Monday Links (12/1)

I know many of you are probably a bit down today for any number of reasons. I must admit, it's a little bit of an odd feeling not to have to cover practice today, so I'm sure for all the hard-core fans out there, it's an empty Monday at best.

The final performance of the regular season wasn't one you'll want to remember for a long time either. I'll have much more to say about the Tech game and the resulting reactions from fans, coaches and players coming this week. I'm hoping to keep up a 2-3 post per day output through the bowl game, but we'll see what all we have to work with. Just an FYI: The Dawgs will only be practicing Thursday and Saturday this week (and I'll be covering the SECCG Saturday, so not sure if I'll have anything from that day's practice).

Anyway, with all that doom and gloom aside, today is a GREAT day for me. I'm a firm believer that moderation is the key to everything, regardless of how much you enjoy it. You simply can't go out to your favorite bar every night, you can only listen to Journey's Greatest Hits so many times, and at some point, I run out of names that sound funny when combined with "Munzenmaier." I once ate a cheese steak every day for 28 straight days. I was hoping to break Dimaggio's hit streak record, but let's just say I could barely get off the couch by the end.

So it is with that knowledge that a few years back, I adopted a firm rule about my favorite holiday movie of all time: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Now, I hate stores that start playing Chrismas music in September and holiday commercials make me want to gag, but I could watch Christmas Vacation three times a week in July and still enjoy it.

The problem is, if I were to watch it a bunch the rest of the year, it would lose some of its luster. So I decided that I could only watch the movie from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31 each year and never any other time, even if it happened to be on TBS one random April afternoon. Needless to say, by the time Dec. 1 rolls around each year, I'm really looking forward to catching up with Clark, Eddie and the rest of the Griswold clan.

So while I, too, am sad that college football season has come to an end, today is also like my own personal holiday -- a festivus for the rest of us, if you will. It's the first day when I get to put all the hustle and bussle of football season behind me, sit down on the couch with a warm cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee and enjoy the miracle of the holiday season that is Chevy Chase. The silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an a$$hole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer... what could be better than December 1st?

And to add a few extra gifts to your stocking, here are a handful of links for today...

-- Well, first, let's start with IMDb's quotes from "Christmas Vacation," which should definitely brighten your day.

-- Georgia Sports Blog agrees that the defense is broken, but the problems don't end there.

-- Get the Picture takes a look back at how the defense "progressed" throughout the season.

-- ESPN's Chris Low dropped Georgia behind Ole Miss in his SEC rankings. Have to wonder now if the Cap One Bowl will do the same. Georgia's biggest asset in making its case for the Cap One right now is its fan base -- you know, the one with the high expectations.

-- Chip Towers wonders what Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno will decide to do with their futures.

-- The LA Times has a story on a Georgia Bulldogs cemetary plot. How ironically appropriate.

-- Dawg Bone's Darrell Huckaby says Georgia didn't show much heart on Saturday. More than the numbers on the scoreboard or the place in the standings, that should be enough of an embarrassment to Richt that he decides to make some changes.

-- In other coaching news, Charlie Weis will have to wait a bit before learning his future, Dabo Swinney looks to be the man at Clemson, and Tennessee's new administration will include an NFL staple.

-- If this game is any indication, things could get ugly for the UGA hoops team this week.

-- John Smoltz stopped by to shoot some baskets with Dennis Felton yesterday.

-- Georgia's women's hoops team is looking for all-time win No. 750.

-- And finally, how's this for initiative: A Red & Black writer is begging Stephen Colbert to come to Athens to give the convocation at graduation this spring.