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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Shockleyls success could mean much for Falcons ByAdmm Van Brimmer Morris News Service FLOWERY BRANCH - The D.J. doubters will wise up sooner or later. D.J. Shockley, formerly of Georgia and now with the Atlanta Falcons, is a com petitor. He is intelligent and physically gifted. And more than anything, Shockley is a darn good quarterback. Period. Not a college quarterback. Not a system quarterback. A quarterback. The Falcons drafted him with their last pick in April because they liked him -- and no doubt because they understood his PR value. Bring him in to please the masses, let him compete with Bryan Randall for the third quarterback job and see what happens. And Shockley, a man known for making the most of opportunities, is excel ling. Forget his numbers in the first two preseason games: 5 for 15 for 50 yards is misleading. Keep in mind the linemen he is playing behind and the wide receiv ers he’s throwing to. Shockley has shown the one intangible every NFL coach values: Poise. He eludes pressure without taking his eyes off targets downfield. When he forces throws, he always puts the Laßoche regrets decision to bunt ATLANTA - A day after Adam Laßoche’s decision to bunt hurt the Atlanta Braves’ chances to sweep Florida, his manager’s feelings on the subject had softened. But Laßoche was still pretty hard NOTEBOOK R. Travis Haney Morris News Service on himself in hindsight. “It’s a decision I made. I’ve made bad decisions my whole life,” said the amica ble Atlanta first baseman. “That’s not the first thing that’s gone wrong for me.” With the potential tying and winning runs on base and none out in the ninth Sunday, Laßoche bunted into a double play. The Braves lost by a run. Bobby Cox was most miffed at the time by the fact that bunting to move the runners to second and third with one out would CLEATS /POPE! THEGE BALLON ARE HEAVY! J Play Better Golf with JACK NICKLAUS ~ YOUR HEAD LEVEL AS \ SURE mmm WELL AS STEADY DURING THE \\ INDICATIONS OP ilimm. SLUING. PARTICULARLY WHEN \ rHilli A BOBBING THE BALL'S ON THE GROUND *W7 lUlk HEAD ARE RATHER THAN A TEE. ;g|f \V «* VTJUi TOPPED, THINNED THAT ALLOWS SIMPLY NO MARGIN POR HiKoV fcv/- AND FAT SHOTS. DONATE TO GOODWILL. A M M ■ www.goodwillworks.org Building Hues, families, and ball in spots where only the best or luckiest defenders can intercept it. Shockley will make the Falcons’ roster. Even if he loses the competition with Randall, the Falcons will want Shockley on the prac tice squad. That’s because Shockley’s presence is no longer about this season and being a third-string quarterback. His promise is for the future, and specifically what he could mean for the Falcons once Matt Schaub leaves in free agency after this sea son. Schaub is in the last year of his contract, and the only way the Falcons re-sign him is if Michael Vick suffers a long-term injury. Schaub wants to be a starter and will get that chance else where next year, or will at least be given the opportu nity to compete for a start ing job. With Schaub gone, the Falcons are potentially right back where they were three years ago. Vick breaks his leg in the preseason. Veteran Doug Johnson takes over at quarterback. Atlanta finish es with a 5-11 record. Shockley gives Atlanta another option. He might not be ready to play in Vick’s place next year, but the Falcons can do the same thing with him as they did have been counterpro ductive since pinch-hit ter Brian McCann would have been walked to get to another pinch-hitter, either Ryan Langerhans or Tony Pena Jr. “From now on, I’m not going to do it,” Laßoche said. “Obviously, if he want ed me to be bunting, he would have given me the bunt sign. NEW BUY: Martin Prado arrived from Class AAA Richmond just in time Monday to hit leadoff and play second base for the Braves. Prado was in the lineup in place of Marcus Giles, whose bruised and swollen left hand still isn’t feeling any better. Giles, who hasn’t played since Thursday, got a cor tisone shot Monday after noon to decrease the pain and swelling. He won’t return until Wednesday at the earliest, Cox said. Prado took pitcher Lance 1 (c) 2006 Bill Hinds. Dist. by Universal Press Syndicate f cm, CAMPERS, WE'RE GOIUG TO /TuoPE WE'RE WerA GO THROUGH THE MOTION op A > 1 I THROWN. AFTER WORKING OUT WITH vs- ! TOreflClltt i / THEGE MEPICIHE BAUG, A SOCCER N. y BALL MU FEEL LIKE with Schaub in his second year - sign a veteran like Ty Detmer, just in case. What makes Shockley so intriguing as a quarterback is nobody knows how good he can be. He has started just 12 games since high school and his team won 10 of those. He completed 56 percent of his passes and threw 19 more touchdowns than interceptions. Shockley’s limited experi ence against top-level talent no doubt hurt him in the draft. He admitted as much during the pre-draft scout ing combine. The 31 NFL teams other than the Falcons saw a guy with an unortho dox throwing motion who wasn’t good enough to start for his college team until he was a senior. Never mind that he would have started three or even four years most anywhere else. The decision to pass on Shockley could ultimately be the right one. Yet there are enough Tom Bradys (sixth-round pick) and Kurt Warners (undrafted) out there to question teams’ abilities to evaluate quar terbacks. The Falcons had nothing to lqse by drafting Shockley, the hometown boy and the home state hero. He is rewarding them for their faith. And there is no doubt about that. Cormier’s spot on the ros ter since the Braves won’t need a fifth starter until Sept. 2 because of sched uled off days. In a brief stint with Atlanta in the early part of the season, Prado had a hit and a walk in seven plate appearances. The hit was a key triple that helped the Braves win a game in Washington. Prado hit .281 with three home runs and 38 RBIs in 103 games split between Richmond and Class AA Mississippi, where he began the year. DAMES UPDATE: Starter Kyle Davies continues to get closer and closer to making a return to the big-league team after missing more than three months with a groin injury. Pitching with Richmond on Monday, the 22-year-old Davies gave up just one run on three hits in seven innings to beat Louisville, 2-1. SPORTS SERSEY From page ?A parent club is the St. Louis Cardinals. Springfield has a beautiful stadium, which shows what a town can do if it really wants to support a sports franchise. The Cardinals were host ing a Colorado Rockies minor league team, whose name I’ve forgotten. I think they were called the Tulsa Oilers. Have you ever noticed how it’s always the little kids who get the baseballs? It’s like grownups are supposed to hand over any foul balls to a little tyke who can’t even get his or her hand around the ball. That’s what happened to me. I have front-row seats for the game. Jim and I are sit ting on the first base side. You’d think the ballplayers would give me a baseball PREPARE From page jA some others who it’s their first time out,” he said. “And they’re showing a lot of potential.” The team’s first meet is scheduled Aug. 26 at WIN From page 7 A the game against Cairo seal ing the 1-0 victory. Northside at Up The Creek Tournament It wasn’t the Northside of last year but going 1-4 at the Up The Creek Tournament this past weekend at Sandy Creek wasn’t all bad, said head coach Mitch Horton. “We played well at times and actually led most of the game against Ola and Jones County,” he said. “We just let the games get away from us at the end.” “I am extremely proud of their effort and atti You dewve the Wm 'yj 1 cf? t | j§p mjS \l , I Signatur e Preferred Checking ©2006 by King Features Syndicate Inc World rights reserved No-Feu Checking with Interest*- Free Checks No Closing Costs Home Equity Lines of Credit Installment Loan Discounts And Much, Much More, Bank of Middle Georgia MswtartfJT wwwmimkvm jg 47^2^-1004 imwus A provider of §ymwm Plmwial Service* iatv fiditd m/vagfol y tti fl«i Mga /aMgffe4 into cykigfl in fkfiflQf* urifhOii* QgjfC WWW wWPWnWwjPPjy WHWW lUPWPpv ™ jWP“ Iw 3PPW SPPW- *PPf #ppp»v «v PWW ww ' wi»m«w » *w»r <Mo. ® «4/w ***&, Aonnfiif OjxA CM La 4 taaiaramank «>ft M* ILld flUgilflUft nn Imiflgu Afffttiflk OipWP? nap mswr ?M*y wvwwr wp* w wppwp ■ | w | • a since I had my stepson with me. No way. It’s not my fault the guy’s almost 50; I can still say I’m his step dad. What would happen in this era of blended families if a man can’t get a baseball for his wife’s child? There’s no bonding there. I tried several ploys to get a baseball. At one point, I told one of the ushers who had just handed a baseball to a child, that I had my stepson with me. I told Jim to look pathetic, but that didn’t work either. It’s hard to pass for cute when you sport a beard and grey hair. Another cute, little blonde eyed cherub got a baseball. Why? The kid didn’t buy tickets. She didn’t cough up S2O for two hotdogs and two beers. What’s fair about that? It’s because children are cute. Even Sonny recognizes America’s soft spot for kid- Spalding. Down the line they’ll be heading to places like Valdosta, a return visit to Jekyll Island, which is a meet they began attend ing for the first time last year, and Westover - a place they haven’t been in awhile, Erpelding said. tude and with the quality of competition we played hopefully it will prepare us for our region games this week.” In the win column, the Lady Eagles beat Fayette County 5-4. That victory came in part due to the hero ics of Becky Studstill, who Horton said hit a home run in the last inning. She also picked up the win on the mound, he added. Northside’s losses came to: Dutchtown 7-0, Newnan 2-1, North Cobb 10-3, Ola 6- 4 and Jones County 16-6. Cady Mcßight and Mary Evans also hit the ball well this weekend, Horton added. SI,OOO - 4,999 $5,000 - 49,999 $50,000+ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2006 ♦ dies. I’m more realistic. Benedict Arnold started out as a child. Every American traitor began his and her life as a child, and I’ll bet some base ball player gave them a ball at the end of an inning. Some adult who risked iryury to catch a bullet off the bat of Chipper Jones gave that ball up to a child. Why? We don’t even know what kind of person the child will grow up to be. Why should an unknown quantity reap such rewards? If I ever catch a foul ball, you can bet the only way some kid is going to get it is if the whole herd of unat tended children who wander baseball stadiums while their parents are guzzling brew and ignoring their offspring, leaps on me and takes the sphere from my lifeless hand. Charlton Heston isn’t the only AARP member to take a stand. The teams will also host region again and for the first time host the Coaches Cup, a meet with a trophy for the winner. Rest assured that through it all, there’ll be plenty of shuffles, whaps and taps, just no squeak, squeak. l&the latest news, up|| iuuraiMOl SUPPLY We Rent! 612 Ball St. Perrv, GA 967-2334 A*o**«i Percentage Vifld* 4.01% 4.18% 4.62% 9A OF PfRRY