Today’s update on Georgia baseball player Jonathan Taylor is about as good as it can be under the circumstances. Though Taylor, injured during an on-field collision on March 6th, still “has no feeling in his legs or his fingers,” he no longer requires a ventilator and has some use of upper extremities. He’s able to use a manual wheelchair (for very short amounts of time) which is another sign of progress.

Though there are never any guarantees, the fact that Taylor’s spinal cord was bruised and not completely severed leaves hope for further improvement throughout his body. His doctors caution us that “a majority of people with his injury don’t walk,” but some do. Because each injury is different, the range of possible outcomes go from his present state to regaining use of his legs and walking again. He’s already past the worst case which would have required continued use of the ventilator and an electric wheelchair.

Taylor’s road back remains tough day to day, but he and his support group have to be encouraged by the progress so far. He remains close to his teammates and will need that strong support system to work through the pain and frustration during the long recovery process. He’ll continue to need your prayers and support. You can also help by donating to the fund that has been established to offset his medical expenses.

When you schedule an opponent like Boise State for a major neutral site game, you hope and almost assume that significant national exposure comes with the deal. That might not be the case for Georgia’s 2011 opener.

Marc Weiszer is reporting that the September 3rd game against Boise State at the Georgia Dome will start at 8:00 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN. Ordinarily that would be a great primetime slot. But Weiszer also mentions that the Georgia game will be going up against the LSU-Oregon game on ABC at the same time. It’s likely that much of the national attention that’s been on the Atlanta game over the past few years, including Gameday, will instead be on that LSU-Oregon game in Dallas.

Last season’s LSU-UNC game at the Dome was the ABC game, and its main competition in that time slot was a much lower-profile TCU-Oregon State game.

The Lady Dogs’ only senior, forward Porsha Phillips, was selected in the third round of Wednesday’s WNBA draft. Phillips is the 13th Lady Dog selected in the past 11 WNBA drafts and the third in the last two years. Phillips turned into a rebounding machine as a senior, and her athleticism on the frontcourt was a big reason why Georgia was able to play effective defense and win so many low-scoring close games this year.

The odds of actually making a WNBA team are long for Phillips and most draft picks. Thanks to a relatively small league size and a glut of international talent, roster spots are tough to come by for new collegiate entrants, even for many first-round picks. Most end up playing overseas where there are numerous leagues and opportunities for professional women’s basketball.

The draft results illustrate what a down year it was for the SEC and its senior class. Phillips was one of only three SEC players drafted. One ACC school – Duke – had three draft picks alone.

Our thoughts this morning are with Trinton Sturdivant. Another major knee injury – this time to the other one – has likely ended his football career.

Sturdivant joins the way-too-long list of promising stars whose careers were cut short by an uncooperative body. He’s entering his fifth year of eligibility, and three of those will have been spent dealing with surgery and grueling rehab. There’s precedent for the NCAA granting a 6th year of eligibility, but who are we kidding? Three major knee injuries in four years is enough of a toll taken on the guy’s future. Hopefully he’ll use this last year to make the most of his academic opportunities.

Georgia’s line situation wasn’t terrific to begin with, and everyone is wondering today how the pieces will shift in order to get a line together for two huge tests to start the season. The picture looks a little bit like it did in 2007 when Sturdivant and a collection of freshmen and JUCO transfers joined two experienced linemen to somehow transform into the unit that led the way for Moreno and helped the team finish #2 in the nation.

Here’s what the line looked like entering the 2007 season.

LT 77 Trinton Sturdivant 6-5, 286, Fr.
72 Vince Vance 6-8, 330, So.

LG 63 Chris Davis 6-4, 292, RFr.
54 Tanner Strickland 6-5, 318, Fr.

C 75 Fernando Velasco 6-4, 328, Sr.
74 Kevin Perez 6-3, 274, RFr.
64 Ian Smith 6-3, 295, So..

RG 70 Scott Havercamp 6-4, 310, Jr.
78 Josh Davis 6-6, 293, RFr.
73 Micky White 6-3, 320, RFr.

RT 67 Chester Adams 6-4, 330, Jr.
79 Justin Anderson 6-5, 335, Fr.

The 2007 Dawgs had two veterans on that line: the versatile Velasco and the dependable Adams. Searels was in his first year as line coach, and the Dawgs turned to newcomers at three of the five positions. Boling didn’t even rate on this preseason depth chart, though of course he quickly distinguished himself and became part of the success story.

We’re in a similar position now five seasons down the road. There’s a new position coach again. Sturdivant’s injury leaves just two established starters on the line: seniors Jones and Glenn. Tanner Strickland’s decision to hang it up takes away another older, if not experienced, option. One difference is the availability of Justin Anderson. Though his spot on the line was expendable when the defense came calling last year, he’s at least seen the field as an offensive lineman. A wildcard among experienced linemen is A.J. Harmon. He was a touted prospect, and it was big news when he switched from Clemson to Georgia. He’s struggled to make an impact though after two years and a redshirt season, but it would be nice if he emerged to become part of the answer.

Fresh faces are likely to become part of the solution again. There’s a substantial glut of linemen on the team who just haven’t seen much playing time. Some of that is for medical reasons – Burnette, Benedict, and Austin Long – have been rehabilitating some pretty serious injuries of their own. You also have five true freshmen coming in. Debell or Dantzler might be looked to early, but as with Boling in 2007, you can’t really tell which newcomers will get it until they’re put on the field. With the lack of experience among the injured redshirts, you pretty much have to lump them all in with the true freshmen at this point. Some might have an upper hand – Burnette was seeing time with the first unit even before Sturdivant’s injury.

It’s asking a lot for any newcomer to step in to that key left tackle spot now vacated by Sturdivant. His accomplishment of holding down the spot as a true freshman in 2007 was exceptional. For that reason, I agree with Seth Emerson that you’re likely to see someone with playing experience – whether Glenn or Gates – in that role, and hopefully the experienced Jones can hold things together in the middle much the way Velasco did. You might also see the coaches use a tight end like Lynch a lot more often if it turns out to be needed in pass protection.

A repeat of the miracle of 2007 is a tall order, but the situation now is only slightly less dire. There are at least more options available this time. “Uncertainty” is definitely the word to use – right up there with “inexperienced.” The 2007 season at least gives us hope that something can come from this mess.

Both players announced their intentions this morning: Trey is committed to going pro, and Travis will test the draft without hiring an agent, leaving the door open for his return.

This was about the best result we could have expected short of Leslie avoiding the draft altogether. Getting Thompkins back was a long shot, and he did what he set out to accomplish this year: leading the team to the NCAA Tournament. Though his game could still improve in several areas, his stock probably isn’t going to rise much higher. Leslie, on the other hand, made a prudent choice by not hiring an agent. There’s a chance a team could take a flyer on him based on athleticism alone, so at least his name is out there. But it’s likely that his marginal outside game will affect his draft position, and he could still return to work on that part of his game while improving his pro prospects.

The certain departure of Thompkins opens up another scholarship for the spring signing period, and that opens the door for someone like former Tennessee signee Kevin Ware. Ware is considering Georgia, but he was uncertain about Georgia’s scholarship availability. There’s more than enough room now.

But the loss of Thompkins also makes the Georgia frontcourt situation that much more dire. The Dawgs are losing Thompkins, Price, and Barnes. Georgia only returns Marcus Thornton and Donte Williams up front, and both of those guys saw limited action as the season wore on. They combined for only four minutes and no points in Georgia’s NCAA Tournament loss, and that more or less sums up their progress as freshmen. Connor Nolte also saw occasional duty in a small forward role, but he’s not what you’d consider a post player. The offseason development of that group is going to have a lot to say about what kind of team Georgia trots out in six months.

The Bulldogs have signed three frontcourt prospects: centers Tim Dixon and John Florveus as well as forward Nemanja Djurisic. All three bring something to the table, but it’s going to be asking a lot for any of them to step into the six or seven man rotation next November. Georgia might have to wait until the promising 2012 class for the next wave of impact post players to arrive.

There was a lot of chatter over the weekend about Georgia broadcasts moving to Atlanta’s 680 the Fan. I wondered why Georgia would be terminating their long-standing relationship with WSB, but a reading of the official announcement sort of cleared things up. 680/93.7 FM is not the new home of the Dawgs…they’ve just signed on as “The Official Sports Talk Radio Station of the Georgia Bulldogs.”

I doubt that means you can’t talk about the Dawgs on 790 or any other station, which is a good thing since the Barnhart/Durham show there is the best college football talk in town. But what it does mean is more Georgia-focused coverage and presence in the Atlanta media market. We’ll get…

Bulldog focused primetime programming, to begin on or before July 1, 2011, press conferences and comprehensive coverage of the Georgia Bulldogs and UGA’s various sports programs.

Since WSB doesn’t have much sports programming beyond their news operation, this makes sense. We’ll still have the games, Bulldog Brunch, coaches’ shows, and all of the other current programming on WSB. We’ll just get press conferences and some other additional programming to be determined on 680/93.7. One bit of good news for fans of the Diamond Dawgs:

The partnership will also bring play-by-play of Georgia Baseball to Sports Radio 680 The Fan’s sister station 1230AM The Fan 2 (WFOM-AM), beginning in May of 2011. The Fan 2 is based in Marietta, Georgia and covers Cobb, Gwinnett and most of Fulton County.

That’s great. I hope the deal eventually expands to cover other sports like the Lady Dogs.

…but your 14-14 Diamond Dawgs have an RPI of….16? Georgia also has the second-toughest schedule in the nation, and they’re likely to move up to #1 as they continue to work through the SEC slate.

The Diamond Dawgs swept Mississippi State over the weekend and have taken five of their last six SEC games. At 6-3 in the league, they’ve already improved over last year’s abysmal 5-win conference record.

That’s the good news. The bad? Five SEC teams, in addition to Clemson and Georgia Tech, are even higher. We’re halfway through the regular season, so it’s not too early to look at the big picture. Even with a top 20 RPI, Georgia’s marginal record means that they’re going to have to continue to make noise against the nation’s toughest schedule and the nation’s toughest conference in order to have a shot at the postseason. They’ll have a chance to improve on their overall record with two games against Charleston Southern this week, but then they’ll play seven straight against teams with higher RPIs: Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, and Florida.

If you’ve tried, to visit georgiadogs.com today, you’ll find a Network Solutions placeholder page instead of the usual content. It looks as if someone neglected to renew the georgiadogs.com domain – something website owners have to do every couple of years. It will be interesting to see if they are able to maintain ownership of the name. There are services set up to swoop in and squat on expired domain names and charge a handsome price to release them. Anyway…

The unavailability of the site is especially inconvenient since March 31 is the deadline to renew football season tickets and request away and neutral tickets. If you’ve procrastinated until the final day, you might think you’re out of luck. Fortunately the service that handles e-commerce and tickets for the athletic association is owned and hosted by a third party. That ordering site is still up and running; you just can’t get to it through georgiadogs.com.

How to order tickets

Go to the Georgia Bulldog Club website at http://www.thegeorgiabulldogclub.com/. Select “My Account” at the top right. You should be able to order tickets (for any sport) from that point.

I would also expect that the outage will cause UGA to extend the deadline a couple of days once they get the georgiadogs.com site back up and running, but that’s just speculation.

The McDonald’s All American game is Wednesday night at 10:00 on ESPN. For once, Georgia fans have a reason to tune in: you’ll see Georgia signee Kentavious Caldwell-Pope playing for the East.

Caldwell-Pope has had a great week up in Chicago. Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com notes that Kentavious “has improved his stock as much as any prospect here.” That’s saying a lot for someone already rated as one of the top 15 national prospects in the incoming class. Meyer adds that:

No one has shot the ball better over the course of the first two practices than Caldwell-Pope. Comfortable spotting up for jumpers as well as shooting off the dribble, Caldwell-Pope’s best trait might just be his ability to shoot accurately from deep range coming off screens. Add his ballhandling ability, feel for the game and length and you have a prospect who is pushing toward elite status in his class.

Tune in tonight and enjoy the next great Georgia star.

The move of Bruce Figgins to fullback has been one of the few early spring stories worth talking about. The idea of an experienced tight end coming out of the backfield gives both fans and coaches a lot to think about. Seth Emerson reminds us that there are some more fundamental concerns to take care of first.

Bruce Figgins has said that his biggest adjustment to fullback is the different blocking schemes from tight end. Not, as one would expect, carrying the ball.

“Well I haven’t given him the ball yet, so that’s probably the reason why,” Bobo said, laughing.

Before Figgins starts giving defenses things to worry about in the passing game, job #1 is – as Richt put it – becoming “a fullback that can play that position legitimately.” In Georgia’s offense, that’s a lot of blocking. I’m a lot more interested in how well Figgins can lead Crowell and keep Murray upright than in the few occasions we’d flex him out as an H-back. The gold standard for me is Brannan Southerland – if you can lead the tailback down the field with not one but two key blocks, you’ve mastered the job.

We said that recruiting would be a key part of Brian Gregory’s success at Tech, and Gregory has demonstrated that he’s of the same mind. His first action after being introduced was to pay a visit to Tech’s top 2011 signee: PF Julian Royal. Royal had wavered and considered re-opening his recruitment if Paul Hewitt were let go. Georgia, the other finalist in Royal’s initial decision, would be considered a likely destination if he did decide to open things back up.

The meeting went well, and the Royals were impressed by Gregory’s attention. While Royal still wants some more time to think about it, Georgia fans shouldn’t expect much to come of this situation. According to Royal’s father, Gregory’s system seems like a “good match” for Royal, and he doesn’t “see any reason for Julian to change his mind about the school.”

The story is a little different with Rockdale County’s Kevin Ware. He has confirmed that he will request his release from Tennessee, though it’s still possible that he might ultimately stick with the Vols. If he does start looking around, expect Georgia to be among those throwing their hats back into the ring.

According to the Red & Black, the University Cabinet announced three changes to North Campus tailgating restrictions for this coming season:

• Set up time is now five hours before kickoff instead of four.
• Tables are now allowed to be up to six feet long.
• Tents are allowed again.

Keep in mind that the rest of last year’s restrictions will still apply. No generators, TVs, grills, and so on.

The SGA proposed several of the modifications back in January, and the University adopted them. There was concern that tailgating at Myers Quad would be restricted following the scene after the Georgia Tech game, but University SVP Tim Burgess said that no regulations would be put in place at Myers.

From the same Red & Black story, we also get this:

Finally, the Cabinet also approved a new service animal policy, which requires all dogs on campus to be registered as service animals.

When you’ve been in every NCAA Tournament save two and have gone deep in most of them, the list of memorable postseason games becomes long, distinguished, and impossible to whittle down to a few favorites. You have triumph – the inspired comeback against Colorado in 1995 that earned Georgia a trip to the Final Four. You have heartbreak – Barbara Turner’s miracle buzzer-beater for UConn in 2006 that erased Georgia’s own potential game-winner. Georgia’s been the upset victim (the 2001 loss to Missouri still stings), but for two straight seasons now they’ve upset a higher seed to advance to the Sweet 16.

Somewhere in there is room for Tuesday night’s 61-59 upset of FSU. It wasn’t especially smooth or aesthetically pleasing from a basketball perspective – right up to the muddled and confusing final seconds. Andy Landers points out why this game stands out. “We got down 10 and dug down in a place we had not before during this game,” he explained. Georgia’s regular season win at Kentucky was about as close as the team had come to this kind of down-to-the-wire win against a Top 20 team. Add in the pressure to come back from a double-figure deficit in the second half with the season in the balance, and Georgia’s push during the final ten minutes was a big step forward for this young team.

Georgia had played with this defensive intensity before: they handled Kentucky in Athens, shut down South Carolina in the SEC tournament, and stymied MTSU in Sunday’s first round game. But few of those opponents tested Georgia the way FSU could. The Noles had legitimate weapons from at least three spots on the floor at any one time. You couldn’t sag a zone against Bravard inside as Ward and her backcourt counterparts made you pay from outside. Your best chance against Bravard wasn’t even defending her; it was denying her. Once she got the ball down low, she scored. Georgia could afford some dry stretches on offense against a more easily guarded opponent like MTSU. Against FSU those dry stretches put Georgia in a hole. Turning up the defensive intensity even more while making the clutch shots and big plays to cut into the lead was a noteworthy feat. Georgia went only seven deep in this game, but somehow they – as Landers put it – dug down to be the stronger team at the end.

Porsha Phillips – with very good reason – is often featured as the player to watch by a broadcast crew, but it wasn’t her best night. As Georgia’s lone senior, it looked for a long time as if her last game would be one to forget, and that’s never the way a senior wants to go out. She struggled with only five points on 2-of-10 shooting, missed two looks at the game-winner, and even her reliable free throw stroke let her down. To her credit, she didn’t let her offense affect her rebounding – just another routine night of double-digit rebounds for Porsha. It would have been sweet redemption had her final shot proved to be the game-winner, but the miss and James’s putback emphasized how much of a team win this was.

• Armstrong came off the bench to lead the team in scoring. She didn’t just hit the outside shots; she showed off her athleticism with a smart and difficult reverse layup. For the late stages once Hassell fouled out, Armstrong had the tough defensive assignment inside and held her own.
• Mitchell poured in six points during Georgia’s pivotal run, including the shots that pushed them into the lead for the first time in the second half. She also tied up Brevard on a rebound to cause a jump ball that gave Georgia its final opportunity to win the game.
• Miller hit a trio of three-pointers that seemed to come right when the team needed them – especially one with 3 minutes left to retake the lead.
• James didn’t just put in the game-winner; her defensive pressure led to four steals, several transition baskets, and helped cause 19 FSU turnovers.
• Hassell did yeoman’s work against an incredibly tough and skilled FSU frontcourt. She even managed to add some points of her own.

The challenges only get tougher the deeper you advance, and Georgia will have their hands full on Sunday against #2 seed Texas A&M. A&M has lost five times this year, and three of those came against top-rated Baylor. The winner of this game will likely face Baylor in the regional finals, so there’s a chance that A&M might be peeking ahead to a fourth matchup against their in-state foe.

The Aggies feature one of the most versatile players in the nation in forward Danielle Adams. Adams is the classic “post who can play like a guard”. Though not as tall as Bravard, Adams’ range gives Georgia a different challenge. She can score inside of course but also has the outside game to draw post defenders out and open things up for her teammates closer to the basket. Adams posted 28 points and 11 rebounds in A&M’s second round rout of Rutgers. One player doesn’t make a team this good, and the Aggies will look to the two Sydneys – Carter and Colson – to give Georgia’s guards plenty to think about. Like Georgia, the Aggies don’t go terribly deep – only seven players get more than 10 minutes per game – and only five players average more than 5 PPG. They got just five points off the bench last night against Rutgers, but the starters are plenty good enough.

The matchup also features a rematch of old SEC adversaries. A&M coach Gary Blair coached at Arkansas from 1993-2003 where he built a strong program that reached the 1998 Final Four. A&M convinced him to come resurrect their struggling program, and he’s delivered by making the Aggies a perennial NCAA Tournament team that’s gone as far as the Elite Eight. He’s one of only four coaches to take three programs to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia vs. Texas A&M in the Sweet 16: Sunday 4:30 p.m. in Dallas, ESPN2

I know this is supposed to come off as some sort of redemption story leading into Mett’s first spring practice with LSU, but it’s also a nice long exercise in passing the buck. I know He works in mysterious ways, but groping a bar waitress is a new one on me.

If the $230 all-session ticket price was a little too steep, single-session tickets for a much lower $77 are now available. You’ll still have to order through TicketMaster online, or you can call the arena at 704-688-9011. Georgia plays in Friday’s evening session, and you get to watch North Carolina’s backups play a lot in the other game.

If you’re getting up to Charlotte on Thursday, all teams will be holding open practices for the public. Georgia’s the last, so head over if you get into town this evening.

2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Open Practice Schedule
Open practices are FREE and open to the public
Thursday, March 17 – Time Warner Cable Arena
12:00-12:40p.m. — Tennessee
12:45-1:25p.m. — Hampton
1:30-2:10p.m. — Michigan
2:15-2:55p.m. — Duke
4:25-5:05p.m. — North Carolina
5:10-5:50p.m. — Washington
5:55-6:35p.m. — Long Island
6:40-7:20p.m. — Georgia