NASHVILLE (AP) — Pastors of black churches and other leaders, unhappy with government relief efforts, are turning to their congregations and others to provide help for victims of Hurricane Katrina. “We were disturbed the president moved too slowly, that FEMA looked too disorganized,” Michael Grant of the Nashville NAACP said at a news conference at…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Diesel fuel supplies were tight this week because of Hurricane Katrina, but even truckers who had no problem filling up were paying higher prices. A trucking industry spokesman said the higher price of diesel — up to 60 cents more per gallon — will increase the cost of shipping goods, and that…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Emergency Management Agency officials have committed soldiers with several Tennessee Air and Army National Guard units, heavy-duty equipment and a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency rescue team to assist with ongoing hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region. Around 400 soldiers were scheduled to deploy Friday to aid people in Louisiana…

MEMPHIS (AP) — With more than 10,000 evacuees, a team of engineers and even a relocated college football team, the next major city on the Mississippi River up from New Orleans is at the center of Tennessee’s relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Gov. Phil Bredesen was scheduled to be in Shelby County…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen said Friday there were about 12,700 refugees from Hurricane Katrina currently in Tennessee and that number could double within several days. Most of the refugees, about 10,000, are in Memphis about 350 miles north of New Orleans. But other evacuees have shown up as far away as the Tri-Cities…

NEW YORK (AP) — The New Orleans Saints, driven from the Superdome by Hurricane Katrina, will play their home opener against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium. It is not clear, however, when the game will be played. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Friday the game, scheduled for Sept. 18, is being moved to…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — In football-crazy towns like this one, the confrontation has loomed all week: Would Katrina evacuees be sent packing again, this time by college football fans in town for opening weekend? The answer has been a resounding no. Football fans around the Southeast are giving up their prepaid rooms and even tickets…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Middle Tennessee’s last game against Alabama was memorable to Dennis Burke for several reasons. The Blue Raiders nearly pulled off an upset in his first collegiate game and he recalls being among the jittery players who coach Andy McCollum “had to push out of the locker room” and onto the field…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Compared to the rest of the teams No. 3 Tennessee will face in September, an opener against UAB looks like a good way to ease into the season. The Blazers, coming off the young program’s first bowl, see Saturday’s matchup differently. “I love these kinds of games. You know why? Because we…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans aren’t so tight against the salary cap that they won’t be able to fill their practice squad, something they didn’t have the money to do late in the 2004 season. But the cap is still close enough to affect their final roster decisions. “We are in a situation where…