| Tuesday, August 28, 2018 |
| Hawkeye's new mission: M*A*S*H* star kicks off workshop for MSU faculty about scientific communication | |
 | Alan Alda's example of perfect communication involved him coming a bit closer to dying than he would have liked. It happened about 15 years ago when he started experiencing extraordinary pain in his abdomen while visiting an observatory in Chile. After talking to a medic at the observatory, who Alda described as less than helpful, an ambulance took him to an emergency room, where a doctor quickly identified the problem. The issue, as Alda described it, was that about a yard of his intestine lost its blood supply and was dead or dying. He would be too, if the problem wasn't rectified. It was a story he told a packed Lee Hall Bettersworth Auditorium at Mississippi State University Monday night. The doctor, Alda told his audience, explained the problem and what had to be done to fix it, very clearly. |
| Mississippi State holds education expo in Tupelo | |
 | Mississippi State University held an education expo for potential students Monday afternoon. The university's College of Education and the Center for Distance Education helped host the event. The expo featured representatives from multiple education departments of the university, including Special Education, Counseling, Kinesiology and Music and others. The event was to help expand the university's outreach program for community college transfers and area non-traditional students interested in the university. |
| Author discusses her new book on how white children develop ideas about race | |
 | American colleges struggle with racial tensions every year. Some white students -- in incidents that attract widespread attention or in everyday interactions with their minority peers -- convey a lack of understanding about race. A new book, White Kids: Growing Up With Privilege in a Racially Divided America (New York University Press), explores how wealthy white children develop their ideas about race. The author, Margaret A. Hagerman, assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University, took a qualitative approach, following young white people as they grew up. She answered questions via email about the book and how her findings relate to current tensions at colleges. |
| Made in Mississippi: Stark delivers first missile defense canister to Israel | |
| A new ballistic missile defense system being developed for Israel will have a bit of the Golden Triangle in it. Stark Aerospace, located near Golden Triangle Regional Airport, held a ceremony Monday to commemorate the delivery of the first canister for the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Israel. The system is designed to shoot down incoming missiles. The canisters hold the anti-ballistic missiles the system fires to intercept incoming missiles. They are loaded into launchers, each of which can hold six canisters. The project is jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, Boeing and Stark. Gov. Phil Bryant, who also spoke at Monday's ceremony, praised Stark's work on the program. "This is one of the most advanced systems in the world, but it needs a canister and we're manufacturing that canister right here," Bryant said. "Seventy percent of the materials used in the manufacturing of the canister come from Mississippi, so you're looking at Mississippi steel and a lot of Mississippi technology that goes in this." |
| Starkville suspends police chief | |
| Starkville Police Chief Frank Nichols has been suspended for two weeks, without pay, following an executive session vote by Starkville's board of aldermen. Nichols' suspension is effective immediately. Aldermen also placed him on probation for six months and named SPD Capt. Troy Outlaw interim police chief while Nichols serves his suspension. Aldermen met for a special called meeting at 2:30 p.m. Monday. The sole item on the agenda was an executive session discussion of a personnel matter. Officials declined to comment on the matter immediately after Monday's meeting, and the reason for Nichols' suspension is currently unclear. The Dispatch has submitted a public records request to the city for more information. |
| Mississippi's 3 new West Nile virus human cases bring total to 26 for 2018 | |
 | Three more human cases of West Nile virus bring to 26 the total so far in 2018. The state Department of Health reported the new cases are in Hinds, Harrison and Walthall counties. In 2017, Mississippi had 63 WNV cases and two deaths. Hinds leads the state in the number of cases with 10, followed by two each in Adams, Calhoun and Forrest counties with Copiah, Harrison, Itawamba, Jones, Madison, Marion, Oktibbeha, Pearl River, Walthall and Washington counties each recording one. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said that Jackson residents should continue to be especially aware of WNV and the risk for infection. All 10 reported cases in Hinds County have been within the Jackson city limits. Byers said that Mississippi is in its peak West Nile virus season of July through September. |
| Highway commissioner skewers Legislature for handling of infrastructure, budget | |
| Dick Hall pulled no punches in his address to the Starkville Rotary Club Monday, ripping the Mississippi Legislature for what he calls an impending economic crisis due mainly to big tax cuts implemented over the past three years. In his role as Mississippi's Central District highway commissioner since 1999, Hall has been a consistent critic of Legislature for its failure to properly address the state's roads/bridges infrastructure crisis, but his criticism went beyond that topic. As the former chairman of the state Senate's appropriations committee and a six-term legislator prior to his role as highway commissioner, Hall said the state faces a financial disaster comparable to that of Louisiana, and for the same reasons. "I'm at the point in my life that I'm going to say what is so, no matter what," Hall, 80, told a packed house at the Starkville Country Club. |
| Lottery bill passes Mississippi Senate but falters in House | |
 | Mississippi legislators split late Monday on whether to create a state lottery, leaving uncertainty about what will happen. Senators voted 31-17 to pass a lottery bill, moments after the House rejected the same proposal. Sixty House members voted against the bill, and 54 voted for it. The issue is not going away. The bill was held for the possibility of more debate, which gives supporters a chance to try to revive it and pass it in the House. Mississippi is one of six states without a lottery, and Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has been pushing lawmakers for more than a year to create one. He wants money to help pay for highways and bridges. |
| House votes down lottery bill, Senate approves game of chance | |
| The chance of a lottery bill passing during the special session is now uncertain. The House late Monday killed a conference bill that would have brought the game of chance to the state. The vote was a close one with 54 members voting in favor of the legislation and 60 members voting against. "You're going to have to talk to those who voted against it," said House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton. "There was clearly dissatisfaction with the bill." Gunn voted against the measure. After the vote, Gov. Phil Bryant blamed House Democrats. Monday's vote, however, was a bipartisan one. Republicans hold a supermajority in the House, meaning votes from Democratic lawmakers are not needed to pass legislation. |
| Lottery not dead but no longer a sure bet after stunning defeat in House | |
 | The House of Representatives rejected Gov. Phil Bryant's proposal to enact a state lottery on Monday night, stunning lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol and most who have followed the special session since last week. The conference report, agreed to earlier in the day by House and Senate leaders, was defeated by a vote of 60-54. The bill was held on a motion to reconsider, meaning House members could revive the proposal on Tuesday. The Senate, meanwhile, passed the same proposal Monday night with a 31-17 vote. "This is one of those votes that you make depending on what your people want," said a stunned Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, who handled the bill on the House floor. "Ethically or morally if you are against it, I think you need to vote against it." |
| Black caucus helps bring down Mississippi lottery bill | |
 | An infrastructure bill that will bring millions of dollars to the Mississippi Coast for road, bridge, water and sewer projects is on its way to Gov. Phil Bryant, who is expected to sign it. But the fate of a lottery bill that would have helped pay for roads and bridges was uncertain at best after the House voted it down -- 53 for and 61 against. The bill was held on a motion to reconsider, giving it a slim chance for revival Tuesday when the House reconvenes at 12:30 p.m. Gulfport Democrat Sonya Williams-Barnes said the Legislative Black Caucus opposed the conference report on the bill from the Senate because it "gutted" provisions she and Rep. David Baria made to send some of the lottery proceeds to education programs, specifically pre-K and classroom supplies. "The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus supports education," she said. "And this bill has gutted it. The little portion that went toward education was gutted. Yeah, the words are there, but the teeth are not there." |
| State lottery bill goes down on late vote | |
 | Legislation to create a statewide lottery died on a close vote Monday night, but it's not quite what lawmakers call "dead, dead, dead." The bill establishing the Mississippi Lottery Corporation died on a 61-53 vote around 8 p.m. Monday night in the House but was immediately held on a motion to reconsider, giving Republican bigwigs one more chance to strike up a deal with the opposition when lawmakers gavel back into session at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. District 92 Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven -- who has supported the lottery through all its votes and amendments -- said the bill could come back to life Tuesday if conferees can find a plan to satisfy Senate leaders. "It could be resuscitated if the Senate agrees to change some things. A bill is never dead until it's dead, dead, dead," she said. |
| Transportation bill heads to governor; see what's in it for your county | |
| House leaders called it historic legislation that was sent to Gov. Phil Bryant Monday to divert state funds to local governments for their infrastructure needs. The proposal, which originated in the 2017 session in the state House, was part of the special session the governor has called to deal with infrastructure issues -- both on the state and local government levels. Lawmakers continue to work on a lottery proposal that would be counted on to help raise revenue for the state's transportation needs. The governor is expected to soon sign into law the infrastructure legislation, which passed through both chambers by overwhelming margins. The House voted Monday by a 111-4 margin to concur in the changes made to the bill in the Senate and send it to the governor without further work. "Passage of the bill is historic," said House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton. He said the bill provides "a continuing stream of revenue for cities and counties from this day forward." |
| Judge dismisses suit over alcohol shipments to Mississippi | |
 | A judge ruled Monday that Mississippi lacks authority to sue out-of-state mail-order wine sellers that were shipping alcohol directly to state residents, and he threw out the state's lawsuit. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood sued the companies in December, saying they violated state laws banning direct shipments of wine and liquor for any reason. All wine and liquor is supposed to go through the Madison County warehouse operated by the Revenue Department's Alcoholic Beverage Control division. Rankin County Chancery Court Judge John S. Grant III dismissed the lawsuit Monday. His written ruling offered scant details on his reasoning. |
| State's southern half now ranks in top 10 for federal gun prosecutions, report says | |
| Mississippi's southern judicial district now ranks in the top ten for federal weapons prosecutions, a new report shows. In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2018, the federal government obtained 127 weapons-related prosecutions in the southern district of Mississippi, according to analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University released Monday. At 81 weapons prosecutions per one million people, the district now ranks ninth across the country's 94 federal judicial districts per capita. Missouri's Eastern District, headquartered in St. Louis, ranked No. 1 at 230 prosecutions per million people. Last year, the district obtained only 37 weapons prosecutions; two years ago, there were 73. The new data dovetails with the introduction of U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst's Project EJECT, an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime Mississippi's capital city. |
| Trump economic adviser: 'We're taking a look' at whether Google searches should be regulated | |
 | The Trump administration is "taking a look" at whether Google and its search engine should be regulated by the government, said Larry Kudlow, President Trump's economic adviser, outside the White House Tuesday. "We'll let you know," Kudlow said. "We're looking at it." The announcement puts the search giant squarely in the White House's crosshairs amid wider allegations against the tech industry that it systematically discriminates against conservatives on social media and other platforms. Kudlow's remark to reporters came hours after Trump fired off a series of predawn tweets complaining about Google search results for "Trump News." In a pair of tweets posted before 6 a.m., the president said the results included only "the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media." |
| Trade War Sends Lawmakers on Beer Crawl | |
 | A number of members of Congress headed out to breweries this summer, but not to quietly enjoy a beer. While some sampled the product while there, the lawmakers for the most part used the sites as backdrops to criticize the trade war that President Donald Trump launched with his tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. American brewers fill and sell about 36 billion aluminum cans and bottles per year, according to a Beer Institute report. Brewers say tariffs will make it more expensive to package their products and they'll have to raise prices for their customers. Lawmakers talked to workers about their concerns over how the trade war will hit them. Republican Sen. David Perdue told employees at Anheuser-Busch's brewery in Cartersville, Georgia, on Aug. 3, "I do not favor a broad tariff like we've had on steel and aluminum. ... There are some benefits because you protect the producers of that, but you also cause price increases for the users of that product, and that's an imbalance," the Daily-Tribune reported. |
| Federal Court Throws Out North Carolina's Congressional Districts, Again | |
 | A panel of three federal judges again declared North Carolina's congressional district map to be unconstitutional, ruling on Monday that it was gerrymandered to unfairly favor Republican candidates. The decision, which may have significant implications for control of Congress after the midterm elections, is likely to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which for the moment is evenly split on ideological lines without a ninth justice to tip the balance. The three judges had ruled unanimously in January that the state's House map violated the First and 14th Amendments by unfairly giving one group of voters -- Republicans -- a bigger voice than others in choosing representatives. |
| States consider investigations into Catholic Church abuse | |
 | Top law enforcement officials in states across the country are considering how to investigate potential abuse cases in the Catholic Church after a bombshell report from a Pennsylvania grand jury found more than a thousand victims and hundreds of predatory priests over the course of six decades. Only a handful of attorneys general have taken public steps toward some form of investigation, but survivors of sexual abuse by priests say the investigation by the Pennsylvania grand jury should represent only the beginning of the process. The power of individual attorneys general varies widely throughout the country, and Congress has shown little interest in getting involved, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill have remained largely silent on the matter in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. |
| Missouri becomes first state in U.S. to regulate use of the word 'meat' | |
 | On Tuesday, Missouri becomes the first state in the country to have a law on the books that prohibits food makers to use the word "meat" to refer to anything other than animal flesh. This takes aim at manufacturers of what has been dubbed fake or non-traditional meat. Clean meat -- also known as lab-grown meat -- is made of cultured animal tissue cells, while plant-based meat is generally from ingredients such as soy, tempeh and seitan. The state law forbids "misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry." Violators may be fined $1,000 and imprisoned for a year. A similar argument is unfolding on the federal level. The meat-substitute market is expected to reach $7.5 billion-plus globally by 2025, up from close to $4.2 billion in last year, according to Allied Market Research. The Missouri Cattlemen's Association, which worked to get the state law passed, has cited shopper confusion and protecting local ranchers as reasons for the legislation. |
| Southern Miss Gulf Park opens new Academic Success Center | |
 | The campus library at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park Campus is welcoming students back to school with new resources. Students head back to class this Wednesday, Aug. 29. They'll have access to lots of resources, including the Academic Success Center. It gives students a chance to participate in peer-to-peer tutoring, various workshops, and high and low-tech learning resources. "We have services for independent studies," said Dr. Kevin Walker, director of the Academic Success Center. "It's just a quiet place comfortable seating with unique tables and all that sort of stuff as well as electronic access. If they don't have a computer, we have laptops they can check out, so it's an independent study that's also tutoring if they need it." The center also has specialized tutors. |
| LSU suspends activities for Delta Chi fraternity during investigation of alleged violations | |
 | LSU suspended all activities for the Delta Chi fraternity Monday while university officials investigate potential violations of student conduct, according to a letter sent from student affairs to the fraternity. "This chapter is now under an investigation regarding potential violations of the LSU Code of Student Conduct," the letter says. The violations occurred during the week of Aug. 19, the first week of LSU classes. University spokesman Ernie Ballard III said that initial information does not show any indication of hazing being an issue, but would not confirm what violations were being investigated. "A thorough investigation is taking place," Ballard said. While the fraternity chapter is under the interim suspension, new members cannot contact current members, the chapter cannot host or participate in any social activities, and they are not allowed to hold any formal or informal meetings, the letter says. |
| Fired LSU band director placed on administrative leave at new job at Florida high schooll | |
| Roy King, the former LSU band director fired in April 2016, has been placed on administrative leave at his job at J.M. Tate High School in Cantonment, Florida, 3WEARTV.com is reporting. An administrator with the Escambia County School District refused to discuss details for the leave. King was director of the Golden Band from Tigerland at LSU from 2010 until he was fired in April 2016. LSU, in its termination letter, accused King of, among other things, circumventing management directives by awarding scholarships to members of the Golden Girls dance team and flag girls of the color guard without proper approval. King later sued LSU, claiming his firing violated his First Amendment and due process rights, and accused the university of slander. LSU settled for $110,000, without admitting fault or liability. |
| Study: U. of Tennessee puts $1.7 billion into state's economy | |
 | The University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus was responsible for nearly $1.7 billion in income statewide in 2017, fueling 35,232 jobs and generating $166.4 million in tax revenue, according to a new study from UT's Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research. The seven-page report compiles UT employee pay and benefits, university spending on construction and supplies, and off-campus spending by students and visitors. The total doesn't count the value of entrepreneurial spinoffs at Cherokee Farm Innovation Campus & Research Park or Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said Bill Fox, Boyd Center director. Nor does it include the rest of the UT system, just direct results from the Knoxville campus, he said. "All that's built into our number is the spending that took place in 2017," Fox said. The university's athletic program probably accounts for a bit under 10 percent of the total, he said. |
| Panic at Little Rock stadium product of era, U. of Arkansas professor says | |
| When panic broke out at a high school football game in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock Saturday night, what began as a few dozen people running from what they believed to be gunshots quickly turned into thousands of frightened fans flooding stadium exits -- many without even knowing what the danger was. The reason so many people believed that a shooter was in the stadium -- and that they were in immediate danger -- is fairly simple, psychology professor David Schroeder said. Schroeder's research topics includes aggression, conflict, group processes, persuasion and social influence. "Because of all of the mass shootings, I think people's thresholds have come down," said Schroeder, professor emeritus in the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's Department of Psychological Science. "We are much more willing to make the judgment that this is serious, something bad is going to happen." |
| U. of Arkansas Names David Hinton Technology Ventures Associate Director | |
 | David Hinton has been appointed associate director of Technology Ventures at the University of Arkansas. Technology Ventures commercializes research and helps university researchers identify, protect, license and commercialize intellectual property developed from their research and discoveries. It manages invention disclosures, patent applications and license agreements for UA faculty, staff and students, and is a joint effort of the Office of Economic Development and the Office of Research & Innovation. Hinton joined the UA on Aug. 20 after spending a decade as a researcher at the Mayo Clinic and as an intellectual property manager at the University of South Alabama. |
| Visitors get look at Texas A&M's new hotel and conference center | |
 | The initial blast of horns and the beat of drums from two dozen members of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band startled most of the approximately 150 attendees of the grand opening of the Doug Pitcock '49 Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center on Monday. Multiple people dropped phones or laughed with their neighbors after jumping in surprise as the band began Noble Men of Kyle in the hotel lobby, an energetic beginning to the ceremony celebrating the on-campus hotel that will officially open for guests Wednesday morning. "That is a normal wake-up call in the Doug Pitcock '49 Hotel and Conference Center," said A&M System Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Phillip Ray to applause and laughter. "How 'bout that?" |
| Texas A&M's new Zachry Complex reflects forward thinking in engineering | |
| Texas A&M University's new Zachry Engineering Education Complex is not what some might consider a traditional engineering facility. The building's open spaces, natural lighting and plentiful seating were incorporated to reflect modern workplaces. Classes are being held for the first time today in the new building, which won praise from visitors touring the facility during a Saturday open house. Tim Costello, whose son, Shane, will be completing his degree in mechanical engineering this semester at Texas A&M, was impressed with the university's efforts to build a space students would want to be in. "I think you've got to create a university environment that matches what the future work environments are going to look like," he said. |
| Motorized scooters met with mixed emotions from city, U. of Missouri | |
 | Talks between officials with Bird scooters and University of Missouri on Friday hit a bumpy patch, said an MU spokesman. Bird deployed its motorized electric rental scooters in Columbia last week. A mobile phone application is used to locate and unlock the dockless scooters. When finished, the user parks it and locks it with the application. One user said it costs $1 plus $1.20 per minute to use. They are picked up each night for re-charging and then placed in "nests" of three Birds in locations around town each morning. Michelle Neumayr, Bird spokeswoman, said in an email Bird is offering its scooters in Columbia as part of a university pop-up tour. She didn't say how long they would be around. "It was unfortunate" MU spokesman Christian Basi said about Friday's discussion. He said the university wants the company to address its concerns about safety, accessibility and training. He said there's a lack of education for riders about rules of the road. |
| Colleges Say They Prepare Students for a Career, Not Just a First Job. Is That True? | |
 | About 60 percent of executives and hiring managers think that most college graduates are prepared to succeed in entry-level positions. But only a third of executives, and a quarter of hiring managers, believe graduates have the skills and knowledge to advance or be promoted. Those findings -- among the most striking in a new survey of employers released on Tuesday by the Association of American Colleges & Universities -- are open to several interpretations. On the one hand, it's probably intuitive that graduates would be better poised for entry-level work than for advancement. No one has a second job until they've had a first one. On the other, colleges often argue that they're preparing students not merely for a first job, but for a lifetime of professional and broader success. That position, in fact, is a key prong in the argument that higher education is worth the price. But the survey findings appear to be in tension with that argument. How might colleges make sense of it all? |
| Public May Not Trust Higher Ed, but Employers Do | |
| Though public support for higher education seems to be waning, this skepticism doesn't appear to extend to potential employers, who say they still have faith in colleges and universities, according to a new survey conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. But while executives and hiring managers believe that institutions are teaching graduates the skills needed for entry-level jobs, they reported that students usually aren't ready to be promoted. AAC&U commissioned the Washington, D.C.-based Hart Research Associates to survey two groups: 500 or so business executives in the private sector, and 500 managers whose duties include recruiting and hiring new employees. The association titled the report "Fulfilling the American Dream: Liberal Education and the Future of Work," because it was mindful of the worries the public has about higher education, said AAC&U president Lynn Pasquerella. |
| Sen. McCain will be missed as a leader and statesman | |
 | The Mississippi Business Journal's Ross Reily writes: "Mr. Reily, can you hold a moment for Sen. John McCain," the voice on the other end of the phone said one day a few years ago. "Um, yes ma'am," I replied knowing full well the senator from Arizona was about to give me an earful about a story we had run that was critical of him being supportive of a bill that would help the cause of Vietnamese catfish being sold in the United States. We generally wouldn't have waded into the waters of national politics, but, in this instance, Sen. McCain's bill was to be a blow to the Mississippi catfish industry. "Hello?" "Yes sir, this is Ross Reily," I said. Sen. McCain proceeded to lay into me and our story on catfish. ...He was never rude, never called me fake news and never used words you wouldn't use in front of your grandmother. Sen. McCain just laid out his position. |
| Lottery is the holy grail in the art of taxation | |
 | Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell writes: Jean-Baptiste Colbert was finance minister for French monarch Louis XIV. His best quote: "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing." Inasmuch as it provides dollars for the public treasury, a lottery is a tax. Payment is optional -- no one has to buy a lottery ticket -- but it's government preying on our hopes and aspirations. Scratching a ticket is a heck of a lot more fun than looking at a paycheck stub showing wages earned, but forfeited to "withholding." ...A deeper dive, reported by Gallup, reveals a factor that may prove significant. It is this: The proportion of people 18 to 29 buying lottery chances is declining. Millenials, it seems, increasingly have other diversions and other purposes for their discretionary income. Fewer are pinning their dreams on lottery winnings. |
SPORTS
| Fordham football's savior Joe Moorhead taking SEC coaching chance by storm | |
| The late November sun prepared for sleep. Cowbells rang incessantly, yet silently. The turnout was large. The people were tiny. Joe Moorhead, and his family, peered through the narrow windows of a private plane, waiting for the wheels to touch Mississippi. The former Fordham coach stepped down to the runway of Bryan Field Airport, awed by the 1,000 or so Mississippi State fans standing behind a fence, waiting to see a face they wouldn't have recognized weeks earlier. The new head coach at the SEC school moved toward the flock and shook hands like he was running for office, signing more autographs in the ensuing minutes than he had in the first 44 years of his life. Two years earlier, Moorhead still worked in The Bronx and game-planned in a multi-purpose staff room, where maintenance workers routinely intruded and coaches spoke over screaming grade-school children next door. Sailing over Starkville, the steelworker's son had the sky to himself. |
| MSU Notebook: Tupelo snapper Joel Baldwin earns scholarship | |
| Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead summoned long snapper Joel Baldwin to his office earlier this week. Moorhead sat the senior from Tupelo down and told him to call his father "because we have an issue to discuss." Upon answering, even Morgan Baldwin got a little nervous waiting to find out what his son had gotten himself into. "We told him the issue is that he's going to have to figure out a way to spend $25,000 because his son was going to be on scholarship this year," Moorhead said. Moorhead pulled the same prank with the team later that day, telling them Baldwin had an issue before revealing the former walk-on now had a full ride. "They came down and mobbed him," Moorhead said. "It was awesome to see that. ... A lot of time those guys don't get a lot of publicity or fanfare. They do a great service to the team." |
| Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald suspended for season opener | |
| Joe Moorhead's debut as Mississippi State's head coach added some unexpected intrigue after he announced starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is suspended for Saturday's game against Stephen F. Austin because of a "violation of team policy." Moorhead -- who talked about the decision during Monday's press conference -- also said that defensive lineman Cory Thomas won't play against the Lumberjacks. "Certainly they understand that they're going to have to deal with the consequences of their choice," Moorhead said. "We'll see those guys back on the field soon." Moorhead did not elaborate on the reason for Fitzgerald's suspension, saying only that the violation occurred in March. |
| Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State not overlooking Stephen F. Austin | |
| The shocking news of senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald's suspension dominated the day, but Mississippi State still has a football game to play this coming Saturday against Stephen F. Austin. Head coach Joe Moorhead waited until nearly five minutes into his opening statement to drop the Fitzgerald news. There were other points of emphasis from his weekly Monday afternoon press conference. Here are a couple. Moorhead coached at Fordham, an FCS school, for four years. On two occasions, Moorhead's Rams took down FBS opponents. Stephen F. Austin looks to walk into Davis Wade Stadium and do the same on Saturday, and Moorhead knows anything is possible. "This is certainly a game where guys from that level go into the game with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove," Moorhead said. "Generally, the game plan is to tee it high and let it fly. They're going to pull out all the stops because there's a great chance for an upset." |
| Austin Williams ready to make his mark for Mississippi State | |
| The Mississippi State football team lost its best receiver, Donald Gray, last year in its seventh game. MSU also lost a significant secondary option, Gabe Myles, in its second game -- and again in its sixth. The injuries forced the Bulldogs to scramble for options at wide receiver. Austin Williams would have been a good one. While the MSU passing attack fell to 118th in yards per attempt (6.1) in the nation, those in the program raved about the performance of the freshman from Ocean Springs in practice. As MSU looks for more firepower from its receivers this season, Williams is projected to play a key role after a productive preparatory season. |
| First look: New stadium, facilities a home run with Kentucky baseball players | |
 | While there is still much to be done on Kentucky's new $50 million baseball stadium, its players got a peak Saturday at some of the amenities that are finished. The reaction? Stunned amazement. From the hoots an hollers when they first entered their new locker room, to their first look out over an unfinished field from the new dugout, KYWildcatsTV captured it all in a video posted across social media. "It's way more than I thought," T.J. Collett said on the video as the team toured the finished and unfinished areas. "I was not expecting this much. The best facilities I've ever gone through in my life." The tour began from UK's old locker room where Coach Nick Mingione gathered the group for a bus trip over to the new stadium off Alumni Drive. They also got to check out some of the finished hallways, a training room, a lounge, a fitness room and the unfinished underground hitting and pitching areas. |
| Vanderbilt chancellor declines interview on football stadium renovations, yells 'Anchor Down' instead | |
 | Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos declined an interview request in person about possible football stadium renovations, following his speaking appearance at the Rotary Club of Nashville on Monday. Zeppos spoke about the role of higher education to the audience at The Wildhorse Saloon. He took two questions from Rotary Club members, but neither were on the hotly debated topic of Vanderbilt's lack of progress in renovating its stadium. After posing for photos with Rotary Club members, Zeppos walked toward the exit, where a Tennessean reporter asked to speak to him. Zeppos immediately turned around, walked toward the VIP exit and down the stairs while replying, "No, I've got to run. But take care. Anchor down!" During his 30-minute speech, Zeppos addressed general criticisms about the university outside of athletics by saying, "We're not perfect. We make mistakes all the time." |
| Worlds apart: Auburn, Washington clashing culture in cross-country showdown | |
 | It was 60 degrees and cloudy in Seattle on Sunday. Chris Petersen may have even had to shake off a bit of a chill, as he stepped into the University of Washington's football operations facility for a press conference. He thought about Auburn -- Saturday's opponent seemingly a world away. Smoke from wildfires burning along the west coast still hung in the air, obscuring the skyline of a buzzing city that's the home of Amazon, Microsoft, and, settled between all of it, the university and Petersen's Huskies football team. Petersen spoke Sunday in a long-sleeved shirt on a cloudy day, in the midst of a metropolis. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn has met the media in a bucket hat that protects him from the sweltering sun out on the practice field, at the athletics complex across the street from green grass and the ag college's big Red Barn. The two teams may as well be worlds apart, but as for Petersen, that's something the Huskies' head coach can appreciate. |
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