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HOOVER, Ala. -- People are talking about the Tennessee Volunteers as potential Southeastern Conference contenders again.After making steady progress the past three years under coach Butch Jones and bringing in three straight highly rated recruiting classes, the Vols are again regarded as legitimate contenders in the SEC Eastern Division.Many of the questions Jones and his players faced Tuesday at the leagues media days concerned dealing with hype and divisional front-runner status. Its a fairly dramatic change from a few years ago.I remember standing up here at the podium three short years ago, and the room was half filled and nobody was talking about Tennessee football, Jones said. Thats why you coach. Thats why you play, is to be in a program like the University of Tennessee where everybody is talking about you. Thats what you work for. Now its what you do with that opportunity.Tennessee hasnt won an SEC title since the 1998 national championship team. The Vols last played in the SEC title game in 2007, largely falling behind Georgia, Florida and other programs at times during that stretch.Jones has led the Vols on a climb from five wins to seven to nine during his first three years. They finished second in the East last season after blowing a fourth-quarter lead in a 28-27 loss to eventual division champion Florida.Now, quarterback Joshua Dobbs is trying to help continue the rise. Dobbs calls the hype outside noise but enjoys being part of Tennessees resurgence under Jones.The biggest thing it shows is just how far weve come from when guys like me, Cam (Sutton) and Jalen (Reeves-Maybin) were freshmen, Dobbs said. There wasnt much talk about Tennessee. Thats the biggest thing. Its good to see that Tennessee has definitely risen and Tennessee is back to where traditional Tennessee has been.Having an experienced quarterback in a league filled with unproven starters helps raise the expectations for Tennessee. The Vols have also got a 1,200-yard rusher in Jalen Hurd and defensive standouts like defensive end Derek Barnett and cornerback Cameron Sutton.Now, the challenge for the players is living up to the hype. So far, so good, according to Jones.They have not looked up, he said. They have not blinked, and theyve just been focused on their own self-determination, becoming a better football player and becoming a better football team. Thats really what you can do. wholesale jerseys china . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. cheap jerseys free shipping . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. http://www.cheapjerseysnflauthentic.com/ . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. cheap mlb jerseys china . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. cheap nfl authentic jerseys . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.Johny Hendricks believes he packs the biggest punch but the competition to regain the UFC championship has never been fiercer. The former welterweight title-holder and his lethal left fist are in the heat of the battle for the 170lbs crown - but danger lies immediately around the corner.Sky Sports exclusively asked Hendricks to assess his biggest rivals... Robbie LawlerHendricks beat Lawler by decision for the title in 2014 but a rematch was scored the other way. Hendricks isnt impressed by the current champs method of impressing judges. Lawler (left) and Hendricks shared two 25-minute fights Hendricks said: I started dissecting his game and Lawler isnt doing anything except for in the last minute or 30 seconds of each round.I was tagging him, he barely hit me compared to the amount of times I hit him. The way I moved and threw my combinations, he couldnt get an understanding of what was going on. They said new champion - ouch, what did one judge see in Robbie to win all those rounds? Johny Hendricks In our first fight he gave me some trouble but in the second I felt good. Dont get me wrong I was tired in the third, fourth, fifth rounds because of a bad weight cut. But the only way he could win was to knock me out, so why get in that battle? I stayed my ground and parried punches - maybe four or five out of 20 hit me. I knew I beat him again, one judge said 49-46 and I knew Id beaten him again. But they said new champion - ouch, what did one judge see in Robbie to win all those rounds?Robbie is also now finding out that there are guys who, however hard you hit them, are not going down so you need to hope the judges saw the fight in the same way that you did.Carlos ConditHendricks has previously beaten Condit, who then lost a controversial decision in his title fight to Lawler. Again, Hendricks wonders why Lawler was favoured. Carlos Condit (right), pictured striking Nick Diaz, has lost two world title fights Hendricks said: I understand the decision because you have to beat the champion to become the champion - but that didnt happen with me and Lawler, he didnt clearly beat me.At the end of the fourth round against Condit even [Lawlers] coaches said Robbie we need a knockout to win this fight. He went out and, if Carlos stayed away from him, maybe he would have won.The numbers speak for themselves - I out-struck Lawler two-to-one but somehow he won, Condit out-struck Lawler three-to-one but somehow he won. What are the judges looking at? UFC 195 talking points Aftermatch from Lawler v Condit Tyron WoodleyHendricks withdrew from fighting Woodley at one days notice after a botched weight cut but wont make the same mistake again if they reschedule.dddddddddddd Tyron Woodley (right) has beaten Condit and won his last two fights Hendricks said: I cant forget about the past, I use it as motivation. I was expecting a guy that would try to explode and try to finish me quickly because thats the only way he could win that fight.But no, its not a dangerous first round for me, because guess what? As hard as he hits, I might hit harder! Thats the beauty of it. Some of these fighters do this, some of them do that. But in my back pocket, I always have the ability to hit harder. I am the hardest hitter in the welterweight division.My new strength and conditioning coach is a strongman ranked eighth in the world and Im building up my muscles to hit hard again. Thats the confidence I need. I have focused so much on being slick - out-striking my opponent, out-damaging them - but somehow I still lost. So guess what? Im going to step back, throw as hard as I can, hit you in the face and see if you can take it. Thats what Im getting back to doing. UFC welterweight rankings (Lawler is champion) 1 Rory MacDonald 2 Johny Hendricks 3 Tyron Woodley 4 Carlos Condit 5 Demian Maia 6 Matt Brown 7 Dong Hyun Kim 8 Stephen Thompson 9 Neil Magny 10 Tarec Saffiedine Stephen Wonderboy ThompsonHendricks is fighting the up-and-comer this weekend in Las Vegas and has a plan to deal with Thompsons unique style of kicking. Stephen Thompson (left) meets Hendricks in a five-round fight on Saturday night Hendricks said: I want three fights this year. I signed this bout agreement and havent looked back since. Stephen is a guy who is going to keep his distance, like Carlos. Hes a tall, lanky guy who will want to fight at distance to keep me at bay.But what people dont understand is how quickly I can close the distance, or how fast I can hit somebody then be out of their distance. Thats something that I have. Thats all from my wrestling, were taught to explode in then explode out, so I have those things. But I also have something that a lot of wrestlers dont - I have really good kickboxing and boxing. So when I add my explosions in and out, and my ability to see punches and parry them, it really helps me out.Stephens kicks are very different, he likes to fling them. Whenever you fight somebody like that you have to make sure you prepare in the right way. My training partner can do all those things so Im using people who can throw spinning and quick kicks. I now know what I have to do to win in Vegas. Also See: UFC More sports ' ' '