| Thursday, April 2, 2015 |
| Mississippi State Hosts Annual Special Olympics Event | |
 | Dozens of people came out to attend an annual sporting event Wednesday morning for people with special needs. Hosted at Mississippi State's Maddox Track Complex, the Special Olympics kicked off with a torch carrying ceremony. Games included the long jump, 100 yard dash and the shot put. Student athletes from all over the Golden Triangle and MSU volunteered to facilitate the competition. Organizers say the Special Olympic games give participants a chance to display their athletic gifts. |
| PHOTO: MSU-Meridian student interns set to graduate | |
 | Four MSU-Meridian student interns took a moment to pose for a photo at Poplar Springs Elementary School with their mentor teachers. In their last semester at the university, the students are scheduled to graduate in May. MSU-Meridian has 32 student interns presently in 10 school districts throughout east Mississippi. Pictured from left are: Beverly Gallion, second grade teacher; student intern Duanika Emerson of Clarkdale; student intern Janiqua Merrill of Newton; and Cristi Clark, second grade teacher; student intern Gina Hasson of Meridian; and Shelley Whittington, kindergarten teacher; and Catherine Moore, third grade teacher and student intern Jessica Jarman of Meridian. |
| Downtown Booneville being examined by consultants | |
 | Brad and Tiffany Franks are interested in opening a business in a downtown Booneville building. What downtown offers now and what it could offer in the future is up for discussion. "We can help the town start making decisions and prioritizing future efforts," said Stennis Institute Project Director Dr. Joe Fratesi. That effort begins with a group of Mississippi State University students who are participating in a Stennis Institute study of Booneville's downtown. |
| Three Arrested For Auto Burglary On MSU Campus | |
| Three people, including a juvenile, were arrested in connection with an auto burglary on the Mississippi State campus. MSU police say Dontea Tate, 18, and Antonio Bardwell, 21, are facing various charges, including auto burglary. The underage suspect's name isn't being released. Campus officers caught the three looking in vehicles in a parking lot, according to a university press release. A traffic stop led to their arrests. The trio have no connection with MSU. |
| Churches join to tell Good Friday story: Stations of the Cross returns for journey through town | |
 | The Biblical account of Good Friday begins with Jesus being condemned to death and ends with Jesus being laid in a tomb. Eleven Starkville churches will come together on Friday morning to tell the story of Jesus' last day. The Stations of the Cross will begin at 9 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church and end at St. Joseph Catholic Church about an hour later, weaving through town and stopping at several other churches along the way. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Officials turn dirt on long-awaited Lynn Lane path in Starkville | |
 | Officials hailed the launch of construction efforts associated with a transformative Lynn Lane pedestrian and bike path as the epitome of civic tenacity and the power of grassroots volunteerism. Various city and state representatives ceremoniously turned dirt and formally dedicated the 1.7-mile, $1.2 million project Tuesday, which will connect a Starkville Parks and Recreation hub -- McKee Park and the Sportsplex -- to Locksley Way. The corridor is expected to provide a south Starkville connection to Mississippi State University in the future, while current infrastructure connects residential areas and apartment complexes to Starkville High School, Starkville Academy and Starkville Christian School. The Lynn Lane connection to the Sportsplex is expected to see a high volume of usage, as the park serves as a city-campus connecting stop in the Starkville-MSU Area Rapid Transit system. |
| Bryant approves Starkville-Oktibbeha school debt-sharing bill | |
| Gov. Phil Bryant approved a bill Tuesday that creates a single countywide taxing authority and balances debt payments of the former Oktibbeha County School District and the former Starkville School District after the two systems' July 1 merger. As concurred by both the Mississippi House and Senate, HB 572 creates the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's countywide tax base -- all taxable property within the entire county -- and states both former systems' outstanding debt "shall be assumed and become debt" of the newly formed district when they consolidate. "The county will help pay for ours, and we will pay for theirs," said SSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway last week. Holloway will become the consolidated school system's superintendent July 1. "It's the right thing to do," he said. |
| Starkville High educator among teacher of the year finalists | |
| A Golden Triangle educator is among four finalists for the Mississippi 2015 Teacher of the Year award. Ginger Tedder, an economics and U.S. history teacher at Starkville High School, has been declared a finalist for the award, given out by the Mississippi Department of Education and the Mississippi Teacher Center. SHS principal David Baggett said Tedder stands out in the classroom and has also played an instrumental role in helping Starkville prepare for its consolidation with Oktibbeha County Schools. Tedder, in her fourth year at SHS, brought all the clubs and teams from SHS to the campuses of East and West Oktibbeha high schools to allow future classmates to learn about extra-curricular activities they will have access to next year when the districts join. |
| Starkville police investigate carjacking/sexual assault | |
| Starkville police say a meeting arranged through an online site has turned into an investigation into a carjacking and sexual assault. Investigators say around 8:15 Tuesday night, the female victim was contacted on backpage.com by a man wanting to meet her in Starkville for sex. The victim arrived at an undisclosed location. Police say the man then pulled a handgun, took control of her car and raped her. The woman later managed to jump out of the moving vehicle and the man drove away. No arrest has been made in connection with the case. |
| Nissan gets second-best ever U.S. sales month | |
 | Nissan's U.S. division capped its best fiscal year ever with its second-best U.S. sales month ever. The Nissan and Infiniti groups sold just under 1.4 million units in fiscal 2014, up 9.9 percent over the prior year. In March, the company sold 145,085 units, second to March 2014, when 149,136 units sold. In a news release accompanying the sales figures, Fred Diaz, senior vice president of U.S. sales and marketing, attributed the numbers to the midsize SUV Rogue, which had its best month ever. The Murano was the best-performing model assembled at the company's 12-year-old manufacturing assembly in Canton. It combined with the Armada, Frontier and Titan -- all built in Canton -- to lead Nissan to its best-ever month for truck sales. |
| Bombshell at Walnut Grove hearing: State breaks decree | |
| The Mississippi Department of Corrections reneged on a five-year agreement it had made with plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit over violence at Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, an unprecedented move that raises legal questions and leaves inmates without court-ordered protections. The bombshell announcement came at the end of the first day of a three-day federal court hearing to determine whether MDOC had been violating the terms of the agreement, called a consent decree. |
| 2015 session officially concludes | |
 | The Mississippi House wasted little time Thursday morning finishing its agenda and concluding the 2015 legislative session. On Thursday, in close votes, the House passed legislation that imposes penalties on school administrators if their schools cheat on standardized tests and a bill that removes civil service protection for the Department of Corrections. The Senate had finished its work on Wednesday. In the meantime, many legislators will have to go immediately into campaign mode for this summer's party primaries and the November general election. |
| Bryant says he might not sign Common Core bill | |
| After all the debate over Common Core this legislative session, Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday he may not sign the final "anti-Common Core" bill lawmakers passed, because he's unsure it would accomplish anything. "It appears to me to just be another committee, that the Department of Education could look at what they recommend and just reject," Bryant said. He said he's been pushing to have fewer boards and commissions in state government, not more. He said he plans to parse the bill closely before making a decision. |
| Congressional candidates receive backing | |
| Two candidates running for Mississippi's 1st District Congressional seat received endorsements this week from national groups and organizations. Dr. Starner Jones was endorsed by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Jones is a Pontotoc native and emergency room physician in Memphis. Trent Kelly was endorsed by VetsStrong Political Action Committee. Kelly was endorsed earlier in the campaign by the Combat Veterans for Congress Political Action Committee. |
| Why Obama chose the Iran talks to take one of his presidency's biggest risks | |
 | Much of President Obama's foreign policy agenda has been foisted upon him during his six years in office. He inherited two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, neither of which he's been able to end. He's had to react to chaos in the Middle East and a Russian incursion in Ukraine. The negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are a different matter. They are Obama's choice, and he's fought to keep them moving since the beginning of his presidency despite setbacks and second-guessing from Republicans, fellow Democrats and longtime foreign allies. The president's decision to keep negotiating reflects both the importance he has placed on the talks and his particular view of how American leadership, persistence and engagement with enemies can change the world. |
| John Boehner in Israel: 'The world is on fire' | |
 | John Boehner thinks the "world is on fire." And America isn't doing nearly enough to stamp it out. The House speaker's decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress last month sparked criticism that Boehner was inappropriately injecting himself into foreign affairs and antagonizing President Barack Obama. But just hours after a friendly return visit with Netanyahu on Wednesday, Boehner made clear in an interview with POLITICO here he's not backing down and will remain firmly engaged in the nation's foreign policy. t's quite a shift for Boehner, the nation's top elected Republican, who is second in line to the presidency. He came to power envisioning shrinking government and slashing budgets, but foreign policy has emerged as a central element of his legacy. |
| U.S. establishes sanctions program to combat cyberattacks, cyberspying | |
| President Obama on Wednesday signed an executive order establishing the first sanctions program to allow the administration to impose penalties on individuals overseas who engage in destructive attacks or commercial espionage in cyberspace. The move expands the set of legal tools available to the administration to punish and deter activities including the theft of large quantities of credit card data, espionage conducted for commercial gain and cyberattacks aimed at damaging critical computer systems. Analysts said the executive order is a significant step by the administration. "This is a problem that we clearly as a nation have struggled to wrap our arms around. The more tools we have at our disposal, the better," said Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser at the Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence who now is the executive director of NYU's Center on Law and Security. |
| U.S. Manufacturing Slows for Fifth Straight Month, Report Says | |
 | U.S. manufacturers stumbled to close out the first quarter amid a tough winter and the rising dollar, but economists believe the sector will rebound during the spring along with the broader economy. The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said its purchasing managers index fell for the fifth consecutive month in March, to 51.5 from 52.9 in February. The index is at its lowest reading since May 2013, though it's still above the 50 level that reflects expansion. Manufacturers mentioned a variety of issues that hampered activity last month. |
| Report Sees Religions Growing and Shifting in Next Few Decades | |
 | Christianity has long been the world's largest religion by far, but the population of Muslims is growing so fast that they will match Christians by the year 2070 and outnumber them by the end of the century, according to a report released Thursday that projects the global religious future. The report, from the Pew Research Center, projects a vibrantly religious planet, not the withering away of religion predicted by some futurists. The reason is not that religious groups will win significantly more converts, but simply that religious adherents are younger and have more children than secular people. In the United States, the spread of secularism will probably continue: Those who claim no religion will make up about a quarter of the population by 2050 -- an increase from 16 percent in 2010. |
| iPhone Killer: The Secret History of the Apple Watch | |
 | Kevin Lynch accepted a job offer from Apple. Funny thing about the offer: It didn't say what he would be doing. So intense is Apple's secrecy that all Lynch knew was his vague title, vice president of technology, and that he'd be working on something completely new. It was odd that Apple even offered him a job. During his eight years at Adobe, most recently as chief technology officer, he was best known as the only person dumb enough to publicly fight Steve Jobs over the iPhone's lack of support for Flash videos. When he showed up at 1 Infinite Loop on his first day, he was instructed to skip the usual new-employee orientation. As soon as he walked into the studio, he found out the project he'd been hired to run was already on deadline. The expectations were clear: Apple's senior vice president of design, Jony Ive, had tasked them with creating a revolutionary device that could be worn on the wrist. |
| Children's book festival set for Southern Miss | |
 | Fans of children's literature will enjoy an upcoming book festival that brings the brightest of the children's literary world to the University of Southern Mississippi. The Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival runs April 8-10 and includes the Ezra Jack Keats Book awards ceremony. "We have authors coming from all over the country," said Ellen Ruffin, curator of the university's de Grummond Children's Literature Collection. "They are the best of the best, and they will present to an audience of 500." Ruffin said Southern Miss is the perfect place to host a children's literature festival. "The university has a unique relationship to children's literature, starting with the de Grummond collection," she said. " |
| Southern Miss holds graduate student appreciation week | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi will pay special tribute to its graduate students with a variety of activities tied to Graduate Student Appreciation Week April 6-10 on the Hattiesburg campus. Held in conjunction with national Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week, Southern Miss is devoting an entire week in honor of graduate students for the first time. "The Graduate School is sponsoring this event to show our graduate students how much we value them," said Dr. Karen Coats, dean of the Southern Miss Graduate School. |
| Distinguished MUW alumni, friends honored at Homecoming | |
| 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. The announcement was made at The W's Homecoming Convocation on Saturday. "Our Alumni Achievement Award recipients have distinguished themselves in their careers and service to the community and the university. It is with great pride that we honor them during our homecoming celebration," said Jenny Katool, MUWAA president. |
| Jackson State students stage sit-in over campus police incident | |
| Hundreds of students staged a sit-in at Jackson State University's dining hall Wednesday to show support for a fellow student they said was treated unfairly arrested by campus police. The initial incident occurred Sunday evening when a student purchased a meal just as the cafeteria was preparing to close, Assistant Chief of Campus Security Lindsey Horton said. "The entire incident would not have occurred had the student had the time to consume his meal," Horton said. "Frustration led him to act out in a disorderly fashion to the extent the officer felt he needed to make an arrest for the safety of those around them." Jackson State spokesperson Olivia Goodheart said the student-based food service committee was looking into adjusting its policy regarding a time limit in the cafeteria. |
| Tougaloo College students concerned after car fire set | |
| Tougaloo College students held a protest on campus Wednesday over campus safety a vehicle was set on fire Tuesday. Students said they are worried about security after witnesses said a man set a vehicle on fire then fled. Flames spread from the vehicle to at least other. Witnesses said the man who set the fire was not supposed to be on campus, WAPT reported. President Beverly Hogan confirmed that the man is no longer a student at Tougaloo. "Campus security believe they knew who did it and it's been reported to authorities," Hogan said. "An arrest is pending." |
| Itawamba Community College students meet author of 'Ghostly Shade of Pale' | |
| English students at Itawamba Community College's Tupelo campus came face-to-face with the author of their required texts for the semester, as local author Merle Temple spoke to them about his debut novel, "A Ghostly Shade of Pale," Wednesday afternoon. "It's the best read I've had in a while," said freshman student Benton Davis. "He's an interesting guy, and you learn a lot about him through his stories." "Ghostly" draws from Temple's real-life experience as an undercover investigator with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics in the 1970s. Released in 2013, Temple said the novel quickly gained momentum on the book scene, even catching Hollywood's attention. Temple regaled the students with stories from his investigator days, as well as the harrows of navigating success, both requiring him to stick to his guns. |
| Bonner: Next U. of Alabama president to help search for provost | |
 | The search for the next provost at the University of Alabama will be put on hold to allow the institution's next president, the subject of another ongoing search, to have a role in the process. UA President Judy Bonner made the announcement Wednesday during the spring faculty and staff meeting at the Bryant Conference Center on campus. In December, Bonner announced plans to step down by the end of September and return to teaching after a yearlong sabbatical. A 24-member search committee assisted by consultant Ann Die Hasselmo of the Washington, D.C.-based firm Academic Search Inc. is working to identify candidates for her successor. The university was simultaneously looking for a replacement for interim Provost Joe Benson, who is retiring. Bonner said her replacement will restart the search for Benson's replacement. |
| Anonymous faculty letter criticizes Vanderbilt U. chancellor | |
 | Whoever sent a letter to faculty members at Vanderbilt University criticizing the leadership of Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos was dedicated: rather than a mass email, professors across campus each received a printed copy of the memo in their mailboxes one morning last week, urging them to take action to restore shared governance. Beyond that, though, there's little public agreement among professors over whether the anonymous critics are heroes or cowards, spot-on in their arguments or wholly off base. Among those more specific complaints is that Zeppos has created "a toxic organizational environment marked by fear and retribution for faculty and administrators who challenge the decision making of his central administration." |
| U. of Tennessee adds solar panels as teaching, research tool | |
 | A new teaching and research tool at the University of Tennessee is on top of the 11th Street Garage. Recently installed solar panels will supply power to the campus electric grid as well as to vehicle charging stations in the garage and to UT laboratories for teaching and research, said Leon Tolbert, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Those students could develop solar technologies of the future, said Stacey Patterson, associate vice president for research for the UT system. |
| TOPS revamp to usher in separate bill allowing Louisiana universities, not lawmakers, to set tuition | |
 | The proposed revamp of TOPS, the state's popular tuition-paying program, will lead to another bill that would allow university administrators, rather than legislators, to set the price of tuition. Legislation to give universities authority to set the tuition rates will be filed in a few days, state Sen. Jack Donahue announced Wednesday at a news conference lauding a different measure: one that would set a ceiling on the annual stipend, which legislators would have to vote each year to raise, meaning some parents and students may eventually have to pay some portion if tuition rises but the TOPS award does not. Senate Bill 48, which is supported by the widow of the TOPS founder and by the Board of Regents, sets the stage by effectively decoupling the award from the amount of tuition. |
| Habitat home built outside UGA's Russell Library to celebrate archives acquisition | |
 | Board by board, Kim Arnold watched her new house rise from the ground. Soon, she'll help take it down. There's no problem with the house itself, nor even with the location, although the front lawn of the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library on the University of Georgia campus might seem an idyllic place to situate a home. Volunteers built the home to add a symbolic dash of pageantry while celebrating the library's acquisition of Habitat for Humanity International's archives from the last 40 years. The sweat-equity global nonprofit donated to the library the documents, which tell the story of the organization's work since it was founded in Georgia in 1976. The library will preserve them as an exhibit for interested museum visitors as well as an invaluable asset for students researching affordable housing topics. |
| Texas A&M makes bid to host presidential debate | |
 | The Commission on Presidential Debates released the list of applicants to host a 2016 general election debate Wednesday. Texas A&M University and 15 other locations, including two sites in Texas, submitted bids for the March 31 deadline. In addition to A&M, the Texas applicants are the city of McAllen and Houston Community College. |
| LSU's Kurpius chosen as next dean of Missouri School of Journalism | |
 | A new dean has been chosen to lead the Missouri School of Journalism. MU is expected to announce Thursday morning that finalist David Kurpius has been selected for the position, sources confirmed. Kurpius is associate vice chancellor for enrollment management and a professor in the Manship School of Mass Communications at Louisiana State University. Former LSU Chancellor Michael Martin described Kurpius as an approachable, engaging leader who brings new energy into any environment. Martin was impressed with how Kurpius handled new roles in different departments while staying committed to his students and promoting the entire university. |
| U. of Missouri surprises three of five Kemper fellows | |
 | Nicole Monnier's students gave her a standing ovation after University of Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin interrupted her class Wednesday to name her as a 2015 William T. Kemper fellow. The chancellor surprised three of the five winners of the Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence Wednesday afternoon. The final two recipients will be announced Thursday and Friday. "I wouldn't be here if not for the students," Monnier, associate teaching professor of Russian, said after pausing a video of a symphony that she was showing her class. Monnier, like the other recipients, fought back tears when presented with the honor -- and $10,000. |
| At Duke University, a noose hanging from tree makes some question school's elite status | |
 | Duke University officials are trying to determine who hung a rope noose from a tree Wednesday as the North Carolina school's president denounced the racist symbol and students reacted with campus protests. Officials say the noose was found about 2 a.m. in the plaza outside the Bryan Center, the student commons building. A noose is considered a particularly vicious symbol in a Southern region where lynchings were once used to terrorize black residents. Duke President Richard Brodhead told a crowd of several thousand gathered Wednesday in front of the university's Gothic chapel building that their presence was a rejection of that symbol. And he said that while administrators and campus police investigate who displayed the noose and why, it is up to each individual to reject racism. |
| Matthew McConaughey's pricey commencement speaker fee 'not out of the norm' | |
| After first trying to keep the deal a secret, the University of Houston admitted this week that it is paying Matthew McConaughey $135,000 -- plus travel and a fee to a booking agent -- to speak at its May commencement As both a celebrity and an alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin, McConaughey was quite a coup for Houston. The university first said it could not detail how expensive a lure it used to hook the actor, due to a confidentially agreement with the booking agency, which argued that the news might prompt "unfair negatives online." After a month of pressure from The Houston Chronicle, the university released the information. The agency's fears of negative publicity may have been founded, with the news setting off a wave of criticism and snark this week online. |
| Nearly 600 held hostage, at least 21 dead in attack on university in Kenya | |
 | Armed gunmen stormed a university in northern Kenya on Thursday, taking nearly 600 students and staff members hostage. At least 21 were killed and another 65 seriously wounded, officials said. Heavy gunfire was reported at the Garissa University campus as the Kenyan military tried to end the siege. The Somali-based al-Shabab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. enya Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said 533 students are being held hostage and 282 have been rescued. The total number of students at the school is 815. Sixty staff members, including the principal, are also being held. |
| SLIM SMITH (OPINION): Harrell leaves a legacy of love and laughter | |
| The Dispatch's Slim Smith writes: "Less than 24 hours after Robert Harrell's unexpected death, his family has gathered Tuesday in the home where he raised his seven children next to Old Waverly Golf Club. In the preceding hours, there have been tears and there will be more tears to come, but there is none of that now. They have gathered to tell stories about Harrell, 77, who died Monday evening. ... He was a man who loved lavishly. In no particular order, he loved building things (like his father, Robert was in the construction business, his last big project was building Old Waverly Golf Club on land he sold to his brother-in-law, George Bryan), being outdoors, traveling, Coca-Colas, Canadian Mist whiskey, the West Point Rotary Club, his church family at First United Methodist, Mississippi State athletics (he graduated with a degree in engineering from MSU in 1959), the city of West Point (where he lived all his life), traveling the world and math, a subject that never ceased to fascinate him. But mostly he loved people..." |
| BRIAN PERRY (OPINION): Election season in Mississippi just got busier | |
 | Jackson-based consultant and columnist Brian Perry writes: "This year's election season in Mississippi just got busier. We have the regular elections of county officials: more than 3,500 candidates total across the state. We have 125 candidates running for statewide or district offices (including district attorneys). We have more than 354 candidates running for the legislature. Many of those will be trimmed out after the August 4 primaries. Following the passing of Congressman Alan Nunnelee earlier this year, we have the special election for the First Congressional District seat with 13 candidates qualified. (That election is May 12 with an expected run-off on June 2). And now we will have seven new judicial seats open for election with a qualifying deadline on June 1 and election during the regular November general election. The new judicial seats are the result of legislation (HB703) agreed to in conference committees last weekend." |
| SID SALTER (OPINION): Yellowhammernews.com had top April Fools' Day stunt | |
| Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "In my days in the newspaper business, I always enjoyed April Fools' Day editions. Perhaps my best effort came in the early 1990s -- during the height of President Bill Clinton's administration -- when I outed Forest resident Doris Mowrey as one of the former Arkansas governor's 'lovers.' ...The readers ate it up, and no one had more fun with the April Fools' joke than did Doris Mowrey -- who was a happily married, white-haired, retired lady who was a friend of mine from the Forest United Methodist Church choir. ...But in recent memory, no news outlet has pulled a better April Fools' Day story than did the popular website Yellowhammernews.com over in Birmingham." |
SPORTS
| Laster tabbed for first SEC start when Bulldogs host Gamecocks | |
| Having lost 12 of their last 18 games, members of Mississippi State's baseball team enter this weekend's Southeastern Conference series against South Carolina in need of a shakeup. Coach John Cohen is using a hiccup in the Bulldogs' schedule to give them one. That's where senior pitcher Lucas Laster comes in. Laster, a lefthander who leads MSU's starting pitchers with a 2.65 earned run average, will make the first start of his career tonight in the series opener. He steps in for MSU's normal Friday night pitcher, Preston Brown, who could remain on schedule for his weekly Friday start with Laster taking the mound in Game 1. For Laster, the opportunity is a dream come true. |
| Mississippi State hopes inconsistent hitting is a thing of the past | |
| Bats were constantly in motion at Dudy Noble Field on Wednesday. Wes Rea took cuts at a punching bag hanging in the first base dugout. Three of his teammates hit off a tee into nets in front of the backstop. This all went on while a group of Mississippi State players waited for their turn for a few hacks in the batting cage on home plate. "What we're trying to do is look at the quality of their swing at that time," MSU coach John Cohen said. "And see how productive they are. You can hit nine line drives in a row and hit .000." The swings were in preparation for MSU's three-game series against South Carolina starting Thursday. |
| Mississippi State's Cutura named SEC Men's Tennis Player of the Week | |
| After a 3-0 week on the singles court that increased his winning streak to six matches and his Southeastern Conference record to a league-best 6-0, Mississippi State junior Mate Cutura has been named SEC Player of the Week, the league announced Wednesday. Cutura put together three wins on the week, helping MSU capture victories against No. 13 Ole Miss (4-1), No. 52 Tennessee (4-3) and Kentucky (4-3). His play has MSU at 15-5 and 6-2 in the SEC, currently putting the Bulldogs at third in the league. Cutura and the 26th-ranked Bulldogs return to action at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre this weekend, hosting No. 6 Georgia and No. 45 South Carolina. |
| West Point getting another golf course | |
| The earth is being moved, the fairways are being shaped, and the greens are....not so green yet. Ground broke last week on Mississippi's newest golf course, Mossy Oak Golf Club in West Point. The course is the vision of Old Waverly founder George Bryan and Toxey Haas, the West Point native and creator of Mossy Oak brand camofluage. "Mossy Oak is a little different concept," Bryan said. "It's about nature's golf, we're going to be working with the landscape -- the trees, the native grasses." The Mossy Oak property will also feature a state of the art practice facility, built exclusively for the Mississippi State golf team. "Recruiting-wise, it's going to be a huge asset," said MSU women's golf coach Ginger Brown-Lemm. |
| U. of South Carolina, Clemson say state law not needed to pay athletes | |
 | With plans to give more money to student-athletes to cover the full costs of attending school, South Carolina's biggest colleges said Wednesday they don't need a proposed state law that would pay football and basketball players. A Senate panel heard from ex-football players and college leaders, including USC athletics director Ray Tanner, about a bill that would require South Carolina's largest colleges to pay student-athletes up to $10,000 a year. Supporters of the proposal say they want student-athletes to share in the $11 billion-a-year college sports industry. But school officials said the plan would violate NCAA regulations if it becomes state law. "We'd either violate a state law or the NCAA," Tanner said after testifying. |
| Lexington, not U. of Kentucky, pays costs associated with rowdy crowds during and after NCAA games | |
 | While most of Lexington was glued to the University of Kentucky's closer-than-expected game against Notre Dame on Saturday, road crews were busy removing stop signs around the State Street corridor just off UK's campus. Removing and replacing road signs -- so revelers won't damage or steal them or get injured during after-game celebrations -- is just one of many expenses paid by Lexington taxpayers during March Madness and the Final Four. A final tally of how much UK's NCAA tournament run will cost the city -- including overtime for police, fire, streets and roads, and jail staff -- is not yet available. But during last year's tournament, the total price topped $150,000, city officials said last year. |
| Tennessee paid search firm $51,000 for help hiring basketball coach Rick Barnes | |
| Tennessee paid Collegiate Sports Associates $51,000 for the search firm's help in hiring new men's basketball coach Rick Barnes. That boils down to $12,750 every day the Vols were without a basketball coach. UT spokesman Jimmy Stanton confirmed the search firm costs to the News Sentinel in a text message Wednesday. UT announced the hire of the former Texas coach on Tuesday, four days after it fired former Vols coach Donnie Tyndall. UT believed Tyndall committed significant NCAA infractions while coaching at Southern Miss from April 2012 to April 2014, according to his termination letter. |
| What's Your College-Basketball Team Worth? | |
| Undefeated Kentucky is on the brink of one of the greatest seasons in college-basketball history -- but the Wildcats aren't even the most valuable team in their own state, according to an annual study. Louisville, which lost to Michigan State in the Elite Eight, remains the most valuable men's basketball program in the country, worth $367.4 million -- more than $50 million more than second-place Arizona -- according to a valuation by Ryan Brewer, an assistant professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus. Louisville benefits from a lucrative home arena, the KFC Yum! Center, and college basketball's most obsessed market. Louisville has had the country's highest TV ratings among metered markets in college-basketball programming for at least the last dozen years, according to ESPN data. Brewer noted, however, that the gap between first and second is shrinking. |
| Central Arkansas Group Asks NCAA for Division I Bowl at War Memorial | |
 | A group representing central Arkansas on Wednesday asked the NCAA to play a Division I football subdivision bowl at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock in December. "We think a college bowl game will be the perfect addition to the event schedule at War Memorial," Kevin Crass of Little Rock, the chairman of the War Memorial Stadium Commission, said in a press release announcing the application. "Arkansans love college football, and I have no doubt this game will be a success." If approved, the game would match teams from the Sun Belt Conference, which includes Arkansas State University at Jonesboro and the American Athletic Conference. |
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