Georgia Tech over NC in rainy Atlanta, GA and more…

Posted on September 21, 2013 by admin

It was raining and it was pouring and thank heavens Georgia Tech quit snoring!!  (At least in the second half!)  GT trailed at the half 20 – 14.  Carolina scored first and then for some inexplicable reason went for two and were not successful???  At any rate, Carolina did a very good job of stopping the GT option attack in the first half although the Jackets were far from sharp.  The rain was a factor for both and it rained for essentially the entire game, very hard for much of it.  (I was supposed to be there, but mission was aborted and will reschedule for the VT game on Thursday night…look for post and pics from that game!)  Georgia Tech won the second half, held North Carolina scoreless (there was a 82 yard TD pass called back for the Tar Heels due to a holding call, very clear they were holding  Attaochu) and the Jackets racked up 137 yards rushing in the third quarter alone.  They finished with over 320 yards rushing and over 100 yards passing.  Wide receivers Smelter (former baseball standout) and Darren Waller came up big for GT, Waller catching an important TD pass just before the half to pull Tech to within six.  B Back (fullback) David Sims scored two rushing touchdowns and Robert Godhigh delivered his usual play your heart our performance.  J. Thomas, the GT version of the honey badger and their best cover guy had a huge play when he tipped a pass out of the TE’s hands for NC and deflected it into the hands of Georgia Tech’s Louis Young to stop a NC drive in the second half.  The important thing after all is said and done is this: Georgia Tech won on a dreadfully nasty day when they were not playing their best; they won an ACC game and a division game; they are 3-0 and 2-0 in the Conference and the Coastal division; they host VT on Thursday night and then will travel to Miami.  Win those two games, I think VT is a lock, and well things will look very promising for the Jackets to repeat as Coastal Division champs.  Slowing down, I know it is early so don’t want to get ahead of myself.  GT does have to play at Clemson in November but they avoid FSU.  Anyhow, great win today after a very sloppy start and will look forward to seeing the Jackets up close for the first time this year on Thursday.  It is the 100th anniversary of Bobby Dodd stadium at historic Grant Field…the oldest on campus football stadium in FBS.  So..until then…

Elsewhere, over in Athens where it was also raining, UGA took care of North Texas, 45 – 21 but it was tied at one point, 21-21.  The dawgs gave up two special teams TD’s, one a kick off return and the other on a blocked punt.  Perhaps UGA was looking ahead to next week’s matchup with LSU.  The Tigers will face Auburn tonight (rain expected in Baton Rouge).  Tennessee and Florida are just getting underway, Vols scored TD on interception and Gator QB Jeff Driskel appears to be hurt…second turnover for Gators already and the game is just getting started! Update: Driskel out for the year with a broken leg!  Yikes.

Both Louisville and Ohio State put up huge scores on two cupcake Florida schools, Ohio State 76 over Florida A & M and Louisville 72 over Florida International (gotta ask, what is that, never heard of that directional school…)  Virginia Tech had Marshall at home and the game ended in a 21 – 21 tie but the Hokies pulled it out in OT, 29 – 21.  Again, gotta like Georgia Tech’s chances with the Hokies coming into Atlanta on Thursday.

Big game in the Pac 12 tonight, Arizona State vs. Stanford.  I am rooting for the Cardinals, heck, I am rooting for the Pac 12!  Stanford has looked great on defense this year, the offense has not been as impressive, but solid.  Should be a good one.

Meanwhile, also in Atlanta in the rain, round three of the Tour Championships was played, early due to the weather.  Henrik Stenson remains atop the leaderboard at -11, Dustin Johnson is second at -7, Steve Stricker in third at -5.  Zach Johnson, Billy Horshel, Justin Rose, and Jordan Spieth are at -4 and Luke Donald along with Nick Whatney finished up at -3.  The two hometown boys, Matt Kuchar (+2) and Robert Castro (E), both GT guys.  Adam Scott was suffering from flu like symptoms and took a bit of a fall but still managed to finish his round at -2 as did Phil Mickelson.  Tiger Woods shot a 69 but is in 26th place at +3.  Tiger can still finish up in second place in the FedEx Cup standings, but if either Stenson, Zach Johnson, or Adam Scott win the championship, they win the Cup and the big $$$$!  Coverage begins tomorrow at 1:00 pm EST and the weather is expected to be better.

Until later…more football to enjoy!

 


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Henrik Stenson leads the pack at Tour Championships in Atlanta

Posted on September 20, 2013 by susan

Henrik Stenson sits atop the leaderboard after day two at the Tour Championships from Atlanta, GA with a score of -10, shooting a round of 66 today.  He has looked very impressive.  Also looking very impressive is Aussie Adam Scott, sitting in second place at -6 and he is certainly a strong candidate for player of the year.  And perhaps equally impressive, twenty year old Jordan Spieth finds himself in third place at -5, surely this year’s rookie of the year in golf!  Justin Rose, Billy Horshel, and Dustin Johnson are at -4; Nick Whatney, Steve Stricker, Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley, and Zach Johnson are at -3.  The two hometown boys, Robert Castro and Matt Kuchar, (both played their collegiate golf at Georgia Tech) sit in different positions after round two, Castro at -2 and Kuchar at +3.  Phil Mickelson made a nice charge today and finished up his round to sit at -2, not out of it yet.  Meanwhile, Tiger Woods started out on fire and then fizzled, and then crashed and burned.  He failed to hit a single fairway on the back nine and even had a nasty triple bogey on his scorecard.  At one point he had pulled to -2 only to wind up at +4 with a round of 71.  Very disappointing day for the world’s #1 golfer.

Tomorrow rain, thunderstorms, lightening, you name it, some pretty bad weather is expected to roll in unfortunately.  Tee times have been moved up and they will send the guys out in groups of three as opposed to the traditional pairings of two.

So, fingers crossed they get round three in and then can finish up on Sunday as the weather is supposed to move out by then.  But, we all know that mother nature has a mind of her own!  Stay tuned…


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Henrik Stenson leads the pack at Tour Championships in Atlanta

Posted on September 20, 2013 by admin

Henrik Stenson sits atop the leaderboard after day two at the Tour Championships from Atlanta, GA with a score of -10, shooting a round of 66 today.  He has looked very impressive.  Also looking very impressive is Aussie Adam Scott, sitting in second place at -6 and he is certainly a strong candidate for player of the year.  And perhaps equally impressive, twenty year old Jordan Spieth finds himself in third place at -5, surely this year’s rookie of the year in golf!  Justin Rose, Billy Horshel, and Dustin Johnson are at -4; Nick Whatney, Steve Stricker, Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley, and Zach Johnson are at -3.  The two hometown boys, Robert Castro and Matt Kuchar, (both played their collegiate golf at Georgia Tech) sit in different positions after round two, Castro at -2 and Kuchar at +3.  Phil Mickelson made a nice charge today and finished up his round to sit at -2, not out of it yet.  Meanwhile, Tiger Woods started out on fire and then fizzled, and then crashed and burned.  He failed to hit a single fairway on the back nine and even had a nasty triple bogey on his scorecard.  At one point he had pulled to -2 only to wind up at +4 with a round of 71.  Very disappointing day for the world’s #1 golfer.

Tomorrow rain, thunderstorms, lightening, you name it, some pretty bad weather is expected to roll in unfortunately.  Tee times have been moved up and they will send the guys out in groups of three as opposed to the traditional pairings of two.

So, fingers crossed they get round three in and then can finish up on Sunday as the weather is supposed to move out by then.  But, we all know that mother nature has a mind of her own!  Stay tuned…


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Can Clemson run the table this year????

Posted on September 20, 2013 by susan

Let’s pose an interesting question after last night’s “lucky” victory for 3 Clemson over NC State, 26 – 14.  Can the Tigers run the table this year and truly be a legitimate candidate for the National Championship?  Well, first of all, they were definitely flat last evening and benefited from some awful calls against the Wolfpack.  Interception run back for a TD called back on a penalty.  The NC running back Underwood did NOT step out of bounds on that beautiful 83 yard TD run.  So, the Tigers were lucky (good teams usually are) and they answered the call when it counted.  Still, people are skeptical, based on what is now a term in the sports dictionary known as “Clemsoning”, ie., underachieving when the talent is there and one  is expected to succeed in achieving the pinnacle.  To be fair, Clemson has been ranked in the top ten very consistently, but they have this nasty habit of losing to someone, not always an equal competitor, just when you think you can declare them as having “arrived”.  If they are going to get it done, this is the year to do it.  They have a favorable schedule, FSU, Georgia Tech, and South Carolina all at home in Death Valley.  (I am going to go on record and say I do not think they will win all three of those games, I believe they lose one at least).  Also, at Maryland is a trap game, coming off the big home game in October against FSU, who may also be the best team in the ACC.  As a GT fan, I say let’s wait and see, I believe GT may get them as well (that game is in November, and Clemson will have an off week to prepare for the triple option).  Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson’s offense has given Dabo fits and they are historically very close games.  Clemson is currently enjoying their highest ranking at #3 in twenty five years.  They are enormously talented, perhaps some weaknesses on defense in the secondary but still, they are legit!  The win over UGA proved that.  Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins will both be gone after this year.  There is also talk that their brilliant offensive coordinator, Chad Morris, is likely to be offered a head coaching job after this season.  So, the time is now for Clemson to prove that “Clemsoning” is not going to happen this year.  They dodged a bullet last night when they were not playing their best football.  But that is what great teams do.  So, as always, we play each game one at a time, because there is indisputable truth to that old adage, on any given day, anyone can beat you!

Meanwhile in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs are perhaps a much better team than originally believed as they took care of the new look Eagles under coach Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, 26 – 16.  Michael Vick found himself sacked six times.

And in tennis news, 3 Andy Murray will undergo minor surgery to repair a long standing issue with his back and be out for the rest of the season.  Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.  Also, that means Roger Federer has an even better shot of securing a place in the group to reach the ATP year end finals in London in November.  I cannot help it, I love Federer!

 


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Can Clemson run the table this year????

Posted on September 20, 2013 by admin

Let’s pose an interesting question after last night’s “lucky” victory for 3 Clemson over NC State, 26 – 14.  Can the Tigers run the table this year and truly be a legitimate candidate for the National Championship?  Well, first of all, they were definitely flat last evening and benefited from some awful calls against the Wolfpack.  Interception run back for a TD called back on a penalty.  The NC running back Underwood did NOT step out of bounds on that beautiful 83 yard TD run.  So, the Tigers were lucky (good teams usually are) and they answered the call when it counted.  Still, people are skeptical, based on what is now a term in the sports dictionary known as “Clemsoning”, ie., underachieving when the talent is there and one  is expected to succeed in achieving the pinnacle.  To be fair, Clemson has been ranked in the top ten very consistently, but they have this nasty habit of losing to someone, not always an equal competitor, just when you think you can declare them as having “arrived”.  If they are going to get it done, this is the year to do it.  They have a favorable schedule, FSU, Georgia Tech, and South Carolina all at home in Death Valley.  (I am going to go on record and say I do not think they will win all three of those games, I believe they lose one at least).  Also, at Maryland is a trap game, coming off the big home game in October against FSU, who may also be the best team in the ACC.  As a GT fan, I say let’s wait and see, I believe GT may get them as well (that game is in November, and Clemson will have an off week to prepare for the triple option).  Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson’s offense has given Dabo fits and they are historically very close games.  Clemson is currently enjoying their highest ranking at #3 in twenty five years.  They are enormously talented, perhaps some weaknesses on defense in the secondary but still, they are legit!  The win over UGA proved that.  Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins will both be gone after this year.  There is also talk that their brilliant offensive coordinator, Chad Morris, is likely to be offered a head coaching job after this season.  So, the time is now for Clemson to prove that “Clemsoning” is not going to happen this year.  They dodged a bullet last night when they were not playing their best football.  But that is what great teams do.  So, as always, we play each game one at a time, because there is indisputable truth to that old adage, on any given day, anyone can beat you!

Meanwhile in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs are perhaps a much better team than originally believed as they took care of the new look Eagles under coach Chip Kelly in Philadelphia, 26 – 16.  Michael Vick found himself sacked six times.

And in tennis news, 3 Andy Murray will undergo minor surgery to repair a long standing issue with his back and be out for the rest of the season.  Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.  Also, that means Roger Federer has an even better shot of securing a place in the group to reach the ATP year end finals in London in November.  I cannot help it, I love Federer!

 


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Henrik Stenson leads the pack after round 1 at Tour Championships

Posted on September 19, 2013 by susan

Day one of the Tour Championships from Eastlake Country Club in Atlanta, Ga.!  It is hot, and there is very little breeze.  Believe me, I know as I am here!  After the first round, Henrik Stenson soars to the top of the leaderboard at -6 with a round of 64.  Adam Scott shot a round of 65 to finish second at -5.  That extended putter has really made a difference for the handsome fellow from down under!  Billy Horshel and Steve Stricker finished up at -4.  Robert Castro (GT guy) stands at -3.  Sergio Garcia (wearing some dazzling hot pink pants, perhaps in honor of “hot Lanta”) along with Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and others finished up today at -2.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, who declined all post round interviews had his first birdie free round of golf since the 2010 US Open and finished at +3.  He was playing along side the current leader, Stenson.  Phil Mickelson also had a frustrating day, finishing at +1.  The other Georgia Tech hometown boy, Matt Kuchar had a  better round of golf, coming in at -1.

Weather looks good for tomorrow, questionable for Saturday and Sunday as thunderstorms are in the forecast.  I hope they are wrong as I plan to be at the Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina game on Saturday…looking for sunshine and a big win for the Jackets.

Speaking of college football, pretty interesting game tonight on ESPN.  3 Clemson will visit the Wolfpack of NC State.  Could be more interesting than people think?  Or Clemson could really make a statement.  Stay tuned and watch, we will find out tonight!

Footnote:  There is also a NFL game on tonight, Kansas City (2-0) will visit the Eagles in Philly.  But the big news today was the trade of former Bama  running back, Trent Richardson to the Colts from the Browns.  What are they thinking in Cleveland, other than a slew of picks in next year’s draft.  Are they already mailing it in for this year?  Gee, Andrew Luck at QB and Richardson at RB in Indy, um..sounds like a great match!

Later!


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Henrik Stenson leads the pack after round 1 at Tour Championships

Posted on September 19, 2013 by admin

Day one of the Tour Championships from Eastlake Country Club in Atlanta, Ga.!  It is hot, and there is very little breeze.  Believe me, I know as I am here!  After the first round, Henrik Stenson soars to the top of the leaderboard at -6 with a round of 64.  Adam Scott shot a round of 65 to finish second at -5.  That extended putter has really made a difference for the handsome fellow from down under!  Billy Horshel and Steve Stricker finished up at -4.  Robert Castro (GT guy) stands at -3.  Sergio Garcia (wearing some dazzling hot pink pants, perhaps in honor of “hot Lanta”) along with Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and others finished up today at -2.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, who declined all post round interviews had his first birdie free round of golf since the 2010 US Open and finished at +3.  He was playing along side the current leader, Stenson.  Phil Mickelson also had a frustrating day, finishing at +1.  The other Georgia Tech hometown boy, Matt Kuchar had a  better round of golf, coming in at -1.

Weather looks good for tomorrow, questionable for Saturday and Sunday as thunderstorms are in the forecast.  I hope they are wrong as I plan to be at the Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina game on Saturday…looking for sunshine and a big win for the Jackets.

Speaking of college football, pretty interesting game tonight on ESPN.  3 Clemson will visit the Wolfpack of NC State.  Could be more interesting than people think?  Or Clemson could really make a statement.  Stay tuned and watch, we will find out tonight!

Footnote:  There is also a NFL game on tonight, Kansas City (2-0) will visit the Eagles in Philly.  But the big news today was the trade of former Bama  running back, Trent Richardson to the Colts from the Browns.  What are they thinking in Cleveland, other than a slew of picks in next year’s draft.  Are they already mailing it in for this year?  Gee, Andrew Luck at QB and Richardson at RB in Indy, um..sounds like a great match!

Later!


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Wednesday, Surviving “Paradise” day, or just surviving!

Posted on September 18, 2013 by susan

meWell TGIW!  Normally, we go with the traditional TGIF, but something about today makes me feel TGIW, because that means not only is it hump day, but yes, this week is halfway over!  I know you all have simply had one of those weeks, or many of those weeks, overwhelming, a lot coming at you, trying to compartmentalize just how you are going to manage and solve each of those issues and requests, etc.  Well folks, it has been one of those for me this week but we have much to look forward to!  Golf Tour Championships get underway tomorrow from Eastlake Country Club, in Atlanta, GA.  Yes!!  I will be attending the Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina game this Saturday, Yes!  Look for my post and some pics this Saturday.  Slowly but surely, all of our favorite TV shows will resume between this week and next week with new and hopefully entertaining episodes for us.  And we have the Emmy Awards Show on this Sunday.  So, speaking of entertaining, how about checking out my book Surviving “Paradise” by Susan Willoch Shaver.  It is sure to bring a chuckle and a look of uh? (in amusement) to your face as you read this hilarious tale of neighborhood mayhem in southwest Florida.  Look for it at Amazon.com for $8.99 in paperback (reduced), $4.99 in kindle edition and $4.99 at Barnes and Noble nook.Surviving Paradise


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Let’s talk tennis and Roger Federer news!

Posted on September 17, 2013 by admin

In the midst of golf, college football, NFL, MLB, and so much more, let’s switch gears and talk a little tennis!  Roger Federer has announced he will play doubles with the top ranked player from China, Zhang Ze (nicknamed “Big George”) in the upcoming Shanghai Masters event (October 6 – 13).  This event will be the next Masters 1000 event where all the top guns in tennis should reconvene.  Zhang is thrilled to be teaming up with Fed, as Roger doesn’t play a whole lot of doubles these days.  He is of course the gold medal winner along with fellow Swiss player Stan Wawrinka from the 2008 Olympics.  He and Wawrinka beat Nadal and Lopez a couple of years back when they played some doubles at Indian Wells.  Most recently, Roger teamed up with good buddy Tommy Haas for some doubles action in Cincinnati.  They looked like they maybe should have practiced a time or two before competing, but it was entertaining and fun to see them play together.  At any rate, Roger will of course also be focusing on the singles matches at this event as he makes a year end push to be sure he makes it into the top eight to qualify for the Year End Championships in London which begin November 4th.

The current ATP rankings are as follows: 1 Novak Djokovic, 2 Rafael Nadal (Rafa has not overtaken the #1 position yet), 3 Andy Murray, 4 David Ferrer, 5 Roger Federer (remarkable moving up from #7 inspite of the early exit from US Open), 6 Thomas Berdych, 7 Juan Martin Del Potro, 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 9 Richard Gasquet, and 10 Stan Wawrinka.

Here’s to hoping Roger can finish the year strong and move back up in those rankings!  GO FED!


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Zach Johnson wins rain delayed BMW Golf Championship

Posted on September 16, 2013 by susan

Heartbreak for Jim Furyk who arrived this am atop the leaderboard of the rain delayed final round of the BMW Golf Championships.  Alas, he could not hold onto that lead and when all was said and done, Zach Johnson won with a score of -16.  Brilliant performance today by Zach.  Take nothing away from Jim Furyk, he had a magnificent three rounds, just could not keep it up today.  Nick Whatney came in second at -14, Furyk finished in third at -13, Steve Stricker, Jason Day, Hunter Mahan, and Luke Donald finished at -11, Brandt Snedeker and a couple others at -10.  Tiger Woods wound up his four rounds at -9, a bit disappointing for him but still enough to keep him in first place in the FedEx Cup points standings heading into Atlanta later this week.  The top five currently are 1. Tiger Woods, 2. Henrik Stenson, 3. Adam Scott, 4. Zach Johnson, and 5. Matt Kuchar.  Phil Mickelson sits in the #8 position, twenty year old sensation Jordan Spieth is in at #13.  Dustin Johnson takes the final slot at #30.  Rory Mcilroy fails to qualify.

Speaking of rain, WOW, it was raining, it was pouring in Seattle (hey, doesn’t it always rain in Seattle?) and then came the lightening.  In a delayed game that went late into the evening, Seattle took care of San Francisco, 29 – 3.  Very strong performance by the Seahawks coached by Pete Carroll.

College Football news:  The AP and the USA Today Polls are both out:  AP Poll first: 1. Alabama (59), 2. Oregon (1), 3. Clemson, 4. Ohio State, 5. Stanford, 6.LSU, 7. Louisville, 8. FSU, 9. Georgia, and 10. Texas A & M

USA Today Coaches Poll: 1. Alabama (61), 2. Oregon (2), 3. Ohio State, 4. Clemson, 5. Stanford, 6. Louisville, 7. LSU, 8. FSU, 9. Texas A & M, and 10. Georgia.

Not a whole lotta difference between the two, Aggies fall one more spot in the AP then the Coaches after tough loss to Bama.  Clemson and Ohio State swap places, as do LSU and Louisville.

OK, let’s take a break before we get things all wound up again!

MNF features Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, both 0-1.


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