So I know I'm supposed to give a midweek entertainment report today, but this info was too big not to comment on. Miller Grove forward Donte Williams committed to play for the Georgia Basketball team and Mark Fox has gotten himself a huge piece in the rebuilding process.
I've watched this guy in two straight Class AAAA semi-final games (once last year and once this year, duh) and this guy is a PLAYER. 6'9 and 210, Williams has the ability to be a long-armed defender IMMEDIATELY and from what I saw the last two seasons, he can add weight and become a dominant low post player eventually during his Bulldog career.
Mark Fox has a good one in Williams, especially when teamed with Cady Lalanne (6'9 F) of Florida and perhaps Dwayne Polee (6'7 W/SG) from the Left Coast and maybe the other SG from the Florida juco Sherrard Brantley, and this recruiting class (including Gerald Robinson Jr from ETSU who is eligible to play this year after sitting out last season) could help Georgia make the Tourney this season.
Trey Thompkins would have to come back, but if he does, and Travis Leslie (returns and) makes the switch to SG, this team could be a huge player in the SEC. Imagine....
PG Dustin Ware
SG Travis Leslie
SF/W Gerald Robinson Jr
PF Trey Thompkins
C Jeremy Price
Bench:
Vincent Williams
Chris Barnes
Ebuka Anyorah
Cady Lalanne
Donte Williams
maybe Dwayne Polee (who would likely start)
maybe Sherrard Brantley (who'd likely get quality minutes backing up Leslie)
and suddenly this team is something to be reckoned with. Just saying. Donte Williams sees the future of Georgia. Perhaps other in-state talent will too. Mark Fox is building something. GET DOWN TO ATHENS TO CATCH THEM SOON! GO DAWGS!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Brian Jones' top 10 rising senior GA defensive linemen
Be sure to tune in tonight to AM 790 The Zone from 7-9 pm for Score Atlanta's The Official Visit. It is going to be HUGE. (It always is when I co-host!) Well, wouldn't you know, we here at SBF have a little inside access; therefore I present you Brian Jones' Top Ten rising seniors of 2011 list of Georgia's top D-Linemen. Enjoy and tune in (or log on to www.790thezone.com) tonight from 7-9 pm! DO IT!
10. Grady Jarrett
9. Tyler Botts
8. Chris Mayes
7. Jonathan Battle
6. Xzavier Dickson
5. Chaz Cheeks
4. Stephon Tuitt
3. Sterling Bailey
2. Gabe Wright
1. Ray Drew
10. Grady Jarrett
9. Tyler Botts
8. Chris Mayes
7. Jonathan Battle
6. Xzavier Dickson
5. Chaz Cheeks
4. Stephon Tuitt
3. Sterling Bailey
2. Gabe Wright
1. Ray Drew
Monday, March 29, 2010
It feels like I JUST wrote this blog....
Let me start by saying that I don't care if my bracket went to crap, I'm just glad I didn't get into bed with Duke and Coach K. If I seriously had to root for the Rat King in order to win a bracket pool, I probably wouldn't be able to truly celebrate that win. Why? Because now I can root AGAINST Dook until my dying day. And I don't feel dirty. Just saying....
With that said, if Tom Izzo wins his second national title one week from tonight, Izzo will move past Coach K in my book at least. PLUS imagine if he beats Coach K in the process....
Let's go back to the logic I presented last season when I said Roy had moved past Coach K with his second title vs. Duke's three. Coach K won his first two titles with the SAME team, especially with the first title coming with UNLV laying down due to pay off gambling debts. (I'm sure...) Duke's second title in that run came against the Fab Five when people didn't want to see the Chris Webber-led crew win a title. Then Coach K's THIRD title came against an Arizona team that collapsed when the going got tough. Seriously? you are counting a win against a Pac-10 team? Come on.
Roy's titles though came against Illinois (no doubt the second best team that season) and against Michigan State last year, against Izzo who may be the best coach of the last 12 years.
Which brings us to Izzo. He has made it to 6 final fours in the last 12 years and Izzo is something like 6-1 in regional finals with the only loss coming to No.1 Texas in 2003. Izzo's charges have all made it to at least one final four in their college careers, dating back to the freshmen of 1996, when he took over. Izzo won it all in 2000 and then got back and back and back, getting to the final game in 2009 and he's back in the final four in 2010, with a eerily similar feel to the last time he went back to back final fours.
He is also doing with with smoke and mirrors. He has been living through the drama all season with players ebbing and flowing in terms of attitudes and he even lost his best player the first weekend of the tournament. What happened? He won in the sweet sixteen and then again in the Elite 8. And I don't think anyone doubted he could do it. Has he gotten a little lucky along the way? Yes, but you cannot argue with his record.
He built this program past what it was with Magic in East Lansing, and now there is no reason to think he won't keep adding to his impressive resume.
Today Brandon and Woolvy broke down the best coaches in all of college sports and both came to the conclusion that Izzo was tops, even over Urban Meyer. Meyer won his two titles with the same basic offense but different defenses. Duke won "two" titles with different teams and Izzo would win a second title with a FAR different team (umm 10 years apart) and if he could win it over Coach K, that would put him on the same level as K, despite being one title behind.
Izzo's resume even with just one puts him ahead of Jim Boeheim (1) and Lute Olson(1) and on the same level as Billy Donovan (2), whom he actually beat. I think Jim Calhoun (2) is still ahead of him right now, but if Izzo gets two, he moves past Calhoun, and Dean Smith (2) and right beside Roy (2) and Coach K (3).
One year after I did the list, my updated list is now ready....
Top Level. John Wooden
Right Behind: Bobby Knight, Coach K, Roy Williams
Next Level Down: Dean Smith, Jim Calhoun
Next Level Down: Izzo, Donovan, Pitino, John Thompson
Next Level Down: Boeheim, Olson, Tubby, Gary Williams, Harrick, Steve Fisher, Nolan Richardson
Next Level Down: Every other coach that won a title (including that chocker Bill Self), John Calipari, Bob Huggins.
Bottom Line: I am rooting for Tom Izzo, mainly because I want to see Coach K get knocked down another notch and because Izzo deserves more credit than he gets. Give him some attention. He's a good coach. He is McGuyver for Pete's Sake! Open your EYES people!
With that said, if Tom Izzo wins his second national title one week from tonight, Izzo will move past Coach K in my book at least. PLUS imagine if he beats Coach K in the process....
Let's go back to the logic I presented last season when I said Roy had moved past Coach K with his second title vs. Duke's three. Coach K won his first two titles with the SAME team, especially with the first title coming with UNLV laying down due to pay off gambling debts. (I'm sure...) Duke's second title in that run came against the Fab Five when people didn't want to see the Chris Webber-led crew win a title. Then Coach K's THIRD title came against an Arizona team that collapsed when the going got tough. Seriously? you are counting a win against a Pac-10 team? Come on.
Roy's titles though came against Illinois (no doubt the second best team that season) and against Michigan State last year, against Izzo who may be the best coach of the last 12 years.
Which brings us to Izzo. He has made it to 6 final fours in the last 12 years and Izzo is something like 6-1 in regional finals with the only loss coming to No.1 Texas in 2003. Izzo's charges have all made it to at least one final four in their college careers, dating back to the freshmen of 1996, when he took over. Izzo won it all in 2000 and then got back and back and back, getting to the final game in 2009 and he's back in the final four in 2010, with a eerily similar feel to the last time he went back to back final fours.
He is also doing with with smoke and mirrors. He has been living through the drama all season with players ebbing and flowing in terms of attitudes and he even lost his best player the first weekend of the tournament. What happened? He won in the sweet sixteen and then again in the Elite 8. And I don't think anyone doubted he could do it. Has he gotten a little lucky along the way? Yes, but you cannot argue with his record.
He built this program past what it was with Magic in East Lansing, and now there is no reason to think he won't keep adding to his impressive resume.
Today Brandon and Woolvy broke down the best coaches in all of college sports and both came to the conclusion that Izzo was tops, even over Urban Meyer. Meyer won his two titles with the same basic offense but different defenses. Duke won "two" titles with different teams and Izzo would win a second title with a FAR different team (umm 10 years apart) and if he could win it over Coach K, that would put him on the same level as K, despite being one title behind.
Izzo's resume even with just one puts him ahead of Jim Boeheim (1) and Lute Olson(1) and on the same level as Billy Donovan (2), whom he actually beat. I think Jim Calhoun (2) is still ahead of him right now, but if Izzo gets two, he moves past Calhoun, and Dean Smith (2) and right beside Roy (2) and Coach K (3).
One year after I did the list, my updated list is now ready....
Top Level. John Wooden
Right Behind: Bobby Knight, Coach K, Roy Williams
Next Level Down: Dean Smith, Jim Calhoun
Next Level Down: Izzo, Donovan, Pitino, John Thompson
Next Level Down: Boeheim, Olson, Tubby, Gary Williams, Harrick, Steve Fisher, Nolan Richardson
Next Level Down: Every other coach that won a title (including that chocker Bill Self), John Calipari, Bob Huggins.
Bottom Line: I am rooting for Tom Izzo, mainly because I want to see Coach K get knocked down another notch and because Izzo deserves more credit than he gets. Give him some attention. He's a good coach. He is McGuyver for Pete's Sake! Open your EYES people!
Friday, March 26, 2010
If Wrestling had a bracket.........
SportsbyFletch must admit that some of its writers used to watch the WWF (now WWE) and the WCW when growing up, and with it being bracket-season, we thought we'd throw up an all-time wrestling bracket. Our wrestling correspondent Brian Jones is expected to offer his thoughts on who will win.
"Midwest"
1 HBK v 16 Yeti
8 Kurt Angle v 9 Ravishing Rick Rude
5 Superfly Jimmy Snuka v 12 Arn Anderson
4 Rowdy Roddy Piper v 13 Bad Ass Billy Gunn
6 Kane v 11 Randy Orton
3 Macho Man Randy Savage v 14 Golddust
7 Jake the Snake Roberts v 10 Edge
2 Undertake v 15 Road Dawg Jessie James
Results: I've got HBK easily polishing off the Yeti! and then Kurt Angle to make the Sweet (Chin Music) 16. Jimmy Snuka gets his sweet revenge over Rowdy Piper in the second round with a big splash off of the top rope for a 1-2-3.. Randy Orton hits an RKO to spring the upset in the first round, but he cannot dig it brother and Macho Man snaps him like a slimjim in the second round. The Edge is a rate-R superstar and takes out the snake by avoiding the DDT in round one, but the Undertaker takes him for the last ride in round two. The Undertaker nails Macho with a tombstone but falls victim to the Sweet Chin music in the Elite 8 as HBK advances to the Final four.
" West"
1 Ric Flair v 16 Genius
8 Chris Benoit v 9 Jeff Jarrett
5 Dusty Rhodes v 12 Ted DiBiase Million Dollar Man
4 Goldberg v 13 Jeff Hardy
6 Giant/Big Show v 11 Batista
3 Sting v 14 Terry Funk
7 Razor Ramon/Scott Hall v 10 Booker T
2 HHH v 15 Tatanka
Results: Ric Flair puts Jeff Jarrett to shame with a win and then shows Jarrett how to properly strut in the post-match celebration. Dusty Rhodes slaps the sleeper on The Million Dollar Man and wins after Sweet Saphire konks out Virgil before he can interfere. Goldberg makes quick work of Jeff Hardy with a spear after Hardy tries to immediate hit Goldberg with a move off the turnbuckle. (8 second match) Then Goldberg crushes The American Dream with a jackhammer (10 seconds). The Beast Batistia "upsets" the Big Show then takes out Sting in maybe the biggest surprise of the second round. Razor Ramon beats Booker T with a Razor's Edge then shows up too drunk to compete against HHH and is pedigreed. HHH uses his sledge hammer to beat Batista in a "no DQ" match. Ric Flair uses the brass knuckles to beat Goldberg without the ref seeing (he IS the dirtiest player in the game!). In the Elite 8, the torch is passed among former Evolution members as HHH beats Flair.
"East"
1 Stone Cold v 16 Doink
8 Mr. Perfect v 9 RVD
5 Ricky "Steamboat" Dragon v 12 Sgt Slaughter
4 Owen Hart v 13 Chyna
6 Nikola Volkoff v 11 Raven
3 Bret Hart v 14 1-2-3 Kid/X-Pac
7 Y2J v 10 Eddie Guerrero
2 The Rock v 15 Dean Malinko
Results: Stone Cold hits Doink with a stunner and then enjoys some more victory beer after perfectly perfecting Mr. Perfect in round two. The Dragon Steamboat is hoodwinked by Owen Hart in round two and the King of Harts advances with a sharpshooter after catching the steamboat coming off the ropes. Bret Hart takes out X-Pac then proves Canada is better than the USSR with a win over Volkoff. Y2J eats up Guerrero in round one then falls victim to the People's elbow in round two. The Rock is on fire in the Sweet 16 and slams Hart, only to finish him off with the sharpshooter. StoneCold hits the stunner on Owen Hart to eliminate both Harts. In the Elite 8, The Rock wins his third straight huge matchup with an elbow over Stone Cold.
"South"
1 Hogan v 16 Repo Man (he beat Al Snow in play-in match)
8 Iron Shiek v 9 British Bulldog
5 Kevin Nash v 12 Tommy Dreamer
4 Andre the Giant v 13 Lance Storm
6 Brock Lesner v 11 Harley Race
3 Ultimate Warrior v 14 Brutus the Barber Beefcake
7 Lex Luger v 10 John Cena
2 Mick Foley/Mankind/cactus jack v Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Results: Hogan gives the big leg drop to the Repo Man then battles teh Iron Shiek in a match out of the 1980s. The USA wins over the middle east as Hogan gives the big boot to the Shiek. Nash jackknifes Tommy Dreamer then somehow takes out Andre the Giant. Brock Lesner outmuscles Harley Race then eliminates the Warrior, who was likely pegged too high as a 3-seed. John Cena gives the F-U to Luger then takes out Foley (as Mankind) in round two with a "SPF-U". Cena v Lesner is expected to be big and Cena gives it a nice effort but Lesner is just too strong. Hogan barely holds off Nash but cannot take out Lesner as Brock advances to the F4.
Recap: I'd have an Elite 8 of Hogan v Brock, The Rock v Stone Cold, Flair v HHH and HBK v The Taker
In the Final Four HBK takes on HHH in a matchup of D-X members. Back and forth, per usual between these two before HBK kicks out of the pedigree. HHH is complaining to the ref when HBK hits the sweet chin music. HBK WINS! In the other final four matchup, The Rock is in trouble against Lesner before the millions AND MILLIONS of the Rock's fans root him into delivering the People's Slam. A people's elbow ends Lesner's run.
HBK faces The Rock in the finals and HBK is down and seemingly out before he slips out of the People's Slam and delivers a kick to The Rock. Roll up, 1-2-3. HBK wins!
"Midwest"
1 HBK v 16 Yeti
8 Kurt Angle v 9 Ravishing Rick Rude
5 Superfly Jimmy Snuka v 12 Arn Anderson
4 Rowdy Roddy Piper v 13 Bad Ass Billy Gunn
6 Kane v 11 Randy Orton
3 Macho Man Randy Savage v 14 Golddust
7 Jake the Snake Roberts v 10 Edge
2 Undertake v 15 Road Dawg Jessie James
Results: I've got HBK easily polishing off the Yeti! and then Kurt Angle to make the Sweet (Chin Music) 16. Jimmy Snuka gets his sweet revenge over Rowdy Piper in the second round with a big splash off of the top rope for a 1-2-3.. Randy Orton hits an RKO to spring the upset in the first round, but he cannot dig it brother and Macho Man snaps him like a slimjim in the second round. The Edge is a rate-R superstar and takes out the snake by avoiding the DDT in round one, but the Undertaker takes him for the last ride in round two. The Undertaker nails Macho with a tombstone but falls victim to the Sweet Chin music in the Elite 8 as HBK advances to the Final four.
" West"
1 Ric Flair v 16 Genius
8 Chris Benoit v 9 Jeff Jarrett
5 Dusty Rhodes v 12 Ted DiBiase Million Dollar Man
4 Goldberg v 13 Jeff Hardy
6 Giant/Big Show v 11 Batista
3 Sting v 14 Terry Funk
7 Razor Ramon/Scott Hall v 10 Booker T
2 HHH v 15 Tatanka
Results: Ric Flair puts Jeff Jarrett to shame with a win and then shows Jarrett how to properly strut in the post-match celebration. Dusty Rhodes slaps the sleeper on The Million Dollar Man and wins after Sweet Saphire konks out Virgil before he can interfere. Goldberg makes quick work of Jeff Hardy with a spear after Hardy tries to immediate hit Goldberg with a move off the turnbuckle. (8 second match) Then Goldberg crushes The American Dream with a jackhammer (10 seconds). The Beast Batistia "upsets" the Big Show then takes out Sting in maybe the biggest surprise of the second round. Razor Ramon beats Booker T with a Razor's Edge then shows up too drunk to compete against HHH and is pedigreed. HHH uses his sledge hammer to beat Batista in a "no DQ" match. Ric Flair uses the brass knuckles to beat Goldberg without the ref seeing (he IS the dirtiest player in the game!). In the Elite 8, the torch is passed among former Evolution members as HHH beats Flair.
"East"
1 Stone Cold v 16 Doink
8 Mr. Perfect v 9 RVD
5 Ricky "Steamboat" Dragon v 12 Sgt Slaughter
4 Owen Hart v 13 Chyna
6 Nikola Volkoff v 11 Raven
3 Bret Hart v 14 1-2-3 Kid/X-Pac
7 Y2J v 10 Eddie Guerrero
2 The Rock v 15 Dean Malinko
Results: Stone Cold hits Doink with a stunner and then enjoys some more victory beer after perfectly perfecting Mr. Perfect in round two. The Dragon Steamboat is hoodwinked by Owen Hart in round two and the King of Harts advances with a sharpshooter after catching the steamboat coming off the ropes. Bret Hart takes out X-Pac then proves Canada is better than the USSR with a win over Volkoff. Y2J eats up Guerrero in round one then falls victim to the People's elbow in round two. The Rock is on fire in the Sweet 16 and slams Hart, only to finish him off with the sharpshooter. StoneCold hits the stunner on Owen Hart to eliminate both Harts. In the Elite 8, The Rock wins his third straight huge matchup with an elbow over Stone Cold.
"South"
1 Hogan v 16 Repo Man (he beat Al Snow in play-in match)
8 Iron Shiek v 9 British Bulldog
5 Kevin Nash v 12 Tommy Dreamer
4 Andre the Giant v 13 Lance Storm
6 Brock Lesner v 11 Harley Race
3 Ultimate Warrior v 14 Brutus the Barber Beefcake
7 Lex Luger v 10 John Cena
2 Mick Foley/Mankind/cactus jack v Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Results: Hogan gives the big leg drop to the Repo Man then battles teh Iron Shiek in a match out of the 1980s. The USA wins over the middle east as Hogan gives the big boot to the Shiek. Nash jackknifes Tommy Dreamer then somehow takes out Andre the Giant. Brock Lesner outmuscles Harley Race then eliminates the Warrior, who was likely pegged too high as a 3-seed. John Cena gives the F-U to Luger then takes out Foley (as Mankind) in round two with a "SPF-U". Cena v Lesner is expected to be big and Cena gives it a nice effort but Lesner is just too strong. Hogan barely holds off Nash but cannot take out Lesner as Brock advances to the F4.
Recap: I'd have an Elite 8 of Hogan v Brock, The Rock v Stone Cold, Flair v HHH and HBK v The Taker
In the Final Four HBK takes on HHH in a matchup of D-X members. Back and forth, per usual between these two before HBK kicks out of the pedigree. HHH is complaining to the ref when HBK hits the sweet chin music. HBK WINS! In the other final four matchup, The Rock is in trouble against Lesner before the millions AND MILLIONS of the Rock's fans root him into delivering the People's Slam. A people's elbow ends Lesner's run.
HBK faces The Rock in the finals and HBK is down and seemingly out before he slips out of the People's Slam and delivers a kick to The Rock. Roll up, 1-2-3. HBK wins!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Well it IS all about the money
Paul Hewitt has decided to remain the Georgia Tech men's basketball coaching after he pulled his name from the pool of names in the St. John's head coach search. Hewitt said it was because his family was comfortable here, but come on. It is ALL about money.
Your family is really comfortable here? Didn't you say it was your mother that was the one that was upset with Mark Bradley after he "slammed" you by printing your record at GT? But I guess she is comfortable here, right?
No, Paul, the REAL answer is that you have a $7M golden parachute here at Tech and odds are St. John's would not give you the automatic roll-over clause that gives you an extra year and that extra cash.
I think that the contract isn't as juicy as the one is here, and if you HAD taken the job in New York (oh, wow think about how THAT media would treat you Paul. Mark Bradley would look like a swedish massage) and you had the same results that you had here with GT, you'd be fired but likely with FAR less of a severance package.
Let's be honest here Paul: it's about the $7M and you didn't want to leave that on the table. You'll take GT fans complaining about your program and I think secretly you WANT to get fired so you can wrap your arms around that money before you go back to a St. John's-type job. Money, Money, Money. And today you proved it.
But hey, I guess 2-14 next season will be fine. You'll be a lot closer to that $7M.
And quickly, I plan on writing MUCH more about this for my THE FLETCH column for Score Atlanta, but Urban Meyer, dude you were in the wrong for going after a reporter that ran a FULL QUOTE FROM A PLAYER (so he couldn't be accused of taking it out of context) and instead of yelling at the player for douching up his point (he was trying to praise the QB skills of new QB John Brantley, but it came off like he was insulting Tim Tebow), you yell at the beat writer and basically threaten his job (if you REALLY pulled his credential, the paper he works for would assign someone else and this guy would either be reassigned or fired), when he WASN'T IN THE WRONG.
He wasn't Urban and yet you blame him when you should blame the player or just sweep it all under the rug and pretend it didn't happen.
Oh, and Urban, if you really want to threaten someone, maybe you should remember that you have a bad heart that forced you to retire for 6 minutes. I thought Brandon Adams made a good point today on 790 The Zone: Urban said that if Deonte was his son, he (Urban) and the writer would be going at it right now. BA said that the reporter should have shot back, "I think you have enough of your own family problems." I say that if Deonte was in his family, he probably wouldn't know about it because he is more focused on football than his family. CLEARLY. Nice leave of absence. 2 weeks, if that?
Urban should apologize but he won't because Urban is a whiney dick. The nation is finally starting to realize that. Florida fans (like Scott Janovitz my radio co-host) will try and spin it that he is sticking up for his player, but his PLAYER was the one that messed up, not the reporter. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BEFORE YOU SAY IT NEXT TIME!
Your family is really comfortable here? Didn't you say it was your mother that was the one that was upset with Mark Bradley after he "slammed" you by printing your record at GT? But I guess she is comfortable here, right?
No, Paul, the REAL answer is that you have a $7M golden parachute here at Tech and odds are St. John's would not give you the automatic roll-over clause that gives you an extra year and that extra cash.
I think that the contract isn't as juicy as the one is here, and if you HAD taken the job in New York (oh, wow think about how THAT media would treat you Paul. Mark Bradley would look like a swedish massage) and you had the same results that you had here with GT, you'd be fired but likely with FAR less of a severance package.
Let's be honest here Paul: it's about the $7M and you didn't want to leave that on the table. You'll take GT fans complaining about your program and I think secretly you WANT to get fired so you can wrap your arms around that money before you go back to a St. John's-type job. Money, Money, Money. And today you proved it.
But hey, I guess 2-14 next season will be fine. You'll be a lot closer to that $7M.
And quickly, I plan on writing MUCH more about this for my THE FLETCH column for Score Atlanta, but Urban Meyer, dude you were in the wrong for going after a reporter that ran a FULL QUOTE FROM A PLAYER (so he couldn't be accused of taking it out of context) and instead of yelling at the player for douching up his point (he was trying to praise the QB skills of new QB John Brantley, but it came off like he was insulting Tim Tebow), you yell at the beat writer and basically threaten his job (if you REALLY pulled his credential, the paper he works for would assign someone else and this guy would either be reassigned or fired), when he WASN'T IN THE WRONG.
He wasn't Urban and yet you blame him when you should blame the player or just sweep it all under the rug and pretend it didn't happen.
Oh, and Urban, if you really want to threaten someone, maybe you should remember that you have a bad heart that forced you to retire for 6 minutes. I thought Brandon Adams made a good point today on 790 The Zone: Urban said that if Deonte was his son, he (Urban) and the writer would be going at it right now. BA said that the reporter should have shot back, "I think you have enough of your own family problems." I say that if Deonte was in his family, he probably wouldn't know about it because he is more focused on football than his family. CLEARLY. Nice leave of absence. 2 weeks, if that?
Urban should apologize but he won't because Urban is a whiney dick. The nation is finally starting to realize that. Florida fans (like Scott Janovitz my radio co-host) will try and spin it that he is sticking up for his player, but his PLAYER was the one that messed up, not the reporter. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BEFORE YOU SAY IT NEXT TIME!
THE FLETCH, check it out here before you pick it up!
Just because I give you a sneak peek here, you should STILL go to www.scoreatl.com to download the issue or stop by QuickTrip, Kroger or Blockbuster and pick up this week's issue. It comes out tomorrow.
If you caught Pollack & Bell on 790 the Zone last week, you may have heard Norm Hitzges from Dallas calling in to discuss the Ron Washington situation as well as the Dallas Cowboys. As I listened to the interview, only one thought ran through my head: what is that accent? I couldn’t put my finger on where that dude was from. It wasn’t a Texas accent and his cadence was slightly off. Then another thought popped into my head: thank goodness that guy doesn’t host a show in Atlanta. I could not listen to him on a regular basis. What as up with that voice. I felt bad for the people of Dallas. He did not represent the people of Dallas very well. I wonder what other people think of our radio hosts. Actually, I would hope that only two local hosts ever do over the phone interviews: 790 The Zone’s Chris Dimino and 680 The Fan’s John Kincade. These two are the only two in Atlanta that I would feel comfortable representing our city on other cities’ radio shows. Both are knowledgeable enough to discuss a variety of sports topics and neither relies on a shtick or a past athletic achievement to garner sports credibility. Both simply know what they are talking about and can deliver it professionally. Honestly, those are the only two that should get any sort of play in other markets and The Zone and The Fan should be lucky that each has a go-to-guy to represent their stations and their city.
Could the NCAA men’s basketball Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds be a littler more presidential this weekend? CBS Sports president Sean McManus said he would be open to putting President Obama into the broadcast booth in any way if the president was open to it. So far, Obama has not taken McManus up on his offer. Earlier this season Obama sat in on the network’s broadcast of the Georgetown/Duke game and was quite good. Obama also once again filled out a bracket and cut a segment for ESPN on his bracket. Obama’s picks: Kansas over Kentucky in the championship game. I gave Obama a bunch of flack last season for doing the SportsCenter segment and once again I think that maybe instead of filling out a bracket, perhaps the Commander-in-Chief could better spend the two hours perhaps trying to fix some problems he said he would tackle in the election process. I thought we were electing a president, not a First Fan of Basketball.
As long as we are talking about the NCAA tournament and CBS’s coverage of the “Big Dance,” have we determined whether a four-year-old with ADD or a chimp is at the main control center? Why in the world do we jump from situation to situation in MID-PLAY during crunch time of big games? Friday night I feel like I had whiplash as CBS jumped around to about three different games, and I believe we missed the crucial plays in all three. Yes, we got to see the end of all of the games (Cool! People dribbling out the clock!) but we missed the big layup and the game-winning shot one of the other ones. And on Sunday, we watch Xavier make a huge shot against Pittsburgh then Pittsburgh drive down and miss a shot, but .4 seconds is left. So CBS cuts to Texas A&M and Purdue with over one minute left. WHAT? HUH? I’m so confused. You couldn’t wait about, oh, I don’t know, .4 seconds before switching over?
Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz has gone on record and said that he isn’t retiring but he is moving to a new team: the media. The former Cy Young award winner will work this season for Peachtree TV, TBS and MLB network, calling games for all three networks. Smoltz will debut on MLB network, partnering Bob Costas to call Yankees/Red Sox game on April 6 then do a Braves game April 7. His PTV partners will include Ernie Johnson Jr., and Joe Simpson.
Speaking of Braves announcing, it is amateur hour for the Braves spring training games. After Buck & Kincade butchered their way through a few games for braves.com, Tony Schiavone and Leo Mazzone worked games last week. Leo actually offered some baseball insight when not trying to crack jokes about alcohol. Meanwhile Schiavone is the radio voice of the Gwinnett Braves, but even still all I could think of was during a call of Martin Prado’s home run was Schiavone screaming, “Prado rounding second and MY GOD! STING AND THE MACHO MAN ARE STOMPING PRADO in front on Hanley Ramirez. My GOD! Won’t anybody help him? WAIT! HERE COMES THE YETI! Won’t somebody please stop this? HERE COMES GOLDBERG, TO SAVE THE DAY!”
Mark Bradley of the AJC, who has been caught in an unfair war of words with Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, wrote a very on-point column about the Jackets season following the team’s bouncing from the NCAA tournament by the hand of Ohio State. Bradley correctly assessed that this team fell short of its high ceiling that its coach referenced during the season. With the talent that Hewitt accumulated, it is a wonder that Hewitt told the AJC that it was a “major accomplishment” to cap a “great year,” when his team made the field of 65. Really? I must agree with Bradley when he simply spouted off the facts that the team lost 13 games with two potential lottery picks and another McDonald’s high school All-American on its roster. I must agree with Bradley that this team should not have been a ten-seed due to a losing record in conference play. I must agree with Bradley that this team was, on whole, a massive underachieving disappointment. Bradley was right to question the team’s success (out of the tournament before the end of the first weekend), and he was unfairly called out by the coach recently when the coach got on Twitter and blasted him. I wonder if the coach also was angry at the recent Sports Illustrated article that poked fun of Hewitt over the Twittering.
CAN YOU BELIVE HE JUST SAID THAT!?!?
Speaking of Norm Hitzges from Dallas’s The Ticket 1310 AM… At one point during his interview last Wednesday on Pollack & Bell, he said “Is Wade Phillips like your Uncle Charlie after he’s had four too many beers at the family reunion? Yes!” This statement was met with uncomfortable laughter from P&B and with an eye roll from me. Dude, we don’t know your sense of humor and I’m not certain that was even funny. Build a rapport first before you bust out the bad jokes. At least when radio hosts from the ATL make bad jokes on the air, we are used to it and their shtick. That is who they are. Drop the “this works for me in Dallas, so OF COURSE it will work for me in Atlanta!” routine. It flatlined. Sorry Bro.
If you caught Pollack & Bell on 790 the Zone last week, you may have heard Norm Hitzges from Dallas calling in to discuss the Ron Washington situation as well as the Dallas Cowboys. As I listened to the interview, only one thought ran through my head: what is that accent? I couldn’t put my finger on where that dude was from. It wasn’t a Texas accent and his cadence was slightly off. Then another thought popped into my head: thank goodness that guy doesn’t host a show in Atlanta. I could not listen to him on a regular basis. What as up with that voice. I felt bad for the people of Dallas. He did not represent the people of Dallas very well. I wonder what other people think of our radio hosts. Actually, I would hope that only two local hosts ever do over the phone interviews: 790 The Zone’s Chris Dimino and 680 The Fan’s John Kincade. These two are the only two in Atlanta that I would feel comfortable representing our city on other cities’ radio shows. Both are knowledgeable enough to discuss a variety of sports topics and neither relies on a shtick or a past athletic achievement to garner sports credibility. Both simply know what they are talking about and can deliver it professionally. Honestly, those are the only two that should get any sort of play in other markets and The Zone and The Fan should be lucky that each has a go-to-guy to represent their stations and their city.
Could the NCAA men’s basketball Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds be a littler more presidential this weekend? CBS Sports president Sean McManus said he would be open to putting President Obama into the broadcast booth in any way if the president was open to it. So far, Obama has not taken McManus up on his offer. Earlier this season Obama sat in on the network’s broadcast of the Georgetown/Duke game and was quite good. Obama also once again filled out a bracket and cut a segment for ESPN on his bracket. Obama’s picks: Kansas over Kentucky in the championship game. I gave Obama a bunch of flack last season for doing the SportsCenter segment and once again I think that maybe instead of filling out a bracket, perhaps the Commander-in-Chief could better spend the two hours perhaps trying to fix some problems he said he would tackle in the election process. I thought we were electing a president, not a First Fan of Basketball.
As long as we are talking about the NCAA tournament and CBS’s coverage of the “Big Dance,” have we determined whether a four-year-old with ADD or a chimp is at the main control center? Why in the world do we jump from situation to situation in MID-PLAY during crunch time of big games? Friday night I feel like I had whiplash as CBS jumped around to about three different games, and I believe we missed the crucial plays in all three. Yes, we got to see the end of all of the games (Cool! People dribbling out the clock!) but we missed the big layup and the game-winning shot one of the other ones. And on Sunday, we watch Xavier make a huge shot against Pittsburgh then Pittsburgh drive down and miss a shot, but .4 seconds is left. So CBS cuts to Texas A&M and Purdue with over one minute left. WHAT? HUH? I’m so confused. You couldn’t wait about, oh, I don’t know, .4 seconds before switching over?
Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz has gone on record and said that he isn’t retiring but he is moving to a new team: the media. The former Cy Young award winner will work this season for Peachtree TV, TBS and MLB network, calling games for all three networks. Smoltz will debut on MLB network, partnering Bob Costas to call Yankees/Red Sox game on April 6 then do a Braves game April 7. His PTV partners will include Ernie Johnson Jr., and Joe Simpson.
Speaking of Braves announcing, it is amateur hour for the Braves spring training games. After Buck & Kincade butchered their way through a few games for braves.com, Tony Schiavone and Leo Mazzone worked games last week. Leo actually offered some baseball insight when not trying to crack jokes about alcohol. Meanwhile Schiavone is the radio voice of the Gwinnett Braves, but even still all I could think of was during a call of Martin Prado’s home run was Schiavone screaming, “Prado rounding second and MY GOD! STING AND THE MACHO MAN ARE STOMPING PRADO in front on Hanley Ramirez. My GOD! Won’t anybody help him? WAIT! HERE COMES THE YETI! Won’t somebody please stop this? HERE COMES GOLDBERG, TO SAVE THE DAY!”
Mark Bradley of the AJC, who has been caught in an unfair war of words with Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, wrote a very on-point column about the Jackets season following the team’s bouncing from the NCAA tournament by the hand of Ohio State. Bradley correctly assessed that this team fell short of its high ceiling that its coach referenced during the season. With the talent that Hewitt accumulated, it is a wonder that Hewitt told the AJC that it was a “major accomplishment” to cap a “great year,” when his team made the field of 65. Really? I must agree with Bradley when he simply spouted off the facts that the team lost 13 games with two potential lottery picks and another McDonald’s high school All-American on its roster. I must agree with Bradley that this team should not have been a ten-seed due to a losing record in conference play. I must agree with Bradley that this team was, on whole, a massive underachieving disappointment. Bradley was right to question the team’s success (out of the tournament before the end of the first weekend), and he was unfairly called out by the coach recently when the coach got on Twitter and blasted him. I wonder if the coach also was angry at the recent Sports Illustrated article that poked fun of Hewitt over the Twittering.
CAN YOU BELIVE HE JUST SAID THAT!?!?
Speaking of Norm Hitzges from Dallas’s The Ticket 1310 AM… At one point during his interview last Wednesday on Pollack & Bell, he said “Is Wade Phillips like your Uncle Charlie after he’s had four too many beers at the family reunion? Yes!” This statement was met with uncomfortable laughter from P&B and with an eye roll from me. Dude, we don’t know your sense of humor and I’m not certain that was even funny. Build a rapport first before you bust out the bad jokes. At least when radio hosts from the ATL make bad jokes on the air, we are used to it and their shtick. That is who they are. Drop the “this works for me in Dallas, so OF COURSE it will work for me in Atlanta!” routine. It flatlined. Sorry Bro.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Midweek Entertainment report 3/24/10
The Human Torch becomes Captain America, Pirates replaces Keira with Penelope, Miley mentors the Idols and Ol' Joe drops the F-Bomb
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Midweek Entertainment report!
The crowd goes nuts, just like in Rex Manning's head!
Chris Evans has been cast as the new Captain America, set to be released in May 2011. The guy played the annoying Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies and was the Freddie Prinze knockoff in Not Another Teen Movie. Anyways, THIS GUY for Captain America? Over Chace Crawford? Really? But the crazy thing is that the movie studio signed Evans to a NINE picture deal. he is going to be in NINE MOVIES? Really? Throw him in an Iron Man sequel or something? WOW?! NINE MOVIES....
For the next Pirates movie, apparently Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are out and Johnny Depp gets a girlfriend. Yep, Penelope Cruz has signed on to be Capt Jack's love interest. OK, two beautiful people (and not the Gideon-type of BPs), I can see that. Also, Jack will go up against Blackbeard, played by Deadwood's Ian McShane. I never saw No.3, so I'm not certain how this one will turn out. No.2 was turribull enough to turn me off of the series.
Hey, Miley Cyrus was the Idol mentor last night. I wonder what advice she gave them: Have a quasi-famous one-hit-county-music-wonder, father who then forces you down Disney's throats so you then get hooked up with Nick Sparks? Is that how it works? I didn't watch, only because I will NOT support Miley's takeover of the world.
Finally, Joe Biden was caught on camera saying to Obama that the health care plan was a big f-ing deal. Joe, you aren't so good with the words and the saying things, are you big guy? Maybe you stop talking for a while?
Thanks everybody have a great day and tune in to NPR later for my Braves season preview, likely around 3:45ish on WABE 90.1 FM. SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION!
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Midweek Entertainment report!
The crowd goes nuts, just like in Rex Manning's head!
Chris Evans has been cast as the new Captain America, set to be released in May 2011. The guy played the annoying Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies and was the Freddie Prinze knockoff in Not Another Teen Movie. Anyways, THIS GUY for Captain America? Over Chace Crawford? Really? But the crazy thing is that the movie studio signed Evans to a NINE picture deal. he is going to be in NINE MOVIES? Really? Throw him in an Iron Man sequel or something? WOW?! NINE MOVIES....
For the next Pirates movie, apparently Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are out and Johnny Depp gets a girlfriend. Yep, Penelope Cruz has signed on to be Capt Jack's love interest. OK, two beautiful people (and not the Gideon-type of BPs), I can see that. Also, Jack will go up against Blackbeard, played by Deadwood's Ian McShane. I never saw No.3, so I'm not certain how this one will turn out. No.2 was turribull enough to turn me off of the series.
Hey, Miley Cyrus was the Idol mentor last night. I wonder what advice she gave them: Have a quasi-famous one-hit-county-music-wonder, father who then forces you down Disney's throats so you then get hooked up with Nick Sparks? Is that how it works? I didn't watch, only because I will NOT support Miley's takeover of the world.
Finally, Joe Biden was caught on camera saying to Obama that the health care plan was a big f-ing deal. Joe, you aren't so good with the words and the saying things, are you big guy? Maybe you stop talking for a while?
Thanks everybody have a great day and tune in to NPR later for my Braves season preview, likely around 3:45ish on WABE 90.1 FM. SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION!
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