Jackson Free Press

In light of Rep. Todd Akin's lunatic comments this weekend about "legitimate rape," other extremist statements about women's health issues are emerging from members of Congress. Take this video of Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss., slamming Planned Parenthood in support of an effort to de-fund the organization. In it, Nunnelee states:

In this resolution not one dime or womens’ health or family planning health funding is reduced. It simply says those dollars cannot go to Planned Parenthood. This is an organization that has protected those who prey on our children and has protected those who have raped our granddaughters.

Raped our granddaughters? WT...? We have called Nunnelee's office to find out what he was talking about. Our best guess is that he is referring to accusations by the right that Planned Parenthood protect older statutory rapists who prey on under-age women.

Of course, that would be especially ironic if so, considering that Nunnelee worked with Rep. Akin, Ryan and other House Republicans to redefine the definition of rape to "forcible rape" to make it harder for teen girls to get abortions, especially in the case of statutory rape.

So, is this really about protecting our granddaughters, Rep. Nunnelee—or forcing teenagers to give birth to babies of their rapists of whatever age? Mississippi rape victims, and their parents, eagerly await your response.

Mississippi College set a school record for softball wins today in what might be the coolest way. The Choctaws won their 39th game as they took down Belhaven University 3-0, winning the 2016 National Christian College Athletic Association Softball National Championship.

MC was the top seed in the NCCAA Softball World Series, and the Blazers were the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament. For the most part, both schools dominated.

The Choctaws rolled by teams with scores of 14-4, 11-0, 13-5 and 5-1 to get to the championship game. Belhaven battled its way through the tournament, winning 5-1, 6-1, and 6-5 in an extra innings game, and 9-1 to make the title match.

MC struck quickly with a run in the first inning and, in reality, it was the only run the team needed that day. The Choctaws got two more insurance runs in the fifth inning to seal the win over the Blazers.

Mississippi College pitcher Carlie Sargent earned Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, as she tossed seven shutout innings for the complete game. Sargent (21-11) threw her ninth career shutout as she struck out seven, walked two and scattered four hits.

Belhaven pitcher Julienne Broussard (16-4) pitched seven complete innings, giving up eight hits, three earned runs, five strikeouts and one walk in a losing effort. Katherine Lee, leadoff hitter for MC, went 2-for-4 at the plate, and outfielder Megan Everett went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Tylan Buckley, outfielder for the Choctaws, went 1-for-4 but drove in the first run for MC. No player for Belhaven could muster more than one hit.

The Blazers finish the season with a 37-9 record, and Mississippi College ends the season with 39-19 record and a national title. This is the first women’s national championship title in school history.

Belhaven and MC dominated the All-Tournament selections as they dominated the tournament itself. The schools combined to place five of the 11 players selected for the post-tournament honors.

Sargent was not only the MOP but was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Joining her for MC were Lauren Mulligan and Everett. Belhaven placed Dani Craft and Crystal Kehtel on the All-Tournament Team.

On deadline day, both the House and the Senate passed their respective versions of "dummy" education funding formula bills out of committee that bring up code sections regarding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The bills mark both House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' commitment to at least looking at some of EdBuild's education funding recommendations, which were released two weeks ago in an 80-page report.

EdBuild's main recommendation is for the state to transition to a weighted student formula, which would work in a very different way than MAEP does now. Weights are attached to certain characteristics of students like special education, English language learners or "low-income" students to name a few. Weighted formulas give money based on those weights and the student populations they affect, so in theory, the district with the highest number of highest weighted student populations could have the most to gain--or not. How much weight each of those and other measures will get in the Legislature's proposed new formula is still unclear, and experts say that the weights are the political part of any weighted formula.

The dummy bills that came out of both committees today give no indications of what sort of weights the top lawmakers are considering or what total dollar amount lawmakers are working with to determine funding for the new formula or fiscal-year 2018, which begins July 1.

It's possible that specifics on any plans to re-vamp the formula won't be out until conference committee time, right before session ends. It's also possible that lawmakers will only address certain parts of EdBuild's recommendations. Both Rep. John Read, R-Gautier, and Sen. Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, mentioned the transparency measures from EdBuild's report, which would require school districts to track and report how they spend their funds in new ways.

There are a lot of questions up in the air, and the answers are few and far between. What's for certain is that the formula is certainly still up for debate and potential changes this session, but to what extent changes will be made depends on top lawmakers' decisions in the next 60 days.

The New York Times is reporting that new religious "conscience" law allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people, and perhaps others, could block federal funding for the states, such as Mississippi, that are considering such laws:

The Obama administration is considering whether North Carolina’s new law on gay and transgender rights makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways and housing, officials said Friday.

Cutting off any federal money — or even simply threatening to do so — would put major new pressure on North Carolina to repeal the law, which eliminated local protections for gay and transgender people and restricted which bathrooms transgender people can use. A loss of federal money could send the state into a budget crisis and jeopardize services that are central to daily life.

The Times reported that several federal agencies are reviewing the funds their agencies provide to the states that are adopting discriminatory laws:

Anthony Foxx, the secretary of transportation, first raised the prospect of a review of federal funding in public remarks on Tuesday in North Carolina. The Department of Transportation provides roughly $1 billion a year to North Carolina. The New York Times then asked other federal agencies whether they were conducting similar reviews.

A Department of Education spokeswoman, Dorie Nolt, said on Friday that her agency was also reviewing the North Carolina law “to determine any potential impact on the state’s federal education funding.” She added, “We will not hesitate to act if students’ civil rights are being violated.”

The agency said it provided $4.3 billion to North Carolina last year for kindergarten through 12th grade as well as colleges.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it was doing a similar evaluation. “We’re reviewing the effects of the law on HUD funding allocated for North Carolina,” said Cameron French, a department spokesman.

The backers of Mississippi's HB 1523 vigorously claim that the bill isn't discrimination, but a protection of religious "conscience," even as the language of the bill belies that claim. In Mississippi, HB 1523 could go to Gov. Bryant as early as Monday for signature.

Read full coverage of the long fight for LGBT rights at jfp.ms/lgbt.

It seems like the 2016 sports world is following the same script as late 1997.

That year, the NFL featured two ties in back-to-back weeks. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens ended in a 10-10 tie in week 12, and the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants ended in a 7-7 tie in week 13.

This year, the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks ended in a 6-6 tie in week seven, and the Cincinnati Bengals and the Washington Redskins ended in a 27-27 tie in London, England. It seems interesting that the Redskins would be involved in both years.

Just like this year, 1997 featured a great World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Florida Marlins. That series went back and forth, with both teams battling to win a title.

The 1997 World Series came down to game seven, when the Florida Marlins were able to prevail 3-2 after 11 innings. It was the first World Series title for the Marlins in franchise history.

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know this year’s World Series featured the Indians against the Chicago Cubs. Cleveland jumped out to a 3-1 series lead and seemed ready to break a 68-year title drought.

Chicago won two straight games, forcing a game seven. The Cubs jumped out to a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.

Cleveland battled back and cut the Chicago lead to 5-3 after five innings. The Cubs then scored another run in the top of the sixth inning and went up to 6-3.

They were four outs away from a title in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cleveland scored three runs with two outs and tied the game 6-6 at the top of the ninth.

Neither team scored at that time, so the game headed to extra innings. Then the rain began to fall. Both teams were forced to wait through an 18-minute rain delay before the game restarted.

Chicago scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning and took an 8-6 lead and needed three outs to win. The Indians didn’t go quietly into the night, as Cleveland scored a run with two outs, cutting the lead to 8-7.

Cleveland hit a ground out to end the game and gave the Cubs a World Series victory for the first time in 108 years. It was the first title for the Cubs since 1908, when the franchise had won the second of back-to-back titles.

Just like the Redskins in the NFL, the spirit of 1997 swept up the Indians.

Way back in 1997, Louisiana State University hosted the number one team in the nation, but that year it was the University of Florida. This Saturday, Nov. 5, Louisiana State University hosts the No. 1 team in the nation now, which is the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Could the No. 1 team in …

Making history is becoming the norm for the Mississippi State University Women’s Basketball Team. After climbing to a historic No. 4 ranking in both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Bulldogs made more history on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

MSU climbed to No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time in program history, which set a school record. The Bulldogs moved back up to their No. 4 ranking in the Associated Press Poll.

After a 64-61 loss at the University of South Carolina, MSU dropped to No. 5 in both polls. MSU is on a three-game winning streak since they dropped their first game of the season to the Gamecocks and are rising back up the polls.

MSU has been in the top 5 of the rankings for 10 weeks and is currently half a game behind South Carolina for No. 1 in the SEC. MSU is a game and a half ahead of No. 3 Texas A&M University.

The Bulldogs learned Monday, Feb. 6, that the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee still has MSU as one of its top four teams. MSU is No. 4 in the latest top-16 seeding order.

The University of Connecticut is No.1, Baylor University is No. 2 and South Carolina is No. 3 in the second of three peaks at the potential bracket. Connecticut and South Carolina are scheduled to play on Feb.13 at UConn. The outcome of that game could help the Bulldogs rise up in the seedings.

MSU seems to be a lock for one of the four national seeds and has the home-court advantage that goes along with being a top seed. The Bulldogs must avoid an Atlanta Falcons-like collapse over the final six regular-season games and in the SEC Tournament.

In a 70-53 win against the University of Missouri, the seniors on this team won their 100th game. MSU senior forward Breanna Richardson scored her 1,000th career point in the win over the Tigers. That moved the Bulldogs to 23-1 overall and 9-1 in SEC play as the regular season starts to wind down.

Bulldogs’ junior guard Morgan William is one of the 19 players in the nation on the Dawn Staley Award watch list. The Dawn Staley award goes to the top guard in the nation who shows ball handling, scoring, ability to distribute the ball, and the will to win like Staley did during her college career.

William leads the team in assists with 4.6 per game and steals with two per game. She is second on the team in scoring with 10 points per game.

MSU is back in action on Thursday night at 8 p.m. as it hosts Vanderbilt University on the SEC Network as the team looks to continue rewriting the record book.

The regular season for college softball is over and now conference tournaments for Division I teams kickoff this week around the country. On Wednesday, the SEC, SWAC and Conference USA tournaments all get started with opening-round action.

SWAC

All the teams that made their respective conference tournaments will be in action on Wednesday. One notable exception is Jackson State University. The Tigers failed to make the SWAC tournament this season.

In the SWAC, the top four teams in the East and the top four teams in West make the tournament. Jackson State finished dead last in the East and failed to qualify. The Tigers finished with just six conference wins, which is tied for second fewest wins with the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

JSU missing the tournament means conference Player of the Year and Hitter of the Year Canessa Swanson’s career as a Tiger is over. It also means the best player in the conference misses the tournament.

The SWAC tournament will be played at Ironside, Ala., at the Shea Brothers Softball Complex. The complex has two fields, so two games will happen at once.

Alcorn State University finished second in the East and will begin play in the tournament against Prairie View A&M University, which finished third in the West. That game begins at 3 p.m.

SWAC Coach of the Year Josef Rankin and SWAC Newcomer of the Year Paige Breal leads the Braves. If ASU wins, the team will play at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday but if the team loses, the Braves will play at 5 p.m. that day.

While Alcorn State is facing Prairie View A&M on field one, Mississippi Valley State University, which finished No. 3 in the East, will take on Southern University, which finished No. 2 in the West, on field two at 3 p.m. The Delta Devils will play on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. if they win and 5 p.m. if they lose.

The championship game for the SWAC will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m., and fans can watch it on ESPN3. A tape-delayed replay will show on ESPNU at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Conference USA

Day one of the C-USA Tournament is single elimination. The University of Southern Mississippi is the No. 3 seed in the tournament but will be in action on day one.

The Golden Eagles will face the winner between No. 6 seed University of Texas-El Paso and No. 7 seed Florida International University. USM will not play until the final game of day one at 7:30 p.m.

If USM wins, the team will play No. 2 seed University of Alabama-Birmingham at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The top seed in the C-USA tournament is Florida Atlantic University.

Interesting note: The University of North Texas is hosting the tournament but didn’t make it. The championship game for C-USA will be played on Saturday at noon, and CBS Sports Network will televise it. …

One-sided games are not unusual in college football. Nearly every season has a few games where the score gets lopsided in favor of one team.

In 1916, one of the biggest blowouts in college football took place, and today is the 100th anniversary of that mauling. The game involved the Georgia Institute of Technology and Cumberland College.

Georgia Tech rolled to an amazing 222-0 win over Cumberland. The Yellow Jackets scored 63 points in the first quarter alone.

But why did Georgia Tech pour it on Cumberland? And why was the game so one-sided?

The second question is easier to answer than the first. Cumberland dissolved its football team in 1915 but failed to properly notify Georgia Tech that it was cancelling the game.

Then-head coach of the Yellow Jackets John Heisman threatened to sue Cumberland for $3,000, roughly $65,000 in today’s dollars, if the tiny college from Lebanon, Tenn., cancelled the game.

Instead, a student manager put together a team of 13 players that consisted mostly of fraternity brothers to head to Atlanta and fulfill the contract obligations.

The myth of why Heisman wanted to play the game so badly was that Cumberland beat the Yellow Jacket’s baseball team, which Heisman also coached, 22-0 in the spring of 1915. He even threw in $500 (worth about $11,000 in today’s dollars) and paid the travel expenses for the Cumberland team he was about to slaughter.

Georgia Tech scored on its first play of the game, and Cumberland fumbled on its first play, which the Yellow Jackets recovered for a score. That was how the matchup went—Georgia Tech would need only one to three plays to score and forced Cumberland into 15 turnovers.

The Yellow Jackets led 126-0 at halftime. Heisman showed some mercy, allowing the teams to play the third and fourth quarters at 12 minutes instead of the normal 15 minutes.

Georgia Tech scored on every single one of its possessions, tallying 32 touchdowns. Cumberland had six interceptions, nine fumbles and zero first downs.

The Yellow Jackets racked up 501 yards of total offense on just 29 offensive plays with 20 first downs. Cumberland finished with negative-28 yards, and the team’s main offensive highlight was a 10-yard pass completion on a fourth-and-22 play.

Cumberland has shuttered its football program five times at various points, despite being a college-football powerhouse at one point. In 1903, the team finished with a 6-1-1 record after a spectacular run of beating the University of Alabama, Tulane University and Louisiana State University by a combined 113-0 score in the span of six days. Cumberland’s only loss was a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Sewanee, and its lone tie came in an 11-11 game against Clemson.

That season, Cumberland met Clemson University in the championship game of the former Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which contained teams that later formed the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference. Cumberland now …

Gov. Phil Bryant says Constitutional rights are at risk this presidential election, in an email sent from the Mississippi GOP. "The next President will fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacancy and will likely appoint three or four additional Justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Putting liberals on the court could set back the conservative movement by decades," the email says.

"We know what kind of Supreme Court Justices Hillary Clinton would appoint if she were elected President," the email continues. "And she has not been bashful about it either when she’s said."

The email then lists the following three quotes from Clinton:

1) “The Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment [referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller, which affirmed individual gun rights]. And I am going to make that case every chance I get.”

2) “The unborn person does not have constitutional rights.”

3) “Deep-seated religious beliefs have to be changed.”

For some fact-checks and context around those quotes, see below:

• 2nd Amendment, Thoughts on Heller Clinton does think Heller was decided wrongly, for specific reasons. One of her aides told Bloomberg that "Clinton believes Heller was wrongly decided in that cities and states should have the power to craft common sense laws to keep their residents safe, like safe storage laws to prevent toddlers from accessing guns." Clinton does not support abolishing the 2nd Amendment, however, and while she advocates for gun control like expanding background checks and banning the sale or use of military-style weapons, she is not advocating to repeal the 2nd Amendment.

• 'Unborn Person' Comments In an April interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" Clinton said that "the unborn person does not have constitutional rights," infuriating both anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights activists alike. Anti-abortion rights activists praised her rhetorical error as a recognition of a 'person' not yet born, while pro-abortion rights activists were equally upset because she neglected to use the word 'fetus.' In her policy plans, Clinton has vowed to repeal the Hyde amendment and support Planned Parenthood

• On Changing 'Deep-Seated Religious Beliefs' This quote needs some ellipses in it for starters, but for better context here's what Clinton actually said at the 2015 Women in the World Summit:

"Far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive healthcare and safe childbirth. All the laws we've passed don't count for much if they're not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice, not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will, and deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed. As I have said and as I believe, the advancement of the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of their societies is the great unfinished business of the 21st century."

The deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases Clinton referenced in this speech had everything to do with …

One of the more interesting stories this week is that New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton met with former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel during Super Bowl week.

There are few examples of a player destroying their career the way Manziel has. NFL teams are known to put up with a lot of crap from players with loads of talent. Heck, any sports-related field is willing to put up with a ton from stars because they are stars, including the MLB, NBA and even the WWE. Just check out the stuff that wrestler Shawn Michaels pulled in his younger years, but “The Showstopper” was one of the greatest talents ever in the ring.

The general consensus has been that it is all right to party like a rock star on Saturday if you can deliver the goods on Sunday. Famed New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath partied with the best of them but still could get it done when the game started. So could New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle. Manziel, on the other hand, couldn’t pull off the feat when the Cleveland Browns drafted him in 2014.

It worked for the quarterback when he was at Texas A&M University and made the news for his bad behavior. The same wild and crazy lifestyle didn’t go over well in the NFL, where players are supposed to be prepared on game day.

Since the Browns drafted in the first round with the 22nd overall pick, the former Heisman Trophy winner seemed to be in scandal after scandal. On the field, Manziel’s talent couldn’t eclipse the dumpster fire that he was off the field.

His antics eventually got old, and the Browns cut him in March 2016. No team wanted him during the offseason, and not many teams have shown interest in the quarterback.

If any coach could get a player to straighten up and live up to the talent that he possesses, it would be Payton. Payton and his current quarterback, Drew Brees, wouldn’t let Manziel act the way that he did with the Browns.

New Orleans, as a city, would be the big risk for signing Manziel. Few cities in America have a reputation for being a place to have a good time like The Big Easy. The temptation for Manziel would be great, and that is where Payton and Brees would have to keep him in check.

It doesn’t seem likely that New Orleans will sign Manziel, but Brees is 38 years old and in the final year of his contract. Payton doesn’t hurt anything by kicking the tires on a quarterback who could be really talented if he fixed his work ethic and personal life.

Remember Michaels mentioned above. Most of the superstars in the WWE disliked him when his back issues forced him to to leave the company. He later returned with the company after a four-and-half-year absence as a better person, according …

Even if you don’t follow sports, you’ve probably heard of the 1980 Olympics’ “Miracle on Ice” at some point. A group of young American hockey players took down one of the best hockey teams in the world in the USSR.

What you might not know is that the game against the USSR wasn’t even for the gold medal. The U.S. team still had to play Finland to win the gold, but the game against the USSR is so steeped in lore most just believe it was for the gold.

That USSR team was cloaked in an aura of invincibility. It was a team that reached mythic status even as they still played the game. The country had already beaten many teams before the U.S. stepped on the ice against them.

Why is a game hockey at the end of March so important with no Winter Olympics in sight? If you think about it, the “Miracle on Ice” and the Final Four game that the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team will play on Friday, March 31, are similar.

MSU will face the University of Connecticut, which compares well to that USSR team. The Russians were considered the best in the world and so are the Huskies.

The USSR dominated their sport, even beating the NHL All-Stars 6-0 a year before the Olympics. Connecticut has won 111 straight games and is making its 10th straight Final Four, but the Bulldogs are making their first appearance.

In the 1980 Olympics, the USSR crushed most of the other teams in the tournament in the run-up before facing the Americans. The team had close games against Canada and Finland, but the Russians still won easily.

In the Final Four, UConn is normally in the midst of a blowout before halftime of nearly every game it has played. The closest game the Huskies have played is a 15-point victory over the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Huskies beat many teams that step on the court before the opening tip because UConn possesses the same aura and mystique that the USSR displayed. It is easy to see why since the Huskies have won the past four straight national championships and six of the last eight.

Going into the 1980 Olympics, the USSR had won four straight Olympics, the World Championship and the World Cup. People considered the Russians, like UConn today, nearly unbeatable.

Before the Olympics, the U.S. and the USSR played each other in a game where the Russians won 10-3, as the opposition starstuck the Americans. MSU might not have been starstruck, but they were beaten 98-38 in the Sweet Sixteen last year.

U.S. hockey coach Herb Brooks knew he had to break that aura and mystique the Russians held over his players. He began to compare great USSR player Boris Mikhailov to comedy legend Stan Laurel of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.

MSU …

One of the feel-good stories of the 2010 NFL offseason has come to an ugly end seven years later. The San Francisco 49ers signed undrafted free agent Tramaine Brock out of tiny Belhaven University in Jackson, Miss.

On April 6, 2017, Brock was arrested in Santa Clara, Calif., for suspicion of felony domestic violence against his girlfriend. He made bail the next day, and shortly afterwards, San Francisco released him.

Brock’s arrest happens to be the first major off-the-field incident for the new regime of General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan. It is the third new coach in San Francisco in the last three years. They wasted no time in releasing the player.

Before Brock, no player in the history of Belhaven football had played in the NFL, and his road wasn’t the typical path.

He played at Long Beach High School in Gulfport, Miss., and then at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He signed with the University of Minnesota after two years at MGCCC but left Minnesota after being suspended for academic ineligibility. He went from Big Ten-conference school Minnesota to tiny NAIA Belhaven.

Brock played his senior year with the Blazers but went undrafted in the 2010. He ended up signing with the 49ers and landed on the practice squad after training camp. In his rookie NFL season, Brock appeared in three games and made just three tackles.

The former Belhaven star played in 11 games in the following year and recorded his first career interception. He would play in all 16 games in the 2012 season and forced his first career fumble that season. The 49ers also reached Super Bowl XLVII that year but ended up losing to the Baltimore Ravens.

Brock had his best season as a professional thus far in 2013, with five interceptions, 13 defended passes and a touchdown. He played in all 16 games and started in seven during the season, which is also the first time that he started in the NFL.

Injuries derailed the Gulfport native’s 2014 season as he played in just three games with only two starts. Brock bounced back in 2015 with 15 starts in 15 games played with three interceptions.

Brock started all 16 games for the first time in his career last season as he set a career high in tackles with 49 total stops. He made one interception and forced this second career fumble.

The 49ers have a recent history of players, such as Ray McDonald and Aldon Smith, with off-the-field issues. The release of Brock was a message to the rest of the team on how things will now be done in San Francisco, even if Shanahan says it wasn’t message. When the team was winning earlier this decade, it overlooked bad behavior by some players.

Recently, San Francisco hasn’t been winning games, and that means the hammer comes down faster. Brock wasn’t a star for the …

With the injury to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, former Mississippi State University star Dak Prescott is taking the reins as the team’s starting quarterback. Sports media sources have already discussed in great detail how well Prescott has played in the preseason.

He is putting up numbers that have been rarely, if ever, seen from a rookie quarterback in the preseason. Prescott has earned the right to be the starter with his play, and if he stays hot, he should keep the position of starter even when Romo returns.

But the Cowboys are also looking to add depth with second-year player Jameill Showers as the only backup quarterback. Now that teams have trimmed their rosters to 75 players, there are several quarterbacks now looking for new jobs.

Dallas plans to workout former University of Southern Mississippi quarterback Austin Davis today, Wednesday, Aug. 31. Davis signed with the Los Angeles Rams when they were still in St. Louis after he went undrafted in 2012.

He spent the first two years of his career as a backup and didn’t see any playing time. Davis finally got a chance to get on the field in 2014 when he played in 10 games and made eight starts for the Rams.

Last season, Davis signed with the Cleveland Browns and saw action in three games with two starts. This week, though, the quarterback-heavy Browns cut him from their roster, making him a free agent.

In limited playing time, he has thrown for 2,548 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has fumbled seven times and lost five of those fumbles, and has a career quarterback rating of 80.4 for his career.

To be fair to Davis, he has played on some really bad teams and has never been a full-time starter. He would provide depth for the Cowboys, acting as an alternative if Prescott gets injured or struggles, and he is entering his fifth year in the league.

There are other quarterbacks that the Cowboys could look at, as well, with the recent round of roster cuts. Dallas will have to act quickly with the season-ending knee injury to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Two names that stand out after the cuts to 75 players on Tuesday, Aug. 30, are Sean Renfree, who the Atlanta Falcons cut, and Zach Mettenberger, who the San Diego Chargers cut.

The Falcons drafted Renfree out of Duke University in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has seen action in just two games as he enters his fourth year in the NFL. At Duke, Renfree played for former University of Mississippi head coach and quarterback guru David Cutcliffe. Eli Manning still gets advice from his former coach, as did Peyton Manning before he retired. Renfree could be worth a look if Davis doesn’t impress in his workout.

The Tennessee Titans drafted Mettenberger out of Louisiana State University in the sixth …

Every Football Bowl Subdivision college wants to win its conference, but if the team can’t win the conference, it at least wants to go to a bowl game. Fans, for the most part, like bowl games, and coaches like the extra practice time and exposure.

The University of Southern Mississippi has the best shot of winning its division and conference out of the three FBS schools in Mississippi. Unfortunately, in their first loss, the Golden Eagles did as much to beat themselves as Troy University did to win.

If Southern Miss played against the Trojans like they did in their first two games of the season, USM would still be undefeated. The Golden Eagles still look like one of the better teams in Conference USA, though.

Meanwhile, this is a big weekend for the University of Mississippi with the University of Georgia coming to town. UM needs a quick turnaround after blowing a big lead to the University of Alabama last week, but the Rebels haven’t beaten the Georgia Bulldogs since 1996.

At 1-2, the Rebels still could fall to Georgia and get a chance to go to a bowl game. That isn’t a given with the schedule that UM has remaining.

After Georgia, UM hosts the University of Memphis, a team that upset the Rebels last season. Currently, the Tigers are undefeated and could be a tough game.

The Rebels have back-to-back road trips to No. 17-ranked University of Arkansas and No. 18-ranked Louisiana State University. The Razorbacks have looked tough this season, and the LSU Tigers might be dangerous if they figure out their quarterback situation.

UM hosts Auburn University and Georgia Southern University after its road games. Auburn still hasn’t found its offense, and Georgia Southern should be a win.

After that, another two-game road trip is up for the Rebels, with games against No. 10-ranked Texas A&M University and Vanderbilt University. The Aggies have started strong but are known for second-half-of-the-season swoons, while the Commodores boast a tough defense but lack a lot on offense.

The Rebels’ end the season at Mississippi State University. The Egg Bowl could see one or both squads needing a win to reach bowl eligibility.

This weekend will also put the season on the line for an MSU team with a 1-2 record. Better yet, the next five games might mean the season for the Bulldogs.

First up for the Bulldogs is a trip to the University of Massachusetts. Don’t sleep on the Minutemen. UMass trailed the University of Florida 10-7 at halftime recently before falling 24-7 to the mighty Gators.

The Minutemen trailed Boston College 13-7 at halftime before falling 26-7 to the Eagles. UMass put two halves together to beat Florida International University last weekend.

If the Bulldogs are sloppy or commit several turnovers, UMass could beat this team like the University of South Alabama did at the start of the season. The Bulldogs must …

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 …

Governing Magazine has an interesting tidbit for folks who are partial to Jacktown... according to their estimates, Jackson actually grew in 2011 for the first time... in a long time.

According to Governing, this is part of a larger trend -- the population of urban centers saw a spike in 2011, beating out the national average for growth. Large cities -- and the state of Texas -- saw significant growth.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2012/jul/05/3457/

Jackson didn't fare that well, but considering the population of the city has shrunk every census since 1970, it's interesting to see an actual uptick in population in the 2011 estimates. According to their map, Jackson's population grew by a little over 2,000 people in 2011, or roughly 1.18 percent. Surprised?

(h/t Dominic Deleo)

A top city economic-development official says retail is alive and well in Jackson.

Jason Goree, Jackson's economic development chief, tweeted this afternoon that a Burke's Outlet store is coming to Jackson.

"It's gonna happen!!!!! Retail ain't dead in the Capitol," Goree posted to Twitter.

The city has struggled with attracting and retaining big-box retailers in recent years. Following the closure of Sam's Club, the Best Buy store on County Line Road announced this year that it would close. And after Jackson had been courting Costco, one of the nation's largest companies, that company is now in talks with the city of Ridgeland to build near the Renaissance.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/sep/25/23074/

The conservative Heritage Foundation came to Jackson last night for a shindig at Gov. Phil Bryant's mansion a block from the Jackson Free Press.

Apparently, at least one conversation happened there between a Crystal Springs, Miss., man and the former U.S. senator from South Carolina who now heads Heritage, which plays footsy with Donald Trump.

Afterward, Ford Crews, who lists himself on his Facebook page as a web developer, posted public comments about what he told DeMint at the mansion under a public post by Charles C. Johnson, a conservative and sometimes controversial journalist and pundit. Johnson had posted a FiveThirtyEight graphic showing that the vast majority of the country would go for Trump if women didn't vote, following a national trend on Twitter today to #repealthe19th (giving women the right to vote). "This would be a better world," Johnson wrote at the top.

Crews agreed, writing below: "I was at a The Heritage Foundation event at the Mississippi governors mansion, and one of the things I talked about with Jim DeMint was how we need to work to get more men out to vote, and encourage women to stay home, because of how overwhelmingly one sided women's support of regressive ideas is. Sadly when women stay home, conservatives win, when they get pissed off and go vote, they not only vote for democrats, they take their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers and try to push them to vote for democrats. This whole Trump tape dump was nothing more that a way to piss women of so they go vote against Trump."

Other commenters, male and female, unloaded on women's apparent stupidity underneath that post. "[W]ish I could disagree, but after seeing some of their comments—women who don't know the difference between men trash talking among themselves and actual rape are too stupid to vote," Jennifer Verner wrote.

James Flynn advised: "If she wins if a woman wants a favor. Tell them to ask Hillary."

Then this exchange. "Without the votes of women would FDR have been elected? All the suffering liberals have inflicted on this country can be traced back to women voting liberal," Scotty Collins offered.

"I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have been, Carter, Clinton and Obama sure wouldn't have been," Crews answered.

"Women are emotional creatures and most vote with their emotions and not logically," Nancy Bennett added.

Then Craig Kerr red-baited women, and slammed us for Prohibition. "First thing women voting gave us was Prohibition. Then they moved on to cultural Marxism," he said.

"I'm a woman and I totally agree. Women are destroying the west," Zita Norte added.

Susan Klassen agreed: "The majority of women vote based on emotion, not logic, and are grossly uninformed or misinformed. They look at govt as a charity. There are of course, exceptions. I am one of them. But before I educated myself via AM talk radio, starting with Rush, I thought I was a liberal. Studying the Bible at the same time gave …

The 8th Annual JFP Chick Ball is raising money to help the Center for Violence Prevention start a rape crisis center.

The Jackson Police Department announced an arrest this afternoon in the death of pro fisherman Jimmy Johnson. A Texas native, Johnson was only passing through Jackson to participate in a fishing tournament when he was shot and killed at a motel Sunday.

Rightly, there has been an outpouring of support for Johnson and his family over the past few days. And, also rightly so, there has been a fair amount of media coverage of Johnson's murder and the ensuing investigation. With today's news from JPD that a 17-year-old has been charged in connection to Johnson's death, local news and social media is once again abuzz.

The Clarion-Ledger has had three or four stories about the incident tacked to its front page all day while the comment sections of various news orgs are blowing up with comments about Johnson's death says about and means for progress in Jackson.

Johnson's was the 40th homicide in the city of Jackson this year, police records show. Yet, few have generated as much interest as the Johnson killing. There was the killing of William "Nod" Brown in September, which most people seem happy chalking up to the simple consequences of ghetto violence. And Quardious Thomas, whose cause of death was ruled self-defense because a homeowner claims Thomas was breaking into his unoccupied car.

So why does Jackson media seem to care so much more about Jimmy Johnson...

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/16/14170/

Than William Brown?

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2013/oct/16/14171/