Sports

I’m excited to finally be back in Fort Stegeman again to watch the Dawgs take on #14 Ole Miss. Georgia comes off a big win against Georgia Tech and a tough loss to Kentucky including many Travis “The Trampoline” Leslie posterizations. Ole Miss lost their first SEC game to Mississippi St, 75-80. Both teams are looking to win their first SEC games.

Before you continue on, here are some links you need to check out. Here’s Connor Nolte’s “Gameday Trick Shot” that he started a couple of games ago. These two are by far the best and feature @ConnorNolte and @Bucklin12 http://bit.ly/6FCcXP. This is Leslie’s last dunk against Kentucky http://bit.ly/7IJ2sW. When the announcer says, “I don’t think anyone in the building saw that coming,” he was technically correct because I was not in the building but I called it on twitter before the game.

On a personal note, this game brings back high school memories in the form of Trevor Gaskins. He played for my high school, Milton, our junior year before bailing to our crosstown rival for his senior year. For his return, we had shirts printed saying 3 Years, 3 Schools, 0 Respect. (Yes, I am wearing it now) It was an epic game in which Georgia’s own Connor Nolte drained a 3 as time expired allowing Milton to win in overtime. Instant classic.

Chris Barnes was out shooting early and drained his last shot: a three from the corner. Gotta be a good sign, right?

Ok, there’s about 50 minutes until game time and I need to throw down some grub. I’ll be back with much, much more.

Dawgs:
Dustin “Dimes” Ware
Ricky McThree
Travis “The Trampoline” Leslie
Trey “So Icey” Thompkins
Albert “Stonewall” Jackson

Rebels:
Murphy Holloway
DeAundre Cranston
Chris Warren
Eniel Polynice
Terrico White

Can the Dawgs get a win on Coach Fox’s birthday? We’re about to find out. (more…)

Ole Miss travels to Athens for Georgia’s SEC home opener. James Carr will have the live blog for those of you that won’t be at the game. Tonight also marks Mark Fox’s 41st birthday. Hopefully Georgia can nab him a win to celebrate.

This will be the 104th meeting between the Dawgs and Rebels. Georgia leads the all-time series 65-38. In Athens, Georgia has a 37-10 record against Ole Miss.

Ole Miss is 12-3 on the season and coming off a Saturday collapse in Starkville. Earning a loss to Mississippi State in their SEC opener. At #14, Ole Miss will be the third-straight ranked opponent Georgia has gone up against.

The Rebels are stacked with depth on the perimeter and it all starts with guard Chris Warren. Warren missed serious time last season with injury and the Rebels struggled to meet lofty expectations without his presence in the line-up. Stopping Warren and the other talented guards on Ole Miss’ roster will be the key for Georgia.

Forwards DeAundre Cranston and Murphy Holloway are only 6′9″ and 6′7″ respectively, so Georgia will have the size advantage in the front court. The Bulldogs out rebounded both Georgia Tech and Kentucky. Georgia will need to win the rebounding battle again to stay in this game.

BULLDOG TO WATCH: Travis Leslie – G/F
Leslie has emerged as a YouTube star after posterizing numerous Wildcats last weekend. Tonight he’ll be matched up against Ole Miss’ resident stud Terrico White. Leslie has led his team in scoring three of the past four games. Leslie responded well to Kentucky’s challenge on Saturday… we’ll see how he performs against White tonight.

REBEL TO WATCH: Terrico White – G
White joined Georgia’s Trey Thompkins on the US Under-19 national team this summer. He’s a long and versatile guard and should give Georgia’s defense troubles. He and fellow guard Chris Warren are tied for the team lead in points with 16.7 PPG. The defending SEC Freshman of the Year is following up with a big sophomore season, but has been shaky in his past few outings.

Georgia fans are known for being loud. It seems like Mark Richt is listening. Over the past month, the once stoic leader of the Georgia Bulldogs has wavered back and forth like a ship lost at sea.

For what seemed like forever, fans constantly called for the head of defensive coordinator Willie Martinez. Richt faithfully stood by his longtime friend and drew a large amount of criticism for his unwillingness to give Martinez the pink slip.

When Richt finally gave in and fired Martinez, writers and fans demanded Richt appoint a “big name” replacement.

As the coordinator search enters its 7th week, Richt has sought out big name after big name in order to satisfy the blowhards in the Bulldog Nation. He’s also made a colossal mistake. (more…)