Blue Raiders Nickson BIG TIME!

Blue Raider nation knew about Damon Nickson before this week. Now the nation knows about the Junior from Milton, Florida. Nickson picked off four passes Saturday in MTSU’s win at Louisiana-Lafayette. He returned one of them for a touchdown. Did you catch that I said 4 INTERCEPTIONS IN ONE GAME? That is as rare as a double eagle on the golf course and just one shy of the national record. For his efforts Nickson earned a pair of national awards. The Walter Camp and the Bronco Nagurski defensive player of the week. Nickson joins elite company and puts MTSU on the national map with his lights out performance. Previous winners of Nagurski award this year are from schools like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida State, Auburn, and Texas. That is pretty good company.

Chris Stout

ASK THE COACH TITANS 28 TEXANS 22

The Tennessee Titans didn’t play their best ball offensively, but because of an oustanding defensive effort by the defensive unit the Titans earned their second straight victory. The defense forced 5 turnovers, including a fumble recovery by Tony Brown, who rumbled 40 yards to give the Titans a 14-3 lead. Pac-Man Jones snatched his first interception of his career and returned a punt for a touchdown. Vince Young wasn’t perfect, but effective rushing for a 20 yard score for the first points of the ball game, while connecting with Bobby Wade for a 20 yard TD strike.
If you have a question for Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher just post your comment below. The Titans will travel to Jacksonville next Sunday for another divisional showdown.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES

It’s time for the playoffs! The final week of the regular season for high school football has come and gone. Here are your scores from across Middle Tennessee! A number of teams won region titles, some got into the playoffs, while others seasons came to the ends. Congratulations to all the teams for a hard fought season, now let’s see who can bring home a state championships!

Antioch 23 , Glencliff 0
Baylor 32 , MBA 0
Beech 36 , Portland 0
Bishop Byrne 50 , SAS 0
Camden 6 , Lewis County 0
Coffee County 28 , Warren County 7
Collinwood 38 , Wayne County 15
David Lipscomb 38 , Montgomery Central 7
DCA 42 , East Robertson 20
Dickson County 21 , Ravenwood 0
Ezell-Harding 34 , Franklin Road Academy 7
Fairview 48 , Harpeth 6
Franklin 26 , Centennial 0
Franklin County 15 , Cookeville 10
Friendship Christian 61 , Mt. Juliet Christian 6
Gallatin 33 , McGavock 14
Goodpasture 35 , CPA 21
Hillsboro 42 , Stratford 12
Hunters Lane 14 , Hendersonville 12
Huntland 16 , Columbia Academy 10
Independence 42 , Columbia 9
Jo Byrns 35 , Cascade 7
Knoxville Fulton 54 , Livingston Academy 0
Lawrence County 27 , Shelbyville 0
Maplewood 38 , Whites Creek 14
McCallie 39 , Father Ryan 33
Mt. Juliet 40 , Clarksville NW 6
Nashville Christian 7 , Eagleville 0
Nashville Overton 21 , Hillwood 0
Pearl-Cohn 21 , Station Camp 16
Rossview 23 , Kenwood 16
Siegel 9 , Blackman 7
Smith County 41 , Cannon County 0
Smyrna 23 , Lebanon 7
Spring Hill 30 , Creek Wood 14
Springfield 9 , Clarksville 7
Trousdale County 59 , Red Boiling Springs 0
Tullahoma 35 , Hickman County 0
Waverly 29 , Loretto 6
Westmoreland 34 , Jackson County 20

BASKETBALL SEASON ALREADY!

The Tennessee Titans still have 10 games to play, The Vols & Dores still have half a season to play and highschool football teams across the state are about to make a run for a state championship.

In just a couple of weeks though the gyms all across the country will be filled with some love for the roundball. The SEC just wrapped up it’s media days down in Birmingham.

There’s a number of interestesting story lines to the season…can Florida repeat as national champions, can Kentucky finally put it all together, will Bruce Pearl be able to work his magic again with Major Wingate gone and a recruiting class ranked 5th in the nation and can the Dores be one of those sleepers?

On the womens side of things, like every year, an SEC championship will run through Knoxvillle.
Pat Summitt will try to lead her Lady Vols to a 7th National Championship, but with the way the league is it will be very hard to do.

Below is how the media voted on how they feel it will all shake out in the SEC this season.

PRE-SEASON MEDIA VOTING
Men’s Basketball - 29 ballots

SEC CHAMPION - Florida (21), LSU (5), Alabama (3).

Eastern Division
1. Florida (28) 30
2. Kentucky (1) 62
3. Tennessee 84
4. Vanderbilt 138
5. South Carolina 146
6. Georgia 149

Western Division
1. Alabama (16) 43
2. LSU (13) 46
3. Arkansas 97
4. Mississippi State 108
5. Auburn 147
6. Ole Miss 168

All-SEC First Team (Listed by Vote Total)
*Glen Davis, LSU (29) 6-9 295 F Jr. Baton Rouge, La.
Ronald Steele, Alabama (28) 6-3 185 G Jr. Birmingham, Ala.
Joakim Noah, Florida (26) 6-11 232 F/C Jr. New York, N.Y.
Chris Lofton, Tennessee (21) 6-2 197 G Jr. Maysville, Ky.
Al Horford, Florida (10) 6-10 245 F/C Jr. Puerto Plata, D.R.

All-SEC Second Team (Listed by Vote Total)
Corey Brewer, Florida (9) 6-9 185 F Jr. Portland, Tenn.
Jermareo Davidson, Alabama (5) 6-10 230 F Sr. Atlanta, Ga.
Shan Foster, Vanderbilt (5) 6-6 200 G/F Jr. Kenner, La.
Jamont Gordon, Miss. State (3) 6-4 225 G/F So. Nashville, Tenn.
Taurean Green, Florida (3) 6-0 177 G Jr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Player of the Year
Joakim Noah, Florida (14), Glen Davis, LSU (11), Ronald Steele, Alabama (3), Randolph
Morris, Kentucky (1).

Women’s Basketball - 19 ballots

*1. Tennessee (19) 19
2. Georgia 48
3. LSU 51
4. Vanderbilt 85
5. Kentucky 91
6. Florida 126
7. Ole Miss 146
8. Auburn 150
9. South Carolina 163
10. Arkansas 182
11. Alabama 203
12. Mississippi State 218

All-SEC First-Team (Listed by Vote Total)
*Candace Parker, Tennessee (19) 6-4 F/C/G So. Naperville, Ill.
*Sylvia Fowles, LSU (19) 6-6 C Jr. Miami, Fla.
Tasha Humphrey, Georgia (18) 6-3 F Jr. Gainesville, Ga.
Armintie Price, Ole Miss (17) 5-9 G Sr. Myrtle, Miss.
Sha Brooks, Florida (7) 5-7 G So. Jackson, Tenn.

All-SEC Second-Team (Listed by Vote Total)
Dee Davis, Vanderbilt (6) 5-7 G Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio
Cori Chambers, Georgia (3) 5-9 G Sr. Elmsford, N.Y.
Carly Ormerod, Kentucky (2) 5-8 G So. Louisville, Ky.
DeWanna Bonner, Auburn (1) 6-4 G So. Fairfield, Ala.
Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee (1) 5-11 G Jr. Charleston, W.Va.
Carla Thomas, Vanderbilt (1) 6-3 F/C Sr. Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Angel Robinson, Georgia (1) 6-5 F RFr. Marietta, Ga.

Player of the Year
*Candace Parker, Tennessee (19)

BE SURE TO JOIN US ON SUNDAY SPORTS EXTRA….VOLS HEAD COACH BRUCE PEARL JOINS US IN STUDIO!

Titans Building Confidence & Momentum

After five well needed days off the Tennessee Titans returned to the practice field feeling rejuvenated and full of energy.

Slowly but surely they’ve been doing the little things to get better every week. This Sunday’s home game against divisional rival Houston will give the Titans a good idea of just how far they have come. Two wins in a row could do a lot for this team’s confidence.

Sunday’s game also marks the first game for Vince Young against his hometown and the team that passed over him with number one pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Vince and the rest of the team look at the game as just the next one on the schedule, but you have to know deep down inside nothing would make Vince Young happier (and Titans owner Bud Adams) than to get a win against the Texans.

Also look for Titans Defensive Tackle Robaire Smith to have a big game. The Texans released Robaire because of salary cap reasons. It will be an interesting match-up for sure this Sunday at LP Field with plenty of story lines.

The only problem is if the Titans don’t come away with a win, everything else doesn’t matter.

Big Orange and Gamecocks

This Saturday UT travels to Columbia, SC where Steve Spurrier awaits. Spurrier makes a lot of Vols fans tremble with fear. He knows how to beat Phil Fulmer and he’s done it more than anybody else. Coach Fulmer would never admit it, but you have to think this game means more to him personally than any other. And once again Fulmer and Spurrier meet with a lot on the line. The SEC is still up in the air. But you can’t afford another loss if you want a crack at the SEC title game.

What do you think. Can Fulmer beat Spurrier when it really counts Saturday? Or will Spurrier spoil another season with so much promise?

Chris

Chase heating up

Alright NASCAR fans it is time to turn up the heat. The Chase is on and we’re headed down the backstretch. With four races to go this is anybody’s championship to win. Eight drivers are within 100 points of the lead. That is unheard of in the new Chase format. Think Matt Kenseth has the edge with a 36 point lead? Forget about it. Ask Jeff Burton about a cushy lead. Burton lost a 45 point lead and fell all the way to 5th in the standings. He’s now 48 points out of first place.

This weekend the Chase heads to Atlanta. Guess who’s been great in Atlanta? Jimmie Johnson. That’s my pick to win the title. JJ has managed to clean up a mess from the first half of the Chase. He’s now 41 points back in 3rd place. I am still holding out hope that Junior can win his first title. However, the 8 team is making too many mistakes on and off the track. Bad pit calls and silly mistakes by Junior will cost this team a title.

I can’t wait for the Chase to come to ABC and WKRN next year.

Chris

Ask Coach Fisher???

Coach Jeff Fisher will answer your questions every Friday on Titans on 2 with Jeff Fisher. Just ask the question on this blog and we’ll get them to the coach who always answers them in detail. Please note that if we don’t use a question this week that doesn’t mean it won’t get asked. We can always ask them next week.

Titans Bye Week Makes for Eventful NFL

Hey all…this is Sports Producer Nathan…
Yes, the Titans may have had a much needed bye this week, but that didn’t mean the rest of the NFL took the week off. In fact, this was one of the more exciting game days that I can recall.

In case you missed it, the last two teams to play to a scoreless tie back in 2002 came close to equalling that feat today, but Michael Vick was just too much as he led the Falcons past the defending Super Bowl Champion Steelers 41 to 38. Vick threw for a career high four touchdowns, and “old man” Morten Andersen kicked a game winning 32 yard field goal. Andersen is the second-oldest player in NFL history. Meanwhile, Ben Roethlisberger could only stand on the sidelines and shake a towel in support of his teammates after he was knocked out of the game in the third when he was struck in the head while being tackled.

If that game wasn’t enough, the Eagles lost for the second week in a row, and once again to a team they probably should have defeated. Last week, it was John Carney hitting a 31 yard field goal as the Saints beat Philly. This time, it was Matt Bryant (who???) doubling that distance with a 62 yarder-the third longest in NFL history-for the victory as time expired.

Wait, we’re not done yet…Kansas City wasn’t expected to compete with San Diego, but the Chiefs built a 27 to 13 lead into the fourth quarter before coming out victorious 30-27. Former rugby kicker Lawrence Tynes nailed a 53 yarder with six seconds left.

Needless to say, it was an eventful weekend in the NFL, not to mention the Bengals hanging on to beat the Panthers, or the Raiders getting their first win over a hapless Arizona Cardinals squad.

With winter approaching, there’s nothing better than sitting at home and watching such wonderful football action. That’s not to mention World Series Game 2 tonight in Detroit. Happy tv watching! By the way…go Cards…St. Louis that is.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS………

I gotta say, Friday night is my favorite night of the week to work, especially during football season. Nothing, I mean nothing beats getting out and covering high school football.

Sure to some, they could care less that we devote 5 miinutes on Friday night to high school football, but to a lot of parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts, and especially the players and coaches, Friday night means everything to them.

Went out to the Friendship Christian vs. Trousdale County game Friday night. FCS is located near Lebanon and a little drive from Nashville. But once I got there, the place was packed, the stands were packed, people standing all along the fence line just to see the game. The smell of hamburgers was everywhere, being cooked on the grill, the bands playing non-stop, just a great atmosphere on a Friday night.

And that scene is played over and over at hundreds of schools around the state, the south and the country every Friday night. Sure we get caught up covering the Titans and the Predators and Vandy, but every Friday getting out to cover high school football is such a welcome transition. The kids, the coaches, have true passion for playing on Friday night and it always shows.

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