Larry Munson (1922-2011)

Larry Munson died.


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ESPN has his Top Ten calls.

How 'bout them dogs

For many, many years, fans of the Georgia Bulldogs have cried "How 'Bout Them Dawgs!"

No so much this year. And, when it's said, it'd be more appropriate to say "How 'bout them dogs" instead.

The difference is that "Dawgs" is an affectionate way to refer to the Georgia Bulldogs. But, in this instance, "dogs" refers to the performance of this year's team.

Georgia's problems this year are a delight to many who don't care for UGA. And, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran the most obvious headline of the season: "Fans upset about Bulldogs' losses." Well, duh.

This year has been a rough one. And, it began before the season started, when they had so many players arrested for ... well, you name it. Misdemeanors, sure, but crimes nonetheless. And, it hasn't stopped. This week, another player was arrested. That's 10 this year. One more, and they can film "Longest Yard II" in Athens.

Why have so many UGA players been arrested? Because that's a place that's out of control.

Who is to blame?

• The players, for being old enough to know better, but not doing better.
• And they players' parents, for not raising them better.
• And the coaches, for not making the players have to face consequences all along.
• And the UGA administration, for making some really stupid decisions in hiring. 
• And the fans, for putting up with it ... as long as UGA won.

Just so you know, I was not in favor of UGA hiring Mark Richt to begin with. I would have preferred that Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech's current coach, been hired instead. But, that was a pipe dream.

Think back. It was after the 2000 season, and Jim Donnan was the UGA coach, and Vince Dooley was the Athletic Director. UGA president Michael Adams wanted Donnan gone, and Dooley didn't. So, Adams fired Donnan.

If Donnan had stayed, as Dooley had wished, would Donnan have reached the levels of success that UGA fans wanted? Maybe not. But, while Donnan's Bulldogs teams never reached the success of Richt's, his never reached the lows that Richt's are experiencing right now.

Anyway, after Donnan's Division 1-AA background, there's no way they'd replace him with another 1-AA coach, as was Johnson at the time (he was Georgia Southern's coach).

But, hiring Richt? Whose coaching career of 14 of 15 years as an assistant was at Florida State? Or Tallahassee State Prison, as it might more properly be known. FSU has been out of control for years, but the fans there didn't care, because they won.

Sounds a lot like what I was worried about with Richt coming to UGA.

And, much like FSU, UGA's football team has no discipline.

Now, as a person, I suspect that Mark Richt is a fine man. I've heard nothing bad about him. But, learning how to coach college by learning at FSU isn't how you learn to run a disciplined program. And now UGA is an undisciplined program.

But, this last arrest has led to a dismissal from the team. Of course, that player had never played a down for UGA. So, the net impact to the team is zero. It's not like Richt stepped up and kicked a star player off the team. And I'm not sure he would.

And that's the problem.

If you are a star at UGA, you can do whatever you want and nothing bad will happen. And, when the team is winning, the whole team is a star. When you're 0-3 in the SEC, players that don't start will get kicked off the team.

Should UGA fire Richt? No. Not right now, anyway.

UGA isn't a very good football team right now. If, by the end of the season, they are a good team, then perhaps that means that Richt finally has things under control. After 10 years.

If not, though, I fully expect to see the state's unemployment rate go up more -- by an amount that's equal to the UGA coaching staff -- at the end of this season.

Larry Munson

Larry Munson has retired.

If you don't know who Larry Munson is, well, it's hard to explain.

If you do, well, you understand.

Notre Dame had Knute Rockne.

Alabama had "Bear" Bryant.

Georgia? Larry Munson.

Sure, there's Vince Dooley. But Larry Munson was Georgia's announcer for all but two of Dooley's seasons. And he has announced during the 20 seasons (counting this one) since Dooley retired.

Larry Munson IS Georgia football.

Only, he's done more that UGA games.

Did you know he was part of the original Atlanta Braves broadcast team? I really don't remember that, but, yes, it's true.

He was also the voice of the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL. That, I do remember.

But, it's as the announcer for Bulldogs football that made Larry Munson a household name in Georgia. And, yes, sports fans in Georgia ... not just UGA fans, but any sports fan ... knows Larry Munson.

Georgia Tech fans know Larry Munson. Florida fans know him too. As do Tennessee fans. Auburn fans. And ... well, you get the idea.

He's won awards over the years for his sportcasts. And, in 2005, was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

I've heard many of his classic calls over the years. The "hunker down" and "look at the sugar falling from the sky" calls at the end of the Auburn game in 1982. Herschel Walker's touchdown against Tennessee in 1980. Kevin Butler's 60-yard kick against Clemson in 1984.

But I didn't hear the Run Lindsay Run/broken chair call from the 1980 Florida game. I was at that game. But you can bet I've heard it many times since then. It's even on my iPod.

It's hard to believe that Larry Munson has retired.

But the good thing is that he's still with us. And there will be tributes, to be sure. And he'll be around to hear them.

We should all be so lucky.

The "Elite" Media strikes again

Once again, the south doesn't get any respect. The University of Georgia fell in the college football polls again. And here's the problem. First, I'll admit I'm a Bulldog fan. While I don't attend their games regularly, I'm a typical UGA fan, I suppose. I've been to a handful of UGA games. Having said that, I ask any serious football fan to explain to me how a team can open the season ranked number one, win three straight, and wind up number three? "Unimpressive wins," is what I've heard. Well, if impressive wins meant a lot, why didn't Georgia play for the national championship last season? That's an excuse, not a reason. Here's the reason: teams from the south don't get the respect they're due. All the Ohio State, Southern California, Oklahoma and such fans will say how great their teams are. And I won't argue their point; they are football fans who are proud of their teams. But, I wonder if any of those teams opened at number one, then won their first three, would end up number three? I suspect not. Of course, like in politics, it's not the polls now that matter; it's the last one. Unfortunately for college football, each poll builds on the other. Which means that if Southern California, Oklahoma, and Georgia all run the table, the Bulldogs would likely be left out of the national championship game. Of course, the fact that half the top 10 (AP) are SEC teams (4 of 10 in the Coaches Poll), might help the Bulldogs. It didn't this week; they beat USC, an SEC team, and fell from number two to number three. This is why we need a playoff. And why we won't get one? Because the SEC would run the table. One or two individual teams in various conferences are pretty good. But top to bottom, the SEC owns college football. And should own the top of the polls.

Uga VII debuts

This time, it's real.

Uga VII debuted to University of Georgia fans at their game with Georgia Southern yesterday. AJC has the video:



In recent days, pictures of another dog made the rounds, with the accompanying email saying it was Uga VII. It wasn't.

The owners of Uga VII were able to keep things under wraps until game day.

Uga VII ... *Updated*

The first college football mascot to be invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York was the University of Georgia's Uga IV.

UGA (The University of Georgia) has had mascots named Uga since 1956.

Uga IV's visit to the Heisman Trophy ceremony isn't the first "first" for one of the dogs in the Uga line.

Photo: The Montgomery Advertiser

Uga V made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1997, as well as becoming a photo star for the picture of him lunging at Auburn's Robert Baker in 1996.

Something about Uga has touched not just UGA fans, but others as well.

When Uga IV was at the Downtown Athletic Club for Herschel Walker's Heisman Trophy, one of the former Heisman winners stepped over and gave him a friendly pet: Steve Spurrier, 1966 Heisman winner from ... and later head coach of ... one of UGA's biggest rivals, the University of Florida.

When Uga VI died earlier this year, it was on the front page of sports publications and Web sites.

There will be a new mascot -- Uga VII -- when the Bulldogs take the field this fall.

As you can see, he's just a puppy. But he's not the first puppy to debut at the beginning of football season. Uga VI was only 6 months old when he took over in 1981.

Pictures of Uga VII will be widely available soon. I haven't seen any yet.

Except for these.

I got some pictures recently, from reliable sources, showing the new mascot.

This is one of them.

Bulldog fans have high hopes for their football team this year. UGA is ranked number one in most pre-season polls.

But Uga VII is already number one in their hearts.

Update: Turns out this pup isn't the new Uga. I should have researched it a little better. The pup in the pics I received actually belongs, not Uga owner Sonny Seiler, but rather, to Mike Woods, a UGA fan, shown here:



I should not have researched the pics better. When I got up this morning, I did a little bit of research ... slightly different than last night's research ... and found, in short order, that the pics are NOT of Uga VII, but rather, of a pup that belongs to a UGA fan.

When Uga VII pictures are actually released, I expect you'll see them from much more reliable sources than this little blog.

Driving back from Athens

I mentioned earlier about the ease of the drive to Athens this morning.

The drive back was not quite as easy.

Following the football game, the Little Princess took me out to supper at Weaver D's. If you've been to Athens and haven't eaten at Weaver D's, you've missed some good eatin'.

Anyway, I got in the car and started out around 6:00. Nearly 5 hours later, I sat down on the couch at the house.

Just over 3 hours to get there. Nearly 5 hours to get back.

No, the distance didn't change any. But the flow of traffic did.

Don't know if it was all the folks from Alabama -- the Bulldogs hosted Troy -- heading back all at one time. Or if that's what traffic is normally like following a game in Athens.

But it was rough.

10-15 MPH at spots.

Early day. Late drive back.

But a really nice visit in between.

Made the drive worthwhile.

Driving to Athens

My daughter called last night. The Little Princess was asking about the Wife and me driving over to Athens today. Seems there's a football game gong on. UGA is taking on Troy. Should be a blowout. But you never know.

Anyway, I could make the trip. But the Wife couldn't. Oldest granddaughter has her 8th birthday tomorrow, and the Wife is doing the cake. So, she needed to stay at home and get all that together.

So, I drove over alone.

I haven't been to a lot of Georgia football games. Was at the 1980 game where Lindsay Scott caught the touchdown pass to beat Florida. The Sugar Bowl in New Orleans that following January, where they won the national championship. Was also at the "1st and 99" Georgia-Florida game a couple of years later. And, I think, one other UGA game.

But that's it.

And never at a game in Athens.

So, this morning, I wasn't sure what I'd run into in way of traffic.

Turns out, it wasn't all that bad. Left the house just before 7:00 and got to Athens around 10:00. And, by 10:30, had parked at some coffee house, put money in the meter, hit the ATM, ordered a cinnamon roll and a Coke, pulled out the trusty MacBook, and was blogging just after 10:30.

So, traffic wasn't all that bad.

Except one small stretch of road.

After I got off I-85 and onto GA-316, I noticed the right lane was moving much faster than the left lane. And I was in the left lane.

Now, if you're not familiar with GA-316, it's a large highway. Divided by a median. Sort of like an interstate highway, but it does have the occasional traffic lights.

Right-hand lane sometimes has a turn lane. Left lane always does. So, it follows that there'd be less traffic issues in the left lane. But the left lane was moving slow.

Speed limit was 65, and we were moving between 50 and 55, depending on how close or stretched out traffic got.

But the right lane was moving right along.

Knowing it shouldn't be that way, I figured whatever it was would clear up and I'd be fine, so I might as well stay in the left lane.

Then, my patience ran out.

So, an opening was there ... a long stretch, actually ... and I moved into the right lane.

I sped up to 65 and was moving much faster than the left lane.

Then, I found out why.

Pick the one of these that you think it was:

1. Road construction.
2. A wreck.
3. A blue-haired lady driving a Chrysler with a Bartow County tag in the left lane.

If you picked "C" then you're a winner.

Anyway, once I got past her, traffic was fine. Other than actually in downtown Athens.

I was surprised how well it went. Of course, the fact that almost everyone was going to the game ... or a game-related event ... in Athens may have worked in my favor.

One Auburn fan must have thought the traffic was really bad, and decided to get a one-week head start. Or they can't read a calendar. I'm not sure which.

Anyway, until downtown Athens, the traffic was pretty good. Encountered one intersection where some idiot pulled out and had all four paths of traffic blocked for a little bit.

But, the trip wasn't a bad trip after all. And the game's in a couple of hours. So, I got to go get ready for that.

It should be great.