Category: Sports

Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old tennis phenomenon from Atlanta, Georgia, made history on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.
She won the U.S. Open by beating Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Just 11 years ago, Gauff went from dancing at the US Open as an 8-year-old to winning her first career Grand Slam at the same tournament 11 as a 19-year-old.

She is the youngest American US Open champion since Serena Williams in 1999.

“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” Gauff said in her victory speech. “To those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it.”

Ranked No. 6 in the world, Gauff had to beat No. 2 player in the world to win the U.S. Open.

Sabalenka made 46 unforced errors on the day, while Gauff only committed 19.

Who Are Coco Gauff’s Parents?

Coco Gauff’s parents are Corey Gauff, a former athlete who played basketball at Georgia State University in Atlanta and Candi (Odom) Gauff who ran track for Florida State.

The Gauffs exposed Coco to many disciplines while she was young, including dance, basketball and tennis. While Coco was born in Atlanta, she was raised in Delray Beach, Florida.

After her win, Gauff thanked her parents for their dedication to her craft.

“Today was the first time I’ve seen my dad cry,” she said after the match. “Thank you guys. You believed in me from the beginning. I’ve been coming to this tournament, siting right there watching Venus & Serena compete. It’s incredible.”

Gauff credited Venus and Serena Williams as the reason for her victory.

“They’re the reason why I have this trophy today. They’ve allowed me to believe in this dream,” Gauff said. “Growing up, there weren’t too many black tennis players dominating the sport. It was just them at the time that I can remember, & obviously more came because of their legacy. It made the dream more believable. All the things they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this. You look back at the history of Indian Wells with Serena, all she had to go through. Venus, fighting for equal pay. It’s crazy & it’s an honor to be in that same lineup as them.”

#CocoGauff, Atlanta is proud of you! 🎉💪 https://t.co/FM5NoyJU8L pic.twitter.com/ZHgzByHogY

— ATLHAPS (@atlhaps) September 10, 2023

Final Serve

Coco stands to become a household name now that she’s won the U.S. Open.

She already has had several endorsement deals from the likes of companies like Dior and Porsche. Those deals will only grow now.

It’s a ring for Trae Young! The star guard of the Atlanta Hawks got married on Saturday, July 23, 2023 in some nice summertime nuptials.

Instead of at one of Atlanta’s best wedding venues, the wedding was reportedly held in the Bahamas.

Young married his longtime fiancee Shelby Miller, who is expecting a baby girl, the couple’s second child.

Where to go on a date in Atlanta.

If you love to play basketball, a new and exciting venture sponsored by the City of Atlanta has begun: midnight basketball. In addition to the abundance of outdoor basketball courts, the games are a part of the city’s strategic crime plan administered by the Atlanta Police Department, which will host the Summer Midnight Basketball initiative. 

Midnight Basketball In Atlanta: What You Need To Know

This Community Engagement initiative, which is a safety initiative, is open to the public to attend. The games for this season began June 1, 2023 with the city’s kickoff event. This is the third year the games have been going on. The games are accompanied by music, games and even free haircuts.

When Do They Play The Games For Midnight Basketball?

The Midnight Basketball games are played every Monday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the C.T. Martin Natotorium Recreation Center, 3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Atlanta, Ga. 30011. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teen or an adult. The competitive games are open to any age or team as long as you’re eligible to sign up.

How To Sign Up For Midnight Basketball In Atlanta

Participants can click the link to sign up. Midnight Basketball is an eight-week summer initiative for the entire family. Come out and enjoy a fun community game, while getting resource information too.  For League Information, contact Sonia Wimbish at sewimbish@Atlantaga.gov To Register a team, contact Charles Brown at cbbrownii@atlantaga.gov For Exhibitor opportunities, contact Priti Shah at pgshah@atlantaga.gov

Final Word

Due to the crime level in New Orleans, city officials hope that nighttime hoops can keep people off the streets and out of court, but also on the court, if you get my meaning.

The Georgia Bulldogs ended a uprecendented two-year run with a convincing win over the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7 to win their second consecutive College Football National Championship. The game on Monday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium was a fitting conclusion for the Dawgs, who field a team full of NFL-caliber players.

The Dawgs jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, putting up 38 points in the first half over the outmanned Horned Frogs. TCU quarterback Max Duggan never found his footing as he found himself on the ground several times as the Georgia defense repeatedly caved in on him.

Georgia Wins Second Straight College Football Title

Georgia scored 42 straight points after TCU cut their early lead to 3 points,10-7.

Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart said the game plan was just to take it to TCU.

“A really aggressive plan. Not holding back anything,” he said after the contest. “We wanted our kids to play without fear, and all year, I told them, ‘We ain’t getting hunted, guys. We’re doing the hunting. And hunting season is almost over. We only got one more chance to hunt.’ And we hunted tonight.”

UGA quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for six touchdowns, tying a college football championship record held by former LSU signal caller Joe Burrow.

 

The senior signal caller said it was a cool moment when he was given a curtain call ovation from adoring fans and the Georgia sideline.

“I told all the guys, ‘What are we doing? Why don’t we have a play?'” Bennett said. “I was, like, they’re letting me walk out of here.”

“Stetson speaks for himself, the way he leads and prepares,” Smart told reporters. “His mental makeup is such of a quarterback that believes he can make every throw, and what he did tonight was truly amazing. Probably had his best game of his career, in my opinion, with some of the checks he made, some of the decisions he made, just really elite.”

Bennett, who started his Georgia career unsure of his place, finishes the season as a Heisman finalist and an intriguing NFL prospect.

Georgia began the season with the daunting task of running through the always-tough SEC, including a resurgent Tennessee team and inspired play from other SEC East teams. Here’s how the season played out.

Did Smart think the 2022 squad could repeat as champions?

“I’m kind of thinking, ‘Well, that would be nice, but we lost 15 draft picks,'” Smart told media after the game. “Might not be that easy this time.” But Bennett believed Georgia would be good enough again. “He had full conviction that he wanted to come back and go opposite of the mainstream,” Smart said. “He said, ‘I want to go play. I want to go play football and prove to people this is no fluke. We can do this.’ And he did everything that he said he was going to do.”

How Georgia Repeated As College Football National Champs

Opponent	Date	Time & Location	Scores / Ticket Information
Oregon Ducks	Sept. 3	3:30 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.	49-3 W
Samford	Sept. 10	4 p.m. in Athens, Ga.	33-0 W
At South Carolina Gamecocks	Sept. 17	Noon at Columbia, South Carolina	48-7 W
Kent State	Sept. 24	Noon in Athens, Ga.	39-22 W
At Missouri Tigers	Oct. 1	Columbia, Missouri	26-22 W
Auburn Tigers	Oct. 8	Athens, Ga.	42-10 W
Vanderbilt Commodores (Homecoming)	Oct. 15	Athens, Ga.	55-0 W
Bye	Oct. 22
Florida Gators	Oct. 28	3:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Florida	42-20 W
Tennessee Volunteers	Nov. 5	Athens, Ga.	27-13 W
At Mississippi State	Nov. 12	Starkville, Mississippi	45-19 W
At Kentucky Wildcats	Nov. 19	Lexington, Kentucky	16-6 W
Georgia Tech	Nov. 26	Athens, Ga.	37-14 W
SEC Championship vs. LSU	Dec. 3	4 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.	50-30 W
College Football Playoff: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs. Ohio State	Dec. 31	8 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.	42-41 W

Georgia 49 – Oregon 3

The Chick-fil-A Classic in downtown Atlanta, Georgia had no problem disposing of the Oregon Ducks in the first game of the season.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett ran for one touchdown and three for two others as the Dawgs jumped out to an early lead and coasted through the second half of the game.

Here are some highlights:

 

Week 2: Georgia 33 Samford 0

The #2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs shut out Samford Bulldogs 33 to 0 on Saturday in Athens. Because of the threat of stormy weather, both teams in the agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 12 minutes.

Here are the highlights:

Having solved the Alabama curse, this Georgia squad is expecting to run the table again, if injuries can be minimized.

Week 3: Georgia 39, Kent State 22

Georgia started off sluggish in their Saturday afternoon game with Kent State. The Bulldogs turned the ball over three times and its special teams unit was fooled by a fake punt, but in the second half UGA regained control.

Let’s watch the highlights:

 

Week 4: Georgia 26, Missouri 22

Week 5: Georgia 42, Auburn 10

Week 6: Georgia 55, Vanderbilt 0

Week 9: Bye Week

Week 8: Georgia 42, Florida 20

Week 9: Georgia 27, Tennessee 13

Week 10: Georgia 45, Mississippi State 19

Georgia used a stifling defense and a rejuvenated run game to power past the Mississippi State, 45 to 19 on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. The win put the Bulldogs back into the SEC Championship Game for the third year in a row.

Week 11: Georgia 16, Kentucky 6

Week 13: Georgia 50, LSU 30

Week 14: Georgia 42, Ohio State 41

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett shook off a bad third quarter to lead the Bulldogs to three scores in the fourth quarter to slip past Ohio State 41-41 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

After game UGA Head Coach Kirby Smart credited his players with keeping their composure.

Great resiliency, a never-say-die attitude and great toughness,” Smart said in his postgame interview. “At the end of the day, we didn’t play real well. Ohio State probably deserved to win the game. But we never quit.”