FEBRUARY CHECK US OUT AT SCOREATL.COM VOL 6 NO 6

CHECK US OUT AT SCOREATL.COMFEBRUARY 5-11, 2010 VOL 6 NO 6

02 I SCORE ATLANTA Get In The Game!

A L W A Y S A T S C O R E A T L . C O M


In this week’s Spin Cycle, Foster Lander discusses thevery different paths that Indianapolis and New Orleanshave taken to this year’s Super Bowl.

“Sitting in the Cheap Seats” is on hiatus for thisweek, but Stephen Black talks about theHawks’ two all-star selections and howthey can take the team to the next level.

Check out where all the metro area’ssignees are heading to college with ourcomprehensive list.

Fletcher Proctor highlights Gwinnett’sswim and dive programs, which areamong the best in the state.

FEBRUARY 5-11, 2010 SCORE ATLANTA I 03

TEAM SCOOP AND VOICESCOVER DESIGN BY DJ GALBIATICOVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS

6SCORE LIST-KATREK 8 HAWKS

11 SCORE MORE 12 BRAVES - GA STATE

13 CALENDAR 14 MEDIA-AD INDEX

15 GA TECH - UGA

PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. RosenbergGENERAL MANAGER Bob Houghton

MANAGING EDITOR Alex EwaltART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ GalbiatiBUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

SALES MANAGER Mark MayoSALES ASSOCIATE John Saunders

BEAT WRITERS Josh Bagriansky (Falcons), Stephen Black(UGA), Jason Boral (Thrashers), Dave Cohen (Georgia State),

Ricky Dimon (Tech), Alex Ewalt (Preps), Rajesh Gupta (Hawks) Fletcher Proctor (Braves)

STAFF WRITERS Cranston Collier, Joe Deighton, Zander Lentz, BrianPenter, Foster Lander, Brian Jones, Jason Murdock

CONTRIBUTORS Tad Arapoglou, Dean Zindler, Kevin Dankosky,Mitch Evans, Matt Judy, Tony Schiavone, Richard Diamond,

Joe Haines, Brian Katrek, Chris Dimino, Mike Bell, Matt Stewart, FredKalil, Nick Cellini, Phillip Leopold, Dave Marshall, Greg Smith, Steak

Shapiro, Mike Cather, Beau Bock, Hal Lamar, Chris Cotter, RoyHickman, Dave Cohen, John Olah, Jeff Woolverton, Chris Voss, Bob

Rathbun, Courtney Capps, Bill Hartman, Chuck Dowdle, Shannon Alderman, Dan Kamal, Dennis Scott, C.C., Hal Lanier,

Jeff Batten, Micah Hart, Ben Wright, Alan Vasquez, Andrew Vedlitz, Brian Jones

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS Mitch Albom, Dave Kindred, Barry Bloom

SHOT OF THEWEEK…

HIS NAME IS ‘RIO!: Fan favorite MarioWest, a former walk-on at Georgia Tech, wassigned for the rest of the season by the Hawks afterreturning to the club on a 10-day contract. Westplayed for the team the previous two seasons. Photo

courtesy of Photographic Arts.

CHEROKEE/FORSYTH: Cherokee, Creekview, Etowah, Forsyth Central,North Forsyth, Sequoyah, South Forsyth, West Forsyth, Woodstock

COBB: Allatoona, Campbell, Harrison, Kell, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter,Marietta, McEachern, N. Cobb, N. Cobb Christian, Pebblebrook,

Pope, S. Cobb, Sprayberry, Walton, WheelerDEKALB: Chamblee, Columbia, Decatur, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Lakeside,

Marist, Miller Grove, M.L. King, Paideia, Redan, St. Pius X, SouthwestDeKalb, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, Tucker

FULTON: Alpharetta, Blessed Trinity, Centennial, Chattahoochee, Douglass,Grady, Lovett, Mays, Milton, North Springs, Northview, Riverwood,

Roswell, Tri-Cities, Westminster, Woodward AcademyGWINNETT: Berkmar, Brookwood, Buford, C. Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Dacula,

Grayson, Greater Atlanta Christian, Meadowcreek, Mill Creek, Norcross,North Gwinnett, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, South Gwinnett, Wesleyan

GORDON: Calhoun, Gordon Central, Sonoraville

™ STARTINGLINEUP

™ SCHOOLLISTING

ONTH

E Swim and dive state championships are rightaround the corner and Score Atlanta will havean official guide for fans at the event on Feb.10-13. The guide will feature a full schedule,previews and stories from around the state.The guide will be available at the swim anddive state championships at Marist andWestminster or you can download the guideonline at www.scoreatl.com.

CAN’TMISSCAN’TMISS

4

5

10

15INSIDE AT SCORE

THIS WEEKGeorgia signeeGarrison Smith



Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida is turn-ing into a Dickensian Tale of Two Cities —

one, Indianapolis, that expects their Colts toappear in the Super Bowl; the other, NewOrleans, celebrating the Saints’ first SuperBowl trip in franchise history.

Over the past week, media outlets allacross the country have turned focus awayfrom the Saints’ journey to Miami andtowards the city of New Orleans as a whole,which, for the most part, is understandable. Icannot fathom the unspeakable horrors thepeople of that city went through and likelynever will. New Orleans needed hope; a shotin the arm to aid the city in its healing processthat has long since been forgotten about asAmericans move on to more pressing issues.All the inspirational tales are great and fine,but the Saints still have a job to do — winanother football game.

I have doubts that the Saints will succeedagainst an experienced Colts squad. NewOrleans will take the field in Miami onSunday in front of a worldwide audience withlittle idea what to expect. No Superdomecrowd, no Louisiana voodoo this time around— just football. Many observers still havefailed to recognize that the Saints will need toplay a nearly flawless football game in orderto beat Peyton Manning and Indianapolis.

New Orleans needed five Minnesotaturnovers and an overtime period to beat theVikings on Jan. 24th, and the Vikes almostdoubled the Saints in total yardage. The Colts

won’t give them the same opportunities.Manning’s laser-like focus, especially whenthe playoffs roll around, is unparalleled. Herarely, if ever, turns the ball over (unlike a fel-low wily veteran, Brett Favre) and pickedapart the NFL’s best pass defense to the tuneof 377 yards and 3 TD’s in an AFCChampionship Game victory over the NewYork Jets. New Orleans does not featureDarrelle Revis, perhaps the league’s best cor-nerback, nor do they dial up unstoppable blitzschemes to pressure opposing quarterbacks.

Let’s face it: New Orleans is happy justto have made it to Super Bowl XLIV, andrightfully so. This season was a magical one— the 13-0 start, homefield advantage for theplayoffs, and a heart-pounding NFCChampionship win. But the Colts’ subduedcelebration after their AFC Championshipvictory tells me that the season will meannothing without a Lombardi Trophy.

PEPPERS WOULD BE WRONG MOVE …Julius Peppers, a 6-foot-7, 283-pound

defensive end, was supposed to be the NFL’snext great pass rusher. He’s blessed with sub-lime athletic gifts for such a massive man.After being drafted second overall in the 2002NFL Draft by his home state CarolinaPanthers, the former UNC Tar Heel has pro-duced 81.0 sacks over eight seasons.

For such an athletic freak, though, it’shard not to wonder how he hasn’t turned intoan absolutely dominant force. Ten sacks a

season is by no means unproductive, but con-sider for a moment that he totaled just 2.5 in2007 over 14 games. Why? Peppers playshard only on his terms. When he’s playing fora big contract (see: 2008), Peppers maximizeshis talents — he tallied 14.5 sacks that sea-son, a career high, and forced five fumbles,also a career high.

It’s no secret that the Falcons need passrushing help, especially with concerns loom-ing about 31-year old John Abraham’s pro-ductivity (5.5 sacks in 2009) and no realthreat emerging opposite him. He’s nearingthe end of a five-year, $55 million deal andpast the prime age for most defensive ends.

The Panthers placed their franchise tagon Peppers for the 2009 season, meaning heearned over $18 million dollars. Even withArthur Blank willing to spend on his teamwith an uncapped year looming, committingto Peppers long-term is just asking for trouble.He is just one year younger than Abraham,productive only in spurts, and not worth what-ever exorbitant sum of money his agent likelywill be asking for. Thomas Dimitroff andMike Smith have preached sticking to the“process” of building through the draft andyoung players over the past two years. There’splenty of more reasonably-priced talent outthere and defensive help in April’s NFL draftto be had. Commit those millions potentiallyheaded Peppers’ way elsewhere.

Lander can be reached [email protected].

POSSIBLE FALCON?: Carolina Panthers defensive endJulius Peppers would look good in a Falcons uniform,but the possibility of him coming to Atlanta is not thatgreat. Since being drafted in 2001, Peppers compiled81 sacks and has been selected to the Pro Bowl fivetimes. Photo courtesy of Carolina Panthers.

Super Bowl journeys very different for Saints, Colts; Falcons don’t need Peppers

and Company have dominated the Hawksthis season, winning all three meetings by anaverage of more than 22 points. And Atlantahas only one more meeting with the Magicprior to the playoffs.

As far as King James and Cleveland areconcerned, Atlanta is no closer to owning

Atlanta Hawks fans have long wanted theirteam to take the next step. Even in the

days of legendary players like DominiqueWilkins, Pete Maravich and Steve Smith, theHawks could never get past their secondplayoff series or make the NBA Finals.

Prior to moving to Atlanta, however, thefranchise enjoyed a WorldChampionship in 1958 and fourtrips to the Finals while beingbased in St. Louis.

Since moving to Atlanta intime for the 1968-69 season, theHawks have not been able tobreak through the glass ceilingknown as the Conference Finals.Their first two seasons in thePeach state saw Atlanta make theWestern Division finals, whichwas the equivalent of today’s con-ference finals.

But the Hawks have not beenback since.

However, under sixth-yearhead coach Mike Woodson,Atlanta has improved their recordevery year and finally brokethrough to the playoffs two sea-sons ago. The team then won aplayoff series last season overMiami to advance to theConference Semifinals for thefirst time since 1998-99.

Now, it is time for the fran-chise to take the next step. TheHawks have battled with Boston,Cleveland, and Orlando for topseed in the Eastern Conferenceduring much of this season. TheCeltics, Atlanta’s former biggreen monster of a nemesis, haveseemingly been slain.

Last Friday night, the Hawkscompleted a four-game seasonsweep of Boston for the first timesince the 1995-96 season. Themilestone has served notice throughout theleague that Atlanta is an elite club.

But what about beating Orlando andCleveland?

The Hawks cannot win their own divi-sion, the Southeast, without competing withthe Magic at some point.

“We haven’t figured them out yet,” saidWoodson when asked why the Hawks canbeat Boston but not Orlando.

If Atlanta does solve the riddle of theMagic, they could be on their way to a berthin the Finals.

However, solving Orlando has not comeclose to happening yet, as Dwight Howard

of the season, Atlanta will be battling for theNo. 2 seed. Would it even be worth it for theHawks to attempt to grasp the No. 2 seed? IfWoodson’s squad finishes second or third inthe Eastern Conference, a date with theMagic will be close to a sure thing in the sec-ond round.

One way or the other, it looks as ifthe Hawks will have to exorcize oneof their personal demons in order toreach the Conference Finals for thefirst time since the current playoffformat was adopted.

TWO ALL-STARS, ONE SNUB … The Hawks have been led by All-

Stars Joe Johnson and Al Horford, aswell as Josh Smith and super-subJamal Crawford. Johnson was ashoe-in for an all-star selection,leading the team with 21.1 pointsand 4.8 assists per game. His points-per game average is 13th in theleague.

Horford was selected based on hissolid all-around game, averaging13.3 points, 9.6 boards and 1.24blocks per game. The hybridcenter/forward has often been calledundersized, but he plays with enoughheart to overcome any perceiveddeficiencies. His hard work and hus-tle have been noticed by the rest ofthe league.

One snub Hawks fans can sneer atwas Josh Smith’s exclusion from thesquad. The Powder Springs native isaveraging 15 points per game, 8.4rebounds, a team-leading 1.5 stealsand 2.2 blocks per game, which issecond in the NBA.

“J-Smoove,” as he is known aroundthe league, recently showed theworld just how much of a shot-blocker he is. Smith rejected NenadKrstic of the Oklahoma City

Thunder on Tuesday night to become theyoungest player in NBA history to block1,000 shots.

For Smith’s teammates, it is comfortingto know that the 6-9 power forward is behindthem when they are on defense.

“There are guys that can block shots,then there's Smoove,” said Marvin Williamsof Smith. “He's all over the place. Whenyou’re out there playing defense on theperimeter it makes it so much easier in theback of your mind, that if you get beat youknow he’s gonna be at the rim.”

Another defensive mark the fifth-yearplayer has reached was his 500th steal, which

came on Jan. 22. Usually a stat reserved forlightning-quick guards, it is a bit unusual fora big man to be so proficient at getting steals.Smith passed Spud Webb with his 500thsteal to move into the franchise’s top 10 forthat category.

While the league may have overlookedSmith this year, his value is no great mysteryto his teammates. First-year Hawk JamalCrawford has seen up close this year justhow much Smoove does for the team.

“I knew he was talented,” Crawfordsaid. “I knew he had all the athletic ability inthe world, but he’s even better than I thoughthe was. His blocks, steals, they create easybaskets for us. They create energy in thecrowd, and they create energy in our team.We need that. That is an added bonus that wehave that a lot of teams don’t have.”

I.J. Rosenberg will be back with his“Sitting in the Cheap Seats” column nextweek. Black can be reached at [email protected].

them than they are to Orlando. The Cavs wonthree of four regular season meetings lastseason before sweeping Atlanta out of theplayoffs. This year, Cleveland has won bothgames with two to go.

But, unlike the Orlando series, Atlantawas competitive in both losses.

The Hawks are now tied for third seed inthe Eastern Conference with Boston, butAtlanta would get the edge due to winningthe season series. That would pit the Hawkswith Orlando in the second round. The Cavsare now a strong five game ahead of theMagic for the No. 1 seed and 7.5 gamesahead of Atlanta.

Barring a miracle run in the second half

Hawks hoping All-Star tandem (and one snub) can get team to next level



CATCH I.J. ON SUNDAYS“The Hawks cannot win their own division, the Southeast, with-out competing with the Magic at some point.”

MARCHING TO MIAMI: Drew Brees and the rest of the New Orleans Saints lookto win their first Super Bowl in franchise history. They will have a tough taskon their hands because the Indianapolis Colts are looking to win the secondSuper Bowl in four seasons. Photo courtesy of New Orleans Saints.

OUT FRONT

The Hawks’ Joe Johnson and Al Horfordare the team’s first all-star tandem sincethe 1998-99 season, and can hopefullytake the Hawks to the next level. Amongother members of the team that couldhave been considered all-star caliber,Jamal Crawford and Josh Smith are alsogetting big recognition. But if the Hawkscan’t compete with the likes of theCavaliers and Magic, will they be able toascend to the top of the East? All Hawksphotos courtesy of Photographic Arts.



THUMBS UP TO ASTRONG DEBUT

THUMBS DOWN TO HITTING A SKID

Herschel WalkerHe may be 47, but he can still getthe job done like a 27-year-old. OnSaturday, the former GeorgiaBulldog star made his MMA debutand defeated 26-year old Greg Nagyvia TKO in the third round. He wantsto have one more fight, and it couldbe against Jose Canseco.

Georgia-Georgia Tech recruitingWednesday was a national holiday forrecruitniks as both Georgia and GeorgiaTech signed football players for the 2010season. Georgia was able to nab top localplayers like S Alec Ogletree and DE T.J.Stripling, while Tech was able to ink DTShawn Green and CB Barry Bostic.

WWEIt was a good week for wrestling in Atlantaas the WWE came to Philips Arena for theRoyal Rumble on Sunday. The followingday, Vince McMahon and the rest of theWWE staff were at the Georgia Dome tomake the announcement that Wrestlemania27 will be held at the Dome in April 2011.

Atlanta Hawks Even though the Hawks are havinga great season and they have twoAll-Stars, last week was not one oftheir best from a win-loss stand-point. Last Wednesday, they fell tothe San Antonio Spurs and onSaturday and Monday, they weredowned by the Orlando Magic andthe Oklahoma City Thunder.

Rex Ryan It’s bad enough to lose the AFC title game,but get fined $50,000 by your own teamand you know it’s been a tough two weeks.Jets head coach Rex Ryan made anobscene gesture to a fan at a MMA eventand was penalized by the team when it wascaught on a cell phone.

Georgia basketball The Bulldogs are lacking in talent and itshowed, losing to Florida and SouthCarolina last week. The one bright spot forthe Dawgs has been Travis Leslie, whoscored 11 points at Florida and 21 pointsagainst the Gamecocks.

SANITY

“We are thrilled to bring the biggest sportsentertainment event in the world for thefirst time to the city of Atlanta in 2011.The enthusiasm of the sellout crowd atlast night's Royal Rumble was just a small sample of what to expect when

WrestleMania XXVII takes over Atlanta.”

- WWE CEO and chairman VinceMcMahon on bringing Wrestlemaina to

Atlanta for the first time in 2011

CRUNCHING THE

NUMBERS AT LASTLOSING THEIR GROOVESDespite what some people have said, the

groove change is a big deal. Add Michael Sim tothe list of players, along with Bubba Watsonand Tim Clark, who have laid up on deci-sive par 5s rather than deal with green-side rough. All three players chose afull shot from the fairway overchancing a touchy shot out of therough. This is precisely what theUSGA was hoping for when theymade the rule change. They proba-bly didn’t expect Scott McCarron tosay that Phil Mickelson is cheatingby using a Ping Eye 2 wedge.

While I think “cheating” is a bitharsh, I do side with McCarron on thisissue. But, the decision shouldn't be left up

to the players. Some of them are not contractu-ally allowed to play Ping clubs. Some just can’t

get a hold of these wedges, the most recent ofwhich were made in 1990. I think the

PGA TOUR should step in, and declarethe clubs illegal and force Ping's hand.The case was settled out of courtback in the early 1990s with theTOUR backing down then. Theyshould not back down this time.Players no longer have to be strongenough to fly the ball 300 yards to besuccessful. I like the change.

Brian Katrek can be heard on 790The Zone’s “On The Green with Brian

Katrek” Sundays from 8-9 a.m. and canbe reached at [email protected].

1998-991995-96

4-0 The Hawks’ record versusBoston this season.

The last time the Hawksbeat Boston four timesin one season

The last time theHawks swept Bostonin a season series

SCORE LISTHEADING TO DALLAS: TwoHawks players, Joe Johnson and AlHorford, will play in the NBA All-Star game on Feb. 14. Both are hav-ing great seasons, but I would haveliked to see either Josh Smith orJamal Crawford make it as well. Butthat’s how the NBA works, I guess.

LOOKING GOOD AT 47:Herschel Walker was sharp in hisMMA debut on Saturday, defeatingGreg Nagy in three rounds via TKO.Now, Jose Canseco, who lost his firstMMA fight in March against Hog ManChoi, is calling him out. Really Jose?You want to get beat up again?

FUTURE STARS SIGN: It wasNational Signing Day for high schoolfootball players last Wednesday andGeorgia and Georgia Tech were ableto ink some great players. The topplayer for Georgia is Alec Ogletree,while one of the top players for Techis Denzel McCoy.

THE END IS NEAR: With con-tract negotiations going nowhere,the Thrashers are listening to otherteams in order to trade IlyaKovalchuk. Without Kovy, theteam’s best player, there is no waythis Thrashers team makes theplayoffs. I hope there’s some waythey can get this resolved.

LINDSEY MOVING ON: Aftertwo successful seasons at Lassiter,Chip Lindsey has stepped down as thehead coach and accepted the assis-tant coach spot at Troy University inAlabama. It is sad to see a coach likehim go, but at 35 years old, Lindseyhas a bright future ahead of him.

BRAVES ON TOUR: With springtraining right around the corner, theBraves Caravan has been travelingall over the southeast to do bigthings in the community. I’m gettingexcited for what’s in store for therevamped 2010 Atlanta Braves, asplayers will be reporting soon.

SUPER SUNDAY: It’s finallyhere. After all the talk and themedia hype, the Super Bowl will beplayed on Sunday between theIndianapolis Colts and the NewOrleans Saints. My prediction isthat the Colts will win 37-25 andPeyton will go down as the greatestto every play the game.

NEW LEGENDS INDUCTED:With the Super Bowl on Sunday, thatmeans there will be a new class tobe inducted into the Pro Football Hallof Fame. I think that Emmit Smithand Jerry Rice are in, but after that itshould be interesting. Does AndreReed finally get the nod?

IN THE RING: The Georgia Domewill be the center of attention onApril 3, 2011 as Wrestlemania willcome here for the first time in histo-ry. This is something that has beena long time coming, and I can’t waitto get my tickets for the biggestspectacle in wrestling.

SUPER SUNDAY: While theSuper Bowl is this Sunday, the musicindustry had its big day as theGrammys took place last weekend. Itwas a big day for Beyonce as she wonsix awards. I’m convinced that whenBeyonce is nominated for an award,more often than not, she will win.

BY BRIAN JONES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

The Hawks had a week chock full of highs(mostly in beating the Celtics) and lows,

which consisted of defeats to San Antonio andOrlando, as the team presseson toward the All-Starbreak in the midst of atough portion of theschedule.

Atlanta simply could notstop San Antonio as the Spursracked up fast-break opportu-nities behind the aggressiveplay of Tony Parker. TimDuncan posted a career highof 27 rebounds as well asscoring 21 points.

The high point of the weekcame in an emphatic 100-91 vic-tory over the Boston Celtics.Jamal Crawford scored a team-high 28 points and ignited theHawks bench as the second unitscored 44 points to the Celtics’ 18points. However, Atlanta is stillsearching for the winning formulaagainst the Orlando Magic as they lostSaturday on the road, 104-86. DwightHoward was unstoppable in thegame, scoring 31 points and securing19 rebounds on a night when theHawks shot 39 percent from the flooras a team.

WHAT’S AHEAD …Atlanta faces four games

before the All-Star break, twocoming against teams that aremaking a strong case for a secondhalf turnaround in Chicago andMemphis. The latter of the twogames come against Washingtonand Miami, two teams that havebeen slumping as of late.

Atlanta had two meetingsagainst Chicago in December andhad very different results eachtime. The Hawks won the firstgame in a blowout 118-83, butthen lost a little over a week later,101-98. Past records aside, theBulls had an outstanding Januaryand look like a team ready to stepforward. In January, Chicago wonseven games on the road, six againstteams with winning records, a vastimprovement from earlier play.

After a stop at reeling Washington for aSaturday matchup with the Wizards, the Hawkstravel to Memphis on Tuesday to take on one of

the hottest teams in the WesternConference. The Grizzlies have beengreat on their home floor, compiling arecord of 18-6, while getting a signa-ture 95-93 victory over the Lakers onFeb. 1 at the FedEx Forum. Thegame should be an interesting testfor Atlanta’s defense, especially

down low, where the Hawks willhave to figure out how to

defend Marc Gasol and ZachRandolph. Randolph will bemaking his first All-Starappearance. Rudy Gay isas dynamic a scorer as

there is in the NBA andis always capable ofputting up superstarnumbers. Gay isaveraging 20.0points per game thisseason (second onthe team behindRandolph’s 21 ppg).

Finally, Atlanta’slast test before All-

Star weekend willtake place at home on

Wednesday againstMiami. Recently, theHeat have given upserious ground in thestandings and at presstime actually f indthemselves in eighthposition in the EasternConference after get-ting passed byCharlotte, Chicagoand Toronto. Atlanta

dominated Miami earli-er this season at Philips,beating their divisionrival 105-90. One of the

most telling stats in thatgame was the Hawks’ abil-ity to hold Dwyane Wade

to 15 points on 6-for-18shooting.Photo of Maurice Evans

courtesy of Photographic Arts.Gupta can be reached at [email protected].

Hawks stumble into final week before break





ALPHABETICAL ORDER ACCORDING TO FIRST NAMEPLAYER SCHOOL POS. COLLEGEAdrian Hubbard Norcross Defensive end AlabamaAlec Ogletree Newnan Safety GeorgiaAnthony Williams Union Grove Defensive end Georgia TechAntonio Goodwin Washington Wide receiver AuburnAustin Shepherd North Gwinnett Offensive tackle AlabamaB.J. Bostic Jefferson County Athlete Georgia TechBlake Sims Gainesville Athlete AlabamaBradley Roby Peachtree Ridge Wide receiver Ohio StateBrian Vogler Brookstone School Tight end AlabamaCharles Perkins Collins Hill Running back Georgia TechClarence Jackson North Clayton Running back MississippiConnor Shaw Flowery Branch Quarterback South CarolinaDa’Rick Rogers Calhoun Wide receiver TennesseeDevin Burns Carver-Columbus Quarterback MarylandEan Days Camden County Running back IllinoisEd Christian Lowndes Offensive guard AuburnFred Holton Thomasville Safety Georgia TechGarrison Smith Douglass Defensive tackle GeorgiaHutson Mason Lassiter Quarterback GeorgiaIsaiah Johnson Sandy Creek Defensive back Georgia TechJ.C. Copeland LaGrange Defensive end Louisiana StateJalen Fields Dalton Defensive end GeorgiaJaWuan James North Gwinnett Offensive tackle TennesseeJeffrey Whitaker Warner Robins Defensive tackle AuburnJessel Curry Buford Linebacker AuburnJonathan Mincy Southwest DeKalb Defensive back AuburnKenarious Gates Greenville Offensive tackle GeorgiaKendrum Malcome Southwest DeKalb Running back GeorgiaKolton Houston Buford Offensive guard GeorgiaKori Gaines Grayson Defensive back Brigham YoungMack Brown M.L. King Running back FloridaMarkeith Ambles Henry County Wide receiver Southern CaliforniaMarques Dixon Southwest DeKalb Cornerback TennesseeMichael Taylor Westlake Linebacker FloridaMichael Thornton Stephenson Defensive tackle GeorgiaMichael Bennett Alpharetta Wide receiver GeorgiaMorgan Bailey Loganville Offensive tackle Georgia TechNeiron Ball Jackson Defensive end FloridaRajaan Bennett McEachern Running back VanderbiltRajion Neal Sandy Creek Running back TennesseeRaymond Sanders Stephenson Running back KentuckyRonald Carswell Westside-Macon Wide receiver AlabamaRyan Ayers South Paulding Cornerback Georgia TechShawn Green Grayson Defensive tackle Georgia TechStorm Johnson Loganville Running back MiamiSynjyn Days Hillgrove Quarterback Georgia TechT.J. Stripling Southwest DeKalb Defensive end GeorgiaTai-Ler Jones Gainesville Wide receiver Notre DameTelvin Smith Lowndes Linebacker Florida StateTyrone Cornelius Stephenson Linebacker Miami

THE AJC’S TOP 50SIGNEES IN GEORGIATHE AJC’S TOP 50SIGNEES IN GEORGIA

Don’t look now, but with the end offootball comes one of the premier

events in the NBA, All Star Weekend.So who do the collectors think is themost popular player? Check it out onthis week’s online auction report:

• LeBron James Single SignedAutographed Basketball

• Kobe Bryant Single SignedAutographed Basketball

• Kevin Garnett Single SignedAutographed Basketball

• Dwight Howard Single SignedAutographed Basketball

• Dwyane Wade Single SignedAutographed Basketball

There’s a new King in town and hisinitials are KB. Yes, Kobe took the topspot edging out LeBron James $650 to$600. Superstar Dwyane Wade’s singlesigned basketball shined at $500.Former Southwest Atlanta ChristianAcademy star Dwight Howard rolled ina nice $350. Rounding out this week’s

top five is the Kevin Garnett singlesigned basketball grabbing $300.

FROM THE MAILBAG …Dear Dean: I have a 1991 Atlanta

Braves World Series signed baseballin its original souvenir box. Howmuch is it worth?

Dear Copy Cat: Sounds like yourbaseball is a stamped or facsimile(reprinted) autographed baseball since itcomes in a souvenir box. Facsimile base-balls have been around since the 1930sand provide teams with a great inexpen-sive way to get ‘autographed’ items tofans. These baseballs usually have allsignatures in the same color ink, auto-graphs are the same size and very stiff inappearance. Your ball is worth $10. Areal autographed 1991 Braves WorldSeries baseball is worth $200.

Want to know what your item isworth or have a question about a partic-ular sports item? Email me, DeanZindler, at [email protected].

A look at the NBA’s top autographersThe Atlanta Hawks have two players

headed to the All-Star game inDallas next week. The Hawks haven’thad two All-Stars on the same teamsince 1998. Al Horford will be makinghis first appearance and Joe Johnsonwill be making his fourth appearance.

But while Hawks fans are extreme-ly excited for Al Horford and JoeJohnson, they can’t help but feel a littleempty since Josh Smith didn’t make it.The thing that really hurt Josh wasKevin Garnett being voted in asopposed to Chris Bosh, who is actuallyhaving a “should-be-starting-the-All-Star-game” type of year. Obviously,Garnett has missed several games, butsince the fan vote is based on populari-ty, he’ll likely start All-Star games untilhe retires. (This may be a lot soonerthan anyone thought.)

The coaches had to vote ChrisBosh in, but they just couldn’t findroom for Josh. There are always goingto be people left off of the team, andJosh just happens to be one of them. His

time will surely come, but for now he’lljust have to have his All-Star caliberseason quietly, while in plain view.Hopefully he will take being left off theAll Star team as a sign that he needs towork a lot harder to show the world justhow valuable he is to this Hawks team.

Hawks fans know that Josh is thebarometer for the team, but that is obvi-ously not apparent to the rest of theworld. Josh has the rest of the season tomake them rue the day they left his nameoff the reserves list. Along with AlHorford, there are several first-time All-Stars from each conference. DerrickRose of the Chicago Bulls, Rajon Rondoof the Boston Celtics, Gerald Wallace ofthe Charlotte Bobcats, Zach Randolphof the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Durantof the Oklahoma City Thunder, andDeron Williams of the Utah Jazz will allproudly make the trip to Dallas. This is agreat thing for the NBA, because thegame needs some new faces.

C.C. can be reached [email protected].

Joe and Al are deserving, but so was Josh

With the approach of the league-wideroster freeze on Feb. 12 for the

Olympics, the Thrashers have foundthemselves very busy scouting possibleplayers to involve in a trade for IlyaKovalchuk. Kovalchuk, who is having oneof his best statistical seasons, has 31 goalsand 27 assists, putting him in the top fivein goals scored. Kovalchuk is in the lastyear of his contract and would become afree agent at the end of the season.

Thrashers fans already have seenthis story play out as Marian Hossa wastraded just a few years ago in attempt toget something for a superstar playerwho it was assumed wouldn’t sign acontract extension during the offseason.Reports are that Don Waddell has visit-ed both the Philadelphia Flyers and theNew York Islanders to scout players.Also, the Boston Bruins and L.A. Kingshave been reportedly interested in a pos-sible trade involving the Atlanta captain.

FINAL STRETCH … The Atlanta Thrashers will close

out the first half of the season with along trip out west. This will be to thebenefit for the players who madeOlympic rosters as they will be

halfway to Vancouver when the NHLtakes a short break for the 2010Winter Olympics.

The Thrashers will visit theColorado Avalanche on Wednesday tostart off the final road trip of the firsthalf. The Avalanche were flying high aweek ago, scoring 12 goals in a three-game span, all wins. But last week,with trade rumors swirling around sev-eral players, Colorado could not findthe same offensive rhythm, and lostthree in a row. A win against the BlueJackets has seemingly righted theAvalanche ship and now they are backto their offensive ways. Along withfinding the scoring ability that wasseemingly lost during their three-gamelosing streak, the Avalanche havefound a new threat from an unlikelysource. Brandon Yip has scored eightgoals and helped on seven in his first19 games in the NHL. Yip knows howto win, as he was part of BostonUniversity’s national championshipteam last season. Now in the NHL, hehas shown himself to be one of themost impressive rookies in the league.

Boral can be reached at [email protected].

Kovy trade talks continue as break nearsWhite shines in Miami; Gonzalez honoredRoddy White wasn’t initially selected

to play last weekend in Miami. Butafter Sidney Rice was banged up in theNFC Championship Game, the UABproduct and former Falcon first-roundpick was given the opportunity to playin the game for the second straight year.

White gave those who didn’t vote forhim a little bit to chew on with a fantasticperformance. He caught eight balls for 84yards, including a 35-yard reception fromTony Romo early in the fourth quarter tospark a scoring drive for the NFC.

White’s big game in Miami cappedoff a solid season for the five-year pro.He caught 85 balls for 1,153 yards and11 scores during Atlanta’s 9-7 campaign.

GONZALEZ REWARDED … Many pundits view Tony Gonzalez

as the best tight end of all time. So itwas no surprise to see the Falcon namedto the NFL’s All-Decade Team, whichwas revealed during the Pro Bowl.

Gonzalez came into the league in1997 out of Cal, and immediatelyestablished himself as one of the NFL’sbest at his position, catching a wholebunch of passes and also showing off

his skills as a fine run blocker. His suc-cess quickly spilled into the previousdecade, as he was selected to the ProBowl 10 times, including an incrediblenine-year streak from 2000-08.

He holds six NFL records for tightends. Among them are career receivingyards with 11,760, a record he set lastDecember, as well as career receivingtouchdowns. Gonzalez has caught anastonishing 82 touchdowns over his illus-trious career. He will also catch his1,000th pass next season, as Gonzalez fin-ished the year with 999 total receptions.

IN THE COMMUNITY … Linebackers Coy Wire and Tony

Gilbert teamed up with Falcons cheer-leaders to attend “National Girls andWomen’s Sports Day” at IvyPreperatory Academy in Norcross. Thegroup helped lead a multitude of physi-cal activities for sixth and seventh gradestudents to encourage the importance ofgood health and fitness, as well asacknowledge the achievements of pastand present female athletes.

Bagriansky can be reached at [email protected]

ORE

MOR

ESCORE

MORE




Pitchers report to Turner Field for pre-Spring Training workout sessions

Henry gets 300th career win; track’s Hutterli wins big at Clemson eventAs it turned out the highlight of the weekend

road trip through Virginia was having din-ner last Wednesday night with former Pantherscoach “Lefty” Driesell. It’s always good to seecoach Driesell and talk basketball with him andthis time he introduced me to a new seafood del-icacy called Rockfish. Definitely worth trying.

Anyway, Georgia State was in Norfolkfor last Thursday night’s game at OldDominion and fell to the Monarchs 56-40.Trae Goldston and Joe Dukes led with 11points apiece. Then, it was on to Richmond,which got hammered with about eight inchesof snow shortly after we arrived. In the game

at Virginia Commonwealth, despite 17 pointsfrom Joe Dukes and a scrappy defensive effortthat forced 17 VCU turnovers and broughtabout 16 steals, the Panthers lost 78-62.

“Our kids fought hard and we got sometough breaks, but we gave ourselves achance down the stretch,” said GSU headcoach Rod Barnes.

Georgia State hosts George Mason andWilliam & Mary this week at the Sports Arena.Panthers are now 9-14 and 3-8 in the CAA. …Tune in to the Rod Barnes Show Mondayafternoons from 4-5 p.m. on Newstalk 1160.WCFO-AM live from The Panthers Den.

AROUND CAMPUS … Meanwhile, the Lady Panthers were in

Virginia as well, starting out in Fairfax wherethey beat George Mason 46-36 to give headcoach Lea Henry her 300th career coachingwin. The Panthers got 21 points fromDanyiell McKeller and a double-double of 16points and 10 rebounds from junior forwardAngelique Burtts. Point guard CrystalJohnson, the CAA’s leader in assists, addednine more in this win.

“It feels special to get a road CAA winand a milestone win,” Henry said postgame.“You remember these things and seeing theplayers grinning over at me during the end ofthe game and being aware of something like

this makes a coach feel good.” The Lady Panthers are now 12-7 overall

and 3-5 in the CAA.Also, senior Loris Hutterli won the

3,000-meter run at the Clemson Games forthe Georgia State track and field squad.Hutterli won the event with a time of 8:39.77.… The men’s tennis team defeated NorthFlorida 4-0 to start the season with a victoryfor first-year head coach Chase Hodges.

Dave Cohen is in his 27th season as the“Voice of Georgia State Basketball andBaseball on WRAS-FM (88.5) and works onthe football radio crew at Furman Universityin Greenville, S.C.



Camp Roger is underway at Turner Field.Pitchers have begun throwing at the Ted

under the watchful eye of Braves pitchingcoach Roger McDowell in a pre-springtraining throwing session. The purpose ofthis is for young pitchers to get ahead of thecurve and for some vets to get in some lightthrowing so that they will know what towork on once they report to Florida forspring training on Feb. 16.

LOOKING AT THE LINEUP … Another week passes and the Braves ros-

ter is more or less the same as it was lastweek. The one name floating out there isJohnny Damon, and the former Yankeeremains a free agent. Damon’s name has been

linked to Atlanta as well as Toronto andMilwaukee as potential destinations for the2010 season. The Braves outfield nowappears to be set with Nate McLouth in cen-ter, Matt Diaz in left and Melky Cabrera inright. If 2009 minor league player of the yearJason Heyward makes the club, then perhapsthe corner spots are manned by the three-headed team of Cabrera, Diaz and Heyward,as the rookie is brought along slowly. JordanSchafer is also another name that could getinto the mix. Schafer started the season withAtlanta last year and hit a home run in theseason opener before an injury derailed hisseason. He was sent down to the minorswhere the injury was discovered. If I were tograde the defense in the outfield, McLouth is

capable of winning a gold glove while scoutshave raved about Heyward’s arm. Cabrera isalso a heck of a lot faster than GarretAnderson ever was last year. I’d give the out-field a B or B-plus.

In the infield, the question marks are fewand everyone looks to be locked into place.Chipper Jones returns to man the hot corner,and despite a recent injury history, is still oneof the smoothest fielders in the league at theposition. The rangy Yunel Escobar returns toplay shortstop and his arm is the envy of theleague. Between former Brave Rafael Furcaland Escobar, the Braves have had a strongarm at the position for seemingly the lastdecade and a half. Martin Prado has sewn upthe second base position after a strong 2009.

The team loved the production so much thatthe brass declined to tender Kelly Johnson,instead letting him go to Arizona so thatPrado could have zero opposition headinginto camp. At first, Troy Glaus will open upthe season with his seventh ever start at firstbase. Glaus missed nearly all of last year butjust two years ago he crushed 27 home runs.Glaus must learn to pick the ball at first basebut with Glenn Hubbard working with him allspring, Glaus should be a serviceable firstbaseman. And Glaus was not brought in forhis glove. The grade defensively for theinfield is a B-plus with only Glaus’s move tofirst being the reason it is not an A.

Proctor can be reached [email protected].



GYMNASTICSGymnastics Classes at Gymnastics AcademyofAtlanta.

Ongoing - 3126 Cobb Parkway Kennesaw, Ga. For information call 770-975-8337 or visit www.gymnasticsacademyofatlanta.com.

Gymnastics Classes at Gwinnett Gymnastics Center Ongoing - 927 Killian Hill Road Lilburn, Ga. For information call 770-921-5630.

Atlanta School of Gymnastics in Lawrenceville. Ongoing. Classes for tots through teens. Cheerleadingclasses for ages 5 and older. For information call 770-277-9434.

The Little Gym of Snellville. Ongoing. Noncompetitive gymnastics and motor-skills development classes and camps. For ages 10 months-12 years. For information call 770-982-0901 or visit www.tlgsnellvillega.com.

RACINGWinter Flurry. February 6 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

OFFICIATINGClub Sport, "Where Atlanta Comes To Play!" Flag

Football, Softball, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball. Earn money officiating. Training provided. For more info email [email protected] or visit www.usclubsport.com.

9RCorp Sports Officials. Ongoing. Provider of sports officials for multiple sports including basketball, flagfootball, & softball. Looking for additional officials. For information call Dennis Reagan at 404-213-0588 or email [email protected].

Georgia Lacrosse Officials Association. Needs boys yo uth and High School officials for 2010 season. Games are played Spring, Summer, and Fall. Great way to earn extra money and get some fun aerobicexercise. For more information, please visit www.GALAXREF.com or email [email protected].

ATLANTA SPORTS COUNCILChick-Fil-A Bowl. Dec. 31, 2010. Georgia Dome. For

tickets, call 404-444-4444.To reach the Atlanta Sports Council call 404-586-8510 or visit www.atlantasportscouncil.com.

MISC.Pool Tournament. Nightly - Ongoing - Sean Patrick’s

Bar & Grill - Buckhead. Fees: No cover. For information call 770-650-5723. 8 PM.

Suwanee Sports Academy. Pre-K Athletics for 2, 3 and 4year-olds introduces the basic skills needed to playbasketball, soccer, and t-ball. Also, there is a uniqueafter school program that provides students with a weekly sports curriculum along with the after schoolclassroom setting. For more information, call 770-614-6686 or visit www.ssaports.com.

Club Sport. Club Sport opens registration for summer leagues on May 1st with league play beginning in June. Club Sport is Atlanta's recreational sports and social group with over 10,000 participants each year on 1200 teams in 120 leagues. Each season Club Sport offers leagues in flag football, softball, soccer, sand and indoorvolleyball, basketball and more. Club Sport is where Atlanta comes to play! For more information about Club Sport, upcoming events, photos or interviews with the owner, please contact Rich Alvarez at 678-994-0793 ext. 818 or visit www.usclubsport.com.

GOkickball "Atlanta's Premier Social Experience". Providingsocial, co-ed adult kickball leagues throughout metro-Atlanta centered around having a good time, meeting new people, and playing recreational games of kickball at local parks. Registration is open now for spring season. Join the fun! For more information and to register, go to www.gokickball.com/atlanta. Special Score Atlanta 15%off discount code: "Score15".

ball players of all skill levels. There are two GwinnettCounty camps this year. Please visit our website (www.harlemlegends.com) or call 404-837-6719 for additional camps.

VOLLEYBALLGwinnett Sports Center. Registration ongoing. For

information call Jerry Robison at 678-491-0203 or visit www.gscfun.com.

Suwanee Sports Academy. Ongoing. Volleyball trainingand development for boys and girls grades 3-12. VolleySkills, VolleyStars, VolleyTraining, and OnCourt Player Development, a year-round comprehensive player development program. For more information, contact Mary Carnell at 770-614-6686x108 or visit www.ssasports.com.

SWIMMING & DIVINGSwimming lessons. Ongoing - Alpharetta City Pool -

Alpharetta, Ga. - 1825 Old Milton Parkway. For information call 678-297-6107.

Gwinnett Aquatics. Ongoing - 2800 Quinberry Drive and Bethany Church Road. For ages 5-18. Swim team and lessons available. For information call 770-972-4055.

Senior Water-Exercise class. Ongoing - Mountain Parkpool - Lilburn, Ga. Fees: $1 per class. For informationcall 770-546-4650. 10-10:50 AM.

SwimAtlanta Sugarloaf at Kid’s Village. Ongoing. Swimteam, lessons, lap swimming, master’s program, water aerobics and scuba available. For informationcall 678-442-7946.

YOUTH REGISTRATIONSoccer-Soccer Alley. Ongoing - 3265 Roswell Road-

Atlanta. For information call 404-266-0762 or visit www.starsoccerclub.com.

Tucker Youth Soccer. Ongoing - 2803 Henderson RoadTucker, Ga. For information call 770-414-0538 or visit www.tysa.com.

Track and Field - Peachtree City Flash Youth Track Team registration. Ongoing - Riley Field -Peachtree City, Ga. For ages 6-14. For information call 770-631-3552 or email [email protected].

Gymnastics - Georgia Gymnastics Academy. Ongoing. For registration in Lawrenceville call 770-962-5867; in Suwanee call 770-945-3424.

Gym Elite. Ongoing. Registration for ages 2 and older. Cheerleading for ages 6 and older. For information call 770-242-0678.

Youth Soccer Training. Ongoing. Start age 3 and up. For information, call 678-714-7454 or e-mail [email protected]. www.atlantasilverbacks.com/indoor.

Corpus Christi Youth Basketball League Registration is now underway for our 29th season! Boys and girls ages 5 through 14, any skill level, are welcome. Cost: $90 per child/$85 for siblings. Fee includes uniforms, field trips, skills clinics, 9 games and more! Register while space is still available Saturdays October 11 & 18, 2008, 10 AM to 12 PM. Location: Corpus Christi Church Sports Arena, 600 Mountain View Drive, Stone Mountain, GA 30083. For info, call 770-469-0395, email [email protected] or visit the league’s website (www.ccybl.net).

SOFTBALLClub Sport, "Where Atlanta Comes To Play!" Registration

Ongoing for Men's & Coed Leagues League games played at multiple locations throughout the Metro Area. For more info or to register visit www.usclubsport.com

AYSA Spring Season. Ongoing - North Park - Cogburnand Bethany - Alpharetta. Fees: If Alpharetta Residential Property Tax IS NOT PAID at the primary residence of the player, then the Non-City Resident Fee must be paid. After Jan. 13, $10 late fee is charged.

meetings. For more information, contact Irvin Seabrook at 404-957-3331 or e-mail [email protected].

HOCKEYThrashers. February 5 at Washington 7 PM. February 6

vs. Florida 7 PM. February 10 at Colorado 9 PM. February 12 at Minnesota 8 PM. February 13 at Chicago 8:30 PM.

Gladiators. February 5 vs. Toledo 7:35 PM. February 6 vs. Toledo 7:35 PM. February 9 at Florida 7:30 PM.February 10 at Florida 7:30 PM. February 12 vs. Charlotte 7:35 PM. February 13 vs. Charlotte 7:35 PM. February 14 vs. Florida 4:05 PM.

Peachtree Booster Club. Ongoing - Pickneyville Roller Hockey Rink. Fees: $95 for 12-game season, $30 out-of-county fee. For information visit www.pbsports.org.

SOCCERChallenged Soccer. Ongoing. For mentally and physi

cally disabled youngsters. For information call Ken Higgins at 770-985-0434.

Hall of Fame soccer clinics. Ongoing on Fridays Clarkston Community Center. For under-6 through under-12 players. Fees: Free. For information call 404-508-1050 or visit www.clarkstoncommunitycenter.org. 5:30-7 PM.

Competitive Amateur Soccer in Atlanta For more information, visit www.majesticsoccer.com.

TENNISTechnique Clinics. Ongoing - Bitsy Grant Tennis Center. Tuesdays (serve/volley) and Saturdays (forehand/back

hand). Fees: $18. For information call 404-790-4772 or email [email protected]. 2 PM on Saturdays, 6:30PM on Tuesdays.

Tennis camps for kids. Ongoing weekly. Lost MountainTennis Center. For information call 770-528-8525.

LACROSSELacrosse. Ongoing. Registration for 1st-8th grades. For

information call 404-216-5870, email [email protected] or visit www.bagatawaylacrosse.com.

Double Stixx Lacrosse. Ongoing - Leagues, Travel Teams and Tournaments for youth, high school and adult’s boys and girls. More information about the best lacrosse programs in Georgia can be found at www.doblestixxlacrosse.com or by contacting Chris Smith at [email protected] or 404-550-5322.

RUNNINGChattahooche Challenge 10K/mile. Feb. 6. Roswell,

8:00 AM. 770-992-2055 x 234.Critz Tybee Run Half Marathon/5M. Feb. 6. Tybee

Island, 8:00 AM.Run for the Angels 5K/10K/Mile. Feb. 6. Newnan,

8:30 AM. 678-795-0115.Superbowl XIII 5K. Feb. 6. Columbus. 706-596-9308.Road-Kill Run 5K/10K. Feb. 6. Adel, 9:00 AM. 229-

896-3551.12th Annual WCA/Stephen D. Floyd Memorial 5K and Kids

Fun Run. Feb. 6. Watkinsville, 8:30 AM. 706-296-5353.Nun Run 5K and Fun Run. Feb. 6. Albany, 8:00 AM.

229-436-0135.

CAMPSNike Basketball Camps. Camps located in Snellville,

Roswell, Kennesaw, Oxford and 0894-4297 to find out which dates suit your campers best.

Club Sport, "Where Atlanta Comes To Play!"Registration Ongoing for Sand & Indoor Leagues and Tournaments League games played every day and night at the Brookhaven Boys and Girls Club. For more info or to register visit http://www.usclubsport.com/

Harlem Legends. The Harlem Legends have scheduledtheir 2009 Shoot for the Stars Basketball & PhysicalFitness Camps. The "Shoot for the Stars Youth Basketball Camps and Clinics" are a unique form oflearning experiences geared towards young basket

BASKETBALLHawks. February 5 vs. Chicago 8 PM. February 6 at

Washington 7 PM. February 9 at Memphis 8 PM. February 10 vs. Miami 7 PM. February 17 at Los Angeles Clippers 10:30 PM.

Club Sport, "Where Atlanta Comes To Play!" Registration Ongoing - Men's League plays on Sunday evenings at the Brookhaven Boys & Girls Club. For more info or to register visit www.usclubsport.com

Suwanee Sports Academy. Ongoing. Basketball training and development for boy and girls grades K-12.Rising Stars, Future Stars, Suwanee Basketball League, On Court Player Development, nationally-recognized year-round comprehensive player development program. For more information contact Mike Brown at 678-541-0176 or visit www.ssasports.com.

Mark Price Shooting Lab. Ongoing: Personalized professional shooting instruction through one-on-one coaching and state-of-the-art technology at Suwanee Sports Academy. For more information, contact Mike Brown at 678-541-0176 or visit www.ssasports.com.

Open Recreational Basketball. GSL -- Georgia Sports Leagues. Georgia’s Best Sports Leagues. Registration ongoing. We offer “Top Gun,” “B,” “C” and Co-Ed styles of play around Atlanta. We play ALL year round. For more information please contact (678)799-0159 or email [email protected]. Visit www.georgiasportsleagues.org.

BASEBALLProspect Watch. Ongoing - Buckhead. Baseball pitching

and hitting lessons by a former college and minor league coach. For information call 404-869-7966 or visit www.eteamz.com/tryouts.

Adult Baseball League Metro Atlanta. Ongoing. MSBL 18+, 28+, 38+, and 48+. Sunday League contactinfo is 770.785.2588, e-mail [email protected] 18+ Saturday League contact info is 770-436-8114, e-mail [email protected]. MSBL 18+ Midweek Wood bat league contact info is 770-436-8114, e-mail [email protected]. MSBL 18+Fall League contact info is 770-436-8114, e-mail [email protected]. For more information about our Atlanta Adult Baseball League,please visit our website at www.AtlantaMSBL.com.

TNT Sports. Ongoing. Baseball pitching and hitting lessons by Rob Blair, former college coach, Snellville. To set up a free pitching or hitting analysis call 678-344-5876.

Jack City Baseball. Ongoing. Baseball pitching and hitting. Instruction with former pro Keith Whitner. 18-ylooking for high school players. The new location isinside Velocity Sports in North Gwinnett. For more information call 770-633-0948 or visit jackcity.net.

FOOTBALLCollins Hill Athletic Association. Ongoing. Accepting

applications for qualified coaches in all age groups.For information email Craig Deneau at [email protected]

Grayson Athletic Association. Ongoing. Football coaches needed for eighth grade and all age groups.For information call Duane Davis at 678-300-0282 or visit www.gaasports.org.

Flag Football. GSL -- Georgia Sports Leagues. Georgia’sLargest Flag League. Registration ongoing. We offer7-Man, 8-man, Youth and Co-Ed styles of play around Atlanta. We play ALL year round. For information please contact (678)799-0159 or email [email protected]. Visit www.georgiasportsleagues.org.

Arena Indoor Football. Ongoing. Youth and Adult Leagues. Youth 7 vs. 7; Adult 6 vs. 6. For information, call 678-714-7454 or e-mail [email protected]. www.atlantasilverbacks.com/indoor.

Capitol City Officials Association. CCOA is accepting ongoing registration for the upcoming GHSA High School season in football. We hold weekly training

SCORE ATLANTAADVERTISING INDEX790 The Zone ....................CoverArmy..........................................2Atlanta Falcons ..........Back PageAtlanta Hawks ............Back PageAtlanta Thrashers ......................2Georgia State ..........................12GHSA.TV ......................Cover, 14Hooters ..........................Cover, 7Man’s Best Friend ....................5Mikael’s Auto Spa ....................3North River Tavern ..................10Nuclear Cowboyz ......................9Rhodes Bakery ........................10Ringling Bros.............................8Ron Veal Football Camp ..........14Special Olympics ......................3Worthmore ................................4

Thoughts on the Pro Bowl; Celtics’ Allen disses Hawks

CHECK OUT THE NEW AND IMPROVEDSCOREATL.COM!

TO ADVERTISE IN SCORE ATLANTA:

404.256.1572



Copyright 2010 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.Score Atlanta is published every week on Fridays. Views expressed inScore Atlanta are not necessarily the opinion of Score Atlanta, its staff oradvertisers. Score Atlanta does not knowingly accept false or misleadingeditorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for thecontent or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. Nocontent (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be usedfor reproduction without written permission from the publisher.

Just because the NFL took an off-weekdoesn’t mean it wasn’t an INTENSE week

in the sports world. It certainly was. First off,the Pro Bowl was played last week and mostpeople had a problem with the fact that thegame was played one week prior to the SuperBowl and it wasn’t in Hawaii. I say poo-pooto that. First off, how many players from theSuper Bowl participants ACTUALLY play inthe games the week after? The champs usual-ly are making the rounds on Leno andLetterman while the losers don’t usuallywant to show up to be reminded that theylost. For anyone trying to make the argumentthat, oh, Peyton wasn’t allowed to play, hewasn’t going to play the week after anyways.My second point is that no one watches thePro Bowl after the Super Bowl is over.However, what else are people doing theSunday before the big game? Watching theGrammys? I didn’t think so. I thought thetiming was perfect because everyone is inFOOTBALL MODE and this was the perfectkickoff to the Super Bowl Week activities.

Now did the NFL step on itself by mak-ing the Saints and Colts players leave theirteams to go be in photos and stand on thesidelines? Yes. Commissioner Roger Goodellshould realize this and fix it. Alas, next sea-son, the game is going back to Hawaii, Iguess because too many of the players werecomplaining that they didn’t get their freetrip there. Umm, how many reserves do weALWAYS see when the game is in Hawaii?And don’t you guys make enough money tosend yourself to Hawaii? All I’m saying isthat if I was going to that paradise out there,I wouldn’t want to have to hit people in theprocess. I’d rather just go for vacation. Noteto the NFL: keep the game the week before

but don’t make the Super Bowl teams sendtheir players if they don’t want to go.

SNOW BUSINESS … The Winter X-Games started last week on

ESPN. Seems kind of weird doesn’t it, to behaving the X-Games the week before theWinter Olympics? Especially since the eventsthat people WATCH the X-games for are nowin the Olympics. I wonder if ESPN realizes thatpeople don’t watch the X-Games anymore. Thenetwork overkilled it. Do it every other year orso because honestly I don’t care if someone canbike on ice. I just don’t. Do we really need theX-Games every year? Just wondering.

NIKE AD EXPLOSIVE … A new Nike ad came out featuring Kobe

Bryant and LeBron James and part of thedialogue has Kobe saying that he plays hisheart out and doesn’t leave anything in thechamber. Probably not a good idea right nowto have a gun reference right after AgentZero Gilbert Arenas was suspended for get-ting into an argument with a teammate thatled to an incident involving a gun. I reallydon’t have a problem with the “leave nothingin the chamber” quote but I understand thatsome people in this PC world we now live inwill. To those people I say get over it! Comeon. Move on. Grow up.

HAIL TO THE CHIEF … As I was watching the Georgetown/Duke

game last weekend, I saw that CBS kept cut-ting to President Obama sitting in the crowd.Eventually, Obama was brought to the broad-cast booth and given a headset for a few min-utes. Obama was never really seen cheeringone way or the other (unlike when Bill Clinton

was openly cheering for Arkansas back in theday) but he was seen as Joe Everyman. Hey,he likes basketball too! Actually, Obamaseems like a guy you’d invite to your SuperBowl party, but shouldn’t he NOT be thatguy? Shouldn’t he be the guy fixing the econ-omy or solving unemployment? Perhaps thosetwo hours could have been spent following upon some of the things he discussed in the Stateof the Union. And before you get all bent outof shape, I said the same things when GeorgeW. Bush was in the ESPN baseball booth withMiller and Morgan.

REALLY, RAY? … I read in a recent Sports Illustrated issue

where Boston Celtic guard Ray Allen saidthat the Boston/Atlanta back-and-forth isn’treally a rivalry. He noted that for whateverreason Boston didn’t think of Atlanta as aserious threat to them in the East. Hmmm.Interesting there, Ray. You are correct whenyou said it isn’t really a rivalry. Typically forit to be a rivalry, both teams need to win.Atlanta is 4-0 this season and just swept theseason series from you. As far as a seriousthreat, maybe you guys should try and win afirst-round series in less than seven gamewhen you are overwhelmingly favored. Itmight help to keep you guys a bit fresher ifyou ever meet up with Atlanta in the playoffs.I guess it is going to take Atlanta going 4-0 inthe playoffs for Boston to respect the Hawks.

Proctor can be heard on The OfficialVisit on 790 The Zone, brought to you everyMonday night by Score Atlanta, and providescolor commentary on the GPB/Score Atlantaweekly high school basketball webcastsevery Tuesday night on gpb.org. He can bereached at [email protected].

Hoops teams enjoy another successful week Men’s hoops drops two games in a row

College football has the SEC. Major LeagueBaseball has the AL East. NASCAR has

Hendrick MotorSports. Georgia high schoolswimming has Gwinnett County.

Gwinnett dominates the state of Georgiain sports such as football, basketball and soft-ball, so why should swimming be any differ-ent? Class 5A swimming and diving is lit-tered with top notch Gwinnett County pro-grams and this season several programsshould make a huge splash in the state cham-pionships coming up on Feb. 10-13.

Over the last few seasons, Brookwoodhas made its case for top billing in GwinnettCounty. On the girls side of the pool, theLady Broncos had won six straight countytitles and 10 of the last 11 before Mill Creek“pulled the upset” last week, edgingBrookwood 1,037-1,033 in the county cham-pionship. Brookwood’s success isn’t just tiedto the county titles, though, as the Broncostook the state’s highest classification titlefrom 2001 through 2004. The Broncos areled by Kelsey Gouge, the county’s 50freestyle champion. Gouge also won theevent last year. She is joined by an impressive200 freestyle relay team. Finally, the Broncostypically count on Meghan Faulkner, thoughshe suffered an injury at the county champi-onships. What could be the secret toBrookwood’s success?

Tradition and hard work. FormerOlympian Amanda Weir was a member ofthose four straight state championshipssquads and she was twice named GeorgiaSwimmer of the Year in 2001 and 2003.

The boys swim team at Brookwood cer-tainly has a championship pedigree. Despitelosing in the county championships toParkview, the Broncos are the two-timedefending champions heading into the statemeet. The Broncos claimed the 2008 and2009 titles and are seeking a three-peat and toavoid the fate of Collins Hill and Parkview,who both lost their strongholds on the statetitle after two-year runs. Conor Sweeney is afine individual swimmer, having now claimedtwo straight 500 freestyle county titles,including this year’s over his younger brother.Michael Trice can call himself the fastestswimmer in the county after claiming the 50freestyle and Robbie Swan joins the twoSweeneys and Trice to form a nearly unbeat-able 200 freestyle relay squad. Brookwood’smotto is “good is not good enough … whenbetter is expected,” and the teams certainlyseem to live up to that creed.

The recently crowned county championswill certainly have the bull’s eye on their backsat the state championships as Mill Creek, andParkview will hit the pool with countymomentum. For Parkview, depth will be thekey to getting back on top of the mountain.Parkview claimed the 2006 and 2007 titles andwas the program to beat from 2000-03. IfParkview is to get its seventhstate crown in the last elevenyears, that depth will be tested.The boys coach Jack Gayle is aformer Parkview swimmer him-self, so he understands the dedi-

cation and sacrifice needed to be a successfulprogram. During the county championships,just one Panther claimed an individual event(Ricky Lehner in the 100 breaststroke) butconsistent top-five finishes by nearly all of theswimmers got the Panthers enough points torun away with the title.

For Mill Creek’s girls, the county titlewas a first, but not necessarily for its coach.Rick Creed won sixteen county champi-onships while serving at Parkview but thiswas his first with Mill Creek. The team itselfwas led by another Creed — Sommers Creed— who won her third straight 500 freestyleGwinnett county title. Creed was also a partof the 400 freestyle relay team and the 200medley relay teams that were victorious.Rachael Dudley claimed her second straight100 butterfly county title as well as a 100backstroke county title. Frederique Lefebvrewas also outstanding in the 200 IM and invarious relay races. Now that Mill Creek hastasted success on the county, level and with aloaded lineup of All-Americans such as Cree,Lefebvre, Dudley and Katie Evans, expect theHawks to be major players at state.

Proctor can be reached [email protected].



Both the men’s and women’s basketballteams went undefeated last week, combin-

ing for a 4-0 record. The men boasted five players in double-fig-

ures as they hammered Wake Forest 79-58 onThursday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.D’Andre Bell poured in 16 points while GaniLawal contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.

In a 98-50 Saturday afternoon rout ofKentucky State, a whopping 13 YellowJackets saw at least 10 minutes of action.Glen Rice converted all six of his field-goalattempts — including three from long dis-tance — for a game-high 15 points.

Brigitte Ardossi led the women to a pair ofimpressive ACC victories over Miami andVirginia Tech. The Jackets pulled away in over-time to beat Miami 80-73 on Wednesday beforecruising past the Hokies 61-47 on Sunday.

Tech had three players record double-doubles against the Hurricanes: Ardossi (29points, 17 rebounds), Sasha Goodlett (14points, 13 rebounds), and Deja Foster (11points, 11 rebounds). Ardossi added 15 pointsand seven rebounds in the win over VirginiaTech to earn ACC Player of the Week honors.

Both squads took to the road onThursday, with the men visiting Duke and the

women travelling to College Park for a datewith the Maryland Terrapins. Results werenot available at press time.

AROUND CAMPUS …Four players from this year’s ACC

Championship squad have been invited to theupcoming NFL Combine. Morgan Burnett,Jonathan Dwyer, Derrick Morgan, andDemaryius Thomas are expected to partici-pate in the February 24-March 2 event, heldannually in Indianapolis.

While Tech sees four star players depart,Paul Johnson’s team welcomed in a newrecruiting class on Wednesday, NationalSigning Day. Full signing-day results werenot available at press time, but the Jacketsreportedly received a late commitment onTuesday from four-star cornerback LouisYoung of Olney, Maryland.

The surging women’s tennis team alsofeatured an ACC Player of the Week. IrinaFalconi, ranked No. 1 in the nation, took homethe award by pacing the Yellow Jackets to vic-tories over both Arizona State and Kentucky.

Dimon can be reached [email protected].

After demolishing No. 8 Tennessee twoweeks ago, the Georgia hoops squad

looked to be turning the proverbial corner.But the Dawgs lost both games last week to droptheir record to 8-10 overall and 1-5 in the SEC.

The first loss was a midweek affair atFlorida. The Gators rode a suffocating full-courtpress to force 19 turnovers in an 89-71 victory.

“We didn’t play well enough to win,”explained first-year head coach Mark Fox.“We turned the ball over too much in the firsthalf and then finished the half so poorly inthose last four minutes. We didn’t take care ofthe ball well enough or rebound well enough,and [Florida’s] points-off-turnovers and sec-ond-chance points ate us up tonight.”

Trey Thompkins again led the Dawgswith 24 points on 10-12 shooting. RickyMcPhee was 5-for-8 from three-point landand finished with 21 points of his own.Georgia actually shot a solid 60 percent forthe game from the field, but had 13 fewershots and 10 fewer free throws than did UF.

The loss dropped UGA to 1-12 in its last13 games against the Gators.

The Bulldogs’ next game was a muchcloser game.

Georgia travelled to Columbia, SC onSaturday for a date with South Carolina, whowas fresh off a mid-week win over No. 1Kentucky. It was a good time to catch theGamecocks, who had to have still been onCloud Nine after the major upset.

But, as in the loss at Mississippi Statetwo weeks ago, the Dawgs led decisively mid-way through the second half. With 10 minutesleft, UGA held a 63-54 lead. However, starGamecock guard Devan Downey scored 12points in the final nine minutes to giveCarolina a 78-77 win.

It was the latest in a long line of devas-tating losses by the Dawgs. Besides theFlorida game, Georgia has been in every SECgame into the final minute but has just oneconference win to show for it.

“Our kids really competed and I just feelawful for them,” said Fox. “They played witha lot of heart, but we just didn't string togeth-er enough stops in the second half.”

The Dawgs will gladly return toStegeman Coliseum this week for aWednesday game against Arkansas. OnSaturday, Georgia will host No. 18 Vanderbilt.

Black can be reached at [email protected].

Gwinnett County swimming programs dominate the sport in State of Georgia

LOOKING FOR THREE: The Brookwood boys swim team has been theteam to beat for the last two seasons, winning back-to-back statetitles. They will have a tough task winning again this year with teamslike Walton and Lassiter on their heels. Photo courtesy of Photographic Arts.

FEBRUARY CHECK US OUT AT SCOREATL.COM VOL 6 NO 6

Documents

Transcript of FEBRUARY CHECK US OUT AT SCOREATL.COM VOL 6 NO 6