Hey y’all.
We’re treading lightly on the Masters coverage in today’s Win Column, but stay tuned tomorrow for a special edition with everything you need to know from Augusta.
In the meantime: We’ve got live updates ready to go … and a ton of more in-depth coverage here.
Onward!
LAST MEN STANDING
We’ve reached the finish line, folks.
The final vote.
The final say on which current Atlanta sports star brings you the most joy.
- And it’s a most appropriate matchup: Ronald Acuña Jr. vs. Bijan Robinson.
Acuña handled Braves teammate Matt Olson with 59% of last week’s Fan-tastic Four vote. Robinson drew a tough matchup with the eternally upbeat Ozzie Albies — but ultimately ousted him, garnering 53% of y’all’s ballots.
Now they face each other for our completely made-up (but surely coveted!) crown.
There’s Acuña: The MVP. Mr. 40-70. La Bestia. Undeniably one of the most exciting players in baseball, a game he undeniably loves.
Slow start to 2026 (and multiple knee injuries) notwithstanding, he’s a highlight reel waiting to happen and the engine that makes the Braves go.
There’s Robinson: The brightest, most consistent star on a team that is, frankly, sometimes hard to root for.
An all-around good dude and future MVP (I’m calling it) whose 2,298 scrimmage yards last season were a Falcons record — and the 12th highest total in NFL history. A shifty son of a gun who’s more than happy to hit the truck stick, too.
So who ya got? Who makes you happiest?
✅ Lock in those votes, feel free to offer a more thorough explanation and check back next week to help us crown the current ATL king.
THE ABCS OF ANGEL REESE
Buckle up, folks: Atlanta’s Angel Reese era has begun.
The Dream sent 2027 and 2028 first-round picks to Chicago in order to assemble its own version of a “big three” and build upon last season’s record-setting success.
Reese instantly becomes the most famous basketballer in the city.
Her No. 5 jersey is already sold out in the team store, and folks on social media are calling for the Dream to move more games from the Gateway Center (capacity: 3,500) to State Farm Arena.
CBS Sports’ Lindsay Gibbs put a finer point on it when she dubbed the trade “absolutely fabulous news not only for Reese, but for the league as a whole. It takes one of its most marketable stars and prolific young talents out of basketball purgatory … and puts her into a good market with competent ownership and a great new coach.”
Time for a proper primer.
The stats: Over her two seasons with Chicago, the former LSU star averaged 14.1 points per game. She’s the only WNBA player to ever average 12-plus rebounds in a season … and she did it twice.
That expertise on the boards figures to pair well with the shooting prowess of Atlanta stars Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard.
- Reese sometimes get criticized for piling up offensive rebounds by collecting her own missed shots … “mebounds,” if you will. So she trademarked the term and created a (reportedly lucrative) apparel brand.
Bigger than basketball: Reese is a star off the court, too. As of a few weeks ago, her 5.2 million Instagram followers dwarfed the totals of her fellow WNBAers. Caitlin Clark (more about her later) came in second with 3.6 million.
A self-branded “Bayou Barbie,” she’s appeared at the Met Gala, modeled for Victoria’s Secret and has her own signature shoe.
The ATL connection: Gray and Howard crossed paths with Reese via Team USA.
- When the latter posted a TikTok of herself in a red USA jersey last month, Gray and Howard (who could also be credited for recruiting Brittney Griner last offseason) both commented that she’d look good in the Dream’s home colors too.
About that rivalry: Reese and Clark, the sharpshooting Indiana Fever star, have downplayed any personal beef. But they certainly have a bit of on-court rivalry — the allure of which only grows with Reese now on a competent team.
The Dream’s home games against Indiana (June 20 and Aug. 16) were already slated for the more spacious State Farm Arena.
Atlanta can now expect an eager national audience … on those nights and many others.
OTHER GOOD STUFF TO KNOW
⚾ The brawlin’ Braves wrap up their West Coast trip with today’s 4:07 p.m. finale against the Angels. A home stand with Cleveland and Miami starts Friday, the same day catcher Sean Murphy expects to begin a rehab assignment.
🗓️ The Hawks are still holding onto the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed heading into tonight’s matchup in Cleveland (7 p.m., ESPN). Then they host the Cavs on Friday and visit the Heat on Sunday to close out the regular season.
🏆 Our friends at AJC Varsity dubbed Marist’s Kate Harpring and Wheeler’s Colben Landrew their girls and boys high school basketball players of the year, respectively. Make sure to check out the all-state and all-metro teams too.
FALCONS JERSEY FEEDBACK
The Falcons’ voluntary offseason workouts started Tuesday and, unsurprisingly, alleged abuser James Pearce Jr. is reportedly absent.
But on a lighter note: New uniforms!
We haven’t chatted since Atlanta dropped its updated duds last week … but folks’ve had plenty to say in the official AJC poll.
- Overall, votes ranked the red-heavy redesign a 6.54 out of 10. The most common ranking was an 8 and the 10s were up there too — but lots of 5s, 6s, and 7s dragged down the average.
- The most common positive note? They’re not the old jerseys. “Got rid of goofy jersey design and numbers you can’t read,” Gary from Greensboro wrote.
- On the other hand … y’all really wanted those red helmets. “Enough of the Jerry Glanville all black crap,” Scott from Smyrna said.
That’s a bit of a deep cut. Ask your elders.
🔗 Bonus linkage: Which positions will the Falcons focus on in the draft?
ET TU, MR. WILKINS?
Monday night’s finale (congrats, Michigan) marked the end of the men’s college basketball season.
And the Georgia Bulldogs will look juuuust a bit different next time around.
News broke Tuesday that Jake Wilkins, son of UGA and Hawks legend Dominique, is eyeing the transfer portal. High on talent but light on playing time, he won’t be the biggest hole to fill as the Bulldogs try to bounce back from two straight years of NCAA Tournament embarrassment.
Our data pal Rahul Deshpande (a Tech grad, obviously) crunched some numbers … and there are a lot of minutes going out the window.
Georgia’s current portal list includes Jeremiah Wilkinson (leading scoring), Somto Cyril (leading rebounder) and several others.
Budding star Kanon Catchings is coming back, but it’s possible more of his teammates hit the portal before it closes April 21 as well.
😤 Either way, don’t get all high and mighty, Rahul: New Georgia Tech coach Scott Cross has work to do, too. Pretty much everyone but leading scorer Kowacie Reeves is already out the way out.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
OK, OK … we couldn’t completely abstain from Augusta National. She’s a beaut, ain’t she?
More photos here and here. And don’t forget to watch that inbox in the morning.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Win Column. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Tyler Estep hosts the AJC Win Column, Atlanta's new weekly destination for all things sports. He also shepherds the Sports Daily and Braves Report newsletters to your inbox.
