Georgia sports roundup--Monday, Dec. 15th

NFL/Atlanta Falcons--

The Falcons scored a key victory and remain firmly in the thick of the chase for a NFL postseason spot. On Sunday inside the Georgia Dome, the Falcons beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-10 in overtime. With the win, Atlanta improved their record to 9-5 with 2 games remaining on the regular season schedule. Jason Elam's 34-yard field goal was the difference in OT. For the afternoon, running back Michael Turner had another strong effort with 152 rushing yards. Defensive end John Abraham stoked the Atlanta defense with 3 sacks. The Falcons next week travel to Minnesota.

High School football championships--

Georgia's high school football season ended over the weekend with the five class championship games played inside the Georgia Dome. The winners:

Class 5A: Camden County--defeated Peachtree Ridge 21-14
Class 4A: Tucker--scored the win over Marist 15-3
Class 3A: Cairo--the turnback of Flowery Branch 28-14
Class 2A: Buford--defeated Calhoun 45-21
Class A: Wesleyan--the victory over Emmanuel County Institute 33-21

Carter meets with Hamas officials

Former President Jimmy Carter is meeting with a Hamas delegation from Gaza, part of a series of talks with the Islamic militant group that has drawn sharp criticism from U.S. and Israeli officials.

An Associated Press reporter saw the Hamas delegation going into the meeting Thursday at a Cairo hotel and a Hamas coordinator in Egypt said they were meeting with Carter. The coordinator spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The meeting was held under heavy security shortly after Carter met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Hamas officials said Wednesday that Carter's meetings with its leaders will boost the group's legitimacy despite criticism by Israel and the U.S. government of the former president's personal peace mission.

Click here for more GPB reports about former President Carter.

(The Associated Press)