| Wednesday, April 1, 2015 |
| $300K grant benefits Mississippi State veterinary college | |
 | The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine was the recipient of a major donation from the Humane Society of the United States. The university was given a $300,000 grant Monday to provide support for the college's mobile veterinary clinics. It will also be used to provide opportunities for more students to expand their education in shelter medicine. MSU says the traveling veterinary clinics provide service to 18 Mississippi animal shelters by spaying and neutering homeless animals. |
| Mississippi State's Vet School Lands Major Grant | |
 | A $300,000 Humane Society of the United States grant announced Monday [March 30] will provide continuing support for the popular traveling service program of Mississippi State's College of Veterinary Medicine. The major donation by the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization will help cover numerous university expenses incurred as the college's mobile veterinary clinics provide professional services to 18 North Mississippi animal shelters. Supported entirely by grants and donations, the student-staffed, faculty-supervised clinics spay and neuter homeless animals. |
| MSU-Meridian and MCC Host College Connect | |
 | Prospective students got the chance to learn information about college here in Meridian. Meridian Community College and MSU-Meridian hosted their college connect program Tuesday afternoon. The event offers a way for prospective students to get information they need for financial aid and admissions. They could also learn about all of the programs that Meridian Community College offers to help them choose a career path. |
| Special session looms for lawmakers over workforce bill | |
 | House and Senate leaders are blaming each other for the death of a workforce training measure pushed by Gov. Phil Bryant, as the governor is said to be pondering forcing them back into special session to revive it. Senate Bill 2457 was one of Bryant's top priorities for this legislative session, set to end within days. The original proposal would have taken $25 million a year for two years from the state's unemployment trust fund for workforce training at high schools and community colleges. The bill died with a deadline at midnight Monday, with House and Senate negotiators each accusing the other side of adding poison pills to the measure and bad-faith negotiations. |
| Workforce training tiff could mean special session | |
 | Legislation designed to divert $50 million over a two-year period from a trust fund designed to pay unemployment benefits to a workforce training program has gotten caught up with failed tax cut efforts and has created the specter of a special session. House and Senate negotiators could not agree on a final version of the Mississippi Works Fund on Monday night, resulting in the issue dying for the 2015 session unless extraordinary parliamentary procedures are used. Of the bill, Nicole Webb, a spokeswoman for Gov. Phil Bryant, said, "This bill is important to Mississippi workers and is a top priority for the Mississippi Economic Council. The governor is continuing to work to find a solution." Webb did not rule out a special session to deal with the issue. |
| Senate balks at bill to force new state testing competition | |
 | Senators want more work on a bill that would force the state Department of Education to relaunch a contract competition to pick state standardized tests with rules that would aid the ACT organization. House and Senate negotiators tacked the language onto House Bill 434, a must-pass bill that transfers money in the budget. Senators sent the bill back for more work after House members passed it Tuesday. Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison said he remains opposed to legislative intervention in the department's process to pick a new testing provider. "Let's let them do their job," Tollison said after senators recommitted the bill. |
| Lawmakers seek review of academic standards | |
| A bill headed to Gov. Phil Bryant's desk would establish a group to study whether Mississippi should modify or walk away from Common Core academic standards. The House and Senate on Tuesday both passed the final version of Senate Bill 2161. Bryant spokeswoman Nicole Webb said the governor will review the bill before deciding whether to sign it into law. If he signs it, a 15-member commission would make recommendations about academic standards to the state Board of Education by December. The recommendations could be anything from minor additions, such as requiring that schools teach cursive writing, to a major overhaul, Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, said during a Senate debate Tuesday. |
| New panel won't usurp state ed board | |
| Legislation going to Gov. Phil Bryant will create a commission to make recommendations on academic standards to the state Board of Education but will not mandate changes to Mississippi's current Common Core standards. The House had passed language earlier in the session mandating that the nine-member constitutionally created state Board of Education enact 75 percent of the standards proposed by the commission. But the final agreement reached by House and Senate negotiators -- appointed to work out the differences in the positions of the two chambers -- did not include the mandate. The agreement passed by comfortable margins in both chambers Tuesday. |
| Anti-Common Core bill goes to governor | |
| The so-called anti-Common Core bill passed both chambers Tuesday, absent a controversial amendment that would have required the state Board of Education to adopt 75 percent of recommendations from a new commission. Senate Bill 2161 passed the Senate 87-29 and passed the House with only six no votes. It now heads to Gov. Phil Bryant for a signature. "This legislation will end Common Core and allow Mississippians to create strong academic standards that are among the highest in the nation," Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement immediately after the vote. Not everyone agreed. "This bill means nothing," said state Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville. "It's smoke and mirrors." |
| 'Legislature' files to dismiss ed initiative challenge | |
| The Legislature asked a Hinds County judge Monday to dismiss an Oxford mother's lawsuit against an alternative to the Initiative 42 ballot measure, but some lawmakers are opposing the move. Filing on behalf of the Legislature, Jackson-based attorney Michael Wallace asserted its right to intervene. He also cited nearly a dozen reasons, including improper venue, as to why it should be dismissed. Although the Legislature did not vote on taking such action, Wallace said Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn authorized the filing. Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd set a Thursday morning hearing. Adrian Shipman, who filed the lawsuit March 24, questioned whether Gunn and Reeves should be acting on behalf of the entire Legislature. |
| Bryant says he will sign public-hospital-transparency bill | |
| Gov. Phil Bryant said Tuesday he intends to go to the Coast to sign a sunshine bill designed to bring more transparency to the way publicly owned hospitals are run. The bill was filed in response to pension losses at Singing River Hospital in Jackson County. Financial problems existed for months before coming to light, largely because the board of the county-owned hospital routinely met in private. "It breaks my heart to know that you find yourself in this situation," Bryant, a Republican, told more than three dozen of the hospital's retirees and their relatives who traveled to the state Capitol to push for Senate Bill 2407. |
| Prisons chief would get power to fire, reassign workers | |
| Lawmakers are moving toward giving state Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher the power to reorganize his department and fire any employees without regard to civil service protections for one year beginning July 1. Senate Bill 2804 raised objections in the House, passing Tuesday by a relatively tight vote of 62-57. If senators pass the conference report as expected, the bill will move to Gov. Phil Bryant for his consideration. House and Senate negotiators stripped out earlier House-passed provisions that would have limited Fisher's power to only 100 central office employees and would have forced the department to pay guards overtime instead of using compensatory time. Fisher has said that, with shrinking prison numbers, he needs to transfer employees from prisons to community-based corrections positions. |
| Hal & Mal's owners to have first option to buy property | |
| Hal & Mal's owners will get the first option to purchase the iconic restaurant property at fair market price from the state under an agreement reached by lawmakers on a bill. Both the House and Senate adopted a conference report on House Bill 412 that will allow the sale of the property. The bill now goes to the governor for his signature. For more than 30 years, Hal & Mal's owner Malcolm White said the family has paid rent to the state and dreamed of buying the building that houses the downtown Jackson restaurant. The House bill, filed by state Rep. Tom Weathersby, R-Florence, said the goal is get the property back on the tax role in Jackson. |
| Seat vacant, but 1st District business continues | |
| Constituent services are still being offered throughout Mississippi's 1st District Congressional offices following the death of Congressman Alan Nunnelee and during a special election to fill his seat. As 13 candidates begin campaigning for the vacant seat left by Nunnelee's Feb. 6 death, constituents in the district can still visit any of the 1st District offices to receive case work, request general status updates on pending legislation or a number of other services offered. A spokesperson for the U.S. House of Representatives' Office of the Clerk said all staff members of the 1st District remain on the House payroll, which is under the supervision of the Clerk, until the conclusion of the May 12 special election. That goes for offices throughout the district in Tupelo, Columbus and Hernando, as well as the office in Washington, D.C. |
| Cochran praises Coast Guard cutter deal | |
| U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran praised the award of a $499.8 million contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. to produce an eighth National Security Cutter (NSC-8) for the U.S. Coast Guard. The award represents a modification of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security contract with the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, with a total potential value of $499,762,320. |
| Bobby Jindal shuffles staff, sends top aides to Iowa for possible 2016 run | |
 | While flirting with a run for president in 2016, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has made another shuffle among his upper staff --- just days before the start of the last legislative session of his final term in office here. Leaving the Governor's Office are Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Teepell and Legislative Affairs director Matt Parker. The Des Moines Register reports that Teepell and Parker are relocating to Iowa to help build a team there if Jindal runs for president. Jindal has said he won't announce a run until after the legislative session ends in June, but he's made frequent trips to Iowa and other important early primary states. |
| Teen who bit head off hamster withdrawn from Ole Miss | |
| The family of a Madison teen who is seen in a spring break video biting the head off a hamster has withdrawn him from enrollment at the University of Mississippi. The grainy spring break video is allegedly Brady Eaves, 18, who was identified as a Phi Delta Theta from Ole Miss. On Tuesday, Phi Delt issued a statement that Eaves has been removed from the fraternity. Eaves is the stepson of one-time Mississippi Governor candidate John Arthur Eaves Jr. John and Angel Eaves released a statement late Tuesday confirming they had withdrawn Brady from school in order to have his behavior professionally assessed. Officials confirmed that Eaves was a student at the University of Mississippi this semester. "University officials were recently made aware of this spring break video and we are actively investigating," said Dr. Brandi Hephner LaBanc, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. " |
| Dining services at UM explores new campus restaurant options | |
 | Ole Miss Dining Services has begun a search for future eateries to add to campus. In order to generate an engagement with students on social media and investigate on how familiar they are with certain new brands that have popped up in their search, Ole Miss Dining sent a poll to students over spring break allowing them to vote on one of three restaurants: Mooyah Burgers, Au Bon Pain and Steak n' Shake. The use of the poll and social media was a strategy for Ole Miss Dining Services to gather not only which foods students prefer but also what type of brands they recognize, according to Richard Bradley, marketing manager for Ole Miss Dining Services. "When we explore new possible brands, we are looking at about three years in the future," Bradley said. The result of this strategy was a mix of confusion and excitement. |
| Jones' firing raises question: Why are CEOs fired? | |
| When corporations miss their marks, boards don't fire CEOs in 89 percent of cases, research shows. That's because the blame goes elsewhere, said Lt. Col. John A. Martin, professor of management at the U.S. Air Force Academy, co-author of a 2014 research report. Former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale listened last week to Alan Perry, vice president of the state College Board, outline the reasons that the board decided against renewing the contract of Dan Jones as chancellor of the University of Mississippi. "You don't fire the CEO for the reasons they cited," remarked Barksdale, who has contributed millions to both Ole Miss and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Martin said, in deciding to fire, boards rely on both "hard information," which can be measured, and "soft information," which is difficult to measure. |
| MUW rated 'Best Value' in state in recent study | |
 | As Mississippi University for Women begins its search for a new president, a new study on affordable education suggests the job should be appealing to candidates for the position. A recent study by financial data and technology company, Smart Asset, ranks The W as the "Best Value" among colleges and universities in the state. Smart Asset evaluated the nation's colleges and universities in four areas -- tuition costs, scholarships/grants awarded, cost of living and starting salary upon graduation -- to calculate a College Education Affordability Index. The W's strong showing in the study comes as the first steps are being taken to find a successor Dr. Jim Borsig, who will officially leave MUW to becoming Commissioner of Mississippi's Institutions for Higher Learning on April 15. Borsig, MUW's 14th President, was selected to take over as IHL Commissioner last month after three years at The W. |
| MUW Taps Alumni Award Winners | |
| Four deserving individuals were recognized for contributions to their respective career fields and Mississippi University for Women by the MUW Alumni Association during the university's recent Homecoming festivities. The award winners are Sandra Paschal Polanski of Jackson, James Allen of Columbus, Beverly Koch Jones of Starkville and Rebecca Rogers of Memphis, Tenn. The announcement was made at The W's Homecoming Convocation Saturday. |
| Meridian Community College partners with The W | |
 | Meridian Community College's Culinary Arts Program has proven to be a widely sought-after curriculum, drawing not only local students but also those from out of town. And a new partnership formed Tuesday between MCC and The W University is destined to make the program even stronger for current and future culinary students, according to An Howard, an instructor for the program. "We're trying to create partnerships and pathways for our students to continue their education," Howard said. "This articulation with The W is incredibly important because it gives our students the option to move forward and pursue a bachelor's degree, and also with this articulation we have been funded a grant." |
| Delta State aviation chair weighs in on Germanwings crash | |
 | In light of recent events involving the deliberate crashing of the Germanwings airplane, questions have arisen regarding policies and procedures in place to make sure that anyone who is flying a plane is qualified, physically and mentally, to operate an aircraft. Since Delta State University is the only school in Mississippi offering a degree in aviation, Dr. Julie Speakes, chair of the Department of Commercial Aviation, said, "We require that students maintain a second level medical exam which they would have to have to fly commercial." |
| U. of Alabama wins Hoverbowl Challenge | |
 | The University of Alabama on Saturday claimed bragging rights over Auburn University in the University Hoverbowl Challenge. UA's team had 160.67 points, topping AU's 140.33. The Hoverbowl Challenge was held Saturday at Lake Lurleen State Park in Coker. The teams built their own hovercrafts, amphibious vehicles that ride on a small cushion of air capable of traveling over most relatively smooth surfaces. The team raced the vehicles in a series of three heats. UA's team this year raised almost $10,000 through grant proposals and donations, including a $2,700 outreach grant from the Alabama Space Grant Consortium. |
| Auburn alumnus, bestselling author Ace Atkins to speak Thursday | |
 | New York Times bestselling author and journalist Ace Atkins will deliver the Graduate School's New Horizons Lecture at 2 p.m. Thursday in Auburn University's Foy Hall Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public. Atkins' lecture, "From Notebook to New York Times Bestseller: The Journey of a Novelist," will chronicle his rise from working as a newspaper reporter in Florida to being one of the top crime novelists in the industry. "Ace's story is undoubtedly one of hard work, determination and success," Graduate School Dean George Flowers said. "We look forward to hearing more about Ace's journey and the shining example it provides for Auburn students." |
| OLLI at Auburn celebrates 25 years of lifelong learning | |
| Terry Ley stood in front of a crowd at the Auburn University Alumni Center Tuesday afternoon and recited a passage from author T.H. White's "The Once and Future King." "The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is one thing that never fails," Ley read. Ley, along with other members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Auburn University, a program of Auburn University Outreach, gathered Tuesday to celebrate OLLI's 25 th anniversary of offering continuing education opportunities geared toward retired adults ages 50 and older in the Auburn area. Propelled by the idea that learning should continue throughout life, OLLI members can enroll in volunteer-led academic courses, participate in health and exercise activities and attend social events. |
| Faculty letter blasts Vanderbilt chancellor | |
 | A scathing letter condemning Vanderbilt University's top leader is circulating among faculty members, giving voice to concerns among professors about a "toxic organizational environment" and urging the school's Board of Trust to investigate the issues. The letter, which was sent on Vanderbilt letterhead and signed "Your concerned faculty colleagues," slams a number of initiatives championed by Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos, who has led the university for more than seven years. It accuses Zeppos and his administration of siphoning money away from academic work to bankroll other pursuits. In a statement, Beth Fortune, Vanderbilt's vice chancellor for public affairs, said Zeppos has invested in faculty growth and success. |
| U. of Florida takes part in AAU sex assault survey | |
 | The University of Florida is among nearly 30 public and private colleges or universities that begin an online survey this week to gauge campus climates on sexual assault, dating violence and other related issues. The survey coordinated by the Association of American Universities -- which represents 800,000 undergraduates, graduates and professional students across the country. This is expected to be the largest survey of its kind. "My hope is that we are going to get a really good participation rate, because the data we get will only enhance the great stuff we are already doing here," Dean of Students Jen Day Shaw said. |
| Developer seeks TIF financing to build tunnel from new apartments to U. of Kentucky campus | |
 | A Lexington developer is proposing to build a pedestrian tunnel underneath railroad tracks to connect a proposed housing development to the University of Kentucky. Dennis Anderson, president of Anderson Communities, who has several apartments in the area between South Broadway and South Limestone, is starting construction on a 40-unit apartment complex on Simpson Avenue. Anderson wants to use tax-increment financing to pay for most of the cost of the tunnel. Tax-increment financing uses new taxes generated from a development to pay for infrastructure costs. In this case, new taxes are projected to pay for $2.17 million of the $2.2 million price tag for building the underground tunnel. |
| Photojournalist, retired UGA journalism professor Dan Keever dies | |
 | Former students and colleagues are mourning the death this weekend of Dan Keever, who spent more than four decades in the journalism -- 33 years as a photojournalist with Atlanta's WAGA-TV, and after that, more than 10 years as a University of Georgia faculty member. Keever passed away at his home Saturday, at the age of 73. A 1963 graduate of UGA's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Keever returned to his alma mater after retiring from the television station as the 2000s began. For more than a decade, students in digital and broadcast journalism learned the fundamentals of gathering news and telling stories from Keever. He was also the Grady facilities manager -- not only for telecommunications but for the entire college -- said professor Ann Hollifield. |
| Zachry Group donates $25 million to Texas A&M's Dwight Look College of Engineering | |
 | Texas A&M announced Tuesday morning that a longtime financial supporter of Aggieland -- the Zachry Group, a San Antonio-based construction and engineering company -- has made a $25 million gift to the Dwight Look College of Engineering. The project will renovate the 43-year-old, 350,000-square foot Zachry Engineering Center and expand to 550,000 square feet to become the hub of the college's undergraduate program. According to a university press release, the donation will support the construction of the Engineering Education Complex (EEC), establish the Zachry Leadership Program and the Zachry Group Professor of Practice position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Construction on the $168 million EEC project began in February. |
| Public locked out of forum with St. Louis County prosecutor at U. of Missouri | |
 | Hulston Hall's doors were locked as St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch spoke at the University of Missouri's School of Law Tuesday, with both the public and members of the media shut out of the forum because, as Dean Gary Myers said, registration had filled the room to capacity. "This was a student-initiated and student-sponsored event, and it was designed primarily to be for the law school audience," Myers said at a joint press conference with McCulloch and law student Ryan Nely after the event. Nely, a founding member of the student chapter of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, orchestrated McCulloch's appearance. McCulloch oversaw the grand jury process in the case against Darren Wilson, the former Ferguson police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9. |
| U. of Missouri Police Chief Jack Watring to leave department this week after 44 years | |
 | University of Missouri Police Department Chief Jack Watring is leaving his post Wednesday after 44 years with campus police. Watring's official retirement date is June 15, but he is using vacation time to cover the final weeks. Watring began his law enforcement career with the Missouri State Highway Patrol in 1958 before joining MU police in 1971. He worked for decades in the department, and Vice Chancellor Jackie Jones promoted him to chief in 2003. Watring said when he was promoted to chief thathis three goals were to make sure the department had the resources it needed, to keep the budget in line and to be a cheerleader for the department. Watring said he accomplished all of those during his time there. "I think I'm leaving the department in really good shape," he said. |
| Some college leaders are responding quickly to racist and sexist incidents | |
 | In the weeks since the University of Oklahoma campus was rocked by a video showing fraternity members there singing a racist song, several institutions have found themselves dealing with similar crises. And so far the responses of presidents have been noticeably swift, forceful and public. In years past, many such incidents led to pledges by college leaders to conduct investigations. This year, punishment hasn't been delayed. But the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has also expressed concern that due process rights are being violated when colleges like Oklahoma, Bucknell and Mary Washington move so quickly to punish students for offensive language. |
| Clemson students glad lawsuits break secrecy | |
 | At the bridge over the rock-filled lake where Clemson fraternity pledge Tucker Hipps died, his name is engraved in gold capital letters on a white cross topped by a flowered wreath. A mile away Tuesday, on the broad green meadow below the landmark Tillman Hall, students stroll, toss frisbees and play volleyball. Despite the idyllic scene, Hipps, who died last Sept. 22 at the age of 19 while on a controversial pre-dawn fraternity pledge run, is on the minds of many at Clemson these days. Official silence from both the university and law enforcement has surrounded Hipps' death until earlier this week, when two civil lawsuits were filed by his family seeking $50 million plus punitive damages from Clemson, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and three "brothers" who conducted the run. Those lawsuits contained numerous assertions about Hipps' death and, if true, reveal a subculture of bullying, extortion and verbal abuse in at least one Clemson fraternity, the now-suspended Sigma Phi Epsilon. |
| OUR VIEW: Finding good value in higher ed, MUW rises to the top | |
| The Dispatch editorializes: "This week, the financial data and technology firm, SmartAsset, released its study on the nation's colleges and universities that looks at which schools represented the best value in education. Of the seven Mississippi schools evaluated, Mississippi University for Women came out with the top score... Mississippi State graduates, meanwhile, earn the most upon graduation... All of our state schools offer comparative low tuitions, which is a testament to the our universities' commitment to conservative fiscal policies. As one of the poorest states in the country, there exists a real danger of pricing Mississippi students out of the higher education market." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State softball aiming for Top 16 finish in RPI | |
| Things are shaping up nicely for a very important 20-game stretch of the Mississippi State softball team. MSU continues to nibble at the edges of the national rankings. The Ratings Percentage Index figures also remain strong. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 23 in the latest RPI released Monday by the NCAA. MSU then backed that ranking by knocking off Lipscomb 1-0 Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup at Draper Field in Nashville. MSU improved to 26-10 overall with the win. The Bulldogs presently have 17 games left on the schedule after Tuesday's makeup. As many as three more games could be added to enhance MSU's ranking and to get the team back out to the maximum number of 56 games allowed by the NCAA. |
| Mississippi State women's golf ranked No. 2 | |
| After a compelling regular season finale, the Mississippi State women's golf team finished regular season play ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to birdiefire.com. Just a few days removed from the LSU Tiger Classic, the Bulldogs chipped their way to a second-place finish with a three-day total of 884, while three players placed in the Top 10. "We have a great team, and I'm very proud of them," coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said. "We can't focus on rankings. We have to keep focus on the SEC Tournament coming up and perform well like we have been all season." Next stop for Mississippi State is the SEC Championships in Birmingham, April 17-19. |
| Mississippi State women's golf ends season ranked No. 2 | |
| Mississippi State women's golf team finished the regular season ranked No. 2 nationally, according to birdiefire.com "We have a great team, and I'm very proud of them," coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said. The Bulldogs have finished in the Top 10 of every tournament this season. Mississippi State won two tournaments, including the Schooner Fall Classic and the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational in consecutive weeks. |
| Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians named honorable mention AP All-American | |
| Victoria Vivians closed her first year at Mississippi State with an All-American honor on Tuesday. The freshman was named an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention. The national recognition comes after Vivians earned second team All-SEC by the Associated Press and the league coaches. Vivians is MSU's first All-American since Alexis Rack in 2010 and the program's first Associated Press honoree since Tan White in 2005. |
| Mississippi State alters rotation with eye on South Carolina series | |
| With his eyes on a Southeastern Conference series against South Carolina, Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen hinted Sunday afternoon at a shakeup of the Bulldogs' weekend pitching rotation. "We really have a set schedule," said Cohen of his pitching staff. "With us playing Thursday, we may decide to throw Lucas Laster in that game to keep everybody else on their same schedule." The probable start by Laster on Thursday will allow Cohen and pitching coach Butch Thompson to keep MSU's regular weekend rotation of Friday night starter Preston Brown and Saturday stalwart Austin Sexton on schedule. Cohen didn't elaborate on the possible role of Sunday starter Vance Tatum for the South Carolina series. |
| Mississippi State falls in extra innings at South Alabama | |
| Ben Gann's RBI-double in the home half of the 11th inning lifted South Alabama to an 8-7 win over Mississippi State in a college baseball game played Tuesday night at Eddie Stanky Field. MSU built a 5-0 lead in the first inning. However, after South Alabama tied the contest 7 in the home half of the fifth inning, neither team scored until the Jaguars broke through the game-winner. "We had a five-run lead and Daniel Brown couldn't find the strike zone for us," MSU head coach John Cohen said. "Ross Mitchell comes in and throws well until the home run. That was a pivotal stretch of the game for us. I thought the kids competed tonight. We really had several chances to win the game." |
| Bulldogs well-stocked in backfield | |
| Most teams would be worried if a 1,000-yard running back decided to depart for the NFL a year early. But after Josh Robinson turned pro, Mississippi State has four running backs battling this spring to take his vacant spot in the backfield. Juniors Ashton Shumpert and Brandon Holloway have taken a majority of the first team reps so far this spring but are being pushed by a pair of redshirt freshmen, Aeris Williams and Dontavian Lee. "Aeris and I played on the same all-star team together (in high school) so we knew that we had to come in here and do something," Lee said. "We can't leave here unheard of. We've got a goal we're trying to reach and we've got to get there." |
| Mississippi State's Graham carries one-of-a-kind confidence to new position | |
| Jamoral Graham talks the talk better than most. As a true freshman, in Mississippi State's second game last season, he boarded the team bus in preparation for his first on-field experience at Davis Wade Stadium. Someone asked, "Are you ready for your first game?" Graham, without skipping a beat, replied, "Are you ready for my first touchdown?" He didn't find the endzone until the ninth game of the season against Tennessee-Martin. The 44-yard reception was his only score in 2014. The slow start hasn't deterred his confidence. "I'm athlete. An athlete's gonna be an athlete. I'm a baller in my head," Graham said. "I don't let anyone tell me I can't do this or I can't do that." The caveat this season is he'll have to score on the defensive side of the ball. Graham moves from wide receiver to cornerback in his second season at Mississippi State. |
| Tennessee basketball lands No. 1 target in former Texas coach Rick Barnes | |
 | Rick Barnes was on track to become the University of Tennessee's 20th men's basketball coach before the dust settled in Texas. The fired Longhorns coach, admittedly recharged by a change of scenery and his ouster from the position he held for 17 seasons, received a standing ovation from a packed Pratt Pavilion on Tuesday afternoon. Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart moved quickly to secure his No. 1 target, a 28-season head coaching veteran who he believes can bring success and stability to a program that welcomes its third coach in three seasons, its seventh in the past two decades. |
| Letter spells out terms of Alden's departure from U. of Missouri athletics | |
| Mike Alden is expected to officially hand the reins of Missouri's athletic department to new Athletic Director Mack Rhoades on April 27. The athletic department will continue to pay Alden his salary through Aug. 31 and allow him to collect incentives totaling more than $430,000 that he would have received had he stayed in his post until that date. The terms of his departure were spelled out in a letter from Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, dated March 9 and signed by both Loftin and Alden. It was obtained by a public records request. Alden was under contract through June 30, 2019, when he announced his intention to retire in January after nearly 17 years as AD. He will transition to a position in the College of Education. |
| Supporters Work To Reclaim Legacy Of Penn State Coach Joe Paterno | |
 | The Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal rocked Penn State University in 2011, and the fallout from the case continues today. A series of lawsuits are ongoing and, now, a campaign is underway to restore the legacy of the university's former head football coach Joe Paterno. As the scandal became public Paterno fell from legendary football coach to someone accused of protecting a child molester. He was fired in a late-night phone call and then died two months later of complications from lung cancer. "People get a lot of guts to say certain things when someone is dead and can't defend themselves," says Jay Paterno, Joe Paterno's son. He's on a mission to correct what he views as a flawed public record of his father's legacy. A mixed legacy is not what Paterno supporters want. They point out Paterno won more games than any other college football coach and graduated a high percentage of his players. They credit Paterno for Penn State's transformation from a sleepy agricultural college to a respected university. |
| RICK CLEVELAND (OPINION): Gallagher a natural for talking golf on TV | |
 | Mississippi syndicated sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Jim Gallagher, Jr. of Greenwood, who just turned 54, has made the successful transition from playing golf for a living to commenting about golf on television. The least surprised people of all are his family, especially his wife, Cissye. 'For years it's been the same way at our house,' Cissye says. ...Now, Gallagher does commentary for Golf Channel. ...He's a natural on TV. ...In a couple weeks, during The Masters, he can tell you what it's like for a rookie to tee it up for the first time at Augusta National. He's done that, too." |
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