Georgia 78 – Florida 76

Black continues to be the color of mourning when Georgia and Florida get together. We all remember the failed gimmick at the WLOCP last fall. Only a week ago the Lady Dogs went black and lost a game in Gainesville that would have earned them a #3 seed and first-round bye for the SEC Tournament. The Florida men’s basketball team returned the favor on Saturday with their homage to the New York Mets, and the result was predictable: Georgia has now won two straight over Florida in Athens.

The win didn’t come easy, and it took a nice defensive stand in the final ten seconds to secure the win. One big development in the game was the performance of Georgia’s bench. Depth has been one of Georgia’s bigger problems during the year, and the reserves have had their problems. But the quick turnaround from Thursday’s overtime game along with some early fouls meant that some reserves were going to have to play meaningful minutes, and they came through by outscoring Florida’s bench 31-8. Most surprising (and welcome) was the play of freshman DeMario Mayfield who scored five points and showed some nice presence of mind on an assist over an important run to close the first half.

Florida, with its postseason future very much uncertain, was desperate for the win and came roaring back from 15 down. Chandler Parsons made play after play, and Kenny Boynton was virtually unguardable from behind the arc. Jeremy Price scored Georgia’s final points on a huge putback with nearly 3 minutes left, and the Dawgs relied on defense to hold on to the remains of their lead.

Lady Dogs 69 – Arkansas 48

Following a midseason 2-6 slump, the Lady Dogs finished the regular season on Sunday by winning three of their last four games. The convincing 69-48 win over Arkansas gives Georgia a meager 2-game winning streak, but it’s their first taste of sustained success since January. There were three SEC upsets on Sunday throwing the league standings into a bit of chaos, but a 12-0 start against Arkansas ensured that the Lady Dogs wouldn’t be one of the upset victims.

The Lady Dogs were picked to finish third in the SEC before the season, and that’s where they ended up thanks to the late-season push. The SEC Tournament opens this week in Duluth, and the Lady Dogs will feature in the nightcap at ~9:00 p.m. on Thursday against Alabama – a team that Georgia has already faced and defeated twice this year.

Diamond Dawgs sweep Stetson

Georgia held on for a 7-5 win over visiting Stetson on Sunday to earn the series sweep. The weekend started well with a 12-2 rout on Friday, but the Diamond Dawgs had to rally with two in the bottom of the 8th to win 9-8 on Saturday. Alex McRee closed the door by striking out the side in the top of the 9th. Sunday’s game was a little easier, but Stetson did creep back from a 7-3 deficit with two late runs before falling short. Georgia had a perfect 7-0 week after returning from Waco, and they stand at 6-2 overall.

The competition ratchets up this week. Wednesday’s midweek game against Alabama in Hoover, Ala. is a rare midweek meeting of conference foes, but the game won’t count in the SEC standings. Then it’s off to Tallahassee for a big weekend series against FSU at the site where Georgia’s 2009 season ended.

In other news…

• The Gym Dogs remained undefeated at home with a win over LSU. It wasn’t their best effort of the year, but they held on to their #5 ranking.
• We’ve talked about UGA sprinter Torrin Lawrence before, and the AJC catches up with him (figuratively) as his career continues on its upward trajectory.

Georgia dispatched Arkansas by more than 20 points on an emotional Senior Day, but they faced the unusual “reward” of  falling in the standings at the same time thanks to the quirks of the SEC tiebreaker system. It was that kind of day in the conference on a Sunday that saw three big upsets and  seven teams finish the season within two games of each other.

The Lady Dogs entered the day with a pretty firm grip on 5th place in the SEC standings.  There was a realistic shot of moving into 4th place:  an LSU win over Mississippi State in Baton Rouge would place those teams in a three-way tie with Georgia for 4th place at 9-7 in conference.  Since those three teams were all 1-1 against each other, Georgia’s win over Tennessee would be the trump card that landed them the 4th seed and the coveted first-round bye.

That scenario actually unfolded. Unfortunately South Carolina’s upset of Vanderbilt in Nashville was all it took for Georgia to fall from the 4th seed to the 6th seed.  Vandy’s loss meant that four teams – Vandy, LSU, Mississippi State, and Georgia – all finished tied for 3rd place at 9-7.  The same tiebreaker system that would have awarded Georgia the #4 seed in a three-way tie scenario was much kinder to Mississippi State and LSU in a four-way tie.  Those two teams earned byes while Vandy and Georgia are left to play on Thursday. 

Here’s how the order shakes out:

1. Tennessee
2. Kentucky
3. Mississippi State
4. LSU
5. Vanderbilt
6. Georgia
7. Florida
8. South Carolina
9. Ole Miss
10. Auburn
11. Alabama
12. Arkansas 

We’ll have our annual tournament preview soon, but start with this:  it might look as if Georgia got a bit of a shaft falling to the bottom of that four-way logjam, but the #6 seed means they avoid the side of the bracket with tournament favorite Tennessee, red-hot LSU, and pesky Vanderbilt.

Georgia Tech knew that they’re going to be without starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt for spring practice as he recovers from surgery on his ankle. That position took another hit today when the AJC reported that backup Jaybo Shaw would be transferring to Georgia Southern. That leaves rising sophomore Tevin Washington as the only Tech quarterback for spring who has taken a snap in a game.

Behind Washington are a pair of redshirt freshmen – David Sims and Jordan Luallen.

How is that different from Georgia, I hear you ask? Georgia, after all, is also entering spring with only one QB with limited playing experience and a pair of redshirt freshmen. But while Tech will now enter spring practice without either of the two quarterbacks on top of their depth chart, Georgia will at least have their presumptive starter and top three quarterbacks available for spring practice.

I don’t know whether to celebrate or bang my head against a wall. If a college hoops fan in your home or office has gone missing or shows up with bloodshot eyes, they’ve probably discovered the NCAA’s basketball vault – an archive of every game from the Sweet 16 and beyond over the last decade.

As someone who loves the game and the tournament, it’s bliss. As a Georgia fan, it’s beyond depressing to realize that even the relative glory years of Jarvis Hayes didn’t produce a team that made the cut for this archive. Look at the list. Alabama. Davidson. George Mason. Iowa State. KENT FREAKING STATE. Nevada – hey! Maybe there’s hope. Southern Illinois. Ouch – that one hurts.

At this point, I’d settle for getting kicked in the gut and watch the 1996 Syracuse game if it would get Georgia in the vault.

Moving on, Year2 over at TSK is right on when he offers this site as a model for what should be expected from the SEC Digital Network. The content on the SEC site is light years beyond where it was a year ago, but they could still take some cues from the NCAA about content and navigation for such an extensive video archive.

Worse is the SEC’s official iPhone app. The paid app ($1.99) from S2S Mobile is virtually useless. Most sports are left off, and what information there is incomplete or dated. Want scores and game stats? You’re much better off with the free ESPN app. The app’s main selling point is video highlights. The most recent video available through the app right now is from Georgia’s basketball win over Vanderbilt over two weeks ago. A fan of baseball, gymnastics, or women’s basketball? You get nothing at all. I expected this kind of fumbling approach to digital media while the conference was getting things together last summer, but the app has been out since September with no signs of improvement. I feel like the paperboy in Better Off Dead – I want my two dollars.

That’s not a headline you’re likely to see in most papers, but I get the feeling that it could pretty much tell the story of an incident involving Knowshon Moreno and an intoxicated 18-year-old at an Athens bar over the weekend. The 18-year-old, who was so drunk that he had to have friends fill in the details of the incident the next day, claims that three men “jumped him.” Unprovoked and out of the blue, I’m sure. According to the Banner-Herald, “Moreno said that he was struck first,” and Moreno spoke with police on Tuesday about the incident.

Knowshon might well be at fault here and had nothing better to do on a Saturday night back in Athens then to punch out a random merrymaker. He did enjoy the nightlife during his days in Athens though there were never any incidents. Then again most anyone who’s been out and about in downtown Athens knows that there is no shortage of overserved heroes who get up the courage to prove their invincibility against a football player. Better still if the player is drawing an NFL paycheck. That’s why players are often discouraged from places like that – trouble has its way of finding you whether or not you’re looking for it.

I’m sure the owners of the bar are thrilled that a fight at their place involving a drunk 18-year-old is sure to get plenty of media and police attention.

With the temperature inching up over 40 late this week, it must be time for baseball season. We all know about Georgia’s recent odd success in even-numbered years, but that biennial success will be put to the test this year. The Diamond Dawgs lost a lot of firepower and experience from its lineup, and they’ll be altering their approach this season in order to compensate for those losses.

The 2010 season kicks off this weekend as the Diamond Dawgs head to Texas for a tournament that will have them play Baylor and Duke twice. Georgia opens the year ranked #22 by Baseball America and were picked by the conference’s coaches to finish 3rd in the SEC East behind perennial Florida and South Carolina. If the Diamond Dawgs are going to make another even-year trip to Omaha, they’ll have to battle through one of the nation’s ten toughest schedules to get there. Georgia made a large step towards sustaining success last year with a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, and extending that streak to a third straight postseason appearance is the baseline for expectations this year.

With so much turnover from year to year, I usually like to ease into the baseball season and see what and who emerges over the first month of the season. This team is very young, and they don’t have a lot of veterans on which to lean especially among the position players. Others are on the ball with more detailed previews, but it looks as if we can boil the outlook down to three things entering the season:

• Georgia is going to be much more of a “small ball” team this year. They lost a lot of power in Poythress alone, and other players who moved on were no slouches with the bat either. They have the speed to play that style of ball. The question is whether the team can be disciplined, smart, and execute well enough to manufacture runs or if we’re really talking about a team that just has no power and will struggle to score runs.
• Pitching should be deep and strong. If runs will be at a premium, you’d better be able to keep the other guy from scoring. Georgia is confident that their pitching staff can do just that. There’s a good group of starters, an experienced bullpen, and McRee hoping to return to form.
• If there’s a strength among the position players, it’s in the outfield. Johnathan Taylor, Zach Cone, and Peter Verdin are well-known to fans, and they should make a big jump from their freshman seasons. They’re solid defenders, quick, and can do some damage on the bases. Georgia’s top infielder is another sophomore – 3B Colby May who earned Freshman All-American honors last season.

The opening weekend tournament format with a quick four games in three days will give the team an early hint whether that pitching depth and strength is as advertised.

Friday: Georgia vs. Baylor, 6 p.m. ET (WRFC 960 AM; georgiadogs.com)
Saturday: Georgia vs. Duke, 6 p.m. ET (WRFC 960 AM; georgiadogs.com)
Sunday: Georgia vs. Duke, 11 a.m. ET (WRFC 960 AM; georgiadogs.com) Georgia vs. Baylor, 3 p.m. ET (WGAU 1340 AM, georgiadogs.com)

Chip Towers spotlights a report that Bill Hartman did about the recruitment of Herschel Walker. Like Chip, this is new to me though it might be old hat to some of you. I can’t imagine the circus that such a recruiting battle would cause these days with the whole process much more public. People who have followed recruiting much longer than I have maintain that Herschel’s recruitment was a sea change in how people followed and paid attention to recruiting, and this report doesn’t do much to discredit that argument. Check out the report and the video that goes with it.

While we’re talking about #34, not everyone was pleased to see Walker win the 1982 Heisman. Eric Dickerson and Craig James will be honored at this week’s Doak Walker Award banquet, and the Dallas Morning News suggested that splitting carries in the SMU system might have cost Dickerson the 1982 Heisman.

“I always tell Herschel he’s got my Heisman,” Dickerson said.

Unfortunately the trophy was the one thing that couldn’t be purchased by an SMU booster. Walker probably told him to come and get it.

On the occasion of North Carolina’s visit to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech tonight, the AJC has a nice piece on the role that UNC coach Roy Williams had in the career of Georgia coach Mark Fox. Though Williams didn’t have a vacant position to offer Fox while Fox pursued his master’s degree, Williams – then the Kansas coach – allowed Fox to observe the operation of the program and provided Fox with a blueprint for running a successful, highly-efficient program.

Their relationship has continued through the years with Williams providing advice and support along the way as Fox climbed the ladder. Williams’ advice to Fox upon arriving at Georgia was to “be patient.” For a motivated coach used to winning, the challenges of taking over a program in rough shape can be frustrating. Patience will definitely be required as Fox tries to elevate the program, but his results so far should provide even more encouragement. Fox might even return the favor and share some motivational words with Williams – both teams are 3-7 in their respective conferences this year.

An astute observer took the opportunity of this article to question Fox on the weekly radio show about the possibility of playing the Tar Heels down the road. Fox indicated that there was a good chance of such a game taking place – neither team is afraid to step out of conference.

Georgia and UNC played a series of exciting games just over ten years ago. Carolina escaped with an overtime win in Athens in 1997 after Georgia blew an 8-point lead with three minutes left in regulation. That game was supposed to match Tubby Smith against Dean Smith, but Tubby bolted for Kentucky and Dean retired before the 1997-1998 season. With Ron Jirsa and Bull Guthridge roaming the sidelines, it was still a thrilling game in front of a packed house at Stegeman.

The teams met again a year later in Chapel Hill in the preseason NIT. It was Georgia’s turn to make a late charge from behind, but this time the home team prevailed at the end.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee has had its annual meeting, and their endorsement of one key rule change for the 2011 season is causing quite an uproar this morning. Specifically:

The NCAA Football Rules Committee endorsed a proposal Wednesday that penalizes unsportsmanlike conduct as a live-ball foul beginning in the 2011 season. The change would mean, for example, that if a player makes a taunting gesture to an opponent on the way to scoring a touchdown, the flag would nullify the score and penalize the offending team from the spot of the foul.

It seems like a pretty narrow focus. Consider: taunting/unsportsmanlike penalties after a non-scoring play (say, a sack) have resulted and will continue to result in a 15-yard penalty after the play. No change there. How about unsportsmanlike penalties after you score? No, “penalties for dead-ball misconduct fouls (for example, unsportsmanlike behavior after the player crosses the goal line) would continue to be assessed on the ensuing kickoff or the extra point/two point conversion attempt.” No change there. The only time a score would be taken off the board is when players make “a taunting gesture to an opponent on the way to scoring a touchdown.” Think Deion Sanders high-stepping it down the sideline.

In other words, this new rule wouldn’t have changed a thing about A.J. Green’s penalty last year. That sham of a penalty occurred in the end zone, so the score would continue to stand under the new rule. The rule is dumb, but its application will be much, much narrower than people seem to think. Most excessive celebration happens after a score, and that’s specifically exempted. Think about it this way – when was the last time you saw someone draw a taunting foul during a live play? Those are the only situations to which this rule applies. The misapplication of the unsportsmanlike penalty is reason enough to reconsider the whole thing, but we’re not going to see that many scores come off the board.

If there’s a gray area where we’ll see the most controversy, it’s on plays where the ballcarrier dives into the endzone. We’ve seen cases where there was doubt whether the player dove to avoid a defender or was just showboating. Under this new rule the infraction technically occurs in the field of play, so the ball would come back to the 15 or so. (Yes, I’m thinking of a certain player and game too.)

What we might see more of is ejections.

In these cases [when the contact is clearly flagrant and dangerous], the committee is instructing officials to eject student-athletes more frequently when warranted. The group will distribute several video examples to officials, coaches and conference administrators to educate and clarify what types of plays should result in an ejection. Additionally, any flagrant foul will automatically trigger a review by the offending player’s conference.

There are several other rules changes bundled with the one getting all of the attention. All of these rules are still proposals and still must be NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. Some of the highlights:

– Call it the “Tebow Rule?” Players wearing eye black must now keep it solid black – no Bible verses, shout-outs to the home area code, or other messages. I wonder whether this applies to messages written elsewhere on the body. It might be more fitting to call this the Pyror Rule and not the Tebow Rule. Bible verses and area codes are one thing, but using the eyeblack to make more controversial statements might be the motivation for this rule.

– Any injured player, including those with a concussion or showing signs of a concussion, must be cleared by an “appropriate medical professional” before returning to the game. The rule though leaves it up to the school to define what an “appropriate medical professional” is. Mike Leach probably isn’t what they have in mind.

– Teams will be allowed to have TV monitors up in the booth. The home team must ensure that feeds and equipment are identical for both teams. While I doubt many coaches will have time to kick the feet up and enjoy Uncle Verne’s delightful description of the action unfolding in front of them (if there’s sound at all), implementation will be interesting. Will teams choose to provide the actual television feed to the booths or just use the feed that the rest of the stadium sees on the scoreboard video screen? You can imagine the benefits of replay aiding the decision whether or not to use a timeout to force a review.

– There will be a pregame DMZ. The committee recommended that no players allowed between the 45-yard lines beginning 60 minutes before kickoff during warmups.

– Raise those hemlines! Discerning teams with an eye on fashion might want to note that there will be no more requirement that pants must cover the knee. Scandalous!

– While they’re revamping kickoff coverage during this offseason, Georgia coaches will note that college football is considering following the lead of the NFL by banning the use of the “wedge” by return teams.

– Punters using the “rugby punt” who run outside of the tackle box are now fair game; they will lose their protection as kickers.

– UCLA and USC are no longer outlaws. Both teams can wear contrasting colored jerseys jerseys of color if neither team or conference objects.

All of the attention on Georgia’s defense lately has moved to the back burner the all-important competition to be the next starting quarterback, but I’m sure that will change soon. It will be a major storyline in spring, and we’ll see if this search for the next starter will follow the angst-filled 2006 model or the relatively calm 2009 example.

The odds-on favorite to win the job, at least in my opinion, is redshirt freshman Aaron Murray. There was even some talk well into the 2009 whether he would play, but a bout with tendinitis made the issue moot. To get a head start on his goal of starting at quarterback, Murray became one of a handful of signees each year who enrolls during the spring semester prior to his freshman season. He talks about that experience with the AJC and discusses the negatives – missing the end of his senior year of high school – along with the positives.

Today is Founder’s Day at the University of Georgia: 225 years ago today, the state legislature approved the charter that made the University of the Georgia America’s first state-chartered university. Anyone have 225 candles?

When you see the headline “USC Fined For Policy Violation,” it has to be something pretty bad, right? At least a violation of the Kiffin Rule or something.

Nope – the Gamecocks will be fined $25,000 for beating the #1 team in the nation and responding like anyone would:

The Southeastern Conference announced today that the University of South Carolina will be fined $25,000 for its second violation of the league’s access to competition area policy.

Maybe South Carolina should stop beating Kentucky so much.

The $25,000 fine is a result of a second offense of the policy. South Carolina’s first offense occurred on Feb. 15, 2005 when fans entered the competition area following the Gamecocks’ 73-61 win over Kentucky.

I know that Georgia fans (those not auditioning for a role in a PBJ sandwich anyway) stayed put after a win over #8 Tennessee last weekend, but if #1 ever goes down in Stegeman, it will be worth every penny.

Georgia football fans can relate. The gridiron Dawgs could start any season 7-0, but the impending trip to Jacksonville always hangs over any aspirations for a championship season. The Lady Dogs started this season 16-0, and there were enough wins over ranked and quality teams to know that the strong start was no fluke. But fans knew that the grind of the SEC season lay ahead, and that included a visit from Tennessee – a team Georgia hadn’t defeated since 2004.

Georgia’s rapid turnaround from a disappointing 2008-2009 season was a much-needed shot in the arm, but it was clear that Georgia wouldn’t be “back” until they made a move to challenge the teams that have dominated the SEC over the past five years. That list of teams starts of course with Tennessee.

So Georgia’s 53-50 win over Tennessee Thursday night was an important statement by a team that many hope will be the start of a return to national prominence for the program. The game was a clinic of defense – no surprise for a Georgia team that has leaned heavily on its defense this year. Tennessee, with a tall and athletic backcourt, was able to extend a frustrating 2-3 zone and control the glass. Georgia did a strong job of frustrating Tennessee’s guards (only a combined 14 points for the starting UT backcourt) and creating turnovers.

An energetic game that saw a 30-30 halftime score settled into a slugfest as both teams turned up the defense in the second half. Neither team led by more tha four points. With five minutes left in the game, Tennessee led 41-37. Neither team had scored in almost four minutes. Through 15 minutes of second half play, Tennessee had scored only 11 points, and Georgia had managed just 7. Ashley Houts finally knocked down a three-pointer with just under five minutes remaining, and that shot seemed to break the logjam on both ends. The teams traded baskets and even the lead until Houts fed a great pass to Porsha Phillips who found herself in perfect position to give Georgia the lead for good inside of a minute to play.

With the game on the line, Georgia turned to its defense. They smothered Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee’s sharpshooting guard, on each of UT’s final two possessions. On the first possession, Jasmine James was able to force a steal, and Georgia pushed the margin to a more comfortable three points. That three point lead allowed Georgia to focus on its perimeter defense, and again Bjorklund was unable to get off a shot that might’ve tied the game.

It’s a great feeling to be back on top of the SEC. A program that was in dire straits last spring has new life, and they’re relevant again – as relevant as any team can be this year in the hulking shadow of UConn. National media are talking about them again. “This is Georgia’s tradition,” coach Andy Landers said. “This is why I hope these players chose to come here.”

The win over Tennessee is great by itself. but it’s more important for the possibilities it creates for the team. They’re at the top of the SEC standings at this point in the year for the first time in several seasons. They know that they can get knocked off that perch in a single game – a blowout loss at Vanderbilt last week reminded them how quickly things can turn if the defense relents just a little.

Ole Miss is next up for Georgia, and the Rebels are right there with Georgia and Tennessee as the only SEC teams with one conference loss. They’ve already scored an upset of LSU and beat a good Mississippi State team last night, and they feature Bianca Thomas – the SEC’s leading scorer who just hung 42 points on LSU.

The crowd was exceptional for the Tennessee game and was as loud as Stegeman has seen – men’s or women’s – in several years. Hopefully some of those people liked what they saw and decide to come back – Sunday’s game with Ole Miss is at 1:00.

Tennessee postscripts…

– With the win, Georgia already has as many victories this year (18) as they did all of last year.

– Jasmine James had another cold night from the floor after hitting an early shot, but she came up big again at the end. She hit a three-pointer in overtime to bail out the team against Kentucky, and she dropped in another huge three-pointer with 93 seconds left against Tennessee.

– For some reason, halftime was only 15 minutes instead of the usual 20.

– Georgia substituted sparingly. Andy Landers only used two players from the bench for a total of seven minutes.

Not much of course, but the Dawgs – a unanimous pick to finish last in the SEC East – do share one bit of ignominy with the traditional ACC powers. As of today, 2+ months into the season, neither Georgia nor Carolina nor Duke has won a true road game. Last night’s upset of Duke by N.C. State in Raleigh kept the 0-fer going.

Duke will be the first team with a chance of breaking up this unlikely trio when they visit Clemson this weekend.

Bulldog tennis great John Isner won his first career ATP title last week at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand. He’s followed that up with a strong start in the Australian Open. He’s won two matches, including winning in straight sets in the second round, and has advanced to the third round. He’s one win away from the Sweet 16 of the Australian Open, and it would be the second straight major in which he’s advanced to the fourth round (after last year’s memorable US Open run which featured an upset of Andy Roddick).

ESPN sat down with Isner after his first round win at the Aussie Open, and he was properly attired.