Jones: State championship teams deserve more fields (07/22/08)
MURFREESBORO -- Shelbyville dominated the Tennessee Youth Baseball Association State Tournament this past weekend by sweeping all four divisions in a 35-team field. To further illustrate the manner in which the Bedford County kids controlled the competition, no less than six of our hometown teams played in the championship games...

Jones: Middle school coaches deserve thanks (04/05/08)
Bedford County is on the verge of a resurgence of baseball at all levels due to the emergence of middle school baseball programs that are still in their infancy stages but already reaping huge benefits for participants and the community as a whole. The programs are designed to be feeders for the high schools, but their impact will be felt far beyond just providing more continuity and a smoother transition for the young kids being encouraged and groomed for a varsity future...

Jones: Oak Ridge simply had SC's number (03/07/08)
MURFREESBORO -- The number 13 has long been a number associated with negative and mysterious powers of bad luck. It proved to be an ever so elusive number that even the legendary Shelbyville Golden Eaglette program could not achieve as they were outplayed, outshot and outrebounded by a smaller, but much quicker team in their 55-47 state tournament loss to Oak Ridge at the Murphy Center...

Jones: Athletic programs continue to impress (01/11/08)
Is it just me or has another year passed us by with warp speed? It seems like yesterday that I was writing about my first year as a sports writer and now I am well on my way to being a three-year veteran. There have been many trials and tribulations along the way but this job is far and away the most rewarding that I have ever had for many reasons that I am eternally grateful for...

Jones: Henry innocent until proven guilty (11/05/07)
It took a while for Chris Henry to get on the field, but the rookie running back has been everything that the Titans anticipated when they surprised most observers of the NFL draft by taking him as the 50th overall pick in the second round. Henry was inactive for the first five games of the season but has made the most of his opportunities since, having rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in two games...

Jones: Fisher still going strong (10/08/07)
Jeff Fisher is in his 13th full season as head coach of the Tennessee Titans and owns the franchise record for most wins with 110 victories. He is also the National Football League leader in tenure with one team among active coaches. His status in that category was solidified recently when team owner Bud Adams rewarded him with a new contract running through the 2010 season. He also entered the ranks of the highest paid coaches in the league with the new deal...

Jones: Young 'disrespectful of the game' (09/17/07)
NASHVILLE -- Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans put on quite a show on the field Sunday against nemesis Indianapolis Colts. After the 22-20 loss, Young vented his frustration on sports writers in the interview room in the bowels of LP Field. Young and teammates played a heck of a game, good enough to win against most teams, and made some outstanding plays in the game at key moments -- the benchmark for a team playing a championship caliber opponent...

Jones: Moore sparks Vandy victory (09/17/07)
NASHVILLE -- Sophomore D.J. Moore kick-started Vanderbilt's win over Mississippi with a 33-yard kickoff return, leading to a touchdown run by Chris Nickson minutes later for an upper hand the Commodores would never relinquish. It was their first opening-drive touchdown since last October...

Jones: Sportsmanship, Babe Ruth careers disappear (07/09/07)
The number of incidents of poor sportsmanship and win-at-all-costs attitudes always seem to rise as tensions mount and the stakes get higher for players, coaches and fans during the Babe Ruth All-Star season. Never was that more evident than at Looney Riddle Memorial Field in Manchester on Saturday evening, site of the Babe Ruth District 6 All-Star tournament...

Jones: Loss doesn't diminish Commodores (06/06/07)
Vanderbilt's baseball season ended with a visiting team celebrating an upset as one of the biggest crowds in Commodore history looked on in stunned disbelief. It was the first time this season that an opponent had won two of three games against them in Nashville...

Jones: 'Dores come full circle (05/29/07)
"The game will always come back to you." I have heard those words repeated on numerous occasions by a wide variety of people associated with the Vanderbilt baseball program. Bedford County native son Jonathan White has written them in his journal entries for the Times-Gazette and any number of his teammates has been quoted in interviews utilizing the phrase throughout the course of the season...

Jones: Looking back at Edmondson's years (03/24/07)
Community High School announced Friday that boys' basketball coach Mike Edmondson has been relieved of his duties. Principal Robert Ralston said each program is evaluated at the end of every year and, in this instance, he felt that the boys basketball program was ready for a change of direction...

Jones: Brighter horizon awaits Community (03/06/07)
Community recently concluded their 2006 basketball season in what can only be described as a disappointing manner for both teams. Each squad suffered first round losses in the District 9-A tournament, and to make matters worse the Viqueens were defeated on their home court by archrival Eagleville...

Jones: Vandy progressing toward better times (11/24/06)
The Vanderbilt Commodores concluded their 2006 football season not with a bang, but with a whimper against a physically superior Tennessee Volunteer team that avenged last year's historic loss 39-10 last Saturday in Nashville. It was a bitterly disappointing loss for a team that had worked so hard during the year and had high hopes of surpassing last year's five-win campaign despite the loss of Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year and quarterback Jay Cutler to the NFL...

Jones: First year flew by (10/03/06)
It is hard to believe that it has been just a little over a year since I was hired by the Times-Gazette to cover sports in Bedford County. The old adage that "time flies when you are having fun" has never been more true or more appropriately stated as it applies to my experience...

Jones: Viking football program shows promise (10/27/05)
Community's junior varsity football team finished its inaugural season this week in Huntland with a closing record of 1-7-1. I realize that many reading this article may consider seven losses in nine outings to be a disappointing season, having become accustomed, maybe even spoiled by the past success of the Shelbyville and Cascade programs in recent years...