Under Woodson’s first year, Atlanta declined, winning just 13 games. The New Jersey Nets, who some argue was one of the worst NBA teams ever in 2009-2010, won just one less game than those 2004 Hawks.

But, Mike Woodson stayed in town, and six years later the city of Atlanta couldn’t be more pleased that the organization didn’t give him the quick boot, like they did to Stotts.

In this day and age there is more pressure than ever on sports clubs to achieve instant success. Head coaches and managers in all major sports, including the NFL, NCAA, MLB, and NHL are put under a short time-table to turn things around.

If they fail, they are packing their bags. Players are put under the same pressure, especially in the NBA where player shopping is more blatantly a business affair than anything else.

The pieces of the puzzle are constantly getting moved around, and we all know that mixing puzzle pieces makes for a pretty messy puzzle, does it not?

That metaphor might be the most accurate description of what has gone down with the Atlanta Hawks in the past six seasons. Instead of mixing the puzzle pieces around, the Hawks sat patiently, and have slowly put all of the pieces together.

And “slowly” is most definitely an understatement.

The Hawks have stuck with a group of “bust” draft picks, a former bench player in Joe Johnson, an old and versatility deprived Mike Bibby, and a center who isn’t even tall enough to handle jump balls.

The Hawks also have stuck with the head coach who won us just 13 games in his first year.

While the busier teams, when it comes to player shopping and coach firing, continue to lurk in the pool of mediocrity, the Hawks have risen to become one of the NBA’s premier teams.

Behind the likes of Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas, and maybe even Boston, the Atlanta Hawks could arguably still be the model franchise of the NBA.

Heck, they could be the model franchise for professional sports in general.

Without a hometown fan base, any marquee players, and a single starter who stands above 6′9″, the Hawks have surpassed another milestone.

Milestone is becoming a word that is getting old for Atlanta fans.

Last night the Hawks 96-86 victory, in front of a raucous sell out crowd at Philips Arena, got their first 2-0 lead in a playoff series since the 1994 season.

It was their first 2-0 lead under the Woodson era. The snowball effect of the Hawks’ patience within management, and within the fans and players, is paying huge dividends.

Let us take a look at the chart—the chart that ESPN has likely shown you twelve times this year—that draws the picture of Atlanta’s success.

2004-2005: 13-69

2005-2006: 26-56

2006-2007: 30-52

2007-2008: 37-45 (First playoff appearance in Woodson era. Took Boston to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs)

2008-2009: 47-35 (Second playoff appearance in Woodson era. Won first round series vs. Miami)

2009-2010: 53-29 (Third playoff appearance in Woodson era. Opened series with a 2-0 lead)

You might be tired of seeing this chart, but it speaks volumes. While most teams look for instant gratification, following acquisitions in management and personnel, Atlanta has ridden a blue collar cast and crew to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Sure, I might be jinxing things by writing about milestones when Atlanta hasn’t even won at Milwaukee yet; heck, the Hawks could even lose the series (God forbid).

But there is no doubt the Hawks have taken center stage in the Atlanta sports scene, despite being the laughing stalk of the NBA just a few years ago (granted that kid Jason Heyward and the Braves aren’t doing half bad either).

The Hawks used to be known for having the worst attendance in the league. The only reason fans showed up for games back at the turn of the millennium was to watch Kobe, or ‘Melo, or LeBron.

Now fans are showing up to watch the Hawks, and in full force. ESPN claimed at the start of last year’s playoffs that no building in the NBA is more exciting to be in than Philips Arena when the Hawks are winning.

What used to be a vacant venue, aside from a few snoring fans and obnoxious superstar followers, now fills up with 19,000 white t-shirts, and fans chanting, “Now You Know!”

Al Horford has developed into an All-Star “center?”

Whatever he is, he is one of the most impressive youngsters in the NBA.

Josh Smith has drastically cut down on his childish behavior, and has evolved into one of the most complete players in the league.

His 21 point, 14 rebound, nine assist, two steal, and two block game last night against the Bucks is proof.

Jamal Crawford is the most blue collar of them all, never having played in a playoff series in his entire career until last Saturday. Crawford is a guarantee for this year’s NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Together, along with the mysterious persona of coach Mike Woodson, the Hawks continue to improve.

Some fans have been scratching their heads, wondering, “Will we ever get over the hump?”

We will ever get to the NBA finals?

Will we fire our coach?

Yes, Woodson would have been fired back in 2008 had Atlanta not done what it did to Boston. And, many started calling for Woodson’s head this year because the Hawks blew some leads and Woodson had a shameful run in with Jason Kidd in the middle of a game.

The small amount of fans who are in this boat lack one thing: patience.

Patience is what Mike Woodson has. Patience is what the Hawks management has. Patience is what the players have. And patience, as a loyal Hawks fan, is what I have.

As Atlanta heads to Milwaukee for their two road games vs. the Bucks, they have a chance to get another milestone: a series sweep.

Then comes Orlando. Atlanta might very well fall to Orlando. Fans will begin to gripe again. But, maybe we win a game or two in the series. That is still a milestone.

These milestones probably seem meaningless to most. Who cares about how many games you win in a series? Who cares about winning six more games than last year?

But, if anyone has a tad of knowledge in statistics, they can look at the Hawks resume from the past six years and see one thing.

This team is improving, consistently, year, after year, after year.

So, until the Hawks take a step backwards, their patient rise to the top is sure to continue.

Say, in 2010-2011, we win 56 games? Say we win 59 in 2011-2012. Say we become a two seed, or eventually a one seed in the playoffs.

Eventually folks, if the past is indicative of the future, the Hawks will make it.

With that said, it is imperative that the Hawks somehow resign Joe Johnson at the end of the year. Johnson, who has been the cornerstone of the Hawks success, will be a free agent due to turning down contracts earlier in the season.

Jamal Crawford could be an answer, as a shooting guard, if Joe gets away.

Many negative-Nancy’s are pinpointing the Joe Johnson situation as a flaw on the Hawks franchise.

But, the truth is the Atlanta Hawks are a model franchise. The most fan friendly franchise out there.

They held on to a coach who has gone under tons of criticism. They have held on to raw players, rather than trading and dealing for a lineup of “fantasy-league” proportions.

And within this time consuming process the Hawks won 53 regular season games and placed third in the Eastern Conference.

So when you tune in for the next Hawks game, look at the 19,000 fans decked out in white with their waving towels. Look at the flames shooting from the floor.

Take in the intense atmosphere of the “Highlight Factory,” home to one of the most electrifying pro sports teams in the nation…

…and thank the Lord that someone had some patience.

But not so fast, my friend. On the brink of the NBA playoffs I will focus on basketball today, with great news regarding the University of Georgia basketball program.

“Mr. Everything” sophomore forward Howard “Trey” Thompkins declared at a banquet Thursday night, in front of his head coach Mark Fox, that he will return to school to play basketball for the Dawgs next year.

While many might be oblivious, Thompkins was one of two Bulldog basketball players, the other being Travis Leslie, who were projected to be lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft.

This fact might sneak up on some Georgia fans who usually disregard the historically bad Georgia basketball program.

But the future in Athens could not be brighter under Fox, and the declarations by Thompkins and dunk master Leslie to return to school should have many picking the Dawgs to drastically improve upon their 14-17 record from last season.

Although Georgia finished dead last in the SEC East—granted, a very strong SEC East—they were deemed by nearly every opponent head coach as “the best last-place team in the nation.”

Georgia definitely proved that to be a fact during the course of the past year, winning home games versus Illinois, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Florida.

Their progressive maturation was also an indicator of the coaching ability of Fox, who took a team that couldn’t go a minute without turning the ball over and turned them into one of the most fundamentally sound basketball teams in the SEC.

Georgia, with mostly ”inferior talent,” became extremely competitive through unrivaled coaching success. Fans showed their appreciation by constantly praising the team and Fox, despite their record.

But Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie are not at all inferior, and both evolved into great players by the end of the season. Coming into next year, with both returning to school, there is no doubt pundits will have their eyes on Georgia as a sleeper to compete in the SEC.

Thompkins, whose vague interviews of late had many believing he was a 50-50 shot at leaving school, mentioned Georgia’s potential to be a “great” team as a reason for him to pass off millions of dollars to stay at a basketball program that has been in the shadows for years.

Trey was second in the SEC in scoring last year with 17.7 points per game and fourth in rebounds with 8.3 per game.

His athleticism stretches the entire court. His 6′9″ frame makes him a dunk waiting to happen under the basket. His touch and craftiness around the rim are works of a magician.

He can shoot from anywhere on the floor too, including deep. He shot 37.7 percent from three last year.

With nearly Kentucky’s entire team leaving for the NBA, Thompkins might just be able to grab the SEC East spotlight as the division’s best player.

His quiet persona and affiliation with a smaller basketball school has made him one of the most overlooked players in the nation.

Thompkins will be teaming up with fellow sophomore Travis Leslie, who showed his potential by scoring 34 points in a loss to Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC tournament.

Leslie is a developed jump shot away from being one of the most electrifying specimens in the nation. His amazing dunks and gravity defying layups made him a weekly feature in SportsCenter ’s Top 10 Plays.

Leslie, as the third guard, averaged 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.

In contrast with the fallout on Georgia’s football team with the early departures from Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford, the news of these two players’ returns should have all Georgia fans applauding.

These two hoop stars might be just as valuable as Moreno and Stafford were to their respective teams, and they are likely going to be instrumental in turning around the UGA basketball program that has been dormant for so long.

If Thompkins and Leslie were at a marquee school, their commitments to the university would be headline news at ESPN.

The dynamic duo will combine with a talented freshman class, consisting of two 6′9″ beasts in Cady Lalanne and Donte Williams. Jeremy Price, who started to return to his All-SEC-freshman form last season, should combine with the freshman class to make Georgia one of the stronger interior teams in the league.

Georgia’s only notable loss will be the graduation of senior and former walk-on shooting guard Ricky McPhee. McPhee’s shooting expertise will be expected to be filled by another under the radar player, JUCO transfer Sherrard Brantley.

Dustin Ware evolved into a sharpshooter as well as the 2009 season progressed.

The one thing Georgia is going to have for the first time in years, heading into a season, is confidence.

They know they are a good team, and they believe they can be great. Whatever “greatness” implies, the swagger of this basketball program, lead by the more likeable Mark in Athens, has loyal fans whispering of potential success on the hardwood.

This will no doubt be the most anticipated basketball season at UGA since the turn of the century, and we have the right to believe the coaches and players aren’t going to get in trouble with violations and arrests.

Hold your head up high, Georgia fans, because the craziness of sports in Georgia nation is about to become a full-year affair.

On Wednesday the Hawks face off in the “highlight factory” versus the Lakers, followed by a game in Cleveland on Friday.

The Birds are on an eight game home winning streak, however their recent road losses have come against the Knicks, Raptors, Bucks, and 76′ers.

It’s hard to try to critique this team with a serious face. Hawks fans (if they even existed five years ago) have not gotten a taste of a quality team in a long time.

Atlanta sports fans, in general, are always thirsty for one of their teams to pick it up.

But, even though the highflying Hawks own a 47-26 record they have fallen behind in most website’s NBA Power Rankings, behind teams who have less wins than them.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com, who updates his power rankings daily, currently has Atlanta in ninth place behind teams like San Antonio and Portland (both teams have less wins than Atlanta).

The Hawks have been hovering around the ten spot in the power rankings for the entire half of the season, despite competing for the third seed in the East with Boston week in and week out.

This much is clear: Experts are scratching their heads over the Hawks, as they have done all year.

Last season, during a year where Atlanta went 47-35, NBA analysts had a set opinion on the Hawks.

The Hawks were a flashy, young, and talented group, but not championship caliber. With the addition of Jamal Crawford’s sixth-man of the year campaign the Hawks got off to a rocket start to this season, snagging the number one spot in the power rankings after the first twenty games.

They have fallen since (but I guess you can’t improve on being numero uno, but still).

After the first month many felt the Hawks were ready to take that next step, but as of now they are starting to look a lot like last year’s team.

They are 30-7 at home in Philips Arena, but just 17-19 on the road. Their road losses havn’t come against very good opponents either.

In late game situations the Hawks have reverted back to their isolation offense, hoping that Joe Johnson can succeed in a one vs. five situation and score a game winning bucket by fading away from twelve feet.

That’s getting old.

Mike Woodson, despite the fact the Hawks win total has improved every year since his arrival, has become a running joke in the NBA thanks to his run-in (literally) with Jason Kidd, which was a microcosm of the game vs. Dallas when Atlanta blew a huge lead by becoming conservative on offense.

Now Atlanta is in a tussle with the Boston Celtics, who are just as inconsistent as Atlanta despite being a completely different team in terms of age and experience, for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

And despite having the best season in years, the Hawks are running around with big question marks floating over their heads.

No question mark is bigger than Joe Johnson’s, who’s denial of a contract this past offseason hinted a very probable departure come the end of the year.

Hawks fans seem to be upset with this potential loss, and are wondering if the Joe Johnson situation is becoming a distraction with the team.

I wouldn’t think so, but J.J’s chances of leaving Atlanta have left a cloud over the Hawks rather impressive season. Many feel that this successful process, which has come with the development of young talent through the past four years, will all be for not if number two leaves.

So essentially the fans are in a crisis as well. Josh Smith is having the best season of his career by far, yet he’s still had mental lapses.

He still can’t seem to give up the ball on fast breaks, and you wonder if coach Mike Woodson has ever tried to talk to Josh about that. Mike Bibby, the Hawks’ “starting” point guard, has become less and less of a factor.

And, many wonder just how good Atlanta could be if they had a true center. Al Horford, despite being an All-Star, stands only 6 foot 9 and becomes a target against teams like Orlando.

This team is continuing to improve, but they are leaving fans more and more confused.

I guess all we can really do is wait for the playoffs, and hope the trend of breaking milestones under Mike Woodson continues.

The backwards statement posted above might be a realistic thought in the coming years if you are a student at a college or universtiy run by the State University System of Georgia.

This week Georgia legislatures passed a Bill that has opened the gates for millions of dollars to flood towards funding for the Georgia Dome site in downtown Atlanta.

This decision was made as students protesting budget cuts in the State University System were throwing rocks at the golden dome.

The legislatures might have heard the bombardment outside their doors, however they were too busy thinking about the pigskin.

For the past few years the Atlanta Falcons have been looking for a potential new home. The Georgia Dome, the Falcons’ current home stadium, apparently is outdated and in need of more renovations to keep up with the top stadiums in the country.

Buildings such as the Arizona Cardinals’ University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, as well as the Cowboys’ 100,000 seat stadium in Arlington has gotten the Georgia Dome and the Atlanta Falcons feeling inferior.

So, the legislatures passed the bill this week that is extending the tenure of the hotel/motel tax in Fulton County, with the revenue filtering into the hands of the state.

Yes. The Georgia Dome is run as part of the Georgia World Congress Center and is owned and operated by the State of Georgia. State money, coming from taxes, keeps the Dome operating.

Good thing the Dome does operate, because the Georgia Dome is essentially the primary tourist attraction in the Atlanta area.

The Dome isn’t just home to the Atlanta Falcons for eight games a year. It also houses an annual kickoff game between two major college football teams, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the SEC Championship game, as well as numerous other football events. It also regularly holds major college basketball tournaments, such as the SEC and ACC tournaments.

Basically, the Georgia Dome is the mecca of south eastern sports. It brings thousands of thousands of dollars into the city. It is owned by the state, so all of the money it brings in goes to the state.

So, it is a priority to have this building up and running to the point where it has the capacity to hold sporting events.

But for some reason, legislatures believe the Georgia Dome isn’t good enough.

This new bill will enable the state to potentially drastically renovate the stadium…

…or build a new one. This is where things have me scratching my head.

What is wrong with the current stadium? It’s infastructure is top notch; it withstood a tornado a few years ago. The dome fills up for every event it houses, and can seat up to 70,000 people, which is in the top teir of the NFL when it comes to stadium capacity.

The Dome is also multipurpose, and the only multipurpose venue of it’s kind in the entire southeastern United States.

But, the State wants to build a new stadium? In these economic times? When the legislatures are claiming there just isn’t anywhere else to cut spending except the State University System of Georgia, where thousands of students lives are going to be drastically impacted?

Let me be real. I’m not a huge political/economic junky. When I first read about these stadium plans I fact-fished on the internet for a couple of hours to find any loopholes or brick walls that would explain why the state would have to cut into the education system, despite setting aside millions of dollars for a football stadium.

My understanding of the situation is an understanding of the surface, so I’m not going to nail anyone down, accuse anyone, or claim im surfacing some catastrophic injustice.

But I beg to question, and I encourage you to wonder. Rules, regulations, and fine print aside, why is state money going to a stadium and not Kennesaw State University, The University of Georgia, The Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, and the like?

The priority sharks are swimming in my head.

You might be asking how much, exactly, would renovations or a new stadium cost?

Renovations could be as low as 10 million dollars, and could possibly get as high as 100 million dollars.

But guess how much a new stadium would cost. The Georgia Dome cost 214 million dollars to build in 1992.

The Arizona Cardinals’ University of Phoenix Stadium, which is the standard of new state of the art complexes–like the one Atlanta wants–cost 455 million dollars.

The magic number for the budget cuts in the State University System: 385 million dollars.

Now the new hotel tax bill simply extended the tenure of the taxes from 2020 to 2050, so this is a long term filtering of money.

But the talks of the new stadium imply a stadium being built in the next decade.

Why are we even thinking about this? The Georgia Dome didn’t get torn down by the tornado. It still stands. It houses games. It brings revenue.

A new stadium will not drastically increase the revenue coming from the events. The same amount of people will be working. The same amount of people will show up to games. The same amount of events will be held.

A renovation of the stadium would seem understandable. Using tax dollars, coming from the hotel industries, to fund a state run operation and to make state money is completely fine with me.

But putting aside anywhere from 200 to 500 million dollars in the next ten years while our schools lose departments, staff, and students is a concept of epically disturbing proportions.

If anyone can find any facts of figures that can justify these operations, please be my guest. I’m not saying that on my high horse. I’m literally am curious to hear why this isn’t a big deal. I’m curious to see what justifies this operation.

I’m just speaking on practicality. State money needs to head to education before it heads to retractable roofs and jumbotrons.

I would like to hear opinions on this. Are there any facts that debunk my gripe, or do the legislatures have serious priority issues?

The Falcons can play at Northcutt Stadium at Marietta Middle School for all I care. Even as a huge sports fan, it makes me sick that the idea of a highly expensive stadium would even cross the minds of these people.

Let’s wait for the schools to keep their departments, or for the Georgia Dome to fall down, before we spend 400 million dollars on a giant cement box.

Postseason basketball seldom is on our minds. It probably isn’t on your list of things to pay attention to as of right now.

Put it on that list. As strange as it may seem, with Georgia Tech being the only D1 basketball program with a winning record, March Madness is a possibility for a few other teams.

One team still alive, suprisingly enough is your own Kennesaw State Owls, who at 13-19 are two wins away from playing a nationally televised game versus one of the top basketball programs in the nation.

Believe it. In Kennesaw’s first season eligible to place in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament the Owls upset #1 seeded Lipscomb Wednesday night to place in the semifinals.

Tonight Kennesaw State plays last year’s Atlantic Sun champion East Tennessee State for a chance to place in the tournament final.

A win in the tournament final would propel Kennesaw State to an NCAA Tournament appearance in it’s first season as a full D1 program. Even with a losing record, Kennesaw could place itself in a tournament field that major programs like Florida and Georgia Tech could be excluded from.

The Owls could lose their first ever tournament game 100-32 for all I care; the fact that they are two victories from making a debut on one of the biggest stages in sports is overwhelming enough.

Owls’ head coach Tony Ingle isn’t a stranger to championship basketball. Kennesaw State won the 2004 Division II national championship; the game aired nationally on CBS.

Kennesaw has an outside chance of making it to CBS once again. The road for the Owls is tough. The semifinal game, which will be played tonight, is against an ETSU team that swept the Owls in the regular season.

If Kennesaw can battle through the Buccaneers, who come into tonight’s game with an 18-14 record, their opponent for the championship will be either Mercer or Jacksonville.

Against those two teams the Owls were 1-4, with their only win coming at home against Mercer–where the Kennesaw students helped out by breaking the Convocation Center’s attendance record.

Mercer plays tonight’s semi-final game vs. Jacksonville as a #6 seed, which Jacksonville enters with a 14-6 conference record, which tied for the best in the conference.

A win for Kennesaw and Mercer would mean a gigantic rivalry game down in Macon, with the winner receiving a glass slipper.

And, a place in the field of the 65 teams who will compete for the national championship. In our minds, a breakthrough of earning a spot in the national tournament in our first year of eligibility will be all of the “championship” we need.

For a school that is growing rapidly (let’s just ignore the potential budget cuts and department cuts for now), now the third largest school in Georgia, it sure would be our success in a microcosm if the once tiny junior college from north-west metro Atlanta could beat out the likes of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Savannah State, and Mercer to represent the state of Georgia in the “Big Dance”.

Now this article could become two things. The precursor to our Cinderella story, or the ultimate jinx. Kennesaw’s chances of beating East Tennessee State are slim. In the last meeting between the schools ETSU won 66-45, raining threes to start the game. The Owls were quickly run out of the building (which was okay with me; ETSU’s Mini Dome is by far the ugliest sports arena I have ever layed eyes on).

But, let’s be hopeful and cheer on our Owls. We are a D1 school now folks; Let’s start acting like D1 fans.

The game tonight starts at 6:30, which will be played at Mercer University in Macon. If you want to watch you can catch live video of the game on ESPN360.com

As for the other D1 programs, Georgia and Georgia Tech have some chances to make the big dance as well.

Georgia Tech is standing on the outside, looking in, as of now. The Jackets have dropped eight conference games, most being debacles on the road, and are 19-10 with one ACC game left, tomorrow against Virginia Tech.

Georgia Tech might need a win vs. the Hokies and a strong showing in the conference tournament to keep their place in the NCAA Tournament a lock. The Jackets are by far the most talented team in the state, however a few more losses this year could mean head coach Paul Hewitt’s job.

As for the boys in Athens, the Georgia Bulldogs have been mightily competitive this season despite being picked to place dead last in the SEC this season. Georgia now stands at 13-15 with one game left against the worst team in the conference, LSU.

But, Georgia fans are confident this team has what it takes to run the table in the SEC tournament, just like they did back in 2007 in the infamous “Tornado Games”.

Georgia has compiled regular season wins over Illinois, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina, and blew second half leads in 7 of their 10 SEC losses. This team is a few sloppy minutes from being a tournament lock.

The Dawgs hoops program has got people in Athens very excited, thanks to new head coach Mark Fox. Don’t count out Georgia in their tournament; They have competed in a conference that was supposed to beat the snot out of them.

Other division one programs finishing the season this week are Georgia State (12-19), Georgia Southern (9-22), Mercer (15-16), and Independent Savannah State (11-15).

Catch the game tonight if you can, and if we win, make sure to be in Macon for the tournament championship game.

In a previous post, I unraveled the final six games on the Fightin’ Owl’s schedule and discussed what needed to happen for the Owl’s to have a shot at dancing this March. After the first two games of the home stretch, we are 0-2 and in serious need of a big victory to gain some momentum. Our main competitor for the final seed in the conference tournament is North Florida, who in their last two games showed some weakness.

North Florida lost to Stetson and barely eked out a victory in over time against Florida Gulf Coast both of which games were at home. The Ospreys, which is about as fierce as an owl, come to Kennesaw this Saturday. All of the remaining games on our schedule are huge, but Saturday’s is of the grand daddy of them all in our case.

Can the Owl’s put together a miraculous run to make it to the conference tournament in our first year of eligibility? Find out at the Convocation Center Thursday and Saturday night at 7:30.

@ ETSU (13-12, 9-5) (Clinched A-Sun Trouny Birth)
@ Campbell (14-9, 9-5) (Clinched A-Sun Tourny Birth)
Vs. Jacksonville (13-10, 9-5) (Clinched A-Sun Tourny Birth)
Vs. North Florida (11-13, 6-8)
@ Lipscomb (13-11, 10-5) (Clinched A-Sun Tourny Birth)
@ Belmont (15-10, 10-5) (Clinched A-Sun Tourny Birth)

While the record looks some what respectable right now, we still have a difficult road navigate if we want to end up in the A-Sun Tournament. Unless we go on an unbelievable run down the stretch, the Owls are competing with North Florida for the final seed in the conference bracket. Their journey to post season competition does not look to be as tough a task as it will be for the Owls. North Florida’s schedule is as follows:

V. Stetson (5-18, 3-12)
V. Florida Gulf Coast (7-17, 4-11)
@ Mercer (12-12, 8-6)
@ Kennesaw (HUGE GAME)
V. ETSU (13-12, 9-5)
V. Campbell (14-9, 9-5)

Out of our remaining 6 games, we play the number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 teams in the conference. North Florida plays games against the number 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 in the Atlantic Sun.

So what does that mean? That means our Fightin’ Owls are going to have to muster up all the fight they have left in them for this 6 game stretch. We can not, I repeat, can not do worse the 3-3 and have a shot at getting in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournametn. Unless something crazy happens, I think 3-3 is an absolute must for our Owls to make it to post season play. The two keys to getting to the post season are:

1) Win the home games. We must win our game at home against North Florida no matter what. Jacksonville is the #4 team in the conference and in the past week looks like a team that can be beaten. But, when we traveled on the road to face Jacksonville earlier this season we fell short 91-52.

2) Steal one in Music City. Actually, just win a game in the state of Tennessee. If we win our remaining two home games and win a game on the road in Tennessee and we will achieve our 3-3 goal for our final 6 games. We beat Lipscomb 97-91 at home earlier this season and lost to Belmont 75-70 at home in overtime. It will be much more difficult to go into hostile territory and steal a victory against these two tough squads.

There it is! Easier said then done, but the Owls are fighting for positioning in the post season and that is something for the Kennesaw State nation to get excited about.

Chad Jenkins was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 20th overall pick. The 6′4″ right hander is gearing up to begin his first full season in the Blue Jays system. He will report to Dunedin, Fl for Spring Training as a Non- roster Invitee. Jenkins will likely start the season at the Single A club out of Dunedin.

Kyle Heckathorn was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round with the 42nd overall pick. Heckathorn pitched 22.1 innings in 6 games, 5 of which were starts, and recorded a 6.04 ERA with the Short Season A Helena Brewers in Helena, MT. The 21 year old right hander will report to the Brewers spring training camp in Pheonix, AZ as a non-roster invitee.

Left handed hurler, Kenny Faulk was drafted with the 480th pick by the Detroit Tigers. Faulk appeared in 25 games last season with the Single A Short Season team out of Oneonta, NY. Kenny had a solid season recording a 2.83 ERA in 28.2 innings and also locking up 9 saves. Although he may start the season in Oneonta, if Kenny keeps up his strong work do not be surprised to see him take the next step up to the Single A Western Michigan Whitecaps. Faulk will not attend Spring Training with the major league club.

Catcher Jace Whitmer was selected with the 508th pick by the home town Atlanta Braves. Whitmer bounced around the minor league clubs last season. He saw most of his action in the Rookie League with the Danville Braves where he hit .242 with 23 hits, 4 doubles, and 5 RBI’s. Jace’s solid play with Danville got him promoted to the Gulf Coast League Braves for a few games and then he was called up to the Single A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Whitmer will not join the major league team for Spring Training in Orlando, but look for him to be the back up catcher at Class A Myrtle Beach.

Justin Edwards was selected with the 849th pick by the St. Louis Cardinals. Edwards pitched 51 innings in 15 apperances, 8 of which were starts for the Class A Short Season Batavia Muckdogs. In his 15 apperances, Justin recorded a 3-2 recorded and a 3.25 ERA. Edwards will not attend Spring Training with the major leauge team, but he can only go up if he continues to pitch the way he did last season.

Tyler Stubblefield was drafted 988th by the Atlanta Braves, but he will return to the Owl’s line up to the team make a run at the A-Sun title.

Kennesaw State may be a relatively unknown to the rest of the general publc, but the scouts in the MLB are taking notice to the talent that is being show cased at Stillwell Stadium.

Wonder Boy here, makin my first post for the Owl’s Nest!

So yesterday was the Championship Sunday…Colts vs. Jets and Vikings vs. Saints. Winner of each game earns the honor of playing for the Vince Lombardi trophy. For those of you who missed out and didn’t see the games, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints came out victorious.

So the match up has been made, the date is set…the only thing that remains now is to determine a winner.

Who is it gonna be guys? Let me here your thoughts…I’ll give you my pick as Super Bowl Sunday draws nearer…Stay Tuned!!!