Have A Happy 4th!

Have a great July 4th holiday! If you didn't think so before, it is definitely 'Summer in the South'
now. That means high temperatures with high humidity which equals S-T-I-C-K-Y! You just gotta love it! That also means that the next national holiday will be the beginning of football season. Here we go again! Thanks for stopping by An Opinion On Sports. I hope you enjoy your visits here, and that you develop a habit of checking in with us. Please consider giving a referral of this site to your friends. Be safe and have a fun holiday weekend. Always remember those in uniform who continue to insure our independence. Take care...

The Personal Seat License or PSL

The National Football League has put into place the Personal Seat License. In a nutshell it means you don't just pay for your ticket, you first must pay for the opportunity to pay for your ticket. The New York Giants levied a $1,000 PSL on approximately 25,000 tickets. On the other extreme, Jerry Jones' new Cowboy Stadium has PSLs starting out at $2,000 and climbing up into the six-figure mark from there. That will probably mean that some lifetime Texas Stadium season ticket holders will be priced out of a seat in the new digs. Not to worry, Jerry will fill your seat before you can say 'Roger Staubach'. But hold on a second. Isn't the good 'ole NFL just taking a page out of the college football playbook? At most Division 1 NCAA schools, alumni and fans have to make a "contribution" to the general scholarship fund, or the athletic association or some other designated recipient before they are allowed to purchase season tickets. And just like the pros are instituting now, the colleges have always played by the concept of the 'bigger the gift, the better the seats'. There is no right or wrong here, it's merely the way the seating game is played. Football is king and the pawns get moved all around the chess board, sometimes even off the board. Checkmate! The system just gotcha. You may call it big business, supply and demand, greed or whatever label you prefer to apply to the practice. I maintain it's probably all of the above and it doesn't matter one pigskin punt. It's like that cellular phone commercial where the only thing that is going to change are the prices. Up, Up and Away Sports Fans! You gotta pay to watch 'em play!

Knowshon Moreno: Just a Little R & R

When you think of Knowshon Moreno, you think of high energy, a motor that is always running at full speed, and contagious exuberance. But even Georgia's star tailback gets a little low on the octane sometimes. With all the preseason hype surrounding the Bulldog football program, quarterback Matthew Stafford, and Moreno there are an awful lot of things coming very fast at these young men. Recently, it just got to be a little too much for Moreno. He was trying to accommodate everyone while being pulled in a thousand different directions. The decision was made with Knowshon, his family, and the UGA coaches that a couple of weeks at home in New Jersey would provide a great break for him. He could be himself, not the star tailback. He could do "normal" things away from the attention of being a University of Georgia football player. After all, he went from being an obscure red-shirt freshman to now becoming a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. There are not many places Moreno can go in the state of Georgia where he would not be recognized and swarmed upon. The image of the player Moreno in his number 24 jersey can be seen on the cover of preseason football publications in grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores. That number 24 jersey can be found in malls and sporting goods stores, thus on the backs of thousands of Dawg fans young and old alike. The kid can run, but he sure can't hide! So Knowshon went home to Jersey, chilled out and got refocused. Now he's back in Athens, refreshed and ready to go. And no you 'Anti-Dawgs', he didn't get sent home for disciplinary reasons. He just went home so he wouldn't get burned out and so he would be ready to "Burn You Up"!

Braves: A Look at "Half-Way"

The Atlanta Braves have reached the half-way point of the 2008 MLB season. Their record stands at 40-43, 4 games behind the division leading Philadelphia Phillies. Despite being 3 games below the .500 mark, they remain in striking distance of the Phils. This seems almost remarkable to me because I have seen them actually give away 5 games they should have (not could have) won, they have set a record for 1-run road losses, and they have had more than their share of injuries. Add all of that to the fact that Jeff Francoeur has been terrible, Mark Teixeira is just now getting hot, and we have had to rely on young "arms" you hadn't even heard of before the season. Now that 4 game deficit looks really good, at least considering how bad it could be at this point. Mark Kotsay is set to return off of the DL, and even though Chipper is set to go on it, we should have our regular position players ready for the stretch run after the All-Star break. If Kelly Johnson can get consistently stable defensively at 2nd, the infield of Jones, Yunel Escober, Johnson and Teixeira is solid all around. It would be nice to think one guy would step up and claim the left field post, but we might just be stuck with Bobby's platoon system forever out there. After all, its been that way for several years now so I don't see that changing unless Matt Diaz comes back red hot. I'm all in favor of sitting Francoeur more often until he comes out of this hitting slump he's mired in. In fact, a 2 week dose of AAA Richmond might not be such a bad prescription. But since I've berated Jeff, he'll probably snap out of it and go into a hitting frenzy. The return of Kotsay in center field is going to be huge. He's a veteran who knows how to play the game. His solid and consistent play will be crucial to our success. We are as good behind the plate as anyone else in the league. Brian McCann is the real deal, and he will just continue to get better and better. Our starting pitching has been much better than we could have expected with both Smoltz and Glavine missing so many turns in the rotation. Of course Smoltzy is out for the year, and you aren't going to get much more that 5 innings per start out of Glavine if he even pitches again. Of course you know your chances are better at winning the lottery than they are of ever seeing Mike Hampton chunk the rock again. So we have Tim Hudson, Jo-Jo Reyes, Jair Jurrjens, Jorge Campillo and Charlie Morton as the rotation. Lately, this group has been better than the support they've received from the offense. We've actually wasted several quality starts because our bats went dead. The depleted bullpen will scare you to death, but they have had some good outings themselves. We will have to settle on the right hitter for the lead off spot; a riddle Cox and staff haven't been able to solve yet. Kelly Johnson isn't the guy, and Escober seems to function better in the number 2 slot. That just about only leaves that left field group to pick from. Good luck to us there. Chipper must get healthy and stay healthy. He's the straw that stirs the drink. When he is in the line-up, he picks everyone else up, not to mention the guy can flat out play. He isn't bad in the clutch either. We are finished with inter-league play, and the number of games within our division will increase. We have to win series; not necessarily sweep them but win them in order to gain ground. The law of averages says we have to win more 1-run road games in the second half, and I would hope the injury bug will ease up on the Braves to some degree. It would be interesting to see how good a healthy Atlanta club could be. I'm not sure we're the best team in the East, but none of the others have taken it by storm either. I believe the Phillies are the team to beat, and we begin a 3 game set with them July 1st at Turner Field. If we win this series, then the Phillies, Mets, and Marlins all have to take us very seriously again. Since they have let us hang around this long, we might as well make 'em pay for it! Yes I know. I'm the one who made the post back on June 11th that the Braves were dead. What can I say? "Hope springs eternal!" I'm reminded of former Braves announcer Milo Hamilton saying often: "We gotta go get 'em Braves!"

Tradition Never Rebuilds....

...It Just Reloads! UGA I ended "The Drought" against Tech,won the 1959 SEC championship, and watched Fran Tarkenton and the Dawgs whip Missouri in the 1960 Orange Bowl. UGA II was the mascot for the SEC champs of 1966 and 1968.. He supported such Georgia greats as Bill Stanfill and Jake Scott. UGA III was named to "Animal Who's Who" and closed out his illustrious career with a National Championship victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. UGA IV sported a bow tie and formal collar to be Herschel Walker's honored guest at the 1982 Heisman Trophy banquet. He closed out a fantastic career with 77 wins. UGA V was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1998 and earned a featured role in the Savannah based movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". He earned the unending love of Georgia fans everywhere after his famous lunge at an Auburn player in the quadruple overtime Dawg win in 1996. UGA VI, the heaviest of all the UGA's, was the winningest of all-time with 87 victories. He ushered in the Mark Richt era with two SEC championships to go along with seven bowl victories. UGA VII will be named and in place "Between the Hedges" soon. As you can see, each of his predecessors accomplished great things and he will as well. It will be well worth the experience to see just what those milestones turn out to be. As for all the white English bulldogs who set the table for him, they might be gone, but they never will be forgotten. And that brings to mind another Georgia expression: "Once a Dawg...Always a Dawg"!

UGA VI: Damn Good Dawg!!

UGA VI, the revered Churchillian English bulldog has died of congestive heart failure. The ever popular mascot, registered as "UGA V's Whatchagot Loran?", had served nine seasons roaming the Georgia sidelines, becoming the winningest Dawg of all his predecessors. During his herculean reign, his University of Georgia football teams compiled a record of 87 wins and 27 losses, including two SEC championships and a 7-2 bowl record. The previous record was held by UGA IV, who posted an impressive 77-24-4 record himself. The all white bulldogs have become a famous symbol of the University of Georgia, as well as one of the most famous icons in college football. They have worn tuxedos, been on the Senate floor, accompanied Herschel to New York to receive his Heisman, appeared in the movies, named the top mascot by Sports Illustrated, and lunged at an Auburn receiver who encroached on UGA V's territory! UGA VI was the biggest to serve as mascot, tipping the scales at 65 pounds, a good 20 pounds heavier than his father. This Dawg was no welterweight, in size nor character! The announcement of his successor will be forthcoming by the Seiler Family, the owners of the UGA lineage, and the University Athletic Association. Not to worry Bulldog Nation, that lineage is secure. Thanks for all the memories UGA VI. As we say in Georgia, "Damn Good Dawg!"

Flord Patterson -vs- Ingemar Johansson: 6-26-1959

This date in time: June 26, 1959. Floyd Patterson -vs- Ingemar Johansson for the World's Heavyweight title. The Swede Johansson defeated the American Patterson with a devastating right hand in the 3rd round at Yankee Stadium in New York. An outdoor crowd of 21,961 braved threatening weather conditions to witness the event. The utter irony of the fight was that both men were participants in the 1952 Olympic games where Patterson won a middleweight Gold Medal, and where Johansson was disqualified by a referee for 'not trying'. The Swede had a bout against another American, Ed Sanders, and both fighters actually stayed away from each other, trying to 'feel each other out', when the official abruptly stopped the fight by disqualifying Johansson. And it was Ingemar who was portrayed as a coward when he seemed to be disinclined to fight the American. It was learned later that his corner had instructed him to allow Sanders to do all the leading and then counter-punch him. Patterson brought his Gold Medal home to America as a hero, whereas Johansson returned to Sweden in disgrace of himself, as well as his country, after having not been allowed to stand on the medal stand nor receive his Silver Medal. Not until this monumental victory over Patterson could "Ingy" feel vindicated for the debacle in Helsinki. He was no longer a coward. Now he was the Heavyweight Champion of the World! He had knocked Patterson down seven times in this fight. Seven. And Patterson had been a 5-1 favorite. He had been the youngest to win the Heavyweight Title, now he was the youngest to lose it also. This was a distinction no one had planned on, as this was considered as big an upset as the heavyweight division had ever known. But it also opened an entire new era for a boxing division in dire need of renewed interest to help it return to its once lofty status. This fight invigorated the glamor division, and the two participants went on to face each other two more times over a span of two years. Each of the three fights ended in knockouts, with Patterson winning the final two bouts, and each fight was better than the one that preceded it. This rivalry, of sorts, had put the heavyweight division back in the limelight, and primed it for the Liston/Clay and Ali/Frazier classics that awaited down the road. It all started this date in history ,1959.