HottyToddy.com's Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

HottyToddy.com provides readers a roundup of the commentary and information about the Ole Miss Rebels from various publications around the Web.
Readers can check out the latest information in a single post each day throughout the year. Here at HottyToddy.com, we are doing all the leg work to find the information that people want about Ole Miss sports.
Today’s stories come from Ole Miss Sports

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Rebel Softball Opens Practice Tuesday

Ole Miss Softball hit the field Tuesday afternoon for the official start of practice, the first of many leading up to the 2017 campaign.
The Rebels, led by a class of four seniors and 11 returning starters, will take part in a number of practice sessions over the next few weeks, and also compete in intrasquad games as the season opener draws closer.
Ole Miss returns 14 players from last year’s squad that finished No. 24 in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, and welcomes 10 newcomers to the 24-person roster.
The Rebels’ challenging 56-game slate opens Feb. 10-12 at the Easton invitational in Fullerton, California. After 15-straight on the road to open the season in tournament play, Ole Miss will host 14 in-a-row in Oxford, with the home opener slated for March 1.
For the full schedule and details, click here. A reminder that all Ole Miss Softball home games are free admission.
For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally, fans can get a behind-the-scenes look at Ole Miss Softball on Snapchat under the handle, @OleMissSoftball.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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A Hidden Honor: Thank You to Rebel Nation

By Alison Wiesz, senior
During the first year of college almost every freshman wonders if they chose the right school, if they will be challenged as an individual or if their sport is allowing them to compete at the level they hoped it would. I won’t lie to you, I had a bit of that.
I had success before arriving at Ole Miss and I believe this caused me to question if I had gone to a different school, would it have made a difference in my shooting. But what it really came down to was maybe it would have, maybe it wouldn’t have. There is no way to really know, but I loved Ole Miss too much to let that thought last.
As I enter my final semester of shooting for my university, it has become more and more apparent to me that I could not have made it to this point alone. There are countless individuals who have helped shape not only the shooter, but the person I am today. As I sit here reflecting on the past three and a half years as a Rebel, it is clear that I have not taken the time to thank them like I want to.
Beginning with my roots, it is my parents who made my lifelong dream a reality. Thank you, mom and dad, for letting me go to a place I love 28 hours from home. I grew up 15 minutes from Montana State and I am mindful of how much easier attending that school would have been on my family; instead they allowed me to leave to chase a dream. Thank you, mom and dad for being so understanding with the decision that I made and loving me all the same.
To my baby sisters, Bailey (13) and Hannah (11), thank you for always being there, supporting me, loving what I do, and loving Ole Miss as much as I do. Thank you for maintaining a relationship regardless of the age difference and places we are in our lives. Knowing that they both look up to me keeps me constantly in check, and I am lucky to have them in my life. Thank you, Bailey and Hannah.
When it comes to my shooting, I could never pinpoint one specific person, but when I reflect back on how I am able to be in the position that I am in today, I think about my first step into a range and first shot taken. The man behind this is Chris Winstead. When you’re an eight-year-old kid it is rare that someone is so confident in your ability to not only perform at something, but to do it at the highest level. Chris did this for me. He nicknamed me “little Annie Oakley” and from then on we built a lifelong relationship around shooting. To date, I reach out to him after every match and no words will ever accurately express the amount of gratitude I have for him. Thank you, Chris.
As my collegiate career at Ole Miss began to develop it was Josie Nicholson, sports psychologist, and Drew Clinton, our academic counselor, who served as primary aids. Both of these individuals not only helped to enhance my shooting, but improved me as a person. I believe that I have always had high expectations surrounding me which caused me to only see my worth through shooting and what I could accomplish on the range. I am incredibly thankful for the guidance from both Josie and Drew who forced me to see that my value to this world is so much more than that. If I had a bad day at the range, it doesn’t mean I am a bad person or a crappy shooter; it is just a bad day. Thank you, Josie and Drew.
Rifle is such a mental sport. A lot of it comes down to your attitude and your mentality during the shot. While my mentality was strengthened from both Josie and Drew, it is also strengthened from the advantages the rifle community offers.
In rifle you can get coaching from anywhere, it may not necessarily be your coaching on the line. Whereas in a sport like football, a defensive coordinator is not necessarily going to go to a defensive player on another team and give them pointers, in rifle it does that a lot more. To this day I am thankful for the rifle community’s impact on my career. This approach allowed me to feel comfort and set my mind at ease. The community also brought along great friends. Mindy Miles, who shoots at Texas Christian University, became one of my closest friends when we shot in a summer marksmanship program together. Since, I have bought a gun from her and have had great success with it. I am eternally grateful that the rifle circle allows and welcomes this type of relationship.
Another big influence to this mindset is my new head coach Marsha Beasley. Unfortunately, I only had the pleasure of being her student-athlete for my senior year, but the depth of our relationship could not be measured by time. Marsha brought something I had never witnessed before: a strong desire to better the program and a work ethic that will allow her to do it. I know her love for the sport hit home to all involved and when I saw such a big heart wanting to do so much for my team, it made me feel valued. Thank you, Marsha.
In some ways—even more than my own graduation—the end to this time in my life represents a new beginning to the rifle program. It is an incredible honor to be a part of a program that is being built. Some people may view it as they don’t want to go to a specific school because they are not the top dog in the conference, but to be a part of a program that in the future everyone will want to go to is incredibly humbling. I will know that I was a part of that building process, because you need those people. This program is my hidden honor.
Thank you Rebel Nation for the tremendous support given to my team. We have fans that we see at almost every home match and that means more to me than you will ever know. You all have expected nothing but the best from not only my team, but me as the lone senior with a decorated background. The pressure from the Rebel fan base has pushed each and every athlete in a positive way.
While I embark on my final semester of shooting and beginning the journey of a master’s degree, I want to be remembered as someone who cared about the team and cared about the program enough to not only want to see herself succeed, but everyone else succeed too. I am not ready to be done; I don’t want to be. Even though I have contributed success, there is still a lot I want to do for this program. Rebel Nation is the reason behind this.
Thank you,
Alison Weisz
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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NFL Playoffs Rebel Updates

Here at OleMissSports.com, we are proud to update Rebel fans on the exploits of our former players who lace up their cleats on Sundays in the NFL. Ole Miss had a big presence in the league again this year. There were 23 former Rebels on NFL rosters for the 2016 season, including two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, recent Super Bowl participants Brandon Bolden and Michael Oher, and 2016 first-round draft picks Robert Nkemdiche, Laquon Treadwell and Laremy Tunsil.
The National Football League postseason began this week as teams started their quest to Super Bowl LI, and there were sever former Ole Miss players on rosters of teams who advanced to the playoffs.
Below is a breakdown of each playoff participant’s contributions and details of their team’s outcome during the first week of the postseason.
#38 BRANDON BOLDEN | RB | New England Patriots
Is currently active for the Patriots (14-2) vs. Texans (9-7), AFC Divisional Round, Jan. 14, 7:15 p.m. CT, CBS.
#27 SENQUEZ GOLSON | CB | Pittsburgh Steelers
Was on injured reserve for the Steelers’ 30-12 victory over the Dolphins on Jan. 8. Steelers will face the Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 12:05 p.m. CT on NBC.
#77 JOHN JERRY | OG | New York Giants
Started at right guard with a fumble recovery in the Giants’ loss to Green Bay 38-13. Will not advance into the divisional round.
#10 ELI MANNING | QB | New York Giants
Started at QB for New York, going 23 of 44 for 299 yards in a loss to Green Bay 38-13. Will not advance into the divisional round.
# GERALD RIVERS | LB | Houston Texans
Was on injured reserve for the Texans’ 27-14 victory over the Raiders on Jan. 7. Texans will move into the divisional round to face the Patriots on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7:15 p.m. CT on CBS.
#78 BRADLEY SOWELL | OT | Seattle Seahawks
Contributed to the Seahawks victory over Detroit 26-6. Will move into the divisional round to face Atlanta on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3:35 p.m. CT on FOX.
#67 LAREMY TUNSIL | G | Miami Dolphins
Started at left guard in the Dolphins’ loss to Pittsburgh 30-12. Will not advance into the divisional round of the playoffs.
Follow Ole Miss Football on Twitter (@OleMissFB), Facebook and Instagram. For more information, visit www.OleMissSports.com.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports