How they really stand — from Braves (1) to Jacket hoops (10)
Expect Braves to do some postseason celebrating, and maybe win division. (Hyosub Shin)
I was going to wait until after the NBA playoffs to reveal this year’s edition of the, “How They Really Stand” rankings, just on the chance that Hawks guard Jeff Teague (based on his Monday playoff debut) suddenly morphs into Oscar Robertson and Atlanta’s NBA franchise becomes the standard for area sports teams. But I’ll take a chance. Following are my completely unscientific rankings of the local pro and major college teams. (No Georgia State football yet; longer resume is needed). It’s impossible to do this without somebody reacting, “Schultz, you’re an idiot.” But I get that at breakfast every morning, so I’m OK with it. Rankings are based on current strength of team, franchise/program stability and direction. Last year’s rankings are in parenthesis.
♦ 1. Braves (2): They’ve tripped out of the starting gate. But this is too good of a roster to stay down for long. They have the pitching and hitting to win the National League East over Philadelphia, assuming Dan Uggla remembers that he’s supposed to be good. Success also hinges on limiting those TMZ-like moments.
♦ 2. Falcons (1): The league’s second-best record (13-3) last season isn’t meaningless, but the playoff loss to Green Bay exposed sinkholes. If wide receiver Julio Jones turns into the playmaker the Falcons expect, the draft day trade was a bold and great move. But defensive help is needed in free agency.
Your bipolar Hawks have put it together in playoffs. (AP photo)
♦ 3. Hawks (3): Many aspects of the franchise are up in the air, ownership included. But the elimination of Orlando was bigger than previous first-round series wins over Miami and Milwaukee. Winning the opener against Chicago, minus Kirk Hinrich, certainly wasn’t on the radar. Larry Drew deserves some credit, folks.
♦ 4. Georgia basketball (8): Mark Fox went from 14-17 in his first season to 21-12 with an NCAA tournament bid in his second. Has he proven everything? No. With
Mark Richt is trying to be Mr. Fix-it at Georgia. (Brant Sanderlin)
Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie leaving for the pros, Fox is going to be more dependent on his recruits now. But there’s no reason to doubt a man who has coached his players up from forgetting to pack their shoes on a road trip to making the tournament. He has changed the culture of Georgia hoops.
♦ 5. This space for lease (6): TSFL moves up one spot. Needed some space before we dropped to the next tier.
♦ 6. Georgia football (5): Mark
Brian Gregory has to do some convincing. (Johnny Crawford)
Richt’s win totals in the last four seasons: 11, 10, 8, 6. Athletic director Greg McGarity is giving him another year to fix the problems, dividing the fan base. But to his credit, Richt has been making staff changes and just put together potentially one of the top recruiting classes in the country. He says he feels “rejuvenated.” We anxiously await to see how he feels after the Boise State and South Carolina games.
♦ 7. Georgia Tech football (4): After going 20-7 with an ACC championship in Paul Johnson’s first two seasons, the Jackets descended to 6-7 last season (Johnson’s worst record since going 2-10 in year one at Navy). Tech had lost its best players to the NFL, but there were too many games when players seemed to be mentally drift. So expect Johnson to be meaner and snarkier in practices. Wait. Is that possible?
♦ 8. Atlanta Dream (9): They’ve come a long way since having a playoff game bumped for Sesame Street Live, reaching the WNBA finals last year. Look at me, talking women’s basketball. Electroshock therapy appointment scheduled for later this week.
♦ 9. Thrashers (10): The Thrashers gave us a couple of good months. That’s something. But in the end, they missed the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Not sure what the mathematical probability of that even is. The new general manager (Rick Dudley) and coach (Craig Ramsay) have been solid, but this franchise will go only as far as a thrift store budget will take it. The hope is the Thrashers don’t turn into something only after being unloaded from a moving van.
♦ 10. Georgia Tech basketball (7): Welcome to the bottom. Get comfortable. Paul Hewitt was paid $7 million to go away. He already has landed a job at George Mason. Tech is in a budget crunch and hired Hewitt’s replacement on the cheap. Now administrators are hoping new coach Brian Gregory can hold things together so recruiting doesn’t take a significant hit. Also, Iman Shumpert just went pro. For a rosier picture, see fund-raising pamphlets.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
– Earlier Tuesday: Countdown: Smoltz’s splat, Gators’ buzz, Newton to UFL!
– Earlier Tuesday: Twitter meltdown: Mendenhall seems to defend Bin Laden
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
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190 comments Add your comment
Hoopster
May 3rd, 2011
4:30 pm
This bogus column isn’t worthy of a response. Sadly the only way to convey this message is responding. Rat farts!
Kramer
May 3rd, 2011
4:30 pm
Braves….lol, you should boycott the Braves based on the fact you don’t know squat about the game. The loss of you as a fan means nothing.
Nebraska, the next Big Ten champions
May 3rd, 2011
4:35 pm
You know, all the teams in Georgia sux.
Larry
May 3rd, 2011
4:35 pm
GT football should be 9th and GT basketball should be 10th, both of those teams are AWFUL, Go Braves
tonyb
May 3rd, 2011
4:38 pm
Though I do understand you reasoning, I have to say Falcons should be 1 and Braves 2. I think Falcons have a little more to get to the top than do the Braves.
Ted Striker
May 3rd, 2011
4:40 pm
I’m still peeved that we don’t have a lingerie football team.
Shannon in Athens
May 3rd, 2011
4:42 pm
This is crazy. You have to ask “which team has the best shot of winning it all?”
It’s not the Braves.
1. Falcons.
2. UGA Basketball (easier to do than NBA)
3. Ga Tech basketball (ditto)
4. Braves
5. UGA Football
6. Hawks (NO FREAKIN CHANCE)
GTBob
May 3rd, 2011
4:42 pm
This list makes me sad for Georgia Sports. Most of these teams couldn’t win a tournament game or playoff series, or bowl game. UGA and GT sports in particular are pretty bad.
Let NONE in
May 3rd, 2011
4:45 pm
no way the Thrashers are NOT in last place. 11 years of sucking and still going strong.
JSS
May 3rd, 2011
4:49 pm
@ Ted Striker…
What day was the last day of the semester in Athens? Brother, you’ll get all that you’ll ever need to see the next morning! You should have gone to see The Raveonettes wth us along with my Goddaughter! It made me glad I’m old man and out the game!
Jackets21
May 3rd, 2011
5:02 pm
Schultz, do you actually live here? I can’t believe you are a sports beat writer for this city. The only thing even close to the popularity of UGA football might, and i say might, be the Braves. The Falcons following comes and goes with the performance. The Hawks are maybe a touch more popular than the Thrashers but it wasnt too long ago that most people couldnt tell you whether an NBA team even existed in Atlanta. Actually, I thought the Dream were Sesame Street Live. BTW, I’m a GT football not UGA fan, just telling the truth.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
5:05 pm
How many second round games have this incarnation of the Braves and Falcons won?
Hawks #1
(Yes, technically, a first round bye in the NFL is like making it to the second round. Also, getting sh-tted on by the Packers like they did in January is like the equivalent of the Hawks getting swept by the Magic last year.)
Pete The Petrel
May 3rd, 2011
5:13 pm
How ’bout the Ogelthorpe men’s golf team? Conference champs and #8 in the land!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
5:19 pm
1. Hawks
2. Braves
3. Falcons
4. fill in the blank
Tech Grad
May 3rd, 2011
5:21 pm
What about Walton girls tennis?
Tech Grad
May 3rd, 2011
5:22 pm
and the Buford High Football team……….
JSS
May 3rd, 2011
5:25 pm
@ Pete…
You got to be kidding? Augusta State won the whole NCAA D-1 Golf championship last year and there was not one line written about the feat! I bet if the Athens or Tech team won, they would haave been put on the front page!
@ Davenpoop…
What’s up with your stalker on the Hawks blog?
I’m still laughing at Braves and Falcons fans puffing up when it has been more than a decade since the former won a series I think… And the latter, well… It is well documented that they spit the bit (road or home)!
lanier
May 3rd, 2011
5:30 pm
Jeff how can you possibly rank the Braves 1st. This was a wild card team and are trending downhill.
The Falcons had the best record in the NFC and are trending upward
You have been here awhile amd should be aware of the local sports situation. Its amazing to me your prospective and I am a Braves fan above all else
Buckeye
May 3rd, 2011
5:31 pm
1. Wesleyan Wolves
2. Ohio State
3. Falcons
4. Hawks
5. Braves
Dead Last: uga
UGASlobberknocker
May 3rd, 2011
5:49 pm
UGA basketball ahead of UGA football.? That surely is a misprint. forme UGA football is #1, but overall in Atlanta I would rank them Braves are #1, Falcons #2 and UGA football #3..Hawks way down the list.
Section 303
May 3rd, 2011
6:05 pm
There is no way…NO WAY the Hawks are not #1. Schultz, you’re totally full of sh#t. Hawks are the #1 team in this town….really not even a debate to be had. Talk to me when the Braves or Falcons sniff the 2nd round of the playoffs.
nyomouth
May 3rd, 2011
6:13 pm
Since when was UGA in Atlanta? Im just saying…
nyomouth
May 3rd, 2011
6:16 pm
when will those UGA rednecks fire rick by the way…..dumbazzes…
mark33
May 3rd, 2011
6:16 pm
DawginLex- nice but you got the order wrong.
1-9. Kate Upton doing the dougie (man that chick is hot)
10. Braves cause they got 1 championship.
11+ everyone else.
nyomouth
May 3rd, 2011
6:17 pm
i call him rick because richt is boring….
@Nebraska, the next Big Ten champions
May 3rd, 2011
6:20 pm
It could be worse. We could live in God forsaken Nebraska, home of the Cornholers.
there are more prairie dogs than people..and thats just because the prairie dogs cant leave.
Oglethorpe golf?
May 3rd, 2011
6:24 pm
they definitely make the Top 10..of all the teams on Peachtree Rd between Brookhaven and 285..but thats if you dont count all of the church basketball teams along the way.
UGASlobberknocker
May 3rd, 2011
6:28 pm
Even I have to put Ga Tech basketball ahead of the Atlanta Dream. The Dream? are you kidding me?
with apologies to th Dream fans..all 14 of them.
Bull Dawg
May 3rd, 2011
6:38 pm
It’s tough being a bull dawg. Everybody calls you a leg humper but, the best you can do is a foot. It’s terrible being short and fat!
Thrashersfan
May 3rd, 2011
6:56 pm
Womens basketball is considered a sport?
D. Lowe (NHRA racer)
May 3rd, 2011
6:58 pm
Section 303, technically the Falcons made it to the second round with the first round bye. I agree with you though:
1)- Hawks ( deeper playoff run than any other team, save the Dream)
2)- Falcons ( Great regular season, bad playoffs, good draft, committed owner)
3) – Braves ( Sub .500 record through April, New coach, 3 ring circus, etc)
4) – everyone else is tied.
Woodsy
May 3rd, 2011
7:03 pm
1. UGA football – defending Fulmer Cup champions;
2. Hawks – won a playoff series;
3. Braves – won a playoff game;
4. Falcons – won their division but not a playoff game;
5. Dream – made the playoffs;
6. Kennesaw State – owned Georgia and Georgia Tech this year;
7. UGA basketball – made the playoffs but didn’t deserve it;
8. GT baseball – kings of the regular season;
9. Gwinnett Braves – beautiful ballpark but no fans;
10. GT football – not so beautiful ballpark and no fans;
11. GT basketball – destroying their ballpark and ran off their fans;
12. Thrashers – are they still in Georgia?
13. UGA baseball – from (almost) first to worst.
St. Clarkston
May 3rd, 2011
7:05 pm
Ha ha ha ha ha. It’s not the braves, falcons, hawks or jackets. It’s a team that doesn’t even play in Atlanta. UGA football.
M10
May 3rd, 2011
7:11 pm
Enter your comments here
M10
May 3rd, 2011
7:11 pm
I would easily put the Falcons and the Hawks over the Braves.
Coon-Dawg
May 3rd, 2011
7:27 pm
UGA baseball and gym Dawgs deserve 9-10 slots based on their last 5 year run !
Cletus Dooley Earnhardt SR.
May 3rd, 2011
7:41 pm
Nooo otther spportt exxist toa jOrga white redbloooded amerrricun malle other than UGA FOOTBAIL.
Thee otherr sportts aree for Mexiicans and BLACKSSS
-GO UGA FOITBALLL!
Al
May 3rd, 2011
8:12 pm
Thank goodness we waterboarded kalid steak and shake muhammad or we would have never found bin laden.
Get Real
May 3rd, 2011
8:28 pm
UGA Football #1. Not even close. Tell me how many of those Falcons, Braves, and Hawks fans would make a major contribution with only hopes of being able to buy tickets.
JSS
May 3rd, 2011
8:38 pm
Al… It wasn’t from those, he was done by 2005… It came from an low level underling, and they are saying it was from 2007 and included threatening his family…. The real info came in early 09 when the new FBI tactics got the the whereabouts of them after they had not been located in 2 years…
Sorry, I owe the Dream an apology. The would be the 2010 Eastern Conference champions!!!
Angie O'Plasty
May 3rd, 2011
9:05 pm
Fredi Gonzalez will be fired after 2012 season.
Akers
May 3rd, 2011
9:13 pm
Yes Braves are the city and entire south’s #1 team…not even close or up for discussion! If there was a vote the Braves would have well over 50%! I know football fans think football is king, but because of TBS and how the Braves have performed over the last 20 years they now have very deep roots. Btw…more kids still play baseball than any other sport!
Clint
May 3rd, 2011
9:22 pm
The Hawks are #1 based on actually winning in the playoffs. That’s something the Braves and Falcons didn’t do. The Braves are below .500 right now too so that doesn’t help their case.
zebra
May 3rd, 2011
9:45 pm
You still really do not get it. In the state of Ga.,even if UGA goes 0-11, they are still #1.
End of story.
BUZZ 2011
May 3rd, 2011
9:55 pm
GT basketball will soar………………Watch them fly..
BUZZ 2011
May 3rd, 2011
9:57 pm
Schultz has always been the fifth best judge of talent in Georgia..
Wait a minote, are there more than four sports writers?
GT willmake you ear crow and we love your picks..
Darryl Blackberry
May 3rd, 2011
10:06 pm
Buzz2011: What’s it like to have one’s ear crow? Sounds nasty. Don’t want my ear making “caw” noises. Nossir.
Jeff: I’ll pick This Space For Rent over the Thrashers. I hear they’re trying to sign This Gun For Hire in the offseason.
Delbert D.
May 3rd, 2011
10:09 pm
Will the 2 major college football teams in Georgia continue to resemble Colorado and Colorado State? Are the Braves one strained oblique away from oblivion? Will Shumpert find glory in a European developmental league? Can Julio Jones produce 3 TDs a game to rescue the Falcons defense?
Rankings Reflections based on previous bodies of work
May 3rd, 2011
10:21 pm
1. Braves – finally made the playoffs after a long absence but injuries and a bad case of Conrad probably cost them a shot at the World Series
2. Falcons – #1 Seed and BYE but got embarrassed and had an early exit
3. Hawks – made playoffs, got past the first round but still got pushed around by the bucks and then humiliated by the magic
4. UGA B’Ball – finished with overall winning record and winning record in the SEC, made The Field fought hard but was still eliminated
6. UGA F’Ball – down year started with loss the S. Carolina, could have beat Auburn with a better D, culminated in an ugly bowl loss to UCF
7. Tech F’Ball – losing overall record, .500 in the ACC. Lost to Georgia .. lost to Air Force in equally ugly bowl loss
8. WNBA – apparently made it to the finals? (I thought the WNBA folded a long time ago or was at least absorbed by the various Women’s College basketball teams? Apparently not, but it should be)
9. Thrashers – why are they even on the list? They’ve had 1 relevant year in their existence. Hurry up and fold them already or at least get them out of Atlanta .. this is a football/baseball state not hockey move em to Canada already
10. Tech B’Ball – bad overall record, horrible conference record, winning home record!!! woot!!! 1 win in 11 games on the road wth? hewitt gone!! woot!!! bad but not thrasher bad (why is that team on the list anways?)
Najeh Davenpoop
May 3rd, 2011
11:39 pm
“Tell me how many of those Falcons, Braves, and Hawks fans would make a major contribution with only hopes of being able to buy tickets.”
Is it really something to be proud of that a fan base will pay for the right to pay to watch a mediocre product in person?