Bulldogs top list of state mascots

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours.

- Yogi Berra

Georgia high school football goes to Atlanta's Georgia Dome this weekend for the state semifinals - something I always enjoy watching on Georgia Public Television.

Augusta's Laney High starts things off at 3 p.m. today with a game against Dublin. On Saturday, Screven County High takes on Gainesville at 3 p.m., and Thomson plays Columbus powerhouse Shaw at 6 p.m.

Now, when it comes to mascots, Laney is the Wildcats. Screven County is the Gamecocks and Thomson is the Bulldogs.

Did you ever wonder what the most popular mascots names are for Georgia high schools?

Well, it's not the Ramblers of north Georgia's LaFayette High. It's not the Red Terrors of Brunswick's Glynn Academy or the Lasers of Southside High in Atlanta.

It's Bulldogs.

Yes, probably inspired by the University of Georgia, 26 state high schools (including Harlem, Butler and Thomson locally) call themselves Bulldogs.

Across the Peach State, that edges out "Eagles" by one.

Others in the Mascot Top 10, compiled by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer are:

3. Tigers (21); 4. Panthers (20); 5. Indians (16); 6. (tie) Raiders and Wildcats (14); 8.Trojans and Warriors (13); 10. Patriots (11).

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WHY THEY DO IT: After Tuesday's question about what to tell visitors to Augusta's airport after they smell the nearby sewage treatment plant, Frank O'Brien offers this comment.

He says the odor is actually a backup security measure. If the radar or electricity goes out, pilots can simply find the airport by sniffing the air.

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HOLIDAY THOUGHT: A man can usually tell what kind of a time he's having at the office Christmas party by the look on his wife's face.

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TODAY'S JOKE: The obituary editor of a newspaper was not one to admit his mistakes easily. One day he got a phone call from an enraged subscriber. The caller complained that his name had been printed in the obituary column.

"Really?" replied the editor coolly. "And where are you calling from?"

Reach Bill Kirby at (706) 823-3344 or bkirby@augustachronicle.com.