It's Friday. I've checked the channel lineup for tomorrow and there is no college football whatsoever. I have a problem with that. You have a problem with that. The many Georgia Bulldog fans/musical trendsetters who help make ours one of the most desirable schools in the SB Nation conference re-draft have a problem with that. Thus we present Free Form Friday, a brunswick stew of college sports miscellany, pop culture prattling and aimless jawboning which we hope will carry us through until September.
Maestro, turn up the amps, cue the guitar, and pull on your vintage Bulldog teeshirt. It's time to rock:
Let's hash this thing out once and for all. In light of the recent community discussion on the distinction between brunswick stew and hash, I thought I'd take this opportunity to link to a fine chronicle of Garden & Gun magazine contributing editor Hunter Kennedy's search for authentic South Carolina barbeque hash. I've always been more of a brunswick stew man myself, but to each his (or her) own.
Maybe it will carry more weight coming from the Goal Line Stalker. By now you've probably heard that Herschel Walker was in Athens over the past couple of days talking to (and working out with) current Bulldogs, including the incoming freshmen. The money quote from He Who Shall Not Be Tackled:
"They’re going to get out of it what they put in. What you’ve got to put in is hard work, you’ve got to go to class. You’re here to play football. You’re not here to go to bars, to go out drinking or to chase girls. You’re here to play football and get your education."
That's what we've been saying for years around here, but since neither Kyle nor I has a Heisman or an MMA career, it may be a bit harder to get the kids to pay attention.
Don't say podunkdawg didn't warn you about this, Terrelle Pryor.
Let's Hope For Some Happy Campers. The annual one day Mark Richt prospect camp gets underway this weekend in Athens, and there are a host of highly rated high school football players in town, including Tallahassee cornerback Travis Blanks and St. Pius X corner Geno Smith. Brandon Beaver won't be there so far as I know, even though Rivals recently had a headline up indicating that a lot of people were chasing him. The 'Dawgs currently have 6 commitments for the class of 2012, and an unusual amount of offseason attrition has opened up room in a class that originally might have been as small as 16 players.
One thing to keep an eye on will be the number of players for the class of 2013, rising juniors, who will be on hand. The state of Georgia is especially loaded for 2013 at the linebacker spot, where 3 players (West Laurens' Johnny O'Neal, Troup County's Reuben Foster, and Central Gwinnett's Trey Johnson) may be among the top 10 players at their position when those rankings are released.
There should also be several offensive linemen coming into town trying to earn an offer. With the recent attrition along the offensive front (and given recent history), it's a safe bet that at least one new offer will go out.
There are also several guys coming who may decide to commit to Georgia while in the Classic City. In that regard keep an eye on Pierce County fullback Quayvon Hicks. I really like this guy and would be thrilled to see him in the red and black. We really need another big, bruising fullback in the Wall/Southerland/Chapas mold, and Hicks could be that player.
Mott The Hoople however is right on, man. Am I the only one with certain inexplicable aversions to particular music? That is, is there anyone besides me who has certain songs and/or artists whom they simply cannot listen to? I'm not talking about those which just obviously don't fit your particular style. I for one couldn't tell you what Britney Spears' last single was. I hear her and change the channel. I'm just not her target audience. But aside from Britney I also have an inexplicable yet very real aversion to Jethro Tull. All Jethro Tull. "Aqualung" on down the catalog. I can listen to, and in fact quite enjoy, almost every other major rock act of the 60's and 70's, avante garde or otherwise. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, you name it, I like it. King Crimson? Sure. The Who? Absolutely. But Jethro Tull just grates on me. Maybe it's the flute. I don't know. I understand that others really enjoy them. But everytime I hear that flute I'm changing the station. I don't recall any traumatic childhood events which occurred while listening to Thick As A Brick." So it's kind of a puzzler. I do know why I hate Hoobastank though. It's because hearing "The Reason" more than once per hour incites psychotic breaks in even the most sane of people. So I don't really need help with that one.
I'm a college football blogger with crappy taste in movies. It always ends like this. So, I finally had a chance to go see The Hangover 2 last weekend. The verdict? Not as good as the original, yet still weirdly entertaining. Suffice it to say that the shock value of the first movie was increased by approximately 50%. It is set in Bangkok after all, which is essentially Las Vegas except 12 times larger and 120 times less organized. Things . . . happen there. But I think the subtle humor of the first movie just wasn't quite there this time around. I'll still probably be getting it on DVD though. I can't help myself, and my poor wife can really only watch the Godfather trilogy and Pulp Fiction so many times.
Everybody have a great weekend.
Go 'Dawgs!!!