Thursday's Report: Softball scores/pairings, volleyball, Baldwin; Dream, Falcons, UGA, Tech, Braves, Kennesaw State; MLB playoffs, NFL, WNBA playoffs, college football, NBA, NHL, soccer
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High Schools
🥎 🥎 🥎 Softball🥎 🥎 🥎
Class 6A
No. 8 Houston County 13, No 25 East Paulding 1; Houston County 10, East Paulding 1; Houston County advances
No. 22 Newnan at No. 11 Veterans 12, No. 22 Newnan 2; Newnan 7, Veterans 6
Class 5A
No. 11 Perry 12, No. 22 Jonesboro 0; Perry 15, Jonesboro 0
No 12 Jones County 4, No. 21 Madison County 2; Madison County 6, Jones County 5
Class 4A, Wednesday
No. 2 West Laurens 18, No. 31 Hardaway 1; West Laurens 17, Hardaway 2
No. 11 Harlem 12, No. 22 Upson-Lee 0; Harlem 19, Upson-Lee 0
No. 16 Oconee County 4, No. 17 Peach County 3; Oconee County 6, Peach County 1
🏫🏫🏫College🏫🏫🏫
⚽ ⚽ ⚽Soccer ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
W-Coker 2, Middle Georgia State 0
M-Middle Georgia State 2, Lander 1
M-N.C. State 3, Mercer 0
W-North Georgia 4, Georgia College 1
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Around/About Central Georgia
More than a dozen CGA teams make GHSA volleyball playoffs
At least two teams in each classification of the GHSA state volleyball tournament are from Central Georgia.
Six of the 14 area teams are at home, led by Veterans, at No. 5 in 6A the highest Central Georgia seed.
There are two Central Georgia pairings, Perry at Jones County and Crawford County at ACE Charter.
Saturday is the first-round date, with the second round on Wednesday.
Class 6A
No. 28 Chapel Hill at No. 5 Veterans
No. 22 Houston County at No. 11 Midtown
Class 5A
No. 26 Perry at No. 7 Jones County
No. 22 Warner Robins at No. 11 Harris County
Class 4A
No. 27 Hardaway at No. 6 Mary Persons
No. 24 Southwest Bulloch at No. 9 Upson-Lee
No. 21 West Laurens at No. 12 Northwest Whitfield
Class 3A
No. 23 Callaway at No. 10 Lamar County
No. 24 Central at No. 8 Kendrick
No. 31 Rutland at No. 2 Union County
Class A-AA
No. 23 Crawford County at No. 10 ACE Charter
No. 22 Taylor County at No. 11 Johnson-Augusta
No. 30 Jasper County at No. 3 Bremen
Around/About Central Georgia
Baldwin goes after huge upset
A Friday night off last week gave Baldwin a chance to get healthier and readier for a huge road trip, to No. 2 (GHSFDaily composite) Troup on Thursday.
The Tigers went 11-2 last year and are off to a 6-0 start, with two wins by a field goal or less, including 24-21 on the final play to Mary Persons.
Baldwin (5-1) is riding the arm of QB Kam Patterson, who has a potential 3,000-yard passing season awaiting. He has four targets with at last three TD catches. Troup counters with RB Javarris Warner, who’s a run away from 1,200 yards.
The Braves last beat a top-3 team in 2008 when they blanked No. 2 Carver-Columbus 22-0.
The teams have split the four-game series, which has been dormant in 2009.
MSOC-N.C. State fends off Mercer
Around/About Georgia
Falcons QB Penix returns to practice and is expected to start vs. Bears, barring rib injury setback
5 biggest questions surrounding the Braves' offseason
WNBA: “The job is not done”- Reese after helping Atlanta to Finals
'We've got the guys we've got': Georgia dealing with uncertainty at running back
Tech’s Efford: “Epitome of a Tech man’
Why Georgia's freshman class has received early game-changing opportunities
SEC betting lines: Is humility a week away for No. 1 Georgia?
Tech’s Smith on midseason list
Obeid kicks 20-yard FG as time expires, Missouri State beats Kennesaw State
A Worthy Read
SEC’s Greg Sankey warns of conference-only rules if Congress fails on college sports
MLB playoffs
Brewers stun Dodgers with back-to-back homers in 7th inning and take 3-0 lead
Rays and Guardians to play ALCS Game 3 in afternoon to beat rain. NLCS game also moved up
Baseball/MLB
Astros don’t renew Espada’s contract, part ways with their manager
Phillies are keeping Mattingly as manager on a 2-year deal
WNBA/Women’s Basketball
Owner Lacob believed in Valkyries from Day 1, but reaching Finals in second year remarkable
College Football/SEC
Gordon pinpoints the two problems that keep derailing Auburn’s scoring drives
Faulkner: QB Philo isn’t to blame for Florida’s offensive woes
Column: Alabama fans need to accept the truth about Kalen DeBoer
Why Heupel is vague about Tennessee QBs Brandon, MacIntyre vs Alabama
Now stars for No. 13 Mizzou, QB Simmons and WR Lee ready to face former teammates at No. 9 Ole Miss
Kiffin giving Kelly a run for his money. That's not a compliment
College Football/ACC
College Football/South
Campbell hits 3 FGs as Western Kentucky defeats Sam Houston
College Football
ESPN: ‘No one is expecting a financial windfall from a potential 24-team playoff’
Picks: Ohio State’s Day is an old hand when it comes to top-five matchups
Penn State, winless in the Big 10, is looking for answers up front with trip to Michigan looming
Cignetti couldn't help but make an honest admission about this matchup with Ohio State
Fitzgerald apologizes for middle finger vs Illinois: 'Mom's rolling over in her grave'
Idaho has eyes on Little Brown Stein after suffering setback loss: 'We need to get that thing back'
Michigan judge rules that 2 Wolverine football players are eligible to play this season
Gambling
Fixer in lucrative NCAA basketball betting scheme sentenced to 6 years in prison
NFL/NFC
Romano: Have you heard the one about the rookie QB walking into a Buccaneers huddle?
Panthers’ Moton returns to practice after recovering from blood clots in his lung
Parsons says Daniels 'probably cost' Commanders coach his job
Sirianni takes the blame. The Eagles take the loss. How much more can fans in Philly take?
Super Bowl favorite Rams are back in a familiar position, sitting under .500 after 5 games
NFL/AFC
Jaguars LT Harrison to have arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss weeks, maybe months
Henry kept receipts, called out local media for predicting Ravens loss
A harsh wake-up call for the Raiders’ young secondary with Allen up next
Allen carries the Bills with his improvisational skills, covering up for struggling defense
Harbaugh 'staying the course' with 0-5 Chargers after implosion vs. Broncos
NFL/USFL/UFL/Football
Week 5 coaching miscues haunt NFL contenders who lost winnable games
Hill found liable on 2 counts in civil trial with estranged wife
4 arrested in the shooting of San Francisco 49ers player Keion White at a Super Bowl party
College Basketball: SEC/ACC
SEC men's basketball notebook: Teams notice benefits of NIT, CBC after missing NCAA Tournament
College Basketball
No more ‘surprise’ at Vanderbilt: Coach Shea Ralph sets her sights on winning championships
NBA/Basketball
Pelicans banking on better health and a new coaching staff to improve their unchanged core
Stopping flopping is among NBA priorities this season, to the delight of many
Golf
McIlroy arrives in India with a new fashion style and renewed hope in Race to Dubai finale
Hockey
A new ball game: Avs players turn to tennis in offseason, ‘hot topic’ rages over who rules on court
Red Wings sign 2-time All-Star forward Alex DeBrincat to 7-year contract worth $13 million per year
Soccer
FIFA's Gianni Infantino received previously undisclosed $1.7M World Cup payment
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal called 'best in the world' after outrageous assist
PSG piles more woe on scandal-hit Man City in Champions League, Real Madrid leaves it late in Rome
FIFA proposes $6.3 billion funding for soccer development, $25 million for each association
Villarreal goalkeeper Gulácsi misses Champions League game after armed home invasion
Scoreboards