Georgia
A tribute to ‘Senator Blutarsky.’ The Bulldog fan (and critic) behind ‘Get The Picture’ blog
![A tribute to ‘Senator Blutarsky.’ The Bulldog fan (and critic) behind ‘Get The Picture’ blog A tribute to ‘Senator Blutarsky.’ The Bulldog fan (and critic) behind ‘Get The Picture’ blog](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/02/10/NABH/72550864007-img-5317.jpg?auto=webp&crop=4031,2269,x0,y377&format=pjpg&width=1200)
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.
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Georgia
Georgia football star Rodarius Thomas being held without bail after arrest on family violence charges
![Georgia football star Rodarius Thomas being held without bail after arrest on family violence charges Georgia football star Rodarius Thomas being held without bail after arrest on family violence charges](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/07/Rara-Thomas.jpg)
Rodarius “Rara” Thomas will be away from the Georgia football team for the foreseeable future. The Bulldogs wide receiver was suspended indefinitely after he was booked into jail around 3:20 a.m. Friday, Athens-Clarke County jail records show.
Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery. He is being held without bail.
Thomas’ arrest marks the latest in a string of legal issues involving various members of the powerhouse college football team over the past several months.
This week’s arrest marks Thomas’ second in the past 18 months. University of Georgia Police arrested the wide receiver in January 2023 on a felony charge of false imprisonment and a misdemeanor count of family violence battery.
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Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas was arrested on charges of cruelty to children and battery early Friday, July 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga., adding to the team’s recent legal woes. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Those charges were later dropped when Thomas entered a pretrial diversion program. Details about Friday’s arrest were not immediately available.
Georgia Athletic Association spokesperson Steven Drummond said the situation involving Thomas “is a pending legal matter. We will have no further comment at this point.”
TWO GEORGIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARRESTED ON BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS ON RECKLESS DRIVING CHARGES
Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart spoke at Southeastern Conference media days July 16 about attempts to address repeated driving offenses by his players.
![Georgia Bulldogs helmet sits on the bench](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/11/1200/675/GettyImages-georgia-helmet-copy.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
A Georgia Bulldogs helmet during the fourth quarter of a game against the Missouri Tigers at Sanford Stadium Nov. 4, 2023, in Athens, Ga. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Smart said players have been suspended and fined through the collective that provides name, image and likeness (NIL) payments to the school’s athletes. Smart’s policy is to not make public announcements when players are suspended.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s right to go down to the town square and publicly shame kids,” Smart said at SEC media days earlier this month. “When that happens, they go through a lot. And there’s a lot of remorse from these young men who’ve made mistakes. But our job is to educate. Continue to grow these young men.”
A team official confirmed the suspension of Thomas.
![A view of Sanford Stadium in a game against Georgia Tech](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/07/1200/675/GettyImages-1064856982-copy.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
The Bulldogs open the season in Atlanta Aug. 31 in a matchup with the Clemson Tigers.
Georgia players have been involved in 24 driving-related violations (DUI, reckless driving or speeding), The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has reported, including a crash that killed a player and a recruiting staffer in January 2023.
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Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash on Jan. 15, 2023, just days after the Bulldogs won the national title game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Georgia
Georgia woman charged with murder after unsupervised 4-year-old boy climbs into car, dies
![Georgia woman charged with murder after unsupervised 4-year-old boy climbs into car, dies Georgia woman charged with murder after unsupervised 4-year-old boy climbs into car, dies](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/03/20/USAT/73041901007-usatsi-22690924.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3535,1988,x0,y180&format=pjpg&width=1200)
A Georgia woman is facing murder charges after a 4-year-old boy died inside of a car, authorities say.
On July 24, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrestedKelsey Monaco, 30, a Fitzgerald resident, about 154 miles west of Savannah. The Fitzgerald Police Department asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the death of the child.
Investigators said the child left his apartment unsupervised and made his way inside of a car.
The 4-year-old was then found unresponsive inside the car. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Monaco was taken into custody and booked at the Ben Hill County Jail.
USA TODAY reached out to authorities to find out Monaco’s relationship to the child and if the child died because the car was hot, but we have not heard back.
‘This can’t be real’: He left his daughter alone in a hot car for hours. She died.
Georgia woman charged with murder, investigation ongoing
Monaco is currently in custody at the Ben Hill County Jail.
Arrest records show that Monaco is facing the following charges:
- 1 count, first-degree child cruelty
- 1 count, felony murder
This investigation into the 4-year-old’s death remains active and ongoing. When the investigation is complete, the case will be transferred to the Cordelle Judicial District Attorney’s Office for prosecution, authorities said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fitzgerald Police Department at 229-426-5000 or the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Perry at 478-987-4545. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
Georgia
CDC officials warning about rising dengue fever cases in Georgia
![CDC officials warning about rising dengue fever cases in Georgia CDC officials warning about rising dengue fever cases in Georgia](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox5atlanta.com/www.fox5atlanta.com/content/uploads/2023/06/1280/720/mosquito-1332382_1280.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting a growing number of cases of dengue fever infections in Georgia.
The agency says the disease is the most common mosquito-borne infection worldwide.
There have been almost 2,900 cases of the viral infection in the United States so far in 2024 – nearly as many as were reported in all of 2023. The CDC says there has also been a record number of cases worldwide.
In Georgia, there have been 20 reported cases – up from 16 earlier in July.
What is dengue?
Spread by mosquitoes, most cases of dengue in the United States are associated with travel to areas like the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or other areas with high risk for tourists.
The CDC says most people never know if they have dengue because of a lack of symptoms.
For the 1 in 4 people who do feel sick after becoming infected, symptoms include fever, headache, skin itching and rash, vomiting, and muscle and joint pains.
In rare cases, people may get severe dengue, a medical emergency that can quickly get worse. Symptoms of this include belly pain, persistent vomiting, a bleeding nose or gums, and vomiting blood.
If you have any symptoms, talk to your doctor and share your recent travel history.
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