The Vent

When, oh when, please tell me when the Braves are going to dispose of Bennett. Send Bennett to Gwinnett!

Tom Glavine is like Evander Holyfield: He doesn’t know when to quit.

It isn’t certain that Schafer is experienced enough to succeed in triple-A ball.

At least in AAA, Schafer will be able to work with a batting coach.

These Braves play as if .500 is their goal. Hopefully, McLouth can shake ‘em up.

McLouth is a start to cleaning house. He has what the Braves don’t have —- speed. Get rid of all of the slow-footed guys, and get back to what Braves baseball used to be —- you know, when they were winning.

I’m McLovin’ McLouth!

Chipper can’t complain about not making the All-Star team. It seems that only full-time, everyday players are selected.

If McCann doesn’t make the All-Star team, then they should just do away with it all together.

I just loved the facial expressions from the Cubs fans when the Braves came back and won from a 5-run deficit.

In sports, any man is judged with how he handles himself in defeat. It’s easy being cool when you win. Right, LeBron?

Arthur Blank is a very bright owner who truly cares about the image that his team has. That is probably why he doesn’t want Michael Vick back in a Falcons uniform. Way to go, Blank!

Claim to fame: He was as well-known for his exploits off the field as on it. One minute, he was the highest-paid receiver in the game. In another, he was being jailed for failing to make child-support payments. One minute, he was about to marry TLC’s Lisa ‘Left-Eye’ Lopes. In another, she was burning down his mansion and getting probation. One minute, he was celebrating a Super Bowl in Green Bay and a Grey Cup in Toronto. In another, he was firing a gun outside a Kroger. But through tragedy (Lopes’ death in 2002) and trials, Andre Rison maintained his candor, his strong sense of self and his desire to give back to young people. Which is why he is in Atlanta this weekend for the Football University invitation-only camp and how the AJC’s Darryl Maxie caught up with him.

About coaching

“Eventually, eventually, I will. I’ve been doing this for several years now. I coached a little bit in my hometown, Flint, Mich. I felt like I was a coach when I was a player. When you’re the go-to guy, you end up being a player-coach anyway. I get a kick out of a seeing a kid who has no clue and then, after 72 hours with me, they have all the clues in the world.”

About advice to kids

“I tell them they can’t make mistakes they can’t come back from. Because I overcame adversity. I had some problems I caused, some I didn’t. But I overcame it. I tell them not to even put themselves in bad situations. Don’t be a follower. President Clinton did some things wrong with that whole adultery thing. Martha Stewart did some things wrong. Kobe Bryant did some things wrong. They all made mistakes here and there, and I relate that to them.”

About Falcons years

“Unfortunately, the Smiths didn’t do what they should’ve done —- make me a forever Falcon. I don’t appreciate how my name has been handled with the Falcons. Sometimes I used to feel like I got the short end of the stick. But the fans I run into, the fans I do see, they give me a great feeling.”

About could he still play

“There’s no doubt about that. I just came off the basketball court. But everybody doesn’t have a Brett Favre situation [where they’re allowed to play into their 40s]. There’s 100 players that could still be playing.”

About his legacy

“Best receiver to ever play the game. I can’t show my highlights because I don’t own NFL Films, but all my coaches in college, in high school, in junior college, they all told me I could be the best. But they must’ve lied because that title was already given to Jerry Rice. Just because you have stats doesn’t mean you’re the best. Can’t nobody tell me that Andre Reed isn’t better than Jerry Rice. I’m seeing cornerbacks on the 75th anniversary team that I used to demolish. But I’m coming out with my own hall of fame.”

About his book

“It’s called ‘Wide Open’ and it’s already written. It’s a show-and-tell book. I’m not a snitch, I never was a snitch and I’m never going to be a snitch, but I’m calling aces how they are. It’ll deal with me from when I was a child all the way through my trials and tribulations and then how I ended up on my two feet with a smile on my face. [Lopes] will be in there; it deals with her and a lot of other women.”