Thursday, February 1, 2018   
 
How to Sell Embarrassing Products
In the modern retail environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to use packaging to stand out. The shelves of stores are packed with fantastic fonts, strategically designed color combinations, and unique product forms all competing to draw the attention of consumers. But is it possible that attempting to stand out in a crowd is actually hurting your business? Research at Mississippi State University's College of Business shows that for products consumers find embarrassing to buy -- for example, condoms, acne cream, hemorrhoid cream, and lice shampoo -- having packaging that stands out may reduce consumers' purchase intentions. While this may seem obvious, a quick trip to your local pharmacy aisle shows how often embarrassing products are packaged in ways designed to grab your attention, with loud fonts or bright colors.
 
Dam building binge in Amazon will shred ecosystems, scientists warn
Most Amazon dams are in Brazil, where scientists have raised concerns about the displacement of local communities and emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane from large reservoirs. But as countries seek new energy sources to drive economic growth, a surge in dam construction on the eastern flank of the Andes could further threaten fish migration and sediment flows. During the rainy season -- from November to May---water levels rise in the Amazon Basin, flooding large tracts of forest. Various species of fish swim into the forest, where they feed on fruits -- and later disperse seeds. By blocking migration routes or changing water levels, dams change seed dispersal patterns, says Sandra Bibiana Correa, a freshwater ecologist at Mississippi State University in Starkville.
 
How to meet nutrient demand in high-yielding soybeans
Early-planted, high-yielding soybeans remove more nutrients from the soil than many growers expect. To realize the high-yield potential of the soybean crop the following season, growers might need to replace those nutrients. They are urged to develop comprehensive fertilizer programs to maximize soybean production, whether grown in either a monocrop or in a rotation. Mississippi State University agronomist Bobby Golden says the U.S. average nutrient loss per soybean bushel comprises 3.3 pounds of nitrogen, 0.73 pound of phosphorus, 1.2 pounds of potassium, and 0.18 pound of sulfur. Mississippi Extension research demonstrates that soybeans respond positively to potassium in the state.
 
Have you ever seen a vampire deer?
When a Caledonia man found dead buck on the side of a road, it didn't seem all that special, but when he began cleaning the skull to mount it, he discovered something very unusual. "This one was hit by a car in Lowndes County," James Underhill said. "I took the head and brought it home. "I actually didn't notice it until I was almost done. I picked it up and flipped it over and said, 'That's weird.'" What Underhill saw was an odd pair of teeth. Steve Demarais of the Mississippi State University Deer Lab explained the fang-like teeth. "It's relatively unusual," Demarais said. "There have been studies done on it over the years. There was a study in New York on 18,000 white-tailed deer and they found one out of 1,000 have them. You have to look at 1,000 white-tailed skulls to find it, typically."
 
Airbus: Prolonged court battle could cause layoffs in Golden Triangle
A new lawsuit from a competitor, filed just days before a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Airbus Helicopters over the same issue, threatens to shut down production at the Columbus Airbus facility. Airbus Helicopters President Chris Emerson blasted Italian rival Leonardo (formerly AugustaWestland) in a Tuesday conference call for what he termed an effort to hold hostage production and assembly of 51 Lakota UH-75A helicopters approved by Congress and ordered by the U.S. Army. Emerson said the last Lakota helicopter ordered by the Army (from a 2015 contract) will roll off the Columbus Airbus assembly line at the end of February. A prolonged court battle with Leonardo could lead to furloughs or layoffs in Columbus, he said. The Columbus facility employs 182.
 
Marty Stuart Planning Country Music Museum in Mississippi
Country singer and musician Marty Stuart says he's planning to develop a museum and performance hall in his Mississippi hometown to display his collection of 20,000 country music artifacts, including handwritten lyrics from Hank Williams. Marty Stuart's Congress of Country Music will be in Philadelphia, about 80 miles northeast of Jackson. Appearing Wednesday at the state Capitol, Stuart, 59, said international fans are "enchanted and mystified" by Mississippi -- the birthplace of rock 'n' roll king Elvis Presley, blues greats B.B. King and Muddy Waters and country music legend Jimmie Rodgers. "There's so much legacy and legend that comes from here," Stuart said.
 
John Barleycorn lives: House votes to ease alcohol restrictions
John Barleycorn didn't die with a deadline for action this week, and the House on Wednesday passed several bills that would relax Mississippi's strict -- some say arcane -- alcohol laws. The Mississippi Legislature for years now has been slowly repealing and tweaking its alcohol laws to allow craft brewers and distillers to operate and residents to buy their goods, allowing voters to more easily turn their hometowns from dry to wet, and allowing people to walk around with "go cups" in some areas and other measures. The push appears to continue this session. On Wednesday, Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, noted the long strange trip lawmakers have had in changing some of the nation's strictest alcohol laws.
 
To pay for roads, proposal would increase fuel tax, phase out a tax bracket
A new plan to pay for infrastructure repairs around the state emerged Wednesday. The House has already passed several road funding bills this year. At the Mississippi Economic Council's Legislative Scrambler on Wednesday, one of the ideas Rep. Charles Busby, R-Pascagoula, floated was a revenue bill that would raise the state's fuel tax and eliminate the 4 percent income tax bracket. "What this bill would do, is it would add 3 cents per gallon to gasoline every year for the next four years and then index that tax after that (by tying it to the consumer price index)," said Busby, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. "It would put 3 cents per gallon on every gallon of diesel for 5 years and then index it."
 
Terror threats could become felonies in Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers are considering making it a felony to make terroristic threats. The House on Wednesday passed House Bill 1264 , which would require a prison term of up to 10 years for the crime. It moves to the Senate for more consideration, where senators themselves are considering the similar Senate Bill 2585.
 
House bends Medicaid rules to accommodate hospital provider plan
After a tumultuous year, Mississippi's powerful hospital lobby won a small victory this week when a House committee passed a bill requiring Medicaid to make room for a provider-sponsored insurance plan in its controversial managed care program. Currently, there is only one insurance company backed by health care providers in the state, Mississippi True, which is made up of 60 hospitals and has the support of the state's Hospital Association. As a result, this requirement would bypass Medicaid's bidding process to award an estimated $300 million contract to Mississippi True, a move that effectively bends the agency rules to accommodate one company, say several legislators, including the bill's sponsor.
 
Horn Lake to vote on hiring Greg Davis
A Horn Lake alderman is moving forward with a proposal to hire a new planner for the city and will propose former Southaven mayor Greg Davis be the person his community should hire. Ward 4 Alderman Charlie Roberts said he wants the city to name Davis for the job, stating that Davis has the expertise and background for the position, and will come at a cost savings for Horn Lake. The issue is expected to be part of the Feb. 6 board agenda to be talked about in executive session, but Roberts indicated it could be pulled out into public discussion. Davis, who served as Southaven mayor for 16 years until being defeated by current Mayor Darren Musselwhite in 2013, has moved on beyond his legal troubles that included a guilty verdict on fraud and embezzlement charges in 2014, a verdict that was later successfully changed to not guilty in a retrial of the case last June.
 
An 'outsider' had things to say about the Mississippi flag, and the South didn't take it well
A self-taught video blogger who specializes in flags has some advice for Mississippi, delivered after an epic sigh in his latest installment of "Vexillographer." "If 30 percent of your population happens to be black, maybe you shouldn't have the emblem of Team Slavery in your state flag," said Peter Klumpenhower, a library clerk at the Grants, New Mexico, Public Library, a town of about 9,000 an hour west of Albuquerque. And that, the flag's critics say, is the problem: That's how the flag portrays Mississippi to the rest of the world. "I'm sort of looking at Mississippi as an outsider," Klumpenhower said. "It's up to Mississippi, though, to decide what to do. It's just my opinion." Normally, he says, the 60 or so fans who comment on his videos are understanding. But the Mississippi story reached a much wider audience and generated 185 comments.
 
Train carrying Gregg Harper, other GOP lawmakers crashes with truck at railroad crossing
A train carrying a Mississippi congressman and other GOP lawmakers was involved in a crash Wednesday. Congressman Gregg Harper tweeted that he and his wife were traveling on a train to a Republican planning conference when it hit a truck at a crossing in Virginia. No one on the train was injured, according to Harper, but he said two people were inside the truck at the time of the crash. The train was carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia when it collided with a garbage truck 15 miles west of Charlottesville, Virginia, in Crozet. One person on the truck was killed, another was airlifted to the University of Virginia Hospital, WVIR in Charlottesville reports.
 
House Republicans retiring in droves: What's pushing them out?
Forget running for re-election. House Republicans are running for the exits instead. On Wednesday, Rep. Trey Gowdy---chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee---became the third GOP lawmaker in just the last week to announce plans to leave Congress at the end of this term. All told, 41 Republican House members have said they will either retire or seek another office, compared to 16 Democrats, according to the House Press Gallery. Some of those lawmakers have been forced out amid sexual harassment allegations, while others are running for governor or the Senate. But at least nine are influential committee chairmen who, like Gowdy, are leaving with no scandal afoot. So what's pushing these gavel-wielding lawmakers out the House door?
 
FBI's pushback on GOP memo could land its director in Trump's crosshairs
The FBI thrust its low-key director squarely into the public eye and potentially into the crosshairs of the president Wednesday when it issued a statement declaring the bureau had "grave concerns" with a not-yet-public GOP memo that questions the basis to surveil a former Trump campaign adviser. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray had privately warned the White House against releasing the memo, but as it became clearer Wednesday that his entreaties were likely to be rejected, his agency issued a terse two-paragraph message laying bare its worries about the document. "With regard to the House Intelligence Committee's memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it," the statement said. "As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."
 
Bill aims for universities to adopt comprehensive sexual assault response policy
A Mississippi representative hopes a new bill will change how sexual assault cases are handled on college campuses. Representative Angela Cockerham wrote House Bill 1438 or the Sexual Assault for Students Act, which aims to require all public universities in Mississippi to adopt a comprehensive policy for sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The bill states the policy must be consistent with federal and state law and include a definition of consent, as well as prohibit retaliation against a victim who files a complaint.
 
William Winter Institute relocates to Jackson after 19 years at Ole Miss
The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation is relocating and moving away from Ole Miss after almost two decades on campus. Although the move is still in the early stages of the planning process, the institute announced that it is expanding its operations and moving to Jackson to become an independent non-profit organization in order to increase its service to the whole state. Board Chairman Bill Bynum said the institute decided to relocate based off of former Gov. Winter's vision to grow the organization to form a partnership with the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and introduce more programs in the capital city. The institute does not know the specific location it plans to move to, but it does intend to operate independently. The university supported the decision to relocate to Jackson and thanked the institute for the work it's done on campus.
 
Bill passes Senate to allow U. of Mississippi Medical Center to move up to 7,000 human remains
The state Senate voted Wednesday to allow the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson to disinter up to 7,000 human remains and move them to another nearby location. The bill passed with five members of the 52-member Senate voting against it. From 1855 until 1935, the Mississippi Hospital for the Insane was operated on the northern portion of what is now the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus. On the east side of the asylum, the state operated a cemetery where it is estimated between 3,000 and 7,000 residents of the asylum were buried. The location of the cemetery is the last undeveloped land on the sprawling UMC campus that is located north of downtown.
 
Bill passes in Senate to allow UMMC to move up to 7,000 bodies
The Senate has passed a bill to allow up to 7,000 bodies buried on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus to be removed and relocated to a site near the old Farmers Market off West Street. The bodies are those of former patients of the state's first mental institution, called the Insane Asylum, built in 1855 and operated to 1935, and underground radar shows their coffins stretch across 20 acres of the UMMC campus, where officials have wanted to build. Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said Senate Bill 2895 would allow the bodies to be moved to a mausoleum type 9,000-square-foot building owned by the state, which can accommodate about 4,000 bodies. Blount said the cost would be about $2 million to $3 million. He said the Appropriations Committee will have to determine if the money will be available this year.
 
Meridian Community College police chief talks safety after attack on officer
One person has been arrested after authorities say he brought a knife on Meridian Community College's campus and attacked an officer. Adedria Moore is charged with one count of assault on a law enforcement officer. Campus Police Chief Shane Williams says they got the call Monday afternoon that a man with a knife was near the E-Learning Center on campus. "An officer was in that area and did make contact with that individual, and subsequently through that incident, the subject was stopped and eventually even charged with assault on a police officer," he says. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. MCC has 11 certified full time officers and a number of part-time certified officers on staff.
 
Info curbs put to U. of Arkansas trustees; under proposal, only chairman can talk for board
The University of Arkansas System board of trustees is weighing whether to add rules that would restrict some of its actions and behaviors. Outgoing Chairman Ben Hyneman of Jonesboro proposed changes to board policy 100.9, which currently lays out rules for the 10-member panel's standards of conduct, conflict of interest, disclosure and prohibited activities. The proposed revisions would allow only the board chairman to speak for the panel as a whole, prohibit trustees from discussing the contents of closed executive session meetings, and introduce a new rule tightening how trustees request and obtain information from campuses.
 
U. of Tennessee team is NASA contest finalist to make Martian water
When humans land on Mars, they'll need something to drink. And after a two-year trip to get there, a shower probably wouldn't hurt. A team of University of Tennessee engineering students may have a hand in providing the water astronauts use on the Red Planet. They are one of 10 finalists in NASA's Mars Ice Challenge, a college competition to design and build a machine to extract liquid water from Mars' subsurface ice. "We were notified probably about three weeks ago that we were selected as finalists," said Skylar Jordan, a junior aerospace engineering major from Seymour. "Couple of weeks after that we got our first stipend." Each year NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace sponsor RASC-AL, which stands for Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts - Academic Linkage. It's a design competition for college engineering students.
 
Big changes proposed for Kentucky's largest college scholarship program
A legislative proposal could mean big changes to Kentucky's largest college scholarship program, expanding it beyond college to a host of other academic programs. House Bill 247 would expand the popular scholarship program known as KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship), letting students use money they earn based on high school grades to pay for dual-credit college classes taken in high school, technical workforce education classes, and even the materials they might need for apprenticeship programs with private employers. KEES was set up in 1998 using Kentucky Lottery proceeds.
 
Texas A&M University System general counsel addresses state Senate hearing on free speech
White nationalist Richard Spencer's visit to the Texas A&M campus in December 2016 drew overwhelming opposition from protesters and required a large police presence to manage the ordeal. When Spencer was invited back last year for a "White Lives Matter" rally, the university barred the event from campus, citing safety concerns. Ray Bonilla, general counsel for the Texas A&M University System, stood by that decision Wednesday while speaking at the Senate State Affairs Committee's hearing on free speech issues and First Amendment rights on college campuses hosted by Texas State University. Even unpopular, "repugnant" speech requires protection, Bonilla said, and the Texas A&M University System stands "ready to fulfill that duty." But its first duty, he said, will always be to ensure the safety of its campuses. "We didn't think that we could ensure the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors," Bonilla said. "We were convinced it was the right decision."
 
Bill would revise tuition caps at Missouri's public universities
Students would make up some of the shortfall in state higher education spending under a proposal heard Wednesday morning that would revise the state cap on tuition increases. Higher education leaders provided unified support for the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, that would allow tuition to increase by up to 10 percent more than inflation. The Senate Appropriations Committee gave it a friendly hearing, with the chairman, Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, promising a vote next week after some revisions discussed during the hearing. "We understand higher education is in crisis mode," Brown said. Over the past two years, state support for the University of Missouri System has been cut $40 million.
 
Republicans Tack a Conservative Campus Wish List to a Major Education Bill
Religious colleges would be able to bar openly same-sex relationships without fear of repercussions. Religious student groups could block people who do not share their faith from becoming members. Controversial speakers would have more leverage when they want to appear at colleges. A 590-page higher-education bill working its way through Congress is a wish list for a wide range of people, groups and colleges claiming that their First Amendment rights -- freedom of speech, religion or assembly -- are being trampled. Many of them are religious, right-leaning or both, and the Republicans behind the bill have eagerly taken up the cause, correcting what they see as antipathy toward conservative beliefs on American campuses.
 
'White Supremacists Are Targeting College Campuses Like Never Before'
White-supremacist propaganda at colleges increased by 258 percent from the fall of 2016 to the fall of 2017, affecting 216 campuses across the nation, according to a study released on Thursday by the Anti-Defamation League. For just the fall-2017 semester, the organization found 147 incidents of white-supremacist fliers, stickers, banners, or posters on campuses -- up from 41 reported during the fall-2016 semester. In the past year, the group said, 346 incidents have been reported in all, at colleges in 44 states and Washington, D.C., from community colleges to the Ivy League. "White supremacists are targeting college campuses like never before," the Anti-Defamation League's chief executive, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in a news release. "They see campuses as a fertile recruiting ground, as evident by the unprecedented volume of propagandist activity designed to recruit young people to support their vile ideology."
 
A year later, travel restrictions -- opposed by many in higher ed -- are having an impact
When Inside Higher Ed first interviewed Faraj Aljarih a year ago, he was unsure of his plans. Then a student in a master's program focused on teaching English to speakers of other languages at Washington State University, he'd wanted to stay at Washington State for his Ph.D. But he also wanted to take a trip home, to Libya. At that time, the first of what turned out to be three versions of travel bans imposed by the Trump administration meant that if Aljarih left the United States, he couldn't come back. The third and current version of the travel ban, unlike the first, technically allows Libyans to come to the U.S. on nonimmigrant student visas. But Aljarih won't be applying for one. In the year since the Trump administration imposed its first travel ban blocking entry to the U.S. for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Libya, the specific terms of the travel restrictions have shifted amid an ongoing battle over their legality.
 
Vouchers could be issue before Mississippi Supreme Court
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "During the ceremony earlier this week where Bill Allain's portrait was finally hung in the state Capitol 30 years after his tenure as governor ended, there was much discussion of what, no doubt, was his most notable accomplishment in elected office: ensuring the constitutional separation of powers that is the backbone of our form of representative democracy."


SPORTS
 
Mississippi State set for top 15 tangle at Missouri
Mississippi State traveled to Missouri two years ago with a 16-1 record and came home with a 66-54 defeat. The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs are hoping for better fortune this time around as it visits the 15th-ranked Tigers tonight at 7:32 on SEC Network. "This game right here has got our full 100 percent attention," said MSU coach Vic Schaefer. "We know going into Columbia, Missouri against that team can turn into a bad deal if we're not ready to go like it did two years ago." The Bulldogs (22-0, 8-0 SEC) are led by the tandem of Teaira McCowan and Victoria Vivians scoring 19.9 and 19.6 points, respectively.
 
Not looking ahead: Missouri comes first for Mississippi State women
Coach Vic Schaefer only knows the game beyond Thursday's Southeastern Conference showdown with the Missouri Tigers because it's virtually impossible to ignore the top 10 encounter with South Carolina on Monday. Other than that, it's been a simple, one-game-at-a-time approach for Schaefer and his team since the Virginia matchup up that started at 22-game winning streak. Despite knowing exactly who is waiting at Humphrey Coliseum at the start of next week, Schaefer knows that his team won't be overlooking this road game with the Tigers. Missouri has the Bulldogs' attention, as the Tigers do with the rest of the country, in their 17-4 start this season with a No. 15 ranking by their names. "This game right here has got our full, 100-percent attention," Schaefer said.
 
3 things to watch for when No. 2 Mississippi State visits No. 15 Missouri
Before a rematch of last year's national championship on Monday, Mississippi State first has a tough game to handle on Thursday. No. 2 Mississippi State (22-0, 8-0 SEC) visits No. 15 Missouri (17-4, 5-3) at 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network). Sunday's win at Ole Miss gave the Bulldogs' senior class its 111th-career victory, tying last year's class as the winningest in program history.
 
Undefeated Bulldogs latest test for Tigers
Coach Robin Pingeton said Missouri faced one of the conference's toughest defensive teams when it lost to Georgia on Jan. 25. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Pingeton said her players will have to take on an even harder test Thursday: No. 2 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs allow only 55.6 points per game, and they have not lost this season. "We look at it more like protecting our home court," Pingeton said. "We're still in the hunt to host and how good of a resume-builder that would be. I don't think everything hinges on this Mississippi State game by any stretch of imagination, but it dresses up your resume when you're in conversation about that." Mississippi State is led by 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan, a junior who averages 19.9 points. Pingeton said she expects McCowan to play in the WNBA, and the Bulldogs' guards have done a good job feeding the center lobs down low.
 
No. 15 Mizzou women's basketball hosts No. 2 Mississippi State to start home stretch
Lauren Aldridge paused on Norm Stewart Court as the final horn sounded. The Missouri women's basketball team had just knocked off then-No. 4 South Carolina, the defending national champions, 83-74 on Jan. 7 at Mizzou Arena. As the redshirt junior guard cherished the moment, she reminisced about her childhood spent watching big-time women's NCAA Tournament games with even bigger crowds. In those moments, a young Aldridge knew she wanted to play on that big of a stage. This past Sunday, she experienced South Carolina's Colonial Life Arena --- where boos rang out from 13,000 fans every time Sophie Cunningham touched the ball. But, for Aldridge, nowhere compares to Mizzou Arena. After dropping back-to-back road games to then-No. 21 Georgia and then-No. 9 South Carolina last week, Missouri hosts No. 2 Mississippi State, Florida and Kentucky in the coming weeks, starting with the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
 
Mississippi State men get first road basketball victory of season
Mississippi State got to enjoy the happy plane ride after a thrilling 81-76 Southeastern Conference win against South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena Wednesday night. MSU snapped a 12-game road losing streak by picking up its first road win of the season. The Bulldogs had last won on the road Jan. 10, 2017, at Arkansas 84-78. State also made it back-to-back conference wins while improving to 16-6 overall and 4-5 in league play. The Bulldogs have matched last season's 16-win total. South Carolina, winners over Florida and Kentucky already in league play, fell to 13-9 and 4-5. Quinndary Weatherspoon led MSU with 18 points, while brother Nick Weatherspoon added 17 points. In what coach Ben Howland called his "most complete game of the season" Abdul Ado added 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots before fouling out with a couple of minutes to play.
 
Mississippi State wins on road for first time in a year
Quinndary Weatherspoon had 14 of his 18 points in the second half while younger brother Nick Weatherspoon had 17 points to lead Mississippi State to an 81-76 victory over South Carolina on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs (16-6, 4-5 Southeastern Conference) won an SEC road game -- and consecutive league games -- for the first time all season. Mississippi State also ended a four-game losing streak at South Carolina (13-9, 4-5), which dated back to 2012. "This was big for us," coach Ben Howland told ESPN. The Weatherspoons were a big reason why.
 
Super Bowl: Eagles star Fletcher Cox has never forgotten Yazoo City
"What's the most satisfying sack of your career?" Fletcher Cox repeated the question back to the reporter to make sure he heard it correctly. Keep in mind, Cox is a three-time Pro Bowler with 34 sacks in the NFL. He made 7.5 sacks at Mississippi State before becoming a first-round draft pick. As Cox pondered the question, he wore a white Philadelphia Eagles track jacket designed specifically for Super Bowl LII with a green and white Eagles cap to match. He was in front of a group of reporters and cameras at Super Bowl Media Day on Monday, the words "Super Bowl" behind him in case anyone forgot the occasion. And yet he said the most satisfying sack of his career was a play he made as a junior at Yazoo City. It was at Mississippi State where Cox said he developed as a player and matured as a person. "I learned a lot," Cox told reporters this week. "No. 1, just being a man. Coach (David) Turner in my first year, his whole thing was, 'I'm gonna help you mature as a man before I help you mature as a football player.'"
 
Gamecocks respond to Missouri AD Jim Sterk's claims
The Missouri women's basketball team will host its biggest game of the season Thursday night when second-ranked Mississippi State (22-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) comes to Mizzou Arena. The biggest story for the Tigers (17-4, 5-3), though, is a swirling controversy over its 64-54 loss Sunday night at South Carolina. Athletic director Jim Sterk's assertion that Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley "promoted" an "unhealthy environment" at Colonial Life Arena that included fans spitting on Missouri players and using racial slurs was a national story by Wednesday morning. Sterk made the comments on KTGR's "The Big Show" on Tuesday night. South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said in a statement Tuesday that the program provided extra security for Missouri during Sunday's game and that after conducting a review of operations during the game, the school found no confirmation of spitting or racial slurs.
 
Dawn Staley says Missouri AD Jim Sterk's accusations are 'serious and false'
South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley addressed the media Wednesday for the first time since Missouri athletics director Jim Sterk accused her of fostering an "unhealthy" environment at USC that allegedly resulted in opposing players being spit on and called racial epithets. "The accusations are serious and false, and they will be handled in a manner reflective of those facts," Staley said. "And that's all I'm going to say about that." Staley later added that no evidence supporting claims of Mizzou players being spat on has "crossed my desk." She also reiterated that she stands behind athletics director Ray Tanner's statement from Tuesday evening in which he said the department had investigated the claims and found no confirmed reports of them. South Carolina and top-ranked Connecticut face off Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
 
Among Vols' 2017 NCAA violations, Rick Barnes used own money to boost assistant's pay
Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes thought assistant Desmond Oliver deserved more money than he was making, so Barnes reached into his own pocket to supplement Oliver's pay. "It was important to me that Des Oliver made the same amount of money as" fellow assistant Michael Schwartz, Barnes told USA TODAY Network - Tennessee. "I just felt those two positions needed to be equal. They felt it wasn't in the budget. I just said, 'I am going to pay it myself.'" Barnes' good-will gesture resulted in an NCAA Level III violation of rule 11.3.2.2, which pertains to supplemental pay. Tennessee submitted the violation in October. Barnes didn't know he was violating an NCAA rule and openly told his supervisor that he'd supplemented Oliver's pay, according to a compilation of UT's self-reported NCAA violations for 2017, obtained via an open-records request.
 
In Atlanta, Concessions Prices Go Down and Revenue Goes Up
It is one of the indisputable axioms in pro sports: Teams that open new stadiums raise prices for tickets, parking and food. After all, the owners have to recoup the hundreds of millions -- or billions -- of dollars in construction costs. Arthur M. Blank, the owner of the N.F.L.'s Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United of Major League Soccer, has tried to break the mold, at least for food and drinks. When he opened Mercedes-Benz Stadium last year, he included concession stands selling craft beer, designer sandwiches and high-end barbecue. But he also included a value menu, with bottomless soft drinks, $2 hot dogs, $5 cheeseburgers and other affordable items. The idea was to give fans a break while acknowledging that the price to attend games. The approach has paid dividends. The results suggest that fans will consume more if prices are kept at more reasonable levels, with potentially no effects on the team's bottom line.



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