Let The "Up His Sleeve" Games begin

Saturday, Georgia will begin what I'm labeling the "Up his sleeve" games. (You heard it hear first sports fans, an Opinion On Sports exclusive!). Let me explain the rationale behind my name for these crucial SEC tilts. For instance, this week Steve Spurrier always has something 'up his sleeve' for the Bulldogs. Everyone in the media is conjecturing about what he just might have 'up his sleeve'. Up someones sleeve immediately conjures up recollections of magicians and their slight of hand maneuvers. Well, Mr. Spurrier perhaps could have passed for a magician at Florida, but that won't fly in the land of the Gamecock. Next up, most people figure Nick Saban will have something "up his sleeve" when the Tide rolls in to Athens. You know, payback for the terrible overtime loss at the hands of the Dawgs last year in Tuscaloosa. It might turn out to be the biggest thing up St. Nick's sleeve is that inflated paycheck he gets from Bama. Then we turn our attention to the sleeve of one Mr. Phillip Fulmer. Ah yes, the giant Pumpkin and the Vols pummelled the Bulldogs in Knoxville last year. Georgia might have saved his job in 2007, but that kindness will not be bestowed 'Between the Hedges'. That could mean that up Phillip's sleeve is a pink slip and a one way ticket out of town. The Dawgs will travel to Tiger Stadium in October to face LSU. I expect Les Miles will have more coming out of his mouth than coming out of his sleeve. He will however make at least one 'daring', situational call during the coarse of that game that will hopefully backfire on him. When all is said and done, that crowd of Cajuns in those seats is the best card 'up his sleeve'. Georgia will trade Baton Rouge for Jacksonville the following weekend. And yes, I fully expect that Urban "Crier" Myer will pull out all the stops, as they say. He will never get over UGA's celebration victory last year, so anything is fair game for him this year. The fact that Mark Richt 'one uped' him in 2007 is a fact that his enormous ego just cannot handle nor accept. You can forget the cliches, the Gators definitely will have a few things 'up their sleeves'. Tommy Tuberville, Auburn's riverboat gambler, plays every game with 'something up his sleeve', so it's just the norm for him. With this game being the fourth consecutive road trip for the Bulldogs in as many weeks, the best trick "Tub" could pull would be to just line up and try to be more physical than Georgia. Now that the groundwork has been laid, we begin to see what's 'up his sleeve' tomorrow at 3:30. It should be a "magical" SEC season. And oh yea, don't forget, Mark Richt has sleeves also!