| Wednesday, July 3, 2019 |
| Every dog has its day, but it's not the Fourth of July | |
 | Christine Calder, an assistant clinical professor of behavior in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University, writes for The Conversation: The Fourth of July can be a miserable day for dogs. The fireworks make scaredy-cats out of many canines. That's because dogs, like humans, are hardwired to be afraid of sudden, loud noises. It is what keeps them safe. Some dogs, though, take that fear to the extreme with panting, howling, pacing, whining, hiding, trembling and even self-injury or escape. And, unlike humans, they don't know that the fanfare on the Fourth is not a threat. Dogs hear the fireworks and process it as if their world is under siege. How a dog responds to noises may be influenced by breed, with German shepherd dogs more likely to pace, while border collies or Australian cattle dogs are more likely to show their fear by hiding. While we veterinarians don't know exactly why some dogs are afraid of fireworks and others not, many dogs that react to one noise often react to others. Therefore, early intervention and treatment are essential in protecting the welfare of these terrified dogs. Here's how you can protect your dog from fireworks. |
| Rolling & coasting: Foam and marbles help teens avoid summer 'brain drain' | |
 | Excited chatter and laughter filled an activity room at the Boys & Girls Club of Columbus Wednesday morning. The collective sound was positive -- made moreso because it came from 20 or so teenagers some might expect to be wasting a summer day sleeping, or hunched over a device of some kind. Not this group. Divided into teams, they focused on the challenge at hand -- building small-scale model roller coasters that would carry a "passenger" (in this case, a marble) from start to finish safely. The large, bright room seemed to undulate with tubes of neon green and sea blue foam pipe insulation as teens tested out design ideas for the STEM project given them by visiting instructor Angela Verdell. "What we're trying to do is just come out and help the kids avoid so much 'brain drain' over the summer, specifically in the area of STEM," said Verdell, who is director of diversity programs and student development in Mississippi State University's Bagley College of Engineering. |
| Aldermen exclude most of University Estates from latest revised plan for annexation | |
| A new plan that would eliminate most of University Estates from the city's annexation may have extinguished some of the fiery controversy, but there remained some simmering resentment from a handful of citizens and property owners who will remain part of the annexation area. At the request of Mayor Lynn Spruill, annexation consultant Mike Slaughter outlined the changes in the plan that would exclude most, but not all, of University Estates, during Tuesday's board of aldermen meeting. After a public hearing on the proposed changes, the board voted 4-2 to consider an amendment that would include the proposed changes, followed by a third public hearing at its regular board meeting on Aug. 2. Parts of University Estates along Old Mayhew Road and Edinburgh remain in the annexation area. "One of the main reasons that stands out the most is from the public safety standpoint," Slaughter said. "Along those areas, which front the annexed area, having both sides of the street make it clear for police that this is in their jurisdiction. It's very common to include frontage in these annexations for public safety." |
| Aldermen look at changes to stormwater code | |
| After an April storm, the city recorded flooding on 30 of its streets. By then, the city's year-to-date rainfall had almost doubled as city officials and residents alike wondered what could be done. The city's response is forthcoming. Tonight, the Board of Aldermen is expected to call for a public hearing on an updated stormwater code. "I wouldn't say the storms prompted the changes in the stormwater code, but they certainly expedited it," City Engineer Edward Kemp said. The current code was adopted in 2009, well before the current boom in development, which has only exacerbated the flooding situation. "With the addition of rooftops and buildings and parking lots and these surfaces where water is not able to permeate into the ground, it creates more runoff," Kemp said. "What we are proposing addresses that." |
| Vicksburg National Military Park unveils largest expansion in its history | |
| Tuesday morning at Champion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, the site of what was the front lawn of the Champion Plantation and the site of the Battle of Champion Hill in May 1863, history was made a second time. During a nearly one-hour ceremony, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History turned over 800 acres of the Champion Hill battleground to the National Park Service, expanding the Vicksburg National Military Park. It is the largest donation of land made to the park. U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith said the addition of the Champion Hill property, along with state land at the Port Gibson and Raymond battlefield sites, "enables visitors to better understand the events leading up to and during the Vicksburg Campaign." She said the Vicksburg National Military Park was important not only to help people better understand history, but as a popular tourist attraction that "has a tremendous positive impact on everyone in Mississippi." |
| Mississippi 'veggie burgers' law draws First Amendment lawsuit | |
 | You can't shout "fire" in a crowded theater, but can you shout "meatless hot dogs" in the frozen food aisle of a Mississippi grocery store? That is what a vegan food company wants a federal court to decide -- kind of. Upton's Naturals and the Plant Based Foods Association is suing top Mississippi officials over a 2019 law that prohibits companies from using meat terminology when selling vegetarian and vegan products. The law took effect Monday, and violators could face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. "Thankfully Mississippi has not started to enforce that ban yet," attorney Justin Pearson said at a press conference Tuesday. "But we have filed that lawsuit to hopefully prevent that from ever happening." Supporters said it doesn't stop anyone from making or selling meat-like vegan foods; it only makes them tell the truth about what they're selling. Opponents said the meat industry got the bill passed to stifle competition. They say the ban on selling "veggie burgers" violates their First Amendment right to free speech. |
| Defenders of Vegan Bacon Sue Mississippi Over Labeling Law | |
 | A federal lawsuit says Mississippi is violating free-speech rights by banning makers of plant-based foods from using terms such as "meatless meatballs" and "vegan bacon." The lawsuit against Mississippi Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and the state's Republican agriculture commissioner, Andy Gipson, was filed Monday by the Plant Based Foods Association and the Illinois-based Upton's Naturals Co. , which makes vegan products and sells them in many states, including Mississippi. It was filed the same day Mississippi enacted a new law that declares "a plant-based or insect-based food product shall not be labeled as meat or a meat food product." The chairman of the Mississippi Senate Agriculture Committee, Republican Billy Hudson of Hattiesburg, was chief sponsor of the meat labeling legislation. He said the state agriculture department and the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association pushed for it because of concerns that consumers could be misled. The Mississippi law also says food produced using animal tissue cultured in a laboratory may not be labeled as meat. |
| Gas tax increase to fund road and bridge repairs faces political potholes on both sides of the aisle | |
| At a recent Mississippi Press Association forum, gubernatorial candidate Bill Waller Jr. was asked if elected how he was going to pass a gasoline tax increase for road and bridge repairs through the Legislature since it had been his party blocking the effort. "I think there is enough interest in the business community and I speak to a lot of Republican groups..., and I get no push back, from a few people," said Waller, the former chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Waller went on to say that Republican icon Ronald Reagan shepherded through a gasoline tax increase in the 1980s. Waller then conceded that it might take a tax swap, such as decreasing the personal income tax or on the costs of car tags, to garner the votes in the Mississippi Legislature to increase the gasoline tax. Whether to increase the state's 18.4-cent per gallon gasoline tax, the fourth lowest in the nation, has emerged as a central issue for the 2019 gubernatorial candidates. |
| ACLU Leader Steps Down to Focus on Attorney General Race | |
| Jennifer Riley Collins, the Democratic candidate in Mississippi's race for attorney general, is now a full-time campaigner after she stepped down from her role as head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi. Cassandra Welchin, the chair of the ACLU board, said the announcement came with "a mix of sadness and excitement for Mississippi." In an interview with the Jackson Free Press in March, Collins shared her views on LGBT rights, immigration and criminal-justice reform, and how she would handle those issues if elected attorney general. She also criticized Mississippi's reliance on private prisons. "I think it was not the best economic or social decision that was made," she said. Collins does not have a Democratic challenger in this summer's primary. In November, she will face the Republican nominee. The Republican candidates are State Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon; State Treasurer Lynn Fitch; and longtime GOP lawyer Andy Taggart. |
| Sparks fly as Watson and Britton go toe to toe on Supertalk's Secretary of State primary debate | |
 | Republican nominee hopefuls Michael Watson and Sam Britton, faced off on the on Paul Gallo show this morning on Supertalk Mississippi. The Secretary of State's race has been widely viewed as the most evenly matched Republican primary featuring two elected officials with high profiles. Gallo said this was not the first time the possibility for a conversation or debate on air together was offered to candidates, however, Britton and Watson were the first to accept. When asked why they made the decision to run for the office, Watson led with his encouragement from Governor Phil Bryant to consider a run for the office. He said he was in a meeting with the Governor discussing his future plans away from the State Senate, when Bryant suggested he consider the Secretary of State's office. Britton is currently serving his first term in public office as the Southern District Public Service Commissioner. He hails the resolution of the Kemper County Plant as a success in his short time there, and says one person can make a difference but they can't do it alone. |
| Cyrus Ben defeats Phyliss Anderson to win Choctaw Tribal Chief runoff election | |
| Cyrus Ben has defeated Phyliss J. Anderson with 65% of the vote in a runoff election for Choctaw Tribal Chief, complete but unofficial returns show. Ben received 2,068 votes to Anderson's 1,109, the complete but unofficial totals showed. The count does not include absentee ballots that are traditionally counted on Wednesday. Ben won every precinct except Red Water where Anderson had 43 more votes. The incumbent Anderson was the fourth elected Tribal Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians subsequent to the tribal government's re-establishment of 1945. Phillip Martin, who had served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, was elected Chief in 1977 and served for 30 years until he was defeated by Beasley Denson in 2007 by one vote. The position of Tribal Chief was created by constitutional amendment in 1975 prior to which time the Tribe's principal leader was titled Tribal Chairman. |
| NRA meltdown has Trump campaign sweating | |
 | The National Rifle Association aired an avalanche of TV ads and pushed its 5 million-plus members to the polls for Donald Trump in 2016, propelling him in the Rust Belt states that delivered him the presidency. Now, the gun rights group is in total meltdown -- and senior Republicans and Trump 2020 officials are alarmed. In recent weeks, the NRA has seen everything from a failed coup attempt to the departure of its longtime political architect to embarrassing tales of self-dealing by top leaders. The turmoil is fueling fears that the organization will be profoundly diminished heading into the election, leaving the Republican Party with a gaping hole in its political machinery. With the Chamber of Commerce and Koch political network withdrawing from their once-dominant roles in electing conservatives, Republicans worry that three organizations that have long formed the core of their electoral infrastructure will be effectively on the sidelines. |
| Trump administration abruptly gives up fight over citizenship question on the census | |
 | The Trump administration, abruptly switching course, decided Tuesday to give up its fight to add a question about citizenship to next year's census. The decision was an unusual retreat by the administration on a high-visibility, highly partisan issue and a major victory for civil rights groups and states that had challenged the move in court. Administration officials had tried for more than a year to get the question added to the census, taking their argument to the Supreme Court. President Trump, as recently as Monday, had repeated his insistence that doing so was necessary. Although the administration lost 5 to 4 in the Supreme Court last week, the decision by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. had given Trump officials an opening to try again if they could come up with a more convincing rationale, and conservative lawyers and advocacy groups had lobbied hard for the Justice Department to do so. |
| Hacking, Glitches, Disinformation: Why Experts Are Worried About the 2020 Census | |
 | In the run-up to the 2020 census, the government has embraced technology as never before, hoping to halt the ballooning cost of the decennial head count. For the first time, households will have the option of responding online, and field workers going door to door will be equipped with smartphones to log the information they collect. To make it all work, the Census Bureau needed more computing power and digital storage space, so it turned to cloud technology provided by Amazon Web Services. What the bureau didn't realize -- until an audit last year -- was that there was an unsecured door to sensitive data left open. Access credentials for an account with virtually unlimited privileges had been lost, potentially allowing a hacker to view, alter or delete information collected during recent field tests. The Census Bureau says that it has closed off this vulnerability and that no information was compromised. But the discovery of the problem highlights the myriad risks facing next year's all-important head count. Each census is a staggering logistical lift, but the 2020 count presents challenges the Census Bureau has never confronted before. |
| Icon Of Auto Industry, Father Of Mustang And Minivan, Lee Iacocca Dies At 94 | |
 | Lee Iacocca, one of the best known auto executives, died Tuesday. He was 94. Iacocca was a top executive at two of America's largest car companies -- Ford and Chrysler. His career spanned decades and several generations. He was known for developing the Mustang and bringing the minivan to scores of American family garages, as well as orchestrating a remarkable turnaround at Chrysler. His daughter Lia Iacocca Assad confirmed his death to NPR in a phone call. "He passed peacefully at his home in Bel Air," she said, adding that he had suffered from complications related to Parkinson's disease. Iacocca, who was the son of Italian immigrants and changed his name from Lido, was a natural born salesman. During the 1980s, Iacocca became a celebrity CEO starring in a series of Chrysler ads wearing a three-piece suit and strolling through a manufacturing plant or a cavernous showroom. In 1984, he wrote a blockbuster autobiography in which he included insights about his career in the auto industry. |
| IHL to allow military credit transfers to universities | |
| Mississippi's Colleges and Universities will now be awarding academic credits for military learning. When servicemen and women decide to use their G.I. benefits to pursue higher education, they sometimes find themselves in a classroom re-learning information already learned through their military training. "As I toured the state on a Listening Tour last summer and fall, I heard from several veteran students about the need to find a way to grant credit for equivalent military training," said Dr. Alfred Rankins Jr., Commissioner of Higher Education. "Last December, I established a task force to develop a policy for accepting military credit." IHL Military Credit reviews will be organized at the system level for all eight universities. Faculty expert panels will review American Council on Education recommendations, speak with military experts, review additional military documentation provided by Army University and identify course equivalencies within their specific degree programs. The panels' recommendations will be subject to an institutional review process. |
| U. of Alabama research finds Fourth of July holiday brings higher risk of fatal wrecks | |
 | Alabama averages more fatal crashes during the days surrounding Independence Day than the rest of the year, according to an analysis of state traffic records by researchers at the University of Alabama. During the past five years, the five days around the Fourth of July averaged three fatal crashes a day, 29% higher than the average of fatal crashes per day the rest of the year, the study by UA's Center for Advanced Public Safety showed. This came despite total vehicle crashes being slightly lower during the period from July 2-6. The major causes of crashes around the holiday are impaired driving from alcohol or other drugs as well as speeding. "This is true in most states," said David Brown, a researcher with the Center for Advanced Public Safety who performed the study. "Times before and after this iconic American holiday make it one of the deadliest holiday periods of the year across the country due to drunk-driving crashes." The study employed the Critical Analysis Reporting Environment, or CARE, a software analysis system developed by the Center for Advanced Public Safety to automatically mine information from existing databases. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency provided crash records for the study. |
| Hugh Culverhouse, Jr. gets death threats for Alabama whistling 'Dixie' ad in Wall Street Journal | |
 | On the 4th of July, Hugh Culverhouse, Jr. is calling for people to sing "God Bless America," not whistle "Dixie" in a paid advertisement in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Culverhouse submitted the ad in an attack on Alabama's recent abortion ban. "In enacting this law, Alabama is treating women as possessions rather than equal citizens with the inalienable right to control their bodies," he wrote. In the letter, Culverhouse calls for, "Americans to fight back and join me in opposing this unconstitutional and immoral law by all means possible." "Parents should not send their children to any school, university or college in Alabama," he wrote. Last month, the University of Alabama's board of trustees voted to return Culverhouse's $21.5 million donation to the university, one week after he called for a boycott of the school and state over the new abortion ban. University of Alabama vice chancellor for communications Kellee Reinhart said, "The action taken by the Board today was a direct result of Mr. Culverhouse's ongoing attempts to interfere in the operations of the Law School." |
| U. of Tennessee study shows Russian propaganda may have actually helped Trump win | |
 | Russian propaganda in the 2016 election may have helped change some Americans' minds and convince them to vote for Donald Trump, a new study from researchers at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville found. The study looked at the Twitter activity of Russian social media bots leading up to the 2016 election, compared to the popularity of Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The research does not prove that Russian propaganda definitively affected the outcome of the election. However, in weeks when Russian bots got more likes and retweets on Twitter, "that activity reliably foreshadowed gains for Trump in the opinion polls," Damian Ruck wrote in an article explaining the study. The study says propaganda is a growing problem for all political parties. |
| U. of Florida reviewing circumstances in Chinese student's death | |
 | The University of Florida is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death of an international UF doctoral candidate who hanged himself in his UF workplace in June. Employees arriving on June 14 at about 8 a.m. to the area in Benton Hall found the body of Chinese student Huixiang Chen. Benton Hall houses UF's department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where Chen was a student. UF spokesman Steve Orlando confirmed that investigators found a note and computer searches that indicated Chen intended to harm himself. However, an article published on Medium, an online media platform that published Chen's purported suicide note, alleged Chen was under pressure from a faculty member to present and publish a research paper at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture in Phoenix, Arizona. According to the note, Chen was not satisfied with the data the paper was based on. UF professor Tao Li, who was Chen's faculty adviser, called the young man's death a "very sad tragedy." |
| Claims that LSU student drank, smoked marijuana night he died can be used by defense, court says | |
 | Allegations that LSU fraternity pledge Max Gruver voluntarily drank alcohol and used marijuana the night he died in 2017 can be used by Matthew Naquin's lawyers at his upcoming trial in Gruver's hazing death, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. But any evidence that the 18-year-old Gruver consumed alcohol or smoked marijuana in the days and weeks before his death at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house on Sept. 14, 2017, cannot be presented to the jury, the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal said. Naquin's lead attorney, John McLindon, said he'll ask the Louisiana Supreme Court to review the appellate court's decision. Naquin is scheduled to stand trial July 8 on negligent homicide. State District Judge Beau Higginbotham had ruled in April, over the objections of Naquin's lawyers, that allegations that Gruver drank excessively and smoked marijuana in the four weeks before his death are inadmissible character evidence. The judge said a 30-day period is not sufficient to demonstrate Gruver had a substance abuse habit. |
| U. of Memphis names first female dean of law school | |
| Katharine Traylor Schaffzin was named the new dean of Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. She is the first woman to serve in this position in the school's history, according to a media release from the university. Schaffzin, who has been with the university since 2009, previously served as interim dean for Memphis Law over the last year. She initially started as an assistant professor and served as the law school associate dean of Academic Affairs from 2017 to 2018. She was the director of faculty development from 2012 to 2017. She was selected by the Faculty Senate to serve on the UofM Board of Trustees in 2016 as chair of the Academic, Research and Student Success Committee. "I hope to continue our community partnerships, as well as to grow new relationships, through which the law school successfully trains and develops skilled attorneys while also advocating on behalf of the greater good," Schaffzin stated. |
| Survey finds colleges narrowing health benefits for domestic partners and retirees | |
 | As states across the country have responded to a 2015 Supreme Court decision by passing laws to allow same-sex marriage, colleges and universities have increasingly reined in their health-care benefits for domestic partners, be they of the same or different sexes. That is among the findings of a biennial survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources on the health-care benefits offered to campus employees. CUPA-HR releases the health care benefits survey in odd-numbered years and a survey of other, non-health-care benefits in even-numbered years. "This year's survey marks the first time since 2005 that there has been a decrease in health care benefit offerings -- both for same-sex (10-percentage-point decrease since 2017) and opposite-sex (six-percentage-point decrease since 2017) partners," the survey's authors wrote. |
| It's not about border security, it's about a long line of Northern Triangle refugees | |
 | Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: The haunting photo of the bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his 23-month-old daughter Valeria on the banks of the Rio Grande at Matamoros, Mexico has now -- for good or ill -- become the face of the immigration debate in America. Family members told officials that Ramirez and the child were trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexican border by swimming the river near Brownsville, Texas and had made it across. But when Ramirez left the child on the U.S. side to go back across to get his wife, the child jumped in the water after him. Both drowned while seeking asylum in the U.S. The wrenching debate over this incident has revealed at once the ethos, pathos and logos of how our citizens and our politicians think about the concept of America as a nation of immigrants. It is a debate that is epic in proportion, but the notion that one political party or the other or one president or the other has done more to precipitate the heartbreaking image from the river bank in Mexico ignores the long view of immigration policy and spending in America. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State football: LSU is the Bulldogs' most important game | |
 | There are 12 games in every college football season, and with the nature of the game in this era, it can be argued that every one of them is just as vital as the others. That said, certain games on the schedule end up looking larger than others in the grand scheme of things. Take 2018 for example. Mississippi State lost, 13-6, to Florida on home turf. It was a game the Dawgs could've won had they made some plays here and there, the difference between a 9-3 regular season versus 8-4. It's one they'd definitely like to have back. This year, the key game will be the Oct. 19 matchup against LSU. The Tigers will likely be favored when they roll into Davis Wade Stadium, but the Bulldogs should have what it takes to keep the game competitive and even come out with an upset victory. The home team has won each of the last three games in the series. Mississippi State won 37-7 two years ago in Starkville. If head coach Joe Moorhead's offense has taken serious strides from one year to the next, State has more than a decent shot at holding serve at home this year. |
| Mississippi State baseball trio competing internationally | |
| Diamond Dawg fans will have a reason to cheer during the international baseball scene this summer, as Mississippi State baseball sophomores Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue will represent USA Baseball as a part of the Collegiate National Team, and freshman Eric Cerantola will be a part of Baseball Canada's Senior National Team. Allen and Foscue are both part of the 26-man roster for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team as the squad competes in the 8th USA vs. Cuba International Friendship Series that began Tuesday and will run through Saturday in Cary, Charlotte, Durham and Hickory, North Carolina. After the team travels to Taiwan for the 19th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series, USA Baseball will announce a final 24-man roster to compete in the 43rd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series from July 16-21 in Japan. This marks the first time in program history that multiple student-athletes have made the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and give Mississippi State 11 total Diamond Dawgs to wear the Red, White and Blue. |
| Former Alabama prep stars Tanner Allen, Justin Foscue named to USA National Team | |
| Mississippi State standouts and Alabama natives Tanner Allen and Justin Foscue have both been selected to the USA 2019 College National Baseball team. The 26-man roster was announced Monday. Team USA will host the 8th annual USA vs. Cuba International Friendship Series beginning today, travel to Taiwan for the 19th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series from July 9-12 and close the summer with the 43rd USA vs. Japan College All-Star Series in Japan from July 16-21. Allen and Foscue, who were both sophomores this past year, are the only two Alabama natives on this year's roster. Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell is the team manager. This week's five-game series against Cuba will include games in Hickory, N.C., Charlotte and Durham. |
| 'Indiana Jones' finds a home at Mississippi State | |
| Throughout Mississippi State's lineup this past season were walk-out songs that fans knew and loved. The Outfield's "Your Love" introduced every Jake Mangum home at bat while a saxophone riff from Ookay's "Thief" announced Elijah MacNamee's plate arrival. There were also a variety of the latest hip-hop hits littered throughout the lineup. And then there was Hayden Jones' walk-out song. The Huntertown, Indiana native went with the theme music from the 80's hit movie "Indiana Jones". Jones used the original theme and also a techno version throughout the year, both of which bothered his Bulldog teammates. "I don't want to be like all the other guys and have the coolest walk-out song," Jones said. "My dad's walk-out song was "Mr. Jones" so it was either going to be that or "Indiana Jones". I was just trying to brand myself really. The guys give me a hard time and they don't like it but I don't like to be normal." |
| One of Spain's top junior players inks with Mississippi State women's tennis | |
| One of Spain's top junior players will join the Mississippi State women's tennis squad for the 2019-20 campaign as Marta Falceto Font has signed with the Bulldogs. A product of Zaragoza, Spain, Font comes to MSU with some impressive credentials following a successful junior career. "We are excited to have Marta join our Bulldog Family," MSU head coach Daryl Greenan said. "She is an accomplished player with potential to make an immediate impact. Marta shares the same passion for the sport as the other girls on our team. I think she will fit in well with the culture we have here in our program." Just this year, Font ousted Giulia Morlet -- the ITF's 64th-ranked junior in the world -- 6-2, 7-6 in an ITF junior grade 2 event. In 2017, Font was the No. 2 national-ranked under 16 junior in Spain and the 44th-ranked Spanish woman overall. Font will join an MSU squad that has posted a program-record five-straight winning campaigns, including four NCAA bids in that time span. |
| Tougaloo College AD steps down after 33 years | |
| After 33 years, Dr. James Coleman has stepped down as the athletic director at Tougaloo College. The Jackson native's ties to Tougaloo began with his time as a two-sport athlete from 1957-1961 (football and basketball), and prior to serving as the AD, Coleman was the sports information director, head men's basketball coach and a professor of education. Coleman was recently inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. Along with being the athletic director at Tougaloo, Dr. Coleman served on the NAIA Athletic Directors Association Board as well as a member of the National Athletic Directors Association. Dr. Coleman was named the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year in 2012 and 2018. Associate athletic director Keith Barnes, Sr. has taken over following Coleman's retirement. |
| Vanderbilt might not slow down in '20 | |
| Vanderbilt topped off its dominant run through the Southeastern Conference with the national championship, and there may be no slowing down the Commodores. Tim Corbin's 2020 club, on paper, might even be better. "Tim has built a program that is to the point it just recycles guys," ESPN college baseball analyst Kyle Peterson said. "He's proven it for 10 years now. They're not light on talent." A lot of the talent on the team that won an SEC-record 59 games was young. Freshman Kumar Rocker was the nation's most dominant pitcher the second half of the season, threw a no-hitter in super regionals and was voted Most Outstanding Player in the College World Series. He will be around two more years and looks destined to be the No. 1 pick of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. For all the talent Corbin has returning, Rocker will be the star attraction. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder from Georgia won 10 of his last 11 starts, struck out 19 while throwing that no-hitter against Duke, and fanned 17 and allowed two earned runs in 12 1/3 innings against Mississippi State and Michigan at the CWS. |
| NCAA slams former UConn coach for lies during investigation of minor rules violations | |
| A former University of Connecticut head men's basketball coach who broke lesser National Collegiate Athletic Association rules will nevertheless be essentially unemployable by a team for the next three years for lying during an NCAA investigation. The punishment seems to reflect officials' growing intolerance for unethical behavior among head coaches. Kevin Ollie, who took over the UConn team in 2012 from high-profile head coach Jim Calhoun, was fired more than a year ago after the program's possible violations of NCAA policies became public. The NCAA's Division I Committee on Infractions on Tuesday imposed a three-year show-cause order on Ollie, which will severely limit his ability to be hired as a coach by an NCAA institution. This stems from Ollie giving false information to NCAA investigators during an interview in March 2018. Ollie refused to participate in follow-up interviews, which also contributed to his punishment. |
| Memphis interim AD Allie Prescott focusing on AAC matters, facility projects | |
| Allie Prescott thought he might ease into his new role as interim athletics director at Memphis. Others did, too. And they were all wrong. "They said, 'You're fortunate coming in the summertime when things are slow,'" Prescott, 71, told The Commercial Appeal. "But nothing could be further from the truth. It's been the proverbial drinking from the fire hose since I started." There are personnel matters. Ongoing facility work. Fundraising. Meetings morning, noon and, yes, even night. And, of course, the matter of the league Memphis calls home -- the American Athletic Conference -- suddenly being short a program after UConn's recent departure. Busy would be an understatement. Prescott hardly regrets coming on board in the wake of Tom Bowen's resignation while the school searches for a permanent replacement. Far from it, in fact. The Memphis fixture hit the ground running and hasn't looked back. Exactly what the AAC plans to do once UConn officially leaves for the Big East (after the 2019-20 academic year) has not yet been decided. |
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