Photo by John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports [Typical disclaimer: Only the opinions of an ordinary Bulldog fan and alumnus are being expressed here. I've never met or spoken with Coach Kirby Smart. I'm not authorized to speak on his behalf, nor on the behalf of the University of Georgia.] There is no whining in college football. Conventional wisdom called for the most conservative, safest strategy: instead of continuing to play to win, now try to extend play and avoid losing during the final three minutes of regulation. The only problem was, that strategy failed miserably in the national championship game less twelve months ago, with a superior, more experienced Georgia defense. True, this Georgia defense has terrific young talent, but it is no longer anchored at key positions by the likes of Roquan Smith, Lorenzo Carter, or Davin Bellamy. Asking these freshmen and sophomores to stop an Alabama team from scoring that had beaten every regular season opponent by an average of three touchdowns and every prior SEC opponent by an astonishing average of almost 33 points per game would probably be asking too much of them. Talk about deja vu. Twice in one year, to lead the vaunted, favored Crimson Tide by double digits late in the second half, and to lose the game only because Alabama scored on their final possession? That would be a very bitter pill to swallow. So Kirby Smart faced a difficult decision with 4th and 11 for Georgia's offense at midfield, with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter of a tied SEC championship game. The "smart" play would be … [Read more...]
Jadon Haselwood’s final decision
Haselwood does look sharp in the Red and Black. If you follow college football recruiting, you've probably heard of Jadon Haselwood. He has been described as the best pure wide receiver prospect to commit to UGA since current NFL All-Pro A. J. Green. Then, in early October, the young man abruptly decommitted from the Bulldogs, shortly before visiting Mark Richt at the University of Miami. Currently, over 65 percent of the predictions by professional recruiting analysts are that Jadon Haselwood will ultimately sign with the Miami Hurricanes. Perhaps young Mr. Haselwood will accept a scholarship to the University of Miami -- if that turns out to be the case, as a Georgia Bulldog fan I will naturally be somewhat disappointed, but wish him good health and the best of success, unless the Canes are playing against my Dawgs. But I am predicting he won't. Even though no one pays me to prognosticate about where high school football players might play in college, I reject the current "conventional wisdom" of the recruiting experts and personally estimate there's about a 90 percent probability that Haselwood becomes a Dawg, simply by applying deductive reasoning and good, old-fashioned common sense. Here's my rationale...Jadon Haselwood is a fierce competitor who tells interviewers that he wants to catch passes, score touchdowns, and win championships. He also makes it clear that he wants to play professional football after his college career ends. His skill at the game and athletic ability will probably make Haselwood a potential first round NFL draft pick no matter where he … [Read more...]
Incompetent holiday thieves
It's that time of year when the world is in love (with Christmas shopping. We're apparently skipping Thanksgiving this year.) Naturally, the thieves are trying to get an early start on grabbing those stocking stuffers, and seem to be looking to stuff their stockings with gifts purchased by defrauding our BB&T credit card. Fortunately, our bank has excellent fraud protection. Customer service notified my wife and I less than 24 hours after the abnormal transactions began to appear on our account. By mutual agreement BB&T canceled that compromised credit card number so no further charges would get approved, but not before our identity thieves managed to order Walmart gift cards and cell phones through an online account. The customer service representative assured us that we wouldn't be held responsible for the fraudulent charges, but nevertheless I was perturbed by the idea someone successfully used my name to steal from a business that heavily discounts merchandise to benefit the customers. Not to mention, credit card holders are forced to pay higher interest rates because the credit card companies can't afford to eat the losses, either. These thieves were using my identity to steal from you. We all pay higher prices at Walmart to compensate for the losses to shoplifting. We all pay higher interest rates on our credit cards--not only to mitigate losses due to bankruptcies and failure to pay by the cardholder, but also because of fraud. As a result, I'm not a big fan of liars or thieves. But in our case, the story has a happy ending. Walmart emailed to … [Read more...]
D’Andre Swift’s highlight reel
Okay, Bill B. This blog's for you... I laugh every time I watch this clip from the Auburn game. Notice how the defender never lays a hand on D'Andre Swift. Doesn't even come close in fact, forced to just turn his head and watch helplessly as the superb UGA tailback runs right past him. https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1061446743240466433?fbclid=IwAR0lWBp5ncxzrlrCMK6ZwZtZXM4nS-OD_WPheAjBCA4J0h3-c-twqXzwzew The Auburn player shouldn't feel too bad, though. D'Andre Swift made the entire Wildcat defense look silly in the Bulldog's previous game, with two ankle-breaking cuts on the same play. Great vision. https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/1058823096759541762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1058823096759541762&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.saturdaydownsouth.com%2Fkentucky-football%2Fwatch-spectacular-dandre-swift-td-run-gives-georgia-14-3-lead-before-halftime-over-kentucky%2F Once Swift has faked and juked his way through the defense, nobody's going to catch him. Now that he's healthy, D'Andre Swift is the best running back in college football. It's sheer poetry in motion--a portrait of the artiste as a young man. While there's never a bad time to be a Dawg, some seasons are better than others. However, this appears to be the beginning of a golden era for Georgia football. And D'Andre Swift is proving to be a very special football player. … [Read more...]
Thoughts on The Living Cosmos by Chris Impey
Science is a discipline that theists should be able to enjoy and appreciate--after all, theists invented science in their quest to learn about God. Science should not seen as a potential threat to religious belief. Anyone who claims that science somehow eliminates any need for a God simply doesn't understand existential science very well. Over the past decade or so, I've read a number of "popular" books about biology, paleontology, cosmology, Darwin's theory of natural selection (or "evolution") and other related topics in a personal quest for answers to my personal philosophical/existential questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How did I come to exist? When contemplating those questions one must also ask related questions like: How was the universe created? How did life originate? These latter questions are considered scientific by nature. Of the numerous books I've consumed on related subjects, among the very best I've read was a book titled The Living Cosmos written by Chris Impey, an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona. While I disagreed with some of Professor Impey's conclusions, he is without question an extremely talented writer. He mixes in plausible-sounding scenarios that create vivid imagery that convey his secular ideology regarding religion and evolution, whether he's providing a fictionalized account of the martyrdom of Giordano Bruno or one of an asteroid strike causing the K-T extinction, while grazing dinosaurs remained oblivious to their imminent doom. Professor Impey very accurately described the highly improbable cosmological … [Read more...]
