said. Their entire front is returning -- great safety in Rob

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Vanderbilt Commodores have their first new coach since the turn of this century, and Bryce Drew already is making quite an impression.He was hired away from his alma mater Valparaiso in April to replace Kevin Stallings, who left for Pittsburgh despite being the winningest coach in Vanderbilt history over his 17 seasons. The Commodores have been adjusting to the change since summer workouts.Pretty much night and day from how Stallings was, junior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis said. I think itll be good for us. Everybodys working hard, and itll be a good season.The Commodores disappointed last season going 19-14 after some very high expectations with a roster that had two players taken in the first round of the NBA draft in June. They also lost to Wichita State in Dayton to open the NCAA Tournament, and Stallings bolted shortly after despite going 332-220 at Vanderbilt since 1999-00.Fisher-Davis said the attitude all starts with Drew with he and his assistants bringing positive energy every day.Drew knows he takes over a bit of a challenge. The Commodores have been picked to finish sixth in the Southeastern Conference, but he not only has to win games but lure fans back to Memorial Gym after attendance has dropped in recent seasons.We want to work extremely hard, Drew said. We want to play a style of basketball thats exciting for the fans, the passion that we put out and the work that we put out. We might not be the tallest team or we might not be the most athletic team, but hopefully when we leave, our fans hearts will be captured by how hard were playing.---Here are some other things to know about Vanderbilt this season:NBA DRAFT PICKS: The Commodores were one of only three schools with not one, but two players taken in the first round of the NBA draft. Guard Wade Baldwin IV, a starter for both of his seasons, was the 17th pick overall by Memphis, while center Damian Jones was the 30th pick by Golden State. Vanderbilt also lost its top two scorers with Baldwin leading the team scoring 14.1 points per game and Jones adding 13.9.RETURNING STARTERS: Vanderbilt still has some size in 7-foot-1 senior Luke Kornet, who ranked fourth nationally in blocked shots. Drew has plenty of experience too in junior Matthew Fisher-Davis, who led the SEC shooting 44.6 percent from 3-point range, in averaging 9.7 points per game. Junior Riley LaChance added 6.9 points. Redshirt senior guard Nolan Cressler played in 30 games last season after sitting out a transfer year from Cornell.NEWCOMERS: Drew will have only 10 scholarship players available, which luckily includes redshirt freshman Djery Baptiste, a 6-10, 240-pound center who picked Vanderbilt over Connecticut, SMU, Oregon and Southern California. Drew also has a pair of freshmen in forward Clevon Brown and guard Payton Willis. Larry Austin Jr. is sitting out this season after transferring from Xavier.SCHEDULE: The Commodores open the season Nov. 11 playing Marquette in Annapolis, Maryland, and it doesnt get any easier. Vanderbilt also plays Belmont on Nov. 15 and Chattanooga on Dec. 17 while visiting Middle Tennessee, the team that upset No. 2 seed Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, on Dec. 8. The Commodores also play Butler in the Las Vegas Invitational with a possible game against Arizona State, and a neutral site game with Minnesota in North Dakota. Vanderbilt also has its usual home-and-home with Kentucky starting with the Wildcats visiting Memorial Gym on Jan. 10 with in-state rival Tennessee in Nashville on Jan. 14.SEC TOURNAMENT: Once again, the Commodores will have to travel only a couple miles for the league tournament being held once again at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.---Online:More AP College Basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/ and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalkerWholesale Puma Shoes Canada . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Puma Shoes Canada Online Store . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. http://www.wholesalepumacanada.com/ . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Puma Shoes Canada Sale . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Puma Shoes Clearance Canada . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice.EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State has never played Furman in football. In fact, the Spartans have never faced a school from the state of South Carolina before this week.Coach Mark Dantonio, however, knows plenty about that part of the country.Having played at South Carolina, Im very familiar with Furman University, he said. Outstanding university. Coach (Bruce) Fowler is in his sixth year now.A lot more people will know about Furman if the Paladins can pull off an upset Friday night against No. 12 Michigan State. The Spartans are coming off their second Big Ten title in three years, but they do have some adjustments to make after losing star quarterback Connor Cook. Michigan State also has to replace three starters on the offensive line from the team that made it to college footballs four-team playoff last season.Dantonio faced Furman when he was a player at South Carolina, but aside from that, these schools dont have many links to each other. Furman has never faced a Big Ten team -- it played against Penn State in 1958, well before the Nittany Lions joined the league.Furmans financial guarantee for this game is $655,000. The schools game notes this week begin with an explanation of the nickname -- a Paladin is a knight on a horse. Furman has been playing football since 1889 and can boast a longer history than Clemson and South Carolina. Not many people know that, of course.If the Paladins can make a game of it this week, theyll earn quite a bit of attention. Here are a few things to watch when Michigan State hosts Furman:NEW STARTING QBAfter three seasons backing up Cook, fifth-year senior Tyler OConnor takes over for Michigan State. Hes attempted only 54 passes in his college career, but he did start one big game last season, helping the Spartans to a win at Ohio State when Cook was hurt.Im here tto accept all the pressures, all the failures and successes, whether its good or bad, OConnor said.dddddddddddd Thats something I know comes with the position.UNCERTAINTYFurman listed QBs Reese Hannon and P.J. Blazejowski together atop the depth chart. Hannon is fourth on the schools career list with 5,274 yards passing, but he dealt with concussion problems last season and a broken ankle in 2014. Blazejowski broke an ankle as well before last season.Hannon has started 29 games in his career, and Blazejowski has started 10.STANDOUTFurman safety Trey Robinson has played 33 games, starting 22 of them. He was a preseason all-league selection by Southern Conference coaches. Robinson had two interceptions last year when Furman beat Central Florida for its first win over an FBS opponent since 1999.They have new personnel just like we do, but they also have a lot of players returning, Dantonio said. Their entire front is returning -- great safety in Robinson.OFF AND RUNNINGMichigan State has won seven straight season openers and 17 straight home openers. The Spartans have an open date on the schedule next week, so after playing Furman, their next game wont be until Sept. 17 at Notre Dame.WAITING GAMEMichigan State linebacker Ed Davis missed all of last season with a knee injury, and the Spartans have been hoping hed be cleared for an extra year of eligibility.Paperwork is in, so waiting on the paperwork, Dantonio said earlier this week. He isnt allowed to practice, so hes progressing in terms of getting his knee right and just getting back into shape.Davis was not listed on the depth chart for the game against Furman.---Online: AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '