Crooked Letter Sports

Recorded the morning after the game, with Rick in Scottsdale and Tyler in studio, the Clevelands dissect what happened to end the most eventful season in Ole Miss football history.  

It's only the biggest football game in Mississippi history: Miami vs. Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl. Miami is favored, but should it be? The Clevelands discuss that – and a lot more.  

The question on everyone's mind: Does Ole Miss have a shot against mighty Georgia. The answer: Of course they do, but the Rebels will have to play their best game and hope Georgia doesn't. The Cleveland boys also discuss the New Orleans and Duke's Mayo bowls and the resurgent New Orleans Saints.  

We talk Tulane-Ole Miss, the Blake Anderson hire at Southern Miss, Coach Larry Ladner's legacy in Mississippi basketball, and the New Orleans Saints and their new franchise quarterback.

It may or may not be the biggest sporting event in Mississippi history, but we know for certain Ole Miss is hosting Tulane and you can sell your car and rent a room in Oxford. The Clevelands also discuss USM coaching vacancy, the high school championships and a whole lot more.  

Egg Bowl reduxe, Kiffin leaving, Golding elevated, SWAC Championship, state high school football championships, Southern Miss review, SEC Championship, FBS playoffs. 

The stage is set for another classic Egg Bowl, but the stakes have been raised substantially for both Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Cleveland boys discuss scenarios for the game and the future of Ole Miss football should Lane Kiffin leave for Baton Rouge.  

The Clevelands discuss the Lane Kiffin situation, Southern Miss's crash to earth and how an underappreciated kid from the southwest Mississippi community of Oma has entered the national college football spotlight with a 300-yard rushing performance against Mississippi State.  

Rick calls in from New York to discuss all the latest in Mississippi football, including the sixth-ranked Rebels claiming their latest victim, the Golden Eagles' improbable run and Delta State's opponents simply chickening out. Also, the Cleveland boys run down the 2025 Mr. Football winners and the first round of tge high school playoffs  

Nobody knows more about today's college football landscape than Ross Dellenger and he has plenty to talk about these days, including the stunning in-season coaching changes happening all over the country.

There's so much going on in the sports world, including an epic World Series, a memorable Mississippi college football season, an incredible turn-around at Lanier High School and so much more. All that and the Clevelands, in a generational argument, disagreeing on Shohei vs. the Babe.  

That was the situation facing Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby Saturday at Florida. Lebby chose to run another play and Florida intercepted a pass to sew up a two-point victory. The Clevelands discuss the pros and cons of the strategy – and a whole lot more college football, high school football, the Saints and college golf.

We've got a huge week in Mississippi sports coming up. Ole Miss, State and Southern Miss all have huge conference football games and the three schools are hosting a huge college tournament at Fallen Oak on the coast this weekend and Monday.

The Clevelands discuss last weekend and the one coming up, including what appeared to be a routine quarterback sack by the Saints' Carl Granderson of the Giants' Jaxson Dart that was somehow called roughing the passer. The Saints, believe it or not, won anyway. Also, the conversation turns to what might have been the last Sanderson Farms Championship and the upcoming weekend in college football.  

Ole Miss and Southern Miss are off this weekend and Mississippi State is on the road, but the Sanderson Farms Championship, Mississippi's only PGA Tour tournament returns to the Country Club of Jackson. Today's discussion includes golf – both a Ryder Cup review and a Sanderson Farms preview – and a Mississippi college football season that keeps getting more interesting.

Our resident golf expert Randy Watkins breaks down the Ryder Cup. Our discussion also includes LSU-Ole Miss, Mississippi State-Tennessee and a whole lot more.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State move to 3-0 and Southern Miss picks up a pivotal win over Appalachian State, plus the Saints finding new ways to lose and one singular high school performance that tested the record books.  

An eventful week in Mississippi football is highlighted by Mississippi State's huge, exhilarating victory over No. 12 Arizona State.

The 2025 football season is underway, as both Ole Miss and Mississippi State moved to 1-0 with opening game wins. Tyler talks high school upsets and Rick breaks down the Bulldogs' win over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Plus, how many commercials is too many commercials?

Football starts this weekend, but it's not every day we have a world champion in Mississippi. That's what 17-year-old Rachel McAlpin of Brandon is after the world junior swimming championships in Romania last week. Of course, there's also a football discussion, including the big State-Southern Miss game in Hattiesburg and what T.C. Taylor has in mind for an encore at Jackson State.

 Lance Pogue has coached Mississippi high school football teams to 246 victories and 71 defeats, an incredible winning rate of 78 percent. He has won five state championships and one national championship. Now, he takes on another challenge at Brandon High School.  

Hard to believe the Mississippi football season opens later this month. Not so hard to believe is that the Clevelands have looked ahead at the schedule and picked the five most interesting high school and college football games on the schedule. A hint: You don't have to wait long for one some of the most intriguing games, both high school and college.  

We are in that period of the sports calendar when baseball is winding down and football talk is heating up. The Clevelands discuss Saints pre-season camp, the college football preseason rankings, the lowly Atlanta Braves, and much more.  

Rusty Hampton was the sports editor at the Clarion Ledger for 11 years and worked there for 25 years in two different stints. He talks about some of the highlights, including Mississippi State's amazing run to the 1996 Final Four. Also discussed: a salute to Ryne Sandberg, the SEC preseason football poll, and Konnor Griffin, the newly elevated top prospect in professional baseball.

Derrick Nix played much of his college football career, hindered by a life-threatening kidney problem that sapped his strength and ended his playing career prematurely. Dexter McCluster spent much of his career with coaches and talent evaluators telling him he was too small. Eventually, Nix became McCluster's coach at Ole Miss. Saturday night, they go into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame toget...