Jackson Free Press

Somebody is going to break a championship drought this year in the MLB playoffs. Every team left hasn’t won a title in 20 or more years.

The Cleveland Indians haven’t won a World Series since 1948. That is a drought of 68 years, but the Indians did reach the World Series in 1954, 1995 and 1997. Cleveland’s only other World Series win came in 1920.

In 1954, the New York Giants swept the Indians, winning the title. The Atlanta Braves won their only title during their 1990s dominance of the National League, but sputtered in the World Series against Cleveland. The Indians’ last World Series loss came in 1997 when the Florida Marlins, now the Miami Marlins, won the championship.

Cleveland dispatched the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 in the American League Championship Series and reached this year’s World Series. This is just the sixth AL pennant the Indians have won as a franchise.

Toronto’s title drought will now stretch to 24 years when next season starts. The Blue Jays won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.

Title droughts are also part of the National League Championship Series. The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied 2-2 in their best of seven series.

It now comes down to which team can win two out of three games to face Cleveland. Both the Cubs and Dodgers are currently in title droughts.

Los Angeles hasn’t won the World Series since 1988, when the team defeated the Oakland Athletics. That World Series is memorable for the Dodgers Kirk Gibson limping around the bases after hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and winning game one.

That 1988 World Series is also known for the Los Angeles pitcher Orel Hershiser’s pitching dominance. In game five of the series, Hershiser pitched a complete game that finished off the A’s for the title.

But it has been 28 years since that World Series win, and the Dodgers haven’t won or even been back to a Fall Classic. Los Angeles is looking for its 22nd NL pennant and a possible seventh World Series win.

Nearly everyone knows that Chicago hasn’t won a World Series since 1908. The Cubs only have two World Series titles won back-to-back in 1907 and 1908. That is a drought of 108 years.

And the “lovable loser” Cubs haven’t been to a World Series since 1945. That’s 71 years since they even reached the World Series.

Chicago is looking for its 17th pennant and possible third World Series win. This could be the year that everything lines up for this “cursed” franchise.

More than likely, most fans, both casual and hardcore, would love to see the Indians and the Cubs in the World Series—two tortured franchises with heart-breaking losses in the postseason that can lead to years of therapy for any fan.

Who fans will root for is interesting in and of itself. Cleveland just …

The New Orleans Saints won a game that might turn their fortunes around this season after using their rushing attack and a late defensive stand to defeat the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 30.

There will be more talk about Seattle’s failure to close out the Saints than New Orleans’ win. Many fans and sports analysts expected the Seahawks to be one of the best teams in the league and in the race to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

Most people expected New Orleans to be an offensive juggernaut again but to come up short on defense. While that script has played out at times this year, the Saints’ defense has shown growth as the season has gone along.

The Saints’ defense sparked a comeback over the San Diego Chargers to get their first win of the season and racked up stops against the Carolina Panthers in the team's second win.

On defense, New Orleans has done enough to win games since beating the Chargers, even if it didn’t always go so well on the other side of the ball. For instance, on Oct. 23, the Kansas City Chiefs used two Saints turnovers to get past New Orleans with a pick-six early and a forced fumble late. Those turnovers cost the Saints a chance at a win.

Against Seattle, the Saints ran the ball 35 times for 123 yards, and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees attempted 35 passes. It was a balanced attack for the Saints. New Orleans also saw running back Mark Ingram return a fumble for a touchdown but still end up in the doghouse since he fumbled for a second week in a row. The Saints trailed most of the game but only gave up 13 points on defense.

The Saints are now 20th in total defense instead of sitting at the complete bottom of the standings. They’re turning things around despite several key players still being out due to injuries.

This week, New Orleans travels to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Nov. 6. As the once-division rivals clash, this could be the game where the Saints reach .500, but can they keep pushing upward?

The Saints follow up the 49ers with a home game against the 6-2 Denver Broncos on Nov. 13. This will be a tough game to win but not impossible if the Superdome is truly returning to the home-field advantage that opposing teams once feared.

New Orleans finishes the season with seven winnable games: the 2-5 Carolina Panthers, the 3-4 LA Rams, the 4-4 Detroit Lions, the 3-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 3-4 Arizona Cardinals, Tampa again and the 5-3 Atlanta Falcons to end the season. That is just two teams at or above .500 at this moment for the rest of the season. There is nothing left on the schedule that should be impossible for this team to win.

There is no question whether …

The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning released the following verbatim:

More than 95 percent of jobs created during the recovery have gone to workers with at least some college education, while those with a high school diploma or less are being left behind, according to America’s Divided Recovery: College Haves and Have-Nots, a recent report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.

Understanding the crucial link between higher education and economic development, the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Development Authority have worked together for decades to leverage higher education assets to attract business and industry to Mississippi. The two entities formalized this partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Glenn McCullough Jr., Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, Dr. Douglas W. Rouse, President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and Dr. Glenn Boyce, Commissioner of Higher Education, at a Board of Trustees meeting held today in Jackson.

In collaboration with Mississippi’s eight public universities, the Board of Trustees and MDA will showcase Mississippi to companies that will create jobs and invest capital.

“Mississippi's public universities are a strategic advantage in community and economic development so MDA is pleased to formally recognize our partnership with the Institutions of Higher Learning to provide new career opportunities for Mississippians,” said MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough, Jr. "Working together, MDA and the IHL will aggressively leverage the assets we share to accelerate economic opportunity for Mississippians throughout the state.”

As outlined in the MOU, the expected outcomes include: Increased pipeline of companies to consider Mississippi for expansion and growth Increased number of corporate contacts and project leads for MDA Increased opportunities for corporate entities and Mississippi’s public universities to support one another Defined and mapped catalog of the respective economic development strengths of Mississippi’s public universities Increased business growth across the state Stabilization and growth of jobs in defined sectors

“Working together, our university system and the state’s economic development engine can build on our collective strengths for the benefit of the state,” said Dr. Glenn Boyce, Commissioner of Higher Education. “This Memorandum of Understanding better defines our roles and efforts, enabling the partnership to become a force multiplier for the state’s economy.”

Some of the planned efforts include shared marketing messages, joint outreach to strategic clients and business leaders and identifying and supporting shared legislative priorities. Each organization will designate a representative to serve as a point of contact and liaison for the effort who will support the goals of the MOU.

In addition to the MOU signing, another initiative was announced at the ceremony. This initiative is an online tool designed to help recent and soon-to-be graduates find jobs in the state, www.msgradjobs.com. Set to complete the pilot phase and begin statewide implementation soon, the site allows students to receive email alerts when jobs in their desired career tracks become available. The online tool was conceived by Mark Henry, …