TV Times Announced for 3 UGA Games

The TV times for three of Georgia's games are now official:

Georgia @ South Carolina on Sept. 11 will be a noon kickoff on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Arkansas @ Georgia on Sept. 18 is another noon kickoff, also on one of the ESPN networks.

And, obviously, the Georgia-Florida game will be the CBS 3:30 game on Oct. 30.

The Big 12 also announced that the Georgia-Colorado game set for Oct. 2 will be a 4:30 (ET) kickoff.

As I wrote yesterday, I spoke to Damon Evans about the number of late kickoffs Georgia had a year ago -- three of the six home games were 7 p.m. or later, and 5 of the 12 regular season games were at night -- and he had said his hope was to have more noon and 3:30 kickoffs.

"All games are televised and there are only so many windows during the day, so of course we’re going to have some evening and night games," Evans said. "But at the same time I’d like to see a little bit of balance to where we can get some early noon games and some 3:30 games because we have different fans who like different things and there’s less pressure on the campus when it’s an early game.”

Here's the full slate of the SEC on TV for the early going that was announced today:

Sept. 2: Southern Miss at South Carolina, ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 4: Miami (Ohio) at Florida, ESPN, 12 noon ET; Kentucky at Louisville, ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET; LSU vs. N.C. in Atlanta, ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Sept. 9: Auburn at Miss. State, ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept.11: Penn State at Alabama, ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET; Oregon at Tennessee, ESPN2, 7:00 p.m. ET; Ole Miss at Tulane, ESPN Classic or ESPN2, 9:00 p.m. ET
Sept. 18: Alabama at Duke, ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET; Clemson at Auburn, ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET; Florida at Tennessee, CBS, 3:30 p.m. ET
Oct. 2: SEC Doubleheader, TBA, CBS, 3:30 and 8:00 p.m. ET
Nov. 13: SEC Doubleheader, TBA, CBS, 12:00 noon and 3:30 p.m. ET
Dec. 4: SEC Championship Game, Atlanta, CBS, 4:00 p.m. ET

Looking ahead on the schedule, you'd imagine ULL and Idaho State will be noon kickoffs, too. That leaves Vandy, Tennessee and Georgia Tech as possible night kickoffs in Athens. I'm doubtful that Vandy would be a ratings bonanza for ESPN in prime time (and Alabama-Ole Miss, Arkansas-Auburn, and Florida-Mississippi State would probably all trump the UGA-Vandy matchup that week). Even still, I wouldn't expect both Vandy and Tennessee to be night kickoffs, so odds are there will be a max of two night games at Sanford this season.

The full SEC schedule grid can be found here if you want to make your own projections.

Tuesday Links (11/10)

A couple of odds and ends to pass along this morning...

-- Got this from the show's creator and figured I'd pass it along...

“Masters of the Tailgate Spotlights UGA Tailgaters’ School Pride and Southern Tradition"

This college football season brought a new Versus TV show into Bulldog territory. “Masters of the Tailgate”, a show with a mission to find the best college tailgate in the nation, chose UGA as one of four schools this year to highlight for its debut series. The production crew arrived at the UGA campus on Octover 3, 2009, to film the festivities before the LSU vs. Georgia game. Among the features to be included on the UGA tailgate include local food and traditions, the Dog Walk and the history of Sanford Stadium and its famous live Mascot, Uga.

Viewers vote online for their favorite tailgate, and this season will also have a chance to vote for Ohio State University, University of Florida, and University of Central Florida. “Masters of the Tailgate” will feature one college football tailgate per week. The episode on UGA tailgating will air on November 11, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. EST on Versus. To view photos from the October 3, 2009 tailgate or for more show information, visit www.mastersofthetailgate.com.

-- And finally, you may have noticed that I had to make a change to the way comments are posted on the blog. Thanks to a series of absurdly childish and profane posts from losers with a problematic combination of cheap beer, too much free time and a modem, I had to set up the comments to be moderated by me prior to being posted.

I did not do this to censor your thoughts on the team in any way, and I will not zap any posts simply because they are critical of Georgia, a coach, myself or anything like that. But racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise ignorant language has no place here, and I won't allow that to be posted, no matter how funny some small-minded a$$hole thinks it is.

Obviously adding more work to my job description is not something I'm looking forward to doing, so my hope is that this will be just a temporary issue. We'll see how things go for the next few days or few weeks and ideally get back to the normal procedure soon.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Now... on to some links...

-- I can't take credit for this headline, but I'm guessing someone on the Telegraph's copy desk was angling for a Barnes & Noble gift card that comes with writing the month's top headline.

-- Here's why The Senator's blog is so great: His first thoughts on a game are generally some of the best thoughts you'll read all week. This week is no different, as he points out some key issues going into the showdown with Auburn.

-- The whole gimmicky uniform thing has worn out its welcome now, but The Grit Tree fondly remembers the first blackout against Auburn two years ago.

-- Track 'Em Tigers calls this week's game the best rivalry in college football, and from a pure enjoyment perspective, it's hard to argue.

-- One of the reasons the Auburn-Georgia rivalry is such an interesting one is because of the huge number of Peach State players suiting up for the Tigers.

-- Some poster named "The Fishonator" gets this week's rivalry off to a rollicking start with some Georgia jokes on the message board at SEC Talk. I'm sure you guys can add a few Auburn quips of your own to the mix.

-- The AJC writes about Chris Todd's success in the face of immense doubt from the bloggers. (BTW, you know it's bad when newspapers are now writing stories about how players react to criticism from bloggers. Umm... don't newspapers offer criticism, too? Oh, no one reads those anymore? OK, carry on then...)

-- Braves and Birds writes that the difference between UGA and Georgia Tech isn't nearly as big as many observers are making it out to be. (h/t GTP)

-- Remember that loss to Tennessee? Maybe it was just wrong place, wrong time against a late-blooming quarterback.

-- Bernie has his Mumme Poll ballot in, and the results should be out a bit later today.

-- If ever there was evidence that money doesn't buy taste, Tiger Woods' new home must be it. (h/t Jim F.)

-- Michigan's athletics director goes all Al Cowlings on a few students... "I'm the A.D. dammit! You know who I am!"

-- You know what really upsets me about this time of year? Cincinnati's players have worked absurdly hard to get in a position to finish up undefeated and turn in the best season in the program's history... but it could be derailed because the rumors are now heating up about Notre Dame wanting Brian Kelly.

-- Normally I'd say this was a bit too early to start talking about the 2010 baseball hall of fame ballot, but if Joe Posnanski's writing about it, then it's A-OK.

-- For those of you who needed a little pick-me-up on a dreary Tuesday, I have one word for you: Guttenberg!

-- Pop Candy has its list of the five best musical guest stars on "The Simpsons." I'll offer a few of my favorite lines from those episodes:

"Billy Corigan, Smashing Pumpkins."
"Homer Simpson, smiling politely."

---

"You know, my kids think you're the greatest. And thanks to your gloomy music, they've finally stopped dreaming of a future I can't possibly provide."

---

"I called my good friend Sting. He said, 'Krusty, when do you need me?' I said, 'Thursday.' He said, 'I’m busy Thursday.' I said, 'What about Friday?' He said, 'Friday’s worse than Thursday.' Then he said, 'How about Saturday?' I said, 'Fine.' True story.

-- This is a sad story: The drummer from !!! and several other indy bands died over the weekend after falling down an elevator shaft.

-- I was pleased with the premier of "V" last week. Hopefully the series lives up to its first episode. Anyway, Elizabeth Mitchell discusses her role on that show and "Lost" in this interview.

-- And finally, congrats to Jim Boeheim on win No. 800. I was thrilled to see Julie Boeheim -- by far the most attractive coach's wife in college sports -- on TV last night, but the photo of Coach B used in The Post-Standard was probably far more appropriate.

Where's the Game?

As you're probably aware, Georgia's next two games (at Tennessee and at Vandy) will both be 12:21 kickoffs carried by the SEC Network.

What you may not know is where you can find the SEC Network on your TV dial. (Do any TVs still have dials?)

Here's a quick rundown of the local affiliates in most of our high-readership areas. If your town isn't listed, I have a full affiliate schedule, so you can feel free to email me and I'll let you know what station is carrying the game.

Atlanta -- WPCH
Charlotte -- WAXN
Jax/Brunswick -- WJXT
Chattanooga -- WDSI (Fox)
Augusta -- WRDW (CBS)
Macon -- WGXA (Fox)
Columbus -- WXTX (Fox)
Albany -- WALB (NBC)
Savannah -- WTGS (Fox)

*Athens should have the same affiliate as Atlanta.

If You're Staying Home This Weekend

Just got a note that might be of interest to those of you sticking around the Atlanta area for the game this weekend.

There will be a viewing party at the ESPN Zone in Atlanta on Saturday, with ABC sports anchor Zach Klein doing some live broadcasts from the event, talking to Georgia fans throughout the game.

The pre-game report is from 2:30 pm-3:30 pm and the post-game report is at 7 pm.

UGA TV Programming Update

Here's a quick rundown of the Dawgs' TV programming schedule, per UGA release...

DAWG REPORT – A 30-minute weekly show that provides a behind-the-scenes look at all Bulldog varsity athletic teams…hosted by Matt Stewart and produced by CSS…airs each Monday at 10 p.m. exclusively on CSS.

MARK RICHT WEEKLY NEWS CONFERENCE – Live coverage of Coach Richt’s weekly conference … airs Tuesdays at 12 noon on CSS.

BULLDOG GAMEDAY – This 60-minute production by WSB-TV will preview each Georgia football contest during the 2009 season with insights and analysis from college football experts … hosted by Chuck Dowdle and Zach Klein … airs at 10 a.m. each Saturday exclusively on WSB.

GEORGIA FOOTBALL RE-AIR – A complete recap of every Bulldog game with Matt Stewart calling the play-by-play and Buck Belue providing color analysis with production by CSS … airs each Sunday at 11 a.m. on CSS.

INSIDE GEORGIA FOOTBALL WITH MARK RICHT – A 30-minute inside look at Georgia football with game highlights, features on Bulldog players and other special stories … hosted by Chuck Dowdle along with Coach Mark Richt … airs Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Mondays at 6:30 p.m. on SportSouth and on additional affiliate stations throughout Georgia and the Southeast (see below).

WALB (Albany) – Sunday / 12:30 p.m.
WNEG (Toccoa) – Sunday / 4 p.m. & 11 p.m.
WPGA (Macon) – Sunday / 11 p.m.
WJBF (Augusta) – Sunday / 12 p.m.
WTOC (Savannah) – Sunday / 11:35 p.m.
Cox Sports – Wednesday / 4:30 p.m.
WJXS (Jacksonville, FL) – Sunday / tba
WTVM (Columbus) – Sunday / 11:30 p.m., Sun Sports – Wednesday / 12 a.m.

UGA ONLINE VIDEO FEATURES – Daily coverage of the Bulldog football squad and all varsity sports from an insider’s perspective … a state-of-the-art presentation on georgiadogs.com presented by the Georgia Sports Properties video team.

*Broadcasts begin Aug. 31st with the airing of the first "Dawg Report" episode at 10 p.m. on CSS.

Fulmer Part of CBS Expanded SEC Coverage

From CBS release...

Former University of Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer, former New York Giants and University of Southern California defensive back Jason Sehorn, CBS Sports’ Randy Cross, former San Diego State and NFL defensive tackle Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and veteran play-by-play announcer Dave Ryan, join CBS College Sports Network’s announcer line-up for the 2009 college football season. The announcement was made today by Steve Herbst, Executive Vice President and General Manager, CBS College Sports Network.

“We’re thrilled to be adding top-level talent, who are well-known to fans across the nation, and bring exceptional experience and credibility,” said Herbst. “Our new announcers join an already outstanding veteran team for our most compelling college football programming schedule ever.”

Ryan and Sehorn become the announce team for the new slate of Army home games, as CBS College Sports Network and the Army Athletic Association recently announced an exclusive five-year agreement.

Fulmer joins as studio analyst on the Network’s various college football shows, including the new SEC TAILGATE show and SEC POST-GAME SHOW PRESENTED BY GEICO.

SEC to Ban Media from Shooting Video

Lest you think the new mega-deal between ESPN and the SEC was simply going to benefit your lives and increase coverage, there comes this news, via an AP story...

The Southeastern Conference is expected to impose rules that prohibit the news media from posting video from games, practices and news conference.

The rules also limit televised highlights from games.

They were released to member schools on Thursday and a copy was obtained by The Tuscaloosa News, which reported the new policies Friday.

SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said the new restrictions are designed to protect the league's agreement with XOS Technologies for a new digital network.

Bloom said the policy is subject to change. It limits TV stations from carrying clips of longer than three minutes and allows highlights to be aired for only 72 hours after a game ends.

The SEC Digital Network is expected to launch in time for the upcoming football season.

What does it all mean? Well, for one, no more videos on this blog of practice or player interviews, but that's really just the start.

As teams, conferences and leagues expand their multimedia platforms, these things will continue to occur. (And they already have in other places, including the NFL.) The thought among many of these organizations is that you, as fans, don't care. They think you'll be satisfied with the controlled information you are given from them -- essentially replacing the media with a public relations firm.

Maybe that's true, but I'm guessing after your favorite team gets spanked by a rival, you're not looking for the watered-down version of what happened. Perhaps you really don't care where the information is coming from, but my guess is that you value quality journalism a lot more than they give you credit for. Maybe you go to one place and one place only for your news. But I'd be willing to bet the majority of you have gotten used to being able to surf a few dozen sites to get a broad view of Georgia football.

Look, I know things are changing for the media. I've been as vocal about the problems of the newspaper business as anyone. But for all our problems, I'm pretty certain that most fans appreciate the work most of us do -- even if they don't necessarily like all of it. And if you don't things like this will seriously affect the coverage you get of your favorite teams, you're being extremely naive.

If you want to read more about this, including the agreement the SEC wants media members to sign, the Tuscaloosa News has all the details.

Stinchcomb Preps for New Role with ESPN

ESPN was all over the place at SEC Media Days last week, which shouldn't be surprising given the landmark deal the network signed with the conference this year. The upside for me? It gave me a chance to chat with former Georgia lineman Matt Stinchcomb, who will be handling color analysis for the SEC's new studio show on the SEC Network. Here's what Stinchcomb had to say about his new gig...

David Hale: Are you excited about the new job? I know a lot of Georgia fans are happy to have a local guy doing analysis of the SEC.

Matt Stinchcomb: A meathead? A meathead they'll all know and recognize? No, that'd be someone else. Yeah, I'm fired up. It's just another opportunity to talk shop. To get to do that all day on a Saturday and not actually have to go hide in the garage or something to get away with it -- that's not a bad scenario really.

DH: Well, I think ESPN and the SEC are both pretty excited about the scenario, too. Have you given much thought to what it will be like working for a network like ESPN with such a huge reach nationally?

MS: There will be plenty of voices other than mine, but it's exciting. Growing up where I did, we're Tucker, Georgia guys, growing up in the heart of SEC country. You grow up a Georgia fan, you grow up surrounded by this kind of football, to be able to do that after you're done playing, to have a good excuse to follow it other than just because you want to kill a Saturday, that's ideal. It's just a tremendous opportunity. It's a landmark deal that ESPN and the SEC entered into, and it just shows that this conference has legs outside of the geographic area that it exists. This has an impact on the national landscape. So to be a part of that and have input on how that's communicated to sports fans, that's going to be a lot of fun.

DH: As a guy with such close ties to Georgia, I assume it will be hard to hide your allegiances on the air. How will you be giving an unbiased opinion about, oh, say, the Florida Gators?

MS: An unbiased opinion? Well, they know where you played your college ball, so it's not hard to figure out. But it's not difficult to be an objective observer. I think as long as what you're looking at, the observations are fair, it's hard to really argue with it. At the end of the day, it's always going to just be your opinion, but I think there's ways to communicate that where it's respectful. I grew up a Georgia fan and I follow Georgia now. I've got a lot of family there. But that being said, you can look at the SEC and analyze a football game and it is what it is. Football's still football and you ignore what decal is on the side of the helmet. As long as you're fair to everybody, I think it will be an easy thing to do.

DH: As you're looking ahead to what's to come this season, as a broadcaster, what games are you most looking forward to?

MS: There's plenty of them. Florida-LSU, Georgia-LSU, the Oklahoma State game will be fun. Alabama-Virginia Tech to start the season is going to be an interesting game to watch. Right there, you see one of the top two teams in the SEC East in Georgia playing Oklahoma State, that is by some accounts a top-10 team and one of the best in the Big 12 having to go to Stillwater. Then you have Alabama playing Virginia Tech, another top-10 team out of the ACC. That's a heck of a way to kick off your opening game for two of the top teams in this conference. So those are two of the games you look to almost immediately. Down the line, in the SEC West, pick one. The fact that you have Ole Miss, Alabama and LSU in the conversation, and then you have Arkansas just waiting to spoil one of their seasons, there's too many to really pigeonhole. You can talk about that whole mix. All those teams are going to mesh, and it'll be interesting to see who survives it. That's going to be a murderer's row this year, the SEC West.

DH: Were you at Media Days when you were at Georgia?

MS: As a player I came.

DH: So how does being back here this time compare?

MS: I'm doing a lot more interviews this time. The SEC was big then, but it's a lot bigger now. Part of that is the BCS and the media deals and how successful this conference has been in the bowl season and on a national scale in the bowl championship games. There's a lot of attention on these three days, and rightfully so. This conference impacts what it looks like in December and January.

DH: So with all that's in store for you when the season starts, how are you preparing for the new job? Have you been studying up? Get a haircut?

MS: How does my hair look?

DH: I think it looks great.

MS: I appreciate that. I've worked hard on the weave and tweezed the eyebrows more than once.

Seriously, as much as a lot of people, including myself, follow SEC football, it's not going to be that different. You kind of have to distill some of your thoughts. You can't get up there and do what I'm doing right now and talk and talk and talk. You have to be more concise. But the subject matter, it's great subject matter. It's really compelling stuff that I would follow anyway, so I don't know that it's going to be that much different. I read all the magazines and visit all the sites whether I'm going to be on television or not.

Media Days Notes: Slive Calls for 'Renewed Vows'

Commissioner Mike Slive gave SEC coaches a cease and desist order with regards to public mudslinging when they met in Destin, Fla., in June, a necessary step, he felt, with all the coaching turnover since the league adopted a compliance manifesto in 2004. He reiterated that message Wednesday.

"We cannot sustain our successes, which is now our ultimate goal, unless we avoid self inflicted wounds," Slive said, "unless we avoid calling attention to ourselves at the expense of others, and unless we remain committed to the conference, and, finally, unless we realize that we are inexorably tied to each other's athletic and academic successes, and we are tied to each other's athletic and academic failures."

Slive also addressed the spate of secondary recruiting violations that made big news this offseason. While Tennessee drew the most attention, Georgia self-reported several secondary violations, including excessive contact with recruits it attributed to a miscommunication between coaches. Slive claimed such violations were nothing new to intercollegiate athletics but did not brush them off, saying the conference reviews each report to determine its thoroughness and accuracy and reacts accordingly.

"When trends are detected, the penalties and corrective actions become more severe," he said. "As we told our coaches earlier this week in our SEC new coaches orientation program, any time any time they commit a secondary violation, they place themselves, their program, and the institution and the prospect at risk. The risk may be lost recruiting opportunities, lost ability to interact with prospects, and additional scrutiny for themselves and their program."

WHO DUNNIT?

Only three players were unanimous selections by the conference's coaches to the All-SEC team and the conference's most heralded player wasn't one of them. So on Day 1 of SEC Media Days, several reporters set out to find the coach who didn't vote for Tim Tebow.

"I don't know if you all are going to find the culprit," Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson said, "but you can tell him it wasn't me."

Four SEC coaches took to the podium Wednesday and none confessed to leaving the former Heisman winner off their ballot. Tebow received 10 votes, and his coach, Urban Meyer, was not allowed to vote for anyone on his team.

The omission by the one anonymous coach seemed so odd that Arkansas' Bobby Petrino assumed the offending coach wasn't altogether coherent.

"I voted for Tebow," he said. "I'm not crazy."

Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, who was Tebow's offensive coordinator a year ago, was asked the question, too, and not surprisingly he had the Florida quarterback on his ballot as well.

The fourth coach to meet with reporters, Kentucky's Rich Brooks, said Tebow had burned the Wildcats so badly during the past two seasons that he had no choice but to vote for him, too.

So the mystery continues, whether or not anyone will actually admit to the snub.

A SCARY REPUTATION

A reporter asked Kentucky left tackle Zipp Duncan to name the toughest defensive linemen in the SEC to block. He didn't need much time to come up with his answer: Georgia's Geno Atkins.

"He's just a dynamic athlete," Duncan said. "He gets off the ball quick. He's got the speed to beat you and the strength to beat you, so he presents a really tough matchup."

PLENTY OF SEC ON ESPN

A new twist to the kickoff of SEC Media Days this year involved a special presentation by ESPN's John Wildhack, the network's executive vice president for programming acquisition.

ESPN and the SEC agreed to a new 15-year deal this year that will dramatically increase coverage of the league's sports, including football. Wildhack said 23 more SEC games would be televised this season than last year, including a regional game of the week, which will air on a newly launched platform called The SEC Network. Wildhack also said he expects SEC games to be featured more prominently on ESPN's regular Thursday night packages.

"Our goal is to serve the SEC football fan better than ever before," Wildhack said. "Last year, 77 million people watched SEC football on ESPN or ESPN2. We expect that number to increase significantly this season."

Each of Georgia's first three games will be carried on one of the network's platforms. The Bulldogs' opener against Oklahoma State kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on ABC, with the SEC opener against South Carolina a week later airing on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Georgia's road date with Arkansas in Week 3 will be carried by either ESPN or ESPN2 and is set to kick off at 7:45 p.m.

RETURN ENGAGEMENT

New Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen knows that selling his team on a new system is no easy task, which is why he's so happy to have senior linebacker Jamar Chaney back in the fold has been such a blessing.

Chaney, who was originally a Georgia signee, figured to be the anchor of the Mississippi State defense a year ago, but a leg injury suffered in the first game cost him the entire season. He accepted a medical redshirt and decided to return to the Bulldogs for a second shot at his senior season – this time with a new head coach and a new role as salesman.

"From Day 1, he walked into my office and said, 'Coach, I'm going to believe in everything you're doing,'" Mullen said of Chaney. "Having a personality back like that, especially when you take over a new program, to help build that foundation of what we wanted the message we're trying to get across to our team … it's just fantastic."

PREPS AREN'T PREPARED

Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino thinks some changes need to be made in the way high school coaches are preparing quarterbacks for the next level. With more programs employing spread offenses, Petrino said many young quarterbacks aren't getting the necessary experience playing under center, and it's making the job of recruiting pocket passers a tough one for college coaches.

Petrino pointed to one of his own quarterbacks, Tyler Wilson, as a prime example of the problems of playing too much out of the shotgun. Wilson took every snap of his high school career in a no-huddle shotgun formation, and he has struggled since arriving at Arkansas with things as simple as the quarterback-center exchange or handoff placement on running plays.

The solution, Petrino said, might be mandating how high school coaches use their quarterbacks.

"I'm really happy that high schools are throwing the ball," Petrino said. "I just wish they would maybe put a rule in that they have to have at least 25, 40 percent from underneath center."

SLIM AND TRIM

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett has always been described as having an NFL body. It's just a little slimmer now.

Mallett, the strong-armed, 6-foot-7 quarterback who emerged from the spring as the Razorbacks' projected starter, weighed 265 pounds when he transferred from Michigan last year. Since then, he's slimmed down to 238 pounds, something head coach Bobby Petrino hopes will help him be more elusive in the pocket against the SEC's quick defensive fronts.

"In him losing the weight, being more mobile, we're not going to lose our movement game, our ability to run sprint outs, run the bootleg game, be able to move the pocket," Petrino said. "In this league, with the defensive ends we face, the speed and athleticism of the defensive fronts, it's important that you change the launch point, and you can set your quarterback at different spots, take some pressure off the offensive line and running backs at times."

* The Ledger-Enquirer's Andy Bitter contributed to these notes.

ESPN, SEC Announce New SEC Network

From SEC release...

ESPN Regional Television, the new over-the-air syndication home for Southeastern Conference programming, and the SEC announced today a regionally syndicated college sports package that will air in more than 73 television markets, along with the branding of the syndication package as the SEC Network – all part of the groundbreaking 15-year agreement between ESPN, Inc., and the SEC.

Within the nine-state SEC footprint, the SEC Network will be delivered in markets by the local over-the-air carrier of SEC events. In markets outside the SEC footprint, the syndicated programming will air on either local, over-the-air television stations or regional sports cable networks.

Coverage will feature extensive football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball telecasts, produced by ESPN Regional Television.

“As ESPN moves forward in this landmark agreement with the SEC, ESPN Regional Television is thrilled to provide our viewers with a consistent window for Southeastern Conference football and basketball,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president & general manager, ESPN Regional Television. “With ESPN’s multimedia platforms, we anticipate SEC sports will touch an unprecedented base of college fans nationwide.”

The SEC Network will feature an SEC football Game of the Week regionally for 13 consecutive Saturdays, beginning Sept. 5. Those telecasts will kick off at noon ET/11 a.m. CT with the live SEC Studio show, followed by the matchup, generally determined 12 to six days in advance. The new kickoff time for the Game of the Week will be 12:21 p.m. ET.

Longtime SEC announcer Dave Neal will call the weekly SEC Network game on Saturdays, along with analyst Andre Ware and reporter Cara Capuano.

The SEC Studio show is produced by ESPN Regional Television at their headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., also the home of ESPNU. The SEC show will kick off Saturday coverage with host Rob Stone and analyst Matt Stinchcomb in the studio.

The regular-season SEC men’s basketball package on the SEC Network beginning in January will consist of Wednesday and Saturday games, including doubleheaders. The SEC Network will also offer regional coverage of multiple rounds from the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament as well as SEC women’s basketball games on Sundays, also beginning in January.

Two notes from me...

-- I'm thrilled to see Matt Stinchcomb attached to this. He'll be fantastic, as you can probably tell from the "Catching Up With..." feature he did with me last year.

-- Here's the info for the markets in Georgia that will carry the programming:

Albany, WALB (NBC)
Atlanta, WPCH (IND)
Augusta, WRDW; My 12 (CBS; MNT)
Columbus, WXTX; WTVM, WLGA (FOX; ABC; IND)
Macon, WGXA (FOX)
Savannah, WTGS (FOX)

Fox Sports Net to Air Some SEC Games

From FOX Sports Net release...

FOX Sports Net (FSN), the nation’s leader in local sports, today announced a new multi-year television rights agreement with ESPN that expands its long-time partnership with the Southeastern Conference (SEC). ESPN secured the rights of Southeastern Conference content in August 2008.

Beginning with the 2009-10 academic year, FSN’s three regional sports networks serving the SEC territory -- FOX Sports South, Sun Sports and FOX Sports Southwest -- will be the outlets for a minimum of 91 SEC athletic events each year. Events will include:

-- Seven live, exclusive football games
-- 20 men’s basketball games
-- 24 women’s basketball games (16 regular season, eight tournament)
-- 16 baseball games (10 regular season, six tournament)
-- 24 additional Olympic sporting events (softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics)

FSN will distribute these events to more than 24 million cable and satellite households across the SEC coverage area.

"FOX Sports Net strives to serve the local interest of sports fans across the Southeast by providing more coverage of the teams they are passionate about," said Jeff Genthner, senior vice president and general manager of FOX Sports South and SportSouth. "That commitment to local coverage is reflected in our partnership to televise SEC athletics. Our family of networks in the Southeast -- FOX Sports South, Sun Sports and FOX Sports Southwest -- has an 18-year history with the SEC and its member schools that has garnered the respect and trust of coaches, administrators and student athletes and we look forward to continuing that relationship."

"Sun Sports is pleased to bring sports fans in Florida this outstanding package of SEC programming, which supplements our extensive agreement with the University of Florida," said Steve Liverani, senior vice president and general manager, Sun Sports and FOX Sports Florida. "The SEC is one of the most competitive and popular conferences in the nation. This package gives us a terrific, high-profile lineup of live SEC games in football, basketball and more, ensuring that Sun Sports viewers will continue to see a wide variety of SEC sports and additional Gator programming not available anywhere else."

"The Southeastern Conference is pleased to continue its association with FSN," said Mike Slive, SEC Commissioner. "FOX Sports South, Sun Sports and FOX Sports Southwest have provided the SEC, and our institutions, with an important regional cable platform for the past 18 years both in terms of distribution and creative programming. FSN regional cable is an important part of the conference's overall television plan."

ESPN Nabs Dawgs for 2 Night Games

From UGA Athletics...

The Sept. 12 Georgia-South Carolina football game in Athens and the Sept. 19 game between Georgia and Arkansas in Fayetteville will both be televised at night by ESPN and/or ESPN2.

The Georgia-South Carolina game will be televised by ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Georgia-Arkansas game will be on either ESPN or ESPN2 at 7:45 p.m. ET.

Georgia has a record of 25-24-1 on ESPN and a record of 15-3 on ESPN2.

The Bulldogs finished 10-3 last season, including a 24-12 win over #19 Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl.

Catch Gym Dogs on CBS

From UGA Athletics...

CBS will televise the NCAA Gymnastics Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m., giving Georgia fans a chance to relive the Gym Dogs’ fifth straight and 10th overall national title.

Georgia’s NCAA title capped the career of Coach Suzanne Yoculan, who posted more than 800 victories in her 26-year career.

CBS reporters and producers did several interviews with Georgia’s coaches and student-athletes over the course of a four-day period in Lincoln, Neb., last month. Tim Brando and Amanda Borden handled the play-by-play and analysis, respectively.

Stafford on Letterman

Matthew Stafford read the top 10 list on Letterman on Monday. You can watch the video HERE.

Here's the full top 10 in text form though...

Top 10 Thoughts that Went Through Matthew Stafford's Mind on Draft Day
10. You don't often hear, "Congratulations, you're going to Detroit"
9. Why am I the only one who came to Radio City Music Hall dressed as a Rockette?
8. If the Lions win one game this year, I'm a hero
7. Anybody dumps Gatorade on me and I'll deck 'em
6. Holy crap, I think I just pulled a hamstring
5. I didn't think anything could top the excitement of Heidi and Spencer getting married.
4. Is it me or does NFL Commissioner Goodell look like a young Larry Hagman?
3. Why am I here when I could be at that movie where Beyonce and that babe fight?
2. Why does Jessica Simpson keep calling me?
1. I'd gladly go #2 if it means not having to appear on Letterman

Stafford the Celebrity

Missed this in my links earlier today, but figured I'd pass it along...

Matthew Stafford was a guest chatter over at ESPN.com. You can read the full transcript of his chat session HERE.

Stafford was also on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" last night. You can see highlights of Stafford doing a little football skeet shooting . The full episode is online, too.

Catch G-Day Again

CSS will be re-airing the ESPN G-Day coverage tonight at 7 p.m. and again Thursday at 9 p.m. for those of you who want to relive the excitement.

CSS is also putting together its own version of the game coverage which will be broadcast in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted.