Jackson Free Press

The National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame announced the candidates for the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame class. The ballot provides a lengthy list of players and coaches at various levels of college football.

Many names on the list went on to have long and NFL Hall of Fame-worthy professional careers. Some of the players were just stars at the college level and had short or no pro careers.

There are a few names on the list that have ties to our state. It is a prestigious honor if any of those players make into the hall, considering over 5.19 million people have played college football, but only 987 players are in the hall of fame.

One athlete from our state with a great chance of making into the hall is University of Mississippi linebacker Patrick Willis. The former Rebel great was a 2006 First Team All-American, 2006 Butkus Award winner, 2006 SEC Player of the Year and two-time First Team All-SEC. Willis went on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and was a star in the NFL. He abruptly retired after the 2014 season, thinking of his long-term health.

Four players from Mississippi Valley State University landed on the ballot. Younger fans will likely know former defensive back Ashley Ambrose the best. He was First Team All-American, First Team All-SWAC, and SWAC Defensive Back and Return Specialist in 1991. He went on to play in the NFL for several teams, including the New Orleans Saints.

Vincent Brown played linebacker for the Delta Devils, was a 1987 First Team All-American and led the nation in tackles in 1986 and 1987. He set an NCAA record at all levels for tackles with 570 and went on to have a successful career with the New England Patriots.

Former MVSU quarterback Parnell Dickerson was First Team All-American and Pittsburgh Courier National Player of the Year in 1975. He was a three-time All-SWAC selection and was the conference's all-time leader in total offense by the end of his college career. Dickerson played one season in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The final Delta Devil to make the list is former wide receiver Bob Gaddis. He was a 1974 First Team All-American and Pittsburgh Courier National Player of the Year. He was the NAIA 1970 Freshman of the Year. He played in the NFL and CFL during his professional career.

One coach to make the ballot has ties to our state. Head coach Billy Jack Murphy has the most wins in school history at the University of Memphis, which was called Memphis State University during his tenure. He took Memphis to its first bowl game, earned the title of Detroit News’ 1963 Coach of the Year, led the Tigers to an undefeated season in 1963 and was the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year multiple times.

Murphy played his college football at Mississippi State University. He …

There have been a few trilogies in sports over the centuries, but they are rare. Many people know that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson meet in three NBA Finals but not three straight finals.

This year’s NBA Finals is historic, as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers are meeting for the third straight year on June 1.

Golden State won the first meeting in 2015 in six games, as Cleveland’s Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were both out with injuries. LeBron James pushed the series as far as he could on his own, but he lost his fourth NBA Finals.

Cleveland had its revenge in 2016 when James won his third NBA Finals after erasing the Warriors’ 3-1 lead, winning in seven games. In back-to-back finals, James willed his team to win, making him as close to Michael Jordan as he ever has been in his career.

At some point James might pass Jordan in the eyes of the fans, but more than likely he will stay behind His Airness. Of course, his last two final appearances have made everyone forget about “The Decision” to join the Miami Heat. LeBron’s play in the 2015 and 2016 finals were truly legendary.

Now, The King faces Golden State again, but this time the Warriors have added Kevin Durant to its stacked roster of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Cleveland isn’t star poor with James, Love and Irving.

Golden State still hasn’t lost in these playoffs, as they have mostly crushed their opponents in three straight sweeps. The Warriors are the first team to enter the NBA Finals without a loss in the first three rounds.

Cleveland isn’t too shabby, with a 12-1 record heading into the finals. The lone loss was in the Eastern Conference Finals. James is playing in his seventh straight NBA Finals and eighth overall.

Golden State is a big favorite to win this finals matchup, and LeBron hasn’t been this big of an underdog since his first finals appearance against the San Antonio Spurs in 2007. In that series, San Antonio swept James and the Cavaliers.

If the Warriors can accomplish the sweep, they will be looking to pull off a perfect 16-0 playoff record. It seems highly unlikely that James would let himself get swept in a final again this late in his career.

It would be shocking if he couldn’t find some way to win at least one game if not two games. But there is some motivation for the Warriors to sweep James: He did ruin their historic 73-win season in 2016 when he denied Golden State the title.

As fans we can only hope for the seven-game thriller we received last year. Cleveland will try to play lockdown defense as Golden State bombs away three point shots as it runs and guns.

The Warriors look to be on a mission, and it …

College football is less than 100 days from kickoff at the Division I level. As we head into June, it won’t be long before teams in the FBS and FCS begin practicing for season openers.

This year’s opening weekend doesn’t have quite the same jam-packed schedule as last season, but it isn’t terrible. There will be plenty of juicy matchups for fans to feast on.

Before looking at games from across the country, let’s look at those involving teams from our state on the first weekend of the season.

Jackson State University will hit the road to face a tough test in Texas Christian University. The Tigers will have to find away to slow down TCU’s high-powered offense. A JSU upset would be one of the biggest early-season stories.

Alcorn State University will have a much easier opening game against Miles College out of Division II. This game will start the Braves’ quest to play in a fourth straight SWAC Championship Game.

Mississippi Valley State University will go on the road to face one of the top teams at the FCS level, North Dakota State University. The Delta Devils will face a major test in week one, as the Bison have been racking up national titles lately.

The University of Mississippi Rebels will open the season knowing two things: They aren’t going to a bowl game, and their first foe has won at an SEC school before. The University of South Alabama pulled off a major upset against Mississippi State University last season. Things in Oxford would go from bad to worse in football if the Jaguars can trip up the Rebels.

Mississippi State opens the season against FCS foe Charleston Southern University. If the Bulldogs are going to prove that they are better than the 2016 team, they need to put this game away quickly.

One of the best opening-weekend games last season was the University of Kentucky hosting the University of Southern Mississippi. The Wildcats jumped out to a huge lead before the Golden Eagles stormed back for the victory. This year, the game is in Hattiesburg, and for neutral fans, a copy of the 2016 game would be a treat.

There are also some games that won’t involve teams from our state that should be enjoyable viewing. These games are in no particular order.

The University of Texas will host the University of Maryland in a Big 12-Big Ten matchup. This game means more to the Longhorns, who want to get back to being national-title contenders.

My opening-weekend bet for an FCS member to upset an FBS member is Eastern Washington University over Texas Tech University. If only this game were being played on the red field of Eastern Washington, all the black and red wore by both teams would murder the eyes.

Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Lamar Jackson, will begin his bid to become the second man to win the award twice …

At one time, it seemed like as many as four baseball teams from our state might end up in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. That’s not how things worked out in the end.

Mississippi Valley State University failed to make the SWAC Baseball Tournament, and their year ended after the regular season. Both Jackson State University and Alcorn State University made the tournament but couldn’t win the title and the conference’s lone bid.

The University of Mississippi made the SEC Baseball Tournament but lost a single-elimination game to Auburn University. That ended up holding the Rebels, who were seeded ninth, back from the NCAA Tournament since the Tigers were seeded eighth, and the top eight seeds from the SEC made the NCAA Tournament.

It is possible that the Rebels might have been in the field if they beaten Auburn. Upsets, such as Rice University winning the Conference USA Tournament and Brigham Young University winning the West Coast Conference Tournament, didn’t help UM’s chances, though.

The Rebels are missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.

Late Sunday, May 28, the NCAA announced that the University of Southern Mississippi would be one of the 16 regional host sites. That assured the Golden Eagles that they were in the tournament and hosting a regional for the first time since 2003.

USM scored a school-record 48 wins so far this season and won the C-USA regular-season title. In the conference tournament, Southern Miss made the championship game but came up short against Rice. The Golden Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the regional.

On Monday, May 29, the NCAA announced the full 64-team field, with Mississippi State University also playing in the Hattiesburg Regional. The Bulldogs are making their 36th NCAA Baseball Tournament appearance.

MSU is the No. 2 seed in the regional and received an at-large bid into the tournament. The Bulldogs will open the regional against the No. 3-seed University of South Alabama, which earned an automatic bid by winning the Sun Belt Tournament.

South Alabama lost two of three games to MSU during the regular season but won the last meeting 5-2. This is the second meeting between the teams in a NCAA regional; the Bulldogs got the win in the only other meeting.

Meanwhile, USM will open regional play against the No. 4-seed University of Illinois-Chicago. The Golden Eagles didn’t meet the Flames in the regular season. UIC earned an automatic bid into the tournament by winning the Horizon League Tournament.

The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles clashed in the regular season at Trustmark Park, with USM coming out on top 7-5. The two schools played once in a 2011 regional, which the Bulldogs won 3-0.

MSU hasn’t faced UCI in program history. USM defeated South Alabama twice in the regular season this year and won …