Atlantafi.com is bringing you the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta under a state of emergency.
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The Atlanta Dream have had an uneven season so far, a grueling road schedule and cohesiveness issues have continued to take their toll on the young players. But Friday, June 22 in front of thousands of fans at McCamish Pavilion, the Dream came up big in a come-from-behind 75-70 victory over the Connecticut Sun.
The Dream surged in the third and fourth quarters, where they went on a 24-0 run. Much of it was carried by Angel McCoughtry’s game-high 25 points. Brittney Sykes scored 13 points, Damiris Dantas chipped in 11, and Elizabeth Williams came up big with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Atlanta Dream defeat Sun with furious comeback
The Sun controlled the game early, storming out to an early 12-point lead in the second quarter. The third stanza featured more of the same as Shekinna Stricklen’s three-pointer lifted the opponent’s lead to 13.
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The 8th annual Green Sports Alliance Summit is set to take place in downtown Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday, June 26 through Wednesday, June 27.
The summit is the world’s largest and most influential gathering for the sports community to unite around sustainability. The event brings together hundreds of industry stakeholders to learn and share better practices and the latest innovations in greening operations, advancing the supply chain, engaging fans and more.
This year, we’re adding more networking opportunities and focusing on hands-on workshops for attendees to work through challenges, share lessons learned, and gather valuable take-aways to implement in their communities. Your full conference ticket will get you access to multiple networking opportunities with peers and vendors, various exhibitors providing tools to help you meet your sustainability goals, food and beverage throughout the conference and effective take-aways to bring back to your organization.
For more detailed information on the Summit visit summit.greensportsalliance.org.
We’ve secured a great rate at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Atlanta at Centennial Olympic Park. Rooms fill quickly so be sure to make your reservation early.
Are you a Green Sports Alliance Member? Contact Rahul Devaskar for more information about becoming a member and for a discount on Summit tickets.
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Dirty Bird Fever has began in earnest right now. That’s because the new Atlanta Falcons football schedule has been released. The squad will begin their second campaign in the still-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they look to be playing at home during the Super Bowl.
Atlanta Falcons 2018 Football Schedule
Falcons owner Arthur Blank has invested heavily in the team’s offense by choosing to give quarterback Matt Ryan largely what he wants in salary negotiations. The team has also shored up defensive and offensive lines, which both struggled at times last season.
Julio Jones, Muhammad Sanu and Devante Freeman will all be back and looking to reignite the firepower that was No. 1 in the league two season s ago. This year, the Falcons open the season against the Super Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles on the road. On Thanksgiving, the Falcons will play division rival the New Orleans Saints in what will likely be crucial game for the crown.
3 big Falcons game to watch in 2018
This season, the Birds play their first Monday night game at home against the New York Football Giants on Oct. 22. Because it’s in the NFC, this will be an extraordinarily big game. Furthermore, this will raise the profile of the Falcons tremendously if they can get the W.
Don’t get it twisted, there is no game bigger than the Thanksgiving showdown against the Saints in the Big Easy. Not only are the teams holders of the biggest rivalry in the NFL, but the game may well determine the division champion.
The previous week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys will be a similarly high-profile matchup that will have enormous implications for the NFC. Last year the Falcons disposed of the Cowboys, who were without their star running back Ezekial Elliott. This year promises to be a different game.
Here is the Atlanta Falcons 2018 schedule.
PRESEASON
- Friday, Aug. 10: at Jets, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Friday, Aug. 17: Chiefs, 7 p.m. ET
- Saturday, Aug. 25: at Jaguars, 7 p.m. ET
- Thursday, Aug. 30: Dolphins, 7 p.m. ET
REGULAR SEASON WEEK TEAM TIME TICKETS WK1 Sept. 6 at Philadelphia 8:20pm NBC 
WK2 Sept. 16 vs. Carolina 1:00pm FOX WK3 Sept. 23 vs. New Orleans 1:00pm FOX WK4 Sept. 30 vs. Cincinnati 1:00pm CBS WK5 Oct. 7 at Pittsburgh 1:00pm FOX WK6 Oct. 14 vs. Tampa Bay 1:00pm FOX WK7 Oct. 22 vs. NY Giants 8:15pm ESPN WK8 BYE – – – WK9 Nov. 4 at Washington 1:00pm FOX WK10 Nov. 11 at Cleveland 1:00pm FOX WK11 Nov. 18 vs. Dallas 1:00pm FOX WK12 Nov. 22 at New Orleans 8:20pm NBC WK13 Dec. 2 vs. Baltimore 1:00pm CBS WK14 Dec. 9 at Green Bay 1:00pm FOX WK15 Dec. 16 vs. Arizona 1:00pm FOX WK16 Dec. 23 at Carolina 1:00pm FOX WK17 Dec. 30 at Tampa Bay 1:00pm FOX It's here: our 2018 schedule.
📅: https://t.co/hypjuSjkUf pic.twitter.com/rf2YmtlMma
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) April 20, 2018
Atlanta Falcons 2017 Highlights
Read more: Grant Park Summer Shade Festival: Everything you need to know
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Don’t necessarily think you’ll get inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but if you want to give of yourself and time by volunteering for the city’s Super Bowl in January, they need you.
Atlanta will need at least 10,000 volunteers during Super Bowl LIII for weeklong activities, according to 11Alive. To save time, organizers are keen to start the interviewing process and bring people on board.
Here’s how to volunteer for Super Bowl LIII
Helpers will be needed to shepherd people around the game festivities, including staffing along downtown streets and venues, the airport and other places. City officials are expecting more than 250,000 visitors to flock to to the city, including those with no intentions of attending the game.
Volunteer coordinator Cordell Smith told 11Alive that people will want to volunteer just to be around the Super Bowl.
“I think the biggest incentive is just being a part of the Super Bowl. For cities that usually get Super Bowls, people are used to that. Up here, we don’t always get that opportunity. We may never get that opportunity again,” he was quoted as saying.
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On this episode of Road Trippin’ ATL, Kent Bazemore & Mike Muscala are joined by Detroit Pistons legendary guard Isiah Thomas.
Thomas shared a number of highlights from his playing days, including the fact that his team scored the most points in a regulation game: 186 points.
Thomas said that the Bad Boys’ defensive exploits were rooted in what he did in his earlier playing days. “I just went back to my old days, when I played for Coach Knight at Indiana,” he said. “Offenses today get all the glamour he said. “When we had to stop the pretty teams — L.A. was beautiful, Boston was beautiful and Chicago was beautiful — we are ugly,” he said.
Thomas said that with Detroit being a smaller media market, they didnt’ have the “boom mike” to create a narrative to rule the day. “We were the first San Antonio, when you look at small market teams. We really were the first model.”
Thomas also said he believes that the “Bad Boy” Pistons were really mislabeled. He said that he learned in school not to talk about certain things, but nobody told him that it applied to pro sports as well.
“I didn’t know that when you come to the NBA, the thing that you can’t talk about is race, class and gender.”
The podcast also gets into Kevin Love & DeMar DeRozan’s recent remarks of mental health, and Baze’s injury.
EPISODE 18: Bad Boy Isiah Thomas
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A whirlwind courtship that started at the Atlanta Hawks’ Tinder Night promotion has led to holy matrimony at last. Ben McCleskey and Avery Armstrong dated for three years after that fateful “Swipe Right Night.” Now, they’ve tied the knot.
“We are so thankful for all the Atlanta Hawks have done for us, especially Mr. Koonin, Janet Smith and Catie Scott,” said Mr. & Mrs. McCleskey in their first joint statement. “It’s been an amazing experience and we will cherish it forever. Our wedding was truly unforgettable.”
The Hawks and Philips Arena hosted the wedding ceremony, which took place in early March 2018, and included more than 250 guests, including Hawks CEO Mike Koonin.
“From that much-talked about promotion, none of us would have imagined that it would lead to our first wedding on the Hawks’ court,” Koonin was quoted as saying. “We all know that sports can unite people like few things can and we are happy to consider Avery and Ben Hawks fans and family for life.”
The night wasn’t complete without a video message from Rosette Pambakian, Tinder’s Head of Brand, who gifted the couple an all-inclusive honeymoon getaway.
“We want to congratulate Ben and Avery on their marriage,” Pambakian was quoted as saying. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that our
Swipe Right Night with the Hawks led to such an amazing story and a life-changing match – and we are excited to send
them on their honeymoon.”Now that’s what I call a slam dunk.
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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.
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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
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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 DayAlso 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.
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Are you ready to kickoff the preparations for Super Bowl 53, which will be held in Atlanta in January 2019? If so, the event is looking for some help.
Volunteers are being encouraged to apply right now so that they can have some staff in place for logistics and other things. Don’t expect to make it onto the field to mingle with the players and snap selfies. They’re looking for people who (clap) want (clap) to (clap) help!
The event has launched a website and is ready to go.
Here’s how the call for help reads: “As Atlanta gears up to welcome the NFL in 2019, we will be looking for a group of high energy, passionate volunteers. These super-friendly and dedicated ambassadors for our city will be responsible for making the kind of lasting impressions that are forever memorable. Our goal with the volunteer program is to take the words ‘southern hospitality’ to new heights and provide the kind of warm, hearty welcome to all visitors that is synonymous with Atlanta. Interested? Sign up today to be the first to receive exclusive volunteer news and updates.”
As we all know, the Atlanta Falcons are going to be playing in the big game, marking the first time a home team has hosted a Super Bowl. With that being the case, it’s going to be a blast!