Thursday Links (4/8)

I wasn't going to post any links today, but then I came across a handful of good stories to link to, and now here we are.

Quick note: Practice begins early today -- around 2 p.m. -- and should be wrapping up by 4 or 4:30, so we'll be on a slightly accelerated schedule.

OK, linkage...

-- An important note about G-Day that I forgot to mention earlier: Remember that the school is doing its annual food drive as well, so please bring a donation.

-- I have a story in today's Telegraph on the circuitous route Jakar Hamilton has taken to become a top prospect at safety for the Bulldogs. He really comes off as a level-headed, good kid. I'm excited to see how he looks in action this year.

-- Our pal Brandon Spoon gets you prepped for G-Day with a great look back at G-Days past. Not sure if you can read a lot into the trend, but the three best years for the offense (2005, 2007 & 2008) were also the three best years in the fall.

-- If you only read one story today about Todd Grantham, make sure it's this one from Tim Tucker at the AJC. It's a great look at the new Georgia DC and how he came to be in Athens.

-- T Kyle King has a new project in the works that should interest any old-school Georgia fan.

-- The Junkyard Blawg writes a good piece on Mark Richt's good works away from the field.

-- Marc Weiszer looks at the changes in how Georgia's coaches are handling recruiting.

-- Chris Low has a post on Darryl Gamble's team-first attitude.

-- This strikes me as the kind of thing Steve Spurrier would say during the spring just to spice things up, but still -- for a team that's being given a ton of preseason credit for returning one of the few established QBs in the SEC, I wouldn't be thrilled if I was a South Carolina fan right now.

-- Bloomberg has an enlightening piece on just how much money schools paid out to coaches they fired in the last year. Sad to see furloughs and layoffs for teachers and yet millions and millions of dollars are going to coaches who couldn't win. But really, should that surprise anyone these days? (h/t GTP)

-- The latest installment from ESPN ombudsman Don Ohlmeyer is just fantastic from start to finish, particularly in its discussion of the Tony Kornheiser suspension and the future of news on the Web. (h/t Jim F)

-- And speaking of ESPN, the lead for Bill Simmons' latest column is fantastic for any "Lost" fans out there. (h/t Schlagdawg)

-- Mad Atoms has a great run-down of potential "Lost" spinoffs, once the show goes off the air. (I know someone sent me this link, but for the life of me I can't remember who. So sorry for the lack of a h/t.)

-- The Boston Globe is back to taking shots at Michael Adams. Man, did he insult Josh Beckett or something?

-- Sad news yesterday: The inventor of box wine died. Enjoy a glass of Franzia chillable red in his honor.

-- You know you've made some bad choices in life when Hugh Hefner has the moral high ground in a story like this.

-- And speaking of bad decisions, Screech has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle. If TV has taught me anything, I'm sure Zack and Slater will find a way to bail him out though.

-- And finally, just when I thought I couldn't hate airlines more... well, I suppose this was inevitable. (Pretty soon, I'm just going to start driving to Birmingham so I can fly Southwest.)

Oh, and if you didn't see my post earlier, you can catch podcats with both myself (HERE) and Fletcher Page (HERE) discussing all the happenings during spring practice to get you prepped for G-Day.