Source of Braves’ hot streak might be waffles

The Atlanta Braves are the hottest team in baseball, having won 13 straight games.

But that run might not be due to solid pitching or timely hitting or whatever other cliche baseball people use.

The streak’s start coincided with the opening of a Waffle House restaurant at the Braves’ home park, Turner Field.

The Georgia-based chain, which advertises that it serves 145 waffles and 341 strips of bacon per minute (not all of it at Turner Field, of course), opened its Braves branch July 26, when Atlanta started a seven-game homestand.

The Braves won all seven and then took their home cookin’ on the road to sweep three games in Philadelphia and three more in Washington. After Wednesday’s game, the Braves open a wafflicious nine-game homestand.

“We should have put that Waffle House in a long time ago,” Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer said on Twitter.

At last check, the Atlanta Falcons were still, uh, waffling on the decision about whether to add a Georgia Dome branch.

■u2007SIX, PACKING — While we’re touring Georgia, step aside, Bryce Harper.

A YouTube video is circulating of Spencer Conn, a 6-year-old from Grayson, Ga., who apparently hit five home runs on five consecutive pitches in a two-game span.

The homers all are at the same park, which has a 120-foot fence, though Conn cleared it by plenty each time.

The league is a coaches-pitch league, but still. There’s been no word on whether Conn has been tested for enhanced levels of Flintstones vitamins.

■u2007RETIRING AGAIN — And one more from Georgia.

Last season, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones ended his 19-year baseball career.

On Wednesday, he retired again. This time from Twitter.

Jones said goodbye to his 333,529 followers with his 1,721st tweet: “No more twitter for me. Said I’d do it for one year and the time is up. Too much hate and too many trolls. Much love to Braves country! Xo”

If only they’d put a Waffle House inside of Twitter.

■u2007FOLLOW ME — Being an Olympic athlete isn’t always fun and games.

But Lolo Jones had plenty of fun at her 31st birthday party Monday, even while being followed by drug testers.

Olympic athletes can be drug-tested anywhere at any time, but Jones wasn’t ready when the performance-enhancing drug police showed up at 8 p.m.

“I was chosen to be drug tested right before I left for my bday party, so the drug testers were obligated to shadow me until I peed in a cup,” the track star turned bobsledder posted on her Twitter account.

It gets better.

“Drug testers at my bday party? Street cred goes up. I need a rap song about this…” she tweeted an hour later.

Jones even joked that they didn’t bring her a present. But she did create her own.

“I changed my mom’s phone name to Ryan Braun and had her call my cell repeatedly while they were testing me,” she tweeted.

Jones finally completed the test at 11:45 p.m.

COMPILED BY BARTT DAVIS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL