Tuesday Links (6/30)

Usually we get to this in the morning, but I had to meet with my accountant this morning to (finally) get my '08 taxes done. Good things came of the meeting, however, and now I'll be getting a nice check back from the government to help me fund all my recent adventures. Which brings me to my next topic...

I apologize for the lack of links posts the past few weeks. I've been doing a lot of traveling, as this is one of the rare times during the year in which I'm not at the mercy of the UGA athletics department when planning out my schedule.

I spent the past five days in the Virgin Islands, which was a fantastic trip. I should also give a tip o' the cap to all of you... Even that far away, I still saw at least a dozen different people wearing Georgia gear, and thanks to my buddy Tom, who lives down there, I wasn't even hanging out in a lot of touristy places. You folks really do get around.

While I'd like to tell you that you can expect a lot more action on the blog in the coming weeks, I'm not exactly settled down just yet. I'm heading back out of town for a 10-day trip out west this weekend, and I'm making this one a real vacation -- i.e. no working lunches, no checking email daily, no stories for the paper and (sadly) no updates on the blog. But ideally, I'll come back rested and ready for six months of non-stop blogging after that. In the meantime, be sure to check the blog roll on the right and you'll find links to plenty of good UGA coverage while I'm gone.

Also, a big apology to those of you who regularly read the Dawgs-Extra version of this blog (i.e. the one tied to the Columbus paper). Before I went out of town last week, I pre-posted a bunch of stories that were set to go up on the blog at various intervals while I was gone. For whatever reason, this worked perfectly over at the Macon version of the site, but did not for the Columbus one. In the future, if you don't see too many updates from me on one page, check the "About the Author" section to the right and you'll see a link to the alternate site. Again, sorry to leave you high and dry, and all stories are now posted.

One other bit of info... football interviews are scheduled for tomorrow, and I'll be (hopefully) chatting with Bryan Evans, Caleb King and Clint Boling. If you have some questions you'd like me to pose to them, send them to me via Twitter at @BulldogsBlog and I'll see what I can do about getting you a reply.

OK, at long last, some links...

-- UGA got yet another big commitment today, this one from tailback Ken Malcome. (NOTE: I hate linking to the AJC here because the story is simply a paraphrase of the stories done by Rivals and Scout. Since the AJC is free, however, that's where I'll send you, and you can link to the pay sites from there if you want the full story.)

-- Speaking of that, Cousin Walter longs for the days (and hopes there may be more ahead) of Michael Carvell's recruiting coverage at the AJC.

-- If you want more than the story, Scout has a bunch of good photos up of Malcome.

-- The Senator has some interesting feedback from Doc Saturday about an issue I've raised a few times this offseason -- the lack of proven quarterbacks in the SEC.

-- Battle Hymn Notes has a post about the overall lack of offensive experience around the conference.

-- Bleacher Report profiles Georgia's deep corps of linebackers.

-- Rex Robinson talked with incoming kicker Brandon Bogotay and has some info about his impending arrival.

-- T Kyle King has an interesting post up about Geogia's rivals and the best way to taunt them.

-- UGA finished 18th in the Director's Cup standings this season, down eight spots from a year ago.

-- Despite that drop, the Banner-Herald says that Georgia has shown significant progress in the first five years of the Damon Evans regime.

-- The AJC's Bill King has a good post about the sort of love-hate relationship fans have had with Loran Smith over the years.

-- The commitment Tennessee got from Eric Berry's 13-year-old brother is absurd, writes ESPN's Chris Low.

-- Big changes are coming in the front offices of the Pac-10 and Big East, and among the top priorities for both new commissioners might be some bowl re-alignments. Dave Curtis thinks the Cap One Bowl could soon be featuring a Big East team.

-- I missed the SEC basketball coaches teleconference while I was gone, but David Ching has the comments from Mark Fox up on his blog.

-- In my continuing efforts to provide publicity for the UGA riders, the Examiner has a story that two of the Dawgs' riders ended their seasons on a high note.

-- Good news for "Lost" fans... next season will feature one extra episode, and at this point, every little bit counts.

-- More rumors of returning cast members for the shows final season, including this one.

-- For years, I hoped they would make a sequel to "Goonies." Now it might happen, and I'm less than thrilled. The thought of watching some Disney Channel reject do a new version of the truffle shuffle in too painful to think about.

-- After hearing the news of Michael Jackson's death, one of the first topics of conversation among my friends was what would happen with all of his crazy animals. E! Online has the answers.

-- I was working for an ECHL hockey team in San Diego a few years back and ended up meeting the kid who played Mikey on the first season of "Saved by the Bell," who was now working as a referee in the league. I thought that was the strangest fate for a former cast member until I read this story following Michael Jackson's death.

-- And finally, synchronize your Swatches and get ready for a bulletproof tiger. Both "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" and "Eastbound and Down" arrived on DVD today.