I swear I’m trying to get back into the swing of things after being away for a week, but I’m not quite there yet, between the stack on my desk at the office and whatever persistent sinus-related ailment struck me as soon as I returned home, but don’t worry, because I still have enough energy left to bring you the latest data requiring your attention. These are they:
There is precious little actual sports news in Bulldog Nation, yet still we are able to parse the minutiae of the EA Sports NCAA Football ‘13 team rankings and the oddsmakers’ early betting lines. The former, frankly, are unmitigated nonsense; if you weren’t convinced of that by the fact that the Red and Black offense is rated higher than the Athenians’ defense, you should’ve been persuaded by the fact that Georgia and Alabama were awarded identical rankings. In any case, it’s just further proof that EA Sports doesn’t know the first thing about college football.
Regarding the projected point spreads, I think some of them split the difference---there’s no way the Georgia Bulldogs will beat the Kentucky Wildcats by 17.5; either we’ll win that game by six, or we’ll win that game by 32, but it’ll be one extreme or the other---but I totally buy the idea that the ‘Dawgs will lose to the South Carolina Gamecocks by four. I know just how it will happen, too. Both defenses will hold both offenses scoreless, Jadeveon Clowney will sack Aaron Murray in the end zone to make it 2-0 late in the third quarter, and we’ll take a knee in the end zone on third down to make it 4-0 late in the fourth quarter.
In the major league baseball draft, Levi Hyams was selected in the 19th round to join teammate Alex Wood as an Atlanta Braves farmhand, while Kyle Farmer was tapped by the New York Yankees in the 35th round. By the end of the 40th and final round, the Diamond Dogs had seen three present players, and five high school signees, taken, with one current collegian and three prep prospects going in the first two rounds, while the rest hung around until the second half of the draft, or close to it. Former Bulldog Zach Taylor went to the Philadelphia Phillies in the twelfth round.
Finally, and sadly, Ray Bradbury died at the age of 91. The famed author likely was best known for Fahrenheit 451, which contained the timeless line: ”If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you'll never learn.” May he rest in peace.
Go ‘Dawgs!