1. You may have heard, but this is March.
I mean it. Really. This. Is. March.
I make fun of the sportswriters who do it every year, and my God, they’ll be obnoxious this coming weekend, but I’m often reminded how much, every March, I enjoy college basketball. I watched almost all of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. I watched a lot of the Conference USA Tournament, seemingly dying multiple deaths cheering for my friend in a triple overtime game on Friday afternoon. I watched a lot of the Big Ten Tournament, some of the Big 12, etc. I even watched an Ivy League semifinal.
I was reminded internally of how much I enjoyed college basketball as a kid. A lot of my first sports memories are college basketball-related. I was nine when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson squared off in the NCAA final. I remember watching the NCAA Tournament consolation game on the afternoon President Reagan was shot. The 1983 North Carolina State team with Jim Valvano, the 1985 Villanova team with Rollie Massimino, etc. Looking back, those were some of the things that made me fall in love with sports and drove me to get into this field.
I still love the tournament. I love the SEC Tournament. I always have. There’s something about it. I told my son, Carson, Saturday that he should come with me to Nashville next year. I’ll work until the Rebels are eliminated and then he and I can watch the games. I missed being there this year.
I would’ve loved to have watched Texas A&M’s run in person. I’d been watching the Aggies a lot in the last few weeks and they were playing with a passion and vigor that can’t be faked. Same with Tennessee. Rick Barnes’ teams are so disciplined, so gritty, yet so — for lack of a better word — elegant. There are players in the league I just enjoy watching, from sure-fire lottery picks such as Jabari Smith to veterans such as John Fulkerson.
I think I’ve made it clear over the years that I don’t cheer for or against Ole Miss. I guess I’m old-school in that regard. But damn, I do hope Ole Miss can get relevant again soon. I miss covering a team on the bubble, fighting like mad to get in. Even when those teams fell short, the storyline was compelling. It made my job more interesting.
This isn’t a knock on Kermit Davis or this most recent Ole Miss team, but they were out of the mix so fast that the season never felt — again, for lack of a better word — relevant. There just wasn’t much to write, and after a while, I just kind of stopped.
I know I’m speaking to a minority when I say this, but I just don’t see how people can watch the SEC Tournament over the past few days and not want their team to be competitive and relevant. I simply can’t understand that mentality.
To me, the “well, we’re a baseball school” thing is defensive at best. Frankly, I think it’s ridiculous. There’s so much money and prestige on the line in basketball. Baseball is great and I believe Ole Miss should continue to embrace it wholeheartedly, but basketball gets a level of attention baseball simply doesn’t. And in today’s SEC, at least in my opinion, you simply must be dedicated to winning in the five major, visible sports — football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball.
Anyway, enjoy March. I always do. As much as I make fun of the journalists who go overboard about the tournament, I’ve found this is a month that rejuvenates me a bit each year, and I think the tournament plays a big role in that.
2. Ole Miss’ season ended on Wednesday with a 12-point loss to Missouri.
Since then there has been nothing but silence.
What does that mean? Full disclosure: I have no idea.
It could mean nothing. It could mean the decision has long been made to give Kermit Davis and his staff more time. It could mean the administration believes injuries derailed this Ole Miss team, that it not only would’ve been better but it also would’ve been much better had Robert Allen, Daeshun Ruffin and Jarkel Joiner not suffered serious injuries over the course of the campaign.
It could mean Ole Miss either doesn’t have the taste for change right now or doesn’t have the budget.
Of course, it could mean Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter is still evaluating the totality of the season and contemplating what’s next.
And, it could mean Carter is surveying the landscape. In a bit of a shocking development Sunday, Georgia hired Florida’s Mike White, putting the Gators on the coaching carousel. Missouri is open. LSU is open. Mississippi State appears to be coming open. There are rumblings about South Carolina.
I will repeat what I’ve said all along. Ole Miss is either stupid, arrogant or both if it just rolls on without acknowledging this was a rough season and without presenting a plan forward for the fan base.
One way or the other, there is a lot of roster work that needs to be done. Ole Miss signed four players last season. Only one, Ruffin, really contributed. It has four players signed in the new class. That’s eight of 13 spots dedicated to high school players over a two-year span. My guess is there’s attrition in that group. There almost has to be.
Assuming Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield return, the remaining spots should come at a premium. Tye Fagan has already used his transfer, though I suppose it’s conceivable he could graduate and transfer again as a grad transfer. Luis Rodriguez, Austin Crowley and Sammy Hunter have eligibility remaining, though I’d be shocked if they’re all back. Joiner could return for a sixth season, and he hasn’t closed that door.
Davis talked Wednesday night about rebuilding through the portal. The problem, of course, is that strategy is at odds with the construction of the roster.
I’m fascinated to see and hear what comes next.
3. UAB won the Conference USA championship Saturday night, defeating Louisiana Tech. That’s only news here because the Blazers’ coach, former Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy, remains a hot-button topic among Rebel faithful.
Full disclosure: I consider Kennedy a very good friend and I am quite happy for him and the success he’s having at his alma mater. It was odd for me, a Ruston boy who grew up cheering for Tech and going to countless games at Thomas Assembly Center, to be cheering against the guys in powder blue and red Saturday night. But I digress…
The Ole Miss part of the conversation is silly. Kennedy spent 12 years at Ole Miss. He gave it all he had. He didn’t make the postseason enough. He’ll be the first to tell you. Other than his last team, his teams never, ever sucked. They were almost always exciting. The 2013 SEC Tournament was special. On and on.
However, Kennedy knew it was time to move on when he did. One can debate the process that led to that last disastrous season. That’s fair. Was it handled well? No. Was Jeffrey Vitter a poor chancellor who desperately wanted to be loved by the locals and big boosters? Yes. Did that lead to some really dumb decisions? Absolutely. Did that leadership void lead to a mess? It truly did. Did Kennedy make mistakes of his own? Yep.
At the end of the day, the numbers weren’t good enough and Ole Miss and Kennedy parted ways. TV did Kennedy good. It allowed him to recharge his batteries, to observe some other coaches, to pick some brains, to adjust.
He got to UAB and immediately implemented the transfer portal to his benefit. He’s in his second season with the Blazers and they’re dancing this week. If you know Kennedy, you’re very likely happy for him. I am. I hope UAB makes a run.
But whatever happens, whether it’s a first-round exit or a Sweet 16 run for UAB, Kennedy and Ole Miss needed to split. Everyone knew it. He had a helluva run in Oxford, and for those of us who covered it, it was a lot of fun. He’s a first-class guy, a remarkably funny interview and a great quote. He’s also a good coach.
But in his field — or damn near any field, really — a dozen years at one place is a long, long time. Linking Kennedy and Davis in some comparative sense is unfair to both men, by the way. They’re different coaches, coaching at different times, judged by different metrics. The debate is absurd. It should stop. It won’t, I know, but it should.
4. The basketball Saturday was overshadowed by news out of Baton Rouge. After three years of intrigue that included a federal investigation, LSU finally fired Will Wade and his lead assistant, former Ole Miss staffer Bill Armstrong.
The moves came a day after LSU was defeated in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals by Arkansas. They came three years and two days since Wade was first suspended in 2019 for the infamous FBI wiretap recording and the “strong-ass offer” to former Tigers guard Javonte Smart.
As Brody Miller wrote in The Athletic Sunday, “It had been 1,097 days of Wade and LSU basketball living in some sort of purgatory, Wade still running the program each day like nothing had changed while the rest of the country wondered how he was still employed.”
More from Miller:
Wade was charged with five Level I violations, including providing payments to players, giving money to the former fiancee of a player for her silence and a “reckless indifference” for NCAA rules. The NCAA accused LSU of the universally-feared “lack of institutional control” as the football and men’s basketball programs combined for eight Level I violations, among others. LSU is fully preparing for the possibility of a multi-year postseason ban and scholarship reductions.
Because LSU amended Wade’s contract in 2019 — under former athletic director Joe Alleva — to allow the school to fire Wade with cause if charged with any major violations, LSU does not owe Wade any of the $3.1 million remaining in his buyout. Instead of wanting to wait months and months for the process to sort itself out, LSU decided to make the decision now and move forward.
“We can no longer subject our University, Department of Athletics, and — most importantly — our student-athletes, to this taxing and already-lengthy process without taking action,” LSU said in a statement from President William Tate and athletic director Scott Woodward.
Plus, LSU hopes the decision to fire Wade operates as a move of cooperation and an intention to change things. With the IARP attaching the football violations to the basketball violation, LSU is attempting to make every correct step possible to protect the football program in the coming decision by the NCAA.
The timing of the NOA from the NCAA wasn’t a coincidence. The NCAA hates Wade and has been frustrated with LSU for three years. LSU had at one point thought it could beat this rap and keep Wade. LSU had hoped the NCAA’s struggles to find the money, to procure cooperation from Wade, would lead to the NCAA dropping the investigation.
That was naive. Too many people around college athletics were going frustrated with the NCAA’s inaction. So, the fact that the NCAA issued a strong-ass NOA on the eve of the basketball postseason, including football violations in the document, can only be viewed as a declaration of war.
Again, from Miller:
On top of basketball, the notice of allegations includes the previously reported football violations of former Our Lady of the Lake hospital foundation head John Paul Funes proving $180,150 worth of impermissible benefits to the family of former LSU offensive lineman Vadal Alexander from 2012 to 2017, including providing jobs for his family. That happened under Les Miles, and LSU hoped to be nearing a conclusion to the investigation when in January 2020 — in the aftermath of LSU winning its 2019 national championship — former LSU star Odell Beckham Jr. handed out approximately $2,000 in cash to various players. That incident led to the football investigation continuing, and it was ultimately looped in with the basketball investigation, much to LSU’s dismay.
At the end of the day, LSU was waiting for the NCAA to act, allowing it to fire Wade and Armstrong with cause. LSU will try to cooperate fully at this point, willing to sacrifice a few years of hoops for the health of the Tigers’ football program.
I understand the strategy, but I’m skeptical. The NCAA loves getting big scalps, and as the rules have changed and NIL has made paying players legal, those scalps are fewer and further between.
But here’s LSU, big and bad and sexy, just guilty as hell. The Tigers’ basketball program was just DGAF rogue. The football program was laundering money through a freaking children’s hospital. There’s lack of institutional control. LSU football, it should be noted, has already punished itself somewhat.
However, this case screams for a harsh penalty. It’s a chance for the NCAA to remind member-institutions it still has teeth. My guess — and feel free to call me naive — is the hammer falls hard. I expect a devastating penalty for hoops and a harsher than expected punishment for football.
5. Speaking of football, Ole Miss’ spring begins a week from Tuesday.
The Rebels are scheduled to practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until the April 23 Grove Bowl at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Each week, I’ve been previewing some storylines I find intriguing heading into the spring.
I don’t know how much we’ll learn in the spring about Ole Miss’ running game, but I am interested to see how much depth the Rebels have at the position going into the 2022 season.
Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy are preparing for the NFL Draft. Henry Parrish Jr. transferred to Maryland.
That leaves Kentrel Bullock, who rushed 17 times for 78 yards last season, as Ole Miss’ leading returning rusher.
Of course, the situation was handled, at least to some degree, via recruiting. Zach Evans, who transferred to Ole Miss from TCU in January, rushed 92 times for 648 yards and five touchdowns for the Horned Frogs last season. The Rebels also signed Pike Road, Ala., running back Quinshon Judkins in December. Judkins rushed 1,534 yards as a senior and enrolled in time for the spring semester.
Judkins, a 6-foot, 210-pounder, is believed to be college-ready. If that’s the case, the question this spring won’t be quality of running backs. It will be quantity. Is three enough? Do the Rebels need to add some depth at the position via the transfer portal? Are there some sleepers who emerge as potential contributors?
Those will be questions that will be interesting to revisit.
6. The NCAA Tournament bracket was released Sunday.
Six SEC teams — Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU and Alabama — made the 68-team field. Texas A&M, which made a run to Sunday in Tampa before losing to the Volunteers, got squeezed out, hurt by Richmond winning the Atlantic 10 title and by the respect the selection committee paid to the Big Ten.
Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Baylor earned the No. 1 seeds.
My quick-glance Final Four is Tennessee, Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Kentucky.
7. Major League Baseball is back. The 99-day lockout ended late last week and spring training officially began Sunday. The season begins April 7 and there will be a full 162-game schedule.
How much was the game hurt by 99 days of labor battles? We’ll start to find out next week.
I’ll start making some division predictions in the coming weeks, but for now, it’s fun for those of us stubborn enough to keep following a game run by people who don’t seem to love it to wait for transactions to occur.
Where will Freddie Freeman play? Will he return to the world champion Braves? Will he go home to Los Angeles and play for the Dodgers? Might the Yankees sweep in and steal him from the National League?
What about Carlos Correa? Will the former Astros shortstop return to Houston? Will the Yankees lose on Freeman and turn their attention and payroll to Correa? Are the rumors about the Cubs making the 27-year-old shortstop the face of their sped-up rebuild?
Speaking of the Cubs, where will Kris Bryant land? What about Anthony Rizzo? What about Kyle Schwarber? My bets, respectively, are Seattle for Bryant, either Atlanta or the Yankees, depending on Freeman’s decision, for Rizzo, and Colorado for Schwarber.
Can San Diego land Japanese sensation Seiya Suzuki, and if they do, do they have to move contracts and package prospects to create payroll room?
Now that the National League will implement the designated hitter, who will land Nelson Cruz? Will it be Atlanta if the Braves miss on Freeman? Could it be San Diego? Could Milwaukee make a surprising acquisition?
I think the game hurt itself in a major way over the past three-plus months. I’m excited it’s back; I typically mark time in the summers by the Cubs, even when they’re horrible. I like listening to Major League Baseball on the radio. I enjoy turning random games on my outdoor television on a summer night. I’m glad it’s back. But I’ll follow stories regarding ratings and attendance the like closely.
8. Some miscellany here:
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant had some choice words for New York City mayor Eric Adams after his Nets teammate, guard Kyrie Irving, sat courtside but couldn’t play Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the crosstown New York Knicks.
Irving isn’t vaccinated for COViD-19, and the city’s vaccine mandate means while he can sit courtside for the ACC Tournament final Saturday and then again for an NBA game Sunday, he can’t play.
"It's ridiculous," Durant said. "I don't understand it at all. There's a few people in our arena that's unvaxxed, right? They lifted all of that in our arena, right? So I don't get it ...I don't get it. It just feels like at this point now, somebody's trying to make a statement or a point to flex their authority. But everybody out here is looking for attention and that's what I feel like the mayor wants right now, is some attention. But he'll figure it out soon. He better.
"But it just didn't make any sense. There's unvaxxed people in this building already. We got a guy who can come in the building, I guess, are they fearing our safety? I don't get it. We're all confused. Pretty much everybody in the world is confused at this point. Early on in the season people didn't understand what was going on, but now it just looks stupid. So hopefully, Eric, you got to figure this out.”
The NFL, never one to surrender headlines, had huge news break Sunday evening.
Tom Brady is returning as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season, he announced on Twitter Sunday.
"These past two months I've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” Brady said. ”That time will come. But it's not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I'm coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG”
That seemingly takes the Bucs out of the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, a story that could get resolved this week. From ESPN.com:
The Carolina Panthers will make an "aggressive" offer for Deshaun Watson as soon as the Houston quarterback waives his no-trade clause for them to negotiate with the Texans, a league source told ESPN.
An issue with having the clause waived is not anticipated, the source said.
The New Orleans Saints also have expressed interest in Watson, sources told ESPN.
The Texans, however, have not been given a list from Watson or his representatives on teams for which he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, a source told ESPN's Sarah Barshop.
The Panthers attempted to trade for Watson, 26, early last offseason before reports surfaced of 22 lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints of sexual misconduct against the three-time Pro Bowl selection. Carolina backed off after that.
A grand jury in Houston voted Friday not to indict Watson on the criminal charges, leaving the 22 civil lawsuits with accusations of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions against the former Clemson quarterback.
That increased interest from many teams in addition to Carolina. Seattle, which earlier in the week traded Russell Wilson to Denver, also is expected to make a strong run at Watson, according to a source. Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Cleveland also reportedly are interested.
Houston can agree to a trade at any time, but it could not be made official until the new league year starts at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Free agency begins for real Wednesday afternoon. Some quarterbacks to watch include Teddy Bridgewater, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Mitchell Trubisky and Tyrod Taylor.
Dallas has to move contracts, and a move to watch, per reports is offensive tackle La’el Collins to Cincinnati.
The Giants could move running back Saquon Barkley. The Bengals figure to be major player for Tampa Bay center Ryan Jensen as well, though Brady’s return to the Bucs could change Jensen’s thinking.
SEC baseball begins Thursday. Ole Miss travels to Auburn for a Thursday-Saturday series. The Rebels face Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday before traveling to the Plains. After Sunday’s games, Tennessee has the league’s best record at 15-1. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss are 13-2. Missouri is 10-2. Kentucky is 14-3. Auburn and LSU are 13-3, Georgia is 12-3 and Arkansas is 11-3.
Florida is 13-4. Alabama and Texas have lost five times each already. South Carolina is 8-6 and Mississippi State is off to a 10-7 start.
Series this weekend:
South Carolina at Tennessee
Mississippi State at Georgia
Ole Miss at Auburn
Florida at Alabama
Missouri at Vanderbilt
Texas A&M at LSU
Kentucky at Arkansas
9. It’s time to eat. Here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 126 — Hachis Parmentier.
So think of Shepard’s Pie but elevated to a greater taste. This dish is in most brassieres in Paris and finding the best one took a few taste trials. It is wonderful and will go great for Saint Patrick’s Day if you would like. I would suggest it.
Tidbit #1: For the meat, you use what is leftover from a previous dinner. For an adaption to what we cook in the states, use a pot roast that was made 1 day or two before.
Tidbit #2: One way that the mashed potatoes are that much better is due to the 2 cloves of garlic and onion put into the pot of water to boil the potatoes. It adds a layer of flavor.
Things you will need:
4 People
Preparation time - 25 Minutes
Cook time - 25 Minutes
Utensils needed:
Work surface and chef’s knife
Casserole dish
Stove
Measuring cups
Saucepot
Mixing bowl
Ingredients needed:
2 lbs. of leftover pot roast
3 Heavy tbsp bacon grease
3 Onions
2 cloves garlic
1 Handful fresh parsley
2 lbs potatoes
Beef stock
Butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Mise en Plac
Step 1: Start with your potatoes by boiling with garlic and onion. Also, remember to salt the water. Once mashed, add just enough butter to form a thick puree. Set aside.
Step 2: For the meat, chop up along with the other 2 onions and parsley. Combine all in a mixing bowl with the bacon grease. Mix using your hand and add a tip or two of the beef stock to make it not as thick.
Final
Step 3: Pre-heat your oven to 425°F. In your casserole dish layer the mashed potatoes on the bottom —> followed by the meat mixture —> followed by the mashed potatoes on top. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the top with a few pieces of butter. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. It’ll likely be a light week here at RebelGrove.com, but we’ll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball, women’s basketball and whatever else pops up. Until then, here are some links of interest to me — and hopefully, to you — for your reading pleasure:
Sarris: The small CBA rule change that may change the way some winning teams do business
Did Derek Jeter Leave the Marlins Because Ownership Wouldn't Let Him Land Nick Castellanos?
Drellich: How MLB players won, and why it also feels like they could have won more
Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev is dropped from Montreal Symphony
Massachusetts Reports ‘Significant Overcount' of COVID DeathsOrchestra speaking against war
The Real Reason Love Is Blind Contestants Use Gold Wine Glasses
