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12B ♦ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 Braves officially eliminated from division race ATLANTA - By defeating Florida on Tuesday night, the New York Mets officially eliminated the Braves from contention in the National League East. “I was actually laugh ing,” said Jeff Franceour. “That’s not new news or something,” the starting right fielder said. “I think everyone’s realized that we aren’t going to win the divi sion. It’s not like it’s going to sink in all of a sudden when they’ve clinched it. “I think people have been kidding themselves for the last two or three weeks or longer if they didn't think the Mets were going to win Georgia Tech punt returner modeling skills after Rhino By Adam Van Brimmer Morris News Sen'ice ATLANTA - Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey could have picked clips of any num ber of great punt returners to show rookie return man Andrew Smith. Michigan’s Desmond Howard was good. Deion Sanders electrified fans with his return skills at Florida State and later in the NFL. Miami’s Devin Hester would be a perfect contemporary example. Gailey chose ... Kelley Rhino? “Kelley was very successful here,” said Gailey of Rhino, who played for Georgia Tech from 1999 through 2002. “And (Rhino and Smith) are blessed with the same Injured Bulldogs QB Tereshinski aims for return against Tennessee ATHENS - Georgia quar terback Joe Tereshinski has a target game for his return from a high ankle sprain. “Hopefully, Tennessee,” Tereshinski said of the Bulldogs’ Oct. 7 SEC East showdown. The fifth-year senior from Athens limped off the field after the first series of Georgia’s 18-0 victory against South Carolina and opened the door for fresh man Matthew Stafford to move into the starting role. Recovery time for Tereshinski’s injury is typi cally four to six weeks, but Tereshinski is sticking with the quicker timeline. “Four is maximum,” Tereshinski said Tuesday in his first public comments since learning the extent of his injury. “It doesn’t matter how much pain it is on the fourth week, I’m out there.” Tereshinski gutted out two more plays after injuring the right ankle when tackled on a 2 yard scramble. “I felt it pop and I guess the adrenaline was going,” said Tereshinski, who com pleted 2 of 3 passes for 18 yards in the game. “That tank kind of ran empty after about 20 seconds. After that series, it really hit me.” Tereshinski doesn’t know where he’ll fit in on the depth chart when he ■ TODAY 1 Mm riEITNiTI# Catch all of tonight's game highlights in M £ tomorrow's Mmishni Daily .Ijminutl View stats, pictures and a variety of Pregame radio show sports related information. Starts at 7:30 WESTFIELD FOOTBALL Phil Clark and Pick Johnstone are the most experienced high school play-by-play announcers in middle Georgia, with over fifty years of combined time behind the sports mikes. Enjoy every game this season on Ifhx 100.9, with each broadcast beginning thirty minutes before kickoff. Ifhx 100.9 en courages you to support the Hornets in person if possible, but if you can't, be sure to join us on game night. Take your transistor radio to the game and get the inside scoop on what's going on. the division. You’re not just all of a sudden going to lose 20 games in a row.” That’s basi cally what Atlanta needs to do at this point to make the playoffs via the wild card. Manager Bobby Cox NOTEBOOK R. TRAVIS HANEY Morris News Service said he thought the team could lose three or four and still have a shot. With 19 games to play, the Braves (69-74) trailed San Diego by 5 1/2 games entering Tuesday. There are five teams " SMITH amount of speed.” Rhino was not fast. But what he lacked in speed he made up for in reliabil ity, and that’s what Gailey returns. He says he’s using the next month to prepare like it’s preseason all over again. Support has come from teammates, coaches, family and friends, and he is trying to stay positive. “It stinks that’s hap pening right now at this time, but I’ve got to face it and go after it and real ly train,” Tereshinski said. NOTEBOOK By MARC WEISZER Morris News Service “Hopefully when I come back I’ll be more in shape than I left off.” MASSAQUOI RETURNS TO STARTING ROLE: A week after Mario Raley replaced him as Georgia’s No. 1 split end, Mohamed Massaquoi is back in the top spot heading into Saturday’s game against UAB. The sophomore from Charlotte caught a slant pass from Stafford in the second quarter and took it 39 yards in Georgia’s 18-0 victory over South Carolina. He also had a key block on Danny Ware’s 9-yard first quarter touchdown run. “Mohamed played very hard and he blocked extremely well,” Georgia between the Braves and Padres, too. But, as Francoeur said after he analyzed the situa tion Monday night, Atlanta plays three of them head-to head - Philadelphia, Florida and Houston. TIME OFF: Tuesday’s rainout wasn’t necessar ily a bad thing for a couple of banged-up Braves who might return to the lineup in the coming days. Adam Laßoche was already out of the starting lineup because of lingering soreness in his right ham string. Before he knew the game would be postponed, he said wants from Smith. Rhino never returned a punt for a touchdown in 112 attempts, but he failed to muff or fum ble a punt in his career. His only fumbles came after the catch during run backs, and he said he can count on one hand how many times he lost the ball. Rhino averaged 10 yards a return. He holds the Georgia Tech records for most returns in a game, season and career and most yardage in a season and a career. Gailey’s message was clear, Smith said. “Just catch the ball and then go north-south,” he said. “Get us in first down.” Smith, a red-shirt sopho more from Tampa, Fla., fol lowed up the film work with a call to Rhino, who lives in coach Mark Richt said. “He played with a lot of energy. Mohamed’s hamstrings are bothering him just a tad bit, too. I don’t know if we are seeing his very best just by virtue of that.” Massaquoi still started the South Carolina game because Georgia opened in a three wide receiver set. “The first week I felt just after watching things, I didn’t give my best perfor mance,” Massaquoi said of a game in which he had one catch for two yards “I think I kind of let the team down. I wanted to go in more focused and just play a whole game. I think I needed something like that to refocus and just give my best effort week in and week out.” Flanker A.J. Bryant will start his second straight game Saturday against UAB. PUNT RETURNER UP IN AIR: With Mikey Henderson questionable with a hamstring injury, Thomas Flowers could be back in his role as punt returner Saturday. Flowers is returning from a two-game suspension. “If Mikey’s out, he’ll be the starter,” Richt said. “If Mikey’s in, it will be a tough call, really, I would think. He’s definitely back there working.” SPORTS he was shooting to return today. Thursday, though, might be more realistic. Laßoche said he plans to speak with doctors in the offseason about ways to strengthen the leg, which has bothered him periodically the past two seasons. Chipper Jones, who’s been out more than a week with a strained left side, also said he could return as early as today. It’s more likely, though, that he’ll be back for this weekend’s series against Florida. SORRY, LADIES: Francoeur is officially off the market. Atlanta. The telephone call was both unexpected and flattering, Rhino said. “That somebody is trying to, if not copy your style, at least adopt the same theo ry, is a neat feeling,” Rhino said. “I told him the main thing is to catch the ball and not to let it hit and roll. It could go 25 yards. Those are first downs the offense has to make up. And once you catch the ball, run up the field, not east-west.” Smith used that advice well. He returned five punts for 69 yards, including a long of 22 yards, against Samford. He only let one punt hit the ground, and that kick was a low line drive that landed a yard from the sideline. Rhino missed Smith’s debut. His wife gave birth to Henderson said after prac ticing Tuesday in a green non-contact jersey that “my hamstring is functioning, but I don’t know if it’s 100 percent there yet.” Flowers is anxious to sim ATTENTION POULTRY WORKERS YOU MAY HAVE BEEN SHORTCHANGED OUT OF EARNED WAGES. A new U.S. Supreme Court decision may impact what your employer must pay you. If you hove worked in the poultry industry in the past 2 years you may have been shortchanged out of earned wages. You may be entitled to as much as $17,000 . : 'IIS. Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Founding Partner 1937-2005 No representation is made that the quality ol legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. The 22-year-old Lilburn resident proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Catie McCoy, on Sunday night. Francoeur and McCoy, who have known one another since the third grade, went to see Beauty and the Beast at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. They got there early so that Francoeur, with help from the theatre staff, could surprise McCoy with the proposal in the balcony as one of their favorite songs played. McCoy said yes. “She had no clue,” Francoeur said. “I guess I’m a little bit of a romanticist.” Or a romantic. Close enough. a son just three weeks ago, and Rhino stayed home with the family. He listened to the radio broadcast, though, and called his father, team chiro practor Randy Rhino, on the sideline for Smith updates during the game. “Sounded like he did OK for his first time,” Rhino said. Smith’s performance solves one of Gailey’s early season quandaries. Pat Clark entered the season as the return man with James Johnson as his primary back up. But Clark in a starting cornerback, and Johnson a starting wide out. Gailey worried their fatigue might lead to a disas trous turnover on a punt return. “How smart is that of me ply get back on the field. “Right now I’m just going to try and step my game up and do some returns or whatever I can do to help the team,” he said. “I’m ready to get in. I’ve been fired up.” For More Information About A Potential Claim Contact The Cochran Firm 1-800-THE-FIRM 1-800-843-3476 (EN ESPAftOL) . 1-800-241-9787 THE HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL SMOLTZ UPDATE: It’s still unclear if John Smoltz’s strained right adductor mus cle will keep him from mak ing his next start. Cox said he thought Smoltz would be fine. The leg, which has both ered the 39-year-old ace off and on all year, began irri tating him during the second inning of Monday night’s 8- 3 loss. Smoltz (12-9) was forced to leave in the third after Derrek Lee’s three-run home run off him. It was the second three-run homer of the night he’d surren dered. The leg wasn’t allow ing Smoltz to properly push off, he said. to put a guy out there that is playing that many snaps at cornerback and nickel back, and now I’ve got him really tired out there return ing punts?” Gailey said, referring to Clark. “James Johnson is playing a ton of snaps too. “But there is Andrew Smith, and if we can get him some reps and teach him what to do back there, I think he’s got a chance to be a pretty good punt returner before it’s all over with.” Creat Deals Free AD for items under SSO Call 987-1823 for details Famous Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 1-78 Kxft 138 • 987-8877 37611 www.cochranfirm.com