Sports Daily: 3 receivers walk into a studio
How we feeling on this post-Memorial Day Tuesday, friends? A mite groggy, perhaps?
That’s OK (and relatable).
We’ll ease back into things nice and slow like.
Quick links: Adieu, Orlando Arcia | Tech baseball snubbed? | Ronny Deila’s T-shirt
LISTEN UP
A new podcast from former Falcons receivers Harry Douglas, Julio Jones and Roddy White launches today.
And you know what? I’m in.
Douglas and White can talk with the best of them. Jones is the GOAT. And they’re apparently getting into some spicy stuff, like White’s end-of-career clash with then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2015.
“We would literally go through practice scripts, and I would get the ball at practice, and then when we’d go into games, he’d sub me out,” White said in this teaser clip, later recalling a conversation in which Shanahan deemed him the team’s fifth-best offensive option.
He told our friend D. Orlando Ledbetter to expect the podcast — titled “Legacy Locker-Room” — to keep diving into “experiences from dealing with upper-level management and just having fun with our teammates and players.” It’s something the trio’s been dreaming up for a while.
And why not?
“Remembering guys” is a favorite genre of sports fans. And guys that you remember sitting together remembering guys (while throwing a little shade, too)? Chef’s kiss.
🎙️ With that in mind: I’ve put together a pitch list of other Atlanta-centric sports podcasts I’d love to hear. Check it out, then send me your own suggestions.
- The four-man Braves booth is the obvious, already audience-tested choice. Jeff Francoeur, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz riffing on baseball (and nonsense) is an audio buffet beckoning us all. Sprinkle in Brian McCann, Greg Maddux and whoever else? That’s gold, Jerry.
- Fred McGriff and Tom Emanski, telling us more about the instructional video that gets results.
- NOT John Rocker. Seriously, don’t.
- Ted Turner. Or at least athletes/coaches/whoever else reminiscing about Turner doing weird stuff when he owned the Braves and Hawks.
- Falcons CEO Rich McKay. I just want one episode explaining what his actual job is.
- Trae Young and any random Knicks fan talking trash for half an hour at a time. Who says no?
Again, please send your own podcast suggestions to tyler.estep@ajc.com! And check out ajc.com/falcons a little later for coverage from the team’s first day of OTAs.
ARCIA LATER, FRIEND
Shortstop Orlando Arcia lost his starting job early this season. He fell out of favor among many fans before that.
So Atlanta releasing him a day after sending him to Triple-A to make room for Ronald Acuña Jr. was not exactly a shocker.
But as columnist Ken Sugiura writes, the guy was a great teammate. And this quote from Acuña sums things up pretty well: “I think if you would’ve told me that was the move, I probably would’ve asked if I could spend another week down in Gwinnett.”
⚾ On deck: The Braves, who still believe their best baseball is forthcoming, start a three-game series in Philadelphia tonight. (6:45 on FanDuel Sports). Spencer Strider gets the start.
LATE-NIGHT HOOPS
Fresh off back-to-back home wins over Dallas and Connecticut, the Atlanta Dream hit the road to take on Kelsey Plum and the Sparks in Los Angeles tonight.
Tipoff: 10 p.m. Eastern on Peachtree TV.
🔮 Atlanta is 3-2 on the young season and, in the words of AJC sports editor Rod Beard, “should be in the conversation among the top teams in the league, and right there in the playoff race, when summer turns to fall.”
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1999 (DEROGATORY)
Georgia Tech baseball won a regular-season conference title but won’t host an NCAA Tournament regional this weekend — the first time that’s happened to the ACC champ since 1999.
The Yellow Jackets will head to Oxford, Mississippi, on Friday instead.
“We kind of thought we might have a great chance to host, being the league champion, but I’m not in that room, and I know they have a really hard time to get the top 16 teams in there and allow them to host,” coach Danny Hall said.
🥳 Meanwhile, in Athens: Georgia baseball earned the No. 7 overall seed and will host a regional, with Duke, Oklahoma State and Binghamton joining the party.
ALSO INTERESTING
🎾 Ex-Georgia Tech tennis star Chris Eubanks joins TNT this week as part of its French Open coverage. Eubanks, who made that magical run at Wimbledon in 2023, is still an active player.
- Former Atlantan Coco Gauff won her opening match despite initially forgetting her rackets.
🎮 EA Sports College Football 26 will feature a pair of stud sophomore receivers on its cover: Alabama’s Ryan Williams and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.
- Georgia coach Kirby Smart and mascot Hairy Dawg are part of the additional smorgasbord included on the video game’s “deluxe edition.”
😬 Atlanta native Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves are down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals after Oklahoma City’s 128-126 win on Monday night.
WEEKEND WONDERPERSON
Almost forgot our weekly honor!
We’re giving it to Atlanta United, which won its first match since late March on Sunday, topping Cincinnati 4-2.
But the real MVP? Manager Ronny Deila’s white T-shirt, a sartorial shift from his usual man-in-black look.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I'm willing to do everything. I'm superstitious in that (way).
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Before taking over the AJC's Sports Daily newsletter, Tyler Estep spent two years writing the A.M. ATL newsletter. A Gwinnett County native and University of Georgia graduate, he has been with the AJC since 2015 and previously worked as a reporter on the breaking news, hyperlocal and local government teams.
