Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Drake Baldwin, and Ozzie Albies have each looked like the best player at their respective positions. Chris Sale is pitching like a man chasing another Cy Young, and it’s not out of the question that Bryce Elder finds himself back in the All-Star conversation.

Then there are the new faces — the ones nobody expected to matter this much. Mauricio Dubón has quickly become a fan favorite, Martín Pérez looks like he turned the clock back five years, and even Jorge Mateo has made a real impact despite just 12 starts.

At 25–10 — the best record in baseball and 8.5 games clear in the NL East — there’s very little to nitpick. The players deserve the bulk of the credit, but it’s impossible to ignore the imprint of first-year manager Walt Weiss and his staff.

“I think everything started with the coaching staff, to be honest with you,” Braves legend Andruw Jones recently said on 680 The Fan. “Not that they didn’t have a great coaching staff before — but this group Walt Weiss put together, it’s all new voices. The roster is largely the same, maybe one or two changes, but I give a lot of credit to the staff.”

The end of Brian Snitker’s tenure left a sour taste. Back-to-back steps in the wrong direction culminated in the club missing the postseason for the first time since 2017. But pinning it all on Snitker ignores the bigger picture — stars underperformed across the board, and the pitching staff was decimated by injuries. No manager was fixing that.

Still, what Weiss has brought feels different.

Weiss commands respect without demanding it, and more importantly, he gives it right back. He’s not interested in calling players out publicly — but he’ll go to bat for them every single time. That mentality traces back to his days under Bobby Cox, and it showed almost immediately this season when he physically stepped in to defend Reynaldo Lopez when Jorge Soler was trying to send him to the shadow realm with one punch.

But what’s really resonating is the way this team competes for nine innings.

Under Snitker, the Braves often felt passive late in games — especially when trailing. This group doesn’t. Weiss has managed aggressively, pushed the right buttons, and more importantly, instilled the belief that no game is out of reach. The result has been a string of comeback wins that have fueled this early surge and helped create real separation in the division.

That kind of approach isn’t sustainable over 162 games. But the cushion the Braves have already built — paired with the depth added this offseason — will give Weiss the flexibility to keep guys fresh, especially as key players work their way back from injury.

Weiss has aced just about every part of the job since the moment he was named manager of the Atlanta Braves. He’s assembled a strong staff, and the blend of his old-school backbone with a willingness to embrace modern philosophies has him pushing all the right buttons early.

In an organization like this, managers are ultimately judged by what happens in October. But through 35 games, it’s hard not to love identity this team is beginning to form under Walt Weiss.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The #Braves today reinstated C Sean Murphy from the injured list after returning him from his rehabilitation assignment yesterday. The club designated C Jonah Heim for assignment.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 4, 2026

Sean Murphy is back in the lineup behind the plate, catching JR Ritchie, who will be making his third MLB start in his hometown of Seattle.

An All-Star in 2023, Murphy has been searching for that same level of consistency ever since. He’s hit below the Mendoza Line in each of the last two seasons and has appeared in just 166 games over that span. His defense still provides plenty of value, but the Braves didn’t hand him a six-year extension to be a glove-first backup who offers little at the plate.

The hope is that this extended time off allows him to reset. Murphy hasn’t appeared in a major-league game since undergoing hip surgery last September — an issue that had reportedly been lingering for quite some time.

As for Jonah Heim, the Braves would love for him to slip through waivers and remain in the organization, but there’s a strong chance another team takes a flier on a veteran catcher with a proven track record.

There was likely a brief window where Atlanta considered carrying three catchers, but with injuries beginning to pile up in the outfield, that quickly became a luxury they could no longer afford.

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(Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

He began his rehab assignment with Double-A Columbus, appearing in four games and hitting .333 with four walks. Now, he’s set to move up to Gwinnett after getting through back-to-back games over the weekend.

#Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Gwinnett this week in Norfolk, presented by @NorthsideHosp!

Read more: https://t.co/hLiK3ZeEOC pic.twitter.com/pHQEUd6Hlv

— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) May 4, 2026

Ha-Seong Kim’s path back to the majors was always expected to be far less demanding than a pitcher’s — or even someone like Sean Murphy, who plays a more physically taxing position and was recovering from a more significant injury.

The final box for Kim to check this week is stacking full games in the field — going nine innings on back-to-back days. At the plate, he already looks comfortable, so it’s hard to imagine he’ll need too much time in Gwinnett.

A return next week, when the Atlanta Braves come back home, is starting to feel increasingly likely. Atlanta opens a series against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday before hosting the Boston Red Sox over the weekend.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The Braves likely hoped Heim would slip through waivers and remain in the organization. But a proven veteran at such a demanding position was always going to draw interest, and it didn’t take long. He was dealt to the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations right before the first pitch last night.

The #Braves tonight acquired cash considerations from the Athletics in exchange for C Jonah Heim.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 5, 2026

For Sean Murphy, it was a rough return.

Within the first 11 pitches of the game, he burned through both of the Braves’ challenges. The first was understandable — a borderline pitch that determined whether it was a leadoff walk or a strikeout. The second, though, wasn’t particularly close, and in a one-run game, that’s the kind of decision that can come back to bite you.

At the plate, it didn’t get much better. Murphy grounded into a double play in his first at-bat, then struck out twice before eventually being pinch-hit for by Michael Harris II.

Given his struggles over the last couple of seasons, the noise is going to get loud if he doesn’t produce fairly quickly. But it’s also worth remembering — this was his first major-league game since September. He deserves at least a little runway.

The biggest storyline of the night, however, had nothing to do with the catching situation. It was JR Ritchie making his third MLB start in his hometown of Seattle.

“It’s been a dream of mine to pitch at T-Mobile, take the ferry back home and then sleep in my own bed. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Ritchie said ahead of Monday’s start.

For five and a half innings, it looked exactly like a dream come true. The command wasn’t perfect — similar to his outing against the Tigers, he had trouble getting ahead of hitters and issued a couple of early walks — but he managed traffic well and settled in as the game progressed.

Ritchie carried a scoreless outing into the fifth and recorded two quick ground-outs before things unraveled. A hit-by-pitch and two walks loaded the bases, giving Seattle its best chance of the night. Once again, though, the rookie worked out of it, getting Josh Naylor to ground-out and escape unscathed.

Then the offense gave him breathing room. Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley all went deep to open the sixth, turning a one-run lead into a four-run cushion.

That’s typically where a manager pats his starter on the back and turns it over to the bullpen. Walt Weiss went the other direction.

He sent Ritchie back out for the sixth — defensible on its own — but stuck with him after back-to-back walks to open the inning. That decision proved costly, as it led to a three-run homer before Weiss finally made the move.

The Seattle Mariners tacked on another two-run shot later in the inning off Tyler Kinley, and for one of the few times all season, the Braves’ offense didn’t have a response late, falling 5–4 in the opener.

It was easily the most questionable decision of Weiss’ first 36 games. Letting Ritchie start the inning made sense. Leaving him in after two straight walks didn’t, especially when it didn’t even buy the bullpen any rest, as he failed to record an out in the frame.

That said, over 162 games, everyone gets one wrong. And when a manager has been pushing the right buttons as consistently as Weiss has, a night like this feels more like a reminder than a concern.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

He initially missed just one game, then returned as the designated hitter for a couple of contests before moving back to center field. At that point, it seemed like a non-issue — especially given how well he was swinging the bat. But concerns started to surface when Walt Weiss mentioned Harris would primarily serve as a DH during the west coast trip and didn’t rule out a potential IL stint.

Now, four games into a nine-game road trip, Harris has essentially been sidelined for three of them — appearing twice as a pinch hitter and once as the DH. The production hasn’t dipped at all, as he’s collected two hits in six at-bats, but the usage tells a different story.

Something clearly isn’t progressing the way the Braves had hoped. Weiss reiterated before Monday’s game that this situation isn’t sustainable long-term, and an IL stint still very much appears to be on the table.

Michael Harris still day-to-day. Walt Weiss admited there will come a point Harris will go on IL if the quad injury doesn't improve.
"You pull the plug on it if it starts to get worse at any time. There's a tipping point right? We can't continue with this for anothet two weeks."

— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) May 5, 2026

The fact that Harris is even on the roster and participating in some capacity would suggest this is such a minor injury that there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. There’s simply no way the Braves — with such a massive lead already in the division — would be taking chances this early in the season with one of their star players.

On the flip side, if it were such a minor problem, how come it’s lingered this long? And would the Braves have been better off just giving Harris 10 days off in the first place?

It’s certainly starting to seem that way. Hopefully, this doesn’t turn into a month long ordeal like the way it’s trending. With Ronald Acuña Jr. also sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Braves outfield situation is a complete mess at the moment.

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(Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

The Braves’ first baseman is hitting an even .300 through 36 games, leading the National League in home runs (12), doubles (15), and RBIs (32). He’s also arguably the best defensive first baseman in the game, coming off his second Gold Glove season.

All of that adds up to 2.1 fWAR, and if you prefer bWAR, Olson actually holds a more comfortable lead there.

MLB Leaders (bWAR)

Matt Olson — 2.5
Aaron Judge — 2.3
Jose Soriano — 2.3
Jordan Walker — 2.2
Kevin McGonigle — 2.2
Shohei Ohtani — 2.1

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Olson was dealt a tough hand when he arrived in Atlanta, stepping in for a franchise icon that nobody wanted to see leave. To make matters worse, Freddie Freeman went on to thrive in Los Angeles, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers capture back-to-back World Series titles.

That’s clouded just how incredible Olson has been in his own right.

He’s played in quite literally every game, is tracking toward his third All-Star appearance in five years, and already owns the franchise’s single-season home run record. Since arriving in Atlanta, he’s racked up 158 home runs and 164 doubles — production that stacks up with anyone in the sport over that stretch, with no signs of slowing down.

This is exactly what Alex Anthopoulos envisioned when he made the difficult decision to move on from Freeman in favor of the younger Olson. The idea was always that the back half of those contracts would tilt the equation.

The early years may have made that bet uncomfortable, but these next four could potentially make up any ground lost and a whole lot more.

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(Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

That ceiling was on full display during Spring Training, when Fuentes struck out 17 batters — yes, 17 — over just nine innings without allowing a run. The performance earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster, and in his first appearance out of the bullpen, he delivered four innings of long relief, allowing just one run.

Despite that, the Atlanta Braves opted to send him to Triple-A Gwinnett to stretch him out as a starter. Three weeks later, after posting a 2.16 ERA across three starts, Fuentes was back in Atlanta for his first MLB start — an outing that lasted just three innings and resulted in four earned runs.

He was optioned shortly after, then recalled less than a week later — this time back to the bullpen, where he’s remained. And to his credit, the results have been outstanding: three scoreless appearances without allowing a hit.

For now, that role appears set. Walt Weiss was asked before Monday’s game whether he’d be comfortable using Fuentes or Reynaldo López on back-to-back days — both starters to begin the year — and didn’t hesitate to say yes.

Given the emergence of Bryce Elder and JR Ritchie, along with the return of Spencer Strider, someone was always going to get squeezed out of the rotation. López made sense because of his track record in relief and recent durability concerns. Fuentes’ raw stuff also plays in shorter bursts.

But is this the right move this early?

Fuentes didn’t look far off from putting it together as a starter. The spring results were dominant. The Triple-A numbers backed it up. Even his struggles in the majors came with a short leash. Moving a 20-year-old with that kind of upside into the bullpen after one start feels… aggressive.

And it raises a bigger question — how confident are the Braves in this rotation?

Outside of Chris Sale, there aren’t many sure things. Strider is still working his way back. Grant Holmes has been inconsistent. Ritchie is a rookie. Martín Pérez is nearing 40. And asking Elder to sustain this level for five months is a leap.

It’s a group with questions — one that Fuentes could realistically elevate if given time to develop.

Now, maybe the Braves believe he’s best served learning in shorter stints against major-league hitters. That’s not an unreasonable thought. But starting and relieving are two entirely different development paths. If Fuentes stays in the bullpen, stretching him back out later becomes a challenge, especially when he hasn’t thrown more than 22 pitches in an outing for two weeks.

This isn’t about whether Fuentes can help right now. He clearly can.

It’s about whether the Braves are comfortable reshaping the development of a 20-year-old with frontline potential this early in the process — and whether that’s a decision they might regret when the rotation inevitably needs him later on.

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Photo: Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire

The next obvious candidate in line — and potentially the most deserving of them all outside of Acuña — is Drake Baldwin.

Baldwin is coming off a season in which he hit .274 with 19 homers and an .810 OPS over 124 games on his way to NL Rookie of the Year honors. Superb numbers, especially for a catcher, but it felt like they still sold his offensive ceiling short. The start of the 2026 campaign is far more indicative of what he can be in a full-time role, as he’s hitting .316 with nine homers and a .923 OPS through his first 166 plate appearances.

Baldwin isn’t just one of the best hitting catchers in the sport — he’s one of the best offensive players in the game, ranking in the 94th percentile or better in xwOBA, xBA, and xSLG. His Statcast page is a sea of red, but you don’t need advanced metrics to understand what kind of hitter he is.

The eye test tells you everything.

With barely a full season under his belt, Baldwin already has one of the most advanced approaches on the entire roster. He doesn’t strike out much, and he’s a nightmare with two strikes, posting an .811 OPS in those situations this season. He has power to all fields and is willing to take whatever the pitcher gives him. There’s nothing about what he’s doing that feels fluky — if anything, it feels like he’s just scratching the surface.

So, of course the Braves should be looking to extend him, right?

Not according to Ken Rosenthal — at least not yet.

“The Braves, however, have yet to seriously engage Baldwin in discussions on an extension, according to people briefed on the matter,” Rosenthal reports for The Athletic. “Their hesitance almost certainly stems from the reason catchers rarely get big money — the wear and tear of the position, even with days at designated hitter offering occasional relief.

“The last catcher the Braves extended, Sean Murphy at $73 million over six years, provided $39.6 million of value in his first year with the club according to FanGraphs’ dollars metric, which is WAR converted to a dollar scale based on what a player would earn in free agency. But injuries cost Murphy nearly half his team’s games the past two seasons and the first 35 of this one.”

You can understand why the Braves might have some hesitation following the Murphy trade and subsequent extension.

Murphy has had exactly one good half-season since coming to Atlanta, earning an All-Star nod in 2023. Since then, it’s been a string of injuries and underwhelming production, nowhere close to the player he was in Oakland — when he was arguably the best defensive catcher in baseball while consistently posting an OPS north of .800.

Now, the Braves owe him $45 million through 2028, and unless he turns things around, that’s a contract they’re likely stuck carrying.

But Murphy isn’t the only deal that might give the front office pause.

Strider looked like a future Cy Young winner when he signed his extension, and now there are questions about his future due to a litany of injuries. Riley hasn’t consistently matched the expectations that come with being the highest-paid player in franchise history, and even Michael Harris II has had his share of ups and downs as well.

Extending young players has never been a foolproof strategy. There’s a reason players are willing to sign those deals early — if everything were guaranteed, they’d all bet on themselves and become free agents as soon as possible.

The Braves’ recent track record makes it understandable that they’d be a little more cautious this time around. But if Baldwin keeps producing like this, caution eventually turns into hesitation… and hesitation turns into a much more expensive decision.

At some point, they’re going to have to decide whether they trust what they’re seeing, or risk watching another cornerstone price himself out of their comfort zone.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

The Atlanta Braves offense is the best in baseball, random guys are suddenly turning into stars, and the club owns the best record in the league while already threatening to run away with the NL East before the calendar even flips to June.

The two best examples of that might be Bryce Elder and Matt Olson.

Elder — seriously, take off the mask…

The 2023 All-Star spent the better part of two seasons bouncing between Gwinnett and Atlanta, getting shelled seemingly every time he put a Braves uniform on. He never once complained, but his time was undoubtedly running out. Now, he’s an All-Star again?

He entered yesterday with an ERA south of 2.00 — a number that actually rose despite six innings of two-run ball. That tells you everything you need to know about his performance through the first six weeks.

The Seattle Mariners scratched across two runs in the third on a homer from J. P. Crawford, and Atlanta answered immediately with two runs of its own thanks to a two-out double from Mauricio Dubón — another one of those unsung heroes that feels eerily reminiscent of the magic from 2023.

Then the game went silent.

Neither offense could generate anything meaningful until Olson stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth and uncorked a majestic opposite-field homer over the left-center field wall to give Atlanta the lead. Raisel Iglesias slammed the door in the ninth in his first appearance off the IL, and the Braves’ streak of not losing a series remains alive for at least another day.

At this point, all you can really do is sit back and marvel at what Atlanta has accomplished so far.

Bryce Elder has completely reinvented himself. Matt Olson has been the best player in baseball and has established himself as a legitimate MVP frontrunner. The Braves have been short-handed practically from Opening Day, and the injuries have only mounted as the wins continue piling up.

Series after series, they just keep finding ways. More than anything, though, this team feels familiar.

Every game carries that same electricity, that same expectation that something good is eventually going to happen — just like it did in 2023, when the Braves went on to tally 104 wins, clearing the rest of the division by 14 games.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)

Closer Raisel Iglesias has been reinstated from the Injured List. In a corresponding move, Carlos Carrasco has been designated for assignment. Additionally, Dylan Dodd‘s rehab assignment is set to begin in Triple-A Gwinnett, and Ha-Seong Kim‘s rehab assignment has officially been transferred from Columbus to Gwinnett.

The #Braves today reinstated RHP Raisel Iglesias from the injured list and designated RHP Carlos Carrasco for assignment. Additionally, LHP Dylan Dodd tonight begins a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. The club also transferred INF Ha-Seong Kim’s rehabilitation…

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 5, 2026

The addition of Iglesias to a bullpen that’s been depleted over the last week is massive news, but Dylan Dodd beginning his rehab assignment should not be overlooked. Atlanta’s still trying to figure out how all of the pieces fit in relief, and Dodd’s been an effective reliever from the left side over the last two years, recording a 3.46 ERA in 30 appearances.

Given the struggles of Aaron Bummer, Dodd could be the guy that unseats him whenever he’s deemed healthy enough to return to the majors.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The PGA Tour heads to Miami this week, the first time playing at Doral since 2016. The reasons for not playing at a decidedly Tour-level venue are both varied and soaked in nuance, but we’ll skip those and just address the basics.

Tournament: Cadillac Championship, April 30-May 3, 2026.

Course: Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course; par 72; 7,739 yards. It used to be just the Blue course, but got renamed like everything else at the property (the name is justified – the course is a big track, and the 18th hole is a beast of a par 4, usually into the wind). Just outside downtown Miami, but practically across the street from Miami International Airport. You will both see and hear planes on the broadcast.

Purse: $20 million, with $4 million to the winner. Yes, another Signature Event aka cash grab for the rich.

Defending Champ: Adam Scott. The Boss clothing-sponsored and part-time supermodel won the WGC Cadillac Championship 10 years ago. Remember the WGC events? Man, I miss those simple times.

Fun Fact: Winners on this course are a Who’s Who of golf history. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Tom Weiskopf, and many other hall of famers. It also boasts Craig Parry – another Aussie winner. Parry was a decent player 20 years ago, and won the tournament when he holed a fairway shot on the tough 18th. The best is that holier-than-thou broadcaster Johnny Miller had been bashing Parry’s swing all week on TV. And then ate some crow late Sunday.

TV Times: Thursday and Friday are on Golf Channel from 3-7 pm ET. Golf Channel also has the early coverage Saturday and Sunday from noon-3 pm, when CBS (okay, Paramount too) takes over from 3-7 pm ET.

‘Dawgs in the Field: It’s an 80 man limited field, but we have 5 former Bulldogs qualified and ready to tee it up. Russell Henley, Harris English, Brian Harman, Sepp Straka, and Keith Mitchell. A good finish by Mitchell will qualify him for the PGA Championship in 2 weeks.

We had the Masters 3 weeks ago, a Signature Event in Hilton Head right after, the fun but weird team event in NoLa last week, and another Signature Event in Charlotte next week. The PGA Championship is the week after that. Someone really needs to rework the PGA Tour calendar.

Because of the weird schedule, and possibly some personal beliefs, the #2 and #3 players in the world are skipping (Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick) as well as a few others in the top 30. But most of the top sticks are here, including Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, and a host of crowd favorites like Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. But we know who you’re really rooting for.

So tune in to see if our boys can put some Red & Black on the Blue Monster. Enjoy, and as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

Johnston arrives from the Philadelphia Eagles, where he worked under Howie Roseman — widely regarded as one of the top front office minds in football. He joined Philadelphia back in 2016 and overlapped with Ian Cunningham from 2017-2021, before Cunningham moved on to Chicago. By 2024, Johnston had climbed the ladder into a Senior Vice President role within the Eagles organization.

Moves like this rarely generate major headlines, but they’re often just as important as anything that happens on the field. Johnston was extremely well-regarded in Philadelphia, and according to NFL insider Albert Breer, a couple of ex-Eagles executives believe Ian Cunningham and the Falcons “pulled off a coup” to get him to Atlanta.

I talked to a couple ex-Eagles folks who said Ian Cunningham pulled off a coup in getting Johnston out of Philly. Cunningham and Johnston worked together for five seasons (2017-21) under Howie Roseman. https://t.co/i4qyxZtbLL

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 29, 2026

It looks like Bryce Johnston will be taking over the role that was previously held by Chris Olsen, which heavily involves cap management and contract negotiations, areas he is very familiar with from his time with the Eagles.

When the injury first occurred, the Braves believed he’d be back around Mid-May, and that trajectory has stayed true to this point. He’s not a pitcher or catcher, so there aren’t nearly as many boxes he’ll need to check while on the farm. Once he plays in back-to-back games and looks comfortable at the plate, there’s no reason for the Braves to be hesitant in calling him up.

Speaking of catchers, Sean Murphy was also in action on the farm this afternoon, going 1-for-5 with an RBI and a couple of runs. Braves manager Walt Weiss said that the club would monitor his progression throughout the week. They’re comfortable with where he’s at defensively but want to give him some more at-bats in Gwinnett before he rejoins the major-league club.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

In his first season in Atlanta, Sale delivered a Cy Young campaign. The deal had already paid for itself at that point, but he followed it up with a 2.58 ERA in year two, signed an extension, and now looks like someone who will once again be firmly in the Cy Young conversation — health permitting.

You could argue he’s been the best pitcher in baseball since arriving in Atlanta. But what really adds another layer to this trade is the Vaughn Grissom side of it.

Grissom was a top-100 prospect when he went to Boston, viewed as a player with a promising offensive profile. Instead, he appeared in just 31 games over two seasons before being flipped this past offseason to the Los Angeles Angels for Isaiah Jackson, a 22-year-old still in High-A.

It didn’t make many headlines at the time, but Grissom is starting to show signs of life in Los Angeles, hitting .342 with a homer and a .939 OPS over his first 13 games.

The Red Sox effectively salary-dumped a fan favorite who has turned into one of the best pitchers in baseball, got minimal return from the prospect they acquired, and now that same prospect is beginning to find his footing elsewhere.

For a team sitting in last place, already having moved on from their manager Alex Cora, one can only imagine if things might have worked out differently had this deal never happened.

From the Braves perspective, though, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

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(Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Spencer Strider will make his season debut for the major-league club on Sunday at Coors Field.

Strider is slated to start Sunday at Coors Field

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 29, 2026

Coors Field isn’t necessarily an ideal spot for any pitcher to make his return after so much time off, but the Rockies offense currently ranks 23rd in runs scored, and there’s a lot of belief inside the organization that Spencer Strider’s improved life and movement on his heater will help him regain the form he showcased prior to undergoing InternalBrace surgery back in 2024.

Additionally, Walt Weiss said he doesn’t believe closer Raisel Iglesias will need a rehab assignment before returning. He’s eligible to be activated from the IL on May 5th, and Bowman hints he’s on track to return next week.

Raisel Iglesias could rejoin the Braves bullpen when he becomes eligible to be activated from the IL on May 5. Weiss says the closer likely won’t make a rehab appearance before being activated.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 29, 2026

The Braves took things extra cautiously with Iglesias when he started to feel some slight pain in his shoulder. Had this occurred in October, he might have pitched the next day. But with already such a large lead in the division and it being so early in the season, there was absolutely no reason to take any chances.

Iglesias has been lights out to begin the year, going a perfect 5-for-5 in save opportunities, and he’s still yet to allow a run. However, the Braves didn’t really miss a beat with Robert Suarez in the fold. The two have been nothing short of dominant for the club at the end of games.

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(Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

The rollout came right up against Opening Day, leaving plenty of fans scrambling to figure out how they’d even watch the team. But a month into the season, things have stabilized, and Braves President and CEO Derek Schiller is already calling it a “defining moment” for the organization.

“The economics right now support our decision,” Schiller said, via Front Office Sports. “A month into this, we can safely say we have made the right decision, not just for the Atlanta Braves and the business of the Braves, but also our fans. … We believe we’re not only economically viable, but we’re maximizing that [opportunity], which we would equate to where we were previously, maybe even beating that. We’re also reaching more fans.”

The Braves are uniquely positioned to pull something like this off. Their reach across the Southeast — and really the entire country — stems back to the TBS era under Ted Turner, which built one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in baseball. Pair that with decades of consistent on-field success, and it creates a foundation most organizations would dream of.

“The Braves are different in so many ways from some of our peers,” Schiller continued. “We’ve always had a substantially different way in how we approach the marketplace, and we have television in our DNA. In many ways, we’re now returning to those roots.”

That pedigree is what makes this gamble feel more calculated than risky — and if BravesVision continues on this trajectory, the financial upside could be significant.

Of course, that’s where the conversation always circles back for fans. The Braves have built a financial powerhouse between on-field success, the growth of the Battery, and now BravesVision. The expectation is simple: that money needs to show up in the product on the field.

According to FanGraphs, Atlanta’s payroll currently sits sixth in MLB at roughly $252 million, a number that has steadily climbed. Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk has long suggested the club is aiming to break into the top five. If BravesVision delivers the way the organization believes it will, that jump could realistically happen as soon as next season.

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(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

Murphy got off to a super slow start with the stick during his rehab assignment. That’s to be expected given he’s been out of baseball since September of last year after undergoing hip surgery. However, he’s begun to heat up over the last week with the Gwinnett Stripers.

The future of Murphy in Atlanta is very much cloudy. When they acquired him from the A’s and immediately handed him a long-term extension, the thought is he would be a mainstay behind the plate for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately, injuries have really plagued him over the last several seasons. Combine that with the emergence of Drake Baldwin, and his starting job at catcher is never returning.

That’s not to say the two can’t coincide in Atlanta. The Braves love the aspect of having two starting caliber players at such an important position, and Murphy has proven to be an invaluable asset behind the plate defensively.

There’s a real chance the Braves keep him for the duration of his contract, which runs through 2028 with a team option in 2029. However, if his offense starts to show signs of consistency, he also might be the Braves most valuable trade chip come the trade deadline.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

That road swing — featuring the Rockies, Mariners, and Dodgers — made the decision understandable, even if it cost them a shot at the sweep.

Still, it’s another series win for Atlanta, which remarkably has yet to drop a series all season. There’s not much to nitpick — but there is one situation worth keeping an eye on.

Michael Harris II left a game earlier in the week with a quad injury. He’s played in four complete games since then, two of which came in centerfield. However, he got the day off on Wednesday, and MLB.com’s Mark Bowman suggests an IL stint could be in his future. At the very least, he’ll DH during most of the Braves’ upcoming road trip.

Michael Harris II will DH most of this road trip if his quad doesn’t get any worse. But he could go on the IL, if there’s not any improvement

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 30, 2026

It doesn’t appear the quad issue is anything overly serious for Michael Harris II, but it’s clearly been bothersome enough to cost him time over the last week. That alone gives the Atlanta Braves a real reason to at least consider a short IL stint — even if Harris won’t be thrilled about potentially missing a marquee series in Los Angeles next weekend.

Through 29 games, Harris is hitting .320 with six home runs, 20 RBIs, and an .895 OPS, continuing the tear he closed last season on. This is as complete a version of Harris as we’ve seen at the major-league level.

Losing that bat for any stretch isn’t ideal, especially for a lineup that’s been rolling. But at the same time, this is the kind of situation where the long-term outlook matters much more. If there’s even a small risk of the injury lingering or getting worse, a brief shutdown now could prevent something far more costly later, given how important Harris is to everything this team wants to accomplish.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Here is how it would look:

Here’s how the new lottery odds will look:

(h/t @LevAkabas ) pic.twitter.com/RlDzwc3Fz2

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 29, 2026

The proposal on the table would flatten lottery odds and introduce a “relegation zone” for the bottom three teams — giving them the same odds as a play-in loser.

That idea has sparked plenty of debate, especially around fairness. There’s a valid concern about truly bad teams getting stuck, with fewer pathways to climb out of the bottom. There’s also the fear that fringe playoff teams could decide it’s better to pivot late and chase lottery odds instead of pushing for the postseason.

Those points matter, and Adam Silver and the league office will have to weigh them carefully. But it’s hard to argue the current system is working after what just played out.

This past season saw widespread manipulation — teams resting starters nightly, pulling key players late in games, and in some cases barely pretending to compete. That’s not just bad optics, it undermines the product entirely. A flattened system with a relegation-style element would go a long way toward eliminating those incentives.

The relegation zone, in particular, adds something the NBA has never really had at the bottom: stakes. Suddenly, a late-April matchup between Brooklyn Nets vs. Washington Wizards carries as much weight as two teams facing off at the top of the standings. That’s a win for the league.

As for playoff-caliber teams intentionally tanking late? That feels overstated. Well-run organizations don’t operate that way, and karma always has a funny way of playing out.

For the Atlanta Hawks, this kind of change could quietly be beneficial. They don’t project as a team that’s going to bottom out anytime soon, but they do hold future draft capital — including the New Orleans/Milwaukee pick in 2027 (worst of the two, top-four protected).

Under a flattened system, the chances of both those teams landing in the top four — and keeping the pick — would drop significantly, even if they struggled. That makes it far more likely the pick conveys, potentially setting Atlanta up with back-to-back top-10 selections.

There is not going to be a perfect formula to combat tanking. Basketball is unlike any sport, where one player can change the trajectory of an entire franchise for the next 15-20 years. However, whether you like the NBA’s proposed solution or not, we can all agree what happened this past season was an absolute abomination, and changes must be made.

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(Photo by Aaron Baker/Icon Sportswire)

Falcons Remaining Needs

• Cornerback
• Interior defensive line
• Offensive line
• Linebacker
• Wide receiver

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Cornerbacks are like pitchers — you can never have too many . The hope is Avieon Terrell can step in as a Day 1 starter, and if Billy Bowman Jr. returns healthy from his Achilles injury, that gives Atlanta a strong trio. After that, though, the drop-off is noticeable.

The interior defensive line stands out as the biggest concern. Atlanta lost production there this offseason, and even with the addition of Maason Smith, it’s a group that still lacks a clear, proven presence. It was arguably the top need entering the draft and wasn’t addressed — making it a position to watch moving forward.

Along the offensive line, at linebacker, and at wide receiver, the starters are serviceable, but depth is the issue. Kaleb McGary’s retirement opens up roughly $20 million in cap space, giving the Falcons some flexibility to add without having to overspend.

Falcons Extension candidates

• Kyle Pitts
• Drake London
• Bijan Robinson

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Pitts is the most immediate situation. He’s entering the final year of his deal, and while trade rumors were loud leading up to the draft, nothing materialized. That could still change, but if a move was going to happen, the draft felt like the natural window.

The Falcons could also let it play out under the franchise tag. His inconsistency and injury history are factors that cannot be ignored. However, if he delivers another big season, that price tag climbs fast.

London feels like the most straightforward extension. He’s proven he can be a true WR1 and brings value beyond just catching passes. Players like that don’t usually hit the open market, and waiting only drives up the cost.

Robinson is in a slightly different category. He’s an elite talent and a clear building block, but the timeline is longer. With a fifth-year option in 2027 and the franchise tag available after that, Atlanta has control. Given the nature of the position, there’s less urgency to act immediately — even if locking him in early could save money down the line.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

This one came with a few more bumps than his debut. Ritchie never quite found a rhythm with his command, issuing four walks and allowing five hits over 5.1 innings. He also had a pickoff error that led to a run — the kind of mistake that can snowball quickly for a young arm.

But the poise stood out. Even without his best stuff, he battled through it, surrendering just three runs (two earned) and keeping the Atlanta Braves within striking distance. That gave the offense a chance to rally late, culminating in Matt Olson’s walk-off two-run shot.

In a lot of ways, this type of outing says more than his dazzling debut. Talent is a given at this level — every young arm has nights where everything clicks. The real test is how they respond when it doesn’t.

Ritchie passed that test.

And because of it, he doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. Walt Weiss said after the game he expects Ritchie to remain in the rotation, with his next start lined up in his hometown against the Seattle Mariners.

Walt Weiss says he expects Ritchie to stick around to make his next start. That next start will be back home in Seattle for Ritchie

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 30, 2026

The Atlanta Braves rotation has been one of the biggest surprises of the first month. This is a group missing four significant arms on the IL, yet it’s still produced a better ERA than anyone else in the league. That kind of performance is tough to sustain over a full season, but the outlook is getting brighter by the day.

The emergence of JR Ritchie has added another intriguing layer, and the return of Spencer Strider — currently slated for Sunday — could be a game-changer.

Even if some regression is inevitable, this is no longer just a feel-good story. The improved rotation has made the Braves incredibly dangerous.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Good Friday morning, Dawg fans!!

The Georgia Bulldogs have wrapped up another demanding stretch of SEC play as the regular season begins to wind down, and the margin for error continues to shrink. With just 13 games remaining, every inning now carries postseason implications for a team with its sights set firmly on Omaha.

Over the past two weeks, the Diamond Dawgs faced a challenging slate that tested both their consistency and resilience. Georgia battled through two three-game SEC series against Florida and Arkansas, while also squeezing in midweek matchups against East Tennessee State and a high-profile, top-five showdown with in-state rival Georgia Tech. Across those eight contests, the Bulldogs posted a 4–4 record, a mark that reflects both their explosive potential and lingering inconsistencies.

At the plate, Georgia continues to prove why it is regarded as one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the country. The Bulldogs erupted for an eye-popping 64 runs during this stretch, highlighted by a dominant 26-run outburst in the series finale against Arkansas. Performances like that continue to showcase the lineup’s ability to overwhelm solid pitching staffs and flip a series on its head in a matter of innings.

However, the same cannot be said for the pitching staff, which remains the primary concern as postseason play approaches. Georgia surrendered 69 runs over those eight games, including 10 or more runs allowed in half of them. For a team with national championship aspirations, those numbers are difficult to ignore. While the offense has more than held its own, the inconsistency on the mound has created a dangerous imbalance that could prove costly against top-tier competition.

Despite the uneven stretch, Georgia still finds itself in an enviable position. The Bulldogs hold a strong 32–10 overall record, including an impressive 13–5 mark in SEC play. That resume has them sitting at No. 5 in the national rankings, firmly in the conversation as one of the top teams in college baseball heading into the final weeks of the regular season.

Individually, the Dawgs continue to be powered by standout performances from Daniel Jackson and Tre Phelps, who have emerged as two of the premier players in the country. Both are making compelling cases for the Golden Spikes Award, college baseball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Jackson has been electric, hitting .378 with 20 home runs, combining elite contact with game-changing power. Phelps has been just as impactful, batting .370 with 14 home runs while boasting an impressive .492 on-base percentage. His ability to reach base has been amplified by his toughness at the plate, as he has been hit by pitches 25 times this season, tied for the most in college baseball.

Looking ahead, the Diamond Dawgs now turn their attention to another critical SEC road test as they travel to Oxford, Mississippi, for a three-game series against Ole Miss. Game one is set for tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, and it presents another opportunity for Georgia to tighten up its pitching and build momentum heading into the final stretch.

As always, it’s a great time to be a Georgia Bulldog. Be sure to tune in not only to this weekend’s series, but also to rounds two and three of the NFL Draft tonight, where several former Dawgs are expected to hear their names called.

Have a great Friday and an even better weekend, GO DAWGS!!!

There was some doubt whether Georgia would even have a player taken in the first round of tonight’s NFL Draft. Monroe Freeling erased that doubt when he went #19 overall to the Carolina Panthers.

Freeling’s college career at Georgia was defined by both early responsibility and sustained consistency. Those two traits explain why he could have a solid NFL career.

Freeling was unexpectedly thrust into a big role as a true freshman in 2023, seeing action in eight games for the defending national champions. But he quickly proved he could handle elite SEC competition. That’s a true rarity for offensive linemen who typically require longer development timelines, even blue chip prospects like Freeling. His immediate impact in Athens was made possible by a combination of advanced technique and mental readiness, particularly in pass protection and assignment discipline. 

Across subsequent seasons, Freeling established himself as one of the most reliable pieces on the Bulldog offensive line. His combination of size (6’7, 318), strength, and technical refinement has made him a cornerstone player rather than a rotational contributor. Importantly, his consistency (not just peak performance) has elevated his draft profile, as NFL evaluators often prioritize linemen who minimize mistakes over those who flash intermittently. 

With limited roster spots scouts also prioritize guys who can play multiple positions, and that’s definitely Freeling. While his work in Athens was mainly at left tackle, he also cross-trained at both guard spots. His ability to realistically play at least three of the five OL spots is both a testament to his football IQ and a huge selling point.

Projecting forward, Freeling’s NFL potential appears significant. His early starting experience against top-tier competition mirrors the developmental path of many recent first-round offensive linemen. His polish and toughness as likely reduce the risk associated with high dollar first round offensive line prospects. While Freeling may not have the same ceiling as former Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor, I’d argue he has a much higher floor because he doesn’t have the same conditioning and work ethic concerns scouts highlighted with Proctor. Freeling might not be a perennial Pro Bowler, but I’m confident he also won’t be a first round bust. Congrats, Monroe, and…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Another Georgia Bulldog has found a new home in the 2026 NFL Draft. Wide receiver Colbie Young was taken in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Bengals. He is the third pass catcher from the Dawgs to be taken in this draft behind Zachariah Branch and Oscar Delp.

Young came to Athens in 2024 after a stint at the University of Miami. His 6’4 frame was intriguing for Mike Bobo and the Georgia offense. He quickly became a reliable target for quarterback Carson Beck in one-on-one situations, as he scored his first Bulldog touchdown in week one of the 2024 season against Clemson.

During his two seasons in Athens, Young caught 37 passes for 507 yards and three touchdowns. His numbers were limited due to a foot injury he suffered during the regular season game against Ole Miss in 2025 and a suspension in 2024 for charges that were eventually dropped.

Beyond his height, Young has shown flashes of explosiveness. At the NFL Combine, he ran a 4.49 40-yard dash. His physicality makes him difficult for defensive backs to bring down. He can also be a deep threat for quarterbacks, as he demonstrated often last season for the Bulldogs.

Young will be entering a crowded receiver room in Cincinnati, with guys like Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins already cemented as Joe Burrow’s top targets. With his tangibles, however, Young could carve out a role for himself with the Bengals as they look to return to the playoffs. We wish Colbie the best of luck as he begins his pro football career!

Few players in recent Georgia football history have been by turns as exhilarating and maddening to watch as Daylen Everette. I’m happy for Pittsburgh Steelers fans to witness first hand exactly what I mean now that the Norfolk, Virginia product is headed to the Steel City.

Everette projects as something of a developmental prospect, but with definite starting cornerback potential. He arrives with clear NFL-caliber tools, but some technical refinement still needed. At Georgia, Everette was a three year starter who appeared in 55 games (41 starts), compiling 150 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 21 pass deflections while earning First-Team All-SEC honors in 2025. His production reflects consistency more than elite ball-hawking volume, though he showed a knack for stepping up in big moments, including multiple SEC Championship interceptions. 

That’s to say nothing of the Daylen Everette-shaped indention Quinn Ewers still has in his torso.

Athletically, Everette checks all the key NFL boxes. He ran a 4.38-second 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine, along blasting off with a 37.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-4 broad jump. Those numbers confirm what Bulldog fans have seen on the field: his explosive speed and lower-body power. These traits translate to strong recovery ability and closing burst in coverage. His strengths lie in zone awareness, physicality in run support, and prototype CB1 size (6’1”, 195 lbs), allowing him to disrupt passing lanes and match up with bigger receivers. 

However, his weaknesses cap his immediate ceiling. Everette can struggle with hip fluidity and transitions in man coverage, making him vulnerable to sharp route runners and double moves. Everette’s technique can also be inconsistent and occasional lapses in coverage discipline contributed to uneven play (and a full 32% of my game day swearing) during his UGA career.

Overall, Everette’s NFL potential right now is likely that of a scheme-dependent CB2 with upside, particularly in a zone-heavy system. But his physical talent is next level, and his issue isn’t ability, it’s consistency. If he hones his craft Everett also could develop into not just a reliable starter but a potential lockdown corner in the City of Bridges. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

The New Orleans Saints became the latest NFL team to pilfer the Georgia tight end room in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday night, selecting Oscar Delp with the 73rd overall pick.

With Delp’s selection, a Georgia tight end has been drafted for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Casual NFL fans may not have seen as much highlight-wise of Delp during his Georgia career, and sharing time at a position with Brock Bowers part of his time in Athens clearly had a bit to do with that. But in times when Georgia has leaned on the tight end the past few years is when Delp thrived as a blocker and receiver.

“I think it’s the most important thing you can do as a tight end is to be able to block and bring that to your game,” Delp told Nola.com “I love being able to dominate another man, and in a successful offense, you have to have a tight end that can dominate the perimeter and own the C gap.”

It’s also of note that Delp was not targeted more than 32 times in a single season at Georgia, so the thinking is may be what he showed in Athens could be magnified even more with additional passes thrown Delp’s way.

That, combined with an impressive pro day that included a 4.49 40-yard dash time makes Delp a nice pickup for New Orleans, a team seeking to beef up its offensive arsenal and build on quarterback Tyler Shough’s growth.

Someone with Delp’s measurables and capabilities plays right into that agenda for the Saints.

Go Dawgs!

Christen Miller steps into the New Orleans Saints facility carrying more than a duffel bag. He brings the hardened identity of the Georgia Bulldogs defensive front.

Perhaps no player in the past three seasons has epitomized the blue collar work ethic of that group quite like Miller. He waited his turn behind future first rounders Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, and Jalen Carter. Like them, his college numbers didn’t scream superstardom: 64 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks across four seasons. But they told a subtler story of control, discipline, and reliability in the trenches.

At his best, Miller is immovable. His excellent lower body strength allow him to anchor well against double teams, clog rushing lanes, and free linebackers to make plays. His hand placement is consistent, and his awareness against the run makes him a natural fit for early downs in the NFL.

But the league demands more than strength. Miller’s biggest question mark follows him from Athens to New Orleans: pass rushing. His burst off the line is good, but not super explosive for a defender of his size, and he can stall once initial contact is made. Too often, plays end with him holding ground rather than collapsing the pocket. For a defensive tackle hoping to elevate his role from a rotational player to a three down fixture, that matters.

Still, the Saints see something worth shaping. In flashes, Miller has shown he can push the pocket and disrupt timing, even if it doesn’t always translate into sacks. If he develops a deeper pass rush arsenal his impact could expand quickly.

For now, Miller projects as a dependable interior player who does the dirty work, absorbs contact, and quietly makes everyone around him look better.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

CJ Allen was one of the leaders of the Georgia Bulldogs’ defense last season. Now, he will be taking his talents to the Indianapolis Colts thanks to the announcement from former Colts’ punter, College Gameday host, part time WWE commentator/wrestler, and host of a weekly sports show with his namesake, Pat Mcafee. He will look to be the next great Georgia linebacker in the NFL.

Allen, a native of Barnesville, GA, burst onto the scene in 2023. The then-true freshman was thrown into the starting lineup against top 10-ranked Ole Miss after starting linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson suffered an injury the week prior. He proceeded to lead the team with nine tackles and a sack on his way to being named SEC Freshman of the Week.

He would only improve over the next two seasons. In 2025, he led the team with 88 tackles and eight tackles for loss. He also made one of the biggest plays of the season against Auburn, when he punched the football out of Jackson Arnold’s hands to force a fumble to prevent the Tigers from taking a 17-0 lead into halftime.

NFL.com’s scouting report wrote that he “plays with toughness and control, sorting through run fits with patience and leverage in pursuit. He has average trigger quickness and pursuit speed, which forces him to work harder to get to junction points when facing climbing blockers. He has adequate size and strength with good hand strikes to play off blocks. He doesn’t blow up blocks or disrupt on the other side of the line all that often, though. He’s an effective blitzer with average man-cover talent and is capable on all three downs. Allen is a dependable starting Mike ‘backer who raises the floor of a defense.”

Allen will look to help improve Indy’s defense, which ranked 23rd in total defense last season. His leadership abilities could be crucial for the Colts as they seek to return to a Super Bowl for the first time since 2010. Congratulations CJ and best wishes for a long and productive NFL career!

Zachariah Branch enters the 2026 NFL Draft as one of the more polarizing wide receiver prospects on the board. A former five star recruit who starred at both Southern Cal and Georgia, Branch combines elite athletic traits with a somewhat unconventional (some would say uneven) production profile, making his evaluation highly dependent on projection and scheme fit.

College Production and Statistical Profile

Branch’s college career can be split pretty neatly into two phases: his early explosiveness at USC and a more refined, high-volume role at Georgia. Over three seasons, he totaled 159 receptions for 1,634 yards and 9 touchdowns across 37 games. 

That’s a pretty solid record of production against some of the best competition college football has to offer. At USC in 2024 Branch recorded 47 catches for 503 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging 10.7 yards per reception. While those numbers were solid, they represented a bit of a letdown for some from expectations after a standout freshman campaign in which he caught 31 passes for 322 yards and averaged over 22 yards of punt returns per game. His usage included screens, quick passes, and significant work in the return game, reflected in his 699 all-purpose yards that season. But still, USC fans were curiously

After transferring to Georgia for 2025, Branch saw a major uptick in both volume and responsibility. He led the ’‘Dawgs with 81 receptions for 811 yards and 6 touchdowns, establishing himself as a primary offensive weapon in the SEC. This production demonstrated his ability to handle a larger workload against elite competition, though his yards-per-catch figure remained modest, reinforcing his short-area usage profile.

Branch’s most defining traits are elite athleticism and playmaking ability in space. He possesses top-tier acceleration, change of direction, and speed, evidenced by a 4.35-second 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine. These traits translate directly to his effectiveness after the catch, where he can turn short throws into explosive gains.

Another major strength is his versatility. Branch has experience as both a receiver and return specialist, winning the Jet Award as a freshman and contributing in multiple phases of the game. His all-purpose skill set makes him attractive to NFL teams looking for a multi-faceted weapon rather than a traditional wide receiver.

In addition, Branch shows strong vision and instincts with the ball in his hands. Scouts consistently highlight his ability to navigate traffic, set up blocks, and maximize yardage on designed touches. This makes him particularly dangerous in modern offenses that emphasize screens, motion, and run-pass option concepts.

Despite his dynamic traits, Branch’s draft potential is limited by several concerns. The most obvious is his size. At an official 5’9″ and 177 pounds, he lacks the ideal physical profile of a typical outside receiver, which raises questions about durability and his ability to win in contested situations, especially downfield. It is worth noting that Branch’s size hasn’t been an issue in the run game, where he’s a tenacious blocker. But he will struggle one-on-one against bigger pro defensive backs.

His receiving skill set is also not pristine. Branch has a tendency to focus on yards after the catch before securing the ball. Drops and ball-tracking issues could limit his reliability at the next level.

Route running is another area of concern. At times in 2025 Mike Bobo used Branch in screen situations that manufactured touches rather than running a full route tree, and his production was heavily skewed toward short-area targets. This creates uncertainty about whether he can get separation consistently against NFL defensive backs on intermediate and deep routes.

Finally, Branch’s projected role is somewhat narrow. He’s like a slot receiver or a situational player, at least early in his career, rather than a true WR1 or even WR2 option. That limits his ceiling unless he significantly develops his technical skills, and the size concerns will always be there.

NFL Projection and Team Fits

Branch is likely a Day 2 pick, going in the second or third round, though opinions vary depending on how teams value his unique skill set. Some analysts rank him among the top wide receivers in the class based on production and pure athleticism, while others see him as a more specialized contributor.

The New York Giants are a logical fit due to their preference for smaller, explosive receivers and creative offensive schemes. Branch’s ability to operate in space aligns well with offenses that emphasize quick passing and yards after catch. However the Giants don’t currently have a 3rd round pick, and I do not see Branch as a 2nd round selection. The Big Blue would need to move into the 3rd to snatch him, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

Other potential fits include teams that prioritize offensive creativity and motion-heavy systems. The San Francisco 49ers could maximize his skill set, given their track records of utilizing versatile playmakers in space. Similarly, teams needing special teams impact alongside offensive upside may view him as a dual-threat contributor. The Kansas City Chiefs fall into this category, and it’s not hard to see Branch in the type of speedy role Tyreek Hill has ably filled, along with Mecole Hardman before him.

Overall Outlook

Branch’s draft outlook ultimately depends on how teams weigh his elite athleticism against his developmental needs. Yes, there is also that thing in Athens with the sidewalk and the smirking. I don’t think it will be a factor. The circumstances of that arrest are so preposterous that they could only happen in Athens, and Kirby Smart has been effusive in his praise of Branch’s work ethic and character since he arrived in the Classic City. That carries weight with a lot of folks in the League.

Branch’s ceiling is that of a dynamic offensive weapon capable of changing games with limited touches, similar to hybrid receivers who thrive in space-oriented systems. However, his floor is that of a situational player who struggles to expand beyond a gadget role.

If he lands with a creative offensive coordinator willing to design touches the way Georgia did in 2025 and gradually expand his route tree, Branch could outperform his draft position and become a high impact player. Conversely, in a more traditional system that demands polished route running and physicality, he may struggle to carve out a consistent role.

Zachariah Branch then represents the classic high-variance prospect: electrifying with the ball in his hands, but still a work in progress as a complete, every down receiver.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Losing is no fun.

If it’s to the North Avenue Trade School in any aspect of competition, it’s even worse.

In one respect, it was a let-down that two top-five teams faced off Tuesday night at Truist Park and that it was not able to be watched on TV.

On the other – perhaps it was for the best that Georgia fans did not have to see what looks to be the weakness of this team – the depth of the bullpen in a 14-4 loss.

It’s tough to swallow as fans of The University of Georgia, but at the end of it, games like this don’t really matter. It’s why in the past when Georgia and Tech had games impacted by weather, little effort was made to reschedule them.

What does matter? Big conference series’ that’ll decide whether or not Georgia can gain a national seed. Both Georgia and the Rebels are slotted in at least one recent projection to be regional hosts. I’m pretty sure that a series win helps a lot more than a pedestrian midweek series.

Per Baseball America, the Dawgs are currently in line as a regional host and No. 7 national seed. Five spots lower, though, and that national seed goes away as well as hosting a super regional.

Florida lost to Jacksonville this week for the second time this season, but odds are fairly good that if you stack them up weekend starters vs. weekend starters, UF prevails.

In the end, midweek games are a good chance to do things well and be in good shape for when it matters – weekend series in the nation’s toughest conference.

Go Dawgs!

The Georgia Bulldogs will wrap up spring practice 2026 this afternoon in the Classic City with the traditional G Day Game. The Red and the Black will square off in Sanford Stadium at 1:00 pm Athens time. While there’s no television coverage per se, the game will be streamed on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

If you’re watching expecting to see a lot of familiar faces, you will be disappointed. The Bulldogs brought in roughly 37 new players from the high school ranks and transfer portal.

Seth already brought you a list of players to keep an eye on, LugnutDawg has the run down of what to look for on defense. And earlier today we went over what to look for on offense.

This thread will be the hub for updates and commentary throughout the afternoon. Y’all grab a beverage if your choice and pull up a chair.

Now let’s have a healthy, stress free, injury-free day in the Classic City.

Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!

It’s a warm, sunny morning in Athens, Georgia, just perfect for a little spring football between the hedges. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs will square off against…, Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs, this afternoon in Athens. LugnutDawg already brought you a handful of things to keep an eye on defensively. Let’s take a look at some of the key points to keep an eye on on the offensive side of the football.

#1 Somebody’s got to play wide receiver. The Bulldogs are losing six out of their top seven pass catchers from 2025. London Humphreys is the only returning wideout with more than 10 receptions. And while the ‘Dawgs are loaded at tight end (more on that in a moment) Mike Bobo’s offense only really works if there’s someone to stretch the field vertically and horizontally. Today will be our chance to see young receivers like CJ Wiley, Craig Dandridge, and Thomas Blackshear in their most extensive action. Sophomore Talyn Taylor showed some flashes last year. Could today be a bit of a coming out party for him?

#2 Why couldn’t you play five tight ends at once? If there’s a way to build the whole offense out of tight ends I hope Todd Hartley figures it out. Lawson Luckie returns as an All-SEC candidate, and Elyiss Williams should be even more of a matchup nightmare than he was as a freshman. Jaden Reddell has drawn praise from the coaching staff, and freshman Kaiden Prothro has drawn favorable comparisons to none other than Brock Bowers. I expect we’ll see at least a handful of multiple tight end sets and some downfield passing to the big guys that make Bulldog fans salivate about this unit’s potential.

#3 The quarterback. No, the other one. No, the other, other one. It’s nice to go into spring with Gunner Stockton the clear starter. And if we’re honest, we’ve also got a pretty good bead on what Ryan Puglisi brings to the table as his backup. But I’m curious to see redshirt freshman Ryan Montgomery. Montgomery suffered a serious knee injury as a high school senior in 2024 and sat out G Day last year. But he’s impressed so far this spring with his live arm and maturity in the pocket. Could he show enough to create a real battle with Puglisi for the backup role?

#4 Playing for Peanuts. Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowen’s return as arguably the top Thunder & lightning running back tandem in the SEC. But Dwight “Peanut” Phillips has been an underrated contributor to the offense for each of the last two seasons. I’m curious to see his physical development entering year three, as well as how he might figure in the passing game.

#5 Let’s be upfront about what’s happening up front. Georgia has a new offensive line coach in Phil Rauscher, fortunately Rauscher has a lot of returning material to work with. While the left side of the line loses starters Monroe Freeling and Micah Morris, Drew Bobo returns at center, and a whole boatload of players with experience on the right side are back. This will be our first chance to see how Rauscher redistributes all that bulk. Dontrell Glover has practiced through injuries this spring and may get a break. But I’m curious to see if Juan Gaston is in shape, as well as where Earnest Greene fits into the rotation.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

The 2026 NFL Draft gets rolling this evening in Pittsburgh with the first round selections beginning some time after 5:00.

The odds of any Georgia Bulldogs getting picked this evening are up in the air. Some mock drafts have Monroe Freeling creeping up into the first round for a team looking for a guy who could cut his teeth at guard and eventually take over a tackle slot. Some draft analysts love CJ Allen and think a team with one of the first 32 picks will fall for him as well, while others are worried that his measurables will kick him to day two.

We’ll be here all evening to talk picks. Also head over to SB Nation’s NFL Draft feed. There’ll be news from across the network, and I’ll be chipping in comments and coverage of any Bulldogs whose names are called throughout the weekend.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Most of the attention was on Strider. While the Braves’ rotation has been surprisingly among the best in baseball through the first three weeks, the sustainability of that production feels unlikely. This is still a team that desperately needs a frontline starter, and the hope is that Strider can become that guy again for the first time since undergoing InternalBrace surgery in April of 2024.

Strider was on a strict 50-pitch limit Thursday night, but he made the most of it, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings. The first two frames were effortless, as he retired the first six batters he faced with three strikeouts. He issued a walk in the third but worked around it, then was pulled in the fourth after allowing a hit and another walk.

Overall, it was about as encouraging as you could hope for from a pitcher working his way back from an oblique injury — the type of injury that can be particularly tricky to manage. Strider’s command wasn’t where it needs to be to succeed at the major-league level, throwing just 27 strikes out of 50 pitches, but it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction. He’ll likely need at least two more rehab outings to build up his pitch count, and at that point, the Braves can seriously evaluate whether he’s ready to return to Atlanta.

As for Sean Murphy, he went 0-for-2 with a pair of flyouts, though one came just inches from leaving the yard.

The plan is for Murphy to finish the week with the Rome Emperors before heading to Gwinnett, which is also likely where Strider will make his next start. The veteran catcher has yet to log a full nine innings behind the plate — something the Braves will likely want to see a couple of times before calling him back up. Still, it’s reasonable to expect he could reach that point sometime next week.

While most of the attention was on two former Braves All-Stars, the real star of Thursday night’s game was the organization’s top prospect — 19-year-old Cam Caminiti. Atlanta’s first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft relieved Strider and delivered five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, earning his first win of the season. Through three appearances, he now owns a 3.07 ERA, 0.886 WHIP, and an impressive 11.7 K/9.

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Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire

On paper, they’re probably right. The Hawks don’t have many household names, and just a couple of months ago, they looked well on their way to another play-in tournament berth — a place that had become quite familiar over the last few seasons.

Then came the trade of Trae Young, a move that brought back a sparse return: an unwanted, aging CJ McCollum and backup sharpshooter Corey Kispert. Not exactly what most teams expect when dealing a four-time All-Star in the middle of his prime, especially one who led the league in assists as recently as last season. But Young’s smaller stature, combined with his inability to get the Hawks back into the playoff picture for three consecutive seasons, cooled his market considerably.

The trade felt like Atlanta was waving the white flag on the season. Instead, it’s catapulted them out of the play-in tournament for the first time since their magical Eastern Conference Finals run in 2020–21 — a run that began with a first-round matchup against these same New York Knicks.

How the Hawks Can Repeat History in New York

Since the departure of Trae Young, the Hawks have been one of the best teams in basketball on both ends of the floor, compiling a 20–6 record since the All-Star break, including a stretch where they won 18 of 20 games.

Jalen Johnson has blossomed into one of the league’s rising young stars and has a chance to follow in Young’s footsteps in several ways. At Madison Square Garden, Young became the most hated man in New York — and still is to this day. But if Johnson puts an early end to a Knicks playoff run — one their fans believe could end in a championship — he could quickly take over poll position.

Johnson’s efficient scoring ability, combined with his playmaking for a player of his size, is something that can only be topped by Nikola Jokic. He’s a triple-double machine, and Atlanta has managed to surround him with enough talent to make the Hawks a problem for anyone in the Eastern Conference.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the frontrunner for the Most Improved Player award, averaging nearly 21 points while shooting 40% from beyond the arc. The last time these two teams met, he knocked down 7 of 11 threes and finished with a game-high 36 points. This is no longer a Sixth Man of the Year candidate averaging fewer than 10 points per game — if the game is on the line, he could very well be the guy the Hawks turn to.

Or it could be CJ McCollum, whose presence in the lineup since the Trae Young trade has been a breath of fresh air. He may not be the exact same player he was at his peak — when he was playing Robin to Damian Lillard’s Batman in Portland — but he’s not far off. His microwave scoring ability could ultimately swing the series in Atlanta’s favor. But more importantly, his veteran presence among a group of younger players who haven’t experienced moments like this could prove invaluable in an environment like Madison Square Garden.

However, the most vital player in this series for the Hawks might actually be the one least likely to impact the game offensively: Dyson Daniels — the best perimeter defender in the NBA and the player tasked with guarding Jalen Brunson.

Brunson isn’t going to go quietly. He’s proven to be a consistent 25–30 point scorer since arriving in New York, facing elite defenders on a nightly basis. He’ll get his, but the Hawks have the personnel to make things difficult. Between Daniels, Alexander-Walker, Jonathan Kuminga, and even Jalen Johnson, Atlanta is among the teams most well equipped to deal with a scorer of Brunson’s stature, capable of throwing a slew of bodies at the Knicks’ star guard.

The Hawks are young, inexperienced, and lacking established playoff superstars. Ultimately, that could be what dooms them in New York. But it’s also what makes them dangerous. This is a team peaking at the right time, featuring six or seven players capable of going for 20+ on any given night.

And on top of all of that, they’re playing with nothing to lose.

The last time that happened, Trae Young took a curtain call at Madison Square Garden.

How the Knicks Could Spell Trouble For The Hawks

When these two teams met on April 6th, it was one of the best games of the season — a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final tenth of a second, with time expiring just before CJ McCollum’s game-tying shot from beyond half court left his hand.

During the final five minutes of that game, the NBC broadcasters didn’t hesitate to remind everyone that the Knicks have a closer in Jalen Brunson, while the Hawks do not. On that particular night, they were right. Brunson took over in the fourth quarter, and despite Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s outstanding performance, Atlanta lacked offensive cohesion in the final possessions, which ultimately cost them the win.

There’s no question that’s a real storyline heading into a series expected to feature plenty of tight games. The Knicks know exactly where they’re going at the end of games. The Hawks, on the other hand, may not know until the moment arrives.

However, calling that the biggest issue Atlanta will face beginning Saturday would be greatly underestimating the problems the Knicks can create in the frontcourt.

Karl-Anthony Towns — while often criticized for his inconsistency in the postseason — has had his way against the Hawks this season, averaging 28.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in the two matchups he’s played. The Knicks are a good team even when Towns isn’t performing at his peak. But when he is, as he has been against Atlanta, they become almost unbeatable.

The frontcourt issues don’t end with Towns. Mitchell Robinson also presents a massive challenge for an undersized Hawks team that will be without its backup center, Jock Landale. The last time these teams met, Robinson posted eight points and 12 rebounds in under 20 minutes of action. He was the X-Factor, and he very well could be again in the first-round of the playoffs.

Without Landale, containing those two becomes that much more difficult over 48 minutes. Hawks head coach Quin Snyder — who should be in the Coach of the Year conversation for the job he’s done this season — must work up some magic to counter New York’s size. Otherwise, the experts over at ESPN could end up being right, with this series wrapping up in six games or fewer.

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Photo: Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire

And in a lot of ways, why would anyone want it to change?

This is an organization that has won 20 division titles in the last 35 seasons to go along with two World Series championships. The Braves have never been the biggest spenders, and likely never will be, but their culture has allowed them to reach a level of sustained success that only a handful of teams in baseball can rival.

So when Brian Snitker announced his retirement soon after one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history — with the Braves missing the postseason for the first time since 2017 — should anyone have really expected them to go in any direction other than Walt Weiss?

Fans were ready for a new voice. Though Snitker’s tenure will be remembered for its long-term success, the failures at the end were still fresh in many minds. And admittedly, the team did seem to lose a bit of the mojo in the clubhouse that once propelled them to a World Series title in 2021. Maybe something different could provide the spark needed to get back to the top of the NL East — and eventually, the top of baseball.

However, the Braves — undeterred by the outside noise — went with who they knew. And that person might just be the “something different” they were looking for.

While Walt Weiss served as a coach under Snitker for eight years and played under Cox for three, it’s taken just 19 games to see that his approach is far different — and not just because he was willing to (and successfully) take down Jorge Soler, a 260-pound force, who was attempting to send his starting pitcher into the shadow realm.

The 62-year-old Weiss immediately surrounded himself with an All-Star coaching staff, featuring a number of younger, analytically driven minds to complement his more old-school style. So far, it’s clear he has a strong grasp of both, along with a sharp feel for when to pull his starting pitchers — and even more importantly, when to deploy his high-leverage relievers.

That balance has already been responsible for several Braves wins through the first 19 games. On multiple occasions, he’s shown a willingness to push for victory by using his best relievers while trailing, and the offense has responded with come-from-behind wins.

Walt Weiss has also shown a willingness to call on his closer for a five-out save — another move that paid off. And most recently, he resisted the urge to pinch-run for Dominic Smith in the seventh inning of a one-run game, trusting that Smith might get another opportunity later.

Braves fans should remember how that worked out. Smith delivered a two-out, bases-clearing double that led to yet another win.

If there’s a right string to pull, Walt Weiss has found it through 19 games. He’s proving to be more than just a respected voice in the clubhouse — he’s a damn good manager, and someone all of Braves Country has quickly embraced.

But things are about to take a sharp turn in the other direction, beginning with a three-game set in Philadelphia this weekend.

Braves Upcoming Schedule

• Phillies (x2)
• Nationals
• Dodgers
• Tigers
• Mariners
• Cubs
• Red Sox
• Rockies

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Over the next month, the Braves will meet twice with the team that has won the NL East in back-to-back seasons, the two-time defending champions in the Dodgers, along with four other playoff teams from a year ago in the Tigers, Mariners, Cubs, and Red Sox.

This is the stretch where we’ll really find out a lot about this grounp, and in particular, the starting rotation. Though the first three weeks, an argument could be made that they’ve had the best rotation in all of baseball. Grant Holmes has the current worst ERA of the entire starting five, and it’s sitting at a more than respectable 3.32-mark.

Bryce Elder has been nothing short of fantastic, recording a 0.77 ERA through his first four starts after most expected he could be on the chopping block at some point this season. Reynaldo Lopez has looked encouraging in his return from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss most of last year. Chris Sale has reminded people that he still has the ability to win another Cy Young award, and even Martin Perez has been serviceable through his first three appearances in a Braves uniform.

It’s been a frankly shocking development after all of the pitching injuries Atlanta suffered right before the start of the season, but the sustainability of that success will be put to the test in a big way over the next four weeks.

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(Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

The previous regime didn’t leave new GM Ian Cunningham and the front office in a great spot. Throughout the offseason, Cunningham has emphasized the need to build up draft capital — something the Bears did consistently while he served as assistant GM under Ryan Poles. That hasn’t materialized yet, but a lot can change in the days leading up to — and during — the draft.

Expect the Falcons to be active in moving down the board in exchange for additional picks, particularly later in the draft. For now, though, here’s who The Athletic’s draft expert Dane Brugler has Atlanta selecting with their current five picks.

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Brugler’s 2026 Falcons Draft Class

2 (48). Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
3 (79). Bryce Lance, WR, North Dakota State
4 (122). Jimmy Rolder, LB, Michigan
6 (215). Carver Willis, OL, Washington
7 (231). Riley Nowakowski, TE, Indiana

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Christen Miller

Under Terry Fontenot, the Falcons passed on countless star players out of Athens before finally selecting Jalon Walker in last year’s draft. Shockingly, it turned out to be a pretty good idea to draft a defensive player from Georgia — a program that has produced more NFL defensive stars over the last decade than any other.

Hopefully, it doesn’t take the new regime half a decade to fully buy into that, and if their massive presence at UGA’s Pro Day was any indication, they’re paying close attention to Kirby Smart’s group.

Miller is a 6-foot-4, 320-pound interior defensive lineman who would immediately fill one of Atlanta’s biggest needs. For all the improvements the defense showed last season, it still lacked impactful bodies on the interior and, as a result, struggled mightily against the run. With David Onyemata departing for greener pastures, defensive tackle may very well be the Falcons’ top priority heading into the draft.

Bryce Lance

If defensive tackle is the Falcons’ biggest need heading into the draft, wide receiver isn’t far behind. Atlanta did add Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus in free agency, but neither profiles as a true No. 2 option or a long-term answer at the position. With Kyle Pitts’ future also uncertain, adding another pass catcher in this year’s draft feels like a non-negotiable.

Lance posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons at North Dakota State, but don’t let the small-school label fool you — he is one of the most athletic players in this draft class. His Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.98 ranks in the 99th percentile among wide receivers tested since 1987. Pair that with a 4.34 40-yard dash, strong ball-tracking ability, and a 6-foot-3 frame that allows him to go up and win contested catches, and you’ve got one of the more intriguing mid-round receiver prospects in the draft.

Jimmy Rolder

Rolder spent four years at Michigan, patiently waiting his turn to become a starter. That opportunity finally came during his senior season, and he made the most of it — earning Second-Team All-Conference honors after recording 73 tackles, 11 for loss, along with two sacks and a couple of pass breakups.

The Falcons’ linebacker play was elite last season when Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo were on the field, but Elliss is now back in New Orleans and Deablo is entering the final year of his contract. Troy Andersen is still in the mix, but injuries have continued to hold him back, and Atlanta also added veteran Christian Harris on a one-year deal this offseason.

It’s not a glaring need in the short term, but it’s definitely a position the Falcons need to start thinking about long term.

Carver Willis

Once you get into the final rounds, teams are really just looking for guys they believe can carve out a role and potentially stick as reserves.

Willis spent the last three seasons starting at both right and left tackle for the Washington Huskies. Ironically enough, the last tackle the Falcons drafted out of Washington just retired, so it’s another long-term need for the organization.

That said, Willis is undersized for a tackle at the pro level and could very well have to kick inside to the interior if he’s going to carve out a role in the NFL.

Riley Nowakowski

Nowakowski spent the first five years of his collegiate career at Wisconsin, but he’s best known for his final season at Indiana, where he played a pivotal role in the Hoosiers’ National Championship run.

He’s not some dynamic receiving threat at the tight end position — though he’s capable enough — but that’s not why teams will be interested. He’s the kind of player who will hear his name called in the later rounds because he’s tough, physical, and willing to do whatever is asked to help his team win.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

From Anthony Swarzak and Matt Joyce early on to guys like Jesse Chavez, Pablo Sandoval, Jorge Soler, Orlando Arcia, and Adam Duvall, the list of names Anthopoulos acquired for pennies — who ended up playing key roles in six straight division titles and a World Series — is extensive. Some played 162 games, some platooned, others were lightning in a bottle, but all of them mattered.

You could argue that, of everything Anthopoulos did well during that stretch, this was the most important piece of the puzzle.

But the last few years haven’t been nearly as fruitful. Jarred Kelenic was a colossal failure. Jorge Soler’s return was a swing and a miss. Alex Verdugo, Bryan De La Cruz, and Stuart Fairchild all flopped. It was back to the drawing board this offseason, and while the Braves didn’t take any big swings offensively, their two under-the-radar additions are a major reason they’re sitting at 12–7, three games clear of the Marlins for first place.

Dominic Smith has been the most pleasant surprise, already directly responsible for two Braves wins thanks to a pair of game-winning knocks. He’s hitting damn near .400 through his first 15 games with a tomahawk across his chest, along with three home runs, an OPS north of 1.000, and — perhaps most importantly — 15 RBIs. Through 19 games, Smith has been the MVP of the Braves, and that’s no slight to Drake Baldwin, who is quickly proving he belongs in the conversation for the best offensive catcher in baseball.

Right behind them is Mauricio Dubón, whom the Braves acquired early this offseason in a trade with the Astros for Nick Allen. Why Houston was willing to move such a valuable utility piece for the worst offensive player in baseball is something few can explain. Maybe former Braves executive Dana Brown was doing his old boss a favor. Either way, Atlanta is cashing in. Dubón is hitting .333 with an .887 OPS while playing elite defense at the most important position on the field in place of the injured Ha-Seong Kim.

History suggests both Smith and Dubón will come back down to earth. And frankly, how they fit once everyone gets healthy is still up in the air. But none of that really matters right now. These two are making a combined $7.35 million this season. In just 19 games, they’ve already outperformed that value, helping steady the Braves through the early stretch with so many key players sidelined.

At the end of the season, when division races are decided, the games in March and April count just as much as the ones in September. Over a 162-game grind, every team deals with injuries, making depth an undervalued asset that can swing a season.

When the Braves were stacking division titles, nobody in the NL East could match their depth. The past two seasons, everybody could. That’s something Alex Anthopoulos clearly emphasized this offseason — and just three weeks in, the Braves are already seeing the payoff.

The first quarter was the Brunson show. He simply could not miss, even with the Hawks playing about as good of defense as you can ask for, pouring in 19 points. Despite that, Atlanta hung around, trailing by just six, with CJ McCollum leading the way. He was easily the Hawks’ best offensive presence in Game 1, finishing with 26 points. Without him, this one probably gets out of hand early.

Jalen Johnson added 23 points and seven rebounds, while Onyeka Okongwu chipped in an efficient 19 points on just nine shots, knocking down four of his six attempts from deep.

The second half belonged to Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 19 of his 25 points after the break, quieting — at least temporarily — some of the postseason criticism that’s followed him. Towns has been a problem for the Hawks all season, averaging nearly 30 points and 13 rebounds in his matchups against Atlanta. The lack of size and depth in the frontcourt — especially without Jock Landale — was evident in Game 1 and figures to remain a major issue throughout the series.

But the concerns don’t stop there. Atlanta’s depth, as a whole, was a problem. The Hawks managed just 13 points off the bench, and outside of Jonathan Kuminga, the second unit was essentially nonexistent. There’s simply no path to winning a seven-game series if that continues, and the solutions might not be conventional. It’ll be interesting to see if Quin Snyder shakes things up in Game 2, possibly turning to players who didn’t even see the floor in the opener.

Atlanta also has to get something offensively from Dyson Daniels. He finished with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, missing both of his attempts from beyond the arc. He’s going to be on the floor regardless because he’s the Hawks’ best defensive option against Brunson, but he doesn’t need to score 20. If he can give them 10–15 points, that could be the difference in these tight games.

It’s never ideal to drop Game 1, especially after the long buildup, but the Hawks didn’t play particularly well in any phase and still had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. In a seven-game series, the goal is simple: steal one on the road and handle business at home. That opportunity is still very much alive heading into Game 2.

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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire

The starting rotation has been the best in baseball — yes, the best in baseball — after not one, not two, but three key arms went down with significant injuries in Spring Training. And offensively, much of the production has come from a couple of new faces that made most fans shrug when they were acquired. Dominic Smith has arguably been the MVP of the first three weeks, and right behind him is Mauricio Dubón, who has filled in brilliantly at shortstop both offensively and defensively.

Several of those trends continued in Friday’s 9–0 thrashing of the Phillies. Veteran Martin Pérez spun six shutout innings just days after being designated for assignment, and Dominic Smith launched his fourth home run of the season, pushing his OPS to 1.140.

But if the Braves are going to get where they ultimately want to go, the stars are going to have to start playing like stars. To this point, Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson have carried much of the load at the top of the lineup, but it looks like Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II — and perhaps most importantly, Austin Riley — are starting to find their rhythm.

Riley entered Wednesday’s game without a home run and carrying a .645 OPS. In just two games, he’s raised that number by nearly 100 points, launching his first three homers of the season.

Harris is heating up as well, recording seven hits over his last five games, including a laser over the right-field fence for his first home run as a new father. And Acuña? He’s quietly hitting .344 with an OPS north of 1.000 over his last eight games.

The Braves have found a way to win 13 of their first 20 games while battling injuries and getting limited production from several key players. That’s the mark of a championship-caliber team — one capable of absorbing the blows that come with a 162-game grind.

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(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire)

Ruke Orhorhoro played sparingly for the Falcons in his rookie season, appearing in just eight games and totaling 11 tackles. However, he was much more productive under Jeff Ulbrich, recording 25 tackles, four for loss, and 3.5 sacks.

With David Onyemata signing with the New York Jets in free agency, Orhorhoro looked poised to take on a much larger role in Atlanta’s defense. But those snaps could now be heading to Maason Smith, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound interior presence who was selected just 13 picks after Orhorhoro.

In 24 games over the last two seasons, Smith has recorded 35 total tackles, five for loss, and three sacks — similar production on paper, though most of it came during his rookie year.

It’s a bit of a head-scratcher on the surface, but this new front office had nothing to do with the previous regime’s draft picks, and they’ve made it pretty clear they weren’t overly impressed with how the roster was constructed under former GM Terry Fontenot.

We’ll see how it plays out, but what I can tell you about Smith — as someone who attended LSU and watched every snap of his college career — is that he has all the physical tools to be a disruptive force on the interior. If not for the injuries he suffered in college, he likely would’ve been a top-half-of-the-first-round pick. Clearly, the Falcons see that upside in the 23-year-old.

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(Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire)

One could argue the biggest surprise so far hasn’t even been Atlanta — it’s been the rest of the division. The Phillies look like a shell of the team that’s controlled the NL East the last two seasons, and the Mets — along with their gaudy payroll — are in the middle of a 10-game losing streak and already sit seven games back. It’s far too early to draw firm conclusions, but the Braves found themselves in a similar spot a year ago and never recovered. It may be April, but it’s not nothing.

Atlanta’s hot start, frankly, is shocking in a lot of ways. This is a team that lost three legitimate top-flight starters to the IL right before the season began. Spencer Schwellenbach is one of the best young pitchers in the game, Hurston Waldrep was excellent last year, and Spencer Strider — fortunately — should be back soon.

As if that wasn’t enough, Jurickson Profar was hit with a PED suspension for the second time in as many years. One-year ban, and it came too close to the season for the Braves to do anything to replace him.

Heading into Opening Day, the rotation looked like Chris Sale and four massive question marks. At least, that’s how it looked on paper. Instead, it’s been the best rotation in baseball.

Sale has been Sale, turning in another dominant outing Saturday against the Phillies, but Grant Holmes, Reynaldo López, and even Bryce Elder and Martín Pérez have more than held their own.

If the Cy Young were handed out today, you could make a real case for Elder, whose refined approach — along with the help of Greg Maddux — has him sitting on a 0.77 ERA through four starts. That might be the biggest surprise of the season, though it’s rivaled closely by Pérez, who’s coming off six shutout innings against Philadelphia and owns a 2.21 ERA.

You could single out individuals, but at this point, it makes more sense to credit the entire group. Holmes currently has the highest ERA in the rotation — and it’s still just 3.32. That tells you everything you need to know.

And you can’t talk about surprises without mentioning Dominic Smith. He signed a minor-league deal worth just $1.25 million if he made the roster. He did — and through 21 games, he might be the team’s MVP, hitting .362 with four home runs and already delivering two game-winning hits.

There’s almost no chance this level of production is sustainable. There’s a very real possibility Pérez and Elder aren’t even in the rotation in a couple of months, and who knows how Smith fits once Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim return. It’s probably more likely than not that at least one — if not all three — aren’t around by season’s end.

But none of that matters right now. The Braves needed guys to step up, and these three have carried the load. When the season ends and the division race is decided, they’ll be remembered fondly as integral pieces to the story.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

Just over three months ago, as I watched Trinidad Chambliss do his best Nightcrawler impression in the Superdome, I unleashed a torrent of profanity that would’ve turned Andrew Dice Clay the color of a firetruck and swore to Quetzalcoatl that 2026 is the year I finally kick my college football habit. Of course, now that we’re coming up on G Day, I’m scouring every source I can find for news about spring practice. 

This weekend, we’ll get our first look at the 2026 iteration of the Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby Smart and company will likely play things pretty close to the vest, of course, but we’ll start to get a sense of what the team will look like. At a minimum, we should be able to tell who’s likely to end up starting come Labor Day weekend based on who gets assigned to the Red squad versus the Black. 

During my time in the Classic City, I used the G Day game to run a scrimmage tailgate to work out the kinks in my process ahead of the fall. With that in mind, this is something of a scrimmage post, knocking the rust off the ol’ blog to gear up for the next season. Here are the five (plus one, kind of) players I’m most interested in seeing this weekend. For the purposes of this exercise, I’m only considering players who will be new to UGA this fall. 

1. Kaiden Prothro, Tight End

You guys remember Brock Bowers? On the off chance you don’t, meet Kaiden Prothro. He’s the highest-rated member of Georgia’s 2026 recruiting class. Like Bowers, he’s technically classified as a tight end, but he’s got a receiver’s skill set. At 6’6” and 230 pounds, he’s a big target for the quarterback, and he excels at making contested catches and breaking tackles with the ball in his hands. And despite his size, he’s deceptively fast once he gets going, which means we could see the welcome return of the Bowers-esque “dumpoff pass that turns into a 75-yard touchdown.” As a testament to his receiving prowess, Prothro finished his high school football career with 66 receiving touchdowns, a record for the state of Georgia. 

Prothro is going to be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. If it’s close to him, he’ll probably catch it. And if he catches it, the defense will need more than one guy to get him on the ground. I cannot wait to see him in the Red and Black. 

2. Isiah Canion, Wide Receiver

For my money, the biggest loss from last year’s team is Zach Branch, who’s off to the NFL draft. He had a strong rapport with Gunner Stockton, racking up more than twice as many receiving yards as anyone else on the roster. He combined track star speed with an actual ability to catch the damn ball, something the 2024 receiving corps often struggled with. Thankfully, Stockton offers continuity at the most important position, but someone is going to have to step up at receiver if the passing game is going to avoid taking a step back.

Perhaps that someone will be transfer wide receiver Isiah Canion, newly arrived from just down the road in Atlanta. In his sophomore season for the Engineers, he led the team with four receiving touchdowns. That may not seem like much until you remember Tech’s offense was mostly based around trying to void Haynes King’s warranty in increasingly baroque ways. At 6’4” and 215 pounds, he’s got the size and toolkit of a possession receiver, which makes him well-suited to attacking the middle of the field in the type of passing game Georgia likes to deploy. He doesn’t have Branch’s top-end speed, but he makes up for it in toughness. If Talyn Taylor can take a step forward this year as a deep threat, the two of them will be a formidable one-two punch for any defense. Add in Prothro, and the offense could be extremely explosive.

3. Khamari Brooks, OLB/EDGE

The most frustrating aspect of last year’s otherwise stout Dawgs squad was an inability to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback, most disastrously in the Sugar Bowl when Chambliss managed to escape no matter how many guys were in the backfield. The stats bear this out. In 2024, Georgia sacked the opposing quarterback 37 times. In 2025, that number dropped to 20. The good news is that Chris Cole and Raylen Wilson are both back, but losing CJ Allen and Christen Miller from the defensive front isn’t going to make things any easier.

The plan seemed to be to shore up the pass rush with Auburn transfer Amaris Williams. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury in spring practice. In his absence, freshman Khamari Brooks has an opportunity to make an immediate impact. As a testament to his athleticism, he played both wideout and linebacker at North Oconee High School, earning a four-star rating as a recruit. On the defensive side of the ball, he excelled as a pass rush specialist, tallying eight tackles, including 1.5 sacks in the 2024 state championship game. He’s listed at 6’3” and 245 pounds, so he’s going to be a problem to block, and his technique is already quite sharp for an incoming freshman. As he adds weight and sharpens his abilities, he’s only going to get more dangerous.

Last year, Ellis Robinson IV started the season with some growing pains, getting burned badly in coverage on a big stage. But the coaching staff stuck with him, and by season’s end, he was among the most valuable players on the defense. It’s entirely possible we see something similar with Brooks this year, and I’m very excited about getting a first look at him soon.

4. Khalil Barnes, Safety

With Daylen Everette off to the NFL and Joenel Aguero relocating to Oxford, the back end of the defense will need some help. Say hello to Khalil Barnes, who fled the sinking ship S.S. Clemson to join a functional team to boost his draft stock ahead of his senior year. He established himself as a ball hawky safety in his first two years there, notching seven interceptions across two seasons. He took a bit of a step back last year, but 2025 Clemson was so juiceless it’s hard to say whether that was on him or the team’s badly broken development program. 

We’ll find out when Barnes comes to Athens. He’s an aggressive playmaker over the middle who will make a receiver pay for hesitating on a ball. That aggressiveness means he gets burned sometimes (though what safety doesn’t?), but his speed means he can run down receivers and running backs who get behind him. That speed and his physicality also mean that you can bring him on a disguised blitz, which should provide some more options for generating QB pressure too. 

5. Wade Register, Punter

Maybe this is shades of Vince Dooley worrying about the long snapper (or snappah, if you prefer), but we’ve been spoiled with Brett Thorson handling punting duties. He was extremely reliable, which is vital for one of the most high-leverage moments in a game. Punting is like my lack of a real retirement plan: I don’t wanna think about it. Fortunately, incoming freshman Wade Register was the top-ranked punter in the state of Georgia by most rating services, and it’ll be good to get a look at his abilities in a semi-live-fire situation. 

Of course, now that I type it out, I realize “I’m excited about seeing the punting” is the kind of thing only an absolute degenerate would say. But it’s true!  

6. Bonus! Tie: Zach Lewis, Zykie Helton, Tyreek Jemison, Graham Houston, Ekene Ogboko

Another Achilles’ heel for the 2025 Dawgs was the inconsistent offensive line play. Whether due to injuries or personnel problems, Stacy Searels just couldn’t seem to figure out a regular combination up front. Two of the group’s better players, Monroe Freeling and Micah Morris, are gone too. Hopefully, these five new linemen can get some playing time and start getting up to speed.

What piques your interest this Saturday?

By no means is any G-Day scrimmage a be-all end-all of where things stand, but it is a good outward sign of how the fabric of any Georgia team is coming together as the summer draws near. 

The defensive side of the ball will be no exception as Saturday’s spectacle wraps up spring practice in Athens. 

Here are some key things to watch for on Saturday, either in person, watching at home, or in other ways that we cannot legally endorse.

On-field chemistry

Georgia’s defense was a ride last year, and a bit too adventurous early-on.

As headache-inducing as stretches of the Alabama and Tennessee game were, there were also the Ole Miss and Texas games, for instance. Finding footing early this fall will be key, so it’ll be of note to see how the back-and-forth communication on the field is and if there are many blown coverages or missed assignments or not. If we see a good number on Saturday, it’ll show how far off away from getting on the same page this group is. 

How much do we really want to see the starters?

We already know what the KJ Boldens and Raylen Wilson of this defense can do. If you are aiming to see what younger or newer faces can do, how much do you really need to see well-established players in what’s a part of multiple weeks of spring practice? 

Are injuries a silver-lining? 

Spring ball is about seeing what the up-and-coming part of the roster can do. Given that, could the injuries to Jordan Hall and Amaris Williams be a blessing in disguise? If you want to see what the second and third group of a rotation can do, that task is a lot easier now with a handful ofvplayers sidelined.

Bigger roles for Dawgs on the rise

All that leads to by far the most exciting part of G-Day. For those who either are new to the roster or played sparingly, they now get their chance for more of the spotlight. The list is here each year of players that were highly touted, and it’s settings like this where you hope to see how much of that promise will be realized soon.

Isaiah Gibson and Zayden Walker absolutely come to mind in the front seven, and it’s intriguing to see how this defensive staff will try to use Khamari Brooks from nearby North Oconee as well.

In the secondary, we all know what Ellis Robinson can do. But how will Clemson transfer Khalil Robinson look within this group at safety. The same goes for Braylon Coney and Gentry Williams are corner, opposite of Robinson. 

So set a nice table for Saturday. The spread of appetizers going into the summer look to be very tasty.

Go Dawgs!

The highest holy week of Georgia sports…not related to football, of course, is upon us.

No, it’s not laughing at Tennessee or Florida fans whose only path to contending for a national title is by pulling out old VHS tapes.

Nope, it’s the Tradition unlike any other – The Masters.

But one of the layers of the pageantry that will grace Augusta National this time of year is off the course in the annual Champions Dinner.

This year’s, served in honor of Rory McIlroy is highlighted by yellowfin tuna carpaccio.

And then there was last year’s version where at the request of Scottie Scheffler was basically…a Sunday night at Texas Roadhouse

Personally speaking, yours truly would have a menu of fried shrimp from O’Steen’s in St. Augustine as an appetizer, entrees being a pig sandwich from Fincher’s BBQ as well as some Chicken Parmesan with it all being finished off by an orange creamsicle cheesecake.

So, what would be on your Master’s menu? Weigh in below!

Within the span of a weekend, Georgia’s women’s basketball program saw one coach exit and found their replacement.

After Saturday morning’s announcement that the school had mutually agreed to a parting of ways with Katie Abramson-Henderson after a four-year Mark of 69-59 with two NCAA Tournament berths, Ayla Guzzardo was announced as the fourth full-time head coach in program history.

If it’s a coach on an upward trajectory that Georgia desires, it certainly has that in Guzzardo. She’s coming off a season in which she guided McNeese State to a school-record 29 wins. But there’s more to it than that for Guzzardo, as it also stood as the greatest single-season turnaround in the history of NCAA women’s basketball.

The Cowgirls were 10-21 the year before her arrival a season ago. Before that, Guzzardo guided Southeast Louisiana to a 47-9 record over her final three seasons there, a run that included an average of 22 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth.

Given her ties to Louisiana, it’s not a shock that one of her contemporaries is that of current LSU head coach Kim Mulkey.

Guzzardo isn’t exactly having to take on a massive rebuild for Georgia. Yes, it has some portal losses, as is the case in the current NIL landscape, but this team is coming off a season in which it went 22-10, its most wins since 20171-8. But the other sentiment is that just getting to the NCAAs should not be the ceiling.

For sure, there is portal work to do with Trinity Turner, Mia Woolfolk, Zhen Craft, and Angie Gonzalez having announced plans to transfer.

Even if players do not stay put as long, there are way too many good players in-state for a program to just be happy to be postseason-bound, and the last part of the quote from Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks on Saturday morning may be telling:

“We have an outstanding group of alumni and a dedicated fan base. Our search for a new head coach will focus on someone who will carry on this legacy and connect with our student-athletes, alumni and supporters in an impactful way.” 

Is Guzzardo the right person to elevate the level of this program to that?

Time will tell.

Go Dawgs!

The good news for fans of Georgia Bulldog golfers is that four of the six former or future ‘Dawgs in the Masters field will be playing the weekend. 

The bad news is that they are all playing for second place. 

Rory McIlroy turned in a 65 on Friday, including one of the most dominant back nines in recent Augusta history to take a commanding six stroke lead into the weekend. A pair of Georgia alums, Russell Henley, and Harris English, sit 12 strokes back at even par. That however, is only six strokes back from 2nd place, where Sam Burns and Patrick Reed sit at -6. There’s still plenty of time for either or both of them to play their way into a top ten finish and a handsome payday. 

Sepp Straka sits at +1, tied for 32nd. And Brian Harman shrugged off a rough Thursday to put up an impressive three under par 69 on Friday to make the cut at +4 (47th). Again, after carding a seven over 79 just playing their way into weekend is a real accomplishment.

The news wasn’t so good for Bubba Watson and Thomasville native Mason Howell. Bubba’s 73 on Friday wasn’t quite enough to make it to the weekend, as he was among the first cut of golfers to miss the weekend field at +5. Howell, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and an 18 year old incoming freshman at UGA, went +5 then +4 in his first time in the Augusta field. That being said, he’ll absolutely be back and has a very bright future in the game. 

The story of Friday however was the diminutive Irishman looking for a second consecutive green jacket. McIlroy bogied no. 10, parred no. 11, then birdied six out of his final seven holes, a stretch of golf course that has been known under the right conditions to literally drive some of the best golfers in the world to tears. To paraphrase an old Chuck Norris joke, Amen Corner starts praying when Rory arrives. 

While there’s still time for a historic collapse (Paging Greg Norman to the courtesy phones…Mr. Norman to the courtesy phones…) that sort of thing isn’t really in McIlroy’s character. Instead I suspect we’ll be watching one of those historic Masters moments that’s impressive if not suspenseful. 

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Good Thursday afternoon, Dawg fans!! The Georgia Diamond Dawgs are arguably the hottest team in college baseball right now, riding an impressive eight-game win streak that has quickly turned heads across the national landscape. During this stretch, Georgia has dominated SEC competition with back-to-back series sweeps over the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, while also picking up convincing midweek victories against the Georgia State Panthers and Presbyterian. As a result, the Dawgs now boast an outstanding 28-6 overall record, including a strong 10-2 mark in SEC play, positioning themselves firmly among the nation’s elite.

This recent surge has propelled Georgia to No. 4 in the national rankings, sitting just behind UCLA, Texas, and in-state rival Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. While the pitching staff has shown flashes of inconsistency at times, Georgia’s offense has more than made up for it, establishing itself as one of the most dangerous lineups in college baseball. The Dawgs have displayed explosive run production throughout the win streak, highlighted by a staggering 28-run performance against Presbyterian that showed just how potent this lineup can be when firing on all cylinders.

At the heart of Georgia’s offensive dominance are Daniel Jackson and Tre Phelps, who have emerged as the driving forces behind this Dawgs’ lineup. Both hitters are batting over .400, with Phelps leading the way at .413 and Jackson close behind at .408. After a disappointing redshirt sophomore campaign, Phelps has responded in a major way this season, reestablishing himself as a potential first-round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. Jackson, on the other hand, has elevated his game to another level, solidifying his reputation as one of the premier power hitters in college baseball while also showcasing an impressive ability to hit for average. Together, the duo has combined for 30 home runs, 14 from Phelps and 16 from Jackson, accounting for a significant portion of Georgia’s nation-leading 98 home runs. To put that into perspective, Vanderbilt, the next closest team, sits well behind with 73, further emphasizing just how dominant Georgia’s offense has been.

What makes this team especially intriguing is the balance between its offensive firepower and the question marks surrounding its pitching staff. If Georgia can find more consistency on the mound, this team has all the tools necessary to make a deep postseason run and potentially secure a trip to Omaha. Even as it stands, the Dawgs’ ability to outscore opponents at such a high level makes them a serious contender every time they take the field.

Georgia will look to keep its momentum going this weekend as the Florida Gators travel to Athens for a key three-game SEC series at Foley Field. With first pitch for Game 1 scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday, the Dawgs will aim to extend their winning streak and continue making a strong statement as one of the top teams in the country.

Hope all of you have a great rest of your week and weekend. As always, GO DAWGS!!!

On the morrow, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and an increasingly bitter South African will hit ceremonial tee shots and the 90th Masters Tournament will officially begin. If you have a badge, you’re probably debating if you’ll get to the grounds early enough to watch it in person, weighing that against a long day of walking hills in warm spring sunshine.

If you’re stuck at home or work, you will still be able to see and hear those traditional opening drives, because the Masters annually teaches a masterclass in sports coverage and availability. The concessions are simple and delicious. The grounds are natural and verdant. The parking is free. The golf never disappoints. But maybe the thing the Masters is best at is giving everyone access.

There’s the traditional over-the-air broadcast via CBS. (If you’re of a certain age, you waited all year to watch 6-7 hours of Masters TV coverage… in total.) But CBS now has one of the smaller content windows of all the broadcast partners, just Saturday and Sunday from 2-7 pm ET.

For the other times, it is an interesting mix. Thursday and Friday, there’s no “television” broadcast until 1:00 pm ET. And that will be on new media partner Amazon Prime Video. They have coverage until 3:30, when ESPN will start broadcasting until close of day.

Saturday and Sunday are a litle different. Only CBS (and Paramount+) will start at 2:00 pm ET.

That being said, CBS Digital, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+,Golf Channel, and ESPN+ will carry early day content pretty much every day. That might only be showing players on the range, or special shows they produce, but it is more content.

Of course there is ALWAYS content on Masters.com and the Masters app. Thursday and Friday early day will be a little fragmented, as they have a choice of Featured Groups, holes 4-6, Amen Corner, and holes 15-16. But starting early afternoon, the Masters media will also feature the typical full-field coverage you’re used to seeing on TV.

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up: get the Masters App, or cast Masters.com to your big screen, and you’re fine. If you have access to all the CBS/Paramount stuff, get that loaded up in the meantime. And you can always catch “main feed” broadcasting early afternoon on ESPN the first 2 days and CBS on the weekend.

So that’s how. Now let’s talk about when.

Bubba Waston tees off Thursday at 8:08 am ET.
Russell Henley starts his tourney at 10:19 am.
Brian Harman puts peg to ground at 12:03 pm.
Sepp Straka follows a little later at 1:32 pm.
Harris English can sleep in, as his start is 1:56 pm.

And as bonus ‘Dawgs in the Masters content, I inadvertently left off a future Bulldog. Winner of the 2025 US Amateur, Thomasville native, and University of Georgia Men’s Golf commit Mason Howell gets to play with defending champ Rory McIlroy the first two days, and they start at 10:31 am ET. He’s the 3rd youngest winner of the US Am, and will be the youngest player (18) in the Masters field. And that grouping with the defending champ is a decades-old tradition at the Masters, in deference to tournament co-founder and greatest amateur ever Bobby Jones.

I feel like that TikTok pajama-clad DJ who inspires people to get out of bed and start their day. I’m as pumped as can be, and I want you to be as well. The Masters is now just hours away. I hope you’re not an accountant in public practice, or a urologist, because you’re going to be busy and you won’t get to devour all the Masters content like most of us. Either way, Happy Masters to all, and let’s root on another Bulldog to take the Green Jacket. And as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

We’ve made it to Masters Week! This is when Dawg Sports becomes Dawgs Golf. It is a nice table setter for the end of Spring Practice in Athens and the sadly not-televised G-Day game. So don whatever Masters logo gear you were able to snag (or had your father-in-law give you for your birthday), mix up a batch of Azaleas to sip on, and set right down for a preview of the former Bulldogs plying their trade at the most famous golf tournament in the world.

Only 5 ‘Dawgs are in the field, but that’s 5 more than Tigers in this year’s field. Scottie Scheffler is planning on playing, but he pulled out of another tournament ostensibly to attend his expecting wife. Collin Morikawa withdrew from The Players (and this past week) due to a back injury, but the rest of the world’s top 10 look to be in pretty good shape.

The course will be pretty much the same to the naked eye, but the 17^th hole was elongated to 450 yards, and other holes will have subtle contouring changes around the greens.

So here’s who you’re going to be rooting for come Thursday morning.

Harris English: T-12 in 2025, so that automatically gets you an invite back the next year. Has played 6 times before and made 5 cuts. He tied for 22^nd in 2024, tied for 43^rd in 2023, so he’s definitely trending up. He’s also had three top-3 finishes in majors in recent years, so he could be ready to break through.

Brian Harman: this will be the wee lefty’s 8^th Masters, yet he’s only made the cut 3 times. And only 6 rounds under par. He tied for 36^th last year (and a top 10 at the British Open). His best finish was T12 in 2021.

Russell Henley: the Maconite has competed in 9 previous Masters. Surprisingly he missed the cut here last year, arguably the best of his career. A T38 in 2024, T4 in 2023, T30 in 2022 having missed the previous 3 Masters, but a T15 in 2018, T11 in 2017, 21^st in 2015, and T31 in 2014.  His only missed cut in August was his inaugural appearance in 2013.

Sepp Straka: his 5^th trip to Washington Road, having made the cut 3 out of 4 tries. His best finish was T16 in 2024, T46 in 2023, and T30 in 2022. So his only year missing the weekend was last year – like Henley, arguably his best season in his fairly young professional career.

And then there is Bubba. Gerry Lester Watson Jr. is of course a Masters Champion; the first former Georgia Bulldog to win a major. But he liked his win in 2012 so much he did it again in 2014. He’s made it to Amen Corner 17 other times, making the cut in 14 of them. Augusta National is often referred to as a “second shot” golf course, and Bubba does like to take unconventional lines which ANGC offers in spades. He’s 47 years old now, having played the last several year on the LIV tour, and I honestly have zero assessment of his game. But he does love UGA, he married another Bulldog athlete, and he returns to Athens frequently.

We’ll be back with more coverage, specifically tee times and how to watch. Thanks for reading, and as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

Tis the season to take a look back at the college football season that was. We could of course do a basic game by game recap of the Georgia Bulldogs’ 2025 football season. Just go over the stats and storylines from that point in the season. Talk about the things we thought we’d learned (that often turned out not to really be true). . But where’a the fun (or challenge) in that?

Instead, I’ve decided to once again recap every game played by the Red and Black last year in the style of a different literary great of the past. We begin by revisiting the opener against Marshall in the style of one of the most stylish writers of the 20th century, that chronicler of the idle rich of the British Isles, the great P.G Wodehouse.

The Bulldogs of Georgia, and Their Afternoon’s Work

It would be misleading to suggest that Georgia approached the matter of the Marshall Thundering Herd with anything resembling elaborate preparation. One does not, after all, bring out the good silver for Tuesday supper. The Bulldogs, sensible fellows to a man, simply attended to the fundamentals with the quiet competence of a well-trained but unsettlingly violent butler, and the result was precisely the sort of outcome that causes Athenian enthusiasts to press loved ones warmly by the hand and emit small but audible pips of satisfaction.

The offense, that sometimes temperamental engine, produced four hundred and eighty-eight yards of progress, which is the sort of figure that puts a spring in the step. More gratifying still was the democratic distribution of the spoils, two hundred and forty-nine yards through the airier regions, of Clarke County and two hundred and thirty-nine along the terrestrial firmament, a balance that would have brought a tear to the eye of a haughty gentleman’s gentleman who appreciates things being properly shared out.

One Dwight Phillips contributed sixty yards on a mere five carries, which represents a commendable rate of knot. It was the sort of economy of effort Bertram Wooster would admire, sparing of actual perspiration for ample reward. Some might call it sloth, but only because they lack the vision to recognize genius.

But it was the young Stockton (Gunner, as his intimates know him) who topped the red and black rushers with seventy-three yards merely upon ten attempts, and who further distinguished himself by becoming the first Georgia quarterback since the estimable Stetson Bennett, in that celebrated championship business of 2022, to motor across the goal line on multiple occasions in a single afternoon. One felt that Stockton, a young man who appears to have been assembled with an excess of energy, rather enjoyed himself.

Now, I should note that Coach Bobo — a man who, one gathers, has views on the proper deportment of a quarterback — may not have intended for the lad to do quite so much galloping about in the early exchanges. But the film, as they say, does not lie, and by the time the rougher fellows of the SEC come snorting onto the schedule, opposing coaches will have spent any number of sleepless nights attempting to devise counter-measures for this tiger from Tiger. This is the sort of reputation that takes years to shake.

The pass protection, one must confess, was not uniformly of the highest order. In truth it was more akin to the fare at a roadside pub than supper at the Savoy; sufficiently filling, but lacking in any panache. There were moments when the offensive line presented something of an open-door policy to the Marshall rush, and it fell to young Stockton to extricate himself by means of his legs, a resource his predecessor Carson Beck, (a perfectly decent chap in his way, acclaimed the Gussy Fink-Nottle of his generation) was rather less richly endowed with.

A portion of the blame for the sporadic hijinx at the front may be laid at the door of injuries to guards Morris and Gaston, and to the tackle Greene, which is the sort of personnel setback that tends to complicate matters. Morris, to his credit, dusted himself off and returned to the fray after taking his lumps. The coach, Smart by name and one assumes by nature, was heard to speak warmly of one Bo Hughley, who stepped in for Greene in a manner that gave general satisfaction. Gaston, however, was dispatched for what the medical profession terms an MRI, and may find himself resting on his laurels for some time to come. If the laurels are draped over a set of crutches that would be all the worse.

Defensively, the Bulldogs performed in more or less the fashion one would expect from a sound outfit confronting an opponent who had not previously been identified as a source of particular danger. The total yardage conceded was two hundred and seven, and the bulk of that accumulated only after the backups had been introduced, which is the sort of mitigating circumstance that any fair-minded observer would take into account. Georgia will shortly encounter opposition of a considerably more muscular stripe than a Marshall eleven still engaged in the philosophical question of who ought to be throwing the ball. But on this particular afternoon the gents did what was asked of them, which is all any reasonable employer can demand.

The matter of turnovers, it is true, remained untouched. No fumbles recovered, no interceptions plucked from the muggy, hazy Georgia sky. Yet the Herd was held to three successes from fifteen attempts on third down (a conversion rate of twenty percent) which is the sort of statistic that causes defensive coordinators to exhale through the nose with quiet approval. This is particularly worth noting given that the 2024 unit had displayed a certain, shall we say, reluctance to remove opposing offenses from the premises when requested. And the tackling — ah, the tackling! — while it could not be described as the work of artists, was by and large what one would call passable to good. Given that Coach Smart had spent no inconsiderable portion of the fall training camp period expressing certain anxieties on precisely this subject, ( and in his customary quiet, calm manner) one takes it as a promising portent.

The Classic City Canines, for so the cognoscenti style them, now prepare for another engagement, this time against the Austin Peay Governors who are not, one understands, expected to trouble the scorers unduly. There are limits, naturally, to what a thinking man can deduce about his team from such airy exercises. But Georgia, on this September day, showed encouraging signs of having squared up to certain of last season’s demons and given them a firm talking-to. As fresh starts go, one has seen worse.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Good Thursday afternoon, Dawg fans! The Georgia Diamond Dawgs began conference play last week and have turned in a decent performance overall in this opening stretch.

Georgia opened SEC play against the Tennessee Vols in a highly anticipated series. In game one, the Dawgs fell 7-4, with all four of their runs coming in the fifth inning. It ultimately wasn’t enough, as Tennessee chipped away throughout the game to secure the win.

Georgia quickly turned the page in game two, showing a more consistent offensive approach paired with improved pitching, taking down the Vols 4-2 to even the series.

Game three proved to be the most exciting of the weekend, with the outcome coming down to the very end. Tennessee appeared to be in control for much of the game, holding a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. That was until Georgia’s lineup erupted for five runs in the inning, highlighted by Bryce Calloway’s three-run blast over the right field fence, giving the Dawgs an 8-6 lead.

By the ninth inning, Georgia still held that lead, but Tennessee refused to go quietly. Blake Grimmer launched a solo home run to cut it to 8-7, and tension quickly built inside Foley Field. With the game on the line, Cole Johnson delivered a highlight-reel moment, robbing the Vols of a go-ahead two-run homer to seal the win and the series for Georgia. A play like that is always special, but doing it against Tennessee makes it even sweeter.

With the series win secured, Georgia returned home for a midweek matchup against The Citadel as they prepared for a road trip to face Texas A&M. The Dawgs came out sluggish, clearly still riding the high from the Tennessee series, and found themselves trailing 5-0 heading into the seventh inning.

That’s when things flipped. Georgia began to wake up offensively, scoring two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth, and three more in the ninth. The comeback was capped by Kolby Branch’s dramatic three-run walk-off home run, sealing an impressive and resilient victory.

Georgia then traveled to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. In game one, the Dawgs delivered a steady performance, putting up nine runs offensively while the pitching staff held strong against a talented Aggies lineup in a 9-4 win.

Game two saw an even sharper performance, particularly on the mound. Georgia limited Texas A&M to just two earned runs while continuing their consistency at the plate, scoring eight runs to secure both the game and the series with an 8-2 victory.

However, game three told a much different story. Georgia struggled significantly on the mound as the Aggies’ offense erupted for 18 runs through seven innings, handing the Dawgs a tough 18-5 loss.

Following their return to Athens, Georgia faced Kennesaw State in a midweek matchup. It was another uneven performance, as the Dawgs struggled offensively for much of the game before breaking through late. Georgia scored four runs in the seventh and added three more in the eighth to reach seven total runs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as continued pitching struggles allowed Kennesaw State to put up ten runs and secure the win.

Georgia now sits at 20-6 overall with a 4-2 record in conference play. The Dawgs will now turn their attention to hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks, who are currently struggling, particularly in SEC play. South Carolina is also in the midst of a coaching search, as head coach Paul Mainieri recently stepped down and announced his retirement.

Game one of the series is set for tomorrow night at 6 p.m. ET in Athens.

Hope all of you have a great rest of your week and weekend. As always, GO DAWGS!!!

Even though the football season has ended, the free agency period of the NFL has gotten off to a hot start. Several former Bulldogs have earned some massive paydays over the past few days. Some have joined new teams, and some received record-breaking contracts.

Over the past few seasons, we have often referred to the Philadelphia Eagles as the “Philly Dawgs” because of the large number of former Dawgs on the team. The Las Vegas Raiders saw this and decided to get in on the action as well. The Raiders signed multiple former Dawgs this month, most notably linebackers Nakobe Dean (three years, $36 million) and Quay Walker (three years, $40.5 million). They will unite with former tight end Brock Bowers and cornerback Eric Stokes.

Last season with Philadelphia, Dean recorded 55 tackles with seven tackles for loss and a career-high four sacks. He was limited to 10 games last season while he recovered from a torn patella tendon. Walker posted a career-high 128 tackles and eight tackles for loss with the Green Bay Packers last season. Both Walker and Dean, who were teammates on Georgia’s 2021 CFP National Championship winning team, will provide a boost to the Raiders’ linebacking core, which was a position of need for Las Vegas.

Speaking of former 2021 team members, Eagles’ defensive tackle Jordan Davis signed a new contract earlier this month. The North Carolina native signed a three-year, $78 million contract, which includes $65 million guaranteed. He is now the highest paid nose tackle in the NFL.

Davis has become a staple of the Eagles’ defensive line. He has been a key player in their multiple playoff trips and had a key sack in their Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Oh, and he also did this last season:

Other former Dawgs signed with new teams, such as Azeez Ojulari and Channing Tindall returning to the red and black with the Atlanta Falcons. More players, such as Leonard Floyd and Nick Chubb, are still awaiting their new teams. Stay tuned for more free agent news from former Dawgs.

First, there’s the good news for the Hoop Dawgs.

There’s no drawing a much lower-seeded than they should be seeded team like it did in Gonzaga last year. But that’s no reason to pop a celebration just yet.

No, Georgia does not draw a team that should be seeded much higher in Saint Louis. Yes, there is something to be said that the Billikens are not a team used to being in the Field of 68 as this is their first berth in seven years.

But Saint Louis has come from the Atlantic 10, a conference of teams that grinds down one another as the season goes on. During the season, the Billikens’ conference wins included both VCU and Dayton. VCU’s an NCAA tourney regular, as is Dayton – the latter of whom edged Saint Louis by one point in the conference semifinals. That loss, by the way, came after the Billikens were the class of the A-1o, claiming a regular-season title for the first time in 12 years.

But the success of the Billikens goes back further, as they started 24-1 and ascended to being ranked as high as 18th nationally.

A big reason for that success? The Billikens being able to get up and down the court fast and well. Saint Louis may have ranked fifth-fewest in points allowed, but it also led the A-1o in points per game. That’s exactly the kind of team a Georgia has to worry about in this format – one that once it gets hot, can be hard to stop.

The offensive heart of the Billikens, on and off the court, is center Robbie Avila. He became a household name in recent years at Indiana State, and that play continued with Saint Louis.

With his physical play and tight-rimmed glasses, he’s every bit of a folk hero and one that if he plays big, can be one of those March Madness feel-good stories – unless Georgia wrecks that narrative of the preseason all-conference pick.

Avila has plenty of support in Dion Brown and Trey Green, both of whom average around 11 points with Brown being key in the paint with nearly six boards per game.

The key for Georgia seems simple – don’t go on a cold streak (looking at you, Ole Miss game in the SEC tourney) and don’t let an underdog swing the momentum of an arena not close to either team’s home.

Go Dawgs!

We have always been at war with the Billikens.

Well, not really. But for tonight we will be locked in mortal athletics combat with the imaginary gremlin champions of the Atlantic Ten regular season.

Tipoff should be somewhere in the general neighborhood of 9:40 pm eastern on CBS and Paramount+. I’ll be popping in here with updates and stats.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Georgia will take on the St. Louis University Billikens in the night cap of this evening’s Midwest Regional, tipping at roughly 9:40 p.m. Athens standard time.

Georgia is the higher seed and a slim 2.5 point favorite according to Fan Duel’s odds, but the #9 seeded Billikens are a dangerous team. They finished as the top team in the always tough Atlantic Ten conference, logging an impressive 27-4 regular season record. How can Mike White’s Hoop Hounds knock out the Billikens? I have some ideas.

Five Keys To A Bulldog Win

Show up: No, Georgia can’t win this one just by showing up. But as we saw last year against Gonzaga it’s easy to lose in the tournament when you don’t get off the bus on time. A slow start in this one feels like not only a sure way to get sent home, but a good reason to ask exactly why Mike White’s teams come out flat in tournament games.

Contain Robbie Avila. Steph Blurry. Larry Blurred. Looks like the manager of a Jiffy Lube but makes it rain from inside and out. Avila averages 12.9 points a game for a very balanced St. Louis attack. If the 6’10 big man can be bottled up (and if Georgia’s bigs don’t get in foul trouble trying to stop him) it will take a major cog out of the Billiken scoring machine.

Break serve. Both of these teams score a lot of points. And this Georgia team, when it has struggled, has just flat out given up a lot of points in only a little bit of time. If the ‘Dawgs can get a couple of stops and force the Billikens to play from behind, however, I like our odds. 

Turnovers, both ways. A big part of breaking the Billikens scoring flow is going to be creating some turnovers. At. Louis, like the Red and Black, pushes the ball up the court, and that should create some turnover opportunities. Likewise, Georgia absolutely cannot give up easy baskets to a high octane Billiken offense that averages 87.2 points per game.

Know thy enemy. What is a Billiken? According to Wikipedia, the most trusted source on the Internet for totally reliable reference information:

The Billiken is a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Florence Pretz of Kansas City, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream.

Why is that important? Honestly I’m not sure it is. I just found it interesting. And now you can add that knowledge to your quiver of useful data.

We’ll be back this evening with an actual Georgia basketball live thread. Because why not? Until then…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

The tournament committee has spoken, and what they had to tell the Georgia Bulldogs actually could have been worse.

The Hoop Hounds have been slotted into the Midwest Regional and given a #8 seed. They’ll open the tournament Thursday against the St. Louis Billikens, most recently seen dropping a tough, back and forth Atlantic 10 conference tournament semifinal matchup to the Dayton Flyers.

To be clear, the Billikens (28-5, 15-3 in conference) won’t be an easy out. They’ll open are a tough midmajor opponent, and were the top seed in the Atlantic Ten tournament. Nevertheless the Red and Black have opened as 2.5 point favorite over the Billikens at FanDuel. Some of that could be attributable to the Billikens’ lack of quality wins against Power 4 opponents this season. They’ve been consistently good against mid-major competition, but Georgia will definitely present a physical test.

In light of the Bulldogs’ early exit from the SEC Tournament, I was a bit worried about falling to a 9 seed and potentially getting an opening tilt against one of those 8 seeds who really deserve to be a 7 or 6. This matchup isn’t that (see Georgia’s matchup with Gonzaga last year for an idea what that looks like). Still, if Mike White’s team picks up a round one win they’ll be rewarded with a second round contest against top-seeded Michigan in Chicago, a locale chock full of Michigan fans and alums. That would be…. difficult, to say the least. But for now, the Bulldogs are dancing, and we intend to enjoy it. And who knows, history confirms that somebody’s going to pull an upset. Might as well be us. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Let the Madness commence.

The college basketball postseason is here with Selection Sunday and the reveal of the 68 team NCAA Tournament bracket this evening. Coverage will begin on CBS, and streaming on Paramount+, at 6:00 pm eastern. You can also watch live streaming coverage on the NCAA’s March Madness Live

As a reminder, 31 teams will punch their ticket to the Big Dance by winning their respective conference tournaments. 37 will be selected by the tournament committee as at-large selections. That is the route your Georgia Bulldogs will need to take following a pretty ignoble exit in the SEC Tournament. The ‘Dawgs earned a first round bye but then fell 76-72 on Thursday to #15 seed Ole Miss, which had only won 4 conference games all season. Yeesh.

Picking up arguably your worst loss of the year three days before Selection Sunday is no way to improve your seeding. Mike White’s squad could have landed as high as a 7 or even a 6 seed with a deep run in a strong SEC Tournament field. As it is they’re definitely in the field, but will likely be a #9 seed, meaning a tough first round game against a #8 seed and a likely second round date with a #1 seed. To loosely paraphrase John Wilkes Booth, thus always to those who don’t take care of business against 12-19 Ole Miss when it matters.

Still, today looks like the day when your Bulldogs will make their first repeat trip to the Big Dance since 2001/2002. That’s something to celebrate. This will be the thread for all Selection Sunday discussion and news, right up until the Hoop Hounds’ matchup is announced. At that point we’ll break down the matchup, including a look at the odds from our friends at FanDuel, as well as key stats and player comparisons. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Good Thursday afternoon, Dawg fans!! The Georgia Diamond Dawgs have put together a solid 15–3 record, earning the #8 spot in the National rankings as they are currently riding a four-game win streak. Last week, Georgia earned a win over Kennesaw State and completed a four-game sweep over Queens University of Charlotte, with their lone loss coming at the hands of Western Carolina in a 10–9 final.

Georgia put up double-digit runs in all four games against the Royals, outscoring Queens 50–10 over the course of the series as the Dawgs’ offense continues to stay red hot.

Game 1: UGA-12 Queens-2

Game 2: UGA-13 Queens-5

Game 3: UGA-11 Queens-0

Game 4: UGA-14 Queens-3

Senior catcher Daniel Jackson has been the early catalyst of the Dawgs’ offensive attack at the plate. Jackson earned Co-SEC Player of the Week honors last week after smashing five home runs, two of which were grand slams, while also posting a .478 batting average and 13 RBIs.

While the Georgia offense has continued to produce at the plate, there is still a question mark surrounding the pitching staff as the Dawgs prepare to enter the grind of SEC play. Through the first 18 games, Georgia’s arms have shown flashes of dominance, but consistency has been an issue at times. The loss to Western Carolina highlighted some of those concerns, as the Bulldogs surrendered ten runs in a game where the offense still managed to put up nine.

The margin for error will only grow thinner once conference play begins. Lineups across the SEC are among the most talented in the country, and every weekend series presents a new challenge on the mound. Georgia will need its starters to provide length while allowing the bullpen to settle into defined roles if the Dawgs want to remain competitive in the conference standings.

Still, there are plenty of positives to build on. Georgia’s offense has proven it can score with anyone (per usual), and when the pitching staff limits free passes and keeps the ball in the park, the Bulldogs have looked like a very complete team.

All eyes now turn to the SEC opener as Georgia welcomes the 13–4 Tennessee Volunteers, who are still settling into the Josh Elander era following the departure of Tony Vitello. This series should provide an early test for the Dawgs, but Georgia has the opportunity to prove itself as the better team.

If the bats stay hot and the pitching staff rises to the moment, the Dawgs will have a great chance to start conference play on the right foot and compete at a high level throughout the remainder of the season.

Hope all of you have a great rest of your day and finish out the week strong. As always, GO DAWGS!!!

Yes, Bulldogs are headed to Duval but not for the Coctail Party. One of the biggest week’s on the golf calendar, and we’ve got some ‘Dawgs in the field. But first a quick recap of what went down at Arnie’s place at Bay Hill for the big bucks and elevated FedEx points:

Brian Harman never got anything going, blew up Saturday, and finished last of those making the cut. Chris Kirk wasn’t much better, and he tied for 47^th. Keith Mitchell both opened and closed with solid 68’s, but Friday and Saturday rounds took him out of serious contention (T33).

Harris English also started strong yet did not recapture any magic and tied for 24^th. Sepp Straka improved every day and started the final round in the top 6, but a bad Sunday bumped him back down to T13. And Russell Henley, who was the defending champion, hung around until a 4 under par final round got him into the top 10 at 6^th.

So that’s 3 former Bulldogs in the top 25, 2 in the top 15, and a top 10. Let’s see if we can make a little more headway as the Tour heads up the Florida coast to St. Augustine and the PGA Tour’s signature, signature event.

Tournament: The Players Championship, March 12-15, 2026

Course: TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course), 7,352 yards, par 72. A former swamp outside of Jacksonville turned into some of the priciest golf real estate in the country.

Purse: $25 big ones. As in the richest purse in golf. The winner gets a cool $4.5 million. This is frankly ridiculous, but it does make for some drama.

Defending Champ: Rory McIlroy. JJ Spaun led going into Sunday, but was just able to hang on with an even par 72. McIlroy charged from a little further back, shooting a 68 and forcing Spaun to make some crucial putts coming in just to make the playoff. The early sunset pushed the 4 hole playoff to Monday morning and a sparse crowd. And McIlory was comfortable enough to not make mistakes, Spaun the opposite, and the Irishman captured the Players as a prelude to what would happen in Augusta 4 weeks later.

In 2024, Brian Harman captured 2^nd place, and Kevin Kisner forced a playoff in 2014 but eventually lost to Rickie Fowler. Other than that, there haven’t been too many high finishes from our boys, but we said the same thing about the British Open.

TV Times: The Golf Channel will have live coverage Thursday and Friday from 1:00 – 7:00 pm ET. But they also have live look-ins almost all day. NBC will have extended coverage Saturday from 2-7pm ET, and Sunday from 1:00 pm ET to end of coverage. PGA Tour Live via ESPN+ is essentially all day (roughly 7-7 ET all four rounds).

Dawgs in the Field: 7. Harman, English, Henley, Kirk, Mitchell, Straka, Thompson.

Whethere this is a “5th major” or not, it is quantifiably the toughest field in golf, with 123 of the top players (outside of Jon Rahm and a couple of other LIV members). It is also the richest purse in golf. And on one of the toughest tests in terms of course setup. Add that up, and it’s a big week for everyone in the golf world.

Rory McIlroy is a game time decision (little after 1:30 pm ET Thursday) with a bad back, Scheffler is coming off his worst finish in forever (a top 25, but consecutive non-top 10s – poor guy), and plenty of other storylines. You might be distracted with the SEC basketball tournament or other items of March Madness. At least Georgia plays at 7 pm tonight, hopefully after the golf coverage concludes.

Whatever you’re watching, have yourself a day. And as always…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!

The SEC Tournament begins today in Nashville, Tennessee, with the first-round slate of games. LSU and Kentucky get things started from Bridgestone Arena at 12:30 eastern, followed by Mississippi State and Auburn. The whole bracket is available over at the SEC website, along with game previews and results/stats.

Georgia begins the tournament as the #7 seed, and won’t play until Thursday night when they take on the winner of #10 Texas and #15 Ole Miss. While the Red and Black are more than likely securely in the Big Dance, the conference tournament isn’t without some significance. Most model brackets have the Bulldogs situated between a 7 and 9 seed, which means a tough first round matchup with a fellow 8 or 9 seed, and presumably a second round date with one of the #1 seeds. A deep run in the SEC Tournament could set up a much smoother road to the Sweet Sixteen.

By the way, if you’re thinking about taking a flyer on the Fightin’ Mike Whites to win it all, the odds are not exactly in your favor. FanDuel has the Dawgs at +50,000 (500 to 1) to have their one shining moment. Obviously as Bulldog basketball fans we understand that’s not the realistic goal here. Getting past the first round seems realistic, making it through round two and into the Sweet Sixteen would make this the most successful UGA basketball season since before any player on this roster was born.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Only a couple of weeks ago the Georgia Bulldogs were squarely on the March Madness bubble. However, a decisive home win over the Alabama Crimson Tide and a come-from-behind road victory over Mississippi State to finish the conference slate put Mike White’s team squarely in the tournament. The question is, where?

Some bracketologists had the Dawgs as high as a #7 seed following the win in Starkville, but events elsewhere on the college hardwood seem to have pushed other teams ahead of them. That may turn out to be a bad break. ESPN for example has the Hoop Hounds at a #8 seed taking on a solid Ohio State team in the Greenville region. The winner of that match up would get a second round date with the top overall tournament seed, Duke. In the words of great basketball philosopher Jeffrey Lebowski, that’s a bummer dude.

On3 Sports’ latest projections have the Bulldogs and Buckeyes playing as well, but as a 7/10 matchup in the Houston. That same bracket has the hated Florida Gators as the top seed following their season-ending victory over the Kentucky Wildcats (what? Like that’s hard?).

HoopsHQ also has the Gators earning a top seed, but their UGA projection is also an interesting one. That site has the Dawgs a #8 seed traveling to Chicago to take on the always feisty Utah State Aggies. The winner would likely earn a second round matchup with #1 seed Michigan, playing in a city in which the Wolverines have a huge alumni presence and would likely enjoy a solid home court advantage. Again, do not want.

The bottom line for Bulldog fans is that Georgia could substantially increase its odds of a deep tournament run by having a solid showing in the SEC Tournament that tips off tomorrow, and in which the Dawgs are the 7 seed. A run to the tournament final could push Georgia into the top third of the region brackets, which allows you to avoid the #1 seeds and also can allow you to pick up a second round game against an underdog that has enough magic to slip through one game but not two.

Speaking of odds, you can find the odds for all the conference and March Madness action over at FanDuel, just remember to wager responsibly. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

Welcome to Freeform, Friday, the close cousin to football season’s Friday tailgate. This is a place for us to kick around life’s weighty questions during the off-season. Sort of a virtual rec room if you will. Maestro, queue the extended music, live from the fabulous 40 Watt:

The Georgia Bulldogs will enter play in the SEC basketball tournament next week, and spring practice for football will begin the week after that. In short, spring sports have sprung in the Classic City. Be that as it may, it is never, ever a bad time to talk about University of Georgia football. so I thought this inaugural Free Form Friday for the year 2026 should probably begin with a quick look back at football 2025.

Specifically, my question for you is this: what was the one shining moment you will take from the 2025 Georgia bulldog football season? Obviously the entire SEC championship game was magical, but I am really looking for a single play or sequence of plays that you will smile or chuckle about years from now. London Humphreys’ amazing catch of Gunner’s amazing throw in Knoxville? Auburn fans (and Hugh Freeze) losing their minds along with the ball? Arch Manning once again rolling snake eyes against the Bulldog defense? There’s a lot of great stuff to look back on, and a long way until August. So let us know what really lit your fire this fall. Until later…

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

As a reminder, the stated policy of Dawg Sports regarding University of Georgia basketball is to ideally acknowledge its existence once annually. It’s not because we aren’t hoops fans. We would love to see the ‘Dawgs win every game, and in fact for my part, I can say I watch a decent amount of bulldog basketball. But harsh experience has taught us that the Hoop Hounds’ success is a bit like a timid baby deer traversing the forest floor. Adorable, but the moment you turn your eyes toward it, it dashes away in terror.

But on this morning, I am excited enough to break the rule. In case you missed it Coach White’s team down number 16 Alabama last night 98-88 in the Stege. The effort was keyed by a monster night from sophomore Kanon Catchings, who put up a career high 32 points.

If you’d have told me during the Mark Fox era that a Bulldog hoopster could score 32 points in a single game I would have wept. But this Bulldog team, now 21-9 overall and 9-8 in the SEC, is quite literally built different. They’re, and I think I’m using this word correctly….fun? The Red and Black are second only to the Crimson Tide in scoring at 90 points a game despite no player on the squad averaging over 20 points per night. Lest you get too concerned, they do still follow the grand Bulldogs basketball tradition of turning the ball over like Shriners handing out candy at a July 4th parade. But that kind of thing is a lot less damaging when you can actually shoot the basketball and rebound. Which, weirdly, it seems this team can. I’ve seen it. With my eyes.

And this emergence is even more enjoyable given that the league’s media picked the Athenians to finish 14th in the league, and placed no ‘Dawgs on the SEC first, second, or third team preseason lists. It’s fun to be right. It’s more fun to prove your doubters wrong.

Though to be fair, this season has been a bit of a revelation for Bulldog fans too. Roster turnover is now just a fact of life in college sports, perhaps nowhere more than college basketball. And Georgia came into this season without Silas Demery, Jr. (who transferred to UConn) and Asa Newell (currently doing work off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks). So perhaps the league’s scribes had some reason for skepticism.

But they fell victim to one of the classic blunders. No, not getting involved in a land war in Asia. I mean underestimating Mike White, who now sports a 77-55 record in Athens. Most importantly, that ninth conference win against the Tuscaloosers essentially clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the second appearance in a row for the Classic City Canines. That last happened during the 2001-2002 tournaments. Not sure how that streak came to an end. Like Lewis Grizzard, frankly, I don’t want to talk about it.

But I digress. The Hoop Hounds will travel to Starkville on Saturday to take on a Mississippi State team that’s lost four in a row and sits at 5-12 in the SEC. Then the SEC Tournament tips off a week from today on March 11th. At some point thereafter this Bulldog basketball team is going to mildly disappoint me by bowing out of postseason play in a frustrating and/or wholly predictable manner. But before that occurs, let me go on record stating that we’ve got one heckuva basketball team in Athens.

Go ‘Dawgs!!!

For starters, the Falcons will be releasing Kirk Cousins on the first day of the new league year. That was a foregone conclusion when the team signed him to a restructured contract earlier this offseason. However, Cunningham also added that the team will not be re-signing the veteran quarterback. Someone else will be joining Michael Penix Jr. in the quarterback room, and it might not just be a guy there to hold the clipboard.

Additionally, Cunningham was prodded with questions regarding Kaden Elliss and Darnell Mooney — two players who experienced very different seasons.

On Elliss, who is set to become a free agent and has been a critical piece of the Falcons’ defense for the past three years, Cunningham didn’t want to commit to going all out to re-sign him, citing Atlanta’s cap situation and the number of quality linebackers who will be available.

Elliss might be the most underrated linebacker in football. He did not miss a game in three seasons with the Falcons, racking up 380 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, 12 passes defended, and two interceptions over 51 games. Losing him would be a massive blow to the Falcons’ defense. However, Atlanta’s cap situation isn’t great, and they are likely going to have to spend quite a bit of money on a quarterback, even if it’s just a quality backup. Additionally, Elliss is no spring chicken — he’s set to turn 31 years old this offseason.

On Darnell Mooney, who is an obvious cut candidate, Cunningham said the team has had internal discussions and will definitely be evaluating the wide receiver room this offseason.

After a career year in his first season with Atlanta, Mooney’s 2025 campaign was a disaster from the jump. It started with a training camp collarbone injury that forced him to miss Week 1, and he never seemed to find a groove with Michael Penix Jr. or Kirk Cousins, finishing the season with just 33 catches for 443 yards and one touchdown.

Mooney is set to make north of $18 million in 2026 in the final year of his deal. There’s simply zero chance the Falcons choose to pay him that. By cutting him, they can save more than $7 million. If they designate him as a post-June 1 cut, they’ll save more than $11 million. Unless Mooney is willing to agree to a significantly restructured contract, that seems like the most likely avenue.

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Photographer: John Adams/Icon Sportswire

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“As part of the restructure, there is now a guarantee in the amount of $67.9 million for the 2027 season that vests on March 13,” Yates reports.“Given the highly unlikely nature that the Falcons or any team that would acquire Cousins via a trade prior to March 13 would want to be on the hook for that $67.9 million, a decision on Cousins’ future could come prior to that date.”

Though it hasn’t been made official yet, new Falcons GM Ian Cunningham revealed the obvious today, saying Cousins will be released on the first day of the new league year.

#Falcons GM Ian Cunningham confirmed on @929TheGame that Kirk Cousins will be released in March on the first day of the new league year, making him a free agent.

Cousins earned $100M during his two seasons with Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/gFKAXXBl8p

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 24, 2026

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean Kirk Cousins’ time with the Falcons is finished. Atlanta could theoretically bring him back via free agency if the price is right. Although, I’m not sure either party is going to be too eager to continue this relationship.

The Falcons’ sole focus should be figuring out the future of the quarterback position. Kirk Cousins is not that, and holding out hope that he could maybe help the team win 10 games in the twilight of his career does nothing toward reaching their ultimate goal.

From Cousins’ perspective, why would he have any interest in returning to the organization that drafted his successor before he even played a game? Some might point to his prior relationship with Kevin Stefanski and the fact that this is an entirely new regime that had nothing to do with that process, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is the same situation — one where Penix is going to receive the benefit of the doubt over Cousins every day of the week.

Unless Cousins simply cannot find another suitor — which would be telling in and of itself — there’s probably not a world where he returns to Atlanta. It is best for both parties to just move on.

—

Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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“This endeavor will bring the most vital link to our fanbase – our television broadcast – back under the control of our ballclub,” said Braves President and CEO Derek Schiller. “Generations of Braves fans were raised watching games on a network that shared ownership with the baseball team. With BravesVision, we believe that we can present Braves baseball in new and innovative ways allowing us to expand and elevate our storytelling capabilities across all of our platforms.”

BravesVision is set to produce more than 140 games this year, along with extensive pre- and postgame content, and there will be multiple avenues for fans across Braves Country to watch.

While the team is still working out the exact details with distributors as the season approaches, BravesVision will be coming to satellite and cable. The team announced they will release updates as deals are finalized, but the hope is this new channel will be easily available no matter how you choose to watch TV — cable/satellite, YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream, Fubo, etc. That’s something FanDuel really missed the mark on during its short time covering the Braves.

However, in the event BravesVision isn’t available on your TV provider, there will be a streaming option through MLB’s platform, Braves.TV. With a subscription, all non-nationally exclusive Braves games will be available everywhere without blackouts — a massive win for fans outside the region.

The Braves also noted that a number of games will still be broadcast over the air through Gray Media for the second consecutive season.

Overall, this feels like a win for Braves fans everywhere. Obviously, there are still plenty of details that need to be ironed out and finalized, but it appears watching games without blackouts will be much easier for Braves fans across the country than ever before. Additionally, with the team taking control of its own network — essentially cutting out the middleman — this should be a much more lucrative venture for the Braves. And if they make more money, that’s a positive for the club’s long-term outlook from a competitive standpoint.

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Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire

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BREAKING: Nine-time All-Star Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves are in agreement on a one-year, $27 million contract extension that includes a club option for $30 million in 2028, sources tell ESPN. Sale, 36, was set to hit free agency after this season but will remain in Atlanta.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 24, 2026

I’ve been pounding the table for this to get done since the beginning of the offseason, so to see it happen after all of the bad news to start Spring Training is a pleasant surprise.

This is a very similar path the Braves took with Charlie Morton at the end of his career, handing him mini one-year extensions with club options until they finally felt he was out of gas. The only difference is Chris Sale is getting a slightly higher pay bump at $27 million for 2027, which is more than fair given his production in his two seasons with the Braves.

Of course, there is risk. Even though Sale has stayed mostly healthy in Atlanta, he’s still dealt with multiple issues and missed time. Sale hasn’t made 30+ starts since the 2017 season. Plus, he’s set to enter his age-37 season, so it’s not as if he’s getting any younger.

That said, the Braves really didn’t have a choice here. Their pitching depth, both now and in the future, is razor thin. To potentially get a top-five pitcher in baseball under contract on a one-year, $27 million deal with a team option for 2028 is a no-brainer. Had Sale hit free agency following another stellar campaign — even at 38 years old — he likely would have garnered multiple short-term offers in the $40–50 million AAV range.

This is a big win for the Braves. Now, it’s time to get that Ronald Acuña Jr. situation ironed out and make him a Brave for life.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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“The club, meanwhile, posted an 11% increase in total revenue in 2025 to $732.5 million, and a 172% surge in adjusted operating income to $107.8 million,” Eric Fisher reports for Front Office Sports. “The Braves’ revenue from The Battery, the mixed-use development that has influenced dozens of other pro teams, grew 45% during the year to $97.4 million—a figure that by itself is more than the 2026 luxury-tax player payrolls of the Marlins and Guardians.”

“Compared to just four years ago, the Braves have added nearly $150 million to their annual revenue.”

Ken Segiura of The Atlanta Journal Constitution also added that the club’s OIBDA increased by 172% year over year.

“Among the numbers shared Wednesday was Braves Holdings’ 172% year-over-year growth in adjusted OIBDA — for those more familiar with WHIP and WAR, it’s a key measure of a company’s financial performance — from $39.7 million to $107.8 million.”

It’s no secret the Braves development of Truist Park and the surrounding Battery area has been a home run. The organization is printing money with no signs of slowing down, and now, they are taking control of their own broadcasting rights with BravesVision, a venture that should be another incredibly lucrative one for the organization.

“We are fortunate to have much of this expertise in-house at the Braves … and we have one of the largest [local] television territories in baseball, which affords us the opportunity to optimize our financial outcome and is a factor that provides us an advantage that no other Main Street team has,” McGuirk said.

Combine all of this, and the Braves are undoubtedly one of the most successful and well-run organizations in Major League Baseball. Yet, another offseason has come and gone, and Atlanta has failed to address the rotation concerns that plagued the team a year ago.

Oftentimes, when it comes to assigning blame, nuanced conversations are thrown out the window. It’s either Anthopoulos is the worst general manager in the sport, or he has no help because of the greedy executives who truly control the Braves.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. The Braves are not a cheap organization. According to Spotrac, their 2026 payroll is sitting at about $247 million — eighth in the league and the highest it’s ever been in franchise history. Cheap ball clubs do not operate at that level. But could the Braves be spending more? Without a doubt, and these numbers confirm that. There are unequivocally other business priorities being considered outside of just building a World Series contender, which is unfortunate when looking at Atlanta’s competition like the Mets and Dodgers.

However, just because the Braves could — and probably should — be spending more, it doesn’t absolve Alex Anthopoulos of his role in all of this. His hesitation to do whatever it takes to acquire or retain top-flight starting pitchers has existed since he took the job in Atlanta. Not once has he handed out a multi-year contract to a free-agent starting pitcher, almost always opting for short-term deals with limited risk and potentially high reward.

In some instances, it’s worked marvelously, with Chris Sale being the perfect example. But more often than not, the Braves’ lack of proven pitching depth has cost the team chances at championships.

At this point, it’s fair to call it Anthopoulos’ blind spot. He spent plenty of money this offseason — enough to sign a frontline starter to a multi-year contract. But with the going rate for starting pitchers being what it is, he can’t seem to find a single one worth the value they’re receiving on the open market.

Until that changes, I’m not sure it matters what the Braves’ payroll is moving forward.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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Sources: The #Falcons informed former Pro Bowl special-teamer KhaDarel Hodge that he will be released.

Hodge spent four years in Atlanta, including that Pro Bowl season in 2024. pic.twitter.com/qVEfOvaSnT

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 25, 2026

The move will create nearly $2.7 million in cap space for the team.

Hodge joined the Falcons in 2022 and has been the team’s best special teams player ever since, receiving Pro Bowl honors in 2024. He was also a half-decent fourth or fifth receiver, recording 37 catches for 596 yards and two touchdowns over his four seasons in Atlanta.

In 2025, the Falcons might have featured the worst special teams unit in league history. Seemingly every game, there was a game-changing play allowed in the return game, and the team’s kicking woes also directly resulted in a few losses that should have been wins. There’s no question that, with just an average performance in the third phase, they would have broken their postseason drought, so it will certainly be an area of focus for Kevin Stefanski and this new staff.

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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/2026488484052029663

The Hawks acquired Kuminga in a deal that was essentially a swap of salaries, sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Warriors. Porzingis was a highly productive player in Atlanta when he was healthy. The only problem is he absolutely could not stay on the floor. As they say, the best ability is availability, meaning the Hawks essentially got to take a flier on Kuminga’s upside for nothing. If it works, Atlanta has added another young piece to its core — with Kuminga being just 23 years old. If it doesn’t, the Hawks can wipe their hands clean at season’s end.

It wasn’t long ago that the Warriors viewed Kuminga as a vital piece of their future. Disputes over a number of matters, many of which were trivial, led to their divorce. But it’s possible a change of scenery could be exactly what he needed. Kuminga comes with a club option for the 2026–27 season worth $24.3 million. If yesterday was any indication, it won’t be much of a decision for the Hawks to pick that up and begin extension talks in the offseason.

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Photographer: Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire

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The NFL has informed its clubs in a memo that the salary cap number for the 2026 season is $301.2 million per club, up $22 million. pic.twitter.com/bwx9IFulyt

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 27, 2026

Atlanta Falcons Salary Cap Situation

Top 51: $291 million

Cap Space: $10 million

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The Falcons had about $22 million in cap space a couple of weeks ago, but that changed after a few significant moves. Most notably, the team placed the franchise tag on Kyle Pitts, which will pay him just over $15 million for the 2026 season if he does not sign an extension. The team also released veteran special teams ace KhaDarel Hodge, which saved about $2.6 million against the cap.

That doesn’t leave the Falcons with a lot of money to work with this offseason, but they can create additional space through a few cuts and restructures.

Notable Cut Candidates

• Kirk Cousins
• Darnell Mooney

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New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham has already said the Falcons will release Kirk Cousins on the first day of the new league year. That will presumably be a post–June 1 cut, which will save the team about $2 million. However, Cousins’ contract contains offset language tied to the $10 million roster bonus guarantee he received for 2026. Because the Falcons do not plan to re-sign him, they could clear up to $10 million in cap space depending on what Cousins signs for elsewhere this offseason.

Outside of Cousins, Darnell Mooney is the only obvious cut candidate who would save the Falcons a significant amount of money. He’s set to count for over $18 million against the cap in 2026, and Atlanta can save close to $12 million by designating him as a post–June 1 cut.

Total Potential Salary Cap Savings: $24 million

Restructure Candidates

• A.J. Terrell ($10.3 million)
• Jake Matthews ($9.8 million)
• Chris Lindstrom ($11 million)
• Jessie Bates III ($9.5 million)

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Restructuring contracts is essentially kicking the financial can down the road, and teams generally only want to restructure the deals of players they plan on keeping around for the foreseeable future. Chris Lindstrom and A.J. Terrell fit that mold best, so the Falcons would probably be willing to agree to max restructures on both of their contracts.

Jake Matthews and Jessie Bates III fall into a different category. Matthews has been a stalwart at left tackle for over a decade and is under contract for two more seasons, but he’ll be 35 years old in 2027, so there might be some hesitancy to guaranteeing him more money in the future.

Bates’ contract is up at the end of the season, so while a restructure is a possibility, the Falcons would probably prefer to work out some sort of extension if they want to keep him in Atlanta beyond this year.

Total Potential Cap Savings: $40.6 million

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With a few simple transactions, the Falcons can go from roughly $10 million in cap space to north of $50 million in the blink of an eye. There are also smaller cuts and restructures that are possible, and extensions can help alleviate cap concerns in the short term if they want to be more aggressive in free agency this offseason. The means are there for them to push hard and build a playoff-caliber roster for the 2026 season if they so choose.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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Whether recent reports surrounding Michael Penix Jr. are true or not — suggesting the Falcons are not sold on the former eighth overall pick as a franchise quarterback — they have to come away with someone at the position this offseason. New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham already said the team will release Cousins on the first day of the new league year, and they will not attempt to re-sign him once he becomes a free agent.

So, at the very least, the Falcons need a competent backup. But with Penix’s status for the early part of the season up in the air following the third ACL injury of his career, Atlanta targeting a starting-caliber option is a very real possibility.

Mac Jones

I’ve been pounding the table for Mac Jones since he was a possibility in the draft, and I’m not going to stop now. He was given an incredibly raw deal in New England, playing behind a horrendous offensive line with little talent at wide receiver and a defensive coordinator in Matt Patricia calling plays. Absolutely no young quarterback was going to thrive in that situation.

In a much better situation with the 49ers this past season, Jones was very good in his eight starts, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 13 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions, finishing with a quarterback rating just shy of 100. In Atlanta’s system, with an offensive-minded head coach and quality skill-position talent, it’s reasonable to assume he could have a lot of success — perhaps following in the footsteps of guys like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, former first-round picks who found success after leaving the teams that drafted them.

Jones’ contract situation also makes him an attractive trade candidate, as he’s set to count just $3 million against the cap next season. However, that also makes him an extraordinarily valuable commodity around the league. Sources say the 49ers are currently looking for a first-round pick in return — something the Falcons don’t have — and they aren’t eager to move him at all.

Kyler Murray

Given Murray is set to count for over $50 million against the cap in 2026, it’s probably more likely that he’s released than traded. But because he’s still currently on the Cardinals’ roster, we’ll include him.

Murray’s upside makes him tantalizing. When he’s healthy and locked in, he has played like a top-10 quarterback in the league, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and making multiple Pro Bowls. But the injuries are a legitimate concern. He has missed at least five games in three of the last four seasons and is coming off a year in which he played in just five games due to a foot sprain. There are also questions about his dedication to the game, but depending on the length and structure of the deal, both of those concerns could be overlooked.

A healthy Kyler Murray would easily be the best quarterback the Falcons have had since Matt Ryan was throwing touchdowns to Julio Jones. He would instantly make Atlanta the favorite to win the NFC South.

Tua Tagovailoa

Tagovailoa is in a similar situation to Murray. The Dolphins are reportedly shopping him, but it would be pretty shocking if anyone were willing to take on his contract, meaning he’ll likely be released and become a free agent.

Tagovailoa is an incredibly accurate passer, completing 68% of his throws for his career. And until this past season, he had typically been a quarterback who took care of the football. He has the talent to thrive in a system like Kevin Stefanski’s, where he would be aided by one of the most dominant rushing attacks in the league.

The big question here is the concussions. Tagovailoa has had four documented concussions over his football career, and the reality is it’s likely been more than that. There is reason to be genuinely concerned about his long-term health. But if the price is right, he’s another quarterback who would instantly boost the Falcons toward the top of the NFC South.

Anthony Richardson

Richardson entered the league as an incredibly talented athlete who needed a lot of development as a quarterback, and after three seasons, it’s fair to say not much has changed. He has made just 15 starts, thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, and completed only 50% of his passes.

The Colts have given Richardson permission to seek a trade, and they likely won’t be asking for much in return. He’s not like the other candidates in that he probably wouldn’t make the Falcons better immediately. However, at just 23 years old, his long-term upside will likely earn him another opportunity somewhere in the league.

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Photo: Photographer: Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire

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Let’s start with the positives. Ownership received an A, something that shouldn’t be much of a surprise with Arthur Blank running the team. He treats this organization like a family, which oftentimes isn’t a good thing when it comes to winning games. Those close interpersonal relationships have bitten the Falcons a handful of times during contract negotiations. But strictly as a person, you’d be hard-pressed to find an owner who is more well-liked by his employees than Arthur Blank.

On the coaching side, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich — the one significant holdover from the previous staff — received an A. Again, not much of a surprise after the Falcons’ defense turned things around under his watch. Atlanta also received high marks for its training room, training staff, strength coaches, nutritionist, and weight room — areas that were previously poorly regarded before the team spent $45 million a couple of years ago upgrading its facilities.

Things get a lot more interesting when discussing where the Falcons graded poorly. Former offensive coordinator Zac Robinson received a C-, which was tied for the lowest mark of any area of the team. That fits the public narrative about the job he did over his two years in Atlanta. But the next grades are a reminder that player report cards should be taken with a grain of salt.

Raheem Morris, special teams coach Marquice Williams, and Terry Fontenot each received a B+ for their work. Despite that, none of them are with the organization any longer. The reason is similar to why Arthur Blank received an A. These are likable guys whom people enjoy working with. But being likable does not equal success in the National Football League.

Raheem Morris didn’t have a single redeemable quality as a head coach. Terry Fontenot didn’t produce a single winning season in five years as the team’s general manager, and Marquice Williams led one of the most uninspiring special teams units in NFL history. None of them are deserving of higher than a D for their work this past season.

Comparatively, Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees both received poor marks from Browns players, with Stefanski receiving a C- and Rees getting a D+. Stefanski’s grade was the lowest among head coaches in the league.

That’s not exactly what you want to see from your new head coach and offensive coordinator. But if you’re trying to spin it positively, the Falcons have leaned toward rah-rah, player-friendly coaches in recent years. They had some early success with Dan Quinn before it turned into a disaster, and Raheem Morris never even got the plane off the ground before he was ultimately fired.

I don’t think anyone is confusing Kevin Stefanski with a player’s coach. His personality couldn’t be more different from his predecessor’s, but he is a two-time Coach of the Year who led the Cleveland Browns to the postseason twice. Perhaps that kind of uncomfortable personality shake-up is exactly what the Falcons need to break a playoff drought that has existed since 2017.

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Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire

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The college baseball season has officially begun, and the 2026 Georgia Diamond Dawgs are back on the Foley Field diamond with their sights set on another postseason run and ultimately a trip to Omaha.

Georgia opened the season with a solid four-game week, taking a weekend series from the Wright State Raiders before closing things out with a midweek win over the USC Upstate Spartans. It was a balanced week that featured Georgia’s signature power at the plate, solid pitching, and multiple players stepping up in big moments.

Game 1 vs. Wright State

Georgia opened the weekend with a steady, dominant performance. The Dawgs wasted no time applying pressure, jumping out to a 2–0 lead in the first inning thanks to Tre Phelps launching a two-run opposite-field homer that also scored Kenny Ishikawa.

The offense broke the game open in the middle innings. Across the fifth and sixth, Georgia strung together hit after hit and capitalized with runners in scoring position. Daniel Jackson highlighted the offensive surge with a three-run blast to left-center that pushed the Dawgs’ total to 13 runs.

From there, Georgia’s pitching staff took control, pounding the strike zone, limiting free passes, and never allowing Wright State to find an offensive rhythm. The bullpen slammed the door to secure a convincing 13–1 win and a strong start to the series and season.

Game 2 vs. Wright State

The Dawgs followed up with another complete performance in Game 2.

Kenny Ishikawa was electric on the mound, striking out eight batters over four innings while allowing just one hit. The two-way transfer is already making a serious impact in Athens.

Offensively, Georgia kept rolling. Four different Dawgs homered in the game, with Brennan Hudson leading the way. Hudson finished 2-for-2 with three walks, two RBIs, and a home run in a dominant all-around performance at the plate.

With a 9–0 lead by the seventh inning, the bullpen again handled business, shutting down any hopes of a comeback and securing the series victory.

Game 3 vs. Wright State

Georgia’s opening weekend momentum hit a bump in Game 3, as Wright State responded with a strong performance to take the finale 6–3.

The Dawgs had their chances offensively but stranded eight runners on base. Henry Allen provided a spark with a solo home run in the seventh inning, but Georgia couldn’t close the gap as Wright State capitalized in key moments to earn the win.

Georgia vs. USC Upstate

Georgia bounced back in the midweek matchup against USC Upstate with an aggressive offensive start. Daniel Jackson and Ryan Black both homered early, helping the Dawgs build a 5–1 lead by the third inning.

The offense stayed hot through the middle innings with several extra-base hits, and freshman Cole Johnson stood out as part of Georgia’s deep lineup, contributing throughout the night.

On the mound, Georgia mixed and matched arms effectively. Multiple pitchers logged quality innings, using the midweek opportunity to gain experience while still maintaining control of the game. Although Upstate chipped away at times, the Dawgs never let things get tense, closing out a 12–6 win.

Dawg Sports Diamond Dawg of the Week

The first Diamond Dawg of the Week goes to two-way standout Kenny Ishikawa. His impact on both the mound and at the plate was undeniable, and his early-season form is a major boost for Georgia moving forward.

Coming Up

The Diamond Dawgs return to Foley Field tomorrow for a three-game series against the Samford Bulldogs. First pitch for the opener is set for 3:00 p.m. ET. Following that series, Georgia will welcome the Troy Trojans to Athens for another early-season mid-week test.

Hope all of you have a great rest of your day and week. As always, GO DAWGS!!!

Welcome to Thursday, and another edition of ‘Dawgs on Tour. But let’s check in to see the final results from the Genesis Invitational in La-La Land.

The field was cut from 72 down to 50 players after 2 rounds, and that score was even par/142 strokes. Unfortunately Russell Henley recorded 144 strokes, so he slammed his trunk and went home.

Brian Harman made the cut on the number, but he shot 76-71 over the weekend to tie for last place (and $51,500 in earnings).

Sepp Straka was 4 under par Saturday, and apparently decided that was too good. His Saturday 80 pretty much ensured he would fall to the bottom, and ultimately tied with Harman for the same score and same cash.

Harris English only made the weekend by a couple of shots and held serve with an 1 under 3rd round, but made some serious cash with a closing 65, jumping 16 spots on the leaderboard and $224,500.

The winner was Jacob Bridgeman, SC native and Clemson Tiger. His first PGA win was worth 700 FedEx points and $4 million. His wife of about 2 months is supposedly pleased with the outcome. Now onto this week’s Tour stop:

Tournament: Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, February 26-March 1, 2026.

Course: PGA National, (the Champion Course), par 71, 7,223 yards. Just outside of West Palm Beach, FL.

Purse: $9.6 million total, $1,728,000 to the winner. Less than half of what is offered in the Signature Events.

Defending Champ: Joe Highsmith, formerly of Pepperdine, made the cut on the number, and shot consecutive 7 under par 64s on the weekend to hold off a few others and overtake Jake Knapp (who choked on the last nine to give up the lead).

Fun Fact: The Nicklaus redesigned PGA National Champion course is one of 5 on the property. At one point, this course was home to the most balls in the water on the PGA Tour, and there is water on 15 holes. The 3 hole stretch of 15-17 is known as “The Bear Trap” thanks to Nicklaus’ tweaking, and is supposed to frighten everyone and remind you of Amen Corner at AGNC. It is definitely a tough combination, but the statue and naming makes it a little contrived.

TV Times: Thurs-Fri 2-6 pm ET on Golf Channel; Sat-Sun 1-3 pm ET Golf Channel and 3-6 pm ET NBC. CBS has given over to college basketball until after the Final 4, and will pick up golf at the Masters in early April.

‘Dawgs in the Field: 4. Brendon Todd, Davis Thompson, Chris Kirk, Keith Mitchell.

So now you get the title. After being the Honda Classic for a decade, Cognizant and apparently the Convention & Visitors Burea of Palm Beach County got together for a perfectly bland tournament title picking meeting. But the course is very difficult, and gives fits to every Tour pro.

The problem is that several big names aren’t competing. Thanks to having two Signature Events in a row, and Bay Hill next week with the Players 2 weeks after that, this tournament is getting skipped for rest by some of the top pros like Scheffler and McIlroy. And some highly ranked former Bulldogs like Henley, Harman, and Straka. No matter – this place is where ‘Dawgs come to win.

In the last 7 years, a Bulldog has finished in the top 10 every year here. That includes Sepp Straka’s first Tour win in 2022, Chris Kirk’s personal redemption win in 2023, and Keith Mitchell’s first Tour win in 2019. And going back further, Russell Henley’s second Tour win in 2014. So it’s a place both familiar and comfortable. And I expect more good things from Mitchell, who has shown early season flashes and won on this course.

If you don’t want to pin your hopes on a Georgia mens’ basketball team that is back to .500 in conference play and looking to secure its 20th win on the season, you might just forget those hoop dreams and come watch ‘Dawgs chasing little white balls. Either way…

GO ‘DAWGS!!!