The Kemp Trade: Thumbs Up

What did you think about Star Wars? How was the experience? Anna's friend Josh saw it Friday night, but I forgot to ask him. You'd be proud: while C was baking cookies yesterday afternoon we watched A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Barney gave them a ten on the Bark-O-Meter, so we didn't watch Return of the Jedi.

We're supposed to wear ugly sweaters on Christmas, so I'm looking for a Star Wars or Braves version (or both). Anna and Josh went to see Guardians of the Galaxy Saturday night.

The Matt Kemp trade: very nice. my phone was on the charger and the TV wasn't on sports. Later I flipped on a football game and noticed something about the trade on the crawl. As usual all kinds of reaction on Twitter – people mouthing off before reading and digesting the details.

CPA: A great trade by the Braves over the weekend.    By my numbers, I have their 2017 25 man payroll at $116.9 million.  Cots has their 2017 opening day payroll at $122.6 million.  I am assuming their payroll budget is the $120-130 million range.  I think they have some flexibility to add bullpen arms or maybe a short term veteran to play 3B.  However, I don't know if that is a huge priority.

In the bullpen, I think they will have Vizcaino and Minter split/compete for closing duties.  Winkler, Ramirez and Sam Freeman will get some middle relief/setup innings.  But I think the difference between this year and last year is that I think Lucas Simms, Max Fried and maybe Sean Kazmir will get innings as relievers.  I also think Folty could be pushed from the rotation.

In 2019, they will only have 3 guaranteed contracts totaling $38.2 million.  In addition, by my math, they will only have 4 arbitration eligible players.  I know the rebuilding and losing have turned off some people, but if you look at their roster,  they have a lot of young, controllable talents.

They will have a ton of money to spend on next years free agent class.  However, outside of Harper (who I think will get $500 million over 10 years), and maybe Manny Machado, I would be weary about spending big bucks on anyone else.

I left work at six Friday evening. Checked my phone, and the wait at Great Clips was 63 minutes – longer than it would take to get there. I put in my reservation and made stops by the post office, bank, and Kroger. Walked into Great Clips and Denise was ready for me. Perfect timing.

Got home and Ceil was taking care of Barney. I drove to Chickfila to get her a grilled sandwich and waffle fries. Anna and a friend were at the Camp Highland party in Crabapple. I went to bed before they got home.

Slept late Saturday morning. Then I cleaned up. Anna went down to Ponce. C went to a birthday lunch. Watched The Rainmaker, the movie version of John Grisham's novel. Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Danny Glover – even Randy Travis had a cameo. Later I drove Ceil to Joann Fabrics, The Container Store, The Avalon, and finally Moxie Burger.

I've been sleeping good lately. Was almost late to church. Good lesson on the spiritual warfare going on when Christ was born. Christmas is war.  It was war at the time of Jesus' birth: (a) War with Herod:  Matt. 2:12-18, (b) War in Heaven:  Rev. 12:1-5, (c) War in the hearts of men:  Luke 2:29-35, Luke 1:51-52. Christmas continues to be a time of war today: in our culture, in the hearts of the lost, in our own hearts.

Ate at Moes, then drove C to Perimeter Mall. My phone battery was dead so I sat in the car and watched all the crazy drivers in the rain. One car pulled into a perfectly good parking space but was too close to the car next to them. They tried to straighten up several times but couldn't, so they drove away. We didn't get home until 3 pm.

C was baking more cookies. We had on two Star Wars movies, but Barney was barking so much that we finally had to change the channel. Saw the end of the Steelers game. Anna went to the evening service at Grace Midtown. Later I went to Kroger for more sugar, and gassed up Anna's Jeep.   

Barney's legs worry me. He fearlessly jumps off our high bed – even in his cone. He got tricked this morning. I went into our bathroom/closet to get dressed. Usually C stays in bed with the lights off until after I leave, but this morning she got her housecoat and went downstairs. Since the door to the bathroom was closed, Barney thought Ceil was still in there. I opened the door and Barney was still in bed. He saw me come out, and knowing C wasn't still in the bed, hopped off and went to the steps. I called out to C so she would respond, so Barney would know she was downstairs. Only then did he go downstairs.

I am one game back in my bowl picks - I took Oregon.

Final Season TQBR

Season-ending ESPN total QB rating. I’m still amazed at Georgia freshman Jake Fromm – ranked fifth in the nation.

1. 94.1 Kahlil Tate, Arizona (above)

2. 93.1 Baker Mayfield, #2 OK’s Heisman winner

3. 85.9 Lamar Jackson, Louisville

4. 84.2 Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State

5. 83.9 Jake Fromm, #3 Georgia (Rose)

6. 82.7 Jalen Hurts, #4 Alabama (Sugar)

7. 82.0 JT Barrett, #5 Ohio State (Fiesta)

8. 80.7 Kelly Bryant, #1 Clemson (Sugar)

9. 79.7 McKenzie Milton, undefeated UCF (Peach)

10. 79.6 John Wolford, Wake Forest: Belk Bowl bound

11. 79.0 Trace McSorley, Penn State

12. 78.4 Danny Etling, LSU

13. 78.3 Ryan Finley, NC State

15. 76.6 Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State injured

16. 76.2 Sam Darnold, USC won Pac12 championship

17. 76.2 Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame

18. 75.4 Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss

20. 74.9 Jarrett Stidham, Auburn: Peach Bowl

23. 74.1 Drew Lock, Missouri

25. 73.5 Will Grier, West Virginia

26. 73.0 Jake Browning, Washington

32. 70.5 Eric Dungey, Syracuse

37. 68.1 Stephen Johnson, Kentucky

38. 67.6 Malik Rosier, Miami

40. 66.9 Josh Rosen, UCLA “most NFL ready”

41. 65.7 Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin

44. 64.5 TaQuon Marshall, Georgia Tech

48. 64.0 Jake Bentley, South Carolina

49. 64.0 Kyle Shurmur, Vandy

50. 63.4 Charlie Brewer, Baylor

51. 63.3 Josh Jackson, Virginia Tech

55. 60.6 Shea Patterson, Ole Miss transferring to Michigan

62. 58.4 Austin Allen, Arkansas

68. 56.8 Anthony Brown, Boston College

72. 54.2 Sam Ehlinger, Texas

76. 51.6 Kurt Benkert, Virginia

77. 51.3 Conner Manning, Georgia State

79. 50.4 Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

80. 50.4 Chazz Surratt, UNC freshman

91. 47.4 Daniel Jones, Duke beat GT

99. 43.1 James Blackman, FSU

100. 42.1 Shane Buechele, Texas

106. 38.7 Feleipe Franks, FL bomb vs TN was play of yr

111. 33.8 Zach Smith, Baylor

126. 20.4 Shai Werts, Georgia Southern

Back With Buddy

Anna had left Buddy here at home for a few months,

but she finally took him back to Athens.

At some point the Hawks are going to wear throwback unis from the 70's.

 All four of the Gwinnett Stripers caps.

 Anna and her housemates pose for their Christmas card.

 Anna is submitted designs for the 2018 Peachtree Road Race.

Here's my idea.

The South Milledge girls.

December Hot Stove

The Blue Jays Chris Rowley (from South Forsyth HS and West Point) was a no show at Hot Stove Wednesday night, so we sat around talking about all the 50+ transactions so far (a guy had brought a list). Thirteen attended, but two were young boys. One or two of the eleven were younger than me. In January some of the local high school coaches are coming to talk about their teams.

Both Joe Simpson and Jim Powell turned down the chance to MC the Braves Jamboree in January. They’re hoping Paul Byrd will do it.

To start off should Snit bat Acuna second, ahead of Freddie? Shoot, with Albies and Inciarte, that lineup’s getting crowded. Seems like Ender might be more productive lower down in the lineup? Dansby needs another year at the back end of the lineup.

CPA: I agree - I would go Albies - Acuna - Freeman.  I have always been a proponent of moving Inciarte down - he handles the bat well and could pick up key RBI.  In addition, he could steal bases without having to worry about taking the bat out of Freeman's hands. Hopefully things can start happening with the Braves off season now.

With the roster as-is, it looks like they project to have a payroll around $100 million (this includes estimates for ARB;s and 0-3 year service time players filling out the roster).  This includes if they tendered contracts to all of their arbitration eligible players.  I don't think that happens though.  I think they will non-tender at least one of Danny Santana and Jace Peterson.  I also think Matt Adams will either be traded or non-tendered.  They won't get much for him in a trade, so fans and talk show voices will complain about how he should have been traded last year. 

A bulk of the payroll is Kemp and Markakis.  By May Acuna should be the starting RF.  I don't know if they can trade either Kemp or Markakis without paying most of their salaries.  If they can't be traded, I would platoon them in LF.  Both hit righty's and lefty's equally well, so you don't get much of a platoon advantage, but maybe reducing their playing time would keep them fresher.  It would also give you a good bat off the bench to pinch hit.

I think they will go into the season with a payroll around $120 million - similar to last year.  Getting Matt Adams off the books gives them about $25 million to spend.  They could pick up a few veteran bullpen arms, along with a veteran 3B on a short-term contract.  I don't think they will spend big on Moustakis, nor will they go into a season relying on Adonis Garcia, Rio Ruiz and Johan Camargo to get significant time at 3B.

ME: Super busy at work. Thursday I worked till 5:30 and drove to Perimeter for a focus group. Ate two pieces of bread for $35.00. Then three thrift stores looking for an ugly Christmas sweater. Saw some shoes and T-shirts but didn’t bite. Picked up Zaxbys for dinner and took it home. C had a teacher’s party, then she and M went shopping. Anna got home around 10 pm.

I’ll have to watch that Marist / Blessed Trinity game. A few of Will’s baseball teammates had gone there. Also Tom Glavine’s son. Did I tell you that Smoltz has been seen playing men’s league basketball up in Forsyth County. Former Tennessee receiver Peerless Price is on his team.

Hey did you hear that GT landed a defensive line recruit for next year from the IMG Academy in Florida. He had been recruited by UGA, FSU, and Oregon, but chose GT for the academics. Only 6’1” tall but should be an upgrade for GT.

The processing plant across the parking lot (where I worked from 1987 to 1999) had their Christmas luncheon today, so I walked over with a few other employees. Many of the guys have retired. Frances just celebrated her 50th anniversary (she started when she was 17) and Ronald is hitting 40 years with the company. I ate some collard greens and “dirty meatloaf” – spicy but good. Passed on the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. 

M has to work Dec 24. Not sure about after Christmas.

Bowl Picks 1 of 2

Picking bowl games is extra tough. Does the team want to be there? How will the team respond to the loss of a coach? Surely an inexact science. And my excuse for a poor performance.

12.16 Celebration: #168 Grambling vs #145 NC A&T. Anything can and will happen in this game. Missed calls, great catches, targeting, an hour long halftime, fights, overtime. Will take 4 hours to play. A train wreck.

12.16 New Orleans: #72 Troy (-6-1/2) vs #97 North Texas.
But beware the green machine.

12.16 Cure Bowl: #127 Western Kentucky vs #154 Georgia State (4-1/2).

12.16 Las Vegas: #36 Boise State vs #33 Oregon (7-1/2).
I'm picking the favorite, but I smell an upset.

12.16 New Mexico: #89 Marshall vs #77 Colorado State (-5-1/2).

12.16 Camellia: #105 Middle Tennessee vs #86 Arkansas State (-4)

12.19 Boca Raton: #106 Akron vs #57 Florida Atlantic (-23)

12.20 Frisco: #71 SMU (-5) vs #101 Louisiana Tech

12.21 Gasparilla: #78 Temple (-7) vs #111 Florida International.
I'm probably wrong.

12.22 Bahamas: #119 UAB vs #67 Ohio (-7-1/2)

12.22 Potato: #87 Central Michigan vs #85 Wyoming (-1)

12.22 Birmingham: #44 South Florida (-2) vs #47 Texas Tech

12.23 Armed Forces: #64 Army vs #55 San Diego State (?)

12.23 Dollar General: #50 Toledo (-8) vs #76 Appalachian State

12.24 Hawaii: #56 Fresno State vs #58 Houston (-2-1/2).
Against my better judgement.

12.26 Heart of Dallas: #37 Utah (-7) vs #43 West Virginia.
Going with another underdog.

12.26 Quick Lane: #38 Duke (-4-1/2) vs #68 Northern Illinois.
Cutcliffe = Jedi Master

12.26 Cactus: #51 UCLA (fired coach) vs #34 Kansas State (-3)

12.27 Independence: #30 FSU (-14-1/2, lost coach) vs #103 Southern Miss

12.27 Pinstripe: #22 Iowa (-3) vs #32 Boston College.
Prep school boys can't handle the farm boys.

12.27 Foster Farms: #49 Arizona (-3-1/2) vs #35 Purdue.
Smell another upset here.

12.27 Texas: #28 Texas vs #46 Missouri (-3). Might be a tie.

RIP Mr. Falcon

Tommy Nobis passed away this morning. He was 74 years old. I had no real connection with Nobis. Had my picture taken with him back in the early 70’s. Met him at the one “Buckhead 50” meeting I attended a few years ago with Lang’s dad. Even then there were whispers that he needed help doing things.

MLB HOF: I had figured Morris might get in. I’ve added the SABR mock ballot below if you want to email in your vote. I cast mine today, voting for seven players. Interesting that with Joe Morgan’s letter to the voters, would that not imply that good guys should get extra credit? Kirby’s numbers are better than Murphy’s, right? Average, etc.

Sunday a week ago I drove up to Cumming for the Hot Stove meeting – nine guys, most all older than me. Usually the meetings are the second Wednesdays. I had missed November so I drove up for the extra Sunday meeting. This Wednesday they’re supposed to have a young Toronto Blue Jay who’d gone to high school in Forsyth County. One of the Hot Stove guys is one of the SABR organizers. I’m on the mailing list, and had attended just one dinner meeting in 2015.

Last Thursday: worked until almost 6:50 last night. Lots to do. Drove home. M was home from Augusta. C had cooked Mexican rice, and had squashed some pinto beans. I combined mine. Also grilled chicken. I’m forgetting what was on TV – the ESPN College Football Awards for a little while, as well as the Psych movie.

Monday: typical day for me. Left work at six. Was going to get a haircut but I wasn’t sure if M had gotten his flat tire fixed. He had, all by himself, so that was good. He had also bought some groceries and cooked chili. Spicy but good.

C is a sucker for ESPN College GameDay so we watched the Herbie Awards, then some Hallmark Channel. At ten I watched an episode of MASH. I played on my laptop.

Tuesday: left work last night around 5:45. Leaving earlier today and tomorrow.

Barney had surgery yesterday. Seemed to be pretty involved, to remove several cysts. They shaved his entire rear hindquarters, then they stitched him up where the cysts had been removed. Also removed a tooth. Has to wear the cone of shame. Won’t be looking good for Christmas. Ceil is talking about making him a pair of pants.

Leftover spicy chili for supper. I didn’t have much – at 5:30 I had eaten a piece of Mellow Mushroom pizza. Also had a piece of pizza for lunch today. Then the Hallmark Channel. Anna is through with her classes. Yesterday she and her friends visited the Phipps Plaza Santa.

After the surgery Barney had been woozy, but by bedtime he hobbled upstairs and hopped on the bed. Later he wanted to get off the bed, so C took him downstairs to sleep.

This morning I was worn down from all that’s going on: Barney surgery, Ceil’s old computer died, we owe taxes, we need a new roof, etc. etc. etc. Two people are out at the processing plant (one sick and another had surgery – guess I shouldn’t complain). My orders are piling up – dozens are late. I need to ship 750,000 pounds – twenty truckloads in eight days. Would be nice if I could just enter an order and have it ship, even if it takes two weeks. Nope. Gotta babysit every one. A few orders are almost a month old.

Then I had to work to correct a $600,000.00 problem caused when someone entered an order wrong. Along the way I did find $10,000.00 in profits for the company. After work I’m headed up to Cumming for the Hot Stove meeting. Scored this cap in the annual Christmas cap swap. Anyone wear size 7-7/8?

Looks like W&MC are going to try to go to the Rose Bowl. Her uncle lives out there. Tacking it on to their Seattle trip.

I’m not very tuned in to the whole podcast world yet. The podcast will be a good thing to have on C’s resume.

M had a flat tire, and he got it fixed all by himself. I told him to call me to discuss, but he didn’t. Depending on his circumstances I might’ve steered him to Tire Deals (he bought one tire at Firestone). M isn’t getting many hours at Whole Foods. Maybe he should apply at Tire Deals.

Yelish always kills the Braves. Fun reading all the back and forth on Twitter.

Chubb+Michel>Anyone?

San Diego State’s Rashard Penny led the nation in rushing this year, besting Heisman runner-up Bryce Love by 54 yards. But alternating playing time playing the same position, Georgia’s top two tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel outrushed Penny by one hundred yards.

While two option teams (Navy and Georgia Tech) may have had duos with more rushing yards, these duos played different positions. Georgia’s Chubb and Michel were never in the game at the same time. Add third stringer D-Andre Swift and the UGA tailback position rushed for 2720 yards.

Some of the top 1018 rushing leaders:

yards/touchdowns

1. 2027 19 Rashaad Penny SD State

2. 1973 17 Bryce Love, Stanford

3. 1847 13 Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

11. 1443 17 Lamar Jackson, Louisville QB

21. 1320 17 Kerryon Johnson, Auburn

23. 1318 18 Benny Snell, Kentucky

28. 1175 13 Nick Chubb, UGA

32. 1146 17 TaQuon Marshall, GT QB

33. 1134 16 Saquon Barkley, Penn State

40. 1053 06 KirVonte Benson, GT

58. 0948 13 Sony Michel, UGA

63. 0906 11 Damien Harris, Alabama

88. 0768 08 Jalen Hurts, Alabama QB

90. 0766 14 Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame QB

95. 0744 13 Travis Etienne, Clemson

128. 0659 07 Tavien Feaster, Clemson

132. 0646 11 Kelly Bryant, Clemson QB

146. 0597 03 D’Andre Swift, UGA

2199 23 GT’s Marshall & Benson (RB & QB)

2123 26 GA’s Chubb & Michel (both RB)

1674 19 Bama’s Harris & Hurts (RB & QB)

1403 20 Clemson’s Etienne & Feaster (both RB)

2720 29 GA’s Chubb, Michel, & Swift

2049 31 Clemson’s Etienne, Feaster, & Bryant

Snow Jam 2017

Friday afternoon around 12:30 I was on the phone with my boss, talking about the snow. I had hoped to work until 3:30 to get in eight hours, but not long after I got off the phone I realized I didn’t want another six hour trip home in gridlock traffic. So I left work at 12:50, cleaned the snow off my windows, and headed out. Couldn’t turn left on Peachtree Industrial so I made a right, then a U turn. Southbound PIB was bad all the way to 285 (8 miles). Spaulding was gridlocked too. I pulled into the first gas station to fill up. While the pump was running I got warm clothes, hats, and gloves out of the trunk. Standing by the pump I was cold, then I realized water was trickling down on my sneaker, getting it all wet.

Super slow on Medlock Bridge, but better on Peachtree Corners Circle. Was able to turn back onto Spaulding without stopping. Holcomb Bridge was slow like rush hour, but it moved and opened up after Nesbit Ferry. Eves and Riverside weren’t a problem, but then the school buses slowed things down on old Alabama and Riverside. Got home at three after two hours on the road.

On the way I took several work calls about an order for a new customer. Was on the phone with Augusta, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Little Rock. Of course none of them had snow. At home I logged onto my computer and worked. I’d forgotten about the late afternoon order until I saw the email. Wasn’t sure if anyone would be there to work the order, but I got it entered.

M had come home from work but later left to hang with a friend. He spent the night. C was baking cookies for school. Around 5:30 I nodded off. Barney seemed to want to go outside more than usual. Watched three Hallmark Channel movies. I was going to bed at 11 pm when #2 went off, but C watched to watch another one, so I slept on the couch until it was over.

Saturday morning I was cleaning upstairs. Barney came upstairs and jumped on the bed, and we played around a little. Later I found blood on the bed: a cyst on his back had burst. C had to doctor it up, and wound up stretching tape all around his hindsection as a bandage. He didn’t seem to mind. I did some laundry and fixed quesadillas, cleared out emails and took a nap. Ceil ran errands early in the afternoon. Will and Okie were up in North Georgia. A bunch of W’s friends went up for Charles Norman’s bachelor party: playing in the snow and stuff. The wedding is in February.  

At four we left out for our dinner with my coworkers. The roads were ok, but to be safe I took highway 9 to Alpharetta, then Old Milton Parkway all the way to Medlock Bridge. Arrived right at 5 pm, but half the group was already there. Viande Rouge had great food. It’s located just northwest of the Old Milton / Medlock Bridge intersection in Duluth. We had eight couples plus Rachel for dinner at two tables back to back. C had a glass of red wine, I had my usual Diet Coke.

The huge braised meatballs would melt in your mouth. Served in creamy white polenta sauce chasseur. The other appetizer was warm spicy lobster dip on French bread crostini. I had two or three meatballs and two servings of the lobster dip.

I ordered a tomato salad but was pleased when they brought me a baby iceberg wedge instead. The tomato salad was just three large slices of tomato with a large ball of burrata cheese on top, in a balsamic dressing.  The iceberg wedge had grape tomatoes, Berkshire bacon, maytag bleu cheese, housemade ranch, and grilled baguettes.

Shane was worried he wouldn’t get the creamed corn, but we’d ordered it in advance. Alex’s wife liked the sweet potato soufflé, as did I. Many liked the wood grilled asparagus. I passed on it, as well as the popular Janine’s mashed potatoes.

Ceil ordered the delicious 14 ounce bone in filet mignon, and took a large portion home. Rodney and I got the special, two slices of steak with a crabcake in between, the whole thing baked inside a thin pastry shell. Delicious.

For dessert the chefs cooked bananas foster at our table. C got chocolate crème pie and coffee. I got coconut crème pie. We both took part of our desserts home. Left the restaurant right at 8 pm. Dinner hadn’t really seemed rushed, but we took up the entire three hour time slot. Took the same route home. Hallmark Channel.

Small crowd in Sunday School, but it was a good lesson. Worship was a baptism service, lots of teenagers from their weekend retreat. Leftovers for lunch – I made a sandwich on the panini press. Ceil ran more errands so I napped and watched football. Cleaned the snow off my car so I’d be ready to go to work. Later I played on my laptop, fixed another sandwich, and watched The Middle and more Hallmark. Ceil made cookies for her art class:

This morning I got an earlier start. Went out and started my car so it could warm up. Went a “safer” route to work, so it took a little longer. Several coworkers had stories of long trips home from the Nashville sales meeting. Took one guy eleven hours.  

My “pulled muscle” isn’t getting any better and I’m afraid it’s a hernia. Gotta figure out what doctor to go to.

Gwinnett Stripers

Friday the Gwinnett Braves changed their name to the Gwinnett Stripers.
I wholeheartedly approve of the change for several reasons.
The Braves are about the only team in baseball with their minor league teams with the same name as the parent club. While it saves a little money on uniforms, it certainly lacks creativity and imagination. 

The Stripers introduced four new uniforms. Home and road unis are pinstriped.  I like the green alternate jersey, as well as the throwback uniform - which hearkens back to the days of Hank Aaron.

As you can see above there are four caps. Not sure if they will be mixed and matched. Doesn't look like any one cap matches up with a particular uniform. My favorite may be the main logo below.

I like dark caps, but down the road I expect to see a green cap,

as well as special ticket caps in other colors.

While there may not be anything extraordinary about the new name or the new unis, I'm not going to complain. Many did. What were they expecting? The changes will take some getting used to. The team hopes to increase attendance and spur interest. Both are needed to keep the team in town. Few teams are green, so that's a plus. 

One of the uniform models at Friday's press conference was Hall of Famer Phil Neikro (far right, below). Phil donned the throwback jersey.

Minor leaguers usually wear their socks pulled high, so the green striped hose are a welcome sight. Perhaps the parent club can take the hint.

Here's the best close up of the throwback jersey,
which features a fish in the place of Aaron's feather. Capital idea.

Gwinnett isn't the only team with a new name.

My hometown recently introduced a new college summer team: the Macon Bacon. Surely the mascot will be a pig. While I dislike the main cap with the typically busy logo, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on this cool alternate cap below (size 7-3/4 or XL). 

Luther Williams Field is the second-oldest minor league ballpark in the country.  The wonderful old yard is currently undergoing upgrades and renovations to get ready for the 2018 season,

including additional seating areas down the baselines.

Hopefully the original character of the park will remain intact. 

Luther Williams was used in the filming of several movies,

including Bingo Long, 42, and Trouble With the Curve.

Part of the character of the park are the trains that seem to be in constant motion beyond the right field fence.

Falcons: Color Rush

The Falcons and Saints wore their color rush uniforms Thursday night. 

As usual, Julio Jones was a beast.

Photos courtesy of the AJC and Falcons.com.

The all red Falcon unis were no worse than their regular costumes, which rank near the bottom of the league. The stripes on the pants are nice, better than the thin piping on the regular pants.

 Great mustard gold trim on the Saints unis.

Most of the Falcons wore red shoes.
Kicker Bryant and punter Bosher were exceptions, along with the tight end.

 Matty Ice was with the program, wearing a red undershirt.

Devonte had another concussion.

Peachtree Bart was in the house, joining fellow Falcon Legends
Mike Kenn, Jeff Van Note, Jesse Tuggle, William Andrews,
and others welcoming new legend Warrick Dunn to the fold.

Saints QB Drew Brees was the first NFL Man of the Year to wear his permanent jersey patch. Sunday other former award recipients
(like Eli Manning) will also wear their patches. 

Love the Saints color rush unis. The jerseys are just like the original 1967 Saints jerseys. Nice pants stripes, much better than the wide solid black stripe they currently wear. 

Below: expansion RB Saints Jim Taylor and QB Gary Couzzo.

Bowl Matchups

The 2017/2018 college bowl matchups, including the Saragin Power Rankings – not that they mean anything when it comes to bowl games. One team may be thrilled to be there. Others feel entitled to a nicer bowl. Some have lost their head coach. This can be a bad thing, but possibly a good thing.

12.09 #64 Army vs #62 Navy

12.16 Celebration Bowl: #168 Grambling v #145 NC A&T

12.16 New Orleans Bowl: #72 Troy vs #97 North Texas

12.16 Cure Bowl: #127 Western Kentucky vs #154 Georgia State

12.16 Las Vegas Bowl: #36 Boise State vs #33 Oregon

12.16 New Mexico Bowl: #89 Marshall v #77 Colorado State

12.16 Camellia Bowl: #105 Middle Tennessee vs #86 Arkansas State

12.19 Boca Raton Bowl: #106 Akron vs #57 Florida Atlantic

12.20 Frisco Bowl: #71 SMU vs #101 Louisiana Tech

12.21 Gasparilla Bowl: #78 Temple vs #111 Florida International

12.22 Bahamas Bowl: #119 UAB vs #67 Ohio

12.22 Potato Bowl: #87 Central Michigan vs #85 Wyoming  

12.23 Armed Forces Bowl: #64 Army vs #55 San Diego State

12.23 Dollar General Bowl: #50 Toledo vs #76 Appalachian State

12.24 Hawaii Bowl: #56 Fresno State vs #58 Houston

12.26 Heart of Dallas Bowl: #37 Utah vs #43 West Virginia

12.26 Quick Lane Bowl: #38 Duke vs #68 Northern Illinois

12.26 Cactus Bowl: #51 UCLA vs #34 Kansas State

12.27 Independence Bowl: #30 FSU vs #103 Southern Mississippi

12.27 Pinstripe Bowl: #22 Iowa vs #32 Boston College

12.27 Foster Farms Bowl: #49 Arizona vs #35 Purdue

12.27 Texas Bowl: #28 Texas vs #46 Missouri

12.28 Military Bowl: #62 Navy vs #69 Virginia

12.28 Camping World Bowl: #17 Virginia Tech vs #14 Oklahoma State

12.28 Alamo Bowl: #11 Stanford vs #12 TCU

12.28 Holiday Bowl: #27 Washington State vs #25 Michigan State

12.29 Belk Bowl: #29 Wake Forest vs #45 Texas A&M

12.29 Sun Bowl: #24 NC State vs #40 Arizona State

12.29 Music City Bowl: #65 Kentucky vs #19 Northwestern

12.29 Arizona Bowl: #84 Utah State vs #128 New Mexico State

12.29 Cotton Bowl: #13 USC vs #4 Ohio State

12.30 TaxSlayer Bowl: #23 Louisville vs #20 Mississippi State

12.30 Liberty Bowl: #26 Iowa State vs #31 Memphis  

12.30 Fiesta Bowl: #6 Penn State vs #9 Washington

12.30 Orange Bowl: #7 Wisconsin vs #15 Miami

1.01 Outback Bowl: #21 Michigan vs #42 South Carolina

1.01 Peach Bowl: #8 Auburn vs #16 Central Florida

1.01 Citrus Bowl: #10 Notre Dame vs #18 LSU

1.01 Rose Bowl #5 Oklahoma vs #3 Georgia

1.01 Sugar Bowl #2 Clemson vs #1 Alabama

1.08 Championship: Georgia vs Clemson