| Wednesday, October 18, 2017 |
| Ron Chernow's latest historical subject: Ulysses Grant | |
 | As he began work on what became a thousand-page biography of Ulysses S. Grant, Ron Chernow knew he was joining a very old argument. "I wanted to retire three chief myths about Grant: that he was a crude and brutal general; that he was a hopeless alcoholic who somehow stumbled through the Civil War in a drunken stupor; and that he oversaw a failed presidency marked by corruption and nepotism," says Chernow. Chernow sees Grant as a continuation of the military hero-political leader that Washington embodied, but one with a more troubled reputation. But his standing has improved in recent years. The story of Grant is complicated, down to the location of his presidential library, where Chernow did extensive research: Mississippi State University. The school's first president was a Confederate general, Stephen Dill Lee, who became a prisoner of war after the Siege of Vicksburg, one of Grant's greatest victories. But the school's current president, Dr. Mark Keenum, says that Mississippi is a key part of Grant's story and that the university is an ideal setting for advancing understanding. |
| Interview with Frank J. Williams: Lincoln Lodestar | |
 | Frank Williams grew up in Cranston, R.I., and rose to serve as chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. He de-stresses by baking, cooking, and writing, but his most longstanding hobby is collecting items related to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. He and his wife Virginia recently donated one of the world's largest private Lincoln collections to Mississippi State University in Starkville, where it joins the U.S. Grant Presidential Library. The items, ranging from books and pamphlets to sculptures and ephemera, will be housed in a new 22,000-square foot facility. Rotating exhibits will feature collection items. |
| Crop insurance targeted as farm bill debate looms | |
| Critics of crop insurance are laying the groundwork for winning amendments to the next farm bill that could slash premium subsidies and support to the insurance industry. Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., told Agri-Pulse on Tuesday that he is preparing to argue against any amendments attacking crop insurance or other farm programs. Defenders of crop insurance also argue that reducing premium subsidies to high-income producers could push them out of the program and lead to premium increases for the farmers who remain. "As commodity prices decline and farmers' budgets tighten, an increase in the cost of crop insurance is only more likely to result in a decrease in crop insurance purchases," according to the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau. According to a recent Mississippi State University study cited by CIRB, farmers won't buy insurance if the premiums exceed 4 percent of the crop value. |
| Mississippi State's Geoff Denny dispels garden myths at Kiwanis | |
 | The Starkville Kiwanis club got some lessons in horticulture at its meeting Tuesday, when Mississippi State University assistant extension professor Geoff Denny spoke at the group's meeting Tuesday. Denny, the director of the MSU Trial Gardens gave a lecture discrediting much old garden wisdom and scientifically explaining the falsehood. Myths covered included gravel helping potted plants drain, painting over damage in trees, mixing sand with clay soil to loosen it, superiority of organic and natural products, many uses for Epsom salts, companion plants and compost tea as a pesticide. "Some of this stuff was stuff I learned from the beginning," Denny said. "At one point or another, these were taught to us, and we've come to find out that we were lied to." Denny also discussed the garden's upcoming Halloween in the Garden Event to be held Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Various community and MSU organizations will have booths set up for children to trick-or-treat between. |
| District 38 forum set for Thursday at Mississippi State's McCool Hall | |
 | Three candidates vying to succeed former District 38 Rep. Tyrone Ellis will have a chance to make their cases to the public at a forum set for Thursday at Mississippi State University. The Stennis Montgomery Association, a student organization at MSU, is partnering with the Stennis Institute of Government in the Taylor Auditorium in McCool Hall. The forum is scheduled to last from 6:30-8 p.m. Three candidates -- Narissa Dawn Bradford, Cheikh A. Taylor and Lisa Wynn -- are running in a special election to replace Ellis. Ellis, a 71-year-old Democrat from Starkville, represented the district for nearly 40 years. He announced his retirement at the end of June. District 38 includes portions of Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties. |
| House 38 special election candidates participating in forum | |
 | Voters in House District 38 wanting to hear from the candidates running in the Nov. 7 special election can attend a public forum Thursday night sponsored by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. at Taylor Auditorium in McCool Hall. All three candidates, Narissa Bradford, Cheikh Taylor and Lisa Wynn, say they are Democrats and will run as Democrats in the 2019 regular election if they win the Nov. 7 special election. All three candidates say they will focus on education if elected to the Legislature and all voiced support for the full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which provides the bulk of state funding for the basic operation of local school districts. |
| Study: Florida needs more pet-friendly hurricane shelters for the elderly | |
| The lack of sufficient emergency shelter to house evacuees along with their dogs and cats in Florida's Miami-Dade metropolitan area may prolong older pet owners' hesitation to leave home when a hurricane hits, researchers warn in the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences. The new study's findings came as no surprise to Daniel Petrolia, a professor of environmental economics at Mississippi State University, because they are consistent with his own research. "I would not, however, jump to the conclusion that more pet-friendly shelters are needed, because I have no idea what that does to the cost of operating a shelter, nor do I have any idea what effect that may have on people without pets going to shelters," Petrolia, who was not involved with the study, said by email. |
| Starkville preps for Citywide Tailgate on Friday | |
| The city will see 31 businesses and organizations participating in the 2017 installment of Citywide Tailgate, featuring the theme "Tailgating at its Finest." The event will begin Friday at 11 a.m. and run to 1:30 p.m. on Lampkin Street, Main Street and Hospital Drive. Wristbands for the Citywide Tailgate are $5 each and can be purchased ahead of time at Bancorp South on University Drive, OCH Regional Medical Center on Hospital Drive, ProGraphics on Highway 12, Luna Bella/Merle Norman on Russell Street, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, and 929 Coffee Bar on Main Street. A variety of food, beverages, and entertainment will be available to attendees. |
| Oktibbeha County supervisors announce hospital bidder forums | |
| Oktibbeha County supervisors unanimously approved setting two special called meetings next week to allow bidders on OCH Regional Medical Center to present information about themselves to the public. Board President Orlando Trainer raised the matter at the end of Monday's board of supervisors meeting, saying he'd asked the bidders if they could hold informational sessions. Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation and North Mississippi Health Services are bidding to purchase OCH. Oktibbeha County voters will decide in a Nov. 7 referendum whether to allow supervisors to move forward with a sale of the 96-bed county owned hospital. Both systems will present at the informational forums next week. |
| Mississippi startups compete for chance to get business off the ground | |
 | More good news for the state of Mississippi this week as local entrepreneurs are competing for a chance to get their business off the ground. This week, 30 Mississippi Startup companies are competing for cash prizes in Innovate Mississippi's New Venture Challenge. "We have folks who are developing an app that can help you streamline all your social media," said Tasha Bibb, Director of Entrepreneurial Development. "We got folks that have actual products that can even fill potholes." From dry wall repair to machines that will dry your hair, these entrepreneurs are hoping to launch their businesses with Mississippi roots. |
| Holland says he may run again during event where he, Barbour honored | |
| State Rep. Steve Holland, used the occasion of being honored alongside former Gov. Haley Barbour, to announce Tuesday night he might change his mind about retiring from the Legislature at the end of his current term. The Plantersville Democrat and Barbour, a two-term Republican governor, were honored Tuesday night as Hall of Fame inductees at an event recognizing top 50 leaders in the fields of government; lobbying and government relations; and in business, media and culture. The event is conducted primarily by Y'all Politics, a state politics website. The Hall of Fame inductees last year, which was the inaugural year for the event, were former Gov. William Winter and U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. |
| Tindell takes appeals court oath; Senate election set for Harrison County seat | |
| A former state senator is joining the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and a special election has been set to fill his legislative seat. Sean Tindell took his judicial oath of office Tuesday during a ceremony in Harrison County. His term begins Nov. 2. Gov. Phil Bryant appointed Tindell to the appeals court to succeed David Ishee, who moved up to the Mississippi Supreme Court in September. On Tuesday, Bryant set a special election in Senate District 49, which is entirely in Harrison County. |
| Forrest-Lamar Republican Women gather for lunch with Treasurer Lynn Fitch | |
 | This month's meeting of Forrest-Lamar Republican Women featured State Treasurer Lynn Fitch, who spoke before the crowd of nearly 50 people gathered at Movie Star Restaurant in Hattiesburg. Fitch spoke about two programs available that have long-range savings plans for children's future college education. "We have worked deliberately with our MACS and our IMPACT programs," Fitch said. "MACS has been the affordable one that we have done differently in the past several years. We now do payroll deposits, so we can take something out of someone's check deposit and put it towards a child, grandchild, niece or nephew. And it's such a win-win situation. You get a tax deduction, most importantly you're investing in a child and that child is seven times more likely to go to college." |
| Cochran returns to Washington amid questions about his health | |
 | Sen. Thad Cochran returned to Washington on Tuesday, amid national news questioning his health and whether he would be there for crucial budget work and GOP votes. Cochran, 79, issued a written statement: "I am pleased to be back in Washington where I look forward to continuing work on the 2018 appropriations bills and to taking part in the debate on the budget and tax cuts. I appreciate all the support and kind words I received while at home." Cochran's office said he continues to be treated for urological issues and remains under medical supervision, which could affect his work schedule. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who serves on the Appropriations Committee, said: "We need him here. I wish him well. I understand he's making good progress... I don't know the detail of why he's under the weather. It's not my business, I just miss him." |
| Senate GOP prepares for a war with Bannon | |
 | Senate Republicans say they will fight back vigorously against former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon's efforts to knock off GOP incumbents in primaries next year. They hope that President Trump will have their backs, but they're not counting on it. GOP leaders are urging their colleagues to put laser-like focus on their home states and constituents so even if Trump abandons or criticizes them ahead of the midterm elections, they'll still be in a position to win. Senate Republicans are publicly and privately calling on Bannon to step back. Other Republicans are pushing back against Bannon with tougher language. Letting out a groan of frustration, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a swing vote in the upcoming tax-reform debate, waved her hand dismissively and said, "I think he should stay out." |
| McConnell donors weigh switching to Bannon | |
 | Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon flew to Atlanta last week to huddle with Republican mega-donor Bernie Marcus -- and to hear him vent. A Home Depot co-founder who's been one of the most prolific givers to Senate Republicans, Marcus fumed to Bannon for hours about the lack of return on his investment. In the past six months alone, Marcus has funneled $2 million to a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and tens of thousands more to the National Republican Senatorial Committee --- only to watch the Senate fail again and again. Over the past several weeks, Bannon has crisscrossed the country meeting with dozens of the party's biggest contributors -- all in the hopes of capitalizing on their anger at McConnell. Bannon's offensive will intensify on Wednesday, when he will outline his plans for the 2018 midterms to a group of major donors in New York City. |
| Two Senators Strike Deal on Health Subsidies That Trump Cut Off | |
 | Two leading senators, hoping to stabilize teetering health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act, reached a bipartisan deal on Tuesday to fund critical subsidies to insurers that President Trump moved just days ago to cut off. At the White House, virtually as the deal was being announced, Mr. Trump voiced support for it while insisting that he would try again to repeal President Barack Obama's signature health law. The plan by the senators, Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, and Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, would fund the subsidies for two years, a step that would provide at least short-term certainty to insurers. The subsidies, known as cost-sharing reduction payments, reimburse insurance companies for lowering deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income customers. |
| Smartphones Are Killing Americans, But Nobody's Counting | |
| Jennifer Smith doesn't like the term "accident." It implies too much chance and too little culpability. A "crash" killed her mother in 2008, she insists, when her car was broadsided by another vehicle while on her way to pick up cat food. The other driver, a 20-year-old college student, ran a red light while talking on his mobile phone, a distraction that he immediately admitted and cited as the catalyst of the fatal event. Yet in federal records, the death isn't attributed to distraction or mobile-phone use. It's just another line item on the grim annual toll taken by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration -- one of 37,262 that year. Three months later, Smith quit her job as a realtor and formed Stopdistractions.org, a nonprofit lobbying and support group. Her intent was to make the tragic loss of her mother an anomaly. To that end, she has been wildly unsuccessful. Nine years later, the problem of death-by-distraction has gotten much worse. |
| Raids on pot grow houses finding more Chinese nationals, mysterious financing | |
 | Police are arresting large numbers of Chinese nationals in raids on illegal marijuana operations in California, Colorado and other states, raising questions about who is financing these grow houses and recruiting the immigrants to tend them. In one recent indictment obtained by McClatchy, money from a southern China bank account was transferred to California to pay for down payments on homes that later become grow houses, suggesting that some investors in China are putting money into the illicit U.S. marijuana market. "These are sophisticated operations," said Thomas Yu, a longtime Asian gang investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "When we hear about Asian gangs, we think about young guys doing drive-by shootings. This isn't like that. These are organized ad hoc enterprises, run by businessmen. They are in it for the profit." |
| Fentanyl distribution in Harrison County part of major federal bust of Chinese manufacturers | |
 | The distribution of fentanyl in Harrison County since 2010 has been linked, in part, to a man from China and his company in one of the Justice Department's first-ever indictments against Chinese manufacturers of illegal substances. Two Chinese nationals have been indicted on charges they manufactured tons of fentanyl and other powerful narcotics that were then peddled in the United States, killing at least four people and seriously injuring five others, Justice Department officials announced Tuesday. Authorities said the men controlled one of the most prolific international drug-trafficking organizations, but with no extradition treaty with China, the chances are slim they will ever be brought to the U.S. to face the charges. |
| Ole Miss' Khayat receives Winter-Reed award for educational excellence | |
 | Ole Miss' Chancellor Emeritus Robert Khayat received an award named after former Mississippi Gov. William Winter and late Tupelo businessman Jack Reed, Sr. Khayat received the 2017 Mississippi Association of Partners in Education (MAPE) Winter-Reed Partnership Award during a tribute held Tuesday. He was honored for his "tireless lifelong commitment to improving education." Khayat said this award is special because he greatly admires Winter and Reed. "Robert Khayat showed genuine transformational leadership as chancellor of Ole Miss at a time when others would have preferred the status quo," said MAPE President Phil Hardwick. "His memoir, 'The Education of a Lifetime,' should be required reading not only for educations but for anyone in a leadership position. He truly exhibits the spirit of the Winter-Reed Award." |
| Parent who complained about 'Mockingbird' speaks out at Biloxi school board meeting | |
| Yolanda Williams and her mother, Jessica Williams, told the Biloxi School Board on Tuesday evening that it wasn't just "To Kill A Mockingbird" that was offensive about the curriculum for the eighth grade but other things, including the study of ammunition used in the Civil War. The two women complained to the school after Yolanda's child was assigned to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" and students were using a racial slur in the classroom. Yolanda Williams said she found out that students were saying the N-word and laughing in the classroom, and it was offensive. "Students were laughing out loud at the teacher's response. That's unacceptable to me," she told the board. "Is there not a better way to teach about that era and the horrors of that era, other than having kids laughing in class when the N-word is said? It should not be required reading for all students. My child shouldn't have to sit in that class like that." |
| JPS school honoring Jefferson Davis to be renamed after Barack Obama | |
| A predominately black public school in Mississippi named after Jefferson Davis will have its Confederate tied namesake stripped next year and replaced with the title of another president whose character students, parents and teachers have said is more fitting: Barack Obama. Davis Magnet IB PTA President Janelle Jefferson announced at the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday evening that school stakeholders voted on Oct. 5 to rename the school Barack Obama Magnet IB. "Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him," she told the board. A demographic breakdown of Davis Magnet's enrollment for the 2017 school lists 98 percent of the school's students as black. |
| Digital textbooks equal cost savings for Auburn students | |
 | It's no secret that attending college in the United States is relatively expensive, with everything from tuition to parking fees adding to the overall cost. That's not to mention the cost of textbooks for each class. But Auburn University says it has saved students nearly $1 million since 2014, crediting a focus on going digital textbooks. "We've actually saved students $941,000, just in three years," said Russell Weldon, assistant director in charge of course materials at the university's bookstore. "On average so far, we've saved students 45 percent overall, for everything they're buying through the All Access program. So we're literally cutting the cost of materials in half." Three years ago, Auburn began implementing All Access as a trial in its freshman orientation course. |
| U. of Florida students speak out as Spencer visit nears | |
 | As the day nears for white nationalist Richard Spencer's arrival, University of Florida students must make a choice. Despite a state of emergency in Alachua County, UF administrators don't plan to shut down the campus on Thursday. Some professors have taken initiative to cancel classes or make them optional. Many UF buildings will be accessible only to those with a Gator1ID. Now, students must decide whether to attend, avoid or protest. Spencer's speech is scheduled from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Phillips Center. A group of students held a sit-in protest Tuesday evening at the student Senate meeting in the Reitz Union, seeking to have all classes canceled Thursday. |
| State says law enforcement ready for U. of Florida speech | |
| The commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Tuesday authorities are prepared to handle people who commit or encourage violence when a white-nationalist leader speaks Thursday at the University of Florida. Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott got backing from Cabinet members for the state of emergency he declared in Alachua County. Scott's executive order, issued Monday at the request of Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell, included putting the Florida National Guard on standby, in advance of the appearance by alt-right leader Richard Spencer. "I believe in the First Amendment rights that people have. I do expect people to be safe. I don't condone any violence," Scott said Tuesday. "I'm going to continue to work with law enforcement to make sure all Floridians are safe." |
| U. of Tennessee has security in place for Ben Shapiro talk | |
 | The University of Tennessee Knoxville has laid out security precautions that will be in place Wednesday during a visit by conservative author and commentator Ben Shapiro, whose appearances on other campuses in recent weeks have sparked protests and arrests. Shapiro, 33, is a conservative commentator and the editor of the right-leaning news site The Daily Wire. He's former editor-at-large at Breitbart News. He recently spoke at the University of California Berkeley, where the event drew protests that led to nine arrests and has so far cost the university an estimated $600,000 in security costs, according to Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof. Karen Simsen, a spokeswoman for UT, said the UT Police Department will be handling security for the event, which will take place at 7 p.m. in room 210 of the Alumni Memorial Building. |
| Proposed UGA calendar shortens Thanksgiving break | |
 | The University of Georgia can go back to having a more normal fall semester starting date, but it will mean students have to give up two days of the week-long Thanksgiving break they now enjoy. It's the only way, said UGA cellular biology professor Mark Farmer, who chairs the school's University Council's Educational Affairs Committee. By the end of a lengthy discussion in Monday's committee meeting, most members of the committee seemed to agree with him; only one chose the early date when Farmer asked for a show of hands on whether the committee members leaned in favor of starting the fall 2019 semester on Aug. 19 vs. Aug. 12. The beginning date of fall semester became an issue last year when faculty members began noticing that a lot of students weren't showing up for the first days of classes when the semester began Aug. 11, 2016. |
| Opioid crisis hitting Georgia especially hard, speakers at UGA conference say | |
| The nation's deepening opioid epidemic is hitting Georgia harder than most states, speakers said at a conference on the University of Georgia campus Tuesday. Some of the highest opioid use is in the Rust Belt and the Southeast, said Michael Crooks of Alliant Quality, a healthcare consulting firm, during a session of the UGA College of Public Health's annual "State of the Public's Health" conference in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The opioid epidemic hasn't developed the way other drug-related tragedies have unfolded, said UGA pharmacy professor Henry Young, citing another set of statistics during the session on health literacy and the opioid crisis in Georgia. |
| LSU starts fundraising campaign for wild tiger conservation | |
| Louisiana State University has launched a new fundraising campaign aimed at helping students' efforts to save the school's mascot -- the tiger -- in the wild. The campaign is tied to university participation in the U.S. Tiger University Consortium. The consortium includes LSU, Auburn University, Clemson University and the University of Missouri, all of which have tiger mascots and are working to help save wild tigers from extinction. LSU's fundraising dollars will be used to start a fellowship program for students interested in research on tiger management and conservation, seeking to preserve tiger habitats and boost populations in the wild. |
| Texas A&M alliance awarded $2.8M grant to aid success of minority grad students | |
 | An alliance of four Texas A&M University System schools will receive a $2.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to design a model for advancing more minority candidates through the nation's doctoral programs in science, technology, engineering and math. The Texas A&M System's Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program consists of Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Prairie View A&M. The alliance will follow doctoral candidates as they complete their degrees, enter postdoctoral research and progress through faculty positions. The program will work to improve success of minority graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in specific STEM disciplines or STEM-education research field. |
| U. of Missouri staff discuss pay and promotion practices | |
 | The University of Missouri's policies that staff cannot receive a raise if they move from one job to another of the same classification are an invitation to find a job elsewhere, Megan Jahnsen of MU's Venture Mentoring Service said Tuesday after a staff forum. Jahnsen has been a business engagement officer for two years, she said. Prior to that, she worked at the School of Medicine for seven years. In between she worked in private industry. During the forum led by Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and three vice chancellors -- Patty Haberberger in human resources, Rhonda Gibler in finance and Gary Ward in operations -- the policy on lateral job moves was described as a way to prevent rich departments from luring away good staff from cash-strapped operations. "One of the things to worry about is that those with the most resources get the best possible staff," Gibler said. |
| New study pushes back on decades of studies suggesting scientific productivity peaks early | |
 | Conventional wisdom on faculty research productivity, backed by decades of studies, says that it's all downhill after tenure. A new paper challenges that paradigm, suggesting great variability in peak research activity among individual scientists -- even if their aggregate productivity curve still feeds the post-tenure "dead weight" myth. "Despite the persistent conventional narrative and expectations about productivity, individual people have incredibly diverse careers," said Samuel Way, a postdoctoral research associate in computer science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the paper's lead author. "This is a cautionary tale to administrators and other people in power in the sciences as to why they shouldn't expect everyone's career trajectory to look the exact same way." The majority of academics who don't fit the mold "aren't errors, they're people," he added. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State expects to face versatile threat in Kentucky QB | |
| Of all defensive coordinators qualified to discuss quarterbacks who are difficult to sack, Todd Grantham has to be near the top of that list. Grantham's defenses have spent the last two seasons in practice chasing reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who has been sacked twice in six games. With that personal experience, Grantham knew what he was seeing in Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson. "They really don't get sacked, a combination of protection and the quarterback's ability," Grantham said. Johnson's mobility makes him a threat as a runner -- he's averaging 6.6 yards per carry and has rushed for two touchdowns -- and a top-level sack evader. |
| Mississippi State's Darryl Williams worked his way back from scary scene | |
| The play seemed innocent enough but is one that Darryl Williams will remember for the rest of his life. A year ago, Mississippi State lined up for a 36-yard field goal that gave the Bulldogs a 17-12 lead over Kentucky early in the third quarter. Williams was playing right guard on the play and sustained a neck and spine injury that left him motionless on the turf of Commonwealth Stadium. "I lost feeling," Williams said. "I had a lot of numbness in my body. I couldn't feel none of my fingers or limbs. I was very terrified knowing that I'd probably never be able to play football again and my career could possibly be over with." When spring practice started up, the 6-foot-2, 305-pounder from Bessemer, Alabama, was back on the field with his teammates -- and with a newfound admiration for football. |
| Time is now for Mississippi State players like Brandon Bryant to show development | |
| Brandon Bryant all but tackled someone Tuesday night while speaking with reporters. The Mississippi State safety demonstrated "playing square" and "playing leveled" with his chest and hands. His tone sounded like someone passionate about the game football. Bryant has been more upbeat since the spring after not meeting expectations -- his own and others' -- last season. From Mississippi State's perspective, that's good because Bryant's attitude and approach toward the game was the first thing he needed to either change or improve. Bryant understanding the intricacies of football as a junior is the next thing -- and that is what has been noticeably different about him as of late. "I think he's starting to learn more about football," MSU safeties coach Ron English said, "to use those tools more." |
| Aeris Williams capable of being Mississippi State's workhorse RB | |
| Chris Chambless knows Aeris Williams' durability better than most. The West Point High School football coach saw Williams work at practice on a daily basis. He also watched Williams carry the football 22 carries per game as a junior and a senior. Chambless said over the summer Williams "could tote it 35 times if they need him to." That seemed impossible given how Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen has used his running backs, but Williams is much closer than most others after six games. Mullen rarely uses a true workhorse running back, but Williams' 16.2 carries per game is at least two more than any MSU running back dating back to LaDarius Perkins in 2012. Williams hopes to continue to carry the load for MSU (4-2, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) when it plays host to Kentucky (5-1, 2-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday (SEC Network) at Davis Wade Stadium. |
| Will this be the week Kentucky's freshman wide receivers make their big move? | |
 | Kentucky's wide receivers coach might regularly reference his love for sugary snacks like Skittles on social media, but he tries not to sugarcoat anything for the newcomers in his position room. When freshman wide receivers come to Lamar Thomas and ask what they need to do to play more, he sits them down to discuss it. "I ask their honest opinion: 'Are you better than the guy in front of you?'" Thomas said. "They know these guys in front of them are seniors and good players and they have a lot to learn from them." And the good news is this group of freshman wide receivers, players such as Lynn Bowden, Isaiah Epps, Clevan Thomas and Josh Ali, has learned a lot in a short time. |
| Four guards representing Mississippi State at SEC Media Days | |
| SEC Basketball Media Days start Wednesday and Mississippi State will be sending four guards to represent it in Nashville along with head coaches Ben Howland and Vic Schaefer. Junior Quinndary Weatherspoon and sophomore Lamar Peters begin things for the Bulldogs Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Seniors Victoria Vivians and Morgan William will represent the women Thursday at 1:40 p.m. "I am looking forward to going to SEC Media Day," William said. "It's a crazy day with a lot of interviews, but it's an opportunity to have fun and talk about our team." |
| State picked second; Vivians, William earn All-SEC | |
| Mississippi State ended the 2016-17 season as the runner-up behind South Carolina for the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships as well as the national title. The Bulldogs were picked to finish second to the Gamecocks for the league championship again this year in the SEC Preseason Media Poll. Ole Miss was predicted to finish 13th. MSU also placed two players -- senior guards Victoria Vivians and Morgan William -- on the Preseason All-SEC team along with Sophie Cunningham (Missouri), Mercedes Russell (Tennessee) and South Carolina's A'ja Wilson, who was named the conference Preseason Player of the Year. |
| Mississippi State women make history before playing a minute | |
| The Mississippi State women's basketball team will make history today before it plays a minute in the 2017-18 season. That news shouldn't be surprising given MSU advanced to the national title game last season in its first appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. Victoria Vivians and Morgan William played key roles in helping MSU win a program-record 34 games and snap the 111-game winning streak of four-time reigning national champion Connecticut in the national semifinals. Both players return with classmates Blair Schaefer and Roshunda Johnson to lead a team that likely will be ranked in the top 10 of every major preseason poll and challenge national champion South Carolina and Tennessee for the top spot in the Southeastern Conference. |
| Mississippi State's Weatherspoon up for Jerry West Award | |
| Mississippi State's Quinndary Weatherspoon is one of 20 players picked to the preseason watch list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. The 6-foot-4 junior from Canton was the Bulldogs' leading scorer last season averaging 16.5 points per game despite battling an injured wrist for most of the year. "Just to be mentioned for this award is a great honor," Weatherspoon said. "There are a lot of great names on this list, and I look forward to living up to the expectations." The list will be cut in half in February and five finalists announced in March. The winner will be announced on April 6 in Los Angeles. |
| Ole Miss started review of men's hoops program after FBI's probe into college basketball | |
| Ole Miss began a review of its men's basketball program once the news of the FBI's probe into college basketball broke, Ross Bjork said. The action wasn't too unusual. The Associated Press recently asked 84 college basketball programs what their responses were to the FBI's investigation, which led to the indictment of four assistant coaches and six others involved with a fraud and corruption scheme. Of the 84 schools asked by the AP, 64 responded and 28 of those universities admitted the probe led to them conducting their own reviews or examinations. The NCAA also requested Division I schools to conduct an examination of their men's basketball programs. Bjork said Ole Miss has a few more things to do before it finishes its review. When asked about the FBI's investigation last month, Andy Kennedy wasn't surprised by some of it. |
| Scandal prompts soul-searching over NCAA hoops | |
| The spate of arrests, details of under-the-table bribes to teenagers and the downfall of one of the sport's best-known coaches has triggered uncomfortable soul-searching among the institutions at the heart of college basketball. That includes internal reviews by more than two dozen schools of their own prominent programs. At stake is the future of a business that, over the span of 22 years ending in 2032, will produce $19.6 billion in TV money for the NCAA Tournament, known to the public, simply, as March Madness. The Associated Press asked 84 schools, including all the nation's power programs, and six top conferences about their response to the arrests that upended college hoops mere days before practices for the 2017-18 season began around the country. Of 63 schools that responded, 28 -- including Ole Miss -- said the probe prompted their own internal reviews. |
| LSU's Mainieri receives 'tremendous honor,' tabbed to coach 2018 Collegiate National Team | |
 | LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri realized a longtime dream Tuesday when he was named the head coach for the 2018 Collegiate National Team. "It's a tremendous honor, first of all, to put that uniform on that says 'USA' across the chest," Mainieri said. "As much as I've loved every school that I've worn the uniform for, this is bigger than any school that I've ever worked for, including LSU." It is Mainieri's second coaching stint with the collegiate national team, his first as the head coach. In addition to representing his country, being tabbed as the head coach gives Mainieri another thing to share with his father, Demie, who served as a coach for the national team in the 1978 Amateur World Series. Demie and Paul Mainieri are the only father-son duo to be enshrined in the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. |
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