Review: SRP Park an absolute gem...in progress

Panoramic view of SRP Park from behind home plate

"It feels like you're in the big leagues," was how one fan put it upon entering North Augusta's new SRP Park for the first time.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" said another.

After years in the making (that seemed like decades for those of us who covered the whole process) SRP Park is now open for business. It's primary function is to serve as the home of the Augusta GreenJackets, the Low Class-A affiliate for the San Francisco Giants. It will also host concerts and other events.

I attended the first sold out event when the University of Georgia defeated Clemson, then returned for two GreenJackets games during their first homestand in the new park including Opening Night.

For those who don't know, I am something of a ballpark aficionado. I spend a lot of time and money in and on ballparks. I attend Braves spring training every March, spend many summer Saturdays at SunTrust Park in Atlanta and usually try to make my way to a new major league park at some point each summer. So, with that said, I have a few thoughts on SRP:

Parking
There has been much hand-wringing about the parking situation at SRP Park leading up to its inaugural season. Much like SunTrust it appears the angst was unfounded. We had no trouble parking in the "Blue Deck" for the UGA/Clemson game (and this was after the game started) or in the "Purple Lot" (North Augusta Municipal Building) for the Thursday game. One main difference this year: parking will cost you. Each lot cost us $5. You can take your chances elsewhere for free.

With the possible exception of the Jake Owen concert on May 19th the park doesn't figure to see any bigger crowds than it did during its first week. That means parking generally shouldn't be an issue. There are also more than enough golf carts to shuttle you from wherever you park to the main gate. You can also chose to make the short walk from your parking spot. Either way you get a nice, scenic route through the marshes that surround the Savannah River.

Initially I had visions of hanging out in downtown Augusta before games and then walking across the 13th Street bridge much like Pittsburgh Pirates fans do with the Roberto Clemente Bridge across the Allegheny River. But due to where SRP Park sits in relation to the bridge you would basically have to walk a large circle around the park if you took the bridge route. Here's hoping that eventually a water taxi is employed to drop you off at the Riverside Village once everything is completed. Or they could build a pedestrian ramp from the 13th Street Bridge down to the park.

Main gate entering SRP Park

Entry
The main gate is the first thing you encounter when you get out of your golf cart shuttle. It is immediately impressive and the first thing that popped in my mind was, "we're not at Lake Olmstead any more". Lake Olmstead Stadium was an underrated park in my opinion, but SRP is on a completely different level. The color choices and architecture of the entry gate give it a crisp look that is both modern and classic.

I bought tickets in advance and utilized the mobile entry method. For those not familiar that means my tickets were on my phone. I'm generally not a fan of this because I like ticket stubs as souvenirs, but this seemed the most efficient method. We spent a grand total of about 60 seconds in line for two sold-out events. That's pretty remarkable.

Once inside you find yourself on a wide open concourse behind home plate. One of my favorite aspects of the new park is that you can see the game from virtually anywhere. Open concourses are nothing new at the major league level, but this is a massive upgrade over Lake Olmstead. As soon as you're in the gate you're "in" the game.

Game Experience
First, the bad news: Concession lines have been an absolute nightmare. I've seen shorter lines for Disney rides:

During the games we went to management ended up sending vendors down the line with boxes of beer and hot dogs selling to anyone fortunate enough to have cash. But people were literally buying beers and then going back to the end of the line figuring that by the time they finished their first purchase they might be near the front of the line again. I'll be curious to see if adjustments have been made while the team was on the road.

Now the good news, and there is a lot of it. This park gave me the same sensation that I get when I'm at Augusta National Golf Club. I kept thinking to myself, "is this really in Augusta?" It's not, of course. Augusta city leaders whiffed on the opportunity to have this gem on their riverfront so it sits in North Augusta. The concourse that surrounds the ballpark, complete with food-and-drink rails, makes "standing room only" seats quite possibly the most attractive option. (Some beverage kiosks out there would probably alleviate some of the congestion at the concession stands).

There are so many different vantage points. You can stand behind the lower level seats behind home plate, or atop the outfield wall, or take the kids to the play area beyond the centerfield wall. If you picked this ballpark up and placed it in the state of Florida it would immediately be one of the nicer spring training parks in existence. The Braves would do well to take notes for the new complex they are building in the Sarasota area.

We only sat in our seats for a couple of innings due to the fact that the people behind us were, shall we say, very hydrated and kind of obnoxious. But, truthfully, this is a place to be explored. And it's only going to get better when Southbound Smokehouse and Sweetwater open down the right field line.

The only frustrating thing about standing-room tickets is that, eventually, you'd like to sit for a spell.
There are high top tables on the concourse behind the lower level seats that provide a great vantage point. We ended up spending an entire game there without ever going to our seats.

High top table behind third base line seats

There are also a number of tables in the right field area. They were virtually empty for both GreenJackets games we went to, but it appears it's some sort of private area since I can't find them for sale on the team's web site. Either way very few people appeared to be using this "party deck" and I can only imagine the enhanced atmosphere if they were to open it up to the public, even if only for the last few innings of games.

Empty tables on right field deck

But the good far outweighs the bad. Another major improvement is the scoreboard. Anyone who spent any time at Lake Olmstead knows the scoreboard there was hit-or-miss during the park's later years. Sometimes you had to look at your phone to know what was going on. SRP features a massive video board above the left field wall. My only suggestion here would be to keep the stats and info up instead of video replays. The replays are shot from such a wide angle you can't really tell what's going on. If, at some point, they can employ multiple cameras then it might work.

New video board above left field wall, along with unfinished office/apartment building

One of my favorite features is the LED lighting that lines the overhang from first to third base. They can change the lights for whatever is going on. During the Georgia-Clemson game it alternated between orange, purple, red and black. For the Jackets game it was mostly green. During the national anthem it waved red, white and blue.

Green LED light display lines the SRP Park facade

Conclusion
The issues I've mentioned can easily be attributed to growing pains and will probably be worked out over time. My goal here is just for you to be prepared. My main takeaway is that this park is an absolute game changer for the CSRA. I can't help but think there are a lot of Augusta city leaders looking across the river thinking, "man, that could have been us."

Meanwhile there is still nothing to do on Augusta's riverfront after dark. That's why so many drive to Charleston, Savannah and other ports-of-call on weekends. But SRP Park may keep a few of those people here. And once the entire Riverside Village is complete a few people may actually drive from Charleston and Savannah to North Augusta.

Long term I can see Augusta upgrading from Low Class-A to a Double-A affliate. That level is basically Major League Baseball's waiting room. This park deserves that.

It already feels like we're in the big leagues.

5 Things I Learned At Spring Training

Champion Stadium, Kissimmee, Florida - March 13, 2018

Spring Training experiences are a lot like snowflakes. No two are exactly the same.

For those who don't know my annual trip to Spring Training has become, with the possible exception of Christmas, my favorite week on the calendar. It's rare to be in an environment where everyone wants to be there and everyone is happy. To paraphrase Terence Mann in 'Field Of Dreams': It's as if everyone has dipped themselves in magic waters. 

There's no stress of winning or losing. There's just sun, fun and glad tidings all around. 

For me it all started ten years ago on a trip to visit a friend. I realized I could squeeze a Braves Spring Training game into the trip and did. A decade later the baseball is the reason for the trip. Everything else is a distant second. The only thing I hate about it is that it somehow took me three decades to discover. I want all of those missed Spring Trainings back! 

While it's basically what I like to call "Grownup Spring Break", I also use the time every year to get a sneak peek at my beloved Atlanta Braves. If you know me well enough you know that my fandom makes me the opposite of a "homer". I tend to view the team through a more skeptical lens than most. The exception was last year when I thought the team should have been a Wild Card contender if enough "what ifs" went their way. And they were...until collapsing after the All-Star break.

Anyway, each year a handful of things stick out to me about the team and the franchise. Here are the 5 Things I Learned At Spring Training 2018:

5) Learn To Spell Foltynewicz - Because you're going to be talking about him a lot this year. Much has been made about the Braves question marks in the starting rotation. 1948 Boston Braves were led by the rallying cry, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain". I don't know anything that rhymes with Teheran and Foltynewicz, but that's sort of the way the Braves rotation stacks up at the moment.

Foltynewicz appears ready to put it all together in his fourth season in the big leagues. He has, at times, shown overpowering stuff reminiscent of John Smoltz. At others, but his own admission, he's allowed mistakes to snowball into big innings.

This spring he was as close to perfect as you can be. On our second day in Florida Foltynewicz dominated the Pirates allowing just two hits over four innings. He didn't allow an earned run until the final day of Spring Training. A breakout season from Foltynewicz would go a long way toward getting this team in the postseason hunt this year. 

4) Will The Real Dansby Swanson Please Stand Up? - It's been a tale of two seasons for the Braves' shortstop. His average fell 70 points last year from his debut in 2016. The Braves now admit the rushed him into being a "face" of the franchise and the pressure clearly got to him a year ago.

His results this spring are similarly a mixed bag. He hit just .208, but with two homers and  four RBI. He also stole three bases, which equaled his number from all of 2017. I paid particular attention to Dansby during our trip and one thing I noticed is that, when he wasn't in the game, he sat with the manager and coaches most of the time. He seemed to be listening intently soaking in every ounce of knowledge he could. I see a bounce-back season from Dansby. If it happens he and Ozzie Albies will form one of the more formidable middle infields in the game.

Editor's note: When watching Dansby, be sure you are actually watching Dansby. From a distance he and newcomer Charlie Culberson are almost indecipherable. 

Ronald Acuna, Jr. prepares to bat against Pittsburgh at LECOM Park in Bradenton, FL - March 10, 2018

3) In Ron We Trust - Each year there is a prospect that grabs my attention whose progress I can't wait to follow en route to Atlanta. I remember when it was Andrelton Simmons. Then Dansby.

This year I knew who it was before I got there. Ronald Acuna entered the spring ranked as the number one prospect in baseball and did not disappoint. We saw him hit two home runs during our trip, one of which would have gone through the outfield wall if it hadn't cleared it versus Toronto.

Overall he hit .432 with four home runs, 11 RBI and four stolen bases...which got him sent to the minors. Well, THAT didn't get him sent down. A weird Major League Baseball rule that will allow the Braves to control Acuna for an extra year if he spends the first two weeks of this season at AAA got him sent down.

He will be eligible to make his major league debut on April 13th. If the Braves can tread water through a brutal schedule the first couple of weeks of the season with the likes of Preston Tucker and Lane Adams manning left field, the addition of Acuna would be like making a blockbuster trade or signing a top-tier free agent in the middle of April.

2) In Ron We Trust (Part 2) - One of my favorite parts of the last few Grapefruit League trips has been watching Ron Washington coach. He's as affable as they come. Last year, unsolicited, he gave us a ball. He tried to again this year but one of those extended nets meant to protect people from themselves got in the way. Don't get me started on the extended nets.

Anyway, Washington is a gem. We usually sit down the third base line to watch him coach, eat peanuts (LOTS of peanuts) and interact with him between innings. By all accounts he is tireless in helping the Braves youngsters develop, routinely on the field running drills hours before anyone else. My opinion is he's the best manager in baseball not currently running a club.

That brings me to this: With few exceptions most Georgia football fans regard Mark Richt very highly for what he meant to the program. An increasing number of them simply came to believe the team had hit a ceiling under him. The administration didn't want to miss out on Kirby Smart, so a move was made.

A similar situation could develop at SunTrust Park this summer.  I absolutely adore Brian Snitker and think he should be given a very long leash to become the long-term manager. It's the least the franchise can do considering he's devoted his life to the Braves. Ideally the Braves improve drastically this year and he goes on to bring another World Championship to Atlanta.

That said, if things go the other way, the Braves may be forced to make a decision before another club steals Washington out from under them.

Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports. Spring Training Home of the Atlanta Braves

1) Dissing Disney - Look, I love Disney. We went to the Magic Kingdom on this trip for the first time since I was five and I had the time of my life. Holding your Spring Training at "The Happiest Place On Earth" is another thing entirely.

It all made sense when the Braves and Disney started this relationship in the mid-90s. The Braves were "America's Team" on TV screens across the country every night on the Superstation. They'd also appeared in four of the previous five World Series, winning it all in 1995. What better place for America's Team than America's favorite theme park?

But over the years Disney's Wide World of Sports has become more of a mecca for amateur sports, from cheerleading to lacrosse to basketball. For Braves fans this is a huge headache. Just to get into Champion Stadium to see the Braves play one must wind one's way through thousands of people you might see if you click on ESPN at 7am on a Sunday. While it can be fun to watch overbearing cheer moms live vicariously through their daughters, it's annoying when you're just trying to catch a game.

It also doesn't feel like the home of the Braves. Other than an "A" painted on the field and a sign on the outfield wall it's pretty generic. Meanwhile other Spring Training sites proudly claim their team with signs hanging from lamp posts, banners...you name it.

Add to that that everything from tickets to concessions has Disney prices instead of normal Spring Training prices and the Braves' impending move to North Port in 2019 can't come soon enough.

In conclusion, it's never good when one of the team's own writers enters the season saying breaking even would be an accomplishment. Much of that is based on the lack of headline-making moves by the front office during the off-season.

I feel about this team much the same as I felt about last year's team before Opening Day. IF a lot of things go their way they can be in the mix. Last year none of the "ifs" panned out. But with another year for the young prospects to mature, a bounce-back season from Dansby Swanson and the addition of Ronald Acuna I think this team can make things interesting this summer. Last year's team started out strong and fizzled. I think this year's team starts slow and gets better and better as the season progresses, not unlike...dare I say it...the 1991 team. Like that year pitching dominated in Spring Training. And unlike last year I think the front office will be willing to make key additions if this team is in it at the All-Star break.

My prediction? 84-78 and a possible Wild Card.

UPDATED - Off Our Mark: Who Replaces Fox at Georgia?

UPDATE (February 21, 2018) - After essentially sleepwalking through another loss that slammed the brakes on any momentum built by the wins over Florida and Tennessee, it appears more likely than ever that the Mark Fox era is nearing an end in Athens. On February 10th I posted my Top 10 Wish List for Georgia's next coach. Below you'll find four new suggestions submitted by readers, followed by the original post, including updates on what those coaches have done since then.

READER SUGGESTIONS

Kermit Davis

Kermit Davis (via @Str8StatsMLB) - This is another one that brings huge marketing potential. "Kermit The Dog" t-shirts would surely sell well assuming UGA would be willing to pay to use the likeness of a certain amphibian. You can't argue with his recent success at Middle Tennessee State (the coach, not the frog): Four conference championships in the last six years (and first in the standings so far this season) and back-to-back trips to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. He's perhaps most famous for MTSU upsetting second-ranked Michigan State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016. But he's also been in Murfreesboro since 2002 and may not be looking to start over at age 58 (he'll turn 59 next season). That's certainly not old by coaching standards, but there is also a checkered past at Texas A&M and two very short stints at Idaho that could raise longevity questions. The thought here is that he's done more than enough during his time at MTSU to merit UGA at least kicking the tires.

Chris Beard

Chris Beard (via @Str8StatsMLB) - I'll save some time by suggesting you click on his name to track his journey from graduating college to becoming head coach at Texas Tech. Long story short: In his first year as a Division One head coach he took Little Rock to a Sun Belt Conference championship and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016. Now in his second season in Lubbock he had the Red Raiders ranked No. 6 in the nation before back-to-back losses this past week. A Saturday showdown with No. 8 Kansas will be interesting to watch for any UGA fan with Beard on their wish list. He clearly has the Texas Tech program in better standing than Georgia currently finds itself, but no one in their right mind would rather live/work in Lubbock than Athens.

Ron Hunter

Ron Hunter (via @Str8StatsMLB) - This is a longshot at best. Hunter is nearing diety status at Georgia State and could soon be coaching in a shiny new palace in what used to be the Blue Lot at Turner Field. Why leave a place that adores you for a bigger brand name program and/or more money? (I'm looking at you, Tubby). Anyway, if you've watched college basketball at all the last few years you're familiar with Hunter falling off of his scooter when his son hit a game-winning three-pointer to lift No. 14-seed Georgia State to an upset of No. 3-seed Baylor in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. It made "One Shining Moment" that year and he's been something of a college basketball celebrity ever since. The Panthers also haven't been back to the tournament since, but currently stand second in the Sun Belt. This is an interesting suggestion, but I see better fits on this list.

Matt McCall

Matt McCall (via @UGA_Fan11) - You can make the argument that the downward spiral for this current Georgia team began on Saturday, December 16th, 2017 when a 7-1 Bulldog team essentially failed to show up for a loss in Amherst. Most Georgia "fans" didn't notice because that was the first day of bowl season for college football. But it was ugly and ruined most, if not all, goodwill generated by winning seven of the first eight games of the year. McCall is a Florida alum and legacy. Part of me would never want that in Athens. Then again if we'd said that about Auburn in 1964 we would have never hired Vince Dooley. McCall is in just his first year at UMass so he may hesitate to leave so quickly. Before that he was at Chattanooga for two years. In year one he led the Mocs to a Southern Conference championship and the NCAA Tournament. He's also very young, just 36. Keep an eye on him.

_________________________________________________________

The following was written on February 10th, 2018. Updates on each coach are listed at the end of each entry...

This is not something I ever wanted to write. Nine years into Mark Fox's tenure at The University of Georgia I wanted to be writing about Final Fours and possible national championships.

But here we are.

Let me start by saying I absolutely adore Mark Fox and appreciate everything he has done for our program. He has always represented the university with class and honor. In a sport constantly riddled with scandal, he has famously done everything the right way.

But here we are.

The fact that this is about Georgia basketball means many Bulldog "fans" won't read it, and that's part of the problem. For whatever reason, a large percentage of the people you see driving around town with a big "G" on their truck can't identify more than one player on Georgia's current basketball roster, or tell you who the baseball coach is, or that one of the most decorated gymnasts in UGA's storied history is now running the program.

Me? I'm one of the few for whom a Final Four would mean as much as last season's run to the Rose Bowl. Now, I'm not going to say that I follow equestrian as much as football, but I did take pride in the men's tennis team beating Georgia Tech for the 31st time in its last 32 meetings.

The point is I'm a year-round Georgia fan, and I'm not talking about "football-signing day-spring game" year-round.  As such, I've never been more frustrated with Georgia basketball than I am right now...and that's saying something. I've lived through John Wallace, Ron Jirsa (who was actually quite nice to me at my first job in TV but just didn't win enough games), the Jim Harrick scandal and Dennis Freaking Felton.

Mark Fox has done good things for Georgia, but this was supposed to be his year. Once Yante Maten decided to return for his senior season this was supposed to be THE year. At worst, an NCAA Tournament berth was expected. Quietly many of us felt this team had Sweet Sixteen potential or better. Instead, this season has unraveled into a nightmare to the point where anything more than (yet another) NIT appearance seems unlikely.

So here we are.

It's time for a change. As I type this I'm watching an unranked Alabama team (that Georgia dominated in January) destroy a Top-15 Tennessee team. It's the same thing UGA should have done earlier in the day against No. 8 Auburn, which was playing without its leading scorer. I spent the second half of the Georgia game researching possible replacements for Mark Fox that can hopefully, at long last, end our suffering.

There are three ways an Athletics Director can go in a coaching search: Established coach with good resume who is currently unemployed, successful smaller college coach looking for a bigger stage and top assistant at elite program. I believe my following Top 10 list includes a decent mix of the three:

Dan Majerle

10) Dan Majerle - Yes, THAT Dan Majerle. Who knew he was coaching at Grand Canyon University? That's the one you see advertised on late night TV. "Thunder Dan" is something of an NBA legend from his 14 years in the league, mostly with the Phoenix Suns. As a head coach, he's 98-53 in five seasons and would bring NBA cred to Athens. A bit of a wild card, but at this point what do we have to lose?

UPDATE: Two straight losses, including a bad one to a previously 11-14 Cal-Bakersfield team. I think you can effectively cross "Thunder Dan" off the list.

Tommy Amaker

9) Tommy Amaker - Seems to be the favorite of UGA basketball fans on Twitter due to leading Harvard to five consecutive Ivy League championships and four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. I could never figure out how his Seton Hall resume earned him the job in Ann Arbor to begin with, but I appreciate what he did at Michigan amidst self-imposed sanctions. That said, all of that was a long time ago and we could do a LOT worse than Amaker.

UPDATE: Two more wins, tied atop the Ivy League with Pennsylvania. The two play each other on Saturday, February 24th.

Jon Scheyer

8) Jon Scheyer - The first of two Duke assistant coaches on this list, he recently topped a CBS Sports list of assistants ready to lead their own program. He has spent the last five seasons studying under Mike Krzyzewski. He's very young, just 30 years old. But if you're looking for someone who can relate to the players and be in for the long haul, he might be worth the risk.

UPDATE: Two big wins for Duke, including a big road victory over then-No.11 Clemson. Blue Devils seem to be hitting their stride, which only enhances Scheyer's value. I will say this: If you're going to go the assistant route I'd prefer to just hand the keys to Jonas Hayes.

Rick Stansbury

7) Rick Stansbury - Any college basketball fan is familiar with this name. He is the winningest coach in Mississippi State history having spent 14 years in Starkville during which he took the Maroons to the NCAA Tournament six times. The knock against him is that he was never able to get them past the second round. He's been the head coach at Western Kentucky since 2016 and, as of this writing, the Hilltoppers are unbeaten in Conference USA play.

UPDATE: Two more wins. Currently trail Kermit Davis's (see above) Middle Tennessee State team by two games for first place in Conference USA. The Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders face each other a week from today (March 1st).

Jeff Capel III

6) Jeff Capel - The second Duke assistant on the list. His first go-around as a head coach was a roller coaster ride. A single NCAA appearance at VCU earned him the job at Oklahoma, where he took the Sooners to the Elite Eight in his third season. He won just 27 more games over his final two years in Norman, and 13 of those were later vacated due to an ineligible player. He's been Krzyzewski's right-hand man for the last seven seasons and the feeling is he is the heir apparent in Durham...unless someone lures him away first.

UPDATE: Remember what I wrote about Jon Scheyer above? Same.

Tubby Smith

5) Tubby Smith - Hear me out. Yes, he currently has a job but things aren't going well in Memphis and the fan base is not happy. In my lifetime the greatest two years of Georgia basketball were the Tubby Smith era. Sweet 16 his first year, a number three seed in the NCAA Tournament his second before he left for Kentucky which he called "the only job he would leave Athens for". I was a student when he was at Georgia. He was a god. I firmly believe if he'd never left he would have a statue outside Stegeman Coliseum right now and there would be a couple of Final Four, and perhaps NCAA Championship, banners hanging from the rafters. I also believe that somewhere deep in his soul he wishes he'd never left Athens. He won a national championship at Kentucky but most Wildcat fans attributed it to players left behind by former coach Rick Pitino. If he and Memphis part ways at the end of this season I'd be willing to let the story come full circle and see if the final act of his career is getting UGA back to the level he left it. Maybe he's lost it. Or maybe he can still earn that statue.

UPDATE: Two wins in three games. Stuck in the middle of the pack of the American Athletic Conference. Fans and alumni still grumbling. Should have stayed in Athens the first time. Wait, have I said that before?

Dan Hurley

4) Dan Hurley - In his sixth year at Rhode Island, Hurley has become a regular on the short list of athletics directors at larger schools looking for a new coach. He has a famous name (younger brother of former Duke star Bobby Hurley), last year took the Rams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999 and, as of this writing, is 19-3 and unbeaten in Atlantic 10 Conference play this season. Two years ago he turned down Rutgers. Maybe this time he's ready.

UPDATE: Two wins in three games, though the Rams had their 21-game conference winning streak snapped. Can you imagine Georgia winning 21 straight SEC games? Rhode Island remains on top and in control of the Atlantic 10. This would be a home run hire.

Tom Crean

3) Tom Crean - Want to make an Indiana fan twitch? Mention this name. Crean was shown the door in Bloomington at the end of the 2016-17 season that saw the Hoosiers lose in the first round of the NIT. But before that he took Indiana to the Sweet 16 three times in eight seasons, winning two Big Ten titles. That gets you fired at Indiana. It gets you a parade down Broad Street at Georgia. Throw in a Final Four appearance with Marquette in 2003 and his current status as one of ESPN's main analysts and this is your big name, big resume hire if Greg McGarity wants to open up the wallet.

Earl Grant

2) Earl Grant - Grant is the current "next big thing" du jour. When I asked a UGA basketball season ticket holder friend of mine who he thought should get the job he responded with a link to Grant's Wikipedia page almost before I finished the question. Now in his fifth season at College of Charleston, Grant's teams have improved each season reaching the NIT last year and currently sit at 19-6 (10-3 in Colonial Athletic Association play). Before that he was an assistant at Clemson where he earned a reputation as a top-notch recruiter. He also has history in the state of Georgia having played at what is now Georgia College and State University. He is a native of Charleston, so prying him away from his home town may be tough.

UPDATE: Two more wins. Currently tied for second-longest win streak in Division One with 10. On top of the Colonial Athletic Association and a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament. I'd be shocked if Greg McGarity hasn't already sent out a few feelers. Actually, no I wouldn't.

Joe Dooley

1) Joe Dooley - I mean, come on. The marketing writes itself with this hire. Can you imagine the "Dooley's Dawgs" t-shirt sales? But he's more than a moniker. In four years at Florida Gulf Coast University (Dunk City) his teams have finished first, second, second and first in the Atlantic Sun including NCAA Tournament berths each of the last two seasons. You know how frustrated we've all become with Mark Fox's offense? Dooley's Eagles have scored more points than all but eight other teams in Division One. His predecessor at FGCU, Andy Enfeld, is on the verge of taking Southern Cal to the Big Dance for the third straight season. I believe Dooley can do even better in Athens.

UPDATE: Two bad, weird losses, allowing 90-plus points to Kennesaw State and Lipscomb. The Eagles are Atlantic Sun Conference regular season champions, but the defense will have to regroup if they are to go dancing. At this point I'd say Hurley, Grant and Beard top my list...in that order.

This is the time for Greg McGarity to figure out if he's serious about basketball. There is no reason we can't do what Florida, Tennessee and now Auburn have done. While I understand the difference in donation levels and revenue generated between the two sports, this hire should be just as important to McGarity as Kirby Smart was. Georgia basketball, with its shiny new/old arena, should be a national point of pride for the University.

Mark Fox has been a model of how to run a clean program. That must continue. But this also has to be a home run hire and I believe any of the men on this list will be.

Thanks For The Memories

Timing is everything.

The first year I was old enough to remember being an Atlanta Braves fan was the year after they won the National League West. I came along at the beginning of a downward spiral that would see them finish last or next-to-last six straight years. The year of my thirteenth birthday they lost 106 games and finished 39.5 games out of first place. Let that sink in. In a season of 160 games (two rainouts weren't made up), they managed to finish nearly 40 out of the playoffs. The Braves like to tout themselves as the oldest continually operating franchise in baseball. The only year worse than my thirteenth? When they lost 107 games...as the Boston Rustlers...in 1911.

There was a running joke in Atlanta back then about winning a contest. First prize? Two free tickets to a Braves game. Second prize? Four free tickets to a Braves game.

But I was hooked for life. I loved the game (still do). I loved the team (still do) and I loved watching Skip, Ernie and Pete every summer night on TBS (wish I still could).

From left: Skip Caray, Ernie Johnson and Pete Van Wieren

Turns out, as we are unfortunately learning again, the benefit of being lousy is that you get the top pick in the following year's draft, meaning you get to pick the best amateur player in the world. During the summer of my fourteenth birthday, thanks to 97 nights of disappointment the summer before, the top pick belonged to the Atlanta Braves.

As is currently the case, the Braves were using their picks to stockpile young arms (see also: Glavine, Tom and Avery, Steve). That year the top young pitcher in America was a Texas high schooler named Todd Van Poppel. The story goes that the Braves wanted Van Poppel, but Van Poppel wanted nothing to do with the Braves. He made it clear he would not sign with the cellar-dwelling Braves if they drafted him. I remember as a teen growing up in Gwinnett County thinking, "If he doesn't want to come to Atlanta then we don't want him to come to Atlanta". Instead he ended up going to the defending World Champion Oakland A's with the fourteenth pick.

The rest is (Braves) history, as they say. Atlanta turned its attention to a high school shortstop in Florida named Larry Wayne (Chipper) Jones, on whom they used that No. 1 pick. Had Atlanta not lost 97 games the previous summer they might have gotten Van Poppel, who spent his major league career bouncing from team to team winning just 40 games in 14 seasons. Instead the Braves got a future Hall of Famer who spent his entire 19 year career in Atlanta and has repeatedly said "I never wanted to play anywhere else".

Four years later I was a freshman in college and the Braves had gone from worst-to-first, won three consecutive division championships and captured the hearts of the nation via the Superstation. By that year Chipper was the top prospect in the Braves organization and ready to become the Braves' regular leftfielder. But the baseball gods had other plans.

I was watching that spring training game against the Yankees on my little 13-inch dorm room TV, anxious to see the prospect play for the first time, when he landed awkwardly while running out a play at first base and crumpled to the ground. Torn ACL. His rookie season over before it began.

You know when you hear about the Braves' string of 14 consecutive division championships from 1991 to 2005? Well it would have ended at three were it not for the players' strike of 1994. The Braves were six games behind the ridiculously loaded Montreal Expos when the season came to an abrupt halt. The Braves had lost 6 games in the standings in the previous three weeks and were headed in the wrong direction. Montreal would have won the National League East that year, but either greedy owners or ungrateful players (depending on which side you were on) intervened and no one won anything that year (especially not us fans).

So rather than burst onto the scene in that ill-fated 1994 season, Chipper assumed his full-time role in the Braves lineup in 1995. You may have heard of 1995. To this day it's the only championship season in Atlanta sports history. Chipper was named Rookie Of The Year, hit two home runs in his first postseason game and took his first steps down the road to Cooperstown.

1995 World Series (cleveland.com)

Timing is everything.

I can't imagine what winning a championship in your rookie season does to a player, but I have to imagine you expect there will be more. As fans, we assumed there would be many more 1995s. But there haven't been. You know the rest. The Braves' frustrations have been well documented: 14 consecutive division titles (with the above mentioned exception), 5 National League pennants...and only one World Series trophy to show for it before Chipper retired after the 2012 season. He was National League MVP in 1999...but the Braves were swept by the Yankees in the World Series and haven't been back since.

Along the way there were too many big hits to recall (often against the Mets, so much so that he named one of his children "Shea" after the Mets' former home). There were impossible-to-believe plays at third base and, yes, even a few in left field. There was the home run in front of the home crowd at Turner Field during the 2000 All-Star Game. And then there was the Grand Finale...

After 467 career home runs, and six months after he announced that the 2012 season would be his last, Chipper stepped to the plate late on the Sunday afternoon of September 2nd trailing the much-hated Phillies 7-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. His three-run home run off of the then-virtually-unhittable Jonathan Papelbon earned that season's "Walk-Off Of The Year" in the Greatness In Baseball Yearly (GIBBYs) Awards. He would have 70 more official at-bats as a major leaguer after that day, but that would prove to be his final and, in his words, most ecstatic home run.

"Nothing beats that," he was quoted as saying later that night. It was Roy Hobbs knocking out the stadium lights in his last at-bat, with the role of the lights being played by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Saving his best for last.

Timing is everything.

The following season the Braves retired Chipper's number 10 at Turner Field. During his acceptance speech he was sure to thank Todd Van Poppel. Every Braves fan of a certain age still does.

Braves retire Chipper Jones's No. 10 (AJC)

We didn't know it at the time, but that was the beginning of the end for the Braves as we knew them. The Chipper-less Braves won the East again the next year but broke our hearts in walk-off fashion in the Division Series in L.A. In 2014 they lost 16 of their final 20 to miss the playoffs, which led to the complete rebuild in which we currently find ourselves.

This year we are told there is hope. A new General Manager. A new top prospect in all of baseball. Sounds familiar. Sounds like 1991. Maybe this is the year our dreams in Spring Training finally become October reality. Maybe this is the year we reclaim our rightful spot in the postseason. Maybe the Braves' return to baseball royalty will coincide with Chipper joining baseball's most exclusive club.

After all, timing is everything.

The Week That Wasn't

The lamp. 

The lamp was the first thing I saw when my eyes opened Monday morning. I was hoping it wasn't Monday morning. I was hoping it was, say, Wednesday and I'd slept through Monday and Tuesday. But it was Monday. It's not Monday's fault that it comes after Sunday. It's just that this particular Monday came after that Sunday. 

I don't really remember a lot about Monday. But I do firmly believe that there's an Everybody Loves Raymond episode to cover almost any situation in life and, in this case, it would be the episode during which Robert and Amy get married. 

I won't bore you with a recap of the entire episode. If you want to watch it click here. Suffice it to say that the ceremony didn't go well and during the reception Ray gives a great speech trying to smooth everything over. The long and the short of it is that our brains work like a filtering device and the further you are from a situation the more positively you remember it.

Monday I was not far enough removed from the situation, and now my brain has edited Monday out.

I was off on Tuesday so I lay on the couch. I took three separate naps in a 10-hour span. During the parts that I was awake I avoided anything that might possibly address the situation. That meant no sports, no news, no late night talk shows...basically I could only watch things that had already aired on TV at least 24 hours prior to me waking up and seeing the lamp. 

Enter TBS. 

What once provided me with lasting childhood memories of Braves baseball was now my escape from sports of any kind. I ended up binge-watching New Girl. I'd never seen an episode and now I'm almost a full season in (no spoilers, please). It doesn't get much more non-sports than that, except for the fact that one roommate once played pro basketball in Latvia.

That night I put my "no sports" pact with myself on hiatus long enough to watch Georgia try to salvage its gut-punch of a season against Florida. 

Back to TBS.

By Wednesday the scene in my apartment was pretty dire. The blurry green image in the picture below is a pack of provolone. When I woke up that morning that was the only food remaining in my fridge, and I'm pretty sure its expiration date had long passed. 

I decided to leave my apartment for the first time since the situation presented itself. Not only did I go outside, I went for a 2.5-mile run. Turns out, you can't outrun a situation. It will catch you when you stop. 

I also went back to work, which turned out to be somewhat therapeutic. You never know how well your co-workers actually know you until a situation presents itself. In this instance, no one spoke to me or made eye contact for the first five hours I was there. 

They know me pretty darn well. 

I came home that night to the movie Uptown Girls on TV. Don't know it? Neither did I. But I watched the last hour because I was pretty sure it was safe. Not a bad flick, actually. Then a few more episodes of New Girl on Netflix. No chill, just bed.

The only good thing about Thursday is that it was both my Tuesday and my Friday at work. After a few more episodes of New Girl it was actually Friday and I'd been looking forward to this particular Friday for a few months. That's because this particular Friday I was seeing Bon Jovi live for the first time in more than a decade. I've loved Bon Jovi since, let's see, fifth grade?

Unfortunately this concert was at Philips Arena. Philips Arena is next to another arena, and that arena that used to represent such joy now represents the situation that gives me night terrors. So I did what they do to horses to keep them from getting spooked: I blocked my vision from the offending spectacle.

Yes, by Friday I was a frightened horse.

Then a funny thing happened. I found out that it's almost impossible to have a negative thought in your head while 20,000 people are singing "Livin' On  A Prayer" in unison at the top of their lungs.

Then another thing happened. A wonderful visit with my family on Saturday presented an opportunity to acknowledge the situation verbally for the first time since it presented itself.

Then yet another thing happened. An impromptu visit with some very close friends on Sunday, who are also very close to the situation, allowed me to finally talk through some things with people who know exactly where I'm coming from. I didn't know it at first, but it was the first time they had addressed the situation as well.

Does that mean I'm all better now? Of course not. But it's a start. 

So here we are, a week later.

In the end, the one thing I keep coming back to about this week is the closing line in Uptown Girls: "Every story has an end. But in life every ending is just a new beginning."

I need that to be true, because the situation that presented itself last Sunday night didn't just ruin Sunday night. It ruined about five months of wonderful memories that will now be tainted the way a wonderful relationship can be by a bad breakup. 

I've been through my share of breakups over the years and I've learned one thing: Like Raymond said, the further you are from the situation the better you feel.

In a month I will leave for my annual trip to Braves Spring Training. Hopefully by then I'll be ready to be disappointed all over again. 

Or maybe I'll just buy a new lamp. 

UGA's Season In 60 Seconds

Not to be misleading with the headline, but I should tell you that the 60 seconds begin with the actual season preview. First, I have a few things to get off my chest...

It's no secret that I was (and still am) not a fan of Mark Richt's departure. Long story short I felt like he represented our University like no other. I wanted us to win a national title under him to prove that we could do it the "Georgia Way". But after last season Greg McGarity decided that we couldn't win the ultimate prize "our way", we had to do it like everybody else does it.

And so here we are.

I like Kirby Smart, not that he was waiting for my endorsement. He was my favorite player when we were both in college. His dad is one of my favorite coaches I've ever had the privilege to cover. He was the coach at Rabun County High School (Tiger, GA) when I started my first job in television in Toccoa, Georgia. A more genuine and affable coach you will not encounter. But he was also a great football coach. Apples, trees, etc.

My hope is that, in Kirby, we get the football coaching influence from Nick Saban and the people skills of his dad Sonny.  Early reviews aren't good...but there's still time.

I say all of that to say this: the Richt firing was polarizing among the Georgia people. I know this because it split our tailgate crew (going on its 12th year) down the middle. Each of us felt passionately that Richt should have been kept or should have been fired. There was no in between.

But the time for that debate has passed. I don't believe you have to be anti-Richt to be pro-Kirby, and vice versa.

I will say this: Kirby Smart has to win a national championship. Soon. Maybe not this year, but probably next. Mark Richt did everything else BUT win a national title at Georgia and was shown the door for it. So if we're still trophy-less in five years...what was the point?

Is that fair? Probably not. But neither is firing a man who took your program to greater heights than it has seen in decades.

So without further ado, Georgia's season in 60 seconds:

September 3rd vs. North Carolina - The ACC is useless after Clemson and Florida State. UGA by 7.

September 10th vs. Nicholls St. - Game should be well in hand in time for the NASCAR-minded Georgia fans to be back on their couches for the Battle at Bristol.

September 17th at Missouri - Missouri's defensive line could give Georgia's offense fits. I think we win here, but "closer than the experts think", to quote the great Lee Corso.

September 24th at Ole Miss - Thus begins the one-two punch that will likely decide our season. I feel like we're gonna win one and lose one. And this one being on the road, I say we lose a close one.

October 1st vs. Tennessee - IF we can escape The Grove unscathed, this game will likely see College GameDay or SEC Nation setting up on Myers Quad. If we lose in Oxford we win this one and vice versa. Like I said, 1-1.

October 8th at South Carolina - Columbia has been our Waterloo for a few years now, but this Gamecocks team is abysmal. If we lose in Columbia this time we don't deserve to go to a bowl game, much less win the East.

October 15th vs. Vanderbilt - This would be a typical "stumble" game under Richt. This game, not the outcome but the point differential, will tell the difference whether it's out-with-the-old or same-old-same-old.

October 29th vs. Florida - Kirby turns the tide on the Gators and this series becomes "Must See TV" for college football fans for the next 20 years. We win 13 of them.

November 5th at Kentucky - Win. And by more than Vegas thinks.

November 12th vs. Auburn - My how quickly the mighty have fallen. From what I'm hearing out of The Plains Guz Malzahn may or may not still be the Plainsmen's head coach when this game rolls around. Either way weird things tend to happen in this rivalry. We win...but close.

November 19th vs. Louisiana-Lafayette - Please.

November 26th vs. Georgia Tech - The North Avenue Trade School scares me less and less every year. Sure, they're going to win on occasion (see also: 2014), but overall this hasn't been a rivalry in years.

Regular season record: 11-1, (7-1 SEC)

If all of this holds true, then we win the SEC East and advance to the SEC Championship Game...where we will lose to whomever wins the West (honestly I don't know enough about the West teams to make an educated guess but everyone seems huge on LSU).

Why do we lose? Winning the SEC and advancing to the College Football Playoff is too much to ask of a first-year head coach with a true freshman quarterback.

But next year...

In the meantime I'll be keeping a close eye on those Hurricanes.

Seems Like Yesterday: Atlanta 1996

Tonight we extinguished the flame at the Rio Olympics.

I'll never be able to see an Olympic flame again without thinking of the only one I've ever seen in person: Atlanta 1996. Growing up in Atlanta (and attending the University of Georgia at the time), we saw the flame endlessly from the time we were awarded the Games in 1990 until the closing ceremonies in 1996.

I only saw it in person once, as it made its way past the Dekalb County jail on Memorial Drive in Decatur. My Mom worked there at the time so I drove down from Snellville and we joined thousands on the sidewalks cheering as the torch continued its year-long journey to Centennial Olympic Stadium. We had watched it travel across the U.S. and, in that moment, it was finally "here".

You have to have lived in Atlanta during the run-up to the 1996 Games to understand what we felt at that moment. A city that lay in ashes just more than a century before, and that spent the few decades prior gaining a reputation as the place where sports dreams go to die, was suddenly going to be the global capital of dreams.

The fact that we even had the Games was a miracle in itself. The assumption at the time was that Athens, Greece, which hosted the first Games in 1896, was a lock to host the Centennial Games. It was such a foregone conclusion that I honestly don't remember paying much attention to Atlanta's bid prior to the announcement.  I was sitting in Coach Mudd's biology class at South Gwinnett High School when it happened. Usually when a teacher stops class to turn on a TV something bad is happening, but not this time. The sports-minded among us stared at the screen. The rest talked amongst themselves. But when International Olympic Committee chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch (who later became a villian in Atlanta, but we'll get to that) said those magic words, "To the city of...Atlanta", we all jumped up and down just like the thousands that turned out at Underground Atlanta to watch the announcement that morning.

The next six years saw our city subjected to international scrutiny on a daily basis. It seemed that pretty much everyone outside the 404 area code wanted the sentimental choice, Athens, to host in 1996 and, therefore, every move Atlanta made was going to be done under a microscope. Any slight misstep would result in every journalist (I use the term loosely) from Milan to Minsk questioning the decision to place the Games in Georgia.

Meanwhile, those of us living through the process leading up the Games were delighted at the transformation of our metropolis. The Olympic rings were everywhere you looked. Venues replaced blighted areas. Centennial Park transformed one of the ugliest parts of the city into one of the best. Each day something new and shiny came into our lives.

The only bittersweet part of the Games for me, personally, was that part of the plan was to transform the Olympic Stadium into a new home for the Braves. That meant the end of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (which hosted baseball during the '96 Games). While Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium will never go down in baseball annals with the likes of Wrigley or Fenway, it was where I first experienced live baseball. It was where I went to games with my family. For many it was a concrete donut. For me it was a cathedral. I also defy anyone to show me a better baseball atmosphere than Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium provided in the early '90s.

At some point during my junior year at the University of Georgia, I was walking through the Tate Student Center and noticed an ad seeking students to work the Olympics. I signed up immediately and it will always be one of the best decisions I made in my life. A few months later I found myself at Hartsfield International Airport officially checking in as an employee of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG). Had I known I was going to have to pose for a picture that I would keep forever, I probably wouldn't have worn a hat all day.

In a bit of foreshadowing, I was assigned to work for Atlanta Olympic Broadcasting. My official title was "runner", but basically my job was to drive foreign journalists from their hotels to the venues and back. I was the Olympic version of an Uber driver. BMW was an Olympic partner so I spent the summer of 1996 tooling around the ATL in any variety of mint condition beamers. I was also assigned the overnight shift, meaning once we got all the journos to their hotels at night, we didn't have a whole heck of a lot to do until around 5am when rides to the early events were necessary. I never drove anyone famous, but I did learn that Japanese journalists were very polite (and GREAT tippers) and British and French journalists were just the worst. If one more person from East Something-something-shire tried to tell me a faster route to a place I'd been going to my whole life I may have aimed that beamer at a brick wall. I almost went to London in 2012 just to return the favor.

But I digress. 

During that time we got to explore a lot of Atlanta at night. I learned a lot of card games (which I've since forgotten) and made a lot of late night runs to the Taco Bell on Howell Mill and the Burger King on Northside. Our "office" was a trailer in the parking lot of the old Omni coliseum. We played football in the parking lot. We went to what was then Jocks & Jills (now Dantanna's) in CNN Center after work most mornings where everyone else's breakfast became our happy hour. I made friends with whom I am still in contact to this day.

My most memorable ride was one I don't really remember. I have no idea where we went or who was in the car. All I know is that on my way back I exited the downtown connector onto Williams Street to head back to the office. When I took the left onto Marietta Street I was immediately met by an officer screaming "Turn around! Turn around!" I rolled down my window to explain that I worked for ACOG and was on the way back to work. I'll never forget his next words: "Turn around and keep driving until someone tells you to stop". I drove for a few miles before our supervisor came across the radio and told us to go to a Holiday Inn a few miles outside of downtown. They had opened their lobby to us and that's where we spent the rest of that night...watching live coverage of the bombing at Centennial Park. I had no idea that I was a few hundred yards away when it happened. The reaction among us employees was one of rage. Honestly I'm still angry about it. How dare this fool put a black mark on something we worked so hard for for so many years? We spent that night in that Holiday Inn lobby. To ACOG's credit, the Games went on as scheduled the next morning. We spent the next two nights under a tent in a parking lot that is now occupied by the Georgia World Congress Center annex while officials secured the area around the Park.

I'm still angry.

I'll never forget the final night of those Games. It wasn't the final night for us. We worked a few days after the Games ended taking the cars we'd driven to lots around the metro area to be sold or moved on to whatever their future held. But that final night we became looters, of sorts. The official instructions we got upon arriving at work that night were "You are not supposed to take any of the official Olympic paraphernalia for personal use". One of us then asked what would happen if we did, indeed, acquire a few personal souvenirs and the response was essentially a shoulder shrug.

So we set out.

To this day I am the proud owner of the Coca-Cola table that served as the security guard's resting spot to get into our office lot below the Omni. It now sits on my balcony. I protect it from the sun with a table cloth.

From the first night I reported for work I had my eye on an Atlanta Olympic Broadcasting clock that hung in our office. On the final night, our boss gave it to me. It still works and I still hang it in the living room during the Summer Olympics.

I still have the official Olympic shirt I wore to work and, yes, it still fits just fine.

I also still have plenty of Olympic pins from those Games, as my Mom was a voracious trader at the time and gave them to me for Christmas a couple of years ago.

My most prized possession? I have a large portion of the Olympic bunting that surrounded Sanford Stadium in Athens during the soccer tournament. It still sits in my parents' basement awaiting its permanent home as wallpaper for my future game room. How did I get it? That's another story for another day...

My most random possession? A police barricade bearing the words "New Orleans Police Department". Atlanta security borrowed barricades from surrounding departments for the Games. I have no idea why we took it other than the fact that we were Falcons fans and wanted to take something from much-hated New Orleans. It remained in my parents' basement for years but I noticed it was gone the last time I was down there. I hope it's serving someone well!

In the end, I still glow with pride when I think about those Games. I think we got a raw deal from the international community, many of whom wanted the Games in Athens. I've read the critiques of those Games and can truthfully tell you those were not the Games I experienced. I was on the ground for the Atlanta Olympics and I never met a single person that wasn't having the time of their lives.

Meanwhile, Mr. Samaranch refused to bestow his customary "greatest games ever" designation on our Games during the closing ceremonies, instead calling them "most exceptional". But where I was, even the stuffiest of journalists admitted that we created a party that hasn't been duplicated until, possibly, Rio. Most of the criticism was based on "over-commercialization", which the International Olympic Committee itself has embraced in subsequent Games.

The Atlanta Games were iconic. We had possibly the most memorable torch lighting of all time (though, even as an Atlantan, I'm partial to Barcelona in '92). We had Kerri Strug. We had Michael Johnson in gold shoes. We had soccer Between The Hedges (which were removed for the Games).

We also had a plan for AFTER the Olympics, unlike many host cities. Don't believe me? Click here.

Unfortunately our efforts to open the Games to everyone left us vulnerable to attack. But that attack has led to heightened security at subsequent Games. And the open-air, carnival atmosphere remains. In many ways Atlanta changed the Games forever and for the better, whether we get credit or not.

I still dream of seeing Atlanta host another Olympics. I certainly don't think it's impossible. And for those who think it is...I would say I've heard it all before back in 1990.

I'm still angry.