Sidelines & Headlines

Host Blake Giles catches up with Tra Battle, who had a game to remember 20 years ago against Auburn University. Tra was an all-star athlete in Forsyth, walked on at Georgia, earned a scholarship, was named All-SEC and third-team All-American. He played professionally for six years. Now he is a cybersecurity specialist in the Air Force and he recently launched a clothing line: CBTB (Covered by the...

Host Jim Hardin catches up with long-time friend Bill Waldrep, who has quite the following as a farmer through videos on social media. He is a third-generation farmer in Monroe County, where he raises vegetables and cows. Ag policy is high on the list of his interests. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and was a high-school ag teacher for 30 years, mostly at his alma mater, Mary Person...

Host Jim Hardin and Blake Giles look ahead to the Georgia-Alabama football game. But first, they look back at local high school results, and what happened in college football last week. Including the emergence of another ex-Auburn quarterback (they’re everywhere). Auburn lost to Tennessee in an uninspired game. Vanderbilt looked like the best team Georgia has played so far, but that will change th...

Co-hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin pick their final four teams one third of the way through the season, and they don’t agree. The guys review a dramatic and much-needed win by Athens Academy, as well as other high school results. And then they turn to the college scene. Georgia dominated Oklahoma, led by a trio of great backers: Chris Cole, Raylen Wilson and Quntavious Johnson, who gave Oklahoma...

It’s a big weekend of college football with lots of big games, and hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin agree that Oklahoma at Georgia is not one of the big ones. There’s UT at UT (Texas at Tennessee, Manning Present vs. Manning Past, orange vs. orange) there Texas A&M at LSU, where the loser will be 0-2 in the SEC, there’s Ole Miss at Florida, where Trinidad Chambliss will duel Aaron Philo; there...

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin talk some high school football, college football and even dip their toes in the NFL world. On the high school scene, Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals play in their annual rivalry game. How about a 73-66 score, for a football game? Prince Avenue Christian rolls. Athens Academy is struggling. On the college front, LSU’s game at Ole Miss may suck all of the air out of...

Martin Willingham, a Macon, Ga., resident, was host Jim Hardin's neighbor for 20 years. He has jumped into the publishing business with a bang, putting out three books all at once. Two are fiction and one is non-fiction.

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles review the first full week of college football, including the untimely call that went against Western Michigan, robbing them of a win over Michigan. Prince Avenue Christian hosts Greater Atlanta Christian in a big non-region game, and Jackson County hosts defending state champion North Oconee in a game high on the radar. And how about scoring nine touchdowns in a g...

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin preview the upcoming season, with an emphasis on Georgia, Auburn and the Southeastern Conference. They also pick the 12 teams they think will make the College Football Playoffs. Jim is high on LSU; Blake is not.

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles catch up with Clarke Central Coach David Perno, who is dealing with an extra challenge this year as he is taking treatments for cancer. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, David grew up in Athens after his father, Don, opened an Arby’s in Athens as well as Perno’s Formal Wear. David was previously the head baseball coach at Georgia. Three times, he coached the Bulldogs to th...

Athens Academy head coach Josh Alexander is entering his 12th season as the Spartans head coach, and he is loving coaching football as much as ever. The Spartans are young, with a number of sophomore starters, and a couple of 14-year-olds. But his most famous 14-year-old, Andrew Smart, son of Kirby and Mary Beth Smart, is not one of the starters.

Co-hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles revisit Jon Richt, first guest ever on Sidelines & Headlines, to talk about his first year as a head coach, his top players this year and his hopes for the year. And he reveals that after a lifetime of ill will toward the Florida Gators, they could be his favorite college team right now.

Co-host Jim Hardin turns the tables on Blake Giles, who has interviewed hundreds of people in his life as a journalist. Jim quizzes Blake about his career covering sports. Blake begins with a story about his mother making sack meals for the Maryland football team to take home after their game with Georgia and then shares memories from his time with the Athens Banner-Herald.

Charlie Winslette and Marvin Barton coached together in Georgia High School Football for 28 years. As a result, each has been a part of more than 350 wins as a coach, either as a head coach or an assistant. They are no longer together, but they remain close. They share ownership of a deck boat and still talk almost daily. Charlie Winslette is now an offensive assistant at Putnam County, his alma m...

Jim Hardin and Blake Giles are back to talk about spring football, and everything else that crosses their mind, like Blake injuring his big toe, Jim going to watch Clemson’s spring football game where Dabo Swinny offered running commentary from the field, Blake went to G-Day and saw seven quarterbacks play, Jake Bobo gets to play for his father, OC Mike Bobo; Auburn turns to Byron Brown, South Flo...

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles review the CFP championship game, won by Indiana, 27-21 over Miami, earning the first football title for the school. Then they look at the preseason rankings and the final AP rankings. Twelve teams ranked in the preseason failed to finish in the top 25. Most disappointing? Penn State, Clemson, LSU and Florida. Which team will emerge next year? Has the Big 10 surpas...

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Harbin look ahead to the CFP Finals. Indiana looks too good to lose. But ex-Bulldog quarterback Carson Beck has played well for Miami. The portal has been busy as usual. Georgia has had less turnover than any team in the SEC. Oklahoma State has had wholesale roster turnover. The NFL playoffs look wide open.

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles review the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Both were surprised that Miami beat Ohio State. They were also surprised by how uncompetitive Texas Tech and Alabama were in their losses to Oregon and Indiana, respectively. They break down Ole Miss’s win over Georgia in a rematch. They agree that it was the great play of Trinidad Chambliss that made the di...

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin offer congrats to the Georgia state champs. And can Central Macon rediscover glory under a new head coach. There is news in college football. What about the young viral sensation, Nolan McGill, who refused to sing “Rocky Top,” endearing himself to Georgia fans everywhere. Will Muschamp, once the “Coach in Waiting” at Texas, is heading back to Austin to join the sta...

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles preview the Georgia High School Association state finals. Then they celebrate—at least Blake does—Georgia’s decisive victory over Alabama in the SEC Championship. Then they break down the CFP selections. The 12-team playoff is doomed to be controversial as long as it is attached to a traditional format that left no room for a playoff. Notre Dame belongs in, they sa...

Hosts Blake Giles, retired sports journalist, and Jim Hardin, former Auburn walkon (who never played) review the results from rivalry weekend. Blake describes how Georgia broke Florida State’s football program, and it goes beyond the 63-3 beatdown in the Orange Bowl. And then they preview the conference championships, particularly Georgia and Alabama. Who is on the bubble of the CFP, and who is in...

Hosts Blake Giles, a veteran of four decades of sports journalism, and Jim Hardin, a devoted fan, evaluate Georgia’s convincing win over Texas. The pre-game hype for Texas was greater than the on-field version. Then, how many SEC teams will get into the College Football Playoff? And just how good No. 3 Texas A&M. It may have the weakest schedule in the league. What is the future for conference...

Georgia hosts Texas in a showdown that has been on everyone’s calendar for two years. Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin review the history between the two schools. Even though that game may suck the air out of Athens, there is more going on in college football. The two review last week’s games. Georgia played a complete game at Mississippi State. Auburn discovered an offense, but its defense collap...

Hosts Jim Hardin and Blake Giles review the firing of Hugh Freeze at Auburn and wonder how long Georgia can keep escaping. And who is in the playoffs, and who is not. And an abbreviated look at the playoffs is interrupted by a technical difficulty that cuts off the podcast abruptly. No worry. Everybody is fine, and we will be back next week.

Hosts Blake Giles and Jim Hardin discuss the many vacancies in college coaching created by a flood of dismissals. The media focuses on other head coaches. But 14 of the current top 25 teams have head coaches who previously had been only assistant coaches. The high school season reaches its regular-season zenith as teams jockey for playoff position. And its Georgia-Florida week. Blake remembers the...