Hot Reads (4/5)

I know that one story seemed to dominate the Georgia news this week, so it might have been hard to keep track of everything else that was going on. But fear not -- for those of you who were strictly concerned with the injury to walk-on running back Kalvin Daniels and missed everything else, allow me to fill in the blanks with this week's Hot Reads.

1.) Damon Evans is sly like a Fox. It came out of left field -- much like I thought it might -- but Georgia finally landed its basketball coach. After a frantic 24 hours in which it appeared Mike Anderson might be headed to Athens, Damon Evans finally announced the real hire -- Nevada's Mark Fox. Fox has a strong basketball background, but he's not exactly the big name many fans were expected. Nevertheless, he has a big opportunity and a lot of work ahead of him, and his success or failure will cast a long shadow over Evans' tenure as athletics director.

2.) More problems at D-End. Georgia's depth chart at defensive end got even more shallow this week. First, Demarcus Dobbs injured his foot last week and underwent surgery on Tuesday. Then, Jeremy Longo injured his shoulder and will miss the rest of the spring. That left Georgia with just two healthy scholarship DEs, meaning coaches had to try a bunch of crazy options, including Darryl Gamble spending some time rushing the passer and two walk-on tight ends moving to D-end just to get through the spring. Of course, by the summer, Georgia should have plenty of weapons at the position (along with a bevy of other returners ... although one lineman won't play at all next season) but even now, one of the two remaining defensive ends has managed to make a splash.

3.) Diamond Dogs have highs and lows. The week started off with some big honors for Georgia slugger Rich Poythress, who is having a big season so far. Then the No. 1 ranked Georgia baseball team swept a home-and-home series with Clemson. But when LSU came to town, things got a bit more difficult. Georgia dropped two of three in front of some stellar crowds at Foley Field.

4.) QBs find some consistency. The offense belongs to Joe Cox now, and he has shown he's ready for the job. He has also taken Georgia's two freshmen quarterbacks under his wing this spring. While rishing sophomore Logan Gray continues to develop in hopes of nailing down the No. 2 job behind Cox, freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger are making some noise of their own. Mettenberger's numbers haven't been great, but his coaches are pleased with his progress. Murray, on the other hand, has been the star of Georgia's two scrimmages thus far.

5.) Competition heats up as spring winds down. With just one week of spring practice remaining, head coach Mark Richt is hoping to get his starters all working on the same page. Some battles, such as the job of starting running back, haven't offered much in the way of progress. Caleb King has been hot and cold, while Carlton Thomas has been the more impressive runner. Heck, even Fred Munzenmaier has gotten in on the action. At wide reciever, A.J. Green remains a star, but the Bulldogs are wondering who will step up to take some of the pressure off of their big-time receiver. Regardless of who ends up landing the jobs, developing some vocal leaders remains a top priority.

Hot Reads (3/29)

To steal the intro from Lewis Black on "The Daily Show," each week, plenty of news stories fall through the cracks. We're here to make sure you didn't miss anything good. Here are this week's hot reads...

1. The Search Continues. Well, we know who won't be Georgia's next coach. Anthony Grant agreed to a contract with Alabama, but it was another SEC school that really threw a monkey wrench into the hunt for a new coach when Kentucky canned Billy Gillespie. Missouri's Mike Anderson might be the next big name to crop up on people's radar, but nothing is set in stone yet. Regardless, the next coach won't be in a no-win situation.

2. It's a new attitude. Last year, Georgia's defense took a heaping helping of criticism in the wake of a series of poor performances. This year, they're hoping to turn things around with a fresh outlook, and some old faces in new places. One thing's for sure, if the defense fails, it won't be because of Rennie Curran (or if you're not in the reading mood, there's Rennie video, too). Of course, it's not just the defense with a new attitude. Everyone from the coaching staff to the team's biggest offensive superstar have bigger goals in mind for 2009.

3. Who's No. 1? The Detroit Lions continue to look at Matthew Stafford as a potential No. 1 overall selection in the draft. Should he fall past Detroit, however, the San Francisco 49ers definitely won't be interested after a problematic meeting between Stafford and a team psychologist. None of that really affects the legacy that Stafford will have left behind in Athens.

4. New Kid in Town. There will be plenty of new faces in Athens when the new recruits arrive in June, but Georgia added a late addition to its 2009 signing class last week. With a scholarship freed up after some off-field drama, Mark Richt finally landed another kicker in the form of Brandon Bogotay, a JuCo transfer from San Diego. The special teams already figured to have a couple changes in store, but the addition of the strong-legged Bogotay could be a big difference maker for Georgia next season.

5. The Injury Bug Bites Again. A hefty contingent of Georgia players were already nursing injuries this spring. Progress for some was going awfully slow. And while Georgia managed to make it through nearly two weeks without adding any names to the walking wounded, the injury bug finally caught up with the Dawgs on Thursday at a position they could ill afford another loss.

Oh, and in case you missed them, I did some multi-tasking last week, holding an online chat to discuss spring practice, the hoops search and more, and I also chatted with the guys at 960 the Ref on Friday morning.

Hot Reads (3/22)

I started this blog the last week of July of this past year. This post that you are currently reading will be my 802nd. I'm no mathamagician, but I believe that works out to about 25 posts per week. Add to that the dozen or so links posted each day, my stories for the Telegraph and Ledger-Enquirer, and the enormous quanitity of content from other resources that isn't shared on this blog, and it's a wonder a hardcore Georgia fan has time to shower or eat lunch each day. There's a lot of Dawg news out there.

That's really both the cost and the benefit of the age of the Internet. We have access to so much more information than we did before that it can become a bit overwhelming. But fear not, I'm here to help.

Starting today, I'm going to launch a new weekly feature tentatively titled "Hot Reads" in which, every Sunday, I'll take a look back at the top four or five storylines in Georgia athletics from the previous week and provide links to the essential reading material you may have missed. Consider a Cliff's Notes on the week that was. Will you still miss a few things along the way? Sure. But you didn't need to understand that the ship was a microcosm for society to get that Moby Dick was a pretty pesky fish (...mammal... whatever).

So, here's what you should have learned this week...

1.) Georgia's basketball program is in flux. First, Zac Swansey trashed his team. Then he and Troy Brewer were planning to transfer. Then Brewer wanted to stay. Then they were both officially leaving. And of course, there's still no coach, but there are plenty of rumors.

2.) Pro Day was a big hit. Tons of scouts and former players came to Athens to watch this year's draft-eligible Bulldogs workout. Matthew Stafford had a decent day and has remained calm despite the spotlight. Knowshon Moreno didn't improve on his 40 time much, but several of the other Georgia players managed to up their draft stock with strong performances.

3.) Spring practice got started. There's a lot on the line this spring, but the big storylines to start the spring involved Joe Cox taking over the offense -- which raised a bit of debate on whether he was more like D.J. Shockley or more like Joe Tereshinski -- and Caleb King getting his shot at running back. As it turns out, Cox's understudy, Logan Gray, had a big first day, and King's backup, Carlton Thomas, seems to have stolen the show, which you could have read earlier this week HERE, but more like found the stories yesterday HERE, HERE, HERE or HERE. Don't worry, I'm not bitter or anything.

4.) Atlanta wants to throw a cocktail party. The Atlanta Business Journal reported that the city was making efforts to bring the annual Georgia-Florida game to the A-T-L. Georgia AD Damon Evans said the whole thing was blown way out of proportion. Of course, some smart, pragmatic folks think it's a bad idea to move the game no matter what.

5.) Tony Dungy came to town. Dungy was in Athens with Mark Richt to promote an organization called All Pro Dad, which encourages fathers to spend more quality time with their kids. Dungy didn't talk much football, but he did mention a meeting with incoming UGA tight end Orson Charles. Later, Charles said it was that conversation that convinced him to become a Bulldog.