Quick hits: Spirit mute; Thomas climbs; Obama goes red

First FINALLY!

And all the way from Seattle!

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After 3 hours, there’s only 3 comments. That’s still 3 more than Terence would have gotten after an hour.

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just about Hawks basketball (which I mean he could drop some lines about JSmoove’s improvement this year, or Horford’s improvement—or the fact the Hawks will win more games this season than any Hawks teams since 1994). He writes about the ASG everyday . .i think he finds it therapeutic.

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[...] Schultz: No response from Spirit Has anybody seen the Atlanta Spirit? They were here just a minute ago . . . a I’m not saying anything and you can’t make me. [...]

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Who gives a rats ass who ‘The President’ picks? His time would better spent on a jobs pool vs. a basketball pool. Like Tech, he is ONE AND DONE!

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Which is better….one and done in the NCAAs or a deep run in the NIT?

http://thesportsdebates.com/2010/03/17/the-nit-winner-or-ncaa-tournament-loser-debate%E2%80%A6-the-nit-is-the-losers-bracket/

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i guess this will suffice for the lack of tuesday’s countdown (i’m assuming the Count had a low red blood cell count). didn’t obama pick the winner last year? maybe if we flood the ATL Spirit’s phones with phone calls, they’ll come up with a statement.

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well it’s a done deal that Tech will go out in rd 1 now that Obama has picked them to win against OSU. Everything else he backs turns into a huge failure so this is the “kiss of death” on GT’s season…

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Good job Jeff.Is it any wonder that attendace is poor for these two teams when the ownership has no interest in keeping them viable. You could have also added The Spirit is broke.

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“Nice job, guys,” said with sarcasm as you did, is something these guys should be used to. It’s a miracle the Hawks are as good as they are under this group.

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Keep filling out those brackets and ignoring the imminent threat the president and his party pose to this country.

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“– Odds on the mascot of the winning team: mammal (5-4), human (2-1), bird (2-1), reptile (40-1) or other (17-4). For what it’s worth, a “Blue Devil” is considered human. Some might dispute that.” – JS

And what are the odds of the little mascot having a painted a$$? What are the odds of the little mascot being pulled into an electrical closet, held down, and having his a$$ painted? Not very good.

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Thank you, Greg.

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i love that the right wing nutjobs that atlanta is famous for come on a sports blog to spread their hate.

keep typing, fellas. just reminds everyone why the republicans were voted out in the first place.

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Uh, guys…..Can I come back now? This whole New Jersey thing isn’t quite working out. Nobody talks to me in the locker room and the guys making just over league minimum look at me every day like, “Did you REALLY turn down a $101 Million contract?”

I do have the best view of our offense scoring goals though. I’m usually right behind the guys who are shooting and scoring. I miss Atlanta. I finally found out what they meant about the whole, “Kiss her where it smells…..So I took her to New Jersey” thing.

Anyways, can I come back now? I’d LOVE to take that $101 Million now…..I’ll even take less. If you’ll only take me back, I promise I’ll never leave again…..really.

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“Keep filling out those brackets and ignoring the imminent threat the president and his party pose to this country.”

I’ll just point out the economic collapse predates the current administration. Thanks for trying, though.

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PS: Jeff…we read the sports page so that maybe SOMEWHERE we don’t get Obama and how great he is shoved into our faces. Please leave him out. I’m just suprised Obama did say that some schools have an unfair advantage and we need to “redistribute” the players so everyone could be a winner…oh, wait…winners aren’t allowed anymore, I forgot. Participation Trophies for EVERYONE!!! No winners, no losers. Competition and excellence based on performance is something Obama and Dems are totally against…so why does his bracket even matter?

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I live in Alaska. Its so far west that I can see Russia from my house!! Now Beat That.

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Oh Boy, just what I was looking for, a political blog.

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Last?

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Man, the Hawks are playing great basketball, are going to be the third seed in the East, and Josh Smith is being feature in SI. And all you can do is snipe at the owners about stuff nobdody cares about. Are you a sports reporter anymore?

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last of the AJC subscribers = Atlanta Spirit staffer

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Jeff – Please post a blog once you get a reply/denial….if you get one.

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Um, I was just asking if you get a reply back from Waddell or the owners if you would let me know.

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I, for one, sincerely hope the Thrashers, Philips Arena, and the Hawks are for sale. It’s been mostly bungled by this group. Though, I must give them credit for the 7-game series between the Hawks-Celtics. And the Hawks won a playoff series. So, that’s something to show for years and years of building. But that they leave Waddell in charge, is indefensible.

I want new owners. I think most fans want new ownership. I think these guys’ prior ventures are what they should focus on. They are not really great sports owners. They believe things like, “longevity at a post is how you get better. You learn from your mistakes.” That’s a nice theory. That’s some fine ol’ “Ivory Tower, Academia” at work. But in the real world, it adds up to financial losses, a lack of FAITH from the fan base, and no accountability for the players, coaches, and GM’s. Last time I checked, all those things were “bad” things.

All I wanted for Christmas was a new GM. Now, I want new owners!

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Odds I wouldn’t want to bet on:

GT under 15 turnovers
GT over 65% FT’s made
Hewitt to have a timeout left with 2 minutes to go in the game
GT to have zero turnovers on in-bounds play
GT to give up zero easy shots on in-bounds play under opponent’s goal

By the way, all of this is related to coaching, not the players. If these things were issues occasionally, but not epidemic, I might think otherwise.

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Jeff this is your best analysis…you left out the major decision maker: BL…the fan base would be incredible by now and it did grow during a brief run but came to halt

Brendan — That’s a very difficult call. Obviously DW has failed to build a winning franchise, develop players, grow the sport or cultivate a large fan base in Atlanta. So I guess it starts with him. … From there you could go with early personnel decisions (Damian Rhodes as your stabilizing influence in goal behind an expansion roster) or philosophy (trying to have an open attacking style right away with slow, less-talented players.) The Minnesota route (better coach, better system) would’ve created more early success. …
2) As for Dan Marr (a great guy, by the way), Don ultimately makes the decisions so I don’t put it on Dan.
3) Kari Lehtonen — definitely a problem because he was expected to be first franchise goalie;
4) Heatley/Snyder — obviously a huge setback but remember they got a good player in return (Hossa) and made the playoffs, so issues thereafter weren’t really because of the accident;
5) Obviously the Coburn trade was a crusher. I didn’t criticize Don much for that because he believed (and I believed) they HAD to make trades to get into the playoffs, and they did. The bigger problem was that because of poor previous decisions, he had to make desperate trades.
6) Significant. Very significant. Part of a long-term problem of believing every young player on the roster was going to be better the following year and every older player would be just as good. This gets back to building.
7) I’ve said it enough times: Bob got jobbed. Do I think he had lost the locker room? Yes, absolutely. But that’s more a statement on the players in the room than Bob.
I never thought Hossa was going to re-sign here. If they had foreseen that, they might’ve gotten more in a trade if they moved him earlier.
9) Kovalchuk — Obviously a step back. Once again, failed to read the tea leaves. Ended up getting too little for him.
10) I think you know my stand on that one.

If I had to pick one thing, you have to go back to the beginning. No. 1. DW is the only one who’s been here from the outset. Not everything is his fault, obviously. Hands are somewhat tied now by ownership. But if his blueprint worked from the outset, the franchise would’ve been more successful and the current owners would not have put limitations on him. Remember, when the Atlanta Spirit first took over, they allowed Don to spend money

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yeah, i think Schultz has beef with the ASG so he writes every piece of crap he can about them … it gets old. Cover some facts, and stop writing rumors. Oh, the ASG didn’t get back to you … wah wah, probably b/c you don’t report the facts anyways?

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Ownership will not respond to your questions because all you’ve done is rag on them week after week after week! Schultz, you went to NHL Commissioner BETTMAN and complained about the ASG ownership situation!

Do you really need a FAN to explain to you why your calls/e-mails aren’t being returned?

DUH….

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Screw you Lee and the Sarah Palin you rode in on!!!!

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Feb 3rd 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “Thrashers blow it with Kovalchuk, as with everything else.” “Don’t fall for the spin. Don’t fall for, “He’s disloyal,” or, “He’s selfish,” or, “We did everything we could for him.” And please, certainly don’t fall for, “We’re building something special here.” “The Thrashers’ organization botched this by not getting serious a year ago about signing the best player they’ve ever had.” “But most of all, the Thrashers have blown it in the big picture. General manager Don Waddell has been unable to build a winner. The thumb-twirlers of the Atlanta Spirit, either because of stubbornness or indifference, have been unwilling to do anything about it. The franchise has burned bridges with old fans. It has failed to attract new ones. People have gone from excited to angry to just not caring any more. Count the empty seats. The situation is angering NHL commissioner Gary Bettman because he wants the Atlanta market to succeed, but he has been subjected to a financially struggling and rudderless franchise that could be sold or moved again.”

Feb 4th 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “Kovalchuk dealt to New Jersey in sad, expected ending.” “This isn’t a new practice with the Thrashers, just an evolving one.” “This isn’t just a trend any more. It’s a disturbing franchise trait, with no sign of change in sight.” “Kovalchuk was traded Thursday night to New Jersey. His exit was predictable since last season, when the team struggled (again), failed to amend for past mistakes (again), failed to accurately gauge the market (again) and in the end was forced to desperately deal him for another questionable package of players and prospects.” “Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ general manager, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. Don Waddell? He has been the architect of disaster central in Atlanta since Day 1. Anybody want to venture how this one turns out?”

Feb 7th 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “…when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about the myriad problems the league’s Atlanta franchise is having…” “The Atlanta Spirit owners want you to believe all is well. But now somebody above them is saying the same thing as everybody below them.” “The group’s lack of commitment to doing what it takes to build a winning hockey franchise – and their seeming indifference to the problems – have worn on Thrashers’ fans and, to a degree, players.” “The Thrashers are failing on several fronts…They have failed to cultivate new fans. They’ve burned bridges with old ones…On the ice, it’s no better. If the playoffs opened today, the Thrashers would be on the outside for the ninth time in 10 seasons. They also just traded the face of the franchise, Kovalchuk, to New Jersey, which leaves the team lacking a marketable star. Rumors of the franchise being sold and moved are constant.” “The problem has been the mismanagement of the franchise, on and off the ice.”

Feb 9th 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “Lehtonen trade is another blemish on Thrashers’ draft history” “When Lehtonen was traded Tuesday night to the Dallas Stars, it punctuated the franchise’s largely inglorious draft history, primarily with their early selections.” “Maybe that’s why we’re constantly checking for a pulse in Philips Arena.” “The Thrashers’ drafts — compounded by poor player development — have been at the forefront of Atlanta’s problems.”

March 17th 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “Has anybody seen the Atlanta Spirit? They were here just a minute ago . . .” “The New York Times writes an interesting story on pro sports ownership and the economy. The article mentions the Hawks and the Thrashers as teams that may be on the market. Hmmm.” “Sent emails to two owners (Mike Gearon, Bruce Levenson), two general managers (Rick Sund, Don Waddell) and the heads of the teams’ respective public relations departments.” “No response. No denial. Certainly no confirmation. Not even a, “We’re not going to comment on every story that comes out” non-denial/denial.” “But to flat out respond to a story with silence is flat out unprofessional and allows speculation to linger in an already unsettled economic sports market. Nice job, guys.”

March 19th 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “I complained to Gary Bettman? Wow. Right. I forced Gary Bettman to say those things.”

Well Mr Schultz, three days after Kovalchuk was traded, you asked Bettman “about the myriad problems the league’s Atlanta franchise is having…” It doesn’t exactly sound like you presented Commissioner Bettman with a list of the franchise’s successes over the years, now does it?

March 19th 2010, Jeff Schultz wrote: “As for Don, he and I actually have had a fairly open relationship for 11 years. Even when I wrote something he didn’t like, he has spoken to me. I’ve always respected him for that. I’ve said it before — Don’s a great guy. This time represented a departure, which leads me to believe the “silence” stance was not his call. But that’s just a guess.”

WOW! Completely missed all that stuff about Don Waddell being “a great guy”! Was that in a past life or something?

Jeff Schultz is completely BAFFLED as to why Don Waddel and the Thrashers ownership won’t respond to his e-mail inquiries…

Anyone care to point out to Jeff Schultz THE MOST LIKELY REASON WHY?

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[...] Schultz: No response from Spirit Has anybody seen the Atlanta Spirit? They were here just a minute ago . . . a I’m not saying anything and you can’t make me. [...]

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[...] Schultz: No response from Spirit Has anybody seen the Atlanta Spirit? They were here just a minute ago . . . a I’m not saying anything and you can’t make me. AKPC_IDS += "4736,";Popularity: 1% [?]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Ufc Live Vera vs. Jones Preview", url: "http://crga.info/sportsbooks/ufc-live-vera-vs-jones-preview/" }); [...]

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[...] Schultz: No response from Spirit Has anybody seen the Atlanta Spirit? They were here just a minute ago . . . a I’m not saying anything and you can’t make me. [...]

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just curious… You have to be within Atlanta STUPID Group…. Because your comments are just that… STUPID !!!!!!!!!!!

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Comrade Obama goes red? He already was.

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2 and done!!!!, how did your teams turn out this year?
uga football- 8-5
uga basketball- 14-17
uga baseball- 8-13

Man, those are some great teams…

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Damn tyger, I’m forwarding this to Dimitroff………………… If all the effort why not spell Falcons correctly or is that some kind of back handed commentary

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