Another year, as difficult as it is to believe, has passed.
Here's my annual review of the soon-to-be-past year as we look back on the stories that shaped 2022 at Ole Miss and elsewhere:
1. The top story in 2022 was obviously Ole Miss’ college baseball national title.
A championship is always a dramatic accomplishment, but the way the Rebels navigated the 2022 season was the stuff of story books. As I’ve said many times, Hollywood executives would’ve turned down the script had it been presented to them.
Why? It wouldn’t have been realistic enough.
Ole Miss started the year in the top 10, ascended to the top spot in the rankings and then faded, all but collapsing in April. After losing two of three in Fayetteville, Ark., the Rebels were 7-14 in the Southeastern Conference, basically left for dead.
There were signs that weekend at Baum Stadium, however. Ole Miss could’ve swept the Razorbacks with a break here and there. They didn’t, of course, so the focus was on losing the series.
Ole Miss rebounded, sweeping Missouri and LSU to breathe life back into the season. The Rebels finished by losing two of three to Texas A&M and dropping a first-round SEC Tournament game to Vanderbilt, leaving Ole Miss to sweat and worry for five agonizing days.
As it turned out, Ole Miss got the very final spot in the field. The Rebels cruised through the Coral Gables Regional and then swept Southern Mississippi in a Super Regional in Hattiesburg to punch their ticket to Omaha.
Once there, the Rebels had just one hiccup, losing to Arkansas. A day later, the Rebels defeated the Razorbacks to earn a spot versus Oklahoma in the College World Series championship series. The Rebels dominated the Sooners, winning the national championship with seemingly all of Mississippi packed into the stands and bars of Omaha.
It was vindication for Mike Bianco, the long-time Ole Miss baseball coach. A year after his dalliance with LSU and just weeks after his job security had reached critical mass, Bianco raised the championship trophy and solidified his status as a legend at Ole Miss.
2. Ole Miss’ football season didn’t enjoy the fairytale ending the Rebels’ baseball program did. After starting 7-0 and getting very much into the national title conversation, the Rebels lost four of their last five regular-season games to finish 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the SEC.
A disastrous second half in Baton Rouge turned out to be a sign of things to come. After a narrow win at Texas A&M and a much needed open date, the Rebels entered a November of opportunity and completely blew it.
Ole Miss lost a lead over Alabama and came up just short of the Crimson Tide in Oxford. A week later, Arkansas led the Rebels, 42-6, early in the third quarter. Ole Miss spent a lot of energy making the final score respectable but then looked tired five days later in an Egg Bowl loss to Mississippi State.
The TaxAct Texas Bowl did nothing to soothe hurt feelings. Ole Miss dropped a 42-25 decision to Texas Tech to finish the season 8-5, losers of five of its last six games. Kiffin said afterwards there would be change inside the program in the aftermath, and how that change is implemented will be heavily scrutinized in the coming weeks and months.
3. What we’ll never really know is what impact — if any — Auburn’s interest in Lane Kiffin had on end of Ole Miss’ season.
What’s indisputable is it became quite a storyline in late October when Auburn fired Bryan Harsin midway through his second season on the Plains.
Within minutes, Kiffin was being asked about the Auburn opening, even in vague terms. As the weeks went on, the speculation heightened. Was it a media creation? In short, no. Was it agent-driven? Again, no. Kiffin was Auburn’s top target. There was no mistaking that, and he did absolutely nothing to kill that speculation. When Ole Miss lost to Alabama, basically eliminating the Rebels from the title picture, the Kiffin-to-Auburn story line took on a life of its own. By the time the Rebels got to Fayetteville on Nov. 19, the speculation was white-hot. Kiffin’s demeanor and answers following the loss to the Razorbacks did nothing to cool the fire.
By the following Monday night, a tweet from WCBI-TV’s Jon Sokoloff had the speculation at inferno levels. It couldn’t be avoided any further. Kiffin addressed the report with his team on Tuesday and again on Wednesday and then was asked directly about it on Thursday night following the loss to Mississippi State.
By Friday morning, the story had lost its oxygen. Auburn moved on from Kiffin later that day and hired Hugh Freeze that weekend. Kiffin agreed to a new deal at Ole Miss, one that will pay him some $9 million per season.
He also lost a little capital for the first time at Ole Miss. It’s nothing big and he’ll win it back quickly, but in subsequent seasons, when and if his name pops up for other openings, the Auburn saga will linger in the back of fans’ minds, especially if the speculation grows hotter as the end of the season nears.
4. To begin the season, all eyes — at least those focused on the offensive backfield — were on TCU transfer portal running back Zach Evans.
It didn’t take long, however, for much of that attention to be diverted to freshman Quinshon Judkins. The Pine Road, Ala., native was simply terrific from the start, combining his vision and speed with physicality and power. In a league that included Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs and Arkansas’ Rocket Sanders, Judkins was arguably the best running back in the SEC.
For the regular season, Judkins rushed 251 times for 1,476 yards and 16 touchdowns, earning SEC Freshman of the Year, first-team All-SEC and the Conerly Trophy in the process. Judkins added 91 yards on 23 carries in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Wednesday night.
Perhaps most importantly, Judkins elected to not test the transfer portal, instead committing to returning to the Rebels’ roster for the 2023 season.
5. Ole Miss’ women’s basketball team finally earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in March.
A year after reaching the finals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, Ole Miss made the next step, going 23-9 overall and 10-6 in the SEC. The Rebels won an SEC Tournament game before losing to Florida in the quarterfinals.
The season ended in disappointing fashion as Ole Miss was knocked off 10th-seeded South Dakota, 75-61.
The Rebels went 11-2 in the non-league portion of the season this year before facing Auburn on Thursday to open the SEC slate. The Rebels dominated the Tigers in that meeting in Oxford to get off to an excellent start to league play and enter 2023 as a favorite, if you will, to return to the NCAA Tournament.
6. Ole Miss’ men’s basketball team, on the other hand, did not make the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Rebels were 13-19 overall and 4-14 in the SEC, losing to Missouri in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Freshman guard Daeshun Ruffin tore his ACL in a win over LSU on Jan. 31, and the Rebels were never the same. Ole Miss lost nine of its last 10 games, with the lone win being a 17-point blowout of Georgia in Athens.
After the season, there was staff and roster upheaval as Kermit Davis and Co. prepared for a season that might very well be make or break. So far, the Rebels are 8-5 overall and 0-1 in the SEC, with a loss earlier this month to North Alabama sticking out like the sorest of sore thumbs.
There are at least 19 games remaining, starting with a Tuesday night date at Alabama, but Davis’ future — and the overall direction of the program — is a major storyline entering 2023.
7. Mike Leach walked off the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium playing surface on Thanksgiving night with a 24-22 win over Ole Miss, his first Egg Bowl win in three tries.
It was Leach’s farewell to college football. The innovative Mississippi State coach, known primarily for developing the Air Raid offense, died on Dec. 12, days after a massive heart attack at his home in Starkville. The former Texas Tech and Washington State coach amassed 158 wins in his career, but he will be remembered more for how he shaped the game, especially at the high school level.
"I truly loved coach Leach and every minute I shared with him," Kiffin said in a statement following Leach’s passing. "I have been able to work with several players and coaches, and they have told so many amazing stories about the impact he had on their lives. Going back to our years together in the Pac-12, I have always felt tremendous respect and admiration for coach, his unique personality and innovative mind, I can't imagine college football without him. I'm grateful to be part of his final win, hug him and watch him walk off like the winner he is. I know God is welcoming the Pirate home now."
8. I’ve probably got this too low, but that could be because we’re just now fully understanding the importance of Name, Image and Likeness collectives in collegiate sports.
The development and growth of The Grove Collective, especially late this fall, became a major subject on the Ole Miss athletics landscape. A year ago, William Liston was just getting started, trying to build and shape TGC while also performing his day job as an attorney. It was a hell of a venture on his part, and looking back, he performed shockingly well.
This summer, it became obvious to Liston that he needed real help and that all of the competing NIL entities needed to consolidate, at least as much as possible. Enter Walker Jones, a former Under Armour executive and former Ole Miss football player. Jones helped consolidate several NIL entities, got the approval of the university and helped TGC take the next step.
In November, as the Kiffin-to-Auburn rumors circulated and got stronger, TGC pushed harder and gained real momentum, adding to its membership and crossing the $10 million threshold in its collective war chest. Earlier this month, TGC announced a partnership with The Brandr Group and Wheels Up, a first-of-its kind corporate alliance that should not only serve as a recruiting tool for Ole Miss but also give back to the Oxford community.
“As part of our ongoing Meals Up charity initiative, we’re thrilled to partner with The Brandr Group and The Grove Collective to usher in the next generation of philanthropists to help support Feeding America and continue to fight food insecurity in the United States,” Wheels Up chairman and CEO Kenny Dichter said in a statement. “This is an industry-leading partnership and unique way to engage with college athletes while providing them with an outlet to give back to the local community, along with providing memories for the student families attending various games through the program.”
Kiffin has been one of the most outspoken figures in college athletics about NIL. Sometimes, his comments seemed to be criticisms of Ole Miss’ efforts. As the calendar turns to 2023, Ole Miss is poised to compete at a high level as it pertains to NIL (which is essentially pay-for-play/salary, but we’ll leave that for another day). For Ole Miss, that’s huge news, as the football program seems less dependent on Kiffin’s presence/commitment moving forward than it did just two short months ago. Finding a way to show a similar commitment to men’s basketball could become a major issue in just two short months. It’s one thing to replace a coach. It’s another, completely, to go into the coaching market with an insufficient NIL program specifically dedicated to that sport.
9. In professional sports, 2022 was the year a couple of franchises established their title runs as dynasties.
The Golden State Warriors, behind the trio of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The Warriors joined the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers as the only NBA franchises to win seven-or-more titles
The Warriors became the 15th team among the four major professional sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL) to win at least four championships in eight years, joining the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics (four times), Los Angeles Lakers (three times), Chicago Bulls (once), the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers (twice), Pittsburgh Steelers (once) and Chicago Bears (once), the Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees (eight times), Boston Red Sox (once), the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens (eight times), Toronto Maple Leafs (three times), Edmonton Oilers (once), New York Islanders (once), Detroit Red Wings (once), Ottowa Senators (once).
Curry was named the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award with averages of 31.2 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 37.5 minutes per game in The Finals. Curry is the seventh player in NBA history to have at least four NBA titles and two Most Valuable Player awards, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Tim Duncan.
Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala each earned their fourth NBA Championship and are one of 40 all-time NBA players (0.8 percent) who have won four NBA titles. They are second quartet, in the last 50 years, to combine for four championships joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson and Kurt Rambis (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988).
In November, the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, finally giving the franchise and its fans an unblemished championship and likely silencing some of the criticism that has dogged the Astros since the cheating scandal that took much of the luster off their 2017 World Series title.
“I think that’s what drove this team,” said Dusty Baker, the manager for the last three seasons. “The boos and the jeers that we got all over the country, it bothered these guys, but it also motivated them at the same time. And it wasn’t an us-against-the-world thing. It was more of a, come together even closer-type thing.”
Lance McCullers Jr., a longtime Astros pitcher and one of five active players left from the 2017 team, told the New York Times on the field after the game that when the right fielder Kyle Tucker caught the final out in foul territory, and the Astros players celebrated in the usual fashion, there was extra meaning in the hugs with the players from 2017 because of how important it was for their legacy.
“That was always going to be a dark cloud over our head,” McCullers told the Times, referring to the scandal. “I’m sure a lot of people aren’t happy that we won, but at the end of the day we continue just to work and do things the right way.”
Houston cruised through the postseason with an 11-2 record to establish itself as one of the best teams of this era. Fans will likely never completely stop referring to the scandal in 2017, but the World Series victory in 2022 validated the Astros.
“People are going to say what they want to say,” reliever Ryan Pressly said. “We won. We’re the best. Ain’t nothing they can say about it now.”
10. There’s a lot left I could touch in this space, but with Thought No. 10, I’ll just give some fleeting thoughts on a number of topics that crossed my mind in 2022.
In so many ways, it felt like 2022 was the year the torch was finally passed among NFL quarterbacks. Tom Brady finally looks old, even as he guides the Buccaneers to the NFL Playoffs. Aaron Rodgers is having a late-season renaissance of sorts, but Father Time is winning the battle against the Packers quarterback, too. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow are playing at an elite level in a year when another quarterback, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, just might win the MVP award. It’s a treat to watch any of the trio of Mahomes, Allen and Burrow play. We get a Monday night game in Cincinnati between Allen’s Bills and Burrow’s Bengals, and we should all take a moment and just enjoy it.
Speaking of quarterbacks, 2022 will be the year that the price of high school quarterbacks went through the roof. If the rumors are true — and they likely are, at least to some degree — elite high school quarterbacks are now going for eight-figure NIL/PFP deals. Incredible. Putting that type of pressure on an 18-year-old, whether his name is Manning, Rashada or Iamaleava, is absurd, but here we are. I had a college player tell me the other day NIL deals are starting to erode locker room culture and impacting decisions made on the field. Keep that in mind as you start watching these young prospects arrive on their respective campuses.
The last year also saw USC return to prominence behind first-year coach Lincoln Riley and his former Oklahoma quarterback, Caleb Williams. Williams followed Riley to USC and won the Heisman Trophy in December. It wasn’t a “package deal,” but Riley and Williams showed a rebuild can happen awfully quickly, even at the highest levels of college football.
This was also the year of Aaron Judge. His 62-home run season was incredible, as was the nine-year, $360 million deal he accepted from Yankees in early December.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams finally won a Super Bowl, changing the way we’ll look at the former Georgia quarterback’s NFL career.
Major League Baseball went to a new playoff format, and it was exciting, adding a new element to the postseason that the sport likely needed. It was the year Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina finally retired. Finally. I can now find new Cardinals to hate.
Maybe it’s recency bias and maybe it’s because I live in a house with a 16-year-old boy who loves and lives soccer, but the World Cup sticks out more than anything from the past year. The final between Argentina and France will forever be one of the most compelling sporting events I’ve ever viewed. Hearing dozens of people react in real time in a gym in Las Vegas when Kylian Mbappé tied the match at 2-2 late in the second half will be something I remember for a long time. It told me the sport has really grown in popularity in our country.
The coming year should be interesting. Kiffin is “on the clock” for the first time, albeit with no real pressure. The honeymoon in Oxford is at least kind of over now, though the fourth-year coach remains untouchable in the minds of many Ole Miss fans. Jaxson Dart and Quinshon Judkins appear poised to do big things in their second seasons in Oxford.
We’re going to have a “normal” baseball season at Ole Miss. There’s no more angst, no more grumbling. The Rebels are defending national champs. Losses will be, well, losses, not indictments of coaches, programs or legacies.
The NBA Draft Lottery will be all about French sensation Victor Wembanyama. Multiple NBA teams will pray to the Ping Pong Gods in hopes of landing the 7-foot-2 future superstar.
During the baseball season, all eyes will be on the Angels and two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani. He can be a free agent after this season, and the Angels could decide to move him at the deadline. What package would be required to trade for the Japanese superstar? What free agent package could he command? Could he get $500 million? More? The Dodgers appear to be the favorite, but there are rumors the Mets, Red Sox and Cubs are all poised to empty their bank accounts on Ohtani.
The NBA postseason should be wild, as there’s no clear favorite to win the title. Can Memphis make a run? Is this the year Denver finally gets on a playoff run? Can Kevin Durant guide the Nets to a title and finally shut up the detractors who claim he can’t win without Curry, Green and Thompson?
Odds are it’ll be the final season of a 14-team, two-division SEC, as I expect Oklahoma and Texas to join in 2024, a year earlier than the contracts call for.
We shall see. It should be fascinating. It always is.
All year, Burton Webb provided weekly recipes for 10 Weekend Thoughts. The Mississippi boy went to France and learned some of the finer details of the culinary arts, all the while finding a wife. This year, he and his wife welcomed a son to their family. Burton is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet. Personally, I think his recipe of the week is typically the best thing about 10 Weekend Thoughts.
Here’s his year-end recipe. This is Taste of the Place, Lesson 167 — Tortellini en Brodo.
This is a traditional dish from Italy during the winter months for the northern regions. It hits on all the right flavors and yes it is a labor of love to make.
Tidbit #1: You will need *Lesson 37* for the homemade pasta for this recipe. The recipe is what I use constantly, it’s not good, but it’s great.
Tidbit #2: The best way to make this dish is to make it the day before because of the time needed to execute it. For me, I like to make pasta in the morning followed by the filling. I will then use the leftover pieces of meat to start the stock(Brodo) while I then form the tortellini.
Tidbit #2.1: Once you make the pasta, you can freeze them. Also, once you make the brodo, take half of it and cook it down to 1/4 of its volume. Pour these into ice cube trays and freeze. Then all you have to do is pull the tortellini from the freezer when you want and add water to the “ice cube” of brodo to have a meal in under 15 minutes.
Tidbit #3: For your meat, get your butcher to grind everything the day before you want to make the filling. Easy win.
Tidbit #4: For the technique of the pasta, once it is rolled, your will need to cut it into 2-inch squares. Then use a teaspoon of the filling and fold it into a rectangle. Finally, wrap it around your pinky finger to close the ends and that’s it.
Things you will need:
6 people
Preparation time - 2 hours
Cooking time - 5 minutes
Glass of Malbec
Utensils needed:
Work surface and chef’s knife
Meat grinder
Piping bag
Pasta machine
Mixing bowl
Freezer
Saucepot
Ingredients needed:
1/2 lb Pork loin
1/2 lb Proscuitto
1/2 lb Mortadella
3 Cups parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Whole egg
Nutmeg to taste
8 Cups beef broth
3 Cups chicken broth
Mise en Plac
Step 1: Make your pasta and let rest for 30 minutes in plastic wrap while you mix the filling in your mixing bowl. Roll out the pasta in sheets and then cut it into squares. Add a teaspoon of the filling to each, fold it over into the triangle, and then pull the ends around your finger to form the circle of the tortellini.
Step 2: Once all of your tortellini are completed, place them in the freezer to freeze and then store them in separate bags for easy dinners.
Final
Step 3: Pour your broths into your sauce pot with 2 pinches of salt. Reduce the original volume to 3/5th of its original level. Boil your tortellini in boiling water and then place them in your serving bowl when ready. Pour over a ladle of broth and serve with more parmesan.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
Burton’s weekly input reminded me to take a moment here and thank everyone who makes our site and podcast network go. So, in no particular order, thanks to Rivals.com, Josh Helmholdt, Chase Parham, Brian Rippee, Jeffrey Wright, Tyler Siskey, Cole Catalano, Caroline McCready, Pete DeWeese, Davison Igbinosun, Mason Brooks, Troy Brown, Greg Jones, Campbell McCready, Ben Mintz, Ryan Brown, Martin Palomo, Peyton Chatagnier, Walker Bailey and the many others who contributed or chipped in from time to time to make this thing go. If I missed a name, it was just an oversight and nothing personal.
Also thanks to the many business partners who partnered with us in 2022. You’re all appreciated more than you can know. Hopefully your decision to partner with us has been fruitful for you as well.
We enter 2023 with some plans to shore up some deficiencies and with a new studio, complete with a lot of new equipment. Hopefully the product continues to improve. We’ll see. All I can promise is there will be effort.
Thought No. 10 is always my compilation of links for your reading pleasure. Obviously, this week, that got bumped, but I’ve still got you covered with some links of interest to me — and hopefully, to you — for your reading enjoyment.
Happy New Year. May 2023 be prosperous, healthy and happy for you and yours. See you on the other side.
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