ATLANTA - Coach Ron Rivera and the Carolina Panthers are headed back to the playoffs. Patrick Sharp Jersey .Owner Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons could be preparing to hire a new head coach.In a winner-take-all regular season finale, the Panthers easily beat the Falcons 34-3 to win the weak NFC South on Sunday.The victory gave Carolina (7-8-1) a division title for a second straight year, a first-time achievement for the franchise, as the Panthers prepare to host Arizona in a wild-card playoff game on Saturday.Atlanta (6-10) has collapsed since nearly winning the NFC title game two years ago. The Falcons, losers in 22 of their last 32 games, could have different leadership in the next few days if Blank fires Smith in the next day or so.Though Smith won two division titles and made four playoff appearances in his first five years, those achievements werent enough to prevent Atlantas collapse over the last two seasons.If he is fired, Smith will leave as the winningest coach in the Falcons 49-year history.Smith said he never saw Sundays horrible performance coming after what he thought was a good week of practice and game-planning.It sends a signal to me that I didnt get the job done, Smith said. Im the one thats held responsible for it.A few things to consider for both teams:WHATS NEXT: While Blank decides what to do with Smith, Rivera will have his team back at work preparing for Arizona.Despite being 3-8-1 following a lopsided loss at Minnesota on Nov. 30, Carolina rallied while division rivals Atlanta and New Orleans fell apart.Our guys are the kind of guys that we want, Rivera said, and I just felt if we kept playing and kept taking care of our business that we would get that opportunity.EVEN KEEL: To avoid a letdown against the Cardinals, linebacker Thomas Davis wants everyone in the Carolina locker room to remember how empty it felt to lose at home in the playoffs last year to San Francisco.We hosted a playoff game last year and didnt fare well, Davis said. We understand that as a team. Were going to remain focused, and we have to make sure we do a good job of making sure that we take care of business at home.MIX EM UP: Falcons receiver Roddy White said the offence was surprised by the zone coverage Carolina deployed and was disappointed that Atlanta never seemed to adjust.They mixed up a bunch of different coverages and didnt play a whole lot of man coverages, White said. They dropped eight, they dropped seven and they rallied to the ball. They did a good job of that and kind of confused us early in the game that we werent prepared for.YOUNG AND TOUGH: The Panthers, who started a franchise-record seven rookies on both sides of the line in last Sundays home win over Cleveland, got a boost defensively from rookie starters Bene Benwikere and Tre Boston and reserves Adarius Glanton and Kony Ealy.The foursome combined for 10 solo tackles, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble and one pass breakup.Said Boston, who picked off Matt Ryans pass to Harry Douglas and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the third quarter, I think it was our best overall defensive game that we played this season. From seven, back seven, we just all did our jobs. Were coached to play to our potential.LONG, HARD FALL: Ryan wanted to win the game and the division, not just for Smith, but for everybody on the team.I think it was about everyone in our organization, Ryan said. I think when we came into this game, it wasnt just about Mike. It was about us as a team. We wanted to continue to play and we felt like we had the right team to do that.BY THE NUMBERS: Rivera improved his career December record to 15-3 since 2011. ... The Falcons dropped to 5-1 against the NFC South. They went 1-9 outside the division. ... Panthers QB Cam Newton has averaged 7.7 yards per carry in 60 career rushing attempts against Atlanta. Newton was Carolinas leading rusher with 51 yards. The team finished with 194 to just 63 for Atlanta.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Marian Hossa Jersey . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena. Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys . Messier, who had been a special assistant to Rangers general manager Glen Sather, announced Thursday in a statement that he is resigning in order to "expand the game of hockey in the New York area by developing the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. http://www.blackhawksauthority.com/authentic-denis-savard-blackhawks-jersey/ . The thinking at the time was Clowney could have already been promised he would be selected first overall by the Houston Texans, therefore negating any need to meet with any other teams. The plot took another twist this week.Columbia, SC (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Booker scored 18 points and top- ranked Kentucky put forth a dominating defensive effort to stay unbeaten with a 58-43 victory over South Carolina on Saturday. Aaron Harrison added 13 points for the Wildcats (19-0, 6-0 SEC), who held South Carolina to just 22.6 percent from the field and blocked nine shots. Kentucky is off to its best start since the 2009-10 squad also opened the season with 19 straight wins Sindarius Thornwell was South Carolinas lone player in double figures with 14 points. The Gamecocks (10-8, 1-5) have lost three straight and five of their last six games. Kentucky dropped a 72-67 decision in its last visit to Colonial Life Arena last March and struggled somewhat in the first half Saturday before a late first-half run created some breathing room. A Booker three started a string of seven straight Kentucky points for a 13-8 lead early and the advantage was six at 17-11 after a trey by Harrison with just over 12 minutes left in the half. South Carolina didnt attempt a shot from beyond the arc until Thornwell drained one from the right wing to cap a run of seven straight South Carolina points. It gave the Gamecocks a 24-23 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the half, but South Carolina didnt score again before the intermission. The Gamecocks missed their final six shots and turned the ball over three times dduring the stretch. Tanner Kero Jersey. Kentucky took full advantage with 11 points, four each from Booker and Tyler Ulis, to grab a 34-24 margin at the break. Booker opened the second half with another 3-pointer and South Carolina could not trim the deficit to single digits. The Wildcats did it with suffocating defense, as the Gamecocks made just 4-of-23 shots in the closing 20 minutes. Kentucky went more than 10 minutes without a made field goal during the second half, but hit nine free throws during that stretch to keep South Carolina at bay. The Wildcats led by as many as 18 in the final minutes. Game Notes Booker finished 2-for-4 from 3-point range and has made 22-of-33 from beyond the arc in his last nine games ... Marcus Lee had four blocks for the Wildcats ... Kentucky shot 46.2 percent, dominating inside with a 24-14 margin in the paint ... The Wildcats converted 12 South Carolina turnovers into 21 points and outscored the Gamecocks 12-2 in transition ... South Carolina held a 40-28 rebounding advantage, thanks to an 18-3 edge on the offensive glass ... The Gamecocks fell to 1-11 all-time against the top-ranked team in the country, with its only win coming against Kentucky on Jan. 26, 2010 ... Kentucky next plays Thursday at Missouri. The Wildcats pounded Mizzou, 86-37, on Jan. 13 in Lexington ... South Carolina will visit LSU on Wednesday. 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