Wednesday Links (3/24)

I'm still a few days away from getting back to Athens, but I've been doing my best to keep a close eye on what's been transpiring during my absence. (And big thanks to Brandon Spoon, Fletcher Page and Tyler Estep for keeping the UGA info flowing here and in the Telegraph.)

So... a quick run down of some of my thoughts, Ebert-style...

Thumbs Up.... to the women's hoops team. Sweet 16 seemed obvious early in the year, then unlikely the way they finished up the regular season. Their game against Oklahoma State was a thriller and Andy Landers has his women played very well when it matters most.

Thumbs Down... to the Diamond Dogs. Yikes. This team is two games away from letting a few fans pitch.

Thumbs Up... to moving Justin Anderson. Assuming it means the coaching staff is pleased with the way the backups like Kolton Houston, Chris Burnette and A.J. Harmon are progressing.

Thumbs Down... to moving Justin Anderson. It's a shame to see a guy with so much potential not make it on the O line. At the tail end of '08 it really looked like he might turn a corner, but it never happened.

Thumbs Up... to the one-game suspension of Zach Mettenberger. I'm assuming Richt did his homework and no further details will come to light. If that's the case, this is more than fair, particularly given the likely short-term ramifications that the suspension means for Mett's spot on the depth chart.

Thumbs Down... to A.J. Green returning punts. We talked about this two years ago with Knowshon, and aside from two utterly forgettable early-season returns, it never amounted to anything. I commend A.J. wanting to contribute even more, but Georgia has just six scholarship WRs, two wore green jerseys this week in practice, one is coming off missing the season following shoulder surgery, and A.J.... if he has a weakness, it's that he's been banged up most of his career.

Thumbs Up to... some links! It's been a while, so here's a bit more of what I've been reading during my hiatus...

-- Fletcher Page has an excellent piece on the bond between Christian Robinson and Warren Belin, which dates back well before the two teamed up at Georgia this spring.

-- Our pal Fletcher also has a fantastic update on hoops recruiting over at Scout with all the details on Georgia's top targets.

-- I have a story in the Telegraph on Rodney Garner's adjustment to his new role and new coaching staff this spring.

-- Tim Tucker takes a closer look at Georgia's tailback "battle," which is a far cry from the competition at the position last year.

-- Dawg Stephen, on the other hand, isn't so sure we should care which tailback earns the starting job.

-- Interesting note from Marc Weiszer that Georgia's staff visited Virginia Tech's strength and conditioning staff this week.

-- ESPN's Chris Low writes about Georgia's strongest and weakest positions in 2010.

-- Bleacher Report interviews Georgia linebacker Richard Samuel, who says the player who has been the biggest role model for him is... Aron White? Wish there'd been a follow-up to that question.

-- Bill Goldberg is being inducted in the Jewish sports hall of fame. No word on whether he plans to put Sandy Koufax in a sleeper hold during the induction ceremony.

-- The Red & Black says that the expectations for the Diamond Dogs were off the mark. Shocking news there.

-- Here's a link for our pals Paul Westerdawg and Senator Blutarsky... Paul Westerberg pens an op-ed column for the New York Times talking about his friend and mentor, Alex Chilton.

-- The next season of "Top Chef" will be filmed in the nation's capitol -- where a number of last season's top contestants hailed from.

-- John Cusack seems like someone I should like, and yet every time he opens his mouth, he says something that makes me want to punch him.

-- You might have thought that "The Real World" hit rock bottom years ago. You would be wrong.

-- Zach Braff confirms the inevitable: "Scrubs" is finally dead. You know, until it comes back to fight Jason and Freddie in about six years.

-- Unfortunately I didn't get to watch "Lost" last night, so I have to wait until I get back to Athens to watch it on DVR. But one non spoiler detail... Michael Emerson got clocked .

-- And finally, SciFi Wire runs down a good list of other random objects that have been turned into time machines... besides a hot tub.