Upholding justice, fighting evil, and preserving the American way

That is us here at the 'Blog. We are out to set the record straight with all these stories on GT that are flat-out false. First, there was this story on Duke hatred that took a blatent pot-shot at GT players (from the ArizonaRepublic):

Here was my email to the writer:

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/colleges/0403ncaaboivin0403.html

I cannot believe what I read in your column:

"Contrast that with the media guide of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - thee of the 27 percent graduation rate - who seem to have to work at looking
smart. Each player is pictured hanging around campus with a professor. Riggghhhhht."

Not only was your comment ugly, it was ignorant. Coach Paul Hewitt has covered the "27% graduation rate" in major detail, if you haven't been paying attention.
There were 5 players cited in the study - of them ALL got degrees. Three graduated from GT and 2 transferred and got degrees from other schools. However, if you
transfer, you become a "non-graduate". One of them got his degree past the alloted time that the NCAA recognizes, and is also considered a "non-graduate". Coach Hewitt said that the graduation rate at GT during the years in the study was actually 60%, very close the actual regular student body average. He has said point blank - the study is wrong, inaccurate, incorrect, false, etc, etc.

You going to tell me Chris Bosh was "stupid" for leaving after one year to be drafted 4th into the NBA? He will eventually count against our graduation rates (not in the study cited), but he is one of the smartest, well-spoken, humble, nice young men you will ever meet. When he was here, he wanted to major in computer science, he comes from a stable, nice family. Yet you want to label him as "stupid" because the NCAA is a beauracratic bumbling mess that does not know how to change?

Lastly, your comment about players having to "work at looking smart" and laughing at hanging out with professors was just plain mean. Do not speak about things which you do not know. These guys DO go to class, they DO work hard, they DO spend time with professors. Marvin Lewis is graduating this year with a 3.4 GPA in finance. We are not talking bench warmer here. He is a starter and was the star of the final four game against OSU. He was voted to the CoSIDA Academic all-district team (link -http://ramblinwreck.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022004aaa.html). Lewis was also awarded a post-graduate scholarship (link here -http://ramblinwreck.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021104aac.html). He is a member of the ACC All-Academic team and has been for a few years. There is more but I do not want to bore you.

Six out of the fourteen players made dean's list last semester. If you know ANYTHING about Georgia Tech academics, you would understand how impressive this is. There are no hide-out majors at GT for athletes. The "easiest" majors are in business, and the business school is ranked high nationally. The players on THIS team will graduate - bank on it. Oh, we may have one or two that go to the NBA early, but so many of our players have come back to work on their degrees afterward. Of course the NCAA does not recognize thiseither.

I will not even go into the fact that of the four recruits we have coming in, three of them probably could have gotten accepted to GT on their own academic accomplishments. These are not idiots. Coach Hewitt is about more than just winning - he is about showing these kids that there is more to life than just basketball and growing them as men. If you do not believe that, then read this story about a field trip he took the team on yesterday.

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/colleges/georgia_tech/8356722.htm

I know you were doing a piece on "hatred of Duke" and I am sure you did not mean much by the comment, but it was misplaced, ugly and wrong. Please be more responsible next time when publishing something for an "official" paper for everyone to read.

Sincerely,

Scott
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Next my friend and compadre Walt took on Mark Knobler at our "local support" rag, the AJC:

Mark,

First of all, thank you for your article about the Yellowjackets published on Sunday this past weekend. As an alumni who was on campus the last time the Jackets were in the Final Four, I appreciate the worldwide exposure that our team is receiving, as well as some at home in the AJC; however, I'd like to point out an inaccuracy in the article that I find offensive, and I'm sure that other alumni do as well:

"If they win, they'll become Tech's first NCAA championship team in any sport, because the football national titles Tech won aren't official NCAA championships."

I understand your comments in this day of the BCS and an "officially recognized" national champion now that the NCAA has gotten around to formally accepting one group's national champion over another, but your comment is more than a slap in the face to the 1990 national championship football team and goes to the heart of a proud tradition that these young basketball players are building on. I'm sure that you're aware of them, but here are the four national championships that Georgia Tech has enjoyed in football, the team records, and which organizations recognized them:

year: 1917 9-0 Billingsley Report
Helms Athletic Foundation
Houlgate System
Libby
National Championship Foundation

year: 1928 10-0 Billingsley Report
Boand System
College Football Researchers Association
Helms Athletic Foundation
Houlgate System
Libby
National Championship Foundation
Parke Davis
Polling System

year: 1952 12-0 Berryman
International News Service
Massey Ratings
Polling System

year: 1990 11-0-1 Dunkel System
Foundation for the Analysis of Competitions
and Tournaments
Massey Ratings
National Championship Foundation
United Press International

As a student during the last national championship, I can assure you that after the 11-0-1 Jackets whipped Nebraska in the citrus bowl and coaches overwhelmingly selected the Jackets as the best team in the land (without one loss, one tie, and five downs against Missouri, as well as a bogus clipping call that brought Rocket Ismail back from an upset victory against Notre Dame--but who's counting), there was no doubt in my mind about who the real national champion was.

Even if that championship is in doubt, your comment disrespects the fine athletes who competed for the Golden Tornado on John Heisman's outstanding teams in the early 1900's, Bill Alexander's championship team, as well as Bobby Dodd's excellent players leading up to the title in 1952. I believe that your comment simply has no place in any article about the Ramblin' Wreck, much less one in an Atlanta paper.

I would appreciate a clarification of your comment in a future article.

Go Jackets!

Walt