AJC Blogs

Delta expects profits to take off next year

Christopher Seward — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:55:50 +0000

Delta Air Lines’ stock got a boost earlier today after the Atlanta-based airline said it expects profits next year to be solid.

The largest carrier serving Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said it will also end this year with an $800 million profit. According to an Associated Press report, analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting adjusted net income of $977 million.

The stock opened at $8.20 Wednesday, but reached as high as $8.34 before settling back to around its opening price. The stock (ticker DAL) remains well off its 52-week high of $13.73, but well above it’s 52-week low of $3.51.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said even higher fuel prices won’t put a crimp in strong earnings expected next year, when the carrier is also expected to cut flying by 2 to 3 percent, which will help cut expenses. Higher fares also have prompted the carrier to raise its current quarterly operating margin outlook.

Delta is pouring a lot of money into its hubs to remain competitive. In New York, it has launched an overhaul at JFK Airport and plans to expand operations at LaGuardia Airport after closing a deal with US Airways to transfer takeoff and landing rights at LaGuardia and at Washington D.C.’s Reagan National airports. The company also hopes to benefit from the new international terminal opening at Hartsfield-Jackson in 2012.

College football news and notes

Mike Luck — Fri, 13 May 2011 21:48:00 +0000

Scouring web sites and the wire services for college football news from around the country:
MISSISSIPPI PLAYERS SUSPENDED: Coach Houston Nutt has suspended linebacker Clarence Jackson and defensive end Delvin Jones after both were arrested for public drunkenness early Friday morning.
Lafayette County Court Records show both were booked at 3:50 a.m. on Friday morning, according to The Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger.
Jackson was also arrested in the fall after allegedly stealing a television and other electronic equipment from a dorm on campus.
Jackson is listed as a starter on the team’s current depth chart while Jones is fourth-string.

RB LEAVING GATORS: Running back Mike Blakely, considered one of the top recruits in the country, has decided to transfer from Florida.
Coach Will Muschamp says Blakely wants to play football elsewhere. Blakely, who ran for 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at Manatee High in Bradenton last fall, enrolled in January and missed spring drills because of a shoulder injury.
Blakely is the fourth player to leave Florida since Muschamp took over in January.

Four players have left Florida since new coach Will Muschamp took over in January.

Receivers Chris Dunkley and Javares McRoy transferred, and cornerback Janoris Jenkins was kicked off the team following a second arrest on a marijuana possession charge.

QB WON’T JOIN ‘CANES: Tate Forcier’s career at Miami is over before it started.

The Associated Press reported that the former Michigan quarterback broke off contact with the Hurricanes about six weeks ago because undisclosed personal matters were overshadowing football.ESPN.com first reported Forcier would not attend Miami.
Forcier’s college career has been turbulent. He was dogged by transfer rumors last season at Michigan, despite his insistence that he would remain a Wolverine throughout his career.
He was declared academically ineligible for Michigan’s trip to the Gator Bowl, and soon after revealed on Twitter that he would pursue a transfer. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound quarterback completed 219 of 365 passes for 2,647 yards, with 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 20 games for the Wolverines.

AUBURN COACH WORKING ON BOOK: Auburn football coach Gene Chizik will release a book in July.
“All In: What it Takes to be The Best” will be released on July 5, Tyndale House Publishers said.
Chizik led the Tigers to the national championship and a 14-0 season two years after his hiring was widely criticized following two losing seasons at Iowa State.
The publisher says Texas coach Mack Brown will write the foreword and that the book will cover the importance of faith in Chizik’s life along with his keys to success.

EX-TIDE PLAYER HONORS DAUGHTER: Former Alabama football player Shannon Brown has established a scholarship in honor of his daughter, who was killed by the tornado that struck Tuscaloosa on April 27.

Brown said candidates for the Loryn Alexandria Brown Memorial Endowed Scholarship need to embody some of her own qualities.Brown said his daughter had taken classes at Shelton State and been accepted to start at Alabama in August.”She wanted to graduate from where her daddy did,” Brown said.
Brown was in Madison when the tornado struck and at first didn’t know that his daughter had been in the path. He drove to Tuscaloosa after receiving phone calls from people concerned about her.
“I was in contact with my dad. He was one of the first ones in,” Brown said. “My dad’s got heavy equipment, bucket trucks and tractors. He was moving trees out of the way, monster trees, telephone poles, wires, to try to get back to my daughter’s house. If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have found her as soon as we did,” Brown said. “The toughest thing I had to do as a father? I was there when they pulled her out, and I had to identify my little girl’s body. That’s something nobody should have to do.”

TWO LEAVING ARKANSAS: Two more players have been granted releases from their scholarships.
A spokesman for Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino confirmed that offensive lineman Cam Feldt and linebacker Austin Moss have left the team. Feldt, a redshirt freshman, was listed as a third-team offensive guard on the pre-spring depth chart while Moss, a sophomore, was listed at fourth-team outside linebacker.
Their departures are the fourth and fifth for the Razorbacks this week.

MICHIGAN RECEIVER ENTERS PLEA: Darryl Stonum has pleaded not guilty to a drunken driving charge.
The plea to the charge of operating while intoxicated was entered Friday at his arraignment in Ann Arbor’s 15th District Court.
He was given a personal recognizance bond and ordered to avoid alcohol and drugs. A pretrial hearing has been set for May 20.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke suspended Stonum indefinitely after he was arrested May 6 on suspicion of operating while under the influence.

The day in sports

Mike Luck — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:46:31 +0000

Scouring ajc.com, the web and the wires for the interesting, odd and informative from the world of sports.

FROM THE AJC: Freddie Freeman is expected to start at first this season, but David O’Brien points out that the Braves have an even better prospect on the mound. Six Braves prospects including five pitchers were named to Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list, led by right-hander Julio Teheran at No. 6. Freeman is No. 17. Read about it here. … Michael Cunningham reports the Hawks are still looking for a point guard. Here’s some candidates.

NAME GAME : Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria wants to get rid of his nickname.
Soria has 43 saves last season but he has also picked up a nickname he doesn’t like: “The Mexicutioner.”
Soria is from Monclova, Mexico. He says the nickname has a negative connotation and is particularly bad these days with all the drug gang violence in his native country. He wants a different nickname or just to be called by his name.

HAPPY IN DENVER: Falcons fans hoping the team would acquire cornerback Champ Bailey will be disappointed to learn the former UGA standout decided to stay in Denver even though he might have made more money as a free agent.

Bailey, a Folkston, Ga., native, appears comfortable in Colorado, saying, “I feel like I’m a Denver native. I’m not from here, but it feels good here. I feel like I’m home. ”

HALL HONORED: Controversial former Falcon DeAngelo Hall took bows before the Virginia House and Senate in Richmond.
Hall, a former Virginia Tech standout and currently a Washington Redskins cornerback, received a commemorative resolution in the Senate. With his mother, his wife, their daughter and his aunt, Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, he stood before the Senate beside Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. He also was introduced to a loud ovation at center aisle of the House.

NOT A NASCAR FAN: The National Guard spends about $20 million to sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver. The U.S. Army pays $7.4 million to sponsor Ryan Newman. The U.S. Air Force doles out $1.6 million to sponsor AJ Allmendinger.
Some lawmakers believe those deals are excessive and unnecessary.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., recently proposed an amendment that would have banned the Pentagon from using taxpayer dollars to sponsor NASCAR race teams. The House voted down the proposal last week by a 281-148 vote, but McCollum insisted the fight was far from over.She planned to introduce broader legislation that would “prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for sponsorship of race cars, dragsters, Indy cars, and motorcycle racing.”
“The American people need to know that a majority in Congress is willing to cut homeless veterans, community health centers, and family planning services, but spend millions of tax dollars for race cars, ” said Bill Harper, McCollum’s chief of staff..”

SURFING DANGEROUS: Vanderbilt officials are investigating how their mascot left a young man with a bloodied nose while crowd surfing through the student section during a game in Nashville.

Mr. Commodore moved through the students before coming down, first putting his hand on the young man’s shoulder before knocking him in the face. Video on ESPN.com shows the incident during No. 18 Vanderbilt’s 60-51 loss to instate rival Tennessee.

The young man stemmed the blood with newspaper.

See ESPN’s video here.

ON TV: Here’s Wednesday’s sports on TV. The Thrashers and Hawks game are televised but Georgia Tech’s basketball game isn’t. You can follow it with the AJC’s gametracker, however.

U.S. Open qualifying: John Smoltz takes his shot

AJC — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:36:34 +0000

John Smoltz begins his quest to qualify for the U.S. Open Monday at the Marietta Country Club.

The ex-Brave and current baseball announcer will be among 144 golfers competing Monday. The top nine golfers and two alternates at the Marietta Country Club advance to the sectional round of qualifying. The other local qualifying event will be held at Planterra Ridge Golf Club in Peachtree City.

If Smoltz, a plus-2 handicapper, survives Monday’s 18-hole event, the 36-hole sectional qualifier will be all that stands between him and a spot in the U.S. Open field.

The U.S. Open is June 14-20 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will have a reporter at Marietta Country Club, so check back to see how Smoltz fares.

–David Purdum

Former Brave Johnson raising his game in Arizona

Mike Luck — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:36:41 +0000

Kelly Johnson hit his 7th homer Sunday.

Kelly Johnson’s sweet swing is finally paying off. Problem is, it’s happening in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform.

The former Braves second baseman has seven homers this season. In 17 games with the Diamondbacks, he has one fewer home run than he had in 106 games (8) with the Braves last season.

Johnson was not offered a contract by the Braves in the offseason and signed as a free agent with Arizona. He’s hitting .322, with 12 RBIs.

As for the home run surge, Johnson told the Associated Press Sunday: “I don’t think about them. I won’t think about them. I think about them as much as I think about the strikeout. Once it happens I’m on to the next one. I’m just going to try and keep that going and hope they keep flying out.”

The Braves have 12 home runs as a team in 17 games, just five more than Johnson. Jason Heyward leads the Braves with four.

The player manning second base for the Braves now, Martin Prado, has just one homer, but he leads the team with a .409 batting average.

Another former Brave, first baseman Adam LaRoche is also playing for the Diamondbacks and has one homer and seven RBIs.

Ex-Brave Johnson raising his game in Arizona

Mike Luck — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:21:30 +0000

Kelly Johnson hit his seventh homer Sunday.

Kelly Johnson’s sweet swing is finally paying off. Problem is, it’s happening in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform.

The former Braves second baseman has seven homers this season. In 17 games with the Diamondbacks, he has one fewer home run than he had in 106 games (8) with the Braves last season.

Johnson was not offered a contract by the Braves in the offseason and signed as a free agent with Arizona. He’s hitting .322, with 12 RBIs.

The Braves have 12 home runs as a team in 17 games, just five more than Johnson. Jason Heyward leads the Braves with four.

The player manning second base for the Braves now, Martin Prado, has just one homer, but he leads the team with a .409 batting average.

Another former Brave, first baseman Adam LaRoche is also playing for the Diamondbacks and has one homer and seven RBIs.

Jurrjens bounces back with solid outing

Chris Vivlamore — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 22:11:15 +0000

Jair Jurrjens needed this.

Oh, the Braves needed Sunday’s dramatic 4-3 victory over the Rockies, but Jurrjens needed a solid outing just as much. He was coming off a 17-2 loss to the Padres last Monday. Plagued by an inflamed shoulder in spring training that set him back several weeks, Jurrjens pitched eight innings Sunday in his third start. He allowed three earned runs on five hits, two of which were solo home runs in the seventh and eighth innings that had him on the losing side of the ledger until Jason Heyward’s ninth-inning heroics.

“It’s more important to win the game,” Jurrjens said. “I feel like I turned a corner. I’m getting my arm strength back.”

Jurrjens (0-1) struck out nine, while walking three, in throwing 108 pitches. Eric O’Flaherty worked the top of the ninth inning to get the win. In his three starts, Jurrjens has worked 16.1 innings, allowing 16 hits, 13 runs, 11 earned runs – and now two home runs. Ian Stewart and Carlos Gonzalez hit balls over the right field wall to threaten Jurrjens with the loss. It marked the fourth time in his career that Jurrjens two or more homers in a game.

“I left the ball over the plate,” Jurrjens said. “I had been throwing inside the whole game. They put the bat head on the ball and got me for two home runs.”

Diaz wastes little time making sure Braves get a hit

Chris Vivlamore — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:51:04 +0000

It took the Braves just one batter Sunday to do what they couldn’t do all Saturday.

Get a hit.

One day after being no-hit by the Rockies, Matt Diaz led off Sunday’s game with a triple to right center field.

It took the Braves just one more batter to bring Diaz home. Martin Prado followed with a sacrifice fly to score Diaz, a day after being shut out.

“Chipper [Jones] was making fun of me this morning before BP,” Diaz said. “He said ‘We are only as good as our leadoff hitter. You go, we go. Last night didn’t work out. Don’t do that to us again.’ So just to get a hit was nice.”

In his first three at-bats, Diaz had a triple, single and double in the dramatic 4-3 win. He could not manage hitting for the cycle as he struck out and flied out to center in his final two at-bats. Then again, he was unaware he had a chance at the rare baseball feat.

“I really didn’t think about the cycle because I didn’t know if they ruled that first one a triple or a double,” Diaz said. “I really never thought too much about it. Every time I came up it was a big situation so there really wasn’t a chance just to go for it.”

In getting three hits, Diaz matched the production of the Braves’ leadoff position all season. The Braves were 3-for-46 from the No. 1 hitter with one RBI and five runs scored. Diaz was 0-for-9, Nate McLouth was 1-for-11 and Melky Cabrera was 2-for-26.

Diaz was unaware of that statistic. He was aware that his three hits also matched his production all season. Entering the game he was batting .136 (3-for-22).

“I was aware that’s how many I had all year, myself,” Diaz said of his hit total.