INTRODUCING UGA VIII

Photo courtesy of University of Georgia Sports Communications

This Saturday before the homecoming game against Vandy in Sanford Stadium Georgia will introduce UGA VIII. His registered name is Big Bad Bruce and he is the great-great-great-great-great grandson of the original UGA. This is a dog or shall I say Dawg who doesn't have to lick his own balls. UGA Nation will do it for him.

For more info about UGA VIII check out AJC.com.

FSU VS MIAMI FAN BRAWL

Typical Criminoles vs Convicts fight. The difference is both of these teams suck yet their fans still think they are badass. FSU and Miami haven't had relevant football programs for almost a decade. Pathetic. And fuck Jacory Harris. Besides those two big games he had against FSU and Georgia Tech to start off 2009 he has been terrible as a starting college quarterback. And yes, I am still pissed I bet on Miami to cover at home against FSU. They could have at least shown up and fought. Instead they looked like a bunch of pansies with Randy Shannon leading the way. How he still has a job and got an extension last year is just amazing!

SPORTSCRACK.COM MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM

We have reached the halfway point of the college football season. It's time to acknowledge some of the outstanding performances we have seen so far by coming up with our MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM. Feel free to argue in the comments section if you disagree. Don't be a pussy and piss and moan about it with others without voicing your opinion here. I'm going by the performances of this year alone. I'm not falling for the preseason hype.

QB: DENARD ROBINSON (MICHIGAN)
Yes I know he didn't perform like fucking Superman last week against Sparty but he is still having the best overall season for a QB. He leads the nation in rushing and is 12th in passing efficiency. He's the most exciting player in college football.


RB: LAMICHAEL JAMES (OREGON) AND KENDALL HUNTER (OKLAHOMA STATE)
James leads the nation in rushing yards per game and has the Ducks flying high right now. Hunter has been a straight up pimp for the Cowboys who are also undefeated.


WR: ALSHON JEFFERY (SOUTH CAROLINA) AND JUSTIN BLACKMON (OKLAHOMA STATE)
Georgia WR AJ Green would have been on here if it wasn't for the stupid suspension. Jeffery was unbelievable last week in the huge upset over Bama. Blackmon leads the nation in receiving yards and TD catches.


TE: MICHAEL EGNEW (MISSOURI)
Egnew is having a breakthrough season and since Kyle Rudolph is done for the season he gets the nod.


OFFENSIVE LINE: NEBRASKA
It's almost impossible for me to pick out individuals who have excelled this season on the offensive line so instead the most impressive line I have seen play this year is Nebraska. They open up some big holes for Taylor Martinez to run through and are a big reason why Nebraska has a chance of going undefeated this season.


DE: RYAN KERRIGAN (PURDUE) AND DA'QUAN BOWERS (CLEMSON)
Kerrigan is a beast who has a motor that never stops who leads the nation in tackles for loss. Bowers is a future top 5 NFL pick who despite double teams has 6 sacks.

DT: DRAKE NEVIS (LSU) AND CAMERON HEYWARD (OHIO STATE)
Nevis is just another great LSU d-tackle who has 9 tackles for loss including 4 sacks. He was absolutely dominating last week against the Gators and is the main reason why LSU is still undefeated. Ironhead's kid has been double teamed and triple teamed all season but his presence on the line is a big reason why the Buckeyes defense is so dominant.

MLB: LUKE KUECHLY (BOSTON COLLEGE) AND LAVONTE DAVID (NEBRASKA)
Kuechly has been sensational ever since his freshman season last year. He leads the nation in tackles and has 5 tackles for loss. Not too bad for a 3 star player from Cincy who was never recruited by Notre Dame. David on the other hand was a highly recruited player who came to Nebraska via community college.

OLB: MARIO HARVEY (MARSHALL)
Harvey may be short in stature but holy shit he is a great football player. He is always around the ball and reminds me a lot of Jessie Tuggle. Harvey is my only outside backer because I can't think of any others who have played great this season.

CB: PATRICK PETERSON (LSU) AND STEPHON GILMORE (SOUTH CAROLINA)
Peterson is the best defensive player in the country. Gilmore had two huge sacks against Bama.


SS: AHMAD BLACK (FLORIDA)
The guy is a heat seeking bullet if you ask me.

FS: ROBERT LESTER (ALABAMA)
Continues to make big plays for the Bama defense.

KICKER: BLAIR WALSH (GEORGIA)
Walsh is about as automatic as you can get. Even from 50 plus yards.

PUNTER: ANTHONY SANTELLA (ILLINOIS)
Nobody boots it with as much trajectory, hang time, and distance as Santella.

COACH: CHRIS PETERSEN (BOISE STATE)
Haven't lost a regular season game since 2007 and he wins all of his BCS Bowl games.

NEBRASKA QB TAYLOR MARTINEZ HAS HIS OWN SONG CALLED "T-MAGIC"

I'm not going to lie. This shit is kind of catchy. Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez is only a redshirt freshman but has taken over the QB position unexpectedly and in the process has earned the nickname "T-Magic." In five games he has led Nebraska to a 5-0 record while rushing for 737 yards and 12 touchdowns (leads the nation). Last Thursday night he ripped off 241 yards rushing against Kansas State on a national televised game on ESPN. It set a record for most rushing yards in a game for a Nebraska QB. The kid is basically white lightning. He finds a hole, any hole, and he is going the distance. He's going for speed. He's Taylor Martinez. He's simply "T-Magic."

KYLE RUDOLPH OUT FOR SEASON

Image courtesy of AP

Notre Dame received some bad news yesterday when it was revealed starting tight end and All-American candidate Kyle Rudolph has a torn hamstring that will require surgery. Immediately.

Losing Rudolph hurts. He's the best tight end in the country and is one of QB Dayne Crist's favorite targets. You can't just replace a 6'7 target who rips off 95 yard TD catches like Rudolph. But the Fighting Irish will have to have players step up.

One of the candidates to replace Rudolph are Tyler Eifert who is a sophomore and has been slowed down by a shoulder sprain this season. Eifert is 6'6 and has good hands but doesn't have the blocking skills of Rudolph. Senior Mike Ragone was expected to be the next budding superstar tight end when he was recruited by Charlie Weis to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Fasano and John Carlson. Knee injuries, an off-field incident and Rudolph has hampered his ability to see the field much in his career at ND. Now is his chance to step up. Also waiting in the wings is sophomore Jake Golic.

My prediction is Ragone steps up and takes advantage of this huge opportunity. Ragone has the speed and the skill to be an excellent choice to replace Rudy at the tight end position. He just needs more reps. He should get them and forget about the drop pass he had last week against Pitt. He knows now that if he messes up he will still be given a chance to see the field which I think will do wonders on his confidence.

Losing Rudy for the season hurts the Irish today but it might help them next season. Rudolph is the nation's premier tight end prospect and was expected to weigh an early entree decision into the NFL draft after his junior season. Now with the expected recovery time of 4-6 months from the hamstring surgery it appears it would be in his best interest to come back for his senior season and rehab while getting his degree.

BRAVES NOT WASTING TIME: FREDI GONZALEZ WILL BE NEW MANAGER BY THURSDAY

Photo courtesy of AJC.com

Only a day after the Braves were eliminated from the playoffs in which we watched Bobby Cox wave his final goodbye to the Atlanta home crowd after 25 seasons as "The Skipper" news broke yesterday that Fredi Gonzalez would be named his replacement starting tomorrow.

Fredi Gonzalez has been hired as the Braves' new manager and will be introduced at a news conference Thursday, two people familiar with the negotiations confirmed.

This comes as no surprise. Ever since Bobby Cox announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2010 season Gonzalez has been the rumored frontrunner. Gonzalez's dismissal from the Marlins in June only fueled the flames of change. Fredi seems to be the perfect choice to replace Bobby. He was the third base coach under Bobby from 2003-2006 after managing the Braves AAA club in Richmond. He got to experience the Atlanta clubhouse and the way things are run in the organization and has a pretty firm understanding of the culture. He also has the experience of coaching a MLB team in the Florida Marlins for 3 seasons before being fired. He was named the Sporting News Manager of the Year in 2008 after leading the Marlins to a winning record despite having baseball's lowest payroll. Fredi also has the support of veterans in the Braves clubhouse such as Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, and Brian McCann.

Personally I think Fredi is a great choice to replace Bobby. The most logical choice too. The Braves still have a lot of pieces in the clubhouse coming back next season that are ready to compete for a division title. Fredi knows how to run a team and doesn't take shit from his players (example: benching Hanley Ramirez for not hustling) but still has the respect from the team as a whole. The Braves will have Huddy, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson, and Jair Jurrjens all in the rotation and if they can add some pieces to the lineup (Carl Crawford would be perfect, so would Jayson Werth) and get back a healthy Chipper Jones and Martin Prado along with the development of budding stars Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman there is no reason why the Braves shouldn't compete for at least a Wild Card in 2011.