| Friday, October 19, 2018 |
| Planned parking garage to add 500 spaces to Mississippi State campus | |
 | Mississippi State University has been approved to build a planned $12 million parking garage to the north side of the campus. The university says this will add 500 parking spaces to that side of the campus. The new structure will be located next to Howell Hall, near Humphrey Coliseum and Davis Wade Stadium. MSU President Mark Keenum says the new garage will help meet the growing demand for campus parking. In addition to the 500 spaces in the garage, the university is planning to add approximately 350 parking spaces in a surface parking lot at the north end of the old intramural fields, adjacent to Fresh Food Company. |
| Grant library at Mississippi State notching a place for itself on Civil War trail | |
 | The irony of a library dedicated to U.S. Grant in Mississippi did not pass unnoticed. A space of 21,000 square feet was created at Mississippi State University at a taxpayer cost of $10 million to tell the story of the Union general who captured Vicksburg, a turning point in the Civil War, and won the ultimate victory over the Confederacy at Appomattox Courthouse, Va. For a state whose flag still includes the Confederate Battle Flag, some see irony in the selection of the Mitchell Memorial Library as host building for the Grant Presidential Library. Not only that, but Mitchell Library also includes the Frank J. and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, which has been valued at $3 million. President Abraham Lincoln was, of course, Grant's commander in chief. However, aside from being the repository of invaluable historic documents and artifacts, a major source of scholarly research, the Grant Library and Lincoln collection, is attracting tourists. Since the library opened on Nov. 30, 2017, it has registered 8,000 visits, according to John F. Marszalek, executive director of the library and professor emeritus of history at MSU. |
| C Spire Tech Movement, educators launch Software Development Pathway in select schools | |
 | C Spire executives and state education officials unveiled a new pilot program Wednesday that uses customized curriculum developed from a successful non-profit coding academy in Water Valley, Mississippi to "fast track" creation of hundreds of new student academic and computer science career opportunities. The new program, called the C Spire Software Development Pathway, is a public-private partnership between C Spire, a Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services company, and the Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit's new Center for Cyber Education. "I'm thrilled about the partnership that Mississippi State University is joining today with our friends at C Spire," said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. |
| Fit for a king: SHS homecoming king faces challenges with a kind heart, positive attitude | |
 | Owen Hardin's week has seen him treated like royalty. Those who know the Starkville High School senior say that's only fitting. Hardin has been crowned this year's Starkville High School homecoming king. His selection, made by the student body, granted him a prominent spot riding through downtown Starkville in last night's annual homecoming parade. This evening, he'll take the field with the homecoming court during Starkville High School's football game against Murrah High School. Orly Hardin, Owen's mother, said the school's selection is particularly special for the family because Owen has Down's Syndrome. "I have to say, we've known all along that they've been very accepting of him," she said of Owen's fellow students. "He's been in public schools since kindergarten, and has been with the same group since kindergarten." Sean McDonell, Starkville High School's principal, said the student body doesn't always elect a homecoming king. In fact, the school's last homecoming king was Gabe Myles, who has since gone on to and finished playing college football at Mississippi State University. |
| Man Who Steered Timber Subsidy Program Calls It His Biggest Regret | |
 | One of the architects of a federal program that pays farmers to plant cropland with trees or grasses says the decades-old subsidy is his "biggest professional regret," partly for the way it has distorted markets for Southern timber. Trees planted in the late 1980s and early 1990s with help from the program are now ready to harvest and flooding the market, adding to a glut and depressing prices for Southern yellow pine. The Wall Street Journal examined the tumbling fortunes of farmers-turned-forest-owners in an article last week. Mike Gunn, who served in the Reagan administration as legislative director for the Soil Conservation Service, said in an interview that he led efforts to include the Conservation Reserve Program in 1985's Farm Bill, which was drafted in response to plunging crop prices. "What was meant to be only a temporary reset turned into a boondoggle," said Mr. Gunn, who went on to be a state legislator in Mississippi and is now a real-estate investor. |
| Mississippi one step closer to state lottery as Gov. Bryant appoints 5-person board | |
 | Gov. Phil Bryant has appointed four men and one woman to construct and oversee Mississippi's fledgling state lottery: Gerard Gibert, CEO of Venture Technologies; Cass Pennington, retired educator; Mike McGrevey, deputy director of the Mississippi Development Authority; Philip A. Chamblee, executive director of the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association; and Kimberly LaRosa, the CEO and president of Renaissance Community Loan Fund. The five unpaid appointees -- who must be approved by the state Senate in the next legislative session -- will be tasked with hiring a chief executive officer and other leadership for the new Mississippi Lottery Corp., determining staffing levels and approving contracts and multistate lottery agreements, among other oversight responsibilities. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith announces statewide campaign tour | |
 | Cindy Hyde-Smith has announced a campaign sweep of the state, with five stops planned in Northeast Mississippi. Following resurgent sniping over whether or not there will be a debate among the candidates competing in a U.S. Senate special election, Republican incumbent Hyde-Smith has apparently decided she'll opt out of debates and is counting on face-to-face meet-and-greets to spread her message. The tour will include a return to Southaven, where Trump rallied for Hyde-Smith weeks ago. Looking beyond DeSoto County, other north Mississippi stops will include Corinth, New Albany, Oxford, Tupelo and Pontotoc. Outside the region, her scheduled stops include Greenwood, Columbus, Meridian, Madison, Jackson, Brookhaven, Collins, Hattiesburg, Ocean Springs and Gulfport, according to a campaign tweet. Dates and times for other events will be announced later, Hyde-Smith's campaign spokesperson said. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith opts for bus tour over debate | |
 | U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is embarking on a campaign bus tour of the state, opting to take her message to voters instead of debating her opponents. "We are doing a bus tour ... through the state. We're taking our message to (voters) and they can come ask me any question that they want to ask me. I just think that's more beneficial (than debating)," Hyde-Smith told Mississippi Today. The Brookhaven republican has been unwilling to debate state Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, and former Democratic Congressman Mike Espy ahead of the Nov. 6 special election. Hyde-Smith previously said her busy schedule in the Senate prevented her scheduling a debate. A video circulated by the McDaniel campaign earlier this week shows Hyde-Smith saying she didn't want to debate because doing so would give McDaniel free publicity. |
| Medgar Evers' Niece Confronts Chris McDaniel on 'Begging for Scraps' Comment | |
| Wanda Evers, the niece of slain Mississippi civil-rights leader Medgar Evers, confronted Republican U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel at an Oct. 13 campaign event in Clinton, Miss., about comments he made on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." In a live taping of NBC's "Morning Joe" on Sept. 14, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., a Moss Point native who chairs the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University, cited McDaniel's ongoing support for the Mississippi flag and asked, "How do you convince black folks in this state that you're not a danger to them?" and "How do you speak to those 38 percent (of Mississippians who are black)?" "I'm going to ask them, 'After 100 years of relying on big government to save you, where are you today?'" the Republican state senator said. "After 100 years of begging for federal government scraps, where are you today?'" The audience began booing and jeering before McDaniel could get his next sentence out. Amid a mostly white crowd at the Clinton meet-and-greet on Saturday, Evers raised the moment with McDaniel during a question-and-answer session. |
| Before Jailing a Young Woman, a Judge Puts Her Mother's Racist Views on the Stand | |
 | A group of 10 white teenagers in Mississippi went to Jackson, the state capital, from a neighboring county in June 2011 on a drunken mission to terrorize black residents. James Craig Anderson, who worked at a local Nissan plant, became their target. He was standing near his car in the parking lot of a motel just off a highway when the teenagers, both male and female, pounced. "White power!" they yelled as some of them pummeled Mr. Anderson, who was 47, and stole his cellphone, his wallet and a ring. One of the teenagers in the group, who was behind the wheel of a Ford pickup truck, fatally struck Mr. Anderson with the vehicle. The prosecutions that followed were the first uses of the federal Hate Crimes Act in the Deep South, and all 10 teenagers were charged under the act. Judge Henry T. Wingate presided over one of the resulting trials, the subject of the recent hourlong TV documentary called "Love & Hate Crime: A Murder in Mississippi." |
| Complete 2 Compete celebrating one year of helping Mississippians graduate college | |
| Complete 2 Compete is a program in Mississippi helping adults who have some college credit get back into classrooms and get degrees. In the year since it launched over 700 degrees have been earned through the program. On Thursday, leaders of colleges and universities gathered at the State Institutions of Higher Learning to celebrate what the initiative does. |
| Scholarship established at MUW to help students in Pontotoc County | |
| A scholarship at Mississippi University for Women will help students at North Pontotoc High School. The Jana Brown Tyler Scholarship was established by her husband David Tyler. The scholarship will give preference to students at North Pontotoc High School. It will provide four-year scholarships for 20 students, one per year over a period of 20 years, from North Pontotoc High School. If no student qualifies, other students in the Pontotoc County School District will be considered. David Tyler says this was his wife's desire. Jana Tyler moved to Mississippi when she was young and started school in the Pontotoc City School District, moving to Ecru School in the fourth grade. She met her husband in the seventh grade, and both graduated from Ecru High School in 1967. Jana Tyler then went to school at MUW where she earned a degree in 1970. |
| State Education Board agrees to remove Ed Meek's name | |
 | The state Institutions of Higher Learning unanimously approved the University of Mississippi's request to remove Ed Meek's name from the School of Journalism and New Media at its regular meeting on Thursday. President of the Board of Trustees Shane Hooper said the board treated this vote as it does every other proposal that comes before them for consideration. He said the local and national attention Meek's post has garnered did not make the proposal a matter of special interest to the board. "As required by the Institutions of Higher Learning's academic guidelines, requests to change the name of academic units are submitted by the institutional executive officer to the Board of Trustees for consideration in April and October. This process was followed, and the Board approved the request," Hooper said. |
| 'Protect the values we hold dear': A closer look inside the Ed Meek, Ole Miss race controversy | |
| Ole Miss booster wanted a story about prostitution in Oxford, ended up writing latest chapter in school's historic struggle with race. |
| Mississippi governor condemns professor's political tweet | |
 | Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is condemning a professor's Twitter post that encouraged people to disrupt senators' meals the day Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court. University of Mississippi sociology professor James Thomas tweeted Oct. 6 that people should put their fingers in senators' salads and, "They don't deserve your civility." Bryant, a Republican, tweeted in response Thursday: "This is troubling and disappointing to see from one of our university professors. There is no place in a civilized society, and particularly on a college campus, for urging individuals to harass anyone." Ole Miss Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said Sunday on Facebook that the faculty member's post "did not reflect the values articulated by the university, such as respect for the dignity of each individual and civility and fairness." |
| Put 'fingers in their salads': Ole Miss professor urges harassment of senators | |
| An assistant professor at Ole Miss has been criticized after a posting to social media calling for people to harass senators in public. James Thomas, who works for the school's Sociology department, posted on Twitter, saying: "Don't just interrupt a Senator's meal, y'all. Put your whole damn fingers in their salads. Take their apps and distribute them to the other diners. Bring boxes and take their food home with you on the way out. They don't deserve your civility." The tweet was made on the heels of Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court and just days after Senator Ted Cruz and his wife were verbally attacked by protesters at a restaurant in Washington D.C. Thomas' post went viral after the Facebook page called Our State Flag Foundation called for the professor to be fired immediately. |
| U. of Southern Mississippi's Student Printz celebrates 100 years | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi School of Communication celebrated its 100th anniversary for its student newspaper, the Student Printz, with a luncheon, panel discussion and a grand opening of a new exhibit on the Hattiesburg campus. Three alumni were inducted into the Southern Miss MCJ Hall of Fame and they all remember their writing days for the Student Printz like it was yesterday. "Being in the journalism program completely changed my life," said David McCraney, an inductee into the Southern Miss MCJ Hall of Fame. McCraney remembers the day like it was yesterday. He was on campus and noticed a sign that said " Opinionated" with a big question mark and underneath the word it said, "come write for the Student Printz." Inductee Rick Cleveland said that he grew up as a Golden Eagle and his family did the same. "When you're from one place and you've spent so much time here, to be honored here means more than anything," said Cleveland. |
| Second rare dolphin stranded on Gulf Coast and there's likely reason why, vet says | |
 | A second rare dolphin stranded on the Gulf Coast within a week is being treated at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, which says the oddity could be caused by Hurricane Michael. A pantropical spotted dolphin, or a Stenella attenuata, was found near Theodore, Ala., and brought to the IMMS on Tuesday night, IMMS director said Moby Solangi said. That type of dolphin, such as the one recently stranded in Biloxi, lives in the Gulf of Mexico but in deep waters far away from the coastline, Solangi said. Once the dolphin arrived in Gulfport, veterinarian Debra Moore began giving her antibiotics, fluids and fish gruel. Moore is a Mississippi State University veterinarian stationed at the IMMS. Moore said the dolphin remains in critical condition and her recovery will be "a long-term effort." The dolphin requires 24-hour care, Solangi said. |
| LSU suspends Pi Kappa Phi fraternity; alleged violations said to be 'very serious' | |
 | More than a year after Maxwell Gruver's hazing-related death, LSU's fraternities continue to rack up misconduct allegations leading to suspensions. The university last week officially placed Pi Kappa Phi fraternity on interim suspension "as a result of incidents that have occurred during Fall 2018." The university is currently conducting an investigation of the chapter regarding "potential violations of the LSU Code of Student Conduct." This announcement marks the second time this semester that the university has placed a fraternity under investigation for possible violations. An interim suspension from the national chapter of Pi Kappa Phi followed suit on Oct. 12. The university would not provide specifics as to what prompted the suspension. Ernie Ballard, a spokesman for LSU, did confirm that "the allegations against Pi Kappa Phi are very serious." |
| What Happened After 2 Colleges Banned Hard Liquor at Fraternities | |
 | Three years ago, when beer wasn't allowed in certain fraternity houses at the University of Missouri at Columbia, some of their members turned to drinking more liquor, said Jason Blincow, who was president of the campus's Interfraternity Council at the time. Some members reasoned that drinking the more-potent liquor -- easily hidden in bottles and cups -- was a better way to thwart the council's auditors, who would turn up at parties unannounced and report violations. That culture of secrecy, he said, is partly what prompted him and other fraternity leaders to decide to ban hard liquor at Mizzou in 2015. The university isn't the only one to ban hard liquor at fraternities and sororities in an effort to prevent life-threatening accidents. Still, it's unclear how effective the bans have been, even when they have drawn much-needed buy-in from students. |
| U. of Tennessee vice chancellor for communications search nets three finalists | |
 | Three finalists have been announced for the position of vice chancellor for communications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and will be visiting campus over the next two weeks. The three candidates are: Tisha Benton, the deputy commissioner of the Bureau of the Environment in the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Tom Hutton, who most recently was the executive director of university communications and media relations for the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; and Renea Morris, who most recently was the chief marking officer in the University Communications and Marketing Office at Ohio University. he vice chancellor is "the chief communications and marketing officer of the University of Tennessee's flagship campus in Knoxville and has responsibility for overall communications," according to the UT human resources website. Ryan Robinson left the Vice Chancellor of Communications position shortly after Beverly Davenport was terminated from her role as chancellor. He was earning approximately $225,000 annually. |
| Speakers at Texas A&M event offer tips on supporting survivors of sexual assault | |
 | For the friends and family of sexual assault survivors, it can be difficult knowing what to say or how to offer support and assistance when facing trauma. Thursday night, Texas A&M's Division of Student Affairs and Memorial Student Center hosted a short series of talks with professionals who shared what they believe is the best way to empower a survivor and respond to sexual violence. The talk, titled "You Are Not Alone," drew about 200 students to Rudder Theater. Keynote speaker Whitney Bliss, a post-traumatic counseling specialist, opened her segment by stressing to the audience that to support and advocate for a loved one who has been assaulted, one ought not to see themselves as the "superhero" swooping in to save the day. Survivors of sexual assault are not broken people, she said, and their friends and family do not have all the right answers to their concerns. The feelings and thoughts of a victim are complex. |
| Generation Z voters could make waves in 2018 midterm elections | |
| Unlike the much-studied millennials, we don't know much about Generation Z, who now make up most of the 18- to 24-year-old voting bloc. These young people started first grade after 9/11, were born with the internet, grew up with smartphones and social media and practiced active-shooter drills in their classrooms. In 2018, they have taken an active role in political activism on issues like gun control, Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. For example, Parkland high school students started the movement against gun violence and named voting as a way to support the movement. Yet, many people are skeptical about Generation Z's commitment to voting. For instance, The Economist explained, in a piece titled "Why Young People Don't Vote," that "young people today do not feel they have much of a stake in society." Will Generation Z affect the midterm elections? |
SPORTS
| Ed Orgeron remembers last year's lopsided loss to Bulldogs | |
| Last weekend, LSU celebrated a 36-16 upset of then second-ranked Georgia at Tiger Stadium. There has been plenty for coach Ed Orgeron to be proud of this season. Orgeron has the Tigers up to No. 5 in the nation after a 6-1 start thanks, in part, to Ohio State transfer quarterback Joe Burrow. But as LSU was gushing in the glow of its latest victory in the locker room, Orgeron quickly brought his team back to reality by reminding them of the 37-7 beat down their next opponent -- No. 22 Mississippi State -- put on them last year in Starkville. "Obviously we did not play very good against them last year," Orgeron said. "We got beat in all phases. We feel like they have two of the best guys in the country in Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat. Obviously their defense is No. 1 in the SEC. They've got talent all over the place. This is a very good Mississippi State football team. We have our work cut out for us and we're going to be prepared." |
| Mississippi State's Jaquarius Landrews road to this point was 'crazy' | |
| Jaquarius Landrews looked up into the seats at Davis Wade Stadium on Oct. 6 and saw a rare sight. He smiled and waved, trying his best to stay in the moment. Landrews' father and stepmother looked down at him. They were in attendance for the first time all season to watch the junior safety play in the most important game of his Mississippi State career. Landrews has been on campus for nearly two calendar years after enrolling in January 2017. The Bulldogs' game against Auburn marked his first opportunity to start. His journey in Starkville to that point was a strenuous one. "The process, it was crazy. I really didn't think I was going to get redshirted last year," Landrews said. "But looking back, I appreciated getting redshirted. It humbled me and helped me get to this point." |
| Bob Shoop talks Mississippi State football success, Tennessee | |
| When Bob Shoop joined first-year coach Joe Moorhead's staff at Mississippi State in December, Shoop wanted to help create a culture rather than fit into one. That's different than how he remembers coming aboard Butch Jones' staff at Tennessee in 2016. "Compared to Tennessee, we all came in as a new staff here, so it's an opportunity for us to create a culture," Shoop said last week in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee. "And I think one of the things, looking back, that I really tried to do at Tennessee, whether it was to my detriment or whatever, was to try to fit into that culture -- and really, in some ways, never got a chance to be myself or who I was." With Moorhead's blessing, Shoop is operating MSU's defense just the way he wants. The results are striking. The Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2 SEC) rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering 12.7 points per game. Only one of their first six opponents has scored more than 13 points. |
| Mississippi State Women's Hoops Team Aims to Take Final Step | |
| Teaira McCowan and Mississippi State women's hoops team are hoping to take that one final step. The Bulldogs are the favorites to win the Southeastern Conference again but the biggest, most exasperatingly elusive goal remains to win a national title. McCowan leads a team that has made the past two national championship games only to fall short of a title. "That's definitely in the back of our minds," McCowan said Thursday at SEC media day. "But first we have to learn how to do the things in order to get back to that point." Coach Vic Schaefer must replace four starters from a team that won its first 32 games and went 37-2, including first-team AP All-American Victoria Vivians. The Bulldogs are still regarded as the front-runners. |
| Patience pays off for Mississippi State point guard Jazzmun Holmes | |
| For three years, Jazzmun Holmes biding her time as Mississippi State's back-up point guard. After 110 games behind Morgan William, the starting job now belongs to Holmes and it will be up to her to facilitate the Bulldogs' offense this season. "I'm excited," Holmes said. "I know it's going to be tough but I'm ready to do whatever coach asks me to do and whatever my teammates need me to do." Holmes has averaged three points, 2.5 assists and 12 minutes off the bench in her career and has a 274-113 assist-to-turnover ratio. Coach Vic Schaefer has asked Holmes to do three things as his point guard this year: to take care of the ball, run his team and be accountable for everybody. "It's a tough job and a tough position," Schaefer said. "All of those responsibilities come with the position of being the point guard. But I feel so comfortable with her as our point guard. I think she and Myah (Taylor) both have a real understanding of what it looks like to be a point guard for a Vic Schaefer coached team." |
| Pro tip: Do not come for Mississippi State basketball, Vic Schaefer on Twitter | |
| Don't go after Mississippi State women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer's players on Twitter. He will come for you -- and he'll have facts and statistics that will make wish you never hit send. Bulldogs senior center Teaira McCowan was named the SEC Preseason Player of the Year yesterday. Wade Potter disagreed with the selection as he Tweeted, "That's a joke! The talent is not there. Who made this choice? Major cred blow." Schaefer's response left nothing to be desired: "Let's get this straight, Avg 18pts, 14 Rebs & shot 60% for the season and 17.7 & 14.4 in The SEC, 29 Dble Dbles, then avg. 20.8pts & 18.2 Rebs in The NCAA Tourney shooting 59.7%. Is the 2018 Naismith Nat'l Def. Player of the Year and SEC Co Def. Player of the Year. #Credibility --- Vic Schaefer (@CoachVic_MSU) October 17, 2018." So next time somebody thinks one of the best players in the SEC isn't worthy of a preseason award, don't take to Twitter. Schaefer will see it, and he'll teach you a few things. |
| Want to hold bucks on your hunting land? You'll need more than food, study indicates | |
| Food plots and supplemental feeders are among the main tools hunters use to hold deer on their land, but data from a study conducted by Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks indicates you need more than just food to make your land desirable to mature bucks. The three-year study has been tracking the movements of select bucks using GPS collars in Yazoo and Madison counties with the goal of seeing how they react to hunters, but data collected in 2017 and 2018 is already indicating where deer prefer to be within their individual home ranges during hunting season. "The data we used in this study was collected during hunting season," Colby Henderson, MSU grad student said. "In February we went into the home ranges we created for these deer. These were home ranges we created from (data collected during) the hunting season." |
| LSU's AD pleads 'keep it clean' after vulgar 'Neck' chant makes comeback | |
| LSU athletic director Joe Alleva asked Tiger fans to "keep it clean" in an open letter released by the athletic department Thursday afternoon. Alleva's request comes nearly a week after the student section could be heard during the Georgia game loudly yelling a vulgar, five-word chant that accompanies a traditional song, 'Neck,' that was once played by the LSU band. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva asked Tiger fans to "keep it clean" in an open letter released by the athletic department Thursday afternoon. Alleva's request comes nearly a week after the student section could be heard during the Georgia game loudly yelling a vulgar, five-word chant that accompanies a traditional song, "Neck," that was once played by the LSU band. LSU hosts Mississippi State on Saturday at 6 p.m. |
| New U. of Kentucky baseball stadium now has a name, and here's who bought the rights | |
 | Kentucky's new baseball stadium has a new name. The new stadium, located near the UK football practice fields and Kroger Field, will be known as "Kentucky Proud Park." The moniker was given to it by Kentucky Farm Bureau, which entered into a 15-year agreement with JMI Sports for the naming rights. The new baseball stadium name was approved by the university's Board of Trustees on Friday morning at nearby Kroger Field, which underwent a similar re-branding last year. Specifics of the deal were not disclosed by UK. The "Kentucky Proud" name is a nod to farmers and the official state marketing program for agricultural products made in the commonwealth. The selling of the naming rights of athletics facilities was something UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart hinted strongly at when UK made the initial deal with JMI. |
| Nick Saban, Jerry West and Bob Huggins endorse Joe Manchin | |
 | Sen. Joe Manchin has found a few friends to come off the bench and endorse his West Virginia reelection campaign. "Joe and I grew up together in West Virginia and he never forgets where he came from," University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban says in an ad released Wednesday. "I don't have a better friend or know a better person than Joe Manchin." Saban, NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West and West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins all appear in the 30-second spot aptly called "Coaches." All three are Mountain State natives: Saban is from Fairmont; West is from Chelyan; and Huggins hails from Morgantown, home to the state's flagship university. In the past, Saban, whose orthodoxy known simply as the "process" is legendary, has shied away from commenting on politics. |
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