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Hugh Freeze says he hasnt spoken to former Ole Miss star Laremy Tunsil since the NFL draft, but he has received a letter from him.Draft night on April 28 in Chicago went from a great moment for Freeze to a nightmare very quickly. Shortly before the draft, someone posted a video on Twitter of Tunsil smoking an unknown substance from a bong while wearing a gas mask. Once considered a potential No. 1 pick, Tunsil fell sharply after the video was posted.After Tunsil was finally selected with the 13th pick by the Miami Dolphins, someone posted an alleged text message conversation between Tunsil and Ole Miss assistant athletics director John Miller in which Tunsil asks Miller for money.Freeze had a message for Tunsil after he was selected.This is just draft day, this is not draft career, Freeze relayed to ESPNs Marty Smith in an interview at Ole Miss on Monday. You can decide how it ends.Draft night had started as a celebration of Ole Miss rise to national prominence.Well, you want to celebrate for sure, Freeze said. Youre there with three first-round draft picks, which was our first eligible class to go, but it certainly took a turn for something I never imagined happening.When that first episode happened with Laremy, hes like your child. When my child makes a mistake, I dont run from it. I dont hide from it. I certainly dont approve of the mistakes that were always made, but youre not going to stop loving them. So you go into, any coach goes into, the mode that Im going to help this family through it. So thats really the mode I went into, is just trying to do anything I could to help them through that difficult time.But Tunsil and Freeze went their separate ways as the coach and Ole Miss dealt with NCAA violations.According to the NCAA notice of allegations, which Ole Miss received on Jan. 22, the Ole Miss football program was accused of 13 rules violations, including eight that were determined to be the most serious Level I. Nine of the 13 allegations levied against the Rebels occurred under Freeze, including four Level I violations. Tunsil was named in three of the more serious allegations made by the NCAA.In late May, Ole Miss announced that it had self-imposed the loss of 11 scholarships in football over a four-year period from 2015-18.Freeze said Monday that about three weeks ago he received a letter from Tunsil. He was asked what was in the message.His sincere love for me. Thats probably all I should say, Freeze said.Describing the tone of it, he said: There was a sweetness to it, but I knew thats who he was. Hes a good kid, has a good heart.As for the turmoil surrounding the Ole Miss program, Freeze said that the personal attacks on your character are tough for your family to take, but he added that he couldnt comment on an ongoing investigation. He said he has received words of encouragement from many coaches, including Nick Saban (Alabama), Les Miles (LSU), Gus Malzahn (Auburn) and Jim Grobe (Baylor).Like he did in May, Freeze took responsibility for mistakes that were made but looked forward to the school getting to tell its side of the story to the NCAA Infractions Committee. He said that when all the facts come out, he thinks the critics might tone down, but he knows that he might not be able to convince everyone and hes at peace with that.Still, the process has taken a toll.I promised myself I would never get callous in this job, but I do see how it can make you that way, Freeze said. Asked how close he was to being callous, he said with a laugh: Im pretty close.Information from ESPNs Mark Schlabach was used in this report. Rickey Henderson Padres Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Hunter Renfroe Padres Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.padressale.com/padres-greg-garcia-jersey/ . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Manny Machado Jersey .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Johnny Manziel Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. DENVER -- The St. Louis Cardinals picked up a win before a pitch was even thrown when reserve outfielder Jose Martinez captured a playful, pregame staredown with Colorado reliever Carlos Estevez.Too bad for the Cardinals that didnt count in the standings. They sure couldve used it.Nolan Arenado hit a grand slam, German Marquez pitched five solid innings for his first major league win and the Rockies slowed the Cardinals playoff chase with an 11-1 victory on Wednesday.The Cardinals, who had won four straight, entered the day tied with New York and San Francisco atop the NL wild-card standings. The Mets and Giants both played later.Arenado broke open the game in the second with his NL-leading 39th homer of the season. His fourth career slam made it 6-1.Its a pitch that simply caught too much of the plate.Stayed straight, starter Luke Weaver said. For it to flatten out at such a big moment right there is disappointing.Weaver (1-4) was roughed up by the Rockies, surrendering seven hits and six runs in two innings. Before this game, the right-hander had allowed 12 earned runs in his last seven starts combined.The Cardinals had some early momentum when that standoff went their way just after the anthem.Heres how it unfolded: Estevez and Martinez stood near their dugouts -- with their baseball cap over their heart -- and refused to back down until the other moved first.Estevez blinked first and made a winner of Martinez, who celebrated before retreating to the dugout. Estevez said manager Walt Weiss pulled him in out of fear of being ejected.Its not fun to have one less bullpen guy, Estevez explained.Martinez was going to see this thing through to the end -- no matter the consequences.The umpire asked me, `Why you do that? Im like, `When youre a rookie and a big league guy asks you to stand up there, I stand up there, said Martinez, who had a pinch-hit single in the seventh. The most important thing is we have fun and the fans enjoyed it.This was a memorable day for Marquez (1-0), who made his first big league start after three appearances out of the bullpen. He allowed one run and struck out three.At 21 years, 212 days, Marqquez was the second-youngest pitcher in Rockies history to earn his first win, the team announced.dddddddddddd The youngest was Jamey Wright (21-206).A great pitching performance from the kid today, Weiss said. Its easy -- easy velocity. Very effortless.The hard-throwing Marquez was acquired in January as part of the deal that sent outfielder Corey Dickerson to Tampa Bay. Marquez pitched a majority of the season for Double-A Hartford, where he was chosen as the pitcher of the year in the Eastern League.Marquez worked his way out of several dicey situations against the best road team in baseball. He allowed his only run in the second, when Jeremy Hazelbaker led off with a double and later scored on Kolten Wongs sacrifice fly.The Cardinals took two of three from Colorado during a series in which their starting pitchers were brilliant at the plate. Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright and Weaver went a combined 4 for 4 with two doubles and six RBI. Weaver had a single in his only plate appearance.DJ LeMahieu got two hits and drove in two runs to raise his average to .351. He holds a slight lead over Washingtons Daniel Murphy in the NL batting race.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: OF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) is hoping to take live batting practice Friday at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cubs series. ... C Yadier Molina had the day off.Rockies: Third base coach Stu Cole sat out another day after being hit in the head by a ball that caromed off another during batting practice Tuesday.THIS & THATRockies catcher Tom Murphy had a three-run homer as part of a five-run seventh. ... Arenados grand slam gives him 128 RBI this season, which leads the majors.UP NEXTCardinals: After a day off, RHP Mike Leake (9-10, 4.54 ERA) opens a three-game series Friday in Chicago. RHP Jake Arrieta (17-7, 2.96) goes for the Cubs.Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (11-9, 4.13) takes the mound Thursday to begin a four-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Chatwood is 7-1 with a 1.77 ERA in 11 road starts this season. ' ' '