Fresh Loaf

MICHAEL PHELPS: The U.S. swimmer becomes the winningest Olympian ever with his 11th career gold medal.

RUSSIAN INTO WAR: Georgia’s government continues to accuse Russia of attacking the city of Gori despite the cease-fire, and even of moving toward the capital of Tbilisi, although confirmation is difficult.

DRINKING PROBLEM: A judge will decide whether metro Atlantans ever had the right to use Lake Lanier for drinking water.

JOSH SMITH: Interviewed on the Sporting Blog by Bethlehem Shoals following his re-signing with the Hawks.

SILVER BULLET: Transportation officials are discussing the possibility of building a 310-mph, mag-lev bullet train connecting Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.

LAVONIA: Police are accusing a man of keeping his wife and four children captive for three years in a single-wide trailer.

CLAYTON: School board member Rod Johnson becomes the latest to resign. He stepped down after school system attorneys declined to represent him because he had skipped meetings where they were discussing defense strategies for upcoming administrative hearings.

ACCREDIT CHECK: North Carolina Central University’s now-defunct Atlanta satellite campus has been retroactively stripped of its accreditation by SACS, essentially nullifying the degrees earned there by 25 students.

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According to Bethlehem Shoals at the Sporting News’ the Sporting Blog, Atlanta may be about to lose its second Josh in less than three weeks. Following Josh Childress’ evacuation to Greece last month, Hawks forward Josh Smith has signed a $58 million contract offer with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sayeth Bethlehem:

As for the Hawks, yeah, they could match, and still might. But what an utterly defeated organization. Losing Josh Childress really punked them, and the lack of enthusiasm for re-signing Smith makes it seem like they’ve been totally demoralized. How a team could not want to build on that playoff performance is beyond me, especially when they’ve been wandering the wilderness for so long. Now I guess we all get why Childress was so content to make history rather than stick around.

Atlanta has seven days to match the offer, but this still makes us wonder if things would have been different this summer without Mike Woodson at the helm, since both Joshes reportedly have had beefs with the coach.

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You could see this one coming. The Olympiakos, the Greek professional basketball team, flew Josh Childress over to Greece. They wined and dined him, and then offered him a three-year, $20 million contract In Euros. They’re even going to pay his taxes. And he signed up.
And what were the Atlanta Hawks doing during all this, and in the months leading up to this? Obviously, twittling their thumbs. In the process, they’ve lost one of the top bench players in the NBA, a firebrand of energy who seemed to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Gone untold on the sports page of the AJC is the story behind why Josh Smith doesn’t want to play for the Hawks, and why Childress doesn’t want to play here. I’ve seen reports elsewhere that both players have a beef with Coach Mike Woodson.

For the long-term ramifications, check out John Hollinger’s take on ESPN.com. Writes Hollinger: “The fact that Childress didn’t think twice about leaving — and that Josh Smith seemingly would gladly pack his bags too — speaks volumes about the management. So does the fact that Atlanta is among NBA players’ favorite cities to visit, and yet nobody wants to play here.”

And just when the city was finally starting to embrace the Hawks …

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— Jay Bookman = Priceless. Ah, those wacky Gwinnett Republicans.

— Tondee’s Tavern notes that the Macon Telegraph has endorsed Dale Cardwell for the U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary. This comes on the heels of Obama’s smackdown of Vernon Jones yesterday for printing up photo-shopped fliers that imply Obama has endorsed Mr. CEO-who-voted-for-Bush-twice. Says Obama: I barely know that dude.

– Our pal, the Shelbinator, has produced a video for MTV2 that focuses on ex-Marine Chris Raissi of Macon. Raissi talks about the pressures he faced as a Marine recruiter to convince people to join the military. The three-part video is posted on his web site.

— Over at Live Apartment Fire, Doug Richards gives props to WAGA-TV’s Dale Russell for his secret video of disgraced preacher Earl Paulk. Russell has a long relationship with Paulk’s former secretary, Mona Brewer. And when Paulk reached out to Brewer for a “peace” meeting at a local restaurant, she called the I-Team. Russell wired her up with sound and videoed the meeting from outside.

— The AJC’s Sekou Smith says the Hawks were saved by Elton Brand, the free agent power forward signed by Philadelphia yesterday. Why? It means the 76ers won’t be going after our own Josh Smith. That leaves the Hawks sitting pretty to re-sign their two free agents: Smith and Josh Childress. And Hawks fans everywhere breathe a sigh of relief.

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A BRIDGE TOO FAR: Study shows that many Georgia bridges deemed “structurally deficient” by inspectors still go years before being repaired, often driving up the costs.

DYLAN: Popular sea turtle is released into the wild after nine years in captivity.

GINGREY DISCOVERS WATER: State Rep. Phil Gingrey took part in the Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority’s congressional cruise Monday, noting that the lake is “a real treasure” and has made him appreciate the importance of water: “After being in a level-four drought, you look at water the same way you look at gasoline.” True. The only difference is we couldn’t live without gasoline, silly.

TAKE YOUR GUNS TO TOWN: And on MARTA, to your business lunch and at the wildlife refuge, starting today. That’s still not enough for state Rep. Tim Bearden, though, who’s filing a federal lawsuit to prevent the city of Atlanta from banning guns at Hartsfield-Jackson, where he says he’ll be packing heat today when he goes to pick up his family.

NOT READY FOR MARTA: Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell injures his hand firing a gun at a strip club owner’s family outing.

JOSHES: Hawks want and need to keep them, but they won’t come cheap.

OBAMA AND THE SOUTH: In a NYT op-ed today, Thomas Schaller writes that Obama can’t win Mississippi, Georgia or North Carolina, but maybe can win Virginia and Florida.

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