| Monday, June 18, 2018 |
| CWS tailgaters, retailers in a happy state as Southern fans embrace Nebraska nice | |
 | Mississippi State supporters are known as some of the most rabid and convivial fans in college baseball. Having them in this year's field with other teams with good-traveling fans such as Texas, Arkansas and Texas Tech has brought a lot of smiles in Omaha. "We're thrilled," said Fred Suarez, a partner in the Omaha Baseball Village, a complex of pop-up shops, food and drink vendors and a party venue near the stadium. "We really, really got good teams this year." CWS sales through Saturday afternoon were up close to 25 percent for custom apparel company Blue 84, said its national sales manager, Joe Hauser. A big part of that likely comes from Mississippi State fans. "Their fans travel, and when they're here, they're buying shirts, they're buying hats, they're buying whatever," said Julie Bommersbach, Blue 84's key account coordinator. |
| Mississippi State recognized as 'Military Spouse Friendly' school | |
 | Mississippi State is being listed by Victory Media as a "Military Spouse Friendly" school for 2018. The honor is included in an annual companion list to the company's "Military Friendly" schools, which also recognized MSU for its veteran-oriented campus culture. Brian Locke, director of the G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, said the recognition is another accolade that showcases MSU's veteran-friendly culture. "I believe that the services we proudly provide to our military family members are unmatched by any other university," Locke said. |
| MSU's Keith Coble elected to Agricultural & Applied Economics Association leadership | |
 | Keith Coble from Mississippi State University has been named the incoming President-Elect for the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association's Executive Board. Coble says: "We have both challenges and opportunities ahead of us. By working together [with the other board members], we can advance AAEA." Joining the Board of the Directors this year are Marc Bellemare from the University of Minnesota and Rodolfo Nayga from the University of Arkansas. Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. |
| Professional MBA program kicks off at MSU-Meridian | |
 | Photo: Terry Dale Cruse, Administrative Director and Head of Campus at MSU-Meridian welcomes the inaugural class of the Professional MBA program during orientation held last week at the Robert B. Deen, Jr. Building on the university's Riley Campus in downtown Meridian. Twenty-three students from the east Mississippi region, many key business leaders in their fields, applied and were accepted into the new program which began this summer. Interested individuals can apply for the degree program any semester; fall, spring or summer. Applicants with more than five years of professional work experience may even quality for a waiver of the GMAT/GRE requirement. For more information visit meridian.msstate.edu. |
| Starkville may soon begin accepting bids for infrastructure project | |
| The Starkville Board of Aldermen confirmed in a Friday work session at city hall it will vote at its next board meeting on whether to begin accepting proposals from contractors for replacing water and sewer infrastructure in Starkville's Pleasant Acres neighborhood. The decision followed a brief presentation by Starkville Utilities Director Terry Kemp, who described a "proactive approach" to addressing the city's need for updated systems. "Where he's going to start is Pleasant Acres because that's what's generating the most calls about repairs," said Mayor Lynn Spruill during the informal public meeting. Kemp said pending board approval, his department hopes to start working with a contractor by the end of July. |
| Miss Mississippi contestants arrive for 2018 competition | |
 | Sunday 49 contestants arrived in Vicksburg. They are hoping to win the title of Miss Mississippi 2018. They are also working to convince the panel of judges they are "Simply the Best" woman for the job of representing this state. The contestants are beginning the week with rehearsals and taping numbers for the pageant production. Monday evening the Parade of Contestants in downtown Vicksburg and Wednesday night they will take the stage for the first round of preliminary competition. "You know no matter what changes about the pageant, overall it is about serving your state," said Callie Brown, Miss Mississippi State University. |
| Mississippi Economic Council head urges partnerships with education | |
 | The head of the Mississippi Economic Council sought to impress on the DeSoto County business community the need to invest in not only the present but future workforce for job growth and fulfillment in the state. Scott Waller, who has been with the organization for more than 11 years. Waller served as interim President/CEO of MEC for eight months when Blake Wilson left what is called the state's "Chamber of Commerce," and then took the job on a permanent basis in January of this year. Waller spoke Friday to the DeSoto County Economic Development Council Quarterly Luncheon. Waller detailed opportunities which he said would help fuel the Mississippi economy with a special focus on making job choices more possible for graduates looking for employment out of school. |
| Republican runoff candidates embrace Trump ideas | |
 | wo candidates in a Republican primary runoff for a congressional race in central Mississippi agree on many big issues, including their overall support for President Donald Trump. Michael Guest and Whit Hughes are both cautious in any criticism of the man in the White House. "His use of social media would be something I would disagree with the president on. I do support his policies," Guest, the district attorney for Madison and Rankin counties, said during an interview last week in Pearl. During his own campaign event in Natchez, Hughes expressed concern that international trade disputes would affect Mississippi agriculture. "If you're not careful with tariffs, you can get our farmers and our growers and our producers and our small business owners sideways in the marketplace," Hughes said. |
| Father's Day highlights Trump immigration policy that separates families | |
 | Activists spent Father's Day drawing attention to a controversial new immigration policy that separates migrant children from their parents. The day that included congressional visits to detention centers, marches and vigils was dubbed #FathersDayofAction by activists on Twitter, to highlight how some migrant children were forced to spend Father's Day apart from their parents. The separations began last month under a new Trump administration policy aimed to discourage parents from bringing their children across the border illegally by threatening to split up families. |
| Embattled EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Faces Anger In Farm Country Over Policy | |
 | With a litany of alleged ethics controversies swirling at home, embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt took the show on the road this week, meeting with farmers in a handful of Midwestern states to talk about his policy agenda. While Thursday evening's meeting in Lincoln, Neb., was polite, the reception in other states has not been as welcoming, especially when it comes to conversations about his ethanol policies. Corn farmers have been venting their frustration about Pruitt's decision to not expand summer sales of ethanol, a renewable fuel made from corn and other plant materials, with billboards and rallies. Pruitt's stance on ethanol has made him enemies in the Corn Belt, including Iowa Sens. Check Grassley and Joni Ernst, two Republicans, who have voiced criticisms of the EPA chief. |
| 30 years after NASA's warning, global warming 'is hitting us hard,' scientists say | |
| We were warned. On June 23, 1988, a sultry day in Washington, James Hansen told Congress and the world that global warming wasn't approaching -- it had already arrived. The testimony of the top NASA scientist, said Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley, was "the opening salvo of the age of climate change." Thirty years later, it's clear that Hansen and other doomsayers were right. But the change has been so sweeping that it is easy to lose sight of effects large and small -- some obvious, others less clear. "The biggest change over the last 30 years, which is most of my life, is that we're no longer thinking just about the future," said Kathie Dello, a climate scientist at Oregon State University. "Climate change is here, it's now and it's hitting us hard from all sides." The AP interviewed more than 50 scientists who confirmed the warming. |
| Southern Miss, Army research agreement could impact Mississippi | |
 | An education partnership agreement recently forged between the University of Southern Mississippi and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center could have wide-ranging impact on Southern Miss students, faculty and Mississippi business, industry and research and development. Gordon Cannon, vice president for research at Southern Miss, said the agreement has benefits for both partners. "It widens our portfolio for being able to expose our students and faculty to the ERDC," he said. "It's a very large research facility with a lot of resources --- some of which are unique to it. It gives our students and faculty opportunities to work there. It also gives (researchers at) the ERDC, an opportunity to work on some of the things that USM offers that they don't offer." |
| Thomas Huebner meets with Meridian Community College board | |
| Photo: Thomas Huebner, third from left, poses for a photo opportunity with Meridian Community College Board of Trustees members during the board's June meeting. Huebner, who recently completed a three-year tenure as president of East Mississippi Community College, is scheduled to begin his new duties as MCC's chief executive officer on July 1. He will become the third individual to hold the title of president in the college's 81-year history. William F. Scaggs became the college's first official president in 1968. Scott Elliott was the college's second president, serving from 1998 to 2018. With Huebner are board members Jamie Cater, Alec Weddington, John Johnson and Tommy Dulaney. Dr. Ronnye Purvis also serves as an MCC trustee. |
| East Mississippi Community College's magazine of creativity takes top honors in state contest | |
| East Mississippi Community College's literary magazine "Syzygy" took top honors for the second year in a row among in-house college publications that were professionally bound in the 2018 Mississippi Community College Creative Writing Association's annual workshop and contest. The magazine won first place last year and placed second in 2016. "We were in first place for three or four years before that," said EMCC instructor Marilyn Ford, who teaches courses in English composition, British literature and creative writing. "We have had a really nice streak." Ford said the magazine has proved popular among students. "It just seems like the kids still really want that print publication," Ford said. "Having it online just doesn't seem to give them the same bragging rights. There is just something about having that print copy that means an awful lot to the kids, their parents and their grandparents." |
| U. of Tennessee Foundation continues strong fundraising streak | |
 | The University of Tennessee Foundation has generated more than $246 million in fundraising over the last year for the university system and its campuses, which puts the foundation on track to experience the third best year in fundraising in its history. Kerry Witcher, interim president and chief executive officer of the UT Foundation, Inc., presented the good news to UT System President Joe DiPietro and foundation board directors and officers during a board meeting on Friday morning at the Hilton Downtown in Knoxville. Witcher also called attention to the continued success UT has had in growing its base of donors -- which reached 61,311 this year, up by more than 3,100 from fiscal year 2017. He noted that online giving "has increased dramatically" and the foundation is taking more advantage of social media platforms. |
| Louisiana's new higher ed leader starts job early to help head off potential budget cuts | |
 | Louisiana's new higher education chief Kim Hunter Reed started her job three weeks early to help head off another round of crippling cuts for colleges and universities. Colleges face a $96 million reduction, on top of roughly $1 billion cuts in the past decade. Under the latest budget, the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS, would be funded at 70 percent of current levels. Two divisive special sessions this year to resolve seemingly endless budget problems failed, and a third one starts on Monday at 4 p.m. "I am here early because we have an immediate crisis," said Reed, who is the state's ninth commissioner of higher education. |
| UGA Provost Pamela Whitten named president at Kennesaw State University | |
 | The state Board of Regents made it official this week, Pamela Whitten will be the next president of Kennesaw State University. Whitten, the University of Georgia's senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost since 2014, will take over at the Cobb County university July 16. She replaces former state attorney general Sam Olens, who resigned amidst controversy in February. The regents had appointed Olens to the job a little more than a year earlier. Whitten becomes the president of the state's third-largest university, and one of the fastest-growing. KSU's fall 2017 enrollment of 35,846 was slightly fewer than UGA's 37,606. Georgia State University, with more than 51,000 students, is the state's largest. UGA has not yet announced who will replace Whitten as interim provost pending a search for a long-term replacement. |
| South Carolina lawmakers stiffed schools, universities $2.1 billion, audit says | |
 | When voters amended the South Carolina Constitution in 2000 to allow a state lottery, lawmakers made a promise, which they signed into law: Lottery revenue would increase overall education funding, not replace money they were already spending. But that's exactly what S.C. lawmakers have done -- stiffing schools $2.1 billion since 2002, according to a recently released audit. "I think it's a bombshell in what it shows about how we've funded education," Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said of the audit. "What we've done is exactly what people have feared." The decrease in general fund money has primarily affected higher education. Since 2002 the Legislature has allocated $4 billion less to colleges and universities than the law requires, K-12 education has actually seen a $1.9 billion increase in funding since 2001, thus the $2.1 billion deficit, according to the audit. |
| Texas A&M to review policy following criticism of student disciplinary process | |
 | Texas A&M University will conduct internal and external reviews of the student disciplinary process, according to a statement from A&M President Michael K. Young. The university's statement comes in the wake of a June 7 tweet by A&M student Hannah Shaw, who said a current member of the A&M swimming and diving team sexually assaulted her in 2015. According to documents obtained by The Eagle, the swimmer was found responsible of sexual abuse through a student disciplinary hearing and suspended for a semester. After he returned, he served a probationary semester, according to the documents. |
| Leaked Memo From Conservative Group Cautions Students to Stay Away From Turning Point USA | |
 | n its six years of existence, Turning Point USA has repeatedly been accused of engaging in half-truths and unethical behavior -- whether secretly funneling money to student-government candidates or placing college faculty members on a poorly researched (and arguably McCarthyesque) Professor Watchlist. None of that has slowed the meteoric rise of the conservative group and its charismatic leader, Charlie Kirk. Kirk continues to be a regular guest on Fox News. He rubs elbows with the Trump family and Republican members of Congress. Donors gave his organization nearly $10 million last year. But the latest critic to blast Kirk's group is a fellow conservative organization. Young America's Foundation, founded more than 50 years ago at the home of William F. Buckley Jr., has written a blistering 12-page memorandum "outlining the lack of integrity, honesty, experience, and judgment of this growing organization." |
| AAUP votes to censure U. of Nebraska for alleged violations of academic freedom | |
 | The American Association of University Professors on Saturday voted to censure the University of Nebraska at Lincoln for alleged violations of academic freedom in a politically loaded case involving an adjunct lecturer. The voice vote, taken at AAUP's annual meeting in Washington, was decisive and probably unsurprising: Nebraska's censure seemed likely last month, when the AAUP issued an investigative report on the now locally infamous Courtney Lawton suspension. In that report, the association concluded that the university bowed to political pressure in removing Lawton, a former adjunct instructor of English and current graduate student, from the classroom after she flipped off an undergraduate student activist. The August incident happened as the undergraduate was campaigning on campus for Turning Point USA, the self-described grassroots conservative organization behind the Professor Watchlist website, which many professors say distorts their views and threatens academic freedom. |
| In the Lab, Failure Is Part of the Job Description | |
| Jay Van Bavel is a highly successful research psychologist at New York University, but he also likes junior colleagues to know about his crummy first year as an assistant professor, when he had 10 papers and three grant proposals rejected, and zero papers published. Make no mistake, over all, he has kicked scholarly butt. Now an associate professor, he is also affiliated with NYU's Stern School of Business, has published more than 60 papers, and won prestigious academic awards and a wide range of grants. But Van Bavel, a first-generation college graduate from a tiny town in Canada, studies the impact of social environment on individuals. Naturally, then, he is attuned to such effects in his own lab. Inspired by a colleague's suggestion, eight years ago, he and his labmates started regularly celebrating successes. Over snacks, they'd revel over a publication accepted, a dissertation defended, a student award. He eventually realized that might give younger researchers, particularly, a false sense of what life as a researcher is really like. So now at those weekly meetings 10 to 20 grad students, postdocs, and undergrads also share their defeats. |
| Summer schedules can keep children engaged | |
 | Angela Farmer, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Mississippi State, writes: "During this frantically busy 21st century, there are an almost limitless variety of distractions to keep students from focusing on a select set of objectives. However, by establishing a schedule which actively includes the important skills on which a student needs to focus, parents can develop a docket of activities to keep their children both on-track as well as engaged so that they don't become bored or distracted. It is important to understand that children may take an acclimation time to accept and embrace this new normal. However, at the end of a few weeks, students typically have adapted to a schedule which allows them to develop their skills while being able to select from activities in which they are interested." |
| Other states' Republican leaders stand up to Trump tariffs | |
| Syndicated columnist Bill Crawford of Meridian writes: "Trump tariffs and retaliatory tariffs are no big deal for Mississippi say key Republican leaders. 'Everything will work out,' is their mantra. Meanwhile, Trump tariffs kicked in June 1st on steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) imports from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. Mexico imposed retaliatory tariffs on June 5th, Canada will on July 1st, and the EU will later in July. Trump also is moving to impose 25% tariffs on an array of China exports. China promised quick retaliation. ...Mississippi's $1.1 billion dollar soybean industry would be affected by retaliatory tariffs. More than 110 million bushels were produced in the state in 2017 from 3,274 farms. About half are exported, mostly to China, the European Union, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. In general, farmers worry that retaliatory tariffs will make the things they grow sell for less and steel and aluminum tariffs will make the things they buy cost more. Mississippi's growing tire and automobile sector is at risk from steel tariffs and retaliatory auto tariffs. Even Mississippi's emerging brewery industry would be impacted, according to Lucas Simmons, president of Lucky Town Brewing Company in Jackson." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs hope to feed off another big crowd | |
| TD Ameritrade Park was transformed into Dudy Noble North on Saturday night, with a majority of the 24,758 on hand wearing maroon and many clutching bananas. It paid off in a 1-0 walkoff victory against Washington on the first day of the College World Series. Mississippi State's fan base will try to recreate that same atmosphere tonight as the Bulldogs attempt to remain in the winner's bracket against North Carolina at 6 on ESPN. "I give our fans a ton of credit and I credit them again for (Saturday) night," said MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson. "That was a home game for the Bulldogs in Omaha, Nebraska. I think our kids consistently feel our fans, feed off of them and we appreciate them a great deal. Our fans are awesome and we have the best fans in college baseball." The winner of tonight's contest will be off until Friday, while the loser will turn around and play an elimination game on Wednesday. |
| Scouting report: Mississippi State vs. North Carolina in CWS | |
 | Mississippi State fans may not be through celebrating Saturday night's 1-0, walk-off win over Washington, but the Bulldogs have turned their attention to Monday's matchup. And that's a good thing, because the North Carolina Tar Heels (44-18) are no joke. They went .500 in their first 14 games, but they are 36-11 since then, and that includes a 22-8 mark in the ACC. Here's what Bulldog fans can expect to see when the Bulldogs and Tar Heels lock horns at 6 p.m. Monday. Mississippi State starter Konnor Pilkington and the Bulldog bullpen have their work cut out for them limiting the damage from North Carolina's bats. The Tar Heels have been a solid-hitting team all season, but they have turned it up a notch in the postseason. North Carolina has won their last seven games, all in the post-season, and they've averaged 9.3 runs a contest over that stretch. |
| Mississippi State's Konnor Pilkington eager for first start at College World Series | |
| As a whole, this season has to have been frustrating for Mississippi State ace Konnor Pilkington. After winning in eight of his 17 starts and pitching his way to a 3.08 ERA as a sophomore last season, the big left-hander struggled to a 2-6 record and a 4.56 ERA in 17 starts this year. The last month has been particularly tough. The Bulldogs have faced some of the nation's best teams over that stretch, but Pilkington has given up 26 earned runs in 28.2 innings over six starts since the end of April. But when Pilkington has his best stuff, he's nearly unhittable. He can hit the mid-90's with his fastball, and works in a solid changeup and a curveball to keep opposing hitters off-balance. It's why the Chicago White Sox took him in the third round with the 81st overall pick earlier this month. |
| Here's how UNC stacks up against Mississippi State in the College World Series | |
| Mississippi State came into the NCAA tournament as one of the lower seeds. A bubble team, the school didn't even host a regional. Had it not swept No. 1 Florida in the final series of the regular season, it might not even be in the NCAA tournament. Yet its unlikely run continues. In its first game of the College World Series against Washington, Mississippi State (38-27) won 1-0. The game ended on a walk-off RBI single by short stop Luke Alexander. Meanwhile, North Carolina beat Oregon State 8-6 on Saturday. The College World Series is a new stage for these Tar Heel players. Yet they continue to win. The Tar Heels have won six consecutive games to start the NCAA tournament. It's the first time the Tar Heels have done that since 2008. |
| Bulldogs' Walk-Off Win Over Huskies in CWS Is 3rd in 8 Games | |
| Mississippi State's flair for the dramatic continued in its College World Series opener. Luke Alexander's drive to right field got past Christian Jones in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing Hunter Stovall to score from second base to give Mississippi State a 1-0 victory over Washington on Saturday night. Of the Bulldogs' seven wins in the NCAA Tournament, three have come in walk-off fashion and a fourth on their final at-bat. Mississippi State pitchers allowed only six hits to a Washington club that had been batting .332 in the NCAA Tournament. |
| Luke Alexander walks it off once again | |
| Luke Alexander has been clutch for Mississippi State all season. The Belmont native had two walk-off hits against Ole Miss earlier this year and added to his legacy on Saturday night with a game-winning RBI single to right in the bottom of the ninth to break-up a scoreless stalemate and beat Washington 1-0 in the opening game of the College World Series. "Growing up a baseball fan and loving baseball, you always want to get here," Alexander said. "And to do it here at Omaha, i think it trumps the two walk-offs against Ole Miss." The Diamond Dogs meet North Carolina on Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN in the winner's bracket. The Tar Heels defeated Oregon State 8-6 in Saturday's first game. There have been 13 walk-off wins during this year's NCAA Tournament and the Diamond Dogs have been responsible for three of them. |
| Mississippi State walks it off against Washington | |
| Luke Alexander is capable of the big hit against an opponent other than Ole Miss. Twice the hero against the rival Rebels, the junior shortstop from Belmont was the hero once more Saturday night. His walkoff single took Mississippi State (38-27) to a 1-0 win over Washington, sending to a 7 p.m. Monday game against North Carolina. The Tar Heels got to that game by beating Oregon State 8-6 earlier Saturday. "It's awesome to do it against Ole Miss, but to come to Omaha, a kid's dream, and walk it off was awesome," Alexander said. The ending was the best part of a night in which Alexander tallied three hits and played stout defense, keeping MSU in the pitcher's duel until he could end it in the bottom of the ninth. |
| Missisisppi State walks-off with College World Series win vs. Washington | |
| Mississippi State didn't make the 1,000-mile journey to the heartland to be a spectator. The Bulldogs got another clutch hit and won another big game Saturday night to advance to the winner's bracket in the opening round of the College World Series, defeating Washington 1-0 in walk-off fashion. After battling the Huskies to a scoreless tie through eight innings, the Bulldogs won it on a walk-off RBI double off the bat of Luke Alexander. Alexander's hard fly ball sailed over the head of Washington right fielder Kaiser Weiss, who was playing shallow to ensure Hunter Stovall wouldn't score from second on a bloop single. The Bulldogs (38-27) are now four consecutive wins away from a national championship, and they can take another step in that direction against North Carolina at 6 p.m. Monday in the second round. The Tar Heels defeated Oregon State 8-6 in Saturday's opening game. |
| Mississippi State breaks scoreless tie, caps day one with walk-off win against Washington | |
| The miracle-workers from Mississippi State have struck again, this time on Saturday night at the College World Series. The Bulldogs, for the third time in nine postseason games, earned a victory with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Who produced this time? MSU shortstop Luke Alexander, batting .213 entering the game, smashed a line-drive single over the right fielder for a 1-0 win over Washington in front of 24,758 at TD Ameritrade Park. No CWS game has been scoreless through nine innings since 1985. Alexander's one-out hit made sure it didn't happen Saturday. |
| Surprise CWS road trip: Son, dad with Alzheimer's will make memories 'you cherish forever' in Omaha | |
| Bill Lea dropped a bat in his son Matt's hands as soon as the Mississippi boy could swing it. And when Matt, maybe 4 or 5, got a good hit off his dad -- well, that just wasn't right. So Bill decided, right then and there, to show Matt how a pitcher would react from the mound. The next toss came high and inside, clipping Matt, who ran inside to Mom. Bill, his own memory clouded by Alzheimer's disease, laughed at his son's retelling: "I taught him early." This weekend, they're crossing the ultimate item off their baseball bucket list: a trip to the College World Series. Matt, 36, surprised his dad with tickets to see the Mississippi State Bulldogs play in Omaha; video of the surprise went viral on Twitter. It's one lasting memory Matt hopes to share with his dad, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's seven years ago. "He's created memories for me, and now it's my turn to create some for him," Matt said. |
| Yes, the NCAA is taking the time to look at pace of play after Game 1's 4:24 marathon | |
| Shadows stretched across the infield as North Carolina and Oregon State recorded the final out of their game Saturday afternoon. Fitting for the longest nine-inning game in College World Series history. Ten pitchers, 14 runs, 24 hits and 339 combined pitches added up to the 4-hour, 24-minute marathon the Tar Heels won 8-6. It was the fifth CWS contest to eclipse the four-hour mark since TD Ameritrade Park opened in 2011 -- but the first of the five that didn't go into extra innings. A rules official said all existing measures to keep up the pace of play were followed by the umpires. "It certainly came front and center because it's the first game of the series," said Ben Brownlee, the NCAA assistant director for championships and playing rules. "But sometimes a long game is going to happen." |
| Mississippi State's Gary Henderson earns second coach of year honor | |
| Mississippi State interim baseball coach Gary Henderson was named Saturday the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Coach of the Year. The award is the second honor this season for Henderson, who was also named the Perfect Game/Rawlings Coach of the Year earlier this week. Henderson was elevated from the role of assistant coach Feb. 21 and has led the Diamond Dawgs to a 37-24 mark (37-27 overall). MSU started the season 14-15 and 2-7 in Southeastern Conference play, but turned it around at the start of April and since then is 23-12, along with a 10-1 mark against top-five teams. Henderson has the Diamond Dawgs in their first College World Series appearance since 2013, and the 10th in program history. |
| Gary Henderson earns second national coaching award | |
| Gary Henderson may still have the interim tag attached to his title but that has not stopped two organizations from awarding him National Coach of the Year honors this week. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association joined Perfect Game/ Rawlings in honoring Henderson on Saturday. "Obviously you can't do what we did if they kids don't jump on board and they did and it was impressive," Henderson said. "We took an absolutely miserable situation and we turned it into something that was extremely positive." Henderson is the first interim head coach to guide his team to the College World Series. |
| Mississippi State's 1998 team celebrates anniversary of trip to CWS | |
| Van Johnson knows the feeling of being dead in the water. He also knows the feeling of improbably rising above it; he has related on a personal level to every step of this year's Mississippi State baseball team's run to the College World Series. Johnson was the closer for MSU's 1998 team, which is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of its trip to Omaha while an eerily similar season climbed to the same heights. The two teams got there in different ways, but they both took on their seasons with new coaches. The 1998 team was the first without Ron Polk as Pat McMahon coached the four years in between Polk's two stints. Johnson has enjoyed watching the current team make it through a similar path; he's enjoyed even more how they've done it. As Johnson was packing for the trip he made as a player 20 years ago, he saw a video of junior center fielder Jake Mangum discussing the importance of the trip he was about to make. |
| From Stark Vegas to Las Vegas | |
| Mississippi State men's basketball coach Ben Howland promised a more challenging non-conference schedule for the upcoming season. Howland is staying true to his word as his Bulldogs were picked to play in the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas on Nov. 19-21. MSU will meet Arizona State in the opening round at T-Mobile Arena. "We're excited about playing in Las Vegas," Howland said. "It's the week of Thanksgiving, and there's really good competition. We're opening up against Arizona State and either playing Utah State or Saint Mary's in the second game. Both games will be a great opportunity for our team to improve and prepare for the SEC." |
| With two years left on contracts, bowl games are lining up now to make deals for 2020-26 | |
| The start of the college football season might be 10 weeks away, but there is another season of urgency playing out this summer in the offices of conferences and bowl games all across the country. While there are still two years left to run on the current contracts for most bowl games, the jockeying has already begun for the next bowl agreements to run from the 2020 season through January 2026. That has bowl executives scrambling to find new partners, or simply keep the ones they have. "The next few weeks will be critical to getting our agreements in place," said Independence Bowl executive director Missy Setters, a former LSU golfer and the only woman in charge of any of the 40 bowls. "We're discussing things with our conferences (Southeastern Conference and Big 12) now." Were the Las Vegas to join the SEC's bowl list and the conference keeps its agreements with its current bowls, that would max out the number of bowl tie-ins the conference would be allowed under a new NCAA rule at 11. It would also be interesting to see where the SEC would put the Las Vegas Bowl in its pecking order. |
| CWS: Hogs run wild after rain delay | |
| Once Arkansas got rolling against Texas in the sixth inning, nothing could stop the Razorbacks. Not even the weather. Five straight batters had reached base when the teams were pulled from the field for a weather delay. When play resumed 2 hours, 49 minutes later, five more got on in a row. What turned into an eight-run sixth carried the Razorbacks to an 11-5 win in their College World Series opener on Sunday. "We have such a balanced lineup, and we all know what we're trying to do at the plate," Arkansas' Luke Bonfield said. "We never let up on the gas." |
| AD Hunter Yurachek planning on baseball upgrade at Arkansas | |
| Arkansas is in preliminary discussions to construct an additional team facility at Baum Stadium. Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn and Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek detailed the additions during separate interviews Saturday in Omaha, the site of the College World Series. The Razorbacks play Texas at TD Ameritrade Park today at 1 p.m. The preliminary building plans are for an estimated 35,000- to 40,000-square-foot facility that would include a new team clubhouse, new weight room and new coaches' offices. Other amenities would include a locker area for professional players who train in Fayetteville during the offseason and a museum area to house Arkansas' baseball trophies. Yurachek said the multistory facility likely will be built beyond the outfield wall in right field. The estimated price is between $15 million and $20 million. The hope is to have it ready in 2020. |
| Texas Tech outplays Florida, 6-3, at College World Series | |
| Texas Tech knocked top-overall seed Florida into the loser's bracket of the College World Series with a 6-3 win Sunday night. The Gators (47-20), the defending national champions, will play Texas (42-22) in an elimination game Tuesday afternoon and will start Jackson Kowar. The ninth-seeded Red Raiders (45-18) will play Arkansas (45-19) in a 7 p.m. winner's bracket game Tuesday. To have a chance to repeat as champions, the Gators must win four straight to reach the best-of-three finals. Only Oregon State in 2006 and South Carolina 2010 have lost their Omaha openers and made it to the finals since the tournament went to its current structure in 1999. "There's no rewind button here. We lost. We've got to move forward," Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. |
| Missouri expects south end zone to generate $6 million annually | |
 | This fall, renovations on the south end zone at Memorial Stadium will be an eyesore. The project will drastically reduce parking in two lots. It will force Missouri and its opponents to dress in trailers and walk through a construction zone to get onto the field. By 2019, when the new structure is completed, the Tigers will have new, sparkling locker rooms and coaches offices; multi-purpose event decks in the stadium's southeast and southwest corners; a brand-new rooftop video board; capacity for 4,000 fans in general seats, club seats and suites; and a "Bunker Club" inspired by AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Missouri officials expect the new structure to bring in $6 million from all revenue sources per season. That's four times more than the previous south end zone configuration delivered annually. "It will require a little bit of patience this year from our fans," said Tim Hickman, the chief financial officer for Missouri athletics. |
| Minor change to Williams-Brice coming this year; 2019 could be different story | |
| The University of South Carolina is making an addition at Williams-Brice Stadium for the 2018 season, but, to be honest, it's a boring one. Gamecocks fans will see a new concession stand on the stadium's East end when the new season begins. "We're trying to alleviate some traffic over there," Gamecocks athletics director Ray Tanner said. That's nice, but also ... yawn. That's just the 2018 season, though. In 2019, after South Carolina's football coaches move from the Floyd Football Building to the new $50 million football operations center, things could get interesting. Tanner again: "As football moves over to the football operations center, we hope to convert some space for future amenities." |
| Alabama announcer Chris Stewart overwhelmed by support following stroke | |
 | The clock was ticking on Chris Stewart. No one was sure how much time had gone by or how much was left, but the situation was dire as he was wheeled into surgery two months ago. The radio play-by-play voice for Alabama basketball and baseball had suffered a stroke sometime in the early-morning hours on April 16. It had taken doctors some time to diagnose Stewart, then 47, as a stroke victim. Hours had already passed when the neurologist prepared to operate. "Ordinarily the surgeon and physician would go talk to the family after they've done an initial diagnosis," Stewart said. "... But he sends his chief nurse, and says 'Tell her that if she insists on me coming and laying out what the situation is (before surgery), then I'll do it. But the truth is her husband doesn't have that time. We can't afford that time for him.'" Stewart is now recovering at his home in Hoover a little more than two months after the stroke. |
| NCAA concussion case settles three days into trial | |
 | For a half-dozen years, courts across the country have handled a series of concussion-related lawsuits filed by former players and their family members, who felt football caused irreparable damage, sometimes even leading to death. The cases have been either settled, dismissed or are still locked in some stage of legal dispute. But Ploetz v. NCAA kept winding its way through the system and actually had a trial date. Finally, a judge and jury would hear arguments, and there might even be a decision that assigned liability for the trauma suffered on football fields. Since it was the first of its kind to go before a jury, the case grabbed the attention of players, families, leagues and helmet manufacturers that have been embroiled in concussion litigation. But Friday afternoon, on just the third day of the trial, the sides reached a settlement. Terms were not disclosed. |
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