Braves

7:10 p.m., Turner Field, Atlanta. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM), WUBA (1480) Spanish. Pitching matchup: RHP Joe Blanton (1-2, 5.03) at RHP Tim Hudson (16-10, 3.23) BLANTON vs. BRAVES: The Phillies are treating this as a bullpen game. Blanton has allowed one run in five innings in four relief appearances since returning from the disabled list. Charlie Manuel said yesterday Blanton could pitch up to four innings, although he has not pitched more than two since returning from an elbow injury.

They formed a massive pileup in the center of the muddy football field late last night, raised their helmets to the heavens and hugged and shouted and didn't want to let go of the moment. You couldn't blame them. Williamstown had just registered probably the biggest victory in the program's 47-season history. Williamstown scored a stunning 32-30 Tri-County Conference Royal Division win over visiting Deptford, ending the Spartans' 20-game winning streak while taking a major step toward capturing a piece of the first football championship in its history.

THE METS are trying to send an early message in the NL East: This isn't the same team that finished last a year ago. The Braves are certainly taking note. Ike Davis hit a tiebreaking three-run homer and Dillon Gee pitched four-hit ball over seven innings, leading New York to another victory over host Atlanta, 6-1, Monday night. The Mets snapped the Braves' five-game winning streak and kept up their early dominance in the NL East rivalry, winning again after a three-game sweep of Atlanta in the Big Apple to start the season.

The Williamstown High School basketball program has seen some success under veteran coach Nancy Manzoni. The Braves have gone 29-21 in the last two seasons, the most successful years with Manzoni in control. Manzoni hopes to improve upon that success this year. COACH. In her seven years as the Williamstown coach, Manzoni has collected 45 wins. Looking at her record over the last two seasons, it is easy to see the progress she has made. "The first few years we were winning two or three games a year," Manzoni said.

The guy blamed everything on Chipper Jones. It was the Braves third baseman's fault, he insisted, that Atlanta was beaten in the opening game of the National League Championship Series. If Jones had made the play he should have made on Moises Alou's grounder in the first inning, turned it into an out instead of a bases-loaded double, it would have made all the difference. Yes, Chipper Jones blamed it all on himself. And then, the beauty of baseball was brought into focus once more.

The first- and second-place boys' teams flipped-flopped places last week in the Southern Chester County League, where almost anything can happen - and usually does. The Octorara Braves (12-5 overall, 7-2 league) knocked the host Kennett Blue Demons (10-7 overall, 6-2 league) out of first place with a 64-59 win Friday night. Octorara and Unionville are tied for first and lead Kennett by a half-game. The Braves won despite taking only 6 shots in the fourth quarter; they made three of them.

Second in a series APPARENTLY, it was nobody's fault. In Atlanta, it never is. Last season, the Braves had a wild-card lead of 8 1/2 games on Sept. 6, and blew it. When an uninterested Phillies team came back and beat them in 13 innings on the last day of the season - they were 0-5 against the Phillies in that span - the Braves became the first team to lose at least an eight-game lead in September. That is, until later that day when the Red Sox finished their epic collapse.

It'll be Baltimore at New York starting Tuesday in the American League championship series, and St. Louis at Atlanta beginning Wednesday in the National League championship series. There will be no baseball today, as all four division series ended short of the maximum five games. The Braves, trying to become the first National League team in 20 years to repeat as World Series champions, swept Los Angeles in three straight with a 5-2 victory yesterday. The Yankees, who haven't been to the World Series since losing to Los Angeles in 1981, survived yet another longball onslaught by Texas' Juan Gonzalez and rallied for the third straight game to win, 6-4. The AL East champions won the series, three games to one. The Cardinals, who last appeared in a World Series in 1987, when they lost to Minnesota, swept San Diego in three straight, finishing off the Padres, 7-5, last night.

The trams that whisk airline travelers from the outer terminals at Hartsfield International Airport to the baggage claim area sport Braves pennants taped to the windows. Before the building's entrance is a table offering a variety of Braves souvenirs. Along the route into downtown is a kaleidoscope of billboards and huge inflatable tomahawks. It is clear that the venue of the National League Championship Series has changed. What is less obvious is that the subtle advantage between the two best teams in the league has moved from Pittsburgh to Atlanta as well, even though the best-of-seven playoffs is knotted at one game apiece.

The drama is over for Absegami's girls' basketball team. The Braves, ranked No. 1 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, succumbed to a speedier Trenton Central team, 60-55, last night in the NJSIAA Group 4 state semifinal at Southern Regional. Trenton Central, the defending Group 4 state champion, was intent on stepping over the Braves for the second straight season. Led by Alexis Sweet's 19 points, the Tornadoes improved to 29-1 overall and moved into Sunday's state final against Paterson Kennedy at the Ritacco Center in Toms River.

ROCKIES PITCHER James Moyer isn't talking. Braves third baseman Chipper Jones won't shut up. During Saturday night's game, Moyer accused Jones of stealing signs. Jones was on second at the time, having doubled in a run to cut the Rockies' lead to 6-2. One batter later, Brian McCann singled home Jones. The Braves went on to win , 13-9. On Sunday, Jones said Moyer was paranoid and even took a shot at the Phillies, the team the 49-year-old lefthander played with for five seasons.

ATLANTA - The stationary bike beeped twice, and Joe Blanton stepped off after 15 minutes exactly. Around him, the rest of the Phillies reveled in a brisk getaway day 4-0 victory over the Braves. A team official worked feverishly to push up the team's charter flight to Washington. Brian Schneider iced his back with a wide smile. Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon lounged in a corner of the room and laughed. "I was hoping for under two hours," Blanton said. His first shutout in 1,797 days took 2 hours, 2 minutes to complete.

ATLANTA - My only hope is that all of the people who will never read this column spent their final hours cradled in the arms of somebody they loved, thinking back on all of the good times, dwelling on the fulfillment that this world offered them and the rest of mankind during its brief but wondrous existence. I am tempted to leave it at that in order to maximize whatever time left I have to drink beer, but on the off chance that the sun does rise Thursday, and these words do appear in print, and life as we know it does not soon end in a fiery blaze precipitated by the events that unfolded in the fifth inning of Wednesday night's game between the Phillies and the Braves, I suppose a thorough recounting is in order.

At Turner Field, Atlanta. Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. LHP Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.73 ERA) vs. Atlanta RHP Brandon Beachy (2-1, 1.05) Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. RHP Roy Halladay (3-2, 1.95) vs. Atlanta RHP Tommy Hanson (3-2, 3.00) Thursday at 12:10 p.m. RHP Joe Blanton (2-3, 3.81) vs. Atlanta RHP Randall Delgado (2-2, 6.30)

IAN KENNEDY took advantage of Arizona's early offensive outburst. Gerardo Parra hit his first career grand slam to cap a five-run second inning and the Diamondbacks beat the visiting Atlanta Braves, 6-4, Sunday, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Phillies open a three-game series at Arizona Monday night. "It's nice having a 5-1 lead going into the third inning," said Kennedy (3-0). "You can be a little more aggressive with the guys in the middle of the lineup.

THE METS are trying to send an early message in the NL East: This isn't the same team that finished last a year ago. The Braves are certainly taking note. Ike Davis hit a tiebreaking three-run homer and Dillon Gee pitched four-hit ball over seven innings, leading New York to another victory over host Atlanta, 6-1, Monday night. The Mets snapped the Braves' five-game winning streak and kept up their early dominance in the NL East rivalry, winning again after a three-game sweep of Atlanta in the Big Apple to start the season.

CHIPPER JONES wants to relish the highlights in his final season. His first home game earned a special place on that list. Jones hit a three-run homer in his return after missing two games, Brandon Beachy pitched seven strong innings and the surging Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-4, on Sunday for a three-game sweep. Jason Heyward also homered for the Braves, who have won five straight after losing their first four games. Beachy gave up three hits and one unearned run in seven innings.

NEWARK, N.J. - In a smoky stairwell, with embers falling from the ceiling and his neighbor slung over his shoulder, Cory Booker encountered his "proverbial come-to-Jesus moment. " The mayor of New Jersey's largest city was carrying out a constituent whom he had rushed into a burning home to save, first pushing aside his security detail who tried to hold him back by his belt. He didn't feel like a hero: "I felt terror," he told reporters Friday, holding a children's fire safety video with his burned, bandaged right hand.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones choked up a bit and delivered the news that's been looming for years: It's time to call it a career. This time, he means it. With his 40th birthday approaching and a long string of injuries slowing him down, Jones announced Thursday that he will retire at season's end. "I have fulfilled everything," Jones, flanked by his family and teammates, said during a news conference at the Braves' training camp...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Remember that famous optical illusion? The one that looks like an old woman or a young woman? Google it. Stare at it. Picture it in your mind. Got it? Good. Now, do the same thing with the Braves' roster. Because with 3 weeks to go before Opening Day, it is impossible to form a definitive opinion on what to expect out of the Phillies' most recent National League East rivals. Do you see a team that has entered the last two Septembers in position for a playoff berth?