In a game dominated by pitching Saturday afternoon, Murphey-Candler National’s Connor Brown delivered the decisive blow with his bat.

With runners on first and second and one out in the top of the eighth inning of a scoreless contest, Brown took a Teddy Rovolis offering and drilled it over the center-field fence to propel his team to a 3-0 win over Coastal Little League of Richmond Hill on the opening day of the Georgia Little League Baseball 12-and-under state tournament at the South Bryan Recreation Department.

It was a critical win for Murphey-Candler and an even more devastating loss for its Pool B counterparts, Coastal.

“It’s tough. We had a lot of opportunities, but you’ve gotta score to win,” Coastal coach Scott Karnibad said. “Our pitching is great, but we’ve got to hit the ball, and our bats were just off today. But give credit to their pitchers. They had us off stride, and their defense made some huge plays.”

The host Wildcats missed their biggest chance in the bottom of the seventh.

Brandon Schwier and Jared McKinney notched consecutive singles to open the frame, before Murphey-Candler hurler Elijah Dwoskin set down the next two hitters. Rovolis then laced a sharp single to center, but Schwier was caught in no-man’s land between third and home and was thrown out trying to get back to third, ending the threat.

“I thought initially he could get down the line, but when the pitcher cuts that ball off, we would have been out by a good 50 steps, We tried to get back in safely but couldn’t. The credit goes to them on a great play.”

Coastal turned in a few defensive gems of its own. The biggest one came in the top of the sixth when Karnibad’s son, center fielder Jarrett Karnibad laid out to snag a line drive to lead off the inning that took away extra bases.

“We played great defensively and pitched great; they just had one more big hit than we did,” the elder Karnibad said.

In fact, Coastal pitchers Luke Whetstone and Rovolis limited Murphey-Candler to a lone basehit until the eighth, when Nathan Ford led off with a single and later advanced to second on an Alex Gavlak safety that set up Brown’s blast.

Prior to Saturday’s action, an opening ceremony was held, where all the players were introduced, and University of Georgia head baseball coach Scott Stricklin threw out the first pitch. The tournament is the second consecutive statewide one hosted by Richmond Hill, which also entertained the 10- and 11-year-old event in 2012. The 10-team competition is split into two five-team pools, where each team plays four games apiece in a round robin format. The top two teams from each pool will play Thursday in the semifinals, with those winners squaring off for the championship on Friday morning.

The Wildcats now must win their next game on Monday at 8:30 p.m. against perennial powerhouse Warner Robins American to avoid backing themselves further into the corner.

“We’re in a huge hole right now,” Karnibad said. “If we don’t beat Warner Robins, we’re going to need Cartersville to upset Murphey-Candler. The good news is we only gave up three runs, and we forced Murphey-Candler to burn a couple pitchers while being able to save ours for the most part. We’re going to have to depend on some other people, but obviously if we can beat Warner Robins, we’re right back in the driver’s seat.”

Concerns about air quality in the Chatham County Aquatic Center forced the Savannah Fire Department to clear the building Saturday, but after tests showed there was no danger the Georgia Swimming 14 & Under Long Course Championships got right back into gear.

“We had a call from an individual concerned with the level of chlorine in the air inside,” said Mark Keller, Savannah Fire spokesman. “We checked the air and didn’t find elevated levels of chlorine, everything was normal.”

Keller said the water in the pool was also tested and chlorine levels were fine. Firefighters cleared the aquatic center at 12:16 p.m., and swimmers, coaches and spectators were allowed back in at 1:35 p.m., with the competition resuming at 2:30 p.m.

“It was just a temporary inconvenience,” Keller said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry in those situations, so we got everyone out.”

The delay didn’t seem to affect the swimmers, who have trained all season for one of the biggest events on their calendar.

Sam Parker, a 10-year-old Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team (GCAT) member from the Isle of Hope, was focused on his best race — the 50-meter backstroke. A day after finishing third in the 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter butterfly, Parker came through with the victory.

At the start of the race, Parker blasted off the wall and was under water in an instant. He was the last in his heat to surface, about 15 meters into the sprint. From there, he churned it home to win easily in 35.36, which Parker said was his best time in the event.

“I’ve focused on this race so much, it’s become my best event,” said Parker, who starts fifth grade at Savannah Christian in the fall. “I can go faster underwater, so I try to stay under as long as I can. That usually gives me an early lead, then I try to hold on.”

Other members of the GCAT team coached by Bill Forrester were ready to swim after the delay.

Emma Maust, a 10-year-old from Wilmington Island, had a solid swim in her 100-meter butterfly heat, finishing in 1:33.96.

“I was focused for this race because my coaches were helping me and my friends were there to cheer me on,” Maust said.

Alexandra Wayner, a 9-year-old student at Garrison School, raced in the second fastest heat of the 50-meter back, and came through with time of 40.50.

Wayner is the younger sister of Darby Wayner, a rising sophomore at Savannah Arts, who was the Savannah Morning News co-swimmer of the year last season with Patricia Forrester of Calvary Day.

“My sister helps me a lot with my swimming,” the younger Wayner said. “She gets in the pool with me and helps me with my double kick on the butterfly. In my (backstroke) race, I just tried to get the best kick out I could.”

Bill Forrester had a look of relief on his face as the meet was once again running smoothly.

“I just want the best for the kids,” Forrester said. “They have been training for this meet all season, and I wanted them to get their chance to shine. I’m happy for Sam (Parker), he’s got that great kick out that helps him so much in the backstroke — and he had a great race today.”

The final day of the Long Course Championships will be today, with swimming starting at 9 a.m. and running through the late afternoon.

CHICAGO — One day after being yanked from a game for not hustling, Alex Rios ended a big slump in a big way.

Rios hit a grand slam, drove in five runs and had three hits to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 10-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

Rios had been in a 2-for-20 slump before going 3 for 5. Rios, who also ended a homerless drought of 120 at-bats, insisted that his big day had nothing to do with being pulled from the game on Friday.

“I go about my business the same way every day,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happens the night before or whatever. I try to do the same things every day and I try to perform my best.

“I felt a little better today. I felt like I was seeing the ball better. When you see the ball better, it’s because you’ve done some mechanical adjustments.”

Rios and White Sox manager Robin Ventura disagreed on whether the benching was necessary, but they were on the same page in believing it didn’t have any carry-over effect.

“The other day he was 6 for 6 and there was nothing going on there,” Ventura said referring to Rios’ performance at Detroit on July 9. “He’s just a good player and he had a good day. He came up at the right time.

“He hit a grand slam and had some big hits to help us win. I don’t think it had anything to do with last night.”

Either way, Rios’ slam turned around what appeared to be another lackluster White Sox game into their 10th win in 32 games.

Jake Peavy (7-4), making his first start since June 4 because of a fractured rib, got off to a shaky start. He allowed a two-run homer to Dan Uggla in the second inning and two more runs in the third. But he shut down the Braves during his final three innings.

He allowed seven hits in six innings, and just two of the four runs charged to him were earned.

Braves starter Paul Maholm (9-9) was forced out in the fourth inning because of a sprained left wrist. He was staked to a 4-0 lead but couldn’t hold it. He allowed seven runs and seven hits in three-plus innings.

“It flared up on him in the fourth inning,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of the injury. “He did it in Miami his last start when he was hitting. In the fourth it flared up on him a little bit and we didn’t want to take any more chances.

“We got him out of there as soon as we saw something.”

The soft-tossing left-hander started struggling with his location after retiring six of the first seven batters he faced.

But the first five batters in the third inning got on, capped by Rios’ grand slam that gave the White Sox a 5-4 lead.

During the White Sox 6-4 loss to the Braves on Friday, Rios hit what appeared to be a routine double-play grounder in the fifth inning. Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons bobbled the ball, and Rios likely would have beaten the throw to first, but he didn’t run hard out of the box.

Instead of a run scoring, the White Sox were out of the inning. Ventura removed Rios in the seventh.

Before Saturday’s game, Rios admitted he was wrong for not running hard. He said it was caused mostly by frustration, and added that he wished Ventura had handled it differently.

“(The message) would have gone through better if he put me in his office and talked to me personally,” he said. “If he wants to make a statement for the team, it probably worked.”

Notes

Braves RHP Brandon Beachy, recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2012, pitched five innings to get the win in a minor league rehab start on Friday. “He threw the ball really well,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “The report after the game was it’s the best he’s felt in a while.” . Braves LHP Mike Minor (9-4) faces LHP Jose Quintana (4-2) in the series finale on Sunday.

SALISBURY, Md. — Albert Cordero’s run-scoring double in the seventh inning snapped a tie Saturday night and led the Savannah Sand Gnats to an 8-6 victory over the host Delmarva Shorebirds.

Cordero, a 23-year-old catcher who has spent parts of the last four seasons in Savannah, drove in Jorge Rivero, who led off with a single, and helped the Sand Gnats end a two-game losing streak and a downward binge that had seen Savannah lose five of its last six games.

The Gnats (54-40, 11-14 second half) trailed 6-1 after three innings. But they began the long comeback with a run in the fourth inning and four runs to tie the game in the fifth before Cordero’s heroics in the seventh.

Savannah tacked on an insurance run in the ninth.

Gnats relievers also played a big part in the win. Julian Hilario pitched four scoreless innings and picked up the win. Paul Sewald and Beck Wheeler threw scoreless innings as well. Wheeler got out of a jam in the ninth inning to pick up his 10th save.

Savannah starter Matt Koch was roughed up, surrendering 11 hits and six runs over three innings. In his last two starts, covering 4 2/3 innings, Koch has allowed 17 hits and 13 runs (nine earned) and watched his earned run average balloon to 5.09.

Delmarva (40-56, 10-19) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Creede Simpson’s two-run single.

Savannah cut the advantage in half in the third inning when Shorebirds catcher Steel Russell had a pitch get past him for a passed ball allowing Chad Zurcher to score.

In the bottom of the inning, Roderick Bernadina’s two-run triple — one of his four hits on the night — was the big blow in a four-run uprising that gave the Baltimore Orioles affiliate a 6-1 lead.

But Savannah chipped away with a run in the fourth when Cordero doubled in Rivero who had doubled.

In the fifth, Maikis De La Cruz singled in Brandon Nimmo, who led off with a triple. Cole Frenzel walked and, three batters later, Greg Pron drilled a three-run home run — his first of the season — to tie the game at 6-6.

The two teams will play the second game of their four-game series today at 5:05 p.m. Savannah returns home Wednesday to start a four-game set with the Augusta GreenJackets.

Savannah ab r h bi Delmarva ab r h bi

Zurcher ss 5 1 1 0 Herbst lf 5 1 2 0

Nimmo cf 5 1 3 0 Caronia ss 5 1 1 0

DeLaCruz rf 4 1 1 1 Hutter 3b 5 1 2 0

Frenzel 1b 4 1 1 0 Simpson 1b 5 0 1 2

Sabol dh 5 0 0 0 Balog dh 4 1 1 0

Rivero 2b 4 2 2 0 Richards dh 0 0 0 0

Pron lf 5 1 2 3 Bernadina rf 5 1 4 2

Cordero c 3 1 2 2 Boss 2b 5 1 1 1

Reynolds 3b 5 0 2 1 Russell c 4 0 2 0

Lorenzo cf 4 0 1 1

Totals 40 8 14 7 Totals 42 6 15 6

Savannah 001 140 101 — 8

Delmarva 204 000 000 — 6

DP—Delmarva 1. LOB—Savannah 11, Delmarva 10, 2B—Zurcher, Rivero, Cordero 2, Frenzel, Herbst, Bernadina. 3B—Nimmo, Bernadina. HR—Pron (1). SB—Zurcher.

SAVANNAH IP H R ER BB SO

Koch 3 11 6 6 0 0

Hilario W,5-3 4 2 0 0 0 3

Sewald 1 1 0 0 0 1

Wheeler S,10 1 1 0 0 1 2

DELMARVA IP H R ER BB SO

Bridwell 4 2/3 8 6 6 4 5

Rutledge L,4-3 2 1/3 5 1 1 1 1

Upperman 2 1 1 1 1 4

WP—Upperman. PB—Russell. T—3:18. A—5,069.

Vantage Tower Group, a company that builds cellular towers, wants to erect one on 57th Street just east of Waters Avenue, but nearby residents are skeptical.

The company has asked the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission for a permit and says it plans to raze a run-down vacant house at the neighborhood’s entrance.

A 120-foot cell tower built in its place would be enclosed by an opaque fence surrounded by a variety of landscaping features.

Terry Thomas, Vantage Tower’s site development manager, says the tower would be self-supporting and freestanding, with no guy wires as required by the planning commission.

The tower will contain five nodes for the transmission of wireless service, with AT&T occupying the top two nodes and the bottom three available for lease to other coverage providers.

The tower’s antennas would be contained within the tower itself and the structure would be designed to look like a simple flag pole, said Jack Butler, a comprehensive planner with the MPC.

Nearby residents question whether they want a cellphone tower located so close to their community.

“We don’t like the condemned shack,” said Rosa Davis, president of the Edgemere-Sackville Neighborhood Association. “But we don’t think the tower would be an improvement, either.”

To try to ease residents’ concerns, the MPC asked Vantage Tower to show how high the tower would be by suspending a red balloon at that height on July 11 and 12.

Davis and other neighborhood association members attended the test.

She said the neighborhood can work with the city to deal with the shack that’s on the site, but the tower would be a permanent visual burden.

“We are looking for this neighborhood to look better,” she said. “That is one of our goals — to look better and be better, and we don’t think (the tower) would service our mission. At some point, we want this to be the grand entrance to our neighborhood.”

AT&T spokesman Bob Corney said the tower is needed at that location to supplement current bandwidth capacity.

Cellphone data usage has increased more than 30,000 percent over the last few years, Corney said, and while someone may have three or four bars of service in an area, the ability of the network to handle the usage is limited.

“There is a stubborn thing called physics,” Corney said “And there is a certain capacity in the network.”

Corney points to the iPhone and its App Store, only 5 years old, and the amount of information that is streamed using such mobile software.

“We want the folks to understand that that tower serves that neighborhood,” Corney said.

Butler said the proposed tower location is the most efficient site in the area.

He said the MPC is working to forge solutions for digital capacity and demand issues.

“Our goal is to provide an infrastructure for this growing demand that won’t require new towers every time,” he said.

ATLANTA — The use of temporary workers is on the rise in Georgia, following a national trend that's typically considered as an indication of economic improvement.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday that Georgia has seen a 40 percent increase in the number of temporary workers over the past four years. The newspaper reports more than 101,500 people are now employed as temporary workers in the state. Nationally, temp jobs increased by 53 percent to 2.7 million workers.

Jim Link, managing director for staffing at recruiting agency Randstad USA, tells the newspaper that hiring of temporary workers has increased in nearly every industry.

Vice President of Kelly Services Will Cephus says temporary workers help employers quickly increase their workforce to meet shifting demands and cut costs.

WOODSTOCK, Ga. — Cherokee County sheriff's officials say a biologist searching for snakes in Woodstock has instead found a set of skeletal remains.

Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jay Baker says the biologist was searching a wooded area of South Cherokee Lane Saturday afternoon when the remains were uncovered.

Baker says the remains appear to be those of a man who was wearing a red, size 13 pair of Adidas shoes, blue jeans and burgundy shorts underneath.

Authorities are unsure of how long the remains had been lying in the woods, and Baker says the man's body has been sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for analysis.

Authorities are also probing missing persons cases to try identifying the remains.

Woodstock is about 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.

GULLANE, Scotland — One of the greatest final rounds in a major. Two of the best shots he ever struck with a 3-wood. The third leg of the Grand Slam.

Phil Mickelson never imagined any of this happening at the British Open.

No wonder he never took his hand off the base of that silver claret jug as he talked about the best Sunday he ever had at a major. Five shots out of the lead, Mickelson blew past Tiger Woods, caught up to Lee Westwood and Masters champion Adam Scott, and won golf’s oldest championship with the lowest final round in his 80 majors.

With four birdies over the last six holes, Mickelson closed with a 5-under 66 for a three-shot win over Henrik Stenson.

No longer is he mystified by links golf, and he has his name etched on that jug to prove it.

“This is such an accomplishment for me because I just never knew if I’d be able to develop the game to play links golf effectively,” Mickelson said. “To play the best round arguably of my career, to putt better than I’ve ever putted, to shoot the round of my life ... it feels amazing to win the claret jug.”

Introduced as the “champion golfer of the year,” he held the oldest trophy in golf over his head to show it off to one side of the massive grandstand lining the 18th green at Muirfield, and then the other. An hour earlier, they gave the 43-year-old Mickelson the loudest ovation of the week as he walked up the final fairway.

He drained an 8-foot birdie putt and thrust his arms in the air, hugged caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay and whispered to him, “I did it.” After signing for the lowest final round ever at Muirfield, Mickelson huddled with his wife and three children — back from a quick holiday to Spain — for a long embrace and waited for the others to finish.

Westwood, who started the day with a two-shot lead, fell behind for the first time all day with a bogey on the par-3 13th hole and never recovered, closing with a 75.

Scott took the outright lead with a 4-foot birdie on the 11th, and then closed as sloppily as he did last year when he threw away the Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. He made four straight bogeys starting at the 13th, and a final bogey on the 18th gave him a 72. At least he has a green jacket from the Master to console him.

Woods, in his best position to win a major since the crisis in his personal life, stumbled badly on his way to a 74 and was never a serious challenger.

“We know that he goes for broke, and if that’s how he was feeling and pulling it off, he’s got the ability to do that,” Scott said about Mickelson. “And he’s gone and won an Open easily. So every credit to him.”

At the end of a rough-and-tumble week along the Firth of Forth, Mickelson was the only player under par at 3-under 281. In his four other majors — three Masters and one PGA Championship — he had never started the final round more than one shot behind.

“I don’t care either way how I got this trophy — I got it,” Mickelson said. “And it just so happened to be with one of the best rounds of my career, which is really the way I’ve played my entire career. I’ve always tried to go out and get it. I don’t want anybody to hand it to me. I want to go out and get it. And today, I did.”

Westwood, whose only other 54-hole lead in a major ended with Mickelson winning the Masters, paid tribute to Lefty for what will go down as one of the great closing rounds in a major.

“When you birdie four of the last six of a round any day, that’s good going,” Westwood said. “With a decent breeze blowing and some tough flags out there, it’s obviously a pretty good experience. When you do it in a major championship, it’s an even better experience.”

But this major? Phil Mickelson?

He had only contended twice in two decades at golf’s oldest championship. One week after he won the Scottish Open in a playoff on the links-styled course of Castle Stuart, Mickelson was simply magical on the back nine of a brown, brittle Muirfield course that hasn’t played this tough since 1966.

Tied for the lead, Mickelson smashed a 3-wood onto the green at the par-5 17th to about 25 feet for a two-putt birdie, and finished in style with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to match the lowest score of this championship.

“Those two 3-woods were the two best shots of the week, to get it on that green,” Mickelson said. “As I was walking up to the green, that was when I realized that this is very much my championship in my control. And I was getting a little emotional. I had to kind of take a second to slow down my walk and try to regain composure.”

Kudos from Jack

Mickelson figured a par on the 18th would be tough for anyone to catch him. When the ball dropped in the center of the cup, he raised both arms in the air to celebrate his fifth career major, tying him with the likes of Seve Ballesteros and Byron Nelson.

“Best round I’ve ever seen him play,” said his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay.

Scott, trying to join an exclusive list of players who have won a green jacket and a claret jug in the same year, made a remarkable recovery from the dunes right of the par-3 13th hole, only to miss the 7-foot par putt. He took three putts for bogeys on the next two holes — from long range on the 14th, and from 20 feet on the 15th — and found a bunker on the next.

Westwood and Scott tied for third with Ian Poulter, who played a four-hole stretch in 5-under around the turn and closed with a 67. At 1-over 285, he canceled a flight home in case of a playoff. Moments later, with Mickelson pulling away, the outcome was clear.

Jack Nicklaus said on Twitter, “Phil’s round was incredible. After his bad break on 16 and to then get up and down showed a lot of guts. And the two great shots at 17 ended the tournament.”

Making this even sweeter for Mickelson is that just one month ago he lost out on yet another chance to win the U.S. Open, the missing link of a career Grand Slam. Mickelson twice made bogey with wedge in his hand on the back nine at Merion and had his record sixth runner-up finish.

Woods, Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen are the only players to win all four professional majors. Mickelson figured it would be the British Open that would hold him back. Now he has the jug, and he never took his hand off it during his press conference.

“I think that if I’m able to win the U.S. Open and complete the career Grand Slam, I think that that’s the sign of the complete, great player,” Mickelson said. “And I’m a leg away. And it’s been a tough leg for me.”

Two Savannah teenagers who were in a stolen truck were arrested Saturday morning after being stopped by officers conducting an operation.

The teens, ages 13 and 14, ran from officers after the pickup was stopped at Ash and East 35th streets, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman. They were caught and arrested on East Duffy and 34th streets.

Miller said the truck was stolen after it was left running.

About midnight, two boys riding a bicycle and another accompanying them approached a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado pickup on Alabama Avenue, Miller said. Two of the boys got in the truck and drove off, leaving the bicycle in the street.

The truck was later driven into an area where the police department’s “Total Focus” operation was being conducted.

The 13-year-old was charged with theft by taking auto and obstruction by fleeing and was taken to the youth detention center, Miller said. The 14-year-old was charged with obstruction by fleeing and released to his parents.

“Total Focus” is a county-wide operation of dozens of officers from various units of the police department and sometimes other local law enforcement agencies assigned to intensely patrol areas where criminal activity has been reported, Miller said. Officers seek out known offenders to verify compliance with court orders, perform traffic stops and heavily patrol neighborhoods in addition to regular patrols in those areas, he said.

The latest “Total Focus” operation was carried out Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings. Neighborhoods were saturated, patrols strengthened downtown and Central Precinct held a roll call in the street in Tatemville.

The operation executed four felony arrests and six misdemeanor charges Friday and another felony and four misdemeanor arrests Saturday, Miller said. For the two nights, 27 citations and 51 traffic citations were issued, along with a city ordinance violation charge and a parking ticket, he said.

Local emergency officials do not expect any major flooding to result from high water levels in the Savannah River, but the situation is still being monitored.

There is still a possibility for flooding tonight and Monday night, but the river level has gone down slightly, said Anson Calmes, an emergency manager with the Chatham Emergency Management Agency.

Right now, the Savannah River at Clyo is at 18 feet, which is down about half of a foot from Thursday night. So far, CEMA has not seen any evidence for water rising to River Street’s plaza and parking lots or on U.S. 80 between the Bull River and Tybee Island.

“That’s a good sign,” Calmes said, “but that doesn’t tell us what the astronomical high tides are going to do.”

The highest risk for any flooding tonight is between 7-8:30 p.m., he said, adding that CEMA will be checking the river from a helicopter.

The Coast Guard, too, is monitoring the situation.

“We’re expecting it to be managed effectively and really expecting minimal impact,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Sawyer with the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit in Savannah.

He said the peak of the river will likely be Monday evening at high tide, which is about 9 p.m. Right now, he said, it’s important for those operating boats to be aware of their surroundings.

“We want boaters to be aware of floating debris possibly coming downstream and to watch mooring lines to prevent vessel breakaways that could cause additional hazards in the river,” Sawyer said.

In the event that water levels do rise atop roadways, police are prepared to close streets where necessary.

—Dash Coleman

Since the Savannah Jr. DerbyTaunts formed in 2012, they’ve been on the lookout for some tough little ladies, and they found them Sunday during the team’s open enrollment meet and greet in Garden City.

The league is a member of the Junior Roller Derby Association and accepts girls ages 10-17 who are interested in staying active and perhaps getting a little “rink rash” in the process.

DerbyTaunts manager Dana Bynum says that overall the league works to empower the girls and instill a sense of leadership and teamwork within the league. But Bynum says that most women are drawn to roller derby because of the high level of contact.

“In roller derby, if someone really hits you hard, it’s expected after the game that you go up to her and give her a hug and say, ‘You’re amazing.’ You can’t hold grudges,” Bynum said. “There is men’s roller derby out there, but it’s always called ‘men’s’ roller derby. This is a female dominated sport.”

The physical contact is what attracted 16-year-old Sky “Madame Machete” Reicherter to the roller derby league, but along the way, she’s also learned patience and how to be supportive of her teammates.

“When you compete you’re going up against people you don’t know. You all have good clean fun, but at the same time you’re kicking butt and you’re shoving people down. It’s good clean fun and you’re all in it for the fun,” Reicherter said. “I absolutely love it. It’s taught me how to work better in teams and how to lead, but not be too bossy. You have to help each other out.”

And working together is what DerbyTaunts coach Sarah “Lizzie Gored’em” Hurst said it’s all about. Hurst said that as a coach she strives to encourage the girls to be better skaters and help out their fellow teammates.

“It encourages women to feel strong and powerful and work together, plus it’s really cool to feel so rough and tumble,” Hurst said. “But if you don’t work well with other people then you aren’t going to win in roller derby.”

First-time derby skater Kat Kelly has always had a passion for skating and wanted to participate in a sport to keep her active outside of marching band.

“I think I’m going to love it. I’ve just loved everything we’ve done so far,” Kelly said. “I would encourage any other girl to try it even if you don’t think you’ll be good at it because you’ll love it.”

LONDON (AP) — Prince William's wife, Kate, is in the early stages of labor in a private wing of a central London hospital, palace officials said Monday.

It is a historic moment for the British monarchy — the couple's first child will become third in line for the British throne, after Prince Charles and William, and should eventually become king or queen.

William and Kate entered St. Mary's Hospital in central London through a side door early Monday morning, avoiding the world's media. Palace officials confirmed her arrival about 90 minutes later.

Royal officials said they traveled by car, without a police escort, just before 6 a.m. Kate — also known as the Duchess of Cambridge — is expected to give birth in the private Lindo Wing of the hospital, where Princess Diana also gave birth to William and his younger brother, Prince Harry.

"Things are progressing as normal," the couple's spokesman said.

She will be looked after by a top-notch medical team led by royal gynecologist Dr. Marcus Setchell. Palace officials are not expected to provide many details about how her labor is progressing.

The baby is in line to become Britain's monarch and be recognized as head of state in 15 other countries, including Canada and Australia, playing a leading role in charting the future of the Commonwealth.

But little else is known, including how the baby will arrive — it is not clear if Kate will have a natural birth or deliver by a planned cesarean section — its gender and its name.

Royal watchers must wait to be told of the baby's arrival from the palace, which is planning to reveal the news through a mixture of tradition and social media.

Palace officials have said that the first hint will come when a royal aide emerges from the hospital with a signed bulletin carrying the Buckingham Palace letterhead. The bulletin will be given to an official who will be driven to Buckingham Palace, where it will be posted on an easel in public view in front of the building.

At the same time the bulletin is posted, there will be an official announcement on Twitter and the media will be formally notified. The document will give the baby's gender, weight and time of birth.

It could be some time before the baby's name is made public. When William was born, a week passed before his name was announced. Charles's name remained a mystery for an entire month.

But it is the baby's gender that is of particular interest because the prospect of Kate's pregnancy prompted a change to laws of succession to ensure a daughter would not be passed over for the crown by a younger brother. Boy or girl, the child will be the prospective future monarch.

The birth of a new heir to the throne has been breathlessly anticipated by many Britons since William and Kate wed on April 29, 2011.

Despite a rough start to the pregnancy, when she was hospitalized for acute morning sickness, the 31-year-old Kate made a number of public appearances that were halted only near the end of her term.

Since the duchess has cut back on her royal duties, media outlets have been clamoring for position outside of the hospital in anticipation of the birth, jockeying to secure the best vantage point for filming William and Kate emerging, babe in arms.

At Buckingham Palace, where the birth will be announced, tourists packed near the front gate, peering through the black iron bars to catch of a glimpse of any action.

Two New York teachers, Maddalena Buffalino, 29, and Michael Savino, 32, were quizzing a pair of passing police officers about where the easel would be placed.

"Just being here is very cool," said Buffalino, who said she'd been following royal baby news intently.

She said the tradition and glamor of the royal household was what attracted Americans like her to the palace.

"It's the history," the social studies teacher said. "We don't have it."

Police eventually shooed the growing crush of tourists away from the gate, with one officer warning the assembled crowd to keep an eye on their wallets and valuables.

Officials have said that William plans to take two weeks' paternity leave and then return to his military duties as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot in Wales.

His tour of duty is scheduled to wrap up around September, and he and Kate are expected to move from their isolated cottage on the island of Anglesey off the coast of Wales to Kensington Palace in central London.

But major refurbishment works at the palace likely won't be finished until at least a month or two after the infant is born — meaning that William and Kate will most likely have to make do with their current temporary home in London, a two-bedroom property at the palace.

Come autumn, however, the family will be able to move into their permanent London home, Apartment 1a at Kensington Palace — a four-story house with a nursery, 20 rooms and a private garden.

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Associated Press writer Raphael Satter in London contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies are increasingly confident the economy will grow at a modest pace over the next year and are hiring more, according to a survey of business economists.

Nearly one-third of the economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics said their companies added jobs in the April-June quarter, according to a report released Monday. That's the highest percentage in nearly two years. And 39 percent expect their firms will hire more in the next six months. That's near the two-year high of 40 percent reached in the January-March quarter.

The hiring pickup occurred even though sales and profit growth slowed in the second quarter.

Optimism about future economic growth increased. Nearly three-quarters of the survey respondents forecast growth of 2.1 percent or more over the next 12 months. That's up from two-thirds in the first quarter survey, released in April, and the most in a year.

The quarterly survey's results echo much of the recent data tracking the economy. Growth has been slow in the past nine months, but employers have added jobs at a healthy pace. Many economists anticipate that the steady hiring will help accelerate growth in the second half of this year.

The NABE surveyed 65 of its member economists between June 18 and July 2. The economists work for companies from a variety of industries, including manufacturing, transportation and utilities, finance, retail and other services.

Among the findings:

— Only about 35 percent of the respondents said sales at their firms increased in the second quarter. That's sharply lower than the 55 percent who reported rising sales in the first quarter. And 15 percent said sales fell, up from 9 percent in the first quarter.

— Profit growth also slowed: Only 21 percent of respondents said profit margins increased last quarter, down from 29 percent in the first.

— Only 19 percent of economists said their firms were raising wages and salaries, down from 31 percent in April and the lowest proportion since October.

— A small but increasing minority of respondents say that government spending cuts and tax increases have hurt their businesses. Twenty-six percent of the economists said their firms were negatively impacted, up from only 16 percent in April. Still, 74 percent said the government policies had no impact on their businesses, though that's down from 79 percent three months earlier.

Looking ahead, companies are increasingly concerned about higher interest rates. That reflects the jump in rates that took place following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments in late May that the Fed could slow its bond-buying program later this year. Those purchases are intended to keep interest rates low.

The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury bond, a benchmark that influences mortgage rates and other borrowing costs, has increased nearly a full percentage point to about 2.5 percent since May.

When asked for their biggest concern over the next 12 months, 17 percent of the respondents cited rising interest rates. That is a big jump from April, when only 4 percent cited such concerns.

The biggest concern for most companies is the health of the global economy, which was cited by nearly one-third of the respondents. Europe's financial crisis has plunged that region into a recession, and growth in China, Brazil and other large emerging markets has also slowed. That's crimping U.S. exports.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say a man is recovering after he was burned by an outdoor fire northeast of Atlanta.

The Times of Gainesville reports (http://bit.ly/18uLLGY) that he threw gas on the fire Sunday on Spout Springs Road in south Hall County. He was flown by helicopter to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Hall County Fire Chief David Kimbrell said about 36 percent of the man's body was burned.

Few other details were available early Monday morning.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.gainesvilletimes.com

Average retail gasoline prices in Savannah have fallen 0.4 cents a gallon in the past week to $3.54 a gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 262 gas outlets in Savannah.

The national average has increased 3.2 cents a gallon in the last week to $3.68, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. 

Prices Sunday were 26.4 cents a gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 16.1 cents a gallon higher than. an a month ago. The national average has increased 9.9 cents a gallon during the last month and stands 19.0 cents higher than this day one year ago. 

"While the worst may be behind us, I do believe the week ahead will likely feature another rise in the national average," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. 

Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Kim Rowden on Sunday was named the 2013 Assistant District Attorney of the Year by the state’s District Attorney’s association.

The award, presented during the group’s annual summer conference at the Jekyll Island Convention Center, came on the nomination of Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap with additional kudos from former DA Spencer Lawton Jr.

“When Kim prepares for trial, she puts her heart and soul into the  case,” Heap said. “I have known Kim for 27 years, and I have never seen a more dedicated, hard-working, humble prosecutor.”

Added Lawton, “Kim is the sort of lawyer who turns the processing of criminal cases from a beneficial, but more or less routine service to our community into an example of the noble art of professional prosecution.”

He called Rowden “a smart woman whose integrity is of a piece with professionalism she has demonstrated, without ever flaunting it, over the course of 28 years in the trenches.”

Rowden, 54, has been an assistant prosecutor here since 1985. She is currently is assigned to Chatham County Juvenile Court where she handled the office’s first case under the Criminal Street Gang Statute in a case involving 16 co-defendants.

Her supervisor in Juvenile court, Chief Assistant District Attorney Diane McLeod, said Rowden’s efforts in that case brought all 16 defendants into court within 10 days after their detention hearings.

Those cases were adjudicated within 45 days, McLeod said.

“Her work ethic and professionalism were exemplary while the case was pending,” McLeod said. “Rowden is an excellent example of hard work, diligence and professionalism.”

Rowden initially served in the State Court Division before moving to Superior Court where she handled felony prosecutions.

She earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in political science from Mercer University in 1981 and her law degree from the university’s law school in 1984 before joining he prosecutor’s office.

24-hour jail bookings for Savannah-Chatham County are now posted. Visit booked.savannahnow.com to view photos and information.

All information has been obtained from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department.

All individuals posted have not been convicted of a crime and are innocent until proven guilty.

Savannah-Chatham Metro police will be operating radar hot spots along Berwick Blvd.

Crime and arrest reports for Savannah-Chatham County have been updated through July 13, 2013.

Click here to access crime reports.

Click here to access arrest records.

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. WAITING FOR FIRST LOOK AT NEW PRINCE

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were to leave a London hospital today with the heir third in line to the British throne.

2. SYRIA, NSA FUNDING BEFORE HOUSE

Tea party conservatives and liberal Democrats considering a defense bill today want to limit aid for U.S. surveillance programs and Syrian rebels.

3. THE FIRST MLB STAR TO FALL IN DRUG PROBE

Milwaukee's Ryan Braun was suspended for the season while drug investigations continue into Alex Rodriguez and more than a dozen other players.

4. NOSE DIVE ON NYC RUNWAY

Two LaGuardia Airport runways remained closed today after a Southwest Airlines jet's front landing gear collapsed, injuring 10.

5. WHAT THE POPE TRAVELED IN

Francis abandoned the popemobile for an open-air vehicle that let him interact with Rio's crowds.

6. FAMILY SAYS MORSI 'KIDNAPPED' BY MILITARY

Six people died in the latest protests between supporters and opponents of the ousted Egyptian leader, who has been out of sight for nearly three weeks.

7. KOREA'S ROCKET RACE

The AP's Foster Klug reports an eight-month standstill at a North Korean site signals Pyongyang is slowing development of long-range rockets.

8. HOW STUDENTS ARE PAYING FOR SCHOOL

A report out today says grants and scholarships are paying most college bills, not parents.

9. PLACING ROYAL BABY BETS

About 50,000 bets were placed before Kate gave birth, with most of the money on George or James for a boy.

10. COP-TURNED-ACTOR DENNIS FARINA DEAD AT 69

The ex-Chicago police officer played a mob boss in "Get Shorty" and a New York detective for years on "Law & Order."