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
Bill
November 23rd, 2009
4:53 pm
The way that the SEC has feasted on Georgia’s defense, they are not only a turkey, but the stuffing and cranberry sauce.
dawglvr
November 23rd, 2009
4:58 pm
Hey Bill, You are assuming we have a defense? It can only get better. Happy Turkey Day!
CoachJ
November 23rd, 2009
5:32 pm
Matt Diaz is not a “turkey.” He is a great guy and should not be on your “list.” Sometimes, I think the AJC is a turkey with these kinds of lists… Matt’s base running mistake did not squash the Braves hopes for the playoffs. The fact that they didn’t win enough games as a team squashed their play off hopes.
Nasty Nate
November 23rd, 2009
5:43 pm
Got to pick that punk spikes. I hope someone ends his career in the last game of the season and he only has the money UF gave him to come back to live off of. Go to hell and die!!!!!!!!
Melly
November 23rd, 2009
6:01 pm
@ Nasty Nate – don’t you mean die, then go to hell? I think if you’re in hell, you’re probably already dead.
BillK
November 23rd, 2009
6:31 pm
Eye pokers should be in the pokey, not on a football field.
jc_atl
November 23rd, 2009
6:44 pm
I voted Spikes, with Kiffen as a close second – what he did was intentional whereas the Dawgs, SEC refs and Jason Elam just sucked accidentally. Braves who?
Steve
November 23rd, 2009
7:02 pm
Melly .. that is a popular quote from South Park and it is meant to be backwards.
I have to agree with the Diaz comment. He is not the reason the Braves didn’t make the playoffs. He was actually one of the few players that seemed to even be trying this year. He won far more games than he lost by beating out grounders and hustling on every play. I will take a split second of being indecisive over lack of effort any day.
34
November 23rd, 2009
7:08 pm
Floriduh Gators, the best team money can buy.
Slick Willard
November 23rd, 2009
9:44 pm
Nasty Nate, what Spikes did was inexcusable. However, your wishing him to die and go to hell shows you for the idiot you obviously are. On second thought, I would guess your age to be about 12 or 13 so you just have a lot of growing up to do!
Charlie Brown
November 23rd, 2009
9:47 pm
34, my guess is that is your IQ although I am being generous in that estimate. Are you a Dawg fan by any chance?
Bless you
November 23rd, 2009
10:01 pm
SEC officials Suck big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diaz did have a good year but……..?
LSU last 30 seconds against Miss last Sat.
Georgia Tech Fan
November 23rd, 2009
10:08 pm
# Matt Diaz shouldn’t be on the list I think that mistake he made on base will make him a better player in the future.
# Lane Kiffin is going to have Tennessee back on top soon the sec east better watch out the vols are coming.
# SEC officials are cheaters they want to keep Florida and Alabama on top.
# Jason Elam is old the falcons need to get younger at that position.
# Georgia Bulldogs wasn’t expected to be great this season they lost two of their key players Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. (By the way Let’s Go Yellow Jackets)
# Brandon Spikes is not a bad guy he just got caught up in the moment and made that mistake on the field but I think he learned from the mistake hopefully he did.
Rick
November 23rd, 2009
10:10 pm
Matt Diaz needs to be removed from this list. He is one of the reason why the Braves were still in the playoff race. How about putting the AJC writers on this page for false reporting that Griffey and Furcal joined the Braves.
Madison
November 23rd, 2009
10:13 pm
Did anyone see the helmet to head shot that Spikes took after he lost his helmet? It was away from the play and nothing was called. I would have done more than eye gouging!
Red Foreman
November 23rd, 2009
10:20 pm
Dawgs…they suck!
Georgia Tech Fan
November 23rd, 2009
10:27 pm
reply: Rick
Dude you are absolutely right The AJC writers who false reported that Ken Griffey Jr. and Rafeal Furcal should be on the list. I guess they didn’t want to be labeled as the turkey of the year cause they were scared.
GT Rules State
November 23rd, 2009
10:40 pm
UGAy … not just a blunder. Gonna be 2nd rate for a long time coming
SuperB
November 23rd, 2009
10:48 pm
To let the SEC officials, and particularly Marc Curles and Penn Wagers’ crews– off easy is unthinkable. They had a heavy hand in deciding some crucial games this year– all favoring Florida and Alabama. Before anyone chastises Georgia, Arkansas, or Mississippi State for losing some games– they need to look at these SEC refs and what a poor job they did!
falcon21
November 23rd, 2009
10:48 pm
Joe Cox thinking he is a QB is the biggest blunder of all!!!
JJacket
November 23rd, 2009
10:57 pm
What does Lane Kiffen have to do with ATLANTA sports? Last I checked, he was in Knoxville.
tom
November 23rd, 2009
11:01 pm
Why have I not seen a headline that the Falcons have released Elam??????????????
JJ
November 23rd, 2009
11:18 pm
Jason Elam is an absolute, full-blown moron.
CS3
November 23rd, 2009
11:23 pm
Hey CoachJ, I was at that game, 3rd base side, 10 rows from the dugout. It was the most heart wrenching scene I’d ever witnessed at a professional sporting event. And I’ve been on the losing side of some pretty bad little league teams.
It wasn’t the sole reason for the Braves not making it. But it was a microcosm of a long and surprising and frustrating season. It killed an improbable rally. You just saw a turnaround for the team and it was killed in an instance. That pitcher wanted no part of Prado.
They were so close. But like the Falcons in NY…um NJ on Sunday, they still lost.
CS3
November 23rd, 2009
11:27 pm
And to all the other Matt Diaz apologists, I guess Elam will be a better kicker after missing a few lately. Or Jenkins will have more confidence in his hands after dropping a nicely lobbed TD pass late in the game.
I like Matt “Caveman” Diaz but come on folks. He made a bonehead play at a crucial part of the season. How is that so excusable?
dawg1967
November 23rd, 2009
11:36 pm
Coaches served up the dawgs and added Fla,Tnn,Ky extra dressing.
YellerSkeeters are PeterEaters!
November 24th, 2009
12:29 am
I hate you GaTech!
YellerSkeeters are PeterEaters!
November 24th, 2009
12:32 am
Mark Richt. “Water Girl” wants to know? What a stupid (sappy) segment to your fluff-fest of a TV Talk Show with Chuck (Gump) Doodle! Where is your manhood? Does Willie have some “dirt” on you? Why are you so damn stoic on the sideline (like an iguana sunning himself)? Why do you have no passion/fire? You are starting to remind me of Forrest Gump too! Go on back to Tallahassee, we’ll be no worse without you!
scottbravesfan
November 24th, 2009
1:11 am
JC-ATL,
You say Braves who? You know the only team to bring a championship to that crap city you live in called Atlanta.
PJ.
November 24th, 2009
1:27 am
Hands down the biggest Turkey goes to the Dawgs.
blee
November 24th, 2009
2:08 am
Rich Rodriguez the BIG TURKEY – leads Michigan through another turkey season.
rick
November 24th, 2009
4:21 am
Why isn’t Joe (there is a reason why I’m a 5th year SR and had not started) Cox on the list?
falcon71
November 24th, 2009
5:03 am
who wote this stupid post. fire him and hire some real sports writers. Lane Kiffin?
MR
November 24th, 2009
6:12 am
What a bunch of losers, and I include the AJC Sports department. Wanting people to die, get hurt and live a poor life. I am so glad that all of you are so perfect that you have not made a mistake. Get a life people. Again, What does Lane Kiffen have to do with sports in Georgia. Unless you think his whipping of the dawgs was a turkey.
Larry
November 24th, 2009
6:28 am
My initial temptation was to go with the most emotional letdowns and I nearly voted Elam’s misses or the Bulldog’s poor coaching (penalties). However, five of these six options were mental, physical or negligent mistake, but one was criminal, so my vote goes to the criminal act that could have permanently maimed a person for life–Brandon Spikes!
Kyle
November 24th, 2009
7:26 am
I can easily see why it would be the Bulldogs but what makes or breaks my weekend is the Falcons so I have to go with Elam. How does this guy still have a job? He must have pictures of Arthur Blank and his wife with a dead mule or something. There is no reason this guy should not have been replaced. There has to be someone out there that is out of a job that would give a better effort to say the least.
Phil
November 24th, 2009
7:49 am
Elam.. he’s single handedly cost the Falcons at least two games with missed field goals … that any league average kicker should be able to make.. which will cost the Falcons the wild card.
clemkudtlhopr
November 24th, 2009
7:51 am
I didn’t see the Jeff Franceuor trade on this list. Frank Wren would get my vote.
BIG DAWG
November 24th, 2009
7:56 am
This is EASY!!!!!!! E L A M!
dean
November 24th, 2009
8:30 am
Larry got it right. Brandon Spikes’ criminal action is hands down THE worst thing I’ve seen-so far-in 2009.
stendec
November 24th, 2009
8:35 am
No brainer! Team calls you out. Say they are going to slaughter you by 300 plus points! Not enough motivational fodder. Team fails to materliaze against blowhards! Prediction of spanking comes true. Star player unfairly cited for celebration after touchdown. Coaches rally behind him! Other coaches that is. Not his own! Team murders team mascot with heartless play. Brings on heart attack! Mourning fans look for something uplifting. What do they get? A home loss on Senior Night to a team which had not prevailed in Athens since the end of the War Between The States! How is that for uplifting? At least the coordinators are consistent. Consistently awful! Both believe in running the same schemes until they are successful. They never are! The Turkey Award definitely belongs to Mark Bicht and his heartless Dawgs. Have made this a truly nightmarish season for all of Bulldog Nation! Hope jerkoff enjoys Tallahassee, Florida. Happy Thanksgiving all. ++STENDEC++
pilgrim
November 24th, 2009
8:36 am
Frustrating, regrettable mistakes, blunders, and incompetency… but the Spikes thing shows something rotten at the core.
GT MAN
November 24th, 2009
8:59 am
Great not to see Reggie Ball’s name not mentioned anymore.
Anne Dover
November 24th, 2009
9:02 am
The biggest turkey goes to the “writer”, and I use the term loosely, who wrote the caption under the picture of Josh Nesbitt saying he likely would “have went” elsewhere. Good gracious, guys, does anybody proofread the paper? Or are we so dumb in the state of Georgia that a grammatical error like that goes unnoticed by the general public? Please, do you have the nerve to issue a retraction?
Vol Man
November 24th, 2009
9:10 am
How can you even consider Kiffin,,, he will either turn the program around or be gone…. unlike UGA program where you have a nice guy as coach and not a clue what to do about his lousy program,,,
bugman
November 24th, 2009
9:19 am
We still have another month to go. Could be some new contestants or additional fodder for those listed. Bradz, please re-visit this at the new year.
obomaisaclown
November 24th, 2009
9:26 am
This is a weak list, must have spend all of 30 seconds on it!
Poorjeff
November 24th, 2009
9:33 am
Bobby Cox for his stupid bull-pen moves that cost Braves at least 5 are more games.
Bobby Cox for keeping Norton.
Bobby Cox for keeping Schafer in line up almost two months.
Bobby Cox for leaving Frenchy in line up everyday till Wren traded him.
Bobby Cox for last 5 games of the season…..
Bobby Cox for picking nose all the time
Thank the Lord its his last year.
Sutton's 'Fro
November 24th, 2009
9:42 am
Taking shots at Diaz and Elam (or any single player in a team sport) is cheap, and lazy “journalism.” There’s always plenty of blame to go around in a single loss, or a bad season.
It’s gotta be the SEC officials! And not just the ones on the field, but the guys in the league HQ who spent most of the season saying, “yeah, they goofed again — Sorry!” until even the national media was calling for changes. Then they suspend one crew! It’s the dumb leading the blind….
Oldtime player
November 24th, 2009
10:02 am
Washaun Ealey said he had his eyes closed and Brandon Spikes was near his eyes.
That’s odd, a running back running with his eyes close. No, football players are taught when you are in a pile up to protect themselves because anything goes do there.
Eye poking, butt pinching and grabbing of other body parts happen in pile ups in little league, high school, college, professional and even in backyard pickup games.
Get over it.
“I’m pretty sure it goes on back and forth,” Ealey said. “We probably do it and other teams do too. It’s all football. We’re just out there trying to have fun.”
scott
November 24th, 2009
10:04 am
See, the UGA blunder is in the lead for voting, meanign this is not the norm. Folks are shocked by the season, good, expectations are hihg and should be.
Just be patient folks, things will turn, they always do!
jen
November 24th, 2009
10:32 am
Oldtimeplayer, very succintly put.
lt
November 24th, 2009
10:49 am
This is quite a line up. Lane Kiffin insulting people from S. Carolina to bozos dressed as zebras making game-changing calls that were way off. So, many choices-hard to decide.
Steve
November 24th, 2009
10:49 am
SEC officials have it hands down for me. I typically have some sympathy for officials ability to see everything when down on the field. That’s the reason for instant replay. But this year it seems the SEC officials have not only missed the correct call on the field, they have then held to the bad call even though several replays CLEARLY show they were incorrect. I’m (and the TV commentators are) asking, how on earth they missed it on the replay?
UGA and penalties…that just poor team disciple not necessarily wothy of Top Turkey status
Lane Kiffin needs to learn from his father…keep his mouth shut unless talking to his players.
Blaming Diaz for the Brave’s playoff woes is sorta like blaming the Chicago fan a few years ago who tried to catch the foul ball. Too many other factors also contributed to the Brave’s to blame Diaz for one play. If we’re going to blame one person, I think it was George W Bush’s fault.
dagnabit
November 24th, 2009
11:03 am
YELLERPETER is a joke. Who bought the computer for you. I’ll bet that the bulldog club claims you.
Bull butter
November 24th, 2009
11:12 am
Jason ELAM by far.UGA and Diaz should’t be on the list.Uga does’t deserve anything to bring thier name up.Jason Elam has kill’ed the falcons hopes for a wild card.
Free Mike Vick
November 24th, 2009
11:14 am
RELESING VICK WAS THE TURKEY OF THE YEAR!!
FLACONS ARE STRUGGLIN BECUZ OF THAT
WAY 2 GO MR BLANKS I HOPE U LOOSE THE REST OF UR GAMES
Poorjeff
November 24th, 2009
11:16 am
Enter your comments here
GeorgiaFan7
November 24th, 2009
11:37 am
The biggest turkey missing from the list is all the fair-weather Dawg fans. Last year they were singing the praises of Richt and after one bad season they want to get rid of him. Most reasonable fans knew that this was not going to be a stellar season and the opening game gave evidence to that. These same fans will be back on board next year if the Dawgs have a winning season. Like petulant children they have a short attention span and no comprehension of reality.
Grateful
November 24th, 2009
11:38 am
Whew, we are sure glad the list stopped at SIX choices.
Sincerely,
Special John Fabris
Willie
Joey Cox
Falcons DBs
Falcons Receivers (except White)
Buck “Man Crush on Cox” Belue
Chuck “Softball Question” Dowdle
Tell it like it is
November 24th, 2009
11:39 am
The Turkey award goes to the falcons Jason Elam.
DK
November 24th, 2009
1:00 pm
“Jason Elam is an absolute, full-blown moron.”
JJ – you and me would make great friends. I couldn’t agree more.
Dawgeye
November 24th, 2009
1:12 pm
I voted officials, who made a defining difference in some games this year, obviously wrong, with spikes second, but close- The others shouldn’t be considered-The Bulldogs were not supposed to be great this year- Could have been better, but hopefully, after changes are made , things will turn around- All others are just bad play- I do consider what the SEC officials did this year as criminal, as well as Spikes- By the way, why do we keep hearing about how Spikes got hit here, butted there, etc- Nobody has shown evidence yet- Hair was pulled, but if he buckled his helmet, and didn’t look like cousin it, maybe it would be alot harder to get a hold of-
Thomas
November 24th, 2009
3:10 pm
How can Lane Kiffin not be running away with this?
Volmaster
November 24th, 2009
4:47 pm
Thomas
November 24th, 2009
3:10 pm
How can Lane Kiffin not be running away with this?
Because he’s too tired from running away with the dogs’ pride earlier this season. And if ANYONE should be winning this “poll” hands down it should be that “Free Mike Vick” moron.
SugarfreeSailor
November 24th, 2009
4:50 pm
Nick Saban and Urban Meyer should be buying those SEC Officials Thanksgiving turkeys to say “thank you” for what they’ve done for their schools’ holiday seasons!
Braves #17 fan
November 24th, 2009
5:11 pm
Take Matt Diaz off this list. Honestly. Were you fishing for someone in baseball to add? If so, how about someone dishonorable, like Milton Bradley?
Burdell
November 24th, 2009
5:16 pm
Sugarfree– I think they have “bought” them more than a turkey!!
Happy Thanksgiving folks!!
GO JACKETS!!
Walt4
November 24th, 2009
5:27 pm
You have to go with the SEC officials. If reality is just repeated perception, than it really looks like they’ve agreed to do all they can to get Alabama and Florida to the Atlanta with undefeated records.
Atlfalcon
November 24th, 2009
6:18 pm
My vote for the biggest turkey is Jason Elam. His missed field goals have killed us and may end up costing the birds a trip to the playoffs.
tom
November 24th, 2009
6:28 pm
I am still waiting for the Falcons news conference to fire Elam.
Techfan1324
November 24th, 2009
8:12 pm
I Wish there were a “Select All” option
CatsFly
November 24th, 2009
8:56 pm
I say, “UGa fans”. Gobble, gobble, gobble. I heard the team was going to have “ban the fans” sewn on the back of their jersies this weekend.
ThugSayWhat
November 24th, 2009
9:30 pm
I wish we could round up Vick’s fan club and provide them with a oneway ticket across the Atlantic to reside in their former residency.
'Bama 1
November 25th, 2009
6:40 am
Lame (Convict) Kiffin should get the “Idiot Extrodniar” award this year
collegeballfan
November 25th, 2009
6:50 am
None of the above.
The biggest Turkey of the Year 2009 was the SEC Commissioner & his handling of numerous errors by SEC officials.
SEC FAN
November 25th, 2009
8:49 am
My vote is Les Miles. What an idiot!
HAYWOOD JABLOME
November 25th, 2009
8:59 am
WHO ARE THESE BRAVES OF ATLANTA U SPEAK OF???
War Eagle!
November 25th, 2009
10:21 am
I wonder if Paul “Bear” Bryant is rubbing UGA’s belly in right in the Eternal Fire now while Satan looks out on them.
A Mouthful of AWESOME !!
November 25th, 2009
10:38 am
Did Willie Martinez really murder UGA just to take all the attention away from him?
I don’t believe Erk Russell would’ve ever done anything like that.
If Truett Cathy were a football coach, he would probably be Erk Russell.
BG
November 25th, 2009
12:47 pm
Brandon Spikes is a THUG!
ref calls.....
November 25th, 2009
12:57 pm
give me a break with the ref call already. any real sports fan can see that they were done on purpose.
but for the poor officiating alabama and florida would be one loss teams trying to get back into the nc picture.
instead of having the wheel of fortune for the acc as espn like to have they really should be having one for the sec.
if the pubs can steal 2 elections why cant the sec AND espn steal championships!
Pittman4Two
November 25th, 2009
1:03 pm
The biggest turkey has to be the Culverhouse family for firing Gruden.
Alge Crumpler
November 25th, 2009
1:13 pm
Someone say turkey? I’m hungry!….Still!!
Fort Worth Dawg
November 25th, 2009
2:23 pm
Oklahoma Sooners – they fell much further than UGA. The randomness of LSU also caught up with them
Freelemur
November 25th, 2009
3:32 pm
I vote for georgia’s fans, the whiniest bunch of bitches in the SEC. At least the team gives an effor on the field. All their fans do is run their mouths with nothing to back it up.
ThinkPositive
November 25th, 2009
3:37 pm
Just once could we have a poll that doesn’t focus on negatives? There are a lot of things in Atlanta sports that have gone right this year! For example:
Falcons signing Tony Gonzalez
GT giving Paul Johnson contract extension
Hawks keeping the entire team intact and adding Crawford
Braves finally giving up on Francoeur
Braves putting together another great pitching rotation
And don’t forget that the college football game of the century (so far) will be played on Dec. 5th at the Dome.
There is more to life than UGA football, folks. So just relax, enjoy your turkey, and be thankful for a change!
Nick Manning
November 25th, 2009
3:56 pm
why in the world is matt diaz on here? He was our best outfielder all year and one of the most underrated players in the league. And he hustles more than any player on the team. Why don’t you put Chipper on there for costing us the playoffs? His career-worst slump happened right about the time the Braves stepped it up a notch. Fools.
BW
November 25th, 2009
5:55 pm
GA fans are so jealous of the Gators. They are fiiddling while their team burns. What a sorry bunch. It appears that most of the voters see the problem with the puppies, and you are worried about Spikes. You bunch of sorry losers.
By the way, sorry about UGA VII, he was a super mascot.
Bobbi Dud
November 25th, 2009
7:25 pm
The turkeys of the year are the AJC sports writers!
gatorman
November 25th, 2009
9:25 pm
In case you forgot….Spikes got his helmet torm off twice and Wayshon spit in his face
Maureen
November 25th, 2009
9:31 pm
Obviously… the Dawgs are the biggest turkeys. The people have spoken!
sleeze
November 25th, 2009
9:38 pm
Can we vote for Jeff Schultz and Mark Bradley? Or does the sports turkey actually have to have a clue about at least one sport?
chnstrp
November 25th, 2009
10:22 pm
Enter your comments here
chnstrp
November 25th, 2009
10:25 pm
MATT DIAZ IS ALL YOU COULD COME UP FROM THE BRAVES?? TALK ABOUT A TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENT.
UGA VII
November 25th, 2009
10:34 pm
Answers: Mike Vick, AJC Bradley and Schultz, People who want to fire Mark Richt.
Question: Who is the #1 Turkey of Atlanta for the past 3 years, Who Dont Know Turkey about sports, and Who dont know their Turkey from a hole in the Ground.Go Falcons and Go Dawgs, Go Tech(except when your playing the Dawgs)
o-me
November 25th, 2009
10:44 pm
Post has been up 5 days and only 96 comments. Looks like a Turkey to me==ajc award
Joe
November 25th, 2009
10:52 pm
The AJC writers for falsely saying The Braves had signed Ken Griffey Jr. and Rafeal Furcal.
dawg149
November 25th, 2009
10:55 pm
You know this is pretty pathetic for a list. Kiffin is a brash in your face coach who had enough balls to keep his dad by his side and turn the Vols’ program around. Diaz is a player I’d go in the trenches with any day of the week. Yes he made a base-running error, but it was out of hustle, and, hell, he WAS on base, unlike most of the reast of the team that night-LAYOFF!! The dawgs are in the middle of a transition-give the program time, we’ll be back. And finally, as a DAWG, damn if I can throw rocks at Spikes when we own the most penalized team in the SEC week end and week out. Come on guys…..get a life, quit whinning and face that guy in the mirror…..THEN you can complain!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone……….one more thing beware Techies…..season aint quite over yet…….just saying…….lololol
Richie
November 25th, 2009
11:04 pm
I find it interesting how kickers get so much blame for a team’s struggles when the kicker himself is struggling. Last season Jason Elam missed only two field goals the whole year and practically won the Bears and Bucs games and not much was said about his asset to the team. This year he is having by far the worst season of his Hall of Fame credential career and all of a sudden, he is the “turkey” and the reason the Falcons are not going to be a wild card contender. If anyone has earned a right to work his way out of this horrible slump he is in, it is Jason Elam. I would still rather have him getting ready to kick the game winning field goal in overtime for the Falcons than any of the other 4 guys they “auditioned” this past week. Hey JJ, missing field goals does not make someone a moron. Being ignorant does.
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 [...]