I love my daddy.

The earliest memory of my dad telling me about sports was when I was 7. I was a cheerleader {pee wee.... or just ridiculously cute/ridiculously dumb in my uniform}. I remember cheering for the Oakland Raiders. My dad would spend time to tell me exactly what was 1 st down...and 10. " so on 2nd down they need to get 2nd and 5".... and so on".

I remember being that young, doing the math... and looking at him in the stands , and going" yeah, dad,... first down!""... He was an umpire/referree for as long as I could remember.

When I got to junior high/high school.... my cheerleader groove continued,and as much as he probably longed for a son, he figured out....that ain't happening.

So there I was... a skinny little punk kid, who liked to watch NFL with my dad... who knew?

My dad was the voice of the Lynn Haven Raider, the Mowat Mustangs, and then my HS... he/my mom would participate in the Booster Club festivities.. which meant... heck, I still dont'know what it meant?

All I know is that both my mom/dad NEVER missed a pee wee / junior high / or high school game that I was cheering ..... they also didn't miss one single recital or vocal performance that my sister participated in. My sis was a star. She still is.

I sat in full awe as she sang and performed.

Beside me.... my parents.

On this fathers day.... I want to shout to the world that I love my DADDY. He is the best.... He laughs at my jokes, kicked my butt when needed, but most importantly, set the best example of who I wanted to be when I grew up.

I love you Dad.! I love you Mom... I love you Sharon....

when you're growing up, and sitting in the audience, or cheering on the field.... you don't stop to take the time to take inventory of what is going on. You take for granted your own group of "cheerleaders'.

When you grow up.... you wang to grab a pair or pom-poms and tell the world how lucky you were to have such a great family~

spirit fingers for all! xo

Penn State has a good guy!

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Finally able to catch HBO's Real Sports last friday, they did a feature on Coach Bill O'Brien at Penn State! Wow.

Make sure to check it out if you can. MOved me to tears.

The Penn State Football meltdown is the least of this guys' problem.

I knew Coach Obrien when he was at GT... he started as a graduate assistant, and worked his way up the yellow jacket ladder to asst head coach under George O learny .

This story, again, isn't really about sports. It's about how somehow sports is always the backdrop for great people and great attitudes.

Catch the show. Here's a link to the preview...

oh, and grab some kleenex.

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/571816/PSU-s-O-Brien-candid-on-HBO-s--Real-Sports--tonight.html?nav=5017

SPORTS manship!

Or Womanship.... Friends call her Phyllis. Filomena Tobias was caught red handed giving the finger to Joakim Noah. Pun intended.

The lucky photographer got a great shot, and now the pic has made its rounds on the internets.

Congratulations, Phyllis. You look like an idiot.

Which brings me to Kroger. I was shopping on Friday, and got to the checkout, where there was a young man working the register. He was slower than he probably should have been, clearly he was training, and getting more flustered by the moment. Big Fat Jerk customer ( a woman) chose to begin screaming at this 16 year old, and embarrassing everyone that was in earshot, which would have included the entire town of Roswell, I'm guessing ( Disco Kroger in Buckhead)

Oh, and here's the best part of horrible story. Big Fat Jerk Customer had a kid with her. Fine example, mom of the year.

Where are our manners? Why must we scream and treat others with no respect.

Yes, I mean athletes. I think we sometimes forget that they're human. They're programmed to NOT hear you screaming obscenities , but they hear you. Trust me.

Human beings people. The KROGER cashier, and the multi million dollar basketball player, neither deserve a Big Fat Jerk treatment.

Be better. Be Sportmanlike. or Sportswomanlike

Tough to watch!

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I dvr'd the NFL draft on Thur night.... 4 plus hours, heck no..I can get through it in 45 minutes..... But, I found myself stopping the FF when the cameras constantly showed Geno Smith Sitting, waiting, pouting, ...

waiting....

waiting...

It's tough to watch. When EJ Manuel was picked by the Bills, the first qb picked, The camera spent as much time on Geno as on the EJ pick. Why? Why do people spend so much time and energy on negative. Annoys me.

And then shame on Geno for not being gracious about the EJ pick! Shame on the entourage that was shaking the head, and clearly being poor sports.

What happened to the close fraternity of football players, pro players, that pull for one another?

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Aaron Rodgers took time to send a tweet to Geno with encouragement!

Hang in there Geno, 'good things come to those who wait' - Paul Tagliabue."

Class act! Newfound respect for a guy I already pulled for.

Geno first said he wasn't going to show up for night two of the draft, can't say that I blame him.

But , then , he decided to go. Good for him.... He was picked by the Jets , and you can imagine how the Jets responded !

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Glad he's off the board. Couldn't take one more close up of him pouting.

Must read~ and I agree with it all~

http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2013/04/13/atlanta-braves-catcher-evan-gattis-is-the-best-story-in-baseballs-early-season/

I knew this young man was something special when I first approached him in the Braves locker room. First of all, he wasn't with the veterans, the big leaguers, he was around the corner, where the guys with numbers like 99 and 72 are lined up... the Minor leaguers...

"hi Evan, my name is Sandra Golden, and I work with 680 , would love to get you on the radio this morning if you have 5 minutes to join us"....

Evan: Yes Mam, I can do it right now.

me...Shocked.

He was so gracious, and so well mannered... So well spoken, so thoughtful in his answers....So humble.

All of it.

He walked away, and I thought, if this kid makes it on the roster, he's not going anywhere.

Forbes got it right. It's the BEST story in baseball thus far!

Bittersweet........

I've talked before about Braves spring training, been lucky enough to cover it since 1997 in West Palm Beach, and each year, it's sad to me when it ends.

We walk up to Disney's wide World of sports and Champions stadium each morning around 7:30am... There's a heavy smell of fresh cut grass, the sun is barely coming up over the left field wall, players quietly walk in. There's something special about that.

Our last broadcast from the park was Thursday, and I find myself sad to say goodbye the the nice lady at security. Her name is Donna, and she's been at that gate for the past 10 years. She's retired, a library worker from Maine. Her husband has passed away. She loves Columbia, the restaurant. I enjoy talking to her every spring season.

Juan, is one of the security guards the braves locker room door. He's a die hard Mets fan. He has told me the stame story of how he and his father went to every opening day til his father passed in 2003. He curses Bobby Valentine more than any Red Sox player, and can tell you each and every time Chipper Jones beat the mets. I've heard the stories before, and actually look forward to hearing each one again.

When I got into this business 20 years ago, I said there's so much more to sports than final scores. Sports is the backdrop for family, for moments, for story telling, for laughter, for tears... For cheering, for booing, for gut wrenching disappointment.

My disappointment that spring training ending isn't gut wrenching. It just reminds me to look forward to the regular season in Atlanta, and then look forward to heading back to Disney , and catching up with the Donnas and the Juans of spring.

Braves spring training is my backdrop for baseball, sure. But for so much more.

Thanks for the 2013 memories!