Augusta Chronicle, The

Dooley, Walker Team Up On Force's Advisory Panel

Fifteen years after he coached his final game, Vince Dooley still has a knack for recruiting - particularly when Herschel Walker is involved. The longtime Georgia athletic director persuaded Walker to join an advisory committee for the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League, a panel that Dooley will organize and run. The announcement came Thursday, when Dooley officially joined the team as a consultant.

Fishing Tournament Results

First Flight Team Tournament Trail Sam Crawford reporting

Cotton Leaves Michigan St.

Freshman point guard Brandon Cotton is off Michigan State's team and might transfer. "I don't plan on him being back as a player," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said Thursday, adding that the decision to part ways was a mutual one.

Mora Chosen As Falcons' Head Coach

The Atlanta Falcons have reached agreement to hire San Francisco defensive coordinator Jim Mora as the team's head coach, a source said Thursday night. The Falcons will make an announcement Friday morning, said a source close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Gibbs Gets a Hero's Welcome in Washington

Move over, Bill Parcells. Joe Gibbs has a new toughest opponent: his own legacy. Nothing was more evident Thursday when Gibbs was given an unprecedented hero's - no, a savior's - welcome as the returning coach of the Washington Redskins.

Harrick Wants Out of Rape Case

Former University of Georgia men's basketball coach Jim Harrick wants his name removed from a lawsuit filed by a former student who claims she was raped by three Bulldog athletes, including one with a history of sexual misconduct before being recruited to UGA. The lawsuit, which seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages, was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta and names Harrick, university President Michael Adams and Athletic Director Vince Dooley.

Paine Women Take Charity ; Free Throws Keep Lady Lions Perfect in League

Akia Stanton knows that she just might be the spark the Paine women could use. "I need to be more aggressive," the sophomore forward said. "When I'm more aggressive, my teammates are more aggressive. When I start going to the hole and getting fouled, my teammates start going to the hole and getting fouled."

Points System Changes

NASCAR is pushing ahead with planned changes to its points system, with a playoff system likely to be implemented to crown its next champion. "I think we've pretty well decided we're going to make a change," NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Thursday. "We're doing this to draw additional attention to our sport - that's the bottom line."

Ownership Picks Mora to Be Coach

The Atlanta Falcons have reached agreement to hire San Francisco defensive coordinator Jim Mora as the team's head coach, a source said Thursday night. The Falcons will make an announcement Friday morning, said a source close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rose's New Book Hits Stores

Occasionally contrite but repeatedly the defiant, belligerent spark plug fans love, Pete Rose blames his accusers and medical conditions for the problems that got him kicked out of baseball. Rose spills his thoughts in a colorful autobiography, Pete Rose: My Prison Without Bars, released Thursday by Rodale Inc. Rose, still banned 141/2 years later, also concedes for the first time that he bet on Cincinnati Reds games while he was manager in the late 1980s.

South Aiken Girls 65, Silver Bluff 45

SOUTH AIKEN (65)-Courtney Bowman 17, Dee Roberson 11, Shaniavia Tyler 25, Shannon Oakes 4, J. Johnson 8. Totals 24 11-17 65. SILVER BLUFF (45)-Tamara Barefield 1, Porchell Beal 6, Cacara Drayton 7, Melanie Gibson 8, Christia Hughes 8, Brittany Johnson 1, Stephanie Johnson 2, Latoya Kelly 6, Deandra McDuffie 2, Chantel Stokes 4. Totals 20 4-20 45.

Panthers Turn to Proehl for Help

No one is better positioned than receiver Ricky Proehl to give the Carolina Panthers a crash course on the St. Louis Rams before their Saturday playoff meeting. Proehl played in two Super Bowls in his five seasons with the Rams, accumulating a volume of inside information on many of their schemes and strategies. Now that Proehl is a Panther, coach John Fox is asking him to unlock the secrets in time for the teams' divisional playoff showdown.

Tennis

Hopman Cup Perth, Australia

Paine 51, Miles 47

MILES -Joseph King 2-11 4-8 8, Willie Ray 5-14 2-3 12, Javari Levi 2-5 0-2 4, Donzell Crenshaw 0-2 1-1 1, Tramarcus Jones 1-3 2-2 4, Anthony Kyles 0-2 0-0 0, Orrico Nelson 1-2 0-0 2, Maurice English 5-11 1-2 13, Jonathan Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Eddie Epting 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 17-54 10-18 47. PAINE (4-5, 3-1)-Nate Lewis 6-14 5-7 19, Justin Durham 0-6 0- 0, Brian Harper 1-1 0-0 2, Danta' Quinn 0-1 0-0 0, Kelly Winstead 0-3 0- 0 0, Erik Poole 0-2 0-0 0, Maurice Campbell 5-10 1-1 11, Cervantes Boddy 0-1...

No. 8 Louisiana Tech 110, Nevada 47

In Ruston, La., Trina Frierson scored 20 points as the Lady Techsters (9-2, 2-1 WAC) increased their winning streak to 152 straight games against unranked opponents and to 87 in a row against conference opponents in home games. FLORIDA STATE 68, CLEMSON 61

Sports Digest

TRIVIA ANSWER In 1998, Lleyton Hewitt, a high school student ranked 550th, won the Australian Men's Hardcourt Championship to become the lowest- ranked player ever to win an ATP Tour event.

`Mega Ramps' Designed to Lure Fishermen

A trio of double-lane boat ramps and enough parking spaces for 250 vehicles with boat trailers are the main features of the latest fishing complex under construction at Wildwood Park on Strom Thurmond Lake. The facility, due to open in early March, is expected to draw hundreds of tournament fishermen from across the nation, in addition to Augusta area groups.

Grant's Panthers Learning to Win

Deon-like. As catch phrases go, it hasn't exactly caught on in the Carolinas. But Augusta native Deon Grant believes it aptly describes this year's opportunistic Carolina Panthers.

Silver Bluff 50, South Aiken 47

SILVER BLUFF (50)-Bobby Davis 12, Derrick Green 9, Terrance Crawford 8, Steven Bagley 6, Antoine Boyd 4, Jamar Green 7, Derrick Pressley 4. Totals 17 15-26 50. SOUTH AIKEN (47)-Byron Bush 4, Rodriguez West 5, Chris Fuller 2, Travis Moran 2, Benard West 14, Stristan Cullem 11, Michael Kucharski 2, Bryant Morris 6, Dwight Bush 1. Totals 20 6-20 47.

Fans Tough On Bryant

Marcus Camby stepped in front of Kobe Bryant and swatted his shot to near midcourt. Bryant looked inquisitively for a call from the officials, then slumped to the side of the court after realizing none was coming. It was that kind of night.