Jeff Hart

A few more games like Friday

Both the West Hall and Flowery Branch girls basketball teams were looking for a confidence builder Tuesday night as they opened their Region 7B-AAA schedules. But it was the Lady Spartans who left the West Hall gym with a 45-39 win and a jumpstart in the tough subregion schedule. The Flowery Branch boys earned the split with an 80-71 win over the Spartans.

A team still getting to know each other, the Buford boys basketball team may have the catalyst it was looking for to get its season going. The Wolves blew one lead and rallied from others in the two second half Saturday night to knock off North Hall 54-51 on the road in a game that neither will claim they taped for future reference.

Top-ranked Ohio State gets another shot at a Southeastern Conference team in a bowl game Monday night when it faces No. 2 LSU in the BCS national championship game. The Buckeyes have lost eight previous meetings with SEC teams, including last year when underdog Florida romped to a 41-14 victory to win the national crown.

Georgia center Rashaad Singleton did not accompany the team to Spokane, Wash., for Saturday night's game against Gonzaga and plans to leave the team and transfer to another school.

Kirston Pittman can't feel sorry for himself. Not now. A cyst in his right foot and a torn left Achilles tendon, which cost LSU's standout defensive end two lost seasons of pain and disappointment, have in the long run provided a rare gift. Pittman has a chance to win a second BCS championship with LSU when the Tigers take on Ohio State in the Louisiana Superdome on Monday night.

Calvin Henry made a jumper as time expired to lift Mercer to a 77-75 win over Kennesaw State in overtime on Saturday night. The Owls (2-12, 0-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) tied the game at 66-all in the second half when Ronell Wooten hit a 3-pointer as time ran out, sending the game into an extra period.

Kenny George's dunk with 26.8 seconds left gave North Carolina-Asheville the lead for good as the Bulldogs scored the final 10 points to defeat South Carolina 61-58 Saturday night.

Add Most Valuable Player to all the other accolades Tom Brady has been collecting. The New England Patriots' record-setting quarterback drew all but one vote Saturday in romping to The Associated Press 2007 NFL MVP award in the same manner his team romped through its schedule, going 16-0.

June Jones has resigned as the University of Hawaii's football coach, according to reports Saturday. The Honolulu Advertiser, citing Jones' friend, Al Souza, reported Jones resigned Saturday morning. Jones said he would leave the university because of a lack of commitment from athletic department leaders, among other reasons, the paper said.