Apparently the cheese and/or brats and/or beer has gone to the head of the Packers fans. Yep. I read where Green Bay fans were getting into fights with people wearing the Vikings Brett Favre jersey around town and especially to Lambeau field.
First of all, I think that is hilarious. Good for that instigator. But then I was listening to Atlanta Sports Talk Radio and the host asked it that same situation would happen here in Atlanta later this season when MV7 returns as an Eagle and all of those bozos that were never Falcons fans, but merely Vick fans wear an Eagles 7 to the Georgia Dome.
I say NO! The situation will NOT happen. There will NOT be fights because those Vick fans were never Falcons fans; they supported the player, not the team. They still support the player and not the team. If they are rooting for Vick over the Falcons, then they aren't true Falcons fans. PERIOD. You can cheer for a player, but if that player plays your team, that player MUST LOSE. If Vick plays well, then likely Philly wins the game. And you cannot have that if you are an Atlanta fan. A REAL FAN.
In fact, you might see fans in Atlanta 7 giving Philadelphia 7 a high five. Which by the way is stupid. I would laugh at the Atlanta 7 fan if I was a Philly guy. "Way to give my team props! Thanks!" People are stupid that way...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Brian Jones' top 10 GA prospects headed out!
Big B, Brian Jones is BACK! Brian's top ten list this week is all about the ten best Georgia talents headed out of state for a college education and playing time. For more from Big B, be sure to catch Score Atlanta's Official Visit when it moves to MONDAYS starting tomorrow. Be sure to tune in to 790 The Zone from 7-9 PM tomorrow night!
10. Austin Sheppard (North Gwinnett) – 6-5. 315. When a defender is locking horns with Sheppard, they are not going to escape. He will play for Nick Saban in the fall of 210.
9. Garry Peters (Heritage) – 5-11. 173. A quarterback in high school, but has enough speed and awareness to play corner in college. Has committed to Clemson.
8. Connor Shaw (Flowery Branch) – 6-2 195. Has great mobility and can throw on the run better than anybody. He has committed to the Gamecocks of South Carolina.
7. Ed Christian (Lowndes) – 6-5. 280. Can play with a nasty streak and can dive defenders back as good as any lineman in the southeast. He has committed to Florida State.
6. Blake Sims (Gainesville) – 6-0. 170. He is dangerous throwing the football and running with the football. He also a great pocket presence which will take him far in the next level. Has committed to Alabama.
5. Neiron Ball (Jackson) – 6-4. 210. Lined up mostly at DE last year but because of his quickness and size, he will be a great OLB in college and scouts are taking notice. Florida and Georgia are leading a long list of schools.
4. Markeith Ambles (Henry County) – 6-foot-3. 185. Ambles is considered to be the best route runners in the state. He is also known for having great body control. He made the decision to commit to Tennessee.
3. Tai-ler Jones (Gainesville) – 6-feet. 174. Jones in a guy hat can explode off the line and can do a lot of things when he is out in space. Had 1,000 yards receiving yards last year and committed to Stanford in April.
2. JaWuan James (North Gwinnett) – 6-6. 293. James is one of the best tackles in the country as he has great footwork and great body control. He will join Sheppard at Alabama 2010.
1. Mack Brown (MLK) – 5-foot-11. 185. Mack Brown can do it all as a back. He can break tackles, has excellent vision and his footwork is flawless. Will be a huge part of the MLK offense this season as he had 21 rushing touchdowns last year. Will play for Florida next season.
10. Austin Sheppard (North Gwinnett) – 6-5. 315. When a defender is locking horns with Sheppard, they are not going to escape. He will play for Nick Saban in the fall of 210.
9. Garry Peters (Heritage) – 5-11. 173. A quarterback in high school, but has enough speed and awareness to play corner in college. Has committed to Clemson.
8. Connor Shaw (Flowery Branch) – 6-2 195. Has great mobility and can throw on the run better than anybody. He has committed to the Gamecocks of South Carolina.
7. Ed Christian (Lowndes) – 6-5. 280. Can play with a nasty streak and can dive defenders back as good as any lineman in the southeast. He has committed to Florida State.
6. Blake Sims (Gainesville) – 6-0. 170. He is dangerous throwing the football and running with the football. He also a great pocket presence which will take him far in the next level. Has committed to Alabama.
5. Neiron Ball (Jackson) – 6-4. 210. Lined up mostly at DE last year but because of his quickness and size, he will be a great OLB in college and scouts are taking notice. Florida and Georgia are leading a long list of schools.
4. Markeith Ambles (Henry County) – 6-foot-3. 185. Ambles is considered to be the best route runners in the state. He is also known for having great body control. He made the decision to commit to Tennessee.
3. Tai-ler Jones (Gainesville) – 6-feet. 174. Jones in a guy hat can explode off the line and can do a lot of things when he is out in space. Had 1,000 yards receiving yards last year and committed to Stanford in April.
2. JaWuan James (North Gwinnett) – 6-6. 293. James is one of the best tackles in the country as he has great footwork and great body control. He will join Sheppard at Alabama 2010.
1. Mack Brown (MLK) – 5-foot-11. 185. Mack Brown can do it all as a back. He can break tackles, has excellent vision and his footwork is flawless. Will be a huge part of the MLK offense this season as he had 21 rushing touchdowns last year. Will play for Florida next season.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Now give me "Confused...yet happy!"
The OC and The Beautiful Life's Mischa Barton told the press about her recent trip to the loony bin, it all started with her having her wisdom teeth removed and her not being able to take painkillers.
Although pain played a role, Mischa Barton said the doctors did not teach her how to handle pain.
"The doctor told me I was lucky I didn't lose feeling in my lips and face, which would have been horrifying and couldn't act properly," she said.
You mean you are TRYING to always have that expression on your face? PS I had my wisdom teeth out and I didn't use a painkiller at all. For the record.
Although pain played a role, Mischa Barton said the doctors did not teach her how to handle pain.
"The doctor told me I was lucky I didn't lose feeling in my lips and face, which would have been horrifying and couldn't act properly," she said.
You mean you are TRYING to always have that expression on your face? PS I had my wisdom teeth out and I didn't use a painkiller at all. For the record.
last Friday post without picks!
Just think....next Friday, I'll be throwing picks out there. Yeehaw! This Friday, I'll go ahead and get into the spirit of College football with a hodgepodge of CFB thoughts. I of course have been looking forward to college football ever since Tim Tebow lisped his way to a second national championship and it is almost here. Some of this stuff I've thought about while driving, other stuff while talking with Paul Mac. Here we go....
Matt Barkley was named USC's starter at QB over sophomore Aaron Corp with junior Mitch Mustain getting the participant's red ribbon. Do you ever think Mustain wishes he had stayed at Arkansas? He was undefeated as a starter with the Hogs, but Nutt benched him late in the year in favor of Casey Dick and Mustain and his OC/high school coach left Fayetteville for USC and Tulsa, respectively. What if Mustain hadn't pitched a hissy-fit and left? He should have known that he'd be up against Dirty Sanchez who knew the system and then at least two hotshot recruits that Pete would be bringing in. If he had stayed, he'd be up against CASEY FREAKING DICK. Are you kidding me? Casey Dick? Mustain could have beaten him out if he really was worth the hype. Remember, this guy was more hyped than Stafford and Tebow. This guy was the top QB of his class. I guess he really wasn't worth the hype....And this guy was A COLLEGE QB. Not a pro QB like Stafford, but a college spread guy. Tebow is doing what everyone thought Mustain would do. He isn't going to make it in the PROs, this was his chance. And he pissed it away because Houston Nutt said, "You know, I have a true freshman QB and then I have two 1st round running backs. Maybe I should put the ball in their hands. Hmmmmmmmm." And if Mustain sticks, does that mean Nutt is still at Arkansas and the Razorbacks are the top ten team while Ole Miss is still stuck in neutral? Actually if Nutt stays, does Petrino still leave the Falcons? Or does Ole Miss make YET ANOTHER run at Petrino? Wow, if Petrino had stayed with Atlanta, do they take Dorsey and then Brohm later in the second round? How different would the Falcons be too? See Mitch Mustain, YOU allowed Paul Mac to be proud to be a Falcons fan!
Speaking of Houston Nutt and his (rather Jim Donnan's) invention of the Wildcat/Hog/Rebel...I was looking around the SEC and the ACC at the different schools and the Wild-whatever that they could run, if they wanted to.
-At Georgia, I don't think they would and if they did, Bobo would probably put Logan Gray or Aaron Murray (and his bottle of hairgel) out there to run it, but I have two better suggestions: Safety Bacarri Rambo (he played QB at Wilcox, if I recall correctly) or CB Brandon Boykin (also played QB at Fayette County) back there. I would rather have Rambo back there because he is a bit bigger, but you get the idea.
-If Tennessee wanted to run the WildVol, Eric Berry, DONE. WOW. Why didn't Tennessee do anything with him last season?
-If Spurrier wanted to do the WildCock (that sounds nasty) why not throw Brookwood's Kenny Miles back there. From everything I hear from my SoCar friends, Miles is having one HECK of a summer practice up there and he was AWESOME with the Broncos.
-Vandy.....who cares
-Wildwildcat at UK, you'd go with Randall Cobb subbing in for Mike Hartline. Cobb nearly beat Georgia last season.
Over in the west, the WildRebel you've got Dexter McCluster. He did it last year and might have been better at it than Run DMC
At Arkie, Michael Smith might seem small, but he'd do it if Petrino wanted to
Miss State could turn to Anthony Dixon, if he's on the field...
LSU would prolly go with the true frosh Russell Sheppard
and Bama just wouldn't do it, if you want my honest opinion
Auburn would probably turn to Kodi Burns or even Mario Fanin
-Finally we come to Florida and they run the Wild Gator all the time with that Fullback No15 back there. What's his name? Tebow. Gotcha
Over in the ACC, I don't know the teams as well as I should but Clemson probably puts CJ Spiller, UVA goes with Vic Hall and sadly that's all I can name off the top of my head. I know GT wouldn't do it because they are already doing an option offense that is hard enough to defend.
That's all I've got for now. Get ready for some High School football tonight (tune in to GPB.org/football or GHSA.tv if you get bored) And in case you are wondering where the previews for GA HS Class A and AA, Wesleyan and Buford will win. Done. You're welcome.
Matt Barkley was named USC's starter at QB over sophomore Aaron Corp with junior Mitch Mustain getting the participant's red ribbon. Do you ever think Mustain wishes he had stayed at Arkansas? He was undefeated as a starter with the Hogs, but Nutt benched him late in the year in favor of Casey Dick and Mustain and his OC/high school coach left Fayetteville for USC and Tulsa, respectively. What if Mustain hadn't pitched a hissy-fit and left? He should have known that he'd be up against Dirty Sanchez who knew the system and then at least two hotshot recruits that Pete would be bringing in. If he had stayed, he'd be up against CASEY FREAKING DICK. Are you kidding me? Casey Dick? Mustain could have beaten him out if he really was worth the hype. Remember, this guy was more hyped than Stafford and Tebow. This guy was the top QB of his class. I guess he really wasn't worth the hype....And this guy was A COLLEGE QB. Not a pro QB like Stafford, but a college spread guy. Tebow is doing what everyone thought Mustain would do. He isn't going to make it in the PROs, this was his chance. And he pissed it away because Houston Nutt said, "You know, I have a true freshman QB and then I have two 1st round running backs. Maybe I should put the ball in their hands. Hmmmmmmmm." And if Mustain sticks, does that mean Nutt is still at Arkansas and the Razorbacks are the top ten team while Ole Miss is still stuck in neutral? Actually if Nutt stays, does Petrino still leave the Falcons? Or does Ole Miss make YET ANOTHER run at Petrino? Wow, if Petrino had stayed with Atlanta, do they take Dorsey and then Brohm later in the second round? How different would the Falcons be too? See Mitch Mustain, YOU allowed Paul Mac to be proud to be a Falcons fan!
Speaking of Houston Nutt and his (rather Jim Donnan's) invention of the Wildcat/Hog/Rebel...I was looking around the SEC and the ACC at the different schools and the Wild-whatever that they could run, if they wanted to.
-At Georgia, I don't think they would and if they did, Bobo would probably put Logan Gray or Aaron Murray (and his bottle of hairgel) out there to run it, but I have two better suggestions: Safety Bacarri Rambo (he played QB at Wilcox, if I recall correctly) or CB Brandon Boykin (also played QB at Fayette County) back there. I would rather have Rambo back there because he is a bit bigger, but you get the idea.
-If Tennessee wanted to run the WildVol, Eric Berry, DONE. WOW. Why didn't Tennessee do anything with him last season?
-If Spurrier wanted to do the WildCock (that sounds nasty) why not throw Brookwood's Kenny Miles back there. From everything I hear from my SoCar friends, Miles is having one HECK of a summer practice up there and he was AWESOME with the Broncos.
-Vandy.....who cares
-Wildwildcat at UK, you'd go with Randall Cobb subbing in for Mike Hartline. Cobb nearly beat Georgia last season.
Over in the west, the WildRebel you've got Dexter McCluster. He did it last year and might have been better at it than Run DMC
At Arkie, Michael Smith might seem small, but he'd do it if Petrino wanted to
Miss State could turn to Anthony Dixon, if he's on the field...
LSU would prolly go with the true frosh Russell Sheppard
and Bama just wouldn't do it, if you want my honest opinion
Auburn would probably turn to Kodi Burns or even Mario Fanin
-Finally we come to Florida and they run the Wild Gator all the time with that Fullback No15 back there. What's his name? Tebow. Gotcha
Over in the ACC, I don't know the teams as well as I should but Clemson probably puts CJ Spiller, UVA goes with Vic Hall and sadly that's all I can name off the top of my head. I know GT wouldn't do it because they are already doing an option offense that is hard enough to defend.
That's all I've got for now. Get ready for some High School football tonight (tune in to GPB.org/football or GHSA.tv if you get bored) And in case you are wondering where the previews for GA HS Class A and AA, Wesleyan and Buford will win. Done. You're welcome.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Commissioner Mac's Big 11 preview part2
Ok, so in the horserace that is College Football hype people are now starting to notice Iowa.
This has been a really late break because as I sit and examine my Sporting News College Football preview they actually have Michigan State ahead of the Hawkeyes. As you can see from my earlier ratings, I feel this is an error. The days of stupid penalties and terrible errors at inopportune times have been remedied for the Spartans but honestly I don’t see the talent there to eclipse their 9 win season and Capital One bowl birth at least this year. They did have a great year recruiting and Greg Jones (first team all big 10) will QB the defense but replacing Javon Ringer’s 1637 yards and 22 touchdowns and Bryan Hoyer’s reliable QB play may prove too difficult a task for Mark Dantonio this fall. I still expect the Spartans to be a tough out and a good team and given the schedule 9 wins shouldn’t be that tough to come by I just wonder if they can get by Illinois, Notre Dame and Wisconsin on the road and Minnesota could give them issues late.
Now that people are noticing it’s becoming harder to have Iowa listed as a dark horse. This team was +9 on turnovers last season and snatched 23 interceptions. They only gave up on average 13 points per game and a total of 169 one of the better units in the nation. If you are going to go on the road and beat the other top teams in the conference (Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State in that order) you had better win the turnover battle. Starting MLB Pat Angerer and SS Tyler Sash tied for the team lead in interceptions with 5 a piece and each return. Amari Spivey lines up at Corner and is part of a secondary unit that only allowed 9 touchdowns all year doing a really nice job keeping Iowa in the game against Penn State and frustrating Daryll Clark. They do lose Mitch King on the defensive front but they do have some players with experience ready to step in and 4 returning players had multiple sacks.
The next step obviously for Iowa is scoring points and the departed Shonn Green and his 1850 yards and 20 touchdowns leave a gaping hole in the backfield. The reason Iowan’s are somewhat less concerned is due to a still solid offensive line and Jewel Hampton who found the endzone 7 times last season and racked up 463 yards on his own. Also Ricky Stanzi had a solid sophomore campaign with an outstanding an electric game winning drive against Penn State one can only believe that his numbers will improve in his Junior season. On the receiving end could be speed demon Derrell Johnson-Koulianos who led the team last season with 44 catches and 3 scores he may have to improve on those numbers this season if Iowa aspires to win at least a share of the Big 10. Terry Stross is expected to start opposite JK and Colin Sandemen will be in the slot. Generally one would expect Iowa to have an elite Tight End as well as Dallas Clark, Scott Chandler and Brandon Myers were all drafted. No exception this year as the oft injured Tony Moeaki will be back to try and continue that line of excellence this season. If all goes well for Iowa they could be grinning with Roses betwixt their teeth when it’s said and done difficult road schedule be damned.
This has been a really late break because as I sit and examine my Sporting News College Football preview they actually have Michigan State ahead of the Hawkeyes. As you can see from my earlier ratings, I feel this is an error. The days of stupid penalties and terrible errors at inopportune times have been remedied for the Spartans but honestly I don’t see the talent there to eclipse their 9 win season and Capital One bowl birth at least this year. They did have a great year recruiting and Greg Jones (first team all big 10) will QB the defense but replacing Javon Ringer’s 1637 yards and 22 touchdowns and Bryan Hoyer’s reliable QB play may prove too difficult a task for Mark Dantonio this fall. I still expect the Spartans to be a tough out and a good team and given the schedule 9 wins shouldn’t be that tough to come by I just wonder if they can get by Illinois, Notre Dame and Wisconsin on the road and Minnesota could give them issues late.
Now that people are noticing it’s becoming harder to have Iowa listed as a dark horse. This team was +9 on turnovers last season and snatched 23 interceptions. They only gave up on average 13 points per game and a total of 169 one of the better units in the nation. If you are going to go on the road and beat the other top teams in the conference (Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State in that order) you had better win the turnover battle. Starting MLB Pat Angerer and SS Tyler Sash tied for the team lead in interceptions with 5 a piece and each return. Amari Spivey lines up at Corner and is part of a secondary unit that only allowed 9 touchdowns all year doing a really nice job keeping Iowa in the game against Penn State and frustrating Daryll Clark. They do lose Mitch King on the defensive front but they do have some players with experience ready to step in and 4 returning players had multiple sacks.
The next step obviously for Iowa is scoring points and the departed Shonn Green and his 1850 yards and 20 touchdowns leave a gaping hole in the backfield. The reason Iowan’s are somewhat less concerned is due to a still solid offensive line and Jewel Hampton who found the endzone 7 times last season and racked up 463 yards on his own. Also Ricky Stanzi had a solid sophomore campaign with an outstanding an electric game winning drive against Penn State one can only believe that his numbers will improve in his Junior season. On the receiving end could be speed demon Derrell Johnson-Koulianos who led the team last season with 44 catches and 3 scores he may have to improve on those numbers this season if Iowa aspires to win at least a share of the Big 10. Terry Stross is expected to start opposite JK and Colin Sandemen will be in the slot. Generally one would expect Iowa to have an elite Tight End as well as Dallas Clark, Scott Chandler and Brandon Myers were all drafted. No exception this year as the oft injured Tony Moeaki will be back to try and continue that line of excellence this season. If all goes well for Iowa they could be grinning with Roses betwixt their teeth when it’s said and done difficult road schedule be damned.
Atlanta Sports Media report
Note: as always, this is my weekly Score Atlanta media column. Please still check out Score Atlanta at your local Kroger or Blockbuster or any of the other 1200 locations that carry Score Atlanta every Friday!
The weather is starting to cool and that means one thing: FOOTBALL. The sports media has already been in football-mode for some time. Local radio stations have started football coverage and Sports Radio 790 The Zone aired the US Army Corky Kell Classic last weekend.
If you missed the US Army Corky Kell Classic, live from the Georgia Dome, you can visit the GHSA.tv website to check out the rebroadcast or you can link to it through the Score Atlanta website. If you did catch the Grayson vs. Camden County tilt though, you heard 790’s Brandon Adams and Score Atlanta’s own IJ Rosenberg with the call. These two sounded really good together over the final two games of the Classic. Adams sounded extremely professional as he painted the picture of what was happening on the Georgia Dome floor. He was quick with heights, numbers and stats on every play and he had a nice feel for the game. Adams has experience with High School football coverage, having worked with CSS doing some side line work over the last few seasons, but last Saturday allowed Adams to show that, if he wanted to, he could easily move full-time into a play-by-play booth. If Scott Howard of the University of Georgia broadcast team ever wanted to focus solely on football, perhaps Adams should get a call for the basketball coverage. His partner Rosenberg also gave vivid details and opinions which is exactly what you want from a color analyst. Rosenberg never butted it or talked over Adams, and he displayed his vast knowledge of the high school game. It was a treat to hear this team in action.
While it doesn’t necessarily pertain to Atlanta sports, the Fox broadcast team was at it once again. Kenny Albert and Tim McCarver called the Yankees/Red Sox game Saturday and McCarver once again was insulting true baseball fans across the country. I spoke with my grandfather who once played for the Yankees and who never misses a game, but he told me he had to turn the game off. He noted that McCarver speaks down to baseball fans, explaining what a fastball is at one point in the broadcast. My grandfather’s opinion is, with all of the options on TV these days, only baseball fans are watching baseball. A baseball fan doesn’t need to have simple faucets of the game explained to him like he is a child. I agree. McCarver certainly knows the game but too many times he seems to want to show off his knowledge and he doesn’t do a great job presenting the knowledge he does have.
ESPN’s John Kruk paid the Atlanta Braves a compliment Sunday morning when he picked them to overtake the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants to win the wild card. He noted that the Braves were the second hottest team in the National League since the all-star break (behind only the Phillies for the best record in the second half) and he predicted that with the Braves pitching, the return of Tim Hudson and the hot hitting of late, the Braves will make the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Air Tran has a new pitchman and it is some one who certainly knows how to pitch. Three hundred game winner Tom Glavine will soon be featured on Air Tran radio spots and billboards around Atlanta. Glavine though must look out for the Air Tran curse though as several of the recent pitchman have not had sparkling numbers will on a billboard. Danica Patrick has won just one race in her Indy Car career while she has been pitching the Orlando-based airline. Dany Heatley was traded out of town after being involved in a traffic accident that killed a fellow teammate. And of course Michael Vick was a pitchman for Air Tran before heading to jail.
Football fans will want to be sure to tune in all week to local sports radio stations as football is in full gear. Jim Donnan appears on 680 The Fan Mondays with Chuck and Chernoff and Fridays with Buck & Kincade. On 790 The Zone, the Southern Football Kickoff show returned Thursday with Wes Durham and Tony Barnhart joining Chris Dimino. The show can be heard each Thursday from 11-1. It is interesting to hear Barnhard and Durham sharing stories to complement Dimino’s great interview style with the incredible guests the show attracts. Also on 790, high school football moves to Friday nights. For a full schedule of the games, log on to 790thezone.com or scoreatl.com for a full list of the games.
The weather is starting to cool and that means one thing: FOOTBALL. The sports media has already been in football-mode for some time. Local radio stations have started football coverage and Sports Radio 790 The Zone aired the US Army Corky Kell Classic last weekend.
If you missed the US Army Corky Kell Classic, live from the Georgia Dome, you can visit the GHSA.tv website to check out the rebroadcast or you can link to it through the Score Atlanta website. If you did catch the Grayson vs. Camden County tilt though, you heard 790’s Brandon Adams and Score Atlanta’s own IJ Rosenberg with the call. These two sounded really good together over the final two games of the Classic. Adams sounded extremely professional as he painted the picture of what was happening on the Georgia Dome floor. He was quick with heights, numbers and stats on every play and he had a nice feel for the game. Adams has experience with High School football coverage, having worked with CSS doing some side line work over the last few seasons, but last Saturday allowed Adams to show that, if he wanted to, he could easily move full-time into a play-by-play booth. If Scott Howard of the University of Georgia broadcast team ever wanted to focus solely on football, perhaps Adams should get a call for the basketball coverage. His partner Rosenberg also gave vivid details and opinions which is exactly what you want from a color analyst. Rosenberg never butted it or talked over Adams, and he displayed his vast knowledge of the high school game. It was a treat to hear this team in action.
While it doesn’t necessarily pertain to Atlanta sports, the Fox broadcast team was at it once again. Kenny Albert and Tim McCarver called the Yankees/Red Sox game Saturday and McCarver once again was insulting true baseball fans across the country. I spoke with my grandfather who once played for the Yankees and who never misses a game, but he told me he had to turn the game off. He noted that McCarver speaks down to baseball fans, explaining what a fastball is at one point in the broadcast. My grandfather’s opinion is, with all of the options on TV these days, only baseball fans are watching baseball. A baseball fan doesn’t need to have simple faucets of the game explained to him like he is a child. I agree. McCarver certainly knows the game but too many times he seems to want to show off his knowledge and he doesn’t do a great job presenting the knowledge he does have.
ESPN’s John Kruk paid the Atlanta Braves a compliment Sunday morning when he picked them to overtake the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants to win the wild card. He noted that the Braves were the second hottest team in the National League since the all-star break (behind only the Phillies for the best record in the second half) and he predicted that with the Braves pitching, the return of Tim Hudson and the hot hitting of late, the Braves will make the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Air Tran has a new pitchman and it is some one who certainly knows how to pitch. Three hundred game winner Tom Glavine will soon be featured on Air Tran radio spots and billboards around Atlanta. Glavine though must look out for the Air Tran curse though as several of the recent pitchman have not had sparkling numbers will on a billboard. Danica Patrick has won just one race in her Indy Car career while she has been pitching the Orlando-based airline. Dany Heatley was traded out of town after being involved in a traffic accident that killed a fellow teammate. And of course Michael Vick was a pitchman for Air Tran before heading to jail.
Football fans will want to be sure to tune in all week to local sports radio stations as football is in full gear. Jim Donnan appears on 680 The Fan Mondays with Chuck and Chernoff and Fridays with Buck & Kincade. On 790 The Zone, the Southern Football Kickoff show returned Thursday with Wes Durham and Tony Barnhart joining Chris Dimino. The show can be heard each Thursday from 11-1. It is interesting to hear Barnhard and Durham sharing stories to complement Dimino’s great interview style with the incredible guests the show attracts. Also on 790, high school football moves to Friday nights. For a full schedule of the games, log on to 790thezone.com or scoreatl.com for a full list of the games.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Midweek entertainment report 8/26/09
Was it Ed or Ted?, Krazy Kristian leaves, MJ wuz murdered?, Chris Brown sentenced, got a Camaro-get a pizza!, and would SOME ONE GET THESE M-Fin' SNAKES OFF MY M-Fin' CANE?
Ladies and gentlemen, the MIDWEEK ENTERTAINMENT REPORT!
CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP WHIP! (Did some one just throw a bra at me?)
So Edward aka Ted Kennedy died last night. Is it Edward or Ted? And where did Ted come from? Is it because your name sort of SOUNDS like Ed? I don't get that. I guess that's where Dick came from with Richard. Richard is shortened to Rich which misspelled is Rick and Dick rhymes with Rick.... I guess the same logic applies. Apparently when Ed/Ted Kennedy died though it was of cancer and not some one driving his car into a river then leaving the scene.
Speaking of death....MJ's death was ruled a homicide. They killed the King? Who could have done that? MacBeth? I KNEW IT! Seriously though, this wasn't a homicide, this was a suicide. It's all a coverup. And even if it WAS a homicide, it got a pedophile out of the world. Not a bad thing... Ain't Nothing strange about your daddy! Thanks Rev. Al! (and the Soup for the idea)
Let's move on to happier topics. Chris Brown was sentenced to 5 years probation for using Rihanna's face as a speed bag. Apparently this was a harsher sentence than she wanted. I guess this was she cannot have her people beat him up yet for 5 years....
Papa John found his long-lost camaro and since he's lost his mind, he is giving away pizza today to anyone with a camaro. Good timing J-Bone. The cash for clunkers campaign ended Monday so everyone got rid of their jalopies already. You ARE a wise one Papa John
Did you catch More To Love last night? If you DID, let me give you the highlights...
-Kristian is KRAZY. straight up. Did you see her staring down the other fat chick on their double date with Luke? I mean he kissed them both, but still.
-Malissa goes up in a helicopter with Luke. Ummm, I know elevators have weight restrictions, don't helicopters too? I would worry that thing would have fallen out of the air.
-Mandy apparently forgot that other women are allowed to be on the show at one point last night. Weird. Oh, and Luke is required to kiss EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM EVERY EPISODE. You know his agent put that in the contract. Probably had to take less money, but I guess Luke thinks it is worth it. YEAH, FAT CHICK KISSES!
-Tali refuses to don a bathing suit in the hottub and at the beach. I wish more of the girls refused as well. Of course, I'm sure Fox FORCES them to because Fox wants to help me keep the weight up. Fox is ACTUALLY doing a public service by showing these crazy fat chicks, reminding us to stay sane and slim.
-The Girls make Luke cupcakes but I wonder if any of them made it to Luke's mouth. There were FOUR girls making the cupcakes.... It reminds me of Chris Farley on that one SNL sketch when he's a mall girl..
-LUKE has man-boobs and he brags about them and makes the girls lather them up in sunscreen.
-Kristian tries to tell Luke she loves him in three different languages. Barf. (Wait, if the girls did that, they wouldn't be as fat!)
- Finally Kristian and Heather go home while Tali stays and SHE wanted to leave. WOW. I was afraid Kristian might slaughter all of the girls that stayed.
And then eaten them.....
That's it for me everybody. Have a great rest of the week. Look out for my media column tomorrow and the rest of Paul Mac's Big11 preview.
Ladies and gentlemen, the MIDWEEK ENTERTAINMENT REPORT!
CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP WHIP! (Did some one just throw a bra at me?)
So Edward aka Ted Kennedy died last night. Is it Edward or Ted? And where did Ted come from? Is it because your name sort of SOUNDS like Ed? I don't get that. I guess that's where Dick came from with Richard. Richard is shortened to Rich which misspelled is Rick and Dick rhymes with Rick.... I guess the same logic applies. Apparently when Ed/Ted Kennedy died though it was of cancer and not some one driving his car into a river then leaving the scene.
Speaking of death....MJ's death was ruled a homicide. They killed the King? Who could have done that? MacBeth? I KNEW IT! Seriously though, this wasn't a homicide, this was a suicide. It's all a coverup. And even if it WAS a homicide, it got a pedophile out of the world. Not a bad thing... Ain't Nothing strange about your daddy! Thanks Rev. Al! (and the Soup for the idea)
Let's move on to happier topics. Chris Brown was sentenced to 5 years probation for using Rihanna's face as a speed bag. Apparently this was a harsher sentence than she wanted. I guess this was she cannot have her people beat him up yet for 5 years....
Papa John found his long-lost camaro and since he's lost his mind, he is giving away pizza today to anyone with a camaro. Good timing J-Bone. The cash for clunkers campaign ended Monday so everyone got rid of their jalopies already. You ARE a wise one Papa John
Did you catch More To Love last night? If you DID, let me give you the highlights...
-Kristian is KRAZY. straight up. Did you see her staring down the other fat chick on their double date with Luke? I mean he kissed them both, but still.
-Malissa goes up in a helicopter with Luke. Ummm, I know elevators have weight restrictions, don't helicopters too? I would worry that thing would have fallen out of the air.
-Mandy apparently forgot that other women are allowed to be on the show at one point last night. Weird. Oh, and Luke is required to kiss EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM EVERY EPISODE. You know his agent put that in the contract. Probably had to take less money, but I guess Luke thinks it is worth it. YEAH, FAT CHICK KISSES!
-Tali refuses to don a bathing suit in the hottub and at the beach. I wish more of the girls refused as well. Of course, I'm sure Fox FORCES them to because Fox wants to help me keep the weight up. Fox is ACTUALLY doing a public service by showing these crazy fat chicks, reminding us to stay sane and slim.
-The Girls make Luke cupcakes but I wonder if any of them made it to Luke's mouth. There were FOUR girls making the cupcakes.... It reminds me of Chris Farley on that one SNL sketch when he's a mall girl..
-LUKE has man-boobs and he brags about them and makes the girls lather them up in sunscreen.
-Kristian tries to tell Luke she loves him in three different languages. Barf. (Wait, if the girls did that, they wouldn't be as fat!)
- Finally Kristian and Heather go home while Tali stays and SHE wanted to leave. WOW. I was afraid Kristian might slaughter all of the girls that stayed.
And then eaten them.....
That's it for me everybody. Have a great rest of the week. Look out for my media column tomorrow and the rest of Paul Mac's Big11 preview.
Paul Mac's Spectacular Big 11 Preview Part 1.
Paul Mac’s Preseason Ratings
11 Indiana
10 Purdon’t
9 Minnesota
8 Northwestern
7 Michigan
6 Wisconsin
5 Illinois
4 Michigan State
3 Ohio State
1 Penn State and Iowa Big 10 champs.
If you watched much Big 10 football last year… congratulations… you sir or maam like watching football because other than Shonn Green and the Spread HD there just weren’t many bright spots in the entire conference last year. One such bright spot might be the emergence of the next bonified star QB at the Big 10’s premiere program.
I’m speaking of course of Western PA’s own Terrelle Pryor who some Ohio denizens feel is a Heisman candidate…. To which I must say… kindly back away from the beer funnel and or bong pipe for a moment. If he’s going to challenge the great Archie Griffin… he’s going to have to do it in his junior and senior seasons unless he plays well above board this coming season and can manage to channel Vince Young and upend the Trojans when they come to the Horseshoe on the 12th of September. It won’t be easy. They’ve lost 7 starters namely Beanie Wells the workhorse tailback who when healthy was electric and Brian Robiskie who was a big target for Pryor. James Laurinitis; Marcus Freeman and Malcolm Jenkins have been defensive stalwarts and now have matriculated to the NFL which is not to say that the defense isn’t in capable hands, it is but losing players the caliber of those players is going to leave some large holes to fill.
If they are going to compete this year SS Kurt Coleman and MLB Austin Spitler will be key against the run. The pass rush from ends Cameron Heyward and Thad Gibson will also be vital to their success.
Offensively the bucs are on the young side with quite a few second year players in key roles and virtually no proven wideouts. Dane Sanzenbacher caught 21 balls last season but only found the endzone once. With so much pressure on Terrelle Pryor to produce the Bucs are going to need to find playmakers at wide out and they think they have one with true frosh Duron Carter the son of all world former NFL WR Chris Carter. Personally while the talent is tremendous I feel the players they lost may prove too much to overcome at least early enough to matter against USC. If they can keep true to history and knock off Penn State in Happy Valley who have never beaten the Buckeyes twice in a row they’ve got a great shot at yet another Rose Bowl birth. If they don’t grow up quickly they could be looking at the Capital One Bowl and staring at another SEC foe.
Penn State may have an Octogenerian who has spent half his life occupying the head coaching job in happy valley but last year for the first time in ages the offense looked anything but stone age. The spread HD blistered opponents including a 46 to 17 drubbing of hapless Michigan and the scorched earth policy extended to East Lansing as well where they destroyed Sparty 49-18 on their way to their first Big 10 title since 07 and their first Rose Bowl since Ki jana Carter was relevant on the national scene. The Penn State offense finally was electric and they put up 506 pts while surrendering only 187 good enough for 8th in the nation in total defense and had they managed a better first half against USC in the Rose Bowl and you know say maybe shifted from cover 1 or had Aaron Maybin managed to say on side…..sigh but I digress. I watched this team all year and I felt like they were a better team than they mustered in the first half of the finale where Mark Sanchez carved up the weak secondary the hot knife to their warm butter and scorched toast. Yet another Big 10 failure on a national stage all too common this millennia.
Penn State ’s road is also much tougher than last season given that they have lost 13 starters even more than Ohio State . A big part of their scoring last season was on the three NFL caliber receivers Deon Butler ( Seattle ) Derrick Williams ( Detroit ) and Jordan Norwood ( Cleveland ) who combined for more than 130 receptions and 17 TD’s. Derrick Moye and 6’6 231lb junior Brett Bracket will have to do as well as Sr. TE Andrew Quarless. The really bad news is that their leading returning rusher Evan Royster 1236 yards 6.5 ypc 12 TD’s is also now their leading receiver and he had 0 TD’s through the air last year and only 17 receptions. The good news…. He’s back and so is Stephfon Green.
The reasons I feel Penn State will repeat as Big 10 champs this season are few but important. Daryll Clark is back and he was fantastic most of last season and a big part of Penn State ’s offense when it was prolific…. and unfortunately when it wasn’t as well (namely the big games). 19 touchdown passes last season but a few key picks against Iowa and USC and a lackluster game at Ohio State prevented a truly special season. He’ll have star incoming freshman Kevin Newsome breathing down his neck should he falter, but my guess is he’s got a really long leash. The young and rebuilt offensive line will be anchored by Center Stefen Wiesniewski but other than that they are really untested luckily they have 3 essentially garbage games against Akron; Syracuse and Temple to gel before Iowa comes to town.
On defense pass rushing mavin Aaron Maybin is gone and spending his winters now in Buffalo , NY and the secondary is a hot mess with Anthony Scirrotto gone as well. Drew Astorino is the only real bright spot to speak of but all is not lost on defense. Two 4 star corners Derrick Thomas and Darrell Givens were recruited at CB so if they play well in practice they could earn lots of playing time. Linebacker U comes through big time and this crew should be by far the best in the Big 10. Sean Lee is back from a knee injury will anchor the middle and should make plays all over the field Navorro Bowman somehow managed to avoid serious suspension or expulsion last season while leading the team with 106 tackles and standout Josh Hull will stuff runs from the strong side. Most of the pass rush will probably come from Jared Odrick in the middle.
The schedule for Penn State is really workable as they get their two toughest games in Iowa and Ohio State in Happy Valley . They seem to have trouble with Michigan always on the road and the closer at Michigan State will also be difficult They get a road game in Champagne the week after Iowa so that could also be a trap…. The real issue though is Iowa and Iowa early they have owned the Lions. Penn State is only 4-6 vs Iowa in the Ferentz era and they are 2-7 in their last 9 losing 3 of 4 in the friendly confines of Happy Valley . Beware Ricky Stanzi and Jewel Hampton!
Tomorrow I’ll discuss the Hawkeyes, Spartans, Juice Williams and Co… and perhaps Michigan and the rest of the B11… is just dull though John Clay should be the next great back to watch at Camp Randall .
11 Indiana
10 Purdon’t
9 Minnesota
8 Northwestern
7 Michigan
6 Wisconsin
5 Illinois
4 Michigan State
3 Ohio State
1 Penn State and Iowa Big 10 champs.
If you watched much Big 10 football last year… congratulations… you sir or maam like watching football because other than Shonn Green and the Spread HD there just weren’t many bright spots in the entire conference last year. One such bright spot might be the emergence of the next bonified star QB at the Big 10’s premiere program.
I’m speaking of course of Western PA’s own Terrelle Pryor who some Ohio denizens feel is a Heisman candidate…. To which I must say… kindly back away from the beer funnel and or bong pipe for a moment. If he’s going to challenge the great Archie Griffin… he’s going to have to do it in his junior and senior seasons unless he plays well above board this coming season and can manage to channel Vince Young and upend the Trojans when they come to the Horseshoe on the 12th of September. It won’t be easy. They’ve lost 7 starters namely Beanie Wells the workhorse tailback who when healthy was electric and Brian Robiskie who was a big target for Pryor. James Laurinitis; Marcus Freeman and Malcolm Jenkins have been defensive stalwarts and now have matriculated to the NFL which is not to say that the defense isn’t in capable hands, it is but losing players the caliber of those players is going to leave some large holes to fill.
If they are going to compete this year SS Kurt Coleman and MLB Austin Spitler will be key against the run. The pass rush from ends Cameron Heyward and Thad Gibson will also be vital to their success.
Offensively the bucs are on the young side with quite a few second year players in key roles and virtually no proven wideouts. Dane Sanzenbacher caught 21 balls last season but only found the endzone once. With so much pressure on Terrelle Pryor to produce the Bucs are going to need to find playmakers at wide out and they think they have one with true frosh Duron Carter the son of all world former NFL WR Chris Carter. Personally while the talent is tremendous I feel the players they lost may prove too much to overcome at least early enough to matter against USC. If they can keep true to history and knock off Penn State in Happy Valley who have never beaten the Buckeyes twice in a row they’ve got a great shot at yet another Rose Bowl birth. If they don’t grow up quickly they could be looking at the Capital One Bowl and staring at another SEC foe.
Penn State may have an Octogenerian who has spent half his life occupying the head coaching job in happy valley but last year for the first time in ages the offense looked anything but stone age. The spread HD blistered opponents including a 46 to 17 drubbing of hapless Michigan and the scorched earth policy extended to East Lansing as well where they destroyed Sparty 49-18 on their way to their first Big 10 title since 07 and their first Rose Bowl since Ki jana Carter was relevant on the national scene. The Penn State offense finally was electric and they put up 506 pts while surrendering only 187 good enough for 8th in the nation in total defense and had they managed a better first half against USC in the Rose Bowl and you know say maybe shifted from cover 1 or had Aaron Maybin managed to say on side…..sigh but I digress. I watched this team all year and I felt like they were a better team than they mustered in the first half of the finale where Mark Sanchez carved up the weak secondary the hot knife to their warm butter and scorched toast. Yet another Big 10 failure on a national stage all too common this millennia.
Penn State ’s road is also much tougher than last season given that they have lost 13 starters even more than Ohio State . A big part of their scoring last season was on the three NFL caliber receivers Deon Butler ( Seattle ) Derrick Williams ( Detroit ) and Jordan Norwood ( Cleveland ) who combined for more than 130 receptions and 17 TD’s. Derrick Moye and 6’6 231lb junior Brett Bracket will have to do as well as Sr. TE Andrew Quarless. The really bad news is that their leading returning rusher Evan Royster 1236 yards 6.5 ypc 12 TD’s is also now their leading receiver and he had 0 TD’s through the air last year and only 17 receptions. The good news…. He’s back and so is Stephfon Green.
The reasons I feel Penn State will repeat as Big 10 champs this season are few but important. Daryll Clark is back and he was fantastic most of last season and a big part of Penn State ’s offense when it was prolific…. and unfortunately when it wasn’t as well (namely the big games). 19 touchdown passes last season but a few key picks against Iowa and USC and a lackluster game at Ohio State prevented a truly special season. He’ll have star incoming freshman Kevin Newsome breathing down his neck should he falter, but my guess is he’s got a really long leash. The young and rebuilt offensive line will be anchored by Center Stefen Wiesniewski but other than that they are really untested luckily they have 3 essentially garbage games against Akron; Syracuse and Temple to gel before Iowa comes to town.
On defense pass rushing mavin Aaron Maybin is gone and spending his winters now in Buffalo , NY and the secondary is a hot mess with Anthony Scirrotto gone as well. Drew Astorino is the only real bright spot to speak of but all is not lost on defense. Two 4 star corners Derrick Thomas and Darrell Givens were recruited at CB so if they play well in practice they could earn lots of playing time. Linebacker U comes through big time and this crew should be by far the best in the Big 10. Sean Lee is back from a knee injury will anchor the middle and should make plays all over the field Navorro Bowman somehow managed to avoid serious suspension or expulsion last season while leading the team with 106 tackles and standout Josh Hull will stuff runs from the strong side. Most of the pass rush will probably come from Jared Odrick in the middle.
The schedule for Penn State is really workable as they get their two toughest games in Iowa and Ohio State in Happy Valley . They seem to have trouble with Michigan always on the road and the closer at Michigan State will also be difficult They get a road game in Champagne the week after Iowa so that could also be a trap…. The real issue though is Iowa and Iowa early they have owned the Lions. Penn State is only 4-6 vs Iowa in the Ferentz era and they are 2-7 in their last 9 losing 3 of 4 in the friendly confines of Happy Valley . Beware Ricky Stanzi and Jewel Hampton!
Tomorrow I’ll discuss the Hawkeyes, Spartans, Juice Williams and Co… and perhaps Michigan and the rest of the B11… is just dull though John Clay should be the next great back to watch at Camp Randall .
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
CONGRATS JIMMY MINER!
It has come to Sportsbyfletch's attention that one of our faithful readers has been inducted into his alma mater's hall of fame. Congrats go out to Jimmy Miner as he was named to the 2009 Class for the Wofford Hall of Fame. Check out his bio from the Wofford page on the SoCon website.
Jimmy Miner ‘04
A four-time All-Southern Conference punter, Jimmy Miner earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2002. He led the Terriers in punting in all four seasons and is the all-time leader inn punting average at 40.9 yards per punt. As a senior in 2003, he was second in the conference and seventh nationally in net punting with a 38.2 average. During his junior season he was twelfth nationally with a 42.2 average and had twelve punts of 50 or more yards. In 2001, he was named first team All-Southern Conference, leading the league with a 42.0 average that was also eighth nationally. A native of Kennesaw, Georgia, he went to training camp in 2004 with the St. Louis Rams.
Kudos Big Guy and the next time I see you, I'll buy you a drink. Wait, you are in the hall of fame. Let's head up to Wofford where I'm sure the drinks will all be free!
Now if ONLY we could get Josh Cole in the Furman Hall of Fame. He WAS after all No.1 in all of our hearts....
Jimmy Miner ‘04
A four-time All-Southern Conference punter, Jimmy Miner earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2002. He led the Terriers in punting in all four seasons and is the all-time leader inn punting average at 40.9 yards per punt. As a senior in 2003, he was second in the conference and seventh nationally in net punting with a 38.2 average. During his junior season he was twelfth nationally with a 42.2 average and had twelve punts of 50 or more yards. In 2001, he was named first team All-Southern Conference, leading the league with a 42.0 average that was also eighth nationally. A native of Kennesaw, Georgia, he went to training camp in 2004 with the St. Louis Rams.
Kudos Big Guy and the next time I see you, I'll buy you a drink. Wait, you are in the hall of fame. Let's head up to Wofford where I'm sure the drinks will all be free!
Now if ONLY we could get Josh Cole in the Furman Hall of Fame. He WAS after all No.1 in all of our hearts....
Think of it as an opportunity...
This is really a no-lose situation all around if you think about it. University of Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow returned to Gainesville-aka the Hole that God forgot about-for his senior season and despite the fact that it PROBABLY means Florida will win yet another BCS title, I am pumped. He will go down as one of the best (system) players in college football history with a chance to be the best ever to don the pads. I get to watch him play one more season.
But I also get one more season to make fun of his lisp. I get one more season to roll my eyes every time ESPN talks about his mission trips, yet the network fails to mention Colt McCoy's trips or Mark Richt's trips. My buddy JCole gets one more season of wearing his "Tebow drinks Wine Coolers" shirt.
And the best part....I get my villain back for one more season. College football is ALWAYS better with a villain that everyone is rooting against. The Heel in wrestling always draws the viewers because they want to see him lose. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior always split the cheer but Ric Flair brought the fans together to jeer him. Tebow does the same thing. Everyone likes their own school but HATES Tebow. I have THAT in common with Oklahoma. They like Bradford while I like Samuel, but we both despise Tebow. Having a villain is awesome.
2009 will be fun for me as a Georgia fan because if Florida beats Georgia at the Cocktail party, they were supposed to anyways. BUT if Georgia beats Tebow up like the Dawgs did in 2007, then we'll go crazy. I look at Tebow's return as an opportunity. It is a chance to wreck his national title hopes and his double Heisman dream. Georgia has a chance to nail Tebow again and again and that makes me smile. I'll be rooting for Miss State, UK, SoCar, Vandy, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas to lay Tebow out. It will be fun.
And if it doesn't happen and Tebow goes on to win the Heisman and the title, then I can tell my kids, through gritted teeth, that I saw the best college player ever. Damn Gator.
But I also get one more season to make fun of his lisp. I get one more season to roll my eyes every time ESPN talks about his mission trips, yet the network fails to mention Colt McCoy's trips or Mark Richt's trips. My buddy JCole gets one more season of wearing his "Tebow drinks Wine Coolers" shirt.
And the best part....I get my villain back for one more season. College football is ALWAYS better with a villain that everyone is rooting against. The Heel in wrestling always draws the viewers because they want to see him lose. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior always split the cheer but Ric Flair brought the fans together to jeer him. Tebow does the same thing. Everyone likes their own school but HATES Tebow. I have THAT in common with Oklahoma. They like Bradford while I like Samuel, but we both despise Tebow. Having a villain is awesome.
2009 will be fun for me as a Georgia fan because if Florida beats Georgia at the Cocktail party, they were supposed to anyways. BUT if Georgia beats Tebow up like the Dawgs did in 2007, then we'll go crazy. I look at Tebow's return as an opportunity. It is a chance to wreck his national title hopes and his double Heisman dream. Georgia has a chance to nail Tebow again and again and that makes me smile. I'll be rooting for Miss State, UK, SoCar, Vandy, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas to lay Tebow out. It will be fun.
And if it doesn't happen and Tebow goes on to win the Heisman and the title, then I can tell my kids, through gritted teeth, that I saw the best college player ever. Damn Gator.
High School football Review and Preview
We've GOT to get this thing sponsored. Maybe one day...... PS, starting this Monday, Score Atlanta's Official Visit is moving to Mondays from 7-9. (I hope we don't lose too many listeners with David Pollack as our lead-in...) But be sure to tune in to our first Monday show as University of Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt will join us for a segment. That's right. Week of the Okie State game and we have Mark Richt. Yeah. Sports Radio 790 The Zone this Monday!
Now then, Georgia High School Football's grand opening for the 2009 season aka the Corky Kell Classic invaded the Georgia Dome last Saturday.
I don't really care that much about the Etowah/Starr's Mill game except that apparently Etowah's QB Braden Nolan is going to try and make me pay for not picking them to make the playoffs. He had 161 yards of offense and 2 TDs. Enh. You sir are NO Synjyn Days of Hillgrove. JUST SAYING............. Etoway won, barely. You can see why I didn't pick them to go to the playoffs, but the AP put them in the preseason top 10. I disagree. Let's move on.
Things I was right about (1 game, but I can still boast that I was/am right). Rajaan Bennett of McEachern. I thought Brookwood would win the game (they didn't) but I called Bennett the best player of that region and I said the Indians would make the playoffs. Well, McEachern's QB looked comfortable in his first start and Bennett had 4 TDs (3 rush, 1 rec). He is PERFECT for this pistol offense and his 176 yards is just a foreshadow of what he'll do against a relatively down Region this season. Bennett will start to see the offers pouring in from 2nd tier SEC and 1st tier ACC schools if they know what's good for them. Hey Kentucky, Clemson, Wake, UNC, WAKE UP!
Norcross lost to Walton. WOW. I missed that one. But it was on a missed extra point and you saw Norcross rally behind their incredible Wideout. And Delino DeShields Jr was a non-factor because he had JUST transferred to the Blue Devils. Expect him to be FLOWING by the 4th game of the season. Norcross will be better than last season. MARK SBF's word! They underachieved last season, I think they'll overachieve this season and you saw that with the comeback. Too bad a missed extra point did them in.
Finally, Grayson knocked off Camden County, the defending state champ and they did it with strong Defense. In fact, Camden's only points were off of punting mis-Qs from Grayson. You know Mickey Conn will shore that up and he has maybe the best defensive front in the upper half of the state in Shawn Green (GT is getting a good one, possibly undersized for NT, maybe an UT in college), Joe Champaign and Terry Williams. Throw in his safety headed to BYU and that Defense will take them to an undefeated regular season. Ean Pemberton made things happen and got the tough yards at the end of the game. 133 yards against Camden's defense after 1951 last season. This little giant NEEDS to be on a major college roster. 4.39 speed. You're telling me Tennessee couldn't use him as PR? At the VERY LEAST, Bill Curry, get this guy! He is so powerful yet so shifty. If he was just 4 inches taller...
Alright now for the preview portion of our program....
Byrnes SC aka the No.1 team in the Country plays Central Gwinnett. Should be a blowout, especially with TSN's No.1 player Marcus Lattimore at tailback with Chas Dodd (rutgers) at QB and Corey Miller (FSU) at DE. According to my sources, Lattimore is going to make Butch Davis really happy. Byrnes will roll.
North Gwinnett (if I had kids, they'd be bulldogs!) hosts No.5 Prattville. Yep, No.5 in the country, Prattville from Alabama comes to play NGHS and I think this might be closer than people think. While I think Prattville sneaks out with a win, the OLine of the Bulldogs will keep them in it and maybe just maybe the Dogs can spring the upset. If this game was being played in late September, I'd think NGHS would have a better shot but breaking in a new QB is trouble against the Bama power.
Southwest DeKalb (No.1 in AAAA) vs ML King (No.8 in 5A). A battle of the running backs here with Malcome v Brown. I think in this battle of zonetastic coaches (Godfrey v Jarvis) that this is SWD's year and TJ Stripling makes the play to win the game.
Newnan (#10 in 5A) v LaGrange (No.4 in 3A). The Grangers coach doesn't think his team should be a preseason top ten and Newnan's defense is TOUGH. I think Ocie Salter breaks through just enough to help LaGrange pull the upset at home.
Peachtree Ridge (No.3 in AJC poll) v Harrison. Harrison returns its QB but so does PTR (where I wish, if I had kids, they could go). PTR has fine offensive weapons and a tremendous coach. Harrison cannot compete with the Gwinnett County school that seeks to return to the state championship game.
Tucker @ Brunswick. The Tigers will find out just how much they lose when they head down to the coast. Answer...a lot!
St. Pius @ Marist. Chadwick v Standard. Cole Moon and Co won this one last season (if I remember correctly) and no reason to think he and they won't again. DUDE IS ONLY A JUNIOR!
Griffin @ Dunwoody. The Bears will be a Cooper and Scales-less Dunwoody squad. Griffin will be good again this season as I predicted yesterday.
Until next Tuesday.....(Be sure to tune in for a complete wrap up this Sunday from 2-4 on 790 and for CMR Monday from 7-9.)
Now then, Georgia High School Football's grand opening for the 2009 season aka the Corky Kell Classic invaded the Georgia Dome last Saturday.
I don't really care that much about the Etowah/Starr's Mill game except that apparently Etowah's QB Braden Nolan is going to try and make me pay for not picking them to make the playoffs. He had 161 yards of offense and 2 TDs. Enh. You sir are NO Synjyn Days of Hillgrove. JUST SAYING............. Etoway won, barely. You can see why I didn't pick them to go to the playoffs, but the AP put them in the preseason top 10. I disagree. Let's move on.
Things I was right about (1 game, but I can still boast that I was/am right). Rajaan Bennett of McEachern. I thought Brookwood would win the game (they didn't) but I called Bennett the best player of that region and I said the Indians would make the playoffs. Well, McEachern's QB looked comfortable in his first start and Bennett had 4 TDs (3 rush, 1 rec). He is PERFECT for this pistol offense and his 176 yards is just a foreshadow of what he'll do against a relatively down Region this season. Bennett will start to see the offers pouring in from 2nd tier SEC and 1st tier ACC schools if they know what's good for them. Hey Kentucky, Clemson, Wake, UNC, WAKE UP!
Norcross lost to Walton. WOW. I missed that one. But it was on a missed extra point and you saw Norcross rally behind their incredible Wideout. And Delino DeShields Jr was a non-factor because he had JUST transferred to the Blue Devils. Expect him to be FLOWING by the 4th game of the season. Norcross will be better than last season. MARK SBF's word! They underachieved last season, I think they'll overachieve this season and you saw that with the comeback. Too bad a missed extra point did them in.
Finally, Grayson knocked off Camden County, the defending state champ and they did it with strong Defense. In fact, Camden's only points were off of punting mis-Qs from Grayson. You know Mickey Conn will shore that up and he has maybe the best defensive front in the upper half of the state in Shawn Green (GT is getting a good one, possibly undersized for NT, maybe an UT in college), Joe Champaign and Terry Williams. Throw in his safety headed to BYU and that Defense will take them to an undefeated regular season. Ean Pemberton made things happen and got the tough yards at the end of the game. 133 yards against Camden's defense after 1951 last season. This little giant NEEDS to be on a major college roster. 4.39 speed. You're telling me Tennessee couldn't use him as PR? At the VERY LEAST, Bill Curry, get this guy! He is so powerful yet so shifty. If he was just 4 inches taller...
Alright now for the preview portion of our program....
Byrnes SC aka the No.1 team in the Country plays Central Gwinnett. Should be a blowout, especially with TSN's No.1 player Marcus Lattimore at tailback with Chas Dodd (rutgers) at QB and Corey Miller (FSU) at DE. According to my sources, Lattimore is going to make Butch Davis really happy. Byrnes will roll.
North Gwinnett (if I had kids, they'd be bulldogs!) hosts No.5 Prattville. Yep, No.5 in the country, Prattville from Alabama comes to play NGHS and I think this might be closer than people think. While I think Prattville sneaks out with a win, the OLine of the Bulldogs will keep them in it and maybe just maybe the Dogs can spring the upset. If this game was being played in late September, I'd think NGHS would have a better shot but breaking in a new QB is trouble against the Bama power.
Southwest DeKalb (No.1 in AAAA) vs ML King (No.8 in 5A). A battle of the running backs here with Malcome v Brown. I think in this battle of zonetastic coaches (Godfrey v Jarvis) that this is SWD's year and TJ Stripling makes the play to win the game.
Newnan (#10 in 5A) v LaGrange (No.4 in 3A). The Grangers coach doesn't think his team should be a preseason top ten and Newnan's defense is TOUGH. I think Ocie Salter breaks through just enough to help LaGrange pull the upset at home.
Peachtree Ridge (No.3 in AJC poll) v Harrison. Harrison returns its QB but so does PTR (where I wish, if I had kids, they could go). PTR has fine offensive weapons and a tremendous coach. Harrison cannot compete with the Gwinnett County school that seeks to return to the state championship game.
Tucker @ Brunswick. The Tigers will find out just how much they lose when they head down to the coast. Answer...a lot!
St. Pius @ Marist. Chadwick v Standard. Cole Moon and Co won this one last season (if I remember correctly) and no reason to think he and they won't again. DUDE IS ONLY A JUNIOR!
Griffin @ Dunwoody. The Bears will be a Cooper and Scales-less Dunwoody squad. Griffin will be good again this season as I predicted yesterday.
Until next Tuesday.....(Be sure to tune in for a complete wrap up this Sunday from 2-4 on 790 and for CMR Monday from 7-9.)
Monday, August 24, 2009
SBF Previews Class AAA for Georgia HS Football 09
Sportsbyfletch continues its preview for Georgia high school football today with a gander at Classification AAA. Last season I was on hand at the Georgia Dome to see Cairo rally for a 28-14 win over Flowery Branch in the state title game. Flowery Branch might be back in the Dome this season but I think Cairo lost too many seniors (42 I believe) to return to the Finals. But you never know...........
Let's go to the Regions, shall we?
Region 1
Champ: Peach County
2 Cairo
3 Crisp Co
4 Dougherty.
Sorry Syrupmakers, but losing Reggie Bryant and Angelo Pease will hurt...BIG TIME. Ronnie Wooten too. Peach County meanwhile might have given you a run for your money had QB Patrick Taylor not gotten a freako hip injury early in game No.2. He's back along with 14 other starters and the fill-in QB goes back to his natural receiver spot. This offense for Peach County will be explosive, assuming everyone stays healthy.
Player of the Year: Patrick Taylor, QB Peach County. He was on fire last season before the injury, passing for over 400 yards in 6 quarters. Look out for this one.
Coach of the Year: Tom Fallow, Cairo. He lost 42 seniors, but watch him STILL make noise in the playoffs. Just watch!
Region 2
Champ: Carver-Columbus
2 LaGrange
3 Shaw
4 Troup
The Grangers lost 9 starters on D including Qua Huzzie, but the offense returns Jamius Gunsby and Braxton Smith at QB and Ocie Salter and his FB Xavier Head. That they are preseason #4 is a little high, but they will be good. Would be region champs if not for Carver-Columbus. As much as it pains me, Devin Burns is really good and he has a pair of future Clemson Tigers to help him this season in DE Corey Crawford and OG David Beasley. C-C will make a big time run at the state title.
PoY: Devin Burns, QB Carver Columbus
CoY: Del McGee, Carver-Columbus
Region 3
Champ: Baldwin
2 Washington County aka WaCo
3 Burke Co
4 Thomson
Jesse Hicks lost several important players off of last season's squad including Corrico Hawkins and Jerrico Ford, but Hicks' Braves reload, especially with QB Roshaun Milline, S Bennie Milline and CB John Willis. WaCo returns 15 starters and may be the only team to give Baldwin (and that tough defense) any sort of challenge.
PoY: John Willis, CB, Baldwin. He's maybe the best shutdown corner in the state. Yeah, sorry Ryan Ayers.
CoY: Jesse Hicks, Baldwin. DE-Fense! DE-Fense! Paul Mac LOVES this guy
Region 4
Champ: Jackson
2 Woodward Academy
3 Rutland
4 South Atlanta
Jackson has a monster at DE/LB in Neiron Ball and Mike Parris's team will win with defense, especially with Delino DeShields' transfer to Norcross two weeks ago.
PoY: Ball, DE, Jackson
CoY: Mike Parris, Jackson
Region 5
Champ: St. Pius X (Sub-region B)
2 Dunwoody (Subregion A)
3 Washington (Subregion B)
4 Cedar Grove (Subregion A)
St. Pius returns two QBs Brian Gee and PG Standard, but the REAL story is Cole Moon...who is ONLY A JUNIOR. Good Lord this kid is good and he's ONLY A JUNIOR. Look for St. Pius to just ride him deep into the playoffs. Dunwoody lost Cooper and Scales, which is too much to try and overtake St. Pius
PoY: Cole Moon, RB St. Pius
CoY: Paul Standard, St. Pius
Region 6
Champ: Carrollton (Sub-B)
2 Ridgeland (Sub-A)
3 Cartersville (Sub-B)
4 Ringgold (Sub-A)
The B Subregion is where the power is just northwest of Atlanta. Well just north of Kennesaw
PoY: Parker Tuggle, QB Carrollton
CoY: Frank Barden, Cartersville
Region 7
Champ: Gainesville (Sub-B)
2 North Hall (Sub-A)
3 Flowery Branch (Sub-B)
4 White Co (Sub-A)
The Red Elephants exited the playoffs too early last season. Forget what Blake Sims and Tai-Lor Jones too on offense (which is A FREAKING LOT), but think about those two plus Daunte Carr on defense. WOW. Bruce Miller will have a strong defense and with Sims and Jones, they will blow folks out on offense. That game against FloBranch in the Falcons new stadium should be explosive. The Falcons will have Connor Shaw (the best QB in the state. he's headed to Spurrier's Gamecocks) and Imani Cross, but these guys lost too much on defense to take the region. Let's not forget sub-region A though. North Hall is well coached with Bob Christmas. They have the big ugly Daniel Blitch to play OT and DT and he is a force. These guys will get a nice No.2 seed and should make some noise in the playoffs. White County, behind JR RB Ashley Lowery will steal that last spot.
PoY: Blake Sims, QB/S Gainesville. Because he goes both ways is the only reason he gets the nod over Shaw
CoY: Lee Shaw, Flowery Branch. His system is dynamite, especially with his son at the helm.
Region 8
Champ: Eastside
2 Franklin County
3 Stephens Co
4 Hart Co
Eastside won 11 games last season and they should take advantage of a rebuilding region. Hart has Jermonte Hickman while Franklin has a set of twins at QB and WR. Don't count out Stephens' offense, though their defense will give up plenty of points.
PoY: Dre Cunningham, RB, Stephens Co
CoY: Joby Scroggs, Hart Co. He's won the most and is plain and simple the best coach in this area.
Classification PoY: Blake Sims, QB Gainesville. This is the season the Red Elephants make it to the Dome.
Classification CoY: Del McGee, Carver-Columbus. Yep, Gainesville makes it to the Dome, where they'll lose to McGee's Tigers. Two titles in three years...good enough for me.
Preseason Top 10
1.Carver-Columbus
2.Gainesville
3.Peach County
4.Baldwin
5.Flowery Branch
6.LaGrange
7.Jackson
8.Carrollton
9.Cairo
10.St. Pius X
Let's go to the Regions, shall we?
Region 1
Champ: Peach County
2 Cairo
3 Crisp Co
4 Dougherty.
Sorry Syrupmakers, but losing Reggie Bryant and Angelo Pease will hurt...BIG TIME. Ronnie Wooten too. Peach County meanwhile might have given you a run for your money had QB Patrick Taylor not gotten a freako hip injury early in game No.2. He's back along with 14 other starters and the fill-in QB goes back to his natural receiver spot. This offense for Peach County will be explosive, assuming everyone stays healthy.
Player of the Year: Patrick Taylor, QB Peach County. He was on fire last season before the injury, passing for over 400 yards in 6 quarters. Look out for this one.
Coach of the Year: Tom Fallow, Cairo. He lost 42 seniors, but watch him STILL make noise in the playoffs. Just watch!
Region 2
Champ: Carver-Columbus
2 LaGrange
3 Shaw
4 Troup
The Grangers lost 9 starters on D including Qua Huzzie, but the offense returns Jamius Gunsby and Braxton Smith at QB and Ocie Salter and his FB Xavier Head. That they are preseason #4 is a little high, but they will be good. Would be region champs if not for Carver-Columbus. As much as it pains me, Devin Burns is really good and he has a pair of future Clemson Tigers to help him this season in DE Corey Crawford and OG David Beasley. C-C will make a big time run at the state title.
PoY: Devin Burns, QB Carver Columbus
CoY: Del McGee, Carver-Columbus
Region 3
Champ: Baldwin
2 Washington County aka WaCo
3 Burke Co
4 Thomson
Jesse Hicks lost several important players off of last season's squad including Corrico Hawkins and Jerrico Ford, but Hicks' Braves reload, especially with QB Roshaun Milline, S Bennie Milline and CB John Willis. WaCo returns 15 starters and may be the only team to give Baldwin (and that tough defense) any sort of challenge.
PoY: John Willis, CB, Baldwin. He's maybe the best shutdown corner in the state. Yeah, sorry Ryan Ayers.
CoY: Jesse Hicks, Baldwin. DE-Fense! DE-Fense! Paul Mac LOVES this guy
Region 4
Champ: Jackson
2 Woodward Academy
3 Rutland
4 South Atlanta
Jackson has a monster at DE/LB in Neiron Ball and Mike Parris's team will win with defense, especially with Delino DeShields' transfer to Norcross two weeks ago.
PoY: Ball, DE, Jackson
CoY: Mike Parris, Jackson
Region 5
Champ: St. Pius X (Sub-region B)
2 Dunwoody (Subregion A)
3 Washington (Subregion B)
4 Cedar Grove (Subregion A)
St. Pius returns two QBs Brian Gee and PG Standard, but the REAL story is Cole Moon...who is ONLY A JUNIOR. Good Lord this kid is good and he's ONLY A JUNIOR. Look for St. Pius to just ride him deep into the playoffs. Dunwoody lost Cooper and Scales, which is too much to try and overtake St. Pius
PoY: Cole Moon, RB St. Pius
CoY: Paul Standard, St. Pius
Region 6
Champ: Carrollton (Sub-B)
2 Ridgeland (Sub-A)
3 Cartersville (Sub-B)
4 Ringgold (Sub-A)
The B Subregion is where the power is just northwest of Atlanta. Well just north of Kennesaw
PoY: Parker Tuggle, QB Carrollton
CoY: Frank Barden, Cartersville
Region 7
Champ: Gainesville (Sub-B)
2 North Hall (Sub-A)
3 Flowery Branch (Sub-B)
4 White Co (Sub-A)
The Red Elephants exited the playoffs too early last season. Forget what Blake Sims and Tai-Lor Jones too on offense (which is A FREAKING LOT), but think about those two plus Daunte Carr on defense. WOW. Bruce Miller will have a strong defense and with Sims and Jones, they will blow folks out on offense. That game against FloBranch in the Falcons new stadium should be explosive. The Falcons will have Connor Shaw (the best QB in the state. he's headed to Spurrier's Gamecocks) and Imani Cross, but these guys lost too much on defense to take the region. Let's not forget sub-region A though. North Hall is well coached with Bob Christmas. They have the big ugly Daniel Blitch to play OT and DT and he is a force. These guys will get a nice No.2 seed and should make some noise in the playoffs. White County, behind JR RB Ashley Lowery will steal that last spot.
PoY: Blake Sims, QB/S Gainesville. Because he goes both ways is the only reason he gets the nod over Shaw
CoY: Lee Shaw, Flowery Branch. His system is dynamite, especially with his son at the helm.
Region 8
Champ: Eastside
2 Franklin County
3 Stephens Co
4 Hart Co
Eastside won 11 games last season and they should take advantage of a rebuilding region. Hart has Jermonte Hickman while Franklin has a set of twins at QB and WR. Don't count out Stephens' offense, though their defense will give up plenty of points.
PoY: Dre Cunningham, RB, Stephens Co
CoY: Joby Scroggs, Hart Co. He's won the most and is plain and simple the best coach in this area.
Classification PoY: Blake Sims, QB Gainesville. This is the season the Red Elephants make it to the Dome.
Classification CoY: Del McGee, Carver-Columbus. Yep, Gainesville makes it to the Dome, where they'll lose to McGee's Tigers. Two titles in three years...good enough for me.
Preseason Top 10
1.Carver-Columbus
2.Gainesville
3.Peach County
4.Baldwin
5.Flowery Branch
6.LaGrange
7.Jackson
8.Carrollton
9.Cairo
10.St. Pius X
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Brian Jones top GA prospects going to UGA/GT
Brian Jones is back with YET another Top Ten list as we get ready for high school football to fully kick off this Friday. The Corky Kell was fun with Walton and Grayson looking good and McEachern looking great. Score Atlanta's Jones gives us his list of top Georgia Prospects headed to UGA or GT this signing day. For more of Brian, tune in to Sports Radio 790 The Zone next Sunday from 2-4.
10. Denzel McCoy (Northview) – 6-4. 274. McCoy has the size to play the undertackle position in college. He has great athleticism and also has quick feet. He has committed to Georgia Tech.
9. Shawn Green (Grayson) – 6-2. 275. – Has been a sleeper, but now people are starting to take notice of him after a stellar 2008 season. He was constantly in the backfield making plays and that’s why he will join the Yellow Jackets in the fall.
8. B.J. Bostic (Jefferson County) – 5-11. 175. Another prospect that can play quarterback. Has great body control and can tackle just as good as any player in the state. Committed to GA Tech.
7. Kendrum Malcome (SW DeKalb) – 6-foot. 213. Malcome was one of the key pieces to the Panthers playoff run last year. Is a big back that can break a big run at any given point of a game. His will play at Georgia in 2010.
6. Ryan Ayers (South Paulding) – 5-10. 178. He’s athletic, fast and has great anticipation. Can just flat out make plays. Committed to GA Tech.
5. T.J. Stripling (SW DeKalb) – 6-6. 210. Stripling uses his size to fight off blockers and has great lateral range to cause havoc in the backfield as he tallied 15 sacks last season. Has committed to Georgia.
4. Da’rick Rogers (Calhoun) – 6-foot-3 206. Rogers looks like a linebacker, but has the tools to be a elite college receiver. Rogers notched 1,300 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns in 2008. Rogers has committed to Georgia.
3. Kolton Houston (Buford) – 6-5. 270. Could very well be the best guard in the state as he was opening holes for guys like Storm Johnson last year. He will be wearing the red and black in Athens in 2010.
2. Garrison Smith (Douglass) – 6-3. 255. Smith has all the tools to be a great college-level defensive tackle. He is quick off the ball and does a great job of staying at home on the backside. In 2008 he had 14 sacks as he played both end and tackle. Has committed to UGA.
1. Alec Ogletree (Newnan) – 6-3. 214. Is considered by some as the best prospect in the state and the best safety in the nation. He has linebacker size but has the speed of a safety. Has great ball skills and is good in zone coverage. He has committed to UGA.
10. Denzel McCoy (Northview) – 6-4. 274. McCoy has the size to play the undertackle position in college. He has great athleticism and also has quick feet. He has committed to Georgia Tech.
9. Shawn Green (Grayson) – 6-2. 275. – Has been a sleeper, but now people are starting to take notice of him after a stellar 2008 season. He was constantly in the backfield making plays and that’s why he will join the Yellow Jackets in the fall.
8. B.J. Bostic (Jefferson County) – 5-11. 175. Another prospect that can play quarterback. Has great body control and can tackle just as good as any player in the state. Committed to GA Tech.
7. Kendrum Malcome (SW DeKalb) – 6-foot. 213. Malcome was one of the key pieces to the Panthers playoff run last year. Is a big back that can break a big run at any given point of a game. His will play at Georgia in 2010.
6. Ryan Ayers (South Paulding) – 5-10. 178. He’s athletic, fast and has great anticipation. Can just flat out make plays. Committed to GA Tech.
5. T.J. Stripling (SW DeKalb) – 6-6. 210. Stripling uses his size to fight off blockers and has great lateral range to cause havoc in the backfield as he tallied 15 sacks last season. Has committed to Georgia.
4. Da’rick Rogers (Calhoun) – 6-foot-3 206. Rogers looks like a linebacker, but has the tools to be a elite college receiver. Rogers notched 1,300 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns in 2008. Rogers has committed to Georgia.
3. Kolton Houston (Buford) – 6-5. 270. Could very well be the best guard in the state as he was opening holes for guys like Storm Johnson last year. He will be wearing the red and black in Athens in 2010.
2. Garrison Smith (Douglass) – 6-3. 255. Smith has all the tools to be a great college-level defensive tackle. He is quick off the ball and does a great job of staying at home on the backside. In 2008 he had 14 sacks as he played both end and tackle. Has committed to UGA.
1. Alec Ogletree (Newnan) – 6-3. 214. Is considered by some as the best prospect in the state and the best safety in the nation. He has linebacker size but has the speed of a safety. Has great ball skills and is good in zone coverage. He has committed to UGA.
Friday, August 21, 2009
CLASS AAAA preview for GaHS 09!
SportsbyFletch continues it preseason look at the Georgia High School football scene, today we break down the Classification AAAA. Tucker, the FASTEST high school team I've seen in quite some time, won the state title but lost nearly everyone. Meanwhile Westside-Macon was No.1 seemingly all season (overrated in THISGUY's opinion) but they lost Orrin McFadden. Oh, and Loganville got better in a hurry with Storm Johnson transferring in from Buford. How will he do against AAAA competition? We shall see. Who will survive the gauntlet of Region6? Will the Catamounts have another winning record? LET'S GET TO THE CHAMPS....
Region 1
Champ: Bainbridge. With Ed Pilcher at the helm entering his second season, look for Bainbridge to do better than they did in Varsity Blues...
2. TCC. They lost the big boys up front, but Curtis Brooks still totes the mail.
3. Westside-Macon. These guys lost Orrin McFadden and the coach, but expect the Seminoles to still make the playoffs.
4. Harris. Because I needed a fourth....
Player of the year: Curtis Brooks, RB TCC. With the Jackets breaking in a new QB, he'll get plenty of carries.
Coach of the year: Ed Pilcher. The man has over 200 career wins. He'll get at least 8 more this season.
Region 2
Champ: Statesboro. I mocked them last season for being ranked in the top 4 even after they lost their QB to a broken limb. They proved me wrong. I won't doubt them anymore.
2. Brunswick. They probably should have won the region last season with Statesboro's injury problems and Ware County's struggles. Maybe they were just one season late to the party.
3. Ware County. Ed Dudley, formerly of Walton has moved down south. Expect the team to get back to its winning ways...quickly.
4. Glynn Academy. I put them here STRICTLY based on tradition.
PoY: Charles Jones, RB Ware County. Ed Dudley will make this guy into a player.
CoY: Dudley, Ware County. He built Walton into a winner and Ware has a history of success. He'll get them back on track.
Region 3
Champ: Evans. They've been hot over the last few seasons and their QB is nicknamed Tex. Gotta like Evans.
2. Glenn Hills. Strong enough to maybe advance to the second round of the Playoffs.
3. Hephzibah. Say that 10X fast.
4. Richmond Academy. My friend teaches there. Shout out to Sean!
PoY: Jonathan Finch, RB, Evans. He scored as a sophomore, he scored as a junior, he'll score the most as a senior.
CoY: Marty Jackson, Evans. He has something special working at Evans right now. PLUS I bet HE gave his QB Troy Griffith the nickname Tex. Gotta like that!
Region 4
Champ: Griffin. The Bears had a pretty good defense if I recall correctly. Plus they grow 'em big down in Griffin. This team will have plenty of beef.
2. North Clayton. Between Milton Artis and Brandon Devereux this offense can go for Coach Hackney.
3. Jonesboro.
4. Mt. Zion. Don't get these two confused.
PoY: Brandon Devereux, RB, NClayton. He gets the nod over the teammate because he also plays a little defense too.
CoY: Steven Devoursney, Griffin. He coached 'em up last season and if he does it again, he'll get my vote over Hackney.
Region 5.
Champ: Sandy Creek (from 5A). Between Isiah Johnson and Rajion Neal, they just have too much talent. Neal also thinks that the new QB will be just fine replacing Rio.
2. Mays (from 5B). Always tough as nailz defense.
3. Whitewater (from 5A). I know the 9th grade coach and he says that this crop of Juniors will be pretty special. Look out for the Clemens kid.
4. Banneker (from 5B) Burst thru them Trojans! True Trojans don't break!
PoY: Rajion Neal, RB, Sandy Creek. I don't care what Neal told Score Atlanta's Official Visit, he'll be the focal point of the offense and he'll put up HUGE numbers.
CoY: Chip Walker, Sandy Creek. GIVE THE BALL TO NEAL!
Region 6.
Champ: SW DeKalb. We've spoken with Coach Godfrey and to several insiders who are VERY excited about this team. With Stripling and Malcome on board, this team will be strong and powerful. Not as fast as Tucker was last season, but very talented. They think that maybe 20 seniors will get scholarships.
2. Tucker. The cupboard isn't completely bare, but losing Davis and Calhoun hurts.
3. Marist. With Alan Chadwick, they will be disciplined and tough to beat. Plus Sam McNeary at QB.
4. Chamblee. Michael Collins lost Warren Norman, but they have suitable replacements in Darius Jones, I believe.
PoY: TJ Stripling, DE SW-D. I hope he reaches his ceiling because he could be REALLY special at UGA.
CoY: Buck Godfrey, SW-D. He is a legend. Go get a state title, Sir!
Region 7.
Champ: Rome (From 7A). I know, I know. I Didn't pick JCole's Catamounts. SHOCKER OF THE CENTURY!
2. Sprayberry, (From 7B) In a mild upset over Hillgrove.
3. Dalton (From 7A) They have a great DE in Jalen Fields, a strong RB and a QB with the best name in ALL of Georgia...Stryker Brown...But Rome is loaded once again.
4. Hillgrove (From 7B). Doesn't old Ironside still coach these guys? Phil is a great coach and he'll make noise come playoff time.
PoY: Jalen Fields, DE Dalton. The first commitment for UGA's 2010 class is the class of the Region.
CoY: Phil Ironside, Hillgrove. Maybe I undervalued his team. MOTIVATION!
Region 8.
Champ: Loganville. With the addition of workhorse Storm Johnson, the self-proclaimed best RB in the nation, Loganville (where's Loganville?) will capture the region.
2. Clarke-Central. The Athens once-powerhouse will return to powerhouse status.
3. Apalachee. Two words....Jon Lee. Look out for this guy at the next level. He's under the radar but shouldn't be. if he's added just a little muscle, he'll be fantastico.
4. Habersham-Central. the RAIDAHS have a 9-man radio broadcast crew, but that's OK. They also put a decent team together and this once will edge out Cedar-Shoals for the final playoff spot.
PoY: Storm Johnson, RB Loganville. He isn't the best RB in the nation, but he's the best player in the region.
CoY: Eric Godfree, Loganville. He'll benefit from Johnson's decision to transfer to his school.
Player of the classification: TJ Stripling, DE Southwest DeKalb. I wanted to say Storm Johnson, but I haven't seen him play at this level of competition. Stripling, if he DOESN'T meet his potential is still a lock for this award. If he DOES reach his apex, WOW. He could be the next QMo.
Coach of the classification: Buck Godfrey, SW-D. He'll take home the state title and get 20 of his senior scholarships to the next level. WOW. That's impressive.
Preseason Top 10.
1. Southwest DeKalb
2. Sandy Creek
3. Rome
4. Griffin
5. Statesboro
6. Tucker
7. Evans
8. Dalton
9. Marist
10. Loganville
PS, predictions for tomorrow's Corky Kell Classic....Etowah over Starr's Mill, Brookwood over McEachern, Grayson over Camden and Norcross over Walton.
Region 1
Champ: Bainbridge. With Ed Pilcher at the helm entering his second season, look for Bainbridge to do better than they did in Varsity Blues...
2. TCC. They lost the big boys up front, but Curtis Brooks still totes the mail.
3. Westside-Macon. These guys lost Orrin McFadden and the coach, but expect the Seminoles to still make the playoffs.
4. Harris. Because I needed a fourth....
Player of the year: Curtis Brooks, RB TCC. With the Jackets breaking in a new QB, he'll get plenty of carries.
Coach of the year: Ed Pilcher. The man has over 200 career wins. He'll get at least 8 more this season.
Region 2
Champ: Statesboro. I mocked them last season for being ranked in the top 4 even after they lost their QB to a broken limb. They proved me wrong. I won't doubt them anymore.
2. Brunswick. They probably should have won the region last season with Statesboro's injury problems and Ware County's struggles. Maybe they were just one season late to the party.
3. Ware County. Ed Dudley, formerly of Walton has moved down south. Expect the team to get back to its winning ways...quickly.
4. Glynn Academy. I put them here STRICTLY based on tradition.
PoY: Charles Jones, RB Ware County. Ed Dudley will make this guy into a player.
CoY: Dudley, Ware County. He built Walton into a winner and Ware has a history of success. He'll get them back on track.
Region 3
Champ: Evans. They've been hot over the last few seasons and their QB is nicknamed Tex. Gotta like Evans.
2. Glenn Hills. Strong enough to maybe advance to the second round of the Playoffs.
3. Hephzibah. Say that 10X fast.
4. Richmond Academy. My friend teaches there. Shout out to Sean!
PoY: Jonathan Finch, RB, Evans. He scored as a sophomore, he scored as a junior, he'll score the most as a senior.
CoY: Marty Jackson, Evans. He has something special working at Evans right now. PLUS I bet HE gave his QB Troy Griffith the nickname Tex. Gotta like that!
Region 4
Champ: Griffin. The Bears had a pretty good defense if I recall correctly. Plus they grow 'em big down in Griffin. This team will have plenty of beef.
2. North Clayton. Between Milton Artis and Brandon Devereux this offense can go for Coach Hackney.
3. Jonesboro.
4. Mt. Zion. Don't get these two confused.
PoY: Brandon Devereux, RB, NClayton. He gets the nod over the teammate because he also plays a little defense too.
CoY: Steven Devoursney, Griffin. He coached 'em up last season and if he does it again, he'll get my vote over Hackney.
Region 5.
Champ: Sandy Creek (from 5A). Between Isiah Johnson and Rajion Neal, they just have too much talent. Neal also thinks that the new QB will be just fine replacing Rio.
2. Mays (from 5B). Always tough as nailz defense.
3. Whitewater (from 5A). I know the 9th grade coach and he says that this crop of Juniors will be pretty special. Look out for the Clemens kid.
4. Banneker (from 5B) Burst thru them Trojans! True Trojans don't break!
PoY: Rajion Neal, RB, Sandy Creek. I don't care what Neal told Score Atlanta's Official Visit, he'll be the focal point of the offense and he'll put up HUGE numbers.
CoY: Chip Walker, Sandy Creek. GIVE THE BALL TO NEAL!
Region 6.
Champ: SW DeKalb. We've spoken with Coach Godfrey and to several insiders who are VERY excited about this team. With Stripling and Malcome on board, this team will be strong and powerful. Not as fast as Tucker was last season, but very talented. They think that maybe 20 seniors will get scholarships.
2. Tucker. The cupboard isn't completely bare, but losing Davis and Calhoun hurts.
3. Marist. With Alan Chadwick, they will be disciplined and tough to beat. Plus Sam McNeary at QB.
4. Chamblee. Michael Collins lost Warren Norman, but they have suitable replacements in Darius Jones, I believe.
PoY: TJ Stripling, DE SW-D. I hope he reaches his ceiling because he could be REALLY special at UGA.
CoY: Buck Godfrey, SW-D. He is a legend. Go get a state title, Sir!
Region 7.
Champ: Rome (From 7A). I know, I know. I Didn't pick JCole's Catamounts. SHOCKER OF THE CENTURY!
2. Sprayberry, (From 7B) In a mild upset over Hillgrove.
3. Dalton (From 7A) They have a great DE in Jalen Fields, a strong RB and a QB with the best name in ALL of Georgia...Stryker Brown...But Rome is loaded once again.
4. Hillgrove (From 7B). Doesn't old Ironside still coach these guys? Phil is a great coach and he'll make noise come playoff time.
PoY: Jalen Fields, DE Dalton. The first commitment for UGA's 2010 class is the class of the Region.
CoY: Phil Ironside, Hillgrove. Maybe I undervalued his team. MOTIVATION!
Region 8.
Champ: Loganville. With the addition of workhorse Storm Johnson, the self-proclaimed best RB in the nation, Loganville (where's Loganville?) will capture the region.
2. Clarke-Central. The Athens once-powerhouse will return to powerhouse status.
3. Apalachee. Two words....Jon Lee. Look out for this guy at the next level. He's under the radar but shouldn't be. if he's added just a little muscle, he'll be fantastico.
4. Habersham-Central. the RAIDAHS have a 9-man radio broadcast crew, but that's OK. They also put a decent team together and this once will edge out Cedar-Shoals for the final playoff spot.
PoY: Storm Johnson, RB Loganville. He isn't the best RB in the nation, but he's the best player in the region.
CoY: Eric Godfree, Loganville. He'll benefit from Johnson's decision to transfer to his school.
Player of the classification: TJ Stripling, DE Southwest DeKalb. I wanted to say Storm Johnson, but I haven't seen him play at this level of competition. Stripling, if he DOESN'T meet his potential is still a lock for this award. If he DOES reach his apex, WOW. He could be the next QMo.
Coach of the classification: Buck Godfrey, SW-D. He'll take home the state title and get 20 of his senior scholarships to the next level. WOW. That's impressive.
Preseason Top 10.
1. Southwest DeKalb
2. Sandy Creek
3. Rome
4. Griffin
5. Statesboro
6. Tucker
7. Evans
8. Dalton
9. Marist
10. Loganville
PS, predictions for tomorrow's Corky Kell Classic....Etowah over Starr's Mill, Brookwood over McEachern, Grayson over Camden and Norcross over Walton.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Class AAAAA preview for GAHS football 09!
With the Corky Kell Classic ready to explode this weekend, High School Football is upon us here in the state of Georgia. Though I will not be co-hosting High School High Five this season for 790 The Zone, I will still have my finger on the pulse of Georgia HS Football as we'll be discussing it Sunday afternoon on 790 as well as Monday nights from 7-9, also on 790. OH, and you can read all about my thoughts on Gwinnett County in Score Atlanta's Prep editions every Friday. Finally, follow my ramblings here on Sports By Fletch. We'll shoot for a Tuesday wrapup/preview of the next week's games. I am thinking Tuesday. Let's go with that for now.
Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down the five classifications with my predictions on the four region seeds for the state playoffs as well as a PoY and CoY in each region.
With no further ado..........
CLASS AAAAA
Region1.
Champ: Lowndes. They just reload every year. They lost in the playoffs for the first time I can recall. They'll be hungry.
2.Northside-Warner Robbins. Moved up from 4A and the Eagles did well in their first season with the Big Boys last year. They'll miss Abry though and the Fields kid.
3. Coffee. They're HOT baby! Get it?
4. Colquitt. Rush Propst's second season bringing basketball on grass to Georgia earns them a playoff spot.
Player of the year.....Ed Christian, OL Lowndes. I'll agree with my good buddy Todd Holcomb, former of the AJC and Official Visit FOS.
Coach of the year.....Rush Propst. If he gets his team to the playoffs, he deserves it over Randy McPherson.
Region2.
Champ: ML King. Corey Jarvis has these guys ready EVERY season. With Mack Brown, they should run over the rest of this improving region.
2. Stephenson. LB Tyrone Cornelius leads an always stingy defense.
3. Douglass. Sorry, biased here because of Garrison Smith. The state's No.2 player and No.44 overall player in the country. He's headed to UGA in case you didn't know.
4. Union Grove. Those guys are NOTHING BUY ATHLETES. They just aren't football players. Athletic talent will get you to the playoffs though in this region.
Player of the year: Mack Brown, RB, ML King. The future Gator may be the State's player of the year.
COach of the year. Corey Jarvis, ML King. The guy just reloads. Great coach.
Region3.
Champ: Camden County. The defending state champ lost a lot, but they run a system that let's them plug and play. They might be one year away however...
2. Bradwell Institute
3.?Windsor Forest?
4.?Johnson-SAV? Ummmmm, Actually, THIS is the worst region in 5A
PoY: Andre Johnson, RB, Camden. He scored the his team's first TD in the state championship and he'll score more this season.
CoY: Jeff Herron, Camden. His record is 109-10 in his ten seasons at Camden. WOW.
Region4.
Champ: Newnan. Alec Ogletree and his twin brother lead a D that MUST overcome the offense's losses due to graduation. Ogletree is the No.1 recruit in Georgia. He's headed to UGA. Newnan gets the love....
2. Westlake. I like the LB Michael Taylor, but not enough to put Westlake over Newnan.
3. Chapel Hill. They return a LOT from a team that went 9-2 last season.
4. Creekside. Better than anything else in the region.
PoY: Alec Ogletree, S Newnan. Duh
CoY: Mike McDonald, Newnan. First year at school and he gets a region title. 1 for 1.
Region5. Cobb part ONE!
Champ: Harrison. True they lost Robbie Godhigh, but they return the QB. Hoyas take it.
2. East Paulding. No Jahron Brown, but this defense will be good in the second year in AAAAA
3. McEachern. The Pistol offense should really take off in its second season under Kyle Hockman
4. Kennesaw Mountain. The returning upperclassman should let the Mustangs sneak into the playoffs over Campbell, Etowah and Woodstock.
PoY: Rajaan Bennett, McEachern, RB. This kid could be scary good and have SEC and ACC programs beating down his door by the end of the season. A Perfect back for the Pistol. I could translate into the spread! Wake Forest, Clemson, are you watching? UK?
CoY: Scott Jones, KMHS. If the Mustangs make the playoffs, he is Coach of the Year.
Region6. Cobb-sorta Part Two!
Champ: Lassiter. Hutson Mason was good last year as a junior. Just imagine what he'll be with a year under his belt! No Lutzenkirchin (spelling?) though and no Camden Wentz. That's OK. Mason is back!
2. Centennial. I know it is a zany pick, but IJ has brainwashed me. Plus they have a strong O-Line.
3. Walton. They lost Dudley and Boydston and Rayburn and Burrows.....but tradition FORCES me to pick them.
4. Roswell. They'll recover from a 5-5 season, right? Right? Hello?
PoY: Hutson Mason, QB Lassiter. Darn good as a junior. Damn good as a senior.
CoY: Chip Lindsey, Lassiter. Nice program turnaround Coach. Next step: Playing past Thanksgiving...
Region7. GWINNETT, BABY!
Champ: Norcross. They underachieved last season after I thought they might win it all. Well, with Delino DeShields in the fold, they will be tough to beat. You Know Maloof will be on them to overachieve after last season.
2. North Gwinnett. The O-Line makes the Loss of Tyler Jarry and Mikey Tamburo bareable. CJ Uzomah can still throw to Chad Jarry and Cordero Dixon. Plus Juwan James will make sure his jersey stays clean all season. They'll drop one early though due to growing pains.
3. Collins Hill. Charles Perkins carries this team as far as his legs can go...which is the second round of the playoffs.
4. Peachtree Ridge. Bill Ballard is TOO good of a coach to let this team drop too far. They played for the title last season for Pete's Sake. They've got talent, but a VERY good coach too.
PoY: Charles Perkins, RB Collins Hill. This guy is underrated. He'll be a warrior for the Eagles.
CoY: Bob Sphire, NGHS, His offense might stall early, but look for them to be a smooth running machine by the time the playoffs arrive.
Region8. GWINNETT's POWER CONFERENCE!
Champ: Grayson. Mickey Conn lost his QB, but he still has a strong running game and a defense with bite! At least two of his defensive starters have D-1 offers.
2. Brookwood. Mark Crews always finds a Running back. he didn't in time last season, but he will this season. Just not good enough to take down Grayson though.
3. South Gwinnett. I like the coach, and despite losing the QB, whomever steps in will have Aaron Wimberly and Janathan Krause at his disposal. Throw in Chaz Jackson at DB and you've got a sleeper in the region.
4. Parkview. Tradition once again. No Brandon Jacobs means a tougher road to hoe. Coach Flowe always figures it out though.
PoY: Ean Pemberton, RB Grayson. The Little Giant might be my favorite player in the state.
CoY: Mickey Conn, Grayson. Nice guy and one heck of a coach. He beat Lowndes last season and this edition might be even better. Look out semi-finals!
Classification PoY: Hutson Mason, Lassiter QB. With all due respect to Mack Brown, RBs are going to pile up numbers in this state. When QBs do it, WOW. Mason will make your jaw drop with his numbers in Lindsey's system. But the end of the season, I might be calling Mason the state's best QB instead of Shaw or Sims (sorry Devin Burns)
Classification CoY: Randy McPherson, Lowndes. The Only coach in the Classification that will go 15-0. I think he beats Grayson if they meet again.
Preseason top ten
1.Grayson
2.Camden County (they play each other in the Corky Kell. WOW)
3.Lowndes
4.Northside-Warner Robbins
5.ML King
6.Lassiter
7.Newnan
8.Norcross
9.North Gwinnett
10.Harrison
Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down the five classifications with my predictions on the four region seeds for the state playoffs as well as a PoY and CoY in each region.
With no further ado..........
CLASS AAAAA
Region1.
Champ: Lowndes. They just reload every year. They lost in the playoffs for the first time I can recall. They'll be hungry.
2.Northside-Warner Robbins. Moved up from 4A and the Eagles did well in their first season with the Big Boys last year. They'll miss Abry though and the Fields kid.
3. Coffee. They're HOT baby! Get it?
4. Colquitt. Rush Propst's second season bringing basketball on grass to Georgia earns them a playoff spot.
Player of the year.....Ed Christian, OL Lowndes. I'll agree with my good buddy Todd Holcomb, former of the AJC and Official Visit FOS.
Coach of the year.....Rush Propst. If he gets his team to the playoffs, he deserves it over Randy McPherson.
Region2.
Champ: ML King. Corey Jarvis has these guys ready EVERY season. With Mack Brown, they should run over the rest of this improving region.
2. Stephenson. LB Tyrone Cornelius leads an always stingy defense.
3. Douglass. Sorry, biased here because of Garrison Smith. The state's No.2 player and No.44 overall player in the country. He's headed to UGA in case you didn't know.
4. Union Grove. Those guys are NOTHING BUY ATHLETES. They just aren't football players. Athletic talent will get you to the playoffs though in this region.
Player of the year: Mack Brown, RB, ML King. The future Gator may be the State's player of the year.
COach of the year. Corey Jarvis, ML King. The guy just reloads. Great coach.
Region3.
Champ: Camden County. The defending state champ lost a lot, but they run a system that let's them plug and play. They might be one year away however...
2. Bradwell Institute
3.?Windsor Forest?
4.?Johnson-SAV? Ummmmm, Actually, THIS is the worst region in 5A
PoY: Andre Johnson, RB, Camden. He scored the his team's first TD in the state championship and he'll score more this season.
CoY: Jeff Herron, Camden. His record is 109-10 in his ten seasons at Camden. WOW.
Region4.
Champ: Newnan. Alec Ogletree and his twin brother lead a D that MUST overcome the offense's losses due to graduation. Ogletree is the No.1 recruit in Georgia. He's headed to UGA. Newnan gets the love....
2. Westlake. I like the LB Michael Taylor, but not enough to put Westlake over Newnan.
3. Chapel Hill. They return a LOT from a team that went 9-2 last season.
4. Creekside. Better than anything else in the region.
PoY: Alec Ogletree, S Newnan. Duh
CoY: Mike McDonald, Newnan. First year at school and he gets a region title. 1 for 1.
Region5. Cobb part ONE!
Champ: Harrison. True they lost Robbie Godhigh, but they return the QB. Hoyas take it.
2. East Paulding. No Jahron Brown, but this defense will be good in the second year in AAAAA
3. McEachern. The Pistol offense should really take off in its second season under Kyle Hockman
4. Kennesaw Mountain. The returning upperclassman should let the Mustangs sneak into the playoffs over Campbell, Etowah and Woodstock.
PoY: Rajaan Bennett, McEachern, RB. This kid could be scary good and have SEC and ACC programs beating down his door by the end of the season. A Perfect back for the Pistol. I could translate into the spread! Wake Forest, Clemson, are you watching? UK?
CoY: Scott Jones, KMHS. If the Mustangs make the playoffs, he is Coach of the Year.
Region6. Cobb-sorta Part Two!
Champ: Lassiter. Hutson Mason was good last year as a junior. Just imagine what he'll be with a year under his belt! No Lutzenkirchin (spelling?) though and no Camden Wentz. That's OK. Mason is back!
2. Centennial. I know it is a zany pick, but IJ has brainwashed me. Plus they have a strong O-Line.
3. Walton. They lost Dudley and Boydston and Rayburn and Burrows.....but tradition FORCES me to pick them.
4. Roswell. They'll recover from a 5-5 season, right? Right? Hello?
PoY: Hutson Mason, QB Lassiter. Darn good as a junior. Damn good as a senior.
CoY: Chip Lindsey, Lassiter. Nice program turnaround Coach. Next step: Playing past Thanksgiving...
Region7. GWINNETT, BABY!
Champ: Norcross. They underachieved last season after I thought they might win it all. Well, with Delino DeShields in the fold, they will be tough to beat. You Know Maloof will be on them to overachieve after last season.
2. North Gwinnett. The O-Line makes the Loss of Tyler Jarry and Mikey Tamburo bareable. CJ Uzomah can still throw to Chad Jarry and Cordero Dixon. Plus Juwan James will make sure his jersey stays clean all season. They'll drop one early though due to growing pains.
3. Collins Hill. Charles Perkins carries this team as far as his legs can go...which is the second round of the playoffs.
4. Peachtree Ridge. Bill Ballard is TOO good of a coach to let this team drop too far. They played for the title last season for Pete's Sake. They've got talent, but a VERY good coach too.
PoY: Charles Perkins, RB Collins Hill. This guy is underrated. He'll be a warrior for the Eagles.
CoY: Bob Sphire, NGHS, His offense might stall early, but look for them to be a smooth running machine by the time the playoffs arrive.
Region8. GWINNETT's POWER CONFERENCE!
Champ: Grayson. Mickey Conn lost his QB, but he still has a strong running game and a defense with bite! At least two of his defensive starters have D-1 offers.
2. Brookwood. Mark Crews always finds a Running back. he didn't in time last season, but he will this season. Just not good enough to take down Grayson though.
3. South Gwinnett. I like the coach, and despite losing the QB, whomever steps in will have Aaron Wimberly and Janathan Krause at his disposal. Throw in Chaz Jackson at DB and you've got a sleeper in the region.
4. Parkview. Tradition once again. No Brandon Jacobs means a tougher road to hoe. Coach Flowe always figures it out though.
PoY: Ean Pemberton, RB Grayson. The Little Giant might be my favorite player in the state.
CoY: Mickey Conn, Grayson. Nice guy and one heck of a coach. He beat Lowndes last season and this edition might be even better. Look out semi-finals!
Classification PoY: Hutson Mason, Lassiter QB. With all due respect to Mack Brown, RBs are going to pile up numbers in this state. When QBs do it, WOW. Mason will make your jaw drop with his numbers in Lindsey's system. But the end of the season, I might be calling Mason the state's best QB instead of Shaw or Sims (sorry Devin Burns)
Classification CoY: Randy McPherson, Lowndes. The Only coach in the Classification that will go 15-0. I think he beats Grayson if they meet again.
Preseason top ten
1.Grayson
2.Camden County (they play each other in the Corky Kell. WOW)
3.Lowndes
4.Northside-Warner Robbins
5.ML King
6.Lassiter
7.Newnan
8.Norcross
9.North Gwinnett
10.Harrison
This week in the Atlanta Sports Media World....
You can also find this column in this week's Score Atlanta. For more info on where to get a copy of Score Atlanta, visit the website www.scoreatl.com by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page!
Between the Braves and the Falcons, sports happened in Atlanta last week and the local NBC affiliate and the national media outlets were all over it.
The nation took in Braves baseball last weekend when both FOX and ESPN paid visits to Turner Field for the Phillies/Braves series. On Saturday, FOX’s color analyst Mark Grace was right on target when he broached the topic of Brian McCann having overtaken Chipper Jones as foundation of the franchise. Grace noted on the telecast that Jones was still the “face of the franchise,” but McCann is “clearly the future of this team and is the foundation of the Atlanta franchise.” The next at-bat McCann homered to prove Grace’s point true. It is nice to hear that Brian McCann is finally getting the recognition that he deserves. He is the best young catcher in the National League, and outside of Joe Mauer in Minnesota, the best hitting catcher in the game. McCann’s four straight all-star games prove he is a bright and shining star, but fans across baseball must start voting him in to start the all-star game as he is certainly worthy. On Sunday night, despite the rain delay, ESPN broadcasted the series finale as its Sunday Night Game of the Week. The broadcast crew of Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips praised Javier Vazquez, calling his season a “renaissance” and crediting Braves manager Bobby Cox for the turnaround.
Last Saturday, Atlanta’s WXIA, 11 Alive carried the Falcons preseason contest against the Detroit Lions and former Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. The team was made up of WXIA’s Randy Waters and Fox’s Brian Baldinger, with Fred Kalil working the sidelines and Sam Crenshaw holding things down in the studio. Waters and Baldinger seemed to find chemistry as the game progressed, but hopefully the team improves by the second game. WXIA used the NBC sports graphics but still flashed atlantafalcons.com across the screen enough to know that it was a local broadcast. Sports Radio 790 The Zone personality Beau Bock was highly critical of the production quality, calling the broadcast “high school, but even now high school coverage is better than that.” Bock also brought up the point that Baldinger has no tie to the Falcons or even Atlanta. He was involved in Fox’s coverage of the Falcons in several games last season, but Bock is right. How come WXIA didn’t get a former Falcon or someone with Atlanta ties to do the game? CSS’s (and former Yellow Jacket) Dorsey Levens or former Falcon and local radio personality Chuck Smith both would have been better options. The team will be at it again Friday when the Falcons travel to St. Louis to play the Rams at 8 p.m. The game will air on 92.9 Dave FM with Wes Durham calling the play-by-play and those wishing for pictures can view it on WXIA once again.
Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Michael Vick was on 60 Minutes Sunday where he admitted that he cried while in prison. Vick told CBS’s James Brown that he realized the “magnitude of the decision that [he] made,” once he stepped foot into the prison and he noted that he deserved to lose the $135M that was stripped of him from the Falcons and his sponsors after the dogfighting charges came to light. Vick seemed to be forthcoming with his answers but the questions were not as hardball as many would have liked. Brown did not follow up when Vick admitted that he didn’t try as hard as he could have for the Falcons. I would have liked to have heard what Vick would have said if Brown had asked if he thought the fans deserved a refund for the games that Vick didn’t try as hard as he knew he should have. Vick signed with the Eagles last week and the Eagles will visit the Georgia Dome this December. The Dome will be sold out no doubt for that tilt and the networks will likely make it the game of the week. It probably deserved consideration before the Vick ramifications began, but now that his presence has been added it will be interesting to see if NBC tries to “flex” the game away from FOX. Between Vick’s return to Atlanta and Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay as a member of the Vikings, the NFC slate will certainly have its exciting moments this season.
Between the Braves and the Falcons, sports happened in Atlanta last week and the local NBC affiliate and the national media outlets were all over it.
The nation took in Braves baseball last weekend when both FOX and ESPN paid visits to Turner Field for the Phillies/Braves series. On Saturday, FOX’s color analyst Mark Grace was right on target when he broached the topic of Brian McCann having overtaken Chipper Jones as foundation of the franchise. Grace noted on the telecast that Jones was still the “face of the franchise,” but McCann is “clearly the future of this team and is the foundation of the Atlanta franchise.” The next at-bat McCann homered to prove Grace’s point true. It is nice to hear that Brian McCann is finally getting the recognition that he deserves. He is the best young catcher in the National League, and outside of Joe Mauer in Minnesota, the best hitting catcher in the game. McCann’s four straight all-star games prove he is a bright and shining star, but fans across baseball must start voting him in to start the all-star game as he is certainly worthy. On Sunday night, despite the rain delay, ESPN broadcasted the series finale as its Sunday Night Game of the Week. The broadcast crew of Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips praised Javier Vazquez, calling his season a “renaissance” and crediting Braves manager Bobby Cox for the turnaround.
Last Saturday, Atlanta’s WXIA, 11 Alive carried the Falcons preseason contest against the Detroit Lions and former Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. The team was made up of WXIA’s Randy Waters and Fox’s Brian Baldinger, with Fred Kalil working the sidelines and Sam Crenshaw holding things down in the studio. Waters and Baldinger seemed to find chemistry as the game progressed, but hopefully the team improves by the second game. WXIA used the NBC sports graphics but still flashed atlantafalcons.com across the screen enough to know that it was a local broadcast. Sports Radio 790 The Zone personality Beau Bock was highly critical of the production quality, calling the broadcast “high school, but even now high school coverage is better than that.” Bock also brought up the point that Baldinger has no tie to the Falcons or even Atlanta. He was involved in Fox’s coverage of the Falcons in several games last season, but Bock is right. How come WXIA didn’t get a former Falcon or someone with Atlanta ties to do the game? CSS’s (and former Yellow Jacket) Dorsey Levens or former Falcon and local radio personality Chuck Smith both would have been better options. The team will be at it again Friday when the Falcons travel to St. Louis to play the Rams at 8 p.m. The game will air on 92.9 Dave FM with Wes Durham calling the play-by-play and those wishing for pictures can view it on WXIA once again.
Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Michael Vick was on 60 Minutes Sunday where he admitted that he cried while in prison. Vick told CBS’s James Brown that he realized the “magnitude of the decision that [he] made,” once he stepped foot into the prison and he noted that he deserved to lose the $135M that was stripped of him from the Falcons and his sponsors after the dogfighting charges came to light. Vick seemed to be forthcoming with his answers but the questions were not as hardball as many would have liked. Brown did not follow up when Vick admitted that he didn’t try as hard as he could have for the Falcons. I would have liked to have heard what Vick would have said if Brown had asked if he thought the fans deserved a refund for the games that Vick didn’t try as hard as he knew he should have. Vick signed with the Eagles last week and the Eagles will visit the Georgia Dome this December. The Dome will be sold out no doubt for that tilt and the networks will likely make it the game of the week. It probably deserved consideration before the Vick ramifications began, but now that his presence has been added it will be interesting to see if NBC tries to “flex” the game away from FOX. Between Vick’s return to Atlanta and Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay as a member of the Vikings, the NFC slate will certainly have its exciting moments this season.
Midweek Entertainment report 8/19/09
Abe Lincoln is suddenly popular, Spike Lee to throw a birthday joint, Just cut the cord already Jen-Nay, House sees some familiar faces return, SouthLAnd returns?, and Crazy MElissa is given the boot!
Ladies and Gentlemen, THE MIDWEEK ENTERTAINMENT REPORT!
Standing Ovation. (Seriously guys, stop! OK, keep going!)
So the 16th Prez, aka Pennyboy, aka $5 bill man aka Honest Abe Lincoln has become quite popular. It only took 144 years....just kidding. He's always been popular. But Hollywood is starting to jump on board and Bobby Redford has signed on to direct "Conspirator" about Mary Surratt who was convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of the prez. There is also a flick due out about John W. Booth and finally one on the man himself. Three movies....There you go. I'll be interested to see the one by Bobby Redford though (and not just because of I recall his dreamy good looks from The Sting) but because I KNOW how the others end already.....
Spike Lee will reportedly through Michael Jackson a birthday party next week, posthumously of course. This is weird...you throwing a birthday party for a guy that is dead. Isn't that weird? In tradition though with MJ's wishes (SBF is sure...) plenty of young children will be invited and liquored up. It's what he would have wanted........
In a scene seemingly lifted out of Forest Gump, Jen-NAY aka Robin Wright Penn and her on-again-off-again Hubby Sean Penn are finally headed to divorce court. We've been down this road SO MANY TIMES it seems, but according to Jen-NAY's friends, this time it is for real. Sportsbyfletch just has one simple request: DO IT OR DON'T ALREADY. Either way, PLEASE let this be the last we hear of this. Either get divorced or stay together and shut up. PLEASE. I was actually rooting for Jen-NAY to jump off that balcony in FG, if ONLY so she would stop jerking poor Forest around. Robin, you are treading close to me rooting for you to do the same..... (Or to actually stab yourself like you nearly did in Princess Bride)
In a SPOILER, this season on House, Dr. Gregory House spends most of the 22 episodes in the loony bin, but in a move that should win the Fletcher Globe in the "IT'S ABOUT TIME" Category, Chase and Cameron are returning to the team. I guess Cameron got tired of working in the ER and Chase got tired of doing EVERY SINGLE SURGERY at Princeton-Plainsboro. Seriously, it's about time they came back! What took so long? And writers, why did we go down that road anyways? OH, YEAH...To get Alex aka Olivia Wilde on the show. Good move. Just get rid of Taulb and Foreman and keep 13, Chase and Cameron. NICE THINKING SBF!
Did you hear that NBC is bringing back SouthLAnd? Why?
Finally, on More to Love last night, Luke broke out the cheesiest line EVER on Fat Bachlor history when, on the Castle balcony, he turns to Heather and says, "This view is amazing." When she agrees, he drops, "No, I was talking about you." WOW. That was so freaking Provoloney! After he kisses EVERY girl hello on their final get-to-know-you before the ring ceremony, he sends the Atlanta chick with a tattoo on her right Hooter as well as the Melissa girl (21 years old who never had a boyfriend. wait, I could be talking about all of them...) home. Abby looked like something the cat dragged in (well, a fleet of cats) at the ring ceremony. I've got to think that Mandy the personal trainer (I wonder if she has any clients?) and MAlissa are the two favorites to win Luke's stomach-er-Heart.
That's it. Have a great rest of the week!
Ladies and Gentlemen, THE MIDWEEK ENTERTAINMENT REPORT!
Standing Ovation. (Seriously guys, stop! OK, keep going!)
So the 16th Prez, aka Pennyboy, aka $5 bill man aka Honest Abe Lincoln has become quite popular. It only took 144 years....just kidding. He's always been popular. But Hollywood is starting to jump on board and Bobby Redford has signed on to direct "Conspirator" about Mary Surratt who was convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of the prez. There is also a flick due out about John W. Booth and finally one on the man himself. Three movies....There you go. I'll be interested to see the one by Bobby Redford though (and not just because of I recall his dreamy good looks from The Sting) but because I KNOW how the others end already.....
Spike Lee will reportedly through Michael Jackson a birthday party next week, posthumously of course. This is weird...you throwing a birthday party for a guy that is dead. Isn't that weird? In tradition though with MJ's wishes (SBF is sure...) plenty of young children will be invited and liquored up. It's what he would have wanted........
In a scene seemingly lifted out of Forest Gump, Jen-NAY aka Robin Wright Penn and her on-again-off-again Hubby Sean Penn are finally headed to divorce court. We've been down this road SO MANY TIMES it seems, but according to Jen-NAY's friends, this time it is for real. Sportsbyfletch just has one simple request: DO IT OR DON'T ALREADY. Either way, PLEASE let this be the last we hear of this. Either get divorced or stay together and shut up. PLEASE. I was actually rooting for Jen-NAY to jump off that balcony in FG, if ONLY so she would stop jerking poor Forest around. Robin, you are treading close to me rooting for you to do the same..... (Or to actually stab yourself like you nearly did in Princess Bride)
In a SPOILER, this season on House, Dr. Gregory House spends most of the 22 episodes in the loony bin, but in a move that should win the Fletcher Globe in the "IT'S ABOUT TIME" Category, Chase and Cameron are returning to the team. I guess Cameron got tired of working in the ER and Chase got tired of doing EVERY SINGLE SURGERY at Princeton-Plainsboro. Seriously, it's about time they came back! What took so long? And writers, why did we go down that road anyways? OH, YEAH...To get Alex aka Olivia Wilde on the show. Good move. Just get rid of Taulb and Foreman and keep 13, Chase and Cameron. NICE THINKING SBF!
Did you hear that NBC is bringing back SouthLAnd? Why?
Finally, on More to Love last night, Luke broke out the cheesiest line EVER on Fat Bachlor history when, on the Castle balcony, he turns to Heather and says, "This view is amazing." When she agrees, he drops, "No, I was talking about you." WOW. That was so freaking Provoloney! After he kisses EVERY girl hello on their final get-to-know-you before the ring ceremony, he sends the Atlanta chick with a tattoo on her right Hooter as well as the Melissa girl (21 years old who never had a boyfriend. wait, I could be talking about all of them...) home. Abby looked like something the cat dragged in (well, a fleet of cats) at the ring ceremony. I've got to think that Mandy the personal trainer (I wonder if she has any clients?) and MAlissa are the two favorites to win Luke's stomach-er-Heart.
That's it. Have a great rest of the week!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The 2009 Corky Kell Classic set for SATURDAY!
Note: this column appears in the 2009 US Army Corky Kell Classic program, which is this Saturday. For more info, visit www.scoreatl.com!
Fans of Georgia High School football are treated every year to four incredible games to kick off the season at the Corky Kell Classic. The Classic, which began in 1992, matches up some of the best teams in the state inside the Georgia Dome where all eight teams hope to finish their seasons. The event carries on today because of a promise Dave Hunter kept to Corky Kell, and Hunter says the event will continue as long as he has a say.
In 1992 former Wheeler head coach and Cobb County’s AD Kell came to Brookwood’s Hunter, the football coach and AD at the time, with the idea to match up McEachern and Brookwood in a game to benefit Cobb and Gwinnett counties. The teams met at the Dome for the first football game ever held at the arena and McEachern won 21-14. The two teams have been a part of the Classic ever since. When Kell fell ill in 1994, he asked Hunter to keep the event going, and Hunter spearheaded the 1995 Classic and took over after Kell passed away. The event has taken place in the Georgia Dome every year since 1992, save for two years when, once the Dome was booked for a convention and another year when part of the roof fell and the Classic was held on a Monday or “Monday Night Football,” as Hunter referred to it. The number of games that makes up the Corky Kell Classic has increased from the original two to three, then four and eventually five before the timing was thrown off and it was scaled back to four games, what it is today. According to Hunter, the teams selected must be programs of quality but also have strong character “in both team and community.”
In addition to the gate, the schools also receive scholarship money from some private backers. Last year the Kell Scholarship Fund awarded six scholarships and over the course of the Classic’s history, over $60,000 has been awarded. Besides the money though, the game gives the teams a measuring stick for their seasons.
It was in the 1996 Kell Classic where Hunter believes his state title run began, despite a loss. In a game that Hunter calls one of the two most important games to his program’s success, Valdosta rallied to beat the Brookwood Broncos 31-28 in the closing seconds. Hunter and his players believed they should have won, and following a loss in the next game to Parkview, the Broncos ran off thirteen straight wins to capture the 1996 Class AAAA state title, the largest classification at the time. Brookwood defeated both Parkview and Valdosta en route to the title, tagging the Wildcats 45-24 in the final game. That team was one of Hunter’s “fifteen favorite teams,” but also one he considered his most unselfish. “They played up to and met their potential.” The team featured Georgia’s Defensive player of the year in DT Curt McGill and Offensive player of the year RB Paul Freeman. Freeman now runs a non-profit organization for handicap children and adults, according to Hunter, and is a player that Hunter remembers fondly. In fact, at a recent Alumni Golf event that featured nearly sixty Broncos, Hunter told his son that “I’ve done my job.”
After fifteen seasons as Brookwood’s coach and several more serving as the Athletic Director, Hunter seems proud to have helped build relationships and have helped the young men grow as individuals. “As a coach,” Hunter says, “it thrills me. You build Brookwood loyalty, but more importantly, teammate loyalty.” These teams helped Hunter achieve a 136-33 record with the Broncos. In 19 career seasons, Hunter posted a 176-52-1 record as he coached for four seasons with Peachtree before coming to Brookwood in 1987.
It was in Hunter’s first season with the Broncos where he believes he scored one of the biggest wins in Brookwood history and one that would set the tone for his career at his new school. That year, the Broncos ventured to Clarke-Central High School and recorded the first victory ever for a Gwinnett County program over the Athens power. That team was led by a kicker, one who has gone on to college and NFL fame and recently returned to his alma mater with the hometown Atlanta Falcons. Jason Elam kicked for Hunter’s first Bronco squad and Hunter called his kicker an “outstanding player and vocal leader.” Hunter said he was so proud at what a great example Elam turned out to be for that team and Elam was also named all-state that 1987 season. Under Hunter, 23 Broncos would earn all-state honors, helping Brookwood to a level of success that few other schools have reached since. With Hunter in charge, the Broncos never posted a losing record and won at least ten games nine times with two nine-win seasons and two eight-win seasons. The Broncos made the playoffs twelve of Hunter’s fifteen seasons and five more times while Hunter served as AD. Hunter posted four 13-win seasons, including three straight from 1996 through 1998. The 1997 and 1998 seasons both saw the Broncos go undefeated in the regular season, only to fall in the state semi-finals at the Georgia Dome.
This season McEachern and Brookwood, the two original teams will battle once again in the Dome as part of the 2009 US Army Corky Kell Classic. Hunter was 6-4 in the Classic but 0-2 against the McEachern Indians. The coach knows that while it will certainly be a battle, he wouldn’t have it any other way. The former Brookwood coach credits the Corky Kell Classic with helping the program attain its success. The teams involved in the Classic are put on display for every fan to see, usually a week before the rest of the schedule kicks off. Throw in the fact that the games are played in the Georgia Dome and you have an event where schools are eager to be involved. While the idea may have been the brainchild of Corky Kell, the event would not be what it is today without Brookwood’s Dave Hunter. While he is quick to give former McEachern coach Jimmy Dorsey plenty of credit, the Kell Classic is what it is today because of Hunter. His passion for not only the game but also helping the players and schools involved is a testament to him. Hunter vows to keep the Classic going as long as he is able because of a promise he made; a promise he has certainly followed through on so far.
Fans of Georgia High School football are treated every year to four incredible games to kick off the season at the Corky Kell Classic. The Classic, which began in 1992, matches up some of the best teams in the state inside the Georgia Dome where all eight teams hope to finish their seasons. The event carries on today because of a promise Dave Hunter kept to Corky Kell, and Hunter says the event will continue as long as he has a say.
In 1992 former Wheeler head coach and Cobb County’s AD Kell came to Brookwood’s Hunter, the football coach and AD at the time, with the idea to match up McEachern and Brookwood in a game to benefit Cobb and Gwinnett counties. The teams met at the Dome for the first football game ever held at the arena and McEachern won 21-14. The two teams have been a part of the Classic ever since. When Kell fell ill in 1994, he asked Hunter to keep the event going, and Hunter spearheaded the 1995 Classic and took over after Kell passed away. The event has taken place in the Georgia Dome every year since 1992, save for two years when, once the Dome was booked for a convention and another year when part of the roof fell and the Classic was held on a Monday or “Monday Night Football,” as Hunter referred to it. The number of games that makes up the Corky Kell Classic has increased from the original two to three, then four and eventually five before the timing was thrown off and it was scaled back to four games, what it is today. According to Hunter, the teams selected must be programs of quality but also have strong character “in both team and community.”
In addition to the gate, the schools also receive scholarship money from some private backers. Last year the Kell Scholarship Fund awarded six scholarships and over the course of the Classic’s history, over $60,000 has been awarded. Besides the money though, the game gives the teams a measuring stick for their seasons.
It was in the 1996 Kell Classic where Hunter believes his state title run began, despite a loss. In a game that Hunter calls one of the two most important games to his program’s success, Valdosta rallied to beat the Brookwood Broncos 31-28 in the closing seconds. Hunter and his players believed they should have won, and following a loss in the next game to Parkview, the Broncos ran off thirteen straight wins to capture the 1996 Class AAAA state title, the largest classification at the time. Brookwood defeated both Parkview and Valdosta en route to the title, tagging the Wildcats 45-24 in the final game. That team was one of Hunter’s “fifteen favorite teams,” but also one he considered his most unselfish. “They played up to and met their potential.” The team featured Georgia’s Defensive player of the year in DT Curt McGill and Offensive player of the year RB Paul Freeman. Freeman now runs a non-profit organization for handicap children and adults, according to Hunter, and is a player that Hunter remembers fondly. In fact, at a recent Alumni Golf event that featured nearly sixty Broncos, Hunter told his son that “I’ve done my job.”
After fifteen seasons as Brookwood’s coach and several more serving as the Athletic Director, Hunter seems proud to have helped build relationships and have helped the young men grow as individuals. “As a coach,” Hunter says, “it thrills me. You build Brookwood loyalty, but more importantly, teammate loyalty.” These teams helped Hunter achieve a 136-33 record with the Broncos. In 19 career seasons, Hunter posted a 176-52-1 record as he coached for four seasons with Peachtree before coming to Brookwood in 1987.
It was in Hunter’s first season with the Broncos where he believes he scored one of the biggest wins in Brookwood history and one that would set the tone for his career at his new school. That year, the Broncos ventured to Clarke-Central High School and recorded the first victory ever for a Gwinnett County program over the Athens power. That team was led by a kicker, one who has gone on to college and NFL fame and recently returned to his alma mater with the hometown Atlanta Falcons. Jason Elam kicked for Hunter’s first Bronco squad and Hunter called his kicker an “outstanding player and vocal leader.” Hunter said he was so proud at what a great example Elam turned out to be for that team and Elam was also named all-state that 1987 season. Under Hunter, 23 Broncos would earn all-state honors, helping Brookwood to a level of success that few other schools have reached since. With Hunter in charge, the Broncos never posted a losing record and won at least ten games nine times with two nine-win seasons and two eight-win seasons. The Broncos made the playoffs twelve of Hunter’s fifteen seasons and five more times while Hunter served as AD. Hunter posted four 13-win seasons, including three straight from 1996 through 1998. The 1997 and 1998 seasons both saw the Broncos go undefeated in the regular season, only to fall in the state semi-finals at the Georgia Dome.
This season McEachern and Brookwood, the two original teams will battle once again in the Dome as part of the 2009 US Army Corky Kell Classic. Hunter was 6-4 in the Classic but 0-2 against the McEachern Indians. The coach knows that while it will certainly be a battle, he wouldn’t have it any other way. The former Brookwood coach credits the Corky Kell Classic with helping the program attain its success. The teams involved in the Classic are put on display for every fan to see, usually a week before the rest of the schedule kicks off. Throw in the fact that the games are played in the Georgia Dome and you have an event where schools are eager to be involved. While the idea may have been the brainchild of Corky Kell, the event would not be what it is today without Brookwood’s Dave Hunter. While he is quick to give former McEachern coach Jimmy Dorsey plenty of credit, the Kell Classic is what it is today because of Hunter. His passion for not only the game but also helping the players and schools involved is a testament to him. Hunter vows to keep the Classic going as long as he is able because of a promise he made; a promise he has certainly followed through on so far.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Brian Jones Top Sleepers for 2009 GaHS Football
Another ZONE-tastic list from Score Atlanta's Brian Jones. This time the 790 The Zone personality breaks down the top senior sleepers that will hit the Georgia gridiron this season. For more from Big B, tune in to 790 the Zone this Sunday from 2-4 pm.
10. Jordan Black (Lowndes) 6-3. 250. Can block just as good as any offensive lineman and can also catch whenever his name is called upon. Florida International is the only school to offer him.
9. Parker Welch (Wayne County)- 6-3. 186. Has a good arm but doesn’t get to show it off because the wing-t offense that Wayne County runs. Has interest in Boston College, Columbia, Georgia and Princeton.
8. Jamius Gunsby (LaGrange) – 6-3. 210. Has the size and speed that a college coach dreams. Has been under the radar this offseason but Florida has made an offer.
7. Steven Atwater (GAC) – 5-10. 175. Has great power and he understands the quarterback position. Is the son of former Denver Broncos great Steve Atwater. Has been offered by Arkansas.
6. Michael Bennett (Alpharetta) - 6-foot-3. 185. Bennett is versatile as he had five touchdown receptions on offense and two interceptions on defense. Has recently committed to Georgia.
5. Martin Jenkins (Centennial) – 5-9. 161. Is the son of former UT great Lee Jenkins. Is one of the fastest high school football players in the state. Has committed to Clemson.
4. Dylan Shaddix (Henry County) – 6-2. 207. Has a very strong arm. Seems to do well in the spread offense. Has interest in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU.
3. Delino DeSheilds (Woodward) – 5-foot-9. 185. He is the only back on this list to excel in football and baseball. He is consider an athlete but has played the majority of his career at the running back position. Georgia Tech, Central Florida, Ole Miss and Stanford have made offers.
2. Rajan Bennett (McEachern) – 6 foot. 211. Bennett can be a speed back or a power back. Over the spring he has worked hard to get faster and stronger. Kentucky has offered as well as East Carolina. Bennett has interest in Georgia and Georgia Tech.
1. Ean Pemberton (Grayson) – 5-4. 144. Is not the biggest and is not the fastest. But all this kid does is make plays. Pemberton rushed for over 1,900 yards and was a key to Grayson’s success last year. He has not had any offers, but has visited schools such as the Citadel and Georgia Southern.
10. Jordan Black (Lowndes) 6-3. 250. Can block just as good as any offensive lineman and can also catch whenever his name is called upon. Florida International is the only school to offer him.
9. Parker Welch (Wayne County)- 6-3. 186. Has a good arm but doesn’t get to show it off because the wing-t offense that Wayne County runs. Has interest in Boston College, Columbia, Georgia and Princeton.
8. Jamius Gunsby (LaGrange) – 6-3. 210. Has the size and speed that a college coach dreams. Has been under the radar this offseason but Florida has made an offer.
7. Steven Atwater (GAC) – 5-10. 175. Has great power and he understands the quarterback position. Is the son of former Denver Broncos great Steve Atwater. Has been offered by Arkansas.
6. Michael Bennett (Alpharetta) - 6-foot-3. 185. Bennett is versatile as he had five touchdown receptions on offense and two interceptions on defense. Has recently committed to Georgia.
5. Martin Jenkins (Centennial) – 5-9. 161. Is the son of former UT great Lee Jenkins. Is one of the fastest high school football players in the state. Has committed to Clemson.
4. Dylan Shaddix (Henry County) – 6-2. 207. Has a very strong arm. Seems to do well in the spread offense. Has interest in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU.
3. Delino DeSheilds (Woodward) – 5-foot-9. 185. He is the only back on this list to excel in football and baseball. He is consider an athlete but has played the majority of his career at the running back position. Georgia Tech, Central Florida, Ole Miss and Stanford have made offers.
2. Rajan Bennett (McEachern) – 6 foot. 211. Bennett can be a speed back or a power back. Over the spring he has worked hard to get faster and stronger. Kentucky has offered as well as East Carolina. Bennett has interest in Georgia and Georgia Tech.
1. Ean Pemberton (Grayson) – 5-4. 144. Is not the biggest and is not the fastest. But all this kid does is make plays. Pemberton rushed for over 1,900 yards and was a key to Grayson’s success last year. He has not had any offers, but has visited schools such as the Citadel and Georgia Southern.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Paul Mac breaks down Vick to the Eggles...
Paul Mac sez................intriguing.
I'm really not sure how it will play out. Ultimately though Vick is pretty quiet. He's not a locker room cancer if he's not the focal point like he was in Atlanta. Mcnabb is always going to be a better passer too.
I wonder if they won't take this PR on, showcase his ability and then try and swing it for a draft pick or something from a team that desperately needs a QB (Minnesota) I don't think he's lost too much because he never really had all that much to lose. It's not like he spent time working on being a good QB; he literally went out and played. He is what he is. If he buckles down this time... Reid could look like a genius if not... he costs basically the same amount as a kicker.
SBF's NFL Redskins correspondent Fletcher responded...
Donovan isn't going to like this.....He got TO AND Jeff Garcia sent out of town because he likes Philly to be McNabbville. He does NOT like sharing the spotlight. He is one of the biggest prima donnas in all of the NFL, but nobody wants to say anything because Rush caught such flack for critizing him and Rush was called racist. So now I would be called a racist by McNabb's camp I guess.
He hates sharing the spotlight and if Vick shines, McNabb will make Reid trade him. Vick will play MAYBE 4 snaps per game and McNabb will actually scramble a bit more this season methinks to show that Philly doesn't need Vick. Just my opinion but McNabb will NOT like this DESPITE what Reid and managment says. He'll pout and stand with his hands on his hips if things do not go well.
If McNabb CAN let his ego not get in the way, the Eagles have just LOCKED the Super Bowl. I thought they'd make it there before, but if the Vikings found a QB in Sage or if the Falcons D grew up, it would be iffy. Now it's a lock. Eagles v NE, perhaps...
I'm really not sure how it will play out. Ultimately though Vick is pretty quiet. He's not a locker room cancer if he's not the focal point like he was in Atlanta. Mcnabb is always going to be a better passer too.
I wonder if they won't take this PR on, showcase his ability and then try and swing it for a draft pick or something from a team that desperately needs a QB (Minnesota) I don't think he's lost too much because he never really had all that much to lose. It's not like he spent time working on being a good QB; he literally went out and played. He is what he is. If he buckles down this time... Reid could look like a genius if not... he costs basically the same amount as a kicker.
SBF's NFL Redskins correspondent Fletcher responded...
Donovan isn't going to like this.....He got TO AND Jeff Garcia sent out of town because he likes Philly to be McNabbville. He does NOT like sharing the spotlight. He is one of the biggest prima donnas in all of the NFL, but nobody wants to say anything because Rush caught such flack for critizing him and Rush was called racist. So now I would be called a racist by McNabb's camp I guess.
He hates sharing the spotlight and if Vick shines, McNabb will make Reid trade him. Vick will play MAYBE 4 snaps per game and McNabb will actually scramble a bit more this season methinks to show that Philly doesn't need Vick. Just my opinion but McNabb will NOT like this DESPITE what Reid and managment says. He'll pout and stand with his hands on his hips if things do not go well.
If McNabb CAN let his ego not get in the way, the Eagles have just LOCKED the Super Bowl. I thought they'd make it there before, but if the Vikings found a QB in Sage or if the Falcons D grew up, it would be iffy. Now it's a lock. Eagles v NE, perhaps...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Why are we calling for this guy's head?
Let me start this by saying I am not a Rick Pitino fan and I think his cheating on his wife was terrible. Plus he has five kids, not to mention he helps shape men as a basketball coach.
With that said, why is the media killing this guy for committing adultry then reportedly giving a woman $3000 to cover medical expenses since she didn't have insurance and wanted an abortion. I'm not sure he should be raked over the coals for this. SHE wanted the abortion, right? Don't the women's groups always beat that "My Body, My Choice," drum? I thought they did. SHE made the decision to have the abortion, not him.
Was he relieved? Probably. If she had kept the baby, then she could have bilked him for THOUSANDS of dollars, a lot more than $3000.
While he shouldn't get off scott-free here, he DID act responsibly in GIVING HER MONEY to take care of the abortion after she made the decision to have one. Folks at various radio stations and television shows were calling for his firing and asking how he could be looked at as a role model? Ummm, how many of his players knock women up? And how many of them stick around financially? It sounds like he WAS there for her money-wise. Would he have been there if she had had the baby? We'll never know. But he stepped up when she decided to abort the baby and he paid for it. WHAT MORE COULD HE HAVE DONE (besides build a time machine, go back and either use a condom or not have sex with the woman?)
Just wondering guys. I think he CAN look his players in the eye and say that he took care of a terrible situation. Learn from my mistake, but remember, I was a man about it. She made the decision, I supported it emotionally and financially.
I don't see why we're calling for this guy's head. Now if you want to get into the cheating on his family, fine. But since when should THAT interfere with your professional life? I know he's a public figure, but whatever. If Clinton didn't get fired, why should Pitino?
With that said, why is the media killing this guy for committing adultry then reportedly giving a woman $3000 to cover medical expenses since she didn't have insurance and wanted an abortion. I'm not sure he should be raked over the coals for this. SHE wanted the abortion, right? Don't the women's groups always beat that "My Body, My Choice," drum? I thought they did. SHE made the decision to have the abortion, not him.
Was he relieved? Probably. If she had kept the baby, then she could have bilked him for THOUSANDS of dollars, a lot more than $3000.
While he shouldn't get off scott-free here, he DID act responsibly in GIVING HER MONEY to take care of the abortion after she made the decision to have one. Folks at various radio stations and television shows were calling for his firing and asking how he could be looked at as a role model? Ummm, how many of his players knock women up? And how many of them stick around financially? It sounds like he WAS there for her money-wise. Would he have been there if she had had the baby? We'll never know. But he stepped up when she decided to abort the baby and he paid for it. WHAT MORE COULD HE HAVE DONE (besides build a time machine, go back and either use a condom or not have sex with the woman?)
Just wondering guys. I think he CAN look his players in the eye and say that he took care of a terrible situation. Learn from my mistake, but remember, I was a man about it. She made the decision, I supported it emotionally and financially.
I don't see why we're calling for this guy's head. Now if you want to get into the cheating on his family, fine. But since when should THAT interfere with your professional life? I know he's a public figure, but whatever. If Clinton didn't get fired, why should Pitino?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Midweek Entertainment report 8/12/09
Simon to stick around, PC heads to college, Luke is a manwhore, Vick to appear on 60 Minutes and Octomom to be featured on Fox. Yep, sounds about right.
Ladies and gentlemen, the midweek entertainment report!
THUNDEROUS applause
Fox announced that despite the loss of Paula (no REAL loss there), the heart of the show Simon will be around for three more seasons. The show without Simon would be like NewsRadio with Phil Hartman. He is THE HEART AND SOUL of the show, despite what anyone says and he CANNOT be replaced by Jon Lovitz or Gordon Ramsey or any other semi-critical person. Simon makes the show, moreso than any of the idols, so locking him in, even if it IS for $45M per season, is WORTH IT. Good job Fox, the only bad part is who will Simon make fun of now? OH YEAH, KARA!
NYC Prep came to an end last night (mercifully) and Jessi decided to be an uber-beyotch in her final episode. She hosted and then walked out on a dinner party, likely sticking PC with the bill (so would HE have saved HER ass there? You know, since she always saves his.....), then she went off on Camile when Camile (how do you spell that name?) was trying to volunteer for Operation Smile. I can see Jessi's argument to a point: If you really want to get involved, why didn't you try harder? but Camille, why did you keep going to Jessi? (Oh, Bravo told you to. Gotcha!) She wasn't the end-all, be-all of Operation Smile. (And if she was, ouch, I feel bad for that organization...) I'm SURE someone was above her that would LOVE to have someone try and help out. Just saying. But in the last 45 seconds we find out that PC got into a college that NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF in LA. Good for him. And I love that Jessi is going to F.I.T. Isn't that where Lisa Turtle went? I didn't think that was real.
On More to Love, Luke continued to be a fat, sober version of Joe Namath when he tried to kiss Suzy Kolber. This dude is a man-whore to the extreme. All he does is try and kiss women. It is crazy. He is preying on the fat chicks and then he gets rid of two decent girls to keep the crazy Kristian and the nausiating Melissa B. What is he thinking, unless it is to make next week's cuts easier. One more note on last night's show, I am sure the two horses, if they could talk, would have said, "Helllllllllllll, naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" when Luke and Heather walked up. Oh, one last note: how funny was Danielle and Luke's date when he takes her to a seafood restaurant and she reveals that she doesn't eat seafood. (that must be the ONLY thing ;) ) Anyways, she certainly piled in the food.
The Real World Cancun returns tonight with NO JOEY. Will I watch? probably to see if all of the roommates turn on Ayiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia in honor of Joey. They should. She is trying to call it a victory that she stayed and he left? If MTV wanted they could have sent her to a psych ward after she cut herself. They sent Ruthie to a drunktank.
Michael Vick will appear on 60 minutes and be interviewed by....James Brown. WOW. Was Stu Scott busy? Could Mike Tirico not remove himself from Tiger Woods's jock for the interview? Do we HONESTLY think JB will play hardball or will he just lob softballs to Vick. I'm guessing the latter because Vick's people will make it that way. We won't get anything along the lines of "So did you get any pleasure out of watching dogs kill each other?" "Did you laugh when YOU killed dogs?" "What were you thinking when you, as a grown adult who WAS old enough to know better, got caught and then lied about it to your team's owner and the commissioner of the league you play in?" "You know this is wrong, correct? Oh, you mean just because you are from 'the dirty south' (which Virginia is NOT BTW), it is OK to kill dogs? I mean, they're just dogs, right? Kind of like a pedophile might say, "Well they're just kids, they can't vote or drink..." Nope, I bet we'll get, "Michael, are you sorry? YOU ARE? Well, good for you!"
Finally, The Octomom will be on Fox. SHOCKER. I bet no one saw that coming...and by "no one" I mean EVERYONE. As much as I love Fox, I had really thought it had moved on from the "We'll do anything to attract viewers!" schtick. They have House, 24, Bones, American Idol, SYTYCD, Simpsons, Family Guy, Fringe...they have so many positive reasons to watch, why stoop back to "Humans v Animals!"? But the Octomom is appearing on TV (something I thought she said she would NEVER DO!) and in the promo she says, "I think I might have messed up my kids' lives!" YOU THINK!? Stupid.
Have a great rest of the week. Big 11 Commissioner Paul Mac's preview of the "power conference" is coming up later this week. He also wanted to point out that Michael Tamburo of North Gwinnett-fame, threw 2 TDs in his first three passes at Boise State summer practice. He looked it up on the Idahoian Statesman web site. The BODY, ladies and gentlemen!
Ladies and gentlemen, the midweek entertainment report!
THUNDEROUS applause
Fox announced that despite the loss of Paula (no REAL loss there), the heart of the show Simon will be around for three more seasons. The show without Simon would be like NewsRadio with Phil Hartman. He is THE HEART AND SOUL of the show, despite what anyone says and he CANNOT be replaced by Jon Lovitz or Gordon Ramsey or any other semi-critical person. Simon makes the show, moreso than any of the idols, so locking him in, even if it IS for $45M per season, is WORTH IT. Good job Fox, the only bad part is who will Simon make fun of now? OH YEAH, KARA!
NYC Prep came to an end last night (mercifully) and Jessi decided to be an uber-beyotch in her final episode. She hosted and then walked out on a dinner party, likely sticking PC with the bill (so would HE have saved HER ass there? You know, since she always saves his.....), then she went off on Camile when Camile (how do you spell that name?) was trying to volunteer for Operation Smile. I can see Jessi's argument to a point: If you really want to get involved, why didn't you try harder? but Camille, why did you keep going to Jessi? (Oh, Bravo told you to. Gotcha!) She wasn't the end-all, be-all of Operation Smile. (And if she was, ouch, I feel bad for that organization...) I'm SURE someone was above her that would LOVE to have someone try and help out. Just saying. But in the last 45 seconds we find out that PC got into a college that NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF in LA. Good for him. And I love that Jessi is going to F.I.T. Isn't that where Lisa Turtle went? I didn't think that was real.
On More to Love, Luke continued to be a fat, sober version of Joe Namath when he tried to kiss Suzy Kolber. This dude is a man-whore to the extreme. All he does is try and kiss women. It is crazy. He is preying on the fat chicks and then he gets rid of two decent girls to keep the crazy Kristian and the nausiating Melissa B. What is he thinking, unless it is to make next week's cuts easier. One more note on last night's show, I am sure the two horses, if they could talk, would have said, "Helllllllllllll, naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" when Luke and Heather walked up. Oh, one last note: how funny was Danielle and Luke's date when he takes her to a seafood restaurant and she reveals that she doesn't eat seafood. (that must be the ONLY thing ;) ) Anyways, she certainly piled in the food.
The Real World Cancun returns tonight with NO JOEY. Will I watch? probably to see if all of the roommates turn on Ayiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia in honor of Joey. They should. She is trying to call it a victory that she stayed and he left? If MTV wanted they could have sent her to a psych ward after she cut herself. They sent Ruthie to a drunktank.
Michael Vick will appear on 60 minutes and be interviewed by....James Brown. WOW. Was Stu Scott busy? Could Mike Tirico not remove himself from Tiger Woods's jock for the interview? Do we HONESTLY think JB will play hardball or will he just lob softballs to Vick. I'm guessing the latter because Vick's people will make it that way. We won't get anything along the lines of "So did you get any pleasure out of watching dogs kill each other?" "Did you laugh when YOU killed dogs?" "What were you thinking when you, as a grown adult who WAS old enough to know better, got caught and then lied about it to your team's owner and the commissioner of the league you play in?" "You know this is wrong, correct? Oh, you mean just because you are from 'the dirty south' (which Virginia is NOT BTW), it is OK to kill dogs? I mean, they're just dogs, right? Kind of like a pedophile might say, "Well they're just kids, they can't vote or drink..." Nope, I bet we'll get, "Michael, are you sorry? YOU ARE? Well, good for you!"
Finally, The Octomom will be on Fox. SHOCKER. I bet no one saw that coming...and by "no one" I mean EVERYONE. As much as I love Fox, I had really thought it had moved on from the "We'll do anything to attract viewers!" schtick. They have House, 24, Bones, American Idol, SYTYCD, Simpsons, Family Guy, Fringe...they have so many positive reasons to watch, why stoop back to "Humans v Animals!"? But the Octomom is appearing on TV (something I thought she said she would NEVER DO!) and in the promo she says, "I think I might have messed up my kids' lives!" YOU THINK!? Stupid.
Have a great rest of the week. Big 11 Commissioner Paul Mac's preview of the "power conference" is coming up later this week. He also wanted to point out that Michael Tamburo of North Gwinnett-fame, threw 2 TDs in his first three passes at Boise State summer practice. He looked it up on the Idahoian Statesman web site. The BODY, ladies and gentlemen!
This week in the Atlanta Sports Media........
Note: This is this week's Sports Media Column for Score Atlanta. Enjoy and be sure and pick up your copy of Score Atlanta at one of more than 1300 locations. For more info, visit www.scoreatl.com
This time of year is often referred to as “the dogs days of summer,” and while not a lot is going on in the sports world, the sports world is prepping itself for a busy fall. Football is right around the corner and several local media outlets are preparing themselves for pigskin season.
Two former Georgia Bulldog players have been added to the radio broadcast of the games this season. David Greene and Kevin Butler will both be involved with the broadcast team and will team with Jeff Dantzler for the pregame and postgame programming. Greene, the former QB under coach Mark Richt will join Dantzler on roadtrips and co-host the first hour of the pregame as well as the two-hour postgame call-in show. The former All-America kicker Butler will serve as Dantzler’s co-host for home games, as well as the Sunday morning “Bulldog Brunch” radio program. Butler has experience, having done some radio and TV work. Dantzler and his weekly partner will broadcast from the Hotel Indigo in downtown Athens. Having former players on the broadcast team should bring some insight into the program, but that should come with a caveat. The American viewing audience has been subjected to too many athlete-turned analysts that are not ready for primetime. With Butler’s experience, he should be ready to fully contribute but Greene will have to learn on the fly as he has been on NFL practice squads the last few seasons and hasn’t done much on-air work. Just because an athlete has played does not mean he or she is immediately ready to step into a broadcasting job. Many athletes today are majoring in communications or journalism and some are going to broadcasting schools or programs before getting behind the mic. Learning on the fly is certainly difficult, and unfortunately not all athletes can successfully make the switch. Georgia fans can only hope that Greene can handle the broadcast as well as he handled the play-action fake.
From one left-handed quarterback to another…Michael Vick was in Atlanta recently, visiting the New Life Community Center where he urged youth of the dangers of dogfighting. Vick is teaming with the Humane Society of the United States to travel around the country to speak to youth. A three-person CBS 60 Minutes crew followed Vick around and the news magazine will reportedly get the first major interview the former Falcon has conducted since his 23-month prison sentence ended. The date of the piece has not yet been released.
Fans of the ESPN and 680 The Fans “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” will get more Colin weekdays. Colin Cowherd will co-host SportsNation weekdays at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 after a successful debut several weeks ago. On the show, Cowherd and a co-host discuss various topics for a specific length of time before a national vote on the subject is revealed. Cowherd’s show can be heard weekdays on 680 The Fan from 10 a.m.-12 with the remainder of the program airing after the Buck and Kincade show at 7 p.m.
Speaking of ESPN, College Gameday will once again open up the college football season in Atlanta at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic. Lee, Chris and Kirk will set up shop in Centennial Olympic Park and will base the show on the Virginia Tech-Alabama game, a match-up of two preseason top ten teams. If ESPN wanted to, the show could go with a state-of-Georgia theme as Georgia Tech opens up the year with great expectations and Georgia opens up in Stillwater, Oklahoma against the Cowboys. Georgia State also will be practicing at that point with former ESPN analyst Bill Curry serving as its coach. Let’s hope ESPN gives the Peach State a big nod considering it is setting up camp in the state’s borders but not at one of the campus sites.
The Brookwood Bronco football program has always seemed to be ahead of the curve in terms on implementing new technology and fans of the football program can now get updates via Twitter. To follow the Broncos, visit the school’s football website www.brookwoodbroncos.org or search for Brookwood Sports on Twitter. Coach Mark Crews and his staff know what interests kids and how to get them involved; that’s probably why Brookwood always has a strong following.
Finally, the SEC rules college football, but perhaps the power the conference holds is getting out of hand. According to an Alabama news outlet, the SEC has handed down its new media policy and access to video is really being limited to local television stations. The new rule, if enacted would limit highlight clips to three minutes and would only be shown 72 hours after the conclusion of a game. In essence, a preview of this Saturday’s game which would air Friday night would not be able to have highlights from last Saturday’s game since it would be past the 72 hours time limit. The SEC would rather force stations or fans to log on to an SEC website or an SEC affiliate to get highlights. While I can see the conference deciding to strike (for cash) while the iron is hot, it will cost some of the smaller stations local money. Big business wins and the Mom & Pop businesses once again get the shaft.
This time of year is often referred to as “the dogs days of summer,” and while not a lot is going on in the sports world, the sports world is prepping itself for a busy fall. Football is right around the corner and several local media outlets are preparing themselves for pigskin season.
Two former Georgia Bulldog players have been added to the radio broadcast of the games this season. David Greene and Kevin Butler will both be involved with the broadcast team and will team with Jeff Dantzler for the pregame and postgame programming. Greene, the former QB under coach Mark Richt will join Dantzler on roadtrips and co-host the first hour of the pregame as well as the two-hour postgame call-in show. The former All-America kicker Butler will serve as Dantzler’s co-host for home games, as well as the Sunday morning “Bulldog Brunch” radio program. Butler has experience, having done some radio and TV work. Dantzler and his weekly partner will broadcast from the Hotel Indigo in downtown Athens. Having former players on the broadcast team should bring some insight into the program, but that should come with a caveat. The American viewing audience has been subjected to too many athlete-turned analysts that are not ready for primetime. With Butler’s experience, he should be ready to fully contribute but Greene will have to learn on the fly as he has been on NFL practice squads the last few seasons and hasn’t done much on-air work. Just because an athlete has played does not mean he or she is immediately ready to step into a broadcasting job. Many athletes today are majoring in communications or journalism and some are going to broadcasting schools or programs before getting behind the mic. Learning on the fly is certainly difficult, and unfortunately not all athletes can successfully make the switch. Georgia fans can only hope that Greene can handle the broadcast as well as he handled the play-action fake.
From one left-handed quarterback to another…Michael Vick was in Atlanta recently, visiting the New Life Community Center where he urged youth of the dangers of dogfighting. Vick is teaming with the Humane Society of the United States to travel around the country to speak to youth. A three-person CBS 60 Minutes crew followed Vick around and the news magazine will reportedly get the first major interview the former Falcon has conducted since his 23-month prison sentence ended. The date of the piece has not yet been released.
Fans of the ESPN and 680 The Fans “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” will get more Colin weekdays. Colin Cowherd will co-host SportsNation weekdays at 4 p.m. on ESPN2 after a successful debut several weeks ago. On the show, Cowherd and a co-host discuss various topics for a specific length of time before a national vote on the subject is revealed. Cowherd’s show can be heard weekdays on 680 The Fan from 10 a.m.-12 with the remainder of the program airing after the Buck and Kincade show at 7 p.m.
Speaking of ESPN, College Gameday will once again open up the college football season in Atlanta at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic. Lee, Chris and Kirk will set up shop in Centennial Olympic Park and will base the show on the Virginia Tech-Alabama game, a match-up of two preseason top ten teams. If ESPN wanted to, the show could go with a state-of-Georgia theme as Georgia Tech opens up the year with great expectations and Georgia opens up in Stillwater, Oklahoma against the Cowboys. Georgia State also will be practicing at that point with former ESPN analyst Bill Curry serving as its coach. Let’s hope ESPN gives the Peach State a big nod considering it is setting up camp in the state’s borders but not at one of the campus sites.
The Brookwood Bronco football program has always seemed to be ahead of the curve in terms on implementing new technology and fans of the football program can now get updates via Twitter. To follow the Broncos, visit the school’s football website www.brookwoodbroncos.org or search for Brookwood Sports on Twitter. Coach Mark Crews and his staff know what interests kids and how to get them involved; that’s probably why Brookwood always has a strong following.
Finally, the SEC rules college football, but perhaps the power the conference holds is getting out of hand. According to an Alabama news outlet, the SEC has handed down its new media policy and access to video is really being limited to local television stations. The new rule, if enacted would limit highlight clips to three minutes and would only be shown 72 hours after the conclusion of a game. In essence, a preview of this Saturday’s game which would air Friday night would not be able to have highlights from last Saturday’s game since it would be past the 72 hours time limit. The SEC would rather force stations or fans to log on to an SEC website or an SEC affiliate to get highlights. While I can see the conference deciding to strike (for cash) while the iron is hot, it will cost some of the smaller stations local money. Big business wins and the Mom & Pop businesses once again get the shaft.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
OR you could just NOT be as lazy, 'LOS!
If you don't get The Sporting News magazine (I think only 18 of us do. It was a gift and it makes GREAT bathroom reading. Love the daily email though...) then you might have missed last week's "ALL-STAR ROUNDTABLE" where four "all-stars" (Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Freddy Sanchez and Carlos Pena) were asked a series of questions, one of which being "If you could make one change to the game, what would it be?"
I'm not making up that Big Tex would shorten spring training by two weeks. HA!
But that's not the reason for the blog. Nope. The "All-star" that is Carlos Pena (snarf. Carlos Pena being called an all-star. He-he) replied that he would "make that defensive shift illegal. That's the first thing I'd do. They cannot leave their position. That'd be my first rule. I think that's absolutely evil."
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP sigh.
Los my man, clearly teams do this shift to you and perhaps it has prevented you from a "Hall of Fame" roundtable....but I doubt it. Have you ever thought of poking it the other way? Ever thought of laying down a bunt up the third base line for a FLIPPIN' DOUBLE? Have you ever thought of making an adjustment to the opposition's adjustment? If odds are you are going to ground out into the shift anyways, why not groundout or strikeout trying to go the other way? Even if it is unsuccessful, then the other team has to take into consideration your potential for going the other way. That would open up your pull-side and you would get more hits.
Yes I know people shift for Ryan Howard. He hits a lot of home runs though and you cannot shift for that. People shift for David Ortiz (though recently the shift has been IN 9 paces) and people are for SOME REASON shifting for Brian McCann, which is stoopid because BMac can and WILL go opposite field.
But you look at the good hitters...Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, Joe Mauer. The other teams don't, ney CAN'T shift on them because they will find the open patch of real estate. They are willing to hit it through the open infield. If the first baseman is holding the runner and the second baseman is at double play depth, Chipper can and will shoot it through the open side. Manny Ramirez will find the hole between short and third. Pujols can place it on the line if the third baseman is off the bag or hit it where the third should be if he's cheating on the line.
The reason the teams do the shift Carlos is to take advantage of a lazy player or to dominate a player that cannot do anything but hit it there. You made the Major leagues Carlos and you were an all-star. You SHOULD be able to make adjustments. If you are just unwilling, then you've pulled a MV7 in that you had talent, you just failed to capitalize on it. Los, I'd like to think that as an all-star you'd work harder instead of being so lazy that you'd rather have the rules changed so "only 10 steps [would be] allowed." Come on Bro. hit the cages and work with the batting coach. Learn to go the other way and your pull-side will suddenly open up some.
I'm not making up that Big Tex would shorten spring training by two weeks. HA!
But that's not the reason for the blog. Nope. The "All-star" that is Carlos Pena (snarf. Carlos Pena being called an all-star. He-he) replied that he would "make that defensive shift illegal. That's the first thing I'd do. They cannot leave their position. That'd be my first rule. I think that's absolutely evil."
DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP sigh.
Los my man, clearly teams do this shift to you and perhaps it has prevented you from a "Hall of Fame" roundtable....but I doubt it. Have you ever thought of poking it the other way? Ever thought of laying down a bunt up the third base line for a FLIPPIN' DOUBLE? Have you ever thought of making an adjustment to the opposition's adjustment? If odds are you are going to ground out into the shift anyways, why not groundout or strikeout trying to go the other way? Even if it is unsuccessful, then the other team has to take into consideration your potential for going the other way. That would open up your pull-side and you would get more hits.
Yes I know people shift for Ryan Howard. He hits a lot of home runs though and you cannot shift for that. People shift for David Ortiz (though recently the shift has been IN 9 paces) and people are for SOME REASON shifting for Brian McCann, which is stoopid because BMac can and WILL go opposite field.
But you look at the good hitters...Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, Joe Mauer. The other teams don't, ney CAN'T shift on them because they will find the open patch of real estate. They are willing to hit it through the open infield. If the first baseman is holding the runner and the second baseman is at double play depth, Chipper can and will shoot it through the open side. Manny Ramirez will find the hole between short and third. Pujols can place it on the line if the third baseman is off the bag or hit it where the third should be if he's cheating on the line.
The reason the teams do the shift Carlos is to take advantage of a lazy player or to dominate a player that cannot do anything but hit it there. You made the Major leagues Carlos and you were an all-star. You SHOULD be able to make adjustments. If you are just unwilling, then you've pulled a MV7 in that you had talent, you just failed to capitalize on it. Los, I'd like to think that as an all-star you'd work harder instead of being so lazy that you'd rather have the rules changed so "only 10 steps [would be] allowed." Come on Bro. hit the cages and work with the batting coach. Learn to go the other way and your pull-side will suddenly open up some.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Top Defensive senior GaHS prospects from Big B and SBF
Big B, Brian Jones of Score Atlanta Fame as well as 790 the Zone, has put together his list of the top defensive senior players that folks can see in Georgia this football season. Sportsbyfletch will also give its Top Ten list after we hear Brian's list. With no further ado........... Big B's List!
10. Jonathan Mincy (SW DeKalb) – 5-10. 164. One of the top corners in the region. Great make up speed and great awareness. Committed to Auburn.
9. Brandon Burrows (Walton) - 6-3. 235. Burrows has great speed and is considered on of the best pass rushers in the country with 10 sacks last year. He will not play his senior year due to injury but has recently committed to Georgia.
8. Isaiah Johnson (Sandy Creek) – 6-2. 180. Johnson is another athletic safety that is good in run support, but is better in pass coverage. Also has great running ability so he can take one to the house when given the chance. He has committed to the Jackets.
7. Michael Taylor (Westlake) – 6-0. 200. Taylor plays with a lot of intensity and one the hardest hitters in the southeast. Committed to Tennessee recently.
6. Ryan Ayers (South Paulding) – 5-10. 178. He’s athletic, fast and has great anticipation. Can just flat out make plays. Committed to GA Tech.
5. Neiron Ball (Jackson) – 6-4. 210. Lined up mostly at DE last year but because of his quickness and size, he will be a great OLB in college and scouts are taking notice. Florida is his school of choice.
4. Jalen Fields (Dalton) – 6-5. 250. There are very few players that can get to the quarterback better than fields. Because of his size, he can overpower offensive lineman which makes it easier to get to the quarterback. Fields has committed to Georgia.
3. T.J. Stripling (SW DeKalb) – 6-6. 210. Stripling uses his size to fight off blockers and has great lateral range to cause havoc in the backfield as he tallied 15 sacks last season. Has committed to Georgia.
2. Garrison Smith (Douglass) – 6-3. 255. Smith has all the tools to be a great college-level defensive tackle. He is quick off the ball and does a great job of staying at home on the backside. In 2008 he had 14 sacks as he played both end and tackle. Has committed to UGA.
1. Alec Ogletree (Newnan) – 6-3. 214. Is considered by some as the best prospect in the state and the best safety in the nation. He has linebacker size but has the speed of a safety. Has great ball skills and is good in zone coverage. He has committed to UGA.
Thanks Big B, now here is the Sportsbyfletch list. I agree with most of Brian's list, but I cannot put Burrows on the list since he won't be playing this season. Also, as much as I love Big B's love of the Dawgs, I moved a Gator up the list! WHAT? Check it out!
10. Isaiah Johnson. Sandy Creek. DB. Don't get me started on my Braxton Lane debate from last season.............. That still makes me angry.
9. Denzel McCoy Northview. DT will anchor Tech's line starting around 2012.
8. Michael Taylor. LB Westlake. The best of a weak crop of LBs in GA.
7. Barry BJ Bostic. Safety/QB. Big B was probably listing him as a QB, but he'll play safety or CB at GT. IF his HS coach is smart (which I know he is) he'll get on the field some on the defensive side of the ball and give that team a chace to win.
6.Jalen Fields, DE Dalton. The next great Catamount is no Josh Cole.... but who is? Fields was the first player to commit to the Dawgs and he is going to be a nice player for Georgia. His pledge has gotten lost with Stripling and Burrows and Smith signing on, but don't sleep on him. All I'm saying....
5. Ryan Ayers, CB South Paulding. Don't tell anyone, but I'm a little disappointed Tech got this kid over Georgia....unless Georgia pulls out that kid from Florida (Eduardo Clements I think is his name). Then Tech can have him.
4. TJ Stripling. DE SWD. TJ's ceiling is so high that Spike TV could broadcast Shawn Bradley and Robb Dryden chicken-fighting with Mark Eaton and Chris Mihm and there would STILL be room for 3 all-american seasons. This kid could be a great one, but right now it is all potential. ANd like the late great Dicky Fox used to say, "It's like popcorn in the pot, some pops...."
3. Neiron Ball. LB/DE. Jackson. The Future Gator, IF he puts on some muscle, could be lights out. He does need to add weight, but if he can, this kid will be impressive. Stupid Florida...
2. Garrison Smith. DE Douglass. My no.2 and no.1 are the same as Big B. Smith is quite the playmaker and I am expecting big things from him in 2012 and 2013.
1. Alec Ogletree S Newnan. The future Dawg is the best player in the state and the best safety in the county.
10. Jonathan Mincy (SW DeKalb) – 5-10. 164. One of the top corners in the region. Great make up speed and great awareness. Committed to Auburn.
9. Brandon Burrows (Walton) - 6-3. 235. Burrows has great speed and is considered on of the best pass rushers in the country with 10 sacks last year. He will not play his senior year due to injury but has recently committed to Georgia.
8. Isaiah Johnson (Sandy Creek) – 6-2. 180. Johnson is another athletic safety that is good in run support, but is better in pass coverage. Also has great running ability so he can take one to the house when given the chance. He has committed to the Jackets.
7. Michael Taylor (Westlake) – 6-0. 200. Taylor plays with a lot of intensity and one the hardest hitters in the southeast. Committed to Tennessee recently.
6. Ryan Ayers (South Paulding) – 5-10. 178. He’s athletic, fast and has great anticipation. Can just flat out make plays. Committed to GA Tech.
5. Neiron Ball (Jackson) – 6-4. 210. Lined up mostly at DE last year but because of his quickness and size, he will be a great OLB in college and scouts are taking notice. Florida is his school of choice.
4. Jalen Fields (Dalton) – 6-5. 250. There are very few players that can get to the quarterback better than fields. Because of his size, he can overpower offensive lineman which makes it easier to get to the quarterback. Fields has committed to Georgia.
3. T.J. Stripling (SW DeKalb) – 6-6. 210. Stripling uses his size to fight off blockers and has great lateral range to cause havoc in the backfield as he tallied 15 sacks last season. Has committed to Georgia.
2. Garrison Smith (Douglass) – 6-3. 255. Smith has all the tools to be a great college-level defensive tackle. He is quick off the ball and does a great job of staying at home on the backside. In 2008 he had 14 sacks as he played both end and tackle. Has committed to UGA.
1. Alec Ogletree (Newnan) – 6-3. 214. Is considered by some as the best prospect in the state and the best safety in the nation. He has linebacker size but has the speed of a safety. Has great ball skills and is good in zone coverage. He has committed to UGA.
Thanks Big B, now here is the Sportsbyfletch list. I agree with most of Brian's list, but I cannot put Burrows on the list since he won't be playing this season. Also, as much as I love Big B's love of the Dawgs, I moved a Gator up the list! WHAT? Check it out!
10. Isaiah Johnson. Sandy Creek. DB. Don't get me started on my Braxton Lane debate from last season.............. That still makes me angry.
9. Denzel McCoy Northview. DT will anchor Tech's line starting around 2012.
8. Michael Taylor. LB Westlake. The best of a weak crop of LBs in GA.
7. Barry BJ Bostic. Safety/QB. Big B was probably listing him as a QB, but he'll play safety or CB at GT. IF his HS coach is smart (which I know he is) he'll get on the field some on the defensive side of the ball and give that team a chace to win.
6.Jalen Fields, DE Dalton. The next great Catamount is no Josh Cole.... but who is? Fields was the first player to commit to the Dawgs and he is going to be a nice player for Georgia. His pledge has gotten lost with Stripling and Burrows and Smith signing on, but don't sleep on him. All I'm saying....
5. Ryan Ayers, CB South Paulding. Don't tell anyone, but I'm a little disappointed Tech got this kid over Georgia....unless Georgia pulls out that kid from Florida (Eduardo Clements I think is his name). Then Tech can have him.
4. TJ Stripling. DE SWD. TJ's ceiling is so high that Spike TV could broadcast Shawn Bradley and Robb Dryden chicken-fighting with Mark Eaton and Chris Mihm and there would STILL be room for 3 all-american seasons. This kid could be a great one, but right now it is all potential. ANd like the late great Dicky Fox used to say, "It's like popcorn in the pot, some pops...."
3. Neiron Ball. LB/DE. Jackson. The Future Gator, IF he puts on some muscle, could be lights out. He does need to add weight, but if he can, this kid will be impressive. Stupid Florida...
2. Garrison Smith. DE Douglass. My no.2 and no.1 are the same as Big B. Smith is quite the playmaker and I am expecting big things from him in 2012 and 2013.
1. Alec Ogletree S Newnan. The future Dawg is the best player in the state and the best safety in the county.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A look at the last week in the Atlanta Sports Media
I've been handed a new column with Score Atlanta where every week I'll take a look at all of the happenings in the Atlanta sports media. This is my first column.
In today’s sports world it seems that as long as a competition is going on, television, radio or a print media is covering it. And who is going to keep tabs on all of that coverage? Score Atlanta, that’s who. Every week we’ll break down what the various forms of media are doing in Atlanta and across the country. With no further ado…
The Hawks will be on national television seven times this upcoming season. Getting to the second round certainly has its perks. Not only are you on the national stage with a chance to win a title, but you get to be on ESPN and TNT the following year so everyone can track whether or not you’ll make it back. ESPN has selected six Atlanta games, four of which will be played at Philips Arena. The first national broadcast will be live from Boston on November 13, but Hawks fans can pack Philips on Thanksgiving night as well as New Year’s Night. Considering the Hawks used to never even sniff ESPN or TNT, this is a big deal. People love their Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.
The Atlanta Braves will be moving next season. No, not to a new stadium but to a new radio station. Braves games will be heard on AM 680 The Fan as well as 100.5 FM starting in 2010. The team and the station have signed a five year deal and will move to The Fan, who also owns the broadcast rights to the NHL’s Thrashers. The Fan works with two other smaller AM stations so NHL coverage will likely get pushed to The Fan2 or The Fan3 when schedules conflict. The games are currently aired on Project 96.1 FM and AM 640. This move makes sense for the Braves because with Leo Mazzone now on the station’s morning show “The Rude Awakening,” and with Buck Belue on in the afternoon, the team will get plenty of coverage, though you have to wonder if the coverage will be slanted to the positive because of the affiliation. John Kincade gives hard-hitting commentary on the Braves and it would be a shame to have him have to curb his opinions because of a fear of backlash like he sometimes does with the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Fan is also adding Florida Gator football. For the last three seasons, the Fan has been the home of Auburn football, but with Atlanta being the home to so many Florida alumni, and with the Gators seeking its second straight title and third in four years, the Fan decided to strike while it is hot. With Auburn going through a transition year and as long as Tim Tebow is doing the Gator chomp, this change will seemingly bring listeners out of the woodwork. The question is though will the station give the Gator-faithful the Urban Meyer call-in show? Maybe I missed it but I don’t remember hearing from Tommy Tuberville all that much when he was roaming the sidelines for the Tigers. WSB 750 AM will still carry the University of Georgia games with extended coverage and Sports Radio 790 The Zone is still the flagship station of Georgia Tech.
Speaking of 790 The Zone, Football still lives on the station and Friday Nights will once again feature high school football. Trey McDaniel returns to call play-by-play and John Michaels will give color commentary on all of the action. McDaniel calls a solid game and Michaels originally got his feet wet working with the Georgia Force. The two called games together last season and this year the pair should be able to flow off of each other. Those fans looking for the Saturday morning recap though might be disappointed. High School High Five will not return for a third season. Those looking for High School football news will need to tune in to 790 Sunday from 2-4 for The Official Visit, presented by Score Atlanta. Starting the week after Labor Day, the Official Visit moves to Mondays.
Finally WSB’s Chuck Dowdle will retire at the end of the year. Dowdle has been with Atlanta’s WSB for 24 years. He won’t be leaving the Atlanta sports scene however. Dowdle will still do the weekly Mark Richt coach’s show as well as handle post-game interviews for the Georgia Bulldog Radio network. It seems a shame to lose a staple of the local television scene, especially when you consider how much of a professional he was on the sports report. Dowdle never seemed to fall victim to the ESPN poseur-trap that so many sports anchors did when SportsCenter hit its peak earlier this decade. You never seemed to get a Craig Kilborn/Dan Patrick impersonation with Dowdle; you just got Chuck, and that was perfect for Atlanta.
In today’s sports world it seems that as long as a competition is going on, television, radio or a print media is covering it. And who is going to keep tabs on all of that coverage? Score Atlanta, that’s who. Every week we’ll break down what the various forms of media are doing in Atlanta and across the country. With no further ado…
The Hawks will be on national television seven times this upcoming season. Getting to the second round certainly has its perks. Not only are you on the national stage with a chance to win a title, but you get to be on ESPN and TNT the following year so everyone can track whether or not you’ll make it back. ESPN has selected six Atlanta games, four of which will be played at Philips Arena. The first national broadcast will be live from Boston on November 13, but Hawks fans can pack Philips on Thanksgiving night as well as New Year’s Night. Considering the Hawks used to never even sniff ESPN or TNT, this is a big deal. People love their Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.
The Atlanta Braves will be moving next season. No, not to a new stadium but to a new radio station. Braves games will be heard on AM 680 The Fan as well as 100.5 FM starting in 2010. The team and the station have signed a five year deal and will move to The Fan, who also owns the broadcast rights to the NHL’s Thrashers. The Fan works with two other smaller AM stations so NHL coverage will likely get pushed to The Fan2 or The Fan3 when schedules conflict. The games are currently aired on Project 96.1 FM and AM 640. This move makes sense for the Braves because with Leo Mazzone now on the station’s morning show “The Rude Awakening,” and with Buck Belue on in the afternoon, the team will get plenty of coverage, though you have to wonder if the coverage will be slanted to the positive because of the affiliation. John Kincade gives hard-hitting commentary on the Braves and it would be a shame to have him have to curb his opinions because of a fear of backlash like he sometimes does with the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Fan is also adding Florida Gator football. For the last three seasons, the Fan has been the home of Auburn football, but with Atlanta being the home to so many Florida alumni, and with the Gators seeking its second straight title and third in four years, the Fan decided to strike while it is hot. With Auburn going through a transition year and as long as Tim Tebow is doing the Gator chomp, this change will seemingly bring listeners out of the woodwork. The question is though will the station give the Gator-faithful the Urban Meyer call-in show? Maybe I missed it but I don’t remember hearing from Tommy Tuberville all that much when he was roaming the sidelines for the Tigers. WSB 750 AM will still carry the University of Georgia games with extended coverage and Sports Radio 790 The Zone is still the flagship station of Georgia Tech.
Speaking of 790 The Zone, Football still lives on the station and Friday Nights will once again feature high school football. Trey McDaniel returns to call play-by-play and John Michaels will give color commentary on all of the action. McDaniel calls a solid game and Michaels originally got his feet wet working with the Georgia Force. The two called games together last season and this year the pair should be able to flow off of each other. Those fans looking for the Saturday morning recap though might be disappointed. High School High Five will not return for a third season. Those looking for High School football news will need to tune in to 790 Sunday from 2-4 for The Official Visit, presented by Score Atlanta. Starting the week after Labor Day, the Official Visit moves to Mondays.
Finally WSB’s Chuck Dowdle will retire at the end of the year. Dowdle has been with Atlanta’s WSB for 24 years. He won’t be leaving the Atlanta sports scene however. Dowdle will still do the weekly Mark Richt coach’s show as well as handle post-game interviews for the Georgia Bulldog Radio network. It seems a shame to lose a staple of the local television scene, especially when you consider how much of a professional he was on the sports report. Dowdle never seemed to fall victim to the ESPN poseur-trap that so many sports anchors did when SportsCenter hit its peak earlier this decade. You never seemed to get a Craig Kilborn/Dan Patrick impersonation with Dowdle; you just got Chuck, and that was perfect for Atlanta.
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