| Tuesday, June 30, 2015 |
| Catfish producers see lower costs, high demand | |
 | High consumer demand and lower input costs have Mississippi catfish farmers filling their ponds to the brim. "Consumer demand has stayed pretty high, and that has farmers stocking at high rates, even though pond acreage is down by almost 8 percent from last year," said Jimmy Avery, Extension aquaculture professor at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. "We are optimistic that consumers are still out there and demanding a U.S. farm-raised product." Mississippi leads the nation in total sales and the number of acres in catfish production. However, U.S. producers continue to battle competition from Vietnam and China, which export catfish or catfish-like products that are less expensive but not as closely monitored for food safety issues as U.S.-grown fish. |
| Seed treatments not stopping thrips in the Midsouth | |
 | Seed treatments have minimized thrips damage for the last decade, but farmers and entomologists fear some pesticides may be losing their punch in protecting cotton. Scientists at Mississippi State University and other universities across the Midsouth have been aggressively exploring options for controlling thrips damage in cotton. Angus Catchot, an entomologist with the MSU Extension Service, said the use of foliar treatments for thrips in cotton has grown steadily in recent years. "Even with seed treatments, farmers have always had to apply some foliar sprays on a low percentage of the acres, but we have noticed an increase in needs for foliar applications and in the amount of damage from thrips," Catchot said. |
| Grand Bay NERR to hold industrial spill exercise | |
 | The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold a disaster response training exercise through Thursday in the Bangs Lake area of the Reserve. The exercise will help scientists study the effect of a simulated industrial spill into the waters on the western side of the NERR. Scientists from the NERR will be supported by NOAA's Disaster Response Center and its Aircraft Systems Program Office. Others participating are the Northern Gulf Institute, University of Southern Mississippi, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mississippi State University and the University of West Florida. The results of the dye study will be used at a meeting later this summer and will build on disaster response planning efforts begun after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. |
| Local Circuit Clerks Adhere to Same-Sex Law | |
 | Same-sex couples are officially getting marriage licenses in some counties in Mississippi. The news comes after state Attorney General Jim Hood sent a letter to county circuit clerks indicating they could go ahead and issue licenses. Oktibbeha Circuit Clerk Glenn Hamilton says the Hood's advice was confusing at first, but now that its clear, they must head the Supreme Court's decision. "I'm of the understanding as we speak, that should a same sex couple come into our office today asking to apply for a marriage license, I would comply with their request," Hamilton said. |
| Court wants proposed orders in Mississippi's gay marriage suit | |
| A federal appeals court is asking both sides in Mississippi's gay marriage suit to submit ideas for the final order in that case. Attorney General Jim Hood appealed a lower court ruling that overturned the state's ban on gay marriage. That ruling, in a suit brought by the Campaign for Southern Equality, was stayed until the appeal could be heard. Before a final decision was reached in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled all bans on gay marriage unconstitutional. "Each attorney should state, as an officer of the court, what is the proper order or opinion that this court should render in response to that controlling case," the clerk of the court wrote to Roberta Kaplan of the Campaign for Southern Equality and Justin Matheny of Hood's office. It also wants advice on how to handle Equality's motion to lift the stay. |
| Boil water alerts issued for three local water systems | |
 | The Mississippi State Department of Health issued boil water alerts Monday for three local water systems due to concerns there may be harmful bacteria in the water. They are the Cypress Creek Rural Water Association No. 2 in Yalobusha County, the Adaton Water Association No. 1-Josey Creek in Oktibbeha County and the New Light Water Association in Oktibbeha County. More than 2,800 customers are affected by these alerts, which are expected to last for at least two full days. |
| No cause determined in Madison County quake | |
 | In less than two months, two earthquakes have hit Madison County and scientists don't know why. Monday morning, a 3.2 earthquake hit 10 miles south southwest of Canton, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake hit at 8:23 a.m. No aftershocks were reported, according to Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the USGS. No injuries or property damage has been reported, according to Heath Hall with the Madison County Sheriff's Department. Caruso said the cause of the quake has not yet been determined. "To determine why is going to take some time," Caruso said. "They're not going to know in 24 hours." |
| New state laws coming July 1 | |
| Auto inspection stickers are a thing of the past after Tuesday, and a caregiver's act goes into effect Wednesday. They are among the new laws that go into effect July 1. After years of debate and failed efforts, lawmakers eliminated the state's vehicle inspection program, and the $5 stickers. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who listed eliminating the stickers as a top priority this year, said the program "was an inefficient way to collect what was essentially a $5 tax." |
| Protesters: Remove Confederate sign from Mississippi flag | |
 | Protesters are calling on Mississippi to erase the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, saying it's a divisive symbol that fails to represent a state where more than one-third of residents are African-American. Jackson attorney Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the flag embodies hatred and represents "a noose South instead of the pride of the so-called new South." About 100 people participated in a protest outside the Capitol after Monday's news conference, calling for a new flag design. One white woman carried a sign with the slogan: "Take down the emblem of slavery." Another carried a sign that said: "This is not a state flag. It is a plantation flag." |
| Palazzo weighs in on state flag debate | |
 | Fourth District Congressman Steven Palazzo has weighed in on the call to change the state flag. Palazzo was on the Coast to speak at a military event Monday. He said Mississippi is being pressured to change the state flag because of the Confederate battle emblem in the upper left hand corner. He thinks the people should decide on the flag just as they did when they voted to keep the flag in 2001. "They came out 2 to 1 to say we like our flag. We want to keep our flag. All of a sudden, because of the events in Charleston, which are tragic and sad and our prayers are with the victims and their families. This is a Mississippi matter. Outsiders need to butt out and stay out of our business. Here in the Fourth Congressional district the people voted 75 percent to keep the flag as it is," he said. |
| Supreme Court's ruling may not impact Mississippi lethal injection case | |
| The U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing state's right to use a controversial drug in executions won't likely impact a legal challenge to Mississippi's legal injection drug combination, an attorney for group that filed the lawsuit says. The high court ruled in a 5-4 decision that states have the right to use the drug midazolam in executions. To prohibit the use of midazolam, a sedative that has left some death row prisoners apparently able to feel pain from the next two drugs in a three-drug cocktail, would have unfairly tied the states' hands, the justices ruled. The MacArthur Justice Center in New Orleans has a federal lawsuit on behalf of some Mississippi death row inmates over the state's three-drug protocol in lethal injections. |
| Supreme Court blocks Texas abortion law from taking effect | |
 | The Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote blocked the state of Texas, at least for now, from enforcing a strict new abortion law that was likely to close most of the state's remaining abortion clinics. The measure would require these clinics to have doctors on staff who have admitting privileges at a local hospital. But in part because of the strong opposition to abortion, doctors have been unable to obtain those privileges in large parts of the state. On Monday, abortion rights activists and providers heaved a sigh of relief that what they deem to be politically motivated and dangerous intrusions into women's lives have been put on hold. Texas officials vowed to keep fighting a decision by the highest court that Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton said "just put Texas women in harm's way." |
| Obama Making Millions More Americans Eligible for Overtime | |
 | President Obama announced Monday night a rule change that would make millions more Americans eligible for overtime pay. The rule would raise the salary threshold below which workers automatically qualify for time-and-a-half overtime wages to $50,440 a year from $23,660, according to an op-ed article by the president in The Huffington Post. "Right now, too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve," the president wrote. The administration has the power to issue the regulation, which would restore the overtime salary threshold to roughly where it stood in 1975 in terms of purchasing power, without congressional approval. Conservatives and business groups have bitterly opposed the idea, warning that it will cost jobs. |
| How Global Threats Have Crowded Obama's Diplomacy Agenda | |
 | President Barack Obama gathered his foreign policy team in the White House Situation Room several weeks after his 2012 re-election for a meeting to set his second-term agenda. Now that he was free from the politics of another presidential campaign, Mr. Obama told the group, he wanted a "blue skies" assessment of all policies worth considering, according to participants. Nothing was off the table. What emerged was a sweeping and fundamental re-orientation of U.S. foreign policy, highlighted by four initiatives: conclude a nuclear deal with Iran; renew diplomatic relations with Cuba; elevate climate change to a national-security issue; and complete a free-trade deal with Asia. Together, the initiatives reflect Mr. Obama's belief that diplomatic and economic engagement trump military power in winning lasting American influence. The effort has at times been rocky. |
| Federal background check system shut down because of 'vulnerability' | |
 | The web-based system used for federal background investigations for employees and contractors has been suspended after "a vulnerability" was detected, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced Monday. OPM has been the subject of intense congressional probing following the cyber attack on the personnel records of at least 4.2 million current and former federal employees. The decision to suspend the agency's "E-Qip" system, however, is not directly related to that hack or another one of a security clearance data base that was previously announced. The agency's statement did not define the nature of the vulnerability. |
| U.S. Panel Aims to Shield Planes From Cyberattack | |
| U.S. aviation regulators and industry officials have begun developing comprehensive cybersecurity protections for aircraft, seeking to cover everything from the largest commercial jetliners to small private planes. A high-level advisory committee set up by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration -- including representatives of plane makers, pilots and parts suppliers from around the globe -- was scheduled to meet for the first time this month amid rising concern over potential industry vulnerability to computer hackers. The panel's meetings are private. The goal of the FAA initiative, according to Jens Hennig, the panel's co-chairman, is to identify the seven or eight most important risk areas and then try to reach consensus on international design and testing standards to guard against possible cyberattacks. |
| SpaceX Explosion Underlines USAF Concern | |
| Sunday's explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket headed to resupply the International Space Station has cast into stark relief one of the challenges facing the Air Force as it moves to a competitive military launch environment: What happens if a military launch fails, and forces a competitive company to pause work? It is a concern first brought up publicly at April's National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs by Gen. John Hyten, the head of US Air Force Space Command. Hyten warned that a failed launch is inevitable and argued that the service needs to figure out how to handle the industrial base issues that will come with it. Sunday's explosion plays into the hands of the rival United Launch Alliance and its supporters in Congress, whose pitch to the Pentagon has been based around its long track record of launches without a failure. |
| Author Warns U.S. Military to Focus on China | |
| Peter Singer, one of Washington's pre-eminent futurists, is walking the Pentagon halls with an ominous warning for America's military leaders: World War III with China is coming. In meeting after meeting with anyone who will listen, this modern-day soothsayer wearing a skinny tie says America's most advanced fighter jets might be blown from the sky by their Chinese-made microchips and Chinese hackers easily could worm their way into the military's secretive intelligence service, and the Chinese Army may one day occupy Hawaii. The ideas might seem outlandish, but Pentagon officials are listening to the 40-year-old senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. |
| A Scientific Ethical Divide Between China and West | |
| China is spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually in an effort to become a leader in biomedical research, building scores of laboratories and training thousands of scientists. But the rush to the front ranks of science may come at a price: Some experts worry that medical researchers in China are stepping over ethical boundaries long accepted in the West. Scientists around the world were shocked in April when a team led by Huang Junjiu, 34, at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, published the results of an experiment in editing the genes of human embryos. Scientists in the West generally abjure this sort of research on the grounds that it amounts to genetic engineering of humans. In any event, the technology is still in the earliest stages of development. Yet Chinese scientists seem in no mood to wait. |
| Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference to highlight 'Faulkner and Print Culture' | |
 | In less than three weeks, an eclectic collection of scholars, other literary professionals and enthusiastic readers will descend upon the University of Mississippi to digest the writing and world of its most famous son. As they have for 42 years, fans of William Faulkner from across the United States and Canada and as far as Brazil, Japan and Australia will imbibe his words and ponder how his peoples, places and times shaped him -- and how he shaped them. No doubt, attendees of the five-day event will also explore the area to meet today's Yoknapatawphans in hopes of glimpsing how they relate to the forebears who populated Faulkner's pages. The Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference this year highlights "Faulkner and Print Culture. |
| Oxford 'pop-up' traffic study to start today | |
| The month-long experiment with two traffic lanes on an additional two-block stretch of University Avenue will likely start Tuesday afternoon. The four-lane thoroughfare between Fifth Street and Grove Loop will be transformed for the month of July to include two bicycle lanes, mid-block crosswalks and other infrastructure. The plan includes reducing vehicle lanes to one in each direction. It will also add turn lanes and two to three pedestrian islands/crosswalks near St. John's Catholic Church and the University of Mississippi Music Building. Throughout the month, the UM Office of Sustainability, the Pathways Commission and community volunteers will collect data to assess the project's effectiveness. With a match from the UM Office of Sustainability and the local cycling club, approximately $3,000 of the $4,000 budget has been raised. |
| William Carey offers new degrees in Christian ministry | |
 | William Carey University is moving into the future while staying close to its Baptist roots with new educational offerings in the Department of Christian Ministries. A new dorm also is under construction as the number of Carey students seeking on-campus boarding continues to increase. The Department of Christian Ministries is offering two new degrees: a bachelor of science in business in Cross Cultural Business Management and a major in Christian Ministry. The Cross Cultural Business Management degree is designed to prepare missionaries for overseas service in economic development, business management and marketing, while also preparing them for ministry. "We took the international business courses plus Accounting II and Statistics and merged them with our intercultural studies courses," said Brett Golson, chairman of the Christian Ministries department. |
| Students to benefit from improvements at Pearl River Community College | |
| Pearl River Community College President William Lewis said students are the focus of upcoming improvements on the Poplarville campus and the Forrest County Center. Those improvements include everything from a planned science building to a pedestrian mall to new soccer bleachers at Wildcat Stadium. "How can we enhance the learning environment for our students?" Lewis said. "That's always first and foremost in our minds. We try to center everything on the student." Lewis said college officials are working to identify funding for a planned $8 million science building that will house science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. Lewis said STEM subjects are in high demand by students across the country, and he said there are plenty of employment opportunities for STEM graduates, especially with Stennis Space Center nearby. |
| Attorney accused of money laundering while furnishing U. of Alabama sorority house | |
 | Federal prosecutors say a South Carolina attorney is accused in a bank fraud and money laundering scheme involving the furnishing of a new University of Alabama sorority house. Prosecutors said in a statement that 38-year-old Jennifer Elizabeth Meehan was arrested Monday by federal authorities. Meehan, a former sorority member and president of the housing corporation board of the UA chapter of the sorority, was indicted last week on eight counts including charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. She is scheduled for arraignment on July 9 in Birmingham. Prosecutors say Meehan volunteered with Gamma Phi Beta's UA chapter and was responsible for furnishing the new 40,000-square-foot, three story sorority house being constructed on Paul W. Bryant Drive. |
| U. of Florida faculty union unimpressed by pay raise offer | |
 | University of Florida faculty are not happy with the half-percent salary increase they were offered by Tigert Hall last week at the bargaining table, given the millions of dollars in new revenue the university recently got from the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. Negotiations resumed after Scott signed a $78.7 billion state budget that includes $24 million in new money in the form of performance and pre-eminence funding. "UF fared well in that budget, with substantial additional funding to help it in its aspirations to become a leading public university," the UF United Faculty of Florida negotiating team said in a joint statement to its 1,700 members. Faculty have asked for a 2.5 percent raise plus a 4 percent cost of living adjustment. |
| Confederate flag painting in UGA museum not what it seems | |
 | Visitors to the Georgia Museum of Art may recoil a bit or hurry past when they come across the painting of the Confederate flag that hangs in a gallery housing works from the museum's permanent collection. But there's a surprising story behind that painting. The artist who created that painting is an African American man, and not only that, but one of the University of Georgia's earliest African American students -- the first person to get a doctoral degree in education from the University of Georgia after coming to study in UGA's Lamar Dodd School of Art in the late 1960s. |
| Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters finds value in Texas A&M employees | |
 | The Ozark A&M Club in Bentonville, Arkansas, could see a spike in membership in the coming years, thanks to a retail giant's eye for Aggie talent. The city is home to the corporate headquarters of Wal-Mart, which added 18 current and former Texas A&M University students to the payroll this summer. Company and school officials say the eight summer interns living and working in Bentonville is an unusually high concentration of students from one school, but it is the product of a long-standing relationship with A&M. Kelli Hollinger, director of the center for retailing studies within the Mays Business School, said the number is expected to grow as ties continue to strengthen. |
| Texas A&M research project receives $6 million grant from EPA | |
| The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $6 million grant for a Texas A&M research project on the effect of environmental toxicants on human health. The College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences project, in collaboration with the Bioinformatics Research Center at North Carolina State University, will focus on adverse effects on the heart. The project's lead, A&M professor Ivan Rusyn, will work with his team to establish an effective means for identifying and characterizing environmental cardiac chemical hazards. |
| Supreme Court will once again consider affirmative action in college admissions | |
 | The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review the constitutionality of the consideration of race and ethnicity in college admissions cases. And many legal experts believe the justices are likely to be skeptical of such consideration. The case involves the admissions practices at the University of Texas at Austin. It is possible that the Supreme Court could rule in a narrow way about UT. But the case also gives the justices, several of whom are dubious of the legality of the consideration of race by schools and colleges, a chance to limit or ban the consideration of race in college admissions. The case will now be heard in the fall, with a decision likely in early 2016. The issues in this case are also likely to be debated in the 2016 presidential race. |
| U. of Texas System builds researcher database to attract private sector investments | |
| The University of Texas System employs more than 15,000 faculty members. Why are they so difficult to find online? The university system believes it has solved that problem with Influuent, a searchable database of facilities and researchers. The website, which launched last month, centralizes what used to be 15 separate sites listing the faculty experts working at the nine universities and six medical centers in the system. Influuent (the university says the name is a combination of "influence" and "influunt," the Latin word for "flow") is being developed as more than just a faculty directory. For the private sector, administrators say, the database could serve as a starting point for commercial partnerships; for faculty members, a "matchmaking" site for research projects; and for journalists, a catalog of experts available to comment. |
| Council of Graduate Schools survey shows continuing increase in international student applications | |
| Foreign students' applications to American graduate schools climbed by 2 percent this year, driven in part by continued growth in applications from India, according to survey results released today by the Council of Graduate Schools. Applications from India increased by 12 percent over the previous year, the third straight year of such double-digit increases. Meanwhile, the number of applications from China continued its modest decline -- another trend that's three years running -- dropping by 2 percent. These two country-specific trends -- China down, India up -- should be understood against the fact these two countries are the two largest sources of international students at U.S. graduate schools by far, together accounting for about 67 percent of all international applications received. |
SPORTS
| Five Bulldogs primed for breakout seasons in 2015 | |
| From media outlets to sports booking in Las Vegas, prognosticators across the country are predicting a down season for Mississippi State. The Golden Nugget listed MSU as underdogs in seven Southeastern Conference games this season. Athlon Sports projects the Bulldogs to finish last in the western division. Each prediction is backed by the 15 starters MSU don't return this year. Dan Mullen pledged to build a program though, not a single starting lineup. He's developed depth through his six years and like Benardrick McKinney stepped in for Cam Lawrence, there's a host of players prepared for breakout seasons. |
| 5 Things to Know: Mississippi State | |
| The Bulldogs certainly know who their starting quarterback will be this season. The question is who will serve as Dak Prescott's understudy? Damian Williams has served in that capacity the last two seasons but missed most of the spring with a pectoral injury. Elijah Staley was also limited in the spring coming off knee surgery leaving fellow redshirt freshman Nick Fitzgerald will all of the second team reps. Fitzgerald completed 20 of 30 passes for 255 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions during the spring game. |
| Mississippi State freshmen gaining college experience, weight | |
| Ben Howland and Mississippi State's new strength coach are taking the "Freshman 15" to a whole different level. The Bulldogs basketball program is four weeks through its summer workout program. On June 4, freshmen Malik Newman, Quinndary Weatherspoon and Aric Holman all agreed the weight room with strength coach David Deets was their toughest test. Less than a month later, they're turning in passing grades. "All three of those freshmen have put on a significant amount of muscle already," Howland said. "I'm really excited. They've really performed well." |
| Mississippi State's Howland likes freshmen | |
| Ben Howland already has three of his highly-touted freshmen on campus at Mississippi State and is awaiting the arrival of one more. Five-star point guard Malik Newman, four-star shooting guard Quinndary Weatherspoon and four-star power forward Aric Holman all enrolled for the first summer term and have impressed the first-year Bulldogs coach during the first four weeks. "I really like our freshman class," Howland said. "I think they're all going to be significant contributors to this year's team. It's an exciting time for the Bulldogs." Howland praised the newcomers for their contributions in the weight room under new strength coach David Deets. |
| Mississippi State's Harrison captures Tallahassee ITA Summer Circuit singles title | |
| After transferring to Mississippi State last week, Madison Harrison already has her Bulldog career off and running. Taking part in the 2015 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Summer Circuit, Harrison captured the Tallahassee Open singles title on Monday. Harrison picked up five wins, including defeating four of the region's top eight seeds over the span of three days, to capture the singles title. Harrison also made a run to the doubles semifinals with teammate Christiana Brigante, picking up an 8-1 victory in the round of 16 against Rachel Carroll and Avery Hunter and an 8-4 quarterfinals win against Daryn Ellison and Sydney Ellison to reach the final four. |
| Wait joins Dispatch staff as new Mississippi State reporter | |
 | The Commercial Dispatch is announcing the hiring of Ben Wait as its new Mississippi State beat writer. Wait, a 2011 graduate of MSU, started Monday as The Dispatch's third full-time member of the sports department. He will focus on covering the MSU athletic department and prep sports. "I am excited and thrilled to be joining The Commercial Dispatch and staying on the Mississippi State beat," Wait said. "I look forward to what the future holds and I know I will continue to progress and mature as a human being and a writer/reporter. I want to thank Adam Minichino, (managing editor) William Browning, and (general manager) Peter Imes for the opportunity." Wait comes to The Commercial Dispatch after spending nearly four years as a sports writer at the Starkville Daily News. |
| New coaches, talented freshmen add intrigue to SEC hoops | |
| Southeastern Conference basketball coaches are confident their league won't take a step back in the post-Billy Donovan era. Donovan left for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder in April after leading Florida to two national titles and four Final Four appearances in his 19-year tenure. Donovan was replaced by Louisiana Tech's Michael White, one of four new coaches in the league. The other newcomers are Tennessee's Rick Barnes, Mississippi State's Ben Howland and Alabama's Avery Johnson. Barnes reached the NCAA Tournament 16 times in his 17 seasons at Texas, Howland reached three straight Final Fours at UCLA and Johnson coached in an NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks. Their star power has SEC coaches bullish on the future. |
| SEC commissioner Greg Sankey comments on Confederate flag | |
| As the debate regarding the presence of Confederate flag in the United States continues, it reached the Southeastern Conference on Monday. New commissioner Greg Sankey was asked about the league's opinion of the flag during a teleconference Monday morning. Sankey released a statement via Twitter last week backing its removal. He backed those words during the teleconference. Various coaches were also asked for their opinion on the flag. They all pointed to the history behind the flag, but also said it shouldn't be used in a public setting. |
| U. of Kentucky's John Calipari supports removal of Confederate flags | |
 | Kentucky Coach John Calipari said Monday that he supports the movement to remove Confederate symbols, a hot-button issue throughout the Southeast after a racism-motivated killing of nine black worshippers at a Charleston, S.C., church earlier this month. "Obviously, it offends a portion of our society, so people are deciding to take them down," Calipari said. "That's how I feel." When asked directly whether he'd support removing Confederate symbols, Calipari said, "Sure. ... They offend, and I would say do it. Yeah." Calipari seemed taken aback by the question, which came during an annual Southeastern Conference coaches summer teleconference designed to promote the league's basketball programs. |
| Bruce Pearl weighs in on Confederate battle flag issue | |
 | Five days after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered the removal of four Confederate battle flags from the Alabama Confederate Memorial in the state's capital, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl weighed in on the debate that has been a hot-button topic since the racially charged massacre in Charleston, S.C., that left nine people dead. Pearl, when asked about the Confederate flag during the Southeastern Conference's men's basketball summer teleconference on Monday morning, offered a nuanced take on a symbol that has long represented the old Confederacy. The Tigers' second-year head coach chose his words wisely and sounded diplomatic in his approach to the question. |
| Ole Miss' Tunsil, stepfather have filed charges after fight | |
| Both parties have pressed charges following an incident that led to the arrest of Ole Miss All-American left tackle Laremy Tunsil as of Monday night. Tunsil, who is projected to be a top five pick in next year's NFL draft, was arrested on charges of domestic violence after he allegedly assaulted his stepfather, Lindsey Miller, on Thursday in defense of his mother, Desiree Tunsil, coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement released Saturday. Miller, who denies a report from ESPN that he was punched by Tunsil after pushing his mother, pressed charges of domestic violence against Tunsil on Friday, both Lafayette County Sheriff's Office and justice court officials confirmed to The Clarion-Ledger on Monday morning. |
| Vols, Jones spoof 'Game of Thrones' in Nike ad | |
| Tennessee's marketing campaign to promote its switch to Nike this week was turned up a notch Monday night with a nod to TV show "Game of Thrones." The newest advertisement for the Vols' unveiling of their new Nike uniforms Wednesday shows Tennessee coach Butch Jones sitting back in a chair with his feet propped up on a stack of Nike shoeboxes, with two pairs of Nike shoes on display on top of the boxes. The title "Game of Jones" -- a not-so-subtle reference to the popular HBO show -- is featured at the bottom of the advertisement. The ad was tweeted Monday night by several members of the Vols' staff. |
| 'Lady' team nicknames can be harmful, experts say | |
 | The University of Tennessee's decision to remove the prefix "Lady" from all but one of its women's sports teams has been met with some resistance, but according to professors specializing in women in sports, the move might be long overdue. Effective Wednesday, the Lady Vols name will only be used by the Tennessee women's basketball program, as a tribute to legendary former head coach Pat Summitt. The rest of the university's female athletes will join their male counterparts as Volunteers in a switch that coincides with the school's adoption of Nike as its official apparel provider. Ketra Armstrong, a University of Michigan professor of sports management with a focus on gender in sports, said that she agrees with Tennessee's decision to honor Summitt by keeping the Lady Vols name for basketball. That's a rare exception for Armstrong. She generally believes that no distinction should be made in referring to men's and women's teams. |
| Judge says LSU lawsuit against Chavis will continue | |
| Whether Louisiana State owes John Chavis $400,000 or Texas A&M's defensive coordinator owes that much to his former employer will continue to be decided in two state courts after a Louisiana state district judge denied Chavis' request to stay LSU's suit filed in Louisiana. Chavis' attorney, Jill Craft, immediately appealed Monday's ruling by State District Judge Timothy Kelley. "I already notified the court of my intent to ask the court of appeal to review it," Craft said late Monday afternoon. Craft and LSU attorney Bob Barton exchanged arguments for about 30 minutes before the judge's decision, reported the Baton Rouge Advocate. Kelley ruled that LSU's suit against Chavis in Louisiana could continue while Chavis' suit against the school in Texas court also plays out. Kelley had concerns over the jurisdiction of the case in Texas. |
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