Insight and analysis on Ole Miss and MSU sports from Daily Journal beat reporters

New episodes released on Thursday afternoons

Double Coverage

Double Coverage

#67: More NCAA news; Bulldogs fall in Super Regional – 06/15/17

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It will be several more weeks before Ole Miss hears from the NCAA about the school’s response to alleged violations, but that doesn’t mean all is quiet on the investigation front.

This week, Parrish talks about a defamation lawsuit filed by Rebel Rags (2:31), an Oxford store that sells licensed Ole Miss merchandise. Among the lawsuit’s targets: MSU player Leo Lewis, who told the NCAA that he was offered money by Ole Miss while being recruited.

In its recent response to the NCAA allegations, Ole Miss disputed Lewis’ version of events. Parrish said that was the only recourse the school had on that particular issue; Logan said that recourse indicates Ole Miss is trying to bring Lewis down with it.

NCAA talk will no doubt dominate the conversation this summer, especially now that baseball season is over. MSU saw its magical postseason run come to an end in the Baton Rouge Regional (12:31), where a thin pitching staff couldn’t hold up against a powerful LSU crew. Logan said coach Andy Cannizaro did a remarkable job guiding the Bulldogs through an injury-strewn season, and the program has a bright future.

One question is who will be part of that future. The Major League Draft was held this week (16:41), with several Bulldogs and Rebels being selected. Also drafted were several signees, and it looks like MSU might have a tougher time holding on to some of its current class than will Ole Miss.

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#66: Bulldogs win regional; Ole Miss responds to NCAA – 06/07/17

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Mississippi State’s baseball team just keeps finding ways to win. The Bulldogs won four games over the course of two days, including a pair of victories against Southern Miss, to win the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional.

On this episode, Logan recaps the Bulldogs’ big weekend (4:38), which sends them into a Super Regional matchup with LSU. The Tigers swept State at the end of the regular season and boast a top-notch pitching staff.

But MSU has players like Brent Rooker, who went quiet for a bit in Hattiesburg before waking up with a pair of home runs and a go-ahead hit on Monday.

The big news out of Oxford this week isn’t as positive, as the school released its response to 21 violations the NCAA says occurred within the football program (11:30). Ole Miss is standing behind coach Hugh Freeze, and in the 125-page response it tried to poke holes in testimony of a former recruit regarding alleged booster payments.

The NCAA has 60 days to respond, and so that will probably come in late July. Until then, Freeze will have to deal with the questions that will inevitably come at SEC Media Days in a few weeks.

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#65: Bulldogs head to Hattiesburg, Rebels staying home – 06/01/17

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Mississippi State will see some familiar foes in the NCAA regionals this week, as it’s traveling to Hattiesburg. On this episode, Logan looks at the regional hosted by Southern Miss (:53), where tickets are hard to come by.

The Bulldogs open against South Alabama, a team they’ve played three times already this season. A big key for State will be pitching depth, which has been an issue this season due to injuries. A win Friday likely means a matchup against the red-hot Golden Eagles.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, is having the rare experience of being left out of the NCAA tournament (7:35). The culprits this season were an anemic offense and a highly touted freshman class didn’t have quite the impact the Rebels had hoped. But Parrish notes that the future looks bright for this team.

A big headline for Ole Miss this week was golfer Braden Thornberry winning a national title in golf (13:20), putting him in a select group of Rebel NCAA champs.

The guys also talk a little football, with kickoff times for some games having been announced by ESPN this week (15:57). The Egg Bowl kickoff time was announced along with a few others, including a very late start for Ole Miss against Cal.

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#64: Baseball teams look to keep going in postseason – 05/25/17

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Mississippi State is a shoo-in for an NCAA regional bid, but it’s trying to enhance its résumé at the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss, meanwhile, is at home sitting on the proverbial NCAA bubble.

On this episode, Logan discusses MSU’s strong start in Hoover (2:22), where the Bulldogs won their first two games. On Thursday, they rallied in the ninth inning to beat Arkansas, earning a Friday matchup against top-seeded Florida.

Logan looks at where the projections have MSU going for the NCAA Regional (16:37). Might a trip to Hattiesburg be in store?

Ole Miss made a quick exit on Tuesday, losing to Auburn (8:11), and now must wait until Monday to see if it makes the NCAA field. The Rebels are young, and it’s shown this year on offense, and now the pitching has started to falter the last few games.

Also, Parrish says the Ole Miss softball team isn’t scared of the big stage as it takes on UCLA in an NCAA Super Regional this week (19:46).

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#83: Freeze bristles at NCAA question; big baseball series on tap – 05/18/17

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No matter where he goes, Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze can’t escape the cloud of an ongoing NCAA investigation. During a golf pro-am in Birmingham this week, he cut short an interview with local media when a television reporter asked about the investigation.

On this episode, Parrish and Logan discuss the incident and how both parties handled it (2:30).

As for sports still in season, Parrish takes a look at the Ole Miss softball squad (10:00), which surprisingly won the SEC Tournament and is now hosting an NCAA regional this weekend. And MSU is back in the postseason after a one-year absence (13:59).

On the baseball diamond, the SEC regular season wraps up this weekend. Ole Miss needs to win two against Auburn to bolster its NCAA tournament résumé (16:47), while MSU hosts LSU, a team it trails by one game for first place in the Western Division standings (19:51).

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#82: Important season upcoming for Kennedy – 05/11/17

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It’s standard operating procedure for college coaches in Mississippi to have their contracts periodically extended to the four-year maximum allowed by the state. But Ole Miss has chosen to not extend the contract of men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy.

On this episode, Parrish discusses why that might be the case (3:31). It could be athletic director Ross Bjork is making a statement about the need for Kennedy to get the Rebels back into the NCAA tournament. There is good reason to believe that will happen next season, as Kennedy is bringing in his strongest signing class to date.

We also have some MSU hoops talk. Logan notes the strength of this current signing class, headlined by Nick Weatherspoon (8:55). Coach Ben Howland is entering his third season in Starkville, and the third year is when he has historically taken programs to a higher level.

On the baseball field, MSU looks to keep the momentum from its series win at Texas A&M when it hits the road again to meet Georgia (14:48), while Ole Miss deals with struggles heading into a series against A&M (18:47).

Other topics today include Ole Miss and the NCAA investigation (1:11), and Ole Miss softball (13:24).

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#81: Looking at key post-spring issues – 05/04/17

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With spring football in the books, coaches at Ole Miss and Mississippi State will have concerns they will want to quickly address. On this episode, the guys look at three areas they believe coaches will hone in on between now and fall camp.

For Ole Miss, Parrish believes the main issues are linebacker play, getting key injured players back to form, and the offensive line (7:11). For MSU, Logan thinks the focus will be on the offensive line – in particular who will start at center – kicker, and the development of young receivers (16:04).

Sticking with football, the Bulldogs picked up a couple of big 2018 commitments this week: Tupelo linebacker Jett Johnson (1:51) and West Point athlete Marcus Murphy (4:23).

And on the baseball diamond, both teams are on the road this weekend. Ole Miss, which visits Florida, is looking to get to the magic number of 15 SEC wins (25:07), while State is dealing with even more injuries heading into its series with Texas A&M (28:11).

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#80: MSU coaches hit the road; Engram drafted by Giants – 04/28/17

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‘Tis the season for college coaches to hit the fan circuit. Mississippi State’s annual Road Dawgs Tour stopped in Biloxi on Thursday, and Logan Lowery was there to chat with Dan Mullen, Vic Schaefer and others (3:23). He also spoke with athletic director John Cohen about adjusting to his new role, where he’s still able to satisfy his need for competition. Logan also looks at the renovations coming to Dudy Noble Field (9:00).

Also on this episode, Parrish talks about former Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the New York Giants (11:38); he’ll now be catching passes from another former Rebel, Eli Manning. Some other Ole Miss players are expected to be drafted over the next couple of days.

On the diamond, Ole Miss took the series opener from Arkansas on Thursday and looks to bolster its postseason résumé with a series win (16:40). Pitcher James McArthur had a strong showing on Thursday, and catcher Cooper Johnson is starting to contribute more at the plate.

MSU is coming off a Governor’s Cup win over the Rebels and will try to hang on to the top spot in the SEC West standings with a series against second-place Auburn this weekend (22:57). The Tigers are coached by former State pitching coach Butch Thompson.

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#79: Baseball season reaches the midway point – 04/20/17

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The Ole Miss and Mississippi State baseball teams have reached the halfway point of conference play, and Parrish and Logan discuss where they stand.

Mississippi State (2:05) takes on Alabama this weekend in a series that begins Thursday. Logan’s audio quality is not very good in this discussion, so parts of it are missing. It gets better later in the show.

Meanwhile, Ole Miss (4:02) takes on Missouri after starting SEC play at 7-8. Parrish notes that the Rebels are leading the SEC in pitching although they lack a true ace. He breaks down last weekend’s LSU series and notes that the team has improved on offense, although it still isn’t outstanding offensively.

Both schools have alumni road trips coming up (12:23), and Parrish and Logan talk about what to expect from those. For Mississippi State, women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer may be the biggest star on their road trip. Meanwhile, Parrish expects the message on the Ole Miss circuit to be patience.

Parrish and Logan also talk about the case of Mississippi State shortstop Ryan Gridley missing a game this weekend to attend his sister’s wedding (17:57). Both reporters note that family must come first.

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#78: Wrapping up spring football; big baseball series on tap – 04/13/17

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Spring football just wrapped up for Mississippi State and Ole Miss, and the guys share what they learned about the teams.

For Mississippi State, Logan was impressed by the defense’s performance in the spring game (2:16), with 10 sacks and five interceptions recorded. He also talks about quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.

In Oxford, Parrish says Ole Miss is solid at quarterback with Shea Patterson and newcomer Jordan Ta’amu (10:10). He also likes the options at tight end, but the big question is how much the defense will improve under new coordinator Wesley McGriff.

Parrish also has an update on former Rebel QB Chad Kelly, who has experienced another physical setback as he prepares for the NFL Draft (7:10).

On the diamond, both teams are on the road for big SEC series. MSU visits South Carolina (18:36), and the Bulldogs enter the weekend tied for the conference lead despite a spate of injuries. One big reason for their success has been the red-hot bat of Brent Rooker.

Ole Miss rolls into Baton Rouge on a five-game winning streak (23:00), with an anemic offense showing signs of life lately.

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