BEHIND THE MICROPHONE

Birds of Happiness

The Hawks begin the post-Christmas portion of their schedule with a Wednesday night home game against Indiana, before hitting the road for three straight: at Dallas, Cleveland, and Indiana.
And they will do so with a winning record. A year ago, the Hawks were 9-17 at this time. Before that 7-18. And before that 5-20!
So, major progress has been made, despite a rash of injuries that seemingly never go away, and the injured players who do make it back are less than 100% when they return.
The Hawks core group has stabilized the team.
The play of Joe and Anthony Johnson has been superb, Josh Smith continues to mature and string consistently-winning efforts together, while the x-factor has been the shooting of Marvin Williams.
For the first time in his pro career, Marvin has put four straight 20-point games together. His latest effort was a 22-point effort in Washington last Friday, that saw Marvin nail 8-of-12 from the field.
Teams are discovering that they can’t leave Marvin open. And as the opposition adjusts the defense to move out on Marvin, that will give Joe even more room to operate. Johnson’s strength and savvy have been on full display during the current four-game winning streak.
The Hawks have also been able to win without Josh Childress. A reserve who plays starters minutes, Childress missed four straight games and six out of seven due to a groin injury. Before the Washington game, he told me he was at “80%”, but managed to play 23 minutes and delivered a crucial stick back late in the game.
Georgia Tech’s Mario West has also played crucial minutes, and at Washington solidified the Hawks 97-92 win with two huge free throws late in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks have risen to fifth in the East. The excitement has returned to Philips Arena. It will be great fun watching this club in its first playoff fight in nine years! See you on FSN South/HD/SportSouth!

I have the solution for baseball. The only consideration that fans are the media seem to care about is whether or not an alleged steroid user should be banned from the Hall of Fame. So, the Hall should make the following statement: “Since we don’t know who cheated and who didn’t, players who played from 1992-2007 are ineligible for the Hall of Fame.” The clean players would then rat out of the cheats so fast it would make your head spin, and provide a list that would put the Mitchell report to shame!

What to Think?

Wow, that was some week last week.
From Bobby Petrino to Roger Clemens, we’ll not soon forget the events of the last seven days.
And what to think of all that?
First, the Falcons.
One thing I have learned in a lifetime of covering college and professional sports is this—unless you are on the inside, and I mean the inner sanctum of these teams—you don’t know the whole story.
There is so much more to all of these stories that what you have heard and read is just the tip of the iceberg.
But with limited knowledge, the entire Petrino affair looks distasteful.
From the outside looking in, it is hard for me to believe that a coach would leave his team in the middle of the season. An NFL coach headed back to college should not have any trouble telling that new team to wait three weeks while he finishes his season.
And what about Arkansas? What kind of program wants a coach that would jump ship to captain yours?
(Let’s not get into the sanctity of the signed contract, shall we? How long was that deal you signed in Louisville, Bobby?)
Certainly, the Petrino Follies will be used against him in recruiting. I’ve heard it said that Petrino will have a hard time in the living rooms of potential recruits. Theory holds that Ma and Pa want Little Johnny to have his coach the whole way thru his college experience.
Well, that’s a nice fairy tale. But the truth is there are plenty of parents who just want Petrino to get their kid to the NFL as soon as possible so the paychecks can start rollin’.
Maybe they could start a conga line with the coach and in unison shout, “We’re Gonna Get Paid!”. They don’t much care how long Petrino lasts in Fayetteville just as long as Their Kid can make it to the league.

The Mitchell Report on steroids was another disturbing bit of news. Not so much for the names that were revealed but how there has been a seismic shift in the values of baseball players, never very high to begin with in the first place.
The history of the game is replete with players trying to gain an edge any way they can. From Slippery Elm to greenies, from sign-stealing to HGH, players will stop at nothing in their quest to beat the system.
But for me, the story of the Steroids Era is this: In years past, players (Pete Rose comes to mind) always held the standard of the Hall of Fame to be bench mark as the highest point in the game. Rose certainly feels this way, and his lifetime ban is keeping him from being in amongst the games greatest players. He never thought he would get caught. And if he did, he’d find a way out. After 13 years of denials on gambling before his admission of guilt, Pete still finds himself on the outside looking in. And looking back, I’m sure Pete feels that it was not worth doing what he did if it will keep him out of the Hall forever. That’s just a guess on my part, but knowing how Rose truly loves the game of baseball I can’t help but think he feels that way in his remorse.
Not so with today’s stars. To use Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens as examples, those players, when faced with a decision to use steroids, picked money over the Hall.
Money is now officially (not that there was much doubt) the most important thing in baseball. Money that the clubs generates. Money that the border-line player can make if he juices and can stay in the big leagues. And money (Bonds and Clemens have made tons) is more important than the Hall. If the allegations are true, then Bonds, Clemens and the like will be recognized as the first players that made the conscious decision to violate first, the laws of the USA and in so doing, thumb their noses at the baseball establishment by using, for profit, performance enhancing drugs.
The money won out. Sad to say, but when has it not? Unfortunately, the money is so big now for the players and the owners in major league baseball that for the first time in memory, the game has taken a back seat.
Get rich. Stay rich. And do what ever it takes to stay at the top. If it keeps me out of the HOF and convicts me in the court of public opinion, so be it.
It was worth it to be a cheat.
What a great message to send to our young people.

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.

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.

Good News Spoken Here

It would be nice, in my view, to read and hear some encouraging news about professional athletes these days. Our TV and radio shows and newspapers have been replete, for weeks, with unending drivel concerning Michael Vick, steroids, and illegal sports betting.

Well, I came across such a story Sunday. What I don’t understand is why it was placed on page E10 of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution second sports section. If ever a story deserved to be splashed across the front page, this was it.

In case you missed it, the story was Sekou Smith’s Inside the NBA column, that featured a Q and A with Hawks forward Josh Childress.

Here’s what Josh has been doing while the rest of the world frets about Vick’s football career:

• Has been talking classes at Stanford, sociology of deviance and a physics course, the study of the universe.

• Started classes this week at Georgia State

• Worked with shoe experts at Nike to design a new sneaker that will increase the shock absorption to take the pressure off his oft-injured feet

All the while, working on his basketball game, preparing for a pivotal Hawks season that begins November 2nd against Dallas at Philips Arena.

Here’s the point about the All-Vick-All-The-Time coverage: once you know the story, it’s no longer news, right? The depth of his problems and the ultimate adjudication is all that’s left. Could we not hear and read about something else now? Thanks, Josh (and Sekou) for being a positive example about what is right in sports. Even though it can’t compete with the dark side for above-the-fold attention.

Something pretty cool happened in the Detroit-New York game last Saturday.

The Tigers, on Friday, called their top prospect, Cameron Maybin, to the big leagues. On Saturday, Cameron hit his first major league home run.

In Yankee Stadium.

To dead center field.

Off Roger Clemens.

Talk about a story for the grandkids! I first met Cameron at the 2004 AFLAC All-American game in Aberdeen, MD. Maybin is from Asheville, NC. Maybin was chosen by Detroit with the 10th-overall pick in the 2005 draft and he has done nothing but produce ever since.

Also in that 2004 ALFAC game was Justin Upton, now a member in good standing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It’s amazing how quickly Maybin has made it to The Show. Unbridled power. Major League talent. Looks like he’s a keeper. And another wonderful story to offset all the distasteful dispatches of recent weeks.

The college football season is about to get rolling, not a moment too soon. The AP pre-season college football poll is out, and the SEC has six of the nation’s Top 25 teams.

One team that is not listed is Notre Dame. Thought you would live long enough to see that? But the Irish remain relevant.

This year, Notre Dame features a certain California-bred freshman. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, the 19-year-old who has been called the LeBron James of high school football, is competing with junior Evan Sharpley and sophomore Demetrius Jones for Notre Dame's starting position.

Clausen won't speak to reporters until freshman media day on Friday. Head coach Charlie Weis might not name a starter until Sept. 1, when the Fighting Irish host Georgia Tech in the season opener.

Do we still have to wait two more weeks???

Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!

In retrospect, it was painful to watch.

Tuesday, October 3, 2000. Busch Stadium, St. Louis.

The Braves and the Cardinals in Game One of the NLDS.

The Cardinals jumped on Greg Maddux for six first inning runs, and the Cards were rolling. Until the top of the 3rd. Then, Cardinal starter Rick Ankiel couldn’t find the plate. Ankiel uncorked four walks and five wild pitches, and the Braves scored four times in the top of the third. They would lose, 7-4, and would be swept by St. Louis in three.

But that Ankiel memory seemed like the beginning of the end for the promising Cardinal prospect. And as we all know, it was. For his pitching career. I remember covering that series for FSN South and how awkward it was in the Cardinal clubhouse, even though St. Louis had won the game. We witnessed a meltdown of epic proportions.

You will recall that Ankiel was a second-round draft pick and can't-miss prospect, Ankiel shot through the minors as a flame-throwing lefty, making his major league debut that season at age 20, winning 11 games and striking out 194 batters in 175 innings to earn that start in the playoffs. That game, however, proved to be the beginning of the end of his pitching career, as Ankiel ended up throwing a record nine wild pitches in four postseason innings.

He pitched just 34 innings in the majors after that, walking 26, hitting five batters and throwing six wild pitches before missing all of 2002 and most of the next two seasons with arm problems. He tried one final comeback in the spring of 2005 but, still troubled by pain and wildness, he eventually confessed to Cardinals General Manager Walt Jocketty that he couldn't handle the disappointment any longer.

Jocketty, however, had other ideas.

"I knew what a competitor he is. And I knew he was becoming very frustrated with trying to live up to the talent that he had as a pitcher," Jocketty told the LA Times. "I knew how much he loved baseball and I just thought he should give the outfield a try."

And back to the minors he went. The low minors. Trying to restart a career as an everyday player. Unheard of!

This year, the payoff. Ankiel drilled 32 home runs at Memphis, and has hit three more after his call up Friday a week ago to St. Louis.

Only two other players in the last 45 years -- Bobby Darwin, now a Dodgers scout, and Willie Smith -- have made their big league debuts as pitchers, then gone on to get significant time as position players. And Ankiel is the 12th player in history to have hit his first home run as a pitcher, then later homer as a position player. The last to do so was Clint Hartung in 1947. Before him, it was a fellow named Babe Ruth, who went on to have a decent career in the outfield.

At a time when baseball can really use a “feel-good” story, along comes Rick Ankiel to give it to us. What he is doing folks, is beyond incredible. I hope he keeps it up. After watching his meltdown in St. Louis, here’s hoping he is in right field for the Cardinals for years to come.

AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic

Carve out a few hours Saturday afternoon to check out a field full of future baseball stars. The 2007 AFLAC High School All-American Baseball Classic will air on FSN at 3pm ET/Noon PT, and will feature 37 rising prep seniors.

Five Georgians will be in the game:

·        Xavier Avery from Cedar Grove HS in Decatur. A speedster who is also a star football player, melted scout’s stopwatches in the spring with a sub-4.0 time home-to-first.

·        Tim Beckham from Griffin HS in Kennesaw. A five-tool talent, Beckham had a tremendous junior year last spring, hitting .512 with 39 RBIs and 20 steals. His brother Jeremy plays baseball at Georgia Southern.

·        Taylor Hightower from Cartersville HS. One of the nation’s premiere catching prospects. He has made a verbal commitment to Ole Miss.

·        Ethan Martin from Stephens Co. HS in Toccoa. Considered as the #1 prospect in Georgia and in the Top 10 nationally. A great hitter, Martin is also outstanding on the hill, 6-1 with a 1.41 ERA last season. Stephens Co.’s starting QB, Ethan has received multiple scholarship offers in both sports.

·        Michael Palazzone from Lassiter HS in Marietta. At 6-4, this right-hander consistently throws in the low 90s. He’s coming back from inflammation in his rotator cuff and was limited to 20 innings last spring. Has given Georgia a verbal.

Justin Upton, who was in the 2004 game, was called up to the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, and is the 2nd AFLAC All-American to reach the big leagues.

One young man that will not be there is Sonny Gray from Smyrna, TN.

Gray will be in San Diego this week for the festivities, but will not be allowed to play. An archaic Tennessee High School ruling will keep Gray on the sidelines.

The association's all-star rules would keep the rising senior from playing in the Aug. 11 in San Diego.

Under TSSAA rules, high school athletes aren't allowed to play in all-star games if they have eligibility remaining in that sport. This game isn't a sanctioned event by the TSSAA, either. And because his Rutherford County schools open for class with a two-hour day on Aug. 9, Gray would violate the TSSAA's ban on all-star game participation after the school year begins.

If he played, Gray would lose eligibility for his senior year baseball, and nobody wants that to happen, especially since he is committed to play collegiately at Vanderbilt.

It will be a fun afternoon, and a great week in Southern California for these  young men. It will be my pleasure to call the game nationally for FSN, working with Rockies color man George Frazier.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Do you like the look of the new Hawks uniforms?

Early returns seem to suggest that you do. The early polling at ajc.com said that fans who voted like the new look, 75-25.

I like the new look. It has a clean, fresh look about it that will spark a new positive feeling abut the team.

Certainly, the pieces it adds on on draft night will be a big reason why.

I have to admit, I will miss the all-red road unis. I thought that was a bold, unique look. But times change, and this new, blue road look is solid and like the way the ATLANTA stands out.

A lot goes in to changing a uniform style and its colors. Atlanta Spirit President and CEO Bernie Mullin said the club is returning to its early roots with the new look.

"The inspiration for the colors came from the original St. Louis Hawks uniforms which were red, white and blue. Those colors were also used for the first two seasons in Atlanta, and the 2007-08 season marks the 40th anniversary of the Hawks in Atlanta. It's also the 50th anniversary of the Hawks NBA Championship and those two anniversaries are part of the reason we opted to make the change now.

"It's a more modern, sleek, and aggressive look that goes with the product that we’re putting on the court this season. We know our players love it and we’re sure the fans will too," said Mullin.

This just in: I’ll be putting my old Hawks gear up for sale! Shirts, shorts, warm-ups, tee-shirts (long and short sleeve), sweaters, golf apparel, golf balls all priced to move! Must make room for newest colors and styles that are coming in soon!

It was a phone call that I enjoyed getting. Late Saturday night, FSN South baseball producer Joe Vencius called to say that we had won an Emmy. A National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Southeast Emmy to be exact. FSN South was awarded the Emmy for our coverage last season of a Braves-Marlins game in the category of Outstanding Live Event, Sports.

This marks the second straight year that the NATAS Southeast has honored FSN South for our production of a Braves game.

And a special shout out to Joe V for a job well done. Joe has done yeoman’s work for the last two years on the Braves games. His innovations and dogged preparation make him one of the finest producers in Major League baseball. FSN and the Braves are lucky to have him. No baseball producer works harder, prepares more, and executes better than Joe. It’s nice to see his great work on the Braves recognized.

Also, the award would not have come without the tremendous analysis provided by Jeff Torborg. It was indeed a pleasure to learn baseball on a daily basis, and he offered insights that only a former big league manager could offer. He was a joy to be around, as the crew that worked on the games can attest. Jeff never had a bad day at the ballpark, never complained about a rain delay or the extra stuff that we had to do. A rain delay gave him more time to regale us with more great stories! I’m proud to have worked with him and glad that he earned this recognition. It proves that the professionals who judged the work of Joe and Jeff knew quality when they saw it.