Maybe Mark Richt needs to add a driver’s ed teacher to his staff
Another Bulldog traffic arrest.
Well, we’re making progress. Of sorts.
At least Washaun Ealey, arrested early today on misdemeanor charges of driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene after hitting a parked truck in a campus deck, had a real license, albeit suspended. He wasn’t driving on a learner’s permit like some of his arrested teammates. And he wasn’t riding a scooter out of an alley.
Sorry, I know I should take any arrest by a UGA football player more seriously. But, really, the continuing ridiculous saga of the Bulldogs’ traffic court problems has become something of a joke. A not very funny joke.
The stupidest thing Ealey did was leave the scene after parking service attendants confronted him about the collision and told him to wait for police to arrive. It’s hard to figure how he thought he’d skate on that. Had he not noticed that UGA football players are not immune to arrest?
No alchohol was involved, thank goodness, so I’m not sure whether a couple of traffic misdemeanors rises to the level of missing any playing time or not in Mark Richt’s rule book. In this case, though, it probably ought to. Caleb King already was likely to be the starter in the opening game, so perhaps Ealey spending at least a half on the bench — or maybe the whole game — might help him to understand that as a Georgia Bulldog he’s in the spotlight. And he needs to act accordingly.
SIDELINING LORAN
Loran Smith deserves to be part of the broadcast. (Georgiadogs.com)
The news that Bulldogs radio network fixture Loran Smith is being replaced by Chuck Dowdle as sideline reporter during the football broadcasts shouldn’t really have surprised anyone. When the broadcast team was revamped last year in the wake of Larry Munson’s retirement a lot of folks thought ISP might take the opportunity to shift Loran out of the role in which he’d become more of a punch line than an asset and limit him to the pregame show. A year later, they’ve finally done that.
Make no mistake, Loran deserves to be part of the broadcast. As I wrote last year, no one questions that he is probably the most loyal citizen of the Bulldog Nation. He seems to know just about everyone and is topped probably only by the legendary Dan Magill in his knowledge of UGA athletics history. And his Bulldog bona fides are stellar. I mean, a couple of the Uga mascots have even been named after him!
But when Munson would throw it down to Smith with a “Whaddyagot, Loran?” you never knew what to expect except that only occasionally would it have any relevance to what was happening on the field. One of the most beloved stories among Georgia fans concerns the mid-game sideline report from Smith that then-Georgia defensive end Charles Grant likes boiled peanuts — a revelation that was met with silence from Munson, followed by, “Third and six.”
Bit by bit, Dowdle, now retired as WSB sports director, has been assuming Loran’s former jobs … first co-hosting the weekly coach’s TV show and then last year doing the postgame locker room interviews. Now the sideline reporting.
But with four hours of pregame show to fill before the kickoff, there still should be plenty of time for Loran’s rambling interviews with past players and sports celebs and his reminiscences about his many years of involvement with UGA. Listening to Loran is an integral part of tailgating in Athens. And most Dogs fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
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338 comments Add your comment
This is nuts
August 27th, 2010
10:54 pm
I meant off season
Still@theBAR
August 27th, 2010
11:32 pm
LOL
Still@theBAR
August 27th, 2010
11:33 pm
Ealey had 3 problems with the law in 3 months! hahahah 1 game suspension ain’t enough. May 30, ticket for no tag and Speeding. Fool didn’t go to court on July 12. He is too good for the law to touch him. Aug. 12th Bench warrent for failure to appear and license suspended. Aug. 27th hits a parked car. Ealey knew all of this stuff and didn’t do anything to get things right and just kept piling up the crap. 1 Game Suspension for 3 problems with the LAW in 3 months.
Richt will still be a joke on punishment. The coaches knew about the other stuff before the Hit-n-Run show some B@lls Richt. Don’t do anything to Ealey! Make the team suffer. The Starters on both sides of the ball will only get to play the 1st series only in the La Laf game then send them to the locker room and make them take off their uniforms and go sit in the stands. Play only Walk-ons and redshirt freshmen. You don’t think that will send a mesage to your TEAM. It is a different player all the time so the kids are not getting the message as a WHOLE TEAM.
tired of this crap
August 27th, 2010
11:43 pm
Wow…I can’t even tell patrick and chDawg how wrong they were because my messages are blocked now. How fair is that?
tired of this crap
August 27th, 2010
11:45 pm
OK…So it blocks anything with “Dooooshbag Of The Day” in it.
tired of this crap
August 27th, 2010
11:50 pm
Hey patrick and chDawg, you don’t get off that easy!
You know what makes you two the Doooshbags Of The Day? You guys spent nearly 5 hours arguing something when you didn’t even know the facts! “Oh, but when I was arrested the judge threw it out because I wasn’t notified.” “Yeah, me too. Every time I get arrested for driving on a suspended license, the judge throws it out because I didn’t know my license was suspended.” “He should just keep on driving because he didn’t know his license was suspended.” “Blah, blah, blah, I don’t know what I’m talking about and I don’t know when to shut up, blah, blah.”
Are you two GONE NOW, or are you just too embarrassed to come back and say YOU WERE WRONG? You posted message after message calling ME the moron. You argued for HOURS about how Ealey couldn’t have possibly known his license was suspended.
Twin Doooshbags Of The Day! You two should be forced to don a twin fart suit and smell each others farts for at least as long as you argued something you knew nothing about. (But I’m not even sure you would consider that ‘punishment’.)
And as for you saying “there are no consequences” for him driving on a suspended license. Well, WRONG AGAIN! Ealey could POSSIBLY do 5 YEARS in jail. Up to FIVE YEARS, but that’s not a consequence in your worlds is it? The LAW allows that. Look it up if in doubt.
Nevertheless the DAMAGE is done. Ealey arrested is on the front page of the AJC. It’s on ESPN. It’s on the local TV stations. Opponents will be bringing sirens and flashing police lights to UGA games this year. There ARE consequences for irresponsibility. Yet another black eye and people are lining up to say, “It’s OK. Just give him the ball and let him play.”
THAT is the real problem here. Until things change, there will be more arrests, more unruly and undisciplined behavior. Stupid is as stupid is permitted to do.
I WON and I’m going to bed now with a smile on my face. Thanks again patrick and chDawg…
patrick
August 28th, 2010
12:11 am
one of the charges was reduced to “duty upon strike”
patrick
August 28th, 2010
12:16 am
hey dumbshiiit….it does not matter if he KNEW or not….it matters if he was properly NOTIFIED
BIGGBUZZ
August 28th, 2010
12:19 am
that coach richt sures does lay down the hammer!!! no GUTS no GLORY!!!
patrick
August 28th, 2010
12:19 am
I could drive up to a cop and tell me “i know my DL is suspended”. If he can not show that I was previously NOTIFIED, then all he can do is notify me, make me sign a notification and (if he wants to) impound my car. But he is not allowed to arrest me. What difficulty are you having with this.?
patrick
August 28th, 2010
12:23 am
even with him knowing.UGA knowing, God knowing, and my 3 pound chihuahua knowing, if he was not properly NOTIFIED the case will be dismissed. The language of legislature is clear and unambiguous….NOTIFICATION is required and the DATE OF THE NOTIFICATION must be written on the ticket. BOTH have to be done or ticket is dismissed. Jesus, you are as dumb as a sack of hammers
patrick
August 28th, 2010
12:38 am
nor can he be charged with driving on a suspend DL. Now we dont know if he was notified properly. Both of our arguments are based on the assumption that he was not. Time will tell. Try to get a copy of the actual ticket (public record) and see if the notification date is on it….if so he is guilty….if not he gets off scott free….its that simple
Still@theBAR
August 28th, 2010
12:46 am
Pat How did Richt know if Ealey didn’t know. The letter is probably sitting in his mail at home. I also believe ignorance of the law is no excuse.
tired of this crap
August 28th, 2010
1:25 am
patrick says, “nor can he be charged with driving on a suspend DL”…You are truly unbelievable!! Now try to follow along if you can.
1. Ealey was charged with the speeding and tag violations on May 30, and when he failed to appear for a July 12 hearing, his driver’s license was suspended, Municipal Court Clerk Rhonda Bolton said Friday.
2. Richt was upset that Ealey drove despite knowing his license was suspended and assuring Georgia director of football operations Josh Brooks and running backs coach Bryan McClendon that he would not get behind the wheel. “He saw them face to face and knew he had a suspended license and said he wouldn’t drive,” Richt said.
3. “He was well aware. We were well aware,” Richt said. “If you have a suspended license, you can’t get behind the wheel of a car.” But Ealey was behind the wheel of a 2004 Chevrolet Impala early Friday, Williamson said. “It was foolish,” Richt said.
4. “He admitted to driving the vehicle, admitted to being involved in an accident,” Williamson said. Officers then determined that Ealey’s license was suspended, leading to a second charge, Williamson said.
HE WAS CHARGED with driving with a suspended license. Get it? He KNEW his license was suspended. Did he just wake up one day and realize that? No. He was NOTIFIED. Apparently Richt was notified and the coaches were notified and they all sat down and discussed it at length. “If you have a suspended license, you can’t get behind the wheel of a car,” Richt said.
Do you understand he was charged with driving with a suspended license? Do you understand that he KNEW he was driving with a suspended license? Do you understand he admitted to police that he was behind the wheel of the Impala?
Why is it so hard for you to accept that the DMV had 43 DAYS to notify him that his license was suspended and that he knew it was BEFORE he was charged with driving with a suspended license? How does one know their license has been suspended if they have not been notified that it has been suspended?
12-2
August 28th, 2010
2:12 am
All-time scoreboard for the Fulmer Cup :
1st: Illinois Fighting Illini 51 points 1 Fulmer Cup 2007
2nd: Georgia Bulldogs 48 points 1 Fulmer Cup 2010
2nd: Florida Gators 48 points
4th: Penn State Nittany Lions 42 points
5th: Arkansas Razorbacks 38 points
5th: Missouri Tigers 38 points
7th: Alabama Crimson Tide 37 points 1 Fulmer Cup 2008
8th: Iowa Hawkeyes 36 points
8th: Tennessee Volunteers 36 points
10th: Marshall Thundering Herd 35 points 1 Fulmer Cup 2006
11th: Nebraska Cornhuskers 33 points
12th: Florida State Seminoles 32 points
12-2
August 28th, 2010
2:17 am
Tired,
It is actually a lot worse than that. Coach Richt should have made Washaun Ealey (1) go to Court July 12, (2) when he failed to appear and then had his license suspended because he failed to appear, Coach Richt should have made Washaun Ealey go and turn himself in
12-2
August 28th, 2010
2:27 am
When you are a given a ticket for speeding and improper registration of a vehicle, and are told you must appear before the Court and square it, your head coach # 1 in the US in Fulmer Cup and # 2 in the US in Fulmer Cup All-Time, has to take responsibility for his RECRUITED PLAYERS here and make sure they WANT to tell their coach what is going on.
In this case, Coach Richt KNEW.
Instead, Coach Richt MADE A HUGE ERROR.
He told Washaun Ealey NOT TO GO SQUARE IT, but hide from it by NOT DRIVING.
We are NOT properly taking responsibility for our RECRUITS since the Jim Donnan recruits left for the NFL.
There is NOT 1 Arrest / Suspension properly handled by Coach Richt since March this season.
NOT 1.
12-2
August 28th, 2010
2:53 am
chDawg,
You knew you were given a ticket.
God Almighty son, didn’t you know you have to take care of it ?
As for you then not living a life of running from the law, isn’t THAT EXACTLY PRECISELY what Washaun Ealey did ?
12-2
August 28th, 2010
2:58 am
patrick,
I don’t EVEN know where to start with you son.
You are NOT going to find some loophole you can use to squirm away from the fact that Coach Richt did NOT KNOW that Washaun Ealey had issues with the Law that he HAD NOT TAKEN CARE OF.
“Don’t drive.” THAT takes care of the issue Coach Richt ?
Coach Richt you live in a fantasy world where you just don’t know how to deal with this world.
First, you think UGA is a home for wayward children, whom you can REFORM; then you FORGIVE; then you play a football game played by men – and come up short.
Prey not pray.
Must regain control
August 28th, 2010
5:19 am
We must regain control of the UGA football program NOW! Where is the discipline? Where is responsibility? Where is love, loyalty and dedication to the team and the university? It looks to me like character and intelligence is no longer a consideration for UGA football recruits. CMR must regain control and the team and he must do it NOW! Supporters of the UGA football team are being embarassed almost weekly and frankly, we are growing tired of it. CMR needs to gain control or CMR needs to go. This isssue is not negotiable.
How did Ealey get by?
August 28th, 2010
5:24 am
How did WEaley get by with outstanding warrants and CMR not know? With the number of coaches Georgia has, why don’t the position coaches take care of establishing disciple in the players lives and not just on the field. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of arrests after arrests. Our football program will soon be able to use police blotter pictures for the game programs for most of our players. I feel sorry for the good, smart, law-abiding players on the team who are consistently being grouped with these morons. Throw away your college education, throw away the team, throw away your future … just do what you want to do now and don’t worry about anyone but you. CMR, I am putting you on notice, I will no longer support a coach who cannot bring his players (and even his stars) under control. CMR, I respect you as a man but I do not have respect for the way you handle discipline on the UGA football team.
CMR knew
August 28th, 2010
5:33 am
CMR knew Ealey’s liscense had been suspended. Did he make him go to court? NO. Did he make him turn himself in? NO. Did he take action? NO. They just made him make a “pinky promise” not to drive. Knowing the law had been broken should have made Ealey take immediate action. CMR and the coaches aided Ealey in ducking the law. Come on CMR, star or no star … Ealey probably needs to sit out at least two and possibly three games to make believers of the rest of the thugs and morons on the team. I would prefer to lose to SC than to win with the low life thugs we’re trying to win with. CMR you need to find the right answers to the criminal element (yes, breaking any law makes you a criminal) on the team. If they can’t abide by the law, they don’t need to be a part of the UGA team. Won’t you come home Vince Dooley?
reality
August 28th, 2010
7:49 am
Congrats to UGA on the Fulmer Cup. It was well deserved. This unique award appropriately distinguishes your fine institution.
WinderDawg
August 28th, 2010
8:34 am
Let’s read the police report from every college town in the southeast. You have over 100 teenage to 21 year old youngmen in the program. I would believe the general student population would mirror a athletic programs arrest in percentage. I like CMR take the battery and sexual assaults with no room for excuses. Driving a scooter and getting a ticket? give me a break!
The question for most of these players getting in trouble is –
WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT AT 3 AM?
Issue a curfew of mid-night on weekdays and 1 AM on the weekend and most of these problems will end. DO a bed check and run the heck out the players not in by the curfew.
Larry Tucker
August 28th, 2010
8:51 am
Maybe, while they are doing all this construction, they should build some prison cells so that they can lock these guys up after practice. Heck, they are going to get locked up any way.
Talking heads on TV news
August 28th, 2010
9:25 am
OJ had tons of lawyers and so has that Illinois Gov. Bolgo character. We need the talking heads to go at it. All the while. Ealey does not miss one game. This needs to be aried on CNN and FOX.
Folks ………. this is the way we are in USA now ………….he did’t do it, you are a liar, she is a liar and futhermore, their union negotiated that $$$billion dollar retirement deal and therefore the money is theirs to keep.
Play ball!
Go Dogs.
There is a new sheriff in town, gang
August 28th, 2010
9:33 am
UGA has a new AD …………he expects the prgoram to be run on his terms and within his vision of things. The football program needs to win big this year and next year and the year after without all of this tumult.
Greg MCGarity is the new man now. He has several coaches already that need a hard look. Ladies Basketball is one, Baseball is another, if the Diamond Dogs have one more lousy year and the lady gym dogs,etc.
Let the man do his job …………..he is a tough, demanding leader.
Go Dogs.
1eyedJack
August 28th, 2010
10:08 am
If he has the energy to ramble around at 3 am then we’re not practicing hard enough.
Paul in RDU
August 28th, 2010
10:21 am
It’s been interesting reading the psotings from “patrick”. This “legal expert” has been making statements that Ealey doesn’t have anything to worry about from the law because they have to prove that he had been notified that his license was suspended. Only problem is Ealey had told his coaches previously that his license was suspended
From one of the other news items on AJC
Richt was upset that Ealey drove despite knowing his license was suspended and assuring Georgia director of football operations Josh Brooks and running backs coach Bryan McClendon that he would not get behind the wheel.
“He saw them face to face and knew he had a suspended license and said he wouldn’t drive,” Richt said.
1eyedJack
August 28th, 2010
10:36 am
If our players have the energy to ramble around at 3 am then we’re not practicing hard enough.
1eyedJack
August 28th, 2010
10:36 am
Did I already say that?
Jeremy Foley
August 28th, 2010
1:43 pm
I need to tell Greg McGarity that Mark needs to ease off on his disciplinary actions- giving Tavarres King a game suspension for underage possession is just not done in major college football. When Urban had two freshmen arrested for the same thing this summer, they got off with a slap on the wrist.
That does not make the rest of us look good who try to overlook those things. Can’t say anything to Urban since he is already tight as a drum dealing with his ego-driven freshmen, and hearing about the Dream Team Mark Richt is assembling.
Nick Saban
August 28th, 2010
1:50 pm
You know, I have a lot of respect for Coach Richt, and feel sure it is mutual. I got him in the Blackout game in 08, but still have not forgotten the shellacking my defending national champs got at LSU, when David Greene torched my press coverage.
Coach Richt lives in a fishbowl, what with the Atlanta media not cutting him any slack. Here in Bama we benefit from what many would call a “lapdog media.” Ha, Ha! One of the perks of coaching in Tuscaloosa. I am loving it.
VOL DAWG TRAINER
August 28th, 2010
2:26 pm
St. Richt!!!! My favorite coach in the SEC,LMFAO!!! See you losers for Dooley’s career launching whipping of your overated mutts between the bushes!!!
NO LINDSEY SCOTT,NO 1980 TITLE MUTTS
August 30th, 2010
1:51 pm
RACISTS
NO LINDSEY SCOTT,NO 1980 TITLE MUTTS
August 30th, 2010
1:52 pm
REDNECKS
JDAWG
August 31st, 2010
4:05 pm
http://isportsweb.com/2010/08/28/georgia-rb-washaun-ealey-arrested-suspended-at-least-one-game/
Craigman
September 2nd, 2010
3:38 pm
Tailgating is finally here. Beer me!
http://thetoiletpaper.com/blog/2010/14-types-of-people-you-will-see-at-a-college-football-tailgate/