Friday, August 24, 2007

Mitchell Suspended for Opener


COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell was one of three players suspended for the opening game against Louisiana-Lafayette for missing summer school classes. Steve Fink, a spokesman for the athletic department, said Thursday that Mitchell, tailback Bobby Wallace and cornerback Chris Hail were suspended for the Gamecocks' home opener Sept. 1. The three players also were suspended from the team's first two practices this fall for missing classes. Mitchell is appealing his suspension, said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, who will allow Mitchell to play if the appeal is successful. The suspension is the latest setback for the Gamecocks' starting quarterback. Mitchell was arrested a year ago and charged with simple assault after a nightclub bouncer told police that Mitchell punched him. The charge was later dropped, but Mitchell sat out for several weeks as Syvelle Newton ran the South Carolina offense.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Falcons Lose Shockley


The Atlanta Falcons have lost the services of rookie quarterback D.J. Shockley. The team confirmed Monday that Shockley will likely undergo surgery next week for a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Shockley also sustained a slight tear of the medial collateral ligament and a bone bruise when he went down awkwardly in Friday's preseason game at Buffalo. The former Georgia Bulldog was competiting for the Falcons number two quarterback spot with Chris Redman.

Friday, August 17, 2007

High School Football Scores


St. Andrew's 7
Charleston Collegiate 21


Colleton Prep 47
Bible Baptist 6


Hilton Head Prep 31
Hardeeville 6

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Franco Heads to Rome


Atlanta Braves First baseman Julio Franco has reported to Class A Rome. A quarter century after his first game in the major leagues, the 48-year-old Franco is back in the minors. He was designated for assignment by the Braves two weeks ago. After clearing waivers, he agreed to a minor league assignment. The former American League batting champ, who turns 49 next week, said he will stay with Rome for the next four days, and might join next week's road trip in Savannah. He likely will rejoin Atlanta on September 1st when the major league rosters are expanded.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

SCAD Soccer Teams Ranked


The Savannah College of Art and Design Men's and Women's soccer teams are ranked in the NAIA Pre-season polls. The SCAD men enter the 2007 season ranked Number 20. The Bees return seven starters from last year's 13-6-1 squad that lost to Northwood (Fla.) University 3-1 in the NAIA Region XIV title match. The SCAD ladies start the season ranked Number 17. That's the highest ranking in school history for the Bees. SCAD returns seven starters from last season’s 11-5-0 squad that lost to Northwood 2-1 in the title match of the NAIA Region XIV Tournament.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Colby May Commits to UGA


South Effingham senior Colby May has made a verbal commitment to play baseball at the University of Georgia. May, who is now a senior at SEHS, helped guide the Mustangs to the Class AAA state quarterfinals in the spring. Over the summer, May played for Junior Team Georgia, a team consisting of the top junior baseball players in the Peach State.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Eagles Open Camp


Temperatures near 100 degrees couldn't stop the Georgia Southern Eagles from taking the field for the first day of camp Monday. First-year head coach Chris Hatcher putting his team through two-a-days early this week. The team has been broken up into two groups for the first couple days. A group made up of mainly younger players practice in the morning, while upperclassman lift weights. The squads switch in the afternoon. Coach Hatcher said this gives the coaching staff a better opportunity to take a closer look at the players and what they can do. “First of all you get more reps with the guys you have out there. You have all the young guys in the morning, you don’t go quite as fast a tempo as the afternoon so you get to teach them more,” said Hatcher. “The biggest mistake you can make as a coach is come out here, throw a whole bunch at them and then those young guys are thinking too much and you can’t see what type of player they really are. We try to keep it simple with them early on so that we can see if they are going to be able to help us out down the road this season.”
Georgia Southern opens the 2007 season on Saturday, September 8, against West Georgia with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Johnson Signs with Lions


Former Georgia Tech star Calvin Johnson signed a six year contract with the Detroit Lions Friday, ending an eight day hold out. Johnson was the second overall pick in this years draft. NFL.com reported the deal was worth 55-point-5 million dollars, including more than 27 million dollarsin guaranteed money. Johnson is coming off an All-America junior season at GeorgiaTech during which he caught 78 passes for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns. It earned him the Biletnikoff Award, which is presented to the nation's top college receiver.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Football Season is Here


The high school football season is here. Wednesday was the first day Georgia High School Association schools could hit the field. Most Coastal Empire teams practiced in shorts and helmets today, full pads go on Monday. The first games of the season will be played on Thursday, August 30th and Friday, August 31.

National Sports News

2007 Georgia Southern University Football Schedule

Sept. 8 WEST GEORGIA 6 p.m.
Sept. 15 at Coastal Carolina 7 p.m. TV (SportSouth)
Sept. 22 * CHATTANOOGA 7 p.m. TV (CSS)
Sept. 29 * W. CAROLINA 3:30 p.m. TV (CSS)
Oct. 6 SOUTH DAKOTA ST. 2 p.m.
Oct. 13 * at Elon 3 p.m. TV (SportSouth)
Oct. 20 * at Appalachian State 3:30 p.m.
Oct. 27 * THE CITADEL (HC) noon TV (CSS)
Nov. 3 * at Wofford 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 10 * FURMAN 3:30 p.m. TV (SportSouth)
Nov. 17 at Colorado State 2 p.m.

* Southern Conference game
All times Eastern / times subject to change