Thursday Links (12/10)

First off, an apology about the comment moderation on the blog. Sadly we had someone posting some particularly unpleasant links yesterday, so we had to make some adjustments.

As you'll recall, we had to do the same thing a few weeks ago, and my guess is that the same person is responsible this time.

Now, I'm no Columbo, but let's look at the clues here:

1.) The person has hacked into blogger accounts and posted under other people's names -- most recently Paul Westerdawg's.

2.) They have a distinct vendetta against Georgia fans.

3.) They have an immense amount of time on their hands to sit around, look up pornographic Web sites, then spend hours at a time posting links to them on UGA blogs while starting arguments with other commenters -- often responding immediately, as if they were just sitting at their computer waiting for a reply.

4.) They obviously lack any sort of social skills or ability to function within the dynamics of the real world.

So, this seems like a pretty easy case to crack. It sounds like some poor Georgia Tech fan had his video games taken away after he didn't finish his vegetables and now he's bored and taunting us.

How sad and pathetic.

Anyway, I'm hoping to remove the comment moderation soon, but for now, you're stuck with it.

In the meantime, some links...

-- Interesting blog post from Rex Robinson, who argues that the inmates are running the asylum at Georgia and a simple change in defensive coordinators might not be an instant solution.

Two points on Robinson's blog:

1.) I've said all season that any fans who are expecting a quick fix with new coaches without other changes are going to be disappointed. Winning is a culture that is created within a program. Listen to Nick Saban or Urban Meyer talk about how they've done that. It's not their yelling and screaming or ruling with an iron fist. It's their unwavering insistence that players buy in and adhere to their philosophy -- an insistence that is backed up with consequences. That's the culture that must exist in a winning locker room.

2.) Robinson brings up the issue of the strength and conditioning program, which a number of you have asked me about as well. Here's what I can tell you: I have seen UGA's end-of-summer strength numbers for the past few years and, indeed, they are very good -- and trending upward. But as a basis for comparison, they're not all that helpful. For one, strength on the football field is not easily quantified by a bench press or a squat number. If it was, Tanner Strickland would be an All-American. Second, I have no way of accessing the strength numbers for other schools, so while Georgia's may be "good," the only way to define "good" is by comparing it to other years at Georgia. But the Dawgs aren't playing themselves from two years ago. They're playing Florida and Auburn and Tennessee, and I don't know what the strength numbers look like at those schools. And finally, the end-of-summer strength numbers are only good for measuring what a player can do after the offseason. Perhaps it's the in-season conditioning that is the issue. We have no way of knowing.

So, the bottom line here is this: Yes, there certainly could be an issue with the strength and conditioning, but there is very little means by which we can quantifiably judge, which means we should probably be careful when critiquing an S&C program run by a coach who has spent more than a quarter-century as one of the best in the business. I'm not saying there isn't a problem, but I am saying it's hard to see any real evidence beyond the eyeball test, which isn't exactly the most accurate estimation.

-- I've heard probably a half-dozen names mentioned by reliable folks in regards to the UGA DC job, but it always seems to come back to Kirby Smart. And when you read Tony Barnhart's column that says Smart is ready to move on and compare it with how little we've officially heard on the subject from UGA, perhaps we're all just biding our time until after the national championship game. ... Or maybe they'll hire someone I've never heard of tomorrow.

-- Meanwhile, Mack Brown gets a $2 million a year raise through 2016, making him the highest paid coach in college sports. So is it then fair to ask whether Will Muschamp wants to remain "in waiting" behind Brown?

(And I know it's been said 1,000 times, but how awful is it for UGA fans to see two former Bulldogs coaching the defenses in the national championship game while Mark Richt is looking to fill a vacant DC job on his sideline?)

-- Chris Low runs down his Georgia season recap.

-- Bernie reminds you of a very important bit of TV programming tonight.

-- Former Bulldog Billy Payne received the Distinguished American Award by the National Football Foundation.

-- Irony alert: Bleacher Report has an open letter to Mark Richt warning him not to listen to "two bit reporters."

-- Georgia couldn't turn the tide against St. John's last night at Madison Square Garden.

-- And speaking of that Big East-SEC challenge, I'm hoping you'll all be pulling for my Orangemen tonight.

-- Remember all the fuss about the SEC's awful new media policy on video? Well, that hasn't exactly gone away.

-- I am shocked -- shocked! -- by this: FOX using trumped-up footage to give viewers the idea that there was more enthusiasm for an event than there really was. I can't believe something like that would ever happen. Absolutely no way. It would just be completely unlike anything Fox has ever done.

-- Interesting tidbit over at Team Speed Kills on the future of print media but here's my quibble: Why downplay the significance of being able to browse the Internet while sitting on the toilet? That seems like a step in the right direction. After all, I'd argue that's where a good bit of newspaper reading gets done.

-- Sad to see yet another character depart (*spoiler alert*), but last night's was yet another great episode of "Friday Night Lights."

-- No "Flash Forward" or "V" for a while and we're still a few months away from "Lost," but on the upside, "Chuck" is coming back soon, and its star talks about the upcoming season in this interview.

-- My girlfriend got me to watch "The Biggest Loser" with her this season, which was enjoyable for the unintentional comedy alone. (My favorite is the staged situations in which one of the trainers pitches some product that is sponsoring the show... like the long, emotional walk in which the trainer says, "With all your stress and heartache, I know it'll be tough for you to avoid those bad foods when you get home, but I recommend always keeping a pack of delicious Extra Sugar Free gum with you... it brightens your smile and helps you lose weight!") Anyway, if you watched the finale this week, you know that two contestants got engaged. But I was legitimately shocked to learn that wasn't the only hook up between contestants on the show.

-- I DVR'd last night's "Top Chef" finale, so don't ruin it for me... but here's an interview with the two brothers from the show in The Washington Post.

-- This list of sketchy Santas wins the award for making me laugh the most this morning. The one with the'70s porno mustache is my favorite.

-- And finally, I mentioned Mr. Burns' write-in votes for NYC mayor yesterday, and one of our readers was kind enough to alert me to the posters hung around the city promoting the Burns-for-mayor campaign.