A few links here and there as we wake up to a wet, overcast morning in Athens:
Georgia football commitment Christian LeMay, who was earlier suspended until mid-October of his senior year, will skip the season altogether, The Sporting News reports.
LeMay, ranked by some as the nation’s top quarterback prospect, was suspended by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (N.C.) County school system for 30 days for an undisclosed violation.
Not sure what the Georgia coaches would think of the decision. (Obviously they can’t comment until he presumably signs in February).
- Georgia’s baseball team lost its top pitching prospect, as Drew Cisco (Charleston, S.C.) signed before Monday’s deadline. Cisco, a sixth-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds, reportedly received a signing bonus of $975,000.
- In other baseball deadline news, Clemson’s Kyle Parker signed with Colorado, but his deal allows him to play football one more year. So everybody’s happy. Not so at LSU, where quarterback Zach Lee surprisingly inked a deal with the Dodgers.
- Speaking of Clemson quarterbacks, remember Willy Korn? He transferred to Marshall after Parker cemented the starting job. Now he’s transferring again, to North Greenville, after Marshall tried to move him to safety.
All I can is … Wow. I actually covered Korn in high school – I’ve been in his home, interviewed him in his pajamas one time. I found him to be a level-headed kid who wasn’t buying much into his own hype. But his story is yet another reminder that the recruiting rankings are not to be considered sacrosanct.
- And finally, the current minor story that’s distracting people (and I don’t mean the mosque near Ground Zero):
A radio reporter in Arkansas has been fired after wearing a Florida hat to an Arkansas football news conference.
Silliness all around, if you ask me. (You didn’t, but hey.) Yeah, you shouldn’t wear apparel of another SEC school, even if you’re a graduate of said school. But it shouldn’t be a fireable offense.
This is something that sports media members are cognizant of on a daily basis. Or at least they should be. The general rule, as far as I can tell, is if you cover a college team, you better stay away from wearing a hat, shirt or whatever from another college team.
(Well, boxers are probably OK, unless there’s some risk than you’ll have to strip down at practice.)
Of course the biggest rule should be not wearing apparel of the team you’re actually covering. But with the changes in sports media lately, especially the proliferation of fan sites, that rule is sadly observed less and less these days. Sigh.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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15 comments:
Hey Seth,
Enjoy your work but none of us know what "sacrosanct" means. Thanks.
Yes we do.
Reference the reporter wearing the Gator hat... It is one thing if the reporter had worn a non-SEC or non-rival article of clothing - but wearing a SEC team and rival logo to a press conference is dumb at best. I sort of agree that she shouldn't have been fired over it however I bet it wasn't her first issue and there is more to the story than we see....
well damn... I hate it we lost out on the Cisco kid.
What is with this "rule" that a radio reporter can't be a fan of the home team?
Does the Fayetteville listening audience demand some sort of objectivity from their local radio? Is the radio audience tuning in to get the independent verified facts or are they listening in to get excited about football season.
Another case of journalists lecturing to us about what we really want and need.
Anon 10:40,
it doesn't matter what the people of Fayetteville want. Preserving journalistic integrity is supposed to be one of the things that journalists try to do, and by reporting in a biased fashion (for or against) journalists are no longer acting as unbiased presenters of objective facts. If Fayetteville wants to get excited about their football season they need to either get excited because their prospects are good for the upcoming year or go read a fan blog that makes everything look good. It isn't a reporter's job to make people get excited about football, it's their job to report on what is actually happening.
HEY...I can relate...glad she was fired...I am loyal to the Dawgs, Falcons and Braves. I quit listening to that idiot on 680am that pairs with the Buckster (Kincaid I believe). He spends way too much time promoting his Philadelphia teams. Please fire this lunatic.
hmmm... not sure what to think of the Lemay situation.
A couple of things (from some of his signing-day comments to this new development) are converging to just give me a hunch that this may not all pan out for him and Georgia as planned. Richt is probably in a little bit of a pickle with this since the kid already announced (and in such a public story). It would be a big deal if UGA rescinded the offer, and I can't see that happening. Still... he hasn't signed yet, and all of this just doesn't feel good to me. Something tells me we may never see him in silver britches.
But who am I to know? Anyone else have thoughts on this?
Christian has paid a major price for very, very foolish thing. It seems that the family is trying to stay on track with their goals for him to enroll in January as planned. This will hopefully result in being a humbling experience for a "over confident" young man. It also gives UGA a bit of the upper hand as the kid will lose some of his cache by having to sit out this year.
Dog44:
I agree with you somewhat in the fact that I no longer feel as good about Lemay's situation.
Note that I am still fine with the kid as a person, he is young and just made a mistake; it happens when you are in high school and he is being punished for it.
Hopefully he can get his work done in a private school, graduate, and come to Athens focused.
The article said that UGAs offer remains the same, so that is a good sign.
However, I still have a uneasy feeling about all this because there is a lot of time for him to change his mind between now and February. Not saying that he will, but it is a possibility. I hope it all works out and we get to see him play on Saturdays in Athens.
I think the latest news is not a horrible development for LeMay. He was previously looking at two options: 1) stay at Butler, where he wouldn't play until November and wouldn't be able to graduate early and enroll in UGA early or 2) enroll in a private school. Clearly the family couldn't find a private school situation that would work. Clearly this is less than ideal, and it would have been much better if he hadn't put himself in the situation where he got suspended in the first place. However, given the circumstances, having him available for spring practice is a huge win, I think, for UGA.
Note that Lemay will enroll in January, so the February signing date is not a factor with him.
Good to see Rennie getting it done last weekend for the titans. He's #53:
http://prod.static.titans.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/imported/zip/2010/08-August/seahawks081410/seahawks081410-_DVJ7717--nfl_medium_540_360.jpg
http://prod.static.titans.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/imported/zip/2010/08-August/seahawks081410/seahawks081410-_DVJ7727--nfl_medium_540_360.jpg
"And finally, the current minor story that’s distracting people (and I don’t mean the mosque near Ground Zero)"
Seth, I like you, but the mosque near ground zero is not what I, and a majority of Americans, would call a minor distracting story. How 'bout you stay with sports - it fits you better.
Oh, Todd....
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