Gatorade(R) National Baseball Player of the Year: Kaleb Cowart

/PRNewswire/ -- In its 25th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Kaleb Cowart of Cook High School (Adel, Ga.) as its 2009-10 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Cowart was surprised with the news while he was taking a baseball team photo at Cook High School by 13-year Major League Baseball veteran Delino DeShields, also a Gatorade State Baseball Player of the Year as a high school senior.

"It felt great to surprise Kaleb with the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year award and welcome him into one of the most prestigious legacy programs in high school sports," said DeShields, who stole 463 bases in his distinguished career, capping the 1997 season as the National League leader in triples. "Gatorade has been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes perform is a huge honor for these kids."

By claiming the 219th National Player of the Year trophy to be awarded in the program's 25-year history, Cowart joins two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard (2003-04, Southwest Atlanta Christian, Atlanta) and 2010 NCAA Final Four MVP Maya Moore (2006-07, Collins Hill, Suwanee), both of whom were ultimately named Gatorade High School Athletes of the Year, as the only high school athletes from the state of Georgia to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year recognition in any sport.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Cowart as the nation's best high school baseball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Cowart from more than 473,000 high school baseball players nationwide. Cowart is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 6-foot-3 1/2, 195-pound senior right-handed pitcher and switch-hitting third baseman led the Hornets (31-5) to the Class 2A best-of-three state championship series this season, where they handed eventual champion Calhoun High (35-1) its only loss of the year before falling, two games to one. Cowart finished 10-1 on the mound along with a save, posting a 1.05 ERA and collecting 116 strikeouts in 73 innings. At the plate, he batted .654 with 11 home runs, 59 RBIs and 55 runs scored, concluding his senior campaign with a 1.206 slugging percentage, a.721 on-base percentage and 36 stolen bases in 36 attempts. His 2010 batting average ranks second all-time in state history among single-season totals.

A 2009 Aflac All-American, Cowart is a three-time First Team All-State selection and is rated the nation's No. 6 prospect in the Class of 2010 by Perfect Game USA and No. 13 by Baseball America.

Cowart graduated with a 94.5 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered in association with the Cook High Anchor Club, participating in service projects to assist needy local families and children as well as blood-donation drives and a literacy-outreach initiative for elementary-age students. He has also donated his time on behalf of his Fellowship Baptist Church. A past member of the Cook High Student Leadership Team, which facilitates freshman assimilation on campus, Cowart has also served as an Adel-Cook Recreation Department youth sports volunteer.

"I think Cowart has the chance to become the next Chipper Jones," said Cook High Head Coach Bob Owsley. "He has all the skill and tools it takes to succeed at a very high level. He's without a doubt the best player I have ever coached."

Cowart has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball on scholarship at Florida State University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in next week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

"Without question, Kaleb is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school baseball player based on his statistics on the field and the impact his accomplishments have had on Cook High School's success," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jennifer Storms. "But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

To celebrate the award's 25th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Baseball Player of the Year at www.gatorade.com/POY25. For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.


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'Be a Fan': Special Olympics Georgia State Summer Games May 21-23

/PRNewswire/ -- About 2,600 athletes and coaches from all over Georgia will compete in Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA) State Summer Games May 21-23 at Emory University. Athletes will compete in athletics, aquatics, soccer, soccer skills, badminton, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, and gymnastics.

The games, which are free and open to the public, begin Friday, May 21, with the Opening Ceremony at 8 p.m. at Emory's McDonough Field with a parade of athletes. Leading the parade of athletes is Atlanta Falcons Running Back Jason Snelling. Opening's emcee is WSB-TV retired sports anchor Bill Hartman.

Competitions will be Saturday and Sunday, with medals being awarded throughout the weekend. Events will be held at the Woodruff P.E. Center and Candler Soccer Field on Emory's campus.

Parking is free at Peavine Parking deck. For more information about the games and a map of Emory, visit www.specialolympicsga.org.

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Atlanta Braves to honor Tom Glavine with Braves Hall of Fame induction and number retirement on Aug. 6

The Atlanta Braves will pay tribute to their former pitcher Tom Glavine on Friday, August 6 by inducting him into the Braves Hall of Fame and retiring his uniform number. The induction will take place at a special luncheon and the uniform number retirement will occur in a pre-game ceremony that night before the Braves take on the San Francisco Giants.

"Tom has been, and continues to be, a very special part of the Atlanta Braves organization," said Atlanta Braves President John Schuerholz. "There's no greater honor than inducting him into our Hall of Fame and making sure his Braves uniform number 47 is retired and finds its rightful place alongside other great Braves Hall of Famers."

Glavine's number 47 will be the seventh Braves uniform number to be retired, joining Hank Aaron (44), Eddie Mathews (41), Dale Murphy (3), Phil Niekro (35), Warren Spahn (21) and Greg Maddux (31). The Braves also retired the number 42 along with all Major League Baseball teams to honor Jackie Robinson.

Glavine, who is currently a special assistant to team president John Schuerholz and is also a broadcaster on some Braves radio and TV broadcasts, spent 19 years in the Braves organization. He was drafted by the Braves in 1984 and was with the team through the 2002 season before he was signed as a free agent with the New York Mets. After five seasons with the Mets, Glavine returned to the Braves in 2008.

He ranks 21st on the Major League Baseball's career victory list, with 305, and he ranks fourth for most wins by a left-handed pitcher behind Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton and Eddie Plank. In 518 starts for the Braves, Glavine compiled a 244-147 record with a 3.41 ERA.

Glavine won the National League Cy Young Award in 1991 and again in 1998. In 1995 he was named the World Series MVP after going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in the Braves' championship win over the Cleveland Indians.

He will join Hank Aaron, Bill Bartholomay, Lew Burdette, Skip Caray, Del Crandall, Ralph Garr, Tommy Holmes, Ernie Johnson, David Justice, Herman Long, Bill Lucas, Greg Maddux, Eddie Mathews, Dale Murphy, Kid Nichols, Phil Niekro, John Sain, Paul Snyder, Warren Spahn, Ted Turner, and Pete Van Wieren in the Braves Hall of Fame.

Tickets are available for the August 6 game at www.braves.com/tickets, the Braves ticket office at Turner Field, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or at any Ticketmaster outlet.

The location for the Hall of Fame luncheon is still to be determined, but for information regarding tickets fans can call 404-614-2310.

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17th Annual Hustle for Hope 5K Run-Walk May 1, Fairburn

17th Annual Hustle for Hope 5K Run-Walk will be held Saturday, May 1, 2010 at Lester Road Christian Church, 3900 Newton Road, Fairburn, GA 30213. A 100 meter Heroes of Hope race will be held for our friends with special needs. This will be a fun filled day for the entire family. All proceeds from the race benefit Southwest Christian Care, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality hospice care for terminally ill patients, children with special needs, seniors, and their families. For more information or to register visit our website at www.SWChristianCare.org or call 770-969-8354

Jamal Crawford Wins 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man Award Presented by Kia Motors

The Atlanta Hawks’ Jamal Crawford, who came off the bench in all 79 games in which he appeared this season, is the winner of the 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man Award presented by Kia Motors as the league’s best player in a reserve role, the NBA announced today.

Crawford received 580 of a possible 610 points, including 110 of a possible 122 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks, who won the award last season, finished second with 220 points and Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished third with 126 points.

In order to be eligible for this award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

As part of its support of the Sixth Man Award, Kia Motors America will donate a 2011 Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Crawford to Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento, the Official Vehicle of the NBA, to the charity of choice of each of four 2009-10 season-end award winners as part of the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 12 new vehicles to charity since the program began in 2008.

Crawford, Atlanta’s second leading scorer at 18.0 ppg, led the league in that category among players who didn’t start a game and paced the team in scoring 27 times. He ranked seventh overall in three-point field goals (163) and 18th in free throw percentage (.857). Over the last 40 years, only Ricky Pierce (1989-90, 23.0 ppg) posted a higher scoring average without starting a single game. His 163 three-pointers were the second most by a bench player since Chuck Person of the Indiana Pacers connected for 164 in 1991-92. Crawford recorded nine four-point plays, bringing his all-time NBA-leading career total to 28. The 6-5 guard scored at least 20 points 32 times, including one 30-point effort. Crawford scored his 10,000th career point at Golden State Feb. 21, and dished out his 2,500th career assist at Sacramento Nov. 4.

The 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man Award presented by Kia Motors is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” The series, currently in its third season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Most Improved Player, Defensive Player and Most Valuable Player of the Year awards. It also includes the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors, which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.

Below are the voting results for the 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man Award presented by Kia Motors:

2009-10 NBA SIXTH MAN AWARD PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS VOTING

Player Team 1st 2nd 3rd 580
Jamal Crawford Atlanta 110 10 - 580
Jason Terry Dallas 6 48 46 220
Anderson Varejao Cleveland 2 32 20 126
Manu Ginobili San Antonio 2 17 14 75
JR Smith Denver - 4 21 33
Lamar Odom LA Lakers 1 6 2 25
Paul Millsap Utah 1 2 4 15
Carl Landry Sacramento - 2 6 12
Udonis Haslem Miami - - 5 5
Marcus Thornton New Orleans - 1 - 3
Kyle Lowry Houston - - 1 1
Jared Dudley Phoenix - - 1 1
Kevin Love Minnesota - - 1 1
Al Harrington New York - - 1 1


ALL-TIME NBA SIXTH MAN AWARD PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS WINNERS

1982-83 Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers
1983-84 Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
1984-85 Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics
1985-86 Bill Walton, Boston Celtics
1986-87 Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee Bucks
1987-88 Roy Tarpley, Dallas Mavericks
1988-89 Eddie Johnson, Phoenix Suns
1989-90 Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee Bucks
1990-91 Detlef Schrempf, Indiana Pacers
1991-92 Detlef Schrempf, Indiana Pacers
1992-93 Clifford Robinson, Portland Trail Blazers
1993-94 Dell Curry, Charlotte Hornets
1994-95 Anthony Mason, New York Knicks
1995-96 Toni Kukoc, Chicago Bulls
1996-97 John Starks, New York Knicks
1997-98 Danny Manning, Phoenix Suns
1998-99 Darrell Armstrong, Orlando Magic
1999-00 Rodney Rogers, Phoenix Suns
2000-01 Aaron McKie, Philadelphia 76ers
2001-02 Corliss Williamson, Detroit Pistons
2002-03 Bobby Jackson, Sacramento Kings
2003-04 Antawn Jamison, Dallas Mavericks
2004-05 Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls
2005-06 Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies
2006-07 Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns
2007-08 Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
2008-09 Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks
2009-10 Jamal Crawford, Atlanta Hawks
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Evander Holyfield Makes History... Again!

/PRNewswire/ -- Rocky Balboa couldn't have told a better story than Evander Holyfield. Saturday night, the 47-year-old Holyfield became the oldest man to capture the World Heavyweight Championship, the fifth time in his storied career that the "Real Deal" has captured world title honors. With the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas chanting, "Holyfield! Holyfield!," the boxing legend stopped Francois Botha with a right hook at 2:05 remaining in the eighth round to become the new WBF World Heavyweight Champion. The knockout win improves Holyfield's career record to 43-10-2, with 28 KOs.

"For me, this win represents the power of faith," Holyfield said. "I wanted to show people that you can win and achieve your goals no matter what because through God all things are possible."

Holyfield also said that he looks forward to bringing renewed attention and excitement to the Heavyweight Division.

The 47-year-old Holyfield was fighting for the first time since December 2008. He has always been known for his innovative, scientifically-based training methods, which have kept his body in peak condition well past the age when most fighters have retired. He soon will be introducing his own line of revolutionary nutritional products to the public to help people look and feel their best.

Next, Holyfield has his sights set on David Haye and the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, who all hold other major versions of the World Title. Following Saturday's victory, Holyfield issued a challenge to settle the score in the ring.

"There's only one world, so there should only be one World Heavyweight Champion," Holyfield said. "I am going to be the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World again."

Holyfield is represented by Womble Carlyle Corporate & Securities/Sports & Entertainment attorney Bernard H. Coleman, Jr.

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Atlanta Braves, Georgia Aquarium, Stone Mountain Park, World of Coca-Cola, and Six Flags Over Georgia Team Up to Launch MVP Package

Ticket combo packages at substantial savings available now at: braves.com/mvp

The Atlanta Braves have teamed up with the Georgia Aquarium, Stone Mountain Park, World of Coca-Cola, and Six Flags Over Georgia to launch the MVP Ticket Package, which includes admission to all five attractions for $89.00, a savings of almost 37%.

The $89.00 Most Valuable Package includes:

· An Outfield Pavilion ticket to any Braves game in 2010 (retail value $28.00)

· A Six Flags Over Georgia admission ticket (retail value $44.99)*

· A Georgia Aquarium admission ticket (retail value $26.00)

· Stone Mountain One-Day All Attractions Pass (retail value $27.00)*

· World of Coca-Cola admission ticket (retail value $15.00)

Total retail value: $140.99 – Total Savings: $51.99

*Please refer to braves.com/mvp for Six Flags and Stone Mountain Park operating schedule and hours.

Fans can also choose from an assortment of ticket combination packages including:

· Triple Play Ticket Pack: An Upper Box ticket to any Braves game in 2010 + admission to two of the other MVP attractions (Georgia Aquarium, Stone Mountain Park, World of Coca-Cola, or Six Flags Over Georgia) starting at $44.50

· Double Play Ticket Pack: An Upper Box ticket to any Braves game in 2010 + admission to one other MVP a

ttraction (Stone Mountain Park, World of Coca-Cola, or Six Flags Over Georgia) starting at $24.50 · The Big Catch: An Outfield Pavilion ticket to any Braves game in 2010 + admission to Georgia Aquarium for $37.00

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