| Friday, April 10, 2026 |
| Starkville named 'Best Small Town in the South' by USA Today readers | |
 | For the third time in as many years, Starkville has been named the "Best Small Town in the South" by readers of USA Today. After a month of voting through the publication's 2026 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, Starkville grabbed the top spot over Inverness, Fla., Lewisburg, W. Va., West Monroe, La., and Thomasville, Ga., among other small-town destinations. Starkville was the only Mississippi town to crack the list. "Though it's home to Mississippi State University, Starkville is much more than just a college town," USA Today editors wrote. "You'll find a thriving arts scene, multiple historic districts, many opportunities for birdwatching, and plenty of great food. Be sure to check out the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, a treasure trove of artifacts and correspondence." Even though Starkville has more than Mississippi State -- including a thriving Cotton District full of popular eateries and bars, an incoming multi-use Crossroads District, and outdoor recreational opportunities like Chadwick Lake -- the university remains the town's biggest draw with over 23,000 students and plenty of alumni flooding the campus every weekend. Just recently, Bulldog baseball fans captured another attendance record, now holding all of the 25 largest NCAA on-campus baseball crowds. |
| Pulling Back the Curtain: Grisham Master Teacher Kelly Moser unpacks 'magic' of teaching at upcoming lecture | |
 | According to an MSU press release, Mississippi State's Grisham Lecture Series continues this month with a talk by 2025-26 Grisham Master Teacher Kelly Moser on purposeful practices in teaching. Scheduled for April 23 at 3 p.m. in Mitchell Memorial Library's John Grisham Room, the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literature associate professor's lecture "Explaining the Trick: What Looks Like Magic in Teaching and Why It Isn't" will explore the strategies, preparation and pedagogical insight behind transformative classroom experiences, offering a closer look at the work that drives effective teaching and student learning. "Great teaching can look like magic from the outside, but that's often because we don't see the work behind it," Moser said. "I want to pull back the curtain and show that what looks like magic is really a set of intentional practices that make learning visible." |
| Rising fuel and fertilizer costs are hitting U.S. producers differently, with smaller operations feeling the squeeze | |
| An ag economist says the rise in input costs is impacting producers differently. Josh Maples with Mississippi State University Extension says larger producers likely purchased fuel and fertilizer at the end of 2025. "However, I would say a lot of smaller producers don't do that," he says. "And so this is a spot here where we may see a bit of differences between size of operation and the relative impact it has on their operation." He tells Brownfield for those producers who have yet to make the bulk of their input purchases for 2026. "Unless we see some pretty sharp reductions, it's going to be at a much higher cost than you were probably expecting a few months ago," he says. |
| '2,000 new jobs right here in Mississippi': Gov. Reeves $12B more in investments from AWS | |
| Standing in front of a large crowd next to the site of the future AWS data center in Ridgeland, Joey Deason took a moment to reflect. More than eight years ago, Deason was the new executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Authority and making the rounds to local civic clubs and government meetings to sell his vision for the county. Now, as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate another $12 billion in investments from Amazon Web Services, Deason says that vision has been fulfilled. "I want you to look around and I want you to look at what we've built and what we've accomplished together," he said. "I don't think any of us fully imagined that we'd be standing here talking about the first multi-billion-dollar capital investment in the history of Mississippi, but here we are." On Thursday, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that AWS would be investing an additional $12 billion in the metro area, including $11 billion in Madison County and $1 billion in Hinds. |
| Agriculture lovers gather for Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo in Laurel | |
 | Agriculture enthusiasts from Smith, Jones, Jasper, Covington, Rankin, Scott, Newton and Simpson counties joined forces, putting agriculture front and center Thursday. People from local areas and out of state made their way to Laurel for the Annual Magnolia Beef and Poultry Expo. The Magnolia Beef and Poultry committee also presents a scholarship each year to a high school senior or college student who is pursuing a degree in agriculture. "Ag Economics, Ag Engineering, all of those qualify. We just want kids that are going to continue to grow up and be productive in the Ag industry," Committee Member Jon Kilgore said. Andy Berry, Executive Vice President of the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association, says he appreciates events like this because they let vendors like the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association bring the information directly to the people. "We get caught up in our phones and on computers, and we just get one side, but we get to see a host of different businesses, services, and products here," Berry said. |
| Inflation Soared to 3.3% in March, Driven by Higher Gasoline Costs | |
 | Consumer prices soared in March, pushed higher by skyrocketing gasoline prices. Consumer prices were up 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, much hotter than February's gain of 2.4%. That is in line with the 3.3% rise expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Prices excluding food and energy categories -- the so-called core measure economists watch in an effort to better capture inflation's underlying trend -- rose 2.6%, slightly below forecasts for a 2.7% increase. Friday's report offers the first snapshot of how the Iran war affected U.S. inflation. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz snarled shipping and sent the price of crude oil and gasoline surging last month. Above-target inflation and a cooling labor market have put the Federal Reserve in a tight spot. |
| House appropriators delay Defense markup plans amid uncertainty | |
 | House appropriators have pushed back plans to mark up a fiscal 2027 Defense spending bill by about a month because of uncertainty over how to finance a massive surge in Pentagon funding sought by the Trump administration, according to sources familiar with the planning. A tentative schedule last month called for a subcommittee markup of the Defense bill on May 15, followed by a full-committee markup on May 19. But those markups have been delayed until June 11 and June 24, respectively, under the latest plan, which is still subject to change, sources said. The punt reflects an understanding that more time will be needed to assess Pentagon funding requirements and how to finance them -- tasks made even more complicated by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. While President Donald Trump unveiled most of his fiscal 2027 budget request on April 3, the Pentagon has delayed a release of its own budget documents until April 21. |
| Trump attacks his former MAGA allies over Iran war criticism | |
 | President Donald Trump is lashing out at some of the conservative media personalities who helped return him to the White House over their criticism of the Iran war. Trump denounced Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones in a social media post Thursday that reflected a rift within the MAGA movement that has widened since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. The president dismissed them as "troublemakers" who are seeking publicity at his expense with their criticism of a war that his conservative critics see as a violation of his oft-made campaign pledge to keep the U.S. out of wars in the Middle East. "They're stupid people," he wrote. His lengthy rant reflected what seemed to be deep anger at criticism from once-loyal supporters who have been harshly critical of him in recent days. Carlson, for example, gave a scathing critique of a profane Easter Sunday social media post from Trump, calling the president "vile on every level" in his monologue and accusing him of threatening to commit a war crime. |
| A president and a pope: The world's most influential Americans are at odds over Iran | |
 | Donald Trump is accustomed to criticism from coast to coast -- Democrats, disaffected Republicans, late-night comedians, massive protests. Yet in his second presidency, Trump's most influential American critic doesn't live in the country but at the Vatican. It's an unprecedented situation, with the first American pope directly assailing the American president over the war in Iran, where a fragile ceasefire took hold this week. The announcement came after Pope Leo XIV declared that Trump's belligerence was "truly unacceptable." Never before has the relationship between Washington and the Vatican revolved around two Americans -- specifically, a 79-year-old politician from Queens and a 70-year-old pontiff from Chicago. They come from the same generation and share some common cultural roots yet bring jarringly distinct approaches to their positions of vast power. And the relationship comes with risks for both sides. |
| Vance Faces a High-Profile Test of His Negotiating Skills With Iran Talks | |
 | Weeks after Vice President JD Vance privately warned President Trump of the costs of a full-scale U.S. war with Iran, he is now leading the charge to negotiate an end to the biggest foreign policy crisis that the president has faced during his time in office. Mr. Vance departed for Pakistan on Friday to hold talks with the Iranians, as a cease-fire between the United States and Iran is under strain. It would be the highest-level meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials since 1979. The stakes are enormous for Mr. Trump and for Mr. Vance. "Knowing that this is a midterm election year, that is the biggest leverage point that the Iranians have, and they know that," said Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Mr. Vance's predecessor from Mr. Trump's first term. "That creates a challenge for the president's negotiating team." He added: "There's a best-case scenario that you have successful talks, and you have a great news cycle about it. But doesn't Iran know that they can break the terms, as they have in the past?" For Mr. Vance, the elevated role could bolster but also complicate his political future. |
| U.S. negotiators to ask Iran to release detained Americans | |
 | The Trump administration intends to request the release of Americans detained in Iran as part of upcoming negotiations aimed at ending the U.S.-Israeli war there, according to people briefed on the plans. It was not immediately clear how aggressively administration officials may push Iran to release the detained Americans when peace talks open this weekend in Pakistan, these people said, with some expressing concern that if the negotiations prove difficult the ask could be delayed. The ceasefire declared earlier this week already is under immense strain. Advocates for the detained Americans -- there are believed to be at least six in Iranian custody -- say they are hopeful that although it is likely these U.S. citizens were taken by Iran to be used as leverage in future talks with Washington, they will be freed as a goodwill gesture from Tehran. Iran has a long history of taking hostages to use as political leverage, often on false charges. |
| White House Warns Staff Not to Place Bets on Prediction Markets Amid Iran War | |
| The day after President Trump announced a sudden pause of strikes against Iran last month, the White House warned staff against improperly leveraging their positions to place well-timed bets in futures markets. The warning came in a staff-wide email from the White House Management Office on March 24, according to people familiar with the matter. The day before, Trump had announced the pause via Truth Social. About 15 minutes before the sudden shift in policy, a mysterious flurry of activity kicked off in the futures markets. More than $760 million worth of oil futures contracts changed hands in less than two minutes, according to Dow Jones Market Data. More recently, three accounts on Polymarket earned more than $600,000 by correctly betting on the timing of this week's Iranian cease-fire. Critics of the president, including many Democrats, promptly inferred that someone was profiting from advance knowledge of the policy shift. The White House confirmed the authenticity of the warning. |
| Graduating seniors navigate unstable job market | |
 | Graduating seniors at the University of Mississippi are entering one of the most uncertain job markets in recent years, with The New York Times calling it the worst spring for college graduates since the rise of COVID-19 in 2020. Data collected by the Ole Miss Career Center reflects these challenges locally, with 23% of May 2025 graduates -- about 898 of approximately 3,938 students -- still seeking employment by graduation last May. The data comes from a self-reported survey shared by the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness and Planning and is currently unreleased to the public. Gracie Roberts, a senior business analytics and information systems major from Clinton, Miss., has struggled finding a job despite being open to any location and job related to her field of study. "I think it's overwhelming," Roberts said. "I think that you scroll on TikTok or Instagram and every time you hear the word job, it's usually a video talking about how awful the current job market is and how awful the economy is. That makes it so stressful." |
| Women are getting most of the new jobs. What's going on with men? | |
 | In December 2016, as Donald Trump was headed to the White House for the first time, Betsey Stevenson offered the incoming president some economic advice. Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, argued in an op-ed that it would be a disservice to encourage men "to cling to work that isn't coming back." She cited Trump's promise to bring an iPhone factory to the U.S. "If Trump really wants to get more Americans working," she wrote at the time, "he'll have to do something out of his comfort zone: make girly jobs appeal to manly men." It's a message she believes is even more relevant today. For decades, the focus has been on getting more women into male-dominated fields. Some efforts have been more successful than others. But now, with the vast majority of new jobs going to women, it's clear that men need help, too. "This is happening at a time where it's become verboten to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion," Stevenson says. "And yet the people we need to be talking about right now are men." |
| Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee considering legislation that will impact tenure, faculty governance, more | |
 | Many state legislatures are wrapping up their legislative sessions this month, and swaths of bills will be sent on to governors' desks in the coming days and weeks. At least four states have moved on comprehensive legislation that, if enacted, will have significant impacts on tenure, academic freedom and shared governance at public colleges and universities. Last year, Florida, Ohio and Texas were in the spotlight for new laws that brought big changes to higher ed, but this time around Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the states to watch. Several of the bills would weaken or even eliminate tenure at public institutions. Others hand curricular control to governing boards or limit faculty senates only to advisory capabilities. Sponsors of the legislation say the bills will help keep higher education institutions accountable to taxpayers. None of the legislation has garnered any public faculty support. |
| Meet the UGA researchers improving quality of peanuts for M&Ms | |
 | A Georgia university is playing a key role in improving one of America's most recognizable candies. Scientists at the University of Georgia have partnered with Mars to help develop peanuts that stay fresher longer for Peanut M&M's. In recent years, some consumers noticed changes in the taste and quality of Peanut M&M's, prompting concerns from fans. Efforts to improve Peanut M&M's have focused on making peanuts more resistant to disease and environmental stress while maintaining their quality, using advanced breeding methods. As part of that work, Mars has invested millions of dollars to support farmers growing these improved peanut varieties, helping strengthen the crop from the ground up. According to a newly released documentary, much of the research behind these advancements comes from the Wild Peanut Lab at the University of Georgia. |
| Tennessee faculty senate proposes pay raises, addresses state legislation | |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville faculty senate began to wrap up the year in its second-to-last session Monday afternoon, focusing on faculty pay and state legislation. Faculty senate President Charles Noble introduced a resolution to add an extra 1% to Tennessee's mandated 1.5% annual pay increase for faculty to match the current 2.5% inflation rate. UT Chancellor Donde Plowman shared her concerns over where the funds for the initiative would come from, suggesting that additional pay increases should instead be addressed on a departmental level. "We all wish that percentage had been higher," Plowman said. "The deans could make some decisions if they wanted to." Past faculty senate President Derek Alderman argued that faculty members must be treated as investments to keep UT competitive. |
| New U. of Texas student government leaders vow to push back against top-down changes | |
| Kiera Dixon and Jaden Watt -- the duo who now lead the University of Texas' student government -- know what it means when a university takes away vital support for students. A college freshman in 2023, Watt found community through the Multicultural Engagement Center, a central hub of student activity that celebrated cultural diversity, sponsored groups centered around students' racial and ethnic identities and hosted university-sponsored events. Campaigning on a platform of "closing the gap" between the administration and students, Dixon and Watt, who took office this week, say they will push for transparency as their university continues to face scrutiny from vocal politicians. "Students are feeling like there's no one fighting for them, there's no one advocating for them. They're feeling like these changes are just being imposed on top of them," Dixon said. "Creating a legacy of student government as being something that can fight for students and that can make change for them is a really big goal of ours." |
| Texas A&M Breaks Ground on $200M Semiconductor Project to Boost Tech Workforce and Innovation | |
| In a major step forward for technology and innovation in Central Texas, leaders from across the state gathered on the RELLIS Campus as Texas A&M broke ground on its new Semiconductor Initiative. This marks a significant investment in research, education, and the future of the tech workforce. "Semiconductors are a huge part of the economic environment we live in today," Governor Greg Abbott stated. "That's why our job as a leader here in Texas, across the country, and globally with regard to attracting the biggest, best, and brightest semiconductor operations that exist in the entire world." This $200 million project will expand workforce development and educate more students as technology advances. "We're going to be focusing on some of the most groundbreaking technologies we have at A&M," TAMU Semiconductor Institute Director Steve Punta said. |
| Mizzou raises $70M for nuclear reactor supporting cancer treatment | |
 | The University of Missouri has raised $70 million toward the more than $1 billion estimated cost of the NextGen MURR project, as fundraising ramps up for the new nuclear reactor designed to expand the production of life-saving medical isotopes. The total amount raised to date includes a $20 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and $50 million from the state of Missouri. The Missouri General Assembly recently approved the funding after a special session called by Gov. Mike Kehoe to address stadium projects in Kansas City, tornado aid in St. Louis, Mizzou's nuclear reactor and other initiatives. In addition to the NIST grant and current Missouri state funding, the remaining project costs will be covered by a mix of external sources and Mizzou's existing revenue streams. |
| Virginia Tech President Tim Sands to step down | |
| After a dozen years leading Virginia Tech, President Tim Sands announced Thursday in a letter addressed "to Hokies everywhere" that he intends to step down in the coming months. Sands plans to stay in the role until his successor is in place to ensure a smooth transition, according to a news release. Since taking office in 2014, Sands has overseen a period of significant growth and transformation at the university. Undergraduate enrollment has increased by 30%, while applications have surged by 200%. Extramural research expenditures have risen 70%, and the university's endowment has grown from $800 million to more than $2 billion, according to Virginia Tech. After retiring, Sands and his wife, Laura P. Sands, plan to remain in the area. "Laura and I will always be Hokies," he wrote in his letter. "We plan to stay rooted in Blacksburg as this is most definitely home." |
| To Prevent AI From Taking Graduates' Jobs, Comp-Sci Professors Try ... More AI | |
 | More than 100,000 computer-science majors across the United States have reason to wonder if artificial intelligence poses a threat to their career prospects. In an already-oversaturated career field, automation is the sour cherry on top. Computer-science graduates faced a 7-percent unemployment rate in the first month of 2024, compared with the overall graduate-unemployment average of 4.4 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's most recent data. Bearing that in mind, professors are infusing AI into senior-year capstone programs with the goal of turning the perceived enemy into a marketable tool. Yet, the question remains: Will this approach enable recent college graduates to prove their value on the job market? |
| 47% of college students have seriously considered changing majors due to AI: Survey | |
| Roughly one in six college students say that they've changed their major or field of study due to concerns about AI's impact on the job market, according to survey results from the Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2026 State of Higher Education Study. The survey was conducted online in Oct. 2025 among 3,801 U.S. students aged 18 to 59 who were pursuing bachelor's or associate degrees. It found that 13% of bachelor's degree students say they've already changed their major or field of study because of AI, with 19% of associate degree students reporting the same. What's more, about 47% of all college students -- about 42% of bachelor's degree students and about 56% of associate degree students -- say that they've given at least "a fair amount" of consideration to changing their majors due to AI. |
| Colleges Urge Education Department to Rethink Aspects of Workforce Pell | |
| The Education Department is another step closer to finalizing plans to expand the Pell Grant to short-term workforce-aligned programs, but colleges want the agency to first make some key changes to the draft regulations. The comment period on the proposed regulations for the expansion known as Workforce Pell closed Wednesday. The department received just over 400 comments on the proposal -- a far cry from the thousands submitted on draft student loan changes. Still, before finalizing the regulations, agency officials will have to read and respond to those comments. The expansion is set to take effect July 1, but funding to the short-term programs isn't expected to flow right away. Commenters from higher ed and industries were largely supportive of the draft regulations, but they want the department to make a number of changes to the rule, which they say would make it work better for students and not unnecessarily penalize institutions. |
SPORTS
| Baseball: No. 9 MSU Wraps Up Homestand With Vols | |
| No. 9 Mississippi State closes out an eight-game homestand at Dudy Noble Field this weekend looking to get back on track in Southeastern Conference play as the Diamond Dawgs host Tennessee for a three-game series beginning Friday night. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 6 p.m. with the series continuing Saturday at 6 p.m. and concluding Sunday at 1 p.m. with all contests streaming on SEC Network+. Mississippi State's weekend rotation has been equally impressive, anchored by sophomore left-hander Tomas Valincius, who will get the ball in Friday's opener. The Vols are expected to counter with right-hander Landon Mack on Friday, followed by Tegan Kuhns and Evan Blanco over the weekend. Tennessee brings a capable lineup into Starkville, hitting .264 with 53 home runs, but will be tested against one of the league's top pitching staffs. |
| Mississippi State baseball changes starting pitching rotation for Tennessee series | |
 | Mississippi State baseball has adjusted its starting pitching rotation for the Tennessee series at Dudy Noble Field. Tomas Valincius, who's 6-1 and second in the SEC with a 1.15 ERA, will start Game 1 instead of Game 2. Duke Stone (5-0, 3.75 ERA) will follow him starting Game 2, with Charlie Foster (0-1, 5.21 ERA) starting the series finale. No. 8 MSU (26-7, 7-5 SEC) remains without Ryan McPherson, who'll miss his third straight weekend start after suffering a mild forearm strain. Game 1 against the Volunteers (21-12, 4-8) is April 10 (6 p.m. SEC Network+), Game 2 is April 11 (6 p.m.., SEC Network+) and Game 3 is April 12 (1 p.m., SEC Network+). Last weekend's series against Georgia was a Thursday-Saturday series with Foster starting the first game, followed by Valincius then Stone. The tweaked rotation means Valincius and Stone both get exactly one week in between starts. |
| Softball: No. 13 Mississippi State Host No. 8 Arkansas On All For Alex Weekend | |
| Another busy weekend is on tap at Nusz Park at No. 13 Mississippi State prepares to host No. 8 Arkansas along with both All For Alex Weekend and Alumni Weekend. The series will be State's third against a top-10 opponent this year and second such matchup at home. The Bulldogs are coming off of a series loss at No. 5 Florida that came down to a replay review on the final play of the weekend to decide the series. All 15 teams around the SEC will wear teal uniforms or teal accents on Saturday as the conference celebrates the life and legacy of former Bulldog student-athlete Alex Wilcox and raises awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer that took her life. Students in attendance Saturday can pick up a free teal Wilcox jersey t-shirt and free loaded teas. Fans will be able to purchase replica teal jerseys all weekend. Saturday will also feature pregame alumni recognition. |
| Women's Basketball: Bulldogs Ink Cali Smallwood To 2026-27 Roster | |
| Mississippi State women's basketball announced their first transfer portal addition for the 2026-27 season, inking Cali Smallwood, a rising senior and one of the nation's top three-point shooters. Smallwood, a 5-9 guard from Susan Moore, Alabama, spent her last two seasons at UAB. After missing most of her sophomore season due to injury, Smallwood had a breakout junior season. Smallwood is the first transfer portal addition for the Bulldogs in the transfer portal window She will reunite with her younger sister, Lani, who was named Alabama's Gatorade Girl's Basketball Player of the Year this season at Albertville High School. In addition to the Smallwood sisters, the Bulldogs return their two top scorers from last season in the form of SEC All-Defensive and All-Freshman team member Madison Francis and Favour Nwaedozi. |
| Women's Tennis: Bulldogs Earn Top-25 Win in Home Finale | |
| No. 55 Mississippi State women's tennis capped its home slate with a dominant top-25 victory over South Carolina. The win marked State's first top-25 triumph since defeating No. 20 Tennessee in 2021 and the program's first time reaching four conference wins in a season since 2019. MSU set the tone early by securing the doubles point. No. 37 Athina Pitta and Gianna Oboniye got things started on court two with a 6-4 win over Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jana Stojanova. Carolina Troiano and Emma Cohen clinched the point on court three, defeating Sara Borkop and Jane Dunyon, 6-3. The Bulldogs carried that momentum into singles play, dominating across the board to secure a 4-0 sweep with wins on courts two, three and four. Mississippi State will head to Georgia on April 11 to wrap up regular season play. |
| Former Mississippi State star Tolu Smith reaches agreement with Detroit Pistons | |
| After spending time on a two-way deal with the Detroit Pistons, the work has paid off for Bay St. Louis native Tolu Smith. The NBA franchise announced that it has reached a two-year standard contract agreement with the former Mississippi State standout. Smith, a 6-foot-10 forward who was undrafted out of college, will be part of the Pistons' roster when the playoffs roll around, and Detroit has already secured the No. 1 seed in the East with just two regular-season games remaining. He initially signed a two-way deal with the Pistons in 2024 and has mainly spent time with the franchise's G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, where he has averaged 18.5 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in two seasons. The Mississippian has played meaningful minutes at the highest level this season. In 14 NBA appearances, Smith has averaged 3.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. The NBA Playoffs will officially begin on April 18. |
| Spring scattershooting: Avery Weed, Trey Johnson and Konnor Griffin | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: As I type, I keep glancing at the TV screen watching the first round of the Masters at Augusta National. Mississippians should take note of what Mississippi State junior golfer Avery Weed accomplished last week on that same difficult golf course. Weed, from Ocean Springs, finished tied for 11th in the Augusta National Women's Amateur, shooting a 54-hole total of 5 under par, including a final round 73 during which she birdied the difficult par 4 finishing hole. Weed currently ranks No. 19 in the world and No. 8 in the United States among women's amateur golfers. Just as impressive is her record during her junior season at State. Last fall, she was college golf's top-ranked female player, finishing in the top five of every event she played and finishing the fall a combined 31 under par. She seems at her best on the best courses, shooting 7 under par over 54 holes at Pebble Beach when she finished second in the Carmel Cup, and 4-over in 54 holes at Colonial in Fort Worth, in addition to her Augusta National performance. A prediction: When she finishes at State, you will read about Weed for years on the LPGA Tour. |
| Auburn set to host international soccer friendly featuring Lionel Messi | |
 | For the first time ever, international soccer is coming to Auburn. On June 9, Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled to host a friendly match between Argentina and Iceland as Argentina prepares for this summer's World Cup, the university announced on Thursday. It's a high-profile match as Argentina is led by global superstar and soccer legend Lionel Messi. "To have the reigning FIFA World Cup champions choose Auburn as the site of their last match before defending their title represents a tremendous achievement and an incredible opportunity for Auburn Athletics and Auburn University," Auburn athletic director John Cohen said. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. on June 9 and is part of The Road to 26, a series of high-profile friendlies ahead of the World Cup. |
| Gov. Jeff Landry riffs on rodeo, Saints, Pelicans, Will Wade, Lane Kiffin in Q&A | |
 | Sports have been a major focus of Jeff Landry's two-year tenure as Louisiana governor. During that time, he's helped lure major sporting events to the state, signed a long-term lease agreement with the New Orleans Saints and orchestrated an overhaul of the LSU athletic department. He conducted an exclusive 25-minute phone interview Thursday with Times-Picayune columnist Jeff Duncan in which Landry touched on a variety of sports-related topics, including LSU's recent hire of men's basketball coach Will Wade, New Orleans' bid to host the 2031 Super Bowl, the Pelicans' plans to renovate the Smoothie King Center and the upcoming Hondo Rodeo Fest and LIV Golf tournament in New Orleans. |
| ACL tear fears, TikTok myths and the fight for credible women's health science in sports | |
| Sarah Johnson remembers the distress with which female athletes uttered the words "anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)". She remembers the word "epidemic" branded across newspapers and websites. But mostly Johnson, a postdoctoral bioengineering researcher at Stanford University and a fellow of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, remembers the intensifying demand for her and the rest of the women's sport health research community to deliver answers. Answers that, she says, were not yet ready "Women across all ages are hungry for true information about vital health decisions, but there's a lot of grey that we're living in right now, with a lot of answers that begin with 'it depends'," she says. The growing participation, visibility and financial heft of women's sport, coupled with more women breaking into sport science research and decision-making spaces, has ignited the start of a sea change in the world of sport research. |
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