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Archive for the 'Mark Richt' Category

News…

November 14th, 2007, 2:24 pm by patrickdonohue

I like…

Chef Traci Des Jardins prepared recipes for a Thanksgiving menu with wine parings for Epicurious and in return she wants to ask homecooks to request that their diners donate money to America’s Second Harvest, a national food bank that helps 9 million families annually.

Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen gives the Heroes graphic novel collective a B-.Glad I didn’t buy it.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tony Barnhart thinks Georgia fans would be crazy to hope that Tennessee makes the SEC Championship to practically guarantee the Dawgs a trip to a BCS Bowl.

The AJC also has a good piece on UGA coach Mark Richt transforming into the football version of Bruce Pearl.

ESPN’s Todd McShay has a list of the top 10 freshmen in college football.

StarChefs.com has released their book of Chefs to Know.

I don’t like…

The writers’ strike may cause the final season of Scrubs to air without a series finale.

New York Magazine’s Vulture blog has some disturbing information about NBC’s “Create a Hero” feature on the Heroes site.

Why I’m cool with Mark Richt

October 31st, 2007, 11:59 am by patrickdonohue

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Lighten up, folks, really. It appears that even days after Georgia handed it to Florida, some are still upset by Georgia’s first quarter flashmob-like celebration and Mark Richt’s instructions to his team in the pre-game to embark on such a celebration.

In today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Terrence Moore takes Richt to task for ordering the celebration.

“Guess those little green men who sneaked into Jacksonville last Saturday for the Georgia-Florida football game and yanked the real Mark Richt away in their spaceship have returned him.

Welcome back, coach.

We forgive you.

Now don’t ever do that again - or anything close.”

Really? Is forgiveness in order? It wasn’t like Richt instructed a player to go out and hurt someone. His pre-game pep talk didn’t include the normally stoic coach telling his players, in no uncertain terms, that they were to punch each member of the Florida defense in the groin and face after their first offensive touchdown. This was simply Richt’s way, in a world where sports, as much as I love it, is wildly over-cared about, to remind his players, his kids, to go out and have fun. Fun is a word that isn’t often associated with “student athletes” in the corporate world that big-time college athletics have become. Do I want to see this sort of thing every week? No. Do I want to see the Tennessee offense break into a song and dance number when (maybe if, these days) they score a touchdown? No. But I’m ok with it and I would have been ok with it even if Richt didn’t apologize. Besides, whatever he said to those kids must have worked because that was the best game the Dogs have played all season.

Tuesday’s Line

July 31st, 2007, 9:33 am by patrickdonohue

One of the things that I hate the most when reading blogs is those that are not updated frequently. And alas, I’ve become one of them. So I returned to my news reader to find more San Diego Comic-Con stories than you can shake a stick at and more Michael Vick news. Fun.

If you get bored, I’d highly recommend Kevin Smith’s Smodcast that he does with longtime friend and producer Scott Mosier. Really funny, insightful stuff on a variety of topics, the least of which appear to be movies. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

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No, seriously…

Who knew an exclamation point could be so expensive.

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Will the NHL return to ESPN next season? And by next season, we mean 2008-2009.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are suing Ticketmaster, claiming the ticket broker of being a *gasp* monopoly?!?! I hate buying anything through Ticketmaster. I think if I had all of my “convenience charges” back, I could finance an Web 2.0 start-up.

You know you’re in trouble when Michael Irvin comes to your defense.

The Titans are shutting down Pacman Jones’ dreams of becoming the next Superfly Jimmy Snuka.

Freddy Adu signs with Portuguese football club Benfica. Wanna know why the MLS is never going to be a successful and respected soccer league? Because it can’t hold onto talent like Adu.

T.J. “Who’s your momma?” thinks NFL commish Roger Goodell is being “mean” to Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman.

Fanhouse’s Big Ten preview.

A rare Navy football story.

Eric Wright and Joe Thomas have agreed to contracts with the Browns. Brady Quinn continues to act like a moron.

Wisconsin AD, and former football coach, Barry Alvarez is in favor of a Big Ten championship game if the league expands to 12 teams.

Chicago Tribune columnist says Big 10 commish has some ‘splaining to do.

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock calls out Priest Holmes.

LSU head coach Les Miles tries to downplay all of the stupid things he’s said this off-season.

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge is in search of a go-to receiver. Erik, his name is Robert Meachem, he’s in New Orleans. Just thought I could help.

L.A. Times’ columnist T.J. Simers proves can make you an elitist jerk.

Mark Richt says his Georgia Bulldogs are not “too far away” from being a title contender. Check his office for a gas leak.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart on the early Heisman race and the five things to expect in the SEC this year.

The AJC’s Jeff Schultz says Georgia is flying under the radar and could surprise some people this year.

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Well-rounded news…

The Consumerist is reporting that Best Buy has fired some Geek Squad personnel following newspaper articles about “agents” taking files from customer’s computer.

Select Best Buy stores open mini-Apple stores.

NBC wants the sometimes-funny Jimmy Fallon to replace Conan O’Brian as late night host.

Premiere’s 20 fresh faces of comedy.

A major investment group has called for the resignation of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey after it was discovered he was posting to a Yahoo! stock forum anonymously.

The Federal Trade Commission may block Whole Foods’ acquisition of rival Wild Oats. Seriously, consumers need two places where they can buy overpriced health food. Good lookin’ out, FTC.

The New York Times and NBC News will collaborate on their coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

A first look at the Lost videogame. Warning: You should secure your brain before you watch this! I almost lost mine. No pun intended.

A teaser trailer for the Dark Knight. Oh man. I don’t usually get excited about trailers, especially one that is 45 seconds long. But I’m a dork and I like Batman so this made me excited. 

New Cold War Kids video for “Hospital Beds”.

Kathy Griffin on her date with Andrew W.K.

Kevin Smith to write and direct episode of Heroes spin-off.

Some Lost news from Comic-Con.

The Bottom Line on… Georgia

July 31st, 2007, 8:28 am by patrickdonohue

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Under the radar.

That’s how Georgia head coach Mark Richt described his team at SEC Media Days last week in Birmingham. Heading into the 2007 season, the Bulldogs are a little bit of a mystery.  Quick! Name four Bulldogs on this year’s roster! Can’t do it? Neither can I. Richt will have his hands full with a young team that returns just three starters on defense and seven on offense.

At quarterback, Georgia returns sophomore Matthew Stafford, the winner of last year’s quarterback carousel. There’s no question Stafford matured as the year went on last season but his numbers are still troubling. The first true freshman to start at quarterback at Georgia since Eric Zeier completed just 52.7 percent of his passes while throwing twice as many picks as TDs (13-7) and struggled at times with his touch and accuracy. Stafford will need to learn to play within himself, as he did toward the end of last season. If Stafford is to be successful, he’ll need some weapons at wide receiver — weapons he doesn’t currently have. Stafford, Richt and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will need some playmakers to emerge from a pack of underachieving wide receivers that include Mohamed Massaquoi, Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson, A.J. Bryant and Demiko Goodman. The Georgia ground game should be solid as senior Kregg Lumpkin and much-hyped redshirt freshman Knowshon Mereno (ESPN.com’s SEC Newcomer of the Year in the spring) will split time in the back field.

Of the seven early enrollees on campus this spring, five of them are offensive lineman. Seniors Fernando Velasco and Chester Adams will anchor an offensive line that looks like it will feature three lineman who will be playing in their first collegiate game when the Bulldogs play Oklahoma State on Sept. 1. The line will need to mature in a hurry if this offense is to be effective.

Willie Martinez’s defense returns just three starters, having lost six of his front seven, including all three starting linebackers. Thankfully, the defensive backfield looks like it will be a fast, ball-hawking unit that may be able to make up for some of the mishaps up front. There are certainly no superstars on this unit.

I don’t think anyone really knows what to make of this team. Certainly the return of Matthew Stafford, Kregg Lumpkin and the emergency of Knowshon Moreno certainly makes the offense intriguing but the loss of 8 defensive starters has to make even the most faithful Bulldog fan concerned.

Bottom Line Prediction: 9-3. This could very well be the most underrated nine-win team in college football this year. I see the Dawgs dropping their road contests at Alabama, at Tennessee and their annual tilt against the Gators in Jacksonville. But their nine wins are certainly volatile. If they go on a slide like they did last year, they could easily be a seven-win team especially given their games at home against Auburn and South Carolina. 

 

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