The news that Bobby Bowden finally is stepping down as Florida State’s head coach gives me mixed emotions. As a longtime sporting journalist and college football fan, I felt it was time. And as an Alabama native, I feel a personal connection and another sense of how fast time goes.

First, it was time, whether Bowden or others agree. His record is impressive, but this is a “what have you done for me lately” world. The Seminoles have won nine games just once since 2005, and they have become doormats for state rival Florida. That’s a distinct turnabout from the ’90s, when Bowden was the only coach around who could consistently beat Steve Spurrier at Florida.

And I was disappointed recently at the way Bowden tried to rally sympathy. His wife, Ann, repeatedly made statements to the media on his behalf, and I saw a locker room shot on TV with Bowden and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. These are lame attempts to divert attention from the only thing that matters — his coaching record. If Bowden had only won 37 games in his first five seasons at FSU, he would not have survived.

 I suspect that Bowden was hanging on to try to pass Joe Paterno for the No. 1 spot in all time wins. But in doing so, he was putting the program and the university behind his own goals. And he doesn’t — or shouldn’t — need the money.

But en toto, Bowden can be proud. As a young journalist in Macon, GA, I remember how excited the locals were when he came to nearby Warner Robins and signed defensive lineman Ron Simmons from the powerhouse high school team that won a mythical national title. That team also included future stars James Brooks (Auburn, San Diego Chargers) and Jimmy Womack (Georgia). “Ron Simmons did for our program,” Bowden said, “what Tony Dorsett did for Pitt.”

Bowden, like all members of my immediate family, was a native of Birmingham, AL. He attended Woodlawn High School, as did my parents. They saw him years later at a reunion, and informed Bowden that I was a sporting journalist in Macon. “Tell him,” Bowden responded, “to give us some good coverage.”

Sticky situations like Bowden’s though, sometimes happen when a legend does not want to give up power. Remember how Jerry Jones gave Tom Landry the bum’s rush when Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys? Landry had long since become ineffective, but no one of that stature needs to find out second hand that he’s being replaced.

However, Bear Bryant and Vince Dooley are examples of coaches who knew that the time had come to give way to younger, more energetic people. That is vital to recruiting. And their disciplined, grind it out style would not fly in today’s speed-oriented game.

Bowden’s unique flavor will be missed. You won’t see any more coaches on ESPN say “we’re fixin’ ta” when they mean “we’re preparing to,” or expressions like “goldurnit” and “dadgummit.” Media flock to that like a duck on a june bug. (Check Clark Gable’s dialogue in “GWTW” on this expression. Really.)

So Bowden now goes into the sunset. How can we forget, too, the incredible coincidence of Bowden having to beat son Tommy (then Clemson’s coach) for his 300th victory. And the incredible stream of successful teams and NFL players that FSU produced in the ’90s.

I was only around him once, at a media event when the Seminoles played Georgia in the 1984 Citrus Bowl in Orlando. It was a lot of coachspeak, with Vince Dooley nearing the end of his career and Bowden having yet to hit full stride. But his having to be nudged out can’t take away the full impact of a fellow who always believed in himself.

Headlines about Boris Yeltsin greeted West Coast readers on 1/1/2000

Ah, wasn’t life simple then? The biggest national concern was Y2K, and that almost seemed secondary to the excitement of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to witness a new millennium dawning.

Now, the first decade of the 2000s is nearly done, and what a different world we live in now. People and events making an impact since then include Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, the deadlocked 2000 U.S. presidential election, the New England Patriots, and Web 2.0.

I’m a pack rat as far as retaining news clippings, pictures, etc. And my above shot of the Jan. 1, 2000, editions of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register (I was working at the Register then) showed that Boris Yeltsin stole the show as the clocks turned on the new decade. And this pic shows the look of CNN.com in those days.

And for me, it was the most eventful 10 years I’ve been through. Maybe that’s standard for those of us lucky enough to keep getting older in good health. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever compile more meaningful memories in a 10-year span. In no particular order, my top five events of the past decade. (I’m sharing them now before everyone gets absorbed with Christmas presents and the BCS.)

– Moving back to Atlanta: Hardest decision EVER, after 12 years in The OC and 22 in SoCal. Few big decisions are open and shut, and so it was here. But being a UGA grad, it made sense at the time, especially since I’ve visited and kept contacts open during all the years. The collapse of the SoCal real estate market since then is some solace for missing beach time in the winter.

– Cruises to Mexico: I took three — 2003, 2004, 2006 — and each was memorable. Being in a floating city with no cell-phone use is the ultimate getaway, and you could feed a small country with all the food on board. Mexico is a beautiful country, but very poor. The magnificent scenery and culture is mixed with the tragic sight of children selling trinkets to cruise-ship passengers as they go to and from the city in Ensenada. It gets worse than the US, folks. (Honorable mention: two trips to Las Vegas, including one to see Celine Dion.)

– News media changes: My career was forever altered after the 9/11 terror attacks and resulting ad downfall forced massive downsizing at the Register, as well as other papers and industries. The silver lining: I and others had to use other talents. I proved I can pass the difficult Series 7 licensing necessary to be a stock broker/financial planner,and I got two company-paid training trips to San Francisco. Who knows, I may get back into it someday, and I can effectively write about it.

– California as visitor: It was a real tonic to go back to the Golden State  this month for the first time since moving away. Dismal headlines and TV reports do not tell the whole story. Sunbathing in November and being able to watch TV shows after “Monday Night Football” are things you can’t do just anywhere. And I knew all the right spots to hit in Newport Beach for a gooey cinnamon roll and Christmas gifts for family.

– Becoming a new media aficionado: This is somewhat different than the previous media category. When a door closes, another opens, but no one is sure which one. I’ve gotten heavy into social media since returning to Atlanta in 2007. I even spoke on a social media panel that the AJC assembled in March for newsroom personnel, and CNN has included my Tweetup videos in news coverage. Everyone likes recognition.

That’s all for now. It would be interesting to hear others’ memories of the past decade, and I plan to offer some predictions for the coming years.

Seeing the movie “Julie and Julia” a few months ago got me thinking. Cooking? Well, my own culinary efforts are OK as long as there’s a recipe nearby. But I’m more comfortable with a microwave, and I never met a buffet restaurant I didn’t like.

Seeing Meryl Streep’s excellent portrayal of famous cook Julia Child also stoked another memory of an enteprising reporting effort of my younger days that is particularly appropriate this week.

In the fall of 1975, a colleague from the UGA student newspaper (who is now a New York-area reporter for The Sporting News) and I ventured from Athens to Atlanta to interview Pepper Rodgers, then in his second season as Georgia Tech’s football coach. The intent was to have a magazine-style piece in the paper leading up to the traditional game with the Bulldogs.

Then, as now, the status of the Jackets’ and Bulldogs’ programs were an interesting contrast. In ‘75, Tech was having to battle the relatively new NFL competitor, the Falcons, for fans and money, as well as the established winning program of Georgia under Vince Dooley.

And now, Georgia Tech has emerged as the stronger program in the state, being ranked in the top 10 in Paul Johnson’s second season as head coach.

In ‘74, Tech lured Rodgers, an Atlanta native and former Jackets QB, away from UCLA to add personality and spice to a program that had slumped since Bobby Dodd retired after the ‘66 season. Rodgers installed the Wishbone offense, wore his hair in trendy fashion and started associating with entertainment types in Atlanta. He made an emphatic point with a 34-14 victory over Georgia in Athens to end the ‘74 season.

And Rodgers was in top form when he received us in his Atlanta office. He was wearing a shoulder bag, and he immediately related how he met Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts backstage at a recent concert. He allowed Georgia Tech players to listen to rock music in the locker room. (At the time, Georgia did not allow this.) Also, he allowed his players to wear facial hair and have no curfew; it was just the opposite for Bulldog players then. (Vince Dooley had a markedly different style than Rodgers; Dooley had a Master’s degree in history, was a former Marine and wore a necktie on the sideline.)

After some banter in his office, Rodgers drove us to a nearby TV studio for his weekly show taping. Guest that week, was, yes, Julia Child. (I’m going from my original clipping from The Red and Black as well as memory; this is also another reason I will never again leave my house without a camera.) Remember, Rodgers had a mandate to spice up the Tech program. Also, as a former coach at UCLA, he knew all about the glitz and entertainment world in Los Angeles.

He also gave us both T-shirts reading “Pepper Power,” with his pic and a golden wishbone on the front. You’d never believe the grief I got in later years from UGA fans for wearing it. But I’ve never been around a more accommodating or interesting interview subject.

Some other Rodgers quotes from this interview:

– “Notice how I don’t have any pictures on my wall. I don’t believe in the past, and I don’t live in the future.”

– “I would never take another college or professional coaching job.” He was fired by Georgia Tech after the ‘79 season and later coached the Memphis Showboats of the USFL. As a Washington Redskins exec, he paved the way for hiring Steve Spurrier as coach; Spurrier coached under Rodgers at Tech.

Charisma doesn’t line up on the field, though, and Georgia got even for the ‘74 loss with a 42-26 victory over Tech in Atlanta in ‘75. Tech only beat the Bulldogs once more under Rodgers.

Not sure of Rodgers’ whereabouts now, but he certainly left a memorable impression on two young reporters. I got no such warm fuzzies over watching “The Men Who Stare At Goats.”

Enjoying the teacup ride with niece at Disneyland, 1999

Well, I could go on forever about things I like about California. But I’m going to tie it up for now with five more. Here goes:

– San Francisco: I never lived in the northern part of the state, but I traveled to this memorable city three times. Unfortunately, I did not take any pics, but the images in my mind are terrific. Riding cable cars, eating from sourdough bread bowls at Fisherman’s Wharf and viewing the architecture at the top of Nob Hill are events not to be missed. This is a city that everyone needs to visit at least once.

– Shopping malls: No better place to part with money. Venues such as South Coast Plaza, the Irvine Spectrum and Fashion Valley have all the major stores and some specific to the area. The most unique to me is Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego, whose parking area is labeled by fruits, not letters and numbers. Probably still some shoppers wandering around in there from the grand opening.

– Golf courses: A direct result of the weather. You are never more than a 9-iron away from quality links. They range from the famous (Torrey Pines in San Diego, site of several major tourneys) to the regular, dog-eared muni. Hey, the adventures include animals. Once in Bonita, a duck started nibbling on my golf bag as I waited to tee off. And in Chula Vista, a crab dug his claws into my index finger when I reached for my ball in a dry creek bed after an errant shot.

–Freeways: Equally loved and cursed by the locals, these are indispensable to life in SoCal. They have names as well as numbers — the San Diego Freeway, aka I-5, extends all the way to LA. And there are names that strike terror — the Orange Crush, the El Toro Y. But roll down the top on a convertible and drive along one, and you’ll be hooked, too.

– Theme parks: The best known, of course, is the D-word in Anaheim where Goofy, Snow White and the world’s most famous mouse live. But there’s also the sister park, California Adventure, as well as others. In Santa Monica, there’s an amusement park on the pier. In San Diego, there’s the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. This entry seems like the perfect one to tie things up with. “C” you real soon. “Y?” Because we LIKE you.

Killer whale Shamu poses for fans at Sea World in San Diego, 1991

My previous post gave five things to like about California, but you had to know that wouldn’t be all. Hey, there are books, TV shows, movies, etc., about the state’s virtues, if you care to look past the current dismal headlines. My 22 years of living there and my recent visit prompt me to throw out five more likable things.

– Beaches: For my money, no other state comes close. Those free spirits lifting weights on Venice Beach in LA or playing hoops at Laguna Beach in The OC show how addictive the mild weather and surf can be. My personal favorite is Pacific Beach in San Diego, where I did a lot of running on the boardwalk, especially to train for the ‘91 LA Marathon (finish time: 4 hours, 27 minutes).

– History: California joined the US in 1850, but its legacy is not as rich as states that include Civil War battlefields. But the swallows still flock back to the mission (founded in the 1770s) in San Juan Capistrano every year. And Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, which opened in 1927, is the world’s most famous.

– Mexican food: Every region of the US has its culinary flavors. But you haven’t lived until you’ve had the fare at the Old Town Mexican Cafe in San Diego, and one of those big margaritas. You can watch them prepare the goods the old-fashioned way.

– Media: Newspapers are waning in influence these days, but the LA area is one of the few with two major metros. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register still command a lot of attention. And there are a slew of radio stations that always keep the seek/scan button interesting. KNX is wonderful for news, and KOST has great music, particularly as you cruise the freeways in the evening, city lights twinking …

– Landscape: You can surf and ski in the same day in SoCal, if weather permits. So with mountains and beaches in such proximity, it’s a treasure trove for anyone wielding a camera. I was fortunate enough to live in houses that allowed views of mountains and golf courses. (See above video.) Those don’t exist just anywhere.

It’s fashionable these days to knock the Golden State. High unemployment, high taxes, high cost of living. Well, my response is that everything has a price.

I lived there for 22 years, in San Diego and Orange counties, and still rank that time as my most memorable, professionally and personally. (My moving away had nothing to do with California.) My recent vacation there restored the dormant warm fuzzies, and whetted my appetite for more. Something about wearing shorts in November …

But it’s not just good weather that makes California a state without peer. I’d like to pass along some insight on other extras. So, five things I really like about California.

– Pacific time: I was watching the recent Monday night football game between Atlanta and New Orleans. In the second half, it was still only 8 pm. On the East Coast, it’s all I can do to stay up for the conclusion of an important game.

– Excellent sporting landscape: Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels (residents of Orange County, where the Angels play home games, dislike the LA name on their team) made it into baseball’s final four teams. And the USC Trojans have been one of college football’s dominant teams in this decade, and have a memorable tradition. Don’t forget UCLA’s basketball team, still a national power. And John Wooden can still tell you about it.

– News you won’t see anywhere else: During my recent visit, a front-page story in The Orange County Register told of medical-marijuana dispensaries in Dana Point being ordered to hand over records to city officials. Also, a news story reported that a serial-murder suspect who is defending himself in a death penalty trial pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Only in California …

– Great natural beauty: My above video shows some of the natural wonders of Catalina Island, technically part of Los Angeles County. Hey, sometimes schoolchildren there have to take “mud days” off. There are many other examples. Environmentalists can throw some red tape at building projects in California, but they have a lot to protect.

– People: The stereotype is La La Land, of course. But hey, everyone in the South does not resemble a Jeff Foxworthy joke. California is a melting pot, and I can point out plenty of natives who eat three meals a day, raise children and pay taxes just like people everywhere else. As the song says, you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank, left, after recent Atlanta Press Club speech

Add Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank to the lengthy list of pro sports owners who are tactfully telling taxpayers that they want their funds to help build a new stadium.

And for the first time, include me among those who don’t think it’s such a great idea.

In a recent speech to the Atlanta Press Club, Blank reiterated his call for a public-private partnership to fund a new home facility for his team. The Falcons began play in the state-owned Georgia Dome in 1992, but Blank noted that 25 of the other 31 NFL teams now play in newer facilities. That gives them more options for revenue from parking, corporate skyboxes, etc.

The veiled threat, of course, is that if Blank does not get what he wants, he’ll move the team to a city that will pay his price. This threat has worked before. The Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and Baltimore Ravens are among the franchises that sold themselves to the highest municipal bidder.

As a Southern California resident, I remember how in 1998 the San Diego Padres repeatedly told local residents how they could not afford to continue losing money. They then went out and acquired pitcher Kevin Brown in a desperate (and successful) attempt to reach the World Series and inflame local voters enough to approve tax money for a baseball-only facility. It’s now a reality (Petco Park). However, keeping the Padres in town has not been a tonic for the city overall. Like many other municipalities, it’s struggling with the national recession, which has hit California particularly hard. And the Padres haven’t been back to the World Series since moving into the new stadium.

Thus, my argument against using tax money for helping a private enterprise, the Falcons, build a new stadium. Teams and cities often cite studies showing how pro sports generates jobs and tax revenue, but that obviously has not worked in San Diego, the nation’s eighth-largest city (1.25 million). And in the Atlanta area, teachers are being furloughed and municipal offices and libraries are shortening work weeks because of the economic downturn. It seems more important to shore up those things that to roll out a new carpet for millionaire athletes or corporate suites for high rollers.

Most fans can’t afford a ticket to an NFL game anyway, and you get a better view on TV, not to mention replay.

And it doesn’t mean a new stadium would not happen. The Atlanta Braves play in what was the track stadium for the 1996 Olympics, an enterprise that did not require a dime of public money. And California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose state almost had to give teachers IOUs in their pay envelopes, recently gave approval to private development of a 75,000-seat NFL stadium in the LA area. The “governator” had to waive some environmental regulations, but he made it clear that there was no public money available for this beyond a bond measure by the local city itself.

So if Newell Rubbermaid or Georgia-Pacific needed a new facility in Atlanta, do you think taxpayers would care? Emotions can cloud reason.

"60 Minutes" correspondent Byron Pitts, left, speaks with Steve Schwaid of CBS Atlanta

Byron Pitts recalls meeting with fellow “60 Minutes” correspondent and broadcasting legend Dan Rather before Pitts was to go to Afghanistan. “Who are the people you love?” Rather asked Pitts. After thinking about it and responding, Pitts said Rather continued, “Write them a letter and tell them you love them. Because when you go to a place like Afghanistan, you might not come back.”

Pitts discussed Rather, “60 Minutes” and other television matters recently in an Atlanta Press Club speech (10/13/09). And his tone was markedly different from the attack mentality that often prevails on “60 Minutes.” For instance, Pitts was open about his Baptist faith, and he told of being diagnosed as functionally illiterate in his youth. So he is appreciative of his position and the obstacles he has had to overcome.

His parents separated when Pitts was 12 in Baltimore, and he was left in the care of his mother, Clarice. It was a hard world, where he was bullied, where he had a stuttering problem and where a therapist once diagnosed him as “retarted.” … “Whenever I see a young person run afoul (of the law), I think there but for the grace of God go I.”

But he eventually attended Ohio Wesleyan. His television background includes a stint at WSB in Atlanta. “I don’t believe in the boostraps theory,” Pitts said. He was told as a youth that if you want to make it in a “white world,” you have got to get along with the people.

“If there’s something you want in life, claim it,” Pitts said. “I said I wanted to be a correspondent on ‘60 Minutes’ by the time I was 45. I made it when I was 48, so I was a bit (ticked),” he joked.

That has given him an insider’s view of a long-running program and some of the well-known journalists who have made happen. He described Diane Sawyer (now with ABC) as “elegant … unlike Mike Wallace, she never undresses anyone in an interview.” Pitts described Sam Donaldson as “abusive and mean” and the late Ed Bradley as “a black man when there were not many blacks on TV.” Yes, it’s a hard-nosed environment. “If you are going to be on “60 Minutes,” you’ve got to be comfortable with profanity,” he noted.

Rather, whose career was derailed by the controversial and inaccurate report on former President Bush’s National Guard service, was described as a good friend, honorable and a hard worker. “Perhaps management allowed him to be too out front,” Pitts said. “If you are going to take down the king, you have got to be sure that every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed, and that wasn’t done.”

Pitts said he likes to pursue “physical stories” for “60 Minutes.” “I like to go places where it’s hard to get to, and I like people with small stories.” He said searching for truth is not enough, that he also tries to add “context and perspective.”

The thing about reading a book on someone who is famous for words or music (or both) is that you wonder whether a book alone can do the subject justice. I once read a book about Mick Jagger and I almost expected to hear an outrageous version of “Sympathy for the Devil” when I opened the front cover.

But after reading “From Herschel To A Hobnail Boot,” a biography/memoir of legendary Georgia Bulldogs announcer Larry Munson, I could almost hear echoes of those memorable calls and that gravelly voice. It was double fun when Munson and co-author Tony Barnhart (ajc.com blogger and CBS-TV commentator) included a CD of Munson’s greatest calls with the book. At last, something to listen to besides Miley’s climb and that Black Eyed Peas song.

Munson, who retired in 2008 after 43 years of calling Bulldogs games, is as memorable as it gets. (Disclosure: I’m a UGA alum and classmate of co-author Barnhart.) Emotion is a critical part of college football, and it’s probably more intense in the South than anywhere. Hey, they also get serious over the sport in Southern California (where I lived for 22 years), but when the game’s over there, you can go to the beach or Disneyland. In the South, fans may leave the stadium, but they take a part of the game home with them.

Among the interesting things about the Munson book were the big names he rubbed elbows with in his early days, and the travails he had in some non-Bulldog endeavors. For instance, he toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra as a piano player when that group had a young singer who went on to movie stardom. And Munson’s first broadcasting job was in Wyoming, where he replaced someone who went on to become a national TV fixture calling major league baseball. (Hey, movie reviewers don’t give away the finish.)

But everyone has struggles, and so did Munson, a Minnesota native who used World War II discharge money to go to broadcasting school. He describes being forced out of his Atlanta Braves job by lead announcer Milo Hamilton, and Munson also had some run-ins with Jerry Glanville when Munson took on radio duties with the Atlanta Falcons.

College football, obviously, was the perfect fit. As a UGA student, I remember being in the Gator Bowl stands in 1975 for the memorable Appleby-to-Washington pass. Back in Athens the next week, longtime UGA sports publicist Claude Felton replayed Munson’s call of the play, and I was so taken by the excitement that I repeatedly listened to it all week. I was hooked on Munson from then on.

Munson showed that connections matter. He landed the UGA gig in 1966 because he knew AD Joel Eaves, a former Auburn basketball coach,  from Munson’s days as Vanderbilt basketball announcer in Nashville, Tenn. And he hit UGA at a good time, as Georgia won SEC titles in ‘66 and ‘68, giving him additional excitement to create for fans.

Now, though, he’s gone from the airwaves. And I can’t help but feel an era is ending for all such announcers, radio and TV. Also done are people such as Ernie Harwell, Jack Buck, Cawood Ledford. Only Vin Scully, now 81 and who has been calling LA Dodgers baseball since the Brooklyn years, remains from the old school genre that was  identified with one team, and began on radio. With so much college football on television now, and live streaming on the Internet, radio is less of a factor.

“Guys like us, we’re like an old shoe,” Harwell once said. Munson agreed in his book, noting how much more of a business broadcasting has become.

Still, when I or almost anyone else watches a Bulldogs game or listens on radio, we’ll always imagine how Larry Munson would have called the action. And we’ll still have the book and CD.

It says something about the Atlanta Falcons’ history that their winningest coach, Dan Reeves, has an overall record under .500 with the team. And that the second-winningest coach, Leeman Bennett, was fired after a playoff game.

But that’s the case. Now the Falcons are 3-1 in 2009 and coming off a playoff appearance in a season in which they went 11-5 under a rookie QB, a first-year head coach and a new general manager.

Falcons fans, of course, are wondering whether the team that has never had consecutive winning seasons will break the pattern. Owner Arthur Blank, in a speech (10/8/09) to the Atlanta Press Club, made his case for the fact that the team has a sufficient foundation for winning.

He said he’s focused on building a “sustainably winning organization,” and made comparisons with the way he built Home Depot, the successful home improvement chain he co-founded with Bernie Marcus. Blank noted that at Home Depot, the corporate brass focused on “what’s wrong. That is the mentality of the football team,” Blank said. After last year’s playoff run ended, the Falcons added Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez and linebacker Mike Peterson. He emphasized that the Falcons are looking at 2009 with a “humble and hungry” attitude.

Blank talked of the “shared vision” between coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff. Sounds much like the setup of the “Grits Blitz” days of the late ’70s and early ’80s, which produced three playoff teams in five years (1978, ‘80, ‘82). But yes, no back-to-back winning seasons.

The Falcons owner, though, also has to focus on non-football matters, and he was open about the fact that the team desires a new stadium to stay financially competitive with other NFL teams. He noted that 25 of the 31 other teams have stadiums newer than the Georgia Dome. “Our competitive edge is dulling,” he said. The Falcons have committed $53 million to making it happen, with Blank saying he expects support from the public sector. Scouting and planning for a new facility is in “early stage.” The Falcons’ lease at the Georgia Dome expires in 2020, or when bonds are paid off.

The owner is also mindful of the recession that Atlanta and the rest of the country is in. He feels that a recovery will happen, though “it will be one only a statistician could love,” meaning that it will be slow. He feels there will be some “permanent scarring” among consumers that could force the Falcons to be more responsive.

And the owner addressed the controversial matter of former Falcons QB Michael Vick. Of course, Vick is back in the NFL with Philadelphia after a prison term and a scandal that forced the Falcons’ rebuilding.

“I’m happy he’s in Philadelphia,” Blank told the press club. “I’m excited that he will be back in the Georgia Dome (on Dec. 6), and it will be interesting to see him in a different uniform. … I’m supportive of the commissioner’s decision (to reinstate Vick).”