A Hometown Headlines newsletter                 
 

 

 

Make no mistake. Tiger needs help; where have you gone, Major League Baseball?

(2/26) You’re going to have to bear with me today as I’ve got two things stuck in my craw and I need to at least put down on paper (or the radio or internet, as it were.)

First Tiger Woods.

Now folks, I know everyone from Macoa to Macon has commented on Woods’ statement last week but I’m having trouble getting it out of my mind, so here’s what I think.

His statement came straight from the library of the treatment facility. It’s from a 12-step program for folks who are having trouble.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking Tiger is at the facility being treated for sexual addition. I believe the pro golfer is totally messed up in all phases of his life. Whether this is because of the fact that he never had a normal up-bringing or couldn’t stand the glare of the spotlight or whether he’s just screwed because of genetics is something for the facility folks to handle, not me.

Think about it. Tiger was a child prodigy. He never had a chance at a childhood. When he was young, he wasn’t thinking about girls but golf holes. He didn’t go to the prom but the pro-am. Even his one year at Stanford was made possible by a golf scholarship and all he learned was possibly something about economics but not life.

Should we all feel sorry for Tiger? Not necessarily but don’t think the fact that he’s made a billion dollars shields him from mental problems.

So, I think after listening to Tiger’s 14-minute presentation, he truly is sorry -- sorry that he got caught.

Second, Major Leaguers have all reported to Florida for spring training. What once was a rite of passage and something to mark on your calendar is now just another interminable nuisance caused by sports seasons running too long and too many mediocre players calling themselves pros.

Quick, other than the particular team you pull for, how many MLB teams can you name at least three players in the starting lineup?

In a time which doesn’t seem so long ago, there were only eight teams in each league. I could come close to naming the starting lineups for at least a half-dozen teams and I could certainly name at least one or two players on all 16 teams.

You could depend on Willie Mays being with the Giants and Mickey Mantle being with the Yankees and Stan Musial wearing his red Cardinals’ cap.

Today, the players change teams like they used to change shoes. I can’t name a single player on the San Diego Padres or the Chicago White Sox. The game has been diluted. The market for baseball is crowded with pretenders and imposters.

I miss spring training.

This is Norman Arey feeling out of place and out of sorts.

Too bright to play in the NFL? Can Ga. Tech expect an invite to the NCAA tournament?

(2/25) Much to my surprise, there is a person on this planet who doesn’t know who Tiger Woods is (or was). The Dalai Lama was asked what advice he might have for Tiger and he replied, "Who?" But he did know who Steven Seagal is.

FoxSports.com points out that it is mathematically possible for there to be a seven-way tie in the Pac-10 for the league title. It’s not so much parity as it is sorriness. There’s not an NCAA Tourney-worthy team in the lot.

The NFL draftniks out there keep telling us what a weak quarterback class this is but a total of 19 quarterbacks have been invited to the NFL combine this week.

We’ve pretty well established over this college basketball season that Georgia Tech is a disappointment. But look at it this way. The Yellow Jackets are imbedded in the second tier of the ACC, which means that there are between four and six teams ahead of them in the standings. If the NCAA sent out invitations today, would more than say four or five teams get an invite? And where, then, does that leave Tech?

Too smart for the NFL? Profootballtalk.com says the fact that former Florida State defensive back Myron Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar will hurt him during the NFL draft. ESPN states that the NFL wants to draft guys who need to play football and want to study nothing more than the playbook. Rolle’s interests lie in becoming a doctor and specializing in stem cell research.

I don’t know if the news that Plaxico Burress’ 7,000-square-foot mansion in Florida is being foreclosed upon was meant to solicit sympathy but that’s not going to happen. Burress, of course, is in the slammer for being dumb enough to shoot himself in the leg while carrying an illegal weapon in New York.

As it turns out, Herb McGee at Philadelphia University who won his 902nd game as head coach at the Division II school, isn’t on his way to becoming the most winning coach in college basketball. Northern State (S.D.) coach Don Mayer has 922 wins at several stops at NAIA and NCAA small schools. Earlier this season, Harry Statham at NAIA powerhouse McKendree University won his 1,000th. The only other basketball coach to top 1,000 is Pat Summitt at Tennessee.

I think it would be safe to say, barring any huge upsets, that Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse will get No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. But the No. 4 seed is still up in the air and it probably comes down to choosing among Duke, Purdue and Villanova. After the Blue Devils capped the ACC’s second best team (Virginia Tech) and with the newly appreciated presence of 7-foot Brian Zoubek in the Duke lineup, I would pick Mike Krzyzewski’s bunch for the final top seed.

This is Norman Arey and I’d watch a wits-matching contest between Myron Rolle and Plaxico Burress.

Great news! No guns, long knives or explosives in Major League locker rooms

(2/24) I guess we can all relax now when we’re at the ball park. Major League Baseball has passed a rule that all guns, long knives and explosives must not be brought into the individual team’s locker rooms. And that includes the commissioner’s office. Thank God.

ESPN’s Bill Simmons, the site’s erstwhile NBA expert, listed the top 40 pro players in his estimation of their trade value. He began with No. 40 Ricky Rubio, who as you know, isn’t in the NBA at all, just his rights are. Somewhat surprising, his No. 38 was San Antonio’s Tony Parker. His top five, in reverse order, were the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Miami’s Dwayne Wade, the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and, No. 1, LeBron James of Cleveland.

Talk about lousy timing. Former Georgia Tech receiver Bay-Bay Thomas found himself listed on Mel Kiper’s first round NFL draftee list and immediately broke his foot in workouts in an Arizona training camp last week.

There’s no crying in golf, especially by the sport’s commentators. The Golf Channel’s Charlie Rymer actually cried on the air after Tiger Woods’ called meeting last week.

The Atlanta-based Black College Hall of Fame held its first induction ceremony over the weekend and it was quite a heady class of inductees. Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Deacon Jones and coach Eddie Robinson were all in the initial class.

The sad word is that former Oklahoma State head basketball coach Sean Sutton has been arrested and charged with a felony after Sutton reportedly tried to obtain a shipment of painkillers under a false name. Sutton, 41, is the son of former college coach Eddie Sutton, who suffered from substance abuse during his career, namely alcohol.

Here’s something to look for in early summer. Who will be the quarterback on the pre-season All-America teams for 2010? I say it will be Boise State’s Kellen Moore with Houston’s Case Keenum a close second. To be honest, I can’t even think of a third choice.

There is a site on the internet called ByeByeBrentandBob.com, which was started by a Kansas City radio sports talk host aimed at getting Brent Musburger and Bobby Knight removed from the broadcast team calling Big XII games. You can sign the petition which will be presented to the Big XII commissioner Dan Beebe during the conference tournament. Let me state unequivocally that I’m all for it.

This is Norman Arey and they can remove Musburger from the planet as far as I’m concerned.

Forget conference expansion in college sports. Let's go with full-blown realignment

(2/23) I’m not sure this is a bad idea. West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins suggested the NCAA split the basketball schools in to two groups as it did with football teams. Huggins says take the top 110 teams and designate them Division I-A and the other 224 teams with a designation of Division I-AA. I guess then all 110 Division I team could play in the NCAA tournament at season’s end.

And here’s another idea that has merit. SI.Com’s Andy Staples says forget conference expansion and go to full-blown re-alignment. He suggests going to four Super Conferences called the SEC, The Big 16, The ACC and The Pac-16. The SEC would absorb Louisville, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. The ACC would take in Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse and UConn. The Pac-16 would consist of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, TCU, Colorado and Baylor along with its present 10 teams.. The Big 16 would finally get Notre Dame.

When can you take time to smell the roses? North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams says he hasn’t had time to enjoy last year’s national championship as his Tar Heels team is mired in a 14-13 disaster this season. "The joys haven’t been as high as the lows (are low)," Williams said. The coach is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1989.

By the way, the top revenue-producing athletic department in the country was Texas with $138.5 million. Others in the top five included Ohio State, Florida, Alabama and LSU. Georgia was No. 11 with $81.5 million and Georgia Tech ranked 54th with $48 million.

Word is out in the ACC that the key to stopping Georgia Tech is to go right at super freshman Derrick Favors and try to get the big guy in early foul trouble. It’s working, too. At least a half dozen times this season, Favors has spent a large amount of time on the bench in the first half and then comes back in the second and plays tentatively with three or four fouls. If you look at Favors’ problems closely, it also has a lot to do with the inability of the Jacket guards to feed him the ball inside.

And yes, I do agree that new Georgia men’s basketball coach Mark Fox is accomplishing more with the talent he inherited than Paul Hewitt is doing with Tech’s illustrious lineup of All-Americans.

And finally, who is Herb McGee? McGee is the basketball coach of Philadelphia University, a Division II school, who won his 902nd game over the weekend, tying Bobby Knight as the most winning coach in college basketball.

This is Norman Arey and I love the idea of Four Super Conferences.

Braves strike out with Damon; Georgia Tech's luck is all of the bad kind

(2/22) I guess that’s that with Johnny Damon and the Atlanta Braves. The former Yankee has agreed to terms with the Detroit Tigers on a one-year deal. Damon is expected to bat leadoff and split his time as designated hitter and left field.

With some conference basketball tournaments starting in less than three weeks, there are four teams in the country that have far exceeded their pre-season expectations. I would think that regardless of what happens, Vanderbilt, Charlotte, Virginia Tech and possibly Arizona State should land a bid in the NCAA tourney.

Kansas’ senior guard Sherron Collins has participated in 123 victories as a starter on the Jayhawk team, tying the record set previously by three players. Collins has four more regular season games left not counting the team’s appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Poor Georgia Tech. Seems like the only kind of luck the Yellow Jackets have is the bad kind. Paul Hewitt’s club led favored Maryland by one point on the road over the weekend with 1.5 second left, the Terps’ backup guard Cliff Tucker hit a three-pointer to give Maryland the win. The Jackets have now lost seven in the conference and are in seventh place and hold an 18-9 overall mark.

Surprisingly, the Big XII has the most 20-win teams of any conference as five schools have reached that bench mark.

And speaking of the Big XII, Commissioner Dan Beebe says he’s willing to fight anyone who tries to steal any of the conference’s dozen teams. Missouri, Texas, Nebraska and Colorado have all been mentioned as being wooed by either the Big 10 or the Pac 10.

Just a thought but all of these college football coaches who are making between $3 million to $5 million a year realize that kind of salary through the kindness of alums kicking in the dough. If these well-heeled alums would instead give that kind of money to the U.S. Olympic team, America would be unstoppable.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment in college recruiting happened at Miami. Broward and Dade County in Florida had 28 players with four or five stars. Only two signed with the Hurricanes.

This is Norman Arey and I never thought Johnny Damon was the answer for the Braves.

Tiger's much more important than Afghanistan and Iraq -- and that's the sad truth

(2/19) Something is wrong with this country and further proof of this was the announcement that Tiger Woods would make a public statement Friday. Wednesday night on the national news, with a war going on in Afghanistan and another winding up in Iraq and with Iran arming itself with nuclear weapons and the economy in a free fall and unemployment in double digits and North Carolina’s basketball team sporting a 14-12 mark, the first four minutes of the national news was about Tiger. Unbelievably sad.

This can’t be good news for Arkansas. Junior quarterback Ryan Mallett, a Heisman Trophy candidate for next year, broke a bone in his foot and will be sidelined during spring practice. Mallett passed for 3,600 yards and 30 touchdowns last season.

It was an expensive promotion for Atlanta Motor Speedway. Each year, AMS sells 2,000 tickets to its upcoming race for the price of the number of the winning car at Daytona. If you remember, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in car No. 88 finished second behind Jamie MacMurray, who drives car No. 1. So, it cost the Atlanta track $174,000 for the difference.

No league for long-timers. It’s amazing but true that Georgia football coach Mark Richt has the longest tenure (10 years) in the SEC of any football coach. Richt celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday. Bets are that he won’t last 10 more.

Yahoo!Sports says the Philadelphia Eagles have decided to hold on to former Falcon Michael Vick, at least until the NFL pre-season begins. They feel he’ll bring a higher price by then.

And in the wonderful world of police and college athletes, let’s see if I’ve got everything straight here. Oregon running back LaMichael James has been charged with domestic violence; Vanderbilt signee Rajaan Bennett of Powder Springs was shot to death by his mother’s boyfriend; Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn was charged with assault; Florida defensive tackle Gary Brown was charged with battery; and I think that’s enough for one day.

In a Fox Sports poll, 44 percent of college football fans were of the opinion that Alabama would again be a participant in the mythical college title game next year. Can they really believe that when the Tide of Crimson lost nine of 11 defensive starters? Nick Saban is a wonderful coach, but nobody’s that wonderful.

Two teams going in different directions are Duke and Texas in basketball. The Longhorns were No. 1 in the country with a 17-0 mark and have lost six of their last nine. The Blue Devils have won seven of their last eight and sit atop the ACC.

This Norman Arey and I’m much more concerned about my fantasy league basketball team than I am about what Tiger Woods might have to whine about.

Luckily the city of Atlanta road maintenance department wasn't in charge at Daytona

(2/18) After watching Georgia Tech absolutely dismantle the hapless North Carolina Tar Heels Tuesday (yes, I said hapless), one of the true mysteries of sports is how in the hell did UNC get so bad so fast. Especially coming off of a national title year with one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.

And speaking of college basketball, I’m tired of reading and hearing about boorish fans. When Kentucky beat Mississippi State in Starkville in overtime this week, the Wildcats were rewarded by being pelted with cups of ice, water bottles and water.

Two-sport man. Roddy Jones, Tech’s starting A-back on the football team, also is playing baseball for the Yellow Jackets this season. Jones was a first-round draft choice in the MLB draft but chose to play football instead.

The National League’s San Diego Padres have had what amounts to a fire sale of its players, surely dooming them to last place. But they’re not completely stupid. They have lowered beer prices to keep some fans happy.

He’s smokin’, he’s not jokin’. Detroit Tiger manager Jim Leyland, an avid smoker, knows he’s got a problem. The state of Michigan becomes smoke-free in public areas in May. That includes the Tigers’ stadium.

Might be bad news for the rest of the Big XII. Texas has signed Case McCoy, the younger brother of Colt, to a football scholarship. The quarterback is already enrolled in school in Austin.

The Georgia football team should be better, at least the record should be, looking at its 2010 schedule. The out-of-conference games include Louisiana-Lafayette, Colorado, Idaho State and Georgia Tech. Western Division foes Alabama and LSU have rotated off the schedule.

Georgia Tech, meanwhile, goes out of conference to play against South Carolina State, Middle Tennessee State, Kansas and Georgia. The Yellow Jackets split their away-home schedule with six on the road the same number at home.

Great vent in the AJC sports section. If the City of Atlanta had been in charge of maintenance of the Daytona 500 Speedway, there would have been a steel plate over the pot hole instead of an actual repair. Love it.

This is Norman Arey suggesting Jim Leyland try nicotine gum. All baseball guys chew.

Cyclist is now a hacker? Holtz vs. Notre Dame. Who's tattoo-less in the NBA?

(2/17) FoxSports.com picked its top three player-of-the-year candidates in each of the six power conferences. For the SEC, the top three were Kentucky’s John Wall, South Carolina’s Devan Downey and the Wildcats’ DeMarcus Cousins. In the ACC, Duke guard Jon Scheyer led the league’s trio followed by Virginia Tech’s Malcolm Delaney and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez.

Matt Hayes of SportingNewsToday says Georgia Tech’s DeMaryius Thomas is the most overrated receiver in the upcoming NFL draft.

National college basketball expert Ken Pomeroy has developed a rating system to show how well a team is playing right now, not how good a team’s season has been. Pomeroy ranks the top teams as Kansas, Duke Wisconsin, West Virginia and Syracuse.

Former NBA superstar Michael Jordan has been trying for several months to put together a deal to buy the Charlotte Bobcats. Commish David Stern supposedly wants the deal done in eight weeks. Would the Hornets then become the Jordanaires?

Holtz will take on Notre Dame on Sept. 3, 2011. Skip Holtz, the son of former longtime Irish football coach Lou Holtz, will be the head coach at South Florida when the Bulls open their season against the Golden Dome persons.

Georgia’s hiring of Scott Lakatos as secondary coach is rated as one of the top position coach hires in the country by Rivals.com.

You can take this newest Tiger Woods’ note with a grain of salt but it does make for good reading. Porn star Joslyn James says the pro golfer got her pregnant not once but twice since 2005.

Just one of those oddities you can’t live without but the New York Times reports that most Canadian hockey players shoot left-handed and most Americans shoot from the other side. And that’s not necessarily a political commentary.

Now here’s my kind of list. Rick Reilly of ESPN submitted a list of NBA superstars who have no visible tattoos. They included Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki. Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Miami’s Dwayne Wade, Phoenix’ Steve Nash and NBA commissioner David Stern. Pau Gasol of the Lakers is the top tattoo-less reserve.

You remember American cyclist Floyd Landis who won the Tour de France and was then stripped of the honor because of suspected doping? The French government has now issued an arrest warrant on Landis for computer hacking. Really? That’s what the French have to worry about?

This is Norman Arey and no one deserves to get hacked more than the French.

If you can't say anything nice (about Peyton), just don't say anything at all

(2/16) As far as Peyton Manning’s legacy being ruined by throwing an interception in the fourth quarter in the Super Bowl, I say shut up! Manning is 70 games over .500 in his 12-year career, which is far ahead of the likes of Dan Marino, John Elway, Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach, according to SI.com’s Peter King.

Southern Cal athletics director Mike Garrett says he is embarrassed about having to appear before the NCAA sanctions committee this week about possible football and basketball violations. Wonder why his public demeanor doesn’t come across that way?

What? Joe Paterno without glasses? The iconic Penn State football coach recently underwent eye surgery and no longer has to wear glasses. But fear not. The 82-year-old said he felt funny without glasses, so will still wear them, even though he only needs them to read.

Reports out of Philadelphia say the Eagles have offered backup quarterback Kevin Kolb a contract extension, indicating that the NFL team is ready to part ways with six-time pro bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb. . . In a related story, the Minnesota Vikings are most interested in McNabb if Brett Favre chooses not to return.

Word is that Georgia Tech got themselves a real steal in hiring Andy McCollum away from N.C. State to be their defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. McCollum is from Marietta and welcomed the chance to come home. And in a strange quirk of fate, former Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta was hired by State to replace McCollum.

For what it’s worth, FoxSports.com’s NFL analyst Adam Schein says the Atlanta Falcons are his choice to be the New Orleans Saints of 2010.

Big shoes to fill but running back/defensive back Adam Griffin, son of two-time Heisman Trophy Award winner Archie, will follow in his father’s footsteps and play college football at Ohio State.

OK. Spring football practice is under way, at least at one of the 120 Division I schools. Where else but Duke, as the Blue Devils kicked it off Monday. I’m not sure that starting earlier will help but why not try?

This is Norman Arey inviting you to join Dan Houston and me at Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday for the Southern Sports Roundtable from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on WRGA 1470 AM.

KENTUCKY IS SERIOUS ABOUT ITS BASKETBALL; COLLEGE LANDSCAPE IN FOR A TIDAL WAVE OF CHANGE

(2/15) How serious is Kentucky about its basketball team? A record crowd of 22,144 showed up before 10 a.m. in Rupp Arena in Lexington just to see ESPN’s College Gameday crew do the pre-game for the Wildcats -Tennessee game. And the game didn’t start until 9 p.m.

Former Georgia Tech head football coach George O’Leary’s Central Florida team has been placed on two year probation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. O’Leary’s six-year record at UCF is 34-41.

The Tar Heel men’s basketball team just can’t catch a break. North Carolina has already seen six of its top nine players miss a total of 16 games due to injury. Now starting forward Ed Davis, the team’s leading rebounder and second leading scorer, is out for the season with a broken wrist.

The hot rumor in the sports world has the New Jersey Nets of the NBA in hot pursuit of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Let me say, on the record, that this just isn’t going to happen? Coach K turned down the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant six years ago, and now we’re to believe he’s going to go coach the worst team in pro basketball? Not a chance.

Name of the week - Joe Speed. Speed is the new linebacker coach at Georgia Tech as Paul Johnson hired him away from Navy.

NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the league will lose $400 million this year, about twice what it lost last season. The proclamation makes a lockout after next season very likely.

This is going to be a year where all the news in college football in the off-season will deal with expansion. Both the Big 10 and the Pac-10 are in an overdrive mode concerning expansion and some of the names being mentioned would create a college football tidal wave. Both leagues have expressed some interest in taking Texas. The fact that the Longhorns haven’t expressed any intention of leaving the Big XII seems to be irrelevant. Also Colorado has been targeted by the Pac-10. The sports landscape is getting ready to change dramatically.

And finally, a word about Georgia Tech basketball. This assemblage of talent is second to no one in the ACC, yet the team is 5-6 in league play and 17-8 overall. Watching the Jackets lose to Wake Forest Saturday, it seems their game plan is to take ill-advised three-point shots and keep the ball away from the top freshman in the land, Derrick Favors. How else to explain Tech was 10-of-25 from three-point range and Favors took all of three shots and finished with four points?

This is Norman Arey and I’d throw the ball to Favors.

 

It ain't fair but how come Peyton is a bum and Dale Jr. is the most popular?

(2/12) A group of Minnesota Vikings fans have paid to put up two huge billboards close to quarterback Brett Favre’s home in Hattiesburg, Miss. trying to entice the Hall of Famer to come back for at least one more season.

In ESPN.com’s SEC rankings, the once mighty Bulldogs of Georgia rated only a No. 7 ranking -- and remember, that’s in their league. Alabama was picked in the top spot followed by Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn and South Carolina before the Bulldogs showed up.

Interesting athletic hire: Great Falls College in Montana named Dick Lyman rodeo coach.

It pains me to write this but North Carolina’s men’s basketball season is effectively over after losing to arch-rival Duke Wednesday. The Tar Heels are next to last in the conference standings and own a 13-11 overall mark. With seven games left, the defending national champs look like they will miss the NCAA tournament for one of the few times in recent history.

It would be no shock if the rumors are true and Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino is interested in the head job with the NBA’s New Jersey Nets. Pitino is still suffering from a sex scandal in the Kentucky city and probably would like to remove himself from the area.

The word is that former Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice will be traded by the Dallas Cowboys to the San Diego Chargers for corner back Antonio Cromartie.

Nobody said life was fair. USA Today points out that Peyton Manning has four MVP trophies and a Super Bowl ring and everyone seems to be pounding on the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback. Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one Sprint Cup win in the last three years, no pole positions in nearly two years and enters the Daytona 500 coming off his worst season in more than a decade. Yet, Earnhardt is voted NASCAR’s most popular driver.

He’s alive and well. Remember Stephen Curry, the phenom at tiny Davidson College? The point guard recorded the first triple-double for an NBA rookie in 22 years this week for the Golden State Warriors as he scored 36 points, handed out 13 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds.

And finally, the Super Bowl always brings about stupid bets from governors of the states involved. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels bet that whomever lost would have to fly the team flag of the other from the state capital flag pole. Thus, the Saints flag flying over Indianapolis.

Come join Dan Houston and me at Bella Roma Grill Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. live for the Southern Sports Roundtable heard on WRGA 1470 AM.

Who are the top recruiters in college football? Tee Martin is back in the SEC

(2/11)  Ah ha! As it turns out, former New York Yankee lead off man Johnny Damon has a mutual affection for the Atlanta Braves, who had shown interest in signing the free agent for next season. . . And speaking of local teams acquiring hotshot players in the off-season, could the Atlanta Falcons possibly acquire the Carolina Panthers’ Julius Peppers?

Rivals.com ranked the top 25 college recruiters in the country. Surprisingly, Cal’s Tosh Lupio was No. 1 and Florida’s Steve Adazzio second. Interestingly, Florida State had two in the top 10 - James Coley and Lawrence Dawsey.

The top five head college football coaches who are also the top recruiters, according to Rivals.com, include Florida’s Urban Meyer, Southern Cal’s Lane Kiffin, Louisville’s Charlie Strong, UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel and Nick Saban of Alabama.

HERE & THERE: Kentucky has hired former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin as wide receivers coach. Martin was the quarterback for the Vols when they won the national title in 1998. . . The Pac-10 has turned over the question of expansion to the presidents of the schools in the league. . . If you think Mark Richt and Georgia had a hard time hiring a defensive coordinator, Florida is now talking to its fourth and fifth choices. . . The man who took the nude pictures of ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews was guilty of doing the same thing with 16 other women.

It’s yours to argue about but the three top returning college football players next year are tailback Mark Ingram at Alabama, quarterback Kellen Moore at Boise State and quarterback Terrelle Pryor at Ohio State.

FoxSports.com writes that if ex-Florida quarterback Tim Tebow should fall out of the first round in the upcoming NFL draft, the former Gator would be a fantastic fit for New Orleans -- he’d be the perfect Saint. . . The same Web site did an informal survey with more than a quarter million respondents asking if the Saints would repeat as Super Bowl champions. A resounding 82 percent said No!

Just an opinion but the best college basketball team in the state of Tennessee isn’t in Knoxville or Memphis. Vanderbilt has my vote.

This is Norman Arey inviting you to join Dan Houston and me live at the Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. as we do our Southern Sports Roundtable on WRGA 1470 AM.

More viewers watched Manning, Brees than watched Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H finale

(2/10) Sunday’s Super Bowl was the most watched Super Bowl in history and may eclipse the all-time record which has been held by M*A*S*H since 1983. Early number suggest Super Bowl 44 drew 106.5 million viewers, more than the 195.97 viewers who watched the M*A*S*H finale. I personally don’t see any comparison. I liked Hawkeye Pierce much better than either Drew Brees or Peyton Manning.

Not only is the non-BCS Mountain West Conference creating havoc in the college football standings but the league has three teams in the Top 25 in men’s basketball. UNLV, BYU and New Mexico all crashed the elite rankings.

The state of Georgia was the most recruited state by the Southeastern Conference. Sixty-five native Georgians signed with SEC schools, well ahead of the state of Florida with 46. Every SEC team but Mississippi State signed at least one player from the state.

Atlanta’s Brad Nessler, the outstanding play-by-play guy for ESPN and ABC in both college football and basketball, has been named the winner of the Furman Bisher Award for excellence in sports media.

The odds are already out for next year’s Super Bowl. Indianapolis is at 13-2 to make a return trip while the New Orleans Saints are 7-1. Oh, and the Atlanta Falcons are at 20-1.

Second place just doesn’t get it in Indy. A grand total of 11 Indianapolis Colts’ fans met their team at the airport when it returned from its Super Bowl loss.

With expansion of the Big 10 in the news, the Columbus Dispatch suggests that the 11-team league might consider adding as many as five teams rather than just one. At that point, the 16-team league might be re-named the Big One.

Evidently the Atlanta Braves haven’t given up on signing former New York Yankee leadoff hitter Johnny Damon. There seems to be almost no market for the ex-Yank, who was seeking $13 million per year for four years.

And finally, Milwaukee has found a way to cheapen erecting bronze statues. The Brewers announced they would erect a seven-foot bronze statue of owner and present Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig outside of Miller Stadium.

This is Norman Arey saying come by the Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium and see Dan Houston and me when we do our Southern Sports Roundtable live Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m.

 

Bowden loses wins; Favre may start feeling pressure; Duke-UNC basketball: who cares?

(2/9) Apparently the NCAA punishment is final for Florida State. Wins were taken away in 10 sports because of a cheating scandal. Former head coach Bobby Bowden, who retired with 389 wins, was forced to give up 12, so the venerable coach officially finishes his legendary career with 377.

The University of Florida is reportedly looking at former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Corwin Brown to replace George Edwards as the Gators’ defensive coordinator. Edwards replaced Charlie Strong, who took the head job at Louisville in January but Edwards stayed only a month before taking a job with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

The Minnesota Vikings promised that they wouldn’t be pressuring Brett Favre to make a decision on whether to return next year or not. Now, there’s a different story coming out of Minneapolis. The team wants the quarterback to make a decision by the trading deadline of March 5, so if he chooses not to return, they would have a chance to bring in another quarterback.

Short Shots: Of Georgia’s six SEC losses in men’s basketball, four have been by four points or less . . . And speaking of basketball frustration, Georgia Tech has two away ACC games this week - Miami and Wake Forest. . . The Bulldog tennis team is an amazing 50-1 against Georgia Tech since 1969. . . And as they should be, the Rome 24-0 girls’ basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the state.

It’s a great story that Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are the Super Bowl champions but remember just a year or so ago, team owner Tom Benson wanted to abandon New Orleans and move the team to San Antonio.

Broken record time: Defending NCAA men’s basketball champion North Carolina lost its sixth out of its last seven games over the weekend, this time to Maryland. The Tar Heels have already dropped 10 games and are one-half game out of last place in the ACC. Says head coach Roy Williams: "I’ve never coached effort. I’ve always coached execution. With this group, I’m having to coach effort." . . . The Tar Heels play Duke this week. I can’t remember when there has been this little buzz associated with what is known as ‘College sports biggest rivalry.’

And now that the Super Bowl is over, we go to Mel Kiper, the NFL draft guru for his top five picks in the upcoming draft. Kiper says Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh will be picked first by St. Louis followed by the Detroit Lions taking Oklahoma defensive lineman Gerald McCoy; Tampa Bay will select Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry; the Washington Redskins take Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford; and offensive tackle Russell Okung of Oklahoma State goes to Kansas City.

This is Norman Arey reminding you that Dan Houston and I will be at the Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday 11 a.m.-1 p.m. with our Southern Sports Roundtable.


Danica Patrick upstages Dale Jr. in her NASCAR debut; Woods out of clinic

(2/8) When Southern Cal football coach Lane Kiffin offered a scholarship to 13-year-old seventh grader David Sills, it made national news. But this wasn’t the first time the big-mouthed coach went after youth. If you remember, he also offered a scholarship to 13-year-old Evan Berry, the younger brother of Tennessee All-America Eric Berry. Of course the question is, will the job-hopping Kiffin be at USC in 2015?

And by the way, although No. 1 recruit Seantrel Henderson, a 6-foot-8, 325-pounder, gave his verbal commitment to Kiffin and the Trojans, the latest rumors say that Henderson is reconsidering and is going to take another look at Miami.

If you were wondering how former NBA superstar Isiah Thomas is doing in his first college coaching job at Florida International, the controversial Thomas has managed a 7-19 mark at the school.

Funny that the day Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified for the front row of the Daytona 500, he had to take a backseat to open-wheel racer Danica Patrick, who overcame a spin out and finished sixth in her NASCAR debut in an ARCA race in Florida.

Our obligatory Tiger Woods item is that the pro golfer has left the rehab clinic in Mississippi where he was being treated for sexual addiction. Supposedly his wife Erin flew to the clinic and they left together.

Ah, just as we were all feeling warm and fuzzy about former NFL standout Warren Sapp after his lengthy appearance on Dancing With The Stars, the ex-lineman was arrested in Miami on a battery and domestic violence charge.

It’s finally official. Clemson backup quarterback Willie Korn says he’ll transfer to Marshall at the end of the school year.

The NCAA’s apparent intent to expand the Men’s National Basketball tournament from 65 teams to 96 teams would definitely impact college basketball, and probably not positively. It would seem that expanding the tourney by 31 teams would not only dilute the tournament, but would make the regular college season even less important. March Madness is one of the top sporting events in the world. Why mess with success?

Dan Houston and I will be live with our Southern Sports Roundtable at Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. Come by and see us.

This is Norman Arey and I’m really, really tired of hearing about Lane Kiffin.


If you put any stock in college football signing day, Tech, UGA didn't do too well

(2/5) Trying to recap college national signing day in this space isn’t possible but here’s a few pertinent facts. Five of the top 10 recruiting classes belonged to the SEC, led by No. 1 Florida. The Southern Cal Trojans finished a surprising second behind the Gators. The other SEC schools were No. 5 Auburn, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 LSU and No. 10 Tennessee.

Florida State was the lone ACC team in the top rung as the Seminoles snuck in at No. 9.

It’s worth pointing out that Southern Cal’s top recruit, offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson said he won’t sign until the Trojans appear before the NCAA sanctions committee on Feb. 19-21.

Three different recruiting publications ranked Georgia no better than sixth in the SEC and one had the Bulldogs No. 7. And, as expected, Georgia Tech’s class barely made into the Top 50.

There’s a long, long way from Greensboro, N.C., to Berkeley, Calif. Perhaps the strangest happening on signing day was that Cal signed four players from Greensboro.

Some of the bigger stories in sports are taking the form of denials. For instance, former Pittsburgh Steeler head coach Bill Cowher denies he’s waiting for the New York Giants' job to open up before he comes out of retirement. The Philadelphia Eagles deny they’re anxious to trade Michael Vick, although the St. Louis Rams are hot and heavy after the former Falcon felon.

Georgia loves athletics director Damon Evans and just to prove it, Evans’ salary was raised from $440,000 per year to $550,000 annually and is set to top out at $650,000 in 2013. And 46-year old Stegeman Hall, the Bulldogs’ basketball house, will receive a large part of the $21 million approved for renovation of both Stegeman and Sanford Stadium. Note to Georgia - Stegeman doesn’t need a face lift, it needs to be razed.

More irrefutable evidence that there’s something wrong in sports and with this country. A Cobb County man could get up to 20 years in prison for punching out a Pebblebrook High School football coach for making his son run laps.

And whatever happened to former Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez, who was fired in December? The former Bulldog signed a contract with Oklahoma to coach the Sooner defensive backs.

A reminder that Dan Houston and I will be live at Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Southern Sports Roundtable on WRGA 1470 AM. Come out and see us. I think there’s a fairly large football game that will be played Sunday and we’ll talk about it.

This is Norman Arey and I still think recruiting day is way out of control for something that means so little.

How much do you really get for your football dollar? Spurrier scores a knockout

(2/4) All of you Super Bowl freaks, consider this statistical data from the Wall Street Journal. In the 174 minutes of an average football game, viewers get about 60 minutes of commercials, 75 minutes of players huddling or milling about between snaps, 17 minutes of replays, and just 11 minutes of actual football. Only in America!

Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart certainly lived up to his name as the Crimson Tide coach signed a contract extension. Smart, you remember, entertained an offer for the same job at Georgia but decided to stay in Tuscaloosa. Smart made $360,000 last season. His new contract pays $750,000 annually through 2013.

For your viewing pleasure, Top 10 teams Boise State of the Mountain West and Virginia Tech of the ACC will face each other in FedEx stadium in Landover, Md., on Labor Day.

College football’s signing day began in opposite directions for two nearby Southeastern Conference schools. South Carolina signed five-star running back Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore was rated either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation by recruiting sites. Georgia went the other way as top recruit and wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers of Calhoun, once committed to the Bulldogs, signed with Derek Dooley at Tennessee.

Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey doesn’t like what he has seen over the Irish’s last five games, which is four losses - one coming to lowly Rutgers. So Brey is holding 8 a.m. practices this week in addition to the afternoon workouts. I like his style.

Sportsmanship and class do exist, I’m just not sure where. The West Virginia student section threw objects on the floor during a game against Syracuse. The students were so obscene in a recently nationally televised game, the WVU administrators implored the student body to tone it down. Then Louisville came to town and those clever students couldn’t resist targeting Cardinal Coach Rick Pitino with some choice chants. So now what, administration?

Here’s what PGA golfer Tom Watson, one of the true gentlemen of golf, says about Tiger Woods. "I think he has to show some humility to the public when he returns," Watson said. "I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson and the Hogans - in the sense that there was club throwing and language on the course."

This is Norman Arey, and Dan Houston and I will appear live at Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium this Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. with the Southern Sports Roundtable. Come by and see us.

What the media's dumbest question ever asked during Super Bowl week?

(2/3) I’ll tell you up front that I thought the idea being floated by the NCAA to expand its men’s basketball tournament field from 65 to 96 was outlandish but I’m beginning to believe it’ll happen. The reason, of course, is money. An extra week of advertising for the almighty television monster to sell.

And speaking of things I never thought I’d see come to pass. I believe that the U.S. Government is really going to get involved with the BCS and make the college folks go to a true football playoff system. Say what you will about whether the feds should get involved but it’s gonna happen soon.

Just a word on Kentucky State coach Clarence Moore’s comments on the Georgia Tech basketball team. Moore, who played on the Yellow Jackets’ national championship finalists team, says after playing his alma mater, he thinks Tech needs to come up with a floor leader. I agree 100 percent.

Something to ponder. Three of the traditional powers in men’s college basketball, North Carolina, Louisville and Connecticut, have lost a combined 25 games among them and we’re just entering February. I’m not sure when the last time was that the ACC had only one team in the AP top 20 but No. 10 Duke is it for the juggernaut conference this week. Georgia Tech checked in at No. 21.

When the 44th Super Bowl kicks off in Miami Sunday, it will be the 11th time the south Florida city has hosted sports’ main event. New Orleans was tied with Miami with 10 appearances of the game while Los Angeles is a distant third with seven.

Oh man, I just can’t let this go. Former Falcon quarterback and now Philadelphia Eagles felon Michael Vick says he thinks he’s still a Top 10 quarterback. Still? I’ve got news, you were never a Top 10 quarterback. All any team had to do was contain Vick in the pocket and make him throw and the game was over. Ridiculous.

The Big 10 says no way has it issued an invitation to Pittsburgh to be the 12th team in the conference. League officials said they plan on sticking to their original timetable of studying the proposed expansion for 12-18 months. That’s called dragging your feet.

The Super Bowl is the best time of year for stupid question from the media. Of course, the greatest was quarterback Doug Williams being asked how long he had been a black quarterback. The second best was Titans’ tackle Joe Salave’a was asked, "What’s your relationship with the football. The linesman answered, "I’d say it’s strictly platonic."

This is Norman Arey reminding you to join Dan Houston and me live at Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. with the Southern Sports Roundtable.

What else can you do for a coach after he has his own bronze statue?

(2/2) There’s no shame for men to cry but it seems that the idea is picking up steam in mainline sports. Florida head football coach Urban (Crier) Meyer started it three years ago. Then his quarterback, Tim (Tears) Tebow carried it on after the Gators lost to Alabama last December. Now Australian Open finalist and loser Andy (Sobs) Murray brings it down under. Who’s next, (Bawling) Bill Belichick?

It seems to be really true that Alabama will erect a bronze statue of coach Nick Saban outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium on or before April 17 when the 2010 Spring Game is scheduled to be played. If he should win another national champion, who knows?

Big week for Georgia Tech basketball. It’s that time to either put up or shut up. The Yellow Jackets play Duke in Durham and then play host to N.C. State. The Ramblin’ Wreck is one of the most talented teams in the ACC this season. It’s time to show it.

Stop the presses! Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has issued a proclamation that we all can agree upon. He says the NCAA should do away with the one-and-done athlete. The Blue Devil basketball coach says if a player comes to college he should be required to stay there until he gets his core courses finished.

And speaking of the ACC, there’s big trouble on Tobacco Road. Duke has already lost four games, one of them on a big stage over the weekend as Georgetown drubbed the Blue Devils. Wake Forest has lost five, and N.C. State and North Carolina eight each.

PGA golf bad boy John Daly said he’s through with golf after missing the cut at Torrey Pines over the weekend but changed his mind the next day. Daly says his sponsors are insisting that he continue playing. Daly certainly has a new look. The big hitter at one time weighed 307 pounds and now he’s down to 195. One of the reasons is that he quit drinking beer but admits he’ll take a sip of whiskey every now and then.

With college football signing day tomorrow, here’s a list by Rivals.com of the top 10 classes in the country. In order, they are Florida, Texas, Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee, Penn State, Georgia and Texas A&M. Spot a surprise in the group? Gene Chizik is doing some serious preaching for the War Eagle contingent.

And finally, Dan Houston and I will be live at Bella Roma Grill in front of State Mutual Stadium Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. with the Southern Sports Roundtable. Come by and see us. The new eatery will be offering $5 pizza and two-for-one beer all day.

This is Norman Arey looking forward to the Bella Roma experience.


Wonder if President Obama's Secret Service guys put in for overtime?

(2/1) A pair of former Georgia players helped themselves significantly during the Senior Bowl in Mobile over the weekend. According to NFL draft expert Russ Lunde, defensive tackles Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens had an outstanding week of practice and a good game Saturday. And no, former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow didn’t do much to help himself, completing eight of 12 passes for 50 yards. Apparently no one came close to Alabama lineman Terrence Cody as far as hurting themselves. Cody showed up 40 pounds overweight at 370 and did nothing to impress during his week.

Former Cincinnati wideout Mardy Gilyard probably came out at the top of the class by putting up 103 receiving yards and 76 return yards for the winning North team.

With Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner retiring last week, that puts the ball in the hands of former Southern Cal All-American Matt Leinart. Leinart has done little in the NFL yet and this will be a make or break year for him.

And on Warner, the debate has already started as to whether he should be considered an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback or not. He started Super Bowls for two different teams and won two of three. That’s pretty impressive plus his quarterback rating is sixth all-time in the pro league.

The winning team in next week’s Super Bowl will take home $83,000 per player while the losers will bank $42,000.

The college draft experts, to a man, say this is one of the weakest years ever for high school quarterbacks going into college. In one ratings poll, there isn’t a quarterback mentioned in the top 50 players. National signing day is Wednesday.

If you care, former Georgia All-American Herschel Walker scored a TKO over Greg Nagy in the third round in his mixed martial arts debut over the weekend.

It was a good week in college basketball for Kansas, Syracuse, Michigan State and even No. 1-ranked Kentucky, which lost one to South Carolina earlier in the week but played its finest game of the season in beating Vanderbilt. It wasn’t such a good week for Duke, Texas and UConn.

And finally, what a weekend for the Secret Service. Both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attended the Duke-Georgetown basketball game among 20,000-plus other fans. Obama even took a turn at the microphone during part of the game which Georgetown won by plenty.

This is Norman Arey and I wouldn’t want to fight Herschel Walker.