Finneran Among Training Camp Attendees and Question Marks

As the AJC reported earlier today, Brian Finneran has made it past the OTAs and is on to training camp. It's a great story and he's a great guy on all accounts.

Here's some other questions and fodder while we wait for Training Camp?

1. Doug Datish was released yesterday after sitting all of his rookie year on IR.
2. Good Riddance to Crumpler, especially after this comment:
   

   "I love those fans in Atlanta. The situation that was last season, I'm just glad it's over with and I'm glad I have a fresh start somewhere else. I ... sure don't want to be there right now," said Crumpler, a four-time Pro Bowler.

3. DJ Shockley is still on the roster and in an interview on 790 the zone, Shockley was being compared to Jamarcus Russell among others. Most of the Atlanta fans feel the same way. so the bigger question is....
4. What to do about Joey Harrington? It's almost like he gets to stay on the roster because he's a great guy and likely got a raw deal. He may be the only KNOWN talent Not to mention...
   
5. The Falcons have questions all over the QB position. Unproven talent in Ryan and Shockley and a bit of breath holding on Redman... will the real QB please stand up?
6. What are the Falcons going to do about their D-line?
7. Will Boley return to last year's form or better yet...
   
8. What does Brooking have left?
9. Why is Adam Jennings taking up a roster spot?
10. Log jam at Running Back? Turner, Norwood, Snelling, Brown, and Brittingham?
11. Horn... What he's still here?
12. How's our D-back situation 12 Years TOTAL experience out of 8 guys listed at cornerback. (starting cornerbacks look to have a combined experience of 1 year)

I really could do this all day.

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Tiger's Surgery The Best Thing To Happen to Him

At the US Open last week Tiger experienced something that appeared to be a turning point for his career. In one moment he went from harolded hero of golf to the closest thing to a villain golf has. Watching him wince throughout the tourney still did nothing to endear Tiger to at least this local audience. He is the greatest golfer ever, but the attitude or lack thereof in some cases leave him open for these type of discussions.

Now with the surgery, Tiger looks poised to make a comeback against some new household names. It'll be interesting to see how the season plays out and to see if there is a dominant force, which ultimately is a key to Tiger's success. The consistency he has is unparalleled. If a player can go on a run while Tiger rides the pine, it'll be for some good Golf... next year.

At the end of the day, the surgery stops the villafying of Tiger as well as gives him a much needed break from Golf. I expect him to come back fired up as soon as he's rehabbed. You can get burnt out but you can't just turn your back on the sport you love.

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Falcons Safety Jimmy Williams Released

They say you can't evaluate draft picks until 3 years have passed. I think it's safe to call this one a bust!

The first pick in the 2006 NFL draft for Atlanta is gone. I figured that the Falcons would start dropping thugs... oops did I say that... off the team. I'm pretty surprised that he doesn't think being overweight is a problem for a professional athlete.

I don't live to far from Falcons Practice so maybe I have a shot of getting on the team. If I don't make it, I'll certainly point out that they were hiding behind my old age or me being slightly overweight.

NOTE TO JIMMY: YES, THEY WERE HIDING BEHIND THE WEIGHT ISSUE - THEY DON'T JUST WANT TO CALL YOU OUT FOR WHAT YOU ARE.

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Goliaths Wins! Two Victories in 48 Hours

After the Giants' win at the beginning of the year, I thought it might be the year of David.

As the cliche' goes, it's David vs. Goliath. In my mind, you shouldn't get the title of Goliath, unless their's a fair amount of arrogance. The media has to predict it as a foregone conclusion. Without the arrogance you just have someone who is really good, like Michael Jordan. He didn't "appear" to be arrogant, even though if you were playing against him, you'd likely be on the losing side:

41-42 As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.

43 The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods.

44 "Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice."

Notice in the Message translation of the Bible, the arrogance is clear. Of course, the other cliche is cinderella, but we won't go there today. It's kind of odd how the media remembers Goliath but not David.

In Atlanta, it's pretty clear that the Celtics and Tiger Woods and fit the bill as Goliath to a "T" except for one small thing.

• They are arrogant (check)
• They were predicted to win by a landslide (check)
• They fell to the most unlikely of opponents...(almost)

This year there has been three clear times when a David was facing a Goliath.

• Celtics VS Hawks (then Cavs) - Call it youth or coaching, I think this series could have been closer than it looked when the Hawks were on the road.
• Tiger VS Rocco - Closer than anyone thought. I don't think Tiger was really grinding it out... the sentimental words about his Father were touching, but he's become so arrogant in his play and actions, it's time for:

David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.

That may be a bit harsh. With a few exceptions on the Celtics team, their wins are hollow. Even the Boston Fans are arrogant and rude. The only time Boston franchises have any redeeming value is when they are beating New York. In a franchise where conspiracy theories are flying around, it seems like one theory could be that they want to put the critics to rest (as I am sure that the world would love a game seven so they could make yet one more comparison of Kobe and Jordan).

So at the end of the day, the world is broken. The deserving* team loses and Goliath wins another.

*Deserving - Which ever team is being rooted for by the author is deemed, "deserving."

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Am I The Only One Rooting For Rocco?

I'm writing this with no knowledge of what is going on currently in the Playoff with Tiger and Rocco, but am I wrong to be cheering for Rocco?

ESPN has all but handed the trophy to Tiger while throwing Rocco under the bus. Local Radio, 790 the zone, has done the same... and even called this guy the "every man." Yet, they still root for Tiger.

Sorry, Tiger. I do really think you're great for golf and would love to meet you, but I'm rooting for Rocco.

Rocco is a great golfer by "every man" standards, but he's everything Tiger is not. He's personable, and surprisingly honest. He doesn't play with arrogance.

Everyone loves Tiger for his come from behind victories, but let's face it, the guy is so arrogant that he doesn't even start playing until he is behind. Now I won't argue that he's the greatest golfer we've ever seen, but at the same time a loss here or there would be great.

In fact, I think Tiger has reached a climax of sort for his career in Golf. At first, everyone loved him for his winning, much like Michael Jordan. Now I see him changing to a more of the "Yankees" of golf. (At least in the ATL, we HATE the Yankees) I now will watch golf events with more fervor because I will be rooting against him! Yes, the man so responsible for golf's resurgence will likely save golf again (after news of slumping interest) but now instead of the champion and hero, he will wear the title of VILLAIN.

I won't call it a hurricane vs a june bug then go on to say it's june like on ESPN analyst, but I will say it's like David and Goliath. Sorry Tiger, you're Goliath... and in my BOOK, you lose this one.

Again, Tiger - Great guy (debatable), great golfer, nothing really wrong with him, but I'd just rather see someone else.

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Heee's Back! 2 Year Deal Reportedly

This morning one Atlanta sports franchise has some news of stability. The AJC reports that sources close to the organization have offerred Mike Woodson a 2 year deal. No one was available for comment, except this blogger.

I suppose winning 3 home games against what appears to be the NBA champions warrants another look, however, with a 28% winning percentage, it's a tough sell, especially when Avery Johnson, Saunders and others are available.

On the plus side, Sund won't have to mess up the draft since we don't have a pick and he can do what he does best, which is free agency and negotiatons. It also means that the core nucleus will at least buy into what the coach is trying to do next year. So now that I'm winding down I guess 2 years is a good test to see if Woody is the real deal or not.

The next big question is whether we can keep both Joshs.

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Thrashers One Step Closer to a New Coach

The AJC has two great posts on the Atlanta Thrashers Coaching search.

From a breakdown of whispered names to a flat out recap of the process, it's the most hockey news we've heard here in the ATL since Illya watched on the sidelines as Russia won one.

Waddel! We need a Coach that can handle these young guys! What say you?!

"We all have different needs," Waddell said, adding that he needs someone whose strength is developing young players. "Our best players are young players. We have to make sure we have somebody who can not only win games but help these players continue to become the best hockey players they can."

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Y! Team Reports Surprisingly Good

See for yourself....

• Atlanta Hawks Team Report (6/6/08)
• Atlanta Falcons Team Repot (6/6/08) - I just love this quote... FINALLY!
  

  “The coaches are putting me in a variety of spots in a variety of sets,” Norwood said. “They’re going to line me up at receiver, running back, shoot, maybe some quarterback. They’re going to put me in some one-on-one matchups to get me in the open field.”

• Atlanta Thrasher Team Report (6/6/08)
• Atlanta Braves Team Report (6/6/08)

What's missing from the braves report is the quote from Chipper all but dooming the Braves to a losing year due to Smoltz surgery. I couldn't believe the response! !

Not having him at all for the rest of the season is devastating, flat out devastating," third baseman Chipper Jones said. "Going into this season, I said there's one guy on this club we cannot do without. That's John Smoltz."

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Smoltz Out For the Year

John Smoltz is under going season ending shoulder surgery, so this blogger has to eat it. It's all but official but in an interview with 790 the Zone the best "money" pitcher in the MLB is looking for what to do "next year." Is this it? At least for this season.

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Twosday Round Up: Pretenders vs Kobe and Smoltz

Twosday Round Up is a feature that looks at two sports in one blog topic.

Pretenders vs Kobe

We all know by now that the Celtics (*cough* Pretenders *cough*) are playing the Lakers. What really gets me is that this was hyped before the playoffs even started. They were talking about this back when the Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were riding the pine watching the Atlanta Hawks eat their lunch. They talked about it when Lebron made Kevin Garnett look like Manute Bol. They still talked about when Ray Allen looked more like Ray Charles in most of the Piston's series. Well, let's give them a golf clap for finally getting here. However, to compare this Celtics team to any of the championshipr Celtics teams is ludracris. Paul Pierce is no better than any other shooting guard on 90% of the NBA teams and Garnett is more reminiscent of Dennis Rodman than Mchale.

After the Lakers win this in 5, I hope that the NBA hype machine can put this to rest. It's not some storied playoff round. It's one mediocre team playing a pretty good one with the best player in the NBA.

SMOLTZ IS BACK!

The best money pitcher of my era is back and is in the Bullpen. Sure he blew his first save opportunity, but this is Smoltz. He could throw it with his foot and still get more people out than Clemens without the juice. What I'm reading about Smoltz return, I am liking.

"The results can be a little deceiving," Smoltz said. "I could have gone out
there, given up three line drive outs and everybody would have said, 'Nice job.'
I just think I needed to be a little better with my touch. I'm overpowering some
of my pitches and not trusting the movement."

You have to read between the lines, but pay attention to his "lines." The reporters usually don't know too much when it comes to Smoltz. I'm at least not concerned about our bullpen anymore.

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