Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro is putting on a benefit golf and fishing combination tournament this week, all in the name of raising funds and awareness of the financial needs of the children and families of wounded and fallen Special Operations Forces soldiers through Operation One Voice.

The golfing portion of the event is Friday at the Legacy Course at Lake Lanier Islands, with wait list applications available by contacting mark@philniekroskinsandfins.com.

On Saturday, the fishing portion of the event will be conducted on Lake Lanier, with a maximum of three anglers per boat. To sign up for the fishing event, contact tom@philniekrofinsandskins.com.

Professional athletes and former coaches who participated in the inaugural event last year included Morten Andersen, Kevin Butler, Bobby Cox, Dan Reeves, Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount, and Steve Bartkowski, among others.

For more information, visit www.philniekroskinsandfins.com.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Gainesville has a mountain of a task to avoid its first 0-2 start since 1999.

After falling to West Forsyth 32-30 on Thursday, the Red Elephants travel to Buford (1-0) on Friday, also looking to avenge last season’s 49-0 loss to the Wolves.

Even though Gainesville remains one of the favorites to contend for the Region 8-AAAAA title, its history against Class AAA’s second-ranked Buford (1-0) isn’t good.

Gainesville has dropped all four meetings against Buford in school history, including Week 1 loses to the Wolves also in 2005 and 2010.

In 1999, Gainesville opened the season with loses to North Forsyth and Franklin County.

Meanwhile, Flowery Branch is also looking to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2004, after falling to Class AAAAA’s second-ranked Northside-Warner Robins 45-7 on Friday in South Hall.

The Falcons’ next game is against West Forsyth on Friday in Cumming.

The biggest surprise so far locally is Johnson (2-0), which visits North Hall (1-0) on Friday at The Brickyard. The Knights made it look easy on Friday with a 36-21 win against Oglethorpe County in Oakwood, behind a five-touchdown effort by Knights senior running back Cedric Harris.

The Knights have dropped the last 11 meetings against the Trojans, including games every year from 2002-2009.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgia Tech opens the season with a nationally televised meeting against Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. tonight in Blacksburg, Va. Meanwhile, Georgia (1-0) looks to open the Southeastern Conference schedule with a better performance against Missouri on Saturday, than last week’s 45-23 win against Buffalo in Athens.

ATLANTA FALCONS: The Atlanta Falcons open the 2012 season against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. Atlanta is trying to make it past the first round of the playoffs this season, which is where its season ended three of the past four seasons.

Atlanta won only one of its three preseason games.