McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts, presented by Harry Alexander
It’s Grove Bowl week, as Ole Miss will wrap up spring drills Saturday at 4 p.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels’ baseball team will entertain LSU this weekend as well, looking to regain some momentum after three consecutive losing series.
On to 10 Weekend Thoughts, presented by Harry Alexander.
1. Put a star by Sunday’s 7-5 loss at Mississippi State.
Ole Miss led the Bulldogs, 4-2, entering the bottom of the sixth inning at jam-packed Dudy Noble Stadium.
Drew McDaniel, making his first Sunday start in place of demoted Derek Diamond, had given up just two runs through five innings of work, and he came out to start the sixth for Ole Miss. He retired the first hitter he faced on a lazy fly ball to left field.
Then Mike Bianco came to get his right-hander, bringing in freshman right-hander Josh Mallitz.
Mallitz has struggled in Southeastern Conference play, and he was no match for the Bulldogs. He gave up three consecutive hits before Bianco relieved him. By the time the inning was over, Mississippi State led, 7-3.
Bianco, assumedly, was trying to get a bridge to his closer, Taylor Broadway, who hadn’t pitched in the first two games of the series. Whatever the idea, it didn’t work.
Friday night was a typical SEC game, a close contest where one team got a couple of big hits and one didn’t. Saturday was a masterpiece from Ole Miss left-hander Doug Nikhazy, a one-hit shutout that spoiled Super Bulldog Saturday.
Sunday was a chance to change the tone of the season. A series win at Mississippi State would have given Ole Miss a 10-5 mark at the midway point, and with home series against LSU and South Carolina upcoming, the Rebels have had a real chance to make serious noise before the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee picks sites for regionals and super regionals later this season.
And make no mistake; that opportunity still exists. Still, Sunday stings for Ole Miss, for it feels like a game the Rebels gave away unnecessarily. Maybe that’s not fair. But put a pin in the bottom of the sixth Sunday and remember it moving forward. If Ole Miss isn’t playing postseason games in Oxford — or even if it means a super regional Sunday in Fayetteville or Starkville — that inning and the decisions that were part of it will be brought back up repeatedly
2. Here is my weekly ranking of the SEC baseball teams:
1. Vanderbilt -- The Commodores took two of three in Knoxville.
2. Arkansas -- The Hogs couldn't quite finish off a sweep of Texas A&M.
3. Mississippi State -- The Bulldogs took advantage of some questionable decisions and won a series over Ole Miss.
4. South Carolina -- Don't look now, but the Gamecocks are getting hot.
5. Tennessee -- The Vols lost the series, but they are starting to prove they belong.
6. Florida -- The Gators' pitching is deeper overall than...
7. Ole Miss -- Over the past three weeks, when Nikhazy isn't pitching, Ole Miss has looked kind of average.
8. Alabama -- The Tide took two of three in a dramatic series against Auburn.
9. Georgia -- The split comes after Ole Miss, as these teams from 9-10 are basically the same.
10. Kentucky -- See No. 9.
11. Texas A&M -- I mean, the Aggies did win a game in Fayetteville.
12. LSU -- Ole Miss really needs to sweep the Tigers. They won't be this bad often.
13. Missouri -- The Tigers are 4-11 at the turn.
14. Auburn -- Auburn is on pace for a 4-26 SEC season. It's a disaster on the Plains for Butch Thompson.
3. Braylon Sanders said he decided to return to Ole Miss for another season with the hopes that he can finally stay healthy and do “big things.”
Sanders will be counted on to do just that, as the loss of Elijah Moore to the NFL looms larger and larger with each passing scrimmage.
“We got a a lot of guys in that room,” Sanders said. “Everybody can be that guy. We just have to be ready to make plays and have opportunities to go out there and help our team win.”
Sanders said he’s trying to pay attention to details and be a mentor for young players this spring. The ankle injury he suffered in the Rebels’ December loss to LSU has prevented him from going through some practices, but he added he’s “feeling great” lately and should be back on the field competing “soon.”
“For me, it’s all about getting healthy right now and being ready for the fall,” Sanders said. “For the younger guys coming in, spring is a big part of their building, so it’s a great opportunity.”
Sanders said going through the injuries over the years has made him mentally strong. Making big plays downfield, something Sanders did when healthy last season, has him confident for big things in the fall.
“The offense we’re in now, we get put in the best position to make plays, and that’s what I’m here to do,” Sanders said.
4. There were times last season when Cedric Johnson popped off the screen, showing flashes of the potential the previous and current staffs saw in him during the recruiting process.
Johnson said he’s lining up at the Buck position this spring, an outside linebacker spot that allows him to use his athleticism in pass coverage and his size and speed off the edge in pass-rush situations.
Johnson flashed that ability in Ole Miss’ Outback Bowl win over Indiana on Jan. 2, making some big plays in the second half in Tampa.
“It felt great,” Johnson said. “It was a great experience, obviously. It gave me a lot of confidence in myself in just moving forward into the next year on how we plan on being and setting our standard for next year.”
Johnson said the the defense has more energy and is coming with a “different violence” than it had a season ago.
“We’re playing a lot harder, a lot faster, a lot more physical and just coming for the ball 24/7,” Johnson said.
5. Mark Robinson walked on at Ole Miss as a running back.
He’s now working his way into the playing rotation as a linebacker in Oxford.
Robinson transferred to Ole Miss from Southeast Missouri State when he realized SEMO likely wouldn’t play last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When Ole Miss coaches approached him about moving to linebacker, he thought they were “crazy or something.” Initially, Robinson declined the move.
“Then one day, (Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith) called and explained to me that with my skill set or whatever, the opportunity was being presented to me on the defensive side of the ball,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he’s happy with the decision now, a development that occurred last fall when he and his childhood friend, Otis Reese, were wreaking havoc on the scout team.
“You have to make the best out of every situation and we did,” Robinson said. “We just embraced the opportunity to be on the field and get better. Even though we didn’t know who was going to play, we felt like any day, something was going to come through.”
The clearance came for Reese in November. It never came for Robinson.
“We tried to figure out a couple of things, but I guess the NCAA has a different set of rules that they go by,” Robinson said. “It is what it is at this point.”
Robinson figures to play a big role on special teams this season as well. He said he knows that could be his path to an opportunity professionally.
“I have to show them that I can do anything,” Robinson said. “There’s only so many people on the roster in the NFL and if you aren’t a big contact guy, you’re going to be on special teams, so I just want to show my value and show people what I can do.”
6. Much of the media attention on the defensive line this spring has been focused on junior college transfers Isaiah Iton and Jamond Gordon.
K.D. Hill, however, has had a solid spring, one that has positioned him to play a big role for the Ole Miss defense in 2021.
“Overall, I feel like the whole D-line is improving,” Hill said. “We just have to continue to be consistent and bring more energy.”
Hill said the defensive line is more focused on technique this spring after some struggles last fall, but it’s the energy and passion, he said, that’s notably different.
“When you know the plays, you have confidence and you’re able to improve and be disruptive,” Hill said.
The Rebels have a new defensive line coach in Randall Joyner, who is visibly energetic in spring drills. Joyner’s energy, Hill said, is infectious.
“The D-line, we are called the ‘Juice Boys,’ and every day, we bring energy to (individual drills) and that converts to team, inside drill and practice,” Hill said. “That’s how you get better. You compete every single day. …He’s helping our culture. Culture means a lot. …Now we’re playing for each other.”
7. We’ve failed to bring attention to some developments on the non-big 3 sports at Ole Miss lately. That’s my fault, and I apologize. So I’m going to aggregate them here.
Updates courtesy OleMissSports.com.
In women’s basketball, Ole Miss women's head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has announced the addition of four new Rebels for the 2021-22 season: transfers Angel Baker (Wright State), Lashonda Monk (ECU) and Destiny Salary (Tennessee), as well as freshman signee Jaiyah Harris-Smith (Miami, Fla./Norland High School).
McPhee-McCuin and the Rebels are looking to build off their most successful postseason run since 2006-07 and their first winning season since 2016-17 following a 15-12 campaign and a trip to the WNIT final in 2020-21. Ole Miss returns nine who saw the floor last season – headlined by Honorable Mention All-American Shakira Austin, SEC Freshman of the Year Madison Scott and SEC All-Freshman honoree Snudda Collins.
"As a staff it was important to fill the needs of the program that we felt was necessary," McPhee-McCuin said. "We truly believe we've got toughness, skill, talent and experience added on our young roster. We also believe that they complement our team and will continue raise the level of competition with our group. I believe the SEC is the most talented and competitive league in the country. In order for us to continue this climb, we have to have talent and a certain mindset. Ole Miss women's basketball has gotten better this offseason, and we cannot wait to get in the gym with them all this summer and prepare to take things up a notch next season.”
In softball, after losing an early lead, Ole Miss (28-15, 10-8 SEC) had its rally fall just shy on Sunday at Davis Diamond, falling 3-4 to Texas A&M (28-13, 6-9 SEC).
Making her second start of the weekend, Anna Borgen pitched four plus innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits with four strikeouts. Ava Tillmann came out of the bullpen to finish the game, surrendering a pair of runs (one earned) in two frames with one hit allowed.
Ole Miss used a two out rally to grab the lead right from the jump, capitalizing on an Aggie error that extended the frame. Following an Abbey Latham walk to put two on, Sydney Gutierrez ripped a triple to the right-center wall, bringing home a pair to put Ole Miss up early.
The Aggies came back with some hard hit balls in the home half but the Rebel defense stood tall, tallying three quick outs, including a sensational diving catch in center by Tate Whitley, to retire the side.
However, an infield error in the fourth would come back to bite the Rebels, as Texas A&M strung together three hits to scratch two runs across to tie the game. The next frame, the Aggies put together a two-out rally, aided by a Rebel error, to score two more and take a 4-2 advantage.
Ole Miss struck right back in the sixth as Sydney Gutierrez ripped a one out single, moved to second on a wild pitch and came home on Blaise Biringer's single to right. The Rebels put two runners in scoring position in the seventh but the rally fell short, dropping the series finale.
The Rebels return home for their final midweek game of the season, taking on UT Martin on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.
In women’s tennis, No. 19 Ole Miss (11-8, 7-6 SEC) lost on the road, 4-1, at No. 17 Texas A&M (17-5, 9-3 SEC) to conclude the spring dual regular season on Saturday. The Rebels finished seventh in the SEC standings.
The Rebels' hot streak came to an end Saturday morning at Mitchell Tennis Center. Ole Miss earned one decision point on the short end of a top-20 matchup versus Texas A&M. The Rebels entered the match with three consecutive wins against ranked opponents. Ole Miss finished the season 6-5 versus ranked opponents in the SEC (6-6 overall).
Ole Miss will head to Tuscaloosa for the 2021 SEC Championship beginning Monday.
Ole Miss men's tennis (10-9, 7-5 SEC), meanwhile, will enter the postseason as the No. 12 team in the nation as decided by the Oracle/ITA computerized rankings on Wednesday.
Ole Miss retained its No. 12 ranking after splitting two road conference matchups to conclude the 2021 regular season. The Rebels fell 5-2 to No. 17 Kentucky last Friday and defeated Vanderbilt 4-3 last Sunday.
The Rebels are one of seven SEC programs ranked in the top 15. In the updated poll, there are nine SEC teams in the top 20, and 12 of 13 SEC programs reside in the Oracle/ITA top 50.
At the individual level, Finn Reynolds and Tim Sandkaulen have retained their No. 1 ranking in doubles. Reynolds and Sandkaulen have held the top distinction since March 24. Last weekend, the duo earned two more wins defeating Kentucky's No. 20 Cesar Bourgois and Gabriel Diallo, 7-5, and winning 6-4 over Vanderbilt's George Harwell and Max Freeman.
In singles, Reynolds leads the Rebels as the No. 14-ranked singles player in the nation. Reynolds narrowly fell to Kentucky's Liam Draxl in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 2-6. Draxl is ranked the No. 1 player in the nation in the updated rankings. Nikola Slavic earned his highest ranking to date, checking in at No. 27. Slavic earned his eighth ranked win of the season by toppling Kentucky's No. 60 Millen Hurrion 7-6 (10) 2-6, 1-0 (8).
All three ranked Rebels in singles are in the ITA top 50. Sandkaulen earned his best ranking of the season at No. 46. Sandkaulen split his two singles matches over the weekend. He comfortably defeated Vanderbilt's Jeremie Casabon in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
8. So, it’s been an interesting and enlightening week. I woke up on Wednesday to learn my Twitter account had been suspended. I was surprised, I suppose, because my tweets from the previous day had been quite benign. I had tweeted a link to the live-streaming of the Oxford Exxon Podcast, complimented Louisiana Tech on its employment of throwback basketball uniforms that reminded me of a special time in my childhood growing up in Ruston, La., and then I’d made two sarcastic tweets making fun of national media.
One was a quote tweet of a New York Times article which broke the news that people who exercise regularly have much better outcomes with Covid infections than those who are sedentary. I know. I’ll give you a minute to collect your breath while you absorb that. It’s almost like the nation’s newspaper of record is saying fit, active people do better fighting off an upper respiratory infection than unhealthy people who are not physically active. So I quote tweeted the word “Shocking,” adding an eye roll emoji for effect.
Then, later Tuesday, I quote tweeted a video that showed a white CNN producer getting skulled by a thrown full water bottle in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The producer fell to the ground, got up, collected himself and was subsequently chased away from the area by an angry mob making audible references to his race. I simply said, “Looks peaceful” in my quote tweet.
It was my shot at CNN, which inflamed the public last summer in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. The network rushed to cover the aftermath of the police-involved shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center early last week, running with a story that Wright was pulled over due to an air freshener hanging from his rear-view window and subsequently shot by a police officer who mistook her firearm for her taser, shooting and killing Wright in his vehicle.
Of course, the story was much more complicated than that. It turns out Wright was pulled over for driving with an expired tag. Wright also had a warrant out for his arrest, stemming from firearms charges and a failure to appear in court last summer. Wright was due to face trial on a charge of aggravated attempted murder stemming from a December 2019 incident in which Wright allegedly tried to hold up a woman at gunpoint, threatening to kill her if she didn’t have over $820 in rent money she’d stuffed into her bra.
From the Daily Mail:
Wright's bail was originally set at $100,000 with orders that he should not contact the victim or any witnesses, refrain from drugs and alcohol and not have any weapons. A bond bailsman paid $40,000 for his release.
But he was arrested in Minneapolis in July last year on charges that he was in possession of a firearm without a permit.
He was also in violation of his bail conditions for the attempted robbery arrest, which prohibited him from possessing a firearm, and he had not kept in touch with his probation officer, court papers show. He was released on bond in September 2020.
But on April 2 - just days before he was shot dead - he missed his first court appearance related to the firearms arrest and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Did Wright deserve to die? No.
But — and this is a big but — when anyone is being arrested and handcuffed by police officers and he/she pulls away forcefully and tries to escape, as body cam footage showed Wright did, things likely aren’t going to end peacefully.
But CNN ignored that set of facts and went with a narrative that was far more incendiary. Last year, as cities burned, property was destroyed and innocent people died as a result of protests-turned-riots, CNN and networks like it called those events “mostly peaceful,” thus my jab at the network upon seeing the video.
For a day, I figured my suspension was over those tweets, and that is certainly possible. However, on Thursday, two friends sent me correspondence from Twitter letting them know their “reports” on my tweets had been “investigated,” resulting in a conclusion that my account “violated the Twitter Rules.”
However, neither of those people filed reports about my account. One informed Twitter of this — as an aside, communicating with Twitter is incredibly difficult. For a big tech company, their communication setup is laughingly poor — and sent this email:
“I received a notification that I filed a report on the @nealmccready account in the last couple days. The notification stated that the report had been completed. This is absolutely incorrect as I never filed any kind of report on that account and I want to make sure that this refutation is documented on the record. I have contacted the owner of the account and apprised him of the situation as well. Thank you for your time.“
Twitter thanked him for updating his report (the one he never filed), and that was that.
I’ll make this clear. Twitter is a private organization (I would argue it is not deserving of some of the government protection it receives, but regardless) and can censor anyone it chooses. I’ve upset left-leaning people on the platform over the past 13-plus months, primarily standing up for children, advocating the opening of all schools for in-purpose instruction and criticizing media coverage of the Covid pandemic. I’m sure others have filed “reports” about my tweets. After all, ours is quite the sensitive society these days.
I regret nothing. I don’t believe school children should be wearing masks at school all day. I feel absolutely awful for kids in other states who have missed more than 13 months of school. I believe the damage that is being done to them to be catastrophic. I don’t believe the masks, certainly not the way they’re implemented in society, work to any significant degree. A Stanford University study (linked in Thought No. 10) agrees with me, and as controversial as this is, I don’t believe there’s systemic racism, certainly not in the town in which I live.
I’ve spoken up. I’m 51 years old, a taxpayer with no criminal record. I don’t plan to be scared or pressured into silence. There are platforms other than Twitter. I host a daily podcast that is privately owned (by me). I’ll continue to express my views because for every person who has complained about my public stances, I’ve heard from dozens who thank me for saying what they can’t say. I’ve heard from doctors, lawyers, business owners and more, all saying I essentially speak for them.
I’m always amused by people who want people to stay in their lanes. As one sure-wants-to-be-prominent member of my community labeled me, I’m a local sports blogger. Therefore, I should limit any public thought to local sports, I suppose. I think that’s borderline offensive. Imagine telling a doctor he or she could only speak about medicine. Imagine telling an accountant he or she could only discuss accounting. How boring would that life be? Those same people were rightfully offended when athletes were told last summer to shut up and dribble and/or stick to sports.
Imagine telling a sociology professor, for example, that he or she could only opine on the study of the development, structure and functioning of human society, and only as long as those opinions were from one specific viewpoint. Anything other than that viewpoint would be labeled as “racist,” since that’s the easiest label to throw out, even without the slightest bit of knowledge of the individual being labeled or proof of the accusation.
Come to think of it, that’s what Twitter does. Maybe a local sociology professor has a fallback career to recommend for his handful of virtual students — for they’re damn sure not landing high-paying jobs with sociology degrees. Even I, local sports blogger, can see that.
See, I’m critical of mainstream media these days because what the media is doing is dangerous.
Here’s an example, from the New York Post:
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said gun laws and police reform will happen when “white people’s kids start getting killed.”
The host of “Cuomo Prime Time,” who just last month claimed on-air to be “black on the inside,” claims to have the answer on gun and police reform.
“Shootings, gun laws, access to weapons. Oh, I know when they’ll change,” said the anchor. “[When] your kids start getting killed. White people’s kids start getting killed.”
Cuomo at one point in the monologue attempted to affect the hypothetical accent of a confused white parent, asking:
“What’s going on with these police? Maybe we shouldn’t even have police,” he said, before directly addressing the whiteness of his audience:
“That kind of madness. That kind of mania. That will be you. That will be the majority. Because it’s your people,” said Cuomo, while looking into the camera.
That’s ridiculous, and I suspect Cuomo knows it. I’m white. My children are white. But we’ve had conversations about how to deal with law enforcement. My children have been instructed to comply and obey. If that leads to an issue, we’ll address it, but my children know to never, ever resist arrest or become confrontational with law enforcement. It’s a no-win situation, and it’s something we’ve talked about in our home.
Over the last year, our country has been torn at the seams by the death of George Floyd, the police shooting of Jacob Blake and now the death of Daunte Wright.
In every one of those cases, violence ensued after Floyd, Blake and Wright resisted arrest. That’s not to absolve police from blame, not at all, but it’s a fact that should be part of the national conversation, one that should be led by media.
But it’s not, likely for the same reasons that media didn’t use its collective voice back in March 2020 to urge people to get active and get healthy in the face of an aerosolized virus that impacted obese people far more than it did fit people.
The media doesn’t want to have a realistic conversation about policing and about the stupidity of resisting arrest. No, the media wants chaos. It wants us to be afraid, to stay inside and watch their programming. It wants to make everything racial in hopes that we’ll become conditioned to hate each other, thereby leading to more violence and more protests and more riots and more fear.
It’s hoping this week fuels more anger and hatred. You can bet there are execs at every major network hoping the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial either returns a not guilty verdict or tells the judge it is impossibly hung, leading to what would essentially be a mistrial. If either of those things happen — and possibly if Chauvin is convicted of second-degree manslaughter and acquitted of the more serious charges — I suspect things will get ugly on America’s streets.
And make no mistake, if that happens, the media is to blame. I’ve kept the television in my office on HLN for the entire trial. I’ve watched all 14 days. I’ve listened to some commentary from Alan Dershowitz and Mark Geragos on podcasts, but I’ve avoided the network talking heads.
I suspect the jury, which could receive the case as early as Monday, will return a guilty verdict. My guess is a third-degree murder guilty verdict. However, after watching the entire trial, I could see how a hung jury could happen. I also wouldn’t be absolutely stunned at an acquittal. It’s my opinion, having watched the trial, that Floyd’s life doesn’t end that day if he doesn’t cross paths with Chauvin. However, the defense was able to plant some seeds of doubt about what actually killed Floyd. He wasn’t healthy. He had major heart blockage. He was a drug addict and he had consumed meth and Fentanyl that day. He was agitated, foaming at the mouth and complaining that he couldn’t breathe before Chauvin even got to the scene. And I suppose, if I think hard enough, I might could determine that Chauvin got distracted by the crowd of bystanders and failed to render aid due to that fear/distraction and not due to a depraved heart.
Is that doubt reasonable? I’m not sure, but having watched the entire trial and hearing prosecution witnesses give conflicting accounts and opinions of Floyd’s medical state, I won’t fault the jury. I’ve been a juror in a capital murder trial. Ours was fairly open and shut but we still painstakingly went over every detail, making sure we were following the law and the judge’s instructions thoroughly. I have faith the jury in Minneapolis, one that’s under incredible pressure, will take its job seriously and pore over the evidence and the law and the instructions and reach a verdict that is just.
I’m guessing the media won’t be as rational in its analysis. If it bleeds, it leads, after all, and those ratings won’t make themselves, fallout be damned.
And that’s where my sarcasm was directed on Twitter, and anyone with a rational mind knew that.
Censorship is a slippery slope. Taking away freedom of speech, even one Twitter user at a time, is a dangerous precedent.
9. It’s time to eat. With that in mind, here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 83 — Fried Cauliflower Salad.
Have you ever heard of a fried salad before? Well, you should definitely give this one a try. It has its roots in the Middle East and is all good kinds of flavor.
Tidbit #1: Break up the pieces of your cauliflower head into little florets. You want equal sizes here.
Tidbit #2: Chopping herbs can take a long time, I like to use a pair of scissors instead of a knife. Roll them up and it’s a lot easier.
Tidbit #3: The cauliflower and onions can be fried beforehand, placed in the mixing bowl, and put into the fridge if need be, for a cold salad as well.
Things you will need:
4 People
Glass of Chardonnay
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cook time - 15 minutes
Utensils needed:
Work surface and chef’s knife
Large saucepan with a lip
Spider
Large mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Wooden spoon
Side plate with paper towels
Ingredients needed:
1 cauliflower head
1 medium yellow onion
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped mint
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup tahini paste
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying
Prep work
Step 1: Start by heating your oil to 350°F in your saucepan. Wash your head of cauliflower and using a knife and your hands, break into tiny florets. Set to the side. Slice your onion into thin slices
Step 2: In the mixing bowl, add your parsley, mint, tahini paste, yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and pomegranate seeds. Stir with the spoon.
Fry the cauliflower
Step 3: Now fry the florets until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Using the spider, place on your side plate and sprinkle with salt. Once all have been fried and salted, add your sliced onions. Fry them for 4 minutes and place them on top of the cauliflower.
Assemble the salad
Step 4: Add your cauliflower and onions to the large mixing bowl. Using the spoon, mix everything together. Serve immediately or place in the fridge for later. It is a great addition to any grilled items as a side dish.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We’ll have coverage of Ole Miss football, baseball, recruiting and whatever else comes up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me — and hopefully, to you — for your reading pleasure:
Nix 'made good decisions' at Auburn's spring game
Bulldogs impress at G-Day game
Heupel likes defensive effort, growth in second scrimmage
Burks, Woods live up to superstar billing in Arkansas' spring game
Beamer wants more explosive plays after second scrimmage
Former Dayton guard headed to Vanderbilt
The Athletic: NBA TV ratings plummet
Eight moves MLB front offices should consider -- The Athletic
Dodgers vs. Padres: The rivalry baseball fans needed
Cody Bellinger out indefinitely with hairline fracture in left fibula - The Athletic
Raptors' VanVleet believes NBA has prioritized money more than ever
You Have to Read This Letter - Common Sense with Bari Weiss
Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis - ScienceDirect
WSJ: Media's racial narrative targets whites, harms blacks
MLB Falls Out of Favor With Republicans After Moving All-Star Game – OutKick
MLB Antitrust Exemption Repeal Introduced in Congress – Sportico.com
Masks should be voluntary in schools in the fall, says Florida education commissioner