Marion “Chief” Henley, one of the greatest football coaches most people never heard of, has died at his retirement home in Cocoa Beach, Fla.. Henley who was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, was 79. Henley’s Picayune Carver High School teams won 64 straight football games in the 1960s, which was […]
(Steve McNair, who would be 40 now, died four years ago Thursday. This is the column I wrote on the day of his retirement five years ago. He becomes eligible for induction into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in the Class of 2014. Covering him his senior year at Alcorn State remains a highlight […]
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After more than 30 years working in various capacities publicizing Mississippi State athletics, Joe Dier retired Monday from his position as Assistant Director of Media Relations. Dier began his career at Mississippi State on Nov. 1, 1986, hired by athletic director Charlie Carr to serve as the primary media contact for every […]
Scattershooting on a Sunday afternoon, trying to figure out how a baseball team — the Atlanta Braves — can be on track to set a Major League record for strikeouts and still lead its division by 6.5 games . . . Answer: pitching, power and defense. Jim Gallagher, Jr., of Greenwood, shot a final round […]
(Writer’s note: Happily, July 4 will mark the 17th anniversary of the opening of your Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Unhappily, it will be fourth anniversary of the death of Steve McNair, one of most incredible athletes these eyes have seen. Ruston Webster, a Madison native and the general manager of the Tennessee […]
The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum’s Farm Bureau 5K Watermelon Classic, one of the state’s most popular road races, will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Thursday, July 4. “We had a record entry of nearly 1,800 runners and walkers last year,” race director Margaret White said. “We’re hoping for even more to celebrate […]
Mississippi State made it to the CWS National Championship Series with a bullpen that threw more innings than the Bulldogs’ starters. “Never heard of that,” said Boo Ferriss, a former Mississippi State pitcher and Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer who has played or coached baseball for eight decades. “It defies baseball logic,” said Jay […]
As we prepare for Game 2 of the College World Series Championship Series, now seems as good a time as any to discuss where college baseball has been and where it is now. I’m talking about the style of play. With the deadened bats, we have gone from Gorilla Ball to Marshmellow Ball. I didn’t […]
