Gwinnett Daily Post - Will Hammock

Sports Editor
Will Hammock is the Sports Editor. His column appears on Thursdays. You can reach him via e-mail at will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com

Column
HAMMOCK: From Devils to Dadgum 0 Comments Last Updated: 4:23 PM 09/01/10 - As he sat in the office of Florida State legend Bobby Bowden, Mark Schlabach watched the longtime head coach pull out a taped-up manila folder some 30 inches thick. Inside was a hodgepodge of papers that included every pre-game speech Bowden used as the Seminoles coach, dating from 1976 until his final one before last season’s Gator Bowl. Some were on paper, others were scrawled on the back of parking passes and napkins. (Full Story)
HAMMOCK: Turf era must wait 4 Comments Last Updated: 4:08 PM 08/25/10 - It’s sprouting up, even though it technically doesn’t grow, all over metro Atlanta. More and more high school stadiums are installing artificial turf fields each year, including those in two counties that are comparable to Gwinnett — Cobb and Fulton. Park fields in the county are heading that way and Buford now has an artificial surface on its high school practice fields. (Full Story)
HAMMOCK: Paring down the RB talent Last Updated: 6:14 AM 08/19/10 - The initial group was pretty large — the one that listed all of Gwinnett County’s top football players by position from the decade of the 2000s. It included kids who were great high school players but went to smaller colleges, as well as others who went to BCS powers and eventually the NFL. (Full Story)
HAMMOCK: Titan fan base grows with Cook, Curran 0 Comments Last Updated: 9:57 PM 08/11/10 - The date was Jan. 4, 1981 and I was a serious Atlanta Falcons football fan. Or at least as serious as a 7-year-old can be. I begged my dad to take me with him to the hyped playoff matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, but he said I was too young and it was too cold (in the 30s I believe). I’m sure he didn’t have an extra ticket, either. So I watched painfully on TV as the Cowboys rallied with three fourth-quarter touchdowns to shock the freezing crowd, 30-27. (Full Story)
Hammock: Carousel continues Last Updated: 7:18 PM 08/04/10 - The stress and pressure is too much. The school and its boosters expect wins. The time demands are too brutal. The fundraising is more than a major chore. (Full Story)
HAMMOCK: Jackson, colleagues teaching right lessons 0 Comments Last Updated: 7:06 PM 07/28/10 - One of my favorite Will Jackson stories happened long before I met him, when Jackson coached at DeKalb County’s Sequoyah High, now a middle school. (Full Story)
Fire show local future 0 Comments Last Updated: 5:31 PM 07/21/10 - Tuesday night’s victory over Mexican side Pumas UNAM probably didn’t mean much to most Chicago Fire fans, who enjoyed a victory but knew the game was simply the finish to a disappointing early elimination from the SuperLiga competition. (Full Story)
HAMMOCK: Moves of LeBron, prep stars same 11 Comments Last Updated: 7:44 PM 07/14/10 - The LeBron James saga was juiced-up version of an all too common problem in Georgia high school basketball — an abundance of transfers always seeking greener pastures. With each passing year, more prep players follow James’ path of abandoning their home school for another known as a basketball powerhouse, fueling certain high school teams that are conglomerates of AAU buddies. (Full Story)
HAMMOCK: Team finds way to cool the pool in summer heat 0 Comments Last Updated: 8:11 PM 07/07/10 - One Gwinnett Swim League team, Chateau Elan, found a way to chill things out in its last regular season meet on Tuesday. The club’s swimmers and parents brought in bags of ice prior to a matchup with Morning View, setting up their “Lowering the temp so swimmers can raise the bar” theme night. (Full Story)
Former North standout finds rewarding career 0 Comments Last Updated: 5:49 PM 06/30/10 - Katie Williamson Sanders is on a challenging, yet rewarding path, one that could have been predicted by any teacher or coach who spent any substantial time with her over the years. She was a good athlete in her day — a star in both basketball and soccer at North Gwinnett, then a three-time all-conference college basketball player at North Georgia — but what she does off the court defines her best. (Full Story)
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