It is really, truly, irrevocably the offseason. The Super Bowl (a/k/a the methadone program for college football fans) is done. High school players' letters of intent have been signed, sealed, and delivered. Heck, we're still 56 days away from the G-Day game, and even Bloggerpalooza '08 is liable to consist mostly of possible Democratic National Convention delegate Doug Gillett attempting in vain to persuade me to vote for a guy whose name sounds like the answer to a Carnac the Magnificent question.
The last time we elected as president a political novice from the Prairie State, my home town was burned to the ground and my great-great-grandfather was confined to a prisoner of war camp run by the U.S. government, so Doug's going to have a pretty tough time getting me on board the Barack Obama bandwagon.
Here are a few items of interest deserving of our notice this weekend:
- We begin, regrettably, with some sad news, as Joshua Willis, a 19-year-old former football walk-on for the Red and Black, died from injuries he suffered in an automobile collision earlier this week. Our sympathies go out to Willis's friends and family.
- As noted previously by Joel, Peter, and Orson, the balloting for the 2007 College Football Blogger Awards has been delayed briefly due to technical difficulties. We apologize for the inconvenience, but the voting should commence on Monday.
- The Georgia women's tennis team had a bad day yesterday, falling in the quarterfinals of the I.T.A. National Women's Team Indoor Tennis Championships with a 4-0 loss to Georgia Tech in a clash of top-six teams. Fortunately, the second-ranked Red and Black men's tennis team fared better yesterday, posting a 7-0 shutout win over Georgia State.
This mention of University of Georgia tennis is accompanied by an obligatory photograph of Dan Magill.
- Adam Nettina of Pitch Right fame has moved on to his new home over at Under Center, where Adam broadcasts a weekly show at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. Give him a listen.
- Special thanks go out to reader Will, who e-mailed me with a link to this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, which confirmed a point I previously made regarding Mark Richt's buyout clause. Notes Tony Barnhart with respect to the coach with the 119th-hottest seat in Division I-A:
By contrast, Urban Meyer has a $500,000 buyout and Nick Saban has no buyout at all. I'm sure that's in no way indicative of those coaches' devotion to their respective schools, though.
Go 'Dawgs!