Jeff Hart

The Dawson County girls basketball advanced to the finals of the Pickens Holiday Classic after an 81-54 win over Riverwood Monday.

Lane Kiffin was modest in his goals and complimentary about the team he'll be facing in the Sugar Bowl. He went on and on about how much he's learned from Nick Saban, while insisting it's no big deal when his boss yells at him. Very un-Kiffin-like, you might say.

The Piedmont College women's basketball team held off a 2nd half run by the visiting Panthers of Birmingham-Southern College earlier tonight to take a 76-60 win in Cave Arena moving to 6-1 on the year.

Belk Bowl Capsule

Mike Smith's status as the winningest coach in Falcons history wasn't enough to save his job. Owner Arthur Blank said he fired Smith on Monday because in his "heart of hearts" he didn't believe Smith could take the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

Chestatee and Gainesville each needed late runs while East Hall and Johnson turned in dominating performances in blow out wins to advance to the semifinals Saturday in the opening round of the 55th annual Lanierland Tournament at the West Hall gym.

Defending champion Gainesville, East Hall, Flowery Branch, and North Hall each took impressive victories fueled by second half spurts Saturday in the opening round of the 55th annual Lanierland Tournament at West Hall High.

How good has football gotten in northeast Georgia? All you have to do is look at the Georgia Sportswriters Association All-State teams, which were released on Thursday.

It's not how you start, but how you finish.

Jeff Teague scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Al Horford added 20, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85 on Saturday night.