Georgia sports for Thursday, February 28th

The Atlanta Braves open their Grapefruit League preseason schedule this afternoon against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach, Florida. Tim Hudson gets the pitching start as the Braves will face former teammate Andruw Jones. Yesterday, the Braves beat the University of Georgia's baseball team 8-0.

Men's college basketball out of last night: Georgia Tech lost their ACC-contest on the road at 7th-ranked Duke, 71-58. The Yellow Jackets' record fell to 11-15 overall, and 4-8 in the conference. Georgia's Bulldogs also lost their game in Athens, 77-64 to Florida. Georgia fell to 12-14 overall, and 3-10 in the SEC. The story was better for Georgia State's men--a victory in Atlanta over Towson 79-63. State improved to 9-19, and 5-12 in the CAA.

Georgia sports for Thursday, December 6th

In men's college basketball, Georgia Tech made the trip of only a couple of miles in Atlanta to Georgia State's arena for action last night. Tech's Yellow Jackets had to fight hard to fend-off the homestanding Panthers before winning 72-67. From a tied halftime score of 32, Georgia State scored the first 8 points of the 2nd half to grab the lead. It wasn't until 6:24 left in the contest did Tech regain the lead for good. Lewis Clinch of Tech led all scorers with 22 points. Leonard Mendez paced State with 20. The Yellow Jackets improved their record to 4-4, while the Panthers fell to 2-5.

From pro hockey, the Atlanta Thrashers got their record back to .500 for the season in the 4-3 win over the New York Islanders.

Out of baseball, former Braves' outfielder Andruw Jones appears close to finalizing a deal to join the Los Angeles Dodgers. The contract is reported to be for 36-million dollars over 2 years.

Georgia sports for Wednesday, November 7th

Two Atlanta Braves players have been honored with Gold Glove awards. Centerfielder Andruw Jones won his 10th for defensive excellence. However, Jones is likely to leave the team as a free agent, as the Braves a few weeks ago announced they wouldn’t be able to match his expected asking price for salary. The other Gold Glove went to rightfielder Jeff Francouer, the 1st of his young career.

On the ice, the Atlanta Thrashers continue their resurgence after an 0-6 start. They were on home ice last night, knocking off the Washington Capitals 2-1 in overtime. Todd White scored the game winner, while Ilya Kovalchuk posted his NHL-leading 13th goal in the game.

NBA action—-the Atlanta Hawks were losers on the road in New Jersey, 87-82.

Georgia sports for Wednesday, October 3rd

Braves fans have probably seen the last great catch in centerfield by Andruw Jones--wearing a Braves uniform. Team general manager John Schuerholz said Tuesday that because Jones is expected to command a huge salary in the free agent market--perhaps 20 million dollars annually--the Braves cannot afford to bring him back.

"We have no way of being able to keep Andruw on our team, and have the necessary assets that would allow us to build a complete team, that gives us the best chance of winnng our division again".

The Braves under new ownership are expected to see their 84-million dollar payroll raise slightly, but still have about 65-million dollars tied up and going to five players: 3rd baseman Chipper Jones, 1st baseman Mark Teixeira, and pitchers John Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Mike Hampton.

Schuerholz told Jones of the team's direction in a Tuesday noon meeting at Turner Field. Jones told the Associated Press "I'm appreciative of the chance they gave me to play for Atlanta all these years. I understand the decision they have to make".

Andruw Jones has been an Atlanta Brave for his entire career, since arriving in 1996. He's a nine-time Gold Glove winner, with 368 home runs in just over 11 seasons. This season however, he took a stumble offensively, batting only .222.

Braves won't re-sign Andruw Jones

The Atlanta Braves can’t afford to keep Andruw Jones. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Braves General Manager John Schuerholz told Jones today. Jones’ manager had reportedly been asking Atlanta for a 7-year contract at $20-million dollars annually.

Georgia sports for Tuesday, September 18th

The Braves opened their final homestand of the season last night by blasting the Marlins 11-6 at Turner Field in Atlanta. Andruw Jones knocked a home run, while Jeff Francouer reached 100 RBI’s for the 2nd straight season. John Smoltz got the pitching win, his 14th of the season—-he worked 6 innings, with 4 hits and a run allowed.

From the NFL, the Falcons have dusted-off an old relic--again. They’ve signed 47-year-old kicker Morten Anderson for a third stint with the team. Anderson replaces a rookie, as Matt Prater was waived. Prater missed 3-of-4 field goal attempts in only 2 games with the Falcons, including 2 misses Sunday at Jacksonville.

Georgia sports for Friday, July 20th

The Braves kicked-aside their 3-game losing streak in grand style last night, trouncing the Cardinals 10-1 in the opener of a 4-game series from Atlanta.

The Braves' offense included a home run and 3 RBI's from Andruw Jones. Matt Diaz knocked a homer, while Julio Franco in his first game back with Atlanta delievered a 2-run single.

On the mound, Tim Hudson was solid in 7 innings of work, allowing a run and 5 hits. His record improved to 10-5.

The Braves remain 2-and-a-half games behind the Mets for first in the NL-East Division.

Georgia sports for Wednesday, June 27th

The Braves are hoping to make their recent 5-game losing streak a distant memory: they beat the Washington Nationals for a 2nd straight night, 6-2 the final on Tuesday. Rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a pair of solo home runs, and the slumping Andruw Jones got healthy at the plate with a 3-run homer. Buddy Carlyle got the pitching win with good work across 7 innings. The Braves go for the 3-game sweep tonight with John Smoltz on the hill.

The Falcons are getting ready for training camp next month, and one of their key contributors on defense is set to focus on football. Defensive tackle Grady Jackson's lawsuit against the team has been resolved. Jackson's attorney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his client is very happy with how it worked out. The Falcons only acknowledged the case has been resolved, passing on any further comment. Jackson's lawsuit was filed over defamation and invasion of privacy. Jackson claimed the Falcons improperly released medical records to the view of other teams. Jackson at the time was a free agent, and claimed other teams shied away from him. His allegation was that the Falcons signed him for below market value. According to the AJC, the resolution has Jackson with a fresh 4-year contract. He had signed a 3-year deal with the team last year.

Georgia sports for Friday, June 22nd

The Braves out of yesterday’s off-day on the schedule, are back to action tonight opening a home series against the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers. John Smoltz will get the pitching start.

The Braves have struggled this month in general, especially in home games, where they’ve lost 10 of their last 14 played at Turner Field. Centerfielder Andruw Jones has been going especially tough, hitting only for a .202 average as the season heads into late-June. Jones is in the final year of his contract, and looking for a big pay-day when his free agent status arrives.

Despite Andruw’s and the Braves’ struggles, the team is still only a game-and-a-half behind the Mets for 1st in the NL-East.

Georgia sports for Tuesday, May 29th

The Braves got back on the winning track yesterday afternoon with a 2-1 win over the Brewers in Milwaukee to open a 3-game series. Andruw Jones knocked a home run, number 350 of his career. On the mound, Chuck James was solid in allowing only 5 hits, while tying a career high with 8 strikeouts. The Braves with the win snapped a 3-game losing skid. Tonight, they'll send John Smoltz to the mound.

Georgia Tech's baseball team did not make the NCAA Tournament field that was announced Monday. This ends a streak of 7-straight years of Tech making the NCAA postseason tournament.

Georgia sports for Wednesday, May 9th

The Braves scored 2 8th-inning runs to comeback and beat the Padres 3-2 last night in Atlanta.

Andruw Jones ended an ‘0 for 21’ skid at the plate with 2 hits:
He rapped an RBI-double in the 6th inning, and his 8th inning RBI-single was the winning margin.

On the mound, Mike Gonzalez worked the 8th inning to collect the win. Rafael Soriano threw the 9th for the save. A great pitching start for fill-in Anthony Lerew called-up from the minors: Only 2 hits and 2 runs allowed, with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings of work.

Tonight, it's a matchup of former teammates: John Smoltz and Greg Maddux will oppose each other. The future Hall of Famers haven’t faced each other since Maddux left Atlanta following the 2003 season.


College baseball this evening will feature another meeting of Georgia and Georgia Tech on the diamond. This time it's from Athens for the 3rd and final meeting of the season. The teams have split the first 2 meetings. First pitch is at 7pm

Georgia sports for Tuesday, May 1st

It was a great start for the Braves to their homestand, scoring the exciting 5-2 win over the Phillies last night in Atlanta. Andruw Jones broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 9th inning with a 3-run home run off Antonio Alfonseca to end it.
Earlier in the game, Chipper Jones also knocked a homer. Starting pitcher Tim Hudson turned-in another strong performance with 4 hits and 2 runs allowed across 8 innings.

Before the game Monday, Braves closer Bob Wickman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an upper back strain. Wickman had two poor outings over the weekend in Colorado, including a blown save Sunday against the Rockies.