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February 2009
Where did Jeff go?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Hard to watch for ex-Jacket Jack
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Most of us have become numbs to the clanks and the meltdowns by now. True, a 21-point home loss to North Carolina State might seem like a new low. But really, what’s so startling about getting smoked by one of the ACC’s worst teams when, in fact, you are the ACC’s worst team?
But Jarrett Jack — he is not numb to this. This isn’t the Georgia Tech program he grew up in. Jack defined toughness as a Tech point guard. He represented the highs under coach Paul Hewitt. But things got so bad Saturday, with Jack watching from behind the bench, that, “I wanted to jump and play.”
The NCAA would have had a problem with an NBA player on the floor. But at this point, probation might be a mercy killing.
An 86-65 loss to the Wolfpack dropped Tech to 1-10 in the ACC. The last time the team was this bad, it went 0-14 in 1981.
Jack didn’t get too worked up about that. He was born two years later. But he was so upset Saturday that he went into Tech’s locker room at halftime, unbeknownst to Hewitt, to unload on the players.
“I yelled at them a little bit,” he said. “I can’t really repeat some of the stuff I said. But they’re not playing Georgia Tech basketball. They’re not representing what we built here. This was a winnable game. You need to take more pride in yourself on your home court.”
If it’s not turnovers, it’s missed free throws. If it’s not missed free throws, it’s poor shooting. If it’s not poor shooting, it’s a sleepy defense. At various times against North Carolina State, it was all of the above.
The Jackets started well (11-5). Then they missed six layups in the first half. They were aggressive at times on defense (with 10 steals). But they got hurt when they backed up into a zone and N.C. State made seven of its first nine three-pointers.) An early six-point lead became a 16-point hole (40-24).
Perhaps inspired by Jack’s halftime speech, the Jackets closed to within three points, 47-44, in the second half. But they continued to blow shots, stretching from the 1-to-10 scale of difficulty.
The rest of the game became just another cliff to fall over.
“It’s very interesting to go through something like this,” Hewitt said later. “I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody. You learn an awful lot. You’ve heard the cliché, ‘You learn through adversity.’ Well, you learn a lot. You see a lot. You learn what people know. You learn what people have no idea about. You learn what people are talking. I don’t ever intend on going through something like this again. But as I move forward, there are certainly some things I intend on doing differently and better.”
He kept it vague. He talked about his appreciation for the support of the school’s administration and “the vast majority of the people I come in contact with,” even amid cries from some for his firing.
After the postgame news conference, he touched on some of the same themes and his surprise at the way the season has unraveled. Presumably alluding to the quick trigger by several of the nation’s athletic directors, he said: “I’ve learned that I made absolutely the right decision to come to work here at Georgia Tech.”
And then this: “But that’s no excuse for being 1-10. We’re supposed to win. We’re Georgia Tech. We’re supposed to be better. We’re absolutely supposed to be better.”
On that, his detractors find common ground. There is all this talk about next year’s great recruiting class, but we’ve certainly learned in sports that talent doesn’t always win. Something to has change.
Hewitt said, “You don’t forget how to coach over night. But you can get an idea about what can have an impact on your circumstances.”
It’s the usual: Academics. Injuries. The far-too-slow maturity process of some players.
But the coaching? Jack, who plays for Indiana, says those pushing for Hewitt’s firing are misguided.
“People shouldn’t have such short memories,” he said. “Coach Hewitt has brought a lot of success to this program. It’s way too early to even think about something like that.”
Maybe so. But this is getting old.
Permalink | Comments (63) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC
Falcons’ Brooking: ‘I know I can still play’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are certain things you expect from an NFL linebacker after 11 seasons. One is that he’ll probably look about 3 inches shorter than in his rookie season. The other is that no matter how slow or battered or spent he might seem, he isn’t likely to hyperventilate when it matters most.
In his last game for the Falcons — and it remains to be seen if it will be his last game for the Falcons — Keith Brooking now admits: “I was in a funk the whole game.” The fact that game was a playoff loss in Arizona means it will linger for a while.
“I hold myself accountable, and I’ll say that’s one of the worst games I’ve ever played,” Brooking said. “I’m never a person who makes excuses. I was extremely motivated for that game. We were back in the playoffs. I think I just let all of that take over. The adrenaline took me out of my game. I should know better from experience.”
Let’s start with what should be the obvious. Football teams do not lose games because of one player or one play. Even if no other Falcon would say they saved their worst game for Arizona, it’s at least safe to assume nobody saved their best.
But Brooking, who seemingly has been a lightning rod for criticism from some fans since signing a $42 million contract in 2003, has taken a brunt of the blame. A lot of that stems from the game’s final decisive play: a 23-yard pass to a pedestrian tight end, Stephen Spach, whom Brooking lost in coverage on third-and-16. With three minutes left and the Falcons trailing on the road 30-24, it’s not like the odds favored them winning. But given the backdrop, the play made him an easy target.
It would be a strange way for his career to end in Atlanta. He hasn’t missed so much as a play because of injury in the past eight years. He is the Falcon whose career stretches back to the Super Bowl season. He has survived four coaching staffs and three roster architects. They all must be seeing something that the message board bozo doesn’t.
But Brooking is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent — the Falcons hold an option to void the final year of his contract — and general manager Thomas Dimitroff wants to rebuild the defense. The GM has not closed the door to his return, but it would be at a significantly reduced price — and even then it depends on who else could be acquired in free agency.
Brooking wants to come back for at least one more season. He grew up here and played at Georgia Tech. Just the thought of leaving the state, he said, “seems surreal.” But he has come to realize he’s not universally embraced.
“I guess it’s already been written — my better days are behind me,” he said. “I’m a realist. Am I the same player I was four years ago? Heck no. But I felt I performed at a very high level. The one thing missing was game-changing plays.”
Brooking has led the Falcons in tackles eight straight years. In the past six, his 708 tackles are second in the NFL only to London Fletcher. Tackle totals are not trivial, but they can be misleading since they are partly dictated by scheme. As for the aforementioned game-changing plays: Brooking, who was moved to outside linebacker and rarely blitzed, did not have a sack, an interception or a forced fumble this past season.
His agent, Pat Dye Jr., said criticism “comes with the territory of signing a $42 million contract. Keith is not a guy who makes three hits a game that show up on ‘SportsCenter.’ Teams look at Brian Urlacher and think, ‘We don’t have a chance.’ Keith isn’t that guy. He’s not flashy. He’s a productive, blue-collar player.”
It will be the basis of Dye’s pitch. Brooking, meanwhile, has struggled to forget his last game. He called it, “One of the toughest things I’ve had to deal with in my career.” But he doesn’t believe it should signal the end.
“People have a right to be disappointed when key players make mistakes,” he said. “But I know I can still play. I just think I should be judged by my body of work, not one play or one game.”
Permalink | Comments (171) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
MLB players, owners should come clean
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now for the Tuesday Countdown:
10 - Tom Hicks: What an absolute tool.
9 - The biggest problem with baseball’s steroid era is the complete lack of responsibility anybody wants to accept — starting with the owners. Have you read the comments from the Texas Rangers’ owner? He says he feels “personally betrayed” by Rodriguez and addresses the “hypocrisy” of the player, given conversations the two had about being a role model.
First of all, this is the same goofball who complained about baseball’s spiraling salaries and then gave A-Rod a record $252 million contract. Hicks is the captain of the Good Ship Hypocrite. Secondly, we already have at least one former Rangers’ official, conditioning coach Fernando Montes, who says he suspected Rodriguez of steroid use in 2003 and told that to Jon Daniels, then in the personnel department. Are we to believe that news didn’t travel up the Rangers’ office flow chart?
8 - Hicks says he wants A-Rod to personally apologize to him. Try again. Hicks and every other owner should apologize for turning a blind eye to steroid use because they were more interested in selling tickets, souvenir jerseys and corporate sponsorships. We all want the athletes to come clean. It’s about time the owners come clean.
7 - I’m assuming nobody at ESPN will go on a similar rant that criticizes baseball. The last time that happened, Scott Van Pelt got suspended. As first reported by Deadspin, Van Pelt was suspended from his radio show for criticizing commissioner Bud Selig about his $18.5 million salary. There’s nothing new about somebody taking a shot at Selig, except that ESPN and baseball are partners and, well, the network also knows something about hypocrisy. Stay tuned next week when Van Pelt returns with a glowing profile on Tom Hicks.
6 - So I’m watching Obama’s press conference last night when somebody asks the President what he thinks of A-Rod’s drug admission. Just wondering: Has anybody ever asked Selig what he thinks of the economy or Iraq, because I’m sure it would be great theater.
5 - Just for the record: If Jamal Anderson really had a cocaine problem, he’d be thinner.
4 - If the Hawks are trying to hide the news of a potential ticket price increase for next season, they could not have done it more awkwardly. They announced that anybody purchasing season tickets for next season by April 1 will not see a price increase from this season. But the team didn’t say what will happen after April 1. Probably depends on the Belkin trial.
3 - It wouldn’t surprise me if Tom Glavine views the reported less than $2 million guarantee offer from the Braves as low-balling by Frank Wren. And he might be right. But that said, Glavine might want to remember what’s most important to him at this stage of his career: 1) Pitching in Atlanta; 2) Coming back from injury in a relatively low-pressure situation as the fifth starter. He should take it.
2 - BetUS.com is running odds on the most likely players outed in the 2003 steroid report. There are no Braves listed - but there is an ex-Brave (then-Ranger): Mark Teixeira at 3-1. The rest of the list: Carlos Pena (3-1) Adam Dunn (4-1), Carlos Delgado (5-1), Lance Berkman (5-1), Manny Ramirez (5-1), Jim Edmonds (5-1), Albert Pujols (8-1), David Ortiz (8-1), Ryan Howard (8-1), Adrian Beltre (8-1), Jim Thome (8-1), Vladimir Guerrero (8-1) and Prince Fielder (10-1).
1 - So far none of the other 103 players who tested positive have stepped into the light for a public cleansing. Let’s give it a few more minutes.
Permalink | Comments (40) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Others should follow A-Rod and come clean
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometime during those formative years of my kids’ lives — post-walking, pre-driving — we had several conversations about honesty.
In tones that straddled the line between nurturing and intimidating, I would pronounce: “Whatever you do, you better tell me the truth. Because if you’re lying I’m going to find out eventually, and then you’ll really be in trouble.”
It was at that point they would respond, “What?” and I realized they had their headphones on. But this exercise succeeded at least part of the time, and I’m assuming everything else will come out some day before they lock me in a home, where I can look forward to fish stick Tuesday.
Now, it might seem kind of late for this. But given ongoing steroid investigations, online pictures of a bong-hitting breaststroker and a former Falcons star being overheard snorting cocaine in the bathroom stall of a Buckhead bar (give Jamal Anderson points for ’80s nostalgia), here’s some simple advice for today’s athletes:
Don’t cheat. Don’t party. Don’t lie. You’re not getting away with anything.
If you did something years ago, come clean now. We will find out and we will take away the car keys, then possibly back over your legacy.
Alex Rodriguez was one of the 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. We were not supposed to know this. We also weren’t supposed to know about grand jury testimony linked to the federal investigation into BALCO. How did that turn out?
Rodriguez’s positive test, reported by Sports Illustrated Saturday and confirmed by Rodriguez (a credible source) Monday, was among the 1,200 screenings conducted by baseball in 2003 to determine if it had a drug problem. (Duh.) The test results were supposed to be kept private. Somebody didn’t get the memo.
Come clean, guys. Come clean now, like Rodriguez. Come clean because sports fans can be quite be forgiving, particularly when somebody is leading their team to a pennant.
Fans embrace heroes, even flawed ones. Honesty sells. Hold a press conference, declare what you did, when you did it, why you did it and let’s move on.
In the steroid era, admission is the mother of all closures.
Eventually, we will find out. Everything. Between social networks, camera phones and websites that exist largely to humiliate, there’s little we don’t know. If Lee Harvey Oswald had a Facebook account, I’m certain we could have learned a lot more from one of his postings than the Warren Commission told us.
Spring training opens this week. If Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens had admitted things by now, arguably the game’s greatest player and one of its greatest pitchers might be in uniform. Instead, both are conferencing with attorneys.
They stick a syringe in their arm and think we won’t find out. How is that possible?
We don’t even need leaked lab results or grand jury testimony.
A former girlfriend (Kimberly Bell) outed Bonds.
A little known personal trainer (Brian McNamee) crushed Clemens.
A former clubhouse gopher (Kirk Radomski) spilled everything he knew about what was going in New York.
A reporter walked by Mark McGwire’s locker in 1998 during the ratings-saving home run chase and noticed a large container with a label, “Androstenedione.” Big word. Big guy.
Jose Canseco, published author, has been made out to be one of the world’s lowest life forms, just ahead of algae and Rod Blagojevich. But almost everything he wrote in his books, “Juiced” and “Vindicated,” has panned out.
Canseco linked Rodriguez with steroids last year. So many mocked him. Part of that stemmed from Bonds’ artificially enhanced home run record and the belief — or hope — that A-Rod was clean and eventually would pass him.
Three things fueled the steroid era: greed, ego and arrogance. Greed to be rich. Ego to be adored. Arrogance to believe you can get away with it.
But now everything is coming out. There’s another 103 players from that 2003 list who are sitting somewhere in a cold sweat. They’re at the mercy of the next unnamed source.
This would be a good time for them to take off the headphones and listen: Come clean now. Because if you’re lying, we’re going to find out. There’s no place to hide any more.
Permalink | Comments (63) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves/MLB
Dallas messed up with Dan Reeves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s still not out of his system. He is 65 years old and six years removed from his last coaching job. He has weekly radio shows, sits in a broadcast booth every NFL Sunday and is financially secure. Why isn’t that enough for Dan Reeves?
“I haven’t been able to get it out of me,” he said Thursday. “I was in Dallas, watching film with their coaches for 2 1/2 days, studying their running game. It felt great. It got my heart beating.”
Dan Reeves wants back in football. To say he is desperate would be overstating things because otherwise he would be in the employ of the Dallas Cowboys today.
The former Falcons coach temporarily shelved a job offer to be San Francisco’s offensive coordinator nearly two weeks ago so that he could explore a sudden opportunity with Dallas, where he played and coached for 16 years. Two days later, when he believed the position as Cowboys’ “advisor” was secure, he turned the 49ers down. But Reeves ended up with nothing when he and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could not agree on contract language.
This may all seem a little strange, except that we are talking about the Cowboys, the most high profile dysfunctional franchise in professional sports. Reeves yearned to help his friend, coach Wade Phillips, elevate the team to something north of cartoon. Instead, he ended up walking out.
“They say hindsight’s 20-20,” Reeves said, when asked about turning down the offer from 49ers coach Mike Singletary. “I guess I can say now I should’ve taken the job out there. But for family reasons, Dallas was a better opportunity.”
He played and coached for 16 years in Dallas. He has two daughters who live there. His son-in-law, Joe DeCamillis, just became the Cowboys’ special teams coach.
“It seemed like a great fit,” he said.
Reeves said the two sides had reached a verbal agreement on salary and responsibilities. He would have input on personnel, philosophy and game plans. He would help in issues related to moving into the Cowboys’ new stadium.
He would be called only “advisor,” which left his job description intentionally broad and vague.
But when Reeves saw the actual contract Wednesday, something was wrong.
“The deal was basically done,” he said. “Then I got the new contract and there were things in there I felt I couldn’t live with. I talked to Jerry at noon. He felt those things were important to him but I felt they were important to me. In the end, we thought it was best to move on.”
The Cowboys released a statement, saying only that they were “unable to reach an agreement [on] details.”
Reeves again: “It’s so trivial that if I tell you, people will say, ‘That’s ridiculous. Why couldn’t you just sign the contract?’ But if it’s that important to me and him, maybe it’s not ridiculous.”
You know what’s ridiculous? That regardless of what this minor issue was, Jones wouldn’t make a concession. It would have been Dallas one step closer to normalcy. Instead, he’s still sharing office space with Terrell Owens.
Reeves is too bright, too classy and certainly too available to not be part of an NFL organization. He was a head coach for 23 years in Denver, New York and Atlanta. He coached the Falcons to an improbable Super Bowl in 1998. But he was fired five years later after a 3-10 start, a season in which Michael Vick watched from the sideline on crutches with a broken leg. The season before with Vick, the Falcons went 9-6-1 and upset Green Bay in the playoffs.
Vick’s greatest success came under Reeves. When San Francisco hired former Falcons quarterback coach Mike Johnson — who recommended Reeves to Singletary — and offered the coordinator’s job to Reeves, some speculated the 49ers were preparing to sign Vick. But Reeves said, “That was never mentioned to me.”
He still wants to coach. Knee replacement surgeries have him feeling stronger than in years. The postseason gave him an adrenaline rush.
If another opportunity comes up, Reeves said, “I would be interested, for sure.”
Instead, it’s probably back to a radio booth. “I had put all that stuff aside, not thinking I would be going back to it,” he said.
Suddenly, retirement seems out of place.
Permalink | Comments (47) | Post your comment | Categories: Falcons/NFL
UGA basketball can win titles, if AD hires right coach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In his four and a half years as Georgia’s athletic director, Damon Evans has hired a women’s golf coach, a women’s soccer coach and a women’s volleyball coach.
I’m sure they’re all very fine people, and one day I might even know their names.
This isn’t to short-change anything that Evans has accomplished during his tenure. Georgia has one of the premier athletic departments in the nation. It scores high in the campus version of mind-body-spirit: facilities- fundraising-wins. Evans is a significant reason why.
But his resume has a blank page.
Fair or unfair, an athletics director often is judged by the success of the football and/or basketball coaches he hires. Evans didn’t hire Mark Richt or Dennis Felton (though he had input on the Felton hiring, whom he just fired). That’s not a knock on him. It’s just circumstances.
Florida’s Jeremy Foley probably has excelled in areas most people don’t realize. All most us know is, he’s the guy who hired Urban Meyer and Billy Donovan. For that, we view him as Zeus.
“Not to discount any of the hires we’ve made here,” Evans said Tuesday, “but I understand the magnitude of this.”
Firing Felton was not a sudden thought. The belief is that Evans planned to do so 11 months ago. Then the Bulldogs went on that improbable run in the SEC tournament, and Evans really had no choice but to hope there would be some sort of carryover. There wasn’t.
To realize where this is going, you need to understand something about Evans. Basketball is one of his passions. He was the MVP of high school team and might’ve played it in college, except that, well, no D-1 school was offering a scholarship.
When he was the associate A.D. under Vince Dooley, Evans and other coaches often played pickup basketball games. One of the players in those games, swim coach Jack Bauerle, joked: “I tried never to argue with him because I sensed one day he might be my boss. He’s a pretty competitive guy. Even though those games were just for fun, they weren’t leisurely. If Damon ever lost, he’d say, ‘OK, we’re doing this one again.’ “
Evans was a wide receiver at Georgia. But the basketball team’s struggles always have gnawed at him, particularly with the rise of programs at Florida and Tennessee.
“I’ve been thinking about building Georgia basketball for a long, long time — ever since I first got here,” he said. “We’ve had a few good stints, but that’s not enough. I’m looking at things from a business standpoint. When you stand back, you ask: What is not living up to its potential? What can give us more visibility and create more excitement on campus? Basketball hasn’t allowed us to do that.”
Evans said he wants a coach who has experience running a major program. He wants someone who understands how athletics and academics work together. Finally, he wants someone “who can get out there and recruit players and bring some talent to the university.”
I can think of a lot of reasons why Bobby Knight is a bad fit in Athens, but there’s a big one right there: Not a lot of top recruits want to play for him. It’s the primary reason his teams failed to win an NCAA tournament game in nine of his last 13 seasons. (And do you want a 68-year-old, to say nothing of an obstinate, ticking time bomb, when you’re trying to establish long-term success?)
How high are Evans’ expectations?
“I want to win championships,” he said. “I think we have to awake the sleeping giant.”
It’s an attitude that’s long overdue. Evans pushed for the new training facility adjacent to Stegeman Coliseum, and said of criticism of the arena: “When you lose, people look for excuses why.”
He’s right. Guess what, folks: Sanford Stadium is no palace. Neither are half the college basketball arenas in the country. If games sell out, it’s because of the product. It doesn’t matter if the place looks like a cow pen. Have you been to Cameron Indoor Stadium?
There is only one excuse for losing at Georgia: hiring the wrong coach. That’s where Evans comes. That’s where he’ll be judged.
Permalink | Comments (45) | Post your comment | Categories: UGA/SEC
Phelps getting a free pass?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now for the Tuesday Countdown:
10 - Just wondering: Is the water in Michael Phelps’ bong chlorinated?
9 - Look, I don’t want this to become a referendum on marijuana. People get high. Bankers. Moms. Football players. Olympians. Even that little junior sitting next to you who’s doing so well in school. But Phelps is skating here like I can’t believe.
8 - In the November following the 2004 Olympics, he was arrested for underage drinking and a DUI. In the November following the 2008 Olympics, he was pictured inhaling with those Olympian lungs out of a bong, the photo only surfacing now. (November must be the off month for training.) Neither incident is extraordinary for somebody his age. But I get the feeling the IOC, the USOC and all of Phelps sponsors are so desperate for a smiling face and a marketing tool that they’re hoping this all goes away.
7 - Phelps isn’t a bad kid. He’s a dumb kid - and, at 23, actually not even a kid. But this shouldn’t be viewed as just some athlete under an enormous amount of pressure letting off a little steam. Phelps was the centerpiece of the Olympics. People celebrated his eight gold medals in Beijing. He was a member of “Project Believe,” a U.S. anti-doping initiative. And, yes, while that “dope” primarily references performance-enhancing drugs — which pot surely isn’t — the message is the same: Live clean.
6 - But it seems nobody here wants to tarnish the Olympic hero. The USOC has barely slapped his hand. The IOC has held his hand. No sponsor has walked away, or even hinted they will. Omega, the Swiss watchmaker, actually termed this a private matter. Speedo, which pays Phelps millions, called him a “valued member of the Speedo team.” Well, hell. Why don’t we just throw him a parade?
5 - Off the record, I would be willing to write President Barack Obama’s memoirs if he asked me. But much like Bobby Knight, I don’t want to seem like I’m pursuing the job, so if you could just leak that to the Washington Post I would appreciate it. Now, where did my mirror go?
4 - Remember that arrest of drunken Mississippi basketball coach Andy Kennedy in December? A Cincinnati TV station (WLWT) obtained the police cruiser video. But here’s a story with a partial transcript and it includes this great exchange. Kennedy: “I’m here for the Big East/SEC challenge. I’m playing Louisville … tomorrow. I was the UC head coach. I am going to be on national television. If I’m not standing there at 9 p.m. tomorrow, this is an international altercation. It’s not worth it, please trust me.” Officer: “You think we’ve never arrested somebody that’s made national media? We deal with the Bengals all the time.”
3 - I’m probably in the minority on this. But, as great a defensive lineman as Albert Haynesworth is, I’m not sure blowing the entire off-season budget on one player is a smart idea for the Falcons. Nor would it be in line with the philosophies of the two franchises that general manager Thomas Dimitroff admires most: New England and Pittsburgh.
2 - News item: Philips Arena suites may be wired for sounds from the player benches next season. Comment: Great. Now hockey fans can hear the Thrashers swear in seven languages during the power play.
1 - Manny Ramirez has now turned down a two-year, $45 million contract and a one-year, $25 million offer from the Dodgers. Question: Are Ramirez and Scott Boros hitting off the same bong as Michael Phelps?
