| Friday, January 12, 2018 |
| Cold weather gives blueberry crop a boost | |
 | The recent spate of subfreezing weather isn't all bad. Just ask blueberry farmers. An unusually warm winter last year cut into the state's fruit crops, including blueberries, the state's largest. But thus far this winter, subfreezing weather bodes well for fruit crops in Mississippi, according to Dr. Eric Thomas Staphne, an associate professor at the Mississippi State University Extension Service. That's because fruit needs a certain amount of "chilling hours," when temperatures are between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit, to support its dormancy stage before blooming and producing. "We've probably accumulated enough for some of the lower chilling varieties," Staphne said in an interview. "We're hoping that we'll have some more of that cooling weather in the next month." |
| Greeting the day and the community: Starkville Coffee with a Cop | |
 | Around a dozen uniformed police officers converged on the Chick-fil-A on Highway 12 Thursday morning at sunrise. The Starkville police were not responding to a crime, but showing up for the monthly Coffee with a Cop. The events, usually held the first Thursday of each month from 7 a.m. until 8:30 a.m., are hosted by different businesses. They are designed to offer citizens and police department staff an opportunity to visit in a relaxed environment. "This is one of the many things we do to try to bridge the gap between citizens and officers," said Starkville Police Department public information officer Cpl. Brandon Lovelady. "We did this last year and are happy to host Coffee with a Cop once a year," said Chick-fil-A marketing manager Brian Hawkins. |
| Starkville man arrested after road rage shooting | |
 | A 45-year-old Starkville man is charged with aggravated assault for supposedly shooting out the window of a truck in an apparent case of road rage. According to Lowndes County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Marc Miley, Mark Belanger Thomas was arrested about 7:45 a.m. Thursday just off the Main Street exit from Highway 82 eastbound in Columbus. The incident began about 7:30 a.m. eastbound on Highway 82 near the Highway 45 South exit. The victim, driving a Ford F-150 pick up passed Thomas' Toyota 4 Runner in the right lane and the two men exchanged words "through open windows," Miley said. "(Thomas) pulled in behind the victim in the right lane, pulled a handgun and fired through his windshield into the rear window of the truck," Miley said. "Fortunately the victim wasn't injured." |
| Alan Nunnelee's impact recalled during naming ceremony | |
| Gov. Phil Bryant said Thursday that if he had his way, he would name the Mississippi Capitol after Alan Nunnelee. "He was very humble," said Bryant on Thursday at the ceremony where the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Building in downtown Jackson was named for Nunnelee, a former state senator and U.S. House member who died in 2015. "He never sought attention. All he wanted to do was some good for his state and country," the governor added. The Republican Nunnelee was remembered at the Thursday event for his deep Christian faith and his love of his family, state and country. |
| Speaker Philip Gunn files school funding rewrite bill | |
 | As expected, Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, filed a school funding rewrite bill late Thursday after more than a year of conversations about overhauling the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the formula that currently dictates school funding. The bill includes much of the what New Jersey-based nonprofit EdBuild CEO Rebecca Sibilia described to House Democratic Caucus members on Tuesday, including retaining a provision that allows property-wealthy districts across the state to keep $120 million it would have otherwise had to raise in local taxes. Gunn's formula includes some of the suggestions in the EdBuild report. Missing, however, is additional funding for kindergarten through 3rd grade students and the removal of the provision benefiting property-wealthy districts, which Sibilia described Tuesday as "inequitable, illogical" and "not good for kids." |
| Lawmakers could shift existing money into new school formula | |
 | The $53 million needed to pay for the first year of a proposed new Mississippi public school funding formula could come from other money currently going to education. That raises the question of whether schools would actually get any more money in the new formula proposed by House Speaker Philip Gunn. The Clinton Republican's plan, in a bill filed Thursday, outlines a $107 million increase in spending over five years. House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett said Thursday that House leaders may sweep other money now flowing to schools into the new formula. |
| House OKs roads bill that could create a $108M budget hole | |
| Depending on where you stand on the Legislature's need to fund road and bridge repairs and its need to keep the budget balanced, there was some good news and some bad news in the House on Thursday. The House unanimously pushed out an infrastructure bill that would pull more than $100 million from the state budget and divert it to road and bridge funding around the state. With 118 votes in favor and none against the bill, legislators approved House Bill 722, which would divert 35 percent of use tax revenue to counties and cities for road and bridge repair and maintenance. Many out-of-state businesses voluntarily pay the state use tax for online purchases and other transactions. Ways and Means chair Rep. Jeff Smith, R- Columbus, said this diversion would result in a roughly $108 million hit to the general fund. "We feel like between now and conference time we will have a method to come up with a plan to beat the shortfall," Smith said. |
| House rushes to pass state dollars to local road work | |
 | The House unanimously passed a bill on Thursday to divert millions of dollars in state use tax collections to cities and counties for road and bridge work. But the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, and House Republican leaders haven't figured out how to cover the $108 million it would siphon from the already strapped state budget. And while House Democrats went along with the GOP majority on the bill, they said they still have concerns, and they successfully amended the measure over the leadership's objections. City and county government leaders, who have been pushing lawmakers for more state funding for local infrastructure, have voiced support for the measure. House GOP leaders are hoping such grassroots support will influence Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves -- whose Senate leadership has shot down past House road funding measures -- to support it, particularly as he considers a run for governor in 2019. |
| Rep. Becky Currie says $108M bill for roads, bridges 'the biggest move we have made' | |
 | State representatives Thursday approved House Bill 722 -- a bi-partisan measure aimed at restoring the state's aging infrastructure. "We have been working hard to come up with a way to fund local roads and bridges," said Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, who represents Copiah, Lawrence and Lincoln counties. "This is the biggest move we have made." Democratic and Republican legislators joined forces, passing the measure unanimously. In conjunction with Currie, Rep. Bob Evans, D-Monticello, who represents Copiah, Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence and Simpson counties, and Rep. Vince Mangold, R-Brookhaven, who represents Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln and Pike counties, were also in favor of the legislation. "This is one of the best things we've done for local government," Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn said. |
| Fight for BP money continues at the Capitol | |
 | More than 100 coast business and community leaders are heading back home after an intense day of lobbying state lawmakers. The message they brought to Jackson was simple: all the money from BP to pay for oil spill damages should be spent on the Coast. The floor of the capitol rotunda was packed with the movers and shakers from the coast. There are 650 million reasons they were here. That number reflects the amount of money BP will pay the state for the next 15 years to repair damage from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf. Ashley Edwards is with the Gulf Coast Business Council. "We've got a number of business leaders here in the capitol today talking with legislators, talking to statewide leaders about the fact that ultimately, the coast is where the damage occurred and we believe the coast is where the money should ultimately go," Edwards explained. |
| Mississippi may impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries | |
| The Trump administration Thursday announced it would allow states to impose work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, a major policy shift that could have significant implications for low-income beneficiaries in the program. Seema Verma, the administrator for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said she was responding to requests from Medicaid officials in 10 states that want to run demonstration projects testing requirements for work or other types of community engagement such as training, education, job search, volunteer activities and care giving, according to an article Thursday in the New York Times. In his State of the State speech Tuesday, Gov. Phil Bryant touted the move as potentially helping the population of Mississippi. |
| Guest in as Baxter, others mull run for 3rd District Congressional seat | |
| District 2 Supervisor Trey Baxter is one of several Madison countians mulling a run for the Republican nomination in the Third District Congressional following news last week that Gregg Harper would not seek a sixth term. Baxter on Wednesday said he is considering a run but nothing is official. Jason McNeel, president of the flooring contractor CraftCroswell, said he, too, was thinking about getting in the race. "At this time we're certainly considering all our options," he said on Wednesday. Gerard Gibert, founder and CEO of Venture Technologies in Ridgeland, said Tuesday he was currently undecided and that he was sorting through business commitments at the time. Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest was the only person as of Monday to file paperwork to enter the race. There are several other Madison countians are said to be looking into the race as well. |
| Gov. Phil Bryant to Senate? Not so fast | |
| Could Gov. Phil Bryant appoint himself to the U.S. Senate if Sen. Thad Cochran steps down? That's a favorite theory among some political operatives in Jackson and Washington, D.C. The extremely rare political shift has occurred just nine times in U.S. history and never in Mississippi, and there's a significant wrinkle in the process by which Bryant could fill the seat. The state constitution forbids Bryant from appointing himself. Instead, he would have to resign as governor, meaning Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves would move to the governor's seat. Reeves, in turn, would have to appoint Bryant -- who would be, at that point, a regular citizen -- as U.S. senator. Whomever is appointed would serve temporarily until a November 2018 special election. The winner of that special election would then serve the remainder of Cochran's Senate term, which runs through 2020. |
| Trump Denies Using Slur to Describe Majority Black Countries | |
 | President Donald Trump on Friday denied using the term "s---hole countries" to describe Haiti and African nations during a Thursday Oval Office meeting on immigration. And, in classic Trumpian form, he attempted to alter the day's new coverage to focus on a bipartisan immigration overhaul proposal offered by Sens. Richard J. Durbin and Lindsey Graham -- a plan he rejected during an Oval Office meeting that also featured immigration hawks from his White House and Congress. "The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made -- a big setback for DACA!" He tweeted that the allegations of his slur was "Made up by Dems," and claimed a "wonderful relationship with Haitians." |
| Sen. Durbin confirms Trump said 'hate-filled, vile and racist' things at immigration meeting | |
 | Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who attended an immigration meeting with President Trump on Thursday, confirmed Friday that the president made comments he considered "vile and racist" about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries. Others who attended the meeting have said that Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept immigrants from "s---hole countries" like Haiti or those in Africa instead of places like Norway, whose prime minister he had met the day before. "I have seen the comments in the press, I have not read one of them that's inaccurate," Durbin told reporters in Chicago. "In the course of (Trump's) comments, he said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist," the Illinois senator said Friday. "l use those words advisingly, I understand how powerful they are. I cannot believe that in the history of the White House and that Oval Office any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday." |
| Congressman Bennie Thompson responds to comment made by President Trump | |
 | Ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), has responded to the profanity-laced comments about immigrants coming from Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries made by President Donald Trump on Thursday. In a statement, the Congressman said that Trump's comments are "a disturbing window into the racial bias that appears to be driving his immigration agenda. ...In contrast to President Trump's self-proclaimed 'performance' put on in front of TV cameras at the White House Tuesday, his defamatory remarks against less affluent countries behind closed doors are a disturbing window into the racial bias that appears to be driving his immigration agenda." |
| Facebook Tweaks Newsfeed to Favor Content from Friends, Family | |
 | In November, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg started sprinkling a new phrase, or perhaps a new idea, into his quarterly call with investors. "It's important to remember that Facebook is about bringing people closer together and enabling meaningful social interactions," he said. Research, he continued, demonstrates that interactions with friends and family on social media is particularly "meaningful." The goal of his service is to "encourage meaningful social interactions" and to connect in ways that lead to "meaningful interactions" and let us "build meaningful relationships." Clearly something was up. Thursday, Zuckerberg more fully explained how this quest for meaning will be worked into the core of its platform: Facebook is changing the algorithm that powers its newsfeed, the service at its core and the mechanism that increasingly determines how news and information spread throughout the world. |
| Ole Miss 'Sugar Baby' speaks: Choosing Sugar Daddies over student debt | |
| On social media, Darby appears to share the day-to-day happenings of her life. A 23-year-old biology major, her Facebook page is filled with posts typical of a college student: photos with her friends at Ole Miss football games, inspirational memes, and pleas to help abused animals. In each photo, her smile radiates. What's missing, however, is the life no one knows about. Darby was 19 when she met her first Sugar Daddy. In the four years since, she's had eight Sugar Daddy "Sugar Baby" relationships. Except for her best friend who introduced her to the lifestyle four years ago, and her sister, no one knows Darby meets men in exchange for money. Her roommates, parents and a former boyfriend all believe her on-campus job provides enough money to pay the bills. She does not regard how she does get her money as prostitution. In order to tell her story, she asked that her last name not be used. Originally from a neighboring Southern state, Darby moved to Mississippi last year to attend the University of Mississippi. |
| 'Find a dream, hold it, and help others': King's legacy celebrated at Meridian Community College | |
 | Businessman Learnard Dickerson challenged audience members at Meridian Community College Thursday to follow Martin Luther King Jr.'s lead and find and follow their own dreams and help others. Dickerson recalled challenges of violence, racial discrimination, systemic inequalities, and poverty and instructed the crowd of about 150 people to find ways to help others. "We have to continue this wonderful legacy for those who laid down their lives for us," said Dickerson, 48. "The real test is what you do for other people." Dickerson, a New Orleans native and Columbus resident, serves as chief executive officer and president of the public relations and marketing firm DACO LLC. MCC freshman Sabrina Boyd said Dickerson's message resonated with her. Boyd said she has endured financial hardships to pursue her dream to work as a physical therapist. |
| Two-for-One Program: Meridian Community College offering free classes to part time students | |
 | College can be very expensive, but one local school is helping students when it comes to "cutting cost" with tuition. "Basically they can choose one-class it can be any class. Online class, on-campus, a night class, whatever fits their schedule. They pick that class and then we have a list of classes that they can choose one of those classes for free," Deanna Smith, MCC Director of Advising and Retention said. Meridian Community College's Two-For-One Program is exclusively for part-time students. If you're enrolled under 12 hours, you can sign up for any class and then select a second class from a special list tuition free. "And it's really like a $450 scholarship. So it's a really good deal for our part-time students," Smith said. |
| East Mississippi Community College participating in Toyota pilot program | |
| East Mississippi Community College is among 12 schools nationwide selected by Toyota Motor Corp. to participate in a pilot program offering Automotive Technology students certification through the University of Toyota. EMCC will be the pilot school for the region represented by Gulf States Toyota, a private distributor of new Toyota vehicles and parts that serves more than 157 Toyota dealerships in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Five EMCC students were chosen to participate in the program, which includes both online coursework from the University of Toyota and hands-on instruction by EMCC Automotive Technology instructor Dale Henry. The five EMCC students are Cameron Bryce Hitt of Eupora; Nathan McNair of Starkville; Logan Sims of West Point; Zachery Walker of West Point and Richard Woodruff of Louisville. |
| City, U. of Alabama team up on new health care program | |
 | In a first for the state of Alabama, the city of Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama have teamed up to bring a new medical program to city residents. Dubbed ACTION -- Appropriate Care and Treatment in Our Neighborhoods -- this new approach to health care is now available to all Tuscaloosa 911 calls that will apply. Announced last year, this ambitious new medical program is aimed at reducing health care costs while improving patient care. The city, the University Medical Center and UA's College of Community Health Sciences have partnered to launch the paramedicine program, which will bring health care treatment to certain patients in their homes. Dr. Elwin Crawford, medical director of the city's Emergency Medical Services operations, likened the new program to the house calls once made by local doctors. |
| Time for change to TOPS may be around the corner: task force plan spells out huge changes | |
 | Louisiana's Taylor Opportunity Program for Students would undergo sweeping changes under a plan unveiled Thursday by the chairman of a legislative task force studying the issue. The suggestions, which face huge hurdles, were offered by Sen. Dan "Blade" Morrish, R-Jennings, leader of the TOPS Task Force and chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Under the plan, students who get the most common form of TOPS -- called TOPS Opportunity -- would get a $4,000 annual stipend, a reduction from current aid levels. Morrish said today's funding model is antiquated. "It is in the 20th century, not the 21st century," he said. The average annual tuition at four-year schools in Louisiana is $5,620, with LSU's higher. TOPS is supposed to cover most tuition for students who qualify. |
| LSU president F. King Alexander: Recruiting threatened amid 'billion-dollar budget problem' | |
| We're all familiar with that age-old saying, "Time is money." But for LSU -- and Louisiana -- time doesn't just mean money. It means talent. The longer we wait to address our state's billion-dollar budget problem and provide Louisiana's universities with the stability necessary to attract top-notch students from across the state and the nation, the more likely it is that we lose them to another state. And once they're gone, it is unlikely that we will get them back. To put it bluntly, this is a serious human capital issue for Louisiana, as we watch the next generation of talented students become the future economic assets of other states. |
| Florida Senate says yes to more help for college students | |
 | The Florida Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to permanently expand Bright Futures merit scholarships for some 94,000 university and college students. The legislation (SB 4) revives a higher-education initiative, known as the "Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act," that was vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott last year, when he objected to its impact on the state college system. Most of the changes occurred in the current academic year despite Scott's veto, including some of the scholarship expansions, which were part of the state budget. But the new bill would make those changes permanent and expand them. "The bill we passed today really transforms our commitment to higher education," said Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who has made higher-education reforms a top priority of his two-year stint as the Senate leader. |
| System chiefs vow U. of Arkansas, Arkansas State tuition freezes | |
| The four-year universities in the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University systems are committed to abiding by Gov. Asa Hutchinson's request to freeze in-state tuition at existing levels in the next school year, the presidents of the two systems told lawmakers Thursday. UA System President Donald Bobbitt and ASU System President Chuck Welch made these comments before the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee. The committee subsequently authorized legislative staff members to draft an appropriation for colleges and universities that would increase by $12 million the current general-revenue funding of $745.6 million for fiscal 2019, which starts July 1. |
| U. of Tennessee Foundation president will retire, interim named | |
 | The University of Tennessee named longtime administrator Kerry Witcher to the dual interim roles of vice president for development and alumni affairs and president of the UT Foundation Thursday. At the same time, the university announced the retirement of Rickey McCurry, who currently holds both jobs. Witcher, currently assistant vice president for alumni affairs and annual giving, was selected by UT President Joe DiPietro for the interim appointment, which begins Feb. 1, following McCurry's retirement on Jan. 31, according to a news release from the university. In addition to his current salary of $123,826, Witcher will receive an annualized supplement of $62,000. He will continue to perform the duties of his current position in addition to the new appointments. A search for a permanent replacement is planned but has not yet been scheduled. |
| U. of Missouri System to cut mileage reimbursement in cost-saving effort | |
 | The University of Missouri System could save up to $2 million by changing how it handles its fleet of vehicles, including a cut to the mileage reimbursement rate it pays employees. The system announced the changes after the Chief Operating Officer's Task Force on Fleet Management released its recommendations Thursday. At the direction of Gov. Eric Greitens, Missouri Chief Operating Officer Drew Erdmann asked the Hawthorne Foundation to create the task force in October. The system already has a contract with Enterprise that allows it to rent cars at an affordable rate, MU spokesman Christian Basi said. The "Trip Optimizer" will help it decide whether to rent a car for a particular trip. On average, the rental car is the cheaper option, when it's used. |
| Talks of restoring earmarks promises a renewed debate within higher ed | |
 | House Republicans and President Trump have signaled an interest in evaluating whether congressional earmarks could be restored for the first year since 2011. That discussion has rekindled a long-running debate in higher ed about the appropriations tool and whether colleges should pursue earmarks at all. That's been a moot point since 2011, when Congress, led by conservative Republicans, banned earmarks. The spending provisions are essentially any language included in legislation by an individual lawmaker directing spending to a particular project. And they make up just a tiny fraction of overall federal discretionary spending. Institutions that support their return say earmarks have supported infrastructure on campus that allows them to better compete for peer-reviewed grants awarded by federal agencies. |
| University Presidents Call on Congress to Find 'Narrowly Tailored Solution' for Dreamers | |
 | A group representing the top executives of more than 200 colleges wrote to Congressional leaders on Thursday asking for a "narrowly tailored solution" to the possible lapsing of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The action comes as the program, which shields some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children, may be scrapped by the Trump administration. President Trump on September 5 ordered that DACA be rescinded in six months -- March 5, if Congress takes no action to enshrine the program in law. The Trump administration has sent conflicting signals about what sort of immigration legislation it would support. |
| Interior puts grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars through political review | |
 | The Interior Department has adopted a new screening process for the discretionary grants it makes to outside groups, instructing staff to ensure those awards "promote the priorities" of the Trump administration. The Dec. 28 directive, obtained by The Washington Post, represents the latest attempt by Trump political appointees to put their mark on government spending. Last summer, the Environmental Protection Agency instituted a system requiring that a political appointee in the public affairs office sign off on each grant before it is awarded. Scott J. Cameron, Interior's principal deputy assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, instructed other assistant secretaries and bureau and office heads to submit most grants and cooperative agreements for approval by one of his aides. Those include any award of at least $50,000 "to a non-profit organization that can legally engage in advocacy" or "to an institution of higher education." |
| New website a hub for college students' opinions | |
| Cyrus Beschloss began his reporting career with an ill-advised practice -- reading the comments on his own stories. The junior at Williams College was surprised that his political pieces in a local Massachusetts paper, The Berkshire Eagle, generated so much vehemence in response. He was surprised that its readers cared so much about what college freshman, then 18 years old, had to say about Bernie Sanders's election battle cry, or Donald Trump's candidacy, which Beschloss deemed in February 2016 "a distraction." The backlash to his pieces sparked the beginnings of an idea, a platform for college students to share their opinions about the issues du jour. About two years later, Beschloss heads College Reaction, a website that seems to fulfill his initial vision, a place for college students from all over the country to publish their thoughts on Oprah's apparent 2020 presidential run, or Time's Up, the new Hollywood movement against sexual harassment and assault. |
| The DACA Deal Hiding in Plain Sight | |
 | Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros write for POLITICO: "Last year, despite heavy lobbying and urgent calls for action by advocates, businesses, law enforcement and voices from conservatives and progressives, Congress was not able to arrive at a permanent legislative solution to allow the roughly 700,000 immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers, to remain in the U.S. after the ending of the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. President Donald Trump stated in September that he hoped Congress would come up with a solution before the six-month termination date. That deadline is fast approaching. But it's not too late." |
SPORTS
| No. 4 Mississippi State routs Rebels to remain undefeated | |
| Any ideas of an Ole Miss upset were quickly dashed on Thursday evening. No. 4 Mississippi State opened the game on a 14-0 run and cruised to a 76-45 victory against its in-state rival to remain unbeaten at 18-0 and 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference. With Tennessee's loss at Texas A&M on Thursday, the Bulldogs are alone atop the league standings. "We just really jumped out quick and executed well," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "I thought the crowd was electric from the get-go. To have 7,161 here was really special. I'm really proud of the way we responded and showed some toughness." The win was the 11th straight for the Bulldogs over Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum and eighth consecutive overall in the series. |
| Mississippi State's defense overwhelmed Ole Miss women's basketball | |
| With a furrowed brow, Teaira McCowan swatted a shot midway through the fourth quarter. After watching how hard she hit the ball -- so hard that it nearly wiped out a photographer on the baseline -- her eyes bulged and she said, "Ohhhh." Then, laughter. You would think she would be used to it by now; it was her third such authoritative block of the game. "I didn't really realize I hit the ball that hard," McCowan said. "I impressed myself, you know?" McCowan was again dominant on both ends of the court in No. 3 Mississippi State's 76-45 win against Ole Miss. She tied her school record she set last season by shooting 92.3 percent from the field (12 for 13), scored 25 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked four shots. "What do you say?" coach Vic Schaefer said. Yeah, it reached the point of the season a while ago where games like that from McCowan are the norm. |
| Teaira McCowan Leads No. 4 Mississippi State Women Over Ole Miss 76-45 | |
| Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan had already played a dominant game and was well on her way to a 25-point, 13-rebound performance when an Ole Miss guard tried to sneak a layup past the 6-foot-7 center late in the fourth quarter. The thunderous block that followed nearly took off a cameraman's head behind the basket. She couldn't help but grin. "I impressed myself," McCowan said. She wasn't the only one. Another stellar night from McCowan helped No. 4 Mississippi State beat Mississippi 76-45 on Thursday. The Bulldogs (18-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) won their eighth straight game in the series against their in-state rivals. Mississippi State hosts Alabama on Sunday. |
| Big night for Bulldogs: Teaira McCowan's strong play helps MSU hammer Ole Miss | |
| It took about 2 minutes for Mississippi State to formally welcome their rivals from Oxford to Humphrey Coliseum. Blair Schaefer sandwiched two 3-pointers with a charge on defense and had Ole Miss coach Matt Insell calling for a timeout. That lead ballooned to 12-0 before the Rebels finally got on the board and never got closer than seven points as the No. 4 Bulldogs rolled to a 76-45 win over their rival. It was the eighth-straight win in the series and the largest victory for MSU against Ole Miss. "It feels good knowing that they haven't beaten us in my fourth year," senior Victoria Vivians said. "After me, they've got to continue the tradition." Vivians worked through foul trouble to score 15 points with eight rebounds. The night belonged to Teaira McCowan, however. |
| Teaira McCowan, No. 4 Mississippi State handle Ole Miss | |
| Teaira McCowan scored 25 points and did whatever she wanted against Ole Miss. That included sending four blocks into the stands. It was part of a dominant performance by No. 4 Mississippi State in a 76-45 win over the Rebels at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday. "I don't think there is anyone on Mississippi State's or Ole Miss' men's team that can guard (McCowan) in the post," Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. It was the eight straight win in the series for the Bulldogs (18-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) and gave Ole Miss (11-6, 1-3) their fifth loss in seven games. A key play all night that worked for the Bulldogs was one where a player would slant towards the rim then toss up a pass to an open McCowan on the other side of the basket for an easy layup. It worked nearly every time with McCowan shooting 12-of-13, setting a new team field goal percentage record (92 percent). Mississippi State finished with 18 assists to Ole Miss' four. |
| Mississippi State keeps rivalry with Ole Miss one-sided | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Hugh Kellenberger writes: "It was three years ago that an itty bitty freshman named Morgan William beat the buzzer with a jump shot that gave Mississippi State a two-point win over Ole Miss in the old Tad Pad. That was a long time ago -- William has made significantly bigger shots since than, for one thing -- and if in that moment it felt like Ole Miss and Mississippi State were equals on similar trajectories, everything that has happened since would argue against that. They played again on Thursday night in Humphrey Coliseum, undefeated and No. 3 Mississippi State going up against an Ole Miss team looking to get back to .500 in the SEC. A lively crowd of 7,161 watched as the home team won its 18th game of the season, 76-45, and proved once again that a rivalry that was once close is not." |
| Mississippi State's Andy Cannizaro looking at Elijah MacNamee to play 1B | |
 | It was the end of September and Elijah MacNamee was in class when he checked his phone; it was a text from Andy Cannizaro. Mississippi State's baseball coach wanted to see his starting outfielder in his office, and MacNamee had no idea what this was about. MacNamee crossed campus, sat down and saw a big smile take over Cannizaro's face. That's when MacNamee thought, "This has to be good." That's how Cannizaro pitched MacNamee on moving to first base. Nothing that's happened in the months that followed has derailed the move. When MSU begins preseason practice on Jan. 26, it will have MacNamee, he of 48 starts last year with none of them in the infield, occupying first base with every intention of leaving him there for the season. If the move doesn't work, Cannizaro has made it clear MacNamee will still have a spot in the outfield, but all parties involved want to make this work. |
| Julie Darty eager for challenge to transform Mississippi State volleyball | |
| The Mississippi State volleyball program has won 18 Southeastern Conference matches in the last six seasons. The Bulldogs, who are coming off a 10-23 season, have never advanced to the NCAA tournament. Julie Darty doesn't care. Darty made it clear Wednesday that history no longer matters when she was introduced as MSU's 12th volleyball coach. "I'm young, so I don't think it's the right thing to do to open up the history books and look back at the history of the program," Darty said. "I think it's a fresh start. It's a clean slate. We have so much potential. We have so much growth. We're at ground zero, and I think that's a good place to be." Darty, who spent two years as an assistant coach at South Carolina, hopes to use the four years experience she gained as head coach at Jacksonville to reverse MSU's fortunes. Darty's time at Jacksonville -- in which she led the program to one NCAA tournament appearance -- convinced MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen. |
| The W softball team returns to the field | |
| Tatjana Matthews couldn't wait to swing a fungo bat for the first time Wednesday afternoon. Before the Mississippi University for Women softball coach could do that, though, she had to navigate a morning filled with inquiries from family members who, like her, were anxiously awaiting the program's initial practice in The W's return to intercollegiate athletics. Matthews said she had to field 30 calls from her father, who wanted to know what she expected from the first practice. She said her mother and her neighbors also sent her texts with messages like, "Drink the coffee. Practice is coming." Even before Matthews fielded all of the questions, she took pain-staking care to make her practice plan was perfect. She might have been exaggerating when she said she changed her itinerary "57 different times." Matthews said her family members laughed at her for taking so much time to complete the first plan. |
| Education, disassociation are chief tools in Ole Miss clean-up effort | |
| Ole Miss leaders disagree with the NCAA's characterization of its booster culture but don't disagree that something needs to change. The challenge the administration faces now is how to facilitate change. The school faces the possibility of biting hands that help feed it. Although SEC schools receive roughly $40 million through conference membership approximately 70 percent of the athletics budget at Ole Miss -- $112.5 million for the current year -- comes from external sources such as sales for tickets, advertising and merchandise and from private giving. When a school relies heavily on outside contributions to fund facility improvements, staff salaries and more the task of administering discipline can be tricky. For Ole Miss, the act of discipline right now seems to come in two extremes: education and disassociation. The school counts 35,000 "active customers" of athletics among its 130,000 living alumni. |
| Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart sends strongly worded letter to Pac-12 about officiating | |
 | Kentucky's athletics director didn't just take to social media to voice his frustration about the officiating during the Music City Bowl two weeks ago, he also sent an official letter to the Pac-12 Conference. "We feel great disappointment that what was supposed to be a quality bowl experience for our young people and our university was marred by these incidents," Mitch Barnhart said in a letter he sent late last week. There has been no response to the letter from the Pac-12, which supplied the officials for the bowl game against Northwestern, a UK spokesman said Thursday, the day the Herald-Leader acquired the letter via an open records request. Three days after the Music City Bowl, the Pac-12 told the Courier-Journal it stood by the postgame statement made by head official Chris Coyte. In the letter to David Coleman, the conference's vice president for officiating, Barnhart strongly disagreed with the ejection of UK running back Benny Snell from the game for contact with Coyte. Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-football/article194245494.html#storylink=cpy |
| Dan Mullen hires Ron English to complete his first UF staff | |
| New Florida coach Dan Mullen completed his coaching staff Thursday with the hiring of veteran assistant Ron English. English, the final addition to the staff, has 20 years of coaching experience at the FBS level. He is a two-time Broyles Award (top assistant coach) nominee and the 2006 National Defensive Coordinator of the Year. English was Mississippi State's safeties coach this past season. In 2016, he was the defensive coordinator at San Jose State. He spent five seasons as head coach at Eastern Michigan from 2009-13. |
| Tennessee Vols AD Phillip Fulmer aims to assist but not interfere with Jeremy Pruitt | |
| Phillip Fulmer said he keeps his experience with former Tennessee athletic director Doug Dickey in mind as he leads the Vols' athletic department. "I had a great experience with the best that's ever maybe been an athletic director -- former head coach Doug Dickey, a former champion here that was my coach," Fulmer said Thursday. "He gave me an opportunity. He never interfered but always was there, always was there. That's the way I want it to be." Fulmer has been Tennessee's AD since Dec. 1, when he took the post on the day that John Currie was ousted amid a chaotic football coaching search. "It's Jeremy's team to run and recruit and all those things," Fulmer said. "My job is to give him the tools." |
The Office of Public Affairs provides the Daily News Digest as a general information resource for Mississippi State University stakeholders.
Web links are subject to change. Submit news, questions or comments to Jim Laird.
