Mississippi
Brenen’s dash brings healing to grieving Mississippi State fans
It’s hard to pretend to know how much of a cathartic relief Saturday’s win against Arizona State was for Mississippi State fans without actually being one of them.
Luckily, we have the internet and social media and Mississippi State fans weren’t shy about expressing their feelings.
Some started recording and let the emotions flow, like in this Facebook post from RTP Sports.
“I’m shaking man, shaking right now,” Randy The Plumber said. “I have waited so long to see Mississippi State be competitive. We have waited, and waited…What does (Jeff) Lebby have? Our coach died, man. And then some bad decisions got made. OK, it happened…oh my gosh, man…Mississippi State is back.”
Honestly, it feels wrong to try and quote the video here because the emotion doesn’t come through. Go watch the video and you’ll feel the emotion.
But there were some that put into words their feelings, like this person explaining why the field storming was an emotional release:
“We did not storm the field because we beat Arizona State, we stormed the field because 3 years ago our AD jumped ship and went to Auburn and then our beloved football coach died after leading us to a tremendous win in the egg bowl. We were forced to promote a coach not ready for the moment to hold on to our recruiting class. Everyone knows how that story ended. Then we hire an up and coming offensive coordinator and we win two games last year. This year our guys have been written off as the worst team and all they have done is continued to show up and fight each day. We stormed the field to tell our guys we have your back.”
Those two social media posts, as well as plenty of others, helped this writer understand the deeper meaning of the Bulldogs’ 24-20 win against Arizona State.
But, also, consider how the game played out.
Mississippi State built a 17-0 lead then saw the Sun Devils storm back (in all too familiar way) and take a 20-17 lead with less than two minutes to play and the Bulldogs without any timeouts.
Then there were a couple of 9-yard pass completions and one-yard scramble that left the Bulldogs facing a third-and-nine from their own 42-yard line.
What happened next, Brenen Thompson’s dash, was the perfect poetic ending to game that healed some very deep wounds. (Publisher’s Note: Brace yourselves, he just used “poetic” in a sentence.)
Perhaps if William Shakespeare was still around, he could turn the last three years of Mississippi State football into a beautiful sonnet. Instead, your stuck with yours truly.
Two seasons passed, and still the fans mourned,
Their Pirate’s loss still heavy to bear.
Their hearts would not rest till they stormed,
Like sailors reclaiming their rightful share.
The cowbells rang both loud and clear,
While the faithful never lost their hope.
But two seasons of sorrow were severe,
And their hearts still struggled to cope.
Then, a new AD and coach took the deck,
And the sails of hope spread wide in a breeze.
Yet a Devil rose with an intent to wreck,
Haunting the memory of a ‘Dawg on its knees.
But then, in a dash, Brenen flew by in a flash,
And the Sun Devils turned into ash.
This week on Behind the Lens: “Paraquat and Parkinson’s.” Wayne County, Mississippi is the largest emitter of paraquat in the world, an herbicide linked to the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease. Environmental reporter Delaney Nolan explains the safety concerns and what they could mean for affected communities.
Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music includes “Rumor” by Podington Bear (soundofpicture.com) and “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell.
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri, in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
Music Credits:
Theme music by Podington Bear
Additional music “Rumor” by Podington Bear from soundofpicture.com and “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchel
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Powerball jackpots are about to be much larger. Reporter explains.
USA TODAY’s Fernando Cervantes explains the historic agreement with the UK National Lottery.
Check your Powerball tickets. One sold in Mississippi is worth at least $2 million.
Across the U.S., at least 91 lottery tickets won $1 million in the Wednesday, April 29 drawing, according to the Powerball website.
That includes two tickets that won the jackpot. They were sold in Indiana and Kansas.
The estimated jackpot was $143.4 million ($65.2 million cash prize).
The winning numbers were 3, 19, 35, 51, 67 and Powerball 15. The multiplier was 2x.
Here’s what we know about where the winning ticket was bought, how many tickets are worth at least $1 million and how to file for lottery winnings in Mississippi.
Where was the $2 million Powerball ticket sold in Mississippi?
One ticket in Mississippi matched all five white balls and had the Power Play option. The odds of matching the five white balls is 1 in 11,688,053.52, according to the Powerball website.
The Mississippi Lottery Corporation said the multi-million-dollar-winning ticket was sold at Doc’s Quick Stop Exxon in Byhalia.
27 tickets win $2 million in latest drawing
Just because you didn’t get the Powerball doesn’t mean you didn’t win big.
Twenty-seven tickets matched the five white balls and had the Power Play option to win $2 million each. They were sold in:
- Arkansas: 1
- Illinois: 1
- Indiana: 5
- Kansas: 1
- Louisiana: 5
- Mississippi: 1
- New Jersey: 4
- Oregon: 3
- Pennsylvania : 2
- Rhode Island: 1
- South Carolina: 1
- Wisconsin: 2
How many Powerball tickets are worth $1 million?
Sixty-two tickets matched the five white balls to win $1 million each. They were sold in:
- Arkansas: 1
- Arizona: 1
- California: 1
- Georgia: 1
- Illinois: 3
- Indiana: 14
- Kansas: 5
- Kentucky: 1
- Louisiana: 6
- Michigan: 1
- Minnesota: 1
- Missouri: 1
- Nebraska: 2
- New Jersey: 14
- Oregon: 1
- Pennsylvania: 5
- Wisconsin: 4
Some are calling Wednesday’s Powerball drawing the luckiest ever.
A news release announcing where jackpot-winning tickets were sold is usually posted to the Powerball website the morning after a drawing. However, a news release related to the Wednesday drawing winners had not been posted as of 1 p.m. Thursday, April 30.
Can you claim a lottery jackpot anonymously in Mississippi? How?
Yes, Mississippi lets lottery winners claim a jackpot of any size anonymously.
Mississippi Lottery won’t disclose your identity without written permission.
I won the lottery in Mississippi! How do I get my money?
The Mississippi Lottery advises people to sign the back of their winning ticket immediately.
If your prize is less than $600, you can claim that at any place that sells Mississippi Lottery tickets.
If you win $600-$99,999, you can claim by mail or by going to the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters in Flowood.
All prizes more than $100,000 must be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters.
What are the rules to claim a Powerball prize?
Powerball prizes must be claimed within one year from the date of the drawing.
Powerball jackpot winners may choose to receive their prize as an annuity, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump-sum payment. Both advertised prize options are prior to federal and jurisdictional taxes, according to the Powerball website.
A Mississippi man is charged with killing his mother after authorities allegedly found him trying to flush pieces of her flesh down a toilet in what a local sheriff called one of “the most heinous crimes that I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life.”
Zachary Lavel Jackson Jr., 29, faces charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, mayhem and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of his mother, Lana Brown Bradley, 62, a retired teacher.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office said deputies initially responded April 4 to Bradley’s home in Natchez, after her relatives reported her missing.
Jackson was initially identified as a family member of Bradley before investigators confirmed he was her son.
“This is by far the most heinous crime that I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. We weren’t out there that day; this was one of those things when we walked up. This was one of those cases that you will never, ever forget in your life. This is the type of case that follows you home,” Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten told WJTV.
Deputies were called to Bradley’s home after her oldest son could not reach her the previous day. Two of Bradley’s other sons lived with her.
“As soon as they walked in the house, they could just see where somebody had been cleaning up, and they could smell chemicals all throughout the house. Floor was extremely slippery. And the older son said that this is just unusual for the youngest son to be cleaning up the house like that,” Patten explained.
Jackson, the youngest son, was found in a bathroom where deputies allegedly saw a black substance in the toilet.
“I can say what was in the toilet, and it was her flesh. He chopped her up in pieces and dismembered her in a way that whoever came looking for her would have to do their due diligence to find her, and that’s just what we did,” the sheriff said.
Authorities stated that Jackson had allegedly placed his mother’s body parts in a suitcase and flushed the rest down the toilet after dismembering her.
Bradley had threatened to evict her son from the home, according to the sheriff, who cited interviews with family members stating that Jackson was mentally unstable.
However, Patten noted that Jackson was “very calculating” when he allegedly committed the crime.
“He had threatened her the day before because she was looking to have him evicted from the home. She was in the process of doing so and had just gone to court the day before to have him removed from the home,” Patten explained.
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