Mayonnaise, 'Calmi lead Buckiiiits to Playoffs

Team Buckiiiits, which entered the season with extraordinarily low expectations and abysmal team chemistry, finished the regular season unbeaten after a 46-10 dismantling of shorthanded TKE on Sunday in front of a sparse crowd at the Ramsey Center.

The win moved Buckiiiits' record to 4-0, and when team captain Jeff Mayonnaise meets with intramural officials at 9 p.m. Wednesday, the team is expected to receive a high seed for its first-round playoff game. The playoffs begin Thursday.

An unnamed intramural official told OTR Sports on Sunday afternoon that teams must declare their intentions to move up a classification following an unbeaten regular season before the first game. Mayonnaise did not, and will thus have the opportunity to hand-pick the bracket and first-round playoff matchup. (Note: Teams that went 0-4 during the regular season in B league will move down a classification, the official said.)

Occasionally toying with their opponents, Buckiiiits jumped out to a 17-2 lead and forced 30-plus turnovers Sunday against the obese and athletically-challenged TKE, which dropped to 1-3.

Mayonnaise scored 12 points, Daisulci Teralcalmi added a season-high six points and Buckiiiits overcame the suspicious absence of recently-appointed coach Joshua Stein, who could not be reached for comment at press time.

OTR Sports co-founder Adam Rosenberg contributed eight points, and Jordan Backs' recent shooting slump continued, as he scored just two points in 30 minutes. Big Guy, the perpetual non-factor, was the only Buckiiiits member who failed to record a point.

Even your trusty correspondent, who nearly sustaining a life-threatening spinal cord injury when he was hip checked and flattened midway through the first half, finished with three points and 18 assists in a heroic effort. He is expected to be at full strength for the postseason.


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An Obituary: Georgia Basketball

In case you haven’t noticed—and judging by the dismal attendance at games you haven’t—Georgia’s basketball team is three games into SEC play. So far, it hasn’t been pretty.

The Bulldogs are 9-8 on the year and 0-3 in the SEC, with a home game against Mississippi State coming up on today. Judging by the team’s performance so far, those SEC championship rings from last season might as well be made of fool’s gold. Georgia’s improbable postseason run did nothing but put a band-aid on the gaping wound that is Bulldog basketball.

The University of Georgia has a proud tradition of athletic excellence. The Bulldogs attain almost yearly success in sports ranging from football and baseball to gymnastics and tennis. But for almost six years, the basketball team has been in a state of disarray.

If you want to point to the Jim Harrick scandal as a culprit for the state of Georgia hoops, I don’t want to hear it. While Georgia had a mess to clean up after Harrick made the school a national laughing stock, Baylor University has found basketball success after facing much harsher sanctions.

In fact, the Bears overcame the tragic murder of one of their players by a teammate, alleged drug use and recruiting violations in 2003—the year Dennis Felton took over for Harrick at Georgia. Baylor is currently 14-3 and in the hunt for a Big-12 championship.

So if it’s not the ever-lingering stench of Harrick’s transgressions, what is that dark cloud looming over Stegeman Coliseum?

Unfortunately for Georgia basketball fans, it’s apathy. Damon Evans and the rest of the athletic department brass seem content with a coach whose record over five-and-a-half seasons is under .500. Can you imagine what would happen if Mark Richt had a losing record during one season? Felton has had just two winning seasons in half a decade.

Felton seems content with watching the state of Georgia, a fertile recruiting ground in the world of college basketball, get plundered by coaches from around the country. Stars like Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks and Wake Forest’s Farouq Al-Aminu just march out of the Peach State without so much as gracing Athens for a recruiting visit.

As if that wasn’t enough, Felton hasn’t even been able to hold on to the players that he actually gets to play for him. Before last season, Felton dismissed Takais Brown and Mike Mercer, his two leading scorers from the year before. During the season, Rashaad Singleton quit. At one point, the Bulldogs were down to six scholarship players.

This offseason, Felton dismissed Billy Humphrey, who would have been the team’s leading returning scorer. Another player, Jeremy Jacob, transferred. I’m not saying the players that Felton dismissed didn’t commit offenses deserving of dismissal. I’m saying he needs to stop recruiting knuckleheads.

The players that left to suit up for Felton this season undoubtedly play their hearts out, and for that they should be commended. But “hustle points” don’t usually win basketball games in the SEC.

It seems to me that for every step the Bulldogs take forward in Felton’s “rebuilding process,” they take two steps back. The result is an SEC opener at Stegeman Coliseum with legions of orange-clad Tennessee fans inhabiting the upper deck. An even larger percentage of Kentucky fans packed Stegeman for Sunday’s humiliating loss to the Wildcats.

Many fans are left believing that Georgia is not and never will be a basketball school. But I just don’t see a reason why that has to be true.

In recent years, the football team and baseball teams have finished second in the country. The gymnastics team has won four consecutive national titles. Numerous other teams on campus have won SEC and national championships.

What does the basketball team have? A fluke SEC tournament win after a tornado hit the Georgia Dome and transported us to college basketball’s version of Oz.

Well, click your heels together, because we’re back in Kansas now. On second of thought, Kansas actually wins titles. And it seems like unless Felton either rents the first U-Haul out of Athens or changes the way he does things significantly, that miraculous SEC tournament championship will be the last positive event in Georgia basketball for quite some time.

Buckiiiits Remains Undefeated

Team Buckiiiits, ranked 10th in the University of Georgia men's ugly league, soundly defeated Ain't Got a Clue 37-11 on Wednesday night at the Ramsey Center, moving them one step closer to an automatic playoff berth and making interim coach Joshua Stein a winner in his head coaching debut.

But a day after his first win, Stein was less than enthused.

"Defensively, we did decent but our offense was just absolutely horrible," Stein told OTR Sports on Thursday afternoon. "Our inability to hit any sort of outside shot, the fact that our big man did not play at all like a big man, and the fact that (Jordan Backs) had a shooting drought in the second half was (expletive) unbelievable."

Kiel Voight scored a game-high 10 points and OTR Sports co-founder Adam Rosenberg added eight points for Team Buckiiiits, which was without its leading scorer, Jeff Mayonnaise, and the perpetual non-factor, Big Guy. Tadd Moore came off the bench to score one point -- on 0 of 4 shooting -- but also played suffocating defense.

"I ain't gonna lie to you," Stein said, "we need Mayo back. The offense flows through Mayonnaise."

Mayonnaise is expected to return Sunday for the team's regular-season finale against 1-2 TKE, which lost to Hawks 50-12 on Wednesday. Buckiiiits beat the Hawks 46-43 two weeks ago.

If Buckiiiits wins Sunday to improve to 4-0, they will automatically be bumped up a division for the playoffs.

Asked if his team stood any chance against a tougher division, Stein said, "I haven’t seen a Class B team play, but if I had to bet, I would probably go with no."

Stein's pessimism stems from Wednesday's game in which Buckiiiits shot a collective 23 percent (11-for-48) from the field. Backs, the team's second-leading scorer, was held to just three points on 1 of 13 shooting.

Your trusty correspondent had a season-high seven points and five steals, while playing 28 minutes with flu-like symptoms. His performance will air again on ESPN Classic on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Buckiiiits returns to action Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Court 3.


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Favors a Jacket

As expected, South Atlanta center Derek Favors chose Georgia Tech for his likely one year of college hoops. It would have been a nice get for Felton and the Dawgs, but it never really seemed possible. Tech has a nice recruiting class for next year, while Georgia has...Zac Swansey. Oh well. More on the Hoop Dawgs later in the week.

Um...really?

Asher Allen is forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. I thought he was an average college corner at best. I guess someone told him something different. Good luck I guess.

Tune in tomorrow for reaction to the decision of Derek Favors, the No.1 basketball prospect in the nation. He has narrowed his choices to Georgia, Georgia Tech and Memphis. Apparently, the Dawgs actually have a shot. See you tomorrow.

Braves' Offseason No Longer a Wash

Isn't it funny, or perhaps a bit humbling, how two signings in three days can have such a profound effect, as if to lift the layer of discontent hovering over this once-proud Braves franchise?

Less than a week after iconic (and rehabbing) pitcher John Smoltz signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Red Sox, the Braves on Tuesday reached agreement with right-hander Derek Lowe, widely considered the best-available starter on the free-agent market, on a four-year, $60 million deal. And in less than an hour, the Braves will introduce Japanese All-Star Kenshin Kawakami, who will be under contract until at least 2011.

So maybe maligned Braves general manager Frank Wren knew what he was doing all along, though it was sometimes hard to tell during one of the most inglorious offseason stretches in the past three decades.

What's worth noting is this: When pressed, Wren got the deal done. The Braves significantly outbid the rival Mets, who offered Lowe an unsatisfying three-year, $36 million deal in December, reluctant to offer the aging starter more than a short-term deal.

At 35, you'd be hard-pressed to tab Lowe as an ace. But he's what the Braves need. He'll at least keep them in contention in the competitive NL East until Tim Hudson, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, returns in late summer.

Lowe has averaged 208 innings over the past eight seasons, and should prove to be a good mentor to young hurlers Jair Jurrjens, Charlie Morton and Jo-Jo Reyes.

The current rotation of Lowe-Jurrjens-Kawakami-Vazquez-Reyes/Morton/Hanson is solid, not spectacular. And there still are glaring weaknesses, of course. The Braves still need a power-hitting outfielder, a resurgent Jeff Francoeur to produce in the middle of the lineup and Gregor Blanco to be more consistent in the leadoff spot. Reyes, extremely talented when he decides to throw anywhere near the strike zone, is the only left-handed starter, and a poor showing during spring training could bump him from the back-end of the rotation.

The wild card, it seems, will be Kawakami.

Here's what we know: He's one of the top-3 Japanese players available for free agency this offseason; he won the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award in 2004; and, alas, he's no Daisulci Teralcalmi.

Kawakami, 33, was 9-5 during an injury-plagued 2008 season (recurring back strain, but he passed his physical Monday). He has a good strikeout-to-walk ratio -- 1,328 strikeouts and just 351 walks in 1,642 innings in Japan -- and he's won 10 or more games six times in his career. His most successful season came in 2004, when he was 17-7 with a 3.32 ERA, which garned him league MVP honors and the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award.

So, loyal and perhaps imaginary readers, we pose this question today: Given their notable whiffs this offseason -- Jake Peavy, A.J Burnett, Mike Hampton, Rafael Furcal and John Smoltz -- are the Braves now better off after signing Kawakami and Lowe? Do you have any more confidence in Wren? Still picking the Braves to finish third, at best, in the NL East this season?


Buckiiiits Headed in New Direction?

Joshua Stein has emerged as the leading candidate to fill Team Buckiiiits' head coaching vacancy, multiple sources told OTR Sports late Monday night.

Stein has limited basketball experience, but he played linebacker, fullback and kicker for his woeful high school football team in suburban Atlanta, and he currently has a hobby -- working out. An official announcement is expected later this week.

Current captain/player/coach Jeff Mayonnaise has drawn criticism in recent weeks for his mishandling of substitutions and nonchalant attitude on defense. Mayonnaise, who currently "coaches" the freshmen at Oconee County High School, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Stein was on the sideline for Team Buckiiiits' 49-46 victory over the Hawks on Sunday, which, despite the growing resentment in the locker room, moved the team's record to 2-0 with two regular-season games to play. Buckiiiits has a week off before resuming play next Sunday against TKE, which last week won 20-9, and the following Wednesday against Ain't Got a Clue, which truly did not during its last encounter.

Kiel Voight and former colleague Jordan Backs scored a game-high 15 points, and Mayonnaise added 13 points and seven rebounds for Buckiiiits, which inexplicably used the same defensive lineup for the last 10 minutes of the game, despite having two timeouts at its disposal.

Forced to play cautiously in the second half after picking up three quick fouls, Backs shot a very un-JJ-like 7-for-19 from the field, despite several strong drives into the paint. He did, however, finish with four rebounds and six steals, all of which came in the first half.

Only four of seven players scored for Buckiiiits, including your trusty correspondent, who finished with 0 points, one rebound and two steals, in addition to suffocating defense and innumerable high-fives in an attempt to boost team morale.

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Just one more thing

Not that I feel any different about my previous post, but I thought I should add this. Knowshon Moreno took out a full page advertisement in the Athens Banner-Herald to thank the Bulldog Nation for their support. As I mentioned in the other post, Moreno always represented the school with class and played his heart out. Never any doubt about that. Just wish he was coming back. Either way...Damn Good Dawg!

It was real, and it was good. But it wasn't real good.

If you thought the BCS Championship game would be the last time you saw Tim Tebow flapping his arms to pump up a Gator crowd this season, you were unfortunately mistaken. As expected, Superman announced he will be returning for his senior season, setting up a possible third national title and second Heisman trophy.

Tebow cited his close relationship with Urban Meyer, his loyalty to his school, and his desire for another title as his reasons for coming back. Obviously, this is troubling news for Georgia fans, as a Florida team with a senior Tebow should be frighteningly good.

Besides sending chills down any Georgia fan's spine, Tebow's announcement sets up an interesting dichotomy between his decision and the decisions of a couple of well-known footballers that used to play in Athens.

Of course, I'm talking about Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, who announced with much less fanfare that they're taking off for the NFL.

Neither star's decision was unexpected. Stafford is a possible No. 1 pick and Moreno is projected to be one of the first running backs taken. Conventional wisdom holds that running backs only have so many carries in them, so Moreno needs to make his money while he can.

As is well-known by anyone who knows me, I will never have the opportunity to make a mult-million dollar athletic decision. No one wants me to leave school early and enter any drafts. So obviously, it's a lot different for me to talk about this than someone who actually sees those dollar signs up close and personal.

I'm not angry at either of them. I'm just disappointed.

Except for No. 34, Moreno is in my opinion, the most talented running back in Georgia history. He's the only Georgia tailback other than Hershel to post back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons. He was simply electrifying and played with a passion that was infectious.

Meanwhile, Stafford was the one of the most highly-recruited prospects in program history. The laser-armed quarterback was thought by many to be a messiah for a championship-starved Bulldog Nation. He had all the tools: a strong arm, size, touch, and football knowledge. Upon arriving in Athens, Stafford was tabbed by ESPN's NFL draft guru Mel Kiper as a future No. 1 pick. This was before he had ever thrown a pass for the Bulldogs.

Now, Kiper's prediction is turning into a prophecy.

Despite the superlatives and accolades that have been bestowed on this duo, they were failures in one very large aspect; they never won a championship. Of any kind.

Two of the most celebrated athletes in Georgia history couldn't do what David Greene and Musa Smith did. Or D.J. Shockley and Thomas Brown.

Now, I'm not saying this is their fault by any means. But the purpose of this post isn't to decide why the Bulldogs have come up empty recently when it comes to SEC titles and BCS titles.

This season in particular, there are plenty of other things to point to. The expectations. The injuries. Plain old lack of talent.

But here's my question. Don't these stars, who stand to make millions thanks to the opportunity the University of Georgia gave them, owe their teammates and their school another shot?

Shouldn't there be some measure of pride and a "sense of duty" for them to accomplish something as a team? I would argue yes.

A portion of my money goes to pay for their scholarships. We chant their names and buy their jerseys. What we have is a Chic-Fil-A Bowl win, a spanking of BCS stepchild Hawaii, and a lackluster win over a mediocre Michigan State team to show for it.

Neither player has ever even played for an SEC title. Again, I don't blame them. But shouldn't they want to do better? For Stafford, the NFL would certainly be waiting next year, again as a potential No. 1 pick. Moreno would be an early first-rounder next year, barring injury. Why not come back and "finish the drill?"

For one, Moreno hails from an extremely distant corner of the Bulldog Nation: Belford, New Jersey. Likewise, Stafford comes from Dallas, the heart of Big 12 country. In essence, neither one has emotional ties to Georgia.

Greene grew up in Gwinnett County, while Shockley is from Atlanta. Georgia was in their blood. For Moreno and Stafford, Georgia has simply been a farm team for the NFL.

Now, let's look at the situation in Gainesville. Saint Tebow grew up in Jacksonville worshipping the Gators. He called playing for Florida a lifelong dream. He considers Urban Meyer a father figure.

For him, winning another title is more appealing than getting NFL money a year early.

I won't accuse Stafford and Moreno of "using" Georgia. The school got plenty out of the duo. They never got in trouble with the law. They represented the school with class.

But their legacy at this school will forever be that of unfulfilled potential. I can't say I would turn down the millions they are likely to receive. But I would like to think I would have a sense of unfinished business.

So while Stafford goes off to become a human pinata for the Lions or Chiefs, the Dawgs will move on. Moreno should enjoy a solid career. Honestly, I don't foresee greatness.

Call it sour grapes. Call it "jilted lover" syndrome. I just think these two owe Georgia and their teammates something.

For what it's worth, I think Joe Cox will bring much-needed passion to the quarterback position. He was a highly-touted recruit and will "fill in" just fine.

So farewell Matthew and Knowshon. We wish you well. Just know, you won't be remembered anywhere near as fondly as Shockley and Thomas Brown. You're not in the same time zone as having a legacy like Tebow's. Enjoy the NFL.

The Worst Week Ever.

I've alluded to the fact before, but it takes a lot to disappoint most Atlanta fans.  This is partially due to the fact that most Atlanta fans are apathetic to sports, and partially to the fact that we've spent the last decade with our football and basketball franchises devolving into Clipper territory, this year notwithstanding.

This week was certainly a lot.  As I type this, the Georgia Men's Basketball team just squandered away a 4 point lead over Tennessee, turning it into a double digit loss over a span of about five minutes.  This by itself is not terribly frustrating, as I don't really expect the mens basketball team to win a conference game, much less over the SEC's elite team.  However, for someone who was looking for just the slightest ray of hope that the Sports Gods do not hate Atlanta, it was just another punch to the stomach.

The starting point for the Worst Week Ever was the Falcons loss on Sunday.  After rallying to obtain a halftime lead, Kurt Warner decided to take the Gabe Kapler approach.  He was inaccurate with his passing, but every completion he made seemed to be in excess of 50 yards.  While Atlanta regained hope behind an impressive touchdown march by Matt Ryan and an incredible tackle by John Abraham resulting in a 3rd and 17 situation; linebacker Keith Brooking inexplicably took the low route in coverage leading to the final nail in the Falcons comeback season.  

While there was plenty of grumbling after the game (and I'm still irate about the "in the grass" safety call that negated a completion and added 2 points to the deficit), the Falcons were significantly better than anyone could have predicted, and Atlanta fans now have a reason to "wait until next year."

The next blow came Wednesday afternoon, when Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno both declared for the draft.  While we all knew that it was coming (especially after they announced a press conference), the little ball of hope inside of me was much more convincing than any sort of logic.  I've also heard from other respected sources that their "little balls of hope" have a lot of faith in Joe Cox.  Citing the Colorado game from three years ago, the sole touchdown drive against Florida, and the fact that he never lost a game in High School, they make a convincing case.  

To Cox's credit, he has the passion for Georgia Football that kept him from transferring to another school, and while he may not have the ridiculous arm strength that catapulted Matthew Stafford to the top of the draft charts, Mark Richt has traditionally taken slightly above-average quarterbacks and led them to prestige, be it Weinke, Ward, or Greene.  Regardless, it's disheartening to see what was possibly the most talented Georgia team ever leave without accomplishing their potential.  

We had still only hit the point of "mildly upset" until the news broke on Thursday afternoon that John Smoltz was going to sign with the Red Sox.  I know Lav gave his opinion on this yesterday.  To his credit, it was well-reasoned and logical. However, he is absolutely wrong.  It is one thing if Smoltz was acting as a mercenary, demanding the Braves outbid every other team.  However, despite the PR spin that Terry McGuirk and the Braves front office have attempted to put out, Smoltz was never officially offered a contract.  

There was speculation about "an offer," but even this conceptual deal was insulting to the man who was not only the legacy of the franchise, but has been one of the most charitable figures for the metro Atlanta area.  To give him incentives for reaching 200 innings is insulting, because it was already known that he wouldn't be able to pitch until almost June, from which 200 innings would involve Atlanta going on a 3.5 man rotation (which ironically seems to be what they'll be able to staff this year).

I would personally be in favor of paying John Smoltz 12 million just to sit on the bench and wear the uniform, because the man has earned it.  I know that's bad business, and quite frankly don't care.  And apparently, I'm not alone.  For those of you who are local, have you EVER seen Atlanta fans this angry?  We're a city whose standard deviation of fans ranges from apathetic to nonexistent, and there is actually a public outcry for Frank Wren's head.  

While I've defended nearly every move that the man has made thus far, he has undone all of it with this.  For a team that came into the offseason with 35 million dollars to play with and no play-mates, a matter of 4 million should not be the difference in letting the city's most beloved athlete leave.  Especially to Boston.  Because while I wish John Smoltz the best next year, I will NEVER cheer for Boston to win a game, much less a championship.

Finally, my Hawks entered this weekend with a chance to cut the Magic's division lead in half.  I'm not even going to acknowledge the final scores of those games, because my spirit was already broke when I received the message from Adam while I was at work reading "Hawks are down 71-33 at the half.  Not a typo."

I'm a notorious optimist.  I think my players are better than they other team's players, they just need to hit their potential.  I defend most personnel moves because I can blindly see prospect stats and cite the future.  I have nothing positive to say about this week, except that it's over.  And the first time I see John Smoltz in a Red Sox jersey, I'm going to have to take a couple sick days from work.  I'll be preoccupied huddled in a fetal position in my bed, hoping to wake up from this horrible nightmare.

Move On and Let Rehabbing Smoltz Walk

The Braves' offseason of maddening miscalculations reached a boiling point late Wednesday night, when ESPN first reported that iconic pitcher John Smoltz was on the verge of signing a $5.5 million, one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Red Sox, ending one of the most fruitful and symbiotic relationships in baseball, if not sports.

And now for the latest up-to-date scoreboard: MLB 4, Braves 0.

Here's a short recap of perhaps the most inglorious three months in team history:

• There were the failed Jake Peavy negotiations, which involved Padres general manager Kevin Towers outmuscling Braves (and Cubs) officials in what became a six-week soap opera that, as we know, ended without resolution.
• There were the failed A.J. Burnett negotiations, which, note the trend, ended with Yankees officials outbiding GM Frank Wren and leaving the penny-pinching Braves desperate and grasping for the next-best free-agent starter.
• There were the misleading negotiations with free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, the phantom term sheet, the moratorium on all Paul Kinzer-related clients and the public faceplant the Braves endured.

Those are enough front-office gaffes for half a decade, let alone a single offseason.

And then came Wednesday, and public backlash from the -- you guessed it! -- failed negotiations with John Smoltz.

Four weeks ago it was written in this space that the Braves needed to make a refined and definite splash in the remaining weeks before pitchers and catchers report, or another third-place finish in the NL East was imminent.

Make that a fourth-place finish.

The departure of Smoltz and the, ahem, smoldering residue in the Braves clubhouse, has left obvious questions regarding the direction of the team. Now thrust into Face of the Franchise status, Jones, speaking of his recent conversation with intriguing free-agent Derek Lowe, kicked off his tenure with this barb directed toward team officials, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "He (Lowe) is definitely interested, but this carnage that just happened is not very appealing."

Initial reaction to Smoltz's departure: Slap in the face.

Two days later, after much thought and deliberation: The Braves are better off.

The free-spending Red Sox threw $5.5 million at the rehabbing Smoltz, whom they aren't expecting to contribute until June as he recovers from what was once thought as career-threatening shoulder surgery. If he triggers the incentives clause in his contract, which are reportedly very attainable, that figure can be bumped up to $10 million.

The Braves offered $2.5 million in guaranteed money -- appropriate for a 41-year-old pitcher with five separate right-arm surgeries -- with incentives exceeding $12 million. Because they just got burned for $10 million last season, when Smoltz missed a month with a sore rotator cuff and made just one bullpen appearance in June before announcing he would undergo season-ending surgery, why waste more?

Wren mentioned to reporters Thursday that negotiations with aging players are always considered the most precarious, given the need to respect their past work while still moving the franchise ahead. This is no different.

They have significantly compensated the guy for his labor for the past 21 years, and when the bearded veteran was convinced he was being disrespected, he bolted. So much for mutual respect.

Tom Glavine left in 2003 when the Mets made a more lucrative offer, and he promptly struggled and slunk back to Atlanta with a greater appreciation for the Braves franchise. Here's solace: If Smoltz miraculously stays healthy and wins 10-plus games in 2009, you can bet the Braves will make a hard charge at him during the offseason.

Right now the Braves have to move forward, and as currently constituted, the 2009 squad will finish no better than fourth.

If the Braves acquire Lowe -- and the belief here is they will, regardless of cost -- the starting rotation will be: Lowe, Jurrjens, Vazquez, Glavine and Campillo/Morton/Reyes. Don't forget about uber-prospect Tommy Hanson, who could be recalled from the minors as early as May.

Sure, the Braves lost their most iconic figure, their most respected leader in the clubhouse. But Tim Hudson, who will be out until at least August recovering from Tommy John surgery, can pick up the slack in that department. He was already a mentor to Jurrjens, the 22-year-old phenom who often threw bullpens with Hudson and went over pitching charts before each outing.

Acquire Lowe, the most durable and successful free-agent pitcher still on the market, and this public relations fiasco will eventually be swept under the rug, like it was with Glavine six years ago.

Don't acquire Lowe, and you best find another team to watch in 2009. This product could be ugly.


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Wonderful World of Bowls

Hopefully, our faithful readers have recovered from their initial round of Falcon-related disappointment and have come to terms with the disappointing loss in Arizona. It's a small miracle the Falcons won five games this year. Be happy. Next year looks good.

While the NFL playoffs are in full force right now, I want to focus on my beloved college version of pigskin. Except for the BCS Title Game and Monday's Fiesta Bowl, bowl season is essentially over. While it wasn't the most memorable bowl season in recent years, it had its share of storylines and great games.

With that in mind, here are the first annual OTR Bowl Season Awards, as voted on by me.

The Jeff Francoeur Award for Offensive Futility

Could this award possibly go to anyone other than Oregon State and Pitt in the Brut Sun Bowl? The game ended 3-0. When Mike Bibby can take one shot and equal the score of an entire football game, people are undoubtedly going to be asleep in the stands. Oregon State, who "won" the game, finished with a respectable 273 yards of total offense. Luckily, the turned the ball over three times to prevent any unnecessary scoring. After all, scoring any more than three is just rubbing it in.

The Lawerence Taylor Award for Best Way to Finish a Career

Pardon me Joe Theismann fans, but I couldn't think of a good name for an award for the best-career ending performance. Not career-ending as in Taylor shattering Theismann's leg, but career-ending as in the final performance of a player's career. It was a stretch, I know.

Pat White gets the nod in this one, playing one of the best games of his fantastic West Virginia career against North Carolina in a surprisingly entertaining Meineke Car Care Bowl. Shouldering the doubts of about every football expert in the country relating to his viability as an NFL quarterback, White proceeded to compelte 26 of 32 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns while running for 55 more yards.

The Mountaineers beat the Tar Heels 31-30, making White the only college quarterback to ever start and win four bowl games. Now, White awaits his professional fate. After a final dominant performance, many people are clamoring for White to be given a shot as an NFL quarterback. Another popular idea relates to him being a "wildcat" quarterback in the league. With the popularity of the wildcat formation exploding in the NFL, White would fit the mold perfectly of a situation-specific dual-threat guy. Whatever the case, the guy was a Hell of a college player.

The Nigel Gruff Award for Outstanding Special Teams

Named after the strong-legged Welsh kicker in The Replacements, this awards shines some light onto the otherwise unknown triumphs of obscure special teamers.

Florida State punter/kicker earned Game MVP honors in a game that the Seminoles won 42-13. Allow that to jiggle around in your brain for a second. Here's a guy who won the Lou Groza award for best placekicker in the country, yet he absolutely dominates the Champs Sports Bowl as a punter.

Granted, it's hard to dominate a game as a punter. Usually, you are an afterthought. But what Gano did, especially early in the game, was remarkable. Gano punted five times, averaging 48 yards per punt. He had three downed inside the 5-yard line when the game was still tight early.

Punters probably get the least credit out of anyone on the field, including kickers. Gano triumphantly strikes a victory for unknown punters everywhere.

The Larry Johnson Award for "I'd Rather be Anywhere but here."

You just finished the regular season undefeated, losing only in the SEC title game to No. 1 Florida. You get to finish off your sesaon by pounding a non-BCS sacrifice in the Sugar Bowl a-la Georgia last year. Life is good right?

It turns out that Bama fans might still be at Tropical Isle downing Hand Grenades after the beatdown in the Superdome. Except, the beatdown was given to the Tide, not by them. Alabama was rolled 31-17 by Utah in a game that they never had a chance of winning.

At the end of the regular season, a reporter asked Nick Saban how it felt to be one of two undefeated teams left in the country. Saban responded along the lines of, "we're the only undefeated team that plays in a real conference." Classy, Nick. Well, Utah's conference might not be real but the drubbing they delivered to your boys sure was.

You lost left tackle and future top-five pick Andre Smith before the game because he was talking to agents. Sorry, but losing a left tackle shouldn't be the difference between you and Utah. You had no desire to play Utah in that game and it showed. John Parker Wilson played the way everyone thought he would all year. Make no mistake, Saban has the Tide on a very quick rise to prominence. But they aren't the indestrutable empire everyone thought they were.

The Ricky Williams Award for Showing up to a Game Way Too High

I'm sure you've heard by now, but after Georgia Tech eeked by Georgia for the first time in seven years, the players chose to commemorate the event with a ring. They didn't win their division, their conference or a national title, but they decided they needed rings. This is about the same as getting those participation trophies when your little league team has a party at Stevie B's to end the season.

How do you explain that ring? When someone sees a ring like that, the know it's from sports. So they ask you: "Hey, what's that ring for?"

Then, you, as a Tech player, would answer: "Well, we hadn't beaten our biggest rival in seven years. In fact, they had actually been pretty dominant in baseball and pretty competitive in basketball too. But finally, we beat them by three points so we got this ring made."

The Jackets also gave head coach Paul Johnson a 53 percent pay increase after what was seemingly the biggest win in Tech history.

To top off their magical season, Tech would get to play a bowl game in their backyard (ensuring people would actually come), against another "overrated SEC team" on national TV. LSU was 7-5 and 3-5 in the SEC. They barely beat Troy. Their defense was a seive. Time for the perfect option to feast.

Well...no. Tech was still high out of their minds after the Georgia win. The problem with putting so much stock into beating one team is that even if you beat them, there's still more football to be played. As far as the mustard nation was concerned, the pinnacle of football greatness had been achieved. They had beaten the Mutts.

The problem was, the defending national champs were still coming to town with their legions of purple and gold faithful. And the Tech program was drunk with Georgia victory joy. Final score: 38-3 Tigers. Put that on your ring.

The Chinese Food Award for Least-Satisfying Impressive Performance

I love Chinese food. It's delicious. In fact, it's one of my favorites. But as common wisdom holds, you're always hungry an hour later after you eat it. It's just not that satisfying, no matter how good it is.

Such is the nature of Georgia's victory over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. The Sports Illustrated cover featuring Georgia as the number one team in the country hung on my living room wall as I watched this one on TV. It mocked me. Here I was sweating out the first half of the Capital One Bowl against the Spartans, while the cover asked, "Who will challenge the Dawgs?"

Well, several teams challenged the Dawgs this year. It was a season of well-documented epic disappointments. The defense was terrible all season. The offense was dynamic but sometimes prone to fatal errors.

So I smiled just a little as the Georgia defense recorded five sacks and erased Javon Ringer from relevancy in the game. I cringed with each Matt Stafford completion, moving him ever closer to NFL riches. And I wasn't overly excited when Knowshon Moreno posed in the end zone after his brilliant, game-sealing touchdown catch. It's unlikely we'll ever see him in the end zone again as a Bulldog.

Georgia played one of its most impressive overall games of the season. It ensured yet another 10-win campaign and a top-15 finish in the polls. Not a bad year by any standards. But it has to be the most diasppointing "good" year in football in the last 10 years.

It's the offseason now, which means there's great hope for next year. I can't wait to see the Dawgs tee it up in Stillwater in September.