Jackson Free Press

Before the start of this NFL season, the New Orleans Saints are celebrating 50 seasons of football. The team even has a website, saints50.com, for fans to explore the last 50 years of the franchise.

One of the best parts of the website is the timeline of past seasons. Each year is shown with the team's final record, where it finished in the standings and a link to that year’s roster.

This is great to show younger Saints fans about how bad the team was in those early years. It also gives some interesting facts about each season, including first Pro Bowl player, records and retirements.

In the team’s first season in 1967, the Saints finished with a 3-11 record. It wasn’t until 1979 that the team finished with its first .500 season, going 8-8. Tom Benson bought the team in 1985 for $70.204 million.

New Orleans finally had its first winning season in 1987 when the team went 12-3 under Jim Mora in his second season with the club. The Saints posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time with a winning season in 1988.

Of course, the 2000 season brought the team its first playoff win. Every Saints fan remembers the 2009 season for the Super Bowl win, another first in franchise history.

There is plenty to explore in the timeline, with some great moments in team history to relive or discover for the first time. It is interesting to see the players who were signed or drafted and the coaching changes throughout the years.

The timeline isn’t the only thing to explore on the website.

There is #Saints50 page with social media mentions for the upcoming 50th season. Posts from Facebook, Twitter and more are on a single page for fans to explore.

Fans can build their own Saints Rushmore of greatest players and coaches. They can be uploaded to the site to be shared with other fans.

A big sports debate is who are the best players and coaches for each team, and it is interesting to see other fans take on a topic that has no right answer. Fans can see rushmores from Twitter and Instagram.

Finally fans of all ages can relive the greatest plays in team history. Plays from 1967, when the team played at Tulane Stadium, to plays from the 2015 season are featured.

You can hover over a play and see a gif or play the entire play on the NewOrleansSaints.com website. Either way, it is a great way to spend a slow day at work or when nothing is worth watching at home.

It is a great way for fans to get ready for the upcoming season. Go check the site out even if you are not a Saints fan but love sports history.

Forest Thigpen, president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed on July 11 by the Southern Poverty Law Center that alleges the state's charter school law violates the state's constitution by enabling ad valorem taxes to cross district lines, leaving the district they were meant to support:

Charter schools are public schools, and since they charge no tuition, any rational person would conclude that they are "free" schools as referenced by the state constitution.

Parents are responsible for their children's education. It is immoral for the government to force parents to send their children to schools that do not meet their academic and related needs, especially when other public options are available, including charter schools.

Parents who have enough money to move to a better district or to send their children to private schools already have options. Charter schools, as demonstrated by the student population at the two schools that opened this year, primarily serve families who cannot afford either of those options.

Improving educational outcomes is one of the most important ways to lift children out of poverty, and charter schools offer that hope to parents who want a better future for their children. By pursuing this lawsuit, it appears as though the Southern Poverty Law Center wants to perpetuate, not alleviate, southern poverty.

Now that the four-day marathon that is SEC Football Media Days is underway, there are plenty of questions for every team. The media will get its chance at players and head coaches from Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi this week.

MSU players and head coach Dan Mullen will face sports reporters Tuesday, July 12. Mullen will have plenty to talk about while he is at the podium.

One of the biggest questions that he will face is how the university handled the Jeffery Simmons’ case. In case you missed it, Simmons was seen on video striking a woman who was involved in an altercation with his sister.

MSU allowed Simmons to enroll in school, but there were conditions placed on the player. The athletic program gave him a slap on the wrist with a one-game suspension.

Simmons, a five-star recruit from Noxubee County High School, will miss the game against the University of South Alabama. Mullen will have to answer questions on why the school let Simmons enroll and what steps they are taking to ensure that he doesn’t have a repeat of his behavior.

Finding the new replacement for Dak Prescott will also be a major focus.

After Mullen gets grilled about Simmons, attention at some point will turn to finding out who will be the next quarterback for the Bulldogs. Currently, it looks like Nick Fitzgerald is the leader for the top spot, but will that change between now and game one?

Mullen might get asked about new defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon and whether he will stay in the position for more than a year. MSU has hired six defensive coordinators in eight years, which is a lot of turnover for a coordinator job.

Other topics could include satellite camps and whether the Bulldogs will find their running game this season. Plenty of questions will be on MSU facing a rebuilding or down year, but expect Mullen to quash those questions.

UM Rebels coach Hugh Freeze doesn’t face the media until Thursday and probably hopes after four days, there will be some fatigue from those firing questions. Freeze is one of the few coaches that will get grilled.

The first topic he will face is the Laremy Tunsil situation. Unless you have been living under a rock, there is no way that you missed the former offensive tackle’s draft night drop.

UM is facing sanctions from the NCAA already over violations of the football program. Now, new allegations of Tunsil taking money from a coach might add to the program’s troubles. Freeze will do his best to answer questions carefully or deflect those questions. The Rebels are considered a program on the rise, but allegations of bending, if not breaking, the rules have dogged Freeze almost since his arrival in Oxford.

The Rebels will also face some law-and-order questions after defensive end Breeland Speaks and offensive guard Rod Taylor ran afoul with the law. …

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported three new cases of Zika virus in the state today, which brings the state's total cases to eight. The department said all three cases were travel related for residents from Chickasaw, Hinds and Rankin counties who recently traveled to St. Thomas, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Last week, two cases were reported from DeSoto and Madison counties, in travelers to Jamaica and Guatemala respectively. Three other travel-related cases occurred earlier this year, the department's press release states.

In 2016,four cases of West Nile Virus were reported in Hinds, Grenada, Lamar and Rankin counties. The state health department only reports laboratory-confirmed cases to the public. In 2015, Mississippi had 38 West Nile Virus cases and one death.

“At least 46 other U.S. states and territories have already reported travel-associated cases,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dobbs in a press release. “Now that school is out, we know it is a popular time for mission trips and vacations to these areas. Please be especially mindful of protecting yourself from mosquitoes while you’re abroad. Simple steps can make a big difference.”

Below is information from the state health department about Zika and necessary precautions from their press release:

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that may cause serious birth defects if contracted during pregnancy. Zika virus infection can cause a mild illness with symptoms (fever, joint pain, conjunctivitis or rash) lasting for several days to a week, but 80 percent of those infected have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Death is very rare. The MSDH strongly advises pregnant women not to travel to countries where Zika is actively being transmitted.

Zika has been seen in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands for years, but has recently been reported in approximately 30 countries, mostly in the Caribbean, Central and South America. The breed of mosquito that is spreading Zika – Aedes aegypti – has not been detected in Mississippi since the early 1990s. The MSDH is currently conducting surveillance for Aedes mosquito populations in every county in the state.

In previous years, WNV has been reported from all parts of the state. All Mississippians are potentially at risk – not just the areas where cases are reported.

Symptoms of WNV infection are often mild and may include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, a rash, muscle weakness or swollen lymph nodes. In a small number of cases, infection can result in encephalitis or meningitis, which can lead to paralysis, coma and possibly death.

The MSDH suggests the following precautions to protect yourself and your environment from mosquito-borne illnesses: · Use an EPA-registered mosquito repellent that contains DEET while you are outdoors.

· Remove all sources of standing water around your home and yard to prevent mosquito breeding.

· Wear loose, light-colored, long clothing to cover the arms and legs when outdoors.

· Avoid areas where mosquitoes are prevalent.

As the USA Track and Field Olympic Trials continue, more athletes with ties to our state have made the team. Earlier this week, the Jackson Free Press posted a story on athletes who made the team, as the track and field trials started last week.

Four more athletes either from Mississippi or with ties to our state have punched their ticket to Rio. So far, field events have been where the majority of athletes have made the team.

It seems fitting that that men’s pole vaulter Sam Kendricks punched his ticket to the Olympics on the Fourth of July. The current Army reservist, who was once a star at Oxford High School, won the event with a height of 5.91 meters, or 19 feet and 4 1/2 inches.

The second lieutenant starred at the University of Mississippi, where he was a two-time NCAA champion before becoming a professional. Cale Simmons who cleared a height of 5.65 meters, or 18 feet and 6 1/4 inches, for second and Logan Cunningham 5.60 meters, or 18 feet and 4 1/4 inches, for third will join him on the team.

Kendricks broke a meet record that Tim Mack set in 2004. Mack was on hand to root on Kendricks to break his mark.

Four years ago, Kendricks came to the trials to jump before he was scratched for jumpers who were ranked higher than him. Now, the 23-year-old is heading to the Olympics after disappointment four years ago.

In the men’s long jump, former Hinds Community College star Jeffery Henderson won the event, earning his place on the team. Henderson started at Hinds before going on to standout at Stillman College.

His jump of 8.59 meters, or 28 feet and two inches, was barely enough to take first place. Henderson will be joined in Rio with Jarrion Lawson, who jumped 8.58 meters, or 28 feet and 1 3/4 inches, for second and Marquis Dendy 8.42 meters, or 27 feet, 7 1/4 inches for third.

The Rebels will be well represented in Rio, as volunteer assistant Gwen Berry took second place in the women’s hammer throw. She just missed out on first place with a throw of 73.09 meters, or 239 feet and 9 1/2 inches.

Amber Campbell took first place in the hammer throw with a toss of 74.03 meters, or 242 feet and 10 1/2 inches, and Deanna Price took third with a throw of 73.09 meters, or 239 feet and 9 1/2 inches. None of the men threw far enough to meet the Olympic standard and must wait to see if they get an invite from the International Association of Athletics Federation, who may invite up to three athletes.

A perfect summer continues for Rebels star Raven Saunders. She already became a NCAA champion earlier this summer as a sophomore.

The 20-year-old is now heading to Rio after finishing second in the women’s shot put. Saunders made a throw of 19.24 …