While football season nears its conclusion, a new year of high school basketball begins this week.

At the forefront of this year’s season is the North Hall Trojans, who reached the Class AAA semifinals last year. The Trojans welcome back several key players from last year’s roster, including Lance White and Chris Barnes.

The Buford Lady Wolves also open the first day of practice with hopes of making it back to Macon. Buford, which won its second straight Class AA title last year, have a roster filled with talent, including Andraya Carter and Kaela Davis, a pair of Tennessee verbal commits.

Other area teams that open the season with high hopes are the West Hall boys, which bring back three starters from last year, the Johnson and Gainesville boys, which boast a roster full of highly-athletic players, and the East Hall boys and girls, which both reached the Class AAA state tournament a year ago.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Need drama? Then the last week of the regular season is for you.

Five teams in Region 8A-AAA are still in line for a berth in the region title game Nov. 5, and a win this week is crucial for East Hall, Union County, Dawson County and Banks County. Everything should be decided this Friday when the subregion schedule concludes with: East Hall visiting Banks County, Dawson County playing host to Rabun County and Union County plays at Fannin County.

Other games of interest this week are: East Jackson at Jefferson, Johnson at Monroe Area and North Hall at Stephens County. If the Trojans beat the Indians on Friday, they’ll be in line for the No. 2 seed from Region 8A-AAA.

ATLANTA HAWKS: The majority of the country is still entrenched in the football season, but for those basketball fans out there, the 2010 NBA season starts this week with the much-anticipated matchup Tuesday between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

Hawks fans will have to wait to Wednesday for their team to begin the season when Atlanta visits Memphis. The Hawks, who finished as the No. 4 seed from the Eastern Conference last year, play three games this week.

Following a trip to Memphis, the Hawks visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday and play host to the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

WORLD SERIES: The Fall Classic opens Wednesday when the Texas Rangers, the American League Champions, visit the National League Champion San Francisco Giants at 7:30 p.m. at AT&T Park. The Giants wrapped up the National League title with a win against the Philadelphia Phillies last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Texas won their first American League title last week, defeating the New York Yankees 4-2 in the ALCS.

In Game 1 of the World Series, both teams will send their ace to the mound. San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum (16-10 in the regular season) will faces the Rangers’ Cliff Lee (12-9).