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.