By now I am sure everyone has heard the news that Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has struck a deal with the City of Atlanta and Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed in building a new Dome for the football team. Although the stadium is not that old looking, the new Dome will come with some new features such as a retractable rooftop and more state of the art equipment.

Although the deal comes with the option that the citizens of Atlanta will not have to contribute anything to the massive bill that will be incurred, there is a huge debate on the stadium…and it’s quite interesting.

So the famous question is…should the Falcons get a new stadium now or later?

On one hand, many Falcons fans are arguing that the team SHOULD get a new stadium now due to the fact that it will now only benefit the team but it will be a “win win” situation for both the team and the City of Atlanta, both exposure and financial wise. During the last time that both the SuperBowl as well as WrestleMania was in hosted by the city of Atlanta, one of the main complaints was that the Georgia Dome was too small and couldn’t hold the tremendous crowds that those two events hold. They argue that by granting the wish to build a bigger Dome, more events can be hosted here as well as the revenue will be a HUGE blessing to the citizens of Atlanta-and maybe all over the state of Georgia.

Now just as there are folks thankful for this deal being approved, there are some people that are saying to put the brakes on that idea REAL QUICK! (Now the reasoning that the naysayers have for the stadium to be built is one that is….well…I’ll leave that judgment up to y’all.) According to those that are against the new stadium idea will argue that the Falcons DON’T deserve the “gift” due to the fact that they haven’t brought home the famous Vince Lombardi trophy (for those that don’t know, it’s widely known as the SuperBowl trophy. The trophy is named after the one and only Vince Lombardi.) Some actually feel that the only way that the team should be able to get a new stadium is IF and only IF the team gave something to the city to “show” for it. So, from their perspective… NO TROPHY… NO STADIUM.

We’ve all heard the famous question “What came first-the chicken or the egg?” Perhaps many people can agree that this question will be only answered as time goes on.
Until we meet again, May your days be sweet and your nights are sinful and delicious.

-Sophia Stanton-Cross
P.S. The reason why that this article is short is due to the fact that I will try to follow up this article with articles and interviews by either Mayor Kasim Reed and/or Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

BY: VINNY HARDY (CORRESPONDENT) ON APRIL 14, 2013
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1603862-atlanta-braves-sizzling-start-gets-hotter-with-early-season-sweep-of-nationals

The Atlanta Braves arrived in Washington on a serious roll with a record of 8-1. Nothing has changed in the loss column as they leave the nation’s capital with an MLB-best 11-1 mark.

They are a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies away from being undefeated. Cliff Lee was lights out that night, so you had to tip your cap.

This is the third straight series sweep for the Braves. Unlike the Cubs and Marlins (a combined 6-16 coming into Sunday), the Nationals are legit.

They are a popular pick to win the World Series.

The fact that Atlanta went into Nationals Park—where Washington was previously undefeated—and beat Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez along the way speaks even more volumes.

It’s early. It’s April. We all know.

But it is as big a statement as a team can make against its bitter division rival in early April.

After two tough, two-run victories to start the series, the Braves pummeled the Nationals 9-0 in the finale. Paul Maholm kept the Nats bats quiet while the Braves offense went to work on Gonzalez.

Atlanta’s hot start has generated both excitement and cautious optimism. Fans definitely hope they can keep up the great play while saving something for October.

The ’98 Yankees hold the record with their .704 single-season winning percentage. So the Braves are going to cool off at some point without a doubt.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez said it best in his postgame press conference after Friday’s 6-4, comeback win.

“We haven’t even began to swing the bats yet.”

He’s right.

The Braves are batting .258 as a team.

Included in this are Jason Heyward’s .103, B.J. Upton’s .163, Dan Uggla’s .171 andAndrelton Simmons’ .211 averages.

As good as things have been, they are still capable of taking it up another gear at some point.

Freddie Freeman is on the DL, and Brian McCann hasn’t even set foot on the field yet.

Same goes for the bullpen. Cristhian Martinez and Johnny Venters are out of action right now. When all these guys come back, a strong team becomes that much stronger.

All of this still hasn’t even mentioned the contributions of bench players Ramiro Pena, Reed Johnson and the job Evan Gattis has done in his fill-in role.

The season is young, but they have already been a lot of fun to watch. It has the makings of being a great season Atlanta.

All stats are accurate as of 4/14/13.

BY: VINNY HARDY (CORRESPONDENT) ON APRIL 14, 2013

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1603862-atlanta-braves-sizzling-start-gets-hotter-with-early-season-sweep-of-nationals.

PG: JOHN WALL:
Wall has been on FIRE as of late, averaging 30 points this week, but his best game came against Chicago w/ 27 points 9 assists and 1 turnover.

SG: GREIVIS VASQUEZ:
Vasquez has been a stud this entire week, 15 points and 9 assists against Golden State, 21 points 9 assists vs Utah and balled out last night against the Lakers putting up a nice double double of 11 points 11 assists.

SF: CARMELO ANTHONY:
obviously Carmelo is the only player that could possibly fit it this spot, he’s been dominating, we know he’s a scorer, his range this week fell in between 36 and 50 points every single game, but we expect that from Melo…what was nice was the bonus of grabbing rebounds, 8 in one game, 12 in another, 14 in another and in most of the games this week he created zero turnovers.

PF: TRISTAN THOMPSON:
Phenomenal week for Tristan especially against Boston with 29points and 17 rebounds.

C: ANTHONY DAVIS:
Davis has been a different player since coming back from the all-star break, this week he’s averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds and also has been a good defensive threat averaging 2 steals and 2 blocks per game.

By: Sophia Stanton-Cross

Okay, so here we are: miles away from so much in the NFL world: The NFL Draft, the training camps, the pre, regular AND post season…and of course…the Super Bowl itself.
Yet, the huge announcement has been made: the NFL Franchise craze is underway!
Now for many people, it’s an exciting moment for their team and they are amped up about it. Yet in all honesty, many folks are lost in all of the “Franchise Tag” hype.
Well, before you become another lost number in the crowd, take a read at this information here.

According to the famous Wikipedia,
“In the National Football League, the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has access each year to only one franchise tag (of either the exclusive or non-exclusive forms) and one transition tag. As a result, each team may only designate one player each year as that team’s franchise player. It has been designed to reduce player movement (often to bigger markets) which is often evidenced in other major pro sports leagues.
Usually reserved for players of great skill or of high importance to the team, a franchise tag allows a team’s general manager the privilege of strategically retaining valuable free-agent players while seeking talent through the NFL draft or other acquisitions without exceeding the League’s salary cap. A team may also franchise tag a player with 2 or more years left on a contract…”

So basically, what it means is that it’s a way for coaches and owners to keep their most valuable asset in their possession. It also helps the team in the salary cap and/or the franchise’s finances. Now let’s not forget to mention that the team can also exercise the option to NOT use the Franchise tag at all for any of its players.
So far, players to mention that have been tagged are: Wes Welker (New England Patriots), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints), Fred Davis (Washington Redskins), DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), Matt Forte (Chicago Bears), Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles), Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts). Of course, there are countless others to mention.

To many fans, it’s a time that holds some value in the NFL due to the fact that both the fans as well as every NFL franchise will love to see the face that will represent the entire franchise. Many coaches and/or owners go through the roster with a fine tooth comb in order to select that ONE main player that will “carry the torch” for the entire team. I am sure that for the team’s that have actually used the NFL Tag, they may agree that the right choice will add more popularity to the team…which usually means more cash in the team’s pocket.

So, with the knowledge of the benefits that comes with the NFL franchise tag, is there a downside to it? Well, depends on how you look at it.

Some may say that one downside of the tag is that for those that actually desire to become a free agent once the season is over? Keep in mind that although the tag option is 100 percent optional, situations can spring up. For example, let’s say that the franchise wants to pick a particular player for the tag however he’s expressing that he wants to take a gamble with the NFL free agent AND after analyzing the entire situation, this player is a HUGE asset to the team. The pressure’s on HEAVY! So, what does one do? It’s just like the famous question from the movie “War of the Roses” “How do you keep someone who wants to go and how do you get rid of someone who wants to stay?”

Another downfall to it is that what if the “wrong choice” was tagged? If many fans judge the franchise according to the “tagged” player, many will argue that if the wrong player was “tagged” or they thought someone else was better, what happens then? Will the choice come back to haunt them? OR can it still be worked out in their favor?

Okay, so with the info and the playing field set up and explained, the next question is: WHO will be (or SHOULD BE) selected to wear the Tag? To many of the fans, that is where the fun part comes in. According to @tuckjt, he says that Keller should get the tag (yet he knows someone who deserves it more than he does.) When it comes to the New England Patriots, it’s honestly hard for me to say who should get it. One player that will NOT be tagged this year is Wes Welker, one player that has been tagged before. In fact, I would not be surprised if they along with other teams in the NFL do not exercise their option to tag this season.

The NFL franchise tag is one of the many situations that come with both a gift and a curse. As many philosophers would tell the coaches and owners of every franchise-two simple words: “choose wisely”
Until we meet again, may your days be sweet and your nights be sinful and delicious.

*Quick update: it has been announced that the vast majority of the NFL teams, including the Patriots, have decided to NOT use the Franchise Tag option. Only a total of eight teams have actually used the option in comparison of 20+teams that used it last season.

-Sophia Stanton-Cross