UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > February > 08
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Nice guy finishes first
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Really enjoyed watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday. I went in not sure who I was rooting for but it quickly became apparent that I wanted Pittsburgh to win. Why? Mainly because of Hines Ward.
I had the pleasure of covering Ward when he came to Georgia in 1994. I’d like to say I was the first who tabbed greatness for him but that wouldn’t be the truth. His high school coach at Forest Park, Mike Parris, told me while Ward was still being recruited that I’d see him flourish in the NFL some day. Now I’ve known Parris since we both attended Redan High School in the late 1970s but, impressive stats aside, I couldn’t see the type of world-class athleticism in Ward that my friend described, not in this slightly undersized but extremely versatile teenager. But I would get a first-hand look over the next four years as Ward played tailback, quarterback and wide receiver for the Dogs. Parris had said Ward could play virtually any position and, to this day, believes he would have been one of the best safeties in the game. I don’t doubt it now.
But what truly separated Ward was the type of person he was/is. He played football back then with the same smile for which he has become famous in Pittsburgh and he maintained a great attitude despite being moved around like a pawn on a chess board while playing for Ray Goff and Jim Donnan. Plus, he was always very accommodating and open with the press. I remember the day he first opened up to me about his mother, a Korean immigrant, and all the trials and tribulations she’d been through to see that her son was afforded every opportunity he eventually got. I wrote that story, repeated widely during the Super Bowl media madness leading up to the game this past week, for the Athens Banner-Herald his senior year and actually won APSE recognition for it. So I owe him a debt of gratitiude as well.
Pardon me for rambling a bit but it’s always nice to see someone achieve great success whom you know for a fact deserves it. Obviously he’s one of my favorite Bulldogs of all time. To make this a proper UGA blog, I’ll just ask you guys, where does Hines Ward rank on your own totem poles of Georgia greats? Did anybody see this — Super Bowl MVP/NFL elite receiver — coming for him? And did you root for Pittsburgh because of him?
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