Thanks For The Memories, Coach Richt

Thanks for the memory
Of coming to Athens from the 'Noles,
and taking us to those Sugar Bowls.

Of hobnailed boots in Tennessee
and taking back the SEC.

Of overtime in Alabama
and finally getting us to Atlanta.

Of Greene to Haynes
and Johnson on the Plains.

Thanks for the memory
Of Gurley, Musa and Knowshon
and so many others now long gone.

Of Pollack, Stafford, Greene and Green
and all the rest in between.

Of the night we blacked Auburn out
and being what a Bulldog is all about.

Of D-Po's strip against the 'Cocks
and the scoop and score on Rocky Top.

Thanks for the memory
Of 2005 versus LSU
and 13 out of 15 over Big Blue.

Of end zone dances in Jacksonville
and teaching us all to "Finish The Drill".

Of late nights down on Bourbon Street
and reminding the Big Dawg how to eat.

Of turning boys into men,
and wrecking Tech again and again.

For 15 years of making us proud.
One more time we say aloud...

We thank you...so much.

A Tale Of Two Tragedies

This is not about me. It's not about journalism or TV.

That said, it was difficult to read the news tonight. Many have written about the events of the day from a journalistic perspective more eloquently than I can. I would read this and this.

I can't imagine going to work to do my job, thinking of my future...the family, the friends, the weddings, the trips, the tailgate parties. The list goes on and on.

And then it happens. Innocent life taken in an instant.

When I sat down to write this, I was going to talk about the two journalists savagely murdered on live television by a deranged former colleague. Then came word of the murder of Officer Henry Nelson in Sunset, Louisiana.

There is a saying that goes, "There are three types of people who run toward disaster and not away from it: Police, Firefighters and Reporters". The difference is that officers and firefighters assume, from the time they wake up, that their lives are at risk. Reporters make no assumption.

Yes, there are the correspondents that cover war zones and the risks that come with it. But, on a local level, while we acknowledge that there are risks that accompany the job, we believe we will return at the end of the night to the safety of our homes. I have to imagine police officers and firefighters leave home with a different thought process, that they may never see that home again.

In fact, on many occasions local law enforcement will advise a reporter and/or photographer that they shouldn't go into a certain area without escort. There is an immeasurable comfort that comes from that escort. We know we are safe. They have no such guarantee.

I'm not sure how other businesses work, but TV news is an incredibly esoteric profession. The degrees of separation are always miniscule. The General Manager of the station where this happened, the one you've seen on TV all day? I had a job interview with him a couple of years ago. Not at his current station, but a different one. He offered me the job. I declined. My heart bled for him today. He showed tremendous grace under fire. One of my current colleagues worked with Alison Parker and, at last count, I have three friends who once worked with the shooter.

I know for a fact that the community of Law Enforcement and Firefighters exist in much the same way. When Deputy J.D. Paugh of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, Officer Scott Richardson of Aiken Public Safety and Aiken Public Safety Corporal Sandy Rogers were killed in the line of duty, there were many tears shed in our newsroom from those who had interacted with them on a regular basis.

They were our friends.

I do think there is one thing that all of these jobs have in common. On a much, much, much (I cannot emphasize enough the word "MUCH") less important scale, I remember how I first learned about how to deal with covering things that made you uncomfortable. As a graduate and fan of the University of Georgia, I learned early on in my career how to be unbiased about your subject. I would cover losses that, as a fan, would have devastated me. But, as a reporter, you go into what can best be described as "a zone". You have a job to do. You do it. To extrapolate that, think of the surgeon saving his friend's life, the firefighter carrying his pal out of an inferno or the Officer keeping his friend alive. Again, this is not to equate any or all of these professions. It's simply meant to acknowledge that, in the heat of battle, we all go into a place that allows us to do our jobs to the best of our ability.

I can't tell you how many times I covered games that involved crushing Georgia losses. I remember being too busy to be sad. Running to get video of the other team celebrating, getting inte

rviews on the field, racing to feed the story back to the station. Not until hours later, when most fans were already asleep, did I get to sit on my couch and think, "Damn, that sucks."

But, in and odd way, it's inoculating. You have something to distract you from what is actually happening. I couldn't help but think of that as I watched the family, friends and coworkers of Alison Parker and Adam Ward on various TV news shows today. I've seen them all stand in front of multiple cameras and talk about their fallen friends. But I wonder what will happen when they get back home...and sit on their couch. I wonder what will happen when they have to deal with this as people and not journalists.

From a personal standpoint I can say this. For someone who talks about death on TV on a daily basis, I may be the world's worst at actually dealing with it. I can't comprehend what the WDBJ community is going through tonight. I can't fathom what the Sunset, Louisiana Police Department is going through tonight.

I could look at you through a camera lens and talk about it all day long.

But I'm glad you're not on my couch tonight.

A Fan's Guide To The SEC: Best (Surprising) To Least (Even More Surprising)

Two weeks from now millions of us will once again take part in one of the greatest rituals mankind has developed over the course of its existence. We will wake well before dawn, load the tents, chairs, coolers, grills and satellite TVs into our cars, trucks and SUVs and make the trek to various campuses to begin the best four months on the Gregorian calendar.

Over the years I've had the good fortune to experience the tailgate and game day culture at almost every outpost of the Southeastern Conference, also known as God's Conference. While there are certainly great places to watch football outside the SEC (every college football fan should see a game in Boulder, Colorado once in their life, for example, and I hear great things about Seattle and Madison), I am a firm believer that, top to bottom, the SEC offers the best college football experience in the land.

With that in mind, I got to thinking about the great, and not-so-great, times I've had in SEC country. So, as a public service, I've decided to rank the SEC road trips from Best to Least, rather than West to East. The top two might surprise you, as might the cellar dweller. The point is basically to give us something else to argue about as we count down the seconds to the glorious return of the one thing that somehow divides us and unites us all at the same time: college football.




Tent City: Our little slice of heaven in Athens

In the interest of full disclosure, yes I am a graduate and lifelong fan of the University of Georgia. However I also spent a good part of my professional life covering UGA before I got out of the business of being unbiased about sports. So I will attempt to assess Athens from a neutral perspective. I'm sure you'll let me know if you disagree.

So, without further ado, SEC road trips...from Best to Least:

All smiles in Nashville, as usual

1) Nashville, TN (Vanderbilt University) -- Vanderbilt is just adorable. You just want to pinch its little cheeks and pat it on the head. For the visiting SEC school, Vanderbilt is like winning the lottery at Disneyland...on Christmas Day. Yes, it is possible to lose in Nashville, but I've never witnessed it in person so it's not unlike Bigfoot. It is rare for an SEC school to travel to face a conference opponent and be virtually assured of winning, but that's usually the case at Vanderbilt. For this reason, the fans are exceptionally polite. They seem to attend games in the same way the rest of us might leisurely browse a weekend market. Y'know...just something to pass the time on a nice Saturday afternoon. Even though Vandy possesses the smallest stadium in the SEC tickets are unbelievably easy to come by. One time I simply walked up and bought them at the window. That's right...a stadium ticket window in the SEC, open and functioning, on game day. Usually if you are the visitor there are as many of you as there are Commodore fans, so it becomes a virtual home away from home. After the game, you don't have to worry about traffic but you do have to worry about how to fit everything into the remaining hours of the evening because Nashville is the closest thing the Southeast has to Las Vegas. Tailgating with no trash talk, watching your team win and spending an evening or two on Music Row make this the best road trip in the SEC.

Victory formation in Columbia, MO

2) Columbia, MO (University of Missouri) -- There are two Columbias in the SEC and the one that joined three years ago is light years ahead of the one that joined 23 years ago. I should preface my thoughts on this particular Columbia by saying they might be dated by this point. My first, and thus far only, trip to Columbia, Missouri was the second game of Missouri's first season in the SEC. They seemed almost giddy to welcome us into their culture. As soon as we rolled into town an older gentleman, dressed in Mizzou garb from head to toe, flagged us down and said, "if you want to tailgate with Georgia fans, there are a lot of them parked in that lot just ahead on the right." Now, in most SEC towns, that means you are being directed to the local landfill. But when we rounded the curve...there it was: A sea of Red and Black. We were home. The campus is beautiful and walkable. The stadium is small by SEC standards, but nice. The atmosphere is great. The fans were excited but not obnoxious. Columbia is also situated exactly halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City. The proximity to two major cities make the entertainment options endless for the visitor. We stayed in KC to hit a Royals game at the beginning of our trip and then ended it at Arrowhead Stadium watching the Falcons destroy the Chiefs. Since we stayed in Kansas City, I don't have much in the way advice about the town of Columbia itself (though I CAN tell you Kansas City might be the most underrated metropolis in America). Columbia looked nice and clean as we drove through. Since then, Mizzou has won the SEC East twice so things may have changed, but this was one of the most pleasant places I've ever watched a game.  Extra Credit: Missouri is the alma mater of my broadcasting hero, Skip Caray.


Making a new friend in Oxford

3) Oxford, MS (University of Mississippi) -- The rest of the nation found out last season what those of us in the SEC have known for years. When College GameDay made its maiden voyage to The Grove in Oxford last year, it was the first time the show was as much about the tailgate scene as the game itself. The announcers wore tuxedos, the unequaled Sam Ponder toured the various tents and, at one point, there was a butler on set. The fact that Katy Perry was on my screen sealed the deal. The classic interaction between her and Lee Corso may have been the show's finest hour. It also perfectly encapsulated game day in Oxford. It's just fun. From the chandeliers to the fine china to the "Hotty Toddy Potties" (as the Port-O-Lets are labeled) to the various farm animals that take up residence at tailgates (we had our picture taken with a goat in an Ole Miss sweater), it's all just perfect. But they take their football seriously as well. The "Walk of Champions" is quite a spectacle as the Rebels march through the tailgates into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The stadium itself isn't my favorite. I hate stadiums that are divided so you can't walk from one side to the other. I like to explore when I'm in new surroundings, especially once the game is out of hand. The other drawback is Oxford itself. Its tiny. Not like Starkville tiny, but tiny. We stayed in nearby Tunica at the casinos that, to my understanding, have since closed. So my next trip I guess we'll headquarter in Memphis. I can think of worse things.



Ten years and counting...

4) Athens, GA (University of Georgia) -- I know, I know. I'm going to keep this brief because I know every non-Georgia fan out there is going to think this is biased anyway. But, quite simply, there is no better fusion of stadium, campus and town than Athens. You can tailgate, walk to the game and then walk to the downtown repeatedly recognized as one of the best college towns in America without moving your car. And that's another thing. You don't SEE cars on Saturday in Athens. No one tailgates at their car. Everyone drops their stuff off and then hides their vehicle somewhere else. It creates an almost Rockwellian picture of what fall Saturdays should be. Whenever fans of other schools find out I'm a Georgia fan they look at me like I just bonded out of jail. "Every Georgia fan I've met is so obnoxious," they'll say. Every school has their loudmouths, but I'm not sure what Georgia fans they're meeting. First, most Georgia fans are harder on their own team than anyone else. It comes from growing up listening to the great Larry Munson and Vince Dooley constantly convince us we had little to no shot, no matter who we were playing. Second, I've tailgated in the same spot for more than a decade. That spot is right next to Myers Quad, which is the epicenter of student tailgating. It's where College GameDay and SEC Nation set up when they visit Athens. In all that time I've never seen anything get out of hand. The worst thing I've seen is what tailgaters did to North Campus after the Auburn "Blackout" game in 2007, but that is not the norm. Speaking of students, when I was in school they had a habit of celebrating big moments by throwing full cups of...um...we'll say Coke...into the air. Of course, that means someone somewhere was going to get drenched. But I sat in the student section again for a big game a couple of years ago. I was actually impressed with how much better behaved they were than what I remembered.  Sanford Stadium itself is, without question, one of the top five on-campus college football venues in America, nestled perfectly into the middle of campus as if it grew there organically. Even most of Georgia's rivals acknowledge that. Athens isn't perfect. I don't have words to describe post-game traffic. And if you want to stay in town on a game night you better know somebody or take out a loan. There are only a handful of decent hotels and they fill up for game days in, like, April. But for a pure college football experience I'll put Athens up against anyone anywhere. Bring it. Now...if you plan on wearing the other team's colors out downtown after midnight...you're on your own.

Okay, that wasn't brief. But it's as brief as I can be when talking about the University of Georgia.

I'm not in this pic, but this was my view in 2002

5) Auburn, AL (Auburn University) -- Okay, on THIS one I may be biased. Some of my greatest experiences as a visiting fan have occurred in the Loveliest Village on The Plains. (For you Auburn fans reading...thankfully I did not make the trip for the "Prayer At Jordan-Hare". But I was there for the 38-0 drubbing in 2012, Greene-To-Johnson to win the East in 2002 and the four-overtime thriller in '96). I've been to Auburn as a visitor five times. I plan to make it six this November. Only once have I left on the wrong side of the scoreboard. That was in 2004 when Auburn went undefeated but failed to make it into the BCS Championship Game. I grew up in Columbus, GA where the fan base is divided almost equally between Georgia and Auburn fans despite the fact that Auburn is 30 minutes away and Athens is nearly four hours. Until I moved to Atlanta as a teenager this game was THE game on the calendar. The same way Georgia fans in Augusta look forward to South Carolina or those in Chattanooga look forward to Tennessee. That said, and maybe it's because I was a kid, the rivalry between Georgia and Auburn always seemed to be a bit more cordial than most. Maybe it's because Pat Dye played for us and coached them and Vince Dooley played for them and coached us. Maybe it's because of how close the rivalry has been...or that it's the oldest in the Deep South. Whatever it is, there's always seemed to be a mutual respect. And the games are usually barn burners. Jordan-Hare is a great place to watch a game. The War Eagle's flight into the stadium to welcome the Tigers onto the field is something every college football fan should see in person, as long as he doesn't fly into a window. It's proximity to I-85 makes it easy to get into and out of. They even have hedges. You can never go wrong with hedges. The only bad thing that ever happened to me in Auburn was after that 2002 game. We decided to visit a local establishment to celebrate. Auburn fans threw peanuts at us. Not a shower of them, mind you. Like one every two minutes hoping we wouldn't catch on. That's it. If the worst thing that happens to you in an opposing team's town is being hit with a couple of legumes...you've had a good trip.

Really looking forward to seeing this in person

6) College Station, TX (Texas A&M University) -- As I mentioned above, I have experienced MOST of the game day locations in the SEC. College Station, due to Texas A&M's recent entry into the league, is among the four that I have not had the pleasure of seeing first hand. Two of those four I'm relying on second hand accounts. College Station and Fayetteville I'm going strictly on hearsay. So here is what I hear they say about College Station: They kiss girls after every touchdown. Sold. They also have "Yell Practice" the night before every game and don't get me STARTED on my love for Reveille. All make the "12th Man" concept what it is. Texas A&M earns the Number 6 spot on this list sight unseen because all of that sounds phenomenal and, while I haven't experienced it in person, you can bet I will when Georgia makes its first trip to College Station. I have a feeling Texas A&M will move up after I do.

Celebrating a third straight win in Knoxville

7) Knoxville, TN (University of Tennessee) -- Along with Auburn, I've been to Knoxville more than any other SEC destination outside of Athens. Ironically one of the only UGA games I've missed in Knoxville in the last two decades may be the most memorable. I put Knoxville right in the middle of this list because it's like something out of a Dickens novel: The best of times and the worst of times. The tailgating atmosphere may be the most unique in the SEC. It's one of only two college stadiums in the nation where you can drive your boat right up to the stadium and tailgate (the Tennessee River runs right next to Neyland Stadium). It provides for great views and great times. The problem is, once you're done tailgating, you have to go inside Neyland Stadium which, for my money, is the second-worst in the SEC. Vol fans love to talk about the 100K+ seating capacity. You know why they can fit that many people in there? Because if you weigh more than 200 pounds (which I do not), you probably need to buy two seats. And no matter how many you buy you'll never see them anyway because the only way they can shoehorn everyone in there is for everyone to stand up and face to the side like you're in a police lineup. You're either going to get REAL familiar with the person next to you or you're going to get a crick in your neck. Also, if you happen to trip on your way down the stairs, you may not stop rolling until you reach midfield. The stadium itself is just a dump. If there were two buildings in the U.S.A. I believe should be imploded, both are on this list starting with Neyland Stadium. It's an aesthetic nightmare. From the outside you can see every part that has been added over the years without any concern for making it match what existed before. It looks like a cross between a quilt and Pripyat. My last trip the antique plumbing finally gave way and there was a beautiful waterfall of who-knows-what cascading from various holes in the stadium's façade. But, yeah...no the river is nice.

Sums up my trip to Death Valley in 2008

8) Baton Rouge, LA (Louisiana State University) -- LSU routinely ranks at or near the top of every national organization's "Best Tailgate" list every year and I have to say...I don't get it. Maybe it's the sheer volume of it. It's row upon row of people tailgating next to their cars in parking lots right next to the stadium. That's not college. That's the NFL. Which makes sense since most of the organizations creating these rankings are based in the Northeast and are very NFL-centric. Don't get me wrong. The food is phenomenal and unique to Louisiana and there is no more rabid fan base in all of sports. But I just expected more. Maybe my expectations were too high. The crowd was very esoteric. Most campuses you'll walk by in the other team's colors and be booed, spit on (we'll get to that) or offered a sample of the local cuisine. In Baton Rouge it was as if we were invisible. We walked from our car to the stadium without any interaction with the home team fans. The stadium is cool and Mike the Tiger is a spectacle to behold. Death Valley is every bit as loud as advertised, though I didn't find it particularly deafening...and I was on the field for the game. That said, my one trip there kicked off at 2:30pm local time. I hear night games are a completely different animal and I have no reason not to believe that. One distinct advantage of the LSU road trip:  You can stay in New Orleans. Despite my unending, fire-breathing hatred of the Saints and everything they stand for, there are worse places to spend the night before and of a college football game than Bourbon Street.

No actual pic of my trip to UF because cameras hadn't been invented

9) Gainesville, FL (University of Florida) -- "But wait," you say, "Florida and Georgia play in Jacksonville every year. How can you rank Gainesville?" Well, as fate would have it, what is now known as EverBank Field in Jacksonville was being built while I was in college. So, for the first time in decades, Georgia and Florida played a home-and-home series. Unfortunately for those of us wearing Red and Black, it happened to occur as Georgia was suffering through its worst few years of the past half-century and Florida was starting to click on all cylinders under Steve Spurrier. So I made the trip to Gainesville knowing full well Georgia was going to get annihilated, but also knowing it may be my only chance to go in my lifetime, at least if the city of Jacksonville has anything to say about it. Here's what I remember: It was miserable. The game, yes, but mostly the weather. It was about 90 degrees on the first weekend of November with about 95% humidity. It was one of those days when you're wetter when you get out of the shower than you were when you were actually IN the shower. The rain held off until around halftime, when it unleashed a fury of Amazonian proportions. The façade of the stadium was attractive, and you've probably seen it in the background when College GameDay sets up shop there. But it proved to be kind of like a Halloween mask. The rest of "The Swamp" was unremarkable. Nothing really stood out good or bad. The band playing the music from "Jaws" leading into "Go Gators!" was a crowd-pleaser. But the coolest thing about Ben Hill Griffin Stadium may be its accessibility on non-game days. During the week...and even during the overnight hours...students can run the stadium steps or simply take a selfie. Quite frankly, that's how it should be. It's part of the campus and part of your school. You shouldn't be limited to enjoying it seven Saturdays a year. There was ample room around the stadium for tailgating and it's a short walk to the nightlife scene. So if you like sitting in a sauna fully clothed, then taking a shower fully clothed...Gainesville may be for you.

Another partial sellout in Lexington

10) Lexington, KY (University of Kentucky) -- True story: I was conceived in Kentucky and, were it not for a change in my Dad's career path during the ensuing nine months, I may have grown up with an affinity for Big Blue. But I didn't. I'm yet to experience a football game in Lexington, but I have a few longtime tailgate companions who have. I DID venture to the Bluegrass State to watch UGA play basketball at Rupp Arena, which may be the more authentic UK experience. Regardless of the sport, Lexington is unimpressive for a visiting college fan. Commonwealth Stadium is small and off-campus. Rupp Arena is also off-campus. I was so excited about seeing this "legendary arena of college basketball", but it was basically a smaller version of the old Omni in Atlanta. Imagine any run-of-the-mill Civic Center in Anytown, U.S.A and that's Rupp Arena...unless you bleed Blue. Even worse, they roll up the sidewalks in Lexington at 1am local time. There were nights in Athens when I didn't go OUT until 1am local time. I have no idea how this passes for acceptable in a college town in the 21st century. Among the positives are the proximity to horse tracks, the milder weather and the cheap hotels because it's a larger city. It also has that Vandy thing going for it. I'm told most of the FOOTBALL fans assume they are going to lose so they just want you to enjoy your trip. Basketball....not so much.

In lieu of cowbell, my friend only has this

11) Starkville, MS (Mississippi State University) -- This is another campus which I am yet to visit, but I do have several friends who have been there on the visitor's side so I asked for their opinions.  The consensus is this: Not a bad place to watch a game, but not a good one either. Over the years Starkville has earned the nickname "Stark Vegas". It's basically like calling Manhattan, Kansas "The Little Apple". It's not meant as a compliment. Starkville is not exactly the most exotic locale in the SEC, or in Mississippi or anywhere else in the solar system. My friends reported that most tailgaters didn't show up until around 2pm for a 7pm game. That's blasphemy. My friends wanted one souvenir and one souvenir only to take home from their Starkville trip...the trademark cowbell. So they went to the main campus bookstore hours before kickoff and....the bookstore was out of cowbells. Really, Mississippi State??? Get it together. That's like Gainesville running out of denim. Do you and do it right.

I think this is Razorback Stadium, but not sure since I haven't been there

12) Fayetteville, AR (University of Arkansas) -- This concludes our tour of the few campuses I have not been to. But it's Arkansas. And it's not even Little Rock, Arkansas. I will say every time I think of Arkansas I hear the refrain in my head of a very well-hydrated tailgate friend of mine screaming "I love the DAWGS, and I HATE THE HAWGS" over and over before a game in Athens a few years back. I can't imagine there's much else to say about Fayetteville, yet it still has to be better than...

Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina

13) Columbia, SC (University of South Carolina) -- You ever stand at the counter of a McDonald's, look over at the fry machine and think "Man, that's the life"? All those fries, packed in tightly under a heat lamp? That's what it feels like watching a game at Williams-Brice Stadium. All they need is a drone to pass overhead at halftime dropping salt all over us. This place is dreadful. Remember when I said there were two buildings in the U.S. that I would implode? This is the other one. It's ugly, it's hard to navigate, it's hotter than the surface of the sun, the line to get in is inexplicably long, then when you get in you fight even longer lines.  It sits in the middle of what can best be described as an industrial park without the industry. I'm told South Carolina has a beautiful campus, but you wouldn't know it because it's miles away from the stadium and hidden behind an equally unattractive downtown. But the worst part about a game at Williams-Brice Stadium is the fans. Not once..NOT ONCE have I walked into the stadium with my ticket, gone to my seat and found it waiting for me. Instead, no matter the section, I always find so-and-so's drunken friend who got separated from his group and decided to set up fort in my seats. "Be cool, man...just be cool," the garnet-and-black-clad fans will beg. So, not wanting to be "that guy", you end up sharing what are supposed to be two seats with four people. Their fans are maybe the cockiest in the SEC, no pun intended, and there may be no fan base with less of a reason to BE cocky. They're like that friend that will argue and argue until you get too tired to argue any more and then they claim they won. And don't get me started on the artificial noise. Between "Sandstorm" and the rooster crow they get more decibels out of less accomplishment than any other school in America.  But Columbia, SC is STILL not the least attractive place to visit in the SEC. Nope, that title belongs to the undisputed champion...

Tuscaloosa...before things got weird

14) Tuscaloosa, AL (University of Alabama) -- Here's the problem with Alabama fans: Most of them who read this will take what I'm about to write as a compliment. Alabama fans possess a particular kind of crazy that would make Lindsay Lohan blush. There's a reason stuff like this happens in Alabama and not anywhere else. Wanna do your own little experiment at home? Try this: Ask any Alabama fan their opinion of 'Bama fan Harvey Updyke's poisoning of the legendary oaks at Toomer's Corner in Auburn. Never, not once, will you get the appropriate response of "He's crazy. He was out of line and wrong and I denounce his actions." I know multiple Alabama fans, and they've all had the same answer. They'll look at you with a wry smile and paraphrase Mr. Updyke's own explanation that he had "too much Bama in him". If you have that much ANYTHING in you, please do society a favor and check yourself into the nearest facility that has a full inventory of mind and mood altering drugs. Georgia only plays in Tuscaloosa once every ten years or so, so I've only been there twice. I've experienced a loss and a win. After the loss, when Georgia blew a nine point lead in the fourth, I returned to my car to find my Georgia flags ripped out of my windows with a note that read "Roll Tide". Unfortunately there was not a check attached to that note to cover the cost of the damage to my vehicle. But as bad as that was, it didn't compare to the horror of WINNING at Bryant-Denny Stadium. In 2006 Georgia walked off against Alabama in overtime. When the game ended our experience began. Immediately, drunken angry Alabama fans started blocking our access to the exits. I should point out that we were incredibly docile the entire game until the very end when, as any fan would upon winning in overtime, we did a little jumping and a little hugging. I was hit with what can best be described as a makeshift cardboard Yellow Hammer, then challenged to a fist fight in the concourse. I have to imagine that's Alabama-ese for "hope you enjoyed your trip, please drive home safely." After we finally exited the stadium our walk back to our car through countless Alabama tailgates was met with multiple things being thrown at us, some of them liquid, none of which I care to know the origin. It reminded me of Clarice Starling's first interaction with Multiple Miggs in The Silence Of The Lambs. Positives? Pretty campus, nice town, good tailgate scene (before the game, at least) and great tradition. I like the ladies clad in houndstooth skirts and hats. I like the fact that Bear Bryant's voice still bellows from the speakers when the Crimson Tide takes the field, much like Larry Munson's in Athens. They even have a weirdish video that makes it appear as though Coach Bryant is speaking from beyond the grave. I couldn't hear it because the UGA band was playing during that part of the pregame.

Maybe that's why they threw stuff at us.

And The Winner Is...

Full disclosure:  I've never accurately predicted who will win much of anything. And, for the record, neither has anyone else.  There's a reason Vegas has all those lavish hotels. They're not paying for them with SPLOST funds.

For the last two years, I've picked Matt Kuchar to win the Masters. It pains me to pick Matt Kuchar.  Don't get me wrong...I love the guy. This year I am covering my 16th Masters, and there is no one more genuine or engaging on the PGA Tour than Matt Kuchar. Unlike many athletes, Kuchar will have a conversation with you in an interview rather than spitting out soundbytes and looking off into the distance for someone, anyone to come save him.

But, in my personal life, I'm a graduate of the University of Georgia...and Matt went to Georgia Tech. We don't play nice together. For all of Bubba Watson's..ummmm...eccentricities, it's filled me with pride two of the last three falls to watch him wear his Green Jacket to midfield during a UGA football game at Sanford Stadium to be recognized for winning the Masters. I have no desire to see a Green Jacket ever darken the door of Bobby Dodd Stadium. Well, at least not again...

Both times I've picked Kuchar he has given me (and, I suppose more importantly, himself) hope going into the final round.  In 2013 he finished tied for eight and last year he finished in a tie for 5th. But, inevitably, my pick doomed him. So this year, as an act of public service to Matt and all of his fans, I will NOT pick Matt Kuchar. You can thank me on Sunday.

So who am I going to pick? First, let me eliminate a few of the usual suspects.

I expect Tiger Woods to play better than most anyone else expects him to play. His entire story still blows my mind. I believe the fall of Tiger Woods is the number one sports story of the last decade, if not more. We are going on six years since he's been the Tiger Woods many of us remember. This year's tournament marks ten years since his historic chip at 16 and last win at Augusta. Do you know what that means?  It means the 10 year olds at Augusta National this week view Tiger the same way I viewed Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski and Dr. J whe

n I was 10. People kept telling me how great they were, but I had no physical evidence because most of it occurred when I was still in my parents' planning stages.  Yes, the patrons still flock to him. The question I've been most asked this week is still, "Is Tiger out here?".  But you know what? Second on that list is Ben Crenshaw...and Ben Crenshaw hasn't been competitive at Augusta since his last win 20 years ago.

I'm wondering how much of the attention toward Tiger this week is a nostalgia act. Even his latest commercial supports that narrative (even though it's an amazing ad). How many Dads are dragging their kids to see Tiger when junior would rather see Rory or Rickie or the Drive, Chip and Putt Finals?  Tiger is only seven years younger than Jack Nicklaus was when Nicklaus shocked the world in 1986. I remember as a kid thinking Jack was "so old" then. Do I think Tiger has another Green Jacket in his future? Yes. Some people just play well here (see also: Palmer, Nicklaus, Mickelson, Watson) and some people just have horrible luck here (Miller, Els, Norman).

Tiger will surprise, but he won't win this year.

Rory McIllory? Jordan Spieth? Dustin Johnson? I think each will win one or more Masters in their career, but I also think each brings certain baggage into this year's tournament that will keep them from donning the Green Jacket on Sunday.

No, my pick this year is a player who has never won a major, much less a Masters. What he did do was finish T-8 in his Masters debut last year. He followed that up with a tie for 9th in his first U.S. Open in 13 years and a tie for 7th in his second PGA Championship. WHAT major pressure?

He's also already a two-time winner this year on the PGA Tour. He ranks second on Tour in putting average and first in "Birdie Conversion Rate".  That last one is how they measure what you do once you get to the green. You know what's really important at Augusta National? 

But, maybe most importantly, my pick is 36 years old. There was probably a time in his life where he thought a Green Jacket was the most important thing in the world. At 36 you know that's not true. At 36 you've been to the puppet show and seen the strings. At 36 you have the resolve to play the back nine on Sunday and not let your emotions get the best of you.

My pick is being hailed as a "dark horse" by many, but I think he is the outright favorite no matter what Las Vegas says.

My pick to win the 2015 Masters is....Jimmy Walker.

I apologize in advance, Jimmy.

Frustrationville, U.S.A.

It was a two point game. Then it wasn't a game. Then it was all over.

I knew Georgia had its hands full when it drew Michigan State in the first round. I told anyone who would listen we had no chance. But I have a dirty little secret: I allow myself to believe.  When you're an Atlanta/UGA fan, you have no other recourse than belief.

In the NCAA Tournament, NFL Playoffs, NBA playoffs and MLB Playoffs, only one team wins its final game. This year marks two decades since that glorious October when that team was my team. In my lifetime of hopeless devotion to the Bulldogs, Braves, Falcons and Hawks, I've watched approximately 115,278 games. For all of that, I have one championship on which to hang my hat.

There was a time when Sports Illustrated branded Atlanta "Losersville, U.S.A" due to the collective futility of our sports teams. As recently as last year Atlanta was named "Most Miserable Sports City" by Forbes magazine. Both were unfair monikers because they failed to take into account the successes of local college teams. "Losersville, U.S.A." went away when the Braves became the "Team of the 90s", Evander Holyfield won the heavyweight title and the city was awarded the 1996 Olympic Games. I think a more accurate portrayal of being an Atlanta/UGA fan today would be "Frustrationville, U.S.A".

I inherited my love of these teams. If there is anyone who cares as much as I do about these teams, it's my Dad. I will never forget my first trip to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to watch the Braves. I've never done a drug in my life, but from that moment on baseball was my drug. If you read about addiction, the addict describes the euphoria of the "first high". That was me on my first trip to see the Braves. The addict also describes spending the rest of his or her life chasing that same feeling. That is what I have been doing ever since.

My Twitter followers know that today's UGA game reminded me of the legend of Sisyphus. In Greek mythology, King Sisyphus was punished for his misdeeds with a sentence of rolling a boulder up a hill for all eternity. In many ways, that is the daily life of an Atlanta/UGA fan. You get so close to the top, only to roll to the bottom again.

There were the Falcons of 1998, going to the Super Bowl only to go 5-11 the next season. There were those same Falcons in 2012, falling 10 yards shy of the Super Bowl before faceplanting to 10-22 over the next two seasons.

There were the Braves, going worst-to-first in the 1991 season that still goes down as the greatest sports experience of my life. They came tantalizingly close in '91 and '92 before flaming out in '93. Finally, they won it all in '95. The 20 years since have been more of watching that boulder roll down that hill.

There was UGA football, perhaps the greatest example of Frustrationville, U.S.A.  During my college career the Bulldogs suffered through, quite possibly, their worst four years of the last half century. Does the name Ray Goff mean anything to you? Finally, in 2001, we got it right with Mark Richt (whose last name actually translates to "right" in German). But we got shut out of possible national championships by the BCS in 2002 and 2007, then this year we (insert your own verb here)ed away our chances at the playoff with an inexplicable loss to Florida.

There was Georgia basketball. The hiring of Tubby Smith during my college career brought excitement to the program not seen before or since. Sweet 16 his first season. A number 3 seed his second season...and a massive upset loss to UT-Chattanooga in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A few weeks later he was gone to Kentucky, the "only job I would leave UGA for" he said at the time. I'm guessing somewhere in Lubbock, Texas he wishes he could take that decision back. If he would have stayed, Stegeman Coliseum would now bear his name. Instead, he was never accepted at Kentucky, then went to Minnesota before UK could fire him...and now toils away at Texas Tech. Since he left we've hired four coaches. Two were dreadful (Google Ron Jirsa and Dennis Felton) and another got us in so much trouble with the NCAA that we became a punch

line on late night talk shows and are still trying to recover (see also: Jim Harrick). Now we have Mark Fox. I love Mark Fox. But after today the boulder is back at the bottom of the hill.

There were the Thrashers. Emphasis on were.

Now there are the Hawks. The Hawks were the forgotten stepchild of Atlanta/UGA fandom until about four months ago. Now they are the talk of the NBA. But I already know how this works out. I've seen this play too many times. There is zero chance this team will not disappoint me.

There is also zero chance I won't be there every step of the way, living and dying with every game. Atlanta sports fans get a bad rap because of the shortcomings of our teams. But I would argue TRUE Atlanta/UGA fans are the best in the business. We are eternal optimists. We always believe that each new season will erase the pains of the past. Only once in our entire lives have we been correct. But we keep coming back. We keep believing.

It's easy to be a Yankees fan, or a Steelers fan, or a Spurs fan, or an Alabama fan. It requires no work, no dedication, no perseverance. It's the sports equivalent of eating cake for breakfast. Being an Atlanta/UGA fan requires true faith. And when (okay, if) the championships come, they will mean so much more because of what we've gone through, lo these many years.

Maybe the Hawks will be that team. Maybe this June will bring a title to Frustrationville, U.S.A.

Maybe.

In the meantime, I have a boulder to roll.

An Ode To Cinnamon

Today my parents will make one of the most difficult decisions anyone has to make.  Today, they will take their beloved cat Cinnamon to the vet and mercifully end her life.  It is a life they gave her when they decided to adopt her a decade ago. 

As recently as December, when I was home for Christmas, there was Cinnamon curled up on the couch next to my Mom and begging for treats from my Dad.  They told me she hadn't been feeling well the last few days. My Sister mentioned repeatedly how worried she had been the day before I arrived. But the three days I was there, she was the same old Cinnamon. In fact, late Christmas Eve, when not a creature was stirring, Cinnamon and I hung out for a couple of hours.  I had no idea they would be our last together.

Once I returned to Augusta I assumed no news was good news. Then last week Mom e-mailed me to tell me that things didn't look good. Despite their and the veterinarian's best efforts, Cinnamon continued to lose weight. And Cinnamon didn't have much weight to lose. Imagine Gwen Stefani losing 30 pounds and you get the idea.

Cinnamon was a great member of the family. She looked like a black cat that had had an unfortunate run in with a can of beige spray paint. My Mom and Dad took her in when no one else would after she had a litter of kittens at a very early age. As I recall, they had to wait until the kittens were old enough to be adopted to bring her home. For those who don't know anything about animal rescue, puppies and kittens are fairly easy to adopt out. Too often, it's the Moms and Dads that get left behind at the shelter. They gave Mom a loving home and incredible life of luxury.

Cinnamon loved nothing more than snoozing next to my Mom on the couch or begging my Dad for a morsel of whatever he happened to be eating at the time.  Since I am the night owl of the family, it often ended up being Cinnamon and me after everyone else had gone to bed. She would stretch out next to me and allow me to pet her, just so long as no one else knew.  I kept her secret...until now.

So today we say goodbye to Cinnamon as she crosses the Rainbow Bridge. Unfortunately I have some experience in this area as I went through this exact same thing last summer with my cat Izzy and in 2000 with our cat Prissy. Izzy and Cinnamon only met once, when I took Izzy home for Christmas in 2007.  That didn't go so well. As I recall, upon first sight Cinnamon launched herself from my parents' bed to the hallway to pounce on the intruder who was twice her size. But by the time I left for a business trip to New Orleans the day after Christmas they were tolerating each other. I imagine them being buds on the other side and swapping stories.

The late, great comedian George Carlin has a bit in one of his routines that encapsulates the worst fears of every pet owner. In essence, he defines the experience as taking on a "small tragedy". We know how it's going to end and yet we do it anyway.

That leads me to another, more current pop culture reference. Say what you want about Taylor Swift, but there is some wisdom in her song "Blank Space".  From the first time I heard the song, I was taken by the line "tell me when it's over, if the high was worth the pain".  It's quite a barometer for almost anything in life. Of course, young, naive Ms. Swift is referring to human relationships in her overly dramatic, yet very profitable, TwentySomething way.  However, that lyric came to mind when thinking about sharing our lives with our furry friends.

When it comes to human interactions, the high is usually only worth the pain when it involves close friends or family. But when it comes to pets, it ALWAYS is. My cat Izzy fought and beat cancer and that gave us an extra year of fun together for which I wouldn't trade anything.

I know today will be unimaginably difficult

for my parents, both of whom have given me a lifetime of invaluable wisdom.  So today, in some small way, I hope to return the favor by saying: Mom, Dad...I can promise you this: the high is most definitely worth the pain.

May you rest in peace, Cinnamon.

Ryan and Ryan? Suddenly, I'm Buyin'

The year was 1990.

My beloved Atlanta Falcons were in search of a new head coach. The franchise was coming off what we fans hoped would be its worst season (Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino were nearly two decades away). The record said 3-13, but it was much worse than that. Head coach Marion Campbell "retired" with four games left in the season and was replaced by interim coach Jim Hanifan, who not only went 0-4 the rest of the way, but proceeded to blow stuff up and get charged with a DUI shortly after the season ended. 

The season itself saw a game in San Francisco in which the kicker got hurt in pregame warmups, leaving quarterback Chris Miller as the only source of field goals and extra points. Lucky for the Falcons, extra points weren't necessary as Miller's hilariously awkward field goal (I tried to find a YouTube link) provided the only Falcons points in a 45-3 loss to the Joe Montana/Jerry Rice Juggernaut By the Bay.  More seriously, that season saw two players killed in tragic car accidents.  The season ended less than mercifully with a Christmas Eve loss to Barry Sanders and Detroit attended by a now-infamous franchise-few 7,792 fans at old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

How big a Falcons fan am I? I sat in my parents' car in the parking lot of North DeKalb Mall (then Market Square Mall) while they last-minute Christmas shopped. I listened to the legendary Larry Munson call that game and tick away the final moments of that awful season.

But there were signs of better things to come. The Falcons drafted Deion Sanders in the first round of the previous year's draft, and he brought excitement not seen since the early days of Steve Bartkowski and William Andrews. Also, construction would soon begin on a new stadium to be called the Georgia Dome. All the team needed was the right coach to move the franchise forward.

That brings us back to 2015. Let's be clear, I can't underestimate how far removed this franchise is from the hopelessness following that 1989 campaign. That team was floundering with an ownership group still trying to find its way after a quarter century in charge and a roster seriously lacking in talent. It would take nine years, three coaches and I-forget-how-many quarterbacks to finally reach the Super Bowl after the 1998 season.

The current team has strong, determined ownership and plenty of talent on-hand including, most importantly, a franchise quarterback. This team is two years removed from hosting the NFC Championship Game. The 1989 team was two years removed from another 3-12 finish. In my humble opinion this team is a couple draft picks, free agents and the right head coach away from being right back in the NFC Championship game next season.

Yet there are comparisons in the searches for a new head coach. After that 1989 season the Falcons interviewed many candidates and settled on two finalists: Houston Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville and San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren. Me? I was a fan of Holmgren. As the late, great Munson would say, he handed us our "whatchamacallit" enough times with the 49ers that I figured he must know what he was doing. Secondly, the Falcons were going to draft a quarterback out of Southern Miss the next year named Brett Favre.  That's right, Holmgren/Favre should have been a Falcons thing, not a Packers thing. That particular Lombardi trophy should reside on Northside Drive, not Lombardi Avenue.

Instead, the Falcons hired Glanville.  He wasn't a bad coach, and by all accounts he was a good guy. He had had some success in Houston and he translated that mild success to Atlanta. His flashy Man In Black style put rear ends in the seats his first year. His second season, the Falcons made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins. But that was it. The Falcons never tasted the postseason again under him and he was fired after the 1993 season with a record of 27-37 in Atlanta.

If you've made it this far you may be wondering what Jerry Glanville has to do with the current Falcons search. Well, maybe nothing.  Those were different times. However, even as a kid I remember believing the Falcons should go with substance over style. Initially, I found myself feeling the same way this time around. Maybe Adam Gase or Josh McDaniels or Todd Bowles is the next great head coach.  Maybe one of them is the next Mike Holmgren.

But the more I read, the more I like Rex Ryan. While he would certainly bring plenty of "style", I also believe he has substance to back it up. His defenses have always been top-tier, and defense has recently been the Falcons Achilles heel. He managed to take the New York Jets to the AFC Championship game TWICE with Mark Sanchez as his quarterback. Imagine what he could do with an actual offense and Matt Ryan? I would let him handle the defense and hire a top-notch offensive coordinator to lead Ryan, Julio and Co. to the promised land.

Look, I'm not sure he's the perfect fit. But I don't see a Mike Holmgren in the current group of assistants-who-want-to-be-head-coach. Josh McDaniels flamed out in Denver and, in my opinion, seems like a bit of a pill. Todd Bowles and Teryl Austin just saw their defenses ousted in round one of the playoffs. We've been there. We've done that. Gase? Quinn? They get a collective "meh" from me, and I won't even address Doug Marrone.

Sometimes it doesn't work out on your first stop in the NFL. Ask Bill Belichik, ask Pete Carroll, Tom Coughlin, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden...the list goes on.

With Rex Ryan as coach and Matt Ryan at quarterback, the marketing practically writes itself.  Oh, and if the Falcons-Saints rivalry needed any more spark...how about Falcons head coach Rex going up against his twin brother, Saints defensive coordinator Rob?

Waste no more time, Arthur. Pull the trigger. Hire Rex Ryan.

Thank You, Stuart Scott

Full disclosure:  I was not a Stuart Scott fan.

His style was not my style. In fact, when I started my career in sports broadcasting I remember wanting to be the anti-Stuart Scott. No catch phrases, no yelling...just telling people what happened in sports that day.

A decade of TV work later I still feel that way.  And yet, I now realize Stuart Scott had a remarkable impact on my career that I didn't fully realize...until today.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Stuart. By all accounts he was a true gentleman in a business that lacks them.  The closest I ever came was when I was Sports Director at WJBF in 2004.  We were looking for a new weekend sports anchor and I hired a fresh-out-of-college woman named Tara Miller. In the interest of MORE full disclosure, I didn't have the authority to hire anyone...but I definitely picked her tape out of the pile and recommended her.  If my memory serves me, she was a bartender at the time, waiting on her big break in TV. But she had graduated from Michigan State with a journalism degree and done an internship at ESPN.  Her resume tape began with a "fake" SportsCenter segment of her anchoring alongside Stuart Scott.

I hated that part.

The rest of her tape showed great potential so I wanted to hire her, and we did. During one of her first nights on the job we decided to put her resume tape in and watch it.  The first thing I said to her was "It's cool you know Stuart Scott, but don't try to be the next Stuart Scott".  She replied, "He told me the exact same thing."

Today I've heard that sentiment echoed by various people who shared the desk with Stuart over the years. To the casual viewer he came off as brash, possibly even self-centered. But those who knew him would tell you he was anything but. He didn't want to create more Stuart Scotts.  He wanted to encourage everyone to be themselves, whether on TV or off.

In February of 2005, shortly after hiring Tara, WJBF management asked me if I would be comfortable taking on a new role by co-anchoring a new 10pm newscast.  My boss at the time, Mark Rosen, said he wanted me to bring my sports approach to news.  So I did. He paired me with one of our reporters, Kimberely Scott. He also encouraged her to be herself.  So she did.  I remember a sales guy telling me that our show would result in "slash marks" in the ratings.  We received countless e-mails complaining of how "unprofessional" we were and promising the always-popular "I'll never watch again."

But when the ratings came in the show started beating older, more established, newscasts. A few years later another boss, Kathy Wideman, gave us a second show at 5:30.  We received the same negative response...and the same positive numbers.

I know what you're thinking: "John, what does this have to do with Stuart Scott?"  Here's what.  Stuart Scott blazed a trail. There was a time when ESPN was uncomfortable with his approach and I'm sure he got his fair share of negative response. But management stuck with him instead of overreacting to every phone call and/or e-mail. Because of that he became an icon of sports broadcasting.

His success in being himself encouraged other broadcast managers to be more patient after making a change

. A decade later, I'm guessing it indirectly influenced a local news station to let a sports guy be himself on a local newscast...for better or for worse.

I was never a Stuart Scott fan. My greatest personal influences will always be my parents. My greatest professional influences will always be Skip Caray and Larry Munson. 

But today I realized I also owe a debt of gratitude to Stuart Scott. And a thank you. May you rest in peace.