FINALLY!

The winning shot

The weight is off our backs.

Why Felton was fired and Hewitt will not be

Why Felton was fired:

1. Felton was fired because of an overall losing record at Georgia.
2. His team has done jack in the tournament.
3. His contract was only worth ~1.6 million - chump change to Georgia's AA.
4. Felton lost Favors, his last chance, to Tech.
5. Georgia is delusional.

Why Hewitt will not be fired:

1. 2004 Final Four still demands respect.
2. His team has had unexpected attrition particularly at guard.
3. He still has about ~2.5 million dollars to make from Tech.
4. Derrick Favors.
5. Tech is generally more patient and reserved when hiring/firing coaches.

I'm hoping for a turnaround still. Call me optimistic. Any thoughts on the Felton firing besides slight joy in Georgia's program falling into greater disarray?

The Yellow Jacket in the Big Game

Bird's having some computer issues on his end so I published his entry for him.....



We all know about the Whiz leading the Cardinals but who else is reppin' the I in the Big Game this weekend?

Old Key Fox plays for the Steelers. #54. Drafted in 2004 as the 93rd overall pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Fox was part of the most ridiculous LB tandem, I feel, since maybe the Black Watch. Keyaron Fox and Daryl Smith were basically an unstoppable force in '03. Smith and Fox combined for 284 tackles (143 solo), 35 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. That's pretty ridiculous. They basically played 2 on 11 the entire game. We had a patchwork defensive line that had undersized Gerris Wilkinson playing DE (he would also become a great LB) and a really young secondary.

Favorite Memory: Key Fox sacked Joel Statham in the 2003 Maryland game that led to a fumble, which was returned by Jonathan Cox all the way to the MD red zone. We scored a TD with about 14 minutes left in the 4th quarter and won the game 7-3... Probably the most boring game ever but it somehow includes the most vivid and exciting play of my entire GT fandom.

Super Bowl pick or thoughts on the big game? Steelers favored at -7. I'd take that line if I bet on sports.

News Musings: Recruiting and Basketball Toughness

Recruiting

Coley Harvey looks back on where our recruiting stood last year with CPJ. HECTICISM! It's much more peaceful this year...

Speaking of recruiting, we know this by now but Stephen Hill told UGA to go screw themselves when they offered him as he is still coming to The Flats.

Big Recruiting Signing Day is February 4th. You can come to the AA and watch the faxes come in with LOI's and/or you can come on down to Atlantic Station later that night for the Recruit Celebration. Here's the schedule for that:

Pre-Program Activity:

1. Coach Johnson press conference begins at 5:00pm for media only.
2. Ticket Office personnel arrives at 5:00pm to set up.
3. Wreck will park in front of TWELVE Hotel Ballroom 5:15pm-6:30pm
4. Pep Band will arrive at 5:15pm and play from 5:30pm to 6pm
5. GT Gold Rush Dance Team and Buzz will arrive at 5:15pm.
6. Doors open to public at 5:30pm.
7. 5 GT Gold Rush Dance Team and Buzz will greet patrons coming into TWELVE Hotel Ballroom foyer
8. 5 GT Gold Rush Dance Team will roam through crowd and sign photo card autographs
9. Buzz will greet patrons and interact with GT fans in attendance
10. Fans will partake of appetizers and cash bar.

Program begins at 6:00pm:

6:00 - 6:02pm Wes Durham will welcome fans to Celebration then introduce Coach Johnson, seated on stage

6:02pm - 6:10pm Coach Johnson addresses crowd from podium, then introduces all Assistant Coaches (seated on the stage behind the podium). Coach Johnson/Giff Smith to comment on the new recruits.

6:10pm -6:45pm Coach briefly discusses each signee; 45 second highlight video is played.

6:45 – 6:47pm Wes Durham recaps the evening then dismisses the crowd until the Spring Game weekend, April 18^th.

Basketball Toughness:

Are we weak? Do we lack mental poise? Who knows, no one can explain it. But it's there though. The problem is known, let's find an answer...please? It's interesting how Hewitt says Nick Foreman has the "tenacity" compared to everyone else. Why is that? It's because he's a walk-on always fighting for his job. That's why.

Comparing Gottfried and Hewitt

Yesterday, Alabama Crimson Tide coach, Mark Gottfried resigned from his post in the middle of the season. Bama is currently 12-7 (note: winning record) and 2-3 SEC but also rank towards the bottom of the conference in key statistical categories Some interesting details on Gottfried's tenure include: Turning a program around in the beginning, 11 seasons in Tuscaloosa, 1st $1 million basketball contract in school history, and he has missed the NCAA Basketball Tournament the past 2 seasons. Gottfried was also criticized




In Atlanta, Paul Hewitt is 9-9 and winless in the ACC. He has proven that he has a knack for signing "1-and-done's" who will prove themselves in the NBA but not seem to contribute too much to the mold of our team. This is currently his 8th season at Georgia Tech and unless a miracle happens, the Jackets are on their way to missing the NCAA Tournament for a 2nd consecutive season. The last time GT won a game in the NCAAT? 2005.


So I ask you....what's the difference between the two men?

An interesting note....Bobby Cremins himself said that his greatest downfall was him not being prepared to replace Stephon Marbury when he left after 1 year. Lesson learned?

News and notes

Well, we dropped a big one at Littlejohn. I think Mike Gminski said it best when he said, "Georgia Tech has been a revolving door for point guards as of late, much like the end of Bobby Cremins' tenure." Our forwards are really good but you can't do jack with good forwards if you've got guards that can't get the ball across the half court line. Clemson's press should've been what CPH wanted in that his guys could run up and down the court all game. I was always under the impression that our offense favored the transition game. I don't know anymore. I'm still hopeful that we can pull a barely .500 season but it's a tough road. Damn, it's a tough road.

Also, a certain Ball is back in the news. Not Reggie but his little bro Marcus. Apparently, Marcus is interested in going back down to Florida to play for the Gators. Good luck to the Gators.

I personally never hated on Reggie. I never understood why everyone just loved to dog him so much. In retrospect, I think Chan and Pat Nix deserved way more heat for Reggie's performance and negative college experience. I think he's probably the only Division I-A QB that did not have a good time in all of college football history. Guys like Drew Stanton, Drew Tate, or Brad Smith all started the majority of four years with equal to or greater inconsistency and never got near the mad hate that Reggie got (locally or nationally). So goes life.

Any thoughts on Clemson L or the Ball brothers? Feel free to comment.

The Road to Clemson

To GT fans on the way to Clemson today:
Be careful. The roads are littered with the burnt out cars of Clemson fans. That's right, as the GT bus passed by Clemson fans' cars, all passengers inside spontaneously combusted. This happens once a year as GT enters the Palmetto State for its annual trip to Littlejohn. South Carolinians can only handle so much greatness and the sheer epicness of the GT team bus excited the molecules in their bodies just enough to cause spontaneous combustion. Yes, Clemson fans are pyrophoric as we would call it in hazardous waste management. Any time they get a little excited about their teams, implosion is inevitable...CHEERS TO A POSSIBLE GT VICTORY. To Hell with Clemson.