James,
in CS2, the Shadow/Highlight adjustment under the Image menu is very useful. Just be careful not to add too much adjustment especially in the shadow area or you'll get noticeable pixelization.

I like the lighting effects in the Filters section. Experiment and remember to use sparingly. But you can get some nice vignette effects as well as directional lighting effects even with even illumination in the original.

I think that the current version of Smart Sharpen is excellent. I still prefer PhotoKit Sharpener but Smart Sharpen does a nice job without clogging up the edges.

We have an amazing number of requests for adding or removing elements from a photo. The most common is adding in a judge. Since I've shot the judges under the same lighting, it's fairly easy to do by adding them in on an adjustment layer, increasing the transparency and then erasing the parts where you want the background to show through. It takes some time, but it's virtually undetectable. And much easier than cutting out the judge and pasting him/her in.

It's easy to stick with the things you know in your favorite software without trying any of the new bells & whistles that get added into every new version. Spend 30 minutes every week just experimenting with all the filters and actions and see what they can do to make your life a bit easier.

Jim