Thursday, November 13, 2014   
 
Mississippi State prof: Comet provides 'snapshot of how this all got started'
Angelle Tanner, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Mississippi State University, said the European Space Agency's comet landing success was quite a feat. "It literally is rocket science," she said. "The probe has thrusters, so it can make minor adjustments, but largely it had to be launched at a time and speed to where it would connect with the comet at just the right time. You also have to understand the probe is so far away if you send it a command it takes half an hour to get to the probe, and another half hour for the response to get back to you." Comets are so important, she said, because they are basically time capsules from the creation of the solar system. While planets have fallen into the sun's orbit, heated up, etc., comets have remained frozen.
 
Starkville preps for Startup Weekend at Mississippi State
Starting on Friday, dozens of entrepreneurs visiting Mississippi State University will have 54 hours to launch a startup. Startup Weekend is a global program developed by Google for Entrepreneurs, with Mississippi events organized by Innovate Mississippi. At this weekend's event at MSU, entrepreneurs will start by pitching business proposals to their peers, who will vote for the best 10 or 15 ideas and then split into groups that spend the rest of the weekend developing those ideas with the goal of creating a functional, actionable startup. Eric Hill, program manager for MSU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said Startup Weekend may run at a grueling pace, but he and fellow organizers still plan to set aside time to watch MSU's football team take on the University of Alabama Saturday. (Subscriber-only content.)
 
Elementary Students Learn Spanish From Mississippi State Students
Knowing a second language can be a valuable skill in the global marketplace. That will likely be even more true for the next generation. A unique partnership is sparking an interest in foreign language in some young kids while teaching college students some life lessons. Lauren Stegall's first grade class at Starkville's Sudduth Elementary School is part of a semester-long learning project with students from Mississippi State. The class will be learning basic Spanish from educational videos made by a Spanish I class at MSU. The 3-to-5-minute-long video will teach the students how to perform a particular task in Spanish. The project is sponsored by MSU's Center for the Advancement of Service Learning Excellence.
 
Columbus students say 'konnichiwa' to Japanese culture
Students at Cook Elementary are embarking on a tour of Japanese culture -- and they don't even have to leave Columbus. Chieko Iwata, coordinator of Mississippi State University's Japan Outreach Initiative, visited first- and third-grade students Tuesday at Joe Cook Fine Arts Magnet School to teach them the similarities and difference between Japanese culture and American culture. Iwata said while Japanese students are different in several aspects, the similarities are evident in daily Japanese life. Baseball and soccer are popular in Japan, as well as American fast-food restaurants.
 
JASMIS to hold reception at Bost Extension Center
The Japan-America Society of Mississippi was founded in 2002 as an avenue to bridge cultural gaps between families that were moving in for the then-new Nissan factory and their suppliers in Central Mississippi. When Toyota opened a manufacturing facility in Blue Springs in 2007, a membership committee was launched in the Tupelo area. Now, with Yokohama Tire locating in West Point, the organization wants to make its presence felt in the Golden Triangle, JASMIS Treasurer Thom Eason said. The organization is hosting a reception at Mississippi State University's Bost Conference Center on Thursday to introduce itself to local business leaders, educators and individuals interested in Japanese culture and becoming a member of JASMIS.
 
Recycling Is In Fashion At Mississippi State
Mississippi State University Fashion Board models donned a different kind of attire Wednesday evening. The MSU Fashion Board, School of Architecture and MSU chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students teamed up to host High "Trashion" show. Designers put together an array of clothing items composed of recyclable materials. Tonight's event marked the fashion show's sixth anniversary. Before and after the show, individuals were able to purchase custom items made from recyclables at the Junk to Funk sale.
 
Landscape Conference Hosted at Mississippi State
Landscape professionals are gathering in Starkville for a two-day conference at Mississippi State University. Professionals from the Southeast region are expanding their knowledge in the field of landscape during a fall conference. A number of guest speakers are on hand for the conference, including Chris Hartwiger, from the United States Golf Association, and Ramon Leon, who is an assistant professor from the University of Florida.
 
C Spire activates South Montgomery 'fiberhood' in Starkville
Former Starkville Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill spent Tuesday night surfing the Internet and streaming videos as the city's first resident to experience high-speed, fiber optic access from C Spire's Fiber to the Home initiative. Spruill's home within the C Spire-designated South Montgomery "fiberhood" was chosen to serve as the launch point for the company's 1 gigabit residential Internet service in Starkville. C Spire representatives gathered at her Greenbriar subdivision abode Wednesday to celebrate the work that went in to transition Fiber to the Home from an idea to a reality in roughly 12 months. Besides improving residents' connectivity, officials have championed Fiber to the Home's ability to provide a boon in terms of economic development and improve the city's overall quality of life. C Spire also opened a $23 million commercial data center in this Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park earlier this month.
 
Delayed 2013 audit shows Starkville School District tapped into reserves
A delayed audit of Starkville School District's Fiscal Year 2012-2013 shows the district spent more than it received, and auditors advised school board members to be mindful of tapping into its reserves as combined local, state and federal revenue amounts fluctuate during Tuesday's board meeting. A draft of the Belzoni-based Cunningham CPAs' report showed a trend of SSD's expenditures overtaking revenues continued as the district took in about $43.15 million in combined income from local, intermediate, state, federal and 16th section sources and spent a combined $45.41 million on instruction, support services, debt service and other line items in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2013.
 
Starkville police make auto burglary, theft arrests
Starkville police placed two men behind bars for separate cases of auto burglary and grand larceny. Officers say Kendall Tyler Green, 20, of Starkville was taken into custody Tuesday to face multiple counts of auto burglary. Along with the burglary, authorities say he is charged with possession of a controlled substance, disorderly conduct and failure to comply. Also on Tuesday, police arrested Demetric Lesmester Moore, 37, of Starkville for grand larceny auto.
 
State board delays sports cuts in troubled schools
Cuts to sports and activities at schools districts that lose state accreditation would be delayed under a plan approved Wednesday by the Mississippi Board of Education. The proposed change received no remarks during a public comment period. But board members Johnny Franklin of Bolton and Danny Spreitler of Amory voted against it. The final vote was 4-2. "I see this as a step back, a lowering or standards or expectations," Franklin said. He argued the state shouldn't give up attempts to push parents, students and community members into agitating for improvements in troubled districts. The state board had intended limits on sports to motivate community intervention in troubled schools. But administrators in the four districts that have been penalized say that instead, athletes just transfer.
 
Judge will soon rule on Mississippi's same-sex marriage ban
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, who asked on several occasions what the negative impact would be to the state if same-sex couples were allowed to marry, said he intends "to rule as soon as possible" on the issue. Reeves, of the Southern District of Mississippi, heard arguments Wednesday from plaintiffs who want him to block a state law and constitutional provision that bans same-sex marriages and from state attorneys defending the ban. "We're talking about the dignity of people knowing their families ... and the state treating them like everyone else," said New York-based attorney Roberta Kaplan, who was the lead attorney representing two couples seeking to overturn Mississippi law.
 
Federal judge mulls challenge to Mississippi gay-marriage ban
A federal judge heard five hours of arguments Wednesday about whether to overturn Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage, and he pressed attorneys to say whether the state's interests outweigh those of gay or lesbian couples who want the same legal rights as straight couples. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves said in addition to the oral and written arguments, he will consider the reasoning federal judges in other states have used in ruling on dozens of cases in recent years. Gay marriage is now legal in 33 states, with Kansas the latest. "The court will rule as soon as possible," Reeves said, without indicating when that would be.
 
Analysis: Judge likely will overturn gay marriage ban
If U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves doesn't grant the preliminary injunction sought against Mississippi's gay marriage ban, it will surprise most of the people in his courtroom on Wednesday. Reeves grilled the state's defense of its gay marriage ban on almost every issue raised during the roughly five hours of arguments presented in a hearing for Campaign for Southern Equality v. Phil Bryant. At the same time, he appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs who want the ban overturned. Reeves has a long history of fighting for equality and civil rights and often actively lobbied for more diversity on the bench. Nominated by President Barack Obama, Reeves took office in December 2010 as the second African-American federal judge from Mississippi, and he animates his courtroom with a quick humor that seems to put both sides of a case at ease. But he also pierces attorneys with sharp questions that reveal his command of the issues he must decide, and potentially, the way he'll ultimately rule.
 
Black Caucus defends Barbour 'tar baby' comments
Former Gov. Haley Barbour continues to catch flak for using the term "tar babies" to describe President Obama's policies in a conference call with his lobbying firm's clients after last week's elections. But the state's Legislative Black Caucus has come to his defense, with its chairman saying he believes Barbour's comments were "simply partisan rhetoric," and not racism. "The truth of the matter is that any public policy considered controversial is a political tar baby," state Sen. Kenny Wayne Jones, chairman of the Black Caucus, said in a statement. "Religious freedom, for example, is a political tar baby for Mississippi because when you touch it you get stuck, and the more you struggle with it, the more entangled you get. Therefor, I do not condemn Gov. Barbour's statements as racist, nor do I believe he intended for anyone else to view his comments as such," Jones said.
 
McDaniel blames state auditor for cheating allegations
The Jones County Republican Women held their monthly meeting Wednesday in a much bigger area of the Ramada Inn since their guest speaker was Chris McDaniel. McDaniel spoke to a room full about the U.S. Senate race, his campaigning, the runoff, and the slander of his reputation and his name throughout the time. McDaniel opened the room up for questions. One of the questions asked was, "Was there any Republicans in particular that tried to hurt you more than others during this campaign?" McDaniel answered the question by starting with the rumor of his cheating allegations.
 
Heller vs. Wicker: Battle for NRSC Chair Goes Down to Wire
After a hard-fought midterm campaign that signaled the end of many of their colleagues' careers, senators will huddle Thursday morning to reelect the same leadership teams they had in 2014 to lead the new Republican-controlled Congress. Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Roger Wicker of Mississippi are both vying to head up the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Wicker's pitch to colleagues is focused on experience. Though he called it a "friendly" race, there's at least one area where Wicker's political experience far outweighs Heller's: in Republican primaries. While Heller, like many of his colleagues, has stayed out of intra-party contests, Wicker got his hands dirty in fellow GOP Sen. Thad Cochran's primary in Mississippi this year. Wicker's exhaustive work to help Cochran fend off a challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel impressed members and political operatives alike.
 
Army Cuts Hit Officers Hard, Especially Ones Up From Ranks
For the first time since the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the Army is shrinking. Faced with declining budgets, the Army, the largest of the services, cut its force this year to 508,000 soldiers from 530,000, with plans to trim an additional 20,000 troops next year. This summer, the cuts fell on officers, 1,188 captains and 550 majors, many who were clearly intending on making a career of the military. More are expected to lose their jobs next year. And for reasons the Army has not explained, the largest group of officers being pushed out -- nearly one in five -- began as enlisted soldiers.
 
India, U.S. Reach Agreement on Food Stockpiling, Clearing Way for WTO Deal
India and the U.S. have come to an agreement on India's massive food stockpiling program, clearing the way for India to ratify an important World Trade Organization agreement aimed at facilitating trade. Indian Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday that a monthslong impasse at the World Trade Organization may be coming to an end as the U.S. has agreed to give India more freedom to subsidize and stockpile food to feed its citizens and support its farmers. A failure to pass the trade-facilitation agreement threatened the very foundations of the nearly 20-year-old WTO system. U.S. officials said the agreement would boost American businesses.
 
Chinese hack U.S. weather systems, satellite network
Hackers from China breached the federal weather network recently, forcing cybersecurity teams to seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses, officials said. The intrusion occurred in late September but officials gave no indication that they had a problem until Oct. 20, said three people familiar with the hack and the subsequent reaction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service. Even then, NOAA did not say its systems were compromised. Officials also said that the agency did not notify the proper authorities when it learned of the attack.
 
Who Builds the World's Most Popular Drones?
Big U.S. defense companies brought drones to the battlefield. Now a Chinese company is bringing them to the masses. In just a few years, SZ DJI Technology Co. has become the world's biggest consumer drone maker by revenue, selling thousands of its 2.8-pound, square-foot devices for about $1,000 each. In the process, it also has become the first Chinese brand to pioneer a major new global consumer-product category. DJI's four-propeller helicopters, called Phantoms, have become icons of the burgeoning drone era: hovering, camera-equipped robots that almost anyone can pilot. The proliferation of Phantoms is disrupting industries and social norms, helping stoke debate over air safety, regulation and privacy.
 
Study proves weight-loss effectiveness of Ole Miss-developed product
A recent study led by Saioa Gomez-Zorita published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has demonstrated the weight loss effects of pterostilbene in rats fed an obesogenic diet. The study confirms the results of a 2012 human clinical trial on the effect of pterostilbene on weight loss conducted by ChromaDex, an innovative natural products company that manufactures a proprietary pterostilbene ingredient, pTeroPure. In April 2014, a collaboration formed by the University of Mississippi's Division of Technology Management, the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Natural Products Utilization Research Unit and ChromaDex won a Federal Laboratory Consortium 2014 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award for their work developing pterostilbene.
 
Southern Miss unveils new Golden Eagle logo options
Southern Miss fans got their first look at the university's new logo late Tuesday. That's when the Golden Eagle athletic department went live with a website (southernmisslogo.com) to unveil a pair of images --- one that features the same eye as the current logo, while the other incorporates what school officials have dubbed a "dynamic" eye. According to the website, "the final logo will be derived from one of the two logos." The need for a redesigned Southern Miss logo was borne from a 2011 ruling by a three-judge panel from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that concluded Southern Miss' current logo too closely resembled that of the University of Iowa's Hawkeye logo. Southern Miss athletic director Bill McGillis called the alterations "an evolution, not a revolution."
 
Wyatt to be honored with lecture and award at Delta State
The College of Education and Human Sciences at Delta State University proudly announces the first Kent Wyatt Distinguished Lecture honoring President Emeritus Dr. Kent Wyatt for his visionary and sustaining leadership in the field of education. Dr. Diana Rogers-Adkinson, dean of the College of Education at Southeast Missouri State University, will lecture Friday at 4 p.m. at the Jacob Conference Center on campus. Wyatt will also be honored at the event as the 2014 Outstanding Alumnus for the College of Education and Human Sciences. Wyatt is celebrating a milestone this year, with 2014 marking 50 years of Delta State association. He moved to Cleveland at the age of 11 when his father took the head-coaching job for the Statesmen football team.
 
Delta State moving ahead
Just call it the little university that can accomplish great things. Delta State University President William N. LaForge visited DeSoto County recently and met with DSU alumni to tout the record-setting year that DSU has enjoyed. LaForge is looking forward to future growth and achievement in 2015 as well. "It's a new and exciting year for us," LaForge said during an editorial roundtable meeting with the DeSoto Times-Tribune. "It's (success) due in a large measure to the increase of DeSoto County students on our campus," LaForge said. "They make up the largest number of the increase that we've had at Delta State."
 
Family of murdered Auburn student 'exhausted' after fighting for tighter campus security
A state board on Wednesday rejected a $1 million claim filed by the parents of a slain Auburn University student, who said their daughter might still be alive if the university had maintained its own police force at the time of her abduction from the campus. The Alabama Board of Adjustment denied the claim by the family of Lauren Burk, which questioned a decision by the university to merge its police force with the city of Auburn. The family claimed that led to inadequate security on campus. The 18-year-old college freshman from suburban Atlanta, Georgia, was on her way to the library to study when she was abducted by a man at gunpoint from a campus parking lot in March of 2008.
 
Auburn University's art museum plans expansion of its collection of Old Master artworks
Auburn University's Jule Collins Smith Museum has set its sights on adding a chapter from the long history of art as it seeks to build its permanent collection. With a goal of collecting works from the same historic era as the traveling exhibition "Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough, and the Golden Age of Painting in Europe," curators at Auburn's art museum are proposing Old Master works on paper this fall as a part of the annual "1072 Society Exhibition," now on view through Jan. 25. The 1072 Society is a donor organization that supports the museum's efforts to build the permanent collection. Each year, a varied selection of art is brought in to be considered for purchase.
 
LSU police officer in stable condition after being hit by car Saturday; Alabama team doctors first to respond
Several University of Alabama football team doctors were the first to offer aid to an LSU police officer Saturday night after he was injured when a vehicle struck the motorcycle he was riding. The officer, Sgt. Christopher Gresham, 33, was helping to escort a motorcade of University of Alabama officials and team doctors to the airport just before midnight when the wreck occurred, LSU Police said. At the time, the police officers were using lights and sirens to guide the convoy through contraflow traffic and away from Tiger Stadium, said Cpl. Don Coppola Jr., a Baton Rouge police spokesman.
 
Former LSU chancellor Sean O'Keefe appointed Syracuse professor
Former LSU Chancellor Sean O'Keefe has been appointed to a prestigious professorship role at Syracuse University. O'Keefe, who led LSU's flagship for three years, is a former NASA administrator and New Orleans native. He resigned from LSU in 2008. He is the 17th person in Syracuse's history to be awarded the title of University Professor. He also has been named the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse. O'Keefe left LSU in 2008, amid administrative in-fighting and a public rift with then-System President John Lombardi.
 
U. of Georgia law school names new dean
The University of Georgia School of Law has named a new dean following a national search. The university says Peter "Bo" Rutledge will take the reins at the law school Jan. 1. Rutledge is already a familiar face having served as associate dean for faculty development at Georgia Law since 2013.
 
Regents approve energy revisions for UGA
A new boiler, energy-saving upgrades and an irrigation system for the University of Georgia all won approval Wednesday from the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents. Replacement of the 50-year-old, coal-burning boiler at the campus Central Steam Plant with one that can use electricity, heating oil or natural gas will cost $4.5 million but save an estimated $500,000 yearly in improved efficiency, according to a study by Jacobs Engineering. Installation will include 3,000 feet of high-voltage circuitry to tie the boiler to an electrical substation so it can be running by next winter.
 
New Heavener Hall at U. of Florida will have a Rising Roll cafe
As the new Heavener Hall gets ready to open its doors at the corner of West University Avenue and 13th Street, a new eatery will make its home in the stately new building that towers over the most familiar corner of the University of Florida campus. Rising Roll is a gourmet cafe similar to Panera Bread, said Brian Ray, associate dean and director of the Heavener School of Business. Rising Roll is expected to open on the first floor of Heavener Hall on Jan. 6, its menu boasting gourmet sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads. The cafe will also offer breakfast foods along with vegan and gluten-reduced options.
 
U. of Kentucky students join with residents of homeless shelter for art project
University of Kentucky student Taylor Adams was hesitant when her art teacher proposed spending two days a week at the Catholic Action Center's Community Inn homeless shelter to work with its residents on an art project. Adams' perspective changed when she met Paula McCollum, a woman staying at the shelter, and began working with her on a painting of McCollum's yellow dream house. "This has opened my mind," said the senior from Ashland. "It's made me less quick to make assumptions about people and why they are experiencing homelessness." That was the intention of art teacher Marty Henton.
 
UAPB, U. of Arkansas-Fayetteville Receive $2.2M in Grants
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the flagship institution of the UA System, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, have received a combined $2.2 million in grant funding this week. That includes a $1.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to the UAPB School of Agriculture Fisheries & Human Sciences. The grant will fund four research and extension projects in agriculture and food sciences. We are very pleased that our research and Extension faculty have been successful in procuring grant funding to help conduct their work," Edmund R. Buckner, associate dean for Research & Extension Programs at UAPB, said. The U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research has awarded a $725,000 grant to Mansour Mortazavi, a professor of physics at UAPB, and two electrical engineers at the University of Arkansas, Fisher Yu and Hameed Naseem, to further develop a new material for advanced electronics devices.
 
Apartment complex shootings in Columbia an apparent murder-suicide
The two young people found shot to death Tuesday at the Copper Beech apartments south of downtown Columbia died in an apparent murder-suicide, according to the Richland County Coroner's Office. Gary Watts said Diamoney Greene, 20, suffered a single gunshot wound to the head. He said Greene lived at the Copper Beech apartment complex, roughly about a mile south of Williams-Brice Stadium and popular with University of South Carolina students. Greene was studying criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, according to a student directory. This was her first semester on campus, according to USC spokesman Wes Hickman. USC president Harris Pastides issued a statement Wednesday showing support for Greene and her family
 
Police: Vanderbilt custodian stole from campus offices
A Vanderbilt University custodian was arrested Tuesday after police said she stole and cashed checks worth more than $1,200 from on-campus offices. Police said Brittany Sweatt took six checks while she was on the custodial staff at the Owen Graduate School of Management early this month. Investigators said Sweatt forged Vanderbilt employees' names on the checks. Sweatt is also accused of stealing a camcorder from a Vanderbilt office, according to her arrest warrant.
 
Council formed to advise U. of Missouri chancellor about budget allocation
A council made up of University of Missouri faculty, staff and students has been created to advise Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin on "all aspects of the campus budgeting process," according to a release Wednesday from his office. The overall mission of the Budget Allocation Advisory Council is to support core missions of teaching, research, public service and economic development as well as financial decision-making under the MU Strategic Operating Plan, Loftin said in the release. Permanent, non-voting members of the new advisory council are: Ken Dean, interim provost; Rhonda Gibler, vice chancellor of finance; Todd Mackley, associate director of finance; Pat Okker, interim deputy provost; and Jim Spain, vice provost for undergraduate studies.
 
National survey suggests greater focus on teaching but ongoing concerns about diversity, adjuncts
Faculty members may not be flocking to all-online class formats, but they're using technology and other pedagogies to make their classrooms more student-centered. Faculty members are divided, however, along racial, ethnic and gender lines about the state of diversity and climate at their institutions. And while non-tenure-track professors seem to be getting some advance notice for courses, they're still denied basic resources with which to do their jobs. Those are some of the major findings of a new report from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.
 
Professors' Place in the Classroom Is Shifting to the Side
Professors have long made assumptions about their place in the classroom. They have seen themselves as the experts whose job is to transmit a body of knowledge, typically through a lecture. Students are there to absorb content. If they fail, it's their fault. After years of exhortations for faculty members to become guides on the side instead of sages on stage, those assumptions are shifting, and they carry consequences that could be significant for professors and students. "Nationally, we're seeing more of a move to student-centered teaching," said Kevin Eagan, an assistant professor in residence at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is also interim managing director of the Higher Education Research Institute, which produces a triennial faculty survey that was released on Thursday.
 
Report shows slowdown of tuition increases, education borrowing
College prices are still climbing, but they're doing so at a slower pace than they were for the past several years, and the amount of money borrowed for higher education last year fell for the third straight year, according to two reports released today by College Board. The data in the annual Trends in College Prices and Trends in Student Aid reports don't mean it's time to stop worrying about the high price of attending college, but they do show some positive signs, the report's authors say. Although published tuition prices get a lot of attention, more important to understanding how much college costs is the net tuition price, or what a student actually pays after grants, loans and tax deductions are factored in.
 
Playing High-Action Video Games May Speed Up Learning, Studies Say
Contrary to the popular stereotype of a distracted teenager lost in Halo or Call of Duty video games, new evidence suggests playing such high-action video games may help students learn and react faster---but not more impulsively. The new findings run counter to recent studies that have linked extensive video game playing to attention-deficit and impulsiveness disorders, stoking concerns that playing highly stimulating video games reduces students' ability to pay attention in less-stimulating academic settings. "Certainly, there's a sense that action video games have been a disruptive technology in terms of capturing the attention of students," said Daphne Bavelier, the director of the Rochester Center for Brain Imaging, in Rochester, N.Y., in a symposium this month at the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society meeting here. But, she argued, much of the cautionary research focuses on "pathological" game players -- and regular but not obsessive playing of action games does not lower students' ability to pay attention.
 
Fight Is On for Common Core Contracts
As states race to implement the Common Core academic standards, companies are fighting for a slice of the accompanying testing market, expected to be worth billions of dollars in coming years. That jockeying has brought allegations of bid-rigging in one large pricing agreement involving 11 states---the latest hiccup as the math and reading standards are rolled out -- while in roughly three dozen others, education companies are battling for contracts state by state. Mississippi's education board in September approved an emergency $8 million contract to Pearson PLC for tests aligned with Common Core, sidestepping the state's contract-review board, which had found the transaction illegal because it failed to meet state rules regarding a single-source bid.
 
SLIM SMITH (OPINION): 1980 win over Tide was coronation of the King of the County Line
The Dispatch's Slim Smith writes: "On Nov. 1, 1980, John Bond became a king and I became one of his subjects. On the day of his coronation, Mississippi State defeated top-ranked Alabama, 6-3, at Jackson's Memorial Stadium, breaking the Tide's amazing 28-game winning streak and sending Bulldog fans into convulsions of celebrations that swept up the state and back to the MSU campus. ...In the fall of 1980, I was a student at Mississippi State -- it was one of my junior years, as I recall -- but I was not there that day in Jackson. I had chosen to return home to Tupelo for the weekend, having no premonition of the historic moment that would unfold that Saturday afternoon. ...I listened to the game on the radio, with Jack Cristil describing the action."
 
SID SALTER (OPINION): Epps scandal recalls bad days in prison system
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "The news that a federal grand jury had indicted former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps and former Rankin County School Board president and state legislator Cecil McCrory on 49 counts related to a kickback scheme should not have stunned me in the manner that it did. I've known Chris Epps since his days as a line correctional officer at Parchman -- more than three decades ago -- and I counted him a friend and I admired him as a public official who did a difficult job and did it well. But it appears that like many of Epps' friends, I was blinded by his affable manner and humble demeanor."


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State mojo: Bulldog fans have rituals to help their team
Before the No. 1-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs face the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, fans have their own ways of getting ready for the big game. Pontotoc resident Andy McGregor will take extra care with his laundry. "I have to wear the same polo shirt every Saturday," he said. "It's been working all season long, wearing the same blue jeans and the same shirt." The Bulldogs have a good thing going, and no fan wants to mess with the mojo. Betty Black's days as president of the national MSU Alumni Association are over, but the Tupelo resident still has responsibilities. "I have worn maroon every day since the season began," she said. "I have to make sure I have a maroon shirt." She likes to keep things the same in her house from week to week because changes might interfere with the energy. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson did an inexplicable thing early this season. "During the first game with Southern Miss, I had left my hat at home," he said. "I bought this visor and we won. I said, 'I'm going to wear this thing until we lose,' and I've worn it ever since."
 
Mississippi State not daunted by bright lights vs. Alabama
This year's matchup between No. 1 Mississippi State and No. 4 Alabama starts in 2012. It's nearly impossible to discuss Saturday's game without the mentioning what occurred in Tuscaloosa two years ago. The Bulldogs carried an undefeated record to Bryant-Denny Stadium and left with 38-7 loss, and a 1-5 finish to the season. The national narrative hasn't changed. The stage was too big for the Bulldogs. What will be different this season? "I think a bunch of our games give us confidence," MSU coach Dan Mullen said. "...I think guys draw back and look at what they've done throughout the year and handled different environments."
 
Seniors have laid foundation for Mississippi State's success
Dan Mullen was true to his word. Five years ago, Mullen visited Nick Griffin, a standout senior running back at Perry Central in tiny New Augusta and laid out a vision. "He told me if I came to State, we'd play for championships," said Griffin, a fifth-year senior tailback at MSU. "He was right." It was a scene Mullen repeated in living rooms across the state in the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010, when he put together his first full recruiting class after taking over at MSU job in December 2008. Piece by piece, Mullen assembled a group he hoped would turn into the foundation for a championship program. Today, that signing class is the backbone of a team that is 9-0 for the first time in program history and sits atop the college football world.
 
Mississippi State Heisman candidate QB Prescott ready for Alabama after missing last year's game
All Dak Prescott could do was watch when Mississippi State struggled at home last year against No. 1 Alabama. Prescott, now a junior quarterback for the Bulldogs who has emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate, was sidelined with a left shoulder injury. Prescott returned later last season and, despite the injury, led the Bulldogs to a heroic come-from-behind win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. He's continued that strong play this season. "I wanted to play so badly (last season)," Prescott said. "They were ranked No. 1 and that was tough being out for that game. Of course I wanted to get out there. Now being able to go to Tuscaloosa and the starter and healthy, I'm very excited."
 
Center of attention: Beckwith went from walk-on to key player for Mississippi State
In a way, Ben Beckwith embodies what Mississippi State's football program is all about. Through hard work, the former walk-on has developed into a two-year starter for the Bulldogs and a two-time SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week this season. The former Benton Academy product received only one scholarship offer from Holmes Community College in high school and went unranked by any recruiting services. Like MSU, several other SEC programs spoke with Beckwith about potentially walking on. "Everybody wants a walk-on because everybody needs a tackling dummy sometimes," Beckwith said. After attending a summer camp with Kaleb Eulls, now his teammate at MSU, Beckwith decided to take the Bulldogs up on that opportunity.
 
Mississippi State's Hill playing to honor McGee
Mississippi State tight end Brandon Hill's ritual is the same before every game. After he goes through the Dawg Walk and pregame warmups and then gets dressed, Hill walks around the corner from his locker at Davis Wade Stadium and finds the framed jersey of former Bulldog Keffer McGee. That's where Hill, like McGee a product of West Lowndes High School, drops to his knees and prays. Directly underneath McGee's No. 21, Hill recites the same prayer faithfully. "I just go to God every week," Hill said. "I ask for His protection, for His glory. I ask for Keffer's strength to go through me. Looking up at that jersey, it reminds me of what I want to be. It reminds me what I play for."
 
Mississippi State will 'do what we do,' use single coverage on Alabama's Amari Cooper
Mississippi State has the worst pass defense in the SEC and will go up against perhaps the best receiver in the country on Saturday in Alabama's Amari Cooper. Still, the Bulldogs don't plan on changing anything specifically for one player and plan on single man coverage against Cooper, the physical threat who leads the SEC in receiving and is among the country's best with 79 catches for 1,215 yards and 10 touchdowns. "We do what we do," Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said. "The emphasis all year and all the time is to stop the run." Mississippi State is giving up 300 yards per game through the air, last in the SEC. But the Bulldogs lead the SEC in sacks and are near the top in rushing defense and tackles for loss.
 
Little separates Mississippi State and Bama in SEC West battle
The Alabama game is one of the biggest on the schedule for Mississippi State every year, but Saturday's contest is indeed taking place under rare circumstances. No. 5 Alabama is looking up at No. 1 Mississippi State headed into Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game in Tuscaloosa, Ala. It's the Crimson Tide that has something to prove. The Bulldogs (9-0, 5-0) are simply looking to build on what is already an impressive resume.
 
Discipline will be key for Alabama in stopping Mississippi State's Dak Prescott
Mississippi State will come into Tuscaloosa with a perfect record. The No. 1 team in the country will also come into Bryant-Denny Stadium with a Heisman hopeful in quarterback Dak Prescott. The Bulldogs' offense is balanced and has proven to be one of the best teams in the country, Alabama coach Nick Saban said on Monday. "Dak Prescott is a very talented guy in a lot of ways," Saban said. "He's a big, physical runner. He kind of reminds you of (Tim) Tebow in a lot of ways, but he's also a very, very good passer. They have a big offensive line that has a lot of experience."
 
Secret behind Alabama's LSU-recovery for Mississippi State? Scientific tights
There's a new weapon in Alabama's effort to recover from LSU in time for Mississippi State. And, after an overtime slugfest in Baton Rouge, its introduction comes at a perfect time. The No. 1 Bulldogs come to town fresh after a 45-16 whipping of UT-Martin. The new technology comes in a unique form. They're essentially tights. Tight end O.J. Howard called them leggings, but Nike officially lists them as Pro Combat Hypertights. They retail for $140 online and are made out of 80 percent rayon and 20 percent spandex. They work as compression pants to work on the leg muscles after competition.
 
Two accused of selling counterfeit tickets to Mississippi State-Alabama football game
Tuscaloosa police accused two people of selling counterfeit tickets to Saturday's football game between the University of Alabama and Mississippi State. A man who bought tickets from a Craigslist online classified ad contacted TPD after noticing that his tickets didn't look legitimate, said TPD spokesman Sgt. Brent Blankley. The investigators made a deal to buy more tickets from the same suspects and met them Wednesday afternoon, he said. Officers bought what they determined to be fake tickets before charging Panama City, Fla., residents Shannon Stanley Sizemore, 38, and Heather Kieatha Sizemore, 31, with 16 counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument.
 
Mississippi State prepared to handle prep title games if Bulldogs reach Atlanta
A win over Alabama puts No. 1 Mississippi State in position to claim the West division title and play in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 6 at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. If the Bulldogs are in Atlanta, Davis Wade Stadium will still see plenty of football action that same weekend, with MSU hosting the Mississippi High School Activities Association football championships. MSU's administration will be in attendance for the conference championship game if the Bulldogs make it, but MSU assistant athletic director for event management and game operations Brent Frey, will be in Starkville to assist MHSAA personnel with the championship games. Directors from other campus departments will assist in logistics of parking services and security. But within the athletic department, Frey would be the only one to stay and help operate the event.
 
Mississippi State's Ray will wait until after season to talk with Wilson, Staley
De'Runnya Wilson and Elijah Staley are listed on both the Mississippi State football and basketball rosters. Wilson played both football and basketball last year. Freshman Elijah Staley planned on playing both when he signed with the Bulldogs last year. "I haven't bothered coach (Dan) Mullen at all," MSU coach Rick Ray said. "He's got the No. 1 ranked team in the country. I don't want to do anything to screw that up." Ray plans to sit down with Mullen, Wilson and Staley at the end of the season to discuss the duo's future.
 
Mississippi State 2015 baseball schedule released
Four of the last six NCAA champions will make appearances at Dudy Noble Field in 2015. Mississippi State released its baseball schedule on Wednesday, which includes home series against Arizona, South Carolina and LSU -- all of which have won at least one championship since 2009. MSU returns to the diamond for its 125th season that features 56 total games, including 37 home games, 17 true road games and two in-state contests at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Defending Southeastern Conference champion Florida will visit Starkville April 17-19 for Super Bulldog Weekend.
 
Mississippi State baseball will start 2015 season with 24 at home
A home slate that features 24-straight games to open the season and Southeastern Conference stands against Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, and Florida highlights the Mississippi State baseball team's 2015 schedule, which was announced Wednesday morning. "It is a very challenging schedule, as always, and one we're certainly excited about," MSU coach John Cohen said. "With our 15 home games inside the nation's toughest conference, along with a demanding 24-game homestand to open the season, we feel we have provided the very best season ticket opportunity for the greatest fans in college baseball." MSU's non-conference schedule includes two games against 2012 national champion Arizona on Feb. 27-28 in Starkville.
 
Chapel eager for chance to play more aggressive role on court for Mississippi State women
A week ago, Vic Schaefer said the 2014-15 Mississippi State women's basketball team has 14 players who bring something to the table. Schaefer then singled one of those players out to make sure she knows what is expected of her this season. "I need Ketara (Chapel) on the floor," Schafer said. "That gives us a big lineup and allows us to move Victoria (Vivians) to the two (shooting guard)." Schaefer made that comment prior to MSU's 114-58 victory against Arkansas-Fort Smith in an exhibition game at Humphrey Coliseum.
 
Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart says NCAA will interview basketball coach Donnie Tyndall
Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said Wednesday that the NCAA's enforcement staff will interview men's basketball coach Donnie Tyndall as part of its review of the Southern Miss men's basketball program. "They (the NCAA) will come and talk to Donnie," Hart told the News Sentinel. "We still won't know anything. Eventually they will tell us, 'OK, here's what we think happened.' And they will share information at that point in time." The confirmation of the NCAA's eventual presence in Knoxville came the same day the Vols left for their regular-season opener in Annapolis, Md. Hart said UT is not investigating Tyndall independently before the NCAA arrives.
 
Auburn contractor receives bid for U. of Alabama baseball stadium expansion
Rabren General Contractors of Auburn has been awarded a contract to expand Sewell-Thomas baseball stadium on the University of Alabama campus, according to Rabren officials. The Physical Properties Committee of the University of Alabama board of trustees approved a proposal to expand Sewell-Thomas Baseball Stadium and awarded a construction contract to Rabren as the low bidder for the construction. The bid for the work was $37.1 million. The resolution was passed by the full board of trustees on Sept. 18. The expansion will increase the size of the facility, currently 32,800 square feet, to 129,000 square feet. The renovations and additions at the stadium will include food service areas, restrooms, locker rooms and areas for players, the press box, fan seating and the concourse.
 
Fans can buy, sell on new U. of Kentucky basketball ticket exchange
The University of Kentucky announced Wednesday that it is participating in a ticket-exchange program that will allow basketball fans to buy and sell tickets for games in Rupp Arena. The website, located at TicketExchange.com and operated by Ticketmaster, has partnered with UK to bring fans "the only safe and secure resale platform authorized by UK Athletics," the school's news release said. TicketExchange is integrated with Kentucky's Ticketmaster software and uses barcode verification technology to ensure the authenticity of tickets. UK student and guest tickets are not valid to be sold or bought on the TicketExchange.
 
Tennessee AD Dave Hart says Lady Vols brand not going away
This time next year, anyone wearing Lady Vols gear won't be scooped up and hauled away in a net. Dave Hart wanted to clear up that misconception Wednesday. In fact, he said, Tennessee fans will be able to buy new Lady Vols apparel from Nike when the sports gear giant takes over as UT's supplier on July 1. "The Lady Vols logo hasn't gone away and it's not going to go away," UT's athletic director said in an interview with the News Sentinel. "It's now going to be specific to women's basketball. It will be available at retail. A high percentage will be specific to women's basketball, but there will also be generic Lady Vol merchandise for sale."
 
A New President Gets an Education in Big-Time College Athletics
The past several days have provided a crash course for the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor's new president in the delicate balancing act presidents face when juggling the demands of big-time sports and top-notch academics. Mark S. Schlissel, a former provost at Brown University, stepped into the fray of major-conference athletics when he became Michigan's president, in July. Dr. Schlissel, an internist and biochemist, is one of at least three Ivy League provosts who have recently landed presidencies at major public research universities, where a certain amount of culture shock can be expected. But Dr. Schlissel touched an especially sensitive nerve this week, when he spoke of concerns about the academic success of Michigan's athletes, prompting him to apologize for remarks that raised hackles on and off the campus.



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