Bryan Flynn

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

It's been 34 years since the last Triple Crown winner. On Saturday, 20 horses will begin a journey last won by Affirmed for horseracing's greatest prize.

Casey Therriault

Thursday night in primetime, the NFL Draft kicks off with the first round. Over the next three days, college stars will wait by the phone hoping it rings, making their dreams of becoming an NFL player come true.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Make sure the remote is working. This week holds the NFL Draft, NBA season end and playoffs start, plus MLB and NHL playoffs.

Hope and the Draft

Thursday night the NFL Draft begins the hopes for the 2012 NFL season. Teams drafting early are betting they will make the right choices to put them on the road to the playoffs.

LaSondra Barrett

LaSondra Barrett, born in Flowood in 1990, is one of the best women's basketball players from Mississippi.

Soccer's Deadly Secret

What the heck is going on in European soccer leagues?

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Have there been two bigger chokes in the Stanley Cup playoffs than the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks? Both favorites could be out before this is printed.

Team of the Day: Mississippi Brilla

Premier Development League soccer team Mississippi Brilla has introduced a group of local talent for the upcoming season. The Brilla have signed four standout local players from the metro area.

Tests and a Failure

Two things are on my mind worth writing about this week.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

It somehow seemed fitting that a guy named Bubba won a golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. Do those green jackets come sleeveless?

Rick Cleveland

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum lost the only executive director in its history when Michael Rubenstein passed away in early December. Since the museum opened July 4, 1996, Rubenstein was the guiding hand and public face of the hall. Finding another person as passionate about Mississippi's sports history was the top priority in naming a new executive director.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Major League Baseball starts this week, but the sports world has its collective eyes on Augusta, Ga. Tiger Woods and The Masters should draw big ratings.

Getting What They Deserve

On March 21, the NFL laid the smack-down on the New Orleans Saints. After months of speculation, Commissioner Roger Goodell finally handed down his ruling, and it wasn't pretty.

B-Ball, Saints and Long Seasons

It's time, once again, for thoughts from around the sports world.

Team of the Day: The Mississippi Braves

Spring is here and with it come the boys of summer. Baseball season has started for high school and college teams. Next week, Major League Baseball kicks off its 2012 season. That means it is time for the Mississippi Braves to begin their seventh season in Pearl.

Winner Take All

Four teams are left standing in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. All four have a chance to win it all and cut down the nets in New Orleans on the night of Monday, April 2.

[The Slate] The Best Of Sports In 7 Days

I am such a sports geek, I don't know what I am more jacked up about: NCAA Tournament Final Four or WrestleMania Sunday night.

Zach Bird

Murrah High School might not be known for its baseball program, but the Mustangs have a pitcher who is grabbing attention from media and scouts. Senior right-handed pitcher Zach Bird was named one of the top 20 players in Mississippi by ESPN. Perfectgame.org named Bird an Honorable Mention Underclassman High School All-American as a junior.

The Ultimate Obstacle Course

Most days, Ben Lott runs around the perimeter of his apartment complex and into nearby neighborhoods working on getting into shape. Ever since his friend Scott Livingston encouraged him to enter the Warrior Dash in mid-February, he has been training.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Peyton Manning has made up his mind; the only thing missing is a TV special called "Indecision." Now, Tim Tebow gets to go to a team that believes in him.

Pick Up the Phone

Most days, Ben Lott runs around the perimeter of his apartment complex and into nearby neighborhoods working on getting into shape. Ever since his friend Scott Livingston encouraged him to enter the Warrior Dash in mid-February, he has been training.

Maurice Bolden

Southern Miss has finally made the NCAA Tournament after missing it for the last 21 years. The Golden Eagles were placed in the East Region with the ninth seed.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

It's the best time of for basketball fans. Do you have the picks to win your office pool?

‘If You Let Me Play'

In 1995, Nike produced an iconic commercial. In it, young girls cited facts and figures about the benefits of girls playing sports.

Dancing Big

Two teams from Mississippi made it to the NCAA Tournament this year. There could have been two more, but Mississippi State under-preformed late, and Ole Miss dug too deep of a hole early to make the Big Dance.

Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis was named Parade Magazine Player of the Year in 2005, his senior year at Lanier High School. Named to nearly every all-star squad and given nearly every award possible, Ellis was one of Mississippi's most celebrated basketball stars ever.

Saints Dig a Hole

The offseason has not been great for the New Orleans Saints. In fact, it just keeps getting worse.

[The State] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Fire up your computer and start doing research. It is time to fill out your NCAA brackets and win your office pool.

Malik Newman

The Callaway High School boys' basketball team is going for their third championship in four years this Saturday. The team plays at 2:45 p.m. against Wayne County for the 5A Boys title.

Thoughts and More Thoughts

There is not just one topic on my mind this week. Instead, I have thoughts on a few things from around the sports world.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Not even February's extra day can hold back the Madness of March.

Team of the Day: Mississippi College Basketball Team

Mississippi College is a perfect 14 for 14 in American Southwest Conference Tournament appearances. MC has the most ASC Tournament bids in conference history.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

If the New York Knicks could sign Tim Tebow and pair him with Jeremy Lin, it would shut the country down, because the Internet would explode.

Rebuilding the Saints

The 2011-2012 season for the New Orleans Saints might be remembered as "the season that might have been." New Orleans would have won its first road playoff game and hosted the NFC Championship game, but the Saints were unable to hold a lead late against the San Francisco 49ers Jan. 14.

Where Will Manning Land?

Acquiring a quarterback in the NFL via free agency or trade brings the phrase "buyer beware" to mind.

Deville Smith

Deville Smith was born in Jackson in 1991 and grew up to become a star basketball player at Callaway High School. He averaged more than 20 points and added four rebounds with four assists per contest during his senior year.

[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days

Whitney Houston sang one of the best national anthem renditions, ever, at Super Bowl XXV. She is gone, but her anthem will live on forever.

Wii Be Movin'

I am hot, sweaty and getting tired. I am moving as best I can, but I keep getting popped in the face. Next to me, Lacey has a determined look in her eye. She is moving fluidly, but I am flailing about, just trying to keep my head above water.

Where's the SWAC?

The NFL has become so big that they can televise guys running 40-yard dashes with drills, and people watch. Feb. 22 to Feb. 28, that's exactly what will happen when NFL teams descend on Indianapolis once more for the NFL Combine.

Wendi Reed

Last season was historic for the Jackson State Lady Tigers softball team. Under first-year head coach Rick Fremin, the team won more than 20 games for the fourth time in program history. More importantly, the Lady Tigers won their first Southwestern Athletic Conference softball championship. JSU received a bid to the Alabama regional and faced the Crimson Tide in their opening game. The Lady Tigers lost two straight games, however, ending their season.

Stories by Bryan