Jackson Free Press

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), released a statement in support of Daniela Vargas today. Thompson is a ranking member on the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, and represents parts of the city of Jackson in the U.S. House. His statement is below:

"Our country must have immigration policies that are constitutional and remain true to our values. Ms. Vargas appears to have committed no crime and was only speaking out on behalf of her family, who is threatened by this President's misguided immigration agenda. ICE's assertion that her detention is "routine" is absurd and seems anything but. Clearly, ICE resources used in this case would have been better utilized to find and detain dangerous criminals and get them off our streets. As a DACA recipient she should be allowed to stay here. Those like Ms. Vargas just want a better life for themselves and their families and are true believers in the American dream - they should not be pushed further into the shadows."

Ward 7 Jackson Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon has announced that she will not seek re-election this spring for her council seat, which she's held for 32 years. Barrett-Simon released the statement below, regarding her decision:

"Fellow Jacksonians,

It has been my deepest honor and blessing to serve Ward 7 as your elected representative on the Jackson City Council for the last 32 years. After much consideration and discussion with Al and the rest of our family, I have decided that the time has come to seek new challenges. I will not seek re-election this spring.

Ward 7 is perhaps the most diverse part of our city. One of the true blessings that I have had in this job is the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people from such varied backgrounds. I have come to love these friends so much, and this is what I will miss the most. I would also like to thank all of my colleagues on the City Council and in city government with whom I have been privileged to serve.

I intend to remain engaged in our local affairs as we move forward together, and I look forward to joining with all of you as we all strive to build a better and more prosperous city for all of our residents. I also encourage each of you to take an active role in making Jackson and Ward 7 the best that they can be. The future of Jackson is bright because of you.

Dr. Albert Simon and I would like to offer our most sincere thanks to each and every one of you for your support and friendship over these many years. We won't be far away."

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the finalists for this year’s Howell and Gillom Trophies. Seven players received votes for the Gillom Trophy, which is awarded to the best women’s college-basketball player in Mississippi, and nine players received votes for the Howell Trophy, given to the state’s best men’s college-basketball player. The vote recipients were then narrowed to three finalists for each award.

Brittany Dinkins of the University of Southern Mississippi, Victoria Vivians of Mississippi State University and Morgan William of Mississippi State University are the finalists for the Gillom Trophy. Sebastian Saiz of the University of Mississippi, Devin Schmidt of Delta State University and Quinndary Weatherspoon of Mississippi State University are the three finalists for the Howell Trophy.

Vivians is trying to become the first player to win the Gillom Trophy three straight times. She passed 1,600 points for her career this season and is averaging 17.2 points per game with 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

Williams will try to dethrone her all-star teammate for the Gillom, as she is enjoying her best season at MSU. She is averaging 10.1 points, 5.4 assists, two rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and has one of the best assists-to-turnover ratios in the SEC.

No one in the history of USM women’s basketball has played more games than Dinkins, who has appeared on the court 128 times. She is averaging 18.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 3.8 assists per game. She is fifth in the nation in steals and tops in Conference USA in that category.

Saiz will try to make it five Howell Trophy wins in a row for the Rebels. The native of Madrid, Spain, is the first player in school history to achieve 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 100 blocks during a career. He is averaging 15.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, and has upped his free-throw shooting from 65 percent as a junior to 75 percent as a senior.

Schmidt is one of the best players in the history of Delta State and is 65 points away from becoming the all-time leading scoring in the Gulf South Conference. He is averaging 22.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Despite only being a sophomore, Weatherspoon is a finalist for a second consecutive year following his explosive freshman season in 2016. He was named SEC Player of the Week back in January as he is averaging 16.5 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Fans can vote for their choice for best men’s and women’s player in our state by visiting csopavoting.com and can place votes until 5 p.m., Saturday, March 4. The fan vote will make up 10 percent of the final count, with the media making up the other 90-percent. All the finalists will attend a banquet on Monday, March 6, at 11:30 a.m. at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (1152 …

While a dark cloud of an NCAA investigation hangs over the University of Mississippi, in-state rival Mississippi State University is working to keep head coach Dan Mullen. The university announced that it and Mullen had come to agreement on a contract extension that could keep him with the Bulldogs until after the 2020 season.

Athletic Director John Cohen announced the four-year extension, which runs until February 2021. Since his hiring in 2009, Mullen has become the second-longest tenured coach in the SEC. University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who was hired in 2007, holds the record for the longest tenured coach.

Since becoming the Bulldogs’ head coach, Mullen has led the program to its first No. 1 ranking in school history in the 2014 season. That season, Mullen was named National and Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year.

Under him, MSU is experiencing unprecedented success on the gridiron. The university has been to a school-record seven straight bowl games, had three seasons of nine or more wins in the last six years, and is one of five SEC school to reach a bowl game every season this decade.

Mullen owns a 5-3 record against the Rebels in the Egg Bowl. He has a 61-42 record as the head coach of MSU and a .692 winning percentage, which is the highest (minimum of three years) since College Football Hall of Famer Allyn McKeen (.764 winning percentage) roamed the sidelines from 1939 to 1949.

Heading into this season, Mullen is four wins from tying with McKeen for second place in school wins and is 12 wins behind program leader Jackie Sherrill for first place. In his nine seasons as head coach with MSU, 109 individual and team, single-game, single-season and career school records have been broken.

The 44-year-old coach has done well developing players to play in the NFL. Last season, 19 former Bulldogs were on NFL rosters including Rookie of the Year quarterback Dak Prescott.

MSU isn’t just winning on the field but also getting it done in the classroom. The Bulldogs had a school record of 31 players, was fifth in the conference and landed on the 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll. MSU is graduating players and earned an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 971, which is 12 points higher than the national average and near the top of the conference.

Mullen will earn a base salary of $4.5 million this season, but terms were not disclosed for the next three years. A four-year contract is the longest allowed by state law.

MSU will begin spring practice this Thursday, March 2.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But there is hope for the team.

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

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

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

by Tyler Edwards

As a society, we love to project feelings and analogies on to big cultural events—the Patriots coming from behind for a shocking last-minute win the Super Bowl is just like Donald Trump winning the election, right?

Well, the Academy Awards are no different. The nominees all seem to represent some part of our current culture: America’s growing diversity in the African American and queer “Moonlight,” the plight of poor white America in “Hell or High Water,” the escapism of “La La Land,” the Trumpian patriotism of “Hacksaw Ridge” and the hard fought battles women of color face in “Hidden Figures.”

Despite living in tougher times post-election, this year’s batch of Oscar nominees are actually an encouraging beacon of diversity. After last year’s #OscarSoWhite controversy, the Academy decided to acknowledge an incredible slate of talent and diversity this year.

And while most of the awards appear to be “La La Land”’s to lose, don’t count out of some of the dark horses! So here is a handy guide to help you not lose your office Oscar-pool.

Best Picture

Predicted win: “La La Land” Dark Horse: “Hidden Figures”

Winning Best picture seems like a foregone conclusion for the hit musical “La La Land.” Despite being a movie about jazz staring two white people, “La La Land’s” escapism and joy—and Hollywood loving to award movies about itself—this is the safest bet for the night’s most coveted award. “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight” are stunningly beautiful and poignant films, but they just aren’t going to have the popular appeal that “La La Land” does to bring home the Best Picture award. If anything does have a chance at upsetting “La La Land,” my money would be on “Hidden Figures.” While not the best film of the year, it’s the highest grossing of all the nominees and the way the best picture voting works could allow it to slip in under the radar.

Best Actor

Predicted win: Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”) Dark Horse: Denzel Washington (“Fences”)

This award was in the bag for Casey Affleck and his incredible performance in “Manchester by the Sea,” but some late breaking sexual assault allegations have put a damper on some of his award-season buzz. While still the front-runner, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Denzel Washington take home the award for “Fences.”

Best Actress

Predicted win: Emma Stone (“La La Land”) Dark Horse: Natalie Portman (“Jackie”)

“La La Land” is going to rack-up on the lion’s share of the awards, but the only acting recognition it is going to get is for Emma Stone’s sure-fire win for Best Actress. Natalie Portman’s turn as Jackie Kennedy was the front-runner early on, but all the buzz around her performance seems to have faded. That being said, it’s never smart to count out Meryl Streep!

Best Supporting Actor

Predicted win: Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) Dark Horse: Dev Patel (“Lion”)

“Moonlight” was probably my favorite movie of the year, and while I would love …

Dallas Cowboy fans might not have to wait long to see the start of year two of the Dak Prescott era. The Cowboys will face the Arizona Cardinals in the 2017 Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 3.

Since this is the first preseason game of the new year, it is possible that neither Prescott nor Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer will play. Quarterback Tony Romo might get the start if he hasn’t been released or traded at that point. Dallas could also decide to rest running back Ezekiel Elliott so he will be fresh for the regular season.

Still, this will be the first NFL football since the New England Patriots’ amazing comeback in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Hall of Fame game will have some changes this year. The biggest change is that it will be on Thursday instead of Sunday to make the enshrinement the biggest part of the weekend.

This is the first time the game has been played on a Thursday in NFL history. The other change is that the game will be played in the new Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Last year’s game was suspended due to the poor field conditions.

It makes perfect sense to have the Cowboys and Cardinals face off in the game. Former Arizona Cardinal and St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are both part of the 2017 Hall of Fame class.

The rest of the class includes former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis, former San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, former Seattle Seahawks safety Kenny Easley, former Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, and former New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons kicker Morten Andersen.

On Friday night, the Hall of Fame will honor the 2017 Class with the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. Past Hall of Famers will greet the new class and welcome them into the exclusive club they are joining.

On Saturday night the new class officially enter the Hall of Fame during a nationally televised ceremony. On Sunday is the Enshrinees’ Roundtable and the yearly Concert for Legends.

Moving the game to Thursday makes sense since the field used to be overworked by the time the game was played on Sunday. It also makes sense to make the enshrinement the most important part of the weekend.

Fans will get a chance to see Prescott, Elliott, Palmer and the other stars when the Cowboys and Cardinals battle in the regular season.

At this moment, it must feel like the Sword of Damocles is hanging over the University of Mississippi’s football program. But the question isn’t if the sword will fall but when it will.

In this case, the sword is the NCAA, and the Rebels must feel like they are hanging on by a single strand of hair a horse’s tail. UM received new notice of allegations from the NCAA, including eight more charges.

The biggest and potentially most devastating new charge is a lack of institutional control and Head Coach Hugh Freeze failing to monitor his coaching staff. As the NCAA continued to dig into the Rebels’ sports programs, the football program now has 21 violations.

Besides the lack of institutional control and Freeze’s failure to monitor, here are the seven new allegations.

A recruit was allowed to hunt on property that a booster owned while UM was recruiting him, and he was allowed to hunt again on the property after signing with the school.

From March 2014 to January 2015, a former staff member provided improper inducements in the form of lodging and transportation valued at $2,272 for two potential recruits. Both recruits signed with other programs.

A former staff member provided false and misleading information to the university and the NCAA about his involvement in recruiting violations.

Another former staff member facilitated a recruit’s meeting with two boosters to receive cash payments from $13,000 to $15,000. That recruit didn’t sign with the Rebels.

Another former staff member allowed one associate of a recruit and two other potential recruits to receive merchandise totaling $2,800 from a booster-owned store.

In 2014 a current Rebels coach made improper in-person and off-campus contact with a recruit.

A booster gave free food and drink at the booster’s restaurant that totaled between $200 and $600 in improper benefits.

Amazingly, none of the new allegations came from the draft night fallout from former offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. A screenshot of texts between Tunsil and Assistant Athletic Director John Miller concerned Tunsil getting money from Barney Farrar to play his mother’s gas bill.

Rebels Athletic Director Ross Bjork said that the school agrees that the NCAA has enough evidence to prove three of the allegations. He said the university would fight the other charges, including the lack of institutional control and Freeze’s lack of monitoring the staff.

In response to the new allegations, the Rebels imposed one-year bowl ban for the 2017 season. UM will have to forfeit its share of SEC postseason revenue for the coming season, which could be $7.8 million or more.

UM has 90 days to respond to the new notice of allegations and will have a hearing, possibly this summer, with the Committee on Infractions to discuss penalties. The committee can accept the Rebels’ self-imposed sanctions of a loss of 11 total scholarships stretched from 2015 to 2018 and the bowl ban.

The …

The Mississippi State women’s basketball team continues to rise up in the rankings. MSU made program history again, as the team is ranked No. 2 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.

The Bulldogs were No. 3 in the Associated Press Poll with the University of Maryland at No. 2 before the Terrapins fell 98-87 to Ohio State University on Feb. 20. The University of Connecticut is ranked No. 1 in both polls.

This is the 52nd week MSU has been in the polls and its 16th straight week in the top 10. The Bulldogs have been in the top five for the past 12 weeks.

The Huskies are on a 100-plus game-winning streak and the only undefeated team in the nation. MSU has the second-best overall record in the country at 27-1 and is the only team in the nation to have just one loss.

The University of South Carolina’s shocking 62-60 loss to the University of Missouri put the Bulldogs in first place in the SEC. MSU is certain to be one of the top two seeds when the conference tournament begins on March 3.

The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Sport Committee has also named the Bulldogs the No. 2 overall seed. MSU was fourth in the first two rankings, but other teams’ losses have allowed the Bulldogs to climb up in the final poll before the bracket is released on March 13.

MSU will try to secure the top seed for the SEC Tournament over its next two games. The Bulldogs can capture a share of the conference title with a win this Thursday, Feb. 23, at No. 22, at least in the AP Poll, the University of Kentucky.

The Bulldogs against the Wildcats will stream on SECN+ with the tipoff scheduled at 6 p.m. A win at Kentucky will mean MSU can win the regular season outright in the season finale.

The Bulldogs will host the University of Tennessee on Sunday, Feb. 26, with the possible regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament on the line. They will tipoff against the Volunteers at 4 p.m. ESPN2 will broadcast the game.

If MSU can win the SEC Tournament, it would be hard to see the team fall beyond one of the top three seeds.

By winning the tournament, MSU should stay at the No. 2 overall seed when the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament starts on March 17. The higher MSU can rise in the top four overall seeds, the easier it should be to get in the Final Four, in theory.

NFL teams try to balance between winning right now and winning in the future. It is hard to maintain, and the few teams are able to do it year in and year out.

One of those teams is the New England Patriots. The Super Bowl champions have been able to win titles and stockpile draft picks for nearly two decades in the Belichick-Brady era.

While New England is waiting to see if quarterback Tom Brady will ever slow down, the Patriots already have a quarterback that could help build the program’s future.

New England made Jimmy Garoppolo its first pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. Garoppolo was the 62nd overall pick out of Eastern Illinois University.

As Brady continues to bathe in the fountain of youth, the Patriots have to decide what to do about Garoppolo. It seems the answer will be to trade him to a team that makes the best deal.

One of the teams that should at least pick up the phone is the New Orleans Saints. It’s likely that the 2017-2018 season will be the final season that quarterback Drew Brees plays for New Orleans.

It would be a great idea for New Orleans to inquire about Garoppolo. If the Saints can swing the trade, he will have the chance to study under two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

The asking price is the question, as is what Garoppolo’s actually value is.

There isn’t a lot of NFL tape on the quarterback since he has spent most of his time in the league sitting behind Brady. In three NFL seasons, Garoppolo has played in 17 games with just two starts. He has thrown 94 passes with 63 completions with five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

He started two of the four games during which Brady was suspended at the beginning of this season. He played well in both games before an injury forced rookie Jacoby Brissett to take over at quarterback.

The small sample size of Garoppolo’s NFL experience makes it hard to judge what he is worth. New England has traded away quarterbacks who didn’t go on to have success elsewhere.

The Patriots traded Drew Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills after the emergence of Brady. Bledsoe was at the end of his career and never did lead Buffalo to a Super Bowl.

Then, there was Matt Cassel, who took over for New England after a knee injury took Brady out for a season. The Patriots traded Cassell to the Kansas City Chiefs. He never turned into a star after leaving New England, and the Chiefs moved on from him.

Finally, there is Ryan Mallett, who the Patriots traded to the Houston Texans. Houston eventually released him, but he is currently playing for the Baltimore Ravens in a backup role.

Ultimately, it’s up to New Orleans to decide if Garoppolo is worth the sacrifice. Would the Saints best be served …

A list of the full 330 participants for the underwear olympics, also known as the 2017 NFL Combine, is official. The Southeastern Conference is sending the most players of any FBS conference with 66 players receiving an invite.

The ACC is second with 60 players receiving an invite. Third is the Big Ten with 51, and the Pac 12 is fourth with 46. Power Five conference the Big 12 will send just 19 players, and Group of Five conference the American Athletic Conference will send 18.

Right now, the Big 12, which didn’t want to expand, is the weakest Power Five conference and in danger of becoming the next Big East in the power group. Conference USA, Mountain West and Mid-American Conference will send 11 players each. The Sun Belt and FBS independent schools are sending five players each.

The University of Michigan leads all schools with 14 players heading to the combine. Louisiana State University and the University of Alabama are tied for second with 10 players each. LSU and Alabama are sending more players than the Big 12 conference as a whole

Texas A&M University, Clemson University and the University of Miami, Florida are third, with nine players heading to the event. The University of Mississippi is sending four players, and Mississippi State University is sending two.

The Rebels who are heading to the combine are wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo, defensive end Fadol Brown, tight end Evan Engram and defensive tackle D.J. Jones. MSU players are wide receiver Fred Ross and offensive tackle Justin Senior.

Receiving an invite to the combine is extremely helpful for players who hope to be drafted. Still, it doesn’t mean a player will be drafted. One hundred and seventeen players who participated in last year’s combine went undrafted.

While six players from two Mississippi universities are heading to the combine, several players didn’t get an invite. Some big names got left off the list.

Two quarterbacks ended up getting snubbed for the combine: Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly and the University of Southern Mississippi quarterback Nick Mullens.

Kelly injured his ACL and wouldn’t be able to workout, but teams could have interviewed him. He has some legal baggage from his past that might have been a factor him not going to the event.

Mullens didn’t have the same success his senior season that he did as a junior. A new coach and injuries kept him from being his best this season, but he didn’t have a terrible year.

Wide receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow won’t be joining his UM teammates at the Combine. He plead guilty to an assault charge in 2014 while he was a member of the University of Washington, which will keep him from going this year.

USM offensive lineman Cameron Tom ended his career as one of the best lineman in Conference USA but got snubbed. In fact, no draft-eligible players from the Golden …

According to WJTV the Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted today to declare a state of emergency in South Jackson to support work on a 48-inch water main; the work may require a significant time period of disrupted water service in the area.

Due to newly projected expenses not incurred in the past, important logistical decisions could not be made in a timely fashion, resulting in the cancellation of the annual nighttime parade.

There might still be a nip in the air, but this weekend will feel like spring to some in the state. Starting Friday, Feb. 17, college baseball makes its return, even if the weather is still a bit cold.

Last season three teams from our state reached the 2016 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. Hopefully, that success will carry over to this season, and more teams will reach the postseason.

Division I conferences have begun to release their preseason projected order of finish and preseason all-conference teams. All three Division I conferences with teams from out of state have made their preseason picks.

In the SEC last year, Mississippi State shocked the conference, as it won the SEC West, the SEC regular season championship and earned one of the eight national seeds. MSU won its Regional but runner-up University of Arizona ended up defeating the team in the Super Regional.

The University of Mississippi reached the postseason out of the SEC but lost its first two games in its regional, which got the team bounced from the tournament.

League coaches don’t believe the Bulldogs will repeat their performance from last season. MSU was picked to finish fourth in the SEC and picked as the seventh best team in the SEC.

The Rebels are picked ahead of MSU to finish third in the SEC West and sixth in the conference. Last season UM finished fourth in the SEC West behind MSU, Texas A&M University and Louisiana State University.

MSU placed two players on the preseason All-SEC teams with outfielders Jake Mangum on the first team and Brent Rooker on the second team. The Rebels placed two players on the second-team All-SEC, second baseman Tate Blackman and third baseman Colby Bortles.

The Bulldogs begin the season Friday, Feb. 17, at home against Texas Tech University. UM starts its 2017 season at home against East Carolina University on Friday, Feb. 17.

The University of Southern Mississippi finished in third place in the regular-season standings in Conference USA last season. USM won the C-USA Tournament, which got the conference automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, but the Golden Eagles lost in the Regional.

Coaches gave Southern Miss three first-place votes. But overall, the team was predicted to finish third in the conference. The Golden Eagles place three players on the preseason All-Conference team with pitcher Kirk McCarty and infielders Dylan Burdeaux and Taylor Braley earning the honors.

USM will start the 2017 season at home on Friday, Feb. 17, against Northeastern University.

Jackson State University finished second in the SWAC East with Alcorn State University in third place, and Mississippi Valley State University finished last in 2016. All three teams failed to reach the postseason when they didn’t win the SWAC Tournament and were in a one-bid league.

The Tigers are picked to finish second in the SWAC East and tied for second overall …

Now that Super Bowl LI is in the books, NFL teams are moving on to the offseason. Teams are already starting to cut players and starting Feb. 15, they began tagging players.

When NFL teams tag players, they have three options: non-exclusive franchise tag, exclusive franchise tag and transition tag. Teams have until March 1 to tag a player who is set to be an unrestricted free agent, and can use only one of the tags above each season on just one player. The player and team have until July 15 to reach an agreement on a long-term deal.

The non-exclusive tag is a one-year offer to a player with his salary being an average of the top five at his position over the last five years or 120 percent of the player’s previous salary, whichever is greater. The player who receives this tag can sign with another team, but his current one has the right to match the offer or receive two first-round draft picks as compensation for the player signing with a new team.

The exclusive tag is one-year offer to a player with his salary being an average of the top five at his position for the current year or 120 percent of the player’s previous salary, whichever is greater. The player under this tag can’t negotiate with other teams. Only the top players in the NFL ever get this tag, including New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

The transition tag is a one-year offer to a player with his salary being an average of the top 10 at his position. That player’s current team can match any offer to keep him but doesn’t receive any compensation for the person leaving.

Once a player signs his offer sheet for his franchise tag, his full salary is guaranteed for the season. The team can rescind the offer at anytime, as long as the player hasn’t signed the offer sheet. This happened last season when the Carolina Panthers rescinded cornerback Josh Norman’s tag.

Teams can’t use the tag on another player if they rescind the offer. It still counts as a player tagged. A player can only be tagged three times by his team, but with an increase in his salary each time he is tagged.

It is worth knowing that teams don’t have to tag any of their potential free agents, and players don’t typically want to be tagged because they want long-term deals with more guaranteed money.

Few teams are expected to use the franchise tag this year. For example, potential free agents for the Dallas Cowboys or the New Orleans Saints aren’t worthy of the major pay increase that comes with the use of the franchise tag.

A few estimates have franchised quarterbacks earning $21 million this season, defensive ends earning $17 million, wide receivers earning $16 million, and linebackers, cornerbacks, offensive linemen and defensive tackles earning $15 million. There is a bit …

A couple of events are coming up that might be of interest to those with kids or who follow sports. The first event is next week, and the second will take place later this summer.

Next week, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum (1152 Lakeland Drive) is hosting Women in Sports Day on Feb. 24. This event, which starts at 10 a.m., has free admission and is a good educational field trip for middle school and high-school girls but is open to men and women of all ages.

Mississippi native and first female NFL official Sarah Thomas will be the special guest and speaker at the event. It will have interactive discussions on topics such as nutrition, health, hard work and more.

It has limited space, and reservations are required to attend the event. Students should dress for activity, including wear tennis shoes.

BlueCross BlueShield of Mississippi is the title sponsor of this event. To make reservations, call 601-982-8264.

This summer, reigning NFL Rookie of the Year Dak Prescott is returning to Mississippi State University to host a one-day camp at the university.

The Dak Prescott Football ProCamp will be on June 20 at Mississippi State University (100 Championship Way, Starkville). The camp begins at 9 a.m. and lasts until 12:30 p.m.

Prescott and volunteer coaches from the high school and college-coaching ranks will give tips, lectures and hands-on coaching. Participants will take part in fundamental-football-skills stations, contests and noncontact games in a high energy and positive environment.

The camp is open to boys and girls from first through eighth grades. Campers will be placed in small groups by age so each participant gets the most out of instructions from the coaches. This camp for all skill levels, from players who are new to the game to those have been playing for years.

Each camper will get a souvenir autograph from Prescott. The item will be provided, and no outside items are allowed. Campers get a team photo with Prescott and a limited edition Dak Prescott Football ProCamp T-shirt.

Individual and team groups at each age group will receive awards. Sponsors of the event include Adidas, Wilson, Citi, Welch’s Fruit Snacks and Pronto Print.

The time and date of the camp is subject to change, and the cost is $149.

Prescott will also host a one-day camp in Shreveport, La. on June 22 and a two-day camp in Dallas, Texas on June 24 and 25.

The NCAA announced two rule changes for the men’s 2017 Postseason National Invitation Tournament. Those rule changes will make the NIT different from the Division I Men’s NCAA Tournament.

Fouls will be reset after 10 minutes of play each half, and the league will eliminate the one-and-one bonus free-throw opportunity. After a team commits four fouls, every successive foul will allow the opposing team to shoot two free throws until fouls reset.

In overtime, teams that commit more than three fouls will award their opponents with two free throws for each foul.

Technical fouls won’t count toward those numbers. Resetting the fouls will mimic how the game would work with four 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves.

The women’s game switched from two 20-minute halves just before the start of the 2015-2016 season. Olympic basketball, high-school basketball and the NBA play four quarters, so moving the men’s game to four quarters puts it in line with the rest of basketball. Of course, the length of the quarters is different for each level of play.

The other rule change is that the shot clock will stay the same or reset to 20 seconds, whichever is greater, after the defense commits a foul and a team inbounds the ball to the frontcourt. This rule change is to give each team more possessions. The shot clock used to reset to 30 seconds after defensive fouls.

The idea is that with more possessions, teams should score more points. As teams shoot more three-point shots, changing the shot clock might not actually increase scoring that much, though.

Personally, I like the idea of the men’s game playing four quarters. Each season, I watch more and more women’s basketball because it seems like the flow of the game is faster and smoother than it is for the men.

The NCAA should just go all in and make the NIT four quarters and see how the games play out. Between that and the foul changes, coaches will have to alter their decisions and late-game strategy.

If they’re discussing rule changes, can the NCAA Tournament exclude teams that don’t finish .500 or better in conference play? In the ESPN and Sports Illustrated bubble watch, there are several teams from major basketball conferences that could make the tournament with losing conference records.

Teams shouldn’t be rewarded for being worse than mediocre in their own conference. Playing in a tough basketball conference shouldn’t mean you get in the tournament if you can’t finish .500 in the league.

There are plenty of mid-major conferences with teams that finish above .500 in conference play, but the major conferences including the ACC, Big East and Big 12, that are getting shorted because of that rule.

Instead, reward those mid-major conferences with more bids. The field is 68 teams, but the major conferences get over-rewarded with bids and take up half the field. Those major conferences get bids that they …

Continental Tire awarded four Mississippi-based firms contracts to work on the construction of the Hinds County tire plant and training center, which will be located off of Interstate-20 just outside of Clinton.

Three firms, Jackson-based McCarty Architects, Clinton-based WGK Engineers and Tupelo-based Corbett Legge & Associates Engineering, were awarded 30 percent of the design contract for Continental’s training center, which is expected to begin in July 2017.

“We are thrilled to help Continental Tire make their vision of a new training facility a reality,” Kurt Shettles, McCarty Architects President & CEO, said in a press release. “Our previous experience with training facilities and automotive related projects gives us an opportunity to use that expertise to help make this project the best that it can be for our community and state.”

Jackson-based firm, Sol Engineering, was awarded a portion of the engineering design and program management contract for Continental’s tire plant.

For contracting information or updates visit www.mississippi.org/continental.

College-basketball fans are in for a treat tonight, Feb. 13, as the No. 1-ranked women’s team, the University of Connecticut, hosts the No. 6-ranked University of South Carolina. This game is a possible Final Four preview with March just around the corner.

The South Carolina Gamecocks enters the matchup with a 21-2 overall record and a 9-1 record on the road, and the Huskies enter with a 24-0 overall record and 11-0 record at home, with a 60- home-game winning streak.

One more thing: UConn is also on a 99-game winning streak overall. A victory against the Gamecocks would bring the Huskies to their 100th win in a row.

UConn’s 99 consecutive wins surpassed the school’s previous record of 90 wins from 2008 to 2010. The Huskies own two of the top-three winning streaks in Division I history, with the University of California, Los Angeles men’s team in third place with 88 wins from 1971 to 1974.

Winning 100 games is hard at any level, and every team that the Huskies face gives them its best shot. UConn blows out most of the teams it plays, but those teams come in looking to make history by winning. UConn hasn’t lost a game since a double-overtime to Stanford University on Nov. 17, 2014.

Even Mississippi State University is a part of the streak. UConn defeated MSU 98-38 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The victory sparked more commentary on whether the Huskies are bad for women’s college basketball.

If UConn is able to win tonight, the 100th victory will likely result in the same kind of debate. UConn wins year in and year out, but at the very least, the Huskies bring attention to the women’s game. South Carolina beating the Huskies would be a huge story. It would make the women’s NCAA Tournament more interesting, as some would tune in to see if another team could knock off the Huskies.

If the Gamecocks win, it will make for huge ratings for a Final Four or National Championship Game, but if UConn wins, it isn’t bad for women’s college basketball. UCLA didn’t ruin the men’s game with its winning streak in the ’70s, and UConn isn’t destroying the women’s game now.

The Huskies are making every team that wants to win a title pick up its game. Teams practice harder, run drills longer, shoot more shots in practice, and work more on dribbling, free throws and every part of their game. Opposing coaches and players known they will make history by being the team that beats the Huskies.

But history is getting made one way or another tonight. Either South Carolina breaks UConn’s winning streak, or the Huskies win for the 100th time in a row. As viewers, we all win.

Tune in to ESPN2 at 8 p.m.

MDAH has now announced the leadership team for 2 Mississippi Museums, which will encompass the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History.