| Thursday, March 12, 2015 |
| Mississippi State researcher examines insomnia and suicide | |
 | Mississippi State University Assistant Professor of Psychology Michael Nadorff says a good night's sleep is crucial. "Even a couple hours for several nights really adds up very quickly and it has a profound impact on your functioning," said Dr. Nadorff. Three hundred seventy-five students filled out questionnaires asking them about their drinking habits, their quality of sleep and whether or not they had ever contemplated suicide. The research showed insomnia symptoms can be just as much a risk factor as alcohol. "Everyone knew that certain risk factors like alcohol, drug use were associated with suicide, but a lot of people didn't understand how important sleep was and their relation with suicide," added Dr. Nadorff. |
| Mississippi State Part of $200,000 Rural Entrepreneurship Grant | |
 | Mississippi State University and Texas A&M University are receiving a major grant to foster entrepreneurship in rural areas. The two land-grant institutions will jointly launch the pilot MaroonX Accelerator Program seeking ultimately to increase the success rate of entrepreneurs by offering concentrated support with mentorship and financial investment over a 10-week summer period. MSU's Eric Hill, program manager for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the College of Business, said the two universities will leverage resources by forming a network of rural institutions and by focusing on core value strengths inherent to higher education environments. |
| Mississippi State, Louisville Partnership Paying Off | |
| Now in only its second year, an after-school and summer program named for a late Mississippi State alumna is making an impact in Winston County. In 2013, the Mississippi Department of Education awarded a nearly $2 million grant to the university's College of Education and Louisville Municipal School District to help boost at-risk student achievements through academic tutoring, interventions, and literacy and mathematics enrichment. College of Education Associate Dean Teresa Jayroe said that DREAMS has served more than 200 students since its launch. |
| Mississippi State, Ole Miss rank well on free speech | |
| Mississippi State and Ole Miss rank high on a report about free expression on college campuses. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) says the schools are among 10 to receive a "Green Light" ranking because campus policies that do not threaten free expression. FIRE looked at policies regarding protest, sexual harassment, academic freedom, housing policies, student conduct and rules regarding information technology in creating the rankings. |
| Meridian Main Street to host crowdfunding webinar at MSU downtown | |
 | Meridian Main Street will host a small business webinar on crowdfunding today from noon until 1 p.m. at the Mississippi State University-Meridian downtown computer center on the first floor. Meridian Main Street Executive Director Karen Rooney said the webinar is one of several planned. The webinar is being offered by the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Rooney said the MSU computer center was chosen to keep the webinar small enough so participants can get immediate feedback on their business plans. |
| Legislators file renewals for Starkville's restaurant tax | |
 | Two bills extending Starkville's 2 percent food and beverage tax are heading to their respective Mississippi House and Senate local and private committees for discussion. Separate bills were filed Tuesday seeking an extension to the key revenue stream that funds park improvements, economic development, tourism initiatives and student-related activities. The House version, authored by state Reps. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, and Tyrone Ellis, D-Starkville, moves the tax's repeal date from June 30 to the same day in 2018, while state Sen. Gary Jackson's, R-French Camp, SB 2919 omits repeal date outright. |
| Early College High School accepting applications | |
| Local eighth graders interested in an unique, rigorous high school experience can apply to Mississippi's first early college high school. Golden Triangle Early College High School is accepting applications for its inaugural class. Fifty students will be chosen from the nine public middle schools within Lowndes, Clay, Oktibbeha and Noxubee counties. An additional 50 students will be added to each class, with ultimately 200 high schoolers getting their education at East Mississippi Community College's Mayhew campus. An unrelated public demonstration school, which is a partnership between Mississippi State University and Starkville School District, is currently in the development stages. |
| Report: Chronic absenteeism a problem for Mississippi schools | |
 | A report released by the Mississippi KIDS COUNT program revealed that 130 of the state's 152 school districts had at least 10 percent of their students classified as "chronically absent" in the 2013-2014 school year. Eleven districts in Mississippi, one of only a handful of states nationwide to track and use this data, have at least 20 percent of their students who meet the criteria for chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of the academic year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences, suspensions and time missed as a result of changing schools. Citing research linking higher levels of absenteeism and lower test scores, KIDS COUNT Director Linda Southward called on Mississippians to recognize absenteeism as an indicator of student achievement and to use the data to find ways to intervene. |
| MEC puts workforce training 'red tape' in cross hairs | |
 | If the Mississippi Economic Council had been hunting for a business issue to target this legislative session, it has one now: A mountain of workforce training "red tape" that the statewide business organization says could top the State Capitol nearly twice. The campaign against the so-called red tape comes on top of another of the MEC's key workforce training priorities: passage of legislation to divert $50 million in unused unemployment compensation fund money to prepare workers for the labor market. "Workforce needs are #1... whether in manufacturing, technology, health care or hospitality," Blake Wilson, CEO of the MEC, the state's chamber of commerce, said in an email blast late Wednesday. |
| Delta Regional Authority, nonprofit enter partnership | |
| The Delta Regional Authority has initiated a partnership with Iowa-based nonprofit ACT to help DRA counties and parishes create the infrastructure and policies that support local workforce development and training systems. The partnership will help local leadership move their counties and parishes toward certification as ACT Work Ready Communities. Currently only six counties and parishes of the 252 in the DRA footprint hold the certification. |
| Export-Import Bank chairman addresses Mississippi businesses | |
 | Chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States Fred Hochberg was in Laurel Wednesday. He was in town for a roundtable discussion that was moderated by the U.S. Department of Commerce at Sanderson Farms. Hochberg joined several business leaders from across Mississippi and discussed ways the export credit agency can equip more of the state's companies to grow their export sales and add more jobs in the state. |
| Health care subsidies ruling could have major impact on state's insured | |
| When the U.S. Supreme Court announces its ruling on the legality of federal subsides for Americans who enrolled for health care through the federal health care marketplace, the decision could have a direct impact on roughly 100,000 Mississippians and an indirect impact on everyone else, a state official and a leading Mississippi healthcare advocate agree. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said if the court rules that the subsidies are illegal, a high percentage of Mississippians who have signed up for the ACA could find themselves without health insurance. In Lowndes County, 1,076 people have signed up for the ACA, while 1,095 enrolled in Clay County. In Oktibbeha County, however, just 126 people signed up for the ACA. "I'd say anywhere from 85 to 90 percent of the people who have signed up got subsidies," Chaney said. "So if the Supreme Court rules that the subsidies are illegal, that could be a major problem." |
| Two Gulfport men nominated to Mississippi Gaming Commission | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant has nominated Alben "Al" Hopkins Sr. and Jerry Lester Griffith, both of Gulfport, as members of the Mississippi Gaming Commission. The state Senate is expected to confirm those nominations before the next Gaming Commission meeting that will be held in Biloxi March 19 at 10 a.m. at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Hopkins, a Gulfport attorney, said he knows most of the commissioners who have served. "It is a big responsibility," he said. He was on the Harrison County Tourism Commission for about 12 years and said, "I realize the significance of the gaming industry to the state." |
| Attorney General Jim Hood recovers $30 million for state | |
 | Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has delivered a check totaling just over $30 million to the state treasury from litigation involving cases against Standard & Poor's and Capital One Bank. Hood says state law requires him to make recommendations to the Legislature for improvement of public service. Hood has recommended that approximately $15 million be used for a new forensic unit to expand the ability of the State Hospital at Whitfield to house the criminally insane. |
| State treasurer: Unemployment, revenue numbers remain strong | |
| When state treasurer Lynn Fitch visited Columbus Tuesday to speak at the monthly meeting of the Lowndes County Republican Women, she had some good news to report but also shared concerns. "We certainly have some challenges and still have a long way to go in some areas," Fitch told her audience, "but I have some good things to report. We are moving in the right direction in a lot of areas." Fitch noted that unemployment dropped again in February and is now at 7.2 percent, a slight decrease from January, but a .8 percent decrease when compared to February 2013. "We added 8,800 jobs in 2014 and the biggest increases were in the leisure/hospitality and education/healthcare sectors," Fitch said. "What that means is that there has been an increase both in income tax collections and corporate tax collections." Fitch said that the economic outlook suggests that the state can expect a revenue surplus for the second year in a row. |
| Lawmakers discuss election year's impact on legislative session | |
 | Your opinions weigh on the minds of lawmakers in an election year. Senator Kenny Wayne Jones admits re-election is the elephant in the room at the State Capitol. "Everybody's fighting for their job," said Wayne. "So you're going to put your best foot forward. And when you put your best foot forward, then you start acting like you should've been acting anyway." There were mixed reactions when lawmakers were asked whether it was business as usual while jobs are on the line. Both Republicans and Democrats in the House see folks walking on eggshells for debates and votes. On the other side of the building, senators think they've been more productive knowing you could be watching. |
| House votes to gut education board's authority | |
 | On a voice vote, the House approved a measure Wednesday that would strip the bulk of the authority of the state Board of Education to set academic standards. Throughout the current legislative session, House Education Chair John Moore, R-Brandon, has insisted he did not want legislation passed by the House to usurp the authority of the constitutionally created board to set school standards. But Wednesday, Moore offered an amendment that would require the board to accept 75 percent of the recommendations made by a specially created commission. The voice vote on Moore's amendment was close. Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, ruled that Moore's amendment passed and there was an insufficient number standing to demand a roll call. |
| House passes special-needs voucher bill | |
| House members on Wednesday approved a pilot program providing up to $6,500 annually for children with special needs who leave public schools for educational services elsewhere. Despite objections mostly from Democratic lawmakers and opposition from The Parents' Campaign, the Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act passed the House by a vote of 65-51. If it becomes law, it will provide vouchers for up to 500 special-needs children whose parents want to withdraw them from public schools, ostensibly because of poor services. Each year, the program will provide an additional 500 vouchers until it reaches its five-year mark, at which time the Legislature must reauthorize it. State Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, questioned the bill's lack of oversight for private providers of educational services. |
| Mississippi considers mandate on cancer drug cost | |
| Health insurers would be banned from making patients pay higher out-of-pocket costs for oral medication taken at home than for chemotherapy received in a health care facility, under a bill moving through the Mississippi Legislature. One version of House Bill 952 passed the Senate after more than an hour of debate Wednesday. It will likely go to a final round of House-Senate negotiations later this month. Republican Sen. Terry Burton of Newton said more than 30 other states already do what Mississippi is proposing. Republican Sen. Chris McDaniel of Ellisville, one of the three senators who voted against the bill, said the state should not dictate terms of private contracts, including insurance coverage. |
| Cochran Speaks Out in Support of 155th National Guard Unit | |
| U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, on Wednesday acknowledged the growing budget pressures on the U.S. Army but said he is unconvinced that a highly-modernized, Mississippi-based National Guard unit should be among the first targeted for divestment. Cochran is opposed to Army reduction in force plans that would target the 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team based in Tupelo. This unit is one of two armored brigade combat teams that have been targeted for divestment as the Army National Guard attempts to meet a restricted force structure. |
| Palazzo not satisfied with Clinton e-mail defense | |
| Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's explanation Tuesday of why she used a personal email account for official State Dept. business is falling short, according to Congressman Steven Palazzo. Palazzo (R-4th District) said he wasn't satisfied with her answers at her news conference and said he would rather see her take questions from Congress. "There's a certain arrogance about her to where she's above everyday Americans," Palazzo said. Palazzo was at Camp Shelby Wednesday, presenting two medals to Hattiesburg World War Two veteran Travis Johnson. |
| Iran letter blowback startles GOP | |
 | Some Republican senators admitted Wednesday they were caught off guard by the backlash to a letter warning Iranian leaders against a nuclear agreement with President Barack Obama. And Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Republicans --- many of whom blessed the missive during a brisk signing session at a Senate lunch a week ago, as senators prepared to flee a Washington snowstorm --- should have given it closer consideration. "It was kind of a very rapid process. Everybody was looking forward to getting out of town because of the snowstorm," McCain said. "I think we probably should have had more discussion about it, given the blowback that there is." The missive is creating unexpected fallout in Congress. |
| H7N9 bird flu has the makings of a pandemic virus, scientists warn | |
 | Scientists in China have identified an influenza virus that they say has the potential to spread around the world, sickening and killing people whose immune systems have never faced a threat like it. The H7N9 flu emerged in humans in eastern China in February 2013, sickening 133 people and killing about a third of them before winding down in May. It seemed that the outbreak was over, but it reemerged in October 2013 and has been spreading steadily since. "H7N9 viruses should be considered as a major candidate to emerge as a pandemic strain in humans," they wrote in a study published Wednesday by the journal Nature. |
| Avian Flu Found on Turkey Farms Supplying Butterball | |
 | A highly contagious strain of bird flu has infected Arkansas and Missouri turkey farms that supply Butterball LLC, escalating a multistate outbreak and raising the prospect of wider international-trade restrictions on U.S. poultry products. Butterball, one of the largest U.S. turkey processors, confirmed Wednesday that it determined "a limited number of our turkeys" from contract farms had been diagnosed with H5N2 avian influenza. No human cases of the H5N2 virus have been detected in the U.S., and the strain poses a low risk to human health, USDA officials said. The latest discoveries, especially in major poultry producer Arkansas, are elevating concerns that the H5N2 strain could disrupt production in the heart of poultry country. Phil Stayer, corporate veterinarian at Laurel, Miss.-based Sanderson Farms, said the company, one of the largest U.S. chicken processors, in recent days put a halt to "unnecessary traffic" to and from chicken houses. |
| Have a business idea? U. of Alabama holding second Startup Weekend | |
 | The University of Alabama will hold its second Startup Weekend for would-be entrepreneurs on March 27-29. The event is open to college students and area residents. Participants will form teams during the three-day event to bring their business ideas to life. "This is a great opportunity for students or anyone in the community who has ever thought about starting their own business to come and present their ideas and get the help they might need to move forward," said J. Michael Hardin, dean of UA's Culverhouse College of Commerce. "I am always telling students: 'Need a job? Create one.' And Startup Weekend is just the type event to spark that entrepreneurial spirit." |
| Survey says Alabama has 22nd top law school | |
| The University of Alabama's School of Law ranks 22nd among the nation's top law schools, according to U.S. News and World Report's annual "Best Graduate Schools." This marks the third straight year that UA's law school has been ranked in the nation's top 25 law schools. "We are pleased with this national recognition," Mark E. Brandon, the law school's dean, said in a news release. "The ranking is an indication that the faculty, administration, and staff of Alabama Law continue to attract outstanding students, provide them a first-rate education, and see them begin successful legal careers." |
| Seed company strengthens U. of Florida ties to battle hunger | |
 | One of the largest international seed companies in the world plans to expand its relationship with the University of Florida's agricultural research arm. During its spring executive meeting in Gainesville this week, Limagrain executives said they would make internships available at its headquarters in France to students in the UF/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences programs. The advantage of working with UF is its research into a large variety of crops, said Matthew Johnston, chief executive officer of H.M. Clause, a subsidiary of Limagrain. |
| U. of Florida MBA Internet program rated No. 1 nationally | |
| The University of Florida's graduate business school has received a couple of accolades --- including its MBA Internet Program being ranked first in the U.S. and third worldwide by the Financial Times. On Tuesday, U.S. News & World Report released its rankings placing the Hough Graduate School of Business in the top 20 among public business programs. The online program was evaluated in four major areas -- career progress, online delivery, program diversity and idea evaluation. UF's traditional MBA program rose four spots to 37th nationally, and 16th among public institutions, and was the only MBA program in the state of Florida to appear in the top 75, the business school said. |
| Amy Schlesing Joins University Relations Team at U. of Arkansas | |
 | Amy Schlesing, former deputy communications director for former Sen. Mark Pryor and an award-winning reporter, has joined the University Relations team at the University of Arkansas as director of science and research communications, the school announced Wednesday. Schlesing is a former military reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and spent three years in Iraq and Afghanistan as an embedded reporter. She replaces Barbara Jaquish, who retired at the end of 2014. Schlesing has more than 20 years experience in print journalism, policy development and communications, having previously worked as military policy aid and deputy communications director for Pryor. |
| In Louisiana, Sigma Alpha Epsilon has history of problems, media report | |
 | Sigma Alpha Epsilon has come under fire this week after a video captured members of its University of Oklahoma fraternity chapter singing a racist chant containing racial slurs and references to lynching. As many media outlets noted, however, the damning video was not an isolated incident. SAE chapters in Louisiana have not escaped scrutiny. In November 2012, Louisiana State University banned its SAE chapter after the fraternity accepted charges of hazing, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and endangering the safety of others. Though the fraternity was eligible for reinstatement Jan. 1, 2015, according to LSU's newspaper the Daily reveille, the group's status on campus remains inactive. |
| Vanderbilt SAE chapter responds to racist OU video | |
 | Video footage that showed Sigma Alpha Epsilon members in Oklahoma singing a racist chant has sparked a renewed conversation about racism and inclusion at Vanderbilt University -- both inside and beyond the Greek system. Patrick McGee, a Vanderbilt senior and member of the SAE chapter there, said he and his peers at the fraternity's local outpost were disgusted by what they saw. "I feel very, very connected and a strong sense of brotherhood and camaraderie with the guys in my own SAE chapter," said McGee, who has served as chapter president. "This is not reflective or representative of how we feel or what we believe." But the video has spurred discussion among students about the nature of racism and discrimination on campus, and what should be done about it. Tyler Bishop, editor of Vanderbilt's student newspaper and a member of Phi Kappa Psi, said he has seen discrimination at Vanderbilt, although it is typically more subtle, or "hidden," than the racism shown in the video. |
| Former first lady Laura Bush speaks on global education at Texas A&M symposium | |
 | For Laura Bush, the work of a first lady is never over. The native Texan and former Houston school teacher championed literacy as her core cause while serving at the side of former President George W. Bush from 2001-2009 and continues to share her passion for educating the world's youth six years after leaving the White House. Bush, with the help of Afghan women's rights activist Razia Jan, shared that passion during Texas A&M University's global education symposium Wednesday night at Rudder Auditorium. |
| Nordstrom president shares keys to success with Texas A&M business students | |
| Days after celebrating the opening of Nordstrom's second location in Canada, the company's president was in College Station sharing his keys to success with Texas A&M Mays Business School students. Blake Nordstrom, president of the upscale fashion retailer and great grandson of store founder John W. Nordstrom, encouraged students to make career choices that will open doors in the future during a question-and-answer session at the annual M.B. Zale Visionary Merchant Lecture Series on Wednesday afternoon. The focus on people and integrity was a common thread throughout Nordstrom's lecture, during which he touted a business strategy grounded in the customer. |
| U. of Missouri law school opens new intellectual property center | |
 | The University of Missouri is launching a new Center for Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship this week with a conference, "IP and the University: Issues for Academics, Entrepreneurs and Lawyers." The new center at MU intersects business, finance and technology disciplines, giving students a better idea of the "changing legal marketplace," according to a news release. Panel discussion topics range from copyright law to "the state of the patent system." |
| In wake of Oklahoma racist chant, how can colleges reform fraternities? | |
 | At the State University of New York in Plattsburgh, real changes didn't come until there was tragedy. In 2003, a pledge at Phi Epsilon Chi died after a hazing ritual that involved drinking massive amounts of water. The college, which had already been working to combat hazing, took even more steps and did a lot of work to help the fraternities and sororities change. From suspending a fraternity or sorority -- or banning one chapter outright -- to identifying undergraduates most open to change, it is possible to change the culture of Greek systems on campus, experts say. That's the task facing the University of Oklahoma after a video went viral of fraternity members singing a racist chant on a bus. But the Oklahoma incident is merely the latest in a number of highly publicized incidents of fraternity misbehavior. |
| Worker at Tulane possibly exposed to bioterror bacteria | |
 | New tests indicate a worker at the Tulane National Primate Research Center near New Orleans has been exposed to the dangerous bioterror bacteria that was somehow released from a high-security lab on the property, a federal official said Wednesday night. Blood tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate the employee of the primate center's veterinary clinic has a "possible current or prior exposure" to the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, agency spokesman Jason McDonald said. It is the first indication that a worker at the huge research complex has been exposed to the bacteria, which can cause potentially fatal disease. |
| Illinois Bill Threatens Professors' Cherished Perk: Tuition Breaks for Their Children | |
 | Illinois lawmakers have put a benefit commonly offered to college employees -- tuition breaks for their children -- on the chopping block at public universities in response to a big expected cut in state spending on higher education. A measure pending before the Illinois House of Representatives' State Government Administration Committee would phase out tuition waivers for public-university employees. Strongly opposed by the universities and unions representing their faculty and staff members, House Bill 403 calls for the repeal of laws that provide a 50-percent tuition waiver to the children of people who have been employed by one or more of the state's public universities for at least seven years. Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, has proposed cutting state spending on public universities by about $400 million, or nearly 32 percent. |
| Proposal to rename Technical College System of Georgia draws opposition | |
 | Politicians in Georgia are pushing forward with a proposal to rebrand the state's technical college system, despite opposition from retired college leaders and the system's regional accreditor. The bill would rename the Technical College System of Georgia the Career College System of Georgia. Republican Governor Nathan Deal introduced the idea in January, saying the change would better reflect what the colleges do and help to attract more students. But a group of 20 retired presidents of Georgia's technical colleges and the president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges say differently. Both groups questioned the need for the name change in letters to Deal and suggested that money spent on renaming -- possibly millions of dollars -- ought to be spent in classrooms helping students. |
| OUR VIEW: When athletes get in trouble | |
| The Dispatch editorializes: "After initial reports that Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott had been injured in a confrontation while attending a concert in Panama City Beach, Florida on Monday, a lot of people waited for the other shoe to drop. ...Would this ultimately be another chapter of a long-running series of 'When Athletes Go Bad?' Or were the players -- Prescott in particular -- victims of their own notoriety and, as such, targets? ... Based on what we now know of the situation, it appears that Prescott and his teammates were more victims than willing participants in Monday's incident. That belief supports what we do know of Prescott, in particular, who has always comported himself in a way that reflects well on himself and Mississippi State. In that, we are inclined to conclude Monday's incident was unfortunate, but not an embarrassment -- for Prescott or the university." |
| BRIAN PERRY (OPINION): Ag fire extinguished: Hyde-Smith poised for easy re-election | |
 | Jackson-based consultant and columnist Brian Perry writes: "As she completes her first term as Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven is poised for an easy re-election. That doesn't mean she isn't going to campaign, or that she will take it easy. That's not her style. But her two opponents in the general election do not have a record of electoral or fundraising success and don't show any signs of a serious campaign. Hyde-Smith of Brookhaven, a former three-term state senator and fourth generation cattle farmer, faces a rematch of sorts." |
| BOBBY HARRISON (OPINION): Jackson wears its regalia as center of power politics | |
| The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Politicians from the Jackson metropolitan area control state government like no other time in recent history. Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn all are from the Jackson metro area. No other time in recent memory has what might be the three most powerful officeholders in state government hailed from metro Jackson. ...The bottom line is that Jackson is not only the official seat of state government, but also the power base in state government more so than anytime in the recent past. That is not likely to change anytime soon." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Death penalty, open records laws intersect | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Hinds County Chancery Judge Denise Owens ruled last week that the Mississippi Department of Corrections cannot refuse to disclose the name of the pharmacy that supplies a crucial drug used by the state in the process of lethal injection execution. The decision is the latest salvo in a battle that is shaping up in Mississippi -- as it has in other states -- that brings opposition to the death penalty and support for open record laws to the same public policy intersection." |
SPORTS
| Auburn ends Mississippi State's season in first round of SEC tourney | |
| Mississippi State's coaching staff believes the team is one player away from becoming a contender. The lack of a third offensive option ended the Bulldogs' season on Wednesday. Craig Sword and I.J. Ready attempted to carry MSU in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, but the weight became too heavy as Auburn prevailed 74-68 in Bridgestone Arena. "We need consistency from not just I.J. and (Sword) but consistency from everybody else on our team," MSU coach Rick Ray said. "If we can get a consistent performance especially on the offensive end, I think we have a chance to be improved." It's the first time the Bulldogs have suffered a first-round exit under Ray. |
| Bulldogs squander second-half rally | |
| Rick Ray was able to guide Mississippi State into the second round of the SEC Tournament in each of his first two seasons. However, the 12th-seeded Bulldogs were unable to reach that benchmark this time around as No. 13 seed Auburn eliminated MSU 74-68 in the opening round Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena. "I thought we could take the next step in the program and have a chance to win a couple of ballgames here at the SEC Tournament," Ray said. "I was looking forward to staying here and winning more games." |
| HUGH KELLENBERGER (OPINION): Rick Ray deserves another season at Mississippi State | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Hugh Kellenberger writes: "So here's the thing: Mississippi State's basketball team plays really hard. They really do, even in the final minute of a third-straight losing season. And they go to class. They don't get into trouble. Every Bulldog can be proud of this team in a way they just could not those last couple of Rick Stansbury years, even when Mississippi State was losing a first-round Southeastern Conference tournament game to Auburn on Wednesday, 74-68. ...Everything about the Mississippi State men's basketball program is great, except for one thing: It does not win games. Like not nearly enough of them. Which is a problem, but it's not enough of one to think that Ray does not deserve at least one more season to try to figure this thing out." |
| Mississippi State bats go silent in 3-1 loss to Western Kentucky | |
| According to Wes Rea, the biggest factor contributing to Mississippi State's current slump is baseball is an inability to get big hits in key situations. That was certainly the case Wednesday night. On a day when MSU hitters were a combined one-for-12 with runners in scoring position, the Bulldogs stranded 11 runners on base and scraped across just one run in a 3-1 loss to Western Kentucky. "We are close, I know it doesn't seem like it but we are," said Rea. "I thought we pitched well enough to win, we just did not have enough offensive production," said MSU coach John Cohen. "Until we start taking better swing with runners in scoring position, we are going to keep going through this." |
| Dedication of oaks, block party set for A-Day at Auburn | |
 | Auburn University is set to officially dedicate the new pair of Auburn Oaks after this year's A-Day spring football game on April 18 at 5 p.m. at Toomer's Corner. In addition to the dedication, the university and the City of Auburn are teaming up to throw a block party with live entertainment, including Auburn favorites like the Auburn University Marching Band, cheerleaders and Aubie. Auburn music fans are in for another treat. Following the dedication ceremony, the Auburn Airwaves 2015 spring concert, hosted by the Auburn University Program Council, or UPC, will feature performances by Kesha, Nelly and Nick Jonas. |
| Rhoades' hiring at U. of Missouri makes the end more real for Alden | |
| Mike Alden sat down recently and watched video of his introductory press conference as Missouri's athletic director. He smiled looking back at that July day almost 17 years ago at the Reynolds Alumni Center when he was called to the lectern by then-Chancellor Richard Wallace. The dark hairs outnumbered the grays. "I watched it and thought to myself, 'Boy, things, they've changed quite a bit,' " Alden said. "I think for the most part in a good way." Alden's days in charge will soon end. On Jan. 30, in another event at the Reynolds Alumni Center, he announced his plans to retire and take a faculty position in the College of Education. That decision became even more real this week when Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced that Houston Athletic Director Mack Rhoades will succeed Alden. |
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