Sports thoughts going into the weekend...

Hey it is late Friday afternoon. I've just got two major opinions on some local sports stories as we head into the weekend....

I see where Josh Smith signed a 5 year/58M deal with Memphis, and Atlanta has seven days to match the offer as he is a restricted free agent. If the hawks match the offer and "sign" him, he should have known that the Hawks would do that. His agent should have known that (unless he has his boyhood pals serving as his agent like LeBron did for a while)! Bottom line, he isn't allowed to whine about the team because he is taking the money. He could have signed the one-year offer and left town next year. He could have pulled a Childress and signed in Europe. But no, he signed a low enough contract that the hawks could match. He knew he'd be a Hawk by signing this, at less money. This is on HIM. He can't complain for the next 5 years. He chose money over happiness.
I think the Hawks played this right. They didn't want to have to give him 65M or 72M. If Smith REALLY wanted to be free, he wouldn't have signed ANYTHING, made the Hawks give him a one-year qualifying offer then been unfettered next season. If he is mad at the Hawks for this, it is HIS fault, but he will never admit that. Whether he likes it or not, he is on a crappy team for the next 5 years. Oh, and if he goes to Memphis, Rudy Gay is in his position, and OJ Mayo will be the one hoisting up all of the shots, but I guess the opportunity to play with Javarris Crittenden and Kyle Lowery was too much to pass up......

Moving on to College football!
I think redshirt frosh RB Chris Rainey of Florida is too jitterbuggy from what I have seen. He has to be at his size. and in the SEC, those boys will eat you for lunch if you dance too much. UGA’s Knowshon Moreno can shimmy, but he mostly just runs. If Rainey tries to go through the tackles, he is going to get crushed. Knowshon, for being 5'11 still is a power back. He can run between the tackles (still waiting Reggie Bush...) Thomas Brown certainly could, but TB was never fast. Defenders could catch him from behind. if Knowshon gets in space, he is gone. If Rainey gets in space he is gone, but the trick will be getting him into space. In the sec that is tough to do. the blocking has to be FANTASTIC. Percy Harvin is the same way. Against UGA and Auburn, he has never gotten into space. The good defenses don't allow it.

Notice I didn't include Tennessee. They aren't a good D anymore.

Those little sweeps and crap just don't work against GOOD defenses. SoCar, Tenn, Ole Miss, Arkie, MissState, Vandy and Kentucky. Not good Ds, therefore you see Tebow and Harvin go off. And Rainey will go off against them too. But against Auburn (Fla wouldn't play them until the SECCG, which they WON'T be going to), LSU and UGA, you just don't see those plays breaking off. Why? Because they are good Ds. Rainey won't work against UGA. look at Meyer in his three games against UGA.
05, he put in a FB
06, he got the benefit of a punt off a PR's leg to score the winning score (and a frosh nearly led them back, if not for a crap facemask call)
07, he lost playing that crap spread.

Against good defenses, it just DOESN'T WORK.