Observations & Opinions

…….This Georgia Tech crash began with an agent turned down by Morgan Burnett and out for revenge, and it could have been stopped there. No $312 gift of clothes, or whatever it may have been, should ever have been allowed  to inflict such a penalty. Georgia Tech’s attorney could have seen to that instead, when Dan Radakovich called Paul Johnson in and demanded institutional silence. It should have stopped there. But Johnson’s a mountain man, and mountain men don’t deal well with their honor at stake, and this was an attack on him, as he saw it. The penalty, though, far exceeds the alleged crime, and it appears to be an NCAA case of pure vengeance against a program that has a reputation for operating above aboard. As for Burnett, he was clean, no charge. In other words, the whole thing could have stopped at Radakovich’s desk.

…….Too bad that Louis Oosthuizen’s visit to the John Deere Classic didn’t work out as glowingly as it might have. Oousthuizen didn’t make the cut in the tournament, but he did get to visit the factory where his farm equipment is made; the host company failed to harvest any publicity from it. And Louie’s game hasn’t been the same since.

…….If you’ve got a bead on the trade gossip about Derek Lowe, you’re a few beads  ahead of me. He’s sharpened up a bit lately, and it’s true that he hits the stretch of September in good form. Then why put him on the block? In the first place, where is there a team willing to handle the $20-million bucks left on his Braves’ contract at his age? That’s a lot for a six-inning pitcher in this day, when it seems the complete game seems to be coming back in style.

…….What I like most about what athletes having been saying these days, is what Rory McIlroy replied when asked about his fourth-round collapse at the Masters: “If this is the worst day of my life, I’ll be luckier than most people.”

…….The interview form that bothers me the worst is when they ask the question that is not a question at all. It’s when the interviewer just says: “Talk to me about that.”

……I keep wondering just how much more mileage the Braves can get out of their bullpen crew. The middle relievers are already beginning to show wear and tear, especially Scott Proctor, and I never fail to be concerned when Fredi Gonzalez puts in another call for JonnyVenters.  And just how many more “closes” he can get out of Craig Kimbrel? After all, he’s just a kid, and I wonder if there are just a certain number left in his arm.

……My comeback star of the year: Davis Love III, all three of him……

……Baseball name of the year: Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds righthander. Nothing like a baseball payer named Homer, especially a pitcher.

….Selah.