C Spire Conerly nominees announced

The following, in alphabetical order, are the nominees for the 2012 C Spire Conerly Trophy:

Johnthan Banks: Mississippi State senior cornerback from Maben, a preseason All-American who is a finalist for several national awards. Ranks first among active NCAA players in career interception yardage.

Cornelius Brown: Alcorn State offensive lineman. Says Coach Jay Hopson: “He's an unselfish, hard-working leader who was the anchor of our offensive line.”

Jamie Collins: Leads USM with 80 tackles, 18 for loss, nine sacks and four forced fumbles. The nine sacks total 77 yards in losses. He leads Conference USA in sacks and tackles for losses.

Kendall Hunter: Delta State offensive tackle from Mound Bayou , who made 38 consecutive stars at right tackle and had a career offensive line grade of 89 percent. Allowed only one sack this season and led DSU in knockdown blocks with 129.

Garrett Pinciotti: Millsaps senior quarterback led team to 7-3 record. Threw for 24 touchdowns vs. only four interceptions. Led the conference in passing yards per game with 273.

Rico Richardson: Became the fifth receiver in Jackson State's rich history to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Heading into season finale, Richardson has 1,027 yards and nine touchdowns on 52 catches.

Robert Simpson: A junior defensive tackle for Mississippi Valley State, leads the NCAA FCS Division with 20.5 tackles for loss. He has 53 tackles and 5.5 sacks on the season.

Keith Villafranco: Mississippi College senior defensive back from Kenner, la, who led NCAA Division III with six forced fumbles. Also was in on 76 tackles, nine for losses. He intercepted five passes, broke up 11, intercepted five passes and recovered a fumble.

Bo Wallace: The Ole Miss junior quarterback has thrown for 12 touchdowns and run for six. Wallace has completed 183 of 279 passes for 2,239 yards. He has completed 65.6 percent of his passes. He threw for a career-high 404 yards against Vanderbilt.

Isiah Wiley, Belhaven: Senior cornerback and kick returner from Monroe, La., who transferred for his senior season from Southern Cal, where he started six times as a junior. Wiley led the nation (NAIA) in punt returns with 19.4 yards per return. He was fifth in kickoff returns with 28.6. Returned two punts for touchdowns and also intercepted two passes.

The nominees and their head coaches are expected Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum for the 17th Annual C Spire Conerly Trophy Presentation.   The reception starts at 5:30 pm with the banquet immediately following at 6:30 pm.

Tickets are $25 & $100.  For ticket information, contact the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum at 1-800-280-(FAME)3263.

Orley Hood: Open a can of memories

I sat on the edge of my bed. He sat on my desk chair. I was 8, maybe 9. Eisenhower was President of the United States. Jack Cristil was the Voice of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Bacon, I remember my mother complaining, had reached 18 cents a pound. An outrage.

My little Arvin radio was on, the one Daddy made the leather case for. State was probably winning. Back then, the Maroons won just about all the time. That was because they had the best player, Bailey Howell. Years later when Pete Maravich set the SEC career scoring record, the mark he beat was Bailey’s.

I saw Bailey (and his wonderful wife) not all that long ago at the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in downtown Jackson and a thousand kid memories raced through my old guy brain. He knows I love him a lot and I know he really likes me and when I mentioned that game when he scored 47 points against Union University, he looked down at me with a smile. It’s the kind of thing he knows I would remember.

Basketball season starts today at 4:30. Michigan State’s playing UConn at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, a holy place for Americans because our people often come back through there when their tours of duty are up. Or when some filthy scum has shot a hole in them.

Tonight, 7:30, Kentucky plays Maryland in the new arena in Brooklyn.  We get to see Cal’s new kids.

Versatile Class of 2013 announced

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2013 was announced at a press conference Wednesday afternoon and the Jackson museum.   The Class of 2013, which will be inducted August 2, 2013, will feature a diverse and accomplished group, representing several facets of the Mississippi sports world. In alphabetical order, the Hall of Fame's Class of 2013: • Bill Buckner: Buckner, a native of Starkville, has the unique distinction of being selected his football team's MVP four times in five years — at three different schools. Those schools included Starkville High, East Mississippi Junior College (where he played for Hall of Famer Bull Sullivan) and Delta State where he was a two-time All American. Buckner also played one season  at Mississippi State (1965), when he threw the first touchdown pass in the Houston Astrodome against the University of Houston. Buckner, the state director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 25 years, already has been inducted to the Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame, the Delta State Hall of Fame and the East Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame. • Jimmy Giles: Giles, a native of Greenville and a former standout for Hall of Famer Marino Casem at Alcorn State, was inducted into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor in 2011. He was named to the All-Time Tampa Bay Buccaneer team in 2004 and to the All-Time NFC Central Division team in 2001. Giles, a tight end, played in 188 NFL games, caught 350 passes for 5,084 yards and 41 touchdowns. He played in four Pro Bowls. Giles was All-SWAC in football and baseball at Alcorn for two seasons. • Gerald Glass: Glass, a native of Greenwood, was named to the Ole Miss basketball All-Century Team in 2009. After graduating from Amanda Elzy at age 16, Glass starred first at Delta State where he was All-Gulf South Conference in both 1986 and 1987 and the league's MVP in 1987. He led DSU to two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and scored 1,249 points in just two seasons. He followed Coach Ed Murphy to Ole Miss, where he was a two-time All-SEC player who averaged 24 points per game as a senior. He was a first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA. Glass has returned to his high school alma mater, where he coached Amanda Elzy to a state championship in the 2011-12 season. • Earnest Larry “Doc” Harrington: Harrington, a Hattiesburg native, served Southern Miss as head athletic trainer for 30 years and as the head tennis coach 27 years. He also served as a trainer in the Senior Bowl for 25 years. Doc served as trainer for U.S. Olympic teams and has lectured in athletic trainer clinics around the world. This will be Doc's fifth Hall of Fame induction, following his induction into the Southeast Trainers Association Hall of Fame (2007), the Mississippi Athletic Trainer Association Hall of Fame (2003), the National Athletic Trainer Association Hall of Fame (1987) and the Southern Miss Athletic Hall of Fame (1987). His USM tennis teams compiled a match record of 407-179-2. • Langston Rogers: Langston Rogers: One of the nation's most decorated and award-winning sports information directors, Rogers is a native of Calhoun City and a graduate of Delta State where he played baseball for Hall of Famer Boo Ferriss. Rogers has received almost every honor that can be bestowed upon an active or past member of CoSIDA, the national sports information directors association, including induction into the organization's Hall of Fame. He also played baseball for Hall of Famer Bull Sullivan at East Mississippi Community College. He has been inducted into East Mississippi, CoSIDA, Delta State, Mississippi Sports Writers Association and Ole Miss Halls of Fame. In 1980, at age 36, he became the youngest president in CoSIDA's history, and in 2001 received CoSIDA's highest honor, the Arch Ward Award. • Michael Rubenstein: The late Michael Rubenstein, a native of Booneville, was one of the founders of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and the museum's only executive director until his death in December, 2011. Rube, as he was known, helped create the Conerly, Howell, Gillom and Ferriss trophies. The Vanderbilt honors graduate was the sports director of WLBT in Jackson from 1974 until 1991 and is generally considered the most popular and most highly rated sports anchor in Mississippi TV history. He pioneered TV coverage of Mississippi's SWAC schools and won numerous broadcasting and reporting awards. In 2012, Boo Ferriss was named the first-ever winner of the The Rube, an award established in Rubenstein's honor to celebrate contributions to Mississippi sports. The BancorpSouth Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is set for August 2-3, 2013. The induction banquet will be held at the Jackson Hilton the night of August 2. For more information, contact: Rick Cleveland Executive Director Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum rcleveland@msfame.com 601 982-8264

Wiley joins watch list; C Spire forum today

Belhaven's outstanding cornerback/kick return Isiah Wiley has been added to the C Spire Wireless Conerly Trophy watch list.

Wiley, a transfer from national powerhouse Southern Cal, started six games last season for the Trojans. He has been a standout for Belhaven this season, returning 12 kickoffs for 370 yards and returning 15 punts for 312 yards and two touchdowns.

Wiley, a senior, also has intercepted two passes and forced two fumbles. He ranks second nationally in NAIA in punt returns and third in kickoff returns.

Wiley is a Monroe, La., native and was a first team junior college All American at Arizona Western before transferring to USC.

C Spire Wireless, the only wireless provider in the U.S. that offers consumers and businesses a suite of personalized wireless services, is hosting its first live online forum, in partnership with the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, to officially announce the C Spire Wireless Conerly Trophy “watch list” and discuss with fans those on the watch list.

Rick Cleveland, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, will lead the discussion and answer fan questions about who may have the “inside track” to win the C Spire Conerly Trophy, given annually to Mississippi’s best college football player. 

The live discussion will take place on CIRCLE, C Spire’s online community forum, on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m.   Anyone can join the online forum by visiting www.cspire.com/circle and registering for the discussion. 

C Spire Conerly Trophy list updated

Mississippi football has produced several candidates worthy of consideration for the C Spire Wireless Conerly Trophy, which goes annually to the Magnolia State's most outstanding collegiate football player.

The C Spire Conerly Trophy will be presented at a banquet Nov. 27 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Each of the 10 football-playing senior colleges in Mississippi will select a finalist and voting will be done by a statewide panel of sports media. Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis won the C Spire Conerly in 2011.

 

What follows is a 2012 C Spire Conerly Trophy watch list, in alphabetical order:

• Mississippi College wide receiver Alex Archer: Added three catches for 38 yards on Senior Day in MC's 70-28 loss to Louisiana College. Now has 37 catches for 712 yards., ranking him second in the American Southwest Conference.

• Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks: The senior All America candidate was in on eight tackles against Texas A & M. He is a semifinalist for both the Jim Thorpe and Chuck Bednarik national awards.

• Southern Miss defensive end Jamie Collins: A bright spot in a dismal season, Collins had nine tackles (four for losses) and three sacks. He also forced two fumbles and broke up a pass in USM's loss to UAB. He leads USM with 73 tackles, 16 tackles for losses and nine sacks.

• Jackson State defensive end Joseph LeBeau: A senior from New Orleans, LeBeau had six tackles and one sack in victory Grambling. Now has 15.5 tackles for loss.

Orley Hood: Big Friday, huge Saturday

Big, big night for some big, big schools in the last games of the high school regular season. Think of it as moving day, like Saturday in major championship golf. A win tonight could mean two victories. A loss may equal two losses and a quick adios from the state tournament.

Example: Brandon plays at ever improving Hattiesburg tonight. A Bulldog victory and they get a home game in the first round next week against the No. 3 from the Coast. A loss and they come in fourth, which gets them a road game at the Coast No. 1.

So … Far more than a single game could be at stake tonight.

•••

Big, big start to the sporting calendar Saturday morning. Manchester United-Arsenal at 7:30 on ESPN2. A&M at State at 11 on ESPN. Ole Miss at Georgia at 2:30 on CBS.

The plan: Throw your steaks in the marinade at halftime of the Ole Miss game. Light the grill after the game. Prepare beverages. Gear up for Alabama at LSU at 7 on CBS. During commercials, switch to Oregon at USC on Fox.

And don’t forget the Tylenol and eye drops.

•••

And now for our post-post season awards:

Austin Davis, quarterback, Southern Miss. The Ex Post Facto Heisman Trophy. The Golden Eagles could hardly lose in 2011. In 2012, without Davis, they can’t win.

On the pro level, Peyton Manning. With him in 2010, the Colts were great. Without him in 2011, they were helpless. So, the Ex Post Facto MVP to Peyton.