Wednesday Links (8/5)

I thought I remembered just how busy the first few days of practice would be, but I think I underestimated it in my mind. I've got a ton I'm hoping to accomplish today, so we're only going to have a few links this morning -- and will a little luck and a significant dose of motivation, there's an outside chance I squeeze in a trip to the gym today before practice...

-- I have a story in today's Telegraph on the immense amount of preparation Joe Cox has put in for a job he was never sure he would get.

-- Senator Blutarsky is revamping the Mumme Poll, which is definitely a very good thing. And if all goes well, there may even be a little commentary on poll's new site from a certain Georgia blogger you all know and tolerate.

-- Get used to the talk of the team concept, as the great David Pascall writes. We'll be hearing a lot about it this season.

-- The Red & Black's Fletcher Page writes about a new attitude on the defense that was audible from Day 1 of practice.

-- I've been hoping to squeeze in a trip to Falcons practice in the next week or two, but wasn't sure I could find the time. Now... I have no choice.

-- Gordon Beckham earned the American League rookie of the month honors, but he's not letting it go to his head.

-- Florida's Riley Cooper passed on a future in baseball to stick with the Gators' football team for another season.

-- The Gym Dogs' picture day festivities have been scheduled.

-- The bad economy doesn't seem to have bothered UGA much, as the school had a record fundraising year.

-- Here are a couple of YouTube videos you should enjoy:

Courtesy of Jeff Owens' Twitter feed, here's a fan video that should ensure you are psyched for the season (and you may have to break out your dusty copy of "Appetite for Destruction").

And in the interest of keeping my job, I will make no additional comments about this video featuring Urban Meyer's daughter, who will be attending Georgia Tech this fall. (h/t Jamie Brooks)

-- As I predicted earlier this week, Screech has been banned from the "Saved by the Bell" reunion. My guess is he'll attempt to sneak in anyway wearing the Bayside Tiger mascot outfit.

-- A couple of "Lost" links for you: 1.) The Season 5 Blu-Ray discs will come with admission to Lost University, which as far as I can tell involves a whole heck of a lot of background info for the show, and 2.) If you think you're the type who could ace Lost University, try taking this quiz on what happened in Season 5.

-- And finally, I saw "Funny People" over the weekend. It was such a departure from Judd Apatow's earlier films that I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it afterward. Upon further reflection, I'm certain that I liked it, but I think it was a lot like "24." It's incredibly enjoyable, but somewhat frustrating because it's plainly obvious it could have been more. (Which leads me to my side note that is, if "24" had been on HBO instead of FOX, it might be the greatest TV show ever.)

Anyway, I thought the two best parts of the movie were the jokes about Delaware that allowed me to be the only person in the theater laughing and the scenes with Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman, who overall ended up pretty marginalized in the movie.

The good news though: Both will star in a new movie together and they'll work with another of my favorite comedy actors, Jason Segal.