Mississippi
What Tony Vitello, Tennessee Players Said About Brouhaha With Mississippi State | Rocky Top Insider
“Yeah, well, I think the umpires handled it well, and then I don’t know if it’s been announced in the other room, but the conference asked us to not shake hands at the end so there wasn’t any — the players — Blake even said it. All the players — I mean, Jordan was joking with our dugout, in particular with me, right before he stabbed us in the heart with that RBI. But, again, Blake mentioned all the players that were involved in the game were all cordial and kind of how it’s been in the conference. I mean, these guys have a ton of respect for one another.
But from my vantage point, which it’s my vantage point, you know, we thought we were out of the inning a couple times. So I haven’t seen the video where you actually have better perspective, but from our dugout, we thought we were out of the inning a couple times, and that’s our guy. I mean, I owe a lot, I owe money to Drew Bean. I don’t know what the ruling is. Not that I’m going to go hand him any money, but that’s our guy, and so I was boiling out there, to be honest with you. I tried to not show it. I didn’t say anything to the umpire or anything like that. But with my dad, I’m not used to a bunch of guys hollering out my name and not reacting.
So I’m Italian. Maybe I brought it on myself, but I didn’t say anything to anybody. Just not used to that. I mean, if our players are yelling out Dave to the Coach Van Horn in any form or fashion, we got a problem. So that’s just me. And, again, maybe I bring it on myself. So I reacted and then they reacted, and then after that, to me, the umpires did whatever they needed to do to handle it.
But if anything, those guys — first of all, I’m not in the fight. Anyone that wants to try and dig up video, I don’t think there is any, but I wasn’t a good player at all, so I ain’t in the game. The players — again, these freak athletes are the ones that are going to decide and maybe I make a stupid decision and mess it up, but our players are going to decide who wins and loses from here on out.
And the other thing is, if anything, I should have been — maybe they were yelling my name to thank me because with that emotional swing Drew had, we should have had somebody ready earlier and should have taken him out of the game.”
Drew Beam
On his perspective of things getting tense
“We did our best to keep pulling behind our guys, not make it about the other team. Just kind of have each other’s back and pull our weight and not worry about the other guys.”
Blake Burke
On his perspective of things getting tense
“Kind of the same thing. We kind of got off track for a second, worried about them. We just wanted to get Aaron Combs’ back and that’s what we did after that, and we played our game and ended up winning the game.”
Mississippi State HC Chris Lemonis
On the emotions of the fifth inning
“Like Connor said, just talking back and forth and probably got out of control. So I was actually underneath. I came out late. So I didn’t even see the initial stuff happen.”
Mississippi State CF Connor Hujsak
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
Mississippi
D1Baseball rankings: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss surge after big weekends – SuperTalk Mississippi
Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss have surged in the rankings after a big weekend on the diamond.
The Bulldogs (30-10, 10-8 SEC) jumped two spots to No. 15 in the latest poll from D1Baseball following a strong bounce back. Brian O’ Connor’s club, after having been on the wrong side of SEC sweeps in back-to-back series, earned a 10-rule win over Samford on Tuesday, then took care of business with a sweep at South Carolina.
Next up for Mississippi State is a midweek home matchup versus Memphis on Tuesday before LSU heads to Dudy Noble Field for Super Bulldog Weekend.
The Rebels (29-12, 10-8 SEC) took the biggest leap in the rankings, making an eight-spot jump to No. 17 despite not budging in the top 25 a week ago after sweeping LSU. Once Mike Bianco’s club took the first two games at Tennessee in the most recent series, D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers made note that Ole Miss fans could expect to see their team catapult in his outlet’s poll. Come Monday, though the red and blue lost the series finale, D1Baseball stuck to its word.
“What a weekend so far for [Ole Miss baseball]. Cade Townsend carried a no hitter into the sixth in an 8-1 win over Tennessee to take the series,” Rogers wrote on X. “Rebs are on a heater. Safe to say they’ll be much higher than 25 on Monday.”
Next up for the red-hot Rebels is a home midweek outing versus Murray State, the team that knocked the Rebels out of the postseason last year, before No. 5 Georgia travels to Swayze Field for Double Decker weekend.
The Golden Eagles (28-12, 11-7 Sun Belt) made a four-spot jump to No. 18 after securing a much needed conference sweep to keep hopes of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional alive. Christian Ostrander’s club defended home turf over the weekend, taking all three games from a solid Texas State club.
Next up for the black and gold is a Tuesday midweek battle versus former conference foe Tulane, before making an hour and a half drive to South Alabama for the weekend.
The full top 25 can be found below:
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Georgia Tech
- Texas
- Georgia
- Oregon State
- Texas A&M
- Florida State
- Coastal Carolina
- Virginia
- Auburn
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi State
- Kansas
- Ole Miss
- Southern Miss
- Oregon
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Boston College
- USC
- Arkansas
- Arizona State
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