Professional Sports

Tom Glavine's homecoming was an afterthought by the time a routine fly ball finally ended a game that was anything but routine.
``That,'' said Braves catcher Brian McCann, ``was probably the craziest game I've ever been a part of.

Josh Smith had 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Atlanta Hawks built an early lead and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-99.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored two third-period goals, Kari Lehtonen stopped 36 shots and the Atlanta Thrashers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Monday night.

ATLANTA -- Baseball season arrives at Turner Field tonight as the Atlanta Braves host the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Peter Lonard figured the closest he would get to the Masters this year was in front of his television. Thanks to a 5-foot par putt on the final hole that he thought was only worth money, he was added to the field Monday by squeezing into the top 50 in the world ranking.

Nationals Park had quite an opening. Ryan Zimmerman hit a tiebreaking homer off Peter Moylan with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 Sunday night in the first regular-season game at the $611 million stadium.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Denny Hamlin hopes he's finally put his frustration behind him, not only at Martinsville Speedway, but throughout the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Smoltz throws well in minors, should be ready to start next Sunday against the Mets.

Atlanta wins third straight, increases playoff lead to 2 1/2 games over New Jersey for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

The Braves finalized their 25-man roster on Saturday, optioning pitcher Buddy Carlyle to Triple-A Richmond and handing Jeff Bennett the final spot in the bullpen. The Braves will go into Sunday's season opener at Washington with a 12-man pitching staff that includes starters Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine, Jair Jurrjens and Mike Hampton. John Smoltz and Chuck James were placed on the disabled list.