It was a big sports week in Jackson at the state capitol. This past Thursday, 46 college coaches and athletic directors from all eight of our public universities traveled to the state capitol to lobby for changing the state flag. They urged the state legislators to remove the confederate battle symbol from the flag. This was coming off the heels of the NCAA, SEC and C-USA announcements stating that no conference championships or post-season games would be held in Mississippi until the state flag was changed. Their efforts were successful as Sunday both the Mississippi House and Senate approved bills that would remove the Confederate battle emblem and create a new flag. Gov. Tate Reeves says he will sign the bill into law. ELI’S 10 TO BE RETIRED Ole Miss early last week honored football great Eli Manning. His No. 10 jersey number will be retired at the Auburn game on Sept. 19. Manning either tied or broke 47 school records during his four years (2000-03). He is the third Rebel great along with his father Archie Manning (18) and Chucky Mullins (38) to be so honored. Right now present Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee is wearing jersey 10, but he will have the option to continue wearing that number until he finishes his Ole Miss career. GULF COAST NO. 1 Street and Smith College Football Preview Magazine has Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs are the defending national champions. Other members of the Mississippi Association of Colleges and Junior Colleges in the top 25 are Jones (7th), Northwest (11th), East Mississippi (13th), Hinds (18th) and East Central (21st). MLB/NBA TO START Major League Baseball is hoping to begin again on July 23 with a 60-game regular season schedule. The teams will play 10 games against each division foe. There will be 20 inter-league games against teams from their own region of the country. Opening day has an attractive matchup with the New York Yankees traveling to the nation’s capital to meet the World Series champion Washington Nationals. The National Basketball Association is hoping to restart its 2019-20 regular season on July 30 in Orlando. The opening game will be the Utah Jazz-New Orleans Pelicans matchup, followed by the battle of L.A. with the Clippers and the Lakers tipping off. ODDS & ENDS — Oregon and Oregon State universities have agreed to drop the name “Civil War” from their annual football game. This was seen as a connection to a war fought to perpetuate slavery, according to OSU president Ed Ray. — Dustin Johnson won the Travelers Golf Championship to end a long drought on the PGA tour. — The 2020 Mississippi Sports Medicine North/South MAC All-Star Basketball games are scheduled for Saturday, July 18, at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton. — The 8th Annual Bobby Myrick FCA Golf Classic is set for Monday, July 27, at the Hattiesburg Country Club. Myrick, a Hattiesburg native, played at Mississippi State and also played in the Major League with the New York Mets. The format is a four scramble with all proceeds benefiting the local Pine Belt Christian FCA. Dale McKee is a native of Waynesboro and has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. His column appears in several weekly papers throughout the state. You may contact him at ddmckee18@yahoo.com
