NORTH PORT, Fla. — When Matt Olson’s agent, B.B. Abbott, gave his client the numbers on the Braves’ contract offer, Olson did a double take. Wait, what did you say? “The stars kind of aligned perfectly,” Olson, wearing a Braves cap and jersey, said dur…
Braves, Matt Olson agree to $168 million contract extension
NORTH PORT, Fla. — The Braves and Matt Olson have agreed to an eight-year, $168 million contract extension. The deal, which runs through the 2029 season, includes a $20 million club option for 2030. The Braves announced the deal on Tuesday as Olson too…
Kiefer Sutherland talks of touring, songwriting and new TV projects
ATLANTA — Kiefer Sutherland knows that when all is said and done, his acting career is what paid the bills and provided him his primary acclaim and adoration. But like his acting cohorts David Duchovny and Kevin Bacon, he derives sustenance and joy fro…
Mark Bradley: A sobering day: The Braves land Freddie Freeman’s replacement
We have our answer. The Braves just traded half their farm system – slight exaggeration, but only slight – for Matt Olson. He’s a first baseman. You don’t make such a move if you believe you’ll re-sign Freddie Freeman. You make this deal only if you kn…
Braves trade for Matt Olson, likely ending Freddie Freeman era
The Braves on Monday acquired first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher Shea Langeliers, and righties Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes. This trade made something all but official: The Freddie Freeman era in At…
Mark Bradley: Mike White leaves Florida for Georgia. Wait. What?
Mike White would have been a great hire in 2015. He was among the hottest of mid-major coaches. He’d gone 101-40 at Louisiana Tech, winning three consecutive regular-season titles. Fact is, Mike White was a great hire – or so everyone thought – in 2015…
Georgia tabs Florida’s Mike White as new basketball coach
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia didn’t waste any time finding a successor for basketball coach Tom Crean. Mike White, who has been Florida’s coach for the last seven years, was tabbed as the Bulldogs’ new head coach on Sunday in a hastily called telephonic board…
Andrew Young looks back at 90 years, and smiles, mostly
ATLANTA — In a visit to Atlanta in 1951, new college graduate Andrew Young slowed his car when he saw a rat crossing Ponce de Leon Avenue late one night. Born in the Deep South’s New Orleans and educated in Washington, D.C., at Howard University, Young…
Ga. legislature debates pandemic science without state scientist
ATLANTA — Sen. Clint Dixon stood before the Georgia Senate last week, he said, to “fight for the well being of students.” His bill, the Unmask Georgia Students Act, was close to passage. And an ally’s proposal to expand its scope from one year to five …
Mark Bradley: If Tom Crean is out as Georgia coach, who should be in? Jonas Hayes, Bulldogs alum.
ATLANTA — Tom Crean won the Big Ten. He’d coached at Indiana and Marquette, programs of national profile. He’d coached big-time players. His Florida neighbor — name of Dick Vitale — insisted Crean really wanted the Georgia job. His opening statement at…