Mike Check
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‘Culture’ and ‘makeup’ shouldn’t trump talent for Falcons in free agency
“Culture” and “makeup” are Terry Fontenot’s watchwords for the 2023 offseason. The Falcons general manager mentioned...
Credit: AP
Georgia’s ‘good foundation’ not enough to avoid another SEC flameout
NASHVILLE — Two years ago in this building, Georgia’s Sahvir Wheeler said the best was yet to come for Bulldogs men’s...
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Falcons should go all-in for Lamar Jackson
Two years ago, the Falcons drafted tight end Kyle Pitts over quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mac Jones. Last year the...
More from Michael Cunningham
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Classifying college athletes as employees would protect them from abuse
NCAA schools commercialized intercollegiate sports long ago. There was no turning back once they decided to maximize...
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Georgia’s Kirby Smart failing at big part of his job
Kirby Smart is very good at winning games, but that’s only part of his job. Georgia’s football coach also has a moral...
Credit: Ben Gray
Quin Snyder is good get for Hawks to build program
Quin Synder was an assistant on Mike Budenholzer’s Hawks staff back when the basketball program had a clear vision. You...
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Why Grapefruit League games matter for Braves
NORTH PORT, Fla. — There are MLB players in the Grapefruit League, but it isn’t the majors. Established big leaguers...
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Braves need Kyle Wright to be good again after ‘Aha!’ year
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Braves lefty Max Fried is the staff’s No. 1 starter. Spencer Strider’s “stuff” is so good that he...
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Braves’ Michael Harris says he can top debut season. I believe him.
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Michael Harris broke the part of my brain that tries to ignore small sample sizes in baseball.
Credit: Curtis Compton
Braves’ Michael Soroka is resilient, but latest injury like ‘kick in the groin’
NORTH PORT, Fla. — At least it wasn’t the shoulder, or the elbow, or the Achilles tendon. That was my thought when I...
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Ozuna says mind clear, arm strong, and critical Braves fans ignored
NORTH PORT, Fla. - Internally, the Braves are optimistic that Marcell Ozuna can at least be an adequate major league...
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Hawks’ Trae Young is not an All-Star, but winning is more important
It took less than two NBA seasons for Trae Young to prove that he’s one of the best basketball players in the world...
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Why the Eagles will beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl
If Super Bowls are about quarterbacks and coaches, then the Chiefs have this one locked up. Patrick Mahomes won his...
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Trades make Hawks better but still not good enough to beat East’s best
It has been clear to me for a while now how this Hawks season will play out. Assuming they make the playoff field, the...
Credit: TNS
NBA’s greatest ever, LeBron James, also is best scorer
LeBron James was a junior in high school when Sports Illustrated declared him “The Chosen One” on its cover. James...
Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com
Worst-case projections for Braves still are really good
The Braves are boring again. I don’t mean that they are uninteresting. A team with a swashbuckling slugger such as...
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Falcons can rise from worst to first in crumbling NFC South
The only major move the Falcons have made since the end of their season is hiring Ryan Nielsen to run their defense...
Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com
Georgia Tech men’s basketball shouldn’t be this bad
This season’s Georgia Tech men’s basketball team is the worst-ever in Ken Pomeroy’s statistical rankings, which date to...
Credit: AP
Ex-Falcons aide Kyle Shanahan has another shot to shed stigma of 28-3 collapse
The Colts benched Matt Ryan twice this season and may end up cutting him before the next one. Julio Jones hitched his...
Credit: AP
Just like old times, it’s hard to trust the Hawks
Watching the Hawks stirs some old feelings. They often remind me of Mike Woodson’s better teams. Good enough to make...
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Many NFL teams need play-callers. Georgia’s Todd Monken is a good one.
Stetson Bennett, Georgia’s two-time champion quarterback, is pursuing an NFL career. Wide receiver Adonai Mitchell...
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Braves are good again, but their hole at shortstop is worrisome
The Braves will make the playoffs with Vaughn Grissom or Orlando Arcia at shortstop and Eddie Rosario in left field...
Georgia Tech’s Brent Key has the players to win in ACC
Brent Key isn’t taking on a rebuilding job at Georgia Tech. Key already repaired the team’s spirit after it was broken...
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Hawks improving, winning despite all the noise
One weird thing about this Hawks season is that the results haven’t gotten worse as the drama increased. I kept...
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Falcons don’t have to wait on Desmond Ridder
The Falcons have a lot of salary-cap room, plenty of draft picks and so many options for using both.
Why the Georgia Bulldogs are a good bet to ‘threepeat’
Georgia football just won back-to-back national championships. That’s very hard to do. It seems a bit greedy already to...
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Georgia Bulldogs so good they make winning the championship look easy
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Most Georgia fans at SoFi Stadium had trekked into the soggy Southern California night, satisfied...
Pressure is on Georgia’s Kirby Smart to not blow it in title game
LOS ANGELES - It’s championship or choke job for Kirby Smart. Either Georgia’s coach wins back-to-back national titles...
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TCU takes on blueblood Georgia with few blue-chippers
Georgia has more former five-star recruits starting on its defensive line than TCU has signed in the 22 years that 247...
Credit: Curtis Compton / Staff
Jimbo Fisher to hire Bobby Petrino, bad guy and diminished coach
Jimbo Fisher is getting paid Nick Saban money at Texas A&M while delivering Kevin Sumlin results. Fisher supposedly is...
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Georgia’s defensive issues won’t get Bulldogs beat by TCU
TCU’s Horned Frogs won’t win the national championship because they can’t duplicate what Ohio State did to Georgia’s...
Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Georgia takes C.J. Stroud’s best shot and still wins
In the days before the Peach Bowl, C.J. Stroud was told that the book on him from NFL scouts is that he doesn’t make...
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This is Georgia’s chance to one up Alabama
For a moment it seemed that Alabama might slip into this year’s College Football Playoff despite two losses on its...
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Weekend Predictions: Ohio State upsets Georgia, Michigan beats TCU
The stakes are high. Win, and it’s another step toward all-time greatness. Lose, and it means facing an offseason of...
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Underdog Ohio State has what it takes to beat Georgia in Peach Bowl
Beating Georgia essentially means figuring out a way to score enough points. The Bulldogs have bad days scoring. It’s...
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Josh Pastner’s forever young Georgia Tech team may be bad again
Josh Pastner stressed his team’s youth Monday, and just in case I didn’t get the point, his messenger reiterated it...
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Time for Falcons to see if Desmond Ridder is the next Matt Ryan
With Matt Ryan, the Falcons got a winning lottery ticket out of a losing situation. They were bad enough to get the No...
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If Braves don’t retain Dansby Swanson it won’t be because they can’t afford it
The Phillies raised eyebrows when they signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year contract for $330 million. Harper was voted...
Credit: Bob Andres
Falcons finally can hope they’ll be good again soon
Wins or hope really are the only two things NFL teams can sell. If they aren’t good now, then supporters at least need...
Credit: Bob Andres for the Atlanta Constitution
Georgia’s Stetson Bennett deserves to be Heisman Trophy finalist
Stetson Bennett will be in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation Saturday. There should be no controversy about...
Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com
Mets, Phillies spend big. Will Braves do same for Dansby Swanson?
The Phillies committed $300 million to shortstop Trea Turner. The Mets are set to splurge on ace pitcher Justin...
Credit: Miguel Martinez
‘Every job open’ now for Falcons, including Marcus Mariota’s
Marcus Mariota isn’t the only issue for the Falcons. He’s the quarterback, though, and he’s playing poorly. That puts...
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Georgia rolls to SEC title, but leaky defense is worry for playoff
The SEC Championship game was anticlimactic for Georgia, strange as that sounds. The Bulldogs were undefeated and...
Weekend Predictions: Wins for Falcons, Georgia
Weekend Predictions is looking like the Falcons. It doesn’t feel as if my performance has been close to average, yet my...
In era of wide-open offense, great defense puts Georgia on top
It wasn’t long ago that Georgia was behind the times in big-time college football. The Bulldogs were trying to win...
Georgia buries Georgia Tech but needs to be better in postseason
ATHENS — Georgia Tech hadn’t put this much pressure on Georgia since 2016. That’s the last time the Yellow Jackets beat...
Weekend Predictions: Another big win for Georgia over Georgia Tech
It’s Rivalry Week in college football. Time for Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Ohio State vs. Michigan and Weekend...
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Georgia Tech should give Brent Key the job for good
Ideally, if Georgia Tech football makes Brent Key the permanent head coach, it will work out for the Yellow Jackets...
Credit: Bob Andres
Cordarrelle Patterson, NFL’s kickoff return king, saves the Falcons
I don’t see the Falcons beating the Bears on Sunday if Cordarrelle Patterson didn’t return a kickoff 103 yards for a...
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Weekend Predictions: Georgia rolls again, Georgia Tech continues slide
I woke up early (for a sports writer, not a normal person) Sunday to watch the Seahawks play the Buccaneers because...
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Hawks off to good start, and they’ll get only better
The Hawks rank third in the Eastern Conference standings. After a 4-1 start against overmatched opponents, they are 5-4...
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Georgia Tech ‘still growing’ but blowout loss to Miami is a bummer
We still don’t know how long the Brent Key era will last for Georgia Tech. Can it even be considered an “era” when he’s...
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Weekend Predictions: Georgia wins big, Georgia Tech clips Miami
Two weeks ago, Weekend Predictions was surging toward a fifth winning season in five in picking games against the...