(Author’s Note: Ere I get down to the business of being glib, permit me a serious aside at the outset. There is news of a shooting in College Station, so please be sure to say a prayer for our new conference coevals, the Texas A&M Aggies, and their entire community, in the wake of this senseless tragedy.)
As you may have noticed, it has been a slow posting day here at Dawg Sports, but fear not, for there is news of note, and we are delivering it to you, albeit belatedly. (The good news, though, is that, since it took us more than 30 minutes to get it to you, it’s free!) Please settle in this Monday evening as we bring you up to date on everything you need to know to be a fully functioning denizen of Bulldog Nation (assuming of course, that you already listened to me on "Taylor Made Sports" earlier tonight):
Let’s start with the Auburn Tigers, our oldest (and fiercest, I’m telling you!) rivals, who have made news in a bunch of ways lately, and none of them are good. JaQuay Williams, for whose services Georgia remained in the mix until late in the recruiting process, has not been cleared academically to report for duty on the Plains. Meanwhile, Auburn commitment Reuben Foster is being questioned by the NCAA concerning his flip from the Alabama Crimson Tide to the Plainsmen. Why, what cause could the NCAA have for suspecting Auburn of shenanigans in the recruitment process? Oh, yeah . . . right!
To top it all off, Auburn Hate Month has begun for the Clemson Tigers. I applaud our Fort Hill neighbors on their fine taste in opponents to despise, but I reject the premise of “Auburn Hate Month.” Dude, in Bulldog Nation, we celebrate “Auburn Hate Millennium”! (I hate Auburn.)
On the Red and Black recruiting front, the Georgia Bulldogs have added Tampa Plant safety Paris Bostick to Mark Richt’s list of 2013 commitments. Bostick is the 25th player who has stated his intention to sign with the Classic City Canines next February.
The 2012 Olympics have concluded, and Georgia Bulldogs accounted for seven total medals, including four gold. Both those tallies placed the Athenians third, behind the second-place Tennessee Volunteers (ten total, five gold) and the SEC-leading Florida Gators (18 total, six gold). That’s not a bad haul for the Classic City Canines, but did we have to wind up behind two division rivals?
Apparently, the NCAA is getting pretty serious about having players keep their helmets on during games. Consider yourself forewarned.
Though our primary focus has been on the Olympiad that just concluded and on the football season that commences between the hedges in just 19 days, the Bulldogs have been busy in multiple sports, as Georgia swimmer Megan Romano took top honors at the U.S. Open with victories in four events, Mark Fox’s Hoop Hounds toured the “other” Coliseum before beating All-Star Italy by 17 points, and Red and Black soccer star Alexa Newfield was named to the College Sports Madness preseason all-SEC team and to the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy watch list. Newfield and her teammates, who recently completed their intrasquad scrimmage, are set to open their autumn at home at 7:00 p.m. Eastern this Friday, August 17. If any member of the Dawg Sports community would care to attend the game, take pictures, and author a game recap in the fanposts, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance we’ll promote it to the front page.
Finally, I received an e-mail this week from a member of the Redcoat Band, who was kind enough to enlighten me to the fact that the Redcoats are making a concerted effort to encourage the singing of the lyrics to the fight song during the band’s pregame performance. What that means for the fans is that we need to (a) learn the lyrics, if we don’t know them already, and (b) show up in time to be in our seats well before kickoff. The Redcoats are working hard to represent Bulldog Nation well; let’s all do our part, too.
Go ‘Dawgs!