What shall we do? - in the wake of the Mett incident

In light of the Zach Mettenberger incident, David Hale asked “I'd also be curious, if you think Richt has failed in his role as head coach, mentor or disciplinarian, what would you suggest he could have done differently?”

David asks what else could be done by the CMR? If CMR is guilty I ask, then isn’t UGA guilty for not having the structure in place? I digress:

Otter: Point of parliamentary procedure!
Hoover: Don't screw around, they're serious this time!
Otter: Take it easy, I'm pre-law.
Boon: I thought you were pre-med.
Otter: What's the difference?
Otter: Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests - we did. [winks at Dean Wormer] But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but I for one am not going to stand here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!

Coming back around to the seriousness of the situation and real life circumstance of what could have been enhanced. Let me go big picture.

What if…. What if, there was not a Geology 101 (Rocks for Jocks) but Sociology, are whatever department, Life skills class 101 for all scholarship players to take freshman year, first class to sign up for? Go over getting a valid drivers license – producing it gets 10 points. Review driving rules and regulations – what to do maintain it, DUI prevention. Go over social media – what to do and not do. Go over social scenarios including dating and approaching women, members if the opposite sex, people for encounters. Go over alcohol awareness, drug awareness and steroids. Go over check book finance and personal budgeting. Go over media relations basics. Produce a paper on mistakes of other athletes. Final grade withheld until graduation or transfer or drafted or booted out. It is an application class.

For players, one & done- three & done- and other’s, with a true ambition and talent on becoming a professional in their sports offer up an entire major. Course selection could include:
How to select an agent and marketing yourself
How not to blow $87 Million dollars and file for bankruptcy
More in-depth media relations
How to come across well in formal settings: team interviews and public speaking
Investments: Stock market, real estate & other places to grow money
Foundations and civic organization - What makes a good one to give back
How to judge marketing deals and endorsements
Board Room relations
How to handle groupies, hangers and other people after your $$$.
Pitfalls of Guns & Airport Security
Pitfalls of Guns, T&A clubs, drugs and 3 a.m. – nothing good comes with that combo.
Speaking of combo’s - Nutrition
Wonderlic Prep

Yes, I had a little fun with the titles of the offerings, but no I am completely serious. I know that the academic elite would go wonkers, but this is a new day. No, this isn’t taking down a university to a technical school level. Just as many discoveries, academic studies didn’t exist 20 years ago and a few might get a sophomoric chuckle in some circles (the professor honored at the game for the advancement of, uber importance, the fruit fly); this field would be avant-garde to the era which those students find themselves. You already have available a Sports Management and Golf Management degrees being offered some online. I would vehemently argue the proposed major would be more enriching than to take six random courses (and with the last three being withdrawals because the athlete thinks “don’t need it”). As much investment that the schools have, I think a professor delivering a class to keep the good name of the university intact AND too keep good people, for the most part, out of trouble, AND that they would learn like skills is a wise and needed investment.

Expectations

Crickets are chirping at night; Birds are singing during the day; Coconut oils proliferates the senses; Pollen coats my car window. Ahhh Spring has sprung I say! Pardon me, as I snort up thru my nostrils.

Spring is a time for re-birth, a new beginning. For Christians last week was the most important week of the year. Passion plays, Palm (passion) Sunday, the excitement of Easter morning are examples of this energy. As a college football fan, in particular a UGA fan, the most important week in MY CALENDAR starts this weekend!

A quick recap the UGA 09/10 sports year (stats thru Mundy Thursday)

• Football: .500 in conference; 3rd in the East; had the most “L’s” in the CMR era (5)
• MBB: 5-11 in conference; 5th in the East; 11th overall (out of 12); no post season
• WBB: struggling to be .500 in conference (9-7); blown out by 40 points in Sweet 16.
• Hardball: 1 conference “W”; Team ERA over the age of my youngest daughter who’s in the 4th grade!!! - Ugggg. 6 games under .500
• Gym DAWGS: Finished 3rd in SEC championships; clearly knocked off the balance beam pedal stool as THE Program.
• M&W Golf: Both teams ranked, but each behind 3 other SEC teams, and Men are behind Tech!
• M&W Swimming and Diving: M-4th; W-3rd
• M&W Tennis: Both 2nd in conference & division – due to overall record
• M&W Indoor Track: both 5th
• W Competitive Kickball (aka Soccer): 3rd
• Softball: #8 in polls; however 3rd in SEC East
• Volleyball: 8-12 in conference; 5th in Conference
• Equestrian: Awwburn knocked DAWGS of their high horse in Southern Championship.

I see mediocrity scattered throughout the entire athletic department. I see no national prominence in anything, no SEC Hardware. I see no WILL to win. Recently, I caught an interview with Geno Auriemma, and the reporter question the UConn WBB coach if he was worried when they trailed at the half in the title game. He said “This team desires, ABOVE ALL else, to WIN the game we’re playing on ANY given night; tonight was NO EXCEPTION.” Could be coach speak 101? Could it be a belief system that translated onto the court? I do know that I haven’t seen that belief manifested onto a field or court or arena this year for UGA sports. …. I haven’t seen PASSION.

Hopefully that changes STARTING SATURDAY! A return to the Golden Era starts by players who play like they give a damn between the hedges. As legendary coach Erk Russell would say, I want to see “A Bad Case of THE WANTS!” So long as no UGA QB doesn’t have a UT Nick Stephens stats line from his last scrimmage (2 for 9; 6 yds), I don’t care about numbers.

Like it not Football drives both the cash and credence, confidence of the entire athletic department….and my calendar.

Cinderella Cheapens Champion

Yes my bracket is busted. No I’m not harping on about handing over a HAMILTON to someone else in a pool. (Winning gets boring.) I love Selection Sunday and filling out a sheet. I take pride in prognosticating that Xavier and Butler were going to make it to the Sweet 16. (And on 1 of my many sheets in the Tournament Challenge, I had Ohio St meeting Kentucky and Kentucky winning)

Don’t get me wrong, even though I had, like most, Kansas as my pick TWIA, I found myself rooting for Ali Farkhmanesh (Man, he is got some Onions as Bill Raftery would exclaim. Maybe he has a pair of Onions) and going both bonkers and admiring Omar Samhan (‘Nova had NO answer for the high pick ‘n roll initiated by him. BTW ‘Nova was my other team in the finals.) That was great theater and tv. It was great to bring along the causal fan or the guy who’s just only interested in winning a pool.

But by definition, a Cinderella team caused an upset, a better team lost. That’s the rub. The best teams won’t be playing to bring out the highest level from an opponent, creating the best performance. Cinderella cheapens the Champion’s worthiness.

The fan in me wants a Final Four of Xavier, Northern Iowa, Cornell and St. Mary’s. The competitor in me wants Ohio State, Syracuse, Kentucky and Duke to meet in Indianapolis. Don’t know what will happen tonight and going forward through the weekend, but I do know that college football is better.

Why is CFB better than Hoops Hysteria?

• 5) 92,500 is better than 20,000 (max – Have you seen those fans disguised as empty seats in the 1st Round)
• 4) Marching band over Pep Band. The Peon band counts time, passes the sound and seasons along for the Spring Game.
• 3) THE SEASON MATTERS!
• 2) For all the intensity, I never heard about a loud arena causing seismograph needles to move. I have for stadiums
• 1) You just can’t beat a good tailgate.

On the Seventh Day, G-d created a day meant for rest, leisure AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL! He showed IT favor calling it GAWD’S SPORT!.....

In Basketball, Noaln Richardson’s called his style of play 40 minutes of hell for the opponent.

Myer's Meltdown

March 13th Quote Headline in the Orlando Sentinel “Urban Meyer at Orlando Function: ‘I feel good and I’m ready to go.’” What a difference nearly 2 weeks make.

This starts Tuesday of this week and continues thru Wednesday practice. The full context is that Deonte Thompson makes a quote to a reporter after practice, Jeremy Flower, of the OS, writes it up, the story appears in print Wednesday. Coach Myer confronts the reporter later that same day at practice and now another OS reporter Mike Bianchi makes his assessment coming in the Thursday’s edition of that fish wrap.

And here’s the original quote from Thompson in which he compared new Florida quarterback John Brantley with the iconic Tim Tebow. You be the judge.

“Things are going to get better here in the future,” Thompson said. “Any receiver would be happy. You have a guy like (John) Brantley throwing the ball, spreading it around to everybody. … You never know with Tim. You can bolt, you think he’s running but he’ll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything’s with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback.”

A real quarterback. That was the part of the quote a lot of bloggers, including myself, picked up on. But if Meyer bothered to read (sic.. the story) – which obviously he didn’t — he would realize that both of us pointed out that Thompson might have just worded his quote wrong. Instead of implying that Brantley is a “real quarterback” and Tebow isn’t, Thompson probably meant to say Brantley is a more conventional dropback passer and Tebow isn’t.

At any rate, Thompson was quoted correctly and reasonable people can interpret the quote however they want.

And that’s why Meyer, drama queen that he is, was totally unreasonable and wrong to threaten Fowler and the Orlando Sentinel with banishment from UF —or even perhaps a physical beatdown. Watch it here

Remember, Urban, WWTD — What Would Timmy Do?

Certainly not this …

“You’re a bad guy, man. You’re a bad guy,” Meyer said, pointing a finger at Fowler’s face. “If that (Thompson) was my son, we’d be going at it right now. … You’ll be out of practice — you understand that? — if you do that again. I told you five years ago: Don’t mess with our players. Don’t do it. You did it. You do it one more time and the Orlando Sentinel’s not welcome here ever again. Is that clear?”

This is almost like when Meyer said former UF quarterbacking great Shane Matthews (although he never mentioned him by name) was not welcome at UF.

Gee, Urban, I thought you were just the coach of the Gators. Who knew you were the king of the Gators – able to banish alumni and media from the program by power of royal decree?

Puh-leeze.

And Meyer had the audacity to call a reporter “a bad guy?” Really? Seriously?

I always thought a bad guy was someone who breaks the law or commits crimes. You know, like many of the recruits Meyer has brought onto UF’s campus – recruits who been arrested nearly 30 times since the coach arrived five years ago.

And if Meyer was so upset about Thompson’s quote being blown out of proportion, why did Meyer bring even more national attention to it by unprofessionally accosting a reporter? What Meyer should have done Wednesday after practice is call all of UF’s beat reporters together and explain how Deonte Thompson is a young player who perhaps misspoke and maybe sometimes the media should remember that and give a player the benefit of the doubt.

Of course for Meyer to take that approach would require him to build a relationship with the state media – something he hasn’t bothered to do since he took over five years ago.

At the very least, Deonte Thompson’s message was this: He believes Brantley will be a better quarterback for UF wide receivers than Tebow was.

And you know what? He’s probably right.

But just like everything else involving Tebow – from his throwing mechanics to his TV commercials to his autograph signing sessions to his post-game pledges – Thompson’s quote took on a life of its own and was blown way out of proportion.

Apparently Urban needs more time away. What happens when Corch Meyer looses 3 games this year?

I am just saying

I hate to play the SEC got dissed card, but I will. Of the Big 6 conferences ONLY 1 Conference didn’t get BOTH teams that played in the hoops tourney finals into the Men’s NCAA field – THE SEC.

On the eye test---- did Miss St play as well or better than GA Tech or The Golden Arches (Have you ever noticed the “M’s painted on their staircases in their coliseum?), umm Gophers down the stretch? Of course taking the # 2 team to double overtime was a statement that they belonged in the field.

So why is MSU left with a consolation prize? I know RPI was weak, but they SCHEDULED UCLA; they can’t help that the Bruins were lousy & played in a horrific PAC-10 this year. It is important to note that Miss St trounced ‘em by nearly 20 points, in THE John Wooden Classic, at Pauley Pavilion back in December.

As I lay the scenario out remember two tidbits: 1) Dan Guerrero was the NCAA Selection Chairman AND the Athletic Director of ….drum roll….UCLA. 2) Recall the name of Renardo Sidney.

Renardo Sidney, Jr is a PF (6-10 250) that is originally from MS, left to go play AAU BB w Reebok in LA, went to Fairfax High School basketball factory. Coming out it is down to UCLA or USC. He commits to play at SoCal. There was a teensey weensy little problem @ USC, regarding Men’s Hoops – AJ Mayo and Tim Floyd scandal is breaking out; and BY APPEARENCES it seems more stuffed shoe boxes were being delivered to Renardo Sidney, Sr. who was living in a $1.6M home off a AAU BB HC salary (b4 mentioned team that Jr was playing on- Sound vaguely familiar, cough, Reggie Bush???). The NCAA had cleared Sidney to play for SoCal. Pops and son reconsider and decide to move back home. Rick Stansbury and MSU step in and show the love, by all accounts without the extra beenies and boxes. He signs a LOI w MSU; however the NCAA doesn’t clear him academically this time. The final ruling is that Renardo Sidney is forced to sit out this year while – AFTER ALREADY BEEN CLEARD ONE TIME THRU THE NCAA’S OWN CLEARINGHOUSE!

Fast Forward to this past Sunday, Minn and Miss St are left on the Bubble. Now by all accounts you have 2 under performing teams both reached the conference finals, both had to have long runs in the tournament, both did. One lost by 20; the other took a #1 seed team to double overtime. The team that looked WORSE, by a wide range, got IN- huh???!!??

I am just saying that Dan Guerrero had a couple of LARGE motivations to look for the negative reasons as to why to exclude MSU (vs include ‘em in the dance). One, he gets a measure of payback on a public, professional level from MSU for showing the Bruins up pre-Christmas at Coach Wooden’s Holiday party (UCLA played 3 other non conference teams that got in – lost to all also, but by MUCH smaller margins; Butler by 2; Kansas by 12 and ND by 11) and on a private, personal, professional (pardon the pun) level of payback at Renardo Sidney for originally choosing SoCal and NOT CHOOSING UCLA –TWICE, with one anonymous vote in favor of Minn. Second, surely no other team under consideration has fought the NCAA harder than MSU this year, to get Renardo Sidney cleared. Some of the back and forth has been “chippy”. There was no way on Gawds Green Earth that MSU was going to get rewarded by that same body. There are no emails of course to prove the allegation, but YOU KNOW that was whispered in Dan Guerrero’s ear somewhere in a hallway, and the message was clearly received, as evidenced by the results.

That scenario is all speculation and conjecture without any solid evidence that Renardo Jr or Sr received any payment from USC or Reebok or booster, that Dan Guerrero acted in any other way but with the highest degree of ethics as Chairman, or that any NCAA official(s) pressured, coerced the committee in any way to vote in favor or against any team. Nor did the NCAA provide the committee with any non biased statistic that would naturally lead to a conclusion ---- Just don’t leave common sense at home on the way out the door.

It is not like MSU was a #7 seed or #4 in the other division, no they were the # 1 seed in the West. What happened to all the pinhead's palaver that once Kentucky is relevant again that will make the entire SEC significant? What is concrete, what is real, is that once again the SEC, the South gets the snubbed again! Minn.--Cheese ‘n Rice. Utah St---Jeez.

As Dickie V would say, I’m going Bananas, Baby with a capital B!! And I don’t even like the other DAWG!

The NCAA DISSED MSU and THE SEC!!!

Sidebar topics: It is a National Championship Tournament and neither should be in the field. Trim not expand ----AAU BB and recruiting the most disturbing influence, facet, relationship that the NCAA has. ---The NCAA has an incestuous fascination, this bro-mance, this love fest with USC and Alabama. Really, I don’t get it. ……….OBTW Fairfax High appears to be more opulent than the Fairfax Inn in Leesburg, GA. The Inn however, according to new signage has just added internet service. I can’t imagine the hotel David Hale stayed at without service while covering the tournament.

HD-TV seems petty

Well alright SEC along with other conferences are going get HD-TV in the replay booth. Maybe that helps out the ‘09 LSU/ Ole Miss game, toe in or out call (That is over shadowed by Les Miles Lunacy at the end of the game). But honestly the $50k spent on the upgrade emerges as petty to me in light of a news event I first missed.

Dateline, Oxford, MS; February 19th: Ole Miss walk-on Bennie Abram collapses during workouts, and 6 hours later is pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital. Chilling, cold as the table he laid on awaiting an autopsy. Being a 5’9”/ 186 Safety, Bennie is not a bloated behemoth that gives rise to immediate suspicion. No his Achilles heel is a recessive gene, which is more stealth, more sinister, much more a silent killer.

Factoid: Since the 21st Century began THE LEADING KILLER of College Football players is …..drum roll please….. Sickle Cell Anemia. Not violence, not drugs, not on field vicious collisions like Bacarri Rambo did during the Auburn game that caused ear padding to be dislodged as well as the football from the WR. If Abrams death is ruled as being attributed to Sickle Cell, there will have been NINE deaths this century, for the non-math mentalist that averages out to almost 1 per year. For those more technically inclined, approximately 75k players in college football, approximately 60% are African American, of those the disease is in roughly 8%, so 1 out of 3,600 players will die. You have a slightly better (worse) chance of cashing out on a Mid-Day Pick 3. However, if your three picks are training, for college football and African American, you may not get another chance to roll.

The fact that the NCAA will begin to test all participants in August of this year, a FULL 35 YEARS after they were first acknowledged the problem, comes a bit late and disingenuous. (To be completely fair to Ole Miss there are reports that Bennie Abrams was tested for the disease and history of the illness disclosed to the medical staff, and furthermore the autopsy report is still pending.)

Yes serious physical injuries as a whole need further examination – Head Injuries, Concussions, Heat Stroke, and Cervical Spinal Injury. Prevention and detection of any precursors (like cardiac and sickle cell testing) of those issues should be at the forefront - not bickering over a bad insurance policy and the outcome.

Why football? Why so frequently? Notwithstanding Hank Gather’s death, which was a Cardiac Arrhythmia and not due to Sickle Cell trait, I can’t recall of another player dying from training or participating in basketball. Many of you may recall running Suicides in High School – until your coach got tried of resetting the clock or blowing the whistle. Wrestling, track and field are sports that also require training with exertion – no deaths. Why is TRAINING for college football MORE deadly THAN PLAYING?

As internet furry and criticism continues about UGA S&C program being soft/ sub-standard, as The State gravels with an estimated $1B budget short fall, and looks towards higher education to make up over a 1/3 ($350M) of that projection, as the beginning of Spring football starts, I pray that priorities and promises are kept.

Melancholy b4 Madness

This time of year stinks for the sports fan. Football’s calendar has ended. Stale slam dunk competitions can’t hold more than 20 minutes worth of intrigue. College hoops captures 2 hours of evening, but the fact remains that they are still playing a bunch meaningless games before the madness begins. Only harden gym rats are discussing conference standings, RPI and who’s in right now. It’s the dead of winter and spring football, the draft, the Final Four, the Masters, MLB seem so remote, just like the program I’m Lost and alone on an island, except colder.

Yearly, these doldrums devour me- Seasonal Affect Disorder, perhaps. I prefer to label it Sports Addicted Depression or SAD. Being an addict, I’ll try anything to get my “February fix” – I’m a junkie. NASCAR – give me a toke of Smoke. What Bowling on Sunday’s?! Sure give me a hit of Pete Weber for an hour. Bass Masters, I’ll drink that up. Kevin VanDam – You da Man! Even though I know that it is going to be unfulfilling, it is all about staving off the craving.

Don’t know what it is, but in February nothing satisfies my sports pallet. Hoops, absolutely love it during other times, but Hearth Month – not so much. My wife tried in vain to help me beat that blah feeling. To cheer me up, she reminded me the Winter Olympics were next. Are those real sports? Can’t anyone go out, find a hill, hop on sled, cardboard for Southerners, and go down? I know that it is not good for my psyche, but I’ll probably be tuned in, which is the VERY reason I got even more depressed because I remembered what happened 4 and then 8 years ago. The anticipation of more agony is just killin’ me. (I wrote the following piece four years ago, trying to break through this cycle. It compares Ice Skating to professional Wrestling. Humor yourself at my misery back then.)

I always knew that Ice Skating was fixed. Now you have “Icegate” to prove it. For some Ice Skating is that beautiful tale of romance. Of the dainty, damsel in distress saved, lifted up by her handsome hero; her head spinning with dizziness until she collapses in his arms at the end. To me the “sport” resembles more closely old school wrestling than it does classical ballet.

Even before the action can take place you need a hawker…I mean promoter. Skating has NBC, and the WWF has Jim McMahon. They once collaborated to give us “football on the edge” (I feel breakfast coming up). At any rate, you have two teams of seasoned professionals, who are excellent at their craft. After the “exhibition”, you still have more required “elements”.

In figure skating, the performer moves on to the staging area. They’re meet by their coach, who whispers something in their ear and they begin to cry. The judges also watch this performance, too. They cry when they’re happy. They cry when they’ve fallen or disappointed. They cry over the fact that they are indeed crying just like they are supposed to cry. But make no mistake about it, the required crying comes next. Ensuing the emotional outburst comes anxiety. Skaters must demonstrate proficiency with this skill as well. They must wring their hands, their coach’s hands, and if applicable their partner’s hands or the obligatory stuffed teddy bear may be substituted for a partner. They are critiqued on level of tension created from all of the wrenching and overall facial expressions. Fans cheer and throw things. Ushers pick up.

In the WWF the exiting performer comes to the staging area. On his way he meets his “trainer”, given a towel to wring, who whispers something in his ear. Then he lets the audience and the announcer know how unstable his emotions are. One of the three things consist of the next element: 1) he just wrings the towel with unintelligible groans, 2) he wrings the announcers neck, quickly broken up by the handler or 3) fisticuffs breakout & the bell rings (usually this option happens at the end). But in any situation something has to be rung or wrung out, increasing the tension. Also in all cases, the performers are judged on level of angst produced by the antics and overall facial expressions. Fans jeer and throw objects. Ushers sweep up.

Both have the event, staging, an emotional eruption, and both have either animate or inanimate things that need to be wrung. As a result there is fan participation, tossing occurs and clean up is necessary. All must happen, in order, before the long program can proceed… Please stop pushing the silver, piece of bamboo you are slowly sliding underneath my finger nail before it reaches my knuckle.

Least we should forget the main event fours years ago between the two most infamous combatants. Imagine Gordon Solie with the call. “In this corner you have the unheralded Tonya “THE UNDERTAKER” Hardin. In the far corner, dressed in purple sequins with red feathers, whining about it, you have Nancy “CARRY A GUN” Kerrigan. Both land a double, followed by a “SOW COW” (Sal chow). OOOOOO that’s gotta hurt. Can you believe this action? Nancy pulls off a triple axel. Wait! Wait a minute! It looks like THE UNDERTAKER has gotten some foreign object inside the ring.. rink, excuse me. Tonya lands a beautiful tire iron. OOOOh did she nail that one. Nancy GOES down!”

Just like in “rastlin’”, the guy from “parts unknown” ain’t going to win. The same is true in skating. You have to be among the elite before you’re in gold medal contention. No matter how much better the understudy is. Most importantly as recent events with the Canadian couple point out, IT WAS FIXED, and the only people not in on the take of the predetermined outcome were those millions of spectators who are passion about it. Like WWF when the popular guy does not win the first time, he wins the next round, just to keep mayhem at arms distant. The plot thickens even more, you have the once rivals kiss, hug, make up and become a tag team. The announcers rave on and on about the spontaneity and joyousness of the moment. Everybody cries.

That sight, that depiction, indeed tripped my gag reflex. Now the rest of my body aches as much as my head. It has been a very long winter. Have you finally figured skating out?

To quote Tom Hanks’ one liner: “THERE IS NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!” Need I say more!

I thank GOD I heard those 5 little, magical words….”Pitchers and catchers reported today.”…..Hope springs eternal.

The Daytona 500, conference tourneys and the NBA All Star game the NBA And 1 contest will have to carry and comfort me this last half of February. ‘Til then, Keep Hope Alive!