In 1955, there was a new upstart magazine named Sports Illustrated that had only been around for about nine months. The floundering magazine, in hopes of gaining a foothold into American sports culture, asked Mississippi native and renowned writer William Faulkner to cover the Kentucky Derby for their upcoming issue. It would be the first time that SI would cover the great American horse race.
This was Faulkner’s opening in his article to SI in 1955. “So, it is not just betting, the chance to prove with money your luck or what you call your judgement, that draws people to horse races. It is much deeper than that. It is a sublimation, a transference: man, with his admiration for speed and strength, physical power far beyond what he himself is capable of, projects his own desire for physical supremacy, victory, onto the agent- the baseball or football team, the prizefighter.”
The 152nd running of the most famous horse race in the world, The Kentucky Derby, was held this past Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville. As a 23-1 long shot Golden Tempo came from behind the pack to finally steal the race from favorite Renegade by a neck, as over 150,000 people watched in disbelief.
Pitching is the name of the game in Hattiesburg. The USM pitching staff, led by Camden Clark, led the Golden Eagles to a sweep of ULM. Southern Miss (34-14, 16-8) travels to James Madison Friday.
Mississippi State lost two of three at Texas. The Bulldogs (36-12, 14-10) host Auburn beginning Friday. State won the Governor's Cup over Ole Miss last week in Pearl.
Arkansas scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday to edge Ole Miss, 5-4, and take the series from the Rebels. Ole Miss (32-17, 12-12) hosts Texas A&M beginning Friday.
William Carey went 2-1 in the Southern States Conference baseball tournament. The Crusaders (35-17) will have to wait until the NAIA Tournament selection show to see if they will receive a postseason bid this Wednesday.
Ole Miss won two of three from Mississippi State over the weekend in Oxford to end regular season play.
Mississippi State will be seeded tenth and play 15th seed and host Kentucky in the SEC tournament opener while 13th seed Ole Miss plays 12th seed South Carolina on the opening day, Tuesday, May 5.
Fourth seed Southern Miss heads to Lafayette to play No. 5 seed South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament that begins Wednesday.
William Carey won the Southern States conference tournament for the fifth time. The Lady Crusaders (39-12) will host an NAIA regional beginning next Monday. Blue Mountain (38-15) made a great showing in the SSC before losing in the semifinals to William Carey.
Belhaven (37-9) won the CCS tournament for the second straight year. The Lady Blazers now await word from the NCAA about the tournament sites and brackets for play that begins May 15.
Mississippi College softball takes on Montevallo this Wednesday at the Gulf South Conference tournament in Oxford, Alabama.
The Region 23 JUCO baseball tournaments began Monday at Pearl River and East Central. Co-Lin, Jones, Hinds and Southwest play at Pearl River. East Mississippi, Itawamba, Northeast and Northwest will join East Central in Decatur. The winners at each site will face off in a best-of-three series for the Region 23 championship and automatic berth to the NJCAA Division II World Series.
The Region 23 softball tournaments will be held this week at Co-Lin and Pearl River. Second seed Pearl River will host Jones, Itawamba and Northeast. Top seed Co-Lin will entertain Eunice, Northwest and Southwest. The Co-Lin and PRC site winners will meet Wednesday for the championship.
The Mississippi High School Activities Association Flag Football championship will be held at Mississippi College this Saturday. Eight teams will make the trip to Clinton. Play begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the championship game scheduled for 6 p.m.
Listen to Dale and Marshall Wood on the Brouhaha Sports Show Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WABO FM 105.5 in the Waynesboro area. This week’s guest is Billy Watkins talking about college football. 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 all the archived shows.
