For Atlanta sports fans, it was another year of dreaming of what could’ve been, but never forgetting to root, root, root for the home teams.
Another exciting season for our Atlanta Braves ended with a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in a one-game wild card playoff. The end of the Braves’ season also meant the end of the road for future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, the celebrated third-baseman whoretired after 19 years with the team.
In college football, the annual Georgia vs. Georgia Tech battle ended in favor of the Bulldogs. Both teams made it to their conference championships, but neither prevailed.
Not to be outdone, the Atlanta Falcons quietly plowed to a 13-3 record, ending the year with their eyes focused on the ultimate goal: a return to the Super Bowl.
The year was full of sports and thousands relied on ajc.com for the latest news and commentary. Some of our biggest online stories of the year are surprising. Not included in the list are our columnists and bloggers, you know, the ones you love to read, whether or not you agree with them.
Here’s a look at the 10 most popular stories for 2012 on ajc.com, based solely on the number of page views.
10. ESPN rips 'lame' Atlanta fans: The sports network didn't try to soften the blow when it slammed Atlanta fans in a January column posted online. Columnist Rob Parker said Atlanta "and its lame fans simply don't deserve a win" in a playoff game against the New York Giants. The Falcons lost to the eventual Super Bowl champs. Fast-forward to the next season, and on Dec. 16, the Dirty Birds beat the Giants 34-0 at the Georgia Dome.
9. Ex-UGA coach and a Ponzi scheme: Lawyers for former University of Georgia football star Kendrell Bell said former coach Jim Donnan duped him into investing $2 million in a Ponzi scheme. Bell played for Donnan at UGA, then later played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs before injuries ended his career in 2007. Donnan's attorneys denied the allegations, saying the business relationship was all in good faith.
8. Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino put on leave: The one-time Falcons coach and now head coach at Western Kentucky University was placed on administrate leave following a motorcycle accident that left him bang up while at Arkansas. Police said that at the time of the crash, Petrino was accompanied by a 25-year-old mistress he'd just hired as the football team's "student-athlete development coordinator." Read columnist Mark Bradley's take on it.
7. Video shows Alabama fan assaulting LSU fan: It was a video too graphic for our website, but it reportedly showed an Alabama fan sexually assaulting an unconscious Louisiana State University fan in New Orleans after the BCS football championship game in January. The Alabama fan was arrested and later pleaded guilty to an obscenity charges.
6. Former Falcon jailed in Cobb County: In March, former running back William Andrews was jailed following his arrest on a civil contempt charge. Andrews' case was the first in a string of arrests for former and current Falcons, including Jamal Anderson, Michael Turner, John Abraham and Ray Buchanan.
5. Bye-bye Georgia Dome?: In April, the Atlanta Falcons and the George World Congress Center Authority announced they were working on a plan to demolish the Dome and build a new retractable-roof stadium. The stadium talks ramped up again earlier this month. A new Falcons roost could open by 2017.
4. Charles Barkley disses Hawks, Weight Watchers: Sir Charles probably had some explaining to do after this one. His off-camera comments during a Hawks game weren't picked up on television, but someone at the game uploaded a video of the former player's remarks. "I thought this was the greatest scam going, getting paid to watch sports, this Weight Watchers thing is a bigger scam," Barkley said.
3. Petrino fired after four seasons: See No. 8. Earlier this month, the former Arkansas, Louisville and Falcons coach was named the new coach at Western Kentucky.
2. UGA cheerleader transfers to Tech: Yep, she did. She claimed it was for her major, but Sidni Vaughn admitted her boyfriend had a little bit to do with her dropping the red and black in favor of navy and gold. This fall, she cheered for the Yellow Jackets.
1. UGA soccer player accused of stealing … hashbrowns: Workers at the Bulldog Cafe in the Tate Center said they watched as soccer player Carli Shultis of McDonough allegedly stuffed hashbrowns in her pants. They called police and the athlete was charged with theft. Shultis was banned from campus eateries for a year.
