Recovering Baptist

It seems that the interwebs give us a new tear-jerking story every day. But rather than cry about Eight Belles at the Derby, cry about these amazing softball players, instead. Yes, I said softball. If you don’t know about this story, then you should. Trust me.

Probability states that at every point in the SouthEast will be hit by a tornado at some point in its history. Tonight that time came for Downtown Atlanta. I’m a bit nervous right now because a friend of mine lives in the Stacks at the old Fulton Cotton Mill. I think the collapse happened in a different building, but I’m praying nonetheless.

If there’s one good thing in all this, it’s the Georgia Dome. I’ve disliked that place from the first time I laid eyes on it. It’s ugly on the outside and an embarrassment on the inside. During the NCAA regionals a few years ago the venue showed its pathetic side when the scoreboard stopped working and time had to be kept on the court. The teflon roof has always scared me. On the one hand, kudos to the engineers who designed that place, as the roof mostly held up through a confirmed tornado. On the other hand, the place has been torn up. It’s due for remodeling anyway. With more storms on the way, maybe this time it will take a direct hit while everyone else is watching basketball at my alma mater and the Dome will meet its doom. Even if the storms headed our way peter out, it looks like that exterior facelift will be accelerated a bit.

As an aside - I’m afraid that this shows that it really is time for the Thriller Dome to go. It’s a place with great memories for all of us Yellow Jackets, but it’s a real shame that the SEC tournament is only getting a minor upgrade due to the weather. If we had a real arena there wouldn’t be too much concern about moving from the Dome to Tenth Street, but as it is, well, let’s just say that I’m glad I’m not holding tickets.

Taking Arthur Blank at his word, just six hours before calling Blank to give his resignation, Bobby Petrino told him that he was going to remain as the Falcons’ coach. I lack the words to describe such a man. At least we’re rid of this incompetent never-do-well.

I think I’m the only person I know who grew up as a Falcons fan. How could I not? My neighbor, who was like a grandfather to me, was the ticket manager. His house was covered with Falcons gear; his basement was even carpeted in red and black shag. I miss the days of sitting on the 48 yardline in the last row of the bottom section of Atlanta Fulton County. Once I started having to pay my own way I realized that the product the Falcons put on the field just wasn’t worth the price, so I watch the games on TV or radio. But when a friend called last night to ensure I heard the news he said I was the biggest Falcons fan he knew. That’s a very bad sign for the home team.

Petrino wouldn’t have worked out here even if Vick had been the angel that Blank wanted to believe he was. From day one it was clear that he didn’t know how to work with professional athletes and that he was never going to earn their respect. And Vick’s absence only exposed the poor talent in the locker room. There was no way that Petrino would win here anytime soon, and it was clear to everyone that he needed to leave town.

Our franchise has hit a new low, but I, for one, am glad it’s come now. We lost Vick too close to the start of the season for the GM to find a decent replacement. At least with Petrino leaving mid-season we can start looking forward to the 2008 season. Yes, Petrino left in the least classy way possible, but I’m trying to figure out which was worse - Petrino, who deserved no respect, leaving after 13 games or the team firing the very respectable Dan Reeves at the same point in a season? Karma’s a bitch, and the home team is cursed.

The Sugar Bowl has a long history, and an invitation to play in New Orleans on New Years Day has been the highlight of many a college football player. There are two Sugar Bowl teams’ whose stories are similar, and they will be playing each other for the first time on the first day of 2008.

Twenty-seven years ago the Bulldogs ended the regular season while the fans cheered to Munson’s call of “Look at the sugar falling from the sky.” They faced the storied Fighting Irish and capped a season that will never be forgotten in our state (much to the chagrin of us Techies). This year UGA is the national powerhouse facing Warriors - a team which, despite its undefeated regular season, has garnered little respect. But don’t tell that to the fans in the Aloha state.

The locals just can’t stop talking about U of H football. Just the mention of it these days makes them stand a bit taller, and everyone is a fan. I think I’ve met more season ticket holders than the stadium has seats! And while they appreciate the entire team and its coach (former Falcons’ coach June Jones), Colt Brennan’s status here far surpasses anything Herschel Walker reached. Colt may have been born in California, but he has been adopted as a true kama’aina. As if breaking passing records and putting his school on the national radar weren’t enough to endear himself to the locals, he is also studying the Samoan and Hawaiian languages. He makes time for any fan who wants his attention and, to hear some talk, starts his day by jogging from island to island.

The 2008 Sugar Bowl marks only the second time that the Warriors have been to a bowl game on the mainland. Win or lose, it’s something their fans will never forget. 2007 has been one of those years here where the sport becomes bigger than what happens on the field. It’s a source of state (or, as some here would say, national) pride the likes of which the islanders could never experience any other way.

While I was eating poi and watching hula dancers the rest of the world was learning about A-rod and Barry. Given how he took the focus off the World Series (granted, it was a pretty dull series), Rodriguez deserves to have his big, shiny new contract overshadowed by Bonds’ indictment. While everyone is innocent until proven guilty, we all learned during the Vick debacle that the Feds don’t indict unless they’re very sure of a conviction. Here’s hoping the Feds did their homework and have this case wrapped up.

Around the time I asked for my wife’s hand in marriage I was talking to my parents. “What does her father do?” they asked. “I think he’s a doctor.” (Turns out I was wrong about that, he’s the CEO of a medical practice…) “Sfppppptttttt” was my dad’s response as he spit out his coffee. I don’t think they liked the idea of me marrying outside of their comfortable middle class.

So I think it’s pretty funny that my dad and I are heading to Chateau Elan on Thursday morning for a round of golf. We’ve played golf together plenty of times, as it’s the one thing we have in common right now, but we usually play at courses where we carry our own bags and a cart isn’t even an option. This is going to be something completely different to the point that we both bought new golf shoes so we wouldn’t stand out! Granted, my golf sandals would look a bit funny in November, but I can’t think of the last time that I’ve given my attire this much thought.

I’ll report back after our round. I’m sure we’ll play horribly, but that’s not really news worthy. Being in a fancy schmancy place and possibly rubbing elbows with well known baseball players (it’s Phil Neikro’s charity tournament) is definitely a rare experience for me.

par·i·ty - noun - the quality or state of being equal or equivalent

This is the kind of season where the laundry-loving sports writers bemoan that the “powerhouse” teams are all “rebuilding” or that talent is “watered down.” After all, how else can they explain that so many teams that have been heralded as the best in the nation have been upset? It’s the kind of weekend in the kind of year that drives sports “experts” nuts.

Let’s face it - Division 1A (or wait, what do they call it now, BCS Division A) football is now almost as level a playing field as the NFL, and that’s without a bunch of gurus spending the off season figuring out how to tweak the schedule so the tough teams beat each other up while pitting the losers against each other so as to give the appearance of parity. Unfortunately this real parity still doesn’t help the little schools. The traditional powerhouses get voted to the top spots at the beginning of the season, and once a school is voted to a top spot they don’t lose it unless they lose regardless of how bad they play in their wins. And if a powerhouse loses a single game they’re barely penalized, but it’s going to be interesting to see how far #10 Rutgers falls after their first loss of the year this week.

And as long as I’m celebrating a weekend where my number one and number three favorite teams (GT and AU; whoever was playing UGA lost this weekend) I may as well look forward to the stupidity that is the BCS. This season has shown that not only does every 1A have a chance to beat the other, but a few 1AA teams have that chance, too. And if that’s the case, then why the hell is a computer using data from a bunch of blowhard writers figuring out which two teams should get to play for the national championship. Division 1A football is the only NCAA sport at any level which does not use a playoff system of some sort to determine its champion. Of course, I’m not a professional jock sniffer, so what do I know?