Tennessee

Tennessee is in the Sweet 16 for the 28th time. And after winning on their home court in Knoxville, the Lady Vols' path to the Final Four continues 350 miles down the road in Memphis. Alicia Manning had a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds Monday as Tennessee, seeded No. 1 in the Memphis Region, beat Dayton 92-64 in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament. The Lady Vols (32-2) have failed to reach the round of 16 only once in the tournament's 29-year history.

Murray State got awfully close to a second straight bracket-busting upset before Butler reminded the Racers which small school almost always plays big in March. Ronald Nored's three-point play snapped a tie with 25.4 seconds left, and Butler narrowly evaded a second stunner by the 13th-seeded Racers in three days, advancing to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament with a 54-52 victory Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Nored scored 15 points and Gordon Hayward had 12 before making the decisive defensive play for the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (30-4)

Two men have been arrested and two Maryland girls have been found safe after police issued Amber Alerts over the weekend seeking help in solving the girls' alleged kidnappings. The first alert was issued Friday night, after police in Cecil County received reports of the abduction of a 4-year-old Elkton girl. Police found the girl Saturday at a convenience store in Glasgow, Del., and arrested 32-year-old Peter Jyles Pelletier in connection with her disappearance. Pelletier's estranged wife is the girl's mother.

Heading into a game against No. 1 Kansas on Sunday, Tennessee knows it needs every ounce of talent from every player. Now the Volunteers are down to six scholarship players because four were suspended indefinitely after being charged with gun possession. A police report included officers saying they smelled marijuana coming from a car and saw an open container of alcohol during a traffic stop just hours after the team defeated Memphis on Thursday. Senior forward Tyler Smith will be missed the most.

Rob Bironas kicked a 53-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining and the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 20-17 for their fourth straight victory after an 0-6 start. The Texans (5-5) had a chance to tie it, but Kris Brown's 49-yard attempt with 1 second remaining was wide left. It was his second miss of the game and the second straight game he's missed a chance to send the Texans to overtime. The Titans (4-6) haven't lost since Vince Young took over at quarterback.

The opening night of AACC's Moonlight Troupers' production of The Glass Menagerie drew an audience of 46 at Pascal Center for Performing Arts - smaller than the cast deserved. Theatergoers who chose to skip this early Tennessee Williams work because of its familiarity, having played in the county the past two springs, might have been surprised by this unusual version. The production was carried by the professionalism of the cast, but the presentation was at times incongruous, if not frustrating, because of the unusual musical selections and set design.

Tennessee's title defense ended sooner than expected, wrapping up the worst season for Pat Summitt's vaunted program. Ball State stunned the two-time defending national champion, 71-55, in the opening round of the NCAA tournament last night in Bowling Green, Ky., ending one of the more remarkable streaks in college basketball history. The Lady Volunteers (22-11) had never lost on the opening weekend of the tournament, going 42-0 through the years. Fifth seed Tennessee also became the first defending champ to lose in the first round of the women's tournament.

If the experience in Gambrills, where wells serving more than 80 homes were found to be contaminated by chemicals leaching from a coal ash dump, weren't enough to demonstrate the need to regulate these growing environmental hazards, the recent problems of the Tennessee Valley Authority have surely sealed the deal. Last month, about 5.4 million cubic yards of coal plant sludge escaped a containment pond and spread across 300 acres near the Kingston Fossil Plant in East Tennessee. As was the case in Maryland, drinking water supplies were poisoned with lead, arsenic, chromium and other highly toxic substances.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Peering up at the goal posts as hostile fans screamed and waved blue towels in the background, Matt Stover did what he always does. He took a deep breath and calmly kicked a 43-yard field goal with 53 seconds left in the game, giving the Ravens a dramatic 13-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans and sending them to the AFC Championship game. They will face either the San Diego Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday on the road in a game scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Those teams play today in Pittsburgh.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - At some point, the Ravens' staff of skilled trainers is going to have to check out quarterback Joe Flacco. The trainers can wait a couple of more weeks, if they want. Maybe after that little game - the Super something? - in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1 perhaps. But there are some questions that need answering. For starters, does Flacco have a pulse? His blood doesn't boil. His nerves don't shake. His confidence never wavers. Regardless of the circumstances, he seems as much machine as he is man, programmed to win regardless of the circumstances.