Commodore Banter (4/11)

Don't look now, but Vanderbilt grad Brandt Snedeker is tied for the lead in the second round of the Masters at 6-under. How cool is that? Follow his round here. Also check out ESPN's Jason Sobel's excellent live blog from Augusta (if you scroll down, there's a great Vandy mention).

Snedeker is writing a Masters' diary for the Tennessean.

"He reminds me of when I was 25," PGA legend Bob Watson said of Snedeker after watching the youngster shoot a first-round 69, one shot off the lead. "He hits the ball high and long, and he hits the ball a lot straighter than I did when I was 25. He's a good young man. I like his attitude and I like his manners. I certainly like his golf swing.''

That's quite the compliment, writes Joe Biddle.

Make no mistake about it, Snedeker is here to win.

There's another Vanderbilt connection at the Masters as men's golf coach Tom Shaw is caddying for Michael Thompson, his former player at Tulane. Shaw is keeping an awesome journal for VU Commodores.

In other news, the Vandy baseball team travels to Mississippi State for a three-game series this weekend. On the hill tonight is sophomore Mike Minor, now a marked man, as Brett Hait writes.

Tim Corbin is a baller, writes ESPN's Chris Low.

While it won't be easy to replace Pedro Alvarez next season, it looks like the Commodores have pretty good replacement waiting in the wings in Joe Loftus, a third baseman from Holy Angels High School in Minnesota. Check out this comment from his head coach:

"Of the 22 (home runs) he has hit, probably 17 have been at least 400 feet. It's not 'if' when he hit one, but 'how far'. He hit one at Farmington that we estimated at 500 feet. The crowd was pretty boisterous that day, but when he hit that ball the place got dead silent.''

USA Today ranks Earl Bennett as the ninth-best wide receiver in the upcoming NFL Draft.

And, in case you were wondering, there is a tornado warning here in Nashville. After being in the Georgia Dome for one back in March, it seems like these things won't leave me alone...