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| FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | forsythnews.com
FROM 1B ,
Braves: Gonzalez confident team can reach World Series
Winter League and is
confident the duo has
nearly finished their
growing pains,
“Their development is
coming along fine,”
McDowell said. “As
much as we'd like them
to be successful and win
every game and have
great numbers, it
doesn’t always work out
that way. It's always
better to fail in the
minor leagues than it is
in the big leagues.
Sometimes it's not
mechanical, sometimes
it's not mental, some
times it's just the matu
rity levei isn’t there yet.
“Both had a great
winter ball, so it’ll be a
tough decision on which
one to pick.”
Even without Delgado
and Teheran, McDowell
will have plenty to
choose from.
Kris Medlen finished
the season with 10 wins
and a 1.57 ERA, while
Tim Hudson tallied 16
wins with a 3.63 ERA.
Following Medlen and
Hudson, left-hander
Paul Maholm will play
his first full season with
the Braves since being
acquired from the
Chicago Cubs near the
trade deadline last sea
son. Mike Minor will
The Braves will be
without future Hall of
Fame third baseman
Chipper Jones for the
first time since he was
called up to the major
league team in 1993,
Jones leaves a vacant
spot at third and a
career batting average
of .303. Gonzalez said
he will wait until the
end of spring training to
make the ultimate deci
sion, but said Juan
Francisco is the favorite
to win the position.
Francisco tore up the
Dominican Winter
League, batting .307
with a gaudy .575 slug
ging percentage.
“We're going into
spring training giving
him that opportunity,”
Gonzalez said. “He's
got a lot of power. We
went to go see him in
the Dominican Republic
and he had a great win
ter ball.”
On the mound, the
club hopes to have
prized minor leaguers
Randall Delgado and
Julio Teheran vying for
the No. 5 spot in
Atlanta’s rotation after
a disappointing major
league stint last season.
McDowell praised both
pitchers for their suc
cess in the Dominican
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BCS leaves us with a number of questions
players and coaches.
When the Irish lose, fans
sing the fight song and
hang up their leprechaun
costumes until next sea
son.
In the second-to-last
title game of the BCS era,
South Florida hosted the
return to relevance of the
sport’s most iconic pro
gram and a demonstration
of dominance by its best.
Notre Dame was the
romantics’ underdog,
even undefeated and
ranked No. 1. Everyone
except the Irish faithful
understood that coach
Brian Kelly would have
to find a four-leaf clover
in the Everglades if he
hoped to deny Alabama
its second consecutive
title, and its third in four
years.
Saban has constructed a
team with the micro pre
cision and macro vision
of an architect: No weak
links.
Notre Dame’s top
ranked scoring defense
looked like a tomato can
boxer out there, pum
méled to a pulp by
Alabama’s elephantine
front line. Eddie Lacy,
deceptively agile for a
bulldozer, gained 140 of
Bama’s 265 rushing
yards. Quarterback AJ
McCarron had time to
wave to his girlfriend
before snaking two touch
down passes to Amari
Cooper.
Afterward, Tide players
said they were prepared
for Notre Dame’s defense
and the Irish threw no sur
prises at them.
Kelly needed to be more
creative against pre-pro
grammed Bama, and con
ceded that his players
failed to tackle with their
By Linda Robertson
McClatchy Newspapers
MIAMI — Was Notre
Dame really that overrated?
Or was Alabama really
that good?
Who can end the
Southeastern Conference
stranglehold?
Is Alabama’s 2010-
2013 dynasty more
impressive than those of
Nebraska, Oklahoma,
Miami and the Han, who
reigned for4oo years?
Will Nick Saban,
peeved even in triumph,
ban his players from
any future Gatorade
dousings?
These are the questions
that emerged from
Monday’s epic matchup
but opposite-of-epic BCS
National Championship
Game at Sun Life
Stadium.
Alabama dominated
every facet of the contest,
and only the luck of the
Irish prevented the out
come from being 56-0
instead of 42-14.
As is usually the case
with excessive buildup,
tremendous letdown.
. But what a wonderful
buildup it was, imbued
with the hues of bur
nished gold, emerald
green, blood crimson and
tooth-enamel white.
South Florida got to
witness the outlandish,
infantile and joyous ritu
als practiced by Notre
Dame and Alabama
groupies.
South Florida got to
soak in the tradition that
makes college football
more emotionally riveting
than pro football. When
the Dolphins lose, fans
gnash bitterness between
teeth and disown the
Aldrich: Bank fishing strong
some year round trophy
streams in north Georgia
and winter is a great time
to catch a trophy trout.
Fly fishing is an art and
catching trout on the fly is
a passion many anglers get
addicted too.
Wet (or sinking) flies are
the main choices in winter,
but I have witnessed some
insect hatches on warmer
days that can pull the trout
to the surface.
Bank Fishing: I have
seen many bank anglers
out this winter and have
be the best depth and you
will do better in water that
has a slight stained color to
it because this water holds
more microorganisms than
clear water, plus it warms
quicker too.
Down line live crappie
minnow alone or tipped on
a small crappie jig. Use
very light line to increase
your odds.
Trout: Trout fishing
below Buford Dam is fair,
but the bite up in the
mountains has been very
good this winter. There are
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Autumn Vetter Forsyth County News
Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, left, and Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell laugh as
McDowell speaks to the Rotary Club of South Forsyth on Wednesday at the Forsyth Conference
Center.
every fifth day on a
consistent basis,”
McDowell said. “We
want to get deep enough
in the game where we
don’t have to tax our
bullpen.”
With the core of
round out the rotation,
while Brandon Beachy
hopes to return from
Tommy John surgery in
June.
“Hopefully, our start
ers will go out and give
us an opportunity to win
will be replaced by com
plaining about who is
ranked what before play
off season.
Notre Dame tumbled to
No. 4 in the final
Associated Press poll
Tuesday, but the Irish
expect to haul in the No.
1 recruiting class.
The SEC controls a
usual ferocity. Notre
Dame running back Theo
Riddick was in tears at his
locker, disappointed by
the 37 yards he gained (20
on one play, 17 on nine
others) in his team’s non
existent rushing game.
So, did Notre Dame
deserve to be in the title
game? Lots of dominoes
fell Notre Dame’s way
this season, from its nar
row victories that could
have resulted in three or
four losses to the pivotal
weekend when other
undefeated contenders
fell. Yet the Irish finished
a clean 12-0 and the num
ber crunching added up to
No. 1. Alabama stumbled
to Texas A&M and
wound up No. 2. Most
everyone raved about the
1-vs.-2 brand-name
showdown and praised
the BCS for working
right.
Then lots of folks
turned TVs off at half
time. When the score was
28-0, it became a dud
game from a stupid sys
tem.
What if undefeated
Ohio State had been eligi
ble — and bumped
Alabama out of the title
game? Would the Oregon
Ducks have put up a
tougher fight? Or Kansas
State? Would an Alabama-
Georgia rematch have
been fairest?
It’s no use reliving the
past. Or debating a com
puter. College football’s
ranking/polling system
— so carefully calibrat
ed but so often nonsensi
cal — is going the way
of pay phones. One
more year and it will be
extinct. The complaining
about who is ranked
what before bowl season
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personally seen several
good catches from the
banks.
It is special when a strip
er hits a line from the
bank! Live or cut gizzard
shad on a bottom rig are a
great choice but jumbo
shiners or trout work well,
tOO.
Remember to use very
strong rod holders and
PVC pipe works well and
is a cheap way to secure
your fishing poles when
these hard fighting fish
strike.
ST P RTE GRS I Y
o SRR IR T i
players the Braves have
returning and the addi
tion of Upton and other
newcomers, Gonzalez
expects to contend for
the club’s first World
Series appearance since
1999.
dynasty of its own with
seven consecutive cham
pionships by its members
and it became the first
conference to place five
teams in the final AP top
10, setting up for eight in
a Tow.
Alabama will start next
season where it finished
this one — No. 1. The
Publication Dates:
Forsyth County News
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Dawson Community News
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
SoutH ForsytH NEWS
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Space & Copy Deadline:
January 11, 2013
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2013
“I expect the play
offs,” Gonzalez' said.
“Get in and get hot and
go as far as we can. The
very minimum would be
for us to be one of the
last two teams playing
at the end.”
Tide loses a few key
seniors, but that hap
pened last year with a
bundle of first-round
NFL draft picks, and
don’t look now at a ros
ter loaded with juniors
and sophomores. Saban,
girding for a three-peat,
never leaves anything
open to debate.