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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A few changes coming...

I just want to give you guys a heads up that as much as I like this template, its lack of seeing comments without clicking into the post, being able to share posts easily, linking to other bloggers in a blog roll (which is very important to me) and other basic functions are dragging this thing down. Until I can figure it out, I'd rather have a drivable car than one that looks pretty on cinderblocks.

So, if the site looks a little different multiple times in the next few days, don't worry, you're still in the right place. I wanted to get everything locked down before I started writing, but I had things I wanted to write about more than I had a need to let the dust settle.

As always, any feedback is welcome on this redesigned site and any new redesigns coming up in the future. You can always reach me here.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Dawg-gone Podcast Show #18

With apologies to professional journalists or podcasters, I knocked the dust off the microphone and recorded a solo offering of the DGP last night for you guys.

Hopefully, the next time I record an episode, I'll have the Good Mayor T. Kyle King with me. If that happens, I can promise a much more credible show than this one. However, you do get the added bonus of me accidentally saying "Reggie Bush's Hymen," which is a treat in and of itself.

Topics covered include talking a little more in depth about the Jarvis Jones/KCP Scenario, the Brent Benedict conundrum and a quick plug for the Georgia Bulldogs 2011 Maple Street Press Annual. Also, I go on a nice rant about the NCAA, for all you haters out there.

You can listen to/download the podcast on iTunes here.
You can listen to/download the podcast in MP3 format here.
You can email me about the podcast or blog in general here.
You can also stream the podcast in flash format at the bottom of the page.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.




Monday, June 27, 2011

How big is Benedict's transfer?

Yesterday, UGA announced that Brent Benedict was leaving the program for "personal reasons." It had been speculated that said personal reasons were injury related, but rumors were also floating around that his decision was also based upon his attitude.

ECDawg, who writes over at Leather Helmet Blog, stated in a post today that he'd heard Benedict's decision was a little bit of both scenarios. Benedict felt he was physically unable to do some of the summer workouts with CES (who was hired to help with conditioning), and UGA thought he was either ready to workout or needed to take a medical hardship. Benedict decided that it was best for him to move to another school, sit out the necessary year to help repair his knee (which was injured two years ago) and then get playing time.

ECDawg also makes the excellent point that Benedict had not been practicing 100% with the team and wasn't expected to play this year, regardless of whether or not he was wearing a "G" on his helmet. So, his transfer really doesn't mean anything in regards to UGA's season in 2011. It just creates depth issues for later on this season should his knee be ready ahead of time, and creates serious depth issues for 2012.

Not everyone agrees with ECDawg that Benedict wouldn't have played this season, but everyone is in agreement that Benedict wasn't feeling like he was ready. It's a pretty simple truth that no one's playing if they don't want to play, and it was evident that Benedict was fearful of his knee. I can't say I blame him, because it happens with every player who has blown out his knee. Physically they may be ready, but mentally, it's very tough to make that comeback. It happens to a lot of players, so you can't blame Benedict in the slightest over what happened.

There's a bottom line here and that is UGA cannot afford any injuries on the Offensive Line. Not only that, but how does Richt tell his Line to hit hard, hit often and hit through pain when you're so thin that you can't afford to lose a guy to injury? Belue made this point and as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. This kind of fear towards physicality is what got this team in bad shape a few years ago. Now, whether we like it or not, the dichotomy is back again.

If you're tall, fat and physical, Coach Will Friend would like to have a word.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Corruption in Columbus...Georgia

This UGA offseason went from relatively quiet to a small fever pitch in a bit of a hurry. No, nothing earth-shattering has happened, really, but two quick bits of news in a 24 hour period do seem to have people talking.

First, let's tackle the Jarvis Jones & Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (KCP) debacle that's going on:

I tweeted yesterday on my personal account that there was an Auburn-esque type situation brewing in Columbus. Was it a little dramatic? Some could have seen it that way, but I don't. I used that language because this is a prime opportunity for both KCP and Jones to say that they had no idea about these benefits and let the NCAA handle it from there. Obviously, nothing came of the Newton saga than one day of ineligibility, and since then, the whole situation is just passed down info that sounds something like this:

"You just wait. On (insert future date within a two-week timeframe), the court documents will be unsealed and (insert random rich Auburn booster name) will take the stand and the NCAA will (obligatory NCAA "hammer" remark) on the program. They'll forfeit everything and will be sent back to (random historical reference that eludes to the Stone Age)."

Anyway, this is a really interesting situation. At this moment, Jones is only dealing with roughly $800+ dollars in extra benefits, which doesn't put him in terrible shape, as that amount of money can be repaid and I wouldn't see any need for extra time than 2-3 games. KCP is in about the same situation right now, as his extra benefits for his mom's cell phone only totaled about $280. However, it doesn't help his situation that he hung up the phone on the police when they talked to him and asked him to meet in person. Legally though, it's not too bad of an issue.

Personally, at worst I think KCP loses 6-10 games. That'd be the very worst case scenario I see right now. It honestly may be about five games total, as a similar situation from another AAU program was discovered that paid a player about $4100 and he is only serving six games, including one Big 12 tournament game from last year.

What UGA fans need to remember is that if nothing new is discovered, there's no need to worry about severe suspensions for each. However, there's never anything good about the NCAA sniffing anywhere around your program. Remember, it wasn't like AJ's jersey scandal was discovered by the NCAA until they went and asked him about a report that he'd been to an agent-sponsored party. They dug around in that and found out about the jersey. He was home free until that moment.

So what'd we learn here today folks? The moral of the story is that AAU is a cesspool and you never give the NCAA any information willingly.

I'll comment on the Brent Benedict matter in another post shortly.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Dawg Poets Society

I've been sitting on this news for a while now, but since the ever-wise Good Mayor T. Kyle King posted it up on his site, I can tell you guys that for the first time since ever, I will actually become a published writer. The book is the Maple Street Press Annual and it was headed up this year by the aforementioned Mayor.



You should do two things:

1) Pre-Order the book right now because it's only $9.99 (plus shipping), and really, you can't even get a gut load of Krystals after a bender for less than $10. I mean that's a STEAL, especially for a preseason magazine that covers everything from the on-paper tangibles to the intangibles that make up this 2011 team, season and rivalries.

2) Pay no attention to the other writers that contributed to this book. Why? Because they're all WAY better than I am and I feel totally inadequate being put with that group. We all know how well Kyle does his thing, but that list is a FANTASTIC one, full of eloquent writers, with southern flare and good humor. Seriously, this Annual is going to be great and I'm so very thrilled to be a part of it, no matter how intimidated I am.

But seriously, please do Kyle, the other writers and myself a big favor by snagging yourself a copy. You won't be disappointed.

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Welcome to the new site!

There are a long list of reasons why my readers (you guys) should never trust me when I say that I'm not intending on putting them through yet another change of address. Those reasons are completely justified as you have read me at the original Dawg-gone Blog, Bleacher Report shortly after it was launched, The Examiner and then Beyond The Trestle.
However, there is only one reason why this current space would cease to be what it is at this very moment. That reason is money.

You see, if I ever find a way to make an extra bit of green out of this hobby, then so be it. Right now, the only chance that exists in that area is if Clay Travis decides he wants me to write for him. Needless to say, that's a long shot of epic proportions, even if it'd be totally cool.

So, please bookmark this new site. At the very least, I'll be posting the podcast here, as I'm sure that even if I did get a paying gig writing for someone else, they wouldn't approve of the blatant homerism I show in the podcast, and I have no intent on changing that anytime soon.

Thanks so much to all of you for sticking with me, not only through this change, but the previous ones as well. I'm going to try and make this all as painless as possible. 

Until next time kids.

Be safe.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Working on Commenting

If anyone knows how I can create a "comment" button on posts without having to click and go directly to the post, please let me know. That one's got my brain steaming a little bit.

Other than that, I'm working on getting a "Share" button added to posts as well, so people can email, Facebok, Tweet, etc. the posts that they read.

It's a work in progress, so bear with me. I didn't build this template, but I love its design. It's just that since I didn't build it, I don't know how the bricks are placed. Once I figure that out, hopefully some things will come together.

Monday, June 20, 2011