A year later, Dogs, Hogs battle for last place

Let’s get caught up on all things Dog.

• There’s a monumental matchup going down between Georgia and Arkansas in Fayetteville on Sunday. OK, maybe “monumental” is stretching just a tad. But it certainly is intriguing from the standpoint that the two proud programs will be battling to stay out of last place in the entire league just a year removed from battling for the SEC Tournament championship in Atlanta.

Eleven months after that incredible accomplishment Georgia is 11-17 overall and 2-11 in SEC play. The Razorbacks are 13-13 and 1-12 in the league. The Bulldogs have to go to Kentucky before finishing up at home against South Carolina. The Hogs are at home against Ole Miss then at Vanderbilt.

“It’s really hard to compare those teams,” Georgia interim coach Pete Herrmann said. “Arkansas had a lot of seniors and a strong, strong inside game. We were rolling in the SEC Tournament at that point and started out that game great. Arkansas came back in the second half but we were able to hang on and win that championship. It was a great time actually for both teams and really a tremendous tournament championship for us.”

Georgia has kind of had its way with Arkansas of late, winning the last three meetings, including that truly monumental 66-57 win in Georgia Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum. But the Hogs are pulling out all the stops this time. They’re honoring coach Nolan Richardson and the 1993-94 Razorbacks for their national championship at halftime of the game. . . .

• Every time you turn around former Georgia coach Hugh Durham is getting honored by somebody somewhere. The latest is this weekend in Macon as he and good friend Andy Landers are inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. I’ve always said the Bulldogs should have never let Durham go. Yes, the two Tubby Smith years were great but the consistency Durham brought to the program year in and year out has never been duplicated. When Georgia hires a coach in the next month or so, he’ll be the sixth since Durham was run off (I’m counting interim coach Pete Herrmann). No matter how you add it up, the Dogs had a good one in Durham. We didn’t do a story this time but here’s a nice account from the Macon Telegraph. . . .

• The Lady Dogs got a career-high 26 points from Ashley Houts on the way to a hard-fought 61-57 win at Kentucky last night. The victory keeps alive Georgia’s flickering hopes of keeping their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. . . .

• Georgia’s undefeated baseball team gets its first real test this weekend as it takes on Pac-10 power Arizona in Tucson.

Some more links:

This is a story I did on the uncertain future of Georgia’s assistant basketball coaches. . . .

Here’s the ultimate breakdown on Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford from Sports Illustrated. And speaking of Stafford, you’ve got to see this intense debate between ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay over whether the Lions should take Stafford No. 1. . . .

In case you missed it, here’s an interview of Georgia tailback Knowshon Moreno on ESPN’s First Take. . . .

Some good insights here again from Georgia defensive tackle Jeff Owens in his “Real Deal” blog. He reveals his five favorite Bulldogs of all time. . . .

OK, folks, that’ll have to get you through the day. I have a minor medical procedure to endure today and will be out of commission. This will be the last blog until Monday. So be kind to each other and I’ll try to check back in over the weekend.