Thursday Brings Questions?

Bernie has a great question regarding the incoming quarterbacks, one I have no good answer for. Bernie's Dawg Blawg: The Red-Shirt vs. Murray & Mett

..what becomes of the newbies? Would you rather both red-shirt?

Speaking of questions, do not care for any of these queries: Bulldogs Blog: Help Wanted: 5 Players Who Need to Step Up

Today, I figured it made sense to take a minute to look at who the biggest question marks might be.

T Kyle addresses a subject that is probably serious, as a big fan of personal responsibility and individualism, I leave the question to sociologists and academics. I certainly do love the ways he closes:
Is It Responsible of Us to Care So Much About College Football in Times of Economic Crisis? - Dawg Sports

Accordingly, our fixation on football in these trying times not only isn’t unhealthy, it’s actually a pretty sound long-term strategy. Train up a child in the way he should go, and, when he is older, he will graduate from the University of Georgia, get a good job, and cheer for the Red and Black.

Dang, I’m ready for some football.

More from the Cowpokes, drip, drip, drip :The Red and Black

“Georgia’s the one that has to be scared. Not us.”

It pays to win, sure, but it also pays to make people think you will one day win: Orlando Sentinel - Football coaches pay on the rise despite economic woes throughout college athletics by Iliana Limón

Head coaches aren’t the only ones making big bucks these days. Take a look at the five highest-paid assistant coaches, many of them head coaches-in-waiting, in the country:

And finally, the biggest question of them all: The Hot Button: Will UGA win a BCS title under Mark Richt? | Mark Bradley

We know Mark Richt can coach football. What we still don’t know after eight years of watching is whether he’s pragmatic enough to be a national championship coach.

The Virgin and Votegate

Upon reflection, Mike Slive was compelled to change the name of this week's event to "The Vote for Virginity". Slive took full responsibility, claiming it is obvious to everyone the purpose of the event was to further glorify the Saint that is Timothy. Furthermore, Slive went on to say it was a mistake to invite other teams to the event and he personally apologized to Tebow. The Gator Nation and ESPN both accepted the apology.

Will Steve Spurrier be allowed to take back all those pre-season votes for Duke? Seriously. The man that has given a pre-season vote to Duke every year since 1990 was compelled to change his vote from Jevan Snead to Tim Tebow. No, he didn't claim it was a hanging chad, nor did he claim the ballot was too difficult to read. He blamed it on an assistant. Oh how the mighty has fallen.

Like an unforeseen weather pattern, or a Tim Geithner speech, the "V and V Episode" has placed our Media Days' expectations in jeopardy. After all, when they change the name of the event and allow coaches to change their votes, speculation becomes a fool's game. Still, before we write off the predictions, we will have to wait on Paul Finebaum's column that should be published around July 28.

Given the events that occurred, it will be hard for even the most stubborn of muckrakers to take a shot at any coach other than man that once was Steve Spurrier. Of course, Paul, the master of the qualified statement MAY focus on virginity and vote-gate. IT IS POSSIBLE Finebaum will deliver a piece that both questions the veracity of Timothy Tebow's virginity claim, and criticizes Spurrier for changing his vote. After all, Nick Saban PROBABLY would have been man enough to take the heat.

And finally, if there was ever any doubt Mike Bianchi has a man crush on Tebow, his RUMORED offer to de-flower the god from Gainesville should remove any doubt. Stay strong Timmy, remember when Bianchi asks you to get in the spread formation, he is not talking football.

Media Days turns into a game of Clue

My predictions for media days have yet to transpire, but it is early. Day one of Media Days was even worse than predicted. Today produced 900 media members playing the SEC's version of "Clue". I have an unopened bottle of Jim Beam for the first coach that proudly proclaims he did NOT vote for Tebow (or hopefully a $25 donation to Prince Avenue Baptist Church).

On a side note, rumor has it Mike Bianchi desires to be "re-circumcised". Due to the restraining order Tebow has taken out on him, Bianchi wants Urban Meyer to do the "honor" and he wants him to do it slow.

Pat Dooly was seen caddying for Steve Spurrier on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Buddy Martin got a DUI celebrating Meyer's "victory in Alabama", or being named best coach in the SEC in some poll depending on your perspective. All other SEC columnist were busy playing Clue. Spoiler alert: Judas did it.

Paul Finebaum is under 24-hour security, and rightfully so. Rumor has it Finebaum will be targeting Les Miles. Apparently, Les is going to become a full time hat model for The Game, either that or something to do with Michigan or Notre Dame. Paul has yet to decide which rumor he is going to create/report on.

Now onto what really happened.

There was a late addition to the media horde, Willard finally got his credentials in order and filed this report.

Better yet, check out the scribe from Syracuse.

The most useful link I found today.

On a serious note, how about those Bravos!

SEC Media Days, Quantity over Quality?

The annual SEC Media Days event opened today in Hoover, Alabama. A record number of media credentials, over 900, were awarded. Obviously this number includes many from outside the 9 state SEC footprint. No matter from where they hail, 900 is a pretty impressive number. The Vice President can't even get 900 citizens to show up for one of his speeches.

Beat writers, sports anchors and editors, radio row denizens, national columnists, and perhaps even a blogger or two will comprise the crowd. One has to expect ESPN will have their marketing machine in full force to capitalize on their sizeable investment. But 900? The conference must care less about the richness of the message than it's reach.

I would love to see a categorical breakdown of these 900 media members. The decline of print media has been well documented. Local television gives precious little time to sports in their evening newscasts these days. ESPN, and its vast array of content sources can only contribute so many. I doubt the number of pure-play bloggers is substantial.

There are some great talents covering SEC teams and football in general, but 900? With 900 credentialed media members attempting to give their audience some unique value and the coaches and player representatives doing their dead-level best not to give them anything, what are we to expect from this?

I predict the pros, like David Hale, will gather tons of quotes to report on their beats at opportune times or on slow news days. The likes of ESPN's Forde and the AJC's Bradley will apply their patent writing styles to give us some "flavor" of the event. Barnhardt may explain why no news was actually made. Pat Dooly will opine on how clearly evident he finds it that Tebow is better in every measurable way than any that has come before him.

Then the reporting ends and the news making begins. That is where the likes of Mike Bianchi, Paul Finebaum and the aspiring muckrakers takeover. These are the media members that aim to be the news, to ascend the ladder of SEC power players. They do not attend to be of service to their audience but to advance personal agendas or to be implements of the coach they long to leisure with.

They will write their pieces and o their broadcast without disclaimer of purpose. Under the guise of entertainment and information, they will descend deeper into the political spin mastering cancer that his spread to sports journalism. Their intended victim is the naïve high school football player and coach. Their product is the preferable weapon of the lazy recruiter. The primary purpose to these "journalists" has become to give rise to "hot-seat" or "regime change" speculation.

In the end, one may expect the biggest news coming out of SEC Media Days will have more to do with who is coaching Notre Dame in 2010 than anything do with what takes place on the SEC field in 2009.