Braves Sweep Snakes

Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves completed a 3 game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Turner Field. Tomahawk shortstop, Alex Gonzalez, provided the game's only offense, with a third inning solo shot to left field. The 1-0 victory pushed Atlanta's wild card lead to 8 games over San Francisco and 8.5 ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Tonight, the Braves will be in Wrigley Field, as they take on Chicago's most disappointing ball club. Scuffling toward a 56-71 record can't be any fun for Cubs players and fans. Throw into the mix, a half azzed "retirement" of Carlos Zambrano and the firing of GM Jim Hendry, and I think it's safe to say this has been another weird season in the Windy City.

On the mound for the visiting Braves will be Jair Jurrjens. J.J. is making his second consecutive start after returning from a 15 day stint on the DL. Dude is 12-4 with an ERA of 2.84.

As for Chicago, Ryan Dempster gets the rock. The Canadian born pitcher is currently 10-8 with an ERA of 4.61. Throughout his 13 year career, Ryan is credited with 112 wins alongside 110 losses and an ERA of 4.39.

Hopefully, there will be no "sunflower seed" incidents in this series. For more on that, check out Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. You can click on the title of this post for a direct link.

Fried Hot Dogs, Cheese Grits, and Atlanta Braves Baseball

Woke up this morning in need of a little B & B...breakfast and baseball. Now that I've gotten a few bites in, let's talk about them Braves.

Friday night, Atlanta opened a 3 game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Derek Lowe on the mound. And, the 14 year veteran did something new...he pitched like he used to. Lowe struck out seven snakes in 5 innings and blanked the visiting squad in a short but effective start. Rookie reliever, Aroyds Vizcaino allowed 2 runs in the seventh, but that was the only noise Arizona could make against Braves pitching.

New Atlien, Michael Bourn started the scoring for Atlanta with a solo homerun in the first inning off DBack, Daniel Hudson. In the 3rd, All Star Brian McCann said "hello," with a 425 foot blast to right. The Braves would lead 3-0, until a rejuvenated Larry Jones stepped into the batter's box during the 6th. With 2 outs, Chipper connected on a solo shot to left field, giving the Braves a 4-0 lead.

Friday's 4-2 victory increases Atlanta's advantage to 7 games over Arizona in the Wild Card race and 7.5 over struggling San Francisco.

The Braves and Snakes square off again at 7:10 tonight. Brandon Beachy will take the mound for the home team. He is 5-2 with an ERA of 3.43 in 2011. Meanwhile, Arizona will call upon Louisiana native, Wade Miley. The 24 year old lefty will be making his Major League debut, after cruising to a 4-1 record with an ERA of 3.64 at the Triple A level.

Almost forgot to mention, this is Kennesaw State Alumni night at Turner Field. Ya'll get to "parade around the outfield," if you purchase tickets for the event.

Braves Vs Frisco

Here's the skinny on Atlanta Braves baseball...

America's favorite tomahawkers are 72-51 after 123 games. That ain't a bad mark, unless the seemingly flawless Phillies reside within your division. In this case, they do. And that might be a problem. With a 7.5 game lead, Philadelphia has just about locked the division down, en route to claiming another NL East pennant.

Now for the good news... Atlanta created a little breathing room in the race for the NL Wild Card, by taking the first 2 games in a 4 game series vs San Francisco. With a 6 game lead over the champs, tonight's contest could be pivotal for either side. If the Braves can squeak out another victory, the lead expands to 7. If not, it shrinks back to 5 with 39 regular season games remaining.

The first pitch is slated for 7:10, as Jair Jurrjens returns to Atlanta's rotation after spending 15 days on the disabled list with a strained right knee. Dude is 12-4 with an ERA of 2.63 in 2011. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will take the mound for the World Series Champion, San Francisco Giants. Cain has posted a 9-9 record with an ERA of 3.00.

WaShaun Ealey...My bad

Two years ago, I wrote an article proclaiming WaShaun Ealey to be "The future of Georgia football." Dude brought his A game against GT in 2009, but failed to be the unstoppable force I expected to see versus foes from the SEC. And, considering the fact he'll lace 'em up for Jacksonville State next season, I think it's safe to say I missed the mark on that one.

In my mind, Ealey was destined for greatness. And, he still may be. It just won't happen in Red and Black. And that sucks.

But, the arrival of heralded freshman, Isaiah "The Funk" Crowell, outta soften the blow a bit. And now that WaShaun and Caleb King are gone, Richard Samuel rejoins the Georgia Bulldog backfield.

Maybe I should have learned some kind of lesson by now. But, I expect both Samuel and Crowell to destroy opposing defenses between the hedges. In order to re-emerge as a factor in the SEC East, the Dawgs will need to do this...

(Click on the title of this post)

Braves vs Rocks

Last night, the Atlanta Braves played like a team I might ask to kick rocks. But, the 12-3 whoopin' Colorado laid upon 'em accounts for just one L in the loss column. And, the first place phils are just 4 games better than the dudes from ATL. So, I'm gonna let that one ride.

Tim Hudson will be looking for his tenth victory tonight, as he squares off against rookie hurler, Juan Nicasio. In his first MLB season, the 24 year old Dominican Republican has posted a respectable 4-2 record, including a 4.24 ERA for Colorado.

Jason Heyward will be back in the Braves lineup, after sitting out the last 2 games with a boo boo on his foot. First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 eastern.

Sounds like somethin' funky is 'bout to go down. Click on the title of this post.

Feeling Left Behind?

About that apocalypse thang...I'm still here. Doomsday drama set aside, do any of ya'll care if the Atlanta Thrashers relocate?

Last season, some really good friends of mine scored some unbelievable tickets to see the New York Rangers take on the currently local hockey club. In one of the coolest gestures of all time, they decided to take yours truly.

It was a nasty night in Atlanta, as heavy rains began to pour. Walking from the parking lot to Philips Arena, we got SOAKED. I dried out my raggedy azz Hawks cap underneath one of those hand drying machines in the water closet. But, I still felt like a half frozen tinsel of ice inside the building.

It was cold, but I had one of the greatest times of my life at a sporting event. The folks at Philips Arena were absolutely world class and continue to create an electrifying atmosphere, even when the home team ain't lookin' so good. To say that I became a fan of the sport would be a bold faced lie. So, I ain't typin' that. But, Philips Arena is a great place to be, even if you're there to watch hockey.

With rumors of a relocation to Winnipeg starting to spill out across local sports radio stations and newspapers, I've started to wonder this...
(Click on title of post)

Hawks lead Magic 3 Games to 1

After watching this game, I've got no fingernails left. Barely had any after game three. But, that's ok. The Atlanta Hawks just took a commanding 3 games to 1 lead over the Orlando Magic in their best of seven series.

After going silent throughout the second and third quarters (2 pts during that stretch), Joe Johnson awoke with 10 desperately needed fourth quarter scores. Jamal Crawford and Kirk Hinrich seemed to carry Atlanta's offense, until Johnson made his presence known. With Orlando unwilling to accept defeat, Double J rose to the challenge and delivered it to their front door.

Dwight Howard actually looked like himself in the second half of this contest and was simply un-guardable, with Jason Collins benched because of foul trouble. But, his Magic squad lost another close one.

Could it be written, that the dynamic duo of Nelson and Superman just digested a little bit of cryptonite? I dare to say yes. This series ain't over. But, when Atlanta wins again...it will be.

Game 5 will be played at 7:30 Tuesday night in the Sunshine State.

Hawks vs Magic Game 4

Live from Philips Arena...would be an awesome way to start this post. But, truth be told, I ain't there. Oh well, who cares about that? Here's the breakdown on tonight's first half action...

Dwight Howard has been in foul trouble from the start and it reflects in his stats column. The Magic center has an uncharacteristically low 5 points, so far.
A silly foul with 1.1 seconds left in the 2nd quarter, brought his tally to 3 at halftime.

For Atlanta, Joe Johnson started well, but an early trip to the bench cooled him off, after #2 was whistled for his second foul. Jamal Crawford and Kirk Hinrich have played well for the Hawks. However, Atlanta became turnover prone and squandered several possessions, that could have been used to stake a commanding lead in tonight's game.

The third quarter is about to start, as Atlanta leads 46-37. Hawks need to play a little smarter and lock Orlando down, with some tenacity on defense.

Update: Hawks 50 Magic 37 with 10:01 in 3rd. Stan Van calls timeout.
Look for more updates in comments section of this post.

Braves vs Champs

Looking to sweep last season's World Series Champs, the Atlanta Braves are up to bat in the 8th inning. A leadoff HR by former Fish 2B, Dan Uggla, tied the score at 6. Here's the rest of the skinny...

Rookie Brave, Brandon Beachy, allowed 2 runs on 3 hits through six innings. The young fella also fanned seven Frisco batsmen. With the score 2-2, Jason Heyward connected on 3 run homer, and Atlanta took a short lived 5-2 lead in the 7th.

Then came the bottom of the inning and Jairo Asencio took the mound for Atlanta. And, that was not a good thing for the Braves. It was downright ugly, as the baseball Giants scored 4 times on 4 hits and a walk with the bases loaded.

Update: Cody Ross batting for Frisco in bottom of 9th. Score remains tied at 6.

I'll post more updates in the comments section, unless I'm too busy watching the Hawks vs Dwight Howards. Game 4 tips off without Zaza Pachulia and Jason Richardson, soon. Good guys lead the series 2 games to one.

Hawks 1, Magic None

Dwight Howard posted 46 game 1 points in a best of 7 playoff series versus the Atlanta Hawks. And, Magic guard, Jameer Nelson, unleashed 27 scores of his own. But, all other Orlando basketballers combined to put just 20 more on the board.

For Atlanta, guards Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford accounted for 48 points. Meanwhile, the trio of Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Kirk Hinrich added 44 more Hawks scores. Leading by as much as 17 points in the third quarter, Atlanta was able to fend off all Magic rallies, and claimed a 103-93 victory.

In the end, a valiant effort by central Florida's dynamic duo just wasn't enough. Atlanta leads the series 1 game to none. Game 2 ain't until Tuesday.