Jackson Free Press

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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].

It’s official. Former Mississippi State University quarterback Dak Prescott is now a Dallas Cowboy. Prescott signed his rookie deal on Tuesday, along with fellow fourth-rounder Charles Tapper.

That leaves the Cowboys with one unsigned draft pick.

Prescott received a $383,393 signing bonus as part of his four-year deal. His base salary from 2016-2019 will be $450,000, $540,000, $630,000 and $720,000.

Dallas spent plenty of time with Prescott before the draft. They met with the quarterback at the Senior Bowl, NFL Combine, during a private workout in Starkville and at the Cowboys Headquarters Valley Ranch before the draft.

Prescott, who owns 38 school records, is the first quarterback Dallas has drafted since 2009, when the club selected Stephen McGee. During Prescott's career at MSU, he accumulated 11,897 yards of total offense and had a 23-10 record as a starter.

The former MSU great will battle with Kellen Moore for the backup job to Tony Romo. In college, Prescott ran for 2,501 yards and 41 touchdowns, which could make him a factor near the goal line for the Cowboys.

As injuries and age begin to catch up with Romo, the thought is that Prescott can be groomed to become the next starting quarterback. He brings arm strength and mobility to help overcome his weakness of not knowing the offense as he battles Moore for the No. 2 job.

Speaking of signing bonuses, former University of Mississippi defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche did a little bit of shopping with his. The former Rebel received $4.45 million signing bonus after inking his deal with the Arizona Cardinals, who drafted him in the first round.

The first thing Nkemdiche bought was a way to get around town. The former Rebel selected a Cadillac Escalade for his new wheels.

After buying his Escalade, the defensive tackle went shopping at a thrift store to stock up on XXXXL and XXXXXL shirts. A thrift store isn’t where you normally hear about a first-round NFL pick spending his money, but Nkemdiche isn’t your typical first-round draft pick.

Next, the new Cardinal is planning on buying a new saxophone. The defensive tackle once played the instrument at actor Morgan Freeman’s Clarksdale club Ground Zero.

While Nkemdiche still hasn’t decided if he will buy a home, he didn’t buy the panther he said he would like before the draft. The Cardinals have to be happy that their first-round pick decided on the Escalade and not the panther.

But down the road, he still could get it.

Tomorrow night on the TBS network, the world of e-sports comes into everyone’s living room. There might not be faster-growing sport organizations in the world than competitive video-game leagues.

In Asia, the players are already treated like rock stars. In 2014, more than 205 million people watched e-sports online, which has allowed for rapid growth in the industry. TV might be the last medium that e-sports has yet to take over.

TBS will broadcast “ELeague” on Friday, May 27, at 9 p.m. in an attempt to cash in on the big money associated with e-sports.

While most e-sports players are men, growing numbers of women are coming into leagues. Youth is another staple of e-sports. While that doesn’t mean that all players are young, there is a smaller chance of seeing a bunch of 35-year olds batting it out.

The “League of Legends” Championship is one of the biggest events in e-sports. “League of Legends” itself is a popular multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA, and real-time strategy video game from Riot Games. In 2013, the tournament took place at the Staples Center, home of the LA Lakers and Clippers, and the venue sold out in a short amount of time.

Not only are people watching online, but they are also watching live in arenas and stadiums around the world. In the United States, the Super Bowl is the only sporting event that more people watch than the “League of Legends” Championship.

The prizes and salaries for top tournaments and players are also growing. In 2014, Chinese e-sports club NewBee won $5.03 million for winning the title for “Dota 2,” a MOBA from developer Valve.

Some top players earn salaries of about $65,000, not including bonuses or endorsements, though most teams do not disclose salaries.

ESPN has an e-sports page for the latest news in the industry, and colleges are even starting to get involved in e-sports, as well.

The Pac-12 is the first major college conference to jump on the e-sports bandwagon. Geographically, the Pac-12 makes perfect sense to be the first major conference in eSports.

Robert Morris University was the first American institution to offer scholarships for e-sports back in 2014. Miami University in Ohio started a varsity e-sports program this year. The Big 10 is starting to take steps into the e-sports world, as well.

It is not crazy for TBS to try to jump into a nontraditional sport. ESPN has done well with the World Series of Poker over the years. The “Worldwide Leader in Sports” has also televised the national spelling bee.

TBS might start a boom in e-sports, much like ESPN started a boom in poker during the early 2000s, as nearly every station tried to create its own poker program. The boom made several poker stars well known across the nation.

If TBS plays its cards right, the network could be at the front of next …

While we wait to hear about a possible deal between the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots for cornerback Malcolm Butler, the Saints still are working on fixing their defense, which was one of the worst in the league. It has gotten linebacker help with the poaching of former Carolina Panthers linebacker A.J. Klein.

New Orleans signed former San Diego Chargers linebacker Manti Te’o to a two-year deal. No financial details have been released, but it seems like a good bet that the Saints got a good deal.

Te’o missed 13 games last season after tearing his Achilles tendon in week three of the season in a game against the Indianapolis Colts. The 26-year-old has spent a good deal of time on the injury list, as he has missed 26 games in his four-year career.

He is an impact player on defense and started 34 out of 38 games, when healthy, for the Chargers. After San Diego drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the linebacker amassed 221 tackles, 2 interceptions and 1.5 sacks. Te’o was named co-captain of the Chargers for the 2016-2017 season.

New Orleans is starting to get a logjam at linebacker with Te’o, Klein and returning starter Craig Robinson, who all play inside linebacker. The Saints could try to move one player to outside linebacker, but will Te’o have the speed after the Achilles injury?

The Saints, barring another trade, still have two first-round draft picks to use in late April. New Orleans is making an effort to improve its defensive unit.

Te’o was a star at the University of Notre Dame and led his team during his senior season of 2012 to the national championship game. He finished second for the Heisman Trophy that season.

Casual fans might remember the linebacker being misled in one of the more public versions of “catfishing” (when someone pretends to be someone else on the Internet and enters in online relationships with others. MTV produces a show on the subject.)

The linebacker thought he was having an online relationship with a woman, but in truth the woman wasn’t real, and he was being deceived. Things got worse. He told people that his girlfriend, who wasn’t real, had died. In real life, his grandmother had died around the same time.

It was one of the more bizarre sports stories in the last few years. Many believed the linebacker was in on the hoax until it was proven that he had been tricked.

Since entering the league, Te’o hasn’t be involved in any strange stories. The only time he makes the news is for playing or being hurt.

New Orleans doesn’t have to worry about him bring bad press because he has been drama free since joining the league four years ago. But the hoax of a fake-dead girlfriend might be what the public eventually remembers about the linebacker.

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 …

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.

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.

This is one of my favorite weeks in sports with the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Four and WrestleMania held on the same weekend. Looking at the card for WrestleMania 33, it could be a dud, but the in-ring action may surpass expectations, depending on the angles that the company wants to go with post-show.

If you checked out The Slate in the Jackson Free Press this week, there is a tease about a future president taking part in a past WrestleMania. No, not The Rock, although he might one day run for the office, and he has the charisma and charm to win.

WrestleMania 23 took place at Ford Field in Detroit on April 1, 2007, and while it wasn’t the greatest “showcase of the immortals,” it wasn’t horrible and does have an interesting place the event’s history.

In the run-up to the event, WWE owner Vince McMahon entered into a feud with longtime friend Donald Trump. This feud started when Trump interrupted McMahon on “Monday Night Raw,” stealing the WWE chairman’s spotlight and laying the groundwork for their future match.

This wasn’t the first time Trump ended up as part of McMahon’s traveling show. Trump signed a deal to have Trump Plaza sponsor WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V, even though the events took place at Atlantic City Convention Hall, now known as Boardwalk Hall.

In WrestleMania history, this is still the only time that the event took place in the same location in back-to-back years. Trump was in the crowd as a fan at WrestleMania VII and WrestleMania XX, making him a fixture at the event four times before the 23rd “show of shows.”

At WrestleMania 23, the Trump-McMahon match was billed as the “Battle of the Billionaires.” So what would these so-called billionaires battle over but hair-vs.-hair, with the loser having his head shaved? What else would the two battle over if not their locks?

Instead of fighting each other, the two men chose proxies to fight in their place, with Trump picking ECW champion Bobby Lashley and McMahon going with Intercontinental champion Umaga. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin came in as a special guest referee for the match to add more sizzle.

Interesting fact: McMahon wanted Hulk Hogan to be Trump’s pick for the match as a callback to WrestleMania III, but money issues between the two kept the Hulkster from taking part in the event.

As for the match, it isn’t a classic for its in-ring work, but Stone Cold handed out his signature move, the “stunner,” to McMahon’s son, Shane, after he entered the match when Umaga had “knocked out” Austin. That set the IC champ up for the finish with a stunner from Austin and a pin by Lashley.

After the match, Trump, Lashley and Austin helped shaved McMahon, and as it turned out, Vince, with no hair, has the tiniest head in the history of wrestling. Stone Cold did his normal post-match …

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].

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.

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.

College basketball will reach its climax from Saturday to Tuesday as both the men’s and women’s tournament play out the Final Four and championship games. None of the eight teams left will feature a team from our state.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get a taste of the Final Four from the past. Thursday night, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum will honor the 1996 Mississippi State University men’s basketball team that reached the Final Four in that magical season.

The event is sold out, but that doesn’t mean sports fans can’t catch the tribute. While you can’t be there in person, you can check the event out online.

Just like two seasons ago when the state was swept up in the great seasons unfolding at both Mississippi State and the University of Mississippi in football, 20 years ago, the state was swept up in the Bulldogs' astonishing run.

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame coach Richard Williams led team that season, guiding it to a 26-8 record and winning the SEC Tournament over eventual national champions the University of Kentucky.

The Bulldogs defeated Virginia Commonwealth University (58-51) and Princeton University (63-41), reaching the Sweet Sixteen. MSU shocked No. 1 seed University of Connecticut, which future hall of famer Ray Allen led, for the 60-55 win.

In the Elite Eight, MSU took down No. 2 seed University of Cincinnati 73-63, reaching the Final Four. The Bulldogs were underdogs against both Connecticut and Cincinnati.

MSU’s run came to an end in a 77-69 loss in one of the national semifinals against Syracuse University. In a strange twist, the Orange and coach Jim Boeheim are in this year’s Final Four.

On the court, future NBA players center Erick Dampier and forward Dontae Jones led the Bulldogs. Dampier went on to have a long career in the NBA, while Jones spent just a couple of seasons before heading overseas to play basketball.

Sharp-shooting guard Darryl Wilson led MSU in scoring that season. He also went on to play overseas for several years.

Other important players on the 1995-1996 Bulldogs were point guard Marcus Bullard, forward Russell Walters, center Tyrone Washington, forward Whit Hughes and guard Bart Hyche.

MSU finished with a losing record the next season, and Richard Williams was gone after the 1997-1998 season. The Bulldogs haven’t reached the Sweet Sixteen since the 1996 run.

The tribute to the 1995-1996 Bulldogs will feature highlights, team memories and a panel discussion. Farm Bureau, Weir Boerner Architecture and Mississippi State University sponsor the event.

View the livestream, which begins around 7 p.m. on March 31, at https://livestream.com/shorterproductions/events/5017289.

The NCAA finally released penalties on the University of Southern Mississippi men’s basketball program and former coaches, including Donnie Tyndall, who are receiving the most severe penalties with the program.

Tyndall, who was given a 10-year show-cause penalty, earned the worst one. The show-cause penalty for him runs from April 8, 2016, to April 7, 2026. A show-cause penalty means the punishment for Tyndall follows him to any other NCAA school that hires him, unless the school hiring him can "show-cause” (prove a good reason) why it shouldn’t be penalized for hiring Tyndall.

Dave Bliss, former Baylor University men’s basketball coach, is the only other coach to be hit with a 10-year show-cause penalty. Here is why Bliss was hit with his punishment.

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions based the punishment on the fact that Tyndall acted unethically and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance when he directed his staff to engage in academic misconduct. Tyndall was also accused of fabricating paperwork to justify payments to student-athletes.

The report from the NCAA says that Tyndall got members of his coaching staff to complete fake coursework for prospective players so they would be eligible to play as soon as they got on campus.

“The activity began within six weeks of the former head coach starting at the university, involved the majority of the former coach’s staff and involved approximately half of the prospects the university recruited during a two-year period,” the NCAA said in the report. “The former head coach directed two graduate assistants and a former assistant coach to travel to two-year colleges to complete coursework for prospects.”

Tyndall was also accused of paying players as well.

“One former high school coach mailed the money directly to the former head coach, who would then deliver the money to the student-athlete for university bills,” the report stated. It also said: “The former head coach also facilitated cash and prepaid credit card payments to two prospects from former coaches.”

While at USM from 2012 to 2014, Tyndall led the Golden Eagles to a 56-17 record and led the team to two NIT berths. While Tyndall was at Morehead State University in New York, the program was placed on two years probation due to activities by a booster.

Tyndall left USM for the University of Tennessee before the accusations of violations came out but was fired after the Volunteers administration found out the scope of his misdeeds. Currently Tyndall is an associate athletic director at NAIA school Tennessee Wesleyan College.

Direct from the NCAA report here is the penalties and corrective actions imposed by the panel which include:

A three-year probation period to run consecutive to the present probation period. The three-year period will begin on Jan. 30, 2017, and run through Jan. 29, 2020.

A two-year postseason ban for the men’s basketball team. The school will be credited for the self-imposed postseason bans during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 …

The cliché of the biggest or most important game in a team’s history gets tossed around quite a bit in sports circles. But tonight, for the Mississippi Brilla FC, it will be a lock that the biggest match in franchise history is going to be played in Clinton, Miss.

A week ago on May 11, the Brilla picked up what, at the time, was the biggest win in team history. The Mississippi Brilla won their first ever match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in a 2-0 victory over C.D. Motagua of New Orleans. This was the first tournament appearance for CD Motagua.

In Brilla's third appearance, the team finally broke through to get a win in the tournament.

Brazilian player Eduardo Cruz opened the scoring in the 28th minute to give the Brilla a 1-0 lead. Chilean player Ignacio Flores finished the scoring and secured the win with a goal shortly before the end of the first half.

The 2-0 lead was all the Brilla needed in the second half, as they fended off chances by C.D. Motagua. By getting the win, the Brilla moved into the second round of the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in team history.

That was the biggest win in the history of the Mississippi Brilla FC until the team takes the field tonight. In the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, Brilla will play against the Oklahoma City Energy of the United Soccer League.

This will be the first U.S. Open Cup match for the Energy after they received a bye into the second round. But this will not be the first game of the season for the club.

The Energy has already played six matches this season and have a win, four draws and a loss. Oklahoma City is on a five-match unbeaten streak after it opened the season with a loss to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Not to be out done, the Brilla enter this match on a two-game winning streak. This past Saturday, May 14, the team won its first Premier Development League match.

After falling behind 1-0 to the Peachtree City MOBA in the 64th minute, the Brilla got a goal from Cruz in the 68th minute to tie the game. The Brilla won the game when Lucas Cordeiro’s header found the back of the net, giving the team the 2-1 win.

The Brilla will need Cruz, Flores and Cordiero to play big tonight. The club will also need keeper Brendan Ledgeway to be a brick wall in front of the goal.

Other players who could come up big for the Brilla tonight are Brandon Hall, Jake McCain, Oscar Jimenez, Noor Hamadi and Tom Paul. It will take a whole team effort for the Brilla to beat Oklahoma City.

The Energy have plenty of dangerous players as well, such as Kalen Ryden, Jordan Rideout, Coy Craft and Sebastian Dalgaard.

Danni Konig is 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 …