Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Briefs PtVwell, Howell sign with summer league Recent USC graduate Carlos Powell will be teaming up with former teammate Rolando Howell at the Long Beach Slimmer League for the NBAs Los Angeles Lakers. After failing to be drafted, Powell signed a free agent deal to play with the Lakers, but is not guaranteed a spot on the teams regular season roster. After taking a year off to recuperate from a hand injury, Howell also signed on to play in the Lakers’ summer league. Dan Tobin, both players’ agent, said his clients are ready to Carlos and Rolando are both going to participate with the Lakers’ Summer League team in Long Beach,” Tobin said. Tolleson inks deal with MLB’s Twins In a surprise move, USC shortstop Steven Tolleson will forego his senior season as a Gamecock and join the Minnesota Twins organization. After telling reporters his situation would have to be “perfect” in order to leave USC, Tolleson found himself being selected in the fifth round of the draft, the first Gamecock to be selected this year. After mulling over the decision, Tolleson has signed a deal which includes a reported $220,000 signing bonus. “You kind of expect to lose those kinds of players,” coach Ray Tanner said of Tolleson’s decision. “He hung on for a while because he really enjoyed his experience here.” “I think Minnesota made a good selection, and it’s a system that he might move through quickly if he plays well, so I’m happy for him,” Tanner said. “It’s your lifelong dream that you’re finally starting to reach,” Tolleson said. “I’m in no way close to my ultimate dream, but that will come with hard work and a little luck.” Tolleson finished his career at USC with a .305 batting average and a fielding percentage of .953. FREE Seminars Learn inside tips on business or law school admissions and how to succeed while you’re there, gain score-raising GMAT or LSAT' strategies, and learn about career opportunities from a panel of experts. Business School Event - July 20th, 6:30pm, USC Campus Scott Kaplan, Assoc. Director of Grad Admissions - Moore School of Business, among the panel. *■ Law School Event - July 25th, 6:30pm, USC Campus Paul Rollins, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs - USC Law School Eileen Korpita, Director of Pre-Professional Advising, among the panel. Get the edge on business or law school admissions. Register for a free event today! I | 1-800-KAP-TEST kaptest.com/edgeevents Test Prep and Admissions ‘Test names are registered trademarks of their respective owners. JOHN AMIS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS At age 38, John Smoltz has regained his youthful form, earning a spot on the National League All-Star Roster with a 9-5 record. Braves surge ahead with youth, talent By JONATHAN HILLYARD THE GAMECOCK ATLANTA — One man is left from the 1991 team that brought the Atlanta Braves from worst to first. Just one man remains from that team that started an unprecedented streak of 13 consecutive division titles. John Smoltz is that man, and he just so happens to be leading the way for the 2005 Braves squad that has quite a different look to it. Smoltz, who is just over 38 years old, is pitching like an All-. Star and, at this rate, could have one of the best seasons as starter in his career. What is shocking is that behind the plate for Smoltz’s last few starts is hometown hero 21-year-old Brian McCann, who was four years old when Smoltz made his major league debut. In Smoltz’s four starts with McCann behind the plate, the veteran has thrown three complete games. McCann is not the only baby face suiting up for Atlanta these days. With Chipper Jones on the. disabled list, 24-year-old Wilson Betemit has become the Braves’ everyday third baseman, beating out top prospect Andy Marte for the job. Betemit, as of Tuesday, was hitting an impressive .290 on the season, despite cooling down in recent weeks. With the ineffectiveness of Raul Mondesi in the Braves’ outfield, Atlanta called up 23 year-old outfielder Kelly Johnson to pick up the slack. After starting his major league career l-for-30, Johnson has heated up, being named the National League Player of the Week two weeks ago and posting a .369 on base percentage. In the other corner outfield position is 25-year-old Ryan Langerhans, who amazes critics night after night with his play in the field. After a slow start, Langerhans has his batting average up to .250 and seems to be edging out veteran Brian Jordan for the starting right field spot. With 60 percent of the Braves starting rotation on the disabled list, manager Bobby Cox has had to stretch his pitching staff in recent weeks. In total, eight different pitchers have started games for Atlanta this season. The number one answer for Adanta was 21-year-old Kyle Davies, who has filled in with eight starts and has posted a 4-2 record. Another Atlanta native, Davies has shown flashes of brilliance, allowing just two runs in his first four starts. Jorge Sosa, a 28-year-old pitcher, who the Braves acquired just before the season, was solution number two, and he has also filled in admirably with five starts and a 3.01 earned run average. Finally, 25-year-old Roman Colon returned from the minor leagues a little over a week ago to face the Baltimore Orioles in his first major league start. Colon had been a reliever for Atlanta earlier in the season but was sent down because of ineffectiveness. All Colon did was shut down one of the leagues best offenses, giving up no runs in ♦ BRAVES, page 11 Early 2006 recruiting catches fire r i It is officially half-way through the year. To fans ’ or rootball, however, its exactly six months before the national championship game in Pasadena, Calif. MIQUEL As all college JACOBS football fans Second-year public relations know, your team major has no chance to make it to the Rose Bowl without competitive recruiting. After being hired in late November, coach Steve Spurrier and his staff were playing catch-up on the recruiting trail, yet managed to sign a Top 25 recruiting class. Now the real challenge begins, as the 2006 recruiting season is already in full gear and has already yielded a shocking blow to the recruiting detractors. For the second season in a row, the first player to verbally commit to the Gamecocks under Spurrier is a South Carolina native. Rodney Paulk, a rising senior at Richland Northeast High School, is considered by Rivals.com to be the top rated linebacker and the No. 10 overall prospect in the state. Perhaps the most needed and sought after recruit from the Palmetto State is offensive lineman Clifton Geathers from Carvers Bay. The four-star player boasts offers from nearly every SEC school along with Clemson and Florida State. As the consensus top prospect in the state this is where Spurrier and Co. will be tested. Geathers plans to major in business and is searching for a school that could potentially offer immediate playing time, both factors that could play in favor of the Gamecocks. As long as we’re keeping the talent in the state, let’s make sure we also get Will Korn and Mark Barnes in 2007. Thanks, coach Stock.