Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to all you big dogs out there. While everyone enjoys having a Monday off, I hope we all take a second to think about why we celebrate this great holiday. The labor movement and formation of labor unions have been instrumental in the growth of our country. Nowadays many have unfavorable attitudes toward unions and for that I cannot blame them. What's the good in something that allows for good benefits and fair pay for working class Americans which work in some of our nation's most dangerous fields of industry? Memebers of unions tend to think of themselves as more than mere coworkers but rather as family, which often leads to an increase in productivty and a better and safer working environment for the workers. From this it is obvious that unions are just plain bad for our economy and for this nation's general well-being. If anti-choice McCain and pro-choice Palin win in November, then another small step will be taken in the fight to put an end to the horrible, anti-American idea of unions in this country.



Above: Stick Dick Schwartz at Bourbon Street last night acting "naughty".

Happy Friday Big Dogs

It's Football Season...

...and ESPN's Pat Forde brings it in his first "Forde-Yard Dash" of the season:

As faithful readers know, The Dash is easily annoyed. This offseason's pet peeve: the use of Coach as a formal title. Like King Henry VIII, we have Coach Nick Saban.

It's worse on the fan message boards, where Internet shorthand references to head coaches always start with "C." As in, CTT for Coach Tommy Tuberville (5). CMB for Coach Mack Brown (6). CJT for Coach Jim Tressel (7). Hey, look! It's CJT leading the OSU.

The Dash is convinced that at this very moment, someone on a Utah State message board is typing CBG for Coach Brent Guy.

What if we were this silly in everyday life. Would we have WEJ: Welder Earl Jones? PWS: Plumber Walter Smith?

Maybe even CTD: Columnist The Dash?

Sample: CTD believes CMR (Coach Mark Richt) is loaded at Georgia and will have the Bulldogs playing in the BCS Championship Game against CPC (Coach Pete Carroll). CTD believes CBS (Coach Bill Stewart, not the network) has a lot of holes to fill on defense to meet expectations in his first year at West Virginia. CTD believes CMG (Coach Mike Gundy) must be an even bigger man now that he's 41.

The world would be a much better place if we could eliminate this stuff. That said, hope CBH and the Cadets get that first W tonight. Those who make the game, say hi to Knightshield for the rest of us.

Only in America Trends Don't Win Top 25

Georgia just barely takes the No. 1 spot, which is a huge surprise, considering how homeriffic our poll was last year. We weren't too bad as SEC homers, either. Just three teams with SEC SPEEEED in the Top 10. I also can't believe Notre Dame is so high, but their schedule is pretty damn easy, I guess. Georgia Southern at No. 23 could give Georgia a real quality win this weekend.

1. Georgia 103 (1)
2. USC 102 (2)
3. Oklahoma 97
4. Ohio State 94 (2)
5. Missouri 94
6. Florida 93 (1)
7. Clemson 87
8. LSU 82
9. West Virginia 78
10. Wisconsin 68
11. Auburn 67
12. Texas Tech 55 (1)
13. Texas 55
14. Virginia Tech 52
15. Tennessee 50
16. Arizona State 45
17. Notre Dame 40
18. BYU 38
18. South Florida 38
20. Wake Forest 37
21. Oregon 32
22. Fresno State 27
23. Georgia Southern 25 (1)
24. Florida State 23
25. Alabama 22

Also receiving votes: Connecticut 21, Oklahoma State 20, North Carolina 16, South Carolina 15, Penn State 14, Pittsburgh 14, Kansas 10, Michigan 7, Nebraska 7, California 6, Utah 6, Cincinnati 5, Duke 2, Rutgers 2, Wofford 1

See all you big dogs in Athens on Saturday.

WEEK 1 Picks up on PPB

Only in America Mark 'Em Down Heisman Picks

Like I said yesterday, I don't think it's too difficult figure out exactly who selected some of the guys in the “also receiving votes” category, but we'll keep the ballots secret anyway.

Heisman Trophy:

1.Tim Tebow, Florida
2.Chris Wells, Ohio State
3.Chase Daniel, Missouri
4.Knowshon Moreno, Georgia
5.Pat White, West Virginia

Also receiving votes: Shane Murray, Pittsburgh; Batman, Gotham City; Kris Durham, Georgia; Rod Battle, Georgia; Drew Butler, Georgia; Jeff Owens, Georgia; Rennie “Bad Intentions” Curran, Georgia; Akeem Hebron, Georgia; Cullen Harper, Clemson; Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State; A.J. DeFilippis, Savannah State; Larry Kelly, Arizona State; Cooter Arnold, North Carolina; Kenny O'Neal, Somewhere; G. Schwartz, Ohio State

Pretty conventional group of finalists. Tebow edged out Chris Wells by one point, and we surprisingly don't have Moreno in the top three. Though some of us (again, one of us) did make sure plenty of Georgia guys got their due.

Also, can you believe Stick Dick (see, I got it right this time) actually plays for the Buckeyes and doesn't even include them in his Top 25? Picture of humility, that Stick.

Fall 08'

It's football season, and it's an election year. And while I am one of the few people on facebook without a status expressing my excitement for Saturday, I am ready nonetheless. Last night I watched the Democratic National Convention, and I am also ready for November to hurry up and get here. I like football and politics. GA is my favorite team. I also like to root for ACC teams, and Texas Tech, Oregon, and Kent State (the last three are a result of NCAA 2004-2007). Different forms of government fascinate me. I am a Democrat. I am a strong supporter of labor unions. I love Bill Clinton. I like Obama.

So what's my point? When I go to the game Saturday, I am going to root on Durham and his boys. I will go as a bulldog fan. I will cheer for them and against Bean's Birds. I will not wear an Obama shirt. And I will have not have a "Bulldogs for Obama" sticker/button on my shirt (not that they exist). I remember back in 04' when the "Bulldogs for Bush" stickers/buttons were so popular. And I also remember during one of the games- the LSU one I think, two UGA fans in the UGA student section getting in an argument over politics. It really bothered me.

Don't call me a Nazi, Schwartz. Wear what you want; I know I will. I just think it's a good idea to stay away from things that divide a fanbase when we are all there supposedly united behind one cause or one team or whatever. And if you insist on wearing your Dogs for McCain thing to this game or any UGA game, then just yell and scream while the other team has the ball instead of yelling at the hippie next to you in the Obama shirt.

Only in America Stone Cold BCS Picks

Rather than combine everybody's BCS picks into one boring chalk-fest, I thought it would be more fun to just post exactly what everyone sent in. Don't worry, though. The Top 25 and Heisman balloting will remain secret, but I have a sneaking suspicion you're not going to have much trouble figuring out who chose whom for the Heisman in a few cases. Anyway, on to the picks.

anymouse
BCS Championship – Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
Rose Bowl – Wisconsin vs. USC
Sugar Bowl – LSU vs. West Virginia
Orange Bowl – Wake Forest vs. Florida
Fiesta Bowl – Texas vs. Clemson

That's right. Ohio State, a team some of us (one of us) didn't even have in the Top 25 plays for and wins the national championship. So sad that you have to defend picking a team that's 23-3 the last two years and brings back 19 starters. I guess we have SEC SPEEEEEEEEEEEED to thank for that.

Shane
Rose Bowl – Ohio State vs. USC (USC wins by 10 to go up "aggregate" by 49 for the year)
Fiesta Bowl – Missouri vs. Georgia Tech
Sugar Bowl – Florida vs. Hawaii
Orange Bowl – Georgia vs. Notre Dame

No, it seems Shane didn't know there was going to be a BCS Championship Game this year. But other people around here are a lot better at ripping on him than I am, so I'll leave that up to you. The “aggregate” drop more than makes up for it, anyway.

Slick Dick (that's what he goes by now, right JJH4?)
BCS Championship – Georgia vs. USC
Sugar Bowl – Florida vs. Missouri
Rose Bowl – Ohio St. vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl – Clemson vs. West Virginia
Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Auburn

Will Slick's head explode if that championship prediction actually happens? Also, we all love your not-so-subtle dig at the Big Ten here. Unranked Buckeyes go to the Rose Bowl. I can see it now...

JJH4
BCS Championship – Ohio St. over Missouri
Rose – USC vs. Wisconsin
Orange – Wake vs. West Virginia
Sugar – Florida vs. Oklahoma
Fiesta – Georgia vs. Clemson

Wake, Clemson, Ohio State. Big dogs think alike.

Patrick
BCS Championship – Florida over Ohio State
Rose Bowl – USC over Wisconsin
Fiesta Bowl – Missouri over West Virginia
Sugar Bowl – Georgia over BYU
Orange Bowl – Oklahoma over Clemson

Could be wrong, but I think Patrick's going after the reverse jinx here.

Donnie
BCS Championship – Wisconsin v. Texas Tech (Texas Tech wins)
Orange Bowl – Oklahoma State v. Connecticut (Connecticut wins)
Rose Bowl – USC v. Ohio State (OSU beats them for the 2nd time in a year)
Sugar Bowl – Georgia v. Florida State (UGA wins)
Fiesta Bowl – Fresno State v. Notre Dame (Beano's boys roll)

Big dogg. With a Double-G. That's all I can say.

Now, back to enjoying the DNC. Ted Kennedy = the man.

WSAV BC Preview

http://www.wsav.com/midatlantic/sav/sports0/blitz/benedictine.html

WTOC's preview will air on Friday.

If We Can Take Some Time Out of Our Busy Schedules...

We'll see how this goes. It's time for the second annual Only in America college football predictions, and since just about everybody contributed something last year, I think it's worth trying again.

So here's what we need from each of our contributors:

1. your top 5 Heisman finalists
2. your BCS bowl projections
3. your top 25 (I'm thinking we go with how they'll finish, but I guess it's up to you)

Send them all to onlyina@gmail.com.

And again, I obviously don't care how much time you put into this, because we're looking to consolidate all of our projections into one poll, and of course some of us care and some of us don't. But that's what made our blog whatever it is it has blossomed into over these last two years. Just try to get it in above all else.

Deadline is this weekend, so we can reveal it in the days leading up to kickoff.

10 to 6.

It's Football Season and We're Consensus #1, but...

Georgia Baseball had a great day on Friday. Trevor Holder did not sign with the Florida Marlins before the midnight deadline and will return to Georgia for his Senior season. Two third round picks( Chase Davidson, Milton HS / Zach Cone, Parkview HS) have also decided to go to Georgia instead of going pro. It is rare to have that high of a pick not sign out of high school and extremely rare to get two kids picked that high to both go to school. Davidson is the highest pick to enroll at Georgia since 1993. Three pitchers who were drafted have also enrolled in school. Georgia will be extremely young next year and could have as many as 5 freshman starters. With Cerronie's future in doubt and no clue about 2B, this would be my best guess for the starting lineup if the season stated tomorrow.

1. Troup OF
2. Dempirio SS
3. Poythress 1B
4. Massanari 3B
5. Davidson OF
6. Lewis C
7. Cone OF
8. R. O'Bryan DH
9. Thoms 2B

Starters:
Holder
McCree
Palazzone (FR.)

Closer:
Weaver

* Georgia will not have a men's soccer team in 2008-09.

I Have a Feeling I Know Who Would End Up at No. 1...

...but are we interested in doing the second annual Only in America college football predictions? Remember, we were the only blog on the Internet to project Joe Cox as a Heisman finalist last year, so we do have a reputation to uphold here.

I'm thinking just Top 25, Heisman and BCS picks for this year, to keep to simple and somewhat interesting. I'm just gauging interest for now. Don't post picks in the comments and ruin the surprise or anything.

Slightly off topic, I know, but...does anybody else really miss Lou Holtz right now?

Scott Van Pelt

The ESPN personality giving his take on soccer on The Tirico and Van Pelt Show:

"Soccer would be exactly like football if every play in football resulted in an incomplete pass and every punt was a fair catch."

Happy Birthday

The Varsity turns 80 years old today. Here's to another 80 years.

What'll ya have, what'll ya have!