Jackson Free Press

ESPN sent out a press release that Mississippi State will face Oklahoma State in the newly created Texas Football Classic which will be held in Houston at Reliant Stadium. Here is a link to the [full press release][1].

When working on this week's Super Bowl preview and prediction, I came across more information than I could fit in a single article for the paper. So, I figured with the big game just a couple of days away, why not share some of the rest of the information I found that I couldn't use in print.

Between the print article and the paper, you should be able to have plenty of stats and information to spread around at any Super Bowl Party you are attending. If you missed the print article here is the link.

Also, if you missed my rant this week, here is a link to it as well.

If anyone is hoping for the weather to warm up on Super Bowl Sunday, it is Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. In the playoffs when the temperature is under 40 degrees, Manning is 0-3 (to be fair as well all three of those games were on the road).

The coldest non-domed Super Bowl was at Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3. The game was played in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium and the high was 43 and the low was 24.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, has only played in one game under 40 degrees. That was week 15 of this season against the New York Giants, in what will be stadium the game will be played in this Sunday. The Seahawks won that game 23-0.

Manning and Wilson will set a Super Bowl record when the game kicks off. The two quarterbacks will set the record for biggest age difference between two quarterbacks. There is a 12 year and 250 days difference in age between the two starting single callers.

At 25, Wilson would join both Joe Montana and Joe Namath also won the big game at the age of 25. The Seahawks quarterback also has the most wins at 27 (including playoffs) for a second year quarterback starting the Super Bowl.

Manning has the Super Bowl experience, which is good but Wilson has some recent Super Bowl numbers on his side. Quarterbacks with previous Super Bowl experience have been in 19 Super Bowls and those quarterbacks have a 10-9 record.

Wilson has the recent history on his side. The quarterbacks with experience haven't fared so well as the quarterbacks without experience have won the last three straight (Eli Manning over Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers over Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees over Manning).

Both these teams meet in the preseason this year. That is important if anyone tells you the preseason meeting doesn't matter.

This will be the seventh time, since 1994, teams who faced off in the preseason play in the Super Bowl. The team that won the meaningless game went on to win five of the six previous Super Bowls.

In the preseason Seattle beat Denver 40-10.

These two teams have meet 52 times in regular …

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.

College football finishes rounding the midway point this weekend. Last week was great for some and painful to watch for others. If you missed anything, check out the recap in this week's JFP or [with this link][1].

It was an exciting start to the NFL season last week. The first week of the season started with Dallas upsetting the New York Giants and ended the Raiders special teams handing a win to San Diego.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It could be a NFL Draft red herring but the Dallas Cowboys have shown an incredible amount of interest in Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott. According to the Dallas-Morning News, Cowboys Quarterback Coach Wade Wilson is in Starkville, Miss today to workout the former Bulldogs single caller.

This will mark the third time that Wilson has meet with before this April's draft. Wilson, along with Dallas Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan, spent time with Prescott at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala and then met with him again at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in late February.

Multiple reports (here and here) have the Cowboys linked to Prescott in this year's NFL Draft. And why not, Dallas has to start thinking about like after Tony Romo at some point.

Last season, Romo spent more time injured than on the field and he has had back issues the last few seasons. The Cowboys have to figure that time is running out on Romo and taking a quarterback in the draft to develop for future is the smart idea.

Prescott has been projected to be drafted as high as the second round but most projections have him being selected in the third to fourth round of this year's draft. Most draft scouts see Prescott as a bit of a work in progress but could turn into a solid starter with time to develop into a NFL starter.

The Dallas Cowboys have nine picks in the draft. Dallas has the 34th pick in the 2nd round, 67th pick in the third round, 101st pick in the fourth round and 135th pick (a compensatory pick) in the fourth round. Other picks include the 189th, 212th, 216th, and 217th pick in the sixth round.

Every pick in the sixth round but the 189th is a compensatory pick. One thing to remember about the draft is that compensatory picks can not be traded and must be used by the team that was awarded the pick. That means the Cowboys don't have a lot of picks to trade if they must move around to get Prescott.

While Prescott has mainly stayed in the news for his on the field work or for being a good guy off the field, he has been in the news for the wrong thing. Last year, Prescott was seen on video being jumped in Panama City, Florida, but the quarterback handled that situation nearly perfectly.

Last week, Prescott was in the news for the wrong reason, when he was arrested for driving under the influence. While his draft stock will take a bit of a hit, because he was arrested so close to the draft, it is not the enough to send up red flags to teams who want to draft the quarterback.

Dallas currently hasn't signed a quarterback in free agency and have Kellen Moore as the only other quarterback on the roster besides Romo. The …

Last week was a tough week for the college football teams in Mississippi. Nearly every team lost but Ole Miss and Belhaven. It was the type of week you just want to forget about but if you missed any of last week's action you can pick up the current issue of the JFP and read the round up or [follow this link][1]. Things don't get any easier this week for college football teams in Mississippi. Southern Miss is still searching for win one, Mississippi State faces a tough test in Texas A&M and Ole Miss will look to avoid a blowout against Georgia.

This week, Mississippians got in an up roar when several news outlets referred to our state as the "Landmass" between New Orleans, LA. and Mobile, AL. It has made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter with a post even of the JFP site.

Anyone who keeps close tabs on the NFL knows that on Friday afternoons it's worth paying attention to press releases. The league has become masterful at dropping news late on Friday afternoons when most people have turned their attention to the weekend.

The University of Mississippi used a similar approach last Friday. Before the holiday weekend, UM released its response to a NCAA notice of allegations, using Memorial Day weekend and the dumpster fire that is Baylor University football as cover to quietly put out its report. In that 154-page response, the university self-imposed 11 total scholarships in football over the next four years.

The school also asked for a delay on a scheduled hearing with the Committee on Infractions until it could fully investigate the Laremy Tunsil draft-night fallout. UM is scheduled to meet with the COI this summer.

Of the 13 allegations the NCAA has leveled against the school, nine came under the watch of current head coach Hugh Freeze. Four of those allegations are Level I violations (the most severe), two are Level II violations and three are Level III violations.

On Monday, Freeze began damage control as he defended his program. Freeze said he takes full responsibility for the violations and then said the violations were more about mistakes made than an effort to cheat.

The head coach zealously denied that he or anyone on his staff had knowingly violated rules. In an ESPN story, Freeze said, “There’s a big difference between making mistakes in recruiting and going out there with the intent to cheat."

Freeze knows, like any coach, that it is important to win the court of public opinion. He is also trying to repair his reputation. Freeze was quick to point out that several of the violations linked back to former coach Houston Nutt.

UM is hoping that suspending a couple of assistant coaches from recruiting for a month, the loss on scholarships and disassociation with boosters will keep the NCAA at bay. The organization could take all of the Rebels self-imposed punishments and call it a day.

It is highly unlikely that the NCAA won't add to the Rebels punishment. Also, it seems like Freeze and the university aren’t “owning” their violations by trying to point out Nutt's complicity at every chance.

Freeze and the Rebels still have to deal with the Tunsil draft-night fiasco, and the NCAA could reopen its investigation. This is not a simple as Freeze is trying to pin the worst parts on past coaching staff.

There have been rumblings about how Freeze and his coaches recruited since his highly regarded draft class of 2013. Freeze tried then to play off those rumblings as ranting from haters.

Now, it seems the haters were right, and Freeze is trying to hand at deflection. If even more comes out after the Tunsil draft night, it might be time for a coaching change in Oxford.

The NCAA would be wise to listen …

Four year schools had a great week with everybody getting a win but Southern Miss and Mississippi College. To read a full recap pick up a copy of this week's Jackson Free Press or [follow this link][1].

Early today, word came down from the top of the JFP tower all the way down to the basement where I am located, that we could set up a pick'em game. I have gone out and set up an account for a few fantasy games.

The old cliché that records are made to be broken just seems just perfect for sports. Nothing gets the fans attention more than when a seemingly untouchable record gets threatened or out and out broken.

Everyone pays more attention when an NFL team is undefeated near the end of the season to see if that squad can match the 1972 Miami Dolphins, when a hitter in Major League Baseball gets near Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hit streak, or when a horse wins the first two legs of the Triple Crown, like American Pharoah did last year.

Now that the NBA season is coming to a close, it is time for us sports fans to cast our attention to a potential record that could fall this season. The Golden State Warriors are now officially knocking down the door of matching or surpassing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

Those Bulls did what seemed impossible, as they became the first team to win 70 games in a season. In fact, they won 72 games and lost just 10 games. That team is the standard to which every great team since in the NBA is judged.

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls featured Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the enigma Dennis Rodman, who all went on to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But the Bulls also had great role players in Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Ron Harper and Steve Kerr that season.

Interestingly enough, Kerr is the head coach for Golden State in its march toward the Bulls’ record. It seems fitting that a link to that great Chicago team would have ties to the Warriors squad that could steal the Bulls’ crown.

The Warriors have played 74 games this season and have eight games to go before they finish the full 82-game season. Golden State is one game ahead of where Chicago at this same point.

Through 74 games, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls had a sensational 66-8 overall record. Golden State currently owns a 67-7 overall record as they enter play against the Utah Jazz tonight, March 30.

Chicago fell to the Charlotte Hornets by just a single point in game 75, making it the ninth loss of that fantastic season. If Golden State wins tonight, it would put the team two wins ahead of the Bulls’ pace.

The Warriors have yet to lose back-to-back games all season long, and the Bulls lost back-to-back games just once during their record setting season. Golden State jumped off to a 24-0 start to begin the season, which was better than Chicago’s 22-2 start in 1995.

If Golden State is going to get the record, the team will have earned it. In the Warriors’ final eight games, they will face just one team that is currently not in the playoffs and has a under .500 record —the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Warriors get the 37-37 Jazz on the road before returning home for five games. In that five …

College football hasn't been bad to Mississippi for the most part this season. There is hope everywhere, unless you're a USM fan, and you can check out last week's games in the JFP print edition or [follow this link][1]. The big winner last week was Mississippi State. The Bulldogs took care of everything in front of them to setup a showdown this week against Alabama.

This has been one of the best MLB postseasons in a long time. That should mean things are setting up for one of the best World Series in a long time.

Game one of the World Series will be on Tuesday, Oct. 25, and fans have something special to do instead of just sitting on the couch and watching: The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is holding a game one viewing party. But at the event, you can do more than just watch the Fall Classic on the big screen and mingle with other fans.

Former and current MLB players will be on hand before the game starts. Fans will be able to ask questions and get autographs with a great lineup.

Players scheduled to appear are 2017 Hall of Fame inductee pitcher Jay Powell, who won game seven of the 1997 World Series; 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Brantley, who pitched in the 1989 World Series that saw an earthquake hit before the start of game three; current St. Louis Cardinals third base coach Chris Maloney, who played at Mississippi State University; former University of Mississippi and New York Yankees player Jake Gibbs, who is in the College football Hall of Fame; former UM great Joe Gibbon, who won the 1960 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates; former University of Southern Mississippi great, who currently is managing in the minor leagues; former USM pitcher Chad Bradford, who was a major focus of the book and later film “Moneyball”; and former Delta State University star Barry Lyons, who played for the New York Mets.

Other players will be added as their schedule makes them available.

The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with a barbecue dinner, and players will come out at 6:30 before the game starts. Players will discuss their playing days in the majors, answer questions and discuss game one of the World Series.

All proceeds from this event will benefit the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Tickets for the viewing party begin at $50 and must be purchased in advance.

To buy them, go by the museum office or at this link. For more information about this event, call 601-982-8264.

Every NFL team wants to have stability at a few important spots in the franchise, from ownership to general manager to head coach to quarterback.

This morning, the New Orleans Saints made sure one of the major pieces of their stability was staying in town a little longer. Head coach Sean Payton announced during the NFC’s coaching breakfast that he and the Saints had reached a deal for a five-year extension.

ESPN’s Ed Werder said in a news article that the new deal will keep Payton in New Orleans until 2020 and pay him more than $45 million over the length of the deal. Payton was already one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL and made $8.5 million a year on his last contract with the club.

In the 10 years he has been with the Saints, he has put together an 87-57 record and led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title. Payton has been with the Saints since 2006, which ties him with Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers for third-longest tenured head coach in the NFL.

Payton slides to fourth place if you discount the 2012 season in which he was suspended for the whole year as part of the Bountygate. New England’s Bill Belichick has been with the Patriots since 2000, and Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis has been with the Bengals since 2003.

While in New Orleans, Payton has guided the Saints to the playoffs five times, and he had a 6-4 playoff record. He will forever be linked with the Saints' quick turnaround after Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast.

After last season, in which the Saints finished 7-9, people speculated that New Orleans might try to trade Payton. That notion was quickly dispelled when Payton himself said he wanted to finish his career as New Orleans head coach.

New Orleans has missed the playoffs for the last two years, but with this contract, Payton can keep working on his vision to keep the Saints' championship window open. Part of that vision is sure to include quarterback Drew Brees.

Reports are that the Saints and Brees are working on a four-year extension to keep him in New Orleans until 2020 as well. A new extension for Brees also might help ease some of his cap burden for the next season, which is currently $30 million.

Payton’s extension also helps the club entering the NFL Draft next month. New Orleans can focus on both short and long-term plays knowing that their head coach will be in-house for the next five years.

The New Orleans Saints have the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Overall, the Saints have seven draft picks to use in this year’s draft.

College basketball begins this Friday, Nov. 11, and fans will have plenty of hoops to feast on throughout the day and weekend. Between games on cable TV and ones available for streaming, you might need to add a few more TV, laptops and tablets to your viewing area.

Games begin at 9 a.m. central time when Robert Morris University hosts Point Park University in women’s basketball. Two hours later, the men’s season begins with Milligan College at Middle Tennessee State University. Neither game is on TV or ESPN3, but I would bet my bottom dollar that they can be some how.

Here is a list of the men’s and women’s teams from the six Division I universities in Mississippi and their first game of the season.

The first team that tips off this season is the men of Jackson State University at 12:15 p.m., when the Tigers go against Xavier University of Louisiana. The Jackson State women’s team plays Blue Mountain College at 6 p.m.

Neither JSU game is on TV, but the Tigers are at home. Fans should be excited about this season after the team finished strong last season.

The University of Mississippi women’s team takes its home floor for the first game of the 2016-2017 season at 2:30 p.m. against Southeastern Louisiana University. Fans can watch it on SECN+. At 6 p.m., the Rebels men’s team takes on Tennessee Martin University, which will also be on SECN+.

If you don’t know, games on that network are not on TV but are streamed online, which is annoying since my cable has two alternative SECN channels that are scheduled to show diddley squat on Friday.

Mississippi State University women’s season begins at 6 p.m. in the Maine Tipoff Tournament against Villanova University. For some reason, this game is not on TV, but the MSU website has a link for listening to it.

The MSU men are showing on the SECN+ at home against Norfolk State University at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Mississippi Valley State University men’s team starts the season at 7 p.m. on the road against Northwestern University. The game will not be broadcasted on TV.

The University of Southern Mississippi men’s team hosts Tougaloo at 7 p.m. for the season opener, but this game is not on TV. Alcorn State University men’s team hits the road to face Loyola University Chicago on ESPN3.

Alcorn State University women’s team begins the season at 8 p.m. on the road against Grand Canyon University, and the game is also not on TV. That is it for Mississippi team’s Friday games, but fans can watch plenty of other games on if none of those catch their eye.

The USM women’s team doesn’t take the floor until Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. when the Golden Eagles host New Orleans University. This is the only game with a Mississippi team on Sunday, but it is not on TV.

The MVSU women’s team …

The only Power Five conference without 12 or more members and a conference title game is the Big 12; however, it did get permission from the NCAA to hold a title game with just 10 members earlier this year.

That would help the conference crown a true champion. But it would have helped in 2014 when both Baylor University and Texas Christian University both finished with one conference loss and were declared co-champions.

Even with a title game, the Big 12 is exploring adding more members to better position itself for the college-football playoff. The conference was shutout in 2014, but the University of Oklahoma got one of the four spots in 2015.

Adding more members will also help the conference in its next TV deal and could lead to the Big 12 developing its own channel. Right now the Big Ten and SEC have leveraged their channels to big dollars for their conferences.

The Pac-12 also has its own channel but hasn’t seen the success the Big Ten and SEC yet. Not having a deal with Directv has hurt the growth.

There has been plenty of talk that the Big 12 would like to add two schools, which would likely come from American Athletic Conference.

The AAC has some interesting teams and had some solid success last season.

Temple University in Philadelphia could be attractive to the Big 12 because of the team's large media market and the fact that the Owls beat Pennsylvania State University out of the Big Ten and nearly upset the University Notre Dame.

The University of Cincinnati beat the University of Miami in Florida out of the ACC and played Brigham Young University tough. Both the University of Connecticut and the University of Central Florida are interesting options, even though they have struggled on the field the last couple of seasons.

The University of Houston fits the Big 12 geographically and had a standout season last year with wins over Vanderbilt University in the SEC, the University of Louisville in the ACC and Florida State University in the ACC a bowl game.

The University of Memphis beat the University of Mississippi out of the SEC and University of Kansas out of the Big 12 last season. The Naval Academy would be an interesting choice as well.

Colorado State University is being linked with the Big 12 out of the Mountain West Conference. The Big 12 used to have a presence in Colorado with the University of Colorado until it left to join the Pac-12.

Mountain West team Boise State University could also be in the mix at some point. The only reason the Broncos would be left out in the cold is the small TV market in its location.

The University of Texas will have a lot to say about what school the conference adds. It might object to say the University of Houston because the Cougars could cut into recruiting. The …

In the past, the NFL Combine has been held behind closed doors, with the best college football players trying to impress scouts without the public seeing any of the action. That changed in 2004 when the NFL began to broadcast the event on its own NFL Network.

College-football fans were finally able to see their favorite players go through drills, and NFL fans were able to see who their favorite teams might draft. However, the event still wasn’t open for the public to see up close and personal.

Last year, 1,500 fans got a chance to see the combine live at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It was the first time the league let fans into the combine to watch the events live.

While NFL ratings were down a bit this year, the league has been trying more and more to make offseason events matter. The NFL is working on becoming a year-round league with fans being able to get closer than ever to action.

When the NFL Combine takes place from March 3-5, 2017, the league will select a lucky group of 6,000 fans will get to see it all from Lucas Oil Stadium. The league will hand out those tickets for free, but they are non-transferable.

They won’t be just in the stadium watching from the stands for every event, either. Fans will be able to stand nearby as they watch the 225-pound bench press and cheer on players trying to complete as many reps as possible.

Fans will also be able to run a 40-yard dash, vertical, broad jump and other combine events from the convention center called “Combine Corner.” The league will allow fans to run an obstacle course, show of their form tacking against tackling dummies, and face “The Gauntlet,” where they can catch passes from a JUGS machine, which is a machine that shoots football for players to practice catching.

Before fans can take part in the physical events, they will have to sign a waiver that releases the league from any liability in case of injury. There are also events for those who want to visit the Combine but don’t want to take part in the physical events.

Fans will be able to interact with players at the convention center as members of the media conduct interviews, and the players will sign autographs. There will also be press conferences from head coaches that fans will be able to attend.

Visitors will have opportunities to take photos with players, NFL legends, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the actual bench where players will do the 225-pound bench press. They can also pretend that their favorite NFL team just drafted them and get pictures wearing a jersey from that team.

Lastly, fans can enjoy virtual reality attractions, see all 50 Super Bowl rings, shop for NFL gear, win prizes and more activities. To register for a chance to win a free tickets, fans can download the NFL Fan …

The quest for six wins for 70 teams continues this week. Currently there are 42 teams that are bowl eligible and five of those teams are undefeated and still in play for the national championship. Ohio State is also undefeated but unable to play for the title due to NCAA sanctions. Speaking of teams not able to play in a bowl game, there are 25 teams unable to play in a bowl game currently due to seven losses, NCAA sanctions or moving from FCS to FBS transition.