Georgia Falls to Alabama in SEC Championship Game

The Georgia Bulldogs is my"other" team I have an allegiance to in college sports.  Neither here nor there other than the game tonight hurt.  It took a lot for Georgia just to be in this game and have a shot at Notre Dame in the championship.  I'm happy they were right there to the end but this was a frustrating game.  Alabama ran the ball for 350 yards.  350 yards!  As the announcers pointed out the defensive linemen for Georgia were getting pushed back six to eight yards on running plays.  I could run behind that line.  I'm not sure why Bama ever threw the ball.  4th and 20?  Run it!  No matter the Bulldogs had one final chance.  Great job getting in position to possibly win this game after the 26 yard pass play got them to the Crimson Tide 8 yard line.  But why didn't Georgia spike the ball?  They weren't going to run four plays.  There wasn't enough time.  Let your players take a breath, reset mentally, and call the play you want.  And that poor Georgia kid (Chris Conley) who caught the ball on the last play letting time run out?  I know your brain at that moment isn't processing quick enough to say "drop the ball because time will run out otherwise" but he'll be "that guy".  Again, that is why you spike the ball at that point.  Tough way to end the season.  Georgia is probably relegated to a non-BCS bowl now.  So disappointing.  Still tomorrow I'll know this was a great game.  

Braves Heat Up November With Big Moves

Atlanta made a splash with two big moves.  The first was the signing of B.J. Upton to a five year $75 million dollar contract.  When I heard about this I was all excited.  When I got access to a computer...not so much.  First I was thinking about Justin Upton, the Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder.  The 24 year-old with a career .278 batting average, career .357 on base percentage, the one who has hit 26 or more homeruns twice in his career.  I wasn't excited about B.J. Upton who hasn't hit higher than .246 since 2008, the one who had a .298 on base percentage last year and strikes out more than a 300 pound man at a Victoria's Secret show.  What a let down..  Atlanta does need an outfielder and someone to add offense (23+ homeruns three times and has stolen 30 plus bases five times) to their lineup. 



I know the Braves like his right handed bat and the power upside.  If he hadn't been playing in Tampa Bay I'm sure his homerun totals would be even better.  He is also good in the field.  Still with the money he received I'd much rather have resigned Michael Bourn.  A little risky for a 30 year old speedster but he is excellent on defense and was great as the leadoff man Atlanta hadn't had in some time.  Oh and now they don't have one again!  If his "potential" comes to fruition this is a great deal but that seems alot to ask for from a guy whose past four season haven't shown me anything to get excited about.

 

Next the Braves traded starter Tommy Hansen to the Angels for reliever Jordan Walden.  Walden was the Angels' closer in 2011 before losing that role early this year.  He is a righty who can hit 98 MPH on the radar gun.  Atlanta wanted to add a big right handed arm to the bullpen and it looks as though this gets them the guy they were looking for.  It seems weird to see Hansen go.  At one point he was one of the top prospects in the entire minor league system.  His name always came up in trade talks but the Braves wouldn't budge.  I don't think it is a stretch to say a trade involving Hansen would have brought back a top 20 player in the league six years ago.  It took me a while to digest this one but I'm ok with it.  Atlanta has options at starter with youngsters Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran ready for their shot in the rotation.  This will also save the Braves an estimated $4 million that it is believed Hansen would have received in arbitration.  Sorry to see a guy like Hansen go but I hope he does well with the Angels.  Seems like a good fit.  I'll be curious to see what my buddy Yaj thinks about this one.

 

Pitchers Pete Moylan and Jair Jurrjens were not tendered contracts for 2013.  Rumors have Moylan coming back on a minor league deal.  He is 33 but been effective when called upon.  He hasn't seen much action the last two years only pitching  13 innings over the last two years.  Jurrjens has a career 3.62 ERA but struggled last season and has dealt with consistency and injury problems.  Only 26 years-old he'll find a home quickly. 

 

NOTES:

There are rumors Atlanta is actually looking at bringing Justin Upton (B.J.'s brother) to the Braves via trade.  Hard to tell how much of that is just speculation fueled by B.J.'s signing and the fact Arizona has appeared open to a trade.  It would be great but it is all speculation.........Great to see Ron Gant doing well in his TV career.  He is now co-host of a Atlanta TV morning show.  Here's a quick link to the article which also links to a youtube video of the show.  Always one of my favorite Braves.  Wish he could have hung around and won a ring with that '95 team.  Ron Gant Now Morning Show Co-Host ........

Wreck-It Ralph Review

Got to see Wreck-It Ralph this weekend.  I enjoyed the movie quite a bit.  The basic premise is video game bad guy Ralph is tired of being the bad guy.  He works to change his image and be the good guy for once.  It may shock you but that doesn't go well for Ralph.  This is a movie any kid will enjoy.  Adults will like the nods to classic video games and should find it funny as well.  Don't hesitate to see Wreck-It Ralph if you get the chance. 

Braves Season Ends After Losing Wild Card Game

Not the way any Braves fan wanted to see the season end.  Chipper's final game is marred by poor defense, including an error by Chipper, and an infield fly call that stunted a possible rally by the Braves.  The call by the umps also fueled the Braves' fans as they showed their displeasure for the bogus call.  It was really a shame as it showed the fans and city in a bad light.  It also masked the fact that the team lost due to poor defense and Medlen not being able to get out of a jam when he needed to.  You probably also missed Fredi Gonzalez's great decision in starting David Ross over the struggling Brian McCann.  Ross then went 3 for 4 with a home run for 2 runs batted in.  A poor showing all around.

 

It is also a dissapointing end to a great bounce back season where Atlanta won 94 games and was strong down the stretch in contradiction to the epic swoon they displayed last September.  The offense was average at best.  There were some good points.  Chipper's .287/14/62 (AVG/HR/RBI)was a great way to end his career even if he struggled the last two months of the year.  Martin Prado played everywhere and had an impressive .301/10/70 year.  Jason Heyward (.269/27/82) and Freddie Freeman (.259/23/94) each had good years while Michael Bourn batted .274 while stealing 42 bases.  Brian McCann and Dan Uggla hit .230 and .220 respectively creating holes in the lineup throughout the year. 

 

The pitching was outstanding.  Fifth in ERA, runs, and earned runs, and 4th in WHIP.  Up and down the rotation and bullpen Atlanta's pitchers were as good as almost anyone's in the league.  The rotation was anchored by Tim Hudson (16 wins/3.62 ERA), Kyle Medlan (10 wins/1.57 ERA) and Paul Maholm (4 wins/3.54 ERA after trade from Cubs).  Tommy Hansen and Mike Minor also had good years with each attaining double digits in wins and had an ERA in the 4's.  Craig Kimbrel was nothing short of a stud as the closer (42 saves/1.01 ERA/.65 WHIP).  Ed O'Flaherty, Johnny Venters, Chad Durbin, and Luis Avilan were key to one of the best bullpens in baseball.  How good?  Second in ERA, 4th in WHIP, 10th in batting average allowed, and 7th in strikeouts.  This pitching staff was good, no questions there.

 

Hard to have a 94 win season go up in smoke with one bad game.  I'll expand on that in another post.  Atlanta will definitely look at this as a good year but will still be dissapointed in having lost in their one game series with St. Louis.  Personally, I thought this team could go deep with their pitching.  They were made for a nice playoff run.  You just never know how things will work out. 

 

This offseason will be one in which they'll really have to make some tough payroll decisions.  Michael Bourn and Chad Durbin are the key free agents but some of the top bench players will also be on the market (David Ross, Matt Diaz, Eric Hinske).  They have club options on Tim Hudson and Brian McCann.  Hudson is a slam dunk but McCann's $12 million dollar price tag will be a head scratcher after the tough season he had.  Atlanta has a $500 thousand dollar buyout option with McCann.  Eight are eligible for arbitration including Jason Heyward, Tommy Hansen, Johnny Venters, Kris Medlan, Martin Prado, and Ed O'Flaherty among others.  Will be a busy off season for GM Frank Wren.  I honestly think most of these players will return though I wouldn't be surprised if Atlanta finds it hard to commit that kind of money to Brian McCann. 

 

Atlanta will be a contender again next season assuming the pitching doesn't go south and the offense can stay the course and hopefully get better.  With Chipper leaving someone will have to step into the role as team leader not to mention as the full time third basemen.  Still there is plenty of reasons to be optimistic.  Still I, like other Atlanta fans, am not happy with the way the season ended this year.  I would have loved to see Chipper go out after a nice deep run in the playoffs since there is no "next year" for him.  Again a very good season for the Braves and we'll just have to see what next year brings.   

4th and Inches - Three Weeks Down

The NFL has now completed three weeks of the season and as always there are plenty of surprises and disappointments.  I'll mainly address the Bills and Falcons here but also touch on a few other noteworthy (to me anyway) tidbits.     ATLANTA FALCONS:  They are now 3-0 and have beaten two good teams in Denver and San Diego.  No matter how you shake it 3-0 is a good start.  With the next three games against Carolina, Washington, and Oakland they have a good chance of going 6-0.  That would be outstanding but I am not expecting it though Atlanta will be expected to win all three and should be.  Their offense is playing extremely well with the "we'll take the training wheels off Matt Ryan" effort showing big dividends.  He is hitting almost 70% of his passes and has an outstanding TD to interception ratio.  Roddy White, Julio Jones, and Tony Gonzalez have all looked good in the passing offense as well.  Running back Michael Turner is the one skill player who hasn't looked that great.  He bounced back some against San Diego but needs to keep it up for the offense to stay on track.  The defense has also played well.  Overall I don't think I could ask for much more.  The schedule gets more difficult the latter part of the season so they need to build on these successes and be ready as the competition stiffens. 

 

BUFFALO BILLS:  I would have liked a better showing against the Jets but Buffalo is 2-1 and that is a good start.  With New England and San Francisco up next I'd be thrilled with a 3-2 start...but that won't happen.  That means Buffalo will have to take care of business against those teams they can beat and make a good showing against the power houses of the league.  C.J. Spiller is averaging 10 yards a carry and is the hero so far.  He was injured in Sunday's game against Cleveland so Bills' fans have to just hope it won't be too serious.  The passing game is going backwards just as it did the second half of last season.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is hitting only 57% of his passes while averaging less than 200 yards a game.  There is definite work that needs to be done there.  The defense isn't great but is good enough to keep them in games even against better teams.  Overall some positives but Buffalo definitely doesn't seem ready to compete with the big boys.  Again if they can just beat the average teams in the league consistently and throw in an upset or two this season can be a "win". 

 

RANDOM:  Who would have thought Kansas City would beat New Orleans?  Oh wait my wife did.  I figured they'd be one ticked off 0-2 team and would have took it right to the Chiefs.  They did but for only one half.....Gotta love the way Houston looks.  They seem to have it going on both sides of the ball.  Again that is an easy division and they could easily have home field advantage going into the playoffs.....And who thought Arizona would be 3-0?.....Who wouldn't have loved to see the Week 3 Detroit-Tennessee game?  Overtime, 85 total points, 46 points in the 4th quarter, 2 touchdowns in the last 18 seconds by Detroit after Matthew Stafford was hurt.  Really?  Was this the NFL or the old Joe Montana Sega video game? (Me and Deion Sanders were unbeatable!).....I've been able to watch Andrew Luck play.  He may not be lighting it up with unbelievable numbers but he looked good.  I didn't see anything that said he can't be one of the best quarterbacks in the league someday.....Who knows what New England could have done the past few years if they just had a real defense.  This has to fall on Bill Belichek as while a few defensive picks have worked those are few and far between.  Nice to have a top 5 offense but they've proved many times that their offense will only get them so far.  Ok, sometimes that is to the Super Bowl.....Horrible ending to the Packers-Seahawks game.  The replacement refs are an embarrassment.  But with all the issues I'm not sure Roger Goodell will ever back down from the negotiations with the union.  This could be a season we never forget, for all the wrong reasons.   

2012 Republican and Democratic National Conventions

The wife and I watched both the Republican and Democratic National conventions over the last two weeks.  I watched more than I watched in my first 30 years of life.  And it wasn't easy.  A bunch of folks, not all of whom are natural speakers, who tend to say the same things over and over again can make for some long nights.  Both parties have some young talented speakers/politicians who you can tell the party is grooming for bigger and better things. They were good to listen to.  You also had those from congress who'd been around for a while and they scattered in folks from various walks of life to give the common person's perspectives on issues facing the nation.  Don't forget the wives, they get to speak too and of course the Vice President and nominee for Vice President got to speak.

I know going into these things that it is nothing more than a giant pep rally.  But there is nothing wrong with that.  Each party gets to hammer home catchy phrases while reminding you over and over again what snafus their opponent have committed.  The Democratic rally was much more raucous than their Republican counterparts.  They were also more "diverse".  Lots of funny hats, buttons, and folks not afraid to show their enthusiasm in ways that make me laugh.  It is a pep rally so why shouldn't they have fun.

Neither party went into any great specifics of how they would change or fix things.  I believe the debates is where we'll start seeing much of that detail come out.  Nope this was all about saying "our guy is better than your guy".  At the same time they both threw out quotes that gave political "experts" much to chew on and fact check.  But who doesn't stretch the truth sometimes.  And it isn't lying, it is "spinning".  You just have to remember what the conventions are all about and not get to wrapped up in expecting too much meat in these speeches.  Again, it didn't mean their weren't some very good speakers who spoke very well but I'm not ready to hang my hat on either candidate based on any one's oral skills from the conventions. 

For their part President Obama and Mitt Romney played their part well.  I give the edge in speaking to the President but not by much.  Each could only be so humorous or only so tough on the opponent so their speeches didn't stray much from what we've heard before.  All the good stuff was left to those who spoke before them. 

My biggest takeaway from all of this?  Bill Clinton.  It has been 12 years since he was president.  I remember those years but it is easy to forget why he was so well liked...besides all the good things he did as president.  He worked well with Republicans, the economy turned around, blah blah blah.  But that man can speak.  When he finished his speech on Wednesday night I was ready to vote for HIM.  Having a crowd who holds you up as maybe the best president ever doesn't hurt but it wouldn't have mattered.  He is good.  I'm not saying everything he said was perfect or even 100% correct.  I'll let someone else figure that out.  I'm saying that man can deliver a speech.  He also did a very good job of making arguments and counter arguments to what the Republicans said the week before.  If you haven't gotten a chance to see it you can see it here. 

I don't know who I'll vote for come November.  I am undecided and the upcoming debates will go along way in my decision making process.  I do feel better for watching both conventions.  Going into the presidential race's stretch run I have a good idea of what each candidate will foot stomp and where they'll attack the other.  They now only need to fill in the blanks with some details on their plans to make it all better.  If you didn't watch the conventions I highly recommend you do so next time around.  I can't say I enjoyed all of  the speeches but I do feel better about my ability to make the best decision for me come voting day. 

4th and Inches...NFL 2012 Season Preview

With one game in the books I need to get my thoughts on the upcoming season down.  I'll start with the bounty scandal.  This is so messy and just needs to go away.  With the panel overturning Roger Goodell's suspension it puts things in flux.  Sure the players are cleared to play but with the NFL looking to revisit suspensions soon I'm not sure how everyone can play with a clear head.  I do believe the players deserve some type of penalty just not as severe as the ones they got.  I'm really hoping the NFL can get it right this time so everyone can just move on.

 

ATLANTA FALCONS:  This could be the year.  I know Matt Ryan and the Falcons have caught much flack for not winning a playoff game the past three years.  Still they are 32 and 16 in that time frame.  This team is good and the offense brings back all the stars with Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez leading the way.  Rumor has it the offense will open up the passing game this year and I also expect second year running back Jacquizz Rogers to get the ball more.  I think he can be good as a receiver and also help keep Turner fresh.  Cornerback Asante Samuel was a huge addition in the off season.  Hopefully it will help put pressure on the opposing team's passing game and allow the team to improve on the 18th in the NFL standings for points given up per game.  Atlanta makes the playoffs and I think they are a 50-50 bet to win the NFC South.

 

 

BUFFALO BILLS:  Buffalo's acquisition of Mario is huge.  I think he could be good for one extra win this year.  Otherwise I'm not real sure what to expect.  Running back Fred Jackson is coming off an injury and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick battled injuries last year which many attribute to his swoon in the second half of the year.  Stevie Johnson is a solid number one receiver and David Nelson will do fine on the other side but I'm not sure that'll be enough.  The offensive line still needs help and that is always a recipe for disaster.  The defense was 30th in points allowed in 2011.  I think it begins and ends there.  Not sure Williams is enough to make everything good.  Buffalo will need the secondary to step up or no matter what the offense does they'll always be playing from behind.  Don't be surprised if Buffalo gets 8 eight wins but I will say I think the Jets will falter again this year so they should be able to get four wins out of the division alone. 

 

ST LOUIS RAMS:  I'm only typing about the Rams because they are the local team and I hear and talk about them quite a bit.  Bringing in Steve Fisher as coach was a great move.  Still they have a long ways to go.  I am befuddled because they have a quarterback in Sam Bradford with whom they believe is the long term answer but for some reason they won't get him anyone to throw to.  Everyone knows they are a run first team but I'm not sure anyone will respect the pass until they get a receiver who can make a defense pay. 

 

RANDOM:  The Patriots should win their division but at some point you'd think the offensive line troubles and bad defensive draft picks will catch up to them.  Maybe this is the year...Houston must be licking their lips.  They are poised for a big year if everyone stays healthy and should win all six games against their division foes...I was shocked to see Cincy let Cedric Benson walk but think they made a great pickup with BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  I think he can put up some major yards if he gets the carries a normal back would get, something he didn't have the luxury of in New England...The AFC West could be the best division going this year.  Oakland has Carson Palmer with a training camp under his belt, Peyton is in Denver, the Chiefs could be a huge surprise if Matt Cassel plays up to expectations, and the Chargers still have Phillip Rivers so I'll never count them out...

 

MY PICKS: 

NFC - Division Winners:  Philly, Green Bay, Atlanta, San Francisco

           Wild Cards:  New Orleans, Detroit

 

AFC - Division Winners:  New England, Baltimore, Houston, Denver

           Wild Cards:  Kansas City, Pittsburgh

 

Super Bowl:  Green Bay vs Baltimore

 

Green Bay wins!  I think Green Bay is the best team all around.  Their defense is better than the 19th ranked D they had last year and their offense is stacked.  Baltimore will give them a good test but I don't think it will be that close.