Presenting 5 top storylines for Atlanta sports in 2010
Santa Claus will be comin' to town soon enough. Will the Eastern Conference finals follow? (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
1. Will the Hawks reach the Eastern Conference finals? Step by inexorable step, this team keeps moving. It made the playoffs in 2008 and won a series in 2009. Can it do what the Hawks haven’t done since 1970 — when they were based in the West, not the East, and you needed only one series victory fo reach the conference finals — and play for the right to go to the NBA finals? Bradley’s prediction: Yes, they can. Yes, they will.
2. Will Ilya Kovalchuk re-up with the Thrashers? This isn’t so much about a player as it is a franchise. The Thrashers have made a bright start to the season, but all that goes poof if Kovalchuk won’t agree to stay. It has been a decade-long struggle to sell hockey in this Southern city, but if the franchise player leaves, will the franchise itself be long for the A-T-L? Bradley’s prediction: Kovalchuk stays, simply because Don Waddell has to pay him whatever it takes.
3. Will Georgia Tech qualify for a bowl ever better than the Orange? Here’s another story of progress: The Jackets were 9-4 in Year 1 under Paul Johnson and went 11-2 and won the ACC championship in Year 2. The Ramblin’ Wreck, alas, figures to hit a speed bump. At least two juniors — defensive end Derrick Morgan and B-back Jonathan Dwyer — are apt to leave in the NFL draft, and receiver Demaryius Thomas could join the exodus. And Tech’s defense is at least a year away from anything bigger than a league title. Bradley’s prediction: Tech goes 9-3 and doesn’t win the ACC.
4. Will Georgia ever hire a defensive coordinator, and will he improve on what we’ve just seen? The search now figures to last into the new year, and that’s not necessarily bad news. (No matter how halting the early returns have been.) There’s still a chance Georgia can make a big run at former Bulldog Kirby Smart, who’s coordinating Alabama’s D at the moment, and that would be a significant upgrade. Then again, just about anybody would be. Bradley’s prediction: Georgia hires a big name and sees results immediately.
5. Can Paul Hewitt take Tech on another long NCAA run? It hasn’t happened since 2004, when Hewitt took the Jackets to the NCAA title game, and another big season is long overdue. The deflating loss to Florida State in the ACC opener aside, there’s enough time and resources for something good to happen. And Hewitt, to be frank, needs something good to happen. Bradley’s prediction: The Jackets qualify for the Big Dance as a No. 5 seed and play into the second week, losing in a regional final.
Now what, you’re asking about the Falcons? Well, the biggest story regarding them figures to be decided by Jan. 3, 2010, when we’ll know for sure if the forever-sought consecutive winning seasons have been attained. And the Braves? Well, after the events of today — Javier Vazquez for Melky Cabrera — we might be doomed to another summer of flailing.
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216 comments Add your comment
Vince Dooley
December 23rd, 2009
8:40 pm
Here’s why UGA didn’t win a National Title in 1927 (The next year was Tech’s 2nd Title)
Georgia was highly rated to start the 1927 season and justified their rating throughout the season going 9–0 in their first 9 games. Alexander’s plan was to minimize injuries by benching his starters early no matter the score of every game before the UGA finale. On December 3, 1927, UGA rolled into Atlanta on the cusp of a National Title. Tech’s well rested starters shut out the Bulldogs 12–0 and ended any chance of UGA’s first National Title.
Paul in RDU
December 23rd, 2009
9:28 pm
Starring Small Johnson and The Joke from GT
December 23rd, 2009
8:06 pm
….
UGA has 5 national championships in 1980, 1968, 1946, 1942, 1927
…
Claiming an MNC in 1946 and 1968!!! Now here is an idiot who posts without knowing anything about college football – or about the polls. And I love the claim for 1927 – a year when UGA lost to GT in their last game of the year.
Anyone who claims an MNC for UGA in 1968 knows nothing about CFB. They went 8-1-2 losing in the Sugar Bowl. Meanwhile, the 1968 Ohio State team was undefeated and untied, blew out Michigan and USC and is generally thought to be one of the best college teams in history.
But heck – UGA was picked #1 by a professor of Chemical Engineering at Vanderbilt (Litkenous).
Just about every poll in 1946 picked Army or ND. UGA was picked by the Williamson
Williamson System (1932-63), a power rating system
chosen by Paul Williamson of New Orleans, Louisiana, a
geologist and member of the Sugar Bowl committee.
Forbes report
December 23rd, 2009
9:38 pm
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4769003
“Rounding out the first 10 in Forbes’ Top 20 list are Penn State, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma.”
UGA does it EVERY year, too!
Chew on that “$1.4 million Shreveport vs. our $14 million BCS Orange bowl”
30-24 Dawgs - WE RUN THIS STATE
December 23rd, 2009
11:46 pm
techies, don’t forget Ealey and King will be back in 2010 to continue torching your defense as they run untouched and continue to RUN THIS STATE!
30-24 ALL YEAR LONG, and don’t you forget!
17 of 20
December 24th, 2009
5:20 am
You bulldogs make me laugh out-loud. You think you are something you are not. Your coaches record in the conference is 47-20. That is only good for 4 place since he has been there.
GTBandwagonmaster
December 24th, 2009
6:14 am
17 of 20, it’s 50-22 dumbazz.
17 of 20
December 24th, 2009
7:21 am
I made a mistake, he is 52-23 a whopping 69% winning percentage. What a great coach.
Pickle Eater
December 24th, 2009
7:33 am
17 of 20 – wait until your scuzzy, cry baby, coach has a few more years under his belt. your boy has not built anything…just inherited what spurrier started.
Spike
December 24th, 2009
10:09 am
UGA-30. ACC Champs-24. Suck on it, Tech. Are any of you poindexters going to punch me in the face? BWAHAHAHHAHHAHA!
$1.4 million Shreveport vs. our $14 million BCS Orange bowl
December 24th, 2009
10:21 am
Merry Christmas and Happy Shreveport to the entire, azz hole dog nation!
1. Please be careful as you begin your trek across Northern Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
2. If you hit Texas or Arkansas please stop and ask for directions.
3. Please invest in a new road atlas. I hear they have them marked down at all Fred’s and Wal Mart for $4.88. And only $4.99 at Dollar General.
4. Please, before leaving, turn your watch back one hour and your calendar back 30 years. This should be pleasant for you as it will put you near the early 80’s which you own!
5. Please play your Harry Munson Glory Years 8 track tape the entire way over to get your juices flowing so to speak.
6. Please change your oil before you go.
7. Please remember to leave some road kill for those traveling behind you that are more needy.
8. Please DO NOT cook your road kill at any of the rest stops along the way (at least the first ones you come to in each state).
9. I know Georgia travels “well” but please also try to travel discretely.
10. Please, if anything falls off of your truck, just leave it. Remember, there are TWO Wal-Mart’s in Shreveport
11. Please try some of the crawdad stew at the west bound rest area in Vicksburg MS.
12. Please clean up your tailgate trash before entering the Shreveport stadium
13. Please do not leave the stadium in the 3rd or 4th quarter if your team is taking another BEAT DOWN
14. Please do not drive into Kirby Smart’s Birmingham subdivision on your way home.
15. Please do stop by Legion Field in Birmingham and claim your Papa Johns bowl victory for next year.
16. Please refrain from calling or emailing President Adams and Damon Evans until you get home
17. Please make sure your Cable bill is paid up so you can watch real teams play in real (January) bowls.
18. Please make sure your Rivals bill is paid up so you can feel better about yourself and your program before signing day.
19. When spring gets here, please share with us how great your new weedwacker is
20. You are always preseason national champions in my book!
Ed
December 24th, 2009
12:12 pm
Has anyone told $1.4 million that his Jackets lost to Georgia this year – 30-24? He seems to be confused about who has the bragging rights.
Chew on this while watching your $14 mill bowl game:
THIRTY TO TWENTY FOUR
30-24
3-0-2-4
treinta a veinticuatro
dreißig bis Zwanzig vier
trente à vingt-quatre
30から24
三十到二十四
30 до 24
Got it?
scottbravesfan
December 28th, 2009
11:19 pm
Maybe if people in atlanta actually attended sporting events your teams would be better because the teams would actually have money to spend on free agents? The Braves were two games back of the wild card and there were maybe 15,000 people at Turner Field. Kind of hard to spend money on a Jason Bay or Matt Holliday when people don’t show up for the games.
killerJ
December 29th, 2009
8:37 pm
Hey I Like That Creative Juice Tuck Fech,Makes Me Want To Say 4 Crystal Balls To One Pinky Ring And 11 Wins Is Alot Better Than 10. Tuck Pups,You Tuck,TURRY TUCKMUS !!
killerJ
December 29th, 2009
8:47 pm
P.S. To RDU,LOOK To The Books Dumba@#$%ss,No Ligit Journalist(No Pun Intended) Or Sports Fan Ever Voted You On Those Dates AS THE TRUE NATIONAL CHAMPION,GET OFF THE PAGE YOU TUCK PUCK!
GWJ
December 30th, 2009
10:26 pm
Georgia dominates Tech in the series……60-39-5
Brendan
December 31st, 2009
12:42 am
Mark Bradley, it’s a mistake to pay Kovy the max, just to keep him. All that does is “Bobby Holik” this team for the duration of the contract.
I’d offer him 10-years/$85 million, and if he says, “nyet,” I’d tell him to pack his bags for Edmonton, ‘cuze that’s where he’s being dealt by the deadline.