Dawgs Start the Season Off Right

The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team opened the season Friday night before an opening day record crowd of 3,044. The crowd, the bats of Georgia, and their own errors on defense proved to be too much for the Penguins of Youngstown State as the Dawgs won easily, 15-2. The pitching was solid for Georgia, as starter Trevor Holder went 5 innings giving up 2 runs and picking up the victory. The combination Cecil Tanner, Justin Earls, and Dean Weaver held the Penguins scoreless over the last four innings.

Holder's Line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, o BB, 6 K

Equally up to the challenge were the Diamond Dawgs bats as they pounded out 17 hits. Every starter in the Bulldog lineup had at least 1 hit. Senior catcher Bryce Massanari had 3 hits and scored 3 runs, but the real story was the Georgia freshmen. Georgia started 5 freshmen in their lineup and the newcomers lived up to their billing. LF Jonathan Taylor reached base 4 times including 2 hits, a run scored, and 2 RBIs; 3B Colby May had 2 hits including a 2 run homer in the third inning; 2B Levi Hyams had a hit and scored two runs; and CF Zach Cone had 2 hits, scored a run, and had 2 RBIs.

Cone also made this fantastic play in center

Overall, it was a great way for the Dawgs to kick off the 2009 season. The series continues with two more games against Youngstown State this weekend. Next week, the Dawgs will travel to Arizona to take on the highly ranked Wildcats.

GO DAWGS!!!

***Images courtesy of Georgiadogs.com

Baseball Season Opener Online for Free

Georgiadogs.com is going to be broadcasting today's season opener vs. Youngstown State for free today. Since the game is too early for most to make it to Athens, you can catch the game online.

Watch the game here!

GO DAWGS!!!

BulldawgJosh & Bubba's 80's Music Video Of The Week

BASEBALL SEASON HAS ARRIVED!!!

In honor of the amazing season our 2008 Diamond Dawgs had, in best hopes for 2009, and to give a shout out to our boy Gordon Beckham, here is The Outfield's "Your Love."

Bubba and I will listen to this song 748 times in a row if Earl and Streit let us.

The Outfield Your Love

Who is the Greatest Receiver in Georgia History?

Chip Towers of the AJC recently asked the question, "Who is the greatest QB in Georgia History?" David Greene was the winner of the online poll in a landslide. I thought it would be interesting to see who Dawg fans feel is the greatest receiver in Georgia history. Here is a brief look at some of the candidates:

Charley Whittemore (1968-1970)

Led the Bulldogs in receiving for three years in a row, Whittemore was a great receiver during a time when Georgia ran for more yards than it passed for. During his three year career, Whittemore had 114 receptions for 1,680 yards and 11 touchdowns. Those numbers are good enough for 11th all time in receptions, 10th in yards, and 11th in touchdowns.

Lindsay Scott (1978 -1981)

Scott and Amp Arnold were the main targets for Buck Belue during his career at Georgia. Lindsay Scott led the Dawgs in receiving in three of his four years on campus. For his career, he had 131 receptions (7th all-time) for 2,098 yards (5th all-time). Of course, Lindsay Scott is most fondly remembered for this play, the greatest play in Georgia football history:

Hines Ward -(1995 -1997)

By far the most successful Georgia wide receiver at the NFL level, Hines Ward played not only receiver but also running back and quarterback while in Athens. His career total of 3,870 all-purpose yards is second all-time in Bulldog history to only Herschel Walker. He was the Dawgs leading receiver 1996 and 1997 and for his career had 144 receptions for 1,965 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was named to the All-SEC team his final season in 1997 with 55 receptions and 6 touchdowns.

Terrence Edwards (1999 - 2002)

Terrence Edwards completed his Georgia career with an SEC Championship season in 2002. He left the Dawgs as the SEC's all-tme leading receiver (though he was later passed by Vanderbilt's Earl Bennett). For his career, Edwards had 204 receptions for 3,093 yards and 30 touchdowns (all Georgia records). He is remembered for some amazing plays (such as the one below) but also remembered for the key drop for what would have been a game-tying touchdown against Florida in 2002. Edwards has gone on to have a successful career in the Canadian Football League.

AJ Green (2008 - ?)

After only his freshman season at Georgia, Green is well on his way to becoming a Georgia legend. In 2008, Green led the SEC in receiving yards (963) and in receiving touchdowns (8). He finished 5th in the league with 56 receptions and was named to the All-SEC team and the Freshman All-American team. With senior Mohamed Massaquoi and his 58 receptions and 8 touchdowns gone, Green will be the main target for the Bulldogs in 2009.

I know there are many others that could be included in this list, such as Andre Hastings and Brice Hunter, but I wanted to keep the list to five. Please take our poll and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

GO DAWGS!!!

Sanford Stadium Turns 80

Our home field, Sanford Stadium, turns 80 this fall. Here is a look at the history of our home field, known simply to many as "Between the Hedges".

"Building a stadium bigger than Tech"

In 1927, Georgia's football team was enjoying an undefeated season heading into its final game of the season again Georgia Tech. At the time Georgia did not have a football field that was able to accommodate a large number of spectators. For this reason, the annual match up between the two teams was almost always played at Georgia Tech's Grant Field in Atlanta. Georgia would lose to Tech, 12-0, and lost its perfect season. Allegations were brought that Georgia Tech had watered the field the entire night before the game, rendering Georgia's faster running game inept. This proved to be the final straw for Steadman Sanford. Sanford began a campaign asking Georgia alumni and friends to support the "building a stadium bigger than Tech" and he successfully raised $150,000. Construction soon began on the new stadium on area of campus above Tanyard Creek with a target opening for the 1929 season.

"All the while the sun was bearing down, and the Yale players, in their dark blue woolen jerseys and long blue socks, began looking for the water boy." - John Stegeman and Robert Willingham, Touchdown

On October 12, 1929, The University of Georgia officially dedicated Sanford Field as it welcomed Yale to Athens. The new stadium, with a final cost of $360,000, was completely sold out for the game that day. Nearly 30,000 fans had bought tickets in advance and another 3,000 standing room tickets were sold that morning to see the heavily favored team from Yale take on Georgia. Yale came in on the heels of an 89-0 beating of Vermont but would not be greeted kindly by the Dawgs that day. "Catfish" Smith would provide all the scoring Georgia would need as it blanked Yale, 15-0.

Between the Hedges

The man responsible for planting infant hedges around the field prior to the first game against Yale was Athletic Department Business Manager Charlie Martin. Martin had visited the Rose Bowl and had liked the rose bushes that circled the field. Because of the weather in Athens, privet hedges were used instead and remain a fixture in Sanford Stadium to this day.

Lights, an Upper Deck, and a National Championship

In 1940, lights were added to Sanford Stadium to allow games to go into the night and provide better visibility and 6,000 additional seats were added to South stands. In 1967, the field level lights were removed and architecture firm Heery and Heery was hired to add a second deck. The expansion cost nearly $3 million and expanded the seating capacity to nearly 59,000.

1980 would see the first undefeated National Championship season as Georgia won it all. The next year, the east end zone was enclosed, ending the days when students would watch games from the railroad tracks. Ten years later, the west end zone would also be closed, increasing capacity to 85,434.

Moving the Hedges for Soccer

In the summer of 1996, Atlanta played host to the world as the Olympics came to Georgia. Sanford Stadium was used as the venue for Olympic soccer. Due to the size of the field, the hedges were removed during the games and replanted before the start of the 1996 football season.

2000's Expansions and the Future

In 2003, the stadium once again underwent expansion as a second upper deck (the 600 level) was added. The following year, 27 additional sky suites were added, bringing the capacity of Sandford Stadium to its current level of 92,746.

A view of the new upper deck during the "Blackout" in 2007.

There is talk of potentially expanding the second upper deck around the East end zone. Below is an artist's rendering. If this expansion is completed it will bring the capacity of Sanford Stadium to more than 100,000.

For all its expansions and updates, Sanford Stadium remains a classic stadium filled with history. Here's to many more years of memories between the hedges!