| Wednesday, April 8, 2015 |
| Mississippi State Honors Outstanding Women at Annual Ceremony | |
 | Mississippi State took time out Tuesday to honor some outstanding women for their contributions on campus and in the community. The MSU President's Commission on the Status of Women presented its annual Outstanding Women and Student Leadership Awards. Each year the university selects notable women from the student body, faculty, staff and community. |
| Mississippi State Professor Part of Rare Archaeology Find | |
| Almost 6,000 years ago, the man was placed behind the woman with his arms around her body, and their legs were intertwined. They were buried. Why they were interred in this manner is not yet determined, but the international team that discovered them in Greece is still searching for answers, according to team member Michael Galaty, a Mississippi State University archaeologist. "This is unique in Greece, and we're analyzing the skeletons and bones to find out more about what was going on, how they died and why they may have been placed there," he said. |
| EXPRESS Yourself promotes artists with disabilities | |
 | The T.K. Martin Center, on the Mississippi State University campus, provides a way for Mississippians with the most severe disabilities to express themselves through art. The EXPRESS Yourself! artists, in collaboration with MSU's colleges of architecture, art and design and agriculture and life sciences, will present a one-night only art exhibit from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday in the Martha Lipsey Art Gallery at the T.K. Martin Center. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Mississippi Horse Park to host Lucky Dog barrel races this weekend | |
| Lucky Dog Productions will bring its barrel racing series to the Mississippi Horse Park this weekend. The event marks the second time this year the park's horse stalls will be sold out, according to Horse Park facility director Bricklee Miller. The barrel races will run Friday-Sunday and are free to the public. The Mississippi Horse Park is located on Poorhouse Road in Starkville. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| College Connect offers opportunities for the college bound student | |
 | Russell Christian Academy senior Madison Godfrey plans to pursue a career in veterinary science. "It's something I've been interested in since I was little," the 18-year-old said. Last week, Godfrey and her mom Louanne, went to Meridian Community College's Tommy E. Dulaney Center to gain information on how she could begin working on her dreams. They and other students and parents did just that by attended the Fourth Annual College Connect event hosted by MCC and Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus. Soraya Welden, dean of Student Services for MCC, said the partnership with MSU-Meridian for College Connect makes sense. "This cooperation between the two learning institutions provides a wide variety of information that can answer many, if not all the questions an incoming student may have," Welden said. |
| Mississippi, Louisiana beekeepers face big challenges | |
 | Ken Ensminger is going into this spring with 8.4 million fewer friends. Since January, the Concordia Parish, Louisiana, beekeeper has seen 42 of his 144 hives die, losing 200,000 bees with each failed hive. The deaths highlight increasing challenges for beekeepers. According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, honeybees contribute a value to pollination of fruits, berries, vegetables, sunflowers, cotton, soybeans and other plants of more than $200 million annually. The bees are likewise important to the pollination of noncommercial plants, making them a key component of the overall ecosystem. They're also facing population challenges. According to the MSU Extension Service, tracheal and varroa mites have killed thousands of colonies in the last 30 years, and feral bee colonies have seen reductions as well. |
| Call for Oktibbeha County road bond finds little support | |
 | Conflicting ideologies on infrastructure upkeep and the existing tax burden on residents again clashed Monday as supervisors continue balancing complaints about Oktibbeha County's road system with the board's financial restraints and an ever-growing work list. After residents asked for improvements -- two separate requests for work on paved areas in the Sheely Hills subdivision near Mississippi State University and gravel thoroughfares in the Sessums community -- during Monday's meeting, District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer made another call for board members to consider issuing general obligation bonds to fix Oktibbeha's ailing infrastructure and pave its almost 280 miles of gravel roads. |
| Rienzi farmer patents new feeding device | |
 | Gregory Chambers was driving a tractor when he was 7, and the farming bug never left him. "It's always been in my blood," he said with a broad smile. Now 44, Chambers has always looked to do things smarter and better, and his invention could help not only himself, but also fellow farmers across the country. His mobile feeding tank -- officially called the Chambers Feeding Tank -- is used to collect, store and deliver livestock feed. Chambers received a coveted U.S. patent in December. His prototype feeding tank was displayed Tuesday at the Prentiss County Ag Center, where Chambers, his family and friends and local officials were joined by Gov. Phil Bryant and state Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith. |
| Solar power coming to Entergy Mississippi | |
 | By the end of August, solar power should be part of Entergy Mississippi's electricity-generation repertoire. The utility broke ground Tuesday on one of three solar projects it plans in Jackson, Senatobia and Brookhaven as part of its $4.5 million Bright Future Plan. Between now and when they start producing electricity, Entergy will install 3,744 solar panels made at Stion Corp.'s facility in Hattiesburg. The panels will occupy a field adjacent to Entergy's Hinds Generating Facility in Jackson. It's the first scale solar project in the state, Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said at the groundbreaking on the site. Once the three sites have operational panels -- Brookhaven and Senatobia should be online by the end of 2015, Entergy Mississippi CEO Haley Fisackerly said -- they will produce 1,500 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 175 single-family homes. |
| Coast hotels booked for spring break weekend | |
 | Anyone still looking for a hotel room on the Coast this weekend will need more than a little luck. Just a few rooms remain across all three Coast counties for Friday night, said Linda Hornsby, executive director of the Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association. Saturday appears booked up. For hotels, it's the busiest Biloxi Black Beach Weekend that Hornsby can remember. Biloxi Black Beach Weekend festivities are expected to bring thousands of young people to the Coast, with most of the action concentrated near the Coast Coliseum and on the beach nearby. Though area hotels haven't done any special advertising, Coast police officials said social media posts indicate the event will draw a bigger crowd than normal. Four nationally known hip-hop artists performing Saturday night are likely attracting many visitors. |
| Avectus expanding again, adding another 70 jobs in Corinth | |
| As promised, another expansion was announced by Avectus Healthcare Solutions, which coordinates third-party liability and workers' compensation accounts for hospitals and trauma centers throughout the United States. In September, the company announced it was moving into a larger downtown location and adding 50 jobs. Company CEO Tim Smith said then that it was a "first-phase" expansion. On Tuesday, Avectus announced it was investing another $400,000 and adding 70 jobs in another expansion project, bringing the total number employed at the company to 270. For this expansion project, the Mississippi Development Authority provided $525,000 for building improvements and a $156,900 loan. The Appalachian Regional Commission committed $250,000 to the project. "I appreciate the team at Avectus Healthcare Solutions for once again investing in its Corinth operations and for creating new job opportunities for the area's residents," said Gov. Phil Bryant. |
| Grant puts Marty Stuart Center music site on track | |
 | The proposed Marty Stuart Center in Philadelphia was targeted to receive $500,000 as part of a $250 million state bond bill approved by the Legislature last week and expected to be signed by the governor. The next step in the project would be to move Stuart's collection of country music memorabilia for the center to its warehouse on Center Avenue which is currently being renovated, Community Development Partnership President David Vowell said on Monday. While no site for the actual Stuart Center has been secured, he said three locations have been considered. Sen. Giles Ward of Louisville, Rep. Scott Bounds of Philadelphia and Rep. Michael Ted Evans of DeKalb have been working on the proposed project from the start, Vowell said. |
| Group: Pearl River endangered by proposed dam, lake | |
| A new dam and lake proposed by local government inspired environmental activists to name the Pearl River as one of the most endangered in the country on Tuesday. The list of endangered rivers, compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy group American Rivers, is based not on the current state of the river but on impending decisions expected later in the year that could adversely affect river health. Groups concerned about the Pearl would like to see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shoot down a feasibility study/environmental impact statement sponsored by the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District. The project, proposed as flood control, would drastically alter the current state of the river south of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. |
| 1st District candidates voice platforms | |
| For the first time in the campaign for Mississippi's 1st District Congressional seat, a majority of the candidates gathered to speak Tuesday evening. Twelve of the 13 candidates running in the May 12 special election spoke during an event sponsored by the Pontotoc Republican Executive Committee. A representative spoke on behalf of the candidate who was unable to attend. The candidates, who had six minutes each to speak to a crowd of nearly 100, covered a range of topics including reforming tax codes to lowering the national debt. |
| Fitch campaign defectors supporting McRae in treasurer's race | |
| Two of incumbent Republican state Treasurer Lynn Fitch's former campaign gurus are supporting her primary opponent, David McRae of Ridgeland. Hayes Dent, who ran Fitch's 2011 campaign, and fundraiser Sara Williams are both on the invite list for a McRae fundraiser this week. McRae, 34, is a lawyer from Ridgeland and the grandson of the founder of the McRae's department store chain. He's making his first run for political office. Fitch, 53, a lawyer from Madison, is running for a second term as treasurer. She previously was state Personnel Board director. |
| Judicial commission: Law states no pay for Weisenberger | |
| The state judicial performance commission is pushing back on the Mississippi Supreme Court's ruling a suspended justice court judge should be paid while off the bench. The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance, which is investigating a complaint against Madison Co. Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger, filed a motion to reconsider the Supreme Court's order that Weisenberger should be suspended from the bench with pay, saying Mississippi law dictates he should not receive pay. Weisenberger has been accused of assaulting a mentally challenged African-American man, issuing an illegal DUI sentence and issuing an arrest warrant for a nonexistent charge. |
| Do splashy presidential campaign kickoffs matter? | |
 | There was a time in American politics when all that a candidate running for president was expected to do to reveal that intention was simply to say, as Theodore Roosevelt did in 1912, "My hat is in the ring." That time is no more. Today, the mere act of announcing a candidacy amounts to a minor art form, with elaborate care and attention lavished on every facet of a declaration that, let's face it, is almost already old news. The realities of social media mean that candidates themselves, every bit as much as traditional news organizations, can control the manner and means of spreading their message -- while gathering thousands of email addresses and other contact information from potential supporters and raising money online in the process. And the decisions they make about how and where to launch their campaigns can be a message in itself. |
| South Carolina police officer charged with murder after shooting man during traffic stop | |
 | A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder Tuesday after shooting and killing a black man following a routine traffic stop over the weekend. The decision to charge the officer, Michael Thomas Slager, came after graphic video footage emerged depicting Slager firing a volley of bullets into the back of Walter Scott, who was running away. Officers rarely face criminal charges after shooting people, a fact that has played into nationwide protests over the past year over how the police use deadly force. Yet this case took a swift, unusual turn after a video shot by a bystander provided authorities with a decisive narrative that differed from Slager's account. Authorities on Tuesday also pointed to the video as a turning point in this case and apologized to the family for the shooting. |
| U.S. secretly tracked billions of calls for decades | |
 | The U.S. government started keeping secret records of Americans' international telephone calls nearly a decade before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, harvesting billions of calls in a program that provided a blueprint for the far broader National Security Agency surveillance that followed. For more than two decades, the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration amassed logs of virtually all telephone calls from the USA to as many as 116 countries linked to drug trafficking, current and former officials involved with the operation said. The targeted countries changed over time but included Canada, Mexico and most of Central and South America. |
| They're Using Drones to Herd Sheep | |
 | Tech-savvy livestock farmers from the Australian Outback to the Irish countryside are starting to use drones as a relatively cheap alternative to the cowboy and the sheepdog. Camera-wielding copters that can be bought off-the-shelf for as little as $500 can cover hilly terrain quickly, finding and guiding sheep and cattle while the rancher operates remotely---sometimes wearing goggles that show the drone's perspective. The experiments of early adopters like Mr. Thomson offer new hope to roboticists who have been working for at least two decades on using machines to herd livestock. Scientists at the University of Oxford and other U.K. universities launched the "Robot Sheepdog Project" in 1995, and developed a box-size device that could chase a dozen ducks to one place in an enclosed area. Others envision drones in more serious roles. Farmers in the U.S. and elsewhere are flying sensor-equipped drones over their crops to gather data on the plants' size and health. |
| New MGCCC nursing school will double number of nursing graduates in South Mississippi | |
| A new Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Nursing and Simulation Center will allow the school to double the number of nursing graduates after it opens in 2016, college officials said. Crews will break ground this afternoon on the 48,000-square-foot building on Highway 67 at Tradition. The $12 million center will house the college's nursing programs from the Jackson County, Jefferson Davis and Perkinston campuses. It will contain more than $2 million in the latest medical simulators and equipment that will give students practice in nursing techniques on lifelike mannequins, college spokeswoman Kathy McAdams said. |
| Auburn says students who didn't apply to university had personal data exposed on website | |
 | Auburn University confirmed on April 3 that a "data security incident" could have exposed an estimated 364,012 current, former and prospective students' personal information, including name, address and Social Security number on its website. The university, however, didn't make it clear prospective students who didn't apply for admission to the institution could be victims. "We have received inquiries from individuals wondering how their information was included in our IT system, because they did not attend or apply to Auburn," Auburn University spokesman Mike Clardy confirmed to AL.com. "We are doing our best to respond to these individual inquiries, but do not always have the detail available to give specific answers." |
| Auburn University will honor top alumni entrepreneurs | |
 | Several of Auburn University's most accomplished alumni entrepreneurs began developing thriving businesses in unique settings. Oskar Blues Brewery founder and owner Dale Katechis began experimenting with a home brewing kit and made beer in the bath tub of a mobile home before graduating from Auburn in 1992. Iron Tribe Fitness CEO Forrest Walden's business began in the garage of his Birmingham home six years ago when a group of friends began getting together for physical fitness training. Their vision and resourcefulness led to the development of companies that have earned recognition on the Inc. 5,000 list of the nation's fastest-growing companies. Katechis, Walden and six other Auburn University graduates will be honored for their success as business leaders during the first Auburn University Entrepreneur Hall of Fame gala on Friday, April 24. |
| Delta Research Consortium to Unite Regional Leaders | |
 | Arkansas State University in Jonesboro is hosting the Delta Research Consortium Leadership Summit on Thursday and Friday, seeking to unite universities and other private and public institutions in eight states to produce research and innovation that will help the Delta economy. Delta Regional Authority, Oak Ridge Associated Universities and Arkansas State are sponsoring the summit, which will take place at Arkansas State's Dean B. Ellis Library. The other institutions supporting A-State in organizing the summit are Delta State University, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University, Southeast Missouri State University, University of Memphis and University of Tennessee at Martin. |
| Vanderbilt rape survivor's testimony convicts attacker | |
 | On the witness stand, Taylor Walker found it more difficult than she expected to put words to what happened to her inside a Vanderbilt University parking garage one Friday night in 2012. But Walker, who has become an outspoken advocate for sexual assault survivors since graduating from Vanderbilt, did find her words. And what she said in court this week helped convict the stranger, Tyrone Batts, 29, who ambushed, raped and robbed her on Feb. 10, 2012. "She was very brave," Assistant District Attorney Amy Hunter said of Walker. "We're really thankful that she came forward." The Tennessean does not name sex assault victims as a matter of policy. But Walker chose to share her story with The Tennessean in 2013 as alarm mounted about sex assaults on college campuses. |
| Underage LSU students busted in Alabama, accused of towing beer, liquor to Gulf Shores | |
 | Sheriff's deputies in Alabama confiscated more than 100 cases of beer and numerous bottles of liquor Monday from a group of LSU students on their way to Gulf Shores for spring break, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office. The students, Harrison Coogan, 18; Brandon Barber, 19; Hunter Coker, 18; and Carson Buckner, 19, were on Interstate 10 in a Ford pickup that was towing a trailer with an expired tag when they were stopped by deputies, said Lori Myles, a Mobile County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman. During the stop, the pickup's driver gave deputies consent to search the trailer, where authorities found nearly 2,000 beers, five liters of boxed wine and eight bottles of liquor, Myles said. The four men joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at LSU in the fall. |
| U. of Georgia's TV station set to change hands | |
 | The University of Georgia's TV station will get new call letters and new family-friendly programming when it changes hands later this year, said the president of the Maryland company that's agreed to buy WUGA-TV. The new call letters will be WGTA, for "Greenville to Atlanta," two cities within the TV station's broadcast range, said Patricia Lane, president of Marquee Broadcasting of Brookeville, Md., and co-owner of Marquee with husband Brian Lane. The university announced the $2.5 million sale last week. nearly seven years after the University of Georgia Research Foundation's 2008 purchase of the station, then headquartered in Toccoa with the call letters WNEG. After operating it for three years as a commercial station, university administrators transferred the license from the research foundation to the university. |
| Student fee aims to increase U. of Missouri library funding | |
 | University of Missouri students will vote on a ballot measure this fall that could increase revenue for MU's libraries by about 70 percent. The referendum is part of an effort to boost the libraries' stature among other research institutions by implementing MU's first library-focused fee for students. Administrators say the fee is essentially picking up where the state -- and therefore university administration -- has left off because of stagnant funding to higher education while costs continue to increase for maintenance, purchasing and employee cost of living. The operating budget for the library this year is about $18 million, Director of Libraries Jim Cogswell said. |
| U. of Missouri faculty share concerns about Title IX requirements | |
 | Faculty at the University of Missouri sought clarification Tuesday from Title IX experts about the subtleties of handling sexual assault accounts from students. MU's Title IX policy calls for mandatory reporting by a university employee who becomes aware of sexual harassment, misconduct, stalking, partner violence or exploitation. About 20 faculty members attended the morning forum. Several questions centered around the effect of the new policies on relationships with students in the classroom. Another set of questions addressed the restrictions on an adviser, usually an attorney, during a proceeding about a Title IX matter. Joan Hermsen, chairwoman of the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, said her faculty wondered whether they should stop talking about sexual assaults in classroom sessions since it could prompt students to reveal their own experiences. |
| Children's savings accounts help states create 'college-going culture' | |
 | Free money for college may sound like an easy sell, but when parents of newborns in Maine were offered a $500 grant for their infants' college education, fewer than half signed up. Even worse, a study found that less educated, lower-income families -- those that could benefit most -- were least likely to take the money. So last year, Maine changed its strategy. Today, each of the roughly 12,500 babies born in Maine each year receives a $500 grant deposited automatically in a college savings account. For decades, private foundations have promoted the idea of children's savings accounts to help families imagine and save for their children's college education. Only recently has it taken root in states, which are targeting the youngest citizens. The seed amounts tend to be small, but they can make a big difference, researchers say. |
| Can college bans on hard liquor be effective? | |
 | The next few months could be a more lucrative time for bars in Hanover, N.H. The home of Dartmouth College is not especially known for its bar scene, with many students choosing instead to drink on campus at fraternity parties. When the spring term began on March 30, however, so did a new ban on hard liquor on campus, and the town's bars are now among the few places a student can drink a margarita without running afoul of the new policy. It's the college's boldest move yet in an ongoing attempt to change its rowdy, drunken reputation. But will it work? According to a 2001 survey conducted as part of Harvard University's College Alcohol Study, students at colleges with complete drinking bans are 30 percent less likely to be "heavy episodic drinkers" and more likely to abstain from alcohol. Among students who still drink, however, heavy drinking is just as common as among their counterparts at colleges without alcohol bans. |
| Aspiring Craft Brewers Hit The Books To Pick Up Science Chops | |
 | Here's how popular craft brewed beer is these days: On average, a new brewery opens its doors every single day in the the U.S. More colleges and universities are taking notice, adding brewing minors, certificates and even four-year programs. That means the campus science building might soon rival the basement as an incubator for brew pubs. While formal brewing education isn't new, only a few schools have been offering it. Mark Sammartino of the Master Brewers Association in North Carolina says students in the U.S. will soon have more than a dozen college-based brewing programs to choose from. |
| BRIAN PERRY (OPINION): Mathis unopposed in bid to fill Malone's House seat | |
| Jackson-based consultant and columnist Brian Perry writes: "In 2007 and 2011, Republican Jay Mathis of Carthage sought to unseat Democrat Bennett Malone in House District 45 (Leake, Neshoba, Rankin and Scott counties). Malone fended off the first challenge with 56 percent of the vote, but squeaked in a victory in the rematch with 50.6 percent of the vote, a 78 votes lead out of 6246 votes cast. Four years later, Mathis will finally fill Malone's seat. Malone, who has been in ill health, resigned his seat in February after missing most of the session, bringing an end to more than three decades in the House of Representatives. Following his resignation, Governor Phil Bryant called a special election to fill his seat. Mathis was the only candidate to qualify before the deadline so he wins the seat without opposition. ...Mathis owns a gas station convenience store and a finance company and I got to know him during his two campaigns for office, mostly while sitting on a Neshoba County Fair porch discussing politics and homebrew recipes." |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State welcomes No. 1 LSU in non-conference softball action | |
| For the Mississippi State softball team, this is not your ordinary midweek game. Instead, the No. 1 team is in town for a bizarre non-conference matchup between Southeastern Conference rivals. RPI points will be the talking point when MSU (29-10) plays host to LSU (36-3) in a 6 p.m. start at the MSU Softball Field. "You are always excited about playing the No. 1 team in the nation," MSU sophomore catcher Katie Anne Bailey said. "In the SEC, you know you are going to get to do it eventually, maybe even more than once." MSU enters the contest on a five-game win streak. |
| No. 1 LSU softball team doesn't get spring break; it gets a trip Mississippi State | |
| This week is spring break for LSU students, but there's no break for the Tigers softball team. In fact, this is one of the most challenging weeks of the season for LSU (36-3, 9-3 Southeastern Conference), which returned to the No. 1 spot in both polls Tuesday after a 4-0 record last week. The Tigers play Mississippi State (29-10, 8-7), which is on the cusp of entering both polls, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Starkville, Mississippi. "This is a really tough week," coach Beth Torina said before LSU headed to Starkville on Tuesday. Tuesday's game does not count as an SEC game. State visited LSU for a game last fall, and the Tigers are returning the trip. |
| Under Manny Diaz, Mississippi State's defense taking on new attitude | |
| The "Swag Chalice" is gone. The term "Juice Points" hasn't been mentioned. Three weeks into Mississippi State's spring practice, Manny Diaz's defense is taking shape. Former defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, now a Florida, brought swag and juice to a unit he nicknamed "Psycho Defense." In Diaz's first season, the defense doesn't have a name. For now, it's the melting pot. "A lot of the terminology and a lot of the scheme he brought with him the first time and then as time has progressed over the years a lot of it stayed the same," assistant head coach Tony Hughes said. "A lot of it changed and he changed some. You put all of that into a melting pot, basically and that's kind of where we are." |
| MSU Notebook: Fresh look for new corners | |
| One of Mississippi State's starting cornerbacks graduated and the other, Taveze Calhoun, is on an exercise bike unable to participate in spring practice after offseason foot surgery. The vacancies at corner have allowed several fresh faces to take a majority of reps and build much needed depth at the position. "We're just trying to get guys the right reps," said cornerbacks coach Deshea Townsend. "Taveze is out but we've got Will (Redmond) back. We're glad to have Cedric (Jiles) back after the injury last year. We've also got Chris (Rayford) and added Smokey (Jamoral Graham). That's a good group of guys to work with." The cornerback position accounted for six of the Bulldogs' 16 interceptions last fall. Redmond led the unit with three while Tolando Cleveland snagged two and Calhoun picked off one. |
| Mississippi State baseball falls at Memphis | |
| Mississippi State still couldn't break away from the midweek doldrums Tuesday night. The Bulldogs lost their third straight midweek contest, falling 7-1 to Memphis in a contest played at AutoZone Park. Memphis (21-8) got all the separation in needed in the contest with back-to-back home runs during a three-run third inning. MSU (21-14) was held to six total hits in the defeat. "Austin pitched well but we had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark," MSU head coach John Cohen said. "If you take that part away from his game, he's had a great year. The first couple of times through the lineup, we didn't take good at-bats. After that, I thought we did." |
| Mississippi State's schedule offers opportunity to improve low RPI | |
| The NCAA released its RPI baseball rankings on Tuesday. The numbers weren't good for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs ranked 121 as the only team in the Southeastern Conference outside the top-100. The SEC had four in the top 15 and nine in the top 40. The closest conference foe to MSU was Georgia at 94. It's not all bad news though. Mississippi State's schedule allows for opportunities to improve its low RPI. It begins this weekend at Texas A&M. The top-ranked team in the USA Today Coaches Poll also owns the best RPI within the league. The Aggies rank No. 4 in the RPI. |
| Southern Miss sweeps season series vs. Ole Miss | |
 | Offense was not in short supply Tuesday at Trustmark Park. Southern Miss and Ole Miss combined for 21 hits and 10 runs through the first six innings. But it was a run scored by Matt Durst on a wild pitch in the seventh inning that gave the Golden Eagles a 6-5 victory, its second over the Rebels this season, completing the season sweep versus their intrastate rivals. The victory is also Southern Miss' sixth straight over Ole Miss and ninth out of the last 10 times the two teams have met. The Golden Eagles improve to 18-11-1 this season, while the Rebels fall to 16-17. |
| Buckle up, fans: New Alabama basketball coach Avery Johnson says to get ready for new experience | |
 | If the goal was to build excitement, energy and passion around the University of Alabama men's basketball program, athletic director Bill Battle knocked it out of the park, and it began the moment new coach Avery Johnson first stepped foot onto Tuscaloosa soil. The 20th men's basketball coach in school history stepped off a private jet late Tuesday afternoon and onto the tarmac at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport, where he was ushered into a waiting vehicle that would escort him to campus. But before he did so, Johnson made an impromptu speech to the 100-to-200 fans gathered to welcome him. What he said was music to their ears. |
| Most arrested after Kentucky's tournament games weren't UK students, official says | |
 | The majority of people arrested in State Street mayhem during the University of Kentucky's NCAA tournament appearances were not UK students. Police arrested 69 people during the Wildcats' last two games. UK spokesman Jay Blanton said seven are UK students. On March 28, after UK defeated Notre Dame in the Elite Eight, police charged 27 people; five were identified as UK students. After Saturday's Final Four loss to Wisconsin, police arrested 42, including two who were determined to be UK students. Most were charged with alcohol intoxication or disorderly conduct or both. About the same number of students were arrested last year after UK lost to Connecticut in the NCAA championship game, Blanton said. |
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