I know you don’t know me well, but I hope you will humor a Milwaukee kid as a very special day approaches.
Quick links: Braves win slugfest | Match-changing goal
SHARPE CONNECTION
Credit: AP
We all have moments where time crystallizes around us, and we know we’ll remember it for the rest of our lives. Watching the moon landing, perhaps. Or the fall of the Berlin Wall.
My first unforgettable moment is a cheese curd by comparison. But on December 18, 1994, I learned heroes are mortal.
On that Sunday, Green Bay Packers receiver Sterling Sharpe trotted forward for a routine block against the Atlanta Falcons. But something was amiss, and he crumbled.
He’d suffered a stinger like no other — akin to Achilles arrowed in Troy; instead a loose vertebrae in Green Bay.
- He played one more game through the pain, and scored three touchdowns, but neck surgery followed. Career over at seven years. Not yet 30 years old.
I had stepped off the tan roller skating floor at Skateland in Milwaukee for the replay, my heart in my throat. That birthday party was ruined.
Sharpe, with his million-watt smile, was the reason I loved football. That and his then-record 108-catch season — that he topped the next year. Like his fun-loving and inexhaustibly wild quarterback Brett Favre, he showed up every weekend. Sharpe had never missed a game.
- I had (and still have) dozens of Sharpe’s football cards. He is also the basis of my first email account (Hotmail. Password unknown). My (unimpressive) athletic career even ended with a neck injury of mine own (solidarity!)
Credit: Eric Mandel
When I covered the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, I equal parts relished and worried about running into him. My starstruck inner-child would have nowhere to hide. How unprofessional is it really to ask for an autograph? (Editor’s note: quite).
All this is why I am once again in awe of D. Orlando Ledbetter, who had the glorious chance to speak with ol’ 84 in Canton, Ohio, as Sharpe awaits his well-deserved enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
🧀 So, here’s to you, Sterling. A South Georgia and Packers legend. May our necks find peace at least on this of all days.
Got an unforgettable sports memory like this? Reminisce with me. Send here, rather than my Hotmail account. Goes for you, too, Sterling.
DEADLINE BUST
The MLB trade deadline passed with a whimper for the Braves, which made no deals beyond the two trades Wednesday — sending reliever Rafael Montero to Detroit for minor-league infielder Jim Jarvis, and swapping minor-league pitcher Austin Smith with Colorado for relief pitcher Tyler Kinley.
Good/bad news: Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and closer Raisel Iglesias, whose contracts expire at the end of the season, remain with the team.
“Generally speaking, if we thought there was a trade where we were getting some value back that we liked, we would have made a trade. Or two or three or four. Unfortunately, that didn't present itself."
Friend of the newsletter Ken Sugiura writes this is yet another in a season filled with losses.
- Sugiura: “However you view Anthopoulos’ inaction, the Braves lost. They lost because they couldn’t make a deal that would legitimately help them for the future or they lost because they weren’t willing to at least do something.”
WE’RE TALKIN’ ABOUT PRACTICE
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
It’s August. It’s hot. It’s college football season prep time.
Catch up on the first days of practice:
𓃮 Enthusiasm reigns as coach Dell McGee begins his second season at Georgia State. More from Stan Awtrey
🐝 Georgia Tech’s new defensive coordinator says discipline is important, but so are players’ natural instincts. More from Chad Bishop
🐶 Georgia head coach Kirby Smart: “I want to see improvement, I want to see buy-in. It’s a culture thing. It’s like, you get what you demand, and we’re going to demand that we stop it and that we’re able to do it and run it.” More from Connor Riley
CHATTING WITH A LEGEND
Just a little bit more football for you to consider: an interview with Alan Chadwick, who is entering his 50th season as a high school football coach, all at Marist.
Marist’s record with him at the school: 531-107-2. The .831 winning percentage ranks No. 1 in Georgia.
FAST BREAKS
Grayson’s Burgess leads list of 10 best Georgia high school quarterbacks
This is the first in a series of 10 articles that recognize 100 of the state’s best players by position.
Falcons center Ryan Neuzil’s sprinting skills pay off with new contract
Hauling tush for 14 yards helped earn $9.5 million. We should all be so lucky.
What’s in a name? Gov. Brian Kemp and Derek Dooley are about to find out
The son of Bulldog legend Vince Dooley is running for Senate … in case you feel like politics today.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com
Anyone care about new uniforms — for the Atlanta Police Department? This is what the APD will wear during World Cup next year. Wonder when these new kits will go on sale to the public.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We wanted it to be something that was recognizable and aligned with many law enforcement agencies around the globe. This is the professional here in the city to keep you safe. This is who you can turn to for help."
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at eric.mandel@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Eric Mandel is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native and University of Iowa alumnus. The award-winning journalist moved from Seattle in 2017 to Atlanta, working as a writer and editor for American City Business Journals. He joined the AJC in June 2024.
