Jackson Free Press

File this under the finally, about time file.

Augusta National Golf Club announced today that the club will welcome its first two female members when the club opens for its new season in October. For years, the home of The Masters has resisted allowing women to join the private all-male golf club.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore have accepted to join the club and will be the first female members to don a green jacket in the club’s history. This move has been coming since 2002.

Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations wanted the club to add women members in 2002 and lead a small boycott of the 2003 Masters tournament. Former club chairman Hootie Johnson, chairman during Burk’s protest, dug his heels in once saying Augusta National might one day have a woman in a green jacket, "but not at the point of a bayonet."

The Masters lost television sponsorship for two years and the club paid CBS to broadcast the tournament commercial free for those two years. Johnson retired in 2006 and Billy Payne has been more open to allowing women than his predecessor.

"These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership," Payne said in a statement. "It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall. This is a significant and positive time in our club's history and, on behalf of our membership, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome them and all of our new members into the Augusta National family."

In the ESPN article linked above, it states from private sources that women have been considered for membership five years ago. It is about time, Augusta National added women members and hopefully these two women will not be the only female members added.

Video emerged this weekend from New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford (warning there is some bad language in the video) showing defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul throwing cornerback Prince Amukamara into an ice bath.

Hazing has long been a part of life of sports. The problem of hazing is not confided to just the NFL. From Greek life in college to high school and college sports, and even college bands have run into legal trouble from hazing.

Recently more coaches in the NFL have taken stand against hazing that included harmless pranks such as making rookies standup during meals and sing their alma mater fight song to taping rookies to the goal posts after practice.

The harmless pranks lead to over the line pranks like what Pierre-Paul did to Amukamara. Florida A&M is in broiled in a hazing scandal that left a student dead and has led to the band being barred from school activities.

New Your Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and the club needs to come down hard on Pierre-Paul and anyone else who took part in this prank. Weatherford should be punished as well for filming the incident (posting it on twitter, thinking it was funny) and not stopping it.

The NFL has already stated this is a club issue. No word from the NFL Players Association on the hazing incident is just sad.

Every chance the NFLPA gets, they want to fight with the NFL but the group will not take a stance when one member dumps another member into an ice bath.

That is just plain sad and makes the NFLPA even more of a joke.

The reason the Giants need to come down hard on the participants is because this video went viral. Colleges and universities about to begin classes and high schools already in session, there is a chance someone thinks pranks like this one is a good idea and copies it.

Even scarier is the idea that someone would take a prank/hazing further and someone gets seriously hurt or ends up dead. Kids watch pro athletes and think if they do something it is ok for them to copy their actions.

That is why the New York Giants need to come down hard on all the players involved in this incident. There is a saying “it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt”.

Why don’t we put our foot down so things don’t get to the point someone gets hurts?

This Tuesday (Aug 21) the Mississippi Braves announced that the big club will come to Trustmark Park. The Atlanta Braves will play an All-Star roster of the organization’s future stars on March 30, 2013 (Saturday) in an exhibition game.

The game is tentatively scheduled to start with a 2p.m. first pitch. Atlanta Braves will be playing their first game in the state of Mississippi ever.

Tickets for individual exhibition games will go on-sale after the first of the year (2013) but tickets for this event will first be made available for Braves season ticket holders at a discounted price.

Baseball fans will get a chance to see the Braves stars of the major league club and future stars that could become fixtures in Atlanta later in their career. The game is a rare opportunity to see the Atlanta Braves play without having to actually travel to Atlanta.

For more information or to purchase tickets call the M-Braves ticket office at 601-932-8788 or 888-BRAVES4.

Aaron Kromer will take over as New Orleans Saints head coach when Joe Vitt begins his six game suspension (begins Sept 3), starts at the beginning of the NFL season. Kromer is the offensive line and running game coach.

This is the fifth season the 45-year old coach has been with the Saints. General Manger Mickey Loomis and team owner Tom Benson tapped Kromer over offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Kromer interviewed for the St. Louis Rams job last season but the Rams hired Jeff Fisher instead. The offensive line coach has been talked about becoming the interim coach since the suspensions of Sean Payton and Vitt were announced in late March.

With Kromer taking over the job as head coach, Carmichael Jr. will be able to focus on the offense and working with Drew Brees. Spagnuolo was head coach in St. Louis but is in his first in New Orleans as Saints defensive coordinator and he can focus on installing his defense.

Vitt stated after practice today that Kromer will be next to him during the final two preseason games. New Orleans plays the Houston Texans at home on Saturday and finish the preseason at the Tennessee Titans next Thursday .

Thoughts:

I have no problems with Kromer taking over the head coaching job when the Vitt begins his suspension. He (Kromer) can lean on Carmicheal Jr. and Spagnuolo if he needs advice or talk through a situation.

Also, I like the Saints named one guy head coach and not head coach by committee. One person needs to be the guy to make the big decisions like going for two-point conversions or on-sides kick.

Instead of Kromer standing by Vitt over the final two preseason games, Kromer needs to take over and make the big decisions. He needs to get a feel for the game during game situations and not during the first game of the season against the Washington Redskins.

Kromer needs to be seen by the players as decisive and ready to make pregame and in-game decisions. I am not sure if that feeling will come across in the final two preseason games just standing next to Joe Vitt.

This might sound strange but Vitt needs to be in the coaches’ box at the top of the stadium or not even been at the stadium over the next two preseason games. Kromer needs to have the situation as close to opening day as the Saints can make it in the preseason.

The Saints only play one team with a winning record from last season (Green Bay Packers) in their first six games. New Orleans faces Washington Redskins (5-11), Carolina Panthers (6-10), Kansas City Chiefs (7-9), Green Bay (15-1), San Diego Chargers (8-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12) over the first six games.

There are thoughts by several NFL writers that Kansas City and San Diego will be improved and Carolina will make leaps in year …

Being right or ahead of the curve is one thing you want in this job. Sometimes though you wish you were wrong even though you are right.

Last week before the New Orleans Saints played the Jacksonville Jaguars at home, I mentioned the Saints had to do a better job against the run. Well, New Orleans did a terrible job against the Jaguars running game and in the process made Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert look like the second coming of Tom Brady.

New Orleans gave up 170 yards rushing for an average of 5.5 yards per rush. That makes it really easy for a quarterback to pass the ball when they are in second down or third down and short.

Gabbert got extra time to throw because the defense had to respect any run fake. Also, helping Jacksonville was the Saints defensive line did a piss poor job of getting off blockers to make plays.

The Jaguars offensive linemen were stuck like glue to the New Orleans defenders. I rarely saw a defensive lineman not get pushed back into the linebackers or beat a block to cause havoc before the running back got to the second level (linebackers/secondary).

New Orleans didn’t do a terrible job in the secondary only allowing 182 passing yards. Against Arizona Cardinals the Saints defense gave up 189 yards passing and against New England Patriots they gave up 188 yards passing.

In today’s NFL those are not bad passing numbers. I will be more than impressed if the Saints can keep up those passing stats on defense when the regular season starts.

The Saints have given up more rushing yards each game. They gave up 112 yards against the Cardinals, 126 yards against the Patriots and finally 170 yards against the Jaguars on the ground.

This Saturday the Saints play the Houston Texans. So far in this preseason the Texans have rushed for 179 yards against the Carolina Panthers and 119 yards against the San Francisco 49ers.

If teams can run they can set up the pass. New Orleans will have to figure out a better way to defend the rushing attack.

Some more to watch for:

Defensive Line

The Saints defensive line struggled against the offensive line of the Jaguars last time out. New Orleans had just one sack against the Jaguars and Gabbert was relativity clean all night.

Heading into this game the linebackers unit is really banged up and the defensive line will have to pick up the slack. New Orleans must get pressure from their defensive line and this unit must be very active in running stopping.

New Orleans offense Over the last few years the Saints offense has been one of the most high powered offenses in the NFL. But the New Orleans offense has struggled to get on track this preseason.

This Saturday is the final dress rehearsal before the regular season begins. It would be great to see …

Last week the JFP College Football preview broke down the hopes and dreams of the colleges and universities in Mississippi. An entertaining issue that you should check out if you haven't yet. Before college football starts on Thursday night, let's look at each conference with some predictions. Enjoy.

This week, Mississippians got in an up roar when several news outlets referred to our state as the "Landmass" between New Orleans, LA. and Mobile, AL. It has made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter with a post even of the JFP site.

Early today, I posted my predictions for the BCS conferences. Now I will look into my crystal ball and see if I can figure out the conferences on the outside looking in as far as the BCS is concerned. I'm adding BCS Buster potential in this post. Not every conference will have a potential BCS Buster. Since there are four FBS Independents I will just post what I think their win/loss record will be this year. Also, my biggest bold prediction of the year. Are you ready for it?

So, do you want winners? Do you want to know who is going to win? Do you just want reasons to tweet me or comment on this post about how wrong I am?

Tonight marks the ninth time that the defending Super Bowl champion has opened their season in prime time. Overall, defending [Super Bowl champions have won 12 straight openers][1]. The last time a defending Super Bowl champion lost their opening game was in 1999, when the Denver Broncos last to the Miami Dolphins 38-21. It must be pointed out that Broncos quarterback John Elway retired after winning the Super Bowl in the 1998 season.

After near postponement due to a hurricane the first week of college football in the state of Mississippi is in the books. Most of the games went true to form but there were a couple of surprises. Each week, JFP Sports is going to spend Thursdays with a look back and a look head for each Mississippi team. Also, we will give you predictions for week two college football games.

Early in the college football season each year the “BCS” teams normally schedule cupcakes from the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) and lesser FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) conferences. The idea being that teams open up, normally at home, with easy wins to start the season. If the trend from last week keeps up all season, those easy wins are not going to be so easy. Each of the “BCS” conferences struggled against lesser competition last week. Here is a quick look at each BCS conference last week.

Finally, the Saints can play football instead of talking about suspensions and bounties. Although, on Friday New Orleans got some good news when the players who were effected by "Bounty Gate" got their Suspensions lifted. That is not the end of the bounty situation but it does end it for week one. New Orleans opens the season at home against the Washington Redskins and their rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III. Facing a rookie quarterback is an advantage for the Saints in week one. Preseason games feature vanilla defenses and offenses so RG3 hasn't seen a complete NFL defense but more than likely the Saints didn't the Redskins full offense featuring Griffin in the preseason.

The story Friday was the Saints players suspended out "Bounty Gate" getting back on the field after appeals lift players suspensions. New Orleans had Will Smith on the field in the home opener against the Washington but Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III stole the show. Things started poorly for the Saints after they received the opening kickoff. New Orleans failed to gain a first down and was forced to punt after a three and out. Drew Brees opened the game 0 for 3 passing and the theme of the day was set with the Redskins defense harassing the New Orleans record-breaking quarterback all day.

Not a bad week for our college football teams. Overall, most of the state's college pulled off victories. The big winner last week was Mississippi State.

It was an exciting start to the NFL season last week. The first week of the season started with Dallas upsetting the New York Giants and ended the Raiders special teams handing a win to San Diego.

Things got very interesting quickly in college football last week. The near upsets from week one turned into upsets in week two. Several national championship contenders went down before we even reach the end of September. Biggest winner of week two has to be the Pac-12 (sans Colorado and Utah) from the pre-expansion teams. That means the Big Ten is the biggest looser this week and the conference laid an egg before their normal New Year's Day implosion.

I say all the time on the @jfpsports Twitter account that one of the biggest parts of sports is responding. If the other team scores can you respond with a score of your own or if your team scores can the defense respond with stop and so on. The New Orleans Saints got punched in the mouth (repeatedly) last week by the Washington Redskins. Washington dominated the New Orleans offensive and defensive line most of the game.

In the NFL if a team does something bad once it is an aberration, twice it is a trend and three times its a problem. Right now, New Orleans has a trend going on their offensive and defensive lines.

It’s Thursday, so you know what time it is for the JFP Sports blog. Every Thursday, we look back and look ahead at all the action for the college football programs in Mississippi. Each week we name our biggest winner of the week and there were several teams in the running. Mississippi State entered the AP & USA Today top 25 polls and Jackson State go win number one of the season.