Friday, October 16, 2009

80's Music Video Of The Week - Judas Priest

"Breaking The Law" by Judas Priest is everything you could want in an 80's video.

First, it was made in 1980. Second, it's metal as hell, and Judas Priest is British (double points in the 80's).

Third and finally, they display the awesome power of rock, whether it's shattering an old man's glasses or opening up bank safes, solely by the awesome riffs of their guitars.

Struggle Fest 2009: The Vanderbilt Preview

The Dawgs head to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt this Saturday hoping to get its season back on track before the date with the Gators in Jacksonville on Halloween night. Following the heart breaking loss to LSU, the Dawgs looked flat as they got crushed by a Tennessee team that had struggled to beat Ohio University. Vanderbilt, who reached a bowl game last season for the first time since the 80's, comes in at 2-4 and struggling worse than the Dawgs. This match up is not worthy of a normal preview, so instead I present to you a quick preview of the game I have dubbed Struggle Fest 2009.

What have you done lately?
Georgia got crushed by Tennessee on the road. Vanderbilt lost to Army. As bad as the Dawgs loss was, Vandy's is worse. Advantage: Georgia

Who has played a tougher schedule?
All of Georgia's games this season have been against opponents from BCS conferences, including 3 teams currently ranked in the top 25. Vanderbilt has victories over Western Carolina (1-AA) and Rice. The only common opponent is LSU, who Georgia lost to by 7 on a late TD and Vandy lost to by 14. Advantage: Georgia

Can anyone move the ball on offense?
Georgia is 97th in the country in total yards, Vanderbilt is 86th. Georgia cannot run the ball this year (104th in the country) but Vanderbilt cannot pass the ball (113th). Neither teams score a lot, but Georgia has the lead (75th in the country to 110th in the country). Georgia is -11 in turnovers, Vandy is +6. Advantage: Push

Who can make a stop on defense?
Vanderbilt has not allowed more than 23 points in a game this season. Georgia has only allowed less than 23 twice and has allowed more than 38 three times. Advantage: Vanderbilt

Who has more to play for?
If the Dawgs lose this game, the season will essentially be over. At 3-4 with games left against Florida, Auburn, and Georgia Tech, there would be little chance for the Dawgs to even make a bowl game. After a season where they made a bowl game, finishing under .500 is just the norm again for Vanderbilt. For Georgia, this game is life or death, for Vandy it is just another Saturday in Nashville. Advantage: Georgia

Final Score: Georgia wins, 3-1-1

I think (hope) the Dawgs come out pissed off. The loss at Tennessee last week was embarrassing and they need a good game to get that out of their system before the bye week. It is desperation time for the Georgia coaching staff and hopefully they unleash the talent on the team this week. I think the Dawgs win this one fairly easy.

Georgia 27, Vanderbilt 10

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Tennessee Haunted House with a Dawg Reference?

I'll be leaving tomorrow for Nashville, making my first trip to see the Dawgs play at Vanderbilt. My wonderful (though Yankee) girlfriend will be flying in from Chicago to meet me. This weekend will mark her first SEC and Georgia Bulldogs football experience. Being from a Big 10 school, I thought it prudent to ease her into the life-changing experience that is SEC tailgating and Georgia football. The Vanderbilt game was a perfect option for her first game! However, I had no idea at the time we made our plans that the Dawgs would limp into Nashville at 3-3 and earn a noon timeslot for kickoff...

If there's a formula for low-key tailgating, Georgia faces it this weekend.

Disappointing performance halfway through the season + noon kickoff + away game at an "academic" school = Snooze-filled tailgate.

So, I've spent a little time researching some other things to do in Nashville over the weekend for fun. I knew that this time of year in Tennessee there must be some pretty entertaining hick-horror haunted houses! I surfed around online a little today checking out the different Halloween attractions in and around Nashville and found this gem of a background story for a haunted woods attraction. I had to post this and I look forward to the comments that will hopefully follow.


I wonder if Bill Bates is scared to travel through the woods that Herschel haunts...

SEC Weekend Games of Interest: 10/17/2009

Glad that you guys have made it back for another week of picks and good times. Vandy really screwed us last week as our only loss, giving us a 38-5 mark for the season. Seriously, you can never pick Army over Vanderbilt, it’s just one of those unwritten rules of College Football. Without any further wait, here is what is happening in your neck of the woods:

Mississippi State at Middle Tennessee State: I had the honor of going to Murfreesboro, Tennessee once in my life to play the MTSU Blue Raiders in a rugby match. I don’t care if the town is ranked one of the top 100 cities in the country to live by Money magazine, there isn’t much to see and you want to get out fast. Going back to the game, Miss State has played some hard nosed football over the last three weeks and hasn’t gotten a W to show for it. Expect them to play tough again this week and to easily defeat Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders do have a pretty good player in Dwight Dasher at QB who was a great Georgia High School player for Charlton County and he leads MTSU in both rushing and passing, but won’t beat the western Bulldogs. MSU fans celebrate a 35-21 win in Nashville, hopefully with some UGA fans.

UAB at the University of Mississippi: One name tells me everything I need to know about this game: Neil Callaway. Ole Miss wins 38-17.

Arkansas at Florida: Arkansas played a tough game against the Gators last season in Fayetteville that was pretty close until Casey Dick started throwing the ball to the other team and Corch Meyers ran up the score. While Arkansas is an improved team, it looks like we are at the point of the season where Florida and Alabama are going to try and outdo each other and Bama beat these guys 41-7. I am interested in seeing how Ryan Mallet plays against a Gator defense that has only surrendered two touchdowns all season, especially after playing so poorly against the Crimson Tide. One big positive for Arkansas was seeing RB Michael Smith get on track against Auburn. He is one of the most dynamic backs in the SEC and if he gets into a rhythm in Gainesville, this game could stay closer than most people expect. Ultimately, Florida has too much firepower on both sides of the ball for the Razorbacks to pull this game out and the Gators win 38-14.

Kentucky at Auburn: The Tigers hit a tough road block last week in Fayetteville and look to recover against a Kentucky team that is hampered by injuries. The Wildcats lost starting QB Mike Hartline for the season and after watching their back up, Will Fidler, against South Carolina, I now know why Hartline had such a long leash to suck so much. Kentucky will try some new things to get the offense going with an inexperienced signal caller and will try to establish Derrick Locke on the ground after Arkansas and EB Michael Smith had a lot of success against the API defense. Auburn will definitely be looking for blood after last week’s loss and RB Ben Tate should have another big day. Ultimately, both teams have given up a decent share of points on the season and I expect Auburn to come out on top with a 35-24 victory.

South Carolina at Alabama: Homecoming in Tuscaloosa will be a daunting task for the Ole Ball Coach and his Gamecocks. South Carolina has had a great start to the season and a huge road win would really give them a leg up in the Eastern Division and in the polls. QB Stephen Garcia really looks like he is getting comfortable under center and the aforementioned Spurrier will no doubt have some tricks up his sleeve for the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, their opponent doesn’t need any tricks. They are as sound defensively and offensively as anyone in the nation and will have Garcia on the run, making mistakes and turning the ball over. Last week, I said that Bama was due to play some bad football, but this night game at Bryant-Denny won’t be it. Look for a good night from Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson as the Tide roll 31-13.

That does it for this week, good luck again to everyone on the road. Go Dawgs!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

"Special" Players Make Big Contribution Despite Loss

Despite the debacle that was the loss to the Vols in Knoxville on Saturday, the game did provide some highlight moments for three members of the Georgia special teams. For all three of these players, this is not the first time they have shined through for the Dawgs. Here's a look at those three players and their contributions to Georgia special teams:

Drew Butler, Punter

Continuing the solid punting tradition Georgia has had under Coach Richt, Buter is living up to his family name and is currently leading the NCAA in punting with 49.8 average. Many were worried how Butler would perform coming into the 2009 season as his only action last season was as the pooch punter. Butler got off to a great start in the Oklahoma State game but many were worried because a few of his kicks were long because of the benefits of good bounces. Half way through the 2009 season, there is little doubt about Butler's ability. The sophomore punter should be a contender for All-SEC, All-American, and the Ray Guy Award come the end of the season.

The Dawgs failure to move the ball past the Tennessee 34 on Saturday meant a lot of work for Butler. Drew punted 6 times for 299 yards (a 49.8 average) including a long kick of 61 yards.

Brandon Boykin, Kick Off Returner

Sophomore Brandon Boykin has turned into a force for Georgia for the defense as well as special teams. In his second season after a stellar career at Fayette County High School, Boykin has taken over the starting corner spot left by Asher Allen. He has tallied two interceptions (against SC and LSU) and has been a pleasant surprise in the Georgia secondary. Boykin's most memorable achievements this year have been in the return game, where he burst onto the scene with a 100 yard touchdown return against South Carolina that ignited the Bulldogs to a 42-38 win.

Last week in Tennessee, Georgia was once again down 7-0 and Boykin quickly evened things out:




Boykin now has two 100 yard touchdown returns this season and is well on his way to an All-SEC honor.

Zach Renner, Punt Blocking Specialist
Did you know that Zach Renner now holds a spot in the Georgia record books? With his punt block against the Vols on Saturday, the redshirt sophomore from Monroe, Connecticut tied the Georgia all time career record for punt blocks with 3. Officially listed as a wide receiver, Renner has made a name for himself on special teams like fellow walk-ons Burt Jones and Chris Gaunder have in the past.

Renner's first punt block came against Arizona State in 2008. He didn't wait long to register #2, getting it the following week in the loss to Alabama. With the Dawgs trailing 24-10 just before half this past Saturday, Renner stuck his hand up and put himself in the Georgia record books:

Keep up the good work guys. The team needs it now more than ever!
GO DAWGS!!!

Dragon*Con vs. Dawgs in the Dome Fails

It looks like the attempts to have Dragon*Con invade the Georgia Dome during a Dawgs vs. Nerds game has died.

This is a great thing for the Trade School. Considering they have not even sold out of tickets for the BIGGEST ACC GAME IN EXISTENCE, EVAAAH!!!, they shouldn't be playing Georgia in an even bigger venue than Bobby Dodd.

While their attempts to stage the game the same weekend as Dragon*Con and secretly plan an invasion of overweight superheroes and storm troopers into the Dome, such a plan is never full proof.

After all, if Lou Ferrigno were to hold his autograph session at the same time as the game, all of the nerds would abandon the invasion in favor of the green monster.


The ultimate downfall of the Georgia Tech & Dragon*Con alliance

HATE TECH.

GO DAWGS.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Famous Pep Talks & Week 7 Picks

In watching the losses to both Georgia and Auburn last weekend, I wondered to myself, "what would I be saying to those boys in the locker room at halftime?". In light of these two dismal losses, I thought about the famous pep talks & quotes from movies in relation to what I would want to say, to Tiger and Dawg alike, during halftime should either end up where they were last weekend. Let's hope UGA can find themselves against Vandy and Auburn can stage a comeback against Kentucky. Here's what I came up with, changed to fit football where appropriate...

I love the smell of football in the morning...smells like, victory. But you know what, I don't smell it now!



Men, all this stuff you've heard about Auburn/UGA not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the game, is a lot of horse dung. Tigers/Dawgs traditionally love to fight. All real Auburn/UGA fans love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Tigers/Dawgs love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Auburn/UGA plays to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Auburn/UGA should not lose a game... because the very thought of losing is hateful to our fans.


I know you think you're tired, that you hurt. Pain is your friend, your ally, it will tell you when you are seriously injured, it will keep you awake and angry, and remind you to finish the job and get the hell home. But you know the best thing about pain? It lets you know you're not dead yet!



Look at you...You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 quarters. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself.

Now I'm going to tell you something I've kept to myself for years. None of you ever knew George Gipp. He was long before your time, but you all know what a tradition he is at Auburn/UGA. And the last thing he said to me, "Rock," he said, "sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock," he said, "but I'll know about it and I'll be happy."

So here's what we're going to do. We are advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose and we're going to kick him in the [expletive deleted]. We're going to kick the [expletive deleted] out of him all the time and we're gonna go through him like [expletive deleted] through a goose.

We're gonna go inside, we're gonna go outside, inside and outside. We're gonna get 'em on the run boys and once we get 'em on the run we're gonna keep 'em on the run. And then we're gonna go go go go go go and we're not gonna stop til we get across that goalline. This is a team they say is... is good, well I think we're better than them. They can't lick us, so what do you say men?

wrong Rudy?

WAR EAGLE & GO DAWGS

Don't forget to submit your picks!

WHY AREN'T YOU BUYING TICKETS, BANDWAGON TECH FANS?

Before this season, I wrote about the Trade School calling me in reference to buying season tickets just a couple weeks before the season started.

Today, I received the following e-mail from the Georgia Tech Athletic Association today:

"We still have a limited number of tickets available for this Saturday's kickoff at 6pm between #19 Georgia Tech and #4 Virginia Tech. Tickets are just $50 for what could be the game of the year in the ACC. Don't miss it when these two high powered teams collide on Grant Field!

To purchase tickets NOW go to http://ramblinwreck.com/tickets or call the Georgia Tech Ticket Office from 8am-5pm at 404-894-5447 or 1-888-832-4849.

We hope to see you again this Saturday!"


Tech's bandwagon has steadily grown since the end of their season last year, and even more so with the start of this season.

If you're school is so great (it's not), and you guys are such dedicated fans (you're not), then why is the game that your own athletic department is saying will be the biggest game of the season still not sold out? It should have sold out before the season, along with your season tickets, let alone several days before the game.

All the bandwagoners better buy these tickets if they ever want to be taken seriously. Oh, wait...they are bandwagon fans, it is not possible to take them seriously.

When you encounter a nerd attempting to talk trash (they will do a poor job of it), ask them if they even bothered to show up to their games.

HATE TECH.

GO DAWGS.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Happy Columbus Day from Lewis Grizzard

With all the doom and gloom going on in the Bulldog Nation, here's something to take your mind off of the current state of things:

It's time somebody stood up and defended Christopher Columbus, who wasn't trying to do anybody any harm when he discovered the New World 500 years ago.

Chris was just inquisitive, and he wasn't going for any of that business about the world being flat.

Chris was always saying to his friends, "If the world is flat and there is no New World out there somewhere, I'll eat my hat."

And Christopher Columbus, in renderings I have seen, usually was wearing a large hat with some feathers on it.
It's one thing to eat a baseball cap or a beret, but try to get a large hat with feathers on it down the hatch and you've got quite the gastronomical dilemma on your hands. Columbus had a lot of risk here.
And somebody finally took him up on his bet.
He said, "OK, Mr. Know-It-All, why don't we get three ships and start sailing out to sea? If we come to the end of the Earth, we can turn around and sail back and we'll watch you eat that goofy hat of yours.
"But if we find out the world is round and there's a New World out there like you say there is, I'll eat your hat and come over to your house on Saturday mornings for a month and wax your car."
Columbus replied, "It's 1492. We don't have cars."
"OK," said his challenger, "then I'll wax your horse."
Columbus couldn't back down. But he had a problem. He didn't have the money for the three ships. So he went to Queen Isabella.
"I'll give you the money for your three ships," the queen said to Columbus, "but if you do find the world is round and there is a New World, I want you to bring me back a hair dryer, a Lady Schick electric razor, a case of Jack Daniels and some shag carpet.
Columbus agreed. He bought three ships with the money Queen Isabella gave him and named them Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria for the original Shirelles, who got their start in Europe in the late 1400s, as did Columbus.
So off Columbus went. There was a lot of scurvy and rickets during the trip, but the world turned out to be round just like Columbus said it was.
He landed in the New World, bought a condo on an oceanfront golf development, picked up everything Queen Isabella wanted and sailed home.
His challenger did, in fact, eat Columbus's hat. Unfortunately, it was the only hat Columbus had and, being unable to keep his head warm, the brave explorer caught pneumonia, died and was never able to return to live in his condo or see Disney World.
He did, however, leave the shiniest horse in town.
But it's politically correct now to blame Columbus for what was to come later, a mass exodus of people from the Old World to the New World, which led to New York City, congresspersons, smog, Miami Beach, shopping malls, various diseases and the disappearance of the snail darter.
The popular phrase now is, "Columbus didn't discover America, he conquered it."
Listen, somebody else would have done it sooner or later. Humans have always sought new horizons.
And we're still doing it 500 years later. What about all those astronauts we sent into outer space? We look upon them as heroes, but there are those who want to defame Christopher Columbus.
Did any of our astronauts have to deal with scurvy or rickets? Did any of the m have to raise their own money to pay for the trip? No.
I say hats off to Columbus. It's like Queen Isabella said when he delivered the hair dryer, the Lady Schick razor, the booze and the carpet.
"Chris, you da man."
- Lewis Grizzard, "A Case of Jack Daniels Please" - Atlanta Constitution, October 12, 1992
*** Check out this and other Lewis Grizzard stories at http://www.lewisgrizzard.com/.

Mumme Poll Ballot: Week 6

Here is my the ballot I submitted for this week:

1. Bama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Virginia Tech
5. Cincinnati
6. Southern Cal
7. Iowa
8. Ohio State
9. LSU
10. Miami
11. Nebraska
12. Georgia Tech

Oddly enough, this is an incredibly balanced poll with 3 teams from the SEC and ACC, 2 from the Big XII and Big Ten, and one each from the Pac 10 and Big East.

Let me know your thoughts.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

BNE Pick 'Em Week 6

Week 6 proves that the season is shaping up to be everything that a college football fan could want. We've seen another weekend of close games, near misses, upsets and blowouts, and everyone managed at least 3 correct picks. So without further delay, here we go...


I hate to say it, but Bama looks like the best team in the SEC after shutting down the over-hyped Jevan Snead and Ole Miss 22-3. In another blowout, VaTech is proving that week 1's loss to Bama was a lot closer than it appeared. VaTech scored early and shut out BC for three straight quarters of play. If UTx falls to OU this weekend, and the stars align, we could see a rematch of VaTech and Bama in the national championship.


VaTech is rolling along...


...Ole Miss is disappointing

In our close games, Iowa narrowly squeaked by Meechigan 30-28. SUC managed another ugly win, beating UK 28-26 while GaTech also held off FSU in a game full of offensive fireworks 49-44. In overtime, Army upset Vanderbilt 16-13? Rounding out the cliffhangers, Tebow came back just in time to lead Florida to a 13-3 victory against LSU in Baton Rouge.



Finally, we saw signs of weakness from our other matchups. First off, Auburn lost plain and simple to an Arkansas team with a great passing game. Arkansas fired off 27 points, shocking the Tigers at halftime 27-3. After a late rally by the Tigers in the 3rd, Arkansas continued to cruise to a final 44-23 victory and 495 yards of total offense. Also, Jonathan Crompton & Tennessee had a career night against the Dawgs, throwing 20/27 for 310 yards & 4 touchdowns in a 45-19 romp of UGA. There are three things to say about the Dagws after this game: 1) Kudos to Brandon Boykin for trying to spark the team after his 100 yard kick-off return, 2) kudos to Bacarri Rambo for his pick 6 and having a kick-ass name, 3) its finally time to start considering that Willie Martinez needs to go.

Run over..


...and thrown out


Let's take a look at the standings overall through week 6:
1. Gen. Stoopangle (welcome back to #1)
2. OneHairyDawg
3. aumaverick
4. dawgsman81
5. Dutch
6. ecdawg & DawgDai
8. DonaldEason
9. JeremyRoyAdams
10. Woman...Do Not accost me while I am drinking!

From the BNE staff:
1. aumaverick
2. bubba (moving up in the world)
3. BFR
4. Earl
5. Streit
6.
bulldawgjosh (hanging on life support at #50)


And now for our Bottom Feeder of the Week sponsored by the brothers of Delta Tau Chi fraternity at Faber College and their favorite site to scope out date night drinks, http://www.bumwine.com/ ...

Joining the pool this week is mmike032, who reached an all-time low with a record of 8-60, 45 total points, a GPA of ZERO POINT ZERO and managed to commit over two dozen acts of perversion so profound & disgusting, that decorum prevents listing them here…ok I made those last two up. But, seriously mmike032, after 7 years of college people usually know something about football…or at least become doctors. In this type of situation, my advice to you is to start drinking heavily. Try visiting our sponsor at http://www.bumwine.com/ and check out their selection of fine wines. BNE & Delta Tau Chi recommends Cisco for the quickest and easiest cure for a dismal weekend of picks.


As always, we'll have our SEC matchups in addition to two undefeated teams in Cincinnati vs. South Florida, the classic Red River Shootout with OU and UT, the Hokies of VaTech at GaTech, and Hollywood vs. Rudy. Good luck!