Charlotte.com: Sports
News, sports and entertainment from Charlotte.com

• West Meck controls Ardrey Kell rematch
  West Mecklenburg center Aaron Bennett, walking the hall postgame, cocked his head toward coach Donald Kirby."My type of game?" Bennett said, half-question and half-statement."Definitely your type of game," Kirby said.The host Hawks controlled the inside, mostly thanks to Bennett, and the perimeter, led by guard Shamel Akins, in a 77-61 romp against Ardrey Kell on Tuesday. It was a rematch of last week's game, which West Meck won 51-50.West Mecklenburg (5-1), No. 2 in the Sweet 16, bounced back from a loss to No. 1 East Mecklenburg on Friday.The Hawks led 20-11 after the first period when Ardrey Kell (4-2) elected to play soft on Akins.He hit five 3-pointers in the first half.The pulse was Bennett underneath, with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.West Mecklenburg had answers for whatever defense Ardrey Kell tried. Akins' 20 points in the first half sparked a 39-20 lead at halftime."Aaron (Bennett) is our go-to guy inside and tonight he got to the basket," Kirby said. "Normally, Shamel (Akins) starts us off, and Aaron finishes off teams. They didn't do a good job of that last week. Tonight our guards did a good job of setting the table."Kirby has an array of big guys with different styles, and Michael Marger and Arthur McIllwain complement Bennett.Akins had a game-high 27 points, but he doesn't have to carry the scoring load. DeJuante Champagne had 11 points and six rebounds, and Travon Springs scored 10 off the bench in the second half.The game was missing the trash talk that dominated last week's match. The only emotional outbreak was damaging for Ardrey Kell.The Knights had cut the lead to 40-32 when Jordan Darnell committed a dubious hat trick of sorts -- personal foul, goaltending and technical foul -- on the same play. West Meck turned it into a five-point play to go ahead 45-32.From there, the Hawks weren't challenged again. Champagne scored the Hawks' first seven points of the fourth quarter to bump the lead to 63-52.
  Ardrey Kell11191912--61West Meck20191721--77
  ARDREY KELL 61 -- Darnell 2, Helikson 9, Alex Watkins 19, Cardona 8, Wornick 2, Justin Cheek 12, Chandler 3, McQueen 6.WEST MECK 77 -- Boggan 4, Morrison 5, Shamel Akins 27, Hyde 2, DeJuante Champagne 11, Sherill 2, Travon Springs 10, Morger 4, Aaron Bennett 12.
• Hope is gone ... will Fox follow?
  With three games to play, the only drama that remains for the Carolina Panthers is whether John Fox will return as coach in 2008.The majority of fans who I know want Fox gone, and they want him gone by a margin as lopsided as one of Carolina's final scores. But if the rest of us were held to the same performance standard we hold coaches, the unemployment rate would be 80 percent.I like Fox, but I don't like the way he coaches this team. His philosophy is to stay close and hope the opponent fails. That worked against San Francisco, but not since mid-October has it worked against anybody else.Perhaps Carolina's talent is such that Fox feels he has to draw in. The result, however, is so devoid of entertainment it almost ensures fans will feel worse when they leave a Panthers game than when they arrive, which is not how sports are supposed to work.A source who helps run another NFL team contends the Panthers are among the NFC's top five in talent. So what's wrong? The source is.In fact, the roster is so bloated with average players I think the Panthers would be thrilled if Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools determined half the players live outside the district.Fox is by far the best of the three coaches the Panthers have had. He is eight games above .500. He's won five playoff games. He's taken Carolina to the NFC Championship Game twice and to the Super Bowl once. But, like his predecessors, he has never led the Panthers to consecutive winning seasons. Fox was one of seven NFL coaches who took over a team in 2002.Only Indianapolis' Tony Dungy has excelled. Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl, but his job was shaky three months ago. The others -- Minnesota's Mike Tice, Bill Callahan of Oakland (and Nebraska), San Diego's Marty Schottenheimer and Washington's Steve Spurrier -- all have been canned.If Fox joins them, is there a great replacement? That's not the question. The question is, will Carolina fire him?Six seasons ago, Minnesota, Oakland and Washington were convinced they, too, had found the next great coach.Because former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher lives in Raleigh, his name continually is invoked. Indeed, an acquaintance ran into Cowher in Charlotte a few weeks ago at the International House of Pancakes. Whoa, what does the pancake house sighting mean? It means Bill was hungry.Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is close to the Rooney family, who run the Steelers. But if he is influenced by the Pittsburgh model, then he will not even consider Cowher.Pittsburgh's past three coaches are Chuck Noll, Cowher and Mike Tomlin. Noll was 37 when he was hired, Cowher and Tomlin 34.Fans -- and the media -- are terribly demanding. Fans aren't entitled to an annual winner. They are entitled to the belief that next season will be better than this one.They're entitled to hope.Hope is gone. And when 2008 rolls around, I think Fox will be, too. IN MY OPINION Tom Sorensen
• Petrino resigns as Falcons coach
  Bobby Petrino thought he was getting one of the best coaching jobs in the NFL. Without Michael Vick, it wasn't worth keeping for even one full season.Just 13 games into a miserable debut as Atlanta Falcons coach, Petrino stunningly announced his resignation Tuesday and returned to the college ranks at Arkansas.Petrino left Louisville for Atlanta in January, agreeing to a five-year, $24 million contract handed out by a team that felt he could help Vick reach his full potential."I believe this is truly the best football job in the NFL," Petrino said at his introductory news conference. "It was an easy decision for me."Of course, he had no idea what Vick was doing in his spare time.A few months later, the star quarterback came under investigation for a grisly dogfighting operation that led him to plead guilty to federal charges. He was sentenced Monday to 23 months in prison without ever taking a snap for Petrino, who left with a 3-10 record.Arkansas had been looking for a coach for two weeks to replace Houston Nutt, who resigned after a tumultuous season and took the head coaching job at Mississippi.The Falcons declined further response beyond a terse, two-paragraph statement released Tuesday night. Owner Arthur Blank and general manager Rich McKay were scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday.There was no immediate word on who would take over for the team's final three games, though defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson would be the most logical candidates."Today was a day of decision," Petrino said at a late-night news conference in Fayetteville, Ark. "It was difficult on one side, very easy on the other. It was difficult to leave Atlanta, the staff, players, fans. The timing of it probably is the thing that made it most difficult. Coming to Arkansas was the easy part."Petrino got a five-year deal worth $2.85 million per year to take over the Razorbacks, according to an athletic department spokesman.Just two weeks ago, Petrino said he had no interest in any of the high-profile college jobs that had opened up, and he apparently told Blank in recent days that he would be staying with the Falcons."I haven't given it one bit of thought," Petrino said Nov. 26. "I certainly don't want to get into any speculation and rumors and having to deal with that. I'm focused on our football team here."Petrino was the latest college coach to flop in the NFL.Steve Spurrier quit after two mediocre years with the Washington Redskins. Nick Saban made it through just two seasons with the Miami Dolphins before returning to the college ranks at Alabama. Of course, they look like long-term hires next to Petrino, who abandoned the Falcons without even making it through one year.After losing Vick, Petrino tried three quarterbacks without success. The Falcons have lost four straight, all by double-digit margins, and are assured of the 32nd season of .500 or worse in their 42-year history."Anytime you're without one of the best athletes in the National Football League, it's going to be tough," cornerback DeAngelo Hall said earlier in the season. "Take Peyton Manning from the Colts, and they'll go through a little slump."Petrino's stint was one of the shortest for a non-interim coach since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. Pete McCulley was fired after starting out 1-8 with San Francisco in 1978, and Sid Gillman lasted only 10 games in his second stint as San Diego coach, going 4-6 in 1971 before quitting.In an interesting twist, Lou Holtz coached the New York Jets for 13 games in 1976. He went 3-10, then left the team with one game remaining to become the coach at Arkansas.In four years at Louisville, Petrino produced a 41-9 record and some of the highest-scorin