BREAKING: Lott resigns; Bower fired

Just in to the Acropolis news room…

Trent Lott is retiring after 18 years in the United States Senate. Lott, the current Minority Whip, said he is ready to move on to other things. He is the only person in U.S. history to serve as the whip in both houses on Congress. He is also a former Senate Majority Leader.

Names are already surfacing to replace Lott, including Republican Chip Pickering, who announced his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year in order to spend more time with his family. Other names include Democrat Mike Moore, a former Mississippi Attorney General.

Pickering’s seat, on the Republican side of the Pearl River, is already hotly contested.

Despite some speculation, Senior Senator Thad Cochran will not retire, and plans to represent Mississippi into his 70’s.

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And add to that another coaching vacancy among the Mississippi Big 3. A stunning annoucement out of Hattiesburg, where Jeff Bower was fired after 17 years as the head coach of the University of Southern Mississippi. He had a 119-82-1 record in that time span. The Golden Eagles beat Arkansas State Saturday to move to 7-5 and clinch a birth in the Papajohns.com Bowl (Seriously, call it the Pizza Bowl, so much better). Southern Miss has now had 14 consecutive winning seasons under Bower and have made their mark as one of the elite mid-major teams in terms of consistent winning and ability to compete with power conference schools.

With Bower and Orgeron both out, look for Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State to reap the benefits recruiting wise in a state always ripe with athletic talent (as long as they qualify academically). This could mark a significant shift in Mississippi recruiting, because it is now open season in the Magnolia State.

As always, thoughts or comments on the many storylines presented here are appreciated.

A Win-Win Egg Bowl

I was in Starkville Friday for the annual Battle for the Golden Egg. For the first time since a Manning played at Ole Miss, the game actually meant something. Mississippi State could avoid a potential bowl snub by getting their seventh win. The Rebels had the chance to play spoiler. The crowd was more one-sided than any Egg Bowl I have seen, Ole Miss fans were relegated to a thin section of the west side. The rest of the over 51,000 in attendance were decked out in maroon and white.

Boy were we in for an ugly 50 minutes.

Ole Miss picked up where they left off last week against LSU, running all over the Bulldogs. Brent Schaeffer and BenJarvus Green-Ellis cut holes in the supposedly stout MSU run defense. Meanwhile, Coach Croom’s offense could not do anything, aside from dropping passes and running to the line of scrimmage. Despite the domination, the Rebels scored only 14 points, failing to capitalize on many opportunities. A field goal hit the post, Brent again proved why MC’s Adam is the best Schaeffer/Shaffer in the state, missing countless deep passes, and the Rebels failed to convert a fake punt, the first of two odd fourth down calls by Coach Ed Orgeron.

And 10 minutes still remained on the clock.

That’s when Coach O made the decision that ultimately got him fired (I don’t care what Boone and Khayat said). 4th down and 1 near midfield, up 14-0, Ole Miss went for the 1st down rather than punting. The Bulldog crowd, initially baffled, came to life, realizing the Rebel coach had given their team a chance to take back the momentum. The defense at once transformed into the unit that upended Auburn, Alabama, and Kentucky – they stopped the run short and got the ball back. Six plays later, Wesley Carroll, who had been benched for a drive earlier after not being able to hit the side of a barn, hit Anthony Dixon for a touchdown. 14-7, game on.

If you want a game recap, this is not it, but it will get us to the end point a little faster. Bulldogs drive, Carroll throws pick, defense holds, Derek Pegues takes a punt back 75-yards, defense forces 3-and-out, in :36, Carroll drives his team into field goal range, where Adam Carlson makes a career-long 48-yard field goal. 17-14 MSU.

Stats through three quarters:
Total Yards: UM- 290, MSU- 144
First Downs: UM- 20, MSU- 4
Score: UM 14, MSU 0

Final Score: MSU 17, UM 14

The loss was only bittersweet for most Ole Miss fans, because less than 24 hours after the horn sounded, Coach O-8 was fired. Maybe it was the 4th down call. Maybe it was the failure to punish the 20+ players who stole items from hotel rooms all season long, garnering the school national attention of the not-so-good kind. Maybe it was 3-21 in SEC play. Whatever the reason, it is a great move for the Rebels, who should have never fired David Cutcliffe in the first place. But constant 7-4 seasons weren’t good enough for the higher ups at Ole Miss. After this stink streak, the goals have probably been redefined.

Sad though, us Bulldog fans wouldn’t have minded a few more seasons of Coach O’s indecipherable press conferences and befuddling coaching moves.

But back to the best part of the story.

The win ensures a bowl game for the Bulldogs for the first time since 2000 – the Independence Bowl in Shreveport against Texas A&M now deemed “The Snow Bowl.” Friday night, Texas A&M upset Texas to move to 7-5. Seven years later, Mississippi State and Texas A&M could very well meet in Shreveport for the Independence Bowl. Let it snow; let it snow.

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Oh, and I went to see Ole Miss play, and my alarm clock and pillow got back to Jackson safe and sound.

Election ‘08 Update: Ole Miss and Chuck Norris

The University of Mississippi has been chosen as the first of three sites nationwide for 2008 presidential debates. Not the cast of thousands primary debates, one of the big ones. It is scheduled for September 26. The other two sites are Belmont University in Nashville, and Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. The road to the presidency clearly runs though the South. The Ole Miss debate will be the first in the state’s history. All seating in the auditorium will be reserved for international press and people far more important than I, but I do plan to be in Oxford for the debate. It will be my chance to land a job at CNN.

I still think I deserve press credentials. As I said on my radio show Monday evening, “My goodness, if Bill O’Reilly gets to be there, so can I!”

In other news, this ad by Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, just gave Democratic candidate Mike Gravel a run for his money for best spot of the campaign.

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But let us not forget our leader in the clubhouse, Senator Gravel. At least he is leading something.

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BREAKING: Malcolm McMillin to be new JPD chief

Earlier this morning, Jackson Mayor Frank Melton named Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin the new chief of the Jackson Police Department. McMillin will succeed Shirlene Anderson, who was offered a special assistant role in the Melton administration earlier this week. McMillin will continue into his fifth term as Hinds County sheriff in January, and will take over as police chief immediately.

It is not unprecedented for a county sheriff to also be police chief of a city within the county. WLBT’s Bert Case reported that similar measures have been taken in Florida and other states. Case also said that according to Mississippi statute, the Hinds County sheriff is already the supreme law enforcement agent in Jackson, even over the JPD chief. On WLBT’s Midday Mississippi, Case was quite candid in calling Jackson “a dying city” that needed consolidation with county and state offices to improve. This would certainly be a step toward that goal.

Some issues still remain to be resolved. Namely, how McMillin will be paid in correlation with his existing role as sheriff. But also, how will McMillin and Melton co-exist? The two have rarely seen eye-to-eye in the past, and though Melton has promised to stay out of the way of police business, how long will it be before the Cowboy is dressed in his bulletproof vest armed with a sledgehammer for a night of police raids? For McMillin, it’s a curious move. Beloved by the vast majority of Hinds County, the sheriff is taking on what many see as a losing fight. It not only means added pressure for McMillin, it likely means a failure that could cost him re-election.

To be clear, I am speaking of failure in the eyes of the people. For McMillin’s move to be considered a success, crime in Jackson will have to decrease dramatically (you know, to before Anderson and Melton erased 10 years of progress in a matter of months). People aren’t satisfied with maintaining the status quo or knocking the numbers down a percentage point or two. They will want to see visible change in their neighborhoods, and McMillin, nor anyone else, can deliver that overnight.

I love the move for the city. I can’t think of anyone more capable of turning Jackson around. And for the reasons I’ve just stated, I think it is clear that Malcolm McMillin cares sincerely about the future of Jackson. It is a challenge and could be political suicide, but he is taking it on anyway. Let’s just hope Mayor Melton is true to his word and stays out of McMillin’s way. We want to see change in Jackson, not more soap opera drama on the 5:00 news.

Mississippi College A.D. Jones undergoes bypass surgery; Choctaws prepare to open 07-08 season

Breaking news on the Choctaw basketball front. Mississippi College Athletic Director and Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Jones underwent triple bypass heart surgery Tuesday afternoon. A hospital visit earlier that morning determined the procedure would be necessary. The surgery was successful and Coach Jones is expected to make a full recovery. He will remain in the hospital for the rest of the week. Jones is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. Associate Head Coach Don Lofton will resume head coaching duties in his absence.

Tonight, the Choctaws played an exhibition game against Division II Arkansas-Monticello. MC came up just short, falling 77-72 to the Boll Weevils (I kid you not).

The first game of the regular season is Friday, November 16, against Pensacola Christian. Tipoff at the Golden Dome is set for 7 o’clock. Mississippi College enters the season No. 23 in the D3hoops preseason poll, and the far-and-away favorite to win the American Southwest Conference East Division. The Choctaws have been to three straight Division III Sweet Sixteens, won two straight ASC Tournaments, three straight regular season conference championships, been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation, and can boast the NCAA’s best overall record (all divisions) the past 3 seasons (I don’t have the exact number with me… roughly 79-9).

Only three Choctaws return from last season’s 26-3 team. Point guard Jonathan Collins, forward Prince Trotter, and forward Tyler Winford, this year’s ASC East Preseason Player of the Year and three-time All-American. The new faces, including 13 transfers, are collectively considered the most talented recruiting class since MC’s move to D-III.

The bottom line: this team will compete for a national championship again. Be at the games. And keep Coach Jones and family in your prayers.

Do it like a Choctaw!