Rumors

Around the time Atlanta’s football team was tracking at midseason for the worst kicking season in at least 33 years, the city’s basketball team was tipping off a new season of its own — and, amazingly, inherited a version of the same curse. As of the All-Star break, the Hawks are currently allowing the NBA’s highest opponent free throw percentage (80.6 percent) and — you guessed it — the league’s worst rate of points above average per game from the charity stripe, with opponents tacking on 0.6 more PPG from free throws than we’d expect from an average team in the same number of attempts. While not quite as historic as the Falcons were, the Hawks’ number is still tracking among the 40 worst seasons since the 1976 ABA merger in terms of opponent PPG added at the free throw line in a single year:

Neil Paine's Substack

Just like with the Falcons and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, though, there may be something to the idea of teams finding it easier to shoot in Atlanta. This season, the Hawks’ opponents are making 81.6 percent of their FTs in Atlanta, versus 79.9 percent in Hawk road games. State Farm Arena has seen the second-highest road FT% of any NBA venue this season, trailing only the Footprint Center in Phoenix (81.9 percent). That’s nothing new; over the past five seasons, road teams have made 79.3 percent of FTs at State Farm Arena, which ranks third among regular arenas behind only the Golden 1 Center (79.5) and Amalie Arena (79.4).

Neil Paine's Substack

Stefan Bondy: Jalen Brunson and Jason Kelce pick the Eagles to beat the Falcons by 50.

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TMRW Sports, the parent company of TGL, has thus far announced Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston as three of its six inaugural teams. The Atlanta club is owned by Atlanta Falcons and United owner Arthur Blank, while Boston Red Sox and Liverpool parent company Fenway Sports Group own TGL’s Boston team.

Front Office Sports

One Sports: An incredible outing from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the Falcons! RHJ’s 39 points set a new tournnament-high, and now most points in the World Cup since Dirk Nowitzki (47) in 2006! #FIBAWC x #WinForJordan

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Bunched with arguably the toughest group in the FIBA World Cup, Jordan has tapped a former NBA player for reinforcement. The Jordan Basketball Federation (JBF) bared on Monday, July 24, that it is processing the naturalization of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the global hoops tiff that will tip off in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia on August 25. Hollis-Jefferson, who played for the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Portland Trail Blazers over a six-year NBA stint, currently trains with the Falcons in Lithuania. “[T]he player showed harmony during training with the Falcons players,” the JBF wrote on Facebook.

Rappler

The 28-year-old winger has already joined the Falcons in their training camp in Lithuania as part of their buildup for the World Cup, according to JBF.

tiebreakertimes.com.ph

At this rate, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards could have three careers going at once. He made his acting debut in Netlfix’s Hustle — he was excellent, by the way. And this past week, he was showing off his arm on the football field. Even Tom Brady took notice. Edwards posted a couple videos on Wednesday of himself playing football at Georgia Tech’s practice field in Atlanta. He unleashed a beautiful deep pass and joked about joining the Falcons. He also made a nice catch on a deep ball. So, that had Brady raising the obvious question:

For The Win

It was one of the decisive possessions late in the fourth quarter. Ishmail Wainright stepped on the court as the Falcons defensive anchor at the crunch time of the second German division game in Trier. Soon Wainright made a physical play and committed a foul. "Go play in the NFL!" the referee shocked the player "Coach, he told me to go to play football!" player turned to his bench.

BasketNews

Michael Lee: After an estimated 40K people voted at State Farm Arena for the November election, the Hawks will again open up its facility to Fulton County voters for the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs in Georgia. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Falcons, will also be available for the first time

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Charles Barkley still remembers the Atlanta Falcons' epic collapse in the second half against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI — even though he says he became quite intoxicated as the Falcons' lead slipped away. Asked on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Wednesday about his recent gambling activity, the NBA Hall of Famer and current TNT "Inside the NBA" analyst relived the nightmare wager.

USA Today Sports

"The only time I lost in the last three or four years was those Atlanta Falcons," Barkley said while doing his best choking impression. "What they (did) in the Super Bowl and what they did against the Cowboys (in Week 2) are two of the biggest choke-jobs in the history of civilization," he added, saying he lost $100,000 on the Super Bowl loss.

USA Today Sports

After one season with the Falcons, UTPB junior guard Jacob Ledoux will forgo is final season of eligibility and enter into the 2019 NBA draft.

cbs7.com

The Barclays Center is the latest in a growing list of sports venues to phase out cash purchases despite backlash from consumers and opposition from lawmakers. Home to the Brooklyn Nets and the Islanders, Barclays has quietly stopped accepting cash at most of its 28 concession stands and eateries, according to lawmakers who have talked with the stadium about the move. The Brooklyn arena is not the first to phase out greenbacks. Earlier this year, the Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Falcons both announced they will no longer accept hard currency at their sporting venues in exchange for hot dogs, beer or anything else they sell.

New York Post