Janzen Jackson

Janzen Jackson of Barbe High in Lake Charles signed with Tennessee after committing to LSU a year ago It was a very tough decision," Jackson said after choosing Tennessee at the Barbe coaches' office. "But Louisiana will always be my home When Jackson said Tennessee, two LSU fans who had found their way into the press conference suddenly left the room.

Jackson also said the loss of LSU co-defensive coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto impacted his decision. Peveto, who recruited Jackson, was let go after the Tigers' disappointing 2008 season on defense and became the head coach at Northwestern State Tennessee was not on Jackson's radar until early January when Ed Orgeron left an assistant coaching job with the New Orleans Saints to become Tennessee's defensive coordinator.

The news broke several weeks back after UT hired Ed Orgeron that the Vols would get a visit from Jackson, who was all but locked in to LSU. Also, it was leaked that they would interview Jackson’s dad for the secondary coaching position, though that never materialized. Orgeron coached with him at McNeese State back in the day. Jackson visited Knoxville, he loved it and he made his pledge to UT this morning A day after National Signing Day, the Tennessee Vols sent shockwaves through the college football recruiting world by stealing five-star cornerback Janzen Jackson from LSU.

Barbara Mandrell

Barbara Mandrell will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year, and following her speech at the induction announcement today, I thought to myself, “Wow, she must have had an incredible work ethic.” At the age of 11, she was playing steel guitar in the Las Vegas showrooms. One night she discovered that her steel bar was missing and calmly asked the audience for a drinking glass.

Mandrell is no stranger to the stage, following a successful NBC variety show in the early 1980s and huge country hits like “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed” and “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.” As soon as she stepped to the podium at Wednesday’s (Feb. 4) press conference, she emotionally thanked God, noting, “He orchestrates our journeys if we let him.” Later, she emphasized the team effort behind her career, including musicians, producers and sound engineers, as well as the press.

she wasn’t considered under the age limit in such establishments. And in the summers away from high school, they’d go to Vietnam to play for the troops. Mandrell also recalled that her father bought a tour bus for the family when she was just 21 and that he always invested money back into the show. Certainly, the investment paid off she graciously pointed out Rose Lee Maphis, a West Coast country singer from the 1950s who, with husband Joe Maphis, gave Mandrell her first job.

Jason Belmonte

Jason Belmonte, bowling in a tournament here this week, could well reach new audiences for a sport many younger Americans associate with "The Big Lebowski" and beer bellies He has quite a novel delivery. Rather than use one hand, he shovels it forward with both from the right side of his body as he slides to a stop at the lane's foul line.

The ball can top 600 revolutions per minute, up to 17% more rotation than the nearest elite one-armed competitor and twice what some other top pros generate. Ideally, the approach sends the ball flirting with the right edge of the lane before hooking sharply into the center and creating an explosion of pins. "When he hits the pocket, it's curtains," says John Jowdy, a coach since 1948. "The ball is very destructive."

Mr. Belmonte is the best-known practitioner of a style that's actually gaining converts. "We're only three or four in the world, and we're bowling so well. Imagine if there were 50 of us," he says. He occasionally competes with fellow two-hander Osku Palermaa, a Finnish pro, on the European circuit. In 2006, Ohioan Chaz Dennis became the youngest player to roll a perfect 300 game at the age of 10 using the technique, and the entire Bolivian national team adopted it last year.