Thursday, February 15, 2018   
 
Mississippi State AD John Cohen gives athletic update at Kiwanis
The Starkville Kiwanis Club received a thorough update on Mississippi State University athletics Tuesday, when MSU Athletic Director John Cohen spoke at its meeting. Cohen gave updates on many facets of the university's athletics program including an update on the $55 million renovations to Dudy Noble Field. Cohen also discussed the success of the 26-0 women's basketball team, new football coach Joe Moorhead and the importance of academics and service to State athletics. Since he is the former head baseball coach of the Bulldogs, Cohen had much to say about the new stadium under construction. "I can tell you that our final product will end up looking almost identical to that picture you're seeing, and it's because we were able to go out and raise $21 million," Cohen said. "It's because Mississippi State baseball has such a tremendous following. It's because of the tradition of a great program."
 
Fewer Scientists Are Studying Insects and Entomology
In the summer of 2016, Jerome Goddard, a medical entomologist in Mississippi, received an email from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a desperate ask. The agency was conducting an "urgent" search for insect scientists around the U.S. who could take up to a six-month paid leave from work to help the CDC fight the Zika outbreak in the U.S., and possibly respond to areas with local transmission if needed. "That's how bad it is -- they need to borrow someone," says Goddard, an extension professor of medical entomology at Mississippi State University. "We can't find people to investigate an outbreak." The dwindling workforce has serious consequences for human health; diseases spread by insects are on the rise in the United States.
 
Notorious suspect nabbed after naked sightings in the Cotton District
The naked truth may be closer to coming out after police arrested a Starkville man for indecent exposure in the city's Cotton District on Valentine's Day morning. This isn't the first time Starkville has heard of 22-year-old James Harmon Duke and the accusations facing him have grown to the point that he has earned a nickname among locals, which the Starkville Daily News has opted not to print. In February 2017, SPD first began investigating reports of a naked individual in the area of University Drive near the MSU campus. The investigation included a plain clothes police operation where SPD staff dressed as joggers and made the initial arrest of Duke. SPD was able to make the arrest with the assistance from members in the community. SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady said the report came in Wednesday morning and officers made contact with Duke within 100 yards of where officers initially responded to.
 
State auditor visits Columbus
Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering readily admits state finances can make a boring conversation, but he still takes seriously the task of education citizens about how the numbers work. Pickering, first elected in 2011, brought that task to a joint meeting of Columbus Rotary Club and Lowndes County Republican Women Tuesday at Lion Hills Center, where he specifically discussed the state's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. "How do we spend our money?" Pickering said. "These are important things for us all to look at and know, and as auditor, it's my job to help educate our policy makers and hopefully educate you a little bit today of how we spend our money." His talk about finances did not come without a handful of "boring accountant" jokes. "(The report) is about three inches thick," he said. "It will hold a door open. ... It is a great insomnia cure."
 
House votes to give tax credit for college graduates
The House, with no dissenting votes, approved a bill Wednesday to exempt college graduates working in the state from having to pay a state income tax for three years. The bill, authored by Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, is being touted as an effort to address what some believe is "a brain drain" of young college-educated Mississippians leaving the state for better paying jobs. In recent years, the Legislature has passed about 50 tax cuts that will take more than $700 million out of the state revenue collections when fully phased in. Lamar argued his bill would not have a negative impact on the state revenue collections since college students most likely were not paying taxes prior to earning their degree. There was no debate about whether the potential income tax revenue from the college graduates could go to replace revenue lost from Mississippians who might have been paying taxes but were no longer because of retirement or for other reasons.
 
House bill would exempt recent graduates from state income taxes if they stay in state
Forty percent of graduates from Mississippi's public universities have left the state five years after graduation, according to a recent report commissioned by the state College Board. On Wednesday, the House passed a bill 118-0 seeking to slow that brain drain from the state. The bill would exempt recent college graduates from state income taxes if they stay in the state for three years after graduation from a four-year college or university. They could get an additional two-year exemption if they buy a house or establish a business with at least one additional employee. It also provides the exemption for a licensed teacher. "House Bill 1550 is designed for us to have a discussion on the issue," said Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, who authored the bill. "I have seen a lot of this (brain drain) with the people I went to school with...We want to keep our best and brightest from leaving the state." State Higher Education Commissioner Glenn Boyce said reversing the trend of college graduates leaving the state is critical to the state's economic vitality.
 
'Brain drain' relief bill passes House
The House unanimously approved a measure Wednesday that backers say could help stem brain drain --- the phenomenon of young professionals leaving the state, taking their talents and skills with them. The legislation, HB 1550, would allow recent college graduates to receive a deduction on their state income taxes within a year of graduating from a four-year school. Those people would be able to receive the credit for up to three years if they continue living and working in the state. If they remained in state and purchased property, they could receive the tax break for and additional two years under the bill. "We're hoping this entices some of our best and brightest to stay here. Or, if they go to college out of state, to come back and raise their families right here," said Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, who sponsored the legislation. The House voted 118-0 to pass the legislation without serious debate.
 
Roads funding plan hits dead end
A House leader is shelving a roads funding proposal he laid out just a few weeks ago in hopes that Gov. Phil Bryant will call a special legislative session to address infrastructure funding. In late January, Rep. Charles Busby, R-Pascagoula, who leads the House transportation committee, floated a plan to raise the state's fuel tax and eliminate the 4 percent income tax bracket. But in an interview with Mississippi Today on Wednesday, Busby started walking back the idea, saying there is too little time to draft a bill and present it to legislative leaders before a Feb. 21 deadline to pass bills related to spending and taxation.
 
Gang bill criticized by Black Caucus, others
At least a half dozen experts emphasized Wednesday at a Legislative Black Caucus at the Capitol their opposition to a gang bill working its way through the Mississippi Legislature. Presenters from the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Families as Allies, the National Association for Advancement of Colored People, and the office of the State Public Defender took the mic one after the other to discuss what they see as shortfalls in Senate Bill 2868. Among those shortfalls at the top of their list of concerns were fear that gang members could be prosecuted even if they commit no crime besides recruiting new members for their gangs and the potential for racial profiling.Added to that was a potential cost to the state from enhanced sentences of more than $1 billion.
 
Where there's smoke there may be a tax increase Republicans can support
A Senate bill that proposes to raise the state tobacco tax could bring an additional $800 million to Mississippi each year, a potential windfall in a state with an annual budget of just over $6 billion. But what's most remarkable about this bill isn't its unprecedented bottom line but the powerful Republicans who are quietly backing it -- namely Gov. Phil Bryant. The governor has not publicly expressed support for this bill, which would increase the cigarette tax by $1.50 a pack. But in private Bryant has told several people who spoke to Mississippi Today on the condition of anonymity that if a tobacco tax were to land on his desk, he would sign it. These sources were not authorized by their offices to speak to the press on the governor's behalf. Mississippi Today did not receive a response to a request for comment from the governor on a possible cigarette tax hike.
 
Mississippi officer fired for Confederate flag confrontation now rehired
A black Capitol Police officer fired after a confrontation with protestors waving Confederate and state flags outside the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum has been rehired. On Wednesday, Department of Finance and Administration officials, who oversee the Capitol Police, confirmed that the 57-year-old officer, Wardell Jackson, has been rehired, less than a day after the Clarion Ledger reported his termination. A video posted to Facebook captured the encounter, which took place Saturday. The Delta Flaggers regularly protest outside state institutions that don't fly the state flag. African Americans hold the civil rights museum in high regard, said state Rep. Kathy Sykes, D-Jackson. To wave Confederate battle flags around the museum is "almost like desecration," she said.
 
Mass shootings getting deadlier and have something new in common: the AR-15
When a gunman attacked a high school in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, killing 17 people, the event marked a depressingly familiar milestone. As of this week, seven of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history have all happened since 2007. The Parkland massacre is now the eighth-deadliest attack. The nation's mass-shooting problem seems to be getting worse. And the latest, most serious shootings all seem to have one new thing in common: the AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle. The AR-15 typically has large magazines, shoots rounds at higher velocities than handguns, and leaves more complex wounds in victims. Details were still coming in about Wednesday's shooting in Florida, but officials say the suspected gunman, Nikolas Cruz, 19, was armed with at least one AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and "countless magazines," according to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel.
 
Nikolas Cruz: Troubled suspect had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Adopted at birth by a loving older couple, Nikolas Cruz seemed to struggle in recent years. His dad died when he was much younger and the 19-year-old's mom died just 3 1/2 months ago, neighbors, friends and family members said. The portrait that emerged of the suspected gunman in the mass shooting was of a troubled former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was expelled for disciplinary problems. Cruz was arrested without any serious incident at a nearby house very shortly after the shootings, which left 17 people dead and several more injured, Sheriff Scott Israel said. The AR-15 used in the mass shooting was legally bought by Cruz, attorney Jim Lewis told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Cruz already owned the gun when he moved in with his friend's family in northwest Broward around Thanksgiving, Lewis said. "It was his gun," Lewis said. "The family made him keep it in a locked gun cabinet in the house but he had a key."
 
Trump to Address Nation About Florida School Shooting
President Donald Trump will address the nation Thursday morning about the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school after contending there were "so many signs" that a 19-year-old who killed 17 people was "mentally disturbed." Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Trump will deliver remarks from the White House at 11 a.m. about the Wednesday shooting, something his predecessor often did following such incidents. The president also has ordered all flags at public buildings to be flown at half staff to honor the Parkland victims, according to Sanders. Trump took to Twitter early Thursday to urge his nearly 48 million followers to let law enforcement officials know about any behavior they worry could lead to another mass killing.
 
Climate change warm hole does not point to global warming hoax, scientists say
Frigid iguanas in Florida. Snowball fights on North Carolina's beaches. Recent winters have delivered a bitter chill to the Southeast, reinforcing attitudes among some that global warming is a fraud. But according to a scientific study published this month, the Southeast's colder winter weather is part of an isolated trend, linked to a more wavy pattern in the jet stream that crosses North America. That dipping jet stream allows artic air to plunge into the Southeast. Scientists call this colder weather a "hole" in overall global warming, or a "warming hole." "What we are looking at is an anomaly," said Jonathan M. Winter, an assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth University and the principle investigator in the study. "The Southeast is the exception to the rule." The study concludes the trend started in the late 1950s, and is concentrated in six states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
 
Styling at MUW: It's all about getting food ready for its close-up
Open a glossy magazine, a cookbook, a colorful menu or watch almost any food commercial, and you're almost assuredly witnessing the work of food stylists. The art of making food look irresistible for the camera is a learned craft, and students in a food styling course at Mississippi University for Women's Culinary Arts Institute Monday had a Valentine's Day feast ready for its close-up. Using color, shape, texture and food compatibility to artistically create dishes as beautiful as they are appetizing is the goal of the one-semester class being taught by Chef Mary Helen Hawkins. "The course provides students with valuable experience in learning 'tricks of the trade,' especially if they plan to pursue a career in food styling," said Hawkins.
 
Fraternities at UM create new requirements for members in response to national concerns
The Interfraternity Council at the University of Mississippi voted to require each of its members to attend educational sessions about sexual assault, hazing, substance abuse and available resources on campus every year they are a part of the organization. In the past, most of the educational forms were mainly for new members. Bennett Wilfong, IFC president, said the idea for reform came as a response to national events that have put Greek life in a negative spotlight. "(We) discovered some areas we should prioritize to continue creating a safe and welcoming environment for all members of the community," he said. Wilfong said that members of all 14 IFC fraternities have been notified of the new programming and are on board with the seminars. Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice chancellor for student affairs, said she is happy with the leadership the IFC has shown.
 
Southern Miss alumna takes flute to new heights with debut album
University of Southern Mississippi alumna Christopher Leigh hopes to change people's perceptions and impressions of the flute with her debut album, "Infrared." The self-published album, released in December, features songs combining classical flute with a pop/rock flare. Leigh, who earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from USM in 2012, notes that the album also includes "big" songs that sound as though they burst from a movie soundtrack. Leigh, 33, credits professors at USM for advancing her drive to infuse the flute's classical stylings with a harder rock edge. "Although I was a classically trained musician, I always had aspirations of doing something a little bit different," Leigh said
 
Auburn University to feature National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore
Members of the Auburn University campus and surrounding communities are invited to join internationally renowned photographer, author and conservationist Joel Sartore on Friday, March 2, as he shares his insights into the National Geographic Photo Ark, his collection of images that capture the world's rarest animals. Sartore's visit begins with a public keynote at 4 p.m. in Foy Hall Auditorium where he will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the Photo Ark and discuss issues affecting wildlife and their habitats. With a passion for protecting endangered species, Sartore will share his experiences capturing the iconic images of these animals before they disappear. The keynote is open to the public. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. and seating is limited.
 
White nationalist event at U. of Tennessee to draw counterprotests
Security measures will be in place at the University of Tennessee on Saturday for a white nationalist speaking event expected to draw counterprotesters and launch a series of similar events at other schools in four states. The Traditionalist Worker Party is bringing co-founder Matthew Heimbach to campus for a talk 1-4 p.m. at Dabney-Buehler Hall. The event has already drawn pushback from the campus community and administrators, including Chancellor Beverly Davenport and UT President Joe DiPietro, both of whom put out statements last week condemning extremist activity and saying TWP is not welcome on campus. Throughout the week counter-events have been planned, such as a panel discussion on white supremacy on Thursday and an "Anti-Nazi Teach-In" on Friday. A counterprotest event, "No Nazis on Rocky Top," also is planned from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Humanities Amphitheater and is being organized by the UTK Progressive Student Alliance.
 
In wake of LSU death, legislator will file bill to dramatically increase criminal penalties for hazing
In Louisiana, the maximum criminal penalty for hazing is softer than the penalty for shoplifting candy. A hazing conviction comes with a smaller fine than one for littering and means less jail time than someone faces for stealing their neighbor's chicken. Today, the maximum fine that can be imposed for someone convicted of hazing is a $100, and the maximum jail time is 30 days. That doesn't sit right with Lafayette State Rep. Nancy Landry. The Republican lawmaker said she's filing a bill that will create a steeper framework of consequences for people and organizations at the high school and college level who engage in the dangerous tradition. The regular legislative session begins March 12. Landry said she was moved to author the proposed change after learning about the death of Maxwell Gruver, an LSU freshman who died last fall in what police described as a hazing incident where he drank himself to death during an initiation at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house.
 
How much free speech do South Carolina college students have on campus?
Do students at South Carolina colleges need to have their free speech rights protected -- from their own schools? State legislators are considering a bill that would tell schools when they can and can't limit speakers, demonstrations or the activities of campus student organizations. The idea is to protect the ability of students to express even the most controversial thoughts or opinions. Colleges would have to promote the policy in campus materials and publicly report any legal challenges filed against them for restricting campus speech. State Rep. Garry Smith, R-Greenville, filed the bill because he thinks colleges have become too quick to shut down speech on campus if any student is offended.
 
Journal article explains how Russian bots created fear at U. of Missouri
Numerous reports in the last year have documented how Russian bots manipulated social media during the 2016 presidential campaign. A new journal article in Strategic Studies Quarterly reveals that the Russian bots had another target in the fall of 2015: students at the University of Missouri at Columbia. The bots created false impressions about some threats against black students and faculty members at the university, which resulted in some campus leaders calling for people to stay home and many students to say that they were terrified. The false reports also contributed to a negative image of the university -- particularly with regard to its support for minority students -- that the university continues to fight. Complicating the situation is that racial tensions were quite real at Mizzou that fall, and real threats did exist.
 
FBI director testifies on Chinese students and intelligence threats
Most of the media coverage of Tuesday's Senate intelligence committee hearing focused on Russian threats to U.S. elections and what the Federal Bureau of Investigation knew -- and when -- about a senior White House aide who resigned in response to domestic abuse allegations. But of importance to higher education, the hearing on a wide range of threats to U.S. security also featured comments from FBI director Christopher Wray about Chinese students at American universities. Daniel Golden, an investigative journalist and author of the 2017 book Spy Schools: How the CIA, FBI and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America's Universities, said this is the first comment he recalls from a FBI director about China targeting American universities. "I don't remember anything this candid about academia and Chinese espionage from such a high level," Golden said.
 
Senate Leaders Reconsider Ban on Pell Grants for Prisoners
The Senate's top education leaders will consider reinstating Pell grants for incarcerated students, a move that would restore a federal lifeline to the nation's cash-strapped prison education system. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee and the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the committee would consider reinstating the federal financial aid grants in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act currently underway. The move would reverse a decades-old decision to strike the benefit from the higher education law and signal a shift toward recognizing education as a centerpiece in efforts to overhaul criminal justice law. The federal student aid could be used to cover the cost of college courses taught in prisons, online or both.
 
Gun control stricter in wild west than modern-day Mississippi
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Comparing Mississippi, with its liberal gun laws allowing open carry of firearms, to the old wild west is inaccurate. The wild west had much stricter gun laws. House Judiciary B Chair Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, the author of many of the gun bills passed in recent years, would have felt downright oppressed in such iconic wild west towns as Deadwood, Tombstone and Dodge City. Law professor Adam Winkler's book 'Gunfight: The battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America' contains a photo from the frontier-era Dodge City warning visitors and inhabitants 'the carrying of firearms strictly prohibited.' ...This legislative session, of course, the Southeastern Conference has gotten involved in the debate over gun rights in Mississippi because of legislation, authored by Gipson, that has passed the House and is pending in the Senate."


SPORTS
 
'The dude' abides: Cowbell Yell crowd gets look at Bulldog baseball's renovated home stadium
For eight months, the complete destruction and rebuild of Dudy Noble Field and Polk-DeMent Stadium was concealed from the public, limited to just construction workers and occasional practices for the Mississippi State baseball team, under particular circumstances. Tuesday night, the updated college baseball haven and 2018 MSU baseball team was introduced to the public with Cowbell Yell, an annual preseason fan event. It was met with rave reviews from the crowd, which was the biggest MSU baseball's Cowbell Yell has ever drawn. "I think it's amazing," said Becca Flinbaugh, a senior at MSU. "I'm excited because students get to have nice seats." MSU opens play on the road Friday against Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
 
Mississippi State may start two freshmen on its infield
Mississippi State returns half of its infield from last season but will have three new starters. Juniors Hunter Stovall and Luke Alexander are both back but only Stovall will return to his same spot at second base. Alexander shifts from third base to shortstop this spring and gives the Bulldogs a lethal double-play combination. "Those two guys have played two years in the SEC now and that gives us a veteran presence and a lot of ability up the middle of the field," said MSU coach Andy Cannizaro. "That's really going to allow us to defend at a really high level again this season."
 
Which starting pitchers will Southern Miss trot out versus Mississippi State this weekend?
Southern Miss right-hander Nick Sandlin will make his the first start of his career in Friday's season opener versus Mississippi State. The junior, who has 20 career saves, also owns a 13-5 record in his first two seasons as a Golden Eagle. Whether his spot in the starting rotation is permanent or not is unclear. Sandlin will be opposed by Bulldog lefty Konnor Pilkington (8-5, 3.08 earned run average in 2017). First pitch is set for 4 p.m. Left-hander Stevie Powers (3-0, two saves, 5.13 ERA last season) is slated to start for Southern Miss in Saturday's game, while right-hander J.C. Keys (3-3, 5.56 last season) will take the ball on Sunday. First pitches on Saturday and Sunday are set for 1 p.m. Lefty Ethan Small (did not pitch last season due to injury) will oppose Powers, while Jacob Billingsley (2-3, 4.78) will start for Mississippi State on Sunday.
 
State can clinch share of SEC title tonight
No. 2 Mississippi State has an opportunity tonight to do something it has never done. The Bulldogs can clinch at least a share of their first Southeastern Conference championship in women's basketball with a victory at Vanderbilt. Tipoff is slated for 7:32 p.m. on the SEC Network. MSU (26-0, 12-0 SEC) is currently ahead of Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina in the league standings, all of whom enter the day 9-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs have won five of the last six games against the Commodores, including four straight. State cruised to an 86-41 victory in Starkville last season behind 21 points from Victoria Vivians.
 
Bulldogs can claim share of SEC women's title
Thursday night has rather quietly become a night that could be of historic proportions for Mississippi State women's basketball, at least in the Bulldog locker room. Coach Vic Schaefer and his team won't publicly mention it and the always-careful head coach probably isn't saying much about it behind closed doors. All Schaefer knows is his team has another big Southeastern Conference game as it takes on Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m., but at least a share of the Southeastern Conference championship is on the line for MSU. The Bulldogs (26-0, 12-0 SEC) are in the middle of the greatest runs in the history of the program and this week can bring them their first SEC title. Even Schaefer has tried to get this bunch to wake up and smell the roses of what's being accomplished, but all they've known for 26 games is business.
 
Mississippi State women look to continue historic march at Vanderbilt
The Dispatch's Alex Minichino writes: "It says something about Vic Schaefer when the Mississippi State women's basketball coach claims to have shown more emotion at times than his players. There's no denying Schaefer is right on at least one occasion. Those who saw Schaefer's reaction after South Carolina coach Dawn Staley called a 30-second timeout with 6 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter will undoubtedly agree. The timeout came after Victoria Vivians and Blair Schaefer hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help MSU regain the momentum en route to a 67-53 victory before a Humphrey Coliseum record crowd of 10,794. The reaction of Schaefer epitomized what MSU has been about -- passion, tenacity, will -- the last six seasons. That's why someone has to find a picture of that moment and send it to Schaefer so it can be immortalized on the walls of the Hump, right along with the memories of the men's and women's most successful teams."
 
State suffers heartbreaking defeat on road
Riley LaChance's game-winning 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left sent Mississippi State to another heart-breaking defeat on the road. The Bulldogs erased an 11-point second-half deficit but could not protect a late lead, falling to Vanderbilt 81-80 at Memorial Gymnasium. Xavian Stapleton hit one of two free throws with 7 seconds remaining, before LaChance hit his game-winner as the final second ticked off the clock. "We had incredible fight," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "We shot 66 percent from the field in the second half. We did a great job of attacking their zone in the second half. It comes down to the defense. They had 13 offensive rebounds to our six. We had too many mistakes on the defensive side. We played incredibly hard. I love this team. We always fight to the end."
 
Mississippi State men fall in final second at Vanderbilt
All kinds of thoughts swirled through Riley LaChance's mind after an official reviewed a replay of his game-winning shot. LaChance swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key with .5 seconds left, giving Vanderbilt an 81-80 win over Mississippi State on Wednesday night. LaChance's teammates mobbed him near half-court before an official checked to make sure his left foot wasn't on the 3-point arc and that time hadn't expired. "The last play of the game was obviously very frustrating because we left the ball open and (LaChance) made an uncontested 3," Bulldogs coach Ben Howland said. "We had four guys back on the shot, but mistakes are made." Mississippi State hosts Ole Miss (11-15) on Saturday.
 
Mississippi State softball rides pitching to 4-0 start
While the season is way too young to make projections, it is safe to say the Mississippi State pitching staff is off to a good start. Through four games, the softball Bulldogs have allowed four hits and no runs, including a perfect game. MSU will look to continue that early-season success today when UT Martin come to Nusz Park for a 4 p.m. start. Weather permitting, the team will then play twice Friday and Saturday at the MSU-hosted February Freezer. "Certainly, the type of start we wanted," MSU head coach Vann Stuedeman said. "We pitched it well the entire weekend. It's important that you start the season with confidence. It's a good way to get going." This weekend, the competition grows stiffer. UT Martin is 2-2 after splitting four games in the UL Monroe-hosted Mardi Gras Classic. State will play Drake (4-1) twice, South Alabama (4-1) and Murray State (1-3) this weekend.
 
Assistants bring former head coaching experience to Joe Moorhead's staff
Mark Hudspeth and Andrew Breiner can both empathize with Joe Moorhead. Both of them have years of head coaching experience -- Hudspeth with seven years at North Alabama before seven more at Louisiana-Lafayette, Breiner with four at Fordham -- so they know what Moorhead has on his plate. Both of them hope to help as much as possible. As Breiner, Hudspeth and the rest of the new offensive coaching staff for Mississippi State football was introduced Wednesday, both of them mentioned their previous head coaching experience helping them as they transition to assistant coaching roles. "I told Joe I'm going to be a better assistant coach this time around having sat in that head coaching chair, knowing some of the challenges he faces," Breiner said. He was Moorhead's offensive coordinator for four years before replacing him as Fordham's head coach. "As an assistant, being able to keep something off his plate or lighten his load as much as possible -- but when you're a head coach, there's no such thing. It's a lot, all the time."
 
Luke Getsy leaves Green Bay to reunite with Joe Moorhead
Luke Getsy admits it was hard to say goodbye to Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Getsy had been on McCarthy's staff for the past four years, including the past two seasons as wide receivers coach, and was perfectly happy in that position. But when Joe Moorhead called with an offer to become the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State, it was simply an opportunity the 33-year-old could not pass up. "I wasn't going to leave a great man and not go work for another great man," Getsy said. "I truly believe in Joe Moorhead the person first and secondly his leadership skills and abilities. I truly believe in him and that made the decision to come here easy but it also made the decision to leave Green Bay really hard."
 
Ole Miss publishes its written appeal to the NCAA, still awaits COI response
Ole Miss submitted its written appeal to the NCAA last Monday. The university published the document on Wednesday, and in doing so kept up with its recent aggressive tone toward the Committee on Infractions and its ruling. "This Committee should vacate and reverse the penalties and factual findings," the appeal stated, "because the COI abused its discretion, departed from precedent, committed procedural errors, and reached factual conclusions inconsistent with the evidence." Ole Miss is appealing its 2018 postseason ban, which was added to a self-imposed '17 postseason ban, limitations on unofficial visits, and the committee's findings regarding a Lack of Institutional Control charge and the allegation that Rebel Rags, an Oxford-based retail store, provided free merchandise to recruits and family members.
 
College football attendance down across nation, including SEC; Alabama, Auburn holds steady
With so much talk about the NFL struggling during national anthem protests, it's just assumed college football is the beneficiary of the league's struggles. That's not the case. According to CBS Sportsline, major-college football had its largest per-game attendance drop in 34 years. Based on a NCAA figures, attendance, per the report, among the 129 FBS teams in 2017 was down an average of 1,409 fans per game from 2016. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportsline points out that drop is the largest since 1983 when average attendance declined 1,527 fans per game from 1982. While the SEC may have slipped in attendance, Alabama and Auburn don't appear to be the reason why. Over seven games in 2017, Auburn averaged 86,446 fans (86,937 in 2016) a game. Alabama, on the other hand, averaged 101,722 fans (101,821 in 2016). Arkansas and Ole Miss each saw steep attendance drops from 2016 to 2017 at roughly 6,000 fans a game.
 
F.D.A. Approves First Blood Test to Detect Concussions
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a long-awaited blood test to detect concussions in people and more quickly identify those with possible brain injuries. The test, called the Banyan Brain Trauma Indicator, is also expected to reduce the number of people exposed to radiation through CT scans, or computed tomography scans, that detect brain tissue damage or intracranial lesions. If the blood test is adopted widely, it could eliminate the need for CT scans in at least a third of those with suspected brain injuries, the agency predicted. Concussion-related brain damage has become a particularly worrisome public health issue in many sports, especially football, affecting the ranks of professional athletes on down to the young children in Pop Warner leagues. Those concerns have escalated so far that it has led to a decline in children participating in tackle sports.
 
Former Adidas executives, sports agent seek federal charges dismissed
A U.S. District Court judge in New York will hear arguments Thursday morning about whether a federal criminal case against three of the 10 men indicted for their alleged roles in the FBI's two-year investigation into college basketball corruption should continue. Attorneys representing former Adidas executives James Gatto and Merl Code and former sports agent Christian Dawkins are expected to argue in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that what their clients are accused of doing -- allegedly funneling money from Adidas to the families of high-profile recruits to ensure that the players signed with Adidas-sponsored schools, and then Adidas and certain sports agents and financial planners once they turned pro -- doesn't constitute a federal crime.



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