The beloved University of Georgia’s mascot of two years UGA VII passed away suddenly this morning.
He was known as “Logan’s Best” and the 56 pound guy was only four years old.
I know Sonny Seiler and Miss Cecelia and their beautiful daughter Swann and the entire Bulldog nation
is devastated with his passing.

UGA VII will be buried with his predecessors in Sanford Stadium…..

There are no plans to replace him until next year……

If you think he was just a dog, you are wrong….
He wasn’t just a “dog”, he was “The Dog”….


I loved his face and seeing him in that jersey with the big red “G” on it….
He is the face of the University of Georgia and the heart and soul of their football team.

He represents the toughness and grit that has always symbolizes the state of Georgia in general
and the University in particular.
You all know I am not a Georgia Bulldog, but I love that dog….
Always have….

Maybe it’s because when I was growing up all I had was the love of a good dog

No matter what kind of day you had or who may have mistreated you…
they look at you with those eyes that pour forth love and devotion and you know the simplicity of love.

The simple act of wagging their tail…..
can make the trials and tribulations of a day disappear as you scratch their ears and pat their head.

I have poured forth my heart to many a four legged friend over the years….
usually as they chased a ball or a stick and they always listened intently
without offering any unsolicited advice or condemning me in any way.

I believe they are God’s gift to mankind….
A creature that symbolizes God’s love for us all…..

I don’t know why I went on a ramble here; I just know the Bulldog nation is hurting….
I am hurting with you….

I am not a smart man…
So I don’t know, as Disney Studios says that “All Dogs go to Heaven”

But I sure hope they do…

RTR
MEB

I make no secret of my love for the great Southern writer…
Lewis Grizzard….
He could make you laugh….
He could make you cry…
And sometimes he would make you mad as hell…..
But he was ours….

And make no mistake about it…
Lewis was a Georgia Bulldog……..
And he wasn’t Politically correct…
Period…

So with the college football season upon us I feel it appropriate to recant a story about Lewis and agree with Coach Vince Dooley that this was “the greatest headline in the history of sports journalism…”

Enjoy…..

You may not believe this…
But Happy Dicks was a linebacker at the University of Georgia in the mid 60’s, which should make this article about the young journalist from Georgia, the late Lewis Grizzard, even funnier.

It was Friday Night….
On the eve of the Georgia – South Carolina game 41 years ago, three Sigma Pi fraternity brothers were drinking a few ice cold Pabst Blue Ribbon Beers at the old Callaway Gardens Apartments on the Atlanta Highway…
In case you were wondering and for the guys that are still out there..
They were “The Hound”, “Tex” and “Bake”….

They were discussing the upcoming game against the Gamecocks and lamenting the fact that Georgia was going into the game with several key players out with injuries, including the Dogs starting defensive end Billy Payne and his roommate, Middle Linebacker Happy Dicks.

Around ten o’clock that night, another fraternity brother, Lewis Grizzard, came to the party after he got off work. Their buddy Lewis was inactive at the time because he had gotten married over the summer to his high school sweetheart, Nancy. In addition to taking a full load at the University of Georgia, he was working two jobs to help pay for (as he called it) this expensive habit.

A talented young man, he was writing two columns daily – one in the morning for the Athens Banner Herald and one in the afternoon for the Athens Daily News.
Lewis walked in, went straight to the refrigerator, got a beer, plopped down in a chair, pushed his glasses back up his nose and announced…

“Gentlemen, with any luck at all tomorrow morning you’ll witness journalistic history. I have submitted my column and if it gets by my editor – and there’s a good chance of that happening, since he looked drunk earlier this evening – you’ll enjoy the greatest headline in the history of sports journalism”.

He refused to tell them what it was he had written, and to be honest with you…
They all forgot about it by the time the evening wrapped up.
As Lewis went back to his lovely, young bride, the three fraternity brothers went back to the Fraternity house to get a head start on the football weekend.

The next morning, as usual, they all went straight for the Sports Section.
As they pulled the sports section out of the paper, all they could do was smile, because their buddy had pulled it off.

To this day, Vince Dooley calls it his most memorable column ever…
All because of the headline which read:

DOGS TO PLAY COCKS WITH DICKS OUT

There’s no doubt about it, it was the greatest headline in the history of sports journalism.

We still miss you Lewis…

Only 15 days Until Kickoff….
More on Friday with Hootie Snitch…
So stay tuned…

RTR
MEB

As I prepare to depart this country for Iraq or Afghanistan…..

I begin to think (as we all do) of the things I will miss the most…

There is the usual…

My Family…
My Friends…
My Beloved Alabama Football….
and Home….
(Sometimes not necessarily in ”that” order….)

But there is one other person that needs to be mentioned here…
But first I need to tell you a little story…

Coach Gene Stallings son, John Mark Stallings who was born with Down Syndrome,  passed away in August at age 46….
It hit me hard and….

It scared me……

Because I have a John Mark Stallings in my family….

Technically he is my “Cousin in Law”…

But in reality Charlie is my little brother…

Charlie doesn’t know or understand my love of Alabama Football….

He won’t even be able to read this article…..

But it doesn’t matter….

Because you see, everything I ever really needed to know I learned from Charlie…

You can go to college and get advanced degrees and you can read all the latest self-improvement books….
But for a PhD in true wisdom take a look at the lives of John Mark and Charlie….

To the day he died John Mark Stallings wore a massive, diamond encrusted Alabama National Championship ring on his frail fingers, which were tinged a grayish blue from the lack of oxygen caused by his heart condition.

Johnny was front and center in that Alabama National Championship team photo.
In fact…
He was part of every team his father coached, including the storied Dallas Cowboys..
The players drew inspiration from him…
When Johnny turned 40 years old his Birthday Party was attended by a “Who’s Who” of Former NFL Stars…

Not many people ever heard of my Charlie…
But he is just as important and every bit as inspiring as anyone you ever met…

So what have I learned from Charlie?

Every Life Matters…..

The Lives of John Mark and Charlie teaches us all that God can use anyone…
No matter how insignificant they may appear in the eyes of society…

Charlie has none of the things that you and I take for granted…
But he has touched many lives; in ways you and I can’t imagine…

Our materialistic, success driven culture doesn’t know what to do with people like Charlie…

Society didn’t know what to do with Charlie when he was born almost 50 years ago….
But God did…

See the good in everyone…
“Be my Friend…”

When Charlie meets you…
You become his friend…and he doesn’t forget it.
Charlie literally doesn’t see evil in people..
He will have more friends in his lifetime than any of us will ever enjoy…

Be Humble……

The Bible tells us, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God…”

That describes Charlie in a nutshell….
He can’t read…
But he can pray the sweetest prayers you ever heard…

Charlie doesn’t know the finer points of theology…..
But He knows God….
And God Knows Charlie….
And everybody knows it…
Whether you acknowledge God or not…

Be Yourself…..

Charlie isn’t trying to be anyone other than himself…
He isn’t trying to be important….
He isn’t trying to act smarter than everyone else….
Charlie is comfortable being Charlie….
How many of us can say we are Happy with ourselves?

Love Unconditionally….

In Charlie’s World you don’t keep score or attach strings to love..
He loves unconditionally…all the time.

Smile…Laugh..Hug…
The last time I saw Charlie I brought him a T-shirt…
He hugged us….and when He hugs you…
He means it…
He patted us….
He smiled all the time…

Charlie always makes everyone fell better just for having been around him…
Who among us can say that about ourselves?

Treasure every moment….

Charlie, like John Mark, wasn’t suppose to live very long….
Doctors said they wouldn’t live past the age of four….

When you aren’t expected to live, you treasure every moment…

Little Victories are the ones that matter the most….

I will be doing some really hard things overseas for the next several months….
But everyday is difficult for Charlie…
But he never complains….
He just smiles….

Everybody focuses on the championships…
But with Charlie you celebrate all the little victories..
Then after a while you realize that those are the ones that really matter the most…

Trust God…..

Despite being frail and disabled John Mark Stallings wore a National Championship ring…
Every member of the 1992 Alabama team will tell you of Johnny’s impact on that team.
Johnny Stallings literally changed the world and made everybody he met a better person – if only for a moment.

Gene Stallings, a star football player, championship coach and tough enough to be one of Bear Bryant’s immortal “Junction Boys”, probably use to dream of a son who would be an impact player….
A son who would change the world….
A son who would make a difference and someday, maybe…
wear a National Championship ring…

“I prayed to God that He would change Johnny….
But he changed me….” Coach Stallings said about his son.

He added that if God offered him the chance of going back and having a “perfect” son without a disability or having Johnny…
“I’d take Johnny every time…”

So that gets us back to Charlie….

Thanks for all the lessons in life Charlie…..

I am going to miss you while I am gone…
Stay healthy and listen to your Momma and Daddy..
Which I know you will…
Because you always do everything right…

I am going to miss Charlie a lot…
I am going to worry about him while I am gone…
and…
I am going to pray for him everyday…

But mostly I am just going to miss him….

RTR
MEB

POST GAME……..

I hope to be back with you all sometime next year…..
(By the start of the 2009 College Football Season if I am lucky…)
I will check in when I can and leave a message or two for you all…..

Thank you for reading and enjoying my articles….
I hope they made you laugh and occasionally think…..

In case any of you were wondering…

I am going to miss you too……

Take care and be good to one another….

ROLL TIDE ROLL
MEB

What a Weekend it was…..
And for me this picture says it all……

But it is time for me to leave you all for a while…..

Before I do let’s talk about yesterday….
Your Favorite College Football Prognosticator was 34 and 12 or 74% for Week 9…..

For my short season I finished at 341 and 98 or a rather respectable 78% overall…
Not too bad if I say so myself….

It has been a pleasure bringing you all the College Football Picks this year….
Thank you for reading and commenting….

I hope you got a kick out of them.

Before I take my leave……
I have written something else for you……

It’s about a good friend of mine….

Enjoy…..

RTR
MEB

It saddens me to report that the beloved University of Georgia mascot UGA VI passed away last Friday.

The English Bulldog was the largest of all Georgia mascots at 65 pounds and represented the University of Georgia during two Southeastern Conference Championships and posted the best record of any mascot with the football team during his ten year rein at 87 and 27.

“He was a good one”, owner Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler said in a statement released by the university.

“What can I say? He had a marvelous record. He was a very strong and healthy dog. He was the biggest of all the dogs, and he had the biggest heart. It just played out.”

UGA VI was buried yesterday in his famous kennel; entombed in the granite and marble mausoleum in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium where UGA’s five predecessors are buried.

COMMENTARY

Many of you may be saying, what’s the big deal; It was just a dog, or why should he care he isn’t a Georgia man.

But I do care.

I care because I love the pageantry and tradition of college football and it doesn’t get any better than seeing UGA on the field with his red letter sweater barking at the opposing team.

I care because I have never met a bad Georgia Bulldog fan.

I care because I think the world of Sonny Seiler and his bride Miss Cecelia.

I care because of Lewis Grizzard and Vince Dooley.

I care because UGA VI tried to bite that smartass Auburn football player a few years ago.

I care because the Bulldog Nation would line up for hours, just to have their picture taken with him.

I care because I loved that Big Ole Bulldog.

Written on the side of UGA VI’s famous kennel in red and black letters, it said……..”A Damn Good Dawg.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

RTR
MEB