| Tuesday, October 17, 2017 |
| Granting excellence: Overstreet teacher honored during BYU-Mississippi State game | |
 | Carlton Rhodes saw a need for extra teaching materials in his classrooms. Rather than wait for the school districts he's worked for to find extra funding, he took matters into his own hands and has, in about six years, secured roughly $12,000 in grant funding through www.donorschoose.org, a site that allows individuals or groups to donate what they wish to various education projects. Rhodes, a fifth grade math teacher at Overstreet Elementary School, has been able to obtain tables, Chromebook computers, clickers, math journals, a printer, math manipulatives and science centers for his classes through that funding. On Saturday, Mississippi State University honored Rhodes before the Bulldogs' football game against the Brigham Young University Cougars. J.P. Abercrumbie, assistant athletic director for life skills and community engagement at MSU, said the recognition is part of the College Football Playoff Foundation's Extra Yard for Teaching initiative. |
| OCH bidders to make presentations next week | |
 | The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved two special call meetings to allow the bidders on OCH Regional Medical Center to provide presentations to both the board and the public. The special call meetings will take place on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Greensboro Center. Each bidder will have one hour to provide a presentation. North Mississippi Health Services will provide its presentation on Oct. 25 while Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation will give its presentation on Oct. 26. During the special call meetings, the board will not receive any questions from the general public. However, the board encourages citizens to submit their questions directly to the entities presenting through either email or before the meeting starts. |
| Cochran's prolonged illness causes speculation of 2008-type scenario | |
 | U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who has been dealing with urological issues for about a month, stresses that he will resume his duties in the nation's Capitol, but should he opt not to, Mississippi voters would find themselves in a near identical position to where they were in 2008. Late in 2007, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott unexpectedly stepped down in the second year of his six year term. This allowed then-Gov. Haley Barbour to appoint Roger Wicker, a U.S. House member from Tupelo, to fill the vacant post in the interm until a special election that the governor set for November. In the November general election, Mississippi voters had the rare opportunity to vote for both of their U.S. senators. Senators normally serve six year staggered terms. But in 2008, Mississippians re-elected Cochran for a full six-year term and elected Wicker to serve out Lott's term. |
| Cochran's illness shows risks to GOP leaders of aging Senate | |
 | Top Republicans coping with a razor-thin majority as they try pushing a partisan agenda through the Senate are running smack into another complication -- the sheer age and health issues of some senators. When the office of the ailing Sen. Thad Cochran announced Monday that it was the Mississippi Republican's "intention to return to the Senate when his health permits," it underscored the challenges of navigating a chamber that's the second oldest ever. Cochran's absence narrows the GOP's margin for error on a pivotal budget vote this week, and the Appropriations Committee that he chairs hasn't churned out any spending bills for next year since he was last in Washington in mid-September. Cochran isn't the only GOP senator with health issues that have caused them to miss time this year in Washington. |
| McDaniel mulls his political future | |
 | In Mississippi -- Chris McDaniel, the GOP state senator who challenged Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014, told POLITICO that he has had several conversations with Steve Bannon about his political future over the last month, including meetings at Breitbart's headquarters on Capitol Hill. McDaniel said Bannon told him he would "love to see me enter the U.S. Senate race, and that he'll support me in whatever race I would run." McDaniel has been toying with primarying Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker. McDaniel said Monday night that Cochran's illness and absence from the Senate hasn't changed his thinking about the Wicker race, saying that he is "praying for his full recovery so he can get back to work." McDaniel said Wicker has "failed the people of Mississippi" and that he plans to make a decision by the end of the month on whether to challenge him. McDaniel said entering the race is "much more compelling than even a month ago" after seeing Roy Moore win in Alabama. |
| Wicker opens online store in advance of reelection campaign | |
 | U.S. Senator Roger Wicker is doing something unusual in advance of his 2018 reelection campaign. He has opened an online store. It's named Roger Wicker's Great Mississippi Store, and it's selling caps and a koozie saying "Clinging to my guns and religion since 1817." Money from the sales of those items go to the campaign. Promotion of the store on social media came the same day former White House strategist Steve Bannon publicly attacked the GOP establishment in Washington. |
| John McCain blasts 'half-baked, spurious nationalism' in emotional speech | |
 | Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted "half-baked, spurious nationalism" in the United States in an emotional speech Monday night after receiving the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal. "To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain 'the last best hope of earth' for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history," McCain said in the speech. The Arizona senator said "we live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil" and said Americans "are the custodians of those ideals at home, and their champion abroad." |
| Trump and McConnell Strive for Comity Amid Rising Tensions | |
 | President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, tried to convey a sense of harmony on Monday after months of bitter, private feuding that threatened to undermine their party's legislative push in the coming weeks to enact a sweeping tax cut. In an impromptu, 45-minute Rose Garden news conference after the men met for lunch at the White House, Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell both put on a display of awkward camaraderie, as the president went on volubly, fielding question after question as the senator fidgeted and spoke only occasionally. Through it all, they tried to wave aside reports of a disintegrating relationship that had included the president's repeated use of tweets to publicly disparage Mr. McConnell's legislative leadership. |
| Trump says drug czar nominee Tom Marino is withdrawing after Washington Post/'60 Minutes' investigation | |
 | President Trump said Tuesday that his nominee to be the nation's drug czar is withdrawing from consideration for the job. Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) was under fire in the wake of revelations in a Washington Post/"60 Minutes" investigation that the lawmaker helped steer legislation in Congress making it harder for the Drug Enforcement Administration to act against giant drug companies. Trump had declined to express support for Marino on Monday. The president also said Monday that he will declare a national emergency next week to address the opioid epidemic. Trump said "we're going to be looking into" the investigation, while many Democrats and at least one Republican called for modification or outright repeal of the law. |
| Nation's next supercomputer moves ahead at Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
 | The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's new supercomputer is coming together, piece by piece. A team from IBM, the computer's manufacturer, has already begun installing computer cabinets for Summit, the country's next step between our current computing capabilities and a national goal to create the world's first exascale computer by 2021. Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility project director Buddy Bland expects the rest of Summit's parts will arrive by February. "Then we would expect the machine to be built up and accepted sometime next summer," Bland said. nce it's up and running, the lab will have what Bland calls a period of "early science," to allow the laboratory to explore the extent of the machine's capability. The test period will allow ORNL scientists to look for any problems in the machine's set-up while they work on high-impact science experiments. |
| USM dedicates TV suite for NBC anchor, alumnus Chuck Scarborough | |
 | Students pursuing a career in broadcast journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi now have an important tool on campus to help, thanks for NBC anchor and Southern Miss alumnus Chuck Scarborough. Southern Miss held a dedication ceremony for the "Charles Bishop Scarborough III Television Studio Suite" at College Hall Monday morning. "It was actually quite nice to stand in the studio, which will be, I think, a vital tool for them (students) as they progress forward in their careers," Scarborough said. "I'm very pleased to be able to make this gift." A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Scarborough served four years in the U.S. Air Force before beginning his television career at WLOX-TV in Biloxi. In 1968, while earning his bachelor's degree in radio and TV at Southern Miss, Scarborough worked for WDAM-TV as a reporter and anchor. |
| Damaged limb to be removed from USM's Friendship Oak in Long Beach | |
 | After remaining undefeated for more than 500 years, a damaged portion of the Friendship Oak at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus is scheduled to be removed. In August, one of the main limbs broke due to heavy new growth and water weight. After being examined by arborist Dr. Malcolm Guidry, it was determined that the collapsed limb should be cut off in the best interests of both public safety and overall health of the tree. The tree currently stands at 59-feet high and is nearly 6-feet in diameter. A popular photo spot for visitors, legend has it that those who enter in its shadow will remain friends for life. |
| Interim MVSU President gets support from alumni, faculty and students | |
| Some Mississippi Valley State University alumni, faculty and students want the College Board to name a president without a full search. The Greenwood Commonwealth reports acting president Jerryl Briggs garnered prominent support Thursday at a meeting where trustees asked Valley supporters to discuss desired qualities in a president. Briggs, previously chief operating officer, has run the 2,500-student school since William Bynum Jr. left in June to become president of Jackson State University. Briggs says he'd like to be president, and Bynum endorses him. |
| Tapping childhood dreams, students look to college | |
 | As Reggie Moore contemplates college, he's looking to cultivate a fondness for working with animals -- an activity he's enjoyed for a long, long time. "I'm a cowboy," said Moore. "I've got a couple of horses and cows, and I'd like to learn a little bit more of how to doctor them myself... I already know how to get the calf out, but I want to learn more." Moore, along with other seniors at Meridian High School, was participating in an Application Day conducted by the high school in partnership with Meridian Community College. MCC staff members are collaborating with high schools throughout the area on a series of days designed to jumpstart the process of applying for college and financial aid. If applications tend to unearth pragmatic concerns about such things as deadlines and financial materials, they also sparked some students to dream of the future. "I am planning on going to Mississippi State and majoring in architecture," said DuJuan Brown, a Meridian High School senior. |
| Itawamba Community College cuts ribbon on new band hall, storm shelter | |
| Itawamba Community College officials in Fulton cut the ribbon on the school's new band hall and FEMA-approved safe room Monday afternoon. The 20,900-square-foot facility, located on the southwest corner of the Fulton campus, near the Davis Event Center, features multiple practice rooms for the 230-member band. A 13,585-square-foot "safe room" anchors the building. Although used for offices and storage most of the time, this space can protect approximately 2,300 people from winds of up to 250 miles per hour. "Tornadoes and storms continue to plague Mississippi," Dr. Jay Allen, ICC President, told the crowd of attendees gathered inside the building's narrow entranceway. "This safe room will help ICC be better prepared." |
| Biloxi superintendent said he doesn't understand 'big controversy' over 'To Kill a Mockingbird' | |
 | Superintendent Arthur McMillan, speaking outside the administration building Monday, said the Biloxi School District never removed "To Kill A Mockingbird" from the middle school library or reading list. And eighth graders who want to study the book now have a choice to attend a special book study. He would not answer questions about why the book was taken from the regular lesson plan for the second, nine-week term. He went back to his original statement that the school district changes material periodically. The school website had "Mockingbird" listed as a book the classes would study in the second term. But a school board member confirmed that after parental complaints, the school district decided to find another book to fill "Mockingbird's" slot. He told the Sun Herald and WXXV, "I'm not understanding really, what the big controversy is." |
| Students learn cooking skills at Hinds Community College's Vicksburg campus | |
 | Students at Hinds Community College's Vicksburg campus are cooking up a storm. Starting from scratch two years ago, the school's culinary arts program has grown to include nearly 90 students between its high school and college programs. "We have high school kids here every day," said Matthew Campbell, the department chair for the culinary program at the Vicksburg campus. "When they graduate, they can take my classes, which are at night, which are postsecondary. We've got baking classes, Garde Manger, which is the cold kitchen stuff, we have American regional cooking, international cuisine, cooking principals one and two, pretty much everything." College students attend culinary classes for three semesters and then receive a technical degree, or they can choose to take English, a humanities class, a social science class and a speaking class during a fourth semester to complete their associates. |
| 2 men arrested in U. of Alabama strip shooting | |
| A man was injured in a shooting after the University of Alabama homecoming football game. News outlets report Tuscaloosa police say the victim was shot in the lower back after midnight Sunday outside the Rounders Bar on the University Boulevard strip near Bryant-Denny Stadium. Capt. Kip Hart said investigators learned Kenneth Ray Ikner Jr. and the victim were involved in an ongoing fight over a woman. |
| Facing alt-right visit at U. of Florida, governor issues state of emergency | |
 | In advance of Thursday's appearance by alt-right leader Richard Spencer on the University of Florida campus, Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for Alachua County. The declaration is needed to help local law enforcement and state agencies keep the peace, after prior Spencer speaking engagements in Alabama, California, Texas and Virginia have "sparked protests and counter-protests resulting in episodes of violence, civil unrest and multiple arrests," reads the governor's order, issued Monday. Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell made the request to the governor to assist with local law enforcement efforts. Organizers of the "no Nazi" group gathered on the UF campus Monday morning to ask UF President Kent Fuchs to not allow Spencer's group to speak at the Phillips Center Thursday. UF and city officials have asked people to stay away from the protest area in hopes that the event won't make headlines. |
| Protesters argue against Spencer visit at U. of Florida | |
| A crowd of University of Florida students, employees and Gainesville community members marched to the school's administration building Monday and demanded to speak with President Kent Fuchs about white nationalist Richard Spencer's visit Thursday. About 30 people walked to Tigert Hall, at Union Road and Southwest 13th Street. They came from the Plaza of the Americas, near West University Avenue and Newell Drive, where about 50 people had rallied against Spencer's pro-white rhetoric, promoting the hashtag #NoNazisAtUF. "It's not just offensive; it's dangerous," said UF senior Tim Tia. Spencer, leader of the National Policy Institute, advocates for a "white ethno-state" in North America and calls for "peaceful ethnic cleansing." |
| One month after Maxwell Gruver's death, LSU lifts ban on Greek parties with alcohol | |
 | LSU's initial crackdown on Greek activities in the wake of the death of a fraternity pledge was further peeled back last weekend when parties with alcohol were allowed to resume. Beginning on Thursday, four weeks after freshman Maxwell Gruver was pronounced dead following a night of heavy drinking in the Phi Delta Theta house, LSU said students could resume attending events where alcohol was served. Fraternities and sororities were allowed to participate in on- and off-campus parties, including house parties, exchanges and formals, where alcohol was served. Students in the fraternities and sororities were required to attend risk management training in order to participate. But LSU President F. King Alexander said the move should not be interpreted as a signal that things are going back to normal. |
| U. of Tennessee faculty say outsourcing won't work | |
| Faculty at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and members of a statewide union on Monday expressed concern about hidden costs and a lack of plans for future employees who might be contracted to work under outside company Jones Lang LaSalle if the university decides to participate in the state's outsourcing plan. The concerns voiced Monday follow the UT system last week making public the proposals it has received from JLL at each of its campuses. JLL says the plan could save the UT system as much as $6.8 million in the first year and $5.2 million at UT Knoxville. The company has promised that there won't be any layoffs and that existing employees would be offered equitable pay and benefits if they transition to the new contract. But the proposals say little about how future employees would be treated, something faculty and union members said is important. |
| Rape reported at U. of Tennessee residence hall | |
| A rape was reported in a residence hall on the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus over the weekend, according to the UT Police Department. UT's student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, reported Monday afternoon that the report was made Sunday by a female student who said she was raped by a male acquaintance in a residence hall. Jillian Paciello, spokeswoman for the UT Police Department, said the case is an open investigation and no further details are being released at this time, including the specific residence hall where the incident was reported. A campus-wide email was sent notifying students and faculty of the incident around noon Monday, according to the Beacon. |
| Aggie astronomer Jennifer Marshall among witnesses to stellar history | |
 | Texas A&M University astronomer Jennifer Marshall was one of a handful of scientists across the planet to witness the gravitational waves produced from two colliding neutron stars for the first time. The experience came during her visit to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile in August. The observation of the event -- and the data scientists are hoping to glean from it -- is being hailed as a major step forward for the field, thanks in large part to the contributions of the Advanced Virgo gravitational wave detector in Italy and the U.S.-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory's abilities to detect gravitational waves. Marshall, an assistant professor in the department of physics and astronomy, was visiting the Chilean observatory as part of the international Dark Energy Survey initiative to create a detailed map of one-eighth of the sky. |
| Lawsuit over U. of Missouri records costs to go to trial in 2018 | |
 | A lawsuit challenging the University of Missouri's demand for $82,222 to fulfill a Sunshine Law request will likely go to trial in February or March. James Farnsworth, representing the UM System, and Eric Crinnian, representing Animal Rescue Media Education, settled a dispute over document demands in the appearance Monday before Circuit Judge Jeff Harris. Under the original schedule for the case, all preliminary steps were supposed to be completed Tuesday but the dispute, which included claims by Farnsworth that Crinnian was ignoring his emails, has pushed that date back. After settling the document dispute, Harris gave the attorneys two weeks to propose a trial schedule and said he was free for a date in late February and again in late March. "We think that probably by February we will be ready," Farnsworth said. |
| Leonard Pitts Jr. offers writing tips to young journalists at U. of Missouri | |
 | If Leonard Pitts Jr. had his way, you'd feel like someone had just yanked you by your collar into one of his columns. That phrase, a tip he gave for beginning an editorial column, was among the various lessons and advice on opinion writing Pitts shared with a crowd Monday afternoon in MU's Middlebush Auditorium. Pitts, a nationally-syndicated and Pulitzer Prize winning writer, was one of six winners of the Missouri Honor Medal, awarded by the Missouri School of Journalism since 1930 "for distinguished service performed in such lines of journalistic endeavor," according to the school's website. Pitts has served as a novelist, college professor, radio producer, lecturer and columnist whose words are read weekly by millions of newspaper readers, according to his website. He spoke as part of a master class series, where each Honor Medal winner offered observations and lessons from their career. |
| Colleges and universities set high targets in latest fund-raising campaigns | |
 | It's a popular time to try to raise a few billion dollars. Over the last few weeks, several public flagship research universities have announced multibillion-dollar fund-raising campaigns running into 2022. Another private research university said it is trying to raise $1 billion. Even some institutions without the size and reach to set targets in the billions of dollars are stretching their goals to record levels. In the competitive world of higher education fund-raising, there is likely an element of one-upmanship at play in some of the cases. Often one university will try to raise at least a little bit more than its competitors did in their last campaigns, leading to an upward march in announced fund-raising goals. Plus, universities are always hungry for more money for a myriad of priorities. But the recent spate of lofty announced goals is also likely being driven by other factors. |
| Study finds patterns of harassment and sexist treatment of scholars in far-flung locations | |
| Many academics regard fieldwork -- the chance to make discoveries and come face-to-face with what they've spent years studying -- as a career highlight. Beyond that, it's a crucial to career development. So a 2014 study highlighting widespread sexual harassment at academic field sites struck a chord -- or rather, was so discordant with many scientists' perceptions of what fieldwork should be that it's still frequently cited. Last week, for example, Science offered the grim finding of that 2014 study as background in a major story on Boston University investigating its chair of Earth and environment for alleged sexual harassment of trainees in Antarctica. Some 71 percent of 512 self-selecting female respondents reported being sexually harassed during fieldwork, the overwhelmingly majority of them trainees at the time, according to the study. Now the authors of the "Survey of Academic Field Experiences (SAFE): Trainees Report Harassment and Assault," originally published in PLOS ONE, have more to say. |
| Admit it: Voting Rights Act had a down side, too | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "A case the U.S. Supreme Court will decide this term illustrates what happens when good intentions go bad. The case is from Wisconsin, which is accused of going too far in injecting political favoritism when drawing voting district lines. We all learned in civics class this is called gerrymandering, a term coined by the Boston Gazette in 1812 when a salamander-shaped senate district in Massachusetts had been crafted to support the politics of then-Gov. Elbridge Gerry. ... Also throughout history, the party with the pencil has had the power to help itself. Redistricting offers the opportunity to create more voter districts favorable to said majority. Now, to the nub: In Mississippi, everybody knows that race and partisanship are one and the same. With few exceptions, blacks identify with the Democratic Party and whites with the Republican Party. The same pattern applies nationally, of course, but is amplified in states with large minority populations, such as Mississippi. For some reason, politicians talk around that when it comes to voter districts." |
| Changes to Mississippi campaign finance laws affect business community | |
 | Attorney Spencer Ritchie writes in the Mississippi Business Journal: "Mississippi campaign finance laws are about to change, and it's not just officeholders and candidates that need to be prepared for the changes. Businesses and other organizations that seek to participate in elections and ballot measures through political committees must also be ready. On April 11, 2017, Governor Phil Bryant signed into law Senate Bill 2689, legislation instituting several reforms to Mississippi's campaign finance laws. Lesser-known provisions in the Act are those affecting 'political committees.' ...As the Mississippi election calendar heats up in 2018 and 2019, political committees are sure to want to weigh in on important elections and ballot measures. In doing so, they would do well to confirm they are in compliance with Mississippi's amended campaign finance laws." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs facing another top SEC East opponent | |
| Dan Mullen doesn't get a say so in Southeastern Conference scheduling. If he did, Mullen would've likely chosen for his Mississippi State team to avoid playing Georgia and Kentucky this season. The Bulldogs were blasted by Georgia 31-3 on the road last month but are hoping for better results this weekend when they host Kentucky. "You never can control how the schedule plays out," Mullen said. "This year we play the top two teams in the SEC East. It rotates so that just happens sometimes with the scheduling." The Wildcats are coming off a bye last week and enter Saturday's contest at 5-1 with their lone loss being a 28-27 setback to Florida on Sept. 23. "It's obviously a huge challenge against an excellent football team," Mullen said. |
| Mississippi State football looks to start new streak vs. Kentucky | |
| After three weeks without a win, Dan Mullen and the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2 SEC) were happy to add to the left side of the win/loss column last week against Brigham Young. Mullen, with the win, moved to 65-44 all-time at MSU in his nine seasons and is now tied with College Football Hall of Famer Allyn McKeen for second place in Starkville. He's only behind another Hall of Fame coach in Jackie Sherrill, who won 75 in 13 seasons. Seven of Mullen's wins in his first eight years came against Kentucky, this week's opponent at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon on the SEC Network. The Wildcats have typically been a tough out in all seven of those wins and last season Mark Stoops led the 'Cats to their first win over MSU since 2008. This year's team enters this week's game 5-1 and just outside of the top 25. |
| Mississippi State is a 10-point favorite against Kentucky | |
 | Dan Mullen doesn't have a solution, as he put it, that would appease all sides of the conversation regarding the SEC's scheduling rotation. But he can list several options -- and he did just that on Monday. Instead of Mississippi State always playing crossover rival Kentucky every season, perhaps the conference should rotate the crossover opponent every year, Mullen said. Maybe there shouldn't be divisions and there would then be one or two permanent opponents for each team. The problem, Mullen said, is weighing the importance of historic rivalries against an opportunity to play different teams, which, he added, would be cool. After spending a few minutes discussing the issue, Mullen threw up his hands. "I have my hands full, I guess, trying to get ready to win football games for us and not figure out the mathematics of scheduling," Mullen said. |
| MSU Notebook: Logan Cooke having breakthrough season | |
| Logan Cooke has always possessed a strong leg, but back and knee injuries over his career have hindered his progress. Now healthy, the Mississippi State senior is enjoying a breakthrough season punting the football. Cooke is fourth in the SEC, averaging 46.2 yards per punt with a long of 67. He has pinned 12 of his 25 punts inside the red zone and 10 have exceeded 50 yards. All three of Cooke's punts against BYU this past weekend traveled 50 yards or further with a long of 57. "Anybody that's seen him kick or has watched him warm-up knows he's got talent," said MSU coach Dan Mullen. "But the consistency is the most important thing. He was very consistent and that certainly helped. When you're averaging 53 a punt, that helps flip field position and never gives them the ball on the plus side of the field." |
| Kentucky football: Cats not undergoing complete overhaul after this bye week | |
 | The bye week can be a useful time for a little renovation. Most seasons, it's the equivalent of doing some grout work or painting a room a different color, but for Kentucky's offense last season, it was nearly a gut job. There were more motion and trick plays put in to keep opponents off balance and a lot more devotion to the power run game behind a strong offensive line along with running backs Boom Williams and Benny Snell. So exactly how much retooling did UK's coaches do this season during their bye last week before beginning preparation for Mississippi State on Saturday? |
| Mississippi State-Texas A&M set for primetime tilt | |
| Mississippi State's trip to Texas A&M on Oct. 28 has been scheduled for a 6:15 p.m. kickoff on ESPN. It is the fourth time the Bulldogs have played a prime time game on ESPN this season and third on the road at night against a ranked opponent. The all-time series against Texas A&M is tied at five with the Aggies holding a 2-1 edge in College Station. MSU defeated the Aggies 35-28 in Starkville last season. |
| Ole Miss apologizes to Houston Nutt as sides settle lawsuit | |
| The legal saga between Houston Nutt and Ole Miss is over. The Rebels' former football coach and the school have reached an agreement "that would allow the parties to resolve Coach Nutt's claim while avoiding the costs and distractions associated with further litigation," according to a joint statement released by the school Monday. The decision was made after lawyers for both sides communicated for the past few weeks about the lawsuit filed by Nutt in Lafayette County Circuit Court last week against Ole Miss, the athletics foundation and the IHL board. "Certain statements made by University employees in January 2016 appear to have contributed to misleading media reports about Coach Nutt," Ole Miss said in a statement. "To the extent any such statements harmed Coach Nutt's reputation, the University apologizes, as this was not the intent.The NCAA's Notice of Allegations dated January 22, 2016, did not name or implicate Coach Nutt in any misconduct, and it would have been inappropriate for any University employee to suggest otherwise." |
| LSU coach Ed Orgeron takes swipe at old team, says he wished he was at LSU while at Ole Miss | |
| LSU coach Ed Orgeron resorted to coachspeak at his weekly newsconference Monday when asked about facing his former team, Ole Miss, on Saturday in Oxford as the Tigers' leader. "This game is not about me," Orgeron told reporters Monday. "Again, I will say this to you: I had a tremendous opportunity at Ole Miss. I didn't get it done, but the past is the past. This is way behind us. Me and my family have moved forward. I'm so happy to be an LSU Tiger. This is another an SEC game. It's LSU/Ole Miss. It means a lot, and it has nothing to do with me. This is about the team." In a one-on-one interview with ESPN's Chris Low, Orgeron took a bit of swipe at the Rebels. The Ole Miss game is just another game on the schedule, Orgeron told ESPN, "because the truth is the whole time I was there I was wishing I were here." |
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