Got another great show for you as we go full steam ahead to the start of training camp. Today we've got Kevin from the great national college football site College Football Zealots on the podcast to talk about his beloved Georgia Bulldogs. Kevin's a friend of the program and today we've got some cross blogger collaboration as my UNC preview is running over at CFBZ at the same time that we've got Kevin waxing all philosophical on the Dawgs. A lot to get into with the Dawgs and we hit all the bases in this podcast so Dawgs fans and Dawgs haters give it a listen to know what to expect out of Richt's boys in 2011 and beyond.

Talk kicks off with Dawg Night a great move on UGA's part to build excitement around their one day camp and it paid off this year with five kids committing to wear the red and black. The biggest of the bunch, John Theus, is for the 2012 recruiting season and he's a big offensive tackle that the Dawgs can surely use on their much maligned offensive line. With the onslaught of future commits for both the 2013 and 2014 classes talk turns to Mark Richt's job security and where he stands in today's "What have you done for me lately" culture that has engulfed the college football world. Conclusion? The seat is as hot as any in the nation and he's going to have to produce this year to keep his place atop the coaching thrown in Athens.

For Richt to keep that crown he'll have to navigate through a sea of trouble on the offensive side of the ball; most notably with the running back situation. Washaun Ealey is gone. Caleb King is gone. Carlton Thomas is out for at least a game for undisclosed reasons as of now. Leaving incoming freshman Isaiah Crowell and the transitioning Richard Samuel to carry the load for the Dawgs.

On the defensive side of the ball Todd Grantham's unit has a reason to get excited as they get Jonathan Jenkins, JUCO transfer, in town to anchor the 3-4 properly and we can see what the former NFL coach can do. Kevin points out Alec Ogletree to us as a guy to watch as possibly the next great UGA linebacker and then we get to talk about one of my favorite players; not just in name but how he plays the game, Bacarri Rambo.

We hit on the Georgia Tech situation, talk a little Will Muschamp at Florida and then discuss the outlook for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2011.



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Hell of week here at the site so be sure to go check out everything and get yourself caught up folks. To kick off yet another Fetch Friday we've got a podcast after giving you a break last week. That's right the fine folks over at ESPN 99.9 in Raleighwood were kind enough to have me on again. Adam Gold and I discuss the Georgia Tech findings briefly before we get right into the heart of the matter; the judge's ruling against Michael McAdoo by not granting the injunction that would allow him to finish his career at North Carolina.

And FYI I also get into a bit of what really just stuck in my craw about the investigation and the way the administration handled things. Sheds some light on the different thoughts that a guy like myself and Marvin Austin had as we saw McAdoo lose his last chance to play football at UNC. If the green button doesn't tickle your fancy then click here to download.



So now, on to the fetch.



Sunday our Women's National Team has got a shot to get their first World Cup championship since the 1999 epic PK victory over China that exploded women's soccer on to the map. We're going to be playing Japan, they're talented technicians, which makes them the polar opposite of the last three teams that we've played.

Sweden, Brazil and France were all flash and dash, great on offense, haphazard in the back end with players that can make you pay if you get lazy on defense. Japan is surgical and calculated. It isn't a bad match up for us, we're physically bigger, faster and stronger it will just be a matter of us controlling the ball for longer stretches than we have recently.

Oh, and we have Hope Solo.

Go Heels. Go America.

And we'll close with something that is a bit sobering and mighty infuriating. ESPN has decided to indefinitely suspend their senior college football writer, Bruce Feldman. As Brooks discusses in the article the suspension is thought to be over the new Mike Leach book, Swing Your Sword, which Bruce helped Leach write. It sucks. No better way to say it than this absolutely blows on so many levels.

 

First and foremost, for my money Bruce Feldman is the best college football writer. Period. He's damn sure the best that ESPN has between their website and the magazine. He is the guy that gives the WWL instant credibility and is someone who, regardless of platform or agenda, we all universally respect.

Secondly he's just a great guy. A guy that returns his emails to me when I ask him questions. A guy that doesn't mind doing a podcast when you ask him to come on. A guy that will send you a direct message when he likes something that you said and asks how you're doing.

This all stinks. I'm not hopping on the "Fire Craig James" bandwagon because quite honestly I do not care about Craig James. I'm pissed off at the decision ESPN made. They made the decision, not Craig James. They sat in the meeting and decided that they were going to align themselves with one side during a news story. They sat in the meeting and decided that they were going to keep pushing this ridiculous agenda when Leach's book debuted.

They made the call and suspended my favorite sportswriter.

I'm pissed. This is something that, for people like us, the college football fan, is going to be a big deal until they either take the shackles of Feldman or he goes elsewhere but for ESPN it will largely be business as usual. They deal so heavily in the casual fan that I doubt they care much about our voice. Joe Casual Fan who uses ESPN.com for his "source" of information it going to keep the WWL as his homepage and he'll keep hitting refresh all day to feed at the trough of what they tell him is news.

In all this chaos there is one thing that does stand out, one thing that does make me appreciate all the readers and our college football community; we know who is good. We support out local beat guys that grind for us and we know which guys are just tossing stuff out there and who is truly plugged into happenings of the landscape. We'll keep fighting with the #FreeBruce and hopefully ESPN will realize they're screwing up the best college football thing they have.

Oh and if you've got ESPN Insider/Mag call 1-888-549-ESPN to cancel your subscription.

We're double dipping today as Bryan Fischer from CBS Sports' Eye on Recruiting Blogjoins us to help fill out your recruiting knowledge. Last week it was Laura McKeeman dropping by to talk about the IMG Academy Madden 7 on 7 Tournament and now Bryan is here to fill us in on the latest big event in high school recruiting; Nike's The Opening. However, before we get into all of Bryan's findings form up in Beaverton, Oregon we start out by talking about one of his recent articles, The Good and The Bad of an All-Star Event.

The chat kicks off with Fischer discussing what stood out the most to him and surprisingly with all the talent there he takes the time to talk up the big boys on both sides of the ball. As a fan of the fat boys hearing about the talent level in the trenches to kick things off was a welcome change to the "skill players are the greatest" we so often encounter. A lot of linemen to watch and while the Ohio and Pennsylvania bigs were not able to don the pads we did get a solid look at some explosive power drills and how the elite stacked up against the elite.

Talk then turns to the glamour spot; quarterback as two non-BCScommits headline Bryan Fischer's list of top performers in Tanner Magnum (BYU) and Tyler Matthews (TCU). A close third was Clemson commit Chad Kelly who can, apparently spin it with the best of them. Jonathan Grey at the running back position also wowed folks a guy looking to help Mack Brown out in the future.

Of course we get to the defensive side of the ball as well and the Keith Brown (Miami) legend continues to grow as he had yet another solid showing against elite competition. The biggest surprise on this side of the ball was the bumper crop of athleticism; most notably 3 linebackers in the top 10 of the combine results. Brown was #7 while Dillon Lee (Bama) and David Perkins (ND) were eighth and ninth respectively.

All in all it was a great experience and plenty of schools were represented as recruits from across the nation got to take it all in!



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Today's show sees a long time friend of the program make a return trip to the show. Adam Nettina; former contributor to GoMids.com, former editor of the Utah Statemen and current freelance writing journeyman extraordinaire joins us to cover some serious ground as we start to look ahead to the 2011 season. Adam is back folks and he's one of our go-to guys when it comes to the service academies as well as the wild, wild west that makes of the WAC, throw in some BYU and our guy has got a full plate of info to dine on.

We kick it off by introducing you to the WAC, as of this season that is. We've got Fresno State, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah State, New Mexico State, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and Idaho for the duration of this season. Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada will still get the star treatment as the best teams in the league, even as they're on their way out, headed for the Mountain West in 2012. Adam talks all things WAC, fills us in on why I shouldn't feel that bad that the window of opportunity has closed for Pat "isn't the greatest guy" Hill and we look at why LaTech, Idaho, NM State, SJSU and Utah State should be on anyone's radar for anything.

Talk turns to BYU as we look at what sort of a leap the Cougars are making by shoving off into the independent ranks with Bronco Mendenhall at the helm. We look at what the BYU faceful were thinking as they steered on this course and both Adam and I agree; with the ESPN money, their TV money from ESPN and of course their own coffers continuing to swell their in good shape. We'll see what their defense can do this season; hopefully the old adage "a year older, a year better" holds true for them.

Finally we get into the Service Academies and wonder if Rich Ellerson at Army can continue to improve on the Black Knights record from a season ago. Will Air Force be able to withstand playing TCU, Utah and the rest of their slate this season. Of course, Navy is looking to reclaim their stranglehold on the Commander in Chief Trophy by getting back to their winning ways. Adam offers up a solid point as Kriss Proctor and his inability to throw at the level of Ricky Dobbs will allow the Midshipmen to get back to their run-centric ways.

To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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On today's show we've got one of our favorite guests of all time; Laura McKeeman from Scout.com and of course Sun Sports down there in Florida. Right now Laura's pulling a bit of triple duty as she is not only covering down the recruiting world during her breaks from the Miss Florida Pageant but she's also busy covering the Tampa Bay Rays. That said folks we don't have her on to talk baseball, she's on the show to talk football, the recruiting landscape down here in the southeast and of course our mutual love, barbecue.

After a little BBQ, lord spare this lady for loving that mustard sauce, and getting some folks squared away on why pulled pork is the best we get into some recruiting chatter. Laura was down at the IMG Academy for the 7 on 7 tournament and there was plenty to see out there. Guys like Brandon Snell (Louisville), Keith Brown (Miami), Amari Cooper (uncommitted) were out there dazzling the crowds and she has the scoop on them all.

Talk turns from the camps to the teams as Laura McKeeman gets into the big three in Florida recruiting. All three seem to be firing hard; Florida State has some legit talent, Miami's got some huge names and Florida is shoring up the spots where they need help. We also take a quick jaunt northwest into Tennessee to talk about James Franklin at Vanderbilt and what the new head coach is doing in Nashville. He's killing it. Absolutely killing it.



To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedburner, but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS Feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for "In The Bleachers"on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

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We're going all Fetch for Friday folks with Adam Jacobi joining us on the podcast. That's right y'all Jacobi is back on the show, moonlighting from his gigs over at the CBS Sports College Football Blog and the Iowa site Blackheart Gold Pants. Adam did a guest spot on the CBS College Football Podcast with J. Darin Darst and Adam Aizer to talk about the recent Channing Crowder quotes regarding selling his jersey and I had to get our buddy on to expound upon his point. As always we get a great show out of Adam because of his passion and his amazing insight.

Jacobi goes into why he doesn't see the big deal with kids selling their memorabilia and gear, even going so far as to create the Adam Jacobi "College Football Utopia" where kids can sell their things to supplement their cash. The goal here is to remove the need to pay the players by allowing them to profit from transactions involving things that are, theoretically their property. Jacobi goes into the Title IX compliance aspect which, if you're a frequent reader, you know is a major selling point for me on this idea. The issue becomes keeping agents/gambling types from attaching stipulations to the cash gifts.

We also talk a little Russell Wilson on the heels of the young man announcing his transfer to Wisconsin and our recent article on the impact Wilson can be expected to make in the Big Ten. All in all it is a great show folks so kick your Friday off the right way.



If you need to download the show for your listening pleasure be sure to click it here. Of course the feedback is much appreciated through the twitter machine folks. You'll notice the mysterious origins of Fetch Friday do get discussed this episode as we close the show. Another point of note; the "NCAA is evil" Freudian slip might be my favorite moment in all of podcasting.

On to the Fetch folks and tickets to her concert might have been acquired. Maybe. Probably. Were.



WIMBLEDON! The tennis has been awesome, of course Gael Monfils bowed out like always, no surprise he continues to be the most frustrating piece of my "who I root for" puzzle. Although UNC baseball is high up there and seeing the Sakerlina Gamecocks win another title and Chad Holbrook being out there with them hurts this guys heart. But I digress, the biggest news from Wimbledon is that not only have Serena and Venus bowed out but no add Roger Federer to that list as he fell yesterday to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a five set, epic match. Epic as in Fed goes up 2 sets to none but Tsonga fights back to win the final three sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Roger isn't done folks, this isn't the end of an era but there is a chink in the armor. He's won over 178 matches where he won the first two sets. This is a big deal.

Speaking of Wimbledon the hottest action wasn't on the court, even with Federer losing, because our girl frim the Royal Wedding was in the house. Not Kate who we absolutely think is a delight but Pippa Middleton who we are not so secretly in love with. She was there with on-again-off-again boyfriend Alex Louden wearing her aviators and her little red dress. After hearing that she is a work out fanatic and does marathon type runs and long distance biking your fearless leader has decided that the most logical way for her to meet me is to get into marginal shape; Hip Hop Abs here we come starting next week!

Have a great Fourth of July weekend folks! Happy Birthday America! Go Heels! Go America! Also go Transformers 3, I've seen so many awesome previews and heard so many awesome things that I cannot wait to carve out the time to check it out. That said DO NOT BOMBARD ME WITH "THOSE MOVIES HAVE BAD ACTING" TWEETS OR THE GO SEE IT IN 3D TWEETS! I don't want to see it in 3D. I don't like 3D. When 3D tv takes over I'll still be watching 2D. I like things flat on a screen with no glasses on as I eat my popcorn. As for the acting; shut up! It is a movie about robots that fight not some film drama that has no explosions just women crying and dudes battling their inner demons. It is a Michael Bay movie, for every explosion it gets a point, I'm hoping this one tops 100. WINNING.

Be safe with the fireworks this weekend y'all and remember it ain't a party unless something gets blowed up!

Update (9:25): Barry Switzer wine was completely left off. This is the single most awesome thing ever. Barry Switzer, my second favorite coach after Nick Saban, now has the Switzer Family Vineyards out in Napa. This is going to be epic y'all. Although I'm a bit disappointed it isn't fine moonshine or at least some muskadine wine.

We've got Allen Kenney on the podcast today the proud Sooner behind Blatant Homerism a fellow Bloguin site. This week Allen got a chance to get Frank Cullen on his podcast to discuss a 1996 study commissioned by the NCAA to look into rule breaking and the "criminology" behind the actions. Allen's on to first discuss the discussion he had with Cullen and what the research found with regards to how widespread violations actually are in the sports of college football and basketball. Talk gets into what factors do and more importantly DO NOT play a role in determining if players are likely to partake in behavior that is considered "against the rules."

Then, on the heels of yesterday's amnesty to initiate a discussion article here at ITB, Allen and I start to look into possible solutions. Would amnesty help? What sort of conditions with regards to restructuring would need to be laid out for this "amateur" system to continue? Most importantly, would we be better served calling it what it is and just going forward in that manner laying all the cards on the table instead of keeping up the charade for the romantics who enjoy it?

It's a great show and Allen Kenney, as always, is a great guest and the discussion is a good one.



To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

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So, last week we had the big issue with UNC's Notice of Allegations, the fact that schools are now tasked with monitoring their athletes social media. I got in contact with Terry Ray and Mike Murphy from Centrix Socialand they came on the show to drop some knowledge on social media monitoring and a solution to the "how do we watch all of our guys" problem that schools are facing. The solution is SocialVerse and it is a tool that helps teams, compliance directors, SIDs and coaches monitor the social media impact their players are making.

SocialVerse is definitely a product that your school ought to look in to for both the NCAA Compliance standpoint as well as the reputation management aspect of the service. Give it a listen folks, check out the website and of course pass the word along to your school and folks that are interested because it can be a tremendous asset to your schools compliance department.



To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedburner, but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS Feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for "In The Bleachers"on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

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We're back for another episode of Fetch Friday folks! We've got plenty going on today as the CWS is coming to the final stages and of course we've got some Wimbledon action to get into as well but first the podcast. Jim Young, editor of ACC Sports, on the show making a long and much anticipated debut. I must say folks this show was one of the more fun ones that I've ever put out there for the people as Jim and I wax all philosophically like on all of the transition going down in the ACC on so many levels.

The show starts by talking about the major changes in the league as Miami and Maryland are looking at all new staffs in place to lead their charge and we get into what the hell to expect out of two schools that desperately need to win and sell tickets. Next we take a step down to hit on the three teams in the league that have made a shift at the offensive coordinator position in BC, Clemson and Virginia Tech (technically?). What are Kevin Rogers, Chad Morris and Mike O'Cain going to do in their respective positions? Rogers and O'Cain will be pretty similar to who they took over for just, hopefully, more efficient and better at it while Morris is trying to revamp the Clemson attack in a spring camp and save Dabo Swinney's job.

Talk turns to quarterbacks as we see new guys taking over all over the league most notably at Clemson, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, NC State and of course North Carolina. Speaking of North Carolina we go over the UNC Notice of Allegations and get into a couple of the issues there as it is a story we've both followed from day one.

Prepare to be awed at the 36:42 mark folks as I run down all the allegations, no cribsheet, no notes just from the painful fact that I've read them enough to have them memorized now.

Jim brings up a great point about whether the quality of the transgressions will be taken into account or if the mere quantity of total infractions is the dagger here.



If you're embed link isn't working then duh, click it here to get the podcast with the great Jim Young and tot-obvi send the feedback on the twitter machine.

Now back to fetch. Wimbledon is going on and quite honestly with Serena doing her crying thing and being uber-appreciative I haven't had a chance to pay attention to much else. I do know that my guy Gael Monfils has handled his business thus far after dropping an early set 4-6 he battled to a win, including a 9-7 win that I honestly did not believe Monfils was mentally capable of handling. As for so not fetch we have Venus Williams in her romper. Holly Anderson over at EDSBS was so not impressed.



As for the College World Series the ACC has UVA left as their only hope. I caught a little hell last Friday when I said that the ACC wasn't going to win this tournament, um surprise, barring UVA conjuring up a miracle the like of which we've only seen them do in Scott Stadium against UNC the SEC is going to be grabbing another title. No, I'm not happy about it although there's a large part of me that does not want the Hoos to win because obviously they are my second biggest rival. I'm torn between the ACC's ridiculously and abnormally long drought and rooting for a team that I do not need to win for my own personal sanity.

I'm going to a fashion show this weekend folks. That's right my brother and his significant other, who is very into fashion, are making me actually leave my house after being boarded up in the fortress of solitude since my return from Raleigh. Champagne and model stuff? That's fancy right? Although I'm not quite sure what my wardrobe has to offer the ladies.

After yesterdays article regarding the release of the University of North Carolina Notice of Allegations I got a chance to do a quick spot with friend of the program Joe Ovies on the Adam and Joe show this afternoon on ESPN 99.9 out of Raleighwood folks. We got into some Chris Hawkins discussion and the larger picture to clarify for fans how the "work out culture" works with regards to former players returning to the stadium to train.

The talk also turns to Butch Davis and what he should or should not have known with regards to John Blake and all of his illegal dealings. Folks, the truth lies somewhere between the "he didn't know anything at all and Blake is the greatest con-artist of all time" and "he put Blake up to it in this grand conspiracy." Give it a listen folks and as always give me that feedback on the twitter machine.



To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.

If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedburner, but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS Feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for "In The Bleachers"on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.

Blackberry users like your fearless leader can paste this link into the "Add Podcast Channel" option when you download the Blackberry Podcast App.

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