Jackson Free Press

Earlier today, the coaches and players were announced for the Mississippi roster of the 28th Annual Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game. The Mississippi Association of Coaches made the announcement.

The game will be played on Saturday, December 13th in Montgomery, Alabama. The game will be televised on WLBT.

Local metro coach, managers, and players are in bold.

Team Mississippi

Head Coach

Jamie Mitchell (Starkville)

Assistant Coaches

Toby Collums (Itawamba)

Chad Cook (Ripley)

Trent Hammond (Tupelo)

Lance Mancuso (Bassfield)

John Perry (Pearl)

Tony Vance (Hattiesburg)

Scout Coach

Jeff Breland (Lake)

Roster

Armani Linton (Walnut) - DB

Cameron Myers (Oak Grove) - DB

Chris Stamps (Warren Central) - DB

Ephrain Kitchen (South Panola) - DB

Jarvis Wilson (Tupelo) - DB

Richaud Floyd (Gulfport) - DB

Fletcher Adams (Brandon) - DL

Jauan Collins (Pascagoula) - DL

Marshean Joseph (Pascagoula) - DL

D.J. Henderson (Clinton) - DL

Keontye Garner (Murrah) - DL

Michael Godley (Starkville) - K

Fred Walls (Olive Branch) - LB

Joseph Dillon (Tylertown) - LB

Jamal Peters (Bassfield) - LB

Justin Clifton (Tupelo) - LB

Johnathan Abram (East Marion) - LB

Tijan Jallow (Olive Branch) - LB

Leo Lewis (Brookhaven) - LB

Tommy Champion (Callaway) - OL

Jordan Bradford (St. Stanislaus) - OL

Jarien Barksdale (South Panola) - OL

Thad Roberts (Petal) - OL

Ryan Gibson (St. Stanislaus) - OL

Rishard Cook (Hattiesburg) - OL

Javon Patterson (Petal) - OL

Drake Dorbeck (St. Aloysius) - OL

Marquez Griffin (Lake Central) - OL

Austin Riley (DeSoto Central) - P

Brady Davis (Starkville) - QB

J'mar Smith (Meridian) - QB

Darrell Henderson (South Panola) - RB

Ladarious Galloway (Gentry) - RB

Jordan Wright (Pearl) - RB

Terrance Davis (Southaven) - WR

Keenan Barnes (Madison Central) - WR

Willie Hibbler (North Panola) - WR

Malik Dear (Murrah) - WR

Trey Smith (Madison Central) - WR

Raphael Leonard (Starkville) - WR

Managers

Dylan McCollom (South Panola)

Daniel Baxter (Brandon)

Former Mississippi State Athletic Director Scott Stricklin recently left the program to take the same position at the University of Florida. But MSU didn’t have to look to far to find its new athletic director: The university gave current head baseball coach John Cohen for the job.

Cohen is the 17th athletic director in Mississippi State history. He is a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, once at the University of Kentucky and once at MSU, for his work as the baseball coach.

MSU hired Cohen as head baseball coach in 2009, and since then, the team has won 284 games. He has seen 135 Bulldogs get selected in the MLB Draft. Two of his assistants, Nick Mingione and Butch Thompson, have become head coaches at the University of Kentucky and Auburn University.

In his eight years leading the MSU program, Cohen built a 284-203-1 record. Last season, he led the Bulldogs to a 44-18-1 record, and MSU went from worst to first after the program posted a 24-30 season the previous year.

The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native played at MSU and was a part of the Bulldogs’ 1989 SEC Championship team and 1990 College World Series team. He graduated from the University with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1990.

Cohen received a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Missouri in 1994. He spent six seasons as a graduate assistant and coach with the Tigers before taking the head coaching job at Northwestern State University from 1998 to 2001.

While at Northwestern State, Cohen built a 146-84 record before becoming an assistant coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2003. He left Florida to take over at the University of Kentucky.

Cohen finished his time with the Wildcats with a 175-112-1 record from 2004 to 2008.

During his time and MSU and Kentucky, he led seven teams to NCAA Regionals.

In 2013 Cohen led the Bulldogs to one of the best seasons in MSU history with a 51-20 record, and the Bulldogs reached the College World Series finals before falling to the University of California at Los Angeles.

Cohen has been a coach in the SEC for 13 seasons and has coached in the conference for 15 years overall. In July, he was named associate athletic director, along with his duties as head baseball coach.

While head coach at MSU, Cohen has helped the athletic program raise funds to upgrade Dudy Noble Field. The upgrades make the baseball stadium one of the best in the country.

Lake Charles, La.’s American Press newspaper has reported that current LSU assistant coach Andy Cannizaro is the new head baseball coach at MSU. Cannizaro joined the LSU coaching staff in 2014, when he began his coaching career.

Cohen is the third former coach to become athletic director at a SEC school. He joins Skip Berkman, the athletic director at LSU, and Ray …

Finding ways to develop talent is one of the most important aspects of running a winning team. The teams that are better at discovering and building up young players are normally the best in their leagues.

Major league baseball uses the minor league to do that through the farm system, which gives players a place to get game experience as they hone their craft.

In basketball, the NBA began the D-League, or Developmental League, in the 2001-2002 season. It will be called the NBA Gatorade League, or NBA G-League, starting next season.

The D-League currently has 22 teams, all of which are affiliated with a single NBA team. That pro team either fully owns and operates its D-League outfit, or the developing team has a hybrid ownership in which the an NBA team funds and manages it, but local ownership controls business and manages community relations.

The Memphis Grizzlies purchased an expansion franchise in January that is set to begin play next season in Southaven, Miss. Memphis is one of five teams that has launched an expansion team or bought an existing D-League team.

On Friday, March 31, the New Orleans Pelicans announced their intentions to start an expansion team, as well. Pelicans owner Tom Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints, will own and operate the D-League team, which will begin play in the 2018-2019 season.

New Orleans sent a Request for Proposal, or RFP, to 11 Gulf Coast-region cities, which the Pelicans and the NBA selected based on market research.

Of those 11 cities, seven are based in Louisiana (Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, Shreveport and St. Tammany Parish), two are in Mississippi (Biloxi and Jackson), one is in Alabama (Mobile), and one is in Florida (Pensacola).

New Orleans starting a D-League team means it can call up players from that team and get them players on the same day. Players will learn the same plays that the Pelicans use, as well, meaning that they won’t have to learn a new playbook when they are called up.

The Pelicans can use its D-League affiliate to develop draft picks that need more playing time before joining the NBA team. It also allows the team to expand its fan base outside of New Orleans.

Jackson makes perfect sense for a team looking to widen its reach. New Orleans Saints fans are numerous around the capital city, but there doesn’t seem to be one NBA team that a majority of Jacksonians root for each season.

New Orleans can build a fan base in Jackson that will be as loyal to the Pelicans as it is to the Saints. Fans in Central Mississippi never stopped loving the Saints no matter how terrible the team happened to be during the season. These same fans could be just as loyal to the Pelicans.

This weekend happened to be historic for the University of Mississippi softball team and the SEC itself. No one expected to the Rebels to be in the May 13 championship game of the 2017 SEC Tournament.

UM entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and started things off by taking out the team’s main rival, No. 9 seed Mississippi State University, 2-1 on the opening day. The Rebels shocked the nation when they knocked off No. 1 seed and top-ranked University of Florida 2-0 and became one of the final four teams standing.

Even the weather couldn’t slow down the No. 19th-ranked Rebels after the May 12 semifinals experienced a rain delay. Both the semifinals and the championship game were moved to Saturday.

In the semifinals, UM took down No. 5 seed and 15th-ranked University of Alabama 4-1, advancing to the title game. There was no stopping the Rebels as they defeated No. 6 seed and 21st-ranked Louisiana State University 5-1 and took the crown.

This is the first SEC Softball Tournament Championship in program history for the Rebels. While hot bats were part of the story, UM pitcher Kaitlin Lee was the star, as she pitched all 28 innings that the Rebels played.

Lee is the first pitcher to take the mound for every inning in the SEC Tournament since Alabama pitcher Kelsi Dunne accomplished the feat over just 19 innings in 2010. The Rebels played in four games this year, while Alabama played in just three games in 2010.

The SEC Conference made history on Sunday, May 14, as the entire 13-team league earned a bid into the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. Vanderbilt University not fielding a softball team is the reason only 13 teams reached the tournament.

Half of the 16 national seeds are from the conference, with Florida earning the No. 1 overall seed. Auburn University is the No. 7 seed, the University of Tennessee is No. 8, Texas A&M University is No. 9, Mississippi is No. 12, the University of Kentucky is No. 14, and Alabama is No. 16.

MSU landed in the Salt Lake City Regional with No. 11 seed University of Utah. The Bulldogs open regional play against Brigham Young University on May 18.

The University of South Carolina is in the Tucson Regional with No. 2 seed University of Arizona. In the Norman Regional, the University of Arkansas will visit No. 10 seed University of Oklahoma.

Another tough draw for the SEC is the fact that the University of Missouri is heading west to in the Eugene Regional, which No. 3 seed University of Oregon is hosting. The University of Georgia rounds out the SEC teams in the field as it heads to the Tallahassee Regional with No. 4 seed Florida State University.

This isn’t the first time that a conference got every one of its teams into the NCAA tournament. The Pac-12 …

The SEC placed six teams in the NCAA Baseball Super Regionals, but only three reached the College World Series. Two teams from the ACC made it out of the Super Regionals to the CWS, and one team from the Big 12, Pac-12 and Big West conferences are in the CWS.

Louisiana State University took out fellow SEC West member Mississippi State University. The Tigers barely got by the Bulldogs in game one 4-3 but won 14-4 in game two and advanced.

The University of Florida needed three games to get past Wake Forest University. Weather delays plagued this series, as the Gators won game one 2-1, the Demon Deacons took game two 8-6, and UF won game three 3-0 and moved on.

Texas A&M University played two games against Davidson College and advanced. The Aggies took game one 7-6 and outlasted the Wildcats 12-6 in game two.

Oregon State University swept Vanderbilt University in the Super Regional. The Beavers won 8-4 in game one and 9-2 in game two, getting past the Commodores.

The University of Louisville battled past in-state rival University of Kentucky and reached the CWS. The Cardinals took game one 5-2 and game two 6-2, sweeping the Wildcats out of the tournament.

Florida State University slipped past Sam Houston State University in game one, scoring 7-6. The Seminoles had no trouble in game two, winning 19-0 over the Bearkats and reaching the CWS.

California State University, Long Beach and California State University, Fullerton need all three games to decide their Super Regional. The 49ers of Long Beach took game one 3-0, but the Titans won game two 12-0 and game three 2-1 and advanced.

Texas Christian University swept past Missouri State University, reaching the CWS. The Horned Frogs nipped the Bears in game one 3-2 but won in an 8-1 blowout in game two, finishing the sweep.

Top national seed Oregon State opens the tournament against CSU Fullerton on Saturday, June 17, at 2 p.m. on ESPN. LSU is the No. 4 national seed and takes on FSU on June 17 in game two at 7 p.m.

Louisville is the No. 7 national seed and will open day two of the CWS on Sunday, June 18, at 1 p.m. against Texas A&M. The second game on day two features No. 3 national seed Florida against No. 6 national seed TCU at 6 p.m. on June 18.

The first elimination game will be played on Monday, June 19, at 1 p.m. on ESPN against the losers of the OSU-Fullerton and LSU-FSU from games one and two. The winners between the Beavers versus Titans game and Tigers versus Seminoles game face off on June 19 at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

Game three and four losers between Louisville-Texas A&M and Florida-TCU will try to stay alive on Tuesday, June 20, at 1 p.m. on ESPN. The winners between the Cardinals-Aggies and Gators-Horned Frogs take the …

Day two of the NFL Combine was the longest, as the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends hit the field. The quarterbacks and wide receivers broke into two groups, so I’ll give my thoughts on group one and then group two.

Group one showed why this is a weak quarterback class. None of the quarterbacks were terrible, but they all had flaws. This group might be good if it gets a chance to develop and not start right away. It was surprising to see Trevor Knight out of the Texas A&M University was the fastest quarterback in group one with a 4.5-second 40-yard dash.

Many wide receivers in group one, on the other hand, ran fast times. There were several 4.42-second 40-yard dashes.

In that first group was former University of Mississippi wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo, who ran it in 4.2 seconds. The former Rebel did nothing to hurt his draft stock, making good catches and running with great speed. If anything, Adeboyejo should have helped himself with his work at the Combine. All he has to do is replicate his performance at the Rebels’ Pro Day.

Group two featured what many believe are the top two quarterbacks in this draft, Deshaun Watson out of Clemson University and Mitchell Trubisky out of the University of North Carolina. Watson and Trubisky couldn’t beat the time that Knight ran in group one.

During the on-the-field drills, Watson, Trubisky and Texas Tech University’s Patrick Mahomes looked like the top three quarterback in this draft. None seemed to be first-round picks, but all three could end up being drafted quickly regardless. If teams draft them too high, it will be interesting to see how those players’ careers turn out.

The wide receivers in group two might have been faster overall than the receivers in group one. Two surprises in group two is that Speedy Noil out of Texas A&M and Mike Williams out of Clemson didn’t run the 40-yard dash.

Social media was abuzz when University of Washington wide receiver John Ross ran a 4.22-second 40-yard dash, though he got cramps and didn’t run his second dash or take part in the on-the-field drills. If Al Davis was still alive, the Raiders would likely have taken a chance on Ross.

Fred Ross out of Mississippi State University didn’t do anything to hurt himself, but he didn’t move up either. He ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, which wasn’t bad but was middle of the pack.

Overall, this looks like a deep class for wide receivers. There are going to be plenty of good receivers on all three days of the draft. There are plenty of positions in this draft with no clear top three to four players, but the position groups as a whole are deep.

The final group of the day was the tight ends. Most thought this would be a deep class for tight ends, and it didn’t disappoint. Most of the tight ends …

The University of Mississippi is the highest ranked two-loss team in the nation in both polls. The team is No. 12 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 13 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.

Florida State, ranked No. 14 in the AP and No. 16 in the Coaches, is the next two-loss team in the rankings. The University of Oklahoma, the third best two-loss team, is ranked No. 19 in the AP and No. 20 in Coaches.

The Rebels’ road opponent this weekend, the University of Arkansas, is the last two-loss team ranked in both polls. The Razorbacks are ranked No. 22 in both the AP and Coaches polls.

Just like the Rebels, Arkansas boasts two quality losses, with defeats to the undefeated University of Alabama and Texas A&M University. UM has lost to Florida State and Alabama, with the Crimson Tide still undefeated, and FSU with loses to the University of Louisville and the University of North Carolina.

Even with the two losses, the Rebels are still alive in the SEC. UM needs to win out and have Alabama lose twice along the way.

The good news is Alabama gets the University of Tennessee and Texas A&M in back-to-back weeks. The Tide must still face Louisiana State University and an improving Auburn University in the Iron Bowl at the end of the season.

Arkansas is part of a tough three-game stretch for the Rebels. UM to LSU next and hosts Auburn to close out October.

A nearly sure win against Georgia Southern University begins Nov. 05. If the Rebels don’t stumble their way out of October, a major showdown looms on Nov. 12 against Texas A&M.

UM finishes the season at defensive-minded but offensively challenged Vanderbilt University and in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State University. That’s a tough stretch to close the season, but every team in the SEC faces a similar stretch at this point.

Lets just hope the Rebels did a better job with their two weeks to prepare for its game against Arkansas than MSU did with its two weeks before it played Auburn. The biggest story was Rebel quarterback Chad Kelly rushing the field during his brother’s high-school game back in Buffalo, N.Y.

It should be exciting when the Razorbacks and Rebels meet up.

Last year’s score was 53-52 and included overtime, a crazy fourth-and-25 lateral and a two-point conversion for the win. These teams have a history of playing some wild games when they get together.

Recently, Arkansas has gotten the better of UM in this series. The Razorbacks have won four of the last six and seven of the last 11 meetings.

While the Razorbacks haven’t beat MSU the last four years, they have been in the heads of the Rebels, including a 30-0 victory in 2014.

Against LSU, the Rebels are 4-4 in its last eight …

Kicking field goals and extra points seems easy for every NFL team but the New Orleans Saints. In a major surprise, the Saints saw a place kick blocked for the second week in a row.

The Denver Broncos blocked a potential game-winning extra-point attempt and returned it for two points to beat New Orleans on Sunday, Nov. 13. Less than a week later on Thursday Night Football, the Saints saw the Carolina Panthers block a field-goal attempt.

Thanks to a penalty, the Panthers’ return of the block for a touchdown came off the scoreboard, but that didn’t stop wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. from making a spectacular catch for a touchdown shortly after.

Instead of cutting the Panthers’ lead to 13-6 at the half, New Orleans watched as the Panthers ballooned to 20-3. That big lead helped Carolina hold on for the 23-20 win.

The first team to block a Saints kick wasn’t the Broncos but the New York Giants in week two of the season. New York returned that block kick for a touchdown in the Giants’ 16-13 win over New Orleans.

Special teams haven’t been very special for the Saints. In addition that blocked field goal, New Orleans kick returner Marcus Murphy fumbled a kickoff out of bounds at the one-yard line.

The kickoff looked to be heading out of bounds, which would have given the Saints great field position from a penalty. Murphy’s mistake came after Carolina scored its only points of the second half from a field goal, and it kept the Saints in bad field position for most of the third quarter.

Back in week three, New Orleans had two punt-return men crash into each other during a game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints players’ miscue allowed the Falcons to recover the ball.

While it might be easy to pour all the blame on the Saints’ special teams for the losses of the last two weeks, quarterback Drew Brees hasn’t helped matters. Against Carolina, he had two turnovers, a fumble from a sack and wobbly interception, and during the previous week’s loss with the Broncos, he threw two interceptions.

The New Orleans defense has improved as the season progressed and has played well enough to win the last two games. But turnovers from the offense, poor special-teams play, including a running into the kicker penalty in the Carolina game, and poor coaching have betrayed the defense.

Some of the blame on last night’s win certainly falls on the coaching. Head coach Sean Payton didn’t get the offense moving fast enough on its last touchdown drive. Instead, the Saints huddled up and took their time going down the field.

That slow play helped the Panthers to eat up the clock while the Saints methodically moved down the field needing two scores down 10 points. The offense should have played with more urgency, and that has to come from the head coach.

Unless the place-kicking …

Losing stinks, but this weekend in college football ended up giving the whole state of Mississippi a giant punch to the gut. Every four-year college or university ended up losing this week.

If you are keeping score, that means the state went 0 for 10. All three FBS schools lost by a total of 14 points, all three FCS schools lost and two weren’t even close, both Division II schools lost by 10 or more points, and both Division III schools were blown out.

Our state’s bad week started on Thursday night when University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff upset two-time defending SWAC champions Alcorn State University 45-43. The Braves lost in triple overtime as they let the Golden Lions score two late touchdowns and convert two two-point conversions.

ASU had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed a 47-yard field goal. Both teams fumbled away the ball in their first overtime drives.

In the second overtime, both teams scored, and in the third overtime, the Braves found the end zone but missed on their two-point try. UAPB was able to score a touchdown and convert its two-point try to end the game.

The terrible week continued with Millsaps College and Belhaven University kicking off at 1 p.m. with Delta State University's 2 p.m. kickoff after. The Blazers never led in a 65-21 loss to Huntingdon College, and the Majors never led in a 35-16 loss to the University of Chicago.

The Statesmen jumped out to a 12-0 lead on the University of West Georgia but fell behind 13-12 at the half. DSU rallied late, but the Wolves held on for the 34-24 win.

Things kept getting worse in the afternoon. The University of Mississippi jumped out to a 24-3 lead on the University of Alabama.

The top-ranked Tide rallied to cut their deficit to 24-17 at the break. Alabama continued its comeback as it built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter.

UM rallied to cut the Crimson Tide’s lead down to 48-43, as they scored two quick touchdowns and recovered an onside kick, with plenty of time left on the clock and three timeouts. Instead of going for another onside kick, the Rebels decided to kick the ball deep, and Alabama ran out the clock, winning the game 48-43.

After an 0-4 afternoon, the devastation continued into the night. Five teams kicked off early Saturday evening before the sun set.

Mississippi State University faced Louisiana State University in a game that saw the Tigers in control as they built a 23-3 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs held LSU scoreless in the second half and mounted a furious rally in the fourth quarter.

MSU kicked a field goal in the third quarter and scored two late touchdowns, cutting the LSU lead down to 23-20. The Tigers were able to run out the clock on the Bulldogs, holding on for the win.

Last week, a Jackson Free Press blog post listed all the players who made all-conference in various leagues that have Mississippi teams. That list didn’t include the SWAC teams from Mississippi, or Belhaven University, as the Blazers are still transitioning to Division III and not eligible to win the conference title or make the playoffs at DIII.

The SWAC released its first and second team all-conference players, and Grambling State University and Southern University dominated the selections. GSU had 14 players and SU had 10 players make either first- or second-team All-SWAC.

It is not surprising that the Tigers and Jaguars are so well featured since both teams were two of the best in the SWAC this season. Grambling State won the SWAC title game and will represent the conference in the Celebration Bowl.

Even with all the Grambling and Southern players on both the first and second team, Alcorn State University and Jackson State University landed players on both teams with ASU’s six and JSU’s three.

The Braves had two offensive linemen make second-team All-SWAC. Senior Detonio Dade earned his fourth all-conference honors, and junior Timothy Gardner helped make the ASU offensive line one of the best in the nation in pass protection and rushing.

Alcorn State had four players make either first or second team on defense with two on each team. The Braves were represented on each level with two linebackers, one defensive lineman and one defensive back.

Senior linebackers Darien Anderson on the first-team and Michael Hurns on the second-team were honored. Anderson earned his second All-SWAC honors after being second team last season, and he ranks fourth in the FCS in sacks. Hurns finished the season with 62 tackles and three sacks, and he was elected as the Student Government Association’s senior class president.

Senior defensive back Eric Foster, who racked up 41 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble while being ranked in the top 10 in the conference in passes defended, earned first-team honors. Junior defensive end Michael Brooks landed the second team after posting 29 tackles on the season.

Jackson State had three players make all-conference teams with all three on defense. JSU had just one first-team player and two second-team players.

Senior Javancy Jones earned first-team honors at defensive end and second-team honors at linebacker. Jones was the Tigers’ pick for the 2016 Conerly Trophy and was a finalist for the award, as he finished third in the conference in tackles with 82, second in tackles for a loss with 19.5 and 12 in sacks with four.

Senior defensive backs Justin Jemison and Zavian Bingham earned second-team honors. Jemison finished with 46 tackles for fourth on the team, two interceptions and five passes defended. Bingham notched 41 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, one punt block and one pick returned for a touchdown.

Mississippi Valley State University didn’t land a player on either the first …

Three teams from our state made regionals in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Two of those teams, Mississippi State University and University of Mississippi, hosted regionals, and the University of Southern Mississippi traveled to the Tallahassee Regional.

By early Sunday afternoon, just one team was left standing. MSU lives to play this weekend while USM and UM saw their seasons end. In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of Mississippi’s regional action.

The Rebels might have had the two toughest losses in regional play last weekend. In its first game against the University of Utah, UM held a 5-2 lead after five innings.

At the top of the sixth inning, Utah scored three runs to tie the game at 5-5 after six full innings played. The score stayed tied as the game headed into extra innings.

Utah added a run at the top of the 10th inning to take a 6-5 lead. The Rebels got a base runner in their half of the 10th but failed to bring the runner home, giving Utah the 6-5 win.

That defeat sent UM to the losers’ bracket of the Oxford Regional. The Rebels would have needed a win against Tulane University to stay alive.

Things looked good for the Rebels against the Green Wave as they were up 5-4 heading into the top of ninth inning. All UM had to do was get three outs to keep its season going.

The Rebels got the first batter in the ninth to grounded out for the first out of the inning. Tulane earned a walk with its next batter to put the tying run on base.

The next Green Wave batter hit a two-run home run to left field, giving Tulane a 6-5 lead after the Rebels got two more outs. UM came to bat in the bottom of the ninth but could only manage one base runner before a fielder’s choice ended the game.

The loss ended the season for the Rebels. Boston College ended up winning the regional and will meet the University of Miami from Florida in the Super Regional.

Things started off well for Southern Miss in the Tallahassee Regional. The Golden Eagles began play against the University of South Alabama.

USM jumped to a 3-0 lead before exploding for 11 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 14-0 lead over the Jaguars. South Alabama scored two runs in the top of ninth, but the Golden Eagles won 14-2.

That set up a match against Florida State University in the winner's bracket. USM scored a 2-0 lead in the top of first inning, but FSU struck back with three runs in the bottom of the second inning.

The Seminoles tacked on four more runs to beat the Golden Eagles 7-2 and sent them to the loser’s bracket. USM would have needed to defeat South Alabama again to earn the right …

The University of Mississippi softball team didn’t show any signs of nerves despite hosting its first regional in program history. Playing at home in Oxford, the Rebels didn’t have any problems dispatching the other three teams in the tournament.

The Rebels opened the regional with an 8-0 win over the University of Southern Illinois. UM used its eight hits to score five runs in the second inning and three more runs in the fifth inning to close the game out.

Arizona State University tried to upset the Rebels, as the Sun Devils were able to keep UM off the scoreboard through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth inning, however, the Rebels hit two runs that proved to be the difference in their 2-0 win.

In the regional final, the University of North Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings but didn’t score again. UM tied the game with two runs in the top of the fourth inning and scored two more runs in the top of sixth inning. The Rebels added more insurance with another three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the Tar Heels couldn’t answer. UM pounded out 14 hits in its 7-2 win and advanced to the Super Regionals, which take place Thursday, May 25, through Sunday, May 28.

Next, UM will face the University of California, Los Angeles in a best-of-three series beginning May 25 and ending May 27, with the winner moving on to the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

After the weekend, only 16 of the 64 teams that made the Super Regionals will be left standing. The path to the Women’s College World Series has basically become the SEC-Pac-12 invitational, with those two conferences holding 13 of the final 16 spots.

The SEC put all 13 of its teams in the Super Regionals, and eight of those teams are still standing. Mississippi State University, the University of Missouri, the University of Arkansas, the University of Georgia and the University of South Carolina are the five teams eliminated from the tournament.

There were eight teams from the Pac-12, but the Oregon State University, Arizona State and the University of California, Berkeley have been eliminated. The only crashers at the SEC-Pac-12 party are the University of Oklahoma, Baylor University and Florida State University.

Two of the Super Regional matchups feature SEC teams against Pac-12 teams, as the University of Oregon hosts the University of Kentucky and the above-mentioned UCLA hosts UM. Two of the matchups feature two SEC teams going head to head, as the University of Florida hosts the University of Alabama, and the University of Tennessee hosts Texas A&M University. FSU will host Louisiana State University, and Auburn University will host Oklahoma to round out the rest of the SEC teams.

The Pac-12 will have two of its conference teams facing off, with the …

Fans have hope that the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 9, lives up to last year’s game, when Clemson University and the University of Alabama played an instant classic in the Crimson Tide’s 45-40 victory.

A thrilling championship game for two years in a row can mask the problems with the college-football playoffs. In the three years since the games started, just two have been close. That excludes Monday’s title game, of course.

In year one, the University of Oregon pounded Florida State University 59-20 in one semifinal. Ohio State University outlasted Alabama 42-35 in the other semifinal, and that was the only close game that year.

The first championship game under the new playoffs produced a stinker when Ohio State blasted Oregon 42-20 and took the title. Two blowouts in the first three games didn’t produce the drama everyone hoped for with the playoffs.

A first-year misstep or two wouldn’t be shocking in the first year of a new playoff. That is, until year two. Both semifinal games then ended in a rout, as Clemson spanked the University of Oklahoma 37-17, and Alabama smoked Michigan State 38-0.

So the national title game between the Tide and Tigers was one for the ages, but in the first two years, four of the six playoff games ended in blowouts.

This year saw both semifinals end with little drama, as they were over before the fourth quarter. Alabama took care of the University of Washington 24-7, and Clemson destroyed Ohio State 31-0.

That means six of the eight playoff games have produced little or no drama in the second half. The playoff committee’s job is to pick the four best teams for the playoffs and not produce drama on the field. That is the job of the four teams.

Even so, with six of the eight games being blowouts, is there a problem with the playoffs? And if there is a problem, how can it be fixed for future playoffs?

One fix would be adding more teams. That might not fix the blowouts but would produce more chances for drama.

A six-team playoff in year one would have added Baylor University as the fifth seed and Texas Christian University as the sixth seed. Baylor blew a huge fourth quarter lead to Michigan State in a 42-41 loss, but TCU blew out No. 9 University of Mississippi 42-3.

If the playoff doubled, Mississippi State University would have been a seventh seed, and Michigan State would have been the eighth seed. MSU ended up losing 49-34 to No. 12 Georgia Institute of Technology.

In year two of the playoff, No.6 Stanford University upset No. 5 University of Iowa 45-16, but No. 7 Ohio State took down No. 8 University of Notre Dame 44-28.

Again, even adding teams to the playoff might not produce more drama if the scores above are any indication. Except for Michigan State’s …

File this under the finally, about time file.

Augusta National Golf Club announced today that the club will welcome its first two female members when the club opens for its new season in October. For years, the home of The Masters has resisted allowing women to join the private all-male golf club.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore have accepted to join the club and will be the first female members to don a green jacket in the club’s history. This move has been coming since 2002.

Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations wanted the club to add women members in 2002 and lead a small boycott of the 2003 Masters tournament. Former club chairman Hootie Johnson, chairman during Burk’s protest, dug his heels in once saying Augusta National might one day have a woman in a green jacket, "but not at the point of a bayonet."

The Masters lost television sponsorship for two years and the club paid CBS to broadcast the tournament commercial free for those two years. Johnson retired in 2006 and Billy Payne has been more open to allowing women than his predecessor.

"These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership," Payne said in a statement. "It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall. This is a significant and positive time in our club's history and, on behalf of our membership, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome them and all of our new members into the Augusta National family."

In the ESPN article linked above, it states from private sources that women have been considered for membership five years ago. It is about time, Augusta National added women members and hopefully these two women will not be the only female members added.

Aaron Kromer will take over as New Orleans Saints head coach when Joe Vitt begins his six game suspension (begins Sept 3), starts at the beginning of the NFL season. Kromer is the offensive line and running game coach.

This is the fifth season the 45-year old coach has been with the Saints. General Manger Mickey Loomis and team owner Tom Benson tapped Kromer over offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Kromer interviewed for the St. Louis Rams job last season but the Rams hired Jeff Fisher instead. The offensive line coach has been talked about becoming the interim coach since the suspensions of Sean Payton and Vitt were announced in late March.

With Kromer taking over the job as head coach, Carmichael Jr. will be able to focus on the offense and working with Drew Brees. Spagnuolo was head coach in St. Louis but is in his first in New Orleans as Saints defensive coordinator and he can focus on installing his defense.

Vitt stated after practice today that Kromer will be next to him during the final two preseason games. New Orleans plays the Houston Texans at home on Saturday and finish the preseason at the Tennessee Titans next Thursday .

Thoughts:

I have no problems with Kromer taking over the head coaching job when the Vitt begins his suspension. He (Kromer) can lean on Carmicheal Jr. and Spagnuolo if he needs advice or talk through a situation.

Also, I like the Saints named one guy head coach and not head coach by committee. One person needs to be the guy to make the big decisions like going for two-point conversions or on-sides kick.

Instead of Kromer standing by Vitt over the final two preseason games, Kromer needs to take over and make the big decisions. He needs to get a feel for the game during game situations and not during the first game of the season against the Washington Redskins.

Kromer needs to be seen by the players as decisive and ready to make pregame and in-game decisions. I am not sure if that feeling will come across in the final two preseason games just standing next to Joe Vitt.

This might sound strange but Vitt needs to be in the coaches’ box at the top of the stadium or not even been at the stadium over the next two preseason games. Kromer needs to have the situation as close to opening day as the Saints can make it in the preseason.

The Saints only play one team with a winning record from last season (Green Bay Packers) in their first six games. New Orleans faces Washington Redskins (5-11), Carolina Panthers (6-10), Kansas City Chiefs (7-9), Green Bay (15-1), San Diego Chargers (8-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12) over the first six games.

There are thoughts by several NFL writers that Kansas City and San Diego will be improved and Carolina will make leaps in year …

University of Alabama coach Nick Saban doesn’t lose a lot of games. Since finishing with a perfect season in 2009, Saban has lost just 10 games.

He has lost just three games over the past two seasons, and two of those have come against the University of Mississippi. With the Rebels’ recent wins, they have been a thorn in the side of arguably the best coach in college football.

In 2014, UM won a dramatic affair when the team scored the game-winning touchdown with under three minutes to go and a late interception, sealing the victory. Last season, the Crimson Tide committed five turnovers and couldn’t overcome a 30-10 Rebels lead as the Alabama rally ran out of time.

Plenty of eyes will be on the Rebels and Tide this weekend. The game could have a major say in the postseason hopes for both teams.

This game means more to the Rebels than the Tide. In the past two years, UM has beaten Alabama, but the Tide righted the ship, making the College Football Playoff at the end of the seasons.

Last season, Alabama lost to the Rebels and still ended up winning the championship. The Crimson Tide has shown they can overcome a loss, but UM hasn’t been able to turn either win over Alabama into a SEC West title or a spot in the four-team playoff.

For the past two years, both teams entered this game undefeated. That is not the case this year, after the Rebels blew a 28-13 lead to Florida State University in their season opener.

Alabama will want to beat the team that has provided its only blemish in the regular season the last two years, but theTide could still make the playoffs even with a loss. For the Rebels, this is a must-win game in the middle of September.

UM quarterback Chad Kelly could see his Heisman Trophy hopes end and the Rebels’ playoff aspirations dashed before the first month of the season ends. If the Rebels lose the game, there is no tomorrow for them.

Kelly put up solid numbers against the Seminoles, going 21 for 39 passing with four touchdowns, but three interceptions and a fumble lost were really ugly for a Heisman hopeful. In fact, Kelly’s poor play late in the second quarter through the second half is part of the reason the Rebels lost.

A second loss in another marquee game would pretty much spell doom. No one really cares what numbers Kelly put up against Wofford College last week when it comes to winning the Heisman. He was supposed to put up big numbers, and did as he went 20 for 27 with three touchdowns.

If the team loses to the Tide, he would need to be out of this world the rest of the season to have any hopes to make a trip to New York. It wouldn’t be impossible for …

After the Hall of Fame game, the New Orleans Saints spent the week holding joint practices with the New England Patriots before their preseason game. Those joint practices might have allowed both teams’ defense to dominate during the game.

The game started with the Saints losing the coin toss and the Patriots deferring until the second half. New Orleans' offense would fail to make a first down and was forced to punt on their first possession of the game.

That would be the story most of the night for the Saints offense, as it failed to get on track for the majority of the game. Even Drew Brees had a rough outing, only completing one pass for four yards in two offensive series.

After the Saints punted, New England was forced to punt, but an offsides penalty on Martez Wilson kept the Patriots drive alive. New Orleans was able to end that extra drive after the penalty when Will Smith sacked Tom Brady and forced a fumble.

The fumble was recovered by Curtis Loftin at the New England 34 yard line. Brees was unable to get the ball into the end zone and the Saints were forced to kick a field goal. John Kasay converted on a 46-yard field goal to give New Orleans a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

Brady would finish the night completing just four of seven passes for 30 yards with no touchdowns and, of course, a fumble.

Neither team did much offensively for the rest of the first half. There were more low lights than highlights for both teams.

Replacing Brees at quarterback was Chase Daniel, with just over five minutes left in the first quarter. Daniel would get picked off by Steve Gregory at the Patriots 12-yard line. Gregory would return the ball back to the New England 17-yard line.

Daniel’s night would be over after his interception, having completed four of six passes for 62 yards. After the INT, Brian Hoyer replaced Brady and was helped out by another Saints penalty on a punt to keep the drive after Daniel’s interception alive. Martez Wilson was flagged for running into Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko.

Hoyer was replaced by Ryan Mallett, who would be unable to take advantage of the second penalty by the Saints on fourth down that kept a New England drive alive.

Mallett would throw an interception of his own right before the two minute warning. The former Arkansas Razorback was picked off by former Alabama player Marquis Johnson at the New England 49 yard line.

Sean Canfield would take over for Daniel after the Johnson interception. He drove the Saints down to the Patriots 32 yard line.

Canfield floated a pass on first down that Patrick Chung intercepted at the Patriots 11-yard line. It was a tough night overall for Canfield, as he went completed six of ten passes for 45 yards.

Mallett got a final drive after the Canfield interception. He drove …

Former Indianapolis Colts running back Zurlon Tipton and current wide receiver Donte Moncrief were more than just teammates. The two players were good friends who spent time off the field bowling and playing pool together.

Both players joined the Colts before the 2014 season. Moncrief was drafted in the third round with the 90th overall pick, and Tipton was an undrafted rookie free agent.

Moncrief was born in Raleigh, Miss. and was a star at Raleigh High School in football and track. He went on to play college football for the University of Mississippi and left after his junior season to play in the NFL.

Tipton played football at Central Michigan University and was a Detroit native. His best college-football season came in 2012 when he rushed for nearly 1,500 yards and 19 touchdown as junior. Injuries limited his ability to play during his senior season in 2013.

The two players dressed close to each other in the Colts locker room, which led to their friendship. Tipton also sat in front of Moncrief during team meetings.

Moncrief has appeared in 32 games for the Colts with 12 starts. He doubled production in his second year over his rookie performance. In two seasons, he has posted 96 catches for 1,177 yards and nine touchdowns.

Tipton played in 16 games for the Colts over two seasons and gained 38 career yards on 15 carries. He was released by Indianapolis on Dec. 21, 2015.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Moncrief discussed the death of his friend and his plans to take care of his daughter.

Moncrief was shocked to find out that his friend had died at the end of June from an accidental gun shot. Tipton was removing a duffle bag from his car at a dealership when one of the two guns in the bag discharged, hitting him in the stomach.

The wide receiver learned about the death Tipton’s former girlfriend. Moncrief, in his ESPN interview credited is Mississippi upbringing made him think about Tipton’s daughter Zoe, even while still grieving the loss of his friend from the fatal accident.

Moncrief has pledged to support Zoe as if she was his own daughter. The former Rebel doesn’t matter if it is clothes, money or anything else—he will be there for his friend’s daughter.

The 22-year-old wide receiver had talked with Tipton just two days before the accident. Moncrief and Tipton had plans to get together at his place in Indianapolis when he returned from Mississippi.

Moncrief was with his own daughter when he learned of the death of his friend. Tipton was one of the jokesters in the locker room helping keep everyone relaxed.

Zoe will be with the Colts when they open their season against the Detroit Lions at Lucas Oil Stadium. Moncrief told ESPN he still sees his friend every time he looks at Zoe or up at the sky.

Mississippi State University saw its historic baseball season come to a close on Saturday night in a 6-5 loss to the University of Arizona in 11 innings. The Bulldogs won the SEC regular season championship and was named a national seed for the first time in school history.

MSU had little trouble in the four-team regional, which the Bulldogs hosted last weekend. The team was a perfect 3-0 as it cruised to the Super Regionals. Arizona had to battle through the loser's bracket in the Lafayette Regional just to reach this Super Regional.

The Wildcats' pitching was the story in game one of the Super Regional. MSU could only muster five hits in a sensational performance by Arizona pitcher Bobby Dalbec. Arizona got eight and 2/3 innings out of Dolbec, who needed just a run in the sixth inning to secure the win.

Game one saw a 37-minute delay due to a power outage all over the MSU campus. But the stoppage didn’t have any effect on Dolbec, who came out to pitch once power was restored.

The power outage seemed like an exact metaphor for the MSU bats, but maybe it was really just foreshadowing the end of the Bulldogs' season.

MSU had a chance in the ninth inning with two men on and two outs. The Bulldogs' superstar freshman Jake Mangum struck out on three straight pitches, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 win in game one.

In game two, both teams put up a run in the second inning after a scoreless first inning. MSU jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the third inning as the Bulldogs got a run off two errors.

The Bulldogs added to their lead in the top of the fourth when right fielder Brent Rooker hit a solo homerun, giving MSU a 3-1 lead. In the seventh inning, MSU was able to manufacture a run to up the lead to 4-1 over the Wildcats.

Rooker went deep once again in the top of the eighth inning, giving the Bulldogs a huge 5-1 lead and needing only six outs for the win. The bottom of the eighth inning is when things fell apart for MSU.

Arizona quickly got two men on first and second when first baseman Ryan Aguilar blasted a three-run home run, cutting the MSU lead to 5-4. The Bulldogs got out of the eight, but the damage was done, and the momentum had shifted to the Wildcats.

MSU went down in order at the top of the ninth inning. Arizona got a double by Cody Ramer to start off the inning. The Bulldogs got a strikeout by pitcher Reid Humphreys before Alfonso Rivas singled to score Ramer to tie the game at 5-5 to force extra innings.

Neither team was able to muster any offense in the 10th inning, as the score stayed 5-5 heading to the 11th inning. MSU went down in order at the top of the …

The regular season is over for the SEC women’s basketball teams. This week the conference will hold its tournament in Greenville, SC., from March 1 to March 5.

Winning the tournament means getting the SEC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. That automatic bid will be important for a team that is currently outside the projections to make the tournament.

In the latest ESPN Bracketology for the women’s tournament, eight SEC teams could end up in the field. Those eight need to make sure a surprise team doesn’t steal the automatic bid and possibly knock them out of the tournament.

Those teams are Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University, Auburn University, the University of Kentucky, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee and the University of Missouri, which also happen to be the top eight teams in the conference standings.

None of the teams playing on the opening day of the tournament are from our state, so let’s skip to day two when 10th-seed University of Mississippi faces seventh-seed Louisiana State University.

The Rebels might make the tournament if they can reach the championship game, but at 17-12 overall and 6-10 in conference, they more than likely need to win the whole thing. UM is 10th in the conference and behind the University of Georgia, the eighth seed, and ninth-seed Auburn.

The latest Bracketology says Auburn is in the tournament, but the team faces Georgia, which is also 7-9 in SEC play. The Tigers are 17-13 overall and the Bulldogs of Georgia are 15-14. An opening-game lose for Auburn could knock the team out of the tournament and open the door for another one.

The Rebels enter the tournament after a 62-49 win over Texas A&M at the end of the regular season. UM is 4-6 in its last 10 games, which won’t look good to the committee. The team struggled in conference play after going 12-2 in the nonconference slate.

If the Rebels happen to get past LSU, they will have Mississippi State waiting for them in the quarterfinals on March 3. In two games against the Bulldogs, UM has lost by 11 points in the first meeting and 22 points in the second meeting.

But there is hope for the team.

MSU enters the tournament as the second seed but has lost two straight games heading into the postseason. That is not how you want to end the regular season and go into the conference tournament.

Teams want to be peaking at this time of year. Instead the MSU Bulldogs went from playing for the conference title to losing two straight games, ending up as the second seed.

MSU was considered one of the top four seeds overall in the NCAA tournament, but the two straight losses has dropped them to a two-seed in the latest Bracketology. The two …