Your weekly fix of Around the Dial

who loves ya? THIS GUY. That's who. As always though, make sure to pick up a copy of Score Atlanta at Kroger, Quiktrip or Blockbuster.

As FRIEND Phoebe Buffay once said, “Hey Kettle, this is Pot. You’re black!” Former Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking earlier this season “exacted revenge” on his former team during the Cowboys 37-21 win over Atlanta in Dallas. And then after registering TWO WHOLE TACKLES, Brooking decided, while on the sidelines as his new teammates were playing and winning the game, to flap dirty-bird style to rub in the victory. Brooking also was flip with reporters afterwards, saying he guessed he wasn’t too old, implying that is why the Falcons cut him for Mike Peterson. VERY CLASSY, bashing the organization that drafted you and (over)paid you for so many seasons.
With that said, I guess I find it weird (and by weird I mean hypocritical) that Brooking was on the field Sunday, seeking out the opposition’s sidelines yet again towards the end of the game, only this time, it was to whine. Brooking apparently didn’t like that his defense couldn’t stop a 40+ year-old QB on 4th-and-three from dropping back and finding a wide open tight end after the Cowboys bit on play-action and the coverage was busted. Brooking tried to find Brad Childress but instead settled for several players that weren’t listening and a few coaches that were to tell them how classless they were. Funny, he was yelling at coaches but once Jared Allen approached, Brooking immediately started walking back to his sidelines.
After the game, Brooking was telling any reporter that was listening how classless the Vikings were for throwing that late in the game and scoring when Minnesota was up already.
Hey Keith, weren’t you guys still trying out there? So Minnesota should just take a bunch of kneel downs while your offense gets to keep throwing and trying to come back? I don’t understand that. And if you don’t want the opposing offense to score, HOW ABOUT YOU MAKE A PLAY YOURSELF? Or do you still have visions of last season in Glendale? Bottom line Keith, you don’t get to act “classless,” and then call someone else classless after they throw a TD on you. And PS, I saw the replay where you just kind of stood there on that fourth down play. You didn’t really do much. Not a lot of moving around from you, even after you saw that Favre still had the ball. Maybe if you had made the play….

Brooking wasn’t the only one a tad upset with the Vikings throwing to the end zone that late in the game. The University of Georgia’s new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham had one final game as Dallas defensive line coach and after the game, reporters asked Grantham about the final score. “What goes around comes around,” was the response that Grantham gave, noting that the Cowboys play the Vikings next season, though Grantham will be between the hedges and not on the sidelines of JerryWorld.

Could the bad feelings between Tom Glavine and the Atlanta Braves be water under the bridge? According to the Sporting News and the AJC, Braves brass and the former two-time Braves lefthander have discussed Glavine’s potential return to the organization. The Sporting News cites the AJC’s report saying that John Schuerholz and Glavine have discussed one of several different roles for Glavine, including the possibility of a front office position, a minor league instructor job or a spot in the team’s broadcast booth. As of right now, no deal has been struck with the 300-game winner.
Finally, just like Georgia, Georgia Tech secured a defensive coordinator last week. Yellow Jacket head coach Paul Johnson hired former University of Virginia head coach Al Groh to coach his defense. Groh won a Super Bowl ring in the NFL as an assistant before leading the New York Jets to the playoffs in his only season as an NFL head man. Groh took over at his alma mater following the 2000 season but was fired after several down seasons. Groh’s hire has had the radio airwaves buzzing. Last Sunday on Score Atlanta’s Sports Sunday on Sports Radio 790 The Zone, several callers praised the hire, saying that Groh should immediately fix the defense. The only drawback is that Groh will likely look to employ a 3-4 defense opposed to the former staff’s 4-3/3-3-5 alternating scheme. Co-host Alex Ewalt made the case that while this season might be rocky as the defense learns the new scheme, ultimately a coach with Groh’s qualifications will improve the defense even if the players take a while to adapt to the new scheme.