Forty-eight seconds remained on the scoreboard, No. 1 Kentucky leading Vanderbilt by five frail points, the Commodores' Jeffery Taylor about to launch a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

A few days before his top-ranked Kentucky basketball team was to travel to Vanderbilt, Wildcats coach John Calipari noted that his team might need a "challenge."

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas rose from his hotel bed at 5:45 Central time Saturday morning. Top-ranked Kentucky wouldn’t tip it off against host Vanderbilt for another 15 hours and 15 minutes.

Freddie Freeman couldn’t believe it. As the Atlanta Braves Caravan bus carrying Freeman, Jason Heyward, Rhea County’s Cory Gearrin and new hitting coach Greg Walker drew near the back of the Taco Mac restaurant along Broad Street on Thursday morning, the fans waiting to meet their baseball heroes was at least 100 strong.

The game clock was under 55 seconds. The shot clock was somewhere between three seconds and two, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs a somewhat comfortable six points ahead of Elon.

KNOXVILLE — If you don't think coaches are eternal optimists, forever looking at glasses half-full, forever certain that tomorrow's national championship (or at least an SEC East crown) is only a few plays away, you haven't yet listened to the University of Tennessee's six new football assistants.

Ten years ago next month, former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga chancellor Dr. Bill Stacy made perhaps the most difficult personnel decision of his professional career.

Fab. That's his name. That's his game, especially as it pertains to seven-foot sophomore Fab Melo's mammoth impact on the Syracuse Orange's college basketball season to date.

In the final minutes before Super Bowl XLVI began, NBC's Bob Costas asked New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady a simple but telling question.

Fall football practice at Ole Miss was barely three weeks along in 1999 when then-Rebels head coach David Cutcliffe had to make an uncomfortable phone call.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The first time Kentucky freshman center Anthony Davis took the basketball court in a real game for the No. 1 Wildcats this season, he was more worried about his coach than the opponent.

His Ohio State teammates call sophomore guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. "Big Game L."

Essie Bartlett couldn't sleep Saturday night. Despite knowing she needed her rest to put in a full day of work at the Manker Patten tennis club, she kept thinking about the Australian Open men's tennis final between world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and second-ranked Rafael Nadal.

The godmother of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball made $260 a month that first season during the 1974-75 school year.

There is nothing more important than accuracy in the newspaper business. If the public can't trust what we report, we can't and shouldn't stay in business.

We may never know exactly why Davidson coach Bob McKillop felt the need to rub a little battery acid into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s wounds following his Wildcats’ 64-63 road win inside McKenzie Arena on Thursday night.

NASHVILLE — For Tennessee basketball fans, the Volunteers' annual trip to Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym had gotten ugly long before freshman Yemi Makanjuola was ejected for his flagrant foul on Commodores star shooter John Jenkins with 1:25 to go Tuesday night. "Kind of disappointing," was Vandy coach Kevin Stallings' view of Makanjuola's cheap shot in the 65-47 loss.

Seated in the visitors' interview room inside Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena this past Saturday evening, Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun was asked why his team didn't press more on defense during its 60-57 loss to the unranked Volunteers.

When ESPN analyst Brent Musburger asked Joe Paterno a couple of years ago why the 80-plus-year-old Penn State football coach hadn't yet called it a career, Joe Pa reportedly replied, "Bear Bryant.

By the time Tennessee travels to Vanderbilt Tuesday night to take on the Commodores, Big Orange freshman Jarnell Stokes may have his own television show ("Tennessee Idol"), his own social network ("In Your Facebook") and his own super-sized shoe line ("Stokers") for all those folks who wear size-20 sneakers.

Twenty-nine days from today, Cory Gearrin will join the rest of the Atlanta Braves' pitchers and catchers near Orlando, Fla., for the official start of spring training.

ATHENS, Ga. — The Basketball Hall of Fame may never request a video of Georgia's 57-53 overtime victory over Tennessee inside the Bulldogs' Stegeman Coliseum.

Hard as it is to believe, the college basketball season is more than half done for most schools.

The game clock approaching nine minutes to play inside Tennessee's sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena early Saturday afternoon, a loud and proud chant of "Go, Big Blue! Go, Big Blue!" cascaded down from the upper level.

On Monday, the nation again did what it always should this time of year. It put on a national holiday to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, who did more to bring about civil rights in this country than any other three men combined.

When it comes to Peyton Manning's place in history among the NFL's all-time great quarterbacks, the argument has often centered on the former University of Tennessee star's accomplishments versus those of New England quarterback Tom Brady.

Given enough time, Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari would get around to discussing his own second-ranked Wildcats and their nervous 65-62 road victory over Tennessee on Saturday afternoon.

Maybe it was just the wording. But when ESPN.com headlined its story on the University of Tennessee's new defensive coordinator -- "Vols hire Sunseri away from Alabama" -- it felt like the UT football program had finally gotten the better of the Crimson Tide for the first time since 2006, the year before Nick Saban took over Houndstooth Heaven.

Every Sunday morning during the 2010 football season, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach John Shulman would faithfully check the Ole Miss football stats.

When Alabama thoroughly dominated LSU in Monday night's BCS title game, it momentarily silenced many of the critics who questioned whether the Crimson Tide were even worthy of facing the Tigers for a second time this season.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach John Shulman doesn't do easy. If he did, he wouldn't ask his players to run one of the most physically taxing, high-risk defenses in all the sport.

Three days before the Duke Blue Devils struggled to defeat Georgia Tech 81-74 in Philips Arena, the Yellow Jackets were pummeled 73-48 by Alabama inside the same Atlanta facility.

It becomes more obvious every week that Tim Tebow can't play quarterback in the National Football League.

Two minutes past noon Saturday, Georgia Tech basketball coach Brian Gregory looked to the other end of Philips Arena to see Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski giving his fifth-ranked Blue Devils their final pregame instructions.

Dressed head-to-toe in serious black, his eyes and voice brimming with passion, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach John Shulman was clearly excited to be back preparing for Southern Conference foes on Wednesday afternoon.

A week ago Tuesday, former Indianapolis Colts tight end Ben Utecht stood on the Tivoli stage singing Christmas songs in pianist Jim Brickman's holiday tour.

KNOXVILLE -- Alan Pressley built his first commemorative shadow box in 1999, just after his beloved Tennessee Volunteers won the BCS national championship.

KNOXVILLE -- It was surely in there somewhere Monday night, swirling around inside John Shulman's head, a memory that almost certainly remains no worse than the third best of his eight-year coaching career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, right behind his two NCAA tournament berths.

Yes, Matt Ryan's back-to-back first quarter touchdown passes to rookie receiver Julio Jones were the stuff of highlight reels.

Poor Santa Claus. He probably thought the guitar he brought 10-year-old Parker Humphries -- as well as the family trip to Disney World he helped orchestrate -- would produce the kid's best Christmas ever.

Being a former Penn State football player, Jacksonville State athletic director Warren “Moose” Koegel said in mid-October what he had often said when speaking to civic groups.

University of Tennessee freshman forward Yemi Makanjuola is still accompanied by an interpreter whenever the Nigerian native is asked to meet with the media.

I'm not normally one to encourage running up the score, padding statistics or both. So had New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees not been attempting to break one of the National Football League's most hallowed records -- Dan Marino's 5,084 passing yards in one season (1984) -- I probably would have been upset that he was on the field in the final four minutes of Monday night's 45-16 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.

As you read this column you may have already packed the Christmas presents you're returning to the store today. Perhaps it's the necktie that plays Jingle Bells. Or the child-challenged egg slicer — “You'll cut your finger off with that thing.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with Denny’s restaurants, but dining alone at the 24-hour diner on Christmas Day is probably not the event most would expect to ignite the Christmas spirit.

Were I king of the world, the National Basketball Association would not be allowed to begin its season belatedly on Christmas Day.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins can rest easy today. The 2008 Detroit Lions, not so much. The Green Bay Packers' chase of the 1972 Dolphins' perfect season ended in the most unlikeliest of places Sunday afternoon.

John Shulman's coaching commands inside the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga huddle were familiar Saturday night.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has heard the knocks. He needs to be flashier. He needs to be more vocal. He needs to be more consistent. He needs to be flashier more consistently.

Even with a 47-point lead and less than three minutes to play, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach John Shulman found it difficult to relax Tuesday night.