Vanderbilt capitalized on great performances from quarterback Chris Nickson and defensive back D.J. Moore to defeat Miami of Ohio 34-13 last night. Anyone who roots for the Commodores, who were an underdog by as much as four points coming into the game, had to breathe a sigh of relief to see Vanderbilt notch a road win to open the season. Coach Bobby Johnson agreed:

It feels great to come away with a win. I felt like we had a few mistakes but they were all first game mistakes and I think we can fix them and move forward.

Though its overall talent level has vastly improved in seven seasons under Coach Johnson, as usual Vanderbilt’s margin of error is razor thin. With games against South Carolina, Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Wake Forest on the schedule, the Commodores can’t afford to squander any opportunities to register in the win column. Thank goodness they did last night. Go Dores!

The Indy Racing League’s abrupt departure from Nashville, despite attendance success, was a significant loss for the city. It may not have the impact that (God forbid) losing the NFL or even the NHL might have on the city’s image, but it subtracts one viable option on the local sports scene and reduces national exposure for Nashville.

Last year, the Sporting News ranked Nashville No. 16 among the “Best Sports Cities in the U.S.” — immediately behind Atlanta and Miami and immediately ahead of Oakland and San Diego. It is telling that the teams and events that have folded or left town fall under the general heading of “niche” sports. Women’s pro golf, the Arena Football League and IndyCar racing are not exactly in the sports mainstream.

“Open-wheel fans and racing fans in general are disappointed that we won’t have the race next year,” Hawks said. “I loved having IndyCar, but it’s questionable that the general population considers this a major negative to our marketplace.” Beyond that, the loss of the Firestone Indy 200 is an example that you can do everything right and still lose an event. Some things are beyond the control of the community. Officials at the IndyCar Racing League pulled the plug on the Nashville race even though the event had been well attended in its eight-year history.

In my opinion, Nashville needs to do what it can (or already has) to keep the Titans, Preds and Sounds in town. Other sports with a local presence have little influence on the city’s image.

While the subject of “niche” sports has been raised, for me at least, the sooner the Nashville Broncs are put out to pasture, the better. There is plenty of quality basketball played in this city by area colleges. The last addition we need for the local sports landscape is an encore from a league that didn’t fare too well (and caused plenty of embarrassment) in its initial appearance.

Remember Pete Mitchell? You probably know him better as Maverick, the cocky, risk-taking fighter pilot in Top Gun. The same advice that Maverick received from Stinger, his commanding officer on the aircraft carrier where he served, certainly applies to Vanderbilt football.

And let’s not bullshit, Maverick. Your family name ain’t the best in the Navy. You need to be doing it better and cleaner than the other guy.

Replace “Maverick” with “Commodores” and “Navy” with “college football,” and the translation is nearly perfect. It may take a herculean effort just to get the Dores to six or seven wins, but it will be well worth it when it happens.

It’s been said that hope springs eternal, at least in August, for the Vanderbilt football program, but those hopes are nearly often dashed by October. I can say that because I’m as eager as the next Vanderbilt fan to see the Commodores end their 26-year bowl and winning season drought. Here’s some hope that good things lie ahead, though perhaps not just yet:

Not often do national analysts dish out praise to Vanderbilt’s football recruiting efforts, but things are different this year. Six of VU’s 10 verbal commitments for the signing class of 2009 are rated as three-star prospects by Rivals.com. That might not be newsworthy at LSU or Florida, but it’s a sign that coach Bobby Johnson and his staff are constantly increasing Vanderbilt’s pool of talent…

“Vanderbilt is doing a fantastic job so far with its 2009 class,” Rivals.com analyst Barton Simmons said. “They’ve done a great job at identifying talent early, getting in on them early and then beating out some other major programs for top-end prospects. Vandy is just about where they want to be at this point in the process, and the commit list is full of very strong, SEC-caliber talent.”

Football success, if it arrives, will never be an easy accomplishment at Vanderbilt. The Commodores are going to have to outwork their rivals at recruiting and outperform on the field with fewer SEC-caliber players than their conference opponents. Coach Johnson definitely gets this, in my opinion, and I think he’s about as good anyone Vanderbilt could put in the job to keep the football program headed in the right direction. It’s easy to feel frustration since disappointment is so common at Dudley Field, but there are still signs that a turnaround may not be that far away. Go Dores!

Five years ago today, another salvo was fired in the battle for Nashville’s sports talk airwaves:

However, on August 11, 2003, just hours before [George Plaster] was to debut on WGFX, Cumulus (with assistance from Gaylord) was granted an injunction in Davidson County Chancery Court, preventing Plaster from appearing on his new show. Cumulus had sought to quash Plaster’s new contract, citing a non-compete clause in his original WWTN contract. Plaster was under the assumption the clause had been voided along with the contract, which had been signed by Gaylord Entertainment, not Cumulus. Cumulus then filed a breach of contract suit against Plaster, and he reacted with a countersuit alleging that Cumulus was illegally hampering his ability to make a living.

Willy Daunic and Darren McFarland, who both also made the move to WGFX (though without legal consequence since neither was under contract to WWTN), took to the air in Plaster’s place and continued that way for two full months. On October 11, the case was settled without trial, and Plaster received an undisclosed sum of money from Cumulus and Gaylord. He was also allowed to join his co-hosts on WGFX, where he continues to broadcast to this day.

It was one of the final blows in a drama that unfolded publicly for more than six months, as chronicled to some extent by the Nashville Scene and the City Paper. The Scene’s words in February 2003 turned out to be prophetic, though the paper predicted that Plaster would end up at WLAC-AM rather than his eventual destination at WGFX:

[B]y now, it’s pretty clear that SportsNight will never be the same. The odds of Plaster, Biddle and Fulton ever sharing a mic again are virtually nil. A couple of possibilities do remain: Plaster gets his own show some other time during the day, or perhaps he and his former co-hosts will split shifts on SportsNight—sort of a radio platoon system. Or maybe he’ll just leave altogether … [I]n radio, as in sports, contracts are often made to be broken, especially when egos are bruised, relationships are severed and somebody puts enough cash on the table to make somebody else happy. The first two of these have already happened. The last may not be far behind.

The end wasn’t far behind (only six months later). It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since, but it’s pretty clear now who the winners and losers were in this sad scenario.

• Winners: Plaster, Daunic and MacFarland, along with Kevin Ingram. Plaster lost plenty of ground–and air time–in the short term, but he remains the number-one local sports broadcaster today (relevant item at bottom of page) and the second highest-rated Nashville talk show host regardless of format. The rest of George’s crew–nice guys all–landed in higher profile spots and out from underneath the long shadows cast by Biddle and Fulton.
• Draw: Biddle. Biddle continues to write his prominently featured columns for The Tennessean, but he’s struggled to regain radio success.
• Loser: Fulton. Fulton has since relocated to Orlando. According to his LinkedIn profile, he works for Fox Cable Sports as a sales account executive.

Now that the dust has long since settled–at least on the air–local sports radio listeners can hopefully look forward to less drama from the broadcast booth and more drama on the playing surfaces of the sports Nashville’s stations cover. Here’s hoping it’s a long time before another sports radio shootout like this one rears its ugly head.

J.P. Dumont continues to stand out as an excellent signing for the Preds. He’s highly skilled, he’s loyal and he understands the fan base.

“[Alexander Radulov] will have a lot of things to explain, not just to the players, but to the fans,” Dumont said. “I have been around all summer long and I have been crushed with questions about Radulov. “I don’t know what to answer back. One thing I love about Nashville is people are proud of their teams and their city. It has been a slap in the face for our fans. But we don’t know the full story and until we do it is going to be hard to comment on it.”

If Radulov does cross back over to the Western Hemisphere anytime in the foreseeable future, I hope he spends as much time as possible with Dumont. I hope Coach Trotz makes them roommates. We need more players like Dumont, who are stars on the ice and class acts outside the rink, but what NHL team doesn’t?

The Preds (2-3) will try to reach .500 for the first time this season tonight when they visit the New York Rangers (3-3). The irony has not been lost on me that Nashville’s 0-3 start is their worst-ever at the outset of what many have anticipated will be their best season yet. It’s amazing to think that this talented roster began with three losses (two against Chicago, no less) when far-less skilled squads managed at least one win in the same number of games.

Tonight may be a tough test for the Preds to level out their record. The Rangers lead the Atlantic Division, though their record is only average, and they have been playing well of late. They’ve been doing what the Preds have not: penalty killing and playing sharp defense. That’s a good combination with a roster loaded with scoring talent.

Nashville has looked sharper on defense at full strength and shorthanded during its modest two-game winning streak, but it still has the worst penalty kill percentage (61.9) in the entire league. It is early, but that has to change soon, and tonight would be the ideal time. We’ll see.