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Home > ajcsportstalk > Archives > 2006 > December
December 2006
Dogs win Chick-fil-A Bowl
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia looked as good in the second half as it looked bad in the first half in scoring 28 unanswered points Saturday to defeat Virginia Tech 31-24 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The Bulldogs defense rose to the occasion with four turnovers as the team erased a 21-3 deficit.
What are your thoughts on the game and a roller coaster season? What do you expect for the 2007 season? What must UGA do to become a contender for the SEC championship and beyond?
Permalink | Comments (199) | Categories: UGA
Falcons coaching situation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Regardless of whether the Falcons reach the playoffs or not, the coaching tenure of Jim Mora appears to be tenuous.
He may be pressured to change coordinators if he is retained, and his recent comments to a Seattle radio station underscore some off-field issues that have displeased Falcons management.
Should the Falcons keep Mora for a fourth season? If so, what other coaching changes should be made to improve the team? What roster moves would help?
If Mora is fired, which coaches should Arthur Blank and Rich McKay pursue? Which candidates would be the most realistic ones who could be in charge for next season?
Permalink | Comments (408) | Categories: Falcons
UGA serving The Butler well?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peachtree Ridge kicker Drew Butler, son of former Georgia and NFL kicking great Kevin Butler, is reportedly considering whether to walk on at his father’s alma mater or accept one of the offers from Duke or Memphis, the two schools that have so far extended him full scholarships.
Should Butler even be in the position of having to decide if he’d like to walk on at UGA, where his father Kevin remains a kicking legend? Does Drew Butler deserves a scholarship offer from his father’s university? Should he take the scholarship offer from one of the other schools? Would there be UGA backlash if Butler chose not to walk on at his dad’s alma mater? Give us your take on what Butler - and Georgia - should do.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Categories: Recruiting
Who’s your top athlete for ‘06?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the AJC set to crown its 2006 Sports Person of the Year in Georgia, we want to know who you think should get the nod.
Consider:
Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech’s consensus All-America wide receiver?
Kyle Carter and the Columbus Little League world champs?
Maya Moore, the UConn-bound Collins Hill basketball star who won the Naismith player of the year?
What about the Thrashers? Marian Hossa?
Clemson’s Ray Ray McElrathbey?
The Hawks’ Joe Johnson?
Bang out your thoughts and look for the winner in Saturday’s editions of the Journal-Constitution.
Honor for UGA recruit, early catch for Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Come back to ajc.com every day between now and national signing day to get the latest online-only news on college football recruiting from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. AJC staff writers will update this blog as news develops throughout the day.
Green named first-team all-stater
A.J. Green, the Summerville (S.C.) High junior wide receiver who says he’ll sign with Georgia in 2008, on Tuesday was named a first-team South Carolina all-stater by The Associated Press. Green finished his junior season with 60 catches for 1,203 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Threet set to enroll at Tech
Steven Threet went south for the holidays, but the soon-to-be Georgia Tech freshman quarterback will not be in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. He’ll be with the Yellow Jackets next week, though.
Threet and his family returned to Adrian, Mich., Tuesday from Key West, Fla., where he, father Jewel, mother Pam and older brother Jay “played a lot of tennis.” Now, they’re preparing to drive to Atlanta on Jan. 4. The recent Adrian High graduate will begin classes at Tech on Jan. 8.
“Right now, I’m listed as a management major, but I’m not sure if that will be changing,” Threet told the AJC’s Matt Winkeljohn on Tuesday.
Threet knows one of his two roommates, fellow early enrollee Derrick Morgan, the defensive end from Coatesville, Pa., and has stayed in touch with several future teammates. He spoke with Kell running back Jonathan Dwyer and Union Grove linebacker Kyle Jackson — who also have committed to Tech — on Christmas day. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Threet, who passed for more than 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns this past fall, stays in touch with Tech offensive coordinator Patrick Nix.
“[Coaches] can only call me once a week [as per NCAA rules],” Threet said. “I talk to Coach Nix twice a week, once when he calls and once when I call him.”
Big catch for Vols
This just in Tuesday afternoon: Rolando Melancon, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive tackle from Louisiana’s Lutcher High, has picked Tennessee over Arkansas, LSU, Michigan and Ole Miss, among others. Rivals.com ranks Melancon No. 20 at his position nationally and No. 4 overall in the state of Louisiana.
Who’s No. 1? Southlake Carroll
Southlake Carroll, which won Texas’ Class 5A, Division I title, finished No. 1 in USA Today’s final Super 25 high school football rankings Tuesday. Rounding out the top five: River Ridge (La.) John Curtis; Lakeland (Fla.) High; Indianapolis Warren Central and Miami Northwestern. No Georgia team made the newspaper’s top 25, nor did any make USA Today’s final Southern top 10.
Line of the day
When asked by the AJC to finish the sentence “My style on the football field reminds some people of …” Tech offensive line recruit Joseph Gilbert of Cartersville said, “A bulldozer plowing over trees. The trees put up a fight but the final result is always the same.”
Mississippi State lands Wright
Sylvester Croom had a happy holiday after getting word that Olive Branch (Miss.) linebacker K.J. Wright selected Mississippi State over Auburn and South Carolina, among others. “MSU is a place that I think I can go in and make an impact and play early,” Wright told Scout.com. “My family was real high on Mississippi State, so that helped. It was just the best thing for me and family.” Mississippi State has a whopping 33 commitments, including one from a Georgian — East Hall defensive tackle Korentheus Bailey.
Permalink | | Categories: Recruiting
Friday’s recruiting roundup
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hurricanes land star safety
New Miami coach Randy Shannon got an early Christmas present Friday night when North Miami Beach, Fla., defensive back Doug Wiggins announced he’d play for the Hurricanes. Wiggins, named this week to the AJC’s Super Southern 100, picked Miami Georgia, Miami and Michigan.
Chamblee star picks … Harvard
Chamblee senior Nicolai Schwarzkopf, one of the top-rated tight ends in Georgia, has committed to Harvard. The 6-5, 225-pounder had several Division I-A scholarship offers, including ones from Air Force, Kentucky, Navy, South Florida and UAB.
Newton: Sticking with Gators
Westlake quarterback Cameron Newton said Friday his commitment with Florida remains solid, despite news this week that John Brantley, a top-rated signal caller from Ocala, Fla., has backpedaled on his decision to sign with Texas and instead plans to become a Florida Gator. “When you’re talking about a powerhouse like the University of Florida, who wouldn’t want to be on the ship that plays for national championships?” Newton told the AJC’s Jeff Hood. “If I was in [Brantley’s] shoes, I’d do the same thing.” Florida is loaded at quarterback, with Tim Tebow just a freshman and three recruits set to join him: Newton, Brantley and Bryan Waggener of California’s Citrus Community College.
Tucker receiver to UK
Kentucky has landed its sixth Peach State prospect for the Class of 2007: Tucker receiver Anthony Mosley. The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder picked the Wildcats over Duke, East Carolina and North Carolina. “At UK, you consistently play against the best every week,” Mosley told Scout.com. “I want to be able to play around some of the best athletes and I want to be apart of turning around the program.”
Zook, Illini reel in star
Illinois continues to be the surprise team of the recruiting season, adding a second five-star prospect late Thursday: Chicago Simeon defensive end Martez Wilson. Rivals.com ranks Wilson as the nation’s No. 2 defensive end. He turned down scholarship offers from Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Southern Cal. Earlier, the Illini landed Rivals’ No. 2-ranked wide receiver: Arrelious Benn of Washington (D.C.) Dunbar.
Permalink | Comments (35) | Categories: Recruiting
Power shifts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, it’s not all that big of a surprise that Florida’s snared more of the South’s top high school football players than any other school. And it’s not a shock that UGA is right behind the Gators.
But take a deeper look at our list of the Super Southern 100: Georgia Tech has as many commitments (5) as Auburn, and even more than Notre Dame (4). Spurrier’s South Carolina has three signees, but the feared Hurricanes of Miami hooked only a single player.
Then there’s Bama. Not only can it not find a coach, it’s having equally uncharacteristic problems signing recruits.
Does this portend a long-term shift of strength among Southern schools, or just a one-year aberration? What does it say about the balance of power between the SEC and ACC?
Permalink | Comments (39) | Categories: College sports
Less Skip and Pete on TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The new contracts signed by the Braves’ two senior announcers, Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren, will virtually eliminate the duo from TV broadcasts in 2007 (see story here. Both will continue to do radio broadcasts for all 162 games.
Do you agree with the decision? Who do you think should replace them in the TV booth?
NBA issues basketbrawl fines
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The NBA has announced its punishment for Saturday’s Knicks-Nuggets brawl at Madison Square Garden.
League scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games, Nate Robinson and J.R. Smith each got 10 games, and four other players also were suspended.
Commissioner David Stern fined each organization $500,000. (Read the full story)
Considering all the issues, was Stern being stern, or was he just slapping some wrists? Should Anthony, Robinson and Smith have drawn even bigger suspensions?
And what about Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night?
Permalink | Comments (80) | Categories: NBA
The best and worst SEC jobs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What’s up with Alabama still looking for a head football coach?
That job used to be one of the plum positions in all of college football. Now they’re having trouble getting their man.
What SEC job do you think is the best?
Or the worst?
Permalink | Comments (59) | Categories: College sports
If you ran FSN South & SportSouth…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you were Jeff Genthner’s boss at FSN South and SportSouth (read his profile), what direction would you want him to take the two Fox sports networks?
Bring back the old Braves announcers’ team? Put a heavy focus on college sports? Something else?
Permalink | Comments (81) | Categories: Sports media
Johnson scores 30 in loss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Los Angeles — There would be no miraculous comeback this time.
Joe Johnson kept the Hawks close until late in the game with his ninth 30-point game of the season. But it wasn’t nearly enough to offset a blazing hot shooting night for the Los Angeles Lakers, who ran away from the Hawks late in a 106-95 win Friday night before a sellout Staples Center crowd of 18,997.
The Lakers shot 56 percent from the floor, the best mark of the season for a Hawks opponent, and got career scoring nights out of the likes of Luke Walton, Maurice Evans and rookie point guard Jordan Farmar.
The Hawks (8-10) are now 2-2 on their current five-game Western Conference road trip with Sunday’s game at Sacramento all that’s left of this exhausting, 10-day journey.
They have a chance to finish off a forray west with a winning record for the first time since the 1997-98 season, when they did it twice. A 17-point fourth quarter rally in Denver Wednesday night made it possible. A win Friday night would have guaranteed.
And it seemed possible with the Lakers (13-6) playing without superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant, who sat out the game with a sore right ankle.
While that would normally be great news for an opposing team, that wasn’t the case Friday night. Several of the Lakers’ role players tend to play better when Bryant isn’t the lineup. Luke Walton was magnificent for the home team, scoring both inside and out thanks to some matchup issues in the Lakers’ triangle offense that worked in his favor.
Walton finished the game with a career-high 25 points, six assists and four rebounds, filling in admirably for Bryant, who leads the Lakers with 25.9 points per game.
Walton scored 11 points during the decisive third quarter run that helped the Lakers take total control of the game, they turned a 47-46 halftime deficit into a 76-69 lead to star the final 12 minutes.
How the Hawks stayed as close as they much of the game was a mystery in itself. The Lakers shot 59 percent (30-for-51) from the floor through the first three quarters and had a noticeable size advantage inside, where 7-foot, 270-pound Brunswick native Kwame Brown did most of his work (13 points, seven rebounds, seven assists).
Lakers forward Lamar Odom had an off shooting night, but made up for it with a game-high 15 rebounds and seven assists. Evans, who started in Bryant’s absence, added a career-high 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
Farmar notched his career-high 15 points off the bench and Josh Smith had his second straight double double (17 points and 11 rebounds) and his seventh of the season. But with just he, Johnson (30), Zaza Pachulia (12) and Tyronn Lue (11) scoring in double figures, the Hawks weren’t quite able to match the Lakers’ scoring balance.
The Hawks did have Speedy Claxton back in the starting lineup after he missed two straight games with soreness in his left knee. Marvin Williams also made his season-debut, finishing with nine points and two rebounds, after missing the past six weeks recovering from a fractured finger on his non-shooting hand.
Permalink | | Categories: Hawks
Lyons leads Marist
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Marist held an advantage over East Paulding in tradition and playoff history coming into Friday’s Class AAAA semifinals at the Georgia Dome.
Once the game kicked off, it was Marist’s triple-option offense that the Raiders had the most trouble overcoming. The War Eagles rolled up 413 yards of offense for a 27-7 win and advanced to their sixth title game since 1960.
Fifth-ranked Marist (13-1) will visit unbeaten and top-ranked Northside-Warner Robins on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
East Paulding’s breakthrough season came to a crushing end. The Raiders’ 12-2 record was the best finish since the Dallas school opened in 1991. Before coach John Reid’s arrival from Tennessee, East Paulding had never made the playoffs, and its best finish was 6-4 in 1994 and 2004.
Reid won two championships in Tennessee, but beating Marist proved to be a daunting task. The Raiders had no answer for the War Eagles’ 218-pound fullback, Preston Lyons, who finished with 211 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
To keep East Paulding from keying on Lyons, quarterback Gary Marshall provided another option with 119 yards rushing and 38 yards passing.
The Georgia Dome had been a house of horrors for the War Eagles before winning a semifinal game in 2003 en route to the school’s second state title.
Marist had lost six of its past seven semis, including four of five in the Dome, before beating Thomas County Central there and winning it all against Statesboro in 2003.
The War Eagles cruised to a 13-0 halftime lead after collecting 255 yards of offense, 217 on the ground. As usual, Lyons was the workhorse. He rushed for 113 yards on 10 carries.
Marist established itself from the onset of the game with the opening drive. Marshall capped an 80-yard, 11-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive.
East Paulding, the runner-up in Region 5-AAAA, was never able to respond in the opening half.
With 10:03 remaining in the game, the Raiders finally gave their fans a reason to cheer. Quarterback Chas Henry, who will attend SEC champion Florida on a kicking scholarship, scored on a 7-yard run for the Raiders’ lone score.
Marist 7 6 14 0 — 27
East Paulding 0 0 0 7 — 7
M — Gary Marshall 3 run (Colin Gallagher kick)
M — Gallagher 28 FG
M — Gallagher 32 FG
M — Preston Lyons 13 run (Gallagher kick)
M — Marshall 29 run (Gallagher kick)
EP — Chas Henry 7 run (Henry kick)
Permalink | | Categories: High Schools
Northside’s Green rushes for 183 yards, 3 TDs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The old football adage says the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
That was never more evident than Friday, when St. Pius’ three turnovers led to 14 points for No. 1 Northside-Warner Robins as the Eagles won 20-17 to advance to the Class AAAA championship game.
The biggest of those turnovers came late in the third quarter. With the Golden Lions trailing 13-10 and moving deep into Northside territory, senior Will Asip started to turn the left corner on second-and-3 before fumbling.
Eric Fields scooped the ball up, and a tackle by St. Pius’ Jonathan Tinsley temporarily saved a score. Eight plays later, Tijuan Green had his third touchdown run of the game, and the Eagles had all the points they would need.
“That play changed the momentum,” St. Pius coach Paul Standard said. “But our kids battled.”
They did so down 13-0 in the first half, beginning to move the ball with ease at that point against a vaunted Northside defense that hadn’t surrendered more than 13 points since the middle of September. On three consecutive possessions spanning the second and third quarters, the Golden Lions were never forced to punt and converted 10 first downs with just four passes in 34 plays.
But in the end, it was the Northside offense that made the plays it needed to, usually on the legs of Green. The junior had 183 yards on 20 carries to help take the Eagles (14-0) to the state finals for the second consecutive season.
“He’s done that all year for us,” said Northside coach Conrad Nix, whose team also entered the 2005 state final undefeated before losing to Statesboro. “He just comes around more and more; this is the first year he’s played running back. We’re just glad that he’s on our side.”
Tinsley led the Lions with 99 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. St. Pius became only the third team this season to gain more than 100 rushing yards on the Eagles.
Northside 7 6 0 7 — 20
St. Pius 0 3 7 7 — 17
N — Tijuan Green 2 run (Devon Pike kick)
N — Green 62 run (kick missed)
S — Chris Philpott 28 FG
S — Jonathan Tinsley 40 run (Philpott kick)
N — Green 1 run (Pike kick)
S — Joey Flint 16 pass from Dylan Knight (Philpott kick)
Permalink | | Categories: High Schools
Braves talk trade
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Braves have held discussions with at least five teams on trades that could bring Atlanta an elite setup man and a left-handed reliever, with second baseman Marcus Giles and first baseman Adam LaRoche among those who could be involved. What do you think? Should the Braves sacrifice a position player or two for more relief pitching?
Permalink | Comments (101) | Categories: Braves
Dogs at Dome: Predict a score
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia and Virginia Tech will meet Dec. 30 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
Are Bulldogs fans happy to be in this bowl, especially after the midseason struggles? Or is this bowl still a disappointment for this program?
What do you think the final score will be?
Permalink | Comments (40) | Categories: UGA
Tech in Gator: Predict a score
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech will play West Virginia (10-2) in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1 in Jacksonville. The Jackets just played in the city Saturday in the ACC championship game. How do you feel about Tech playing in Jacksonville again?
What final score do you predict for the game?
Meanwhile, coach Chan Gailey has not ruled out using another QB instead of senior Reggie Ball in the game. How do you feel about that?
Permalink | Comments (89) | Categories: Georgia Tech
Gators get title shot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Florida (12-1) jumped over Michigan into the No. 2 spot in Sunday’s new BCS Standings. The Gators will play No. 1 Ohio State for the national championship on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
Are you glad the Gators are No. 2? Do they deserve the opportunity to play for the title? Or does Michigan deserve the chance more?
Lastly, who do you think will win the Florida-Ohio State game? What final score do you predict? Would Michigan-Ohio State have been a better game?
Tech’s ‘D’ stands offended
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jacksonville — The breakthrough season wound up broken. It came apart in the bleakest of games in the bleakest of settings, came apart so completely that the better part of Georgia Tech’s team didn’t disguise its disgust for the other half.
“I don’t forget anything,” said defensive tackle Joe Anoai. “Someday I’ll look back on this, and … it’s a lack of offensive production. The defense can’t do everything.”
With the ACC championship there for the taking, Tech didn’t score a touchdown. It saw a team of lesser gifts pull even and then ahead in the final 8-1/2 minutes. It saw the best season of Chan Gailey’s stewardship disintegrate over consecutive Saturdays — two massive games, two dispiriting losses.
Anoai again: “It’s pretty difficult to come down here and do what we did today.”
As happened against Georgia, Tech took a fourth-quarter lead and spat it back. As happened in Athens, Tech spent the first three quarters looking like the stronger team but never quite proving it.
The stout-hearted defense that yielded one scoring drive in Athens was touched for two field goals in the final period here, and those six measly points carried a gray and drizzly day that should have belonged to the Jackets.
Tech whiffed on three fourth-down tries inside the Wake Forest 33, Reggie Ball delivering an interception on the first and throwing to the wrong receiver on the third. On the other he was stuffed on a quarterback sneak. These failures kept the Deacons in the game at a time when Tech had established a physical superiority. Then again, the physical part isn’t what derailed this team.
The mental part did. Put simply, Jim Grobe outcoached Gailey. Grobe took the lesser side and won a championship with it. Gailey and coordinator Patrick Nix took an offense with the ACC’s best player (Calvin Johnson) and its leading rusher (Tashard Choice) and managed two crummy field goals. And then, with just over two minutes remaining and Tech facing fourth-and-13 after Ball scrambled out of bounds, Gailey chose to punt. The Jackets never touched the ball again.
“We didn’t get ready to play,” Gailey said, “and that’s my responsibility.”
Ball was better than he’d been against Georgia — he couldn’t have been worse — but completed only 9 of 29 passes and threw two more interceptions. The second changed the game. Leading 6-3 with 12:15 remaining and with Wake having bled out one second-half first down without benefit of penalty, the Jackets took possession at their 17. Run Choice and burn the clock, right? Uh, no.
Ball threw long for Johnson on first down. (It marked the seventh time on 11 second-half first-and-10s the Jackets had deigned to throw.) Johnson could have caught the ball but deflected it to Wake’s Riley Swanson instead. Wake took the turnover and drove to the tying field goal and soon to another.
Two Deacon catches — a third-down reception by backup tight end John Tereshinski, whose brother Joe caught a touchdown pass for Georgia on this field last season, and a deep ball to Willie Idlette between defenders Djay Jones and Jahi Word-Daniels — energized the drives. The Deacons, however, should never have been in position to win. Tech should have run Choice 31 times, not 21, and killed the game off. Tech should have played to its strength (Choice pounding), not its weakness (Ball flinging).
“It’s hard to go out there and give everything you have,” said linebacker KaMichael Hall, “and the last second runs off the clock and then you lose.”
Tech was talented enough to have beaten Georgia, to have beaten Wake, to be nuzzling up to the Top 10 as opposed to falling from the Top 25. As much as these Jackets did, they left too much undone. And they knew it.
“I don’t think it’s a breakthrough season,” said Hall, an icepack on his damaged ribs. “It’s not a breakthrough season if you can’t finish. We didn’t win a rivalry game and we didn’t win the ACC championship. It got away from us.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Georgia Tech
Jackets fall in ACC final
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wake Forest’s offense was miserable, but so was Georgia Tech’s in a defensive-minded ACC title game the Demon Deacons claimed by a 9-6 score. A late field goal by Scott Swank was the winning margin with all the scoring coming from the PK position.
Reggie Ball once again struggled mightily, but his receivers didn’t help him either and Tashard Choice, while going over 100 yards, was bottled up at key times by Wake’s sturdy defense.
The loss was the second in a row for Tech, coming off last week’s setback to Georgia, and the Jackets await their bowl fate. Will it be another trip to Jacksonville for a Gator Bowl that doesn’t want them?
How dispirited are you that an offensively talented team couldn’t make big plays when it needed? Tech is 9-4, but missed out on a BCS spot. Can you get excited about a lesser bowl — probably not the Chick-fil-A, which is expected to invite UGA and Virginia Tech on Sunday?
Permalink | Comments (388) | Categories: Georgia Tech
Glavine sticks with Mets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Brave Tom Glavine decided Friday to stay with the New York Mets after they offered him $10.5 million for next season. The Braves did not make an offer.
What are your thoughts on his decision, and what should the Braves do now to bolster their pitching staff?
Permalink | Comments (140) | Categories: Braves
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