Happy Monday, friends! I’m about to drop a little rain on the parade.
The Braves announced just a short while ago that catcher Sean Murphy cracked a rib when he was hit by a pitch Friday. He’ll miss four to six weeks.
That’d be a bummer any time, of course — but especially after Atlanta parted ways with fellow backstop Travis d’Arnaud in the offseason. And especially after last season’s ridiculous run of bad injury luck.
Murphy’s temporary departure leaves prospect Drake Baldwin and veteran Chadwick Tromp as likely fill-ins when the season starts in a little over three weeks.
Stay tuned to AJC.com/braves for more updates and analysis.
Quick links: Combine winners and losers | Coordinator hires lack diversity | Daniels stars on defense
EYEING IT ALL
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
In the meantime: It’s time to crown some high school basketball champions.
Weekend semifinal action rounded out the field heading to Macon Coliseum starting Wednesday. Here’s the full chronological schedule for the finals — but keep on scrolling for a bigger-picture look at what to expect (with a hearty hat tip to AJC preps guru Todd Holcomb).
🏆 Marquee matchups: It’s the finals, so expect bangers all around. Of particular note, though, are several faceoffs pitting top-ranked teams against reigning champs.
- On the boys side, that means No. 1 Pace Academy against North Oconee (Class 4A) and No. 1 Cedar Grove against Sandy Creek (Class 3A).
- The top-ranked Creekside girls (who’ve never won a state title) will take on Maynard Jackson in Class 4A.
Newton High is going for boys and girls titles in Class 6A.
😮 History hunters: In the private school division, Atlanta’s Holy Innocents’ is chasing both boys and girls titles — with help from Georgia’s only two McDonald’s All-Americans.
Caleb Wilson (a North Carolina signee) and Hailee Swain (Stanford bound) want to make the Golden Bears just the second U.S. school to sweep their respective championships with McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster.
🎓 The prospects: Other top college prospects still playing include …
- Wheeler’s Tylis Jordan and Woodward Academy’s Zac Foster, both signed with Clemson.
- Pace Academy’s Eric Chatfield, a future Yellow Jacket.
- Miami-bound Danielle Osho of Hebron Christian.
👑 Cinderella story: Washington-Wilkes (roughly halfway between Athens and Augusta) had never won a state playoff until this year — and now their girls team is one win away from a title in Class A Division II.
If you’re up for a quick jaunt to Middle Georgia, you can buy tickets here. Otherwise, all games air on GPB.
STEPPING BACK
On a heavier high school note: Apalachee football coach Mike Hancock stepped down from the job, citing “PTSD, anxiety, grief and depression” in the months since a deadly shooting rocked the Barrow County school. Apalachee defensive coordinator Richard Aspinwall was among the four people killed when police say a 14-year-old student opened fire in September.
“I allowed those things to cripple me for the past few months,” Hancock wrote on social media. “It is through God’s grace and me humbling myself before the cross that I am seeking the mental help and healing that I need to be myself again.”
🙏 It’s good to see Coach getting what he needs — and setting a positive example for any players or colleagues also struggling. It’s always OK to ask for help.
LOOKING GOOD
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
While the situation behind the plate just got a little dicier, the Braves' pitchers are looking pretty good. Youngster Spencer Schwellenbach turned in another solid performance Sunday — and his wannabe rotation-mates had good weekends, too.
- Ian Anderson bounced back from a walk-heavy debut to throw three scoreless innings.
- Grant Holmes also threw three scoreless innings. He’s allowed one run over two starts.
- AJ Smith-Shawver struck out three over two spotless innings in his Grapefruit League debut last week and takes the mount again today.
Anderson and Holmes (both out of minor league options) are the favorites to fill the team’s fourth and fifth rotation spots. There’ll be another decision to make later when Spencer Strider returns from injury.
“We still have a few weeks to go and anything can happen,” manager Brian Snitker said. “So I’m keeping an open mind, really.”
📺 Today’s 1:05 p.m. game against the Rays airs on FanDuel Sports Southeast.
NUMBER OF THE DAY: 3
That, our friend Ken Sugiura reports, is how many Black coaches have served as coordinators at Georgia and Georgia Tech. Total. Ever.
It’s a startling stat and a reflection of larger national trends.
🗣️ Legendary Tech coach Bill Curry evaluated things this way: “We can all talk about how we don’t suffer from those prejudices and things, but there are times when we need to pray on it more and look inside harder and be more thorough in our searches. I include myself in that evaluation. I wish we had done better. We can do better now if we just will.”
SECOND-HALF STRUGGLES
Credit: Taylor McLaughlin/Atlanta United
Credit: Taylor McLaughlin/Atlanta United
Atlanta United dropped Saturday’s match against Charlotte FC 2-0 — and a troubling early-season trend is emerging.
Two matches in, all four goals the Five Stripes have allowed came in the second half. Three of them were strikingly similar, coming on long balls over the top.
“We have to find out what’s happening there,” manager Ronny Deila said. “We cannot go out in the second half. It can’t be fatigue when it happens after two minutes.”
📈 More fun with United numbers here.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Tonight: The Hawks visit the Grizzlies (8 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Southeast).
Tuesday: Georgia men’s basketball, looking to shore up an NCAA Tournament bid after its weekend win over Texas, visits South Carolina (6 p.m. on SEC Network). The rapidly improving Georgia Tech men host Miami (7 p.m. on ACC Network).
- The Hawks start a six-game homestand by hosting the Bucks (7:30 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Southeast).
Wednesday: Georgia women’s basketball — fresh off a weekend stunner against No. 11 Tennessee — takes on Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament (1:30 p.m. on SEC Network).
Thursday: Georgia Tech women’s basketball tries to snap a four-game losing streak when it faces Virginia Tech at the ACC Tournament (1:30 p.m. on ACC Network).
- The Hawks host the Pacers (7:30 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Southeast).
- The Braves' 6:05 p.m. spring training game against the Marlins airs on Peachtree TV.
Saturday: Atlanta United hosts New York Red Bull (7:30 p.m. on Apple TV). Georgia and Georgia Tech men’s basketball close out their regular seasons by hosting Vanderbilt and visiting Wake Forest, respectively.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is among the leading candidates to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The 22-year-old Aussie — aka “the Great Barrier Thief” — prefers to let his play do the talking.
That said …
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I haven't really gotten into it with anyone yet, but I would love to. So if someone wants to talk trash I'm always down for it.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
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