Where are they now - Stewart Cink

Turns out Stewart Cink's lack of PGA Tour wins was starting to weigh on him. His latest win comes at a good time:

"I know there's been talk that I've not been a closer," he said. "I mean they have every right to say that, because I felt the same way myself. And so I felt like I had something to prove to myself. I'm not trying to prove anything to anybody out there that's writing stories or doing articles or whatever, but to myself. I wanted to prove something to myself. And that extra burden that was carrying around, trying to silence those thoughts added to the difficulty. And coming through it makes me even more proud of it."

Where are they now - Troy Matteson

Did anyone realize that former Georgia Tech golfer Troy Matteson is facing DUI charges from an incident last month? For some reason I don't remember that one. Maybe it got drowned out in all the noise of Tripp Isenhour killing that Hawk. All I have to say is that it's a rough time to be a Tech fan. Hamilton, Hutts, Matteson, Isenhour, the Gailey exit, the down year in hoops, blah blah blah. Can we get a grip please.

Things are Buzzin....

There's a lot to keep up with in Jacket-land, and there's just not the time to spend giving you all the nitty-gritty. So let's hit the highlights:

• The baseball team wins another game, this one more important as they are now 1-0 in the ACC. They crushed VaTech 14-1 on the strength of two, count-em two, long balls by freshman Derek Dietrich, one of which was a grand-salami. The freshman has homered in three straight games now. The future seems to bode well for that guy.... and the team. 10-1 record
• The lady hoops team won on Friday in the 1st round of the ACC tourney, crushing Miami. Unfortunately they couldn't win today against UVA. However, the good news is that they should have a good enough resume to get into the big dance
• Our indoor men's track coach wins ACC Coach of the Year - as voted on by his peers. Nice going.
• Tripp Isenhour is trying to counteract the negative pub out there as a result of his eagle shooting spree. The old "I only meant the scare the bird" story. I'm sure that's true, but you know, there is like, you know, a reason you're a professional golfer.
• Thaddeus Young is starting to make a real impact in Philly. He's now a regular starter and he's impressing his coaches and fans.
• How's this for a statistical anomoly. It appears that Georgia Tech will be completely shut-out of the ACC hoops individual awards. Nobody will make All-ACC 1st team. Nobody will make 2nd team. A-Mo probably has a 5% chance to make third team. Nobody will win player of the year. Hewitt won't win coach of the year. Neither Gani nor Mo will win freshman of the year - and truthfully, neither is likely to even get on the freshman 1st team. Heck, the ACC just announced the the AllACC academic hoops 1st team, and we didn't even have anyone on it. Honestly I think our only two chances are A-Mo for 3rd team (~5%) or maybe D'Andre Bell for all-defensive team, but folks if Mario West and Ismail Muhammad didn't get voted on, then it's clear that writers don't value good defense. Not that indivual awards really matter, but I find it interesting that we're very likely to get the goose egg.
• How about this one - Mark Whisenhunt is now a partner in an Augusta area golf club.
• Bobby Cremins is back on the radar - very nice story here.
• How about this - the new Offensive Coordinator at West Virginia is Wake Forest's former guy, who knows option football very well, because guess who he learned it from - yeah, that's right - Paul Johnson. See, it all comes back to Paul Johnson. He's frickin' David Carradine my friends.
• By the way, I did get a good smattering of voice-mails with good recollections of your most memorable game. I'll post those soon. Good stuff.

Evidently Tripp has an "eagle-eye"

In the shameful version of the "Where are they now" we have Tripp Isenhour front-and-center. The former Tech golfer managed to shoot down a red-shouldered Hawk with his driver. Oh don't go thinking he did it on the first try. I mean, he wasn't THAT good. The guy actually went searching for the screeching bird to line-up a better shot, and then took shot-after-shot-after-shot until the his eagle-eye hit the mark. Now he's facing charges.

I'm sure Tripp's a good guy, but man that has to be one of the stupidest things I've ever seen or heard. Now, for the "play on words" headline writers, there is a rich pot full of potential here.......... with golfers........ and eagles......... and birdies.................

A Perfect Day To Be a Jacket?

Is there such a thing as a perfect day? Well, today came as close as to perfect for a Tech fan - especially if you're tired of hearing about football and hoops. Why, well let's review.

TENNIS BABES WIN ACC CROWN
The ladies only won their 3rd ACC title today, capped off by Kristi Miller's singles victory over the #1 player in the country. Just an impressive team victory today, and believe it or not - the MVP was a Tech freshman - Amanda Craddock. Wow, just wow.



GOLF TEAM CO-VICTORS IN ACC CROWN
Our men brought home an ACC co-championship for the 2nd year in a row, splitting the title with VT. Just an outstanding effort and Cameran Tringle followed up his freshman singles title with a 2nd place finish, missing by only one stroke.



SOFTBALL GALS SWEEP BC
A sweep of Boston College extends the ladies' winning streak to 10 games. Nice going!!





BEESBALLERS SWEEP #20 WOLFPACK
For good measure, the diamond gang completed a sweep of NCST with a 7-3 victory Sunday. No walk-off losses this weekend. Great going gang!! Could they be peaking at just the right time? Looks like it.



I mean, what else do you want? Come on - bask in the moment!!!!

GO JACKETS!!!!!!

What's Buzzin'

Some quick hits from the world of GT
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HOOPS

• Coach Cremins was like a kid at a candy store in ATL during the final four. He attended a dinner honoring his final four team from 1990. That ceremony also honored Tech's 2004 team as well............ He also had dinner with Coach Hewitt............... Got to relive old times with guys like Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson and Mark Price.............. Also, by one account. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim asked Coach Cremins if the Orangemen could come down and play CofC on the road next season. No word on his response.
  
• Gani Lawal was awarded the Naismith Award for Sportsmanship at the McDonalds All-American game - given to one guy and one gal. Way to go..................Lawal was named 2nd team Parade All-American.......................Gani was also named the Gatorade GA player of the year.................Gani also had an outstanding outing at his 2nd All-Star game - the Roundball Classic - where he scored 16, (6-11 FG, 4-5 FT), 8 rbs, 5 blocks, 1 steal, 0 assists and 0 TO in 24 minutes
• Maurice Miller was also named the Gatorade POY in Tenn. That means GT has signed the Gatorade POY in both GA and TN for the 2nd year in a row (TY / JC last season).
  
• We all know OUTKAST, or Andre 3000, is a big fan of Georgia Tech. Did you know that Ludacris has a favorite hoops team? That would be Georgia Tech as well. Welcome to Atlanta, where the players play.............
• Congrats to Chris Bosh, who has become the defacto leader on the Toronto Raptors and has led his team to a playoff birth. Way to go CB.
• Not that you care about a guy who had accepted a scholarship and never played, but he's an update on Austin Jackson as he attempts to fullfill his dream as a NY Yankee. He's been demoted to work on his game.
• Great story from GTAMU at the Hive involving Jarrett Jack / Luke Schenscher -

  My son and I attended the Portland Vs. Houston game in Houston on Friday night. I upgraded our tickets to get seats on the floor behind the Portland bench. My son (9 years old) is wearing his Jarrett Jack GT jersey just in case we catch Jarrett's eye. During a time out, when Jarrett was not playing, we finally get his attention, he sees the jersey, he gives my son a big smile and a thumbs up! My son was very excited and thought that was coolest thing ever. Later, Jarrett looks back and asks if he wants an autograph after the game. Of course he did!
  
  We wait about 15-20 minutes after the game with some of Jarrett's extended family (very nice people also). First Luke comes out sees the jersey, talks to my son, autographs 1 of our 2 game tickets, and poses for a picture. Jarrett comes out a little later, skips his family, goes right up to my son and starts talking to him about the jersey, GT, the Final Four, etc. Jarrett signs the jersey and the other ticket and the poses for a picture. He even asked if the picture was okay before moving on to his family.
  
  I am so glad that CPH brings in high character guys to the program. They helped my son have an experience that he will never forget.

FOOTBALL

• The spring game went extremely well for the offense, with Taylor Bennett throwing 5 TD's and no INT's. Heck, half the passes he completed were TD's. Major kudos for John Bond's offense. Here's a quote from John Bond - "We're spreading the ball around pretty decent. We're hitting all areas of the field. We've got good running backs. We've got experienced linemen. If our quarterbacks perform at a high enough level I think we're going to be pretty salty on offense."..... Wow. Spreading the ball around. Hitting all areas of the field. What a concept.
  
• On a side note, Miami's spring game went horribly for the offense, with a final 7-0 game. However, former GT OC Patrick Nix qas quoted as saying that he only unvieled 0.5% of his playbook. Wow, guess he picked the wrong 0.5%.............. You know, maybe 0.7% of the playbook might have been in order. Hey, I wish nothing but the best for him except when he faces the Jackets, but are you like me? I just can't help but think that the Jackets got the better end of the OC deal. Remember that Bond interviewed for the Miami job as well.
  
• Daryl Richard was named to the Lott Trophy Watch List....... "Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its fourth year, The Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player."
• Some word that Notre Dame could be switching from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4. The last team Tech played that used a 3-4 was UVA. That went pretty well for the Jackets.
• Calvin Johnson's hand measure 9 3/4" across. Evidently Tedd Ginn's are larger. Well, whoop'd D............
• Tashard Choice is getting props as a potential Hiesman candidate and one of the nation's better RB's.
• Former GT RB Carl Lawson, from the 1990 team, needs some help. He needs a kidney transplant
• Rumors circulating that Mich RB Carlos Brown is interested in transferring and GT and SC are 2 schools that could be a final destination. Tashard the re-run? We should hope so.
• Some stuff on players signing early - one - and two.
• For those conspiracy theorists about the AJC, did you notice that GT's spring game article was a positive picture about the offense scoring 10 out of 10 times? Did you notice that UGAg's spring game article was about how terrible the defense played by giving up 5 TD's? Folks face it - the stink fairly equally................. Actually, I'm being harsh. The AJC has dramatically improved their coverage of the Jackets in the past 1-2 years. Matt W. has been a positive addition to the beat.
  

BEESBALL

• Wes Hodges struggled last season with injuries in the minors. However, he's the 9th best rated prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization from Baseball America.
• The Jackets won the Friday opener against Miami, but dropped two heartbreakers with walk-off winners by the 'Canes on Sat and Sun.
• Former Jakcet the Tulane player Micah Owings made his major league debut and helped the Diamondbacks win 7-1, giving up only 1 hit in 5 innings. It was a strong performance for sure, as he keeps the bench warm until Randy Johnson comes back.............. but he sure is trying to make a case to stay.
  

GOLF

• Matt Kuchar lost a bet and had to "wear" a UNLV head cover on his latest tour stop. He lost the bet to fellow Nationwide Tour player Jeremy Anderson. The two went to high school together in Sanford FL.