Score Atlanta Vol. 10 Issue 26

Time to look great!

VOLUME 10 ISSUE 26 |

Our Take | Pg. 4 We give you our thoughts on the latest and greatest in the world of metro Atlanta sports.

Lassiter 7-on-7 | Pg. 8 Grayson takes home title in state’s biggest tournament.

JULY 18-24, 2014

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

TREADING WATER Braves tied at the top of the East going into the second half. | Pg. 5

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Vol. 10 Iss. 26 | July 18-24, 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

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

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Marcus Nabors

BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves) Darrin Heatherly (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

Score Atlanta is looking for interns. Please visit www.scoreatl.com/internships for more information on our program.

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 THE ATLANTA FALCONS, CRAIG SAGER II AND POUYA DIANAT/ ATLANTA BRAVES.

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A WORD WITH BIG B

BRAVES GEAR UP FOR SECOND HALF; SMITH GIVEN HIGH POWER RANKING

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

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he All-Star break for Major League Baseball has come and gone and now it’s time for the second half of the season to get underway. The Braves had a solid first half of the 2014 season, winning 52 games and are in a tie for first place in the NL East. But had it not been for nagging injuries and frustrating losses, they know they would have had a much better record.

But that’s all in the past and in order for the Bravos to win the division for the second consecutive year, they will have play much better baseball than what they have been playing.

And when push comes to shove, it starts and ends with runners with scoring position.

During the first half of the season, the

Braves were below average in that category.

They hit .243 and were 26th in MLB in producing an RBI with RISP. It wasn’t any better with two outs when they hit .183. One of the reasons they have not been producing runs when they have runners in scoring position is they strike out a lot. They were the second worst team in MLB in striking out with RISP (212) and were last in striking out with two outs with RISP (113).

Fortunately, the Braves’ starting rotation has been solid and has gotten the offense out of some jams. In fact, the best pitcher on the roster could be the one that was not supposed to be there. Aaron Harang has won nine games and has an ERA of 3.53. He was a last-minute

THE ORDER OF ORDU

LEBRON, MELO DECISIONS HIGHLIGHT NBA FREE AGENCY

BY ALEX ORDU | AORDU@SCOREATL.COM

ver the past week, there have been a few interesting topics in sports. For instance the O trends of NBA Free Agency, which have taken

over the sports world. The world had been anxiously anticipating the decisions of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and others. Well, on Friday around 12:30 p.m., LeBron made the announcement that he would be leaving the Miami Heat to return home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He posted a letter on SI.com explaining why he chose to return home.

“It’s about more than basketball with me, Cleveland is where I was raised, it was where I bled, and it’s where I learned to be the man I am today,” said James.

His decision went viral in a matter of minutes not only crashing Sports Illustrated, but also drawing attention away from the up-

coming World Cup Final. Finally, Cavaliers fans had something to cheer about. The streets of Cleveland are ecstatic about an upcoming NBA season that could bring some promise considering a franchise that has never won an NBA Championship may have just taken a step closer to their ultimate goal.

After recently drafting No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins and regaining the talents of King James, it’s safe to say the Cavaliers have had a great summer. Furthermore, they’re now in the discussion on receiving Kevin Love in a signand-trade deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Could you imagine the new big three that would be in Cleveland? LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving? Many people believe those three would be enough to reach the NBA Finals and compete with the likes of the

addition to the roster because the team decided to release Freddy Garcia.

But let’s not forget about the emergence of Julio Teheran who made his first All-Star Game this season. Teheran also won nine games in the first half and has an ERA 2.71. He maybe only 23-years old, but Teheran is looking like to be the ace of the starting rotation.

Which leads to the question, will general manager Frank Wren make a trade for another pitcher that will help the Braves over the hump?

Or will they get another reliever to strengthen the bullpen? Or will they add another bat that is effective when it comes to RISP?

Only Wren knows the answer but whatever move they make it needs to be a move that will help them not only win the division, but make a deep run in the playoffs.

SMITTY TIME …

Recently NFL.com released its Head Coach Power Rankings and to nobody’s surprise Bill Belichick came in at No. 1. But if you were too look not too far down the list, you will notice Mike Smith is just right outside the Top 10. The Falcons’ head coach comes in at No. 11

and the reason for the high ranking is that he posted five consecutive winning seasons until last year, which is not bad for a franchise that never had back-to-back winning seasons before his arrival.

Not only that, he has also won Sporting News Coach of the Year honors twice and the AP Coach of the Year award once. So before we try to put Smith on the hot seat for one bad season, we have to take a deep breath and relax. It was only one season.

Last season was not a good one for the Falcons, but Smith did a good job keeping everyone together and not letting things get out of hand. The reality of it is the Falcons never had to face too much adversity since Smith took over in 2008. Their worst season before 2013 was in 2009 when the Falcons compiled a 9-7 record and missed the playoffs. But outside of that, Smith has led the Falcons to two 13-win seasons, an 11-win season and a 10-win season.

This year will be a fresh start for Smith and the rest of the Falcons. He has done enough to establish himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL and he will prove it to everyone this season.

Photo courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.

San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder.

However, we’ve yet to see Andrew Wiggins in game action, Irving has been known to have had some injuries in the past, and the Cavs still need to tweak the rest of their roster before we can discuss an NBA Championship going to Cleveland.

Now the two big free agents every team was dying to sign are off the market, who was left? Luol Deng? Chandler Parsons? Lance Stephenson? Oh wait, here we are once again forgetting about the third piece of Miami’s big three, Chris Bosh. He already received a max four-year, $88 million deal from the Houston Rockets, but Bosh wanted to wait for LeBron’s decision before he decided to jump ship. However, just because it was obvious Bosh was waiting that didn’t force LeBron to rush his decision. Soon after James announced he was returning home, rumors circulated that Bosh would be heading to Houston. Heat fans are already devastated about losing James, the last thing they want is to lose their entire big three.

Over the weekend, Bosh stated that he would return to Miami to accept a maximum five-year, $118 deal. Seriously, $118 million? It’s safe to say Miami didn’t want to lose another vital piece of their team, but I’m not sure if Bosh is worth that much of the Heat’s salary cap. At times Bosh was described as the “third wheel” or the half in Miami’s “big two and a half.” Although he may be undervalued by fans and critics Pat Riley and the Miami Heat made it know clear how important Bosh is to their team.

Photo courtesy of DJ Galbiati Blalock.

MELO DRAMA …

Once LeBron made his decision all the attention shifted to the next big free agent, Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was the first superstar to announce he would opt out of his current contract with the New York Knicks to possibly earn a maximum deal or to sign with another team. Melo’s decision was a bit more complicated than LeBron’s considering the Knicks recently hired NBA great Phil Jackson as President and Director of Basketball Operations.

Furthermore, what better candidate could there be to lead the Knicks than a player whom he won six championships with in Derek Fisher, who was recently hired as head coach? With all that being said Carmelo had a decision to make. Should he return to Madison Square Garden for another run with the Knicks or entertain the ideas of the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, etc? However, two days after LeBron, Carmelo announced that he’d return to the Knicks to structure a long-term deal.

Vol. 10 Iss. 26 | July 18-24, 2014 actly what it is doing. Behind Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, Tanner Roark, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez, the Nationals are first in all of baseball with a 3.08 ERA. Speaking of expected developments New York, Miami and Philadelphia have fallen by the wayside after brief flirtations with contention in the early stages of the season. The Mets probably took themselves out of serious discussion by losing 20 of 30 games between June 3 and July 5. The Marlins have stumbled to a pair of four-game losing streaks in less than three weeks (one is current). The Phillies’ hopes all but ended when they went 3-13 from June 21 through July 6.

ON THE COVER

BRAVES BASEBALL

AFTER ROLLER-COASTER FIRST HALF, BRAVES ARE RIGHT BACK WHERE THEY STARTED

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

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rguably no team in all of Major League Baseball has been streakier than the Atlanta Braves this season. Well, two exceptions are the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels, who just win all the time. In terms of wild fluctuations in performance, however, Atlanta is taking the cake. We’re just now at the All-Star break and already the team has had winning streaks of four, five, four and nine games in addition to a trio of three-win stretches. The Braves also have endured losing streaks of seven, four and four games plus a pair of threeloss slides.

BEASTS OF THE EAST …

Both teams took circuitous routes to get there and their records are such that neither one is a lock for even a wild-card spot in the playoffs, but the Braves and Washington Nationals are both in first place. They are tied atop the National League East, locked in a battle that was anticipated long before the season started while leaving all other contenders—or pretenders, more like it—in the dust.

There’s Washington at 51-42 (.548), Atlanta at 52-43 (.547) and then there’s everyone else.

The Mets are seven games out of first place, the Marlins are 7.5 games back and the hapless Phillies are 11 games under .500 to leave themselves 10 games behind the Braves and Nationals.

“We’re doing well,” Freddie Freeman said during a post-game interview following his team’s first-half finale, a 10-7 slugfest over the Cubs at Wrigley Field last Sunday. “(It) seems like every single day there’s a (critic who says), ‘Braves are going to do this, Braves are going to do that, Braves are falling and collapsing.’ And here we are, at least tied for first going into the second half. We’re playing good baseball.”

So, too, is Washington. The Nationals have won two games in a row and 10 of their last 14. Like the Braves, they have been doing their job in spite of significant injury problems.

Left fielder Bryce Harper missed 57 games due to a torn thumb ligament before returning on June 30. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was on the disabled list for 44 games before coming back on June 3. That has kept Washington in the bottom half of most batting categories in Major League Baseball, but the team always expected to win with pitching and that is ex-

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGGLA …

The Braves have been nothing if not inconsistent at the plate, but pitching is what has separated both they and the Nationals from the rest of the division. Atlanta’s 65 quality starts are the most in the majors and the team is sixth out of 30 in the league in ERA with a 3.36 mark. Amidst injuries to Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy and Gavin Floyd, the Braves have thrown together a patchwork rotation that has outperformed expectations. Julio Teheran and Aaron Harang have each won nine games to go along with impressive ERAs (2.71 for Teheran, 3.53 for Harang). Alex Wood has six wins and a 3.36 ERA while Ervin Santana made 11 quality starts and won seven games prior to the break. Floyd sported a 2.65 ERA in 54.1 innings before going down with a broken elbow. Craig Kimbrel, who joined Teheran in the All-Star Game, leads the MLB in saves with 29, boasts a 1.91 ERA and has mowed down 62 batters in 37.2 innings.

The offense, however, has been a much different story. Atlanta is 28th in runs scored and 25th in extra-base hits. Freeman, an allstar at first base, has been a bright spot with a .295 average, 13 home runs and 64 runs scored. But even those numbers are nothing more than standard for Freeman. Although B.J. Upton has shown recent signs of life in the leadoff spot, he is batting .215. Jason Heyward has managed to stay healthy, but still has just seven homers.

And then there’s Dan Uggla. The beleaguered second baseman has actually gotten worse after what was already a disaster of a 2013 campaign in which he hit .179. In 48 games played and 130 at-bats this season, Uggla is batting .162 with two homers, 10 RBIs and 40 strikeouts. Fortunately, the Braves decided to call up Tommy La Stella earlier than planned and the 25-year-old, now the undisputed starter at second base, has a .292 average and 17 RBIs in 154 at-bats. As for Uggla, his days in

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Atlanta appear to be more numbered than ever after being suspended for one game last weekend, reportedly due to tardiness.

WHAT’S NEXT? …

Firmly in postseason contention as the calendar heads toward August, the Braves will once again be buyers—or at least searchers— in advance of the July 31 trade deadline. Don’t get too excited, though, about the prospect of a big-name newcomer. Both a lack of needs and a lack of funds (the team has $27.1 million tied up this season to Uggla and B.J. Upton alone) means a value play or two will be the name of the game. Atlanta is in the market primarily for a left-handed reliever, possibly Boston’s Andrew Miller. The Braves also reportedly have interest in the Cubs’ James Russell and Wesley Wright.

Regardless of any potential trades, what takes place on the field in the near future will be more eventful than what happens in the front office. A heated division race is about to resume and the Braves may have a chance to stake themselves to a lead with 11 consecutive games at home, all against opponents with losing records.

“Everybody has a chance to catch a breather,” Gonzalez said in his post-game interview last Sunday. “Hopefully, nobody goes white-water rafting and everybody comes back in one piece. But we had a pretty good first half; better than pretty good. Now we have to enjoy this break and keep firing.”

Photos courtesy of Pouya Dianat/Atlanta Braves.

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Dream

Shoni Schimmel

Derek Jeter

The Dream (15-6) are currently No. 1 in the Eastern Conference with a 5.5-game lead over the secondplace Indiana Fever. The Dream are also tops in team merchandise sales in the WNBA. Former Louisville guards Shoni Schimmel and Angel McCoughtry will represent the Dream on the Eastern Conference team in the All-Star game in Phoenix on Saturday.

Dream rookie guard Schimmel has the top-selling WNBA jersey this season. This is the third time in four seasons that a rookie has topped jersey sales. Last season, then-rookie Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury led the WNBA in jersey sales. The former Louisville guard was also voted in the WNBA All-Star as a starter on Saturday.

Jeter played in his 14th and final All-Star Game on Tuesday evening. The Yankees’ captain had a solid performance. Starting at shortstop, Jeter had two at-bats, two hits and scored a run which helped the American League secure home-field advantage in the 2014 World Series after a 5-3 win over the National League.

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

SECOND WIND

With the MLB All-Star game over, the Braves are now looking forward to finishing the 2014 season strong.

They need to do a better job with runners in scoring position and they need one of the starting pitchers step up and be the ace. If Fredi Gonzalez’s team can do that, it should be able to win the NL East.

TOP COACH

NFL.com released its power rankings for head coaches and Mike Smith comes in at No. 11. That’s fair considering what he’s done with the Falcons the last six seasons and how far they have come along. He may have had a bad 2013 campaign but he posted five consecutive winning seasons from 2008-2012, which is something this franchise has never experienced.

IT’S OFFICIAL

The Hawks have bolstered their roster with the signand-trade of Thabo Sefolosha on Tuesday. Sefolosha started in 61 games last year for Oklahoma City and averaged 6.3 points and 1.3 steals in 26 minutes. I love the move and he will fit right in with the Hawks’ selfless style of play. Welcome to Atlanta, Thabo.

GRAYSON’S GREAT

The National Select 7-on-7 Georgia Invitational took place this past weekend and Grayson was able to defeat Valdosta in consecutive championship games to win the tournament. Grayson will get ready for the national invitational which will be held at Hoover, Ala. this weekend.

Let’s wish the Rams good luck in Hoover.

SAGER ON ESPN

Score’s own Craig Sager II continues to make his rounds as he was on the Mike and Mike Show on ESPN Radio Wednesday morning. Sager has been almost everywhere and anywhere when it comes to the national media lately talking about his dad as well as the comings and goings in sports in the Atlanta area. Great job, Craig!

WHO’S NOT

By David Norwood II

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Julio Teheran

Delisha Milton-Jones

Hawks

This season, Teheran became the first Colombian-born pitcher to make an All-Star team. Teheran was joined by Braves teammates Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman.

Unfortunately, Teheran wasn’t allowed to pitch in Tuesday’s All Star game since he started on Sunday, but he did get to participate in Tuesday afternoon’s Chevrolet Red Carpet Parade.

Milton-Jones will miss the rest of the season after suffering a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon in Sunday’s 81-79 win over the Chicago Sky. The Dream acquired Milton-Jones in a trade with the New York Liberty that sent Swin Cash to the Liberty last Wednesday.

The trade reunited MiltonJones with Dream head coach Michael Cooper, whom she won two titles with in 2001-02.

The Hawks (0-3) have yet to secure a win in the 2014 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

They lost their most recent game 91-76 to the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday. The closest they were to a win was on Sunday when they lost to the NBA D-League Select team in double OT. The good news is rookie Adreian Payne showed a lot of promise.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By David Norwood II

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

COUNTING TUESDAY’S APPEARANCE, BRAVES CLOSER CRAIG KIMBREL HAS MADE HOW MANY CONSECUTIVE ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS? ANSWER ON PAGE 14

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SANITY AT LAST

“That’s a special moment, obviously. I was just trying to make contact, really, out there.

The hands were shaking a little bit. ... To be able to come through and get a hit was a cool experience.”

- Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman on his first All-Star Game hit.

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All-Star Game appearances

by Craig Kimbrel

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Strikeouts Kimbrel recorded during Tuesday’s All-Star Game

1

Shoni Schimmel’s rank in WNBA jersey sales

20

Points scored by Dream guard Angel McCoughtry in Wednesday’s loss to New York

25,601

Votes for Shoni Schimmel in the WNBA All-Star balloting

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Runs scored in the Braves’ win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday

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Home runs hit by Chris Johnson in Sunday’s win over the Cubs

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Hits in one at-bat by Freddie Freeman in the All-Star Game

7-ON-7 SHOWDOWN

GRAYSON WINS GEORGIA INVITATIONAL, EARNS TRIP TO HOOVER

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

G

rayson defeated Valdosta 18-17 and 31-9 in consecutive games to win the 32-team National Select 7-on-7 Georgia Invitational on Saturday at Lassiter. The victory earned Grayson a spot in the National Tournament slated for next weekend at Hoover High School (Ala.).

RAM TOUGH …

The odds appeared to be stacked against the Rams this weekend. The offense was being directed by a sophomore quarterback, the Rams head coach Mickey Conn had to leave for his son’s baseball game and they were sent to the losers’ bracket after the first game of the tournament play, which ended in a 22-21 heartbreaking defeat to Lovejoy. None of that mattered. Instead, their tournament title run was defined by team speed, a wealth of playmakers and high energy echoing from the Grayson

sideline every snap. They also walked away as the first team to ever win the tournament while battling entirely through the losers’ bracket.

“Our kids wanted this so bad and I’m so happy for us,” said defensive coordinator Lenny Gregory.

Offensively, you have to have great quarterback play to win a passing tournament and Chase Brice was Grayson’s star underclassman. The 6-foot-3 pro-style passer was mature beyond his years and made big throws to keep the defense off the field as much as possible.

“Chase is an incredible quarterback and I don’t think you can win championships without that ingredient,” said Gregory. “We have a championship quarterback [with Chase] so we’re real excited about him and his supporting cast and we’ve just got a great chemistry on this football team.”

RIDING THE WAVE …

Brice opened the first championship game with a quick four-play touchdown drive to give Grayson a 7-0 lead. The Rams extended the lead to 9-0, but Valdosta forced an interception and tied it at 9-9 after a Wildcats touchdown and failed conversion. The teams traded touchdowns again and Grayson stopped the pointafter-attempt to cling to a 16-15 lead. Grayson’s one-point lead was brief and Valdosta took over the lead with a defensive stop and held the 1716 edge with the football. Grayson’s only chance was a defensive stop which nets two points and the unit came through. On third down, Valdosta came up just short with 55 seconds left and Grayson was able to run out the clock with an 18-17 advantage.

The defense made plays all day for the Rams and played at a high speed even into what was the group’s 11th 21-minute game of the day.

“We face a lot of teams and you don’t want confuse your players [on defense],” explained Gregory. “Keep it real simple and let your kids make plays. We talk all summer on alignment and assignments so they can just go out there and make plays.”

In the championship rematch, Grayson burst to a 15-0 lead before putting it away with a touchdown with 2:25 left that made it 23-9.

Grayson was able to burn clock after jumping to the early lead through the reliable hands of

Hunter Schuessler. The possession receiver converted from a quarterback to the slot and this gave the younger Brice a playmaker familiar with the quarterback position and the offense to throw to on big downs.

“Hunter has been doing great,” said Brice.

“He caught just about every ball thrown his way in this tournament and made plays throughout it. I have so much trust and faith in him when we call his number.”

Grayson built momentum throughout the tournament and it will be the same drill in Hoover this weekend with a day of pool play on Friday for tournament seeding before the main event on Saturday.

“Our expectations this weekend were to come in and win it,” said Gregory. “It’s what we preach at Grayson. We preach being champions and we didn’t come here for an experience. We came here to compete against the nation’s best teams and showcase our kids. It’s nice to have the opportunity. We’re blessed again to be invited to another weekend in this environment.”

Grayson’s neighbor North Gwinnett will also be making the trip to Hoover next weekend and so will Valdosta and Lassiter. No Georgia team has ever claimed the national title.

Photos courtesy of Craig Sager II.

Vol. 10 Iss. 26 | July 18-24, 2014

Right now, Nichols has a small lead on the field in the Estes Services Master’s Division points race. This is because Bill Plemons Jr. is on his tail trying to get his name in the winners’ circle each week.

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

SMITH, NICHOLS DOMINATING THURSDAY THUNDER SERIES

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

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t is another week in the summer and this means we are that much closer to seeing NASCAR’s best race under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That said, it has been a very busy summer out at the speedway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags/ShowN-Shine and Thursday Thunder racing series.

LEGENDS AND BANDALEROS …

Starting first with the Thursday Thunder series, last week was another great week for this series of racing that features Legends and Bandalero cars. One name that has been on the dominant end of things in this series of races is Chandler Smith.

According to www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com, Smith picked up another win in the Bandalero Bandits division and now has a huge lead on the competition. When you start men-

tioning names like current Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano, you know that you’re doing some great things on the track.

That is the case with Smith, because of his consecutive wins streak in this summer’s series of races. In fact, Smith is trying to have the perfect season out at AMS. He will try again this Thursday night in the second to last Thursday Thunder races of this season.

If you have been following along each week with how the Thursday Thunder series is going, you would notice the name Skip Nichols.

That is because, like Smith, he is dominating his division of racing.

The veteran driver is having a good time in the Master’s Division and is looking for yet another Legends Championship. He already has six in his name.

FRIEND OF THE FAM …

As we have talked about each week with the Thursday Thunder series of races, the event is very family friendly and an inexpensive night out.

Kids under the age of 12 get into the event for the whole cost of $2. Even better for kids under the age of five, they’re getting in for free.

Adults are charged $6 to get in to see a great night of racing.

For more information on the Thursday Thunder series or how to get some tickets for the event, head over to www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

As mentioned earlier in this piece, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags and Show-N-Shine continues to be a huge event for AMS. No larger example of this, than the Fourth of July fireworks display that was put on less than two weeks ago.

According to AMS officials, that night of racing saw a great turnout at the box office and

plenty of people enjoying the races/show cars on display.

Last week, some bad weather entered the South Atlanta area and washed out the competition. If you do have a wristband for that night’s event, you will be allowed to come to the next event of racing.

This series is close to the halfway point of completion for the summer and just continues to thrill those who come out to see the action.

Just like with Thursday Thunder, all the information you need to know about the O’Reilly Auto Parts Friday Night Drags and Show-NShine is at www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

Finally, the Labor Day weekend of NASCAR races is quickly approaching. It is a little under a month and a half away from getting started.

A new promotion is available for you on the AMS website, where you can join ‘Chase’s Crew.’ This is in honor of driver Chase Elliot and if you do this, you can get in on some great deals.

For example tickets to the Great Clips 300 are $30 for a front stretch ticket to that night’s race.

Plus you can get an autograph session with Elliot and a commemorative rally towel.

Find out how to get in on this great deal at www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com!

NIKE TENNIS CAMPS SERIOUS. FUN.

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

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

FOX DISMISSES MORRIS AFTER FELONY DRUG CHARGE

BY MATTHEW CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

forward Brandon Morris was dismissed Jheadunior from the UGA men’s basketball team by coach Mark Fox, it was announced Mon-

day. Morris was arrested by the Athens-Clarke County police early Sunday morning and charged with felony possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. According to the Athens-Clarke County beat report, there were 18 grams of “high-grade marijuana” along with a digital scale in Morris’ possession.

“This program has a strong expectation of citizenship and every one of our players understands this,” Fox said. “This expectation does not mean that mistakes will not happen. When they do I always deal with them appropriately.

Brandon had a very clear understanding of our expectation. Unfortunately, I’ve had to dismiss him from our team.”

The Lithonia native averaged 8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 31 games played last year as a sophomore.

WATCH OUT …

Another year means another load of Daw-

GEORGIA STATE

BUCKNER, ATKINS SIGN PRO CONTRACTS; BURGEE NAMED ALL-STAR

BY DAVID NORWOOD | DNORWOOD@SCOREATL.COM

F

ormer Georgia State basketball forward Eric Buckner (2010-12) signed with the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Buckner averaged 10.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in his final year at Georgia State. Buckner also holds the school-record in blocks with 167. “I was pleased to see Eric get the opportunity to play with an NBA franchise,” Georgia State men’s basketball head coach Ron Hunter said in a school press release. “Since leaving Georgia State, he has worked extremely hard to improve his game. He has had a great deal of success over in Turkey and I am sure he will take advantage of this great opportunity.”

Georgia State men’s tennis head coach Brent Ross hired former East Carolina assistant coach Mike Murray on Friday. With Murray’s assistance, the Pirates went 34-13 during his two-year tenure.

“We are very fortunate and excited to bring Mike Murray to Georgia State University.

I really feel he is one of the top young coaches

gs being named to preseason award watch lists. Yet the most surprising announcement in watch list season would be seeing Georgia quarterback Hutson Mason included among 39 players up for the Davey O’Brien award for the nation’s top QB, which was announced on Wednesday. The redshirt senior is set to begin his first full year as the Bulldogs’ starter after stepping in for the last three games of the 2013 season, following Aaron Murray’s knee injury.

Meanwhile, linebackers Leonard Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Ramik Wilson were all named to the Butkus Award watch list for the nation’s top linebacker. The foursome was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Award list for the nation’s top defensive player. Georgia kicker Marshall Morgan was also included in the watch list parade. He is one of 30 candidates up for the Lou Groza Award, which is given to the nation’s top kicker.

SUMMER HOOPS …

Georgia men’s basketball alum Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is looking to put his rookie year with the Detroit Pistons behind him, and with the stats he has put up in the Orlando Summer League, there is reason to be hopeful. The No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft averaged 24.0 points per game, tops in the Orlando-based league, to go along with 7.4 rebounds per game. In his last year with the Bulldogs, Caldwell-Pope was named the 2013 SEC Player of the Year along with being named a member of the All-SEC first team.

in the country,” Ross said. “His playing background and coaching experience combined with his enthusiasm for the game will be an extremely valuable asset to the program.”

ARGENTINA ATKINS …

Recent graduate and former Georgia State men’s basketball forward Manny Atkins (2012-14) signed with Juventad Sionista, a professional basketball team based in Paraná, Argentina. Atkins averaged 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds during his final year at Georgia State.

“I am so happy that Manny gets to continue his dream of playing basketball professionally,” said Hunter. “Manny was a special student-athlete and one that I will never forget.

He will always be welcome back in the Sports Arena. I expect him to have a very successful career and wish him all the best of luck.”

DIAMOND NOTES …

Georgia State baseball senior right-hander Kevin Burgee of the St. Cloud Rox (Minn.)

Northwood League baseball team was named to 2014 Northwoods League All-Star Game on Friday. Burgee ranked third in Sun Belt Conference with eight saves last season for the Panthers. Sophomore catcher/outfielder Trae Sweeting of the DC Grays made the Cal Ripken League All-Star game. Sweeting hit .333 with seven RBI last season for the Panthers.

GEORGIA TECH

LADY JACKETS COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY

BY DARRIN HEATHERLY | DHEATHERLY@SCOREATL.COM

T

hree Yellow Jackets competed in the Women’s U20 European Championship last week in Udine, Italy. Antonia Peresson, an Italian native and guard for Team Italy, helped win the bronze medal for her team. The incoming freshman averaged 3.0 points per game and 0.5 rebounds per game.

Katarina Vuckovic, a rising sophomore who plays for the Serbian national team, helped her team to a fourth-place finish. Incoming Yellow Jacket Simina Avram competed for Romania at the Division B U20 European Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Peresson helped Team Italy match up well against Team Serbia member and classmate Vuckovic twice; once in group play and once in elimination play. Peresson went on to help her team win both games, 77-67 and 68-63, respectively. In their first matchup Vuckovic was unstoppable, supplying Serbia with 16 points in 21 minutes (5 for 7 from the field). Team Italy

KENNESAW STATE

OWLS PERFORM WELL IN AMATEUR GOLF TOURNIES; SOCCER SCHEDULE RELEASED

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

D

espite it being the summer break, KSU athletes are still doing work as the men golfers did some good things at the Georgia Amateur Golf Championships and The Players Amateur Championships this past weekend.

Rising seniors Jimmy Beck and Kelby Burton performed well at their respected tournaments. Beck turned in a Top 10 finish at The Players Championship at the Berkeley Golf Club in South Carolina and Beck finished in second place in the Georgia Amateur Golf Championships in Macon.

Rising sophomore Teremoana Beaucousin, who was the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year, played in the Biarritz Cup in France. He finished in 12th place after posting rounds of 66-68-66-71 for a 5-under par 271.

“I am really proud of our performances this past week. Jimmy has put up great numbers all summer and his consistency is rock solid,” Kennesaw State head coach Jay Moseley told ksuowls.com. “He is solidifying his name among

faced competitors from Russia, Spain and the Slovak Republic en route to a bronze medal.

Vuckovic helped Serbia to a 5-4 record overall while averaging 8.7 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. She was a great threat from three-point range, making nearly 58 percent of her shots (11 of 19). Despite wins against Poland, the Netherlands and Latvia, Vuckovic could help her team get past Team Italy and Serbia settled for a fourth-place finish.

OUTLAND WATCH …

Shaquille Mason may become Georgia Tech’s first Outland Trophy winner in the history of the school’s football program. Mason, a 2013 first-team All-ACC selection, was named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy last week, which is selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

The Tennessee native was a force with Tech last year. He helped lead the ACC in rushing offense as a starter. Mason has shown that he can perform from all sides of the line. In 2012, Mason made 12 starts at left guard followed by 13 starts at right guard in 2013.

Mason will be one of 64 players total named to the watch list and one of 14 offensive guards. The list includes 19 SEC, nine ACC, nine Big Ten, 11 Pac-12, two AA, two conference USA, two independents and one Mountain West player(s). Mason is only one of five players in Tech history named to the list.

the nation’s best amateurs and I expect him to continue his momentum into his senior year.”

This is good for the men’s team as the Owls get ready for the 2014-15 season, which begins in September. The schedule was released on Tuesday and the Owls will make their first appearance in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate (North Carolina), Macdonald Cup (Yale) and the Jones Invitational (Pepperdine).

ALABAMA GETAWAY …

And speaking of schedules, the soccer team released its 2014 schedule last week and it will feature nine home games. The Owls will kick off the season in Tuscaloosa, Ala. against Alabama on Aug. 22. The will have their homeopener three days later when they face Georgia State at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

“It is quite an unusual dynamic on our team at the moment because we have our very solid core group of seniors that are coming back and they expect big things,” head coach Rob King told ksuowls.com “We have a very talented group that’s coming in. We have a real high level of commitment from the returning players and we have excellent leadership in our seniors and really throughout the team.”

The Owls are set to return 13 letter winners, including eight starters, from a team that advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference semifinals. They finished the 2014 season with a 9-9-1, finishing third in the conference with a 5-3-1 record.

Vol. 10 Iss. 26 | July 18-24, 2014 ATLANTA HAWKS

PAYNE, MUSCALA SHINE IN SUMMER LEAGUE DESPITE LOSSES

BY DARRIN HEATHERLY | DHEATHERLY@SCOREATL.COM

he Atlanta Hawks made their summer T league debuts in Las Vegas on Saturday facing off against the Washington Wizards,

followed by the NBA D-League Select Team on Sunday. The Hawks battled against Washington in a game that could have gone either way early. However, a dominant third quarter by Washington sealed a Wizards victory.

It was a slow start for rookie Adreian Payne, who seemed to succumb to the great deal of attention prior to his debut. Payne recorded 12 points and seven rebounds. John Jenkins, still recovering from a back injury, only recorded two points in 21 minutes. The Hawks would find more production in Mike Muscala (11 points, five rebounds) and second-round pick Lamar Patterson (10 points, three steals).

Overall, it was just a start for the Hawks as they continue to learn each other’s playing style and try to play with intensity on defense.

Key players could not get hot and there were many fouling errors from defensive big man Walter Tavares (four fouls in five minutes).

ATLANTA BRAVES

BRAVES TIED AT THE BREAK WITH BIGGEST RIVAL

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

W

ell, it doesn’t get much closer than this.

The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals are tied atop the National League East at the All-Star break. Washington was just percentage points ahead when play wrapped up last weekend, with a 51-42 mark compared to Atlanta’s 52-43.

The up-and-down Braves won nine games in a row in late June and early July, dropped four in succession immediately thereafter and then ended the proverbial first half of the season with some momentum by taking three of their last four. They avoided getting swept by the Mets with a road victory last Thursday before winning the final two contests of a three-game set last weekend against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Atlanta crossed the plate a total of 21 times last Saturday and Sunday as Chris Johnson went 5-for9 with three homers and seven RBIs in the two-game stretch. Justin Upton went 4-for-9 with four RBIs in the two wins.

DENNIS THE MENACE …

The Hawks were back on Sunday against the D-League Select and despite a 94-92 loss in double overtime, there were many positives to take, especially from German native Dennis Schröder. The second-year player finished with an impressive 30 points on 9-14 shooting.

Schröder was aggressive and forced himself into the paint consistently, taking 10 shots from the charity stripe. Schröder may have found confidence in his fellow countrymen, who won the FIFA World Cup in Brazil Sunday evening.

The rest of the Hawks had a strong comeback performance in Game 2. The frontcourt improved significantly under Muscala and Payne, who were a force on offense. In 33 minutes, Muscala recorded a double-double (15 points, 15 rebounds).

Payne was very active, recording 10 points and seven rebounds. The rookie even showcased a thunderous dunk in the first quarter that had the media cheering. Payne seemed to always show up at the right time, having several key blocks and rebounds.

Lamar Patterson, who had 11 points, was strong and athletic and could be a reliable weapon off the bench in the regular season.

Four D-League players for Atlanta premiered for short segments off the bench.

Most notably Casey Prather, one of the more interesting prospects in development. Prather proved his upside with defensive awareness.

“These last two games we’ve been pretty productive offensively and…kind of what’s been lagging behind for us is being able to put up runs,” Upton said in his post-game interview following the finale at Wrigley. “So if we can match our pitching with some good offense, I think we’ll be alright.”

Atlanta is opening its second half with an 11-game homestand. Fredi Gonzalez’s club is hosting Philadelphia for three games this weekend before playing four against both Miami and San Diego.

MIDSUMMER CLASSIC …

The American League beat the National League 5-3 in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Minnesota, but it was no fault of Atlanta’s two playing representatives (Julio Teheran joined Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel on the NL roster, but he did not pitch due to having started last Sunday’s Braves game).

Kimbrel, making a fourth consecutive appearance in the midsummer classic, struck out the side in seventh inning. Ironically, one batter reached base against Kimbrel on an error (misplayed ground ball) by Freeman. The first baseman, however, was otherwise impressive. He made one of his patented stretches to cap off a brilliant play by second baseman Dee Ford to rob Michael Brantley of a hit in the top of the sixth inning. Freeman later singled in his only at-bat, off of Oakland’s Sean Doolittle in the top of the eighth.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS NEAR TRAINING CAMP; WORRILOW EYES LEADERSHIP ROLE

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Falcons are one week away from the July 25 start of training camp and the remaining position battles and subplots of Atlanta’s preparation for the 2014 season sit center stage.

On offense, the competition for starting center was considered open to start the offseason but it appears Joe Hawley is starting to pull away in his battle with Peter Konz according to precamp updates. Sam Baker has secured the left tackle role and Justin Blalock patches up the left side of the line at guard. On the right side of the line, rookie tackle Jake Matthews and veteran guard Jon Asamoah have earned their respective starting roles.

In the backfield, rookie running back Devonta Freeman has a chance to step into a significant role this season. Steven Jackson will not take heavy carries this preseason, so Freeman will see plenty of reps with the first offense and could enter the regular season rotation with a solid camp and preseason.

Tight end is still the biggest question mark

ATLANTA DREAM

DREAM ACQUIRE MILTON-JONES, EXTEND INNING STREAK TO FOUR GAMES

BY MATTHEW CASON | MCASON@SCOREATL.COM

L

et’s make a deal. Those are four possible words on the mind of Dream general manager Angela Taylor when she made the decision to acquire Delisha Milton-Jones from the New York Liberty in exchange for seldom-used forward Swin Cash. Milton-Jones, a 16-year veteran, comes to Atlanta as one of only five players in WNBA history to have scored 5,000 points and pulled down 2,500 rebounds in their careers, rounding out her career-average totals to 11.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In 19 games this season with the Liberty, MiltonJones averaged 5.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

“We are excited to add Delisha to our roster as we continue to seek a WNBA Championship,” said Taylor.

The deal for Milton-Jones was just a small note for the Dream as they expanded their winning streak to four games with two wins over the weekend. The streak was kick-started on Saturday, as Atlanta visited and then demol-

13

on offense. It looks like it will be a collective effort this season to try and fill in for retired Tony Gonzalez. Levine Toilolo is being used in a pass catching role, where Bear Pascoe can be relied upon as a blocker. This offseason will give a first glimpse at how the team plans to manage this rotation.

CARRY THE TORCH …

With Sean Weatherspoon out for the year with an Achilles’ injury, second-year inside linebacker Paul Worrilow will be one of the leaders on the defense, and they’ll need him.

There are plenty of veterans on the defensive line, but Worrilow needs to be the anchor that sets the tone in the heart of the defense. He led the team in tackles last season while getting thrown into the starting job and his challenge will be asserting himself as one of the team’s leaders this season.

CORNER WARS …

The cornerback battle behind Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford is far from settled and a key aspect of the defense’s success this season. Atlanta is looking to improve its takeaways from last year and rookies Ricardo Allen and Devonta Glover-Wright as well as veterans Javier Arenas, Josh Wilson and Robert McClain will get one step closer to winning the third spot with each big play they make in the remaining offseason.

ished Indiana 93-74. Guard Tiffany Hayes led all scorers with a season-high 21 points while center Erika De Souza contributed a doubledouble scoring 13 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

The next night proved to be a tight rope act for Atlanta as they traveled back home to take on the Chicago Sky in McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech the very next day. An exhausted Dream squad saw the matchup go into overtime as Angel McCoughtry rescued Atlanta yet again, hitting two clutch free throws with 29 seconds remaining as Atlanta survived 81-79. McCoughtry matched her season-high with 33 points.

“We were all tired and all struggling,” said Tiffany Hayes. “But coach kept telling us to fight and we pulled together and won.”

REUNITED …

It won’t be the first time Delisha MiltonJones has had Michael Cooper as her head coach. In fact, the two were once part of a well-recognized WNBA dynasty. Milton-Jones played her first five years under Cooper for the Los Angeles Sparks from 2000-2004. During that span, Los Angeles compiled a record of 119-31, finished first in the West each season, and won two WNBA championships. The two would team up yet again with the Sparks in the ’08-’09 seasons, seeing Los Angeles make two more Western Conference Finals appearances.

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