• Tide to honor seniors by 'taking care of business'
TUSCALOOSA ? Alabama's football team doesn't have one reason to get up for today's perceived snoozer against UT-Chattanooga. It has 27.

• Blount Leopards beat Williamson Lions in 2OT
Staff report Tyler Sherrill's 22 points led three Blount players in double figures as the Leopards outlasted Williamson 75-66 in double overtime Friday night.

• McMullan pulls in record king mackerel
BILOXI, Miss. ? It's a good thing Rube McMullan and his sons Barrett and Brant had caught so many fish that they ran out of bait late on the first day of the Southern Kingfish Association National Championship Friday.

• Officials dispute Classic attendance figures
Amelia Bacon, executive director of the Gulf Coast Classic, this week disputed attendance figures released immediately after last Saturday's game between Southern University and Alabama State, claiming there were three times as many fans in the seats as originally reported.

• Plenty on the line today when USM hosts Tulsa
Southern Miss will try to match last season's victory total and stay alive for a berth in the Conference USA championship game when it faces Tulsa today at Roberts Stadium.

• Sports Soundoff
No story for AU -- Alabama fans are living in the past and the present. Auburn doesn't have a past so they can't live in it. They have a 1957 national championship and two blocked punts and that's it. Not much of a story there.

• Tide makes statement
TUSCALOOSA ? The mighty Big East Conference won its first 41 men's basketball games of the 2009-10 season.

• Jags get to work, beat Spring Hill by 29
South Alabama scored 20 straight points late in the first half to turn a close game into a blowout Thursday night, and the Jaguars beat Spring Hill College 82-53 at the Mitchell Center.

• Senior Bowl returns to afternoon
After playing the game under the lights of Ladd-Peebles Stadium for one year, the Under Armour Senior Bowl is returning to an afternoon kickoff.

• BayBears get 'classic' look
The Mobile BayBears will begin their 14th season in April with a new logo and uniforms.

• High water to hamper hunting at Upper Delta WMA
Under Alabama conservation law, high water will likely make all of the Upper Delta Wildlife Management Area off limits to hunters for the gun deer hunt scheduled for opening day on Saturday, the area's manager said.

• Impact players leaving
TUSCALOOSA ? How much pride is there in leaving a college football program in a better position that you found it?

• Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic teaming up with Salvation Army
Staff report The Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic will team up with The Salvation Army to help the needy and hungry throughout Mobile and Baldwin counties during Classic week in December.

• Auburn notebook: Linebacker depth low for Tigers
AUBURN ? Starting linebacker Eltoro Freeman missed a second day of practice this week after suffering a concussion and possible foot injury against Georgia.

• Basketball roundup: Fairhope boys hand UMS-Wright first loss
Staff report FAIRHOPE ? Fairhope built a double-digit lead in the third quarter to open the season with a 46-36 win over previously unbeaten UMS-Wright Thursday night.

• Crimson Tide to face SEC-caliber QB
TUSCALOOSA ? When B.J. Coleman was in high school, his favorite cap was one that read "Top Gun" across the front. He made sure he wore it for photos.

• Grant, Alabama learning on the go
TUSCALOOSA ? In the two days between Anthony Grant's visit to campus and his eventual acceptance of Alabama's head coaching job, the calculating coach weighed all his options before reaching a conclusion.

• Prep notebook: Carter returns to Daphne tonight with No. 1 Auburn
When top-ranked Auburn visits Daphne for tonight's Class 6A quarterfinal showdown, it will be a homecoming of sorts for Tigers coach Tim Carter.

• Shorthanded Auburn faces quick stretch
AUBURN ? Junior college transfer Kenny Gabriel is out, senior starter Tay Waller is questionable, and the Auburn men's basketball team must play three games in three days.

• Sports Soundoff
Martial arts beat boxing -- People are complaining about the mixed martial arts on ESPN. They say boxing is so great. Boxing was great when you had three championships ? light, middle and heavy. Now we have like 23 championships and so many promoters and so much pay. When was the last quality fight you had? Mixed martial arts are true fights. They are true competition. It's not fixed. It's real. Fans like it because it's honest.

• Still in action
Staff report

• Tonight's playoff games
AUBURN (12-0) at DAPHNE (6-6)

• USA women rip Badgers
Brittney Rutledge and Sarda Peterson each had career performances for the South Alabama women's basketball team in a 100-44 rout of Spring Hill College Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.

• Vermilyea ready to play for Volunteers
MONROEVILLE ? The last month has been agonizing for Monroe Academy junior Sam Vermilyea.

• Postseason destinations up in air for full field of SEC bowl teams
Last year, the conference regarded by many as the best in college football did not fill all its bowl tie-ins. The SEC had eight bowl-eligible teams last season and, with both Florida and Alabama in BCS bowls, filled only seven of its nine bowl obligations, leaving the Independence and the Papajohns.com bowls scrambling for at-large teams.

• Saban plays key role in 'Blind Side' story
TUSCALOOSA ? To Sean Tuohy, the recruiting process for his adopted son Michael Oher "went from zero to 100."

• Tigers try to make grade in recruiting
AUBURN ? When Auburn coach Gene Chizik unveils his first full recruiting class in February, he won't be signing a raft of academically questionable players.

• 1-2 PUNCH
What is your most memorable play of the season?

• Alabama football notebook: Awards don't concern Saban
TUSCALOOSA ? Alabama tailback Mark Ingram's role Saturday against Chattanooga won't be affected by his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, said Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

• Alabama football notes for Saturday's game against Chattanooga
CHATTANOOGA (6-4) at No. 2 ALABAMA (10-0) 11:20 a.m. Saturday (WJTC) Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa -- LINE: None

• Auburn football notebook: Tate drawing comparisons to Ingram ? from himself
AUBURN ? So, did Auburn senior Ben Tate really say he was the best back in the state?

• Auburn football notes for Saturday's open date
AUBURN (7-4, 3-4) does not play this week. -- NEXT GAME: vs. Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 27 (CBS)

• Blount rolls to 3-0
Staff reports JaMichael Lofton scored 17 points and Jorory Coleman 14 as Blount beat Robertsdale 91-47 in Prichard on Wednesday. Aubrey Riley added 12 points and Tyler Sherrill chipped in 11 for Blount (3-0), which hosts Williamson Friday at 7:30 p.m.

• GOLF NOTEBOOK: Local golfers vie to join PGA field
Several players with ties to the Mobile area are participating in the second stage of the PGA Tour's Q School, which began Wednesday and continues through Saturday.

• Injured Spanish Fort runner returns to school after scare
Spanish Fort's Wren Smith, who fell 100 feet from the finish of the 5A boys state cross country championship race Saturday, remains under a doctor's care but was back at school Monday.

• Inside the SEC: Vanderbilt wasting Norman's big year
Vanderbilt's Warren Norman is on the verge of breaking Herschel Walker's SEC record for all-purpose yardage by a freshman.

• Jags get test in Badgers' offense
South Alabama hopes to correct its first-half problems and Spring Hill will be shooting for a second straight upset when the two Mobile rivals square off tonight at 7:05 at the Mitchell Center.

• Mike Herndon's AP Ballot
Press-Register sports reporter Mike Herndon is one of 60 voters in The Associated Press college football poll. Each week, his ballot, along with his brief analysis, is published in SEC Extra:

• Mobile tourney one of 24 LPGA events in 2010
The LPGA officially released its 2010 schedule of tournaments Wednesday, with Mobile's Bell Micro LPGA Classic set for May 13-16 at Magnolia Grove's Crossings Course, as previously reported by the Press-Register.

• Outdoors
Work on the second half of the Gulf State Park Pier is on schedule and assistant park superintendent Trey Myers said Wednesday that all of the 1,540-foot-long pier should be open for fishing by Thanksgiving weekend as planned.

• PREP NOTEBOOK: Toros get to defend home turf
Spanish Fort has enjoyed a number of football firsts under coach Bryant Vincent ? first winning season, first appearance in the statewide poll, first playoff berth and first playoff victory.

• SEC Football by the Numbers
2 Players in SEC history with more kickoff-return yards in a season than Mississippi State's Leon Berry has in 2009. Berry's 899 kickoff-return yards would be 6 short of the SEC single-season record set by Arkansas' Dennis Johnson last year, but Vanderbilt's Warren Norman already has broken that mark with 989 yards in 2009. With 894 yards this season, Johnson ranks fourth in SEC history and third in the league this year.

• SEC Matchup: Florida's seniors vs. the all-time SEC best
If Florida beats Florida International on Saturday, the Gators' seniors will own more victories than any other class in SEC history.

• Sports Soundoff
Both UA, AU recruiting well -- While all the Bama fans are constantly flapping their gums about how great they are to anyone who will listen, along with everyone who won't, Auburn is quietly putting together one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Auburn is also doing this playing by the rules. Editor's Note: According to Rivals.com, Alabama's recruiting class is currently ranked No. 2 in the country behind Texas.

• This Week's SEC Football Games
MISSISSIPPI STATE (4-6, 2-4) at ARKANSAS (6-4, 2-4) 11:20 a.m. Saturday (WXXV) War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock -- LINE: Arkansas by 10cm HALF

• Tommy Hicks' Harris Ballot
Press-Register sports reporter Tommy Hicks is one of 114 voters in the Harris Interactive college football poll. Each week, his ballot, along with his brief analysis, is published in SEC Extra:

• Year a redshirt for Jags
Quarterback Myles Gibbon just finished his redshirt season at South Alabama ? technically speaking ? and didn't even know it.

• Auburn's Smith sued for assault
AUBURN ? Auburn running back Eric Smith is being sued for allegedly injuring a student in a fight near campus in August.

• Harts excited about family reunion at Alabama
TUSCALOOSA ? Trevor Hart has been counting down the days.

• ALABAMA NOTEBOOK: Tide senior Anders back to full speed
TUSCALOOSA ? Alabama senior linebacker Eryk Anders returned full speed to practice Tuesday and said he plans to play Saturday against UT-Chattanooga despite a lingering right ankle sprain.

• Bobcats win on final shot
Staff reports

• High school football playoff previews
AHSAA QUARTERFINALS CLASS 6A No. 2 Prattville (10-2) at Davidson (10-2) -- WHEN: 7 p.m.

• Inside Slant: High School Football Playoffs Week 3
/CUT/p4/CDaphne WR Israel Lamprakes

• Owls rip Auburn in Philly
Staff reports PHILADELPHIA — Temple built a 19-point halftime lead over Auburn on Tuesday night at McGonigle Hall and went on to a 66-52 victory.

• Press-Register High School Football Game of the Week
CLASS 6A QUARTERFINAL No. 1 Auburn (12-0) at Daphne (6-6) -- WHEN: 7 p.m.

• Press-Register High School Football Players of the Week
LeFlore junior Danny Woodson is the Press-Register Metro Football Player of the Week, noting the top performance from Mobile and Baldwin counties. Woodson caught five passes for 143 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown in LeFlore's 27-14 victory over Gulf Shores. He also scored on a 32-yard run on a busted field-goal attempt, when he made a one-handed grab on the high snap, sprinted around the left end and outran the Dolphins. LeFlore has won a school-record eight straight games.

• Runnels chooses Colonels
Staff reports

• Sports Soundoff
Finebaum is obnoxious -- After reading Paul Finebaum's column on Tuesday, I think he's reached a point where he's just as obnoxious as the rest of the Alabama fans.

• Tide tops Jackson State
TUSCALOOSA — Anthony Grant disciplined a top scorer, possibly discovered two more on his bench and, in the process, picked up victory No. 1 as Alabama's head basketball coach.

• High-water Mark: Former St. Paul's star Barron leads SEC with six interceptions
TUSCALOOSA ? Alabama safety Mark Barron admits to probably enjoying "a little luck."

• Jones pointing to Jags' future
Although the season was shorter than most, South Alabama football coach Joey Jones said he welcomed the end of the team's first season.

• USM focused on stretch run
With two games remaining in the season, the Southern Miss football team can still achieve all of its goals.

• Badgers pull upset over No. 20 AUM
Staff reports Marcus Coleman scored 26 points to lead five Badgers in double figures Monday night as Spring Hill College knocked off No. 20 Auburn-Montgomery 82-70 in the Outlaw Center.

• Gottfried leads Gulf Shores
Staff reports Brandon Gottfried had 21 points as Gulf Shores opened its basketball season with a 68-21 victory over Alabama School of Math and Science.

• Grant, Tide seek first win of season
TUSCALOOSA — Alabama's basketball team enters its second game still in search of a first victory under new men's coach Anthony Grant.

• Grant, Tide seek first win of season
TUSCALOOSA — Alabama's basketball team enters its second game still in search of a first victory under new men's coach Anthony Grant.

• Saban focuses on the Mocs
TUSCALOOSA ? With big games looming against Auburn and Florida, Alabama coach Nick Saban is trying to keep his second-ranked team's attention for Saturday's 11:21 a.m. home game against UT-Chattanooga, a six-win Division FCS team.

• Savage enjoying college game
Even after two stints as director of player personnel in the NFL, it's college football that holds Phil Savage's interest these days.

• Sports Soundoff
Won't need help from officials -- To all the SEC officials: Alabama won't need your help to beat Auburn, Florida or whoever gets rolled over in the BCS title game. This year is Alabama's, and there isn't anything anyone can say about it. You know they built the addition to Bryant-Denny with a blank space in the statues just for Nick Saban. He'll have two or three championships before he's gone.

• Bama goes to the air
TUSCALOOSA ? Alabama's offense ended October with growing concern about a new label it didn't want: One-dimensional.

• Flags, miscues haunt Auburn
AUBURN ? For the second time this season, Auburn was on the brink of a game-tying score.

• Flags, miscues haunt Auburn
AUBURN ? For the second time this season, Auburn was on the brink of a game-tying score.

• Jaguars rally for victory
HOUSTON ? South Alabama recovered from a slow start on the final day of the Rice Basketball Challenge to defeat Sacramento State 70-58 Sunday.

• Jaguars rally for victory
HOUSTON ? South Alabama recovered from a slow start on the final day of the Rice Basketball Challenge to defeat Sacramento State 70-58 Sunday.

• Alabama notebook: Johnson proving himself in secondary
TUSCALOOSA ? On the first play Saturday night, Mississippi State threw deep to a receiver being covered by Alabama cornerback Marquis Johnson.

• Auburn hits road with ailing Waller
AUBURN ? The success of Auburn's four-game road trip could hinge on the health of senior guard Tay Waller, who was sidelined by a sore quadriceps in Friday night's season-opening win.

• Auburn hits road with ailing Waller
AUBURN ? The success of Auburn's four-game road trip could hinge on the health of senior guard Tay Waller, who was sidelined by a sore quadriceps in Friday night's season-opening win.

• Auburn notebook: Freeman may be out for Iron Bowl
AUBURN ? Linebacker Eltoro Freeman's status for the Nov. 27 Iron Bowl is not clear, Auburn coach Gene Chizik said, although several teammates expressed confidence he would play against Alabama.

• Freeman may be out for Iron Bowl
/cut/2/cJOHN BAZEMORE/ Associated PressAuburn's Demond Washington outruns Georgia defenders on a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown during the Tigers' loss on Saturday.

• Johnson proving himself in secondary
TUSCALOOSA — On the first play Saturday night, Mississippi State threw deep to a receiver being covered by Alabama cornerback Marquis Johnson.

• Johnson sets stage for finale
When a fluke accident cost Jimmie Johnson a huge chunk of his points lead, he knew there was no more room for error in his bid to win a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship.

• Sports Briefs
Savage to speak to 1st and 10 Club

• Sports Soundoff
This is Sports Sound Off, where you can speak your mind on anything you wish. Because of the large number of calls received, not all can be published.

• 'Professional' victory: No. 3 Alabama takes care of business, routs Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? There were plenty of bells, and like any good coach, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen had the whistle at the ready.

• Tigers' early dominance fades into loss at Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. ? The drama was delayed by timeouts, penalties and even a heart-stopping injury that suspended play for nearly 15 minutes as the game hung in the balance late in the fourth quarter.

• ALABAMA BEAT REPORT: Tide runs over Bulldogs
-- OFFENSE: Alabama has not faced a defense as flawed as Mississippi State in a while, and the difference showed.

• ALABAMA NOTEOOK: Tide favors nickel vs. the spread
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Those wondering how Alabama's defense may attempt to play Florida in the SEC title game got a few hints Saturday night.

• ALABAMA RECRUITING CORNER: Saban could face tough decisions
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The final months of the 2010 recruiting period could contain some tough choices for Alabama's coaches.

• Auburn football notebook: Punt returner still trouble spot
ATHENS, Ga. ? Defensive back Demond Washington is the newest Auburn player to try returning punts.

• Auburn recruiting corner: Tigers state their case in talent battle
ATHENS, Ga. ? Auburn's 2010 recruiting class now includes commitments from the No. 1 player in Mississippi (offensive lineman Shon Coleman), Arkansas (running back Michael Dyer) and Louisiana (wide receiver Trovon Reed), according the rankings of Rivals.com. Reed, a 6-foot speedster from Thibodaux, is the most recent of AU's 21 commitments.

• Evan Woodbery's Auburn Beat
-- OFFENSE: Auburn's offense was brilliant in the first quarter, and Chris Todd was ? almost literally ? perfect. But the unit traveled a bumpier road for most of the game due to the Tigers' surprising lack of a ground game.

• Jags fall to Owls
HOUSTON ? South Alabama's rally from a 13-point second-half deficit fell short Saturday night at the Tudor Fieldhouse as Rice held off the Jaguars 71-69.

• Lee, Southern burn Hornets
Bryant Lee completed 29 of 39 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns to help Southern overcome an early 10-0 deficit and roll past Alabama State 34-24 Saturday in the 36th annual Commonwealth National Bank Gulf Coast Classic before 8,459 fans at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

• McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets top St. Paul's Saints
Staff report Tevin Bettis scored 15 points, and Kevin Jefferson and Willie Malone added 10 each to lead McGill-Toolen to a 68-47 win over St. Paul's Saturday. Jacob Coker scored 12 points and Davis Coker 10 to lead the Saints.

• Sports Soundoff
LSU win tainted -- I'm a Crimson Tide fan, and I'm glad that Alabama won that game last week against LSU, but I think it's a tainted victory because the referees clearly made a bad call about that interception for LSU. To me, that took all the fun and intrigue out of the game after that.

• Toros, Bulldogs take home cross country titles
OAKVILLE ? Spanish Fort survived the loss of Wren Smith 100 feet from the finish line to upset Scottsboro and win the 5A boys title, and UMS-Wright swept the 4A crowns Saturday in the state high school cross country championships at Oakville Indian Mounds Park.

• BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Patterson scores 20 as Baker soars by Murphy
Staff report Jordan Patterson scored a game-high 20 points to lead Baker to a 57-34 win over Murphy Friday night.

• Border war: Auburn, Georgia meet in South's oldest rivalry
Perhaps it's a sign of mutual respect in the Auburn-Georgia rivalry that there has been relatively little bragging about the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak in the series.

• Grant's era starts tonight
TUSCALOOSA ? Ready or not, it's time for the Anthony Grant era to begin for Alabama's basketball program.

• Jaguars open season today at Southern Miss
Staff reports The University of South Alabama women's basketball team opens its season today at 2 p.m. against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg.

• Record crowd expected to watch Tide, Bulldogs fight to achieve goals for season
TUSCALOOSA ? Mississippi State's campus is gearing up for one of its bigger games in recent memory, while visiting Alabama just needs another win.

• Reed commits to AU
AUBURN ? Auburn added another important piece to its burgeoning recruiting class Friday by snagging wide receiver Trovon Reed, one of Louisiana's top prep prospects.

• Sports Soundoff
Where's their crystal ball? -- The reason Nick Saban and Alabama fans are so positive about the officials and making excuses for them and how they deserve the benefit of the doubt is because they know there's not going to be any calls against them now or in the future. I wonder how they know that.

• Tigers escape Niagara's fall
AUBURN ? The final opening night in the 42-year history of Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum ended with a bang.