o much has happened over the last few weeks as the college football bowl season really kicked into high gear and the NFL football regular season came to a close. For starters, both of the major sports radio stations in town gave their regulars some time off which led to a few interesting developments. First off on 790 The Zone, the Young Guns, at least three of them, received a major push, getting the Barnhart and Durham slot the week in between Christmas and New Years. There is some talent there on that show as Hunter gives some real opinions and seems to do a fine handling point duties and keeping the other two in check. Some times it is hard to differentiate between "Dags" and "Bax" but 790 may have found a keeper in Hunter. I would like to hear him with other personalities such as Hans, Sam Radin or John Michaels.
Speaking of 790 and Hans, Hans and Beau Bock having been subbing for Barnhart and Durham Tuesdays, but the duo moved into the Pollack and Bell slot for that post-Christmas week, and as much as it pains me to say because I think he is a fun guy in person, but it might be time for Beau to step away from the radio. It seems for segments at a time that he is disinterested in the topics and will shut down, while others he brings up complete non sequiturs that make one scratch his/her head and wonder, "where did that come from?" He is an important part of Atlanta sports history, granted, and I enjoy bumping into him on occasion on Sunday mornings when he is on his way out and I'm on my way in, but he should be a third or fourth man on a radio show, not having to serve as Karl Malone to Hans' John Stockton on a two-person show. He simply isn't what he once was.
While Hans and Beau and the Young Guns were filling in on 790, 680 The Fan featured a former 790 midday host, teaming with another 790 midday monster as Brandon Adams took Chuck Oliver's spot during the break to team with Matt Chernoff. As an admitted fan of Brandon Adams when he was a 790 weekend personality and then a midday host, I was pumped to hear BA back on the air. Adams' reemergence though was unsatisfying though as he was playing the straight man mostly to Chernoff's running of the point, and Adams was subdued mostly. He still gave insightful viewpoints, but I didn't get very many of the classic Brandon Adams' teases that I had come to look forward to during his time with 790. Regardless, let's hope that The Fan has plucked another one of the ex-790 crew and Adams returns to the airwaves at least on a part-time basis, perhaps during school's summer break.
For those wanting even more high school football featuring players from the 2010 season, you are in luck. On a local level, you can tune in this Saturday to the inaugural AT&T Junior Bowl featuring 90 of the best rising seniors from the state of Georgia. The game will pit East vs. West and will be played at Hallford Stadium. Lowndes coach Ricky McPherson will coach one side while Tucker's Franklin Stephens will be the head man of the other unit. Rising stars such as Greyson Lambert, Scott Hosch, and Deion Bonner will be on display. You can catch the game, featuring myself and Bob Houghton on the call on a number of platforms, including gpb.org/sports, Fox5, and ajc.com. The game was also scheduled to be televised by CSS.
The current class of seniors will also be on display Saturday in the US Army All-American Bowl. Georgia pledges Sterling Bailey and Corey Moore will be playing as will Georgia targets Damian Swann and Ray Drew, as well as Stephon Tuitt and Avery Walls. The game will be aired on NBC. The Under Armour All-America game was this past Wednesday and several Georgia athletes were on display. Quan Bray, Isaiah Crowell, Xzavier Dickson, AJ Johnson, Malcolm Mitchell, Jay Rome, Thomas O'Reilly, Justin Scott-Wesley, James Vaughters, Gabe Wright all represented Georgia on the game, which aired on ESPN.
The bowls kicked into serious gear as Georgia Tech and Georgia both suffered losses, causing both programs to finish the year with sub-.500 records. While Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech appeared a bit red-faced and some people openly wondered whether Tech will ever compete for national titles without Chan Gailey's players playing for Johnson, Georgia's loss led to greater turmoil. The AJC had two very different viewpoints as Jeff Schultz openly questioned whether Mark Richt should even be allowed to fix the program he has seemingly driven into the ground and if he even can fix it. Meanwhile Tony Barnhart believes Richt should still be allowed to stay but demanded he show more emotion as that is what he feels is missing from the Georgia coach and the Georgia program. While I used to fall in the Barnhart camp, I am now thinking that I might just jump in the Schultz camp as I turned off my television completely frustrated from Georgia's lack of offense. Wait, does this mean that I am now also in the Mark Bradley camp? I can't do that. (Fighting the urge to call for Richt's head, like Bradley does on days ending in "-ay"). Nope. Let Richt finish his drill.
Finally, I may be the only one, but I wanted to throw my remote control through the television a few Mondays ago when the Falcons played the Saints. What was with the opening montage of the 2006 Monday Night Game at the SuperDome and the first game back in New Orleans since Katrina? Was that really necessary to bring that game up? So much has happened since that night. Talk about Ryan's rise. Talk about the Saints winning the Super Bowl. Talk about the two competing for the NFC South Division title. Don't bring up a game that holds no significance to this season. Why bring that up? And PS, the Falcons still won the NFC South Division and home field. ESPN should have pointed out that the Falcons didn't need the game. New Orleans did, but it still didn't matter as the Falcons beat the Panthers to claim homefield advantage. Next time ESPN, talk about THIS YEAR and the factors surrounding the game. Don't just slurp the Drew Brees/Saints kool-aid. Give the Falcons a bit of credit. Atlanta is the NFC's top team entering the playoffs. Deal with it.
Can you believe he said that?
Georgia and Georgia Tech each finished 6-7 after being ranked in the preseason Top 25, but that’s all the programs have in common. Tech lacks players. Georgia lacks coaching. All things considered, you’d rather be Tech.
Yep, despite the fact that he was on vacation, Mark Bradley still had his notebook open, ready to rip Mark Richt. Glad to see that some things never change. Let’s just hope for his sake that Georgia never gets rid of Richt and Tech never gets rid of Paul Hewitt.
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