Hey, y’all.
Who’s ready to meet some fun new friends, say hi to an old one and lament the departure of another?
Quick links: Fredi Gonzalez returns | Kyle Pitts injured | Masters lottery open
GOING FOR BROKE
Credit: Courtesy photo/Taylor Edgerton
Credit: Courtesy photo/Taylor Edgerton
As previously documented, I’m a big fan of slightly off-kilter sporting events.
Give me that virtual golf league (go Atlanta Drive!). Give me gimmicky all-star games. Give me the Savannah Bananas, forever and always.
And give me the Speedy Turtles, too.
Later this week in Cary, North Carolina, the Turtles — a group of amateur(ish) women soccer players based in Atlanta — will officially kick off their run in The Soccer Tournament: a fun, festival-like spin on the beautiful game.
👀 Their first opponent? A squad headlined by gold medal goalkeeper Hope Solo.
👀 The prize, should they win it all? A cool $1 million.
“We’re this different, wonky, contradictory kind of perspective on soccer,” Hope Kemp-Hanson told me. “And at the end of the day we’re here to have fun and we’re here to entertain.”
Kemp-Hanson grew up in the Alpharetta area and played soccer at SCAD. That experience gave her the “knees of an old grandma,” so she won’t play in TST — but she’s largely responsible for bringing Speedy Turtles to life.
Here’s the deal: They’re mostly former college athletes who met playing soccer in high-level amateur leagues around Atlanta.
For TST, they play 7-on-7 on a smaller-than-usual pitch, which encourages faster, more exciting play.
And after regulation’s over, things get weird.
👀 The team that’s ahead has to score one more time to win. The trailing team has to try and match, then top, their score.
👀 The catch: Every three minutes, a player from each team is removed from the pitch.
Matches always end with a game-winning goal — whether it comes from a full squad or a frantic one-on-one scramble.
Credit: Courtesy photo/Taylor Edgerton
Credit: Courtesy photo/Taylor Edgerton
Kemp-Hanson describes it as if “the Savannah Bananas and Unrivaled had a baby.” (Unrivaled being the newish 3-on-3 women’s basketball league.)
The goal, of course, is to win the 16-team women’s bracket and head home with a whole bunch of cold, hard cash.
But Kemp-Hanson also sees it as an opportunity to reimagine how women’s soccer — and women’s sports in general — are both marketed and celebrated.
This stuff is supposed to be fun. A cultural experience. A vibe.
Said Kemp-Hanson: “We’re creating this new story that really brings people in. We’re kind of the underdogs and we want to be the fan favorite. The team that even the pros watch. Your favorite team’s favorite team.”
“We started playing this because there was joy in our hearts,” she added, “and we want to bring that back into the game.”
Check out the Speedy Turtles in action at noon Thursday on ESPNU. Should be a lot of fun.
THROWING A CURVE
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
The Braves were off Monday, but made some news anyway by reassigning third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo.
His replacement?
Former manager Fredi Gonzalez. Really.
Gonzalez, of course, coached third base under Bobby Cox. Then replaced him as manager. Then got fired, paving the way for current Braves manager Brian Snitker to take over.
The reunion follows a handful of debatable Tuiasosopo decisions. Seems weird though!
General manager Alex Anthopoulos described things thusly: “My thought on this was, if we were going to make a change like this, we needed to know that we were bringing somebody in that had a lot of experience, was high level at this position and could hit the ground running.”
More from Anthopoulos here, and in this afternoon’s Braves Report newsletter, too. So make sure you’re signed up.
⚾ On deck: The Braves start a home series with the Diamondbacks tonight (7:15 p.m. on FanDuel Sports). Spencer Strider gets the start.
TRIVIA TIME
How many division titles did the Braves win under Fredi Gonzalez’s managerial tenure?
Answer at bottom of newsletter.
DIRTY BIRD BREAKDOWN
Over in Flowery Branch, the Falcons are rolling along with voluntary OTAs. Here’s a quick rundown of the latest.
- Tight end Kyle Pitts is sidelined by an undisclosed injury rumored to be foot-related.
- Veteran corner AJ Terrell says the team’s freshly drafted defenders are “all about their business.”
- Joint practices with the Titans incoming this fall.
BACK TO BATT
In yesterday’s newsletter I asked Georgia Tech fans to weigh in on apparently losing athletic director J Batt to Michigan State.
Not sure we’re at full-on panic mode, but the folks that responded aren’t having a great time. To wit:
- From Dargan: “Unfortunately that stings. No replacement will be as good. Downhill!”
- From Shane: “Not since David Braine have I felt really comfortable that we had a competent AD who was with us for the long haul. Tech has not done a great job of capitalizing on past success from a recruiting standpoint, and in the age of the portal and NIL, it’s just that much tougher.”
- From Don: “What happened to honor and integrity? If this move represents his core values — then good riddance.”
Are honor and integrity really at play here? Meh. How many of us wouldn’t jump at the chance to double our salary?
🔗 Bonus link: 2 instate receivers commit to Jackets
QUICK HITS
🙌 Point guard Jordin Canada is due back in the Atlanta Dream lineup on Friday. Teammate Allisha Gray just won Eastern Conference Player of the Week, too.
🎾 Coco Gauff, the former Atlantan and world No. 2, won at the French Open and will face fellow American Madison Keys in a quarterfinal matchup at 5 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
🏀 The Hawks’ free agency priorities include resigning veteran guard Caris LeVert, who brought bench scoring and clutch shooting after arriving in the De’Andre Hunter trade.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
It’s never a bad time to pull a photo from the Masters, but in this instance I’ve got an excuse: The lottery is open for tickets to the 2026 tournament.
It’s probably not your year (again). But maybe!
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Oh, and the trivia answer: One (2013).
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