| Friday, October 26, 2018 |
| Pumpkinpalooza set for Friday in downtown Starkville | |
 | The Partnership will host the ninth annual Pumpkinpalooza in downtown Starkville on Friday. Partnership Special Events and Projects Coordinator Paige Watson said the event, which has become a fall mainstay for downtown Starkville, will feature a pumpkin patch, inflatable jumpers for children and more. Pumpkinpalooza will begin at 5 p.m. and is scheduled to last through 7 p.m. Pumpkinpalooza will coincide with Maroon Madness -- a Mississippi State University event to celebrate the beginning of the men's and women's basketball seasons. Watson said a pep rally, featuring MSU's spirit squads, will begin at 5:30 p.m. Maroon Madness, which features the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters this year, is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Humphrey Coliseum on MSU's campus. |
| Some displaced Oak Hall students at Mississippi State can return Friday | |
| Mississippi State University students in 18 of the 30 rooms affected by a Sunday night fire will soon return to their rooms in Oak Hall, according to university officials. Flames were contained to the third-floor room where the fire started, but water damage affected 29 others. University officials believe the fire started by a spark that caught a bed on fire after a student plugged a phone charger into an electrical outlet. No injuries were reported in the incident. The university offered lodging at the La Quinta Inn near campus for students in the affected rooms. MSU Chief Communications Sid Salter said 18 of the rooms were minimally impacted and have been restored to a suitable state for students to return. After the fire, MSU extended academic accommodations to affected students, and MSU President Mark Keenum offered further accommodations, such as parking. |
| Mississippi State offers aid to students affected by Oak Hall fire | |
 | Mississippi State University is making moves to help those students affected by a Sunday night fire in Oak Hall. Officials from the MSU Division of Student Affairs and the MSU Department of Housing and Residence Life met with impacted students Monday evening to discuss the situation and their options. Mississippi State Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said the university determined that 18 rooms across the first, second and third floors of Oak Hall received minor damage, and will be able to be inhabited again by noon Friday. In the meantime, the university is housing the students at the Starkville La Quinta Inn and Suites. The university has also identified 12 rooms in the hall with severe damage, which will take up to 30 days to repair. The impacted students were also given claims sheets by the university, should any of their belongings be damaged or destroyed. Students residing in the heavily damaged rooms were also given the opportunity to store their belongings elsewhere while repairs are underway. |
| SOCSD Board hears Partnership School update at work session | |
| Among other information, the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Board of Trustees got a glimpse of the latest Partnership School cost figure. The board held a long work session Tuesday morning, hearing updates from several district departments. The board also held a brief special called meeting during the period, approving the lowest bid from Gregory Paving to pave the West Elementary parking lot. Bruce Wood of JH&H Architects gave an update on the Partnership School's cost, saying it was now at $31,718,000. He said unlike previous figures, the new figure includes furniture and other fittings for the school. He also gave Aug. 29, 2019 as the projected completion date for the Partnership School. He then said the Mississippi Department of Transportation was mandating that the J-Turn leading into the site be lined up differently, which will cost the project more. He also said a change order with West Brothers Construction, the project contractor, had also raised the price. |
| Unemployment rate remains steady in Golden Triangle | |
| As employment continues to move toward what is considered full employment, unemployment rates are beginning to show less change in the year-over-year comparison on the local, state and national level. Jobless rates have continued an 18-month trend of steady decreases, which are also reflected in the Golden Triangle where the unemployment rates in September are only slightly less than in September 2017, according to data released Wednesday by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Compared to a year ago, the largest drop in unemployment in the Golden Triangle came in Noxubee County, where the rate fell by 0.7 percent to 6.6 percent in September compared to a year ago. Those rates dropped by 0.1 percent in Oktibbeha and Clay counties and were unchanged in Lowndes County when compared to the same time period. |
| Mississippi Development Authority puts 'smokestack chasing' in back seat | |
 | Mississippi's economic development agency is taking a more measured strategy for promoting industrial growth in the state. "This year, more than 80 percent of state-assisted economic development announcements have been expansions of our existing corporate citizens," Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Glenn McCullough Jr, said in a news release last month. McCullough declined to discuss the current trend, though he emailed a statement that said: "The percentage of businesses increasing their capacity in Mississippi is a strong indicator the economy continues to gain momentum, as demand for Mississippi-made products increases in numerous sectors." Still the caution exhibited by the MDA, which is answerable to Gov. Phil Bryant, reflects a sentiment that has established itself at least for now. |
| Ivanka Trump visits Gulfport to talk affordable child care | |
 | Ivanka Trump said she had a hard time tearing herself away from children playing at a nonprofit activity center so she could join the adults to talk about child care options for women in the workforce. She was one of 12 panelists from business, child care, education and government who discussed the topic in a room filled with about 40 invited guests. Trump credited Mississippi with having some of the lowest child care costs in the country. Trump and Patti Greene, who heads the Labor Department's Women's Bureau, arrived Thursday afternoon at Lynn Meadows Discovery Center to host a final listening session on women in the workforce and the availability of child care. Trump told the crowd at the end of the one-hour session that it was her ninth wedding anniversary. On her way from the airport, she saw a big barbecue smoker that her husband would have loved and also the beach. "I should have brought Jared (Kushner)," she said. "I should have brought the kids." |
| Ivanka Trump and local officials talk with DOL Women's Bureau Director on improving childcare | |
 | Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, visited the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport to participate in a listening session hosed by the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau. Others in attendance included Patricia Greene, Director of the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor officials, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, and a host of community leaders and advocates. The purpose of the session was to discuss innovative solutions to help Mississippi families have access to affordable, quality child-care options. Dr. Mimmo Parisi, Mississippi State University said that through the development of this technology, business asked three questions. From that data, they engaged in the framework to Prepare, Connect and Sustain. "The big thing for us is that we can't make a mistake, because it could have a tremendous impact. That was the philosophical idea behind developing the data," said Dr. Parisi. |
| Ivanka Trump praises Mississippi's child care efforts in Gulfport | |
 | Ivanka Trump, during a visit Thursday, praised Mississippi's efforts to improve child care. "While there are still issues with access to affordable child care, Mississippi has one of the best records of any other state in the country in terms of infant and early childhood day care," said President Donald Trump's daughter, who's also a White House adviser. "You're doing some great work, but I know nobody feels the work is close to being done." Trump was in Gulfport for the 10th and final Department of Labor listening session on child care. Laurie Smith, head of the state Workforce Investment Board, said The Mississippi Plan focuses on the entire family, not just early childhood development for the child. "We create a multiagency, wrap-around plan -- one for the child and one for the family," Smith said. Data shows that is working, Smith said. Mimmo Parisi, professor of demography and applied statistics in the Department of Sociology at Mississippi State University and director of the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems data clearinghouse, has tracked the measures implemented by the state. |
| Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith open to runoff debate | |
 | A Mississippi Republican appointed to the U.S. Senate says she would not mind debating a Democratic challenger if they get into a runoff for the special election. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith told The Greenwood Commonwealth on Wednesday that she thinks Mike Espy "would be very civil." She has declined to debate all three challengers before the Nov. 6 election. They are Espy, who's a former congressman and former U.S. agriculture secretary; Chris McDaniel, who's a Republican state senator with tea party support; and Tobey Bernard Bartee, a Democrat who is a former military intelligence officer. Hyde-Smith said voters would see "clear" ideological differences between her and Espy. "I'll be a 'small I' senator, someone who is independent and someone who reaches across the chasm to work with anyone -- Republicans, independents, other Democrats," Espy said during a Sept. 22 event in Jackson. |
| Why Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi's first congresswoman, is running from history | |
 | A few weeks into his first session in the Mississippi Senate, Sen. Billy Hudson, R-Hattiesburg, felt a tap on his shoulder as he sat at his desk reviewing legislation. He turned around to see his colleague, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, at that point in her third term as a Democratic state senator, grinning at him. "She told me, 'Hudson you don't need to read these bills. If I want you to vote yes, I'll slap you on your right ear. If I want you to vote no, I'll slap you on your left ear.'" Of course, Hyde-Smith was joking --- at least about the ear slapping. But if it seems unlikely that Hudson, a Republican, would take the voting advice of Hyde-Smith, then a Democrat, he said it shouldn't. "She voted as conservative---or more so---than me (in the state Senate)," Hudson said. "I never thought of her as a Democrat or a moderate or a liberal. And her record proves that. Her record bears that out." State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, has seized on Hyde-Smith's history as a Democrat and in particular her vote in the 2008 Democratic primary, when he claims Hyde-Smith cast a ballot for then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton for president. |
| Billionaire Robert Mercer drops $500K in Chris McDaniel super PAC | |
 | New York hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer has given another $500,000 to the Remember Mississippi super PAC that supports Republican candidate Chris McDaniel, a federal campaign finance report posted Thursday shows. This brings Mercer's contributions to Remember Mississippi up to $1 million and helps McDaniel, who has struggled with fundraising and has been able to purchase little television advertising. Remember Mississippi this week announced it had just spent more than $400,000 on ads for McDaniel and against his Republican opponent, appointed Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. This buy appears to have been funded by Mercer's new donation in early October. |
| Democratic youth meets GOP experience in 4th Congressional District race | |
| Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo says he's building experience that will benefit south Mississippi's 4th Congressional district, warning that "You can't just come in and light the world on fire" in Congress. But that's exactly what Democratic challenger and state Rep. Jeramey Anderson of Moss Point is trying to do. Anderson and Palazzo clash on a familiar range of issues, but the challenger is trying to engage voters in a district where Palazzo won 65 percent and President Donald Trump won nearly 70 percent of the votes in 2016. Anderson was elected to the state House as the youngest lawmaker in state history at 21. Now he's trying to move on to Congress at the age of 26, asking voters, "Why should I have to wait my turn?" Palazzo says voters should send him back to Washington for a fifth term representing a district covering 14 counties from Laurel to the Gulf Coast, because "my experience, after eight years, has become invaluable." |
| Delbert Hosemann ahead of election: 'I spend part of everyday on cyber security' | |
| Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann will have the security of the Statewide Election Management System at the forefront of his mind as Nov. 6 election day approaches -- but that day is no different than any other for the precaution-minded official. Hosemann will be communicating with county circuit clerks about election security before Nov. 6 -- again, a regular occurrence. "We are in constant contact with the circuit clerks," Hosemann said. "We talk to them all the time. I send them a daily reminder about cyber security. I spend part of every day on cyber security." Under the federal Help America Vote Act, Mississippi recently received $4.5 million to replace voting systems and improve election administration. Those funds were matched with $224,000 from Hosemann's office. |
| Arrest made in connection with pipe bombs | |
 | Federal authorities have arrested a man in Florida in connection with the series of suspected explosive packages mailed to prominent Democrats this week. Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokesperson with the Justice Department, confirmed on Twitter that one person is in custody, announcing a press conference later in the afternoon. he suspect was allegedly arrested near Plantation, Fla., in the district represented by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D), whose office was listed as a return address on several of the packages. FBI agents were seen in media footage from near where the suspect was arrested covering up a white van that appeared to be covered in in political stickers and decals. |
| Doug Jones: Roy Moore would have cost Alabama $1.6 billion Mazda Toyota plant | |
 | Toyota and Mazda's announcement in January that it was planning to open a $1.6 billion plant in Huntsville would not have occurred had Roy Moore won last year's U.S. Senate race, Senator Doug Jones said Wednesday. "Clearly, if you get down to the bottom of it, that plant would not have come to Alabama with Roy Moore sitting as United States Senator," Jones said to AL.com after speaking at a campaign rally in Fairhope on behalf of Democrat Danielle Mashburn-Myrick, who is competing against incumbent Republican state Rep. Joe Faust in the Alabama House District 94 race. "We started changing the dynamic of this state and reaping the benefits now," Jones said about his upset victory during the December 12, 2017, special election to become the state's junior senator. "I don't think there is any question about it." Jones said he’s worked in a bipartisan fashion with Senator Richard Shelby on economic development matters. |
| U.S. Economy Grew At A 3.5 Percent Rate In 3rd Quarter | |
 | The economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That's slower than the second quarter's blockbuster 4.2 percent, but it puts the economy on pace for the fastest annual growth in 13 years. Private analysts had estimated a 3.4 percent growth rate in gross domestic product for the third quarter. Consumer spending jumped at a 4 percent rate in the July-September quarter -- the fastest in about four years and topping the 3.8 percent in the prior three months. Overall growth may have been affected, in part, by Hurricane Florence, which flooded the Southeast U.S. in September. The Commerce Department said Florence resulted in losses of $37 billion in property and equipment. And Hurricane Michael, which plowed through the Florida Panhandle and Georgia earlier this month, could affect fourth-quarter GDP. |
| MUW to use $1.5M grant to improve student retention | |
| In an effort to make student advising more efficient, Mississippi University for Women will use a $1.5 million grant to purchase a new advising software for students. MUW received the Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education in September. David Brooking, director of the MUW student success center, applied for the grant, which will take place over the next five years, to help boost student retention and graduation rates. The university's 2017 graduation rate, which measured how many from the university's incoming freshman class of 2011 graduated from the W over the next six years, was 44.3 percent. "We can always do better with our student retention," Brooking said. "Our graduation rates are strong, but we can always improve." MUW President Nora Miller said the advising program has been on the university's radar for nearly a decade, but resources to purchase and implement it had been an issue. |
| MVSU Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Named | |
 | Dr. Elizabeth Evans is now the Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at Mississippi Valley State University. She will oversee the Office of Academic Affairs. Dr. Evans will also play a key part in the management of the institution. Evans began working at Mississippi Valley State University in 2003. A 1975 graduate of Gentry High School in Indianola, Miss., Evans earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Mississippi Valley State University, where she was commissioned as a Distinguished Graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) program (1979). She also earned a Master of Arts Degree in Public Management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, Texas in 1986, and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University in 2012. |
| Alcorn State University to hold auditions for Forest Hill band students | |
| Band directors from Alcorn State University say they will be in Jackson Monday to audition Forest Hill High School students for band scholarships. Typically, scholarship auditions are held in the spring, but Band Director Dr. Renardo Murray says in light of the controversy surrounding the band he wanted students to get a fair shake at winning scholarships. The band was recently sanctioned by the MHSAA for a performance in Brookhaven. The auditions will take place Monday at Relevant Empowerment Church. |
| Grant will create student government at Meridian Community College | |
 | Meridian Community College received a $7,500 grant from AT&T on Thursday to help create the college's first student government association. MCC math instructor and Phi Theta Kappa advisor Phyllis Holladay, who applied for the grant, said the college had a student organization before, but not one where students were communicating with the administration about issues on campus. The process to start the SGA started several months ago, and the process to create its constitution and bylaws is underway, she said. Holladay said the SGA will help MCC by giving students a voice and encouraging an atmosphere of open dialogue on campus. It will aim to create a culture of unity between students and faculty and encourage students to become involved with people outside of their social circles. The association will also provide leadership opportunities and scholarships, she said. |
| Engineering professor sues Auburn University | |
 | An Auburn University professor is taking legal action against the school based on what he says is discrimination because of his race and national origin. Joseph C. Majdalani filed a lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. The document lists as defendants the university itself, the board of trustees, university president Steven Leath, provost Bill Hardgrave, former provost Timothy Boosinger, associate provost John Winn, dean of the College of Engineering Christopher Roberts, aerospace engineering department chair Brian Thurow, 2016 Senate Executive Committee chair-elect R. James Goldstein and 2016 Senate Executive Committee chair Lawrence Teeter. In the 66-page complaint, Majdalani alleges that a group of his Caucasian colleagues refused to accept him as chair of the university's aerospace engineering department, working against his efforts and not respecting his authority. |
| Student fees increasing at U. of Louisiana campuses | |
| After giving students a pass in the fall, Louisiana's largest university system will boost student charges this spring, to raise at least $9 million across campuses. The University of Louisiana System's governing board approved the fee hikes Thursday, affecting students on eight of its nine campuses, though not every school will raise charges across the board. The money will pay for faculty pay raises, expanded student services, technology upgrades and increased course offerings, according to information provided to the board. At least $500,000 will pay for additional need-based aid for students. University spokeswoman Cami Geisman called the boosted charges "slight increases for strategic reinvestment." State lawmakers have complained about at increased charges across universities, saying they thought students would be spared such increases after higher education was shielded from state financing cuts in the current 2018-19 budget year. |
| Athens police: UGA student abducted, raped | |
 | A University of Georgia student was kidnapped early Wednesday from downtown Athens by a convicted sex offender who subsequently raped her, Athens-Clarke County police said. James William Daniels, 57, of Jefferson, reportedly convinced the victim to get into his car on East Broad Street at about 12:15 a.m., according to police, who said he then took her to an undisclosed location and raped her. Daniels later let the student go, said police. Authorities said she then made it back to the UGA campus, where she notified police. After the alleged victim identified Daniels in a lineup, police charged him with rape and false imprisonment. Daniels was quickly identified as a suspect because witnesses who saw him allegedly convincing the victim to get into his car thought it looked suspicious and called police, according to Capt. Jerry Saulters. |
| U. of Tennessee serves food made with insects at 'Buggy Buffet' | |
 | The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture served a "Buggy Buffet" on Thursday afternoon, featuring food made from insects. Hundreds of UT students, faculty and Knoxville residents headed to the annual event, which is hosted by students in the freshman seminar class called "A Bug's Life." Doug Edlund, assistant director for operations of marketing and communications for the UT Institute of Agriculture, said the event is held so people can see insects as an "alternative food source." "A lot of the world does consume insects, whereas we look at it like, 'Ew, I'm not going to eat that,'" Edlund said, saying that part of the event is to help people "get past our fear of that." Jerome Grant, a professor in the department of entomology and plant pathology at the Institute of Agriculture, teaches "A Bug's Life." Grant said he started teaching the course 12 years ago and it's grown from 50 people who attended the first year to several hundred this year. Students in the freshman seminar help cook and serve the food for the Buggy Buffet. |
| Texas A&M to cut ties with bike-share company Ofo | |
 | Each of the 2,300 yellow Ofo bikes in College Station will be collected and donated, repurposed or recycled at the end of the fall semester. Texas A&M University will be parting ways with the Chinese bike-sharing company less than a year after entering an exclusive agreement, officials confirmed Thursday. The city of College Station revoked Ofo's license to operate in the city on Oct. 12 after learning that the company's auto liability insurance had been canceled, which also prevented its employees from accessing the vans they use to collect bikes around town. Ofo is currently working through a 10-day appeals period, which ends today, but Texas A&M will be seeking a new bike-share vendor for 2019. The program has been popular since its launch in February, growing from 850 to 2,300 bikes with more than 39,500 registered users. More than 330,000 miles have been logged on over 500,000 rides, but the yellow bikes proved to be a polarizing issue as they began to litter roads, sidewalks and trees on the Texas A&M campus and wider Bryan-College Station community. |
| Oldest weapons discovered in North America tell us more about first Americans, researchers say | |
 | Ancient spear points discovered near Austin, Texas are believed to be the oldest weapons ever found in North America, a study published this week finds. Researchers at Texas A&M discovered the spear points, estimated to be 15,500-years-old and roughly three- to four-inches-long, in central Texas, about 40 miles northwest of Austin. Researchers said the spear points pre-date the Clovis, a group of people believed to be the first to enter the Americas. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Michael Waters, a professor of anthropology and director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M, said in a statement the spear points were used for hunting game in the region. "The findings expand our understanding of the earliest people to explore and settle North America," Waters said in a statement. |
| Some 43% of College Grads Are Underemployed in First Job | |
 | Students weighing their college options are increasingly focused on the return from that hefty investment, pursuing disciplines they think could lead to a steady and lucrative career. But in terms of landing graduates jobs that actually require college degrees, some of those more vocationally geared majors -- like fitness studies, criminal justice and business -- can be worse choices than English or gender studies, according to a new report by labor analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies. College graduates who studied homeland security and law enforcement had a 65% probability of being underemployed in their first job out of school, the report found. Those with degrees in psychology and biology stood chances of 54% and 51%, respectively, of working jobs that don't require college degrees. |
| Graduate student assistants at campuses across U.S. pushing for $15 per hour | |
 | Amazon announced this month that it would begin paying its workers at least $15 per hour, making it the latest employer to cede to labor activists who have been pushing for that new minimum wage nationally for several years. Graduate assistants want $15 per hour, too, and are waging their own campus campaigns for it. "Fifteen dollars an hour represents a living wage in much of the U.S.," said Casey Williams, a Ph.D. candidate in literature at Duke University. Graduate students pushing for $15 per hour generally maintain that they are full-time, full-year employees, even if universities view them as part-time employees or as students learning to teach and do research. Fifteen dollars per hour times 40 hours per week, times 52 weeks per year, is $31,200. So $31,000 -- which is on the high end of graduate student stipends nationally -- has emerged as a new target minimum annual stipend. |
| FedEx Express gives $500,000 to U. of Memphis for aviation scholarships | |
| The University of Memphis will receive $500,000 in scholarships from FedEx Express, a portion of the $2.5 million total the Memphis company is committing to six institutions for a recently launched commercial aviation training program. The scholarship money the university is receiving from the FedEx Purple Runway Aviation Scholarship program will go toward its Commercial Aviation Degree program that launched in the fall to help train future aviation professionals, according to a news release Thursday. FedEx Express announced the scholarship program last week, which aims to boost commercial aviation education and training efforts by providing dedicated scholarships. Other institutions participating in the program are: Delta State University, University of North Dakota, Indiana State University, Tennessee College of Applied Technology and Arkansas State University Mid-South. |
| Why Many College Dropouts Are Returning to School in North Carolina | |
| The college-affordability crisis can at times feel like a problem with a million responses but no clear solution. Students often graduate with thousands of dollars in debt, or, even worse, they drop out of college and are still left with debt to pay off. As the student-debt bubble continues to grow -- it is now estimated at more than $1.5 trillion -- policy makers are poking around for that solution. One that has been proffered is "free college," whether that's tuition- or debt-free. But an alternate solution has taken hold in North Carolina, and perhaps it's the simplest of all: Just lower tuition. And it's getting students who have dropped out back into the classroom. This fall, the state launched a program called NC Promise that sets tuition at a flat rate at three public universities. To fund the program, the legislature has set aside $51 million. And its goal is self-evident: Make college affordable enough to boost the number of students who enroll, while ensuring that they aren't saddled with debt that could affect whether or not they graduate. |
| Margaret Spellings Is Reportedly Resigning as U. of North Carolina President | |
 | Margaret Spellings is reportedly resigning as president of the University of North Carolina system, after three years in which she forged ahead with major changes aimed at increasing affordability and accountability, and simultaneously became mired in a series of culture-war controversies. Spellings, who served as education secretary under George W. Bush, has been negotiating her departure with the system's governing board and could leave as soon as early next year, according to The News & Observer, a newspaper in Raleigh, N.C. One motivation is a desire to return to Texas, her home state, the paper reported. The board will meet in an emergency session on Friday to consider an "executive personnel matter," according to an advisory from the system's office. A spokesman declined to provide more information. |
SPORTS
| A&M's Jimbo Fisher wary of Mississippi State's defensive front | |
 | First-year Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher has had an extra week to get his offensive game plan together in advance of this weekend's game at Mississippi State. But each time he turns on film of the Bulldogs' defense, Fisher starts to get a headache having to scheme up ways to slow down MSU's front seven led by Montez Sweat and Jeffery Simmons. "Those guys definitely get your attention because Sweat's got (8.5) sacks and Simmons has (9.5) tackles for loss," Fisher said. "(Simmons) is so violent inside, quick with his hands and powerful. Everybody thinks of Sweat as a pass-rusher but you watch him against the run and he does a great job. They enhance everybody's ability." The Bulldogs' defense ranks in the top 25 nationally in most major categories including scoring defense (4th), total defense (6th), passing defense (10th) and rushing defense (22nd). State has also only surrendered eight touchdowns all season, the fewest in the FBS. However, Fisher points out that it isn't only Sweat and Simmons who have been giving offenses fits this season. |
| Trayveon Williams, Aggie ground game to face challenge in Mississippi State | |
| Williams and A&M's running game will face a stiff test Saturday against Mississippi State, which is allowing only 114 yards rushing per game to rank 20th in the country. "Mississippi State is a defensive line that doesn't get all the bells and whistles, all credit that they deserve, but they're a very great defensive front," Williams said. The Bulldogs (4-3, 1-3) are led by senior end Montez Sweat and senior nose guard Jeffery Simmons, one of the nation's more dominant tandems. In 20 games together, they've combined for 48 tackles for loss. They lead a unit that has 56 tackles for loss this season. "The other guys around them are also tremendous players," A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. A&M (5-2, 3-1), coming off a bye week, is expected to have Keaton Sutherland, the line's lone senior starter, back at right guard after he missed the South Carolina game with an ankle injury. |
| Chris Lemonis concludes first fall as Mississippi State baseball coach | |
| Fall baseball practice is in the books for first-year Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis. It was an important few weeks for Lemonis and his staff from an evaluation standpoint to see where the program stood. "We got to see what we had, what we didn't and what we need to recruit," Lemonis said. "Then there was a relationship building piece, building relationships with the players and vice versa. They're getting to know us and we're getting to know them a little bit. There's a lot more work to do, but I feel pretty good about where we are at right now." |
| Mississippi State's Anriel Howard named to McClain Award watch list | |
| Graduate transfer Anriel Howard has been selected to the preseason watch list for the Katrina McClain Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top power forward. Howard comes to Mississippi State by way of Texas A&M where she set school records with 1,002 rebounds and 32 double-doubles during her three-year career. The 5-foot-11 native of Atlanta averaged 12.1 points and 12.2 rebounds last season. Howard had 20 double-doubles last year and finished second in the SEC in rebounding behind now teammate Teaira McCowan. |
| Broncos cut Chad Kelly, the latest failed quarterback project | |
| Chad Kelly's mediocre talent and last name (he's the nephew of former Bills QB Jim Kelly) earned him spots on three college teams and a jersey with the Broncos. As the Denver backup, he was conceivably just a few more bad Case Keenum throws away from becoming the next starter. Kelly couldn't fly straight, though. By now you've seen the news that Kelly was arrested for trespassing when he entered a home occupied by a couple and their young child early Tuesday morning. The arrest came shortly after Kelly was reportedly escorted out of Von Miller's Halloween party that long has been held as a team-bonding event. Kelly's record is less than stellar. The arrest comes after he was suspended by his high school football team, kicked off Clemson's football team and arrested following a bar fight after signing with Ole Miss (a one-year pitstop at East Mississippi junior college of Last Chance U fame came between the two seasons). |
| C.M. Newton: Kentucky, Transylvania to honor shared icon before Friday's exhibition game | |
 | Kentucky and Transylvania will honor the late C.M. Newton in a pregame ceremony Friday night. Of course, Newton played a role in both programs: as a player and later director of athletics at Kentucky, and as a coach at Transy. Newton died on June 4 of this year. After playing for UK, Newton had three different stints as Transy coach between 1951 and 1968. He integrated the Transy program, then later did the same at Alabama. Newton's move from Transy to Alabama in 1968 involved a reduction in salary. UK Coach John Calipari said Newton and Joe B. Hall were the two figures who rode to UK's rescue in times of turmoil: Newton as athletics director in the wake of NCAA punishment to Eddie Sutton's program in the late 1980s and Hall for replacing the iconic Adolph Rupp as coach in 1972. |
| Guilty verdict in college basketball corruption trial puts new pressure on NCAA | |
| At the beginning of the year, National Collegiate Athletic Association president Mark Emmert pledged swift changes in men's basketball after revelations that Adidas executives and coaches in high-profile programs had paid recruits -- in some cases tens of thousands of dollars -- to steer them to certain institutions. Change did come for the NCAA, with its highest leadership approving reforms designed to punish coaches more severely and watch recruitment more closely -- but Emmert probably couldn't have anticipated the shifts that took place in the last couple of weeks. On Wednesday, two Adidas employees and an aspiring agent were found guilty of fraud charges in connection with the payoff scheme. The trial, and other recent developments in the big-time sports world, challenge the status quo and leave many athletics experts questioning what the association will do next. |
| The Ivy League Becomes the Future of Football | |
 | The earliest football game between two eventual members of the Ivy League came when Columbia played Yale in 1872. Dartmouth's football team had its first intercollegiate game in 1881, several years before the sport was formally introduced at Ohio State and Alabama. This is supposedly the league of football the way it once was. But today, in this northern outpost of the Ancient Eight, a program soaked in football's past is trying to drag the sport into the future. In 2010, the Big Green eliminated tackling in all practices -- even preseason camp and spring ball. Coach Buddy Teevens likes to say that a freshman will play four years without being tackled by another Dartmouth player. The N.C.A.A. has since recommended dialing back contact significantly in practice. Beyond wanting to win, Teevens is motivated by a fear that an irreplaceable sport could die. "I think it's too valuable a game to say, 'Oh, we'll do something else,'" he said. "But I also look at the data and the medical side of it. Something has to be done." |
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