Moving on
6:26 p.m. My apologies. I thought this had posted this morning.
Wow. Impressive performance last night. As I wrote in my story, I think a lot of things went into it. Toronto is a poor defensive team and was on the end of a back-to-back. The Hawks were agitated after the Detroit loss and rested. And I think someone posted something that Al Horford said, that the Hawks do well against up-tempo teams because they can run but also defend. It was just one of those nights where everything worked. Mike Bibby, for instance, made all four of his 3-point attempts. Every player except Jeff Teague and Jason Collins shot 50 percent or better.
Anyway, onto the next thing. I am planning on writing for Friday about back-to-back games, particularly the Hawks’ difficult set of them this month. After the Knicks Friday, they fly to Dallas for a Saturday game. Dec. 18-19 home against Utah/at Chicago; Dec. 22-23 at Minnesota/at Denver. Dec. 29-30 Cleveland/at Cleveland.
Not that Chicago will be a cakewalk, but Dallas/Denver/Cleveland for back ends of back-to-backs is pretty rough. Mike Woodson said before the game that he wanted to go somewhere between 8-6 and 10-4 for the month, which puts even more of an emphasis on the rest of those games. Not much margin for error.
We’ll see how it goes. I’ll leave you with a couple sound bites from the locker room that I didn’t get into the story.
Woodson: It’s fun to watch. The basketball’s moving and I think we had 30-some assists, guys are sacrificing the basketball and that’s how it’s got to be offensively. We’ve got enough guys that can score the ball and make shots. We’ve got to execute our offense and when it calls for you to set a screen, you’ve got to set the screen. It calls for you to make a pass to set up the guy that’s going to receive it, you’ve got to do that. So I thought we did an excellent job in that area tonight.
(my comments: This sounds like Woodson told the team much of the same thing leading up to Toronto. I don’t think he just pulled that out of the air.)
Joe Johnson: I think everybody pretty much knows we’re an explosive team. We’ve shown that throughout this early season but I think our consistency is where we’re lacking. We’ve got to figure it out out on the road instead of just having it pretty good at home. We’ve got to get to where we’re a pretty good team on the road.
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105 comments Add your comment
JerkOnAJC
December 3rd, 2009
6:46 pm
Took you 7+ hours to realize that your own post on your section of the site didn’t post? Wow
Najeh Davenpoop
December 3rd, 2009
6:46 pm
“Mike Woodson said before the game that he wanted to go somewhere between 8-6 and 10-4 for the month”
When the top three seeds in the conference are winning three out of every four games, “between 8-6 and 10-4 for the month” isn’t good enough to keep pace. I think 10-4 is the lower range of both what the Hawks should expect and what they are capable of doing. I think it’s reasonable to expect that they drop games @DAL, @CLE, @DEN, and @CHI at the most, while winning vs TOR (already won), vs NY, vs CHI, @TOR, vs NJ, vs MEM, vs UTA, @MIN, @IND, and vs CLE. All four of those projected losses are road games against decent-to-good teams on the second game of a back-to-back. This would leave them 10-4 for the month, but really it’s not out of the question that they win at least one of those four road games as well.
Steve
December 3rd, 2009
6:47 pm
Ken, can you find out why Ryan Cameron says “boss” every time Horford makes a shot? I’m beyond curious at this point.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
6:59 pm
Ken S. I’ll be glad when they find a Hawks Beat Blog replacement because YOU SUCK!
Najeh Davenpoop
December 3rd, 2009
7:03 pm
Oh yeah, and although back to backs are tough, the Hawks can really minimize the damage if they blow out the Knicks and the Timberwolves, each of whom they play on the first game of a back-to-back in December. Pouncing on those teams early will allow the key players to rest for the games that follow them — @DAL after the Knicks game, and @DEN after the Wolves game.
Benjamin
December 3rd, 2009
7:04 pm
Don’t listen to the haters, Kenny Sug. Can I call you Kenny Sug?
Great game last night. We’ve got a pretty good stretch ahead of us in terms of beatable opponents, as Davenpoop mentioned above. I really wish we could’ve beaten Detroit the other night, though.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
7:07 pm
Steve, for like the upteempth time last season I can’t remember where, when, and who interviewed Al but they asked him what would he like his nickname/like to be called and he said “Boss”. Ever since then Ryan Cameron and those in the know have been referring to him as “Boss”.
Hawk n the Ham
December 3rd, 2009
7:08 pm
“6:26 p.m. My apologies. I thought this had posted this morning.”
Hitting the fire water a little early today Ken?
HEAT CHECK!!
niremetal
December 3rd, 2009
7:08 pm
If we go 8-6 or better during the next month, we will be sitting pretty. We have a frontloaded schedule in terms of schedule difficulty. After this month, we have a rough weekend in mid-January where we play Boston twice and Orlando on the road, and a rough last week of January (home against Boston, and then away against Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando). Other than those two patches, the worst of the schedule will be behind us by the end of December. So if we come out of December at 20-11 or better, we’ll be in a great position.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
7:10 pm
How about calling him Ken Sucks, Benjamin? That fits how he’s been so far on the Hawks Beat blog.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
7:20 pm
You couldn’t tell Jeff Teague shot below 50% or better cause he was one of the Hawks players in double figures. Without his below 50% point contribution the Hawks wouldn’t have had nine players in double figures. I was at the game screaming for Mo Evans to get in double figures. And also rooting on Jason Collins to put some points on the scoreboard. It’s all good, Jason Collins did get 2 assists and 2 rebounds.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
7:25 pm
I’m still a little irritated that when we first brought up minutes and rotations. Ken Sucks called it nitpicking. And then later comes back with a blog called Talking about Minutes. LOL! SMH!
noel
December 3rd, 2009
7:35 pm
With those back to back games this month.Woody must use the bench and let them play extended time. We are 1 of the best team in the nba right now, we just need consistency at both ends of the floor.You can’t be consistent if you are tired so Mike Woodson use the beach please like you did last night.
Ken Strickland
December 3rd, 2009
8:10 pm
Did Joe Johnson actually mention the word CONSISTENCY? Now where have I heard or seen that word or concept mentioned before? THAT’S THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT I’VE BEEN PREACHING ALL ALONG. I’d like to offer a word to JJ. ON THE BASKETBALL COURT, ESTABLISHING TEAM CONSISTENCY STARTS WITH YOU. OVERALL, IT STARTS WITH WOODSON.
South ga boy in the atl
December 3rd, 2009
8:12 pm
Ms hawk, calm down on Ken ease back on the starbucks. He’s just temp help and u know that u get what u pay for. While I agree with u most of the time I think Ken has a point on the min minutae. I think some ppl have a stopwatch in their hand as they watch the game and record how many min teague gets and how over used they think joe is on every game. Woody is doing a measured job of playing teague. Is there any game we would have won if teague had played more min. NO. Is their any game we lost because teague played too many min. NO. Ease up on the min complaints. Woody knows what he’s doing. Oh yea and put down the stopwatch and enjoy the game and this fabulocious season
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
8:21 pm
Mz. Hawkdafied I love the passion! Ken started off great on this blog! He was very well complemented also. However, it appears that he has loss his mojo! Don’t know if he wanted the job or put his hat in the basketball but he had most of our support. Something happened over the last five or so games? Maybe a decision has been made on Sekou’s replacement? Hopefully we find something out soon. It can be rough on the interim. Especially when they have no chance at the job. The AJC has to get it together! WE NEED A PERMANENT BEAT WRITER!!!!!!!! Makes no sense with one of the best teams in the league!
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
8:25 pm
South Ga Boy you don’t want to go there as far as Woody and his dividing minutes is concerned. You are about to face the rath of the rest of the bloggers! Most of us hate the way he uses his minutes. So forgetaboutit!
Big Ray
December 3rd, 2009
8:34 pm
Guys and gals,
I don’t understand why y’all are giving Ken Sugiura such a hard time. When Sekou left, the AJC didn’t have a good, permanent replacement handy. So, they took Ken, who is a “general sports” article writer, and put him in this spot for the time being.
Understand that he has a whole other job that he has to do, and deadlines that he has to meet. This blog was an ADDED responsibility, not his main responsibility. Please be courteous enough to cut him some slack. Besides, he said from the get go that he was NOT Sekou, couldn’t fill his shoes right off the bat, and would do his best.
Dude has a blog up for every game. We all get to post on it. Y’all could just be stuck with the fan blog that I host and nothing else other than an occasional (and I mean OCCASIONAL) blog by Schultz or Bradley. Come on now. This is like eating a full meal and complaining through every single bite.
Let’s not be like that.
Big Ray
December 3rd, 2009
8:39 pm
Ken Strickland ,
The criticism is always the harshest for the best players. JJ is right about that word, “consistency.” This team does indeed need to be more consistent, particularly on the road. It’s the next step we have to take, among others.
But as you say, it starts with the leaders. Well, here’s a fact: Joe Johnson consistently shot like crap for five games up until last night. At least he picked up a season high 11 assists in that game, an effort in that area that was missing in the previous five debacles. Now will he consistently pass more when his shot isn’t falling, or when other guys are hot? We shall see. Will Josh Smith consistently play great defense and fight for rebounds all game long? Same answer. Will Marvin Williams consistently do whatever his team needs for them to win night in and night out, whether it’s score, rebound, or defend? To be determined.
Blast
December 3rd, 2009
8:54 pm
Ken,
Please ignore the hate. We love and appreciate what you’ve been doing. Despite the hate, you’ve probably had more blogs up since you’ve been here than Sekou in his last six months. I guess folks life are so boring that they attack an online beat writer. What exactly do they want? For you to comment every ten minutes? Sekou left us to our own devices for so many days, blog grew to 12 pages sometimes! Just shows what kind of ‘fans’ post on this blog.
I guess when you don’t have something to complain about for the night, you root for one!
Celtics/Spurs. 2nd qrt, 9:01 to go. Scores: Boston 27, Spurs 21. What a boring game.
O'Brien
December 3rd, 2009
9:03 pm
Blast, I agree that Ken is doing a good job under the circumstances. However, in Sekou’s defense, one possible reason for his lack of blogs was because it was the offseason. During the season, Sekou usually gave us enough blogs (in my opinion).
Back to BB, With the Hawks having those back to back games in December, it will be interesting to see how Woody utilizes his bench (especially if the games are close). Will Teague get any PT? Will JJ play 40 minutes every game?
That is why it is important for Woody to get his bench players ready, because the Hawks have traditionally struggled on the second night of back to backs. But with our increased depth, we should do much better.
Ray, Coach Woody is also inconsistent at times. Will he allow us to play uptempo? Will we switch everything on defense?
For the record, I dont like the fact that Woody says hopefully the Hawks can go between 8-6 and 10-4 or better. To me, 8-6 is setting the bar too low. Sure, the schedule is tough, but we are a deep team. And 8-6 can easily turn into 7-7.
Maybe I’m just nitpicking again lol. And sorry for the long post…
Blast
December 3rd, 2009
9:09 pm
O’Brien,
Never apologize for a long post especially if it makes sense. I really don’t think Woody will have any choice but to play his bench. His starters can’t play and win the games all alone. And yes, 8-6 is setting the bar WAY TOO LOW!
Ken Strickland
December 3rd, 2009
9:17 pm
BIG RAY-I left a message for you on the ON TO DECEMBER blog before I realize this one was up. Like you said, TO BE DETERMINED. I could easily take the negative route and assume Woodson will revert back to old habits, but I know he’s capable of doing all of the things I’ve been complaining about, which is why I complain so adamantly. He’s successfully done them before, just not consistently. Like when we run and use the bench extensively, we usually win. That’s why I won’t give up and start automatically assuming the worst about him. Maybe it’s time for this team to start showing Woodson the best way to get the job done, by continuing to perform like they did last night, especially if he continues coaching like he did last night.
I simply loved the way Woodson called timeout and got everyone back on track immediately after JJ started disrupting the flow and forcing everything. NOW THAT’S COACHING. Standing on the sidelines with arms folder looking mean, but taking no corrective action, isn’t coaching. WHEN WE TAKE ACTION AND DO GOOD THINGS, GOOD THINGS HAPPEN, WHEN WE DO NOTHING, BAD THINGS HAPPEN. THAT’S OFTEN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND LOSING.
RLP
December 3rd, 2009
10:09 pm
KEN STRICKLAND:
I agree with you on the timeout called when JJ started pounding the ball. If my memory is correct the Hawks were up by 30 and in a very short stretch the margin had been reduced to 22. The timeout came and things changed. Actually I was afraid that at that point he would reinsert the starters. I was happy to see that he stuck with the bench players and they actually built on the lead.
And in retrospect maybe the four game stretch of poor play had some positive aspects in that it angered the players who responded like champions last night. Let us see if the good play continues.
niremetal
December 3rd, 2009
10:11 pm
I’m with Blast/Ray. Do your thing, Ken Sug. You’re taking the time to fill in as a team’s beat writer, which is a huge responsibility to take on for someone who was hired (and is being paid) to cover a different beat. I know and appreciate what you’re doing, and so do most of the people around here.
South ga boy in the atl
December 3rd, 2009
10:12 pm
Dear hawksta, duh on the criticism of woody and his rotation and min played. I read and enjoy the comments on this blog. What I’m speaking to is the majoring on the minor that goes on in regards to minutes and rotation. Ppl need to take abreath and gain some perspective. The criticism, in my humble view, (not really) on that particular subject goes so far over the top it could be a member of the mile high club. I will see 5 post about min/rotation for every one post about something important like Josh’s staggering maturation of his game or JJ’s increased leadership. Those along with the best 6th man in the league right now are the reason the Hawks ha e caught the big 3 in just 1 offseason. And of course the leadership of a fine head coach that takes way too much abuse on this blog about min/rotation from arm chair coaches who need to stick to the x box. Uh oh Hawksta I went there.
Alien in ATL
December 3rd, 2009
10:18 pm
The Hawksta: most of you don’t like anything Woody is doing. If he wins, he plays his key players too much and doesn’t give enough time to a rookie. If he rests a starter, all hell breaks loose because we will loose the game. Not talking about all he does wrong when they loose a game (do you expect him to make the lay-ups or give the assists?). A coach can only do so much during a game: it’s up to the players to play the game. I would like to see all of you standing in his shoes for a week: you wouldn’t last the week! You’d resign of get fired! The Hawks are standing tight with Cleveland, only 1.5 game behind Orlando. Give him and the Hawks some credit, will you!
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
10:19 pm
“So he put his hat in the basketball”? Damn, I can do better than that! Might as well insert “KNOW WHADIMEAN” after every post!!! Maybe inretrospect(lol)! I should just PROOFREAD!
GO HAWKS! Love to meet Mz. Hawkdafied. I don’t care what ya’ll say(lol)!
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
10:30 pm
It’s not that I don’t understand what “South Ga” and “Alien” are saying. You can go a month or so without watching certain teams(must I mention names) play yet remain familiar with the coach, game plan and player rotation… Just sayin… In your words’ What’s Woody’s?
Alien in ATL
December 3rd, 2009
10:32 pm
Ken Sugiura – keep up your work, dude! Some people can’t anything else then complain. If they don’t find anything on Woody, they’ll go for the writer!
Big Ray – I don’t always agree with your views, but you have my full support on your 8:34 PM comment!
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
10:38 pm
I don’t appreciate the job that you are doing because it sucks. You know it, that’s why we are forced to read you apologize so often, Ken S. “Oh sorry it took so long, Oh I apologize I thought I posted this blog this morning. Oh the Hawks are not important and are an after thought to my other duties they are much more important even though I have been given the task of being responsible for this blog too.”
Ken S., I apologize if you did indeed volunteer to take on this blog and are not being paid to give us Hawks fans a quality blog. I however am not one to give you credit for a job well done when in my opinion it isn’t so. You’ve been bogged down with other duties which others commenters on this blog say is much more important than the Hawks blog. And that is the reason why we should not say anything.
So I’m guessing the blog for tomorrow will be titled Hawks-Knicks. LOL! SMH!
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
10:47 pm
“Ray you have my full support.” “I’m with Blast/Ray.”
Oh come on you guys say the Hawks need to grow some when they are on the court. You need to speak up and ask for more quality. So what we get to post comments on this blog. There are other Hawks blogs to post comments on if that’s what it was all about. Some of us read the AJC for information or things not already seen on Hawks Live. I mean I could have sworn I’ve heard these quotes from Woody already.
I don’t give a hoot. I’ve posted it once and I’ll post it again, I’ll be glad when they finally find a regular Hawks Beat blog writer and I stand by that.
Alien in ATL
December 3rd, 2009
10:53 pm
Hawksta,
Woody’s plan is to win as many games as possible with the resources he has. He knows his players, he sees them day in and out. Some players need a lot of minutes to be productive, others can come off the bench and be explosive. Some players need to mature, but they won’t mature if you throw them under the train night after night. Give them time to build confidence in easy stretches before you put them in at crunch times.
And he gets all my credit for accepting that (starting) players can go through a slump. It’s not by pulling them out of the game you will rebuild their confidence. They can hit 95% on the practice floor, but are in a slump during game time. At least he shows them he keeps believing in them, so they can regain their confidence on the floor.
That is all part of the job of a coach. Time-outs are not usually the moments to change the game. Most time-outs are taken to give your players a breather or to try to cool down the other team’s groove. They can be beneficial for one set play in crunch time, not for a complete game plan. The game plan should be set before the game starts, and the best moment to make impacting adjustments comes at half-time. Remember last year’s loss against New Jersey where he had to burn all of his time-outs early in the game, coming short of time-outs at the end? Remember the comments on his address? If your players on the floor don’t execute, not much you can do during the game!
Alien in ATL
December 3rd, 2009
10:57 pm
Mz. Hawkdafied – why don’t you apply for the job? You seem to be so well informed – let’s see how you will do combining different jobs. At least he apologizes and doesn’t seek easy excuses or acts as if nothing happened.
Alien in ATL
December 3rd, 2009
10:59 pm
And I would think this blog is intended to comment on the Hawks, not on the writer!??
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 3rd, 2009
11:09 pm
Alien in ATL, I would think that I could comment on whatever the heck I want. Screw you and everyone else on this blog trying to tell me what I can and can’t speak on. I WILL BE GLAD WHEN THE AJC FINDS A REGULAR HAWKS BEAT BLOG WRITER!
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
11:12 pm
We have this “southern gentlemen” thing down here that sometimes is confused with the “good ole boys”. It happens with all our teams. Be it pro or college. A better statement might be “We have a way of doing things down here”. Which is why there are no quick decisions, no demanding accountibility, no speaking to the media and last but sure not least “no outspokenness from the negroes” or your outta here! Southern protocol at it’s best! Sometimes you need a Yankee to kick some azz! No one should ever be scrutinized for the AJC’s complacency! There are stories to be had by a regular beatwriting for this team. Don’t short change yourselves because you enjoy being the center of attention. We as fans should speak out when we have no return on our investment. How can you bash someone who presumably spent their money to watch a the Hawks game? Was happy with the return and expects more from the only newspaper in town! Don’t know about you but I want a championship team and a championship article to read when they WIN! Now don’t cosign that if want!!!!
Grandad
December 3rd, 2009
11:21 pm
Alien – I’m so glad you gave us a dissertation on the proper use of a timeout. Not altogether accurate but a waste of time nonetheless. Then how dare you sensor another for what he or she writes.
cp
December 3rd, 2009
11:28 pm
The quality of this blog has slowly gone down the drain. I have no problem with the job Ken is doing. He explained with his first blog that this is only a temp job and not his main job. He said it wont be anything like Sekou did so I’m baffled as to why people are complaining about things he mentioned from the beginning… This used to be the best blog on the AJC but now I don’t know. Guys only come on here to complain about one player, make multiple names to co-sign their point and to call others out, calling other posters silly names because they have different opinions and to say I told you so. I really wish we could get back to the quality we once had on here.
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
11:30 pm
Don’t know about ya’ll but I just seen a first on a football jersey. Jackson III. Seen Jr. never the third(lol)!
Melvin
December 3rd, 2009
11:35 pm
My goodness. They may as call this Greg Oden top 10 dunks of the month… Too badd he’s on the wrong end of all the dunks….
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/top_plays/2009/12/02/20091130_dotm_nov.nba/
The Hawksta
December 3rd, 2009
11:46 pm
In my so humble opinion. All thoughts pertaining to sports and it’s writers should be welcomed. I just can’t understand the wrong in questioning why we don’t have a permanent beat writer yet? If you don’t question the AJC authority we might go the whole season with a sub. I’d say speak now or forever hold your peace(he! he!)
Ken Strickland
December 3rd, 2009
11:46 pm
I have to cosign with everyone that’s taken a stance in favor of the job KenS is doing under the circumstances. We should be adults about this situation and not expect to be spoon fed info every other day, regardless of who the beat writer is. I can understand the reasoning behind complaining if you’re not getting what you feel you’ve paid for, but we’re not paying anything to be participants on these blogs, so what’s the problem?
MZ. HAWKDAFIED-calm down, take a deep breath and show that classy demeanor we’ve come to expect from you, OK. And don’t allow someone leveling criticism at you to get you upset. If I can take it, and I certainly get more than my share, so can you.
MyView
December 3rd, 2009
11:49 pm
Ken Sugiura…My wife says I should say what I really feel, so I’ll start with you. I ain’t buying the whole “I thought this got posted this morning” story. No way it would be 6:30pm before you figure that out. Either you were to busy, or you just put us off. When it was time to write, you felt guilty and posted the fabrication beside your title. Either way, I’m glad you made it, and I will read it now. lol!!!
The Hawksta
December 4th, 2009
12:01 am
@Ken Strickland
If you were Ken Sug would you are would you not take these post to your boss and explain to him/her that this might have been a good idea but it’s not working and I don’t have enough time to make a full commit as my other responsibilities are just as if not more important. How many beat writers do you think the Knicks and Nets have? Wow you sure are easy! I got some real nice property for sale if you buy right now! Prime real estate. I’ll sell it to you and you only Ken cause I like ya(he! he)!
RLP
December 4th, 2009
1:55 am
To change the subject just a little:
I have been thinking of the ongoing debate on this blog as to the Hawks status in the NBA. Are they on the cusp of becoming part of the elite? Or have they already become a part of the elite? Or is it the case that the talent is there but will never become what they are capable of becoming because of the lack of coaching? Or are they just pretenders who will be exposed for what they really are come playoff time?
This blog has certainly been a repository of differing opinions on this subject. I think I have a new point to make on this subject that I have not seen as a comment made by any of the other bloggers since the season started. It may have been made during the off season but I choose to not come here when no games are being played except for draft time.
The point that I would make is that the Big Three that existed last year does not exist in its present stage yet this season. All three members of that group made changes to their personnel during the off season. I think Orlando took the biggest shot at making changes. During the playoffs Turkoglu was more of a leader of the team than Dwight. Coming into this season after their exhibition game blowout of the Hawks I thought that they were destined to be top team in the East even as I thought they had made a mistake with Turk.I think the team will take time to jell with all of the new parts but if everything goes well then it was my prediction that they would be the team to win the East.
I did not like the Celtics signing of Sheed. I thought he would become a detriment to the team. I also thought that other than Rondo all of the stars on the team would begin to slow down. Age would begin to catch up to the team and they would be going downhill this year.
I also did not think the changes made by the Cavs would assist them in their growth toward a dynasty like the Bulls that having LBJ could lead them to becoming.
We are coming near the first quarter of the year. What have we learned? It is my belief that none of the big three has played as well this year as they did last year. Remember the Celtics start last year? They won something close to 20 games at the start of the season. The Cavs could not lose at home. The Magic lost early but emerged by the end of the year. (Remember the Hawks beat them in Orlando at the start or the year. Of the Big three I am actually most impressed with the Celtics even thought we did defeat them in Boston. They beat San Antonio tonight and have a six game winning streak going on. They also are leaders in one of the best indicators of team strength that has true meaning – point differential. They lead the NBA at 9.0. The next best team is only at 8.2.
So from the standpoint of the elite teams I think the Hawks have gained some but the elite 3 have also lost something they had last year. As the season progresses won’t it be fun to watch how all of this plays out? Will the Hawks be able to maintain the new respect they seem to have earned? Which of the other 3 teams will improve and which will deteriorate? Ken Sugiura’s status is much less important to me than the developments that will be unfolding in the East. But I did like his write up of the against Toronto.
Oh and by the way in my opinion there is really only one true elite in the NBA this year and it dwells in the West.
Also by the way I doubt if many experts or anyone else much doubts the Hawks inclusion in the top four. The Heat seems to be the closest competition and they are nearer 500 than they are to the Hawks in the standings.
RLP
December 4th, 2009
2:10 am
I think the most amazing statistic I have seen this season in the NBA is Houston’s won/lost record on the road. They are only 4-4 at home but they are 7-4 on the road after beating the Warriors tonight. Remember the Hawks could have easily lost to them. The final score was 105-103. And they also beat the Lakers at the Forum.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
4:17 am
The interim beat writer has already made huge mistakes. Ken Seg. is not the issue. The AJC doing a professional job is. So far Ken Sug. has not covered the Hawks in a professional manner.
The Jameer Nelson reference was blatant hypocrisy.
The real problem is the corporate climate of the whole situation. You want to cover the team, gotta be a homer, can’t say anything negative and gotta be first in line in the rah rah section.
I say, ask the hard questions, if or when, you’re punished and denied necessary interviews, raise cain. The corporations use collusion, intimidation and any other tactic they deem necessary to promote their vision of their commodity.
Though SS seemed to have genuine interest in the Hawks and was at least as knowledeable as the average blogger, he was also the worlds biggest homie. Glad to see him gone; can’t stand the homie mentality. Where are the bullocks?
When you take responsibility, you have responsibility. If the AJC wants to run a blog, they should do it professionally with respect for basic journalitic integrity.
Those of you that attack the people who only expect professionalisme are just in the homie line, defaming anyone that goes against the main-stream view. Ah, conformity, oh intolerance, narrow-mindedness.
It’s so easy to dictate when most have been taught to gladly join the homie line.
Get it in gear Ken and the AJC, we are watching and we do have expectations. Journalism is an essential element of cultural with far reaching consequences…….
Big Head
December 4th, 2009
5:21 am
My comments are not about Ken. He’s probably being asked to do an additional job as we all are and not get paid for it. What’s so new about that?? It’s called right-sizing ladies and gentlemen. I’m sure many of you have been affected in the same manner. Are you given any slack in those situations.
Nonetheless, it is up to the readers to demand more from the ajc. Smaller markets have more pro basketball coverage than we do. One article a week or so about the Hawks is pathetic given the tear that this team is on. The blogs shouldn’t be misconstrued to be the information that the ajc should be digging out. If things aren’t working, then complain to Julia Wallace. But here is the real deal….Sekou probably took a package and jetted over to nba.com. Sorry I don’t know how to italicize or bold on the blog any more.
**The complete memo from AJC.com editor Julia Wallace to AJC staff follows:
To all,
As you know, these are difficult times. The AJC is losing money and needs to turn that around by 2010. To make that happen, we have to make some very difficult decisions.
In the past several weeks, [AJC Publisher] Doug [Franklin] has called together the organization’s leadership to look at how this will happen. It will require significant changes and sacrifices across the organization. In the next three months, there will be re-organizations and changes throughout the company.
In the newsroom, we must reduce our staffing substantially. We are making cuts in all non-payroll items.
Here are the highlights of what to expect:
• To achieve the new staffing target, we will offer a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) to all full-time employees with more than five years of Cox pension vesting service.
• The program and the application approval criteria for this year’s VSP program will be similar to last year. While we hope to be able to approve all of the VSP applications, we must make sure we are maintaining staffing balance. Therefore, if we have too many VSP applications within a job category, it may be necessary to decline some applications. In those cases, people with the least company seniority will be declined.
• We will be involuntarily separating all [sic] most part-time staffers. Managers talked to those folks last night.
• While we hope to approve enough VSP applications to reach a newsroom staff target of 230 full-time employees, we may need to enact an Involuntary Separation Program (ISP) of full-time staff if we do not receive about 90 approved applications to do so.
• Involuntary separation program selections will take into consideration newsroom needs, and will be based on the work that needs to be done, past performance and the skills to do the work needed for the future.
The leadership team and I have worked hard to figure out how to continue to do the important work we do with this large of a reduction. Some things will go away. We have already reduced newshole in print. In digital, we are evaluating channels and other content and will be removing those that are not bringing in significant audience and revenue. We are exploring outsourcing of some functions and will be relying more heavily on freelancers in some areas. We will be combining jobs, creating less of an assembly line – with jobs requiring more speed, adaptability and accountability. We will be reducing the number of managers significantly.
In the summer, we will install a new content management system, that which will make this much easier on the digital side. It will no longer require extensive training and coding to post online.
Our mission and goals remain the same. We need to continue to grow digital. We need to produce a very high-quality Sunday newspaper, filled with unique local content. And we must produce a daily newspaper that quickly and efficiently tells our readers the news of the day of and the news coming up.**
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
6:45 am
Is news a business or a responsibility? Is news just telling people what you hear, or is there a responsibility to ensure that what you relay is the “truth”. It’s called investigative news.
Is business compatible with the ideas of sports and/or journalism? I say no. Sports is about competing to win, business in sports is usally a reason to not win. A hard cap should eliminate this little reality. Journalism is about truth and integrity. You can make anything true by manipulating the context, but integrity stems from the absolute reality of a thing and only through integrity can you discern truth.
Is a newpaper journalism or a medium for blog info? There is a difference. Everything the ajc does should represent the integrity of journalism. Ken Sug is a consequence of business at the expense of journalism.
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
6:49 am
Mz. Hawkdafied ,
Never said you could or couldn’t speak your opinion. All I’ve done is encourage people to not get angry with the man who was drafted to cover the job in addition to his primary duties. If you disagree, then that is your right, which is obviously something you are very well aware of. Everybody has a right to their opinion, which just so happens to mean that they also have a right to an opinion on somebody else’s opinion. Heh…what a wonderful circle that always ends up being….”screw you”, “no, screw YOU”, “NO, screw YOU” and so on. Heh, heh…enjoy…
Mychelfromatl
December 4th, 2009
6:51 am
Damn!!! So people have taken the hate usually geared for Marvin or Woodson and shifted it towards Ken SMH. LOL this blog is funny man!!!
Hypocritically Speaking
December 4th, 2009
7:16 am
TBHAWKSFAN
Despite your attempts to display a self righteous anger, all of that writing translated to this- “if you don’t agree with what I’m saying or how I think things should be done, then you’re a homie.”
Which sounds exactly like this- “The corporations use collusion, intimidation and any other tactic they deem necessary to promote their vision of their commodity.”
HYPOCRISY INDEED. More proof that freedom of speech includes pompous a$$holes and hypocritical retards.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
7:16 am
Is it hate if you have a point? What makes it hate, when they don’t get in the homie line and blindly agree? Get over the hate retoric and try to understand the point made. That’s an intelligent approach. If you disagree, that’s fine, make a valid argument. If someone else disagrees, try to find a more intelligent reply than “you’re a hater” or just leave them alone.
If you can’t take someone having
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
7:56 am
Man, the word “hater” sure gets thrown around rather loosely here, lol.
Speaking of which, I can’t stand the Knicks, and I would be royally pissed if we lost to them tonight. I don’t want to see Toney Douglas ringing our bell like he did last time, even though we won. I don’t want to see Al Harrington getting a smooth double double, either. We should do them exactly the way we did the Raptors. Beat them down early and allow the starters to get some rest, as we will have a bigger test against Dallas. No, I don’t expect another 146 point night or anything like that. But I do expect a beat down that results in the bench getting some minutes.
RandMo actually looked like a solid backup in the Toronto game. Can he do well against his former team? Will he get the chance? And before somebody suggests it, I’m not pushing for the guy to get major minutes. Heh…we can only crusade for one guy at a time, lol.
Mychelfromatl
December 4th, 2009
7:56 am
LOL.
Clyde
December 4th, 2009
7:59 am
Yall need to quit complaining. We lucky there’s a Hawks Blog anyway. I remember when we had to use the general sports blog to talk about the Hawks. The Falcons and The Braves had one be we didn’t. Luckily Sekou came and filled that void for us. Yes Ken is not Sekou but I’m thankful we have a forum to talk about the Hawks.
STOP BEING UNGRATEFUL
ROOOOOOL TIDE ROOOOOL
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
8:00 am
Mychel ,
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. My favorite is bloggers “hating” on bloggers.
It seems you are allowed to have an opinion, but you cannot have an opinion on someone else’s opinion. What the hell, the way I see it, if you are willing to throw an opinion out there, then understand it’s subject to debate. Then again, some people can’t understand debate, so they call it hate instead. And we’ll spend all day talking about that instead of basketball. 
That is, until somebody comes in and complains about the subject at hand and wants to talk basketball. I imagine that opinion will be countered by those who wish to continue to argue. ZZZzzzzzzzz….
So how ’bout them Hawks?
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
8:05 am
Wht do I get the impression that someone at the ajc is responding to my posts? ; )
Oh, I’m not angry. Just stating a point of view. I couldn’t find a definitin of homerism in the dictionnary, but I think it goes something likre this:
A Homer is someone that adhere to someones argument without really knowing what their talking about or making any attempt to cognitively analyse the situation or argument.
When that mentality becomes intolerant to those who try to think, ask questions and propose intelligent arguments, well that is a pitiful situation. Especially as it pertains to analysing sports, which really isn’t important enough to merit others categoric censorship. But mentality does as mentality is.
I want our beat writer to ask the questions, to expect honest answers and to settle for nothing less. If a question closes a door, then the question is either illegitimate or the one being asked the question is hidding something.
Is it wrong to ask Woodson specihic questions regarding his coaching? Is it wrong to ask JJ about his ball-hogging habits? Is it wrong to ask the ajc and Ken Sug. why he is making so many rookie mistakes? He is the Hawks beat repoter for the AJC, a major news publication.
I know the blogs are more fun than news, but that doesn’t absolve the ajc of their responsibility to cover and convey news in a professionnal and honest manner.
This situation isn’t limited to this blog. The ajc has made so many mistakes in the last couple of years that I can’t even take their reporting seriously.
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
8:07 am
tb ,
Is that an example of biting your tongue, or did the blog monster ?
Sorry, there I go perpetuating the cycle of argument. Nevermind, man. Sometimes I am just too easily amused. Except when my post gets eaten by the blog monster. Go figure….
Mz. Hawkdafied ,
Now you know that if the next blog is titled “Hawks-Knicks”, it’s all your fault, right? I mean, you DID suggest the name, lol!
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
8:19 am
BIG RAY, you’ve come a long way. That is a compliment. I appreciate how you’ve progressed to accepting others blogs and arguments and taken a position of neutrality (the opposite of a Homer) while supporting and encouraging the team. You have become my favorite Hawks and Falcons read on the ajc.
Journalism is a difficult job. It is so difficult to express an argument without resorting to stereo-types or generalities which have the effect of making any argument abstract and illogical.
Keep up the good work.
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
8:23 am
tb ,
I see you called Sekou a homer, but I don’t see how that reconciles with your definition of a homer. I guess maybe you just didn’t like Sekou, or how he did his job. Or, you just don’t like the AJC, which begs the question of why you keep showing up to a place you don’t like. But hey, to each his own.
I always thought Sekou did a heck of a job, and actually did ask some tough questions. I read all of his articles and Q&A sessions. No, he didn’t always ask every single question I thought he should ask, but does that make him a homer? Not to me. In fact, I can recall specific times where he seemed rather critical of the GM, the coach, and several different players, and where he asked some specific questions. But there’s no point in arguing with you about that, I think we’re going to disagree on that, given the premise of your apparent opinion. And, when you’re a beat writer, you can’t just be a prick all the time. Yeah, you have to ask tough questions, but how well you can do your job probably also has to do with the type of relationship that you can develop with the team that you travel with. Like it or not, there is a relationship there. I think a person can find a way to be effective as a writer, and still maintain a solid relationship with the team he is attached to. Finding that happy medium has to be tough, because you do need for these guys to feel that they can talk to you and give you good stuff to write about. Stick to hardball questions all the time and you’ll find yourself ineffective, I think. But what do I know? Never done the job.
As far as this fellow Ken, what you have is a guy who was not originally a beat writer. Surely there is some learning on the job. I don’t expect anybody who is a rookie to do anything besides act like a rookie. OJT (On the Job Training), man. I can live with that.
But hey, what do I know? I haven’t worn the shoes, so my criticism has limited vision. I don’t consider myself a literary or journalism critic, and I definitely don’t judge people too harshly on jobs I’ve never done, unless what they’re doing is very obviously, blatantly, intentionally wrong. Just my opinion, of course. Sounds to me like your issue is really with the AJC. Perhaps a letter to the editor or something of that nature would be more effective than hacking away on a sports blog. I have no idea, maybe the the people you really need to speak to just aren’t paying enough attention to this particular blog to pick up on what you’re saying. I know preaching to the rest of us ain’t gonna get you far, LOL. Again, just an opinion.
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
8:24 am
tb ,
I appreciate the compliment. Please don’t take my comments as an attack. I’m just curious about your point of view.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
8:29 am
Clyde, you’re right too. I understand that this blog is a beautiful thing for most all of us. But, people are making valid points that shouldn’t be rejected because we’re offered this blog.
AJC, thanks for the blog. Can you please allow the beat writer the time and resources necessary to cover the team in a professionnal manner? You’ve provided us with these blogs and guys like BIG RAY and D3 to host them, but as a newspaper, please have your paid personnel represent the paper with integrity and professionnalism.
Thanks again
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
8:40 am
Big Ray, the reason that I call Sekou a homer is that he perpetuated the Homer mentality (in my opinion). He created a “club” and if you belonged to the club, he cited and supported your points of view. He also treaded too lightly in regards to his inter-action with the team and management. I understand that if he came on too strong, he’d lose…THAT is what I’m attacking. These corporations are too powerful and if you aren’t a Homer you will be rejected (discriminated).
Let’s say that Sekou asked the hard questions a bit too often. What would’ve happened? As you said, he’d lose his “in” with the club and probably lose his job as a result. That is a shame, to say the least, and that is what I’m talking about.
Daniel
December 4th, 2009
8:54 am
OK: I have to weigh in here on this debate.
First, Ken is doing a reasonable job, given the circumstances. However, the Hawks deserve a permanent beat writer. The truth is I don’t know if we as fans do. Yes, Mz. Hawkdafied and others the 20 or so regulars of us on here are commited and do deserve better information, but from a business perspective they [the AJC] know that we are going to be here regardless. So do you commit limit resources to this blog and a beat writer who has a limited following anyway? I certainly hope so.
Sekou was not a “homer”, he was a beat writer which is very different from a columnist. He actually gave his opinion a great deal for someone whose job is to report on the team, not comment on the team. I think you are WAY off base there tb.
TB, however, I do agree with you that we tend to be a little “clubby”. But, as someone who is relatively new to the club (only 2 seasons) it is not that hard to join.
I use this blog as a distraction and a chance to ramble on about my Hawks. I don’t mind the personal interplay (not the personal attacks) and I think it is great that we sometimes talk about issues other than the Hawks. Ray, remember you and vava’s gun control debate? I rather enjoyed that.
Let’s beat the stink off the Knicks!!!
Truth-Serum
December 4th, 2009
9:36 am
Ken Sugiura, I have no problem with the frequency of your post. Why should we demand that you feed and cater to us when we post the same tired, worn, stale blogs,no matter what you write?
I find what you do post to be enough to continue the excitement about the hawks 09/10, campaign. Thanks for what you do. Its refreshing.
Truth-Serum
December 4th, 2009
9:38 am
Steve , “Boss” is a nickname for Horford.
Sautee
December 4th, 2009
9:42 am
Ed posted this on the Hawks Fan Nest and I thought it needed to be seen here:
SN’s (Sports Ilustrated) TOP 50 PLAYERS
1. Kobe Bryant, SG, Lakers
2. LeBron James, SF, Cavaliers
3. Dwyane Wade, SG, Heat
4. Dwight Howard, C, Magic
5. Tim Duncan, PF, Spurs
6. Chris Paul, PG, Hornets
7. Kevin Garnett, PF, Celtics
8. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Mavericks
9. Carmelo Anthony, SF, Nuggets
10. Paul Pierce, SF, Celtics
11. Steve Nash, PG, Suns
12. Deron Williams, PG, Jazz
13. Tony Parker, PG, Spurs
14. Brandon Roy, SG, Trail Blazers
15. Yao Ming, C, Rockets
16. Shaquille O’Neal, C, Cavaliers
17. Pau Gasol, PF, Lakers
18. Chris Bosh, PF, Raptors
19. Amare Stoudemire, PF, Suns
20. Chauncey Billups, PG, Nuggets
21. Kevin Durant, SF, Thunder
22. Manu Ginobili, SG, Spurs
23. Jason Kidd, PG, Mavericks
24. Tracy McGrady, SG, Rockets
25. Joe Johnson, SG, Hawks
26. Derrick Rose, PG, Bulls
27. Ray Allen, SG, Celtics
28. Gilbert Arenas, PG, Wizards
29. Ron Artest, SF, Lakers
30. Vince Carter, SG, Magic
31. Danny Granger, SF, Pacers
32. Baron Davis, PG, Clippers
33. Devin Harris, PG, Nets
34. Ben Gordon, SG, Pistons
35. Al Horford, C, Hawks
36. Carlos Boozer, PF, Jazz
37. Nene, C, Nuggets
38. Rajon Rondo, PG, Celtics
39. Andre Iguodala, SG, 76ers
40. Josh Smith, PF, Hawks
41. Rudy Gay, SF, Grizzlies
42. Hedo Turkoglu, SF, Raptors
43. Lamar Odom, SF, Lakers
44. Shane Battier, SF, Rockets
45. Elton Brand, PF, 76ers
46. Richard Jefferson, SF, Spurs
47. O.J. Mayo, SG, Grizzlies
48. Charlie Villanueva, PF, Pistons
49. Michael Redd, SG, Bucks
50. Andrew Bynum, C, Lakers
Yes, it’s likely just some writer’s view, but I found it interesting that Al was rated higher than Josh (I don’t think he should be), AND that Al was the fourth Center listed, only behind Howard, Yao, and Shaq.
Rod from College Park
December 4th, 2009
10:12 am
Some of you really do need to take a hip-hop class. To hate on something or somebody is when you have no reason to dislike them or it. Stop using this hater term because you heard on on a rap song. If people dislike something, they can express a point without hating. I dislike Marvin’s game and I have a reason to dislike his game. That does not mean I am hating. If he came out and averaged 20ppg and 8rpg and I still dogged him then I would be hating. Not the case.
Sautee
December 4th, 2009
10:20 am
A correction: I copied and pasted this list without looking, but it comes NOT from Sports Illustrated, but from The Sporting News. And it was chosen by a panel of dozens of coaches, former players, analysts, GMs, and broadcasters. It was NOT the opinion of a single writer, as I had suspected. Sorry for the misinformation.
Here’s the link: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/46066/nbas_top_50_players_all-star_panel_picks_kobe_bryant_no._1_over_lebron_james
Sam
December 4th, 2009
10:42 am
Really people, save your venom for someone who deserves it – CYNTHIA TUCKER THAT WITLESS HYPOCRITICAL IGNORAMUS. Idiot commented on GDP recently. Can you believe that? That economic illiterate commented on GDP. WERE TALKING GDP.
And if Dominique would just reverse his subject-verb agreements. he’d speak correctly. But unfortunately – he have not and probably never will.
Go Hawks.
nunna yo buzinezz
December 4th, 2009
10:45 am
big ray,
don’t look for randmo..i agree,he has shown in not only in the last 2 games that he deserve meaningful minutes,but,he also showed his play,early on last year..
he will be back at the end of the bench again,and teague will get his usual 5 minute first half cameo tonite..and unless woody has a change of heart,teague will also get a 2 minute 2nd half cameo as well..
look for us to play with a tired bunch and lose in dallas tomorrow..
woody should use his bench tonite and tomorrow,but he won’t..even if the game is close and we’re losing,he should let his bench get good burn time in..you never know,some of the hottest guys playing the next 2 games might be a combo of starters and bench players who could help us win both games..
nunna yo buzinezz
December 4th, 2009
11:03 am
sam,
u sound like a backwards voice machine for the rnc..
get over it,obama won,the jobs report this morning is showing the stimulas is working,the rnc nor its senate and congressional leaders have no healthcare plan only tax cuts,lol..
dick cheney and his daughter are afraid that if the world found out what he did,that he would be in jail..
obama was born in hawaii,not kenya..
obama is not a racist,hell,his mom and the people who raised him were white and he is around them more and surrounds himself more with them than his own black folks,lol..
lets see,oh yea,cheney and bush both never went to vietnam..
bush’s grandad worked for hitler,and im sure the fams have a lot of his beliefs intrusted among themselves and their friends..
bush’s dad got him into the national guard and the chicken hawk went straight awol as fellow airmen never seen him except in the bars in alabama..
cheney got 7 deferrements not to go to vietnam..but he,the rnc,and his daughter liz continue to try to make him some kind of hardline,kick a– type of guy..when he is as chicken as they come..
sara palin is a dimsy as they come..she can’t put together a speech correctly but you nimnuts want to say she is qualified,and better qualified than our current president is..
the president of afghanistan hamid karzai,was a bush crony who worked for gw,wearing suits and looking very western,then as bush helped him go back to his country to help his brother funnel opium to the world,then he wants to dress up like a homelander and act afghan..
he is and was a plant,and obama knows it,but now,he can’t do what he wants to with him and thats get him out of office..
because u see,harming a foreign leader is harmless,and with all the damage that bush has done that obama has to clean up,we are in this mess that seems like it will never go away..more enemies than we have ever had..thanks sam,cheney,and gw..thanks a lot!!!!
im sorry..no more politicing..back to sports..
and ken,you can delete this once it goes up..i just wanted sam to see it..
Daniel
December 4th, 2009
11:24 am
Sautee- thanks for the list. I know it is not yours, but it is totally bogus. Is this supposed to reflect 2009-2010? Yao and Shaq? what one is not even playing and the other is barely playing. McGrady in the top 50? whatever. Brandon Roy over Joe Johnson? Hogwash! I would have Joe at 19, Josh at 28, and Horford at 35.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 4th, 2009
11:37 am
LOL at everyone telling me off in honor of Ken Sugiura. Hand clap for you guys. Didn’t realize my comment would cause such a stir. Just answer me this one question. Do you want a regular Hawks Beat Blog Writer? I do and therefore I will be glad if and when the AJC finds a regular Hawks Beat Blog Writer.
“Mike Woodson said before the game that he wanted to go somewhere between 8-6 and 10-4 for the month, which puts even more of an emphasis on the rest of those games. Not much margin for error.”
Oh lord, SMH :-/, does this mean he expects the team to lose? Why not expect great? 14-0
GO HAWKS, CONTINUE THE RISE, ONE GAME AT A TIME!
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
12:05 pm
I think we caught somebody on a bad hair day or something…lol…good lord..
tb ,
I hear ya. Fight the power!
Daniel ,
Yeah, I recall that rather clearly. Oh, it could have gotten more entertaining and after the “you sound like Smeagal in the Lord of the Rings” comment, but I decided that it had gone past debate and into something else at that point. Heh…still, I had quite a bit of ammo ready for that argument. No pun intended…wait, yes it WAS intended.
Daniel
December 4th, 2009
12:08 pm
Mz. Hawkdafied- Let me be clear in supporting your right to rip anyone you want. You go!
RLP
December 4th, 2009
12:11 pm
I’ve got a couple of comments on the discussion today about the AJC and this blog.
The blog first – This is the first blog I ever participated on in my life. I got into it for the first time in about October, 2008 when the Hawks were doing so well. I was wanting more than I could get from reading the sports pages. After finding this place it took me a little while as it does all newbies to really get into what it was all about. I suspect it is the same with Ken. So on that issue I will gladly go on record as supporting what he is doing.
After I had been on this site for several months my son turned me on to another site. That site is http://www.secfanatics.com/vbulletin/index.php. It is called the SEC Sports Forum. I do not go to that site for sports however. The reason I am mentioning it is because of the overwhelming technical advantages it has over this site. First you must join the site but there is no fee to do so. You can view the site and what it is all about without joining the site so you can see what it is all about. If you do decide to participate several things happen. As you begin to participate your messages will show the number of times you have submitted a pointing. As you participate more and more you gain a ranking which is an indicator of how much you participate. You start as a private. My son who has belonged to the forum since 2004 holds the rank of Super Moderator and has posted 34,595 times. Another neat feature is that the other members of the blog can give you what the site calls Reps. The Reps can be either positive or negative. The number of Reps you receive are shown as your Rep Power along with the other information about your rank and the number of postings you have done plus your location and your age should you chose to divulge that information. You have a profile page where you enter the data you want shown. Another nice feature is that you have the ability to do much more formatting of your entries by bolding, italicizing, quoting and showing links as you write. It then offers you an opportunity to preview your posting before you submit it. I think most of you would enjoy a lot of the features and more that space does not allow me to add.
Along with those features is another feature which is nice. The site gives you the ability to conduct private conversations with others who are members of the site. I will give you an example of how this could be used. Recently I got into a debate with Ken Strickland about his negativity on this site toward Woody. I had reasons to take him on that I would prefer not to discuss in a public forum. Now I do not know him at all and I had no means of having a private discussion about the issue here. Had this occurred on the SEC Fanatics site I believe I could have communicated with him much more successfully without boring the blog with that discussion. I think that would have been a better way to handle such issues.
Once you enter the site there are a large number of different blogs you can go to. There is a site foe SEC Football. There are sub-sites within that area where you can discuss non-SEC football, recruiting or tickets. There are similar forums for SEC baseball, basketball, other sports, Around the NCAA non SEC sports, and fantasy sports. There is a forum for professional sports with sub-forums on baseball, football, basketball, etc. And then there are additional forums for Trash Talk, announcements, a Babe of the Day forum (No nudity), The Geek Zone, a site for Hunting, Fishing, Camping, Outdoors. There is even a forum for Bookie Wagering although it is with fake money.
But the only forum on the site I have ever participated on is the SECFanatics Think Tank. It is self described as “Talk /Debate the issues… such as Politics and Religion. Beware; not for the faint at heart. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!” This is where I go to discuss religion and politics. I actually get offended when people use the Hawks Blog to discuss political or other issues that are not on topic. Which reminds me that the moderators on the site have the capability to join two threads together if two posters start different threads on the same topic. Another nice feature of the site is that the moderators have the capability of monitoring the discussion and if members get out of hand they can be barred from discussions. Within the Think Tank I have yet to see this happen although moderators have posted general warnings when things have gotten a little heated.
Now I am describing this site because I think it has great features that the AJC does not have. This site is where I go to discuss the Hawks because it is primarily a local group who follows the Hawks. I have never even looked at the SEC site for a discussion of the Hawks. I am satisfied with the discussions on this site although it does not contain the technical aspects I wrote above on the other site. As far as this site itself is concerned you will notice that there is a space just below where you submit your suggestions about this page. After joining the other site I used the suggestion section below to suggest that the AJC consider buying the SEC Fanatics site as a possible money making venture and as a way to upgrade their online expertise. I think most of you would agree if you were to look at the site that it has a much higher degree of professionalism that does this site. I also suggested that if they did not want to buy the site they could add similar features to this site.
One final thing about that site. While I am not really trying to advertise the site to you but wanting you to see the technical advantages it has over this site there is one request I have. On this site there have been several references to the Bubba Posse. It would be very nice to have a little black pepper sprinkled on the comments in the SEC Think Tank to go with all the salt. So if any of you are inclined to get involved in political chatter I would welcome different points of view than are offered by the majority of posters. And if you want to know my point of view on politics you can probably figure out who I am on the posts since I am identified as my son’s Pa.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
12:21 pm
RLP you might want to check out
http://www.hawksquawk.net/community/index.php?act=idx
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
12:26 pm
Mz. Hawk. “Why not expect great? 14-0″ I hear ya. I don’t expect Woodson to say that he thinks the team will win them all, but I’d rather he say nothing than already count up losses.
He should leave that kind of stuff to us experts.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
12:34 pm
Big Ray I know you’re not talking about my hair lol
I was surprised by the top 50 thing putting Horf ahead of Smoove. I think Horf is getting a lot of love for his hard work as an under-sized C. The Hawks didn’t just start winning when Bibby came. Horf has been the biggest addition as far as the teams turn-around.
I think people see Horf as the new hybrid big. Big, strong, fast and athletic.
I think Smoove will be moving up the list shortly.
Big Ray
December 4th, 2009
1:08 pm
tb ,
Naw, the bad hair day was a comment meant to rattle Mz. Hawkdafied’s cage, not yours. I think she’s iggin’ me, though.
As for that top 50 list, you know how those things go. Opinions, opinions, opinions, and you can always find one that you totally don’t agree with. Here’s mine: what is Nene doing on that list, much less ahead of the guys he was ranked ahead of?
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 4th, 2009
1:18 pm
HaHaHa! LOL! Giggly, giggly! Seriously though I don’t care about this blog like that. I was just messing with you guys.
GO HAWKS! GO KEN SUGIURA!
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
1:20 pm
What do you think about our guys ascenion of that chart? I think all three of our players will move up as the Hawks continue to win.
How many teams can say they have three guys on the list and all three are likely to ascend?
Daniel
December 4th, 2009
1:21 pm
For those of you who may be interested the World Cup group selections is on right now. The US is in with England and Algeria. We are awaiting the 4th selection. We play England on June 12th first. Tough draw, but could be worse.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 4th, 2009
1:23 pm
Big Ray, keep stepping in and keeping the blog positive! Yeah I’ll be waiting to read the Hawks-Knicks blog. I was just messing. It doesn’t matter the title as long as the message gets across. No I’m not having a bad hair day by the way. LOL!
Daniel
December 4th, 2009
1:26 pm
And the 4th team is Slovenia!!! That is not a bad group for the US, who should be favored in all of the games execpt England.
Mz. Hawkdafied
December 4th, 2009
1:28 pm
tbhawksfan I think coach should have kept the between 8-6 and 10-4 to himself too. But I’d much rather go with the 10-4!
heyyyitsveeee
December 4th, 2009
2:08 pm
@Steve: Ryan Cameron says “BOSS” after every made FG by Al Horford because that’s his nickname given to him by Ryan Cameron. Al Horford and Josh Smith were both at the station and they were talking about how Josh Smith’s nickname is Smoove…so they had people call in to try to nickname Al Horford and Boss was the one he agreed to.
They’ve tried to do the same with Joe Johnson, but nothing has come up and he doesn’t agree to what the listeners suggest.
icecold
December 4th, 2009
3:13 pm
hey… i have a prediction… how bout if the hawks will lose only two games this year.. they will beat the good teams, but then some how they will lose to two of the teams that seam to be garentee wins.. its like they dont play as hard if they play a lesser opponent!!!
icecold
December 4th, 2009
3:15 pm
also.. randolph morris is showing that he really wants to get in the rotation.. everytime he gets to get in the game.. he plays hard, he actually does pretty good, and it seems that he has worked really hard. he should at least get in when people are in foul trouble… and whats up wit woody not playing mo evens.. he is good.. i dont get why he didnt play until the end of the blow out in toronto!! he can do it all off the bench!!! give him some more minutes!!!!
Daniel
December 4th, 2009
3:38 pm
icecold- so who should be playing less then if you want Morris and Evans in more? Horford? Za? Josh? or Joe Smith?
RLP
December 4th, 2009
3:58 pm
tbhawksfan:
Thanks for the reference. I have added the website to my bookmarks. I really like this site because I know the people who post but I hate the lack of technical expertise for us. Just a quick look at that site seems to indicate that it will have a better technical layout. It is a shame that the AJC does not have the resources to make this site better. The same is probably true for all of their blogs but this is the only one I use.
Ken Strickland
December 4th, 2009
4:17 pm
NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ-I contemplated responding to SAM’s political tirade, but chose not to, and I AM SO SO SO GLAD I DIDN’T. There’s no way I could have made such a profound, in your face, matter of fact comentary about these clowns that came oh so close to binging this country to the brink of social, politican and economic ruin. What’s amazing is the number of fools that continue to support these selfish, self serving, currupt, politically and economically motivated RNC incompetents. It makes you wonder, WHO’S THE BIGGEST FOOL, THE FOOL OR THE FOOL THE FOLLOWS THE FOOL. YOU ARE MY HERO.
Back to basketball. You must be reading my mind. Although I’ve tried to remain upbeat and make myself believe Woodson will finally see the light and allow the team to do what it does best and play the style it plays best, I just can’t help feeling exactly the way you expressed it.
When a HC says he’s not concerned about OFF, or he doesn’t keep up with mins, and is unwilling to designate his assistants to do so, it says only one thing to me. He loves having the title and authority of being a HC, but he simply isn’t able or willing to assume all of the responsibilities that goes with it. As HC, Woodson is responsible for all aspects of the teams entire operation, but mentally he has consistently approached it as if he’s still a DEF Coordinator who doesn’t have to worry about certain aspects of the team, like mins, OFF, strategy and bench. THE HAWKS NEED A REAL HC, NOT A GLORIFIED ASSISTANT.
KevinA
December 4th, 2009
4:22 pm
On the peach tree blog during game time chat we call Josh for his bad decisions and Smoooth for his good.
I posted that we ought to do the same for JJ – Joe for the good plays and Dick (Johnson) for the bad.
We are at home so I predict a Joe night. Go Hawks!
Ken Sugiura
December 4th, 2009
4:34 pm
wow. never expected I’d be the subject of the posts. I’ll try to answer your questions about what what my job is, and hope we can move on.
As the interim beat writer, I’m basically that. I’m covering the team until we get a new full-time writer. Part of the job includes blogging. I would agree with those of you who think I should be blogging more.
I covered Tech last year, and I think did a fairly good job on the blogging end of the job. However, having been a general assignment reporter since then, I haven’t had to maintain a blog and, so, to be completely honest, I’d fallen out of the routine of updating and following the blog regularly. For the time remaining, which I suspect is somewhere to the end of the month, I’ll try to do better.
If I’m making mistakes – as in factual errors – please let me know rather than carp about it. No one would want to know more than I would.
Ken Strickland
December 4th, 2009
4:34 pm
In reference to that top 50 list, it’s a bunch of crap. There’s no way anyone with a clue would place MGinobili, JKidd, TMcGrady, RAllen, GArenas, VCarter, BDavis, DHarris, KDurant or BGordon ahead of Josh Smith or Al Horford. I’d even question the inclusion of SOneal.
Every one of these players is either past his prime, unable to stay off IR or out of the training room and/or is one dimensional and can’t match the versatility of Josh or Al. All things being equal, how many GM’s or HC’s do you really think would take any of the above mentioned players over JSmith or AHorford if they had the choice?
Lacsho
December 4th, 2009
4:39 pm
OMG Daniel, thank you for the world cup update finally something we both agree on. The US should be ok. I wish Davies was playing though (bummer)
newkid
December 4th, 2009
5:05 pm
Heels @ Cats; 12:30 p.m. Saturday. John Wall (best college point guard in a generation), P.Patterson, and Cousins vs the young – and quickly maturing – guns from Chapel Hill. WOW! Go Heels!!
Ken Sugiura
December 4th, 2009
5:12 pm
ken strickland, i’m not saying you’re wrong, but the panel was, according to Sporting News, “107 Hall of Famers, major award winners, executives, current players and coaches and other basketball experts.”
that said, those 107 probably don’t watch Josh Smith as much as you do. On the other hand, they probably do watch Manu Ginobili, Vince Carter and the others a lot more than you.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
5:17 pm
I….can’t….resist……Ken, my man. It’s not about blog etiquette, it’s about the Hawks. What are you bringing to the table? Please bring it for however long your here.
If you want to find out about any factual errors that you might have made, you need only scroll up or go back to a couple previous blogs. But far be it from me to carp….
Enjoy the game ; )
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
5:25 pm
Daniel & Lacsho I’ll be closely watching the France/Mexico/South Africa/Uraguay group.
tbhawksfan
December 4th, 2009
5:28 pm
The top 50 lists are like the all-star game, too much of the vote goes to past acheivement and popularity. Smoove and Horf are moving up.
Ken Strickland
December 4th, 2009
6:59 pm
KEN SUGIURA-can’t argue with you’re assessment of that vote and the results. But, you have to admit, some of those judging had to be making their assessment based on what some of those players were capable of doing the peak of their careers, not currently.