🏈 High School Football Preview

Friday feels

Aug. 4 — If you’re in Downtown Atlanta next week, avoid Pryor Street between MLK and Mitchell Street. The street will be closed in preparation for a possible Donald Trump indictment announcement at the Fulton County Courthouse. Trump pleaded not guilty yesterday in a Washington, D.C. courtroom to four counts related to his efforts to undermine the 2020 election.

☁️ Cloudy and 87° today with a chance of thunderstorms. The weekend will be partly sunny with highs in the low 90s.

🏫 The Atlanta Board of Education named Dr. Danielle Battle as interim superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools after Dr. Lisa Herring announced she would leave at the end of August. Herring, whose contract was not renewed by the BOE, was expected to stay for the 2023-24 school year.

🗳️ Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch has announced that she will seek re-election in November for a second term. “It will be my second and final term,” she said.

⚖️ The South River Watershed Alliance cited the Clean Water Act as it filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop Atlanta’s planned Public Safety Training Center. The suit was filed on Tuesday and names the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Foundation as defendants.

🔎 Another inmate has died at the Fulton County Jail, which is under investigation by the US Department of Justice following an inmate’s death last fall.

🔥 A fire at a Doraville apartment complex on Wednesday night has left a woman dead and 19 people displaced.

🏛️ Four Georgia district attorneys – including DeKalb’s Sherry Boston – are challenging the constitutionality of a law that allows a newly appointed state panel to remove them from office.

🌳 Governor Brian Kemp has tapped longtime state regulator Jeff Cown to lead Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division.

⚖️ Eight former state employees have been indicted in Fulton County on charges of unemployment insurance fraud allegedly committed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

🕖 Today’s newsletter is ④ stories.

• High school football preview
• Film Review: ‘Shortcomings’
• The Sports Section
AND
• Top Stories of the Week

Have a good weekend,
Collin, Sammie, & Madison

🍔 ICYMI: It’s Brookhaven Restaurant Week! We have 18local restaurants offering three-course prix fixe menus throughout Brookhaven from Aug. 1-7. It’s a perfect weekend to make plans to support local establishments! Be sure to tag us in your pictures – @exploreBrookhaven!
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St. Pius X (Photo by Art of Life Photography)

1. Friday night lights

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SCORE ATLANTA

🏈 School is back in session, which means Rough Draft has partnered with Score Atlanta to produce our annual high school football preview.

We’ve got last year’s stats, a full schedule of the upcoming games at each high school, and analysis from the Score team about what to expect and who to watch.

The guide covers both public or private schools and includes some great photos by local photographers (including the shot above of St. Pius X v. Marist by Art of Life Photography)

➡️ See the full preview here.

What to do when your dog’s coat gets matted
SPONSORED BY SCENTHOUND

🐶 Matted dog fur is more serious than an unsightly knot. It can actually have lasting negative health impacts.

Matting is when dead or loose fur wraps itself around live fur. As more fur gets caught in the mat and gets tighter, the mat gets closer to your dog’s skin.

Mats can be difficult to brush out, though. This article will give you tips to prevent matting, perform handle brushing, and help you know what to do if mats develop.

☎️ Call or click to schedule an appointment at one of our Scenthound locations:

➡ Buckhead: (470) 607-5100
➡ Dunwoody: (678) 990-1900
➡ Tucker: (770) 538-1790

Justin H. Min and Sherry Cola in “Shortcomings” (Sony Pictures Classics)

2. ‘Shortcomings’ thrives on unlikability

WEEKLY FILM REVIEW | BY SAMMIE PURCELL

🗣️ There is nothing wrong with a little disagreement about movies among friends. But there is a moral righteousness that can build itself up on the internet in a way I find extremely limiting when we’re talking about art.

“Shortcomings,” Randall Park’s directorial debut, captures this particular brand of cynicism with a keen eye and expands it to the real world.

Based on a 2007 graphic novel by Adrian Tomine, the film follows three young Asian Americans as they navigate through tricky questions of relationships and identity.

There’s Ben (Justin H. Min), an aspiring filmmaker who manages a local arts cinema and is on the verge of a breakup with Miko (Ally Maki), his long-suffering girlfriend who just got a film internship in New York City; and then there’s Alice (Sherry Cola), Ben’s best friend who’s in grad school and hiding her sexuality from her family.

🎥 Read the full review here.

🍿 Stay in the picture with Scene by Rough Draft, our weekly newsletter about Georgia’s film industry, Sponsored by Aperturent. Movie reviews, profiles, what’s filming where, plus more. Directed by Sammie Purcell. Subscribe for free.

3. The Sports Section

A WEEKLY FEATURE | BY MADISON AUCHINCLOSS

⚽ The Women’s World Cup moves into the win-or-go-home round of 16 on Sat., Aug. 5. It’s been a wild tournament so far with the surprising exits of Canada, Germany, Brazil, and co-host Australia. The US will look to bounce back from a rough performance against Portugal when they face Sweden on Sun., Aug. 6 at 5 a.m. ET (TV: FS1).

🎙️ The soccer chattering class is wondering if it’s good for women’s soccer if somebody other than the Americans wins.

⚽ Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz have advanced out of the group stage for the first time ever in their second World Cup appearance. The team features Chamblee HS senior Solai Washington, who is making her World Cup debut at only 17 years old (pictured). Washington has made a verbal commitment to play at Duke University next year. Jamaica plays Colombia on Tues., Aug. 8 at 4 a.m. ET (TV: FS1).

🏈 Football is back, baby! The Jets and the Browns played the Hall of Fame game last night, which marks the first game of the preseason.

🏈 Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons training camp continues this week. Open practices are today and tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. before the team heads off to Miami for training.

⚽ Atlanta United’s losing streak continued with their loss to Cruz Azul in penalty kicks last Saturday. The team now has a two-week break before they travel to play the Seattle Sounders on Aug. 20.

⚽ The Five Stripes signed Portuguese player Xande Silva on loan from French club Dijon. They also signed Senegalese player Jamal Thiaré from French Ligue 1 side Le Havre and Georgian player Saba Lobjanidze from Turkish club Hatayspor.

⚾ The Braves remain on top in the NL East after crushing the Angels 12-5 on Wednesday. They are currently on track to break the record for most home runs in a season, 307, which was set by the Minnesota Twins in 2019. The Braves play the Cubs and former teammate Dansby Swanson this afternoon at Wrigley Field at 2:20 p.m. (TV: BSS).

🏀 The Atlanta Dream have lost two games in a row. Last night, the Dream fell to the Phoenix Mercury. The Dream will continue to try and secure a playoff spot on Sun., Aug. 6 when they host the Indiana Fever (3 p.m., TV: ESPN3). You can try to find tickets here.

🐝 Georgia Tech’s football preseason training camp continued today. The Yellow Jackets also announced that they will be hosting their first fan event of the season at The Flats Sat., Aug. 5, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Their season starts Sept. 1 when they face Louisville at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

🐶 Hoping to put myriad off-season distractions behind them, the University of Georgia also started its preseason football training camp this week. The Bulldogs begin their quest for a third straight National Championship on Sept. 2 in Athens against UT Martin.