Georgia Bulldogs voted AJC Sports Turkeys of the Year
Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs, who were named the AJC Sports Turkeys of the Year Thursday.
The Bulldogs received 30 percent of the nearly 8,000 votes and edged the beleaguered SEC officials for the coveted title.
Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes finished third.
Fans disagreed with the selection of Braves’ outfielder Matt Diaz as a finalist. The top write-in candidates were: AJC sports writers (thanks!) and Braves manager Bobby Cox and G.M. Frank Wren.
Results and complete list of finalists are below.
Have a happy Turkey Day everyone. Till next year .. gobble, gobble.
Mark Richt's team, for the second straight season, was one of the most penalized teams in the nation. Bad, Dogs. Bad.
Brandon Spikes. Which is worse: intentionally trying to poke Washaun Ealey in the eye or the 1/2-game suspension he originally received?
Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin arrived in the SEC with plenty to say. He gobbled about this and that; some of it was even true.
Poor, indecisive Matt Diaz. After a September surge, his base-running blunder squashed a ninth-inning rally and the Braves' playoff hopes.
Jason Elam's two misses against the Saints were bad. Two in N.C. and N.Y. were worse.
How many SEC officials does it take to blow a call? Depends how many are on the field.
Who was the biggest sports turkey of 2009?
- Georgia Bulldogs (30%, 2,352 Votes)
- SEC officials (27%, 2,165 Votes)
- Brandon Spikes (16%, 1,238 Votes)
- Jason Elam (13%, 1,037 Votes)
- Lane Kiffin (12%, 937 Votes)
- Matt Diaz (2%, 181 Votes)
Total Voters: 7,909
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140 comments Add your comment
Dylan
November 25th, 2009
11:38 pm
GT Rules State:
It truly amazes me what 2 good years will do to you guys’ ego. You act like you are national champions because you have beaten Georgia once in the last 8 years. I’m not gonna be one of those Dawg fans that uses history instead of the most recent meeting. I know you guys kicked our tails last year, but if you honestly thing Georgia is going to be second rate for a long time coming, you are just ignorant. Georgia has a top 5 recruiting class year in and year out and I can promise you there will be coaching changes after the year is done. Georgia has hit rock bottom this year, so we can only get better. We’ll see you in Atlanta in 3 days.
GO DAWGS!!
ckgator
November 25th, 2009
11:59 pm
“Words speak louder than actions.”
- Lane Kiffin
Turducken
November 26th, 2009
2:21 am
Jenny, to answer your question:
They call it “Black Friday,” because that is when Terrell and Laquisha like do their Holiday “Shopping” at the end of a knife or gun in the parking lots of Atlanta’s retail centers.
“Git yo’ handz UP!!”
Sam
November 26th, 2009
4:58 am
Take Diaz off the list. The Braves lost the next 5 games anyway so them not making the playoffs had nothing to do with Diaz & his .313 batting average making one base running mistake.
It is Georgia & Mark Richt hands down. The team makes the same mistakes every year, losses to Kentucky & Tennessee. And trying to play fashion coordinator again & instead getting pounded by the Gators again.
Mr Obvious
November 26th, 2009
6:07 am
‘2009 Atlanta Sports Turkey of the Year’
Last I checked, UGA was located in Athens Georgia. I guess JimDawg’s office is somewhere in Buckhead.
Mr Obvious
November 26th, 2009
6:17 am
Dylan,
It is not the Top 5 recruiting class UGA has or has had, but that those players that won 8 times in a row played with heart and as a team. They are being coached down sir. A group that plays as a team has a better chance to win the game, even if the opposing team has better players. And it all starts with CMR. Tech covers the 7. With sub-par players I might add, that plays with heart and as a team.
bugsquatcher
November 26th, 2009
6:59 am
UGA still has the best football team and program in the state. period. We will absolutely blow out the nerds this weekend. It won’t be even close. It is going to be so much fun to watch.
m
November 26th, 2009
7:08 am
There is no question that ugag is the biggest turkey of the year.
And since uga VII has committed suicide (couldn’t stand thinking about another loss to Tech), ugag should go ahead and just change their mascot to a turkey
GT71
November 26th, 2009
7:38 am
SEC refs – w/o doubt.
Never have so few done so much to make so many un-rightful losers.
Mike Jackson
November 26th, 2009
7:40 am
You left out the biggest turkey of all….Les Miles. Happy Thanksgiving LSU fans and Roll Tide.
look at my nutts will ya
November 26th, 2009
7:51 am
If you had used Mark Richt’s name rather than the penalized bulldogs there would have been more votes. In your attempt to editorialize and point the blame to the coach’s staff you attempted to shield the one man who is the captain and responsible person of interest, Mark underachieving Richt. This season would be livable if it were the only one. His trend of under achieving runs long. It was very easy for me to predict this season and at what point the bull dogs will be out of contention on the national and Sec stage. If Mark Richt is the coach again next year, you can between on three things, one the bulldogs wont win a national championship or an sec title, two by the fifth or sixth game the dogs will be trying to salvage their season and three the Dogs will have a top ten recruit class than underachieves. This is a broken CD. Time to buy a new one.
look at my nutts will ya
November 26th, 2009
7:53 am
correction
*You can bet on three things
look at my nutts will ya
November 26th, 2009
7:53 am
*that underachieves
Maureen
November 26th, 2009
8:20 am
Maybe UGA should replace Uga with a turkey and rename the team the Gobblers.
Maureen
November 26th, 2009
8:24 am
I forgot to mention that he UGA Gobblers will be blown out by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 52-17. I should be a fun game to watch, especially when the red and black is streaming from the stadium at halftime.
dawg snit on buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
November 26th, 2009
8:34 am
tech for tinkin the series is gonna turn around.-u mite win again this year, but dawgs will replace coordenaters and take back the series. clempson ends your party this year.losers
ThugLife
November 26th, 2009
9:17 am
I will have to go with Jason Elam. Not a fan of UGA, so don’t care much about them. Lane Kiffin beat UGA. So whose the turkey? SEC officials make good and bad calls. It happens. Matt Diaz really hurt my feelings. I was at the game, third base side. I really wanted to throw my popcorn. But, the Braves shouldn’t have been in that position. The Matt Diaz one really hurt about as much as Elam. The Michael Vick fans that post on the AJC message boards aren’t real people. They’re just posers, trying to light a fuel on the messages, just because. Really you guys should their post, you can really tell they aren’t fans. Just pretend. So before we get racial and say “let’s send them back across the Atlantic.” Think twice. Brandon Jennings eye poker incident. That type of stuff happens all of the times if you play football, he just got caught. Too bad for him. But no Turkey for him either. Jason Elam wins my turkey and Matty ‘Slushy’ close behind.
St Simons Daddy
November 26th, 2009
9:58 am
Really looking forward to UGA ruining gtu’s Cinderella season.
THWGT!!!!!
Luke
November 26th, 2009
10:12 am
Matt Diaz, please. Lonnie Smith should be shot.
Maureen is an idiot
November 26th, 2009
10:13 am
Maureen, that’s pretty funny about the Georgia fans leaving early. It would be because Tech can’t sell out a home game. Leave the typing to the men.
Friend of Diaz
November 26th, 2009
10:24 am
Diaz does not belong on the list. If our “genius” Bobby Cox had been playing him at the front of the year then the Braves would have been in a much better position. They did not get hot unitl shuffling up the outfield with the Francouer trade and starting Prado and Diaz.
ratherBgambling
November 26th, 2009
11:28 am
Since Les Miles isn’t on the list, I’ll vote for Bozo.
Good to see a player involved in an armed robbery, failed drug test and a bar fight in 10 months will be suiting up Saturday vs KY.
marseilles mutt
November 26th, 2009
11:42 am
The idea that you would even have a contest that demeans the efforts- good, bad, or ugly- of individuals mainly just trying to do their job, ineffective though they may be, on thanksgiving is inexcuseable.
My vote for the AJC sports department!
But Happy Thanksgiving to one and all anyway.
AthensSG
November 26th, 2009
11:47 am
My vote goes to …………………. Saint Simons. hahahahahahhahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahhah!!!
gcs
November 26th, 2009
12:12 pm
Somebody get Morten Andersen on the line.
.
ReptilesRule
November 26th, 2009
12:34 pm
Lane Kiffin because of consistancy. He got a real early start on this “award”.
Plough
November 26th, 2009
1:43 pm
In the five years prior to this season, Elam is has a field goal made percentage of 86.6. This year, lower. What’s the GM supposed to do, go digging through the Yellow Pages at halftime looking for unemployed kickers better than the one he’s got?
Maretta
November 26th, 2009
2:17 pm
MARK RICHT AND HIS INCOMPETENT COACHES ARE THE BIGGEST TURKEYS OF THE YEAR. THE STUDENT ATHLETES ARE ADMIRABLE FOR PUTTING UP WITH THIS INEPTNESS — HOPE THOSE ATHLETES STILL CAN MAKE SOMETHING OF THEIR ABILITIES. PARENTS, BE CAREFUL ABOUT SENDING YOUR FOOTBALL STUDENT ATHLETE TO GEORGIA.
RICHT PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE ANY ACCOLADES AT ALL WERE IT NOT FOR MORENO, STAFFORD AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER STUDENT ATHLETES WHO MADE GEORGIA LOOK GOOD IN SPITE OF RICHT AND COMPANY.
SEC Watch
November 26th, 2009
3:27 pm
Updated: November 24, 2009, 3:28 PM ET
Bottom 10 teams are losing their religion
Comment Email Print Share
By Mark Schlabach
ESPN.com
Archive
WEEK: Preseason | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Bye | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
The Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:
If you’re on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you’ve had too much of this life to hang on.
Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on.
Everybody hurts. You are not alone.
– “Everybody Hurts,” R.E.M.
The college football teams that have become Bottom 10 staples are not alone in their misery this season.
Even some of the sport’s traditional heavyweights have become bottom-feeders in 2009. Michigan finished 5-7 and will miss a postseason bowl for the second season in a row. Defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma has to beat Oklahoma State on Saturday to finish the regular season with a winning record. So does Notre Dame, which plays at Stanford on Saturday night.
R.E.M., which spent last weekend in New Orleans recording new tracks for an upcoming album, was greeted by “The Wake-Up Bomb” from its hometown of Athens, Ga., on Sunday.
After leading Kentucky 20-6 at the half at Sanford Stadium, the Georgia Bulldogs committed four second-half turnovers in a 34-27 loss to Kentucky. It was Georgia’s first home loss to the Wildcats since 1977, when Prince Charles watched the Bulldogs get royally blasted, 33-0.
Georgia, which went into the 2008 season ranked No. 1 in the country and was No. 13 at the start of this season, must upset No. 7 Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday night to finish the regular season above .500.
Maybe the Bulldogs will be inspired by New Mexico, which won its first game of the season by beating Colorado State 29-27 on James Aho’s 27-yard field goal with 12 seconds to play. Or by Rice, which has won two consecutive games, over Tulane and UTEP.
With apologies to Steve Harvey and Michael Stipe, here’s this week’s Bottom 10:
ESPN.com’s Bottom 10
Rank Team Record Comment
1. Western Kentucky 0-10 “The Worst Joke Ever”: The Hilltoppers have two more chances to end their 18-game losing streak, the longest in the country: at Florida Atlantic on Saturday and home against Arkansas State on Dec. 3.
2. Eastern Michigan 0-11 “Shiny Happy People”: Akron has to be more than excited about hosting the winless Eagles in Friday’s Pillow Fight of the Week.
3. Miami (Ohio) 1-11 “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”: The RedHawks seemed to be lost in translation during new coach Michael Haywood’s first season.
4. Ball State 1-10 “Final Straw”: A year ago, the Cardinals were undefeated and preparing for the MAC championship game. They get one more chance at a second victory Tuesday night at Western Michigan.
5. Georgia 6-5 “Losing My Religion”: Georgia fans seem like lost souls after the Bulldogs collapsed in coach Mark Richt’s ninth season.
6. Akron 2-9 “Daysleeper”: Fans might have a hard time staying awake when the Zips host Eastern Michigan in their finale on Friday.
7. Washington State 1-10 “Ignoreland”: How much national attention will be generated by Saturday’s Apple Cup between the Cougars and rival Washington?
8. Memphis 2-9 “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”: The Tommy West era at Memphis officially ends after Friday’s game at Tulsa.
9. Colorado State 3-8 “Bad Day”: How else to describe the Rams’ stunning 29-27 defeat at previously winless New Mexico?
10. Maryland 2-9 “Bandwagon”: There aren’t many fans left on the Ralph Friedgen bandwagon. After a 31-8 start at his alma mater, Friedgen is 35-37 the last six seasons combined.
Waiting list: Virginia (3-8), UTEP (3-8), Tulane (3-8), Vanderbilt (2-10), LSU’s clock management, Florida Atlantic (3-7)
JT
November 29th, 2009
1:10 am
Does this mean that Georgia Tech is AJC’s sports chicken of the year due to the massive egg they laid when playing the Dawgs?
NewnanDawg
November 29th, 2009
1:50 am
take your TURKEY and shove it!!!!!…..Turkeys>>>>>>bugs anyday Go DAWGS…order has been restored!
Dawg Fan
November 29th, 2009
6:34 pm
I guess Tech is the turkey now. Ga beat them and Tech was supposed to run all over the Dogs. Tech Nerds are the BIG TURKEY now. Go DAWGS !!!!!!!!! 8 out of 9 and still going.
what me worry
December 6th, 2009
8:27 am
Turkey of the year …..Number 1 is Mark bradley Number2-Tiger woods..3 Bobbycox.4 Georgia .5 everyone who writes for AJC
Gobble Gobble
December 8th, 2009
8:23 am
Of course the amateur untalented AJC sports writers didn’t name themselves as Turkeys of the Year! Although they know they are!
OVERRATED & OVERRANKED
December 8th, 2009
8:26 am
How about the most overrated and overranked team in America, Georgia Tech? The overranked Techsters could not even win their own state championship over a middle of the pack SEC team and winning the ACC crown only proves how weak that conference is. The MAC and Conference USA are both stronger than the ACC. In fact the entire ACC is a turkey!
Overrated Georgia Tech
December 8th, 2009
8:28 am
IF Georgia is a turkey then Georgia Tech must be a chicken, since turkeys beat chickens!
30-24!
30-24!
30-24!
30-24!
30-24!
8 out of 9!
saint simons
December 8th, 2009
8:33 am
I have to agree that Georgia Tech is grossly overrated and highly overranked. In reality Georgia Tech is probably a top 35 team but not really a top 25 team. They haven’ beaten any god teams just other overrated ACC teams. The ACC is probably about the eighth best conference in NCAA Division I. The Georgia Bulldogs proved how overranked Tech was when Georgia just whipped Tech easily at the line of scrimmage and ran the bowl right up the middle on Tech’s defense at will. Also, Georgia’s defense, battered in the SEC showed that it was plenty good enough to slow down Tech’s overrated running attack. Georgia Tech was soooooooo overrated! Now the techsters are playing in the Overrated Bowl against the nation’s second most overrated team, Iowa!
Mark Bradley, Turkey of the Year
December 8th, 2009
8:35 am
Mark Bradley, untalented, unprofessional and Turkey of the Year!
Congratulations Mark! The AJC readers have named YOU as Turkey of the Year!
Georgia Bulldogs voted AJC Sports Turkeys of the Year | ATL Report - Atlanta News and Gossip
December 16th, 2009
8:46 pm
[...] about this and that; some of it was even true. Poor, indecisive Matt … Read more Here Georgia Bulldogs voted AJC Sports Turkeys of the Year By AJC Tagged as: AJC, Brandon Spikes, Florida, G.M. Frank Wren, Georgia, Georgia Bulldogs, [...]
Georgia Bulldogs voted AJC Sports Turkeys of the Year | ATL Report - Atlanta News and Gossip
December 17th, 2009
11:11 am
[...] about this and that; some of it was even true. Poor, indecisive Matt … Read more Here Georgia Bulldogs voted AJC Sports Turkeys of the Year By AJC Tagged as: AJC, Brandon Spikes, Florida, frank wren, G.M. Frank Wren, Georgia, Georgia [...]