Two highly regarded Braves pitching coaches, Derek Botelho and Guy Hansen, were recently given promotions within the organization. The team announced its Minor League staffs for the 2009 season last week and revealed that Botelho will move up to serve as Triple-A Gwinnett’s pitching coach and will replace Hansen, who will take the spot of the late Bruce Dal Canton as Class A Myrtle Beach’s pitching coach. After Canton lost his long battle with cancer in October, the Braves decided that promoting Botelho and Hansen would be best for the franchise. Marty Reed was hired to replace Botelho as Double-A Mississippi’s pitching coach.
The Atlanta Dream are on their way back and have plans to kick off 2009 with a series of satellite clinics across the State of Georgia. The clinics, co-presented by Coca-Cola, will focus on improving basketball fundamentals and will be conducted at seven locations across the state in January and February. The camps will be open to boys and girls ages 10-18 and will be directed by Sue Panek (Dream Assistant Coach and Director of Basketball Operations). An Atlanta Dream player will also be present at each location. Visit AtlantaDream.net for more information and to sign up now.
Last week, the Atlanta Falcons and Sakrete, North America’s original bagged dry cement mix brand, presented a $5,000 check in John Abraham’s name to HomeAid Atlanta, a leading non-profit provider of housing for the homeless in Atlanta. The donation was made as part of the Sakrete Sack Program, which, in its third year, was created by Sakrete to raise money to help fight homelessness. The program tracks the number of quarterback sacks for each participating team and, at the end of the regular season, the player with the most sacks from each team had a check for $5,000 donated in his name to HomeAid. The overall sack leader, DeMarcus Ware, had an additional $10,000 donated in his name.
GOING GREEN
In other Falcons news, the team made state history in its last game of the regular season when the St. Louis Rams visited the Dome. Teaming with Georgia Power, the Falcons purchased Green Energy for their final contest, marking the first time that electricity for a professional football game in Georgia was generated completely by renewable sources. By using environmentally friendly Green Energy, the Falcons are helping to protect the environment, conserve natural resources, promote the use of renewable energy in Georgia, and support domestic energy self-reliance.
Don’t miss a chance to meet Braves players, coaches and alumni at Turner Field on Saturday, Jan. 24. With a simple donation to the Atlanta Braves Foundation, you will be able to meet your favorite Braves players and get their autographs at the same time. All proceeds will benefit the Atlanta Braves Foundation. Visit atlantabraves.com for more information and to buy tickets now.
After starting the 2008 NFL season with a disappointing 3-4 record, Peyton Manning led his Indianapolis Colts to nine straight victories and, as a result, captured his third-career NFL MVP award. Manning joins Brett Favre as the league’s only three-time winners of the honor, sharing the award with Steve McNair in 2003 before winning it again in 2004. This year, Manning captured 32 votes in balloting conducted by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the NFL. He finished ahead of Miami quarterback Chad Pennington and the Falcons’ Michael Turner, who each received four votes. In his memorable nine-game run, Manning went 209-of-290 for 2,248 yards and 17 touchdowns, with only three interceptions. He also extended his NFL record by throwing for 4,000 yards for a ninth time and finished the season with 27 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a passer rating of 95.
Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.
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