Wheeling and Dealing

Mark Teixeira could be the Atlanta Braves' new cleanup hitter as early as Tuesday night. According to a person familiar with the deal, the Braves reached an agreement Monday to send rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and three minor leaguers to Texas for the switch-hitting Teixeira. The Braves are set to send Saltalamacchia, slick-fielding shortstop Elvis Andrus and two more minor leaguers to Texas for Teixeira and left-handed reliever Ron Mahay.

Dunn to Miss 3-4 Weeks

As if they didn't have enough troubles, the Atlanta Falcons revealed Wednesday that running back Warrick Dunn will miss three to four weeks after having back surgery. Dunn, who rushed for a team-high 1,140 yards last year, hurt his back during offseason workouts and underwent surgery over the weekend. If Dunn needs a full month to recover, he would miss all of training camp and the first two preseason games.

Isle of Hope Wins City Swim Meet

The Isle of Hope Sharks won the annual Savannah Coastal Swim League City Meet on Sunday. The Sharks scored a team total of 736 points. The Bluffton Redfish placed 2nd with 661.5 points and the Landings Club Lightning Bolts placed 3rd with 573 points. The Wilmington Park Barracudas came in 4th, the Mayfair Marlins were 5th, JEA Tornadoes came in 6th, while the Grand Lake Great Whites were 7th.

Some individual swimmers placed their names in the record books today as well by breaking meet records. In the Boys 9 and 10 age division, Jake Minasi of the Bluffton Redfish swam the 50 meter backstroke in 34.05 seconds. Also from the Redfish, David Funk swam the 25 meter breaststroke in the Boys 8 and Under division in 21.10 seconds. Patricia Forrester from Mayfair set a record in the Girls 11 and 12 50 meter freestyle race with a time of 25.99 seconds.

Congratulations to all the swimmers and teams and to all the new record holders and the Isle of Hope team as they win the SCSL City Meet for the second year in a row.

Kyle Petty and others Roll into Pooler

The thunder Pooler residents heard Thursday morning wasn't a storm. It was 280 motorcycles rolling into town and with it a couple celebrities. NASCAR driver Kyle Petty led riders in the 2007 Chick-fil-a Kyle Petty Charity ride into the coastal empire. Hundreds of riders take part in this yearly ride across America to raise money for children with chronic or life threatening illnesses. This years ride kicked off in Bar Harbor, Maine and finishes in Hollywood, Florida. Some of the other celebrities along for the trip included former Georgia great Herschel Walker and supermodel Nikki Taylor (who looks really happy standing beside the Big Guy above).

Gnats Snap Losing Streak

After losing 12-0 Tuesday for their tenth straight loss, the Savannah Sand Gnats and pitcher Nelson Portillo got back to winning Wednesday afternoon, downing Augusta 1-0. Portillo allowed just three harmless singles in seven scoreless innings of work. Ryan Meyers pitched two scoreless innings to earn his 10th save of the year. The Gnats only run came in the fourth inning when Jonathan Sanchez led off the inning with a bunt single then D.J. Wabick drove him home with an RBI double over the head of Augusta left fielder Tyler Graham.

Vick Sacked

A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick Tuesday in its investigation of illegal dog fighting. Vick and three others are charged with violating federal laws against competitive dog fighting, procuring and training pit bulls for it and conducting the fighting across state lines.

Eagles Named All Americans

Two Georgia Southern University football players were named Preseason All-America by the College Sporting News. Junior Brandon Jackson was named Second Team while senior Jayson Foster landed Third Team honors. Jackson, who earlier this summer was chosen as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation led the Southern Conference with five interceptions last year. He also broke up four passes while recording 35 tackles. Foster earned his Preseason All-America status as a return specialist. Foster already shares the Georgia Southern season records for punt returns and kickoff returns for a touchdowns, and career record for punt returns.

Fowler Wins The Players Amateur

After shooting a final round 69, soon-to-be Oklahoma State Cowboy Rickie Fowler won The Players Amateur at Belfair Golf Club this weekend. Fowler's final score was a scorching 24 under par for the tournament. Battling him almost stroke for stroke throughout the weekend was University of Alabama golfer, Michael Thompson. Thompson finished the tournament two strokes back with a 22 under. Fowler and Thompson came into the 18th hole on Saturday tied up, looking to battle for the title on Sunday, but Fowler's 133 yard approach shot found the bottom of the cup for an Eagle to put him two strokes ahead to start the final round. Those two strokes ended up being the difference with Thompson only getting as close as one stroke back on Sunday. Congratulations to The Players Amateur 2007 Champion Rickie Fowler!

Oliver Picked by San Diego

The San Diego Chargers selected Georgia cornerback Paul Oliver in the N-F-L supplemental draft Thursday. Oliver, picked 28th in the fourth round, was the first player selected in the draft. Oliver failed to meet academic standards and was declared ineligible for his senior season. He was among Georgia's leaders with 57 tackles last season. The Baltimore Ravens chose Maryland tackle Jared Gaither 31st int he fifth round. He started in 17 of Maryland's last 21 games. With the selections, San Diego and Baltimore will forgo the corresponding picks in the 2008 draft.

Green and Sutton Pick Florida

Franklin Green and Chaz Sutton have verbally committed to the University of Florida. The Jenkins High Warriors have been heavily recruited for the last eight months. Green, a running back, picked up 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in just nine games in 2006. Sutton, who plays defensive end and running back, will likely play on the defensive side of the ball for the Gators. Both players are entering their senior year at Jenkins. They open the 2007 season on August 30th against Bluffton (S.C.).

Ready to Tee Off at Belfair

Thursday morning some of the best amateur golfers in the country will tee it up at Belfair Golf Club in Bluffton. In just eight years, Players Amateur has turned into one of the largest amateur events in the country. Defending Champion Jonathan Moore from Oklahoma State will be a no show at this years tournament. He is set to play in the PGA's John Deere Classic, but there are plenty of other big names in this years field, including Savannah's Brian Harman, the 2005 Players Am Champ.

Bulldogs go to Camp...and Love it!

Hawks Sign Horford and Law

The Atlanta Hawks have signed first-round draft picks Al Horford and Acie Law to multi-year contracts. Horford, the Number three pick in the first round, is expected to play forward and center for the Hawks. Law, the Number eleven pick, is expected to compete for astarting job at point guard. Horford will earn three-point-one (m) million dollars as a rookie and three-point-35 (m) million dollars in his second year. Law is guaranteed salaries of one-point-six (m) million dollars as a rookie and one-point-72 (m) million dollars in his second year.

Smoltz Goes on the Shelf

The Atlanta Braves placed pitcher John Smoltz on the 15-day disabled list Friday after an M-R-I found inflammation-- but apparently no structural damage -- in his right shoulder. The 40 year old was placed on the disabled list retroactive to July third. He will be eligible to come off the D-L on July 18th. Smoltz will miss Tuesday's All-Star game in San Francisco as well as Saturday's scheduled start at San Diego.

Harbour Town Aces

A Tennessee man accomplished every golfer's dream - twice in the same round. Mark Converse made two holes-in-one during his round on Independence Day at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, man used a five-iron to ace the154-yard fourth hole, the same hole P-G-A Tour pro Jerry Kelly aced during the third round of the Verizon Heritage event this past April. Then on the par-three 14th, Converse knocked a six-iron into thecup from 138 yards away. Converse finished with a 83 on the par-71 layout.

New Hot Dog Eating Champ

An American is the new world hot dog eating champion. Californian Joey Chestnut inhaled a record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes today to defeat six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in the annual Fourth of July contest in New York. Kobayashi won every Nathan's hot dog competition from 2001 through last year. He recently had a wisdom tooth extracted and received chiropractic treatment because of a sore jaw. But that hardly slowed him down, as he had his best performance ever by eating 63 hot dogs. The previous record for most hot dogs eaten in a competition wasthe 59 and-a-half Chestnut ate last month. Chestnut and Kobayaski each had eaten 60 hot dogs with 60 seconds to go when Chestnut, with the veins on his forehead extended, pulled away to end Kobayashi's reign.

Rain Cools Gnat Hot Streak

Monday’s Sand Gnats game against Columbus was suspended in the middle of the fourth inning due to heavy rain and wet field conditions. The game is scheduled to resume at 5 p.m. Tuesday and will be followed 30 minutes later by Tuesday’s originally schedule game. The second game played on Tuesday is scheduled for seven innings while the suspended game must be completed as a full nine-inning game. Post-game Independence Day fireworks, presented by Sesbella, will follow the second game.The tarp went on the field at 8:34 p.m. with Savannah trailing Columbus 4-3. When the game resumes, it will be the bottom of the fourth inning with Sand Gnats third baseman Leivi Ventura leading off.

Sand Gnats Biting Strong

On Sunday, the Savannah Sand Gnats beat the Columbus Catfish 8 to 2 to extend their winning streak to three games. While entertaining plenty of four-legged friends during Bark in the Park Day, the Gnats slobbered all over the Catfish scoring 6 runs in the first inning. The Gnats didn't need any more offense for the rest of the game, but scored two more in the next inning to move their run total to 8. The Gnats will try to add to their season best winning streak playing at Historic Grayson Stadium for the rest of the week.