Archive for the ‘Focal’ Category

GREENSBORO, Ga. — We’ll have a full story later, but here are the quick highlights from this morning’s UGA Athletic Association board of directors meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation:

• UGA President Michael Adams and athletic director Greg McGarity said the contract extensions still are not completed with head football coach Mark Richt and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.  McGarity did say for the first time that Richt’s new contract will keep his salary “basically the same” — about $2.8 million per year — as his current deal but that the incentive bonuses, for things such as winning SEC and national championships, will be doubled as a way of “rewarding excellence.”  As previously disclosed, three years will be added to Richt’s contract, extending it through 2016, and two years to Grantham’s, extending it through 2014.   McGarity said again that there are no major unresolved issues with the contracts. Adams attributed the delays to routine legal …

Continue reading Performance bonuses will be doubled in (still unfinished) Richt contract »

Georgia is expected to step up with more years and more money to keep Mark Richt and Todd Grantham together to lead the Bulldogs' football program.

ATHENS – The Georgia Athletic Association end-of-the-year board meeting is scheduled to get started tomorrow morning at the Ritz Carlton Lodge on Lake Oconee. Actually, current and emeritus members will gather there to socialize tonight, then commence with business first thing in the morning.

And I’m expecting a lot of business to be conducted. UGA so far has offered only a very vague agenda for the meeting, which lists things like “AD’s Report,” “New Projects” and “Financial Update” and the like. But the most important item of business isn’t spelled out there and we all know that it’s going to take place (likely during AD’s report).

Georgia is expected to finally reveal the details of football coach Mark Richt’s new five-year contract. Legal representatives for both Richt and the university have been dickering over the final …

Continue reading Raises coming for UGA football coaches Mark Richt, Todd Grantham »

ATHENS — I’m over here in the press box at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex watching the No. 6-seeded Georgia women take on 11th-seeded Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tennis Championships. The Lady Bulldogs won the doubles point, so it’s 1-0 and Georgia is up a set at all six singles positions.

Georgia Tech’s women’s team played earlier today and lost to No. 9 California 4-0. That ends the Yellow Jackets’ season at 16-12. The men get underway tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I’ll take this opportunity to catch you up on some other news happening in and around Athens and UGA sports.

I dropped by the UGA Golf Course before here to catch the end of the NCAA Athens Regional. Georgia is hosting 12 other teams in that event, with the top five advancing to nationals. They’ll play 36 more over the next two days to determine which teams advance.

The Bulldogs had a so-so day, closing strong to finish at 4-under as a team and in fourth place. But they were shown up by some visitors, including …

Continue reading NCAA golf and tennis underway at UGA, softball on Friday »

ATHENS – Alex Wood didn’t make many mistakes. But when he did, South Carolina made him pay.

Georgia’s crafty left-hander had allowed only five base runners and one solid base hit all night when Gamecocks third baseman L.B. Dantzler turned on an inside pitch and launched it off the top of the scoreboard in right field for a home run and 1-0 lead in the seventh.

South Carolina scratched across another run in the eighth on a two-out single by Evan Marzilli — the inning ended with Marzilli getting thrown out at second base — and scored again on a two-out, two-strike squeeze bunt in the ninth. It was was a stunning display of opportunism at its finest.

On the flipside, Georgia left nine runners on base, stranded the bases loaded in the sixth and left empty-handed after getting back-to-back singles to start the ninth. It was the epitome of wastefulness.

Therein was the difference. Two-time defending national champion South Carolina 3, Georgia 0.

“We never answered all day,” Georgia …

Continue reading Opportunistic Gamecocks best Bulldogs in pitcher’s duel, 3-0 »

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Alex Wood has been like a block of granite at the front of the Bulldogs' rotation. (AP photo)

ATHENS — For no other reason than the opportunity to see Alex Wood pitch in what will likely be his final home start as a Georgia Bulldog, Friday night would be a great time to come to Foley Field. But then throw in the added element of opponent and stakes, and it’s understandable why tonight’s game against South Carolina is already sellout.

Wood, a redshirt sophomore left-hander from Charlotte, is arguably the SEC’s best pitcher. Tonight, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week is on the hill against the No. 4-ranked and two-time defending national champion Gamecocks (37-12, 16-8 SEC). The Bulldogs (28-21, 12-12) not only need to win this game but at least one more to enhance their position to qualify for the SEC tournament and ultimately for an NCAA tournament at-large bid. After this weekend’s three-game series, a Teusday game against East Tennessee State …

Continue reading UGA pitcher Alex Wood relishes matchup against defending champion Gamecocks »

Georgia's Friday starter Alex Wood (6-1, 2.64) is a big reason the Bulldogs believe they can get this weekend's series against No. 4 South Carolina off to a good start. (UGA photo)

ATHENS — Tough loss for Georgia last night to Georgia Tech. On a designated “staff night,” in which the Bulldogs planned on getting innings for several midweek pitchers, they simply could not come up with enough quality innings and fell 8-6. Seven pitchers gave up seven walks and Georgia’s late rally came up short. Here’s a link to Ken Sugiura’s GAME REPORT.

“We pitched poorly tonight, and I take the blame for that as we just can’t do that this late in the year,” said Georgia coach David Perno. “We wanted to keep guys fresh for the upcoming South Carolina series, but we needed to do better tonight.”

In case you’re keeping count — and you can bet these two teams are — that’s the third consecutive season the Yellow Jackets have gotten the edge in the three-game series. Georgia leads the overall …

Continue reading Diamond Dogs must shake off Tech loss, get busy in SEC »

The Georgia Bulldogs and coach Manny Diaz just added more SEC hardware to their crowded trophy case. (UGA photo)

Georgia is good in tennis. Everybody knows that. But sometimes it’s hard to truly appreciate the level of success the Bulldogs enjoy in that sport.

Georgia’s men’s team captured their 34th SEC championship this past weekend in Starkville, Miss. Just let that number wash over you for a few seconds. Then think about this one: The title was the 14th for coach Manny Diaz. That’s one more than the legendary Dan Magill, for whom Georgia’s vast tennis complex is named.

“Last night on the bus ride home it kind of hit me — I mean, 34, my Lord,” said Diaz, still groggy after rolling in at nearly 2 a.m. Monday. “It’s a lot of championships and just a whole lot of guys who made it happen. And I was thinking about Coach Magill. In my mind, this was for him.”

Magill, 91, was Diaz’s coach at Georgia and Diaz served as his assistant for many years.

As it often has, Georgia’s …

Continue reading Georgia ‘peaking at right time’ after capturing 34th SEC tennis title »

Following a legend such as Suzanne Yoculan, who won 10 national championships, has proven difficult Georgia gymnastics coach Jay Clark. (AJC photo)

Suzanne Yoculan reflects on her early years as Georgia’s gymnastics coach and laughs. She is best known today for her 10 national championships at UGA but she was known for a lot of other things when she started out in the mid-1980s.

“I used to throw shoes across the room,” Yoculan says incredulously. “I would take my shoe off and wing it across the room at a girl because I was mad at her for something. I’m not kidding. I learned a lot those first few years.”

Yoculan shared that experience to illustrate how much there is for young coaches to learn. Yoculan points out that her successor at Georgia, Jay Clark, is also a young coach and is having to learn on the job. For that reason, she said, fans need to be patient with him.

“He hasn’t taken his shoe off and thrown it across the room,” Yoculan quipped, “so …

Continue reading Gym Dogs still making transition to Life After Yoculan »

ATHENS – Greetings from Sanford Stadium on an absolutely gorgeous Saturday afternoon. It’s 75 degrees and there isn’t a cloud in the sky that I can see from the South side press box.

The teams just came on the field to start their warmups for the 3 p.m. start. The Red Team, featuring the No. 1 offense, is dressed in red jerseys. The Black Team, featuring the No. 1 defense, is in white jerseys. If you’re unable to be here for the game, you’ll be able to watch a television replay at 5 p.m. this evening. In the meantime, the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network is broadcasting the game so check your local networks to listen in.

There’s been a lot going on in Athens all day. The baseball team is playing Ole Miss up at Foley Field. There was a fundraiser for Kasyn Olivadotti — the 4-year-old daughter of UGA linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti — who is battling Leukemia (check the Kasyn Cares Fund at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to see what you can do). And there was a flag football game …

Continue reading It’s Red vs. Black as UGA’s annual G-Day gets underway »

Athens – South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was in midseason form when he talked to ESPN’s Chris Low in a wide-ranging spring practice interview this week in Columbia.

The barbs were flying for the Gamecocks’ outspoken coach, and both Georgia and defending national Alabama were zinged in the process.

Asked about having to play the Bulldogs in October now rather than in the second game of the season under the previous schedule, Spurrier couldn’t resist taking a shot.

“I don’t know, I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended,” Spurrier said.

Informed of Spurrier’s remarks after Georgia’s practice Thursday evening, coach Mark Richt just laughed.

“How ’bout that; I think that that’s funny,” Richt said after a hardy chuckle. “That sounds like Steve.”

What makes it particularly funny is Spurrier has been so lax on discipline. His previous quarterback Stephen Garcia was suspended five times …

Continue reading Richt gets big laugh out of Spurrier’s latest jab »

UGA golf coach Chris Haack (middle) with UGA alums Angie and Bubba Watson during the UGA Stadion Classic in Athens in April 2011. (Photo by Bulldawg Illustrated)

ATHENS – Bubba Watson wasn’t the only one shedding tears of joy after the UGA graduate tapped in a one foot putt to win the 76th Masters golf tournament. One hundred miles away, Georgia golf coach Chris Haack and his longtime assistant Jim Douglas ended up in a tearful embrace in the living room of Haack’s Bogart home.

Haack, Douglas, some of Georgia’s current and former players and some extended family from Roanoke, Va., gathered there to watch the final round of the Masters on Easter Sunday. With Watson, a 2000-2001 Bulldog letterman, starting the day three shots off the lead, it began as a casual hope-fest. But when Watson bagged victory on the second playoff hole, it ended in a full-fledged bark-a-thon.

“It was pretty intense; it was crazy; a great time,” said Haack, his voice still hoarse and raw with …

Continue reading UGA’s Haack ‘exhausted with jubilation’ after watching Bubba Watson win Masters »

ATHENS — Georgia’s roster took another hit on Saturday.

Marc Deas, a redshirt sophomore safety from Kississimee, Fla., has decided to quit the team due to lack of playing time and is seeking a transfer, coach Mark Richt said after Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I talked to him yesterday and he said he just wasn’t getting the opportunity for playing time he’d hoped for,” Richt said.

Deas joins defensive lineman Derrick Lott, who made a similar decision on Friday.

That makes 11 players who have quit, been dismissed or are facing suspension since Georgia’s Jan. 1 bowl game.

More to come later. . . .

Continue reading Sophomore safety Marc Deas latest Bulldog to quit, seek transfer »

ATHENS – Back at “The Butts” today covering Georgia’s second spring football practice. There’s not a lot of new info but I’ll supply some quick updates. In the meantime, I’ll clean out my notebook from yesterday’s first practice:

• Yesterday I reported that Georgia’s No. 1 offensive line starting out is LT Kenarious Gates, LG Kolton Houston, C David Andrews, RG Chris Burnette and RT Watts Dantzler. For what it’s worth, the second line looks like this: LT Mark Beard, LG Dallas Lee, C Hugh Williams, RG Hunter Long and RT Austin Long. So you’ve got a walkon at center and brothers playing side-by-side on the right.
• Same players wearing green: WR Rhett McGowan, WR Chris Conley, OT Xzavier Ward, OT Zach DeBell, OLB Sterling Bailey.
• Linebacker Ramik Wilson was not at practice for the second straight day due to a “a personal, private issue,” according to Richt. He was not ready to divulge the reason for Wilson’s absence but did say it was not a disciplinary situation. We’re supposed to …

Continue reading No new surprises for Georgia as second spring practice underway »

ATHENS – Quick observations from my first (short) glimpse of Georgia’s spring football practice. We only got about 20 minutes, but here goes:

• When they initially broke out into teamwork, the tailback rotation went as follows: sophomore Isaiah Crowell first, then senior Richard Samuel, then sophomore Ken Malcome, then true freshman Keith Marshall. Not sure if it means anything or not but that’s the way they went in and out as they worked fast through two-minute drill. . . . In case you missed it earlier, rising senior Carlton Thomas has decided to leave the team while seeking a transfer.
• Samuel, who had two ankle surgeries following the Florida game last fall, was limping noticeably but working throughout.
• Malcolm Mitchell, as expected, was working exclusively with the defensive backs and looking good doing it. His 6-foot-1 frame looks taller working with among the DBs. He made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder, one-handed grab during one drill. Had on white jersey and didn’t …

Continue reading TB Isaiah Crowell working with No. 1 offense at outset of spring practice »

ATHENS — So much for a nice, slow Monday.

Last week, Georgia scheduled a press conference for football coach Mark Richt for today to discuss the relatively mundane details surrounding next week’s start to spring football practice. As it turned out, news came pouring in from multiple directions.

• The day started with news breaking of starting cornerback Branden Smith’s arrest in South Alabama for marijuana possession. Richt confirmed that was the case and that he had spoken briefly with Smith. Later, AD Greg McGarity confirmed that the arrest would mean a mandatory suspension of up to two games at the discretion of the head coach.
• UGA also released the news that it had reached agreements on new contracts for Richt and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Richt received a new five-year deal that will extend him through the 2016 season. Financial details are “still being tweaked,” according to McGarity, but Richt is expected to receive a slight raise from the $2.81 million salary …

Continue reading Mark Richt gets new 5-year contract, Grantham extended 2 years »

Georgia's Nemanja Djurisic (42) was an offensive and defensive force to be reckoned with in the Bulldogs' first-round win over Mississippi State. He'll have to be again tonight against Vanderbilt. (AP photo)

NEW ORLEANS — There were a number of reasons Georgia was able to dispatch Mississippi State in such a dominating fashion Thursday night. Nemanja Djurisic was a big one.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound import from Montenegro became the Bulldogs’ first post player to record a double-double all season when he scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the 71-61 victory in the opening round of the SEC Tournament. Five of Djurisic’s rebounds came on the offensive end. He added a 3-pointer, an assist and a steal.

“Nemanja is a better player now,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said of the freshman. He’s more experienced and he’s just more comfortable. . . . I thought his effort on the glass was critical to the game. Obviously he made some real key plays for us.”

Two plays loom …

Continue reading Bulldogs need more of same from Djurisic against Vandy »

ATHENS – They won’t go down as one of Georgia’s most accomplished bunches and many that should be among them won’t be when the Bulldogs’ seniors are honored before Saturday’s regular-season finale. But all-in-all they were darn good Dogs, according to coaches and teammates.

Four players will be recognized during Senior Day festivities before the Bulldogs tip off against South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum. On paper they are a four-year letterman (Dustin Ware), a transfer (Gerald Robinson) and two walkons who stuck it out and earned scholarships (Matt Bucklin and Connor Nolte). But all of them are equal in their contributions to the team in the eyes of head coach Mark Fox.

“Because we lost those guys early, all the responsibility of leadership and scoring and teaching guys to defend all kind of fell on those seniors,” said Fox, who’s in his third season with the Bulldogs. “This has probably been as dependent as we’ve been on a senior group, ever really, …

Continue reading Georgia’s seniors fought hard to fill void left by NBA defectors »

Georgia and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) will face a tall task against Anthony Davis (23) and Kentucky on Thursday at Rupp Arena. (AP photo by John Bazemore)

ATHENS — To be clear, Georgia coach Mark Fox says he doesn’t care about Georgia’s eventual finish in the SEC regular-season standings or what seed it gets or which game it plays in next week’s SEC Tournament.

“We don’t ever worry about that,” Fox said Monday. “I think the only time you ever worry about a lot of that is if you’re in a position to get a bye and we’re not in that position. Our focus with this group all year, as young as we were, was just to try to win the next game and keep getting better. That’s how we’ll approach it this week as well.”

For those who do pay attention to record and seeding, this is a very big week for the Bulldogs (13-15, 4-10 SEC). Coming off an impressive 76-62 upset of No. 12 Florida this past Saturday, Georgia wraps up the regular season with a road game against No. 1-ranked Kentucky …

Continue reading Bulldogs head into final week battling to stay out of SEC’s last place »

Georgia starting cornerback Sanders Commings has been suspended from the first two games of the 2012 season by coach Mark Richt as a result of Commings’ arrest last month.

Commings, a rising senior, will miss the Sept. 1 season opener against Buffalo in Athens and the Sept. 8 SEC opener at Missouri, UGA announced Wednesday.

Commings was arrested by UGA Police on Jan. 21 on a charge of domestic violence/simple battery. He allegedly struck his girlfriend during a late-night argument in downtown Athens, police said at the time.

Commings has a March 22 arraignment scheduled in Athens-Clarke County state court. The incident also has been under investigation by UGA’s Office of Student Conduct since Jan. 23.

Commings, who is from Augusta, has played in all but one game the past three seasons. He started all 14 games last season, when he led the team in pass breakups (12) and tied for fourth on the team in tackles (55).

Richt announced Commings’ suspension via a news release from UGA …

Continue reading Georgia CB Sanders Commings gets 2-game suspension »

If you missed it -– and if you did here’s the story -– there was a pretty interesting meeting of the UGA Athletic Association board of directors yesterday at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.

The board got another upbeat financial report and voted to spend almost $4 million on several facilities projects (details in story), but the two topics that might interest you the most pertained to Mark Richt’s contract extension and a college football playoff.

UGA President Michael Adams pronounced the parties “in 98 percent agreement” on Richt’s contract extension and said the remaining 2 percent “is just minor details.” Adams said the executive committee of the athletic board could reconvene by teleconference to approve the deal when it is done.

As for a playoff, Adams added to the recent indications that momentum is finally building toward one, telling the executive committee: “My best guess is we’re going to end up with either a four- or eight-team playoff by the time we get to ‘14.” …

Continue reading Two hot topics from UGA Athletic Board meeting »

With an 8:05 p.m. tip, Georgia’s basketball game against Arkansas Wednesday night was one of those slam-it-in-for-print kind of games. So following is a recast of my game story on the Bulldogs’ impressive 81-59 win updated with quotes from players and coaches, some minor tweeks and some addition quotes at the end.

ATHENS — Two teams on divergent paths met at Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday night. But it was the one supposedly heading downward that came out on top.

Georgia, which won one of its eight games during the first half of the SEC schedule, started the second by doubling its conference total with a 81-59 victory over Arkansas. The Razorbacks (16-8, 4-5 SEC) came in with wins over three ranked teams but searching for their first SEC road victory.

The Bulldogs (11-12, 2-7) got a career-high 27 points from senior guard Gerald Robinson — including 17 in the first half — along with five assists and SIX rebounds as the SEC’s worst offensive team trumped the league’s …

Continue reading Georgia finally puts it all together in win over Arkansas »

ATHENS – Happy National Signing Day to you.

For college coaches and recruitniks everywhere, today is the big day. Today we find out who’s going where and, in many cases, if they’re going where they said they would. The latter may apply quite often today for Georgia. The Bulldogs have been working hard to try to flip a few elite prospects who are committed elsewhere, while also fighting to hold onto some of their own, of course.

I’ll be at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall following the drama all day long, and there figures to be plenty. For up-to-the-minute news on commitments, be sure to follow me on Twitter.com @ajcuga and get the news as soon as I do.

Here’s what we know:

• Georgia has 17 commitments coming into national signing day.

By rule it could sign as many as 10 more but is not expected to do so. But ideally the Bulldogs would land five or six more than they currently have — assuming, of course, all the commitments remain committed.

• It appears to be a solid class that …

Continue reading Lots of recruiting drama on horizon as Georgia welcomes national signing day »

With national signing day bearing down on us and a plethora of UGA news swirling, it seemed like a good time to dust off  . . .

THE TEN AT 10

1. With the commitment of Memphis defensive back Sheldon Dawson on Monday, the Bulldogs now sit at 17 public commitments heading into national signing day. It does not appear that they’ll receive any more announcements before the official letters-of-intent start rolling in at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall early tomorrow. Meanwhile, don’t let Dawson’s original commitment to Memphis fool you. He committed to the Tigers before last season when he lit it up both offensively and defensively for Ridgeway High and showcased what has been reported as 4.4-second, 40-yard speed. By the end of his recruitment, Dawson claimed more than 20 offers and the majority were from major BCS programs such as Ohio State, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

2. Now Georgia looks to close strong, and it has the opportunity to do that. Probably the most important …

Continue reading Ten@10: UGA gets first DB in Dawson, now needs more O-linemen »

Georgia's John Florveus sends Tennessee's Cameron Tatum packing with this blocked shot in a defensive slugfest Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum. (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com)

ATHENS – To look at the stat sheet handed out at the end of Georgia’s 57-53 overtime win over Tennessee Wednesday night, one would think Marcus Thornton had little to no impact on the proceedings. The sophomore from Atlanta’s line read: 23 minutes played, zero points, 1 rebound, 4 personal fouls.

But to the man who fills out the lineup card for the Bulldogs, there was not a more important contributor.

“I was really pleased with our defense and, I gotta tell you, the main reason was Marcus Thornton was back,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “He gave us an element we’ve been missing since he’s been out.”

Thornton, a 6-foot-9 power forward, has been out since going down with a knee injury in the Furman game on Dec. 23. Shortly after Christmas he underwent arthroscopic surgery and has remained …

Continue reading Thornton returns as Bulldogs beat Tennessee 57-53 in overtime »

ATHENS — Greetings from Stegeman Coliseum where I will be covering tonight’s game between the Georgia Bulldogs (9-8, 0-3 SEC) and the Tennessee Vols (8-9, 1-2).

I’ll be in a tight deadline situation with tonight’s 8 p.m. tip — the game is being televised on the SEC Network — so I won’t be doing any live blogging. However, I’ll send out an occasional tweet with details from the game if you care to follow me @ajcuga.

• Following are a few notes and quotes about tonight’s matchup that will hopefully provide a little insight:
• Game is first of three-game homestand. Others versus Ole Miss and Kentucky.
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is Georgia’s leading scorer 14.5 ppg
• Dustin Ware expected to get second straight start at point guard.
• Georgia and Tennessee have split their last four games.
• Georgia hasn’t started 0-4 in SEC play since 2009 when it lost its first nine in coach Dennis Felton’s last season. The Bulldogs finished 12-20 that season and 3-13 in SEC play and Felton was fired with …

Continue reading Important hoops game for Georgia and Tennessee at Stegeman »

ATHENS — I’ll be writing more about this later but I figured I’d go ahead and share the information with you.

Twenty-seven UGA athletes will be graduating with degrees on Friday. Among those will be 10 football players.

To me, their stories are always the best to tell. Some of them are finishing up at the end of their playing careers, like Justin Anderson, Bruce Figgins and Trinton Sturdivant; some have more time to play, like Richard Samuel; and others have been coming back to complete degrees after playing pro ball.

No matter which, they’re all happy endings and I think we all enjoy those.

Like I said, I’ll profile one or two in the next day or so. In the meantime, here are the names of UGA student-athletes getting their sheepskins this week. Congrats to all.

Football players

• Justin Anderson, Ocilla, Ga., Housing
• Nic Clemons, Griffin, Ga., Child and Family Development
• Candler Cook, Atlanta,Ga., Management
• Eric Elliot, Kennesaw, Ga., Risk Management and …

Continue reading Ten football players among 27 athletes graduating from UGA »

Greetings from Athens. Once again, it’s Georgia vs. Georgia Tech — this time in hoops. Eleven days after the rivals met in football at Bobby Dodd Stadium, they’ll convene tonight for the 188th time in men’s basketball. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum, where Tech hasn’t won in 35 years. Tickets are available. The game will be televised on Fox Sports South. If you missed it, here’s a preview of the game from today’s AJC:

State of the teams

Tech was picked to finish 10th in the 12-team ACC and Georgia eighth in the 12-team SEC — prognostications that reflected two programs in transition. Georgia lost last season’s two leading scorers and rebounders, Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, to the NBA draft, and other than a pair of senior guards the Bulldogs have a young team that coach Mark Fox labeled “as green as the New York Jets.” Tech also lost its top scorer and best player, point guard Iman Shumpert, to the NBA, and the Yellow Jackets have no seniors on the roster except …

Continue reading Dogs vs. Jackets tonight in Athens »

Greetings from inside the Georgia Dome, where it is 72 degrees and sunny even in here. It’s so bright and clear outside it’s actually shining through the off-white teflon roof. Too bad they don’t have an outdoor stadium today.

OK, let’s go ahead and get it out of the way. I’ve already seen Isaiah Crowell today, dressed out and warming up with the rest of the Bulldogs. Whether he actually plays or not I cannot tell you for certain. I asked UGA publicist Claude Felton just 45 minutes ago and he did not know, referring instead to head coach Mark Richt’s statement Friday that it would be a “game-time decision.”

It’s almost game time, so I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

For what it’s worth, Richard Samuel was not warming up with the backs.

Perhaps just as important is the health of starting defensive end DeAngelo Tyson. His availability was in question all week with an ankle injury that knocked him out of the Georgia Tech game on the first series. But he was moving around pretty …

Continue reading Isaiah Crowell dressed out, Bulldogs ready for LSU »

Former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley, star of the Bulldogs' 2005 SEC Championship victory, does volunteer work in the CHRIS Kids Facility in East Atlanta on Thursday. (Special photo)

Long after their Georgia football careers ended, a group of former Bulldogs are still doing good works for the SEC.

Brothers Matt and Jon Stinchcomb, both All-American offensive linemen while at UGA, teamed up with former quarterbacks David Greene and D.J. Shockley, defensive lineman Quentin Moses and defensive back Kelin Johnson to represent Georgia as part of the third annual Allstate SEC Good Works Day in Atlanta on Thursday. They joined representatives from other SEC schools to help out with several community service projects in East Atlanta.

Working in conjunction with the SEC and Hands on Atlanta, the initiative benefited CHRIS Kids, a local organization that provides safe and stable living environments and offers mental health services for children and families. The Georgia players, …

Continue reading Several former Bulldogs still doing good work for the SEC in Atlanta »

THEY SAID IT

Following is a transcription of comments made Tuesday by Georgia head coach Mark Richt and various players during the the Bulldogs’ weekly media gathering at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. . . .

COACH MARK RICHT

Opening statement:

“We have Georgia Tech coming up. Coach (Paul) Johnson and his staff have done a fantastic job during the time he’s been there. They are really an outstanding football team and one that we really have a lot of respect for and one that we know we have our work cut out for us. Anybody who has ever played Coach Johnson’s offense, they know it’s an awful lot of work to get done in a short amount of time. We’re thankful that we don’t have school this week. It helps us to get in a few more walkthroughs and a few more meetings.

“The toughest part for us it to get the scout team to try to vaguely resemble it. It’s hard to simulate what we are going to experience during the game. That will be one of the greatest challenges of the week as …

Continue reading Richt: ‘Can’t imagine the atmosphere being anything but electric’ »