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McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander

10 Weekend Thoughts is presented by RE/MAX Legacy Realty agent Harry Alexander. If you're in the market for a home or condo in Oxford, get in touch with Harry Alexander. His email is ha@harryalexander.com.
10 Weekend Thoughts is presented by RE/MAX Legacy Realty agent Harry Alexander. If you're in the market for a home or condo in Oxford, get in touch with Harry Alexander. His email is ha@harryalexander.com.

Football season is now just three weeks away. Ole Miss' basketball season is back from Canada. The Urban Meyer mess remains unresolved. Oh, and Ole Miss has a new mascot. In other words, there's a lot to get to, and I'll try to touch on all of that and more.

Ole Miss wide receiver Braylon Sanders runs after the catch during the Rebels' win over Vanderbilt last season.
Ole Miss wide receiver Braylon Sanders runs after the catch during the Rebels' win over Vanderbilt last season. (USA Today Sports)
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1. Ole Miss' wide receiver corps is the most talked about group on the Rebels' roster.

A.J. Brown is a consensus top-10 NFL pick. DK Metcalf, a fellow junior, could be playing himself into a spot where he'll have a major decision to make regarding his future in January. DeMarkus Lodge, the veteran of the group, should have ample opportunity to play on Sundays next fall as well.

Of course, the Rebels have other wide receivers besides that triumvirate. Enter sophomore Braylon Sanders, a lightly recruited Georgia native who turned heads last fall and has emerged as a big part of Ole Miss' offense as the Rebels prepare for the Sept. 1 season opener in Houston against Texas Tech.

"(Nasty Wide Outs) is just a lot of guys who work hard and try to get each other better every day," Sanders said. "We've got guys like A.J., DK and Lodge to teach us younger guys the roots of how everything goes in a game. We're learning from them each and every day and getting better. It's little things, like reading defenses, releases, what releases to use on what route, things like that."

Sanders, who caught four passes for 65 yards and a touchdown last season, said the big lesson he learned in his first season in Oxford is the meaning of the motto in the wide receivers' room -- "Don't blink."

"If you make a bad play, don't even think about it," Sanders said "Go on to the next play. Be forgetful. Get better on the next play."

Sanders' role this fall is the picture of duality. He's being asked to punish defenses that focus too much on Brown, Metcalf and Lodge, all the while working with a talented group of freshmen wideouts.

"Those guys are going to be good," Sanders said. "They're learning. They've still got a learning curve to get over, but they're going to be good. We help each other. Each guy brings different things to the table. We're trying to make each other better. We're getting better by the day."

For his part, Sanders is "way better," he said with a smile.

"I came in as a freshman weighing like 178 (pounds)," Sanders said. "I'm 194 now. I'm doing way better than I did last year and I'm making progress each and every day."

That progress includes the maturation he's made between the ears, learning the importance of film study and preparation.

"I'm very intelligent up there right now," Sanders said, laughing. "I'm learning the playbook and reading defenses."

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Ole Miss defensive end Ryder Anderson celebrates the Rebels' win at Kentucky last November.
Ole Miss defensive end Ryder Anderson celebrates the Rebels' win at Kentucky last November. (USA Today Sports)

2. Ryder Anderson knows Ole Miss wasn't satisfactory against the run last season. There's no sense running away from that, so he won't.

Anderson knows the Rebels' defense didn't play up to standards last season. He's not evading statistics or facts.

However, Anderson believes Ole Miss' defense will be better _ much better, perhaps _ and he's not afraid to state that either.

Anderson, a sophomore defensive end from Katy, Texas, is fighting for a starting spot this fall.

"We've got a roomful of ballers," said Anderson, who said he's up to 265 pounds, 40 pounds more than his reporting weight last summer. "If I let up, someone's going to be in front of me. It's that way at every position. I just have to keep on working hard, keep on taking coaching and do what they ask me to do."

Anderson said he knows with Breeland Speaks and Marquise Haynes gone, there are plenty of detractors who don't believe the Rebels can generate a pass rush or stop the elite running attacks they'll see routinely in the SEC. However, he said he believes he and teammates such as Victor Evans, Charles Wiley and Qaadir Sheppard have the ability to silence those critics.

"We definitely bought that up," Anderson said. "We're not going to run away from it. We're not going to shy from it. We know that last year was unacceptable and we've made a motto this year. We're going to stop the run and we're going to win games, and that's what we're going to do. Every day, we've been adding drills to do that and getting real physical. We're going to better this year. I promise you that. We're going to be better this year."

3. Ross Donnelly is battling Benito Jones for a starting job this fall camp. Both players are going to play huge roles for the Rebels' defense, a unit that knows it is going to be heavily scrutinized until it can put the disappointments of 2017 behind.

Donnelly talked about that and more following a practice late last week.

4. One of the bright spots of fall camp has been the progress made by redshirt freshman offensive lineman Ben Brown, who is emerging as a possible starter this fall and as a future star at Ole Miss. Brown talked about his role and his development following a practice last week.

5. Ole Miss unveiled Tony the Landshark on Saturday at Meet the Rebels Day.

I’m on record here. I think mascots are for kids and are a great way to tie young heartstrings to a school or franchise. Some will fray over the years and be broken. Some will grow stronger and become permanent.

I’m also on record as saying I would have unveiled a big, fluffy shark and created a Build-A-Shark station for kids.

That said, I think Ole Miss’ administration hit a home run on Saturday. I’ll be honest; I’m not nuts about the actual mascot. To me, he looks like a person with a shark head, not the cuddly, funny shark I probably would’ve drawn up had I been given the job. However, you know what? I’m 48, and people in my demographic aren’t really the target audience.

From all accounts, the kids loved Tony on Saturday. They think he’s cool. Kids wanted their picture taken with him Saturday afternoon. They’ll be intrigued by him on Saturdays at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. They’re the target audience, so if Tony resonates with them, that’s a win.

Mostly, I was impressed with the administration’s commitment to go all-in on rollout. They didn’t tip their toe in the water to gauge the temperature. They just jumped in the deep end. They had merchandise ready. The new logos and marks are fresh. Fans will buy the new merchandise, and that will create a new revenue stream for an athletics department that is trying to compete in the Southeastern Conference.

Sure, other schools’ fans will make fun of Ole Miss. After the debacle that was Rebel the Black Bear, and given the still looming presence of Colonel Rebel, you had to expect that, right? The shark is an easy target. Of course, those people weren’t buying the merchandise anyway, so their opinion matters even less than mine does.

But if you do want my opinion, mine is overwhelmingly positive. That was a strong job of marketing/public relations on Saturday, a complete embrace of a new “face” of the university’s athletics department.Yes, he's going to be made fun of. Again, it's a giant, easy-to-hit target. However, the news cycle spins at a dizzying pace these days. As long as the administration doesn't buckle, I suspect Tony will become part of Ole Miss' identity and traditions sooner rather than later.

Tony Fein
Tony Fein (Baltimore Ravens)

6. Ole Miss, as you know, named Tony after former linebacker Tony Fein.

That was, at minimum, a brave move. I covered Fein. He was at Ole Miss when I first arrived on the beat. He was a good interview, a great story. He was a military veteran who emerged as a leader on one of Houston Nutt’s better teams.

A year later, Fein died of an accidental drug overdose. According to the coroner’s report, Fein died from acute opiate (morphine) intoxication with the added effect of Alprazolam, a drug used to treat anxiety.

In other words, Fein’s legacy is complicated. It requires context and nuance. Bad things can happen to good people. Post-traumatic stress is a common ailment for those who served in wartime.

Fein was 27. He had played in the 2009 preseason for the Baltimore Ravens. His football career was likely over, and that can be a difficult time for athletes as they search for their purpose in the next phase of their lives.

Ole Miss’ embrace of Fein will force some difficult conversations between parents and kids, I suspect. Of course, I think that’s a good thing. Things like anxiety and depression shouldn’t be taboo topics. Lots of us battle those things, to some degree or another, and it’s not something anyone should face alone.

It’s my personal opinion mental health is a major problem in our country, and while this might sound like a reach, if discussing Tony Fein’s story causes just one person to reach out to a therapist or a counselor, any criticism of naming the mascot after a young man who met a far-too-early death is worth it.

At the risk of getting too deep here, life is complicated. Most of us have our struggles. Most of us harbor our own demons. Most of us are broken, at least to some degree. If none of those descriptions apply to you, good for you. Seriously, you're living a charmed life. They all apply to me, and I suspect they all applied to Tony Fein.

The fact that Ole Miss realized all of that and remembered Tony Fein for who he was during his life and not just by the way it ended shows, I believe, compassion and depth. Frankly, at least for me, I find that refreshing.

7. Ole Miss’ basketball team returned to Mississippi on Friday, winners of three of four games on a Canadian tour last week.

“The one thing we found about our team on this trip is the resiliency of our team,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. “We got down in three straight games. We can’t afford to make that a habit, but I loved our leadership.”

In the fourth game, at Ottawa, Ole Miss rebounded from a 27-point deficit to win. The outcome, I suspect, mattered less than the lesson Davis was able to administer to his team in a contest that won’t register on the win-loss docket.

“We had a couple of guys come out with excuse-making,” Davis said. “Those guys never got back in the game. All of a sudden, D.C. Davis gets a chance. He finished the (Thursday) game, played outstanding. He’s very unselfish. That’s how guys find spots on rosters.”

Ole Miss’ team, as Davis said last week, has lots of work left to do. I suspect there will be some practices this fall that will have the paint peeling off the walls of the Tuohy Center. Ole Miss has to get more production from its big men to make any significant noise in the SEC. Some of the recruiting battles that will take place this fall are, quite honestly, more important than the games that will be played this season — if you’re taking a long-term view, that is.

However, this team has potential, and it showed last week that it’s willing to put the work in.

“We’re not even close to it,” Davis said. “What you have to understand, these are road games. To me, we got four road contests where we played in front of crowds and got down and handled adversity. That part of it, I enjoyed more. A lot of times, these games are neutral court games but being on the road at four different venues was good for us.”

8. Last week, I gave you my AFC predictions. So this week, as promised (and yes, I know many of you haven't slept all week in anticipation of this entry), here are my picks for the NFC:

NFC West:

1. Los Angeles Rams

2. San Francisco 49'ers

3. Seattle Seahawks

4. Arizona Cardinals

NFC South:

1. New Orleans Saints

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Carolina Panthers

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC North:

1. Green Bay Packers

2. Minnesota Vikings

3. Chicago Bears

4. Deroit Lions

NFC East:

1. Philadelphia Eagles

2. Washington Redskins

3. Dallas Cowboys

4. New York Giants

Jonathan Howard authors the drink of the week for 10 Weekend Thoughts.
Jonathan Howard authors the drink of the week for 10 Weekend Thoughts.
The White Lady
The White Lady

9. My kids started school last week (more on that in a bit) and the Cubs face Max Scherzer tonight at Wrigley Field, so if there's a better combination of reasons for a Sunday night drink, feel free to share. Here's Jonathan Howard:

I love the new white helmets. I think it opens up options for us across the board for a slight change that gives a fresh look. I am a fan of tradition but I also like to spice it up from time to time as well. So, let’s revisit a delicious gin based cocktail called The White Lady.

The drink was originally believed to have been created by famous bartender Harry McElhone while he was working at London’s Ciro Club in 1919. At that time, he used equal parts of white crème de menthe, triple sec and lemon juice. It was not until he had his own Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, in 1923, that he adapted the recipe by swapping the crème de menthe with gin. This change was the stark sweetness and thick nature of the drink and added a beautiful complexity of juniper forward gin, bright triple sec and lemon.

However, Harry Craddock of The American Bar at The Savoy in London also gets a fair bit of credit as well. In 1930, he published the recipe in his Savoy Cocktail Book, but he increased the volume of gin and therefore making the drink drier and bringing it to its beautifully dry and pale flavor palate we enjoy most today. It was Peter Dorelli, legendary former manager of The American Bar, who suggested adding a dash of egg white to bind the drink together and give a smooth and silky finish. This, of course, is an optional step but does make quite an exquisite beverage.

Start the drink with a beautiful London Dry Gin; I prefer Tanqueray No. 10. It has the same base as its legendary predecessor but with added amount of citrus and chamomile to bring a more complex flavor to the drink. For the triple sec, I usually go for the original, Combier. It is fragrant and soft and perfect for the beautiful libation. Sometimes Combier is hard to find so Cointreau will do nicely. It is a sharper brighter version of the orange liqueur, so it changes the drink slightly but is still a very warranted substitute and finally fresh squeezed lemon juice.

The egg white is optional. I go back in forth depending on what I am feeling but both are great versions and I encourage you to try both. When using egg whites in drink, you first shake the drink and egg white without ice. This emulsifies the egg and makes that velvety texture you are looking for. Then add ice and shake to make sure the drink is cold and properly diluted. A note on eggs: They are being used with high proof alcohol so it makes more of a cold meringue. It has been done for hundred of years and is as safe as a runny egg at brunch.

The White Lady

2 oz. Tanqueray No. 10 Gin

3/4 oz. Lemon Juice

3/4 oz Combier

1 Egg White

Directions: In a large mixing tin, crack an egg and separate the yolk from the white, placing the white in the tin. Add remaining ingredients and shake without ice for about 30 seconds. Add ice and shake again, even more vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Finish with a twist of orange.

My daughter Campbell (top left) and some of her friends pose for a photo on Wednesday before starting their senior years at Oxford High School.
My daughter Campbell (top left) and some of her friends pose for a photo on Wednesday before starting their senior years at Oxford High School.

10. I find myself wanting to use this spot as a journal of sorts. I write. That's what I do. I write in my head when I'm driving. I write in my head when I'm in the shower, when I'm lost in a run or on the Peloton or doing Pilates. It's how I best express myself, so feel free to skip past these entries and go straight to the links. If I'm honest, I suspect I write about my life here for my own benefit. Accept my apologies in advance.

Our oldest, Campbell, started her senior year at Oxford High School on Wednesday. She spent the night at a friend's on Tuesday and went to a breakfast on The Square early Wednesday, so I didn't see her that morning. Instead, I saw pictures. They moved me to tears.

I saw pictures of girls I've known for years, some who I have known for a decade. Because of Campbell and Caroline (she's 15), our house has had a constant flow of little girls in and out of it over the years. It hit me on Wednesday how I'll miss that in a few years. I'll miss grilling burgers for them, goofing around with them and just listening to the laughter and gossip. Mostly, it hit me just how deeply I'll miss Campbell, our most independent child and one who is ready for the next chapter in her life.

Campbell has pretty much made her college decision, and barring a change of heart, this time next year, she'll be going through sorority rush at a campus six hours from here. My wife, Laura, has started following that school's Greek Facebook page. She showed me pictures of this year's rush Sunday morning.

I caught myself looking for girls who look like Campbell. I'd isolate on one face and wonder, "Is she happy? I bet her mom and dad miss her. I bet they're nervous. I wonder if she's homesick, if she's scared or if she's having the time of her life."

I then caught myself isolating on faces of girls who were not as blessed in the attractiveness category as others and cheering for them from afar, hoping they find the right group and have a wonderful experience. I'm getting sappier as I age; of that, there's no doubt.

If you're still reading, well, God bless you, and you probably can relate. Maybe your son or daughter is starting college or going through rush or getting ready for the football season or the soccer season or whatever the case may be. I hope it all goes well for yours. As I was reminded the other day by looking at my sweet girl on her last first day of high school, the days are long but the years are short.

We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football this week, starting Monday. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure.

Don't be fooled by NCAA's smoke-and-mirrors rule changes ... this was a power grab

Sources: NCAA's new proposed rules blindside execs from NBA, USA Basketball

Inside the training room: How Georgia is getting players back so soon from knee injuries

Brad Stevens and the Celtics have a new obstacle in the East: the burden of expectations

Kris Bryant compares notes with Bryce Harper and leaves no doubts about his return to Cubs lineup this season

Why Ben Zobrist sees a little bit of himself in David Bote

Is New York Giants Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. a Victim of Extortion?

Justin Verlander Says Kate Upton Saved Him from ‘Jumping Off a Bridge’ During Depression: ‘She Was What I Needed’

The single coolest Topps baseball card from every year: 1951-2018

Ex-KKK member denounces hate groups one year after Charlottesville

The Bachelorette Recap: The End of the Road

Dawn of the sexbots

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