Jackson Free Press

Grenada-based attorney Carlos Moore, who sued Gov. Phil Bryant alleging that the Mississippi state flag is not constitutional, has appealed his case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Last week U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves dismissed Moore's lawsuit but left the door open to potential legal action in the future.

Moore alleged that the Confederate battle emblem in the canton of the Mississippi state flag violates the 13th and 14th Amendments. He brought his federal lawsuit against Gov. Phil Bryant, who has the authority to ensure that state laws are followed.

Reeves did not find Moore to have standing in his case. Moore had to prove that the injury he had suffered (seeing the state flag over courthouses where he practices law) had a causal connection to Gov. Bryant and the state of Mississippi displaying the Confederate emblem.

To read all of Judge Reeves' opinion in the dismissal of Moore's case, click here.

Gov. Phil Bryant called out Congress today, saying that the American Health Care Act resembles Obamacare too closely.

In a Facebook post, Bryant cited the Heritage Foundation's concerns on the new American Health Care Act, which support his stance that the new plan is "Obamacare Lite." (The Heritage Foundation gave Gov. Bryant an award last year for passing House Bill 1523, which was blocked in court before it went into affect.) Bryant's post says he will be working with Mississippi's congressmen in the coming days to ensure that Republicans "end Obamacare once and for all."

"Republican voters who gave majorities to both chambers and delivered the White House do not want Obamacare Lite," Bryant's Facebook post says. "I know it takes tremendous courage to turn back an entitlement once it is in place. But with $20 trillion in national debt, we best start making some tough decisions."

Read his full statement here.

WAPT just released Mason-Dixon poll results that show that mayoral candidate Jonathan Lee's lead has shrunk three points since Friday, and Chokwe Lumumba's support has increased seven points. Lee leads 46 percent to 42 percent going into tomorrow's pivotal run-off face. The poll showed 12 percent still undecided. Lee led 49 percent to 35 percent in poll results released Friday.

The poll shows that Lumumba leads with black voters 46 percent to 36 percent with 18 percent undecided. Lee leads Lumumba 87 percent to 4 percent with white voters with 9 percent undecided.

The newest poll results come after several controversial campaign days, which included an anti-Lumumba TV ad using what Lee called "sound bites" to question Lumumba's religious faith, strength as a Democrat and like for police officers. The same day, news hit that Lumumba was also running a controversial ad, featuring Rep. Bennie Thompson endorsing Lumumba and questioning Lee's Democratic credentials.

Today, campaign controversy increased further with news of controversial flyers left on cars during church services, but any fallout from that is not likely reflected in the polls, yet.

The poll showed that 46 percent believe that Lumumba defeated Lee in a pivotal debate Friday night with 31 percent saying Lee won. The poll shows the debate had a huge impact: Lee led by 47 percent among debate watchers before the debate with only 38 percent of them supporting him afterward. Lumumba's support among debate waters jumped from 33 percent to 50 percent after the debate.

The poll has a +/- 4.5 margin of error.

Romenesko got a hold of an undated screenshot of a Gulf Coast-based news anchor's Facebook status that advises same-sex-loving folks to take a "gaycation" because the anchor thinks they've been in the news too much.

"I'm all for the LGBT community's ongoing fight for equality. I support their fight in every way," wrote Dave Elliot, an anchor for WLOX-TV. "But it seems like they've been in the news too much lately. Maybe they should take a short break. Go on gaycation, just for the weekend."

Indeed LGBT issues have been in a lot of headlines recently, especially here in Mississippi. This week, a number of LGBT groups rallied to demand human rights. Earlier this year, a handful of conservative lawmakers tried to sneak through a so-called religious freedom bill that would have turned the clock on civil rights back to Jim Crow times.

When LGBT advocates got wind of the bill, reaction was swift enough to slow the bill down. The House removed the most worrisome language, but the Senate wants to negotiate more, which means by Monday, the discriminatory language could end up back in the proposal and send it to the governor.

If that happens, it could put Elliot in the awkward position of having to read even more gay news, assuming he still has his job. Romesko reported that WLOX wrote on its Facebook page that “we are not happy at all with the post" or any "free publicity" that the station may be getting from the post.

Interestingly, Dave Elliot's Facebook page indicates that a couple hours ago shows that he was visiting Little River Canyon National Preserve's Eberhart Point Overlook in Alabama. So it is unclear whether WLOX— an ABC- and CBS-affiliated station—will send Elliot on a permanent vacation.

The Mississippi Business Journal is reporting that Farish Street in downtown Jackson may soon have a new developer with plans to move forward with an entertainment district.

In the wake of Governor Bryant's declaration of Confederate Heritage Month, the NAACP of Mississippi has created a petition calling for "Union Army Appreciation Month."

New York-based attorney Roberta Kaplan, who litigated and won the case to end Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage, sent a letter to Mississippi leaders regarding House Bill 1523 on Monday, Slate reported, saying she and her legal team at Paul, Weiss LLC had "serious concerns" about the bill violating a permanent injunction issued last July in the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant case.

The letter states that "the July 2015 injunction requires that Mississippi, in accordance with the dictates of the United States Constitution, treat any gay or lesbian couple that seeks to marry the same as any straight couple that seeks to do so." The letter was addressed to Gov. Phil Bryant, Attorney General Jim Hood and Judy Moulder at the State Registrar for Vital Records. Kaplan asks that they ensure that the 2015 injunction is complied with and that those state officers provide them with:

• notices for any individual who has filed recusal notices pursuant to HB 1523
• a full and complete explanation of all steps that each individual seeking recusal (or any person acting on behalf of that individual, including in a supervisory capacity) will take to ensure that gay and lesbian couples are not impeded or delayed when seeking to marry in the relevant county
• whether the individual seeking recusal intends to continue issuing marriage licenses to straight couples, while at the same time refusing to participate in issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples

Kaplan also asks Mississippi leaders to "agree to provide us with this same information in connection with any clerks who seek to recuse themselves in the future within one week after such information becomes available."

In her letter, Kaplan sets a deadline of May 2, 2016, for state officers to comply with their request "either in whole or in part, so we can be in a position to evaluate whether we will need to seek further relief from the Court."

While the Olympics mainly banned just the Russian track and field team and a few other sports from the games because of a doping scandal, that wasn’t the case for the Paralympics. The International Paralympic Committee banned the entire Russian team from the 2016 games. No one on the International Olympic Committee was willing to go as far as a full ban.

On Tuesday, Aug. 23, the Court for Arbitration for Sports upheld the ban. That meant that the 267 qualification spots the Russian team held were returned to the IPC, which had the authority to redistribute the spots to any athlete in any sport.

The ban and redistribution of spots opened the door for Joseph “Joey” Brinson of Florence, Miss. to compete in the 2016 Rio Paralympics in wheelchair fencing. Brinson was a member of the 2012 Paralympic team.

He finished 14th at the 2014 Paralympics in Category B saber. Brinson has competed in saber. foil and epee for the U.S. team, and has medaled in all three events during his career.

He is also a four-time Wheelchair World Championship member. Brinson was selected to compete in Category B men’s individual saber competition at the 2016 Rio games.

Brinson was trying to earn his spot on the U.S. Paralympic team before he received his spot due to the redistribution of Russian spots. His silver medal in the Pan American Wheelchair championships in May kept him just short of the team.

Instead of silver, Brinson needed gold to earn a spot on the team and qualify for Rio. In April he earned gold at the Wheelchair National Championships.

Brinson is ranked No. 1 in the nation in men’s saber and ranked 17th in the world in Category B men’s saber. Being able to represent his country again in the Paralympic games came as a late 40th birthday present for the athlete, who celebrated his birthday on Aug. 22.

Joining Brinson in Rio will be 17-year-old Lauryn DeLuca of Parma, Ohio, as the two U.S. Paralympic fencers. DeLuca qualified for the games by winning gold in Category A women’s epee at the Pan American Wheelchair championships.

The Paralympics are set to begin on Sept. 7 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Wheelchair fencing will be held on Sept. 12-16.

Several Mississippi nonprofits have called on Gov. Phil Bryant to address the several incidents of race-based violence in the past month from the Emmett Till Tallahatchie River marker covered in bullet holes to the African American Delta church set on fire and spray painted with the words "Vote Trump," which has since been ruled an arson that the FBI is investigating.

Gov. Bryant declared October "Racial Reconciliation Month," but since then, community activists have called on the governor to act on those words by supporting the removal of the Confederate battle flag in the canton corner of Mississippi's state flag. Bryant addressed the Delta church burning on his Facebook but did not mention race or hate crimes.

"Law enforcement responded last night to a suspicious fire at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville. First, anyone who burns a place of worship will answer to almighty God for this crime against people of faith. But they should also answer to man's law. Authorities are investigating and we expect a suspect will be identified and brought to justice," the Facebook post says.

The Mississippi Center for Justice, Southern Poverty Law Center, Mississippi NAACP State Conference, the Children's Defense Fund's Southern Regional Office and the ACLU of Mississippi released a letter today calling on Gov. Bryant to "condemn each of the recent acts of race-based violence as unacceptable and contrary to Mississippi’s goal of racial reconciliation."

"We also call upon Governor Bryant and Mississippi’s legislative leaders to demonstrate the ideals of racial reconciliation by supporting the removal of the Confederate emblem from the Mississippi state flag, which is a constant reminder of racial oppression and injustice," the letter says.

Several organizations have issued statements responding to Gov. Phil Bryant signing House Bill 1523 into law. Mississippi law professors from both the University of Mississippi and Mississippi College law schools and legal scholars issued this memo, saying the bill violates the First Amendment.

Vermont, New York, Seattle and Washington D.C. have issued travel bans to the state as a result of the bill being signed. Attorney General Jim Hood issued a statement warning that House Bill 1523 will not protect state officials from federal lawsuits if they violate federal statutes.

Attorney General Jim Hood “Any lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of House Bill 1523 will have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. We would caution government officials and others that House Bill 1523 does not override federal law or constitutional rights. If a person or government official violates a federal statute or constitutional provision, House Bill 1523 will not protect that official from a federal lawsuit or from potential personal liability under federal law.”

Rep. Jeramey Anderson, D-Moss Point

Rep. Anderson released a statement on Twitter regarding HB 1523 which was signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant today:

“In high school, I was educated about Jim Crow laws and practices, I never once thought, I would be a part of a state legislature that would create such discriminatory and unethical practices based on Christian beliefs or religious practices, the same Christian beliefs that encourage you to love your neighbor and not to pass judgment. We use religion as a shield to discriminate. The work this state has invested to progress past our dark past was challenged today when the Governor signed this discriminatory bill. Not only is this a setback to our State’s economy but it is also a setback for our young bright and talented Mississippi children who call Mississippi their home. First an underfunded public education system, crumbling infrastructure and now a discriminatory bill into law. Mississippi has to rise above and not continue to make national news for all the negative impacts on Mississippians. I firmly believe that an inequality for one is an inequality for all. I will continue to fight to ensure equality for all.”

The Democratic National Committee Verbatim Statement on HB1523 below:

Upon news that Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has signed the discriminatory House Bill 1523 into law, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement:

“It’s embarrassing, shameful, and truly perplexing that the Republicans still don’t get it. LGBT Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law, just as everyone else. No exceptions. No allowances for discrimination. That we’re even still debating this in 2016 boggles the mind.

“‘Right to Discriminate’ measures signed into law by Republican governors are proof that the Republican Party’s leaders are stuck in the dark ages when it comes to equality and that they've been on a divisive path toward destruction since long before Donald Trump ran for president. In fact, the Republican National Committee has …

If you didn’t notice the Washington Redskins’ 27-20 home victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, you’re excused. But why would a game played on Oct. 16 matter to you or me or the entire country right now?

The reason why the Washington win matters is become this is an election year. That means the “Redskin Rule” is now in effect.

Those who don’t know what the rule is, or means, it is fairly simple: If Washington wins its final home game before the election, the party that won the last election will win this year and stay in the White House, and if Washington loses, the party that lost the election will win and take the presidency.

Sounds crazy, right? But this totally unscientific method has a surprisingly high accuracy rate.

Since the Redskins relocated to Washington in 1937, the country has had 19 presidential elections, not counting this year, and this rule has been correct on 17 of those races. Elias Sports Bureau Executive Vice President Steve Hirdt discovered the rule just eight days before the 2000 election.

Hirdt was looking for some interesting election factoids for ABC’s broadcast of the Washington Redskins against Tennessee Titans game and saw that the rule had worked perfectly for every election since 1940.

The first instance of the rule was Washington 37-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which meant that Franklin Roosevelt won the election over Wendell Willkie. Four years later, the rule held up again when Roosevelt beat Thomas Dewey in 1944, and the Redskins won 14-10 over the Cleveland Rams.

This rule kept right on working all the way up until the 2000 election. It didn’t work out in the 2004 election when Washington lost 28-14 to the Green Bay Packers.

Under the rule, George W. Bush should have lost to John Kerry. Bush won the election, and the rule failed for the first time. Hirdt revised the rule (Redskin Rule 2.0) and said that if the party wins the election but not the popular vote, the rule gets flipped the next election.

The rule held up perfectly in 2008 when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat Washington 23-6, and Barack Obama beat John McCain.

It wasn’t until the 2012 election that the rule failed under the original and 2.0 rules. The Carolina Panthers won 21-13 over Washington, and Obama should have lost to Mitt Romney.

He easily won re-election, but Hirdt amended the rule again. The 3.0 version of the Redskins Rule states that when the incumbent is being challenged from someone from Massachusetts, the incumbent will win.

That explains both Kerry and Romney’s losses. The Redskins started as a franchise in Massachusetts and played in Boston from 1932 until 1936.

In the 1932 election, the team currently in Washington was known as the Boston Braves. That election saw the Braves win 19-6 over the Staten Island Stapletons. Roosevelt beat incumbent Herbert Hoover. …

Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott continues to impress people with his play. The former Mississippi State University star picked up another accolade on Monday, Dec. 20, when he was selected to play in the 2017 Pro Bowl.

Prescott replaced the injured Tony Romo and has led Dallas to an NFC-best 12-2 record. The Cowboys are tied with the New England Patriots for best record in the NFL.

Prescott has thrown for 3,418 yards while completing 292 passes out of 431 attempts with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has rushed for 238 yards on 52 carries with six touchdowns and four lost fumbles.

While breaking records and playing the most scrutinized position for one of the most scrutinized teams, Prescott has completed 67.7 percent of his passes with a quarterback rating of 103.2 during his 14 starts.

Prescott has only lost to the New York Giants twice during his short time as the Cowboys starter. He struggled against the Giants in a 10-7 loss, which is when he had his first two-interception game of his career.

His rookie struggles led to talking heads debating whether Romo should start. The former Bulldog shut down talk of anyone replacing him when he threw for 279 yards on 32 of 36 passing with one rushing touchdown.

Prescott hit a rookie wall in early December but is now bursting through it in late December. Prescott’s and fellow rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott’s plays are a major reason for the Dallas turnaround, as the team went 4-12 last season.

Former MSU teammate Fletcher Cox will join Prescott on the NFC Pro Bowl roster. The Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle has been a solid star and budding superstar since he was drafted with the 12th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

This season Cox has totaled 37 total tackles, 23 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks, two passes defended and one forced fumble. He has started 14 games and is two away from starting 16 for the fourth straight season at the defensive line.

During his five-year career, Cox has amassed 249 total tackles, 182 solo tackles, 28.5 sacks, nine passes defended and six forced fumbles. The former MSU star is working on what could end up being a Hall of Fame career.

Three other former Bulldogs were named as alternates to the Pro Bowl. If an injury keeps a player out of the game or if players selected for the game end up in the Super Bowl, they don’t play in the game, Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay and Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright could end up on the NFC team, and Oakland Raiders offensive guard Gabe Jackson could end up on the AFC team

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is one of the biggest Pro Bowl snubs this year. Despite leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns, Brees isn’t on the roster or listed as an alternate. …

As the NFL Draft inches closer, the league gave fans a treat on Monday, April 10, releasing the preseason scheduled for every team and the dates of the eight nationally televised games. Times and dates of the other games are not set at this point.

Only one of the national games could end up being a big deal in our state: the Hall of Fame Game, which has the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals kicking off the preseason on Thursday, Aug. 3, at 7 p.m. on NBC. The first full week of preseason games will be held from Aug. 10 to Aug. 14, with all 32 teams in action.

There will be plenty of fans who will want to see if Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott avoids a second-year slump. If he plays in the Hall of Fame Game, it won’t be for long, but fans will still want to see the young star.

This newly released schedule gives us a chance to look ahead at the matchups for both the Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints.

Dallas will be in Los Angeles against the Rams for the first full week of the preseason. This game will feature two young quarterbacks—Prescott, who was drafted in the fourth round in 2016, and Jared Goff, who was the first overall pick of the same draft.

New Orleans will travel to Cleveland in week one to face the Browns. If both teams use their current draft power, this game could feature four first-round picks, with both teams having two in the upcoming draft. It could also feature the number-one overall pick if the Browns don’t trade that spot before or during the draft.

Week two of the preseason, which takes place from Aug. 17 to Aug. 21, will see the Saints heading out to Los Angeles to play the Chargers, who are no longer in San Diego. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees will face his former team but not in the same city where he played.

Dallas will head home in week two to host the Indianapolis Colts. For the second week in a row, the Cowboys will face a quarterback who was the first overall pick in the draft. This time, it is Andrew Luck, who was the top pick in 2012.

The third week of the NFL preseason is normally the week that the starters see the most playing time. These games will be held from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27 as teams try to get in a dress rehearsal before the season starts.

New Orleans will get its first home game of the preseason as the team hosts the Houston Texans. The Saints will try to keep a returning J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney away from Brees when the starters are on the field.

Dallas will at home for the second week in a row, as the team hosts the Oakland Raiders. Prescott against the Raiders’ Derek Carr is …

See the new Paul McCartney video filmed partly in Natchez...

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 …

In the history of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, only once before now has a wife presented a husband entering the shrine. Kim Singletary presented her husband, Chicago Bear great linebacker Mike Singletary, in 1998.

That will change on Saturday, Aug. 6, when Deanna Favre becomes the second woman to present her husband, former Green Bay Packer and living legend Brett Favre, at the Hall of Fame. The pair met and began dating in high school before being married in 1996.

Brett said his first choice would have been his father Irvin Favre, who passed away from a heart attack on Dec. 21, 2003, at the age of 58. The Packers star went on to have one of the greatest games in his career the next night on Monday Night Football.

In that Monday night contest, Brett threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, as the Packers blew out the Oakland Raiders 41-7. The quarterback returned to Kiln, Miss. after the game to lay his father to rest.

It only makes sense for Brett to pass the honor to his wife, Deanna. She was the one who called him and told him his father had passed.

She stood by Brett through his retirements and un-retirements, his admitting that he had an addiction to painkillers, his scandal of allegedly sending racy text messages to a New York Jets game day host and two massage therapists and other bumps in his stellar career.

“Deanna is the best teammate I’ve ever had,” Brett said in a statement. “She has been by my side throughout this journey and I’m so excited that she gets to play such an important role for me.”

“Serving as Brett’s presenter is a great honor. I am thrilled to be able share this special moment in time with him,” Deanna said in the statement.

The other members of the 2016 Hall of Fame Class are Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who will be inducted by daughter Lisa DeBartolo; Tony Dungy, who will be inducted by former teammate Donnie Shell; Kevin Green, who will be inducted by former Carolina Panthers head coach and current Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers; Marvin Harrison, who will be inducted by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay; Orlando Pace, who will be inducted by son Justin Pace; Ken Stabler, who will be inducted by Hall of Fame coach John Madden; and Dick Stanfel, who will be inducted by Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy.

The newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be inducted in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 6. On Sunday, Aug. 7, the Colts and Packers will face each other in the Hall of Fame Game, and the newest members of the hall will be honored on the field.

The game will be seen on ESPN and will kickoff at 6 p.m.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some interesting things have come out of New Orleans over the past few days. Both the Saints and quarterback Drew Brees seem to be trying to position themselves for some possible post-draft fallout.

By now, nearly every Saints fan knows that Brees currently has a $30 million salary number cap for this upcoming season. This is also the final year of his current contract with New Orleans.

The next few stories are why this is so interesting.

When the Carolina Panthers suddenly rescinded their franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman, making him an unrestricted free agent, it quickly became apparent that Washington and New Orleans were his top destination options.

Norman signed with Washington instead of New Orleans, but after Norman was off the market, ESPN reported that Brees was willing to rework his deal so the Saints could sign the star cornerback.

Neither side has said it had a contract deal in place after Norman signed with Washington. But could Brees have worked out a deal in a few short hours to give the Saints room to sign Norman?

Then, there was this: Just this week, Ian Rapoport said the Saints were looking to move up to the number-one pick before a trade was made between the Los Angeles Rams and the Tennessee Titans.

Brees said in an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” that he doubts the Saints tried to make a move for the top pick. New Orleans General Manager Mickey Loomis also said the report was false during a recent press conference.

Rapoport, in the same story, reported that the Saints were also interested in possibly moving up from the 12th pick to inside the top 10 to draft former University of Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch.

If you don’t remember, the Saints spent a third-round draft choice on Garrett Grayson last year. Grayson just rode the pine after the preseason, mainly as the Saints’ third-string quarterback.

The theory that New Orleans might want to draft a quarterback in the first round raises some questions.

Would the Saints want to sign Brees to a contract of three or fewer years if they draft a quarterback in the first round?

Will the Saints let Brees play out this season and then move on from the future Hall of Fame signal caller?

Will New Orleans rework Brees’ deal so they can trade him once his salary is more trade-friendly?

Even if the Saints rework Brees’ deal and draft a quarterback, is the club saying the Super Bowl window is closed with Brees?

Do the Saints want to rework Brees’ deal and make a couple of final runs at a Super Bowl?

Is this all really a pre-draft smokescreen that the Saints are using to work a better deal with Brees?

Let’s take a look at each question.

If the Saints take a quarterback in the first round, they …

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 …