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So how does this ACC Football Kickoff (media day) work? Well, on Sunday the print guys got to interview two players from each team. Gerris Wilkinson and PJ Daniels were the Georgia Tech reps. On Monday, the players are gone and it is the head coaches answering the questions. This is also the day the media votes on who will finish where, what the all ACC preseason teams will look like, etc......... Today, it is the commish (John Swofford) and league officials answering questions about everything from conference realignment to instant replay to championship games, to off the field woes to the APR..... you name it. Now what will happen is reporters will bank all the quotes and potential stories and start doling them out over the next month or so until the season starts. The hot stuff will come out right away, because if they do not print it, the other guy will. We are talking Barnhart, Knobler, Murphy, Brimmer, all the beat reporters who follow Georgia Tech.................. So with that, let us get it going.
First, I want to start you off with an article about Georgia Tech written by Dennis Dodd over at CBSSportsline. There are enough one liners in that article to last the entire season. For example.
What's a heart attack compared to working for Jerry Jones?
...there's not much difference these days between heartless and heart attack in college sports. Basically no one cares about the latter when the local football team isn't winning enough.
In college football, as in supermodeling, you're either hot or you're not. Somewhere in between is about the worst place to be. In this case, Gailey's career has been one big lag putt. Never up, never in.
You could say the man is purgatory in a headset.
You could also say Georgia Tech is the biggest tease this side of Elisha Cuthbert.
It makes you want to scream out to those who dare to question Gailey: You do know you're Georgia Tech, don't you?
Some of the above can be put on Gailey. Ball, Georgia. A lot of it -- especially the academic stuff -- can't.
"If I come along now I probably wouldn't be the coach of Virginia Tech going into my 19th year," Beamer said Monday here at the ACC Football Kickoff. "People expect you to win quicker. Thank goodness Dave Braine was there." .........So maybe Braine should search his mental Rolodex for something called slack. Maybe Gailey earned some more of it even before the heart attack.
It is also worth reading the comments at the bottom. Very sobering to say the least, although a bit mean towards the Tech program.........
Another important piece of news. The ACC has announced 2 new bowl deals for 2006, which will bring the total to 8 bowl alignments in the conference. Added are the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco and the Gaylords Hotels Music City Bowl in Nashville. Eight bowl deals will be the most for any conference, at least for now. Also, payouts for the Champs, Peach and Gator have gone up. Cha Ching says Mr. Swofford. Also note that all 8 bowls will be post Christmas, which means no matter breaks for the Jackets when UVA has to take exams...............
The media guru's have spoken and have boldly predicted FSU to win it all this season. In the coastal division, Georgia Tech was voted to finish 4th behind VaTech, Miami and UVA, with UNC and Duke trailing. What does Chan Gailey think?
"I hope it's wrong. That's what I think about it," he said.
Uhm. Well said. On VaTech being picked to win the Coastal:
"Virginia Tech certainly deserves to be where they are, they're the defending champions," said Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, whose team was picked fourth out of the six teams in the Coastal Division. "Everybody else, you can put where you want to put them. But I'll let you know the first week in December exactly how it worked out."
........ Here are some things Chan Gailey had to say, including the fact that he hasn't asked Dave Braine how many wins will be required to extend his contract:
"You have to decide at some point in coaching what is your priority," Gailey said earlier. "Is your priority to keep your job, or is your priority to do right? That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to do what's right by the program and what's right by the kids, what's right by the coaches. And then whatever happens happens."
I've said it before and I'll say it again. You cannot question the character of this man. Will his approach result in more W's? I don't know yet, but I definitely like the product he is producing and more importantly the quality of the young men he is producing. Oh, but Reuben Houston you say. What about him? Here's what coach said:
"If we think they're all going to be angels and sing in the choir, all 85 of them for four years, I think we're sadly mistaken," Gailey said. "If it's an ongoing problem, if you've got somebody in the news every other week, then I think you have to say are they understanding exactly what we're trying to do here?"
Thank you. He's right. Our program under Coach Gailey has been characterized by class, hard work on and off the field, dedication, adversity and moral behavior. "Yeah, that's great, but he better win more than 7 games." Some of you people make me sick.............. Chan Gailey's health is a common topic during the media week........... Here are all of Chan Gailey's direct comments............. Here is another nice article on Gailey.......... And another good one with a slightly different spin........... This article touches on how the negativity around Coach Gailey can impact recruiting.
When recruits' families ask him about his contract status, he tells them he plans to continue coaching the Yellow Jackets but can't guarantee anything. Questions about his post-heart-attack fitness have been easier to handle.
Holy cow, Coach Gailey wants to give monetary graduation gifts to graduating players. The Roy Williams influence is growing.
"It only makes sense," Georgia Tech football coach Chan Gailey said. "I think for what football players do and the degree of hard work they have to put in, a graduation of gift of $5,000 wouldn't be excessive."
Only Calvin Johnson makes the preseason all ACC team. No PJ Daniels. No Eric Henderson. No Gerris Wilkinson........ Just more motivation my friends.......
A LITTLE MISDEMEANOR WON´T STOP FSU PLAYERS
ON WAKE FOREST'S CHRIS BARCLAY AS ALL ACC
BARCLAY SUSPENDED FOR WAKE FOREST OPENER
BEAMER DOESN'T WEAR ACC CHAMP RING TO MEDIA DAY
MORE ON THE QB PROBLEM IN THE ACC
MORE ON THE MISSING QBs
GEORGIA TECH - A "LIGHT HEAVY-WEIGHT"
ACC PREPARES FOR INSTANT REPLAY USE
BC DEFENSIVE END NAMED ACC PRESEASON POY
MEDIA PICKS FSU TO WIN TITLE
ACC POWER STRUGGLE
ACC SENSE OF PLACE SHIFTS TO TOP LEVEL
DIVISION ALIGNMENTS A MYSTERY FOR MOST
DOES THE ACC HAVE THE KEY TO THE BCS?
AROUND THE ACC, FULL OF STORYLINES
ACC DEFENSES TO DOMINATE AGAIN?
Quote from Frank Beamer.
"Miami, when you beat them, it's always a good day's work. Virginia is good. A lot of people think Georgia Tech can finish first, and I'm one of them. North Carolina, we're a Jim Davis sack away from going into overtime. Duke, they're leading us in the first half. So we know there's work to be done."
He likes us. He really really likes us....... Blah Blah........
FOOTBALL SOUTH VS FOOTBALL NORTH PART I
FOOTBALL SOUTH VS FOOTBALL NORTH PART II
My favorite comparison on North vs South:
Commentary (Male):
NORTH: "Nice play."
SOUTH: "Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs."
Commentary (Female):
NORTH: "My, this certainly is a violent sport."
SOUTH: "Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs."
I'll leave you with a "where are they now" - Ted Davis. He played for Bobby Dodd, played 7 years in the NFL, then was a Southern Conference referee, and now he is a veterinarian..............