From the "Bad news for your PR" file -- The KKK Likes Hootie. That should really give your image a boost.

Atlanta Sports Teams Drawing Potential Buyers -- I would think that these teams would be a tough sell. But there are apparently some interested buyers

Cole Fires Bombshell at UGA and Harrick I saw this coming a mile away, though I did figure that Harrick would at least make the Final 4 before they were slapped with probation. Mark Bradley of the AJC says that Harrick recruits the wrong players. That, I agree with. Cole is a thug. However the evidence presented on SportsCenter looks pretty damning. Another story here could be the demise of UGA AD Vince Dooley. Will UGA President Michael Adams use this as an excuse to push Dooley out the door. Their relationship has been less than rosy for a couple of years. Dooley is under contract through this year, will the latest news allow Adams to run him out early? Only time will tell.

Who's The Boss? -- Georgia Linebacker Boss Bailey is expected to draw a crowd at the NFL combine. His Coaches at UGA have said that Boss has posted a 48 inch vertical leap. NFL scouts say that he will surely jump in the 46 inch range. Team Doctors from all 32 NFL franchises have also cleared Marshall QB Byron Leftwich. Leftwich faced injury problems during his junior and senior years.

Tech Player Quits Team After Benching by Knight -- Nick Valdez had not attended practice since he and Andre Emmett were benched for Monday's game against third-ranked Texas. They missed breakfast and a walkthrough meeting that morning.

Another Tiger Outburst -- Tiger is the best golfer in the world, hands down. He is maybe the best golfer to ever play the game (no offense Mr. Jones). As talented as he is Tiger Woods is also a world class jerk.
His latest episode is detailed by Bill Plaschke in the LA Times (registration required)

"The furor began when Woods, whose ball had been dancing awkwardly around the greens all afternoon, missed a six-foot birdie putt and began cursing loud enough to be heard in Brentwood backyards.
Then, while stroking through his ensuing four-foot par putt, Woods was startled by a cell phone blaring from a man's handbag.
He missed the putt. He blamed the man. He cursed again.
"Turn off the cell phone!" he shouted at the offender, pointing angrily. "Turn off the ... cell phone!"
It was not known whether the call was from someone wondering whether inferior equipment had caused Woods to blow the shot.
Whoever it was, they called right back, which infuriated Woods even more.
With the bag ringing and the crowd stunned silent, Woods glared at the man until crack Riviera security forces rushed in and confiscated the phone and carted away the owner.

The Story goes on to say that this one incident ruined his concentration for the REST OF THE AFTERNOON!!
That leads me to this ponderence....Mr. Woods, if a cell phone can ruin a round of golf....then why the hell are you a pro golfer?

Woods said only it's the sounds he doesn't expect that rattle him.
"This was right in my down-stroke," he said of the cell phone. "It was a very foreign sound, something you don't hear often on a golf course."

Other pros sometimes get rattled by outside sounds, and I will grant that cell phones on a golf course are an extreme annoyance. But I think that the best golfer in the world would put the issue behind him and handle it with a little more class.

Tiger’s tirades and post cell phone yips make him look less like the world’s best golfer, and more like the world’s best spoiled brat.

Falcons Overspend for Brooking -- I know Mr. Blank has the cash but the dirty birds now have a lot of cash tied up in Brooking, Kearney, Duckett, Dunn, and Vick. The latest hot rumor has them shipping off their first rounder to the Bills for Peerless "Franchise" Price. We shall see if that holds up.

Former Brave Talks About Leo's Doghouse -- Marlin Tim Spooneybarger (what kind of name is that anyway) says a blowout with Braves pitching Coah Leo "Rock Me Amadeus" Mazonne led to his ticket out of Atlanta. By the way, as a sidebar, the over unders in Vegas on the National League East contenders:
Braves - 99
Mets - 95
Phillies - 95
What do you think?

Since the Americans lost the America's Cup a few years back, very few stateside pay much attention to the expensive boat races. So far this Cup series has been a compelling (and deceivingly competitive) Cup Series. Full of side stories and enough drama to make the citizens of Oakdale take notice.
After winning the cup in 1995, Team New Zealand mounted a successful defense in 1999. Then the money man stepped up. Ernesto Bertarelli bought 6 members of Team New Zealand and formed the Swiss Syndicate Alinghi. The move caused an uproar among the sailing-crazy Kiwis, even sparking a theme and commercial video. The whole country feels betrayed by Skipper Russell Coutts and the rest of the defectors. But Alinghi has apparently struck gold, as the challenger now leads what many feel is a stronger Kiwi boat, three races to none. The races have all been close, with the exception of the first when the Kiwis had a ton of bad luck, and had to be towed to the end. No boat has won the Cup after being down 3-0. The TNZ boat has made a personnel change and maybe more as we head to the fourth race, now set for Saturday.

New Coaches Topping the News
Hartley at the Helm of the Thrashers Floundering Ship...

Looks like a good hire to me. Lets see if these players who stopped playing for Frazer take to Hartley's syle...I for one just hope he teaches them to play some D.
Lewis Takes Bengals Job

This one is a bit more puzzling. Lewis turned down Alabama, and Michigan State...I already know what the arguments FOR the job are. "What does he have to lose?" "That team can only get better"! Horse hockey!!!! They have no talent. They have a LONG HISTORY of NO TALENT. Mr. Lewis, if you took the job over the college jobs just to be a block PRO coach, then you did nothing to help your cause, or the cause of black coaches. You will be in the unemplyment line in 3 years tops.

Lebron James' Mother Gives Him a Hummer - Not like that you pervert....A Hummer. Now the Ohio High School Athletic Association is questioning his amateur status. His Mother got a "loan" for the SUV, I am sure that no shoe companies helped to secure that finance deal. Will you wake me up when this is over?

Sorry For the Recent Lag

I have been slammed busy with a new computer, and lots to do in the real world. gonna get back to at least daily updates today or tomorrow.

Maurice Clarett is a Damn Loon -- Now he wants to play both sides of the ball.
Leak Commits to Gators -- Leak used Sunday's nationally televised commitment speech to do a little recruiting of his own, calling on, "the best players in the country to join him at Florida and win a national championship." The buzz here this week has been just that. "There are a couple top players that have come up to me this week and told me wherever I go, they want to come with me," Leak said. "And that's an honor. That's how you build national championships."

Crow, A Dish Best Served Cold

Ok, I held off as long as possible. Its now time for me, to tell you I was wrong, and admit that Mike Vick is a quality NFL quarterback. I doubted. I doubted longer than anyone I know. But I will say it now, Vick is the real deal. I am a traditional quarterback guy. A John Elway fan. I have now drawn a new conclusion. Mike Vick is not simply an evolution at the quarterback position, he is a destination.

Vick has done things all season long that should have opened my eyes. I should have seen it, but I was blind. "He has no experience, college or pro." I would yell. Well it hasn't made one iota of difference
"He carries the ball like a loaf of bread, its gonna kill him." I screamed. It doesn't matter.
"They could have gotten LaDanian Tomlinson, and built around him." I insisted. That would have been stupid. "He is going to wind up injured, and then what?" I asked. It hasn't happened.

Even though the Chargers can't be upset about the way things turned out, (it was a good deal for both teams) If the Falcons had Tomlinson and a mediocre quarterback, there is no way they would be in the playoffs, let alone a playoff winner.
Mike Vick is the most exciting player to watch in the NFL right now. He makes things happen. I still have reservations. I think a quarterback should look to throw first and run second. I don't think Mike subscribes to my theory. He will learn. He damn well better as he gets older.
I don't think that the emergence of Vick means an end to the pocket passer, because he does things that other quarterbacks can't do. I also don't see another player on the horizon that can do what he does. So there will always be a place for a guy like Drew Bledsoe. With that said, Vick will be in a class by himself. A Michael Jordan type player for the NFL. A guy that does things that other quarterbacks only dream of. That in itself makes him something special.
Don't think for a minute that I am piling on a Falcons bandwagon. They could win every game from here to eternity, and I would not bat an eye. But I hope that Vick's growth continues. He is something special.
Comments??

Fans Injuried at a Columbus Hockey Game -- The same arena where a girl died after being hit with a puck last year. Only this time, it was just a couple of drunk idiots....fighting