Paul Hewitt has a thin-skin problem. If the Georgia Tech coach's skin were any thinner, it would be see-through.
After railing on and off this season about one local columnist who built a solid, if slightly exaggerated, case that the Yellow Jackets were underachieving, he took the occasion of his contract rollover Tuesday to fire away indiscriminately at imaginary critics.
Entering its conference tournament, Georgia Tech was on the outside, looking in at the NCAAs. And while most pundits put the Yellow Jackets in the Big Dance after they ended North Carolina's misery in the first round of the ACC, the unveiling of the bracket Sunday suggests coach Paul Hewitt (left) needed two of the three W's it got in Greensboro.
After just one spring practice, the candidates for Georgia's quarterback gig have gotten some separation. And the practice had nothing to do with it.
With the arrest of Zach Mettenberger (left)
on five misdemeanor counts involving underage drinking, he has slipped to No. 3 behind Logan Gray and Aaron Murray. Doesn't matter how many slants and post patterns Zach completed Friday. The 18-year-old has some catching up to do.
With cornerback Dunta Robinson now a Falcon via trade, Atlanta had no room for two deadlocked cornerbacks who wear No. 23 and answer to Houston.
OK, that's not why the Falcons are dealing Chris Houston, likely to the Detroit Lions, for a draft pick. It's that Houston was highly culpable in Atlanta's No. 28 ranking against the pass.
As snow blanketed Atlanta and chilled our bodies, our minds drifted south to Port St. Lucie, Fla., where the Atlanta Braves were keeping score for the first time this year.
That they lost 4-2 to the New York Mets, who sat all of their regulars after a morning shower apparently turned the field into quicksand, is insignificant. (For the record, Chipper Jones didn't play, either, but he wasn't scheduled to.)
It's the dead of winter, but the hills are alive with chatter about the Georgia Tech and Georgia quarterback developments.
On the Flats, with incumbent Josh Nesbitt choosing surgery over spring practice, projected second-in-command Jaybo Shaw (left) won't be around to fill in. He is transferring to Georgia Southern.
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Not to be outdone by the Atlanta Braves, who have become the last stop before retirement for several just-under-40 players, the Atlanta Thrashers upped and signed a 48-year-old. If you follow hockey, you've heard of him: Chris Chelios (left). If you follow the Thrashers, you just shake your head.
John Smoltz says he will not play hardball -- not the type in baseball stadiums, but in the hallowed halls of Congress.
The former Atlanta Brave (left) turned away real or imagined Republican Party overtures about running for office. He's bright, stubborn and feisty enough to survive the bipartisan brush-back pitching that characterizes federal lawmaking nowadays, but he'll stick to high-and-tight from the pitcher's mound.
On the eve of the biggest day of her life, with bobsled partner nursing a hamstring injury that threatened to undo hundreds of training hours, Elana Meyers (left) of Douglasville sent me this email: "We're not sure what will happen at the push, but I'm still optimistic we can contend for a medal."
What hue? "Gold is always the goal, but of course we will be happy with any medal."
Now that the Atlanta Braves' half-assed attempt to sign Johnny Damon has failed, they are poised to enter the season with an outfield that should replace its jersey numbers with question marks. Individually, some will do fine. Collectively, group success seems as unlikely as Chief Noc-a-Homa returning as the Braves mascot.
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