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Thursday, August 23, 2007
No ‘Sopranos’, no historic theft for Franco
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: Not bragging, but ours may be the only household in America that never watched one episode of “The Sopranos.” … Julio Franco, 49, stole a base in his first game at Class A, but he’s not the oldest player to steal a base in a professional game. Jim Poole, then 51, did it when he played first base at Moultrie in the Class D Georgia-Florida League in 1946. Of course he had an edge. He owned the team. … Whatever became of Doug Johnson? You know, the Falcons QB who beat Dallas, then faded from view? Last I heard, he was on the Cincinnati Bengals roster.
Remember Bob Kurtz? Now pastor of a church in Cullman, Ala., he put on an endurance show for charity, all the golf he could play in one day, and he got in 220 holes by sundown, matching his age four times, and was 22 under par. In case the name strikes a bell, he was a sportscaster at Turner Broadcasting before turning to the ministry. … What the Braves have done is follow a drafting course that varies from the Falcons, and with exciting success. They’ve delivered such homegrown produce as Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Chuck James and several young prospects developing in the farm system. The Falcons, on the other hand, have drafted only seven Georgia alumni, and even fewer from Georgia Tech. … Sometimes gambles pay off, sometimes they don’t. Pitcher Tanyon Sturtze was one that didn’t, a loss of $750,000. You’d have better luck at the roulette table,
Micah Owings, Arizona’s pitcher who put on “The Natural” show against the Braves last week, isn’t the only athlete in the family. His father, Jim, was a split end at Georgia Tech in the early ’70s. … Yes, the Southland is due its pride in Dr. James Andrews, whose surgery has revived many a pitching arm. But, let us not forget that the surgeon who pioneered this procedure is Dr. Frank Jobe, of Southern vintage himself. Grew up in Greensboro, N.C., before settling in Los Angeles. … You know, watching Arena Football to me would be like watching Wimbledon transferred to table tennis.
How the PGA Tour intends to make its payout in the FedEx Cup championships is still a muddle to most. Some say deferred payments may be claimed at age 45, others think it’s 60, but one of the major concerns is what about the caddies? When do they get their cut? They’d like to have their checks presented on the 18th green at East Lake. … The next Bob Hope tournament is being advertised as “hosted by George Lopez.” Beg pardon? Who’s going to introduce George?
Joe Garagiola in his new book, “Just Play Ball”: “These young players think we’re antiques. I tell them we had pitchers who threw 90 mph. We just didn’t make a big fuss about it. They did it for nine innings.” … Ever notice how similar are the facial features of Ryan Howard and Babe Ruth? Or maybe you don’t have an old sepia of Ruth lying around. As a pitcher, say this for the Babe, he did his own closing. … First time I saw Craig Biggio, he was a catcher in Asheville, leading his league in stolen bases, just a few weeks out of Seton Hall University. From an Asheville Tourist to 3,000 hits as a Houston Astro.
I don’t know that this is anything official, but I’d have to agree with a recently released list of the five most underrated college football coaches: Paul Johnson at Navy, Ralph Friedgen at Maryland, Chris Peterson at Boise State, Bret Bielema at Wisconsin and Bobby Johnson at Vanderbilt. … Peterson, by the way, may become one of the first to coach a game in China. Boise State and Oregon are planning to schedule a game in China in 2009, which would be the first. NCAA approval awaits. … Market experts rate the five most difficult college game tickets to come by, and Notre Dame is in four of them. … Most inane interview question put to an athlete after he has just won the big one: “What does this mean to you?” … Selah.
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