Mississippi State’s boys win State’s first outright SEC basketball championship (title) ever and Mississippi Southern’s Golden Eagles rein in their new hardwood coach almost simultaneously,&8221; read The Natchez Democrat and other big papers around the state last month.

Iowa State used to have a head basketball coach named Larry Eustachy &045; now he’s doing the varsity coaching honors at USM.

So things are happening over Hattiesburg way. No telling what the next day will bring at big universities, as you know.

Eustachy had some problems at Iowa State that just could have ruined his college coaching future.

However, USM officials were forgiving &045; and they believe in Eustachy.

They’re simply just not kicking him while he’s down. And I agree.

Attendance has sagged recently, so a coaching change plays into this picture as well.

One USM fan said he definitely thinks Coach Eustachy will help bring people back to see USM contests.

Meanwhile, Golden Eagle fans, Mississippi State Bulldog fans, Ole Miss fans and Tiger (LSU) followers are all talking up football at their schools. It’s just fun, that’s all.

Coffee at McDonald’s and other locations around town wouldn’t be the same in the mornings.

Betcha those coffee-drinking sports fans love to go after coffee following a sure-enough flashy sports weekend. In fact, I know they do &045; I’m one of them.

Allen Brown was a Natchez athlete who starred locally in football.

But it didn’t end there &045; the big redhead played with the Green Bay Packers in the first two Super Bowls the Packers played in.

Allen, you see, was a Packer fan, but more than that, he was a great player at Natchez High and Ole Miss. I often think of Allen and his steady, solid play with Natchez High, Ole Miss and the Green Bay Packers. When you’ve got it you’ve got it.

I ran upon a Jan. 19, 1997, Natchez Democrat sports section, and there was Allen’s picture big as life. The head said &8220;The Pack is Back.&8221; Sure enough, The Democrat feature dealt with Green Bay’s resurgence at the time.

It just so happens that Allen was reared in our neighborhood down on South Canal.

You better believe that Allen was a mannerly, well-behaved young man. All the neighborhood was impressed with his manners.

Allen was asked how he thought the ’97 Packers would stack up against the Packers teams he played with. You know that had to be the question around town &045; &8220;if the great Green Bay teams of 1966 and ’67 played the ’97 Packers who would win?&8221; Well, Allen was asked that question and gave the expected answer:

&8220;We’d grind it out so much they couldn’t stay in the ballpark with us,&8221; he wryly replied. Of course, the two teams never played that season. Or almost never.

Glenvall Estes is a longtime columnist for The Natchez Democrat.