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20 • The Red and Black / Finals • Monday, f
1990
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5385 Five Forks Trickum Road
Suite 200-C
Stone Mountain, Georgia 30087
Telephone: 404/925-2832
or
University Bookstore
404/542-3171
ORDER: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Monday and
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UGA BOOKSTORE
Farewell from the ‘Top Dog’
All good things must come to an end.
Saturday marked the last time I will ever step into
the Sanford Stadium press box. No more post-game
analyzing. No more second-guessing. No more play
calling. No more "I hate Auburn or Florida* in bold
headlines for all to read. No more Georgia football.
Three years ago, a sophomore marketing major
ventured for the first time onto the hallowed ground
known as the Georgia Bulldog practice field with in
structions to bring back a story even though he hadn’t
a clue as to how to write a piece of journalism.
Several piles of newspaper clippings later, I still
have no clue.
Since the time I was bom, I dreamed of playing in
Sanford Stadium and wearing a Bulldog jersey. That
day never came. It is a very difficult job being a sports-
writer who happens to cover the one team that he che
rishes the most. The sportswriter is compelled to look
at things objectively and critically and that was very
difficult for me.
I had never written a lick of journalistic work in my
life before I interviewed my former kindergarten
classmate John Kasay, then an up-and-coming sopho
more kicker. I chose Kasay because even though I
hadn’t seen him in nearly 10 years, I knew him and
maybe the questions would come a little easier.
It didn’t.
I couldn’t think of anything intelligent to ask and
the interview was saved only because Kasay was in
telligent enough to know that he wasn’t dealing with
Dan Rather and helped fill in the gaps. Thanks John.
Over the years, people began to spot me on campus
and talk football. Each party, meeting, and class that
I attended, people wanted to talk Georgia football. I
appreciate all of the warm comments and letters, and
even the comments and letters that made me a little
warm under collar that folks gave me. It let me know
that someone else besides myself and my mom were
reading the stuff.
Being a sportswriter does have its perks. Nobody
spills bourbon on you in the press box and the food is
free and good. But I have missed cheering and
laughing in the student section with my friends. It’s
tough sometimes when you hear the roar of the crowd
and know that you can’t join in for fear of being
thrown out of the box on your ear.
Also, the sportswriter has to endure the comments
of other gurus about what the football team needs to
do and what I need to write about. For years, I have
had to listen to the “advice" of Demetrius Conard,
Rusty Garman, Rob Weeks, Chris Allen, Ed Gal
lagher, Rusty Gleaten and Chuck Hurt about what
“they” need to do.
A sportswriter is just a writer of the news, not a
pipeline to the coaches. No matter how smart I may
think I am, Goff has never called me and asked me
what I thought about a particular problem (although I
have prayed...).
So this is it All of these images raced through my
head Saturday as I left the an empty and silent San
ford Stadium. As I walked the white steps leading up
the lower deck, I thought of Tim Worley “trucking
linebackers,” John Kasay booting a field goal to defeat
Alabama, Auburn fans laughing and taunting as they
defeated Georgia again, and trips to Jacksonville and
The Landing.
As I walked up the ramps, I thought about meeting
Vince Dooley for the first time, being stared down and
fussed at by Ben Smith, and Loran Smith telling me
that I should stick to writing and not try to coach.
And as I left the stadium and turned to take one
last look inside, I thought about all the good times I’ve
had. Football has given me a lot and I am grateful and
appreciative to the people who’ve made it possible and
folks who er\joy the product.
Thanks for it all.
The South'« Top Dog was the Georgia football beat
writer for The Red and Black.
Lady runners have winning season
By DOUG ROBERSON
Sports Wnter
The Georgia women’s cross
country team started their 1990
season by placing third at the
Western Carolina Invitational.
However, the season wasn’t lost
considering that this was the
lowest place the team finished all
year.
"The whole group was really a
surprise," second-year coach John
Mitchell said. “We started off real
slow. We snuck through a couple of
injuries and (Keli) Butler was Bick
for a couple of races. I was frus
trated, but they progressed a lot
further and faster than we thought
they would.
“Both team-wise and individu
ally the team did a lot better than I
expected,” he said.
The Bulldogs, behind the lead
ership of Butler who earned All-
American honors, went on to re
cord three first-place finishes, two
second-place finishes and two
third-place finishes.
But the most important victory
for the young runners wasn’t a first
place finish at all. It was an auto
matic bid to compete in the NCAA
Cross Country Invitational that
the team received for the first time
in school history by finishing
second at the NCAA Region III
Meet.
“I think that getting the auto
matic bid at the Region III meet
was the highlight (of the season),"
Butler said. “We made it all our
own, which was great because we
hadn’t done that before ever. The
NCAA’s only take the top two
teams in each region to run in the
NCAA’s and to be one of those
teams is great."
The Bulldogs finished ninth in
the NCAA tournament and were
within close reach of finishing fifth
in the nation. Even though they
finished in the top 10 in the nation,
the team feels that they can do
even better next year.
“We could have done better at
nationals," Butler said. “We were
really nervous and we didn’t know
what to expect. We are one of the
only teams in the SEC to have
every one back next year, so well
know what nationals will be like
and be ready.”
“They’re all going to improve be
cause they are so young," Mitchell
said. They tasted the top-level
success and they want it really
bad. If we stay free of injuries, I
think that they’ve got nowhere to
go but up.”
Fall sports season good and bad
By ERIK SCHMIDT
Sports Wnter
Looking back on Bulldog ath
letics in the fall of 1990, one may
recall a treasure cheat of memories
both good and bad.
THE GOOD — Junior Keli
Butler of the women’s cross
country team earned All-American
honors while John Kasay, the foot
ball team’s place kicker, received
Third-Team All-American acco
lades as determined by Football
News.
The men’s basketball team is
currently No. 17 in the nation and
facing a promising season.
The men’s tennis team won both
legs of the Collegiate Grand Slam
as A1 Parker won the Volvo Tennis
Championships while Patricio Ar
nold won the DuPont Clay Court
Championships.
In club action, the rugbv team
won the SEC Tournament held in
Athens, the soccer team finished
third in the SEC Tournament in
Tuscaloosa, Ala. and the upset-
minded polo club stunned the Vir
ginia Cavaliers.
THE BAD — The football team
suffered its first losing season
since 1977 after witnessing a rash
of irvjuries, academic casualties
and other unmentionables which
took a tremendous toll on the
squad.
Georgia loet to Florida for the
first time since 1986, and lost to
Auburn again.
Gene Williams, The Red and
Black’s football beat writer for the
past three years, wrote his final
Georgia football story before
walking the horizon to becoming e
mega businessman.