I’m a bit weary also of the playoff topic, but Tony Barnhart’s concern over the fate of the regular season (h/t Get the Picture) touches on a point that for some reason rubs me the wrong way.

Barnhart repeats a line that most college football fans dogmatically accept: In college football EVERY regular season game matters.

That statement has never made sense to me. Without getting too semantic over what "matters" means, it seems to me that relatively few games matter in the context of a national championship. You can’t tell me that the regular season is its own glorious playoff winnowing the field of contenders weekly while at the same time insisting that the South Carolina – Clemson game matters in any way outside of the Palmetto State.

Even some of the compelling must-see games Barnhart cites (say, Alabama-Auburn) often have nothing to do with the national title picture. Is the argument being made that Auburn-Alabama is a great game to watch because of the postseason format? If so, someone has to explain that in a little more depth (and type slowly for my benefit).

The concerns over bracket creep, etc. are enough to give any rational playoff advocate pause, but the extent to which we romanticize the regular season must have its limits. It can be argued that the focus on the regular season as a culling process for title contenders actually costs us more interesting and more frequent high-profile inter-conference games. The quality of nonconference games is something that college basketball has over college football, and it’s not only because of the number of games on the schedule. There is a trade-off in our search for games that matter, sure, but are we losing better potential regular season matchups as a result?

With the NFL draft in the rearview, our annual search for meaning during the football offseason enters its longest, most desolate stretch. Its starkness is rivaled only by midwest interstates.

The release of NCAA 2009 is one of those wells along the dusty path which will sustain us along the way. There have been several sneak peeks to come out this month.

"Alternate uniforms" are part of the game this year, and, yes, you can expect Georgia’s black jerseys to be an option. Now you can BLACK OUT your house. Put black drapes up, turn off the lights, dye the cat, dress like a Goth, crank up Soulja Boy, and prepare to run up 312 points against Temple on Varsity level.

As for the rest of the new features and changes, there’s a ton of them. We’ll only try to hit what seem to be the highlights:

• Bigger holes, cutback lanes, and open receivers, making the game feel more wide open than ever before
• Pre-play confusion and difficulty making adjustments when on the road against tough teams
• Interactive TD celebrations (could it be??? nah….)
• All-new authentic fields with new textures, lighting, and field degradation
• User Customizable Stadium Sounds & Music…band geeks should love this one.
• Return missed field goals
• CPU vs. CPU (watch mode)…the graphics are good enough, so why not? It’s probably better than most of the other sports on TV.
• Formation audibles, Smart routes, Bobble catches, Better passing control, Post play continuation
• Online Dynasty: up to 12 competitors can recruit head-to-head, customize schedules and play for up to 60 seasons

July can’t get here soon enough.

PS…no plain old X-Box version this time. 360 only.

UPDATE: Georgia will apparently carry the #1 ranking in the game for the 2008 season. Take that for meaningless preseason bluster, South Carolina fans.

This isn’t good news for Jim Delany. It’s an issue I’ve heard Cowherd talk about several times – shifting demographics spell big trouble for northern football. The problem isn’t only demographic. Not only are people moving south and west away from Rust Belt states; it stands to reason that few student-athletes from warm-weather states would choose a worse climate away from home.

Of course there’s plenty of talent outside the Sun Belt, but how many power programs can it sustain? Is the Big 10 headed towards looking like the ACC of the 1990s with everyone playing for second place?

Two programs missing from the second list – Penn State and Michigan – might really be at a crossroads in terms of their ability to keep the pipeline full. It doesn’t help that JoePa is having to dismiss talk that his contract status is another factor hurting Penn State recruiting.

It had to be an incredibly tough decision for such a competitor, but David Pollack’s comeback attempt has ended.

(Head Coach Marvin) Lewis said Pollack told him last week that he wasn’t comfortable with the neck medically despite being cleared to play.

Given the severity of his injury back in 2006, that’s probably a very smart decision. Pollack still has a world of possibilities open to him, and you have to like his chances at success in whatever the next step is.

In other Bulldog/Bengal news, Odell Thurman has been reinstated by the NFL. He has missed two complete seasons since leading the team in tackles in 2005.

With Pollack’s NFL dreams ended, you wonder if Thurman will make anything out of this chance he has to keep playing or if he’ll piss the opportunity away again.

PS…I know some will instantly call for Pollack to join the UGA program in some position, but I’m not sure that’s the best move for both parties. We have no idea what kind of a coach he would make, and it might serve him well to prove his coaching chops on another stage first. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in broadcasting, though he’s always had his eye on becoming a preacher.

Oy…

“Who elected these N.C.A.A. people?” (Neil Abercrombie, Democrat of Hawaii) said at a news conference Thursday on Capitol Hill while gripping a souvenir University of Hawaii football. “Who are they to decide who competes for the championship?”

We give the NCAA and even Miles Brand no shortage of grief, but even they will look downright enlightened next to these people. Any reasonably informed fan could tell Rep. Abercrombie that 1) the member schools “elected” the NCAA and 2) even so, the NCAA does not recognize a 1-A football champion and has nothing at all to do with the college football postseason or the BCS.

The BCS is a contractual arrangement between major conferences, bowls, and television networks, and it is through their grace that schools like Hawaii are even able to participate. Just take your check, say thank you, and resume irrelevance.

One wonders if Rep. Abercrombie in his zeal will go after March Madness where the NCAA actually does have something to do with deciding “who competes for a championship.” But you can kind of forgive him for his ignorance…it’s easy to get disconnected from the college sports mainstream in Hawaii. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia has no such excuse. Shame on him for joining this circus.

The Georgia Dome is in the midst of a $20 million maintenance and repair project that will include replacing the gawd-awful teal-and-plum color scheme with one much closer to our own hearts. The project, which also will have interior improvements and modifications, was already in the works before storm damage last month.

Glad to see them getting the building ready for an early-December Georgia game.

We found out last season that the post-Florida celebration did a number on the Chapel bell and that more permanent repairs would have to be made. That time is now, and the bell is coming down for repairs. Both the bell assembly and the tower itself will get work; parts of the wooden tower are over 100 years old.

The bell should be back and ringable in time to celebrate a win in the season opener.

Blame the lack of upsets or whatever else you like, but NCAA Tournament ratings were down from a year ago. It didn’t help that major conferences like the Big East, ACC, Big 10, and SEC all had their biggest programs sent home early (with the exception of UNC).

The national championship drew a 12.1 rating, down just 0.1 points from last year. Just for comparison’s sake, that was higher than any college football bowl game except the BCS championship game. I was surprised that nearly half of the football bowl games (16 of 33) drew a smaller audience than the 3.0 rating for the women’s basketball championship game.

The topic of the NBA age limit has come up again, and it continues to puzzle me why the league would want to restrain itself. I don’t know if age limits have really been tested in court. Maurice Clarett was supposed to be the test case for the NFL, and that challenge, um, kind of fizzled out. But let’s say they’re fine and that it’s the NBA’s right to set whatever age limit they want. Why would they?

Fortunately Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has put his thoughts down to give us the first-hand perspective of an NBA owner. He favors an age limit of 22, citing concerns over the maturity of younger players. His concens make sense, but they still come off as "please protect us from ourselves."

Why have NBA teams continued to draft high school players or, lately, one-and-dones? There are only two reasons that make any sense: 1) they are better prospects than older alternatives in the draft and 2) these are likely to be high-profile players who can instantly sell tickets and merchandise and raise the profile of the team. If the young players were a negative for the league, you’d think that fewer would be drafted over time. Watch this year’s draft and tell me if that’s the case.

I don’t buy Cuban’s line that a 22-year-old is more likely able to handle the fame and fortune of the NBA. We’re talking about a lifestyle and sums of money that are incomprehensible for almost all Americans. Being thrust into that situation whether 18 or 22 or 42 is a life change that can’t be understood until you live it.

Cuban replies to some comments by saying that "there are plenty of companies that will only hire college graduates. Others will only hire Phds." True. But those requirements have little if anything to do with maturity. For those companies, a degree or doctorate is a way to establish that the applicant has a minimal skill level or aptitude for the job. An NBA team’s scouting and player evaluation takes care of that.

For the NCAA, this is a great deal. Their product is worth more when high-quality players stick around whether it’s by the players’ own choice or through artifical restraints on the job market. A few years riding the gravy train with someone like LeBron James? Yes, please.

The NCAA gets to play the academic integrity card too, though it’s a small point. A one-and done can breeze through a trivial fall semester and then blow off his spring classes once the season is over. Someone who stays for two seasons must at least pretend to be a serious student for a full academic year and then some. College isn’t and shouldn’t be the NBA’s purgatory.

So we have a deal that’s great for the NCAA and seems to be a step in the right direction for at least one NBA owner. Win-win all around, right? Sure, unless you’re the talented 18-year-old who must go through the motions of pretending to be a college student while taking the NCAA’s vow of poverty for two years instead of working in your chosen profession.

I’d be OK with a system based on what baseball does. They’ve seemed to manage fine without requiring a cup of coffee in college. If someone wants to come out of high school, fine. Let them and the NBA teams take that risk. If a player would rather head to college, require a minimum stay of three years to show a commitment to education and allow the programs some shred of long-range planning.

Congratulations to Georgia’s Tasha Humphrey who was selected by the Detroit Shock with the 11th overall pick in the first round of Wednesday’s WNBA draft. She is Georgia’s eighth WNBA first-round selection; only Tennessee and Connecticut have produced more.

It was a bit of a surprise and disappointment for local fans that the new Atlanta expansion team passed on Humphrey at the #8 pick, opting instead for Tamera Young of James Madison. But Atlanta’s mistake is Humphrey’s gain. Instead of being part of an expansion franchise, she finds herself on a contender. Detroit won the league title two years ago and remains strong led by Deanna Nolan, another former Lady Bulldog great. Detroit’s first pick at #4 was Alexis Hornbuckle of Tennessee. Besides being outstanding players, Humphrey and Hornbuckle are both very smart on the court with great awareness. It goes without saying that two decorated players from Tennessee and Georgia should be assets in Detroit.

The situation is great for Tasha. She’s on a good team with a chance to win a title as a rookie, she won’t be the only quality player drawing attention from defenses, and she should relate to Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer’s style easily. Yet another Lady Bulldog, Kara Braxton, is the liklely Detroit starter at center.

I can’t let this post go without mentioning the #9 pick. Amber Holt of MTSU originally signed with Georgia, but she was "rejected a week before the fall semester because course credits for her major weren’t accepted." It’s an understatement to say that a player who was among the most prolific scorers in the nation would have made a difference on a Georgia team that struggled to produce offense. Insult was added to injury when Holt helped to lead MTSU to an upset win at Georgia in December of 2006.

Presenting…Bring a Girl to Tech Day

Mississippi State guard Ben Hansbrough will transfer from Rick Stansbury’s program citing “the school’s lack of a practice facility” as his main reason for leaving.

Hansbrough’s story shows that the investment matters not only in recruiting and retention, but the absence of one can even hold back a player looking to develop and improve. We’ve shown before that Georgia’s new facility matches up with some of the best in the nation. It’s not often that Georgia basketball has had an advantage over its peers in much of anything when it comes to facilities, but that’s not the case anymore.

This guided-missile submarine should be ready for the next encounter with the Vol Navy.

You can’t talk about a football team for two minutes without some element of scheme coming up. Do they run the option or a pro-style offense? If they run an option, is it the spread or a wishbone attack? Is the 4-3 or 3-4 defense in style this year? How about the 3-3-5? Though the relative importance of a particular scheme to a team’s success is one of those things that’s debated among fans, it’s hard to talk about or watch football without understanding some elements of scheme.

When it comes to basketball, so much of the discussion of scheme revolves around defense. Everyone can recognize at the most basic level a zone defense versus a man-to-man. Analysts are even willing to go deeper and talk about different flavors of zone like the matchup or the 1-3-1. There’s not that level of depth when it comes to discussion of offense. Sure, you’ve heard of some of the systems – the Princeton offense, the high post, the motion offense. If you’re a Georgia fan, you might have even heard of Dennis Felton’s 4-out, 1-in offense. Unless you’re really familiar with the game though, it can be hard to recognize a certain system at work within games, and broadcasts don’t do much to illustrate scheme.

Memphis has had an impressive season culminating in tonight’s national championship appearance. It’s an appropriate time to point to this SI article from earlier in the season about the "dribble-drive motion" offense which Memphis adopted this year. It’s a fascinating story not only about Memphis but also about innovation and the roots of this system from an unknown California JUCO coach. Now the offense is the rage not only of Memphis but also professional teams like the Boston Celtics.

In many ways, this dribble-drive motion offense is somewhat of an analogue to football’s current rage – the spread option. Both offenses spread the field/court to exploit weaknesses in individual matchups. Both offenses involve players in flexible roles whether it’s receivers involved in the running game or post players taking perimeter shots. And if Memphis wins the national title tonight, both offenses will have produced a national champion in relatively little time after their adoption at major programs.

Like Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriguez, John Calipari and Vance Walberg are poised to become the gurus for the evolution of offense within their sport. Whether or not Memphis wins, the success of the offense at the college and professional level will have many more coaches experimenting with it in coming seasons. Of course it will be mis-applied in some programs where the personnel doesn’t match the system, and detractors will say it’s been exposed as a fad like any other system. There’s a useful bit in the SI article about defensive adjustments to counter the DDM offense, and we should expect to see the defensive masterminds of college hoops continue to innovate on their side as well. On it goes.

If nothing else, I’m interested in seeing whether or not this innovation in offense will bring the discussion of offensive systems in college basketball out of the shadows.

The good…

The Diamond Dawgs swept a double-header from South Carolina, and both wins required late-inning scoring. The opener saw a rare 0-0 defensive battle head into the bottom of the ninth before Matt Olson’s RBI single plated the only run of the game. In the nightcap four eighth inning runs brought the Dawgs back from a 3-1 deficit, but the bullpen had to escape a bases-loaded situation to hold on for the sweep.

Heading into Sunday’s series finale, the Diamond Dawgs move into first place in the SEC East at 8-3 in the league. South Carolina drops to 6-5. Both teams started the day with identical 6-3 SEC records.

The double-header sweep guarantees Georgia their fourth SEC series wins in four tries this season. The consistency has been impressive. One thing remains – though Georgia has won all of their SEC series to date, they have yet to sweep a series. They can change that on Sunday afternoon at Foley Field.

Football recruiting also had some big news on Saturday. Northside Warner Robins defensive end Abry Jones committed to the Dawgs becoming the seventh commitment for Georgia in the class of 2009. I don’t pretend to have much skill at evaluating players, but Jones was one of those who couldn’t help but stand out during his team’s run to a 2008 state title. He is quite possibly the best defensive line prospect in the state this year – this is a big commitment.

The scary…

This *is* brain surgery. Larry Munson is recovering from a procedure on Friday to “remove a subdural hematoma.” The surgery went well, and he is expected to recover completely and be back in the broadcast booth this fall. That’s great news, but damn…brain surgery. Hopefully the brain surgeons were not tossing around words like “whatchamacallit” during the operation.

The news release notes:

Munson’s family and his attending medical staff have asked everyone to respect his privacy during his recovery. Anyone wishing to send cards or letters to him is asked to send them to the following address:

Larry Munson
c/o UGA Athletic Association
P.O. Box 1472
Athens, GA 30603