LEFTOVERS: And they call this city Hot-lanta?
January 29, 2014 - 11:56 pm
Atlanta is an international city, home to the world’s busiest airport, CNN and 11 Fortune 500 headquarters.
But that city struggles when it comes to big events (see: 1996 Olympics).
And a big event hit Atlanta on Tuesday when a snowstorm brought the city to a standstill. Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, in Atlanta on a recruiting trip, became one of the many stranded motorists.
“Literally 9 straight hours in my car to go 50 miles. Mother Nature: 1, Atlanta: 0. #IGottaPee #Snowpocalypse,” he tweeted at 4:29 p.m. EST.
A half-hour later, Herman was back on Twitter: “I’ve moved .6 miles in the last hour. Yes, there is a decimal point in front of that number.”
“13 hrs and counting,” he tweeted at 9:13 p.m. “Would it be bad form to leave my rental car on the freeway &just walk the 3 miles to my hotel?”
Herman sent a series of tweets at 5:48 a.m. Wednesday that he had ditched his rental car, fallen “at least five times” while walking to a gas station and caught a ride with Delta Airlines employee Terry Spiller to make a 9 a.m. flight to Dallas-Fort Worth.
On the way to the airport, ESPN.com reported, Herman and Spiller stopped to help a woman who fell, waiting with her until an ambulance arrived.
“Now boarding the plane,” Herman tweeted at 5:51 a.m. “Please pray for those still on the roads. Probably 24 hrs til cleared.”
“It was scary out there, and there are kids and families out there trying to figure out what’s going on and what to do, and I’m still thinking about them,” Herman told ESPN.com. “I didn’t do anything heroic or anything.”
Remember all that concern about putting the Super Bowl in New Jersey? At least it’s not in Atlanta.
■ PICTURE THIS — The Texas Rangers took a flyer on Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson last month, selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft.
Wilson last played baseball two years ago, but it’s a low-risk move for the Rangers.
Good luck finding someone who thinks Wilson will be suiting up in Arlington this summer.
Well, almost anyone.
Topps created a card with Wilson at bat in a Rangers uniform.
Maybe Wilson will go to spring training with the Rangers, but having led Seattle to Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Seahawks might have an issue with a second career.
■ DEAD END — NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup has been a disaster, a terrible way to decide a series champion.
That system makes what happened over most of the season almost irrelevant, and instead of creating attention with the playoff format, gets lost each fall as America has turned its attention to football.
Now instead of fixing the problem, NASCAR today will announce a new system that is expected to use an elimination format with four drivers eligible for the title by the final race in Homestead-Miami.
“If we’re going to do this and we’re going to eliminate people, you might as well just line the final four guys up and have a 10-lap race,” driver Carl Edwards told reporters.
Standing “O” for the man known for his backflips.
COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL