Making it a little personal

When I started this blog a few years back, I told myself that I would make it only about sports in the Atlanta area.

But for this blog post, I wanted to talk about something different. It’s something that has been on my mind for the last few months.

If you know me, I don’t drink alcohol. When I’m asked why I don’t drink, I tell them I don’t like the taste of alcohol.

That is true, but there is a little more to it.

I’m a very observant individual. When I see people drink and have a good time, that’s fine. But when people continue to drink throughout the night and get hammered, that’s fine, but it’s a position that I never want to be in mainly because I always want to be in control when it comes to my body.

Another reason is I never thought drinking was a big deal, even when I turned 21. That was actually when I made the decision not to drink because I never looked at it as something that I needed to do. And I still feel that way to this day.

I will say this. I’m not going to sit here and say that I will never drink as long as I live. There will be a time when I may want to have a drink, but I will do it on my terms. Nobody is going to make me do anything that I don’t want to do. I am not going to be influenced by anybody because I know better.

That’s all I wanted to say about this. I felt like I needed to say something because I have been asked the question concerning why I don’t drink a lot lately. Maybe it’s the fact that I hang out at bars all the time and people just see me drink water. That’s fine, but does it really matter what I drink when I go out? Who am I hurting by not drinking?

Okay that’s really it. This is one of the few times that I will blog about something other than sports. Hopefully, I will be able to update my blog more often because I have not been able to do that this past year with other projects going on. I promise the next blog will be soon and it will talk about the many things I have going on in the sports journalism world.

Guess who's back

Okay. It's been a year since I posted on this site and I apologize. I have been busy writing for other sites and I have neglected my site which I started a few years back.

That is going to change starting this week because I will start posting on this site as much as I can.

Normally, I talk about sports in the Atlanta area. However, on Monday I will have a blog post that will be something different. It's not about sports and it's coming straight from the heart. The reason I'm doing this is I need to get something off my chest and I think this is the right time to do it. It's not too serious, but it's something that needs to be addressed.

Thanks guys for your support.

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.