Atlanta Daily World

SIAC Track and Field Honors Announced

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announces its Track and Field weekly honors for the week ending in March 9.
 
Women’s Track & Field Athletes of the Week
 
Sprinter
 
Chemekea Davis, Freshman, Benedict College
The freshman made a big splash at the Palmetto Meet held in Mt. Pleasant, SC last weekend. She finished first in the 200 meter event with a time of 24.69, while finishing second with a 12.11 mark in the 100 meter event. In addition, she anchored the Lady Tigers 4 x 100 meter relay team, which finished first at the meet with a time of 47.6 meters.
 
Mid-Distance
 
Stephanie Rhoden, Freshman, Benedict College
Rhoden, freshman making a mark for Benedict, ran a 49.70 at the Palmetto Classic, which is the fastest time in the conference this short season.
 
Distance
 
Olivia Traylor, Sophomore, Albany State
 The sophomore ran a 2:24.86 in the 800 meter events and in the 1500 meter event she ran a 5:02.69 at the BSC “Southern Invitational” held in Birmingham, AL last weekend.
 
Field Events
 
Euphemia Edem, Junior, Stillman
Event: Long Jump                  Hometown:
Edem jumped 5.52 meters at the BSC Southern Invitational last week. The junior also has the best long jump distance in Division II after she leaped 5.91 meters (19’3.75 feet) at the Mississippi College Season invitational.
 
 
Men’s Track & Field Athletes of the Week
 
Sprinter

Jeffrey Henderson, Junior, Stillman
Henderson blew away the field at the BSC Southern Invitational in the 100 meter event with a time of 10.6 for a first place finish at the meet. He also anchored the Tigers 4x1 team which finish first place at the meet with a time of 41.03.
 
Mid-Distance
 
Sidney Buchannon, Junior, Albany State
Buchannon finished third in the Birmingham-Southern Invitational in the 400 meter event with a time of 49.84 at the meet. He also has the second fastest 200 meter time in the conference this season with a 22.56.
 
Distance
 
Deon Clifford, Freshman, Benedict
Clifford, a freshman, ran a 15:42.61 at the Savannah State Tiger Relays, which is the top time for a distance runner this season in the SIAC.
 
Field Events
 
Daniel Dent, Junior, Stillman
Dent finished second in the long jump with a 6.77m jump at the Birmingham-Southern meet. In his first outdoor meet of the season, at the Mississippi College Opener Invitational, Dent posted a Division II best 7.25m jump.
 
Here is a look at the Top 3 Performers in each Track and Field Event this season.
(Source: www.tfrrs.org)
 
100m (Men)

 
 
100m (Women)

 
200m (Men)

 
200m (Women)

 
400m (Men)

 
400m (Women)

 
400m Hurdles (Men)

 
400m Hurdles (Women)

 
 
800m (Men)

 
800m (Women)

 
1500m (Men)

 
1500m (Women)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5000m (Men)

 
5000m (Women)

 
4 X 100M Relay (Men)
                                TEAM A                                                                              Performance

Performance:                                                                             Performance:
 
4 X 100M Relay (Women)
                                TEAM A                                                                              TEAM B

Performance:                                                                                                 Performance:
 
4 X 400M Relay (Men)
                                TEAM A                                                                              TEAM B

 
 
4 X 400M Relay (Women)
                                TEAM A                                                                              TEAM B

       
 
High Jump (Women)

 
Pole Vault (Women)

 
Long Jump (Men)

 
Long Jump (Women)

 
 
Triple Jump (Men)

 

Shot Put (Men)

 
Shot Put (Women)

 
Discus Throw (Men)

 
Discus Throw (Women)

Kobe Bryant Learns What Happens When You Cry Wolf

Last night when Hawks guard Dahntay Jones may or may not have "Jalen Rose'd" Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, as the 17-year pro alleges, and he lay on the floor, writhing in pain, everyone at the media table assumed he was faking it.

No one had a great view – the play happened on the baseline corner, closest to the table, but obstructed by courtside fans – but seemingly everyone thought, or said out loud, "There he goes again..."

It wasn't that members of the media are callous and heartless or that no one was concerned about the wellbeing of one of the NBA's best players and an all-time basketball great, it's just that throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get his way is what Kobe does. And it's what he had done all night.

After the Lakers training staff revealed that Bryant had a "severely sprained left ankle" most were singing a different tune, but the initial reaction from officials, spectators and media was "There he goes again..."

After getting x-rays and treatment in the visitors' locker room at Philips Arena, Bryant spoke to media for about three minutes, mostly venting his frustration that he would "have to wait a year to get [his] revenge."

"I think officials really need to protect shooters," Bryant told reporters following the game. "You can contest shots, but you can't walk underneath players, that's dangerous for the shooter.

"...I'm always conscious of it. When I go to contest shots I'm always very conscious about making sure I don't walk underneath them. It's just a very, very dangerous play. Especially if I'm fading away, there's no rhyme or reason why I should come down anywhere near somebody's foot."

That wasn't enough, so Bryant took to Twitter after the game:

"#dangerousplay that should have been called. Period," he tweeted.

But inside the locker room, in front of reporters wasn't where Kobe began to vent his frustration, it was on the court, almost from tip-off.

Kobe complained after almost every shot he took when he didn't get a call.

(Admittedly, the officiating was horrid and referees Monty McCutchen, Tony Brown and Pat Fraher should be banned for life from ever reffing together again.)

He didn't just complain after missed shots either. During TV timeouts, he was talking to the officials. A teammate was taking free throws and there he was buzzing in the official's ear. At the end of the first and third quarters, yep, there he was grumbling away about one call or another.

So when he hoisted up the corner shot that could have tied the game and Jones stepped out and into him, he didn't get the call.

Bryant kicked his leg out, a move that officials have been cracking down on this year, Jones stepped into him attempting to disrupt the shot, and Bryant fell awkwardly on his ankle. It's a call that easily could have gone either way, but in this case it was a no call.

Kobe didn't like it, but that's life. Maybe someday he'll learn that the squeaky wheel doesn't always get the oil.

Atlanta Sports Fans Should be Ashamed After Last Night’s Hawks-Lakers Game

The Hawks are a team with a winning record, playing with a slew of injuries and still have a realistic chance of getting home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. And on Wednesday night, in their own building, Atlanta fans almost cost the team a game.

As Kyle Korver stepped to the free throw line with 16.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Philips Arena was the loudest it had been that night. It was almost surreal. Korver was being booed at the line by fans in his own city, in a game against a Western Conference team from across the country barely hanging on to the number 8 seed in the playoffs.

“I just hear noise, good or bad” he said. “In my mind, they were cheering for us.”

It would seem unconscionable for a shooter stepping to the line in his home building to get that kind of treatment with the game on the line, but that’s how it happened.

“I’m used to it,” said guard Devin Harris who got the start for the injured Jeff Teague. “It’s funny actually, it’s not just the Lakers, it’s different teams with winning records. We just look at it as a challenge and we’re happy to get a win for our fans.”

The crowd at Philips Arena on Wednesday night was only about 30 percent Hawks fans, based on ocular estimates, but for most of the evening they made the most noise. With the Lakers down by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, the sea of purple and gold had little to cheer about.

But with 10:38 left on the clock, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant went on a spectacular tear to bring the team back, scoring 20 points in a little over seven minutes.

From there, the lead went back and forth, with the teams exchanging momentum after seemingly every timeout. The Lakers led by as many as four, while the Hawks were able to pad their advantage by five after Harris went on a scoring spree of his own.

In the absence of Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, Zaza Pachulia, Lou Williams and DeShawn Stevenson, guys like Shelvin Mack, Johann Petro and John Jenkins were forced to step in and they came up big. Jenkins scored 12 points and shot 50 percent from three-point range, while Mack handled duties at the point guard for stretches, playing 14 minutes and scoring seven points. Petro started the game at center and defended Lakers’ All Star Dwight Howard all night, equaling his point total (10) and nabbing a double-double with 11 rebounds.

The breakout star of the night for the Hawks, though, was Al Horford, who, despite a modest scoring night (14 points, 14 rebounds), led the team emotionally on offense and defense.

“I thought Al set the tone for the game, he really did,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew.

Horford threw down a series of big dunks early in the first quarter to get the Hawks’ momentum rolling, including a one-handed an alley oop jam that brought the crowd, dressed in red and purple alike, to its feet.

Unfortunately the standout team effort from the Hawks was taken like pearls to swine.

Certainly, the team has been more than an occasional disappointment this season and in seasons past, but the guys that were on the floor Wednesday night deserved better than what they got from their hometown crowd.

“[The team] just went out there and handled our business,” Horford said of responding to a hostile home crowd, “and our fans got behind us.”

The players are thankful to those fans. More than most people realize.

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