October 15, 2004

I grieve his loss, not least because Kim and I go back a long way. I remember watching him play as a star quarterback at Brown High School back in the early 1960s, one of the most talented athletes ever to come out of the old Atlanta city school system. He was not just a great quarterback in those days, but a helluva basketball player as well. Brown High had one of the best high school basketball teams in the state, in fact, with Kim King, Billy Kinard (who later played defensive back at Tech), Charlie Kenney (who played basketball at Tech) and Dennis Gibson (who got a basketball scholarship to Tennessee).

Kim would have been a star in either sport in college, but he chose to play football at Tech where he inherited Billy Lothridge’s number and starting job at quarterback. Some of my most vivid memories from those years are of Kim running Bobby Dodd’s belly option attack, a precursor of the wishbone. Kim would fake a handoff to fullback Tommy Carlisle, slide along the line of scrimmage, and turn upfield if there was a seam. If the defensive end came up to contain King, he would pitch it out to Lenny Snow who would then zip down the sideline for yardage. It was magic to see Kim do that. If the situation called for a pass, Kim would drop back and throw one of his left-handed darts to Mike Fortier or Craig Baynham.

After his college days, Kim became a successful real estate developer whose hobby was doing the color analysis for Tech football games with Al Ciraldo and later with Wes Durham. It was Al, remember, who gave Kim the nickname, "The Young Lefthander." Even in his late 50s, Kim was always the young lefthander. Although this will disappoint some of my friends on the Tech board, Kim was also a supporter of Democrats who ran for public office. He was one of the major fundraisers for Roy Barnes both times that Barnes ran for governor, and Barnes returned the favor by naming Kim to the state Board of Public Telecommunications.

But no matter where Kim went or what he did, he always remained loyal to Ma Tech. I am happy that, just 10 days before he passed away, they had a ceremony at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field for the naming of the locker room facilities in King’s honor. He also, during halftime of the Tech-Miami game, rode around the football field in the jump seat of the Ramblin’ Reck. His wife, Gail, said it was something he had always wanted to do. Just a couple of days before Kim left us, Tech went up to College Park and laid a whipping on Maryland. I hope Kim had a chance to hear the broadcast of that game. Wherever he may go in the afterlife, I like to think that Kim has reunited with his old teammate, Tommy Carlisle, and is showing the other football fans in heaven how he would fake that handoff to Tommy back in the old days. I also like to think that he’s back together with Al Ciraldo at the celestial microphone, explaining once again how it looks like the refs have called a holding penalty on FSU. With Kim’s departure, we have all lost a dear, dear friend.

But if Kim had to leave us, he chose to leave after a grand and glorious weekend of college football. For all good Jacket fans, it was enormously gratifying to see Georgia Tech, playing on the road as a 12-point underdog to a Top 25 team, go into College Park and smack the pee out of Maryland. It was icing on the cake to see Tennessee, also a 12-point underdog on the road, go into Athens and beat the University of Georgia like, well, a yard dog.

Who would have thought it?

Saturday’s game in Maryland was a case of major league redemption for Reggie Ball, who was facing the prospect of seeing Chan Gailey pull the red shirt off of Taylor Bennett and put him in at quarterback if Reggie didn’t get his butt in gear. Reggie took the hint and got himself back on track, at least for last week, against the Terps. Great throws to Nate Curry for a touchdown, as well as to set up two field goals. This is the Reggie Ball we keep expecting to see on a consistent basis, not the Reggie Ball who took the snaps against North Carolina and Miami.

Interestingly, if you compare the seasonal passing numbers of Reggie Ball and David Greene, Georgia’s "Heisman Trophy candidate" at quarterback, you won’t see a whole lot of difference between the two. Reggie has completed 65 passes to 70 for Greene. Reggie has a completion percentage of 48.9 to 51.9 for Greene. Reggie has thrown for 881 yards, Greene for 918. Reggie and Greene have the same number of touchdown passes, eight. The only category where Greene really has an edge over Ball is interceptions, where Reggie has thrown eight and Greene has one. Reggie partly makes up for that with his superior ability to run the ball – he has gained 185 yards on 62 rushes, where Greene has a total of minus 44 rushing yards for the year. As disappointing as Reggie’s season has been, his offensive production has been nearly as good as that of the "Heisman Trophy contender" Greene. Of course, you’d never know that from reading the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Attention should also be paid to the performance of Tech’s defense, which in two years has limited Maryland to a grand total of one touchdown in eight quarters of play. And Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen, like Georgia’s Mark Richt, is a reputed "offensive genius."

However much of a genius the Fridge is, Jon Tenuta had his number last Saturday. Tech’s defense crushed the Terps with eight sacks and a net total of seven rushing yards on 38 attempts. Incredible. On practically every series, Maryland went three and out in the face of the withering pressure from Tech’s D-line and linebackers. I haven’t seen this kind of a butt-whipping since the 1969 Sun Bowl when Nebraska laid the wood to Georgia by a 45-6 score. My only question is, why wasn’t this level of defensive dominance in evidence against Clemson and North Carolina?

As the glow of the Maryland victory wears off, the reality that Tech has to play against an inferior Duke team next Saturday is setting in. We all know only too well the pattern of the Chan Gailey years when Tech plays over its head to beat a more highly ranked team, it invariably gets beat the next time out by a lesser squad. Duke did it to the Jackets last year. If the pattern holds, they’ll do it this year too. As good as Tech looked against Maryland last weekend, you would have to figure they would even get beat by Prairie View this weekend.

Chan, it’s time for you to break this destructive pattern. You too, Reggie. Is it asking too much to expect Tech to go out this Saturday and, for once, play up to its capabilities against a decidedly weaker and less-talented Duke team? I think not. Guys, it’s time to start getting the job done.

And speaking of jobs well done, let’s take our hats off to the Tennessee Volunteers for knocking Georgia not only out of national championship contention but out of the SEC championship game as well. The Vols and Georgia both have one conference loss, but Tennessee is finished with the hard part of its schedule where Georgia still has to play Florida and Auburn. Tennessee is clearly in the driver’s seat to win the SEC’s eastern division.

This game must have come as quite a shock to Atlanta’s talk radio hosts, who had taken it for granted that Georgia was going to win and move up to the top spot in the polls as soon as Oklahoma and Southern Cal lost. Phil Fulmer? A fat, washed-up, has-been, they said, who couldn’t win the big game any longer and would never, ever beat Mark Richt as long as God’s chosen son was the coach in Athens. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution sportswriters had their mouths rounded and wide open, ready to pay their customary tribute to Coach Richt as Georgia rightfully ascended to the number one ranking in both polls.

Well, surprise. Oklahoma and Southern Cal both won. And Fat Phil Fulmer proved he can still coach a little, as Tennessee knocked Georgia back on their heels from the game’s opening drive. Although David Greene is supposedly the "Heisman Trophy contender" among SEC quarterbacks, he was definitely outplayed by Tennessee’s true freshman, Eric Ainge. Ainge was the one hitting the key passes and looking cool under pressure – not Greene. Tennessee was the team dominating along the line of scrimmage, not Georgia. And Richt, once again, showed he’s a dunce at clock management, letting 19 seconds bleed off the clock late in the fourth quarter before finally calling a time out. Who does this guy think he is, Tommy Bowden?

Like I said, it was a great weekend for Tech fans. Now, on to the questions.

1. In light of UNC’s 30-24 win over N.C. State, I would have to agree with you. Hey, I was one of those who thought John Bunting would be fired before midseason, but he’s got Carolina at 3-3 right now with two solid wins in the conference. He just may survive. Other coaches who may be on the way to saving their jobs this season Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame (4-2 with victories over Michigan, Michigan State and Stanford), Karl Dorrell at UCLA (4-1 so far) and Tommy Tuberville at Auburn (headed for the SEC championship game unless they completely fall apart).

1. I think George is learning, the hard way, that he left a very good situation behind when he thumbed his nose at Georgia Tech. So far, he is 0-5 as Central Florida’s head coach. He has lost games to Wisconsin, Penn State, and West Virginia. Those are certainly three programs with good football traditions, so no disgrace there. His Central Florida team also lost a close one to Northern Illinois, one of the better programs in the Mid-American Conference. Again, nothing to be ashamed of. Central Florida, however, lost their other game by 28 points to Buffalo. Stop and let the implications of that sink in. Buffalo is traditionally the worst of the Division I-A programs – number 117 out of 117 Division I-A schools. Yet, Central Florida lost to Buffalo by 28 points. If there’s any one number that shows how far O’Leary has sunk, that’s it.

   There were some members of the Tech family who thought that Bobby Ross had dug an even deeper hole for himself than O’Leary when Ross lobbied for the head coaching job at woeful Army. Ross, however, has actually won a game this season, where O’Leary is still wallowing in the winless sinkhole of Division I-A. George, you never knew when you had it so good.

1. If you go by the speculation I’ve been hearing on the sports talk radio shows, then Spurrier is going to be the next head coach at Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Nebraska and Slippery Rock. All at the same time.

I received a series of questions this week from someone who is obviously a Georgia fan, for he asks "Who was known as the ‘drought breaker’ and why? What punter was known as the ‘Big Toe from Cairo’? Who was the dawg announcer before Larry Munson? How many points did Herschel Walker score against Clemson in his career? Who is Uga's (mascot) owner, where does he live and what is his profession? In Georgia's big win over Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide in 1965, the dogs used a late game flea-flicker play. Who was the quarterback, receiver, and who scored the touchdown? This Dalton native blocked a punt in the 1943 Rose Bowl to help Georgia beat UCLA. Give his name."

From the way he asked these questions, this guy obviously knew all the answers already, so I’m not going to waste his time (or ours) by answering them again. Here is my own set of Georgia questions that I would ask him How many times has Georgia’s football team been on NCAA probation for recruiting violations since 1981? Which SEC school has been punished by the NCAA more often for major rules infractions, Georgia or Auburn? How much money was awarded to Jan Kemp when she successfully sued the University of Georgia in federal court over preferential treatment of football players? How much money did Andre "Pulpwood" Smith admit to making during his two-year career as a University of Georgia football player by selling his complimentary tickets in violation of NCAA rules? Which Georgia football players violated NCAA rules in 1989 when they charged personal telephone calls to school credit cards? Which Georgia football player was arrested in 1990 for allegedly attempting to sell crack cocaine near a west Athens housing project? Which Georgia football player was arrested in 2001 on charges of simple battery, stalking, making harassing telephone calls and criminal trespass against the mother of his child?

Here’s the deal, bud. When you answer my questions, I’ll answer yours.