THE PERFECT GUY’S VALENTINE’S GIFT SEE BACK PAGE FEBRUARY 4-10, 2009 ATLANTA’S WEEKLY SPORTS TALK NEWSPAPER VOL 5 NO 3 02 I SCORE ATLANTA Get In The Game! WWW.SCOREATL.COM FEBRUARY 4-10, 2009 SCORE ATLANTA I 03 ™ STARTING LINEUP IN YOUR PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg FACE… MANAGING EDITOR Tad Arapoglou ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Gaudio WEBMASTER Alex Ewalt VIDEO MANAGER/PREP EDITOR Scott Janovitz BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick WWW.SCOREATL.COM BEAT WRITERS Josh Bagriansky (Falcons), Stephen Black 8 Hawks beat writer Scott Janovitz spoke with guard Joe Johnson, who (Kennesaw State), Jason Boral (Thrashers), James Butler was selected as a reserve on the Eastern Conference All-Star team for (UGA), Dave Cohen (Georgia State), Johnny Crosskey the third straight year. (Tech), Alex Ewalt (Preps), Scott Janovitz _____________________________________________________________________________ (Hawks/Recruiting), Fletcher Proctor (Braves) 12 Check out our last-minute news on the high school football STAFF WRITERS Cranston Collier, Joe Deighton, Ricky Dimon, recruiting scene, as well as our top 25 recruits just in time Rajesh Gupta, Zander Lentz, Andrew McCarron, Corey Mitchell, for National Signing Day this Wednesday! Jessica Parker, Leighton Savary, Keafer Triplett, Derek Wiley ____________________________________________________________ DESIGN INTERNS Chris Nunn, Bob Weldon 17 Falcons beat writer Josh Bagriansky writes on general CONTRIBUTORS Dean Zindler, Kevin Dankosky, manager Thomas Dimitroff, who was recently named the Mitch Evans, Matt Judy, Tony Schiavone, Richard Diamond, Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. Joe Haines, Brian Katrek, Chris Dimino, Mike Bell, Matt Stewart, _______________________________________________________ Fred Kalil, Nick Cellini, Phillip Leopold, Dave Marshall, Greg 19 Stephen Black breaks down the struggles of UGA and Tech’s Smith, Steak Shapiro, Mike Cather, Beau Bock, Hal Lamar, Chris men’s hoops teams. Tech has won just one ACC game and Cotter, Roy Hickman, Dave Cohen, John Olah, Jeff Woolverton, Dennis Felton (pictured) was fired at Georgia. Chris Voss, Bob Rathbun, Courtney Capps, Bill Hartman, Chuck Dowdle, Shannon Alderman, Dan Kamal, Dennis Scott, C.C., A SCORE UPDATE: Hal Lanier, Jeff Batten, Micah Hart, Ben Wright, Make sure to tune in to 790 The Zone on Sundays from 1-3 p.m., as Score Alan Vasquez, Andrew Vedlitz, Brian Jones Atlanta brings you the word on high school recruiting! Listen in as staff SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Mitch Albom, Dave Kindred, Barry Bloom writers I.J. Rosenberg, Scott Janovitz, Fletcher Proctor and Alex Ewalt bring news and analysis on all of the biggest names across the state. ™ SCHOOL And with National Signing Day taking place on Wednesday, you won’t LISTING want to miss their breakdown this Sunday. CHEROKEE/FORSYTH: Cherokee, Creekview, Etowah, Forsyth Central, North Forsyth, Sequoyah, South Forsyth, West Forsyth, Woodstock COBB: Allatoona, Campbell, Harrison, Kell, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter, TEAM PAGES I COLUMNS Marietta, McEachern, N. Cobb, N. Cobb Christian, Pebblebrook, Pope, S. Cobb, Sprayberry, Walton, Wheeler PLANK WALKS: We are hoping the DEKALB: Chamblee, Columbia, Decatur, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, COVER DESIGN BY DAVID GAUDIO. COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS. Lakeside, Marist, Miller Grove, M.L. King, Paideia, Redan, St. Pius Arena Football League returns for 2010 but if so, X, Southwest DeKalb, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, Tucker Georgia Force fans will likely see a new face lead- FULTON: Alpharetta, Blessed Trinity, Centennial, Chattahoochee, ing the team. Head coach Doug Plank has taken a Douglass, Grady, Lovett, Mays, Milton, North Springs, Northview, 5 CHEAP SEATS 6 DUE UP-SCORE LIST 7 SPIN-C.C. Riverwood, Roswell, Tri-Cities, Westminster, Woodward Academy position with the New York Jets as assistant sec- GWINNETT: Berkmar, Brookwood, Buford, C. Gwinnett, Collins ondary coach. Plank went 47-25 in four seasons 9 HS SPORTS REPORT 14 HAWKS-THRASHERS-FALCONS Hill, Dacula, Grayson, Greater Atlanta Christian, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek, Norcross, North Gwinnett, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, with the Force and took them to ArenaBowl XIX in 15 DAWGS-JACKETS 16 BRAVES-OWLS-PANTHERS South Gwinnett, Wesleyan 2005. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Cribb/Georgia Force. 17 MEMORY LANE 18 CALENDAR 19 AD INDEX WWW.SCOREATL.COM 04 I SCORE ATLANTA Get In The Game! WWW.SCOREATL.COM FEBRUARY 4-10, 2009 SCORE ATLANTA I 05 Georgia doesn’t need Knight, recruiting show on 790 and thoughts on MLB have never been quite sure why in the past RECRUITING SHOW … the Super Bowl and one former staffer told Ifew years Georgia has been unable to build a Over the next few weeks you will hear a me they were the largest paper in the coun- strong men’s basketball program and tradition. new show on 790 The Zone focused on high try that didn’t cover the game. That’s a sign It’s a great school, has one of the top school recruiting. We plan on doing the of just how bad things are going and word R overall athletic programs in the NCAA and show year-round and will slip it into the 1-3 is it won’t be long before it is no longer a E sits an hour from our great city of Atlanta. p.m. slot on Sunday on 790. To begin with, I daily paper, instead coming out four or V Sure, the arena is far from the best but have will be hosting the show with every intention five days a week. I do think, however, that you ever been inside the building where of turning those duties over in a month or so they have done a good job with ajc.com, O Duke plays? Cameron Indoor Stadium is old, to someone more knowledgeable about though it’s hard for papers to make money C dank and it smells. In other words, the excuse recruiting. But our panel will be one com- online, especially with the huge infrastruc- I hear all the time that Stegeman Coliseum is prised of experts, consisting of Scott ture the paper has built over the years. I do E the reason Georgia isn’t any good in basket- Janovitz, Alex Ewalt and Fletcher Proctor. hope that they find a way to keep going ball is silly. All three study the recruiting scene and we seven days a week. H Look, Tubby Smith and Hugh Durham T won there. Also, I don’t want to hear that Georgia is N a football school, as Florida has proven it can win big in both sports. O But I will say that bringing Bobby Knight to Athens would be a huge … no, a National Signing Day takes place the day horrible mistake. this issue hits stands (Wednesday, Feb. 4) Knight—and I know him personally and and when we had to go to press Monday have interviewed him on more than a few night, most of the state’s best recruits had occasions—was a great basketball coach made verbal commitments. Offensive when physical and verbal abuse was more lineman Chris Burnette (pictured) of Troup acceptable among college athletics. High School will head to Georgia, and he But remember, even the great Bear is ranked No. 7 of Score’s Top 25 recruits Bryant regretted to the day he died the way (see page 12). The above photo is cour- he treated his 1954 Texas A&M football team tesy of Rob Saye, while the cover photos (“The Junction Boys”). The difference with of Lowndes’ Greg Reid (uncommitted), Knight is he never stopped the abuse and he Carver-Columbus’ Jarvis Jones (uncom- certainly has never admitted to regretting it. mitted), Emanuel County Institute’s He is and has always been a baby and when Washaun Ealey (Georgia) and Lassiter’s he doesn’t get his way, he goes off grumbling Philip Lutzenkirchen (Auburn) are cour- into the sunset … no, make that the darkness. tesy of Photographic Arts. I know what it was like playing foot- SAFE BET: No, that’s not James Bond. Braves third baseman Chipper Jones rolls the dice at the Atlanta restructured his contract, freeing up money ball under a hard ass (the great Wayman Braves Foundation’s Diamond Gala. The inaugural event, which gave fans a chance to meet current and for- Creel) but he never crossed the line. Knight mer Braves players and coaches, held casino games at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. More than the Braves could use elsewhere. He is signed always seems to do just that and whether we $100,000 was raised for the Foundation’s community grants program, which provides financial support to through this season and will make around $11 million this year. On another note, when do like it or not, times have changed, especial- local non-profit organizations. Photos courtesy of the Atlanta Braves. ly in basketball, where those types of tac- you think baseball players, and for that matter tics scare off the best kind of talent. Also, team owners, are going to realize that the borrowing a line from Mark Bradley of the CATCH I.J. ON SUNDAYS economy is going to effect the number of fans Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia attending games this season, and when are they going to bring down salaries? Even the already tried to recycle one coach (Jim ‘[Bobby Knight] is and has always been a baby and NFL is getting stung, as most teams are cut- Harrick) and that failed miserably. ting back staffs; I heard many of the clubs What Georgia needs to do is first decide when he doesn’t get his way, he goes off grumbling plan to be well under the salary cap next sea- what it wants to be in basketball. If the into the sunset … no, make that the darkness.’ son. But for some reason, baseball has never Bulldogs want to be able to compete on a really stood up to the players and got rid of high level, they need to go out and find a will not only follow football and basketball AND FINALLY … things like arbitration and the fact that every Bobby Cremins like Tech did back in the but all sports, interviewing coaches, nation- I didn’t mention in my last column that contract is guaranteed.