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From our columnists
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Bookman: Kaine-Pence debate was really quite revealing
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Bradley: Memo to Braves fans: There?셲 a case to be made for Bud Black
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Talk of the Town: Facebook brings more career casualties in Ga.
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Hummer: Tech?셲 Johnson sending wrong message
From our bloggers
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Libertarian VP nominee targets Donald Trump, but tells Dems ?쁶in your...
Jeff Schultz blog
Snitker was good but Bud Black may be Braves??choice for manager
Get Schooled
Arne Duncan to U.S. teacher training programs: Raise your standards
Talk of the Town
Facebook brings more career, relationship casualties in Georgia
Kempner: Was Trump?셲 ?쁤enius??just Tax Law 101?
The word ?쐅enius??was brutally maligned this week. It deserves an apology from Rudy Giuliani.The former New York City mayor labeled his buddy Donald Trump a ?쐅enius??because he apparently used nearly $1 billion in business losses to avoid paying any federal income taxes, possibly for years.
Schooled: Duncan to teacher training programs: Raise standards
Arne Duncan is former U.S. U.S. Secretary of Education and Nonresident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies, Brown Center on Education Policy.
Life with Gracie: Yes, Zianna, it is a shame
A little girl, just 9 years old, wept last week as she talked about being black at a Charlotte City Council meeting.
?쏧?셶e come here today to talk about how I feel, and I feel like that we are treated differently than other people,??Zianna Oliphant told the crowd. ?쏧 don?셳 like how we?셱e treated. Just because of our color ??doesn?셳 mean anything to me.
Schultz: Snitker was good but Bud Black may be Braves??choice
Former San Diego manager Bud Black is considered by some as the leading candidate to become Braves manager.
Mike Check: NFL power rankings: Are Falcons now NFC contenders?
Tevin Coleman and the Falcons flattened the Panthers. BRANT SANDERLIN/BSANDERLIN@AJC.COM 1.
Watchdog: Victim count grows in criminal case against a doctor who?셲 still practicing
More potential victims have been added to the criminal case against an Arkansas family doctor who is being allowed to keep seeing patients despite facing rape and sexual assault charges.
State by state: Abusive doctors across the country
The Falcons look great! (Didn?셳 we say that last year?)
The Falcons are playing as well as a team with the league?셲 third-worst defense can play. They?셱e moving the ball and even scoring touchdowns as if ??to quote the former Pirates announcer Bob Prince ??tomorrow?셲 lunch was around the corner.
Bill Torpy at Large: The McIver shooting and gun rights
As the argument over guns rages in this election season, two recent killings in metro Atlanta represent the polar ends of the debate — the yin and the yang of self-defense.
After massive rebuild, Braves still need starting pitching
It’s much easier to tear down a team than it is to build it up. That is certainly true in baseball.
The Braves must decide if Snitker, a good guy, is the right guy
Brian Snitker has made this hard for the Braves. He did his job too well. He became something more than an interim manager.
It?셲 early but Falcons are looking legit
If history, both recent and ancient, prevents the average Atlanta resident from screaming, ?쏶uper Bowl, baby!
Moving day at Turner Field, in more ways than one
Walter Banks, 51 years a Braves’ usher, pronounced “Play Ball!” Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn smooched for the Kiss Cam.
Bill Torpy at Large: Transgender woman's record concerns police review board
In August, Mayor Kasim Reed made an announcement that was called ?쐆istoric????he appointed a transgender woman to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.
UGA should have won. Tennessee did.
Riley Ridley ran past Malik Foreman and gathered in Jacob Eason?셲 rainbow, the pot of gold in this case being pole position in the SEC East, and right then you thought: Justice has prevailed.
Mark Richt returns and looks right at home again
There was Mark Richt again, walking off the field at Georgia Tech with a win. So clearly some things never change.
Turner Field somehow never felt like home
I wish I felt a deeper sense of loss for Turner Field as home of the Braves. I wish I did, but I don?셳.
Best Braves??memory at Turner Field: Cox?셲 final year
Sometimes great seasons don’t end with a World Series. Sometimes, sports provides enough moments of drama, courage and resilience to send a team and its fans into the offseason feeling good, especially when a 69-year-old Buddha of a manager is lifted on his players’ shoulders and doused with champagne and beer for nothing more than a wild-card berth.
Startup Atlanta United hires a big-time coach
When you?셶e taken Newell?셲 Old Boys to La Bombonera (Spanish for ?쐁hocolate box?? to face Boca Juniors; when you?셶e managed Paraguay in a World Cup quarterfinal against champion-to-be Spain; when you?셶e ventured into the Bernabeu with Barcelona for an El Clasico against Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid; when you?셶e seen your Argentina side go to penalties against Chile two years running in the Copa America final ?쫁hen you?셶e done all that ??and Gerardo ?쏷ata??Martino has ??you won?셳 be nettled when Arthur Blank makes his first ostentatious appearance on your touchline.
Falcons create a new memory for themselves in New Orleans
The homecoming didn?셳 belong to the New Orleans Saints this time. The Falcons provided no moment that would be commemorated in bronze, no joy to a division rival that has owned them for the better part of a decade, no fodder for more lampooning by a Monday night television audience.
If Tennessee is for real, UGA has a problem
On a sunny Saturday by the Tennessee River, it was possible to wonder if Georgia?셲 second-worst nightmare had come true.
Falcons can?셳 create more happy memories for Saints
Ten years ago, the Falcons traveled to New Orleans for the third game of the season, having been summoned by the NFL to play the role of homecoming patsy.
From flop to Rocky Top: Tennessee?셲 wild win
Once in a while, the best thing that can happen is for the absolute worst thing to happen. Tennessee was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on the opening kickoff.
New Georgia looks like the old Georgia in ugly loss
This is the kind of game that got a head coach fired.This is the kind of game that would cause everybody ??boosters, fans, administrators, media, a series of Ugas ??to look around and wonder: Shouldn?셳 Georgia be better?
Tech?셲 offense throws a clunker against Clemson
Not much to see here, and really not much to say. Clemson is better than Georgia Tech. We knew that already.
A September to remember for, yes, the Braves
It being football season, maybe you?셶e stopped tracking the Braves. Maybe you got so fed up that you tuned out way back when it was basketball season.
This week will say a lot about where Dogs, Jackets headed
It?셲 building in Athens because, well, it always builds in Athens after a win. Jacob Eason makes a big throw to win an SEC game on the road and suddenly, the overwhelming thought among Georgia fans is, ?쏧f he can do that at Missouri, he can do it at Ole Miss.
Opportunity knocks. Will Georgia Tech answer?
“A tremendous opportunity,” Paul Johnson called it, and he told no lies. Beating the nation’s No.
Falcons put on an offensive show ??and win
This might just be one of those seasons when the Falcons keep us guessing ??not merely from game to game but series to series ??touchdown drive to too-many-knuckleheads on the field during a punt return ??blown lead to, wait-whose-hands-did-that-pass-bounce-off-of?
Bill Torpy at Large: Did DeKalb?셲 cops have arrest and ticket quotas?
Just about anyone who’s gotten a ticket inherently knows that cops have to live up to quotas. Of course, every police commander I’ve ever asked has denied this.
Eason throws and UGA passes its road test
The road is different. Every coach says so. The road can humble the most talented of teams and players.
Falcons try to avoid going from 0-1 to off the rails
Hear that? It sounds like a series of splashes. Fans jumping ship. Media dumping on coaches and players.
The Falcons??Quinn needs to demand better
These were Dan Quinn?셲 opening comments after Sunday?셲 game, presented without editing.Quinn: ?쏛fter coming back in the locker room, the guys played hard.
Bill Torpy at Large: The Ka-ching Kings can?셳 work out deal with D.C. museum
Later this month, the long-awaited National Museum of African American History and Culture will open in Washington D.
Sports has a hammer: Get used to it
When will it dawn on people that this is reality? When will some understand that many athletes don’t just run fast and jump high but have thoughts on significant issues facing society and choose to use their platform to further their causes?
Is Georgia?셲 issue a lack of ??talent?
Maybe we had it wrong. Maybe Mark Richt?셲 problem wasn?셳 his failure to coach up the great talent he?셝 assembled.
Bill Torpy at Large: When politicians judge those who judge the judges
In recent years, an obscure state agency became effective at clearing Georgia?셲 judiciary of bullies, lechers, incompetents and even out-and-out criminals.
As season opens, it?셲 Mike Smith 1, Falcons 0
Allow Mike Smith this departure from his norm. The man was known to speak in shades of beige when he was the Falcons’ head coach, by design.
The Falcons open the season by laying an egg
They?셝 had an offseason to sign and draft better players; to evaluate and presumably correct their inability to score touchdowns; to rush the passer harder; to be better stem to stern.
Thomas sits for a half. Tech wins anyway
If you liked last year?셲 Georgia Tech football team, you?셪l probably like this one. Trouble is, nobody liked last year?셲 team.
Georgia exposed by team it should?셶e handled easily
They?셱e still Georgia.They?셱e still sooooo Georgia.Their ranking said ninth. Their performance said Liberty Bowl.
Predicting the Falcons??season
Sept. 11, Tampa Bay: The Falcons went 1-5 in the NFC South last season, which included getting swept in two games by the Buccaneers for the first time since 2007.
The more I see, the more I doubt the Falcons
It wasn’t so long ago that I believed the Falcons’ manifest destiny was to win a Super Bowl.
Film doesn?셳 lie, but Matt Ryan learning from mistakes
Editor's note: This article was first published on June 11, 2016. Flowery Branch -- The lights are off, the door is cracked open and inside a small meeting room at the Falcons’ practice facility, Matt Ryan is sitting in a chair, holding a remote, his eyes shifting from the two computer monitors in front of him to a large screen on the far wall.
The Falcons??past could enhance the Bucs??future
The threesome of Mike Smith, Dirk Koetter and Matt Ryan came within 10 yards of lifting the Falcons to the Super Bowl in January 2013.
Bill Torpy at Large: Few drivers rush to obey Slowpoke Law
OK, fellow left-lane drivers, I know you’re concerned with your cellphones and your kids and the hundred other preoccupations that sap your attention.
Georgia worthy of high expectations ??but proceed with caution
Ready? Prepare yourselves because it’s going to build. Georgia is going to deliver a backhand to the cute little team from Nicholls State (and a prize off the top shelf to the first person who can locate the school on a map).
The Braves??rise from oblivion has begun
The Braves awoke on Labor Day mathematically alive in the National League East. That mightn?셳 sound like much ??and they were officially eliminated with Monday?셲 6-4 loss to the division-leader Nationals ??but still: When a team starts 9-29 and is 18-46 as of June 14, you?셱e pondering a season of historic awfulness.
For UGA and Smart, it was the best of openers
Kirby Smart couldn?셳 have asked for more from Game 1 of Year 1. Had Georgia played nobody and won by 50, he?셝 have been asking: ?쏻hat happens when we play somebody?
UGA holds its nerve and wins No. 1 for Smart
Not to put too fine a point on it, but there was moment in the third quarter when you?셝 have sworn the Georgia you were watching ??the one that had yielded 17 consecutive points to trail North Carolina by 10 ??was the Georgia of the final days of Mark Richt.
Was that Lambert?셲 last start at UGA?
1. That might have been Greyson Lambert?셲 last start. He completed five of eight passes for 54 yards.
Justin Thomas rescues Tech ??with his arm
Paul Johnson called it “a throwback” kind of game. Agreed. If Dublin’s Aviva Stadium were situated just a little bit closer to the Irish Sea, this would’ve been a lovely flounder to throw back.
In any country, Georgia Tech needs to be better
So now it’s about football. It’s not about the Irish culture or, “How was your bus tour?
Bill Torpy at Large: In Dunwoody, State Farm plays corporate welfare game
In 2012, this newspaper took the time to document a rare event ??a company passing up free public money.
A solution to satellite camps: Hold them in Ireland
It was two days before the start of the season and I?셫 not sure I like what I saw, or at least heard, from the final Georgia Tech practice before its opening game.
With Lambert, UGA is banking on no surprises
It?셲 not that coaches hate the idea of freshmen playing. Lots of freshmen do. (The biggest mistake of Mark Richt?셲 time at Georgia ??well, other than Faton Bauta ??was redshirting Knowshon Moreno.
Until there?셲 football in Ireland, I had a more important mission
I roamed the downtown area and didn?셳 see one. I toured the rugby/soccer/afterthought-football stadium and didn?셳 see one.
A big game in Week 1: That?셲 why Smart?셲 here
Going by winning percentage, Mark Richt was the best coach Georgia ever had. (Unless we count Robert Winston, who was 5-1 in his one season, which was 1894.
Bill Torpy at Large: An Atlanta-style battle over the 'Peace Park'
What’s in a name? Well, if the name is Mims, apparently a lot. The name has ignited an ugly spat that touches on race, class, history and social activism.
This actually good time for Georgia Tech to get away for a while
The first time two college football teams played a game in Ireland came in 1988. It was such a novelty for countrymen more accustomed to hurling, Gaelic football and bowing at the little leprechaun feet of Rory McIlroy that few understood the significance of the event when Boston College held a practice at St.
UGA?셲 Kirby Smart says little, reveals less
Here’s what we learned from Kirby Smart’s first game week briefing as head coach: That Kirby Smart won’t be as nervous going into Saturday’s date with North Carolina as in any game as Nick Saban’s No.
Falcons reminding all: These games don?셳 count
Are they ready?Because they didn?셳 look ready the other night when they got whacked by a team projected to win seven games, albeit in an exhibition.
Predicting Georgia?셲 season, game by game
Sept. 3, North Carolina (Georgia Dome), 5:30 p.m.: If I’m Kirby Smart, I love this as an opener — playing a ranked opponent that has lost its starting quarterback and yielded 645 yards in a bowl loss, and you’re doing it on a neutral-in-name-only field.
Top 25: Clemson at the top, UGA at No. 13
1. CLEMSON Why so high: The nation’s best quarterback — let’s start there. Superb running back in Wayne Gallman — that’s No.
Predicting Georgia Tech?셲 season, game by game
Sept. 3, vs. Boston College (Dublin, Ireland), 7:30 a.m.: Boston College has 15 returning starters. But is that a good thing or a bad thing when you went 0-8 in conference the year before and averaged 9.
Bill Torpy at Large: Show up, blow up, throw down. It's Classic Kasim
We’ve seen this before during the reign of Mayor Kasim Reed: Hizzoner is sitting in his office doing something mayoral.
Chipper Jones likes Braves??future but says moves needed
Former Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, who is now an adviser with the team, recently moved back to Atlanta from his Texas ranch, which he is selling.
Why Smart?셲 Year 1 has breakthrough potential
When you fire a coach, your next season is invariably seen as a rebuilding one. Georgia has a new coach.
Bill Torpy at Large: Emory wants to move into Atlanta?
Word that Emory University wants to join up with Atlanta came out of nowhere last week and brought together a room full of DeKalb County neighborhood leaders trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
Will Turner Field be Eden for Georgia State?
Trent Miles presides over a college football program that played in a bowl game last season and didn?셳 fire its head coach, a combination that puts Georgia State ahead of both Georgia and Georgia Tech.
Advice for the Braves: Stay strong, keep going
Such a season would try the faith of a saint. Perhaps coincidentally, John Coppolella and John Hart, architects of the Braves’ massive rebuild, are named after one.
What does future hold for Braves??starters ??and Roger McDowell?
When the Braves decided to blow the whole thing up ??though their plans were presented to the public in more palatable and euphemistic terms and served on a silver platter, adjacent to a ?쏝urgerizza????it was assumed there would be moments like this.
Andruw Jones belongs in a bigger Hall of Fame
Andruw Jones was inducted into the Braves??Hall of Fame at a luncheon on Friday. He and another famous Jones will be eligible for a bigger Hall of Fame ??the one in Cooperstown ??on the ballot distributed in December 2017.
Turner Field plans would be closer to ?쁡ream??with Braves
Outside of an empty stadium, which for most of the past two seasons has hosted an empty team, the mayor of Atlanta was doing what mayors do best: Waxing on.
Tears in his eyes, Dansby Swanson brings hope
The call came at 5:30 p.m. CDT on Tuesday. It was from Luis Salazar, the Mississippi Braves’ manager, though Dansby Swanson didn’t know that until he answered, which he almost didn’t because he didn’t recognize the number.
Can Falcons??pass rush finally put Bryan Cox in good mood?
Bryan Cox isn?셳 from the old school. Bryan Cox is the clay that?셲 mixed with the shale and fired in a kiln that?셲 heated to 2,000 degrees to make the bricks that?셲 brought out to the country on an empty hillside to build the old school.
Matt Ryan: Overrated? Underrated? Both?
Having observed him on a regular basis since 2008, my feeling about Matt Ryan has been that he’s good enough to win a Super Bowl.
Bill Torpy at Large: Bulldozers take aim at another Atlanta icon
Atlantans often complain about our civic penchant for tearing down quirky, interesting and historic buildings and replacing them with soul-sucking schlock.
Appreciating A-Rod: It ain?셳 easy, folks
A-Rod played his final game as a Yankee on Friday and had an RBI double. You probably weren?셳 sorry to see him go.
Curry knows: Georgia Tech needs a unifying presence
The problem at Georgia Tech isn?셳 that the football coach runs an option offense, or that he doesn?셳 pat needy alums on the head enough, or, please, of all things, that some Doritos-and-Yoo-hoo chugging recruiting ?쐅uru??has determined the program didn?셳 sign enough ?쐄our-stars.
Bill Torpy at Large: Delta ?쁟hallenges??passengers. Seriously?
As thousands of Delta passengers queued up in airports worldwide, the airline?셲 CEO Ed Bastian stood in front of a camera to record a video aimed at his tired, angry masses.
Julio Jones looks to stop the losing
Julio Jones plays the most me-me-me of football positions. That?셲 not him. ?쏪ust throw me the damn ball??was a great name for a book (never read it) and certainly captured the essence of Keyshawn Johnson but not every wide receiver or every superstar athlete obsesses over his statistics or which direction the spotlight is pointed.
What a football-first Tech AD might ask Johnson
In 2013, some among Georgia Tech?셲 Old Guard were miffed that the Institute hired Mike Bobinski of football-free Xavier as athletic director.
Bill Torpy at Large: The sex toys case that only lawyers could love
The lonely sex toy shop in a largely vacant strip mall across from Sandy Springs’ City Hall has just one customer, a diminutive 20-something lady who wants a little something to spice up her sex life.
Georgia Tech was dysfunction junction under Bobinski
To understand the dysfunction that existed in the Georgia Tech athletic department, thanks largely to the departing Mike Bobinski, consider the clown show that has surrounded planning for the football team?셲 season opener in Ireland.
Bring back McCann? It?셲 not that simple, folks
Brian McCann is a catcher for the New York Yankees, who appear to have little need of his catching services.
Paul Johnson at his best when people expect worst
Paul Johnson seemingly is at his best when people are hurling insults, not roses. So with all of this projected misery at Georgia Tech, is it too early for him to put his feet up on the desk and light a stogie?
Dwight Freeney won?셳 be some old man joke for Falcons
So let?셲 address the elephant in the locker room: He?셲 an old elephant. He?셲 36 in real time. After more than 8,000 snaps in 194 games over 14 seasons (plus playoffs), he?셲 really more like 66 in NFL dog years.
UGA fans mightn?셳 have seen the last of Lambert
Greyson Lambert is a strange case. He lost his starting job at Virginia, which would wind up firing its coach.
Bill Torpy at Large: 'Broken windows??racist? Or a needed enforcement tool?
For a generation, “broken windows” has been viewed as the secret sauce of policing that dramatically slashed crime rates.
Kirby Smart says he?셲 putting player?셲 recovery over football
Kirby Smart is trying to fix as much as he can at Georgia. How players hit. How players think. How players develop into leaders and show accountability and walk into a stadium for a big game in Athens or Knoxville or Jacksonville and prove there?셲 substance behind the hype.
Phase 1 of the Braves??rebuild is near its end
What we learned about the Braves from their moves ??and non-moves ??before Monday?셲 trade deadline:1.
After playoff absence, tighter Falcons team could be on way up
When an organization that?셲 more accustomed to being a punchline than a playoff team suddenly wins 56 games over five seasons and comes within a hiccup of reaching the Super Bowl, strange things happen.
Starting for the 2018 Braves ??Mike Trout?
It?셲 April 2, 2018. It?셲 the second opening day at SunTrust Park. Here?셲 the starting lineup for the Cobb County Braves.
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