Blowout

Jackets win in a rout. The running game looked good, as usual. Probably Philo's passing opened the run game up even more. GW obviously prepared to play vs King, a running QB. Here in SC the TV didn't show the GT game but did show highlights during the Clemson lightning delay. 

After a slow start the Jackets bounced back and the offense is ticking with backup QB Philo running the show. I had heard rumors that QB Haynes King wasn't 100% and that he's still having trouble with his shoulder. 

With Clemson losing 0-10 to Troy, and the Tigers struggling on offense, perhaps Tech will be able to beat them next week. 

Troy built a 16-3 halftime lead off two critical turnovers by Clemson. Then in the second half it was Troy who turned it over twice, and Clemson capitalized off both, going ahead 17-16.

Dawgs won but the fans were left wanting more. Hard to hold the edge with such a long lightning delay. 

Both UGA and Clemson probably didn't want to show too much of their playbook against inferior opponents. Both the Dawgs and Tigers want to establish a dominant running game (like Tech has), but at some point Gunner and Klubnick and GT's Haynes King are going to have to demonstrate that they can complete passes downfield.

Florida got beat by the South Florida Bulls. UNC leads Charlotte. Hurricanes cruised.

Arch threw four touchdown passes in 5 minutes, but the media continues to fall all over themselves to not make a big deal about it. Arch is the Charlie Woods of college football. Just think about how good Arch will be after playing his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. His new Warby Parker ad aired during ESPN College GameDay - and featured his dad Cooper.

For lunch Saturday I had driven the 13 miles to Pageland for Taco Bell, gas for the car, and a few groceries. Picked up dinner at the Golden Nugget. Ceil ordered the broiled salmon from The Nug. My chicken tenders weren't exactly legendary. Big thunderstorm passing through, which delayed the Gamecocks vs SC State game.

I was unsuccessful getting my laptop charged. Didn't really need it.

Friday: More people came to see Aunt Corinne. She was on the phone a bunch getting things organized. We're staying at her house, six miles down the road from Jefferson, in the tiny "town" of Angelus. Angelus used to have a post office and stores and industry, but that was decades ago.

I drove up to Jefferson to pick up lunch again, this time at a new food truck named Bams. It was doing pretty steady business, close enough to the highway to attract travelers. The burger was bigger and better than yesterday's, but the huge pile of fries were soggy.

Ceil's cousin Dic Dac and wife Debbie arrived from Mt Pleasant. Teresa and Phil brought supper: a crockpot of taco soup, with rice. Zane stopped by after duck hunting with brother Beau early Saturday morning.

I see where Caitlin Clark is out for the season.

Wild

Finishing up the New York Times bestselling WILD: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail, by Cheryl Strayed. Might have to watch the movie, starring Reese Witherspoon. Rated R, just like the book.

Next up: Me Before You, by JoJo Moyes. Also a hit movie. I recommend.

Monday: slept in this morning. Later we went for a 3-1/2 mile walk with Lee and Nancy, down by the river. Walked east under Roswell Road and 400, checking out how the City of Roswell has cleared out new park space. Later we did some extended cleaning upstairs. A 10000 step day. Went out and got my RaceTrac drink, a bottle of wine for Ceil from Trader Joes (the first bottle of wine I have bought in my life). Then I picked up a pie from Pizzeria Luca up near the Roswell Square.

Tuesday: spent extra time at the gym, and ran / walked for an hour on the treadmill. Zero breathing concerns, even though I had a tiny bit of wheezing when I was getting out of my car at the gym – due to cleaning out dusty things yesterday. Normal heart rate.

Question of the day: what was the greatest home run in each team’s history?

Braves: Hank’s 715th.

Dodgers: Kirk Gibson’s pinch hit homer.

Yankees: Ruth’s called shot

Red Sox: Fisk hits the foul pole.

Twins: Kirby Puckett’s World Series walkoff

Blue Jays: Joe Carter’s World Series winning walkoff.

Cardinals: Ozzie Smith’s playoff walkoff.

Pirates: Maz’s walkoff to win the 1960 Series

Several of my JFBC cohorts are attending a conference at Ridgecrest in October. C is invited but I’m not sure she can attend.

Article: scientists say they may have figured out the "Origin of Life" but aren’t saying how God figures in to it.

Article: a Smithsonian Exhibit Monkeys Around with the Scientific Evidence on Human Origins. Humans are not just 1% different from apes, it is a much greater difference. 

FRED CLARKE  [SABR Bio] is the only manager able to secure a 100-win season for them for the Pirates. In 1902 he led the team to a 103-36-3 record to set a new NL record. The World Series didn’t exist until the following season. In 1909, Clarke, who was a player/manager for 18 of his 19 years as manager, led the team to a 110-42-2 record and a victory over the Tigers in the World Series. In his first game with Louisville on 30 Jun-1894 Clarke went 5-5, with 4 singles & a triple. He took part in the Oklahoma land dash, but was unable to stake a suitable claim at the Cherokee Strip, on 16-Sep-1893.

As Denison noted in his response to the Minneapolis church shooting, circumstances cannot change the character of an unchanging God (cf. Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He is today what he was before the tragedy. Or perhaps my doubts say more about me than they do about him. It makes sense for me to question the character of someone only if I know enough about them for my doubts to be fair to them and accurate to the facts. But I cannot see the future consequences of God’s present actions. I cannot know how he will redeem present suffering for a greater future good, as with Joseph’s imprisonment in Egypt, which led to his saving Egypt and his own family from starvation. Trusting God even when he disappoints us moves our faith from a transactional religion to a transformational relationship.

C. S. Lewis wrote after his wife died of cancer: “Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about him. The conclusion I dread is not “So there’s no God after all,” but “So this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer.”

The Weekend Slate

This weekend's slate of games:

1200 Kennesaw St @ Indiana
330 GT vs Gardner Webb
330 UGA vs Austin Peay
330 Clemson vs Troy
700 Memphis @ Georgia State
700 SC State @ SC
700 Bethune Cookman @ Miami
730 Ga Southern @ Southern Cal
745 LA Monroe @ Alabama
100 Sunday Tampa Bay @ Falcons
Notre Dame does not play this weekend. Neither does Marist. 

Jackets wearing gold, gold, and white on Saturday. It is what it is. No discussion of what UGA or Bama is wearing - everyone already knows. 

Got my laptop working this morning and spent a good chunk of time on it, draining down the battery. This past weekend Ceil had found the long lost laptop charger cord, so I packed it for the trip. Just went to plug it in, and realized it was the charger cord for my old laptop. But hopefully I have a little travel charger that will work.

Took a long training call from Leo this morning, sitting out on the shady front porch, looking out at flowers and trees and the large front yard. Big tractor trailers rumbling past in the distance (makes it hard to sleep - tonight I'll leave the bathroom fan running). Fixed a wayward fence post (it wasn't hard).

Visitors brought freshly picked pears and peaches, a caramel cake, iced tea, and supper.

Ordered lunch from Emily's, a cafe in downtown Jefferson. A cheeseburger for me, chicken salad for C. Beef stroganoff for supper.

Winnie is having a big time, hanging out with Corinne's two dogs and three cats, running around in the pasture without a leash.

Week One Total QB Rating

ESPN Total QB Rating after week one of college football. Guess who tops the list?

01. 99.1 Gunner Stockton UGA

11. 89.1 Haynes King GT

15. 85.5 Diego Pavia Vanderbilt

17. 84.9 Carson Beck Miami

28. 78.4 Josh Hoover TCU

29. 77.8 Dylan Raiola Nebraska

34. 75.7 LaNorris Sellers SC

36. 74.5 Julian Sayin Ohio State

39. 73.8 Brendon Lewis Memphis

52. 62.3 Joey Aguilar Tennessee

56. 61.8 CJ Carr Notre Dame

60. 58.0 Arch Manning Texas

62. 57.6 Kaidon Salter Colorado

68. 54.2 Bryce Underwood Michigan

74. 50.4 Nico Iamaleava UCLA transfer

77. 48.6 Ty Simpson Alabama

81. 46.7 JC French Georgia Southern

89. 42.7 Cameran Brown Georgia State

103 31.4 Cade Klubnik Clemson

111 24.1 Dexter Williams Kennesaw State

I could not find the UNC QB on the list.

Busy 24 hours. I was all packed up and ready when C returned home from school Wednesday afternoon. Took her like 45 minutes to get ready. Then we had to stop at Chickfila on the way out of Roswell. Right when we were pulling out of the driveway a hot order popped up from work. I had to make several calls to make arrangements. Was so distracted that I forgot to order anything for myself at Chickfila.

We always manage to turn a 4-1/2 hour drive into a 7 hour fiasco, and yesterday was no exception. Traffic was heavy on 285 and 20 east but not gridlocked. As we rolled into Augusta a big sign said there was a big wreck ahead in Aiken, and to use alternate routes. We stopped in Augusta. C went to Publix for food. I went across the street to gas up, then I let Winnie stretch her legs. Back on the interstate, our GPS were showing us different routes and trip times. We crossed the Savannah River then I got off the highway and took backroads. Eventually the GPS routed us back to I-20. Made it to Lugoff at 7 pm, so we stopped at Chickfila again. I ordered a sandwich and milkshake.

Got to Corrine’s and saw Phil and Beau. At 7 am my phone started rining about the hot order. C had let Corrine’s dogs outside, so me and Winnie went out to join them. Finally got WiFi on my phone and laptop. Now C and Corrine and Phil have gone to the county seat in Chesterfield to take care of some paperwork. Looks like I will miss the big SPdL yard sale.

Lang is... (1) complaining about the shorts that football players wear these days, (2) complaining about defensive backs complaining about obvious penalties (don’t they know about instant replay?), and (3) saying that defense wins championships. I love it.

BOB WELCH  [SABR Bio] is the only pitcher to win more than 25 games since Denny McLain won 31 in 1968. Welch had a 27-6 season for OAK in 1990, complementing the team’s Bash Brothers offense approach. Pitching for LA, he gave up #400 to Mike Schmidt on 15-May-1984. Welch coached the Arizona Diamondbacks when they won the World Series in 2001. It was his only season as a major league coach.

Oswald Chambers: “If I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God.”

“Obedience is the road to freedom, humility the road to pleasure, unity the road to personality.” —C. S. Lewis

The Weekend Besides Football

Friday:  cut the grass after work. Spaghetti for supper.

Saturday AM golf: I teed off at 645 am.

1. Poor tee shot. Mulligan fairway shot was pretty good. Mulligan approach bounded up to the grren. I was putting for a “par”. Missed.

2. Pretty good tee shot. Chipped three balls: okay, worse, and fair. Two putt for “bogey”.

3. Worm burner off tee rolled part of the way down the hill. Mulligan went left. Three chips, none great. Double.

4. Three poor tee shots. One of my three chips was okay. Two putt.

5. Hit a good tee short that faded left. I thought a tree branch overhanging the fairway knocked it down, but I never found it. Then a series of poor chips.

6. lined a good hybrid off tee that stayed left – into the brush. Mulligan was a worm burner. Good 5 iron from the fairway. Hit two 7 irons just past the green and a third to the right. Chip lag putt.

7. Hit a good low hybrid that took a perfect bounce and rolled a good deal up the hill. Hit an okay 6 iron down the fairway. Approach to the front fringe. Pretty good chip. Hit three good lag putts. Double on the long par four.

8. Teed off from the old tee box. Hit a good high hybrid. Ran into Robert arriving for his 755 tee time. He said “nice shot”, and we talked about the Tech game. He had stayed up as well. Hit one approach short of the green, but hit a great mulligan onto the green. Hit three birdie putts – all close. Par.

9. Decent hybrid off the tee. Two poor approach shots. Two poor chips. Good lag Finished at 759 am. Had a nice chat with the fill in course marshal, who had arrived just as I was teeing off.

Then I got screw holes plugged in my tire. There was a lawnmower repair shop next door to Tire Deals, so later I took my mower there to get fixed.

Stopped by RaceTrac, Wendys - and Freddys for my free birthday ice cream.

BBQ for supper, with cole slaw, made from scratch French fries, and farm fresh okra. After supper I tried to get our new TV to work, but couldn’t. Too complicated. Then my laptop battery didn’t charge, so instead of watching the game I am in my office with my laptop plugged in, listening to the game in the next room.

Sunday: up early to play golf. Teed off at 635 am. Only golfing on Sunday mornings for the next month, to get ready for the EZGo Tournament.

1. Flub, then a decent tee shot. Flub, then a good fairway shot. A chip too far, then a chip not far enough.

2. Hit a pretty good tee shot. Decided to hit a second ball – and lost a light up ball in the woods. Ugh. Then I chipped two light up balls over the green, and lost one of them.

3. Chunked two tee shots off to the right, and one to the left. Poor recovery shot. Decided to go back to the basics on my chipping, and hit a great chip.

4. More poor tee shots. Then three decent chips. My putting was pretty good all day.

5. More poor tee shots. Hit a long chip onto the green. Good lag putts.

6. More poor tee shots, but then a good long 5 iron down the fairway. Hit three approach shots, but none too good.

7. Hit a good high hybrid off the tee. Not super long, but at least it was straight. Then a decent 6 iron. Had to poke out from under a tree, and didn’t get much distance. Then A good chip onto the green. Two putt for a dang double.

8. Smashed a hybrid. It stayed straight, and didn’t roll down from the hill on the left side of the fairway. So the ball was below my feet, and I hit three poor shots. The fourth stayed left, to the fringe. Hit three good chips. Sank one of the “par” putts.

9. Another good high hybrid off the tee. Chips were okay, but all left. Hit two decent chips, and a good putt.

Finished at 759 and was home 50 minutes later. Left for church earlier than usual, at 920. Our friends the Hongs spoke. We sat with them during the service.

Leftovers for lunch. Drove over to pick up my lawnmower, which had been tuned up and gotten a new blade. Will come in handy this fall. Took a nap during the SC game. More leftovers for supper.

 ARKY VAUGHAN  [SABR Bio] was the first player to hit two home runs in one MLB ASG, in 1941. Richard Nixon graduated with Vaughan from Fullerton Union HS in Fullerton, California.  A few years earlier, Walter Johnson had pitched for the FUHS team. Vaughan’s MLB-leading WAR was 9.8. He also led his league in batting average and walks in 1935. He finished in 3^rd place in MVP voting, trailing Gabby Hartnett ad Dizzy Dean.

College Football Roundup

Tech beat Colorado 27-20, thanks to future NFL RB Haynes King and / or poor clock management by the Buffaloes. Who is their head coach again?

Jackets turn the ball over on their first THREE possessions. Quickly behind by seven. Fair catches a punt with no defender in sight. Can’t see the GT logo on their helmets. Why its so hard to watch the Jackets sometimes. GT QB Haynes King sure does keep the ball a lot. He’s missed time in just about every season he’s played, and he’s already getting up slowly. No way he lasts the season, taking beating like that every week. If he wanted to be an NFL QB he better take the pass option a little more. GT WR Rutherford already got knocked out of the game early.

Some poor tackling but the defense played okay. Then a second poor decision by the GT punt returner, fielding the punt inside the 5 yard line, and getting tackled. The offense has been moving the ball, and eventually goes ahead 10-7.

Former GT basketball star Matt Harpring’s son plays on the GT offense.

First meeting between the two schools who split the national championship 35 years ago, though Colorado needed 5 downs to remain undefeated, plus an obvious clip that should’ve been called on a punt return that would’ve changed the result in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame.

Jackets lead 13-10 at the half. Tech letting Buffs stay in the game, hitting out of bounds to give them good field position. Colorado running the ball, opening up the passing game.But Buff RBs keep running out of bounds instead of turning upfield and getting hit. Jackets delivering several good hits, but sometimes fail to lock up and tackle. And a second hit out of bounds gives Colorado a first & goal, though the call was questionable in my book. Tie game. Jackets really missing WR Rutherford. QB Haynes King ain’t gonna last trying to win the game all by himself. At least backup QB Philo is waiting in the wings.

Tech stuck with it and came through. Running game looked good but passing game needs work. GT WR Rutherford supposed to be back for Clemson.

Auburn up 17-3 at Baylor, then 17-10. War Eagles fans booking trips to the SEC Championship Game. Kennesaw fell to Wake Forest 10-9. 

Ole Miss hung 60 on Georgia State, who went out and signed a vagabond QB who's been at five other schools in the past 5 years. Gotta love those career students.

Lots of tributes for 90 year old Lee Corso. He played both ways at FSU. Led the team in rushing one year and passing another year. His 14 interceptions are third in team history – tied with Deion Sanders.

Ohio State was favored to win, and they did. “Fans” sure were harder on Arch Manning than they ever were to Sheduer Sanders. First start on the road, at highly ranked defending national champion Ohio State. An okay performance all things considered for the sophomore QB. Then a video re-surfaced of Arch playing against inferior high school competition, and you know all those making catty comments saw that exact same video three years ago. Didn't Peyton and Eli play against the same level of competition?

Was surprised that Bama lost to FSU. 

The Noles could compete for the ACC championship. Nice how they simplified their uniforms.

Dawgs scored on their first two possessions. 

New QB Gunner Stockton looks okay, but could improve on his passing. He's already striking the Heisman pose. Stockton is already a college graduate? Who knew?

The WR transfer from USC looks like a star.

Friday night I wrote: while Clemson’s QB Cade Klubnick has helped the Tigers win two ACC Championships, I’m not sure he has it in him to beat an SEC school like LSU in the season opener, even if the game is in Clemson. Look for LSU to win, though the former Notre Dame head coach now at LSU has won few big games since he signed with LSU. I fell asleep during the second half of the Clemson / LSU game. When will Klubnik ditch the one sock high / one sock low look? Such a high school move.

Like any good Clemson fan, Ceil watched the SC/VaTech game, rooting against the Gamecocks. They won. Great move by Beamer to force the Hokies to re-punt, resulting in a TD return. Next year SC is switching to Nike. Bless their hearts. looked like Halloween at Mercedes Benz Stadium, with the Cocks in head to toe black and the Hokies in head to toe orange.

Notre Dame at Miami - a good looking uniform game. Early on it looked like Miami’s offensive line was blowing the Notre Dame defensive line off the ball. Like Lang said, QB Carson Beck looks good when his receivers catch the ball. Ceil always likes to watch Miami because her uncle taught there.

We’re both got footballed out. She turned on TCU@UNC because Herbstreit was announcing. TCU was supposed to beat UNC, and they did. The Heels looked good for 5 minutes, then the Frogs reeled off like 34 or more unanswered points. We turned it off at ten and went to bed.

Denison: Quebec is planning to ban prayer in public places…The idea was made public by Premier François Legault, who did not want to see people praying in public parks or on streets. The province’s “secularism minister” will advance the legislation. The move comes in response to tensions in Quebec over Muslim prayers at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Another Quebec political leader called all public prayers an “appropriation of public space by religious fundamentalists,” illustrating a Catholic leader’s concerns that it will apply equally to all religions. Jen Psaki is on record for opposing House Speaker Mike Johnson for being “basically a Christian fundamentalist” because he stated he has a biblical worldview.

September Bobbleheads & SGAs

Slow promotional month on the old bobblehead front, at least for what has come across my radar screen so far. What did I miss?

Did you enter the Braves contest to suggest a 2026 bobblehead? Winner gets season tickets and a parking pass. With ticket prices climbing ever higher, it would be like winning the lottery.

What 2026 bobbles do you want to see? Drake Baldwin and Hurston Waldrep – both bobbleheads and replica jerseys. Bobbleheads of recent Braves hall of fame members Wally Berger, Rico Carty, Joe Adcock, Leo Mazzone, and / or Joe Torre. Perhaps an Atlanta Stadium or Turner Field replica. Matt Olson consecutive game counter bobblehead. Has Jurickson Profar earned a bobblehead yet? I have just about learned his name. Time for another Blooper bobble for sure. What else?

9.01 MON Rays Charlie Brown

9.03 WED KC Sluggerrr mascot BH

9.05 FRI Gwinnett Lilo & Stitch t-shirts special ticket

9.05 FRI Lookouts Joey Votto jersey 1000

9.06 SAT CIN fan vote BH (probably Elly De La Cruz again?)

9.06 SAT Gwinnett Chipper Jones ASG BH 2000

9.06 SAT WhiteCaps Yooper Bigfoot BH

9.07 SUN ATL beaded necklace 3000 kids

9.08 MON ATL Michael Harris scooter BH 15000

9.08 MON Angels Mike Trout BH

9.10 WED ATL red jerseys Strider Harris Riley

9.13 SAT SF Giants / 49ers crossover jerseys

9.14 SUN ATL cap with charms 3000 kids

9.16 TUE Gwinnett Grab Your Pole XL tshirts 500

9.20 SAT MIA Sugar Skull BH 15000

9.22 MON ATL Ronald Acuna BH 15000

9.28 SUN ATL Blooper cereal bowl 3000 kids

Due to the shortness of this month’s list, I am adding extra content as an example of what you’ll find should you come back and read my blog every day: baseball, Braves, football and other sports, sneakers, and more. Thanks for reading!

Interesting info on keeping score of baseball games. I love keeping score, though I rarely do so any more. As a kid at Braves games I would beg my dad to buy me a scorecard, and I would read over every tidbit. It had a short tutorial on how to keep score, so I kinda taught myself. Over the years I would pick up new techniques, like noting the balls and strikes, RBIs, etc. When my sons played baseball I would keep score, then used to data to compile team stats and recaps for grandparents and team parents. My kids are grown, but I still have the scorebooks at home. Back then I’d use the same scorebook when I’d go to MLB and Gwinnett Stripers minor league games, mixing MLB in between my kids Little League games. Fun to add the date, location, time of game, temperature, etc. The MLB player’s average and other stats. Pitch counts.

I like the way my friend Reid scores basketball games. You can easily tell when a team goes on a run, and how often the lead changes. When I was a kid the programs from the Falcons games detailed how to score a football game, with different markings for pass plays and running plays and punts, etc.

Back in 1989 there was quite the buzz about the filming of the movie Field of Dreams. In 2026 there will be another MLB game played there in Iowa.

MICKEY COCHRANE  [SABR Bio] retired with the highest career batting average for a catcher: .320. He had hit .357 in 1930, .349 in 1931, and .338 in 1927, but never lead the league. He flew a small plane at night to calm his nerves, the first Tiger to take to the skies. His nerves were tried when the Tigers owner died and Cochrane took over some of the day-to-day responsibilities of running the team. On 04-Jun-1936, he hit an inside the park home run as part of his team’s 10-run 3rd inning. He felt dizzy and collapsed after crossing the plate, and missed ten weeks. Details here. 

Tomorrow: I recap this weekend's college football games.