Bill Stewart: Are You Kidding Me...?

Let me get this straight. West Virginia's head football coach Bill Stewart will be a "lame-duck" coach during the 2011 season. He has been "fired", and his successor has already been named and will serve as the Mountaineer's offensive coordinator next year. Say what? That's like getting a divorce but staying in the house with your former wife and her new husband. Just can't happen. What's up, Bill? Talk about the ultimate company man...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Opinion on Sports would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! Be safe and never forget the true reason we celebrate this season. Take care!

A.J. Green: Going Away Too Quietly...

Reports indicate that Georgia's A.J. Green will enter next year's NFL draft. Not an earth shattering revelation here. You had to know he couldn't turn down the major dollars that would become his as one of the elite top picks. As we say, "Stevie Wonder could see this coming". In the business world there is an expression "money left on the table", meaning the difference between the high bid and the next closest bid. For some reason that term keeps popping up in my mind when I think of the college career of A.J. Green. It seems to me a lot was left on the table. A lot went unused. A lot was wasted. Was he one of the greatest receivers in college football? How would we know, we only got glimpses of his great talent. I think we got cheated out of seeing the total package of Green the complete receiver. And yes, I think he cheated us out of four games this year by making an utterly stupid decision to sell a piece of cloth for $1,000. Stevie could have seen that one coming as well, A.J. Have we been cheated out of an illustrious college career also? All I can say is A.J., we hardly knew ya. And I'll shed no tears for ya.

Cam Newton: NCAA Says Play Away

Before I get into this post, let me say up front that I am glad that Cam Newton has been ruled eligible to play by the NCAA in the SEC Championship Game Saturday night. He's evidently been eligible to play all season, so why stop now? Party on, Garth! However, there is something about the start of the season that I don't understand as far as the NCAA is concerned. It has been said/written that Mississippi State reported to the NCAA in July that they had 'concerns' regarding the recruitment of Newton. If indeed that prompted the governing body of intercollegiate athletics to begin "looking into" these reported concerns, why was the Auburn quarterback eligible to play at the beginning of the season if the investigation was ongoing? It had to be "ongoing" then because it's supposedly still "ongoing" now. The University of North Carolina had several players who sat out games pending the results of investigations into their attending a Miami party hosted by agents. Some of these Tarheels were eventually reinstated to play, and some were not. Georgia's A.J. Green missed two games while the investigation of him selling his jersey online was "ongoing', then two additional games when he was determined guilty. The two additional games were reportedly because he sold his jersey to an agent, even though Green maintained he never knew the guy was an agent. Cam Newton, as well, maintains he knew nothing of his father's solicitation of money for his athletic services. See, the NCAA isn't showing consistency in their actions and/or explanations of sanctions/non-sanctions. One other point; if it is indeed true that Newton wanted to attend Mississippi State all along but his father said you're going to Auburn, why would his father be so adamant about the college choice if it wasn't an issue of money? The NCAA might want to clear up this "loophole" that the good Rev. Newton has just exploited. If not, there could be other dads down the road who seek money for their sons. Because the way this ruling has gone, it's o.k. as long as the son knows nothing about the deal. It's a good thing for Rev. Newton's congregation that the teachings of his chosen profession have no loopholes to exploit.

Georgia: A Very Weak 6-6

Thank goodness the regular season is over. As a die-hard Dawg fan, I can't recall a time when I was so glad to see a schedule completed. It just hasn't been a lot of fun watching Georgia play this year. One tires quickly of mediocre football, and that's the type of football team the Bulldogs are. Mediocre at best. When I mentioned a completed schedule, I also look at it as a schedule totally wasted. Think about it; our rotating teams from the West side of the conference were as weak as we will see. I'm aware of Arkansas' record, but we caught them at a good time and blew a great chance to win that game late. Mississippi State isn't quite a feared program yet. That should have never been a conference loss, even on the road. In the East, we'll never see the Gators this weak again. We missed a fantastic opportunity to turn that series around in Jacksonville. Even though South Carolina won the SEC East, playing them early when we did was actually a good time to catch the 'Cocks. Another blown opportunity on a weak schedule. Georgia Tech is as bad as Paul Johnson has fielded in a long time, even at Navy. What turned out to be a scary night for the Dawgs down to Tech's last possession, should have been at least a seventeen point victory for Georgia. It's just another game of watching Mark Richt's team play poorly. That's why I'm glad the season is over, Liberty Bowl notwithstanding. There's always next year, right? Or will it hold just more of the same? It will unless significant changes are made. We'll see...

Georgia -vs- Georgia Tech

I have two words for you: Wreck Tech!

Happy Thanksgiving, 2010 Version!

Just as we did last year, An Opinion On Sports wishes each of you a Happy Thanksgiving. We'll also take our second crack at an old tradition of columnist Furman Bisher and jot down a few things we're especially thankful for:

• I'm thankful for the American Veteran, who cared enough to risk all.


• I'm thankful for lemon pepper wings cooked on my own grill.


• I'm thanful for a wife who still considers me her "Boyfriend".


• I'm thankful that there's a new book out about my all-time favorite Mickey Mantle!


• I'm thankful for Pat Conroy, who can paint a masterpiece with words.


• I'm thankful that Vanderbilt is always on Georgia's gridiron schedule.


• I'm thankful when Bobby Goodson and the 'Swamp Loggers' have a good day!


• I'm thankful for 'Talking Tom'; that cat, with help from my son, is one funny dude!


• I'm thankful that even in a season like this, it's still great to be a Georgia Bulldog!

Thanks again for reading An Opinion On Sports. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Cam Newton: Son of a Preacher Man...

Just like everyone predicted, the Cam Newton story just won't go away quietly. There might not be any wrong-doing discovered when everything is all said and done, but a lot of entertainment will sure have been derived from it. Flim Flam By Damn, Cam!

Alabama 63 - Georgia State 7: Why?

It is true that the Georgia State football team never quit Thursday night in their humbling loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. But, actually, they never should have started. Not this game anyway. I realize GSU needed the payout from a Division I school, but why begin with the defending National Champions? Georgia State has been in the football business only a few months; Alabama's been in it a 100 years. The Panthers were intimidated from the beginning, not to mention being out-manned, over-matched and overwhelmed. Use all the 'outs' and 'overs' you want to imply. I can't see that either team got anything out of this game, other than revenue. I don't fault Bill Curry for daring to dream big, but I do fault him for not being more selective. For instance, it would have been a much closer game to just stay in Atlanta and take on Georgia Tech. Closer travel and closer score. Just saying...

Wrigley Field: Ready For College Football

Northwestern University will play a "home game" against the University of Illinois at historic Wrigley Field Saturday. Why not? For 50 years Wrigley was home to the Chicago Bears before they made their move out to Soldier Field. There is legitimate concern about a couple of 'tight spots' with the field layout, but officials don't see them as a big injury risk for the players. It should be a great atmosphere for college football at the venerable old stadium. It's good to see the two schools agree to playing there. A sell-out crowd of 40,000 is expected to be on hand. It should be good for college football.

Georgia - Auburn: Still A "Friendly" Rivalry?

The Georgia-vs-Auburn annual gridiron slug-fest is the South's oldest and longest running football rivalry. It has always been known , pretty much, as a 'friendly' rivalry. It has been thought of as a clean, evenly matched series between two long-standing SEC foes. In the past, the two institutions have traded coaches with each other. Vince Dooley played at Auburn, then was head coach at Georgia. Pat Dye was an All-American while playing for the Bulldogs, and later became the Tigers head man. They have also traded in-state players with each other. Auburn has more than twenty Georgia kids on their football roster this year alone. UGA has only one player from the state of Alabama. Auburn kind of needs the state of Georgia in order to play football, wouldn't you say? The two institutions are connected in a lot of ways. However, in the smoldering aftermath of Auburn's victory Saturday, some of the cordiality seems to have been removed from this rivalry's storied past. The questionable (tactful word, huh?) play of AU's Nick Fairley has not only riled up the Bulldawg Nation as a whole, but has cast Auburn in somewhat of the same light as a camo-wearing Miami team of years ago by those not affiliated with the Bulldogs as well. The continuously hovering cloud of the "pay-to-play" scenario with quarterback Cam Newton has done nothing to enhance the Tigers image either (I'm not suggesting Auburn is guilty of anything here, just talking about perception). But who knows, by this time next November, all may have been forgotten and forgiven. And the rivalry that is known as Georgia-Auburn that will take place "Between the Hedges" might once again be a game among friendly foes(?). Time will tell...

Nick Fairley: Too Good To Be Dirty

Auburn's Nick Fairley might be the best defensive lineman in the country. He also might be the dirtiest defensive lineman in the country. And he doesn't need to be. He's good enough to not be out of control. But he is out of control, and he is a dirty player. He can dominate the line of scrimmage and overpower any offensive lineman he faces. He doesn't have to commit late hits on quarterbacks in defenseless positions. But is does, because he is a dirty football player. He's a great college football player, but he's a college football player with no class. His game needs no refining, but his act sure needs some cleaning up. I wonder if that's possible.