It wasn’t until his freshmen year of high school that Jeff Karlsson started playing the game of golf.  Now, five years later, the Swedish Junior National champion is playing on scholarship for the Kennesaw State Owls.

A native of Sweden, Karlsson brings his highly acclaimed talent to the United States for an opportunity to play against the best the sport has to offer.

“There is no better talent than here in the States,” Karlsson said.  “It is way more popular here than it is back home.”

Karlsson is one of the rare few to play the sport in his homeland of Gothenburg, Sweden.  With the nation engulfed in soccer and hockey, golf has yet to find the limelight that the other sports have reached.

Having only 3 Swedish players on the PGA tour, only one of the countrymen has earned winnings from a tour event in 2010.

Inspired by the swing of his favorite golfer Jesper Parnevik, Karlsson decided to try out for the high school golf team after spending the summer prior working as a caddy.

Grasping the game easily and rapidly ascending up the rankings, Karlsson earned an invitation to play on the Swedish Junior Circuits in just his first year.

Collecting three Swedish Junior National titles, including a 28 stroke victory in the Swedish Club National, Karlsson earned the number one ranking in Sweden.

A highly touted athlete, Karlsson received offers from universities all over the world seeking his talents.

Deciding on Kennesaw State in the summer of 2009, Karlsson left his family of three (Michael –father, Mari – mother, Marielle – sister) to pursue his dreams.

“I knew what I had to do from the beginning,” Karlsson said. “I knew that in order to get the recognition and publicity needed to go pro, I had to play here. And win.”

In just two short years, Karlsson has already made a name for himself amongst division one golfers.

“I have seen a lot of professional and collegiate athletes play golf and no one strikes the ball the way Jeff does,” Jay Mosely, the head coach of the men’s golf team said. “His drive of the tee box is like no other college player I have seen. The only comparison I can make is to Tiger Woods and the way it sounds when he makes contact.”

Averaging 320 yards a drive, the 6 foot 3, 200 pound sophomore out drives his closest competitor by 8 yards.

“He is a beast,” J.P. Putnam, the number two golfer on the men’s team said. “His work ethic is phenomenal. He is the first one in the gym and the last one out, the same with the golf course.”

Using the long ball to his advantage, Karlsson turned in a score of seven under to win his first collegiate title at the Samford Intercollegiate in Oneonta, Ala. this season.

Collecting a second place finish at the Furman Intercollegiate and a third place finish at the Irish Creek Collegiate in Charlotte, NC, Karlsson is setting precedence for KSU golf.

“He (Karlsson) has been absolutely amazing for our team this year,” Mosley said. “When we have needed him the most, he has come through and delivered.”

Setting his sights far beyond intercollegiate athletics, Karlsson hopes to one day become a member of the PGA tour.

“It would be a dream come true,” Karlsson said. “To be able to play golf for a living would make all the hard work I have put in worthwhile.”

Having already competed against athletes who have competed professionally, Karlsson seems to fit in quite well.

“He has what it takes to play on the tour,” Matt Nagy, a team mate and participant in the 109^th U.S. Open said. “He drives the ball better than half the guys on the tour now. Throw in his chipping and ability to get up and down using his strength and he is good to go.”

With the season coming to an end after a disappointing performance at the Atlantic Sun Men’s golf championship, Karlssons summer begins.

“I am going to be playing in a lot of amateur tournaments this summer, hoping to win an invitation to a tour event,” Karlsson said.

When asked about whether an invitation would obstruct him from coming back to school Karlsson had this to say.

“I will be back,” Karlsson said with a big grin. “I have some unfinished business to take care of.”

Beating all odds

By: Brian Harper

After being told by doctors that he would never have use of his arm, Keaton Anglin beat all odds to return to the game he loved so much. At 12-years-old, Keaton suffered an injury so severe that it almost cost him his life, including his young maturing baseball career.

Five years ago, Keaton and his father, Kenny Anglin, were doing volunteer work at their church to repair damages sustained from a tornado a few weeks prior. The father and son  duo were helping to build a retaining wall around the sanctuary of Calvary Baptist church when a fellow worker, who was attempting to drive a metal rod into the ground to stabilize the wall miss hit the rod forcing a piece of metal to break off and propel into the neck of Keaton.

The piece of metal flew 20 feet before piercing Keaton’s neck, and lodging next to his collarbone.

“At first I thought it was a bee sting,” Keaton said. “I walked over to my sister to ask her to see if I was stung and that’s the last thing I remember.

After removing his hand from his neck, his sister Kina Anglin noticed a stream of blood pouring from the wound. She quickly stuck her finger in the hole to alleviate the bleeding; however, Keaton had already lost enough blood in such a short time he passed out falling flat on his back to the church parking lot asphalt.

 Soon after the emergency unit arrived and stabilizing Keaton, the helicopter to flight heading to Eggleston Hospital so immediate life support treatment could be administered to Keaton.

Upon arrival to the hospital, Keaton was quickly rushed to the intensive care unit, while his parents franticly arrived in the waiting room short after.

 ”We were devastated by everything,” Kenny said. “When the helicopter took off from the church his pulse was fading in and out. We were unsure if our son would be alive when we reached the hospital.”

As the doctors went to work, so did the Anglins. Putting their faith in God hands and asking for a miracle for their son, the Anglin family dropped to their knees and began praying.

“We did the only thing we could do,” Kina Anglin said. “We all held hands and prayed in the middle of the hospital waiting room.”

The operation lasted approximately seven hours. During this time, doctors opened Keaton’s neck to find the piece of rod had severed his Carotid artery.

The metal had come to rest against the Carotid artery, negating any attempt to remove the shard of metal.

After sewing the wound up and replacing some torn tissue, it was time the doctors delivered the outcome to the eagerly awaiting family.

“I remember the doctor coming out of the back and knowing that my son was going to be ok,” Kenny Anglin said. “I was astonished when he told us that Keaton was going to lose all feeling in his right arm.”

Keaton Anglin was a baseball player. He had always been. Since he was strong enough to swing a bat he did. Since he was old enough to develop athleticism and throw a ball he did.

Coached by his father, Keaton had just returned home as a Dixie Boys youth baseball champion in 13 and under just weeks prior to the incident.

Now he lay in the bed of a hospital with only slight movement in his pointer index and middle finger.

“Baseball was all I could think about,” Keaton said.

Five months had passed since the incident and the feeling and movement that Keaton could produce grew increasingly stronger.

A patient of Newton Generals physical therapy program, Keaton attended three times a week for two hours at a time to work on regaining strength in his arm.

Then one day, Keaton decided he was going to play baseball again.

“I remember grabbing my glove and a ball and asking my dad to come play pitch with me in the yard,” Keaton said.

Weary of the idea of partaking in activities against doctors orders, Kenny felt it necessary to receive conformation from a doctor before risking further damage to his son.

 ”Of course, I was scared and I told him emphatically no,” Kenny said. “I called the doctor and he said he wouldn’t be able to throw it, but if it didn’t hurt him to let him try.”

Upon confirmation, Keaton threw for 45 minutes in the backyard without experiencing any pain. Unable to explain the phenomenon, doctors chalked the conclusion up as a miracle from God.

After four more weeks of rehab to stretch the muscles in his arm, Keaton was cleared to participate in all activities.

He took less than 2 months before Anglin was back on the diamond playing baseball and being coached by his father. A season that will forever be remember by the Anglin family ended with a repeat of the Dixie Boys world series and a second straight championship for Keaton and the Newton County All-Stars.

“It was a season we will never forget,” Kenny said. “We held our breath every time he batted.

Since the accident Keaton has finished four years of high school baseball and has taken his talents to the next level as he continues to play second base for the Georgia Perimeter Jaguars.

Also serving as an active youth leader at his community church of Eastridge, Keaton attributes his belief in God for his survival on that day.

“I’ve always had faith in God, and what happened made it that much stronger,” Keaton said. “I will continue to serve Him. I know that there is much more to life than material things, and I will live my life as a positive example for others.”

Deep from within the black, gloomy depths of the Okefenokee Swamp echoes a wide-range of calls and vocalizations. A low pitched sound rebounds across 700 square miles of wetland habitat – past forests of Cypress tress draped in Spanish moss, through shallow swamps of wet prairies filled with lilies and grasses, from an reptile in search of a mate who will react to its calling. Its springtime at the swamp and the eerie calls are coming from the closest living relative of the prehistoric dinosaurs, the American alligator.

With its dark, lizard-like body accompanied by a long muscular tail, and powerful jaws, scientist say the alligator is more than 150 million years old. Having changed very little since the crocodilians first arrived 160 million years ago, the male alligator measures up to 15 feet in length, while the female reaches a maximum length of 10 feet. The average weight for the alligator is 1,000 pounds.
Classified as apex predators, the American alligator mainly feast on fish, turtles, snakes and small animals such as raccoons, squirrels, bobcats and other alligator. Nevertheless, when it comes to feeding time, an alligator will eat almost anything, including a human. “Alligators are still wildlife and have their wildlife instincts,” Eric Sanders a ranger for the Department of Natural Resources said. “Like any animal, if they feel threatened by you, they will eventually attack. It’s like a bear in the circus. You can have him and train him for 25 years, but one slip up is all it takes for it to turn on you.”

Today, there are 21 different species of crocodilians found throughout the world, but Georgia is home to only one, the American alligator. Residing exclusively in freshwater areas near swamps, ponds, and rivers, the American alligator makes the Southeastern region of the United States its home.
While the Alligator population is currently on a steady incline, it hasn’t always been so for this reptile. Gator populations have remained stable in the swamp over the past few years. “Due to the amount of research that is being conducted on the alligators, we have been able to restore their population,” Jason Norman a veterinarian student studying herpetology at the University of Georgia said. “With the addition of gator farms in Georgia, the ability to control breeding has been the biggest key (to the reproduction process).”
Currently there are 10 alligator farms in South Georgia, each of which house up to 800 gators.
There was once a time when alligators came so close to extinction that their critical connection in the ecosystem could have been lost forever. Georgia’s alligator population first began to drop in the mid 1960s.
The cause for decline was the loss of habitat and hunters poaching for the skin and meat of the alligator.
American Alligators remained on Georgia’s Protected Species List until 1984. The protection during this time allowed the species time to recover. After a drastic incline in the 1980’s American alligators had reproduced enough to justify a reclassification on the federal list as a threatened species from the endangered list.
The American alligator continues to be listed as threatened in an effort to protect crocodilians that are still critically endangered in regions of the world. Due to the resemblance of skins between other crocodilians, international trade of alligator skins is extremely regulated. Today, management of the reptile has been granted to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
As the alligators have recovered in the state, the opportunity for human contact with them has increased as well. Gators are not naturally a danger to humans, but they can move in far distances, especially in the summer months during breeding and nesting seasons. They don’t automatically follow a river or stream and can be found far from any type of water source, which can bring them into some unpredictable places, such as human populated areas.

An alligator in human populated areas is not an immediate cause for concern. Alligators are naturally scared of humans and will stay clear of contact. “Alligators like most wildlife feel threatened by the presence of a human,” Sanders said. “It is until they are backed into a corner they can’t escape from or defending their young typically when they become confrontational.”
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (O.N.W.R.) located at the northern tip of the swamp near Waycross is home to many roaming alligators. At the park, the 400,000 annual visitors get to see wild gators sunbathing on the boat docks or on the banks of the park. Available to visitors of the park are boat tours, miles of hiking trails and kayak and canoe rentals that give patrons a look at the gators in their habitat. Easily mistaken for statues instead of live alligators, humans have the opportunities to get up close with the gators One of the main causes for conflicts between humans and alligators, however, is people feeding the alligators, a problem so prevalent that a state law has been made prohibiting the feeding.
Over the course of time the alligators begin to correlate people with food and that eventually leads to problems. The gators will begin to follow the fishing boats and take fish right off a fisherman’s line or worse.
The O.N.W.R. also doesn’t allow dogs or pets in boats while out in the swamp. Any pet that enters the refuge area must be kept on leash at all times, a measure to protect the pets from becoming dinner for an alligator.
Fatalities from gator attacks are very uncommon. According to the O.N.W.R. project development manager Maury Bedford there hasn’t ever been an alligator attack in the confines of the refuge. “I have heard of a couple attacks in Florida over the years, but none here,” Bedford said.
The future for Georgia’s alligators is unpredictable. Although they survive there are still some factors not in their favor. Habitat loss is continuing at a frightening rate, forcing gators to move into smaller areas, which soon become over populated. This in return leads to the depletion of food supply forcing the alligators to move again. “The alligators can cover miles in a day,” Bedford said. “With their well-developed sense of smell, they can cover some ground when it comes time to eat.”
Pollution is also a major factor in the life span of this reptile. Alligators are subject to pollution due to the longevity of their lifespan and living up to 50 plus years. Heavy metals and pesticides can become concentrated in the tissues of a predator, affecting their longevity and reproductive productivity.
Alligators have come a long way in the 160 million years of existence. They have proven to be resilient reptiles with a genetic gene for surviving. If only Georgia residents can continue to respect these reptiles, then both the American alligators and humans can coexist in Georgia for many years to come.

Caption: An American Alligator sun bathing on the banks of the Okefenokee Swamp. The picture was shot by Brian Harper while on a kayaking trip through the marsh.

I choose this picture to be critqued. I really like this one becuase is shows the full length of the Alligator. It really puts in to prespective how actual close we were. It has a lot of detail of the alligators traits. How tough his skin is, the yellow eyes. He just looks mean, like he wants to take your head off. The colors are darker and give it a swamp feeling. But the color of the plants are brighter and shows how they blend in with the water as a use of camaflouge.

Brent Little giving his best impression of Frank the Tank from Wedding Crashers

Erin Giegling soaking up the first rays of the winter as the cold weather subsides momentarly as the tempeture reaches 64 degrees on Saturday, February 18, 2010.

North Carolina State's Tracy Smith stands still as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket's offense blew by the Wolf Pack's defenders with a 73-71 win in a tough ACC Coastal division match up.