October 2, 2013
Bryan Flynn
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Bryan's Rant
Saying Dumb Things in Sports
Last week, a few figures in the sports world made headlines for the things they said, which weren't good statements for the most part.
Bryan's Rant
FSU’s Big Problem
At this point in the summer, most of the college football world turns to Media Days and previews of the upcoming season. Two recent incidents at the same school left …
Bryan's Rant
SmackDowns and Tiaras
Father's Day is this Sunday, and I would be remiss if I didn't take some time to discuss my role as a stay-at-home dad. It has been the biggest challenge …
Bryan's Rant
What Is Courageous?
Last week saw much debate over what is courageous or heroic in terms of who deserves an award. The argument started when ESPN announced that Caitlyn Jenner would receive this …
Bryan's Rant
Saints Must Get Kicker Right
The quiet time of the NFL offseason means you sometimes miss stories, unless they concern another player being arrested.
Bryan's Rant
Baseball Disappointment
None of the three Southwestern Athletic Conference schools from Mississippi will go to a NCAA Regional. Texas Southern University won the SWAC baseball tournament, so the league will only get …
Bryan's Rant
Why Don’t We Honor Softball?
While college baseball may overshadow softball for some fans, it's just as competitive and filled with great players.
Bryan's Rant
Family Business
The 2015 NFL draft was big for the New Orleans Saints. The team had five of the top 80 picks in the first two days with two first-rounders, one second-rounder …
Bryan's Rant
Chasing Perfection
Just two games separate the 2014-2015 University of Kentucky Wildcats from immortality, and just three teams stand in the Wildcats' way from joining eight others who had a perfect season.
Bryan's Rant
New Orleans Fire Sale or Quick Rise Plan?
Both New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis said there would be major changes after last season's 7-9 finish.
Bryan's Rant
Another Opportunity
Free agency started Tuesday, March 10, in the NFL, and the NFL Draft, which runs from April 30 to May 2, is right around the corner.
Bryan's Rant
A Long Shot
In late January, Grant Worsley of the Worsley Group organized a football tryout and brought scouts from the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers to Smith-Wills Stadium.
Bryan's Rant
Family Business
Even before the Super Bowl, a battle that could affect the Saints' offseason began in New Orleans. Things turned extremely ugly and public after the family of Saints owner Tom …
Bryan's Rant
Winning in the Classroom
It was a great college football season for a lot of fans in Mississippi. Both Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi had seasons to remember, and Alcorn State …
Bryan's Rant
Super Mississippi Ties
Mississippi will enjoy plenty of representation in Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday. Several players on the roster played high school or college football in our state.
Bryan's Rant
Peyton Manning’s Decision
Memorable athletes have fought back age and pain like they're pushing the sun back into the sky for one last game or several legendary performances.
Bryan's Rant
College Football Bowl Thoughts
Everyone has likely heard about the dust-up between Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork and cartoonist Marshall Ramsey. Bjork got upset over Ramsey's New Year's Eve tweet: "Wonder if Bo …
Bryan's Rant
Cap Problems
The Saints will start 2015 much the way they started 2014: in salary-cap hell once again.
Bryan's Rant
Finishing Strong
Bowl games are all about motivation. Sometimes, the best team doesn't win. It's the team that is excited, and both the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University should be …
Bryan's Rant
Thoughts from the Sports World, Again
In a year of really great college football players, the Heisman voters got it right in realizing that University of Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota was the best player this …
Bryan's Rant
Time to Add Four More?
Anyone who watches the NCAA basketball-tournament selection show knows that even with 68 teams getting in the dance, some teams always scream that they should have been in as well. …
Bryan's Rant
When Special Isn’t Special Anymore
The sports gods are a fickle bunch. It seems like a lifetime ago when the Associated Press tied Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi were tied for third. …
Bryan's Rant
Egg Bowl Outlook
Rivalry games are the type of games where you can throw the record for both teams out the window. Heck, you can throw the stats out the window as well.
Bryan's Rant
No Margin for Error
Mississippi State University seemed to be in shock for the first half of last weekend's game against University of Alabama. The Bulldogs played some of their worst football of the …
Bryan's Rant
Mississippi State’s Biggest Game
For Mississippi State University, football has come full circle.
Bryan's Rant
Elimination Saturday
College football is going to give us a full slate of meaningful games this Saturday. As many as six of them could affect the playoff picture and the national-championship race. …
Bryan's Rant
High Expectations
William Shakespeare wrote in "Henry IV": "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." This quote seems to apply to Mississippi State University as the team learns to live with …
Bryan's Rant
Bad Calls and Dan Mullen
This past weekend showed me that it is becoming nearly impossible to play pass defense. For example, West Virginia upset Baylor thanks to a few bad pass interference calls. The …
Bryan's Rant
From the SEC to the NFL
Mississippi State University is the top team in the country, and there really is no argument as to why the Bulldogs should be No. 1. MSU has played one of …
Bryan's Rant
Mississippi Mania II
I felt anxious as Mississippi prepared to be front and center in the college-football world. Fans of any team in this state can tell you how many times they have …
Bryan's Rant
A Special Football Week in Mississippi
In my 36 years of life, I have never seen the college football world so squarely focused on Mississippi. Maybe it is a year for dark horses in the SEC. …
Bryan's Rant
Winning the Wrong Way
Times are changing, and the NFL is learning that the hard way with public backlash to the recent family-violence cases.
Bryan's Rant
Getting Tougher
By now everyone who has wanted to see it has seen the video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in a casino elevator. The video, released by TMZ, brought major …
Bryan's Rant
Playoff Probs
Two weeks into the college football season, the Big Ten faces an uphill climb. This past Saturday was a disaster for the conference.
Bryan's Rant
Saints Preview
Unless an unlikely team comes out of nowhere, like the 1999 St. Louis Rams, the 2014 Super Bowl has only a handful of contenders.
Bryan's Rant
Good Luck, Everyone
Over the next two weeks, all the colleges and universities start their football seasons, and I hope each team has a successful one.
Too Many Flags
Friday night's game between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans became a flag fest. It seemed like neither team could run a play without a yellow flag littering the …
The Death of Cinderella?
The NCAA Division I board of directors voted to give the Power Five conferences plus the University of Notre Dame the ability to start making their own rules in regard …
Bryan's Rant
The Evolution of UM
As the University of Mississippi has slowly pulled off its bandage of change, it banned Confederate flags, certain songs played by the school's band and ousted Colonel Reb.
What to Watch This Saints Preseason
Here are five things to keep an eye on as New Orleans builds their squad for the 2014-15 season.
Bryan's Rant
Ain’t Got a Kluwe
Finally, after what seems like the longest off-season in years, football is about to shift its focus back to what happens on the field instead of everything else in the …
Bryan's Rant
A Different Kind of Legacy
This past Friday was a day for bad sports cliches like "Return of the King" or "The Prodigal Son Returns." It was also a day for sappy videos.
Bryan's Rant
Basketball Is Our Soccer
The United States Men's National Soccer Team gave it their all in a 2-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup. While the USMNT didn't win, the team did improve.
Bryan's Rant
Support Team USA
I will watch anything to do with sports. It doesn't matter whether it's football, cricket, rugby, tennis, golf or poker. If there was a World Championship Tiddlywinks tournament, you could …
Bryan's Rant
NFL Minor League?
The NFL recently announced that they are looking into starting a minor development league, but a failure of the NFL is the inability to make one work after two failed …
Bryan's Rant
SEC’s ‘Dead Weight'
A couple of weeks ago, Orlando Sentinel sports writer Mike Bianchi wrote that the SEC should replace dead weight like Mississippi State and Ole Miss with teams such as South …
Bryan's Rant
My Hardest Job
Being a writer has nothing on being a stay-at-home dad. I didn't know what being tired at the end of day was like until I started staying home with my …
Bryan's Rant
Changes for the NBA?
The 2014 NBA Playoffs has all the makings of another classic like last year, when the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs in seven games. One big difference is …
Bryan's Rant
World Series Repeat?
Last year, we saw a great sports moment in our state: Mississippi State not only reached the College World Series but made it all the way to the championship.
Bryan's Rant
World Cup Dreams
In less than a month, 32 teams will descend on Brazil with hopes of winning the 2014 World Cup.
Bryan's Rant
Another Draft in the Can
Finally, the NFL Draft has come and gone after moving from April to May. As usual, on paper, some teams had a great draft, but others appear to have bombed …
Bryan's Rant
Around the Sports World
It hasn't been a very good couple of weeks in the sports world. Donald Sterling got most of the press, but he was not the only sports figure exhibiting racist …
Bryan's Rant
The NBA’s Big Problem
New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has a big problem, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.
Bryan's Rant
Windows Closing, Doors Opening?
A few NFL teams are in must-win mode right now. Of course, the Denver Broncos, which reached the Super Bowl last year, are a main focus with Peyton Manning getting …
Bryan's Rant
Yet Another Football Scandal
Over the weekend, Missouri star receiver Dorial Green-Beckham was kicked off the Tigers football team. Green-Beckham was accused of breaking into an 18-year-old Missouri student's apartment while looking for his …
Bryan's Rant
Once, Wrestling Beat the NFL
On Sunday night, I watched Wrestle-Mania 30 from home as 75,000 folks watched from inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Bryan's Rant
Bye Bye, College Sports
Last week, the Northwestern football players won the right to unionize when regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago, Peter Sung Ohr, ruled that players are employees, …
Bryan's Rant
My Lost Billion
Waited until the first four play-in games of the NCAA Men's Tournament were complete before filling out brackets on various websites late into the night. I felt confident that some …
Bryan's Rant
Breaking Down the Madness
Since the NCAA Tournament bracket came out at 5 p.m. Sunday, I have been studying it trying to figure out how to fill it out. I keep track of a …
Bryan's Rant
Saints Cuts
This offseason has seen the New Orleans Saints make cuts left and right, some of which were obvious—but last week, the team made cuts that were a bit of a …
Bryan's Rant
Look Beyond the Combine
Some call it the underwear Olympics because it involves guys running around in tight-fitting clothing, getting timed, measured and analyzed. The NFL Combine is the first chance to see the …
Bryan's Rant
From Sochi to Starkville
These Winter Olympics are over and were a success for Russia. The host nation finished with the most medals (33), and nearly everything went off without much of a hitch …
Bryan's Rant
Can He Play?
Unless you live under a rock or in a cave, you have heard by now about Missouri Tigers defensive star Michael Sam. Last Sunday, Sam told the world he is …
Bryan's Rant
Sports Embarrassments and Agreements
The Super Bowl proved to be a dud after the Seattle Seahawks took the Denver Broncos behind the woodshed in a 43-8 rout.
Bryan's Rant
Honoring Great Athletes
It took way too long, but it finally happened. Southern Miss and Oakland Raider punter Ray Guy is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bryan's Rant
Bryan’s Super Rant, XLVIII Style
The last time we saw the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, John Elway (now the team's executive vice president of football operations) was walking into the sunset with his …
Bryan's Rant
Recent Coaching Hires
If you haven't noticed, three recent coaching hires are shaking up area colleges and universities. Mississippi College, Belhaven and Jackson State have all made coaching changes.
Bryan's Rant
Sports-World Thoughts
Now that the holidays are over, I figured I would take some time to deliver my scattered thoughts on sports-world developments over the last few weeks.
Bryan's Rant
Run, Saints, Run
The last time the New Orleans Saints faced the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL Playoffs was historic. Seattle was the first team with a losing record to win a playoff …
Bryan's Rant
Road to the Super Bowl
The road to Super Bowl XLVIII goes through Seattle in the NFC—seems only fitting that the one-seed Seahawks are all the way across the country.
Bryan's Rant
2013 Highlight Reel
This past year has given us some memorable up-and-down sports moments, both as a state and in the greater sports world.
Bryan's Rant
Not My Heisman Vote
I didn't watch this year's Heisman Trophy presentation Saturday night. I knew who was going to win the award. It was a foregone conclusion, and I disagreed with it.
Bryan's Rant
A Night of Awards
Last week, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame awarded the Conerly Trophy and the Kent Hull award. In case you missed it, Mississippi State guard Gabe Jackson got both awards.
Bryan's Rant
Insane Endings
In honor of "The Walking Dead" mid-season finale, I've found some parallels with this past college football weekend and the insanely popular AMC show. (Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Bryan's Rant
Being Thankful
This space is normally for my ranting about the sports world, but I'd like to take some time to be serious.
Bryan's Rant
What a Year
What a difference a year makes in college football. If it was 2014, the four undefeated schools left would be a lock to be in the four-team playoff—but, as it …
Bryan's Rant
Just When I Think I’ve Heard it All
In this day and age, I think nothing in the sports world can surprise me. Then, a story like Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend comes up.
Bryan's Rant
Saving Henderson
Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson is the Johnny Manziel of SEC basketball—but unlike Manziel's harmless offseason headlines, Henderson's were more of the troubling variety.
Bryan's Rant
USM Must Move On
It has been nearly six years since Southern Miss replaced Jeff Bower as head coach for its football team. Bower had led the Golden Eagles for 17 seasons, but the …
Bryan's Rant
Should JSU Leave the SWAC?
Thanks to the SWAC, Jackson State is still undefeated this conference season. The conference decided that, since Grambling State forfeited the game over the weekend, the Tigers could claim it …
Bryan's Rant
Rice Is Alright By Me
I understand that people want the four best teams to make the new college football playoffs system next season. Nobody wants to watch a team that doesn't deserve a spot …
Bryan's Rant
Going Bowling—Maybe
College football is nearing the midway point of the season, and it seems like a good time to look at how the season has gone for Mississippi State, Ole Miss, …
Bryan's Rant
Remember the 1992 NLCS
One of the longest playoff droughts in North American sports ended last week. The Pittsburgh Pirates earned one of the two wild card berths in MLB's National League, ending the …
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