 Yazoo native Fletcher Cox could be drafted in the first ten picks.By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor
It’s been six months since Fletcher Cox declared himself eligible for the annual NFL Draft. In that time frame, Cox has been thought of as a late first round selection or early second. Today, though, he’s considered to be one of the first ten names read by NFL Commissioner Roger Godell.
The NFL Draft is scheduled to kick off Thursday, April 26 at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN and NFL Network.
Cox, a former defensive lineman at Yazoo City High School and Mississippi State, will be attending the draft ceremonies in New York City next week, a sign that Cox is expected to be drafted early.
Currently, Cox is listed as the top defensive tackle prospect by NFL Draft guru Mike Mayock. Sports Illustrated’s most recent mock draft has Cox going to the Jacksonville Jaguars with seventh overall selection.
Gil Brandt ranks Cox as the No. 20 prospect, saying that “I probably should rate him higher (and might do so when I file my final Hot 100 during draft week). He's a good inside player and goes hard every down. He'll be a very steady NFL player.”
Other teams mentioned as a possible landing spot for Cox are the Carolina Panthers (9th pick) and Philadelphia Eagles (15th pick).
Cox, a 2011 All-American and All-SEC player, recorded 14.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks for the Bulldogs.
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 The Lady Panthers made contact Monday evening but couldn’t get many runners on base in an 11-2 loss to Germantown.By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor
It rained throughout the day on Monday, but at one point in the afternoon, a break in the storm began to pass over Yazoo County.
That break provided enough time for at least one game as the Yazoo County softball team looked to grab the second place spot in the district standings instead of their opponent, Germantown.
Despite their best efforts, and without freshman Catrina Hall, the Lady Panthers fell to Germantown 11-2.
With the win, Germantown grabs the No. 2 seed headed into the playoffs while Yazoo County will be the No. 3 seed. Cleveland finished district play with an undefeated record and the district championship.
The Lady Panthers will now set their sights on their upcoming playoff opponent, North Pontotoc. The Lady Vikings enter the post season with a record of 20-6 overall and a team batting average just shy of .400.
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By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor
The Panthers of Yazoo County needed just two wins on Saturday to lock up second place in their district and, more importantly, a spot in the playoffs. For seniors, such as Brent Pigg and Trebor Gainwell who have been in the program since the seventh grade, making the playoffs would be a new experience.
With a 12-7 and 8-1 victories against Indianola Gentry Saturday, the Panthers locked up their spot in the post season.
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 Benton is just one of many teams to use the bunt more often this season after rule changes to what bats could be used. The Raiders have used small ball strategy to earn a spot in the playoffs.By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor
All baseball season long, rain and wet fields have plagued teams, causing postponements and cancellation of games. So it was only fitting that the first round of the MAIS playoffs be postponed a couple of days because of heavy rainfall.
Benton Academy’s opening series with Winona Christian School that was supposed to begin Tuesday night has been moved to Thursday at 4 p.m. Games two and three (if necessary) will be played Saturday at Winona Christian.
Manchester Academy’s first game against Kirk Academy had not been postponed as of deadline.
When the rain does go away and the fields clear up, neither the Raiders nor Mavericks will have an easy task in front of them.
Benton will face the District 3-A champion, Winona Christian (16-2) in the first round. The Stars won their third consecutive district title, but fell to Kirk Academy in the final week of the regular season.
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 The Mitchell ReportI’ve heard that the NFL is a copycat league several times. One team sees something that works and every other team begins to do the same thing.
But that’s not true for just the NFL, but rather the entire sporting world. Heck, even sports writers tend to copy one another. When something works, or when something appears to work (remember the resurgence of the wildcat that didn’t work), everybody else wants to do the same thing to obtain that success and, most importantly, the money.
That’s what the NCAA did when it added the “play-in” game to the men’s national basketball tournament. Then they added three more “play-in” games.
Apparently, the MHSAA thought that was a good idea. So good in fact, they took the first round of the baseball and softball playoffs and made those play-in rounds.
Play-in to what?
Are these teams playing this weekend in the playoffs or not? If so, then I’m not sure what they’re playing in too. If not, then the MHSAA pulled off a quick one by eliminating a round of the playoffs.
Is it for intrigue? No, because the first round (good luck getting me to call it a play-in round) is still a three-game series. Maybe it’d be more intriguing if it was just a single game played, but that’s a stupid idea that would require a column by itself. Well, if it’s not to add excitement then it must be about the money. Wrong again. Nobody will make extra money because it’s not like there has been an extra round added to the playoffs. You’ll still get the same amount of people coming to games as there were a year ago (unless the weather keeps staying wet).
So, why call the real first round of the playoffs the “play-in round”?
To me, a simple sports writer in Yazoo City, the answer to that question is that somebody saw the term “play-in”, thought it would add some extra drama/intrigue to the playoffs and next thing you know we have the play-in round.
It’s stupid.
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