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Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > June
June 2008
The Tuesday Countdown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10: I am not making this up: Big Brown, the horse, has been signed to a marketing deal on the chance he wins the Belmont, complete with his own Triple Crown logo. I also believe this means he will sign only Upper Deck cards and, yes, is dating Lindsay Lohan.
9: Travis Henry was released by the Denver Broncos because of his lack of commitment. Henry has nine kids by nine women in four states. So I guess this makes Mike Shanahan at least the 10th to fall for the, “Yes, I really, really love you,” line.
8: What’s the horse equivalent of, “Yes, I really, really love you”? Or when Big Brown starts hitting the singles barns after the Belmont, will he use the standard line with the fillies, “Yeah, I won a race with a cracked hoof. They wanted to shoot me. I said no”?
7: Don’t mind telling you - I’m meeting with Rick Sund Wednesday morning, and I’m a little nervous. It’s been so long since I’ve spoken to a Hawks’ general manager, I’m not sure what to ask.
6: News: MMA mutant Kimbo Slice used to be a street fighter and worked security in the porn industry. Question: Is that supposed to make him unusual for MMA?
5: The SEC announced a record $127.2 million from TV deals, bowls and championships. The conference’s 12 non-profits immediately announced plans to add practice fields, weight rooms and rotate months in a book-of-the-month club.
4: Kevin White left Notre Dame for the athletic director’s job at Duke, which means now he’ll answer to only Mike Krzyzewski.
3: There is a point at which a troubled athlete loses the benefit of the doubt. When Odell Thurman misses offseason works, his agent cites the grandmother’s death as an excuse and Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis responds, “His grandmother’s been buried for quite a while,” you know he’s lost that benefit.
2: It’s rarely worth mentioning attendance figures any more because they’re so often skewed by ticket giveaways and Pinocchios in the marketing department. But this is worth noting: According to an NHL memo obtained by the Toronto Star, the Thrashers’ ticket revenue this season averaged $550,000 per game. Only three teams - Phoenix ($450,000), Chicago and Florida ($500,000 per game) averaged less.
1: If this closer thing doesn’t work out, does John Smoltz come back as a middle reliever?
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Jackets have one more chance to brag
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Athens — If the inferiority complex on North Avenue seems slightly more pronounced of late, is it any wonder?
In March, Georgia Tech watched as the Georgia basketball team, which otherwise was barely treading water in the misery pool, won the transplanted SEC tournament at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The absurdity of this football off-season already has juxtaposed questions about Paul Johnson’s offense with the Bulldogs morphing into some fire-breathing, Skoal-spitting creature that ate Tokyo.
Baseball? Now baseball?
“Frankly,” Tech Associate Athletic Director Wayne Hogan said Sunday, “it was kind of nice being here ourselves the last couple of days.”
Yeah, well, so much for warm and fuzzy. After winning two NCAA regional games in relative peace, free of all things Bulldog, the Yellow Jackets lost a chance for some semblance of bragging rights.
For the first time in three days, they shared a field with Georgia. They lost, 8-0. This came shortly after the Bulldogs won earlier in the day, 14-3. Which came not long after Georgia nearly was bounced as regional hosts in two games.
Another one-day sweep.
Was Sundiata Gaines somewhere in the stadium?
Tech was shut out in a tournament game for the first time since 1988. That really isn’t so bad, considering it also was the first time the Jackets were blanked by Georgia since 1969 — after 126 meetings.
Nothing like a little historical pick-me-up before Monday night’s decisive game.
“I would love to win [Monday] and be the team that puts Georgia out of the tournament,” Tech outfielder Charlie Blackmon said. “It’s always a big game when we play them. But the implications are even bigger now because somebody’s going home.”
If you’re Georgia Tech, this would not be a good time to follow trends. The Jackets have faced Georgia seven times in tournament competition and lost five of them. The Bulldogs, after getting drubbed by Lipscomb in the regional opener, and falling behind against Louisville, look like a top seed again. (Their two-game totals Sunday: 22 runs, 33 hits).
The Jackets were shut out on four hits Sunday by a pitcher, Nick Montgomery, who had Tommy John surgery and is Georgia’s fourth starter — except for the fact he has beaten Tech twice this season.
“[Gordon] Beckham’s home run [against Louisville] totally changed the whole course of the tournament for them,” Tech coach Danny Hall said. “It energized them. They’ve got the momentum now.”
And Tech?
“There definitely would be some irony if we could win here,” Hall said.
Hate to put so much on one college baseball game. But Tech may want to grab some glory while it can. It’s only June, and the calendar already tilts significantly to the east.
In Athens, Mark Richt’s biggest concern is managing expectations. On North Avenue, Johnson is just hoping the fumble problems in spring were an aberration.
The Jackets could have made this easy. Win Sunday and rest until the super regional. Suddenly, they are second citizens again.
“It is different having to come here — the bar is raised a little,” Hogan said. “Any time you have to go to the other school and play one of these things, it makes it more interesting.”
Should Tech win tonight on Georgia’s field, Hogan said, “It would add some icing to the cake.”
Problem is, Tech hasn’t quite loaded up on sweet ironies of late. And bragging rights may be in the distant future.
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