Thursday Links (5/20)

The preseason awards keep coming in for Georgia, which placed five players on Phil Steele's preseason All-America list.

Punter Drew Butler and receiver A.J. Green made the first-team All-America list. Kicker Blair Walsh was a second-team All-American. Clint Boling was named a third-team All-American left tackle, while return specialist Brandon Boykin was named to the fourth team.

Only five teams nationally placed multiple players on the first team, and the only other SEC team to do so was Alabama, also with two first-teamers.

On Steele's All-SEC team, Georgia's numbers were even better. Butler, Green, Walsh, Boling and Boykin were all first-team All-SEC members, along with outside linebacker Justin Houston.

Center Ben Jones, guard Cordy Glenn and tailback Washaun Ealey were all named second-team All-SEC. Tight end Orson Charles, guard Chris Davis, inside linebacker Marcus Dowtin and Boykin (this time as a cornerback) were also named to the third-team. Safety Bacarri Rambo was a fourth-team All-SEC honoree.

Georgia's six first-team All-SEC players tied Alabama for the most in the league, while the Dawgs' 14 overall honorees tied Florida for the most in the conference.

Suffice it to say, talent shouldn't be the issue for this year's Bulldogs.

Now, on to some links...

-- One more thing working in Georgia's favor in 2010... the schedule should be a good bit easier than it has been the past few years.

-- While the hot seat talk about Mark Richt hits a nerve with some fans, there haven't been nearly so many people sticking up for Mike Bobo. Bernie's analysis reveals that might be a big mistake.

-- College Fantasy Football Insider has A.J. Green listed as their No. 29 overall receiver, but much of that is likely to do with the freshman QB getting him the ball.

-- Bleacher Report counts down the five most important games of the year for the Bulldogs.

-- Lions rookie Jahvid Best offers plenty of kudos for his new QB, Matthew Stafford.

-- Just an FYI for those of you who can't tune in each morning... 960 the Ref is archiving podcasts of their shows -- including my regular Tuesday morning appearances -- again on their Web site.

-- And speaking of The Ref, Chris Brame answers five questions for The Grit Tree -- including his take on what Georgia's "most spectacular" play of the Richt era would be.

-- The AJC gets you primed for the Final 16 in the NCAA men's tennis tourney.

-- UGA is getting audited. Why do I feel like Michael Adams is going to burst out of his office to greet the IRS like Tony Montana in "Scarface"?

-- Looks like "Community" is going all in against new time-slot nemesis "The Big Bang Theory."

-- It's been a long time, but Craig Kilborn is finally making a return to television -- although he's far from secure in having a new show. I won't even try to argue against the greatness of Jon Stewart, but I'll always have a soft spot for those early seasons of "The Daily Show" with Craigers. "It's Thursday, and you know what that means... it's time to dance!"

-- Check out Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse reading the "Top 10 Spoilers for the Lost finale" on last night's Letterman.

-- If you're looking for a more communal experience for the "Lost" finale, here's a group viewing in Atlanta you may want to consider.

-- Some early thoughts on Tuesday's "Lost" from Stuff of Legend can be found HERE.

-- And a few of my own...

* This probably makes me sound like a complete loser, but I can distinctly remember talking to my girlfriend three years ago and saying, "You know, if I died tomorrow, not knowing how 'Lost' ended would probably be in my top five biggest regrets."

Now that the finale is finally here, I find myself far less curious about any ultimate reveals, and more interested in simply whether or not I'll be upset about how it all ends. I guess that might have been inevitable, but the point is that the "mystery" of the show has become far less meaningful to me as a viewer this season.

* I thought Tuesday's episode was a good one, but again, I just feel like loose ends got swept under the rug or cleaned up a little too easily, and the larger story arc was rushed through to the point that I just don't care that much.

* I'm hoping that's not the last of Richard, because if it was, it was a particularly unceremonious way to lose one of the more interesting characters on the show.

* I hold out hope that Ben is conning the Man in Black because otherwise that storyline from earlier this season gets added to the ever-expanding list of red herrings.

* This was a good episode for Jack all around. His character's redemption has also been the most redeeming thing about this final season.

* I get that the Sun-Jin deaths were the emotional high point of the last non-Jacob episode, but it's like they completely forgot that Sayid and Lapidus died on the sub, too. What, no one was sad about Lapidus? I mean, who was going to make random snide comments then not have another line for two episodes?

* What happened to Claire? She was with Flocke, then she's just gone from the episode? This season has had too many issues of convenience. Same with having Miles run off into the woods instead of hiding in the secret room with Widmore... made no real sense, but offered an easy way out of killing him. (Of course, I'm not sure why they haven't offed him because, like Lapidus, his character hasn't offered much this year.)

* Early in the season, I hated the flash-sideways and wanted more on-island action. At this point, however, I'm far more interested in the Desmond storyline in LA and I really don't much care about the mythical Marcellus Wallace light on the island.

* Quick question: So Kate was crossed off "the list" because she was a mom, which would lead us to believe that the "Kwon" on the list was Jin, not Sun. So if Jin's a candidate, how come he could choose to die in the sub? I thought candidates couldn't kill themselves?

* I think the bottom line for me is this: It's still bittersweet that things are ending, and I'm not upset that the final answers aren't everything I wanted. In fact, taken in just the context of one season's worth of storytelling, this season hasn't been bad. But so much of what I really enjoyed about the show for the first five years seems to be missing this year -- and I guess that's what bothers me the most. I find myself trying to be convinced to like what I'm watching, and I really don't. It's not that it's bad... it's just that the first five seasons bordered on transcendent TV... and this is just, well, good TV.

So... any of you guys have big plans for the final episode on Sunday? And for all of you who have complained about me writing so much about "Lost"... will you be celebrating the end, too?