Georgia
A tribute to ‘Senator Blutarsky.’ The Bulldog fan (and critic) behind ‘Get The Picture’ blog
WATCH: Kirby Smart and players after Georgia football Orange Bowl win
WATCH: Kirby Smart, Kendall Milton, Kamari Lassiter at postgame press conference after Georgia football Orange Bowl win on Dec. 30, 2023
Writing about Georgia football serves a passionate fan base that wants to know about every nook and cranny going on with the program.
We have metrics that tell you which stories click with readers and which ones fizzle.
There are writing awards that are a measure of quality work. A pay increase shows you are appreciated as well.
Really, though, there’s probably nothing as a beat writer that validated your work more than if Michael Brochstein, who posted under the handle “Senator Blutarsky,” thought it was worthy of offering his sharp insight into a story you wrote on his “Get The Picture,” Georgia-centric blog.
If he did, it often times felt like hitting a home run. If he didn’t, you thought, huh, maybe that wasn’t as good an angle as I thought.
We bring all this up because it’s a sad weekend for the countless Georgia fans who went to Brochstein’s blog for his perspective—not hot takes—on everything from Mike Bobo and Todd Monken’s playcalling, Kirby Smart’s “manball” philosophy to players emerging from an alley on scooters and getting ticketed by UGA police years ago.
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In the fall, his “Observations From the 35,” gave his sharp-eyed take on what he saw from his Sanford Stadium seat of the game that just passed.
It was an online community for fans to gather to see and chime in on Brochstein’s view on hot button issues in college football and everything and anything related to Georgia football.
The blog had some stops and starts more recently due to health issues—”getting old leaves something to be desired” he wrote in the first week of January after a slowdown on the blog. His final post came on Jan. 23 asking how much Georgia fans were contributing to the Bulldogs’ collective given Ohio State fans reportedly were shelling out big bucks.
Brochstein passed away Thursday, according to a post on his blog Friday night.
Who was the man behind Senator Blutarsky? Here’s what he said in an email to me on Oct. 20, 2014 when I had him and other Georgia bloggers join us for our old podcast.
“As far as background goes, I’m a 1980 graduate of the UGA law school and a season ticket holder since 1981. I live in Atlanta. I started the blog immediately after the 2006 Georgia-Georgia Tech game and haven’t looked back since.”
The photo on top of the blog was Vince Dooley and James Brown together.
“Dooley’s Junkyard Dawgs” is the greatest college football song ever,” he wrote as a truth that is self evident on the blog.
That fit perfectly for someone who did musical palate cleansers with videos of the likes of the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, Beatles and most recently the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.’
The tributes poured in starting Friday night on X (formerly Twitter):
“This hits hard. Georgia fans have lost one of their best voices. I enjoyed everything he wrote (envy and jealousy, indeed,) and I marveled at how he kept at it day after day. I hope he knew how essential he was to so many of us. RIP, Senator.—Brian Sugrue who posts at Dawgsonline.com.
“The Senator was the gold standard of CFB blogging, an inspiration. Legend. From his daily guidance of NCAA muddy waters, to fun sh** like the Montana Project,the @MummePoll,his viewpoint ‘tween the hedges…deeply sad. So RIP good Senator Blutarsky, will miss you daily—Chris Burnette of Bernie’s Dawg Blog.
“Damn this is really, really terrible news. He had by far the best Georgia specific blog that I’ve been reading for 15 years at least. I always looked forward to his recaps And good Lord did he hate Auburn Rest in Peace Senator Blutarsky. We’re really gonna miss you.”—Three Year Letterman, a light-hearted account that portrays himself as a “Youth Football Coaching Legend.”
“The Senator was the best of Dawg Nation. There aren’t really any words, only he might would have the right ones. Prayers to his family and Heaven got another DGD tonight.”—CoachBG30.
Brochstein was born in Houston and lived in Athens since 1960, according to his LinkedIn page. He graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Economics in 1977.
“Three years of watching Virginia’s football program go down the toilet had soured me on the sport as a whole,” he wrote for a Bill Connelly SB Nation story in 2013 where he listed his 10 favorite college football games. “ [Georgia radio announcer] Larry Munson rekindled my love in one night with a radio call that Lewis Grizzard aptly described as ‘better than being there.’ Munson never did call the winning kick good. It didn’t matter.”
Brochstein practiced law in the areas of residential and commercial real estate after becoming a cum laude graduate of the UGA School of Law. He was a speaker on regulation and compliance topics to bank and mortgage companies.
Brochstein surely would have had something to say Friday about Chip Kelly bolting from the UCLA head coaching job to become Ohio State offensive coordinator.
His voice will be sorely missed.
Marc Weiszer is the UGA beat writer for the Athens Banner-Herald. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @marcweiszer.
Georgia
Top Dawgs in the NFL (Week 9)
Top Dawgs in the NFL (Week 9)
Continuing a series that debuted last season, UGASports highlights the top NFL performances by former Georgia players for the week entering the Monday night game. With our most outstanding performer for the week—or the Top Dawg—revealed towards the end, we spotlight the top NFL performances by Bulldogs for October 31 through November 3 and preview those participating in tonight’s Monday night game.
Ladd McConkey
A week after a 100-yard receiving performance, McConkey continued his sensational rookie campaign in the Los Angeles Chargers’ 27-10 win yesterday over the Cleveland Browns. Starting at wide receiver and seeing 48 of 57 offensive snaps, he totaled a team-high five receptions for 64 yards with a long of 20. Through eight games this season, McConkey leads the 5-3 Chargers with 35 catches for 440 yards and four touchdowns.
Travon Walker
Although resulting in a 28-23 loss on the road at Philadelphia, Jacksonville’s Walker had one of the top single-game defensive performances in the last few weeks by a former Georgia player. The third-year defensive end totaled seven tackles (six solo), including two for loss, and returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown to pull the Jaguars to within a touchdown late in the third quarter. Breaking multiple tackles on his way to the end zone, Walker’s fumble return was a thing of beauty and was his first touchdown since he played at Upson-Lee High School.
Nakobe Dean
With Jacksonville trailing Philadelphia, 28-23, with 1:37 remaining, Dean went up high and made a tremendous, game-sealing interception of the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence. For Dean, it was the first interception of his NFL career—and his first pick since the one he returned for a 50-yard touchdown against Florida three years before in Jacksonville. Although he totaled only two tackles against the Jaguars (Dean entered averaging more than eight tackles per game), he defended on a game-high two opposing passes, including the game-clinching pick. Also for the Eagles, defensive tackle Jalen Carter totaled four tackles, defensive tackle Jordan Davis made two tackles, linebacker Nolan Smith had one stop, and cornerback Kelee Ringo had a tackle and fumble recovery on special teams.
The TOP DAWG: Matthew Stafford
A week after having his highest-rated passing game in nearly two years, Stafford earned the Top Dawg recognition for his performance yesterday in the Los Angeles Rams’ 26-20 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks. The 16-year veteran completed 25 of 44 passes for 298 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Stafford’s second touchdown pass was a 39-yard dime dropped to Demarcus Robinson in overtime to win the game. It marked the former Georgia quarterback’s 46th career game-winning drive in the NFL, ranking sixth all-time in league history.
For some notable group efforts, linebacker Quay Walker had a game-high 12 tackles in Green Bay’s 24-14 loss to Detroit. Also contributing to the Packers defense was safety Javon Bullard (four tackles), cornerback Eric Stokes (three tackles), and tackle Devonte Wyatt (two tackles).
Although resulting in a 41-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, a trio of former Georgia players stood out for the Las Vegas Raiders. Tight end Brock Bowers continued his historic rookie season with five receptions, including a 22-yard touchdown for the second score of his pro career. Also, running back Zamir White rushed for a touchdown for the game’s first score, and 12-year defensive tackle John Jenkins registered a half-sack.
Kicking off at 8:15 pm ET, the lone Monday night game tonight pits the 4-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the 7-0 Kansas City Chiefs, where the home team is a 9-point favorite. The Bucs have one former Georgia player on their active roster: rookie Tykee Smith, a No. 2 safety. The Chiefs feature two: Malik Herring, a No. 2 defensive end, and Mecole Hardman, a No. 2 wide receiver (also first-team kickoff return and second-team punt return).
Georgia
Trump campaign files lawsuit challenging ‘illegal’ early ballot collection in Georgia
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – New lawsuits have been filed by the Trump campaign challenging Georgia’s election.
The 21-page lawsuit filed in Savannah argues county offices in the state were “illegally” open over the weekend.
The federal and state lawsuits are the latest move from Republicans contesting Georgia’s election procedures.
“The Republican national committee and team Trump, we filed ligation,” said Trump Campaign Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt addressed the filings at an event in Atlanta Saturday.
“We learned that in four counties including Fulton County Democrat election officials were – one trying to process ballots after the deadline last night and two – trying to open additional drop boxes that were not predetermined prior,” she said.
The Republican National Committee filed a similar lawsuit in Fulton County, where it was struck down by a judge. The judge said absentee ballots can be collected until polls close on election day.
Georgia judge rejects GOP lawsuit trying to block counties from accepting hand-returned mail ballots
County offices across the state were open Saturday and Sunday. However, the court restricted the option for drop boxes.
Gabriel Sterling, Chief Operating Officer for the Georgia Secretary of State, responded claims on Twitter saying, “To be clear, no election laws were broken in Georgia today. The law clearly states that govt buildings can be used to receive absentee ballots. A judge said so this morning. Monitors, observers, & SOS investigators were all in Fulton locations. 104 ballots dropped off there.”
The Trump campaign says they continue to fight the re-opening of the centers at federal and state level.
“We want everyone in Georgia to remain diligent,” said Leavitt.
The Sectary of State’s Office is expected to address the pending lawsuits at a press conference set for Monday morning.
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.
Georgia
Donald Trump’s, Kamala Harris’ easiest paths to victory run through Georgia
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have spent a lot of time in Georgia as their historic 2024 presidential campaigns come to an end.
And there’s a reason: both candidates’ respective easiest paths to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue run through the Peach State.
From Gray Media’s Washington bureau:
Harris’ easiest path
Exactly 270 through the Rust Belt (Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin). If Harris holds “the blue wall” – and avoids any surprises elsewhere – she’ll have the 270 electoral votes she needs. These states traditionally support Democrats, but all went for Trump in 2016. The “blue dot” of Omaha is also needed here.
Trump’s easiest path
Exactly 270 with Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. To pull this off, Trump would need to do well in the suburbs and improve on his 2020 performance.
Another Trump path
Through the Sun Belt with one Rust Belt state Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin (or Michigan or Pennsylvania). Trump has led in polling in Georgia and Arizona. If he can also pick up Nevada and North Carolina, he would only need any one of the coveted Rust Belt states.
Another Harris path
Through the Sun Belt Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina. A less-likely scenario based on polling, but Harris could win the presidency by only winning the Sun Belt, or with a combination of various Sun Belt and Rust Belt states.
269-269: An Electoral College tie
The most likely way this could happen is if Harris holds the “blue wall” trio of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, but loses Nebraska’s Omaha-based district. Trump would need North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada … and that Omaha district to tie.
Another way a tie could happen is if Trump wins all the Rust Belt states (Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin) and also wins Nevada.
What happens in a tie?
Trump would likely win According to the U.S. Constitution, the new House of Representatives choses the president and the new Senate choses the vice president. House members vote by state delegation, and based on current polling, Republicans are likely to hold a majority of state delegations after the election. For vice president, each senator gets an individual vote.
Atlanta News First and Atlanta News First+ provide you with the latest news, headlines and insights as Georgia continues its role at the forefront of the nation’s political scene. Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest political news and information.
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.
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