February 7, 2008

Even those of us who are card-carrying members of the No Fan of Eli Manning Club were awestruck at the fourth-quarter performance by the youngest member of the football hierarchy.

The touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress that sealed the deal for the Giants would never have happened without a game-changing play for the ages.

The scramble: Manning, under pressure, was funneled into the waiting arms of three New England Patriot defenders. Not known as a scrambler, Eli pulled himself free, drifted right and found a small opening.

The throw: With three more Patriots bearing down on him, Manning sacrificed his body to launch a pass toward Brandon Tyree, the team’s No. 4 wide receiver.

The catch: With New England’s Rodney Harrison attached to his back, Tyree grabbed the ball high, pinned it against his helmet, fell to the ground and never lost control of the ball. Some say the catch was better than the throw, but without the throw, there is no catch.

With Joe Montana there would be no Dwight Clark in the most famous (maybe until Sunday) postseason catch. Without Eli Manning, there would be no Brandon Tyree.

So kudos to Manning for facing an adverse situation on the biggest stage in sports and forever planting his legacy on the Super Bowl.

Big day for Southern Miss

At his announcement as the new Southern Miss football coach, Larry Fedora repeatedly called his new employer Southern Miss University. Added to the sudden departure of former coach Jeff Bower, it did not sit well with those who thought Bower never should have been let go in the first place.

Wednesday’s national signing day, though, could heal all hurt feelings.

Fedora signed arguably Southern Miss’ best class ever on Wednesday. The signings include one of the top-rated receivers in America, a pair of South Panola studs and a Yazoo City running back who may be the steal of signing day.

Fedora’s wide-open offense, pressure defense and the presence of recruiting guru Tony Hughes, a Golden Eagle assistant coach, must have swayed a lot of minds. And certainly opened the eyes of schools in the SEC.

Metro soccer really is best

Vicksburg High’s boys soccer on Saturday defeated a Pontotoc team that carried a 24-1 record into the matchup. Vicksburg was 9-13 at the time.

Playing against the state’s soccer giants practically every game hardened the Gators as they chased a Class 4A championship. They lost to Pearl, 2-0, in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Playing the likes of Madison Central, Ridgeland, Pearl, Clinton and Northwest Rankin readies a team much better than a great record earned by beating up cupcakes.

Soccer in and around Interstate 20 really is the best in the state, and the Gators are proving that this year.

*

Sean P. Murphy is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. E-mail him at

smurphy@vicksburgpost.com