http://www.ajc.com The latest headlines from AJC en-us Copyright 2009, Cox Newspapers Inc., AJC Fri, 3 Jul 2009 21:41:22 EDT Newspapers COXnet RSS Generator v1.0 http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/17/52/image_1352178.jpg http://www.ajc.com 5 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/03/braves_johnson_injury.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/03/braves_johnson_injury.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Fri, 3 Jul 2009 20:53:50 EDT Washington, D.C.- The Braves put struggling second baseman Kelly Johnson on the disabled list Friday with right wrist tendinitis and called up Brooks Conrad from Class AAA Gwinnett. Johnson had been scuffling at the plate for about a month before being replaced by Martin Prado as the starting second baseman on Wednesday night. Johnson had hit .168 with no home runs and five RBIs in his previous 28 games. His average is down to .214 for the season. Johnson got a cortisone shot and did not accompany the Braves to Washington. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/stories/2009/07/03/dream_ivory_latta.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/stories/2009/07/03/dream_ivory_latta.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:15:29 EDT Ivory Latta is back with the Dream. Atlanta's WNBA franchise signed Latta on Friday. The guard was an original Dream player during last season's inaugural campaign, but was released just before the start of this season. To make room for Latta, the Dream released guard Nikki Teasley, who averaged 3.9 points through 10 games this season. The six-year veteran out of North Carolina also averaged 3.5 assists. Teasley, who missed all of last season after giving birth to a daughter, signed with the Dream in August. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/02/braves_sweep_phillies.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/02/braves_sweep_phillies.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:37:06 EDT Before the Braves flew to Washington late Thursday, they had already soared past Philadelphia. Garret Anderson's two-run homer in a three-run eighth inning sealed a 5-2 win against the Phillies and gave the Braves a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champions. Not to mention a jolt of positive energy that ran through the dugout and clubhouse and might just have been enough to start their charter jet. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/02/tommy_hanson_news.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/02/tommy_hanson_news.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:13:14 EDT Tommy Hanson's resounding first month in the majors was rewarded Thursday when the Braves pitcher was named National League Rookie of the Month for June. He finished 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA and a .222 opponents' average in five starts -- his first five major-league games -- including wins against Boston and the New York Yankees in his past two. "I definitely didn't expect to come up here and do this," said Hanson, whose current streak of 20 consecutive scoreless innings is the longest by a Braves rookie starter since Pete Smith's 20-inning streak in 1988. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/02/tim_hudson_braves.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/02/tim_hudson_braves.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:11:40 EDT Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox went out to the bullpen beyond right field to watch Tim Hudson's 90-pitch session Thursday afternoon and came back impressed. "He's ready to go," Cox said of Hudson, who is 10 months into what is typically a 12-month rehabilitation from ligament-transplant elbow surgery. "He's really come along. He's got major-league stuff right now, his normal stuff." But Cox quickly added that the Braves will not rush the timetable on Hudson's return, which is scheduled for mid- to late-August. The next step is facing hitters, which Hudson is set to do next week when he throws batting practice while the Braves are in Chicago to face the Cubs. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/thrashers/stories/2009/07/02/thrashers_sign_antropov.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/thrashers/stories/2009/07/02/thrashers_sign_antropov.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:58:57 EDT The text message might have been the best part. After Thrashers general manager Don Waddell signed unrestricted free agent Nik Antropov on Thursday, his cellphone buzzed with a message from Ilya Kovalchuk. "Great job" it read. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/peachtree/stories/2009/07/02/peachtree_finish_piedmont_park.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/peachtree/stories/2009/07/02/peachtree_finish_piedmont_park.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:15:59 EDT People who will be running in Saturday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race say they are happy that the finish line has been moved back to Piedmont Park, according to race director Tracey Russell. Last year's race ended at the intersection of Juniper Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue, The finish line was moved there after the city restricted use of the park for large events because of the drought. This year, the line is back at The Meadow portion of the park, where it had been since 1978. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/peachtree/stories/2009/07/02/peachtree_road_race_thorn.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/peachtree/stories/2009/07/02/peachtree_road_race_thorn.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:11:55 EDT Bill Thorn helped found a school — Landmark Christian in Fairburn — and has coached the school's cross-country teams to 27 state championships in 20 years. Another imprint Thorn has left on the metro Atlanta sports landscape is his status as the only runner to have competed in every Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. Earlier this week, Thorn, 78, shared his thoughts on running and the Peachtree. • Thorn is not particularly finicky about his shoes. When Smith & Davis Clothing, a store in Fayetteville, has tent sales, Thorn stocks up. He wore a pair of Mizunos in the race last year, and this year he plans to wear a pair of silver-and-blue Sauconys. "Jeff Galloway probably won't approve of it," Thorn said of the owner of the running store Phidippides, " but you gotta do what you gotta do." • Speaking of shoes, Thorn has kept all of his running shoes, storing them and in his closet and in garbage bags in his attic, to the chagrin of his wife, Patty. He said that in the first Peachtree, he thinks he ran in coaching shoes and coaching shorts. "It was just a totally different [time]," Thorn said. "The [running gear] style did not come out till later." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/thrashers/2009/07/02/thrashers_sign_antropov.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/thrashers/2009/07/02/thrashers_sign_antropov.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:41:42 EDT The Thrashers' whirlwind offseason continued Thursday with the signing of free-agent forward Nik Antropov to a four-year, $16-million contract. The signing of the Antropov gives the Thrashers a top-6 forward, one of their offseason priorities. The Thrashers also traded for top-4 defenseman Pavel Kubina on Wednesday. They drafted nine players last weekend, including forward Evander Kane, who could make the NHL roster next season. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/01/phillies_braves.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/01/phillies_braves.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 23:30:34 EDT Lost in a rubble of run support that Jair Jurrjens hadn't seen in a month came a gem of a pitching performance. The 23-year-old Curacao native weaved a no-hit effort in and around nine runs from the Braves' offense before his no-hit bid ended with two outs in the seventh inning of an 11-1 pounding over the Phillies. Former Braves catcher Paul Bako singled to give the Phillies one hit to the Braves' 11 at that point and put at least some kind of damper on a big night for the Braves. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/thrashers/stories/2009/07/01/thrashers_trades.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/thrashers/stories/2009/07/01/thrashers_trades.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:01:04 EDT Trade winds are blowing. Even with the start of the NHL free-agency period Wednesday, the Thrashers acquired Pavel Kubina from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart. The Thrashers also acquired Tim Stapleton. Kubina, 32, has one year and $5 million remaining on his contract. He played for the Maple Leafs the past three seasons after spending the previous eight with the Tampa Bay Lightning, including when they won the Stanley Cup in 2004. He played all 82 games for the Leafs last season and tied a career-high with 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists). http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/01/tim_hudson_news.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/01/tim_hudson_news.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 20:01:05 EDT Tim Hudson will throw a 90-pitch bullpen session today and then get ready for the next step in his comeback from elbow-reconstruction surgery: facing hitters. He'll pitch batting practice the first two days the Braves are in Chicago to play the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday. If all continues to progress well, he'll make his first rehabilitation start July 19 at Class A Myrtle Beach with an eye toward returning to the Braves in mid-to-late August. He has added breaking balls to the mix recently. http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/01/atlanta_braves_notes.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/07/01/atlanta_braves_notes.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 19:54:45 EDT What's good for Martin Prado is not so good for Kelly Johnson, after manager Bobby Cox said Tuesday night that it was time to give Prado a shot at the everyday second base job. But the numbers stacked up against Johnson, who has hit only .168 with no home runs and five RBIs in his past 28 games. His season average was down to .216 entering Wednesday night's game. "I'm not playing well, not hitting well," Johnson said. "I want to get on track. I want to be in a good position and be ready, so I can have good at-bats and just play as good as I can to help the team win." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/stories/2009/07/01/peachtree_seeds.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/stories/2009/07/01/peachtree_seeds.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:56:35 EDT With plenty of cash on the table, the Atlanta Track Club has assembled a strong field for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. The club has brought in close to 40 elite men runners for the Saturday race, one of the largest groups of elite runners in race history. Sean Hartnett, a writer for Track & Field News magazine, graded it a four-star field. "The Peachtree's on the lips and minds back over in Kenya and Ethiopia," Hartnett said. "They know about it." http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/hawks/stories/2009/07/01/hawks_jeff_teague.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/hawks/stories/2009/07/01/hawks_jeff_teague.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21 Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:08:11 EDT Hawks point guard Jeff Teague never has had a problem operating in the shadows. At Pike High School in Indianapolis, he showed up two years after current players Courtney Lee and Robert Vaden led an undefeated team to the state title and established the program as one of the nation's best. At Wake Forest, Teague had the unenviable task of following NBA superstar Chris Paul as the Demon Deacons' catalyst, spending two seasons trying to live up to a standard set by one of the world's greatest point guards.