New Centennial football coach Jeffrey Carlberg is quickly putting his fingerprints all over the Knights program, meeting with new and potential coaches and getting the players seen at school events. Carlberg began last week by restructuring the equipment room. Read more >

Teams are positioning themselves for various region tournaments, and this weekend will be crucial for several teams hoping to improve seeding. Luella will host Region 2-AAAAA leader Westlake as the Lions look to force a tie for the fourth seed. Read more >

The Atlanta Braves made several moves last week, locking in all of their arbitration-eligible players for another crack at the playoffs. After agreeing to terms with Martin Prado and Jack Wilson on one-year deals, the team inked Eric O’Flaherty, Jair Jurrjens and Michael Bourn. The team also signed reliever Peter Moylan to a one-year, incentive-laden deal to avoid arbitration. Read more >

As much as we don’t like to admit it, stereotypes are based on a large sampling of repeated behavior by a certain group. One popular stereotype is that guys have a hard time committing, whether it is to plans on a Friday night with a lady friend, a marriage engagement or which sports bar they will watch the game at on Saturday.

Anyone upset with the generalization that some men just cannot commit need look no further than the recruiting drama playing out across the state of Georgia as we near National Signing Day this Wednesday. Desperate teams start flooding the cell phones of waffling recruits, courting them harder than ever before in the attempt to get a switched pledge and a letter of intent.

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What a shame.

The humble, bespectacled man who guided Penn State football almost flawlessly for 46 seasons is gone after being forced out of a University he made his own. Read more >

The Score 44 is a fluid list that aims to honor the best 44 seniors in Georgia high school basketball on a week-to-week basis. The members of the 44 are some of the most highly-recruited and talented players in the state. The list will weigh high school performances, but also project how they will do at the next level. Unlike the football list, however, the basketball list is divided into boys and girls groups. Each week we will honor 22 boys and 22 girls, all seniors.

Boys

Shaq Goodwin, Southwest DeKalb, PF

Robert Carter, Shiloh, PF

Tony Parker, Miller Grove PF

Jordan Price, Southwest DeKalb, SG

Brandon Morris, Miller Grove, SF

Kenny Gaines, Whitefield Academy, PG

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Class 4A Duals champion Pope won an event for the second straight week, claiming the Cobb County Invitational. The win was the fifth straight Cobb County crown. Pope placed 14 wrestlers and won four individual classes en route to 294.5 points. Read more >

Walton advanced to the Class AAAAA state championship game in 2011 on the strength of an opportunistic defense, a powerful running game and a quarterback who quietly put together a strong junior year. Parker McLeod drew the eyes and ears of recruiting services after Louisville came through with an offer last June, but the 6-foot-3 signal-caller has been a hot commodity of late, racking up offers and accolades as he prepares for the spring practice before his senior year.

Boston College recently came forth with an offer and Oklahoma State has also offered the pro-style prospect. Alabama has also listed him as one of three quarterbacks head coach Nick Saban will target for National Signing Day 2013.

“It was really exciting,” said McLeod of getting the recent offer from Oklahoma State. Read more >

The Atlanta Braves made several moves last week, locking in all of their arbitration-eligible players for another crack at the playoffs. After agreeing to terms with Martin Prado and Jack Wilson on one-year deals, the team inked Eric O’Flaherty, Jair Jurrjens and Michael Bourn. The team also signed reliever Peter Moylan to a one-year, incentive-laden deal to avoid arbitration. Read more >

The Atlanta Braves avoided salary arbitration hearings with the team’s three remaining arbitration-eligible players Tuesday, agreeing to one-year contracts with starter Jair Jurrjens, reliever Eric O’Flaherty and outfielder Michael Bourn. The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed by the team Read more >

Last season, the Atlanta Braves bullpen was a strength for a squad that just missed out on the playoffs. Craig Kimbrel, Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters even received a feature story from Sports Illustrated about their shutdown abilities. As good as the pen was one year ago, though, the 2012 relief corps could be even better.

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Sunday’s NFC wild card matchup at MetLife Stadium across the Hudson River from New York City features two teams that have gotten used to advancing to the postseason regularly lately … with mixed results.

The NFC East champion New York Giants (9-7) went on an amazing playoff run in 2007 that ended with a 17-14 upset victory over the then undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona. Since 2005, the Giants have advanced to the playoffs six times.

The No. 5 seed wild card Atlanta Falcons (10-6) have made the playoffs three times in the last four seasons, which is unprecedented territory for a team that is also experiencing its first ever back-to-back postseason runs. The Falcons’ recent regular season success is the product of the collaboration between general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith, both hired before the 2008 season. Read more >

No LeBron James. No Dwayne Wade. No problem for the Hawks?

Think again.

Not only did the Hawks fail to take care of the Heat, but they spent 63 minutes on court with the undermanned visitors and never came close to taking control of the game. After three overtimes, Miami escaped Philips Arena with a 116-109 victory on Thursday night.

Atlanta, which had gone into Miami on Monday and defeated a much more dangerous Heat squad with James and Wade, trailed for almost the entirety of the rematch. The home team finally earned a lead late in the fourth quarter, but Chris Bosh–the only member of the “Big 3″ standing–nailed a tying three-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining to force overtime.

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Archer’s recent run of dominance continued with a title at the Heart of Dixie Classic last Thursday. Archer was led by Hunter McCleskey’s championship, coupled with second-place finishes by Ernest Alexander and Zach Wright. Read more >

Parkview traveled to Hilton Head, S.C. to participate in the Seahawk Slam last Thursday. Thanks to eight placers, Parkview finished fifth out of 24 teams. Parkview was led by Kamaal Fhakur’s win in the 132-pound class. Khalil Fhakur finished second in the 160-pound class and An Vu (113) and Harrison Schmid (195) each finished fourth. Jordan Matlack (138), Will Anderson (120), Andrew Webb (126) and Edwin Lindsey (145) also helped Parkview with high finishes. … Douglas County hosted a quad meet Thursday and Meadowcreek dominated the event. Meadowcreek beat Villa Rica 63-15, Douglas County 57-20 and Lithia Springs 78-6. Key performers for Meadowcreek included Dante Bennett (120), Rene Deluna (126), Angelo Pineda (132), Alex Steele (160), O.G. Harden (170), Ryan Moore (182) and Alex Lucio (285). … Read more >

Revenge is always sweet, and the Falcons looked to get revenge on the New Orleans Saints on Monday night at the Superdome. The Saints defeated the Falcons 26-23 in overtime at the Georgia Dome in October. The Falcons would not get their revenge, though as the Saints blew past the Birds 45-16.

The Falcons were able to get on the board on the opening drive, putting together an 11-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a Matt Bryant 34-yard field goal.

The Saints were able to answer quickly with an 8-play. 84 yard drive and Pierre Thomas ended the series with a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Saints the lead.

However, the Falcons scored on the ensuing drive as Matt Ryan and company put together an 8-play, 72-yard drive which ended with Ryan 21-yard touchdown strike to Julio Jones. Read more >