The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • C2

2C Thursday, September 11, 2008 THETENNESSEAN www.tennessean.com SPORTS Lee laid down the law on, off court at Vandy TAKE PART IN 'THE TENNESSEAN' 1-1 The Tennessean wants to involve you in coverage. To submit story ideas or share your thoughts on issues we're already covering, e-mail us at tnsportstennessean.com. TODAY AT TENNESSEAN.COMSP0RTS UPDATES: Look for live updates from Titans practice BLOGS: Look for new entries from Columnist: David Climer NFLTitans: Jim Wyatt High schools: Jeff Lockridge SLIDESHOW: Look for more photos from Titans practice VIDEO: Look for more coverage from Titans practice Ex-Vols linebacker retires Former Broncos linebacker Al Wilson, sidelined with a neck injury since the end of the 2006 season, retired Wednesday. The five-time Pro Bowler played his entire career with Denver, which drafted him out of Tennessee in 1999. "He meant so much to this organization," Broncos Coach Mike Shana-han said.

"I really enjoyed all the years he spent with us hate to see him go." Colts will cut tackle: Less than 24 hours after Indianapolis defensive tackle Ed Johnson was arrested on a drug possession charge early Wednesday, the team said it would waive him Colts president Bill Polian said the team would waive Johnson today. He said the Colts consider every violation of a team rule or NFL policy on a case-by-case basis. Johnson was stopped for speeding just north of Indianapolis. Police also charged him with marijuana possession. He later was released on bond.

Bucs bench Garcia: Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia has lost his starting job for now. Coach Jon Gru-den said that Brian Griese will start against the Falcons on Sunday. Colston out: Marques Colston, the Saints' top receiver during the past two seasons, had surgery on his left thumb and will miss 4-6 weeks. Saints lose tackle: Saints defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, who was expected to miss six weeks with a torn triceps, has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Bears bring back Miller: Chicago brought back former Titans offensive tackle Fred Miller, signing the veteran to a one-year contract after releasing him in the offseason.

FILE JOHN PARTIPILO THE TENNESSEAN Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Famer Clyde Lee then and now. jS, Sun" at Cincinnati' Noon (WTVF-5) felj) I Sept. 21: vs. Houston, Noon (WTVF-5) IS Sept. 28: vs.

Minnesota, Noon (WZTV-17) Tickets: 565-4200 Radio: 103.3-FM Ex-hoops star will enter Hall of Fame By MIKE ORGAN Staff Writer Go ahead and lump Clyde Lee in with all the trouble-making athletes of today. The former Vanderbilt basketball great gave his coaches headaches and had disciplinary problems in his day. No, Lee wasn't carousing at strip clubs, involved in drugs or running with a bad crowd. He was spending five to six nights a week speaking at churches, civic groups, sports banquets and other events, which caused him to get behind in his studies. "I was a local guy and Vanderbilt was the only game in town because this was before the Titans or the Predators or all the other teams had gotten here," Lee said.

"So I was constantly being invited to speak and I was told by one of our deans to never say no, so I went and it started hurting my grades a little bit." The problem led to creation of the Clyde Lee Rule, which stated athletes had to have their coaches' permission before accepting speaking engagements. A simpler time This was the chaos athletes caused during a simpler time. It was a time when Lee was more popular in Nashville than Eddie George, Steve McNair or any Titan ever became. On Friday night, Lee will join 11 other former athletes as the inaugural class of Vanderbilt's Athletics Hall of Fame. "I guess we didn't have a lot of the opportunities or temptations a lot of athletes have before them today," said Lee, an All-America vs.

Rice, 6 p.m. Sept. 20: at Mississippi, 6 p.m. Oct. 4: vs.

Auburn, TBA Tickets: 322-GOLD Radio: 104.5-FM 1 vs. UAB, 11:30 a.m. (WUXP-30) Sept. 20: vs. Florida, 2:30 p.m.

(WTVF-5) I I Sept. 27: at Auburn, TBA I Tickets: 1-800-332-VOLS Radio: 1510-AM posed by those headed into the Hall of Fame wouldn't even be discouraged today. 'When I played baseball (1954), we were told that lifting weights would make your muscles tighten up and you'd lose your flexibility," said John Rich, who also played football at Vandy. "If I so much as picked up a sack of flour Id get in trouble." The interesting thing is that Rich is going into the hall largely based on the support he has provided to the athletic department over the years. He is a major donor who gave the majority of funding for, of all things, the new football weight room "I guess we've learned a lot since those days," Rich said.

"I can't get over how hard they work these days. When I was there, I just wanted to get my diploma and get out. Now they have study hall, they go to classes on Saturday, they just work so hard in school" Reach Mike Organ at 259-8021 or mor-gantennessean center in 1966 who scored 1,691 points and grabbed 1,223 rebounds in his career. One of Vanderbilt's other inductees Perry Wallace could have become embroiled in a fiercer controversy had he not had extraordinary self-control. Wallace, a 1970 graduate, became the Southeastern Conference's first African-American basketball player.

He was often ridiculed by opposing fans who shouted racial slurs his way. "The only reason those situations didn't escalate is because I grew up in the South and I understood what needed to be the constraints and the restraints," Wallace said. "The other thing is that Coach (Roy) Skinner knew my personality. My personality was not and is not the hot-headed type or the kind that would try to retaliate and do something crazy." No lifting weights Still, many of the problems at Kentucky, 6 p.m. Sept.

20: at Arkansas State, 6 p.m. Sept. 27: vs. Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m. (ESPN2) Tickets: 898-2103 Radio: 106.7-FM vs.

Jackson 6 p.m. (SportSouth) Sept. 20: vs. Eastern Kentucky, 5 p.m. Sept.

27: vs. Florida 3 p.m. Tickets: 963-5841 Radio: 1470-AM NOTE: at Memphis, at Atlanta Celtics extend coach's deal Doc Rivers received a contract extension giving him three more years as coach of the Boston Celtics after leading them to an NBA title. Rivers' contract, which had one year left, was extended through the 2010-2011 season at an annual salary of about $5.5 million. Leagues fines rookies: Former Kansas teammates Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers were fined $20,000 apiece after being banished last week from the NBA rookie symposium MBA has different names, but same dominance on field Graduate 32 seniors that comprised one of the deepest classes of talent in a high school's football history and you expect a little drop-off the next season.

No? So far the slippage that some expected from Mont- PREP gomery Bell pCKS Academy has Jeff Lockridge Cycling: Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour de France but then had his title stripped for a positive doping test, is looking to return to a team run by Momentum Sports Group. "We are in negotiations with Floyd Landis to ride for the team in 2009, but we do not as of yet have a signed contract," said team director Mike Tamayo. Figure skating: World champion Jeffrey Buttle is going out on top, announcing his retirement at age 26. Buttle became the first Canadian to win the men's title since Elvis Stojko in 1997 when he won in March. He also was the bronze medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

College basketball: A Seton Hall recruit who was declared ineligible to play has sued the Big East and the NCAA. Michael Glover enrolled at Seton Hall in 2007, but was ruled ineligible after the NCAA invalidated his entire senior year transcript. noi occurred. The Big Red is still winning, still getting smart quarterback play from OTHER PICKS Adamsville over Loretto Antioch over LaVergne BGA over Ezell-Harding Beech over Station Camp Brentwood over Blackman Cascade over Clarksville Acad. Cheatham Co.

over Sycamore Collinwood over Moore Co. Columbia over Marshall Co. Columbia Acad, over Perry Co. Cookeville over Lebanon David Lipscomb over Stratford Ensworth over Stone Memorial ECS over CPA Fairview over Creek Wood Father Ryan over Overton Forrest over Eagleville Franklin over McGavock FRA over Cannon Co. Friendship over DCA Gallatin over Mt.

Juliet Greenbrier over Portland Harpeth over East Robertson Hendersonville over Dickson Co. Henry Co. over Westview Hickman Co. overWaverly Hixson over Macon Co. Jackson Chr.

over Davidson Acad. Jackson Co. over Red Boiling Springs Jo Byrns over Community Lawrence Co. over Spring Hill MTCS over Nashville Chr. Mt.

Juliet Chr. over SAS Mt. Pleasant over Cornersville Northeast over Clarksville Northwest over Glencliff Oakland over Franklin Co. Page over CAK Riverdale over Lincoln Co. Riverside over Richland Rossview over Montgomery Central Shelbyville over Kenwood Siegel over Centennial Stewart Co.

over East Hickman Tullahoma over Coffee Co. Upperman over Bledsoe Co. Warren Co. over White Co. Wayne Co.

over Huntland Westmoreland over Gordonsville White House over Springfield White House-Heritage over McEwen Whites Creek over Pearl Cohn York over Monterey Event Time Station AUTO RACING Chase for the Champ. Preview 3 p.m. ESPN2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL North Carolina at Rutgers 6:30 p.m. ESPN Tenn. Tech at SE Missouri 6:30 p.m.

ESPNU Big Orange Countdown 7 p.m. 1510-AM GOLF LPGA Bell Micro Classic 2:30 p.m. GOLF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Smyrna at Brentwood Acad. 7 p.m. WUXP-30 MLS CD Chivas at New England 6 p.m.

ESPN2 NFL NFL Insider 9 p.m. 104.5-FM PRO BASEBALL Colorado at Atlanta 6 p.m. CSS WNBA Washington at Detroit 6:30 p.m. NBA-TV Atlanta at Los Angeles 9:30 p.m. NBA-TV Event Time Station AUTO RACING Sprint Cup qualifying 2 p.m.

ESPN2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Kansas at South Florida 7 p.m. ESPN2 GOLF Champions Hickory Classic Noon GOLF LPGA Bell Micro Classic 2:30 p.m. GOLF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Maplewood at Hunters Lane 7 p.m. CSS Stratford at David Lipscomb 7 p.m. 99.3-FM, 104.5-FM Cannon Co.

at FRA 7 p.m. 560-AM Goodpasture at JP II 7 p.m. 1360-AM MBA at Hillsboro 7 p.m. 106.7-FM Blackman at Brentwood 7 p.m. 950-AM PRO BASEBALL Atlanta at NY.

Mets 6 p.m. SportSouth WNBA New York at Chicago 7:30 p.m. NBA-TV COMING FRIDAY Find out which area rivalry has the best trophy don, they have other players who can hurt you in so many ways." Hillsboro is expected to get Cody Blihovde (concussion) back at safety. Tailback Alex Crutcher remains week-to-week with a high ankle sprain. Receiverdefensive end Corey Jordan will likely be out another 2-4 weeks with a bruised kidney and spleen.

Fans appreciate a competitive test like this in a non-region week. Not all schools want to go that route with their schedules, but Blade and McGugin say they learn more about their teams against a tough opponent. "Sometimes you can get away with mistakes against lesser teams, and then those mistakes aren't magnified until you play a good team," Blade said. "The better team you play, win or lose, it makes you better." The pick MBA23-14. Smyrna (1-2) at Brentwood Academy (2-1): This was a competitive game last year.

That may be asking too much this year. Smyrna has two touchdowns in three games and is facing a physical defense with a lot to prove. BA 24-7. Maplewood (2-0) at Hunters Lane (3-0): Markus Cantrell, who was held out of Maplewood's last game, returns to start at tailback for the Panthers, who can't afford to look ahead to Hillsboro. Expect another classic in the Dickerson Road Bowl.

Maplewood 19-13. Goodpasture (2-1) at Pope John Paul (1-2): The Knights could just as easily be 3-0 as 1-2, and last week's win over Spencer Wise and still dominating the line of scrimmage with first-year starters such as seniors Wade Longmire, Clark Benton and Martin Luplow. Names have changed. Results have not. "They're doing exactly what they did last year," said Hillsboro Coach Scott Blade, whose Burros (2-1) host MBA (3-0) at 7 p.m.

Friday. "We have a lot of seniors who didn't play a snap last year, who bought into the program, and their hard work is showing up now," MBA Coach Daniel McGugin added. MBA players know that during their 13-0 championship season of 2007 Hillsboro had the best opportunity to deal them a loss. The Big Red scrambled from a 12-3 deficit to win 17-12. Hillsboro receiversafety Eric Gordon was the best player on the field that night and will need to be so again Friday for the Burros to have a shot.

"Whenever you have a player of his caliber, you better know where he is," McGugin said. "But if we start focusing on Gor- Knox vi lie Webb was the boost Coach Jeff Brothers' team needed. Goodpasture's youth needs time to develop. JPII 21-14. Smith Co.

(3-0) at Trousdale Co. (3-0): Livingston Academy Coach Bruce Lamb, whose team has played both, says Smith Co. has more speed and athletes and Trousdale County has more size and strength. It's a toss-up. Smith Co.

22-21. Last week: 43-20 (.683) Season: 117-41 (.741) Meyer continues recovery Despite several surgeries, doctors have informed former Lipscomb men's basketball coach Don Meyer's wife, Carmen, that their top priority is still saving the current Northern State coach's life. He was seriously injured after his car hit a truck head-on near Aberdeen, S.D., last Friday. "The wreck crushed his whole left side, broke all bis ribs and crushed his left leg," said Meyer's son, Jerry. Don Meyer has been upgraded from critical to serious but still remains in an intensive care unit at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

I Beat Biddle: Brad Pitzer of Old Hickory was the weekly winner of the I Beat Biddle contest after picking all 19 college football games correctly. He won the tiebreaker by selecting Wake Forest over Ole Miss with total points of 52. Out of 826 entries, 26 beat Biddle, who picked 17 of 19 games correctly. Weekly winners of gift cards were Joseph Neal of Smyrna, Jeff Young of Lewisburg and Michael Russell of Nashville. Roger Brown of Thompson's Station won the weekly drawing for Music City Bowl tickets.

Basketball: Tickets for the Nov. 30 Western Kentucky-Louisville basketball game at Sommet Center are on sale. Tickets are $35 for lower-level seats and $20 for the upper level Call 1-800-5BIG-RED or 1-800-633-7105. Cross country: Belmont's Caleb Swartz was named Atlantic Sun Runner of the Week after winning the Belmont opener last week. Taped.

ESPNU and SportSouth are available only on Charter Cable and satellite services. Listings provided by stations; subject to change. TV: High schools adjust to games on Thursday WUXP-30 Thursday TV games Aug. 22 Goodpasture 14, Ravenwood 7 Aug. 29 Beech 16, Hendersonville 3 Sept.

4 Hillsboro 42, Stratford 18 Tonight Smyrna at Brentwood Academy Sept. 18 Maplewood at Hillsboro Sept. 25 McGavock at La Vergne Oct. 2 Overton at Hunters Lane Oct. 9 TBA Oct.

16 Independence at Ravenwood Oct. 23 Clarksville at Mt. Juliet Oct. 30 Ensworth at BGA ing has determined the last two Region 5-4A champs, are giving away a day of preparation to play next Thursday. That will serve as Hills-boro's second Thursday game in three weeks and third TV game of the season.

"The motivation is strictly exposure," said Hillsboro Coach Scott Blade, whose teams in California regularly played on Thursdays because of sharing fields with other schools. "You're going to find a way to get the important stuff in. It makes you have to work a little harder, with a lit tle more urgency." Mann said the first three Thursday games have been viewed by an average of 11,000 households. "In addition to the game, we run segments on each of the schools participating and talk about academics, activities and achievements beyond the football field," Mann said. "To hear the principals talk about how much this has meant to their schools that's the fun part of this." Reach Jeff Lockridge at (615) 259-0823 or jlockridgetennessean.com.

"If we had been traveling very far, we wouldn't have done it because of our fans," said Smyrna Principal Robert Raikes. "It's good for some people and not good for others because they have to get up and go to work the next morning." Making a switch La Vergne is moving its homecoming festivities and game with McGavock to Thursday, Sept. 25. Hillsboro and Maplewood, whose regular-season meet in the station's viewing area as possible. He said some schools have not switched to Thursday because of concerns over a potential loss of gate receipts.

It was a no-brainer when schools are as close as Hendersonville and Beech, which are in the same town. It is more of a question when there is some travel involved, like tonight's game where Smyrna plays at Brentwood Academy. The schools are about 25 miles apart. FRIDAY Volleyball: USC-Upstate at Belmont, 6:30 p.m.; ETSU at Belmont, 7 p.m. Women's soccer: La.

-Monroe at Belmont, 4 p.m..