Mississippi Today

Touching all bases: On Ferriss award, Furr, and brushes with Tom Watson

Published

2 years ago

May 25, 2023

Ole Miss slugger Kemp Alderman won the 2023 Boo Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi’s most outstanding college baseball player, as chosen by Major League scouts and college coaches. As is almost always the case in these post-season awards, there was an outcry that the wrong guy got the trophy.

Alderman won over fellow finalists Hunter Hines of Mississippi State, Tanner Hall of Southern Miss, Ty Hill of Jackson State and Slade Wilks of Southern Miss. Hall won the award in 2022.

First things first: Alderman is a worthy winner. All he did was hit .376 with a slugging percentage of .709 and on-base percentage of .440. He slammed 19 home runs and knocked in 61 runs. “One of the most productive seasons in Ole Miss baseball history,” is the way his coach, Mike Bianco, described it.

Nevertheless, social media and fan websites (and my email) were inundated with cries of favoritism or a rigged vote. Most of it came from Southern Miss fans who believed Hall, the Golden Eagles’ All American pitcher, should have won for a second consecutive season.

You may remember that Hall won last year, beating out, among others, Ole Miss’s heroic slugger Tim Elko, who eventually would lead the Rebels to the national championship. Naturally, Rebel fans believed Elko should have won.

As with Alderman, Hall’s numbers were off the charts. Pitcher of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference, Hall is 12-3 with a 2.23 earned run average. He has struck out 109 batters while walking only 30. In conference games, he was 9-1 with a 2.00 ERA. Understand, he was always pitching against the other team’s best guy.

If I had a vote, I would have voted for Hall, but that’s taking nothing away from Alderman, nor any of the other finalists who all had phenomenal seasons. Congrats to Kemp Alderman, who was eloquent and thoughtful in accepting the award. Congrats also to Hall for an All American season that is far from over.

This past Sunday, Jackson native Wilson Furr was leading the Korn Ferry Tour event in Kansas City when he went to the first tee to begin the fourth and final round. He looked around the quite sizable gallery and, much to his surprise, saw someone he recognized.

That someone was Tom Watson.

Wilson Furr interviewed at NCAA Tournament in 2017. Credit: UA Athletics

Yes, that Tom Watson: Kansas City native, winner of eight major tournaments, 39 PGA tournaments, eight European Tour tournaments and the world’s No. 1 golfer for four years consecutively.

Furr’s thoughts were just what you might suspect: “Tom Watson, one of greatest players in golf history, is out here watching me … ”

No pressure there.

So, Furr’s group gets to the sixth green, with Watson still watching, and Furr faces important chip shot, still holding a narrow lead. He addresses the ball and then it happens. In the gallery, someone’s phone rings.

Furr backs away and looks in the direction of the ringing phone. Yes, it was Tom Watson’s phone, and the World Golf Hall of Famer was fumbling with it, sheepishly trying to turn it off.

The rest of the gallery had a good laugh and Furr went on and made his par.

Furr shot a final round 71, which tied him for second place behind Grayson Murray, who shot a final round 68.

The second straight Top 10 finish moved Furr to No. 26 on the Korn Ferry points list, with the tour moving to Knoxville this week. The top 30 on the points list will gain full PGA Tour privileges for 2024. Furr has made quite a comeback since missing the cut in a Florida tournament last month because of controversial two-shot penalty.

I had my own personal episode with Tom Watson, long before he became famous and long before cell phones, for that matter.

This was 50 years ago in 1973 at the old Magnolia Classic in Hattiesburg. Several friends, including PGA officials, told me I had to get out on the course and watch this young golfer, recently graduated from Stanford, destined for greatness. Tom Watson.

So I looked at the pairings, did the math and figured he should be approaching the fifth hole. The fifth at the Hattiesburg Country Club was then — and is now — the hardest hole on the course. I headed that way and arrived at the fifth green just moments before I saw somebody’s shot land on the green, bounce once and then roll into the hole. That somebody turned out to be Watson.

So, the threesome reached the green and the two other golfers marked their golf balls, while Watson, a short, little guy (then with a mustache) looked all around the green for his.

“Hey, buddy,” I called out, “check the hole.”

Watson walked over, looked down, broke into a smile and picked up his ball. He waved the ball to the gallery, which was one. Me. On a hole where par is a good score and birdies are rare, he had made an eagle-2. I followed him the rest of the way, amazed at his compact, efficient swing. He went on to finish third in the tournament. It was his last trip to the Magnolia Classic. He would win the Western Open the next year and the British Open in 1975. He was off and running. The rest was magic.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

UMMC holds free cancer screenings

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @EricJShelton – 2025-04-30 12:00:00

by Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Resident physician Claire Babin, right, performs an oral cancer screening on Ella Holmes during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Physicians prepare for oral, head and neck cancer screenings during a free screening event at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, screens Diane Carter for oral cancer as medical students Mason Nodurft, left, and Eva Kiparizoska observe during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Educational giveaways advocating against smoking are available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Sharon Terry, senior tobacco treatment specialist, waits for patients during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Skylar Robinson, medical office assistant, left, and Kiandria Bruce, registered nurse, review materials at the patient sign-in table during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Head and neck cancer literature is available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Dr. Alex Brooks and registered nurse Angela Noble talk during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Nina Brown, clinical manager, helps Ned Bostic with paperwork during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin performs an oral cancer screening on Ned Bostic at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Ned Bostic receives a neck cancer screening during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, and medical student Hanna Watson examine Ned Bostic during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted a free oral, head, and neck cancer screening Wednesday at the Jackson Medical Mall as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The event featured quick, noninvasive screenings aimed at catching cancer early — when treatment is most effective. Onyx Care provided free HPV vaccinations, while the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education, and Research offered resources on smoking cessation and free services.

“These screenings take about 10 minutes and can save lives,” said Dr. Gina Jefferson, head and neck surgical oncologist at UMMC. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better chance we have of curing it.”

Tobacco and alcohol use remain major risk factors for these cancers. However, physicians say an increasing number of cases are linked to HPV, especially among younger adults with no history of smoking or drinking. Dentists are often the first to spot early signs, which can include persistent sores, lumps in the neck, or difficulty swallowing.

Oral, head and neck cancers are among the most common globally. When found early, survival rates can exceed 80 percent.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post UMMC holds free cancer screenings appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents factual information about a free cancer screening event without showing a clear ideological stance. It primarily focuses on the health benefits of early cancer detection and the availability of free resources, such as HPV vaccinations and smoking cessation support. The language used is neutral and the content is centered around public health education rather than promoting a political viewpoint. The inclusion of factual statistics, such as survival rates and risk factors, adds to its informative and objective tone. There are no signs of bias or advocacy for a particular political agenda, making this a centrist piece.

Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball?

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @rick_cleveland – 2025-04-30 10:46:00

by Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi State didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Chris Lemonis, who brought the national championship to Starkville not quite four years ago. Where do the Bulldogs go from here. Robbie Faulk who covers the Bulldogs more closely than anyone else joins the podcast to discuss the situation.

Stream all episodes here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball? appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Mississippi Today

Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-30 10:21:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi Today is looking to speak with current and former mobile sports betting users. We’d like to speak with people who spend considerable amounts of time and money betting on sports through online gambling sites.

We’re interested in hearing the experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction or problems, or friends and family members of people who have. We also would like to talk with people who believe legalizing mobile sports betting would benefit Mississippi and its residents.

We want to hear from you. Please take the survey below or contact Political Reporter Michael Goldberg by email at mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org

TAKE THE SURVEY:

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article from Mississippi Today appears to present a neutral stance, focusing on gathering input from various groups of mobile sports betting users, including those who may have experienced addiction issues. The content does not advocate for or against the legalization of mobile sports betting but instead seeks to gather diverse perspectives, including those of individuals who may support or oppose it. The language used is objective and does not suggest a particular ideological perspective, allowing for a balanced exploration of the issue at hand.