| Friday, October 3, 2014 |
| Starkville buzzing with Bulldog Bash, football action | |
 | An influx of tourists for tonight's Bulldog Bash, Mississippi's largest outdoor concert, and Saturday's football game between Mississippi State University and Texas A&M will provide a huge boon to the local economy while also adding pressure on local law enforcement agencies as they ensure safety throughout the county. Starkville's transition from a small college town to a tourist destination for about 100,000 visitors began Thursday as motorists inundated its roads in preparation for an extended, busy weekend. As with any football game day weekend, the potential impact for Starkville's retailers is great, but Greater Starkville Development Partnership CEO Jennifer Gregory said this weekend could bring the year's best chances for increased sales tax receipts because of additional Bulldog Bash visitors and the fact that MSU and TAMU are both highly ranked. |
| Mississippi State announces weekend road changes for football game | |
 | Mississippi State University says access to some roads will be changed as the university hosts SEC Nation for the game this weekend. Starting Thursday, access to Creelman Street from Stone Boulevard and Tracy Drive will be closed. On Friday, the Junction will still open at 4 p.m., but patrons will not have access to portions of Creelman St. for unloading tailgating equipment. Please be mindful of the influx on Stone Blvd. as traffic leaves campus as it closes and traffic arrives to drop off tailgating supplies. On Saturday, B.S. Hood will close at 6 a.m. and portions for Stone Blvd. will close at 8 a.m. in anticipation of the C-Spire Fan Zone opening. |
| Restaurants, hotels ready for big weekend | |
| Famed sportswriter Grantland Rice long ago suggested, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Restaurant owners in Starkville and Columbus are inclined to disagree. It's not that they are poor sports, of course. But over the years, veteran restaurateurs have noticed a connection with victories and sales. Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's 11 a.m. game featuring 12th-ranked Mississippi State and sixth-ranked Texas A&M, restaurants and hotels in the Golden Triangle will be busy this weekend. But an MSU win is especially important to restaurants. Jay Yates, owner of The Veranda restaurant in Starkville, says that the carry-over effect of a win often lingers well into the following week. |
| Starkville and Oxford Restaurateurs, Merchants Gear up for Monster Weekend | |
 | It's a big weekend for the Magnolia State as both Ole Miss and Mississippi State take on top ranked opponents. From Oxford to Starkville highways and hotels will be packed. It's good news for the hotels, bars and restaurants located along this main drag. Sales always pick up during football season, but with the Bulldogs on a winning streak, and heavy presence of tailgaters from both near and far, they are experiencing even better numbers. Local distributors are also getting ready for the big weekend. |
| Hotel Economy Sees Boost from Big Game Day Spillover | |
| Mississippi State or Ole Miss -- it really doesn't matter which game hundreds of out of town guests plan to see this weekend, they will likely have a hard time finding a room. Officials say that the hotels here in the area are filling very fast for this weekend's ballgames. "We've probably been booked up close to two weeks now maybe. Pretty much the only rooms that are available are if someone cancels," said Cindy Murphy of Holiday Inn Express in Tupelo. Local tourism officials call that "spillover" when the hotels in Starkville and Oxford fill up. |
| Brazilian native finds her Southern place at MSU-Meridian | |
 | Luiza Dos Santos Dobbins has come a long way since arriving in the United States several years ago from Brazil. As an exchange student from Rio de Janeiro in 2011, she resided with a West Alabama family and attended Southern Choctaw High School in Gilbertown, Ala. After returning to Brazil to finish her studies, she told her parents she wanted to return to Mississippi to earn a university degree. In May, Dobbins earned her associate degree from Meridian Community College and transferred to Mississippi State University-Meridian to study accounting. She is one of 10 students initiated recently into the new Riley Scholars Program supported by The Riley Foundation, |
| MSU's 'Farmweek' Kicks off 38th Season | |
| Mississippi's oldest agricultural television news show begins its 38th season Oct. 3 on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Farmweek, produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the MSU Office of Agricultural Communications, airs weekly on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and RFD-TV. Artis Ford, Farmweek's managing editor and reporter for almost 30 years, said Friday's show will mark the 1,880th airing. Viewers also will notice a few changes this season as a result of a viewership survey conducted in 2014. Leighton Spann, markets producer and co-anchor, celebrates his 20th anniversary with the show. Amy Taylor began work as the show's features reporter in 2007. |
| LINK, Chamber organizational transition begins | |
| Wednesday marked the beginning of an organizational transition for the Golden Triangle Development LINK. The staff restructuring is designed to better address the needs of both the LINK -- whose primary focus is job creation -- and the city's chamber of commerce, which seeks to advocate for and improve existing area businesses. This summer, Lowndes, Clay and Oktibbeha counties renewed their commitments to the LINK to represent their economic development interests. Each signed three-year rolling contracts agreeing to pay $350,000 for their services. |
| Economy has exceeded Fed forecasts, official says | |
 | St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard has been one of the most outspoken of his colleagues at the central bank, and he said Thursday night to area business leaders that interest rates likely should have risen by now. The Federal Open Market Committee, of which he is not a member, meets eight times a year to set monetary policy. Bullard said the economy has improved beyond the forecasts the Fed made two years ago as it launched its third "Quantitative Easing" program of buying bonds. Bullard said the economy has exceeded the Fed's own forecasts, and should be moving more quickly to raise interest rates, which are near zero. In a question-and-answer session with the audience, Bullard also said he was concerned about the regulatory environment for community banks. |
| Good cotton crop reported, yet farmers sing the blues | |
 | Mississippi has a particularly good cotton crop this year, but cotton farmers are still singing the blues. Farmers told 16 WAPT's Bert Case that too many people planted cotton this year, which is driving prices down. Cotton producers planted an estimated 420,000 acres of cotton this year, which is way up from last year's 280,000 acres. Gaddis Farms has 35,000 acres of crops in Hinds County, of which 3,500 acres are cotton this year. "Acres are up this year, and yield around here is real good, but the price has declined and everybody is concerned about that," said Gaddis Farms president Ted Kendall. |
| $59 million added to cost of $5.6 billion Kemper Power Plant; start-up delayed | |
 | Mississippi Power on Thursday increased the cost of the Kemper Power Plant, originally estimated at $2.5 billion, to $5.61 billion and then pushed back the coal gasification start-up sometime beyond the middle of next year. No revised date was provided, but the company said it expects to give a projected in-service date plus updates to the cost estimate in its monthly status report that should be filed by the end of October. The report said Mississippi Power is reviewing the start-up schedule, "including specialized operator training," and now expects the lignite plant to be placed in service later in 2015 than the second quarter as previously scheduled. |
| Mississippi high court hears GOP Senate primary dispute | |
 | Attorneys for six-term Sen. Thad Cochran told the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday that a challenger waited too long to file a lawsuit seeking to overturn Cochran's victory in the June 24 Republican primary runoff. However, attorneys for the challenger, tea party-backed state Sen. Chris McDaniel, argued that current Mississippi law does not specify a deadline for filing a challenge of election results. McDaniel is asking justices to revive lawsuit that was dismissed in late August. The circuit judge who dismissed the suit agreed with Cochran's attorneys that McDaniel waited too long to file. Justices spent nearly two hours listening to arguments and asking questions of both sides. They gave no indication of when or how they might rule. |
| State high court weighs McDaniel challenge | |
| Whether state Sen. Chris McDaniel will be able to continue his challenge of his election loss to six-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in state court now rests in the hands of the Mississippi Supreme Court. The state's highest court heard more than 90 minutes of arguments Thursday on whether McDaniel was bound by a 20-day deadline from the time of the election to file his challenge. McDaniel, a second-term state senator from Ellisville, took 41 days. But even if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling of Special Judge Hollis McGehee that McDaniel waited too long, McDaniel attorney Mitch Tyner said the challenge might continue in federal court on constitutional grounds. |
| High court mulls McDaniel appeal | |
 | Losing at the state high court may not end Chris McDaniel's months-long challenge of his election loss to Sen. Thad Cochran, his lead attorney said after arguing before the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday. McDaniel attorney Mitch Tyner said the erstwhile candidate could still file a challenge of his loss in federal court, on First Amendment grounds. He said McDaniel still hasn't had a trial to prove the election was stolen from him and "the merits have never been heard on this case." Cochran attorney Mark Garriga said McDaniel's challenge needs to end. "They blamed everybody in the world for losing the election," Garriga said. |
| Lt. Gov. Issues Warning Over MAEP Funding Push | |
 | Mississippi's lieutenant governor is issuing a warning that efforts to require full funding of the state's K-12 education spending formula would damage higher education. Both a law suit and constitutional ballot initiative are in the works to force state lawmakers to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program which sets K-12 education spending levels. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves used a budget hearing in Jackson to say says community colleges and universities are one of the few places that lawmakers could find the amount of money advocates are seeking. Institutions of Higher Learning commissioner Hank Bounds, who has previously run the K-12 system in the state, says it is wrong to force the three education branches into a budgeting fight. |
| Childers first Dem to sign FAIR immigration pledge | |
| Mississippi U.S. Senate candidate Travis Childers on Thursday became the first Democrat to sign the Federation for American Immigration Reform anti-amnesty pledge. This raises an obvious question: Is Childers trying to pander to tea party voters in his challenge to incumbent Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who has refused to sign the pledge? Childers says absolutely no. He said immigration, and the FAIR pledge, has come up often when he talks with people on the campaign trail. State Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole on Thursday said, "Travis Childers is a very deliberative man ... and I certainly defer to his judgement." |
| Wicker visits Southern Eye Center in Hattiesburg | |
 | On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker paid a visit to Southern Eye Center in Hattiesburg to talk with patients and staff about various health issues including Medicare and Medicaid. The second-term Republican senator was given a tour of the facility by Dr. Kiper Nelson, Southern Eye Center's cataract specialist. "I'm actually getting to do something today that most members of Congress don't ever have the opportunity to do, and that's actually see the health care provider tending to the patients," Wicker said. Wicker noted that it's important to recognize clinics such as Southern Eye Center, which employs 90 people, as not only health care facilities but as small businesses as well. |
| Jobless rate falls below 6 percent | |
 | The unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent in September, its lowest point in six years, in the last jobs report before the midterm elections in November. The economy added 248,000 jobs in September as the market rebounded from a poor report in August. The strong figures add to the sense that the economy has picked up steam this year, though it does not appear to have done much good for President Obama and congressional Democrats. Republicans have a good chance of retaking the Senate majority next month in large part because of unhappiness with Obama's presidency, including his handling of the economy. |
| In Secret Service, Some Blacks See a Flawed Shield for the President | |
 | Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland was at the grocery store the other day when he ran into an elderly black woman who expressed growing concern about President Obama's safety. Why, she asked, wasn't he being better protected by his Secret Service agents? The furor that led to this week's resignation of the director of the Secret Service resonated deeply among blacks, outraged that those supposed to be guarding the first black president were somehow falling down on the job -- and suspicious even without evidence that it may be deliberate. "It is something that is widespread in black circles," said Representative Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri. Both Mr. Cummings and Mr. Cleaver said that they did not believe the Secret Service lapses reported recently had anything to do with Mr. Obama's race and that they had tried to dispel the notion among their constituents. |
| Clancy, acting Secret Service chief, will give Obamas a familiar, reliable level of trust | |
 | Almost as soon as President Obama decided that Julia Pierson had to go as director of the Secret Service, he knew exactly whom he wanted to replace her. On Wednesday, the president and first lady Michelle Obama, aides said, personally recommended to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough that the administration reach out to former special agent Joseph Clancy, who retired in 2011 after serving as chief of Obama's protective detail for two years. To the president, Clancy, who also served in the protective details for George W. Bush and Bill Clinton during a 25-year career, was the obvious choice. But perhaps even more important, Clancy offers Obama and his family a level of personal trust and comfort at a time when their safety has been called into question, said associates who served with him. |
| UAW president, German labor leaders visit Alabama to announce new organizing plan for Mercedes plant | |
 | The United Auto Workers union on Friday is expected to announce a plan to form a local union at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County. The Detroit News reports the development, which has been expected following the circulation of flyers at the plant over the summer. Separately, the UAW has issued a media advisory announcing a news conference to be held Friday afternoon at Hotel Capstone in Tuscaloosa "to announce new developments regarding employee representation" at the plant. The Detroit-based UAW has long sought a foothold in the South's growing auto industry. And its most recent efforts to organize plants in the region have been focused on automakers that hail from Germany. |
| Business leader donates $1M to UMMC to fight Alzheimer's | |
| Jackson businessman John N. Palmer, whose wife and her mother both succumbed to Alzheimer's several years ago, has donated $1 million to the MIND Center, a University of Mississippi Medical Center institution dedicated to fighting the disease. The gift from the telecommunications pioneer and former U.S. ambassador to Portugal pushed donations to the Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia Research Center above the $10 million mark -- a goal set in 2010, the year it opened at UMMC. |
| Second USM student held for posting social media threat | |
| With a second University of Southern Mississippi student arrested for allegedly posting a social media threat, school administrators say they have addressed what is and is not appropriate behavior. USM police arrested Velton Taylor Williams, 20, Wednesday in connection with an alleged threat to the Hattiesburg campus posted Sept. 25 on the social media application Yik Yak. "Through our efforts to educate and inform, there have been vast efforts to call our students' attention to behavior, community standards for living and co-existing in a community," said Eddie Holloway, Southern Miss dean of students. |
| USM students research historic Deason Home in Ellisville | |
| Within the walls of Ellisville's historic Deason Home are many historical and supernatural stories that lead its guests to wonder: "If these walls could talk, what would they say?" Now, with the help of Southern Miss professor Grant Harley's dendrochronology class, the house, which is more than 160 years old, will have a chance to tell a story the public has never heard before. Chris Speagle, a senior geography major and history minor from Ellisville, was one of about 20 USM students to spend Saturday climbing through and taking wooden samples from what is said to be Jones County's oldest home. |
| Copiah-Lincoln Community College gets $2 million boost | |
 | Copiah-Lincoln Community College's Natchez and Wesson campuses will have an additional $2 million to prepare students with the skills needed to succeed in the transportation sector. Co-Lin will receive the funding over the next three years through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant. Co-Lin president Ronnie Nettles said a majority of the funding will likely be budgeted for the Natchez campus. The training grant will allow colleges to key in on developing centers of excellence that groom workers with the skills needed in the transportation sector. |
| At its formal opening, severe weather research center at UAH receives its mandate: Save lives | |
| With the horrors of the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak far from fading in the minds of Alabamians, the mandate given Thursday to the new severe weather research center in Huntsville carried no hyperbole. "This is going to do one thing that's important and that's to save lives," Gov. Robert Bentley said. Moments later, Bentley cut the ceremonial ribbon to formally open SWIRLL -- Severe Weather Institute and Radar & Lightning Laboratories at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The facility is expected to elevate UAH's already high-profile in the field of severe weather research. "We truly appreciate Gov. Bentley's vision and support in making Alabama safer for its citizens," UAH President Robert Altenkirch said. |
| Louisiana's TOPS students to get text message reminders | |
 | By the end of this semester, first-year college students who receive money from Louisiana's Taylor Opportunity Program for Students will start receiving text messages that will remind them what they need to do to keep their scholarships. Among those messages, they're likely to see unexpected warnings to keep their grade-point averages above 2.3 and to take at least 24 credit hours each academic year, which doesn't include classes that are dropped or failed; helpful tips on where to find tutoring help on campus; and gentle encouragement to buckle down for finals. It's the latest effort to make sure students know what's expected of them if they want to continue to receive Louisiana's generous TOPS awards -- and inform them in a way that's more familiar and immediate for them. |
| U. of Tennessee system forecasts $155M funding gap over next decade | |
 | With rising tuition the norm at his institution and others, University of Tennessee system President Joe DiPietro has made no secret of his desire for greater state funding in higher education. He's now forecasting trend lines 10 years in advance, with experts estimating a gap of more than $155 million in state funding to address needs at the UT system -- that's with modest assumptions of 3 percent annual tuition increases over that time and no new state revenue. DiPietro has sharpened his pitch for higher education funding over the past year, highlighted in June when -- after the board approved a 6 percent tuition hike for most UT schools -- he called for a statewide coalition to reverse the trend of dwindling state appropriations for colleges and universities. |
| UGA endowment trails most SEC universities | |
 | The total assets of the University of Georgia reached more than $1 billion for the first time in the 2014 fiscal year, trustees reported at the University of Georgia Foundation's most recent meeting. The Foundation is the nonprofit group that manages money donated to UGA for professors, scholarships, expense accounts for administrators and the like. The university also posted its best fundraising year ever under first-year president Jere Morehead, with $126 million in gifts and pledges, the UGA president told the group last week. About $34.2 million of that total was contributions to the UGA Athletic Association from season ticket holders; academic fundraising totaled a record $92 million. Despite the good news, UGA is still well behind most SEC schools and many of the institutions designated official "comparator" schools by the Board of Regents. |
| Peace Corps recruiting office returning to U. of Florida after three-year absence | |
 | After an absence of almost three years, the Peace Corps is returning to the University of Florida. Thanks to the efforts of Nargiza Ludgate at the UF International Center, the Peace Corps in 2015 will reopen the office it closed in 2012. "The Peace Corps has a procurement process where they consider requests for placement," Ludgate said. "We discussed it in our office, prepared and submitted a proposal, and we got the contract." The $25,000 grant will help UF run a recruitment office on campus for one year with an option for an additional four years provided the office meets its recruiting goals, she said. "We'd like to maintain our status as one of the top schools." |
| U. of Kentucky prices 120-bed hospital expansion at $99 million | |
 | The University of Kentucky has put a $99 million price tag on its effort to add 120 beds to its hospital. That's the figure listed as the cost of capital expenditures related to the project on the official application filed with the state this week. State approval must be obtained through a months-long process to determine whether there is sufficient need for additional hospital beds in the region. Other health care providers can ask for a formal hearing. The beds represent a 14.5 percent increase that would bring the number of beds at UK to 945. A final ruling is expected by the state in February 2015. |
| Regents give A&M's Sharp power to work on drug development company | |
 | The Texas A&M Board of Regents gave Chancellor John Sharp the authority in a special telephonic meeting Monday to negotiate and execute contracts with investors in Kalon Biotherapeutics, a private drug development company formed by the Texas A&M System. After the closed-session meeting, Sharp said the system is looking forward to closing an investment deal with Fujifilm. "The lawyers have been baby-sitting this thing for a year or two or so and did an excellent job of putting together a great thing for the A&M System," he said. "And I think by having an entity the size of Fujifilm involved in it is just going to add to the success of the entire BARDA [Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority] project as it is." |
| U. of Missouri professor sues interim provost over faculty irresponsibility case | |
 | More than four years after the start of his legal and internal battle with the University of Missouri, Greg Engel is filing a lawsuit alleging a high-ranking academic official broke the rules by recommending the removal of Engel's tenure. Engel, James C. Dowell associate professor of electrical engineering, filed the lawsuit Friday against MU interim Provost Ken Dean, citing "malfeasance and evil wrongdoing" related to Dean's role in a faculty committee's review of charges that Engel disrespected students and was an ineffective teacher. Engel is asking for $5 million in punitive damages. Engel's battle with administrators began in early 2010 when superiors accused him of stalling on a research project and reassigned a $2 million federal earmark he had secured. |
| U. of Missouri System curators approve Title IX changes | |
| The University of Missouri Board of Curators ratified a string of changes Thursday to the university's governing document related to Title IX policies and investigations. UM System President Tim Wolfe gave a short update on Title IX training and policy implementation at Thursday's curators meeting in Kansas City. The board unanimously approved the changes, which Wolfe first issued as executive orders last month. Wolfe has set a goal of making the UM System a leader in Title IX policies and training. Wolfe told curators he "put his money where his mouth is" and the system has spent more than $1 million to address the issue, including hiring a consultant for policymaking guidance and training. |
| Clemson fraternities can resume initiation activities on Oct. 10 | |
 | Clemson University will allow some fraternities to resume social and initiation activities on Oct. 10, ending a ban imposed two weeks ago soon after the death of a pledge. The school said it suspended social and initiation activities "in the wake of multiple incidents involving fraternities this semester." An internal investigation into allegations of conduct code violations is ongoing. The school has said it turned over evidence of possible criminal allegations at fraternities to law enforcement agencies. "A comprehensive, long-term plan is under development to enhance the Greek culture of safety and risk management, and address issues related to unacceptable behaviors," Gail DiSabatino, vice president for student affairs said. |
| As Pell Grant loses access potency, new paper calls for bolder federal college affordability guarantee | |
 | The Pell Grant program, once a powerful tool for promoting low-income access in higher education, has lost its luster. That's the conclusion of a new report -- "Beyond Pell: A Next-Generation Design for Federal Financial Aid" -- that was published Thursday by the Education Trust, New America Foundation, and Young Invincibles. It argues that the federal government needs to be bolder in how it gets low-income students to enroll in postsecondary education, given the Pell Grant's declining purchasing power and tuition hikes at public universities. |
SPORTS
| No. 12 Mississippi State ready to challenge vs. No. 6 Texas A&M | |
| Ryan Brown didn't hesitate. Asked about the importance of the No. 12 Mississippi State football team's showdown against No. 6 Texas A&M at 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPN), the MSU defensive end smiled and shook his head. "It's the biggest game of my life," said Brown, a sophomore defensive end from New Orleans. "This is why I came here. This is why I signed with Mississippi State, to get to games like this." Brown wasn't alone. One by one, as MSU's players met with media this week, each Bulldog stressed the importance of the first meeting between top-15 teams at Davis Wade Stadium since 1986. "It's huge," said MSU quarterback Dak Prescott, who has 15 touchdowns this season. "Two undefeated teams, at home ... It's a big deal. It's also just another game in the SEC West. All of our SEC games are big, and this one is no different." |
| Mississippi State's Dak Prescott, Texas A&M Kenny Hill square off | |
| Dak Prescott thinks his coach is a nerd. Even four years into his career at Mississippi State, the quarterback still turns to his backup when Dan Mullen dives into offensive game planning. "He's a genius of the game. He'll say something. And I'm like, he's honestly like a nerd to football," Prescott said. "There's not one bit of offense that he doesn't know from the quarterback position." Nerd or genius, Mullen's offense has propelled Prescott onto the national scene. Through four games, the junior has led the Bulldogs to a 4-0 record. In the process, Prescott's risen in the discussion of Heisman Trophy candidates. |
| Mississippi State will try to put pressure on Texas A&M's Hill | |
| LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings never had a chance. Lining up in a shotgun formation on third-and-8 against Mississippi State, Jennings surveyed a three-man defensive front that included defensive end Preston Smith shifting to the middle of MSU's line. As soon as the ball was snapped, Jennings was in Smith's crosshairs, and the 6-foot-6, 267-pound senior from Stone Mountain, Georgia, exploded through the center of LSU's offensive line and dropped Jennings for an 8-yard loss. It was Smith's third sack of the season and set the tone for a defense that sacked LSU quarterbacks three times in a dominating effort that catapulted MSU to a 34-29 win. It happened just the way MSU defensive coordinator Geoff Collins drew it up. |
| Man of respect: A&M's Sumlin has praise for Bulldogs | |
| Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin will stand across the sideline from Dan Mullen for the fifth time in the last six years on Saturday. Sumlin matched wits with Mullen twice as the head coach at Houston and two more times with the Aggies posting a 3-1 record against Mississippi State. But this 4-0 Bulldog team, ranked 12th in the country, will be his biggest challenge yet. "They're going up and down the field on everybody," Sumlin said. |
| Wetherbee helps keeps Mississippi State organized | |
| Scott Wetherbee arrived at Mississippi State University to take over at the school's senior associate director of athletics for external affairs, and with the Bulldogs' football team off to a 4-0 start, that means he's a busy man. Serving as MSU's point of contact for the SEC Network, which will broadcast its weekly college football lead-in show, SEC Nation, from MSU's Junction on Saturday morning, Wetherbee has plenty to discuss. The Dispatch sat down with Wetherbee to discuss the SEC Network, the football team's start, and MSU quarterback Dak Prescott. |
| Cleaning up penalties vital for Texas A&M against Mississippi State | |
| Texas A&M ranks 68th nationally in penalties per game at 6.6 which is in line with head coach Kevin Sumlin's first two seasons when the Aggies were 86th in 2012 (6.23) and 70th last season (6.15). Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is hopeful the home-field advantage might lead to a couple of penalties for the Aggies. "We went into an extremely hostile environment last weekend [at LSU],"he said. "I thought our guys played really well down in Baton Rouge, but every time the game got tight, we could barely communicate at the line of scrimmage, guys weren't sure what play we were running on offense and it was deafening loud. That picks up their level of play. That's the atmosphere we want. When people say what's the hardest to play in the country, that's what we want it to be." |
| Mississippi schools corner the market on momentous matchups this weekend | |
| The eyes of most of the college football world will be on the state of Mississippi on Saturday. Two games with significant SEC West implications take place less than 100 miles away from each other and with only 3½ hours separating them. No. 12 Mississippi State hosts No. 6 Texas A&M at 11 a.m. No. 11 Mississippi hosts No. 3 Alabama at 2:30 p.m. Both Bulldogs Coach Dan Mullen and Rebels Coach Hugh Freeze say they're ready for their close-ups. "It speaks volumes for our state and the job both staffs have done," Freeze said on the weekly SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday. "We came here to build a winning program. I think we've been able to do that," Mullen said. "It's great for the state of Mississippi and everybody that lives here. They take a lot of pride in the sport of football in this state." |
| Ole Miss Probe Magnifies Big Weekend for Rebels, Bulldogs | |
| The Magnolia State was already going to be in the national spotlight this weekend with both Mississippi State and Ole Miss -- among college football's elite teams -- playing host to national powerhouses. But the nation is likely to be watching even closer with Yahoo! Sports reporting this morning that the University of Mississippi football and women's basketball programs are subjects of an NCAA investigation. In the meantime, the Starkville and Oxford faithful are preparing for an epic football weekend. The last time both were in the Top 25 was the final poll of 1999, when Mississippi State was 13th and Ole Miss was 22nd. Even 66-year-old former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has a hard time remembering back that far. Barbour was Mississippi's governor from 2004 to 2012 and earned his law degree from Ole Miss in 1973. He also has a "soft spot" in his heart for Mississippi State since the school has a scholarship named for him. He said he'll be watching Saturday from his home in Yazoo City, Miss., and rooting for Mississippi State in the morning and Ole Miss in the afternoon. |
| Mississippi State, Ole Miss fans embrace big Saturday for state | |
| Ole Miss and Mississippi State fans will celebrate their resurgent football programs in every corner of the state Saturday. No. 12 Mississippi State (4-0) will play host to No. 6 Texas A&M (5-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday in a game to be televised by ESPN. At 2:30 p.m., No. 11 Ole Miss (4-0) will take on No. 3 Alabama (4-0) in a game televised on CBS from Oxford. By all accounts, Saturday is the biggest day of college football in the state's storied history in the sport. "I think it's going to be the best weekend of college football in recent history, no matter the outcome," said Eric Lee, an MSU fan from Lucedale. "Hopefully it brings a lot of good publicity to our state." |
| The Might of Mississippi Football | |
 | This weekend, the two biggest games in college football are in the Deep South. Shocker! These matchups involve highly ranked teams from the Southeastern Conference. You don't say! But here is something that is in fact surprising about Saturday's pair of Southern showdowns: They're both taking place in the state of Mississippi. In a turn of events that harks back to the days of the wishbone offense, the center of the college-football world this weekend is the Magnolia State, where two longtime punching bags situated less than 100 miles apart have finally started to punch their weight. First, at 11 a.m. local time, 12th-ranked Mississippi State will face No. 6 Texas A&M in Starkville, a game that has the makings of a shootout. Three and a half hours later in Oxford, No. 11 Ole Miss will face college football's gold standard, Nick Saban's third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. "You have to go back half a lifetime to find something like this," said ex-Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt. "The whole country will be watching Mississippi." |
| Basketball Bulldogs tip it up today | |
| Rick Ray has had just a combined 14 scholarship players available during his two seasons at the helm of the Mississippi State men's basketball program. That all changes this year as the Bulldogs have 12 healthy and eligible scholarship players, just one below NCAA regulations. Ray and his newly expanded roster will conduct its first fall practice at 3:30 p.m. today. "We actually have experience for the first time in my tenure here," Ray said. Today is the first day MSU is permitted to start practicing and will conduct 30 practices over the next 42 days. The Bulldogs will host an exhibition outing against Delta State on Nov. 6 and will tip the season off Nov. 14 at home against Western Carolina. |
| Rick Ray looking for Bulldogs to mature as leaders this year | |
| The maturation of Mississippi State's leadership began in a classroom at the Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. MSU coach Rick Ray taught three classes at the school as part of requirements needed for his degrees in applied mathematics and secondary education. "We expect people to be able to teach things. We assume that," Ray said. "But that's not anything we can assume. We've got to make sure that we're having an environment and fostering an environment where a guy like I.J. Ready can become a leader." Mississippi State opens practice for 2014-15 on Friday. Leadership will be just as important as making shots and playing defense. |
| Difference in numbers for Ray, Bulldogs in 2014-15 | |
| As his third season as Mississippi State's basketball coach dawns, Rick Ray couldn't suppress his grin when asked what might make his 2014-15 Bulldogs different than his previous two editions. The answer is in the numbers. "The biggest change is we have experience and size this year," said Ray, who sat down with assembled media for the first time Thursday afternoon in advance of his team's first practice of the season this afternoon. "I think in our first two years, we had a combined total of 14 scholarship players. Now I look at the roster and we have 12, nearly the same as the previous two years. That makes a difference. On the size, I think last year we had three guys that were 6-foot-7 or above. Now we have seven guys that size. We had one guy taller than 6-foot-9. Now we have four." |
| Vivians ready to shoulder big load on court for Mississippi State women | |
| Numbers can consume you. But anyone who knows Victoria Vivians can tell you there is so much more to her than 5,745 or 46.2. That's why it's informative to play a game of word association to find out what motivates Vivians, the standout freshman from Scott Central High School who is centerpiece of the Mississippi State women's basketball team's latest recruiting class. At 6-foot-1, Vivians has the potential to be an impact freshman in a program that has seen talents like LaToya Thomas, of Greenville, and Tan White, of Tupelo, come to Starkville and dazzle fans in the state of Mississippi. Vivians hopes to do the same thing as part of a talented five-player recruiting class that also includes Kayla Nevitt, LaKaris Salter, Blair Schaefer and Morgan William. |
| USM baseball player injured, in critical but stable condition | |
 | According to Southern Miss Athletic Director Bill McGillis, Michael Gilbert was injured Thursday morning as the baseball team was in the midst of a team conditioning session at the Rock. Gilbert and two other players were carrying a log on their right shoulders in single file when Gilbert apparently lost his balance. The log fell on his head and he was rushed to Forrest General hospital, then later transferred to UMC by ambulance. McGillis said Gilbert was conscious at the hospital and as he was being transferred to Jackson. |
| UM, Oxford police departments prepare for overcrowding | |
 | This weekend's football game against the Alabama Crimson Tide will bring in the largest crowd Oxford has seen in years, according to Oxford Chief of Police Joey East. "It's going to be pandemonium," East said. "We're expecting chaos." He's not the only one. Students and the University Police Department are also doing what they can to get ready for the crowd, which is nothing new to Director of University Police and Campus Safety Calvin Sellers. "We prepare year round," Sellers said. East said OPD has requested horses for mounted patrol from New Orleans and Memphis police departments to aid on the Square and in the downtown area this weekend. He said the horses have proven to be effective in the past. Both Oxford and University police departments will also be getting help from Cobra Security. |
| Bama fans lifting prices for Saturday's Ole Miss game | |
 | The price on that ticket to the Ole Miss game this weekend getting out of your comfort zone? Blame it on Bama and the eagerness of their fans to make the several hour drive to Oxford for Saturday's showdown between No. 3 University of Alabama and No. 11 University of Mississippi, says Jesse Lawrence, CEO of TiqIQ.com, a ticket search engine that aggregates listing from hundreds of secondary sellers across the Internet. By contrast, the price on the secondary market for a ticket to the much-heralded Mississippi State-Texas A&M game in Starkville Saturday morning topped out at $92 Thursday afternoon. That price could rise as more seats are sold for the 11 a.m. start in Starkville. Sports radio talkers in Jackson said Wednesday attendance for MSU's big game is suffering from the pre-noon kickoff time. The Egg Bowl with Mississippi State Nov. 29 in Oxford was at $149 Thursday afternoon. |
| Katy Perry for GameDay? Katy Perry for GameDay | |
| College GameDay in the Grove just added, dare we say it, Fireworks? Pop star Katy Perry will be the celebrity guest picker on Saturday when ESPN's pregame college football show is live from Ole Miss for the first time. ESPN spokesperson Keri Potts Tweeted the news Thursday afternoon, hours after GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit threw Perry's name out as an option. Wait, Katy Perry? Why? How? Perry will be playing Memphis on Sunday, and Saturday is an off day. That's No. 1. No. 2: her manager, Bradford Cobb, is a 1996 graduate of Ole Miss. |
| When it comes to concussions, UGA feels better safe than sorry | |
| As a former member of the NCAA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Georgia senior wide receiver Chris Conley is on top of a wide range of issues in the changing world of college athletics. So what happened at Michigan last Saturday when quarterback Shane Morris returned to a game after appearing wobbly following a hit to the head didn't go unnoticed by Conley. "It's shocking to some degree I guess because player safety is supposed to be moving to the forefront of people's minds these days," Conley said. Asked what Georgia's concussion protocol is, the school said most schools follow the NCAA's concussion protocol and referred to a page on concussion's on the NCAA website. |
| Tennessee, Debby Jennings settle lawsuit | |
| Former Lady Vols media director Debby Jennings has reached a $320,000 settlement in her lawsuit against the University of Tennessee and athletics director Dave Hart. Jennings' lawyer, David Burkhalter, released a statement Thursday that said the parties had "reached an amicable settlement" and noted the amount. The lawsuit, filed in September 2012, alleged age and sex discrimination had led to Jennings' forced retirement after 35 years at the university. "I am hopeful my lawsuit has cast some light on some of the inequities that I and others experienced in the combined UT athletics department," Jennings said in a statement released by Burkhalter. |
| FSU booster club official accused of grand theft | |
| The comptroller of the athletic booster organization at Florida State University remained in jail Thursday, accused of misappropriating between $500,000 and $700,000. Sanford Lovingood turned himself in to the Leon County Sherriff's Office on Wednesday. He is charged with first-degree grand theft of over $100,000. The bond amount is listed at $25,000. Seminole Boosters Senior Vice-President Jerry Kutz said Lovingood was a 35-year employee and once held the title of chief financial officer. The two were friends for 33 years, even before Kutz began working with the organization. Lovingood said he had access to a Morgan Stanley account in which stock donations are made to the booster organization and then sold and turned into cash. |
| With autonomy granted, 'rocky road' still ahead for five richest NCAA conferences | |
| While facing a skeptical Senate committee during a hearing in July, Mark Emmert, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, insisted that the NCAA would soon have a way to finally adopt several long-discussed reforms addressing how college athletes are treated. He was referring to a change in NCAA governance that would grant a greater level of autonomy to the five wealthiest conferences. But nearly two months later, lawmakers, college athletics advocacy groups, and -- to a lesser degree -- even members of the five conferences remain skeptical that granting autonomy has cleared the path for any real change. And some worry that the changes in governance may just push the NCAA even further from its stated educational mission. |
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