McDonald boosters to meet Wednesday

McDonald boosters to meet Wednesday

McDONALD

The McDonald basketball boosters will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the high school.

Richt: Running back Gurley heading to NFL

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Georgia coach Mark Richt says junior running back Todd Gurley has informed him that he plans to enter the NFL draft.

Richt made the announcement after practice Friday for the Belk Bowl. The 13th-ranked Bulldogs face No. 20 Louisville on Tuesday.

Gurley was a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate and got off to a strong start, but a four-game suspension and a knee injury derailed his season.

Gurley attended practice with his teammates Friday but was not made unavailable for interviews.

Richt says Gurley’s rehabilitation is going well and his spirits are high. He predicts Gurley “will be a very high draft pick.”

Richt says that “I wouldn’t be shocked to see him doing a lot of things for the scouts before the draft.”

Longtime clubhouse man Macko dies

ARLINGTON, Texas

Joe Macko, who hit 306 home runs in nearly 2,000 minor league games before a long career as a clubhouse manager with the Texas Rangers, has died. He was 86.

The Rangers said Macko died Friday at an assisted living center in Fort Worth.

Macko was manager of the Texas League’s Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs when the Washington Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season. He joined them as business manager, became home clubhouse manager the following year and moved to the visiting clubhouse in 1995.

After his retirement from that role in 2000, Macko was the club’s goodwill ambassador for 12 years. Macko played in the farm systems of Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs from 1948-64 and was a coach for the Cubs briefly in the big leagues.

Uggla joins Nationals for minor league deal

WASHINGTON

The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms with second baseman Dan Uggla for a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training.

The Nationals also announced similar deals Friday with reliever Heath Bell, third baseman Ian Stewart, first baseman Clint Robinson and right-handed pitchers Scott McGregor and Mitch Lively.

Uggla played in four games with San Francisco this year after being cut by Atlanta after the All-Star break. The 34-year-old Uggla finished the year batting .194. The Braves still owe him $13 million for 2015.

The 37-year-old Bell has 168 career saves. The three-time All-Star closer was released by Tampa Bay in May 4 after he posted a 7.27 ERA in 13 appearances. He later signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees.

Globetrotters’ Robert ’Showboat’ Hall dies

DETROIT

Former Harlem Globetrotter Robert “Showboat” Hall, who spent nearly three decades with the team, has died in his hometown of Detroit.

The Globetrotters said Hall died Wednesday. A cause of death and his age were not immediately available.

Hall attended and played basketball at the former Miller High School in Detroit. He joined the Globetrotters in 1949, and in 1955 succeeded Reece “Goose” Tatum as the team’s primary showman. Hall became player-coach in 1968.

The team says the 6-foot 2-inch Hall played in over 5,000 games before his 1974 retirement.

Harlem Globetrotters Chief Executive Kurt Schneider said in a release Friday that “Hall’s dedication to the team, to his craft and to bringing joy to families around the world is matched by few people in the history of the organization.”

Staff/wire reports