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Years ago I would always find a time during the day to scan through the sport pages of The Atlanta Journal and gleen everything I could from what was always excellent coverage. I would check out the headlines and delve deeper if the headline ws interesting. Of course, I would check out the baseball boxscores during the season as well as the standings and the league leaders.

Well, I can’t do that today! Regretfully, newspapers are rapidly becoming extinct although USA Today still does a good job. Now I have to check out the sports stories by going on-line and seeing what ESPN or FoxSports have to say. I can find out a good bit but it’s not like the newspaper.

I was checking out the computer sports today and came accross some good stories. As is usually the case, I have an opinion on each. I’ll share my thoughts.

I see where Georgia is going to open the 2013 college football season in prime time. Good for the Bulldogs! I’d say that they have earned that spotlight. They’ll play Clemson on August 31 at 8:00 on ABC. The game will be played at Clemson’s Death Valley and the matchup of quarterbacks, Clemson’s Tajh Boyd and Georgia’s Aaron Murrey, should create quite a buildup.I know that Clemson is in the weak ACC and is not considered a tough SEC foe but the Dawgs had better watch out for these Tigers. Just ask LSU!

I also see where the World Baseball Classic is underway. I really don’t know where all of these games are being played or who is playing them. I did see the roster of the USA team and it is woefully weak considering the talent that exists in our country. Most of the big name guys turned down a chance to participate, mostly fearing injury.

This “classic”, and I don’t know where they get the nerve to call this tournament a classic, is not a favorite in the United States. It is much more highly regarded in foreign lands where they seem to be able to encourage more of their top players to participate and they emphasize national pride. We don’t use the “pride” angle.

The USA will probably not win this classic and because of that some other nations will probably feel that they have players of equal talent as we do. Don’t believe it! Yes, there are some outstanding players from other nations in the major leagues but, overall, the USA still produces the largest percentage of great baseball players. Just add it up!

With all of this said, I don’t care for the World Baseball Classic. I’d much rather watch a good spring training game. At least I can pronounce most of the names.

Another column that I glanced at was about college basketball fans “storming” the court after a big victory. It seems that everytime Duke loses on the road the other schools’ students rush the court after the win. A win over Duke seems to kind of solidify another schools’s program.

The SEC has penalties in place fine teams if their fans storm the court. The fines aren’t really severe but they are there. The ACC and some other conferences are considering following the SEC’s lead. I wish they would.

I don’t see any reason to rush the floor after a game. As the old adage goes, “act like you’ve done it before”. There is a definite chance of injury, especially for the other team’s players and coaches or the officials. I see no reason for everyone to run out on the court and jump around after a game. Show some class and remain in the stands!

Aw Jim, you want to take all of the fun out of the game! Fun? How is that fun? Enjoy the game in the stands. Support your team and it’s players by cheering from the area that is designed for you to sit. The playing floor is not designed or designated for fans. Stay off!

And oh no, I see where Joe Torre is saying that Major League Baseball is looking into expanding instant replay. They are looking into using it on fair-foul plays, trapped balls, and tag plays plus a few other situations. I have one very simple comment: NO! NO! NO! Leave this great game alone. The human errors made by umpires are a part of the game. Don’t do this! There is really no place for this technology in baseball! This really sickens me!

Oh yeah, the Braves are in the news too but I’ll keep checking them out for a few more weeks and comment later. I do like the Upton-Upton-Heyward outfield but I’m already missing Chipper.

Well, let me get back to the internet and check up on some more sports stories. See you there!