The N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state girls soccer championship on Saturday between Cary Green Hope and Cornelius Hough is not the first time a national top ranking has been decided in the NCHSAA title game.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association stated at its most recent meetings that it would hold off on implementing the "pod system" or any other seeded format for other 64-team playoff brackets.

And for sure, there were certainly a few kinks to be worked out after an opening day of fiasco when the brackets were announced, most notably when the NCHSAA did not clearly state how it was going to select its wild-card teams. Click on that link for all that info.

But feedback on the pod system was, at least from those who have spoken to this writer, positive once the games began. First-round rematches were minimal - just 24 of 128 first-round games statewide, as my study showed.

And besides, many coaches have been chomping at the bit to have some sort of seeded playoffs.

In the fall, I took at look at what the 4A volleyball and boys soccer brackets would have looked like in the East and Mideast.

Now, let's do the same for softball, baseball and girls soccer, and see what we find.

Holly Springs has a chance to wrap up its second straight 4A East softball title today, but be careful about using the word "repeat." Very little will be replicated from last year's experience at this stage.

Wilson Beddingfield and North Johnston will play the ultimate rubber match this weekend. The two nearby schools will meet in the NCHSAA 2A prep softball eastern regional championship series, beginning Friday night in Wilson.

Beddingfield (24-3), which beat Swansboro 1-0 on Thursday night to advance to the best-of-three championship series, is the only team to beat North Johnston (26-1) this season.

Game 1 has a 7 p.m. start in Wilson on Friday, while North Johnston will host Game 2 and a potential Game 3 on Saturday. Saturday's game is set for noon with the third game following about 2:30 p.m.

Admission to each game of the series, as set by the N.C. High School Athletic Association, is $7. Admission would be charged for Game 3 as well if it is necessary on Saturday.

Wilson Beddingfield and Swansboro are still trying to get their fourth round NCHSAA 2A prep softball playoff game in. The winner advances to meet North Johnston in the eastern regional championship series this weekend.

North (26-1) has the home field advantage but, because of the issues two straight days of rain have caused in the other game and travel concerns for Swansboro, North will host Games 2 and 3 of the series on Saturday.

Here's the plan for both scenarios.

Former Clayton High football coach Glenn Nixon died Tuesday morning after battling brain cancer.

As you read in Nate Taylor's story from Friday night, Cardinal Gibbons was inches away from sending the boys lacrosse championship game into overtime against Lake Norman.

But instead, the final shot of the game hit the crossbar as time expired and Gibbons lost by one. Below is the video of that moment, as posted on YouTube by username GibbonsLacrosse. It starts with a draw with 15 seconds left - right after Gibbons had just scored to cut the deficit to one.

It's worth watching. Well, maybe not if you're a Gibbons fan.

And if you are a Gibbons fan, I posted a different video below that one of pretty sweet highlight from this year - a one-handed goal by Danny Dorsett - that was also under the GibbonsLacrosse YouTube account and deserves to be linked somewhere as well.

Rosters for this summer's N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star basketball game in Greensboro.

Includes Chapel Hill's Denzel Ingram, Garner's Dominique Reed and Millbrook's Shi'Chee Moore.

Robert F. Kanaby, the former executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, was in the area this week for the Durham Sports Club's annual award presentations.

NCHSAA and NCISAA playoff pairings