Category: Sports

Hat-trick machine Josef Martinez has been phenomenal in his short career in Major League Soccer. His latest exploits against the Vancouver Whitecaps have earned him the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week honors.

The recognition comes from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR), who vote every week. Tuesday’s announcement comes as Atlanta United enjoys an early two-game win streak. Saturday’s 4-1 victory made back-to-back wins in the city as Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been rocking and rolling the past two weeks.

In his debut season last year, Martinez showed that he was a natural, scoring 19 goals in 20 appearances. The productivity earned him  a nomination as a 2017 MLS Newcomer of the Year finalist.

Also last season, he won MLS Player of the Month and Player of the Week twice, the only player to accomplish that feat.

Atlanta doesn’t play next week but will take the field on March 31 against Minnesota United.

Atlanta United made it 2-0 at home in this early season as defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, March 17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For its second consecutive win, Atlanta United (2-1-0) was cheered on by 45,003 fans, team officials said.

Atlanta’s 4-1 victory was revenge for last season’s loss to Vancouver in the teams’ first-ever meeting between the two ballclubs.

Last week, Atlanta United was welcomed by more than  72,000 fans in attendance, an MLS record.

The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. EST and was broadcast on FOX Sports South. Atlanta doesn’t play next week but will take the field on March 31 against Minnesota United.

🚨Come greet the players!

Team arriving on the Front Porch in about 15 min! pic.twitter.com/lP8gxKJNJ9

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) March 17, 2018

Atlanta Braves have released their 2018 promotional schedule. Beginning on Opening Day, fans can expect tons of fun at SunTrust Park in Cobb County.

BHighlights will include everything from Bobbleheads, postgame concerts and the return of Bark in the Park. Here is the rundown:

3/29 vs. Phillies: “Chop On” tomahawk giveaway presented by Coca-Cola giveaway (all fans)
4/20 vs. NY Mets: Ender Inciarte Gold Glove bobblehead presented by Coca-Cola (first 20,000 fans)
4/22 vs. NY Mets: New mascot bobblehead presented by Xfinity (first 10,000 kids 14 and under); Bark in the Park
5/4 vs. Giants: Star Wars Night; Ozzie Lando Calrissian Star Wars bobblehead presented by Xfinity (first 20,000 fans)
5/5 vs. Giants: MLB Network Tote Bag (first 40,000)
5/15 vs. Cubs: “Chop On” cap presented by NAPA Auto Parts (first 20,000 fans)
6/15 vs. Padres: Freddie Freeman “Stretch” bobblehead presented by Delta Air Lines
6/16 vs. Padres: Postgame viewing of “The Sandlot” (25th anniversary of the film’s debut)
6/22-23 vs. Orioles: Hank Aaron Weekend
7/26 vs. LA Dodgers: Avett Brothers postgame concert presented by Delta Air Lines
8/10 vs. Brewers: Chipper Jones pregame ceremony honoring him on his Baseball Hall of Fame induction; Chipper Jones replica Baseball Hall of Fame plaque presented by SunTrust (first 20,000)
8/11-12 vs. Brewers: Braves Alumni Weekend
8/18 vs. Rockies: Chipper Jones “Crazy Train” audio bobblehead presented by NAPA Auto Parts (first 20,000)
9/4 vs. Red Sox: Babe Ruth Boston Braves bobblehead presented by Gas South (first 20,000)
9/14-15 vs. Nationals: Braves Future Stars Weekend
9/15 vs. Nationals: Mike Foltynewicz designed bobblehead by presented by Coca-Cola
9/16 vs. Nationals: Los Bravos Day presented by Georgia Power
9/22 vs. Phillies: Pink Out the Park for breast cancer awareness
9/23 vs. Phillies: Fan Appreciation Day

Also returning will be fan favorites, Friday Night Fireworks presented by Georgia Lottery and Kids Run the Bases presented by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta every Sunday. Additional postgame concerts will be announced on a later date. To see the full promotional schedule, go to www.braves.com/promotions.

The Atlanta Falcons flew high for most of the season, but crashed to Earth on Saturday night, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 15-10 in  the NFL divisional playoff football game. The loss ended the Falcons’ hopes of making it to the  Super Bowl for the second straight year.

Atlanta held a slim lead for most of the game, but got behind late in the third quarter, 12-10 after a field goal by Philly. Matt Ryan (210 yards) had time to find his receivers but couldn’t come up with big plays.

“One thing I’ve learned playing 10 years in this league is that past success, prior success, or lack of prior success really doesn’t have any bearing on the following season,” said Ryan. “Teams have to come together on their own each year. I thought our team did. I thought we dealt with a lot throughout the year. I thought we handled it well throughout the year. We’re certainly disappointed that we didn’t go further and get the job done, but next year’s a different year.”

Here are 5 reasons why the Falcons lost to the Eagles.

The Falcons have no identity

Are the  Falcons a high-powered offense led by the butterfly-like Julio Jones or a gritty, running team with two power backs? Steve Sarkisian’s West Coast system has been anomaly for most of the season, to the chagrin of Atlanta fans. Some believe that he should  have stayed in college at perennial power, Alabama, where he helmed the offense. Others feel he has ruined Atlanta’s once-high-flying offense (but more on that later).

Atlanta’s last play of the game was not a good one

The play, Sprint Right Pylon, was something the Eagles were waiting for. “I was like, ‘There’s no way they’re going to run this play,’” Eagles safety Rodney McLeod told Philly.com. “And as soon as I saw the tight end come over, I shouted it out. Yeah, I wouldn’t expect them to cut off half the field like that. But they had a lot of faith in their marquee receiver, and Jalen Mills made a big-time play – probably one of the biggest plays of the game.”

The defense let them down

The Falcoholic summed it up like this: “[The loss] was made worse by the defense. The fact that Atlanta allowed Nick Foles to march down the field against them was infuriating and unfortunate after they made real strides in 2017, but it’s the mark of a defense that still isn’t quite there yet. Their progress was still one of the most encouraging things about this year.”

The offense left them down

This from the AJC: “If any doubt remained as to the extent of the misallocation of offensive resources in their first post-Shanahan season, the final verdict was delivered here. The Falcons lost 15-10. Their 10 points came off Philadelphia turnovers. They were outgained 334 yards to 281 by a team working behind its backup quarterback.”

Sarkisian blew the game

While many feel Sark is not a good fit for the Falcons, head coach Dan Quinn voiced his support after the game. “I can take a long time to go through different spots, so it’s easy to place blame all onto one person, and that’s a shared responsibility when we don’t achieve at the level that we would like to,” he said. “There are a lot of really good things that we’ve done, and it was highlighted certainly [Saturday night] where we didn’t get the job done at the end of the game.”