Saturday's Report: Bacon, Mercer/FPD grad golfer, Joe DeFore obit; Braves, UGA/SEC/Kearis Jackson; MLB, college FB/SEC, golf, NASCAR, more

July 23, 2022 Central Georgia Sports Report

News and notes of interest to Central Georgia, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.

Coming Saturday: The Central Georgia Sports Report was your area home to the best - OK, really, any - media days coverage. Go back and check the several dozen SEC and ACC stories, and get ready for even more, coming Saturday afternoon.

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Coastal Plain

Savannah 4, Macon 2

Pro

MLB

Atlanta 8, LA Angels 1

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College Realignment

How the Big 12 can be No. 3 behind SEC and Big Ten

Memphis left out of realignment mess

Would the ACC want UConn?

Column: Pac-12/Big 12 merger was never in the cards

Swinney: ‘doesn’t matter what I think’ about realignment

Is ACC readying for its swan song?

UNC’s Brown worried about changing the game

Column: A look at SEC options

WVU fans should be happy with ACC’s indecisions

Honor Roll

Georgia College adds to Peach Belt honor roll

Around/About Central Georgia

Services Saturday for Lanier grad, South Carolina standout DeFore

Joe DeFore, a two-sport standout in high school and college, died Wednesday.

Services are Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Chapel of Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home on Mercer University Drive.

DeFore, 89, was an all-state and all-Southern football player in 1951 at Lanier, playing on the line under legendary head coach Selby Buck. Lanier went 9-3 in DeFore’s junior season and reached the GHSA Class AA final, a year after going to the semifinals.

He helped the Poets to two state track titles with his performances in the shot, which included an individual championship in 1952.

He played football and competed in track at South Carolina, lettering twice in both sports.

DeFore was a longtime member of the Macon Touchdown Club, as well as 2007 inductee to the Macon Sports Hall of Fame. He is the brother of former Macon city councilman and Macon-Bibb commissioner and longtime Central Georgia sports booster Ed DeFore, a 2001 inductee to the Macon Sports Hall of Fame.

Savannah continues ownership of Macon

A three-run fifth put Savannah on top for good en route to a 4-2 win over visiting Macon.

West Laurens grad Nolan Daniel got the save with two shutout innings, after getting the win earlier this week against Macon.

Jake Larson had three of Macon’s hits with Cameron Crosby adding two hits.

The teams play Saturday in Macon, Wednesday in Savannah and Thursday in Macon, for the final time in the regular season. Macon hosts Lexington County on Sunday and Forest City on Friday.

Mercer golfer, FPD grad qualifies for U.S. Amateur

Around/About Georgia/Southeast

Morton sharp, Atlanta finally gets to Ohtani

Not too close, the SEC East picks

Obit: Former Brave Dwight Smith

Peach County’s Jackson among UGA’s All-SEC picks

College Sports

Future of college sports now at Texas Tech

Iowa hires two diversity-focused staffers

College Football/South

Alabama and Georgia top All-SEC teams, polls

And Alabama is predicted to do it again at the end