Atlanta Braves: Make Better Use of the Early Innings

Announcer Joe Simpson commented during the Atlanta Braves Monday afternoon tilt against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates that Braves' pitchers felt that they had to make perfect pitches when they were not given much run support. The score was tied at that time 1-1. On cue, Atlanta starter Tommy Hanson promptly gave up a two-run homer and his teammates go on to lose by that same score, 3-1. Granted, the loss didn't fall solely on pitching because the Braves had legitimate scoring opportunities in the 7th and 8th innings. The big two out hit continued to be absent in the clutch. For that matter, the big one out hit could not be had. It seems as though Atlanta begins an awful lot of games behind 1,2, or 3 runs after the first couple of innings. As today's performance showed, they cannot continue to live at the plate from the 7th inning on and hope to survive night in and night out. This time of year, the nights can run out on you in a hurry. It's a pennant race boys, play all nine innings.

Hutson Mason: He's Wearing His Only Red Shirt

Hutson Mason did a little burning Saturday afternoon "Between the Hedges". He burned the Louisiana Lafayette secondary for a touchdown pass on his very first collegiate attempt. Only seven other quarterbacks had ever accomplished that feat. He also removed one of the biggest question marks concerning the season by burning his redshirt as well. He is now, if he wasn't already, Georgia's backup signal caller behind Aaron Murray. And it has only been about three months since he crossed the stage at Lassiter High to receive his high school diploma. You want a little irony thrown in with the scoring pass? Logan Gray, the once quarterback turned receiver, was on the other end of Mason's pass. If Gray doesn't ask for a position change, Mason probably does sit out the game and most likely the entire season. But don't you just love a story that ends with everyone happy? Kinda makes you feel good doesn't it? Yea, all over.

A.J Green: What's Really Going On?

This A.J. Green saga really perplexes me. I'll admit, I have no law degree so the legal (as in NCAA) part I could be missing something. While I'm confessing here, neither did I attend the police academy, so the detective part of this situation might be throwing me a curve as well. However, from the tidbit of information given to us up to this point, I understand this "Greengate" to be about whether or not #8 attended some agent related party in Miami or not. If there is more to the situation than that, I don't know about it but I hope Georgia knows all about it. Mark Richt isn't allowed to talk about it. A.J. Green cannot comment on his ordeal. The university president can only say that lawyers are handling the case. What's this super-duper gag order all about? The 'Dawg Nation' is under the impression that A.J. Green is one heck of a good kid, and I think we should continue with that feeling. If Green says, and he does, that he did not go to Miami, hasn't ever been to Miami, and has no plans to go any further south than Jacksonville for at least the next couple of months, isn't that really easy to prove? Does the above mentioned 'Dawg Nation' need to pool their resources together and hire a private investigator to verify the where-a-bouts of Mr. Green on the specified date? If the kid is as innocent as we all believe him to be, why is he being unjustifiably punished? One would think the collective efforts of Michael Adams, Greg McGarity, and Mark Richt would be enough to cut through the red tape and resolve this unfortunate dilemma. What am I missing here? What's really going on? Does anyone other than the NCAA really know? I'm still perplexed.

Gilligan's Island: Keep That Receiver There!

If asked, my opinion would be that most commercials are generally lousy at best. However the following Nike commercial is on the other end of the spectrum. At the end when the kid says his last name is Gilligan, the expressions that follow on the faces of both Revis and the kid are classic. By the way, Darrelle Revis just ended his holdout with the Jets. Enjoy...

UGA: The Learning Curve

Georgia 55 - Louisiana Lafayette 7: What we learned:

• Todd Grantham is seriously passionate about his Dawgs playing lights out defense


• His tolerance for mental mistakes is minimal at most


• Aaron Murray will do things we won't expect a rookie quarterback to do


• He will also do things to remind us he is indeed a rookie quarterback


• We could do worse than have Hutson Mason as our #2 quarterback


• The NCAA has the power to make a school feel as if it has to sit out an innocent kid (from all the information we have been allowed to know) as Georgia did when it did not let A.J. Green play Saturday.


• What we did not learn is what the heck did A.J. Green do, or not do


• Our experienced offensive line still has much work to do to look experienced


• Whatever we learned this Saturday will be nothing compared to what we will learn next Saturday in Columbia against South Carolina
  

Ole Miss Overtime Loss Puts Nutt on 'Hot Seat'

Houston Nutt called it the worst loss of his career. I call it an instant invitation to the coach's "Hot Seat" for the most over-hyped Nutt of them all. Jacksonville State's stunning upset of the Ole Miss Rebels Saturday afternoon in Oxford is, thus far, the upset of of this opening day in college football. The Gamecocks prevailed in double overtime 49-48, leaving the Rebels to only wonder what their SEC schedule has waiting for them because this is certainly not the 'tune-up' game they were looking for. Oh well, sometimes you feel like a Nutt, sometimes you don't.

Bulldogs vs Ragin' Cajuns

The quote of the week of the Georgia - Louisiana Lafayette game comes from Ragin' Cajun coach Ricky Bustle: "People keep saying we are playing Georgia. They are playing us too. It's not just us playing Georgia". Not to worry coach Bustle, the Bulldogs are not looking past you at next week's opponent South Carolina. You and the Ragin' Cajuns have their full attention, even though you are a 28+ point underdog. The Dawgs enter the opening contest ranked #23 in the nation, but with question marks galore due to a new defensive scheme and an untested redshirt freshman at quarterback. The game is sold-out, extending Georgia's streak of home sell-outs to 58, and reaching into a tenth season.

Georgia State Football: Unblemished!

Georgia State has never lost a football game. That they have played only one is inconsequential at this point . The Panthers routed their inaugural opponent, Shorter College, 41-7 Thursday night in the Georgia Dome before a surprisingly large crowd of more that 30,000. Head coach Bill Curry returned to the sidelines after a 14 year hiatus, and saw his new outfit play with intensity and precision. Sounds to me like they are ready to challenge Georgia Tech for the city title at any time now. The winner could receive the "Golden Dome" trophy. Go State!

Georgia Bulldogs: Surprise Team of the Year?

Two contributors at SI.com list Georgia as their surprise team of 2010. They both feel that redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray will be just fine behind the experienced offensive line that the Dawgs return. They also note the two accomplished, experienced running backs, Washuan Ealey and Caleb King, who will make life easier for the rookie signal caller. The new staff and scheme on the defensive side of the ball are highlighted as big positives for the newly rejuvenated canines. Both of the guys project Georgia to make the SEC Championship game, with one of the two placing the Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. The other prediction has Georgia in the Orange Bowl. I'll be the first to admit these types of prognostications are worth exactly zero, but it is good to see that at least some of the media has Georgia on their minds.

South Carolina: Let's Get It Started...

The South Carolina Gamecocks officially kick off another rendition of football southern style when they host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles tonight in Columbia. Head coach Steve Spurrier says his team is ready and focused. He himself is working on a 17 opening game win streak, while Southern Miss is nursing an eight game losing streak to SEC opponents. This is the first meeting between the two schools, and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. The Gamecocks are a 14 point favorite to win the season opener. Here's hoping Carolina is 1-1 in two weeks.

Aroldis Chapman: 103 M.P.H. ...Twice!

The red hot Cincinnati Reds are getting even hotter. To the tune of 103. M.P.H. hot. Their Cuban relief pitcher, Aroldis Chapman, threw two pitches Wednesday night that were clocked at the off-the-wall speed of 103. In his two big league appearances, Chapman has thrown a total of nineteen pitches, and ten of them have busted the radar gun with triple digits. He picked up his first win last night against Milwaukee, and his Reds extended their division lead over St. Louis to a whopping eight games. Next stop for the Reds? The Cardinals in St. Louis for a Labor Day weekend series. The drama of the match-up between these two teams has all but been sucked out by the Reds with their baseball best August record. The Reds are full speed ahead, while the Cardinals are merely trying to keep their heads above water. Its now hard to believe St. Louis swept Cincinnati back in early August and held a one game lead over the Reds after that series.

Jeremiah Masoli: 'Houston', We Have A Problem

The NCAA has said no to Jeremiah Masoli's request for a waiver that would allow him to quarterback the Ole Miss Rebels this season. The school has already appealed the ruling, but if the appeal fails he would have to wait until the 2011 season to take the field with Houston Nutt's squad. The NCAA explained their interpretation of the rule, as well as the situation, was that it was to help student athletes who transfer for academic reasons, not because a player faced discipline issues at his former institution. Masoli claims he was at Ole Miss to take graduate studies in a field that Oregon, his former school, did not offer. My take on the situation is that the guy couldn't play out his last year of eligibility for the Ducks because he had been kicked off the team. He ended up in Oxford because Nutt and his staff "recruited" him there. The choice of graduate studies probably isn't even relevant here. In this case, it's all about football, for both Masoli and Nutt. Nothing more, nothing less.. You know, if it looks like a Duck, waddles like a Duck, and quacks like a Duck, it must be a Duck. Now try it while substituting 'Nutt' for 'Duck'. There you have it.