Sports

I'm 100% positive these guys could beat Georgia right now.

Its a drizzly and dreary afternoon here in Athens, Georgia, where the weather is very reflective of the way the local nine have been playing as of late.

Georgia comes into their weekend series on the backs of a five-game losing streak. The Dawgs have been outscored 61-11 over that stretch and hit a new low with a 11-1 loss against Kennesaw State here at Foley Field.

I’m Kirk Carter and I’ll be live blogging tonight’s game and Sunday’s contest against the Saints. In other words, I’ll be combining the boredom of a baseball game with the pain of having to read.

As I mentioned, Georgia comes into this game losers of their last five games. There might not be a team in the country that looks as bad as Georgia does right now.

Coach Perno has tried to shake a few things up, starting tonight will be Michael Palazzone a sophomore out of Marietta. Palazzone has normally thrown out of the Sunday slot, but an illness to typical Friday starter Justin Grimm has thrust the righty into Friday night’s matchup. Grimm will move back to Saturday and senior Jeff Walters will pitch the final game of the series on Sunday.

Sophomore Levi Hyams will mark his first start of the season at shortstop tonight. Hyams saw his first action of the year as a late inning sub against Kennesaw. He’s finally recovered from a back injury.

Georgia will still be without starting shortstop Kyle Farmer for another weak or so. Farmer underwent successful surgery on his left wrist earlier this week. Until then, Georgia will continue to miss a guy that Coach Perno has pointed to as a potential leader for this directionless club.

No word on Chase Davidson, who missed the Kennesaw game with a sprained ankle. He’s not in the lineup tonight, but he’s expected to see action this weekend.

STARTING LINEUPS AND ALL THE ACTION AFTER THE BREAK. (more…)

The Kentucky Wildcats had quite a scare in their first round match up against Alabama. The second ranked team in the nation was down by as much as 11 in the first half and out rebounded throughout the game 45-33. However it came down to making key shots and no one is better than the freshmen phenom John Wall. With a team high 23 points and 5 assists Wall took over for the Cats in the second half making plays by driving to the basket and dishing the ball to his teammates. Kentucky head coach John Calipari stated after the game, “The last five games we’ve gotten out rebounded. And again, what I think has happened in all five of those games…the other teams outworked us”. 
While they were outworkedThe key to their victory was going 50% from the field and out scoring the Crimson Tide 46-26 from inside the paint. Alabama shot a weak 34.8% from the field but had a stellar performance off the bench from JaMychal Green who scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds.  
Up next for Kentucky is the winner of the Tennesse -Ole Miss match up which is currently shaping up to be a close one. Earlier in the day I predicted Ole Miss to win so we’ll see if that holds.
Looking ahead Coach Calipari mentioned that in the rest of this tournament and in the next one his team of 19 and 20 year olds needs to want it more in order to win. Will this young team be hungry for more or fall short? It’s certainly clear that this SEC Tournament is Kentucky’s to lose and they will have a much tougher task come NCAA tourney time. I wouldn’t call them a lock to win it all but they have the talent to make a deep run in the tourney. In fact I don’t believe that there is a clear consensus lock this year. It’s madness time and anything can happen. Got to love this time of year.

From beyond the arc

Bowman

I was all set to live blog the UGA vs  Arkansas game tonight from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee but I had some technical difficulties. For some reason my pc dislikes me or maybe it was bad luck but I kept getting kicked off the internet inside the Arena. In the media work room things worked fine. Such is life.
Since the Bulldogs beat the Razorbacks tonight 77-64 they will face Vanderbilt tomorrow(well tonight actually) at 9:45ET I will attempt to live blog it but I’m not sure if things will work out.  I’m going to have a chat with the IT guys before tip off to see if I can get things fixed.
Enough of that though, let’s discuss the win over Arkansas. In the battle of Dawgs vs Hogs, Georgia got ahead quick and it stayed that way for the remainder of the game. Arkansas’ last lead was 4-2 with 18:56 left in the first half. Georgia held a solid lead for most of the first half until around 3:05 left to go when Arkansas got within one point. McPhee hit a very deep three  as the buzzer sounded and Georgia had an 8 point lead 40-32.
The Bulldogs struggled to hit shots in the second half but unlike the last time they played Arkansas they were able to maintain the lead throughout by crashing the boards and out rebounding the Razorbacks 45-28. 17 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. The refs were very foul happy in this game calling a total of 50 fouls, 25 a piece for each team.  Albert Jackson fouled out for the Dawgs while Trey Thompkins and Jeremy Price had 4 fouls. Georgia was 69.2% from the free throw line and 46.6% from the field; one area the Dawgs will need to improve on before they face the Commodores Friday night.
So what needs to happen for Georgia to continue it’s success? They need to rest. The foul happy refs led to a lot of minutes played. So rest up and be ready to battle it out against a team that is scared to play you. Every team should be afraid to play these Bulldogs. They’re a team with nothing to lose. A team that didn’t the greatest of seasons going 0-11 on the road and finishing last place in the SEC East. However they’re a team that fights and will play hard. And if you fall asleep and let your guard down these Bulldogs will bite at the chance to take the lead. It certainly showed tonight as they came out on fire and ready to go. The difference in this game was being able to finish the drill. Which is another thing the Bulldogs will need to do if they’re looking for a repeat of the miraculous 2008 SEC Tournament run. There have been so many games this year where Georgia hung in there but just couldn’t finish. They closed it out tonight but the question is, will it continue this weekend? We shall see. Georgia had a decent crowd turnout, but nothing compaired to that of Kentucky, and they didn’t even play today. It was like a sea of blue in some areas of the arena. But I have faith that Mark Fox can get fans excited about Georgia Basketball. Winning certainly is the way to do it, and under his coaching Georgia Basketball will continue to get better.
Thomas Wilson and I will be at Bridgestone Arena this weekend for as long as the Bulldogs keep winning. Big thanks to Thomas for getting the media passes courtesy of our weekly news show, UGA Newsource. Which airs on WNEG(channel 6 on Charter) at 7:30, Monday-Thursday.

Our view:

Until next time,

Eric Bowman

Hooty hoo!

Hey there folks, Kirk Carter here with another live blog of Georgia baseball. The Bulldogs will be taking on the Kennesaw State Owls in a mid-week game here at Foley Field.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Spring Break. If there is anyone in Bulldog Nation having a worse break than Zach Mettenberger (too soon?) it might be the Bulldog baseball team. Georgia went 0-4 on its last road trip losing to Alabama 13-2 in Birmingham. They followed that with an abysmal performance in Tallahassee, being swept by the #6 Florida State Seminoles including a Friday night rout of 12-1 and a Sunday beat down 17-5.

Kennesaw on the other hand is playing some good baseball. The Owls are only 4-8 on the year, but they’re coming off a 3-1 trip to Knoxville which included a big win over the Volunteers.

These midweek games are usually a test of depth, and Georgia has plenty of that. Still, this one should be a good game. So stay tuned to the blog here at WUOG, line ups and the live coverage are after the break. (more…)

The finale of the 3-man weave concludes with trick-shot hero Connor Nolte who also shares his experiences with the trick shots and especially Charles Barkley.

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For the meat of the sandwhich Corey Butler returns to Heatin’ Up to talk about what this team needs to do to pull off a similar feat to UGA’s 2008 title run and provides an inside scoop to how good Gerald Robinson Jr. really is.

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Heatin’ Up makes an epic return with a massive preview of the SEC tournament and much discussion about whether Georgia can finally get that elusive road win. Up first is beat writer Nick Parker who also talks a bit about his beloved Tar Heels and spills his NCAA title team.

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Remember you can check out Heatin’ Up on iTunes by searching Heatin’ Up and email any questions to heatinuppodcast@gmail.com

Good Evening from Stegeman Coliseum, I’m Matt Ryan and I’ll be updating you throughout tonights game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the #3 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. The 13-14 Dawgs look to win their last home game of the season and get back to the .500 mark. Kentucky is looking to regain momentum heading into the month of March after losing at Tennessee last Saturday. The Coliseum is packed tonight with lots of fans sporting both red and black, as well as blue and white. Tonight also marks the final home game for seniors Albert Jackson, Ricky McPhee, and Tyler Whatley. On the other side of the court, the Kentucky Wildcats are talented team loaded with NBA potential and are led by John Wall, arguably the biggest name in college basketball. Although, Wall has attracted most of the attention for this game, the front court duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson is equally important for Kentucky’s game plan and both will pose challenges for the Dawgs tonight in the paint. An interesting match up to watch tonight is the super athletic Travis Leslie against Kentucky’s three guard lineup, which could pose problems for Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe defensively at times..  Tip off is only moments away. This sold out game will have a football like atmosphere tonight.

Here’s tonights starting lineup

Georgia Bulldogs

F – 1 – Travis Leslie
F – 25 – Tyler Whatley
C – 34 – Albert Jackson
G -10 – Ricky McPhee
G- 3 – Dustin Ware

Kentucky Widlcats

F – 15 – DeMarcus Cousins
F – 54 – Patrick Patterson
G – 1 – Darius Miller
G -11 – John Wall
G – 24 – Eric Bledsoe

Game Overview

It was a disappointing second half for the Dawgs after keeping it within four points after the first 20 minutes.  Jeremy Price had a great game with 19 points and Ricky McPhee scored 4 three pointers in his final game at the Stegeman Coliseum. Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie shot a combined 8-26, which kept the Dawgs from cutting down the Kentucky lead in the 2nd half that reached as high as 19 during the game. John Wall had another stellar performance for the Wildcats with 24 points and 3 steals to go along Patrick Patterson’s 17 points. Georgia will close out the regular season this Saturday at LSU and the SEC tournament begins next Thursday in Nashville.  I’m Matt Ryan, thank you for following my blog tonight on WUOG.org .

2nd Half

Final Score:  Kentucky 80, UGA 68: Patterson with the miss. Thompkins misses the three. Albert Jackson called for the foul on John Wall. Walls makes both foul shots. Jeremy Price makes both foul shots. Wall with the easy lay up. Price with the easy two points. Thompkins misses the dunk and is fouled by Patterson. Thompkins misses the free throw.

3:22 Kentucky 74, UGA 63: Another celebrity has been spotted tonight at Stegeman. Rocky Balboa just ran up the stairs of the arena to his own theme song during the last time out. Thompkins makes his two free throws. Miller misses the shot. Dustin Ware makes his 2nd three of the game. Ricky McPhee for three. Dawgs are within ten. Darius Miller scores two. Ricky McPhee with another three. Dawgs are within nine and the crowd is roaring. Patrick Patterson scores for the 7th time tonight. Orton with a blocked shot. Miller misses another three point attempt.

7:19 Kentucky 70, UGA 52: Jeremy Price makes his two free throws. Cousins with the mid range jumper. Chris Barnes makes the layup after DeMarcus Cousins launches the ball while  jumping off the court. Ricky McPhee misses from way downtown. John Wall makes another easy layup. Leslie misses the shot, but looks healthy after limping off the court about 10 minutes ago.  Daniel Orton scores for Kentucky. Dustin Ware makes a three pointer to get the Dawgs within 12. DeAndre Liggins scores for the 2nd time tonight and is fouled by Trey Thompkins. Time out. Liggins makes the free throw. Anyaorah misses the shot. Darius Miller scores two. Patterson misses the shot. Patterson scores with a one handed jumper. Cousins with his 4th block tonight. Ricky McPhee for three from downtown. DeMarcus Cousins for two. Thompkins fouled by Perry Stevenson. Time out.

15:14 Kentucky 55, UGA 40: Wall makes a three pointer for the half’s first points. DeMarcus Cousins lays it in. Kentucky scores 5 quick points and has a 9 point lead now. Georgia timeout. Miller blocks Leslie’s shot, and Leslie is called out of bounds. Miller misses a three. Patterson scores two for the Wildcats. Darius Miller is called for his third foul of the night. Wall makes the layup and is fouled by Ricky McPhee. Wall makes his lone shot. Vincent Williams fouls Eric Bledose, its Georgia’s 2nd team foul of the half. Bledose makes the two free throws. Bledose misses the three. Barnes assists Leslie on a monstrous dunk for the teams first of the half. Leslie is hurt and is being carried off to the locker room. Cousins makes one of his two free throws. Jeremy Price scores two off a Vincent Williams pass. Darnell Dodson with the three. Patterson called for the foul. Time out.

Halftime Reaction: Kentucky 40, UGA 36

What an exciting 1st half here at the Stegeman Coliseum. The house is packed with everybody from Sir Charles Barkley to former WWF superstars “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Bret “The Hitman” Hart, all three of whom I have meet tonight. Once again Georgia has played up to their competition and only trail the Wildcats by four points. Jeremy Price has had a monster game thus far with 11 points and has keep the Dawgs in this contest against John Calipari and Kentucky. Thompkins has scored 7 points, but is only shooting 3 for 9. Patterson and Cousins have combined for 21 points, but Kentucky’s lead has been limited by Eric Bledoe’s 1-6 shooting in the first half. John Wall is having a good game so far with 10 points and three assists. Thhe 2nd half is moments away.

1st Half

0:00 Kentucky 40, UGA 36: John Wall assists Perry Stevenson for his first basket of the night. Orton rebounds for the Wildcats and Wall scores on the Kentucky possession. Orton blocks Leslie shot attempt. Travis Leslie scores for the Dawgs after the recovery. Bledsoe misses another three tonight and is not playing good at all so far offensively. Price makes a basket for the Dawgs and is now in double digit scoring for the game. DeAndre Liggins scores the final points of the half.

3:26 Kentucky 34, UGA 32: John Walls steals the ball and drives it down the court for a dunk that has the blue and white going crazy. Bledsoe misses a shot off a turnover, but Orton scores on the rebound. Patrick Patterson scores again for the Wildcats who are on a six point run and have tied the game at 26 a piece.  Patterson has scored 11 points in the games first 13 minutes. Dodson is called for the foul. Thompkins misses his free throw. Dodson gets his first points of the night. Travus Leslie lays it in for the easy two. Bledsoe misses another shot. McPhee rebounds Wall’s missed three point attempt. Price scores for his 4th time tonight. Dodson makes the three for the Kentucky lead. Patterson misses his shot and Ware scores two on the next possession for the Dawgs. Dodson makes a long three attempt for back to back shots from beyond the arc.

8:48 Kentucky 20, UGA 26: Dustin Ware makes the two point jumper. Kentucky turns the ball over and Travis Leslie makes the Wildcats suffer with one of his signature Sportscenter dunks.  Kentucky Timeout.  John Wall makes his 2nd three of the game off a Ramon Harris assist. Eric Bledsoe is called for the foul. Wall steps out of bounds, Dawgs ball. Chris Barnes is fouled by Daniel Orton. Ricky McPhee for three.  Wall misses a three, but Harris scores off the offensive rebound. McPhee misses the three. Ebuka Anyanorah is fouled at the three point line by Darius Miller, Miller’s second. Anyanorah gets three foul attempts, and makes two of the three. Leslie called for the foul. Eric Bledsoe  sinks a three pointer for his 1st points. Patterson blocks the shot from Jackson and scores two on the next Kentucky possession . Jeremy Price is fouled by Cousins after gaining the offensive rebound, but still gets two for the Dawgs. Timeout. Price makes his lone free throw. Bledsoe turns the ball over. Price makes another shot.  Josh Harrellson checks in for Kentucky. Jeremy Price makes his third basket in a row, and the crowd is going wild here. Patrick Patterson makes a three for the Wildcats. Trey Tompkins makes a three pointer to give the Dawgs a six point lead. Bledsoe misses the jumper.

15:35 Kentucky 7, UGA 7: Darius Miller misses a three point attempt. Patrick Patterson lays it in for the games first points.  DeMarcus Cousins rejects back to back shots from Travis Leslie, Leslie also grabs back to offensive rebounds. Thompkins shots a mid range jumper for the Dawgs first points. Dustin Ware called for a foul. Wall makes the easy three. Darius Miller called for a foul, Kentucky’s first. Jackson and Thompkins miss back to back shots. Thompkins called for the foul on Patterson. Patterson makes both shots. Darnell Dodson checks in for the Wildcats and Chris Barnes for Georgia. Cousins is called for the foul as Barnes is fouled on the layup. Barnes makes the shot. Wall comes in for Bledsoe. Dodson misses the three. Thompkins makes the layup and ties the game for the Dawgs. Timeout and The Dance Dawgs are now rocking the floor.

Former Georgia Bulldog and current New York Giants running back DJ “Danny” Ware joined “The Triple Play” on WUOG. He talked about his favorite memories as a Georgia Bulldog, life as a NFL running back in New York City, and even some of his mama’s good ole home cooking!

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Thanks for logging onto WUOG again as we wrap up the Dawgs’ three game weekend set with the Stetson Hatters. I’m Robert Inskip and I’ll take care of our Liveblog coverage for this one. The Dawgs will go for the sweep today after winning the first two games 12-2 and 9-8 respectively. I’ll be able to bring one update per half inning. Enjoy the game!

Starting Lineups:

STETSON HATTERS (3-3): CF Spencer Theison, 2B Robert Crews, DH Aaron Crittenden, 3B Mark Jones, RF Sean Emory, C Nick Rickles, SS Jacob deGrom, 1B Ryan Lashley, LF Jeff Simpson. RHP Kyle Maulbetsch.

GEORGIA BULLDOGS (5-2): LF Johnathan Taylor, SS Colby May, RF Peter Verdin, 1B Chase Davidson, CF Zach Cone, C Christian Glisson, DH Zach Taylor, 3B Kevin Ruiz, 2B Todd Hankins. RHP Michael Palazzone.

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