Welp.
Gonzaga dog-walked Georgia basketball right out of the men’s NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon, building an early 27-3 lead and never letting up. Final score: 89-68.
Painful stuff. And a tad embarrassing.
Perhaps it’ll even make a future bracket of our worst sports moments — but for now, whaddya say we continue our discussion (and voting!) on trauma and triumph from years past?
Quick links: Where UGA goes from here | Tech’s tourney shot | Braves sign Verdugo | Ousted Cobb coaches get support
FIRST, THE WINNERS
Credit: Cayce Dunn/AJC
Credit: Cayce Dunn/AJC
Results! We have results! Voting for the first set of opening round matchups on our Sadness vs. Gladness bracket went like this:
👀 On the misery side of things, four-seed “Michael Vick goes to prison” edged out fifth-seeded “Hawks trade Dominique Wilkins” with about 53% of the vote.
👀 As far as fonder memories go, Sid Bream’s iconic slide in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS slide absolutely demolished the Morten Andersen field goal that sent the Falcons to the Super Bowl. We’re talking 86% of the ballots for Bream.
He and Vick will eventually take on whoever emerges from their regions’ respective 1/8 matchups.
Today, though, we’re taking on some juicy (and Braves-heavy) showdowns between No. 3 and No. 6 seeds.
You can cast your vote here or just shoot me an email.
THE MISERY MATCHUP
Jim Leyritz vs. the “outfield fly rule”
Credit: AJC file photo
Credit: AJC file photo
The No. 3 seed: Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. The Braves have a 6-3 eighth-inning lead over the evil Yankees — and a win puts them up 3-1 in the series. It’s so close you can sniff a second straight title.
Atlanta flamethrower Mark Wohlers is on the mound. New York’s backup catcher, Jim Leyritz, is up to bat with his obnoxious straight-leg stance. Leyritz works the count — then lifts a 2-2 pitch to left.
No.
It couldn’t be.
It is.
Just over the fence. Game tied. Shock — then collapse.
The Yankees go on to win the game. And every other game in the series.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The No. 6 seed: 2012. Braves-Cardinals. The National League’s inaugural win-or-go-home wild-card playoff game.
The good guys trail 6-3 in the eighth inning, but they’ve got something cooking: runners on first and second, one out. Atlanta’s Andrelton Simmons hits a pop fly to shallow left field and St. Louis’ shortstop gives chase into the grass — then stops.
The ball drops, the crowd at the Ted celebrates. Bases loaded with Brian McCann coming up!
Sike.
Umpire Sam Holbrook had called Simmons out on the “infield fly rule.” Fans rained boos — and lots and lots of bottles — upon the field.
The Braves couldn’t muster anything after the lengthy delay and their season came to an end. Chipper Jones’ storied career, too. What a way to go out.
THE FOND MEMORY FACEOFF
The Band-Aid Braves vs. United’s rapid rise
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The No. 3 seed: No Ronald Acuña Jr. An outfield hastily assembled at the trade deadline. A reliever making his big league debut … as a starter … in Game 4 of the World Series. Pearl necklaces.
Somehow the Braves just made it work in 2021, besting the Astros and exorcising a quarter-century title drought along the way.
Fun story: I was a news reporter at the time and Game 6 was on an election night. I got the assignment to spend some time with an underdog mayoral candidate (who was also under federal indictment). I was secretly watching the game on my laptop in this guy’s apartment — and yelped out loud when Jorge Soler launched his instantly iconic home run.
I still watch the replay sometimes, when I’m feeling down.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The No. 6 seed: What’s better than welcoming a new sports team into the fold?
Watching them win a title in Year 2.
That’s what Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez and Atlanta United did in 2018, topping Portland in the MLS Cup final in front of 73,000 raucous fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
What a scene, man. And lest we forget, Atlanta’s first pro league title since 1995.
The parade was epic, too — but for my money, the snapshot above remains one of the most epic sports photos in Atlanta history.
That’s all we got for today. Go vote, vote, vote — and keep reading for more timely sports news!
DOWN AND OUT
Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP
Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP
A Gonzaga player said after Thursday’s blowout that Georgia basketball’s lack of March experience “showed in the first possession of the game” — and he’s not wrong. Turnovers (remember when we talked about that?) and tentative shots quickly doomed the Bulldogs in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade.
So … where do they go from here? What’s the message to future recruits?
🗣️ Here’s what coach Mike White said: “You’d like to sell a Sweet 16 or a Final Four, and maybe we’re able to do that one day. But it starts with selling the NCAA Tournament and selling Silas Demary and Asa Newell and their teammates. These are the positives that these guys accomplished this year. You can come to Georgia and do something similar.”
Check out the full men’s bracket and the AJC’s live scoreboard. Mississippi State-Baylor kicks things off at 12:15 p.m.
TECH’S TURN
Like the Bulldogs, the Georgia Tech women have only one player with prior experience in the Big Dance — but perhaps they’ll fare better! The ninth-seeded Jackets start their quest against No. 8 seed Richmond later today in Los Angeles (7:30 p.m. on ESPNews).
💪 Coach Nell Fortner said effort will be key: “It’s gonna take extreme effort and for 40 minutes. Everything you do, multiple efforts. Lots of talking, lots of staying together. Things are gonna happen, adversity is gonna hit, you have to stay tough and strong.”
Here’s the full women’s bracket and TV schedule, which starts right about now-ish with Michigan and Iowa State.
QUICK HITS
⚾ The Braves signed potential backup outfielder Alex Verdugo to a $1.5-million deal. Verdugo, who will start at Triple-A Gwinnett, hit .233 with the Yankees last year.
😒 Georgia football suspended wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive linemen Marques Easley indefinitely. Both were involved in driving-related incidents. Which you may recall has been an issue for the Bulldogs!
🏈 With the NFL Draft a little over a month away, D. Orlando Ledbetter takes a big-picture look at the Falcons’ attempts to overhaul their defense. Leonard Floyd’s great and all but …
🤔 With national team call-ups leaving them shorthanded and second half defense a lingering issue, Atlanta United may shake things up and change formations against Cincinnati on Saturday.
🏀 The Hawks, who’ve been enjoying some post-practice one-on-one battles lately, host the rejuvenated Warriors at 7 p.m. Saturday. And QuikTrip (yes, the gas station) is picking sides.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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