BEHIND THE MICROPHONE

Why I Love The NHL

Last night, Toronto's GM Brian Burke was booed by the Montreal fans when he took the stage to make the Leafs pick.

The boos were the loudest of the night at the Bell Centre, reserved for the Canadiens arch rival.

Here is Brian's rebuttal:

"I don't give a rat's (behind) about that stuff. I will tell you this, the best hockey fans on the planet are not in Montreal, they're in Toronto. When we host this event in a couple of years and Montreal goes up to pick, this will seem like child's play for the booing they'll get in Toronto."

Now I ask, dear readers, in what other sport will a GM make a comment like this about another teams' fans?

Photo: CBC. Quotation: Sporting News Today 6/27/09

The Road Warrior

NOTES FROM THE ROAD

Greetings, Dear Readers! This is your old buddy, Bob, coming to you from the Hawks charter.
We’re winging it from Portland to Phoenix as I pen this.
The best way to describe the mood of the team is stunned. Just hours ago, the Hawks blew a 19-point lead and a game they controlled, to the Portland Trail Blazers, 94-93.
Atlanta led by six with a little over two minutes left.
But then Brandon Roy took over.
Roy penetrated the Hawks ‘D’ for three straight lay-ups, and then nailed a free throw with 2.3 seconds left for the winning margin.
This was a game the Hawks controlled until they very end. They had a double-digit lead most of the night, only to hand it to the Blazers down the stretch.
Portland’s Travis Outlaw broke the Hawks hearts on MLK Day at Philips with his game-winning jumper at :00.9. Sunday, it was Brandon Roy.
It was clearly the most bitter defeat of the season.

The Hawks will be home Saturday to face Jason Kidd and the Nets. That kicks off a four-game home stand that will see Kobe and LeBron come to town next Wednesday and Friday…..obviously, we all missed out on the NHL All-Star festivities. But what we saw looked great. The hockey world got to see what we know—that Philips Arena is a world class sports and entertainment facility. From the looks of it, the game had to have been fun—8-7 East….now lets get the Thrashers back going again, and win the Southeast Division…Washington is hot, though, and Carolina wants back in. The second half promises to be exciting….it’s amazing how little the folks out West care about the SEC and the ACC. What is wrong with them???....Saturday night, I get to call a big SEC showdown in Starkville, as Tennessee rolls into town to face West-leading Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in the league. Rick Stansbury has got ‘em rollin’ again…Jamont Gordon and Chris Lofton should be a great matchup. Check it out on FSN South….A solid road win for Georgia Tech at Virginia in OT Sunday. Jackets are starting to turn things around….Congrats to 3D, Dennis Scott and Rachel on the birth of their daughter last week. Dizzle said  she came out shootin’ threes…you’ll know Thursday, but I think Joe Johnson has an outside shot at the Eastern Conference all-star team. Looks like it may come down to Joe and Antawn Jamison for the final spot in the East. It is time to expand the rosters. They’ve been at 12 dating back to when there were 14 teams. We now have 30. It will be strange not having Shaq at the all-star game. First one the big fella has missed…Patriots again? Hard to pick against ‘em. Think of the times in which we live: we are witnessing the greatest golfer ever (Tiger), the greatest tennis player ever (Federer) and maybe the best quarterback ever (Brady). One more Super Bowl might just cement his legacy. Pats 24 Giants 21. I don’t have a rooting interest, but I hope Eli Manning plays well. Just to shut up the critics. He’s done an amazing job. No picks in the playoffs? Outstanding. Hope it’s a good game and we have some good commercials to watch!

The Best of the Best

The Major League Baseball all-star game has been here. Couple of times in fact. The NBA all-stars were here a few years ago.
And this weekend, we roll out the red carpet and the Southern hospitality for hockey world.
Welcome. We’re glad you’re here.
We missed you in ’05. That horrible year-lost postponed the party, but we’re ready and look forward to watching the best of the best.
The 2007 NHL All-Star weekend is sure to be great one. Activities are planned to touch as many fans as possible, old and new, youngsters and veterans.
Hockey is still sort of a new toy with us. We got a taste of the playoffs and what it meant last spring. We’ll be ready, next time.
And to have Philips Arena host this weekend as the hockey world descends upon Atlanta is a proud moment, indeed.
And we couldn’t be happier for our guys, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. It’s the second All-Star nod for Kovalchuk, who led all players in voting the for 2004 game.
This will be Hossa’s fifth All-Star appearance, following selections in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007. He missed the 2004 game due to injury.
Hossa is a pro’s pro, coming from one of the world’s top hockey families. But if you’ll allow us a bit of bragging, we think Ilya is really something special. We know he leads the league in goals, but folks, he’s Baryshnikov on skates.
Often, Kovy is seen at Hawks games. Did you know there is a little basketball in his blood?
Ilya’s dad, Valeri, played for the Soviet national basketball team.
By the time he was 3, Ilya was on his dad’s shoulder as he went to the gym. The two would do simple stretching exercises and coordination drills. But Valeri also taught his son the value of a positive mental approach in sports.
"My father never pushed me into one sport. He let me play basketball, soccer and street hockey," Kovalchuk said with a smile while recalling his younger days. "But I’ll never forget one day, when I was 5, he got this big smile on his face when I was playing street hockey with my friends. I think he saw that I was pretty good. The next day ... he bought me a pair of skates."
Valeri Kovalchuk also showed his son the right way to train and develop as a hockey player.
"The first thing he taught me was how important it was to shoot the puck accurately," Kovalchuk recalled, adding that his dad put up four targets on the side of their house – one at each corner of what would be a makeshift net. "I would practice for hours and hours. It was always wrist shots and snap shots. No slap shots, because sticks were too expensive … and I was afraid if I broke one we wouldn’t be able to buy new ones.
"I remember my dad coaching me back then. He told me, ‘It’s better to miss the net than hit the goalie.’ He was right. Maybe that’s why I can pick the corners so well now."
I try to make every Thrashers home game that I can. I wait for #17 to hit the ice and watch him weave his magic. How special it would be to see him light the lamp in the All-Star game in his adopted hometown of Atlanta. I’ll be watching Sunday, as soon as the Hawks are done in Portland.
And to the hockey world, welcome to Atlanta.
NHL.com contributed to this report.

Welcome to 'Lanna'

Welcome to town, LSU and Tennessee faithful! It will be a fun weekend, one of the best we have to offer round these parts.
When Steve Spurrier got the job at South Carolina, yours truly was in Columbia to broadcast the USC-Clemson basketball game, the day of the SEC Championship game. USC officials brought Darth Visor out to meet the Gamecock nation at halftime of the basketball game.
“There’s a game tonight in Lanna (that’s correct. He said ‘Lanna’ instead of Atlanta. You had to be there) It’s my favorite game. One day, we’ll be going down there to play in it, I hope.”
Now the crowd went nuts after he said ‘play in it’ and never heard the ‘I hope’. But his point is well taken. It’s a lot of folks favorite game. And this one is intriguing, to say the least.
How Tennessee pulled that Kentucky game out of the fire remains a mystery. And LSU comes in after seeing its BCS title hopes dashed with the loss to Arkansas.
But hey, they are here, ready to play for the SEC title and have a big time.

So, while you all live it up at the Dome, I’ll be slaving over a hot microphone. And it’s another Clemson-South Carolina game, this year at Clemson (4PM, FSN South).
The Tigers had a Tuesday night date with Purdue in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. South Carolina just lost Sunday afternoon to George Mason in Orlando, FL.
Last Saturday, the Tigers beat the new giant killers, Gardner-Webb, but lost two key men to injuries.
James Mays was on crutches after the game, and junior center Raymond Sykes was scheduled for a trip to the oral surgeon after each suffered injuries against the Bulldogs.

Sykes was hit in the mouth in the first half, and the diagnosis was that he had four teeth "moved back" on the play, while Mays, who was undercut on a second-half drive to the basket and lay on the floor for several moments, was diagnosed with a hip sprain.

"I am very concerned with injuries coming out of the game," Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell said. "That was pretty scary (seeing Mays lying on the floor).

"I am not even sure what a sprained hip is. He has been battling some things, and he will start treatment Monday. With a mouth guard, Raymond should be ready to go."

Bulldog head coach Rick Scruggs said the Tigers were the most impressive opponent his team has played thus far.

"From what I have seen, and we played Kentucky, Connecticut twice, and Oklahoma, Clemson has been by far the best team we have played," Scruggs said. "The reason is, they can score it. Clemson got a lot of stuff off transition today, and we paid the price because of the way they were shooting it."

That’s high praise for the Tigers. They should be at the top of the ACC with North Carolina, Duke, and NC State.

The Hawks will be home twice this week, Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, and then Friday vs New Orleans.
Here’s something to look for Friday night. The Hornets have a ritual where all the reserves stand at the bench until the team makes its first field goal. Last Saturday night against the Clippers they didn't sit down until David West hit a 12-footer 10:15 with left in the first quarter -- the first points by either team.
Thrashers back on home ice Thursday night against Toronto, out to prove the back-to-back shutout losses last weekend were flukes. No one can stop that Shake and Bake Line for long!

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…..

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.