HOOVER, Ala. -- The Vanderbilt Commodores took a small step forward overall last season and a bigger one defensively.Sure, they lost four games by single-digit margins and improved on defense with coach Derek Mason pulling double duty as coordinator. But they still went 4-8, just one win better than in Masons debut season.This football team knows how to compete. Okay? Mason said Monday at Southeastern Conference media days. Its not about competing anymore, its about winning. We had the great fortune to win one more game. For some in here, thats not monumental enough. Thats OK. For us, we saw how we let some games slide. We missed some opportunities, OK, and that has not gone unnoticed by this football team.The Commodores dont want that to be considered normal for a program that had back-to-back 9-4 seasons before coach James Franklin left for Penn State.Theyve got some talent, like All-SEC linebacker Zach Cunningham and workhorse running back Ralph Webb. And Kyle Shurmur has already been anointed the starting quarterback going into his sophomore season.Vandy finished in the top half of the league in the four major defensive categories after ranking last in points allowed per game.Mason has gone 7-17 in his first two seasons but has 16 returning starters and more than 40 upperclassmen coming back. He also has six new assistants in a second straight year of high staff turnover.Cunningham said the team has a more together mind-set than we had last season.Mason likes the Commodores attitude as well.This teams got a team-first mentality, has established a team-first mantra, he said. We dont care about who is standing on the hill. We dont care about who takes the accolades. Its about this team collectively and what we need to do in order to move the needle and get up the hill.Vanderbilt gets a chance before most teams even take the field to give some evidence if theyve made real strides. They open Sept. 1 with a Thursday night game against South Carolina.I dont think its a measuring stick game but its definitely a game thats going to prove not only to the fans but to everyone else what we can do, Cunningham said. Custom Bernard King Jersey .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Custom Phil Jackson Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. http://www.customknicksjersey.com/custom-john-starks-jersey-large-79w.html . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Custom Anthony Mason Jersey . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Wholesale Custom Knicks Shirts . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season.Arsenal should wait until the end of the season before reviewing Arsene Wengers position, according to Sol Campbell. The former Gunners captain - speaking on Sky Sports Goals on Sunday - believes the club still has plenty to play for after their north London derby draw on Saturday, a result that leaves Wengers side eight points off the top.Campbell says there remains a window of opportunity for his former club, who face an FA Cup fifth-round replay at Hull on Tuesday night before resuming league action at home to West Brom. Wenger on knife-edge Arsene Wengers Arsenal future debated on Sunday Supplement Hit the play icon on the video above to watch Also See: Wenger on a knife-edge Coquelin apologises to fans Ramsey: Vital not to lose NL derby talking points ' ' '
