Apparently running Home Depot for 23 years and having his own NFL and AFL franchises isn’t enough for business mogul Arthur Blank. Now the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Force owner, with the backing of his management and investment group the AMB Group, has submitted a bid for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise. As of now, the MLS is home to 14 teams, has already awarded expansion franchises to Seattle and Philadelphia and plans to add two more teams by the 2011 season. As for Blank and Atlanta’s competition, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Portland, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver have all also submitted bids for franchises. The expansion fee is expected to be around $40 million and any successful bid will likely have to include plans for a soccer-specific stadium that can accommodate around 20,000 spectators.
ON THE GRIDIRON
In news out of Macon, the Macon Touchdown Club honored two high school football stars last week for their performances during Week 7. The MTDC named Howard junior quarterback Tyrone White their “Back of the Week” for his performance on Oct. 10, a 36-21 win over Monticello. For the game, White completed 17 of 24 passes for 305 yards and threw two touchdowns to go along with a rushing touchdown in his team’s first win of the season. In addition to White, Tattnall Square defensive tackle Colby Andrews was named the MTDC’s “Lineman of the Week.” Andrews was honored after recording nine tackles, one sack, and one tackle for a loss in the Trojans’ 42-0 win over George Walton. The guest speaker at the banquet was former Georgia Tech coach and Central Florida lead man George O’Leary.
Last week word surfaced that the NFL is seriously considering playing spring preseason games as part of a possible expansion of the regular-season schedule. League owners discussed the possible scenario at owners meetings in St. Petersburg, Fla. last week. Modeled after the college game, the NFL spring games may be in the form of a scrimmage or possibly a matchup between two teams. If the expanded regular season is approved, one or two preseason games would be eliminated. In such a scenario, the regular season would be expanded from 16 to 18 games.
GWINNETT STARTS HOT
Atlanta hockey fans should know the Thrashers are hardly the only of the city’s hockey teams to get off to a quick start. That’s because the local Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL spent last Saturday thoroughly dominating the Mississippi Sea Wolves in the team’s 2008 debut. In the 6-2 Gladiator victory, Josh Engel gave Gwinnett an early lead it never relinquished, scoring his first-ever goal as a professional with 13:23 left in the first period. In the goal, Kevin Nastiuk was impressive for the victors, recording 25 saves in his first start for Gwinnett.
I recently stumbled on some important news for local American Idol fans. Last week, Atlanta Motor Speedway announced that former American Idol contestant Michael Johns will sing the National Anthem and perform a mini concert as part of the Kroger Pre-Race Show before the Pep Boys Auto 500, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 26. Johns, a native of Australia, actually has Georgia ties, as he moved to the state from Australia in 1998 to pursue a tennis scholarship at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, where he went on to study drama. He later moved to Atlanta to pursue his musical career and has also played Australian Rules Football for the Atlanta Kookaburras of the USAFL. Tickets for the race and concert are available for as little as $39 for adults and can be purchased by calling the AMS ticket office at 1-877-AMS-TIX or 770-946-4211.
Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.
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