Smith: The return of Mike Bobo

While I prefer never to begin any essay or treatise with anything negative, I realize that images sometimes become entrenched and often are inaccurate. Dean Martin, for example, was not an alcoholic. The glass you often saw in his hand contained apple juice.

Smith: Hall of Famer Mark Richt

The State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame inducted a blue-ribbon class this past weekend— players, coaches, and administrators—highlighted by the inclusion of former Bulldog football coach Mark Richt. The Hall has seldom honored a more popular figure in our state.

Smith: Todd Monken leaves UGA after building legacy

While I didn’t resort to keeping a tally sheet, I must have been asked three dozen times or more if I thought Todd Monken would be leaving Georgia for the National Football League. The answer was that I had no idea; and furthermore, that nobody except the coach himself knew.

Smith: Strawberries in winter on the way

Now that some time has elapsed since Kentucky went down in hoops defeat to the upstart Bulldogs, it is nice to savor not only the victory, but what might come about.

Smith: Herb White

Every now and then, I will get a call from Herb White, the “Elevator from Decatur.” He calls from his home in Mexico, where he literally can play golf every day of the year. He lives in the region of Lake Chapala, which is 30 miles west of Guadalajara, which is 791 miles southwest of San Antonio.

Smith: Verne Lundquist

When you arrive at Dallas–Ft. Worth Airport, you always notice the sprightly atmosphere that prevails. There may be a recession elsewhere in the country but not in this sprawling metroplex. Like all big cities, Dallas has problems.

SMITH: Aiming for a three-peat

There will always be interesting vignettes in sports histories, some current, but most of them retold with a new perspective as a fragile world turns.

SMITH: A Heisman trophy winning story

Long after this year’s Heisman celebration was over and all constituents were preparing to return home, I sat in the media room at the Marriott Marquis last weekend and reflected on a personal experience with Georgia’s first Heisman winner.

SMITH: New York City is back

Dating back to the mid-’70s, I was fortunate to visit this electric city at least once a year. I have never had a bad experience in New York. Until COVID, the National Football Foundation held its annual induction dinner at the Waldorf Astoria.

SMITH: Bowl games

With the expansion of the playoffs, more bowl games, hopefully, will become more involved. After the support the holiday bowls have extended to colleges over the years, the institutions of higher learning should never be guilty of giving the bowls back of the hand treatment.