by Rex Robinson

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The “Calm” Before the Storm

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It is 12:01 PM as I sit down to knock out this post. As I write, there are a couple of hundred coaches having lunch in Middle Georgia. An annual event sponsored by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association started last night with a dinner for Region and State Champion Head Coaches. It is usually a BBQ dinner, with some brothers from Wilkes County hauling their smoker over and I swear it’s some of the best I’ve ever had.

Today’s luncheon is when these best of the best high school coaches get to interact with most of the Southeast’s college football staffs.  It’s a surreal mix, with Mark Richt, Paul Johnson and Nick Saban and their staffs all occupying the same space. Add FSU, Clemson, Auburn and all the smaller schools of Georgia i.e. Georgia Southern, Valdosta State, Lagrange and Shorter and all on the day before THE DAY. Very strange. It’s like a heavy-weight fight with the combatants sitting down for a beer while the score cards are tallied.

It just doesn’t compute, but it’s been happening for years.

02/02/2010 | Categories: FUNNY PAPERS, SPORTS | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments »

“Lost” is the Perfect Description

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The first episode of the last season of “Lost” airs tonight and the GNP will not grow at all today. Apparently, I am the only one in America that didn’t get hooked by the series that ranks as one of the most popular in television history. I never got past the third episode because before Lost first aired, I thought it was going to be a cross between Lord of the Flies and Jurassic Park.

I could have gone for that. But it turned out to require too much thinking. I want the shows I watch to elicit emotions, whether good, bad or ugly ones, I can deal with that. Make me laugh, cry or get angry, but don’t make me think too, too much. I might pull something.

For those of you that are giddy with anticipation, I am happy for you.  But if I need you to do some work today, don’t screw it up, please.

02/02/2010 | Categories: FUNNY PAPERS, PERSONALS | Tags: , | 7 Comments »

Oh You Herschel Walker!

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Herschel Walker made a successful debut versus Greg Nagy in the Mixed Martial Arts arena last night and proved once again that he is one of a kind(click).  There is no one comparable.  Herschel has the most eclectic resume you will ever find and the most extreme.

NCAA and NFL football, World Class Sprinter, Black Belt in Taekwondo, Olympic Bobsledder, Entrepreneur, Marathon Cyclist, Reality Show Star(Pros vs. Joes and The Apprentice), and now MMA.

That’s quite a bucket list you got there #34.

To say that Herschel is in phenomenal shape and a freak would be unoriginal and redundant. One of his trainers said he had the body of a 22 year old.

By my calculations, that means Herschel should live to about 188 years old.

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Getting back to the fight. He did look very raw in his debut. I watch a good bit of MMA and you could tell it was his first time in the octagon. I was really concerned that his lack of grappling experience was going to hurt him and he never really tried any jui-jitsu. He was in great position to choke Nagy and even when he did mount him was too high to ground and pound like he wanted to.

Ultimately the fight was stopped because Nagy stopped trying to improve his position from the ground and quit defending himself and that is a TKO.

I heard Herschel say in a pre fight interview that he didn’t anticipate fighting for an extended period. I can’t wait to see him again and see what kinds of improvements he makes.

In the mean-time, I fully expect to see him pilot the Space Shuttle soon.

01/31/2010 | Categories: SPORTS | Tags: , , | 4 Comments »

Georgia Bulldog Recruiting

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There is much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the Bulldog Nation as SIGNING DAY approaches. Many lives hang in the balance, and I’m not talking players and/or coaches. It’s the fans that seem to feel that their lives will be somehow changed if one player or another makes the “wrong” decision. One Bulldog commit has played his late recruitment  to the hilt and the firestorm it has caused is remarkable. I wanted to make a brief comment on the phenomenon.

Get a freakin’ life!

The day I let a 17 or 18 year old kid dictate the ebb and flow of my day, is when hell freezes over. Obviously, I want to have the best players possible. Some folks think that means 5 Stars by a kid’s name. I think it’s about a kid with talent and a real desire to wear red and black.

I believe with all my heart that the Georgia Bulldogs of the future will be dramatically improved. Not because of a dramatic influx of 5 Stars, but because of a renewed focus of Coach Mark Richt and the hiring of a  defensive dynamo, Todd Grantham.  The future is indeed bright, so sit back, take a chill pill and enjoy the ride.

The reception is not that great, six feet under.

01/29/2010 | Categories: EDITORIAL, SPORTS | Tags: , | 8 Comments »

It’s Senior Bowl Week

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It’s that time of year when all we have to look forward to is the Super bowl and College All-Star Games like the this past weekends East West Shrine Game and now the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. I was fortunate enough to play in the 1981 Senior Bowl but my how things have changed.

It was considered a golden opportunity to practice and play in front of NFL scouts and coaches and maybe get drafted. There are some that still look at it that way, but many, many players turn down offers to play because it may actually hurt their draft status.  The Senior Bowl people have been scrambling to fill out the rosters because of this new attitude.

Georgia is represented by Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens this year. I am pulling for them to make some last minute statements to the assembly of pro football evaluators. In 1981, Scott Woerner, Nat Hudson and I made up the Dawg contingent.

It’s sad that not playing and relying on combines or carefully controlled pro days have replaced an opportunity to meet and play with guys from all over the country. We lost the game but I had a decent game with a 43 yard field goal. Some of you might actually remember that I punted, that’s right Dawg fans, I punted….terribly. It didn’t help that it was cold and windy and I had not punted in a game in 4+ years.

Even so, it was a great time. I hope this year’s Dawgs feel the same.

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with Alabama’s E.J. Junior…I know…we cool.

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Scott Woerner and our coach Denver’s Red Miller…suck up…

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Maryland TE Eric Sievers…not his best moment.

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with Alabama’s Byron Braggs…a BIGGEN!

01/26/2010 | Categories: PERSONALS, SPORTS | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

A New “Day” at Marietta?

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I got a call Friday night about James “Friday” Richards decision to retire as head coach of the Marietta Blue Devils. Some of you may not realize that Marietta is my Alma mater, so this coaching change is of some import to me. Coach Friday graduated from MHS in 1972 and came back from the University of Florida just in time for my senior season(1976).

I’ll never forget his encouragement in a triple overtime classic against Douglas County that fall. My extra point made the difference after the Tigers kicker missed his to make it 38-37.  He started teaching and coaching officially the next year and the rest is history. As the head coach for 15 years, his record at Marietta was 107-58.

When I started selling sporting goods six years ago, everywhere I went around the state, coaches wanted to know when “Friday was going to retire”?  A few years ago, he started talking to me about it some, but this fall his mentions of retirement accelerated. I was at Marietta Thursday and it came up again, but some details had yet to fall into place. That happened Friday and again, one of his assistants called me that night with the news.

Suffice it to say, Marietta will be inundated with applications for this job. When coaches think of Marietta, they think of the Dexter Wood years and the success they enjoyed in the early 90′s.  It will be very interesting to see the direction the administration goes with the new hire.

Athletic Director Paul Hall is half-way through his first year on the job and now will be involved in hiring someone for a job that was ear-marked for him a couple of years ago. Friday mentioned that possibility on more than one occasion to me.  Hall was a long-time assistant coach for Richards and would have been a great choice. The x-factor at this point is a school administration that may or may not be committed to excellence on the field. They have already made a let’s say, “interesting”  choice in replacing another legend, basketball coach Charlie Hood, with a first time head coach.  The team is 3-8 in Region 5-AAAAA and 5-13 over-all.

The kids of Marietta deserve the best opportunity to succeed,

academically and athletically.

I hope that is kept in mind.

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01/25/2010 | Categories: METRO, PERSONALS, SPORTS | Tags: , , | 6 Comments »

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