Previously published in The Sunday Paper – Atlanta November 16, 2008

ATLANTA, GA. – There’s a buzz around the ATL, and it’s gaining momentum by the minute. For some it’s a cure for the stress brought on by billion-dollar bailouts, drawn-out wars, historic home foreclosure rates, the threat of recession. This fix comes in the form of two birds: Hawks and Falcons.

The Atlanta Falcons (4-0 at the Georgia Dome, 6-3 overall) and Atlanta Hawks (6-1 as The Sunday Paper went to press on Thursday) both sprinted out of the gate with ferocious starts in 2008, and are putting Atlanta back on the sports map. The Hawks are enjoying their best start since 1997.

And after underachieving seasons by both the Braves and Thrashers, the timing couldn’t be better.

For years, sports fans have leaned on their teams to provide an escape from the pressures of everyday life. When those teams are winning, it helps pull the city and fans out of their funks.

Detroit is a perfect example. The Motor City holds the crown for most troubling economy and severe collapse in real estate values. But when their Red Wings or Pistons take home a crown, millions take to the streets to celebrate, leaving their troubles locked up at home (if it hasn’t been taken by the bank yet).

That’s what Atlanta is experiencing right now. In the coffeehouses and on the streets of this city, sports chatter is picking up steam. Spirits are being lifted.

“The sports bars have been packed with local fans,” says Vinings resident Megan Harpring. Megan is no stranger to sports-she played basketball at Georgia Tech, and her brother plays for the NBA’s Utah Jazz.

“It’s filling everyone’s lives with something positive, something exciting,” she continues. “The success of the Falcons-it’s a motivator. We’re getting excited about the next game, the next weekend.”

Lawrenceville resident Derek Wheeler, another avid sports fan who played baseball for UGA, attended the Falcons’ miraculous last-second comeback against the Bears this year at the Dome and the Hawks’ Game 6 win against the Celtics last season. He is thrilled with his local teams. “It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?” he says. “I never would have thought the Falcons would have a year like this. And the Hawks-last year wasn’t a fluke at all.”

DOOM AND GLOOM

This aura of excitement stands in sharp relief to the dark clouds that have hovered over the city in the recent past.

When Atlanta’s All-Pro quarterback Michael Vick was sent off to live behind bars, doom and gloom set in for the city’s sports fans. And it only got worse. Their star player in shackles, their team a laughingstock, their head coach Bobby Petrino snuck out of town in the dead of night with his tail between his legs. Many of the Falcons’ star players abandoned ship or were traded away for pennies on the dollar.

A lot has changed since then. The Falcons, under the leadership of rookie general manager Thomas Dimitroff, rookie head coach Mike Smith and rookie-of-the-year candidate Matt Ryan at quarterback, continue to find ways to overcome their underdog status and win games.

No longer are fans wondering whether the Falcons have what it takes. The new questions on the street are: “Michael who?” “Bobby who?”

The NFL is certainly taking notice of the new Falcons. The league pushed the Nov. 23 Falcons/Panthers kickoff to 4:15 p.m. and upgraded the matchup to a national game. “I think that … is confirmation that we are doing things right,” Coach Smith said during a press conference last week.

The 23-year-old Ryan, fresh out of Boston College, has replaced Vick in the hearts and minds of Falcon fans and the general public. Vick is still listed as “suspended” on the Falcons’ team roster, but most expect him to be officially released soon after he swaps his prison garb for civilian clothes sometime next year.

At the Falcons’ side are the overachieving Atlanta Hawks, led by All-Star Joe Johnson, who always manages to shine while coasting under the NBA radar.

The Hawks’ performance in last year’s NBA playoff series against the heavily favored Boston Celtics brought life back to the lackluster franchise. Those young, inexperienced Hawks were expected to be swept off the planet in four merciless games. But they refused to go down without a fight, taking the Celtics (who eventually took the championship) to seven games.

Seven games into the 2008-09 season (at press time), the Hawks are continuing where they left off. Before Wednesday’s loss to the Celtics, they were the only unbeaten team in the entire Eastern Conference-that’s right, a hotter start than the Celtics, Pistons or Cavaliers. The 2009 NBA All-Star ballot includes five Hawks: Johnson, Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, Al Horford and Marvin Williams.

HOMETOWN HEROES

Local sports-talk radio programs have been bombarded with excited callers, heaping praise on the Hawks with comments like “They’re playing with passion” and “it’s awesome to watch.”

As Christopher Rude, co-host of the “Rude Awakening” morning show on 680 the Fan, put it: “Sports fans in Atlanta are guardedly optimistic.”

Marc Stein’s Week Two NBA power rankings on ESPN.com had the Hawks ranked fifth out of 30 teams in the league. “Atlanta has deservedly gate-crashed the top five with its first 5-0 start in a decade,” Stein wrote last week.

Considering that both teams’ rosters were recently stuffed with unknowns and rookies who were considered fortunate to be wearing pro uniforms, the fact that they’ve both stepped up and are quickly making names for themselves while returning a sense of pride to Atlanta fans seems nothing less than incredible.

I was at Ryan’s first game against the Detroit Lions, and witnessed his first NFL pass in front of his new hometown fans. The ball was snatched up by Michael Jenkins, who galloped 62 yards into the end zone. Last weekend against the New Orleans Saints, 22-year-old rookie Chevis Jackson intercepted a Drew Brees pass and raced 95 yards for a TD with 1:17 left to play, sealing another victory for the Falcons at the Dome.

Plays like these are like paper shredders, taking the heart-wrenching negative headlines we’ve been force-fed all week and slicing them to ribbons-at least for a moment.

We all need heroes. The larger-than-life champions in summer action films sweep us away from the doldrums of our current realities. And young, enthusiastic athletes like Matt Ryan and Al Horford, and men like Joe Johnson and John Abraham-guys who show up every day and play their hearts out, determined to overcome adversity-are doing the same.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

There is no way to write an article about Michael Vick and please readers. Those who will never forgive him don’t want him to have a life outside of prison or in the world of professional sports.

His fans who never wanted to see him incarcerated don’t take kindly to the suggestion that he might never return to the NFL.

In light of this situation, I offer two separate pieces of news that came to my attention:

Vick’s bankruptcy lawyer is trying to convince a judge and a multitude of creditors that he can earn enough after he is out of jail to repay a portion of his debts to each of those that have been left holding the bag.

Thus a document filed by his lawyer makes it seem that it is inevitable his client will be reinstated by the NFL.

The second piece of news is that many of the dogs that were rescued from Vick’s home in Virginia are alive and still healing from their experiences. That is according to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, in Utah. Those dogs have become a symbol to animal rights groups who are using images of the animals to raise money. A wine company has created a brand of wine called “Vicktory” and the rescued pooches are the face, literally, of the wine collection.

I see how this collection would be an item of interest and earn money for the winemaker and the charities but it would assist Vick as well. I am waiting for his debtors to squawk to the bankruptcy judge and Vick’s lawyer that his client should be getting a cut of the wine sales.

Even though there is no picture of Mike Vick on the wine bottle, the clever use of his name in the brand name of the wine while attached to images of the dogs makes it plain that Vick is being used to sell the product.

If that’s true, despite his criminal record, he is entitled to lend his name for profit to companies that market goods and services. That means he should be paid.

And if he’s paid, his creditors will be able to recoup a small amount of what is owed to him.

I have not taken a position on all this and have tried not to be light hearted about it all. I’m just putting two news items together and wondering how it will all play out.

Life will continue to be difficult and complicated for Vick after he is released from prison. Maybe that is the way it’s supposed to be.

Tired of the same old sports page? Then check out Paula Duffy’s insightful (and often humorous) take on the sports day at her Examiner.com page! The popular co-host for Sports Journey Radio is also a contributor to the Huffington Post and founder of the sports learning site Incidental Contact. In her spare time, Duffy practices law in Los Angeles. But don’t hold that against her.

Santa Claus comes early every year for the Detroit Lions, on Thanksgiving to be exact. The jolly old soul hands the Lions their annual ‘gift’ in the form of a Thanksgiving game on their home field.

This is a clear case of not needing to be ‘good’ in any way shape or form to receive this handout from the NFL.

Year after year, this franchise struggles, and against the will of many of the other NFL owners, they continue to keep the Thanksgiving Game and the exposure that goes along with it.

Over the years many owners have brought up discussions and votes have occurred to move this game around the league to share the revenue. Somehow William Clay Ford continues to keep the game in his hometown of Detroit.

You have to wonder if the fact Ford Motor Company is one of the NFL’s biggest and most loyal advertisers has anything to do with this joke of an organization keeping this game.

I personally have attended several Thanksgiving games over the years and it’s quite the tradition. I saw O.J. Simpson shatter the single game rushing record when his Buffalo Bills visited the Lions at Pontiac Silverdome back in the 70’s. I spent many Thanksgiving days tailgating, seeing the game then finishing the day off stuffing myself with turkey dinner.

I love tradition and have a strong track record of supporting and keeping it. It makes my gut hurt to say this, but it is time for a change. To make NFL fans across the nation sit through a Lions game on this upcoming holiday and the ones to follow is absurd. It is time for Ford and his 0-9 Lions to hand over the torch.

The Dallas Cowboys were a dismal 1-15 one year but rebuilt and bounced back over the years, becoming a contender and winning a Super Bowl, earning the right to keep their spot.

The Lions on the other hand have shown no improvement over that same span, in fact they have gotten worse as their record over the past decade indicates.

If you’re out there Santa Claus, stop handing this gift to this NFL team and deliver a stocking full of coal and sticks to Ford and his Lions.

Taking the game from the Lions and spreading it throughout the league would bring much joy to fans across the nation.

Making this change is like delivering a Christmas gift to the rest of the NFL football world and relieves them from the agony and torture of sitting through Lion debacles year-after-year.

There is a rebuttal to this case and point found on Deadspin.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

This week is the anniversary of the famous NFL cheerleader’s sex arrest that occurred three years ago in a Tampa bar.

TAMPA – In one of the most appreciated arrests in sports history, two NFL Carolina Panther cheerleaders were cuffed, mugged and accused of having lesbian sex in a public bathroom.

Does it get any better than that !

The incident happened back in November ’05 in a Tampa bar called Banana Joe’s and the girls were booked with a laundry list of charges including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, assault, giving a false name and causing harm to another; a third-degree felony punishable by 1 to 5 years.

Renee Thomas of Pittsboro, NC and Angela Keathley of Belmont, NC were hanging out and slammin’ drinks at Joe’s when they took a stroll to the bathroom together like all women do.

According to a Tampa Police Report and witnesses, a gang of local Tampa ho’s got pissed off at the sexy couple for frolicking a little bit too long in the stall.

Hearing moaning coming from the closed stall, the gang started calling the pom-pom girls “whores” and “bitches” and later reported one of the girls were “going down on the other” right there in the stall.

After exiting their private quarters, one of the pom-pomers slugged one of the whining bitches, triggering a cat-fight melee.

Later, the Tampa cops showed up and Thomas resisted arrest; guess she didn’t want to be cuffed, not with metal ones that hurt anyway.

Both women ate jail food the next morning before posting out and being released. (see them in our Sports Mugshots and Cheerleader Gallery)

Keathley and Thomas were both booted off the cheer squad for violating a cheerleader code that “bans conduct embarrassing to the team or organization” and were immediately approached by Penthouse Magazine to do a spread and story.

This story generated so much interest nationwide that the Panthers NFL site crashed after receiving millions of hits.

On the Panthers Cheerleader site, both cheerleaders had listed the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as their favorite charity. Maybe they were giving each other complimentary breast exams and this whole thing was a misunderstanding.

Both girls did plea out with Thomas being sentenced to 12 months probation, 50 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $400 restitution. She was also ordered to attend an anger management class and was barred from financially benefiting from the incident.

Keathley also copped a plea and was sentenced to probation.

All this time us guys thought you girls went to the john together to gossip!

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Hollywood may be involved in imploding some sports arenas scheduled for demolition. This was done years ago in downtown Orlando when special effect coordinators for a Lethal Weapon sequel dropped the city hall for the opening scene in one of their films.

It makes perfect sense. A film production company pays for use of the building, arranges and pays for the implosion and insurance then leaves the city with only the clean-up.  Some cities are currently trying to make such an arrangement.

With so many stadiums and arenas scheduled for demolition to make room for state-of-the-art facilities, one career that seems to be thriving in this upside down economy is that of a “wrecking ball driver”.

The biggest hype of the year was the Yankees taking the  field for the final time at Yankee Stadium last week. Like their neighbor Super Bowl Giants, the guys in pinstripes will  be playing in a new stadium.

Yankee stadium is scheduled to be dismantled in March 2009 removing the seats and other collectibles to sell to collectors. After the valuables are removed, the stadium will be flattened and only the memories will remain.

A close second on the hype-meter is this possibility of Hollywood getting involved.

Besides Tiger Stadium, many other venues around the country will soon be greeted by the wrecking ball including the Wachovia Spectrum, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the Dallas Star’s Reunion Arena.

The Dallas Film Commission is searching for a film crew who needs the blast for a scene in one of their movies to have the honor of leveling Reunion Arena. 

Some of the current demolitions are not going smoothly as historians are getting involved.

The razing of historic Tiger Stadium has created protests from organized fundraising groups who are fighting to salvage at least part of the park. Those groups from Detroit, with the help of Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, have been trying to convince the city to transform a part of the structure into a baseball museum. This has been an uphill battle as the city is considering plans for a retail and residential neighborhood.

The Dallas Cowboys will be vacating Texas Stadium after this season after entertaining fans there since 1971. The tab for Tony and Jessica’s new structure is expected to top $1 billion. (see picture)

For several years, Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings and the Orlando Magic’s Arena have also been discussed and may soon join this list of functionally obsolete razed facilities.

Bad news for historians but good news for ‘wrecking ball operators’ and maybe Hollywood.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

And I thought I’d have to wait until next week for another Mike Singletary sound bite.

Silly me.

I believe he could be the NFL’s equivalent of that quote machine named Hank Steinbrenner if this last five days is an example of what we all have to look forward to.

For some reason, the San Francisco 49ers decided to confirm a report on an Arizona radio station that Singletary dropped his pants in front of his players during halftime of that ugly loss to the Seattle Seahawks. I cringed when I heard it at first but then I read the Singletary quote.

“I used my pants to demonstrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for us.”

OK, then. With that backdrop (no pun intended) I now more fully appreciate the rant he ripped off at the post game press conference. If revealing the color of your boxer shorts isn’t enough of an incentive for your players to make the supreme effort I guess you’re entitled to say what you want.

What’s next, Samurai Mike and MJ doing Hanes ads?

Come to think of it…

Vikings defensive tackle Jim Marshall owned the line of scrimmage throughout his career, recording 127 sacks and an NFL record 29 fumble recoveries. One of those fumbles would put him on NFL video blooper reels forever:

That game occurred on October 25, 1964 against NFC rival San Francisco. As shown in the video above, Marshall, a member of the famous “Purple People Eaters” line, scooped up  the fumble and ran it 66 yards into the end zone.

As he galloped down the sideline, his teammates were jumping up and down waving their arms in what he thought was celebration.

After making his way into the end zone, the out-of-breath, exhausted player heaved the ball out of bounds in celebration then soon realized he would forever make it onto every NFL blooper reel in existence.

Marshall had just run in the wrong direction and instead of scoring a TD and putting 6 points on the board for the Vikings, he had just handed the 49ers a two-point safety. The Vikings did go on to win that game with Marshall coming up with a few huge defensive plays contributing to the win.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Run, Daunte, RUN!

In the opposite direction of the Detroit Lions facility in Allen Park.

Daunte Culpepper and the Detroit Lions confirmed the NFL quarterback had a “Good workout” with the Lions and is staying in contact with them concerning playing for the team.

Culpepper should seriously reconsider going to the 0-7 team that implodes annually and many feel is staffed with minor-leaguers dressed up in NFL attire.

The Lions have a solid history of destroying talented player’s and coaches careers (Google Marcus Pollard, Tatum Bell, Steve Mariucchi).

There is something about donning the silver and blue in Detroit . . . failure is sure to follow and the team is in more disarray and turmoil as ever. This may sound odd but they are actually worse than their 0-7 record, getting blown out and falling behind 21-0 in a majority of their games.

Culpepper’s arm has some life left in it. Enough life to provide a competitive team with a solid run into the playoffs . . . that team is not the Detroit Lions; this year, next or any year in the near future.

Why go out with a crash like Jon Kitna and Tatum Bell and Steve Mariucchi?

If he is simply looking for a paycheck, he can go on an autograph or speaking tour to fill up his piggy bank and wait for an NFL team to offer him a spot in the near future or next season.

Daunte, who has thrown for more than 22,000 yards in his nine-year career, will take a physical beating scrambling for his life behind the inept ‘O’ line of the Lions (Google Jon Kitna) and shorten what little is left of his career.

Be patient, Daunte, good fortune and jobs come to those who wait.

RUN, Daunte, RUN!

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

The following story is an excerpt from an article by Sean Gregory at www.time.com

Early this week, Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. revealed that staph (short for Staphylococcus) infection had sent him to the Cleveland Clinic for three days, and he accused the Browns of asking him to cover it up.

Pro football teams are notoriously reluctant to reveal any information on player injuries, but since six different Browns have caught the bug since 2005 – Winslow has had it twice – the team’s medical management looked suspect to some observers. “There’s obviously a problem [with staph] and we have to fix it,” Winslow told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Just look at the history around here. It’s unfortunate, because it happens time and time again.”

The Browns, who denied that they had kept the news of his infection from his teammates, suspended Winslow one game for his rant, which included his claim that he felt like he had been treated like “a piece of meat.”

But the Winslow medical controversy wasn’t even the worst of it for the league. In the past week, it has become clear that two of its most marketable stars, marquee quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, had gotten infections.

The New England Patriots’ Brady has had at least two additional infection-related procedures since his initial season-ending knee surgery in September. It’s now possible that his knee will have to undergo another operation, which could delay his return until 2010. Staph seems to be the likely culprit, but neither Brady nor the Patriots will confirm that.

During training camp staph infected a bursa sac, which acts as a cushion between bones, in Manning’s left knee. The infection required surgery and forced him to miss most of the preseason. Though the Colts released a statement on Friday insisting Manning didn’t contract a more perilous staph, the anti-biotic resistant strain known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the incidents should alarm the NFL.

“The NFL, and all the leagues, should be diligent, and not let their guards down,” says Dr. Robert Gotlin, director of Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. “They’ve got to do better. It’s got to be one of the top five priorities.”

Staph, of course, is far from just an NFL problem. Two college teams, the ’05 Florida Gators and the ’03 USC Trojans, had multiple cases.

In 2003, a team of researchers also tracked the St. Louis Rams and found five players who caught eight MRSA infections.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Updated on Oct. 23 @ 6:50 a.m.

NEW YORK – Looks like it’s time for the “he said, she said” game. Brett Favre denies giving Matt Millen and the Detroit Lions information on his ex-Packer’s offense prior to the Lion’s Sept. 14 game against the Packers earlier this year and reporter Jay Glazer said he investigated this story fully and continues to defend it.

“I stand by my story 1000 percent,”Glazer told The Associated Press. “I guess Brett and I will just agree to disagree on certain things. The way I do my work, I don’t go on what just one person told me. I investigated this fully and for quite some time. I spoke with several sources, and when I go with something, I make sure it’s dead-on. I think my track record speaks for itself.”

Favre made a few comments at the Jet’s weekly press conference, “When Matt called me and was talking about hunting . . . don’t think for a second I wasn’t thinking, ‘Now, surely he wants to know something,’  Yeah, I played for the Packers for 16 years and we played against the Lions a bunch, but it’s no secret what we did against them. I don’t have a playbook from Green Bay. I didn’t send the playbook. I didn’t call him and say, ‘Look, if you do this, you’re going to win the game.’ I didn’t do that.”

He added that if he were “a guessing man,” there’s a chance other (Lions coaches or staff) might have been listening in on the conversation.

Favre went on to say that sharing information is common in the NFL, and it isn’t against league rules.

“It happens every day,” Favre said. “It happens more than you know. Nothing happened that was any different than happens any other day. But the fact I was in Green Bay for so long and what happened this offseason, that makes it a big deal. I didn’t give (Millen) any game planning, I haven’t been in that offense in over a year. I don’t know what else to tell you. It was pretty simple.”

Against the rules or not, this doesn’t sit well with many players or fans. Glazer’s report said that Favre who was sent off to the New York Jets after an ugly divorce with the Packers, spent over an hour on the phone with Lions coaches, giving the hopeless Lions information on his former team’s offense. Favre says he spoke to Millen for ‘no more than 25 minutes’.

Either way, how embarrassing is this for the Lions since it appears Matt Millen did indeed contact Favre and his Lions got their asses handed to them on their home field 48-25 in front of 60,285 fans.

The Lions continue to ‘refuse comment’. Most anyone would agreee if there was no ill-intent on the Lions part, then they should step up to the plate, look the media in the eyes and explain nothing unethical happened.

The Lions Coach Rod Marinelli preaches accountability and good character to his staff and players, yet when something like this occurs or when one of his coaches drives through a Wendy’s drive-through naked, he is the first one to turn his cheek.  

If and when all the facts surrounding this surface and prove their was info sharing, this is worse than the New England Patriots spying scandal that rocked the NFL last year. At least the Pats were cheating trying to help themselves and those games in question were all victories.

The Lions are embarrassing enough when they get blown out playing fair but if they had a little extra helpful information and still got blown out, that is nothing short of pathetic, and Favre would be nothing short of pathetic for offering it to them, regardless of who called who.

Favre’s move would be taken as a blatant retaliation for the Packers offering the player an invite to come out of retirement, AGAIN, and compete to earn a starting spot on the team.

Favre didn’t want to compete. He wanted the QB spot handed to him.

After seeing Aaron Rodgers perform so well several weeks into the season, it’s obvious why the coaching staff wanted the white-hairing, old-timer to have to beat out the younger, quarterback.

Favre then said he was done and the relationship was trashed. His ego took off like a rocket and landed him in New York.

Speaking of Rockets and NY; almost overnight, Roger Clemens has lost most of the trust and respect that took him decades to gain and Favre may be following those same footsteps.

Some of the players were not afraid to voice their opinion on the issue. “He contacted them? I don’t respect that,” former Michigan Wolverine CB Charles Woodson said. “To seek a team out and to feel like you’re trying to sabotage this team, I don’t respect that. I know he’s been the greatest player around here for a long time, but there’s no honor in that.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league had no comment but stressed that Glazer’s report detailed no illegal action. I can hear the Patriots screaming from here.

If such actions aren’t considered out of bounds, Woodson said they should be.

“I’ve never called a coach on another team and told them what’s going to happen,” Woodson said. “Obviously . . . there is a little bit of resentment there.”

Offensive lineman, Scott Wells said it would be disappointing if Favre shared information with a division rival. “Obviously it didn’t work out too well for them. We were still able to go out and move the ball on them and win the game.”

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax