Larry Munson: He made being a "homer" acceptable

The job of a radio sports broadcaster is to objectively relay the events of a given sporting event,  showing no favoritism towards either side, and to use statistics and facts to add information to the broadcast.

Buffalo bagels.  At least, that's how Larry Munson probably looked at it. 

Larry Munson, the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs for 42 years, passed away yesterday at the age of 89.  He was one of the most beloved radio voices in the country, and had absolutely none of the qualities that you would expect to be present in a successful broadcast journalist.

How does a gruff sounding guy from Minnesota, who served as an Army medic, and played piano for Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra get to be one of the most famous voices in all of college sports?  Like Lennon and McCartney said, it's a "Long and Winding Road"

But if you want biography and odd facts about Munson, then hit up Google or Wikipedia.  This article is going to be told from the viewpoint of a guy who grew up during the UGA heyday.  I was in Jr. High and High School during the 1980's.  When Vince Dooley ruled the south, the Atlanta Braves were but a mere afterthought, and Deion Sanders was still electrifying crowds in Doak Campbell Stadium rather than Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium.  From 1980 to 1986 it was all about The University Georgia in the Atlanta area, and Larry Munson was the voice of our generation. 

He wasn't even from Georgia, yet he embraced the Bulldogs as his own from the time he first began his broadcasts for UGA in 1966.  He had a gravelly, menacing tone to his voice, and he didn't always worry about getting players numbers, or even names, correct at times.  His broadcasts were laced with "we" and "us" and "they", as if Munson himself were on the sideline helping to coach the team along.  This was never more evident than in 1982, in the game against Auburn.  The SEC title was on the line, and Munson barked into the micorphone at the Georgia defense, "I know I'm asking a lot, you guys, but hunker it down one more time!"

He was the ultimate "homer", often ridiculing and needling the opponents after a Georgia victory (the famed "hob-nailed boot" call against Tennessee comes to mind), and never made excuses for wanting to cheer his beloved Bulldogs on to victory.  I think it was this lack of concern for the basic rules of broadcasting that made him beloved by both listeners, and his peers alike.  He sometimes spoke and couldn't even manage to come up with eloquent verbiage to sum up this thoughts.  But  even in his lack of vocabulary, somehow it still sounded good coming from Larry.  Sentences like "we'll try to kick one a hundred thousand miles", and "We just saved our whatchamacallit by some grace of some whatever!" became oft repeated standards in the pantheon of Larry Munson calls.   He was unorthodox, at best.  But what made Larry Munson the jewel that he was, was his ability to paint pictures with his words.  No matter how rural the colloquialism, no matter how absurd the reference, the words that came out of Munson's mouth managed to give you a perfect image of what was happening on the field.


Munson retired from broadcasting in 2008, but prior to every home game in Athens, the images of Bulldog legends past and present flash on the big screen, set to the sound of the Redcoat Band playing their arrangement of "Battle Hymn", with Larry Munson's voice booming forth the mantra of the Bulldog Nation:

Glory, glory to old Georgia!


Heroes have graced the field before you: men with the hearts, bodies, and minds of which the entire Bulldog nation can be justifiably proud.



A tradition of unbridled excellence demonstrated by these individuals and many others spans more than a full century.


And now a new breed of Bulldog stands ready to take the field of battle to assume the reigns of their Georgia for-bearers and continue that tradition, understanding that there is no tradition more worth of envy, no institution worthy of such loyalty, as the University of Georgia.


As we prepare for another meeting between the hedges, let all the Bulldog faithful rally behind the men who now wear the red and black with two words—two simple words which express the sentiments of the entire Bulldog nation: Go Dawgs!

There should be a steel folding chair with a padded seat with Muson's name on it perched permanently in the press booth at Sanford Stadium, so that every broadcaster that graces that booth will be reminded of "Run Lindsay!!" and every other memorable call that will forever echo the concrete and glass high above the hedges. And if you are too young to have ever gotten to hear Larry Munson call a game live, more's the pity.  For while you can go and listen to recordings of his more famous calls, nothing will ever top the excitement and spontaneity of hearing him call it as the action happened, when you would say "Did he really just say that?".
  
So, farewell Larry.  Keep that sugar falling from the sky for us, will ya?  

Fantasy Team

Several of you have asked about my fantasy team/league.  Can't link you directly to it because it's a closed league, so here is my lineup.  If you want to join us, we play in the ESPN FFL.  League name is "League of Extraordinary Wings" 

Join us next season!  

Here's my lineup.  hasn't changed much through the year.

QB	Aaron Rodgers, GB QB
RB	Reggie Bush, Mia RB
RB	Frank Gore, SF RB  P
RB/WR	Devin Hester, Chi WR  P
WR	Jabar Gaffney, Wsh WR
WR	Laurent Robinson, Dal WR
WR/TE	Julio Jones*, Atl WR  O
TE	Scott Chandler, Buf TE
DP	Clay Matthews, GB LB  P
DP	Ndamukong Suh, Det DT
D/ST	Bears D/ST D/ST
K	Nick Novak, SD K
P	Dustin Colquitt, KC P
HC	Patriots Coach HC
BENCH
SLOT	PLAYER, TEAM POS
Bench	BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE RB  Q
Bench	Kellen Winslow, TB TE
Bench	Hines Ward, Pit WR
Bench	Anthony Fasano, Mia TE  P
Bench	Santonio Holmes, NYJ WR  P
Bench	Curtis Painter, Ind QB
Bench	Titans D/ST D/ST

Ok Tebow, I admit it. I was wrong.

Oh, Tebow is still not going to last long term as a quarterback in the NFL, that I'm sure of.  But, in other respects, I must confess to having Mr. Tebow all wrong.

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with my loathing of anything Gator.  To me, its just a character flaw if you make the conscious choice to attend that university that shall remain unnamed.  But Tim Tebow is much more than I gave him credit for being.  His performance with the Broncos over the past five games has been nothing short of miraculous.  He has willed Denver to wins when it seemed all hope was lost.  For the last few games, he has played nearly 4 full quarters of mediocre to horrendous football, only to follow it was a few minutes of glorious heroics that NFL films couldn't have scripted any better.  

Beyond that, Tebow has shown has that his faith and devotion to his beliefs were not just "P.R".  It's become clear to everyone that watches this young man that he means what he says, and will back it up.  Just listening to his teammates glisten about him is proof enough.  When you play as badly as Tebow has played, and yet your teammates are not only NOT dogging you, but are praising you and giving their unfettered support to you, that's an accomplishment. 

Now, I can do without the whole "Tebowing" craze.  It's a bit much for me.  And certainly the media constantly shoving Tebow in the faces of the national sports world causes a fair amount of the Tebow hating that you see going on.  So I just want to put a few things in perspective, lest I be thought of as a hater, or a Tebow-maniac.  When it comes to this phenomenon, I will remain neutral.

Fact: He's winning games.  Well, he's contributing in no small way to the victories.  But, if he was to play like even an average quarterback, the last minute heroics wouldn't even be necessary.  Denver could have been comfortably ahead in a lot of these games. 

Fact: He's only had a handful of starts.  Which means what?  Well, defenses are still studying films. They are learning tendencies and seeing where the chinks in the Tebow armor are.   Like any quarterback that's new in the league, there will be stunning moments where people say "Where did he come from?"  But, as defenses learn him, and learn the system that Coach John Fox is molding to fit his skills, things will become inherently tougher for Tebow.

Fact: He lacks a lot of good fundamental quarterback skills.  This has been pointed out by experts time and time again.  His footwork is terrible.  He has an enlongated throwing motion.  His accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.  His reads are really bad.  He doesn't check down well.  The list goes on.  If he wants to survive and make his game complete, he'll have to improve in most, if not all, of those areas.

Fact: He makes plays happen.  When the play breaks down, and Tebow has to improvise, that's when he's most dangerous.  He can beat you with his legs, and he can make you commit to going after him, allowing even his inaccuracy to find an open receiver.  He hates giving up on a play and will do whatever he can do make a positive gain out of it.

Fact. The Broncos, with Tebow running this offense in this manner, are one-dimensional.  They've been somewhat lucky.  The've eeked out some last minute (or even second) wins, and have been the beneficiary of playing some not-so-talented teams during this stretch.  But good defenses thrive on teams that can only run, or only pass.  If the passing game can't become more consistently integrated into their offense, the Broncos are going to be in trouble. 

So, when all is said and done, I think people on both sides of the Tebow argument have good points.  I think what needs to halt is the Tebow-hating in general.  He's shown that he is genuine and hard working.  He's shown that he'll accept whatever role that he's given.  And he's shown that given the chance, he'll do his darndest (taken right from the Tebow-tionary) to win games.  And winning is what it's all about.  The question is, how long can Denver win like this?

Falcons Coach Mike Smith got it right! Video Blog

Here's a link to my video blog about the Falcons overtime loss to the Saints, and the supposed "bad call" by Mike Smith.  {Coach Smith Got It Right}

Hope you enjoy!!

Briefly (or, stuff that's too long to tweet)

Sometimes I get a lot of thoughts running around in my head (the kind that kept me out of the really good schools), and I don't get a chance to tweet them because they are too long.  Yeah, I know there are "apps" that will allow you to tweet longer, but that kind of removes the entire charm of twitter, doesn't it?  So...here are a few musings.  Let's get the NBA ones out of the way first.

Want to resolve this whole NBA lockout?  Lock David Stern and Billy Hunter in a room, and make them watch an endless marathon of "Blue Chips" and "Celtic Pride" until one of them cries for mercy.

Hey NBAPA...there's a song you should listen to. Closely.  "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers.  Google it now.  You'll thank me later.

I'm convinced this lockout isn't really about money, or the system, or any of that nonsense.  Does nobody else see the correlation of the Modern Warfare 3 release, and the meltdown of these talks?

The debate is up as to whether the NHL or college basketball will benefit more from the NBA lockout.  My money is on Hulk Hogan's Micro Championship Wrestling,

Finally, a question for the players.  Got your pencils out?  Ok.  Ready?  What's 53% of $0   Bueller? Bueller? Frye? Anyone?

Maybe history will repeat itself, and Georgia will win the SEC championship, and then get to demolish an undefeated but overmatched Houston team in the Sugar Bowl..leading to an over-bloated #1 preseason ranking next year for the Bulldogs.

I say that from this day forward, any broadcaster that uses the phrase "Dialed Up" or any conjugation thereof, should be remanded to covering water polo in Myanmar (though, you may know it as Burma)

It seems as though Harry Potter has set a dangerous precedent.  Now it looks like we'll have to suffer through TWO movie installments of the final "Twilight" book?  Here's a better idea...And then Buffy staked Edward.  The End. 

Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, and The Rock are all making their comeback to the WWE.  Reliving the 90s in professional wrestling, only this time they'll call it the "Attitude with Naproxen" era.

Bob Davie to New Mexico huh?  Hey Lobos...here's a tidbit for you, “If [first-year Irish coach] Charlie Weis gives a clinic, I'm going. I'm on the bandwagon now.”  - Bob Davie

This whole Penn State situation is like a giant yellow onion.  You just keep peeling layer upon layer upon layer, until all you're left with is a slimy little core that makes you cry. 

Like most politicians, Obama has let a number of his campaign promises slide.  I wonder if the BCS issue is the one that will keep him from being re-elected.  How dare he put healthcare before the health of our college football postseason.

I bet Ndamukong Suh's favorite character in "The Karate Kid" is Tommy.  You know..."Get him a body bag...yeaaaaahhh!" 

Rex Ryan (insert snarky, snide, or politically incorrect comment here)

The longest running network series in the history of U.S. television is "Meet the Press", now in it's 63rd season. The longest running episodic series in the history of U.S. television is "WWE Monday Night Raw".  Odds on cross sections of shared viewers? 

Fan: "We want a college football playoff!!"  BCS Sith: "You don't want a playoff, you like the system we have now"  Fan: "Ha! Your mind tricks won't work on me.  I'm not not one of the 1%"

Thanks all.  I feel better now. 

Tony LaRussa - Replacing a Legend is Never Easy

Dan Marino, John Elway, Don Shula, Joe Torre, Brett Favre...all legends in their respective jobs.  All left legacies of seemingly insurmountable numbers.  All eventually had to be replaced.  And with the exception of Favre, (Aaron Rodgers has certainly made most of Green Bay say "Brett who?")  a suitable replacement has truly yet to be found for any of these men.  Yeah, I know Girardi has won a World Series with the Yankees, but let's face it, New York will never be happy with whoever is running that show.  Replacing a legend is never an easy task, and now the St. Louis Cardinals are faced with the daunting task of finding someone to fill the shoes of manager Tony LaRussa, who announced his retirement following the Cardinals improbable playoff run and World Series victory this year.

LaRussa's career as a manager is nearly unparalleled.  A .536 winning percentage over 33 years, 5 pennants, and 2 world series titles.  In all 33 years he only managed three different teams (White Sox, Athletics, and Cardinals), and had a winning percentage above .500 with all three teams.  That's astounding.  His 2728 wins as a manager place him 3rd all-time, only behind Connie Mack and John McGraw.  He was manager of the year 4 different times.  There may be managers who have won more overall titles,  but I can't think of any manager who did more with less during so many seasons, and who had such unmatched respect and loyalty from his players.

So how does St. Louis go about finding someone to fill LaRussa's shoes?  They don't.  You can't do it.  All you can do is go out and find the best fit for your team, and go from there.  Sometimes you get lucky, and the right person just falls in your lap (see: Aaron Rodgers above), but usually it's a hit-n-miss type game.  Since Dan Marino retired in 1999, the Dophins have had 17 different quarterbacks start games for them.  Since John Elway retired in 1998, the Broncos have had 11 different quarterbacks start games for them.  And, from 1966-1995 the Dophins had only two head coaches.  Since Don Shula's retirement in 1995, they have had six. So, as history shows, replacing a legend can be, at best, a frustrating job.   

Now for their part, the Cardinals have hired their former Gold Glove catcher Mike Matheny to take over the reins of the team from LaRussa.  Matheny doesn't have any real managerial experience, or coaching experience at a professional level.  But the Cardinals wanted to keep it in the family, so to speak, and go with someone that had a high level of respect and trust within the organization.  "I know there's a high level of expectation," Matheny said. "If I didn't think I could handle it I wouldn't have walked into the interview process."  Brother, you ain't just whistlin' dixie.  Perhaps a call to Joe Girardi would be in order. 

The Cardinals have one of the most loyal and knowledgeable fan bases in all of baseball.  So every roster move, every press conference, hell...every sneeze is going to be scrutinized under the hubble telescope-like eyes of the Red Bird Nation.  It's not an enviable position to be in, to be sure.  Only time will tell if the Cardinals have hit paydirt with the Aaron Rodgers of replacement managers, or if this will be the beginning of a "welp...that one didn't work too well" type list.  For the sake of a great baseball franchise, I truly hope it's the former. 

BCS (insert random acronym joke here): Do we have a choice?

It's that point in the college football season when the BCS rankings are starting to matter, and the debate is beginning to heat up.  Yes, the Bowl Championship Series rankings.  It brings about the yearly ritual of bashing the college football world's answer to having a playoff or other post-season tournament.

There are a lot of problems with the BCS, the least of which is its given name.  There is no "series" for the championship, and as of a few years ago, the bowls that participate in this farce don't even really play a part in deciding the champion.  There is just a one off game that pits #1 vs #2.   So how is this a "bowl championship series"?   It's not.  Not by a longshot.

Another problem is the fact that outside of the championship game, nothing is TRULY decided on the field (defenders of the BCS will say that it's decided on the field during the regular season).  But it's a convoluted algorithm of polls, computer rankings, and style points that decide who will be crowned our national champion.  Where's the poetry in that?  Seriously, we haven't advanced beyond what we used to have with just the polls, except now we've added a "big game" and taken all of the meaning that used to be in the bowls completely away.

Problem 3...Not everyone is invited to the party.  Certain conferences are "BCS Conferences", while others are not.  If you don't play in a BCS Conference, your chances of getting into a BCS Bowl (less yet the championship) are about as good as Milli Vanilli getting their Grammy award back.   So now we have teams jumping from conference to conference like they were hopping lines at the DMV, trying to figure out which is the best one to get them do their destination of a title shot.  And so, conference regionality has been compromised, and with that, the traditions of the bowls that had been tied to those conferences.

Thanks to the the BCS, over the past 10 seasons bowl games have lost all relevance (hence we now have 34 bowls, plus the championship game)  As an AD, are you really going to impress a recruit by having a "Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl" trophy in your trophy case?  We've also lost the magical time of having all those great bowl games crammed into the space of about 3 days. Was there anything better than the combination of turkey, dressing and football overload between Dec.30th and Jan 1st?  This year the first bowl game will be played on Dec. 18th.  The national championship game will be played on Jan. 10th.   That's 23 days from the start of the college post-season until it's culmination.  Yet, one of the arguments by the keepers of the BCS is that a "playoff system would drag out the season too long for the students"  Hello kettle?  This is pot calling...yeah, your black.  We've also lost any significance that winning your conference once had.  Used to be, if you won the Big Ten or Pac-10, you were on your way to the Rose Bowl, and probably had a shot at being the champion when all the dust cleared.  No more. No.  We don't want that kind of drama.  Just give us a clear cut 1vs 2, right?  That's MUCH better.

How about the issue of preseason and early season rankings.  One of the reasons that Auburn was denied a shot at playing for the championship in 2004 was because of their low preseason ranking.  It took them an entire season of running undefeated through the SEC gauntlet before anyone was even talking about them, and by then, it was too late.  Why do we even have preseason rankings?  What type of clairvoyance do these pollsters and voters have that nobody else in the football world is privy to?

But, what are our choices?  The fans and players are all clamoring for a playoff, but do you really think that the corporate sponsors who have invested millions upon millions of dollars in these bowl games are going to just walk away from that?  Do you think that those same sponsors as well as the executive committees representing the bowls aren't prepared sue the NCAA if they were eliminated? So is there a way to combine conference championships, bowls, and playoff system into one neatly wrapped package?  All good questions, that nobody seems to want to even attempt to answer. But, there has to be a better world than this.  There just has to be.

There is hope.  This year could be the year that the BCS finally self-destructs and returns to the bowels of hell from whence it came.  Right now there are 2 undefeated teams in the top 10 (LSU, and Oklahoma St).  It's more than possible that both of those teams could lose at LEAST one game before all is said and done.  So let's say they both lose one each.  We could have TEN teams with only 1 loss, all of which could have legitimate claims to be able to play in the national championship game (and let's not forget, Houston could still be unbeaten...but oh, Non-BCS.  Nevermind).  So if that happens, maybe the computers would simply melt down trying to calculate the points, the pollsters would begin to have seizures from their brains trying to sort the mess, and the BCS Conference Commissioners would end up in a 6 man battle royale.

Whatever the solution is, let's just settle it on the field.  Win your conference (no matter what conference), have a shot at the title.  It's that simple.  Take the bowls, keep their conference affiliations, and use them as a playoff system.  Sponsors are happy.  Things get settled by the players instead of the voters and computers.  And we get to see 2 teams play for the championship that WON their way there....even if it is Boise St.  (Yeah, I'm gonna get a lot of hate mail for that one)

It wasn't supposed to end this way...

You know, I had lots of ideas for this post, what with all the compelling sports stories going on right now.  LaRussa, Georgia and Mark Richt's resurgence, The Game of the Century...the list goes on.  And then, the entire administration of Penn State University has to go and push the self-destruct button.  So..like a lot of people, I've waited.  I've just watched this horrific story unfold piece by piece.  Every time I thought "OK, now is a good time to write about it", something else reared it's ugly head in this situation.  With the announcements made today, I'm just going to jump in with both feet.  Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead, men!!

This should be one of the most memorable falls on record in Happy Valley.  There was an early snow in the northeast, the Nittany Lions are contending for a conference championship, and Coach Joe Paterno broke the record for most wins by a college football coach.  Instead the revered State University nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania find's itself in the national spotlight for entirely different reasons.  Penn State is embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal involving former defensive coach Jerry Sandusky, with the school's entire administration in tow.

Now I'm not going to even try to pretend that I know exactly what happened, who knew what, who saw what or who is legally culpable for this whole mess.   But I do know this.  The administration of PSU, and the PSU Athletics department failed miserably at it's task in whole.  I also know this.  Who gives a rat's ass about football right now?  Too many people are trying to turn this into a story about Coach Joe Paterno.  Admittedly, Paterno played a role in the entire sordid mess, but he should not and cannot be the focus of it.  There are many victims, some of who have not even come forward yet, who need to have our ears, and our hearts.  Students marched at PSU in support of JoPa?  Hey kids, how about marching for the young people who have suffered irreparable damage due to the alleged actions of one man, and the failure to act by an entire administration.  That being said, because I'm a sports journalist, I will for now focus on the sports angle of this story.

Right now, in State College, Pa., boards are meeting, resignation papers are flying around, and heads are rolling.  People all over are calling for Joe Paterno's immediate resignation.  There are rumors that former Pa. Governor Tom Ridge could be stepping in as an interim President for Penn State.  The Pennsylvania State Attorney General has called out anyone who might be a victim, know a victim, or have any information regarding this case.  This will not end pretty no matter what happens...and the said thing is, it wasn't supposed to end this way.  At least not for Joe Paterno.  Today, it was reported by the AP, that Coach Joe Paterno has offered his resignation, to commence at the end of the season.

Coach Paterno was nearing the end of his coaching career no matter what.  This may or may not have been his last season even without the events of the past week.  He broke the coaching wins record, PSU was going to be going to a bowl no matter what, and the program seemed to be on an upswing.  It would have been a great time for him to just step away, and receive all the praise, accolades and love that he had so deserved as one of the greatest coaches in history.  Now, he'll just step away.  His name will forever be mentioned with disgust, and will always be associated with this scandal. Going forward, any attempt at marching him onto a stage to present him with any type of "lifetime achievement" award will be met with skepticism and undoubtedly a huge chorus of "Are you kidding me?"  If the allegations that have been presented are true, then in the strictest sense, Joe Paterno did not break the law.  He was given information about some alleged inappropriate behavior taking place in the athletic building, and he reported that information to his superiors (laughable term in this case, I know) at the university.   So, as the Pa. State Attorney General Linda Kelly stated in her press conference, he "did was he was legally obligated to do", although it was clear in her expressions and tone of voice that she felt differently.  And she's right to feel that way.

If Joe Paterno can sleep at night knowing that he did everything within his power (and believe me, that man has a LOT of power) to keep these atrocities from continuing to happen, then I say peace go with thee to him.  But I doubt very seriously if he can rest with that knowledge.  If the allegations are true, then Paterno did little more than was necessary to try to protect his liability, but still also protect the university and his friend, Sandusky.  When the truth finally comes out in this case, and we see just how many victims there were, and how long this had been going on (right now, cases are stated back to 1993), I think it will be clear that Joe Paterno was no less at fault in this case than the doctor who was just recently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.   In my opinion, when it comes to these types of crimes, if you stand by and do nothing...you are guilty.  As an educator of young people, and an employee of the State, it was his job to protect young people....not his reputation and his friends. 

So, so long JoPa.  You have forever tarnished the image of the university that you claim to love so much.  You were a cog in a dysfunctional machine, and now you will just sit and watch that machine be completely obliterated.  It wasn't supposed to end this way for you, and for that I'm very sad.  But I can't even say thanks for the memories anymore...because none of us will really ever want to remember this.

UPDATE:  Earlier this today, the Penn State Board of Trustees had an emergency meeting in which they decided that the time for change was now.  University President Graham Spanier and Coach Paterno were both ousted by the board, effective immediately.  And the dominoes continue to tumble...

Week 10 Picks - And a smackdown

Ok, didn't do any picks last week.  I traditionally refrain from making picks during Georgia/Florida week...superstitions are a bitch.

Now I know normally I do all the Non-SEC Top 25 picks first, and then all the SEC, but we are going to break from tradition today, and lay a little smackdown.

Today is one of those rare #1 vs #2 matchups in the regular season.  Always a lot of fun to be had.  Now, that being said, and with all the hype surrounding the Bama/LSU matchup, I saw an interesting tweet this morning.  @BTNTomDienhart said "This is why I love Big Ten football. Southerners don't get it"  (This of course has already drawn the ire of a number of people on Twitter, but we won't get into that. Go check the thread yourself).  But I do want to say this (and I hope it creates a shit storm, and some nice discussion on here) Big Ten football is second rate, not even as good as Pac-12....and brother, that's saying something.  You have a weak conference.  You slide into big bowl games just as a matter of being press darlings, and then blow them (the games, not the press...well...nah nevermind).  If any Big Ten football fan thinks that their team could hang in the SEC, they should just tighten the straps on those sleeves that are tied behind your back!  

So, for the most IMPORTANT and RELEVANT game of the week...(2)Bama beats (1)LSU by a TD.

Now back to our regularly scheduled picks:

(3) Oklahoma St over (14)Kansas St. - I've picked against Okie St. twice this year..not falling into that trap again until they play the SEC in a bowl
(4)Stanord over Oregon St.
(5)Boise St. over UNLV
(6)Oklahoma over Texas A&M - But it's gonna be close. The Sooners weaknesses are showing
Washington over (8)Oregon in a big upset out west
(10)Nebraska over Northwestern
(13)Houston over UAB
(15)Michigan over Iowa
(17)Michigan St. over Minnesota
(19)Arizona St. over UCLA - Another potential upset there, but I don't think the Bruins have the firepower
(20)Wisconsin over Purdue - The Boilermakers are just what the Badgers need for a remedy
Texas Tech over (21)Texas
(24)West Virginia over Louisville
(25)Southern Miss over East Carolina

And now for the games that will make a difference :

Vanderbilt over Florida - Yes, Vandy to beat the Gators in the swamp.  Vandy has looked really good the last two weeks, even in losses.  Gators are primed for an upset.
(18)Georgia over New Mexico St. - It's homecoming, and even with the makeshift backfield the Dawgs will cruise
Ole Miss over Kentucky
Tennessee over Middle Tn. St
(7)Arkansas over (9)South Carolina
Miss St. over Tenn. Martin

Those are the picks, and all the picks that are fit to print.  Now let's see if some Big Ten feathers got ruffled enough to comment here.  Bring it, midwestern lackeys!!

College Men's Basketball Preview Recap

Who say's there's no basketball going on in Atlanta yet?  On the 2nd of Nov. I had the privilege of attending the 2011 Men's College Basketball Preview Luncheon.  The annual event is hosted by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, and is a way to wet the appetite of college basketball fans throughout the state, and this year, for fans to get the chance to meet 3 first year coaches.  The luncheon featured the head coaches of The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University.  And special guest Don Meyer was presented with the Naismith Outstanding Contributor award.  The event was emceed by Bob Rathbun of Fox Sports South.

The afternoon was kicked off with the presentation to Coach Don Meyer, who had been in a near fatal car crash in Sept. 2008, and retired from coaching in Feb. 2010.   Coach Meyer, who comes from the old guard of coaching, gave a stirring speech in which he thanked his wife Carmen and all those who had supported him.  He said he "felt like he was accepting this award for all the small college coaches, and high school coaches", and that "if every coach would coach for the love of the game and the kids, a lot of the problems we have today would shape up right away." 

After Coach Meyer's acceptance, special guest Buster Olney from ESPN came on stage to do a sit down with the coach.  Olney had covered Coach Meyer's teams early on in his career, and he likened covering Meyer's teams to the greatness of getting to cover the record breaking 1998 Yankees, or the Cal Ripken, Jr. streak.  He also has written a book about Meyer titled "How Lucky Can You Be: The Story of Coach Don Meyer".

When he asked Meyer what the most important part of team building was, Meyer first quoted the bible verse James 3:13, and said that all players and coaches should remain humble.  He then jokingly added that he'd "like to take a 30 ought 6 and gut shoot all the showoffs so that they'd die a slow and painful death", which of course brought applause from the audience. 

Bob Rathbun then brought the coaches from the 4 State Universities on stage for an introduction, beginning with Kennesaw State's new head coach, Lewis Preston.  Coach Preston said he loved the idea of coming to Kennesaw based on it's size and continued growth, adding that it's now the 3rd largest school in the state university system.  He emphasized team building outside of the game, stressing life lessons and letting his players learn about themselves and each other off the court.  "This way", Preston said, "we can learn about our players, and how to attack any issues there might be". 

Next up was what Rathbun described as "the greybeard" of the coaches.  Third year head coach from UGA, Mark Fox.   Coach Fox stated one of his biggest challenges this season would be all the new faces.  "I have to make sure I call them by their right names" Fox joked.   He talked about the importance of putting players first, and making an impact in their lives. 

Another new coach, Georgia State's Ron Hunter, was next.  Coach Hunter talked about program building and his background in urban institutions.  He said "teaching the kids how to win and compete is the first priority", and mentioned how he has inherited seven seniors who really "don't know how to compete, just how to play"  He said he wants to make them a team and teach them to enjoy the game.

Finally, Georgia Tech's new head coach, Brian Gregory stepped to the podium.  Coach Gregory really stressed the importance of energy and excitement in the locker room and on the court.  He laughed as he said,  "I'd be disowned from the Izzo coaching tree if my teams don't play with energy and aren't competitive".  When asked about the arena issue that Tech now faces with the renovation of the "Thriller Dome" currently going on, he said "We look at it as an opportunity to bring in new fans", while his team alternates games between Philips Arena in Atlanta, and the Gwinnett Arena in Duluth, Ga.

Once all the coaches were finished, Bob Rathbun sat them all down for a "coaches round table" where he briefly touched on some issues facing college basketball as a whole, and got input from the coaching panel on such topics as conference expansion, the new "restricted area" rules,  social media in sports, and the NCAA Tournament expansion.  

All of the coaches were pretty much in agreement that the conference expansions/contractions were football driven, and that they were pretty much just along for the ride.  GSU's Coach Hunter added "I'm more worried about which Peachtree Street I'm driving on".

On the topic of Social Media in sports, Rathbun opened up the discussion by stating that "the most dangerous word in the English language today is... send".  Coaches Preston and Fox agreed that you shouldn't put anything out there you wouldn't want your parents to read, with coach Fox adding "if you would say it on SportsCenter, then you can say it on Twitter". 

When the subject of the size of the NCAA tournament came up, that's when there was a slight amount of disagreement between some of the coaches.  With the coaches from the two larger schools (UGA and Ga. Tech) both agreeing that the tournament didn't need to be expanded any further.  Tech's Gregory stated that "an expanded tournament could devalue coaches.", with Fox adding "Not everyone should be able to get in, it should remain something special".  While the coaches from Kennesaw and GSU both agreed that tourney expansion could be a positive thing.  "I'd like to see the NCAA think more about the student-athlete and less about the almighty conferences" said Coach Preston, with Coach Gregory humoring him saying "There are a lot of coaches getting fired out there because they didn't make it into the NCAA tournament, so adding more teams is fine with me".   With that, Rathbun thanked the crowd and closed the discussion.

So with 3 new head coaches and a lot of new talent coming in, it looks like this could be an exciting year for college basketball in Georgia.