Wishing the best for Georgia

Damon Evans is gone at AD for Georgia. Evans will receive three months of severance pay – about $137,500 and a $100,000 longevity bonus for having 3 count em 3 drinks. That works out to $76,000 a drink. So who says drinking doesn’t pay.

According to Mark Bradley at the ACJ Carla Williams should be the favorite to replace him.

There is a third possibility out there in Mike Garrett who has experience at a major level working with a great coach and is looking for a change in scenery. So all you smart Georgia fans e-mail Michael F. Adams and let him know that you want experience at the AD position not more red panties.

BBR’s Week 2 Top 25

Couple of good games this weekend mixed the top 25 up a little with the Pac10 and the MAC doing most of the mixing. The MAC and the WAC came real close to pulling upsets over the Big 10 and the Pac 10. The biggest losers this week Notre Dame and the Big 10.

Being off Kentucky didn’t pick up any votes in the AP which doesn’t mean anything since the AP has never matched what fans manage to see every weekend with what writers don’t watch.

In the Coaches poll Kentucky got 9 votes which would rank us 6th in the SEC and 38th in the nation.

1 Florida 2-0
2 Texas 2-0
3 USC 2-0
4 Alabama 2-0
5 Brigham Young 2-0
6 Penn State 2-0
7 Mississippi 1-0
8 California 2-0
9 Boise State 2-0
10 Ohio State 1-1
11 LSU 2-0
12 Oklahoma 1-1
13 Virginia Tech 1-1
14 Cincinnati 2-0
15 TCU 1-0
16 Miami (FL) 1-0
17 Georgia Tech 2-0
18 Utah 2-0 405
19 Nebraska 2-0
20 Oklahoma State 1-1
21 Houston 2-0
22 Kansas 2-0
23 Georgia 1-1
24 Notre Dame 1-1
25 Michigan 2-0

BBR’s Week 1 Top 25

In an attempt to give you a unbiased by the media blue view of how good teams are we proudly give you our week 1 top 25 rankings.

Our rankings in no way suggest that some of these teams deserve to be ranked #1 or in the top 25 since at least one of them won against a Charleston Pastry team and others against programs desperate for money and short on top 150 talent.

BBR’s hats go off to Alabama, California, Miami (Fl), Boise St, BYU and Cincinnati for winning against quality opponents. A special hat tip to the WAC and the MWC for electing to play top tier teams and to William & Mary and Richmond for wins over ACC teams.

1 Florida 1-0
2 Texas 1-0
3 USC 1-0
4 California 1-0
5 Oklahoma State 1-0
6 Alabama 1-0
7 Penn State 1-0
8 Mississippi 1-0
9 Brigham Young 1-0
10 Ohio State 1-0
11 LSU 1-0
12 Boise State 1-0
13 Georgia Tech 1-0
14 Virginia Tech 0-1
15 Oklahoma 0-1
16 TCU 0-0
17 Utah 1-0
18 Miami (FL) 1-0
19 Cincinnati 1-0
20 Notre Dame 1-0
21 Nebraska 1-0
22 Georgia 0-1
23 North Carolina 1-0
24 Kansas 1-0
25 Missouri 1-0

USA Today Poll

USA Today has released there preseason top 25. The Cats got 9 votes and are ranked 42 in the nation.

What shouldn’t surprise anyone is that there are no Big East teams ranked to start the season. Cincinnati, Pittsburg, W. Va, Rutgers and S. Florida all got votes. Its hard to see anyone besides Cincinnati or W. Virginia making a climb in to the top 25 due to the strength of their non-conference schedules.

The MWC and the WAC have four teams in the top 25 and a fifth Nevada got a few votes. Its easier to see some of them staying in the top 25 since they have teams that stand a fair chance of winning games against the BCS teams on their non-conference schedules.

USA Today Poll

1. Florida (53) 0-0 1,466

2. Texas (4) 0-0 1,386
3. Oklahoma (1) 0-0 1,358
4. USC (1) 0-0 1,321
5. Alabama 0-0 1,134
6. Ohio State 0-0 1,126
7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,020
8. Penn State 0-0 988
9. LSU 0-0 917
10. Mississippi 0-0 889
11. Oklahoma State 0-0 861
12. California 0-0 711
13. Georgia 0-0 707
14. Oregon 0-0 694
15. Georgia Tech 0-0 559
16. Boise State 0-0 542
17. TCU 0-0 461
18. Utah 0-0 404
19. Florida State 0-0 371
20. North Carolina 0-0 293
21. Iowa 0-0 257
22. Nebraska 0-0 236
23. Notre Dame 0-0 194
24. Brigham Young 0-0 178
25. Oregon State 0-0 165

Others Receiving Votes: Kansas 138, Michigan State 136, Texas Tech 114, Cincinnati 90, Pittsburgh 64, West Virginia 55, Rutgers 51, Miami (FL) 46, Missouri 44, Illinois 38, Clemson 30, South Carolina 18, UCLA 14, Auburn 12, South Florida 11, Nevada 11, Kentucky 9, North Carolina State 7, Wisconsin 6, Arkansas 6, Northwestern 5, Southern Miss 4, Wake Forest 4, Arizona 3, Boston College 3, CENTRL MICHIGAN 3, East Carolina 3, Colorado 2, Maryland 2, Navy 2, Tennessee 2, TROY 1, Minnesota 1, Michigan 1, Houston 1.

SEC Recruiting Expenses

Here are the figures for the last three years on recruiting expenses for football, baseball and basketball in the SEC. The final number following football spending indicates the recruiting ranking according to Rivals.com for that year.

One thing that stands out is that Kentucky was ranked 1st, 3rd and 2nd in spending for baseball. I wonder what would have happened if we had ranked like that in football spending. A second is that Tennessee is spending a lot of money to be as bad as they have become. Finally the name Alabama must still be strong for them to be as good as they are with as little as they spend on recruiting.

FOOTBALL

2005-06

Tennessee: $1,071,264 (23)
Florida: $643,406 (2)
Auburn: $621,115 (10)
LSU: $577,393 (7)
Georgia: $534,004 (4)
Arkansas: $490,771 (26)
Ole Miss: $436,948 (16)
Miss. State: $300,100 (44)
Kentucky: $291,370 (36)
S. Carolina: $248,585 (24)
Alabama: $237,774 (11)
Vanderbilt: N/A (60)

2006-07

Tennessee: $1,311,894 (3)
Auburn: $756,880 (7)
Florida: $649,375 (1)
LSU: $634,896 (4)
Arkansas: $513,784 (31)
Georgia: $506,462 (9)
Ole Miss: $389,224 (27)
Kentucky: $319,289 (54)
Miss. State: $286,430 (39)
S. Carolina: $283,505 (6)
Alabama: $258,846 (10)
Vanderbilt: N/A (67)

2007-08

Tennessee: $1,081,250 (35)
LSU: $776,029 (11)
Auburn: $737,380 (20)
Georgia: $523,056 (7)
Florida: $506,673 (3)
Arkansas: $494,181 (36)
Ole Miss: $405,654 (29)
Alabama: $360,327 (1)
Kentucky: $312,056 (57)
S. Carolina: $289,639 (22)
Miss. State: $272,872 (44)
Vanderbilt: N/A (90)

3-YEAR AVERAGE

Tennessee: $1,154,802
Auburn: $705,125
LSU: $662,772
Florida: $599,818
Georgia: $521,174
Arkansas: $499,578
Ole Miss: $410,608
Kentucky: $307,571
Miss. State: $286,467
Alabama: $285,649
S. Carolina: $273,909
Vanderbilt: N/A

MEN’S BASKETBALL

2005-06

Auburn: $311,113
Arkansas: $220,669
Florida: $206,346
Georgia: $196,482
Kentucky: $169,498
Tennessee: $144,240
S. Carolina: $122,819
Alabama: $110,591
Ole Miss: $84,968
LSU: $83,599
Miss. State: $83,374
Vanderbilt: N/A

2006-07

Auburn: $306,000
Arkansas: $286,007
Florida: $283,078
Georgia: $196,437
Kentucky: $165,123
LSU: $152,015
Alabama: $126,649
Tennessee: $125,528
S. Carolina: $98,340
Ole Miss: $93,759
Miss. State: $85,064
Vanderbilt: N/A

2007-08

Florida: $354,208
Arkansas: $304,275
Auburn: $293,000
Kentucky: $211,253
Georgia: $155,152
Alabama: $138,332
LSU: $127,021
Tennessee: $124,244
S. Carolina: $117,713
Ole Miss: $104,829
Miss. State: $100,058
Vanderbilt: N/A

3-YEAR AVERAGE

Auburn: $303,371
Florida: $281,210
Arkansas: $270,317
Georgia: $182,690
Kentucky: $181,958
Tennessee: $131,337
Alabama: $125,190
LSU: $120,878
S. Carolina: $112,957
Ole Miss: $94,518
Miss. State: $89,498
Vanderbilt: N/A

BASEBALL

2005-06

Kentucky: $80,449
Arkansas: $69,140
Auburn: $65,883
Florida: $62,210
Alabama: $53,703
Tennessee: $50,308
Ole Miss: $43,921
S. Carolina: $42,164
Georgia: $40,868
LSU: $28,150
Miss. State: $23,325
Vanderbilt: N/A

2006-07

Arkansas: $91,756
LSU: $80,348
Kentucky: $72,458
Auburn: $68,500
Alabama: $57,325
Florida: $47,514
Tennessee: $47,440
Georgia: $45,829
Ole Miss: $42,460
S. Carolina: $31,804
Miss. State: $18,342
Vanderbilt: N/A

2007-08

Arkansas: $87,115
Kentucky: $71,849
LSU: $70,493
Auburn: $68,500
S. Carolina: $53,196
Tennessee: $50,282
Georgia: $47,962
Florida: $47,612
Ole Miss: $46,868
Alabama: $38,609
Miss. State: $26,518
Vanderbilt: N/A

3-YEAR AVERAGE

Arkansas: $82,670
Kentucky: $74,918
Auburn: $67,627
LSU: $59,663
Florida: $52,445
Alabama: $49,879
Tennessee: $49,343
Georgia: $44,886
Ole Miss: $44,416
S. Carolina: $42,388
Miss. State: $22,728
Vanderbilt: N/A

Is it time to worry yet

Looking at the 2010 recruits signed so far you have to wonder if its time to worry yet. There is a lot of time before we need to worry but from looking at the SEC schools so far we should at least think about worrying. Its been said that we are recruiting players who are ranked higher than we normally do and they tend to sign later so there is no need to worry yet. Here is what scout.com is showing about the SEC teams recruiting so far.

Alabama: 16 HS players. 7 ranked top 150, 7 ranked in the 70′s and 2 ranked 40′s. They also have 2 JC commitments.

Arkansas: 8 HS players. 1 ranked top 150, 4 ranked in the 70′s and 3 ranked in the 40′s. They have 1 JC commitment.

Auburn: 8 HS players. 2 ranked top 150, 5 ranked in the 70′s and 1 ranked in the 40′s.

Florida: 14 HS players. 9 ranked top 150. 1 ranked in the 80′s, 2 ranked in the 70′s and 3 ranked in the 40′s.

Georgia: 13 HS players. 7 ranked top 150, 4 ranked in the 70′s and 1 ranked in the 40′s. They have 1 JC commitment.

Kentucky: 1 ranked in the 70′s and 1 ranked in the 40′s.

LSU: 14 HS players. 7 ranked top 150 and 7 ranked in the 70′s. They have 1 JC commitment.

Mississippi: 2 HS players. 1 top 150 and 1 in the 40′s.

Mississippi St: 5 HS players. 2 top 150 players and 3 ranked in the 70′s. They also have 1 JC player.

South Carolina: 12 HS players. 4 ranked in the top 150, 5 ranked in the 70′s and 3 ranked in the 40′s. They also have 1 JC commitment.

Tennessee: 9 HS players. 3 ranked in the top 150 and 2 in the 40′s. They also have 3 JC commitments.

Vanderbilt: 13 HS commitments. 1 top 150 commitment. 11 ranked in the 70′s and 1 in the 40′s.

Scouts.com shows 84 players still considering the Cats including 4 top 150 players who are being recruited by teams we should be able to out recruit. Given the odds we should sign some good players but still we need to start worrying a little.

Cats in preseason top 25

The Cats are ranked 25th by Vegas Insider in their Preseason Top 25. SEC teams Florida #1, Ole Miss #6, Alabama #8, LSU #10 and Georgia #18 are also ranked.

25-KENTUCKY…Rich Brooks has been looking for a playmaker in Lexington and might have found one in versatile soph Randall Cobb, who sparked the Wildcat “O” on occasion at QB last fall, but appears ready to make a bigger impact in ’09 at WR or perhaps in direct-snap situations. Cobb’s presence might also make it a bit easier for mechanical QB Mike Hartline to become involved in more big plays this fall. But it’s on defense where the Wildcats ought to excel, with several honors candidates still in the fold (including potential NFL draftees LB Micah Johnson & CB Trevard Lindley) despite star DE Jeremy Jarmon being declared ineligible in spring. A forgiving non-conference slate makes a fourth straight bowl trip very likely.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/story.cfm/story/871681

Never to early to go out on a limb

With a little over two months left till the football season starts its time to talk about what sort of season the Cats will have this year.

Starting off the season with Miami of Ohio 2-10 last year should give the Cats an easy win although the hiring of Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood as head coach should put a little spunk in the Redhawks offense. Haywood has worked as an assistant at Texas, LSU, Ball State, Ohio, Army and Minnesota and in 2005, he was named NCAA Division I-A assistant coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association. Kentucky 1-0.

Louisville 5-7 last year should be another win but this is a rivalry game. With Hunter Cantwell’s back up Matt Simms transferring Louisville has no experience at quarterback making it a little more difficult for Louisville to come away with win. Kentucky 2-0.

The third game of the season brings Florida 13-1 to Lexington. The best we can realistically hope for is that the Gators stomp Tennessee the week before and the Cats play the Gators much better than they did last year. A good game could be a launching board for a great season. Kentucky 2-1.

Alabama 12-2 last year is the next visitor to Lexington. Last year with one or two breaks the Cats could have beaten the Tide. Having them in Lexington and without an experienced quarterback they can be beaten. If Mike Hartline can connect with our receivers and couple of defensive stops go our way and this could be a big upset. Kentucky 2-2.

OK the Really Ole Ball Coach thinks he’s finally found his quarter back at South Carolina 7-6 last year. The Cats are due to win this game. Kentucky 3-2.

Auburn 5-7 last year had a problem the Cats use to have. According to Gene Chizik “Depth is an issue at this point, and I think that’s glaring”. Their offense also stinks so this is close but another winnable game. Kentucky 4-2.

We then get Louisiana Monroe 4-8 last year at home. The Warhawks beat Alabama in 2007 but wont beat the Cats in Lexington. This will be the game where a freshman quarterback gets a decent amount of playing time. Kentucky 5-2.

Mississippi State 4-8 last year doesn’t come to Lexington and win. Kentucky 6-2.

Eastern Kentucky 8-4 won the OVC last year but don’t look to match up with the Cats although they might play them better than people expect. Kentucky 7-2.

Vanderbilt 7-6 came into Lexington and beat the Cats. Mackenzi Adams is a good quarterback and running back Jared Hawkins should be much improved as a senior. This game is a toss up but I think injuries will be starting to plague the Cats by this time of the season. Kentucky 7-3.

Georgia 10-3 last year will be a tough game for the Cats. If they can go thru the season without as many injuries as last year they should beat the Cats. Kentucky 7-4.

The final game of the season is against Tennessee 5-7 last year. With Lane Kiffin bringing the Vols to Lexington the Cats welcome him to Kentucky. I’m gonna get out on my limb and say the Cats win with Morgan Newton running for a touchdown and tossing a touchdown to Cobb with little time left in the game. Kentucky 8-4.

SEC Coaches Awards

From SECsports.com The SEC Coaches awards were announced today. Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks both were named to the all SEC first team.

Birmingham, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference unveiled its men’s basketball coaches postseason awards Tuesday to cap off another exciting season of SEC basketball.

LSU’s Trent Johnson earned SEC Coach of the Year honors and LSU senior guard Marcus Thornton was selected SEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. Ole Miss’ Terrico White took the SEC Freshman of the Year award and Alabama’s Justin Knox earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State was picked as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. South Carolina’s Brandis Raley-Ross earned SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year honors.

In his first season at LSU, Johnson led the Tigers to their first SEC championship since 2006 with a 13-3 mark in league play.

Thornton garnered SEC Player of the Year honors in leading LSU to a 25-win season and the SEC championship. One of five unanimous All-SEC First Team selections, Thornton ranked second the league in scoring with 20.9 ppg.

White led all SEC freshmen with 18.4 ppg in league play. White was among three unanimous All-Freshman team members.

Knox earned the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, sporting a 3.219 grade-point average in Pre-Business.

Varnado leads the nation in blocked shots (4.6) and is 15 blocks shy of the breaking the single-season SEC record of 157. Last year he tied the record Shaquille O’Neal set in 1992.

Raley-Ross won the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year award. A key part of South Carolina winning a share of the SEC East Division title, he is averaging 7.2 points per game.

Coaches voted on eight member teams for First Team All-SEC, Second Team All-SEC and for the SEC All-Freshman Team. They voted on a five-player squad for the SEC All-Defensive Team. They were not permitted to vote for their own players and ties were not broken.

A complete list of the 2009 SEC Men’s Basketball postseason awards follows.

First Team All-SEC
*Nick Calathes, Florida – G, 6-6, 194, So., Casselberry, Fla.
*Jodie Meeks, Kentucky – 6-4, 208, Jr., Norcross, Ga.
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky – 6-9, 235, So., Huntington, W.Va.
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU – F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Denham Springs, La.
*Marcus Thornton, LSU – G, 6-4, 205, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State – F/C, 6-9, 210, Jr., Brownsville, Tenn.
*Devan Downey, South Carolina – G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Chester, S.C.
*Tyler Smith, Tennessee – F, 6-7, 215, Jr., Pulaski, Tenn.

Second Team All-SEC
Alonzo Gee, Alabama – G, 6-6, 219, Sr., Riviera Beach, Fla.
Michael Washington, Arkansas – F, 6-9, 239, Jr., McGehee, Ark.
Korvotney Barber, Auburn – F, 6-7, 225, Sr., Manchester, Ga.
^Garrett Temple, LSU – G, 6-6, 190, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.
David Huertas, Ole Miss – G, 6-5, 200, Jr., Humacao, Puerto Rico
Terrico White, Ole Miss – G, 6-5, 211, Fr,. Memphis, Tenn.
^Dominique Archie, South Carolina – F, 6-7, 200, Jr., Augusta, Ga.
^Zam Fredrick, South Carolina – G, 6-0, 203, Sr., St. Matthews, S.C.
Wayne Chism, Tennessee – F, 609, 242, Jr., Jackson, Tenn.
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt – C, 6-11, 250, So., Sydney, Australia

SEC All-Freshman Team
*JaMychal Green, Alabama – F, 6-9, 220, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.
Courtney Fortson, Arkansas – G, 5-11, 180, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.
Erving Walker, Florida – 5-8, 161, Fr., New York, N.Y.
Trey Thompkins, Georgia – F, 6-8, 245, Fr., Lithonia, Ga.
*Terrico White, Ole Miss – G, 6-5, 211, Fr,. Memphis, Tenn.
*Dee Bost, Mississippi State – G, 6-2, 170, Fr., Concord, N.C.
Scotty Hopson, Tennessee – G, 6-7, 185, Fr., Hopkinsville, Ky.
Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt – G/F, 6-7, 210, Fr., Norrkoping, Sweden

SEC All-Defensive Team
^Quantez Robertson, Auburn – G, 6-3, 200, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio
Garrett Temple, LSU – G, 6-6, 190, Sr., Baton Rouge, La.
Chris Johnson, LSU – C, 6-11, 210, Sr., Montross, Va.
*Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State – F/C, 6-9, 210, Jr., Brownsville, Tenn.
^Dominique Archie, South Carolina – F, 6-7, 200, Jr., Augusta, Ga.
Devan Downey, South Carolina – G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Chester, S.C.

SEC Coach of the Year: Trent Johnson, LSU
SEC Player of the Year: Marcus Thornton, LSU
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Justin Knox, Alabama
SEC Freshman of the Year: Terrico White, Ole Miss
SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Brandis Raley-Ross, South Carolina
SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State

*-Unanimous selection
^-Ties are not broken

Bottom Dwellers Ga “DOGS” UK 90-85

The Georgia Bulldogs came into Lexington, losers of nine road games this season and playing for pride only, beat the Kentucky Wildcats. The University of Kentucky Wildcats, needing a win to avoid their NCAA bubble bursting, may have seen that slip away. The Cats, losers of 6 of their last 9 coming in, plodded along with bottom league dweller Georgia in the first half, as the Georgia shooters put on a 3 point display reminisicent of some other squads that came into Rupp this year…It must be the defense! Georgia shot 52% the first half on 7 of 9 three pointers in gaining their 1st road win of the year.

Uk rode the hot shooting of Michael Porter who was 4-4 on threes the first half to finish the half with a 2 point lead after being down by as much as 7 with 1:10 to go in the half. On the strength of a 4 point play, precipatied by an intentional foul on Georgia, and possesion which led to a Patrick Patterson slam and the resulting first half lead. Terrance Woodbury had 21 points for Georgia in the first half.

The second half saw Georgia take a quick 61-53 lead as Billy Gillispie pulled all his starters but one, and UK had 3 consecutive turnovers…UK fell behind and trailed Georgia by as much as 10 points in the second half…Now UK, not knowing where they stand, must pick themselves up and go to Gainesville Fl. Florida suffered a similar loss tonight against Mississippi State, which all but eliminates them from the NCAA tournament also..

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