November 15, 2007

Any time I can write about our departed friend Fred Messina, I jump at the chance.

This isn’t actually about Fred, but about deer hunting and the pictures that come with it. So far, we have received five pictures of kids and the deer they shot. We will begin running pictures on Friday and expect many more.

Fred was a master of keeping up with pictures and telling the stories that came with them. I will do my best to emulate Fred’s outdoor knowledge, and I hope I have a patient readership.

We will accept deer pictures throughout the season. They can be e-mailed to sports@vicksburgpost.com, mailed to the office or hand-delivered. Please try to limit the amount of blood in the pictures and make them as presentable as possible. Include some detailed information about the hunt, how far the shot was, etc.

Information that we ask each hunter to provide includes the weight of the deer, what type weapon was used to kill it and how far the shot was. If one takes down a buck — we have a 15-year-old’s picture running Friday that bagged a nice one — please include information about the rack length, width and points.

Finally, I again ask for patience. I have been in Mississippi nearly 16 years, but still carry some Yankee attributes. One of those is not knowing most things involved with hunting, so I will be learning from you.

Everything in sports moves in cycles

Remember eight years ago when Mississippi college football had all three teams ranked in the Top 25? Seems so long ago, but the football agonies were put to rest slightly by the state’s baseball teams. Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss routinely win 40 games on the diamond, host regionals and NCAA Super Regionals.

Now it appears as if the state’s three basketball programs are making pitches for national recognition.

Mississippi State has been the most consistent of the three on the court over the past decade, but Andy Kennedy has Ole Miss headed in the right direction and Larry Eustachy and Southern Miss are coming off a 20-win season.

One can honestly say if a coach can win basketball games at Southern Miss, he can win anywhere. The Eagles biggest opponent to gaining national attention seems to be themselves. The school loads down the schedule with non-conference cupcakes, explaining in part the 20 wins last season. At one point, one national sports TV analyst ranked Southern Miss as the worst undefeated team entering December.

The Eagles have beefed up the slate this year, but it will take a win over a team the caliber of Memphis — which they play twice — to begin to register on the national radar.

Look for all three to earn postseason berths either in the NCAA Tournament or the lesser National Invitation Tournament. The last time all of the Big Three were in a national postseason tournament in the same year? Never.

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Sean P. Murphy is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. E-mail him at

smurphy@vicksburgpost.com