Friday Links (6/4)

I have a story in today's Telegraph on Georgia's new full-time nutritional advisor, which is one of the tweaks the team is making in the S&C department. I didn't have room in the story for all the info I got from Rex Bradberry, who has taken on the job, but here's the full transcript of what he had to say...

On establishing his role as nutritionist...
“We were trying to move in that direction. We had to establish that there was really a need for it within the administration.Our guys, they all want to play at the next level, and they talked to guys who are at the next level who were telling them how important nutrition is. So that started creating a buzz. Guys want to know, want to learn, and they really need the education. It’s going to be very beneficial to the program for these guys to properly fuel their bodies and learn what to eat and how to eat for recovery so they can maximize their potential.”

On helping players add weight...
“I’ve talked to coaches across the country and athletes get meals, and it’s very common for athletes to lose weight during the season because of the demands of their schedule, their practice schedule, the games. That’s something we’re definitely going to work hard to try to prevent. We want our guys to be stronger and maintain that weight during the season.”

On players who need to lose weight...
“That is a challenge because these guys grow up eating a certain way, and the process is an educational process to say, your body, that’s your machine, and we’ve got to fuel that thing properly. We need to teach them they can’t go out there and eat those two large pizzas at 11 o’clock at night and expect to come in the next day running on a full tank. We’re starting to monitor their meals, and I’ll be over in the dining halls. It’s just getting in there showing them that, this is good or this might not be a good choice for you. The heavy guys especially, we want to trim that body fat, get you some things you can eat. And I don’t do diets. We build nutritional plans. I want to find things those guys do like to eat. So I ask them, what do you like to eat, then say, OK, well instead of this, can you live with this? And they say, ‘Yeah, coach, I can live with that.’ So that’s how we try to get them moving in the right direction.”

On how receptive players have been...
“When they’re young and come in as freshmen and sophomores. Once they get a little older and start thinking about that next level and making money or just being healthy for life as a father one day or as a husband. It’s like anything, with maturity comes a little different way of thinking. But we’ll struggle a little with freshmen and sophomores to convince them this is how to eat and this is why. But the thing about Georgia is we have a lot of guys with a chance of playing at the next level, and I tell them when you get to that next level, they’re going to do body composition and scale weight. And if you don’t make weight, you’re fined. They’re going to take money out of your pocket until you reach that level they set for you. So if you don’t learn how to do it now, if you’re thinking about playing at that next level, sooner or later you’re going to have to learn how to do it. So guys come around fairly quick, and once they do, the good thing is I have great seniors who have bought into this program and they’re doing all the things the young guys look up to them for.”

On the potential impact of his efforts...
“Hopefully it has a positive impact. We believe it will. But I can’t be with every kid 24 hours a day. It’s going to take them taking ownership of their diets and how to eat. But we want to have this service available for the guys, and we hope it affects them in a positive way, and they’ll have more energy. We feel like in the past, our guys have been strong toward the end of the season, but maybe this can help us maintain more of the strength we’ve attained during summer workouts, and we monitor more meals during the season, so hopefully we can maintain their body weight as well.”

On the role of Mark Richt, Damon Evans, et al...
“They were very supportive, wanted to get it done, and thought it could make a difference in the program. And the administration is behind us and wants to give us the things that will help our student-athletes be the best.”

On players who have already shown improvement...
“There are definitely certain guys. Tanner Strickland really has come on in this past year. He’s really cleaned up his eating and the guy has lost 20 pounds of bad weight. He’s slimmer, he’s trimmer, he’s really moving around well and looking to have a big year. Another guy is Tavares King. He’s really gotten more consistent with his eating and he’s eating consistent meals. He’s actually put on a good bit of weight. He looks fuller, looks much better, had a really good spring and his confidence level is much better. We’re expecting good things out of those guys this fall.”

And now for some other links...

-- The Georgia softball team upset defending champion Washington on the first day of the Women's College World Series. They'll play Tennessee today.

-- Here are my notes from Thursday's SEC meetings, including more (non) talk of expansion.

-- Phil Steele looks at experience in his latest blog post, breaking things down by class on the two-deep. Nationally, Georgia doesn't stack up too well. As it turns out though, the SEC isn't going to be filled with many veteran teams this year, so the Dawgs will actually be among the most veteran teams in the league. Here's the SEC breakdown:

Team	Nat'l Rank	Points*	Seniors**
Auburn	14	77	18
Arkansas	27	72	14
S. Carolina	66	64	12
Georgia	76	62	11
Ole Miss	80	61	14
Miss. State	87	59	10
Alabama	98	56	7
Tennessee	103	55	13
Florida	107	54	13
Kentucky	109	53	8
LSU	114	51	7
Vanderbilt	114	51	7

(* See Steele's post for explanation of how points are awarded. ** Seniors=number on two-deep.)

-- Chris Low has Washaun Ealey ranked as his No. 23 best player in the SEC.

-- Kimberly Nash offers a story on what the return of Bruce Figgins could mean for Georgia's offense.

-- Like Dannell Ellerbe before him, Prince Miller is earning some respect in Baltimore as an undrafted free agent.

-- Chip Towers reported the other day that all indications are Zach Mettenberger will end up at Butler Community College this fall.

-- Did you know only five teams in the country have gone longer without losing to a non-BCS conference foe than Georgia?

-- The Dawgs are sixth in the current Fulmer Cup standings, well behind their opening-week foe.

-- Because you hate Georgia Tech, I understand that it's hard to be too fond of nerds in general. But, this nerdy prank at Carleton College in Minnesota is pretty darned awesome.

-- You know, we all can only hope to find true love like Gary Coleman had. (h/t Mer)

-- You'd think with a Chamillion dollars, this whole situation could have been avoided.

-- And now we're down to just one Golden Girl. So Sad. But let's say they were going to reboot the show today (which, hell, they might be working on given the stream of '80s fare being remade lately). Who would you cast as the new Golden Girls? I'm thinking Cloris Leachman as Sophia, Goldie Hawn as Rose, Susan Sarandon as Blanche and Ted McGinley in the Bea Arthur role.

-- And finally, in the wake of Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement, Alan Sepinwall brought up a good point: The last of Mr. Burns' team of ringers on Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's softball team has now retired, and only six of them ever ended up playing for the Yankees. (The others were Ozzie Smith and Mike Scioscia, who I suppose could still end up managing the Yanks one day.)

So, on that note, I'll leave you with this...

(NOTE: Listening may cause gigantism.)