I Want My GT!

Any of us that has attended a Georgia Tech home football game has seen this advertisement. It is where the coaches of the three big sports on campus say to the camera, “I Want My GT!” For a while I was unsure as to what that was all about. I mean, I was at the game, wearing my white GT hat with my white GT pullover, what more do they want from me?!? Was I supposed to purchase Buzz underwear (chances are I would) and wear it to complete my ensemble?

The first thing that caught my attention was that the spot was taken directly from the good old days of MTV, where the “M” meant music and not crap. They played tons of spots trying to get people to call their local cable provide and demand MTV. The problem was that they only played those spots on MTV, so if you could see them, then you have MTV and calling the cable provider would not be needed, but I digress. The spots are available on YouTube (isn't everything?) and they are even better now because you can see the groups that were popular in the early stages of MTV. Mick Jagger is on one of these spots, for Pete's sake!

So, naturally, Georgia Tech athletics thought that they would use this format to urge the Tech Nation (or Empire, if you prefer) to go to local vendors and demand they carry Georgia Tech merchandise. If you go to the website, you can see they even allow you to print out cards to take to the vendors, so that they fully get the hint. Personally, I am all for this idea. At almost any vendor that sells college football gear, you see a ton of Red and Black with a bit of White and Gold in the corner. I know that Atlanta is a transplant town with fans of all colleges living here but there is no excuse for the White and Gold not to be front and center. Let us build on the success of the Whiteout and take the next logical step.

So I ask you, dear readers, to go to the website, print out the cards and tell them:

I WANT MY GT!!

Ridiculous AJC UGA Vent of the Week:
Stafford is ready to be a Lion because he told Maria Sharapova that a makeover's ok but don't mess with the mane.

2009 NFL Draft - Ramblin' Wreck Style!

Michael Johnson - Selected in the Third Round by the Cincinnati Bengals

A lot of Draftniks will tell you that this was a real surprise. Even the Great Mel Kiper, Jr. said that Johnson has top five talent. One of the issues that was surrounding Johnson was the idea that he took too many plays off last year. His physical attributes combined with his athletic ability should have allowed him to just dominate the line of scrimmage. What people didn't mention was that he got double-teamed a TON and that he was playing in a new defensive system.

Nevertheless, the Bengals got a complete steal with him in the third round! If Johnson can perform at the top of his game at the pro level, I can bet we will be seeing two Georgia Tech Johnsons at the Pro-Bowl every year.

Andrew Gardner - Selected in the Sixth Round by the Miami Dolphins

Gardner was projected to go in the Fifth round at this year's draft (how do people determine that anyway?) but was picked up by the Dolphins with the Ninth pick in the Sixth round. Another great draft value. Those of you who are familiar with the Dolphins offensive system can see why he was selected. The Dolphins run a lot of the "Wildcat" formations which require athletic linemen who can move.

There is debate if Andrew will ever be a starter or simply provide the much needed depth that any NFL teams needs for its offensive lines. However, I am sure that Andrew will work out well and enjoy Miami Beach.

Vance Walker - Selected in the Seventh Round by the Atlanta Falcons

Vance Walker was picked by the hometown Atlanta Falcons in the Seventh Round. First of all, don't be judgemental about these great Tech linemen getting picked up in the later rounds, the real in the trenches linemen don't usually get picked in the second round!

Anyway, Walker will get to join the existing rotation for the Falcons that will insure him getting playing time. One of the things most stated about Vance was that he was so quick off the ball that he was often in the backfield before the offensive line could stop him. He is a major disruptive force, which is why the Falcons wanted him. Draft "experts" see him getting better as a pro. I, as an Atlanta Falcons fan, am thrilled with Vance being a Falcon!

Darryl Richard - Selected in the Seventh Round by the New England Patriots

The one knock on Richard is that he does have "explosive" speed with great chasing ability. However, the fact that he was really solid against consistent double teams at the point of attack. As a defensive tackle, I would think that would be more important that having speed enough to chase down a running back.

One thing to mention here is that Richard was selected by the Patriots who have a talent for finding great quality players in the later rounds of the draft. Richard doesn't have the size to play nose tackle in a 3-4 alignment that the Patriots use but he can be a effective run stopper at a defensive end in a rotation.

Ridiculous AJC UGA Vent of the Week:

Strangely enough, there were NO ridiculous vents of the week. I am guessing that UGA got a good eyeful of their beloved Bulldawgs at their scrimmage game and realized that this week might not be the best week to open their mouths.

Steven and his 138 seconds of fame

So, awhile back during the last radio show at Fox Sports Grill(e) my tailgating buddy and fellow artist/designer extraordinaire Steven had the boldest of questions for Coach.

Spring T-Day Game Rundown

Photo Credit: Johnny Crawford - AJC

We'll it's a little late, but I wanted to give you a few quick thoughts on T-day.

1. Turn out was great, the largest crowd I've seen at a Spring Game in a long time. The lower east stands were nearly full as was the lower north with a lot of bleed over into the upper east, upper north and south stands.

2. The weather was beautiful.

3. I thought both Jaybo and Tevin looked good. Tevin is more athletic but Jaybo seems to have a better arm right now and a good command of the offense. I'm looking forward to seeing more of what Tevin can do.

4. Too many fumbles. The Center/QB exchange was the cause of many but with the number of bodies that were rotated in and out I'm not overly concerned until I see it a lot during the fall.

5. LBs looked better than I was expecting and I think could be the stong point on the defense.

6. No opinion on the O or D lines. I know we have several injuries and a lot of switch out during the game. So it's hard to get a feel for things until we can see them play as a unit.

7. Keep your eye on big #43. Anthony Allen is a beast and will make a big impact this year.

8. Peeples and Wright both had very nice days. I expect to see them on the field a lot during the season.

9. I missed a lot of the game due to sitting in traffic and the inability to find a parking space. I dramatically underestimated the attendance.

10. The kicking game is horrible right now. Coach Johnson doesn't seem worried based on his recent interviews but I pray we see some big improvement in the fall.

11. There was a lot of passing including some long bombs. I would have liked to have seen better pass coverage.

12. Since I was down in midtown I got the chance to swing by Sam Flax and got me a few nice new drawing pencils. Sweet! Now you have to tear me away from my sketch book.

All in all I'm not putting a lot of anything into the Spring Game. I think it's mainly just to let the kids have a little fun and give the fans a day to come out and watch the team in a nice informal setting.

Come hither...I have pizza.

Truly, one of the greatest photos ever.
I do love me some Pappa Johns.
Erin brings the Tuscan Six Cheese and those cute little garlic dipping sauces.

'Bout freaking time. Looks like Erin Andrews will be joining the cast of NCAA 2010. And that of course is the whole point of this post, to bring you that little bit of info. Not to post pics of Erin, which we could fill the MOTG web server with, quickly. More voices would make for a better gaming experience. I get a little sick of the constant Corso one-liners.

Looks like NCAA 2010 is scheduled for release in July.

Town Hall For Hope

"Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going."

I've been a Dave Ramsey fan for several years now and I can say that applying many of his basic financial and life ideas have helped me sleep better at night. It's no surprise to any of us that this nation now struggles under a mountain of debt and bad decisions from years of living well beyond our means. Dave has has been preaching for years to stop the spending madness. And those who listened, got out of debt and put some money in the bank can now weather the storm a little easier.

Well, in these tough times Dave has set out to throw some positive energy our way. The Town Hall For Hope is a nationwide event coming up tomorrow night (April 23rd - 8pm) that I hope might help toss off some of the fear reporting that spawns high ratings for news programs.

What is it?
"It's a 90 minute town-hall style gathering designed to eliminate fear and spread the truth. It's straight talk about what's really going on in the economy. We're going to blast through the fear and rhetoric that is being broadcast in the news media and empower American families with hope-hope to change their families, and hope to change their personal economies."

"The current economic situation is certainly not great, but it's not as bad as you hear on the news. In order to understand what's going on around you, you have to understand how we got here. I'll walk people through some American history and the events that led to this economic mess. And we'll examine important issues for the future like housing, investing and taking care of your own household."

What do we hope to accomplish through this event?
"Town Hall for Hope is not a political rally - or an investment seminar. This is an opportunity for Americans to turn off the bad news, get away from the dramatic headlines, and join with others in their community to truly regain perspective on the current economy and what it means for their families."

"This is a totally free event. We're giving small businesses the opportunity to help support the costs associated, but we aren't keeping a single dime of the money. Any money left over after covering the costs of the event will be donated to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization devoted to helping military families."

In a world void of personal responsibility the idea that Ramsey is floating that maybe we have to take care of ourselves and each other and not assume Washington will do it for us is frankly a breath of fresh air. In the end Dave is throwing out a challenge to us to simply "not participate in the recession."

The event is being carried at many locations across the nation, to find one in your area follow the link below. There are a lot of them.
Find a Venue Near You

It's also being carried on radio stations (List of Stations) and as a webcast on TownHallForHope.com

You can also watch on TV on the Fox Business Network.

Beenaz is the man

Beenaz from The Hive put together a very nice season highlight video that I have to share with you. I hope he doesn't mind. Great choice of song and he's got skills on the editor. (Avid? FCP? Premiere? Smoke? Doesn't matter, it's great work.) You can view the high resolution version at the link below.

WATCH VIDEO

Also check out his site for another very nice 1990 Highlight video.

Thanks Beenaz for taking the time to put these together. I know it's time consuming.

680 The Fan's interview with Paul Johnson

The Rude Awakening on 680 The Fan had an interview with Paul Johnson discussing the Spring Game. You can listen to the interview at the link below.

LINK

www.680thefan.com

Tashard's New Website

www.tchoice23.com

Enjoy!

Johnson, "...I guarantee you we’re better than we were a year ago."

Mark Bradley has a very nice article in the AJC with Coach Johnson be sure to check it out.
Nice work by Mr. Bradley. Here's a little taste:

"We were still just scratching the surface a year ago. There were so many games where if we’d been a little more adept at running it we could have done so much better … We will be better on offense. Now I don’t know if we’ll win any more games, but I guarantee you we’re better than we were a year ago."

LINK

Also Tony Barnhart gets a nice response from Coach on his feeling on whether defenses are catching up to the TO. Check out his article also in the AJC.

“People may get better at defending it but we’ll get better at running it, too” Johnson said. “That much I do know.”

LINK

Paul Johnson on Buck & Kincade - COMING UP THIS HOUR

Paul Johnson will be on Buck & Kincade in a few min. So if your still at work or getting ready to head home for the weekend be sure to tune in to 680 The Fan.

LISTEN LIVE - 680 THE FAN

Power to the People - Rejection Letter

Mash on the Gas would like to continue its efforts in both entertaining and educating the public so we now wish to pass along this handy little tidbit.

I have had the misfortune of being laid off a couple of times. Each time seemed to correspond to some form of economic downturn. Strangely enough, Daron was sitting with me in the car when I was laid off last, via telephone. I think he can offer proof that this was my facial expression when it happened:


We all know that times are tough and people are looking for work. For a long time, I kept a file of every rejection letter I received, which I would use as added motivation. After a while, I began to think about sending letters back to the companies that rejected me. So it is with great pleasure that we provide to you "The Rejection of a Rejection Letter". Feel free to use this if necessary.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for your letter. After careful consideration I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me employment with your firm.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field of candidates it is impossible for me to accept all refusals. Despite your outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet with my needs at this time. Therefore, I will initiate my employment with your firm immediately following graduation. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best of luck in rejecting future candidates.

Sincerely,

99x is Reborn

Can we have the old logo back too?

If you were ever a fan of 99x the way I was then you'll be happy to know that starting this morning the station is being reborn on 97.9 FM at 9:09am.

99x had become a shadow of it's former self during the 2000's and the decision was eventually made to move it to HD and internet only. Which pretty much guaranteed that almost no one could listen. Most company IT Nazis block station sites and who has an HD radio? Especially in their car where I would imagine Atlantians do the majority of their radio listening. Some of us where around during it's heyday in the 90's and I for one miss that station of the early days. So here's hoping it can bring back some of what was lost.

99x.com

T-DAY GAME - almost here!

Photo Credit: Johnny Crawford - AJC

Don't forget! The Spring Game is this Saturday (April 18th) at Grant Field.
Kick-off is 12 Noon

Schedule:
10:00 am: T-Day Wreckfest on Callaway Plaza
* Interactive games, Face painters, music, GT merchandise and more...

11:00 am: Gates Open (Gates 5, 7 and 9)
* West side of stadium is CLOSED for stadium upgrades

11:30 am: GT Marching Band performs on steps of Callaway Plaza
12:00 Noon: Toe Meets Leather in T-Day Game

** Sales staff will be located in North end zone, inside Gate 5 for NEW season ticket purchases. Register to win Stinger Seats for the 2009 football season.

ADMISSION IS FREE - Open to the Public!

Just a little taste

Dear IRS,

I ran across this on one of the Tech message boards awhile back and I felt it was perfect to share today. Sorry I can't give credit to the author, I forgot to write their name. So if you're out there let us know.

Now get down to the Tea Party.


Dear IRS,

I am sorry to inform you that I will not be able to pay taxes owed April 15, but all is not lost.

I have paid these taxes: accounts receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, cigarette tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal income tax, unemployment tax, gasoline tax, hunting license tax, fishing license tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, medicare tax, city, school and county property tax (up 33 percent last 4 years), real estate tax, social security tax, road usage tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, state franchise tax, state unemployment tax, telephone federal excise tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle license registration tax, capitol gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, Colorado property tax, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico sales tax, and many more that I can't recall but I have run out of space and money.

When you do not receive my check April 15, just know that it is an honest mistake. Please treat me the same way you treated Congressmen Charles Rangle, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank and ex-Congressman Tom Dashelle and, of course, your boss Timothy Geithner. No penalties and no interest.

P.S. I will make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check.

Ed Barnett

Wichita Falls

What Makes the Triple Option Effective?

I am not a die hard football knowledge guy. To this day, I have problems figuring out the difference between the A-Back and the B-Back. I understand little about protection schemes, gap responsibilities and zone blocking. The one thing I do know about offensive play-calling is that giving the football to the running back and having them run straight ahead every play doesn't work (thanks Chan). During games, I rarely react to poor offensive sets because I don't understand the process of creating or running them. I leave that to Daron.

When Tech hired Paul Johnson, there was a tremendous uproar about bringing the Triple Option and fans wondered if it could be successful. I think the first year gives us an answer to that question. I had no opinions about the Triple Option because I had no idea what it was, how it worked or what was needed. So in order to prepare myself, I began a brief study into the its inner workings. I can state with no regrets that I am even more confused than when I started. I even attended the Spring Scrimmage in hopes of getting an idea but that performance made me think that Tech was royally screwed. However, after watching all the games the past year, I began to get an idea of what made it click, although I think any system will work when you have Dwyer and Roddy Smith running with the rock.

So my next test of my budding inquiry was to try and see what a defense sees when playing against the option. Here enters NCAA 2009. Daron and I spent some time playing this game at his home not too long ago. I was Alabama (just because) and he was Tech. Daron was a bit more experienced at the game and practicing with the triple option. Me? Not a clue. We played for a while and it became very clear to me why the Triple Option works.....indecision. Here I was playing a great defense (as stated by the game) and I was getting killed. Daron was running like he was on skates and my players just waved as he zipped on through. Evey time I knew he was going to play the option and I couldn't stop it. Why? Because I had no idea where he was going to go and who he was going to go with. I had to decide on the spot who to cover and I was almost always WRONG!

Now imagine if you are a 19 year old football player, regardless of ability. You have to try and stop an offense that can attack you from many fronts, from the same formation. This is where indecision comes into play. If you look at the great Tech wins from last year, you see the defense having no clue how to stop this offense. They would make a stand here only to have the play go there. They would stop this but the offense would do that.....all from the same basic formation. That breeds indecision, confusion and long runs (see UGA vs. Tech).

I have stopped trying to learn the Triple Option, mainly because I doubt that CPJ will seek my input, but also because I have learned the one thing that I really wanted to know, that it works.

Prostrate before the Altar of CPJ

I want to make it known that I am nowhere near the wordsmith that is my friend Daron, but I am sure that you will quickly figure that out once you read my work. I will, however, endeavor to perform at the peak of my abilities, however limited.

One question I was once asked was,”Why Georgia Tech?” Having been raised in middle Georgia, it was almost assumed that if you were a college football fan, it was to be UGA or possibly Auburn, with a slight chance of Alabama. It seemed to cause no end of confusion that I should become a fan of the Ramblin' Wreck. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, middle Georgia is Bulldawg county, which is strange due to the high number of people who never attended college, UGA or elsewhere. Here you find those lovely bumper stickers of Calvin whizzing on a rival football team's logo, red and black mailboxes and the ever popular G/Fish emblem. Every now and then, you see a local company catering to the Bulldawg faithful as they pitch their products. It is all rather nauseating.

For myself, I find it a point of pride in wearing my White and Gold, even when I attended a conference in Athens, where I was truly a holy man in an unholy land.To be asked "Why Georgia Tech?" gives me the chance to pass along the good word to the unwashed masses.

When I took the time to consider why I became a fan, it dawned on me that I really loved the school. Past the mascot, beyond Grant Field, this is a school that is doing amazing things on a global scale. How can you NOT love a school that is doing nanotechnology during the week and running the triple option on Saturday?

As part of my duties here I will try to include some information on recruiting, practices and any other tidbits that I stumble across. I am really excited about this upcoming season and, if you are really nice, I will don the blue cape again and swoop into action.

Ridiculous AJC UGA Vent of the Week:

"I don't care if Georgia goes 2-10 in 2009, as long as those two wins are against Florida and Georgia Tech! They BOTH need to be brought down a notch."

Katy Perry makes me feel funny

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes - An Introduction To Something New

I bring you the lyrical stylings of Johnathan, may your cup
of awesome runeth over in the presence of his majesty.

As you know updates to MOTG have been scarce lately. Not only is it the off season but I've been having to put my focus on other areas that have in some ways been neglected. As I've said before, running this blog at a high level is many times like a nonpaying part-time job. And this last year I obviously wasn't on the top on my game. So, to keep MOTG up and running and keep content, ideas and commentary flowing I've decided to open up the floor to new voices. It's a break from the norm, being that this blog has always been about me being me, but I'm not that interesting and another view point should be refreshing to our readers.

So I'd like to introduce my good buddy Johnathan. Long time Tech fan and friend to small animals everywhere. He will be interjecting his thoughts and view points from time to time, strings of letters, words and sentence fragments that I'm sure will brighten your day.

I'm not dead. Yet. I'm still here and I'll still be posting the drivel you've come to know an love.

790 The Zone interview with Coach Johnson

There was a nice interview with Coach Johnson on 790 The Zone's Mayhem In The AM.
It's a good, long and insightful interview. Nice work to the guys at 790 and Mayhem.
Enjoy.

You can listen to the full audio at the link below.
Listen to Part 1 (April 8th) followed by Part 2 (April 9th)

LINK to Part 1
LINK to Part 2

PS3 = Time Vampire

Yea, got the PS3 recently and aside from loving the BlueRay this little black box is a serious time suck. Don't get me wrong, it's a blast and Call of Duty is just freaking awesome but after I put down the controller I feel like I need to go check the mail for my social security check.

Tiffany loves to shoot zombies and watching her do so is a sight to behold. You can love to shoot zombies, just don't looooovvvve to shoot zombies.



Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?