| Monday, October 23, 2017 |
| Costume Carnival, Trick-or-Treat on the Row set for Thursday at Mississippi State | |
 | Mississippi State's Student Association and Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life are hosting the university's annual Costume Carnival Thursday, Oct. 26 from 5-7 p.m. in The Junction. Admission is free, and the event is open to the public. Student organizations across campus have volunteered to host game booths with free prizes. Children are encouraged to come dressed in their Halloween costumes. Connected by a spooky path, Trick-or-Treat on the Row will take place from 4-6 p.m. at the university's fraternity and sorority houses. The event is free to all children in the local community. |
| Mississippi State Equine Association honored for contribution to new campus facility | |
 | A Mississippi horse-owner organization recently contributed $25,000 as the first gift toward the new Animal and Dairy Sciences Building on the Mississippi State University campus. MSU said in a release the Mississippi State Equine Association -- an affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based American Horse Council -- will see the food retail room on the first floor of the facility bear its name once the building is opened in the spring of 2019. The organization is a statewide network of horse owners focusing on the quality of life for horses and horsemen around the state through education and information programs. Construction is currently underway on the new 34,500-square-foot building, which is near the corner of Stone Boulevard and Blackjack Road in front of the Wise Center. |
| Noted painter to give public lecture, student workshop at Mississippi State | |
| Mississippi State alumnus Matthew Lee, a plein air painter and architect, will give a public lecture and lead a student workshop at the university this week. Free and open to all, Lee's illustrated talk "In Colored Air: Painting in the Heart of Nature" will be held 7-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 in the Giles Hall first-floor Fazio Jury Room. Born in Paris, France, Lee's childhood years allowed him opportunities to see the art and architecture of the Louvre, Versailles Palace, the painter's square at Montmartre, cathedrals and other European landmarks, while the rich French culture deeply influenced his life. Lee received his bachelor's degree in architecture with a minor in art from MSU in 1989. In 1991-1992, he was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and studied temple murals and architecture in Sri Lanka. |
| Lowndes farmer to direct $2,500 donation to 4-H | |
| Douglas Holliman has been farming for 44 years, so appreciation and good management of the land is of great importance to him. Passing on that awareness is one reason he chose Lowndes County 4-H as the recipient of a $2,500 donation from the America's Farmers Grow Communities program, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. Holliman won the opportunity to direct the donation to a nonprofit organization of his choosing. "Lowndes County 4-H will use the funds toward the purchase of a High Tunnel Greenhouse," said Sharon Patrick, Mississippi State University Extension Agent. "Youth will gain hands-on learning experiences growing fruits, vegetables and flowers. Thank you, Mr. Holliman, for your consideration and generosity to ensure 4-H continues to grow in our county." |
| Local Folks: Buell-D'Ambrosi builds life behind the camera | |
 | Margaret Buell-D'Ambrosi is slowly pulling away from Northeast Mississippi. It's not by choice but by marriage. A few years ago, she met Georgia resident Matthew D'Ambrosi through eHarmony. She and her Starkville-based employer, Broadcast Media Group, tried to stay connected through long drives and the internet, but it soon became clear that wasn't fair for her or the company. She decided to go out on her own and founded Buell Productions, a video company. It was a scary move, especially since she had no contacts in Georgia. She's been focused on video since college. After a theater professor told her to find a different major, she chose broadcasting at Mississippi State University. |
| Retail crossroad: Brick and mortar stores finding way through online challenge | |
| There is no question that Amazon has been the force behind the explosion in online shopping. Since the start of this year, retailers have announced more than 3,100 store closings. Much of the blame is placed at the feet of online shopping, which allows customers to shop for practically anything, anytime and anywhere, all with a click, tap or swipe. Mike Breazeale, an assistant professor of marketing at Mississippi State University, said many retailers have failed to embrace the changing habits and tastes of consumers. "All the closings are because retailers are either not understanding the online marketing end of their marketing mix or their unwillingness to alter what they do in their stores," he said. |
| District 38 candidates face off in forum | |
| Three candidates running to represent District 38 in the Mississippi House of Representatives shared hopes for criminal justice reform during a Thursday evening forum at Mississippi State University. This included former Starkville Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn saying wrongly that prison sentences for selling cocaine are longer than prison sentences for breaking into a residence and committing murder. "If you sell crack, you could probably end up with 30 years in prison," she said. "But if you were to go to someone's home and break in and murder them, in probably five to 10 years, you could be out. That tells me that something is wrong here in our state." Breaking into a home and committing murder is considered capital murder in Mississippi, and those convicted of it get life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Wynn's statement was part of her platform that drug sentences are too long. Her opponents -- Starkville residents Narissa Bradford and Cheikh Taylor -- also talked about criminal justice reform, touching on everything from drug sentences to the cost of bonding out of jail in the forum, which MSU student organization Stennis Montgomery Association partnered with the university's Stennis Institute of Government to put together. |
| Solar companies considering Golden Triangle | |
| Supervisors in Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties have recently approved resolutions of intent for tax benefits to help attract a pair of solar companies that are eyeing the Golden Triangle. Both county boards approved a matching set of resolutions of intent for E.ON Climate and Renewables North America Inc. to try to recruit it. E.ON, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK Chief Operating Officer Macaulay Whitaker, is eyeing property on the border of southern Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties. Whitaker said about 80 percent of the land E.ON is considering is in Lowndes County, and 20 percent is in Oktibbeha County. Whitaker said E.ON is a little further along and has identified a potential parcel of land, while NextEra has not. |
| Blues brothers Don Jr. and Eric Trump gamble on Mississippi tourism | |
 | Jake Brown crooned the Mississippi blues to a nearly all-black audience on the outskirts of town, his guitar filling the darkened club with pangs of heartbreak and regret. Between numbers, the local singer paused and in a gravelly drawl, beseeched the crowd to be thankful. For God. For the Mississippi blues. And for Donald Trump's hotel, being built on the other side of Cleveland. "Have you all been out west of Cleveland?" he queried his audience. "To those that don't know, get ready. Get ready, 'cause the blues is on the way." President Trump's hotel company, the New York-based managers of luxury properties and golf courses around the globe, seems an unlikely presence in this struggling stretch of the Delta, where new businesses are hard to recruit and black residents are eight times more likely than whites to face unemployment. Economic revival has long been challenging in Bolivar County, home to Cleveland, where 53.3 percent of children live in poverty, according to 2015 census data. |
| State personnel turnover in a 'vicious circle' | |
 | Just four days into his new job as director of Child Protective Services, Jess Dickinson told a room full of legislative leaders about the "vicious circle" affecting his agency. "A problem that has become very clear to me in trying to analyze why we have such a huge turnover -- and it's big, it's 50, 60 percent in some offices -- we can't keep some offices (staffed)," Dickinson said during a hearing before the joint legislative budget committee on Sept. 21. "We don't have a single case worker that's been there more than a year and a half or two years." Dickinson's problem is not unique among state agencies. As of fiscal year 2016, Mississippi had lost 57% of state employees hired in the previous five years and "our voluntary turnover rate continues to exceed the state and local government average," said Kelly Hardwick, executive director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board. |
| Analysis: Jackson school system might be too big to fail | |
 | One message from the uncertainty over whether Gov. Phil Bryant will approve a state takeover of Mississippi's second-largest public school system? Jackson is special. You have to imagine that message has been received loud and clear in the 16 districts the state has taken over since 1996. That might be especially true in some of the districts the state has taken over twice, like North Panola, Tunica County, or the now-merged Oktibbeha County. Bryant enunciated the message pretty clearly last week when he told reporters that he was hesitating over approving the emergency declaration requested by the state Board of Education in September. He said that Jackson's 27,000-student enrollment makes it different from all the other emergency declarations he has approved. |
| Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes considering run against Rep. Steven Palazzo | |
 | Republican Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes III is "strongly considering" a challenge of U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo in the 4th Congressional District race next year, sources close to the mayor said. Hewes, 55, has been mayor of Gulfport since 2013, where he has helped oversee a renaissance and rebuilding of the city's downtown and waterfront. Hewes formerly served in the state Senate from 1992 to 2012 and was president pro tem, the second-ranking position in the Senate, from 2008-2012. Hewes ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2011. Palazzo, 43, also a former state legislator, has held the U.S. House seat since 2011, after he unseated 21-year veteran Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor during the 2010 GOP wave that took Republican control of the House. Taylor switched to the Republican Party and unsuccessfully challenged Palazzo again in 2014. |
| US senator's illness raises what-if scenarios in home state | |
| A Mississippi senator's frail appearance on Capitol Hill this week raises questions that make some of his home-state supporters downright queasy. Is Republican Thad Cochran, the 79-year-old chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, well enough to serve the final half of his six-year term? What happens to Mississippi's political clout if he resigns? Cochran stayed home for a month with urinary tract infections, returning to Washington last week to give Republicans the majority they needed to pass a budget plan. Henry Barbour, a political consultant and member of the Republican National Committee from Mississippi, ran a SuperPAC that backed Cochran in 2014. He bristles at questions about whether Cochran should or would leave office. "It's presumptuous to even talk about it," Barbour said Friday. "He's our elected senator, and I'm pleased he's able to be back in Washington working for the state of Mississippi." |
| Conservatives, With Bannon's Help, Look for Revenge in Mississippi | |
 | In the recent history of Republican infighting, few losses have been more bitter than Chris McDaniel's. Mr. McDaniel, a Mississippi state senator, still nurses the conviction that he was robbed of a seat in the United States Senate in 2014 by a Republican establishment that race-baited, covered up his opponent's affair and encouraged Democrats to raid the primary. The slogan "Remember Mississippi" has become shorthand around here for the unshakable belief among conservative activists that Senator Thad Cochran occupies a stolen seat. Now, from his law office in the pine belt of southern Mississippi, Mr. McDaniel is plotting his revenge. This time, he has a powerful new ally, Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's former chief strategist, who is hoping to make Mississippi the next domino to fall in an insurgency that would remake the Senate -- and the Republican Party. |
| Democratic candidates build campaign warchests, Kelly maintains lead | |
| Democratic candidates in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District continue to generate modest, slow returns on efforts to finance a pair of underdog campaigns to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Trent Kelly. The Federal Elections Commission requires quarterly reports from candidates for federal office, with the most recent reports due this week. Those reports show Kelly is likely to face his most well-financed challenger since taking office, though he maintains a significant lead in financial resources. In 2016, only one Democratic candidate ran against Kelly and did so with virtually no money. That same year, Kelly also defeated a Republican primary opponent who likewise ran with almost no financial backing. Now, at least two Democratic candidates are competing to take Kelly on in the 2018 mid-term elections, which often act as a barometer of the national mood as a president nears the halfway point of a term. |
| Mississippi launches next push on college degree completion | |
 | Mississippi's community colleges and universities are preparing to send 40,000 letters urging former students to check how close they are to a diploma. Higher Education Commissioner Glenn Boyce announced the further rollout of what Mississippi calls its Complete 2 Compete program on Wednesday, as Gov. Phil Bryant honored the first woman who received a degree under the program. Bryant said a better-qualified workforce will help the state's economy and raise incomes. |
| Welty Gala: Toobin touches on Supreme Court, Trump tweets and journalism | |
| A spontaneous burst of applause greeted CNN legal analyst and The New Yorker contributor Jeffrey Toobin at the Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus Friday night after he read aloud from a 1943 Supreme Court decision declaring public officials cannot force citizens to participate in patriotic ceremonies. Toobin, a legal analyst who has written books on topics from the U.S. Supreme Court justices to the O.J. Simpson and Patty Hearst trials highlighted the program at the Welty Gala, the annual fundraiser Mississippi University for Women hosts every year to raise money for scholarships. The majority of Toobin's nearly hour-long speech focused on the Supreme Court and how its political makeup has changed over the last 50 years. He opened the floor for questions near the end of the night, which is when one student asked him his least favorite of President Donald Trump's decisions. |
| Women make incredible discoveries in MUW's 'Silent Sky' | |
| The Department of Theatre at Mississippi University for Women will present Lauren Gunderson's "Silent Sky" Oct. 26-28 at 7:30 p.m. in Cromwell Theatre on campus. "Silent Sky" follows the story of Henrietta Leavitt, who along with colleagues Annie Jump Cannon and Williamina Fleming, made incredible discoveries in the field of astronomy while working under renowned physicist Edward Pickering at Harvard in the late 1800 to early 1900s. It was many years before the women received full recognition for their contributions. Director Lee Crouse said, "The women were tasked with analyzing photographic data collected from Harvard's refractor telescope (the women were not allowed to use the telescope) and charting the skies. The play is not all about science. The playwright, Gunderson, also blends elements of romance, faith and comedy to create a beautiful story." |
| Construction worker charged with sexually assaulting Ole Miss student | |
| A construction worker was arrested Friday by Oxford police for allegedly sexually assaulting a University of Mississippi student. According to the Oxford Police Department, Uhola B. Herrington, 22, of West Monroe, Louisiana, met the student at a local bar and allegedly assaulted her in the back of a truck near Jackson Avenue on Friday. After an investigation, Herrington was arrested and taken to the Lafayette County Detention Center where he was charged with sexual assault and booked on a $75,000 bond. |
| UM police department receives 5th sexual assault report on campus this semester | |
 | In the two months since classes began at the University of Mississippi, five sexual assault have been reported on campus -- three in dorms and two in fraternity houses. The most recent report was a sexual assault that occurred in Stockard Hall. The assault was reported at 3:32 a.m. Saturday. "This crime is always concerning," Jeff McCutchen, Oxford Police Department major of operations, said. "As a father and a police officer, you never want anyone to have to be a victim of this crime." During the first few months of school, students are at an increased risk of being sexually assaulted. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), more than 50 percent of college sexual assaults occur between August and November. Rebels Against Sexual Assault member Colleen Fay said while reports are always concerning, she is not shocked at the number of reports that have happened in the past two months. |
| As Mississippi excels in telehealth, stalls in internet connectivity | |
| On New Year's Day in 2008, a bullet landed into the chest of 14-year-old T.J. Brewer of Richton while on a hunting trip. The doctors who could treat him were at the trauma center in Jackson, two hours away. He didn't have that long. Instead, emergency medicine doctors from the University of Mississippi Medical Center beamed into a nearby rural health care facility through video chat, guided nurse practitioner Joyce Martin through what to do and together, they saved Brewer's life. That's the power of telehealth, an area in which Mississippi leads the country, despite the state also ranking last for internet access and connectivity. Based on 2016 data, only one-in-five Mississippi households are connected to internet at speeds the federal government defines as broadband. There's just one hitch, and sooner or later, experts say it's going to catch up to the state in its attempts to digitize health care delivery: "Broadband in rural Mississippi sucks," said Roberto Gallardo, a regional economics specialist at Purdue University, formerly with Mississippi State University Extension Service. |
| UMMC cuts 120 in-house cleaning staff, replaces with contract | |
| University of Mississippi Medical Center is no longer employing an in-house cleaning staff, resulting in 120 layoffs. The employees, notified this week of the elimination of their positions, will have an opportunity to apply for jobs with Crothall Healthcare Inc., the contractor providing housekeeping services to UMMC. Jonathan Wilson, UMMC chief administrative officer, could not say whether Crothall will be opening 120 positions, but did say the pay and benefits for employees who transition will be at least as much as they received as UMMC employees. On Thursday, the state College Board approved UMMC's agreement with Crothall to consolidate all of the center's housekeeping services, effective Dec. 1. Ultimately, the consolidation saves UMMC $600,000 annually. |
| Amid Challenges U. of Southern Mississippi Gears Up for ACA Enrollment | |
 | Attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, cuts to outreach nationwide and President Trump's executive order to stop cost sharing payments to insurance companies are having a chilling effect. That's according to University of Southern Mississippi Professor Michael Forster. USM partners with the City of Hattiesburg to sign Mississippians up for health insurance through the program. Forster says funding for outreach in Mississippi, has been cut by nearly 60 percent -- USM had a modest reduction of $30,000. "It's hard to not infer that that's part of the intention of all this, to roil the insurance markets, to create uncertainty on the part of consumers, and thereby to further under cut the appeal," said Forster. Forster says the 2018 enrollment has been cut in half, from November 1 through December 15. He doesn't see the health insurance program lasting beyond next year. |
| USM Hires Deputy Coordinator to Assist with Responsibilities Under Title IX | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi recently named Dr. Lenore Schaffer to the newly created position of deputy coordinator to the Title IX Office. Schaffer is a recent graduate of Southern Miss, earning her doctorate in higher education administration with a minor in student affairs in May 2017. Prior to stepping into her new role, Schaffer also served the Title IX Office as a graduate assistant during the 2016-17 academic year and an intern during 2015-16. In her new role, Schaffer will assist in coordinating the University's efforts to comply with and carry out responsibilities under Title IX and provide support to students, faculty and staff located on the University's Hattiesburg campus, as well as the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach and other teaching sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. |
| U. of Alabama's five-year master plan for campus growth | |
 | The latest iteration of the University of Alabama's campus master plan envisions residential growth in the northeast, a further consolidation of the academic campus core, replacing surface parking lots with decks, new retail sites, and changes to traffic patterns to increase pedestrian safety. The proposed plan was presented to the board of trustees in September for consideration. The Tuscaloosa News obtained a copy of the proposal, which the board is expected to vote on in November. The five-year plan blends projects that have been initiated and those which have yet to be approved by the board but reflect the facility needs anticipated for the future. The projects under way include the 1,500-bed replacement for Tutwiler residence hall, the bridge over the railroad tracks at Second Avenue, and the performing arts center behind the historic Bryce Hospital. The plan maps out possible sites for projects including five new academic buildings, 10 new dorms and the evolution of existing structures. "It is a fluid document in the sense of there is a lot of place holders in there and what those placeholders become remain to be seen," UA Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Whitaker said. |
| Auburn's new online Master of Engineering Management degree designed to bolster industry, economic development | |
 | Auburn University is launching a new online Master of Engineering Management degree that will support the state's multi-billion dollar manufacturing and technology industries. The new program, recently approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, will launch in spring 2018. "This master's degree program is among the first of its kind in the region," said Christopher B. Roberts, dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. "It is a direct response to the needs of Alabama industry and will bolster our economic development efforts by providing graduate students with a solid foundation of engineering and project management principles." The program, administered by the Thomas Walter Center for Technology Management in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, will be open to qualified individuals with a bachelor's degree in engineering or those with a minimum of five years relevant work experience. |
| Tiger Cage fosters student entrepreneur growth at Auburn | |
| In recent years, students with a bright idea and a knack for business have participated in Auburn University's Tiger Cage competition. Now, student entrepreneurs have a permanent space to do their work, whether or not it's part of the competition. The Tiger Cage Accelerator and Incubator officially opened its doors to the campus community earlier this month. Nestled in a suite in Auburn Technology Park, the office is a workspace for students to grow their companies and network with like-minded individuals. "It's for any student who's interested in entrepreneurship, although most of our students come from the Tiger Cage competition," said LaKami Baker, managing director of the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship. "As they progress in the competition, even if they lose out on a particular round, they're still welcome to come over here. We want to help encourage those students to fine-tune their business ideas and continue to invest it to launch." |
| New U. of Arkansas dorms to be built of timber | |
| A construction method rarely used in the United States underpins a new student housing project at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Large panels of wood and glue-laminated wooden beams from a European supplier will form the main structural elements of two five-story halls built to house 710 students, said Daniel Clairmont, the university's director of engineering and construction. The alternative to steel framing and concrete is expected to add roughly $1.3 million in construction costs to the estimated $79 million project, with UA officials describing it as a way to possibly boost the state's timber industry should the method -- hailed as having benefits that include increased environmental sustainability -- catch on widely. The UA student housing project amounts to "basically real-time investigative science," said Elizabeth Stokes, a Mississippi State University assistant professor in the university's sustainable bio-products department. |
| Nine lessons learned after Richard Spencer's talk at U. of Florida | |
 | In August, white supremacists marched on the University of Virginia, winding around campus wielding torches and chanting Nazi refrains. The next day, a woman would die as protests in the city of Charlottesville, Va., turned violent. University of Florida President Kent Fuchs feared a repeat of the bloodshed in Charlottesville when Richard Spencer, a figure in the right-wing fringe movement that calls itself the alt-right appeared on the campus last week. Spencer framed the event, his first campus appearance since Charlottesville, as the free speech moment of the students' lifetime, something that would shake the establishment and its indelible grasp on academe. He predicted a wave of at least 1,000 "antifascists," what he called the liberal counterpart to the alt-right, who would cause campus mayhem. But largely, because of the university's careful planning, such a scenario was avoided, aside from a few scuffles. |
| College coders get creative at Vanderbilt hackathon | |
 | Ever wonder just how many Cokes a Vanderbilt University tuition is worth? Well, there's an app for that. Or, at least there could be. This weekend, nearly 450 college students from across the country crashed inside Vanderbilt's Engineering & Science Building for a 36-hour hackathon challenge. Fueled by Skittles and passion -- but barely any sleep -- these computer science and coding rockstars created apps and software programs both practical and preposterous. All for the love of science and a quest for knowledge. The competition kicked off around 10 p.m. Friday, after busloads of students from Florida, Illinois, Georgia, California and everywhere in between arrived on campus. They started with a pitch session, formed groups and put their synapses together to invent apps, software and devices. |
| Former presidents tout importance of service during 'Deep From the Heart' benefit at Texas A&M | |
 | Five former presidents came together Saturday in College Station to lead a Texas-sized celebration of national unity in support of Americans impacted by catastrophic storms in recent months. Thousands filled Reed Arena on the Texas A&M University campus for the "Deep From the Heart: The One America Appeal" charity concert, benefiting victims of recent hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which left widespread damage in portions of the United States and its territories, including along the Texas and Florida coasts. Former President Bill Clinton evoked his predecessor in his statements as well, recalling the 41st president's reminder that "our problems are great, but the heart of America is greater." Texas A&M President Michael K. Young helped to kick off the event, sharing with the crowd and viewers around the country his pride in seeing the university play a part of such a wide-reaching event. |
| U. of Missouri chancellor opens up about vision, overcoming challenges | |
 | University of Missouri Chancellor Alexander Cartwright last week promised during a staff forum that he would take action within six months on a list of measures to improve their working conditions, and completion of those items in a year. And he invited the group of about 75 on hand to remember if he keeps his promise. "If I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it," Cartwright said. There's little doubt Cartwright is a man of achievement. He's an engineer who began his adult life working in an Iowa hog barn to pay for community college accounting classes. Over 22 years at the State University of New York, he went from being an associate professor on faculty of the University at Buffalo to system provost and executive vice-chancellor for research and economic development. In the past year, MU isn't the only place he was considered for the job as campus leader. In fall 2016, Cartwright was a finalist to be chancellor of the University of Tennessee's flagship campus in Knoxville. |
| State-funded student financial aid totaled $12.5 billion in 2015-16 | |
| Levels of state-funded student financial aid changed remarkably little from 2014-15 to 2015-16, according to a new survey released today. State-funded student financial aid totaled about $12.5 billion across the country, according to an annual survey from the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs. Aid totals increased by less than 1 percent from $12.4 billion in 2014-15 on a nominal basis and were essentially even after adjusting for inflation. Growth in aid slowed from the previous year. From 2013-14 to 2014-15, NASSGAP measured year-over-year growth at 6 percent nominally and 5.8 percent after factoring in inflation. "It's sort of a steady-state situation," said Frank Ballmann, director of NASSGAP's Washington office. |
| Title IX turns 45 | |
| Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State writes: "Entrenched in most high school academic settings one will also find an athletic program which attests to the school and community's support of extra-curricular opportunities for students. While the nature and density of these options varies from school to school, the foundation on which their gender equity was established can be found within the construct of Title IX. While Title IX, which celebrated its 45th anniversary this past summer, was not crafted for athletic programs in isolation, it typically generates recognition under that auspice." |
| True conservative leaders know how to get things done | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "Lots of political yammer about who's a real conservative and who's not. So, how do you tell? Lee Edwards of the Heritage Foundation's B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies calls the late William F. Buckley, Jr. 'the St. Paul of the modern conservative movement in America.' So, what did Buckley have to say about it? The essence of conservatism is the 'proper balance between freedom, order, justice, and tradition,' said Buckley. To achieve such balance, Buckley called for persistent opposition to the growth of government, social engineering, intellectual conformity, the elimination of the market economy, and world government. Buckley's 'National Review' magazine aggressively championed this conservative ideology in the face of growing liberalism. At the same time, Edwards writes, Buckley argued that 'if conservative politics wanted to be successful, it had to steer a middle course between the ideal and the prudential.'" |
| McCain: America's example remains crucial to world | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: "Rah-rah speeches by politicians rarely make good fodder for opinion columns. Journalists hear these talks often, become jaded by just another guy using grandiose language. Today is an exception. A message delivered last week by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was full of platitudes and colorful, but it was also very much to the point. Former President George W. Bush presented a similar message a few days later. 'We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil,' McCain said. 'We are the custodians of those ideals at home, and their champions abroad.' ...McCain's ties to Mississippi are well-known and go back a long way." |
| Who would Gov. Phil Bryant appoint if Sen. Thad Cochran resigns from Senate? | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender writes: "Continuing news about longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran's health problems has brought renewed speculation that he might step down before his term ends, bringing to a close a long and storied political career. In many Mississippi and D.C. political circles, talk has shifted from if to when he might step down: before Nov. 6 -- prompting a special, nonpartisan election within 100 days -- or after, leading to a special, nonpartisan election in November 2018. Either way, Gov. Phil Bryant would appoint a temporary replacement, and the winner of a special election would serve out the unexpired term through 2020." |
SPORTS
| All facets shine for Bulldogs in blowout victory | |
| There will be a lot of smiling faces whenever Mississippi State reviews the film from the Kentucky game. The Bulldogs played well in nearly every facet in their 45-7 thrashing of Kentucky on Saturday. MSU rolled up 441 yards and five touchdowns on offense and provided seven tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions on defense -- one of which was returned for an 84-yard pick-6 by Gerri Green. Even kicker Jace Christmann got in on the fun to remain a perfect 6 for 6 on field goals this season. "I thought it was a really solid day in all three phases against a really good team," said MSU coach Dan Mullen. "We were able to take them out of what makes them feel comfortable and put pressure on them." |
| Movement up front helps Mississippi State defense generate pressure | |
| The movement of the Mississippi State football team's defensive front is nearly constant before a third down. Sometimes the linebackers and defensive linemen change places. On other occasions, the safeties join the fray to create the appearance of pre-snap chaos. When the movement stops and all but one player is set, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has the overloaded set he wants. MSU's move to that look in select pass-rush situations has produced results. It unveiled the set against Louisiana Tech and it led to four sacks of quarterback J'Mar Smith. In a 45-7 victory against Kentucky on Saturday, MSU introduced new concepts out of the set and sacked quarterback Stephen Johnson three times and hurried him four times. |
| Fitzgerald's 3 TDs let Mississippi St dominate Kentucky, 45-7 | |
| Nick Fitzgerald had 270 total yards and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi State to 45-7 victory over Kentucky on Saturday. Mississippi State (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) dominated the game from the opening quarter and never trailed. The Bulldogs finished with 441 total yards of offense and averaged 5.9 per play. Fitzgerald, a junior, led all rushers with 115 yards and became just the sixth SEC quarterback to rush for over 2,000 career yards. He was also 18 of 26 passing for 155 yards and a touchdown to Jordan Thomas. Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) managed just 260 total yards of offense and 14 first downs against one of the nation's toughest defensive units. They trailed 17-7 at the half and crossed midfield on only three drives the entire game. |
| Mississippi State's win over Kentucky shows it is capable of bigger things | |
| In the split-second after recording a sack, Montez Sweat put his hands on the ground, crawled an inch or two and became the latest Mississippi State player to impersonate an actual bulldog. Mississippi State led by 28 points with just over six minutes left when Sweat, an edge-rusher, showed off his sack celebration. When this defense is rolling, its tenacity and fervor are maintained regardless of the score. The seconds after Mississippi State beat Kentucky 45-7 on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium were different. There were smiles. That was the extent of the celebration. There was no motioning to the crowd to get louder. No photo opportunities with fans. As far as postgame celebrations after blowout SEC wins go, this one was subdued. "We were happy," center Elgton Jenkins said, "but when you go into practice like we did Monday through Friday, you expect to win and you expect to win big." |
| Former Mississippi State running back Boobie Dixon is still grinding for his state | |
| It's Wednesday afternoon and Anthony "Boobie" Dixon just answered a phone call while in the middle of a workout at a Madison gym. "I am almost done," Dixon said into the phone. "I just got a couple of sets left so it'll only be 15 minutes." Dixon returned the call 45 minutes later. He politely explained that he tends to lose track of time while in the gym. "Now, back a couple of months ago, I was doing three hours, four hours... sometimes five," Dixon said. "They'd be looking at me in there like, 'Dang, man, you've been here a long time.' Then I would come back at night." Dixon, 30, says he is still "grinding for his state," after making the phrase popular during a postgame on-air interview in 2009 after Mississippi State beat Kentucky. But the grind these days has taken on different forms. |
| Kentucky football gets its bell rung at Mississippi State | |
 | The bye week was supposed to give Kentucky a chance to catch its breath. But a gut punch in the form of a 45-7 throttling at Mississippi State left the Cats gasping for air on Saturday. Behind quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, the Bulldogs racked up 441 total yards of offense to just 260 for Kentucky. Against a UK run defense that came into the game No. 10 in the nation, Mississippi State had more rushing yards (282) than Kentucky had total yards. "They were the more physical team and generally when you're that much more physical than your opponent, you're going to (win) the game," Coach Mark Stoops said after the loss, which he called "unacceptable." |
| Vulgarity erupts from Kentucky locker room, interrupts Mark Stoops press conference | |
 | Sometimes you need more than just a wall to keep out the noise. There is also a reason for a cooling off period. Both came into play after Kentucky got beat 45-7 at Mississippi State's Davis Wade Stadium. According to SEC Country, Kentucky tight ends coach Vince Marrow lit into his players for all to hear during Kentucky coach Mark Stoops' post-game press conference. A team spokesperson called it "frustration," per the report. You could hardly blame Marrow for the "frustration." Mississippi State's defense got two turnovers, three sacks and seven tackles-for-loss on Saturday. |
| Mississippi State can't complete comeback against the Cornhuskers, 76-72 | |
| Coach Ben Howland was pleased with his bench and the way Mississippi State's defense sparked a second-half rally on Sunday. However, neither was enough to overcome the sizable deficit from the opening half. Nebraska built a 23-point lead and was able to fend off a feverish comeback by the Bulldogs to win a charity exhibition game 76-72 that benefited victims of Hurricane Irma. The Cornhuskers buried eight 3-pointers in the opening half to build a 48-32 lead at halftime but were 0 of 13 from the perimeter in the second half. "It's all about effort and in the first half we were way too stretched out defensively," Howland said. "They cut us up, draw and kick but in the second half we played much better. In the first half we took too many quick shots which fueled their offense." |
| Mississippi State men can't come all way back against Nebraska | |
| The experience of playing a live game in front of a crowd against a Power 5 conference team was what Ben Howland wanted. That's why the Mississippi State's men's basketball coach isn't going to worry about a run that put his team down 16 at halftime or the comeback that nearly saw MSU come all of the way back from a 23-point deficit. Howland simply wanted the by-product of whatever came. "This will make our practices better because our guys will be able to see what we can do better," Howland said. MSU saw plenty to build on Sunday in a 76-72 loss to Nebraska in an exhibition game at Humphrey Coliseum. The teams played the game after receiving a waiver from the NCAA to raise money for Hurricane Irma relief. Admission to the game was free, MSU asked fans for a donation as they entered. Howland and Miles gave $2,500 each to the fund. |
| Magnolia Cup soccer ends in draw | |
| The state rivals in Sunday's rainy Magnolia Cup soccer match were fit to be tied. Mississippi State and Ole Miss battled to a 1-1 draw, with the Bulldogs picking up their first point in the rivalry since 2012. MSU (8-4-4, 2-4-3 SEC) got a goal in the 66th minute by junior Brooke McKee. "We tied a very good team," MSU coach Tom Anagnost said. "Give a lot of credit to Ole Miss. They are definitely a very strong soccer team with some excellent players." |
| Mississippi State, Ole Miss battle to 1-1 2OT draw in rain | |
| The Mississippi State and Ole Miss women's soccer teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie Sunday in the Magnolia Cup at the MSU Soccer Field. MSU (8-4-4, 2-4-3 Southeastern Conference) and Ole Miss (104-3, 3-4-2) overcame the rain to earn a point in the race to qualify for the SEC tournament, which begins Sunday, Oct. 29, in Orange Beach, Alabama. The tie pushed MSU (nine points) into sole possession of the 10th and final spot for the SEC tournament. Kentucky, Missouri, and LSU are tied for 11th with six points. All of the teams will wrap up the regular season Thursday. MSU is looking to qualify for the SEC tournament for the first time since 2004. MSU will play host to Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Thursday. Admission is free. |
| Growing the Sanderson Farms Championship no small task, but one worth tackling | |
| Determining the success of a PGA Tour event depends on how you measure success --- quality of field, attendance, revenue, etc.? Tournament director Steve Jent measures the Sanderson Farms Championship by two standards: how much the tournament contributes in local economic impact and how much money goes to the Batson Children's Hospital. Those numbers have steadily increased. Last year, a study from Mississippi State University put the total benefit to the greater Jackson metro area at $26 million. Century Club Charities presented the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital with a check for $1.25 million. "As long as those numbers are good," Jent said, "we feel like we've been successful." |
| Getting to Know Scott Wetherbee | |
| Scott Wetherbee was named Eastern Michigan's vice president and director of athletics on June 26. The 42-year-old Wetherbee, a native of Kalamazoo, has more than 20 years' experience in collegiate athletic administration. He spent the past four years at Mississippi State University, including serving as interim director of athletics from October-November 2016. |
| Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson out for season with torn knee ligament | |
| Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson will miss the remainder of the season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. Interim coach Matt Luke said following the Rebels' 40-24 loss to LSU on Saturday the initial diagnosis for Patterson was a sprained right knee, but an MRI taken taken after the game revealed the torn ligament, an Ole Miss spokesman said Sunday. Patterson suffered the non-contact injury after throwing an interception late in the first half. Patterson went to the locker room for further evaluation but returned to start the second half before eventually being replaced by Jordan Ta'amu in the fourth quarter. The sophomore finished 10 of 23 through the air for a season-low 119 yards. With Patterson out, Ta'amu will permanently take over the reins of what's been the SEC's top passing offense all season. |
| Auburn's go-to law firm specializes in NCAA compliance cases | |
| Lightfoot, Franklin and White is a name that keeps resonating through the halls of Auburn University. Within the past two months, the school has called on the Birmingham-based law firm at least three times to investigate incidents involving athletics. But Auburn has a long history with the firm, which has a team of lawyers who specialize in, among other things, NCAA compliance. "Over the past decade, Lightfoot has established itself as a national leader in NCAA compliance and collegiate institutions," the firm's website reads. "Since 2008, the firm has handled several matters before the NCAA Committee on Infractions and Infractions Appeals Committee that received national attention." Auburn has employed Lightfoot's services since as far back as the early 2000s, during a two-year-long NCAA investigation of the men's basketball program. Auburn faced allegations of offering cars and thousands of dollars to two prospects, but was cleared of the most serious rule violations in 2004. |
| Virginia announces hiring of Georgia deputy AD Carla Williams | |
 | Georgia deputy athletic director Carla Williams has been named athletic director at Virginia, University of Virginia president Teresa Sullivan announced via press release Sunday. The hire was first reported on Saturday by the Daily Press. "I am so happy for Carla," Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said in a statement from Georgia. "She has worked so hard for this opportunity and will be a dynamic leader for the University of Virginia athletics program. Carla has been a tremendous asset to our staff in all areas of the UGA program and her skill set is remarkable. She has experience in virtually every aspect of our athletic program -- from student-athlete all the way to deputy director." Williams will be the first female African-American athletic director at a Power Five school and the fifth active female athletic director, according to the release from Virginia. |
| Bielema narrows focus in face of job security questions at Arkansas | |
| Arkansas coach Bret Bielema knew the questions about his job security were coming after a 52-20 loss to No. 19 Auburn on Saturday night. Knowing didn't make the moment any easier for the embattled fifth-year Razorbacks coach, who fell to 27-31 overall and 10-26 in the Southeastern Conference following the school's third straight blowout loss. The defeat was Arkansas' (2-5, 0-4 SEC) seventh in its last nine games dating back to last season, keeping the Razorbacks at the bottom of the SEC's West Division -- and far from the conference championship Bielema promised when he was hired away from Wisconsin following the 2012 season. "Obviously, this is unchartered waters for me," Bielema said. "I've never been in a situation where we're 2-5 and disappointed where we're at. The greatest thing about a coaching position is this: You just worry about the day in front of you." The immediate future for Arkansas is a trip to Mississippi (3-4, 1-3) this week, starting a stretch of four SEC contests out of five games to close out the season. |
| Why the Athletic Wants to Pillage Newspapers | |
| By the time you finish reading this article, the upstart sports news outlet called The Athletic probably will have hired another well known sportswriter from your local newspaper. In a couple of years, once The Athletic has completed its breakneck expansion, perhaps that newspaper's sports section will no longer exist. The Athletic is already one of the biggest sports media companies in the country, with about 65 editorial employees. "Our ambition is to be the local sports page for every city in the country," Mather said. To understand why The Athletic is so brazen about its vulture strategy, one must appreciate the state of play at local and regional newspapers throughout the country. Under dire financial duress, many have put extraordinary demands on beat writers to produce heavy volumes of content, often without wage increases. The reporters are sometimes the most knowledgeable sources of information on the teams they cover, but they are afforded little opportunity to step back and write impactful articles. |
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