BEHIND THE MICROPHONE

Rating the Southeast Division

T-minus two weeks and counting to the start of the 2007-08 NBA regular season.

As the pre-season games unfold, here are a few thoughts on the Southeast Division race, where the Hawks reside.

WASHINGTON—surprisingly, the Wizards are rarely named as one of the East’s top teams. Remember, they were pretty banged up by the time they got to the playoffs last year. Healthy, many NBA observers felt like the Wizards would have eliminated Cleveland last year, not the other way around.

This is a deep and talented team. Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison give the Wiz a top three that will rival any in the division. 6-11 Andray Blatche is starting to come in to his own. This is the favorite in the division.

ORLANDO—perhaps a sleeper team in the East. Certainly the addition of Rashard Lewis in the off-season will give Dwight Howard some help up front, but the key to the success of this team might at the point. Jameer Nelson has had a great pre-season to date, and may just thrive in Stan Van Gundy’s up-tempo system. Jameer has piled up 20 assists with only three turnovers in his first three pre-season games. Orlando had a hot start last year that carried them to the playoffs.  They’d like to duplicate that this season.

MIAMI—the big fella (Shaq) is slowing down, injured again in a pre-season game last weekend against Charlotte. But when he is out there, and when Dwayne Wade returns later in November, the Heat will be a formidable foe. The supporting cast is substandard (amazing how out of shape Antoine Walker is). Allowing James Posey to walk to the Celtics was a move that will hurt the team. Dorell Wright, however, is a start in the making. Udonis Haslem will need to improve his scoring.

CHARLOTTE—One of the Bobcats big advantages in years past was Bernie Bickerstaff’s motivation to play hard each and every night. If they get the same inspiration from Sam Vincent, the Bobcats will be improved. Gerald Wallace, armed with a new contract, is the Energizer Bunny for this outfit. Jason Richardson gives the Bobcats a two guard of note, but his work ethic is sure to set the example for this young team But a young team with a raw rookie coach (Sam has spent exactly one year on an NBA bench) will have its work cut out for it.

Meanwhile, the Hawks won three of their first four exhibition games. After winning the first three, the Hawks were slowed on Sunday by Portland. The Blazers had success throttling the Atlanta running game with a 2-3 zone. The Hawks must find a way to score in those situations, or that’s all they’ll see this season. Josh Smith has struggled with his shot through the first four. Al Horford has been as good as advertised. One more home exhibition game this coming Monday against Washington.

FROM THE NOTEBOOK

Anyone struggling with the late start times here in the East with the baseball playoffs? I know I am. 10 o’clock starts are a little rough….Colorado’s run continues to impress and amaze. 19 of 20? Unreal. Kudos to Clint Hurdle and company. Remember folks, the regular season means little. All it does is get you in. What happens from there is anybody’s guess….Good luck and best wishes to Frank Wren as he takes over the Braves. A solid baseball man with deep roots in the development and scouting side, he’ll do a great job….I’ve got to get a plug in for the old alma mater, Catawba College. Last Saturday, in what had to be a game on par with LSU-Kentucky, the Indians roared back from a 35-13 deficit to knock off seventh-ranked Carson-Newman 55-49 in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Burke-Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, TN.  Catawba, ranked 12th in Division II going in, remain undefeated as they improve to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the SAC.  It also marked the first win for Catawba at Carson-Newman since 1987.  The Eagles fall to 6-1 and 2-1. Look for Catawba to now go on and win the national championship.

Bring It On!

Midnight Madness means only one thing—the start of the college basketball season.
And the blessed day is coming Friday.
And this season, you won’t have to wait until Midnight to get the party started.
By golly, common sense has prevailed in this tiny corner of the college basketball world, and teams will be allowed to practice at a saner hour, around 7-8 pm.
Memphis is picked by many to make it to the Final Four this year, and just might win it all. Head coach John Calipari had a confident look about him last week, when he stopped by the first day of Hawks camp.
Long the class of Conference-USA, the Tigers are as deep and talented as anyone this year. The city of Memphis has the fever. Memphis will be one of four schools highlighted during ESPN’s Midnight Madness coverage. There are no single game tickets available this season in the massive FedEx Forum.
Memphis, just to refresh your memory, returns all five starters from a team that went 33-4 last season, a win shy of the Final Four.
UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas round out the consensus top four.

Speaking of the Tar Heels, I couldn’t help but think back on a women’s college basketball game I did for ESPN years ago.
The North Carolina Tar Heels were playing at Carmichael Auditorium, when one of their guards stole the ball near mid-court.
It seemed that she was laying the ball in the basketball before the player she had stripped turned around.
That player? None other than Marion Jones, who showed her world class speed on the hardwood as the world was learning of her amazing abilities on the track.
It was sad watching her life, for all intents and purposes, end on the court house steps in White Plains, NY, last week.
Broke, humiliated, and now looking at prison time, Marion Jones, like Michael Vick, had it all and threw it all away.
After her years of denials, Marion Jones finally spilled the beans about her illegal drug use.
Makes you wonder if anyone involved in that darkness is capable of telling the truth.

NBA exhibition games started this week. The Hawks will host Portland Sunday afternoon at 2 pm at Philips Arena.
Douglasville native and former Georgia Tech Jacket Mario West is playing great in Hawks camp. He’s a hard nosed defender, just like he was on the Flats, and is making a case to stick as the Hawks 15th man on the roster….Chris Ellis, Dale’s son, late of Wake Forest, is in Portland’s camp…Georgia State’s Brad Stricker is with the Nuggets, as is GT’s Alvin Jones…Seattle’s Damien Wilkins has changed his number to 21….scouts are telling me that Golden State’s Marco Belinelli is the real deal, perfect for coach Don Nelson’s system....GT’s Javaris Crittendon debuts with the Lakers this week against the Warriors in Honolulu.

Let’s hope that this weekend is better than last: Thrashers lose their home opener in front of a sellout crowd…Dogs get spanked at Tennessee…Tech loses at Maryland….the Falcons found a way to lose against the Titans…Andruw Jones leaves the Braves and no one seems to care…Marvin Williams didn’t have a hoop in the Hawks open scrimmage. Yuck.

Drop the Puck!

A great night is coming our way Friday, as the Atlanta Thrashers open their 2007-2008 NHL season.
This opener will be special. With NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on hand, the team will raise to the Philips Arena rafters their first pennant—the hard-earned 2006-07 Southeast Division championship banner.
A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into the making of that banner, and quite a few folks should stand proud and claim a piece of that cloth as their own.
First and foremost is GM Don Waddell, who has taken this franchise from Day One and molded it to become a winning organization.
And the fans should be standing right there with Don.
It’s a loyal group, these Thrasher fans, who enjoyed a great stretch run last year, only to see our boys go down hard against the Rangers in their first Stanley Cup playoff experience.
But that sweep will only make the winning in the future taste that much sweeter.
It’s a different hockey team than the one that captured the flag last season—smaller, younger, and faster. The goaltending will be consistently good this year.
And remember folks, every night counts! Just eight points separated the top 10 clubs in the NHL’s overall standings last season.
A fast start is a key indicator to post-season success. The past three Stanley Cup champs have a combined October record of 23-2-5. Tampa Bay went 6-0-1 in October, 2003; Carolina 8-2-1 in ’05; and Anaheim went 9-0-3 last October.
And win those shootouts, boys! Tampa Bay was 10-2 in shootouts last year. Had they dropped four of those and gone 6-6, they would have finished 11th in the East and missed the playoffs. Tampa figures to be a strong Cup contender in the East with Pittsburgh and the Rangers.

This first week of October means its back to the hardwood for the Hawks. Practice began Tuesday at Philips Arena, with the teams first of three scheduled open practices coming up this Saturday morning at the arena.
Doors open at 11:45am, with practice running from Noon until 1:30pm. Fans can also take advantage of the best seat locations in Philips, and purchase full and partial season ticket plans.
Plus, all fans in attendance will receive a complimentary ticket to a 2007 pre-season game. The first home pre-season game will be October 11th against Charlotte.
See you there!

Absolutely remarkable—the collapse of the Mets and the title for the Phillies in the NL East. Were you as stunned as I that Tom Glavine had nothing on Sunday against the Marlins?
The previous time two teams went into the final day of the regular season tied atop a division -- and neither assured of the wild card -- was 1993. Glavine started for Atlanta that day and beat Colorado 5-3, sending the Braves into the playoffs with help from a Dodgers blowout of San Francisco, in the last great pennant race.

The 300-game winner put his team in a huge hole this time, chased after getting only one out and charged with all seven of Florida's early runs. He made a throwing error and hit Marlins lefty Dontrelle Willis with a pitch with the bases loaded, mistakes that symbolized the Mets' late collapse.

The seven runs matched the most Glavine (13-8) allowed in an inning during his 21 years in the majors, the Elias Sports Bureau said. He also gave up seven to Colorado in 1996.

It also was the second-shortest start of his brilliant career -- and perhaps his last.

The 41-year-old left-hander is contemplating retirement. Or he might choose to pitch elsewhere next season. Surely, the Braves could make him an offer that they could afford. And if they don’t, what do they have against bringing him back? They need starting pitching, big time. Glavine, also roughed up in a 10-9 loss to Washington last Tuesday night, has a $13 million player option for next year with a $3 million buyout.

We’ve probably seen the last of Andruw Jones. I hope he comes back. I’m sure the Braves pitchers would take up a collection to make sure he’s in CF next April. If he does walk, what a shame that we never had a chance to adequately say goodbye. He’ll go down as one of the Braves all-time greats.

Jeff Francoeur became only the eighth player in Braves history to start every game.

Bring on the roundball!!!

Great Wins, Bad Losses

Now THAT was a great win!

Georgia’s thrilling OT victory at Alabama will go down as one of the more storied wins of the Mark Richt era. The man’s coaching success on the road is amazing. 9-2 in true road games against ranked teams? Outstanding. 23 wins in his last 26 SEC true road games? Unbelievable.

The challenge this week? Getting up for Ole Miss.

A very big deal was made last week over the fact that Larry Munson missed the broadcast at ‘Bama, and rightfully so. It was the first road broadcast that Larry will miss this year. But very little was made of the fact that the Georgia-Alabama broadcast was the biggest moment of Scott Howard’s career. Howard and Eric Zier turned in a broadcast worthy of the game, and a broadcast that every true Dawg fan should be proud of. Howard was under the microscope for this one, and he delivered.

A bit of history: In Tyrone Willingham’s first year at Notre Dame, he started 8-0 and did not receive a contract extension. In Charlie Weis’ first year at ND, he went 3-2. Weis received a 30-million dollar deal. How is that move looking now?

The Irish are a worst-in-school-history 0-4 after last Saturday’s drubbing by Michigan State. And this from draftnic Mel Kiper, Jr. on ESPN Radio: “There is not a lot of young talent being developed. Recruiting classes are fine, but do they produce? It’s who is being developed in this program. This is Weis’ third year. Where is the development of the sophomores and juniors? Freshmen play right away now. By their sophomore year, after four games, you should be able to identify the stars in the making. But there are no top flight players in Notre Dame’s sophomore and junior classes right now. I just don’t see it”.

The game of the weekend may be played on Friday night, when West Virginia travels to South Florida. USF dismantled North Carolina last week, the Tar Heels 18th straight regular-season out-of-state loss.

Great to be back at Philips Arena Saturday night, for the Thrashers pre-season home opener against St. Louis. Marian Hossa scored two goals in the game, one on a nifty backhand flip with the club shorthanded. Florida will be here Friday night for the final pre-season home game. The regular season starts Friday, Oct. 5, against Washington, as the Thrashers raise their first Southeast Division championship banner in pre-game ceremonies.

The Thrashers fans were back Saturday night. Great to see old friendships reunited after the summer break. That’s a loyal, hard core hockey bunch, happy to see their boys back on the ice. Many donning Thrasher sweaters were milling about the CNN Center waiting for the gates to open.

I found myself in Jock and Jill’s for the pre-game meal. Marketing note: all the TVs, less one, were tuned to college football in Jocks. One was on the Braves-Brewers game, and not a soul was watching. Interesting.

Congratulations to Bobby Cremins, who last week was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame at the NYAC. Other inductees included broadcaster Bob Wolff, former St. John's star Walter Berry, former Houston Rocket Mario Elie, new Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Ed Pinckney, former NBA coach and Knicks GM Al Bianchi, coach Hank Rosenstein and trustee Burt Beagle, longtime CHSAA and Baruch College statistician, who passed away this year.

Can we officially put the Joe Johnson trade now in the win column for the Hawks? Billy Knight secured an all-star guard and, thanks to the lottery balls, kept this year’s pick that was Al Horford. Going to the Suns, of course, was Boris Diaw. When Diaw first went to the Suns, he was deemed a great find and his versatility was hailed as a great piece in the Suns arsenal. But, alas, even Steve Nash couldn’t save him last year, and without Nash this summer, Diaw’s act was exposed. Diaw flamed out for the Suns in last year’s playoffs and pulled the same disappearing act for France in the recently completed European Championships. Diaw came under attack in the French press (he was called an "enormous disappointment") for going scoreless and fouling out in 25 minutes against Slovenia. A win against Slovenia would have put France in next summer’s Olympic qualifier. Boris also gagged two free throws with 15 seconds left against Russia in the quarterfinals, a 4-point loss.

Less than two weeks to the start of camp…..

Tough Times Never Last...

Memo

To: Jeff Genthner, FSN South/SportsSouth

Re: Show idea

Hey, Jeff. Bob here.

Maybe we could pull this off before the end of September: Let’s get Bobby Cox, Bobby Petrino, Mike Woodson, Bob Hartley, Mark Richt and Chan Gailey together at Fox Sports Grille, turn on the cameras, mics, and lights, and let the tape roll.
Subject: Leadership through the tough times. How do they handle it in each of their sports? What’s the best thing about their jobs? The worst?

Call me.
Bob

Wouldn’t you love to hear and see this?
The idea came to me over last weekend when both Georgia and the Falcons went down.
Both teams, it seems to me, have to fight through the notion proposed by so many fans and media, that their seasons are over.
After just one loss.
That type of negative thinking never got any team anywhere. But admit it. If you root for the Dogs, you feel that it will take a Herculean effort to win the SEC East after the loss to South Carolina.
And who among us watched the Falcon loss at Minnesota and muttered, “It might be a long year”.
That’s why I would like to hear from our coaches, pro and college. I bet they would enjoy the evening hearing from each other. Great leaders are always learning.
We are blessed to have here in Atlanta one of the world’s leading leadership gurus, Dr. John C. Maxwell. His best-selling books set the industry standard. It’s been a real thrill for me the last few years to introduce John’s monthly lessons to his Maximum Impact Club members.
One of John’s best friends in the coaching fraternity is Dick Vermeil. The former Eagles and Rams head man was asked about team unity. Dick had this to say:
“The morale of a football team is a direct reflection of its coaching staff, so it is imperative that the players see us as a group who really care about one another.
“Do not allow any difference of opinion to carry over into a personal ego battle. It is not a matter of who is right or wrong. It is critical that players read us as being a unified group.”
The coaching staffs of the Falcons and the Bulldogs have been doing just that these past few days. They know they have to prevent any negative outside influences from penetrating the locker-room at this crucial time.
And how they do it would make from some great sports television.

THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Bob Davie made an interesting comment late in ESPN’s telecast Saturday night from Georgia. He made the comment about college football NOT having a playoff. He said, “Hey, this is a playoff game. Right now! On September 8th!” How true….the next “playoff game” comes up Saturday night at Bobby Dodd when Tech hosts Boston College. In the Jackets 2-0 start, the team has yet to turn the ball over. The N.C. State victory moved BC (2-0) into the rankings at No. 21. Georgia Tech moved up to 15th with a 69-14 beating of Samford one week after a 33-3 win at Notre Dame. The Eagles were second in the nation last season in turnover ratio and are 2-0 in the ACC. Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta has a zone blitz that BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski calls more "creative" than many. "He does a lot of things with his zone blitz package. Actually, he does a lot more than most coaches do," Jagodzinski said Sunday. BC last played Georgia Tech in 1999 so they don't have much familiarity with each other. The Eagles do know that the Yellow Jackets had their highest-scoring half Saturday since 1916 and had nine touchdowns rushing. Georgia Tech last scored that many points at home in 1921 when it beat Furman 69-0…. Meanwhile, down in College Station, Texas, the biggest cheer for any Aggie other than Stephen McGee for his first-quarter, 65-yard TD run in the opener came at the 7:54 mark when Acie Law IV was introduced to the crowd during an A&M timeout. A&M scored on the next play. The Hawks rookie is back in town for the club’s pre, pre-season workouts. Law, Al Horford and the Thrashers Kari Lehtonen stole the show at the two teams’ Caravan stop at Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead last Friday night….Ken Klee, the new Thrashers defenseman, wowed the crowd at the Gwinnett Chamber event last week…I still stay in touch with my former Braves color man, Jeff Torborg. I saw this note last week: Jason Varitek became the 12th catcher since 1900 to catch three no-hitters in his career. Varitek previously caught no-hitters thrown by Hideo Nomo (2001) and Derek Lowe (2002) before Clay Buchholz tossed one against Baltimore. The other 11: Ray Schalk, Bill Carrigan, Val Picinich, Luke Sewell, Jim Hegan, Yogi Berra. Roy Campanella, Del Crandall, Alan Ashby, Charles Johnson, and my boy Torborg….I got all excited at Barnes and Nobles last week. The first pre-season college basketball magazine has hit the stands, Lindy’s. They’ve got UCLA, North Carolina, and Tennessee as their pre-season top 3. Tech is picked 6th in the ACC…the Dogs 3rd in the SEC East…Georgia State 6th in the Colonial…..Hawks SF Marvin Williams was in Springfield for the Hall of Fame ceremonies, watching his former coach Roy Williams move into the Hall..

Bad Newz and its Aftermath

Now that the Michael Vick story, has basically, played itself out, I’m left to wonder what this story will do to change our teams, the players, and the pro sports culture in our town.

Surely, the Falcons have been scarred for some time to come. The legal wrangling that a waits in the coming weeks and months is sure to be distasteful.

But I’m left with the question: to what extent do professional (and college for that matter) teams know about what their players are doing away from the field or the gym? To what extent should they know what is happening? If they do know something, should they act on it? Is it possible to be pro-active in private areas?

These are all very difficult questions.

There are all kinds of legal issues. Employer/employee relationship questions. Can the team go sticking its nose in areas where it can not?

And, if it does go where it legally can, what is the team supposed to do if it finds out something that it is a potential bombshell?

What then?

It reminds of how after-the-fact the NCAA operates, for example.

The NCAA Manual that governs college athletics resembles the

Manhattan

white AND yellow pages combined. Every by-law and subset paragraph in that literary monolith is there because someone, somewhere tired to circumvent a rule. Cheaters are going to cheat, liars lie.

How much can a team or a league legislate the rules of its very existence?

As we all know, it comes down to a case of ethics and integrity.

Certainly, players should know how to behave in a polite society as an adult. No serious observer absolves Vick of any wrong-doing because he is a grown man, and goodness, if he didn’t know what he was doing was wrong, heaven help us all.

But to get back to my point about what teams should do: it seems the path to follow is to hire the best people.

I know what you are thinking. “Bob, didn’t the Falcons do that with Vick? (of course they did) They traded to up to get him and he’s was lauded by management from day one.”

Yes, all true.

All teams put players through exhaustive background checks. In today’s pro sports environment, if your best player is not your best person, you don’t have a real chance to succeed. Oh, you might get close, make the playoffs, but name for me a team that wins big with players of dubious character?

No, you just have to go out there and do everything you can to pick the right employees. No team is exempt from the bad apple ruining the whole bunch. Not the Falcons, not the Hawks, not the Braves, not the Thrashers.

But to think that a team can watch these guys 24/7/365 is not only impractical but also wrong. Much like parents sending their teens out on the weekend, you just pray that they will make right choices.

We have seen what happens when the wrong choices are made. It can be devastating.

But there is only so much a team can do. The rest is up to the guys.

And as fans, we have to know the difference and where the true responsibility lies.