AJC Sports News Now

NBC’s Bob Costas used his halftime commentary on “Sunday Night Football” to call for stricter gun control in the wake of the murder-suicide involving Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher.

In a 90-second statement, Costas quoted Fox Sports writer Jason Whitlock:

In the aftermath of the nearly unfathomable events in KC, that most mindless of sports cliches was heard yet again: Something like this really puts it all in perspective … You want some actual perspective on this? Well a bit of it comes from the Kansas City-based writer Jason Whitlock, with whom I do not always agree, but who today said it so well that we may as well just quote or paraphrase from the end of his article. “Our current gun culture,” Whitlock wrote, “ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead. Handguns do not enhance our safety. They …

Continue reading Costas calls for gun control on ‘Sunday Night Football’ »

Some SEC football fans may be frustrated by the rule that limits conferences to just two representatives in BCS bowls but the Chick-fil-A Bowl is among the post-season games that will reap the benefits.

SEC power LSU will face Clemson in the Dec. 31 game at the Georgia Dome. LSU (10-2, 6-2 SEC) finished second to Alabama in the SEC West but the Crimson Tide and Florida filled two BCS slots for the league.

LSU finished No. 9 in the final AP poll and No. 8 in the BCS standings and Clemson (10-2, 7-1 ACC) is ranked No. 14 in both.

“We’re about as excited as you can be to have two 10-win teams for the first time in our history with a Clemson-LSU match-up,” said Gary Stokan, the Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “These teams are two of the top teams in the country and create one of the best bowl game match-ups of the post season.”

LSU is 5-0 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, including four victories when the game was known as the Peach Bowl. LSU defeated Clemson 10-7 in the 1996 game and …

Continue reading LSU to face Clemson in Chick-fil-A Bowl »

Alabama coach Nick Saban, a noted workaholic, said he would likely enjoy his team’s 32-28 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship game for about two weeks.

After that, he will focus on Notre Dame and the BCS National Championship on Jan. 7 in Miami.

Saban said he’s found that work-break has worked well in the past. This will be Alabama’s third appearance in the national championship game under Saban.

“You can’t practice your way to the game,” he said. “It’s too long. The players get, you know, too stale and too bored with it. So it’s a one game season.”

Tying a record

With the win, Alabama tied the NCAA-era record for wins in a five-year period (60) set by Nebraska (1993-97).

Saban seemed especially proud of that number, pointing out that many of the players in the senior class signed with Alabama after it went 7-6 and played in the Independence Bowl in 2007.

“(Someone) asked me the other day what’s the biggest difference between going to the Independence Bowl or a game …

Continue reading Saban says he’ll enjoy SEC title for two weeks »

Alabama’s Eddie Lacy slammed into three Georgia defenders who met him in a hole at the line of scrimmage. Instead of going down, Lacy spun out and finished with a 32-yard gain.

A few plays, later he dove into the end zone from an inch away. Whether the Crimson Tide needed an inch or a mile, Lacy and Alabama’s running game could practically call their shot in the Tide’s 32-28 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship game on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome.

Lacy rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns to earn most valuable player honors. The total was the third-highest in SEC Championship game history. He wasn’t the only weapon. T.J. Yeldon rushed for 153 yards as the Tide totaled 350 rushing yards, breaking the record of 300 they set against Florida in 1999. Yeldon and Lacy became the first two backs on the same team to break 100 yards in SEC Championship game history.

“The offensive line did a great job opening holes for T.J. and I,” Lacy said.

The duo was so effective …

Continue reading Lacy and Alabama overpower Georgia »

Update 7:59 Alabama wins 32-28 to capture the SEC Championship and a date with Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game. Bulldogs fans were left to wonder a) why quarterback Aaron Murray didn’t spike the ball stop the clock in the final moments and b) why Chris Conley caught that deflected pass instead of letting it drop incomplete and stop the clock.

You know who clocks that ball with 13 seconds left, @aaronmurray11 & @markricht? AJMcCarron & NickSaban! #UGA@jeffschultzajc @ajcjunkyard

— Intellectual Ninja (@UGABugKiller) December 2, 2012

Completed pass in bounds.For the first 59:55 of the game that’s great, just not in the last :05. #uga #sec

— -SA (@seanale) December 2, 2012

Update 7:35 Alabama goes up again on AJ McCarron’s 45-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper.

I smell burnt toast#uga

— Edwin Ortiz (@EddyOrtiz) December 2, 2012

#Bama smacks the “easy button” on #UGA. Play action deep for 6. #Bama now up 32-28.

— Gator Content from (@OurTwoBits) December 2, …

Continue reading SEC Social minute by minute »

Terrence Edwards, who starred on Georgia’s 2002 SEC Championship team, is still catching footballs. The all-time leading receiver for the Bulldogs just completed his eighth season in the CFL. Edwards, 33, is married to Candice, who is also a Georgia graduate. They began dating after college and have two young sons, Terrence II and Troy.

What do you think of this year’s crop of Georgia receivers? “I was up there on Monday, and I got to meet Tavarres King. I told him that the catch he had against Auburn was a great catch. I also told him that even though I’m the all-time leading receiver, that him and AJ Green and the rest of the guys were way better than me when I was their age. I think this year’s crop has all the tools. It’s tough to see Michael Bennett and Marlon Brown go down. But the younger guys stepped up and look at them now. Aaron Murray has how many touchdowns in his career? 89? That doesn’t just happen by throwing the ball. You’ve got to have somebody to catch it. I …

Continue reading Where are they now? Former UGA great Terrence Edwards »

Many UGA fans are praying for an upset over mighty Alabama in Saturday’s SEC Championship.

This one was publicly offered up by Rabbi Michael Bernstein of Congregation Gesher L’Torah on Kimball Bridge Rd, Alpharetta:

“May the One who guided Vince, Herschel, and Buck Belue grant victory to their descendants and joy to those who follow them. Give counsel to Mark Richt, accuracy to Aaron Murray, strength to Gurshall and ferocity to the Defense. Halt the momentum of our adversaries, say to them as you related to your servant Job, “The Tide shall come to here and no further.” And as for the Irish… Well let’s deal with that when the time comes…. So may it be inscribed in the Book of Chronicles and Statistics (the BCS) and the records of the House of Dawg.”

What are you hoping for on Saturday? Please post below.

AJC’s SEC CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE

• Where are they now? Former UGA great Terrence Edwards
• Rabbi says a prayer for UGA vs. mighty Alabama
• “This could be one of the best offensive …

Continue reading Rabbi says a prayer for UGA »

Alabama football fan Brian Downing was sentenced to two years in a prison on Thursday.

Downing, 33, put his private parts on a drunken LSU fan after last year’s national championship game in front of a crowd of spectators at a Krystal Burger fast-food chain. The whole event was caught on video.

Downing had pled guilty last month to two obscenity counts last month, avoiding the original charge of sexual battery – and a possible 10-year sentence and registration as a sex offender, according to Nola.com.

The sentencing judge had some stern words for Downing, calling him a “bully” on Thursday. “You chose, wisely to enter into this plea bargain. The actions that you took on Jan. 9 of this year were morally reprehensible, there’s no way around it,” said the judge, Karen Herman, reported Nola.com

ESPN The Magazine wrote a 7,000-word story on Downing and his victim that you can read by CLICKING HERE – with the warning that the story contains mature subject matter and language.

AJC’s …

Continue reading Alabama football fan sentenced to two years in prison »

Kevin Breedlove knows a good offensive line when he sees one. Breedlove was a four-year starter at offensive guard for Georgia and played on the 2002 SEC Championship team. Breedlove had stints in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with NFL Europe and the CFL. He later earned two masters degrees from Clemson. “I had big expectations,” Breedlove said with a laugh. “I actually wanted to go on and become a professor and teach marketing. I halfway started on my PhD program at Clemson, and then decided that I was spending way more time in the gym and changed directions.” Breedlove, 32, owns and operates the Odyssey Health Club in Hilton Head, S.C.

What do you think of Georgia’s offensive line this year? “I really like them. They are big, they’re young, and they’re tough. John Theus at right tackle as true freshman – the guy is just a bear. That offensive line likes to steam roll guys. They are smart, and they can pick up the blitzes. They are still …

Continue reading Catching up with former UGA OL Kevin Breedlove »

Boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho is apparently as divisive in death as he was in life.

Several fights erupted at the viewing of the slain fighter’s body in Puerto Rico this week, ESPN reports, including a scrap between women claiming to be his girlfriend at the time of his death, his former girlfriend and his sisters.

During the viewing Tuesday, Cynthia Castillo, who claimed to be Camacho’s most recent girlfriend, kissed Camacho’s body on the mouth and then walked to an area reserved for family, where she claimed someone threw a plate of food at her and then attacked her.

She got into an altercation with Gloria Fernandez, who said she had been Camacho’s girlfriend for the past 25 years, and Camacho’s sisters, Esther and Estrella, ESPN said.

If that weren’t enough, former former bantamweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez got into it with a man named Jorge Lozada, who said he’s a member of the Camacho family.

Camacho, 50, was shot Nov. 20 while sitting in a parked car outside a bar in …

Continue reading Fights break out at service for ‘Macho’ Camacho »