SPORTS BRIEFS: Lee County baseball game rescheduled

Lee County baseball game rescheduled

Lee County’s varsity baseball game scheduled for Friday night at Region 1-AAAAAA rival Valdosta was postponed because of rain and rescheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Forbes increases Braves’ value to $1.18 billion

The Atlanta Braves are worth $1.18 billion, less than the average Major League Baseball team but almost 2 1/2 times as much as five years ago.

That’s according to Forbes magazine’s 19th annual valuations of MLB teams.

Forbes said the average MLB team is now worth $1.3 billion, with valuations ranging from the New York Yankees’ $3.4 billion to the Tampa Bay Rays’ $650 million.

The Braves rank 13th. Their valuation is up $30 million from last year’s $1.15 billion. Five years ago, Forbes said the Braves were worth $482 million.

Braves owner Liberty Media will find out how the stock market values the Braves next month, when the company plans to issue a tracking stock tied to the team. The stock is expected to trade on the Nasdaq exchange.

Falcons re-sign linebacker Wheeler

Linebacker Philip Wheeler re-signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Terms were not disclosed.

The Falcons also played host to Baltimore Ravens free agent linebacker Courtney Upshaw.

The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Wheeler originally signed with the team on Oct. 20 last season, and emerged as a steady contributor for the defense. He finished with 29 tackles, a sack and one forced fumble while appearing in nine games with two starts, and had two games with double-digit tackles.

Wheeler, 31, was originally a third-round pick (No. 93 overall) by the Indianapolis Colt in 2008. He started 24 of the 61 games he appeared in for the Colts before joining the Oakland Raders in 2012 and then spending two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Wheeler spent last offseason with the San Francisco 49ers but did not make the team out of training camp.