Jackson Free Press

Needing to finish the third round and start the fourth round, rain finally stayed away from the True South Classic. The tournament had been hit by rain on the first three days causing delays from the weather.

Rain and delays couldn’t slow down Scott Stallings who won shooting 24-under for the tournament. Stallings carded a 68 for 4-under in the final round, to hold off Jason Bohn who finished second at 22-under, to win by two strokes.

Stallings played solid golf all week only recording only three bogeys for the entire tournament. He didn’t even have a bogey in the second or third round to go with the four eagles he posted in the first three of rounds of play.

The solid golf Stallings played was on display at the 18th hole. Up three strokes, Stallings played smart, conservative golf hitting safely from the tee, laying up and finishing the hold with a par to keep his lead at two strokes.

Stallings earned his second PGA Tour win (he won the 2011 Greenbrier Classic in a playoff). By winning the tournament, Stallings earned $540,000 of the $3 million purse.

Billy Horschel finished in third at 20-under and Bud Cauley finished fourth at 19-under with a group of three tied for fifth at 18-under. Defending champion Chris Kirk finished tied for tenth with two other at 15-under.

Brandon native, Jonathan Randolph finished in a large group that was tied for 21st place at 12-under.

The SWAC named its Player of the Week awards, and Jackson State University pitcher Rene Colon was named Pitcher of the Week for the conference. Colon earned the award for his work Sunday, April 17, against JSU rival Alcorn State University.

In the Tigers' 5-1 win over the Braves, Colon pitched a masterful complete game in which he struck out six Braves, gave up one run, one walk and scattered eight hits. The complete game is the first for Colon this season.

JSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning in which the Tigers scored on three hits but left two on base. Jackson State’s early lead was all Colon needed, but he got an insurance run in the sixth inning for the 5-0 lead.

Alcorn State was finally able to break through against Colon in the seventh inning with a run. Colon closed the door on the Braves in the eighth and ninth innings by allowing just one hit over the final two innings.

Colon came to Jackson State in 2014 after graduating from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. In his final season at EEC, Colon made 13 appearances with 12 starts and won four games but lost eight as he averaged 4.46 strikeouts per game and a 6.04 ERA. The senior was also named Second Team All-Academic while at ECC.

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 170-pound pitcher from Florida, Puerto Rico made 14 appearances with 10 starts in the 2015 season. He won five games and lost two as he struck out 75 and 22 walks with a 6.28 ERA.

This season, Colon has made 11 appearances with six starts and a 5-3 record. He has 38 strikeouts, 19 walks and a 5.24 ERA over 46.1 innings worth of work.

Colon is the nephew of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman coach Charlie Montoyo.

Jackson State is 21-17 overall this season and 8-8 in SWAC. The Tigers currently sit in second place in SWAC East division behind Alabama State University and are tied with Alcorn State.

The winner of the 143rd Kentucky Derby will need to navigate a full field of 20 this Saturday, May 6. Officially, 22 horses are eligible for the race, with Royal Mo and Master Plan as alternates, but they need two horses to withdraw by early Friday morning to be in the field.

Ben Huffman, Churchill Downs Racing Secretary, and Dan Bork, Churchill Downs Assistant Racing Secretary, pulled the post numbers at the event held at the Churchill Downs. The post-draw and early-line odds for the first leg of the Triple Crown of horse racing this morning, Wednesday, May 3 sets the stage for the one and one-quarter mile race.

Classic Empire drew the No. 14 post, and the horse is the early 4-1 favorite. Only two have won from the No. 14 post, with the last happening in 1961 when Carry Black won.

Good news for Classic Empire is that the betting favorite has won the derby the past four years, which is the longest winning streak for the favorite since the 1970s.

The co-second favorites at 5-1 odds are Always Dreaming, who drew the No. 5 post, and McCraken, who drew the No. 15 post. The last winner from the No. 5 post was California Chrome in 2014, and the last winner from the No. 15 post was Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in 2015.

Irish War Cry will break from the No. 17 post at 6-1 odds. No horse has won the derby from that position. At 6-1, Irish War Cry is the last of the four horses listed with single-digit odds.

No. 7 post Girvin is the first of four horses at 15-1 odds, with Hence next to him in the No. 8 post. Gunnevera out of the No. 10 post and Gormley from the No. 18 post are the other two horses at 15-1 odds.

Six horses are at 20-1 odds, with Lookin At Lee in the No. 1 post. Lookin at Lucky, the sire to Looking At Lee, also drew the No. 1 post in 2010 and was the favorite at 6-1 before the race, but he finished sixth.

Thunder Snow drew the No. 2 post, Irap drew the No. 9 post, J Boys Echo drew the No. 13 post Tapwrit drew the No. 16 post, and Practical Joke round all the horse at 20-1 odds. The rest of the field is full of extremely long shots.

Untrapped in post No. 4, State of Honor in post No. 6, Battle of Midway in post No. 11 and Patch in post No. 20 are at early 30-1 odds. Patch is an interesting horse in this race, as he is missing his left eye.

Fast and Accurate, which Olympic skier Bode Miller partially owns, will break from the No. 3 post. That horse and Sonneteer out of the No. 12 post are listed at 50-1 odds. Sonneteer hasn’t won a race in his career, and if he …

The first part of this story looked at NFL teams drafting quarterbacks from 1998 to 2007. This second one will look at quarterbacks drafted from 2008 to 2015 and some interesting numbers behind these draft picks.

Two quarterbacks were picked in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Matt Ryan, who the Atlanta Falcons selected first overall, is currently in the midst of a solid career. But he hasn’t had postseason success, which downgrades him, in my eyes.

The Baltimore Ravens picked quarterback Joe Flacco in the first round in 2008. He has a Super Bowl win but was able to overcome early struggles as a young player thanks to a dominant defense.

There is no question that Ryan and Flacco are franchise quarterbacks. The other 11 of the 13 quarterbacks drafted in 2008 didn’t amount to much. Chad Henne got some run in Miami, but he wasn’t the answer. Green Bay took Matt Flynn—no relation—in the seventh round, and he became the king at cashing in for performances in meaningless late-season games. Flynn signed big contracts but could never become “the man” when he left the Packers.

Three quarterbacks were drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft. All three have had slightly different careers.

Matthew Stafford, who the Detroit Lions drafted first overall, is a solid starter. He has some gunslinger in him, and the Lions haven’t been able to put things together around him enough to succeed at a high level—but he is a franchise quarterback.

Mark Sanchez, who the New York Jets drafted fifth overall, was supposed to be the answer for the club’s quarterback woes. Instead, Sanchez is known for his butt fumble and moving from New York to the Philadelphia Eagles to the Denver Broncos, where he currently is.

Sanchez had early success behind a great Jets defense but more recently has proved to be stopgap for teams looking for a franchise quarterback or a backup. He could have had success in 2016 with that dominant Denver defense.

Tampa Bay drafted Josh Freeman with the 17th overall pick, and it looked like he was going to become a longtime starter in the league. He had two solid seasons in his first four years, but the wheels came off at the start of the 2013 season, when he couldn’t complete a pass. Tampa Bay released him, and he signed with Minnesota.

Things didn’t go any better for Freeman in Minnesota and he was out of the league except for a guest spot in one game in 2015 for the quarterback injury that plagued Indianapolis Colts.

Eleven total quarterbacks were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft, and the rest had limited success. The Colts selected Curtis Painter in the seventh round, and he sat behind Peyton Manning until his neck injury forced him to miss the 2011 season. The Colts turned to Painter and went 2-14 in a disastrous season.

Sam Bradford was …

"Once again the needle barely budged for women aspiring to top business leadership."

In the NFL if a team does something bad once it is an aberration, twice it is a trend and three times its a problem. Right now, New Orleans has a trend going on their offensive and defensive lines.

Two current titans in hip-hop are headed for Jackson.

Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz are currently on tour in support of their collaborative album, "Collegrove," a portmanteau of the neighborhoods where the two rappers grew up, 2 Chainz's College Park near Atlanta and Lil Wayne's Holly Grove in New Orleans, La.

The tour stops in Jackson on Wednesday, Oct. 26, for a performance at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Building at Jackson State University (1400 John R. Lynch St.). The concert coincides with JSU's homecoming weekend and also features a performance from Jackson-native rapper Silas, who garnered national media attention last year with his single, "Gullah Gullah Island."

Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $65, and VIP tickets are $100. To purchase tickets, call 800-745-3000 or visit jsums.edu.

Tonight, WUFX (local station known as “My 35”) will carry the New Orleans Saints against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a pregame show starting a 6:30 p.m. and kickoff at 7 p.m. The Saints come into the game with a 1-1 record in the preseason.

New Orleans defeated the Arizona Cardinals 17-10 in the Hall of Fame game. In their second preseason game, the Saints fell to the New England Patriots 7-6.

This is the third of five preseason games for the Saints (they play an extra game because they played in the HOF game) and with two games played there are some trends. No, you shouldn’t take everything in preseason at face value.

But remember last preseason, I mentioned the pass coverage and tackling by the Saints defense? While New Orleans was not terrible in either area every game of 2011, it did plague them throughout the regular season.

I have made a quick list of things to watch tonight. Again, just trends to watch in the preseason to see if they carry over into the regular season.

Saints running game

Everyone, including me, loves to gush over the stable of running backs the Saints have on their roster. It feels like New Orleans should dominate teams with their running backs and the ability to send waves of running backs with different abilities and strengths at opposing defenses.

So, far the running game has not done much, only averaging 87 yards in two preseason games. To be fair, Mark Ingram played sparingly in the HOF game and not at all against the Patriots.

Also, the Saints haven’t used Darren Sproles very much this preseason either. Still, the other backs on this roster need to pick up the pace and work load.

It is not like New Orleans is not trying to run the ball. The Saints have averaged 28.5 rushing attempts per game.

I would like to see the running backs do more with the carries they are allotted. This group has only made 10 first downs rushing in two games (5 first downs in both games).

That type of production in the regular season will not help the Saints close out games with a lead. A strong running game will help New Orleans chew clock and play keep away with opposing teams.

I need to see harder running and breaking tackles from this group. The motto should be “no one goes down easy”.

Saints passing game and scoring offense

I am not extremely worried about this right now because Drew Brees is not playing very long, but through two preseason games the Saints are only averaging 11.5 points per game.

A couple of things to remember: The replacement officials are allowing defenses to be more aggressive in pass defense (I love this) and none of the Saints backups are Drew Brees. Still, I would like to see more from Chase Daniel when he is leading the offense.

It would also …

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

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Comes to a Close

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are my quick thoughts:

Ingram shines in first half

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

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

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

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

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

Backup quarterback battle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Attorney General is requesting that the Mississippi State Supreme Court set an execution date for Willie Jerome Manning on or before April 24.

Former mayoral candidate and Chokwe Lumumba supporter Regina Quinn contacted two of the three independent candidates asking them to drop out of the June 4 general election to select Jackson's next mayor.

Councilman Chokwe Lumumba won the Democratic runoff earlier this week, defeating businessman Jonathan Lee by more than 3,000 votes.

Friday morning, Quinn released this statement to the JFP:

"After witnessing the brutal run-off between Mr. Lee and Mr. Lumumba, I came to the conclusion that the City had had enough and needed to start the healing process sooner rather than later. Therefore, I contacted two of the three independent candidates to see if they agreed with me that it would be best for the City of Jackson to acknowledge that with 20,000 plus votes people had decided who they wanted as their next mayor, and that it was now time to start healing. If I erred, it was an error of the head but not of the heart."

"Apparently, the healing process will have to wait until June 4, 2013," she added.

The independent candidates are Francis P. Smith Jr., Cornelius Griggs and Richard C. Williams Jr.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has put out a flyer touting the economic impact the planned 2 Museums Project will have on the economies of the state and its capitol city.

The flyer says the Mississippi Development Authory's tourism division estimates that the two new museums will welcome approximately 180,000 visitors annually, creating $17.1 million in tourism expenditures, 231 direct tourism jobs in the three-county region with a $6.3 million payroll, 92 indirect jobs with a $3.3 million payroll and contributing $1.2 million to the state general fund.

Even before the museums open, it continues, MDA estimates the construction of the two museums will toal $50 million in brick and mortar impact, 500 direct and 275 indirect jobs totaling $37.2 million in payroll and add $2.4 million to the state general fund.

If those numbers are accurate and the state has a place to share it's history at the end of the four-year project, it should be worth the $70 million in bonds the state has already passed to begin construction.

The groundbreaking is set for 9 a.m., Oct. 24, 2013, at 200 North Street in downtown Jackson.

This afternoon Gov. Phil Bryant signed SB 2161 into law. The bill amends the Mississippi Charter Schools Act of 2013 to allow students who live in C, D and F districts to cross district lines to enroll in charter schools.

Currently, the only two charter schools in the state are open in the city of Jackson. Jackson Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Sharolyn Miller said today at a public hearing on public education funding held by the Black Legislative Caucus in conjunction with House and Senate Democrats that charter schools billed JPS's local tax contributions $565,000 for the 221 JPS students enrolled this school year.

“The law requires that for every child who goes to a charter school who lives in Jackson, we have to send a certain amount of dollars to fund charter schools," she said at the hearing this morning.

Sierra Mannie is an education reporting fellow for the Jackson Free Press and the Hechinger Report. Email her at [email protected].

Somebody in City Hall is listening.

The city clerk's office has posted the agenda for next Tuesday's City Council meeting, and it looks like Mayor Chokwe Lumumba plans to present two new Jackson Redevelopment Authority board members for council approval.

The first is Kemba Ware, a Data Information Manager at Jackson State University, and the other is attorney Jennifer Johnson. It is unclear which wards they will represent, but as we profiled in this week's cover story, there are three spots open. Neither of the nominees could be reached late this afternoon.

Bishop Ronnie Crudup, the board's chairman, has been out of term since Aug. 13, 2011 and two other members, Brian Fenelon and John Reeves, have been out of term since Aug. 13, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

UPDATE: It looks like the JFP once endorsed Kemba Ware as a young influential in 2005, which you can read here. And it looks like Jennifer Johnson would represent Ward 7, if approved.

On Friday, the City of Jackson updated their status on repairs on Woodrow Wilson Drive between State Street and I-55; crews will dig on Monday to determine the parts needed for repairs that will take place a few weeks from now.