By TERESA M. WALKER / AP Sports Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — The Vanderbilt Commodores are turning the Gaylord Entertainment Center into a very comfortable home away from home. Abi Ramsey scored 14 points, and No. 21 Vanderbilt downed Kentucky 60-41 Thursday night in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Commodores improved to…

By ALAN ROBINSON / AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — A streaking power-play unit faced the NHL’s worst penalty-killing team, with predictable results: A 16th consecutive Pittsburgh Penguins home game without a victory. Rookie defenseman Dan Hamhuis scored a goal during a five-point night and the Nashville Predators quickly built a five-goal lead in a…

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ / AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — Some of the missing pieces are starting to come together for the Houston Texans defense. A day after re-signing defensive end Gary Walker to a six-year, $30 million deal, the Texans signed free agent defensive tackle Robaire Smith to a six-year deal worth $23.3…

MURFREESBORO (AP) — Middle Tennessee guard Mike Dean, the team’s leading scorer, will miss the Sun Belt Conference tournament after breaking his left hand in practice Thursday. The junior transfer from Georgia will have surgery Friday morning. Dean is averaging 16.2 points a game while shooting 43.7 percent from 3-point range. “We felt Mike Dean…

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Mike Collins was hired as the linebackers coach at LSU on Thursday. Collins worked as in intern at LSU last year after resigning as the coach at Louisiana-Monroe following his arrest for drunk driving. Collins was arrested after he crashed his truck into a house. He was cleared on the…

By Dandy Dave The long wait for a place in the Hall of Fame is over for baseball’s career hits leader, Pete Rose.No, he still will not get into Cooperstown, but he will be inducted into World Wrestling Entertainment’s Hall of Fame.The “All-Time Hit King” of Major League Baseball has established a legacy that is…

Bowling Results from league play at McMinnville Lanes has The Blondettes in first place in the YABA Allstar League. We Be Rollin are in second place, King Pins are in third and XXX takes the fourth place spot. The Rollers, X-Squad, Midway Hicks and Pin Killers round out the bottom four.For the boys Jordan Rumage…

By Rob Nunley / Columnist NUNLEY As of this writing, it’s 1:58 Thursday afternoon, and downtown McMinnville is a lovely 75 degrees.Yet hear your friendly neighborhood sports department sits, diligently putting together the stories, photos and opinion pieces that make up the sports page you now hold in your hands.Don’t get us wrong, we’re more…

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard Reese Bishop, above, and Leanne Pelham, front, were recently named to the All-District 7-AAA basketball teams. (Rob Nunley photos) Two seniors from the Warren County basketball programs closed out their high school careers with one last honor recently, as they were named to the 2003-04…

By DAVID ESPO / AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John Kerry is a whopping $100 million behind President Bush in ready cash as he embarks on the next phase of his White House campaign, and dependent on outside groups he can’t legally control to help close the gap. At the same time, Kerry’s…