Dale’s Sideline Report
Posted on: July 01,2019
The big news this past week was Ole Miss Interim Athletic Director Keith Carter’s decision not to extend the contract of Rebels baseball coach Mike Bianco for a customary fourth year. Bianco’s present contract will run out in three years.
Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum signed with the New York Mets but received a signing bonus of only $20,000. Mangum, who was a senior in school, had no leverage in negotiations with the Mets. His slot showed that the Mets could have paid him a bonus of $487,900 for being the 118th overall pick in the MLB draft. An interesting side note is that the Mets had Mangum listed as a left-handed pitcher, not a center fielder. Mangum, the all-time hit leader in SEC history, only pitched in six games at MSU. Former MSU baseball star Brent Rooker was named to the International AAA All-Star team. Southern Mississippi all-time career home run king Matt Wallner slammed his first home run for the rookie-level Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League.
SEC Media Days – Opening the box of chocolates
You never know what you will get at SEC Media Days. The best media circus in the word is on the horizon. It will attract over 1,200 media reps July 15-18 in Hoover, Alabama, signaling the official kickoff of the college football season. What will be the SEC story lines for 2018? Since Clemson won the national championship last year, is the ACC better than the SEC? Thirteen of the SEC coaches will be asked if Alabama can be derailed. MSU coach Joe Moorhead and Ole Miss coach Matt Luke will be asked several times about their teams’ defensive units and who their starting quarterbacks will be. All the action will be on the SEC Network.
Manning Passing Academy
The 24th Manning Passing Academy was held this past weekend at Nicholls State University. The Manning family who invites the nation’s best college quarterbacks to help with camp operates the MPA. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral and Southern Mississippi’s Jack Abraham were chosen to be counselors. Mississippi State’s representative was Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens. Meridian’s J’Mar Smith of Louisiana Tech joined the elite college signal callers in the game. Also attending were Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and LSU’s Joe Burrrow. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was a no-show due to a hamstring issue. Over 1,000 campers attended the three-day camp.
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