Former heavyweight champion Ken Norton died yesterday at the age of 70, the result of complications of a series of strokes. His epitaph could read: “This man whupped Muhammad Ali” Or: “Here lies the man who broke Ali’s jaw” Either would be a splendid remembrance for a boxer to take to his grave. I have […]
I just turned on Monday Night Football and Jon Gruden was talking, and I really like him as an analyst. He knows his stuff. That said, the late, great Don Meredith remains my all-time favorite. What follows is was what I wrote when Dandy Don died in December, 2010. This will begin with this caveat: […]
Last week, I went all Bear Bryant on you. That’s right, I went 11-0. Eleven games, 11 winners. That’s what I call going all Bear Bryant on you. Bear went 11-0 twice, 12-0 once en route to six national championships. Bear Bryant was never one to brag, so I won’t either. How could I? It […]
This was last week’s syndicated column that ran in more than 25 Mississippi newspapers. To order tickets to A Tribute to Kent Hull, call 601 982-8264, Offensive linemen, vital to victory at any level, remain football’s unsung heroes. They work as hard or harder than others. They hit and absorb hits on every play. Usually, […]
First thing I saw when I got on my computer early this morning was that today is the 5th anniversary of a most unusual football game, one I’ve tried hard to forget. Five years ago, Auburn defeated Mississippi State 3-2 in Starkville. I was there, unfortunately, working on deadline. I had 750 words to write […]
The picks, not the fix, are in… I was 8-3 last week with nice picks on Miami over Florida and Michigan over Notre Dame. Happily missed on Jackson State and the Saints, which both won big games. That makes me 16-5 on the season a winning percentage of 76.1, which will only get you fired […]
Bear Bryant would be 100 years old today. With that in mind, what follows is my first face-to-face, one-on-one encounter with the great man. This was September of 1971. Alabama had just unveiled the Wishbone and stunned No. 3 Southern Cal at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, reversing a three-touchdown defeat the year before in […]
Got a chance to visit with Hugh Freeze Monday when he was at our museum to talk to the Jackson Touchdown Club. Naturally, my first question was: “Can you believe Mack Brown fired Manny Diaz yesterday?” Freeze shook his head and said, basically, “Ruined my day.” No, Diaz and Freeze aren’t close although Freeze did […]
