Where did Jeff go?
He’s moved to a new location. Check him out on the new blogging platform and let him know what you think.
Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > July
July 2008
Braves have money to spend, rebuild
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Given that the line between sports and accounting blurred years ago, the Braves could be excused if they viewed this off-season much like Ms. Peebles in bookkeeping. Never mind the names, the Q-scores or the legacies of exiting players. How fat are the paychecks?
The $14 million pitcher has probably run out of medical miracles.
The $15.975 million pitcher is back from the dead, but too late to resuscitate the banking industry.
The $12.5 million first baseman was dumped for somebody younger, cheaper and not represented by Scott Boras.
The $8 million pitcher has an elbow screaming for retirement.
The $7 million outfielder: an expiring stopgap.
Make way. The Braves are about to head somewhere they haven’t really been in years. The mall.
“It’s a situation we relish, and we’re looking at this off season with great enthusiasm,” said Braves chairman Terry McGuirk.
Let me translate: Nordstrom!
“We know with the kind of money we have coming off the books, we can talk to anybody we want in the marketplace,” McGuirk continued. “There’s certainly a healthy bit of skepticism about the efficiency and the effectiveness of the free-agent marketplace. But we have the ability to go out and get a real horse who can help take us to the top.”
No more plugging holes with slight irregulars or Corky Millers.
Hello, C.C. Sabathia or Ben Sheets?
The Braves might lose five of the top seven salaries from this year’s payroll: Mike Hampton, John Smoltz, Mark Teixeira (already traded), Tom Glavine and Mark Kotsay.
There are different ways to interpret the numbers. In terms of straight salary and bonuses, those five players earn a combined $57,475,184. The Braves have it as something closer to $47 million (and the total payroll as $90-92 million, not $102,365,683). They count only $8 million of Hampton’s $15,975 million salary because that’s their prorated share of his contract, which also has been paid by Colorado and New York. They’re paying only $2 million of Kotsay’s $7 million (Oakland picks up the rest).
No matter. Either way, it’s corporate-weasel nirvana.
Which brings us to Liberty Media. The Braves’ owners really haven’t been tested yet. Their brief tenure hasn’t been the they’re-only-here-for-the-tax-write-off disaster many had forecasted. But neither has the team broke the bank on spending. The Braves’ payroll is up $10 to $12 million over the past two years after holding at about $80 million (Braves’ computations) for three seasons.
What’s to stop a Colorado-based media company from looking at next season with a sense of doom and thinking, “What a fine time to shift some of those millions to marketing porcelain dolls (or pitchers) on QVC?”
McGuirk: “They don’t get involved.”
An owner not involved?
“Liberty Media owns the team. But they’ve allowed the management of the Braves to determine those answers. It’s totally left up to us — 100 percent. They’ve chosen to not have any operating activity. There’s no second-guessing whatsoever. I’ve said that before but people don’t believe me.”
When asked if that meant the Braves were free to balloon the payroll to $200 million, McGuirk said: “I have some sense of what would be the right thing to do. I’m not going to do something stupid.”
McGuirk speculated the team’s payroll would rise slightly next season. But even at status quo, the Braves suddenly have flexibility. That hasn’t been the case since it more than doubled from $50 million in 1997 to $106 million in 2003. That was the year the franchise lost $35 million.
“We had about five years of dwindling attendance and rising payroll,” McGuirk said. “It didn’t take an economic genius to know something had to change.”
So began the slashing. A perfect storm of broken down bodies and expiring contracts has killed the season but plowed the field.
McGuirk calls it “the first time we’ve really had the chance to have a rebuilding effort.” And $47 million will buy a lot of parts.
Permalink | Comments (158) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Stick a fork in Braves, they’re done
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The day after a second straight meltdown in Philadelphia, the Braves put two more players on the disabled list. This time it was just their best starting pitcher and their best position player.
So much for the post-season tease.
Nobody’s even debating any more that it’s over. Not Chipper Jones, who said circumstances and “all the rumors floating around here” dictate that “we’re already pointing to next year.” Not Frank Wren, the general manager, who said “a half-dozen” roster players are the subject of trade conversations and that, yes, discussions have been stepped up in the last 24 hours.
Manager Bobby Cox would sooner bite down on a cyanide capsule before admitting in July that it’s over. But when asked if his players required any sort of pep talk before the start of a homestand, he said: “I’ve already talked to them.”
When?
“In Florida [last week]. What’s there left to say? Who are you gonna yell at?”
The Braves have 57 games left, concession speeches notwithstanding. But take a good look. A team so many expected could compete for a title — and might have, if not for the smell of napalm in the clubhouse — is further away than any of us could have imagined.
The reasons go beyond the possible career wraps of John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. They also go beyond the latest pitching casualty, Tim Hudson, who went on the disabled list with elbow problems and will be examined in Birmingham by Dr. James Andrews, who really should just move his practice here to save the team mileage.
(In a good year, maybe Hudson only has inflammation. Given this season, expect word to come down of an amputation.)
The real state of the Braves? Consider the ones who aren’t injured. Mark Teixeira: packed. Will Ohman: on several teams’ hot list. Jeff Francoeur, Mark Kotsay and Kelly Johnson: given circumstances and logic, all likely are part of trade discussions.
To recap, that’s first base, second base, center field, right field and a key member of the bullpen. It doesn’t mean all will be traded. But if all are available, doesn’t that speak volumes about the future?
Like the rest of Atlanta, the Braves are covered with “For Sale” signs. The difference: Wren absolutely will move some property. Trade talks have been going on for weeks, he said.
But: “We’re in a position now to take those conversations further.” That wasn’t so subtle.
“When you come out of spring training and you feel like you have a good team, the last thing you want to do is get to Aug. 1 and trade parts of that team away,” Wren said. “That’s not the reason we do this [job]. But when you’re faced with it, you want to get the best return.”
Monday was like a bad, pre-1991 flashback. St. Louis led 8-0 in the fourth earning before Cox walked to the mound carrying an urn to sweep up the remains of starter Charlie Morton.
Before the season, the only guy less on the radar than Morton was the catcher he was attempting to throwing to, Clint Sammons. Sammons was replacing the slightly concussed Brian McCann, who isn’t on the disabled list but is mumbling something about being late for a tea party.
The Braves blew leads of 9-3 and 5-0 in Philadelphia and lost, 10-9 and 12-10. At least they didn’t keep anybody in suspense Monday. The Cardinals led, 9-0, about the time Wren learned of Hudson’s ominous MRI.
“Throw a yellow flag for piling on,” he said.
Jones somehow managed to stay off the DL until Monday. But his right quad and left hamstring hurts, and he couldn’t even hit off a “T” the other day. It’s so over, and Jones knows what’s coming.
“There’s three teams in front of us in the division, and the likelihood of all three of them collapsing is not probable,” he said. “The brass has to make the decision: Do we make trades?”
Easy answer.
Permalink | Comments (140) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Camp quiet and Falcons will take it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch — One year to the day after the street out front looked like Tiananmen Square, and a plane circled the practice field dragging a banner reading, “New team name? Dog-killers,” and Bobby Petrino mumbled something about honor, commitment and, “Whoa, look at the time! Gotta go,” the Falcons opened training camp again Saturday.
Hello? Where’d everybody go?
If a team’s season is like a book, the Falcons did it all wrong last season. They didn’t build to anything. Everything blew up in chapter one. The rest of the book read like Arthur Blank wandering around trashed acreage, carrying a shoulder sack and one of those pointy sticks used to pick up garbage.
By comparison, Saturday was like watching Yanni and wearing bunny slippers.
No protesters. No pickets. No dogs, no aircraft, no media circus. It might have seemed slightly muted for opening day of an NFL training camp. But the Falcons will take it.
Embrace the boredom. Embrace the solitude. Embrace the football coach, Mike Smith, who spent the morning encouraging players, smiling at fans, answering questions in a media session and, gosh, actually seemed like he wanted to be here.
Blank, the owner, embraced it all. He doesn’t know how good (or bad) his team will be. He continues to desperately schmooze sponsors and hawk season tickets. (How about allowing kids with their Falcon goody bags to stand on the field during practice?) But the focus was on more mundane matters than felony charges and dead pitbulls.
“Like I told a guy last night, when he wanted to talk about No. 7 again, I’m done with that,” Blank said. “I’m into the now and the future. I’m done with the past. Our focus is where we are and where we’re going. We closed that door a long time ago.”
Note the subtlety. Blank didn’t even mention Michael Vick by name.
OK, maybe not so subtle.
This training camp isn’t merely devoid of protagonists, it’s short on name recognition. General manager Thomas Dimitroff orchestrated a roster flush the likes of which this franchise has never seen. Dunn, Crumpler, Hall, Coleman, Gandy.
Even the recent high draft pick, Jimmy Williams, wasn’t near a Falcon receiver in practice Saturday — but then he never was.
There are only a few veterans around to tell the others where the bathrooms are.
“It’s amazing,” said 10th-year center Todd McClure. “I’ve got all the team pictures through the years. I was looking at them and from our ‘04 team, I think it’s just me, [Keith] Brooking, [Kynan] and [Todd] Weiner. I guess it’s just the nature of the beast.”
The beast last year mutated beyond recognition. Change was going to be a mandate. But the fact the Falcons have already hit bottom in terms of being a punch line doesn’t mean they’re going to be any better. They won four games last season. One national publication has them winning one this year.
Brooking said, “I’m excited about this team and the guys we’ve got here.” That doesn’t really count, because the Titantic could be going down and Brooking would say, “I’m excited to have this chance to swim.”
But the freshness, the newness, of it all at least creates some intrigue.
“Two years after the Super Bowl win in Baltimore, we came to camp with 13 players from that team,” said Smith, the Ravens’ former assistant. “So I’ve been in situations where young guys had the opportunity to compete.
“This camp is going to bring some clarity to our football team. But we’re not going to know the answers in two weeks. It’s probably going to be four weeks before we know that.”
If then.
“Of course, as a coach, you’d like to have your roster set,” he said. “Some clubs probably have 45 of their 53-man roster set already. Our situation is much different. You can make that a little unsettling.”
But this kind of unsettling, they’ll take. A coach talking about open competition? It’s relative therapy.
Permalink | | Categories: Falcons/NFL
Hawks swear there’s a plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There is a scene in “Animal House” — after John Belushi screams something about Germans and Pearl Harbor and the Delta house wreaks havoc on the annual homecoming parade — when the townsfolk go bonkers, run down Main Street and trample the poor ROTC schlep as he pleas, “Remain calm! All is well.”
I’m fairly certain Michael Gearon Jr. wasn’t wearing an ROTC uniform Thursday as we spoke by phone. But I couldn’t shake the visual of footprints on his forehead as he said, “I’m confident we have the solutions. We have a plan.”
It’s July. The Hawks’ first game is nearly three months away. There is ample time for a basketball team to replace its sixth man, albeit a very good sixth man. But if there’s relative panic in the streets over Josh Childress fleeing to Greece — is this even worse than losing a player to the Clippers? — it’s because dread has become a conditioned response in most things related to our city’s NBA franchise.
These are the Hawks. They’re supposed to wear exploding clown shoes, right? If these were the Lakers, the Celtics, the Pistons, the Spurs, nobody melts down when Childress declares, “My heart belongs to Olympiakos. And which way to the ATM?”
Our head tells us Childress is not worth $10 million a year.
Our damaged psyche reminds us of so much baggage and screams that, somewhere along the way, the Hawks must have driven him to madness.
This is what you’re battling if you’re Gearon, one of the team’s owners. Fans and media see a head coach rehired to mixed reviews, a key player leave and a star, Josh Smith, seemingly nowhere close to an agreement. It’s easy to assume the usual: ugh.
“I disagree completely,” Gearon said when asked about negative perceptions. “You’re saying it doesn’t look good that we weren’t willing to pay Josh Childress $10 million a year. But if we did that, I’d expect you to write, ‘What the hell are those guys doing?’ If you give out bad contracts, you can’t compete. Are pieces needed to make the team better? Yes. But [general manager] Rick [Sund] is working right now to make us a better team.
“What’s frustrating to me is the perception that we didn’t offer more money than every NBA team to keep him. There’s never been a European offer like this. Now there has been. Was Josh Childress worth $10 million to the Atlanta Hawks?”
And then this: “No matter what we do, I think some people will look at us as the glass being half-empty.”
Gearon says he doesn’t believe the Hawks should have handled negotiations any differently. He talks about how no other restricted free agents have been signed. He admits there were “a couple” of sign-and-trade possibilities involving Childress, but said: “What they were willing to give back was garbage. We’re not going to take back garbage.”
Left unsaid: Childress seemed more willing to play elsewhere than here, by the mere fact his agent was trying to orchestrate a sign-and-trade. There’s also this: If an athlete is completely sold on an organization, its direction and a head coach, he’s probably not considering a recruiting trip to Europe — even at $10 million a year.
But Gearon is correct about one thing: Losing Childress does not tip this offseason one way or the other. It just makes things more difficult. Losing Smith — that would be worthy of a stampede.
“With Childress, because he was here, you tend to look at things from more of an emotional standpoint,” he said. “Am I enthusiastic about this team? Yes, and we’re working on things right now that are a testament to that. I still feel excited about where we’re headed.”
All is well, Gearon said.
But pardon if that alone doesn’t calm the masses.
Permalink | Comments (89) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA
The Tuesday Countdown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10: Mike Hampton will throw a bullpen session today. It will be immediately followed by the second part of our double feature, “Dawn of the Dead.”
9: Frank Wren has been taking some abuse for the Braves’ implosion this season. But the criticism is borderline baseless. John Smoltz had been a relative iron man the last three seasons since transitioning back to starter. Tom Glavine had never been on the disabled list in his career. There was no way to foresee Jeff Francoeur’s problems or Mark Teixeira’s relative pedestrian season or any of the other injuries that have wrecked this season. In short, everything that could’ve gone wrong did.
8: A leftover quote from Wren Monday on the difficulty of declaring the Braves sellers at the deadline: “It’s certainly one of the toughest decisions [of my tenure]. But it’s also one of those things that you’re going by feel. It’s not like, ‘OK, if we’re a certain number of games out on this date, we’re sellers.’ You’re kind of looking at the club and the way it’s playing, and you’re also thinking, ‘If this is all we’re doing this year, we have to make the ballclub better going forward.’ “
7: Infomercial: For those in the Notorious DOB club of baseball and music junkies, you’re missing something if you haven’t heard, The Baseball Project’s, “Volume One: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails.” It was partly written and sung by long-time friend Steve Wynn, who collaborated with Scott McCaughey (Minus 5, REM), Peter Buck (REM) and Linda Pitmon. The song about the late Harvey Haddix is so good that his former wife, Marcia, emailed Steve and hoped it would push baseball to further recognize his 12-plus inning perfect game (which ended in the 13th). For what it’s worth, I wrote something on Steve for “Access Atlanta.” The link.
6: I know, it’s not the NBA. But if I’m Josh Childress and I could make $20 million for three years to play basketball in Greece, I’m pretty sure I can get past the fact I’m not in the NBA.
5: It’s common to have rumors about unsigned players going elsewhere. Many are planted by agents. But in the cases of Childress and Josh Smith, are you getting the feeling that they really aren’t that anxious to come back here? And how long ago does that playoff series against the Celtics now seem?
4: The disgraced Marion Jones, who lied in a federal drug investigation and, more importantly, to sports writers, has asked the guy in the White House for a Presidential pardon. She wants her six-month jail term commuted. What a wonderful addition to Bush’s legacy that would be. Is she that deluded?
3: For all the dolts who bashed former Thrashers assistant coach Brad McCrimmon and blamed him even a little bit for the team’s faceplant last season, hear this: He just got hired by the Detroit Red Wings, the NHL’s best team, as an assistant to Mike Babcock. (Credit to pal Craig Custance of The Sporting News, formerly of the AJC, for getting the story before anybody in Detroit. Custance will be moving back to Michigan soon. I believe it was a package deal with McCrimmon and Marian Hossa.)
2: One more hockey note: The signing of Marty Reasoner officially gives the Thrashers 27 fourth-line centers, a franchise record.
1: Madonna. A-Rod. Report of a sex tape. Comment: I’m assuming he didn’t close the deal in October.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment |
The Braves are sellers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the past several weeks, as the Braves’ season has fizzled and the pitching staff began resembling the before picture at a prosthesis convention, there has been this debate about what to do with Mark Teixeira.
If nothing else, what happened this past weekend should unify the masses.
After struggling to convince themselves they were still in the playoff race at the All-Star break, the Braves lost consecutive home games to the Washington Nationals, or possibly Generals, by combined score of 23-8.
When any August-September miracle hinges largely on the rejuvenation of Tom Glavine and the reconstruction of Humpty Dumpty (Mike Hampton), it’s so over.
Mark Teixeira: Good player. Nice guy. Not a difference maker. Goodbye.
Frank Wren wouldn’t divulge as much Monday. He says he hasn’t made up his mind yet. But he reiterated comments about the need to look to the future if the Braves’ present sat at the intersection of Rigor and Mortis.
This time, the words carried more weight.
“We didn’t play well against a team we should’ve played well,” said the Braves’ general manager. “So if that’s an indication how we’re going to do between now and the trade deadline, we’re not going to get back in it.”
And then: “If this isn’t our year, we have to make the ballclub better going forward.”
Wren certainly picked a fine time to take over for John Schuerholz. Home builders have had better years.
The Braves as sellers. Let that one sink in for a while. We haven’t seen this for 18 years. In 1990, the Braves dealt Dale Murphy to Philadelphia. Even then, Murphy was on the downside of his career and the team had David Justice to take over in right field.
The Braves as sellers. Get used to it. To think any other way regarding Teixeira is nonsensical.
He’s good. He’s not great. He hasn’t made the Braves better. He’ll likely bolt and chase the money in free agency. End of discussion.
The Braves were 56-51 last season the day they acquired Teixeira. They are 74-79 since. Is that a difference-maker?
They were 46-52 going into Monday’s game at Florida. In the last two months, they have had one winning streak as long as three games. Still optimistic about passing three teams in the National League East?
The injuries to the pitching staff: not Teixeira’s fault.
Jeff Francoeur’s meltdown: not Teixeira’s fault.
But 5-22 in one run games? Yeah, that’s partly on him.
Elite players should make a difference. Elite players shouldn’t hit .306 at home but only .245 on the road, where the Braves have the third-worst record in baseball. Elite players, franchise players, difference-making players — they don’t build statistics merely by hitting two home runs in 15-6 losses to the Nationals.
Teixeira hit .259 with runners in scoring position in June. He was hitting only .235 in those situations in July going into Monday. His career average with RISP before this season: .327. This year: .278. Bad timing.
He leads the Braves in home runs and RBIs. But forget numbers for a moment. Can you remember his last big moment?
Two seasons.
Two non-playoff seasons.
End of discussion.
Schuerholz swung the trade at the deadline last year. The Braves gave up five prospects, including Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Some believed that to be too much for an impending free agent. Actually, it sent the right message. It was aggressive. It just didn’t work.
Now it’s time to cut losses. There will be a market for Teixeira — potentially at least the Angels and Red Sox. A trade is the only thing that makes sense.
The Braves … as sellers? Wren realizes the oddity of what he’s facing.
“We’re all accustomed to being on the other side,” he said. “It’s strange. When you’re a buyer, you’re looking at major league talent. When you’re a seller, you’re looking at players just below the surface. You’re looking at a different talent pool.”
Go ahead and look. The debate’s over.
Permalink | Comments (171) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Georgia man is first veteran of Iraq
to qualify for Paralympics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Grovetown, Ga. — There was another call today from the hospital for help. A soldier returned home from Iraq, broken. Some of his limbs no longer function. The mind and senses seem numb to life around him. Eyes empty. Hope lost. They try counseling him but he barely responds.
“I was there — I know exactly what he’s feeling,” Scott Winkler said.
He is sitting in a wheelchair in the living room of his home, just outside of Augusta. The house doesn’t stand out from others on the street, except for the American flag hanging out front and the handicapped-equipped pickup truck parked in the driveway.
Five years ago, Winkler was on duty in Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein. He was unloading ammunition from a truck when his boot got tangled with a tie-down strap. He fell and hit the ground with the ammo on top of him, his body horribly twisted. Surgeries followed. He almost died as organs began to shut down.
Depression lingered long after doctors saved him. One day, he was so down that he told his wife, “Just leave me.” Eventually, she did.
So when somebody from the VA hospital telephones to tell Winkler that a soldier has returned from Iraq paralyzed or limbless and needs somebody to talk to, he doesn’t hesitate.
“Usually they’re just sitting there in a room, trying to figure out what to do next,” he said. “They’re asking themselves, ‘Why me? Why now? I’m worthless. Why am I here?’ You look out a window and you see people running around, enjoying life and you think, ‘I used to do that. I don’t care anymore.’ You go into a shell. It’s tough. It’s very tough. That was me. I didn’t want to talk to anybody.”
Now he even seeks out those who don’t want to listen.
‘This way for a reason’ It’s an Olympic year. Meet one of your heroes. Scott Winkler, 35, has overcome tragedy and redefined his existence. The Olympics are one of the last vestiges of pure sport — obscure athletes from obscure places in obscure events, competing for medals and country — and Winkler embodies it all.
He is a paraplegic. He also is an official ambassador for the USOC and will compete in the shot put in the Paralympics, which will take place in Beijing following the Olympics. More than that, Winkler is a war survivor and a pioneer for disabled veterans.
He was the first Iraq veteran to qualify for the Paralympics, an event he once knew little about. The same Winkler whom friends once knew as introverted now is the poster boy for rehabilitation. He counsels disabled veterans. He co-founded “Champions Made From Adversity,” which creates recreation programs for the disabled. He is in demand as a speaker. He will be among a select group of Olympians and Paralympians who will dine at the White House on July 21.
The fact he set a world record for the adaptive shot put seems almost an afterthought.
“I guess I was put this way for a reason,” he said, looking down at his legs. “I finally found my reason for becoming disabled.”
His rebirth became an inspiration.
Seventeen Iraqi veterans, injured either in or out of combat, pursued spots on the U.S. Paralympic team. Winkler and two others made it — swimmer Melissa Stockwell of Colorado and discus thrower Carlos Leon of Florida.
In 2004, Stockwell was part of a convoy when a roadside bomb blew off her left leg and knocked her Humvee into a guardrail. She left the Army with a Purple Heart and a prosthetic leg.
Leon was a Marine sergeant. A few weeks after returning home from Iraq in 2005, he suffered a broken neck in a diving accident in Hawaii. In medical terms, he is an “incomplete” quadriplegic. After extensive therapy, he has use of his arms and can stand and walk for brief periods.
Denial, anger, depression Winkler and other vets were introduced to paralympic sports through the Military Sports Summit, which began in 2005. “We asked him, and he said no, but we signed him up anyway,” friend Judie Thompson said. Winkler, Thompson and Jeff Snover, another disabled veteran, are partners in the “Champions” venture.
“When I met Scott, all he would do was fish,” Thompson said. “Now he’s everywhere. I can say something [to a disabled person], but it means more coming from Scott. “There’s a lot of anger [with some disabled veterans], but Scott can get past that anger. He can get past the worry because he’s been through all of it. He was married, now he’s not. He’s not just somebody saying, ‘Come on, you can do this.’ “
As a youth in Pittsburgh, Winkler was attracted to the military lifestyle. He looked up to his uncle, Ron Nitchie, who served in Vietnam. The uncle survived but returned damaged. It was almost 30 years later when he was diagnosed with cancer, the result of coming in contact with Agent Orange. He died two years ago.
“I got to see him just before he passed away,” Wink- ler said. “I told him, ‘If I get a chance to go to Beijing, I’ll win a gold for you.’”
Winkler was 21 when he enlisted in the Army. He served in Iraq in 1995, made it back safely, then returned in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. This time he wasn’t as fortunate. He had been there less than two months when he was sent into a “hot zone” in Tikrit to deliver ammunition. Somebody cut the ammo straps but forgot to pull them out. Winkler didn’t notice, and as he stood on the bed of the truck, his boot caught. He fell eight feet to the ground, while holding 50 pounds of ammo and wearing 40 pounds of gear.
“When I hit the ground I was on my back and the rounds were on my chest,” he said.
At first there was no pain. But others looked down in horror.
“They said, ‘Don’t move,’ ” Winkler recalled.
Then he looked. His lower torso was twisted.
“Initially, I didn’t feel anything,” he said. “Then the pain starts. The shock starts. I don’t remember much after that. You pretty much go into la-la land.”
There are stages to these things. Denial, anger, depression, acceptance. At some point, Winkler added a new one: humor.
“Nobody told me my ass was so big,” he joked.
Later, when asked if there was anything he believed he couldn’t do, he responded: “Stand-up comedian.”
He smiles as he looks at his wristband, which reads, “Gimpin’ Ain’t Easy.”
“We all have to have a sense of humor,” he said. “I mean, I’m still alive.”
‘Put on the USA uniform’ Winkler spent a year in hospitals. But the stress wore on his marriage. He and his wife, Jennifer, divorced after 10 years, though he said they remain friends.
“Scott took it hard,” said Cheryl Snover, Jeff’s wife. “He knew the children [two stepdaughters] were not going to be in his life every day.”
He endured. He got past the depression, the bitterness. He was introduced to the adaptive shot put and soon owned a world record.
“Hidden talent,” he said.
Suddenly, his days are full, his life fulfilling. He views the Paralympics as “another chance to put on the USA uniform.”
When asked if his feelings about the Iraq war have changed, he responded: “The only thing that changed were my emotions when I got hurt and I had to leave my comrades behind. If I wasn’t paralyzed, I would go back in a heartbeat.”
“We turned that country around. We took somebody out who hurt innocent people. “People see the negative side, but there’s a lot more positives. Education. Housing. People can go out and enjoy themselves now.”
He turned around and moved into his dining room. He proudly showed off his awards and talked about the people he had met.
“I guess I’m more apt to help people now,” he said. “I feel I have a purpose now. When I went to Washington, D.C., to speak, people would come up to me and say, ‘You’ve done a lot.’ But I don’t think I’ve touched enough.”
He was one of them — broken, devoid of hope, always asking, “Why?”
There are still bad days, he said. But they are few, and he hides it.
“I’m trying to inspire people, not bring them down,” he said.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment |
Lose Smith and Hawks could be (gulp) Thrashers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The hockey team can’t offer enough to convince premier free agents to come here. The basketball team says it won’t give Josh Smith a choice.
Blessed is leverage, which gives the Atlanta Spirit owners at least a split of this offseason’s doubleheader.
The Hawks maintain they will match any offer sheets given to Smith and Josh Childress, their two restricted free agents. They’re the correct moves, the almost mandated moves — certainly with Smith, who, despite occasional geranium tendencies on the court, remains a far better player than most. In short, even when he’s bad, he’s not that bad.
To lose Smith would be a significant step back for the Hawks. Few players in the NBA can match his skill set. Rare is the player who is 6-9, can block shots, run the court, rebound, score and, by the way, is only 22.
The strongest argument against giving Smith a bloated contract is it financially ties the franchise to a player who remains immature and inconsistent. There’s also the matter of his tenuous relationship with coach Mike Woodson.
But if you’re the Hawks, can you take the chance of Smith developing with another team?
They had better use the leverage while they have it. Why? Because this is not yet a destination other players are flocking to — and we need not look far to see how negative perceptions can wreck a team’s July. Look down the hall in Philips Arena.
The NHL free-agency period began Tuesday. Well, in most cities. Thrashers general manager Don Waddell begged and whiffed. The Thrashers went hard after their No. 1 target, defenseman Brian Campbell. One report said they offered Campbell $60 million over eight years. (Waddell disputes the figure). Campbell considered the proposal, then signed with Chicago. Basically, he may have left money on the table to sign with a team that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1961. In terms of perceptions, that’s where this team is.
The Thrashers signed a decent puck-moving defenseman, Ron Hainsey, on Wednesday. But stealing players from the Columbus Blue Jackets generally doesn’t move the meter. Or the team.
Perceptions can kill a franchise. For as much as pro athletes get painted as paychecks-first creatures, most want to win. Some will take less money to play for a contending team. Some will bypass significant money to avoid playing for a loser.
Smith’s desires have been difficult to read — except those times when he has openly feuded with Woodson. (Ironically, his biggest outburst came at Philadelphia, the team now trying to lure Smith. A string of expletives directed at Woodson led to a two-game suspension.) But for somebody who was born in College Park and grew up in Atlanta, he certainly hasn’t left the impression he would do anything to stay here.
The Spirit owners at times have acted as if Smith and Childress love it here and don’t want to go anywhere. They made that same mistake with Marian Hossa, believing he would re-sign. Fact is, it was never close.
Losing Smith wouldn’t drop the Hawks to the Thrashers’ level. But it would nudge them in that direction. No sign-and-trade with the Sixers could make up for his loss. No sign-and-trade would lead anybody to believe, “The Hawks are headed in the right direction.” No sign-and-trade could make up for his scoring or lead anybody to recall three playoff wins over Boston.
Smith was in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The greeting party included the mayor. You think the Sixers aren’t going to make this difficult?
The Hawks offered Smith a $45 million extension last year. Smith asked for more. The Hawks said no.
Here we are. Smith will get more. If the money ends up coming from another team, you need not wonder what direction things are headed.
Permalink | Comments (76) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA, Thrashers/NHL
The Tuesday Countdown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10.I didn’t see the funeral procession for Uga VI. But I keep having this vision of car doors opening, several dogs jumping out and stopping to tinkle by a tree before proceeding to the gravesite.
9.Oh calm down. I love dogs, but please. The guestbook on AJC.com is now 173 pages long. The groundskeeper was a pallbearer. A Baptist preacher presided. Uga was carried in a dog crate. His entry was accompanied by “The Battle Hymn of the Bulldog Nation.” Admit it. If you lived anywhere else, you’d be falling off a chair, laughing.
8.Three Georgia players were arrested for battery over the weekend. Must be emotional fallout.
7.Alex Rodriguez has been seen recently in the company of Madonna. Must be emotional fallout.
6.Warrick Dunn never mentioned any players by name. But coming off his experiences with the Falcons, with the likes of DeAngelo Hall and Jimmy Williams, it doesn’t seem surprising he told Sportsline.com: “When I came in, my generation was different. We respected the guys who came before us. … Now you have a lot of young guys who don’t care about the past. … Don’t act like an a-hole. There are too many guys who act like that. I’ve seen too many guys who just want money and power.”
5.How long before Bobby Cox stops convincing himself that Jeff Francoeur (3-for-29, .239, .213 with runners in scoring position) will play his way out of this slump and sits the lad down for a while?
4.This is the kind of guy Bob Hartley is: I phoned him two weeks ago asking for an autographed picture as a funny going-away gift for Craig Custance, who now works for The Sporting News. Bob’s response, “I might be in Atlanta that week. What if I just come to the party?” And he did.
3.On a related note, Hartley is willing to cut you a deal on his house in Sugarloaf.
2.Don Waddell is slipping. He’s not even a good liar any more. His explanation for buying out Alexei Zhitnik less than two weeks after he said, “We think he’ll be a big part of our team,” is nonsensical. He claims things changed after the Thrashers drafted defenseman Zach Bogosian. But a veteran player doesn’t go from being “a big part” of a team to no part of a team based on one draft pick. Dept. of Duh: Waddell wanted to trade Zhitnik and couldn’t.
1.There are legitimate arguments on both sides of the, “Is Josh Smith worth the money” argument. But if you’re the Hawks, can you risk him becoming the player he can be in another city?
