HA8

When I first heard about this story, I had no idea what to think beyond "weird."

Basically a local man was driving around in a Volkswagon Thing with a license plate that said HA8 JWZ. For those who don't see it — as this man says he didn't — that says "Hate Jews."

This seems to be completely random and accidental. It was a "Hobby Automobile" plate, so it started with HA automatically. Still, you have to wonder if, somewhere along the way, someone created this plate on purpose.

I didn't know what to think about this story. But when I found out that there was some guy driving around in a German car, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was telling the world that he HA8ed JWZs, yeah, I thought that was kind of funny.

Not the sentiment, the irony. You can see a little humor written into the story.

But I was wrong, and I'm sorry. There is nothing funny about this. Because there are people who hate. Hate Jews, hate Blacks, hate Muslims, hate Hispanics, hate people who are different, hate their neighbor.

Hate may be the No. 1 problem in our world today. And it is imminently solvable.

Fletch F. Fletch

If Animal House is the reason I went to college (and it is), then Fletch is the reason I became a reporter.

Oddly enough, we're not allowed to lie nearly as much as I was led to believe.

And, just for fun:

The Goal Line Stalker

I just looked up some of Herschel Walker's stats as part of a ridiculous conversation with a buddy of mine about who would win in a fight between Herschel and Bo Jackson.

Considering the fact that Herschel is a Tae-kwon-do black belt and Bo is pudgy, to be kind, these days, there wouldn't be a contest.

But these stats always make my eyes pop. And, remember, Herschel was supposedly a disappointment as a pro. From Wikipedia:

If Walker's USFL and NFL numbers are combined, he ranks as one of the most productive professional football runners in history. Many are reluctant to do this, however, because of the disagreement as to whether the level of play of the USFL was comparable to that of the NFL.

Even without taking his USFL numbers into account, his NFL stats are outstanding. In 12 NFL seasons, Walker gained 8,225 rushing yards, 4,859 receiving yards, and 5,084 kickoff-return yards. This gave him an impressive 18,168 total combined net yards, ranking him high among the NFL's top 20 all-time leaders in that category at the time of his retirement. As of 2007, 10 years after his retirement, he still ranks 8th in all-purpose yardage. He also scored 82 touchdowns (61 rushing and 21 receiving). Walker is the only player to have 10,000+ combined rushing and receiving yards and 5,000+ combined return yards(all of which were on kickoff returns). And also the only player to gain 4,000 yards three different ways: rushing, receiving, and kick off returns. He is one of six players (Jim Brown, Lenny Moore, Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk, and Thurman Thomas) to exceed 60 TDs rushing and 20 TDs receiving.

UPDATE: Jim Brown, Lenny Moore, Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulke, Thurman Thomas... tell me that ain't bad ass company.

Just pre-ordered Rose Bowl tickets -> me

And when I asked the guy how sales were going he said: "Unbelievable. The phone has not stopped ringing for two days."

Let's send a message out to Pasadena. Go to www.georgiadogs.com or call 1-877-542-1231 to pre-order if you're a donor. Tickets go on sale to the public Dec. 3, but we'll know the bowl destination by then.

And if you'd like to get your hopes up: here.

Once in a lifetime

What a season.

If someone had offered, at the beginning of the year, the promise of a 10-2 season and a near certain BCS Bowl bid, would you have taken it?

Yes, you would have. And you would have run away hugging it, yelling "It's mine, it's mine, you can't take it back," bought a fire safe, put it in the safe, buried the safe 50-feet deep in the backyard, then hidden planet Earth so no one could get their grubby hands on what has obviously been a charmed year.

I won't get into too much bowl analysis (plenty of that out there), but most folks predict we'll head to the Orange Bowl. They have the first at-large pick, and it's hard to imagine them passing up the Dawgs.

Unless Virginia Tech wins the ACC Championship Game over Boston College, which there's a pretty good chance of. Then the Orange might not want a rematch of last year's Peach Bowl.

If that happens, the Fiesta has the second pick. That would match us against Big 12 champion Oklahoma or an at-large team. It won't be Missouri, because if they win the Big 12 they go to the National Title game.

Of course, the Fiesta might just pass us by in favor of a local Arizona State team. That'll sell tickets, if not hotel rooms.

But if Mizzou loses the Big 12 to Oklahoma, sending Ohio State to the National Title game, I might get to fulfill a lifelong dream: Watching the University of Georgia play in The Rose Bowl. That's only happened once, after the 1942 season.

We kicked UCLA's ass then, and we can kick USC's ass now.

Hmmm. Well, at any rate, we won't have to take a train to Pasadena this time. And who knows, maybe my buddy Brian is right when he says USC will just run and hide when we show up wearing black jerseys.

If anyone's interested, here are the BCS' selection rules. Everything will be set next Sunday.

Of course there's always the outside, ridiculous National Title shot, that's amazingly just a couple steps away. Of course, one of those steps is West Virginia losing to Pitt, so it ain't gonna happen.

But boy it sure would be nice. Someone's gonna steal a National Title this year, might as well be us.

We won't mention anything about being a play or two away in the South Carolina game from heading to the SEC Championship Game with real National Title hopes. That would just be too... too South Carolina, actually. Or tech.

Everything is just icing at this point. Ridiculous, sweet, frosty icing so thick you can't see over it, yet somehow it doesn't have calories so we're all still looking hot.

Thanks for the memories, Dawgs. You did good. Real, real, real good.

In my weaker moments, I almost pity them

Just a few thoughts on Georgia tech before I move on...

It must be incredibly frustrating to be a serious tech fan. And I don't just mean the program's commitment to mediocrity (7-5 again? Shocking). Or the ability to beat Auburn and lose to Wake Forest in the same season, though both must be maddening. It's dealing with your own fan base.

Many individual tech fans are alright. I met a couple Saturday that I enjoyed talking to. But the self-whammy machine that is their fan base as a whole is pathetic. (Is that too obvious a statement? Probably.)

How is it that, in the biggest game of your season, in one of the smallest major college football stadiums in America, for a game where the opposing team fills at least 30 percent of your seats, how is it that you can't fill the rest?

Throughout the game I could see empty seats in the back of the endzone, in what appeared to be the student section.

You can't even fill the student section? What must that do to the tech fan's psyche? Is this why you guys are so angry all the time?

And the pre-game stuff - someone call the tech athletic department and tell them slow piano music is probably not the best background for player introductions. That releasing a whole two dozen balloons into the air is not impressive. That the band's all white uniforms really just scream "surrender."

But I do love the way fans jump up and down and yell "Wa-ah-ah-ahh-ahh-ahh" right before their team comes out. Credit where credit is due: It gives the whole event the air of a big-time high school basketball game.

Enjoy the bile and envy, fellows. Fire your coach and we'll see you next year in Athens.

Knowshon

We had a great quote about Knowshon Moreno in today's paper:

I think the thing that jumps out at me most of all is his emotion and his genuine love of the game, the way he plays it every play. I watch this kid play, and he doesn't know what down it is. He's thinking it's the last time he's going to touch the ball in his life. I grade players for a living, and there's about two percent of the ones that can play that can't control how much they love to play, and he can't control it. That kind of stuff is infectious. There are not many guys who are like that on Saturday who are not like that the rest of the week. The kid finishes runs and challenges people physically for his size the way Walter Payton used to. He's bringing it to you. You may tackle him, but he's hitting you, man. He has a great combination of power and elusiveness as well and at the same time he's not always willing to be elusive. He wants people to know that he's tougher than they are and he's coming all day.

- Kansas City Chiefs scout Mike Hagen, who attends most Georgia home games

Georgia - Georgia tech: Where one-yard runs can change your life.

No more talk of all the planets aligning so that Georgia can play for a National Title this year, no matter how alluring the subject is. We have business to attend to.

And besides, did you see USC whip Arizona State last night? I was across the country, sitting on my parents couch, and even I didn't feel safe from their defensive line.

We don't deserve a shot at the National Title this year. Of course, it hasn't been so long since I thought we didn't deserve a shot at the SEC Title.

In fact, after the debacle that was the Tennessee game, I may have said that, if we won the SEC Title, they should just stop having SEC Titles.

I would like to rescind that statement and apologize for it. Go Kentucky.

This Saturday we play Georgia tech. This Saturday is for hate. And, truth be told, if we won five National Titles in a row, that wouldn't be enough for me as a Georgia fan. Not until Georgia tech disbands its football program and apologizes to the state. That will be enough.

Barnhart did a thing on Georgia's top five wins over tech, including the "Drought-Breaker" of 1957.

For those of you who don't know that story, read it. We retired a fullback's number primarily because of his play in that one game.

The younger set may tell you tech's not a big deal. They are wrong. If you don't think the tech game matters, try losing one.

It burns like fear. It knots your stomach like acid and hate.

Bring a toy to the game on Saturday

All the justified hatred of Georgia tech aside, they're having a toy drive at the game Saturday. It's named after Michael Isenhour, a tech basketball player who died of leukemia in 2002.

Isenhour apparently spearheaded the first of these toy drives, to benefit families who lost someone to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

So bring a new toy to the game on Saturday.

Not that you needed proof

People should get medals for stuff like this.

Just for comparison's sake

Rocky, Georgia style:

Rocky, Georgia tech style:

It's worth noting that, in the Georgia version, Rocky doesn't do anything until a woman tells him to. I'm pretty sure that sums up my tailgate.

In the tech version, there simply are no women.

We will never forget the Alamo. Now let's go beat Auburn.

Let's take a break from hating tech for a moment, to ask this question: Is Nick Saban just a terrible person?

I mean, we know he's not a moron, because he's just been too successful as a coach. So what explanations are left for this quote, meant to motivate his football team:

"Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event," Saban said during the opening remarks of his weekly news conference. "It may be 9-11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, or whatever, and that was a catastrophic event."

I think the most jaw-dropping part of that quote, beyond the gall it takes to relate football to the two most catostrophic attacks ever to occur on American soil, is when he says "or whatever."

Whatever? Is Coach Saban confused about which war Pearl Harbor is related to? In whose world is WORLD FREAKING WORLD II an "or whatever" kind of event?

Rudy Giuliani is on the phone, Nick. He wants to know why you hate America.

The story is on SI.com.

But what you really want to read is Sen. Blutarsky's take on it. (Which is ironic, since Blutarsky took his name from the original "take- Pearl-Harbor-out-of-its-context-to-motivate-college-students guy.")

Blutarsky also gets into the whole D.J. Hall thing, where he was suspended as part of a strong moral stance by the Alabama football program... right up until they really needed him to keep from losing to Louisiana-Monroe. Which they didn't.

The thing about tech

You don't have to make fun of them. They do it to themselves.

This is from their alumni association Web site, the "traditions" page.

No, really.

A season survived and conquered

9-2 and a good chance to play in the SEC Title game. If you were to add up the strikes against us at the start of the season, you never could have predicted that.

Mark Richt for coach of the year.

Also, Rennie Curran is the new Chuck Norris. Thirteen tackles on Saturday. I'd say we've found our defensive spark plug for the next three years. I can't wait for him to introduce himself to Georgia tech.

Richt, courtesy of David Ching: "He plays low. I would say he was born in a football position and he’s ready to strike at anytime. He just kinda slithers his way through there and gets in on a lot of tackles, hustles. He’s gonna be pretty good – and he’s only a freshman."

I looked into the bottom of the tank, and here's what I found:

What a season. What an emotional roller-coaster. How can we have anything left in the tank, any tricks to pull out, anything more to fire us up and beat a more-than-decent Kentucky team?

Sean Bailey, Kregg Lumpkin, Brandon Miller, A.J. Bryant, Mikey Henderson, Thomas Flowers, Kelin Johnson, Marcus Howard, Jason Johnson, Andrew Williams, Christopher Gaunder, Jeff Henson, Chester Adams, Fernando Velasco, T.J. Gartrell, Coleman Watson, Andy Bailey and Brandon Coutu.

This week's gimmick: Pride and talent.

Beat Kentucky.

Either way, beat Kentucky.

Why do I imagine the new Richt smirking just a bit when he says this about dealing with/yelling at officials:

Since I’ve kinda cut loose a little bit in some areas, I cut loose a little bit in that area. I probably went a little overboard on that, so I’ve just been convinced that I don’t need to do that anymore, so I will be strictly polite and gentlemanly from here on out.

That's courtesy of David Ching.

Doesn't really matter. Time to beat Kentucky. The SEC East is on the line and we owe them for last year. It's also senior day, which means the seniors will be honored 16 minutes before kickoff. Get there early.

"A man of character."

I'm sorry to see anyone leave, but I enjoyed writing John C. "Scooter" Herring's obituary for the paper yesterday. I wish I'd been able to interview him before he died.

His life story is proof that Macon once was awesome, and that the headlines never define the man.

The basics (from the version I wrote, before it was edited):

John C. "Scooter" Herring, who lived much of his life on the outskirts of rock 'n' roll fame and starred in one of the most sensational trials in city history, died over the weekend.

He was 67.

Herring lived a quiet, charitable life the past few years in Macon, and probably died from complications associated with heart disease, his family said.

But he was once a defendant in a federal drug trial that gripped the rock 'n' roll world's attention and featured testimony from rock legend Gregg Allman that, some said, helped break up one of Macon's most famous contributions to music history: The Allman Brothers Band.

I would pay $1 billion to see that

Apparently Herschel Walker has challenged Steve Spurrier to a fight:

"Well, you know, is that not insulting? That's totally insulting for a coach of his stature to say something so stupid," said Walker, getting angrier by the syllable. "So my question I say to him is, if he's got that much guts, why don't he step in a ring against me? You don't say something that silly, because you're going to get somebody hurt. Georgia was punished, because that's a penalty. They didn't go out to hurt anyone. [Spurrier] talks about hurting somebody. How much guts do you have? Step in a ring with me, and then we'll see."

This all goes back to The Celebration, which Spurrier apparently had a problem with, saying if Richt tried that against him he'd of sent a 3rd stringer in to start a fight and really get Georgia in trouble.

Nice class, no class.

Seriously. I would borrow and raise every last penny I could to watch Herschel Walker fight Steve Spurrier for what I imagine would be a .00005 second confrontation.

Picked up on this from the good Sen. Blutarsky, who may be the most prolific Dawg blogger on the net.

Back in Black... but literally? Trippi chimes in.

Last week I saw something on the Intertubes about Georgia wearing black jerseys for the 1943 Rose Bowl.

Yes, Georgia once played in the Rose Bowl. Beat UCLA 9-0 to cap a National Championship season.

But then I saw Dan Magill, who knows everything worth knowing about University of Georgia athletics, quoted as saying he didn't think the team had worn black jerseys as far back as the 1940s.

Now these pictures have surfaced, courtesy of David Ching and one of his readers. That's Frank Sinkwich, Flatfoot Frankie, Frankie the Fireball, Georgia's first Heisman winner... in a black jersey.

Of course, as Ching notes, there's no way to know from the picture whether the team wore those jerseys in a game or if Sinkwich donned the jersey for the photo.

So I called Charley Trippi, who starred in the 1942 backfield with Sinkwich, then went to World War II, then came home and led the Dawgs to an 11-0 season in 1946. He played in that Rose Bowl and lives in Athens.

"I don't remember ever wearing the black jersey. ..." Trippi said. "To my knowledge we always wore red jerseys and silver britches."

That includes the Rose Bowl, Trippi said. As for the picture of Sinkwich:

"It could have been his freshman year (when Trippi was still in high school)," Trippi said. "I'm not sure. Or maybe he did it for a picture."

The mystery continues.

Evil Richt, Good Richt

The "Evil Richt" post over on Georgia Sports Blog is pretty good. Coach Richt has definitely flipped some kind of a switch this year, which I think must be related, at least in part, to him having more time now that Bobo is calling the plays.

It's like he was cruising down the awesome highway at 90 miles an hour... and then he dropped it into overdrive.



























Evil Richt'll get ya. Good Richt'll love ya.
Images from The Telegraph's photo gallery.

Blackout!

Nov. 3 2010 update: the rest of this is terrible.

Uh, wow?

Guess I was wrong about the black jerseys being bad mojo, huh?

I'm amazed we pulled all that off. I never thought the fans - just about all the fans - would take to the blackout. Impressive.

I took a little video of the team breaking through the banner in black. Listening to it last night I'm starting to think that is the loudest I've ever heard Sanford Stadium. That's a tough call, but it's in the running.

Coach Richt has simply changed the rules of the game for us. Hell, he changed the game itself.

Who would have thought the Florida win would be my second favorite game of the year?

Sanford Stadium in all black looks absolutely other-wordly.

Is there any possibility that any recruit at the game Saturday isn't now begging for a scholarship offer?

I kind of want to head down to Auburn, Alabama, wait outside of Brandon Cox's classes this morning, then jump out and yell BLACKOUT! so I can see him throw another interception.

By the way, College Gameday, good decision. I bet that Williams-Amherst game was something to behold.

What are we going to do for Kentucky, burn down the stadium?

Does awesome even burn?

Sorry, ma'am, but by order of Coach Richt, you've been blacked out.

Nothing to post here, I just like that line.

Also this one: Football season, when the dryer lint turns red.

Beat Auburn or quit the game.

Bradley's got a nice piece on the series history.

Also worth your time, this quiz on the series history.

Prediction? Pain.

Nail meets head.

"I always wanted to be a soldier."

I'm working on a Veterans Day package for Sunday's paper, so I've been interviewing a lot of soldiers lately. This afternoon I spoke to Lt. Col. Mark London, who was in Iraq with the Georgia 48th for about a year in 2005 and 2006.

Talking to these guys used to make me feel small. These days I just feel proud.

Col. London was talking about the way forward in Iraq, and about how he and other soldiers tried to spend a lot of time with children. His wife, and others, would send shoes, clothes, soccer balls, etc., over and the soldiers would hand them out, he said.

From Col. London:

It's real hard to change the minds of adults. They don't really know what freedom is about. ... They don't really know what freedom is. But these young kids, they love Americans. They love soccer over there. We gave them soccer balls. We gave them shoes. ...

I really think that's going to make a huge difference there in 10, 15 years. ...

I always wanted to be a soldier. ... I think that everyone should serve this country in some capacity. Not everybody's made to be a soldier, you know. But there's other ways to serve. Peace Corps. And helping out the homeless. There's so many ways that people can serve.

Black jerseys, bad mojo, James Carville and the season of motivational gimmicks

I can't remember who dubbed this the season of motivational gimmicks, but it's a pretty good title. And as much as I loved The Celebration in Jacksonville, I'm worried about his whole black jersey thing.

There's no guarantee the boys come out in black, but Richt hasn't denied it and I'm starting to get this feeling that the team will, in fact, wear different jerseys.

Initially I thought that would be cool. But it's Thursday. Thursday is a day for pessimism. Black jerseys = bad juju. Even the hype surrounding the possibility of the team wearing black jerseys is starting to worry me, because I'm afraid it will shift the team's focus.

In Florida we needed to loosen up. We needed to believe. Against Auburn we need to hunker down. As Auburn O-line Coach (and former Bulldog) Hugh Nall said in today's Telegraph: "It's more like two brothers fighting."

Auburn, of course, being the younger, dumber brother who still somehow managed to sleep with your wife, steal your dog and borrow a bunch of money.

For what it's worth, James Carville was in town last night, and he predicted that Arkansas would beat Tennessee, which would open up a path to the SEC title game for us. As for our game, Carville said: "Georgia may get by Auburn. But watch out for Kentucky."

Finally, I was talking with my buddy Brian last night, and he said we should just come up with even more ridiculous motivational celebrations.

"Richt should tell the team: I won't be happy unless, after the first touchdown, you get a bunch of gasoline and set fire to the hedges," he said.

Let me know if you can top that. So far, here at work (once again, employers proud), we've got:

- I won't be happy unless a sniper takes out that war eagle.
- I won't be happy unless you guys tear down the goalposts before the game.
- I won't be happy unless you take the team bus to Auburn on Thursday and kill Tommy Tuberville's family.

Why do Auburn fans hate America?

I don't know, but, sadly, they do. Let it be known that, at the University of Georgia, we love our country.

Check out this video of the Silver Wings Command Exhibition Parachute Demonstration Team, out of Fort Benning, jumping into Sanford Stadium in 2005. I got it from the boys at Georgia Sports Blog a few months ago. They got it from this gentleman's MySpace page.

It's that time again. I have no idea how anyone can possibly be this awesome.
Awesome

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Also worth sharing, these pictures of their practice jump, courtesy of the U.S. m-f'n Army.

SEC football

Bob Davie was just on ESPN radio, talking about how much faster the games are in the SEC, particularly compared to the Big 10. He agreed with Mike Tirico that it's basically a different game down here, not just when it comes to speed, but also in intensity.

"It's like it's close to being a riot every time the ball is snapped," Davie said.

If the boys come out in black, I'll lose my freaking mind

You know, what's left of it.

Blackout.

I'm with WesterDawg. Ordinarily I don't buy into this "blackout" or "redout" stuff. But if the seniors want it... done.

Kendall started a blog

Josh Kendall, the Georgia beat writer here at The Telegraph, started a blog. Josh is one of the best in the business.

His blog is here.

The Herd in Athens

Heard Colin Cowherd say this morning say he'll do his ESPN radio show live from Athens next Friday. And now it's Keanefirmed.

For my money he's the best sports talk guy in the business.

A word on friendship

Friendship is not like family, or even love. It exists only if everyone agrees it does.















And if I pass this way again
you can rest assured
I'll always do my best for her
on that I give my word
in world of steel-eyed death and men fighting to be warm
Come in, she said, I'll give you
shelter from the storm

Wait, the bell broke?

How did I not know about this sooner? Better yet, why didn't I feel a disturbance in the force when it happened?

Chapel bell breaks after Florida game, but it should be fixed by the weekend.