Huddy could be done for a while...

Hudson could miss rest of the season and most of 2009 with Tommy John surgery.

The Atlanta Braves recently got one pitcher back from Tommy John surgery in the form of Mike Gonzalez, but 2008 may claim two in return. Earlier this season, Peter Moylan was forced into the elbow ligament replacement surgery and now it appears ace Tim Hudson will go under the knife next. Hudson received identical opinions from Braves orthopedist Xavier Duralde and famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews, that Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament would be necessary. The Braves revealed during Monday’s game that Hudson’s MRI didn’t go well and the pitcher traveled to Birmingham to see Dr. Andrews Wednesday. Despite the diagnosis, Hudson will wait a few days before deciding on whether or not to undergo the ligament-transplant elbow surgery. The typical recovery time is 12 months, which would put Hudson, who is under contract with the Braves for $13M in 2009 and a $12M mutual option for 2010, out until August 2009. Hudson told reporters Monday that he “was floored,” when he found out the results of the MRI. The test revealed, according to Frank Wren in Monday’s make-shift press conference, “some [of the damage] appears to be new. Other parts appear to be an older injury.”

Hudson is scheduled to throw a bit this weekend, likely Sunday before the Braves play Milwaukee. Should the injury persist, Hudson will likely undergo the surgery as soon as next week and begin the lengthy rehab.

I am TOTALLY getting a Wii

I know I promised a music blog, but I saw this, and I HAD to write about it. Apparently JV Games has a series of "Frat Party Games" made for the Nintendo Wii coming out and one it Beer Pong! Yeah, beer pong for the Wii. It is a video game...and a drinking game....in one!

However, of course a bunch of parents and political/religious folks got in the way and made the company change it to "Pong Toss" where the players throw the balls into cups of water.

Ummmm first off, the kids playing this game, are STILL going to drink REAL beer in real life to mimic the game. And secondly, who cares if the kids are throwing a VIDEO PING PONG BALL into VIDEO BEER. they aren't drinking the TV SCREEN!

This is crazy. So games like Grand Theft Auto can come out and have people being killed and raped and whatnot, but PLEASE let's change the beer pong into water pong? What? If you don't want underage kids playing, make it rated M like the other games.

Furthermore, I see where some schools are trying to ban beer bong on campus. They are outlawing the sale of excessive pingpong balls to white people (apparently Asians can still buy in bulk. Just kidding. Was that wrong?) and other schools aren't allowing the beer pong tables to be sold either.

Ummmm like that's ever stopped kids from MAKING the tables.

Listen, if kids want to drink, they are going to drink. Outlaw all of this stuff and they will just go back to kegstands or card games. Those can get messy too.

Are the schools going to outlaw playing cards too?

Give it up Georgetown and Tufts. Get a grip and let the kids learn from their mistakes. They will grow out of it. I would actually encourage the kids to play the virtual beer pong opposed to the real version. JUST SAYING.

Pong on Wii!

Midweek entertainment report 7/30

Dark Knight making serious green, Fergie Ferg to play Prostitute, Don't touch Keira's boobs, and Seacrest OWW!

Ladies and Gentlemen....the Midweek entertainment report!

CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!

The Dark Knight has continued to kick butt and has now raked in over 324M in North American in less than two weeks. WOW. It has passed the other comic book movies and has just passed the Harry Potter movie that did have the record. We are looking at a run at Titanic's overall record here. And remember, Titanic was in theaters for 9 months in seemed. I remember it came out in October or November and I saw it in theaters in January. Yeah, quite a long run. IF Dark Knight sticks around that long (it won't) it will take in 1Billion.

Fergie Ferg will play a prostitute in the upcoming adapated Broadway-musical-to-big-screen Nine. She will sing a duet with Daniel Day-Lewis and will co-star with Dame Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Kate Hudson. But Fergie Ferg having to play the role of a prostitute? I know she will be Fergilicious, but she should be shooting higher than that. At least get a role of call girl, not just prostitute. You don't have to give it up Fergie. But then again I forgot. Everytime Daniel Day-Lewis comes around, your London Bridge wanna go down. That's right.

Keira Knightley has reportedly gotten upset by studio execs wanting to alter her cleavage in photos promoting her movies. Keira, I love ya girl, You were fantastic in Love Actually....but you are a bit flat-chested. Bugbites, if you will. If it sells a few movies, who cares? I can understand your getting upset over a movie like Emma or something atlering the girls, but for King Arthur (or whatever that crap movie was) that you appeared in barely covered? What's the problem there?

Finally, I saw where a shark bit Ryan Seacrest the other day. Well according to him, at least. So a shark bit you? Let me ask you this Ryan, were you perhaps hitting on the shark's boyfriend?

That's it. A music blog tomorrow. Have a great hump day!

Tex is gone; trade was a bust

Now that Mark Teixeira is no longer an Atlanta Brave, we can look back on the trade that had the Braves packaging 5 players to Texas for Teixeira and Ron Mahay. Boy was that a bust. I don’t know if Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Matt Harrison, Elvis Andrus, Beau Jones or Neftali will ever amount to anything in Texas, but we can be certain that Big Tex failed to deliver a single division title during his run here. He was acquired in a move that had Braves fans thinking division title, but it didn’t happen. Then the following season, despite having decent numbers in a box score, he never seemed to step up in clutch situations. It seems he was always rolling over a grounder to the right side of the infield when the team needed a two-out hit with runners on base.
Now GM Frank Wren has decided that a combination of 25 year old Casey Kotchman, Teixeira’s replacement at first through the 2011 season and Class AA reliever Stephen Marek, was better than the two first round picks the team would have received at the end of the year. Kotchman, the center of this deal for Atlanta, is hitting .287 this season with 12 homers and 54 RBIs, certainly not Tex numbers, but he is only 25, and he is making 1.45M, opposed to Tex’s 12.8M. As for Marek, he is a reliever that sports a 2-6 record with a 3.66 ERA and has 57 Ks in 46.2 IP. He is a throw-in here and Braves fans should be disappointed to know that last season the Angels offered Texas Joe Saunders and Kotchman, which was a much better deal and you should consider that they would have been dealing inside their own division.
Bottom line, the Teixeira era is over in Atlanta, and it has left probably 95% of Braves fans unsatisfied and probably more will be as disappointed with the trade, considering if this deal had been done two weeks ago, the squad maybe could have gotten more from the Red Sox or Arizona. But, let the Casey Kotchman era begin in Atlanta. His arrival is likely the first step of a major overhaul to this organization that will look drastically different come April.

What a great guy this future Indy is

Shia LaBoof (I know that's not how you spell his last name, but if you've EVER heard me talk about him, THAT'S HOW I ROLL with this guy.) got in trouble yet again.

What a winner this Shia LaBoof is. I am SOOOOO glad Hollywood has tapped this guy to be the "next great young actor." For what? His appearance in Holes? This guy has had one run-in with the law after another. After a while, when is he going to try out for the Tennessee football team?

The guy gets arrested for being drunk in a Walgreens and is officially charged with a criminal trespass. Then he gets popped for illegally smoking in an area where the signs clearly were marked, telling folks not to. I guess LaBoof figured, "I was in Holes. It's OK if I smoke!" Umm, can you not read? Don't smoke there. (you really shouldn't be smoking anyways. That is bad for you.)

He has the gall to say he is glad that people went to see his movie, in reference to the newest edition of Indiana Jones. Umm, Shia, that was Harrison Ford's movie. You should be thanking your lucky stars they even let you IN that movie. And PS, while we are at it, the folks went to see Transformers for the robots and the chick, NOT FOR YOU. Just so ya know.

Now you go DUI on us and injure yourself in the process. Good work there Shia! While I won't critize you anymore, I will just say, DUDE, why are you seriously trying to screw up a future gig in the Indy franchise? I am not certain what you THINK your resume has on it that ensures your spot in the series, but I don't see it. You are messing with yourself with all of these incidents, and you need to stop.

And you need to wipe that smug look off your face too. Your name is SHIA LABOOF. Might you want to call yourself Steve Larson or something? A little more manly? I remember sportsbyfletch correspondent Paul Mac, who after seeing Transformers said to me, "That Shia LaBoof is hot." He thought Michelle Fox was you because of your girl name.
Just saying.

Give Jurrjens the RotY

This was written Saturday morning, but for some reason it saved as a draft and didn't post. My bad.

Last night Jair Jurrjens was simply fantastic, shutting the Phillies DOWN in their own park through eight shutout innings. The Phillies managed just three singles off Jurrjens and Jair was economical with his pitches, throwing just 100 total, 62 for strikes. With the win Jurrjens is now 10-5 on the season with a 3.02 ERA and 92 strikeouts. To me, these numbers warrant Rookie of the Year consideration.
Let’s take a look at his “competition,” The Cubs sport two candidates in Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome. The latter is NOT a rookie, even though this is his first year in the states. Fukudome played how many years in Japan before coming stateside? Plus his numbers, .275 average, 7 home runs, 36 RBI fail in comparison to his teammate Geovany Soto, aka the starting catcher for the National League all-star game this year. If you put Soto on the Arizona Diamondbacks, he would not be receiving the attention. True his .274 average, 17 homers and 58 RBI are somewhat impressive, but not when you look at what Brian McCann is doing with Atlanta. Soto should be on the ballot for Rookie of the Year, but it is only because of where he is playing. When I think of all-time Rookie Catchers, Mike Piazza comes to mind, and Soto is NO Piazza. Speaking of rookie catchers, JR Towles of Houston got some early season buzz, but he has since hit a wall and his numbers .142 average, 4 homers, 16 RBI show it.
Finally we move to Cincinnati, which has about 92 candidates. Outfielder Jay Bruce came up to the majors midseason and was untouchable. Then Sports Illustrated gave him the Francoeur treatment and Bruce subsequently went into the tank. Of his 7 home runs on the season, six came in the first two weeks and only last week did he hit his seventh, more than a month and a half without a long ball. Joey Votto was a popular preseason pick to take home the prize and his numbers are certainly better than Bruce’s (.272 v .266, 13 HR v 7, 44 RBI v 24 RBI) but the real competition for Jair Jurrjens on the Reds comes in the form of All-Star pitcher Edinson Volquez.
Volquez is 12-4 on the campaign with a 2.77 ERA and 134 Ks. His numbers are better than Jurrjens, but here is where I make the case for Jair. Volquez has had experience in two previous seasons, opposed to this being Jair’s first taste of the majors, and Volquez is 25 years old, compared to Jurrjens at only 22. One argument FOR Volquez is that his team has the better record at 50-54 vs. the Braves 49-53 and Volquez is unquestionably the Reds ace with the next highest win count on Cincinnati at 7. The Braves have Tim Hudson and his 11 wins over Jurrjens and Jair is clearly the team’s number 2 starter.
But all of that said, there is still plenty of time left in the year for Jurrjens to post a few more wins, and if the Braves CAN make a serious run at this thing, Jurrjens 15 wins with the last five coming in a divisional chase may be enough to put his past Volquez, who will just be pitching out the string. Keep that in mind voters, Volquez is pitching well, but on a team that isn’t going anywhere. That is like being the tallest smurf. Give it to Jair if the Braves make the playoffs.

A Different Measure of Success

Note: this is this week's www.790thezone.com article

Falcons fans must realize this season that 4-12 COULD be quite successful, if player development gets the team ready for the 2009 season. Obviously people will want Matt Ryan to be outstanding and earn that 6 year/72M deal he signed, but I want to focus on three players on the other side of the ball for this season: second year DE Jamaal Anderson, rookie, LB Curtis Lofton and second year CB Chris Houston. If Atlanta is to be good (8-8 with a shot at the playoffs) in 2009, these three will have to grow up in a hurry in 2008.
Jamaal Anderson was a disappointment his rookie season. The Falcons took Anderson out of Arkansas over Amobi Okoye, and Anderson failed to register even one sack. The rookie had trouble adjusting to NFL offensive lines and their moves and though he recorded 30 tackles, the zero sacks stood out. He MUST improve this year and take some pressure and attention away from John Abraham, so that the Predator can roam freely to the opposing QB. Anderson’s 6’6 290+ frame is intimidating, but he MUST live up to the hype he created with workouts and a fantastic final season at Arkansas.
Anderson’s college teammate Chris Houston also found his way onto the Falcons through the 2007 draft. It was to be expected his rookie year that he would be picked on, especially with DeAngelo Hall on the other side of the field. Houston is incredibly fast and has great closing and recovery speed, but he is now the No. 1 CB, and his teammates will be looking to him. He must not get beat deep like DHall would sometimes last year as he tried to gamble too often. Houston must be solid and he must make Atlanta fans not scream for the return of clubhouse cancer that was DHall.
Finally, Curtis Lofton’s arrival to the Falcons means that Keith Brooking can move back to his weakside linebacker spot. WLB is where Brooking is more effective and he can make plays there, but the last few seasons he was forced to play in the middle because of injuries. Lofton was Big 12 Defensive player of the year last year, but asking a rookie to play the Quarterback of the defense is asking a lot. He must show that he can handle the MLB position and let Michael Boley be Boley at SLB and let Brooking make plays from the weakside.
If these three make the leap, the Falcons rebuilding effort could be shorter than most fans are expecting. Would Glen Dorsey have helped this defense? No doubt. But you can’t jump in the Delorean and change the pick. You can just look ahead and watch these players become the future of the Falcons Defense.

Worth the wait???

Note, this also appears on scoreatl.com
After 35 months since Mike Hampton last took to the hill (August 19, 2005, if you MUST know the exact date) the often-injured pitcher took to the hill in Citizens’ Bank Park today in Philadelphia as the Braves season perhaps hung in the balance. Through the first four innings, Hampton pitched well, or about as well as you can pitch in that bandbox of a ballpark against a lineup as potent as the Phillies sport. He gave up three runs through the first four frames and his team had given him a 9-3 cushion when the trouble began. He loaded the bases before leaving without recording an out in the 5th and the Braves bullpen gave back that 6 run lead. The team would go on to lose the game 10-9, putting themselves in a serious hole. Should the team win Sunday, perhaps GM Frank Wren will not start stripping the team and selling off all assets. A loss might sound the end of the team as we now know it.
But Mike Hampton made it back today and made it through four innings. True the final box score will have him tagged for 6 runs as the bullpen allowed all three of the inherited runners to score, but Hampton shows some signs of his former self. Giving up the three runs through the first four was encouraging, considering the venue and the location. And getting tagged for 6 runs overall isn’t that terrible. Phillies ace Cole Hamels gave up 9 runs (4 earned) in 3.2, so Hampton out dueled a guy that hadn’t gone less than 7 innings since May.
Bottom line, you should give Hampton’s return a B. A solid performance considering the circumstances and it is a shame the bullpen could not protect a 9-6 lead. This one falls at the feet of the bullpen (namely Blaine Boyer) and the offense that score zero runs outside of the fourth inning. Hopefully Hampton can bring a few more Ws to the Braves ledger for the year in hopefully a year that they are still in the running for a division.

RotY gets game 1 for the Braves

I have made the argument on scoreatl.com that Jair Jurrjens should be rookie of the year this season for the National League. (I will post the article up here, once I have seen it confirmed on www.scoreatl.com. They get first dibs) Last night he certainly helped his cause with 8 shutout innings of three hit (all singles) ball. He is now 10-5 on the season with a 3.02 ERA. And he faced DOWN Ryan Howard (2006 MVP) Jimmy Rollins (2007 MVP) and Chase Utley (2008 MVP?) and allowed only three singles!

BMac is making it hard for me to pick Gregor Blanco as the Score ATL player of the week this week as he went 2-3 last night with two home runs, one a grand slam, and 5 RBI along with a pair of walks and runs, as the Braves led 1-0 entering the ninth and just exploded for RUN after RUN after RUN off the Philadelphia bullpen. Closer Brad Lidge had only allowed 5 runs in Citizens Bank ballpark for his career entering last night, and he gave up 5 without even recording an out. The Braves were 5-7 with runners in scoring position in that inning and it took a decent play by Chase Utley to get out of the inning with a runner at second.

Will Ohman gave up the shutout with a two-run, two out HR to Ryan Howard after Chase Utley had FINALLY gotten a hit after an 0-17 skid. I can only hope that didn't kickstart them for today.

Speaking of today, Mike Hampton is scheduled to return to the hill for ATL for the third time in 35 months and he'll be facing Cole Hamels. I am HOPING for 5 innings from Hampton and maybe a 1-run lead (1-0 for example) so the Braves bullpen can protect that, AND THEY WILL. That would make a nice story for Mike Hampton and his comeback, a win. Hey, I hope, (but an not pinning ALL of my hopes ) Hampton comes back with avengence and gets 3 or 4 wins down the stretch for the Bravos to help lock up a playoff berth. I think that would be a neat final story and a LOT of Atlanta would forgive him if he did that.
Just a thought.

Too early to talk CFB?

I don't THINK SO! It never is. I won't weigh in on Urban Meyer v Mark Richt in what Urban Crier is MAKING into a BIG DEAL. Hey Urban, it's all in your head and I agree with the writer who said that you are probably the MOST mad that you didn't think to do it first.

No, today I want to talk about what youngsters I think will make the impact for the Dawgs this season. Caleb King is an obvious choice since I think he will have a similiar impact to what Knowshon had last year. I am looking forward to when both are on the field at the same time and CMR and CBoBo use Knowshon as a decoy and let Caleb run the other way to a score. Caleb was FANTASTIC as a junior and even before his senior year injury, he was doing pretty well at GAC.
AJ Green, I've seen the Youtube highlights and this guy is going to be ZONEtastic. I would think at this point MoMass has the one WR spot locked up and maybe Kris Durham/Kenneth Harris on the other side, and AJ Green will get some into the slot and maybe get some jumpball Opps in the redzone. Tavarras King (sorry on the spelling there), I saw him play and he was always the best player on the field, but he should take the redshirt. AJ will play, but let Tony Wilson and Michael Moore (the football player, not the a-hole director) rotate in and out. Throw in Aron White and Bruce along with TChandler at TE and Stafford should have PLENTY of options.

At RB, go ahead and slap a redshirt on DJax and Richard Samuel, but The Animal Samuel got to school early and he wouldn't have gone to school early if he wasn't going to play. The kid (and he is only like 16 or 17) is a beast and showed so in the G-Day game, so he has the talent. I am more interested though in slapping the RS on him and looking at the Carlton Thomas kid from Florida. They compared him to Noel Devine and that is awesome. A little 5'9 speedster. Change of pace. THAT would be fun to watch.

On Defense, DeAngelo Tyson intrigues me, but I don't know if he will be needed with all of the big bodies the Dline already has out there. The rest of the D is loaded so, probably no real fresh faces in there.

A Frosh kicker could lead me to bite my nails a bunch, but Billy Bennett did fine as a frosh, so did Coutu. Wilson will be fine.

And finally, sorry Joe Cox, but I hope Logan Gray is the #2 this year. His element of moving the pocket around is exciting, and I hope MS is playing so well that Logan can mop up late in a few games.

So let's see White, Green, and Thomas with a little Gray mixed in. Maybe even Samuel too.

Go Dawgs! Can't wait!

Time to refocus the Goals

Note: This originally appeared on the scoreatl.com website last week.
As the Braves get ready to begin the “second half” of the season and the Braves sit 6.5 back of New York and Philly, it MIGHT be time to refocus the goals for Atlanta. That is NOT to say that it is time to give up, but let’s just readjust the goals from the preseason. Personally, I had the team taking the division, winning the pennant, then taking the Cleveland Indians down in six games in the Series, ala 1995. MAYBE I should take a step back.
The first goal is to develop the young pitching. With Glavine out for a while and no more Smoltz for the rest of the season, Roger McDowell and Bobby Cox should keep trotting those youngsters out there. Charlie Morton can get ahead of schedule and be a major player come NEXT season instead of two years from now. Keep giving him the ball every fifth day. Jo-Jo Reyes can become a solid number 3 for years to come as he is putting together large stretches of outings. It took the young lefty a few years and he has FINALLY put the pieces together, which is nice to see. Finally, Jair Jurrjens is making a push for Rookie of the Year with 9 wins on the season and has been a pleasant early surprise in that swap with the Tigers.
You have FINALLY found your closer in Gonzo, now put EVERYONE else in their roles. You won’t have Soriano for a while, but Gonzo is man enough for that spot which SHOULD relax everyone else into roles they are more comfortable with.
Frenchy won’t hit the 40 homers I called for, or even 30 for that matter, but he CAN improve his RBI total, especially with runners in scoring position. He was struggling earlier in the season, but maybe he does finally make a worthwhile contract push.

Bottom line, with a +38 run differential, this team is better than the sub-.500 record indicates. True they are 6.5 back, but with the lineup FINALLY getting healthy again, this team showed in San Diego what they are capable of doing. Taking a look at the early second half schedule, the Braves could and should get out of the blocks early. The team welcomes in baseball’s WORST team in the Nationals. Then the Braves hit the road for Miami to take on Florida. Believe it or not, the Braves have a winning record against the Fish this season. After stopping in Philly, the site of the team’s only win against Philadelphia this season, they will come home for St. Louis and Milwaukee. That homestand will be important since the Braves trail BOTH of those teams in the wild card hunt. Luckily the Braves won’t play baseball’s hottest team in New York for a while, though the Braves have won 7 of 9 games against the Mets this season. Atlanta will likely have to win the division to make the playoffs. Maybe the 24 straight one run road losses will end and the team can start a run. One run may be all this team needs.

Brooke White COULD make it.

I remember watching American Idol and thinking, wow, Brooke White, it just.... I don't know. Something was right, but wasn't at the same time. I remember thinking, she is nice, but she won't sell anything.
Now I think I was wrong.
Outside of the two Davids, I would venture to say that SHE might sell the most from this season. Yep, more than MJ, more than Carly, more than Jason Castro, Syesha (or however you spelled her name).
I think Brooke White, if she wants to, could become a top seller.

She had that whole "singer/songwriter" thing going for her throughout the competition and that is really hot right now. Look at Colbie Caillat. Look at Sara Bareilles. Those two women have the singer/songwriter thing working, why couldn't Brooke White jump right in on that? She can play the piano. She can play the guitar. She has that meek personality that reminds me of Violet from Coyote Ugly. AND she is good looking enough to pull off the whole thing.

She will have to come up with something catchy, but I think she can do it, and if marketed the same way as Caillat and Bareilles, she could do it. It has to be that type of music though, since she was never a power singer. It HAS to be a bottle it up/realize type song for it to work. But it could. It certainly could.

Also, I just wanted to say that I saw Katy Perry on SYTYCD, and boy was THAT a disappointment. Wow. I love that song, and while she is slightly attractive, I was expecting her to be incredibly hot (hey, I'm a guy. cut me a break), but it just wasn't. Although I DID like how she gave Cat Deeley a hug at the end. That was fun. Now I am thinking about those two. MY DAY IS MADE.

Series win costly for the Braves

It seems silly and childish, but maybe just maybe if the rule had been in place, Chipper Jones wouldn’t be looking to only miss a couple of games. The rule I speak of is the one from Little League that says position player starters can be taken out of the game but can reenter later. The Braves were cruising to a win last night when Chipper Jones pulled up lame while running out a ground ball and had to leave the game with a left hamstring injury. The Braves were leading 5-0 in the fourth when Chipper Jones tried to leg out a slow roller, but he grabbed his leg and may be headed to the DL for the first time all season. If the Little League rule had been in place, Martin Prado would have come up instead of Chipper, who could have been on the bench, resting his “important to the division chase” body. If the Marlins HAD managed to come back against Tim Hudson, who was flinging bullets before he had to leave with elbow soreness (he is not scheduled to miss a start), Chipper could have checked back in later in the game.
How many times could a team have benefited by replacing a slow runner on second with a pinch runner, then be able to plug the starter back in one inning later? If the Yankees wanted to pinch run for Jason Giambi in the 6th inning, it would be nice for him to be able to bat again in the important ninth inning after reentering the game, instead of having an inferior batter at the dish in that situation. Another advantage to this rule would be if a game went into extreme extra innings like the recent 17 inning affair at Turner Field. It would have been nice if some of the starters could have come back in. The game MIGHT have ended in 14 instead of 17, thus allowing both teams to get out of town a little sooner.
Since MLB doesn’t have this rule however, the Braves are behind the 8-ball heading into Philly Friday for arguably the BIGGEST series of their season. The Braves sit six games back right now, and if they are able to sweep or at least take two of three, they can gain some ground on the division leader. Now though, they must try and knock off the defending NL East Champion Phillies without the Majors’ best hitter in Chipper Jones. And Hudson’s injury might push Mike Hampton’s much anticipated season debut back as well, but Chipper is the story here. Let’s hope Thursday’s day off can help Chipper get better quickly. Otherwise, Friday’s lineup which will face Cole Hamels will be featuring a major hole. One that, if the Majors were a little more like Little League, wouldn’t be there.

Matty Diaz could determine the Braves fate!

Matt Diaz should be every Braves fan’s hero. He plays the game the way we would as he crashes into walls, hustles on ground balls and generally leaves it all on the field. He looks like the kid trying out for the varsity team that isn’t as good as the older guys, but is trying to make it with heart and hard work.
Diaz has been on the shelf since May 27 with a strained PCL in his left knee and the Braves have been struggling since he left. Before the injury, Diaz was not having a stellar season at the plate, hitting just .250 with one home run, but throughout his career, Diaz crushes lefties (.333 for his career) and shines at home (.319 for his career). The Braves lineup has struggled with southpaws all season (.270 as a team) and they could certainly use him back in the lineup on this road trip, especially with Philly looming. Reports say that Diaz is lobbying his doctors for clearance to use a less-constructive knee brace. He thinks he could come off the DL with this brace that would help him with his mobility. Diaz told coaches last week that he thinks he could go, but he’d “have to wait until [he got] out there.” He wondered how the knee would hold up if he had to slide. “We’ll see,” is what he told coaches before hitting the batting cage to take a few swings.
Gregor Blanco appears to have leftfield locked up and is the new leadoff man, but Blanco could also shift over to center every now and then and Diaz would certainly offer some pop as a pinch hitter.
Diaz may not get back to tearing the cover off the ball this season (he was 6-27 in 7 rehab games for AA-Mississippi) but his dirt-dog attitude is lacking right now in the Braves clubhouse. The team could use a sparkplug like Diaz, a guy that looks like he plays the game like he will get a juicebox and snack after the game. This team needs something; otherwise the season might just slip away.

Midweek Entertainment report for 7/23

The Dark Knight arrested? Kid Rock to stay away from WaHo and Thumbs Down to a new critic....
Ladies and Gentlemen the Mid-Week Entertainment report!
CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPLCAPLCLAPCLAP!

I see where Ebert and Roeper have left the show (well, Ebert left a while ago after he lost his voice) and Disney is placing them with Ben Lyons of E! and Ben Mankiewicz of TCM. They will call the new show "At the Movies." well apparently Ebert, who HASN'T been on the show for years, does like the direction the new show is going. Ummmm, you haven't been there in how long? Out with the old, in with the new. That would be like me yelling at The Grady College at UGA for moving some classrooms around. Ummm I haven't been there since 2003, what right do I have since SOME ONE ELSE OWNS IT? Yeah, hey Rog, be quiet. Wait, you already are! HA!

Christian Bale allegedly beat up his mom and sister in a London hotel the other day. He reportedly went to the police station but left without charges. I know Batman took "credit" or the blame for the two-face killings, but this too? This is probably a case of the mom and the sister trying to freeload off him and he didn't want to take it and they made up a story. Sometimes people....grrr.

Finally Kid Rock received probation for the fighting incident that took place at an Atlanta Waffle House. I am certainly glad he didn't get banned from the WaHos, because then where would he eat? Oh, Huddle House. Nevermind. But I do like your new song Kid.

One final note, go to ESPN.com and check out the bios/pix of the QBs at the Elite 11 Camp which features the top 12 (interesting I thought it was called the Elite 11?) HS QBs in the country. They are all in Cali right now at the camp and Stafford is one of the counselors. UGA has two QBs taking part (Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger) and that is cool, if you ask me. I have seen Mettenberger play at Oconee County, and he can chuck it. Murray has that look though. He worries me. I think he is going to be just an OUTSTANDING QB, but he reminds me of the smarmy QB from the teen high school movies that makes fun of the nerd main characters. Nothing wrong with being that way and I would LOVE to have that moxie as our QB, but he will certainly be a heckling target by our opponents, even more so than Mettenberger would. Look at the pic and see if you see what I am talking about.

ONE FREAKING HIT?

Backs against the wall, season riding on this series, and the offense gives you ONE FREAKING HIT?
Escobar back in the lineup and you get ONE FREAKING HIT?
You know with a rookie on the hill, pitching his heart out, and you only get ONE FREAKING HIT?

Morton wuz robt with the strike three no-call that led to a walk then a three run homer, but you would THINK that an offense with Escobar back and Chipper in there and the man seeking a 20M/yr deal could get more than ONE FREAKING HIT?! But I guess not.

how frustrating. Oh well. Huddy goes tomorrow and MAYBE he can throw a no hitter, because that might be the ONLY way the Braves win. AHHHHHHHHHHHH just so frustrating.

Otherwise, Morton looked really good and it was good to see Soriano back in there, getting a strikeout. Tavarez is pitching well, maybe the Braves can ship him to a contender too. It is just such a shame to waste a youngsters performance that he gave tonight by only gathering in ONE FREAKING HIT.

VERY disappointed with the lineup. Maybe if Teixeira's foul had stayed fair, or Morton gets the strike call.....but we will never know.

Heck, maybe if the Braves had gotten more than ONE FREAKING HIT!

Well of COURSE Bailey won!

Watched Legally Blonde finale last night between Bailey and Autumn, (thankfully Rhiannon was CUT at the start of the show) and you saw the final audition between the chick I picked as my favorite after the first episode (Bailey) v the girl I thought had the best chance at winning (Autumn). As the series went on, you saw that Autumn could blast the doors off as a singer, but Bailey just WAS Elle Woods.
She was a WAY better dancer than Autumn (and Rhiannon ps) and could sing well enough. In fact as a singer, she wasn't the best, but she sang like I thought Elle would sing.
Plus she just plain had the look. In the final audition, Bailey EASILY won round one, took round two (but not by the huge margin I was expecting) and held her own in round three. I had Autumn winning round three, but Bailey didn't lose by that much. Her going last really helped her out.
In the end, the choice was clear, it HAD TO BE BAILEY. Now Broadway has its newest star and I am sure BECAUSE of the show, it will be sold out for quite a while.

And PS, I was joking the whole second half of the show that Haylee Duff would say, "And the next Elle Woods is....ME! Sorry girls, but I'm Haylee Duff!" And then the girls would say, "Yeah, you are Lizzie McGuire's sister and you 'starred' on 7th Heaven. You suck."
But it never came to that.

I also thought it was funny when the dance cast was dancing with Bailey and Autumn when they kept messing up during rehearsal. I kept waiting for one of them to yell, "WHY AM I NOT ALLOWED TO TRY OUT? I AM BETTER THAN THESE TWO!"

Finally, I think the reason Bailey won was because she wanted to be Elle. Autumn just wanted to be on Broadway. She didn't care if it was as Roxy Hart, Rizzo, Elle, whatever. She just wants to be on broadway. And I think the judges saw that.

Overall, congrats Bailey, and just wanted to say, "I called that!"

Campillo puts me in my place

Earlier this year I said that Jorge Campillo was Spanish for Blaine Boyer (and Blaine Boyer was French for "awful at my job") and last week on EVHEI, I had the gall to say that the Braves would be looking for a #4 starter for next year's rotation with 1Huddy 2Jair3Jo-Jo 4? and 5Morton. I even called Campillo this year's Jorge Sosa.

Well tonight Jorge shoved it in my face. They guy goes 7 strong, allowing only 2 hits and sparks the Bravos to a 4-0 win in Miami on the Braves make-or-break roadtrip. If the Braves don't find themselves 4.5 out or less after this roadtrip, count the season as over. The team got clutch hitting from Chip and tex, and just looked good when they needed to. That's about all I can say on this one.

Hopefully the rookie Morton can give them some solid innings tomorrow and these guys can take the series with the fish. Before the San Diego win, when was the last time the Bravos won a road series? How about a division series? It has been FAR too long. I guess the law of averages is catching up and with Soriano back now and the Cobra swaying like a champ, maybe the team will win a few more road games and allow EVHEI to stay on the air.

If you don't do it for anything else Braves, do it so I can stay on the air. Holla!
Plus it is so much more fun writing these things after the Braves win. It just is.

Not ANOTHER choke job?!

Not trying to be mean here or anything, but I got a little sick of Greg Norman and his new wife Chris Evert making out during interviews. We were listening to Norman talk about his lead after the third round as the 53-year old was trying to become the oldest player to capture a major championship, then he mentions his wife and she pops in to lay a big smacker on him. Right in the middle of the interview. I am a newlywed too, but if my wife was being interviewed about her upcoming presentation to her bosses, and I jumped in randomly and started kissing her, that would be a little much. I love the PDA, but maybe NOT when some reporter is taking his job seriously. Just saying.
Maybe if Greg was spending a little less time making out with his wife and paying attention to his golf, he wouldn’t have choked away the 2008 (British) Open Championship. Norman is so freaking talented and he could have given the Golden Bear a run for his money had he been a tad more clutch throughout his career. Everyone remembers the chokes in Norman’s career, in many cases more than his two actual Major wins. He finished second three times at Augusta, twice second at the US Open and twice second at the PGA Championship. He also had four other top nine finishes at the PGA Championship, six other top nines at the British Open, three other top 10s at the US Open and six other top 6 finishes at the Masters. In 1986 he led all four majors entering Sunday’s round yet only walked away with the British Open. He does have two British Opens, but he could have had a third. The guy just plain choked, just like in 1996.
That Sunday was supposed to be the coronation for Norman. FINALLY A GREEN JACKET! The guy tied for second in 1986 after Jack Nicklaus came roaring back on Sunday’s final nine. In 1987, Larry Mize made a miracle chip shot in a playoff to knock Norman out. But 1997 was Norman’s year, especially entering the final day with a huge lead. What happened though? Norman shot a 78 and lost badly to Nick Faldo.
Entering Sunday’s round though, he had a chance to erase all of that. He had a chance to change his legacy. Forget the choke in 1997, I won a major at age 53! But alas, the old choke artist returned with three bogeys on the first three holes. He kept taking the driver out of the bag down the stretch, and he posted a final round 77. I know Norman had been using the driver all week, but with a SERIOUS chance to win, why keep pulling out a club that missed the fairway more than it hit? No one would have remembered Roy McAvoy except for being stupid. People remember champions. Their names are engraved on trophies. Greg, maybe that’s how you wanted to win the Claret Jug, but you didn’t win it. You blew it. Again.
Boy that would have been a great story, but instead we get a rerun. Just like summer!

Note: this also appears as my weekly blog on 790thezone.com

The Dark Knight REALLY encouraging kids to be mean?

I was going to give a quick review of The Dark Knight (a home run by the way. Not the Grand Slam I was hoping for, by certainly a home run. Maybe even a two-run home run. I'd see it again, and I am CLEARLY going to buy the DVD), but then I was listening to the radio and heard a 16 year old kid call up a radio station saying that after the movie, he went out with his friends and they were throwing rocks through windows and being little shites.

The 16 year old caller had the audacity to blame the movie for his friends acting this way. Ummmm, a dead actor playing a FICTIONAL ROLE did not encourage your friends to be idiots there, Kid. That was your friends. They are acting like morons and were likely doing it before the movie came out Friday. Also, you can blame their parents for not teaching them the difference between right and wrong. It was like when the parents of the kid that killed himself sued Metallica and the trailer park family sued Beavis and Butthead for the trailer trash kids burning the doublewide down. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. I hope the judge throws the book at the kids...AND THEIR PARENTS. Be a little smarter, and parents, pay attention to what your kids are doing. ANd PS, if the Joker WAS real, and he saw some stupid kids wearing his makeup throwing rocks through windows, he'd probably give them the scars from his face.

They think they are hard-core? they aren't. They are just being stupid. Hey kids. If you liked the movie so much, go home and write the screenplay for the third one.

Don't blame Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker (pretty good BTW, but if he wins the Oscar, it is only because he is dead. If he was alive, it still would have been fantastic, but come on. The Joker isn't winning an Oscar. The Oscar people are too stuffy to give him an award for a role like that.) for these kids being morons. They are morons because of their shallow gene pool.

The only other thing about the movie I will say is they clearly set it up for #3, and with Catwoman, Penguin, and the Riddler still out there, I am excited. Should be good stuff. Oh, and don't forget Vicky Vail. Yeah, BABY!

A 98 out of 100. I wanted a Grand Slam and got a 2-run Homer. I am happy. Can't wait to see it in IMAX though. Maybe that pushes it over the top.

Braves drop crucial home series to MLB's Worst

In the second game, Jair Jurrjens also tried to notch his tenth win of the year, but early trouble put the Braves behind the 8-ball and the offense could not take advantage of two middle inning bases loaded situations as Greg Norton ended a rally with a fly to center and the next inning came to a close with the bases loaded after McCann lined out to rightfield. The Nationals, thanks to former Braves Ryan Langerhans and Willie Harris stole game two 8-2. In the series finale, things looked good early as Mark Teixeira singled home Gregor Blanco with two outs to stake the Braves to a 1-0 lead, but starter Jo-Jo Reyes gave that one plus several more back over the next few innings. Reyes would be tagged for 6 in less than three innings of work and despite Teixeira’s two home runs, the Braves got clobbered 15-6. Reyes’s record dropped to 3-9 on the campaign.

that was from my Score Atlanta Braves piece.
Is the season over? well I hope not, since I cover the Braves for ScoreATL and 790, but things ain't lookin' great right now.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

40 days until football season!

Getting off on the Right Foot!

Now this is what I am talking ABOUT!
I know, I know. All the Braves did was win, by one run, against the team with MLB's worst record. But here is the thing. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO WIN, AND THEY DID. They took care of business. They didn't let a team that was SO MUCH WORSE than they were jump up and bite them. They lost NO ground on NL East leading Philly, and they DID gain ground on New York and the Fish.

Brent Lillibridge got a big 2 out 2 strike RBI double. McCann emptied the bases to open the flood gates. The Braves did what they needed to do. Huddy pitched well enough to win and Gonzo aka the COBRA tacked down the save, his 34 straight.

I know I am probably getting too excited over this win, but it was a win. this makes three straight and if the Braves even want to THINK about making a run at the postseason, they need to win almost ALL of these gimmie games.

And last night they did.

Tonight Jair goes to the hill to try and extend his RotY campaign, and he should win. He is nearly untouchable at home. If the Braves swing the bats like they did last night, I think they was win this one. The Braves gave Seattle false hope a few months back when they came to the Ted with the majors' worst record. ATL dropped game one before rallying for games 2 and 3. Well now the Braves don't have to rally. they are ahead. Hopefully they've crushed the Nats' spirit and they can sweep this thang before heading to Miami. That would be nice. Heading to Miami with a chance to overtake the Fish....now we are talking about a division race here.

Let's go get them Bravos!

Those albums you will ALWAYS remember

I was talking this over with the Wifey last night on the way home from dinner: remember those albums that EVERYONE owned growing up? There were only a few that you just KNEW everyone owned and listened to until the CD became so scratched that you had to throw it away because you could only hear about three tracks without it skipping. This was when bands were still MAKING CDs and before Backstreet Boys made it popular to only put ONE good song on a CD and fill up the rest with crap, then release your next single on ANOTHER CD so they could fleece the crap out of you.

But the list we compiled was....
Green Day's Dookie
Nirvana's Nevermind
Pearl Jam's Vs.
Weezer's blue album

I went on to say that EVERYONE in Virginia owned DMB's Under the Table and Dreaming, but AMERICA really first bought DMB's Crash.
She said that in Texas, everyone owned the Toadies, but you know what they say about Texas....

She was telling me that studies have been done that say people remember music from teenage years for the rest of their lives because of your hormones or something like that. I don't know if THAT is why, but her theory was that you reach SO MANY milestones in your teenage years that OF COURSE music will be involved.
First kiss (Hootie and the Blowfish's Hold my Hand. IT WAS ON THE RADIO!)
First song while driving (Ironic)
Graduation song (Time of your Life)
Prom song (NOT Wonderful Tonight, but instead Mission Bells by Fighting Gravity)

Songs were a big part of growing up and yeah, I WILL probably remember all of those songs instead of Fallout Boy in five years. But that is ALSO because those bands back then were just better than the CRAP that is out now. I honestly feel bad for those kids growing up now that have to consider Panic! at the disco as their Pearl Jam. What a shame. No wonder kids are going retro.

But I am sure the older generations thought that about my music too.
But THEY WERE WRONG! 90s music was FANTASTIC! Way better than 80s and 70s. Not as good as 60s or 50s, but still pretty GOOD!

hey a 14 year old girl gave Game 7 to Boston!

Some people have a problem with the all-star game deciding home field advantage for the World Series. Not me. I don't care if a Pirate hits a home run off a Mariner to give the National League game seven of the fall classic, even though neither of those teams will be involved in the game.
No, what I have a problem with is 14 year old girls deciding who STARTS a game that decides who gets home field advantage for the World Series. For years the All-Star game was "for the fans," meaning it was an exhibition put on strictly for the fans so they could see how Greg Maddux would do against Cal Ripken Jr. But thanks to interleague play, we DO get to see National league players and American league players on the same field, ALL THE TIME. Then the fans started electing the starters. Again, FINE, until it started "to count!" Unfortunately because "it counts," now, the system needs to be tweaked. With all due respect to the 14 year old girls that go to Wrigley Field everyday and vote for Mark DeRosa because he is cute or that the young ladies of the Red Sox Nation ACTUALLY ELECTED Dustin Pedroia to the game. I don't think the fate of the World Series should rest in the hands of people who couldn't vote in a real election.
I know this game is for the fans. FINE. Let the fans still get to put 18 players on the team. BUT let it be up to the manager to decide who starts the game. This way the BEST and MOST DESERVING players play and you don't have one of the best hitting catchers in the game (Brian McCann) not even get an at-bat because a rookie that trails McCann in EVERY statistical hitting category get to the plate twice out of the 9 hole.
Keep the game with the fans and let it count, but don't let the 14 year old girls decide the starters in a game that gives out the last at-bat of the season. Please leave that call to a baseball person.

Note this also appears on the ALL NEW www.scoreatl.com. to visit the all new website, click on the link at the bottom of this page!

The Body's Wedding

Want to say Congrats to The Body and Cake, even though Cake DID put Paul's ring on his right hand. She was nervious. I'll give her a pass. The ceremony was nice AND I got to listen to the Wifey sing. NICE. The reception had some FANTASTIC food and the DJ did a pretty good job, (and he was a heckuva lot cooler than OUR ass of a DJ). PLUS he looked like Kelso. Bonus.

But the highlight/lowlight of the night had to have been when Paul came up to me and we had the following conversation:

Paul: So we are about to cut the cake.
Me: Oh ok cool.
Paul: I need you to say something afterwards.
Me: huh?
Paul: Yeah, just give a speech or something.
Me: what?
Paul: Thanks man
Me: How long do I have?
MUSIC FADES
DJ: OOOOOOO-OK Paul and Kate will now cut the cake!

So I had to pull something out of my butt after Paul's dad gave a toast and after one of Paul's groomsmen told the same story he told during the rehearsal dinner.

I sort of remember what I said.

Hey everybody. My name is Fletcher and I am Paul's radio partner. As his radio partner, I have seen his love of sports and how he brings such passion, especially for the Falcons, to the air when we talk. As Paul's friend, I have seen how he loves Kate and I know he will bring that passion, hopefully a different kind, but still passion to their marriage. Over the last few years, we've been lucky enough to become friends with Kate as she has let us in and become friends.

Today you guys solidified your rocks. You now have someone to dance with when you are happy; cry with when you are sad, and you are going to be the leaders of each other's support system.

I just got married about three months ago, but I want to offer you a bit of advice: enjoy your wedding day, but look forward to the marriage and what I hope is a wonderful life together. To Paul and Kate!

Not a good start for the make-or-break series

IF Atlanta is to stay in this thing, they REALLY needed to sweep the Padres. MAYBE with some good luck and two straight wins to end the "first half" they can stay in the race. Last night's shutout loss which dropped them to 7.5 GB didn't help, BUT....
if the Braves do make it to the end of the month still as “buyers,” the team will be in the position to make a deal or two to boost a run at a playoff berth. Though the Mark Teixeira deal at last year’s trade deadline zapped away a great deal of talent, this farm system is still one of the top organizations in all of baseball. Braves fans have had a chance to check out some of the potential trading pieces this season because of some injuries, but some of the best prospects are still in the A and AA levels and haven’t even sniffed AAA yet.
Now that Rich Harden is no longer on the market, some pitchers such as Joe Blanton of the A’s and Kevin Millwood of the Rangers are still available, as well as Xavier Nady and Jason Bay of the Pirates for the outfield. But who will the Braves have to give up to have a shot at these guys? Let’s take a look at the farm system.
Outfielder Brandon Jones auditioned not just for Atlanta’s open leftfield spot but also other clubs during a recent call-up and he had some success at the big league level with a .278 average in 54 at-bats. He has shown an ability to stroke doubles in AAA action. Josh Anderson is another name from Richmond that has had a cup of coffee in Atlanta this season. Anderson is fast on the basepaths with 2 SB and a .318 average for the Braves. Anderson, who has 17 steals with Richmond was thought highly enough to give up a key long reliever in the offseason could be the bait for another pitcher. Catching prospect Clint Sammons is ubertalented, but has hit a wall with three-time All-star Brian McCann sitting behind home plate for the parent club. Sammons, who as of last week was hitting .236, might be attractive for a team needing a defensive catcher. Should a team need a middle infielder, Diory Hernandez is a name that has popped up as he rises through the Braves minor league system. Hernandez has 70 hits for Richmond this year and is second on the club in RBI. Going deeper into the club, former first round pick Eric Campbell and Jon Gilmore are both promising third basemen, and while Jason Heyward is probably off limits, former first rounder Cody Johnson could be the centerpiece of a mega-deal. Johnson has 13 home runs for the Rome Braves. Gorkys Hernandez is another guy that the Braves probably want to save for themselves, but if the right deal came along, Hernandez, who will play in the Futures Game as part of All-Star game weekend, could be sent out less than a year of his being acquired.
Sometimes it takes pitching to get pitching. The Braves certainly have plenty of young arms, and it will be interesting to see who the Braves deemed expendable in order to get a ready-made arm. Under the previous General Manager, the Braves never seemed to give up a future ace in order to get a deal, but teams kept accepting pitcher from the farm system nonetheless. The current crop of prospects includes, from Richmond: Phil Stockman, Chuck James and Jorge Julio. James has struggled for the last few seasons, but he has “young Tom Glavine” written all over him and Jo-Jo came around after three years, perhaps James can too once he gets over his arm troubles. All Stockman did this season when called up to Atlanta was throw strikes, so he might be attractive to suitors. Also Julio is a former closer on the MLB level with Baltimore and a team might hope to catch lightning in a bottle with him. AA-Mississippi’s Tommy Hanson is fresh off a no-hitter, which would intrigue some folks and two lefties from Rome (Jeff Locke and Cole Rohrbough) could draw interest.
If the Braves do decide to make a move, they have the bullets needed to cock the gun. But remember, with Matt Diaz coming back from injury and Tex starting to heat up, this offense will get better. Plus if Mike Hampton and Tom Glavine can both make it back from injury around August 1, this team will add two quality starting pitchers without giving up anything. The next three weeks will determine everything.

All-star Brian McCann had three hits last night. His teammates MUST start helping him out. This is the catcher aka THE MOST DEMANDING position on the entire field, and he plays that position NEARLY everyday. If anyone needs some help, it is this guy. Kind of makes you wish you didn't trade Saltalamaccia, or that Clint Sammons was a little better. Corky is NOT helping out AT ALL. His hitting is turrbul and I don't think he calls THAT great of a game. The Braves are lucky to have BMac, but he needs some help. Imagine his numbers if he could take a day off every now and then on a regular basis. less games, but more power. PLUS if Mac has the "day off" what a bat to come off the bench!
Just saying.

But they named a road after her....

I saw this in the ajc today, and it got me thinking....

Heading into the convention vote Saturday as the heavy favorite to win the presidential nomination for the Green Party of the United States, former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney on Thursday named her running mate — "hip-hop artist" Rosa Clemente.

McKinney's campaign spokesman John Judge confirmed her choice of Clemente, who he described as a "hip-hop activist and journalist."

Neither McKinney, who made the announcement in a news release, nor Clemente was available for comment. Both are in Chicago for the Green Party's 2008 convention.

McKinney served six terms representing DeKalb County's 4th Congressional District as a Democrat and now lives in California. She has a more than 10-to-1 lead in the Green Party's delegate count over her closest rival for the nomination, Jesse Johnson, of West Virginia.

About 800 delegates are attending the convention at the Palmer House Hilton hotel. The nominating vote is Saturday, with McKinney, 53 – who has been campaigning since last fall on a slogan of "Power To The People" – expected to win on the first ballot.

If nominated Saturday, McKinney's and Clemente's names will be on ballots in about 36 states, but not in Georgia, where the Green Party did not collect enough signatures, according to state law, to get on the November ballot.

So after the woman was beaten (soundly) instead of trying to run again, she high-tailed it to California? Isn't that a little, Loserish? Can we strip her name off that section of 285 or 20 or whatever is named after her? Please? All those constituents that she looked out for? Yeah, she left you. Probably because you had had enough of her idiocracy. Good job guys and way to chase her from the state. The only thing is, why is the green party now supporting her? Why is she doing this? Oh, cause she thinks she can win something in Cali? Doubtful. But maybe they'll name part of the PCH after her. She can only dream.

THE ULTIMATE BAND!

With all of those Guitar hero games and NFL coaching games coming out, how about we combine them and create a video game that would let you star as a manager of a potential rock band and you have to put the band together. You get to choose from throughout Rock history and put this collection of talent together.
As a manager, you'd have to deal with agents, bookings, massaging egos and all that. Follow their hits, make sure they are happy. Cover for them if they get DUIs or trash hotels, or try and hook up with Lindsey Lohan.

If they have games were you can be an NFL coach, why isn't this out there.

Plus how cool would that be, to play the game and create these uberbands do songs together and all that?! Let's do this thing. This is the band I would create....

on lead guitar Jimi Hendrix. Probably the GREATEST guitarist of ALL TIME. Yeah Slash(GnR) and Jimmy Page (LZ) were fantastic, but they could not live up to the hype that was Jimi! Fantastic. Just can't get past his talent. Died too young. Had so much more to offer as a producer and whatnot. But maybe the Kurt Cobain theory applies in that he will be forever remembered as kicking butt, instead of potentially ruining his memory with a crappy solo career or crappy second band. Jimi, you just can't lick him. Purple Haze, Watchtower, and of course, the Star Spangled Banner. wow.

on rythym guitar, Eric Clapton. WAY overqualified for the gig, but HEY, this is my ultimate band. Plus he could write some of the songs, and he is just a cool dude. Such range as a musician.

on drums, Lars Ulrich of Metalica. I considered the dude from Def Leopard. I mean the guy did it with one arm! But it all goes back to Lars. Seeing him live is awesome. Even if he hates Napster, he still rocks it out. I know he's kind of old, but Hendrix is dead. Several drum solos for THIS GUY

on bass, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I picked Flea over Cliff from Metalica and John Entwistle of The Who because I like his spunk. He isn't as talented as those guys, or even the slap from Primus, but Flea has the charisma that this band needs, PLUS he can hold his ego to let the other members shine. PLUS, this is is likely to go crowd surfing at some point of the show.

and my lead singer.....Jim Morrison of the Doors. I was considering Mick and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) and Robert Plant (LZ) but at the end of the day Jim was one of those ONCE IN A LIFETIME talents who you REALLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO to appreciate. You can't just hear his music, you've got to feel his music. You've got to take in the sounds and only then can you really get how great he his. Plus with this guy, I think he'd let Jimi get all of the press clippings and let Clapton take most of the writing credit, while he would just love the music he puts out. Plus he'd get the girls. Oh yes. THE LADIES!

other dream band....
Jon Bon Jovi on lead
Slash on guitar
Jimmy Page on rythym
John Entwistle on Bass
Ringo on drums
Will Ferrell on Cowbell
Ben Folds on keyboard

ok, so that's my dream band. I like the dynamic and I think it would work for the reasons I've already stated above. Enjoy it, rip, have at it.
Who would your dream band be?

A League of their own acid flashback

Remember at the end of A League of Their Own, when Kit came to the plate to face her former team and the catcher KNEW how to get her out and told the pitcher the gameplan, the action went according to plan, until the final pitch wasn't quite where it needed to be and Kit turned into the hero?

Well that scene played out last night in LA when the Dodgers beat the Braves. With the Dodgers up 1-0 after the Braves had just wasted an opportunity in the top of the seventh (runner on third-the first hit of the game btw!) with one out and CHIPPER grounds back to the pitcher and lil tex flies out to left to end the inning. Then in the bottom of the frame, Nomah leads off with a single then a pinch runner advances to second. With first base open, the Braves walk a batter to face Andruw Jones. They figure he is 0-2 with 2 groundouts, why not another inning-ending DP that he had become so famous for with the Braves. OR EVEN A STRIKEOUT, see previous sentence. Well Huddy throws the first one in the dirt, but AJ swings. STRIKE ONE. The next one AJ watches cruise down the middle. STRIKE TWO. Then McCann calls for another one in the dirt, but Huddy leaves it up in the strike zone JUST ENOUGH that AJ pokes it up the middle for the RBI.

2-0 helps cover up a Jeff Francoeur solo home run in the 8th, then Mark Kotsay runs the Braves out of the inning with a caught stealing. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That leaves a pinch hitter to come back up in the 9th, meaning Chipper would be stuck on deck. Sure enough he was as the Braves went 1-2-3. CRAP.

Several other things. Derek Lowe had a perfecto going thru 6. Gregor Blanco breaks it up in the 7th. His heads up baserunning got him to third on a groundout, but you saw above that Chipper and tex couldn't bring him home.

Also Frenchy in the dugout after the home run (he went 1-3 btw. way to get out of the slump-sarcasm), he reminded me of a guy that shall remain nameless on my high school (junior year) tennis team, who in the playoffs, as we were losing actually WON his match (maybe the first time all year he actually contributed to the team.) and was walking around proud of himself and saying, "Come on guys. I can't be the only one who wins today." Umm, Jackass, it is about the team. Your homer Frenchy, is nice, but ultimately it was crap. You guys lost. And why don't you shave.
Just saying.

I was hoping the Braves would be only 4 GB, but now the team sits 6 back, JUST where they were after the Phillies series. Come on guys. You WASTED a FANTASTIC effort by Tim Hudson, WHO PICKED UP THE LOSS last night as he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in 7 innings. You get ZERO HITS thru 6 innings on Derek Lowe? Chipper, Tex, GET A GRIP GUYS.
Now with a day off, you have Jorge and Morton going against Peavy and Maddux. Then Randy Wolf is closing the first half. The Braves have back themselves into a corner and NEED a sweep now. Nice guys. Way to back yourself into a corner.
Come on team

Midweek-entertainment report 7/9/08

Because YOUR screen is so popular right now, more MICHAEL SCOTT, and IT'S A BABY!

Ladies and Gents, It's the midweek entertainment report!
CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!

(First off, since I said Gents, I thought I would throw my thoughts out on that show "From G's to Gents". In the promo for it, the one "G" says, "if not for this show, I'd be in jail or dead." The other one says, "this is more than a show, this is real life. I can't go back!" Ummm, hey guys, you CAN stop being "G's" on your own. Take you grills out. Stop dressing in overly baggy clothing. Instead of buying those jeans in that style, guy some khakis. Just saying.... Needless to say, I will NOT be watching that one.)

Now then, I saw where some dude named John R Martin is suing Nintendo, saying that since he patented the idea of a touch screen, the Nintendo DS violated the patent. Really, because it also sounds like since 1995, touchscreens have been updated, and interestingly enough, it looks like you updated the patent only AFTER the screen came out. As far as this lawsuit, Mr. Martin, I didn't see your touchscreen in Best Buy the other day. I've seen the N:DS, but never yours. Sorry. This is like Al Gore saying he invented the internet. I will patent it right now...a touchscreen TV. If microsoft invents it, I AM SUING!

Roomie sent me info saying that Steve Carell aka MICHAEL SCOTT will stick around The Office for a few more seasons. Thank goodness. I was worried he would leave to make movies and we'd be stuck with Jon Lovitz as the new boss. Actually, I would have preferred Ricky Gervias to come in as the new boss, but I REALLY wanted Michael "STEAK" Scott to stay in Scranton. Thank goodness he is. WOOOO HOOOO!

Hey, Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend welcomed a baby boy into the world earlier this week. Yep, you guessed it, the boy was not wearing a shirt when he was develivered. HA!
Speaking of new babies, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman had a baby girl and they named her Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, named after some Painting. Wow. I guess I will name my kid Dogs Playing Poker Proctor.

Finally, a bonus for the loyal readers out there.....apparently Jon Peter Lewis and Ace Young each released an independent record. Both were American Idol flameouts, in various seasons, JPL the Pen salesman and Ace the Face with no real talent besides the ability to (sometimes) hit the high note. I am AMAZED that those guys didn't get snatched up. What gives? wait.....now I remember. they weren't good. THAT'S RIGHT.

Tomorrow, i create, THE ULTIMATE BAND!

A new Sheriff in town

Note: This is the cover story for this week's Score Atlanta. To read the article in the paper, go to www.scoreatl.com, or click on the link at the bottom of this page. You can also find where to pick up a copy from one of our 1300 distribution stations!
When John Schuerholz stepped down from General Manager duties this past off-season and assumed his new role of Team President, many Atlanta Braves fans wondered what would happen to their team. They worried about the guy that had to follow THE MAN for so many years. They shouldn’t have been so worried. Frank Wren was promoted from Braves top assistant to the role of general manager, and he quickly went about assembling a team that many experts predicted would compete not just for a division crown but also a World Series. Jayson Stark of ESPN predicted that Frank Wren’s collection of talent would win the World Series and his colleague Peter Gammons had the Braves in the Series.
Though injuries have dealt a cruel blow to Atlanta’s early chances at a division crown, the two in charge of the Braves seem to be happy with the job they have done so far, and they think they can make it through this tough patch. “We’re gonna have to play our way out of this,” said General Manager Frank Wren. Despite the recent rash of injuries, the Braves still found themselves within shouting distance of NL East leading Philadelphia, and though the Phillies swept the Braves last week, players are starting to come back from injuries. Assistant GM Bruce Manno, who has worked with Wren for quite a while believes that Wren did a good job putting this team together. “As we start to get our players back, we’ll be able to make a few other moves, obviously, to get a healthier lineup on the field. At the beginning of the season we obviously had a very, very good, competitive club, and unfortunately we’ve been hit with several key injuries that we’ve had to try to get through.” No one could have guessed that John Smoltz would be lost for the season to an arm surgery and that one of Wren’s off-season acquisitions in Tom Glavine would go onto the DL twice, his first two trips in his long career.
Another one of Wren’s moves this past off-season was dealing for Oakland outfielder Mark Kotsay, and he has recently returned to the lineup after missing some time for an injured back. His bat should help to bolster a team that Braves manager Bobby Cox thinks, “should be hitting.” Said Wren about his team’s struggles so far, “it’s not the starting pitching that’s been disappointing, it’s been the hitting.” Should the hitting come around, then perhaps the team can focus on potentially bringing in some help from outside the organization. Though Wren would not comment on any names, Manno said, “As we start to get our players back, we’ll be able to make a few other moves. If there’s an opportunity to improve the club, we’re certainly going to be open to that as we go forward.”
But how is Wren adjusting to life as a GM? This isn’t his first time as a general manager. He served as Baltimore’s GM during the 1999 campaign, even signing Albert Belle to the largest contract at the time. The team struggled, despite a high payroll and Orioles owner Peter Angelos decided to make a change. Wren took the chance to jump on with the Braves organization and serve an apprenticeship under Schuerholz. He had previously served under Dave Dombrowski with the Florida Marlins after beginning his career with the Montreal Expos. His successes with those clubs, including a World Series title in 1997 with Florida have no doubt prepared him for his current role with Atlanta. Manno has says that it is a pleasure working with Wren on a daily basis. “I’ve worked with Frank before and I’ve known him a long time. We’ve worked real well together.” Manno says that the longer you work with someone, and get to know that person is when you start to complement each other. “You know what to anticipate and we work real well that way,” says Manno.
Wren has had some tough shoes to fill and has faced some difficulties along the way in his first season in charge of the Braves’ front office, but you get the feeling Wren won’t back down from this challenge of leading the Braves. “It’s very challenging, but it’s also a long season. You just have to take it one day at a time, one step at a time. When you get your players in place, that’s an opportunity to try and move forward.”

Let's keep the rotation in tact.

This Blog was supposed to appear on the launch of the all new Score Atlanta website, but the date has been pushed back. So I thought I'd release it right here! Enjoy

As of last Thursday, the Atlanta Braves brass let Score Atlanta know that they were waiting for most of their injured players to come back before moving forward with any potential moves of bringing anyone in from outside the organization. Assistant GM Bruce Manno said that he believes the team was a “very, very good and competitive team,” at the beginning of the year, and when everyone gets back into their place, “that’s an opportunity to go and try and move forward.” When everyone does eventually come back, and it seems that Chipper, Kotsay, and Gonzalez are back with Soriano coming soon and Hampton and Glavine perhaps due back before the season is over, the Braves might still make a run at this thing. The one thing getting lost in the injury shuffle is how well the young pitchers are doing.
Newcomer Jair Jurrjens, acquired in the off-season along with another outstanding young outfielder from Detroit, has become the team’s second ace. With all due respect to Tim Hudson, Jurrjens may be the team’s best pitcher at home and he has been throwing so well, he might receive all-star consideration. Also, after two seasons of up-and-down performances, Jo-Jo Reyes appears to be in Atlanta to stay and apparently has locked up the number three spot in the rotation for many years to come. The lefty Jo-Jo has been cobbling together three and four great quality starts in a row for most of the season, though he has worn the tag of “Hard Luck Loser” in several outings where he has given up one or two runs in 7+ innings but ended up with a loss because the offense has disappeared. Finally, Charlie Morton started his career with a win in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels and though he gave up a bunch of runs the last time out, he has shown he deserves to stick in Atlanta in 2009. Throw in Phil Stockman’s success in limited time in Atlanta and the possibility that the light will turn on for Chuck James, and the Braves have a potential for a strong young rotation in 2009, bolstered by Ace Tim Hudson in a contract-push year.
The thing that the Braves brass should do is NOT panic come July 31 and send one of these youngsters out in a deal for a rental player that may walk come December. Stick with the kids and recall the days of 1991-1995 when young Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Steve Avery, along with Maddux took you to heights no one in Atlanta thought possible. Jurrjens/Reyes/Morton. Could be a winning formula for years to come.

all the bats get going...except Frenchy's

9-3. two home runs from BMac. even one from Tex. Yunel Escobar hit a bases loaded double. The team got a strong effort from Jair Jurrjens as he won hiw 9th game of the season. Heck even newly signed Julian Tavarez got some action (he only retired one of the five hitters he faced and gave up two runs, but still).

The only negative was...Frenchy. 1-5 with a strikeout. He did throw a guy out from the outfield, but 1-5. where was that confidence he was showing in AA, you know, over those three days? His performance will be overlooked because the team won and gained a game on Philly, and they only sit 5 GB now (as I have said, they need to be 4GB or less going into the ASB, and with Huddy on the hill tonight and the Padres in the next few days, a 5 game winning streak isn't out of the question!).

But this 1-5 can't be good. Maybe he is in good spirits, but his single came after a home run when the game was locked up. I would have rather the single come in the second inning with a runner on second. Even Kotsay got his groove back in this game.

I am worried about Frenchy, but hopefully tonight he goes 2-5. Marked improvement is all I want. Also I want 3 runs of support for Huddy, because he is going 7 and allowing 1. I can FEEL IT!

Frenchy's BACK as Braves lose to LA

Before the Braves participated in the battle for LA, they recalled Frenchy from the minors. After three games. True he went 7-13, but it was against AA pitching! Frank Wren said that his confidence was up and it had NOTHING to do with the injuries....REALLY? Hey way to hit .500+ off guys that are two years out of high school and will probably never pitch in the majors. Some are guys that will be working at the local car wash in three weeks. So hey Jeff, way to "get your confidence back" against those guys. Good Work.

As far as bringing him back now, you look like you were overreacting to "betraying" Jeff like he told the AJC you did. If you are going to go through with it, then DO IT. You are like a parent that takes the TV time away from his son because the boy bit his sister, but then after thirty minutes you give in because they cried. The way Jeff threw the GM under the bus, let him ROT down there for all 10 days, and if at the end of ten days, his confidence is NOT there, they STAY THERE UNTIL IT COMES BACK! What happens if he goes 0-the roadtrip? Are you going to send him back down? This had better work. Wren and the Braves are suffering from a ton of bad press right now, good thing Score Atlanta is running a positive piece on him tomorrow!

Back to the Braves last night. A dude coming off an arm injury nearly tosses the perfecto against the Braves! Interestingly enough lil tex is the one that broke the streak of hitters. WOW! Tex? He is heating up...trade him off.

If the Braves aren't within 4 of Philly by the ASGB, strip this team down. Tex=gone, Frenchy=gone, Gonzo=gone. In my opinion, only JJ, Jo-Jo, Morton, Chipper, Yunel and McCann are untouchable. Take calls on the rest. You don't have to necessarily TAKE the deal offered, but the rest you could take a call on. Yes, that means Huddy. But if the Yankees are offering A Philip Hughes plus another minor leaguer or two, bye bye Tim. If Boston offers Manny Delcarmen plus Lester for Tex, DO IT. If Some one (The REDS) offers a good young pitcher (say, Homer Bailey) for Frenchy, DO IT.
Let's rebuild this thing ONLY IF THE TEAM IS MORE THAN 4 GB at the break.

The Gall of that guy!

I just read an on-line review of the movie Hancock on yahoo, that called the "twist" during the middle of the movie, "perhaps the best twist in cinematic history!" I am hoping this guy was just using that line to get onto the movie poster or to have people (like me) discuss him on their personal blogs. Well I will NOT mention his name or give a link to his site, but I will call him an idiot.

(And PS, why was I reading a review on Hancock? because I like it movies have a twist, though even if it sounded like it TRULY WAS the best twist ever, I would NEVER see a Will Smith movie. You could be giving away money at the end of a Will Smith movie, and I won't go see it. And don't call me racist. Will Smith is whiter than I am!)

But if you haven't seen Hancock, and odds are you haven't (HA!) the twist, according to this guy is that Will Smith loses his powers when he is around Charlize Theron and she has powers too or something. They were created in a lab as part of some experiement. Whatever. Don't care.

But THAT is the big twist? Are you kidding? Is that Verbal at the end of The Usual Suspects? NO!
was that Leonard having already killed John G then deciding to go after Teddy at the "end" of Memento? NO!
was that Rosebud? NO!
was that Bruce Willis being dead at the end of 6th Sense? NO!
was that even Renee Wheeler being Lindsey Gardner's Mom on the OC? NO!

It was a bit of a twist, but the best ever? NO!

And another question I have....why is Will Smith still getting all of these leading roles? I know he wins the MTV movie awards for these (why, may I ask? Wait, they lost their credibility when they rigged it for JOHNNY DEPP to win best male in a comedic performance for POTC!)
Shouldn't Will Smith have to earn these roles? I guess they make SOME money because Smith does have a following that is dwindling down with every crappy role he takes. What happened to him becoming a "serious" actor after the whole Ali role? Oh, producers would still rather cast Denzel and Morgan over Smith. Gotcha!

Bottom line, this idiot who called this the best twist ever should have his blog removed from yahoo, but he won't because he'll get tons of clicks, just like Terrence Moore should have his blog removed from the AJC, but they keep baiting the hook and people keep biting and falling for it. Therefore they get to keep a spot. Oh well. They've gotten a gig that works for them. No respect, but a gig.

That's two....you're making it hard here Dennis...

First it was BHump, which I don't have a problem with. The guy got arrested...three times (really, DFelt, why was this guy a Dawg?)
Now we get THIS news....
From the AJC
Jeremy Jacob came to Georgia last year as a four-star basketball recruit. He left without anyone knowing whether he was worthy of that distinction. Jacob, a 6-foot-7 forward from Baton Rouge, La., officially quit the men's team on Monday. However, the transfer process was initiated early last week and head coach Dennis Felton and assistant coach Desmond Oliver, who recruited Jacob, spent the better part of the past week trying to dissuade him.

Jacob's departure continues a disturbing trend of attrition under Felton. Jacob is the fifth player from last year's team that has either quit or been dismissed. The others were forward Takais Brown (dismissed), guard Mike Mercer (dismissed), center Rashaad Singleton (transfer) and guard Billy Humphrey (dismissed). That makes more than a dozen that have left without completing their eligibility during Felton's five-year tenure.

Felton said it's a sign of the times.

Wow. another guy leaves the program.
So....if you are keeping track
PG Zac Swansey
SG TWood
SF Trey Thompkins
PF Jeremy Price
C Albert Jackson

Bench
Frosh PG from NCC
Frosh PF Foreign guy
Travis Lesley Frosh from Columbia
Troy Brewer
Chris Barnes

Not a bad lineup, but I'd rather have BHump and Jacobs in there and not have to rely on so many freshmen.
What are ya gonna do?

NOT give Felton an extension and make him EARN the right to come back after he MUST make the Big Dance. THAT'S what!

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Down Goes Roger! Down Goes Roger! Rafael Nadal, the world’s second ranked men’s tennis player defeated the world’s No.1 player in Roger Federer in a thrilling five set match 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 Sunday at the Championships at Wimbledon in what some are calling the best men’s final ever. Rafa broke Federer early in the first set, then rallied from 4-1 down in the second set with two breaks. Federer would not go quietly into the night though as he took two straight sets in tiebreakers. In the final set, the two went back and forth with Rafa eventually breaking Federer before taking the championship. The victory at the All England Club was Nadal’s first Grand Slam title outside of the French and his fifth overall. Federer was seeking his 6th straight Wimbledon championship and 13th overall grand slam title.
It is hard to say who the majority of fans were rooting for in this match. Everyone loves the underdog, and Nadal was certainly the underdog since Federer seemingly owned the grass tournament. Federer had become a machine in racking up win after win and I even wrote on this website how boring he was. I was ready for Federer to get his record then move on. Well that isn’t the case anymore. Nadal is the closest thing to Andre and Federer is more like Pete from back in the mid 1990s. EVERYONE loved Andre because he played to the crowd and he was the underdog to the robot that was Sampras. Kind of like how Rafa is the underdog to Roger. At least he was. NOW it seems like Nadal is THE MAN. He is the new king as he has now won the last two legs of the Grand Slam. And Federer didn’t take home the Australian Open either as Novak Djokovic claimed that prize.
Is Federer’s run over? Maybe a bit premature to say his run is over. But maybe Federer will be more well-liked now that he’s human. He showed some emotion in rallying back from two sets down to tie it up. He battled, something he’s never had to do. He pumped himself up. Heck, he’s friends with Gwen and Gavin. They were sitting in his box! I said he was boring and he was. But now that he can be beaten, especially on his turf, and throw in the fact that his girlfriend has gotten a makeover, I could root for him now.
So now with Nadal holding the last two titles (both in wins against Federer) and Djokovic having beaten Roger on route to the Aussie title, Federer isn’t assured of anything from now on. Federer is perhaps entering the Pete Sampras 2002-phase of his career where you knew we wasn’t as good as some of the others, but you saw the flashes of what made him spectacular and he could pull up a bucket of talent from his inner well when he needed it. Maybe this is just a speed bump for Federer on his way to setting an unbreakable record of major titles. But all I know is he won more fans in losing that match then he had in 12 major wins prior. He won me as a fan.

Braves series v Houston

These holiday weekends REALLY take it out of me. Sorry for the lack of Braves updates, but I thought I'd throw at you my thoughts on the series v Houston from my Score Atlanta beat coverage.

Houston was the next team the Braves welcomed to Turner Field, and the Salute to America Spectacular wasn’t the only display of fireworks Braves fans were treated to on July 4. The bats finally came alive as newcomer Jason Perry, replacing Francoeur in the lineup, tripled in his first major league at-bat and helped the Braves to an early 2-0 lead. Starter Tim Hudson was masterful in picking up his ninth win of the season and Kelly Johnson homered and Jones was 2-4 in the win. In game two, Jo-Jo Reyes got roughed up for four two-out runs in the first two innings, and the Braves offense could not catch up as Houston cruised to a 6-1 win. McCann did connect for a solo home run in the contest to drive his season total to 15. In the rubber match, Jones hit his 18th home run of the year to give the Braves an early lead, but the rookie Charlie Morton allowed 6 runs as the Braves trailed 6-4 entering the bottom of the eighth. Yunel Escobar came through with a two-out, two-run single to knot the game at 6, and in the 17th, tex hit a bases loaded "single" to clinch the series in the longest game in Turner Field history!
YEAH!
I do like that Chipper was able to leg out a triple and he scored from first on a lil tex double. The leg injury appears to be behind him.
Also, Morton is taking lumps now, just like Jo-Jo did two seasons ago, and Morton will be better for it in the long run. Of course he'd like to pull a D-Will, but all this does is lower expectations and he will FAR exceed them to win a place in braves fans' hearts.

One final note, Chipper SHOULD be starting in the all-star game, AND HE IS. McCann SHOULD be starting in the all-star game, but a rookie with WORSE numbers in EVERY category is starting because the folks in Chicago packed the ballot boxes. I like that the fans can have a SAY, but the decision of who starts a game that determines home field advantage in the world series should NOT be left up to 14 year old girls. Case in point, Dustin Pedroia starting at Second for the AL. As a Braves fan I like that Atlanta MIGHT have home field advantage in the WS because some 14 year old chick from Southie thinks Dustin is cute, but come on. Though back when Joe Torre was selecting Paul O'Neil all-star games every year, that got a little crazy too. Can we not find a happy-medium?

I also wanted to say that I really do hope that Frenchy can take this demotion to AA mississippi with class (wait, he already hasn't done that) and fix himself so he can rejoin the team post-all-star break. This team NEEDS the future of the franchise (IMO it should be McCann). One interesting question I raised today on Zone Sports Sunday on Sports radio 790 the zone...would the team have demoted him had he signed that 6 year/26M deal? I say no. Stinks for him. But Mississippi is stacked right now with Diaz, Schaffer and Frenchy manning the outfield grass. Go to Pearl RIGHT NOW and see a major league 7-9 at a minor league price. DO IT!

Otherwise, I've got a story on Frank Wren and Bruce Manno coming out this week in Score Atlanta, which I will post Wednesday, and go to www.scoreatl.com tomorrow (hopefully) as the new website will be up and running with my Blog on the future of the Braves rotation.

and as for pieces the Braves COULD move for a Joe Crede or Xavier Nady... several names pop to mind. OF Brandon Jones, C Clint Sammons, OF Josh Anderson, OF Jason Perry, IF Diorey Hernandez, RHP Phil Stockman, P Chuck James, P Vladimir Nunez, P Jeff Ridgway. People were asking for a few names...there you go.

Score Blog that didn't make it: volume two

This was supposed to be posted on the new Scoreatl.com website under Braves blog on June 30, but it didn't get up in time, so I posted it here. Check out the new website www.scoreatl.com this Monday, July 7 for my latest blog!

It seems that despite the Braves’ best efforts to fold this season away due to injuries, the Phillies are NOT letting them go quietly into the night. Atlanta is still in this thing! True the team is under .500, but the division crown is still within reach as the team has nearly reached the all-star break. With a HUGE series against the Phillies starting tomorrow, this team could find itself only one game back come July 4. So it might not yet be time to unload everyone like Tex or Gonzo for prospects for the future. Let’s officially make one last charge at this thing and begin the rebuilding this offseason after Tex departs, but not before giving the Bravos two first round draft picks.
First things first, an outfield bat is needed. Mark Kotsay is slated to come back, but with Chipper Jones likely headed to the DL, it looks like LF Brandon Jones will stick around. Unfortunately Jeff Francoeur is struggling to hit his weight, and I think he could be the one to go. In Cincinnati, it appears that Junior Griffey may be headed out, and super-youngster Jay Bruce could shift to CF when Griffey does go. I say send Frenchy to Cincy (a change of scenery might do him a world of good) and in return, demand Homer Bailey. The Reds appear to be willing to depart with Bailey over Volquez and Cueto, and if they can get a guy with the talent that Francoeur has displayed in the past, that is a deal they should jump all over. On the Braves end of it, Bailey is the young power pitcher that will sit at number five in the rotation this season, then steadily move up over the next few years. Imagine a rotation of Huddy, Jurrjens, Reyes, Bailey and Morton for the next three years. Sounds good to me. Bailey has the stuff to be a No.1 or 2 if he reaches his potential. Outfield candidates that could replace Frenchy include a stopgap in Xavier Nady from Pittsburgh or Raul Ibanez from Seattle. I don’t think it would take TOO much to pry those guys from their situations, especially Ibanez from Seattle, where that organization seems to be purging everything that Ichiro doesn’t like.
Another move I might make if I was in charge of things, with Chipper Jones likely to go on the DL and perhaps miss quite a bit of time down the stretch is calling Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox and ask if Joe Crede is still available. The Chi-Sox have been waiting for Josh Fields to come to the bigs for a while, and Crede was actively shopped this past off-season, but his low average was scaring some teams off. He is hitting .271 right now with 15 homers and would look good in the 5 hole for the Braves. When/if Chipper does come back, you can rest Jones or pinch hit Crede, whatever. Then after the season, if Crede leaves via free agency, you are looking at a comp pick from MLB. If you choose to resign him, move Chipper to first and tell him it will help save his body for the future.
In essence, I am trying to pull a Billy Beane here, rebuild while reloading. I am rebuilding with Homer Bailey and reloading in the sense that, Jordan Schaffer will be ready to do next season and an outfield with Schaffer, Diaz, Blanco, Kotsay (you’d resign him. His options are limited right now, and I think he’d be happy to return), and Brandon Jones would suffice. Even add Nady to the mix (he could play some first as well should Chipper get hurt next season) and you have a lineup that could do some things. If you get Crede for the stretch run this season, and you DO make it to the World Series, you have your DH right there.
These are moves that make sense to me and I don’t think acquiring Ibanez and Crede would break the bank and as far as giving up Frenchy, you are getting a great young arm with huge potential. You’ve usually got to give something to get something and Homer Bailey benefits me more right now that a slumping Frenchy does. All I’m saying.

Score Blog that didn't make it volume 1

Note: this blog was supposed to be on the all new Scoreatl.com blog section but it was from June 23 and a lot has happened since then. Though you'd STILL like to read it.

I am just about the biggest Braves fan I know (size of my heart, not my body), and even I think it is time to maybe start thinking not about the end of the 2008 season, or even the 2009, but the stretch from 2010-2013. Yep. It is rebuilding time. Let’s get started!
Taking a look at this team, I think you could go about fixing it fairly easy with just a few steps and the near 50M in empty payroll you should have next season after all of this year’s free agents leave. First off, John Smoltz, it has been great, but it might be time to say good night. I would LOVE to have you back in a Braves uniform, and I have said so MANY times on Extra Innings as heard on Sports Radio 790 The Zone following Braves home games. But at this point, the Braves are NOT near the World Series and I don’t want you to hurt yourself with an extensive rehab or God Forbid, another surgery. As for Tommy Glavine, it was fun and I hope you can come back after the All-Star break and go out a Brave on a fantastic note. But both of those guys, plus Mike Hampton should NOT be wearing a Braves uni next season, unless it is as a coach. You have Tim Hudson already to be your staff ace and Jo-Jo Reyes and Jair Jurrjens look to be pretty good at the two and three spots, respectively. Charlie Morton will only get better, so count him in at four and watch him grow. As for your future fifth starter, well, Chuck James and Jorge Campillo can hold that warm for now.
In the field, unfortunately you gave up a King’s ransom to get Mark Teixeira from the Rangers and suffice to say, that experiment failed. I would have begged you to trade him a few weeks ago, but his value is diminishing with every runner he leaves on base as he watches a third strike split the center of the plate. At this point, I say HOLD ON to him, and let him walk at the end of the year and take two first round picks as compensation as I am sure he will be a Type A free agent.
The rest of the infield is set with KJ at second, Yunel at short and Chipper at third. In the outfield, let Brandon Jones play left with a resigned Mark Kotsay in center for one more year (as I think Jordan Schaffer is still a year out because of the suspension) and a question mark in rightfield.
Yes I said a question mark. I would trade Jeff Francoeur tomorrow for whatever I could get. He turned down the same contract Brian McCann took a few years back, and while he thought at the time he deserved Grady Sizemore money then, he certainly DOES NOT NOW. There has been a book written on how to shut Frenchy down, and it has been passed all around the national league. Send Jeff to the American league (Toronto? Texas perhaps or Seattle?) and try and recoup some of what you lost in the Big Tex deal.
The Braves should go young for the rest of this year and next and hope that it pays off in the long run. It will waste Chipper’s and Huddy’s last few years of “prime,” but the Braves organization will be better off in the long haul.

Noisy strike gives false hope

bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, team down by 4, but the cleanup hitter coming to the plate. First pitch is CRUSHED down the right field line, but it hooks foul by 15 ft. a few pitches later, Big Tex strikes out to end the game and the Bravos drop the game 7-3 and fall behind in the series 2 games to zero.
Not good if you are a Braves fan. That means the team is 6GB of Philly, and even if you beat Cole Hamels tonight, you are still 5GB, which means you LOST a game in the standings during this trip.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Frenchy choked in the middle stages of the game with the bases loaded and a chance to do some damage by grounding into a DP. Blaine Boyer certainly didn't help the cause giving up runs in the ninth to put the BRaves behind the 8-ball.

Maybe the team can look to help Frenchy by putting him on the 15-day DL with fatigue and tell him to go to Hawaii to clear his head. Bring up Brandon Jones or welcome back Matty Diaz and get this team going. Something. The "hometown hero" getting booed at home is NOT a good thing. And it is ALL in his head at this point.

Poor guy. Even I feel bad for him, so I won't yell "GO BACK TO PARKVIEW!"
at this point, something BIG needs to happen. Maybe it happens tonight. Philly could have a letdown game having clinched the series and if the Braves can take advantage of THAT plus knock around Cole Hamels, maybe they get the MO to sweep Houston and get out west on a positive note.

Hey....it could happen....

Mid-Week Entertainment report RETURNS!

a new milk gallon jug and Princess P to have a daughter, much to the delight of her mother.....

Ladies and gentlemen, the prodigal blog returns! It's the Mid-week entertainment report! CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP!

Not sure if this is entertainment news or not, but I saw where they are introducing a new "more green" milk gallon jug. The only difference is there is no spout. Instead it is basically a big hole. Not sure how this is "greener" and in fact I blame all of the tree-hugging celebs for doing this. How is this better for the earth? You spill more milk this way, thus leading to people buying MORE milk and thus more plastic and Cows are overworked to produce more milk and thus cows are bred looser, which hurts evolution which leads to more cows farting thus a bigger hole in the ozone layer which leads to more skin cancer which leads to more death and we all die sooner, because someone wanted to make MILK jugs greener. How about you guys work on that car that runs on hydrogen, so you fill it with water and it spits out oxygen into the air. How about that?

And I saw where Paris aka Princess P from Season 5 of American Idol (if you can't recall her, she was the annoying one who grandmother kept claiming she won a Grammy-and she did, but as a singer in a choir-and who always used to say in a baby voice "thank you" that seemed SO FAKE that you just wanted to throw a shoe at the tv.) is preggers. Yep, 19 year old Paris pulling a Jamie Lynn Spears and getting knocked up or as she put it "with child." She is planning to name her daughter Egypt, which would be a nice name if she were giving birth to an African Nation, but it is a baby human, so that is just a dumb name.

And I thought the best part was her mother's comments. "She has a ring and the father chooses not to be in the public eye. But I'm proud of how she did it. I was 16 when I got pregnant."
WOW
First off, the father chooses not to be in the public eye? I've got news for you:The public has chosen NOT to have you in its eye and it took Paris getting Pregnant for omg!@yahoo.com to even notice you. I believe this was a calculated move, if you ask me. Paris in the statement said that the baby would arrive in October, ABOUT the same time as her Christmas album. Hmmmmmmm way to plan that out.
Also, the mom is proud of how the 19 year old "did it?" She was unmarried when she got knocked up. By the way, Paris has alienated her religious following (which is the only one she had left) by having pre-marital sex and a child out of wedlock. Again, I don't have a problem with her having a child out of wedlock, but I have a problem with her making a big stink over being uber-religious then seemingly having a baby come out ONLY to get pub for her album....that won't sell all that much because she lost half of her following with the move.

Just saying......

Finally, Hey Emma of The Search for the next Elle Woods, way to go out with class....NOT. Just kidding. For being so sick, you certainly were able to rip the other girls that stayed over you. All I have to say is, you really hurt yourself with CONTINUING to act sick, even if you were, whatever. You had to leave the choregraphy workshops. Also with the acting, you were just a bit....not there. Oh well. But way to show some class...wait you didn't. Also, you've stopped smoking for 3 weeks. That isn't that great an accomplishment. Quit bragging or trying to use that as an excuse. You should have NEVER started. OR get the nicorette gum or a patch or something. But you really needed to NOT bring that up EVERY SHOW whenever you struggled. If you were on that bike or dancing, and you HAD been smoking, then you would have pooped out even sooner. Don't think the judges were going to say, "Emma, you are strugglin...oh wait, you just quit smoking. We'll keep you!"

As far as who has a shot that is still left, I think Autumn is headed out next, then Rhiannon. I still think this competition comes down to Lauren v Bailey. GO BAILEY!