Sports

Friday Is Decision Day For Braves

Greenville, S.C., officials are expected to approve funding to building a new minor-league baseball stadium. But that might not be enough to keep the Braves Class AA team from moving to Pearl. The Atlanta Braves say they will announce the future home of their AA team on Friday.

Soccer Night in Mississippi

More than 6,000 fans turned out in Ridgeland on Saturday night to see an MLS exhibtion game in which the Dallas Burn beat the Chicago Fire beat the Dallas Burn 1-0. A good time was had by all, even without a riot.

Dark Clouds Over Texas

Are you already depressed about the prospects for your favorite baseball team? Just remember, it could be worse. You could be a Texas Rangers fan.

Get Your Kicks At Freedom Ridge

Doctor S has fallen down on this one, but if you hustle it's not too late for you to see a major league pro sports event right here in the Jackson area. The Chicago Fire (including Brandon's Justin Mapp) will play the Dallas Burn in an MLS exhibition game at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland at 7:30 p.m. Go see some footy! Doctor S and his hooligan friends might even stage a riot to make the Euro players feel more at home.

Scooby-Do, How Do You Do It, Dog?

Doctor S wants to take a moment out from the pressing issues of the sports world to ask: How the hell did Scooby-Do become the most popular TV cartoon in history? Slate attempts to provide an answer.

Diamond Duds

It's almost time for the Major League Baseball season to begin. Several teams will be wearing new or modified uniforms. Is there a wardrobe malfunction in your favorite nine's future? Uniwatch dishes out the info and the critique.

Hello, Larry

Southern Miss made it official on Thursday, bringing Larry "Party All The Time" Eustachy out of exile to become the Golden Eagles' new men's basketball coach. In one sense, USM's hiring has worked already. There's a national buzz around the USM hoops program for the first time in, well, forever. Many said Eustachy would never coach again at a major college basketball program again. Maybe after he works at USM for a few seasons, he will be able to return to major college basketball.

No More Turkey Day Egg-citement

Yes, the rumors are true. The Mississippi State-Ole Miss game which had been a national TV fixture on Thanksgiving night (thanks to ESPN) for the last six years, will move back to Saturday in 2004. As long as the game is changing dates, howzabout somebody in Jackson putting together a package to entice the Rebels and Bulldogs to move The Battle For The Golden Egg back to Memorial Stadium, where it belongs.

SEC pioneer hits the field

Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State's new head football coach, began his first spring practice with the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

All The Rage

So you want to be a pro basketball player? All of those YMCA warriors who insist "all I need is a shot to get in the NBA" will get a chance on April 10 when the city's new pro franchise, the Jackson Rage, holds a tryout from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Millsaps College. For those more grounded in reality, their first exposure to the Rage will be on May 15, when the team plays the Chattanooga Majic at 7 p.m. The team will play all 10 of its home games at Jackson State's Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.

Eustachy A Natural For USM

Bonus: Larry rates the party schools.

Larry Eustachy, the former Iowa State basketball coach best know for his affinity for college coeds and Natural Light beer, is expected to named coach at Southern Miss on Friday, the Biloxi and Jackson newspapers reported on their Web sites Thursday night.

The Pearl Braves?

Greenville (S.C.) Mayor Knox White says the G-Braves are in play, and that a suburban Mississippi city has an offer on the table to lure the AA franchise from Greenville.

Soothing Answers to Burning Questions

How did the NCAA basketball tournament come to be called March Madness? How did the Final Four get its name? Slate supplies the answers. Meanwhile, Doctor S could have told you not to pick Florida if you had only asked.

Another Group of Bulldog Basketball Heroes

The Mississippi State basketball team is in the headlines as the Bulldogs play in the NCAA tournament. On March 24, Mississippi Public Broadcasting will air "One Night in March," a documentary on the 1963 MSU team that literally had to sneak out of the state to play in the NCAA tournament. Why? Because the Maroons defied the state's unwritten law against participating in integrated sporting events.

Bust Out Those Brackets

The NCAA Tournament field is set. As happens every year, millions of Americans will break the law during the next two weeks by participating in illegal office pools. (Hey, we need one of those at the JFP Tower.) Mississippi State got a No. 2 seed after its flameout in the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs are headed for Orlando, where they will play Monmouth on Friday night. On the women's side, Ole Miss got an NCAA berth, too, for the first time since 1966. The 10th-seeded Rebelettes are headed for Ames, Iowa, where they will play Villanova on Sunday.

Bonus: Larry rates the party schools.

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