Atlanta Sports Talk

[AubieTurtle]

^^^ Why would you play Auburn's secondary fight song to celebrate Georgia's win?

Yeah, I know, there is lots of debate on who started using the song first and for the most part, both sides ignore the evidence from the other. Since UGA won the game this year, I guess they can have ownership until next year.

[Andrea]

Heh! I didn't realize Auburn laid claim to "Glory, Glory to Old Georgia."

I'm not a big football fan but that really was an exciting game yesterday!

[AubieTurtle]

Heh! I didn't realize Auburn laid claim to "Glory, Glory to Old Georgia."

Well, in our case, it is "Glory, Glory to Ole Auburn"

http://www.auburn.edu/student_info/auband/mp3/glory.mp3

The Auburn version and the Georgia version are slightly different in sound (and of course lyrics). According to one site I read, it is not based on the Battle Hymn of the Republic but rather both Glory and the Battle Hymn are based on an older song about hanging John Brown after the raid on Harpers Ferry. Apparently there were different versions of the lyrics, either celebrating Brown's death or celebrating Brown's goals that causes him to get killed. Being that John Brown was an abolitionist, you can see why the north and the south would each have their own version of the lyrics. I have to assume that both Georgia and Auburn had the "yay, that abolitionist is dead" version in mind but given that both versions of the song exist and the later use of the music as the Battle Hymn of the Republic, one doesn't have to take it to be politicially incorrect.

[ironchapman]

Big news for the Falcons, and it may or may not be good (depending on how you look at it):

Jim Mora Has Been Fired

Atlanta fired coach Jim Mora on Monday, just two years after he led the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game.

The decision to dump the fiery coach followed two straight disappointing seasons. The Falcons lost six of their final eight games in 2005 to miss the playoffs, and they finished 7-9 this season by losing seven of the last nine contests.

The way I see it, there are two ways to look at this:

1) This is good. With Mora gone, we can hire a new and hopefully better coach.

2) This is bad. If the team's gotten so bad that we have to fire a coach, what does this say about the team's future. Was it the team or was it Mora?

What are your thoughts?

[AubieTurtle]

Mora sealed his fate when he made the comment about the University of Washington job. His record didn't leave him with much room for error, so that comment pretty much made it look like he was just passing time at Atlanta. Maybe Alabama will hire him

The talk around town has been that the team is very talented but lacked the coaching to get all that talent to work together and use it effectively. I have no idea if that is true or not. As the later versions of the US "Dream Team" in basketball showed, merely putting a bunch of good players together doesn't equal success. Sometimes it is a matter of having a coach that will best use those talents but other times it is just that a particular combination of players who are individually good do not add up to something better.

[ironchapman]

Mora sealed his fate when he made the comment about the University of Washington job. His record didn't leave him with much room for error, so that comment pretty much made it look like he was just passing time at Atlanta. Maybe Alabama will hire him

You sure Alabama would want him?

But yes, I do agree with you there. That comment plus his record sealed his fate (had he been a winning coach, he could have passed it off a a joke perhaps).

I wonder what the University of Washington will say to him

The talk around town has been that the team is very talented but lacked the coaching to get all that talent to work together and use it effectively. I have no idea if that is true or not. As the later versions of the US "Dream Team" in basketball showed, merely putting a bunch of good players together doesn't equal success. Sometimes it is a matter of having a coach that will best use those talents but other times it is just that a particular combination of players who are individually good do not add up to something better.

I've heard quite a few sports writers say that they've never seen a team with so much talent with the inability to use it properly as the current Falcons line-up.

Edited January 2, 2007 by ironchapman

[markusparkus]

Oh if only Kennesaw had a football team

[Go Gators]

It looks like yall's great city is putting on quite a show to a national audience with the Final 4...now lets just hope it produces the right outcome! (not to mention some of the great shots theyre showing of downtown from the blimp!)

[ironchapman]

It looks like yall's great city is putting on quite a show to a national audience with the Final 4...now lets just hope it produces the right outcome! (not to mention some of the great shots theyre showing of downtown from the blimp!)

Florida vs. Ohio State...........didn't I see a similiar match-up a couple months ago in another sport (aka football)?

I'm really excited to see all of the activity downtown as well. Atlanta's done a pretty good job as host so far, IMO.

Anyways, I'm not Florida's biggest fan normally (sooooo many years of losses to them in football will do that to a Dawgs fan), but I gotta go with the SEC on this one.

GO GATORS!!!!!

Edited April 2, 2007 by ironchapman

[ironchapman]

Well, Braves fans (like myself), some not so good news.

Mike Hampton's out for the season again with a bad elbow.

He's beginning to remind me of the Cubs' Mark Prior: a great pitcher and a great asset for a team to have.........when he's healthy, that is.

I don't mean to be hasty here, but what are the thoughts on trading him off for something?

Edited April 11, 2007 by ironchapman

[ironchapman]

Well, for any fans of the WNBA, I have some good news. Atlanta may be moving closer and closer to getting a WNBA team--perhaps even in time for the 2008 season!

Atlanta's WNBA closer

The committee seeking a women's professional basketball franchise for Atlanta says it is making progress toward landing a team for the WNBA's 2008 season.

........

Both the committee and the WNBA say that the goal is to have all the pieces

[Trae]

The WNBA is one declining league. An example, pumping crowd noise through the speakers to make the stadium sound louder for TV.

[Trae]

Big news for the Falcons, and it may or may not be good (depending on how you look at it):

Jim Mora Has Been Fired

The way I see it, there are two ways to look at this:

1) This is good. With Mora gone, we can hire a new and hopefully better coach.

2) This is bad. If the team's gotten so bad that we have to fire a coach, what does this say about the team's future. Was it the team or was it Mora?

What are your thoughts?

And...Matt Schaub is now in Houston .

[ironchapman]

Well, a bit of good, and bad, news for the Braves:

Cox, Braves Agree to 1-Year Extension

Bobby Cox signed on for another season in Atlanta. The longtime Braves manager agreed to a one-year contract extension that runs through 2008, a deal the team announced on Wednesday.

The good news is the fact that one of the greatest, if not the greatest, baseball managers out there today has signed on to continue managing the Braves.

The bad news is that, as the article notes, this may indeed be his last contract. This isn't to hard to believe, as he is getting older.

[ironchapman]

It's been a great day (and night) for one of Atlanta's best (if not THE best) pitchers.

Smoltz Gets Milestone Win Against Mets

After beating his good friend and becoming the first pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves, John Smoltz acknowledged that this wasn't just another baseball game.

Smoltz threw seven shutout innings to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 2-1 win over Tom Glavine and the New York Mets on Thursday night.

This is great news! Keep up the great work, John!

[ironchapman]

If Bobby Cox gets ejected one more time, he'll tie John McGraw for most ejections.

For more, see here.

He's been ejected 130 times! It's not necessarily a good record to hold, but still...

5/28/07 UPDATE: The AJC has a list of Cox's 130 ejections. See it here.

[ironchapman]

It seems like a couple of milestones were reached in yesterday's 2-1 victory over the Brewers!

Andruw Jones scored his 350th home run, and Bobby Cox got his 2,200th win--this means that he is now 4th on the list of winningest managers. He just broke his tie with Sparky Anderson for that position.

Here's a little more info on the game.

[ironchapman]

Did anyone see the Brewers games today.

Our Braves scored 7--count 'em 7--runs in the eighth inning. That's a season record!

I bet the Brewers manager isn't a happy person right now.

[ironchapman]

Earlier, I mentioned that the city might be seeking a WNBA team.

Well, it turns out that they have been.

Atlanta committee looking for potential team owner

Atlanta City Council president Lisa Borders says 1,100 ticket pledges demonstrate "significant and fervent interest" from local fans in bringing a WNBA team to the city for the 2008 season.

"That's a significant number of people saying 'We want to do this,"' Borders said of those who have pledged to purchase tickets. "There is no team yet in Atlanta, so to have that type of interest on a concept of having a team brought to the city I think is unmatched."

I personally wonder how well a WNBA team would do in the city. I mean, the WNBA isn't exactly know for being the most popular sports team--not because of any sort of scandals, necessarily, but rather a general lack of public interest like we see in football or the NBA.

That said, I would welcome the idea of having a WNBA team in our city.

[NCB]

IC, how are the fans in Atlanta reacting to this whole dog fighting investigation with Michael Vick? It just seems to be one thing after another with him; are people getting tired of it?

[ironchapman]

IC, how are the fans in Atlanta reacting to this whole dog fighting investigation with Michael Vick? It just seems to be one thing after another with him; are people getting tired of it?

I myself am getting tired of the obsession with the entire thing, but I do want the law to be upheld. If Vick broke the law and was involved in the ordeal, he needs to be punished. If he was not involved and did not break the law, then we should drop the matter.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. Let me get back to you. I've been so busy following the Braves for the past couple of weeks that I haven't paid much attemtion to the story.

[NCB]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. Let me get back to you. I've been so busy following the Braves for the past couple of weeks that I haven't paid much attemtion to the story.

I envy you.

It seems like I can't turn on anything without hearing about the Mike Vick case, or how Roger Clemens put on a blue shirt this morning, which the ESPN insiders say is secret code for "I'll pitch for the Yankees this weekend!"

[ryanmckibben]

I myself am getting tired of the obsession with the entire thing, but I do want the law to be upheld. If Vick broke the law and was involved in the ordeal, he needs to be punished. If he was not involved and did not break the law, then we should drop the matter.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. Let me get back to you. I've been so busy following the Braves for the past couple of weeks that I haven't paid much attemtion to the story.

The thing I'm tired of is having a thug as a QB. They, whoever they are ( as if the establishment even had the time and inclination to coordinate a witch hunt for Vick), are not picking on anyone. When he finally grows up , realizes he doesn't live in the 'hood anymore, and generally starts acting right, "they" will stop picking on him. In my opinion, we traded the wrong player when we sent Schaub to Houston.

[ironchapman]

So the Marlins won a series with the Braves. Wasn't quite expecting that.

[ironchapman]

Here's a bit of good news for the Braves.

Smashing debut: Teixeira's HR highlights Atlanta rout

Newly-acquired coveted first baseman Mark Teixeira belted a three-run home run in the sixth inning, as the Atlanta Braves pounded the Houston Astros, 12-3, in the second of a three-game series at Turner Field.

Sounds good! Looks like we made a good trade.