Possible tornado hits Atlanta, damages Georgia Dome, halts SEC tourney

Yikes: "The Mississippi State/Alabama overtime was already exciting, but it got even more exciting when what was either a hailstorm or a tornado -- referred to here as a 'hailnado' for convenience -- ripped past the Georgia Dome sometime around 9:45 p.m., halting play on the court and scaring the living daylights out of the SEC crowd." In addition to ripping a hole in the Georgia Dome roof and causing a ton of other damage in and near the arena, the storm also damaged CNN Center and caused all sorts of other havoc in downtown Atlanta. (Hat tip: NDLauren.)

They managed to finish the Mississippi State-Alabama game (the Bulldogs won), but the night's final SEC quarterfinal, between Kentucky and Georgia, was postponed till tomorrow morning. The winner will then have to play again tomorrow night, in the semis against Mississippi State. The SEC has no choice in this, really; its title game is on Selection Sunday afternoon, so it's not like they can delay the semifinals by a day.

Comments

[Andrew]

Couldn't they move the game down the road to the Georgia Tech campus or something?

[ScottF]

I was watching the game live and the footage was scary to watch. The suspended scaffolding was being blown back and forth and the ceiling of the Atlanta Dome was rippling under the wind from outside. One announcer held up a washer that had landed nearby. I would have been paranoid about what might have just lost a support cable or something. They finally decided to postpone the UGa-UK game when radar showed another system about to move through Atlanta.

When play was stopped, a Mississippi State player had just fouled Alabama's Alonzo Gee who was to shoot a one-and-one. The announcers speculated that the 65 minute delay might be the longest case of icing a player shooting free throws. It worked. Gee missed the front end when play resumed.

[Jay Johnson]

Wow. They are moving the games to Georgia Tech, even though the seating capacity of that arena is about half (or less) than the Georgia Dome. Lots of hacked UK and UT fans, I'm sure.

Here's what the SEC and the coaches, etc of the remaining teams have decided: "Out of respect for public safety demands that are required in the aftermath of Friday's storms, access to the remaining games of the championship will be limited to student-athletes' family members, cheerleaders, bands and other credentialed individuals."

They had actually considered not completing the tournament in the conventional fashion, instead having two semifinal championship games on Sunday. The winners of those games would then be declared tournament co-champions.

[Brendan Loy]

The big problem with the "co-champions" arrangement would be for Georgia, which is trying to get an automatic berth from a position of having no chance at an at-large. The other teams still standing are in already, but the Bulldogs aren't. I wonder if the conference would have made a different decision if all the remaining teams were locks.

[Jay Johnson]

Yeah, and I think that's the reason they decided against it.

[Jay Johnson]

I could imagine it being VERY strange to be playing for a conference championship in a gym with only family, staff, the bad, and media types around.

[Andrew]

Damn I'm prescient!

[Brendan]

This just goes to show that the SEC is a war. :P

[Brendan]

P.S. Tornado warnings (again) north of Atlanta! Will the Georgia Tech stadium get hit, too?

[David K.]

I could imagine it being VERY strange to be playing for a conference championship in a gym with only family, staff, the bad, and media types around.

Hey a little respect for the musicians! Its not like Stanford is in this tourney or anything ;-)

[David K.]

God hates the SEC! Osama bin Ladin went to LSU! Saddam was a Gator! Bush/Cheney 08!

...Sorry George they won't let us run again
...what? we can't run again? well shoot...uh i mean...Dick put that gun down, i a'int no lawyer!