Author: Ken Sugiura
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Ken Sugiura: A journalism giant, Chris Mortensen ‘always had a smile on his face’
ATLANTA — Almost 40 years later, Dave Archer remembers Chris Mortensen’s smiling countenance. In 1985, Archer had become the Falcons’ starting quarterback, the same year Mortensen began covering the team for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Then 34, Mortensen was several years from becoming a household name for football fans everywhere as ESPN’s news-breaking NFL reporter. He…
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Ken Sugiura: Remembering that Harrison Butker, on way to greatness, once was ‘pretty average’
Watching from afar, Paul Johnson doesn’t worry about his former kicker, even when Harrison Butker has been summoned to decide championships with his right foot. “I don’t get nervous for him,” Georgia Tech’s coaching great told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think he’s proven himself over and over in clutch situations. I’m sure he’s pretty confident…
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Ken Sugiura: As Trae Young-Dejounte Murray duo falters, ‘numbers speak for themselves’
ATLANTA — It was January 2023 and Landry Fields could not have been more enthusiastic of the trade to acquire Dejounte Murray. Newly elevated to oversee all basketball operations, the Hawks general manager was confident that the potentially high-powered partnership of Murray and star guard Trae Young would outweigh the hefty cost paid to the…
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Ken Sugiura: Terry Fontenot, Raheem Morris have picked quarterbacks before, but not always well
The totals are in. In Monday’s hour-long introductory news conference for Raheem Morris, the Falcons coach and their general manager Terry Fontenot used some form of the word “collaborate” no less than 22 times. They vowed to collaborate with each other, with owner Arthur Blank, with scouts, assistant coaches and the entire Falcons organization. There…
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Pats already preparing to defend title
HAMPTON, Va., Aug. 7, 2012 – Like many military spouses, Allison Lattuca doesn’t mention her husband’s Navy service as she job hunts with each forced relocation every few years. “I don’t put it on my resume,” Lattuca told me at a Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes’ job fair here Aug. 2. “But if asked,…