Latest news with #ATLANTA
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves Series Preview
Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams makes a throw to first base after fielding a ground ball hit by St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker during the second inning at Nationals Park. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Division rival Atlanta Braves started the season on a seven-game losing streak, going 5-13, starting off as one of the worst teams in baseball. Since that stretch, Atlanta is 14-8, fighting their way back into the playoff picture early in the season. From top to bottom, this lineup is littered with All-Star-level talent, and even off to a slow start, they are still considered one of the most dangerous teams in baseball. ATLANTA TEAM STATS Pitching: 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale started 2025 on a bad note, with an ERA peaking at 6.75. He has been crucial for Atlanta's recent success, dropping his ERA down to 3.97 and has a whopping twenty-eight strikeouts over his last three outings. The pitching staff as a whole has been right around average, having a 3.89 ERA (16th), 1.25 WHIP (14th), and .232 batting average against (9th). Advertisement Hitting: After a 'down' year last season, Austin Riley has become arguably the most important piece in Atlanta's lineup. Riley leads the team in home runs (8), batting average (.283), hits (47), and slugging percentage (.470). Marcell Ozuna has continued his performance from 2024 into 2025, leading Atlanta in OPS (.841). However, the Atlanta offense has been underwhelming as a whole, currently posting a .237 batting average (21st), 42 home runs (13th), 3.10 on-base percentage (18th), and .380 slugging percentage (16th). PITCHING MATCHUPS GAME ONE - Monday, 7:15 EDT WASHINGTON: Jake Irvin (2-1) - 8 GS, 3.94 ERA, 33 SO, 1.15 WHIP Advertisement The 28-year-old has gotten off to a solid start to the season, currently sitting with a career high in ERA. In his last start, he went 5.1 innings and allowed four hits and two earned runs, resulting in a Washington win against the Cleveland Guardians. ATLANTA: Grant Holmes (2-3) - 7 GS, 4.58 ERA, 40 SO, 1.25 WHIP Late into the 2024 season, Holmes was allowed to start and played well, finishing with a 3.56 ERA. Holmes has had a roller coaster start to 2025. In his last start, Holmes allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings, resulting in an Atlanta loss. GAME TWO - Tuesday, 7:15 EDT WASHINGTON: Michael Soroka (0-2) - 2 GS, 7.20 ERA, 11 SO, 1.30 WHIP Advertisement Soroka made his return to the Washington rotation on May 7 after being on the injured list for over a month. In his return, Soroka pitched five innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs in a loss against the Cleveland Guardians. However, an encouraging sign from his performance was his strikeout total. During his rehab starts, Soroka was hitting double-digit strikeout numbers and had eight in his return, showing potential improvement in the strikeout department. ATLANTA: Spencer Schwellenbach (1-3) - 8 GS, 3.61 ERA, 43 SO, 1.12 WHIP In his second year in the Atlanta rotation, Schwellenbach has brought his great production from 2024 into the 2025 season. In his last start, Schwellenbach pitched and had a great outing, going six innings and only allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out six, resulting in an Atlanta win. GAME THREE - Wednesday, 7:15 EDT WASHINGTON: Mitchell Parker (3-3) - 8 GS, 3.97 ERA, 26 SO, 1.30 WHIP Advertisement Mitchell Parker has had an incredible start to the season, but his production has dipped in recent outings. In his last outing, Parker pitched four innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits, resulting in an embarrassing 10-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. ATLANTA: Bryce Elder (2-2) - 7 GS, 4.97 ERA, 30 SO, 1.29 WHIP 2023 All-Star Bryce Elder has not been able to replicate his 2023 production; however has progressed from his disappointing 2024 season. In his last start, Elder produced a quality start, going six innings and allowed three runs on five hits, resulting in an Atlanta loss. GAME FOUR - Thursday, 7:15 EDT WASHINGTON: Trevor Williams (2-4) - 8 GS, 5.88 ERA, 34 SO, 1.57 WHIP Advertisement Trevor Williams struggled this season compared to his short 2024 season. His last start resulted in a loss, as he pitched six innings and allowed four earned runs against the St. Louis Cardinals. In his last three starts, Williams has allowed a total of thirteen earned runs. ATLANTA: AJ Smith-Shawver (2-2) - 6 GS, 2.76 ERA, 34 SO, 1.35 WHIP At just 22 years old, Smith-Shawver has pitched incredibly this season, being arguably the best arm for Atlanta in 2025. In his last start, Smith-Shawver threw a gem against the Pittsburgh Pirates, going just under six innings, allowed one earned run on five hits, and punched out seven, leading to an Atlanta victory. The National League East is one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. With the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies seeing most of the success this season, the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals are trying to fight back into the division race. While Washington has seen loads of success from their young talent, Atlanta's proven talent has been disappointing, placing Atlanta in third place in the division. A big divisional series for both squads, trying to prove their worth in the National League East Advertisement More from
Associated Press
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Republican state Senator Brian Strickland files to run for Georgia attorney general
ATLANTA (AP) — Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland has become the first candidate to file papers to run for Georgia attorney general in 2026. Strickland's campaign filed with the state Ethics Commission on Saturday to start raising money for the post, but he's characterizing the move as exploratory. 'As the legislative session concludes, this filing allows me to formally explore the campaign as my family and I spend the necessary time to make this decision,' Strickland said in a statement Wednesday. Current Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, announced in December that he's running for governor, meaning no incumbent will be in the race next year to be the state's chief legal officer. Strickland lives in McDonough. A relative moderate, he has served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in recent years and has been active in bills to reform the criminal justice system and promote improved mental health care. He was first elected to the state House in 2012 and started serving in the state Senate in 2018. He currently represents District 42, which includes parts of Henry, Newton and Walton counties and all of Morgan County. Republican state Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens has also said he's considering running for attorney general in 2026. No Democrats have publicly expressed interest.
Washington Post
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
A quarter-century after his lone national title, Tom Izzo comes up short again in March Madness
ATLANTA — Tom Izzo pounded the scorers' table in frustration. He cusped his hands behind his head, struggling to figure out some way for his Michigan State team to make a few baskets in the NCAA Tournament's South Region final.
New York Times
30-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
It's worth listening to Tre Holloman, the voice of this Michigan State Elite Eight team
ATLANTA — Of all the characters of March, Tre Holloman might be the most worth listening to. Every word is worth the work. He stopped caring long ago how it sounds and cares instead about only what it means. The Michigan State junior sat on stage at State Farm Arena on Saturday, the eve of a Sunday Elite Eight matchup with top-seeded Auburn. He went mostly unnoticed, blending in between teammates Jeremy Fears and Jase Richardson during a preview news conference. As a reserve point guard, Holloman didn't exactly garner an influx of questions. Then the moderator asked him to chime in on a question posed to Spartans players. Advertisement 'You know,' he began, drawing a perceptible intake of breath, 'it's like, like, kind of is a privilege to be the last Big Ten team representing that conference.' Later, leaning against a wall, Holloman let out a massive laugh. 'I feel like I did good with that,' he said. 'You know, earlier this week, man, I did a one-on-one interview. It was bad. I did terrible. But what can you do?' This is how Holloman speaks. Some letters dragged. Some words repeated. It can be difficult to reconcile this is the same player slow-motion mouthing some choice words 2 inches from Brock Harding's face; the same player who shoved two Michigan players off the center court Michigan State logo in a rivalry dustup; the same player who, on Friday night, heard Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla spit some talk in the Sweet 16 and made sure to get the final word. 'I know I need to chill,' Holloman said earlier this week, fighting a smile. 'I'm trying.' This is the version on the outside, the one easily cut into social media clips. Tre Holloman the smack-talker. But then you get close to the 21-year-old, you talk to him, and that's when you meet the other version. Tre Holloman, the person, has a stutter. This isn't something he discusses often, but it's who he is as much as being a basketball player. Holloman was a talkative kid growing up. Never shy, always around other kids. As kindergarten began, though, his parents began noticing that he struggled to get words out. He'd either get stuck on a letter or repeat the same word over and over. Young Tre would often sing instead of speak because the sounds came easier to him. A speech-language pathologist soon told the family Holloman had a disfluency known as elongated speech. Holloman immediately began therapy and learned tools to communicate, but the stutter only softened. By middle school, his future reality became clear. While roughly three-quarters of children who stutter mostly move past the issue into adulthood, many don't. As sixth, seventh and eighth grade rolled along with endless speech and language sessions, Holloman's improvements leveled out and he decided to forego further treatment. 'I got better,' Holloman remembers, 'but, man, I was still stuttering like crazy.' This part, of course, comes as no surprise. Kids, classmates, dudes at the park — they were brutal. Relentless teasing. Tre's older brother, Marquis, and a crew of cousins stuck up for him, dolling out defense, but there's only so much that can be done when it comes to such an easy mark. Holloman was smaller than other kids but knew he'd grow taller. Shaking the stutter? Not as easy. To this day, Holloman recalls the first time he heard an adult stutter. Advertisement 'I was like, damn, man, this ain't never gonna go away,' Holloman said Saturday. But then there were sports. Basketball, football and baseball. Holloman was about as good as any kid in the Twin Cities. Holloman got bigger and grew better, needing to move up to play older classes. Sure, he was still picked on, but it's hard to bully the kid who plays quarterback and point guard. Holloman started on the varsity basketball team as an eighth-grader at Minneapolis North before transferring to Cretin-Derham as a freshman. He was so good at football that he eventually grew into a three-star recruit as a safety. Holloman not only found sports as an outlet, but he also learned the ultimate lesson of the bullied — the best way to neutralize a joke is to laugh at it. 'By junior year of high school,' he said Saturday. 'I was just like, man, f— it. This is me. I stutter.' Operating on his own terms, Holloman found his way to Michigan State, to being a key piece in Tom Izzo's program, and here, to the Elite Eight. But it's worth remembering what's under everything. All that smack? Holloman's insistence on getting in the mix anytime something stirs? His knack for getting on the floor in an aimless game and suddenly raising the temperature seemingly for his own enjoyment. That all comes from somewhere. 'You know, it's just, like — all that bullying, that feeling of being attacked, I think that's all in me, and I just, like, snap, kinda turn into someone else,' he said. 'It comes out as aggressiveness.' Holloman pushed back a corner of his mouth into a half-grin and looked around, like he just realized something, as if irony itself walked down the hall and smacked him square in the face. Of all things, he has a reputation for … talking too much. 'Now that is funny,' he said. It all makes sense, though. The Tre Holloman we see on the floor, the one unhindered by apprehension, the one looking to make a point or tell someone what's what? Advertisement He doesn't stutter. 'Oh, it comes out nice and smooth,' he said of his smack. 'No problem on that, you know? I just say it, probably 'cause I don't think about it.' Those who understand Holloman know what they see and what they hear. Not just teammates and family. But those who watch. In February, after sinking a shot-of-the-year buzzer-beater at Maryland, Holloman went through the expected gauntlet of interviews that followed, many coming on live TV. He answered each question with loads of joy and gave credit to his teammates. He also got stuck on a few words. Soon after, Holloman received a private Instagram message from a mother saying that her son, who's trying to navigate a stutter of his own, connected with one of the interviews and now counted Holloman as his favorite player. She felt her son finally found some inspiration. At an ensuing road game, another set of parents brought their son to meet Holloman. The boy stuttered, too. They all took pictures together. Holloman hung with him as long as he could. So maybe there's more going on when Tre Holloman speaks. And maybe he'll have something to say against Auburn. Either way, he has some answers for everyone. 'Be confident with what you're talking about,' he said in that hallway. 'You want to know what you want to say before you start talking, you feel me? Take your time. No rush. And, like, if you stutter, just keep on going with it.'
Washington Post
27-03-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Black women's hair products are in the safety spotlight. Here's what to know
ATLANTA — Black women around the world gather in salons, dorm rooms and living rooms for hours at a time to get synthetic braids put in their hair. But they're wondering if the convenience and fashion benefits are being outweighed by potential health hazards . The question circulating on social media and in the Black community follows on the heels of a proposed federal rule — that's still in limbo after multiple delays — to ban the carcinogen formaldehyde in hair-straightening chemicals.
