Friday's Report: Scoreboard, scores/pairings; Ben Smith now at Baldwin; Falcons/UGA/draft, Hawks, Braves; NFL Draft/news, NBA, MLB, NHL, college 🏀
📰S📰C📰O📰R📰E📰B📰O📰A📰R📰D📰
High School
⚾ ⚾ ⚾Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
GHSA Playoffs
Bleckley County 11, Brooks County 1; Bleckley County 15, Brooks County 0
Eli Mullis whiffed nine in five innings in the opener, and James Fordham was perfect in the shortened three-inning nightcap, striking out all nine batters. Caleb Senters and Clayton Beck each had two hits in the second game, with two-RBI games from Senters, Beck, Breagan Cravey, and Austin Yourn. Creavey, Beck, and Austin Hill had two hits in the opener, the Royals drawing 10 walks.
Crawford County 6, Bryan County 3; Crawford County 15, Bryan County 3
ECI 7, Hawkinsville 1; ECI 13, Hawkinsville 0
Tanner Meeks had three his for the Red Devils in the opener. But Hawkinsville had no hits and six errors in the six-inning nightcap.
Johnson County 9, Taylor County 0
Lamar County 4, Screven County 1
Whitefield Academy 11, Jasper County 1
⚽ ⚽ ⚽Soccer ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
GIAA boys
Central Fellowship 1, FPD 1
🏫🏫🏫 College 🏫🏫🏫
Links have stories or boxes
🥎 🥎 🥎Softball 🥎 🥎 🥎
Middle Georgia State 20, Brewton-Parker 10
Pro
⚾ ⚾ ⚾MLB ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
🏀🏀🏀NBA🏀🏀🏀
📰C📰O📰V📰E📰R📰A📰G📰E📰
Around/About Central Georgia
Smith looking no more, ex-Dublin coach takes over at Baldwin
Ben Smith was barely on the boys basketball coaching market before he was off it.
About 20 hours after posting that he wasn’t returning to his alma mater, he posted on social media that he was taking over the boys program at Baldwin.
The school posted on Facebook a welcome a few hours after his announcement.
Anthony Webb reportedly resigned recently after four seasons with the Braves, but there appears to have been no official or public announcement. A search of county board of education meetings had nothing on him resigning.
Baldwin won the 2020-21 Class 4A state title, going 17-0 in a season abbreviated by COVID-19. The Braves edged Fayette County 54-53 in the championship game, ending a 40-year title drought.
Webb went 14-10, 17-0, 22-4, and 18-11 in four seasons, a 71-25 total.
Webb was approved in May of 2019, coming from Worth County after one season. He was the longtime leader at his alma mater, Hancock Central, taking the Bulldogs to a state title in 2008 and runner-up finish in 2016 during a 14-year run as head coach.
He succeeded Buck Harris, a notable hire from Laney with college experience and a AAA state title. Harris went 68-43 in four seasons, with two region titles, before he moved a little east to Jones County.
Smith becomes the Braves’ seventh head coach since 2000.
Around/About Georgia/Southeast
Atlanta bolsters backfield with Texas RB Robinson
Robinson gets the call: “God is good”
‘More than a running back’
Grades on the pick vary
Eagles pick UGA’s Carter, get ‘the best person in the draft’
And then snag Smith
Pittsburgh trades up for UGA OL Jones
A new Philly Special, Athens flavored, with Carter, Smith
Horford-sparked Celtics mount comeback, finally have too much for Hawks
Marlins rally in ninth to stun Braves, avoid sweep
New Era complains, MLB clamps down on Braves hat celebrations
NFL Draft
Friday: 7 p.m., rounds 2-3, seven and five minutes between picks
Saturday, 12 p.m., rounds 4-7, five and four minutes between picks
And RBs get more attention than WRs
So, how’d the experts do with their 50th first-round drafts?
Young plans Super Bowls for Carolina
Richardson, the question mark, goes to Indy
Clemson’s Bresee goes to Saints
The first-round list and analysis
There were statements about fashion, too
League honors Virginia victims
First-round grades, I
First-round grades, II
Winners and losers, I
Winners and losers, II
Winners, losers, reaches
Pros and cons
NFL/USFL/XFL/Football
NBA/WNBA/Basketball
Spoelstra’s late hand’s-off call pays off, and Heat move on again
Bucks face second straight collapse, early exit
Column-Freak puts Bucks ‘failure’ in perspective with honesty
Edwards attorney calls charges baseless
Irving criticizes Jenkins for ‘immature comments’
Baseball/MLB/WBC
Angels survive Ohtani mortality to win
Obit-Former Pirate great, NBA player, Dick Groat
Phillies hot entering World Series rematch
Literally knocked the cover off the ball
College Basketball
W-Van Lith is heading from Louisville to LSU
Golf
DeChambeau says rankings ‘almost obsolete’
Hockey/NHL
Seattle a win away from clinching first series
High Schools
VB player had legs amputated, signs with MTSU
Scoreboards