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	Kotsay saves the day ATLANTA — Mark Kotsay knocked in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning with a two-out RBI double, and the Atlanta Braves edged the Oakland Athletics 3-2 Friday night for their eighth straight home victory. The loss was a season-high fourth in a row for the A’s, who have dropped six of seven on their current nine-game road trip. The Braves, who lost five of seven on a road trip that ended Thursday in a 5-0 loss to Philadelphia, have the best home record in the majors at 15-4. They also have the worst record away from ... Read Article »
	Byrd soars into first DULUTH, Ga. — Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf on Friday, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the AT&T Classic. Byrd, seeking his fourth PGA Tour victory, shared the lead with Kenny Perry, Ryan Palmer and two others when the second round began. The course was drenched with over an inch of rain Thursday and, though no precipitation fell in the second round, overcast conditions kept the sun from drying off the fairways and greens and making the course play faster. Perry and ... Read Article »
	Hamels too hot to handle PHILADELPHIA — Cole Hamels pitched his first career shutout, Ryan Howard homered and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Thursday night. Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino also homered and drove in two runs each for the Phillies, who lead the major leagues with 59 home runs. The Florida Marlins have hit 58, but their game against Cincinnati was rained out Thursday. Because of the postponement, the Phillies also moved within a game of the Marlins for the top spot in the NL East. Hamels (5-3) gave up just four hits, struck out six ... Read Article »
	Perry endures wet day in Duluth By PAUL NEWBERRY Read Article »
	Glavine finally gets a victory PHILADELPHIA — Tom Glavine pitched 5 2-3 effective innings to earn his first win for Atlanta in six years and the Braves held on for an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night. Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson each hit solo homers and Brian McCann drove in three runs to support Glavine, who hadn’t won a game with the Braves since beating the Phillies on Sept. 19, 2002. Blaine Boyer got the last four outs for his first career save. He allowed an RBI single to Jimmy Rollins in the ninth, before retiring ... Read Article »
	Sorenstam to retire CLIFTON, N.J. — Annika Sorenstam ignored her notes and spoke from the heart. One of golf’s greatest players was leaving the game, and she handled her retirement announcement the way she would a 10-foot birdie putt with a tournament on the line. With command and composure. Calling her decision one she’d ‘‘been thinking about for a while,’’ Sorenstam said Tuesday she will retire after the season. The 37-year-old Swede ends an LPGA Tour career in which she has won 72 tournaments to date and delivered a defining moment when she teed it up against the men on ... Read Article »
	Braves blow early lead, fall to Phils PHILADELPHIA — Jayson Werth drove in four runs, Kyle Kendrick pitched six effective innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 on Tuesday night. Kendrick (3-2) shook off a shaky first inning and allowed three runs and six hits. Brad Lidge finished for his 10th save in as many chances, though he allowed his first earned run of the season. Chipper Jones went 3-for-4 for the Braves, raising his major league-leading average to .415. Kendrick settled in after giving up three runs and three hits in the first. J.C. Romero worked out of trouble ... Read Article »
	Hall's hopes bigger than most FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Chad Hall hopes he made a big impression on the Falcons coaches — and that they have a long memory. Hall was one of a handful of players participating in Atlanta’s three-day minicamp on a tryout basis, but his career options differ from other NFL hopefuls. While some undrafted prospects land in the Arena Football League or seek jobs outside football, Hall could be bound for a war zone with classmates from the Air Force Academy. He must serve at least two years before he has a chance to be granted permission ... Read Article »
	Kyle Busch enjoys the spotlight DARLINGTON, S.C. — Kyle Busch is NASCAR’s most hated driver. And he loves it. Viciously booed during pre-race introductions, Busch soaked up the venom by encouraging Saturday night’s crowd at Darlington Raceway to keep it coming. And when he heard a member of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew jeer him as he passed by on the parade lap, Busch smugly flipped him the bird. This kid doesn’t need to be popular, not as long as he’s winning races. ‘‘I don’t care. I’m here to race. I’m here to win,’’ Busch said. ‘‘If I win, it just makes ... Read Article »
	Sergio Garcia takes TPC title in playoff PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sergio Garcia, the best player without a major, got the next best thing Sunday. Garcia ended the longest victory drought of his career by making a clutch par putt to force a playoff and hitting the island-green 17th on the first extra hole to defeat Paul Goydos in The Players Championship. Haunted by putting problems that kept him without a victory the past three years and 53 PGA Tour events, Garcia came up with a 45-foot birdie on the 14th to get back in the game and a 7-foot par putt on ... Read Article »
	Turner and Norwood want to pound the rock FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga — Forget a southern version of Thunder and Lightning, at least for now. Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood just want to punish opponents for the Atlanta Falcons this season. If they earn nicknames as a tandem of running backs, that’s fine, but Turner and Norwood have worked together just two days in mini-camp. They still must endure organized team workouts next month, the oppressive heat of training camp in midsummer and four preseason games before the Sept. 7 opener against Detroit. ‘‘It’s going to be a dangerous backfield,’’ Turner said Sunday. ‘‘It’s ... Read Article »
	Braves rained out, will play two today PITTSBURGH — The Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates will play a doubleheader today after their game Sunday was postponed by rain. The doubleheader will begin at 12:35 p.m. Jair Jurrjens will start the first game for Atlanta against Zach Duke, and Pittsburgh’s John Van Benschoten will face Tim Hudson in the nightcap. Duke and Jurrjens had been the scheduled starters Sunday. The game was called after a delay of 40 minutes. Light rain in the morning developed into a thunderstorm just before the scheduled 1:35 p.m. start. The tarp was never taken off the field. Read Article »
	Gorzelanny continues road woes for Braves PITTSBURGH — Tom Gorzelanny shook off Mark Teixeira’s two-run homer in the first inning to shut out Atlanta during the rest of his 7 1-3 innings, Jason Bay homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates extended the Braves’ road woes with a 5-2 victory Saturday night. Bay doubled and scored on Ronny Paulino’s sacrifice fly in the second inning, then followed Jason Michaels’ leadoff single with a two-run homer to left-center in the fourth off Chuck James (2-2). Paulino added a two-run double in the sixth and drove in three runs during Pittsburgh’s fifth consecutive victory. The Braves, who ... Read Article »
	New Dream hopes to appeal to city ATLANTA — Ivory Latta gazed at the crowd during an exhibition game at Philips Arena, hoping the turnout of almost 8,000 was a sign of things to come for the Atlanta Dream. ‘‘Wow,’’ the point guard said to herself, ‘‘hopefully we can get this on the regular.’’ Just off a surprising playoff run by the city’s NBA team, is Atlanta ready to embrace another pro basketball team? Atlanta’s new WNBA franchise tips off next weekend, having learned one big lesson from the Hawks taking the heavily favored Boston Celtics to seven games in the opening round of ... Read Article »
	No. 2 the new No. 1 for Falcons FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — There were signs Saturday that Atlanta Falcons No. 7 jerseys may become yesterday’s fashion. Some fans attending the Falcons opening day of minicamp wore No. 2 jerseys in early tribute to the team’s new hope at quarterback, rookie Matt Ryan. The Falcons used a committee approach in the 2007 season to replace Michael Vick, but Ryan is to be the long-term replacement as the team’s new franchise player. Vick’s No. 7 has not been given to another Atlanta player since he began serving a 23-month prison sentence after pleading guilty last year ... Read Article »