Andy Kennedy
steps down
The big news out of Oxford was the sudden immediate resignation of Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy. Assistant coach Tony Madlock will finish the season as head coach. The Rebels have only four games left in the regular season and the SEC tournament.
The Rebels (11-16, 4-10) lost to Mississippi State Saturday night for only the second time in their last ten meetings. Kennedy coached 401 games at Ole Miss and won 245 of those games. He led the Rebels to eight straight 20-win seasons before this year’s results. This year’s team has lost nine of their last 10 games, beating only Alabama at home during that span. The Louisville native turned the Rebels' program around as he posted 11 consecutive winning seasons after taking over a program that was coming off four straight losing seasons. The Rebels won the 2013 SEC tournament championship.
USM wins
USM swept Mississippi State in a three-game opening series of the 2018 college baseball season in Hattiesburg this past weekend.
The Golden Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 23-6 over the weekend and never trailed at any point.
MSU transfer Luke Reynolds stole the show going 6-for-10 with a home run, five RBsI and six runs. Reynolds was not alone as he had help from Nick Sandlin, who pitched an opening day masterpiece. The Eagles, coming off a 50-win season in 2017, will travel to Starkville next February. MSU is on a 12-game road trip to open the season as Dudy Noble Stadium is having a $40 million remodeling.
Ole Miss opened its baseball season with a three-game sweep of Winthrop.
Saints face tough
2018 schedule
The Green Bay Packers' 2018 NFL regular season schedule is rated the toughest. The Saints will have the second toughest based on the 2017 records of their 2018 opponents. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minnesota and the L.A. Rams are on the Saints' 2018 schedule, along with NFC South foes Atlanta and Carolina twice each.
Kudos to
Bubba Watson
One of my favorite pro golfers made history this weekend as Bubba Watson won his third Genesis Open. He joins Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer as the only three-time winners at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.
Car No. 3
wins Daytona
Austin Dillon won the 60th running of the Daytona 500 on the final lap in overtime Sunday. Dillon drove the No. 3 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt. His win came on the 17th anniversary of the death of Earnhardt, who died on the final lap of the 2001 race. Peyton Manning was the guest pace car driver at this year’s 500.
Dale McKee, a resident of Waynesboro, has covered Mississippi sports for more than 40 years. He writes a weekly sports column. You can contact Dale at ddmckee18@yahoo.com
