The Recycle Bin

A home team of our own?

I thought this ajc.com article was interesting, but I do not think it is a new phenomenon.

“We’re fair-weather fans here in Atlanta,” Champs store manager Terry Presley said. Though Hawks jerseys are selling more briskly following the organization’s first playoff series win since 1999, other teams’ stars still rule our decidedly non-partisan corner of the NBA universe.

It’s a local phenomenon not restricted to basketball. Cowboys and Steelers fans typically show up in large numbers whenever Dallas and Pittsburgh come to Atlanta. The same applies at Turner Field when the Red Sox and Cubs visit.

“There’s a bandwagon element to Atlanta fans that doesn’t just apply to Atlanta teams,” said John Kincaid, co-host of “Buck and Kincaid” on 680 The Fan.

When I was growing up, there were always kids that were Cubs and Yankees fans. Of course cable and the Super Station helped spread the Braves, but not everyone followed the local teams. Same for football – Cowboys and Steelers dominated, but that was typical for the time.

Growing up in SEC country, it was fairly predictable that everyone followed Georgia, Alabama (Bear was akin to God), and Auburn, with a smattering of a few others. Of course there were always your random Irish fans, and the yearly fluctuations of new teams depending on who was at the top of the polls. For example, the rise of The U saw influx of obvious bandwagon jumpers. And so it went.

When I moved to Atlanta was the first time I realized that no one living in Atlanta was actually from Atlanta. Still, you would expect transients to eventually pull for their new hometown team. Not so much.

It always sucks going to Falcons games and seeing so many opposing fans; kind of kills the home dome advantage. Then again, it was joy watching all ‘Da Bears fans hang their heads after Atlanta kicked them in their collective nuts last year.

And with that … I’m out. Happy Saturday!

Eye Candy Retro Style

I have a huge catalog of Original PlayStation (PSX) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) games just sitting around in my entertainment center, various bookshelves, boxes and bins. I know; this sort of sucks as a waste of perfectly good (and not so good) games. I have written before that at one point in time I was pretty much addicted to videogames – buying the game, holding it, owning it, preordering it, playing it for a few minutes. Getting a new game was akin to crack.

Over the years I have broken this habit; sort of. The addiction is partly what drove me from reviewing games, and not getting new material every week also contributes to not having anything new to say, but I digress. Writing about the latest, greatest videogame releases became more of a core than a welcome distraction.

At any rate, I do a much better job of selling some games if I figure I just do not enjoy them or will never get around to completing the game. I try to time selling sports games on eBay so I can get $25-30 in preparations for the next release. At other times, I have a hard time letting go. Seeing the Gran Turismo 4 (GT4) game case, knowing that the disc is destroyed (see previous blog entry – “Life without a PS3?”), I think about tracking down a replacement copy. I know that I will never finish it; the only GT series game that I have completed 100% is the first release for the PSX. Still, to me, GT4 is the best release in the series, even if the graphics do not compare to the PlayStation 3 (PS3) eye candy in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which finally brings me to the point of this column.

I was poking around looking for some information on older PSX games; need to make some decisions on which games to sell and which ones to keep a while longer. I came across this article about upcoming PSOne (I still like PSX) games for the PlayStation Store.

Medal of Honor
Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Wipeout XL

I still have Wipeout XL (and the original Wipeout). Fun games that I never really got into, but never sold because I know they are “classics” that I will eventually came back to one of these days. I never got into the Spyro games; I am sure I purchased them, but that is a different story. I own Medal of Honor, but never got around to playing it. Several times I thought about selling it, but I always thought I should hang onto it for a while longer. I use to play the heck out of the Street Fighter Alpha series, but was never very good. I think I still own one of these games, but will have to look to see. I do still have the Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter game, which I have held onto just because. Seriously, no real reason other than the Marvel characters in the Street Fighter engine was pretty cool.

The only problem with these older games, that I may or may not get around to playing one day, is that the graphics really do suck on my HDTV. Funny; I have become a graphics whore. Every time I attempt to cull my collection, I think about which games were fun (at the time of the PSX) and which ones have gameplay that would hold up well today. This pretty much rules out sports games, but you cannot get more than fifty cents for many of the older games, unless they have some collectable value (i.e. Tecmo Super Bowl). I would actually play some of these games if I could get my PS3 and PSP to do a decent job with Remote Play. Maybe one day.

I have been having a good time with my two oldest sons playing Midway Arcade Treasures 3; mainly Rush 2049 and Hydro Thunder. Back in the day this collection averaged a metacritic score of 67.

It goes without saying that the graphics are certainly better than any of the PSX offerings, but nowhere near the level of PS3 arcade racers. In this case, it all comes down to gameplay and that all important fun factor quality. It is fun “re-discovering” some of these older titles with my boys. They could care less about the graphics (they are use to the Wii and their Nintendo DS); I think they are actually OK with enjoying a game for the pure pleasure of playing something new.

So maybe there is still some life in that old collection of mine, and along the way maybe I can educate my kids in the finer arts of PlayStation and arcade style gaming classics. If my kids learn to value fun factor and gameplay over eye candy, I win.

Life without a PS3?

Any longtime readers of this humble site have realized for a while that I lost my gaming jones. As the NFL draft was approaching I decided it was high time to get in some Madden. Imagine my surprise when I could not insert the disc. After a while I realized that my youngest son decided he wanted to play a game, so he tried to help himself. To the tune of loading up the PS3 with three discs!

I have no idea how he accomplished this feat, but none the less, three discs were in the PS3. Dragon Tales (original PSX – this must have been what he wanted to play), Crazy Taxi (PS2), and Gran Turismo 4 (PS2). What to do? I was awfully pissed off, so I went outside so as not to take out my frustrations on my family.

The lovely and talented Mrs. Calvert decided to appraise the situation, and tweezers in hand, she removed Gran Turismo 4. Of course it was broken and completely ruined. I guess that is one game that I have an excuse not to complete at 100%. That was all she could do.

After I calmed down, I came back inside and attempted to get the other disc out. At the time I had no idea that my son jammed in three games! Good grief. After numerous attempts to eject, turning the system on and off, Crazy Taxi finally emerged (I have no idea if this one still works; lots of scratches). Finally, my son’s prize emerged – and of course as luck would have it, Dragon Tales still worked.

The PS3 did not survive the forced gameplay process. Results were mixed. Often when inserting a disc, it makes a horrible noise, and does not recognize the disc. After several attempts 5-10, a disc will finally be show in the XMB, and will actually play. Last weekend I did get in a couple of games of Madden, and a few older PS2 arcade type collections (kids love the Midway collection with Rush 2049).

Earlier in the week, the new Star Trek Season 1 collection arrived, and seemed to work OK, after the above process of multiple disc inserts, turning the system on/off, etc.

I realized that the PS3 was on its last leg; something in the blu-ray insert, load, read mechanism is badly jacked up (you know you like these technical descriptions). Last night the system decided it would not play any blu-ray movies would not work, and they sure as hell would not eject. After 10 minutes, the PS3 finally gave me back 300. Thanks.

So now I have to decide if I want to attempt my own repairs, taking about the PS3, and disassembling the blu-ray drive in order to clean the lens and maybe see if I can align the mechanism that moves disc in/out of the device. Or I can send in the PS3 for repairs.

At any rate, after a long sabbatical from the PS3, now that I am starting to feel the jones again, I have to prepare for life without a PS3. I do not really want to spend $150 on repairs, and I sure as hell do not want to buy a new PS3.

Running in the hood.

This morning I decided that I wanted a change in scenery for my morning run. Instead of doing my usual park run, which is always good for seeing a few hotties, I was a dumbass and decide to take a run through the hood. No, seriously. I figured hitting a few blocks in the hood would give me some extra motivation for time, speed, and distance.

Good grief, little did I know that I was right, and I was in for a real eye opening treat. Right off the bat, one of the locals was working a corner. Of course, I am ignorant and naïve, so at first I did not really realize he was “working,” waiting for potential buyers. By the time I looped around the block, he was on the opposite corner, talking to a fellow in truck.

As the truck pulled away, I the dude asked me a couple of times if I need some weed. Let’s be honest, and all it for what it is. I did not really expect a local to be working the corners, much less making me an offer for a smoke. Sunday morning … offered a lefty? Seriously? No joke.

The same sort of scene repeated itself a few blocks over. Two dudes this time. Understand I am not really scared, but starting to get a little nervous. Kind of like bad idea jeans. No harm no foul, but another offer, and the adrenaline kicked in. Needless to say after a head-knob and a “w-sup,” I was flying.

A hood run was the perfect “get up and go” for getting back in a routine. There was no way on God’s green Earth that I was going to slow down, stop and rest. Doubt I will do that again anytime soon, but what a rush!

Falcons Day One Grade = B+

The only reason I am saying B+ and not a slam dunk “A” is because I am not 100% certain that Moore is a day one starter. I think that scenario is likely to be the case, but training camp will tell the story.

The ESPN NFC South Blog thinks the Falcons got the upper hand on the rest of the NFC South with the selection of Peria …

“The Falcons stayed at No. 24 and selected Mississippi’s Peria Jerry and — at least in the short term — they might be the winners of this draft for the NFC South. The Saints and Bucs both could have used Peria.

There’s no doubt Jerry will be starting next to Jonathan Babineaux on opening day. There’s almost no doubt Peria would have started for the Saints or Bucs right away.

We’ll grade this draft in a few years. But, as of right now, the Falcons are the only NFC South with an absolute certain immediate starter.”

They also think that Moore is a likely starter …

“I’ve said all along, the Falcons needed to get two immediate defensive starters out of this draft. I think they’ve done that.

The addition of Missouri safety William Moore in the second round should fill what was Atlanta’s only real remaining hole in the starting lineup. The Falcons aren’t about to give up on second-year pro Thomas DeCoud, but Moore’s draft status and physical skills probably will make him the starter at strong safety.

That spot was wide open when veteran Lawyer Milloy was released after last season. Moore is a physical player with a lot of upside and adding him was a very wise move because the Falcons are going to have to deal with tight ends like New Orleans’ Jeremy Shockey and Tampa Bay’s Kellen Winslow on a regular basis.”

I have not looked around at the full complement of sites posting grades, winners and losers, but I thought it was interesting that CBS Sports graded Peria and Moore as the second best player at their respective positions:

DT
2. Peria Jerry
6-2, 299, Mississippi

SS
2. William Moore
6-0, 221, Missouri

If we assume for a moment that Peria is a day one starter, and Moore wins Lawyer’s old job, then Day One was actually an “A” for the Falcons. Time will tell; hope I am selling ATL a little short.

Falcons second round pick Moore to start right away?

The Atlanta Falcons picked up William Moore, S Missouri, with their second round selection (23rd pick in the second round; 55 overall. To be honest, I know very little about this Moore kid, but after doing some research on him seems to have a shot at starting. The scuttlebutt on Moore is that his value fell after an injury plagued senior year, and his coverage instincts are poor at best.

The FalconInsider @ scout.com thinks that Moore may not be a day one starter, but whatever concerns were on there on Moore, the Falcons got a second round gift.

“Brian McIntyre’s Take: Because of his combination of size, speed and versatility, I had Moore as the top safety in the draft. I was very surprised that the Falcons were in position to take him without having to burn a later round draft pick to move up to do so. It’s probably too early to say with any certainty if Moore will start in Week One, but the competition with second-year safety Thomas DeCoud should be one to watch during training camp.”

The Falcons have to find an immediate replace for Lawyer. No offense to DeCoud, but if Moore is not the replacement, this pick is suspect at best. Day One selections are for starters, unless you are the Super Bowl favorites and you are building depth. Day Two is when you pickup up a surprise starter, and strengthen your roster by getting some value plays.

When it is all said and done, I think Moore will be the starting strong safety. Why? Take a look at Moore’s numbers last year (2008 Missouri Season Statistics) and then compare them to his junior season (2007 Missouri Season Statistics). If Moore’s numbers last year fell due to injuries, and Moore can play healthy, the Falcons just got a steal of a deal.

Peria a perfect fit for the Falcons.

I watched the first seven or eight picks of the draft, and then took the better half out for dinner. I figured that was pretty generous of me … giving up the draft and all. Hopefully she will reciprocate later tonight.

The Falcons managed a bit of luck by landing Peria Jerry, DT Mississippi, with the 24th overall selection. I really thought Peria would be gone by the time Atlanta selected, and I saw very few mock drafts that had Peria lasting this long.

Hopefully they will go secondary with the next selection, followed by linebacker, and then depth on the defensive and offensive lines.

Shaping up to be a great draft for the Falcons. At a minimum, Peria will be a day one starter.

Stafford goes first.

The funny thing about Stafford signing with the Lions, reportedly one of the richest contracts in NFL history, is that I thought he was not playing with a full deck. I mean seriously, who wants to go to Detroit? That franchise is a wreck that may take a miracle to rebuild.

I was going to write an article about how Stafford’s intelligence must be over rated. After all, he did well on the Wonderlic, but he still wanted to go to Detroit? Makes you wonder WTF is wrong with him?

After his dazzling pro day workout in Athens last week, word is now that the Bulldogs’ quarterback — rated by many as the best quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft — scored the highest score on the Wonderlic test of any other quarterback.

Stafford reportedly scored 38.

USC’s Mark Sanchez scored 28 and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman 27.

The test, which measures problem-solving ability, features 50 questions and a 12-minute time limit.

Though the test is rarely completed, the Wonderlic is typically regarded as a good way to measure a player’s intelligence.

So now we know that not only is Stafford a smart guy, he is going to be incredibly wealthy. Sounds like he is living the high life.

May 8. Reimaging day.

I spent some time watching the various clips of the new Star Trek movie, and I have to say that May 8 cannot get here soon enough. It looks like they are putting a lot of time and energy into the movie, and while I have not search for a script, news, info, etc, I assume the budget is big enough to pull of something that will not put the franchise in shambles. I am thinking this one is going to follow the party lines, and not be as much of a reimaging as Battlestar Galactica.

I am also going to assume that the actors had so sign some sort of three movie deal; maybe even a spin off TV contract. I hope this thing turns out well, so we can bring back some Star Trek … I am ready for some new material. In this case, maybe it is not new by the strictest definition, but if done well; the new Star Trek will fill a nice void.

Live long and prosper.

Super Bowl contending Falcons?

OK, so the Falcons traded for one of the best TE to play the game (best as in the past). Not sure if I am happy about giving up a second round pick next year; second round picks can be starters if you are smart about your draft picks.

This article has me tickled pink …

“Tony Gonzalez said after his trade to Atlanta on Thursday that it is “somewhat bittersweet” to be traded to the Super Bowl contending Falcons away from the struggling Chiefs.”

Seriously. When have you read Falcons and Super Bowl contending in the same sentence? Hold the door; don’t jump to conclusions so quickly and temper the Falcons Super Bowl talk.

Falcons awarded difficult 2009 schedule.

I guess it was bound to happen. Win a bunch of games, make the playoffs, and get rewarded with a difficult scheduled. It does not help that the NFC South is a very tough conference, making six games a year iffy propositions. I suppose this is better than the alternative; have a down year, get an easy schedule.

At this point the Falcons have 16-1 odds of winning the Super Bowl, which pretty much means Atlanta is not even in the preseason conversation, but it is still nice to not see “you are a dumb ass to even look” type odds. I like to call that progress. I guess it could also be a fool’s hope – Mezzanine Endzone season tickets will make a fool of you (or at least me).

The Falcons’ 2009 schedule is tough as nails:

-Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 13 MIAMI DOLPHINS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 20 CAROLINA PANTHERS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 27 at New England Patriots 1:00 p.m.
-Week 4: BYE WEEK
-Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 11 at San Francisco 49ers 4:05 p.m.
-Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 18 CHICAGO BEARS 8:20 p.m.
-Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 25 at Dallas Cowboys 4:15 p.m.
-Week 8: Monday, Nov. 2 at New Orleans Saints 8:30 p.m. ESPN
-Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 8 WASHINGTON REDSKINS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 15 at Carolina Panthers 1:00 p.m.
-Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 22 at N.Y. Giants 1:00 p.m.
-Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 29 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 6 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 1:00 p.m.
-Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 13 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 20 at N.Y. Jets 1:00 p.m.
-Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 27 BUFFALO BILLS 1:00 p.m.
-Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 3 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 p.m.

For starters, I think getting the bye in week 4 sucks; week 5, 6, or 7 would be a better check point. From a home schedule standpoint, I wish Atlanta picked up a different team than Chicago; saw them last year, and adding Cutler does not make the Bears any more compelling. Getting Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, and Buffalo is nice. I have never seen any of those teams in person, so I am looking forward to those games.

So where to from here? The Falcons have never had back-to-back winning seasons, so that has to be the first order of business. May as well get that monkey off their collective backs, and make the playoffs to boot. While Carolina is always strong, I do not see them winning the division. Tampa Bay is rebuilding. New Orleans will bounce back this year, making the South a tossup between the Falcons and Saints. At least that is my early predraft guess.

Wishing you a Joyous and Blessed Easter!

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Easter.

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” [Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV)]

I am looking forward to time with my family, and a great time preparing lunch on the grill. Lamb loin chops, marinated in extra virgin olive oil with thyme, rosemary, basil, minced garlic, ground black pepper, and a dash of salt. I also have ears of corn and sweat potatoes to slowly cook over the grill, and my wife is going to cook fresh asparagus. Plan to wash it all down with a great bottle of Juan Gil (2006) Spanish red wine. Yum! Cannot wait!

A Joyous Easter Sunday to all!

The last word on the Laurent Robinson trade.

I really do not get all the fuss about moving Robinson. He may turn out to be a great player, but then again, maybe not. I thought this exchange from the NFC Chat (ESPN Blog Nation network stuff) was enlightening:

Frat (Athens, GA): Pat, why the Laurent Robinson trade? By all appearances we traded a promising young receiver for a few extra draft spots. Was something else going on behind the scenes? Is this really a good trade for the Falcons?

SportsNation Pat Yasinskas: Yeah, the coaches had given up on him. They didn’t like the fact he wasn’t very physical.

As I wrote a few days ago, I think the trade was a solid value play. The Falcons moved Robinson, a former 3rd round pick that was injured all of last year and most likely did not play into the Falcons future (or he would not have been traded). In return Atlanta was able to move up ~20 spots in the 5th and 6th rounds. On draft weekend, I think Falcons fans will be grateful that we were able to pick a little higher in each round.

G-Day Game

So far (midway through the second “quarter”) the Dawgs looks extremely sloppy, but it is still interesting getting to watch their Spring Game on ESPN. I was not really sure what to expect because the game is basically a fancy practice.

I am not sure what to think of all the trick plays. Work on them now and see what sticks? To me it seems like it would also tip off some teams when the games get real.

I hope the drop passes are not an indicator of things to come.

Good call by Georgia to get their game on ESPN. Even a better call to make sure Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are readily available to further increase Georgia football exposure on a National stage.

Go Dawgs!

Mock Draft Take 5.

TheFootballExpert has the Falcons taking Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi with their first round pick.

Atlanta Falcons – Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss.
Brandon Pettigrew is tempting as he would provide Matt Ryan not only with another great blocker, but also a huge target to throw to. But with a deep draft of tight ends, the Falcons can afford to pass on a tight end in round 1. With Grady Jackson gone the Falcons have very little at the defensive tackle position. Last year, almost all the experts thought the Falcons would take DT Glenn Dorsey. The Falcons made the right decision with Matt Ryan, but now they get their defensive tackle. A hole at your defensive tackle position is much more of a concern than a hole at your tight end position.

That is better than the Atlanta burns their first round pick on Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State, mock drafts that I continue to read. According to this article, the Falcons only got 211 yards out of the TE position last year, which was good for dead last.

I like the idea of addressing the TE position in the 3rd or 4th round. I think the Falcons must go defense with the first few selections.