This blog has moved! Yes, already!
As of Thursday, Feb. 12, this little blog has relocated to a new home on AJC.com. It’s the same newspaper, the same Web site and the same writer (feel free to groan) — there’s just a new URL.
New features: Bigger type, more graphics, comments that load 10 times faster and a larger and more recent photo that makes me look pretty doggone old. I think you’ll like it (the blog, not the photo). But I am, as we know too well, often wrong.
Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > October > 27
Monday, October 27, 2008
Bradley’s Buzz: It’s a celebration!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who does Georgia play this week, anyway?
Just kidding. You already know. And so did the many voices who weighed in on the Bulldogs’ Baton Rouge beatdown of LSU. Esteemed former colleague Mark Schlabach, who now works for ESPN.com, spun things forward (as we say in the news biz) toward the game in Jacksonville. So did Dave Curtis of Sporting News Today, who delved deep into a certain celebration from yesteryear.
Writing for CBSsports.com, Gary Parrish focused on the maturation of Matthew Stafford, which becomes more evident with each week. Meanwhile, Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun believes the hated Gators are peaking at the right time.
In the Orlando Sentinel, Mike Bianchi reports that Tim Tebow and his mates declined comment about Georgia’s celebration, which Mikey — he’s a friend — takes as a sign the Gators are, you know, ticked. And Stewart Mandel of SI.com opines that “emotion/revenge” will tell the tale of Florida-Georgia.
To which I say: Uh, no. Emotion is a major part of any sport, sure, but execution is a bigger part. It always cracks me up when somebody watching the Super Bowl says, “It will come down to which team wants it more.” No, it won’t. Both teams want it as much as humanly possible, but only one team will make the requisite plays.
So which team has better playmakers? I say Georgia. You might say otherwise.
Les Miles and the English language
As noted by this correspondent last January, LSU coach Les Miles has a flair for verbiage uncommon to most football coaches. And I mean this not sarcastically but sincerely. I appreciate anyone who uses words adroitly.
After the Georgia game, James Varney of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, quoted linguistic Les as using the phrase “has to be comfortably corrected.” And Randy Rosetta of the Baton Rouge Advocate offered this Les-ism: “Losses, no matter how they are configured, are not what you want.”
Me, I say that beats the heck out of “Winning isn’t everything — it’s the only thing.”
Atlanta is a lousy sports town (Part 17)
The only thing new about Ryan McGee’s rip of our fair city on ESPN.com is that it takes us to task for, of all things, not supporting NASCAR. So add racin’ to the list of sports we don’t back with our pocketbooks: The Braves in the postseason, the Hawks in the regular season, the Thrashers in any season, the Falcons if they’re losing, Georgia Tech football, Georgia Tech basketball, Georgia State basketball, the Atlanta Dream and the Atlanta Silverbacks.
Just one thought, though: Has Ryan McGee noticed that everyone’s pocketbook has gotten demonstrably thinner lately?
Little love for your Atlanta Hawks
Wasn’t it only yesterday that the Hawks were supposed to be the rising team in the NBA East? So what the heck happened? Did Josh Childress mean that much?
Apparently so. ESPN.com surveyed its NBA analysts, and six of the 10 are projecting the Hawks, who last season made the playoffs for the first time since 1999, to miss them this time. And it’s worth noting — indeed, it’s rather remarkable — that the name most mentioned by these pundits isn’t Joe Johnson or Al Horford but Josh Childress, who didn’t start but who apparently made quite the impression.
Marc Stein picks the Hawks to finish 12th in the 15-team East, citing concerns about “in-house chemistry.” John Hollinger, who lives in Atlanta, picks them to finish 13th, claiming the bench “is a FEMA disaster zone” without you-know-who.
For an even more revealing assessment, check out this view from an opposing scout, as parlayed by Ian Thomsen of SI.com. The scout isn’t high on Johnson, Mike Bibby, Flip Murray or Maurice Evans, but likes Horford a lot and proclaims himself “a Mike Woodson fan.” (This makes a total of one.)
The scout also contends the Hawks would be better served using Marvin Williams as a sub and says they won’t maximize their potential until Horford plays power forward, as opposed to center. I know two people who vehemently disagree with the latter notion: One is Rick Sund, the Hawks’ new general manager; the other is yours truly.
For the record, the print edition of Sports Illustrated, on stands now, tabs the Hawks 11th in the East — again, out of the playoffs. But Marty Burns of SI.com puts the Hawks 17th overall and eighth in the East in his preseason power ratings. So there’s hope, sort of.
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