The end of the road
The Hawks finished up their season tonight with a close loss to Cleveland, who rested most of their stars for the playoffs.
The Thrashers, in turn, also came up short in their bid to become a playoff team, narrowly missing their first trip to the playoffs but setting some wonderful team and individual records.
The Braves are looking to extend their streak of playoff appearances/division titles and held off the Mets 2-1 today.
My question is this: is anyone excited at all about the prospect of pro sports in Atlanta or are we all biding our time until October to witness another fizzle by the Braves and the return of Mike Vick and the Falcons to our Sunday afternoons?
Is anyone excited about the 06-07 season for either the Hawks or the Thrashers? Can Atlanta Spirit LLC deliver winning teams to Atlanta or are Time Warner and Arthur Blank, respectively, the real producers?
I guess I just want to know how most of you will be spending your Spring and Summer. Will it be enjoying baseball at the Ted, salivating for football in the Georgia Dome or praying for a winning team in Philips Arena?
Bonus quote from a Sports Illustrated article on NHL teams that missed the playoffs:
There’s a lot to like about the future of the Thrashers, especially the potential strength behind the blue line and the game-breaking presence of Kovalchuk. With the hands of Bob Hartley, one of the league’s premier coaches, steady on the wheel, and Lehtonen at full strength, you can pencil in Atlanta for a playoff berth in 2006-07. Heck, use ink.
The future of professional sports in Atlanta is very bright. I’m not sold on Michael Vick leading the Falcons anywhere, but the Thrashers, Braves, and Hawsks are loaded with good young talent.
Go Red Sox!
Heck yes I’m excited about the Thrashers. Even with a horrible start (due to goalie injuries), they almost played their way into the playoffs this year. Assuming they avoid that injury bug next year, Atlanta will see playoff hockey.