My Thoughts On The Falcons 2011 Draft

It’s been two weeks since the Falcons made one of the biggest draft day moves in recent memory, as they traded up in the first round to grab Julio Jones. When you make a move like the Falcons did, there is a price to pay, and for the Falcons, they had to surrender their first round pick, second round pick, fourth round pick and next year’s first round and fourth round picks.

When I first heard about the trade, I was a little shocked that the Falcons would make a move like this. General manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith are about building through the draft and not making any risky moves. So as a result, they have built this current team though the draft while adding key free agents.

But now that I think about it and let the trade sink in, I like the move. There are times where a franchise has to make a bold move in order to take that next step. The Falcons were 13-3 last year and won the NFC South Division as well as having the best record in the conference. But Smith was clear that they needed to be more explosive plays on offense. The Falcons did score a lot of points last year, but the reason for that is they were able to control the clock and make little to zero mistakes.

They did have more dire needs on draft day, especially when it comes to the defensive line, offensive line and linebackers. But the organization felt Jones was the right fit for the Falcons in terms of what they want to do on offense moving forward.

So here’s what the Falcons should look like. You have Matt Ryan at quarterback, Michael Turner at running back, Roddy White and Jones at the wideouts and Tony Gonzalez at the tight end spots. All of these players made it to the pro bowl except for Jones, and if everything goes according to plan, Jones should be making trips to Hawaii on a yearly basis.

Did the Falcons give up a lot to get an unproven player? Yes. But the reality is they had a chance to get a player with a huge upside and they seized the moment. Since 2008, the Falcons have been sitting back and not making any bold moves. Now, with the Saints looking to get back to the Super Bowl and Tampa Bay being a team on the rise, the Falcons had to make sure they stay on top and they felt like this was the way to do it.

Now, all this is pending because the NFL is still in its lockout, but If Jones becomes the player we all hope he can be this year, the Falcons will have another legitimate shot to win the Super Bowl this year.

But what if he doesn’t pan out? What if he struggles and the Falcons are 8-8 when the 2011 season concludes? How much heat will Dimitroff have on him if Jones does not perform?

GHSA to Vote on Reclassification in May

Camden County has been one of the most successful football programs in the state of Georgia for the last decade. But because the school is located on the border with Florida, the Wildcats have to travel long distances for away games which is not fun for coaches, players and fans.

Because Camden, along with other schools in the more remote parts of Georgia, the GHSA has two proposed plans to reclassify teams to make competition better and traveling easier. One plan is features six classifications while the other plan would feature more eight state champions per gender per sport. Here’s a look at the proposed plans.

CHAMPIONSHIPS GALORE …

Back in 2000, the GHSA realigned classes and added a 5A classification for schools with a large number of students. So schools such as Walton, Brookwood, Lowndes and Valdosta were in 5A due to the number of enrolled students, generally over 2,000. With the first proposed plan, 5A would be gone and there would only be four classifications. However, there would be more state champions crowned.

Why is that? Because each region for each classification would be divided into two groups: the upper tier and lower tier. The upper tier will have schools with the larger enrollments while the lower tier will feature the smaller enrollments.

Here’s an example. Region 1 in Class 4A will have 10 schools including Lowndes, Valdosta and Northside (Warner Robins). But due to enrollment, Lowndes would play in the upper tier, while Valdosta and Northside would compete in the lower tier.

Now, here’s how the playoffs would take shape. For a sport like football, each region for each tier will have assigned slots for the tournament. In the system that is in place today, each region gets four slots for playoffs. That won’t be the case with the new proposal because some regions will only have two or three teams in a tier for a certain region. Just like Camden County, which is in the same region as six other schools, but due to their population being over 2,200, Camden along with Brunswick are the only teams in the upper tier. So when the playoffs come around, only one of those two teams will earn a spot in postseason action.

MAKE IT SIX …

The other proposed plan, which has not been talked about as much as the four classification plan, is adding a sixth class which would aim at splitting the teams in 5A because of the difference between the state’s largest school and the lowest populated school in 5A is dramatic. Alabama has a similar structure where they have six classifications with the sixth class being the highest in enrollment and the first class being the lowest. This plan has not been laid out as much as the four-classification plan because this plan is focused primarily on Class 5A.

So when is this all going to kick off? The GHSA is going to meet in mid-May to vote on the 4/8 plan. If the plan receives enough votes by the executive committee, then the plan would be in action during the 2012-13 school year. If not, then the five-class plan will continue until the 2013-14 school year. One thing’s for sure, high school athletics in Georgia will never be the same.

Additonal Thoughts On Wrestlemania 27

It’s been a week since Wrestlemania XXVII electrified the Georgia Dom and I have to say it was a wild, crazy and fun weekend. From Wrestlemania Axxess to the actual event at the Georgia Dome, it was a weekend I will never forget.

So I wanted to take this opportunity to grade Wrestlemania because there are large majority of people thought it wasn’t that great. One of my good friends, Variable-Y has a wrestling blog and you can read his opinion on Wrestlemania here.

He thought it was a good show and gave it a B+. I will also give the same grade because while the order of matches was not favorable, the matches themselves were solid and the production was top-notched.

The best match of the night had to be Triple H vs. The Undertaker. I think everyone who was watching knew that Undertaker was going to win, but by the way things were going, it looked as if Triple H was going to come away with a win. Both superstars are veterans and they put on a performance that nobody will soon forget.

Other matches that were good were Randy Orton vs. CM Punk, Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes. However, they should have made the Edge-Del Rio match a little longer and it should not have been the first match of the night. That made zero sense.

The worst match of the night had to be Jerry the King Lawler vs. Michael Cole. It wasn’t the fact it was a bad match, it was the fact that there was so much hype surrounding the match and it did not live up to expectations Cole’s wrestling ability is limited, but the match got dull midway through and the ending could have been better.

And I have to mention the John Cena vs. The Miz contest for the WWE title. It was a solid match, but I think everyone was expecting to see The Rock come out to determine the outcome of the match. He did and he gave Cena the Rock Bottom and Miz was able to retain the title. Some people thought the end of the match was predictable, but what else could they do? Besides, they had little time left to do anything else so the end of that match works in more ways than one.

Overall, it was a good night for the WWE. It wasn’t the greatest Wrestlemania, but I did not expect it to be the best of all-time. Sunday was a time for WWE Superstars and Divas to perform in their biggest show of the year. That doesn’t mean the show is automatically going to be great just because they are performing in front of 72,000 fans at the Georgia Dome and millions of fans across the globe.

But it was a good show and they should make their way back to Atlanta in the next 5-10 years. And if they do come back to the ATL, trust me when I say I will be there and take part in all the festivities.

Wrestlemania 27 was a huge success for Atlanta

This was a piece I submitted for Score Atlanta, but due to time and miscommunication on my part, it was never posted on scoreatl.com. But here it is anyway and I will have more thoughts on Wrestlemania later in the week.

Big sporting events in Atlanta is nothing new to the city. The Final Four, World Series, the NBA All-Star game, the Major League Baseball All-Star game and the Super Bowl have graced the Peach State the last two decades.

But there is one event that took place this past Sunday that could have been the biggest of them all. An event where Drew Carey and Pee Wee Herman made an appearance along with Jersey Shore’s Snooki and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Wrestlemania XXVII took place at the Georgia Dome and to say that it was a success would be an understatement. Pro wrestling has always been big in Atlanta, so it made sense for the biggest show in sports entertainment to make its way to the dome.

“WrestleMania XXVII was an overwhelming success and one for the Atlanta history books,” said John P. Saboor who is the Senior Vice Presidents of Special Events for the WWE. “WWE would like to thank our public and private sector partners for helping to make WWE’s annual pop-culture extravaganza a memorable one.”

But Wrestlemania does not take place for just one night. It’s a week-long event that starts with the Wrestlemania Art show where the WWE Superstars showcase their artistic side with painting of other wrestlers, and the paintings are on display at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

Then, Wrestlemania Axxess kicked off the following day, which was held at the Georgia World Congress Center. I went to Axxess on Friday and it had everything a Wrestling fan could ask for. Not only fans get to get autographs and photos with their favorite Superstar and/or Diva, there was also a ring in the center of Axxess for fans to enjoy live matches and Q&A sessions with their favorite wrestlers. There were also championship belts on display and fans could play the new video game WWE All-Stars on the Playstation 3 or XBOX 360.

The night before Wrestlemania is a special night for fans as well as WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends. The 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Philips Arena and it was a time to honor some of the most influential people in WWE history. The 2011 inductees included, the dynamic tag team the Legion of Doom with Paul Ellering, the first WWE Diva Sunny, hardcore legend Abdullah the Butcher, “Bullett” Bob Armstong, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Drew Carey and Shawn Michaels who according to some say he is the best in-ring performer of all-time. The inductees told stories about how they got into this business and why they love it so much.

Then Sunday was the main event, Wrestlemania XXVII. Fans were lining up at the Georgia Dome as early as noon which was four and a half hours before the doors opened. Once the show started at 7:00 p.m. the fans were loud from the start until the final match was over which was at 11:00 p.m.

What got the crowd going was when The Rock came out to open the show. The Rock, who made his return to the ring six weeks ago after being gone the last seven years, got the crowd amped up and ready for the show. He also came back at the end of the show to “lay the smack down” on John Cena and WWE Champion The Miz.

There were 71,617 fans in attendance for Wrestlemania. While it’s not an overall dome record, it’s a record for the highest attend entertainment event at the Georgia Dome which is an 11-year old record. This year’s Wrestlemania also grossed $6.6 million which broke the Georgia Dome record set by the U2 concert which grossed $5.7 million.

So does this mean Wrestlemania will be back next year? No, because Wrestlemania XXVIII will be in Miami. But because this Wrestlemania was so successful and the WWE being a popular brand in the city, it’s safe to say that Wrestlemania will be back in the very near future.

The Atlanta Sports Guy 2011 Wrestlemania Preview

Twenty six Wrestlemanias have come and gone, and today the city of Atlanta, as well as the rest of the world will be treated to Wrestlemania XXVII. I have to say that I’m looking forward to it and it should be a very entertaining night. Here’s a preview of the entire card as well as predictions for each match.

Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio – I think Rey will win the match because the stipulation is if he loses, he will have to take off his mask and I don’t think that is going to happen. This has a chance to be a very good match because Rhodes is a rising star and I know he wants to put on a good show for his hometown crowd. And Mysterio has been in the business for years and knows how to put on a performance – especially when it’s Wrestlemania.

The Core vs. Kane, the Big Show, Santino Marello and a mystery partner – The reason for the mystery partner is Vladmir Kozlov was brutally attacked by the Core during a match at Wrestlemania Axxess. I think the Core will win because the WWE seems to like the group since Wade Barrett is the Intercontinental Champion and the team of Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater are the Unified Tag Team Champions. Should be an okay match, but I’m curious who could the mystery partner be. It should be very interesting.

LayCool and Dolph Ziggler vs. Trish Status, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and John Morrison – Because this features a celebrity, I can’t see Snooki, Trish and Morrison losing. I don’t see this match being long and expect Snooki to use her gymnastics background in the match. Personally, I’m just glad to see Trish back in a WWE ring.

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for the WWE U.S. Championship – I have to go with Sheamus. I think they are going to give him a bigger push this year after not ending 2010 on a high note. Though, Bryan is liked by fans and he could win to solidify him as one of the up and coming starts on the roster. This should solid match because they seem to work well together.

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (with Jack Swagger), special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin – I have to go with Lawler and the reason is this is Lawler’s first Wrestlemania match believe it or not, and I feel after putting a pretty good match against WWE Champion the Miz at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the win at Wrestlemaina will be a reward for his work in the ring. Now the question is how is he going to win? His finishing move is the pile driver and the move has been banned by the WWE.

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk – I’m going to make a bold prediction and say this will be the best match of the night and the one I’m looking the most forward to. As far as a prediction, I’ll go with Orton to get the win. However, they could have Punk earn the victory and make him more a bigger heel than he is right now. The WWE has done a great job hyping this match and it has a chance to steal the show.

Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – I have to go with Del Rio to take home the belt. He has done a good job working the fans and a win at ‘Maina will give the WWE something new to work with on Smackdown. But I have to say I’m a huge Edge fan and I hope he remains the champ. But with all the talk about Del Rio being the champion, I don’t see Edge getting the win at the Georgia Dome.

John Cena vs. the Miz for the WWE Championship – I have to go with Cena because whether fans love him or hate him, he is the face of the WWE and a win will add to his legacy. But how will he win? We all know the Rock is going to get involved. Will he help Cena, or will the Rock wait to come out after Cena wins and challenge him to a match? Should be a lot of fun.

Undertaker vs. Triple H – This is probably going to be the last match of the night and I have to say the Undertaker is going to go 19-0 when the night is over. This should be a good match, but the Undertaker is broken down and on his way to retirement. The same can be said about Triple H because he is doing more stuff backstage and it will be only a matter of time when he takes more control over the company. And there one important thing to mention about this match. Before this match was even booked, Triple H said in an interview that the Undertaker’s Wrestlemaia win streak should never be broken. I have to agree with him because the “Dead Man” has given so much to the company and have never complained about anything.

So here’s a recap of the winners:

-Rey Mysterio

-The Corre

-Trish Stratus, John Morrison and Snooki

-Sheamus

-Jerry Lawler

-Randy Orton

-Alberto Del Rio

-John Cena

-The Undertaker

Should be an exciting Wrestlemania and if you are going, have fun. It should be a night that we will never forget.