Inside Ole Miss Sports reported coach Hugh Freeze cleared Nkemdiche to play Wednesday. The decision comes days before Ole Miss travels to Auburn for an SEC West clash Saturday, a must-win game if the Rebels hope to contend for an SEC title. MORE: Latest Heisman favorites: Fournette’s chances increases | Memphis stuns No. 13 Ole Miss Nkemdiche was effectively out for 1 1/2 games after suffering what appeared to be a serious concussion in the first half against Memphis on Oct....

The state flag has been in the news recently due to the controversy over the confederate flag. The Mississippi flag features the confederate flag in the upper left portion, and some people have demanded it be changed. Freeze holds the same belief. MORE SEC: All-conference | Superlatives | Saban making excuses? “In the late ’90s our university made a move to go away from the Confederate flag and being a Mississippian I have a great appreciation for the Mississippi people and the pride we have in the heritage and all those things,” Freeze said, per the Clarion Ledger....

The former undisputed cruiserweight king made his long-awaited debut in boxing’s blue-riband division on Saturday, claiming a comfortable win over late replacement Chazz Witherspoon in Chicago – the veteran American pulled out by his corner at the end of round seven. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year And Usyk is in a hurry for a shot at becoming a two-weight world champion. “It’s not a question for me, it’s a question for Eddie [Hearn, his promoter], whatever he can bring to me,” Usyk told a post-fight news conference when asked who he wants to fight next....

The Ukrainian stated his intention to step up this year after establishing himself as the cruiserweight king. Usyk wrote to the WBA to confirm he will hand over his belt and is also set to relinquish the IBF, WBC and WBO belts. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year The 32-year-old is reportedly in line to make his heavyweight debut against Carlos Takam in Chicago on May 18....

The 32-year-old British heavyweight has not boxed since dropping a unanimous decision to the undefeated former undisputed cruiserweight champion, who took the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles from him in London last September. Joshua has added decorated coach Robert Garcia to his team since that reverse and he will try to put new information and new tactics into operation to crack a puzzle he and Usyk’s prior 18 professional opponents have found impossible....

Ciara. Olivia Munn. Jessica Simpson. All famous by their own right. All victims of undeserved blame for a poor sports outcome. MORE: Packers vs. Falcons: Picks, predictions, odds Ciara fell prey to the sexism that pervades today’s football media culture within minutes of the Seahawks’ crippling playoff loss to the Falcons last weekend. No, the blame did not belong to the Seahawks’ defense that ceded 36 points to NFL MVP candidate Matt Ryan and his dynamic arsenal of weapons....

The director, 38, dismissed “baseless” speculation about her and Pugh in Vanity Fair’s October 2022 issue, which was published on September 8. Olivia Wilde Addresses Florence Pugh Feud Claims and Harry Styles ‘Spitgate’ Don’t Worry Darling and its cast became surrounded by controversy, even before the film had the chance to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 6. Prior to the film’s release, reports alleged that Pugh, 26, opposed Wilde’s relationship with her co-star Harry Styles, 28....

New Zealand swimmer Lewis Clareburt posted a video to Tiktok revealing the inner workings of the beds, which have been a topic of much discussion on social media. In the clip, he and fellow swimmer Ali Galyer deconstruct a mattress to reveal a surprise beneath. Rather than one complete mattress, the bed is shown to consist of three separate panels made out of expanded polystyrene foam. “We have a bed update,” a voiceover declares....

That's as good an explanation as any for the decision process on who does (and doesn't) skate on a line with Crosby at the Winter Olympics. The best player in the world, despite leading Canada in even-strength scoring chances, hasn't particularly clicked with any single player. MORE: Olympic hockey schedule — U.S., Canada each play Wednesday at noon ET Kunitz, Crosby's linemate with the Pittsburgh Penguins, is on the roster to play with him, but looked out of place in Canada's first two games; one hypothesis is that the larger, international ice spreads things out and makes it more difficult for Kunitz to play low and tight, which is where he's at his best....

Monica Aksamit, 29, of New Jersey, told news outlets that she turned to online crowdfunding because the costs of travel and training are too much for her to finance while also supporting herself and paying off previous debt. Despite being an accomplished Olympian who won a bronze medal in fencing during the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro among other awards, Aksamit has struggled to pay for her competitions....

Despite making waves in the pool, Team USA faced a rift between vaccinated and unvaccinated athletes on social media. The debate centers on Michael Andrew, a 22-year-old Californian and gold medal favorite in the 200-meter individual medley. Andrew chose not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as he was unsure how his body would react to the shot. “As an athlete on the elite level, everything we do is very calculated,” he told reporters during a conference call....

The relay, which began March 25 in Fukushima, has already been detoured several times, once being directed into an empty park in Osaka, and again rerouted in Matsuyama, the capital of the Ehime Prefecture. The Tokyo Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are set to unveil plans this week to explain how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes can compete in Japan in three months in the midst of a pandemic....

The Anniversary Inn also provides a bar of clear-colored glycerine soap, which, because I’m a clod, I can’t hold onto. So this is how my days at the Olympics have generally begun: on my hands and knees, at the bottom of the tub, in a storm cloud, flailing around for a clear bar of soap like a blind man searching for a contact lens, getting drilled in the ear by really terrific water pressure....

Case in point: Budweiser — traitorous, traitorous Budweiser — built the "Red Zeppelin," aka the world's largest goal light, to celebrate Canadian goals during hockey games in Sochi. Balloons pop pretty easily, you know. Would be a shame if something happened to it. Also, the puppy/horse commercial sucked. This is a week or so after everyone found out that Labatt — Labatt! — was manufacturing Team USA cans. What a world....

The 2020 Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in Tokyo between July 24 and August 9, but the fate of the games appears increasingly in question as the world battles to contain COVID-19. “The IOC is committed to finding a solution with the least negative impact for the athletes, while protecting the integrity of the competition and the athletes’ health,” the IOC said in a statement on Wednesday....

Omega-3 fatty acids have been studied for their potential as a treatment option for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Fish oil, which contains omega-3 fatty acids, appears to have anti-inflammatory properties and has also been researched as a treatment for several other conditions, including hypertension (high blood pressure), and rheumatoid arthritis. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements Fish oil supplements contain two types of omega-3 fatty acids: EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)....

Cases in Gauteng—which has seen the fastest rise in Omicron infections in the world since the variant was discovered in mid-November—appear to be leveling off. On December 8, it recorded 11,703 new cases, but on December 14, there were 8,685. Gauteng, home to the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, is South Africa’s most populated province. Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, told Newsweek: “Most recent data does indicate a plateauing of the 7-day rolling average of the case rate in Gauteng, but not elsewhere where it is still on the rise and will probably continue for the next two or three weeks....

What follows is speculation. As with the chaos immediately following an airplane crash, there is little in the way of evidence that one can hold and examine. To do that takes time, and time is not a luxury available at this moment, about a week after the incident that seems to have destroyed the SSGN Kursk, a proud name harking back to the most decisive land battle of World War II....

Long before Wednesday’s accident, which killed at least four and injured around 80, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MDOT) had warned about problems with the bridge. The structure had a “structurally deficient” rating since 1990 and has been inspected every year since, according to MDOT. Don Dorgan, an MDOT engineer, says, “We thought we had done all we could—obviously something went very wrong.” In a 2001 report, engineers wrote that the bridge’s deck truss had many fatigue details on the main truss and floor truss system....

The coalition of 11 Republican senators on Saturday announced its intention to oppose the Electoral College certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win on January 6, unless a 10-day audit of the results is conducted. The group includes Cruz of Texas; Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; James Lankford of Oklahoma; Steve Daines of Montana; John Kennedy of Louisiana; Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; and Mike Braun of Indiana. Senators-elect Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Roger Marshall of Kansas; Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming were also part of the movement....