Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Smitch’s ship comes in

As reversals of fortune go, it’s difficult to top the turnaround done by Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell.
In just a few months, he made the transition from ‘‘Might Get Fired’’ to ‘‘Gimme My Money.’’
Mitchell, a former Columbus High School basketball star, just doubled his annual salary this week thanks to the transformation he engineered with his career and his team.
Before this season, Mitchell was one of the league's lowest-paid coaches and seemed to be on his way to lame duck status. Part of the problem was that he was saddled with a roster full of head cases and malcontents in his first two seasons, but it's amazing what you can do with some coachable guys.
Toronto went 47-35 and won the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history, making Mitchell a no doubt-about-it pick for NBA Coach of the Year.
His reward: A contract extension and a pay bump from $2 million to $4 million.
The Raptors locked him in to avoid an inevitable bidding war since his current contract was set to expire June 30.
Too bad the Hawks didn't get a chance to make him an offer.

Monday, May 21, 2007

We're talking baseball

Some observations about high school baseball talent in our region after covering Columbus and Russell County in postseason play last week:
* Russell County senior right-hander Danny Danielson should enjoy a long, lucrative professional career.
He’s 6-foot-4, about 215 pounds and throws a heavy fastball in the 91-92 mph range. His presence on the mound is intimidating to say the least. He's been projected as a third to seventh-round draft pick in June and will almost certainly sign instead of taking a baseball scholarship offered by Alabama.
Danielson’s stock may not be quite as high as his teammates from last season, left-hander Kasey Kiker and right-hander Cory Rasmus, who accumulated a combined $3 million-plus in signing bonuses. Kiker went 12th overall to the Rangers, while Rasmus was chosen by the Braves in the sandwich round with the 38th overall pick.
Kiker has been on the radar of pro scouts since his sophomore season. By those standards, Danielson may be a late bloomer. But don't be surprised if he equals or exceeds the accomplishments of his former teammates at the pro level.
Consider this: In last weekend's Class 6A state championship series, Danielson held a heavy-hitting Hillcrest team to one run on four hits. Without him, the Warriors surrendered 31 runs in Games 2 and 3.
* Whatever major league team that drafts Henry County (Ga.) outfielder Jason Heyward in the first round will have a once-in-a-generation athlete at its disposal.
At 6-foot-5 and 215, he looks like Calvin Johnson in a baseball uniform.
Against Columbus High last week, he hit a freakishly long home run to the opposite field, drew a spate of intentional walks afterward, hit a laserbeam of a single that very nearly decapitated a pitcher and showed off the cannon that passes for his throwing arm. Oh, he also stole home.
He's been rated by one magazine as the ninth-best prospect in the nation. I can't imagine there are that that many players better than him.
* Columbus senior catcher Chase Weems probably raised his profile considerably by sharing the same field as Heyward last week.
The Blue Devils beat Henry County in a second round best-of-three series. More than 20 scouts were there for the opener and it's safe to say at least two-thirds of them were there to watch Heyward.
So Weems gets their attention by jacking a three-run homer early in the game. Heyward followed with a two-run homer, but Columbus won the game 3-2.
Weems hit another homer in the series, hit for contact and showed off some solid defensive skills.
He could go as early as the third round or as late as the seventh.
After last week's effort, it's safe to say his wait won't extend into the latter round.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The blogger is in

By now, some of you might have started wondering if anything had happened to the author of this sporadically updated sports blog.
I didn't join the FBI Witness Protection Program. I didn't join the Merchant Marines. I didn't get traded to another newspaper for a sports columnist to be named later.
Just got back from a much-needed vacation. Took an ultra-relaxing four-day cruise to the Bahamas and tooled around Florida afterward. It was blissful. A synopsis: My wife and I swam with dolphins at a training facility in Freeport and took a tour of Nassau. No, we didn't check out Anna Nicole's digs. We did see the courthouse where CNN and every other news outlet in the world camped out to bring us all the gory details of her death and the ensuing paternity/custody issues.
One tattoo parlor there continues to try to capitalize on all the tawdriness. It has a sign board with Anna Nicole's picture on it, declaring that the former TrimSpa spokesmodel went under the needle in their establishment.
Lovely.
While the Anna Nicole saga acts as a powerful appetite supressant, we summoned enough intestinal fortitude to sample ''cracked conch,'' one of the local Bahamian delicacies. We also drank surprisingly powerful beverages with little paper umbrellas in them. They were so strong, in fact, that I started eating the little paper umbrellas after about the third re-fill.
The best part of being on a cruise is that you really lose touch with the world. There's satellite TV on the ship, complete with CNN, but nobody is there to watch it because they're too busy gambling, swimming with dolphins, playing shuffleboard on the Lido deck or ordering another daquiri.
I'd thought some news stories would have run their course in my week of absence.
Doesn't work that way.
I get home and Paris Hilton is still complaining that she doesn't deserve to go to jail, that she signs whatever is put in front of her, that she's the most gullible person on the planet and that she's afraid Big Shirley, her possible future cellmate, might shank her just for giggles.
Then there’s Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who just can't stay out of the news. Police in Virginia raided an estate he owned but did not live in and find evidence of animal abuse and illegal dog fighting activities. Vick claims he had no idea what activities were taking place on the property even though he'd set his cousin up with the big, expensive house. Sure, it sounds silly to give a mansion to a 20-something with questionable judgment and not, you know, check in to make sure he hasn't built a meth lab, put piranhas in the swimming pool or set the kitchen on fire.
All I know is I'm gone for a week and the story still hasn't died. Vick puts the property on the market to distance himself from the situation and it sells maybe 10 minutes letter for nearly 60 percent less than its market value.
I know obvious similarities between Vick and Hilton aren't apparent, but bear with me here.
They seem to be kindred spirits in the sense that they (A) can't stay out of the news and (B) blame their problems on publicists or members of their respective posses.
I just know that I'm tired of reading about both of them.
Is it too early to schedule another cruise?

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Making the grade

The NCAA released updated Academic Progress Rate information today.
I know what you're saying: ''Woo-hoo! I've been waiting all week for those!''
Here's why you should care if you're a fan of a Division I or I-AA team.
Schools that fall below the acceptable NCAA standards lose scholarships.
Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Georgia and Troy University are all safe. The football teams from Auburn and Georgia scored 967 and 963, respectively, which is quite good. Spare us the sociology jokes, please.
Georgia Southern isn't so lucky.
The Eagles will be penalized for poor academic performances by their baseball, basketball and football teams. The football team stands to lose 4.6 scholarships, a whopping total for a Division I-AA team.
To take a look at how your favorite school did, go to www.ncaa.org.