Jackson Free Press

This is worth repeating after Tampa Bay proved me wrong on Thursday and beat the Minnesota Vikings. Parity is in full effect in the NFL this season.... There is going to be a team that started slowly and makes the NFL Playoffs. My personal pick is the New Orleans Saints and that pick looks even better if the Saints win against the Broncos on Sunday night.

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Comes to a Close

This regular season of college basketball turned out to be wild and unpredictable, so fans hoped that the NCAA Tournament would be the same.

The first weekend of the tournament played out just like the regular season, with upsets and potential Cinderellas. Reality came crashing down during the second weekend as most of the upstarts went home, and the major conferences or basketball powers from non-football conferences were the only programs still standing.

Slowly, the tournament turned into the Atlantic Coast Conference invitational. Seven teams from the ACC got into the tournament, and six went to the Sweet Sixteen. Four ACC teams reached the Elite Eight and two reached the Final Four.

The ACC was so dominant in this tournament that three out of the six of the conference's losses have come at the hands of other ACC teams. University of Wisconsin's win over University of Pittsburgh, University of Oregon's win over Duke University and Villanova University's win over University of Miami (Fla.) were the only non-ACC on ACC losses.

So what began as wild and unpredictable became a question of whether anyone could stop the conference's march to end up as the eventual champion. The uncertainty became full-on blowouts in the Final Four as the University of North Carolina and Villanova rolled Syracuse and the University of Oklahoma, respectively.

Tonight, either the Tar Heels or the Wildcats will win a national championship.

This run in the tournament is something positive for North Carolina after an academic scandal rocked the school. UNC is still waiting for the NCAA to decide what will happen after former athletes and students were found to be taking no-show classes, where students signed up to take a class but didn’t ever see the inside of a classroom even though they earned high grades.

Villanova on the other hand, is living life like it is 1985. The eighth-seeded Wildcats were the last team to win a title with no shot clock.

On its way to the title in 1985, Villanova beat North Carolina, but the Tar Heels won titles in 1993, 2005 and 2009. The Wildcats are looking for their second title in program history.

This game should feature two great defenses and two solid coaches. Villanova reached the final without a possible NBA player on the roster. North Carolina looks for its sixth title and is seemingly always loaded with top talent.

The Wildcats are a team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. UNC is athletic and long and can control the paint area.

This matchup is the best overall team against the best conference. North Carolina is a three-point favorite in Las Vegas, but Ken Polmeroy’s model favorites Villanova.

Coverage starts at 8 p.m. on TBS for the national broadcast, TNT will provide the homer call for North Carolina, and Tru TV will give the Villanova homer call.

While the University of Mississippi women’s softball team was making history last week, another team in our state was making strides on the diamond, as well.

Delta State University hosted an eight-team regional in Division II baseball—the Statesmen’s 31st NCAA postseason appearance and fifth NCAA South Regional appearance in the last six years. DSU entered the postseason looking to win its first regional since 2012. That year, Delta State beat Stillman College twice in the same day for the win.

Delta State started regional play against Florida Southern College after an opening-day bye. DSU jumped out to a 2-1 after the first inning, but FSC exploded for four runs to take a 5-2 lead after two innings.

The Moccasins and the Statesmen both added a run in the third inning to make the score 6-3. FCS added another run in the fourth inning to go up 7-3, but Delta State started the comeback in the fifth inning, scoring three runs to cut the Moccasins’ lead to 7-6.

DSU put up two more runs in the sixth inning to retake the lead at 8-7. The Statesmen then added an insurance run in the eighth inning, but it didn’t matter, as FSC didn’t get on the board again after the fourth inning.

After the Statesmen’s 9-7 win in a game where they had to rally from behind by four runs, DSU faced the defending national champion, Nova Southeastern University. There was no need for a comeback, here, though, as the Statesmen were in total control against the Sharks. Delta State cruised to a 4-1 win as the team pounded out 11 hits and held Nova Southeastern to just four hits.

In the regional final, DSU faced the University of West Alabama in an instant classic. Delta State started off with a 4-1 lead after two innings, but the Tigers weren’t done.

West Alabama added a run in the fifth inning to cut the Delta State lead to 4-2 and then added another run in the seventh inning to make it 4-3. In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers tied the game at 4-4 to force extra innings. Delta State got the offense going again with two runs in the top of the 10th inning.

West Alabama threatened to make another comeback in the bottom of the 10th but couldn’t find a way to get back the two runs. DSU took the victory at 6-4 to win the South Regional and advance to the Division II Men’s College World Series.

Delta State won its 12th regional title overall and its sixth regional under current coach Mike Kinnison. DSU moved to a 68-42 all-time record in NCAA postseason play and a 16-9 mark in the South Regional.

DSU is 27-19 in the Division II Men’s World Series in program history. Delta State is ranked second in the nation by Collegiate Baseball and ranked fourth by the National …

Things got very interesting quickly in college football last week. The near upsets from week one turned into upsets in week two. Several national championship contenders went down before we even reach the end of September. Biggest winner of week two has to be the Pac-12 (sans Colorado and Utah) from the pre-expansion teams. That means the Big Ten is the biggest looser this week and the conference laid an egg before their normal New Year's Day implosion.

The New Orleans Saints defeated the St Louis Rams 26-24 in the preseason opener for both teams. While the win is great if you are a Saints fan, in the preseason the final score doesn't really matter much.

What does matter is how individual players look in game action. As New Orleans looks to build this year's team, questions must be answered, jobs must be won and future stars need to shine.

Here are my quick thoughts:

Ingram shines in first half

Mark Ingram looked like he was entering a contract year. The running back out of Alabama looked lighter, had more speed, quicker feet, made defenders miss and finished off runs.

Ingram had 30 yards on his first three carries of the night and he finished the night with 83 yards on 8 carries and a touchdown. His night was done before halftime but he looked impressive and picked up where he left off late last season.

New Orleans didn't pick up Ingram's fifth year option. The reason Saints declined to pick up the option because they would owe Ingram $5.2 million (way too much to pay for a running back in today's NFL) and Ingram hasn't played like a first round pick due to injuries and being inconsistent.

Tonight Ingram looked like he wanted to be the lead man in a crowed backfield. Another running back Khiry Robinson also had a good night with 23 yards on five carries.

New Orleans has plenty of talent at running back. Ingram is not just playing for this season but for next season as well when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Backup quarterback battle

Drew Brees didn't play tonight while he recovers from a strained oblique. Brees will be fine as long as he gets some work before the season begins.

The injury does give the Saints a chance to figure out their backup quarterback situation. Veteran Luke McCown is battling second year player Ryan Griffin for the right to sit behind Brees.

Tonight, McCown got the start, he didn't look terrible as he got to play with the starters but he wasn't super impressive either. His final line of the night was seven for ten for 49 yards with no touchdowns.

McCown did have an ugly interception that killed the Saints first drive. New Orleans had been moving the ball very well on the St Louis starting defense.

Griffin replaced McCown and went 11 for 16 for 103 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions at the half. In the second half, Griffin went five for seven for 76 yards and a touchdown (Saints first touchdown of the preseason).

I have been hearing how the Saints were impressed with Griffin. Tonight he looked impressive with a strong arm, the ability to avoid the rush, nice pocket awareness and some quick feet.

If Brees doesn't play or plays sparingly in the next preseason game, New Orleans should give Griffin some work …

There is so much to breakdown in regards to Super Bowl LI and the New England Patriots’ 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons. It was a game for the ages that produced the first overtime in Super Bowl history.

A good place to start the recap is after another scoreless first quarter, the seventh in the Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady era. On the second play of the second quarter, New England running back LeGarrette Blount fumbled trying to fight for extra yards.

Atlanta took the game’s first turnover and scored on a drive that took just five plays and less than two minutes. After a Patriots punt, the Falcons added to their lead with a drive ending in a pass from Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to tight end Austin Hooper for a touchdown.

It is important to note that no team had ever come back from a deficit of more than 10 points in Super Bowl history. Only three teams—the Patriots being one—had rallied from being 10 points down to win the Lombardi Trophy.

In desperate need of points, New England drove to the Falcons 23-yard line and faced third down and six yards. Brady got fooled in pass coverage and watched Atlanta cornerback Robert Alford pick him off and score on the interception to give the Falcons a huge 21-0 lead. No team had ever lost the Super Bowl after returning an interception for a touchdown.

New England received the ball after the pick-six and drove to Atlanta’s 15-yard line with 23 seconds left before halftime. A holding penalty and bad play-calling forced the Patriots to kick a field goal to make it 21-3 at the break.

The Patriots’ first half drives went punt, punt, fumble, punt, interception for a touchdown, and field goal. Even with just three points, New England ran 41 plays, which meant more later in the game.

Atlanta was able to get pressure on Brady for most of the first half to make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket, and Brady himself was not his sharp self. Add two turnovers and dropped passes from the New England receivers, and it is easy to see why the Falcons were up big on the scoreboard.

The Falcon’s 18-point lead at the half felt even bigger with the way that the Patriots were playing on offense and defense. It seemed the second half would be just a 30-minute wait until the coronation of Atlanta’s first Super Bowl win.

Both teams traded punts to start the third quarter before Atlanta got on track for an eight-play drive that ended with a touchdown. The Falcons led 28-3 with 8 minutes and 31 seconds left in the third quarter.

Those were the last points Atlanta scored, but they were up 25 points with a quarter and half to play. It still seemed impossible for New England to have a chance since no team had ever mounted a comeback …

Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi travel to Pearl’s Trustmark Park to play for the Governor’s Cup tonight. Both teams are ranked to varying degrees in every major college-baseball poll, with MSU reaching as high has third place and the Rebels as high as ninth.

The Bulldogs come into the game after taking two of three wins from Louisiana State University over the weekend to move to 27-13-1 overall and 10-8 in the SEC. UM just got a huge sweep of Auburn University, which moved the Rebels to 31-10 overall and 10-8 in SEC play.

Both teams are tied with LSU for second place in the SEC West and two games behind division leading Texas A&M University. In RPI, the Rebels are ranked fifth and MSU is ranked 13th.

These teams have been meeting in the Jackson area since 1980, when Dale Danks Jr., then mayor of Jackson, started the Mayor’s Trophy. The game moved to Trustmark Park in 2007 and was renamed the Governor's Cup.

This will be the 37th meeting in the Mayor’s Trophy/Governor’s Cup series, with both teams tied at 18-18 heading into the game tonight. MSU does have a 5-4 edge since the game was renamed to the Governor's Cup, though.

Last season, the Rebels pounded the Bulldogs 11-1 for UM’s largest victory in the series. MSU leads the all-time series 246-205-5 and is 31-27-1 in neutral-site games.

This season, MSU took two of three games in the SEC series when these teams played in Starkville. The Bulldogs will also be the home team tonight, as the team will probably hand the ball to freshman Ryan Cyr, and the Rebels are likely to counter with junior Chad Smith on the mound.

Besides the state bragging rights, this game also provides momentum for the final stretch of the regular season. Both teams only have four conference series left before the SEC Tournament kicks off in late May.

After this game, the Bulldogs travel to Alabama (9-9 in SEC play), and the Rebels host the aforementioned LSU Tigers in Oxford this weekend. UM might need the momentum more with SEC series against the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky and Texas A&M to end the season.

MSU’s schedule gets easier in the final weeks. The Bulldogs face the University of Missouri, last place in the SEC East, then Auburn, last place in the SEC West, and end the season at the University of Arkansas, second to last in the SEC West.

Currently only general-admission/standing-room-only tickets remain for tonight’s game. Gates open at 5 p.m., and the game starts at 6:30 p.m.

If you can’t catch tonight game in person, it will be broadcasted on the SEC Network starting at 6:30 p.m.

*UPDATE* This game is now sold out.

Mississippi College set a school record for softball wins today in what might be the coolest way. The Choctaws won their 39th game as they took down Belhaven University 3-0, winning the 2016 National Christian College Athletic Association Softball National Championship.

MC was the top seed in the NCCAA Softball World Series, and the Blazers were the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament. For the most part, both schools dominated.

The Choctaws rolled by teams with scores of 14-4, 11-0, 13-5 and 5-1 to get to the championship game. Belhaven battled its way through the tournament, winning 5-1, 6-1, and 6-5 in an extra innings game, and 9-1 to make the title match.

MC struck quickly with a run in the first inning and, in reality, it was the only run the team needed that day. The Choctaws got two more insurance runs in the fifth inning to seal the win over the Blazers.

Mississippi College pitcher Carlie Sargent earned Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, as she tossed seven shutout innings for the complete game. Sargent (21-11) threw her ninth career shutout as she struck out seven, walked two and scattered four hits.

Belhaven pitcher Julienne Broussard (16-4) pitched seven complete innings, giving up eight hits, three earned runs, five strikeouts and one walk in a losing effort. Katherine Lee, leadoff hitter for MC, went 2-for-4 at the plate, and outfielder Megan Everett went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Tylan Buckley, outfielder for the Choctaws, went 1-for-4 but drove in the first run for MC. No player for Belhaven could muster more than one hit.

The Blazers finish the season with a 37-9 record, and Mississippi College ends the season with 39-19 record and a national title. This is the first women’s national championship title in school history.

Belhaven and MC dominated the All-Tournament selections as they dominated the tournament itself. The schools combined to place five of the 11 players selected for the post-tournament honors.

Sargent was not only the MOP but was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Joining her for MC were Lauren Mulligan and Everett. Belhaven placed Dani Craft and Crystal Kehtel on the All-Tournament Team.

Before this weekend’s games kickoff, let’s have some fun with numbers. What are the most important numbers in all of sports? The score.

You can’t have a winner or a loser without the score, and every game counts in college football, so the score means nearly everything. Let’s look at the numbers of the big four teams in this state before their games this weekend.

Mississippi State University plays Louisiana State University at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. The Bulldogs might want work on playing a full 60 minutes. In its two games, MSU has scored 41 points and has given up zero points in the first half. After the break, the Bulldogs have scored just six points and have given up 28.

MSU has the fast-start part down, but playing for four full quarters has eluded this team. Against LSU, the Bulldogs need to start fast and finish strong if they are going to pull off the upset.

The University of Mississippi faces the University of Alabama in what might be the most anticipated game in the SEC. The Rebels are looking to win three straight games against the Crimson Tide. Watch this clash at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

In eight quarters of football, the Rebels have failed to score in only one. They also have the quick-start down by outscoring their opponents 52 to 16. But they did struggle in the second half against Florida State University in their first game of the season.

Against the Crimson Tide, UM will have a second chance to have a strong second half against a highly ranked foe. Just like MSU against LSU, the Rebels’ play in the second half will be worth watching.

Jackson State University is still looking for the first win of the Tony Hughes era. JSU will try to get that win against SWAC rival Grambling State University. Watch the game at 6 p.m. on ESPN3, and ESPNU will replay it at 9:30 p.m..

While the Rebels and Bulldogs have been great at the fast start, the Tigers need some work on their first half performance. JSU has been outscored 61 to 33 in the first half of the team's first two games. The second half hasn’t been much kinder to JSU. The Tigers have been outscored 42 to six after the break. Overall, JSU has been outscored 103 to 39 this season.

JSU is one of three SWAC teams that is still looking for their first win of the season. Mississippi Valley State University and Southern University are also looking theirs.

The Tigers are only averaging 19.5 points per game and are allowing an average of 51.5 points per game. Starting SWAC play is a great time for JSU to reverse those numbers.

No team in the country might be on more of a roll than the University of Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles will try to keep a couple of streaks alive against …

Free agency is off and running in the NFL, and nearly every team is wheeling and dealing to sign or trade players. On Friday, March 10, the New Orleans Saints traded leading receiver Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots.

The Saints got the Patriots’ 32nd pick of the first round and their 103rd pick in the third round. New England received Cooks and the Saint’s 118th pick in the fourth round to complete the trade.

New England is making moves to try to for a couple more runs at the Super Bowl while they still have Tom Brady. The future Hall of Fame quarterback will be 40 years old when the 2017 season begins.

Cooks gives Brady a reliable deep threat that the Patriots haven’t had in recent years. If tight end Rob Gronkowski is healthy next season and Cooks proves his worth, New England could become a matchup nightmare in the red zone.

It is easy, in the short term, to think New England is getting the better end of this trade. Cooks’ salary is $1.56 million this year, but with his fifth-year option in 2018, his salary will jump up to $8.5 million.

New Orleans has shown that it is able to get rid of offensive players and still have one of the top offenses in the in the NFL. The Jimmy Graham trade is one example of how the Saints have moved offensive players while future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton have kept the offense rolling.

The Saints now own two picks in the first round (11th and 32nd overall), one pick in the second round (42nd overall) and two picks in the third round (76th and 103rd overall) in the first two days of the draft. New Orleans picks 196th overall in the sixth round and 229th in the seventh round to complete its draft.

In today’s NFL, first-, second- and third-round picks are supposed to help a team immediately in various ways. The first- and second-round picks should produce starters at some point in the season, and the third-round picks should make contributions early.

The best-case scenario is New Orleans getting five starters in this draft, but getting three starters out of five picks would be outstanding.

This draft is deep in wide receivers, so finding a cheaper replacement for Cooks isn’t out of the question. New Orleans needs plenty of help on defense, and this draft is also deep with pass-rushing defensive linemen and defensive backs, both areas of need for the Saints.

New Orleans could end up the long-term winner of this deal, depending on how well they draft. New England might just get Cooks for one season, and if the season doesn’t end in a trip to the Super Bowl, it could be a letdown.

The Saints’ other moves in free agency included re-signing defensive tackle Nick Fairley with just $9 million in guaranteed …

Texas Southern University outlasted eight other teams, including Jackson State University and Alcorn State University, and won the 2017 SWAC Baseball Tournament. TSU is one of a handful of teams that have already earned a spot into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Baseball Tournament.

Two other tournaments that feature teams from our state with spot in the NCAA tournament on the line begin this week. Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi will both try to win the 2017 SEC Tournament, and the University of Southern Mississippi will try to take the tournament title in the 2017 Conference USA Tournament.

Both the Bulldogs and Rebels will play on day one of the SEC tournament. The opening day is single elimination, with the teams that advance moving to a double-elimination format.

MSU enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed against No. 12 seed, the University of Georgia, at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 23, on the SEC Network. Georgia shocked MSU when it won the three-game series between the two teams during the regular season.

If Mississippi State advances, No. 4 seed the University of Arkansas is awaiting the next day. The Razorbacks swept the Bulldogs in the regular-season series.

MSU comes stumbling into the tournament after losing five of their last seven games. This stumble cost the Bulldogs a chance at the SEC and West Division titles.

The Rebels open the tournament on day one at 4:30 p.m. against Auburn University. UM is the No. 9 seed, and the Tigers are the No. 8 seed.

These teams met in the final SEC series of the regular season. Auburn took two out of three games, but the Rebels won the final one of the series.

If UM advances, top seed University of Florida is up next for the team. The Gators swept the Rebels in the regular-season series the teams played earlier this month.

Southern Miss enters the top seed in the C-USA tournament and is on a 14-game winning streak. It is the longest winning streak in program history and the longest winning streak in the nation.

The C-USA Tournament, which is in Biloxi, Miss., at MGM Park, is a double-elimination tournament until the championship game. The top eight teams in the conference earned a spot.

The teams are split into two brackets with the winners of both brackets playing in title game.

USM opened the tournament at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, against No. 8 seed University of Texas, San Antonio. The Golden Eagles swept UTSA in the final conference series of the regular season.

In the next round Southern Miss will face either the No. 4 seed, University of North Carolina, Charlotte or the No. 5 seed, Louisiana Tech University. USM didn’t face Charlotte in the regular season.

The Golden Eagles swept Louisiana Tech in …

There is an old saying in sports: “Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.” If that is the case, which defense will lead its team to a victory in Super Bowl LI?

Both offenses in this year’s Super Bowl, which airs Sunday, Feb. 5, at 5:30 p.m. on FOX, are two of the best in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons have the top-scoring offense, averaging 34 points per game, and the New England Patriots are third, averaging 28 points per game.

The team that plays the best defense should come out on top in this game. There are several ways to rank defenses—most rank defenses by the yards they allowed per game, but some defenses give up yards but not points.

Winning a football game is about who scores the most points, and sometimes, that means forcing a field goal instead of giving up a touchdown.

New England is the top defense by that measurement, allowing just 16 points per game on average. Atlanta is 25th in the league in points allowed, as the Falcons’ defense gave up 25 points per game.

Another great test of a defense is its ability to get off the field on third down. That means forcing punts and field goals instead of giving up long drives for touchdowns.

The Patriots’ defense allowed teams to convert on third down 37 percent of the time for seventh in the league. Atlanta ended up allowing teams to convert 42 percent of the time on third down for 26th in the NFL.

New England allowed teams to convert just 39 percent on fourth down, and the Falcons allowed a whopping 72 percent of fourth-down conversions. This is important if one team is behind late in the game and must gamble for a first down.

The numbers bare out that the Patriots get off the field better on third down so they give up fewer points, and Atlanta struggles at times to get stops, which means its defense gives up more points.

Another factor in this Super Bowl may be how each team responds in the red zone, the area from the opposing team’s 20-yard line to that end zone. This represents a good scoring chance for a field goal or touchdown.

New England allowed its opponents to make touchdowns in the red zone 50 percent of the time, and Atlanta allowed red-zone touchdowns 72 percent of the time. On offense, the Patriots scored touchdowns on 64 percent of their red-zone trips, and the Falcons scored touchdowns on 63 percent of their visits to the red zone.

Good defenses force turnovers, and both teams are great at that. The Patriots forced 23 turnovers, and the Falcons forced 22 turnovers. Both teams only gave the ball away 11 times this season on offense.

But the opponents that a team plays against can skew statistics somewhat. …

The Leaves have begun to fall and the weather is changing from the heat of September to the cooler temperatures of October. College football doesn't cool down with the weather it only begins to get hotter. Gone are the September routs of weak scheduling of out of conference opponents. Finally, conference games are in full swing and their will be no where for the pretenders to hide.

Last week might have been the worst week in the history of college football in the state of Mississippi. From Thursday to Saturday night, every four-year college and university lost its game.

This past Saturday, Sept. 24, nine of those 10 teams had a chance to get the win that was so sorely lacking last week. While it wasn’t perfect, it was a turnaround for the state.

The day began in Oxford with a top-25 matchup between the University of Georgia and the University of Mississippi. This was an important game for the Rebels after blowing a 21-point lead to the University of Alabama just one week ago.

The Rebels jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 27-0 lead at the half. By the end of the third quarter, UM was ahead 45-7.

By the time the fourth quarter began, the game was over in every sense, except for the fact that there was time still on the clock. The Rebels allowed Georgia to score, but the outcome was never in question in the 45-14 win.

While the Rebels and Bulldogs were finishing the second quarter, Millsaps College and Hendrix College prepared for their 1 p.m. kickoff. The Majors quickly found themselves down 7-0 in the first quarter.

Hendrix built a 21-6 lead over Millsaps before the break. The Warriors didn’t slow down in the second half, either, building a 28-6 lead in the third quarter.

Millsaps put up a meaningless touchdown near the end of the game to make the final score 42-14 in favor of Hendrix. The loss dropped the Majors to 1-3 for the season.

Mississippi State University took a long road trip to face the University of Massachusetts. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Minutemen broke out with an 83-yard run to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

MSU added another field goal before UMass scored its second touchdown to go up 14-6 in the second quarter. The Bulldogs scored a late touchdown to bring the game to 14-13 at halftime.

In the third quarter, MSU started to take over, outscoring UMass 28-7 to take an overall 41-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The pesky Minutemen wouldn’t go away, though, and they cut the Bulldogs to 41-35 in the final quarter.

The Bulldogs scored a late touchdown to finally put away UMass, escaping with a 47-35 win over a team that has battled in all three of its losses.

While the Bulldogs were dealing with the Minutemen, closer to home, Mississippi Valley State University was kicking off against Prairie View A&M University.

For the second time, a team from Mississippi found itself outmatched in a game. The Panthers quickly got out to a 7-0 lead on the Delta Devils.

MVSU tied the game briefly at 7-7 before Prairie View scored 15 unanswered points …

New Orleans gets a chance to get one game away from .500 tonight on Sunday Night Football against Denver. The Saints need to win this game to keep their slim playoff chances alive and the Broncos (contrary to how the national media portrays them) are a beatable team. Last week the Saints got their second win of the season in a 35-28 victory against Tampa Bay. New Orleans started slowly before quarterback Drew Brees went off in the second quarter against the Buccaneers defense.

A season for the ages for the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team just keeps getting better and better. The program reached the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row, but these Bulldogs didn’t want to go home in the first game of the second weekend.

MSU’s task in the Sweet Sixteen was to find a way to slow down Kelsey Plum of the University of Washington, who happens to be the all-time leading scorer for women’s NCAA basketball and has set the single-season record for scoring.

The Huskies star ended up scoring 29 points, but on 10-of-25 shooting and 3-for-8 from the three-point line. MSU harassed Plum all game long with a suffocating defense that rarely gave the guard open looks at the basket.

Even with the stellar defense on Plum, Washington stayed in the game until the fourth quarter. That is when Bulldogs center Teaira McCowan put the team on her back and carried them.

In the first three quarters, McCowan scored six points before exploding for 20 points in the final quarter alone. No player was more dominant in the game than the Bulldogs center, who nabbed 12 rebounds and made a career-high six blocks.

Washington had no answer in the paint for McCowan, as she grabbed rebound after rebound and put missed shots back for easy buckets. A close game for three quarters saw the Bulldogs pull away in the 75-64 victory.

MSU used its depth to wear Huskies out, with 11 players getting into the game and seven playing double-digit minutes. Star guard Victoria Vivians came off the bench and scored 13 points, and rounds-one and -two leading scorer Blair Schaefer scored 10 points. Another impressive fact is that 10 of the 11 players who saw action scored at least two points.

The win propelled MSU to its first Elite Eight appearance in program history. But then Baylor University stood in the Bulldogs’ way of reach the Final Four, and the two teams put on a show on Sunday night.

During that game, each team seemed to battle back after the other made a run to either tie or take the lead. Just when it seemed like one team was about to put the other away, the game tightened up again.

It might not have been a masterpiece for every second, but it was two teams making big shot after big shot. The smallest Bulldog on the floor, Morgan William, ended up taking and making most of those big shots for MSU.

William entered the game after scoring 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting in the team’s other three games during the NCAA Tournament. She exploded for 41 points on 13-of-22 shooting, 6-of-8 from three, and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, with seven assists and zero turnovers.

William hit shots no matter which Bear tried to guard her, and even hit deep three-point shots when Baylor …

American Pharoah finally broke the 37-year streak of no Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. It was the longest drought in Triple Crown history, breaking the previous one of 25 years between Citation winning in 1948 and Secretariat winning in 1973.

While the horse captured the attention of the public from early May to June, American Pharoah is now retired after winning horse racings' first Grand Slam when he captured the Breeder’s Cup in late October. He now lives the life of a stud horse on a stud farm in Kentucky.

A new horse will get a chance to accomplish the feat of winning the Triple Crown this year. Horses have won back-to-back Triple Crowns just once, When Seattle Slew accomplished the feat in 1977 and Affirmed did it in 1978.

The Kentucky Derby, also known as “The Run for the Roses,” is a 1 1/4-mile race for 3-year-old horses. This year marks the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby, and the race this year will have a full field of 20.

Undefeated in seven races, Nyquist is the early favorite at 3-1, as he drew the No. 13 post on Wednesday, the same one he won at the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile last year. Four horses since 1900 have won from that post, with Smarty Jones being the latest in 2004.

Mario Gutierrez rides Nyquist, Doug O’Neill trains him and Paul Redman, who went on to win the 2012 Kentucky Derby on I’ll Have Another, owns him. The horse also won the Preakness Stakes before being scratched from the Belmont Stakes due to a tendon injury.

The second favorite is Exaggerator at 8-1 odds and racing out of the No.11 post. A trio of horses are tied for third favorite: Creator from the No. 3 post, Gun Runner from No. 5 and Mohaymen from No. 14 are all 10-1 odds.

Bob Baffert, who trained American Pharoah, will have Mor Spirit, who drew the No. 17 post, a spot no horse has ever won the derby from. Mor Spirit is 12-1 odds, along with No. 19 post Brody’s Cause.

Destin from the No. 9 post and Danzing Candy from the No. 20 post are drawing 15-1 odds.

New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson has two horses in the field with Mo Tom at No. 4 and Tom’s Ready at No. 12. Mo Tom is at 20-1, and Tom’s Ready is at 30-1 odds.

American Pharoah jockey Victor Espinoza drew the No. 10 post on Witmore, who, like No. 2 post Suddenbreakingnews, My Man Sam at No. 6 and Saghaf at No. 16, are all at 20-1 odds.

Racing from Japan is Lani from the No. 8 post. The horse is known to be unpredictable from the starting gate. Lani and No. 18 Majesto are at 30-1 odds.

Trojan Nation drew the dreaded No. 1 post. That's the horse that normally gets pinned against the inside rail and is pushed back by …

It is a tale of two vastly different brackets in the UEFA Euro 2016 knockout stage. One side is stacked with historic European soccer powers, and the other side has a mix of powers who haven’t broken through and upstart teams.

The bottom half of the bracket features teams that have won 21 major titles. It features nations with 11 World Cups and 10 European Championships. The other half of the bracket features teams with zero major titles.

That would be like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots being on one side of the playoffs and the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans being on the other side.

If you are a neutral fan, there are plenty of underdogs to root for left in the tournament.

The biggest underdog will be Iceland against England. The smallest nation to ever qualify for this tournament is the feel-good story.

Iceland’s last-second goal against Austria has thus far been one of memorable moments of the tournament. About 8 percent of the 330,000 population of Iceland has bought tickets for this event.

Just making the second round is a major accomplishment, but beating England would be even bigger. While England will be rooting for the Three Lions, the rest of them will be backing the Ice Men.

Host nation France also plays an underdog as it takes on Ireland in the next round. The Irish beat Italy on a late goal, sending them into the second round.

Italy also sat several important players, having advanced to the next stage. Ireland’s win over Italy reminded fans of their upset win over the Azzurri in the 1994 World Cup.

Last time these two teams played in a non-friendly saw France advance to the World Cup after a handball goal in Dublin from Thierry Henry gave Les Bleus a 2-1 in a playoff. Ireland would love revenge on French soil.

Slovakia was the top third-place team to advance, and for their accomplishment, they get Germany. It would be a great win for Slovakia to beat World Champion Germany. Both teams have struggled at times, but the Germans are the stronger side.

The last matchup in the bottom of the bracket is between two soccer heavyweights. Italy against Spain will be like getting a championship game-caliber match in the second round. These two teams have met 34 previous times with both sides earning 10 wins and 14 draws. One team will get the upper hand after this match.

One underdog is going to advance. That is because Northern Ireland plays Wales in the second round.

Gareth Bale provides Wales with the star power, but Northern Ireland has defended well and advanced as a third-place team with 1-0 losses to Poland and Germany. Wales won a group that also included England, Russia and Slovakia.

Croatia against Portugal is an interesting match in the second round. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo has …

Professional wrestling hit one of its high points with the Monday Night Wars between WWE, then known as WWF, and WCW. The battle between the two wrestling federations began in the mid-1990s and ended in 2001, when WWE bought WCW.

This was one of the golden eras in pro wrestling and featured some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Hulk Hogan, the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. After WCW folded, the product hasn’t had the same must-see-each-week feel.

During the ratings war between the two companies, WWE started the popular television series “WWE SmackDown.” While one of the wrestling corporation’s other popular offerings, “Monday Night Raw,” premiers live, “SmackDown” has been mostly pre-recorded.

In order to add some new fuel to the WWE’s ratings, “SmackDown” is now shifting to a live format and moving from its traditional Thursday night slot to Tuesday nights on the USA Network. In previous years, “SmackDown” was taped on Tuesday before being shown on Thursday.

This isn’t the first time “SmackDown” has shown live, but it is the program’s first long-term move to the format. While pre-recording shows has been a staple of the wrestling industry for a long time, the Internet has just about put an end to the process.

WWE is going to split their talent between “Raw” and “SmackDown” with a draft. This also isn’t the first time that the company has used a draft to move talent around.

The main problem with the draft is that few big names moved off the flagship show, “Raw.” One to four main-event talents were on “SmackDown,” but they normally showed up on “Raw” anyway.

If the WWE wants to make the now-live “SmackDown” a more successful show, the company will have to do a few things.

First, WWE will need to split the talent as level as possible. “Raw” can’t have all the big names with “SmackDown” getting the crumbs and having to build main-event stars.

Brock Lesnar is a good fit on “Raw” because it is the flagship show, and he has a limited number of appearance dates. John Cena, Randy Orton, AJ Styles or other recognizable names have to move to “SmackDown” to provide star power.

The WWE can and should break up the former members of The Shield. Current champion Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins can bring main-event status on either show. Once Roman Reign’s suspension is over, it might be best to leave him on “Raw.”

Another idea to help “SmackDown” out is to have that show, or as the WWE likes to say, “brand,” draft several NXT wrestlers. NXT is like the WWE minor-league system if you didn’t already know.

NXT performers such as Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura would give “SmackDown” a must-see feel for fans who don’t have the WWE Network, which is currently the only way to watch “WWE NXT.”

Those are three of the biggest names …

Tony Romo takes back the role of starting quarterback job the Dallas Cowboys tonight, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. against the Miami Dolphins. This will be the first game action in the preseason for Romo, who is recovering from an injury-plagued 2015 campaign.

It seems like a good bet that Romo will only play two to three series in this game. It would be shocking to see him play past the first quarter. However, when Romo’s night is done, there is still plenty of reasons to stay around and watch this game on the NFL Network.

Former Mississippi State University star Dak Prescott is one reason to watch until his night is done. Last week against the Los Angeles Rams, Prescott had perhaps one of the best NFL debuts in Cowboys history.

Sure, it was a preseason game, and the Rams didn’t play every starter or even have a game plan. But Prescott started the game in front of nearly 90,000 fans, and Los Angeles wasn’t playing the game with a defense full of guys who are going to be out on the street next week.

In that preseason game, the Rams played both starters and backups who will play a big part of the team’s success or failure this season. Prescott had a great night even for the preseason, and he could lock up the backup job in the next three games.

Prescott was as sharp as any quarterback in the league. Even in the preseason, quarterbacks still have to read the defense and make throws. It wasn’t like Prescott was throwing against air.

He completed 10 out of 12 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and his only two incompletions were drops. He threw some nice passes that included a couple of back-shoulder throws and some pinpoint passes into tight windows.

Now it will be interesting to see how Prescott follows his big game from last week. He will have even more pressure on him to show the same level of play, but he will have to work with mostly backups this time.

Can he get in good plays for the Cowboys working with the second- and third-string offense? Can he overcome the inevitable false starts or holding penalties that tend to happen with backup linemen in a game?

These are things to watch, along with how he controls the huddle and how he manages the offense in down and distance situations. He will be throwing to receivers who might be the Cowboys’ third or fourth wide receivers if they make the team instead of Dez Bryant and the starters.

How does he handle it when players make mistakes and run the wrong routes? There is a difference between starting a preseason game and coming in after the starters have left the game.

Prescott has a chance to show that last week wasn’t some fluke or great luck. He has a chance to …