Denying it? Of course they are

It’s easy to become giddy when news of possibly NCAA misdeeds by one of our hated rivals surfaces. But when it’s Auburn, I’m not getting too excited. 

It hasn’t taken long for Auburn players to come up with an alibi  deny allegations of cash payments and grade fixing. 

Look, Auburn bought the best team money could buy in 2010. I know it, you know it, the rest of the SEC knows and the NCAA knows it (they just couldn’t prove anything).

But Auburn is masterful at breaking the rules and either not getting caught or getting off with a minor slap on the wrist. Personally, I’ll be shocked if anything happens to them, other than their fans having nervous feelings in the pit of their stomachs. 

Lugnut Dawg

How the Petrino Era at WKU should begin

Bobby Petrino’s headed to the hills on Western Kentucky. Hide your motorcycles and women’s volleyball players.

WKU’s first two games of 2013? Against Kentucky and Tennessee, two schools who should have in the least considered hiring Petrino.

Petrino shouldn’t hide from his past in his opening press conference. He needs to own it and embrace it. Something like this:

 

 

Lugnut Dawg

 

 

Just to clear up any confusion over who the biggest rival is…

Are there multiple teams I hate losing to? Yes.

I detest the gangly, jean shorts-wearing, mullet cutting worshippers of Jean Shorts Jesus in Gainesville, who refuse to admit college football existed before 1990.

I hate the lying, cheating hillbillies on Rocky Top, who don’t understand that no one gives a rip about how many seats are in your stadium when you cram everyone in like sardines.

I can’t stand Auburn, a school which wishes it was Georgia.

Clemson – the only thing separating it from Auburn is that Clemson fans wear shoes. Plus it has a lake.

The lame chickens – they’d be ok if it weren’t for Darth Visor.

Oh and then there’s Bama – the self annointed God’s gift to football.

The common thread between these programs? They can conduct themselves with class and dignity. Is there some good natured jabbing back and forth that may get a tad overboard at times? Sure.

And then there’s the Enginerds. I mean I can understand getting mad about football interfering with Dragon Con and Star Trek conventions losing 10 of 11. But that is no reason, whatsoever, to have a wedding cake like this that is very graphic.  

Ray Goff wasn’t much as a head coach, but he summed the Georgia Tech rivalry up nicely.

“If you don’t think Georgia Tech’s Georgia’s biggest rival, lose to them once. You’ll find out.”

To Hell With Georgia Tech

Lugnut Dawg

‘Nuff Said

Thanks to ML for the cartoon.

God Bless the USA, and God Bless our troops.

TGT

Say Goodbye to the Sweater Vest

I just can’t foresee this ending well for Corbin’s favorite coach, Jim “Sweater Vest” Tressel. As the lies build up, the picture gets bleaker for The Ohio State University.

For the first time in years the most overrated team in America won’t open up as favorites to make the MNC game. I hate to find happiness in others misery, but I just can’t help myself.

Have a wonderful, pollinated weekend.

ucheedawg

Difference of Opinion

I am not a Jay Cutler guy. He’d be one of the last qb’s I’d choose in the NFL for my team. That said, I wanted to scream yesterday as the talking heads and pundits around America talked uncontrollably about him not playing the 2^nd half of Sunday’s game against the Packers.

The talk started immediately on Sunday as folks sitting at home in their overstuffed sofas, mouth full of chips, began calling him a wimp and a coward. On Monday, it’s all anyone talked or wrote about. A bunch of “Joe 6-packs” calling this NFL QB out for a knee injury. I’ve got two words for that: Busch league.

There are many things that bother me about this situation. First of all, if you watched any of that first half, you saw Cutler getting pounded, just as he did all season long behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. However, he kept grinding and fighting. Then his knee gets blown (2^nd degree sprain/tear, if you’ve never had that then shut up). He goes out and tries to play before halftime, then talks his way onto the field after halftime. His first throw he can’t even plant, short hops an 8 yard pass, and is pulled. The Head Coach made that decision, with his advice coming from the doctors. Lovie Smith thought, correctly so, that his quarterback who can’t plant and throw, needed to come out in order for them to win. Yet Cutler is the one who is hanged for it.

The other thing that is driving me nuts is people talking about the “perception.” Jay Cutler has been the same stoic person since he was at Vandy. It’s just who he is. He’s not your Aaron Rodgers who fist pumps and jumps on his linemen. It’s just not his personality. Brian Ulracher is the vocal leader of the Bears, not Cutler. Yet folks are saying Cutler laid down because he was not fired up on the sideline. If you follow the Bears one bit, you know that it is just his personality. Period. America loves the “Cinderella” comeback story, but what America does not understand is that some of that is put on, and it doesn’t involve a knee. Playing with a broken thumb is not the same as playing with a torn knee.

I played ¾ of a season in high school with two broken toes. It hurt like the devil, but I could still play. Everyone plays football hurt. There’s not a player in the NFL who suits up a game not hurt to some extent. But knees are different. I also had to undergo knee surgery in high school due to a football injury. The knee is that one thing that limits you more than any other injury. I played with a concussion (not smart), broken fingers, and all sorts of ailments. But with the knee, there’s no playing. You can try, but it doesn’t work. Most importantly, it doesn’t give your team the best chance to win.

I understand that I am digressing, almost to the point of a rant. The fact of the matter is, it has driven me crazy to witness folks sit behind a computer or in front of a microphone and bash Jay Cutler for something out of his control. There is ZERO chance Jay Cutler was going to lay down in that situation unless he absolutely had to. You don’t get to that level as an NFL QB and not be a tremendous competitor. It just does not happen. That may be the most absurd part of this whole argument to me. Just put yourself in that mindset if you can. Do you really get to the pinnacle of the NFL not wanting to play? NO! The weak are the ones who don’t make it to the NFL. There are hundreds of quarterbacks in America who have great skills. Only a select few have the drive to get to that upper echelon of starting NFL QB’s.

Jay Cutler was near tears due to frustration of hearing people say these insane things. I can only imagine his pain; to know something that the public doesn’t understand, yet not be able to explain it. Forget the idiots like Dion Sanders who tweet from their home; I guarantee that clown wouldn’t have been playing with a torn MCL. The bottom line is, when you get taken out by the coach and training staff due to a severe knee injury and get hung publicly by it, that is just wrong. Forget the fact that he’s diabetic, and that plays into his stoic nature on the sideline. The bottom line is that everyone, from Mike Ditka to Joe 6-pack, needs to get a life and get over this. We don’t care if you played football hurt, everyone does. But you cannot play quarterback, especially in the NFL, with a 2^nd degree sprain on your MCL.

I apologize for my rant, but it’s therapy for the soul.

ucheedawg

Two Words

No, not the two words that define Bulldog Nation. On this Black Friday, two different words should summarize the feelings of Bulldog Nation. Two simple words:

ROLL TIDE!

ucheedawg

Auburn Is A Curse Word

I have always had a healthy respect for Auburn. Like many, I consider them our “sister school”. UGA and Auburn share a lot of tradition. We’ve traded coaches and recruits over the decades. They’re the school that most resembles UGA. I even pull for them to win 9-10 times a year.

I’ve got a lot of friends who are graduates of Auburn. When I was an undergrad, I made some close friends who were in my fraternity at Auburn. During the offseason, we would meet up occasionally and have a good time. They were like us. My in-laws are Auburn grads (something I’ve had to deal with, but it’s been a friendly relationship.) Like me, they pull for UGA most every weekend but one. I go to Sunday School with a couple of Auburn grads. It’s always been a very friendly rivalry. I never shared the hatred of them that T. Kyle King does.

On Saturday, that changed. I’ve never in my life been so furious with an opponent. Never did UF make me so mad, despite running up scores, doing the Chomp, and generally being a classless bunch. Never have I hated Tech the way I despised Auburn on Saturday. Tennessee has come close on occasion, but my blood never boiled the way it did on Saturday.

On Saturday, I lost every ounce of respect I’ve ever had for Auburn. It takes a lot to come down from a fairly tall pedestal they had built as “the other team I pull for if somehow Georgia can’t win it all.” But they did it in one day.

I dislike their coach. Their team is full of thugs. I hope Cam Newton doesn’t win the Heisman, is implicated of all his wrong doings, and has a terrible NFL career. I would have been seriously injured had I been in the presence of Nick Fairley on Saturday, because I would have tried to take on a young man who could break me in half with one hand tied behind his back. But I would have tried.

I’ve wished the worst upon Tennessee, Florida and Tech my whole life. Never have I wanted them to win a single game. I now throw Auburn into that category. I’ve never wanted something bad to happen to a program the way I do Auburn right now. The pain from Saturday has clearly not subsided.

I know it’s not Christian-like to hold such a grudge, but I simply can’t help it. The way in which they carried themselves was as classless as I’ve ever seen. I prayed on Sunday morning that I not hold such hard feelings in my heart for a group of individuals, but those feelings have not left. Thankfully God provides grace and forgiveness, because I sure need it.

2 weeks ago, I was hoping Auburn would beat Alabama. Now, I hope Bama beats the brakes off of them. I hope they cripple them and beat them by 3 scores. And I hope they get the chance to keep their starters in the game to the very end, even though they shouldn’t. And then I hope South Carolina embarrasses them in the SECCG. I hope Garcia has a career day against their secondary. I hope Lattimore runs for 200 yards.  And whoever Auburn plays in a bowl game, may they beat them like a drum.

Maybe the feelings will subside. I know, and God knows, that it’s not Christian-like to hold such a grudge, and I hope that I’m forgiven. But right now, Auburn is a curse word in my household. I don’t like the feeling I have for them. It’s not right to have such strong feelings towards anyone. But I can’t help it.

I’ll take Mark Richt and his Christian attitude and actions any day of the week over a team that behaves the way Auburn did on Saturday. I’ve been on the fence about CMR’s future, but right now I’ll take him and the class he brings to the program over anyone else in America. I’d rather be classy and 5-6 than be represented the way Auburn was on Saturday. There is more to life than winning football games. (I know someone will bring up rushing the field against Florida, but that’s an exception) I would be ashamed if I was an Auburn dad trying to teach my son the wonderful life lessons you can learn from SEC football right now.

Roll Tide. Beat them senseless. Go Cocks. Get that SEC Championship you’ve waited so long for.

Go Dawgs!

ucheedawg

King’s arrest, suspension magnifies a bigger problem in Athens

When it comes to recruiting, Georgia’s biggest disadvantage isn’t the school’s higher admission compared to other schools wearing orange. It isn’t Urban Meyer or Nick Saban. It isn’t the past couple of season being sub-par.

The biggest hurdle Georgia has to overcome lies within the Athens-Clarke County and UGA police department.

Before going any further, let’s clarify one thing. This is not a ‘let’s bash the police’ post. The service that law enforcement provide to our communities is invaluable, and we at TGT are grateful for the protection that they provide on multiple levels.

But in Athens, local law enforcement is also a detriment to the athletic department and the university overall. Some ‘journalists’ like to tout that UGA’s football program has run out of control with 11 arrests this year. But a simple look at the details would reveal that of these transgressions, a majority of them are a result of a suspended driver’s license or forgetting to pay traffic tickets. But negative press is negative press, and it’s forced Mark Richt to rule with a heavier fist and hand down a two-game suspension to Caleb King being jailed for not having paid a traffic ticket.

We’re not saying that not paying traffic tickets is ok. It’s not. But the fact of the matter is that while athletes and UGA students are hounded by local officials hungry to make extra revenue, similar offense for other athletes at other schools are either swept under the rug or witnesses in Knoxville or Gainesville conveniently forget the details of an incident.

Isn’t it a cruel twist of irony that on the same day King is suspended, Florida reinstates Chris Rainey, who sent threatening text messages?

The bottom line is this – there is a culture of fear apparent between UGA students and athletes and law enforcement in Athens. Frankly, it’s hard to fault any athlete not wanting to spend four years in Athens because they fear being arrested for an offense that in many other place results in a monetary fine.

Until the University and local law enforcement can figure out how to cooperate, the Bulldogs will find themselves at a disadvantage.

– Lugnut Dawg

Brandon Spikes: Caught on Tape Again

Media outlets are reporting that Brandon Spikes has been caught on tape again,  for being in a “sexually explicit video.” 

This isn’t the first time he’s been caught doing something dirty on camera…

Corbindawg