JULY 7 SIDELINE VIEW
Hot Atlanta will be on fire next week as the SEC head football coaches will invade to talk a little football and host the Major League Baseball All-Star game.
One sportswriter once said that SEC Football Media Days is like opening a box of chocolates: You never know what you will get. The greatest media circus in the world is on the horizon and will attract over 1,500 media reps signaling the official kickoff of the college football season next week at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
What will be the story lines for 2025? The media will question whether the Big10 is better than the SEC since Ohio State and Michigan have won back-to-back National Championships. Some media will speculate as to what coach is on the “Hot Seat.” Many media members will question the dollars being paid to college athletes and if the college game can survive nationally. Every coach will respond that we need guidelines sooner than later. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin will be asked if Austin Simmons can replace Jaxson Dart at quarterback and if he can replace nine defensive starters. MSU coach Jeff Lebby will be asked about the Bulldogs' brutal schedule and about his offensive line's ability to keep quarterback Blake Shapen safe for the entire season.
The answers to these questions will be answered on the SEC Network beginning at 8 a.m. next Monday.
Southern Miss coach Charles Huff will attend the Sun Belt Conference Media Days on July 22 in New Orleans. Most questions for him will be centered around his move from Marshall to USM and his thoughts on the Golden Eagle rebuild.
The Big10 will hold their media days in Las Vegas while the ACC’s media days will be in Charlotte. Both will be held July 22-24.
There are only eight Saturdays left before the first full week of college football.
Baseball
The Atlanta Braves will host the MLB game next Tuesday night. The Braves had three players selected for the game. Outfielder Ronald Acuna was voted a starter while first baseman Matt Olson was selected a reserve. Injured pitcher Chris Sale was named to the team but will not be able to participate in the contest.
The American League team has former Mississippi State Bulldog Brent Rooker being named a reserve. Rooker is hitting .273 with 18 home runs and 48 RBI's. Ocean Springs native pitcher Garrett Crochett of the Red Sox was named to the team. Crochett leads all MLB in strikeouts with 151. The 6-foot-6 hurler is 9-4 with a 2.39 ERA.
Mississippians know how fast former Mississippi State Bulldog Jake Mangum is. Mangum showed his blazing speed off last Wednesday as he hit an inside-the-park home run. The home run helped Tampa Bay beat the Oakland A’s, 6-5. Mangum has two home runs and has stolen 11 bases while supporting a .309 batting average in his first year in the majors.
Mississippi State infielder Ace Reese and pitcher Ryan McPherson have been named to the 26-man roster for the Collegiate National team. The team will play in Japan this week.
Jackson’s Konner Griffin and Branden Montgomery, along with former MSU pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, will be playing in the Future games next weekend in Atlanta before the MLB All-Star game.
Last week, I reported that former Ole Miss pitcher Drew Pomeranz with the Chicago Cubs was the only player in the MLB with a 0.00 ERA. Well, he was charged with allowing two runs last week, ending his 26-game string of not allowing an earned run. His ERA is now 0.76. Still the best in the MLB.
Hot Dogs
Joey Chestnut won his 17th Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest by consuming 70 ½ hot dogs in ten minutes. The second-place finisher downed 24 hot dogs.
Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show Tuesdays at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s special guest will be Heidelberg Oiler head football coach Darryl Carter. To listen to the broadcast on your computer or smart phone anywhere in the world, go to Google Chrome. You may also go to The Brouhaha on YouTube and listen to archived shows.
