Grand entrance

HOOVER, Ala. -- I had a little help disengaging myself from a coma-like sleep state this morning.
Just after 8 a.m., the fire alarm began raising a racket in the hallways of the Wynfrey Hotel. The intercom repeated the same insistent message: ‘‘Attention! Attention!’’
There were no additional instructions given, but we got the message.
Alabama football coach Nick Saban had arrived on the scene.
It's always a big deal when an Alabama football coach comes to SEC Football Media Days for the first time. Crimson Tide fans swarm the lobby, genuflect for the new coach, cheer him, try to get autographs and tell themselves that this coach is The One.
They did it when Mike DuBose came here. They repeated the process for Dennis Franchione and Mike Shula.
But the reception given to Saban may have been a little more crowded and a little more optimistic than those before. He’s won a national championship, at least, and he’s getting paid $32 million over eight years for a reason.
Dozens of fans huddled near the escalators to catch a glimpse of Saban, almost as if they were lined up to receive absolution from the Pope.
No autographs, but they received the thrill of a ''How ya doing?’’ from the coach.
His presence in Tuscaloosa will certainly make this season and the Nov. 24 Iron Bowl more compelling.
I'll check in later to fill you in on what Saban says during his press conference. He's making the rounds with radio and TV reporters before joining the print reporters.
Right now, I'm listening to Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson. Vanderbilt hasn't made a bowl game since 1984, so he's fielding a familiar question about the drought and whether the Commodores can do more than come close.
‘‘When you play in this league, you have to scratch and claw to get the victories,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘The people at the top of the SEC East and the SEC West are there for a reason. For somebody to come in and work themselves up the leader, you look to see how tough it is to pass those teams that are ahead of us. We have been close. We feel like we're making progress. It may not be fast to all of ya'all. Our confidence is pretty high right now, but we also have to look at our schedule every once in a while and be realistic.’’

Howling in Hoover

HOOVER, Ala. — The best part about the Southeastern Conference Football Media Days is that the league’s coaches can’t duck you.
They all have to stand at the podium at some point, front and center in a second floor ballroom at the Wynfrey Hotel.
Arkansas' Houston Nutt, the first coach to speak in the three-day football bender, just stepped down from the stage and I’m sure he’s glad to be done.
Most of the questions centered around a tumultuous spring that saw a faction of the Razorback fan base turn on him after a 10-4 season. During the spring, he was forced to respond to a flurry of Internet critics who accused him of driving away prized quarterback recruit Mitch Mustain and of having an extramarital affair.
One enterprising fan (or bored and voyueristic, depending on your point of view) received copies of Nutt's cell phone records through a Freedom of Information Act request and posted the contents on the Web. The records showed an exchange of 1,063 text messages between Nutt and local TV anchor Donna Bragg from Nov. 30 to Jan. 11.
Nutt sent a letter denying the rumors last April, but they remain a topic of discussion around the league. He said Wednesday that his family and team have remained staunch in their support of him.
‘‘To have someone get so personal, to have so many things written and starting in your home state, sending things to an editor, things are starting to spread and it kept going and going,’’ Nutt said. ‘‘The toughest thing is your family. It's your family. One of the reasons why you're able to go home at night ... they know the truth.’’

Sick with Vick

You probably know my feelings regarding quarterback Michael Vick already.
I think the Falcons should cut him at the first opportunity and unburden themselves of the $130 million contract and the embarrassment he’s heaped upon the franchise since last fall.
The Falcons will pay a price far higher than the $130 million if he stays.
Too many fans have been alienated by the details of the 18-page federal indictment.
While Vick has been told to stay away from training camp, the NFL has yet to decide if it will take any disciplinary action. Commissioner Roger Goodell has the discretion to punish as he sees fit for violations of the league's personal conduct policy.
Atlanta owner Arthur Blank has been told by Goodell that the franchise should not take any disciplinary action against Vick for the moment.
We'll be hearing more from the Falcons today at a 4 p.m. press conference.
Do you think the league has handled the Vick case wisely thus far?
What would you consider an appropriate level of punishment for Vick?

Cutting bait

The Columbus Catfish have seemingly had a fin out of the water since owner David Heller moved his minor league baseball franchise here three weeks before the start of the 2003 season.
There has been a series of almosts, of moves planned but not ultimately executed to such places as Evansville, Ind., Bay City, Mich., and Columbia, S.C.
When multi-million dollar stadium deals subject to government approval are involved, a lot has to happen before possibility evolves into finality. In the case of the Catfish, it’s obvious that they plan to be gone after their Golden Park lease runs out in Sept., 2008.
They could get snapped up by Art Solomon, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats owner who wants to put a Class A team in a new stadium Bowling Green, Ky., although there is one other South Atlantic League team up for sale. They will undoubtedly go somewhere, however.
A team employee told me on condition of anonymity Friday that it boils down to attendance. The Catfish are well ahead of last year’s pace, but still bring up the rear in the South Atlantic League. It has been a continual struggle to average more than 1,000 fans per game to a 5,000-seat stadium.
When the Catfish leave, it’s doubtful the stadium would remain empty for long. Macon and Albany lost SAL franchises, but wound up with independent teams. Even with this city's multiple minor league sports failures, another investor will come along, convinced that he has the market all figured out.
‘‘On each and every occasion that is has been in the news that the Catfish are thinking about going to Columbia or wherever, the calls start to roll in from others lining up wanting to come to Columbus and others thinking that this is a great stadium,’’ Columbus city manager Isaiah Hugley said. ‘‘Columbus will not have a problem attracting a minor league team.’’
A few changes have to happen for a minor league baseball team to be successful.
Golden Park has to be made into a social hub. I've heard from readers time and again who run off a lengthy list of excuses as to why they don't attend baseball games. There are faulty assumptions made about geography, race and crime. Having left Golden Park and the Civic Center well after everyone else has gone home, I can assure you it’s perfectly safe there at midnight.
People, who apparently have never been to Atlanta, L.A. or Washington, D.C., complain about the traffic and moan about how long it takes to get from the north end of Veterans Parkway to South Commons.
It has been suggested that attendance would be better in a new stadium on the north side of town. Not necessarily. You're always going to battle Little League ball, youth soccer and church.
‘‘It’s been kind of disappointing to see the sparse crowds we’ve had,’’ Catfish manager Jim Morrison said.
He’s the perfect sort of fellow to lend perspective to what’s going on in this community. He’s paid by the Devil Rays rather than the Catfish ownership. He’s an intelligent baseball man who has seen the game at multiple levels.
‘‘The largest disappointment is the Devil Rays have put a nice product on the field,’’ Morrison said. ‘‘I know the struggle of wanting to move, not moving. Me against you doesn’t get anything done. We go on the road and we’re playing in front of 6-8,000 people a night.
‘‘What I see in Columbus, it’s a great town. The town is clean, it looks like it’s upbeat. People care about the way things look. There are nice folks, but there’s a lot going on here too. Baseball is just a continuation of quality of life.’’
I asked one team source if local ownership represented a panacea. Catfish owner David Heller owns a political consulting firm with offices in D.C. and Miami. He has rarely been seen at Golden Park and doesn’t hold a stake in the community outside of the baseball team.
‘‘It has to be the right kind of local owner,’’ the source told me.
Somebody with connections in addition to a sound financial profile. Somebody who knows the bank presidents, preachers, politicians and potential advertisers. Somebody who can successfully reach out to Fort Benning, church groups and youth leagues and fill a stadium. Somebody who can thaw out the chilly relationship that has existed between the team, local government and an untapped fan base.
My dealings with Heller and Catfish general manager Ken Clary on Thursday and Friday say plenty about the management of the franchise and its intentions. Hopefully you read my column in today’s paper.
I gave them every opportunity to address the issue of whether Solomon had expressed interest in buying and moving the team. Their inaccessibility and the nature of their responses amounted to a confirmation that they plan to move.
The 2008 season will amount to a good-bye party, but I doubt it will be well-attended.
‘‘The Columbus market is certainly worthy of a baseball club,’’ South Atlantic League president John Moss told me recently.
Maybe so. But baseball might have to leave for a little while in order for people in this community to decide if they really want it.

Soccer's savior

My column about David Beckham's arrival in America provoked a slew of responses from folks who are under the misguided impression that I'm soccer-phobic because I'm not buying into the hype.
I'm not anti-soccer, just anti-misappropriated hype.
I played soccer from the age of 6 through high school and briefly considered playing the sport in college. As a youth, my family regularly attended North American Soccer League games. I enjoy watching Major League Soccer and the World Cup. I wish MLS a long, healthy life, but I have a difficult time believing it will ever gain traction outside of a few metropolitan enclaves. To the average sports fan, it occupies the same territory as the NHL.
My problem with the whole Beckham thing is that it seems so contrived. There would be more credibility if his wife, Victoria, aka Posh Spice, didn't already have a reality TV show.

Extending the Vick discussion

Obviously, the federal indictment of Michael Vick produced strong reactions from folks on both sides of the issue.
If you read my column on the front page of this morning's Ledger-Enquirer, you know where I stand.
Some readers have raised the question of whether it's fair for the NFL or the Falcons to punish Vick before he even goes to trial. Some ESPN talking heads were flapping their gums about the NFL player conduct policy, saying there's no precedent or provision for league commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend a player on the basis of one indictment.
Actually, there is.
The NFL Players Association signed off on a basic agreement that gives Goodell carte blanche to impose penalties against players who run afoul of the law and/or league rules. When or if there’s an appeal of league-imposed discipline, guess what? Goodell gets to determine the outcome of it. He’s judge and jury.
NFLPA president Gene Upshaw hasn’t raised a stink about Goodell’s handling of Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson or Chris Henry. There are plenty of players on the team, and probably a significant number in Vick's locker room, who are tired of having their collective reputations soiled by the actions of a few.
The Vick apologists in their No. 7 replica jerseys have occasionally laid the race card on the table as the reason for the indictment and extensive news coverage it has received. That's a fallacy. Atlanta defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who is black, was arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend's dog last winter and the story received little play in the press.
This is about celebrity to some degree. Vick has a $130 million contract and he plays quarterback. The Falcons have wagered their future on him. Their corporate identity, their brand, is synonymous with Michael Vick.
Being linked to a dogfighting investigation, to gambling and a criminal conspiracy, put Vick in a kettle of hot soup.
Being named in an indictment put Vick, the Falcons and the NFL in front of a blast furnace. The trio could get scalded worse than those Nazis who stupidly opened the Lost Ark in that Indiana Jones movie.
Vick blamed family for his troubles a few months ago. He met with Goodell in April and promised to keep his nose clean.
‘‘It’s unfortunate I have to take the heat. Lesson learned for me,’’ he said then.
Uh, not so much. According to the indictment, he killed underperforming fighting dogs by hanging, shooting or slamming them that same month.
The outrage over such senseless destruction isn’t defined by racial boundaries. On Wednesday, the mostly-white People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Rev. Al Sharpton and hip-hop music impressario Russell Simmons released a joint statement condemning animal abuse and expressing hope that Vick and the three others named in the indictment will be punished if found guilty.
The Falcons can -- and should -- take pre-emptive action. As I wrote today, they would spare themselves much embarrassment by releasing him. They wouldn't necessarily lose much on the field as a result. Vick is 15-16 as a starter the last two seasons.
If you think my proposal is too harsh, pretend you're a business owner.
Let's say you have an employee who has made a series of irresponsible but not necessarily illegal choices that have embarrassed the company. You've told him to straighten up.
Suddenly, you learn that this employee, in charge of a $130 million account for your firm, is under federal indictment.
Would he or she still have a job tomorrow?

Yep, still blogging

I'll be the first to admit that I deserve a public flogging for being AWOL on the blogging for almost a month now.
Basically, I pulled over at a rest stop on the information superhighway and took a nice long nap.
Taking two weeks of vacation and battling awful allergies that just won’t subside haven’t exactly helped matters either. Plus, it’s that time of year when ennui replaces enthusiasm.
There really isn’t much to talk about in the South between spring football practice and the start of summer drills the first week of August.
The Braves are tanking, so there isn't much point in discussing the possibility of a return to the postseason.
The Hawks made at least one savvy draft pick by scooping up Florida's Al Horford third overall (Not sure if Acie Law represents an answer at point guard. I would have liked to see them take a chance on Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton, even though he might have been a reach with the 11th pick). But the Hawks are consistently stale, so who really cares?
Columbus native Frank Thomas hit his 500th career home run while I was on vacation and celebrated by getting ejected at the end of the game. It was in keeping with his reputation for balancing immense talent with flareups of surliness.
Other than that, all we have to talk about this month is the possibility that Larry Munson might not last as Georgia's radio announcer for more than another season and whether Nick Saban could beat Chuck Norris in a steel cage match.
Southeastern Conference football media days start a week from Wednesday, so there will be much cause for rejoicing and blogging in the near future. Stay tuned.

On Sheff, Aubie, Mikey and Fred

I've been a delinquent blogger lately because of a herculean spring cleaning effort at home. While the basement definitely looks better, I've let the cobwebs, dust and boxes accumulate on this here blog for far too long.
With that, let's grab a broom and sweep up some blogworthy talking points:

And the Al Campanis Racial Insensitivity Award goes to ...

First and foremost, let's get this out of the way: Gary Sheffield couldn't have done a better job exposing himself as an idiot this week if he'd put on a dance cap and floppy clown shoes and danced the Macarena in the dugout.
GQ gave Sheffield a forum to discuss the decline of African-American players in Major League Baseball. But instead of receiving real insight into why blacks comprise just 8 percent of MLB rosters, the magazine received this tripe:
‘‘I called it years ago,’’ Sheffield said. ‘‘What I called is that you’re going to see more black faces, and there ain’t no English going to be coming out. [It’s about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do — being able to control them.
‘‘Where I’m from, you can’t control us. You might get a guy to do it for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end he’s going to go back being who he is. And that’s a person that you’re going to talk to with respect, you’re going to talk to like a man. These are the things my race demands. So, if you’re equally good as this Latin player, guess who’s going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys.’’
Sheffield picked the wrong targets here. There are more Latin players now because baseball has exploded in popularity in the Carribean and Central America. Soccer is the only other sport of prominence, but baseball represents the most immediate and significant payday for them.
Now go to an urban recreation center in America and tell me what game you see the children (white and black) playing. They'll be in the gym shooting 3-pointers and slashing to the hoop. There's no activity on the sandlot.
Sheffield's claim that Latin players wield no power is ludicrous.
Atlanta would probably like to trade slumping center fielder Andruw Jones right now, but he can veto any deal he doesn't like. That means he'll be a Brave for the rest of the season.
Apparently Sheffield has failed to notice that Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Pudge Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez, Carl Pavano, etc., aren't exactly working for minimum wage.

They did a LOT of extra credit ...

The eligibility of two Auburn football recruits could be in jeopardy due to questionable high school transcripts.
According to the Mobile Press-Register, B.C. Rain’s Ryan Williams had 10 grades changed and Williamson’s Nick Fairley received seven favorable grade changes without the knowledge of his teachers.
Rumor has it that they were both planning to major in sociology.

Hair of the dog

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution's Web site shows a before and after photo comparison of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who traded in his braids for a short haircut.
Vick once stated that he wouldn't cut his braids until he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl, but he was wise to get clipped.
Given the franchise's outlook at this point, Vick would have been able to uses his locks as jumpropes if he heeded his original promise.

Scrapple gift baskets for everyone ...

You probably saw the front page newspaper photos of the 1,000-plus-pound pig that an 11-year-old boy in Alabama recently killed.
The initial story made it sound as if the kid fended off a snarling predator who would have surely eaten him like an hors d'oveure if he hadn't shot at him something like 38 times with his pistol and chased him for three hours through the wilderness.
Come to find out the 9-foot long pig wasn't some sort of wild beast. The Anniston Star tracked down Alabama resident Phil Blissitt, who bought the animal when it was a few weeks old as a gift for his wife.
They nurtured it and treated it as a family pet before selling it to Lost Creek Plantation.
They fed it sweet potato pies and called it Fred.
Congratulations, kid, you killed Fred.

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.

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.

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?

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.

In the Nick of time

This tells you everything you need to know about how desperate Alabama football fans are to have a winner.
Last Saturday, during one of those made to order spring afternoons, 92,138 people crammed themselves into Tuscaloosa’s Bryant-Denny Stadium to watch a glorified scrimmage.
‘‘It’s ridiculous,’’ Alabama cornerback Simeon Castille said afterward.
He didn’t mean that as an insult. It was expressed with a sense of wide-eyed wonderment.
If a relatively meaningless spring game can generate that sort of insanity, imagine what the demand will be when Auburn or Tennessee visits.
It’s not as if there aren’t other things to do in Tuscaloosa on a lovely April afternoon. As long as Dreamland keeps slathering sauce on barbecued ribs, there’s at least one pleasant alternative to a spring football game.
This one was different, however, because it was Nick Saban’s first. If there hadn’t been a scrimmage and Alabama simply sold tickets for folks to come and gawp at the former LSU and Miami Dolphins coach, the place still would have been packed.
Alabama fans like their icons, and they've been searching for one whose likeness can be chiseled in alongside Bear Bryant on the school's version of Mount Rushmore.
There's still room seeing as how everyone from Ray Perkins to Mike Shula has crumbled under the weight of the pressure that accompanies the job.
But Saban brought a different level of expectancy with him. He’s won a share of a college national championship, at least, and he conducts himself with the steely-eyed demeanor to which Bear fanatics can relate.
So far, he’s played to that crowd effectively. He’s done little to dissuade the notion that he's aloof and occasionally caustic. He's jousted with the media throughout, but that's fine with the Alabama fans who believed him to be a jerk when he coached at LSU. The prevailing reaction seems to be: It's OK if he drips arrogance now because he's OUR jerk.
He wore a suit and tie during Saturday’s game (what, no houndstooth hat?) and often stood in the middle of the action. He had to know that most of the eyeballs in that stadium were locked on him most of the day.
‘‘The great passion and support that we have at the University of Alabama makes me feel great about being here,’’ Saban said. ‘‘I hope that we can continue to channel the energy in a positive way to get where we want to go and continue to build this program into something special that represents the state of Alabama and the University of Alabama in a positive way.’’
And that, ultimately, is what last Saturday was about. Positive vibes.
A football program that has suffered through NCAA probation and a failure to meet expectations is holding its head high right now.
There are window stickers in SUVs that simply say ''S'' with "The coach'' in small print underneath. Rest assured, Saban's approval rating is higher at this moment than the guy known by the capital W.
And, according to a story in the Decatur Daily, one family has already named a newborn daughter Saban.
All of this before Saban has even beaten Auburn, Tennessee or anybody else as Alabama's head coach.
But that’s what last Saturday’s outpouring was really about.
Sabanmania. It’s spreading.
More than 90,000 people filled a stadium and gave Nick Saban a standing ovation because he’s already provided them with something valuable.
Hope.

Thanks for nothing

Just wanted to express my disappointment with all of you.
Wednesday was National Columnists Day (yes, really. It was actually on the calendar bought at the Hallmark store). Obviously, I'm the only one who remembered it.
I would have thought that some of my regular readers — (yes, I have them, but they only seem interested in e-mailing responses to my columns rather than posting on the blog) — would have sent flowers, cards, a Rolex, something.
Nada.
I'm trying to move on, really.
I'd type some more but it's getting tough to see the screen through the tears welling up in my eyes.

Helping hand

Since I've used this forum to occasionally criticize Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick when he does something wrong, I think it’s important to note when he does something right.
Vick is donating $10,000 to assist families affected by the massacre at Virginia Tech, where he played college football. The Vick Foundation is also soliciting donations in Atlanta and some Virginia cities for the ''United in Caring Fund for Victims of the VA Tech Tragedy.'' Vick's foundation works in conjunction with the United Way.
According to information provided by the Vick Foundation, Vick's donation and other charitable contributions will be used to help victims' families with funeral services, transportation expenses and other support services.
‘‘When tragic things like this happen, families have enough to deal with, and if I can help in some small way, that's the least I can do,’’ Vick told the Associated Press.
Hopefully, more NFL players will follow Vick’s lead.

NFL = Not For Long

New NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took a bold step by suspending serial idiots Adam ''Pacman'' Jones and Chris Henry for repeated run-ins with the law.
Jones, a Tennessee cornerback, will sit out the entire season, while Henry, a Cincinnati wide receiver, will miss eight games. After years of paying little more than lip service to the off-field thuggery of some of its employees, the NFL finally features a disciplinary policy with teeth. Players who keep a criminal attorney on constant retainer will get kicked where it really hurts -- in the wallet.
One of the few potential problems with the NFL's Get Tough measures is that Jones, Henry and other lawbreakers/headline-makers will sit idle. And, let's face it, do these guys really need more free time? They got in trouble in the first place for what they were doing off the field.
This is where their employers must step in. It's fine for the NFL to establish a clear disciplinary policy. But the league did so because of the disciplinary vacuum that existed at the lower level. Teams proved ineffective at policing their own members. For the most part, they were unwilling to do anything more than fine players because doing anything more could result in losing games.
The NFL must take steps to discipline those teams that are enablers. Two players arrested in one season? Fork over $500,000. Three players arrested in the same year? Sorry, you've just lost that third-round pick in the upcoming draft.
Measures like those would get the attention of owners and general managers intent on drafting the worst behaved athletes, crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.

Early Masters observations

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Well, my observations aren't that early. It's almost 2 p.m., but you must understand that the last player won't get off the course until around 8 today.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really looking forward to that Lucas Glover-Bradley Dredge championship pairing tomorrow.
The TV ratings will tank if Tiger and Phil aren't in contention, which is a distinct possibility given the temperature (42-50 early afternoon) and British Open-style winds. One golf analyst suggested 75 will feel like par today.
Never thought it would be possible for a golfer to slip into a green jacket with a four-day total of 2-over par, but it just might happen.

Imus be a total tool

Am I the only person who finds it ironic that Don Imus and his morning radio show producer made such moronic comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team the other day?
Imus referred to the gals as ''nappy-headed ho's.''
Anybody seen a photo of Imus lately?
He's the last person who should be critical of anyone else's choice in hairstyles. Generally, the only way to get an Imus-style fright wig is to take a bath with a plugged-in toaster. No wonder he wears that crazy cowboy hat.

Another Masters update

AUGUSTA, Ga. — OK, it turns out Tiger Woods isn’t in danger of missing the cut. But another former Masters winner is.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson is plus-7 for the tournament through seven holes today, which puts him on the borderline for the cut. The cut is the top 44 golfers plus ties or everyone within 11 shots of the lead. Right now, the lead is minus-2, which means Mickelson will barely sneak in at the end of the day if he doesn't give up any more ground.
Your leaderboard at the moment includes former Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala.) Community College player Brett Wetterich and former University of Hartford hockey player Jerry Kelly (even-par). Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Tim Clark are at 2-under, but have yet to complete their rounds.

Hold everything

AUGUSTA, Ga. — OK, I’d like to amend the last blog, if I could. And, well, I can since I remembered my password and it is, after all, my blog.
Forget what I said in the previous post about Tiger Woods. Forget what I said about Brett Wetterich.
My comments about Augusta, Columbus and Bonefish Grill still stand, however.
Hold the 10-year Tiger Woods anniversary celebration.
Somebody cancel the order for a cake and party favors.
Right now, Woods might miss the Masters cut for the first time since 1996. He's made all 11 of 12 Masters cuts, but extending his streak of 10 straight might have gone gurgling into the waters of Rae’s Creek this afternoon. He splashed down on 12 and 13, making a bogey at the former and a par at the latter, but it definitely knocked him off stride. He shot a 39 on the front and he’s now 5-over par for the tournament.
As for Wetterich, he gave two strokes back since I last checked in, but he's sitting nicely with a two-day total of 2-under par 142. Not bad for a Masters rookie.
Maybe this is the year of the no-names.

Friday's random observation

AUGUSTA, Ga. — I've covered eight of the last 11 Masters, if my memory is correct, which means I have the frame of reference to make the following observation.
Augusta is Columbus with a golf tournament.
Washington Road, which runs past the gates of Augusta National, is their Macon Road. It's a quasi-racial dividing line littered with fast food restaurants and strip malls. Both cities have South Atlantic League baseball teams playing in quaint stadiums situated on the water, although the Augusta Green Jackets don't have nearly as much difficulty drawing fans.
So, basically, Augusta only has one thing we don't. A pretty freakin' fantastic golf tournament. Oh, and a Bonefish Grill. Make that two things.
How much would Columbus' destiny have been altered if we had that one element that made Augusta what it is today?
A major golf tournament, I mean. Not a Bonefish Grill, although it would be nice to have one of those.
That's really all I have. Just pondering the one significant difference between two similar towns. That, along with the meaning of life and whether Tiger Woods will go bonkers and shoot a 67 today to take control of this thing.
He doesn't have to rush, of course, because he's Tiger Woods. He can wait and plan and vanquish the rest of the field on Saturday. There's plenty of time. Tiger has time.
Oh, one more thing before the mention of Bonefish Grill sets me off in pursuit of lunch here at Augusta National.
Brett Wetterich made the turn this morning having pushed his total to 4-under and he's holding it steady through 13 holes.
Never heard of him until Thursday, but that's what's great about the Masters.
The Brett Wetterichs of the world can have their time now. Tiger, who as I already mentioned is waiting and planning and plotting, should still have his time on Sunday.

Rough going

AUGUSTA, Ga. — If there’s any hometown magic left in the 71st Masters, it will probably have to come from Charles Howell III or Vaughn Taylor.
Native son Larry Mize, a long-time Columbus resident, is off to a rocky start on the 20-year anniversary of his 1987 Masters victory.
Mize bogeyed holes 3-7 on the front nine and made the turn with a 5-over par 41. He has yet to collect a birdie through 14 holes, but has unfortunately added three more bogeys.

Not so hard next time

Perhaps former Columbus High School star Frank Thomas should have checked his swing.
Thomas, the designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays, starred in a Canadian TV commercial that didn’t receive a passing grade from the nation’s regulatory agency for private network advertising.
In the commercial, Thomas returns home at night and hears two children creating commotion upstairs. He goes upstairs, enters a bedroom and finds two children engaged in a spirited pillow fight.
‘‘Hey, you guys are supposed to be in bed,’’ Thomas tells the boys.
One child hits Thomas with his pillow.
‘’Oh yeah?’’ Thomas responds, seizing the pillow.
He takes a healthy swing with the pillow, hitting the boy and sending him tumbling backward off the bed. A slight thud noise can be heard.
Thomas drops the pillow and jogs out of the room triumphant, as if he's just hit a walk-off home run.
The fallen boy raises his head just over the top of the bed and says, ‘‘Wow!''
A caption reads: ''Frank Thomas, designated hitter, Toronto Blue Jays. It's always game time.’’
The rejected commercial can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMdelLmvUf0
Telecaster Canada ordered it reshot because of fears that it made light of child abuse.
Instead, Telecaster Canada's mandate reeks of humorlessness and sensitivity run amok.
Watch the commerical. It doesn't condone domestic violence in any way.
It's funny. The child gets up, healthy, happy and free of emotional trauma.
It's a clever piece of marketing built around Thomas, who stands just 13 home runs removed from becoming the 21st member of Major League Baseball’s 500 Club.
Baseball has plenty of problems already, with suspected steroid user Barry Bonds closing in on the all-time home run record, controversy over DirecTV's ''Extra Innings'' package and stratospheric salaries.
Thomas' commerical isn’t one of them.

Good luck, guys

AUGUSTA, Ga. — They are as ubiquitous as franchise restaurants along Washington Road and they keep even longer business hours.
Ticket scalpers, or ''Event Attendance Facilitators'' as many of them might prefer to be known, just might outnumber the actual amount of folks who manage to pass through the gates of Augusta National Golf Club.
These guys are everywhere -- talking on cell phones in the shade of the I-20 overpass, holding up signs saying "We Need Tickets'' or "Buy and Sell Masters Badges.'' Most of them are doing this with limited success, of course, because Masters badges remain the toughest ticket in professional sports.
An estimated 30,000 tournament badges are in circulation. The face value for a tournament badge is $176, but the limited supply and extreme demand mean some online entrepreneurs and street-side hawkers will be able to command as much as $4,000 for one.
Scalping is legal here, as long as it's done by a licensed broker and business is conducted at least 2,700 feet from Augusta National. Over the years, the scalpers have multiplied like rabbits. Some large ticket brokerage companies have even gone so far as to purchase or rent homes in Augusta to cater to prospective clients and project an aura of professionalism.
If you don't have the coin to purchase a tournament badge, you can always enter Augusta National's annual public lottery for practice round tickets. Face value is $31 for the Monday round and $36 for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Then again, if you trust in your bargaining abilities, you can always try the entrepreneurs who set up shop along the four-lane road to the course.
You can't miss them.
They'll be the guys sitting in lawn chairs snuggled up with their cardboard signs in front of Hooter's, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts and any other restaurant with passable coffee and free restroom access.

Final Foresight

The best sporting event in the world will tip off in, oh, about T-minus six hours and counting.
In terms of drama and edge-of-the-seat entertainment, there’s really nothing else that can compare to the NCAA Final Four.
So let’s make a few predictions. I've been correct on a few thus far -- I had Florida, UCLA and Georgetown in my Final Four, but so did another 23.4 million or so hoopheads globally. That Kreskin-like power of prediction emboldens me to bounce these ideas out into the blogosphere:

UCLA vs. FLORIDA
Breakdown: UCLA represents the basketball equivalent of fingernails scraping a chalkboard. The Bruins provide non-stop annoyance on defense, thanks to the trapping defense employed by coach Ben Howland. They clog passing lanes as quickly as an Outback bloomin' onion will your arteries and often produce turnovers with well-timed low post double-teams.
Florida represents a much tougher assignment in that regard because big men Al Horford and Joakim Noah have decent handle and are excellent passers. Plus, the Gators can use 6-foot-8 Corey Brewer as a psuedo-point guard of sorts to see over defense if necessary.
Both teams will rip it from 3-point range. The Gators knock down 40 percent from beyond the arc, while UCLA's Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp can fill it up.
To me, the game will hinge on whether UCLA can deny the low post from the Gators.
Prediction: Florida guard Taurean Green breaks down the UCLA defense and Horford and Noah prove to be too much too handle ... Florida 78, UCLA 73.

GEORGETOWN vs. OHIO STATE
Breakdown: This will be like the movie Jurassic Park, where the T-Rex's fight each other to the death. It's rare to see two 7-foot players of comparable ability joust at the college level. Takes me back to the days of my youth -- Ralph Sampson vs. Patrick Ewing.
Georgetown's 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert isn't quite as dynamic as Ewing was, but he takes up a LOT of space and plays air traffic controller in the lane. Ohio State 7-footer Greg Oden may be a freshman, but check the birth certificate. I swear he looks like he's 32, at least.
The only problem is that both players have demonstrated a knack for getting into early foul trouble. Hopefully, the referees won't call it too tight and deprive us of a great individual matchup.
Both teams have outstanding supporting casts as well, with forward Jeff Green driving the Hoyas’ bus and point guard Mike Conley Jr. and shooter Ron Lewis making clutch shots for the Buckeyes.
Prediction: The Hoyas and Buckeyes are even in personnel, but I love Georgetown's concepts. They play a variation of the Princeton offense and run back cuts better than those slow-footed Ivy Leaguers. ... Georgetown 81, OSU 78.

Smart move for Dawgs

The University of Georgia has made more than a few mistakes over the years when it comes to coaches.
Ray Goff, anyone?
Glen Mason?
The ungraceful ouster of Vince Dooley as athletic director?
The disgraceful exit of Jim Harrick and his staff?
The Bulldogs did something right Wednesday.
They gave basketball coach Dennis Felton a two-year contract extension through 2010-11 and bumped his annual pay up to $760,000, a $50,000-per-year raise.
It’s a gesture well-deserved in light of what he’s done since taking over as the Bulldogs’ head coach. He’s 58-62 in four years, but that’s indicative of the mess he was forced to clean up when he arrived on campus. He guided Georgia to a 19-14 record and an NIT berth this past season and took them to the fringe of NCAA tournament consideration.
That should tell you that he has the goods when it comes to X's and O's. He's also signed an impressive recruiting class that includes highly-regarded 6-foot-9 forward Jeremy Price. Best of all, he seems intent on rebuilding Georgia basketball the right way.
Don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs are in the NCAA tournament next March. They weren't far off track this past season and will only get better.
It was smart of Georgia to recognize the potential Felton holds before other schools started taking notice.

Bracket going bust

How’s your NCAA tournament bracket doing?
Yeah, mine too.
The good news is that my pre-tournament Final Four picks -- Florida, Kansas, Georgetown and Texas A&M -- are still dribbling at this point. The bad news is that, for the second straight year, my wife is absolutely killing me on overall picks and stands to win our mutual wager. The loser picks up dinner at a restaurant of the winner's choice and, well, it looks like I'd better start warming up the old Visa card in the bullpen.
I know where I went wrong. I bought into the notion that this tournament would produce another warm-and-fuzzy George Mason, a team with pedestrian credentials that would shock the basketball world by reaching the Final Four as a 10 or 11 seed. So, as you can imagine, I received a rude awakening that fairy tales aren't written every year.
I thought I was smart to pick a mid-major from Virginia to spring a first-round upset. I picked the wrong one. Should've gone with Virginia Commonwealth instead of Old Dominion. In retrospect, it was also a terrible idea to pick Arkansas over Southern Cal in the first round. Apparently, I learned nothing from their last two football meetings (cumulative score: USC 2,367,521 ... Arkansas 3).
Live and learn.
So today, I'm trying to regain whatever street cred I lost as a prognosticator.
Let's take a look at this week’s Sweet 16 matchups.

SOUTH REGIONAL
(3) Texas A&M vs. (2) Memphis
Breakdown: In addition to having a clutch shooter and unparalleled playmaker in guard Acie Law IV, Texas A&M possesses a team full of lock-down specialists. The Aggies give up 59.3 points per game and practically crawl inside the jerseys of 3-point shooters. They allow opponents to make just 29.4 percent of their 3-pointers, and that means Memphis could be in trouble. The Tigers excel in transition, but could have difficulty forcing the tempo if leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts is sidelined by a balky ankle.
Prediction: Still sticking with the Aggies. I'm thinking Law, aka Captain Clutch, makes the difference late. Texas A&M 71, Memphis 66.

(1) Ohio State vs. (5) Tennessee
Breakdown: The size differential is about as profound as it gets. Ohio State has a well-rounded 7-footer in freshman Greg Oden. Tennessee has a 6-foot-4 quasi-power forward in Dane Bradshaw. Actually, the Vols don't fit traditional position descriptions because they play all over the court. If Chris Lofton and Bradshaw are burying 3-pointers, it will reduce Oden's impact.
Prediction: I think Ohio State is vulnerable. Xavier should have finished off the Buckeyes over the weekend. Tennessee won't be fazed by OSU's talent, having lost to the Buckeyes 68-66 in January. ... In an upset, I'm thinking Tennessee 79, OSU 74.

WEST REGIONAL
(1) Kansas vs. (4) Southern Illinois
Breakdown: I love, love, love the way Southern Illinois plays. There's a cockiness about the Salukis, who have played man-to-man defense on every possession this season. They are small but physical and will challenge anybody. That said, Kansas has too many offensive options for them. Don't see how the Salukis are going to solve Brandon Rush, who absolutely decimated Kentucky.
Prediction: Sorry, Salukis. ... Kansas 80, Southern Illinois 68.

(2) UCLA vs. (3) Pittsburgh
Breakdown: Thanks to the matchup of Ben Howland vs. his former Pitt assistant, we'll see the Mentor vs. Student story that CBS loves so much. Pitt center Aaron Gray could be a factor, but UCLA has quickness at every position. They've also proven they can play a halfcourt game, as evidenced by their ability to hold their first two tournament opponents to a combined 91 points.
Prediction: Arron Afflalo breaks out of his shooting slump. UCLA 75, Pitt 67.

EAST REGIONAL
(2) Georgetown vs. (6) Vanderbilt
Breakdown: Vanderbilt might be the most frightening draw among the non-No. 1 and 2 seeds. The Commodores can spread the court and bury you with 3-pointers. SEC player of the year Derrick Byars went berserk against Washington State, scoring 15 of his 27 points on treys. Note to Georgetown: Box-and-one? Of course, Vanderbilt will have trouble doing anything inside the line if Georgetown center Roy Hibbert stays out of foul trouble. The kid looks like Patrick Ewing of a lesser god.
Prediction: Both teams run variations of the Princeton offense. G'town might run theirs a little bit better... Hoya Paranoia 61, Vanderbilt 57.

(1) UNC vs. (5) USC
Breakdown: UNC sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough took off the Phantom of the Opera mask he wore after having his nose broken against Duke and absolutely went off against Michigan State. The Heels push the ball and have an athletic frontcourt led by Hansbrough and Brandan Wright.
Prediction: UNC 84, USC 71.

MIDWEST REGIONAL
(1) Florida vs. (5) Butler
Breakdown: The Gators have outscored their first two tournament opponents by 46 points in the second half. They have yet to play a complete game in the NCAA tournament and that doesn't bode well for plucky Butler. Look for Florida forward Corey Brewer to provide an impossible matchup for the Bulldogs.
Prediction: Florida 70, Butler 56.

(3) Oregon vs. (7) UNLV
Breakdown: Oregon doesn't have a deep bench, but the Ducks have been one of the hottest teams down the stretch this season. They've won eight games in a row, largely because they defend well and make their free throws (75.6 percent as a team). UNLV has a solid backcourt with Kevin Kruger and the wonderfully-named Wink Adams, but will have trouble slowing down the Ducks.
Prediction: In the words of a certain spokesduck ... Af-lac! Oregon 83, UNLV 76.

Hoop Heaven

By now, you’ve filled out your NCAA tournament bracket and made plans to play hookey from work Thursday to celebrate the beginning of March Madness.
The promise of wall-to-wall basketball is a great reason to become one with your recliner. Here are some of the first round games that hold the promise of high entertainment value:

* East Regional:
No. 3 Washington State vs. No. 14 Oral Roberts -- We’ve come to expect upsets in 3 vs. 14 games, and this could be the one. Washington State features competent guard play and the odds-on favorite for national coach of the year in Tony Bennett, but the Cougars haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1994. Oral Roberts enters the tournament with some momentum, having won eight of its last 10, and features a dependable inside scorer in power forward Caleb Green (20.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg).
No. 5 Southern Cal vs. No. 12 Arkansas -- Arkansas (21-13) backed into the field on the strength of its performance in the Southeastern Conference tournament and could give USC fits. Forward Charles Thomas and center Steven Hill provide the Razorbacks with a commanding size advantage.

* South Regional:
No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 10 Creighton -- Nevada forward Nick Fazekas, a 6-foot-11 senior, brings an NBA-quality skill set to the court. As good as he is, the Wolf Pack could be undone by so-so defense. Creighton is balanced and features a lethal shooter in Nate Funk (17.6 ppg, 54 3-pointers, 86.7 percent on free throws).
No. 8 BYU vs. No. 9 Xavier -- It’s hard not to like the Xavier Musketeers, who have won nine of their last 10 behind guard Drew Lavender (11.2 points, 4.6 assists per game).

* Midwest Regional:
No. 5 Butler vs. No. 12 Old Dominion -- Butler rose to as high as 10th in the Associated Press poll, but have been in a freefall of late. The Bulldogs are 4-4 in their last eight games. On the other hand, Old Dominion might represent a surprise Sweet 16 team-in-waiting. The Monarchs have won nine of their last 10 and are tough in the paint. Post players Arnaud Dahi and Valdas Vasylius both average more than six rebounds per game.
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Winthrop -- The Big South Conference owns a 1-15 record in NCAA tournament play, but so many of us have bought into Winthrop as this year’s George Mason. Because of the difficulty of the regional, it's difficult to envision the Eagles getting past the round of 32. This might represent the most entertaining first-round matchup.
No. 7 UNLV vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech -- The Yellow Jackets have won just one true road game in the last two years and have been up-and-down all season, but I have a feeling about them. Point guard Javaris Crittenton is a complete player who could carry Tech to a couple victories.

* West Regional:
No. 8 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Villanova -- Kentucky coach Tubby Smith really, really needs a win or two in this tournament. The Wildcats have lost six of the last nine games and the statements made UK's athletic director shouldn’t be taken as iron-clad votes of confidence. The fact is, this team has underachieved -- and has for a couple seasons now.

What games are you most looking forward to watching? Better yet, who are your Final Four picks?

Around the Horn

ATLANTA — Since I’ve got a break in between games at the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, let’s talk about football.
Specifically, let’s take a look at what’s happening just up I-75 in Flowery Branch.
In another 20 minutes or so, the Atlanta Falcons will introduce newly-signed wide receiver Joe Horn at a press conference.
After blogging the other day about the free agents the Falcons lost, what do you think of the decision to offer a 4-year, $19 million deal to Horn?
He’s easily the most recognizable free agent signed by the Falcons to date, the others being fullback Ovie Mughelli, linebacker Marcus Wilkins and cornerback Lewis Sanders. But it's too early to tell if the Falcons bought something more valuable than a recognizable name off the free agent market.
New Orleans released the 35-year-old Horn, partly because the development of other receivers made him expendable. But there were also concerns about his age and durability. He missed six games last season due to injury and only managed five touchdown grabs in the last two seasons.
Still, you have to like his body of work even if there are questions about whether his body can hold up. His career numbers -- 576 catches, 8,501 yards and 57 touchdowns -- make him an intriguing acquisition.
If nothing else, the Falcons can look to Horn as a player-coach of sorts. Roddy White and Michael Jenkins flashed some potential last season amidst all the dropped passes, but will benefit from Horn's guidance.

On a wing and a player

To the last free agent leaving the Georgia Dome: Please remember to turn out the lights.
The Atlanta Falcons will look decidedly different under first-year head coach Bobby Petrino this fall, and that can't possibly be a bad thing given the last two late-season collapses.
But Petrino and general manager Rich McKay can't afford to make any mistakes with regard to the free agent market or the April draft.
Atlanta’s defense took a serious personnel hit Monday when defensive end Patrick Kerney accepted a 6-year, $39.5 million offer from the Seattle Seahawks. The Falcons couldn’t afford to ante up to keep their 1999 first-round choice, who was an unrestricted free agent, and their defense will likely suffer for it.
When John Abraham was healthy last season -- granted, it was brief -- he and Kerney formed perhaps the league's most dangerous pass-rushing duo. Which player would you double-team? Unless the Falcons pull a surprise player out of free agency, Abraham’s numbers (assuming he stays healthy) will likely suffer as the result of more attention from blockers.
Most of the other losses appear minimal. Offensive guard Matt Lehr, who received a four-game suspension during the season after a positive test for steroids, was released. No problem there since the Falcons are getting away from their old cut-blocking ways.
Wide receiver Ashley Lelie, a free agent, signed a two-year contract with San Francisco on Monday. Again, no big loss. Reputedly an answer to Atlanta's need for a deep threat, Lelie caught just 28 passes for 430 yards last season. It's true that he was wasted in a heavily run-oriented offense, but he dropped quite a few passes.
Aside from Kerney, the only significant loss to date was fullback Justin Griffith.
He revealed himself to be a versatile back last season, filling in at tailback late in the year when injuries left the Falcons with no other alternatives. In addition to being an effective blocker, he was a very capable receiver that the Falcons didn't utilize enough. Fullbacks don't really plug into Petrino's schemes either, so a decent player became expendable.
Still, a big, versatile back who can hammer defenses in short yardage looms as one of the Falcons' many needs.
What would you like to see them do on draft day?
With the 10th overall pick, it's unlikely Georgia Tech receiver and NFL combine freak Calvin Johnson would still be on the board. There's been some talk that LSU safety LaRon Landry, a fierce hitter with sound technique, could be in their sights.
Of all the Falcons' needs, which do you think is the most glaring?

A moment of silence

The death of Daytona Beach Thunder player Javon Camon after Monday night's game against the Columbus Lions serves as an unfortunate reminder that helmets and shoulder pads don’t guarantee invulnerability.
Camon, who had intercepted three passes in the game, was knocked unconscious by Columbus’ Cedric Ware. Nobody has taken issue with the cleanliness of Ware's hit. It was simply a matter of two fast, strong men of comparable size colliding violently.
Those who witnessed it, from Columbus coach Jason Gibson to Daytona Beach team officials, described it as being no different from any of the forceful blocks and tackles routinely featured on the ESPN highlight loops.
Quarterbacks get decked from the blindside every day. Special teams players get knocked off their feet during kick returns.
We're used to seeing them get up. Some of them are woozy and wobbly-legged, but they always get up.
Ware got back on his feet Monday night with a concussion. Camon, who was treated on the field by paramedics, died of cardiac arrest en route to a nearby Daytona Beach hospital.
Both young men are victims of circumstance. Camon was described by his coach at South Florida as a bright young man with a ready smile. A life full of promise was interrupted far too early.
Meanwhile, Ware will try to play on while battling through the cruelest sort of emotional trauma.
There will be unimaginable grief in knowing that a chance collision on the football field resulted in a death.
And, undoubtedly, there will be a mix of guilt and relief in knowing that he was able to get up afterward.
Please remember both young men in your prayers.

Fore play

We've heard of soccer riots and soccer players head-butting opponents in the World Cup.
This week, however, there was an entirely new example of a soccer player behaving like a butthead.
Craig Bellamy, reputedly a hot-tempered player for English Premier League power Liverpool, is in hot water for attacking teammate John Arne Riise with a golf club.
According to the Associated Press, Bellamy must pay a $155,000 fine after belting Riise in the back of the legs during an argument that took place at a team training camp in Portugal.
The cause of the argument could very well make professional sports history.
Bellamy bludgeoned Riise because of an argument over a karaoke contest.
We can only hope the team doesn’t place bets on the outcome of the next ‘‘American Idol’’ episode or else it could lead to a riot.
Bellamy’s future with Liverpool is in doubt, but Riise wasn’t seriously injured.
He can still play, but he might think twice before he grabs the microphone again on karaoke night.

Center of attention

Before the other day, I didn’t know the difference between former NBA center John Amaechi and actor Don Amechi.
Amaechi had an unremarkable NBA career with such teams as the Cavaliers and Magic, but he took one extraordinary step last week.
He admitted he's gay.
ESPN exploited, I mean reported, his big news. The more cynical among us might wonder whether the timing of Amaechi's self-outing had anything to do with the release of his book, ''Man in the Middle,'' which contains his personal reflections on being a gay NBA player.
In the aftermath of Amaechi's announcement, there was a rush to praise him for his courage and his openness.
Let's get real for a moment.
This wasn't any sort of Jackie Robinson moment in which a barrier came tumbling down. Gays remain unwelcome in locker rooms.
Amaechi made his revelation from across the Atlantic Ocean, from his home in England, four years after retirement. It's admirable that Amaechi decided to be honest with the public, as well as himself.
At the same time, real bravery would have been exhibited by ''coming out'' during his NBA career. Saying, ‘‘I'm gay. You got a problem with that?'' to a locker room full of teammates would have made a far more emphatic statement and done far more to foster a climate of inclusion in professional sports.
So far, only a handful of pro athletes have admitted to ‘‘playing for the other team’’ — Amaechi, major leaguers Glenn Burke and Billy Bean, as well as NFL veterans Esera Tuaolo, Ray Simmons and David Kopay. All had retired from their respective sports before revealing themselves to be gay. All fit the description of being journeymen in their respective sports.
It's naive to think that homosexuality in the NBA, NFL or major leagues is confined to bench-warmers. It's likely that active gay athletes in all professional sports will shroud their sexual preferences in secrecy until a high-profile player makes the sort of announcement Amaechi did four years too late.
If such an athlete came out and then proceded to dunk all over punks during a 30-point night or rush for 150 yards or throw a two-hitter, it would encourage players, coaches and fans to worry less about questions of sexuality and spend more time appreciating athletic ability.

King at the rink

Legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty will be in attendance at Saturday night's Columbus Cottonmouths game the Civic Center as part of what is being marketed as a ''Racin' Weekend.''
That begs the question of: What the heck do NASCAR and hockey have to do with each other?
The sports are more similar than you might think.
Both are played on an oval surface and both place a premium on speed.
Drivers and hockey players rely on uncanny hand-eye coordination and endurance.
NASCAR drivers make multiple pit stops to change out tires and refuel. Hockey coaches make line changes every minute to freshen up lineups that have become rubber-legged from end-to-end exertion.
Some NASCAR fans come to the track to see spectacular crashes in the corners. Some hockey fans come to the rink just to see spectacular crashes too, in which defensemen generally pin a forward's face to the Plexi-glass with a nasty body check.
NASCAR has caution flags and lap penalties, hockey has the penalty box.
Most hockey players lack at least one tooth, which gives them instant kinship with denizens of the infield at Bristol.
And the No. 1 shared trait between the sports ...
The mullet is a perfectly acceptable haircut.

Parting thoughts on Agua-gate

Discussion of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s run-in with Miami International Airport security eventually winds its way to the subject of race.
A few readers who reacted negatively to my recent columns on Vick suggested my views were shaped by racial bias.
Never mind the fact that no quarterback of any shade — Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Vince Young or Byron Leftwich — would have been allowed to carry a 20-ounce water bottle beyond an airport security checkpoint. That's the age we live in. And, it's worth emphasizing that any quarterback -- whether black or white -- would have been subject to a law enforcement investigation if their water bottle had carried a hidden contraband compartment and a stench resembling marijuana.
It's true that Vick was neither detained nor charged with a crime. The Miami-Dade police lab tested his bottle and it tested negative for the presence of drugs. He's in the clear and, frankly, it wouldn't have mattered if he'd been caught using it as a bong. The worst he would have faced as a first-time offender would have been a fine. The Miami-Dade police department doesn't operate like David Caruso's CSI: Miami unit. They don't devote endless scrutiny to possible misdemeanor offenses.
But what so many of Vick's defenders fail to acknowledge is that it still could have been used to hold drugs or used as drug paraphenalia. It's reasonable to ask those questions based on the behavior of Vick and his employer, as well as the Miami-Dade police's erasing of an airport security evidence tape (which violated state law).
Atlanta general manager Rich McKay stated last week that he, team owner Arthur Blank and new coach Bobby Petrino expressed their ''displeasure'' in a meeting with Vick. What could they possibly be displeased with again?
If Vick had told them he was simply the victim of a misunderstanding, they likely would have given him the benefit of the doubt.
The most nagging questions, to me, are created by the silence. Neither Vick or his employer have been heard from since Miami-Dade police completed their investigation. Vick has never said he was unjustly accused and the Falcons haven't come forward to defend their quarterback.
The prevailing sentiment has been one of "Move on, nothing to see here.'' The more it's said, the more it sounds like a carnival barker who doesn't want anyone to peek at what's underneath the big top.
The one truly unfortunate aspect of this surreal situation is that Vick has been branded a ''thug'' in some quarters. That brings us back to the issue of black and white.
This latest incident doesn't make him a thug. In fact, until this season, he'd largely navigated his way off the field without so much as a ripple. The only Vick mentioned in police-related stories was his brother, Marcus.
But the last few months have raised questions about Vick's capacities as a leader. Before the season, he settled a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed he knowingly gave her herpes. Then came his obscene gesture to Atlanta fans, the second-half collapse of a once-promising season, his awful play against bottom-feeders like Detroit and Cleveland, his silence on the subject of coach Jim Mora's job performance and, finally, Agua-gate.
There's no question Vick is a great talent, but his judgement can apparently use some work.
Vick’s lawyer released a statement saying his client is ready to move on and put the Miami incident behind him.
He now has the chance for a fresh start. He can't afford to fumble it.

Strange week in Atlanta

In the latest plot twist involving Atlanta professional sports, it appears as if Falcons quarterback Michael Vick will be able to stiff-arm any comparisons with Snoop Dogg.
ESPN, citing an anonymous source, reported that Miami police did not find any traces of marijuana in the water bottle Vick tried unsuccessfully to carry through Miami International Airport security last Wednesday. The container, which Vick discarded, reportedly held a hidden storage compartment. According to police, it contained a trace amount of residue that smelled strongly of marijuana.
That led to Vick having a tense face-to-face meeting with team officials, including new coach Bobby Petrino, on Thursday.
If the ESPN report is true, the Falcons will have been saved from an unbelievable headache. An arrest or solid evidence that Vick had used drugs would have likely forced the team to consider unloading a star and absorbing a severe salary cap hit because of his $130 million contract.
Still, it's strange that Vick would have been expected to carry a water bottle with a hidden storage compartment onto an airplane.
The incident marked the most compelling aspect of a good news/bad news week for Atlanta professional sports:
* The good news: Jim Mora got a job in Seattle. The bad news: It's not as the University of Washington head coach, his self-described dream job. He'll coach defensive backs for the Seattle Seahawks, but could emerge as a prime head coaching candidate when Mike Holmgren retires.
* The good news: A Georgia Tech football coach will move to Miami next season. The bad news: It's not Chan Gailey. Gailey didn't get the Miami Dolphins head coaching job, which means the Yellow Jackets are likely doomed for more 7-5 seasons. Instead, offensive coordinator Patrick Nix jumped to the University of Miami to run the Hurricanes' offense.
* The bad news: Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith flipped a couple middle-finger salutes to a booing crowd after being ejected from Saturday's game against Charlotte. Did this man learn nothing from Vick? The good news: It happened at a Hawks game, which means nobody noticed.

Finally ...

The only thing longer than my absence from sports blogging was Alabama's head football coaching search.
My hiatus stemmed mostly from a month-long illness, an accumulation of unused vacation time and the feeling that I needed to add "Blog more often'' to my list of New Year's resolutions.
Alabama's 38-day gap between firing Mike Shula and hiring Nick Saban ended early this morning after multiple declarations from Saban that he wasn't interested in the Alabama job, wouldn't be talking about it now or five years from now and wouldn't be coaching anywhere but in Miami next season.
Saban's misdirection play isn't the issue of this blog, however. Coaches lie all the time.
What I find amazing is that Alabama president Robert Witt, athletic director Mal Moore and several trustees laid an eight-year, $32 million deal at Saban's feet.
This after Alabama trustees vetoed an attempt by lil' brother Alabama-Birmingham to hire LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher for its head coaching vacancy.
They balked at paying Fisher $600,000 a year.
Naturally, they won't so much as issue a single squeak about loading up a Brink's truck on Saban's behalf.
All of which begs the question -- How much is too much for a college coach nowadays?
Saban will become the NCAA's highest-paid coach, elbowing his way past $3 million club members Kirk Farentz of Iowa, Pete Carroll of USC and Charlie Weis of Notre Dame. He'll receive almost double the salary of Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, which means Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs can expect a visit from Tuberville’s agent (coincidentally Jimmy Sexton, who also represents Saban) if the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide for a sixth straight season.
NCAA president Myles Brand has expressed grave concern over the skyrocketing salaries of college football coaches, but this is starting to look like the old Cold War nuclear arms race. The money involved will only escalate from here.
How much is too much?
What do you think?
Are there too many multi-millionaire coaches and should Alabama have paid so much to land Saban?

A word on the bird

Forgive Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for displaying the wrong kind of Dirty Bird after Sunday’s home loss to New Orleans. He wasn’t around when the Falcons created the Dirty Bird touchdown dance craze during their Super Bowl run in 1998. He probably heard ‘‘Dirty Bird’’ and thought it meant the sort of middle-fingered salute he gave a jeering fan as he left the Georgia Dome.
Vick has already issued multiple mea culpas for his inexcusable act of anger and the NFL has fined him $10,000. Normally it fines players $5,000 for an obscene gesture, so we can only assume the league bumped up the penalty because Vick executed a double digit defense.
We don't know what Vick heard from his heckler. There are certain trigger words that would set off any normal person, but athletes are conditioned over the years to block out crowds. At the same time, Vick and his teammates have little reason to bother with booing fans. They deserve the jeers, having lost four straight games — including a pair to the terrible duo of Detroit and Cleveland. Remember, this was a team that thumped its chest and declared itself a playoff contender when the season began.
The best course of action for Vick would be to focus his anger on different targets -- the wide receivers who dropped five passes Sunday and the offensive linemen whose porous pass blocking kept him on the run all day.

Slapped silly

I'm no fan of basketball coach Bobby Knight.
He was a Neanderthal and a bully at Indiana and he's a Neanderthal and a bully at Texas Tech.
You can change his XXL V-neck sweater from Hoosier red to Raider black, but you can't change who he is on the inside.
He's done plenty of juvenile things over the years, abusive acts worthy of censure, from throwing a chair to making an inappropriate comment about rape to kicking his own son to choking a player to grabbing a student who smarted off to him.
So it comes at no surprise that TV cameras and writer's tape recorders are poised at the ready to catch his next volcanic meltdown.
This week, he's catching heat for allegedly slapping a Texas Tech player during Monday's home game against Gardner-Webb. As the players gathered around Knight during a time out, the coach saw the attention span of player Michael Prince wandering. Prince dropped his head, losing eye contact with his coach and Knight lightly tapped him beneath his chin to regain his attention.
Because it was caught on camera, it's now the Slap Seen Around the World.
This thing has been played and replayed ad nauseum on ESPN.
Never mind that the player in question and his parents have no problem with what Knight did. Never mind that the supposed slap was more of a tap.
The incident is suddenly being treated as yet another example of Knight's rage uncaged.
I don't like Knight and don't like feeling the compulsion to defend him.
In this case, however, Knight is being penalized for his past.
He really didn't do anything all that wrong in this case, but it's a near certainty that he will do something abusive and utterly stupid in the future.
So save the outrage until then.

A real air scare

This qualifies as a Twilight Zone moment. On Friday, the charter flight carrying the Marshall University football team to its road game at East Carolina was delayed for two hours after smoke began pouring out of one of the engines.
Fortunately, none of the 150 people aboard the plane were injured but there were more than a few rattled nerves because of the timing of the mechanical malfunction.
Almost 36 years ago to the day, a plane carrying the Marshall football team home from a game at -- cue spooky music -- East Carolina crashed on Nov. 14, 1970, killing 75 people aboard. Most of the football team perished in the crash. A movie about the tragedy, ‘‘We Are Marshall,’’ opens Dec. 22.
It's frightening to think that something like that could have happened to that university again.
If I'm a Marshall player, however, I think I would insist on going Greyhound from now on.

Relationship in the rough

With all the tabloid and TV hullabaloo over Britney Spears finally coming to her senses and seeking a divorce from K-Fed, her backup dancer/wannabe rapper/couch anchor, it was easy to miss another significant celebrity marital transaction.
John Daly, everyone's favorite long-driving, hard-partying PGA Tour player, now finds his love life buried deep in a sand trap.
He's headed for divorce No. 4, which means that the number of ex-wives in his life will continue to outpace his number of major championships (two).
The Associated Press reported that Sherrie Miller Daly filed for divorce last month.
This comes on the heels of her rejoining society after serving a federal sentence for her involvement in an alleged drug and gambling ring.
Long John’s life continues to resemble a mournful country music song, something about how all his exes drive a Lexus.
But Daly shouldn’t fret for long. Never mind the con that will be walking out of your life. Think of all the pros you can offer the ladies.
Granted, he's not much to look at these days. The last time I saw him at the Masters, he was wearing an 84 Lumber polo shirt (pimping his sponsor) and smoking an unfiltered Marlboro during the par-3 tournament. His ample gut hung far over his beltline, a testament to his time at the Hooter's on Washington Road during Master's week.
It's not as if he doesn't offer anything, however. He's in the midst of his worst year on the PGA Tour with just one top 25 finish. With him missing all of those cuts, there's plenty of time to cuddle with future ex-wife No. 5.
The man also appreciates fine foods (ie. his affinity for Hooter's wings) and offers palatial digs (the Winnebago he sleeps in during Master's week. It has a stove and a bathroom inside). What woman wouldn't jump at the chance to meet him?
Now that it appears the lovely Ms. Spears is back on the market, perhaps it’s time to put these two crazy country kids together.

Releasing a pent-up blog

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Florida State football.
Remember when the Seminoles were relevant and occupied a spot in the top five every year? Well, they just lost to Maryland to fall to 4-4. That means they’ve fallen off life support and into a pine box. Now they're just waiting to be covered by that last shovel full of dirt.
It's gotten so bad in Tallahassee that a long-time Florida State fan started www.retirecoachbowden.com in an effort to get Bobby Bowden to do what men his age usually do -- wear Bermuda shorts up to their necks, hit the early bird special at Piccadilly and drive slow in the left lane.
The Web site, which breaks from others like it in that it hasn't actually called for the coach's firing, reads: ‘‘We mourn the demise of Florida State University Semonoles football at the hands of its most trusted builder ...’’
Naturally, Bowden won't retire as long as Joe Paterno keeps plugging along and threatening to pass him as college football's winningest coach. Maybe they should form a gentleman's pact to both retire when they're tied atop the list. Then they could save their fan bases from watching two legends taking a wrecking ball to their respective legacies.
* I have a lot of pent-up blogging to do, so this will get kind of long. Between traveling and taking care of a couple home maintenance chores (ie. wife says ''Clean the gutters, dear'') there hasn't been much time for puttering around on the Internet.
Now that I'm in puttering mode, here are some other completely unconnected thoughts:
* Georgia football coach Mark Richt had this to say about his team's ugly offensive effort against Florida -- ‘‘We just got stuffed in the first half. It starts with me.’’
All season, Richt has conspicuously avoided self-criticism as his offense has sputtered against the likes of Colorado, Mississippi State and Co. He always chalked it up to dropped passes, turnovers and the like. Now that he's turning some blame inward, it's worth wondering if he'll turn play-calling over to a dedicated offensive coordinator next season.
* Strange thing in the aftermath of the Florida-Georgia game. Florida coach Urban Meyer said Sunday that the Gators’ scoreless second half and luckluster offense might have had something to do with a knock that QB Chris Leak took on the head. Meyer contends Leak played with a concussion, unbeknownst to coaches and trainers.
Leak maintains he didn't have a concussion, but says he had a severe headache and blurry vision.
Hmm. Blurry vision, severe headache, burned three second-half timeouts unnecessarily. I'm not doctor, but those sound like symptoms of a concussion.
* NBA commissioner David Stern provided the following advice to league players last week. When heading out in public, please, please, please leave your guns at home.
Wonder if he added that they shouldn't shoot the messenger.
It's silly that a pro sports commissioner would have to tell adult athletes to lock up their Glocks when going out night-clubbing, but recent events compelled him to say something. Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson faces felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly firing a handgun like Yosemite Sam outside a nightclub last month.
The world would be a much better place if NBA players would carry something less lethal instead, like nun-chucks or cans of silly string.
* A colleague of mine votes in the Harris Poll. As he input his ballot on the Harris web site after Saturday's Georgia-Florida game, he ommitted the Bulldogs from the top 25. A computer alert flashed on his screen: ''You had Georgia ranked 24th last week. Are you sure you want to do this?''
Uh, yeah, he did.
I guess the Harris Poll folks use the Hal 9000. All of those prompts could come in handy, however.
You could be in a press box, finalizing your ballot 300 miles from home, and the computer could ask: ''Did you remember to turn off the iron before you left home?''

Saturday ramblings

CLEMSON, S.C. — I never thought I would have a reason to cover a Georgia Tech road game played anywhere other than Athens, but the Yellow Jackets’ surprising season necessitated a change.
Under usual circumstances, an uneven start by Georgia Tech in an audition for the Champs Sports Bowl, I would have stuck with my original plan of covering Alabama against Tennessee. While I’m not familiar with ACC territory, it’s proven to be a nice change of pace so far. Clemson’s pretty, tree-lined campus looks vibrant in the late-afternoon glow, especially with the leaves changing.
I saw a few examples of the unusual on my walk to the stadium -- an orange-and-white Clemson-decorated Cadillac hearse with the slogan ‘‘Paw Bearer’’ emblazoned on the doors and at least 15 Clemson fans wearing orange overalls.
I know Clemson’s booster club goes by the acronym IPTAY for ‘‘I Pay Ten a Year,’’ as in thousands of dollars. But with the prevalence of farmhand togs around here, it might stand for ‘‘I Plow Ten Acres Yearly.’’
Having established that small John Deere tractors might be more likely to decorate the polo shirts of Clemson fans than Izod alligators, allow me to provide some additional enlightenment about this football Saturday:
• No Georgia fans, the Tennessee and Vanderbilt games aren’t aberrations this year. If the Bulldogs’ 27-24 win over Mississippi State taught us anything, it’s that they’re really mediocre in what has proven to be a year of transition.
It took a late fumble recovery to save them from overtime or, quite possibly, a third straight loss.
As difficult as the last three weeks have been for Georgia fans to stomach, it will get better. Matthew Stafford threw for more than 200 yards against the Bulldogs. By allowing Stafford to play through the mistakes a first-year player makes and accepting whatever results come with them, Georgia will profit next season.
• Alabama’s up 13-7 on Tennessee. Nothing against Mike Shula, but defensive coordinator Joe Kines in the brains of that operation.
• Did you see the highlights of the Miami-Duke game? The Blue Devils were driving on the suspension-depleted ‘Canes at the end of the game, gave up an interception and lost 20-15. I’m just amazed that the Miami player who intercepted the ball didn’t take off his helmet and start swinging it at a Duke player during his return.
• UCLA 14-13 over Notre Dame in the third quarter. Surely, that can’t hold up. On the off chance it does, would that mean the Irish won’t play in the BCS title game?
• Game of the day: Texas 22, Nebraska 20. I’m not saying Nebraska coach Bill Callahan made a bad decision calling a third-down pass play that led to a late fumble, but let’s just say Tom Osbourne would have called something different.
• Anybody else think the Pittsburgh Steelers will pound the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow?
The matchup to watch will be Pittsburgh receiver Hines Ward against Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Hmm. Didn’t the Falcons have a chance to select Ward in the third round of the 1998 draft?
Oh yeah, they passed him over for Jammi German. That worked out well.
German had 20 catches in four seasons, which makes you wonder why the Falcons didn’t persuade him to extend his career. At their current pace, Roddy White and Michael Jenkins might combine to produce the same result in five seasons.

Falcons crashing to earth

I was beginning to re-think my preseason prediction that the Atlanta Falcons would go 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
Then a couple of things happened.
They played a New York Giants team with legitimate playoff potential that was at full strength (unlike the banged-up Carolina Panthers outfit they beat in Week One).
They failed to protect an 11-point second half lead and lost handily, giving up somewhere in the neighborhood of (and I’m just estimating here) 5,243,763 yards to Tiki Barber in the second half. They failed to protect Michael Vick, who was sacked seven times despite being the league’s most mobile QB. They struggled to mount any semblance of a passing game, which is astounding given that wide receivers Michael Jenkins, Roddy White and Ashley Lelie were all first-round draft picks.
When it was over, coach Jim Mora rushed to proclaim that the obvious flaws on display weren't nearly as awful as they seemed. That only adds weight to the claim that, yes, they really were that bad.
And then Tuesday arrived and it became known that starting left guard Matt Lehr violated the NFL’s steroids policy and would miss the next four games.
I’m wondering what sort of juice Lehr was on, because the offensive line’s performance has been so erratic this season. The Falcons lead the league in rushing, but have allowed 18 sacks. Do they make a time-release steroid that only works for run-blocking?
I’d love to ask an Atlanta offensive lineman about this, but the unit has abided by a foolish no-talking-to-the-media policy introduced by former O-line coach Alex Gibbs a couple years ago.
Can’t say I blame them for their silence. I’d hate to have to answer questions about steroids too.

Saturday ramblings

Given the way Gov. Sonny Perdue reacted to the headline the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran last Sunday morning over the Georgia-Tennessee game story, we shouldn’t be surprised if he sends national guard troops to various newspaper offices around the state today.
Perdue ripped the AJC last week because it topped its sports section with the head ‘‘Dogs get put in their place.’’
Perdue wrote in a letter to the editor that the newspaper must await ‘‘lousy news about all things Georgia and pounces with their poison pens’’ when it develops.
After Georgia’s 24-22 loss to Vanderbilt, I’ve decided to suggest some less incendiary, sure to be Sonny-approved headlines that might allow the gov to get back to the business of running the state.
* ‘‘Georgia tries really hard’’
* ‘‘Georgia lays egg Sonny side up’’
* ‘‘Dogs would have won if Vandy hadn’t paid off refs’’
* ‘‘Georgia loses game, tops Vandy in graduation rates’’ (Oops, never mind)
* ‘‘Hey, they didn’t lose by 18 this week’’
* ‘‘Dogs now second-best in Georgia, No. 1 in our hearts’’

Gotta play hurt
By the way, the feel good story in college football this year just might be Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner. I know people down this way don’t care about the goings on in Indiana since Bobby Knight quit throwing chairs.
Here’s why you should care about Hoeppner. The guy coached the Hoosiers to a 31-28 upset of No. 15 Iowa Saturday, the program’s first signature win in close to 20 years.
He’s coaching despite the fact that he underwent brain surgery for the second time in nine months only a few weeks. Let that marinate for a moment.
They cut his skull open to remove a tumor and he’s back coaching within a month. If you’re one of his players, it would be unconscionable to think about missing a game due to turf toe.

Runaway litigation

I know I’m supposed to be writing about sports, but it’s my blog and I reserve the right to take a detour now and then.
The story of former ‘‘runaway bride’’ Jennifer Wilbanks suing her former fiance for $500,000 marks such an occasion.
Wilbanks reportedly wants $250,000 as her share of a home she purchased with John C. Mason, the guy she left at the altar when she decided to tour the country by Greyhound a year ago April. She’s also seeking $250,000 in punitive damages.
A thought came to me as I read the story. When Mason was served with the court papers, did his eyes bulge out of their sockets the way Wilbanks’ seem to in every published photo?
Let’s do a quick review of the Wilbanks saga. Mason proposed, she said ‘‘I do.’’ They set a wedding date and plan a ceremony that apparently had something like 7,000 guests and 300 bridesmaids (my math might be a little off). She wigs out, goes AWOL on a bus, doesn’t leave a note and disappears for four days while hundreds of police and volunteers conduct a search for a presumed kidnapping victim.
Then, to top it all off, Mason forgives her vanishing act and buys a house with her. Now he’s getting dragged into a courtroom.
My first instinct was to sympathize with the guy, but upon further review (a phrase used by college football refs ... see, this is a sports blog!) I’m not so sure who is the bigger headcase. Her disappearing act was looney, but so was his decision to forgive her.
The more you think about them, the more sane Terrell Owens seems.

The name game

This week’s sign that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are in full gallop:
A family in Mississippi gave birth to a boy over the weekend.
They named the kid ESPN.
It gets even better (or worse, depending on whether you think these folks are total whack jobs). According to the Associated Press article that ran in the Ledger-Enquirer this morning, the dad, Rusty Real of D’Iberville, Miss., worships former pro quarterback Joe Montana almost as much as he does SportsCenter.
So the boy will go through life known as ESPN Montana Real.
Apparently, there are at least at least three other lil’ ESPNs soiling their diapers around the country. A 2005 report about the 25th anniversary of ESPN found indirect offspring of the network in Pampa, Texas; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Michigan.
I suppose I should rant about the idiocy of naming a child after a cable channel, but it shouldn’t really surprise any of us given our society’s addiction to TV.
In the movie ‘‘Talladega Nights,’’ the sons of the NASCAR driver played by Will Farrell are named ‘‘Walker’’ and ‘‘Texas Ranger’’ as an homage to the crime-fighting, butt-whoopin' and roundhouse-kickin’ extravaganza starring Chuck Norris.
It’s only a matter of time before maternity wards are filled with bawling babies named CNN, NASCAR, Cold Pizza, Sopranos, Deal or No Deal or Bravo.
I'm just glad that Fox News Channel didn’t exist when I was born. Otherwise my late father, a staunch conservative, might have been moved to name me O’Reilly Factor or Fair and Balanced Johnson.
My wife and I haven’t made plans for children yet, but rest assured we have potential names covered.
American Idol if it’s a girl.
Pimp My Ride if it’s a boy.
Two and a Half Men if it’s a really, really big boy.

Frank-ly, it's surprising

One of the more amazing developments of this baseball season has been the re-birth of former Columbus High School star Frank Thomas, who was forced to start over with the Oakland A’s after 16 seasons with the Chicago White Sox.
Thomas received a World Series ring last year despite making a minimal contribution and didn't do much to endear himself to general manager Ken Williams. The White Sox were perfectly willing to put up with Thomas’ grouchiness as long as he was supplying 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons. When injuries made his number of DNPs keep place with RBIs, however, it was easy to let go of a player who had always been thought of as a clubhouse cancer.
I remember writing at the start of the season that Thomas should have made a graceful exit from the game and retired while he was still mostly well thought of by White Sox fans.
Turns out a lot of us misjudged Thomas.
Many of us still want to think of him as the me-first, stats-over-championships player he seemed to be in the prime of his career. But this season with Oakland, Thomas has subjugated his ego and re-established himself as the sort of player who can carry a team.
On Monday, in the opening game of Oakland's American League playoff series at Minnesota, Thomas delivered a pair of home runs, including the game-winner in the ninth.
More importantly, the 38-year-old has taken the time to become a mentor to younger players like first baseman Nick Swisher and outfielder Milton Bradley.
About eight months ago, it looked like Thomas' career might be over. Now, it looks almost as strong as it did when he was winning AL MVP awards in 1993 and '94.
There's no question, however, that he's still stat-driven. One reason why he might have wanted to extend his career is the belief that he needed to reach the 500-homer plateau to get serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.
He'll undoubtedly get there. His career .305 batting average and one-time status as the most-feared right-handed hitter in the game should make him a lock when his name finally appears on a ballot.