Friday's Report: GIAA playoffs, FPD's Johnson, Mercer; UGA/Tech/KSU baseball, Braves, Georgia softball; Kyle Busch, NBA playoffs, MLB, World Cup, WNBA, college ⚾/🥎, NFL, tennis, golf, college 🏈
📰S📰C📰O📰R📰E📰B📰O📰A📰R📰D
High Schools
(Teams: Please post first and last names, and names are preferred over social media handles (they know who they are, most people don’t) and post team names, not mascots)
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
GIAA Playoffs
Semifinals
Gatewood 5, Trinity Christian 1; Gatewood 8, TCS 0
The Gators are headed to the championship after another sweep, improving to 20-9. Gatewood put away the opener with 3 in the fourth. Ben Pearson took care of the scoring in that inning with a 3-run homer to left. Pearson went the distance, surviving seven walks while fanning 5 and giving up 4 hits. The Gator bats got rolling late in the second game, expanding on a 1-0 lead with 3 in the fourth, and 4 runs in the final three innings. Gatewood outhit TCS 17-2, led by 4 hits from Drew Love and 3 from Ben Brannen, plus 4 RBI from Jayden Moss. Lawson Moore whiffed 12 with 1 walk and 2 hits in the nightcap.
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ Soccer ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
GIAA Playoffs
Girls, semifinals
Central Fellowship 4, St. George’s 1
Stratford 3, St. Anne-Pacelli 2, 2 OT (Click here for full story)
Maddie Biesterfeld drilled in the game-winner to send the Eagles to the state championship.
Boys
Brookstone 4, Mount de Sales 2
🏫🏫🏫College🏫🏫🏫
(Colleges: Please post links to stories with social media posts, and team names instead of logos in graphics)
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
The Citadel 9, Mercer 2; Mercer 9, Wofford 8, SoCon Tournament
Pro
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ MLB⚾ ⚾ ⚾
📰C📰O📰V📰E📰R📰A📰G📰E📰
Around/About Central Georgia
The Citadel upsets top-seeded Mercer in third SoCon Tournament
Mercer survives Wofford to avoid quick 2-and-out
Around/About Georgia
Georgia breaks SEC Tourney slump with win over Mississippi State
Brosius slam sparks Georgia Tech over Virginia
Kennesaw State bumped from CUSA Tournament
South Alabama sends Georgia State home
Yaz's big day, aided by two Harris HRs, clinches Braves' 35th win of season
Acuña Jr. exits vs Marlins as a precaution with left thumb pain
College Football Playoff expansion could potentially solve a growing Georgia worry
SB-Georgia falls to Tennessee in Super Regional opener
A Worthy Read
She didn’t know her dad drove 15 hours to see her play basketball
Kyle Busch, 1985-2026
2-time NASCAR champ Busch dies at 41 after being hospitalized with a ‘severe illness’
Reaction to the death of Busch
Busch Sought Medical Attention During Race 2 Weeks Before His Death
Earnhardt Jr. shares emotional post on rivalry with Kyle Busch
A 28-year timeline of one of NASCAR's most fearsome competitors
What to know about Busch’s death
College Sports, the changing landscape
Yormark reveals impact of media rights on Big 12 private capital deal
NBA Playoffs
Knicks move 2 wins from the NBA Finals with a 109-93 victory over the Cavs
Spurs, already down Fox, lose Harper (hamstring)
The goal for road teams in the NBA playoffs is to enjoy the quiet. In some arenas, it’s hard to find
Wembanyama disappointed after Spurs fall to Thunder, despite another brilliant stat line
NBA/Men’s Basketball
LeBron mulls Lakers-Thunder gap: 'Out-talented'
MLB/NL
Bichette drives in 2, Mets earn series split with a 2-1 win over the Nationals
Lowe homers, Griffin extends hitting streak and Pirates beat Cardinals
Ohtani hits leadoff homer, lowers ERA to 0.73 in another 2-way gem for victorious Dodgers
MLB/AL
Bailey, Cantillo lead Guardians to four-game series sweep with 3-1 win over reeling Tigers
Yesavage outduels Cam Schlittler in marquee matchup as Blue Jays top Yankees
MLB/Baseball
Roundup: Guardians complete 4-game sweep of Tigers
NHL/Hockey
Canadiens pounce on Hurricanes early in 6-2 win to open Eastern Conference Final
Capitals re-sign Timothy Liljegren to a 2-year, $6.5 million contract
Sabres reward coach Lindy Ruff with 2-year contract extension after breakthrough season in Buffalo
Soccer/World Cup
$50 World Cup ticket? NYC Mayor Mamdani announces lottery
Mexico launches a last-minute World Cup campaign to stop a homophobic chant
World Cup host Boston has lobster rolls, American history and Fenway Park: Things to know
WNBA/Women’s Basketball
An odd statistic. Home teams have only won 29% of games
WNBA warns the Fever for failing to report Caitlin Clark’s injury on time
College Baseball
Avent retires after 30 years as NC State baseball coach
Florida's hitting flood against Alabama starts with a single drop
Auburn ace Marciano shuts down LSU, advances in SEC Tournament
College Softball
Texas Tech star NiJaree Canady signs NIL partnership with AUSL, will get equity in league
Ex-Gator Williams returns to face Florida in Super Regional showdown with Texas Tech
NFL/USFL/UFL/Football
Browns QB race under Monken remains wide open as offseason enters organized practice stage
Kurt Warner gets into Northern Iowa hall of fame nearly decade after his Pro Football HOF induction
Burrow thrilled by Bengals’ bold offseason moves, but says he didn’t drive them
Mid rounds, big dreams: QBs selected later in NFL draft strive for success despite long odds
Former Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich gets an opportunity in NFL’s revamped accelerator program
Tennis
French Open boss says prize money will not change despite players’ complaints
Golf
Koepka is 1 back at the Byron Nelson, with Scottie Scheffler lurking in his hometown event
Koepka enjoys grind in his PGA Tour return from LIV and calls every week a fresh start
Jim Furyk and Keegan Bradley added as assistant captains for Presidents Cup
Higgo's caddie apologizes for PGA Championship tardiness penalty
College Football
Day: Ending Big Ten Championship would make ‘The Game’ more important
College Football/SEC/ACC/South
Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy thanks supporters as he continues his recovery from gunshot wound
Orgeron returns to LSU as a special assistant to recruiting and defense
Huff aims to be 'combination of' MLK Jr., JFK, Vince Lombardi as Memphis coach
College Basketball/Men
Kentucky and Gonzaga agree to discontinue their men’s basketball series
High school/youth sports
Scoreboards