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Ferriss Follies (By Doctor S)

Folks, Doctor S can't read a calendar. The Ferriss Trophy Ceremony was on Monday night, not Tuesday. Doctor S was right about one thing: Mississippi State's Thomas Berkery won the award. The show will be rebroadcast on Ch. 29 on Saturday at 11 p.m.

Out-of-Town Papers: SWAC Tournament Final

Prairie View edged Alcorn State 3-2 Sunday in the championship game of the SWAC Tournament at Pearl. Nobody around here cared much since JSU got thrown out for cheating. But down in Lorman, Braves fans are mourning.

What's With The Barbaro Signs?

Doctor S is an animal lover. He really loves chickens and cows, when prepared properly. Therefore he's glad he missed the Preakness on Saturday. Watching the lowlights of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro limp around after breaking his right rear leg made him queasy. The horse got through surgery on Sunday. Doctors give him a 50-50 chance of survival (but take the stallion's interest in the mares at the hospital as a good sign). But Doctor S isn't too queasy to offer these unique Barbaro reports from Deadspin, The Mighty MJD and The Wade Blogs.

No Capri Sun For You, Coach

Badjocks.com offers another example of how adults are ruining kids' sports: A girls softball coach in New York was arrested after slapping an 11-year-old player from another team on the arm following a game. Diane Grande, 43, is also accused of taunting the girl with profanity while she was batting against the coach's daughter.

The Sultan Of Syringe

Barry Bonds hit his 714th home run on Saturday, tying Babe Ruth for second place on MLB's career homer list. Bonds' steroid-fueled feat was mostly greeted with indifference or hostility. As usual, the New York Post's coverage was unique.

Out-Of-Town Papers: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State

If you don't want to be Ledge-centric, here's how other newspapers in the state covered the final game of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State baseball series:

The Week Ahead

Here's a list of upcoming events that didn't make it into the Slate.

Pro basketball, NBA playoffs: Who's going to the Western Conference finals? Seventh games with Dallas at San Antonio (7 p.m., TNT) and L.A. Clippers at Phoenix (9:30 p.m., TNT) will decide.

Head For The Mountains (Of Empties)

Last year, 70,000 beer cans were found inside of a townhouse in Ogden, Utah. They were all Coors Light empties. The tenant had lived there for eight years, so that works out to 24 beers a day. That's sickening: Who the heck would drink that much Coors Light? Presumably he is not a BYU fan.

Smoot To Go On Trial

Minnesota Vikings DB Fred Smoot is scheduled to go on trial on May 30 for his role in the Vikings' 2005 sex boat cruise. The former MSU/Hinds CC/Provine star definitely brought a whole new meaning to the term "double coverage."

Saints In Fondren?

The New Orleans Saints are in negotiations with Millsaps College to bring the team's preseason camp to the college this summer. Camp starts in late July and the Saints would be at Millsaps for about four weeks. The Saints will also play an exibition game in Jackson on Aug. 26. Saints GM Mickey Loomis said Tuesday night that no final decision has been made, but Saints officials have visited the school and negotiations are under way. The Saints held camp at their team facility in Metairie the last three years. New coach Sean Payton has said he prefers the old-school approach of an NFL team leaving town to practice so that players can focus on football and drinking beer in an unfamiliar setting. Doctor S thinks the more distance the Saints put between themselves and Bourbon Street during the preseason, the better.

Dogs On Short Leash

Time is running out for the Mississippi State baseball team and Ron Polk, the Biloxi Sun Herald's Jim Mashek writes. MSU hosts Ole Miss in a three-game SEC series, starting Thursday, that will decide whether the Bulldogs go to the SEC Tournament. But first, Polk takes time to bitch about how state lotteries are ruining SEC baseball.

A Bad Bet

Tim Bennett tells The Ledge he spent $50,000 to bring the SWAC baseball tournament to Pearl's Trustmark Park. For that money, Bennett says he needs to sell 1,000 tickets per game to break even. Most SWAC teams averaged less than 400 fans per game this season. Local interest in the tourney plummetted when Jackson State was kicked out of the tournament for using ineligible players. Odds are, Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State aren't going to bring 1,000 fans a game into Pearl.. The tournament starts on Thursday. No need to get your tickets early.

Major Tournament

The Millsaps baseball team begins play in NCAA Central Regional in St. Louis on Wednesday. The Majors play Webster at 1 p.m. You can follow the Majors through a live Internet broadcast or get updates at the tournament Web site.

Tigers' Season Over

Something is rotten in Jackson State baseball. First the Tigers forfeited four victories and their SWAC East championship. Now the Tigers have been forced to wipe out the rest of their wins for using two more ineligible players throughout the season. They also have been thrown out of the SWAC Tournament which will be played May 18-21 at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Coach Mark Salter has been suspended with pay while the school investigates.

We Love The Leather

Last month, Deadspin.com unleashed a story on the alleged off-screen antics of ESPN blowhard Chris Berman. We quote:

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