Occasionally a story comes along that has little or nothing to do with University of Georgia athletics, but is just too good not to show up on this page.
Case in point, this offseason report from CBS Sportsline detailing Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's summer chill time with his good buddy . . . Russell Crowe. That's right, Lloyd Carr knocking 'em back on the Australian riviera with General Maximus Decimus Meridias himself. Carr refers to Crowe as "a hell of a guy", and says that the two got in touch after Crowe heard about Carr showing the Wolverines Cinderella Man for motivation.
While it is an odd fit at first glance, I realized upon further reflection that the two really do have a lot in common. Por exemplo:
In A Beautiful Mind, Crowe's character is haunted during his college years by a brash roommate of his mind's own creation(played by Paul Bettany). Lloyd Carr is haunted during college football season by a colleague in a sweatervest (played by Jim Tressel).
In Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Crowe plays a captain whose single-minded obsession leads his crew to doubt him, before he is ultimately vindicated. During the 2005 season, Admiral Carr was doubted by even some of the staunchest Maize and Blue supporters, before acquitting himself nicely in 2006.
In Gladiator, Crowe's Roman General character is confronted by jeering Germanic barbarians. His classic response: "On my signal, unleash Hell." Last year Lloyd the Great was confronted under similar circumstances by Charlie Weis. His response? "On my signal, unleash Manningham."
As usual, I'm incredibly behind on this story, as The Big Lead featured not only the story, but some funny Gladiator-themed quotes in the comments weeks ago. My favorite: "As a USC fan, I'm imagining him on the sidelines during a pass play yelling 'Hold!' repeatedly at Chad Henne until he gets sacked." A little late? Yes. Still Lloyd-tastic? Oh yeah.
"Some directional schools just don't know when they're conquered. Hey Henne, lob me one of those cauldrons of boiling pitch, will ya?"
In other news, Mark Richt is reeling them in faster than I can size them up. So after doing some actual legal work, I'll be back this evening with some thoughts on (not so) new UGA defensive end commitment Jeremy Longo.