Hey y’all. It’s Friday.
If you want to get your weekend started with more Braves misery, you’re in luck. We’ve got all the angles covered.
If you don’t … I get it. Protect your peace — and keep on scrolling until you see the “Cousins Conundrum” headline.
Quick links: Dealing with Kirk | Catching up with Trae | High school athletes of the year
AFTERMATH OF AN IMPLOSION
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Wondering how Braves fans are feeling after yesterday’s unimaginable meltdown?
Here’s the beginning of one message that arrived in my inbox: “At age 84, I have few days to waste. Today was such a waste that I almost feel guilty of having sat down to watch the Braves game.”
A dramatic example, sure. But blowing a six-run ninth-inning lead — and falling seven games under .500 — will do that to a person.
You’d be forgiven for wanting to forget it happened. Even I’m a tad spent after writing yesterday’s postgame edition of the Braves Report.
But let’s take a quick look at everything anyway.
🗣️ Time to opine: AJC columnists Michael Cunningham and Ken Sugiura have thoughts.
- Cunningham deems the team’s latest abomination further proof that it’s just … not good, names and preseason expectations be damned.
- Sugiura sees the frustration with manager Brian Snitker, but says you shouldn’t expect him to hit the exit anytime soon.
📉 Numerical unpleasantries: Just how bad is it? Reporter Gabe Burns rounded up five unsavory statistics.
My “favorite” is the fact that the Rockies, Pirates and Marlins are the only National League teams with worse records than the Braves.
↔️ Bullpen moves: After Thursday’s implosion, the Braves designated Scott Blewett for assignment. Daysbel Hernandez hit the injured list.
And, for the first time, Snitker suggested Raisel Iglesias may not remain the closer: “There’s a thousand things going through my mind, and that’s an option. That’s definitely an option.”
- Can Craig Kimbrel help? Atlanta finally summoned the old friend up from the minors, where he’s posted a 2.00 ERA in 18 appearances.
- Dylan Dodd is returning to the big league team, too.
🤞 Wish-casting: Here’s a little ammo for the more optimistic crowd — or folks looking for any reason at all to join ‘em.
- Last August, the Braves snapped a miserable six-game losing streak with a win over Colorado.
- The next day? Back to the loss column after blowing a late 8-2 lead (Snitker called that game “horrible,” too).
- But after that, Atlanta took three of four from the Giants — then rattled off four more series wins.
Last year’s squad had a more reliable bullpen, of course. But, you know … you never know.
🫣 If you dare watch: Spencer Schwellenbach gets the start in tonight’s game from San Francisco, which begins at 10:15 p.m. EDT. Saturday and Sunday both bring 4:05 p.m. affairs.
All games are on FanDuel Sports.
THE COUSINS CONUNDRUM
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Quarterback and psychedelic drug enthusiast Aaron Rodgers finally told the Pittsburgh Steelers he intends to sign with them.
Why does this matter to you (beyond the eternal allure of train wreck observation)? Well, that was the last plausible landing spot for Kirk Cousins, if the Falcons were to try and trade him this offseason.
🤔 With mandatory minicamp set for next week, beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter offers up a look at the options Atlanta still has for dealing with its very expensive backup quarterback.
Notably: Cutting him now would produce a $40 million cap hit, and the team would owe a $10 million bonus next year.
- Also check out this timeline of Cousins’ tenure in the ATL, if you’re up for a good cry-laugh.
FINALS ENVY
Hawks beat writer Lauren Williams, meanwhile, went out to Oklahoma City to track down Trae Young.
He’s watching his hometown Thunder (which lost in the last second of Game 1 of the NBA Finals) with envy, saying he wants to win a title “even worse now.”
🏆 Young’s bullish on his own team, too: “We had the No. 1 pick last year that made strides and almost won rookie of the year, got second. We have a lot of young, young, really good players. We have a great coach. We have a lot of stuff, and we have a big summer ahead, for sure.”
Here’s hoping that last part is a bit of foreshadowing.
THE WONDER KIDS
Did you ever think to yourself, “Man, I sure do love all the Georgia high school sports, I wonder who the best player is in each one?”?
That’s oddly specific! But it’s your lucky day.
🏅 The AJC’s high school athletes of the year just dropped, and there’s one for all 27 sports — from baseball to wrestling.
🏅 More interested in school-level dominance? We’ve got your Georgia Athletic Directors Association Director’s Cup winners, too. (Hint: Marist is … pretty good at most things.)
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND
🏀 The Atlanta Dream and previously injured guard Jordin Canada get back to action tonight in Connecticut, taking on a Sun team they’ve already shellacked once this season. Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. on Ion.
- The game is part of the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup, one of those in-season tournaments that everyone knows is silly but kind of enjoys anyway.
🎾 Coco Gauff, the former Atlantan and second-ranked tennis player in the world, takes on No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s French Open final. That’s at 9 a.m. on TNT.
- Fun fact: Gauff’s only grand slam title came in the 2023 U.S. Open. Sabalenka was her finals opponent that time, too.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Artem Korchagin moved from Russia (the country) to Georgia (the state) as a 14-year-old. He didn’t speak English and had never played football.
Now he’s committed to play at Cal-Berkeley.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
It was hard, really hard, because I've never played anything like that. It's so confusing, to the point where you don't know the purpose of the game. Like, what's your goal as a player?
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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