Augusta Chronicle, The

Augusta Sticks It to Hickory

The Augusta GreenJackets' offense, which had gone cold during their recent slide, woke up Thursday night. Facing the South Atlantic League's worst pitching staff probably didn't hurt.

Easter Seals Tournament Stands Out

Weekend and weekday bass tournaments are ways of life on Thurmond Lake, but few benefit local charities like the annual event which last weekend raised more than $13,000 for Easter Seals. The $13,345.63 is believed to be the most ever raised. Previous Easter Seals tournaments netted $10,000 to $11,000.

Hunt Begins for Foxhounds Aiken Pro Team Debuts On Road

Former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Drew will be the Opening Day starter for the Aiken Foxhounds independent league baseball team, which begins its inaugural season today at the Anderson Joes. Drew, trying to bounce back from a shoulder injury suffered two seasons ago, is expected to pitch four or five innings for the Foxhounds, who play six games on the road before their home opener next week at USC Aiken's Roberto Hernandez Stadium.

Notes [Corrected 04/02/08]

BRAVES: Activated left-hander Mark Redman from the 15-day disabled list in case John Smoltz hasn't recovered enough from a dislocated right pinky to start against the Boston Red Sox this weekend. Redman, who is 0-4 with a 10.62 ERA, was sidelined by surgery for an ingrown nail on his right big toe.

Solid Round Pays Off for Sutherland

DULUTH, Ga. - Kevin Suther-land shot 7-under-par 65 in favorable scoring conditions Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the AT&T Classic. Ryuji Imada, a former standout at the University of Georgia, eagled his final hole to join Stephen Marino, Tommy Armour III, Bob May and Craig Kanada at 67 on the Greg Norman-designed TPC Sugarloaf.

Ochoa Two Back of Lee in Lpga Sybase

CLIFTON, N.J. - Had it not been for Sarah Lee, defending champion Lorena Ochoa would be atop the leaderboard again at the LPGA Sybase Classic. Lee shot bogey-free 6-under-par 66 to take a two-stroke lead over Ochoa and four others after the first round Thursday.

Hunt Begins for Foxhounds Aiken Pro Team Debuts On Road

Former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Drew will be the Opening Day starter for the Aiken Foxhounds independent league baseball team, which begins its inaugural season today at the Anderson Joes. Drew, trying to bounce back from a shoulder injury suffered two seasons ago, is expected to pitch four or five innings for the Foxhounds, who play six games on the road before their home opener next week at USC Aiken's Roberto Hernandez Stadium.

Trivia

New Owner to Take Hands-Off Approach

WASHINGTON - Finally, it became official. The Atlanta Braves had a new owner on Thurs-day, after Liberty Media acquired the team from Time Warner late Wednesday night. Just don't expect the bigwigs at Liberty to dart from their Colorado headquarters, hop on a private jet to Atlanta and start getting cozy in a skybox at Turner Field. Or in the clubhouse, for that matter.

Spartans' Prayer Answered

The two teams knelt down at midfield following the conclusion of Augusta's 42-40 win Thursday night over Daytona Beach. As it turned out, the Spartans had one more prayer left in them.

Spartans' Prayer Answered

The two teams knelt down at midfield following the conclusion of Augusta's 42-40 win Thursday night over Daytona Beach. As it turned out, the Spartans had one more prayer left in them.

Bulls Looking for History at the Expense of Pistons

CHICAGO - Before the NBA season began in November, this was the consensus: The defending champion was a fluke, and the Bulls showed it by beating Miami by 42 points on opening night.

Suns in Need of Road Victory

PHOENIX - Facing elimination after a heartbreaking loss, the Phoenix Suns are conceding nothing. They believe they can win Game 6 tonight and bring the tense, taut series back to the desert for Game 7. Phoenix nearly won Game 5 despite playing without All-Star center Amare Stoudemire and key reserve Boris Diaw, leading most of the way before losing 88-85 on Wednesday night.

Colleges

Men's Golf Men's West Regional

Toughness Impresses Parker

Burke County coach Eric Parker learned a lot about his new football team this spring. He was also able to dismiss what he thought he knew. It related to toughness. Parker made his mark at Laney on it. He took the job at Burke County wondering if toughness was part of the reason why he was hired. Burke County seemed to always fall one win shy of the playoffs the past three years.

Pronger Penalty Bothers Anaheim

ANAHEIM, Calif. - After looking practically defenseless in their lopsided loss to Detroit, the Anaheim Ducks absorbed another blow when Chris Pronger was suspended Wednesday for one game. Pronger, Anaheim's best player during the playoffs, missed Thursday night's Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Nats Rally Past Braves

WASHINGTON - There didn't figure to be a bad time to run into the Washington Nationals all season. But the Braves seem to have done it. That, or this week was just a good time to run into Atlanta.

Tournaments

Sponsoring a bass, crappie, catfish or other fishing tournament? Mail or fax your flyer or information to Fishing Editor, The Augusta Chronicle, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, Ga. 30903-1928. Fax number: (706) 823-3408. Tournament reports must include first and last names of the participants, total numbers of fish and total weight of the catch. 25th annual Clark Hill Committee

Augusta Sticks It to Hickory

The Augusta GreenJackets went into Thursday's series opener against the Hickory Crawdads with a lot of pent-up frustration. The team had lost three consecutive games, six of its previous seven and the Southern Division lead in the process.

River Racing Returns to Area

The inaugural return of grand prix style speedboat racing on the Savannah River has one simple goal this weekend, according to the organization's president. "We want to reintroduce our event to the market and let it build up and grow as time goes on," said Mike Schriefer, president of the ChampBoat Series.