Jeff Hart

Former Auburn football Terry Bowden returned to coaching Wednesday at Division II North Alabama. The 52-year-old Bowden, the son of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, brings a 111-53-2 record to North Alabama, which finished the 2008 season 12-2 and reached the semifinals of the Division II playoffs.

Sergei Samsonov's backhanders kept the Carolina Hurricanes moving forward under new coach Paul Maurice. Samsonov scored two goals with his backhand and added an assist to lead Carolina past the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Vanderbilt used to be called the worst team in the Southeastern Conference. Cellar dwellers. The private school that just didn't belong in a power football league. No more. Vanderbilt won a bowl game for the first time in exactly 53 years, with Bryant Hahnfeldt kicking a 45-yard field goal with 3:26 left Wednesday for a 16-14 win over Boston College in the Music City Bowl.

Two members of Georgia Tech's defensive line have another game waiting after Wednesday night's Chick-fil-A Bowl against LSU.

Jets quarterback Brett Favre reportedly has a torn biceps tendon in his right arm that will not need major surgery to repair, ESPN said Tuesday.

The Class AA No. 3-ranked Buford girls basketball team took home the title of the Deep South Classic Tuesday night routing Class AAAAA Peachtree Ridge 55-25 in the championship game.

Xavier used an 18-0 second-half run to turn a six-point deficit into a 12-post lead en route to a 56-44 win over Georgia before a crowd of 4,534 at Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Joe Johnson scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the streaking Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers 110-104 on Tuesday night. Josh Smith had 24 points, Mike Bibby scored 15 and Al Horford added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks, who have won six straight games and nine of 10.

Zachery Peacock scored a season-high 22 points and Gani Lawal had a career-best 16 rebounds as Georgia Tech overcame 21 turnovers to beat Tennessee State 63-58 on Tuesday night.

Curtis Joseph made 29 saves to earn his first win of the season and the 450th victory of his career and the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday night.