| Thursday, September 19, 2019 |
| MSU-Meridian's Master of Physician Assistant Studies program interviews prospective students | |
 | Fifty students were invited to interview this month for 20 class seats in Mississippi State University's new Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree program while administrators and faculty prepare for the first PA students to enroll in January 2020. The program's launch at the Riley Campus in downtown Meridian is pending achievement of Accreditation-Provisional status at the upcoming meeting of the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, or ARC-PA. The university will be notified regarding its application for Accreditation-Provisional in the next few weeks. The program will not commence in the event this status is not granted. Terry Dale Cruse, MSU-Meridian associate vice president and head of campus, said 227 applications were submitted by prospective students before the Aug. 1 deadline. Of those invited to interview, 29 of the 50 are Mississippians with the others representing Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Cruse said he expects the program to announce its first cohort in October. |
| Backpacking Researchers Accidentally Discover Grasshopper-Eating Wolf | |
 | Some of the most serendipitous discoveries about nature can be prompted by just about anything, like finding the first known venomous frog by accidentally grabbing the business end of one, or revealing a new owl species by eavesdropping on its unplaceable hooting. Or, perhaps, you might stumble upon a really weird turd. Two summers ago, Brandon Barton, a community ecologist at Mississippi State University, and his colleagues were backpacking through the craggy Hells Canyon Wilderness along the Oregon-Idaho border. There, they were studying elk ecology while en route to a scientific conference in Portland, Oregon. But while hiking down a trail, something strange caught Barton's eye. It was a lump of wolf poop -- and it didn't look quite right. "I remember immediately thinking, 'Is that a grasshopper?'" recounted Barton. Once the researchers picked it up, they could see the scat was absolutely loaded with buggy bits. |
| Head Start slowly returning to Harrison County | |
 | Five hundred children will be back at Head Start soon, some as early as Friday. Harrison County Head Start programs have been closed since Aug. 31 while the Mississippi Action for Progress and Mississippi State University worked to organize new staffs for their centers. "MAP is excited about Harrison County. We know that we have a need here, and we're excited to serve the children here. The staff here is ready, qualified and willing," said Arnett Lock McNair, the Regional Administrator for Mississippi Action for Progress. MAP serves 33 counties and provides Head Start for more than 5,000 children. MSU will provide services for 64 children ages 0-3 and 488 children ages 3-4. |
| Aldermen need two meetings Tuesday to pass tax increase, budget | |
 | It was clear to Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk five minutes before Tuesday's scheduled board meeting time that only three aldermen were present and there would not be a quorum. As a result, the meeting started three-and-a-half hours later with five aldermen present. The board limited the agenda to save time and ultimately passed the Fiscal Year 2020 budget with a millage increase of 1.5 -- from 26.63 mills to 28.13 mills. The millage increase passed with a 3-2 vote after the amount and status were up in the air for two weeks, and the budget later passed unanimously. The 2020 fiscal year begins Oct. 1. "If we hadn't passed a budget, then come Oct. 1, we're out of business. We can't pay our people, we can't pay our bills," Mayor Lynn Spruill said after the meeting. "Hopefully next year we'll have it done by (the state deadline) Sept. 15." Sistrunk, Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker and Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty were present at the scheduled meeting time and voted for the millage increase. Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver and Ward 3 Alderman David Little, who showed up later, voted against it. Henry Vaughn of Ward 7 and Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins of Ward 6 were absent for both sessions. |
| Superior Catfish breaks ground on $17M expansion | |
| A small crowd gathered on the front lawn of Superior Catfish Products in Macon on Tuesday to celebrate the groundbreaking for an expansion that will double the size of the facility and bring new jobs to Noxubee County. "I get a bigger satisfaction out of an announcement like this in rural Mississippi than I do with the bigger announcements," said Mickey Milligan, chief economic development officer for the Mississippi Development Authority. "This is very meaningful to Macon and Noxubee County." The catfish processing plant will add a new production facility and turn the current one into dry storage space, bringing the total square footage of the plant close to 74,000, general manager Fred Johnson said. The project will cost about $17 million and add 25 jobs to the existing 145 at Superior Catfish, as well as 50 to 60 construction jobs, and it should be finished and in operation by January 2021, he said. The Catfish Institute president Roger Barlow called the project "monumental" and praised Superior Catfish's "astute business philosophy." |
| Debating from a distance: Gubernatorial candidates trade jabs on the campaign trail | |
| It was debating at a distance for Tate Reeves and Jim Hood on Wednesday. Reeves is now detailing a reason he believes Jim Hood is running for Governor. "I believe he will do everything in his power to listen to his large trail lawyer contributors and take Mississippi back to where we were in 2002 and 2003, before we had tort reform," said Reeves. "That's so silly," noted Hood when asked for a response. "When you don't have any issues to talk about you try to bring up something that's not true. There's going to be a conservative legislature that wouldn't even look at something like that. That happened fifteen years ago." Hood argues Reeves wants to buy the office and continue to sell the state out. "Tate Reeves hadn't accomplished a dern thing but break our state and give away our tax money," explained Hood. "So, I'm talking about issues and he's talking about stuff that doesn't have anything to do with this race." The general election will be held on November 5th. |
| Bailout approved, but larger question looms: How will Jackson's convention center survive? | |
 | Fresh off a request for an immediate cash infusion to cover payroll, a larger issue looms over the future of the Jackson's Convention Complex. Can it survive? A decade after it opened, the center's attendance continues to plummet, the parking lot across the street remains undeveloped; a soon-to-be-opened conference center in Flowood threatens competition; and little has been paid on its debt. The back and forth is the opening salvo of what is expected to be continuing discussions between stakeholders on what direction to take with the struggling center. That includes the center's overseers, the Capital City Convention Center Commission, the city's main tourism board, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the center's management company, SMG, and the mayor's office. Another problem with the center's attendance, which legislators raised during a Senate hearing in December 2018, is tied to what has been called inadequate marketing. Legislators threatened to cut off funding to the city's main tourism and marketing arm, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, in part due to this reason. The bureau is tasked with marketing the city, including the convention center. |
| Tech execs testify on mass violence before Wicker-led committee | |
 | Top executives with major tech companies faced questions Wednesday from a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Mississippi's Roger Wicker as political leaders wrestle with whether any sort of legislation designed to curb mass gun violence will receive any kind of vote. Representatives with Facebook, Google and Twitter offered statements and took questions from the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. A representative of the Anti-Defamation League was also present as a witness. In response to queries by Wicker and other Commerce Committee members, those tech company leaders described an array of efforts to identify content that portrays or promotes violence, terrorism and the like and to remove it. In his opening remarks to the hearing, Wicker -- a Republican from Tupelo -- invoked recent spates of gun violence in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Technology companies have come under particular scrutiny as mass shooters have frequently begun to post manifestos online or to even stream their violent act. |
| Trump's communications with foreign leader are part of whistleblower complaint that spurred standoff between spy chief and Congress, former officials say | |
 | The whistleblower complaint that has triggered a tense showdown between the U.S. intelligence community and Congress involves President Trump's communications with a foreign leader, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter. Trump's interaction with the foreign leader included a "promise" that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted an official in the U.S. intelligence community to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, said the former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. It was not immediately clear which foreign leader Trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver, but his direct involvement in the matter has not been previously disclosed. It raises new questions about the president's handling of sensitive information and may further strain his relationship with U.S. spy agencies. One former official said the communication was a phone call. |
| People Are Looking At Your LinkedIn Profile. They Might Be Chinese Spies | |
 | One of America's most recent espionage cases started with a friendly hello over the Internet. It ended with a jury in Virginia finding former CIA officer Kevin Mallory guilty of spying for China. The Mallory case -- a rare counterintelligence investigation to go to trial -- provides a lesson in how Chinese spies use social media to try to recruit or co-opt Americans. For the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, John Demers, it also highlights a broader point. "The Chinese," Demers told NPR, "are our No. 1 intelligence threat." Three former U.S. intelligence officers were convicted or pleaded guilty to spying for China over a recent 11-month span. Over that same period, the Justice Department brought almost a dozen more China-related cases, most of them for alleged economic espionage. |
| USM hosts Law School Fair for students | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi held its fourth annual Law School Fair on campus Wednesday at the Thad Cochran Center. The event allowed students who are interested in legal careers an opportunity to network with law schools from around the southeast. It also gave the schools an opportunity to recruit students. Thirteen colleges and universities were on hand for the event, including The University of Mississippi, The University of Alabama and Louisiana State University. The law school fair was open to all students, not only those who are considering a law career, but also those who may be thinking about it but are not quite sure where to start. Dr. Edward Sayre, Director of Social Science and Global Studies for USM, says the university has a plan for students interested in becoming lawyers and also those who are interested in other fields of law. There will be a mock law class on Thursday allowing students to experience exactly what it's like to be in law school. Local lawyers will also be on hand to tell students what the life of a lawyer is like. |
| Faculty Senate criticizes U. of Alabama's silence on dean's departure | |
 | The University of Alabama Faculty Senate, frustrated by the administration's reticence to discuss the circumstances of the recent resignation of its black dean of students, is calling for a re-commitment from the university to free speech and creating a welcoming environment for marginalized communities on campus. "We want it to be short, we want it to be sweet but we want to address the primary concerns of faculty across campus," Faculty Senate President Rona Donahoe said Tuesday. The statement will be sent to UA President Stuart Bell and other senior administrators, Donahoe said. The body suspended the rules and set aside its planned agenda on Tuesday to take up the matter. The unwillingness of the university administration to provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Jamie. R. Riley as dean of students inspired the statement approved on Tuesday. In other action, the Faculty Senate created a task force to make concrete recommendations to address aspects of campus culture that lead to members of the campus community to feel marginalized. |
| Documentary delves into history of 'The Strip' at U. of Alabama | |
| A world-premiere screening of "The Strip," a locally made documentary about the shifting face and history of the commercial strip adjacent to the University of Alabama, will show at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in the Bama Theatre. Taylor Watson, Ben Ellis and Rick Dowling created "The Strip: Tuscaloosa's Most Colorful Quarter Mile" through five years work, editing 60 raw hours of footage into a roughly 90-minute finished documentary. Intrigued by the five blocks' decades-long evolution from dry to wet to wild to something in between, Ellis and Watson dug through old city directories, copies of The Tuscaloosa News and the Crimson White, UA's old Corolla yearbooks and football game-day programs to see what was advertised for sale, to eat and drink, to keep hair and clothes neat, bookshelves stocked, music collections growing. "A lot of this is detective work," said Watson, curator at the Paul W. Bryant Museum. "There's no definitive place to uncover all this." |
| Newly released texts show extent of governor's influence in U. of South Carolina presidential search | |
 | Newly released documents detail the extent to which S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and his staff pressed for Robert Caslen to be the next president of the University of South Carolina. The documents show that before the USC board voted to hire Caslen on July 19, McMaster was in frequent contact with board members, used his chief of staff to push out positive information about Caslen and gave broad support to efforts to elect the retired general and former superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "I fully support any and all efforts to hire General Caslan [sic]," McMaster said in a June 21 text message to Trustee Dan Adams. "His potential to impact the state's economic growth, among other qualities, makes him unique among candidates." McMaster's involvement in Caslen's hiring is important because the agency that accredits USC can take action against accreditation for "undue" political influence on the school. The agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS, said this week that it continues to review USC and the governor's involvement in Caslen's hiring. McMaster's office said Wednesday the governor did nothing wrong. |
| LSU president 'shocked and saddened' by 3 student deaths less than a month into new semester | |
 | LSU leaders are urging students and faculty to seek help coping with the sudden deaths of three students who died in separate incidents less than a month since the fall semester started. President F. King Alexander said in a statement to students Wednesday that the recent deaths have shocked and saddened the campus community. They include two 18-year-olds who died this week -- one in a skateboarding accident and another student whose death is still being investigated -- as well as the shooting death of an international student during a gas station robbery in Baton Rouge. Gilgamesh "Gil" Homan, 18, an LSU freshman, was taken off of life support Tuesday evening after suffering major injuries in a skateboarding accident this weekend, according to his family. Just hours before Homan's family took him off life support, campus police responded to calls about an 18-year-old female student found dead at the Cypress Hall dorms. Her death follows the fatal shooting of Md Firoz-Ul-Amin, a 29-year-old Ph.D. student who was fatally shot at his job earlier this month at the Lucky's Valero gas on Airline Highway. |
| LSU, Southern leaders are supporting more college, career pathways, but there's 'a long way to go' | |
| More Baton Rouge area students are attending college or taking college-level dual enrollment courses, key planks of the Capital Area Promise, an initiative launched last September to create more college and career pathways for students in the Capital region, Baton Rouge education leaders said Wednesday. "We want to see this grow. We have a long way to go," said LSU President F. King Alexander. King was joined Wednesday by leaders of Southern University, Baton Rouge Community College and East Baton Rouge Parish school system. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome sent Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Pamela Ravare-Jones in her stead, as the leaders issued a report card along with a narrative detailing progress toward 10 goals agreed to a year ago. Capital Area Promise is modeled on Long Beach College Promise, an initiative Alexander undertook at his previous job as president of California State University, Long Beach. |
| U. of Kentucky's first-year class has more Kentuckians and increased diversity | |
 | The University of Kentucky has more first-year students than ever before and higher numbers of students in some minority groups. Nineteen percent of the record 5,396 first-year students are from underrepresented populations, according to the university. When the black population dropped by 50 students last fall, UK Provost David Blackwell said he was "very concerned." There are 16 more African-Americans this year than the previous class, along with a record number of Hispanic students. The university said it has 367 African-American students in its first-year class, along with 353 Hispanic students. The jump in overall enrollment in the first-year class comes despite a 2.4 percent increase in tuition for in-state underclassmen. The tuition hike has not deterred in-state students, however. There are 3,422 Kentuckians in this year's first-year class, which is the largest number the university has had since 2009. |
| UT-Knoxville to install live-streaming camera at the Rock after anti-Semitic, 9/11 message painted | |
| One week after the Rock at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville was painted with an anti-Semitic message, Chancellor Donde Plowman has announced plans to install a camera near the popular campus boulder. The camera will live stream a "feed available for anyone to see as a symbol that our community is taking collective responsibility for the Rock," according to a statement from Plowman. The campus space rental policy has also been revised to restrict rentals from people or groups who are not affiliated with the university. "We are committed to being a campus where everyone matters and everyone belongs, a campus where love will never be replaced by words or actions of hate," Plowman said. "Hate aimed at one Vol is aimed at all Vols, and we are committed to responding decisively and peacefully as a Volunteer community." In addition to the camera, which has not yet been installed, the University of Tennessee Police Department has increased patrols in the area. |
| Former U. of Missouri music professor announces $4M donation to create music studies center | |
 | Longtime University of Missouri professor and musicologist Michael Budds wiped tears from his eyes as MU alumna Symonne Sparks and MU master's degree candidates Marques Ruff and Ross Dryer performed powerful notes. "I have goosebumps on top of goosebumps," MU School of Music Director Julia Gaines said. Budds donated $4 million for the creation of the Budds Center for American Music Studies at the MU School of Music. MU faculty, staff, students and friends gathered Wednesday morning in Whitmore Recital Hall for the announcement. Budds said he is the last surviving member of his immediate family, so the center is a way to memorialize his family. "This is not the Michael J. Budds Center for American Music Studies. This is the Budds Center because this is my way of honoring my grandparents, my parents, my sister and my brother; and so my family name will survive my own death," Budds said. |
| Senate bill would give NIH $3 billion in 2020, or 7.7% boost | |
| A Senate spending panel today released a draft 2020 spending bill containing a hefty $3 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health that would bring the agency's total budget to $42.1 billion. That 7.7% boost is $1 billion more than a House of Representatives committee approved in its version of the bill in April, and would complete a 40% increase in NIH's budget over the past 5 years. The Senate Committee on Appropriations measure includes a $350 million increase for Alzheimer's disease research at NIH, bringing the total to $2.82 billion, as well as $50 million for a new Childhood Cancer Data Initiative as part of President Donald Trump's proposed 10-year, $500 million pediatric cancer research effort. The bill also includes $492 million for the 21st Century Cures Act, which supports the Cancer Moonshot, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies brain-mapping initiative (which would receive $500 million overall, a $71 million increase), and the All of Us precision medicine study (funded at $500 million, an increase of $161 million). |
| Colleges are starting to help part-time students finish their degrees faster | |
| Fewer than one in five students who enroll part time from the start at a four-year college have earned a degree eight years later, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Part-timers at community college fare even worse. The reasons these students take so long to finish college, or drop out altogether, often come down to two factors: money and scheduling. That's starting to change as federal forecasts show part-time enrollment outpacing full-time enrollment through at least 2027 and other new figures shed light on how long it takes for part-time students to graduate. Colleges and states are realizing that they won't meet their enrollment targets or improve the proportion of their residents with higher educations if they don't pay more attention to this part of the student population. More institutions are scheduling courses at the times when part-time students need them, rather than when it's convenient for faculty. They're extending support programs to part-time students that have been proven to improve results among full-time ones. Some states are opening up financial aid programs to part-time students who haven't previously been eligible for them. |
| Why colleges are struggling to graduate more teachers | |
| The teacher shortage is growing in the U.S., but it's an uphill battle for many colleges looking to create more candidates. More institutions are starting boutique programs, taking the time to build relationships with high school and even middle school students to expand the pipeline of future teachers. Although the individual programs may be successful, their collective impact has been small so far. Meanwhile, the teacher deficit is growing. Since about 2012, the number of teachers needed in K-12 public schools has outpaced the number of available candidates. That gap has grown to a shortage of more than 110,000 teachers projected for the 2017-18 school year, compared to 20,000 in 2012-13. And with relatively few students from racial and ethnic minority groups considering teaching, the limited supply of newcomers can have broad-ranging implications. In response, some colleges have started or accelerated programs to entice students to choose teaching and become certified. But with a strong job market, most have not been successful in increasing their education majors. |
| Janet Napolitano to step down as U. of California president in 2020 | |
 | University of California President Janet Napolitano, who has championed immigrant students and sexual abuse victims but whose management style has sparked criticism, announced Wednesday she was resigning as head of the nation's premier public research university system. Napolitano made the announcement at the UC regents meeting at UCLA. She will step down Aug. 1, 2020. "The decision was tough, and at this moment bittersweet, but the time is right," Napolitano said. "With many new board members, with a new governor and what will be seven years of service behind me, I think the university will benefit from some fresh blood." Napolitano, 61, said she would join the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy to teach and write in fall 2021 after a yearlong sabbatical. UC sources said Napolitano was not forced out, although some of the regents were known to have desired a leadership change. Instead, they said, she was ready to move on. She did not rule out running for political office, taking a Cabinet position or serving on the U.S. Supreme Court if nominated. |
| Why Do Some People Become Readers? | |
| They can be identified by their independent-bookstore tote bags, their "Book Lover" mugs, or -- most reliably -- by the bound, printed stacks of paper they flip through on their lap. They are, for lack of a more specific term, readers. Joining their tribe seems simple enough: Get a book, read it, and voila! You're a reader -- no tote bag necessary. But behind that simple process is a question of motivation -- of why some people grow up to derive great pleasure from reading, while others don't. That why is consequential -- leisure reading has been linked to a range of good academic and professional outcomes -- as well as difficult to fully explain. But a chief factor seems to be the household one is born into, and the culture of reading that parents create within it. |
SPORTS
| Heat Advisory Initiatives In Place For SEC Opener | |
| With warm temperatures expected Saturday, Mississippi State Athletics has a number of measures in place to help ensure the safety and well-being of fans attending the MSU-Kentucky football game in Davis Wade Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. To avoid delays with security screening prior to entering the stadium, fans are strongly encouraged to arrive at gates in advance of 45 minutes prior to kickoff. Fans arriving at gates 30 minutes prior to kickoff should expect delays. Fans are encouraged to follow these safety measures before arriving at the stadium: Hydrate early, before and during the game to avoid heat exhaustion. Apply sunscreen of at least 30 SPF (recommended) and repeat the application periodically. Avoid excess caffeine and alcohol, which could result in dehydration. |
| Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead, Kentucky WR Lynn Bowden share special connection | |
| Joe Moorhead didn't have to stay on the field, but he wanted to. Moorhead just suffered the first loss of his tenure at Mississippi State. He had already shaken hands with Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops on the 50-yard line at Kroger Field. More than half of his Bulldogs fled the field right away. They didn't want to linger at the site of their 28-7 loss to the Wildcats. Kentucky fans waved white rally towels amid the sea of blue apparel that filled the stands. They chanted "over-rated!" as the Dawgs trudged up the tunnel. Moorhead, as displeased as anyone wearing maroon and white at that moment, wasn't following them. Not yet, anyway. He had to find somebody first. He was looking for a boy in blue, one wearing a No. 1 on his UK jersey and dozens of tattoos on his body. The search was on for wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. |
| Redshirting the right move for Mississippi State's Jaquarius Landrews | |
| Junior college players are usually counted on to play right away and rarely redshirt. Former Copiah-Lincoln Community College safety Jaquarius Landrews arrived at Mississippi State in January 2017 looking to make an immediate impact. However, Landrews ultimately redshirted his first season with the Bulldogs and is glad he did in hindsight. "I'm thankful because -- just say that I didn't get redshirted, I'd have been with Johnathan Abram and Mark McLaurin and they were pretty good guys and I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity that I have now," Landrews said. "Redshirting was the best thing that ever happened to me. I know the game a little more and it's slowed down for me. It's a blessing to be redshirted. Some people look at it as a bad thing but it was a good thing." Landrews is now a full-time starter for MSU and currently leads the team, and is tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference, with 24 tackles through three games. He had a career-high nine stops and a half-tackle for loss last week against Kansas State. |
| How will Mississippi State challenge Kentucky football? We asked a Bulldogs beat writer | |
| Kentucky will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season Saturday at Mississippi State. The Wildcats have not won in Starkville since 2008 and have lost the last two games against the Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium by a combined 87-23 score, but Kentucky dominated Mississippi State 28-7 a year ago. Both Kentucky and Mississippi State enter the game coming off disappointing losses. Which team bounces back? To gauge the mood in Starkville this week, we caught up with Tyler Horka, the Mississippi State beat writer for USA TODAY Network partner The Clarion-Ledger. |
| More cowbell! The history behind Mississippi State's maddening tradition | |
| This is how you prepare for a trip to Starkvegas. Near the end of Kentucky's football practice on Tuesday, you could hear the distinctive first few chords of the rock band Blue Oyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper playing through the loud speakers at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. And what do listeners remember most about that 1976 hit? The cowbell, of course. And when Mark Stoops' Wildcats take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville on Saturday they will be once again treated to the calamitous cacophony that is the MSU fan base incessantly ringing its cowbells. "Cattle bells, " UK's redshirt freshman tight end Keaton Upshaw mistakenly called them Tuesday. He'll learn. He has no choice. "With some young guys going on the road, going down there, (MSU fans) will be rocking their cowbells," Stoops said Monday. "We'll try to get ready for that this week." |
| Kentucky linebacker Kash Daniel fires back at allegations he tried to hurt Florida QB | |
| Kentucky junior linebacker Kash Daniel issued a vehement denial of allegations made by Florida fans on Twitter that he intentionally tried to injury Gators quarterback Kyle Trask during Saturday's game in Lexington. "Do I talk a lot of crap? Absolutely," Daniel said after practice Wednesday. "Do I bump a dude here and there to get underneath his skin and talk while I'm doing it? Absolutely. That's part of my game. It's what I do. But am I out there to deliberately hurt somebody? Absolutely not." The incident in question occurred after Trask was stopped short on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter of the Gators' 29-21 win Saturday. Florida fans began circulating a view of the play from the ESPN aerial camera which shows Daniel's hand near Trask's foot after the tackle. The video is shot from behind Daniel, so his arms are partially blocked by his body, and it is not clear what exactly happened. What is evident is Daniel at one point rips his hand from the pile and then exchanges words and goes chest to chest with Trask before being pulled away by a teammate. |
| Michael Haddix to be inducted into M-Club Hall of Fame | |
| After leaving Mississippi State as one of the greatest running backs in program history, Michael Haddix hoped to leave a legacy that extended far beyond his accomplishments on the field. "It is an honor to be inducted into the M-Club Hall of Fame," Haddix said. "It means I was appreciated while I was here. I am being recognized not only for the talent I brought on the field but for my character and demeanor off the field as a student-athlete. That is one thing I don't think people realize. You are not just an athlete. You are a role model, and you influence a lot of young people." On the field, Haddix sits atop the Mississippi State record books after rushing for an average of 6.0 yards per carry during his time in Starkville. He also finished his career second in rushing yards (2,558) and 100-yard games (10). The Walnut, Mississippi native, recalls his fondest memory in Maroon and White when he and his team defeated No. 1 Alabama, 6-3, on Nov. 1, 1980, one of the greatest victories in program history. |
| SEC building some of the top defenses in college football | |
 | While defenses are still a work in progress around the Southeastern Conference, they still rank as some of the best in college football. Florida leads the nation with 16 sacks, including 10 in the opener against rival Miami. Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia combined to shut out overmatched opponents 150-0 last weekend, helpful tuneups toward taking on schools their own size this week. SEC defenses seem to be getting it done differently than in previous years. Alabama (3-0, 1-0) hasn't had its typically dominant defense, allowing 308.3 yards per contest. That hasn't mattered much since the Tua Tagovailoa-led offense is still putting up huge numbers. A lot of attention this week will be focused on the nonconference showdown between No. 7 Notre Dame and third-ranked Georgia (3-0), which boasts the nation's fifth-best run defense at 60.7 yards allowed per contest. The Bulldogs' pass rush is also pretty stout with 12 sacks to tie for ninth nationally. Coach Kirby Smart credits an energetic outside linebacking corps including Azeez Ojulari and Nolan Smith. |
| U. of Memphis approved for beer sales at all on-campus games | |
| The University of Memphis, through its partnership with Chartwells, was approved for a license on Wednesday to sell beer at on-campus home games, including women's basketball. The license allows for the sale of beer for home games at all sporting events at the Tigers' softball stadium, FedExPark and the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Alcohol was not previously sold because the campus is dry. Joy Touliatos, the administrator of permits for the city, confirmed to The Commercial Appeal that the license was approved Wednesday at the Memphis Alcohol Commission meeting. Touliatos did not provide a timeline for when beer sales will begin. In addition to women's basketball, beer will be sold at men's and women's soccer, volleyball, baseball, track and field, softball and special home events. Chartwells, the official concessionaire for all Memphis athletic games on campus, applied for the license on the university's behalf, according to the commission meeting agenda. A Memphis athletics department spokesperson confirmed the school sought the license through Chartwells but declined further comment |
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