Georgia Bulldogs

ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia baseball coach David Perno isn’t ready to anoint Taylor Hicks his full-time Sunday starter, but the redshirt freshman has certainly earned a lengthy look in a role that troubled the Bulldogs a season ago.

Hicks (2-0) has started each of Georgia’s first two Sunday games and hasn’t allowed a run in 10 innings, striking out seven while surrendering one walk and holding opponents to a .121 batting average.

“Taylor’s definitely throwing the ball well, but I think everybody has,” said Perno, whose team hosts Western Illinois for a three-game series starting at 5 p.m. ET today. “I think that’s just a credit to everybody around him keeping him on his toes and keeping him sharp and throwing strikes.

“I think that was the missing link last year. We just didn’t have enough guys at the bottom, pushing; and I think we’re deep and that keeps everybody on their toes and forces people to get out there and do what they’re capable of doing more often.”

(Read full post)

The criticism Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell received last year was deafening.

The freshman went from being proclaimed a hero to being called "soft" to actually being booed by his home fans in the SEC championship game.

In defense of his critics, Crowell's tendency to get injured had him standing on the sideline or sitting on the training table more than carrying the ball during the second half of the season. People were aware of his ankle injury, but it was hard to tell where Crowell was mentall. Plus, his off-the-field issues didn't exactly help his image.

But as much as his work ethic and character were challenged from the outside, they were praised from within, according to teammates.

Thursday, junior tight end Arthur Lynch took offense to all the criticism during Crowell's rookie season -- a season in which he rushed for 850 yards, five touchdowns and was named SEC Freshman of the Year by The Associated Press. Lynch said Crowell was "wrongly scrutinized all year."

(Read full post)

How the game was won: Top-ranked Kentucky (29-1, 15-0 SEC) steadily built a 37-19 halftime lead on senior night and used a 20-3 run early in the second half to remove any hope of a comeback for Georgia (13-16, 4-11). The Wildcats’ 79-49 win marks the widest margin of defeat for a Mark Fox-coached Georgia team, replacing an 89-61 loss at Missouri in 2010 and the largest SEC loss, replacing a 70-48 loss at Florida this season.

Stat of the game: 15. Kentucky connected on a season-best 15 3-pointers, including a run of six consecutive made 3-pointers in the second half as the Wildcats pulled away to lead by as many as 41 points. Kentucky finished 15-for-27 from 3-point range, while Georgia was 3-for-19.

Player of the game: Darius Miller. One of only two seniors on the Kentucky roster, Miller made the most of his final appearance at Rupp Arena. He went 5-for-9 from 3-point range and led the Wildcats with 17 points.

What it means: Kentucky cruised to its 21st straight victory, continuing one of the most dominant runs by an SEC team in recent memory. The Wildcats let Georgia hang around for two-thirds of the game before pulling away for a 57-44 win earlier this season in Athens. There were no such dramatics Thursday for a Georgia club that upset Florida in its last game. The highlight for Georgia was that Donte Williams matched a career high with 17 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Record performance: Kentucky extended the nation’s longest winning streak in its 52nd consecutive game at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats have never lost at home under coach John Calipari.

Watch live on ESPN and here, on ESPN3.

Check out the play-by-play and scoreboard at Game HQ here.

Malcolm Mitchell just wants to stay on the field and play.

That's why Georgia's top receiver and the SEC's fourth-leading receiver in 2011 approached Bulldogs coach Mark Richt about getting a shot at cornerback this spring. In fact, he started talking about it during the week leading up to the Outback Bowl, but really got serious with his thoughts when he went to speak with Richt a week after the bowl game.

"It's something I want to do, not just something that just popped up," Mitchell said Thursday.

The original conversation with Richt ended with Mitchell's coach being intrigued, but not sold on the idea of his best offensive weapon taking some reps on the defensive side of the ball. After all, he was recruited to play either side while in high school, so Mitchell would catch on fast, but that's Richt's top skill player and taking reps away from him wouldn't be ideal.

However, Richt was swayed to give Mitchell a chance to become the reincarnation of Georgia great Champ Bailey after Georgia took so many hits to the corner position. Transfers, dismissals, the signing of just one defensive back in Georgia's 2012 recruiting class and the suspension of starter Sanders Commings meant the Bulldogs would begin the fall short-handed at cornerback.

Mitchell will get his chance this spring and believes that one way or the other a decision about the fall will likely come at the end of spring practice. It might take Mitchell a little time to regain his defensive legs, but he's excited for the opportunity because he wants to do more for his team in 2012.

(Read full post)

Tony Parker, a senior at Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.), is the No. 21 player in the Class of 2012 and one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation, with UConn, Duke, UCLA, Ohio State, Georgetown, Memphis, Kentucky and Kansas all in the running for his services. He has agreed to chronicle the remainder of his final season and recruiting experiences leading up to his decision through a blog with ESPNHS. Read it here.

Former Georgia Bulldogs WR Hines Ward, one of the Pittsburgh Steelers' most decorated receivers, will be released by the NFL team at some point in the next few weeks, according to reports. Read more here.

And ESPN's Jamison Hensley writes: Ward's release shows the painful side of sports, but the Steelers made the right call by deciding to release him.