Random Thoughts

Just some random notes for you today. Enjoy the weather for today, "the stache" forecasts some rain coming down from the skies, so be wary of that.

Over the spring break, got a chance to visit the King Tut museum at the Civic Center in downtown Atlanta. It was really neat, had a lot of cool artifacts that were thousands of years old. The actual King Tut section had some cool stuff like his actual bed that he slept on. It is amazing thing to see when you put it all into perspective.

We have two months til G-Day, graduation day May 23. Looking forward to it like nobodies business, if that makes any sense.

This weekend saw the debut of outdoor track for the Lees-McRae Bobcats. Some notable performances by the distance squad, Craig Simpkins (bowl cut twin)with a 15:44 5k, Chris "Critter" Holstein 15:50 5k (a few seconds off his personal best of 2 years ago), 15:58 5k for Nathaniel Trimble, aka baby Jesus, first time under 16 minutes for the 5k, and a 16:05 personal best for Jordan Gillespie (bowl cut twin) in the 5k as well (which if you are unfamiliar with the distance is 3.1 miles, 12.5 laps on your standard track.) Luke Anton, Transylvania's finest, with two real good races this weekend with a 2:02 800m and a huge PR of 4:10 in the 1500m, defeating the legend Critter Holstein in a 1500m duel for the ages. Also props go out to Micheal "MC Hammer" Davis for his solid performances this weekend, 2:02 and 4:10 as well. Also this cat named Matt Barrett ("the stache") had some decent performances with a 4:23 1500m (about a second off a personal best) and a 2:07 800m, a mere 3 seconds away from tying a personal best. I forecast good things to come for the Bobcats distance squad.

Props go out to the Atlanta Hawks for their 8th straight home win over the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves, who have not been much of a factor since Al Jefferson went down with a season ending injury about a month ago. They currently hold the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference, a 3.5 game lead on the Miami Heat with 11 games left to play. The key for the recent success has been a balanced offensive approach and a more close attention to the defensive side of the ball.

This week sees the end of the World Baseball Classic and the return of Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and Garrett Anderson to the Braves lineup. These guys are going to be in the heart of the order for the Bravos this year. So it is key they stay healthy. With 12 days until opening night in Philadelphia, there are still a couple spots up for grabs. I would personally like to see Jordan Schafer in CF over Josh Anderson, who is out of options, but possesses a lot of speed. They would have to trade him if he is not on the roster opening day, assuming he does not clear waivers. Some spots in the bullpen are up for grabs, depending upon the health of Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, et al. I am curious to see how we use Tommy Hanson, Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, and James Parr this year. Most if not all will be in a Braves uniform sometime this year. A lot of quality depth on this squad.

Do we need to make trades to clear up some space in the outfield and pitching rotation? This next week or so should reveal how the roster will look on opening day, which will look a lot different come summer time.

What is the Braves ideal lineup? That is an intriguing dilemma for Bobby Cox and his staff. I would like to see Shafer, Garrett Anderson, Kelly Johnson, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Francouer, Escobar, Kotchman as the lineup but I doubt it will come out that way.

Tomorrow's edition I will breakdown the National League and give my predictions on how the season will turn out. Take care and drive home safely. Remember to keep it classy out there and be nice and respectful to others. Peace.

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