TheSouthernSportsEdition.com
Falcons Sign Dontari Poe
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
NFL free agency is still ongoing, but the Atlanta Falcons have likely completed their shopping in the market after the big move of reeling in Dontari Poe.
The Game March 18
SSE Minute March 18
North Carolina To Win NCAA Tourney
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is that special time of the year again. It is March Madness, and my buddies are going to think I have gone quite mad because I am picking North Carolina to win the National Championship. Folks who know me well know I don’t care much for Carolina Basketball and never much have.
Georgia Bulldogs Thin At QB
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Georgia Bulldogs will not be kicking off their spring practice for another couple of weeks, but that does not stop the news from coming out of Athens.
Georgia lost not one, but two players that decided to transfer from the program as graduates. One was defensive back, Reggie Wilkerson, and the other was Camden County’s own, quarterback Brice Ramsey.
NCAA Tournament Story Lines
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news service
You can have the Super Bowl and the 800 billion people that tune in each year to watch.
I’ll give you the College Football Playoffs and the weekly rankings that seem to start before the season has even begun.
I’ll even let you have the World Series, America’s favorite past time, although I would put a little more emphasis on the “past” part.
For me, none of those beat March Madness and the excitement that ensues over the Bree weekends it encompasses.
So, in honor of my favorite sports time of the year, here are a few games/storylines I’m excited about possibly seeing.
1)Lavar Ball. The farther UCLA makes in the tournament, how outrageous will his proclamations about his son’s talent become? He’s already compared him to Stephen Curry.
How long will it be until he compares him to Jordan? Does a Final Four appearance equal the next coming of Christ?
2)Duke vs. Marquette. This potential matchup intrigues me for a couple reasons, but none more so than floor slaps. I envision this game ending with both teams meeting at center court and having a “floor slap off”, ala Michael Jackson’s Beat It video.
3)John Calipari. The Kentucky coach is the master of self marketing. With his very own 30 for 30 airing on ESPN after the tournament ends, will he steal a page out of Nascar’s playbook and have advertisements for the show stitched on his suits?
How many people will have to tune in for THAT to become the greatest day in Kentucky basketball history?
4)Oregon Ducks. I hate what happened to the Ducks Chris Boucher (ACL tear). By all accounts he’s a good kid and was a lot of fun to watch last year.
Since Oregon is going to need an enforcer down low now that Boucher is out, is it too late for them to bring in Bobby Boucher? Having seen the last few Adam Sandler movies, I’m sure he’s available.
5)Northwestern. After finally bringing the Wildcats to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, will Chris Collins be replaced by his father, Doug, for this tournament run?
6)Dayton vs. Wichita State. I actually read this on Twitter, so I can’t take credit for it but, with both of these teams’ coaches at the top NC State head coaching wish list, should the loser be forced to become the next Wolfpack head coach?
7)Virginia Tech. What are the odds on the Hokies not showing up for their first tournament game in 10 years because they just automatically assumed they were in the NIT?
8)East Tennessee State. Their normal colors are Navy Blue and Gold; not too far off from Vanderbilt’s Black and Gold. After Florida finished 0-3 against Vanderbilt this season, does ETSU go to a darker shade of navy blue just to mess with the Gators? Couldn’t hurt, right?
9)Danny Manning. Manning has done a great job bringing the Demon Deacons back to field of 68, but I’m more interested in his wardrobe. He wore this glorious gold colored suit the other week in a win over Louisville. I can only hope he’s superstitious and will wear it again for their game against Kansas State. Like any true clothing superstition, the suit will have to be unwashed of course.
10)Louisville vs Jacksonville St. The Cardinals are the two seed, so obviously, they are playing the number fifteen seed. For anyone who has paid any attention to Rick Pitino’s colorful past, you are well aware of his brief relationship with the number 15.
Fair Weather Fans
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Atlanta is a terrible sports town. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Atlantans simply don’t show up for their pro teams unless they are winning, and consistently.
Partially it’s because the south belongs to college football, and partially it’s because of a lack of championships and probably some other things factor in as well. It’s the way of things here, and I doubt it will change any time soon.
So how is it that the NFC Championship, the final game at the Georgia Dome for the Atlanta Falcons, was packed full of loud, screaming southerners? Why were tickets for Suntrust Park’s debut game so hard to come by when they went on sale?
Fair weather fans.
The Falcons were good, and they were on their way to the Super Bowl. Suntrust Park is sparkly and new, and there is excitement abound for the Braves this year; but mark my words, if the Falcons can’t win football games at a high clip in their own brand new stadium, Mercedes Benz Stadium won’t be seeing sellouts in November.
If the Braves don’t stay competitive, then Suntrust Park will be just as vacant as Turner Field was in August last year; because those fair weather fans will stop caring and that’s okay.
Look, it can be frustrating for die hard fans to cope with the sudden attention their team gets from people that would otherwise fail to show up. Die harders experience the lows that fair weather fans will never know; because they don’t subject themselves to it. So, what right do they have to experience the highs?
I saw it and heard it all over Atlanta while the Falcons were in the playoffs: remarks about fans coming out of the woodwork just because the team was good. It was certainly true – but warranted. They WERE good!
As I am a die hard Braves fan, I find myself occasionally annoyed by fair weather fans too but if I take a step back I realize that not only are they not committing any egregious crimes, they are benefitting the team they’ve suddenly come out to support.
Think about it: if the Braves miraculously made it to the World Series this year, fair weather fans would show up in droves to the ballpark and sports bars to watch them play.
Irksome as they may seem (this has been MY TEAM for years!), would I truly rather they didn’t bother to pay attention? Do I want my team to take the field to a stadium half full of fans while they battle for a championship? Of course not.
A roaring crowd can tip the scales in some cases and I want my team to have that. They should take the field or court or gridiron to a packed house of supporters. It doesn’t matter if the fans have earned the right to celebrate – the team has earned the right to fans.
Plus, not every die hard fan was raised to be a die hard fan. Everyone has to start somewhere. I, for one, am a die hard Braves fanatic not because my parents were, but because I watched John Smoltz strike out three batters out in 2003 to close out a win. They were good, and they hooked me.
What if the Giants had come back and won that game? Would I have come back to the Braves? I’d like to think so, but I’m not so sure. Good teams breed new fans. Just think about how many Georgian eyes were on the Super Bowl in February. If they had held on and won, how many of those eyes would have been converted into die harders?
So, next time your beloved team, wherever they are, starts winning don’t scorn those who haven’t suffered the losses with you. Instead, embrace them. Your team deserves them.
Freddie Freeman To Become Atlanta Brave Great
By: Drayton Hogarth
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With Spring Training underway, and Opening Day just a few short weeks away, the Braves will yet again be led by Freddie Freeman.
Freeman will be entering his seventh season for the Atlanta club, when he began his rookie year he was supposed to be the complementary piece to “can’t miss franchise” player Jason Heyward.
Funny how things work out, Heyward was shipped out of Atlanta four seasons later, while Freeman has continued to blossom into a perennial all-star for the Braves. My question, is this the year that Freeman elevates his status into the upper echelon of Braves greats?
When one talks about Atlanta Braves history, the George Washington of the Braves Mount Rushmore is Hank Aaron. The true home run king of Major League Baseball will likely always maintain the top spot in the minds of Atlanta fans.
To many in the baseball world, 755 is still the magic number for home runs, and unless Freeman gets on a massive tear that will not be his avenue to being remembered as one of the greatest Braves of all time.
However, don’t let that fool you; Freeman is one of the best hitter’s currently in the game. As well, Freeman has a vast knowledge of the strike zone, which allows him to be selective at the plate so he is not the proverbial hit or miss batter.
Dale Murphy practically was the Atlanta Braves in the 1980’s. Murphy would lead a post season run in Atlanta roughly a decade before the string of division titles in the 1990’s and 2000’s.
The rest of the baseball world took notice as Murphy would win back to back MVP trophy’s in 1982 and 1983. After those seasons, overreactions by the Atlanta front office would stymie the Braves on field success, but Murphy never wavered from his commitment to Atlanta, his teammates, and more so from his faith.
Freeman seems to have some of that Dale Murphy personality in him. Teammates always talk about how Freeman is a leader, on and off the field, as well as being great in the clubhouse.
Freeman also has the kind of game, that will allow him to challenge for an MVP or two before his career is complete. A high batting average, good power, and coming up big in the clutch are all traits that lead to MVP consideration.
In fact, Freeman seemed to have been overlooked last year when you take a look at his .300 average, 32 home runs, and 91 RBI’s. Maybe if the team had started out with a better record, the media wouldn’t have immediately written him off.
When Chipper Jones finally arrived in Atlanta, he brought as much fan anticipation with him as any player ever. Chipper was kind of the Bryce Harper of his generation, minus the attitude and without being quite as cocky.
Chipper actually backed up his cockiness with 186 home runs over his first six years in the league, which is the same time frame as Freeman. One has to remember, Chipper had a lot more talent around him when he arrived in Atlanta than Freeman.
What has to excite Braves fans, last season once the Braves brought in Matt Kemp and others, that is when Freeman really elevated his game. Chipper was able to win an MVP, plus brought home that elusive World Series trophy.
Freeman, should he continue on his current path, will have an opportunity to put up similar numbers to Chipper Jones, both on the stat sheet and in the win column. If that is the case, then Freddie Freeman will be a lifetime Brave, and etch his name into the short list of all time greats in the hearts and minds of Braves Nation.
So there are many characteristics and similarities that indicate Freddie Freeman can become an all-time great Atlanta Brave.
It will take consistency, but most importantly it will take winning. Freeman has the most talented lineup around him coming into this season, if Freddie can lead the way, he already has many of the other traits needed to find himself on the short list of most popular Braves ever.
ACC March Madness
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the regular season winding down and various conference tournaments beginning across the country, the NCAA Tournament is just on the horizon.
Originally, I was going to comment on what it would take for all the possibly eligible SEC teams to make it to Phoenix this year, but I would’ve finished almost as quickly as I started. So, since it seems the ACC will likely have a much larger number of participants, I’ll go with them.
These are all the ACC teams that are currently thought to be in the field of 68, or one of the first four out, according to SI.com.
Wake Forest: Hope they don’t play anyone ranked in the Top 50. The Demon Deacons are something like 1-348,962 against Top 50 opponents since the invention of the telephone. That request is probably a realistic expectation if they were to make the tournament, right?
Georgia Tech: Make sure they score over 65 points. Their winning percentage is .866 when they hit this benchmark. It’s .30 when they don’t.
Syracuse: Have John Gillon dedicate ‘Cuses entire tournament run to Rasheed Sulaimon. I have the upmost respect for Gillon trying to have his buddy’s back after hitting the game winning shot against Duke. The only problem is the ‘15 team that dismissed ‘Sheed won the title. When comparing anything Sulaimon accomplishes in his basketball life to that Duke team, he loses. End of story.
Virginia Tech: Ummm…..Huh??? I figured the Hokies just stopped playing basketball once they got rid of Seth Greenberg.
Miami: Show Bruce Brown tapes of Doug McDermott, similar to that of A Clockwork Orange. Brown has scored more than 20 points in only two games this season, against UNC and Duke. Those just happen to be the ‘Canes two most impressive wins of the year.
Virginia: Hold their opponents to under 40 points. I know I sound facetious, but Virginia has scored 55 or less in three of the last five games. In the two games they eclipsed that number, one was in double overtime and the other was against NC State, where they’re allergic to defense.
Notre Dame: Avoid teams that play any semblance of defense. Mike Brey’s team always seem to be near the top in offensive efficiency which helps negate other teams that like to get out and push the ball. Play someone where that efficiency takes a dip and they will struggle.
Florida State: Convince the NCAA committee to play the tournament in Tallahassee. FSU hasn’t lost on their home court since November, but has really struggled on the road. Next to North Carolina, Florida State is the second most complete team in the ACC.
Louisville: Hit outside shots. If they do this they have a chance. If not, they don’t. Pretty simple.
North Carolina: Don’t be in a bracket with a more talented team. I know it sounds obvious, but the tournament has made its name on upsets- unless you’re Carolina. Since 2006 the lowest seed UNC has lost to was a 4 seed Kentucky team. When it comes to the tournament, the Heels win the games they’re supposed to. Unfortunately for their fans, the same logic applies for the games they should lose.
Duke: Invent a time machine to travel back to October and undo whatever voodoo took place before the season started. On paper, this is the most talented team in the nation. On the court, it has been completely different. Plenty of legitimate excuses to go around, but bottom line is this sum is not equal to all of its parts.
The Game Feb 25
