Local NBA Pioneer, a Milton Resident, Dies Over the Weekend

Roswell's Northside Chapel Funeral Directors and Crematory is handling funeral arrangements for Marty Blake.

Marty Blake, 86, of Milton, died on April 7, according to his Northside Chapel Funeral Directors and Crematory obituary. Blake, the former director of scouting for the NBA, was a pioneer in the world of sports, spending over 60 years in professional basketball. He was born March 22, 1927, in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of two Russian Jewish immigrants, Elias and Ethel Blake. Blake grew up in Wyoming, Pennsylvania. After a stretch in the Army and graduation from Wilkes College, he entered the sports world. See also: Blake worked for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the then-New York Giants in baseball; the Detroit Lions in football and operated the Wilkes-Barre Bullets of the American Football League when it was considered the …

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Red Hot Chili Peppers Win Rec League Championship

The 9 to 10-year-old girls played in the Alpharetta Winter Recreation program.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were the Alpharetta Recreation Winter 2012-2013 (9-10 Girls ) Basketball Champions, playing the final game on Saturday, Feb. 24. The team was coached by Craig Longo and Pat Guiney. Shown in the photo are, back row: Kalissa Green, Haley Hamel, Lauren Kalmon, Lauren Guiney and Danielle Baptiste; front row: Morgan Longo and Elizabeth DeShazor.

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Alpharetta High Lady Raiders Beat Lambert as Season Winds Down

The fifth-ranked girls baskeball team notched another victory at home Tuesday night.

The Lambert High Lady Longhorns managed to drop a few three-pointers to keep in the game for most of the night, but the Alpharetta High School Lady Raiders were on top by the end of Tuesday's girls basketball game. The Lady Raiders won, 78-54. The AJC ranks the Lady Raiders fifth in the state as of Jan. 27, before Tuesday night's victory. They'll next face South Forsyth on Friday, Feb. 1 at home in their question for regional and state championships. The regional championships will be held Feb. 12-16 at Alpharetta High School. Just three games remain in the regular season, and Friday's game is the Lady Raiders' last regular season home game.         5. Alpharetta (18-3)

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Cambridge Junior Bears Clinch Region, Head to Playoffs

The sixth grade team beat the Alpharetta Junior Raiders on their way to the tournament.

The sixth grade Cambridge Junior Bears Basketball team beat the Alpharetta Junior Raiders this past weekend (48-41) to clinch the Region. Because of their ranking, they are automatically in the Sweet Sixteen of the CCJBC playoff tournament which starts this weekend. The Junior Bears finished the regular season 8-1 in the region and 18-5 overall in the season. Team members are:

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Photo Gallery: Milton Wins State Championship

The Milton Eagles beat the Savannah Blue Jackets 79-67 in the GHSA state boys basketball championships on Friday.

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Photo Gallery: Milton Beats Harrison

Milton High defeated Harrison 73-52 during the semi-finals at the Gwinnett Arena on Thursday. Milton will advance to the state championship game today, March 9. The Eagles will play Savannah at 8:45 p.m. at Gwinnett Arena. Tickets are $10 for all the games today, which include the boys and girls AAAAA finals, the AAAA finals and the wheelchair finals, which kick off the day of basketball at 12:15 p.m. The Blue Jackets defeated Milton's North Fulton rival, the Alpharetta Raiders, in the other semifinal AAAAA game Thursday night.

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Gladiators Hosting Guns n Hoses

Gladiators hosting match between Johns Creek, Alpharetta public safety officers.

Local firefighters and police officers will square off on Saturday when the Johns Creek High Gladiators basketball hosts Guns n Hoses. To recognize the police officers and firefighters who serve our community, the JCHS basketball program has organized its third annual community-wide basketball game as the fire fighters from Johns Creek and Alpharetta take on the police from Johns Creek and Alpharetta.  All are welcome to attend and support area police officers and firefighters in this basketball challenge. The game will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28, at Johns Creek High School at 6 p.m. immediately following the 4:30 boys varsity game. The event is free to attend, and there will also be raffles and giveaways.

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Excitement Builds for Junior Raider Night at Alpharetta High

Varsity teams play North Forsyth on Friday, with Junior Raiders honored the same evening.

Excitement is building at Alpharetta High School for this Friday night's game, Jan. 20, with the Varsity Lady and Varsity Mens' basketball teams against North Forsyth High School. The Junior Raiders Basketball teams will be recognized during the event. The Varsity Lady Raiders game starts at 6 p.m., followed by the Varsity Men's game tip-off at 7:30 p.m. against North Forsyth.

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UPDATE: Milton High Boys Basketball Team Wins Opener in Beach Ball Classic

The Eagles beat Miami Senior, 51-31.

UPDATE: The Milton Eagles won the opening game of the 2011 Beach Ball Classic, beating Miami Senior by 20 points, 51-31. Miami Senior took the lead by scoring the first two points with 15:30 left in the first period, but it took less than a half minute for the Eagles to tie it with a layup by Tevin Glass. It took almost two more minutes for either team to score, with missed jumpers, layups and even a dunk as the two teams traded rebounds Once Shaquille Johnson put up a jumper for two, Milton never looked back. At the end of the first period, Milton lead by eight. That stretched to as much as 21 in the second period. Milton shot only 37.5 percent from the floor, putting up 48 shots and only making 18 of them. The Eagles weren't strong in …

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St. Francis Shootout Brings State Title Runner Ups to its Gym

The school's first tournament takes place Saturday and Sunday.

St. Francis High School in Alpharetta hosts its first St. Francis Shootout on Dec. 19-20. The four-team tournament, sponsored by Collegiate Prep, has St. Francis, Georgia Military, Southside High and McCallie Prep as its participants. Both of the out-of-state schools were runner-ups in their classifications: Southside High (SC): South Carolina 3A Upper State Finals; and McCallie Prep (TENN): TSSAA State Runner ups. McCallie has some Atlanta flavor, as two of its players are from the Atlanta Metro area. In addition, Georgia Military from Milledgeville will compete, under the direction of legendary coach James Lunsford. Coach Lunsford has more than 500 wins, with many from his coaching days at Baldwin High where he won a State Championship. …

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