Sports

There’s a new professional head coach in town.

WABE’s Rose Scott reports today the Atlanta Hawks introduced long time San Antonio Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer.

But everybody calls him Coach Bud.

Sitting alongside Hawks general manager Danny Ferry and flashing an occasional smile of excitement Mike Budenholzer says now is his time to be a head coach.

And the Hawks organization is the best place to start.

The University of Louisville and the University of Michigan move to the final game of the men’s NCAA basketball championship Monday night at the Georgia Dome. 

In the first game Saturday night, it was Wichita State living up to its name—shocking Louisville with an 8-nothing run in the first five minutes. 

At the half, Wichita State clung to a one point lead. 

But after the Cards fell further behind in the second, Louisville’s Luke Hancock came off the bench to add 20 points.  Walk-on Tim Henderson made two three-pointers when the Cards needed them most.

They are undefeated with 32 wins.

Tomorrow the Clayton State women's basketball team continues in the division two women's tournament against Augustana College.

The team has now reached the “Elite Eight” of the tourney.

It wasn’t easy for the number one ranked Lady Lakers to make it this far says head Coach Dennis Cox.

By a vote of 11-to-4, the Atlanta City Council Monday night approved a deal to finance a new stadium to be owned by the State of Georgia but run by the Atlanta Falcons.

Under the deal, the Atlanta Falcons will be responsible for about $800 million of the stadium's construction costs. A hotel/motel tax collected in the city of Atlanta and unincorporated Fulton County will cover about $200 million of the construction costs.

The Atlanta Falcons this week welcomed a new player to the team and kept one that was expected to retire.

Steven Jackson has been in the league for 10 years and although he has mileage on those legs, the former St. Louis Rams running back is now coming to Atlanta.

I.J. Rosenberg calls this a huge upgrade.

“It’s adding one of the best running backs in the NFL to an already good offense.”

The owner of the Atlanta Falcons this weekend sought to clarify his plan for a new stadium location.

Arthur Blank’s statement came after Mayor Kasim Reed Friday expressed disappointment over comments made by the team’s President about possibly building a stadium in suburban Metro Atlanta.

The Atlanta Falcons can no longer win a Super Bowl this year, but can they win a new stadium?

Governor Nathan Deal reportedly wants the Falcons to ask for $200 million from Atlanta’s hotel/motel tax. That would be $100 million less than the original proposal.

A trip to the Super Bowl was on the line.

The Atlanta Falcons were one win away, but the team’s history making season came to an end.

Perhaps the Vegas odds makers knew something the Atlanta Falcons didn’t.

The betting line had the San Francisco 49ners as four point favorites.

That’s despite the Falcons playing at home and the 49ners being 24 years removed from their last road playoff win.

Before the game, fans like Phillip Velo were confident the Falcons would win.

Monday morning the Atlanta Falcons fans should have recovered from going through a range of emotions after Sunday’s thrilling game against the Seattle Seahawks.

As it turns out, the Falcons needed every second on the clock.

In the first half of the game, the Falcons were doing everything right.

On offense running the ball, passing the ball and on defense keeping Seattle’s brutal running game in check.

They led 20 to nothing at halftime.

Victory seemed certain.

Then the second half began.

Their team motto is Rise Up.

So, this Sunday at the Georgia Dome, will the Atlanta Falcons soar to victory against the Seattle Seahawks?

This time of year everybody’s an NFL expert including Nathan Deal, “play hard and be focused,” said the Georgia governor.

Even those paid for their opinions don’t always agree.

For example, Mark Kriegel and Eric Davis of the NFL Network recently had a spirited debate about which quarterback had the momentum coming into Sunday’s game.

The NFL regular season has ended and the Atlanta Falcons have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

A first round bye gives the Falcons some time to prepare and time to heal injured players.

The Falcons last regular season home game wasn’t pretty as they lost 22 to 17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

They didn’t look anything like the 13-wins team the fans at the Georgia Dome were accustomed to seeing.

On this day, heavyweights in politics and business announced groundbreaking details for the new location of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Organizers say it will be much more than just a shrine to the greatest players, but an economic injection for the entire region.

Georgia is football country.

And as Governor Nathan Deal explains, it seems fitting that the College Football Hall of Fame will be in the state’s capitol city.