MATTHEW BROWN: Next on E T N.: Odds are we will be concerned

Published 11:00 pm Friday, September 20, 2024

If you have seen the magazine Prep Football Preview ’24, note the story about the Lake Oconee Academy Titans. It leads off about how, in Lake Country, the LOA Titans owned the longest winning streak on the gridiron at five victories in a row.

Have to admit I was concerned about that point and the timing of the issue’s release. As it turns out, the LOA winning streak is no longer five in a row. It is now 10 IN A ROW! Kudos to the Titans and head coach Patrick Stewart. Proceed through your region schedule at warp factor one. Engage!

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Brock Bowers, by the way, is doing quite well for himself in the National Football League. The former Georgia Bulldog turned Las Vegas Raider, in just two games, is good for a first down with every catch so far. Fifteen receptions with an average of 10.4 yards per. That included nine for 98 in the shocking win for the Raiders at Baltimore.

The only thing Bowers doesn’t have so far is a touchdown. His team takes on the Carolina Panthers next in the game Bryce Young won’t be starting for Carolina. Not sure why I included that note. They weren’t going to be on the field at the same time either way.

Carson Beck might still be looking for an open Bowers, or Ladd McConkey, who does have a TD catch already in his professional career with the L.A. Chargers.

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Segue alert to the state of Bulldog football. It’s interesting how offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is a lot like a baseball umpire at home plate. If everything’s going the way it should be with the Bulldogs, scoring points in the 30s and 40s, you really don’t think about him.

But when Georgia is only beating Kentucky 13-12, you remember who holds that position and start to simmer.

Overrated? Flawed? Should I be making such blasphemous statements about the current Georgia team? It happens every year, I’m told. But this isn’t ‘every year.’ Not something I like to fall back on.

Should I be concerned if, even with the bye week before the Sept. 28 prime-time trip to Alabama, some injured players are not available, like All-American guard Tate Ratledge and preseason All-SEC first team end Mykel Williams?

Certainly don’t be worried about injuries in Georgia football. All Kirby Smart has to do is go to the supply closet and open up a fresh can of 5-stars, right? The non-starters get a lot of playing time anyway, constant rotations giving everyone experience and keeping them game-ready. That’s the narrative, anyway.

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While the Bulldogs were fighting for their lives, I came up with a brand new nickname. We have a new running back, Trevor Etienne. Considering how that last name is pronounced, we should call him “The Network.”

That brings me to a tribute to the late James Earl Jones. Could you imagine, over the loudspeakers of Sanford Stadium, every time No. 1 gets the carry, that booming voice announces: “This is E T N.”

I don’t know if he ever wore the costume, but Jones is best remembered for providing the voice of everyone’s favorite sci-fi villain Darth Vader. For me, he will always be a big part of a great baseball themed movie of my college years, “Field of Dreams.”

Remember how “Shoeless” Joe scoffed at the idea of playing the game under artificially generated lights? What would he think today of the pitch-clock violation, the instant replay challenge, and I’m glad Ray didn’t tell him about the designated hitter.

I often think about how James Earl Jones could play one of the football/basketball coaches if there were ever to be a movie made about my Glynn Academy high school days. The lead role of, guess who, would go to Leonardo Dicaprio.

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There’s some betting odds on who will be the next head football coach of the Florida Gators, to be fair let’s say this is for the start of the 2025 season. The best odds go to a guy who, like Billy Napier, built his success in the Sun Belt Conference. Gainesville, do you really want to go the same route? The coach, BTW, is Jamey Chadwell, who went 39-22 in five seasons at Coastal Carolina and is now 16-1 at Liberty.

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I’m looking for the odds on where Max Fried, Atlanta Braves lefty, will land in his free agent spin. And who the Braves are likely to add to their rotation from the market. The obvious picks for Fried are the Yankees and Dodgers, but think about other high-spending clubs like Boston, the Cubs and even those two teams deep in the heart of Texas (not going to suggest an NL East rival). But you also have to think he could stay in Atlanta, where he developed into the pitcher he is today and sees his best chance at future success.

I have a wildcard for you. Fried is from Santa Monica and was a first-round pick of the San Diego Padres. If his career doesn’t go full circle, I still see him going out West to a rising yearly contender. The Arizona Diamondbacks make the biggest acquisition since Randy Johnson in 1999 and Curt Schilling in 2000.

As for the Braves, does Blake Snell finally arrive, or do they want two-time World Series winner Nathan Eovaldi? Spencer Strider would be a good pick-up, or Bryce Elder, who struck out 11 on Sept. 6 to get his 10th win for the AAA Gwinnett Stripers and then had a quality start (two earned runs allowed but no walks in 6.1 innings) but a 3-1 loss a week later. He was an All-Star for somebody in 2023, but then I could name about 10 other ASG hurlers who’ve been Non-Stars since.

(If at all possible, give pet adoption a try through the Animal Rescue Foundation in Milledgeville. Donations of any kind are also in great need. ARF is a little red building at 711 S. Wilkinson St., and more information is available at animalrescuefoundation.org.)