Local Sports

Freeze says Mississippi freshmen will contribute

Mississippi’s celebrated freshman class won’t be standing on the sidelines for long.

Second-year coach Hugh Freeze said the team’s most highly rated recruits – like defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, receiver Laquon Treadwell and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil – have played well during the first two weeks of preseason camp and will contribute immediately when the Rebels open the season against Vanderbilt on Aug. 29.

The trio of five-star prospects will be surrounded by other young faces. Freeze expects around 10 freshmen to make their debut against the Commodores.

Freeze said it’s “certainly a challenge” to make sure all the freshmen are ready to contribute. He said the coaching staff is trying to make sure it doesn’t ask the young players to do too much. […]

Local Sports

Ole Miss QB feels healthy as practice begins

Donte Moncrief isn’t concerned about Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace’s surgically repaired right shoulder.

Thrilled might be the better term.

“I see an arm that’s gotten stronger,” said Moncrief, who led the Rebels in catches and receiving yards last season. “The fade routes look good. The dig routes look good. He’s got more power with his arm and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with it in games.” […]

Local Sports

George 'Boomer' Scott, All-Star 1B, dies at 69

George “Boomer” Scott, a three-time All-Star first baseman who hit 271 homers in a 14-year major-league career and is a member of the Red Sox hall of fame, died Sunday, July 28. He was 69.

Washington County coroner Methel Johnson confirmed Scott died in Greenville, his hometown.

A three-time All-Star, Scott spent most of his career with the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. He hit 27 homers with 90 RBIs during his rookie season in 1966 – second for a Red Sox rookie only to Ted Williams – and had his best year with the Brewers in 1975, when he hit 36 homers and had 109 RBIs. […]

Local Sports

Former Jackson State football coach ’Judge’ Hughes dies

Former Jackson State football coach, Robert “Judge” Hughes died Wednesday, July 31, at the age of 68.

Jackson State says in a news release Hughes died Wednesday from complications of diabetes. Services are pending.

Hughes, who has been in and out of the hospital over the last several months, will be remembered by JSU fans as one of the great football players and coaches in the history of Tigers football, Jackson State said in a release. […]

Local Sports

Former Mississippi standout Crespino dies at 75

Robert “Bobby” Crespino, a tight end and receiver for some of Mississippi’s best football teams from 1958 to 1960, died on Monday, July 29, in Atlanta. He was 75.

Cockrell Funeral Home in Macon, Miss., confirmed Crespino’s death after a lengthy illness, but did not provide details of the illness.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Crespino played for three Ole Miss teams that had a combined 29-3-1 record and earned a share of two national championships in 1959 and 1960. He caught 30 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns in 1960. […]

National Sports

Emile Griffith, elegant boxing champ, dies at 75

Inside the smaller theater at Madison Square Garden about five years ago, shortly before a world title fight, Emile Griffith was introduced one more time to the crowd. He rose shakily from his seat, waved ever so briefly and then sat down.

The applause kept going.

Revered in retirement perhaps more than during his fighting days, Griffith died Tuesday, July 23, at 75 after a long battle with pugilistic dementia. The first fighter to be crowned world champion from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Griffith required full-time care late in life and died at an extended care facility in Hempstead, N.Y. […]

Local Sports

Hickerson’s bust presented to Ole Miss

The Pro Football Hall of Fame bust of the late Gene Hickerson has found a permanent home at University of Mississippi.

The Oxford Eagle reports that the bust was presented to Ole Miss by Hickerson’s family. Hickerson helped the Rebels to the 1955 SEC title and a 1956 Cotton Bowl win over TCU, plus a victory over Texas in the 1958 Sugar Bowl.

Hickerson went on to play 15 seasons for the Cleveland Browns as the lead blocker for three Hall of Famers – Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell. […]

Local Sports

Former MSU player Mitchell dead at 72

Leland Mitchell, a former Mississippi State basketball star who played in the renowned MSU-Loyola game in 1963, died Saturday, July 6 at the age of 72.

Mitchell died at his home in Starkville.

Officials with Welch Funeral Home in Starkville said services were held on July 11.

The 6-foot-4 Mitchell starred at guard on the MSU team that won the Southeastern Conference championship and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. State law prohibited the all-white Bulldogs from traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to face an integrated Loyola University of Chicago team, but MSU coach Babe McCarthy sneaked the team out of town to play the game. […]