How’s this for different? As part of the ACDelco Street Drag Nationals held over the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, officials decided to include the Pachyderm Peanut Pursuit as part of the Friday-night festivities. In addition to the Street Drag Nationals, AMS hosted the Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars last Friday night. On Saturday, the talented elephants were transported to the infield where they shared the same drag racing space as competitive drivers from all across the country. Leave it to those over at the Speedway, who regularly mix racing and politics, to finally introduce drag racing to the real circus stars.
Jonathan Babineaux is set to continue his long history of giving back to the community, as the Atlanta Falcon is spending time encouraging Atlantans to participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s annual “Walk to Cure Diabetes.” The walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 18, and will begin downtown at Centennial Olympic Park. As a goal, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation’s Georgia chapter hopes to raise more than $1.9 million for research to find a cure for diabetes and its complications. To help bring attention to the cause, Hollywood movie star Kevin Kline serves as the national chair, while Babineaux serves as Atlanta’s celebrity advocate.
Last Saturday, Sebrina Brunson became the first female ever to help officiate a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football game. Specifically, Brunson worked as a line judge for Saturday’s Stillman-Tuskegee game for the Division II league. She is a Lithonia, Ga., resident who operated the clock for games last season after spending the 2006 season as a reserve official.
Last week NASCAR announced it will toughen its drug policy moving forward and will test all drivers in the sanctioning body’s three national series before the start of the 2009 season. NASCAR officials also announced on Saturday that drivers, over-the-wall crew members and officials will be subject to random tests throughout the year. Officials and licensed crew members will also be tested before the start of next season. Under current policy, testing is allowed only when there is a “reasonable suspicion” someone is using banned substances. Violation of the new policy is considered to be the use of any drug or medication officials believe to have been abused or misused.
NEW CLASS
Last weekend, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame selected nine new members to be inducted into the Hall. Former Georgia basketball coach Hugh Durham, current Georgia women’s coach Andy Landers, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe, and former NBA star Jeff Malone are among those to be honored during the Feb. 28 ceremony. Others selected include Milton A. Byard, Terry Hoage, Mills Lane, George Rose and Roman Turmon. The lucky nine were chosen from a group of 35 nominees.
Many of the Braves’ future stars were at Turner Field last Saturday, as the team honored their Minor League Players of the Year during a pregame ceremony. It was a nice tribute for both those honored and those in attendance, as fans got a chance to see the club’s future a bit earlier than expected. Among those in attendance were Tommy Hanson, who was named the organizational pitcher of the year, Freddie Freeman, who was named the organizational player of the year, and Jason Heyward, who was named Rome’s player of the year. While most fans look towards free agency as the answer to the team’s recent woes, the players on hand on Saturday will unquestionably play a major role in the club’s future, whether it is a successful one or not.
For those Falcons fans still bitter about the helmet-to-helmet hit Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie cornerback Elbert Mack put on Matt Ryan two Sundays ago, you will be relieved to learn that Mack was suspended one game without pay by the NFL for the play. According to league reports, the flagrant violation of the rules concerning player safety was the second in three games for the undrafted free agent, who was fined $5,000 for an unnecessary roughness foul against Houston quarterback Alex Brink during the Bucs’ final preseason game.
Janovitz can be reached at sjanovitz@scoreatl.com.
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