Jeff Hart

The tough schedule to begin the season is finally paying off for the Chestatee girls basketball team. The Lady War Eagles put on their best defensive display of the season Saturday night in taking a 54-30 win over rival North Hall in both teams

Johnson overcame foul trouble and an early deficit to beat Chestatee 67-66 Friday night at the Johnson gym.

Chestatee opened the game with a 17-4 first quarter run and then cruised to an easy win over Johnson in Region 7-AAA girls basketball action.

If Shonn Greene has played his last game for Iowa, he's going out in style. The Big Ten's most valuable player rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns Thursday, helping the Hawkeyes trounce South Carolina 31-10 in the Outback Bowl.

Alabama coach Nick Saban didn't rule out the possibility Wednesday of All-America left tackle Andre Smith returning for his senior season. An NCAA spokeswoman, meanwhile, said the governing body has spoken with university officials and determined that it is an internal matter.

The Georgia men

As the Atlanta Falcons prepare to visit Arizona in a wild-card game Saturday, owner Arthur Blank is delighted in the two obscure hires he made last January. Coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff are the two men most responsible for drafting quarterback Matt Ryan third overall and for turning around a once-pitiful franchise.

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.