Diamond Dogs go for 10-0 Start

The Georgia baseball team will be looking for its first 10-0 start in school history as it takes on Quinnipiac tonight. The team tied the school best start at 9-0 with a victory over Wofford earlier this week. Trevor Holder is on the mound tonight for the Dawgs, looking to start the year 3-0. The team did receive some bad news, as #2 starter Alex McCree will miss his scheduled start on Saturday due to a case of Mono. For the love of God, no one drink after him or else the whole team will be sick.The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend. I will be heading to the game on Saturday. If you have nothing better to do, get up to Athens and support the team who has recently moved up to #2 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings.

Go Dawgs!

Georgia 90, Kentucky 85

Normally, after sitting through a game earlier in the season where we get utterly destroyed by a team, I would have no problem rubbing it in that we beat them later on to get our revenge in one of the most historic arenas in college basketball (and thereby potentially cramping that team's plans for making the NCAA tournament).

But, I'm not going to do that. Nope. Kentucky fans are great people, and if you don't believe me, read this post from BFR and mine's road trip to Lexington last November.

Kentucky fans are some of the best, and I'm going to hold back just for them.

Go Dawgs.

Florida Sucks.

If You Could Bring One Player Back, Who Would it Be?

The 2009 season will see Georgia attempt to replace a number of proven players in their starting line up. What would Mark Richt do if he could replace one of those holes with one of his former players? Would he pick one of his past quarterbacks to take over the reigns for Stafford, try to replace Knowshon Moreno with the starter before him, or bring back a player to fill the most glaring needs on defense? Here are some likely candidates that Richt would consider:


David Greene - Quarterback 2001-2004
With the prospects of starting a 5th year senior with limited playing time or a true freshman, Richt would be glad to welcome back the four-year starter with most wins of any quarterback in college football history. Greene would bring a calming leadership to the offense and would take advantage of receiver AJ Green with a combination of quick outs and play action passes.

David Pollack - Defensive End - 2001-2004
While Justin Houston showed some promise and Demarcus Dobbs made a couple of amazing plays, overall the defensive end position let the Dawgs down in 2008. Plugging back in a three time All-American who is the Georgia career leader in sacks would help solidify the pass rush and bring the fire back to the defense.

Thomas Brown - Running Back - 2004 -2007
A solid player during his four year career, Brown found great success when paired with Knowshon Moreno during his senior season. Pairing him with Caleb King or Richard Samuel, the Dawgs would have a nice 1-2 punch that they lacked in the '08 season.

Paul Oliver - Corner Back - 2004-2006
Oliver's career (at Georgia) was cut short when he failed to qualify academically for the 2007 season. After closing the 2006 season by shutting down Calvin Johnson, Oliver had finally reached the potential he showed coming into college. With Asher Allen gone, Oliver would provide experience that is certainly lacking in the current group of DBs.

Ben Watson - Tight End - 2002 -2004The 2008 season saw the Georgia offense forget what had been a staple of previous Mark Richt teams: throwing to the tight end. Richt's tenure has produced Leonard Pope and Randy McMichael,but the most balanced of the group was Ben Watson. The threat of a pass catching tight end over the middle would help create better match ups for the outside receivers like AJ Green and Tavarres King.

If I were Mark Richt and I had my choice from this list, I would take David Pollack. The chance to team Pollack on a defensive line that already includes Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens would be amazing. The amount of defensive pressure these three would create would generate rushed throws from opposing quarterbacks and seal up holes for opposing running games. Take the survey and let us know which player you would love for the Dawgs to have back.

GO DAWGS!!!

College Basketball's Biggest Cheaters..... Who Got Caught: A Series

With the Madness of March right around the corner, BNE has decided to take a look back at some of college basketball's biggest cheaters of all time who got caught, because we all know if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'. I'm going to get this disclaimer out of the way right now..BNE is a college football blog. While we do follow college basketball to an extent, by no means do we follow it religiously. We are SEC fans after all.

This post will look at some of the "dis"honorable mentions that didn't make Earl's Top 5 College Basketball Cheaters Who Got Caught of All Time. The next post will cover #5 on the list.

While this list will consist of major Division I-A basketball coaches, let's not forget some of the boosters behind the scandals. And while most coaches like to claim that they never knew what was going on with said boosters, most college fans know that those claims are full of you-know-what.

There are three coaches on Earl's Dishonorable Mention List: Jim Harrick, Eddie Sutton and Kelvin Sampson.

Obviously, we are all familiar with Harrick. There was some debate to include Harrick in the top 5, but ultimately nobody could be pushed out of the top 5 for him. Harrick has a checkered past at three separate universities, UCLA, Rhode Island and Georgia, falsifying expense reports, paying players bills and making academic tests insanely easy. We all know about the damage he did at Georgia, providing Jarvis Hayes with a cardboard box (a little inside joke). But, in all seriousness, damn you Tony Cole (and Jeremy Schaap, who still has a long way to go to catch his father). It's really a shame because Harrick was such a good coach, leading four schools to the tournament, the three mentioned earlier plus Pepperdine.

Junior contemplating just how much a 3-pointer is worth? A coaching career?

Eddie Sutton is one of only a few coaches with more than 800 overall wins. Like Harrick, he has had tremendous success at a number of schools, taking four schools to the tournament, Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State. Sutton's indiscretions at Kentucky in the mid-80s, though, land him on this list. It all came to a head when an Emery Worldwide package broke open and $1,000 in $50 bills jumped out in transit to high school recruit Chris Mills. The package was from Kentucky assistant Dwane Casey. Sure, payment of recruits goes on all the time, but the cash money literally fell out of the envelope. That's just too good of a story not to make this list. The Wildcats were very close to the death penalty...again (a little foreshadowing to the list's #3 Biggest Cheater of All Time). Sutton and athletic director Cliff Hagan were forced to resign.

I coach the basketball, you seal the envelopes. You got that Dwane? I swear, I ask you to do one damn thing...

Kelvin Sampson is just dumb. Sampson gets fired from Indiana for committing the same infraction he committed at Oklahoma only two years earlier. Really!?! Really!?! Ultimately, Sampson would've never been on this list if he had just committed the infraction once. Sampson placed more than 550 illegal phone calls to recruits while at Oklahoma. The NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year. And yet Sampson made the same mistake at Indiana, making impermissable phone calls to Eric Gordon and other IU recruits. Shame on Indiana for hiring Sampson and shame on Georgia for hiring Harrick. Both schools got what they deserved.

Well played, BoilerSports.com, well played...

Speaking of Harrick, he learned his basketball from the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and Wooden's famous Pyramid of Success. While I haven't included Wooden on this list because he's known today for his trust and honesty, there were some questions during UCLA's run of 10 national championships in the 1960s and 1970s. The questions mainly circled around Sam Gilbert, known as Wooden's money bag man during the run. Gilbert, who never graduated from UCLA, was a millionaire contractor in the Los Angeles area. And the NCAA did sanction UCLA for Gilbert's interaction with Bruin basketball players, but never vacated any national championships, and only after Wooden had retired.

The fact is that UCLA went largely unpunished because the NCAA didn't want to bring down its marquee team. The same reason why Notre Dame football and Alabama football went largely unpunished during the same time period. Many of Wooden's players claim that Wooden didn't really know what Gilbert was doing for the players.

Many coaches in southern California knew better, including our #2 Biggest Cheater of All Time, who was coaching Long Beach State at the time, claiming that Gilbert wanted to pay one of his stars just because he liked the way he played. "You couldn't be more obvious than Sam Gilbert," said the former Long Beach State coach.

Sorry UCLA fans (because I know so many UCLA fans read BNE), but if you're going to do a post on the biggest cheaters, you can't avoid the biggest programs just because a sainted coach looked the other way.

Coming later this week: #5 Clem Haskins, Minnesota

Great Weekend for Georgia Baseball

Just as the football team traveled out west to the desert to take on Arizona State this past fall, the Diamond Dogs packed their bags and headed to Tucson to take on Arizona this weekend. Georgia was out to a fast 5-0 start after back-to-back series sweeps of Youngstown State and Presbyterian. However, being this far from Athens and facing a Wildcats team that traditionally competes for the Pac 10 championship, the prospects of another sweep were not that high.

Game 1 - Georgia 11, Arizona 5
The Dawgs got another solid outing from #1 starter Trevor Holder and the offense took care of the rest as they opened the series with a victory on Friday night. Nine different batters had a hit, including Rich Poythress (2-5, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored) and Lyle Allen (2-4, HR, 2 RBI).

Game 2 - Georgia 12, Arizona 5
Georgia jumped out to a lead early by scoring 8 runs in the first 4 innings of the game. Joey Lewis had 5 hits including a solo homerun to lead the Bulldogs offense. Saturday's game also saw the return of CF Matt Cerione from suspension. Cerione had four hits including a two singles, a double, a triple, and 4 RBIs. Alex McCree improved his record to 2-0, giving up only 3 hits in 5 innings of work.

Game 3 - Georgia 10, Arizona 5
Freshman LF Jonathan Taylor continued his solid play with 3 hits and 3 runs scored. Through 8 games, Taylor is hitting an amazing .583 with 13 runs scored and 6 stolen bases. Matt Cerione and Pich Poythress also chipped in 3 hit days for the Dawgs. Michael Palazzone picked up his first career win with three innings of scoreless relief pitching.

Just how impressive was the Bulldogs' offense this weekend? Said Arizona head coach Andy Lopez, "I haven't seen (an offense) like that in a long, long time." And this is coming from a coach whose team was preseason #1 in 2008.

With the three-game sweep of Arizona, the Bulldogs improved their record to 8-0. This is their best start since beginning 8-0 during the 2000 season and second best start ever (they won 9 in a row to start the 1911 season). The Dawgs next take on Wofford and then Quinnipiac in a series in Athens this weekend.

This weekend was also good for former Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham. When I turned on the Dodgers-White Sox spring training game that was on MLB network yesterday, none other than Gordon Beckham was up to bat. The announcers were saying a lot of good things about Beckham, wearing the "rookie special" number 80. Beckham hit a solo homerun to left field, the first in Camelback Ranch history (the spring training home of the White Sox). Read more about the homerun here.

GO DAWGS!!!

Bulldawg Josh and Bubba's 80's Music Video of the Week

Okay, it's been long enough and it's time to have the B'NE John Hughes moment of 2009. Direct from fictional Shermer, Illinois, here is Simple Minds with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from the 1985 movie The Breakfast Club.



Simple Minds Don't You Forget About Me

Yes, this song is cliché 1980's but come on, it's awesome. It has been stuck in my head all week and it's starting to annoy the guy in the cube next to me. The sooner we get this song on the blog, the sooner we don't have to worry about seeing it again. Plus, it will probably be stuck in you head for three days now as well. On a side note, it is impossible to find this song as a cell phone ring tone.

Pitt Basketball, UGA Football and National Championships

Earlier this week, Pitt basketball rose to #1 for the second time this season, holding the spot for 2 weeks previously. In its first game back at #1 last night, Pitt was dominated by Providence 81-73, never leading and at one time down by as many as 20 points. Providence is 17-11, 9-7 in a very tough Big East conference, but by no means should dominate the #1 team in the country.

Under Jamie Dixon, Pitt basketball has continued the success started by Ben Howland before his departure to UCLA. In fact, Dixon's overall record stands at an impressive 157-43 over his first 6 years as a head coach. He is just 5 wins away from overtaking N.C. State's Everett Case (1946-1952) for the most wins by any head coach in NCAA history in the first 6 years of his head coaching career.

Pitt is 25-3 this year and primed for a possible #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, something it has never accomplished. Under Dixon, the Panthers have consistently competed for #2-#4 seeds in the tournament. Yet, Pitt has never advanced past the Sweet 16 in those years.

In Dixon's first season (2003-2004), Pitt went 31-5 and won the Big East conference's regular season championship and Dixon was named Big East Coach of the Year. In 2006-2007, Pitt finished second in the Big East's regular season. In fact, Dixon's Panthers have never won less than 10 games in the Big East, one of the nation's toughest basketball conferences. And Pitt has advanced to the Big East tournament title game in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning it in 2008.

Yet, they quickly lost as the nation's #1 team and haven't advanced past the Sweet 16. Sound all too familiar?

From all appearances, Jamie Dixon runs a clean program like Mark Richt. They are both excellent head coaches. They both have conference championships in the nation's toughest conferences for their respective sports. And yet both programs have proven time and again that they are not-ready-for-primetime players, losing quickly when ranked as the nation's #1 team and in dominated fashion. That or losing games when it seems like the programs are only a couple of rungs away from the top of the ladder.

So what gives? Only Dixon and Richt can answer that question. And that question needs to be answered by those two coaches because in today's 24-7 sports world, if a coach can't answer that question and falls short of a national championship because of it, he can kiss any mention of his name with the top coaches goodbye, no matter how many games he wins.

Dixon, being interviewed by ESPN about his impressive 6-year record, was asked why Pitt wasn't in the same discussion as the UConns of the world. He had a simple answer: Pitt hasn't won a national championship. Dixon simply said, "We have to win a national title."

Jim Calhoun and UConn is a great example. Calhoun built the UConn basketball program over many years. But until UConn upset Duke in the 1999 national championship game, UConn just wasn't mentioned with the Dukes of the world. It didn't matter how many games Calhoun had won up until that point.

As many games as Richt has won at UGA, he has to win a national championship to be mentioned with the Floridas and LSUs of the world. It doesn't matter that LSU won a title with 2 losses and it doesn't matter that Florida has never gone undefeated and it doesn't matter that Richt and UGA only lost 1 game in 2002. In the public's eyes, it comes down to the mythical national championship. God, that's tough to write...because what matters is winning when it counts, on the big stage.

I like Jamie Dixon and I like the hard-nosed basketball that Pitt plays. So, here's to the Panthers, the UGA of college basketball, winning on the big stage...or getting out of the Sweet 16...at least...

Disclaimer: I realize that some UGA fans will never cheer for Pitt at anything due to Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino. And, yes, I threw up in my mouth a little thinking about pulling for Mark May's alma mater.

B 'n E Readers Declare Hines Ward Greatest UGA Receiver

73 People voted in our poll this week that asked the question, "Who is the greatest receiver in Georgia History?" With 30 votes (41%) the winner was Hines Ward. Here are the full results:

1- Hines Ward - 30 Votes (41%)

2 - Terrence Edwards - 16 votes (21%)

3 - AJ Green - 14 votes (19%)

4 - Lindsay Scot - 8 Votes (10%)

5 - Someone Else / Charley Whittemore - 5 votes (6%)

Thanks to everyone who voted!!!

Something to Pass the Time This Off Season

Football season is over, March Madness is yet to start, and baseball season is still a month away. How is the sports fanatics like me going to pass the time? The answer is ESPN's new game, Streak for the Cash.

We have often spoken about the things we dislike about ESPN, but this new game is not one of them. I was turned on to it by a couple of co-workers and it has become a common topic of discussion in the office. Here is how the game works:

- You create an entry with the goal of creating a winning streak of correctly picking between two possible outcomes of a sporting event.
- Each day, there is a list of events listed on the web site. You can only pick one at a time, so there are advantages to picking the random soccer game in Europe at 10:00 AM Eastern time so that you can pick a winner of the night's NBA game.
- The scenarios are presented in a number of different sports with a number of different types of outcomes. Some are straight up winners (pick the winner of Atlanta vs. New York in the NBA), players stats (who will score more points: LeBron James on Kobe Bryant), as well as over/under type numbers (will there be more than 3 goals scored in a hockey game).
- To win the contest, you must create a streak of 27 consecutive correct picks. The winner gets $1 million. This is second time ESPN has done this (the first time, you had to get to 25 to win). They also award monthly prizes of $2,500 for the person with most correct guesses overall.

The longest current streak on their scored board is 18. My current streak stands at 2 (I just started yesterday). Check it out!

ESPN Streak for the Cash

***UPDATE: I have created a BNE group. Search for "Bubba 'N Earl". The password is: godawgs

Will Caleb King Break Out in 2009?

When Knowshon Moreno announced his intentions to go to the NFL it opened the door for a new starter to take over the tailback position for the Dawgs. One of the favorites to take on the role is redshirt sophomore Caleb King. Here is a look at the running back from Norcross, Georgia who wears #4 for the Dawgs:

King began his school career at Parkview High School in Lilburn. By the time he was a sophomore, he had taken over as the go to player in coach Cecil Flowe's offense. As a sophomore he rushed for over 900 yards and 397 yards receiving and 3 return touchdowns. However, it was during his junior year that he became the focus of many national recruiters. As a junior, King rushed for 2,768 yards and 19 touchdowns.

King's Parkview Highlights


For his senior season, king transferred to Greater Atlanta Christian. He was off to a fantastic start (939 yards and 13 touchdowns) and was considered a five star recruit before breaking his leg. The injury would end his high school career, but King soon announced his intentions to go to Georgia as part of the class of 2007.

King's Senior Year Highlights


Caleb King arrived at Georgia in the fall of 2007 and found himself at the back of crowded Georgia backfield that included seniors Thomas Brown and Kregg Lumpkin as well as freshman phenom Knowshon Moreno. King redshirted that fall and finally made his Georgia on field debut at G-Day 2008, making some exciting plays in front of a rain-soaked crowd.

G-Day 2008 Highlights


In the fall of 2008, King was second on the depth chart behind Knowshon Moreno. King had his best game of the season in the opener against Georgia Southern, racking up 95 yards on 12 carries.

Georgia Southern Game Highlights


After scoring his first career touchdown against Central Michigan, King's playing time began to decrease. He had a couple of key runs in the victories over Tennessee and LSU, but after missing struggling with his blocking (particularly against Florida) King was demoted behind freshman Richard Samuel. He did have a nice catch and run in the Bowl game and finished the season with 247 yards rushing on 61 carries (4.0 YPC) and 1 touchdown.

For King to become the featured back in the Bulldog offense, there are a number of areas which he must improve. The first and biggest weakness King has is his blocking. He needs to add some strength to hold provide time for Joe Cox. Secondly, King must lower his head and attempt to break tackles. He has good quickness and the ability to make defenders miss, however he will need to be able to break tackles to prevent broken runs from turning into losses.

Look for a competitive competition between King, Richard Samuel, Dontavious Jackson, and Carlton Thomas this fall. King appears to have the upper hand with his experience and the fact that Samuel is out for spring practice and G-Day.

GO DAWGS!!!