SCOUT.COM IS SMOKING CRACK IF THEY THINK UGA IS #3 PRESEASON

Look I'm all for a little overhyping college football expectations in August but Scout.com went completely off the deep end today with putting Georgia at #3 in the nation. Ahead of Florida (last time I checked Florida owns Georgia). Ahead of Boise State (shut up Georgia fans, they are better than you, deal with it). Ahead of Texas and Oklahoma. Ahead of Iowa? Come on Scout. Let's get serious. Here is their reasoning:

Predicted Record:: 10-2
Why Georgia Should Be No. 1: Don’t be fooled by last year’s slide. The loss of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, along with a laughable array of injuries, kept Georgia from being Georgia, but this year’s team should be back to form thanks to a deep offensive line that will be among the best in the country (if everyone stays healthy), a phenomenal linebacking corps, a strong backfield, and a future NFL star in WR A.J. Green. Throw in the best kicking game in college football, and shhhhhh … here’s your sleeper for the national title.
Why Georgia Isn’t No. 1: Aaron Murray. The Georgia quarterback situation wasn’t exactly settled this offseason with Murray the best of a mediocre lot. Murray has the tools and he has the talent, but he has to prove he can navigate his way through the SEC wars. On the other side, unlike last year, the defense has to play up to its talent and athleticism.
Key to the Season:: Turnover margin. Georgia, with enough talent and speed to hang around with anyone in the SEC, forced two fumbles and picked off ten passes, while the offense gave it away 28 times. Alright, so takeaways aren’t necessarily indicative of success (Florida and Cincinnati only recovered three fumbles and Alabama came up with seven), but the knucklehead streak when it came to penalties didn’t help. The Bulldogs were flagged 105 times; only five teams got hit with more penalties.
Relative Strength: Offensive Line, Linebacker
Relative Weakness: Quarterback
What to watch for on offense: The health of the offensive line. There were a slew of injury problems throughout the line last year, highlighted by a second knee injury to OT Trinton Sturdivant, and there was plenty of scrambling. The starting combination was rarely the same with the right starting five not set until halfway through the year. Even with all the drama, the production was still solid. Now, with talent, depth, and plenty of experience, the line might be the best in America if everyone stays healthy and the skill players will get plenty of time to work.
What to watch for on defense: The 3-4. Grantham will install a pro-style defensive scheme taking pass rushing star Justin Houston off the line and making him into a hybrid. The idea is to put three sides of beef up front, and the Georgia linemen are quick enough to get into the backfield, too. The four linebackers will be turned loose to be disruptive, swarm around the ball, and fly to the quarterback from a variety of angles.

You gotta realize that Georgia is starting a quarterback in Aaron Murray who has never taken a snap in college. If you remember Matthew Stafford's first season you will recall how painful that was. And that team was much better talent wise than this years team. Listen, Georgia's defense should be better but that isn't saying much. They were completely awful last year. To say they are a top 5 preseason team means they have a great to good defense and an offense that will score a lot of points. Georgia has proven neither. Their offensive line should be strong with plenty of experience and depth coming back but I don't see a talented back in the mold of Knowshon or Herschel or even a Garrison Hearst who is going to lead you past Florida.

I see Georgia going 9-3 at best during the regular season. South Carolina in Columbia is always tough (50/50). Arkansas the next week in Athens could see Ryan Mallett throw for 300 plus yards (50/50). They should beat Tennessee but then again the Vols always seem to play their best game against the Dawgs especially in Athens. Florida could again crush them in Jacksonville. Auburn on the road is not easy and history tells you the last time the Bulldogs won 5 straight against the Tigers was in the 1940's so expect a close battle. And then you got the home state battle with Georgia Tech who under Paul Johnson can hang with Mark Richt scheme wise. So you are telling me that Georgia could possibly lose only one of those games Scout? Highly doubtful.

24 DAYS TILL NOTRE DAME CRUSHES PURDUE

With senior running backs Armando Allen and Robert Hughes (with his size he should be like Ray Zellars) and talented underclassmen such as Jonas Gray and Cierre Wood (hearing similar reports on the redshirt freshman as Knowshon Moreno had before his breakout season in Athens) the Fighting Irish should be able to run for at least 230 yards against a rather weak Purdue front 7. It looks like at this moment according to practice reports that the Notre Dame offensive line will consist of Taylor Dever at right tackle, Trevor Robinson at right guard, Dan Wenger at center, Chris Stewart at left guard, and Zach Martin at left tackle. If you are counting that is two new starters at the tackle spots. Dayne Crist will of course be the starting QB and his first option at tight end will be All-American Kyle Rudolph and at wide receiver it will be another All-American in Michael Floyd. Freshman WR TJ Jones looks like he will get starting duties as does tailback convert Theo Riddick (think Golden Tate in the slot with Riddick). The offense should be explosive and Brian Kelly's teams at Cincinnati routinely put over 40 points a game on the score board. The offense has a ton of experience and depth at key positions but the key will be the offensive line meshing especially at the tackle spots and keeping Crist healthy. Without Dayne this offense will struggle to form an identity in my opinion.

The defense remains a different story and something I will dive into tomorrow. The whole front 7 returns with plenty of talent among the starters but do they have the depth to shut down teams running games? We will see.

NEW SHIRT: 9 RUDY SHAMROCK

We are bringing back the old vintage design Shamrock shirts we did a few years ago. This is the first new "old" one with a new moniker of "RUDY" on it. Get it today for only $17.

CARDINALS AND REDS BRAWL

Now that is what I was talking about yesterday. The Cardinals and the Reds just now officially moved into a heated rivalry worth talking about. Brandon Phillips opened the floodgates the day before with his "little bitches" comment and the Cardinals responded when Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (most overrated catcher in the game) did not take kindly to Phillips before the first pitch was even thrown. Phillips hit Molina's shin pads with his bat (Phillip's ritual which is bull shit anyways) and Molina flipped out. Of course Molina being the pussy he is didn't throw a punch. He just started screaming at him and then of course the benches cleared and a whole bunch of pushing and shoving and crying ensued.

Eventually ordered was restored and the only ejections were the managers. Tony Larussa and Dusty Baker have a history that dates back to 2000 in which both guys have had heated exchanges. This was no different. And you know what? This is great for baseball. Right now is about the time people like myself start to forget about baseball because football is right around the corner. The major network and MLB love to shove that AL East rivalry down our throats and talk about it like it is the only thing that matters. Clearly it doesn't. And now with the Reds and Cardinals feuding for first place in the Central it's bound to get more interesting and we can actually focus on other teams. It shows the fans that the players care and it was great seeing Scott Rolen (future Hall of Famer) muck it up with ex-teammate Chris Carpenter. This is what rivalries are about. No more buddy-buddy bull shit. It's about fighting till the last pitch.


As much as I loathe Molina (the guy just gets on my nerves for some reason) I was actually smiling when he hit the home run yesterday. You could see how much it pissed off the Reds team and you could also see how good it felt for Molina with his slow trot around the bases which was very Phillips-like. This is good theater my friends. Finally.

BRANDON PHILLIPS CALLS THE CARDINALS "LITTLE BITCHES"

All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips is not a big fan of their division rival St. Louis Cardinals. In fact he had some pretty choice words for the Redbirds...

“We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear – I hate the Cardinals.”

This is what baseball needs. We need teams and players who hate each other. It started earlier this season when Red's first baseman Joey Votto said he hates the Cubs and wouldn't even acknowledge Marlon Byrd at the All-Star game because he is a Scrub. I'm sick and tired of all the players being all buddy buddy with the opposing teams. Growing up I remember a lot more baseball fights then there seem to be now. I remember Otis Nixon doing a Karate Kid on one of the pitchers for probably making fun of the powder on his nose. I remember George Brett freaking out at the umpires for the Pine Tar incident. It just seemed like players cared more back in the day.

Maybe I am romanticizing it but I honestly I enjoy hearing the players hate their rivals. It shows to me that they care more about winning than anything else. There should be no finger blasting each other before or after the game (talking to you A-Roid) and instead I want to see yelling and cursing at each other.

I guess what I am trying to say is baseball needs more "bad guys" like Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto. You want players on your team who are ready to go to war because you know they have your teammates back. A little psycho is good for the camaraderie every once in a while.

Hopefully Albert Pujols stops being the nice guy and calls Phillips a "little Stone Mountain piece of shit" who can lick his zits off his back. Come on Albert. Stop being Winnie the Pujols and start acting like the bad guy. More vinegar and less honey would make baseball more exciting for the common fan.

Image via SI.com

JERRY RICE GIVES THE OLD ONE FINGER SALUTE

The greatest receiver of all-time just showed why he was so dominant. He has fucking bananas for fingers. No wonder he caught all those touchdown passes from Joe Montana and Steve Young. I like the planning ahead and putting the Super Bowl ring on his middle finger too. That way he can give a double FU to all the people who don't have a ring. I'm thinking Dan Marino wouldn't appreciate it.

TIM TEBOW ROCKING THE MONK DO

Tim Tebow suffered a little rookie hazing this weekend from his Denver Broncos teammates with the annual "Monk Cut."

Bravo Broncos. I think the haircut suits him perfectly. This might actually become popular in the Mile High City. Next thing you know you will see Carmelo rocking it to the clubs.

Image via Lendale White's Twitter

CENTRAL FLORIDA DOES IT RIGHT

Axis Magazine got permission from George O'Leary and the University of Central Florida to do a photo shoot of Playboy Playmate Shanna Marie McLaughlin in the locker room. Fanfuckingtastic. Some people think it's highly controversial to have an UCF alum in Shanna doing bikini poses in the player's locker room and to those people all I want to say is FUCK OFF. We live in America. Football and TNA go together like baseball players and PEDs. I'm sure now somebody will be fired and there will be some big political correctness uproar at Central Florida over something that is FUCKING AWESOME. You can take your Totalitarianism ideology and shove it up your ass.

Oh, and by the way I might have just become Central Florida's #1 fan. Sorry for the yelling. It's Monday and I'm a little high strung today.

Link HT: Extra Mustard

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALEX RODRIGUEZ (A-ROID) ON HIS 600TH*

I use to remember when hitting 600 home runs was a big deal. Now it's barely a blimp on the sports world. And with good reason since the man who did it yesterday goes by the name of A-ROID. Just like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire I refuse to acknowledge Alex Rodriguez as an all-time great because of the steroids.

In honor of A-ROID's 600th* home run we have marked down all A-Roids shirts to $6.00. Get them now. We have a limited amount available.

AMAZING CATCH OR FAKE?

The Japanese fooled me once with Godzilla and since then I refuse to be sold with a false bill of goods. Is this shit real? If it is it's the most amazing catch I've ever seen by somebody 5 foot 5. It's probably some bull shit Gatorade commercial. You remember the one with Michael Vick throwing a football out of the stadium? Only way that shit would have been real if it was a pitbull.

Video via Extra Mustard

POLITICAL CARTOONIST MIKE LUCKOVICH NAILS IT WITH THE CHUGA

Slow clap for AJC Mike Luckovich for hitting one out of the park with this cartoon of UGA.

EVA MENDES SEX TAPE

Eva Mendes Sex Tape from Eva Mendes

It's not even funny. What a bunch of bull shit this is. I'm just posting it to get the traffic. Seriously. Sometimes it's about making sacrifices for the good of my wallet. Live and learn. Eva is on my shit list after this garbage. You want an Oscar well you better start Monster Balling like Halle Berry did.

NOTRE DAME TO PLAY TEXAS IN HOME AND HOME STARTING IN 2015

This will put a smile on your face if you are a college football fan. I just got word that college football powerhouses Notre Dame and Texas will meet in 2015 and 2016 for a little recreational football. ND and Texas probably have the two biggest fan bases and both programs can benefit greatly in each other in terms of $$$$$ by scheduling these games more often.

This will just add another game to my college football bucket list. I got to eventually get out and see the Red River Shootout and also see a Michigan-Ohio State battle. Last year I saw Notre Dame-USC. I've seen Notre Dame-Michigan and I've seen Georgia-Georgia Tech. I already have plans in 2012 to go see the Catholics vs Convicts rematch in Chicago and also see Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland against Navy. I still have never been to the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville. Come to think of it I've missed out on some great college football action. What other battles would you recommend?

THIS MADE ME LAUGH

Sorry but I could not help but laugh at this jackass. You start dancing or slow walking in the road you are bound to get hit. Lesson learned the hard way. I don't usually wish harm on people but I wouldn't mind it if more people got hit. You know the people who walk as slow as possible across the street so you will stop for them. And then they stare you down like they are the tough ones. In my dreams I blow my horn and hit them. Obviously the guy driving the chip truck was living the dream in this video.

Video HT: George Lee

SERIOUSLY UGA THIS VIDEO IS EMBARRASSING

After watching this video the Princeton Review might have to revoke the whole #1 party school tag they just received. Seriously this video makes Georgia look like a bunch of uncoordinated non-talented assbags. My high school video production could make better shit than this. And how the fuck did this get sent to BarStoolSports before it got sent to us? If you are going to send the video to a bunch of jerkoffs you might as well send it to a Southern jerkoff who lives in Atlanta. I'm very disappointed I had to go to a Boston blog to see the video. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Now go to your room.

I know this is just for orientation for incoming students but this is the kind of shit that makes you lose to Florida by 30 plus points. Hey good pick on the Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA." Too bad Penn State already got to it...

BRETT FAVRE TELLS HIS VIKINGS TEAMMATES HE WILL RETIRE

I have a hard time believing it but Brett Favre has apparently decided to retire. What is this, the 10th time?

Brett Favre has informed his Vikings teammates that he will not return for another season in Minnesota, the Star-Tribune reported Tuesday.

Favre has sent text messages to teammates saying, "This is it," league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Neither Favre nor the Vikings have confirmed the news but a press release is expected Tuesday, the sources said.

"This is it eh!" Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Neither are fucking true and I have a hard time believing Favre is actually going to retire coming off the season he did last year. He was a legit Pro Bowler(4200 yards and 33 TD with only 7 INTs) and should have had the Vikings in the Super Bowl if he didn't pull another Favre and throw a late pick in the NFC Title game.

If he is retiring well then the Vikings are pretty much fucked. Tarvaris Jackson would now be their starting quarterback. The drop off is deeper than the Grand Canyon.

I hope it's true but I don't believe it. We have all been burned way too many times by Mr. Wrangler with this retirement BS. If it's true it helps the Atlanta Falcons enormously which I will be grateful. If it's not well then Favre can go fuck himself. And I mean that politely.

UGA NAMED #1 PARTY SCHOOL

The above image of Damon Evans comes from the PigskinDoctors.com whom I'm pretty sure deserve an Academy Award, a Grammy, and a Nobel Peace Prize for one of the funniest fucking photoshops I have ever seen. I have been literally crying in laughter just staring at the panties on his head. Anyways thanks to Damon Evans losing his Athletic Director job to an unfortunate DUI a month ago Georgia has now gone up from #4 party school in the nation to #1 this year according to the Princeton Review. This honor definitely deserves a shirt. Come on Bulldog fans. Send me some ideas. So far I have come up with these:

-Party Like A Bulldog Today

-Party Like Damon Evans Today

-Drink Em!

-Athens: Beer Me Capital

I know they suck so please help me help you. You can email me your idea to matt@sportscrack.com. Whoever has the best idea gets $100 cold hard cash and some red panties.

LB STEVE FILER JUMPS OVER ND

Notre Dame linebacker Steve Filer has way too much athleticism to be sitting on the sideline this season. With Jon Tenuta gone I expect to see a lot of Filer crushing skulls on the football field this fall. I'm thinking you put him in on goal line and short yard situations and let him do his Lavar Arrington. You remember this right?



Oh and by the way Notre Dame is going to have some sick linebackers this season. Between Manti Te'o, Anthony McDonald, Brian Smith, Filer, Darius Fleming, Kerry Neal, and Carlo Calabrese among others I wouldn't be shocked to see at least 30 sacks from this group. They need a nickname. Any suggestions?

KENNY POWERS GETS SIGNED BY K-SWISS

Kenny Powers Gets Signed By K-Swiss - watch more funny videos

Slow fucking clap. Kenny Motha f-ing Powers is back in one month. He's got endorsements. With a big ass trailer. Not a little one.

KENNY POWERS STARES DOWN JEREMY SHOCKEY

Kenny Motha f-ing Powers is invincible in his new K-Swiss shoes. I once had a pair of K-Swiss's in college. I wore them for about 2 weeks while working on the golf course. I stopped wearing them when I started walking like Forrest Gump. They were the most uncomfortable shoes I have ever worn. So fuck you Kenny Powers! I don't need your stinkin Gimp shoes.



By the way the K-Swiss people are brilliant. I might just now buy a pair of shoes if they unleash secret muscles I've never had. If Kenny Powers says it it must be true.