Sports
Ethan Lee is a Suburban Texas Storyteller bringing over 8 years of digital media experience, including work in local journalism as well as time spent covering college and professional sports. As a writer and editor, he specializes in college football, college baseball, and college softball, while also having valuable experience covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and his hometown Houston teams.
Ethan has earned degrees from both Mississippi State University and Arkansas State University and is passionate about spotlighting underdog teams and unearthing compelling storylines. He’s worked in multiple fields, including literal ones full of cacti and ants, and Ethan has previously spent two years working in local news and covering the Nebraska Cornhuskers at KETV NewsWatch 7, Omaha’s News Leader.
Since 2018, Ethan has been a valuable member of the FanSided team, contributing to FanSided’s national coverage as well as to sites like Maroon and White Nation and KC Kingdom.
When he’s not writing, you’ll often find Ethan spending time with his family, kayaking, road tripping, or exploring the outdoors. His heart is in serving those around him and Ethan loves helping foster a sense of community with his work. Ethan provides enthusiastic coverage of under-appreciated and overlooked teams so all fans, no matter their allegiance, can feel connected.
Sports
The College World Series Finals begin on Monday night and there will be a Clemson flavor as Michigan and Vanderbilt play for the national title, thanks to former coach Jack Leggett. At the beginning of the 2002 college baseball season, it's unlikely Jack Leggett knew exactly what kind of legacy he'd leave on the landscape of college baseball once he retired.
This weekend, my mother-in-law is making her first trip to Starkville, Mississippi's college town. She, like many others, will be traveling down from Memphis to watch Mike Leach and the Mississippi State football team host the Memphis Tigers. That's great! She's never been to Starkville and it's a truly wonderful, small town.
Justin Grantham didn't anticipate getting a ton of attention online when he made the choice to attend the Tucson Super Regional. "I honestly had no clue that it would get this kind of attention," Grantham explained.
Mike Leach and his Mississippi State Bulldogs are getting set to get the 2022 Mississippi State football season underway. The Bulldogs will be facing off against the Memphis Tigers Saturday evening. For those who don't remember (or are trying desperately to forget) Memphis was able to come out on top of last season's meeting between the Bulldogs and the Tigers.
Tanner Allen has accomplished quite a bit throughout the entirety of his career up to this point. He's helped guide the Bulldogs to three College World Series appearances and was named the SEC Player of the Year this season. The Theodore, Alabama native is proving himself to be one of the best players in Mississippi State's lengthy and proud baseball history.
Following the Big Ten's decision to postpone all fall sports, leaders at the University of Nebraska spoke out.Scott Frost, head coach of the Huskers; Ronnie Green, chancellor of University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Ted Carter, University of Nebraska president; and Bill Moos, Nebraska's athletic director, expressed their disappointment in the decision made
Mississippi State baseball. Photo: Austin Perryman/Mississippi State Athletics It appears as if the Campbell Fighting Camels ended up enjoying their trip to Starkville, even if they weren't able to come out on top of the 2021 Starkville Regional. Monday, the Mississippi State Bulldogs eliminated Campbell from the 2021 NCAA Baseball Tournament, but it seems as...
Texas A&M wrapped up its coaching search by getting Jim Schlossnagle to leave TCU and Forth Worth for the Aggies and College Station. The TCU Horned Frogs were recently bounced from the 2021 NCAA Baseball Tournament and are now in need of a new head coach.
Michigan football fans may want to fire him but Jim Harbaugh buyout information and salary details may keep him in Ann Arbor for another year. The Michigan Wolverines certainly shouldn't be happy with how their season has started, and there's no way that Michigan football fans are happy with the way things are going through the first few weeks of the season.
As the Tennessee Volunteers arrive back home from Omaha, their athletic department is reportedly working to make sure Tony Vitello stays in Knoxville. Despite only going 0-2 in the 2021 College World Series, the Tennessee Volunteers are wrapping up an incredibly successful season.
Montana Fouts' perfect game helped carry the Alabama Crimson Tide past UCLA Bruins in the Women's College World Series. It's been more than two decades since anyone has thrown a perfect game in the Women's College World Series, but that's exactly what happened as Montana Fouts kept the UCLA Bruins quiet Friday evening.
A Mississippi State University professor's new teaching set up has gotten quite a bit of attention on Twitter. Jim Giesen aka James C. Giesen aka @BollWeevils has taken to teaching in The Hump (aka Humphrey Coliseum) due to the pandemic. The Hump is a pretty solid spot to teach if you need to spread your students out for larger classes.
gets okay. Questions for Coach Frost Jeremy First questions. First question. Sean Callahan. Hey, Coach, we wait like I thought I thought we did a lot of good things. Um, and, you know, unfortunately, some of the things that led to the game getting out of hand were self inflicted things that we can fix.
There have been plenty of great, legendary athletes whose performances will live on in the hearts of overly passionate college football fans for a very, very long time. Many of these athletes have gotten the praise they deserved, while many accomplished quite a bit and haven't received enough recognition for what they were able to do for their team.
It looks like the Texas Longhorns could be losing Jake Smith as the wide receiver has reportedly entered into the transfer portal. As Steve Sarkisian works to get the Texas Longhorns football program going in the right direction once again, there's a good chance he'll have to do it without a talented receiver.
Scott. Um, where do you start after that one? Obviously, you got up to a bad start with the turnover on the first play. But But where's your mind? Go after a result like that? Well, we started the game off about the way we played the whole game.
Welcome to Omaha, college baseball fans! For those visiting for the 2019 College World Series, you're clearly here with the intent to spend the majority of your time here in TD Ameritrade Park to witness the culmination of the 2019 NCAA baseball tournament. And you know, that's totally fine.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers played in Memorial Stadium for the first time this season on Saturday.Saturday's game against Penn State wasn't supposed to be Nebraska's home opener, but it became that when Nebraska's game against Wisconsin was cancelled earlier in the season due to COVID-19.
The Omaha Storm Chasers have embraced a strong response to an April Fools' Day prank. An exciting night at Werner Park has been planned, as the Storm Chasers have announced "Omaha Potholes Night" for Wednesday, April 24.The Storm Chasers will auction off baseball-related items during the game to raise money through Chasers Charities to help restore little league fields damaged by floods in the Omaha Metro community.
Creighton's season ended against Michigan in the Corvallis Regional, but that doesn't mean that Ed Servais has stopped paying attention to the 2019 NCAA baseball tournament. The head coach of the Bluejays believes that the Mississippi State Bulldogs are on a mission and might just be the team to beat in 2019.
With the College World Series set to start, NCAA baseball fans from all over the country will be headed to Omaha, Nebraska, to watch the country's eight best teams play each other with the goal of winning a championship. While it's often overlooked, Omaha is a city that deserves more credit for everything it has to offer.
The College World Series experience in Omaha will be getting even bigger. According to a report by D1 Baseball's Kendall Rogers, Major League Baseball is moving the 2020 MLB Draft from its traditional home of New Jersey to the home of the College World Series, Omaha, Nebraska.
All things considered, Mississippi State football has a meager amount of success when compared to other programs in the Southeastern Conference. But, that relative lack of success doesn't mean that there haven't been bright spots for the program, and there's certainly plenty of stars who have come out of Starkville, Mississippi.
The man who led an improbable run to Omaha and the College World Series will now have the chance to be a head coach once again. Gary Henderson , who was most recently serving as an Associate Head Coach for the Utah baseball team, has been promoted and will now be the head coach in Salt Lake City.
The LSU Tigers have been the story of the 2019 college football season and Joe Burrow has been the focal point of LSU's thrilling year. Without Burrow's exciting, explosive, and efficient play, the Tigers aren't contending for a national championship. Given just how good Burrow has been, he's almost certainly set to win this season's Heisman Trophy.
Buying parking permits is a great way to spend a morning, right? It's a fun, enjoyable pastime that all Americans enjoy. Sitting around, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. So much fun? Right? Wait. That's not fun. My bad. I'm sorry. I was mistaken. Buying parking permits is a pain in the butt.
While plenty of people are paying attention to the remarkable turnarounds Minnesota and Baylor are experiencing, but there's a college football program out west who might be a bigger success story this season. The Oregon State Beavers are one of the most impressive examples of a rebuild in college football.
College football is a great sport that provides entertainment for millions, potential paths to education and careers for student-athletes, and the framework for community development across the country. College football is a sport that is rich in history and tradition. And, well, college football is also historically a sport that attracts and sometimes creates controversy and scandals.
College baseball is almost back! We are officially just a few weeks away from the first pitch of the upcoming 2019 college baseball season. That means that it's time for publications such as D1baseball to start rankings teams prior to the season beginning. Luckily enough for us, that's exactly what D1Baseball did.
Full of strife, hate, bitterness, and anger, the Battle for the Golden Egg (generally known as the Egg Bowl) won't have any sort of major impact on college football this season. But that doesn't mean the game is meaningless.
It wasn't that long ago that the University of Houston was beating the likes of Oklahoma (by 10 points) and Florida State in the Peach Bowl (by 14 points). Tom Herman had Houston at the top of the AAC and everyone nationally was paying attention to what the Cougars were doing.
Yesterday, around 4:00 am, I received a message from Central Arkansas softball head coach David Kuhn. It was a response from him with a few details about their fundraiser and had his cell phone number in it. I had asked him a question regarding how he and his team was helping Mississippi State softball freshman Alex Wilcox.
Welcome to The Wednesday Whatever, a weekly column published on the Wednesday of that week that talks about, well, Whatever. That Whatever is more or less somehow connected to Mississippi State. Mississippi State plays football. That is something we can all agree upon, right? Great. Sometimes the team isn't that great.
As he describes it, new Mississippi State football head coach Joe Moorhead gave up incredible job security, proximity to family, and his home to move across the country to try and lead a team in the SEC that, historically, is lacking in terms of success.
The Heisman will be awarded on Saturday night and Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray should be the winner over Tua Tagovailoa and Dwayne Haskins. The folks focused on gambling tend to agree with that assessment too. Murray is the betting favorite to win the 2018 Heisman according to OddsShark.
Look, the season isn't over for the men's Mississippi State basketball team by a long shot. The sky isn't falling. Things aren't all said and done just yet, but, well, they aren't good at the moment. If Ben Howland's Bulldogs aren't able to defeat the Florida Gators tonight, then things are going to get very tense around the men's basketball program.
It's not hard to figure out who the best quarterback Dan Mullen has had here in Starkville actually is. He was a once in a lifetime sort of player, and his name is Dak Prescott. He scribbled his name all over Mississippi State's record books and is arguably one of the most underrated players in SEC history.
Yesterday, when John Cohen spoke at the Choctaw Tribal Schools System convocation, he was presented with his own handcrafted kabocca. "Hey Ethan, what on earth is a kabocca?" Oh, hey, good question there. Well, kabocca, or stickball sticks, are a key part of one of the oldest (if not the oldest) and most revered sports to be played in Mississippi.
With its home field still covered in dust from construction, the Mississippi State baseball team is headed down through Louisiana and across the Lone Star state to play eight different teams in four different cities in a span of only 10 days.
The softball season has started and Vann Stuedeman certainly had her team ready. In a rainy weekend that forced some scheduling changes, Mississippi State hosted Mississippi Valley State, Omaha, and Missouri State. In facing those opponents, the Bulldogs came away with a perfect 4-0 start.
In a game that swung back and forth all night, #2 ranked Mississippi State (24-0 overall, 10-0 SEC) overcame Dawn Staley and her vaunted #7 South Carolina Gamecocks (18-5 overall, 7-3 SEC). Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs earned a hard fought 14 point victory tonight by a score of 67 to 53.
The Kentucky Wildcats are 5-1 on the year. They're a team that, for some MSU fans, is one that is worthy of being worried about. Earlier today, I wrote an article about Mississippi State being favored over the Wildcats by 10 points. That led to the following facebook comments: Sure, Mississippi State looked sloppy last week.
Mississippi State is undefeated. Let's analyze those trends and stats and figure out what that means for the rest of the season: Mississippi State is undefeated against teams from the State of Louisiana this season. That is an undeniable fact. It can not be disputed, no matter how hard you may try.
A toddler captivated the crowd of a high school basketball game Tuesday.Mount Michael, an all boys school in Elkhorn, Nebraska, doesn't have a dance team. Typically the school reaches out to local high schools to perform at halftime.However, on Tuesday, the school didn't have any halftime entertainment.That's when Jett, the son of Mount Michael's head basketball coach Derrick Spooner, got his opportunity to shine.
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Emma Gehring, a child who battled a brain tumor for most of her life, passed away Friday evening. Emma was surrounded by family members and friends, according to a Facebook post by EmmaStrong. KETV introduced you to Emma in 2013 when she was an infant shortly after doctors found a softball-sized tumor on her brain.
A local company honored a longtime employee who is battling cancer.On Saturday, Chieftain Van Lines held a special parade for Dave Snide, who worked for the company for over 40 years. "He's the epitome of Chieftain," Erin Dudley said.
Summitt isn't a student at Thomas Jefferson High School, but she's made her way into the school's yearbook.Summitt, named after legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, is a therapy dog who spends her days at the Council Bluffs high school, helping and hanging out with students.
LIVE FROM 7 BURLINGTON STATION, NEWSWATCH 7 AT 9:00 EN METV OMAHA STARTS WITH BREAKING NEWS. >> IT WAS DEFNINITELY A HI SPEED PURSUIT, AND IT WAS DANGEROUS FOR EVEYONE ON THE ROAD. ALEXANDRA: BREAKING AT 9:00, WE KNOW A SUSPECT INVOLVED IN A MALL SHOOTING IS IN CUSTODY.
Senator Ben Sasse spoke out with a message for those who are angry with his criticism of President Donald Trump.Sasse addressed the Nebraska Republican Central Committee, specifically those who are threatening to censure him for condemning Trump and the riots of Jan. 6.
On Wednesday, the Nebraska State Patrol Bomb Squad was called after an old explosive was discovered in an antique coffee jar, officials said. According to authorities, a citizen discovered the jar in a box purchased during an auction.Authorities said that when the suspicious device was found, the citizen notified the North Platte Police Department.
The Nebraska Humane Society is sending 106 cats to the Pacific Northwest on Friday. According to the Humane Society, the area is in need of adoptable cats. Flying the cats to the Pacific Northwest will help make space for cats that the Humane Society is temporarily housing for flood victims and ensure space for new cats as the shelter begins major renovations in May.GreaterGood.org and Wings of Rescue are making the trip possible.
KETV NewsWatch 7 has learned that Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is donating $5,000 to assist animals in need in Australia.
The presence of zebra mussels in Lake Manawa has been confirmed, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.The DNR said a homeowner reported finding zebra mussels on his shoreline and an investigation by DNR staff revealed a low number of the mussels around the lake."The zebra mussels in Lake Manawa probably arrived on or in a boat that had picked up the mussels from an infested water body, like the nearby Missouri River," said Kim Bogenschutz, DNR Aquatic...
The Department of Health and Human Services is warning the public about a unique mosquito that has been spotted in Nebraska for the first time.
Following flooding in March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to recover containers with potentially hazardous materials.Operations began March 27, and the EPA has recovered over 2,200 containers, including drums, tanks and canisters, that were dislodged by floods.Containers and their contents were disposed or recycled as appropriate.
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is welcoming a new elephant into its breeding herd.Callee, an 18-year-old bull African Elephant, is moving from the Birmingham Zoo on a recommendation of the African Elephant Species Survival Plan.In an effort to help sustain the endangered species' population in zoos, Callee will have
Visitors at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium can now see two newborn sea lion pups.According to a press release, the first pup was born Wednesday, June 12 to nine-year-old Gemini.
On Tuesday, Sen. Ben Sasse issued a statement condemning rioting and police injustice while speaking in support of peaceful protests. Sasse stated that Americans have a constitutional right to peaceful protest and urged for leaders to help " the temperature" amid protests.Sasse also spoke out against "clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop," criticizing law enforcement officers moving protesters out of an area near St.
An Emerald Ash Borer infestation in central Lincoln has been confirmed by the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.A tree with the infestation was discovered by Lincoln forestry staff last week.
Residents at the Douglas County Health Center are in need of supplies, according to a spokesperson for the county.
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Finally! 2020 is almost over. Despite all the bad, there were some good things that happened this year. What was something good that happened to you this year?
The Huskers will face off against Rutgers this evening. Where will you be watching today's game from?
“You are welcome to censure me again – but let’s be clear about why: It’s because I still believe (as you used to) that politics is not about the weird worship of one dude. The party could purge Trump-skeptics, but I'd like to convince you that not only is this “civic cancer” for the nation, but it's also terrible for our Party," Sen. Ben Sasse said.