Scattershooting ... while wondering whether Blackie Sherrod gets royalties every time somebody uses that term.

It's funny how the mood has so quickly changed in Atlanta.

Two months ago, a vocal majority cheered when Chan Gailey was evicted from his coaching job at Georgia Tech. His crime was apparently being too much of an old-fashioned X's and O's football coach whose personality didn't generate enough juice to invigorate the fan base.

Last week, the pundits cheered when Mike Smith was hired to coach the Atlanta Falcons. His strength is apparently that he is nothing but an old-fashioned X's and O's football coach whose personality doesn't generate a lot of useless buzz.

ANOTHER CHAN-CE: The Kansas City Chiefs hired Gailey as offensive coordinator last week, prompting former Augusta Chronicle columnist Joe Posnanski (now with the Kansas City Star) to muse that Gailey is the only coach in history to lead an NFL team to the playoffs in his first two seasons and a college team to a bowl bid in his first six years and be fired after both. "This has been the man's odd gift," Posnanski wrote. "Win and leave them shrugging."

ME, MYSELF AND I: Georgia legend Herschel Walker reportedly reveals his multiple personality disorder in a new book soon to be published. No wonder the Cowboys got five players and eight draft picks from the Vikings for him.

SPARE US ALL: From Bob Kuechenberg to Nick Buoniconti to Don Shula, many of the members from the 1972 Dolphins have been insufferable for 35 years. None more so than convicted cocaine conspirator Eugene "Mercury" Morris. The former speed back has been running his mouth all year. Here's betting he won't really put on a tuxedo and welcome the Pats to the perfect neighborhood as he promised if New England wins the Super Bowl next week. His relevance would be mercifully diminished, but heaven help us if the Giants win.

NFC LETTERMAN: Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes admitted he was wondering what it would be like to live in Green Bay after missing two fourth-quarter field goals in the NFC Championship Game. His third chance, in overtime, got him on the Late Show with David Letterman instead. The highlight of the appearance was when Letterman asked what coach Tom Coughlin -- a real gem of a human being -- was screaming at him after the first miss. "I know he's yelling at me, I just never hear him," Tynes said.

MOMENT OF SILENCE: Kelly Tilghman returned to the golf broadcast booth from her two-week suspension for her inappropriate racially-tinged comment. The audio from first few seconds of her prerecorded apology were muted by a technical glitch. Where was that when she really needed it?

HOWELL THE THIRD? Potentially the same old Torrey story is brewing for Augusta native Charles Howell this week. For the third time in four years he wakes up Sunday chasing Tiger Woods in the Buick Invitational. In 2005 Howell's ball bounced out of the 72nd hole and into the pond to leave him runner-up. Last year Woods nearly jarred his approach on the 71st hole to stick Howell as bridesmaid again. "You know what," Howell told Troy Matteson after Woods hit that decisive dagger. "Just when you think he's going to let you in, he just puts you away."

GRUDGE REPORT: If you thought it was cold last year the day Woods and Rory Sabbatini tied for second in the Masters Tournament, their relationship since has gone glacial. Rory rattled Tiger's cage with some relatively harmless words to spark the cooling trend, and things got icy when the South African withdrew from Woods' charity event in December without notice. Despite generously presenting the entire $170,000 check he received from the silly season event into a cause championed by tournament sponsor Target, Woods and Sabbatini aren't on speaking terms. Witnesses watched the two pass within inches of each other in the press room Thursday at Torrey Pines without even glancing at each other. "It is what it is," Woods said.

FAIR LADIES: While much attention was paid to the attractiveness of the women's singles combatants in the Australian Open finals, let's not confuse either Maria Sharapova or Ana Ivanovic with Anna Kournikova. While Ivanovic fell to 0-2 in grand slam finals, Sharapova needs only the French Open to become the 10th woman to complete a career slam. "I've been No. 1 in the world," Sharapova said in Australia. "I didn't do it just by waking up and eating ice cream all day."

TRYING TO COPE: It's bad enough that some area golf courses gouge customers with outrageous green fees during Masters week. Now it seems that other than having to cope with the Copes, Jones Creek will be needing the $300 per person a round to bail its "owners" from bankruptcy.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.