The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • D8

Filename: D8-SPORTS-AJCD0509-3THRE created: May 8 2007 Username: SPEED10 AJCD0509-3DOT Wednesday, May 09, 2007 SPORTS 8 3DOT 8 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black D8 Wednesday, May 9, 2007 3 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ajc.com 8 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black 3DOT Filename: D8-SPORTS-AJCD0509-3THRE created: May 8 2007 Username: SPEED10 breaking them in the NFL as part of the Chicago Bears secondary. really feel this year in particular our offense is the No. 1 driving force of our football team. carrying our whole Force coach Doug Plank said. try to get the toss, most teams defer, we take the ball.

We say, know what? going to score, and now the race is on. Come and chase His team so routinely goes for it on fourth down that it has attempted but three goals this season. No other AFL team has attempted fewer than eight. I says Greisen, that we go out and strive to score every time we have the ball. From the coaches down to us players, we believe going to score every single Seems that Arthur Blank has himself a quarterback whose every trip through ticketing and baggage check is not an adventure.

Maybe Greisen made as many headlines as Michael Vick this spring, but not for lack of effort on the shrunken Helping to run smaller football subsidiary is a quarterback coveted for his stability as well as his arm strength. These qualities were evident enough to shine through the blackout curtain that surrounded an arena- league backup in Dallas. There was something about this 30-year-old football vagabond that made him irresistible to the Force. Something so convincing that the team traded away a quarterback who two years ago had taken it to the Arena Bowl (Matt Nagy, to Columbus in exchange for pass rusher Mike Sutton). It saw something that a lot of other people missed.

says, what a big risk you said Plank, who as a one-time broadcaster in Arizona got to know Greisen when the Cardinals took him in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL draft out of Northwest Missouri State. saw Chris in some Dallas circumstances when he was coming in as mop- up operations, but I liked what I saw. He got the ball out quickly, he was accurate and strong- armed, tall feet And Jim was a big fan of Jim is Jim Kubiak, the former AFL quarterback and coach who is the rookie director of player personnel for the Force. After falling to 8-8 last season, the Force was in blow-up mode. As Plank said, with wry smile in place, here, these premises, 8-8 get it.

People have been known to lose their job with 8-8 Jim Mora was 7-9 and 8-8 the past two In what would be his franchise-shaping move, Kubiak traded away Nagy and put his faith in a free-agent quarterback who attempted all of 16 passes the past two seasons. A player who could look at himself a couple of years ago and say, know if professional football wanted And now Kubiak says of Greisen: not the best quarterback in this league, arguably the best. Taking snaps and leading our football team, not a guy rather have. I think probably exceeded his own expectations and everyone Greisen arrived with a lot to prove and little time to prove it. While the Force have been rebuilt, they had intact one of the best group of receivers in arena football.

They also were world-class skeptics. lack of experience, you started questioning: I hope this is the best said the leading receiver, Chris Jackson. you know what? They knew something a lot of people It is a nice little story of persistence in the face of the overwhelming sentiment of, time to take the real-estate After serving as Jake unused understudy in Arizona for three seasons, Greisen in quick succession went from the Washington Redskins camp to the Rhein Fire of NFL Europa then, with no other options, to the Green Bay Blizzard (Arena2) only because it was near his hometown of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. There he was making a whopping $200 a game. Taking one step back up the football ladder to the Dallas Desperados in 2005 was tempered by the fact he break through as a starter.

Married with two young daughters, Greisen looks at his position on the Force as an apex, the fat on a lean career. allows me to do two things I love to do play football in the spring and coach football in the he said. He is the offensive coordinator for the Southwest High School Trojans in Green Bay, while also operating a quarterback academy up on the tundra. One thing he can teach from experience is the value of patience. had to learn how to be a backup he said.

I started doing that, good things started happening for me. had to go through a humbling stage the good Lord humbled me. his NFL and European I was told by a number of AFL teams I good Those would be some of the same teams now looking up from beneath an avalanche of points, wondering just who was that fella who triggered the slide? Greisen: Force quarterback never lost faith in himself Continued from 1 COLLEGE BASEBALL Bulldogs hope Jackets are a consolation prize By CARTER STRICKLAND Athens Even though it might seem that way, everything is not lost for Georgia baseball. Not quite. Not with Georgia Tech scheduled to visit Foley Field at 7 p.m.

today and the season series 1-1. have had the upper hand in that series since Georgia coach David Perno said. need to keep that streak going. is something tangible this team can hang their hat Lately, the Bulldogs (19-30) have just been hanging their heads. all but out of the SEC tournament picture, will with a losing record and have followed oh-so-close games with uh- oh games.

But all of that is forgotten now. the last Ryan Peisel said. it is one of those things that could save the season. As bad as it has been, if we beat Georgia Tech that will at least help something. So we will come out and try and get the bragging But it is Tech that can brag about its season.

The Yellow Jackets (30-17) are coming off a series sweep of South Florida and come into tonight winners of 17 of their past 23. now we are just getting some really good Luke Murton said. that is what has been happening for us all Pitching in this game, just like most mid-week affairs, could get interesting. Tech coach Danny Hall has decided to go with Matt Wieters (1-3, 7.15 ERA). The everyday catcher has made 10 relief appearances but no starts this season.

Georgia is expected to counter with Trevor Holder (1-3, 4.25). Tech will also be adapting to a new look in the with Jeff Ussery (broken foot) and Michael Fisher (broken cheekbone) out. Patrick Long, a freshman who has played third and shortstop, will take over at short. Jason Garofalo, a walk- on from Marist, took over Sunday when Fisher was hurt. came in and got two hits for us Sunday and then three on Hall said.

one of those feel-good Not many of those have found there way into season. The Bulldogs, predicted by Baseball America as a preseason top-30 team, now are just left to play out the string of seven games against ranked teams. thing about this group it is a very resilient Perno said. will strong. we can do, and I know if it will result in the wins, is play good baseball.

I think our guys will do TODAY Who: Georgia Tech at Georgia When: 7 p.m. TV; radio: CSS; 790 AM CURTIS COMPTON Staff Luke Murton homered for Georgia Tech in an 8-2 win over Georgia on April 18. Georgia won 10-7 six days later. Your no good at city facilities By KAREN ROSEN You might have enough small change to pay your $2.50 court fee at an Atlanta tennis center, but a change in the way that money is collected has put cash out of bounds. The department of parks, recreation and cultural affairs began a policy May 1 at 92 facilities, including tennis centers, golf courses, aquatic centers and recreation centers.

Only credit cards, debit cards and e-checks are accepted. The new rule has Chuck Driebe, who has played tennis at Bitsy Grant Tennis Center for 30 years, raising a racket. so Driebe said. hate the inconvenience to the public, which appears to be caused by Driebe protested to the city via e-mail and said he has thought about a petition. of the regulars was complaining to me that he have his credit card with him and that go get it after he Driebe said.

young woman who worked there said you play until you pay. the kind of foolishness we get When centers such as Bitsy Grant had a policy a few years ago, was very hard to count the cash and to account for the said Dianne Harnell Cohen, the commissioner of parks, recreation and cultural affairs. The policy was recommended in an audit, but the city waited until it had the equipment in place to implement it. Although the city incurs a fee for accepting credit cards, Cohen said a very, very low fee, negotiated by the city and applies to all our operations, not just to parks, recreation and cultural So that players have to put a $2.50 (or $2.25 for seniors) charge on their credit card each time, a 10-play card is available. Those under 18 play for free.

Although signs were posted warning of the change, Sammie Vanderbilt was upset when he pay with cash the day after the policy became He said he have his wallet. in America do they refuse Vanderbilt said. if I have a credit card? What if I have a check? Those rules stink. terrible. They should get rid of Lauren Hepper has always used her debit card to pay for her $40 lessons.

But she said if someone is coming off the street and has never been there the no-cash policy could come as a surprise. Alan Elsas has accepted the fact that have to use his credit card. he said, I think it seems policy evokes criticism SPORTS Hebron: Ex-Parade All-American to enroll at GMC Hebron said alcohol is not a problem for him. This was just a case of being away from home for the time, in a new environment and a college Hebron, who was expected to compete for a top backup role after redshirting last season, said he now plans to enroll at Georgia Military College, play football in the fall and try to return to UGA in 2008. Before he makes it back, Hebron would have to complete the Alcohol and Other Drug Advanced program offered at the university health center and meet with Brandon Frye, the assistant dean of students.

Furthermore, he would be on probation until Dec. 15, 2009. Any breach of that probation could mean an expulsion from the university. Hebron said he has learned his lesson and there would be no further problems. Bob Milloy, his coach at Good Counsel High in Gaithersburg, was shocked there ever were any.

a wonderful Milloy said. never had any problems with him at all. I feel bad for the kid. I condone what he did. And I know he has to pay the price.

But this is not something we ever saw out of Hebron is the third player to be removed from team this school year. John Miller, a freshman offensive lineman, was dismissed during the season for a violation of team rules following his arrest for underage possession. Antonio Sims, who had a history of code-of-conduct violations, agreed to leave the team in the fall. Georgia also suspended offensive lineman Ian Smith for six games following two arrests for underage possession. Smith was not removed from the program because the university policy at that time only stated a student be suspended after a second arrest while on probation from the That code-of-conduct policy was revised and consequences tightened before arrests.

path from the Bulldogs to GMC following problems is a familiar one for UGA. Former linebacker Odell Thurman was removed from the team for a semester and then welcomed back the next season. Hebron said Georgia coach Mark Richt would welcome him back in January 2008 if he followed the necessary steps. Richt could not be reached for comment. Continued from 1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Grobe keeps Georgia on his mind By TONY BARNHART Jim Grobe, the head football coach at Wake Forest, loves the state of Georgia.

Here are just three reasons why: Grobe, who led the Deacons to their ACC championship since 1970 last season, was in Atlanta on Tuesday where he was honored at the annual Bobby Dodd Foundation Golf Tournament. Grobe was named the Bobby Dodd National coach of the year last December. Tonight the Touchdown Club of Atlanta will honor Grobe as its ACC Coach of the Year with presentation ceremonies at the Fox Sports Grill. Between those two events Grobe will get to do the thing he enjoys most in Georgia, which is recruiting. Wake Forest had 16 Georgians on its spring football roster and another, Cyhl Quarles of Meadowcreek High, set to arrive in the incoming class.

has been very good to us and has played a big part in our Grobe said on Tuesday. staff just loves to come down Two more Georgia products, who played little or none at all because of injuries last season, are why Grobe feels this Wake Forest team could be just as good-if not better-than the one that went 11-3 and played Louisville in the Orange Bowl. Running back Micah Andrews, who played at Greater Atlanta Christian, was a preseason All-ACC pick in 2006 before tearing his left ACL in the third game of the season. Andrews, the son of former Falcons great William Andrews, was lost for the rest of the season. Matt Robinson, a senior defensive end from Cedartown, was projected to be star on the 2006 Wake Forest defense before suffering a broken kneecap in the game of 2005.

Robinson, who had 10.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage during the 2005 season, never got on the in 2006 as he rehabbed the knee. think you can describe how much having those guys back means to our football said Grobe, who is set to begin his seventh season at Wake Forest. only are they really good players, but they are really good kids. From a leadership standpoint just incredibly important to have them Andrews had rushed for 256 yards in three games before he was hurt in the fourth quarter against Connecticut. After bulking up in the weight room during his rehab, Andrews is back to a lean 205 pounds.

He had no contact during spring drills. looks great. running straight ahead, and by August be able to cut and do everything we need him to Grobe said. Because Robinson, who redshirted as a freshman, lost an entire season while rehabilitating an injury, he will petition the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility at the end of the 2007 season. Grobe feels there is a good chance that Robinson will receive the extra season.

The Deacons will need Robinson this season as only starters return from a defense that gave up only 15.4 points per game, second in the ACC to Virginia Tech (11.0 ppg), which led the nation. Wake Forest did lose a Georgian whom the Deacons will sorely miss. Linebacker Jon Abbate of Powder Springs, who led the team in tackles as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, decided to give up his year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. Abbate, who played high school ball at Harrison, was not drafted and signed a free-agent contract with Houston. Abbate is the player ever to leave Wake Forest early to turn pro.

was was all that Grobe would say about departure. Grobe said that Wake ACC championship has changed how his coaches have been received during May recruiting. is no question that it has opened some doors with players who would not have considered Wake Forest Grobe said. never been able to recruit with a championship under our belt before. Now the kids learn that not only can they come to Wake and get a great experience, they can compete for championships.

That makes a Wake Forest opens the 2007 season Sept. 1 at Boston College. STEVE CANNON Associated Press Football coach Jim Grobe led Wake Forest to its ACC title since 1970..