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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Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
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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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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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
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.
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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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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Monday, January 12, 2009
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!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
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.
Friday, January 9, 2009
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:
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.
<3 187
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.
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.
<3 187
Sunday, January 4, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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 seiv
e. Time for the perfect option to feast.
e. 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.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Live, from Orlando, it's apathetic bowl showing!
Hello again faithful readers, and thank you for continuing to peruse this blog after a lackluster holiday season where we accomplished no more than a quarter of our usual monthly allotment of sporting pieces. Fear not though, for as the new year cometh, we have vowed to bring you bigger and better things as reimbursement for continuously hitting that F5 button anxiously awaiting the new update that seemingly would never come.
As the one member of the OTR staff who desired to come out to Orlando (a fact that I am still needlessly bitter about), my initial impression: This year's class of students at Georgia is extraordinarily weak-spirited. While I will never cease to be amused by the same scalpers who gouged the price of such high-demand tickets as Georgia Southern to be over $100 now frantically attempting to sell off their $80 bowl ticket for $15 "OBO," I grew somewhat disenchanted with the formerly ravenous fan-base suddenly turning apathetic. However, on the car-shuttle/plane ride down here, I met a number of alumni, many of which were only subway alumni, who were not only excited about the game but were unable to understand why anybody would not be. So credit to all of you out there who made the trip to Orlando, or at least would have if you had the opportunity.
The most pressing matter for the Georgia football team right now (aside from such trivial matters as getting the victory) is going to be the status of the NFL Draft. Sadly, as the bowl game nears, I see an increasing number of articles focused not on the team game plan and anecdotal stories about Vince Vance in Disneyworld, but instead geared towards the depressing matter of draft talk.
Matthew Stafford's stock seemingly took a dip with Sam Bradford's Heisman Ceremony, but as time passes the margin between the two quarterbacks is fluctuating back to it's normal degree. The only question for him is whether or not it is worth abandoning his reverence and the obscene amount of college tail for an abundance of "Welcome to the NFL" moments courtesy of the offensive lines of either Detroit or Kansas City. Oddly enough, I think Stafford would prefer to play for the "worse" of the those two teams, as playing for Detroit would enable him to play with two offensively gifted players in Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith, whereas a trip to the midwest would force the rookie quarterback to be in a locker room with the perpetually embittered Larry Johnson and the increasingly-creaky, increasingly-cranky veteran Tony Gonzalez.
Aside from Seattle, Kansas City may be one of the worst situations for Stafford, which may be enough for him to stay, now that the rookie salary cap is no longer a factor. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Quarterback is the one position I never worry about for the team. Despite four unspectacular games from Joe Tereshinski III two years ago, Mark Richt is the man who developed college football players like Ward, Weinke, Greene, and Shockley, all of whom had little difficulty with the NCAA game despite not having the raw talent for the NFL. With a plethora of options to choose from (incumbent backup Joe Cox, punt returner Logan Gray, or the Richt-preferred method of rookie quarterback in Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger), Georgia should worry about quarterback being a detriment to the team next year, Stafford or no.
Moreno's draft stock is somewhat less clear. Whereas Stafford is a consensus top-3 pick right now, the explosive running back has been projected to go anywhere from the Browns at #7 to the Patriots (Please God No) at #24. Personally, I forsee him going to the Broncos at #21, now that Mike Shanahan is no longer there to run his crazy running-back schemes.
Moreno is more likely to leave given the shelf life of running backs, which spells bad news for the Dawgs. While Georgia certainly has the talent to replace him with highly-touted freshmen Caleb King and Richard Samuel, neither of the two proved that they were capable of shouldering the full load this season, with Samuel showing explosiveness but fumble-happiness, and King appearing apathetic to his blocking assignment leading to a share of hard hits for Stafford.
I do believe both players when they say that they haven't given too much thought to declaring early, though not because I think the decision to stay in school is pressing to them. Rather, I think each of them knows that if the other declares without them, their stock will likely take a fall next year. If one or both of them has a strong enough game to boost their stock significantly, both are gone. Likewise, if one of them performs poorly enough that their stock takes a hit, both will return. While the shame of never winning any sort of championship has probably been on both players minds, it is certainly not going to be the deciding factor when millions of dollars are on the table.
Neither of their decisions are truly the most pressing matter for Georgia, however. Both players were at their finest for the last few games of the season, and Georgia looked increasingly beatable. This will also likely weigh heavily on their decision for next year, as both players performing near their peak was not enough for Georgia to beat Tech this year, so why would next year be any different? It's going to take a very strong showing from Willie Martinez's defensive unit against the very talented Javon Ringer to convince anybody that this team is worth giving anything up for.
For now, however, the draft is almost five months away. To all of you out there, I implore you to have a good time tonight, and be safe. Tomorrows a fresh new year for everyone, whether it be you or me or Willie Martinez, and there's no better way to start off a new year the a decisive victory by Georgia. I'm going to refrain from predicting a score here, as my Big-10 bias is going to sway the spread significantly, but I'm fairly confident that Georgia will at least cover the spread, for what seems to be the first time this season. It will certainly be the first time of the year.
Until next time...
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Lowdown on the NFL Showdowns
CANANDAIGUA, NY -- While attending to a golf ball-sized blister on the bottom of my right foot, your trusty OTR Sports correspondent got to thinking about the NFL playoffs. And in particular, what teams are limping into this weekend’s Wild Card matchups.
That’s easy: The Cardinals, who conveniently host the hometown Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
Despite beating the hapless Seahawks, 34-21, on Sunday, the Cardinals have dropped four of their last six games, and all four losses came against eventual playoff teams.
They are looking for some consistency offensively, outside bona fide MVP candidate Kurt Warner, who has made everyone except your noteworthy scribe forget about wunderkind Matt Leinart, who could be shotguning beers and making sweet love to Kristin from Laguna Beach and it wouldn’t even draw a look from coach Ken Whisenhunt.
Anyway, the Cardinals were a chic pick for the Super Bowl two months ago, when their fancy forward pass was all the rage with those hip college kids. It’s still impressive, but they also lead the playoff teams in two dubious categories: Greatest disparity in offensive playcalling and most points allowed.
The Cardinals’ leading rusher was Edgerrin James -- yes, he’s still alive -- with 514 yards. Michael Turner, who leads the Falcons in rushing, has 1,699, more than three times James’ total.
Edge went over 100 yards Sunday for just the second time this season. In seven games prior, the Cardinals’ rushing yards read like this: 22, 40, 21, 10, 32, 23, 19.
Those are yards. Not points.
The Falcons haven’t exactly been stylish in winning their past three games, but there’s some cliché about not awarding style points that you can insert here.
Since passing for a career-high 315 yards on Dec. 7 against the Saints, freshly-minted AP offensive rookie of the year Matt Ryan’s numbers in his last three games have been modest: 400 yards, two TDs, four INTs.
But if Ryan needs to pass 40 times on Saturday -- and he shouldn’t -- the Falcons will lose.
Turner needs 150 yards. Ryan needs 200 against one of the most porous defenses in the NFL. Jason Elam, why couldn’t you lead Bauer Football to the Fantasy Football Promise Land??
You know we’ve all entered an alternate universe when the Falcons, predicted by The Sporting News to finish 1-15, are favored by 2.5 to win in Glendale. And it should be noted that your interested observer predicted the Falcons to finish with six or seven wins when he boldly stated as much Oct. 18 on the now-defunct 2 Guys, 1 Blog. Sure do miss that template.
Final score: Falcons 24, Cardinals 20.
Pick to win the NFC: Eagles. Just watch. Colts will win the AFC.
More Grumblings from around the NFL:
-- After getting thoroughly embarrassed in a 44-6 loss in Philadelphia, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips -- he retains that title for now -- vowed to get tougher with his players. Sounds eerily familiar to four weeks before he was canned in Buffalo for lacking intensity on the sidelines.
He’s a great defensive coordinator -- note his work with the Bills and Chargers -- but he just doesn’t have the demeanor to galvanize a locker room -- particularly a locker room with the most egos in sports.
-- Say what you will about the despised Hoodie, but this was Bill Belichick’s most impressive coaching job of his career. It far surpasses the 16-0 regular season or any of the three Super Bowls he won with a bevy of talent.
When prized QB Tom Brady went down Week 1, Belichick was forced to mold a talent, Matt Cassell, who hadn’t thrown a pass since high school. Eleven wins and one uplifting Miami victory later, the Pats are, alas, left out of this year’s playoffs.
If not for rousing coaching debuts by first-year coaches Mike Smith, John Harbaugh and Tony Sparano, Belichick would be my humble pick for Coach of the Year.
-- According to published reports late Tuesday afternoon, the Bills will retain embattled coach Dick Jauron for another season. As has been reported all fall, Jauron signed a contract extension earlier this season through 2011, though it is highly unlikely he’ll make it that far.
The question now is whether 90-year-old owner Ralph Wilson will keep his coach, who has infuriated the fan base with his error-prone playcalling and nonexistent second-half adjustments. Should Jauron have been fired? Eh, probably. The Bills are the perennial underachievers, settling for a 7-9 season -- again.
Jauron now has the shortest leash in the NFL, and if he were to be fired, it’s a rather appealing position. The Bills have a solid run game with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson, who came on strong the last three weeks of the season while Lynch was injured. And they have a progressing quarterback in Trent Edwards, who is still a few years away from reaching his full potential.
The biggest need for the Bills, however, is acquiring an offensive lineman and a playmaking outside linebacker to compliment Kamika Mitchell.
-- Detroit’s perfectly imperfect season may have impacted one impressionable observer: Matthew Stafford.
Stafford, projected as a top-3 pick by several draft gurus if he decides to forgo his senior season, could be selected first by the Lions if they aren’t swayed by Heisman winner and Oklahoma sophomore Sam Bradford’s dizzying passing numbers.
Would you want to play for the Lions, who on Sunday became the first NFL team to go 0-16 in a season?
Well, yes and no.
Yes: You’d get an opportunity to play right away, knowing the champion from the Punt, Pass and Kick competition could likely beat out incumbent Dan Orklovsky for the starting job. You have two dynamic playmakers on offense, WR Calvin Johnson and RB Kevin Smith. Everyone will be starting fresh under a new coach, after Rod Marinelli was fired on Black Monday. And you get to play your home games inside, a quarterback’s dream.
No: You get an opportunity to play right away. With a team that just finished 0-16, the rookie season could be filled with several Welcome to the NFL Moments. Never good for the psyche. Either is losing 11 games, which the Lions will do unless they significantly shore up the most defenseless defense in the league. And you may be playing under the most dysfunctional front office in sports.
-- Said it around this time last year, and this year we’ll say it even more vehemently: Brett Favre needs to retire.
An MRI on Favre’s ailing right arm showed a torn biceps tendon, which may have been the result of too many curls with the Big Guy. Nonetheless, the injury won’t require “major” surgery, meaning Favre should ready for training camp, which is a must for a 38-year-old quarterback who was downright horrible during the latter stages of the season, surely the main contributor to the Jets’ implosion.
<3 187
That’s easy: The Cardinals, who conveniently host the hometown Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
Despite beating the hapless Seahawks, 34-21, on Sunday, the Cardinals have dropped four of their last six games, and all four losses came against eventual playoff teams.
They are looking for some consistency offensively, outside bona fide MVP candidate Kurt Warner, who has made everyone except your noteworthy scribe forget about wunderkind Matt Leinart, who could be shotguning beers and making sweet love to Kristin from Laguna Beach and it wouldn’t even draw a look from coach Ken Whisenhunt.
Anyway, the Cardinals were a chic pick for the Super Bowl two months ago, when their fancy forward pass was all the rage with those hip college kids. It’s still impressive, but they also lead the playoff teams in two dubious categories: Greatest disparity in offensive playcalling and most points allowed.
The Cardinals’ leading rusher was Edgerrin James -- yes, he’s still alive -- with 514 yards. Michael Turner, who leads the Falcons in rushing, has 1,699, more than three times James’ total.
Edge went over 100 yards Sunday for just the second time this season. In seven games prior, the Cardinals’ rushing yards read like this: 22, 40, 21, 10, 32, 23, 19.
Those are yards. Not points.
The Falcons haven’t exactly been stylish in winning their past three games, but there’s some cliché about not awarding style points that you can insert here.
Since passing for a career-high 315 yards on Dec. 7 against the Saints, freshly-minted AP offensive rookie of the year Matt Ryan’s numbers in his last three games have been modest: 400 yards, two TDs, four INTs.
But if Ryan needs to pass 40 times on Saturday -- and he shouldn’t -- the Falcons will lose.
Turner needs 150 yards. Ryan needs 200 against one of the most porous defenses in the NFL. Jason Elam, why couldn’t you lead Bauer Football to the Fantasy Football Promise Land??
You know we’ve all entered an alternate universe when the Falcons, predicted by The Sporting News to finish 1-15, are favored by 2.5 to win in Glendale. And it should be noted that your interested observer predicted the Falcons to finish with six or seven wins when he boldly stated as much Oct. 18 on the now-defunct 2 Guys, 1 Blog. Sure do miss that template.
Final score: Falcons 24, Cardinals 20.
Pick to win the NFC: Eagles. Just watch. Colts will win the AFC.
More Grumblings from around the NFL:
-- After getting thoroughly embarrassed in a 44-6 loss in Philadelphia, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips -- he retains that title for now -- vowed to get tougher with his players. Sounds eerily familiar to four weeks before he was canned in Buffalo for lacking intensity on the sidelines.
He’s a great defensive coordinator -- note his work with the Bills and Chargers -- but he just doesn’t have the demeanor to galvanize a locker room -- particularly a locker room with the most egos in sports.
-- Say what you will about the despised Hoodie, but this was Bill Belichick’s most impressive coaching job of his career. It far surpasses the 16-0 regular season or any of the three Super Bowls he won with a bevy of talent.
When prized QB Tom Brady went down Week 1, Belichick was forced to mold a talent, Matt Cassell, who hadn’t thrown a pass since high school. Eleven wins and one uplifting Miami victory later, the Pats are, alas, left out of this year’s playoffs.
If not for rousing coaching debuts by first-year coaches Mike Smith, John Harbaugh and Tony Sparano, Belichick would be my humble pick for Coach of the Year.
-- According to published reports late Tuesday afternoon, the Bills will retain embattled coach Dick Jauron for another season. As has been reported all fall, Jauron signed a contract extension earlier this season through 2011, though it is highly unlikely he’ll make it that far.
The question now is whether 90-year-old owner Ralph Wilson will keep his coach, who has infuriated the fan base with his error-prone playcalling and nonexistent second-half adjustments. Should Jauron have been fired? Eh, probably. The Bills are the perennial underachievers, settling for a 7-9 season -- again.
Jauron now has the shortest leash in the NFL, and if he were to be fired, it’s a rather appealing position. The Bills have a solid run game with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson, who came on strong the last three weeks of the season while Lynch was injured. And they have a progressing quarterback in Trent Edwards, who is still a few years away from reaching his full potential.
The biggest need for the Bills, however, is acquiring an offensive lineman and a playmaking outside linebacker to compliment Kamika Mitchell.
-- Detroit’s perfectly imperfect season may have impacted one impressionable observer: Matthew Stafford.
Stafford, projected as a top-3 pick by several draft gurus if he decides to forgo his senior season, could be selected first by the Lions if they aren’t swayed by Heisman winner and Oklahoma sophomore Sam Bradford’s dizzying passing numbers.
Would you want to play for the Lions, who on Sunday became the first NFL team to go 0-16 in a season?
Well, yes and no.
Yes: You’d get an opportunity to play right away, knowing the champion from the Punt, Pass and Kick competition could likely beat out incumbent Dan Orklovsky for the starting job. You have two dynamic playmakers on offense, WR Calvin Johnson and RB Kevin Smith. Everyone will be starting fresh under a new coach, after Rod Marinelli was fired on Black Monday. And you get to play your home games inside, a quarterback’s dream.
No: You get an opportunity to play right away. With a team that just finished 0-16, the rookie season could be filled with several Welcome to the NFL Moments. Never good for the psyche. Either is losing 11 games, which the Lions will do unless they significantly shore up the most defenseless defense in the league. And you may be playing under the most dysfunctional front office in sports.
-- Said it around this time last year, and this year we’ll say it even more vehemently: Brett Favre needs to retire.
An MRI on Favre’s ailing right arm showed a torn biceps tendon, which may have been the result of too many curls with the Big Guy. Nonetheless, the injury won’t require “major” surgery, meaning Favre should ready for training camp, which is a must for a 38-year-old quarterback who was downright horrible during the latter stages of the season, surely the main contributor to the Jets’ implosion.
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Monday, December 29, 2008
They can have whatever they like
From a young age, we are taught that the Holiday season is kinder to some than others. While many children run down the stairs and see a mountain of presents under the tree, others are treated to a rusty bike and an alcoholic uncle. You get the idea.
Undoubtedly, the New York Yankees are the rich kids with the pile of video games while the Atlanta Braves got nothing but a Festivus beatdown from drunk Uncle Randall.
I don't mean to be a Scrooge. The Yankees are well within their rights to p
ay their players more than the GDP of several countries. There is no salary cap in baseball. This is well known. The Steinbrenner clan has more money than they know what to do with, aparently.
ay their players more than the GDP of several countries. There is no salary cap in baseball. This is well known. The Steinbrenner clan has more money than they know what to do with, aparently. Well, they found something to do with it. They showered C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira with gigantic contracts to try to once again buy a championship.
If this sounds like sour grapes, I assure you that it isn't. The Braves' lack of recent success has nothing to do with payroll. Atlanta ranked a respectable 10th in the league in payroll last season. Tampa won the AL East and the American League pennant with a payroll that ranked 29th in the league. The only team that paid their players less was their Sunshine State neighbors the Florida Marlins.
Within the world of baseball, the Yankees are the equivalent Pacman Jones walking into the strip club, making it rain, and making all the dancers forget that you have 20 bucks worth of singles in the corner trying to get a dance. It's perfectly legal, but something just doesn't sit right.
First off, the Yankees better win the World Series this year. No excuses. They have spent money at such a mind-boggling rate, that there is no possible justification for ending the year without a title. Unless, of course, there are catastrophic injuries.
Last year's Rays won 97 ballgames with a payroll just over $43 million per year. That comes out to about $448,000 paid per win. The Yankees' payroll in 2009 figures to be at least $210 million. In order for the Yankees to get the kind of value per win that the Rays got, they would have to win 469 games in 2009. I think you see my point.
Now of course, not every team will get the bank for their buck that the Rays got. It's very rare for a team like the Rays to succeed. But the Yankees have outspent everyone by miles.
Despite the on-field issues of expectations due to such a payroll, here's what really gets my blood boiling about the Yankees spending spree. The Yankees demanded that the city of New York pitch in substantially for the construction of the new Yankee Stadium. With an economy on life support and millions without jobs, the Yankees thought that Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett were worth more than the money of their fans.
Not only that, but "ticket license" packages at Yankee Stadium start at $350 per seat...per game. Not a typo. Read it again.
I'm not asking the Yankees to become a charity. I'm not asking them to stop being the biggest spenders in all of sports. But for goodness sakes close the gap a little bit. Bring some perspective back to the game. Does a guy like Teixeira, who has never finished in th
e top 6 of an MVP vote, really need a $180 million contract?
e top 6 of an MVP vote, really need a $180 million contract?Don't you think you would be better served to, I don't know, develop a pitcher or two instead of blindly gobbling up whatever big name is on the market?
We all know how bad the Ian Kennedy debacle was but don't give up yet. I'm not a Yankee fan. I don't know what it's like to be a Yankee fan. But I do know that a big part of my enjoyment of the Braves' success during their 14-year run was the fact that Atlanta developed those players themselves.
Glavine, Smoltz, Chipper, Andruw, Furcal and Justice were all homegrown. Every once in a while we got a huge free agent or trade like Maddux and McGriff. But we didn't live and die buy it.
Personally, I'm not convinced the Yanks will be any better equipped to take on the Rays this year than the Red Sox were last year. No doubt, the Yankees have talent. But at what cost?
If you have the money to spend almost half a BILLION dollars on three contracts in one offseason, you should probably build your own damn stadium. I'm sure the city of New York has plenty of use for that money.
I won't get into the supposed sweetheart deals between Mayor Bloomberg's office and the Yankees for luxury box rights. Although it does reek of scandal.
If the Yanks win the title this year, they will most certainly have earned it with their wallets. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer a franchise that earns in with shrewd management and talent development.
But what do I know? I'm just a Braves fan. At least we re-signed Greg Norton!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from OTR sports. We're glad you guys have kept reading. We know things have gotten a little slow, but we promist to get back on track shortly. Hope you guys have had as much fun reading as we have writing! Have a safe holiday.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Madness in the Mile High Club
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. -- Buried under four comforters, warmed by a third glass of Glenlivet and still shocked that 8-degree temperatures can actually send a scalding-hot jolt through various appendages, your trusty OTR correspondent has braved the elements and is back to serve the loyal masses a hearty dish of bloggage.Before exploring the week's activities -- or inactivity, if you're the Braves -- how about a refresher course in meteorology?
In the Western part of New York, the Finger Lakes if you're looking at a map, there tends to be significant snowfall in the winter because of the "lake effect," or the weather phenomenon that occurs when a cold front crosses over a body of water. Any city or region on the eastern side of the lake is hit hardest.
My parents attended Oswego College, literally crawling distance from Lake Ontario, and they told me horror stories about their adventures in getting to class. There were underground tunnels. There was a pulley system that would guide students around campus because the wind gusts would occasionally knock girls, or extraordinarily scrawny guys, to the ground. And there was the snow, the sometimes 2-3-foot squalls that would accumulate within hours and engulf the front half of the car.
Anyway, the first big snowstorm of the year hit the Northeast on Friday, which just so happened to be the busiest travel day of the year, with many getting Monday and Tuesday off next week for an extended holiday break.
More than half of the planes that were supposed to land at Rochester International Airport were cancelled, wreaking havoc for a certain OTR scribe and his family, and clouding what was supposed to be a holly, jolly Christmas of family portraits and award-winning theatrical productions. No joke.
Brother 1, who flew out of L.A.X at 4 a.m. Friday morning, is stranded in Chicago until Sunday, after having three flights and two standby flights delayed, then cancelled.
Save a potentially career-ending run-in with the law six years ago, this afternoon's flight into
Rochester, with Radiohead's "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" pumping through the iPod headphones, was the most harrowing experience of your young author's life. It was snowing so hard it drifted sideways. The runway already had 10 inches of snow on it when we landed, which drew a sarcastic and relieved round of applause from the 80 passengers.
"Welcome to Cancun," the captain said.
And then the trip got fun, because the snow plows had yet to, you know, clear the white stuff from an already slick driving surface.
Estimated driving distance between Rochester and Canandaigua: 35 miles, or about 40 minutes.
Leave baggage claim: 5:21 p.m.
Open the door of my house: 8:11 p.m., our trip prolonged by a Saab that had been jackknifed into a snowdrift at least a foot high, blocking our exit, a snow plow that decided to do donuts near the median and a pick-up of two beer-battered fish fries for two hungry voyagers.
Frustration level: 8.
Not too bad considering the frustration level and current mental state of Frank Wren and the rest of the Braves brass.
The second-year general manager was duped earlier this week into believing free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal was headed back to Atlanta to create a formidable double-play duo in the middle of the Braves infield. The reports are mixed, but Wren was told by Furcal's agent Monday night to send over a term sheet -- the final step in the negotiating process. It was never returned.
Instead, the Dodgers re-entered the bidding war for the 31-year-old's services, and offered him a three-year, $30M offer that he accepted Wednesday, prompting former Braves GM and current team president John Schuerholz to characterize the dealings as "despicable."
In the past two months, Wren and the Braves have...
- Been forced to mash together a multi-prospect, Yunel Escobar-cornerstone package to appease the unappeasable and slightly insane Padres GM Kevin Towers, only to see the negotiations die a slow and public death after six weeks.
- Been outbid for All-Star right-hander A.J. Burnett, who signed a hefty contract late last week with the New York Yankees. A source told OTR Sports that although Burnett seriously considered joining the Braves, he wanted to focus solely on pitching -- in the National League, pitchers also must bat -- and be closer to his wife, who does not fly.
- Been publicly embarrassed by the Furcal fallout. The move to land the former NL Rookie of the Year seemed ideal: Get the tablesetter that had been lacking last year, keep Escobar, whom many believe is one of the slickest-fielding shortstops in baseball, move the error-prone Kelly Johnson into left field and give Furcal, who missed most of last season with a back injury, some relief and prolong his stay in Atlanta, where he has a home and developed a strong relationship with manager Bobby Cox.
The result: If the season started tomorrow, the Braves would finish -- at best -- in third place, 10 or 15 games behind the Mets and Phillies. And if the Nationals are able to entice first baseman Mark Teixeira with their reported eight-year, $180M offer, they could legitimately finish ahead of the once-proud Braves franchise.
There's still time before spring training, and after having three promising deals fall through because of miscalculation, misguidance or the misdeeds of a particular agent, the Braves should be more determined than ever to make substantial overtures to pitchers Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets, and maybe even reignite the flickering Jake Peavy trade talks.
Their 2009 season, and their quest to again become of baseball's most appealing destinations, likely depends on it.
Other Week-long Grumblings
-- Full disclosure: Never truly been a fan of Teixeira, the former Georgia Tech and Braves standout who epitomized the team's seismic shift last season from preseason World Series favorites to a 90-loss squad with no identity. And if the reports that surfaced Thursday are true, that the Red Sox "are not going to be a factor" in the Teixeira derby, as the Red Sox team president said in an e-mail to The Associated Press, it reaffirms the previously held notion that Tex doesn't want to win a championship.
If he rejects the Red Sox deal, which was reportedly somewhere between $160-$184M over eight seasons, he'll likely wind up with the lowly, hometown Nationals (he grew up in Maryland) or back with the Angels, who made the initial offer of $160M two weeks ago.
He would be hilariously foolish to turn down the Red Sox, who desperately need a bat to protect David Ortiz and could easily move Kevin Youkilis over to third base to accommodate the switch-hitting robot. And just imagine the AL East, with the upstart Rays, the reloaded Yankees and the Tex-powered Bo Sox. What intrigue.
-- There is no team in the NBA that matches up favorably against the streaking Celtics, who claimed their 17th consecutive victory Friday night over the Bulls. No team except the Hawks, who had several chances to secure their signature victory Wednesday night against the defending world champs, but fell in the final seconds after All-Star Joe Johnson missed the second of two free throws with less than 3 seconds remaining.
Deranged power forward Kevin Garnett was quoted in Thursday's editions of the AJC as saying, "For the record, this is not a rivalry. You have to win some games for it to be a rivalry."
Hm. Last year the would-be champs needed seven games to fend off a pesky and inexperienced Hawks team. And this season, the soon-to-be champs have won both games, but by a total of four points. The Hawks are the last team Boston wants to see in the playoffs come spring, rivalry or not.
-- This just in to OTR Headquarters: The Braves made their second splash of the offseason, resigning utilityman Greg Norton to a one-year deal. Hey, if nothing else, the best quote on the team is back, and so is the most unorthodox and clumsy left fielder in the major leagues.
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They always come back. Sooner or later...
We're bound to crawl back, over the shame of 45-42, over the disappointment of the Capital One Bowl, and over the outrage of Arn Tellem and his merry bunch of heinous crooks. Also, finals are over, so I can once again resume such luxuries as blogging and sleep. Not necessarily in that order.
One thing that should be noted is that, in our week and a half absence, we gained 2 new followers. I don't know if it was my lack of posting that interested people, or the inevitable media curiosity following the new contract of "trusty correspondent" Ryan Lavner, but it's interesting nonetheless. And if you are still with us after we failed to keep you up to date for near two weeks, then hats off to you.
The most important thing that has happened this week in the realm of Atlanta is the juke by Rafael Furcal's agent that shattered the ankles of Frank Wren. Wren, who is already under heavy criticism for doing his job properly and not following the George Steinbrenner business model, believed he had a 3 year contract in place for Rafael Furcal. Furcal's agent reportedly called him up, quoted as "Furkie is excited. Send me the paperwork." Said paperwork, used in baseball as a handshake agreement, was then shopped to the Dodgers to wrangle out an extra .667 million dollars per year. Not to understate the value of the average yearly salary of a good doctor, but it seems kind of insignificant in baseball terms to declare yourself as someone who is actually slimier than Scott Boras. JJ at You Are Looking Live pretty much summarizes my feelings on the entire matter.
Meanwhile, the Braves have ceased all negotiations with Tellem's agency, which means that they won't sign such notable free agents as Randy Wolf and Sammy Sosa. It should also be noted that they do represent Pete Moylan, who I actually like. Fortunately for Atlanta, it does not appear that they will be signing anybody this offseason, thus following my backup plan. They had rumored interest in Oliver Perez, who I can be quoted on liking, but I've grown a bit more tedious about him after reading the interesting tidbit that David O'Brien pulled up.
"Get this: Perez is 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA in 10 starts against the Braves since the beginning of the 2006 season. Against everyone else in that period, he's 23-28 with a 4.70 ERA in 75 starts"
Woof.
In more upbeat news, Jeff Owens wisely decided to stay in school for one more year, allowing the Georgia D-Line to look somewhat more competent going into next year. With solid verbals from Owens and Atkins for next year, and Asher Allen not likely to leave, Georgia only has to wait (and dream) that Stafford and Moreno aren't going anywhere. Emphasis on the dreaming.
Also in upbeat news, the Hawks are miraculously still good. For all the praise that I have lavished on this team over the past four years, I still refuse to accept their competency, and can show no emotion save stunned silence every time the phrase "Coach of the Year candidate Mike Woodson" is uttered. Woodson, I maintain, is a worse coach than either Dennis Felton or Paul Hewitt. And I fully understand how inept both of those coaches are, but nobody has traditionally done less with more than Woodson's last few years with the Hawks.
In closing, as you all know, Christmas is in less than a week. I've never asked for much, but I was informed earlier this week that I have really good karma and am going to have good stuff coming to me later on in life. So if anybody feels the need to share, I would like...
1) A playoff appearance for the Falcons
2) A solid front of the line starter for Atlanta
3) A good pair of contacts for Jeff Francoeur
4) An opportunity to not get shafted in fantasy sports
5) A girlfriend
6) A letter of acceptance from Pharmacy School.
These are ordered from likeliest at the top to most unrealistic at the bottom.
Until next time...
Monday, December 15, 2008
Who Throws a Shoe? Honestly!
Apparently, I run a blog. It appears as if I have been neglecting my duties as blogmaster general, mostly due to the hectic end of a semester. But I'm back, and rest assured, OTR is still going strong.
Since we've been gone, AJ Burnett has signed with the Yankees, Sam Bradford has won the Heisman, Auburn has hired Gene Chizik, and an Iraqi journalist hurled a size-10 wingtip at the President of the United States.
To quote Austin Powers, who throws a shoe? I mean, obviously people hate George Bush. A lot of people. But aren't there more effective ways of expressing your hatred of someone? Best case scenario for this guy, he hits Bush between the eyes. Maybe he makes his nose bleed. Meanwhile, the Secret Service makes him and his family disappear by the time Air Force One leaves the tarmac.
As Tony Kornheiser quipped the other day, it's surprising the Yankees haven't offered this rubber-armed Iraqi a five-year deal at $50 million. It's getting a little silly. Of course, Major League Baseball doesn't have a salary cap so the Evil Empire is well within its rights in spending like crazy this offseason. It was only a matter of time before the Steinbrenner clan got an itchy trigger finger and started collecting All-Stars for their army.
Realistically, I'm glad the Yanks got Burnett. The Braves were going to overpay for him and at least he's not on a National League squad. The only problem is, now the Braves are going to be hard pressed to find the ace they've been looking for this offseason. They could revive the Peavy talks. Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets (one's old and one's a walking blob of tendonitis) are still out there. Anyone have Danny Almonte's number?
Regardless, not even a top-of-the-line starter would save the Braves this year. There's still a gaping hole where their outfield's offensive production used to be, and the bullpen is still...interesting.
Then we have Rafael Furcal returning to Atlanta. Or not? Yes, he is! Oh, nevermind, he's staying. Apparently, Furcal is represented by Ari Go
ld. Paul Kinzer, Furcal's shark...er...I mean agent, basically pulled the old okie-doke on the Braves, using the Atlanta offer as leverage to sweeten the pot for Los Angeles.
ld. Paul Kinzer, Furcal's shark...er...I mean agent, basically pulled the old okie-doke on the Braves, using the Atlanta offer as leverage to sweeten the pot for Los Angeles.Braves president John Schuerholz is less than amused about the whole turn of events. He basically said Kinzer and his partner Arn Tellem they can sit on it, saying that all of their clients are dead to the Braves (kind of like that studio head that died on Entourage).
I never really understood the Furcal deal in the first place, unless they were planning on using Yunel Escobar as trade bait for Jake Peavy with Furcal's arrival. Still, the Braves feel like they got hosed.
Essentially, the Braves are swimming in a sea of failure this offseason. Whether you agree with the proposed moves or not, Atlanta has went after three players this offseason (Peavy, Burnett and Furcal) and came up empty (much like Jeff Francoeur). A team that used to have free agents lining up down Hank Aaron Drive to play for Bobby Cox now can't get anyone to play in Atlanta. It's not the players that the Braves lost that hurts, it's the fact that they cant get players that they agressively went after.
Speaking of frustrating, how about that Gene Chizik hiring on The Plains. I, for one, feel bad for the guy. He has already been given no chance by the Auburn fan base. Next year was going to be a rebuilding effort of sorts anyway. Recruits began to jump ship as soon as Tubberville packed up the U-Haul. In short, it was going to be a tough year regardless of the coach.
Now, the guy already has everyone from Charles Barkley to Auburn boosters calling for his head and he hasn't even picked out an orange-and-blue golf shirt yet. Granted, the guy was 5-19 at Iowa State, which isn't exactly a gold star on the resume.
He's following a very well-liked guy in Tommy Tubberville so there's bound to be sour grapes. All I know is that the dude better be ready for a battle going up against Saban in a recruiting war. He's going to have a tough sell trying to tell some kid he should come to The Plains and play for a 5-19 coach as opposed to moving into Sabanation.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Loathing the Loved in More Ways than One
With a lawsuit for wrongful termination still pending in district court, your trusty correspondent has returned to his blogging birthplace -- Off the Record.Oh, what a feeling it is to be back, pounding away in this sophisticated HTML format and again seeing the barely discernible graphic and title in the header. You may be asking yourself what sparked the merger of OTR and 2 Guys, 1 Blog -- and if you're not, you probably should -- and it was quite simple: Eight readers is a lot more appealing than four!
Although the run of 2 Guys, 1 Blog was valiant -- it existed for two months without the contributions from second guy on the one blog, Jordan Backs -- every blogger of import must advance his career.
So advance we must.
As did the Florida Gators -- to the BCS National Championship Game.
Can't say your noteworthy scribe is shocked -- it was written in a similar space about five weeks ago that the Gators would be co-participants in the sport's grandest game -- and there certainly cannot be any qualms about their position in the final BCS standings released Sunday.
Saturday's SEC championship game against Alabama lived up to its billing, and although the 11-point margin of victory was one more than originally predicted here, it was close throughout.
Love him or loathe him, Gators quarterback Tim Tebow probably won himself another Heisman Trophy, and rightfully so. Since that now-famous apology after the shocking loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27 -- and hey, Houston Nutt's bunch didn't turn out to be so bad this season, huh? -- Tebow has been sensational.
The dude makes very few mistakes -- he's thrown only two interceptions this season -- and with speedster Percy Harvin held out because of an ankle injury, Tebow reverted to his 2007 Heisman-winning form, when the entire offense ran through him.
Because OTR Sports was not officially founded until late August, we did not qualify to submit a Heisman vote this season. So this year's decision-makers will have wrestle with this question: Does Tim Tebow deserve to become the second player in college football history to win back-to-back Heisman Trophies?
If you listened to the talkingheads before and after the Gators' win on Saturday, they were elevating Tebow to elite status, calling him one of the best college football players of all-time. And you can make all the jokes you want about his affinity for circumcisions and social work, but there's no denying he's been great for the game -- a genuine kid who plays with so much emotion that he's bumping into the kickoff unit and chomping, clapping and flailing the entire fourth quarter.
The belief here is that he will win the Heisman on Saturday, joining Archie Griffin as the only players to win back-to-back trophies in sports' most prestigious club. And he will do so not only because of his incredible statistics -- and the Gators' nine-game win streak and second BCS title-game appearance in three years helps -- but because of the intangibles and his leadership ability. No player is more important to his team's success than Tebow.
This prediction is subject to change, but right now, with Harvin expected to be at full speed in exactly one month: Florida 38, Oklahoma 34.
Impulsive Thoughts on the BCS
-- There's no complaining here about the BCS title game matchup. We know the Blatantly Corrupt System is unfair, and the Longhorns and seething coach Mack Brown are this year's victims. We know Texas defeated eventual Big 12 champ Oklahoma 45-35 on a neutral field a month and a half ago. But we also know that, unfortunately, this is the system we have, and that this is the tiebreaking mechanism the Big 12 has (although it immediately began revising the process). Looking for justice in this system? Not happening, especially with ESPN's recent contract to televise BCS games dashing hopes for a playoff until at least the 2014 season.
-- Alabama did expose a weakness that Oklahoma and stud running back DeMarco Murray could exploit: Florida appeared somewhat soft against a power run game. Glen Coffee ran between the tackles and through the Gators' defense with great success Saturday, but when the Tide was forced into a downfield passing game, quarterback John Parker Wilson was -- predictably -- unable to move the ball. Wilson was also pummeled by a strong Gators pass rush, something Georgia couldn't provide when the otherwise unspectacular senior torched the secondary during the since-forgotten -- haha, yeah right! -- beating Between the Hedges.
-- After a quick perusal of this year's bowl games, here are five that your trusty observer is interested in watching:
1. BCS National Championship, Florida/Oklahoma: Duh.
2. BCS Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State/Texas: The feeling here is that Ohio State will upset the Longhorns, who will still be filing complaints into the Big 12 commissioner's office about their conference championship-game snub. Look for Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryer to put on a Youngian performance in one of the postseason's most intriguing matchups. Or they could epically flop, like they did the past two seasons.
3. Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss/Texas Tech: TT coach Mike Leach already has one foot out the door, and that could only further the legend of first-year Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, whose reclamation project is surely one of this season's feel-good stories.
4. Chick-fil-A Bowl, Georgia Tech/LSU: Georgia Tech will drive only two miles to put on a unmatched rushing display that will garner nationwide attention. Seriously: Tech will rush for 500 yards against LSU's beleaguered defense.
5. Capital One Bowl, Georgia/Michigan State: To avoid a public backlash, we put this on the list. The game will feature two of the best running backs in the nation, Georgia's Knowshon Moreno and Michigan State's Javon Ringer, although we wholeheartedly disagree with the Red and Black's assertion last Friday that Moreno is the best back in the nation. (Iowa's Shonn Greene is.)
More Weekend Grumblings
-- Rehabbing pitcher John Smoltz reportedly threw off the mound for the first time Friday and impressed both manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell. That, of course, is a good sign for Braves fans who predicted that Smoltz's shoulder surgery in June was career-ending. He is apparently about a month ahead of schedule, and should be ready when the Braves start Spring Training. After watching the fallout from October's Atlanta Magazine article in which Smoltz was quoted as saying he will pitch elsewhere if the Braves don't offer him a contract -- duh! -- general manager Frank Wren will likely offer the veteran hurler a one-year, incentives-laden deal sometime in the next two months. Whether he will start or pitch out of the bullpen is unclear.
-- There was great satisfaction Friday night in watching Buffalo terminate Ball State's perfect season, and thereby ending quarterback Nate Davis' slim chances of winning the Heisman. An unnamed source told OTR Sports that Buffalo coach Turner Gill is a finalist to fill the head-coaching vacancy at Syracuse -- is that really an upgrade? -- along with East Carolina's Skip Holtthhss. Gill will reportedly meet with Auburn officials early this week to discuss that opening as well.
His revival of once-downtrodden Buffalo has been remarkable, though, and a similar transformation at either Auburn or Syracuse will happen -- in three or four years.
-- Team Buckiiiiits began its earnest march toward a championship Sunday with a 65-15 beatdown of Ain't Got a Clue, which truly did not. The game was called with 11 minutes remaining because of the 50-point margin of victory. (See photo right for visual representation.)
Besides obvious contributions from yours truly -- five points and immeasurable statistics, such as team-morale boosting and mistake-free ball-handling (a miracle) -- OTR Sports chairman Adam Rosenberg scored a team-high 18 points, and Jordan Backs added 15 points and 11 assists.
The game was, however, marred by some very disturbing and unsportsmanlike behavior.
Disturbing: Big Guy, the recipient of a beautiful outlet pass by a certain blogger, airmailed a layup attempt and went tumbling into the sparse crowd. Luckily Kiel was there to clean up the mess, but the world's least intimidating player -- at 6-foot-3, Big Guy is taller than everyone else in the league -- finished with two points, a few steals and even more boneheaded plays. (Notice awkward landing and the ball's position, on the other side of the basket.)
Unsportsmanlike behavior: Team captain Mayonnaise, obviously thinking we were playing in a high school game where blowouts draw headlines on p. 5 of the Athens Banner-Herald, decided a full-court press was necessary when Buckiiiits was up by 44 with 15 minutes to play in the second half. For those who weren't in attendance -- and that's not many of you -- this team had obvious difficulties handling, passing and, most critical to the game of basketball, shooting the ball.
But was that any reason to exacerbate their miscues, further humiliate a team that was already down by more than 40 and show blatant disrespect in a league that is supposed to be about having fun with your friends? No. It's understood that points allowed makes a difference in playoff seeding, but let the darn kids shoot the ball on their side of the floor, at the very least. If they miss -- and by god they did! -- so be it. To be honest, it was disheartening to be on a team that exhibited such poor sportsmanship. Here's to hoping Buuckkiiits can play with a little more class in four weeks.
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