Regulators Got Tickets, Did Drugs On The Job In The Gulf

((HT: CNN))

Yeah, we know this is a news story...

But with an entire ecosystem going down the tubes in Louisiana, the HQ figured you might want to know about your government at work... or not at work...

Federal inspectors overseeing oil drilling in the Gulf accepted meals and tickets to sporting events from companies they monitored, according to the Interior Department's inspector general.

Some accepted tickets to the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. One inspector told an office clerk, "Everyone has gotten some sort of gift before at some point," while another admitted that it was okay that they went because they were a big LSU fan...

This was the game held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta because of Hurricane Katrina...

An inspector in the Minerals Management Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, conducted inspections of four offshore platforms while negotiating a job with the company. Others let oil and gas company workers fill out their inspection forms in pencil, with the inspectors writing over those entries in ink before turning them in.

Let's just say that the MMS is at the center of a big joke right now that has nothing- and everything- to do with British Petroleum...

Brian Todd was on patrol in Washington, DC

SEC Title Game Stays In ATL Through 2015

From the SEC their own selves...

The Southeastern Conference championship game will remain at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta at least through 2015.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said Monday the league has agreed on a five-year extension to keep the game at the Dome.

The game has sold out every year except for 1995, the year after its move to the dome.

Last year's matchup between Alabama and Florida drew nearly 76,000 fans, the most to attend a sporting event in the Georgia Dome.

The 2009 championship game will be Dec. 5.

Falcons Looking For A New Barn...?

((HT:AJC))

D. Orlando Ledbetter lets us know that Arthur Blank may be looking to build his own stadium for his football team and have it open by the time his lease at the Georgia Dome ((pictured, thanks GWCC)) expires.

Arthur Blank says he wants the Falcons to continue to play home games downtown. However, the owner and team officials have explored a number of sites in metro Atlanta to build a new stadium.

In addition to discussions with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority about a new stadium, five sites are currently under consideration by the team. They are Fort McPherson, the General Motors plant in Doraville, Honor Farm, Bellwood Quarry and a site owned by Waste Management near Forest Park.

However, the Falcons have not had discussions with the owners of those sites. The only formal conversations about a stadium have been with the GWCC, manager of the Georgia Dome.

Waste Management spokeswoman JoAnn Birrell said the Falcons had not contacted the trash company and she was unaware of any interest by the team.

The possibility of a new Dome was included in a master plan announced late last year by the GWCCA.

“Our number 1 priority is to continue to work with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and stay downtown,” Blank said earlier this month.

The Falcons are in the lower fourth of the National Football League in revenue. Blank wants a better lease and more management control from the Authority or a new stadium where they control all or most.

The lease expires when the bonds sold to build the Dome are paid, which could be as early as 2016 or as late as 2020. It takes roughly seven years - from site development to construction - to complete an NFL stadium.

“Our job is to look at everything that potentially is available so we are aware of options that we have,” Blank said.

Here is a closer look at the sites under consideration:

Fort McPherson: Georgia’s oldest Army base is located in southwest Atlanta. It is scheduled to be closed by the federal government in 2011.

The GM plant in Doraville: The former automobile plant site is 165 acres along I-285 between Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Buford Highway and bordered by MARTA.

Honor Farm: The old Atlanta Prison Farm is a 290-acre property a half-mile east of Moreland Avenue in southwest DeKalb County.

Bellwood Quarry: The former gravel mine on 137 acres at 900 Lois Street in northwest Atlanta, now owned by the city, is near the Bankhead MARTA station.

Waste Management site: The Falcons said they have looked at property between 285 East and 75 South. Waste Management has a four-acre site near Ga. 42 in Forest Park.

For The First Time In 43 Years, ACC Tournament Tickets On Sale!!!!

Have you always wanted to go to the ACC Tournament but can't because no tickets have been available since 1966. Well here's you chance. Tickets for the ACC Tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta "will be available to the general public" for the first time since Lyndon Johnson was President and gas was .15 per gallon.

"Due to the unique combination of playing this year's tournament in a dome during very trying economic times, our league has the opportunity to offer a public sale of ACC Tournament tickets." said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. "Playing in the Georgia Dome provides a great stage for our conference teams and Atlanta has been a terrific partner. Having already sold more tickets to this year's tournament than the capacity of any of our other venues, our schools felt it would be appropriate to offer the remaining tickets to college basketball fans in the Atlanta area."

You see, there is a bright spot from this bad economy.

All remaining tickets available for purchase are upper deck seats and are priced at $363 for an 11-game tournament book.

Those of us at the OSG HQ are dialing the digits to secure our seats. See you there.

Just Plain Weird...

I have been to many big events with huge crowds but what I witnessed Sunday during the final of the SEC Tournament was bizarre. I was one of 1,500 invited guests at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Georgia Tech campus that witnessed Georgia’s most improbable run to a SEC Championship. It was more of a State High School Tournament atmosphere complete with the old school buzzer in the arena. All that was missing was the Booster Club selling bad hot dogs and microwave pizzas at the concession stand.

The 2008 SEC Tournament was just plain weird. First, what are the odds of a F2 Tornado ripping through downtown Atlanta and damaging the Georgia Dome while the game is still going on!!! I’m glad I left the building a hour and a half before all hell broke loose. That the Georgia Bulldogs had to play and also win 2 games on Saturday with the Dogs first game vs Kentucky going overtime, then win the SEC title on Sunday on sheer guts and lastly, cutting the nets in the building of it’s bitter in-state rival, Georgia Tech.

Looking back on the series of events this weekend at the SEC Tournament, it’s easy to be tougue and cheek over this but in all seriousness, the Southeastern Conference had a herculean task ahead of them. Executive Associate Commissioner Mark Womack and his entire staff made the best of an extreme situation and pulled it off. Think about all the logistics that had to be worked out. Finding a venue, getting cooperation from the athletic directors of the remaining schools playing and the television partners to re-schedule the games and what to do with the fans who travelled with their teams, these were all challenges for the SEC. I asked Womack Sunday how much sleep he’s gotten and Mark just smiled and said "Not very much."

Next year, the ACC Tournament takes place at the Georgia Dome and yes, they do have a plan in case all hell breaks loose again in downtown Atlanta. But if I reveal it, they would have to kill me.

That’s it, I’m spent.

--John Wilkerson