FanHouse Georgia

ATHENS, Ga.(AP) -- Charles Scott scored on a 33-yard run with 46 seconds remaining to cap a wild finish that gave No. 4 LSU a 20-13 victory over 18th-ranked Georgia on Saturday.

Neither team reached the end zone through the first three quarters, but the teams traded touchdowns back and forth over the final three minutes before the Tigers (5-0, 3-0 SEC) came out on top in their second straight close call.

With Georgia (3-2, 2-1 SEC) ahead 7-6 after finally scoring in the opening minute of the fourth period, LSU reclaimed the lead, 12-7, on Scott's 2-yard run with 2:53 remaining. The Bulldogs bounced back on Joe Randle 16-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green with 1:09 left, going up 13-12 before missing a 2-point conversion.

On Saturday, two top-10 teams, both from the nation's top conference, will go head to head under the lights at Georgia's Sanford Stadium in a contest that has the potential to be the best game of the season. Yet all anyone seems to be capable of talking about is what the teams are going to be wearing.

Don't misunderstand me -- I'm not making value judgments about the blackout itself. If Georgia wants to wear some sweet-looking black jerseys and convince their fans to buy some new clothes, more power to 'em, but should that really the central storyline?

This afternoon, Larry Munson, the legendary voice of the Georgia Bulldogs, has announced his retirement. It will be effective immediately and ends a 42 year career in the booth for Georgia.

I don't care who you are or who you cheer for, if this doesn't stir a little emotion or nostalgia in you, you're just not a football fan. You can turn in your foam finger and replica jersey at the front desk on your way out.

That didn't take long.

NASCAR confirmed Sunday morning at Atlanta Motor Speedway that they will switch to the new generation race car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The new car (I'm tired of calling it the Car of Tomorrow when its here today) will be raced full-time in the top NASCAR series next season.

"We're working on an '09 [Nationwide] car," Bodine said. "[Having it ready for] '09 is tentative. It's not set in stone but we're working on it. We've informed some of the Busch owners and we've got a prototype at the R&D center."

"There will be a different body style and different aerodynamic package," Bodine said. "We're working on all that stuff. We're just not there yet, still working through all that process.

Sporting several new safety features, a rear wing, and a front splitter, the next generation chassis and body style brought hope that NASCAR would finally apply some clarity and definition between the Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series.

Instead, NASCAR will revert back to the old thinking of running two series that are hardly different, which will continue to lead to insane amounts of Cup regulars parading the Nationwide Series (formerly Busch).

The safety additions are without a doubt a good idea, but let's hope Bodine is right in that they will use a different body style and aerodynamics.

What happened to this fun idea?

Here's more proof for you parents looking to make a fortune off of your children that teaching them to be lefthanded ... whether it be throwing or swinging ... works. But be careful: if you're going the route of "swing", make sure your son is a catcher. Then the dough rolls in, as it did for Brian McCann today when he signed a six year deal that can turn out to be worth as much as $41 million:

"This is really a historical and unprecedented kind of commitment for the Atlanta Braves," general manager John Schuerholz said. McCann was born in Athens, Ga., and lives in Duluth, near Atlanta. "Atlanta is where I want to play. It's where I grew up," McCann said. "Not many people can say that."

Well actually, lots of people can say they grew up in Atlanta, including a few members of McCann's own team including Blaine Boyer, Jeff Francoeur, and Chuck James. And that's not even mentioning the pile of Braves born in the state of Georgia such as Macay McBride (Augusta), Kyle Davies (Decatur), Jonathan Johnson (LaGrange), and Tim Hudson (Columbus).

Organizations that are increasingly worried about the bottom line like the Braves are looking for new ways to build talent at a reasonable price. Outside of Johnson and Hudson, the Georgia natives you see above are all Braves draft picks. When one of those feel good Georgia guys make good and stick with the club, signing them to a long term deal makes some bit of sense when you consider a lefty swinging catcher who can be a career .300 hitter is going to be wooed by bigger money teams down the line. A long term contract pushes the wolves away for a little while longer, and also builds a long term relationship with the Braves fan base. When you're a major league baseball franchise in a place where Georgia football will always be king, you have to find new ways to build a bond. The homegrown route is the one traveled by the Braves and Ted Turner Liberty Media.

Keeping a .300 hitting catcher around, wherever he's from, is a good route to travel as well.