Braves

It took Williamstown a little time to get started, but after going scoreless in the first quarter, the Braves reverted to the form that has made them the No. 1 team in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings. With junior Marques Little making big plays on both sides of the ball in the second quarter, Williamstown earned a 43-20 win over Southern Regional on Friday night in the South Jersey Group 5 championship game before an overflow crowd at Rowan University. Williamstown completed its season at 12-0 and won its first sectional title since the start of NJSIAA football playoffs in 1974.

THE PHILLIES were in need of a righthanded power bat for the corner outfield, and early in the offseason they made an offer to free-agent centerfielder B.J. Upton. So, it wasn't too much of a leap to think that at some point Ruben Amaro Jr. kicked around the idea of trading for Diamondbacks star rightfielder Justin Upton, B.J.'s brother and, as of Thursday, the latest plotline in what is shaping up to be an ultra-competitive National League race. Turns out, the Phillies did look into Justin Upton, talking to D-backs general manager Kevin Towers on more than one occasion about a potential trade.

ATLANTA - Jason Heyward was in the audience as B.J. Upton was introduced Thursday as Atlanta's new centerfielder. That made manager Fredi Gonzalez smile as he realized he didn't have to worry so much about finding the third starter in his outfield. "Shoot, we may not even need a leftfielder," Gonzalez said. "With him playing center and Jason, who just won a Gold Glove, in right, it's going to be fun watching these guys cover some ground in the outfield. " Upton was given a No. 2 Braves jersey after finalizing a $75.25 million, five-year contract - the biggest ever given a free agent by the franchise.

Braves catcher Javier Lopez acknowledges there was a time during the National League Championship Series when, deep down, he didn't think his team would be in New York getting ready to take on the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series tonight. "There was one point, after we lost [Game 3] to St. Louis, that I thought we were going to lose," the NLCS's Most Valuable Player said. "Because the breaks just didn't seem to be going our way. " The Braves will find out soon enough if they'll get an early break in their World Series matchup against the Bronx Bombers.

Brian McCann finally got his swing back where he likes it. The Braves are pretty happy with it, too. McCann homered twice and visiting Atlanta beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-3, yesterday. "I just haven't really swung the bat that great since coming off the DL. When you don't feel good and you face good pitching, it's an exposure," he said. "I've been working in the cages the last 3 or 4 days trying to find it, and today I made some strides. "I went down to the cage this morning.

If you are planning a visit to Octorara High School any time in the near future it may be a good idea not to bring Garnet Valley basketball player Bob Cox with you. For the second time in a month, the 6-foot, 1-inch point guard made a game- winning play to beat the Braves in the game's final seconds, this time on a 17-foot jump shot and ensuing free throw with 4 seconds left, giving the Jaguars a 52-51 nail-biting home victory. Three weeks ago, Cox hit a short baseline jumper with 7 seconds left, giving Garnet Valley a 59-57 road win over the Braves.

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.

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.

DAN UGGLA got Atlanta started with his bat. His glove helped finish off his former club. Uggla hit a three-run homer in the first inning and sprawled to snare a ground ball that ended a Miami threat in the eighth, Martin Prado tied a career best with four hits and the visiting Braves beat the Marlins, 7-5, Monday night. It was the fourth straight win for Atlanta, which moved within five games of idle Washington in the NL East. "Three-run homer, but for me Danny saved us defensively," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

ATLANTA - Cole Hamels wandered aimlessly around the infield grass Friday night after his $144 million arm failed once again. He peeked toward center field, and not yet knowing the ball's fate, started walking in a circle. Finally, when a fat 92 m.p.h. fastball landed as a three-run Brian McCann home run, Hamels paused and stared into the night. "It was a long week," Hamels said later. There is no explaining how a pitcher two days removed from signing one of the largest contracts in baseball history authored a first act as gruesome as the Phillies' 6-1 loss to the Braves at Turner Field.