The Light Still Shines. . .

This past week has been one of the most beneficial weeks for the often misconstrued image of my home state, Mississippi.

We were lucky enough to host the first of the presidential debates between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. The University of Mississippi put on a first class operation, as always, and shed some more of the tarnished image that has haunted the campus since the 1950's. As the Clarion Ledger opined today, the only clear winner of the debate was Mississippi.

Things just keep getting better. On Saturday, Ole Miss stepped up once more with it's 600th college football win against 4th ranked Florida in Gainesville. It's a monumental achievement in and of itself to beat Florida, but it's a whole 'nother thing to do it in The Swamp. Ole Miss' defense stepped up all day long, harassing and hurrying Florida's star quarterback Tim Tebow who still managed to pass for 300-plus yards. Florida also beat themselves by turning over the ball 5 times of which Ole Miss scored at least twice from the mishandled ball. But the Rebels never let up and played hard all day long with a critical blocked extra point in the waning minutes of the game and a 4th and 1 stop of Tebow on Florida's next possession which effectively ended the game.

Someone once said, "It's better to be lucky than good."

And to that I say, we're both. But it doesn't hurt to have a little more of one than the other every now and then.

Congratulations Ole Miss and congratulations Mississippi. You should all be proud!