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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Bonds indictment too late for baseball
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Too late, baseball has its asterisk. Nearly four years after he testified before one grand jury, another grand jury has decided Barry Bonds lied. And somewhere Bud Selig is moaning, “Why couldn’t this have happened a year ago?”
Baseball kept waiting for this, waiting and praying an indictment would arrive before Bonds hit Nos. 755 and 756. That would have spared Selig from having to dither about how, or even if, to “celebrate” a record he obviously regarded as bogus. But baseball never gets lucky. As the baseball man Branch Rickey said, “Luck is the residue of design,” and Selig and his craven cronies lack all forethought. Baseball tried to have an outside body do its dirty work, and the trouble with independent contractors is that they hew to their schedule, not yours.
And now, the indictment finally on the books, the legal stuff is almost beside the point. The greater question: What will baseball do? Will it suspend Bonds? (Kind of an empty gesture, given that he’s between teams.) Will it excise his records? (All of them, or just those established after his head so conspicuously expanded?) Will it wait until the trial, assuming there is one, or will it be so desperate to distance itself from Bonds that it’s impelled to do something, anything?
From Page 3 of the indictment: “During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds.” If that’s so, why could baseball never uncover or gain access to such evidence? Why was Bonds allowed to keep hitting his home runs? Did baseball simply not know, or did it not want to know?
This much, and this much only, is clear: Bonds has hit his last home run. He’s 43, and he just played himself out of the one city that didn’t despise him. Even if baseball doesn’t suspend him, what team would want his baggage-laden services? (The general idea is to attract fans, not repel them.)
Bonds has always acted as if he wants nobody to like him, and almost nobody does. He became the home-run king only to find he had no subjects. He didn’t have to bulk up artificially to become a great player — he was great already. But Bonds, driven by disdain, grew too big both figuratively and literally.
Those willing to suspend their disbelief when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa staged their match race never afforded Bonds the benefit of a single doubt. We all wanted to believe in McGwire and Sosa because they seemed like such nice guys, but the sneering Bonds didn’t pluck a single heartstring. He was always the Bad Guy, and now the Bad Guy is under federal indictment.
This all might seem tragic if it weren’t so utterly apt. Baseball and Bonds deserve one another. The sport that saw a strike wipe out a World Series is the realm of obscene greed. Everybody wants more — owners and players and agents and union chiefs and network executives. Nobody worries about the good of the game, the consequence being that there’s little good left.
Baseball didn’t care about steroids in the McGwire/Sosa summer of 1998 because attendance and ratings were soaring and everybody was getting ever richer. Baseball didn’t care until the sport and its precious numbers became distorted beyond the point of recognition, and by then it was too late. Bonds was bearing down on Hank Aaron and his sport lacked the guts to halt him. He got his record. He’ll probably have to give it back.
Last month the similarly disgraced Marion Jones returned the five medals she won at the 2000 Olympics. At least she got to keep her tainted bounty for seven years. Barry Bonds was indicted exactly 100 days after No. 756 cleared the fence at Pac Bell Park. For his blundering sport, it was 100 days too late.
Permalink | | Categories: Braves / MLB, Mark Bradley
Intense practices help Hawks turn it up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Here’s another sign the Hawks are within a fastbreak of getting it: During the two practices after they hit the snooze button in their home loss on Sunday against a vulnerable Washington bunch, they were forced to wake up by the heavy hand of coach Mike Woodson. “It was like training camp,” said Al Horford, describing the tongue-wagging intensity of those sessions compared to the kinder, gentler one on Thursday at Philips Arena.
Yeah, they’re close to getting it, because after Woodson’s impromptu boot camp, the Hawks did something more impressive during this early season than shocking the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, both among the NBA mighty.
They spent Wednesday night at Philips Arena flattening the Charlotte Bobcats, among the NBA meek.
Now if the Hawks can do something similar tonight at home against the dreadful Seattle SuperSonics, who have sensational rookie Kevin Durant and nobody else, then maybe this really is a season of renaissance for these guys.
Consider this: Great NBA teams beat everybody. The good ones are less potent. In other words, those dribbling below the level of Michael Jordan’s Bulls or the Kobe-and-Shaq Lakers will send the elite to defeat on occasion while crushing foes with equal or lesser ability more often than not.
Bad teams lose to everybody, particularly to other bad teams. Even so, bad teams discover ways to conquer the good ones and scare the great ones.
That’s because it’s easy for bad teams to get hyped for the good and great ones. It’s even easier for those good and great ones to overlook bad teams.
Just ask the Hawks, among the league’s bad teams for eight seasons. They’ve spent recent years shocking the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat at home and the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lakers on the road. We’re talking about a Hawks team that hasn’t won more than 35 games in a season in a decade. We’re also talking about a Hawks coach who realizes in his fourth season that he has to keep telling his players what he has told them before: Keep the same intensity no matter what and against no matter who and no matter where.
Which makes you wonder: At 3-4, and with those relentless spurts for the Hawks during their 117-109 victory over Charlotte despite losing two starters to injury in the third quarter, do they finally understand Woodson’s eternal message?
“They better,” said Woodson, nodding from his office toward the locker room, where there was at least one person who understood well. It was Horford, off to a wonderful start in his rookie season after prospering on those University of Florida teams that won back-to-back national championships. Said Horford, “At Florida, we were always on edge, and that’s why I know how teams like Dallas approach a team like the Hawks. Teams like Dallas know that if they slip up, they can get exposed, which is why it’s important for us to be like that and get up for every game.”
Sounds like Woodson, all right, who added, “I think that when you’re not a seasoned team, and you’re a team that’s still learning how to play, other things start to creep in. As a coach, it’s my job to try and prevent that from happening.”
Still, Woodson can only plead. His players have to play, and not just when it comes to the league’s rich and famous.
“Those two games we had against Dallas and Phoenix were kind of an emotional high,” said Woodson, recalling packed houses of wired Hawks fans. Then there was a road game against Boston, where the Celtics were too much with their new Bird, McHale and Parrish called Garnett, Allen and Pierce.
“Then you go and lose a couple of games on the road [at New Jersey and Detroit], and they were playoff teams,” said Woodson, before sighing after recalling the Washington fiasco. “We were very lethargic and thought we were going to turn it on at the end, but it was too late. So we had those two [rough] days [of] practice, not so much to send a message, but to let guys know that we have to take things a little more seriously.”
Message heard.
For the moment.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Categories: Hawks / NBA, Terence Moore
Lock your picks on Dogs, Bucs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Notwithstanding this week’s prayer session on the steps of the state Capitol, which admittedly sits several hundred miles away from something called the U.S. Constitution in the National Archives — Church, meet State; State, Church; Perdue, Neptune; Neptune, Perdue — signs of the Apocalypse were most obvious this week in Clayton County (which, for the record, I’ve heard of but have never seen confirming evidence).
So the Clayton County correctional institution is requesting satellite television for its prison. The move for this is not because of educational programming. Rather, Clayton’s warden thinks it would be a good idea if his prisoners — those would be the people who broke various laws — could watch Monday Night Football. See, MNF is now on ESPN and, well, it seems Cellblock Clayton doesn’t have cable.
An actual quotation from Warden Frank Smith: “Although it might seem funny, when you have 90 percent of inmates watching something, it is a management tool for the institution.”
I’m guessing this is where Ron Jaworski and the telestrator come in. Because if anything can serve as a management and rehabilitation tool for the incarcerated, it’s the breakdown of a three-deep zone.
Which leads me to Mark Richt. (Sort of.)
Can’t exactly say he’s been rehabilitated. Possessed, maybe. The Tennessee game knocked something loose, and Capt. Vanilla turned into sort of a peppy version of Darth Richt. A bench-emptying touchdown celebration. Black jerseys. His players: 10 personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the past three games.
Fortunately, they’re not on Monday Night Football in Clayton.
This week it’s Kentucky. The last time the Wildcats beat Georgia in consecutive meetings was in 1949 and 1956. Dogs win and cover 7 1/2.
Back to school
— North Carolina at Georgia Tech: If you’re looking for Chan Gailey, he’ll be the guy on the sideline wearing a sandwich board. On a related note, feel free to picnic on the seat next to you. Nice man. Painful to watch. Jackets win, but take the Heels and 10.
— B.C. at Clemson: The Eagles started 8-0, including a win at Virginia Tech on national TV. Nobody in Boston noticed. Now they’ve lost two straight. Ignorance is bliss. Pitchers and catchers report in three months. Take BC and 7-1/2 — and in a straight upset.
— Miami at Va. Tech: The Hurricanes closed the Orange Bowl with a 48-0 loss to Virginia. First time anybody figured a broken-down stadium was way too nice for the program. Hokies win, but take Miami and 16-1/2.
— Nashville at Knoxville: All Phil Fulmer has to do is win games over Vanderbilt and Kentucky, and Tennessee is back in the SEC title game. Why do I get the feeling of an impending faceplant? But not this week. Vowels win but won’t cover. Hey, 19. We can dance together.
— Roll (Over) Tide: Alabama started last season 6-4. Started this season 6-4. Lost to Mississippi State last year. Lost to Mississippi State this year. Lost to Auburn last year. Probably will lose to Auburn this year. Went to the Independence Bowl last year. Probably going back. But because Nick Saban is such a prize, well, maybe this time they win. Won’t that elevate the program. Until then: 24-1/2 is covered against La.-Monroe.
— Missy State at Arkansas: So I guess Sylvester Croom has made his point in Tuscaloosa. Unfortunately, this is come-down week. Actual factual: Razorbacks are 21-2 in Little Rock since 1998. The 11-1/2 is covered.
Pros and cons
— Bucs at Tweets: A steroids dealer this week claimed to have a strong connection to the Falcons. Significant evidence could move the NFL to remove steroids from its list of performance-enhancing drugs. Tampa is coming off a bye week. Not good. Bucs win, cover 3.
— 9-0 at Buffalo: The Bills have won four straight. Yeah, and they also trailed the Dolphins last week. New England’s had a week off to rest and feed the raptors. Covering 15-1/2 on the road, not such a big deal.
— 0-9 at Philly: The Dolphins are bringing back Ricky Williams. No, no, wait. OK, so time is, like, relative. No, no, wait. OK, so there’s this huge cheeseburger that, like, eats a bus and … No, no, wait. OK, so the cosmos is like … hey, dude, stop sliming the bong. (Eagles cover 10).
— Cowboys and Indians: The Redskins blew a nine-point fourth-quarter lead at home last week. The NASCAR season is winding down. Joe, go home. Big rivalry. Big number (10-1/2). But at home, Dallas covers.
Permalink | Comments (73) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
How to sell ‘Must See GT?’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
The belief here is that Chan Gailey has to beat Georgia 10 days hence or lose his job. The Virginia Tech game put everything in sharp relief, and by that I don’t mean the final score — Georgia Tech lost 27-3 without its two best running backs — as much as the setting.
The local school threw every promotional trick into that game: Diana DeGarmo sang the anthem; Big Boi performed at halftime. And yet, on a lovely Thursday night against the nation’s No. 11 team, attendance was 52,202 at a stadium that holds 55,000. The rule of thumb in contemporary athletics is that a coach can survive anything except empty seats.
Dan Radakovich isn’t an old coach. (Dave Braine, who hired Gailey, was an old coach.) Radakovich — who did, to be fully accurate, serve as a student coach while attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania — is one of the neo-ADs. He’s a businessman. He’s trying everything he knows to make Tech profitable, and yet the man in charge of the department’s biggest moneymaker is hugely unpopular with constituents. If you’re Radakovich and you’re looking toward next season, don’t you have to ask yourself, “How do I market Chan Gailey?”
Gailey has neither lost so badly as to make dismissal obvious nor won big enough to make himself indispensable. There’s a case to be made for keeping Gailey, but it’s a technical case — no losing seasons — as opposed to a visceral one. (That’s assuming the Jackets don’t beat Georgia; if they do, the dynamics change.)
The case against him starts with those empty seats on Nov. 1. The case against him is largely economic. And money, when last I heard, talks.
Permalink | Comments (191) | Categories: Mark Bradley, Quick Hit, Tech / ACC
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