| Friday, January 16, 2015 |
| Roadwork to impact travel on Mississippi State's campus | |
 | Work on a new classroom and parking garage building at Mississippi State has damaged some sections of asphalt on the university campus. On Saturday, crews will close sections of Lee Boulevard, Walker Road, Barr Avenue and George Perry Street for repair work. The closings will remain in effect until Monday evening. |
| Mississippi State Student's Photo Selected for New York Exhibition | |
 | An intriguing image created by a senior Mississippi State art major is among those that will be on display Feb. 4-28 at the SohoPhoto Gallery in New York City. Zachary S. "Zach" Boozer's black-and-white photograph titled "Miss Lucy's House" is one of 43 entries recently selected as finalists of the 17th annual international SohoPhoto Krappy Kamera competition. "I am extremely impressed that Zach's image was accepted," said professor and photography emphasis coordinator Marita Gootee. "I know that I see great talent in him and this only confirms my belief that he is going to go far in photography." |
| Managing wild hog nuisance is workshop topic | |
 | The Grenada County Extension Office will hold a wild-hog management workshop on Feb. 9 for landowners, hunters and timber professionals across the state. The "Wild Hog Damage Management Workshop" is from 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grenada County Extension Office. Continuing education credits are available for forestry and logging professionals. The workshop is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the MSU Center for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts. |
| Tagert says Russell Street redesign work should begin next year | |
 | A major infrastructure project that will boost pedestrian and bike connectivity in the Russell Street corridor should begin in 2016, Northern Miss. Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert said Wednesday. Tagert updated business and community leaders during the Greater Starkville Development Partnership's Power Breakfast about the project, which will add additional bike paths and sidewalks along the area seen as a developing economic front door to Mississippi State University. "We think it's a real game-changing project for that area," he said. "At the least, it will serve as a direct pedestrian connection between the city and university. It could even help spur further economic development." |
| Gulf search for missing Starkville kayaker ends | |
| Search and rescue efforts to locate a missing Starkville man were called off Tuesday after crews located a small kayak floating about three miles off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Shores, Alabama, Police Department first announced the search for 24-year-old John Switzer after he was last heard from Saturday. Switzer was on vacation in the area, the GSPD release states, and was on his kayak fishing the last time he communicated with family members. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. Switzer," said Commander Chris Cederholm, of Coast Guard Sector Mobile, in a release. |
| Yokohama rubber hits the road | |
| Standing on fresh pavement at the end of a new bridge, Gov. Phil Bryant shivered as he stood at a podium. "I'm sure there are those who said it will be a cold day when Mississippi gets a plant like this," Bryant told a crowd that had gathered. "Well, here we are." The governor was in the middle of Yokohama Boulevard, a new, four-mile road that connects Highway 45 Alternate to Barton Ferry Road and provides direct access from the highway to Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi. The road is part of the $300 million phase one of the Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi development. |
| Mississippi plans $1.47M in reading grants for 34 schools | |
 | With thousands of Mississippi third-graders at risk of flunking this year because they can't read at a basic level, State Board of Education members are likely to vote today to award $1.47 million in grants to help 34 public schools meet the reading requirements. The Legislature mandated that all third-graders must read at a basic level by this year or be flunked. Last year, about 6,500 of Mississippi's 37,000 third graders scored "minimal" on state standardized tests. In a Thursday work session, some board members voiced concerns the state still isn't doing enough to reach all of the roughly 425 schools with students in grades K-3 statewide. "Even in high-performing schools, there are students that need support," said Nathan Oakley, state director of curriculum and instruction. |
| Mississippi economy growing slower than region and nation | |
| Mississippi's economy is growing but still lags behind regional and national recovery from the Great Recession, an expert said Thursday. "Everything's not just perfect. But it is, I would say, better than it has been in a long time," state economist Darrin Webb told legislators during a briefing at the Capitol. Lawmakers are considering the state's economic outlook as they work on a roughly $6.2 billion state budget for fiscal 2016, which begins July 1. The budget-writing deadline is in late March. There are reasons for optimism, Webb said. Plummeting gasoline prices, for example, are especially helpful to consumers in low-income states like Mississippi. |
| State economy lags, but improving | |
 | State Economist Darrin Webb says he is more optimistic about Mississippi's economy than he has been in recent years. The primary reason for that optimism, Webb told legislators Thursday, is that it appears the national economy is improving at a faster rate. "As the national economy gains momentum, Mississippi's economy will gain strength," Webb said at the annual fiscal briefing legislators receive at the beginning of each session. Still, Webb warned that while the Mississippi economy is growing, "it is underperforming the nation and the region." Webb told legislators that on a positive note state tax collections appear stable. |
| Mississippi governor said to interfere in search for community college system leader | |
 | Mississippi's governor is meddling in the search for the head of the state's community college system and risks embarrassing the state, according to current and former higher education officials in and outside Mississippi. Governor Phil Bryant, a Republican, is urging members of the state's community college board to drop the requirement that the system's executive director have a Ph.D. Instead, Bryant wants the board to change the job requirement and expand its search to include people with workforce training experience. The stakes are big in Mississippi, which has 250,000 community college students -- three times as many as attend the state's public four-year universities. The protests inside the state have become so intense that college presidents took their concerns to their accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. |
| Bryant: No confusion over similar proposals on ballot | |
| Republican Gov. Phil Bryant said Thursday that "the public is smarter than most people might believe" and it's wrong for people to suggest Mississippi voters might be confused by having two education funding proposals on November's ballot. "I think one of the things that is condescending is the idea that the voting public cannot select between two different choices," Bryant said. More than 116,000 people signed petitions to put Initiative 42 on the ballot. This is the first time legislators have exercised their option to put an alternative to a citizen-led initiative on the same ballot. During a debate Wednesday, Democratic Sen. David Blount of Jackson said putting an alternative on the ballot could lead to confusion and cause both to fail. |
| Mississippi Adequate Education Program battle shaping up | |
 | The battle to ensure that state lawmakers provide critical funding for the state's public schools will go on -- despite the fact that the fight is leaving a bitter aftertaste in the mouths of some lawmakers. There have been hints at some behind-the-scenes arm twisting going on at the Capitol to vote in favor of the alternative measure. More than 200,000 Mississippians, including 13,000 in DeSoto County, have voted to place Initiative 42 on the ballot in November. House Republicans offered up an alternative to Initiative 42, known as Initiative 42-A. That measure passed 64-57 in the House with the entire DeSoto County delegation voting in favor of the alternative. Rep. Gene Alday, R-Walls, initially voted against the alternative but changed his vote in favor along with the rest of the delegation. On Wednesday, both of DeSoto County's state senators, Chris Massey, who represents District 1 and David Parker, who represents Senate District 19, voted for the alternative. The vote put the local delegation at odds for the first time with the express support shown by DeSoto County Superintendent of Education Milton Kuykendall for Initiative 42. |
| Human trafficking is a growing criminal enterprise | |
 | Human trafficking is the second fastest growing crime in the country and is a $32 billion enterprise worldwide with $9 billion of that in the United States, says Mississippi Office of Homeland Security Executive Director Rusty Barnes. "It's one of the top four topics among Homeland Security directors across-the-country," Barnes said Thursday during a news conference by Gov. Phil Bryant to talk about the 16-member state task force on Human Trafficking has has established. Bryant announced creation of a task force in December. |
| Parents lobby for choice to opt out of childhood vaccinations | |
 | Mississippi was recently praised by the CDC for the highest kindergarten vaccination rates in the country. Now, there's a move to change the system. A group of parents doesn't want the state telling them what they have to do when it comes to their kids' vaccines. Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights is backing House Bill 130. It would allow for a "conscientious beliefs" exemption. The state already allows medical exemptions. It's important to point out that state law requires full immunization before a child enters school. UMMC Pediatric Professor and Physician William Sorey says that's an important distinction. "That requirement is not for your child as much as it is every other child," said Sorey. "Daycare is kind of like a germ soup. There are a lot of germs that go around, despite the best hand washing, the best hygiene, the best everything. These microbes spread especially the viruses." |
| Wiggins introduces bill to rein in Singing River Health Systems trustees | |
 | State Sen. Brice Wiggins has introduced a bill that would, among other things, end the terms of all Singing River Health Systems trustees in January 2016. Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, said this would allow county supervisors elected in November who would take office in January 2016 to appoint all new trustees. The supervisors have asked the trustees they appoint to step down but they have refused to do so. Wiggins' bill also would end the secrecy that surrounds SRHS and other public hospitals that are exempt from the Open Meetings Act. He said he hopes the bill will prevent a repeat of the financial woes at SRHS, which has hospitals in Pascagoula and Ocean Springs. |
| Will Attorney General Jim Hood seek fourth term? He says decision coming soon | |
| Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said Thursday that he will decide soon whether to seek a fourth term this year. Hood, 52, is the only Democrat in statewide office. Responding Thursday to questions from The Associated Press, Hood said he will make a decision about his political plans in the next week or so. Asked if he is considering a run for governor, Hood said: "I don't know. I'm just going to have to wait and pray about it. I've got about another week or so before I have to do something." Candidates have until Feb. 27 to qualify to run for statewide, regional, legislative or county offices. |
| Mississippi abortion doctor says his services needed | |
| One of the only doctors performing abortions in Mississippi said Thursday that access to such services is particularly needed in the South, where states are working to restrict the procedure and close facilities that offer it. "We have to go to where the need is," said Dr. Willie Parker, who works at the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the only abortion clinic in the state. "If there are no providers, there's no access." Parker made his comments at a policy briefing on reproductive rights hosted by a national coalition of black women's groups that support abortion rights. Parker, who recently moved from Chicago to Birmingham, Alabama, and also performs abortions in Alabama and Georgia, is part of a federal lawsuit aimed at preventing Mississippi state officials from closing the Jackson Women's Health Organization. |
| GOP brass not ready for Romney | |
 | On Friday night, Mitt Romney will step aboard the deck of the USS Midway to address GOP brass gathered here for the Republican National Committee's annual winter meeting. It's safe to say the former Massachusetts governor will be addressing a tough audience. In interviews this week with nearly a dozen committee members -- the people who compose the most active and powerful core of the party apparatus -- nearly all expressed deep skepticism about a third Romney White House bid. "I think this is a stronger field than we had in 2012," said Henry Barbour, an RNC official from Mississippi. "It's a deeper field. It will be tough for whoever runs, including Mitt." Barbour, a nephew of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, said Romney would have to convince party faithful that he understands what went wrong during his failed bid to unseat Obama -- and what he would do differently this time around. |
| Democrat condemns 'shocking' comments about Muslim lawmaker | |
 | A top House Democrat on Thursday condemned suggestions from conservative websites that Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), a Muslim, should not have been appointed to the House Intelligence Committee. It has "come to my attention that there have been a shocking amount of comments made in conservative publications and on social media to the effect that Rep. Carson's integrity is somehow in question as a result of his religion," Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), vice chairman of the Democratic caucus, said in a letter to members. On Wednesday House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi named Carson, along with a handful of other Democrats, to serve on the Intelligence panel, which is privy to some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets. |
| Scientists: Human activity has pushed Earth beyond four of nine 'planetary boundaries' | |
 | At the rate things are going, the Earth in the coming decades could cease to be a "safe operating space" for human beings. That is the conclusion of a new paper published Thursday in the journal Science by 18 researchers trying to gauge the breaking points in the natural world. The paper contends that we have already crossed four "planetary boundaries." They include the extinction rate; deforestation; the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; and the flow of nitrogen and phosphorous (used on land as fertilizer) into the ocean. "What the science has shown is that human activities -- economic growth, technology, consumption -- are destabilizing the global environment," said Will Steffen, the lead author of the paper. |
| Fitch awards solid, stable AA rating to new IHL borrowing | |
| The candidate selected to replace the departing Hank Bounds as Mississippi's commissioner of higher education will inherit a sound and stable borrower profile for the State Institutions of Higher Learning. In a Jan. 13 ratings report, Fitch Ratings Service maintained the AA rating on a new issuance of revenue bonds the IHL expects to sell the week of Jan. 26. The AA rating, which IHL has maintained since April 30, 2010, denotes a "very strong capacity to meet" financial commitments, Fitch says. The outlook on State of Mississippi bond repayment capacity is weaker than that of the IHL. Fitch further noted that since 2011, state government has seen a decline in federal grants and contracts. These revenue sources made up 8.4 percent of the state's fiscal 2014 operating revenues, Fitch said. |
| U. of Southern Mississippi to host economic forum | |
 | Economic trends and forecasts will take center stage during the Economic Outlook 2015 Forum set for Feb. 19 at the Thad Cochran Center on the University of Southern Mississippi's Hattiesburg campus. Hosted by the Southern Miss College of Business and the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, the event will run from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The First Bank of Hattiesburg is serving as the title sponsor. The event is free but seating will be limited. The Economic Outlook Forum is an annual event designed to bring together leaders from both the public and private sectors of our economy to discuss economic trends occurring in our nation, state and local communities," said Shannon Campbell, executive director of the Trent Lott Center. |
| Sanderson family donates $1.1M to William Carey University | |
 | A Sanderson Farms executive and his wife have gifted William Carey University $1 million for the School of Pharmacy, which is set to open in about three years on the Tradition campus. Joe F. Sanderson Jr., the company's chief executive officer, and his wife, Kathy, made the donation, along with another $100,000 that will go to the doctor of physical therapy program on the Hattiesburg campus. The physical therapy program -- officially established in September -- is expected to admit its first pre-physical therapy students in August. The $1.1 million gift is the largest from an individual in the university's 123-year history, Carey President Tommy King said. Mike Cockrell, the company's chief financial officer, said the couple is committed to improving higher education in Mississippi. |
| Community college leaders await details of Obama plan | |
| President Obama likely will use next week's State of the Union address to give more details about his recent proposal to provide free community college. Leaders from a region that already has its own community college tuition guarantee program will be watching closely. The average tuition and fees at Mississippi's 15 community colleges is $2,476, said Eric Clark, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board. "I think it has the potential to do a lot of good," Clark said of the proposal. "...The more Mississippi citizens who have at least two years of college, the more prosperous their lives will be, and the whole community will benefit." Both Northeast Mississippi Community College President Johnny Allen and Itawamba Community College President Mike Eaton also said the proposal held promise, although Eaton noted he would still like to see more details. |
| Copiah-Lincoln Community College named military-friendly campus | |
 | Military Advanced Education has awarded Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson the designation of a top school in its 2015 MAE Guide to Colleges and Universities, measuring the best practices in military and veteran education. |
| Meridian Community College holds annual MLK celebration | |
 | About 150 people on Thursday attended Meridian Community College's annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration. The theme was "Remembering Freedom Summer: the Color of Unity." Mark Levy, a native New Yorker who spent the summer of 1964 as coordinator of the Freedom School in Meridian, gave the keynote address, focusing on work done by ordinary people. "In all the histories written about the movement in Mississippi, the murders of three civil rights workers obscures the work of ordinary people," Levy said. "I knew them, but I don't talk about them. I want to talk more about the work that was done here." Levy spoke about the Freedom Summer and the school. Levy mentioned the first black students to attend MCC and Meridian High School in 1965. |
| Public invited to view the new comet Lovejoy at U. of Alabama | |
 | The newly discovered comet Lovejoy is at its brightest this week, and the University of Alabama is offering the public a free opportunity to see it through a powerful telescope Friday. "Most of the people who really keep track and obsess over comet behavior didn't expect it to get bright enough to see with the naked eye," said Bill Keel, UA professor of physics and astronomy. "So it's (been) kind of a nice surprise over the last couple weeks." People in Tuscaloosa can see the Lovejoy comet through the 16-inch telescope at the observatory on top of Gallalee Hall on the UA campus from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday. |
| U. of Kentucky agrees to sell pharmaceutical company for $30 million | |
 | The University of Kentucky agreed to sell one of its Coldstream Research Park properties -- the company and the building -- to an Indian pharmaceutical company Thursday for $30 million. Under the deal, which is expected to be finalized in the next two weeks, Mumbai-based Piramal Enterprises Limited will pay $24.4 million for Coldstream Laboratories Inc., and $5.6 million for the building it occupies on McGrathiana Parkway. The UK Research Foundation voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to approve the sale of the company. The UK board of trustees executive committee then voted to approve the sale of the building. |
| Two Athens men charged with murder of UGA student | |
 | Athens-Clarke police remained tight-lipped Thursday on the circumstances that led to the shooting death of a University of Georgia student and the arrests of two Athens men charged with the crime. Police said Min Seok Cho, 21, was gunned down by Cormaine Xavier Goss and Andre Ruff during a drug transaction. Cho was shot in the head. Each were charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. No one else has been charged in the slaying of Cho, a UGA senior from Suwanee. Police said the shooting "was not a random act ...the victim met Ruff and Goss to exchange marijuana." |
| Former speechwriter shares stories of George H.W. Bush's kindness, character in new book | |
 | Nearly 22 years after President George H.W. Bush left office, former presidential speechwriter Curt Smith shared his insight on the major events that helped define his presidency Thursday night at the Bush Library's Issues Forum. Smith, who wrote more speeches for the 41st president than any other speechwriter from 1989 to 1992 gave a voice to historic addresses such as the "Just War" Persian Gulf speech, the Nixon and Reagan Library dedication speeches that Bush gave and Bush's eulogy to Ronald Reagan at the National Cathedral in Washington. He told an the audience of about 50 that Bush's sincerity made him the kindest man he had ever met in public office. |
| U. of Missouri to bring civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams for MLK Jr. celebration | |
 | The University of Missouri is hosting Myrlie Evers-Williams, a civil rights activist and former National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chairwoman in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Evers-Williams will give a presentation called "Not exactly what you thought" at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 in the Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth St. Evers-Williams is an activist who works to preserve the legacy of her late husband, Medgar Evers, a prominent civil rights leader in Mississippi who was murdered outside of their home in 1963. |
| U. of Missouri curators question supplemental fee increases | |
| The University of Missouri Board of Curators have concerns about supplemental fees for the 2015-16 school year, particularly at the system's Columbia campus. The curators held a special teleconference Thursday morning to discuss updated fee proposals ahead of the Feb. 5-6 meeting where they will vote on the fees. At the December curators meeting, administrators suggested a 1.8 percent increase for in-state undergraduate students for all campuses except St. Louis, where a 9.1 percent increase was proposed because of a fee for a new recreation center approved by a student referendum. The proposal has changed. Missouri law limits public schools from increasing tuition at a rate higher than the consumer price index. |
| U. of Missouri Health Care hires new CFO | |
| The University of Missouri announced a new administrative hiring Wednesday, bringing aboard a new chief financial officer for its medical operation. Brian Steines, the former vice president of financial operations for Scottsdale Lincoln Health Network's Arizona Market, started as MU Health Care and the MU School of Medicine's CFO on Dec. 29, MU Health spokesman Derek Thompson said in an email. Steines' salary is $465,000 per year, MU Health spokeswoman Mary Jenkins said. |
| NEH chief looks to focus humanities toward public good, national challenges | |
| The head of the National Endowment for the Humanities said Thursday that he wants to push humanities scholarship to become more directly connected to helping address the nation's contemporary problems. Making the case for why the nation should continue its longstanding investments in the humanities, NEH Chairman William (Bro) Adams said his agency would be launching an effort to encourage humanities scholars to focus on topics that that are relevant to Americans' daily lives. The initiative -- dubbed "The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square" -- will use the agency's grant making and new projects to emphasize the link between the humanities and public life. |
| Hackers Descend on a Campus Near You | |
 | In the early days of computing, Nick Quinlan said, hackers were people who built things "elegantly." But the word eventually took on the negative connotation we know today. Hackathons are events that bring together groups of people -- many of them computer scientists, others just independently tech-savvy -- to collaborate in building original software or improving existing technology, among other things. As the commissioner of Major League Hacking, the official student-hackathon league, Mr. Quinlan is helping people to understand the true meaning of hacking. These days, hacking is almost a sport. College students (players) travel from all over the country, and even the world, to attend hackathons (tournaments) overseen by Major League Hacking (an official league). |
| Duke University cancels Muslim call to prayer from its famed chapel | |
 | Duke University canceled plans Thursday to broadcast a weekly Muslim call to prayer from its famed chapel, a move that was originally intended to reflect the school's commitment to religious pluralism but instead backfired. "Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students," said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. "However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect." Those plans drew the ire of North Carolina evangelist Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, who took to Facebook to denounce the school for embracing Islam at a time when Muslim extremists are attacking the West. |
| Do Fictional Geniuses Hold Back Real Women? | |
 | The "Lone Genius" character is hot right now in television and movies. Sometimes the genius is real (think Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game), and sometimes he's fictional (think Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock). But one thing is almost always certain: He's a guy. Now one researcher says that gender stereotype in art may have a real impact on women in academia. Sarah-Jane Leslie is a philosopher at Princeton University. Philosophy, she says, is "a humanities discipline which has very few women." Philosophy is also one of those disciplines where the word "genius" gets thrown around a lot. Not everyone thinks the genius effect is to blame. Lisa Randall, a theoretical physicist at Harvard University, says the problems women face in her discipline are no different than those they face in other professions. |
| WILLIAM BROWNING (OPINION): Mississippi journalist's book is a rewarding gem | |
| The Dispatch's William Browning writes: "There is a new book out called 'Assassins, Eccentrics, Politicians, and other Persons of Interest.' It is a collection of stories -- 50, to be exact -- written by Mississippi journalist Curtis Wilkie. The thing is a gem. In a four-decade career that began in the early 1960s, Wilkie, when it came to news, covered the 20th century's gumbo: he met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Delta; watched Hunter S. Thompson dodge an editor in Colorado; chatted with lesbians under conservative fire in south Mississippi; hung out in a religiously divided Bethlehem around Christmastime; and rode a bus into Washington, D.C., with Billy Carter sipping Jack Daniel's." |
SPORTS
| No. 15 Bulldogs fall in 2 OTs | |
| No. 15 Mississippi State lost a wild double-overtime affair to LSU at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday night. The Bulldogs held a three-point lead with 8.5 seconds left in the first overtime, but Danielle Ballard was able to knock down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into a second overtime tied at 61. LSU ended the game on a 6-0 run in the second overtime period for a 71-69 victory, handing the Bulldogs their second straight loss. It was the Tigers' ninth straight win in the series. "You just have to take your hat off to LSU and Danielle Ballard for making a great shot," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. |
| Dak's back! | |
| Rest easy, Mississippi State fans. On Wednesday afternoon, with a confident smile on his face, MSU quarterback Dak Prescott strode to the podium in the media room at the school's Seal Football Complex and delivered the message Bulldog fans hoped to hear: He's coming back. "When I decided to come to Mississippi State, it wasn't about competing for a championship one year or making a run for one year," he said. "It was about competing for championships and making sure this a program that is not a one-hit wonder, but on a consistent basis is a top-10 and top-5 team nationally. That's a chance I have coming back another year in helping do that." |
| Prescott feels Mississippi State has chance to be even better in 2015 | |
| The most telling part of Dak Prescott's press conference Wednesday, the one that saw the Mississippi State quarterback announce he would return to school for his senior season, was where he went when it was over. After making his announcement and answering questions from reporters, Prescott ducked out of the media room at MSU's Seal Football Complex and headed downstairs to a team meeting. His focus already was on getting ready for the 2015 season. "I think we have a better team coming back next year than we did this year," Prescott said. "We have a lot of talented guys. We have a great freshman class coming in and some big-time playmakers that can come in and have an impact on the team. We just have to get on the same page and make sure everybody comes together. I think it can be a special year." |
| Dak Prescott wants to leave Mississippi State on top | |
| Dak Prescott wants to finish with a statement. Mississippi State began 2014 with a bang, but limped to a 1-3 finish, including a loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. "We don't have the Golden Trophy, the most special trophy in the state," said Prescott on Wednesday during a press conference where he announced he'd be returning for his senior season. "I want to make sure that returns home where that belongs next year when I have the opportunity to play in that game again." |
| Mississippi State's Malcolm Johnson lets performance, leadership do the talking | |
| More often than not, the Malcolm Johnson's of the world evolve into cliches. Players who rarely -- if ever – speak have their performances on the field become their voices. Week after week, Mississippi State's captain refused media requests. He told reporters he would talk when it was necessary, not convenient. The time became necessary during Orange Bowl media day last month. Johnson was about to wrap up his five-year career at Mississippi State. And that day revealed a player who was anything but cliche. "A lot of times I don't want to be forced to talk, when I don't feel it's necessary," Johnson said. "My players feel on that. They know it's real because I'm not going to fake anything." |
| Mississippi State to host transferring Wake Forest center | |
| Since announcing his decision to leave Wake Forest on Jan. 9, Cory Helms has drawn plenty of attention from top programs -- and Mississippi State is right in the hunt. The former freshman All-American announced via Twitter a week ago that he planned to leave the ACC school. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound lineman told the Sun Herald Thursday afternoon that he made the decision while at home in Alpharetta, Ga., on Christmas break. Helms will visit Starkville today and Saturday, Texas A&M on Sunday and Monday, and then South Carolina and Penn State the following two weekends. Helms told Bulldawgs247's Paul Jones he's honored to have received so much attention in a weeks time. |
| Mississippi State's Eubanks will get shot at U.S. Under-20 camp | |
| Mallory Eubanks' exploits as a high school player attracted plenty of attention from college coaches. But Eubanks, who was named NSCAA Kentucky High School Player of the Year as a senior, didn't feel she had made a name for herself at the national level as she prepared for her freshman season at Mississippi State. That could be changing very soon. Earlier this month, Eubanks, a 5-foot-4 freshman forward, earned an invitation to training camp for the United States Under-20 Women's National Team. "I think Mississippi State definitely helped me with being on the radar, and (MSU head coach) Aaron (Gordon) and all of the coaches here helped me," Eubanks said. "I feel I have really progressed throughout the years from all of the different experiences I have had." |
| Mississippi State's McFatrich announces two assistants | |
| After being announced as the head volleyball coach at Mississippi State on Monday, David McFatrich has assembled his coaching staff, adding John and Brittany Newberry as assistants, he announced Thursday. "I'm very grateful that I have been able to bring my coaching staff, John and Brittany Newberry, with me to Mississippi State," McFatrich said. "John and Brittany share not only my coaching philosophies, but my off-court priorities as well." The couple comes to Starkville after spending the last three seasons on McFatrich's staff at Central Arkansas. |
| U. of Alabama's Million Dollar Band to perform at Senior Bowl | |
| The University of Alabama's Million Dollar Band will perform during the pregame and halftime shows at the Jan. 24 Senior Bowl in Mobile. "It's always exciting to have the Million Dollar Band here and 2015 will be no exception," said Phil Savage, the Senior Bowl's executive director, in a news release. The 416-member band last performed at the Senior Bowl in 2009. The band, directed by Kenneth Ozzello, has previously played at the Senior Bowl five times, with its first appearance in 2000. The game will be televised by the NFL Network. |
| Vanderbilt rape trial hangs over recruiting weekend | |
 | At least 20 Vanderbilt University football recruits will arrive on campus Friday for one of the biggest football recruiting weekends of the year as a harsh spotlight shines on the criminal trial of former players charged in a summer 2013 campus rape. This year's recruits, from 11 states, will spend their NCAA-mandated 48 hours at Vanderbilt with their parents, taking tours of the campus and athletic facilities, meeting with coaches and academic advisers and sharing the reasons they have considered the prestigious university as their future college home. Most college football recruiting trips look similar during the day, but they can vary in activities and tone after hours. The rape case currently at trial and an incident last year involving a recruit, which was determined by Metro police to be "unfounded," came after a night of drinking. |
| Who Has the Most to Gain as College Sports Enters a New Era | |
| This week marks the start of a new era in college sports, as the five wealthiest conferences take their first steps toward exerting more autonomy in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's new governance system. The change, which is designed to allow the highest-profile colleges to do more to help players financially, has shifted the balance of power in Division I -- but not just by allowing the wealthy conferences to have more control. Look closer, and you'll see a more complicated redistribution of power, much of which was on display here on Thursday during the NCAA's annual convention. |
| Oliver Luck, N.C.A.A.'s Newest Employee, Brings Interdisciplinary Expertise | |
 | Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer who was previously head of the N.F.L.'s international division, recalled watching Oliver Luck, at the time in charge of N.F.L. Europe, at work in the 1990s in Germany. "There was no better feeling I had than meeting with mayors and civic leaders and having Oliver Luck, this all-American football player from West Virginia and Houston, with that toothy grin, speaking German with a perfect accent," Garber said. Luck, whose mother was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, will require all his powers of translation as he leaves his job as West Virginia's athletic director and begins his new one as a top executive at the N.C.A.A. On Thursday, at the annual N.C.A.A. convention, held this year just across the Potomac River from Washington, the association's president, Mark Emmert, introduced Luck as "our newest employee." |
| Did Penn State really face the death penalty? | |
 | As a lawsuit against the NCAA in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State winds its way toward trial, depositions in the case have prompted questions over the validity of NCAA president Mark Emmert's threat that a committee of university presidents was in favor of shutting down Penn State's football program. Anthony Lubrano, an alumni-elected member of Penn State's board of trustees, said Thursday that the depositions confirmed his "suspicion that Mark Emmert took advantage of Rod Erickson's vulnerability. He knew that Rod Erickson was now the head of a wounded organization and he would likely do whatever he had to do to make sure it wouldn't get wounded further." And by threatening the death penalty, he knew he could have his way." |
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