Yes I remember covering the Parkview Panthers in the early part of this decade. The football team was super with Clint Sammons at quarterback and that big time wide receiver named Jeff Francoeur. He also was a great cornerback. I remember calling a game at Brookwood and he had two interceptions returned for touchdowns. What a game. Then they went on a nice run of 30-0 and two state championships.
Speaking of two straight state championships, he and Sammons both had two more on the baseball team. I remember going to Lassiter and they were talking some smack about how good their team was. I just kept my mouth shut. I was on top of the third base dugout with all the Lassiter fans. Well I finally had enough and started telling them about Francouer, Billy Howard, a good leftfielder named Green, a great shortstop named Tim Gustafson and Sammons. Then Francouer quietly smacked four home runs in the doubleheader. Those Lassiter fans were irate. It was actually kind of funny. I knew even when the bases were loaded and they brought in another pitcher Francoeur would deliver again. You could feel it in the air. I even made the comment they should walk him intentionally, even if it meant giving up a run. Well sure enough Superman came through.
And now when I watch the show on FSS about Francouer, you can see a part of me on top of that dugout while Francoeur rounds third base. Boy those were the days. Of course even after Francoeur and Sammons left, the Panthers continued the streak and made it 45 games in football and actually 46 with one the following year. The baseball team wasn't quite the same but it still is nice remembering the early part of this decade.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Coach needs to go
I have been a homer for Atlanta for 30 years now. I remember as a kid growing up in Augusta, Georgia listening to the Hawks on WSB at night and keeping score for Dan Roundfield, Tree Rollins, Rory Sparrow, John Drew, Cliff Levingston and Kevin Willis. I remember Mike Fratello and Hubie Brown and these Hawks were very exciting. They would make the playoffs every year and even one year made it to within one game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Fifty wins was not out of the question.
This team they have now is just as exciting. With talents such as Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and even guys like Marvin Williams, Maurice Evans and Flip Murray this team could have made it further. But there is one thing holding them back....The Coach. When we got Mike Woodson I thought this was a good pickup. He was an assistant at Detroit and knew how to play defense. We are still a pretty good defensive team but he doesn't have a clue how to run this offense.
We are a fast break team and to do that you need more than 7 or 8 players. Look at Mike Anderson at Missouri. He just proved that if you get the guys out there and run the whole game it works. Why are we not playing Solomon Jones, Randolph Morris and Acie Law more. ZaZa Pachulia is a great help but yet he plays maybe 10 minutes or so a game. Our guys are worn out by the fourth quarter.
And we must have a mental block when it comes to playing the Celtics. Person for person we have as good or better players. But as a team, we will never advance and be considered an elite team. We don't get the ink or press time on ESPN or CNN or any other sports channels and I don't like it but I tend to agree. We are pretenders and not contenders and will never be as long as our coach doesn't figure out how to get guys 9-12 in the game.
Rotate and keep fresh people in the game. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Use time outs wisely. Doc Rivers did an excellent job of using his timeouts. Hawks cut a 17 point deficit to 11 with two 3-pointers and Rivers immediately called a timeout. They are the champs not because of the big 3, Garnett, Pierce and Allen. They are the champs because Doc Rivers is smart. Glen Davis is an average player. Mikey Moore is average. Eddie House is average. But with a great coach, they look like superstars. Atlanta will never be that with a coach that doesn't have a clue how to use them.
Take that starting unit and break it up into two good units. Throw a Morris or Jones in it and use some of the other guys on the second team. It's not who starts but who finishes. By the last 4 minutes of the game you can mix and match and put the best 5 out there to finish the game. These guys don't have ego's so much they have to start all the time. I think they'd rather win. Try it. I bet I am right on this one. But I guess we'll never know.
This team they have now is just as exciting. With talents such as Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Mike Bibby and even guys like Marvin Williams, Maurice Evans and Flip Murray this team could have made it further. But there is one thing holding them back....The Coach. When we got Mike Woodson I thought this was a good pickup. He was an assistant at Detroit and knew how to play defense. We are still a pretty good defensive team but he doesn't have a clue how to run this offense.
We are a fast break team and to do that you need more than 7 or 8 players. Look at Mike Anderson at Missouri. He just proved that if you get the guys out there and run the whole game it works. Why are we not playing Solomon Jones, Randolph Morris and Acie Law more. ZaZa Pachulia is a great help but yet he plays maybe 10 minutes or so a game. Our guys are worn out by the fourth quarter.
And we must have a mental block when it comes to playing the Celtics. Person for person we have as good or better players. But as a team, we will never advance and be considered an elite team. We don't get the ink or press time on ESPN or CNN or any other sports channels and I don't like it but I tend to agree. We are pretenders and not contenders and will never be as long as our coach doesn't figure out how to get guys 9-12 in the game.
Rotate and keep fresh people in the game. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Use time outs wisely. Doc Rivers did an excellent job of using his timeouts. Hawks cut a 17 point deficit to 11 with two 3-pointers and Rivers immediately called a timeout. They are the champs not because of the big 3, Garnett, Pierce and Allen. They are the champs because Doc Rivers is smart. Glen Davis is an average player. Mikey Moore is average. Eddie House is average. But with a great coach, they look like superstars. Atlanta will never be that with a coach that doesn't have a clue how to use them.
Take that starting unit and break it up into two good units. Throw a Morris or Jones in it and use some of the other guys on the second team. It's not who starts but who finishes. By the last 4 minutes of the game you can mix and match and put the best 5 out there to finish the game. These guys don't have ego's so much they have to start all the time. I think they'd rather win. Try it. I bet I am right on this one. But I guess we'll never know.
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