Friday's Report: Stratford, Bibb/Eddie Ashley, Mercer, Middle Georgia State, Russell Henley; Georgia Tech, Blank/World Cup, Falcons, Braves; World Cup, ACC Media Days, British Open, MLB, CFB, NFL
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Around/About Central Georgia
Stratford wins sixth GIAA Drake award for excellence
Bibb County Board names baseball field at DeFore after Ashley
Mercer reaches out west for latest pitching coach
Middle Georgia State adds alum Lanoux as pitching coach
Henley off to solid start at British Open
The first round of the British Open was a ācoulda beenā day for Russell Henley.
Coulda been better, coulda been worse.
So even-par was about right. And not painful.
The Maconite is tied for 39th, but is only five shots back of leader Jackson Suber in the 154 Open.
Henley is in quite a group: Min Woo Lee, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas, Tom Km, Chris Gotterup, Brooks Koepka, J.J. Spaun, among others.
He tees off at 9:42 a.m. EST.
Hen was 1 under after four, but countered birdie with a bogey which he did in reverse on 9 and 10, and then again on 17 and 18.
Henley returned to red on 17, getting out of a bunker and dropping a 7-footer for birdie, breaking a nice run of six straight pars, with five two-putts.
He gave it back on 18, the second-toughest hole of the day, by hitting a bunker off the tee and then with his third shot, hitting a 9-footer for the bogey.
The first two bogeys were equally frustrating.
On par 3 No. 4, he missed an 8-footer for par after three solid shots. On the par 4 9th, he got into the rough off the tee, and barely missed a nice save on an 18-footer for par.
Alumni Update/Honor Roll
Mercer sends league-best 373 athletes to socon academic honor roll
Around/About Georgia
Techās Key: āhere to win championshipsā
Hosley ādidnāt want to go to the the schoolā in state
Efford adds āleaderā to duties at Tech
Blank calls hosting World Cup semifinal one of highlights of his life
Atlanta says goodbye to the FIFA World Cup after epic semifinal
Falcons training camp: Reporting dates, open practice schedule
All-Star Conversation: Chris Sale cherishes his 10th-career Midsummer Classic
As the second half begins, how aggressive will the Braves be at the Deadline?
A Worthy Read
A 12-year-old baseball standout trains through tears after Venezuela quakes leave him homeless
Soccer/World Cup
Argentina, the team that will not die
Argentina players wave banned political banner after World Cup win
IOC asked to investigate FIFA overturning Balogun red card suspension
Messi has a message for critics of Argentina: āNothing was handed to usā
Spain practices outside as smoke fills the air in northern New Jersey
Messi and Argentina have been kings of late-game heroics
English media and former players criticize Tuchel after teamās latest Cup letdown
Tuchel must bear the blame for loss to Argentina
Tens of thousands of Argentine soccer fans celebrate their teamās victory
College Football/ACC Media Days
ACC looks to corporate sponsorships as a way to boost the bottom line of league revenue
ACC notebook: Swinney trusts Clemsonās QB options
Why Swinney welcomes haters, lousy predictions for Clemson
Virginiaās Elliott names Pribula starting QB entering the 2026 season
Swinney explains why Clemson QB Vizzina isn't at ACC Kickoff
Golf
Suber leads a day of surprises at Birkdale with a 65 in his first British Open
Day 1 at the Open Championship: An unlikely leader, Bryson's bounce-back and Rory's struggles
McIlroy toils at British Open as putting woes leave him 7 shots off the first-round lead
Fleetwood rallies late but Rose falters as English contingent makes sluggish start at British Open
āSorry, Mum': Cigarette smoker Dan Brown lights up British Open with another strong first round
MLB/NL
Alvarez homers twice as Mets beat Phillies 4-1 under smoky sky
Baseball/MLB
Astros trade playoff hero McCullers Jr. to Brewers in salary dump
Major League Baseball draft signing bonuses
Phillies reliever Keller out for season with torn UCL, surgery possible
Walker won the Home Run Derby. He wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball
Reports: White Sox give No. 1 pick Cholowsky record-setting bonus
WNBA/Womenās Basketball
Gray, Aces: 'Enough is enough' with racist messages, WNBA can do more
Silver says Caitlin Clark has become a āpolitical footballā amid WNBA officiating debates
More whistles, more points: How the WNBAās new officiating focus is reshaping games
Fire hold the Mystics to 29% shooting in a 75-56 rout
Soccer
World Cup veteran Meunier joins Sunderland ahead of Europa League campaign
Former England forward Greenwood makes $44M move to Fenerbahce
Cup star Lopes returns to Champions League action captaining Shamrock Rovers to win
College Football/Southeast
Troy hoping to stay āconnected five bars every dayā after 2025 Sun Belt West championship
South Alabama football looking to ācome out of the gate fasterā in 2026
College Football
Clickbait alert: The 20 most hated coaches in college football
Judge rules on evidence in Sandersā bankruptcy case
NFL/USFL/UFL/Football
Running back Kamara has a new deal with the Saints for 2026
Smith-Njigba voted the NFLās top wide receiver by AP panel
Patrick Surtain II is voted the NFLās top cornerback by AP panel for the second straight year
NBA/Basketball
Silver says multiple groups interested in NBA expansion in Seattle
James says he isnāt ready to reveal a decision on his future, doesnāt offer any hints
Giannis arrives in Miami, looking to follow Messiās path to more titles and success
High school/youth sports
New York high school cancels football season months after hiring new head coach
Around the nation/world
Merlier wins crash-marred 12th stage of the Tour de France, Pogacar retains overall lead
Scoreboards