Jeff Hart

Despite being just five years old Flowery Branch will have a distinct advantage when it comes to playoff football. The Falcons play host to Chamblee in the first round of the Class AAA football playoffs Friday night.

The Habersham Central football team will find out very quickly if it is a pretender or a contender for the Class AAAA state title this year. The Raiders (9-1, No. 2 seed from 8-AAAA) open the first round of the playoffs at home against last year's state runner-up Marist.

Stay-Rod? In a startling turn of events, Alex Rodriguez spoke with the Steinbrenner family and New York Yankees officials Wednesday and told them he wants to stay in pinstripes. His longtime agent, Scott Boras, wasn't involved in the talks.

Wins haven't been easy to come by in Charlotte's brief history in the NBA, but the Atlanta Hawks have provided more of them than any other team. The Bobcats will be trying for their fourth straight win against the Hawks when they visit Atlanta on Wednesday.

Ricky Williams' suspension ended after more than 18 months when he was reinstated Wednesday by the NFL, and the winless Miami Dolphins might welcome him back.

The final regular season broadcasts of HCS-TV

With three weeks left to decide which teams will play for the national title, it's Oregon against the Big 12 in a BCS battle. LSU moved into the first place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday and the Ducks jumped into second place, a day after Ohio State was upset by Illinois.

With his 10th win of the season, Jimmie Johnson all but sealed a second consecutive Nextel Cup title. But, he said he won't take anything for granted, even after Sunday's win at Phoenix International Raceway gave him a commanding 86-point lead with just one race to go.

Valdosta State received the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Region for the NCAA Division II playoffs, earning a first-round bye. Albany State also got into the 24-team field. The Golden Rams will open the playoffs at Catawba next Saturday.

Through seven games, it appeared the Atlanta Falcons were bound for one of the worst seasons in franchise history, and loud complaints were coming from players and fans. Suddenly, two wins later, the mood is on the upswing.