Georgia WR Marlon Brown Still Has His Share of Doubters

Twitter is a fun place to be late at night—when most people have likely decided to engage in other more interesting activities—and this past Friday evening was no exception.

Noted Atlanta Journal-Constitution recruitnik, Michael Carvell, had this to tweet about Marlon Brown, the former five-star standout for Harding Academy in Memphis, TN:

While I don't share Mr. Carvell's insomnia over Brown's former recruiting rank—personally the stars don't mean a whole lot in most cases, because the pudding is proved on the field—I do admit to having a slight obsession with how insignificant a role he has played since he's been at Georgia. As a matter of fact, he's graced the thoughts and pages of this blog on several occasions (see link below) for that very reason and he's been a subject of fierce debate as to whether or not he will ever live up to the hype or promise he displayed in high school.

Brown isn't lacking in self-confidence where his skills are concerned, but putting his money where his mouth is will be the ultimate goal this season. As a junior, he's already being lauded as a potential No. 2 option playing opposite Tavarres King (who is set to step into the role left vacant by A.J. Green), but redshirt freshman, Michael Bennett, has received every bit the praise and accolades for his 'Kris Durham like' hands and 'A.J. Green like' flexibility so who's to say how things will turn out?

If anything, I find that I am more intrigued about Bennett's potential than Brown's—but that's just me.

Related articles

• Georgia Bulldogs: Wherefore Art Thou, Marlon Brown? (theladysportswriter.blogspot.com)
• Georgia Bulldogs: Tight End Is The New Wide Receiver (theladysportswriter.blogspot.com)

Jose Canseco Pimps Himself Out On Twitter

The very definition of being a lame, has-been, with no foot in the door anywhere is when you have to use Twitter to make a contact—specifically when you used to be an All-Star caliber baseball player. Well, obviously, Jose Canseco must not have many television honchos on speed dial these days if he feels the need to tweet the following:

He even sent his email address out for good measure. Don't believe me? Take a look...

Either he's got a really bad agent who isn't doing his job well or he's decided to keep the fees and do his own footwork in the pitch department. Whatever the case, he looks pretty sad with this one and, not for nothing but, didn't he think that the other 395,000+ people who choose to follow him might see that email and choose to use it for their own immodest purpose? Just putting that out there.

Oh, Jose. I guess that bump on the head some years back is still effecting your thought processing abilities.

Former Auburn Player Not Impressed With HBO's Choice of Interviewees

You have to love Twitter for it's ability to catch the instantaneous thoughts of it's Tweeters.

Kody Bliss, a former punter for the Auburn Tigers—yes, the punter—had this to say about the guys HBO chose to interview for the expose on Auburn:

 

I guess Mr. Bliss would know a dummy if he saw one, he was an academic standout at Auburn—sporting a 3.45 cumulative GPA in marketing as a student there.

Bliss didn't stop there, he went on to say this about Stanley McClover:

I don't know if that clears things up or not, but I suspect the HBO story will get more interesting by the day as more people weigh in on it's participants and the motives behind them coming forward—particularly Chaz Ramsey who sued the athletic department at Auburn in 2009. His case was dismissed in February.

Rumor has it, the restaurant/bar where Ramsey works has been boycotted by some of the Auburn faithful until the owner fires him—hope this kid has a backup plan...outside of Auburn, that is.

Careful, Cam, Someone Might Think You've Got A Big Head

Cam Newton may need to temper that god-like complex he's developed since leading the Auburn Tigers to a national championship, winning the Heisman, and securing a million dollar endorsement deal with Under-Armour. If there's one thing people don't like, it's an arrogant SOB and, despite his intention, Newton came off as such when making the following statement to Sports Illustrated's Peter King—as revealed via King's Twitter account last night,

an "icon", eh? Alrighty then. However, if that wasn't enough, he had this to say about his one-year of college domination, "I don't want to sound arrogant but I did something in one year people couldn't do in their whole collegiate careers."

Yeah, okay. Well, perhaps the one thing you didn't do in that one year is learn a little bit about humility. And, for the record, you didn't win that national championship all by yourself—Nick Fairley, Michael Dyer, and a few other guys on that team made a contribution as well.

Wow, a No. 1 pick you definitely will not be—hope you're ready to sit in the green room for a few slots past that point.

Jeez, some people. I don't mind confidence in one's ability, but this is borderline narcissism in my humble opinion and Newton would do well to keep his egoist ways in the parking lot when he starts his rounds of interviews at the combine this weekend if he expects his stock to rise even the slightest bit.

WATCH: Brian Urlacher Defends Jay Cutler After Bears' Loss

Twitter can be vicious. And, in the wake of Jay Cutler's knee injury—which caused him to miss the second half of the Bears NFC Championship game against the Packers—Twitter was more vicious than usual.

NFL players offered their opinions on how tough Jay Cutler was or wasn't to have not returned in a game of this magnitude. Darnell Docket stated he would have been required to wait until after the other players showered and left before he would have been allowed to do the same.

Maurice Jones-Drew stated that Cutler should have played on his hurt knee—that's what he did for the Jaguars all season. Drew went on to say that Cutler "quit" on his team because the game got too tough for him.

MJD's words, exactly, "I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now... When the going gets tough........QUIT.."

Well, Brian Urlacher made it clear tonight that his quarterback's toughness has no right being questioned, particularly by guys sitting at home watching the game on television:




All I know is, if Jay wasn't hurt, he just became one of the most hated men in Chicago. Seriously, how dumb would you have to be to fake an injury in THIS game? I'm willing to give Cutler the benefit of the doubt and presume that his injury is both real and significant. 

He has an MRI scheduled for Monday morning...he better start praying his diagnosis is something more than a sprain. 

Related articles

• Brian Urlacher: Don't question Jay Cutler's toughness (profootballtalk.nbcsports.com)
• Bears' Brian Urlacher blasts Jay Cutler's critics - USA Today (news.google.com)
• Criticism of Cutler mounts (profootballtalk.nbcsports.com)

Georgia Bulldogs: What Would Searles' Departure Mean For Recruiting?

It is being reported tonight, by multiple news outlets, that Georgia offensive line coach, Stacey Searles has accepted the same position on Mack Brown's coaching staff at the University of Texas.

Searles has been the target of much finger-pointing over his last two seasons at Georgia due to the disappointment of his offensive line units. To be fair, however,  it is uncertain how much of their problems were due to conditioning as opposed to coaching.

Either way, he appears to be on his way to Austin to begin anew and, less than two weeks until signing day, Georgia is labored with the task of starting a new coaching search. While possible replacements have only been mildly kicked about—Hugh Nall, Mac McWhorter, and former Vanderbilt head coach, Robbie Caldwell, have all been mentioned—the real concern is what will become of Georgia's 2011 offensive line prospects?

Well, the biggest fish of the group, Watts Dantzler, has already spoken via his Twitter account and he looks to be solid:

Dantzler was close to coach Searles, and his commitment became a concern the moment news of a possible departure hit the airwaves.

Dantzler was highly recruited by a number of schools, but his decision ultimately came down to two—Auburn and Georgia. Georgia won out and any chance the Tigers might have had to swoop back into the picture was seemingly killed long ago.

Reportedly, Dantzler is "done with Auburn" after the way he was treated during the football game against Georgia. Said Dantzler, "I left with about 10 minutes left in the game...I got treated very poorly while I was there. A lot of the fans were getting on me, saying they didn’t want me there. I even wore blue and everything. It wasn’t a very good day for me over there."

For now, it appears safe to say that Dantzler will remain a Bulldog.

Dean Legge of Scout.com reportedly has the same feelings about both Hunter Long and David Andrews.  He doesn't get the feeling that either is a threat to be lost by Georgia if Searles is indeed gone—particularly not Hunter whose brother is already enrolled at Georgia.

As for DeBell, there is no word on him as of yet, but there is little reason to believe he won't remain committed to Georgia. Just as a side note, Debell is projecting out as a tight end or fullback at the next level and it's possible that Georgia has other plans for him—just putting that out there.

In the meantime, it doesn't appear that a Searles' departure would spell doom for the 2011 class.

Big 12 Rumor: Did Nebraska's Taylor Martinez Leave The Team?

Twitter is hopping with another wild rumor, this one regarding Big 12 quarterback, Taylor Martinez—Nebraska's talented redshirt freshman.

No idea how this, unconfirmed, rumor began, but there is heavy speculation that the public undressing head coach Bo Pelini gave Martinez on the sidelines, during last night's 9-6 loss to Texas A&M, could have something to do with a decision to jump ship:



Honestly, the validity of the story seems questionable.

Why would Martinez risk another year of eligibility and his high profile position at a major school— a school headed to the even bigger spotlight of the Big Ten—just because his feelings got hurt on the sidelines?

That said, some feel that Pelini's less than hospitable demeanor could be the biggest factor and one of the main reasons why if this rumor turns out to be true, Pelini's could possibly be shown the door as well. 

Whatever the case, no one in Lincoln is ready to see a blossoming star exit stage left on a promising college football career at Nebraska.

Let's Be Blount: Tampa Bay Coach, Raheem Morris, Can't Blame Sunday's Loss on His Radio

This is just comical: Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach, Raheem Morris, is making a thinly-veiled attempt at blaming his team's loss on Sunday to radio problems.

Tampa Bay beat writer, Rick Stroud, posted this message, via his Twitter account, on Monday afternoon:

 

Really, Raheem? That's your best excuse for losing the game? Come on, man. We all know that you believe you're the coach of the "best team in the NFC",  but that doesn't mean they won't get beat every now and then, does it?

Even more, you still had another opportunity to win the game, or at least take over the lead, on 4th down when you decided to run LeGarrette Blount. Did the Falcons brass also ensure that an invisible force field dropped down from the Georgia Dome's rafters to stop his progress as well?

Hmm, let's take a look and see:



No...nothing to see there—except a Falcons defense that managed to hold.

Just tip your hat to the Falcons, Raheem. Your guys played tough, but they lost this one and, radio malfunction or not, you had every opportunity to win the game on Sunday.

So, take your lumps and move on—don't offer excuses.

You lost. They won. End of story.

Georgia Bulldogs Football: What Are The Revised Expectations For 2010?

The Georgia Bulldogs won't be entertaining an SEC Championship, they won't be a sleeper in the BCS, and they are not very likely to finish among the top 25 teams in the nation. At this point, it's time to face the grim reality that this Georgia Bulldogs team's greatest challenge for 2010 is bowl eligibility.

Sitting at a painful 1-3 record, they have dug a hole that could become the foundation for a losing season, if their tailspin doesn't stop soon.

Therein lay the heartbreaking truth of being a Georgia fan in 2010: you might actually endure a team that will be 5-7, or worse, this year—something that, admittedly, was inconceivable to many just a few months ago.

After all, Mark Richt got rid of the albatross that was Willie Martinez. He rid the defense of the ails that made them the laughing stock of the SEC in 2009, so things were supposed to be on their way up.

The new defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, was going to cure all the inefficiencies of the defense and restore the respect it lost when Brian Van Gorder left town. He, along with his dazzling new assistants: Scott Lakatos and Warren Belin, were going to get things moving in the right direction on defense and the team was going to be much better than last year's 8-5 finisher.

Well, 8-5 is starting to look pretty good at the moment because this team, despite the changes made, isn't playing with any more fire than the one last season. To be honest, there is more personality and passion shown by the players on their Twitter and Facebook accounts than there is on the football field.


However, let's not digress.

What should Georgia Bulldog fans expect from this team the rest of the way? Well, that's a mystery, but it depends on five key factors:

1. Will A.J. Green really be the spark needed to get the offense and the offensive play calling going in the right direction?

For the last four weeks, all any Georgia fan heard is how A.J. was the reason the team wasn't playing well. A.J. is the guy who can make it all better. If the team had A.J. for South Carolina, Arkansas, and Mississippi State—they'd be 4-0 instead of 1-3.

Uh-huh...and if "ands" and "buts" were candy and nuts, then everyday would be Christmas.

While no one can deny the impact A.J. has on the field, even the new athletic director of the University of Georgia, Greg McGarity, knows better than to place the record of this football program on one guy—that's preposterous. Here's his take on the absence of A.J. Green this season:

"You’ve seen other programs that have injuries or have unfortunate things that develop, and someone else steps up. So I think what this has done has maybe let some other receivers develop, I think Kris Durham certainly has been one of the highlighted receivers. I think it gives others a chance to pick up and play...

"It’s all how you look at it. A.J. doesn’t play defense, he doesn’t block, he’s not an interior lineman. I’m sure it hurts the team. But I think there are so many other moving parts with it – it’s the what-if word, probably the two worst words you could use in coach-speak. You can’t play the what-if game." (Seth Emerson, Macon Telegraph, 9/27/10).

Couldn't have said it better.

If the absence of No. 8 limited the imagination of offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, to the point that he didn't know how to adjust his play calling to the talent he did have on the field, then he doesn't need to be the offensive coordinator at Georgia—period.

2. Will Caleb King EVER be healthy enough to play a full game this season?

Does anyone trust Washaun Ealey with the football, inside the redzone, right now? Let's be honest, he's got some problems with ball protection. He's fumbled at the one-yard line twice in the last three weeks—is that the kind of play you want from your top running back?

Caleb King is the only guy that seems capable of both running between the tackles and keeping the ball from hitting the ground. Furthermore, King is a lot better at pass protection than he was just a season ago—the same cannot be said of Washaun Ealey.

King needs to get healthy and get on the field. His missing time is getting frustrating and old for those of us who thought he was going to be the next big thing at Georgia a mere three seasons ago.

3. Who will step up on defense and make plays?

Christian Robinson, Akeem Dent, and Justin Houston have all played well this season—absolutely. However, for as well as they have played, there isn't one guy on the defense right now who is a consistent play maker. On the contrary, different guys are, occasionally, making plays—there is a difference.

Where are the sacks? Forced fumbles? Interceptions?

Someone needs to start making his presence felt a bit more. Georgia needs guys who, when they walk on the field, the opposing offense has to adjust to them. Right now, Georgia is doing all of the adjusting—teams are adjusting for what the Bulldogs are bringing to the table.
  
4. Is Mark Richt capable of drawing a line in the sand?

These guys are undisciplined and unfocused. As mentioned in the opening, they have more passion when using social media than they do playing football on Saturdays. Their opening effort against Arkansas in week three was the most fired up brand of football they've played all season. Since then, it's back to the mediocre, uninspired play they displayed against South Carolina.

The sense of entitlement they seem to feel because of the black 'G' on their helmet is disgusting. Go out there and work for those wins, guys! Get After Them Aggressively, better known as, GATA!!!

My goodness, where is the passion on the football field?!?

Can Richt get that back?...Honestly, the scarier question is: Does Richt have enough energy left to get these guys on track THIS season?
  
 5. Will people stop tip-toeing around the strength and conditioning program at Georgia?

The guys aren't tough enough. For some bizarre reason, people want to extol the great weight lifting numbers the players are putting up on a yearly basis in the Georgia training program. In case you didn't know, they set records every year in different areas (squats, bench press, clean lift, etc.)—SO WHAT?

It's obvious those "records" haven't meant a hill of beans on the football field over the last three years. All anyone has seen is guys getting beat by, sometimes, smaller, less athletic, offensive and defensive linemen.

There's something wrong with that picture and the strength and conditioning coach needs a big, bright, spotlight shown on what he's not doing at Georgia so that his level of accountability can be taken under consideration.

Conclusion

The expectations for the remainder of the year have to be minimal. Some drastic changes have to be made in order for coach Richt to turn this thing around—A.J.'s return will help, but more has to be done to get things going in a more positive direction.

Does that mean the fans should give up on the team, absolutely not, but to ask them to go 8-0 the rest of the way seems like a stretch—right now.

Based on the display of play so far, the schedule that seemed "easy" at the start, now looks like a land mine of possible losses—at Kentucky, at Auburn, Florida, vs. Tennessee, vs. Vanderbilt, and this week at Colorado. None of those are guaranteed wins right now—not the way this team is playing.

So, simply based on what is known, Georgia could go 5-2 in the rest of the way. That means, they would enter their season-ending match-up with Georgia Tech at 6-5—hopefully no worse than that.

What say you? What are your expectations for the rest of this season?

(This article appears courtesy of The Lady Sportswriter)

Georgia Bulldogs Football: Arkansas Comes To Play...Will Georgia?

It's high noon as this article is being written and that means the Georgia Bulldogs are getting set to kickoff against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Sanford Stadium—it's gameday in Athens, GA!

That statement alone should be plenty to get any Georgia Bulldog excited but, in the malaise that has followed the news that A.J. Green, Branden Smith, and Shaun Chapas won't play today, people seem to be feeling a little less than confident about what the outcome will be.

Last night, the Twitter feed was bursting with commentary as both fans and frenemies boasted about the Georgia Bulldogs chances of remaining relevant without A.J. Green to catch the ball from his new quarterback. One individual even surmised that the Bulldogs would be 0-3 in the SEC by the time it was all said and done—a notion so ludicrous and short-sighted, in my opinion, that it became necessary for this author to launch into a rant all her own.

Yet, I digress.

No one can overstate the value of A.J. Green to this Georgia team. He's a playmaker, a man amongst boys, and a future pro ball player—without question. That said, he doesn't play defense. The Georgia Bulldogs played without passion or fire last week against a South Carolina team that seemed more motivated than ever to make it to the SEC Championship Game this season—no matter what A.J. might have done last week, he wouldn't have been on the field when the tackling was taking place.

How much of a difference could he have truly made?

Georgia cannot play like the timid bunch of schoolboys they played like on last Saturday. If they do, they will lose again today. There is no question about that. However, my expectation is that these Bulldogs will be ready to play and focused on winning—A.J. or not, they will be ready to get after those Hogs.

My faith is in the red and black—where's yours?

Time to play a little football.

Chad Ochocinco: Will People Ever Tire of His Act?

Chad Ochocinco is annoying.

Is it possible to say that without someone wanting to place me on a skewer, hang me over a blazing fire, and roast me until I reach maximum temperature?...Is it?

Showboats and attention-seekers are a turn-off. Some fans find a playful attitude towards the game of football to be charming or good entertainment—but it's not. Football can be entertaining minus the circus, minus the drama, and minus the arrogance that many of its players seem to exhibit today.

Back when the game was only about "wins" and "losses",  players often played with more purpose and a whole lot more discipline on the field. There was respect for the beauty of the game—the fundamentals—no one was trying to pull the attention to the name or the number stitched across the back of his jersey.

Individual recognition ran a distant second to winning championships and playing for Super Bowls.
Nowadays, a guy has one good year and decides to hold-out for more money. Or, better still, rookies who have never played a down look to be treated like veteran pro bowlers—expecting a big paycheck before they even bother to grace a pro field.

It's a "screw you, pay me" mentality and it ruins the game for the purists who just want to see good football played on Sunday.

Of course, the natural argument against this thinking is to say that there weren't as many opportunities for individual recognition back then because there was no free agency, no internet, no Twitter, and no ESPN—guys played with anonymity back then because they were...well...anonymous.

During that era, one could probably list on one hand, possibly two, the number of players they would recognize minus their helmet, and most of them were quarterbacks. There simply wasn't as much of an opportunity to take advantage of ones own popularity as there is now.  

Fair enough, but, even so, can you imagine former Washington Redskins great, Art Monk, wearing an Ochocinco jersey in the place of his No. 85?

Is it reasonable to argue that even the old school players would have liked a shot at the money that players of today make. After all, they weren't all just hoping to play for free—right. Of course, many of those guys will tell you they played for pennies back then and never could have dreamed of making as much money as even a veteran bench player does now—just ask Gale Sayers.

That said, can you think of a player today who would even bother to pick up a football if they didn't think it would net them a large paycheck in the future? Make no mistake, the mentality is different—no matter the era.

Is there anything wrong with a man making a living off his name? Of course not, Chad Ochocinco should feel free to do so for as long as he can.  If he wants to go "Dancing With The Stars", find "The Ultimate Catch", or run around naked in public places (well, assuming he was given the clearance), then that's his business.


That said, changing his jersey to Ochocinco, tweeting during a preseason football game, and blowing off a voluntary conditioning program to enhance his popularity—popularity he wouldn't have without the game of football—seems like too much.

All of it is out of line.

Now, before the Ochocinco fans point out his great play and consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, please understand that the issue isn't his contribution to the Cincinnati Bengals but rather his need to always be maximizing his "brand". It's all Chad...all the time. That's a problem.

He has every right to remain Chad Ochocinco. He has every right to build his brand. He has every right to maximize his bottom line—in any way that he can. But, sometimes, it would be nice to look on the back of that No. 85 jersey and just see the name "Johnson" again and feel confident that his reason for scoring a touchdown was to get his team to the next level and not his face on the camera.


In the end, no one will likely care what he does this season because they, again, think it's entertaining and not hurting anybody. If anything, he's probably adored even more by his fans for the stunts he pulls.

However, if his numbers falter, if he gets an injury, or if his team doesn't do as well as most are hoping...what will you think of him then?

More Fake Celebrity Twitter Profiles

Fake celebrity Twitter profiles are getting out of control, see my previous post regarding the topic. Now Kanye West is the latest celebrity to be subject to a fake Twitter profile. Some cases regarding the use of a celebrity's likeness involved the claim of Right of Publicity. California Civil Code Section 3344 prohibits "Any person who knowingly uses another's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness, in any manner on or in products, merchandise, or goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting purchases of products, merchandise, goods or services, without such person's prior consent..." Putting the law aside, we can always count on Kanye's supersensitivity for great entertainment value. Here is what he wrote from his blog:
“DON’T HAVE A F****** TWITTER… WHY WOULD I USE TWITTER??? I ONLY BLOG 5 PERCENT OF WHAT I’M UP TO IN THE FIRST PLACE. I’M ACTUALLY SLOW DELIVERING CONTENT BECAUSE I’M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BUSY BEING CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME AND IF I’M NOT AND I’M JUST LAYING ON A BEACH I WOULDN’T TELL THE WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT TWITTER OFFERS I NEED LESS OF. THE PEOPLE AT TWITTER KNOW I DON’T HAVE A F****** TWITTER SO FOR THEM TO ALLOW SOMEONE TO POSE AS ME AND ACCUMULATE OVER A MILLION NAMES IS IRRESPONSIBLE AND DECEITFUL TO THERE FAITHFUL USERS. REPEAT… THE HEADS OF TWITTER KNEW I DIDN’T HAVE A TWITTER AND THEY HAVE TO KNOW WHICH ACCOUNTS HAVE HIGH ACTIVITY ON THEM. IT’S A F****** FARCE AND IT MAKES ME QUESTION WHAT OTHER SO CALLED CELEBRITY TWITTERS ARE ACTUALLY REAL OR FAKE. HEY TWITTER, TAKE THE SO CALLED KANYE WEST TWITTER DOWN NOW …. WHY? … BECAUSE MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS LOUD!!!!!!!!!”

Imposters Posting on Twitter and Other Social Networking Sites

Have you ever wondered if what you are looking at on myspace, facebook and other social networking sites were the actual site of a celebrity? Common sense usually dictates that it's not, especially if it's a big name celebrity. But now with Twitter we may not be so sure. Some of us heard the story about Ashton Kutcher egging on CNN about the number of subscribers. And then the story about Demi Moore communicating via Twitter to an individual that was about to commit suicide.

So are celebrities really hiding behind their online profiles after all? Accordingly comes the celebrity social networking site impersonators. Most recently, Televangelist Robert H. Schuller, whose audience reaches in the millions was vicitm to a bogus Twitter profile. The imposter profile attracted more than 1,000 followers in less than one week. The creator of the fake profile can easily spread rumors about the celebrity, or in the event of a televagelist request money from its follows. Schuller's legal team was quick to get Twitter to respond to remove the imposter profile. The biggest legal claim was probably that of Right of Publicity. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=7176483