NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt is getting national attention with its 3-0 start and Jay Cutler’s offensive skills. The Commodores aren’t doing too badly on defense either. They had to preserve a one-score lead on the final possession in wins over Wake Forest, Arkansas and Mississippi, and all three times the Commodores came up with a…

NASHVILLE (AP) — For decades, the Vanderbilt Commodores have been one of the worst teams in the country. Not this year. A program that has a 64-179-1 record since its last winning season in 1982, the Commodores have won their first three games for the first time since ’84 — thanks to a mix of…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The health of Titans safety Vincent Fuller will decide if Tennessee continues splitting work at cornerback between veteran Tony Beckham and top draft pick, Adam “Pacman” Jones. Fuller was the Titans’ fifth defensive back in passing situations, but he hurt his right ankle on the opening kickoff of Sunday’s 25-10 victory over…

By TERESA M. WALKER / AP Sports Writer NASHVILLE — The NFL’s youngest team is struggling with some growing pains. The Tennessee Titans started the season by looking horrible on the road, then dominated in their home opener for a 1-1 start. Now the challenge for coach Jeff Fisher is helping a team filled with…

CHICAGO (AP) — A lobsterman from Maine, an oncologist from Nigeria and the first woman to lead a major American symphony are among the 25 people chosen for this year’s MacArthur Foundation “genius grants,” $500,000 that recipients can use however they wish. Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, 48, left Nigeria for Chicago as a young woman and…

By LAURA WIDES / Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heaven beat the devil at the box office this weekend. The Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo romantic comedy “Just Like Heaven” debuted at No. 1 with an estimated $16.5 million in ticket sales, bumping the courtroom horror film “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” into second…

By FRAZIER MOORE / AP Television Writer NEW YORK — Water-cooler talk about this year’s Emmys may focus less on trophy winners like “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Lost,” and more on Donald Trump decked out in farmer’s overalls. The so-called “Emmy Idol” talent competition proved to be the freshest part of an otherwise pleasantly humdrum…

By JUSTIN POPE / AP Education Writer America’s system of colleges and universities is famously decentralized, producing experimentation and variety, but making it hard to tackle big-picture issues such as access and affordability on a national scale. On Monday, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings planned to announce a major initiative to address that problem: a commission…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It was like a modern-day treasure map — a computerized diagram of neighborhoods with codes marking the addresses where National Guard soldiers came upon caches of goods taken by looters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “There’s probably still loot out there” hidden in various homes, Capt. Gregg McGowan said from…

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Hotel workers secured pool chairs and umbrellas, tourists boarded buses out of town and lines of vehicles snaked out of the lower Florida Keys as Tropical Storm Rita churned toward the exposed island chain. Rita, which strengthened Sunday into a tropical storm, had sustained winds of 60 mph and was…