Tuesday Links (1/12)

No big intro today. Straight to some links...

-- I've been surprised at how emotional the reaction to the Kirby Smart proceedings has been from Georgia fans. Knowing the passion that surrounds the program, perhaps I shouldn't be, but I'll admit, I didn't predict such anger. I still think, however, that in a few months, it'll be a lot of water under the bridge and, in the end, this might have been best for both Kirby and Georgia. We shall see.

Regardless, amid a lot of the hostility, I think our pal Bernie has perhaps the most rational and reasoned response to everything.

-- The Senator isn't ready to jump off a cliff yet, but his solution to the situation is pretty dramatic.

-- Bulldog In Exile takes a more in-depth look at the situation and comes to a firm conclusion: What matters is that Richt eventually delivers on his promise to make a hire that gets the Dawgs back atop the SEC East. (And not to pick nits with Mr. Exile, of whom I'm a great admirer, but I think he's underestimating how far the Vic Koenning stuff went.)

-- T Kyle King thinks this whole situation should come to an end with Travis Jones as the defensive coordinator.

-- Cousin Walter reviews the situation, too, and says he'd still be happy with Todd Grantham.

-- Georgia Sports Blog has a smorgasbord of good info today: From a rather well-reasoned argument to why Kirby Smart is, indeed, a jerk to the importance of Wednesday's hoops game against Ole Miss to the silver lining from yesterday that will hopefully cheer a few folks up.

-- Jeff Owens wasn't invited to the NFL combine, and The Sporting News thinks he got jobbed. (h/t Jim F)

-- And looking over the invite list, Marc Weiszer wonders if it's not an indication of a real talent drop-off for Georgia.

In my humble opinion, I think it is indicative of two things that are both restricted to 2009 alone: 1.) There was no serious NFL talent graduating on offense and the defense simply didn't have that much veteran talent last year. Blame Willie if you must -- after all, he had a hand in the recruiting -- but that simply wasn't a great group of defensive players on the field in 2009.

-- Team Speed Kills has a really strong analysis of the upcoming "wide open" year in the SEC East.

-- This is a few days old but I forgot to link to it earlier: Mark Schlabach's way-too-early top 25 for 2010.

-- This may not be safe for work, but our old pal Brett Jensen has created a tribute to the ladies of bowl season that will no doubt be the highlight of any adolescent male's week.

-- Kiplinger's ranks Georgia as the sixth-best value among college coaches -- ahead of the Trade School but still behind Florida.

-- Here's a good interview with the actor who plays one of the most underrated characters on TV -- Kevin from "The Office."

-- I can't decide if I'm intrigued or concerned by the trailer for the new "A-Team" movie. I think I'm happy that it looks like they're just trying to blow a lot of stuff up and not go through the facade of making a credible film.

-- Here's an interesting bit of info from Netflix that shows the top 10 rentals by zip code in several major cities, including Atlanta. Seriously, what's with all the folks in Palmetto, Ga. renting "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"?

-- If you missed my Tweet about this yesterday... sad news... Riggins is leaving "Friday Night Lights." Of course, I think he's actually closer to collecting social security than being in high school, so perhaps it's time.

-- In a surprise to no one, "Glee" has officially been picked up for a second season.

-- The "Arrested Development" movie will start shooting this year... woo hoo!

-- A new study suggests watching TV can shorten your life. Sure, if you call not watching TV living.

-- And finally, I've read way too much to get psyched up for the final season of "Lost" so I was thrilled to read something that actually made me laugh -- how each character makes a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich.