Out of Bounds

New Stadium for the Falcons?

House Bill 903 details taxes to be levied on hotels and motels in an unspecified county in Georgia to help fund a brand new “multi purpose domed facility”, i.e. a new stadium for the Falcons.

The bill was introduced in January by Rep. Mark Burkhalter. Burkhalter is the District 50 representative from Johns Creek, Ga., a district that happens to include parts of Fulton County. Needless to say, his district has a lot to gain if a new structure is built – Fulton County would most likely be the home of the new facility, meaning a substantial portion of the hotel and motel tax money would be generated through the Red Roofs and Super 8′s of Fulton County.

But the rest of Georgia loses. We all get caught up in the hoopla of “new, state of the art” stadiums. Retractable roofs, super mega jumbotrons, and ergonomic seating seem on the surface to be a major upgrade from what is now, apparently in some eyes, relic of a stadium in the Georgia Dome. We, the Georgia tax payer, will be footing the bill for what would range anywhere from a quarter billion dollars to possibly $1 1/2 billion. The Georgia Dome cost a shade under $250 billion when you factor in the improvements from the past few years.  If you compare that to the newest two football homes in the NFL, it is but a drop in the bucket.

The Dallas Cowboys new facility opened in 2009 sporting a cost of $1.3 BILLION. That pales in comparison to the new Meadowlands, with a price tag of a whopping $1.6 BILLION!

You could build a new Georgia Dome inside Cowboys Stadium, and still have $50 million in the bank before you matched the Meadlowlands cost!

Suprisingly, the bill was met with very little opposition in either the House or the Senate, garnering over 70% at each read through. These men and women who respresent us must see the Georgia Dome every once in a while during their trips to A-town for legislative sessions. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT! In fact, in the few times I’ve seen games inside the Dome, from lower level to up in the rafters, I haven’t had a bad seat.

The Georgia Dome is fine. It works. It still looks good. It’s hard to believe it’s almost 20 years old – a testament to the fact that a new facility is NOT needed!

“If you build it they will come”. Thanks Kevin Costner. That line of thought has deterred Georgia Legislators from figuring out a way to lower the unemployment rate or improve education, cut down crime or feed the hungry. Instead, taxing Georgians (the base of the Falcon’s fans), and building a new Dome that is nowhere near needed.

That is, unless they write a bill stating the Georgia Dome be turned into an unemployment office/charter school/jail house/soup kitchen.

Read the bill HERE

Decision Time for Thompkins

The time is finally here when Georgia basketball fans will be able to let out a collective sigh of relief…or groan of disappointment.

Trey Thompkins is close to making his announcement on whether he’s decided to hang around Athens for another year, or bolt early  for the NBA draft. Thompkins is reportedly making his announcement Friday. I don’t expect anything flashy, just a “here’s what I’ve decided”.  Will his decision be a wise one?

I have no doubt that whatever he decides, he will be successful. There are a few factors I do hope he’s considering though throughout this process. No doubt he’s an NBA talent, but no doubt, there are several others with more NBA talent.

I’m no draft expert, but at this point, I would have Thompkins going somewhere in 2nd round, which is quite an accomplishment. If he decides to stay in college for another year, I could see him moving into the 1st, possibly as high as a lottery pick, which will mean millions more on his contract.

I think there are just too many players as talented, or moreso, in this years draft. With other early defections such as DeMarcus Cousins from Kentucky and Derrick Favors from Georgia Tech are sure to be more coveted than Thompkins. More underclassmen who will rate around or above Thompkins include Wesley Johnson from Syracuse, Al-Farouq Aminu from Wake Forest, and Patrick Patterson from Kentucky. That’s FIVE players at the same position that could go ahead of Thompkins in the draft. There are probably more.

On top of that, he must also consider the other players in the draft that are just too good to pass up if available. John Wall and Evan Turner would almost assuredly be picked before Trey Thompkins if he were to decide to jump ship early.

It’s a story similar to former UGA safety Rashad Jones – lots of talent, but not the most talented. Jones opted out of his senior year of football for the NFL draft. He will be drafted in a couple of weeks, but not as high as he could have been if he stayed in school another year. And that’s simply because of more talented players leaving college early.

Thomkins is in the same situation. He’ll do himself a huge favor by staying for his Junior year at Georgia.

He’ll be doing the Dawgs a favor as well.

NCAA Rules on Archie

It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t unusual. It wasn’t uncalled for.

But it effectively ended Dominique Archie’s playing career at South Carolina.

Archie injured his knee the 5th game into his senior season by landing awkwardly after a dunk. The school petitioned for a 6th year of eligibility, but the appeal was denied by the NCAA. It was deemed the former Josey standout redshirted his freshman year due to roster depth, not injuries, therefore he will not be allowed to play an extra year.

It’s not terribly shocking that he was denied, but it is unfortunate. Archie was moving his way up several of the school’s career leaders lists. He finishes his career with 1013 points, 562 rebounds, and 90 blocked shots. His value on the court was evident – the Gamecocks only won 11 of 27 games after Archie’s injury.

It’s unknown at this point what Archie’s next move will be. He still isn’t fully recovered from the knee injury, so he can’t fully train to further his basketball career. 

However, he is on schedule to graduate from USC next month…so not all is lost for Archie.

What to Look for in the Final Four (Part 5)

In the first four installments of my Final Four breakdown, I talked about the other three teams who are vying to bring home the championship to their respective schools. I’ll now move on the the last remaining squad, who also is the last of the number one seeds, the team everybody in America love to hate, the Duke Blue Devils.

Mike Krzyzewski has his team back into the Final Four for the first time since 2004, a period that must seem like an eternity for Duke players and fans alike.

Led by sharpshooters Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, the Dukies may be the only team left that can top 80 points in a game. Add that to the best front court rotation of any of the remaining teams and you can see why the Blue Devils are, in my estimation, the most complete team in the Final Four.

And it may just be the front court that separates them from the rest of the Final Four teams. Read more…

What to Look for in the Final Four (Part 4)

In Parts 2 & 3 of my Final Four analysis, I went over the two surprise teams that will play in the first game on Saturday, Butler and Michigan State.  Moving on the other semi-final match-up, there are two schools far more bracket prognosticators predicted would be in the hunt in this final weekend.

First there’s the team that many felt was the fifth number one-seed in the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Bob Huggins has his alma mater in the Final Four for the first time since 1959, when Jerry West was dishing dimes for the school and hadn’t yet become the NBA logo. Like Butler, the Mountaineers rely on a stifling half court defense to force teams into constant turnovers and contested shots.

They did just that against Kentucky to punch their ticket to Indy, primarily by handcuffing Wildcat’s sharpshooter Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe had been on a three-point shooting binge in Kentucky’s tournament games prior to meeting West Virginia in the regional finals, but the Mountaineer back court shut him down, forcing him and the Wildcats into misses on their first 20 three-point shots. Read more…

What to Look for in the Final Four (Part 3)

“Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team – no one more important that the other.” – Coach Norman Dale in Hoosiers 

I talked about the Michigan State Spartans in Part 2 of my Final Four breakdown, now I’ll move on to their opponent on Saturday, the “Little Hoosiers” of Butler University.

Child-coach Brad Stevens has the Butler in the Final Four for the first time in school history after impressive victories over Syracuse and Kansas State in the regionals. The 33-year-old Stevens has kept his team in the tournament with excellent in-game management and a tenacious defensive strategy. The Bulldogs defense has forced opponents into massive amounts of turnovers and the offense has also shot well from behind the arc to win games during the tourney. 

Relying on a smothering half-court defense, the Bulldogs have controlled the tempo, defensively, of every game they’ve played up to now. They knew they needed a Herculean-like defensive effort from their back court to stop K-State stars Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente…and that’s just what they got from guards Willie Veasley and Ronald Nored. Veasley and Nored spent the whole game last Saturday stuck to their charges like obsessed ex-boyfriends. Pullen and Clemente where constantly incessantly hounded by these Dawgs, both unable to get into any kind offensive rhythm during the Butler victory. Read more…

Georgia Basketball Lands One of its Two Biggest Recruits

The University of Georgia basketball team got great news when it was announced that star guard Travis Leslie will be returning to Athens for his junior season. And what a wise decision it is.

Leslie was not much thought of as a potential NBA’er before this season started. He only played sparingly his first season; a season cut short due to academic issues. Apparently, he hit the gym as well as the books. There has been no word of classroom struggles this year and his game has improved by leaps and bounds – literally.

Travis Leslie is hands down the best dunker in college basketball. He’s the best Georgia has had since Dominique Wilkins. But, Leslie has added a jump shot to his repertoire. Not only can he take you to the hole, he’s becoming increasingly better in his mid-range game. If he improves half as much next season as he did this, he will no doubt be a first round draft pick in  2011.

The Bulldog Nation is still awaiting word from their other star underclassman, Trey Thompkins. Thompkins would more than likely be picked this June, but how far down the list would he be?  With DeMarcus Cousins as one of many talented big men entering the draft this year, it seems not so much a stretch that Thomkins could fall deep in the draft. If he stays one more year in Athens and fine tunes his game a touch more, he will be a lottery pick.

The Dawgs have two commitments from high school players for the upcoming season. But, keeping Leslie on board for another season is the biggest prospect landing so far for Coach Mark Fox. The only way to top it: convince Trey Thompkins to stay in school.

What to Look for in the Final Four (Part 1)

Phew! I gotta tell you, this has probably been the most exhilarating, yet exhausting, first four rounds of “March Madness” in recent memory. The 2010 incarnation of the tournament has been upset after near-upset and buzzer-beater after buzzer-blunder. It seems like every game, save for a select few, has gone down to the wire this month. I personally cannot remember a more physical, unpredictable and watchable NCAA tournament since I became interested in sports as a kid.

But guess what…the best may be yet to come.

With an unlikely cast (except by my bracket’s standards) comprising those who still can cut down the nets in Indy, there’s a 50/50 chance we’ll have a first-time NCAA champion this year.

While Final Four regulars Michigan State and Duke are not wholly out of place in these semi-finals, upstarts Butler and West Virginia are also vying to bring that small wooden plank home to the Indianapolis suburbs and Morgantown, respectively, for the first time ever. Read more…