Different methodologies are yielding different results on competing lists of the nation's top public high schools.

Four schools in the Triangle made the top 100 of Newsweek magazine’s “America’s Best High Schools 2012” list that was released this week. A total of 11 Triangle schools made the top 1,000 school list.

In contrast, only three schools in the entire state were in the top 1,000 in the U.S. News & World Report list released this month. Broughton High School in Raleigh was the only Triangle school in the top 1,000 on that list at 966.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association baseball brackets have been posted. Green Hope, East Chapel Hill, West Johnston and Wakefield earned No. 1 seeds in 4A brackets. Defending 4A champ Holly Springs is at Wakefield on Friday, but some games may be pushed to Thursday.

Undefeated Green Hope High, which is ranked No. 1 in the state in the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association, begins play in the state girls soccer playoffs against Northern Durham.

Leesville Road, which won the 2011 state title, is at home against Panther Creek. Green Hope and Leesville Road can play one another if each wins its first three playoff games.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association girls lacrosse playoffs begin Friday, May 4. Conference champions East Chapel Hill, Green Hope and Cardinal Gibbons received first-round byes. Defending state champ Apex is a 2-seed.

See more match-ups by clicking below.

The boys lacrosse playoffs start this Friday. Holly Springs and Carrboro earned wild-card spots while Broughton, Jordan, Chapel Hill and Cardinal Gibbons are No. 1 seeds after winning their respective conferences.

East Chapel Hill, a 2-seed, is the defending East regional champ while Northwest Guilford is the defending state champion.

The Hilltop Invitational, the Triangle's largest spring break baseball tournament, begins Thursday and uses the fields at East Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, Orange and Cedar Ridge high schools to host two eight-team tournaments.

The "American Division" is hosted by East Chapel Hill and Orange and features Cary, East Chapel Hill, East Forsyth, South Granville, Burlington Williams, Granville Central, Maury (Va.) and Orange.

The "National Division" is hosted by Chapel Hill and Cedar Ridge and features Cardinal Gibbons, Durham Jordan, Surry Central, Cedar Ridge, Southern Alamance, Kernersville Glenn, Tallmadge (Ohio) and Chapel Hill.

Hope everyone has had a chance to read our story today on a proposed unprecedented 14-team, dual-division conference that would merge the Tri-Nine and PAC-6 conferences in 2013.

There was a lot going on behind-the-scenes leading up to this proposal in recent weeks. Many of it did not or could not make the story, so I'll post it below.

One man's conspiracy theory

Seventy-two high school girls soccer games are on tap in late March for The Brittany Willis Memorial Scholarship Showcase, held at the J. Burt Gillette Soccer Complex in Wilson.

Among the area teams competing are: Broughton, Millbrook, Wakefield, East Wake, Clayton, North Johnston, East Chapel Hill, Cardinal Gibbons and Franklinton.

The full schedule is below:

Hillside managed to sweep the PAC-6 tournament titles, defeating Southern Durham in the girls championship by three points and getting a last-second basket to upset 1-seed Person for the boys championship.

Click here to read the story from both exciting games.

Hillside's Jamal Marcus, East Chapel Hill's Alex Moore, South Granville's Matthew Fuhr and Millbrook's Keith Marshall have been named to the North Carolina all-state high school football team by The Associated Press.

See the full team below: