| Thursday, October 25, 2018 |
| A Black Senate Candidate Stumps in Mississippi, but His Party Holds Him Back | |
 | When Mike Espy, a young black lawyer from a prominent local family, first campaigned for Congress in this tidy Delta town 30 years ago, many white voters refused to shake his hand. The onetime home of both B. B. King and the White Citizens' Council, Indianola embodied the gulf that has divided Mississippi for centuries. But last week, when Mr. Espy, the former House member and President Bill Clinton's agriculture secretary, returned seeking an improbable Senate seat, the town's white mayor joined him for lunch at a barbecue joint. A black proprietor serenaded him a cappella, as if he were a celebrity of sorts: "Go get that senator's race," he boomed. "There are very few who would not consider me because I am black," Mr. Espy, 64, said as he strolled through Indianola after lunch. "I believe we in many ways have crossed that hurdle. Many of them, if they don't vote for me, it will be because of their idea of what I represent as a party person." That would be the Democratic Party, and yes, it is a problem. |
| Cindy Hyde-Smith is her own woman -- she just doesn't want anyone to know it | |
 | By sunset, newly appointed Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had been going for over 12 hours. When she wasn't on the Senate floor, where she'd voted the morning of Oct. 5 to begin Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, she was at the National Republican Senatorial Committee offices conducting a tele-town hall and multiple calls with supporters. Most Fridays, Hyde-Smith would be back in Mississippi, campaigning for the special election, just 32 days away. But the Kavanaugh vote held the Senate hostage. Campaigning over the phone would have to do. In the past two months, Mississippi Today traveled to more than half a dozen of Hyde-Smith's campaign events. The publication spoke to her supporters and colleagues from her days in state government. Most importantly, Mississippi Today conducted interviews with Hyde-Smith, including two in her Washington, D.C., office the weekend of Kavanaugh's confirmation. During these conversations, a picture emerged of a more complicated Hyde-Smith, who despite her service in the state senate and as a statewide office holder, remains largely unknown to most Mississippians. |
| Sen. Roger Wicker campaigns on de-regulation, military expansion | |
 | Incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker spoke to The Daily Mississippian on Tuesday ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 6. Wicker said college students and millennials are critical to his vision for the state because he believes one of the government's top priorities should be to leave the country better for the next generation. "Well, (millennials) are vital to my campaign, but they're vital to my accomplishments in D.C.," Wicker said. "It just happens that the vast majority of the people on my staff are under the age of 30." He said keeping millennials in the state after they graduate from college is a tough and frustrating issue, but he's sponsored a bill to bring broadband internet to rural Mississippi in hopes of keeping younger people in the state. "I've been a part of allocating a great deal of money to (the University of Mississippi Medical Center) for research," Wicker said. "That's a way to keep people in the state of Mississippi. We've increased jobs in the state of Mississippi. The bottom line is we have to work on job opportunities and quality of life issues inside the state." |
| U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel taking on opponents at Jackson's abortion clinic | |
| U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel rallied supporters Wednesday outside the state's only abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization. McDaniel called on his opponents to defund Planned Parenthood. McDaniel was joined by members of Pro-Life Mississippi. McDaniel said, "For reasons that can still not be explained, we are still funding Planned Parenthood. We are calling for an immediate defunding of Planned Parenthood." 16 WAPT research shows that the Jackson Women's Health Organization receives no state funding and is not affiliated with Planned Parenthood. |
| Mississippians discuss early childhood issues ahead of Ivanka Trump's visit | |
| Ivanka Trump is scheduled to visit the Mississippi coast Thursday where she'll be part of a panel discussion on early childhood education and workforce training. Preschool isn't required in Mississippi, but the state first started putting money into preschool classrooms in 2013. Since then, the money has more than doubled to $6.5 million. "There's so much research out there now around the fact that if you can get little ones started and on the right track, it's much more feasible, more efficient, and more cost effective than trying to remediate when children get older," explained State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright. And testing shows the investment is a good one. "Our collaboratives are outperforming all of our other students that are coming from four year old programs," Wright noted. "In fact, they're scoring above the cut score we use for kindergarten readiness." But there's not enough money to help all the children in the state. Wright recently requested more money from a legislative budget hearing and cited early childhood education as one of the areas needing expansion. |
| Federal indictment: Contractor gave bribes to former Jackson mayor, other city officials | |
| An embattled Atlanta contractor and political mover and shaker faces new bribery charges alleging she showered former Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber and other officials with gifts so they would award her future city contracts. Mitzi Bickers "hosted parties and paid for food, airline flights, hotels, chauffeured car services, entertainment, fundraisers and campaign services" for the mayor and other city officials, according to an updated indictment filed October 22, and first reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Prosecutors included the allegations in an updated indictment filed in Georgia federal court under an existing case. Those charges, to which she has pleaded not guilty, alleges Bickers' involvement in an Atlanta bribery scheme that has rocked city hall in recent years. The indictment, which does not cite Yarber by name, also alleges Bickers made purchases, totaling at least $5,000, "with the intent to influence and reward an agent of the City of Jackson, Mississippi government." |
| Bombs Sent to Joe Biden and Robert De Niro, Latest in Wave of Explosives Sent to Trump Critics | |
| Two additional pipe bombs, one addressed to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and the other to actor Robert De Niro have been found, law enforcement officials said on Thursday, the latest in a wave of similar devices sent to several prominent Democrats who have been have been the rhetorical targets of President Trump and several right-wing figures. A law enforcement official said the envelope and printed address labels on the package sent to Mr. De Niro were similar to those on explosives sent to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others, and an X-ray showed it contained a similar device resembling a pipe bomb. "This appears to be from the same sender," the official said. |
| After suspicious packages, President Trump blames media for 'anger' in society | |
 | A day after police intercepted suspicious packages aimed at his political rivals, President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the media for contributing to tensions that threaten to turn deadly. "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump tweeted. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description." While CNN was one of the recipients of a suspicious device, Trump said that "the Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!" It was a change in tone for Trump, who struck a more conciliatory tone Wednesday after news that authorities had intercepted pipe bombs marked for former President Barack Obama, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and other Trump foes -- though, even then, he still put some of the blame on the media. |
| Finding 'Common Good' Among Evangelicals In The Political Season | |
 | On a recent evening in Houston, under the heavy branches of live oak trees, Doug Pagitt stood before a couple dozen people gathered on blue folding chairs on the Rice University campus. "You've heard it said that to be a true Christian, you must vote like a Republican," he said. "But we are here to be reminded that just ain't so." Pagitt, 52, describes himself as a progressive evangelical. He pastors a church in Minneapolis and has been traveling the country by bus, preaching a message that juxtaposes Trump campaign slogans against quotes from the Bible. "You have heard it said, 'America First,' but we are here to be reminded to 'Seek first the Kingdom of God,' on behalf of all those everywhere in the world," he said, quoting the words of Jesus in the New Testament book of Matthew. Pagitt's organization, Vote Common Good, is focusing on evangelicals and other Christian voters who feel out of place in President Trump's Republican Party. It's an uphill battle, given that more than eight in 10 white evangelical voters supported Trump in 2016. |
| FDIC sees 'unbanked' households rise in Mississippi | |
 | The percentage of Mississippi households without a bank account -- the so-called "unbanked" -- rose sharply in 2017 even as the national percentage fell last year. A full 15.8 percent of households in Mississippi were unbanked, borrowing money or cashing checks outside the banking system, according to an every-other-year survey released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a major bank regulator. The survey, which has been done since 2009, showed that on a national level the number of unbanked households fell to 6.5 percent, down from 7 percent in 2015 and 7.7 percent in 2013. That makes Mississippi's rising percentage, more than double the national average, all the more remarkable. The state's 15.8 percent rate was up from 12.6 percent in 2015 and 14.5 percent in 2013. Mississippi also ranked poorly, relative to the rest of the nation, in the measurement of the underbanked. |
| Ole Miss to honor late Miss America for $1.6M donation | |
 | The University of Mississippi will honor a former Miss America and her husband after the couple's daughter gave more than $1.6 million of her parents' money to the university. Ole Miss on Saturday will name a 130-seat theater as the Mary Ann Mobley Collins and Gary E. Collins Studio Theatre. The school says the gift, directed to the school by Clancy Collins White, will also fund as many as 10 scholarships, the school's first ever designated for theater and film students. Mobley graduated from Ole Miss in 1958, the same year she won the Miss America crown. |
| Ole Miss awaits test results for mold | |
| Tests are underway at Ole Miss over a mold concern at a student dorm. University officials said several students have "raised questions about a dark material" on the ceilings inside Crosby Hall. An environmental contractor conducted an air quality test Tuesday. Results from the test should be returned in the coming days. University officials say all students at Crosby Hall have the option to move to another residence hall at no additional cost. |
| Students discuss race, symbols at UM Family Night | |
| University of Mississippi students and faculty gathered in Fulton Chapel on Wednesday night for the UM Family Meeting to discuss the current campus climate regarding race and Confederate symbols. "No one mentions the word climate when everything is going OK," UM student Jaylon Martin said. "When we talk about climate, we're talking about racial tension, the Confederate symbols, and how that interacts with all of the dynamics between students on this campus." The University of Mississippi Black Student Union, Associated Student Body, the Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, College Panhellenic Council and the UM NAACP sponsored the event. Several participants introduced the idea that a discussion on race in America is often seen as an uncomfortable topic for people. One of the most prevalent and recurring topics of conversation was the presence of the Confederate monument that sits in the Circle. |
| U. of Mississippi Medical Center battling opioid epidemic | |
| The University of Mississippi Medical Center's first-ever addiction program has a new resource that gives patients what's considered the national gold standard of care in treating opioid use disorders. Dr. Saurabh Bhardwaj, an addiction psychiatrist hired in August, is seeing patients on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in the Behavioral Health Specialty Clinic at the Jackson Medical Mall. An assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, he is the Medical Center's first provider to offer medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, for opioid use disorder. Those medications include drugs that reduce cravings for opioid drugs and prevent addicts from getting high if they relapse. "We are the first to roll out a formal addiction program for UMMC, starting with our clinic for alcohol use disorders for mild to moderate cases that began in 2017," said Dr. Scott Rodgers, professor and chair of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. |
| At NEMCC, Wheeler Parker gives first-hand account of his cousin Emmett Till | |
 | Emmett Till spoke with a stutter that he developed after recovering from polio as a child. Friends and family called the easy-going jokester by his nickname, Bobo. He loved animals, and a few days before his death at 14-years-old, he was upset after a car he was riding in hit a dog. After he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered for whistling in the presence of a white woman at Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market in the Delta in 1955, Till became a household name in Mississippi and beyond. Countless news articles, history books and documentaries have set out to tell the story of his life and death. But few people knew Emmett Till like his cousin, the Rev. Wheeler Parker, who was at the store that day and in the same house the night he was kidnapped. Tuesday night at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Parker gave a presentation titled "Reflections on Emmett Till's Legacy and America" in front of a standing-room-only crowd of around 400 students, professors and community members. |
| East Mississippi Community College prepares first surgical technology program in Golden Triangle | |
 | Fifteen students will begin classes in the Golden Triangle's first surgical technology program next January. East Mississippi Community College and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle have entered a partnership to train students in the college's new program as well as its paramedic program. While the courses will be taught by EMCC instructors to EMCC students, classes will be held at 515 Willowbrook Road down the street from the hospital, and students will have the opportunity to work with doctors, paramedics and surgical technologists from Baptist before graduating with Associate's degrees in either program. Baptist officials approached the college in February about potentially beginning a surgical technology program, said Derrick Forrester, director of surgical services at Baptist. |
| Belhaven, Jackson Academy sign tuition exchange, scholarship program | |
| Mr. Kevin Russell, Belhaven's Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing and Mr. Jack Milne, Head of School at Jackson Academy signed a special memorandum of understanding this week, outlining the terms of a tuition exchange and scholarship program. "We are delighted to have entered into a reciprocal agreement with Belhaven University that makes obtaining an education at this fine institution more accessible for our graduates and staff children, and which will in turn encourage faculty and staff of Belhaven to strongly consider sending their children to Jackson Academy," Milne said. The tuition exchange agreement will cut costs for Jackson Academy graduates who become Belhaven students on the Jackson campus. In addition, Belhaven faculty and staff sending their children to Jackson Academy will see prices reduced as well. Under the program, dependents of full-time faculty and staff of Belhaven's main campus in Jackson who qualify for admission to Jackson Academy will be offered a 30 percent tuition discount. In exchange, Jackson Academy graduates will be offered a 40 percent tuition discount or scholarship. A similar agreement has been in place with Jackson Prep. |
| Greenville High School Freshmen Earn College Credit Early | |
 | Quincy Wilson and his freshmen classmates catch the bus every morning, and he said it's a long and early ride. "We have to leave from Greenville pretty early, so I usually wake up about 5:30 a.m.," he said. "We leave the school at around 6:45. You can do your homework if you need to. We do have a lot of it, so it is useful to have some time to do that on the bus, but we do also talk with each other a lot on the bus rides." But they aren't going to the local high school, they're traveling over 40 miles to go to college. They're part of Greenville High School's Early College High School Program, a partnership between the school, Mississippi Valley State University and the Mississippi Department of Education. Similar programs are in place across the state. Starting freshman year with accelerated courses, students are working toward getting college credit and a high school diploma. Almost 44 percent of students in Mississippi go to rural schools, according to a Center for Public Education study. |
| U. of Alabama students to spend fall break assisting in hurricane recovery | |
 | As the University of Alabama campus readied for its short fall break Wednesday, a group of UA students boarded buses bound for the Florida Panhandle to spend the time helping with the recovery in the wake of Hurricane Michael. "We are just the hands that can pull stuff out of the way," senior Abby Greenwell said. About 40 students with Bama Beyond will spend fall break from Thursday to Sunday helping in Panama City, Florida. The group is part of the Center for Service and Leadership on campus and uses breaks during the academic year for community service projects. Greenwell, a native of Killen, joined as a sophomore after seeing an ad about a planned trip to Greensboro. The group typically spends its breaks in the fall, winter and spring helping in other communities, Greenwell said. Students went to Houston last year to help after Hurricane Harvey. |
| State health department: No cancer cluster at Auburn University | |
 | The Alabama Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that it has found no evidence of a cluster of eye cancer among Auburn University students and employees. The announcement came months after the health department said it was working in conjunction with the university to study cases of ocular, or uveal, melanoma in people with ties to Auburn. ADPH would verify that patients had the particular type of cancer being studied and that it originated in the eye, rather than metastasized there, and Auburn would confirm when that person was a student at Auburn or had worked there. "The analysis was conducted for students who attended or employees who worked for Auburn University at any point from 1980 forward," according to a press release from the state health department. "The study included confirmed cases that were diagnosed at any point between 1990 and 2017. Seventeen people, nine males and eight females, met the criteria to be included." Multiple cases of the cancer have been reported among Auburn University alumni and former employees, prompting the study. |
| Louisiana college leaders seek $172 million budget boost next year | |
| After absorbing nearly a decade of cuts and receiving flat funding this year, Louisiana's top higher education board voted Wednesday to ask the governor and lawmakers for a $172 million increase for public colleges next year. The request from the Board of Regents would bump up general state funds for higher education to $1.2 billion in the 2019-20 budget year that begins July 1. Higher education leaders, meeting at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, framed the financing boost as a way to reinvest in campuses that have struggled through cuts and to help students afford college after years of tuition and fee hikes that partially offset the slashing. With the proposal, "Louisiana can improve affordability and reduce student debt," Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed said in a statement. "This is how we, as a state, will move from poverty to prosperity long-term." |
| Bill Nye the Science Guy to speak at U. of Kentucky in November | |
 | Bill Nye, known for his 1990s PBS show "Bill Nye the Science Guy, will speak at University of Kentucky next month as part of the SpeakBlue Distinguished Speakers Series. The event, put on by UK's Student Activities Board, will take place at 8 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Singletary Center. Students tickets are already on sale and general public tickets are on sale Oct. 29 for $15. Nye will touch on his experiences in the entertainment and television industry, according to a Facebook post for the event. Since his PBS show ended in 1998, Nye has stayed active in the industry. Most recently, Nye concluded the third season of his Netflix show "Bill Nye Saves the World" in May. |
| U. of Missouri lands $22.4M in grants to boost education in rural schools | |
 | The largest grant ever received by the University of Missouri College of Education will support education in rural schools and help schoolchildren develop social skills. The $14.6 million Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be matched by $3.42 million from Kansas City Audio-Visual, which is also providing $400,000 to match a $4 million federal Education Innovation and Research Award. The total of $22.4 million in funding was announced Wednesday at the Reynolds Alumni Center. "This is a remarkable achievement for a critical part of our university," Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said. The grants were awarded to the Enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies, or eMINTS, National Center in the college. The center is a partnership between MU, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri Department of Higher Education. |
| Former Fortune 500 company CEO kicks off Novak Leadership Speaker Series at Missouri | |
 | Recognition in the workplace and creating a team are key to being a good leader in all professions, David Novak, a University of Missouri alumnus, said Wednesday. "Recognition is the secret to connecting with others," he said. Novak graduated from MU in 1974 and is co-founder and former CEO of Yum Brands Inc., a Fortune 500 company, which includes Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. He also founded the company oGoLead, which is designed to help build better leaders. Novak spoke to about 1,000 people Wednesday about his leadership philosophy as a part of the Novak Leadership Speaker Series. The inaugural series hosts speakers of diverse professional backgrounds who share research with MU students and faculty. The event is hosted in partnership with the Novak Leadership Institute and the MU Office of Engagement and Extension. The Novak family donated $21.6 million in September 2017 to help establish the Novak Leadership Institute. |
| New study shows the causes of college student mental health problems | |
 | Many research studies have been devoted to college students' mental health and a lack of campus resources to help them. Now researchers, curious about what contributed to these issues, have decided to analyze numerous studies. They found that common contributing factors to students' mental-health challenges were race, violence and sexual assault. Professors at North Carolina State University and Pennsylvania State University studied 165 academic and news articles from 2010 to 2015 -- including some from Inside Higher Ed -- on college mental health. The authors of the study, which was published recently in the journal JMIR Mental Health, mined these pieces, identified certain terms and themes, then grouped them together into six general categories: age-related factors in mental health, race, crime, services that institutions offer, the "aftermath" of negative experiences in mental health, and violence and sexual assault. |
| SAT scores are up, but gaps remain significant among racial and ethnic groups | |
| Students who graduated from high school this year had an average total SAT score of 1068, a slight increase over last year's average of 1060. The College Board noted that it has worked to make free services available to help people prepare for the SAT. But Monica Noll, manager of teacher training at Kaplan Test Prep, offered a related theory via email: "The Class of 2017 was the first class to go through the new SAT and understandably had fewer new resources available, less time with the new content, and were making big decisions on when to test. Members of the Class of 2018 had more time and more resources available to prepare. There was an increased level of comfort because of this. Second, unlike members of the Class of 2017, who could either choose to take the old SAT or new SAT, members of the Class of 2018 had no such choice -- they could only take the new SAT. This allowed them to singularly focus." Whatever the reason for the gain in the national average, it was not uniform. |
| Colleges sue to stop policy that makes it easier for international students to accrue days of unlawful presence | |
| Four colleges have filed suit in federal court to contest a new policy that makes it easier for international students and exchange scholars on F, J and M visas to accrue "unlawful presence" in the U.S. Accruing more than 180 days of unlawful presence in a single stay can subject students or scholars to three- or 10-year prohibitions on re-entering the country. Two of the four colleges that have filed suit -- Haverford College and the New School -- claim in the complaint that the new policy has changed how they advise international students, and that they are now more likely to refer students to outside immigration lawyers. Haverford and the New School also report that there are cases of individual students who have left their institutions as a result of this new policy who wouldn't have left otherwise. Previously the unlawful-presence clock started ticking the day after a student or scholar was formally put on notice of an alleged violation of status or ordered to leave the country. Now, it starts ticking the day after the alleged violation. |
| First-generation college students earn less than graduates whose parents went to college | |
| When discussions take place about first-generation college students, often the focus is on how disadvantaged they are in comparison to their peers whose parents went to college. Research we recently conducted shows that first-generation college students experience another form of disadvantage that lasts long after they graduate -- and that is: how much they earn. We are sociologists who focus on topics of career progression and class inequality. Using data from the federal Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study for 1992-93 graduates, we found that first-generation college students earn substantially less 10 years after graduation than college graduates whose parents went to college. This is the most recent data available that follows young people for 10 years after they graduate -- a time when young adults' incomes typically become more stable. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State quarterbacks handling chaotic situation with class | |
 | Amid the slew of interceptions, plethora of incomplete passes and copious callings for his benching, senior quarterback Nick Fitzgerald tweeted a photo Tuesday. It had nothing to do with the fire he's under after a string of poor performances. It was just a happy birthday message to sophomore Keytaon Thompson, a player who might be on the precipice of stealing Fitzgerald's job. "That's my little bro," Fitzgerald said in a press conference Tuesday. "We've been through a lot and grinded through a lot together. It's not going to change no matter what happens." The two are about to go through even more. Head coach Joe Moorhead said Monday that Thompson will have a chance to start a series against No. 17 Texas A&M this week. If Fitzgerald fails before Thompson's entrance, and if Thompson makes the most of it, then the latter could very well assume the starting slot. |
| Brotherly bond for Mark McLaurin, Johnathan Abram extends off the field, too | |
| Bob Shoop's individual drills with Mississippi State's safeties can't start before a best-of-three series of rock paper scissors between two of his starters. Mark McLaurin and Johnathan Abram go out of their way to compete with each other as often as possible, and of course MSU's top two safeties are going to do the same to decide who goes first in drills. "There's not a game goes by, a practice goes by, any moment, where we're not fussing about this and that, being competitive," McLaurin said. "That's how we are and it motivates us to keep working every day." McLaurin and Abram have been two of the most productive figures on MSU's defense since the beginning of last season, now doing so for a defense that is top 10 nationally in nearly every statistical category of importance. Their high-energy dynamic has made them two of MSU's most dangerous defenders, to be unleashed on No. 16 Texas A&M (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN). |
| Mississippi State's Gerri Green nominated for Wuerffel Trophy | |
| Mississippi State senior defensive end Gerri Green was nominated for the Wuerffel Trophy, college football's top community service award. Green volunteers his time in several capacities including Read Across America and mentoring and tutoring at local schools. He is also a member of the Southeastern Conference Leadership Council. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder from Greenville was voted by his teammates as a team captain prior to the season. Green has started all seven games with 18 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry. |
| No. 16 Aggie football team wants to reverse bye week fortunes | |
 | Bye weeks haven't been that beneficial to the Texas A&M football program since the Aggies joined the Southeastern Conference. A&M is 2-5 in games following a bye, but the 16th-ranked Aggies (5-1, 3-1) will try to reverse that trend Saturday at Mississippi State (4-3, 1-3), ironically the last team the Aggies faced after a bye. A year ago, the Bulldogs grabbed a 35-14 victory at Kyle Field as A&M lost four of its last six games. "In the past, we've had a reputation of falling at this point in the season," A&M senior defensive end Landis Durham said. "We're really looking to finish strong. I know a lot of the guys are excited. I'm excited to see what we got." A&M, which is a 2.5-point underdog to Mississippi State, has lost its last four games following a bye, each loss contributing to late-season fades the last four seasons that helped get former coach Kevin Sumlin fired. |
| 5 things Texas A&M fans need to know about Mississippi State | |
| No. 16 Texas A&M (5-2, 3-1 SEC) comes off its bye week with a pivotal road game against an up-and-down Mississippi State squad that has topped the Aggies the last two seasons. Here are five things Aggie fans should know about the Bulldogs. |
| Vic Schaefer's newcomers shine in Mississippi State's preseason scrimmage | |
| All the chatter surrounding Mississippi State women's basketball this offseason seemed to center on who the Bulldogs lost -- four seniors responsible for taking the program to back-to-back national championship games. Tuesday night's Maroon-White Scrimmage showed folks why the Dogs are still in good hands. Head coach Vic Schaefer's newcomers played well at Humphrey Coliseum, letting spectators see why State should once again be a conference and national title contender. The seniors that State lost accounted for more than 90 percent of the Bulldogs' three-point production last year. In the 20-minute maroon versus white portion of the scrimmage (the girls later played against the male practice squad), the two teams combined to go 7-of-9 from three. |
| Natchez casino now offers sports betting | |
 | When a May U.S. Supreme Court ruling paved the way for legalized sports betting in Mississippi casinos, Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez was on top of its game, literally. Friday afternoon, the Natchez casino opened its new sportsbook lounge, joining other casinos across the state that had eagerly awaited the court's decision. "We've been looking forward to it for quite a few years," said Kevin Kickels, Magnolia Bluffs Casino marketing manager. "We look at it as an amenity for our casino. ... Sports betting is an attraction with a clear gaming experience. ...Gambling and sports often go hand in hand." The Mississippi Gaming Commission reported Tuesday that sports bettors placed wagers totaling $31.77 million statewide on sporting events last month, which generated $5.5 million in taxable revenue. Kickels said the Magnolia Bluffs Casino began work on its sportsbook lounge soon after the court's ruling, which features nine different television sets and comfortable seating for 30 to 50 visitors. |
| Behind the Scenes With the Cops Who Contain LSU's Game Day Frenzy | |
| The black binder tucked under Marshall Walters's arm is more valuable than just about anything on LSU's campus during this overcast Saturday in October. It looks no different than the binders used by college students before iPads and laptops became the note-taking standard, only this one houses important information to keep this place protected on one of the busiest days of the year: an LSU football home game. Walters is careful with the binder, unzipping its cover to give an inquiring mind the slightest peek at the contents inside: bundles of stacked papers. "This," he gestures to the binder, "is our football." Moments later, from a room deep within Tiger Stadium, Walters places the opened binder on a lectern, looks out to more than 300 uniform-wearing men and women seated before him and kicks off the day for the most essential people at any major college football game day: law enforcement officers. |
| Louisiana Legislature plans to tackle sports betting again in 2019 session | |
 | State lawmakers are betting that they can successfully revive efforts to legalize sports wagering in Louisiana, as neighboring Mississippi reaps potentially millions from Louisiana's inaction on the issue earlier this year. "If we don't address it, the world will be way out ahead of Louisiana and we're going to be lagging behind," Sen. Norby Chabert, R-Houma, said during a hearing at the State Capitol on Wednesday. Mississippi casinos have fielded more than $5.5 million in bets on sporting events through September, generating about $650,000 in state revenue in the first two months, figures from the state gaming commission show. "The operators we've talked to have stated that there is a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of new traffic," said Allen Godfrey, the executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission who attended Wednesday's hearing to provide information about his state's sports-betting implementation. Godfrey at times ribbed Louisiana legislators about the benefits that Mississippi has reaped from Louisiana residents making the trip to Mississippi casinos to bet on athletic events. |
| College basketball corruption trial verdict will have big impact | |
| In a decisive victory for federal prosecutors and a frightening warning to those involved in the payment of college recruits, a New York jury has convicted Adidas director of global marketing James Gatto, Adidas consultant basketball organizer Merl Code and client recruiter (a.k.a. runner) Christian Dawkins of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will sentence the defendants on March 5, 2019. While a pre-sentencing report will influence Judge Kaplan in determining appropriate prison sentences, it's expected that the three men will likely be sentenced to somewhere between two to five years in prison. While the NCAA was not a party in this trial, its ability to enforce compliance of rules stands to gain from it. |
| After hoops corruption trial verdict, how much will college basketball's most powerful man shake up the sport? | |
| The most powerful man in college basketball this winter is not a Hall of Fame coach, future lottery pick or even whatever administrator seeds the NCAA tournament field. He's an impeccably dressed, Yale-educated, 38-year-old assistant U.S. attorney from Manhattan, where he's shaken up the sport by leading the federal prosecuting team that delivered convictions to three men in the college basketball fraud trial. Now, Edward "Ted" Diskant can decide just how far he wants to try to take this case. And college basketball can wonder what comes next if he does. A jury Wednesday found Adidas executives Jim Gatto and Merl Code and basketball middleman Christian Dawkins guilty on all counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for paying the families of top high school recruits and steering them to preferred, Adidas-sponsored colleges. Most who know the wink-and-nod nature of the sport found the theory dubious, but the government made it work. Now everyone in basketball is wondering if it means anyone who has done anything that theoretically rendered a player ineligible hasn't likewise broken federal fraud statutes. |
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