Archive for November, 2012

Chip Towers, the AJC’s beat writer for UGA, may have said it best: If you thought it was hard for Georgia to make the SEC Championship game, try getting a ticket in the Georgia Dome for Saturday’s game.

It’s one of the most expensive non-Bowl tickets in college football.

On Sunday night, the cheapest ticket on StubHub.com was $320 – and that doesn’t include shipping and handling (It ends up being closer to $400).

And those were seats in the upper, upper section of the Georgia Dome and in the corner of the end zone. But at least you could say you were there, right?

What if you’re a Georgia fan, you think this is the first must-see game since the 1980 national championship, and you want tickets on the 50-yard line? Those will run you anywhere from $794 to $1,176. Maybe an early Christmas gift to yourself?

The winner of Alabama-Georgia will advance to the BCS championship game.

And if you’re confident of your team winning, whether it be Alabama or Georgia, and you want to see …

Continue reading SEC Championship “cheap seats” priced around $400 »

Nick Saban gave out a lot of love for UGA during his Sunday teleconference for the SEC Championship game

Much of Saban’s love was for Todd Grantham, UGA’s intense defensive coordinator. Grantham worked under Saban at Michigan State as an assistant from 1996-98.

Nick Saban hired Todd Grantham as an assistant at Michigan State (AP)

The way Saban reminisced, it was like the two were together drawing up X’s and O’s yesterday. Saban dared to rank Grantham as one of his best ever assistants – a group that includes Derek Dooley, Will Muschamp and Kirby Smart.

Here’s what Saban said:

“Todd is an outstanding coach, coached on our staff way back at Michigan State. That seems like a long time ago.  But had a lot of good experience in the NFL. I’ve always been really close to Todd professionally and personally.  I think he’s done a phenomenal job there (at Georgia). There are some similarities in the system and scheme they use relative to what we use.  But I just think he has done a …

Continue reading Nick Saban gives some love to Todd Grantham »

Georgia remained third in the new BCS standings Sunday night, narrowly staying ahead of Florida despite a 42-10 win over Georgia Tech Saturday.

Florida gained points from a 37-26 win over Florida State Saturday but still stood fourth, just behind Georgia. The Bulldogs have .8911 points in the new BCS poll, the Gators are at .8882.

Notre Dame (.9979) was No. 1 and Alabama (.9236) No. 2 in the new standings. The Bulldogs play Alabama for the SEC championship Saturday and would earn a berth in the national title game against Notre Dame if they beat the Crimson Tide.

More details to come.

AJC’s SEC CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE

• UGA’s Bacarri Rambo: “We have better players (than Alabama), across the board”
• Nick Saban loves Todd Grantham
• SEC Championship tickets start around $400 on StubHub; ACC at $4.50
• UGA still third in BCS standings — barely ahead of Florida

Continue reading Georgia still third in BCS standings — barely »

One of UGA’s veteran defenders has provided some of the first bulletin board material of the week in advance of Saturday’s SEC Championship showdown between the Bulldogs and Alabama.

UGA's Mark Richt (AP)

UGA safety Bacarri Rambo went on ESPN radio after Saturday’s blowout win over Georgia Tech and said some words that will surely get the attention of Nick Saban:

“I feel like we’re more talented (than Alabama). We have better players at each position, across the board, especially on defense. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. I know it’s going to be a battle. It’s going to come down to who has the best defense and who makes more turnovers. It’s going to be a battle of the defenses.”

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What do you think? Is Rambo correct? Is UGA’s defense better than Alabama’s? And if so, should Rambo have made the remark? If not, why not? Please post below.

Saturday’s SEC Championship game will match …

Continue reading UGA’s Rambo: “I feel like we’re more talented (than Alabama)” »

Sam Gordon scored 35 touchdowns and rushed for more than 1,900 yards.

Football star Sam Gordon has taken the Internet by storm, and now Gordon’s on a Wheatie’s box.

If you’re not familiar with Gordon, she’s a 9-year-old girl from Utah whose feats on the football field have been viewed nearly 2 million times on YouTube and other websites.

Playing in an league with mostly boys, the speedy Gordon has dominated the league as a running back. In her video, she’s seemingly unstoppable as she runs around and past her male competitors.

Such is her fame that she’s featured on a Wheaties box and was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America and ESPN’s SportsCenter.

According to the video, posted by her father, Sam finished the season with 232 carries, 1,911 yards rushing, 35 touchdowns and 65 tackles on defense.

“It’s just fun because all the boys are like “Whoa, it’s a girl,” she said on GMA.

She told ESPN’s Hannah Storm that the boys don’t tease her, “but I think sometimes they might …

Continue reading Girl goes wild on football field »

Jack Taylor took 108 shots, 71 from 3-point range. (AP Photo)

Move over, Bevo Francis.

The 58-year-old NCAA record of 113 points by a single player in a college basketball game came crashing down Tuesday night as Grinnell College guard Jack Taylor poured in 138 points in a game against Faith Baptist Bible.

The Division III star put up 108 shots, 71 of them from 3-point range. Grinnell won the game between the two Iowa schools 179-104.

“There was a point during the second half where I hit a number of threes in a row — maybe seven or eight — I felt like anything I threw up was going in,” Taylor told the Associated Press. “I’ve been in the zone before but I’ve never taken so many shots.”

Francis, of Rio Grande, had held the NCAA scoring record with 113 points against Hillsdale in 1954.

Taylor told interviewers he didn’t known how many points he had scored at halftime, but thought it was around 30.

“Coach walked in with a stat sheet and said I had 58,” Taylor said. “You could see …

Continue reading College player scores 138 points in game »

Rashaad Richardson sank a half-court heave at the buzzer to give Georgia State a 59-57 victory over Tennessee State Tuesday night on day two of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Atlanta Subregional, played at the GSU Sports Arena.

Tennessee State’s DeShawn Dockery appeared to win the game for the Tigers (1-4), coached by former GSU player Travis Williams, with a driving layup with two seconds left that put TSU ahead, 57-56. After a timeout, Manny Atkins inbounded the ball to Richardson, who caught the ball right at half court, turned and heaved the 45-foot shot into the basket.

The lead actually changed hands four times in the final 25 seconds and three times in last seven seconds. With the Panthers holding a 54-52 lead, TSU’s Jordan Cyphers drained a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to put Tennessee State up, 55-54. Georgia State (2-2) then regained the lead on a pair of free throws by Cameron Solomon with seven seconds left to set up the final drama.

“Wow is about all I can …

Continue reading Georgia State wins with halfcourt heave »

Nominations for the Atlanta Sports Awards are now being accepted. Go to www.atlantasportsawards.com and click on “submit a nomination” and then click on the button of the same name.

Categories are:

• Coach of the Year
• Collegiate Athlete of the Year
• High School Athlete of the Year
• Professional Athlete of the Year
• Team of the Year

Nominations will be closed at 5 p.m. Dec. 1.

To nominate an athlete or coach, you need to include their full name, team name, and list of their achievements.

The winners will be selected by the Atlanta Sports Awards voting academy, composed of local sports business leaders, athletic administrators and corporate leaders, and will be honored at the Atlanta Sports Awards on March 5 at the Fox Theatre.

Continue reading Atlanta Sports Awards nominations being accepted online »

The Atlanta Half Marathon, with more than 12,000 participants, will start at 7:30 a.m. at Turner Field on Thanksgiving.

Last week, the half marathon that will be run on Dec. 15 and finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, was cancelled by organizer Rapid Running.

The Thanksgiving race, organized by the Atlanta Track Club, also features a 5K, which will start at 8 a.m., a Gravy Gallop (ages 6 and younger), which will start at 9:45 a.m., and The Mashed Potato Mile (ages 7-12), which start at 10 a.m.

There will be an expo on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Marriott Marquis at 265 Peachtree Center.

Continue reading ATC’s Atlanta Half Marathon to be run on Thanksgiving »

Patrick Kyle Carter

University of Georgia baseball player Patrick Kyle Carter was arrested Sunday morning on alcohol-related charges.

Carter, 19, remained in the Athens Clarke County jail Monday on charges of public intoxication and underage possession of alcohol, according to jail records. Bond was set at $500 on each charge.

It was the second arrest in three months for Carter, a freshman pitcher from Columbus. He was charged with possession of a weapon in a school zone, a felony, and misdemeanor simple assault after he allegedly threatened a woman with a baseball bat Aug. 19. Carter denied he threatened the woman and said he was only trying to get her to leave his dorm room.

Continue reading UGA baseball player arrested »