As Ferris Bueller rightly noted, life moves pretty fast, so much so sometimes that it becomes nearly impossible to keep up with every item of note, but have no fear, Bulldog Nation, because Dawg Sports is here to get you up to speed on newsworthy events of interest to partisans of the Red and Black, so buckle up and grab onto something, because we’re about to run through the latest like shot through a gun:
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There goes the neighborhood! Because the game of conference musical chairs wasn’t exciting enough the last couple of offseasons, we’re now interrupting actual college football with news of potentially radical realignment in Division I-A. The ACC, long believed to have been sitting there sweating out the possibility of being publicly revealed as the SEC’s farm system, added Pitt and Syracuse out of absolutely nowhere, prompting reports that West Virginia was on the verge of becoming the SEC’s 14th team.
Not that I wouldn’t enjoy the opportunity to exact a little revenge on the Mountaineers for the 2006 Sugar Bowl, but I could not be more strongly opposed to this move. I get that we’re defining "Southeastern" fairly liberally now, but, if having seceded in the 1860s isn’t a prerequisite to membership in the SEC, surely having seceded from a state that seceded in the 1860s still constitutes a disqualification. Insofar as being near desirable markets without being able to deliver those markets is concerned, West Virginia is Missouri with weaker academics and in a less enticing vacation destination.
If the SEC winds up with West Virginia, it will mean that Mike Slive was blindsided and outmaneuvered by the ACC. If that happens, Slive should resign. As a matter of fact, if that happens, Slive should commit ritual suicide to restore the lost honor of his ancestors, but I’ll settle for his resignation. - If we’d done this five years ago, the SEC would be bragging about winning four straight College World Series championships. I meant to give this news the attention it deserved when downindixie pointed it out a few days ago, but Greg McGarity negotiated an exception to Georgia’s contract with Nike which will allow the Diamond Dogs to use other manufacturers’ bats. McGarity deserves kudos for addressing this situation, about which I don’t want to say I told you so (even though I told you so). It will be interesting to see what hardware the Red and Black carry into the batter’s box with them for Monday afternoon’s scrimmage at Foley Field.
- Around these parts, "playing like a girl" is a compliment. Though outside hitter Kathleen Luft recorded 17 kills on Sunday, Kentucky claimed a 3-1 victory over Georgia in the volleyball match in Lexington that dropped the Bulldogs to 0-2 in conference play. Fortunately, the Red and Black received better news from other fields of athletic endeavor, as the Georgia men’s and women’s cross country teams both prevailed in the Georgia State Invitational at the Nash Farm Battlefield in Hampton, beating Clayton State, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, and West Georgia, among others. The weekend was capped off by Kate Fuller’s and Lauren Herring’s rebound from a 2-0 deficit to claim an 8-2 doubles victory over the country’s sixth-ranked twosome, which, along with Maho Kowase’s undefeated run through the weekend’s singles matches, paced an effort by the Georgia women’s tennis team that produced a 12-8 record in singles and a 7-2 record in doubles over the course of the Georgia Tech Invitational.
- The Feel Bad Stat of the Week arrived a little early. I’m irritated with Justin Houston for disrespecting his former coach, but I sure wish he was still in Athens: Georgia has one sack so far this season.
- I’m just glad we don’t have to keep bragging about Newman from "Seinfeld." As initially reported here by Mark Mandingo, University of Georgia alumnus Kyle Chandler won an Emmy for "Friday Night Lights." Every follow-up comment that pops into my head---from "Chandler is now the second-most distinguished Kyle to have attended the University of Georgia in its history" to "tankertoad isn’t sold on Chandler as a potential replacement for Mark Richt until he learns whether the actor plans to bring in a Hollywood strength and conditioning coach"---comes across as snarky, so I’ll just congratulate Chandler on his achievement and send him our best wishes for representing the University so well.
There’s a better than average chance I’ve overlooked an important tidbit, so, if you have any news (or observations regarding any news) to share, please feel free to offer your insights in the comments below.
Go ‘Dawgs!