| Tuesday, July 30, 2019 |
| MSU faculty, staff invited to Starkville Oktibbeha County School District special event | |
 | The Starkville Oktibbeha County School District is excited about this next chapter in our story of excellence, and even more excited to share it with you. MSU faculty and staff are invited to join us at this special event. Prepare to be inspired as you hear original Freedom Writer and acclaimed speaker Manny Scott share relevant, riveting, and compelling messages, moving you from cheers, to laughter, to tears, and go-forward determination. Scott will deliver the keynote address for the Starkville Oktibbeha School District's Convocation 2019, which will be held on Thursday, August 1, at 8:30 a.m. at MSU's Lee Hall in Bettersworth Auditorium. Tickets for MSU faculty and staff are limited. Please pick up your ticket from the Office of Research and Economic Development at 3000 Lee Hall by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, or email Carmen Kelly at ckelly@research.msstate.edu to reserve your ticket. |
| Neshoba County Fair: From tents and wagons to over 600 cabins | |
 | The Neshoba County Fair is celebrating its 130th year this week. Back in the early days of the Neshoba County Fair, families set up camp in tents and wagons. It would be nearly 10 years before the first cabins were built around Founder's Square. They were mostly one-story log cabins. Today, over 600 stand bright and tall. Jo Helen Daly and her family have been coming to the fair for years, staying in the same cabin that has been in the family for over half a century. "The original cabin was built by my husband's father and a cousin in 1953, from an old barn that was torn down," said Daly. "And it was just the old lumber that came out of the barn. That will happen. It will stay in the family, hopefully, for generations to come." Daly says over the years, dozens of cabins have been rebuilt, adding third floors, more bedrooms and bathrooms just to accommodate the fair's growing popularity. |
| Poll signals Reeves-Waller runoff, setting the stage for high-stakes moments at Neshoba | |
 | As the three Republican candidates for governor sharpen their speeches for the all-important Neshoba County Fair, the first public poll of the Republican primary shows no candidate has yet earned the more than 50 percent necessary to avoid a runoff if the election were held today. The poll of likely Republican primary voters -- released Tuesday by Mason Dixon and weighted by age, gender and county -- shows that 41 percent of respondents would vote for Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, 31 percent would vote for former Supreme Court chief justice Bill Waller Jr. and 13 percent would vote for state Rep. Robert Foster. The poll shows that 15 percent of respondents remain undecided, a pivotal figure as just one key moment in the candidates' campaigns remain: the Neshoba County Fair, Mississippi's annual political forum that has historically proven decisive to gubernatorial campaigns. |
| Democrats court black voters in Mississippi governor primary | |
 | As waitresses carried plates of turkey neck, spicy greens and sweet potatoes to diners at Bully's soul food restaurant in Mississippi's capital city, Democratic candidate Jim Hood talked about what he wants to do as governor: expand Medicaid, improve public schools, strengthen vocational programs and help small businesses. The fourth-term attorney general, who is white, was courting African American voters in Mississippi's largest county, who will play an important part in deciding the eight-person Democratic primary on Aug. 6. With his tie loosened and his shirt sleeves rolled up, Hood chatted with one of the owners of Bully's, Greta Brown-Bully, and her father, Hinds County Constable John Brown. "Look me in the eye," the constable said to Hood. "You're going to do anything better than Phil Bryant?" Hood chuckled and responded: "That would be easy." |
| The difference between 'old' and 'new' campaign money, and what it means for November | |
| Both leading candidates for governor, Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, have thus far tried to save the campaign funds they raised before January 2018 -- funds they could take home with them if they are not successful in their campaigns this year. Even as Reeves has spent $3.1 million on his campaign for governor this year, the cash in the J. Tate Reeves campaign committee has increased $46,097 to $5.29 million. As of the last campaign finance report filed July 10 with the Secretary of State's office, he is making no campaign expenditures from the J. Tate Reeves account. Instead, he is raising money -- $3.6 million thus far this year -- depositing the money with the Tate For Governor committee and making campaign expenditures from that account. The $5.29 million in the J. Tate Reeves committee was raised prior to January 2018 -- and that is an important distinction. |
| Senate District 31 candidates talk schools, roads and hospitals | |
 | With longtime State Sen. Terry C. Burton retiring, three candidates are in the race to represent District 31 in the Mississippi Senate. The district encompasses Newton County, Scott County and Northwest Lauderdale County. Two Republicans -- Tyler McCaughn and Hampton Gardner -- and Democrat Mike Marlow spoke to the Meridian Star about K-12 education, healthcare and infrastructure. McCaughn and Gardner will face off in the primary Aug. 6 with the winner facing Marlow in the general election Nov. 5. |
| District 53: Two want a seat in the House | |
 | A former tax assessor and collector for Lincoln County is seeking a higher office on the Democratic ticket as a state representative for District 53 covering Lincoln and Lawrence counties as well as Franklin, Jefferson Davis and Pike counties. Her opponent, incumbent Vince Mangold, a Republican, is hoping for another shot at the House so he can put into practice what he's learned in his first four-year term. Goss and Mangold will be on ballots for the primary, but their race won't be decided until the general election Nov 5. The candidates for state Representative -- listed below in alphabetical order -- emailed their responses to five questions. |
| Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks withdraws from Extravaganza | |
| The Commission of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks voted unanimously to withdraw from the Mississippi Wildlife Extravaganza and will not participate in future events with the federation until further notice. "The MDWFP is NOT a sponsor of the Extravaganza, nor do the MDWFP or the Commission have any control over the actions of the Federation," wrote Warren Strain in a press release this afternoon. Primos Hunting has also decided not to participate in this year's Mississippi Wildlife Extravaganza, writing in a Facebook post, "For Primos Hunting, our decision not to attend this year's Wildlife Extravaganza is about supporting the people of the Mississippi lower Delta, all of whom are our friends and family." This comes in wake of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation denying a booth this year that would have raised awareness of the Backwater Flood, reports the Vicksburg Daily News. |
| Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby finalizing allocations for fiscal 2020 bills | |
 | Senate Appropriations subcommittee leaders are likely to learn within the next week how much they have to spend on their fiscal 2020 bills. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., said Monday he hopes to finalize the 12 subcommittee allocations by the end of this week or early next week. "We're working on it now, but they will come later in the week or the first of next week," Shelby said. But the allocations, known as 302(b)s, might not become public until the panel holds its first full committee markup on Sept. 12. Shelby declined to say which spending bills would go first. He has, however, said for weeks that he hopes to mark up the fiscal 2020 Defense measure the first week lawmakers are back in Washington following the August recess. He has also expressed hope that negotiators might pair the Defense spending bill with the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, which proved successful last year and became law before the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30. |
| Trump rips China as trade negotiations set to begin, says 'no signs' of agricultural purchases | |
| President Donald Trump ripped into China in a series of tweets Tuesday just as the two sides are set to resume stalled negotiations toward a much-anticipated trade agreement. The president claimed that China is not buying more U.S. agricultural products as it promised to do and may be slow-walking the talks as it awaits the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. "China is doing very badly, worst year in 27 -- was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now -- no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don't come through," Trump wrote. The criticism comes as an entourage led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are in Shanghai to meet with their Chinese counterparts. Despite the president's allegations, China insists it has bought U.S. agricultural products. |
| 'You need to make a move right now': Dems prepare for raucous debates | |
 | Democratic presidential candidates took one big lesson from their first debates in June: The contenders who shined brightest attacked other candidates onstage. Now, they are all preparing to trade punches ahead of round two in Detroit. Across the Democratic presidential field, candidates are reading up on points of contrast with key rivals and preparing attack lines, while some are going a step further and simulating debate-stage cross-talk with staffers, practicing ways to butt into the conversation and create a memorable moment. Campaigns are studying how CNN handled past primary debates, when the hosts teed up opportunities for GOP candidates to criticize each other in 2015. And publicly, Democratic campaigns are already sharpening their attacks: Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders slashed Sen. Kamala Harris' new health care platform on Monday, while Sen. Cory Booker escalated his criticism of Biden on criminal justice last week, anticipating their first in-person matchup after sparring on racial issues for weeks. |
| Woman Charged As Hacker In Capital One Data Breach Exposing Over 100 Million Customers | |
 | A woman has been charged in connection with a hacking breach at Capital One bank that exposed information from more than 100 million credit applications over a 14-year period -- what is thought to be one of the largest such attacks in recent years. Authorities in Seattle have charged Paige A. Thompson, who also goes by the handle "erratic," with a single count of computer fraud. She appeared in court on Monday and is scheduled for a detention hearing on Thursday. Thompson is accused of hacking credit scores, balances, income information and Social Security numbers from a total of 100 million people in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada. Virginia-based Capital One, the nation's seventh-largest bank, acknowledged the breach in a statement on Monday, but said it believed the hacked information was not used in any actual fraud. |
| University review of racist photo not over, interim chancellor says | |
 | The university's process of reviewing an Instagram post of students standing with guns in front of a bullet-riddled Emmett Till memorial is not over, according to a statement Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks released on Monday night. "Given that we first learned about this incident in March, the university launched an internal review last week of our handling of the incident report about the photo, and we discovered a breakdown in communications between units on our campus," Sparks said in the statement. Sparks said that university staff members involved in the investigation "demonstrated an ongoing commitment to deal with this matter seriously," and that the university is continuing its review of its process to govern racist student behavior in the future. |
| Till Marker Pic Shows 'Little Progress' in State, Lawmaker Says | |
| When a trio of male students from the University of Mississippi posed with rifles next to a bullet-ridden Emmett Till memorial marker, they were representing an unfortunate truth about racism in the state, Mississippi Rep. Jeramey Anderson, D-Moss Point, believes. "I am deeply saddened by the choice made by the three students to pose in such a thoughtless and disrespectful way at the Emmett Till historical marker," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said, who annually declares April as Confederate Heritage Month, in a statement on July 27. "Mississippi has made significant strides toward racial reconciliation, and such despicable actions are not representative of the progress we have made." Anderson, an African American Democrat from Moss point, took umbrage at Bryant's statement. "Looking at the governor's statement about the state moving forward and being progressive in this matter is not a representation of what the state is," Anderson told the Jackson Free Press on Monday. |
| Archaeologists unveil evidence of lost mound at Grand Village | |
 | How many mounds are located at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians? Up until very recently, the obvious answer would have been three, researchers said during a presentation at the Grand Village on Thursday evening. However, their recent studies of the land indicate otherwise. Vin Steponaitis, a professor of archaeology and anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented maps from the early 1700s that show a cluster of at least five mounds on the Grand Village site where only three mounds are still visible today. The National Park Service recently awarded an American Battlefield Protection Program grant for the University of Mississippi Center for Archaeological Research in collaboration with the Grand Village to do an extensive study on the site. Tony Boudreaux, the director of the Center for Archaeological Research and associate professor of anthropology and the University of Mississippi, said he and a team of archaeologists used radar sensors that send signals into the ground to locate anomalies in the soil. |
| Conference gives women business advice, ways to expand agri-ventures | |
 | Hundreds of women looked to expand their agriculture businesses at a conference this week in Northeast Mississippi. Lula Cole and Diane Hall are about to start a timber and goat farming venture, but before they launch their new venture, they wanted some sound business advice. "We're business owners in Alabama, but we want a backup plan," said Hall. That's why the business partners joined hundreds of others at the "Women in Agriculture " Conference. The theme was "Sustaining the World" The conference was hosted by the Alcorn State University Extension Program, along with the Minority Farmers Alliance. There were keynote speakers, and break out sessions, covering topics such as basics of goat production, forestry practices for small farmers and tax planning and record-keeping. |
| East Central Community College Day at the Neshoba County Fair | |
| Fairgoers took a break from the heat for a special performance from some of East Central Community College's most talented students. "This is an opportunity for our partnership with Neshoba County officials and the Fair Association that we get a chance for our students to showcase their talents and get everyone ready for the year to come," said ECCC President Dr. Billy Stewart. Stewart said he was pleased with the large crowd that came out to support the Warriors. "We have a wonderful support group of alumni at the Neshoba County Fair, former employees, current employees, students. So when you get us together we are a large crowd. I have seen it grow over the years," said Stewart. |
| U. of Alabama vice president of student life resigns | |
 | The University of Alabama announced Friday its vice president of student life is resigning. The university emailed a message Friday morning announcing the resignation of David L. Grady, who has led the Division of Student Life since June 2015. "We appreciate David's service to our university, and the work he has done with our students over the last four years," said UA President Stuart R. Bell in the message sent to students, faculty and staff. "We will begin a national search immediately to fill this important role." Grady did not reply to an email inquiry Friday about his decision to resign. UA Associate Vice President of Communications Monica Watts said Grady would be available to assist with the transition, but she declined to provide further details about the resignation. Kathleen Cramer, a retired UA administrator, will be the interim vice president for student life. Cramer previously served as the interim dean of students last fall and spent 10 years as the senior associate vice president for student affairs during her career at UA. |
| UGA researchers using robots to better predict hurricane intensity | |
 | The models hurricane forecasters used to predict the paths of storms have become much more accurate in recent years, but they still aren't great at accurately predicting a storm's intensity. Now, underwater gliders, operated by researchers at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, are part of a national effort to improve the accuracy of forecast models by incorporating more data from the ocean using marine robots. "Places where warm waters near the surface lie over cooler water near bottom, winds and other factors can mix up the water, cooling the surface and limiting the heat available to the atmosphere," UGA Skidaway Institute researcher Catherine Edwards said. "Satellite data provides a nice picture of where the surface ocean is warm, but the subsurface temperature field remains hidden." This is where autonomous underwater vehicles, also known as gliders, can collect valuable information. |
| U. of Missouri guns on campus trial on for August | |
 | After many settlement conferences and a third attempt at mediation, a trial to determine whether a ban on concealed weapons at the University of Missouri conflicts with the state constitution will go forward, attorneys told Boone County Circuit Judge Jeff Harris Monday during a pretrial hearing. The bench trial is set for Aug. 14 and 15, with a final pretrial hearing on Aug. 12. Harris told attorneys he schedules two pretrial conferences in order to touch base and take care of any remaining issues. The University of Missouri has a rule prohibiting concealed guns on campus, including keeping them in a personal vehicle. Two lawsuits seeking to overturn the rule have been combined. Royce Barondes, an MU law professor, sued the university in 2015, claiming the rule violates his constitutional rights and a state law that allows for a gun to be stored in a vehicle's passenger compartment. A second lawsuit was filed by the Missouri Attorney General's office in 2016. The state contends that the university rule doesn't meet a requirement of "strict scrutiny" in Amendment 5 from 2014, which strengthened gun rights in the state, because it provides no recourse for concealed-carry permit holders. |
| Rising GOP Senator Josh Hawley Takes Aim at Higher Ed and 'Elites' | |
 | Freshman GOP senator Josh Hawley has sought to make a name for himself in recent weeks by going on the attack against liberal elites. He's gone after tech giants in public comments as well as "anti-flag" shoe brands. His most recent target is traditional higher ed. Hawley introduced two bills earlier this month aiming to shake up the academy. One would remove most eligibility standards for short-term training programs to access Pell Grants and instead assess them based on student outcomes. Another bill would put colleges on the hook for defaulted student loans. "You shouldn't have to take on a mountain of debt and get a four-year degree you don't want in order to get a good job in our state and in our country," the Missouri Republican said in touting the bills. Neither idea is original in higher ed policy circles. Hawley's proposals, though, combine those ideas with the rhetorical attacks favored by other up-and-coming Republicans in the past. |
| U.S. universities battle a security storm in Congress | |
| The threat from China is real, U.S. academic leaders say. But so, too, is the possibility that federal efforts to combat that threat could inhibit the U.S. research enterprise. That's why university officials are scrambling to shape legislation moving rapidly through Congress. It's aimed at thwarting attempts by foreign entities, notably the Chinese government and affiliated institutions, to take unfair advantage of the traditionally open U.S. research system. The House of Representatives has already adopted language that universities like. And on 12 July it was tucked into a larger piece of legislation almost certain to become law in some form. But this month also saw a bipartisan group of senators introduce a similar bill that added provisions universities find hard to swallow. Congress is expected to resume work on those bills -- and potentially others dealing with beefing up protections on academic research -- after returning from its August recess. In the meantime, academic leaders are making the case that the best way to combat China's growing research prowess is by going on the offensive, that is, by boosting spending on domestic research and training. |
| College Financial-Aid Loophole: Wealthy Parents Transfer Guardianship of Their Teens to Get Aid | |
 | Amid an intense national furor over the fairness of college admissions, the Education Department is looking into a tactic that has been used in some suburbs here, in which wealthy parents transfer legal guardianship of their college-bound children to relatives or friends so the teens can claim financial aid, say people familiar with the matter. The strategy caught the department's attention amid a spate of guardianship transfers here. It means that only the children's earnings were considered in their financial-aid applications, not the family income or savings. That has led to awards of scholarships and access to federal financial aid designed for the poor, these people said. Several universities in Illinois say they are looking into the practice, which is legal. "Our financial-aid resources are limited and the practice of wealthy parents transferring the guardianship of their children to qualify for need-based financial aid -- or so-called opportunity hoarding -- takes away resources from middle- and low-income students," said Andrew Borst, director of undergraduate enrollment at the University of Illinois. "This is legal, but we question the ethics." |
| Career and technology education is an effective pathway to earning money | |
| High schoolers who take career and technology education courses achieve the same college success as students who focus on more academic courses, and they are only slightly less likely to enroll in college in the first place, a study published Tuesday by Education Next found. Researchers Daniel Kreisman, an assistant professor of economics at Georgia State University, and Kevin Stange, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, reviewed data from nearly 4,000 participants in the 1998-2015 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and found that for each upper-level CTE class a student took in high school, they earned about 2 percent more annually, even if they didn't go to college, compared to people who took more academic courses without going to college, who had no such return. Kreisman and Stange also identified specific demographic groups that are more likely to enroll in vocational courses: male students, disadvantaged students who have a low household income or whose parents did not attend college, and students in rural America, specifically Southern states. For these students, the report suggests, it's important to continually offer both introductory and advanced-level vocational courses. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State Athletics Breaking Ground On Indoor Tennis Facility | |
| One of the most successful programs in Mississippi State Athletics history will welcome a major addition in the coming year, as ground is being broken on the $8 million dollar Mississippi State Tennis Pavilion this week. Expected completion of the indoor tennis facility is spring 2020. While following current NCAA and Intercollegiate Tennis Association standards for collegiate tennis, the 48,815-square-foot facility will feature six indoor courts, elevated spectator seating, LED lighting and much more. The project is being made possible through generous donations to, and funding from, the Bulldog Club. The facility was designed by Eley Barkley Dale Architects and is being contracted by Hemphill Construction. "We are extremely happy to be able to provide our tennis teams with this new and much-needed indoor facility", MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen said. |
| Bulldogs to build indoor tennis facility | |
 | Mississippi State's long-tenured plan for an indoor tennis facility will soon become a reality. The Bulldogs will begin breaking ground on the $8 million facility this week. "We are extremely happy to be able to provide our tennis teams with this new and much-needed indoor facility," said MSU director of athletics John Cohen. "It will allow our already-successful men's and women's programs to become even more effective in player development, practice, training and recruiting. It will also provide us with an excellent alternative when inclement weather is a factor for practice or competition at any point during the year." The Mississippi State Tennis Pavilion will be located adjacent to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, Nusz Park and Mike Sanders Track Complex. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2020. |
| Starkville's Kameron Jones developed during redshirt season | |
| National signing day is always a memorable moment in which thousands of high school student-athletes can celebrate inking a national letter of intent to the college of their choice. Kameron Jones will certainly never forget his national signing day on Feb. 7, 2018. The standout offensive lineman from Starkville had been hoping to receive an offer from hometown Mississippi State for months but the Bulldogs did not have a scholarship to spare. When the big day finally arrived, Jones was all set to sign with Louisiana-Lafayette alongside his Yellow Jacket teammates. But just before the ceremony started, Jones received the long awaited call from MSU. After talking things over with his family for the next few hours, the three-star recruit joined the Bulldogs' signing class. Jones is one of four former Starkville players on scholarship with the Bulldogs joining Willie Gay Jr., Cameron Gardner and Kobe Jones. |
| Mississippi State women's basketball promotes Dionnah Jackson-Durrett to associate head coach | |
 | Mississippi State women's basketball head coach Vic Schaefer announced Monday that Dionnah Jackson-Durrett has been promoted to associate head coach. "Dionnah has been instrumental in the success of our program," said Schaefer. "Each year, she's continued taking on more responsibilities, and her promotion to Associate Head Coach alongside Johnnie Harris is well deserved and earned. We are so blessed to have the staff that we have here at Mississippi State. Our team has gone to unprecedented heights the past few years, and part of that is a credit to Dionnah for her ability to develop point guards along with her involvement in recruiting. I'm very proud of her, and I'm excited to see what her future has in store." One of the top rising stars in the coaching ranks, Jackson-Durrett's presence in Starkville has been felt since she arrived in 2015. Working with the point guards, Mississippi State recorded its top three assists marks for a single season each of the last three years under her guidance, including the program record of 602 during the 2017-18 campaign. |
| Two Members of #JavU to Throw at Pan American Games | |
| Mississippi State's Curtis Thompson will represent the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, next week alongside his teammate and two-time NCAA champion Anderson Peters. The pair will compete for the United States and Grenada, respectively, and rank first and second in MSU's history in the javelin. Peters threw his school record mark of 86.62m (284-2) to win the 2019 NCAA title. That mark also stands as the Grenadian national record and the NCAA Championships meet record. Thompson, a native of Florence, New Jersey, was added to the Team USA roster when the federation was ordered to reselect the delegation after a clerical error was discovered in the athletes' rankings. His career best came at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials when he launched the implement 82.88m (271-11), which stood as the Bulldog record at the time, but was just shy of the Olympic standard. Thompson won the NCAA title in 2016 and the USATF Championship in 2018. "It's great that we're being represented at these international competitions," head coach Chris Woods said. "I know it's an honor for both Anderson and Curtis to be able to represent both Mississippi State and their countries, as well." |
| LSU's Scott Woodward says fund-transfer policy is being re-evaluated | |
 | A policy that led to the LSU athletic department transferring just over $66 million to the overall university budget is being re-evaluated under first-year athletic director Scott Woodward. The fund-transfer policy, enacted under then-athletic director Joe Alleva in 2012, began a partnership between the athletic and academic branches of the university, where athletics committed to provide $36 million over five years by annually transferring $7.2 million, plus a portion of its net surplus, to support LSU's academic, research, public service and other missions. The athletic department has kept to the terms beyond the five-year agreement, contributing well beyond its initial pledge as its athletic budget boomed. Woodward told The Advocate Monday that he started having "long discussions" with university officials when he was hired in April about changing the policy to ensure the long-term success of athletics. |
| Bruce Pearl believes Auburn not finished with NCAA sanctions, but worst behind program | |
 | Auburn men's basketball head coach Bruce Pearl says he anticipates that his program is not done with NCAA sanctions just yet, but that he thinks the worst is already behind the team, he revealed Monday in a podcast interview with CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated reporter Jon Rothstein. Pearl also claimed that his assistant coach Ira Bowman did not have any knowledge of what was happening with former Penn head coach Jerome Allen during Bowman's tenure under him -- and that Pearl's relieved his former assistant Chuck Person didn't have to go to prison after he pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy charge in federal court. He also said Auburn has been placed under NCAA restrictions that haven't been revealed publicly yet. Pearl spoke with Rothstein on the latter's College Hoops Today podcast posted online Monday. |
| Roger Goodell, title game officials to face questions on Rams-Saints 'no-call' | |
| A Louisiana judge ordered that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and three officials from January's NFC title game be questioned under oath in September about the infamous "no-call" that helped the Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints in January's NFC title game, a lawyer said Monday. Attorney Antonio LeMon, who filed a lawsuit over the game that advanced the Rams to the Super Bowl, said he and league attorneys will pick a mutually agreeable date for depositions in New Orleans -- barring any league appeals that might delay or cancel the questioning. A league spokesman declined comment. LeMon's lawsuit seeks $75,000 in damages -- to be donated to charity -- over the failure to flag a pass interference or roughness penalty against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman for his helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Tommylee Lewis well before a pass arrived. The no-call came at a crucial point in the game against the New Orleans Saints. The Rams won and advanced to the Super Bowl. |
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