Mississippi Today (https://mississippitoday.org/author/rickcleveland/)
Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Today’s sports columnist since 2016. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s in journalism, Rick has worked for the Monroe (La.) News Star World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers. Rick has been recognized 11 times as Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year, and is recipient of multiple awards and honors for his reporting and writing.
From Black Friday in Starkville almost 12 years ago, to No. 1 ranked LSU’s conquest of Alabama last Saturday, Ed Orgeron’s resurrection as a football coach has been remarkable to witness.
Julia Johnson’s 11-under-par round of 61 was the lowest in Ole Miss golf history, men or women. It tied for the lowest round in NCAA women’s golf history.
I asked D.D. Lewis one time who was the toughest man he ever had to tackle. D.D. didn’t hesitate. “Walter Payton,” D.D. answered. “It was like tackling a 215-pound bowling ball. It hurt. I mean, it really hurt.”
Search committee is particularly heavy on former Ole Miss athletes, and Archie Manning agrees to assist again.
Turns out, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is a Starkville native. Turns out, his father was a Mississippi State football star on one of the school’s greatest teams. Turns out, Mattress Mack made several of his recent World Series bets at Mississippi casinos.
When celebrated author Willie Morris would call himself “that other Willie from Yazoo City,” someone would look at him funny as if to say “What are you talking about?” And Morris would respond, “Well, they named a street in Yazoo City after Willie Brown. He’s only the greatest cornerback in football history!”
Those were different times in America. Pete Brown, who died in 2015 at the age of 80, was playing in tournaments at private clubs and golf courses where he wouldn’t have been allowed on the premises if not for his PGA standing. Many in the nearly all-white galleries didn’t want him to win and let him know it in sometimes threatening terms. Still, he won.
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020: record-setting high school baseball coach Jerry Boatner; trail-blazing pro golfer Pete Brown; NBA superstar Antonio McDyess; renowned, trend-setting stadium architect Janet Marie Smith; long-time Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton; and Ole Miss and NFL football great Patrick Willis.
His father, Jimmy Burrow from Amory, played at Ole Miss before transferring to Nebraska. James Burrow, his grandfather, played point guard for State.
Gardner Minshew and Demario Davis share more than a hometown. They both have a blue-collar work ethic that has made them two of the best stories in the NFL currently.
Fans wanting to attend the LSU, Mississippi State game a week from Saturday in Starkville will have to wait to finalize their plans. Networks won’t settle on a kickoff time until after results are in from this weekend. No other sport at any level does that.
Hard to believe it was at this time five years ago, when the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels were the toast of college football. Remember?
At Alabama, Rebel freshmen John Rhys Plumlee and Jerrion Ealy reminded at least one writer of the kind of speed Ole Miss offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez coached when he was at West Virginia.
For the first time ever, there will be ice skating at the Mississippi State Fair beginning Wednesday. For 10 dollars a day, fairgoers can rent some skates and take to the ice. If you are coming in from the midway at midday, you might just want to lie on it.
Both State and Ole Miss travel to Alabama where the results have not been good for either team, but for fans there is always 2014 and the hope that lightning will again strike twice.