40th Anniversary of THE Moonwalk

1969 was an interesting year for GT. Integration was sweeping across the Deep South and particularly the public school systems. Tech's President Edwin Harrison retired. Fulmer Hall opened as the first women's dormitory on campus. 1969 was also the first year women could enroll in all classes at Tech. Previously, they could only enroll in courses not offered anywhere else in the state of GA. GT Sports featured some prominent storylines as well during the year of the Apollo 11 moonwalk:

Football: Bud Carson was the coach. The team struggled to a 4-6 record but closed the season with a 6-0 win over Georgie. Carson recruited the first African-American scholarship athlete in Tech history - Eddie McAshan. Also of note, the now world famous GT was designed by a football player on Carson's squad and added to the helmet:

Basketball: John Hyder coached the cagers during the '68-'70 seasons. In games played in 1969, Tech was 16-11. The teams featured Tech's alltime leading scorer, Rich Yunkus.

Baseball: Baseball was coached by Jim Luck. The team started the season with a 14-5 record but finisheed 16-12. Tech goes 2-1 against Georgie on the season including a series finale win at Luther Williams Field.

And in case you were wondering, here's a list of GT alums that claim "astronaut" status.

Athleticism leads to financial failure

After yesterday's post about the super rich GT athletes, I started looking around for additional reading on athletes' finances. I found a very interesting line from a great SI article about the financial failures of pro athletes:

When former NBA guard Kenny Anderson filed for bankruptcy in October 2005, he detailed how the estimated $60 million he earned in the league had dwindled to nothing. He bought eight cars and rang up monthly expenses of $41,000, including outlays for child support, his mother's mortgage and his own five-bedroom house in Beverly Hills, Calif.—not to mention $10,000 in what he dubbed "hanging-out money." He also regularly handed out $3,000 to $5,000 to friends and relatives.

Holy Crap... 60 million down the tube. I can't even fathom that much money. I don't necessarily pity the guys that lose that much money but I am definitely jealous. I think about what I could've done with 60 mil or someone with more forethought in a similar situation.

Another link provided by the same article shows the very interesting Championship Rings.NET. I searched specifically for GT rings and found several baseball rings that had already been sold. Apparently, this site has seen a jump in 30% sellers since last year. Whether that's increased exposure or simply a downturning economy is another discussion but I still find the site intriguing. Seeing athletes' prized possessions up for sale. Reminds me a little of the OJ hostage situation.

Just thought I'd share the linkage.

Know Your Head Coach Analysis

Paul Hewitt filled out a survey for ramblinwreck.com. He was asked mostly about his favorite foods, sports teams, etc.. Here're the highlights with commentary...

Birthdate: May 4, 1963 -- Coach Paul is 46 years old
College attended: St. John Fisher
What I watch on TV: MSNBC, Fox, CNN, ESPN, State of the Union with John King, O'Reilly Factor, Keith Olbermann, Anderson Cooper 360 -- Coach Paul is a Centrist

What music I listen to: Earl Klugh, David Sanborn, India.arie -- Coach is all about that smooth jazz/R&B

What I drive: Ford Explorer -- Way to support Detroit and America Coach Paul


Superstitions: picking up head-up pennies -- I've got this conspiracy that the government uses coin collectors as a sneaky form of deflation.


On my office walls: Ernie Barnes painting (shirts and skins), John Holston painting, family photos and basketball memorabilia


The one person I'd love to trade places with for a day: Tiger Woods, just to see what it's like to hit the golf ball like he can


My first job: Burger King on Westbury, Long Island. It lasted 13 minutes because I showed up late from basketball practice. He fired me on the spot. -- I tried to google maps this location...location not found.


My favorite meal: Lasagna or curried goat -- Curried goat looks more disgusting than it sounds. It must be a Caribbean thing.


Favorite sports team growing up: New York Yankees, New York Knicks -- I think I've always had a strong dispassion for Northern teams growing up. The Knicks, Yankees, Boston, etc.. Can't stand any of 'em. George Can't-stand-ja.


My bucket list: 1. Visit every major league baseball park, 2. Attend Wimbledon -- 3. Win a NCAA Title at Georgia Tech...at least that should be on this list.

John Salley presents Awkward Silence

For Friday's entertainment, I found a nice little tidbit. Tech alum John Salley was interviewed on local LA television station about his upcoming role in "I'm a Celebrity...Get me outta here!" You need to fast forward to the 3:50 or so mark to really catch the best part of the interview:


Side Note of the Day: According to Mash on the Gas, Matt Wieters will start tonight for the Orioles.

Basketball falls short....again

From RamblinWreck.com:

The Academic Progress Report (APR), released today by the NCAA, reveals that the majority of Georgia Tech student-athletes are excelling in the classroom and progressing towards graduation.

Yes, the majority. Now can you guess which sport doesn't fall in the category? BASKETBALL! We "recruit well" but lose. We get the "players we need" but they leave early. Now our Academic Progress Report is not sufficient. The only sport at GT that failed at it. And no matter how you say these reports look at the wrong statistics, it's the same across the board. And F'ING UGA passed! Because of our failing grade, we lose 2 scholariships. Since we were warned about this in July, we already gave them up.

The Yellow Jacket men's basketball team multi-year rate dipped below
the 925 threshold, which triggers an automatic penalty in the loss of
two scholarships. Tech learned in June (2008) that this would be the
likely outcome for the men's basketball program and elected to forego
two scholarships for the 2008-09 season, playing with 11 scholarship
players instead of the maximum of 13. Because of this action, Georgia
Tech anticipates utilizing all 13 scholarships for the 2009-10 season.

Here's the Scoring Chart:

Multi-Year Rate Comparison by Sport:

Team 2006-07 2007-08
Baseball                974    *989
Men's Basketball        931     914
Men's Cross Country     950     974
Football                951     957
Golf                   1000   *1000
Men's Swimming          975     970
Men's Tennis            959     961
Men's Indoor Track      951     955
Men's Outdoor Track     949     953
Women's Basketball      957     952
Women's Cross Country   993     993
Softball                967     981
Women's Swimming        997     994
Women's Tennis          985     978
Women's Indoor Track    988     986
Women's Outdoor Track   990     988
Volleyball              990   *1000

Can anything happen right for Paul Hewitt? I don't know you feel sorry for him or what but it sure doesn't cool down his hot seat. It's been 5 years since the 2004 Final Four run in San Antonio. LSU's Jon Brady was dismissed 2 years after the Tiger's run. At what point do you say "Enough"?

They lost another one to GT

After firing ol' Felton at Jawja, the dogs have lost another recruit to Tech. It's okay though 'cause most dog fans don't realize they've got a basketball team. Interestingly enough Daniel Miller is from my hometown albeit he went to the private school. But I'll pay some attention to the kid.

Also, Tech has a new beat writer at the AJC, Doug Roberson. He's not related to Avery Roberson and he's a dog alum so we'll see how long we can handle the new guy before tossing him under the proverbial bus...just kidding. But seriously, don't let us down.

Looking forward to Clemson. To Hell with the Tigers!

Gani Lawal Thinking About Going Pro

Gani Lawal has announced that he will be entering the NBA Draft. He has not hired an agent.

For a little while we all thought that with the combination of him and Derrick Favors, the season next year could be a good one. We could be back to being a young team in desperate need of development.

What are your thoughts?

Tech practice facility

Tech is building an 8.5 million dollar practice facility. I don't really understand the article when it says that the teams were strapped for practice time/locations when the Freshmen Gym is also within the AMC structure. Seems like AMC and the Freshmen Gym provide ample space for both teams practicing schedules. I think this may be moreso a recruiting tool and a means to preserve the AMC floor.

The dig against Tech and for Georgia in the article is slightly unfair in that Tech doesn't have millions of acres of cow pastures to build on. Land is limited in REAL cities. Speaking of Georgia...

Tech travels to Athens in softball today. Tech is undefeated under Coach Perkins against the Dogs, going 4-0 in Perkins' four attempts. Tech has also won 6 of the last 7 against the bullgirls. Game starts at 4:50pm and will be broadcast off of ramblinwreck.com.

Thoughts on the practice facility or GTAA expenditures are welcome.

Call me the Hamburglar!

McDonald's All-American "Derrick Favors leads East to Victory" is the headline on SI.com's college bball site. Not bad pub for Hewitt's last shot at redemption. Yes, I said it. Favors is Hewitt's ultimate make-or-break point. And Favors, based on his Mickey D's performance, is gonna take GT to another level next year. He's a competitor, a winner, and a damn good baller.

Any thoughts on Hewiit/Favors/bball in general?

Remembering the shot heard 'round ATL

Above: #3 Jarrett Jack, #11 Will Bynum, #12 Luke Schenscher, #42 Clarence Moore, #24 Marvin Lewis

How can anyone forget the shot Will Bynum made to send Tech to the National Championship in 2004? Every time I reflect on the play, I tell people it's one of two times I high-fived my dad. The other time was the 1992 NLCS when Sid Bream slid home and was SAFE. One of my buddies from Pittsburgh has a shirt that says, "Pittsburgh Pirates: Rebuilding Since 1992."

The game was on April 3, 2004. The shot was made off a pick and roll with 1.5 seconds remaining against a favored Oklahoma State team giving Tech a 67-65 win. Every bit of the play is still stuck in my head. Great times.

Anyone like to reflect on past Tech moments, go ahead.

The Big East Superiority Con

Don't let the Big East and ESPN fool you. There is a better conference in the country or at least a valid argument disputing the Big East's supposed college basketball dominance.

I was sitting at a bar last night in Raleigh with some NC State grads. One was from Connecticut and a huge UConn fan. He was drooling over Okafor and Ben Gordon and I loudly stated that Gordon and Okafor sucked balls. To which we started a heated debate relating to GT, UConn, and the Big East vs. the ACC.

His argument was that the Big East is the greatest conference ever. Used the 6OT game as an example of its greatness. I was pretty plastered as was he so I just started running off random ACC-Big East matchups this season that the ACC won. I also reminded him that we dominated Thabeet in 2006 at the GA Dome.

The following string of words followed - please imagine a thick New Hampshire/Connecticut accent:

Husky fan: "You're about to receive a black eye."
Me: "I'm not really worried about that."
Husky fan: "Why not?"
Me: "Well, I'd say you weigh about 120-125 pounds and I weigh about 185."
Husky fan: "F*** you. I gotta smoke."

So he assessed the situation after I took my coat off and then he stormed off to apparently smoke. He had the makings of a coward so I wasn't terribly worried about a physical confrontation. Douchebag indicators = bandwagon UConn fan + terrible New England accent + drives a Pontiac Aztek.

Now, let's talk real numbers. ACC OOC record is 147-37 (79.9%) while the Big East was 171-59 (74.3%). The ACC was 7-6 versus the Big East in regular season play. We'll see come tourney time. I'm sure the Big East will send a lot of teams for the pure hype factor but I wouldn't be surprised to see more ACC in the Sweet 16 this year just for the fact that our top 5-6 teams are really deep.

Any thoughts on the Big East or ACC? I personally have hated the Big Least since2004 for the way the Big Least treated BC in its last season.

FSU Preview

How do we win: Lewis Clinch must score at least 20 points. Gani Lawal must have a double-double. And a forward (e.g. Peacock or Alade) must have at least 10 points. Fouls, free throws, etc.. don't mean shit to our team. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Keep our play aggressive and mean and knock FSU off their game like we did Clemson.

How do we lose: We try to win with point guard play. Hewitt's guards are meant for two things - laying siege to the lane and defending other guards. If we can't limit our guards' turnovers, we're sunk. Half court play is not our forte...let's keep it in transition all game.

X-Factor: Paul Hewitt has coached in a lot of postseason games at Tech (26 to be exact) with a .500 record in Tech postseason since the 2001 NCAA's. Hewitt's teams are usually built for tournament play rather than regular season championships with average depth and rangey athletes.

Prediction: Tech by 3.

Clinch + Gani + Alade = Joy

Three combined for 64 of team's 86 points. Team shooting over 50% on FG's doesn't hurt. On to Florida State!

The Definition of Snakebit

If one were to look up the definition of the term "snakebit" one would find the following in the dictionary:

Snakebit [sneyk-bit] adj -
1. Bitten by a snake
2. (In basketball) Losing ten games by two possessions or less
3. (In basketball) Playing in back-to-back overtime games and losing both
4. (In basketball) Losing the last game of the regular season with 1.7 seconds left on a midrange fade away jumper

We've still got Clemson to go this Thursday instead of BC. Preventing a 3-game sweep and progressing to the next round of the ACC tournament does not look impossible with Clemson's performances as of late. Any thoughts on upcoming ACCT or season's ending?

Maryland Terribles Preview

Tech's first ACC series is this weekend at home against the mighty 4-4 Maryland Terrapins. Generally speaking we should expect to sweep the Terps or at least take 2 out of 3. The Terps are batting .286 and just recently were swept by a scrappy UNC-Wilmington team. Hope y'all are ready for a blood bath.

Tech bball finishes the regular season against BC on Saturday. BC's recent upset by NC State makes GT a must win for BC's tournament hopes while GT is playing for pride and "momentum" going into the ACCT. I wanna win this game. I wanna win the ACCT. The best thing for the ACC would be Tech magically pulling a Georgia this year and taking the ACCT and sending an additional team to the tourney. That would be sweet.

Any thoughts on MD? I know Vu probably has some. Anyone think basketball season flew by?

Last night took us back to good times

to the good days when GT Basketball held a presence. It was Senior Night and Lewis Clinch went out with a bang as he led all scoring with 30 points and went 9-16 from behind the arc, only 2 away from Dennis Scott's record of 11 3-Pointers.

What felt good about this game? Everything. We never were behind and roared through the entire 40 minutes of play. Miami came out flat and we came out as if we were playing for something other than simple pride. Some key stats that I have not seen all season: 56% from 3-Point Range and a shocking 67% free-throw shooting percentage. (insert shocked face here). It feels good to win and I almost forgot what it felt like.

So what's up next for the Jackets? It's back-to-back matchups against the Eagles in the last regular season game and the ACC Tournament down here in Atlanta. The first matchup will be this Saturday the 7th. The rematch has the Jackets locked-in as the 12-seed in the ACCT against the Eagles as the 5-seed at 2:30 PM in the Georgia Dome on March 12. More info on the tournament as we get closer.

VICTORY!

Lewis Clinch - 10 of 19 shooting (nine 3 balls), 4 assists, 3 steals, and no turnovers. Player of the game. Performance of the season. Good win for seniors' last game at home.

Our Current Event

This is a direct quote from a source close to the program:

Last week, University of Miami scientists explaced... placed explosive detonators at the bottom of Alexander Memorial to blow Buzz out of the stadium. Sir Mo Miller of the Ramblin' Wreck summoned the help of Atlanta's local wizards to cast a protective spell over the Coliseum and its residents, and all those who seek a peaceful existence with our hardwood mascot.

Let's end the bleeding GT. Do it for the children. Please seniors. Win it for yourselves.

Any predictions for the game? Anyone paying to watch on ACC Now?

Tuesday News Musings

Football

Spring practice doesn't start until after Spring Break but conditioning for the Yellow Jackets has begun, the same conditioning that laid the foundation for us being one of the least tired units in the 4th quarter. All information and photos is thanks to Ken Sugiura.

Jon "Diesel" Dwyer workin' hard

So, here are two of the more difficult drills. You can read them all at the original link above. How would you fare and when would you pass out? Oh yeah, you are also getting yelled at by Paul Johnson.

• Pro agility drill

Players start in a three-point stance. Depending on which direction the coach commands, they sprint five yards left or right, touch the ground, then go 10 yards in the other direction, touch the ground and run back five yards to the starting point.

• Towel drill

Four towels are placed in a square about five yards apart. The players start at one square, place their hand on the towel and, with all their weight on one hand, circle the towel, get up, sprint to the next and do likewise at each corner of the square.

Austin Barrick says: “By far the hardest, especially for [offensive] linemen. You’re supporting your body weight with one arm and you’ve got to bend down and a couple of us have got some bellies. We’ve got to bend over that and spin around. Your legs burn, your back gets tired from bending over. It’s really tiring.”

Thanks for the report Ken.

Basketball

The season has been rough. The season has been long and pretty much unbearable. However, tomorrow is Senior Night. Come to the AMC to show your appreciation. Also, the ACC Tournament starts next week. Plan on us playing the 5/12 game next Thursday at 2pm.

Baseball

The multitude of polls have been released, and Tech is scattered among the rankings. Baseball America has the Jackets at #18. While the NCBWA has us ranked at #10

Beesball kicks off the ACC season this weekend as they host lowly Maryland. The Terps currently own the worst record in the conference at 4-4. The UM student newspaper delves deeper into the woes of Maryland baseball.

GT-Rutgers series ends with snowballs

GT takes the best of three series with a doubleheader ass-kicking on Saturday. Sunday's game was cancelled due to rain/snow. GT outscored the Scarlett Knights 19-8 over the weekend and is showing an offense similar to the 2006 CWS team that scored 8.7 runs per game (FYI GT is scoring 8 runs/game this season).

We will not discuss a certain event that occurred in Chapel Hill this past weekend. I think the box score speaks for itself.

Looking ahead to this week BBall hosts Miami during the midweek and Beesball welcomes the Terrapins to ATL for the first ACC weekend series of the season.