The Win Column: Let’s write a Fan’s Bill of Rights (and Wrongs)
Just a shin bruise for Ronald Acuña Jr., folks.
He’s day to day … and aren’t we all?
TIME FOR A GROUP PROJECT
Guess what?
Today I’m Thomas Jefferson. You’re the other wig-wearing dudes in the room, and your input is requested.
The immortal document we’re endeavoring to draft:
A Sports Fan’s Bill of Rights (and Wrongs).
I know what you’re thinking: Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. A James Madison joke just doesn’t hit the same, though, you know?
And more to the point: I’ve been thinking a lot about fandom lately.
Georgia football’s highlight-video-paywall debate. Lane Kiffin. Gambling. Record breaking franchise sales. Baseball’s looming work stoppage. This piece in the Athletic. That whole “boo Cooper Rush and add the words ‘Hitler’ and ‘Osama bin Laden’ to his Wikipedia page” thing.
It’s wild out there, and we need guidelines and guardrails to make things better for everybody.
That’s where you come in.
What should be preserved as an inalienable fan right? And what should we promise not to do?
Got suggestions for the live experience or the TV broadcasts? Going broke buying tickets? Really tired of “swag surfing”?
Anything’s fair game, from $2 hot dogs (should be warmer!) to penny-pinching owners.
On the other side of things: We can’t be personally insulting Drake London or any other athlete at their place of work, and we can’t be threatening folks because they mucked up your parlay.
This goes both ways.
📝 So you wanna help? Click on the fancy form, submit your suggestions and stay tuned. This is a long(er) term project.
NEWSY THINGS TO KNOW
⚾ The Braves celebrated their division title Tuesday, then went out and lost to the Reds. JR Ritchie (five innings, eight strikeouts, one run) pitched well, though.
- At the moment, it’s back to Braves-Padres in the first round of the playoffs. Here’s what else to watch down the stretch.
↔️ The Hawks addressed their overabundance of guards Tuesday, reportedly shipping Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard to the Hornets for 6-foot-7 forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
The latter averaged just 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in limited playing time last season. Atlanta’s betting on the 33-year-old rediscovering his “solid contributor” form.
😡 Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, meanwhile, did not make ESPN’s new list of the NBA’s top 100 players. They’ve actually released only Nos. 51-100, but went ahead and included him in a list of players to watch next season — explaining that he dropped off the 2026 list because his 3-point shooting declined. Silliness.
- Hawks who did make the list so far: New guy Lu Dort (100), plus CJ McCollum (87) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (55).
🏀 Sure looks like the Dream (29-14) will get a first-round playoff rematch with Indiana Fever (28-15). Home court advantage remains TBD. A season-finishing win against New York tonight (8 p.m., USA and Atlanta News First) gives Atlanta the coveted No. 4 seed. An Indiana loss to Minnesota on Thursday would, too.
- Indiana owns the tiebreaker, should the teams finish with identical records.
- Also worth nothing that Washington sits one game behind the Fever (and holds that tiebreaker).
📈 AJC Varsity’s high school football team of the week is DeKalb County’s Columbia, which claimed a big Class 3A win over Hapeville Charter.
❤️ The Win Column’s favorite preps storyline, though, belongs to Northwest Whitfield High School’s Zavien Villafuerte. He got a cancer diagnosis two years ago and scored four touchdowns Friday.
FINE, WE’LL TALK FALCONS
Our Michael Penix Jr. prayers have been answered.
“Being healthy was what I’ve been targeting,” the quarterback said Tuesday. “Whenever I felt like I can go out there, get out of all that soreness and get stronger each and every day, that’s what it’s always about. So once I felt healthy, it felt like I was ready to go.”
Cool. So now what?
As our amigo Ken Sugiura points out in his latest column, there’s rust, a new offensive scheme and a short week to contend with Thursday night. Not to mention the Green Bay Packers defense, which is pretty good even with Micah Parsons sidelined.
Should still be a lot better than what we’ve witnessed so far, though. To wit:
Yeah, it’s a small sample size. We’re not exactly breaking news here, either.
But eight of Penix’s nine starts last season produced a better passer rating than Rush & Co. managed in the first two games of 2026. Usually significantly so. Penix also tends to throw for more yards and touchdowns while turning the ball over less and taking fewer sacks.
Interested to see if offensive coordinator Tommy Rees can help continue the trend.
📬 This week’s Dirty Birds Dispatch should be a juicy one. Don’t forget to sign up.
ABOUT AJ TERRELL …
With the star Falcons cornerback now out for at least four weeks with a groin injury, CJ Henderson figures to start in his place.
If you’re into Pro Football Focus grades, Henderson currently ranks 17th of 94 qualified cornerbacks, coverage wise. Run defense? Not so great.
Billy Bowman Jr. (Achilles) was a full participant during Tuesday’s practice.
🧀 Meanwhile, in Packer Land: Green Bay lost receiver Jayden Reed to a neck injury and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele to a torn patellar tendon.
ASK A BEAT WRITER: UGA-OKLAHOMA EDITION
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer barely completed half his passes in a 17-10 loss to Michigan. Last week, his pair of interceptions put the Sooners on upset alert against New Mexico.
Not the stuff of a man once touted as a Heisman contender, or a team ranked just outside the preseason Top 10. So as the Sooners prepare for Saturday’s trip to Athens, one question comes to mind.
What’s John Mateer’s deal, man?
Naturally, Georgia coach Kirby Smart sang Mateer’s praises this week. But Colton Sulley, Sooners beat writer for the Oklahoman, was kind enough to attempt a real answer:
Coming off last season’s struggles, everyone gave Mateer the benefit of the doubt after he broke his thumb. But the same issues that plagued him a year ago — interceptions and an inability to see the field — have carried over to this season.
Now, this offense’s issues don’t begin or end with Mateer. What was supposed to be a much-improved offensive line unit has really struggled without star left tackle Michael Fasusi, and the lack of a run game hasn’t helped Mateer.
He can’t make those throws he did last weekend that resulted in picks, but I do think if the Sooners can find more cohesion on the line and run the football more effectively, there’d be less pressure on Mateer to have to do everything.
The eternal balancing act.
🏈 Bonus linkage: OU coach updates star defender’s status; Ranking Georgia’s remaining opponents
LOCAL HOOPSTER WINS COURT CASE
Here’s a reminder that college basketball season is right around the corner — and that hoops games are also susceptible to the legal wrangling that consumed football’s preseason:
- Ben Pearce — Emory University’s all-time leading scorer and reigning Division III Player of the Year — just won a fifth year of eligibility.
- A judge in Westchester County, New York, issued the ruling Monday. (Shouts to Sam C. Ehrlich, a law professor in Idaho who’s been tracking such cases; first saw this one on his X feed.)
- The decision comes a few months after Pearce, who helped lead Emory to last season’s national title game, attended a predraft workout (no contract or payment involved) with the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately for local DIII diehards, Pearce is portal-ing and eyeing a Division I opportunity. Court filings named N.C. State and Stanford among the suitors for the 6-foot-1 guard.
We’ll see if it holds up.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Win Column. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.