With Christmas less than two weeks away, the big guy is in demand right now as kids of all ages get in their last-minute requests.
The Eckleberrys are holding out for a new Wii system, by the way.
It’s for our daughter Rachel, although I might have to show her how to play the new Tiger Woods golf game that will hopefully be in Santa’s bag.
So yeah, Santa was the man to see in the tent.
But former georgia football coach Vince Dooley was a close second.
Dooley was at Callaway Gardens on Saturday to meet and greet folks and to sign copies of his new book, “Dooley’s Playbook: The 34 Most Memorable Plays in Georgia Football History.”
The book has just been released, and Dooley has been touring the state to promote it.
On Saturday, he was camped out in the Georgia souvenir section of the tent, and he and wife Barbara met with a steady stream of well-wishers.
It’s been 20 years (doesn’t seem possible, does it?) since Dooley coached at Georgia, but his popular has never lessened.
He’s got the coaching resume.
Dooley won more than 200 games and a memorable national title in 1980, but it’s Dooley’s warm demeanor that has helped him make him such a beloved figure in the state.
I’ve been in the same setting with Dooley on several occasions over the years, and he is always smiling, and he always makes time for anyone who approaches him.
You could see that Saturday as he made everyone he encountered feel like a familiar friend.
Vince is a special guy, and I’m proud to call him a fellow Peach Stater.
For more on Dooley’s new book, his career and photos from Saturday’s book signing, see Monday’s edition of the LaGrange Daily News.
n INTERESTING HIRE: On Friday, it looked like Auburn was close to hiring Will Muschamp, the defensive coordinator at Texas.
Muschamp is widely regarded as one of the best coaching candidates in the country, and it would have been quite a coup for Auburn to lure him away from Texas.
Muschamp soundly dispelled that rumor, though, and one day later Auburn hired Gene Chizik.
Who, you may ask, is Gene Chizik?
Well, he is a former defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas, and he is the current head coach at Iowa State.
In two seasons at Iowa State, Chizik has an under-whelming 5-19 record, and the Cyclones had just two wins this year.
Obviously, no one was knocking down Chizik’s door to hire him away.
Yet Auburn sees something in Chizik, and he’ll be the man to replace Tommy Tuberville.
It’s hard to see this as an upgrade, but as always, it will play itself out on the field.
For now, can you see members of the “Auburn Nation” wrapping their arms around this hire?
GIVE ME YOUR BULLET: I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to think about Barney Fife when Plaxico Burress – the moronic wide receiver for the New York Giants – shot himself in the leg while in a night club in New York.
Fife, the deputy on the classic “Andy Griffith Show” could not be trusted to keep a bullet in his gun because he would inevitably accidentally discharge it.
That was television. It was funny.
Burress is real life. And he is an idiot, and a dangerous one at that.
Putting aside the right to bear arms argument, can anything good come from a guy dropping a loaded gun into his sweat pants for a night of clubbing?
Apparently, Burress isn’t an anomaly. While he probably is a bit more careless than the average NFL gun owner, there are numerous players who carry their weapons around with them.
They consider themselves targets, so they feel they need protection.
Here’s a thought for Burress and his NFL colleagues.
If you feel going to a night club at 3 a.m. could be dangerous, stay at home.
If I felt I needed to arm myself to make a late-night run to Kroger, I would probably do without milk for a night.
Burress will have th
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