It was a full weekend sandwiched between two very full business days on Friday and Monday, so I’m behind, which leads me to believe there may be a few other folks in Bulldog Nation who could use a brief refresher course on where we stand this Tuesday morning. Here are a few points offered for the good of the order while you check your voice mail and knock back a cup of coffee:
A pair of players from Bulldog diamond squads were honored by the league on Monday, as Paige Wilson was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this softball season and Alex Wood was named SEC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this baseball season.
We already knew that the Georgia men’s golf team would be hosting an NCAA Regional in Athens, but we only just learned which clubs would be joining the Red and Black in the Classic City. The Bulldog men will compete as the No. 4 seed, behind third-seeded New Mexico, second-seeded North Florida, and top-seeded Alabama. Last year, Georgia finished the season as the national runner-up.
Unfortunately, the Red and Black men’s lacrosse team will not be participating in national tournament action, as the MCLA National Championships will feature No. 14 seed Virginia Tech as the field’s only SELC team. The 2012 bracket also includes Pittsburgh, with whom the Bulldogs forged a tie en route to a 13-3-1 record and a No. 19 final ranking to cap off a very successful season.
Rumor has it that the Big 12 may be looking to raid the ACC to replenish the diminished numbers that render the integer in its conference nomenclature even sillier than that of the Big Ten. Though Fort Hill sources have rebutted the scuttlebutt, even the possibility that the Big 12 might snag the Clemson Tigers and the Florida St. Seminoles in reaction to the SEC’s poaching of the Missouri Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies leaves me livid. If the Jungaleers and the Tribe were in play, why didn’t we just go and get the two teams that made the most cultural, geographical, historical, and financial---yes, financial; because SEC games are televised nationally rather than on a regional cable channel, new markets matter less than increased viewership, which Clemson and FSU clearly could deliver---sense? It increasingly is apparent that Mike Slive repeatedly has been outmaneuvered in this whole conference realignment debacle.
Go ‘Dawgs!