The best thing I saw: J-Hey on Opening Day, Cam in the Dome
The monumental moment: Jason Heyward watches the wonder he'd wrought. (AP photo)
The great British music magazine Mojo has a holiday feature in which prominent music folks share The Best Thing They’ve Heard All Year. (This year’s installment offers Jeff Beck touting Trombone Shorty, Brian Eno lauding MGMT and Gene Simmons singing the praises of Lady Gaga.)
In the spirit of Christmas, er, borrowing, last year I identified Josh Nesbitt’s snatch of a recovered Georgia Tech fumble from Florida State linebacker Nigel Carr that wild night in Tallahassee as The Best Thing I’d Seen In 2009, at least sports-wise. (Only later would the Tech quarterback change his official designation to “Joshua Nesbitt.”) For this year’s BTIS, we rewind to …
April 5, 2010: Turner Field is packed for the Braves’ opener, which isn’t always the case. The masses have come to see the ballyhooed rookie Jason Heyward, who spent spring training demolishing vehicles parked behind the right-field wall at Champions Field in Lake Buena Vista. The game begins with Heyward, who hasn’t yet played an official big-league play, receiving the ceremonial first pitch from Hank Aaron, who had on April 8, 1974, surpassed Babe Ruth by hitting No. 715 in a Braves’ home opener.
Bottom of the first: Five of the first six Braves reach against Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano, who took a 3-0 lead to the mound. The No. 7 hitter watches the first two pitches. Then Heyward drive Zambrano’s third serve 446 feet. A three-run homer — to give the Braves a lead they’d keep, no less — on with his first big-league swing.
Says Terry Pendleton: “As soon as he hit it, we started high-fiving and saying, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ “
Looking back, Heyward’s Opening Day clout set the tone for a season of step-up moments. Of their 91 victories, the Braves came from behind in 45 — almost half. They won 25 times in their final at-bat. And they needed, as we know, every rally: They made the playoffs as a wild card by one game over San Diego.
Thirteen days after Opening Day, Heyward would deliver a walk-off single against Colorado 19 hours after the Braves had been no-hit by Ubaldo Jimenez. Two days after that, he would tie a game against Philadelphia with two out in the bottom of the ninth by hitting a home run off Ryan Madson. (Troy Glaus, who hadn’t hit a lick, touched off the tying rally with a two-run homer. Nate McLouth, who wouldn’t hit a lick, won it with a leadoff walk-off in the 10th.)
For TBTISAY, I considered another performance authored by another young Atlanta native playing in this city almost eight months to the day after Heyward’s emphatic debut. Cam Newton’s performance in the SEC championship game was so breathtaking it made folks wonder if the Auburn quarterback mightn’t be the greatest collegian ever. (Indeed, I asked Newton’s coach if he’d ever seen a better college player, and Gene Chizik, who’d been the defensive coordinator on the team Vince Young led to the 2005 BCS title, said he hadn’t.)
For a sustained performance, Newton’s on Dec. 4 trumped Heyward’s on April 5. (To match Newton’s game, Heyward would have had to hit four three-run homers.) But for a single moment, that one swing was my highlight of 2010.
By Mark Bradley
Cam Newton touches home plate, figuratively speaking. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
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132 comments Add your comment
Karl
December 22nd, 2010
5:45 am
The best thing I saw in 2010 was Phil Mickelson’s 210 yard 6-iron from the pinestraw on Sunday on the 13th hole at Augusta. A runner-up was his back-to-back eagles on 13 and 14 on Saturday – and he almost got three in a row only to see his third shot on 15 lip out.
ScoutDawg
December 22nd, 2010
6:17 am
I was there and saw a three person no hitter, that was my favorite moment, but damn I can’t wait to watch Jey Hey and Freddy Freeman belt ones this year.
ScoutDawg
December 22nd, 2010
6:18 am
I know it wasn’t this year but it was my favorite moment.
Answer man.
December 22nd, 2010
8:12 am
Best thing: Auburn breaking Bammer’s heart and coming back from 24 points down. 2nd best: Auburn destroying UGA. 3rd: Auburn destroying SC in the SEC Championship game. 4th: Lakedawg being disappointed when Auburn does not suffer sanctions. War Eagle!!!
ATL is TigerTown
December 22nd, 2010
8:15 am
Hey Booger, get your finger out of your nose….mouth….nose….mouth….nose. Yuck! You suck.
UGA89
December 22nd, 2010
8:30 am
Best thing I saw was GT rush for 411 yards against UGA (with it’s 2nd string QB no less), topping the 409 Tech racked up on UGA between the hedges in 2008. Nevermind that UGA won on the scoreboard –Tech’s turnovers were the sole reason for that. When GT stops turning the ball over I expect Tech to roll over UGA for years to come.
Welcome to 6-6 UGA, I expect that you will be mired in mediocrity for years to come, as I stated in ‘08 the zenith of the Richt years had come and gone.
As for Tech, the program is fine. 6-6 was a disappointment, but when you consider the wealth of talent that was lost you weren’t going to win the ACC this past season anyway. Tech will reach a BCS bowl again before the second-tier SEC East Dawgies will.
Fan of the Game
December 22nd, 2010
8:39 am
When was the last time you had Georgia boys of summer be the MVP of the Allstar Game and the World Series? Go Georgia High School Baseball!
1eyedJack
December 22nd, 2010
8:58 am
Scott Blair <————- Wide left!
Prof
December 22nd, 2010
9:01 am
Hey Mark,
I know Ledbetter is supposed to be the one covering the Falcons and all, but he’s falling down on his job. I need you to look into this one for me.
The NFL is covering up a cheap-shot against the Falcons. One of our guys got hit in the head by the Panthers as he ran along their sidelines and the NFL is being very quiet about it.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5936050
Logan Booker
December 22nd, 2010
9:05 am
The biggest thing I ever saw was Sanford Drive, dawgfan, superDawg, et al get a lesson in humility and sportsmanship on these blogs. Right Logan? I think its time for you to get back to work before the boss sees you.
We Hit and Run This State
December 22nd, 2010
9:15 am
You mutt fans crack me up. Yall can’t let a day go by without trolling a blog post that has nothing to do with your community college over in Athens. Pathetic.
What else is funny is how yall plaster us about Shreveport. Two reasons:
1) You talk about it like it’s a trashy place (probably only 1% of you actually went last year). You talk about it like you’ve never been to Athens, which takes the cake of trashy towns (not like any of you have actually been there, which wouldn’t surprise me).
2) You make fun of us being there like yall are in a BCS bowl. But you’re not. You’re in THE GRANDDADDY OF THEM ALL OMIGOSH MEMPHIS YOU GUYS. Memphis. The Liberty Bowl. An equally awful bowl.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised from all this. Middle school has been out all week and you kids have had a chance to use some of your allotted computer time for trolling.
No wonder no one can stand ugag fans.
Now that we’ve addressed the off-topic folks – good call with the best play of the year, MB. JHey’s HR was a sign of great things to come, this past season and beyond. He got robbed of ROTY by i’m-really-not-safe pozie due to incompetent voters. But Heyward will win an MVP or two, pozie won’t.
That HR was a great moment in ATL sports, no doubt. Definitely excited about the future of the Braves w/ Heyward.
GTBob
December 22nd, 2010
10:30 am
The best thing I saw was the Falcons come back on a Thursday night against the Ravens. That was an amazing game to be at. There was a playoff like buzz in the air, both teams played well, and we took the game on a last minute drive.
HeywardgotgippedforROY
December 22nd, 2010
10:34 am
I have been a Braves fan for my entire life. 26 years I have watched the boys of summer religiously. I have seen a lot of games in person, including deciding game of the NLCS in 1996. I have NEVER seen that stadium rock like it rocked on Opening Day. I remember telling my friends later that the electricity was back in Hotlanta. 50,000 + (and it definitely was more than 50,000) chanted Let’s Go Heyward, and he delivered. I saw him in spring training, and I thought he looked like a beast. Sure enough, he served up a bomb. I had chills in April, and remembering it, I still get chills. Literally, a once in a lifetime sight on April 5. Who delivers like that when 50,000 are waiting to see you do just that, hit a homer. WOW.
RedandBlack Pride
December 22nd, 2010
10:40 am
@ We hit and run this state. Tech fans are insane. You lost again this year, like most years. Deal with it. Admit we are better in athletics and academics. Check our Rhodes Scholars. Love hearing Tech fans bad mouth UGA because it just further cements how jealous they are of our continued success. You cannot win the lowly ACC. If you could ever go even 9-3, you could probably win your minor league conference. I only wish Reggie Ball was still playing there, so 92,000+ fans could chant REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE! Go Dawgs.
MikeP
December 22nd, 2010
11:26 am
Lakedawg
December 21st, 2010
4:18 pm
“One of my looking forward to big moments next year is when the big hammer falls on the AU football program with about 6 years probation.”
When will that investigation start, and what will Auburn be charged with? So far this year there have been three investigations of interest to SEC teams: UGA’s A.J. Green selling his jersey, bammer’s Marcel Darious accepting a trip to Miami and Mississippi State booster Kenny Rogers talking money with Cecil Newton. All three of those are now concluded and closed. I see no reference to Auburn anywhere in there.
Your Breath Smells like Fish Fry Tacos
December 22nd, 2010
12:29 pm
Yep, Cam in the Dome. Cam and his daddy got away with one or more – the NCAA has no credibility in my opinion.
Mark
December 22nd, 2010
12:54 pm
The highlight of last year’s in person viewing was probably Huston’s runback against Tech. It and the opening 70+ yard TD by Furman over Georgia Southern were two great plays to watch (alas Furmanh lost the game in the last minute).
I have to expand the timeframe as I saw little live sports last year other than UGA and Furman football. My favorite all time in person sports events were Ryan’s 1972 no-hitter (the second one) and his 74 no-hitter. Seeing him do it twice for weak Angel teams, made you wonder what kind of record he could have had with some offense.
MikeP
December 22nd, 2010
12:57 pm
Your Breath Smells like Fish Fry Tacos
December 22nd, 2010
12:29 pm
“Yep, Cam in the Dome. Cam and his daddy got away with one or more – the NCAA has no credibility in my opinion.”
The solution is simple. All you have do do is find facts that the SEC’s investigators didn’t find in ten months of investigation and the NCAA’s team of investigators didn’t find in five months of investigation.
You can either accept that there was no wrongdoing on the part of Auburn and Cam Newton, as the above mentioned investigations found, or you can come up with some new information. I suppose option three is to grumble about the 49-31 beatdown and whine “he cheated” with no evidence, like some five-year old on a playground.
Mark (a different one)
December 22nd, 2010
1:09 pm
MikeP: Where did you hear the investigation of Cam Newton is closed? My understanding was that Auburn suspended him and the conference reinstated him, but that it was based on the information available at the time. Also, Cam Newton’s father was banned from the Auburn campus and the stadium for away games. That doesn’t sound like he was cleared.
When the FBI finishes their investigation, the NCAA can continue theirs without worrying about interferring with the FBI’s. Until then, they sit on their hands and let things play out. The real questions are what did Auburn know or do, and did money change hands.
On the field, Cam Newton is a great player, and I hate to think his Father did something to taint his kid. However, to date know one responsible has cleared Cam. They simply stated that based on the best available evidence at the time, Cam could continue playing.
My hope (and I am a UGA fan) is that no money changed hands, and that Cam is given a minor violation for his father’s solicitation of pay for play. Hopefully that would let the Auburn team record stand. We will hopefully hear something definitive soon.
Captain Lou Albano
December 22nd, 2010
1:14 pm
MikeP, no disrespect but the NCAA rulebook says that if there is wrong doing by a parent it affects the child, i.e., if Daddy Newton asked for money, which is accepted as fact now right? Then it makes Cam Newton ineligible. I think its a stupid rule, and I”m sure they’re going to change it in the off season, but its still a rule now. That’s why it is a bunch of BS. The NCAA is openly letting a school break a rule. Therefore, NCAA has no credibility.
N.GA.DAWG
December 22nd, 2010
1:25 pm
Tops on my list Heyward’s HR(in person), Falcon’s over Ravens(in person), Tech’s missed extra point lol(was not at the game but still sweet), and last but not least! Watching Matt Ryan and the Falcons all year! I hope to add to this list after mnf game.
Prof
December 22nd, 2010
1:54 pm
Captain Lou Albano – you’ve been demoted to a Private after that post.
I hate to tell you this – but I think the President of the NCAA (and all the investigators) know more about NCAA rules/policies than you do. If Cam broke a current rule, he’d be punished. It ain’t a rule, so stop hating (bet you wouldn’t be so mouthy if UGA had won that game – sore loser).
Also, you can’t punish a kid if his dad (who he doesn’t live with and isn’t with his mother, and is only occasionally visited) does something unethical. Not all sons/dads live together and talk all the time.
Lose The Weight - Paul Wall Talks 100-Pound Weight Loss - Huffingtonpost.com « Lose The Weight
December 22nd, 2010
2:01 pm
[...] The best thing I saw: J-Hey on Opening Day, Cam in the Dome – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)The great British music magazine Mojo has a holiday feature in which prominent music folks share The Best Thing They’ve Heard All Year. ( This year’s installment offers Jeff Beck touting Trombone Shorty, Brian Eno lauding MGMT and Gene Simmons singing [...]
Mark (a different one)
December 22nd, 2010
2:11 pm
Prof: I think you have hit on one issue that is causing the NCAA some concern. Their rules state that the rules apply to the student as well as their parents. They have even extended the rules to other relatives and friends who were representing the student.
When does the action of a relative or friend impact a student’s eligibility? It appears now that the NCAA is saying it only impact eligibility when the NCAA can prove that the student knew of the inappropriate action and failed to report it as required.
That is a change, but it is because the NCAA is under pressure to operate less like a government unto themselves and more with the interest of the student athlete in mind. The problem has always been that the NCAA is not a law enforcement agency with their inherent abilities. It is a collection of colleges that have agreed to obey the rules.
The NCAA has stated that at this time they have no evidence that Cam Newton knew his father was asking for money for his son’s play. The kid is clear, the Father is not. For now.
That may change over time, but if the NCAA is going to make a mistake, it should side with the athlete. If the FBI investigation or the NCAA’s investigation uncovers something new, the NCAA can still take action.
The worst case scenario I can think of is that Mr. Newton did solicit money but when it didn’t work, he backed off. Cam switched to Auburn, Mr. Newton stayed out of it, and now Cam is having to defend himself because of his Father’s previous actions.
The NCAA has to figure out how to patch a hole in its rules. All prospective student athletes now know that they are not responsible for the behavior of their family members, and that family members may solicit pay for play money at will without negatively impacting the player’s eligibility. This could become a major issue for Division 1 athletics.
GPB
December 22nd, 2010
2:22 pm
Best thing I saw all year…paying a UGA grad minimum wage to fix my toilet and then mow my yard!
WDE
December 22nd, 2010
2:27 pm
This is for Mark and for anyone else’s input:
I am a diehard college football fan as well as a lifetime Braves fan. As you can see by name, it’s been a good college football year for me. I wasn’t at the Braves home opener, but watched in on TV.
I was at the SECCG in the Dome.
However, as far as experiencing the two young men’s individual performances, I wish it had been reversed.
I say this because as much as I love college football, and love the gameday atmosphere in person, watching it on TV is the better way to actually witness the action on the field. Of course, I wouldn’t pass on free SECCG tickets to watch my team play,and had a blast. But for every truly important football game I prefer the TV because the quality of the broadcasts and the ability to really see the action.
Cam’s season to me is personally my favorite part of sports this year, but I think the in-person experience of seeing Heyward’s homerun would have been absolutely ridiculous.
Just wondering if anyone else feels the same about college football being better to watch on TV even if you are giving up an excellent in-person gameday experience.
DawginLex
December 22nd, 2010
3:59 pm
Hey GPB,
That was your mom that paid the guy. Just because he wore a UGA hat didn’t mean he went to UGA. Talk to your mom. she can explain it to you.
Then help her out by taking out the trash and making your bed.
Then take the computer back to the school library.
MikeP
December 22nd, 2010
5:11 pm
Mark (a different one)
December 22nd, 20101:09 pm
“MikeP: Where did you hear the investigation of Cam Newton is closed? My understanding was that Auburn suspended him and the conference reinstated him, but that it was based on the information available at the time. Also, Cam Newton’s father was banned from the Auburn campus and the stadium for away games. That doesn’t sound like he was cleared.”
Like UGA with Green and Bammer with Darious, Auburn suspended and the NCAA reinstated. Main difference being that Cam Newton was reinstated “without condition” meaning he didn’t have to sit out any games. Probably due to the fact that nothing of value changed hands.
The actual wording concerning Cecil Newton was: “Will have less access to the Auburn program”. I suppose that means he can’t go in the locker room after a game. He’s been at every Auburn game since the ruling. You may be confusing this with Mississippi State having to “disassociate” from Kenny Rogers, who the NCAA determined to be an MSU booster.
The only FBI investigation I’m aware of is the investigation to determine if Kenny Rogers can be prosecuted for attempted extortion of funds from wealthy MSU boosters and whether John Bond was/is an accomplice of Roger’s or another intended victim. I see nothing associated with Cam Newton or Auburn in that situation.
I get the idea that the Auburn/Cam Newton end of this is closed from the following comments:
Sports Illustrated writer Lars Anderson on Dec. 2nd: “Sources inside the NCAA say the Cam Newton investigation is closed. It’s over, done, dead. People need to move along.”
ESPN writer Joe Schapp on Dec. 3rd.: “The NCAA is satisfied with the results of the investigation into the Cam Newton situation. That case is closed.”
Both those comments were on radio interviews, so I can’t provide a link.
still@the bar
December 23rd, 2010
2:44 am
DawginLex plus many other dawg fans crying for weeks over the Auburn game on these Blogs.
All the Dawg fans making excuses over Damon and the other players getting arrested. It is just boys being boys. It was a ticket. It was just a hit-&-run. He was giving a nice white girl a ride home.
Wells
December 23rd, 2010
10:08 am
If anyone watched the 30 for 30 about SMU, the NCAA realized it was a mistake to give them the death penalty because it took SMU 25 years to return to relevance. Also SMU was already on a very strict probation when given the death penalty, so for those who are hoping Auburn will receive the death penalty it’s very unlikely.
Like Mike P said, the same guys that broke the story on Newton are reporting that the story is dead and the NCAA is satisfied with their decision.
DawginLex
December 23rd, 2010
11:02 am
still a tard @ the bar,
I never cried about the Auburn game. I just wish Ben Jones was better at taking thugs like Fairley out of the game permanently.
I said Evans should be fired immediately.
You should try reading comprehension classes son, it would make your blog experience more enjoyable and set you up for less ridicule.
MikeP
December 23rd, 2010
2:53 pm
DawginLex: “If Nick Fairley was a Dawg, he’d be a rock star in Georgia.”~~~Buck Belue
One of your own nailed it.