On oversigning, reseeding and rumor mongering …
Emptying the notebook . . .
———-
Sounds like the SEC spring meetings in Destin will be quite interesting. Three SEC football coaches defend the practice of oversigning in this Wall Street Journal article –- the same practice that Florida President Bernie Machen called “reprehensible” in this SI.com article.
UGA President Michael Adams briefly addressed the topic at Georgia’s athletic board meeting last week: “We will not oversign,” he said. “Issues of grayshirting and oversigning in football — and some of the other [compliance] issues that have been in the press — are issues that I know will be on the presidents’ agenda for Destin.”
———-
Speaking of the SEC spring meetings, another issue sure to be on the table is the seeding format for the conference’s men’s basketball tournament.
The past two seasons of disparity between the divisions –- the East much stronger than the West –- have drawn criticism to a system that gives the top two finishers in each division a first-round bye, even if, say, the third-place team in one division has a better record than the second-place team in the other.
“It was a topic of debate [at last spring's meetings], and we couldn’t come to a consensus,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said on his weekly radio show Monday night. “There were really three options: Leave things the way they were; reseed the tournament but award byes to the division champs; or just reseed the entire tournament. I think we’re getting closer to [a change] just because there’s been such a disparity in the East and the West the last couple of years, and I think the media is hounding the league to make a change.”
Fox said he voted last year to reseed the tournament. “I do think if you’re going to have two divisions, you should reward the division champ with a bye but not the second-place team,” he said.
———-
February provided two instructive examples of how rumors outrun reality.
Remember the night of Feb. 7, when Bulldog Nation was aTwitter with the rampant rumor that Washaun Ealey had been dismissed from the team? He had not been dismissed, of course, and his suspension from off-season activities was lifted almost two weeks before the start of spring practice.
Then there was the afternoon of Feb. 21, when the rumor rocked Bulldog Nation that quarterback Aaron Murray had a broken ankle or worse. It turned out, once the X-ray and MRI results were read, that the ankle was merely sprained. And Murray, like Ealey, is expected to be available for spring practice.
———-
At his second Athletic Board meeting as Georgia’s AD, Greg McGarity drew praise from Adams.
“I want to compliment Mr. McGarity for the way he has come in [and] taken hold on the reins,” Adams said. “He and I talk a couple of times a week. I have found him to be thoughtful and open to diversity of opinion and committed to doing things right and to winning.”
———-
With two games left in the regular season, Georgia still could finish anywhere from second to fifth in the SEC East. The current standings:
Florida 11-3
Vanderbilt 9-5
Georgia 8-6
Kentucky 8-6
Tennessee 7-7
South Carolina 5-9
LSU coach Trent Johnson said Monday that Georgia has “probably locked up” an NCAA tournament berth “as we speak,” but Fox isn’t assuming that.
“Hopefully we have earned the respect of the selection committee . . . but I do think we have to win a few more games to feel comfortable,” Fox said.
After finishing the regular season with games against LSU in Athens on Wednesday night and at Alabama on Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs move on to the SEC tournament next week in Atlanta.
– Tim Tucker, AJC
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87 comments Add your comment
Stilladawg
March 1st, 2011
5:20 pm
# 1 bama fan… How does “3rd in the west” sound because you guys were far from champions…
headley lamar
March 1st, 2011
6:00 pm
Can you imagine if the Tech baseball player who got a DUI a few days ago had been a UGA football player?
Oh the indignation !!!
Instead we got a short story with no place to comment.
Double standard. You betcha.
White Tech Baseball player with a DUI and
March 1st, 2011
6:19 pm
Yes the AJC is playing favors. If he wasn’t white he would have been roasted and hung out to dry!
Saben
March 1st, 2011
6:28 pm
Anyone know how the construction is going on the new wing at Clarke County Correctional for the new recruits?
Imagine Crowell will be bounced into another universe when that new linebacker from South Carolina comes calling. Just think the top defensive recruit in the Country putting Crowell into the Savannah River.
Choakdawg and Richt will have to open up a new hair salon while I win another national championship.
Keep Richt.
BiggdawgK
March 1st, 2011
8:03 pm
I wonder where all the techies that usually live on the ajc blogs have been this week?
John
March 1st, 2011
8:42 pm
Dawg fans are pathetic. People will pay attention to your program when it is relevant. Keep complaining about other teams, it is amusing.
Committee on Anti-Alabama Activities
March 1st, 2011
9:16 pm
I see all the loser dawg fans chiming in. Where to start?
Dawg Lex
National titles since 2000. Bama 1 UGA ZERO
All I see on here is a bunch of jealousy and resentment over the status and heights of where our storied program is relative to the down in the dumps 6-7 dawg team. Hate on beyotches. It aint gonna stop King Saban. What was that? Bama is Preseason no. 2 in most polls? Roll tide.
What’s that? 12 UGA players arrested in 2010 vs 0 Bama players arrested in 2010. Bunch a thugs. At least you lead us in something.
Druid City
March 1st, 2011
9:24 pm
Looks like Florida has adopted Vanderbilt and Georgia’s ready-made self-righteous excuse for losing.
Florida, do you really want to be associated with those losers?
Nothing is going to happen in Destin. The SEC would be stupid to give up its competitive advantage and its resulting windfall of cash. Neither Vanderbilt nor Georgia have any problems cashing the bowl and TV checks earned by the successful SEC schools, so their whining and protests ring hollow.
Other conferences (Big 10 being the exception) have adopted the SEC’s stance on giving more players the opportunity to show their skills in spring practice and summer workouts. The best ones advance, just like the real world.
Given this fact, why would the SEC put itself at such a disadvantage?
In Destin, SEC would be wise to announce their plans to remove Vanderbilt and Georgia’s membership and bring in schools who will earn their keep like Texas and Oklahoma.
Vanderbilt and Georgia have been leeching money off the winners for far too long.
Zoli
March 1st, 2011
9:30 pm
Committee on Anti-Alabama Activities: “What’s that? 12 UGA players arrested in 2010 vs 0 Bama players arrested in 2010. Bunch a thugs. At least you lead us in something
I just want to comment on this ignorantcomment. Have you ever been to Athens? You can’t compare Tuscaloosa to Athens and the number of arrest between student athletes. Athens has a downtown seen that is swarming with cops. It is so easy to get into trouble in Athens. I have partied in both towns and the two don’t compare. Most of the parting at Alabama is done in frat houses. Please don’t compare arrest rates between the two schools. All studend athletes are doing the same thing from school to school. Additionally, Alabama is not recruiting kids with better grades, upbringing, or morals than any major football school out there.
Bama blows
March 1st, 2011
9:32 pm
Committee I’m glad to see you were able to walk down to your local town library to use the Internet tonight! You brag on Alabama like you play on their team, get a life go to auburn and chop up Some fire wood so you can sell it to buy some teeth or pay your first cousin for some loving!
Bitter grassy knoll
March 1st, 2011
9:34 pm
(aka–nesbitt for heisman) stop with the conspiricy stuff—hahahahah
—Auburn would never cheat—duh!!!!—-hahahahahah—-what about bamma poisoning trees—maybe it was a CIA auburn fan trying to make bamma look bad—-using mind control on bammer nation trailor trash!!!
—————–anything’s possible
Bodda Getta
March 1st, 2011
9:34 pm
I agree. This would be a dynamite conference.
East:
Auburn
Alabama
Florida
Tennessee
South Carolina
Kentucky
West:
Texas
Oklahoma
Arkansas
LSU
Ole Miss
Mississippi State
Bitter "DON" SATAN- THE 6TH ITALIAN FAMILY
March 1st, 2011
9:40 pm
I gave the go ahead (hit) to take out toomers corner trees—killing is
————–just bussiness———your next hegge’s
Mr. SEC
March 1st, 2011
9:40 pm
How can anybody defend the sanity of oversigning recruits? Sign players one year, cut them or demote them to scout squads in the spring and stand on the sidelines for two years at the minimum. I still say that high school coaches are not doing their jobs in the recruiting process of advising their athletes. A college coach will ill advise them to sit there but on the bench for 2 years and ruin their chances of getting early playing time with other schools. I guess it depends on the recruit, he wants to play, or ride the wave and be a punching bag.
Druid City
March 1st, 2011
9:40 pm
Zoli:
It must be nice to live in your fantasy world.
The bottom line is Alabama’s players had respect for Coach Saban and Mal Moore.
Georgia’s players did not have respect for Coach Richt and Damon Evans.
Updyke Tree Service
March 1st, 2011
9:43 pm
Would you Dawg fans trade Richt for Saban? Just let them swap teams, asst coaches stay put, recruits stay put, etc.
Bitter michael adams
March 1st, 2011
9:45 pm
dont hate—im just a dumb!@#$^&^**s—sorry dawg fans—-
—-who needs to cook out before football games—fans sux—-
Updyke Tree Service
March 1st, 2011
9:49 pm
Mr. SEC,
Do you think that is what is going on? Just sign them, then cut them loose if they don’t pan out! If that is the case, then why do the same schools keep getting the best players? If little Johnny doesn’t start on the 5th grade team, that parent is going to bitch and moan about it being unfair, etc. Just move to France where life is fair!
Druid City
March 1st, 2011
10:06 pm
…or the whining parents and guardians could send their kids to the Vanderbilt or Georgia country clubs where they are guaranteed a free ride whether they perform on the field or not.
Earlycountydawg
March 1st, 2011
10:34 pm
Saben gets on here and talks about the arrest of some Georgia players for mainly minor offenses and the ones that were major offenses Richt kicked them off the team.Zack Mettenberger was kicked off Georgias team during the spring for a sexual offense against a young lady in Valdosta and I believe that Alabama was the first team to offer him less than six months after this.Says alots about Alabama and Saben.
Shawn
March 2nd, 2011
3:22 am
In Destin, SEC would be wise to announce their plans to remove Vanderbilt and Georgia’s membership and bring in schools who will earn their keep like Texas and Oklahoma.
Vanderbilt and Georgia have been leeching money off the winners for far too long.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
Hey moron, You do realize that in the past 10 years UGA has played in 3 BCS games to Bama’s 2=more revenue, 10 bowls to Bama’s 8=more revenue, 3 SEC championship games to Bama’s 2= more revenue, better bowl payout for most of them=more revenue……Maybe Bama should be ahead of UGA in the leech consideration! I know you guys do lead us in NC’s but you also lead in losses to LA Monroe! UGA has alos won 3 of 4 against Bama in that time. Go sell that ignorant garbage to someone who does not watch football!
Shawn
March 2nd, 2011
3:27 am
No updyke, I would not trade Richt for any coach in America. He is one of the winning-est coaches in the game and the Classiest! The only thing he does not sport on his resume is a NC. His time for that will come! I have had Saban as a coach for my pro team in Miami and he sucked and moved on. He will move on from Bama too. Then they will get another string of strip bar losers and cheaters while UGA still has a classy winner!
Druid City
March 2nd, 2011
6:43 am
Losers play the class card because that is the only card they have left. Richt is your Shula.
He is now taking Georgia to the same bowls Shula took Alabama. Look it up.
The only difference is we were wise enough to cut our losses and make the necessary commitment to winning.
It is paying off for us and the SEC.
woebegong
March 2nd, 2011
7:19 am
Here is the link to the web page that this article originated from:
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/SEC-coaches-steve-spurrier-houston-nutt-bobby-petrino-defend-oversigning-030111
It points out who is guilty this season and what their explanation was.
woebegong
March 2nd, 2011
7:24 am
Druid City,
If Richt is our Shula, then surely you must be our “Captain of the Titanic”.
TopDog
March 2nd, 2011
8:16 am
Yes, McGarity needs to extend Coach Fox’s contract. It’s time UGA basketball stop being the “step” to the top. It’s time we be the top step! We can’t afford to lose him to a “basketball” school. We need to be that “basketball” school.
crossdawg
March 2nd, 2011
8:18 am
I’t too bad that adams had to attend the Athletic Board mtg. He should stay in his palace & let McGarity run the show.
PJT
March 2nd, 2011
9:01 am
Lurking Tech fan here – in the recent GT Alumni mag there was an interesting account of Tech’s departure from the SEC in 1963. (And yes, it was a huge mistake). The major sticking point was the 140 Rule – 45 signees per year and a max of 140 scholarships. Sound familiar? Oversigning has been around forever, it seems.
Good luck to Georgia in the NCAA tournament.
DawginLex
March 2nd, 2011
9:40 am
Looks like Bama screwed the pooch last night.
No NCAA
NIT
Gary
March 2nd, 2011
10:17 am
You hae to admit the oversigning seems to pay well for these coaches. Alabama, USC, and Miss St made big strides in their football programs in the last few years. One has to wonder if it is this procatice paying off. I am also for banning the practice. However, I would not do it at the conference level. It would need to come from the NCAA so the SEC does not put itself at a dissadvantage to other conferences who use this procatice. I would like to see the SEC ban any student kicked off a team for criminal or bad behavior banned from the SEC. It still irks me that Auburn won with Floridas Trash. Now LSU is taking Georgias sex offender. The practice is worng and it makes it less likely for a coach to get rid of these punks for fear of playing against them in the future. Let these guys play in another conference. But Auburn and LSU should not be dumpster diving for players. It really makes the conference look bad.
patrick
March 2nd, 2011
10:20 am
Fla signed 27 last year and 27 in 2007
bitter larry munson (9") size does matter
March 2nd, 2011
10:25 am
STOP–with the mecklenburger was a sex offender sh—, anyone who has not been in a bar and grabbed a girls tail either lieing or never had fun!!!!!!1
—–take a day off gary you dont have to be a @#$%^ every day!!!hahah
Spartacus
March 2nd, 2011
10:36 am
Nice midget………..Fold Tide Fold !!!!
DAWGMAN
March 2nd, 2011
1:41 pm
Nice to know that roundball team is competing well in the conference. coach richt should try to understand how this could be. Those are just ‘kids’ to the preacherman. Perhaps he could bring the b-ballers a sippycup for halftime.
Pope UGA XXIII
March 2nd, 2011
11:49 pm
Team looked good this evening, but LSU started 4 freshmen which
won’t exactly turn heads on selection Sunday.
UGA has a very good chance to win on Saturday @ Alabama and
should take the first round tourney game which should do it. Congrats
to Coach Fox, staff, and team for a very good season.
Meanwhile, down at North Avenue :
……….. gee, no postseason tourney for the insects from the Institute.
Gator Mike
March 3rd, 2011
9:43 am
Spurrier is also guilty at USCe. He is now just another coach who does not care about how this current recruiting game hurts young men.
Very disappointing.
Georgia football? LOL
March 5th, 2011
10:47 am
I really hope Georgia wins some games and stops being irrelevant. I am very tired of their fans crying, whining. And making excuses for their mediocre program. Georgia’s choke jobs to Colorado and UCF are not related to “Saban oversigning” or “Fairley’s Dirty Play” or “Spurier…” “Urban Meyet”…
STFU