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Off the Cuff with Mookie Dunkleman
Video Services Coordinator, Matt Moore, gives you a look at what is going on behind the lens.
Monday June 9, 2008
Not Now Need Sleepy
Posted by: Matt Moore at 9:58PM EST on June 9, 2008
I would love to tell you more about the rest of the day and how amazing Terrance Mathis' speech was but I need to go to bed. I have been up since 3:50 this morning.

I will put together the video tomorrow as well as write more about what went on today.

But now it is time to pBum out.
Checking In From Canton
Posted by: Matt Moore at 12:54PM EST on June 9, 2008
I am checking in from the lunch room at the Hall of Fame. We are on one side and the Dolphins are on the other side(Jake Long had a very impressive plate).

This day has been phenomenal.
 
I will tell you that this place is a must for anyone who is a football fan. The history that we took in today was amazing. You really do feel like you are part of something special when you walk the halls of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We were going to wrap up lunch then Terrance Mathis is going to talk to our group. I may have failed to mention in my earlier post that we are joined today by Mathis and assistant coaches Alvin Reynolds (defensive backs) and Paul Dunn(assistant offensive line).

But before we go listen to Terrance, I thought I would give you a few highlights from the day.

  • The Bust Room. That has to be the highlight of the day. When you walk into the room and see the 247 busts, it takes your breath away. Because we were up so early, a lot of us were yawning and tired. But when we walked into the bust room, everyone was wide awake and alert. 
  • Sam Baker and Jackie Slater. Sam Baker immediately found Slater's bust and asked me to take a picture of him in front of it. Sam told me he would not be where he is today if it were not for Jackie. Slater was a family friend of the Bakers and he really helped Sam out a lot.
  • The Super Bowl Ring Room. Every ring from every Super Bowl is on display here. It really makes you jealous of the other teams that have one. They are all impressive but the one I found the most impressive was the New England Patriots ring from 2005. It has 124 diamonds and is weighted at five carats.
  • Terrance Mathis and His Passion. Mathis has such a passion for the game of football. He was mesmerized by every exhibit and loved talking to the rookies about his days in the league.
OK, I am late for the next session. I will check in late and be sure to look for my video on AF.com tomorrow!
The Amazing Race
Posted by: Matt Moore at 5:19AM EST on June 9, 2008
Ok so I must tell you that it seems kind of odd to be on a charter bus traveling south on I-85 headed to the airport to get on a plane that will take me to Canton, Ohio. Oh and did I mention that it is 4:50am right now?

I mean it is normal to fly to Canton and back. The part that feels weird is that I have zero luggage(besides this computer and a camera) and I am joined on the bus by 20 Atlanta Falcon rookies and rookie free agents.

That is right, we are taking the trip to Canton in one day. We all stayed at Emerald Point Resort in Lake Lanier Islands and in about 4 hours we will be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a day of events.

I will be checking in when I can to update you on how the trip is going.

All I know is that a 3:50am wake up call is tough. My roommate last night was Football Communications Coordinator, Matt Conti.

We were both really tired and cranky when the wake up call occurred, however we quickly change our tune when we turned on the tv and saw that COPS was playing.

Why is it that everytime I watch that show a routine traffic stop turns into a chase scene followed by many bleeps and blurs? Seriously, I love that show.

I am going to try and get a quick nap in before we arrive at the airport like Sam Baker is currently doing. 

He is out cold right now. I may have to wake him up when we stop.

I will try and check back in soon.
Tuesday June 3, 2008
Hey have you ever though about entering one of those long drive competitions?
Posted by: Matt Moore at 2:27PM EST on June 3, 2008
I think I am going to put an ad on Craigslist today and it is going to say this:

"Golfer who can sometimes hit a straight drive 350 yards but can't do anything else would love to play on your scramble golf team. I can't putt -- not even gimme putts. Seriously I am the worst putter ever. But did I mention I can straight mash off the tee? I mean sometimes it goes straight. I will even grunt occasionally when I hit it and chest bump a Falcons fullback when I do hit a good one. If interested please contact Mookie Dunkleman."

That is pretty much what I learned about my golf game yesterday when I had the privilege to play in the Verizon Wireless Network of Champions Golf Tournament.

As you can read from my ad, I really have zero short game. I think I know how Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblauch felt when they had to throw the ball from second to first base.

That is how I feel when I step onto the putting green.

Now I know I sound depressed.

Not true at all.

I had the best time ever yesterday. I had the privilege of playing with Eric Hagar from WSB Sports, Kenny Price from WXIA Sports, J. Michael Moore from Atlantafalcons.com, and Falcons fullback Corey McIntyre.

The five of us may have finished in a tie for 21st, but if you kept score on number of jokes and amount of laughter we would have crushed the rest of the field.

After I told J. Mike to relax after hitting another screamer into the water, I turned to him and said that of all the Falcons that we could have played with, Corey McIntyre is the perfect person for our team.

The man is hilarious and he hits his drives like I do.Very hard but you never know where they are going.

But I do have to tell you about the highlight of my day...

It was the Par 3 12th hole. It was the hole for the hole in one hole competition. If you knocked the ball into the cup, you won a Lincoln Navigator.

I think it was around 179 yards so I hit a teed up 7 wood and away it went.

Left to right and it landed five feet from the hole. I was the closest contestant all day to winning the car.

But we weren't playing horseshoes, we were playing golf.

So no prize for me.

Anyway, please invite us back next year, Verizon. It was one of the best times I have had in a while!

Saturday April 26, 2008
The Joke that Never Gets Old
Posted by: Matt Moore at 1:11PM EST on April 26, 2008
I am sure that many other blogs will post this video today but I just have to put it in my blog.

My hope for today's draft is that Darren McFadden is still on the board when the Jets pick and that they don't pick him.

Friday March 21, 2008
Oh the Madness!
Posted by: Matt Moore at 4:27PM EST on March 21, 2008
I am looking over at J. Mike right now and you can't wipe the smile off his face. That's because his alma mater, Western Kentucky, just beat Drake on a buzzer beater.

We went nuts. We were giving him high fives and congratulating him.

It reminded me of one of my favorite things in life.

That is going to a crowded restaurant or bar to watch a game.

I love when you start cheering for a team and then notice that the guy down the bar from you is cheering for the same team.

You give him the head nod or fist pump.

Now you two are boys. It is like you were friends forever. Fraternity brothers even.

You cheer or are in anguish after each play.

When a timeout is called you hurry to the restroom but you make sure you stop by the guy at the bar to tell him you garantee that the defense will step up and everything will be alright.

Like I said... Friends forever.

I had this happen last night during the Duke Belmont game. I hate Duke so I was hoping for the improbable upset as was the rest of the bar.

I am talking high fives all night.

During the closing moments of the game, my new friends and I just knew that Belmont was going to pull a Christian Laettner and give Duke a taste of their own medicine.

Unfortunately it didn't happen and I will have to cheer against Duke on Saturday, but I love how sports can bring people together.

Happy March Madness everyone. Now please enjoy this clip of my favorite announcer Gus Johnson calling a classic tournament game...

Tuesday March 18, 2008
Mookie D on the Herb Winches Show
Posted by: Matt Moore at 4:46PM EST on March 18, 2008
Once again I would like to thank Herb Winches out of 960AM in Birmingham for having me on.

Herb asked me about being at the Georgia Dome last Friday.

Here is the audio(by the way you will notice that we recorded this on free ware but you can still hear the interview and that is what is important).



Mookie D is Going on Air
Posted by: Matt Moore at 10:13AM EST on March 18, 2008
That's right Mookie D will make his AM radio debut today at 3:35et.

The good folks from the Herb Winches , show on 960am in Birmingham Alabama, read my blog and have asked me to come on and talk to them about being inside the dome when the tornado hit on Friday night.

So please tune in and listen around 3:30.

I will let you know how it goes.




Monday March 17, 2008
A Surreal Weekend
Posted by: Matt Moore at 11:02AM EST on March 17, 2008
As you probably read, I was in the Georgia Dome on Friday night when the tornado came through Atlanta. I mean what a surreal experience.

I thought I would go into more detail about what I witnessed when it all went down.

I was so excited to be in the Georgia Dome. "Falcon Al" had the hook up with some sweet floor seats and my friend Jim Wood also joined us. The dome had an electric feel to it because all of the Kentucky fans were getting ready to cheer against my bulldogs and the Alabama-Miss State game had just gone into overtime.

Looking back, the best thing that happened that night was the Bama game going into overtime. I am sure a lot of people would have left after that game and would have walked right into the tornado.

So as the Bama game was finishing up, I was cheering for the Tide to send it into another overtime.

I wanted more basketball.

Then all of the sudden time just seemed to stop.

It was just mass confusion. I had heard there was bad weather in the area so at first I thought it was just heavy rain.

Then I realized that this was much worse than just heavy rain. It almost felt like every person in the dome started stomping their feet at the same time. The whole building was shaking.

I didn't know what to do. Some people were running for cover but I just looked up and watched it.

You can't imagine what the roof looked liked when the tornado hit. It looked like the panels were bed sheets. They were just that flimsy.

You always hear people say that a tornado sounds like a train but it really does. That is the only way to describe it.

The crazy part was seeing all of the scaffolding and the scoreboards swaying. Then people were pointing at the hole in the side of the dome. You could actually see lightning striking outside.

I honestly think that the SEC and dome officials made the right choice in canceling the second game.

So we left the game and it was very scary driving home. Northside Drive was a disaster.

The World Congress Center was a mess. All of the windows were broken and there was just water spraying everywhere.

So that is my account of being in the Dome when the storm hit. Leave a comment and tell me what you were doing when the tornado hit our hometown.













Friday March 14, 2008
It is 10:05 p.m.
Posted by: Matt Moore at 10:12PM EST on March 14, 2008
It is 10:05 p.m. and I am in the Georgia Dome for the UGA-UK game. A tornado just hit the dome. Everyone is OK but the Dome was shaking!



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