Sports Page Atlanta

Everyone knows how great of a start Chipper Jones is doing.  But hitting .418 is a little ridiculous.  Chipper’s best batting average season was last year when he hit .337.  He is also looking for his first batting title.  He has come close a few times as we see below…

2007 - batted .337 - finished 2nd behind Matt Holliday at .340

2002 - batted .327 - finished 5th behind Barry Bonds at .370

2001 - batted .330 - finished 5th behind Larry Walker at .350

1999 - batted .319 - finished 10th behind Larry Walker at .379

Here are how the locals are doing at the AT & T Classic…

(the leader is Kenny Perry -9, but he went to Western Kentucky, so that doesn’t count…. sorry Hilltopper fans)

*** Georgia Bulldogs

Justin Bolli: +1 (73) 2 birdes, 3 bogeys and everything else par par par

Paul Claxton: +1 (73)  2 double bogeys on the front 9 hurt, -3 on back 9 was good though

Ryuji Imada: -1 (71) up and down all day…. 8 pars, 6 birdies, 3 bogeys and a double???

Chris Kirk: -3 (69) birdied first 3 holes and 4 out of the first 6

Franklin Langham: withdrew which is good…. he was +22 after 17

Scott Parel: +6 (78)  2 double bogeys hurt

Bubba Watson: +3 (75) expect a much better 2nd round

*** Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Ramon Castro: +2 (74) no bogeys, but he did have 2 double bogeys

Stewart Cink: -4 (68) 6 birdies on the day

David Duval: +6 (78) a triple bogey on 14, that hurts

Matt Kuchar: -1 (71) pretty error-free golf… just one bogey

Troy Matteson: -1 (71) bogeyed 3,4,5 but smooth sailing after that

Larry Mize: -1 (71) hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation

Nicholas Thompson: +7 (79) not a good turn, double-bogeys on 9 and 10 

Offense

While Chris Redman took snaps with the first-string offense, all eyes were on the #3 overall draft pick Matt Ryan’s first practice, which went well. Coaches were impressed with his camaraderie with teammates most of all. New RB Michael Turner’s shoulder injury limited him somewhat, but he made it onto the field and drew rave reviews with his performance. At WR, it was comforting to see Brian Finneran hauling in passes, appearing to be fully recovered from two ACL tears. On the starting squad were Roddy White (who suffered a mild hamstring injury) and Laurent Robinson, a decision which Joe Horn was none too happy about. How the team deals with his grumbling will certainly be an issue to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. Also, rookie Harry Douglas made quite a splash and could play a role as a slot receiver sooner than expected. At tight end, the Falcons still lack a real playmaker in the passing game, but if Martrez Milner emerges, look for him to challenge Ben Hartsock for that duty while rookie Keith Zinger provides some help in running situations. Along the offensive line, Sam Baker appears to be the favorite to start at left tackle this season. He probably won’t start early, but don’t be surprised if you see him there a few weeks into the season. Until he’s ready, expect Quinn Ojinnaka to start. After some time at right tackle, Justin Blalock moved back to his natural position of left guard. The sooner the second year player from Texas can mesh with Baker, the better the Falcons will be. The rest of the offensive line will look familiar to fans, as they return Todd Weiner at right tackle, Kynan Forney at right guard, and Todd McClure at center. Weiner’s health remains an issue, but he is expected to recover from his knee operation by the beginning of the season.

Defense

There is little news along the defensive line, where Jamaal Anderson and John Abraham remain as the starting ends while DT, with Trey Lewis hurt, appears to be set for a rotation among Kindal Moorehead, Jonathan Babineaux, Rashad Moore, and Montavious Stanley. Keith Brookings’ move to weakside linebacker is helped by the addition of rookie Curtis Lofton, who can play anywhere in the LB corps. Lofton saw time inside, which means Brooking may wind up sharing some time with the up-and-coming Stephen Nicholas while Michael Boley remains at strongside linebacker. Boley attended camp amid the news of his recent arrest on battery charges. While any arrest is certainly a black eye to the Falcons organization, it must be noted that Boley appeared very contrite about the incident, and he was charged with a misdemeanor which is yet unresolved. The biggest defensive question this year concerns the cornerbacks, of whom Von Hutchins and Chris Houston appear to be the starters. While David Irons and rookie Chevis Jackson are in the mix, this week’s minicamp gave little insight as to what to expect from that situation in the coming months. Keep an eye on corner Brent Grimes, who wowed the coaching staff with impressive man-to-man coverage skills in the camp. At free safety, veteran addition Erik Coleman has an early edge on the starting job over backups Antoine Harris and the disappointing Jimmy Williams. At strong safety, veteran Lawyer Milloy returns with second year player Daren Stone battling rookie Thomas DeCoud for backup duty.

Special Teams

With Jason Elam and Michael Koenen firmly entrenched at place kicker and punter, respectively, there wasn’t much intrigue about kick specialists in mini-camp, although undrafted free agent rookie Jimmie Kaylor hopes to make at least the practice squad as the backup punter. Due to Adam Jennings’ struggles as a returner last season, Atlanta added several other return options through both free agency and the draft. The team will give former Dolphins WR Chandler Williams as well as the recently drafted local hero Thomas Brown a chance to earn return duties this fall.

Hey, the Braves won 8-6, of course they did, like I said the score was 8-6, it was a 2-run game.  The Braves are ok in those games, it is the 1-run games you have to worry about.

Atlanta Braves in…

1-run games:     1-11 record

2-run games:     4-0 record

3-run games:     5-3 record

4 or more runs:  10-5 record

Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford might have got snubbed for NBA Rookie of the Year, but he was the only unaminous choice on the All-Rookie first team. Horford got 58 votes compared to the Rookie of the Year winner Kevin Durant’s 57. Other first team members include Luis Scola, Al Thornton and Jeff Green.

Hawks guard Acie Law received one vote and former Georgia Tech forward Thaddeous Young was named to the second team.

As I mentioned below, a lot of big time winners of the AT&T Classic (formely the BellSouth Classic, formely the Atlanta Classic and so-on and so-on).

I also mentioned if you are a fan of Georgia or Georgia Tech golf there are a lot of people you can be watching…

The three most famous ones are probably David Duval, Stewart Cink and Larry Mize. These former Yellow Jackets have had great pro careers. Duval was the 1999 winner at the BellSouth, Cink has 6 top-10 finishes on the course, while Mize has had two 2nd place finishes here, back in 1987 and in 1990.

Ryuji Imada got everyone excited last year when he lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson who just got off a win at the Masters. Ever year Imada improves at this course. In 2005 he finished 15th, in 2006 he finished 10th and last year 2nd. In 12 Tournaments this year, the former Georgia Bulldog has 2 runner-ups and is 22nd on the PGA Tour money list.

Another former Bulldog is Bubba Watson. He is a big-time crowd pleaser while his pink driver and his booming drives. Watson is the leader once again averaging over 310 yards a drive.

Here are the former Georgia Bulldogs that are playing…

• Justin Bolli
• Paul Claxton
• Ryuji Imada
• Chris Kirk
• Franklin Langham
• Scott Parel
• Bubba Watson

Here are the former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that are playing…

• Ramon Castro 
• Stewart Cink
• David Duval
• Matt Kuchar
• Troy Matteson
• Larry Mize
• Nicholas Thompson

The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3-2 last night in front of 22,599 at Turner Field. To no surprise the man that sealed the deal for the Dawgs was closer Joshua Fields. The senior chalked up another record with the big save. Here are the records he owns and one more he can still get…

Most Saves in a season by a Georgia Bulldog:

• Joshua Fields - 16 in 2008 (got it last night)
• Joshua Fields - 15 in 2006
• Alex Barylak - 15 in 1993

Most Saves in a Career by a Georgia Bulldog:

• Joshua Fields - 39
• Cris Carpenter - 33
• Alex Barylak - 30

Most Saves in a Career by a SEC player:

• Joshua Fields - 39
• Cris Carpenter - 33
• Rick Greene (LSU) - 29
• Van Johnson (Mississippi State) - 29
• Finley Woodward (Auburn) - 29

Most Saves in a season by SEC player:

• Blake Taylor (South Carolina) - 21 in 2002
• Chad Blackwell (South Carolina) - 20 in 2004
• Lee Gronkiewicz (South Carolina) - 19 in 2001
• Finley Woodward (Auburn) - 19 in 1995
• Steven Register (Auburn) - 16 in 2003
• Joshua Fields - 16 in 2008

This Wednesday, May 14th, Comcast Sports Southeast will air a one-hour show featuring a preview of Georgia Tech’s 2008 football season. Also included in the show will be;

• Footage from the first spring practice
• Commentary from Paul Johnson, first-year Tech football coach, and Wes Durham
• Former Yellow Jackets Dorsey Levens and Rick Strom speaking with current players Darryl Richard and Andrew Gardner
• Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack gives a comprehensive review of the spring and what he expects from the defense in 2008
• Paul Johnson gives an orientation about how his offensive system was developed.

Georgia and Georgia Tech will take battle once again on the ball field tonight at 7:00 PM EST. This time the game will be played at Turner Field. The Bulldogs are having a great season and last Sunday they clinched their 6th SEC title. The one bad thing for the Dawgs is that in-state rival Georgia Tech has already destroyed them twice this season. The first Yellow Jacket win was 9-4 at Tech’s Russ Chandler Stadium on April 9th then later they won again, this time in Athens at Foley Field by the score of 11-1 last Wednesday.

The 3rd matchup at Turner Field is dubbed ‘Spring Baseball Classic For Kids’ and proceeds from the game benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and its Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program. They have been playing this game every year since 2003. The Dawgs have won 4 of the 5 previous meetings at Turner. In 2004, a total of 28,836 people attended which was the 2nd largest crowd in NCAA baseball history at the time.

Senior Nick Montgomery will make the start for Georgia while Georgia Tech counters with freshman Deck McGuire. McGuire is 8-0 this season including 2 wins against the Bulldogs. This will be Montgomery’s first career start.

Georgia and Georgia Tech tangle again tonight at Turner Field. In the 5 previous times the two teams have played at Turner Field the team that with the higher ranked has never won…

2003 - unranked Georgia defeated #10 Georgia Tech 10-3

2004 - #15 Georgia Tech defeated #12 Georgia 12-5

2005 - unranked Georgia defeated #6 Georgia Tech 11-8

2006 - #16 Georgia defeated #15 Georgia Tech 5-4 in 11 innings

2007 - unranked Georgia defeated #24 Georgia Tech 10-7

*** CURRENT POLLS

Georgia Bulldogs - Baseball America #7

- Collegiate Baseball #8

- USA Today #8

- Baseball Writers #12

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - Baseball America (unranked)

- Collegiate Baseball #25

- USA Today #25

- Baseball Writers #29