Big 3 in need of better records
By By Austin Bishop / EMG sports director
Dec. 22, 2002
Writing words of wisdom on a Sunday while wondering whatever happed to Earl The Pearl' Monroe …
There have been years when State, Ole Miss and USM fans have been livid because their team was left out of the college football bowl picture.
Robbed.
Jobbed.
Absolutely had.
And, on occasion, I have agreed with them.
There have been years when the football teams at Ole Miss, USM and State have worked hard, picked up a big win here and there, and fought their way to a much deserved bowl.
Perseverance.
Hard work.
Just reward.
And then, there is this year. While Mississippi State, due mostly to having its worst football season in many, many a moon, was not eligible thank goodness for a bowl this year, both USM and Ole Miss have earned one.
And, I use the term earned very loosely here.
As a longtime sports journalist in Mississippi am I pleased that both the Golden Eagles and Rebels are headed to the postseason? Well, most assuredly.
I've always pulled for all of the schools in Mississippi and that includes the SWAC institutions, as well as the NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA schools.
And, I am also a proponent of the large number of bowls that now exist.
I see that there really is a need for the Alamo Bowl, Music City Bowl, Houston Bowl, Independence Bowl and even that bowl (Humanitarian) they play on the blasted blue carpet up in Boise, Idaho. I have no problem with that at all.
But, since we are among friends, we must be honest here. The pool is a little slim this year.
And I'm not quite sure how I can prove it, but I put a little bit of the blame on the 12-game schedule. But that may be for another column, if I ever really get it figured out.
But, having said all that, I must say this: It doesn't seem to me that the football was very strong in Mississippi this year. In fact, it bordered on weak. It really did.
I am proud for former Lamar High School standout Lee Rogers that he and his other Ole Miss Rebel teammates get to head to Shreveport to face Nebraska in what really might be a very good football game.
I am pleased that former Southeast Lauderdale standout and USM offensive lineman Torrin Tucker gets to join his Golden Eagle teammates in Houston to take on Oklahoma State, in what might be another good contest.
Perhaps this year is payback for the years they have been left out.
And if so, good.
But next year, when State, USM and Ole Miss all head to bowls, I hope they have records with eight or more wins in them. And I certainly hope they are not owners of marks with five or more losses.
But then again, sometimes, you need to just learn to be happy with what you get, when you get it.
Someone seems
a little crazy here
It could be me.
It could be John Schuerholz.
But I'm pretty sure one of us is nuts.
For years I have been a supporter of Schuerholz, the shrewd general manager of my beloved Atlanta Braves.
He has pulled off one amazing move after another, finding ways to fill holes in the Braves' lineup time-after-time-after-time.
When Tom Glavine bolted Atlanta earlier this month to play for the Communist National Team (The New York Mets), I didn't point my finger at Schuerholz. I vented on Glavine. And, in fact, still am.
You can leave my team, but don't go play for its arch-enemy. Not now, not ever. There is just no reason good enough. Not one.
I watched with interest as Schuerholz began to waive his magic wand and reform the pitching staff after Glavine's departure.
I really thought that it might even be better.
There was future Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux anchoring the staff, surrounded by the likes of Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, Kevin Millwood and Paul Byrd.
That's a solid rotation. In fact, it was a great one.
I just didn't last long enough.
While waiting on my wife's birthday party to begin on Friday night I was watching the NCAA Division I-AA championship game between Western Kentucky and McNeese State.
Don't ask me why? It was on. Okay?
Well, during the game they keep you updated with national sports news by scrolling it along the bottom of the screen. When I saw that the Braves had traded Millwood to Philadelphia (a blooming division rival of all things) for catcher Johnny Estrada, my jaw dropped so far and so hard that it nearly crashed through the floor and into the basement.
And that's amazing, because we don't have a basement.
I kept telling my oldest son Ryan that we just weren't getting all of the information. Surely there was more to the trade. Maybe we got some pitchers like left-hander Randy Wolf or right-handed flame-thrower Robert Person. Or we got some top minor leaguers. Or Maybe some cash. Or at least, maybe Philadelphia sent us the Liberty Bell in the deal.
There had to be something.
Anything.
There was nothing.
I do have faith in Schuerholz, but he has stunned even me this time.
I hope he's right.
He'd better be.
