| Thursday, September 21, 2017 |
| Local Archaeologists Work With Law Enforcement | |
 | In the past few weeks, several area law enforcement agencies have been dealing with cases involving human remains. When decomposition makes it too difficult for police to identify the victim, they call in a specialist. It's an interesting relationship and also one that makes sense. "It's something that's not typically covered in the training of law enforcement officers to identify human remains, whereas that's specialized training that's provided within biological anthropology and archaeology," said Associate Professor of Anthropology Molly Zuckerman. Law enforcement agencies in the Golden Triangle have an edge when these cases come up: Mississippi State University's Cobb Institute of Archaeology. MSU students also benefit from the experience. |
| Starkville aldermen pass amended alcohol ordinance | |
 | Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins said someone needed to fight for God against Starkville's "whiskey bill." He lost, but he fought for nearly a half-hour as he made an impassioned plea to his colleagues to vote against an ordinance that expanded hours businesses can serve alcohol and reduced the minimum distance such businesses can be from a church, school or funeral home. Aldermen approved the ordinance on a 4-3 vote, with Perkins, Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn opposing it. Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk, Ward 3 Alderman David Little, Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker and Ward 5 Alderman Patrick Miller voted in favor of the ordinance change. Mayor Lynn Spruill, who supported the measure, said she believed the change was important to allow Starkville's business community, especially downtown, to continue to flourish. |
| Coke joins Mississippi bicentennial celebration | |
 | Coca-Cola, first bottled in Mississippi, is joining the state's celebration of its 200th year of statehood. Gov. Phil Bryant joined Coke officials on the steps on the south side of the Mississippi Capitol Wednesday to announce that a limited-edition commemorative 8-ounce glass bottle of the soft drink will be distributed throughout the state. "We're thrilled to be participating in the 200th year statehood celebration," said Larry Stanford of Corinth, who does community and government relations for Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling which distributes to a large area, including both the Corinth and Tupelo areas in Northeast Mississippi. During Wednesday's news conference, a man in a Coke uniform driving a 1955 Chevrolet pickup truck, painted in Coke colors, delivered packages of the commemorative soft drink to the governor. A six pack of the drink will be delivered to the state Department of Archives and History. |
| State agencies to Legislature: Send more money | |
 | More money is on the minds of many agency heads this week as lawmakers hear firsthand their budget proposals for next fiscal year. The 14 lawmakers who sit on the joint legislative budget committee will hear from 11 agency heads Thursday and Friday about how much money they're requesting for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins July 1, 2018. Leaders from most state agencies and departments have already submitted requests for more or level funding from the current fiscal year. The short budget meetings for just a handful of agencies on Thursday and Friday is a far cry from what the hearings used to bring. Previously, all agency and department heads got fall budget hearings, detailing what their needs were. The schedule for Thursday and Friday's meetings give each of the 11 agency heads about 30 minutes each. |
| Three file papers as candidates for District 54 state representative | |
| The special election for House District 54 will be a three-candidate race following the close of qualifying for the election Wednesday. The winner of the special nonpartisan election will fill the unexpired term of former District 54 State Rep. Alex Monsour, who was elected Vicksburg's South Ward alderman in June. According to the Secretary of State's office, Vicksburg contractor Joe Bonelli, family practitioner and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Randy Easterling, and Kevin Ford, owner of the Ford Insurance Agency, had filed papers by the deadline. Monsour, a Republican, resigned his seat in the Mississippi House July 5, about a month after defeating then-incumbent South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson in the June 6 municipal general elections. |
| Memo: Consider civil rights home for national monument | |
 | Mississippi civil rights sites, including the home of slain leader Medgar Evers, should be considered for national monument designation, the U.S. interior secretary says in a memo to President Donald Trump. Secretary Ryan Zinke makes the recommendation in a 19-page memo that was leaked. In February, the National Park Service designated the Evers home a national historic landmark. Mississippi's two Republican U.S. senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, have been working with Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson to make the Evers home a part of the National Park Service. Cochran spokesman Chris Gallegos said if Evers' home becomes part of the National Park Service, it likely will draw more visitors because some tourists make an effort to visit park service sites. |
| Trump hires campaign workers instead of farm experts at USDA | |
 | President Donald Trump's appointees to jobs at Agriculture Department headquarters include a long-haul truck driver, a country club cabana attendant and the owner of a scented-candle company. A POLITICO review of dozens of resumes from political appointees to USDA shows the agency has been stocked with Trump campaign staff and volunteers who in many cases demonstrated little to no experience with federal policy, let alone deep roots in agriculture. But of the 42 resumes POLITICO reviewed, 22 cited Trump campaign experience. And based on their resumes, some of those appointees appear to lack credentials, such as a college degree, required to qualify for higher government salaries. For the most part, the administration's selections for leadership positions at USDA have been well received by industry and Capitol Hill. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a two-term governor of Georgia who also is a veterinarian and ran a host of agriculture-related businesses, got the endorsement of former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the only Trump Cabinet official to be backed by his predecessor. |
| Republicans Head Into Alabama Senate Race Homestretch | |
 | The biggest names in the Republican Party -- from President Donald Trump to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- will be heading south as the GOP primary runoff in the Alabama Senate race enters the homestretch. Sen. Luther Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore have been fighting for the GOP nod to fill the remaining term of former Sen. Jeff Sessions, now Trump's attorney general. As the top two contenders in the August primary, they advanced to the runoff, which in some ways has turned into a proxy battle within the Republican Party. Both campaigns are hoping to energize their voters ahead of the special election runoff, which tends to have low turnout. Only 13 percent of registered voters participated in the August GOP primary. Moore finished first in that contest with 39 percent of the vote, while Strange took 33 percent. |
| Battle Over Confederate Monuments Moves to the Cemeteries | |
 | One by one, Confederate monuments are coming down from their perches in front of courthouses, in public squares, along city boulevards. Now opponents to the memorials are looking through cemetery gates for more. Local officials and residents, outraged by the violence in Charlottesville, Va., last month and determined to clear their cities of markers that glorify the Confederacy, are pushing for the removal of Confederate monuments that have adorned the graves of soldiers for decades. While a Confederate statue in a busy town square honors the dead, does a monument in a tranquil, little-trafficked cemetery have the same effect? "These are markers to a person's grave," said David Sloane, a historian at the University of Southern California who has written two books on cemeteries. "Cemetery memorials do have a different meaning than a symbolic public memorial on the highways and byways of the city or in a public park." |
| Stone Mountain: The ugly past - and fraught future - of the biggest Confederate monument | |
 | Of all the Confederate monuments under fire, few are more figuratively weighted -- and literally fixed -- than the 1,700-foot high outcropping of granite outside Atlanta with carvings of Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Jefferson Davis. Covering more than 17,000 square feet of mountain and 40 feet deep in the crannies, the carving is reportedly the largest flat relief sculpture in the world. Looming over a popular public park like a stone-age billboard, it was conceived by Southern Confederate groups a century ago at the birthplace of the modern Ku Klux Klan and remains an icon for white supremacists. Now, calls to remove what may be the planet's largest Confederate monument have roiled Georgia's gubernatorial election and sparked what could be the most complex of the hot-button Rebel memorial fights erupting across the country. |
| Itawamba Community College And Mississippi University for Women Form New Partnership | |
| An agreement between Itawamba Community College and the Mississippi University for Women will give students in allied health programs the ability to make an easy transfer from a two year program to a four year degree plan. The "2 + 2" program allows students who graduate from ICC to get a bachelor degree in public health education quicker because of the ability to transfer up to 43 career-technical credit hours. Both schools have been working for some time on the program which will help those entering ICC, or students who are ready to go to the next level. "We pride ourselves on having seamless transfer and not having students waste any credit hours to earn that four year degree and this is something we think we 're pretty good at," said MUW President Jim Borsig. |
| Bike-sharing program works to ease campus traffic congestion at UM | |
 | In an attempt to promote biking on campus, the university has implemented a new bike-sharing program through Gotcha Bike. The program launched last week and has seen a successful start. It allows students, faculty and community members to rent bikes on an as-needed basis. "It's going to be a great alternative for getting around on campus," Mike Harris, the university's director of parking and transportation, said. Harris said the bike-sharing program is something the university has been pushing to implement on campus for years. The program is the latest addition to campus transportation. Ole Miss has also expanded its bus system in an effort to reduce parking struggles on campus. |
| USM College of Business announces Eagle Suit Fund | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi College of Business will soon be providing deserving students with business suits to help them transition into their professions. The school announced the partnership with clothing retailers Talbots and Jos. A. Bank to create a new initiative called the Eagle Suit Fund, sponsored by generous USM alumnus. "Our alumni and friends are our catalyst for lasting changes. Initiatives like this will help our students take their first successful step into their professional lives," said Dr. Faye Gilbert, Dean of the USM College of Business. For many students, it may be the first suit ever and will provide them with the appropriate attire to begin their professional lives. Students will also be encouraged to attend career development sessions such as resume writing workshops, mock interviews and career fairs. |
| Alcorn State student dies in accident on the Natchez Trace Parkway | |
 | A 20-year-old Alcorn State University student has died in an accident on the Natchez Trace. The wreck happened south of I-20 near Raymond Wednesday night. Regina Michelle Carr of Clinton died around 6:15. The car she was driving apparently left the roadway and appeared to overturn. Stephen Dollinger the Southern District Supervisor tells us at this time officers believe weather may have been a factor. Carr was identified by Hinds County Coroner, Sharon Grisham Stewart. The accident is still under investigation. |
| U. of Alabama part of German engineering exchange program | |
 | Engineering students from the University of Alabama and four peer institutions in the state will have an opportunity to study engineering in Germany as part of a new exchange program. "This is big business for us," said Bharat Balasubramanian, an engineering professor and executive director of UA's Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies. UA Provost Kevin Whitaker and his counterparts at the other partnering universities signed a memorandum of understanding Sept. 14 creating the exchange program. Undergraduates will be able to take English-taught courses at the Germany universities in mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, said Balasubramanian, who spearheaded the effort at UA. The other Alabama institutions include the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Auburn University and the University of South Alabama. Seven German universities from the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg will participate. |
| Auburn scientists exploring conditions impacting hurricane frequency | |
 | As a society, we are only now beginning to understand the emotional, physical and economic toll of recent catastrophic events such as hurricanes Harvey and Irma, says Auburn University climate scientist Hanqin Tian. This past August, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, had forecasted the likelihood that 2017 would be an above-normal hurricane season with 14 to 19 named storms and two to five major hurricanes within the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Tian says what is abnormal about this season is the formation of five named hurricanes -- Harvey, Irma, Jose, Katia and now Maria -- all within four weeks. Furthermore, according to NOAA, not since 2010 have we seen three hurricanes occurring in the Atlantic basin at the same time. |
| UGA dedicates its latest science building, with more to come | |
 | University of Georgia officials dedicated the school's new Center for Molecular Medicine building Thursday, the latest in a string of science buildings in the university's drive toward the major leagues of research. The $25 million building, next the UGA Complex Carbohydrate Research Center on Riverbend Road, follows by a year the opening of the $48 million Science Learning Center, with their modern teaching labs that replaced labs in 1960s-era biology and chemistry buildings. Coming up: a $65 million STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) building at the edge of UGA's East Campus that will bring together researchers in the fast-rising College of Engineering and chemistry department. |
| Erin Beatty Hired by U. of Arkansas' Office of the General Counsel | |
 | Erin L. Beatty has joined the University of Arkansas' Office of the General Counsel on the Fayetteville campus, following a nationwide search. She is one of five attorneys assigned to the campus, which has more than 27,000 students. JoAnn Maxey, general counsel for the UA System, said in a news release that Beatty's recent experience in student affairs made her stand out from many strong applicants. Beatty has worked in both public and private practice and has experience in compliance-related work. She will be assuming advising responsibilities previously handled by Tamla Lewis, who is now serving as associate dean for the UA School of Law. |
| Handgun accidentally discharged in Texas A&M dorm room | |
 | Texas A&M University Police confirmed Wednesday a student accidentally discharged a firearm in a dorm room earlier this month. This is the first incident of an accidental discharge at A&M since the carry of firearms was allowed in public universities statewide just over a year ago. According to UPD spokesman Lt. Bobby Richardson, the incident occurred around 8 p.m. Sept. 1 in one of the Corps of Cadets dormitories. He said an investigation into the incident found a member of the Corps who is a licensed concealed carry holder was letting another student hold his firearm -- a Glock pistol -- in the dorm when the non-owner accidentally discharged the gun. After traveling through the wall into another dorm room -- which was unoccupied at the time -- Richardson said the bullet was found lodged in a bed frame. |
| U. of Missouri official enrollment figures show expected decline | |
 | The University of Missouri, by a scant four students, maintained its position this year as the public four-year school that attracts the most new freshmen from within the state. MU enrolled 2,754 new freshmen who reside in the state, compared to 2,750 for Missouri State University in Springfield. The enrollment report comes a week after MU's claim to be the No. 1 choice of Missouri high school seniors was called into question by the data from ACT tests taken in the spring of 2016. It is a position MU is not willing to give up without a struggle. "We do have a very aggressive recruiting campaign and we are working very diligently to make sure prospective students and their parents understand the opportunities that await them at the university," MU spokesman Christian Basi said. Missouri State is not making any secret of the fact that it wants to overtake MU. |
| New class on race in America meant to continue U. of Missouri conversation | |
 | As the need for productive conversation about race in America continues, two University of Missouri professors have created a class to keep the discussion moving forward. This spring, Adam Seagrave, an associate professor who specializes in American politics, and Stephanie Shonekan, an associate professor who chairs the Department of Black Studies, will launch "Race and the American Story." The goal is to create more thoughtful and aware students regarding race. The one-credit course will deal with the ways race is talked about in America. "We want to engage students in the evolution of the ways in which we talk about race," Shonekan said. "We would like for students to look at what we're hearing in 2017 with Charlottesville or Mike Brown or Black Lives Matter and contextualize (it) in the very deep history of the ways in which race has been talked about." |
| On Social Media, They Represent the College 24/7 | |
 | Open TweetDeck. Monitor mentions. Publish posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Interview professors on video. Answer followers' questions about the university. Orchestrate a social-media campaign with a unique hashtag and plenty of gifs to promote a new initiative. Have something go viral --- something positive, that is. Social media have changed how colleges interact and communicate with the world. It's not just about school colors, alumni achievements, or appearances in news articles anymore -- every post on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram paints a picture of what a college is like, who makes up its community, what's important to the people within it. When accounts can have millions of likes and followers, far surpassing the number of people on campus, every post matters. And behind all of them is a social-media director or team thinking hard about what to share and how to share it. |
| Department of Ed rejects calls to update oversight measures | |
 | The Department of Education rejected two recent calls to improve its monitoring of the financial health of colleges and universities -- despite findings that its metrics predicted only half of institutional closures in recent years. A Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday found that the risk measure the department uses to assess colleges' financial health is badly out of date. While the department agreed to improve communication about how it calculates that measure, it rejected a call to improve the metric. And the Office of Federal Student Aid separately turned down recommendations to strengthen the data it collects for oversight of institutions. |
| David Boren Will Retire as U. of Oklahoma's President | |
| David L. Boren, president since 1994 of the University of Oklahoma, announced on Wednesday that he planned to retire on June 30, 2018, unless his successor had not been named by that date. Mr. Boren, a centrist Democrat, has engaged in public service for more than 50 years, including terms in the Oklahoma Legislature, as governor of Oklahoma, and as a U.S. senator from his home state before he became the university's president. Perhaps the most notable event during his presidency, however, was his response to an ugly incident in 2015, when members of the university's Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter were recorded singing a racially offensive anthem. Citing the university's code of student conduct, Mr. Boren assailed the fraternity's activity, expelled two participants in the song, and shut down the chapter. Critics of his response said the First Amendment barred a public university from taking such steps in response to an exercise of free speech. |
| At Duke University, A Bizarre Tour Through American History And Palates | |
 | Eighteen doughnuts, toasted Brazil nuts, a can of deviled ham, an avocado "pear," and Worcestershire sauce: No, this list doesn't comprise an especially malicious ingredient basket for competitors on the Food Network's Chopped. Instead, they are the makings for the "Goblin sandwich," a Halloween recipe published in a donut-maker's 1946 cooking pamphlet. The donuts are sliced like bread, and the other ingredients are mixed into a highly seasoned spread. That theoretically edible but unpalatable recipe will long live in infamy at Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Books & Manuscript Library. The memorable cooking adventure was part of the Rubenstein Test Kitchen, a project in which the staff re-creates historical recipes from the thousands of cookbooks, manuscripts and other materials from the library's collections. |
| A GWU freshman brought her baking business to college... small problem with that | |
| Lena Geller makes cakes. Cakes with flowers. Truly clever cakes, with insults spelled out in bright colors. Lovely cakes with layers and berries. So when the George Washington University freshman moved from Durham, N.C., to the school's Foggy Bottom campus in August, she brought her light blue mixer and loads of baking supplies. And this month, she was featured in the school's student newspaper, the Hatchet, which chronicled the arrival of the baking business she'd hoped to run out of her residence hall's kitchen. Then she got an email from her resident adviser. |
| Health care, education funding formula complications should be no surprise | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Only the most ardent Donald Trump supporters could suppress a snicker earlier this year when he famously surmised 'nobody knew health care could be so complicated.' People here in Mississippi could actually envision House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves uttering the same words as it related to developing a formula to provide state funds to local school districts. 'Nobody knew an education funding formula could be so complicated.' Trump, of course, famously promised to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on day one of his presidency. It is the middle of September and congressional Republicans are taking another run at repealing the law, known as Obamacare. And Reeves and Gunn famously hosted a press conference last October to announce plans to rewrite the current funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, during the 2017 session." |
| OUR OPINION: Finding middle ground at universities pivotal | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal editorializes: "Officials at Mississippi's public universities are no strangers to asking former students for financial contributions -- a common practice at just about every university or college across the country. However, it appears that alumni giving is becoming an increasingly important revenue resource for academic support at the state's eight public universities, according to a recent report by Mississippi Today. ...In a survey conducted by Mississippi Today, Mississippi State University ranked No. 1 with 17.6 percent of its alumni contributing $38.8 million to the school during fiscal year 2017. ...Our public universities play a pivotal role in pushing Mississippi forward not only in terms of producing top-tiered employees and community leaders as graduates but also as economic drivers in the communities in which they are located." |
SPORTS
| Aeris Williams giving Mississippi State's run game much-needed added dimension | |
 | Mississippi State running back Aeris Williams took a handoff against LSU in the third quarter on Saturday and saw a small space to run inside. But he waited a split second. Martinas Rankin then pulled from his left tackle position to wipe out a linebacker. Then, boom. Williams burst to the outside for an 18-yard gain. In Mississippi State's 37-7 win over LSU on Saturday, those kinds of runs became common for Williams, who rushed for 147 yards on 23 carries. Williams consistently picked up yardage on inside runs against LSU. He ran to the outside well. He blew by defenders. He also hurdled over one. Most importantly, Williams gave Mississippi State's run game an added dynamic. |
| Dan Mullen sees Georgia growing into same style defense as Alabama | |
 | Dan Mullen has seen plenty of Kirby Smart-led defenses in the past years. Perhaps too many. Smart, who was the defensive coordinator at Alabama from 2008-15, has a defense at Georgia that is playing in that same "style" of past Crimson Tide units, Mullen said. "I think you see similarities," said Mullen, whose Mississippi State team plays Georgia this weekend. "They have their defensive philosophy they run. You see that. They are even more comfortable in the scheme than last year. They have had another year under their belt." The Bulldogs, this season are giving up 266 yards per game and just 71 yards on the ground. Those number, however, are against Appalachian State, Notre Dame and Samford. |
| Mississippi State TE coach knows UGA personnel well, but coaches don't see it as much of a factor | |
| D.J. Looney may be back in the saddle at his alma mater Mississippi State after landing a full-time coaching job on Dan Mullen's staff last winter but that didn't stop him from returning to Athens to hang out with his old boss on the first Saturday of May. Looney joined the festivities at Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman's annual Kentucky Derby party. "I'm still close with a lot of those guys," Looney said this week. "Although I was only there for a year, it seems like it was a lot longer than that. Sam Pittman is a guy that I care a lot about and think a lot about, and a lot of those guys on that staff. Kirby (Smart) and I have a great relationship. That was fun to kind of get back around those guys. I have a lot of respect and love for those guys." |
| Michael Barnett enjoys starring role in preparing UGA offense for Mississippi State's Jeffery Simmons | |
| Over the past week as the Georgia offense prepared to go toe-to-toe with the back-to-back SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, a lot of pressure was put onto scout team member Michael Barnett. All week long, it's been Barnett's job to prepare the Georgia offense to face Simmons. "Michael Barnett he is rushing just like [Simmons]," Solomon Kindley said. "[He has been] doing his moves and everything." For Barnett, this means imitating both Simmons' style and technique to give the Georgia offensive players the best look they can get before seeing the real thing on Saturday. "[Simmons} has a really good long-arm spin move over the top and he is a really quick player," fullback Christian Payne said. "I think Michael Barnett does a really good job of being Jeffery Simmons." |
| Gerri Green has presence on outside of Todd Grantham's defense | |
| The Todd Grantham defensive scheme gives two basic jobs to defenders on the line of scrimmage, based on their position. Defensive tackles are asked to, as Grantham likes to say," build the wall," which means hold up the flow of offensive linemen trying to move downfield to block linebackers. Anyone outside of them is asked to set the edge, the process of combating blocks to squeeze outside runs to the inside and take away secondary gaps for inside runs. Gerri Green is the perfect man for the latter. He's shown just that through MSU's (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) first three games with 12 tackles, two of them for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles. The pivotal role he played in the win over LSU will stay as crucial as MSU goes to Georgia (3-0) 6 p.m. Saturday at Sanford Stadium (ESPN). |
| Blake Mitchell joins Mississippi State's 'scooter gang' | |
| Comfort and style never weighed into the decision for Blake Mitchell; convenience was the driving factor. Mitchell is a walk-on lineman in the Mississippi State football program and lives with fellow lineman Harrison Moon. At the time, Mitchell was taking his truck to school every day; Moon was riding a moped, effectively a small motorcycle often treated differently by traffic laws. Mitchell parked in the commuter parking lots like most other students while Moon got to use the motorcycle parking, much closer to class buildings. That's when the decision was made. Mitchell has turned some heads on campus for his choice of transportation. He and Moon both love their mopeds and never look back: they live close to campus and don't have to take major roadways to get there, so they get all the convenience of the parking spot with none of the hassle during the commute. |
| SEC director of officials Steve Shaw on LSU-Mississippi State offensive PI, sideline infractions | |
| Through three weeks of the season, all things are running smoothly, according to SEC director of officials Steve Shaw. Shaw joined the weekly SEC teleconference to talk about targeting, replay, sideline infractions by coaches and offensive pass interference. Shaw was asked, a couple of times, about offensive pass interference, specifically about one that wiped out a 67-yard score from Danny Etling to DJ Chark in a route by Mississippi State. "Anytime you have offensive pass interference, it's a very tough judgement call," said Shaw, who didn't want to talk about specific plays. "The rule itself states if it is the responsibility of the offensive player to avoid opponents." |
| SEC head of officials on disputed penalty that negated LSU TD: 'By rule, that's a foul' | |
 | The offensive pass interference penalty that negated LSU's first-quarter touchdown in a 30-point loss last week at Mississippi State was a foul according to the rule book. SEC head of officials Steve Shaw addressed the pass interference flag Wednesday on the SEC teleconference. Though league officials, like Shaw, do not comment on specific plays, he cited the rule when asked about the penalty Saturday called on Tigers receiver Stephen Sullivan. "The rule itself states it's the responsibility of the offensive player to avoid opponents. The receiver, he knows where he's going, knows his route. The defender doesn't know where he's going," Shaw said. Coach Ed Orgeron said earlier this week that he requested a comment from the league on the penalty. Shaw declined to discuss his response to Orgeron's request. |
| Is it in the recruiting stars? If so, then State has no shot at Georgia | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Long-time readers know my feelings about the star system in college football recruiting. It's a good conversation piece, but the stars -- even four and five at a time -- don't always translate into victories. If recruiting stars were the be-all, end-all, there's no reason to even play the Mississippi State-Georgia game in Athens Saturday. Stars-wise, it's a total mismatch. ...So how come Mississippi State, the 26th most talented team, smashed LSU, the country's sixth-most talented team 37-7 last Saturday night? Currently, from this viewpoint, State looks like the second best team in the SEC West, but stars-wise, the Bulldogs rank seventh and last. The fallacy of the system is that two- three-star athletes sometimes develop into five-star players." |
| Mississippi State's Andy Cannizaro releases fall baseball roster | |
| Mississippi State will begin fall baseball practice on Oct. 9 and released its roster on Wednesday. There are 16 new additions to Andy Cannizaro's squad with 10 high school signees, four junior college transfers and a pair of graduate transfers. Missing from MSU's fall roster are 11 players from last year's roster who had eligibility remaining. Those players include pitchers Peyton Plumlee, Jared Padgett, Ryan Cyr, Hayden Marze, Ryan Rigby, Parker Ford and Andrew Mahoney, catcher Elih Marrero, infielder Reed Smith, third baseman Harrison Bragg and outfielder Brant Blaylock. |
| A Kroger Field storming could cost Kentucky a pretty penny | |
 | Thirty years of frustration have to be released somehow. If Kentucky were to end a 30-year losing streak to Florida on Saturday night, it seems highly likely that the buildup extending back to 1987 might spill over into huge celebrations on the turf at Kroger Field. Because it would be a third offense since a new Southeastern Conference rule was put in place, a field storming by the already sold out crowd would cost UK Athletics $250,000. The storming the court/field rule charges first-time offenders $50,000, then $100,000 for a second offense. All subsequent stormings would continue to cost Kentucky $250,000. Even though he said he didn't know the streak was at 30 years to No. 20 Florida, UK running back Benny Snell said he'd be happy to see it end. "It would feel great," the sophomore said of the streak, which is the longest active streak in the country. |
| AD Jay Jacobs wants to 'move forward' with Auburn softball program | |
| After hiring a new softball coach, Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs is vigorously trying to move forward from the scandal without addressing the issue itself. After introducing his new softball hire Sunday, Jacobs listened to Mickey Dean suggest that a culture change was one of his top priorities in his new position. "My philosophy, it's all about culture," Dean said. "There's two types of culture, culture by default and culture by design. My responsibility as head coach is to make sure we have the culture that we want and that has to be by design." However, Dean's boss wasn't interested Sunday in answering questions about what caused Dean's job offer or staff change in the first place. "I'm not getting into anything of that," Jacobs said when asked if any personnel changes were coming to Auburn athletics or women's sports at Auburn. |
| Two college football players die after games last weekend; another is paralyzed | |
| This has been one of the deadliest years for college football in decades. Two players died after games last Saturday, CBS Sports and other news outlets reported, and three others died from football-related ailments during the off-season. Robert Grays, who played for Midwestern State University, died after suffering a neck injury during a game Saturday, the university said. The 19-year-old Grays was a 5-foot-8-inch, 160-pound cornerback for NCAA Division II Midwestern State, which is located in Texas. Clayton Geib, a senior football player at the College of Wooster, died Sunday after complaining that he did not feel well after the Division III team's game Saturday, according to the college. Geib, who was 21, had cramps and was hyperventilating in the locker room after the game. Most of the 35 college football-related deaths since 2000 have been linked to overexertion rather than traumatic injury, CBS's Dennis Dodd reported. Also last Saturday, a Harvard University football player, Ben Abercrombie, severely injured his neck while making a tackle. |
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