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Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Time To Get A New Sports Year Started In Atlanta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes…September is here. For hockey fans, this is great news. The dead month of August is behind us and we now look forward to training camp starting in a few weeks, which is followed by the pre-season…and then, October 10.
This time of year also sees the four major sports at a bit of a crossroads. Major League Baseball is winding down their season, the NFL will kick off their new campaign this weekend and the NHL and NBA are set to get things going in the next few weeks.
So, let’s review how things have gone over the past year in regards to the four pro teams that call Atlanta home and see who has faired better.
The Falcons ended last season with a record of 4-12. According to my math, that’s a .250 winning percentage. There were a lot of reasons for this…many, many distractions. I think better days are head for this team.
Although the Hawks qualified for the playoffs…and played very well once there by actually winning some games…they nonetheless finished the 2007-08 season with a .451 winning percentage during the course of the regular season.
The Atlanta Braves are having a tough time of it this summer. As of Tuesday morning September 2, they are 59-79, which is playing at a .428 clip. Over their last 24 games, they would have to go 16-8, (and I’m guessing that they won’t), in order to finish with a winning percentage right at .463.
Now, why is that number important?
Well…because your Atlanta Thrashers, who also had a very disappointing season last year, finished with that winning percentage… .463. (Or, as the NHL calls it in their stats, Points Percentage).
That’s right. The Thrashers will end up having the best winning percentage of the four pro teams over the past year. Not only that, but the top two performers over the past 12 months, the Thrashers and the Hawks, are the pair owned and operated by the Atlanta Spirit, LLC.
The sound you hear is that of many readers gagging on their grits this morning.
Moving forward, which of the four has the better chance at playing above .500 over the course of the coming year?
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