Ellington

Thursday, Aug. 28
Southern League baseball, West Tenn at Mississippi (7 p.m., Pearl, 1590 AM): The M-Braves open their final homestand of the season. … Junior college football, Northeast at Hinds (7 p.m., Raymond): The Eagles open the season hoping to challenge for a title again after a few down years. … NFL preseason football, Miami at New Orleans (7 p.m., Comcast Ch. 71/620 AM): The Saints face the Dolphins in the final practice game. Stay healthy, guys.

Friday, Aug. 29
High school football, Murrah vs. Callaway (7:30 p.m., Newell Field, Jackson): What better way to open the season than with an old-school JPS rivalry? … Brandon at Pearl (7:30 p.m., Pearl): You had better arrive early if you want to get a seat at the Rankin County Super Bowl. … Jackson Academy at Jackson Prep (7 p.m., Flowood, 930 AM/970 AM): These two will probably meet again in the MPSA title game.

Saturday, Aug. 30
College football, Mississippi State at Louisiana Tech (5:45 p.m., Ruston, La., ESPN2/105.9 FM): Let me get this straight, MSU can play a game at Ruston, but playing Southern Miss would be bad for the program? … Memphis at Ole Miss (6 p.m., Oxford, 97.3 FM): There's a new Nutt on the sideline in Oxford. … Louisiana-Lafayette at Southern Miss (6 p.m., Hattiesburg, 1180 AM/103.3 FM): Larry Fedora makes his debut at USM where winning isn't enough.

Sunday, Aug. 31
College football, Jackson State vs. Hampton (1 p.m., Orlando, Fla., ESPN2/1300 AM): The Tigers open their season on national TV at the Citrus Bowl. Is a side trip to Disney World in the works?

Monday, Sept. 1
Southern League baseball, West Tenn at Mississippi (7 p.m., Pearl, 1590 AM): The M-Braves play their last game of the regular season; hopefully it won't be their last game of the season.

Tuesday, Sept. 2
Major league baseball, Atlanta at Florida (6 p.m., SportSouth/620 AM): If Chipper Jones wasn't battling for the batting title, there would be no reason to watch the Braves.

Wednesday, Sept. 3
Major league baseball, Chicago White Sox at Cleveland (noon, WGN): The Sox keep chasing a playoff berth.

The Slate is compiled by Doctor S when he's not busy investigating NFL conspiracy theories.