to eat that instead of beef? 

The magic ingredient is BMP. Said the article, “BMP could be used to make imitation beef with little or no saturated fat similar to the way fake crab meat is made.” 

Fake crab meat? What’s going on here? 

In the first place, I once ate a soybean burger. Another friend of mine, also a health nut, said, “Try this, you might like it.” 

Somebody once said the same thing to me about marriage. 

The soybean burger was awful, so I went to Wendy’s and got myself a double with cheese to get the taste out of my mouth. 

In the second place, when are those self-appointed jerks going to stop jacking us around about our food? 

Remember when you were growing up how important it was to eat eggs? “Eat the rest of those eggs, young man,” my mother would say, “so you’ll grow up big and strong.” 

Not anymore. Now they say eggs cause diphtheria, not to mention shortness and weakness, so somebody has come out with a fake egg. 

I bet a chicken could tell the difference. 

Pork has been put down as unhealthy. Some chickens have tumors in them and fish have mercury, and I never knew there was such a thing as fake crab meat until now. 

So what’s left to eat? Nothing much. If what we read and hear is true, we’d all be better off if we didn’t eat anything at all, never had sex, abstained from drinking, smoking and gambling, and died on the operating table instead of getting a blood transfusion that could give us AIDS. 

Life used to be fun. Now, it’s just one big Don’t. 

But I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to continue to eat beef and everything else I like. I will never walk into a Long Horn and say, “I’ll have the tofu T-bone, please.” 

If doing such a thing kills me, it’ll just have to kill me. 

I think I’d rather go suddenly from a beef overdose than live long enough to get really sick and wind up croaking in a hospital bed where they’ve been keeping me alive by feeding me through a tube. 

There should be the basic right to live free from as much worry as possible. But how can you, when not a day passes that we aren’t told what’s the latest thing that’s bad for us? 

Eat, drink and be merry, I say, for tomorrow you may choke on a big piece of broccoli.