Hey y’all. I’ve got a question.
What do you want from me?
More specifically: As we continue our transition to a weekly offering, what do you want to see in this space? Analysis? Hot takes? Random feature-type stories? Lots of stuff, or a couple big things?
Shoot me an email, won’t ya? Let’s make this a group project.
THE SOUND OF VICTORY
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Andy Demetra knew the distance would match a school record. He certainly knew Georgia Tech hadn’t beaten Clemson in more than a decade — and that Aidan Birr nailing the kick could have ramifications well beyond breaking that streak.
So you’ll have to forgive him for shouting.
Snap back, set down, booted up.
Demetra, the play-by-play voice of the Jackets since 2016, is already amped up.
It’s got the leg. It’s got the chance.
He’s roaring now. You know what’s coming.
It is goooooooooood.
That’s at least two solid seconds of full-throated “good.” Then, after a few words from boothmate Andrew Gardner, more Demetra.
Still screaming.
A school. Record. Tying. Fifty-five yard field goal. And Aidan Birr delivers the dagger that slays the Tigers.
Chaos. And goosepimples.
Demetra later posted his whole call on social media, urging followers to “pay no mind to my soul leaving my body.”
I, of course, would never ignore such a thing. So I gave Demetra a ring to ask how the newest auditory addition to Jacket lore came to life.
A few things:
1️⃣ Birr having the chance to hit a game-winner actually crossed Demetra’s mind last week on one of his regular runs (he’s a former cross country guy, usually clocks about 6 miles a day). But, he said, “It’s almost impossible to think of something ahead of time for a moment like that.”
2️⃣ The key is to prepare, do your research, know your stuff, Demetra said — and then trust that whatever comes out of your mouth will hit the mark.
3️⃣ “It does become surreal,” he said. “It happened so fast, you’re taking a moment to register all that. And then just this eruption of celebration on the field. You’re just trying to stay in the moment and describe it the best you can.”
As for the volume: Demetra said he’s endured plenty of “sunless Saturdays” (a reference to one banger of a ‘90s song) in the broadcast booth. So when something like Birr’s kick arrives?
“What you heard was coming from a very genuine place of excitement for our fans and for our program,” he said, “considering where they’ve been, where they are and where they’re going.”
Naturally, I then asked to make a prediction for the rest of the season. He veered a bit into coachspeak: one game at a time, on to Temple, etc. etc. But he’s got plenty of confidence in this team (and the rest of the radio squad, who he repeatedly praised).
He’ll be ready, no matter what happens.
“I have pretty resilient vocal cords,” he said.
Please send your all-time favorite sports calls (radio or otherwise) to tyler.estep@ajc.com. We’ll take a little journey together next week, if we get enough.
HAYNES 4 HEISMAN?
While we’re on Tech: Coach Brent Key says his quarterback, Haynes King, “truly epitomizes what the Heisman Trophy is.”
Hard to argue if you take the whole “great ability combined with diligence, perseverance and hard work” part of the Heisman mantra at face value. Being responsible for north of 300 yards of total offense each week ain’t too shabby, either.
That said: I’m not sure we’re there quite yet … and for what it’s worth, Las Vegas seems to agree.
At last check of FanDuel Sportsbook, King’s odds of winning college football’s highest honor sat at +3000. That was 17th among listed players.
Other notable names:
- At +750, Miami quarterback (and Athens defector) Carson Beck currently has the best odds.
- Oklahoma’s John Mateer is right behind him at +950.
- Georgia’s Gunner Stockton jumped up to +1200 after his gutsy performance against Tennessee. He was at +3500.
We said Beck’s the favorite, and it’s true — but this race is wide-open. According to ESPN, his odds are the longest for a front-runner (at this point in the season) since at least 2012.
HATE READING
Heisman talk or not, the hype surrounding both Tech and Georgia already has columnist Ken Sugiura dreaming of Black Friday — and an extraordinary edition of Clean Old-Fashioned Hate.
If both teams keep rolling, we could be looking at the rivalry game’s first top-10 matchup since the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson.
SHOOTERS SHOOT
Credit: Rahul Deshpande/AJC
Credit: Rahul Deshpande/AJC
The Atlanta Dream made barely a quarter of their 3-pointers last night. They lost to the Indiana Fever and now face a decisive Game 3 in their first-round playoff series.
But hey: You live by the sword, you die by the sword. And this particular weapon is a major reason why Atlanta doubled its regular-season win total from a year ago.
To wit: Our data-savvy friend Rahul Deshpande compared 2024 to 2025. The numbers are striking.
- This year’s Dream took a whopping 70% more shots from behind the arc during the regular season.
- Midrange jumpers? So not cool anymore. They dropped by nearly 60%.
- Overall, Dream players took about 260 more shots — and made about 4% more too.
All of that’s a pretty good way to increase offensive production. And a big part of the vision when Atlanta hired coach Karl Smesko away from Florida Gulf Coast University.
“We’re going to have to shoot it better,” Smesko, the winningest first-year coach in WNBA history, said last night. “But we got a lot of really talented offensive players. … I think we’re going to get it going next game."
That arrives at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, in College Park and on ESPN2. Plenty of resale tickets available at semi-reasonable prices, if you’re up for it. As 70-year-old Dream fan Martha Harris told me at Sunday’s playoff opener, “Once you watch these women perform, you will be hooked.”
HAPPY LITTLE BRAVES THINGS
As the baseball season winds down, we’re taking a Bob Ross approach to the Braves and painting as positive a picture as possible.
🎨 Matt Olson, who folks were ready to run out of town earlier this season, hit homers in four straight contests prior to Game 2 of yesterday’s doubleheader with the Nats (then hit a bases-clearing triple in that one). Prolific local journalist Brad Rowland points out that Olson now has the highest WAR of any first baseman in MLB. He’ll probably win a Gold Glove, too.
🎨 Spencer Strider is … getting better? Over his last four starts (including Monday’s impressive outing): seven runs over 25 innings. That’s a 2.52 ERA. Fellow starter Chris Sale is picking up right where he left off preinjury, too.
🎨 Ha-Seong Kim is hitting .313 through 14 games since the Braves snatched him off the waiver wire. Errorless at shortstop, too. He also just feels like a ballplayer (Jurickson Profar too, for what it’s worth). Let’s make sure he’s back in 2026, yes?
BURNING QUESTIONS
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
I work with experts on Atlanta sports. Sometimes I ask them very important questions. Here are two of them.
🤔 The Falcons have an experienced backup. At least five NFL quarterbacks got injured in Week 2. Any chance of a team like the Bengals, who’ll be without Joe Burrow for a few months, taking Kirk Cousins off Atlanta’s hands?
- “The problem is the $27.5 million cap number and the fact that Kirk has a no-trade clause. He’d have to approve the trade,” beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter told me.
- He and AJC columnist Michael Cunningham ran the numbers for Cincinnati, “and they can’t do it without several players taking salary reductions.”
- A straight-up swap of Cousins for disgruntled Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, for instance, doesn’t work because the latter is “only” making $16 million.
Bummer. But make sure to subscribe to D. Led’s Dirty Birds Dispatch newsletter for more Falcons insights every week.
🤔 Atlanta United was officially eliminated from playoff contention Saturday. So what’s left for its five remaining matches? Well … they could “determine the future of manager Ronny Deila and several players,” beat writer Doug Roberson told me.
- “President Garth Lagerwey said much earlier this season that the team wouldn’t fire the manager, but recently sporting director Chris Henderson said that the team needed to win some of its remaining matches just to show some progress. It is 1-2-2 in its last five, which included two shutouts and giving up five goals in less than one half of Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Columbus.”
- Long-timers like goalkeeper Brad Guzan and defender Brooks Lennon already appear to be on their way out, Doug said. As for once-coveted offensive weapons Miguel Almirón and Emmanuel Latte Lath: “If they play, can they show they are building blocks for next year for Deila or whoever is named manager?”
Tough times for the Five Stripes. More here.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Let’s close with my newest favorite story from our friends at AJC Varsity, your spot for everything high school sports.
It’s about Carver football coach Darren Myles approaching the prestigious 150-win club — and meaning so much more than that to his community on the southern end of Atlanta.
Coach Myles tries to work on the total, complete kid — mind, body and spirit. His program brings some positive discipline to their lives and helps them with their grades. He's a man that understands those young men and the people in that community. He's been a blessing.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of The AJC Win Column. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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