Score Atlanta Vol. 10 Issue 24

Time to look great!

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 24 |

JUNE 27 - JULY 3, 2014

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

NBA Draft | Pg. 4 Darrin Heatherly takes a look at the NBA draft and whom the Hawks might select

Inside Training Camp | Pg. 4 Craig Sager II takes you through the rigors of preseason football camp

BATTLE ROYALE Falcons look forward to opening the season at home against arch rival | Pg. 5

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Vol. 10 Iss. 24 | June 27 - July 3, 2014

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

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COLUMNISTS

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ON THE COVER

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PREP COVER

GENERAL MANAGER Melanie Snare

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR Stephen Black ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Marcus Nabors

BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves) Robert Tinter (Hawks, Tech) Brian Jones (KSU) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons) Matt Cason (Dream) David Norwood (GSU)

STAFF WRITERS Alex Ewalt Darrin Heatherly Lia Sewell Alex Ordu

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Copyright 2014 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is published in print every other week on Fridays and a digital version is posted to ScoreAtl.com in-between print issues. Views expressed in Score Atlanta are not necessarily the opinion of Score Atlanta, its staff or advertisers. Score Atlanta does not knowingly accept false or misleading editorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be used for reproduction without written permission from the publisher.

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ON THE INSIDE AT SCORE

GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH

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BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | DREAM

On ScoreAtl.com, we will continually be updating you, our readers, on the progress of the Falcons this offseason as they move towards what looks to be a promising 2014 season. We will have reporters at minicamp as well as training camp and Friday Night Lights.

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF JON BARASH, ROB SAYE AND JIMMY CRIBB/ATLANTA FALCONS.

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HEATHERLY’S HAVEN

HAWKS CAN ONLY GET BETTER THROUGH DRAFT

BY DARRIN HEATHERLY | DHEATHERLY@SCOREATL.COM

s the 2013-2014 NBA season concluded, A I felt dejected. My viewing passion of the sport was all but gone and I wanted to reclaim

that feeling. Fortunately for myself and most international sports fans, my attention was turned to the wonderful event that happens every four years; the World Cup. More exciting than a leap year, I joined my fellow Americans to bleed red, white and blue at the local Taco Mac. Then, it hit me. News of LeBron’s free agency reminded me of the ‘feeling.’ I started to piece words like ‘Welcome to Atlanta’ with names like ‘Kevin Love’ in a large billboard over I-75. I was getting ahead of myself, but one thing was for certain; our beloved Hawks are looking to continue big things in Atlanta. How could I forget that chokehold we put on the Pacers in the playoffs? Or the brilliant Spurs-like, champion-

ship-bound system of Coach Bud? PROJECTION-PALOOZA …

The Hawks have picks in Thursday’s draft at Nos. 15 and 43. Projections have already flooded the internet as experts make their calls for the Hawks. Names like Kentucky’s James Young, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Switzerland’s Clint Capela have surfaced as potential first-round heroes to deliver the Hawks further.

Historically, No. 15 is a big deal. This year’s NBA Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, was the 15th overall pick in 2011. Steve Nash, two-time NBA MVP and eight-time NBA All-Star, was selected by the Phoenix Suns in 1996 at pick No. 15.

As history preludes, we have the potential to bring in a future superstar and develop them

SAGER SAYS

TRAINING CAMP PREPARES TEAMS, PLAYERS FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF FALL

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

raining camp is the final hurdle of the football offseason and, even though the season T hasn’t even started yet, it feels like a finish line.

Players have made it through winter workouts, spring practice, summer conditioning and the thrill of an actual game has been a memory for several months.

Every day has been spent fine-tuning the details. Football teams rarely tackle before training camp. Days are spent in drills and walkthrough’s instead. Mistakes are pointed out and then replayed time and time again. There’s no place for egos in the offseason. No one is throwing a game-winning touchdown pass or hauling in an interception on fourth down to seal the game. Thousands of fans are not congratulating you each time you make a play. Leaving it all on the field is the only way to pass this test.

TWO-A-DAYS …

I did two-a-days in high school, but nothing could prepare me for what training camp was like at the collegiate level. In fact, just calling it a two-a-day is an injustice. While I was a walk-on receiver at UGA, I got invited to camp for the 2009 season. They only bring a handful of walk-ons to camp and I was crushed the year before when I just missed out on an invitation. I would drive by that year and watch them. From there, I’d go straight to the gym to make sure I got as close as I could to the amount of work they were getting for when I’d rejoin them on the field after camp.

I heard stories of how hard it was, but nothing had ever been too big of a challenge for me physically. As a walk-on, my creed was

under the beautiful ‘Bud’ system.

As for No. 43, I think of Michael Redd, arguably the biggest steal in the Big Ten’s basketball history. The Hawks also took Mike Scott at 43 in 2012. Yes, the same Mike Scott that silenced a Pacers crowd in Game 5 shooting 5-6 from three point range off the bench for 17 points in the second quarter alone.

NEEDS AND WANTS …

Despite the injuries to All-Star Al Horford and many others throughout the season, the Hawks were still an eighth-ranked playoff team with a losing record (38-44). The playoffs proved how quick we could come together, despite odds, and play some well-coached basketball. As such with any team, we have areas where we shine and areas that could use some work.

Jeff Teague was phenomenal at the point guard position. He led the Hawks amongst the top two teams ranked in assists (24.9) last season (San Antonio ranked first – 25.2).

Coach Mike Budenholzer established a system that contrasted an isolation-focused method of Larry Drew and Mike Woodson. With Teague and Dennis Schroder under contract, we probably will not look to draft a natural point guard.

Playmaking seems to be a potent strength the Hawks have and proved in the playoffs. However, I’m a firm believer in selecting the best

outworking my competition so I felt well-prepared when I approached my first camp.

In the final team meeting before it started, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo ended it with a clear message.

“If you have a girlfriend, you better call her right now and tell her that you’ll talk to her in two weeks.”

I half chuckled because I didn’t think he was completely serious. He was. I barely had time to squeeze in a phone call to my sister on her birthday.

I lived off-campus so I stayed at the oncampus hotel during camp. I did not have my bed to go back to after each grueling day. Each morning we’d wake up right at 6 a.m. and head straight to breakfast. Following breakfast was the first session that would walk us through the plays and cadences we’d work on that day. If we didn’t pay attention and listen, we were going to pay for it later.

Following walk-through’s was a film session. Then we went straight to practice. The pads go on for the first time in the summer and you experience the scorching heat trapped under your gear for the first time. The highintensity practice is followed up by a meal and then another film session. After the film ends, the lights go on and it’s back to practice. This is the theoretical backend of the two-a-day.

available player on the board. So if Tyler Ennis from Syracuse is somehow still on the board at 15, I see no problem in taking him.

What the Hawks need is some reinforcement under the basket. Rebounding was sluggish and ultimately the downfall against Indiana.

The Hawks were ranked 28th in rebounding amongst 30 teams. The Hawks will likely look to solve this issue at 15. They will also be aware of Al Horford’s health, looking to provide some back-up in case Horford goes down again. However, a healthy Horford alongside the return of 2013 first-round pick, Lucas Nogueira, would increase our rebounding substantially and allow us to go several directions with pick 15. Danny Ferry could even go after Kevin Love.

LOOKING AHEAD …

It’s always exciting to speculate. I am not an expert when it comes to the draft, but I believe we have the best experts in the world handling the Hawks. Coach Bud has already established a system in his first year and the core group remains very strong. Steve Koonin will give fans what they want. Most importantly, Danny Ferry knows exactly what he wants to do.

“We are looking for, whether it’s the draft or free agency, are guys who are highly competitive, unselfish and talented,” said Ferry.

Photo courtesy of Jon Barash.

SALT PILLS …

Football is a “next man up” sport and positions and starting roles are earned in camp.

There is no other time that practice is this physical or competitive. Hydration is closely monitored throughout the day and, for every pound lost, a player would receive one gigantic salt pill mixed in a cup of Gatorade. The most I lost in one day was nine pounds, but linemen would lose even more and up to 16 pounds. After the weigh-in and rehydration after the final session, we would hobble over to eat our final meal and then head over to the final film session of the day.

The last film study could last until just 10 minutes before you’d have to rush back to meet the curfew. If you had any ounce of energy left, you’d spend that time reviewing the playbook and making sure everything that you were taught that day actually sunk in.

Training camp is not supposed to be fun, but it is why victories feel so good and why losses hurt so badly. It is where teams are built and respect is earned. In order to get the most out of fall, you have to give the most to summer and I know I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Photo courtesy of Rob Saye.

Vol. 10 Iss. 24 | June 27 - July 3, 2014

ON THE COVER

FALCONS FOOTBALL

FALCONS HOST SAINTS IN RARE HOME SEASON-OPENER

BY STEPHEN BLACK | SBLACK@SCOREATL.COM

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he Falcons and Saints go back a long ways.

The two southeastern franchises have been archrivals since the Saints began playing football in 1967, a year after Atlanta had already played a season.

There are many rivalries in the NFL, but perhaps no other has been as competitive and consistently heated as Falcons-Saints. Sure, neither team did much in their first few years in the League, but they still had each other.

While being eliminated from playoff contention halfway through the season was normal in the early days, Atlanta and New Orleans could look forward to their get-togethers, when each team bussed fans in for the games, which typically drew large, spirited crowds.

This year is the first since 1981 that the Falcons have hosted New Orleans in the season-opener. While the Birds have travelled to New Orleans to open the season in 1984 and 2013 (and also were the unlucky team selected to play at New Orleans in the Saints’ first game back in the Super Dome after Hurricane Katrina in 2006), Atlanta has waited quite some time to get its arch rival at home in Game 1.

In addition to the obvious emotional aspect at stake in this game, there is also the mathematical angle. The Falcons and Saints have combined to win four of the last five division titles and come into the 2014 season as threats to win it again.

“It’s very important on a couple levels,” said Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith of his team’s rivalry with New Orleans. “First, it’s the opening game of the season and you only get one opportunity to make a first impression.

Second, it’s a division game and we weight the division games about one-and-a-half times as much as a non-division game. It’s just one of the best rivalries in all of football.”

Starting the season 1-0 in the division and having taken half of the games against your biggest rival would be an ideal way to begin any season. Both teams can be expected to hold nothing back in a game with this much at stake and the entire offseason to prepare.

HOME COOKIN’ …

Aside from the team Atlanta opens with, one exciting factor about this game is the fact

that it is at home. Smith’s teams have kicked off the regular season in Atlanta just twice in his tenure in Atlanta, which began in 2008. In fact, the past four seasons have seen the Falcons travel for the season-opener. Those four games included a virtual murderers’ row of opposing stadiums in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kansas City and New Orleans.

Opening at home will be a relief for the Falcons, according to Smith.

“There’s nothing like starting the season out at home,” he said during mini-camp. “It’s nice to be in front of your home fans with a new team and a new roster.”

In Smith’s first two years in Atlanta, the Falcons beat Detroit and Miami in seasonopeners at home. But they haven’t opened a season in the Georgia Dome since. The Saints affair is just the second time the Falcons have ever hosted New Orleans to open the season.

The other was in 1981, a 27-0 shellacking of the Saints in what was an NFC West game at the time. Despite only hosting New Orleans once in an opener, the Falcons have traveled to the Pelican State to open the season six times. Last season’s narrow 23-17 defeat was the Falcons’ first-ever loss to the Saints in seven total season-openers.

Atlanta leads the all-time series 46-43 despite a recent slow period. The southeastern neighbors were actually in different divisions when New Orleans came into the League in 1967 until 1970, when the two moved into the NFC West. Previously, Atlanta had been in the Coastal Division and New Orleans in the Capitol.

After being largely dominated in the early years of the rivalry, New Orleans swung things in its favor from the mid-80s to the mid-90s.

But the Falcons reeled off a 10-game winning streak that spanned from 1995-1999. After a few years of back-and-forth in the early part of this century, the Saints embarked on their current run by taking 13 of 16 games.

PROFESSIONAL APPROACH …

The opener against New Orleans is one of the most anticipated regular-season games in franchise history for Falcons fans. Atlanta sports fans count the Saints as one of their most hated teams in all of sports. Add the Saints’ recent success against Atlanta and you have the recipe for a cauldron of vitriol awaiting New Orleans on Sept. 7.

But the Falcons players, especially the rookies, have a different perspective. While divisional games are important, the rivalries sometimes don’t factor into it as much. Pre-

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paring for another team and being physically and mentally ready for an NFL game is each player’s job every week throughout the season.

For the rookies, just getting used to the NFL lifestyle overtakes any ancillary thoughts.

“I’ve got to go out and perform and do well,” said rookie offensive tackle Jake Matthews. “Obviously, they are two great teams going at it and I’ve known that from long ago but I’ve got enough things to work on myself, not as much the rivalry.”

In the college game, some clashes are treated differently, as conference and in-state rivals tend to take the brunt of the year’s preparation.

In the NFL, however, every game counts and every team is capable of beating anyone. It is made clear early on to NFL rookies that while some teams are bigger rivals than others, every game is vital and every week is treated the same.

“Just being out in the community, meeting some of the fans out in the mall, people walk up to me and the first thing they want to talk about is beating the Saints,” said rookie defensive back Dezmen Southward. “So obviously, it’s a big deal, but we as players know that we approach every game as one single game.”

Season-openers are always important and much-anticipated, but this one is as significant as any in recent memory for the Falcons.

Photos courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.

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Atlanta Dream

Mercer Basketball

Terrell Lewis

The Dream have won six of their last seven games, putting them at the top of the Eastern Conference by two games over the Connecticut Sun. Angel McCoughtry and rookie guard Shoni Schimmel have led the way. The star duo has also gathered the attention of fans voting for the WNBA All-Star Game. Schimmel currently has the lead in voting among guards while McCoughtry ranks second among all forwards.

The Mercer men’s basketball team has been nominated for an ESPN Espy award for “Best Upset”. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 14th-seeded Mercer defeated perennial-power Duke 78-71 in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

Blue Devils coach Mike Kryzyzewski came to the Bears’ locker room to congratulate them after the game, a memorable moment for many of Mercer’s players.

Georgia Tech linebacker Terrell Lewis has been cleared from shoulder surgery after suffering a tear in the fall. Lewis, a 6-foot2, 220-pound linebacker, is known for his versatility, an asset that is expected to be a strength for the Yellow Jackets. Lewis inked with Tech in February out of Ocoee, Fla., and was one of the stars of the 2014 recruiting class.

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

WELCOME HOME

The Falcons added some home-grown flavor to the roster as they traded Akeem Dent for Texans quarterback T.J. Yates. The Pope High School alum has the experience the Falcons were looking for and he has even won a playoff game. I love the move and it’s great to see Yates back in his home state.

CAMP SCHEDULE

And after the addition of Yates, the Falcons announced their 2014 Training Camp schedule. The Falcons will practice on July 25 and they will have combined practices with the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans. It will be great to see the Falcons back in action with the HBO Hard Knocks cameras in Flowery Branch as the team prepares for the opener vs. New Orleans.

ARCHER WELCOMES BIRDS

But the one thing I’m looking forward to is the Friday Night Lights event which will take place in Archer High School in Gwinnett. The Falcons will go to the Lawrenceville campus in August to host a free practice for fans. This is something you have to check out because it’s a great way to see how the Falcons prepare for the season.

KELL TOURNEY

And speaking of Archer, the Tigers won the first-ever Corky Kell 7-on-7 Tournament which was held at Roswell Area Park. The Longhorns defeated McEachern in the finals after playing a total of eight games in seven hours.

For a full recap, read this week’s prep cover story by Craig Sager II, who covered the event for us.

FUTURE STARS

Two Braves minor league players were selected to play in the Futures Game in Minnesota in a couple of weeks.

Christian Bethancourt and Jose Peraza will play for the World team and will go up against Team USA. Both players have done outstanding work in the minors and I can’t wait to see them playing at Turner Field in the near future.

WHO’S NOT

By Matthew Cason and Lia Sewell

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Gavin Floyd

Luis Suarez

La Furia Roja

The hottest Braves pitcher has seen his season end prematurely for the second consecutive year.

Gavin Floyd fractured the olecranon bone in his elbow while throwing a pitch during Thursday’s win at Washington and has no set timetable to return. Joel Zumaya was the last pitcher to suffer a rare olecranon fracture in the big leagues and saw it end his career in 2010. Floyd had Tommy John surgery last season.

Suarez, whose nickname is “The Cannibal”, proved once again that some titles are more fitting than others. In a game against Italy, the Uruguayan striker took a nasty chomp out of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder. And this isn’t the first time, as Suarez has done this in two previous instances. Now under FIFA investigation, Suarez will likely be banned for the rest of the World Cup.

One of the biggest favorites to win the FIFA World Cup and repeat as champion, saw its aspirations go down the drain as Spain lost its first two matches in Group B pool play, mathematically eliminating the Spaniards from reaching the Round of 16. It is the second World Cup in a row in which the defending champ was knocked out in group play, as Italy suffered the same fate in 2010.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Stephen Black & Darrin Heatherly

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall.

Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

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TRIVIA QUESTION

WHAT NOTRE DAME LINEMAN PLAYED AGAINST GEORGIA IN THE 1981 SUGAR BOWL BEFORE SPENDING HIS ENTIRE NFL CAREER WITH THE FALCONS? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

“

SANITY AT LAST

“It’s an opportunity for our fans and student-athletes to play in one of the most storied, traditional venues in college football. That presents a level of excitement.”

2 .302 20

Tommy La Stella’s batting average in 86 at-bats with the Atlanta Braves Games Evan Gattis hit safely in prior to June 22

71.4

Career passer rating by newly-acquired Falcon T.J. Yates

21-4

Record by Gwinnett teams against schools outside of the county at the inaugural Corky Kell Classic 7-on-7

9,760

Points by LeBron James since leaving Cleveland. The Cavs’ top three scorers have 8,278 points combined in that span

75.8

- Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity on the impending football series with Notre Dame.

Picks the Atlanta Hawks have in the 2014 NBA Draft

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Percent chance of the USMNT advancing to the knockout stage after the Portugal draw Times Georgia and Notre Dame have played in football – it came in the 1981 Sugar Bowl

PREP SPORTS

ARCHER, GWINNETT COUNTY TEAMS SHINE IN INAUGURAL CORKY KELL 7-ON-7

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

A

rcher quarterback Gabe Tiller led the Tigers to the first-ever Corky Kell 7-on-7 championship Friday with a 28-19 win over McEachern in the finals.

“To win a 7-on-7 tournament, you are going to obviously have to have great play from your quarterback and I thought Gabe made some great throws today,” said Archer head coach Andy Dyer.

Archer comes off a school-record 11-1 season in 2013 and is set to make the program’s first-ever appearance in the Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic in August. The Tigers finished the tournament with a 7-1 record and were able to avenge their only loss (23-21 to Norcross in pool play) with a 24-15 victory over the Blue Devils in the semifinals.

“It was a great day of competition,” said Dyer. “If this doesn’t help your team get in football shape then nothing does.”

Pool play started at 9:30 a.m. and both fi-

nalists, Archer and McEachern, played a total of eight games in nearly seven hours of humid mid-90 degree temperatures. Dyer rotated his guys throughout the day and the title came from a collective team effort that tested the depth of his team.

“We had a lot of kids that haven’t played a lot for us get a lot of reps today and I thought they did some great things,” said Dyer.

GLORIFYING GWINNETT …

Archer and the five other Gwinnett County schools (Norcross, North Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Mill Creek, Brookwood) dominated the 15team tournament. When facing teams outside of the county, Gwinnett schools were a combined 21-4.

North Gwinnett earned the top seed with its 32-26 win over Collins Hill, 24-14 win over Carrollton, 11-8 victory over Brookwood and 34-9 win over Blessed Trinity in pool play.

However, brothers Josh and Daniel Imatorbhebhe are key pieces to the Bulldogs’ receiving corps and they were on college visits and could not make the tournament. North Gwinnett advanced to the quarterfinals with a bye in the first round, but fell 27-18 to McEachern.

Norcross swept its way into the tournament as No. 2 seed, but suffered its only loss in the semifinals to Archer in the elimination bout.

Archer took the No. 3 seed and beat Blessed Trinity 32-20 in the opening round before pulling out a 16-15 victory over Collins Hill in the quarterfinals to set up its rematch with Norcross. In the championship, Tiller drove the Tigers down the field on the opening possession and they never trailed despite McEachern’s best effort and two long touchdown passes from Indians sophomore quarterback Bailey Hockman.

“McEachern stood out as one of the more physical teams, but I thought we all were today,” admitted Dyer. “These are really good football teams out here competing.”

Twelve of the 14 Metro PCS Corky Kell teams participated in the 15-team 7-on-7 tournament and a total of 74 games were played.

However, just one game pinned two opponents that will also square off in the Corky Kell Classic in nine weeks. McEachern and North Gwinnett are the last game of this year’s two-day lineup and the Indians took a 27-18 secondround win over North Gwinnett in their 7-on-7 matchup.

Centennial pulled off a 30-23 win over Sandy Creek in the first round for one of the day’s notable upsets, but fell short to Mill Creek 40-34 in the second round. Mill Creek pushed McEachern to the brink in the semis, but lost 34-32.

Archer looked sharp and focused from the opening game until the final whistle. 7-on-7 tournaments do not count in the win column in the fall but Dyer believes this tournament is a reflection the type of effort and focus his team has delivered throughout the offseason and is carrying into 2014.

FINAL TALLY …

In Pool 1, Norcross (6-1) and Archer (7-1) each finished the tournament with one loss.

McEachern ended with a 5-3 record and Centennial (2-4) and Creekview (0-5) were tested by their difficult trio of opponents.

In Pool 2, Mill Creek, North Paulding and Sandy Creek each finished with a pair of losses.

Roswell went 1-4 and Tucker (0-5) went winless in the tournament.

North Gwinnett finished first in Pool 3 and joined Norcross and Archer as the only teams with less than two losses. Carrollton finished 1-4 and Blessed Trinity struggled with the Class AAAAAA competition and finished winless. Brookwood earned a 2-3 record and Collins Hill finished 4-2.

Photos courtesy of Sonny Kennedy.

Vol. 10 Iss. 24 | June 27 - July 3, 2014 Thursday Thunder races, adult racing fans get in for the $6. Kids ages 6 through11 get in for $2. Fans are able to see the O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags series of racing on that night and every Friday for $8.

As for the race schedule for the 17th Annual ZMAX Micro-Lubricant Bandolero Nationals on Saturday, you can head over to www.

AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

THURSDAY THUNDER MOVES TO WEDNESDAY; NATIONALS TAKE PLACE SATURDAY

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

A

s you’ve been reading about over the past few weeks, the Thursday Thunder series of Legends and Bandolero car racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway is well underway. During this week, that action ramps up even more with three different races.

SCHEDULE CHANGE …

Fans can head out to AMS for the Wednesday for a special edition of Thursday Thunder this week, in addition to the regular Thursday night of races for this series. Then on Saturday, fans can head out to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the ZMAX Micro-Lubricant Bandolero Nationals.

As part of the Saturday race, fans will have a chance to not only see drivers from around the area race at Atlanta Motor Speed-

way. They will also get a chance to see others from around the Southeast and the rest of the United States get a chance to run their cars.

Atlanta Motor Speedway Director of Marketing and Promotion Dustin Bixby listed the numerous events of races fans can expect to see out at the track going into this weekend.

“We’ll run our Thursday Thunder on Wednesday for ‘Wacky Wednesday,’” Bixby said. “Thursday will be our ‘Summer Splash’, then the (O’Reilly Auto Parts) Friday Night Drags will run on Friday night before the Bandolero Nationals on Saturday at the track. So it’s three good nights of racing this week and we’ve got our drag races on Friday.”

This is a ton of action going on out at Atlanta Motor Speedway and fans can get into the track for a very affordable price. For the

EXCITING WEEK …

In talking about the four nights of racing fans can look forward to this week at AMS, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags series was mentioned. Like Thursday Thunder, this series has been going on for some weeks out at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bixby says that a couple drivers in particular have been turning heads along that drag strip on pit row at the speedway.

“In our Jailhouse Brewing Company Super Pro Division, Arnie Cobb has been a regular here at the track over a bunch of years and he has really dominated that class,” Bixby said. “It seems like he has really kicked it up a notch this year. Will Coots in the Truck Advanced Division has been really dominating as well.”

These two drivers have very unique cars running in these races and they share one thing in common with their vehicles. They both are winning with Chevrolet’s. Cobb is winning his division pretty much week in and week out with a 1974 Chevy Nova. As for Coots, his choice of truck in his division is a 1985 Chevy C10.

Both Coots and Cobb prove what we have mentioned over the last few weeks in regards to Atlanta Motor Speedway. It continues to be a great place for local talent driving cars. Cobb comes to race his Nova from Locust Grove, while Coots drives in with his Chevy C10 from nearby Stockbridge.

Before we wrap up this week’s look at what’s happening out at Atlanta Motor Speedway, its still a great chance to look ahead to the Labor Day weekend of NASCAR races that are now just over two months away.

This week, fans can by two Lower Champions Grandstand tickets and get one free. This package of seats will get you a savings of $99, in honor of Carl Edwards’ recent win out at Sonoma.

This deal like other deals that Atlanta Motor Speedway has featured are part of its ‘Winners Rewards’ program. Fans have until this Friday at 5 p.m. to take advantage of this great deal.

NIKE TENNIS CAMPS SERIOUS. FUN.

JUNIOR OVERNIGHT AND DAY CAMPS Boys & Girls | Ages 6-18

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

GEORGIA ADDS NOTRE DAME TO FOOTBALL SCHEDULE IN 2017, 2019

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

umors became official Wednesday afterRMcGarity noon when Georgia athletics director Greg announced a home-and-home

matchup with Notre Dame starting in 2017 in South Bend and again in 2019 at Georgia. This will be the first meeting between these two programs since they played in the Sugar Bowl in 1981, a game in which the Bulldogs clinched their only national title. It remains the lone meeting between the college football powers.

This was a rumored possibility back when Georgia was going through spring practice and until now was an on-going discussion.

PERSONNEL GUY …

News came out of Athens on Tuesday that Georgia has hired on Norcross native Ronnie Letson to be their new Director of Player Personnel for the program. Letson comes to the Georgia program after spending last season with the Alabama Crimson Tide program.

Since the 2013 season wrapped up for Alabama, Letson had left the program to take over as a wide receivers coach at Samford Uni-

GEORGIA STATE

HOOPS PROGRAM PICKS UP TWO TRANSFERS; HUNTER INVITED TO DURANT CAMP

BY DAVID NORWOOD | DNORWOOD@SCOREATL.COM

O

n June 19, former Louisville guard Kevin Ware was cleared by the NCAA to play basketball for Georgia State this fall.

“I would like to thank the NCAA, University of Louisville and all of the members of the Georgia State staff who helped make this possible”, said Georgia State men’s basketball head coach Ron Hunter to Georgia State Athletics. “It was a total team effort and greatly appreciated by the coaching staff and Kevin’s family.”

Ware transferred to Georgia State in April after finishing his third year at Louisville after only playing in nine games this past season due to injury.

On Friday, Georgia State announced the addition of another transfer guard who will join the men’s basketball team. Former Samford University guard and reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, Isaiah Williams will join the Panthers this summer. However, Williams will have to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, according to the AJC.

versity. Prior to his brief stint at Samford, he served as an offensive assistant for Nick Saban’s program.

FOOTBALL SEASON NEARS …

As the calendar soon changes to July, it is just another great reminder that college football is on the horizon. This means there are just two months before kickoff in Sanford Stadium between Clemson and Georgia.

Georgia’s players have been working out throughout the entire month of June after getting May off to finish up the spring semester.

The next mile marker on our road to the 2014 Georgia Bulldogs football season is SEC Media Days coming up in the middle of July, over in Birmingham. Then a little over a couple weeks later the Dawgs will begin fall camp.

Kickoff for the Georgia football season is August 30.

Depending on who you read in preparation for the season, some are predicting the Bulldogs to win the SEC East. However, some publications are picking them to be the runnerup behind South Carolina. That battle for the East could be decided when UGA heads to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks in Week 2.

The Georgia baseball team’s season ended earlier in the spring in the SEC tournament.

That said, 18 players are currently playing in summer leagues around the country.

Of those players who are playing in leagues, outfielder Stephen Wrenn and rising senior infielder/outfielder Hunter Cole are both playing in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League in Massachusetts.

“Isaiah is a talented guard who can do a lot of different things well,” coach Ron Hunter told Georgia State Athletics.

Williams averaged 11.9 points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game last season for the Bulldogs.

SKILLS ACADEMY …

Guard R.J. Hunter was chosen to participate in the Nike Elite Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Washington, D.C. on June 27-29. Last season, Hunter earned Sun Belt Male Athleteof-the-Year and Sun Belt Player of the Year honors while averaging 18.3 points per game.

“I am proud to have one of our own players participating in such an elite camp,” his father Ron told the team website. “It will be a great experience for R.J. and give him a chance to compete against some of the best players in the country.”

Georgia State women’s basketball head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener added former George Mason women’s basketball head Jeri Porter to her staff Friday.

“Jeri Porter will be an extremely beneficial addition to our program,” Baldwin-Tener said.

“I have a ton of respect for her and the way her teams played at George Mason. She is a well-respected person and will be another role model for our student-athletes.”

Porter coached at Georgia Mason for five seasons. She joins Erin Batth and Katie Pate as the new assistant coaches to join BaldwinTener’s staff this offseason.

GEORGIA TECH

HOOPS TEAM ADDS BIG-BODIED TRANSFERS

BY ROBERT TINTER | RTINTER@SCOREATL.COM

he Georgia Tech men’s basketball team has added three transfers to its roster. DemarT co Cox, Nick Jacobs and Charles Mitchell all

signed grant-in-aid papers to attend Georgia Tech. All three are post players and transferred from power conference schools.

Demarco Cox is a 6-foot-8, 276-pound center transferring from Ole Miss. Cox is expected to graduate this summer from Ole Miss and be eligible to play immediately for the Jackets. As a junior, Cox averaged 4.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 16.6 minutes per game.

Cox also shot 54.3 percent from the floor and blocked 25 shots in 33 games, including 16 starts.

Nick Jacobs a 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward comes to the Jackets after three years at Alabama. Jacobs is an Atlanta native who was a teammate of former Tech star Derrick Favors at South Atlanta High School. Jacobs averaged 8.4 points and 3.5 rebounds in 25 games, making 10 starts. In three seasons, Jacobs played in 93 games and made 57 starts, averaging 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Charles Mitchell, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound

KENNESAW STATE

PENTECOST TRAVELS TO OMAHA; HOOPS TEAM ALREADY WORKING

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

T

he baseball team may have missed the College World Series by two games, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t represented in Omaha.

Catcher Max Pentecost made his way to the College World Series on Wednesday as he was one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench Award which is given to the nation’s best catcher. The other two finalists are Indiana’s Kyle Schwarber and Ole Miss’ Will Allen.

The award was given out on Thursday, but the results were not available at press time.

Pentecost had an historic season for the Owls. He led the nation in total hits with 113 and he was second in the nation in batting average with .422. Both stats were Atlantic Sun and KSU records.

Of his 113 hits, 24 were doubles, nine were home runs and two were triples. Pentecost also tallied 61 RBIs and he also recorded 168 total bases. The junior also drew 30 walks while

forward joins the Yellow Jackets after two seasons at former ACC rival Maryland. Like Jacobs, Mitchell is a Georgia native. Mitchell played at Wheeler High School in Marietta.

Mitchell decided to transfer to be closer to his ailing grandmother and will apply for a hardship waiver to become eligible immediately.

Mitchell scored 6.5 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds over 32 games and 10 starts this past season. In his two years and 70 games in a Terrapin uniform Mitchell averaged six points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Georgia Tech’s first transfer of the offseason, Josh Heath, was deemed eligible to play immediately by the NCAA. Heath came to Georgia Tech after appearing in 17 games in his one year at South Florida. Heath will have three years in a Yellow Jacket uniform.

NEW ANALYST …

Former Georgia Tech running back Roddy Jones will join the Tech-IMG Radio Network broadcast team as color analyst. Jones will join second-year radio play-by-play voice Brandon Gaudin in calling Georgia Tech football games this fall.

As a player, Jones set a Yellow Jackets record for games started and ran for 1,846 yards in his career. Since graduating in 2011, Jones has done extensive work with ESPN3, including Georgia Tech’s Pro Day and Spring Game.

In 2012, Jones had his own weekly segment on the football pre-game radio show.

striking out only 26 times in 268 at-bats.

Pentecost has been named to five FirstTeam All-American lists while also being named Atlantic Sun Player of the Year.

BASKETBALL UPDATE …

The basketball season is months away, but the men’s team is hard at work as it gets ready to travel to Italy in August.

Every four years, the NCAA allows a team to take an international tour and they can have 10 practices before they travel. Head coach Jimmy Lallathin will spread out the practices in July and the team will leave Aug. 5. Once they arrive in Italy, the Owls will play for games – two in Milan, one in Venice and one in Rome.

“It’s going to be unbelievable,” Lallathin told ksuowls.com. “It couldn’t happen at a better time. Those 10 days of practice, it goes beyond words what this can do for us.”

This will be the first test for Lallathin who is in his first year as the head coach. He took over for Lewis Preston in January and he looks to get the Owls back on the winning track.

And in order for him to do that, he needed the right coaching staff that has plenty of experience. And he has that with the addition of David Rivers and John Cremins. Rivers has spent years in the NBA and in Europe playing professionally and Cremins is the nephew of former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins.

Vol. 10 Iss. 24 | June 27 - July 3, 2014 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS SHOW INTEREST IN JAMES, ANTHONY

BY ROBERT TINTER | RTINTER@SCOREATL.COM

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orward Carmelo Anthony decided to opt out of his contract with the New York Knicks this past week. This decision was expected, and so were all the rumors about potential landing spots for the scoring sensation. On Tuesday, in a somewhat shocking turn of events, LeBron James announced he would opt out of his deal with the Miami Heat making him a free agent this summer. It is no secret that Carmelo and LeBron are friends, so naturally the whole world takes that to mean they want to team up together, much as James did four years ago when he signed with the Heat to play with Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

BUILDING A CONTENDER …

According to ESPN reports, the Atlanta Hawks are one of the teams with an interest in signing LeBron. In order to make this work, the Hawks will need to clear some cap space.

As of now, the Hawks have a team salary of $61,226,787. The projected salary cap for next

ATLANTA BRAVES

LINEUP SHIFTS, UPTONS RESPOND WITH HOME RUNS

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

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raves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez continues to maneuver with a lineup that has scored the second fewest runs in all of Major League Baseball so far this season. Second baseman Tommy La Stella briefly tried his hand in the leadoff spot starting last week but went 2-for20 in that role. Enter B.J. Upton, who topped the batting order on Tuesday at Houston. Upton has plenty of experience leading off, with more than 750 plate appearance in that situation throughout his career.

“I’m used to being there and setting the table, being able to run a lot more,” the center fielder told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I think it gives us an opportunity to maybe move the baseball around the infield a little bit more, possibly throwing some hit-and-runs and things like that, just trying to get a little more things going up there. Hopefully, I can get on base a lot more and give these guys behind me a chance to drive me in.”

There were no such chances on Tuesday,

year is $63.2 million, meaning the Hawks would need about $19 million to sign both of them.

It is clear that the likelihood of the Hawks having the cap room to sign both players is unlikely. However, there is a strong possibility that the Hawks can get one of the two. In order to do so, the Hawks would need to get down to at most $40,741,598. To do this, the Hawks would need to renounce all their free agents, draft a foreign player and stash him overseas, and waive Pero Antic.

Even by making those moves the Hawks would still need to clear $8,246,468 with only Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, DeMarre Carroll, Dennis Schroder and John Jenkins on their roster.

Realistically, the Hawks would need to trade away some combinations of salaries to get either LeBron or Carmelo.

The Hawks will be allowed to communicate with LeBron and Carmelo beginning July 1 at midnight. Both players will meet with multiple teams and it isn’t expected either player will make a quick decision. Regardless of what happens, it is exciting that the ownership group and front office are trying their best to build a championship roster for the city of Atlanta and Hawks fans everywhere. Either one of these players will help elevate the Hawks to championship contention, especially with a healthy Al Horford, a sharp-shooter in Korver and a slashing guard like Teague.

although that was in part due to the fact that B.J. hit a home run in the third inning. It was his lone hit of the game, but it proved to be one of the differences in a 3-2 victory for Atlanta.

Justin Upton homered in the fourth, allowing the Uptons to become the third pair of brothers in major league history to go deep in the same game a record four times. Vladimir and Wilton Guerrero and Jason and Jeremy Giambi are the other sets of brothers who have homered in the same game four times.

NECESSARY TINKERING …

Gonzalez has been forced to make plenty of tweaks to the lineup this season, some because of injury. That was the case in the latest move on the mound, which saw Gavin Floyd head to the disabled list as Alex Wood rejoined the rotation. Floyd, who was just returning from Tommy John surgery, suffered a broken elbow last Thursday while earning a win at Washington. The 31-year old underwent surgery on Wednesday and could miss the remainder of the season.

Wood began the year as a starter then spent six weeks in the bullpen before being assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. The 23-yearold southpaw is 5-6 with a solid 3.43 ERA in 18 games (seven starts). He got the start on Wednesday at Houston, but results were not available at press time.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE RELEASED

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Falcons open training camp on July 25 and will have select practices open to the public through Aug. 12. This is the 10th straight year the team will hold its camp at Flowery Branch.

There will be a total of 34 sessions, which includes walkthroughs, practices and combined workouts with the Titans on Aug. 4 and the Texans on Aug. 13-14. The practice with the Titans will be at Flowery Branch and the team will travel to Houston for their combined work with the Texans.

On Aug. 1, the Falcons will participate in Kia Motors “Friday Night Lights”, which will be held at Archer High School in Lawrenceville.

This event has grown to become one of the most exciting days of the offseason and last year thousands of fans packed Bobby Gruhn Field at City Park in Gainesville to get an upclose look at the team in its final preparations before the season. Friday Night Lights features a team scrimmage and head coach Mike Smith and various players are mic’d up to guide the fans through the action.

ATLANTA DREAM

DREAM’S SIX-GAME WINNING STREAK COMES TO AN END

BY MATTHEW CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

A

tlanta entered Sunday’s game against the New York Liberty riding the longest winning streak in franchise history after extending it to six games with victories on June 18 against Washington and June 20 against the Liberty.

The streak, however, like all others in sports, came to an end as the Dream fell to the Liberty 85-78 at Madison Square Garden.

TIME TO REGROUP …

New York, carrying a five-game skid into Sunday, saw veteran guard Cappie Pondexter take charge late in the second quarter, leading them on a 29-6 run over a 10 minute span as the eight-year veteran finished with 23 points and eight assists. Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry led all scorers with 33 points, a season-high, and pulled down 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. After the game, the six-year veteran felt that the team let its guard down too early, which led to the big New York run and eventual loss.

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER …

The Falcons are an organization looking to blaze the trails in the NFL and the team announced Monday that they will be using a mental training program to increase the player’s awareness and focus on the football field.

CongiSens Inc. is the new partnership and the revolutionary training is called NeuroTracker.

The program is a 3D mental training program that “trains multiple object tracking skills using a large 3D display and challenges athletes to spread their attention by tracking many targets at high speeds.”

NeuroTracker is also geared to enhance performance by training an athlete to absorb and process complex movements and distribute attentional resources throughout the visual field.

“As an organization, we are always looking for ways to improve our players’ performance on the field,” said Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. “By partnering with CogniSens we believe that we will provide our players with an additional tool that they can use as they prepare. By utilizing NeuroTracker technology, we feel that our players will get the most out of their classroom and meeting time.”

With cameras stationed throughout Flowery Branch the rest of the offseason, there is a good chance this interesting regimen will be seen on Hard Knocks coverage of training camp.

“We relaxed a little bit when we built that lead and they jumped on us,” McCoughtry said. “We’ll regroup and get back to winning again.”

Atlanta’s next matchup will be on Thursday, June 26 when they visit the San Antonio Stars.

ANGEL HONORED …

The WNBA league office announced on Monday that Dream guard/forward Angel McCoughtry was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week. This is the 12th time in McCoughtry’s six-year career that she has been given the award. She averaged 26 points during the week, best in the conference, along with 7.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game.

She was largely responsible for the two wins recorded for the Dream over the past week.

Rookie Shoni Schimmel and McCoughtry entered Wednesday among the top vote-getters at their positions for the right to be named a starter in the 2014 Boost Mobile WNBA All Star game set to take place in Phoenix, Ariz.

Schimmel currently carries more than twice the closest number of votes over her closest competitor at the guard position, accumulating a total of 14,635 votes. Washington Mystic guard Ivory Latta follows Schimmel with 5,974 votes. Chicago Sky’s Elene Delle Donne currently leads the frontcourt in voting with 16,452 votes while McCoughtry comes in the second spot with 9,736. All-Star game starters are set to be announced on July 8.

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