| Friday, January 26, 2018 |
| Oktibbeha County unemployment rises while Starkville improves | |
 | Oktibbeha County's unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in December, while Starkville's unemployment fell to 3.3 percent, according to preliminary data from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. In November, Oktibbeha County's unemployment was at 4 percent, and Starkville's unemployment was at 3.4 percent. Greater Starkville Development Partnership President and CEO Scott Maynard said the slight increase in Starkville's employment numbers was most likely caused by the holiday season. "So many of our businesses are retail, and many of those bring on help, either part-time or full-time, to get through the holiday rush," Maynard said. In December, Oktibbeha County's labor force, which consists of everyone who has a job or is looking for a job, was reported to be 23,330, with 22,380 employed and 950 unemployed. Starkville's labor force was reported to be 12,600, with 12,180 employed and 420 unemployed. |
| State unemployment hits record low | |
 | Mississippi's unemployment rate hit a record low at the end of 2017. Unemployment dropped to 4.6 percent in December 2017, the lowest on record, according to data released Tuesday by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The national unemployment rate from the same month was 4.1 percent. The U.S. Department of Labor began calculating state level unemployment numbers in January 1976. The latest data is the lowest in the 40-plus-year history. Mark Henry, executive director of the MDES, said the latest numbers were "very encouraging." "The job market is obviously expanding," Henry said. "There are more jobs available, and it is easier for Mississippians to find jobs, which is good news for all of us. We have our challenges but we need to find and train and help people be better for the jobs that are the out there. Things are looking up." |
| Larkin Kennedy named CEO of Rush Health Systems | Local News | meridianstar.com | |
 | Larkin Kennedy has been named president and CEO of Rush Health Systems in Meridian. The announcement was made at the Jan. 24 meeting of the organization's board of directors. According to a news release from Rush, Kennedy will take over on Jan. 29 and be the fifth person to lead the organization. Kennedy will succeed Wallace Strickland, who will retire Jan. 28 after 48 years. Kennedy has been with Rush since 2010, serving as vice president of physician and clinic services, administrator of Rush Foundation Hospital and president of the health systems' hospital division. Kennedy holds an undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University. |
| Want to order wine online? Not unless you want to break the law | |
| When investigators with the Office of the Attorney General and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Department of Revenue ordered wine online, 22 out of 63 companies shipped to Mississippi. The problem: It's illegal to ship alcohol into Mississippi. Also, some of them shipped to underage customers and into dry counties. A complaint was filed last month against four of those wine companies, Attorney General Jim Hood's office said Thursday. In Mississippi, alcohol shipments to an individual or business are illegal if the purchase is not made directly through the ABC. The complaint, which was filed in Rankin County Chancery Court, seeks injunctive relief against the following wine merchants: Wine Express, Inc. of Mt. Kisco, New York; The California Wine Club, of Ventura, California; Gold Medal Wine Club of Santa Barbara, California; and Bottle Deals Inc. of Syosset, New York. |
| Medicaid gives legislators good news, bad news about budget request | |
 | The good news for legislators as they grapple with funding the Mississippi Division of Medicaid is that its deficit request for the current fiscal year has been nearly cut in half to $26.4 million. The bad news is that the agency, which provides health care primarily to the disabled, poor pregnant women, poor children and certain segments of the poor elderly population, is requesting an increase of $65.8 million for the new fiscal year to $984.6 million total. Drew Snyder, who was appointed in December as the interim director of the agency by Gov. Phil Bryant, made the request Thursday to the House Appropriations Committee. "Every year the Medicaid budget is a moving target," he said. But he suggested giving the agency a set amount of money "and the flexibility" to deal with budget shortfalls when that money is exhausted. |
| Lawmakers want to undo PSC corruption reform | |
| Two measures before the Legislature would undo some of the reform passed in reaction to corruption in the state's regulation of utilities in the 1980s. Proponents say the bills would allow the Public Service Commission to operate more efficiently and in a manner similar to those in most other states. Opponents say it's a move to allow big utility interests to co-opt state regulations, and say it's likely reaction to the PSC's hard-nosed handling of the $7.5-billion Kemper power plant boondoggle. In 1989, state public service commissioners D.W. Snyder and Lynn Havens were convicted on federal charges of extorting money from utilities they regulated. In response, the Legislature passed reforms that included creating an independent Public Utilities Staff to conduct investigations and collect information, attempting to separate it from elective politics. The three-member, elected Public Service Commission serves as a rule-making and quasi-judicial body. Mississippi is one of only four states with this setup. |
| Bill: Cities, counties must post campaign finance, budgets | |
| A bill pending in the Senate would require cities and counties to post local candidates' campaign finance reports online, and another measure would require them to do likewise with their budgets. Senate Bill 2072, authored by Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, unanimously passed the Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee on Thursday and goes to the full Senate. Senate Elections Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, said that county clerks would be required to post campaign finance reports to county websites, and city clerks post theirs to city websites. "Currently, people have to make a public records request and pay a fee to get these records," Blackwell said. "This would have them online, just like we do for state races. This evens the playing field." |
| Ghost of HB 1523 could resurrect a religious exemption for vaccination | |
 | Mississippi has one of the strongest vaccine laws in the country, offering exemptions only if medically required. While the state doesn't force children to get vaccinated, Mississippi's law means that any child who wants to attend day care or school must be up to date on his vaccines. For years, this has been a point of pride for Mississippi, which traditionally lags behind other states in almost all other health indices. "It's one of the things we do well," said Dr. Mary Currier, the state health officer. "And I'd hate to see us go backwards and see a resurgence of measles or pertussis or another entirely preventable (disease)." But some lawmakers and vaccine choice advocates are trying to change that. |
| Should #msleg tinker with vaccination success by allowing for religious exemptions? | |
 | It's back before legislators, a bill that would allow religious exemptions for families who disagree with required vaccinations before their children can be permitted to attend school. This year it's HB1505 authored by Rep. Andy Gipson. In 1969 religious exemptions were ruled unconstitutional, but since then most states have begun to permit them. Mississippi, California, and West Virginia are the only states that do not allow for religious exemptions when it comes to vaccinations. According to Rep. Gipson, this is the seventh year the issue has come before lawmakers, and he hopes this year will be the one to see a change. It's been alleged that vaccines can have a serious adverse effect on children and adults, though truly scientific studies have not shown any empirical evidence to support that argument. |
| Health care expansion regulation opponents face resistance | |
| Rep. Robert Foster, R-Hernando, is perhaps the state's greatest opponent of a state law that requires health care providers to apply for a certificate of need to purchase certain equipment or expand their medical facilities. In a contentious House floor debate Thursday about two groups aiming to build pediatric long-term care facility in Jackson, Foster said the strife wouldn't exist if it weren't for the state's CON requirement. "If we were to not have to have a board decide who gets awarded a CON, if somebody could get the money together, Calvary Baptist, to put in the facility in, and didn't have a CON, they could just go do it, couldn't they?" Foster inquired. The CON process requires an applicant to show a proposed new service 1) is needed, 2) does not duplicate an existing service and 3) does not discourage access to care by a patient who cannot afford to pay for it. |
| Legislative leaders defend uneven enforcement of Capitol event policy | |
| A day after Mississippi Today reported on a possible double standard for Capitol events, legislative leaders took full responsibility for uneven enforcement of the policy. In a joint statement, Speaker Pro Tem Rep. Greg Snowden and President Pro Tem Sen. Terry Burton, acknowledged "the unfortunate optics" of the policy enforcement. The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration manages events at the Capitol, and recently notified groups who had been approved to use the space that press conferences held inside the building will be confined to a 25-person limit. In a Senate Rules committee meeting Thursday morning, Burton told members "The optics are bad, but the policy is good." |
| Officials belatedly cracking down on Capitol rallies | |
| The school choice rally held Tuesday, where Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Gov. Phil Bryant spoke, will be the last rally inside the state Capitol and was not supposed to have occurred, according to the Legislature's two pro tems. Senate Pro Tem Terry Burton, R-Newton, and House Pro Tem Greg Snowden, R-Meridian, issued a joint statement Thursday saying the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration had a long-standing policy of banning rallies inside the Capitol and that in the future the Legislature would help ensure that policy is enforced. During a meeting of the House Management Committee Thursday afternoon, Snowden said it is difficult for DFA, which oversees the Capitol police force, to enforce that policy without the support of the Legislature. Snowden said people wanting to have rallies are welcomed to do so outside of the building, presumably on the south steps where gubernatorial inaugurations are typically held. |
| Columbus-Lowndes CVB backs off most recent requests on restaurant tax | |
 | Following fierce pushback from city officials, a few Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau leaders appear to be backing off their proposed revisions to an inter-local agreement involving 2-percent restaurant sales tax funds. Two CVB board members -- Whirllie Byrd and Chairman Dewitt Hicks -- as well as Executive Director Nancy Carpenter indicated to The Dispatch Wednesday they would support the city's proposal without revisions if that is what it takes to save the tax, which is set to expire on June 30 unless the Mississippi Legislature votes to extend it. "(Those revisions) are important, but they pale in comparison to the importance of reaching an agreement that will be acceptable to the city and CVB," Hicks told The Dispatch. "It's extremely important to the community for this tax to be renewed." |
| Smoke pot but want a job? Why using fake urine likely won't help you pass a drug test | |
 | The Urine Trouble Act may be moving through the Mississippi House at the behest of an insurance trade group, but truck drivers are hardly the only people trying to beat drug tests. A bill by Rep. Andy Gipson that passed his House committee on Wednesday would make it illegal to bring human or synthetic urine into the state, or sell it in Mississippi if it's intended to circumvent drug tests. The bill lists 15 additives that could mimic urine or make a urine sample appear drug-free. It would be illegal to possess or sell those if the intent is to beat a drug test. The bill also says the presence of instructions on how to thwart drug tests or devices, such as heaters to keep the "urine" at body temperature, would be evidence of intent. |
| Wicker, Klobuchar Introduce Bill to Promote Precision Agriculture, Rural Broadband | |
| U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Thursday introduced legislation to promote precision agriculture and rural broadband deployment. The "Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018," S. 2343, would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a task force to identify gaps in high-speed internet connectivity for the nation's cropland and ranchland. The measure also instructs the agency to develop ways to help encourage broadband adoption and precision agriculture in areas where it is currently unavailable. "Precision agriculture technologies are already changing the way American farmers do business," Senator Wicker said. "With increased efficiencies, higher yields, and more information, producers are better equipped to compete globally and provide American consumers with high-quality farm products. Rural broadband expansion is the key to unlocking this revolutionary technology." |
| Rep. Steven Palazzo: Secret memo could lead to restructuring of FBI | |
 | The Department of Justice is warning Republicans against releasing a memo that may show abuses of surveillance powers. The memo purportedly deals with Justice Department surveillance activities in the Russia investigation. The DOJ said releasing it would be reckless. Meanwhile, Democrats are countering with their own memo, claiming the GOP memo is misleading. 4th District Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo said the public should see the memo and said what it contains could lead to a restructuring of the FBI. Palazzo was in Hattiesburg Thursday, to present a Congressional resolution to 100-year-old Marine Corps veteran Henry Pope Huff, Sr. |
| President Trump touts economy in speech at Davos | |
 | President Trump on Friday declared "America is open for business" during a speech in Davos, Switzerland, designed to tout his economic agenda to the world's business and political elite. Trump's speech was the most anticipated event of the Davos forum after he won election by railing against "globalism" and free trade, pledges that rattled leaders around the world. Trump used his speech at the World Economic Forum to assuage such fears. "As president of the United States I will always put America first," the president said. "But America first does not mean America alone. When the United States grows, so does the world." The crowd sat mostly silent as a more subdued Trump spoke and offered a smattering of applause when he finished his speech. |
| Trump's swap: Citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers, legal immigration gutted | |
 | The Trump administration presented a much awaited immigration plan Thursday that would allow 1.8 million young immigrants brought to the country illegally by their parents a chance at citizenship, but which would also dramatically gut the legal immigration system. The plan, first discussed a day before by President Trump in speaking with reporters, would protect not only those who had received protections under an Obama-era deferred action program, known as DACA, but hundreds of thousands more who never got to apply or failed to renew their status when it expired. But -- perhaps most significantly -- the plan would also overhaul a key principle of American immigration policy aimed at keeping families together. As additional bits of the plan began to leak out Thursday, Democrats and advocates geared up to fight any effort to reduce current policies that reunite family members abroad with those already here in the United States. |
| Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit | |
 | President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, according to four people told of the matter, but ultimately backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign rather than carry out the directive. The West Wing confrontation marks the first time Mr. Trump is known to have tried to fire the special counsel. Mr. Mueller learned about the episode in recent months as his investigators interviewed current and former senior White House officials in his inquiry into whether the president obstructed justice. Amid the first wave of news media reports that Mr. Mueller was examining a possible obstruction case, the president began to argue that Mr. Mueller had three conflicts of interest that disqualified him from overseeing the investigation, two of the people said. |
| MUW offers Life Skills classes to benefit area residents | |
| In a new partnership between Families First and the Mississippi University for Women, life skills classes began this week for area residents of all ages looking to brush up on good habits or learn new ones. "Most of our participants are 60-plus, so a lot of them are retired, but we still have some stay-at-home moms, some that are looking for jobs, and they take some of our beginner courses like Excel, Wordpress and other technology classes," said Janie Shields, coordinator for the Life Enrichment program at MUW. The class sees mostly retired individuals aiming to become savvier with the ever-changing digital devices available today. Shields said participants come from as far as Amory and Nettleton to attend the Columbus-based class. |
| U. of Mississippi prepares for ceremony to unveil contextualization plaques | |
 | After several years of contextualization efforts, the university will unveil new plaques at six locations in an attempt to recognize what many community members see as troublesome reminders of history embedded in several structures on the Oxford campus. The plaques will be revealed during a ceremony on campus March 2. The contextualization plaques will be placed at Barnard Observatory, Lamar Hall, Longstreet Hall, George Hall, in addition to a plaque recognizing the university's enslaved laborers in the constructions of Barnard Observatory, Croft, the Lyceum and Hilgard Cut. Chancellor Jeff Vitter also accepted an additional recommendation to add a contextualization plaque for the stained glass Tiffany windows in Ventress Hall. The windows recognize the University Greys, a group of Ole Miss students who left the university in 1861 to serve in the Civil War. This plaque will also be included in the March event. |
| Winter weather prompts UM administrators to enforce closure policies | |
| Canceling classes due to winter weather can be a slippery slope for UM officials. Two rounds of winter weather and observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day brought Ole Miss winter intersession classes to a halt for several days earlier this month. Any decision to close the university during winter weather is ultimately made by the chancellor, based on recommendations from the provost and Crisis Action Team. Provost Noel Wilkin sat in on the meetings this month. He said winter weather closures are made largely based on how a storm may affect road conditions or campus conditions. University officials like to make the decision as quickly as possible, but actual weather events do not always match predictions, according to Wilkin. |
| Batson Children's Hospital getting a much-needed facelift | |
 | Easing the anxiety of a hospital stay for children -- and their parents -- while providing the absolute best care available has always been the hallmark for Batson Children's Hospital. The only medical facility in Mississippi devoted exclusively to the care of children and adolescents, Batson will be getting a much-needed facelift with the addition of a seven story, state-of-the-art 340,000-square-foot pediatrics tower. The new structure will house a neonatal intensive care unit with private rooms, surgical suites and an imaging center designed specifically for children. Site work on the $180 million tower, located adjacent to Batson on the campus of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, began the first week of January. The building is expected to be completed August 2020. Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the school of medicine, says Batson is in need of facilities to match the quality of care provided by its staff. |
| USM marine education center opens to first group of students | |
 | It's where education, technology, and nature meet in a seamless fusion. That's the idea behind the brand new Marine Education Center for USM's Gulf Coast Research Lab. The staff welcomed its first field trip to the facility near the Gulf Islands National Seashore Thursday morning. Students at Pascagoula High School spent the morning taking water samples, dissecting fish, and taking in all the beautiful views the facility has to offer. Included in the Ocean Springs facility is top notch, state-of-the-art technology. The center is also designed to keep the area's natural surroundings in mind. |
| Japanese diplomat meets with Auburn University students | |
 | Auburn University students don't need to leave campus to have an international experience and obtain cultural knowledge. A global fluency class taught by Anna-Katrin Gramberg welcomes diplomats from all over the world into the classroom to share information about their home countries and international relations. Yutaka Nakamura, deputy consul general for the consulate general of Japan in Atlanta, visited the class earlier this week. Nakamura has lived and worked in Australia, Fiji, Ghana, San Francisco, Uganda, and now, Atlanta, on behalf of his home country of Japan. He spoke to the class about Japan's relations with the U.S. and the African countries he has lived in, and shared some cultural lessons he has learned over the years. |
| U. of Tennessee engineering dean who oversaw growth, new facilities to retire | |
 | It was by chance Wayne Davis ended up coming to the University of Tennessee 47 years ago, though the university quickly ended up becoming home. Davis had just finished his master's degree at Clemson in 1971 and was planning on pursuing a doctorate in engineering when he found out last minute the university didn't have funding for his assistantship. So he went to the library, researched three alternative universities and cold-called each. One, the University of Tennessee, agreed to take him on, so Davis and his wife packed up a 19-foot moving truck and arrived in Knoxville within two weeks. "All of a sudden you're in a different world, and then you end up spending your whole career here," said Davis, now dean of the Tickle College of Engineering. "So I have a lot of allegiance to this university. My blood runs orange." After a 43-year career at UT, Davis is preparing to retire in June. |
| U. of Arkansas plans art district, finds room to grow it | |
| Plans to expand arts education at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville include recruiting top talent to transform the university's art school into a nationally recognized powerhouse. To help with the effort, there will be a major makeover to an area roughly the size of a city block about a quarter-mile away from the main campus. A planned cluster of arts buildings known as the Windgate Art and Design District will be built after UA last year announced landmark gifts of $120 million from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation and $40 million from the Windgate Charitable Foundation. For the UA arts community, a decision in 2012 to rebuild a former beer distribution warehouse set the stage for the larger development now set to be built. |
| Latest tab for Richard Spencer visit to U. of Florida: $793,000 | |
 | Gainesville officials estimate the Richard Spencer event held at the University of Florida in October cost city taxpayers at least $224,000. Those costs, however, don't factor the time that city officials and law enforcement spent planning for the event. The latest estimates are among a string of expenses that have rolled in since Spencer's visit. So far, the tab has come to at least $793,000. Spencer and his organization paid about $10,500, records show. "This is the price you pay for racism and hate, Commissioner Charles Goston said. Spencer, a white nationalist, spoke at the campus on Oct. 19. Earlier this month, Alachua County officials sent UF a $302,000 bill for its costs connected to the event. UF spokeswoman Margot Winick said in an email that the university hasn't made a decision whether to reimburse the county. |
| U. of Kentucky warns of wide impact from governor's budget cuts | |
 | Last year, the University of Kentucky's Division of Regulatory Services analyzed 47,000 soil samples sent in by farmers and homeowners, stopped sales on 206 fertilizer samples because they were harmful to gardens and pets, and monitored the state's milk and cream-handling system. The UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory tests for mad cow disease, avian flu and hundreds of other diseases that might affect the state's $45 billion agricultural industry. Under Gov. Matt Bevin's proposed budget, those programs would see cuts of $1.8 million and $2 million, respectively, hobbling their abilities to perform all those services. "I think we do our citizens a disservice if we don't go through these exercises to take a close look at the programs we support and assess what should be our priorities year to year," UK President Eli Capilouto told lawmakers Thursday at a budget review committee meeting. "Support for agencies like this are vitally important." |
| U. of Missouri looks to cut 27 graduate programs | |
 | A University of Missouri task force is recommending the elimination of 27 doctoral, masters and graduate certificate programs. The cuts are part of the Columbia campus's effort to reduce spending that began last summer. The Task Force on Academic Program Analysis, Enhancement and Opportunities report cites low enrollment, low research productivity or low grant funding as the reasons for shutting down the programs, which range from religious studies masters and doctoral programs to a graduate certificate program in gerontology. The report released Thursday is only the first look at the programs, Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and acting Provost Jim Spain said in a meeting with reporters. The deans and department chairs in each area will have an opportunity to challenge the conclusions by showing how the programs support undergraduate education or providing other reasons to keep them. |
| Senate moves forward with ambitious schedule for Higher Ed Act | |
 | The U.S. Senate education committee got into the weeds of higher education policy again Thursday, examining how the federal government could open up innovation by colleges and universities. But the biggest buzzword that emerged from a two-hour hearing -- "guardrails" -- signaled the focus of Democrats and expert witnesses on the quality protections that should come with opening up federal aid to nontraditional providers, as congressional Republicans have proposed doing. The tension over that specific issue reflects a larger divide between the parties that applies to many questions involved in an update of the Higher Education Act. As senators hash out potentially ambitious reforms on key issues, Republican and Democratic members have followed a familiar call-and-response. |
| Higher Education Bill Expected in Senate Soon | |
 | The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee appeared Thursday to agree on a number of provisions they would like to see in a new bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, which would streamline student loans. Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said at a hearing that he hopes to have a Senate version of the reauthorization ready "by early spring." A House reauthorization bill was approved by the Education and the Workforce Committee on a 23-17 party-line vote in December. HELP ranking member Patty Murray of Washington said she hopes to work with Alexander on provisions that would help lower-income students, those who are the first in their families to go to college, or who are minorities, veterans, homeless or working adults. |
| College, university administrators discuss how to thoughtfully reduce faculty duties | |
| Harvey Mudd College has a problem. Over time it's developed a "more is more" culture around faculty work that isn't, well, working. Lisa Sullivan, dean of the faculty, wants that to change, she said Thursday at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. "There's a strong connection between excellence, rigor and pain," Sullivan said during a session on data-driven strategies for reducing faculty workload. "You know you've got it right if you're suffering a little bit and stressed. If you're not at that point, then you're probably not working hard enough." Faculty workload woes aren't unique to Harvey Mudd, of course, which is why COACHE sponsored the session. (Professors may be surprised -- and happy -- to know that the administrator-heavy crowd was standing-room only.) According to the collaborative's national data on liberal arts colleges, 52 percent of associate professors say they are unable to balance the teaching, research and service activities expected of them, let alone balance work with other aspects of their lives. And liberal arts institution faculty members are categorically more satisfied with their work than are research university professors. |
| Want a functioning legislative branch? Bring back earmarks | |
 | Trent Lott, a Republican, who served as Senate majority leader and represented Mississippi in Congress for 35 years, and John Breaux, who served as Democratic chief deputy whip in the Senate and represented Louisiana for 33 years, write in The Washington Post: "Throughout U.S. history, earmarks have been directly connected to 'pay-for-play' activities in Congress and have promoted wasteful spending such as the 'bridge to nowhere.' We recognize this reality. And yet, as a former Senate majority leader and a former chief deputy whip in the Senate, we know that changes must occur if we want to return Congress to its role as a functioning body. For that reason, we believe it is time to bridge the partisan divide and remove the ban on earmarks. Yes, it is a bad idea to give congressmen bundles of money to spend on unrelated projects in their districts with no check or balance. But that does not need to be the case. With proper safeguards, earmarks can promote a functioning congressional system." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs off to best start in school history | |
| Vic Schaefer attempted to get his Mississippi State bench some meaningful minutes leading by seven after Thursday night's first quarter. Florida narrowed the gap to two in less than three minutes. Schaefer subbed his starters back in and closed out the half on a 13-3 run and the game was never in doubt again at the second-ranked Bulldogs won 90-53. "Fifty-five points in the second half, now that's my team," Schaefer said. "I thought our execution was really, really good." The victory improved MSU to a school-record 21-0, 7-0 in SEC play. Mississippi State travels to Ole Miss on Sunday for a 1 p.m. ESPNU game. The Bulldogs downed the Rebels 76-45 in Starkville on Jan. 11. |
| No. 2 Mississippi State women's basketball is off to its best start in program history | |
| As much as last year's Mississippi State's women's basketball team had a tendency to break records, this year's version has already made some history of its own. Mississippi State is off to its best start in program history after securing its 21st consecutive win to open the season on Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum. The No. 2 Bulldogs beat Florida, 90-53, in a game it fittingly dominated throughout. Predictably, there wasn't any celebrating after the feat. MSU has done better things in the past, and is eyeing bigger things in the future. "They set the record, it's done and now we can focus on Mississippi," Vic Schaefer said. "It's extremely hard to do what they're doing." Mississippi State (21-0, 7-0 SEC) visits in-state rival Ole Miss on Sunday, then takes a trip to No. 11 Missouri and then hosts defending national champion and No. 7 South Carolina. |
| Weight lifted: Mississippi State shakes off sluggish start to overwhelm Florida | |
| Perhaps the Tennessee win from Sunday created a bit of a hangover for No. 2 Mississippi State on Thursday because it wasn't sharp out of the gates against Florida. Leading 22-20 in the second quarter, that hangover wore off. The Bulldogs went on to outscore the Gators 68-33 over the final two and a half quarters and got 23 points from Teaira McCowan to blow by the Gators 90-53. The win made for 21 in a row for the Bulldogs to start the season now breaking the school record for best start two years in a row. "It's extremely hard to do what they're doing," MSU head coach Vic Schaefer said. "I think earlier (Thursday) there was a little weight on their shoulders to set the consecutive wins record. It's behind us. We can just focus on playing now." McCowan scored her 1,000th point of her Bulldog career on Thursday. MSU is searching for 22-straight wins on Sunday when it travels to Oxford to take on rival Ole Miss. Game time at The Pavilion is 1 p.m. as the Bulldogs try for nine-consecutive victories in the rivalry. |
| Baseball Bulldogs back on the field today | |
| No. 12 Mississippi State will conduct its first practice inside the new Dudy Noble Field/ Polk-DeMent Stadium today. Although construction is still ongoing as part of a $55 million stadium upgrade, it will not interfere with any on-field activities coach Andy Cannizaro has planned. "When our practice starts Friday until the season starts, we'll be full-go on the field," Cannizaro said. "There won't be any restrictions or anything that we won't be able to do in terms of preparing for our season and getting our guys ready to go for that opening weekend at Southern Miss." One of the first orders of business for the Bulldogs is to play against one another. Heavy construction during the fall prevented the team from scrimmages outside of two weekend series played in Jackson so Cannizaro will try to make up for lost time. |
| Bulldogs, Rebels ranked in Coaches Poll | |
| Mississippi State and Ole Miss have both been ranked in five of the six major preseason baseball polls. The USA Today coaches poll was released Thursday and placed the Diamond Dogs at No. 15 while the Rebels begin the year at No. 19. MSU finished 12th in the coaches poll last year. Southern Miss was in the receiving votes category. Coming off a 40-27 season and a Super Regional appearance, the Bulldogs have been ranked 12th (D1Baseball.com), 13th (Collegiate Baseball), 23rd (Baseball America) and 25th (Perfect Game) so far this preseason. |
| Vann Stuedeman targets return to NCAA tournament regionals for Mississippi State | |
| Preseason rankings don't faze Mississippi State softball coach Vann Stuedeman. When the preseason Southeastern Conference coaches poll was released last week, MSU was picked to finish last in the 13-team league. The ranking doesn't mean all is lost for MSU. A year ago, all 13 SEC teams made an NCAA tournament regional. Georgia had the rare distinction of a last-place finish in the league standings after being ranked in the top 15 in the nation to start the season. "It's always a challenge," said Stuedeman, who begins her seventh season at MSU on Feb. 9 in the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville. |
| Ron Polk inspires Mustangs at Center Hill High School baseball kickoff event | |
 | Credited with coaching baseball teams to more college victories than any other coach before retiring 10 years ago, Ron Polk is far from retired today. The former Mississippi State University coach, who guided future major leaguers like Rafael Palmiero and Will Clark, stays on the banquet circuit speaking about his time in the dugout and the coaching box. A visit to speak at a kickoff event for the Center Hill High School baseball team Sunday was his second visit in the Memphis area last weekend. But Polk, who over three decades amassed a record of 1,218-638-2 as a Southeastern Conference coach and an overall coaching record of 1,373-702-2, is also an assistant coach with a summer college baseball team in Massachusetts, and for the past ten years has been a volunteer assistant coach at Alabama-Birmingham. "The head coach is Brian Shoop, who was my assistant at Mississippi State, so when I retired due to my battles with the NCAA, he talked to me about coming over to UAB," Polk said. "I'm full-time but I'm not paid at all." |
| Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer 'not a big fan' of neutral site games | |
| When Tennessee opens the 2018 season against West Virginia at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., it will mark the fourth straight year the Vols will have played a nonconference game at a neutral site. It might be the Vols' last neutral-site game for the foreseeable future. "I'm not a big fan of them, to be honest with you," Vols athletic director Phillip Fulmer said during a radio appearance Wednesday on "The Swain Event" on WVLZ. The perk of neutral-site games is that the Vols still get seven home games, plus the neutral-site game, meaning they play just four true road games. And the payout for neutral-site games is in the seven figures. Tennessee and West Virginia each will earn a guaranteed payout of $2.5 million. That figure could expand to $3.2 million for each team depending on attendance for the game. |
| Clemson AD has a plan if Alabama comes calling for Dabo | |
 | It seems that every offseason rumors of Nick Saban leaving Alabama and heading to the NFL begin. When Saban does leave Tuscaloosa, whether it is for the NFL or to retire, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is believed to be one of a handful of coaches the Crimson Tide will go after. Clemson Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich has a plan for when that time comes and is hopeful the Tigers will be able to keep Swinney in the Upstate. "That's not something that I think about every night when my head hits the pillow, but certainly whether it's in football or basketball or baseball or any of our sports, as an AD you have to be ready for some of those things that may come down the path," Radakovich said. Swinney, who played and coached at Alabama, has built a powerhouse at Clemson, leading the Tigers to three consecutive College Football Playoffs. |
| Legacy of Paul 'Bear' Bryant continues 35 years after death | |
 | Two days before he died, Paul W. "Bear" Bryant met with Walter Lewis in his office at the University of Alabama to discuss words they had in the heat of the moment. A few weeks before, Bryant was leading Alabama against Illinois in the Liberty Bowl during the last game of his career. For Lewis, Alabama's first black starting quarterback, the game was an emotional experience, not just because he expected to win, but because everyone wanted the longtime Alabama coach to go out on a high note. During the 1982 season, the team faced a number of disappointments, including a 23-22 loss to Auburn during the Iron Bowl, famously referred to as "Bo Over the Top" after Auburn running back Bo Jackson jumped over Alabama's defensive line to score the game-winning final touchdown. Friday marks 35 years since Bryant's death. He died less than a month after retiring from Alabama with 24 years at the university and 46 years of coaching in total. Despite time that has elapsed since Bryant's death, many players, colleagues and writers not only remember where they were when they heard the news, but still hold onto fond memories and lessons from the man. |
| After operating at a loss last fiscal year, Mizzou athletics sees bump in ticket sales | |
| In large part because of lagging ticket sales last fiscal year, Missouri's athletic department operated at a loss for the first time as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Missouri last operated at a deficit during the 2011-12 fiscal year, the school's final year in the Big 12 Conference. According to figures included in the school's submission to the NCAA Membership Financial Reporting System, Mizzou generated $97,848,195 during the 2017 fiscal year, athletic director Jim Sterk's first year at the school. That's less than 1 percent increase from the previous year. The department spent $102,409,131, from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, which is a 8.6 percent increase from the year before. The report encompassed Barry Odom's 4-8 debut season as the Tigers' head football coach and Kim Anderson's third season struggling as Missouri's men's basketball coach. Things are rosier for MU now. |
| UConn says NCAA is investigating men's basketball program | |
 | The NCAA is investigating the UConn men's basketball program, the school said in a statement on Friday. The university launched an internal investigation of its own last year with an athletics compliance law firm, and noted that it has been "working closely with the NCAA's enforcement division." Hearst Connecticut Media reported late Thursday that the NCAA investigation centers on recruiting and Huskies coach Kevin Ollie. Ollie is in the second year of a five-year, $17.9 million contract that can be voided for just cause. According to Hearst, the investigation is separate from an ongoing FBI probe into men's college basketball over widespread illegal recruiting. |
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