Wednesday, July 31, 2019   
 
Makerere, US scientists researchers team up to develop swine fever vaccine
Researchers are putting their heads together to develop a vaccine that will eliminate the deadly African Swine Fever, a contagious disease that spreads rapidly among pigs. According to Dr Margaret Khaitsa, a Ugandan senior researcher and lecturer at Mississippi State University, African swine fever has hampered the production system of food on the African continent and negatively impacted on the global economy, food security and trade. "With other fellow researchers in the US, we are making progress in inventing a vaccine for Africa Swine fever and very soon, we will be able to unveil what we have so far achieved," she said during an interview on Tuesday. In addition to African Swine Fever, Dr Khaitsa says Mississippi State University together with other partners are also developing anti-tick vaccine as well as prototypes for control of tsetse flies in cattle in Uganda.
 
AgroFresh Vice President of R&D and Regulatory Joins USDA-Backed Advisory Council
Dr. Ann Beaulieu, vice president of R&D and regulatory at AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGFS), will lend her expertise to an advisory council focused on improving access to nutritious foods, reducing food waste, advancing production systems for better nutrition, and developing crops with high nutritional value. The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is a non-profit organization established by the 2014 Farm Bill to build unique partnerships that fund innovative research in food and agriculture. Beaulieu will leverage her decades of experience and extensive knowledge of agriculture, chemistry and food supply chain systems as part of FFAR's HealthAgriculture Nexus advisory council. The FFAR Board of Directors is chaired by Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum, Ph.D.
 
Where Floods of 'Biblical Proportion' Drowned Towns and Farms
Floodwaters swamped more than half a million acres of forest and farmland in the lower Mississippi Delta more than six months ago, gulping up highways and homes, livestock and tractors. This week, for the first time since, the river gauge at Vicksburg on the western border fell below flood stage. "This is biblical proportion," Paul Hartfield, an endangered species biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, said of the floods. "Nothing like this has ever been seen." In the Yazoo Basin, a section of the delta where farming is the linchpin of the economy, people are still struggling to cope with a flood that seems forgotten by nearly everyone outside the disaster zone.
 
Southaven Walmart shooting: Two dead, at least two injured in workplace attack
Two Walmart employees are dead and another employee charged with their murders after an early morning shooting at the Southaven, Mississippi, store. The suspect, Martez Tarrell Abram, 39, was shot twice by an officer outside the building at 6811 Southcrest Parkway. He is currently being held at a Memphis hospital until he has recovered enough to be extradited to DeSoto County, said District Attorney John Champion. The employees killed were identified as Brandon Gales, 38, and Anthony Brown, 40, according to the coroner's office and family. "These people were doing the same thing you and I do every day, showing up to work in an attempt to provide for their families, then became victims of a senseless violent act," Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore said.
 
Reeves Holds $5M, Hood $900K in Mississippi Governor's Race
Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves continues to outraise and outspend all other candidates in the Mississippi governor's race, with Attorney General Jim Hood raising and spending the most among Democrats in the race for the state's top job. Party primaries are Aug. 6 for statewide, regional, legislative and county offices. Candidates for several offices are speaking Wednesday and Thursday at the Neshoba County Fair outside Philadelphia. It's one of the biggest political gatherings of the year, with some campaigns bringing busloads of supporters to wave signs, cheer their own candidate and jeer the opponents. Candidates who face primary opponents filed campaign finance reports Tuesday showing how much they have raised and spent this year. Reeves reports raising about $5 million this year, and he has roughly that much cash remaining in his three campaign funds. Hood has raised $1.6 million and spent $1.1 million this year and reports just over $902,000 cash on hand.
 
Politics take center stage in Neshoba County
The Neshoba County Fair is in full swing in Philadelphia. The Neshoba County candidates gave their speeches at the pavilion near Founder's Square. The Central District and Statewide candidates will take the stage Wednesday and Thursday. This fair began in 1889 as the cold water fair. Then the name changed to Neshoba County Fair in 1891. For more than 130 years people have come and visited for different reasons. C. Scott Bounds, the Neshoba County Fair's Vice President, and Program Chairman says, "The fairgrounds encompasses about 170 acres right here in the cold water community -- 601 cabins on the ground we have an excess of 575 plus RV spots and the fair becomes a small city for about a week and a half." Political speeches remain one of the highlights of the fair.
 
Live: Neshoba County Fair 2019 political speeches Wednesday
The Clarion Ledger is providing live updates for Wednesday speeches at the Neshoba County Fair. See the latest tweets along with instant summaries and analysis from our reporters.
 
Mississippi GOP may be headed for runoff in governor's race, poll shows
A new survey shows Mississippi Republicans so torn between their leading candidates for governor that they might need a runoff between the top two candidates. The Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy survey released Tuesday shows Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) leading the Republican field with 41 percent of the vote, followed by former state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller (R) at 31 percent. Another 13 percent back state Rep. Robert Foster (R), and 15 percent remain undecided. Reeves, the best-funded and most well-known candidate in the field, needs to break 50 percent of the vote in the Aug. 6 primary in order to avoid a runoff that would be held Aug. 27. "We don't really pay attention to these public polls, and this one in particular has a history of being wrong. They predicted Hillary Clinton could win Mississippi. We'll see the real numbers next week," said Parker Briden, Reeves's campaign spokesman.
 
House District 83: Snowden, Calvert have similar vision but different experience
House Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden and businessman Billy Adam Calvert will face off in the Aug. 6 Republican primary for District 83 of the Mississippi House of Representatives. Snowden has held the seat since 2000. Both Snowden and Calvert are putting an emphasis on economic development. Both say they have experience that will bring industry to Lauderdale County and East Mississippi. But the type of experience they point to is different. Snowden sees an ongoing industrial park project off I-20/59 in Lauderdale County as part of a track record. Asked about bringing industry to the area, he pointed to a $3.5 million funding bill for the project. "I had quite a hand in (the industrial park)," he said, adding that local "economic development leaders" were also instrumental. "I authored that bill." Calvert said that if East Mississippi wants to bring in more jobs and raise incomes, it's time to look to the Golden Triangle -- Columbus, Starkville, West Point and the area around them -- for inspiration.
 
Witherspoon, Butler vie for District 38 Senate seat
In the Aug. 6 Democratic Party primary Adams County voters will help elect the next Dist. 38 State Senator who represents Walthall, Pike, Amite, Wilkinson and Adams counties. Both candidates are Democrats so Tuesday's election will decide the race that pits incumbent Tammy Witherspoon against challenger Kelvin Butler, who had held the position for 12 years before giving up the seat to seek election to the office of Chancery Clerk of Pike County. "Three years ago I ran for Chancery Clerk in Pike County and lost by 400 votes," Butler said. "I feel like with 12 years seniority and my experience I can go back to Jackson and benefit southwest Mississippi." Education, Medicaid expansion and jobs top the list of priorities Butler said he would like to focus on if elected. Witherspoon said she believes her accomplishments in her first term in the Dist. 38 State Senate seat prove she is working for Southwest Mississippi. Witherspoon also said she helped pass legislation for Alcorn State University last session that addressed competitive bidding for student housing.
 
Black Caucus Hears From Experts on Bank Lending and Race
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reports Blacks in Mississippi are more than twice as likely to be denied a mortgage loan as Whites. Mississippi's Legislative Black Caucus wants to know why. Sam Mozee, a researcher at Jackson State University says, factors unrelated to race are involved. "Worse credit scores, lowered income limits, higher debt limits, those are the major factors that contributed, the way the criteria is set-up those factors play a critical role in determining who gets approved," said Mozee. Officials with Hope Credit Union say it's seldom clear race is the sole reason a loan is denied. Sandra Patterson is with the credit union. She says they take a non-traditional approach to home loans by reviewing bill paying history. "If they can show us utility bills that they pay monthly. It's pretty much a gamut of anything. We let them tell us what do you pay monthly that's a regular note, regular basis, that's historical," said Patterson. Democratic Senator John Horhn of Jackson would like banks to take a similar approach.
 
It's a center-left party after all: Sanders and Warren kept their voices but a parade of centrists finally found theirs
The assignment of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to the same debate stage in Detroit Tuesday night was random chance, but turned out to be a well-timed and clarifying event. There was the possibility that the two heroes of the left would sharpen the differences between them in the competition over who is the fairest of them all. But very little of that came to pass. Instead, the combined Warren-Sanders presence emboldened most other voices in the first round of a two-night debate to say they wouldn't enter the derby over who is most ideologically pure. The real argument, they urged, should be over who is most credible general election adversary to Donald Trump and potential president in 2021. It wasn't exactly an invigorating evening. But in its discursive way it was illuminating.
 
Bernie Sanders 2020? Beauvoir's Instagram was hacked, officials say
Troll level: Expert. That's what one person commented on a photo of a rainbow-themed Confederate flag posted on Beauvoir's Instagram page. The photo, along with two others, were published to the page by a hacker. Beauvoir officials announced the hack Sunday on Facebook. The photos had not been removed Monday morning. "The username, the password, the verification, everything has been changed," said Kitsaa Stevents, Beauvoir's marketing director. "We're working on it. We really are." The Biloxi beachfront retirement estate of Confederate Army leader Jefferson Davis is used for tours, events and weddings. Most of the photos on their Instagram page are photos of the property, pictures including the state flag or Confederate flag, and scenes from wedding ceremonies under the trees on site.
 
Chancellor says university bungled investigation into racist photo
When the head of the University of Mississippi condemned fraternity members last week for posing with guns in front of a bullet-riddled memorial to the slain 14-year-old civil rights icon Emmett Till, he defended the campus investigation and the decision not to discipline the students. He said Ole Miss had been unable to identify "all" the students involved when it received the complaint "or that they were all affiliated with the same fraternity." But the statement was misleading. A bias complaint filed in March, and obtained by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica, clearly identifies two of the men by name and their membership in Kappa Alpha Order. The photo "shows three boys, at least two of whom are members of KA at Ole Miss," the complaint reads. On Monday, following questions from the news organizations about the discrepancy, interim Chancellor Larry Sparks acknowledged that his administration had mishandled the investigation and said that he has launched an internal review into a "breakdown in communications" that prevented a full examination of the incident by university administrators.
 
CBD drug trial at UMMC gets one-year extension
A clinical trial at UMMC is getting a one-year extension. The trial which uses a new marijuana-derived drug to treat seizures in children received positive results leading to the extension of the study. The clinically tested investigational drug product is an oral cannabidiol, CBD for short, derived from marijuana grown at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy's National Center for Natural Products Research. To conduct the trial, required approvals were obtained in 2018 from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. The trial, conducted by the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the UM School of Pharmacy, was approved for 10 patients. All patients in the initial trial opted to participate in the extension. Treatment with the drug, described as “compassionate care for the sickest of the sick” by principal investigator Dr. Brad Ingram was proven to be safe in the trial’s first six months.
 
TPSD, ICC announce 'historic' middle college partnership program
Honoring and furthering education in Northeast Mississippi continues to be at the forefront of local academic institutions, and a new partnership between Itawamba Community College and Tupelo Public School District is looking to strengthen that bond one step further. The two institutions of learning announced Tuesday that a middle college program, launching next week, will allow qualified THS junior and senior students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree from ICC simultaneously. The first of its kind in the region, the program will function with THS students housed on the ICC Tupelo campus for the majority of the school day. ICC president Jay Allen said that ICC has long offered alternate delivery modes of dual classes to Tupelo students and the middle college program is the next natural progression.
 
U. of Tennessee assistant police chief on leave amid investigations
The assistant chief of the University of Tennessee Police Department has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of "internal and external investigations," UTPD spokeswoman Lola Alapo confirmed Tuesday. Keith Lambert was placed on leave Monday, Alapo wrote in an email. He has 32 years of service to the university, she said. The department's internal affairs investigator, who reports directly to UTPD Chief Troy Lane, has been in contact with the Knox County Sheriff's Office, Alapo said. Alapo would not say why Lambert is being investigated. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Kimberly Glenn declined to comment.
 
Big Blue landmark restaurant is gone as more changes come to campus-area corridor
Another University of Kentucky landmark apparently is gone: The Arby's at 507 South Limestone apparently has closed. The building, distinctive from other Arby's because it had blue trim instead of red in honor of the UK Wildcats, was missing its Arby's signage on Tuesday. A message to the company was not immediately answered. Another restaurant near campus also is gone: Crumzz Bar and Grill, which was at 395 South Limestone, also closed, apparently in June. The campus corridor has seen rapid turnover, with the McDonald's on South Limestone demolished in May. Construction on the new McDonald's has begun and the restaurant is expected to reopen in August. The changes come as a new Target opened just off campus on the ground floor of a new student apartment building, The Hub, which is also opening soon.
 
Texas A&M professor helps create more precise map of waterways
A Texas A&M University professor has helped produce what may be the most precise and detailed map to date of the planet's bodies of water. George Allen, an assistant professor of geography at Texas A&M, said that the MERIT Hydro map could help scientists predict flooding events and allows for better and more thorough water management. "For hydrologists, because we have a better representation of where water will flow, we get a better idea of translating weather data -- like precipitation information -- into actually understanding where the water will go and flow, how big a flood will be or what will happen if there's a drought." Allen said that if and when flooding occurs, the MERIT Hydro map will help hydrologists and others understand where water will go and how deep it may go once it spreads.
 
Appeals court splits ruling on U. of Missouri graduate workers
University of Missouri graduate assistants are employees as defined by the Missouri Constitution and entitled to collectively bargain over pay and working conditions but the Coalition of Graduate Workers didn't properly distinguish between teaching and non-teaching roles and hasn't qualified as the union for the assistants, a Missouri court ruled Tuesday. The Western District Court of Appeals opinion issued Tuesday morning is a partial win for both sides in the case. It upheld the basic argument of the graduate assistants -- that they are employees of the university -- but granted MU's argument that it is not bound by an April 2016 election in which it did not take part. In the unanimous opinion of the three-judge panel, written by Judge Victor Howard, the court rejected the university's argument that graduate assistants are primarily students and the work they do is part of their academic training.
 
U. of Missouri flagging suspect student accounts in wake of ProPublica report
There could be "as many as several dozen" University of Missouri student accounts being scrutinized this week in connection with a ProPublica Illinois investigation that showed parents from the Chicago suburbs had given up guardianship of their children so they could obtain financial aid. MU spokesperson Christian Basi said the accounts were being analyzed using a number of data points associated with students' personal and financial records to determine if they are in fact eligible for aid. "We know what we're looking for," Basi said. Although ProPublica's investigation focused on students and families in the Chicago suburbs, there is evidence that this practice is happening nationally, Basi said. However, the university has not yet discovered any in-state cases. "To date, we haven't seen any of these type of thing coming from in-state Missouri students," he said. "But we do know that this is not something that is confined to Illinois, based on conversations that we have had with other colleagues around the country."
 
New reports of questionable financial aid practices suggest anew that field is tilted toward the wealthy
The news stories left one feeling, yet again, that some wealthy parents will do just about anything to get their kids into college and to help them pay for it. According to ProPublica Illinois and The Wall Street Journal, the scheme worked this way: wealthy parents would give a relative or friends guardianship of their high school kids. The children would then exercise their right to become financially independent of their guardians and qualify for federal, state or institutional aid. A college consulting group -- Destination College -- allegedly encouraged the behavior. (The consulting group didn't return calls.) And the Education Department is investigating. Dozens of parents did this for their children -- even though the parents lived in some of Chicago's wealthiest suburbs. The two journalism organizations each identified 40 families that have done this in the last two years. Talk radio was not kind to the families, noting that once again the system appeared to be designed for those willing to take advantage. In the world of higher education, the reports left people scratching their heads. If doctors and lawyers do this, what can possibly be left for average folks or the truly poor?
 
US science agency moves to crack down on IP theft
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated several policies to curb efforts by foreign countries to steal publically funded research and intellectual property through tools like talent recruitment programmes. The measures have been criticised by some academics who warn they could disrupt international collaborations. The NSF policies are spelled out in a 'Dear Colleague' letter by the agency's director, France Córdova. They are being introduced in response to heightened risks posed to US science and engineering by the theft of research by competitor nations, she said. The letter re-iterates a rule introduced in 2018 that NSF rotators – or temporary programme directors -- must be US citizens or have applied for US citizenship, to ensure that the agency is 'applying consistent standards to all staff members' who have access to sensitive information.
 
State Department's top education official says Chinese students are welcome, but...
A senior State Department official said Tuesday that the U.S. welcomes students from China. But Marie Royce, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, also said that colleges need to do a better job integrating their Chinese students and that many live in a "bubble" of Chinese Communist Party propaganda and misinformation that skews their perceptions of the U.S. And she said that the U.S. takes the threat of academic espionage seriously and will not tolerate intellectual property theft, even as she noted that only 0.0001 percent of Chinese students' visa applications are refused for this reason. College leaders have raised concerns about the climate for Chinese students and researchers, in particular, in light of increasing attention from national security agencies, science agencies, members of Congress and the White House to alleged Chinese government-backed efforts to steal American academic research.
 
Cracking the code on computer science education in Mississippi
Hu Meena, chairman and CEO of C Spire, writes in the Mississippi Business Journal: During World War II, an elite group of Navajos called the "code talkers" used their Native American language, which was unwritten and complex, to help transmit top-secret military information. Code talkers helped the Allies gain an important victory in the Pacific Theater. Fast forward to today and coding means something dramatically different, but just as important. Computer coding and programming are the foundation and the building blocks of our society and economy in the 21st century. That's why, after experiencing rapid disruption and change for more than two decades at the helm of C Spire, I am helping lead the charge for more computer science education and opportunities in Mississippi. Technology waits for no one and changes more often than President Trump's Twitter feed.
 
Justice court judges untrained as constitutional scholars
Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: If you need a wise, reasonable soul to adjudicate a drunken misdemeanor bar fight, sort out right from wrong in a traffic ticket, or even to officiate at a wedding, the average Mississippi justice court judge can be your huckleberry. In my journalism career, I met and came to respect many such judges. Their service to their communities and the people who elected them is invaluable. In my personal life as a guy who spent a lot of days behind the wheel on Mississippi roads, I also met a number of those judges as a guilty lead-foot driver holding a well-deserved speeding ticket from the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol. Those reflections lead us to the recent Lee County case that brought Lee County First District Justice Court Judge Chuck Hopkins into the orbit of City Attorney Ben Logan of the City of Tupelo. Seems that while driving home from a holiday party on Dec. 7, 2018, Logan was stopped at a Highway Patrol safety checkpoint that ultimately resulted in drunk driving charges against Logan.


SPORTS
 
Tempered expectations lead Joe Moorhead, Bulldogs into fall camp
Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead looked visibly different. As he wandered the halls and terraces of the Hyatt Regency - Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama he was oft asked his secret. While football questions were assuredly mixed into the conversations, it was Moorhead's significant weight loss that onlookers were curious about. He calls it "intermittent fasting" -- a school of thought in which all he consumes before 6 p.m. is water and the occasional Diet Mountain Dew. Moorhead is down nearly 60 pounds because of it. "Part of the reason for the diet and losing some weight, I was tired of all the recruits on the trail asking me if I played right or left tackle rather than how many yards I passed for in college," the former Fordham quarterback quipped. Of course, Moorhead's slimmed physique is just a piece of the coach's changed mentality toward 2019.
 
Mississippi State football fall camp: Who's the QB for now and future?
It's finally here. Junior Keytaon Thompson and graduate transfer Tommy Stevens have been the two most talked about Mississippi State Bulldogs since the latter joined the team back in May. Now that preseason camp starts Friday, the two can settle the question that's been on maroon-and-white minds for months: Who will start at quarterback against Louisiana on Aug. 31? Head coach Joe Moorhead said he'd like to have a QB in place by the end of the final preseason scrimmage of camp, which is on Aug. 21. That gives Thompson and Stevens three weeks to battle. Each quarterback is familiar with Moorhead's offense. Thompson was Nick Fitzgerald's backup last season, and he started the season opener against Stephen F. Austin. Stevens was under Moorhead's wing for two seasons when Moorhead was the offensive coordinator at Penn State.
 
MSU women's basketball nonconference breakdown: mid-majors galore, preseason tournaments will define Bulldogs
Though the Mississippi State women's basketball season is still months away, fans finally have a look at what the Bulldogs will face in the early going this year. MSU announced its nonconference 2019-2020 schedule Friday -- one that includes at least two power five conference teams, two in-state foes and plenty of mid-majors. The Bulldogs open the season Nov. 4 with a scrimmage against Lubbock Christian. The regular season begins Nov. 9 against Southern Miss in Starkville. MSU plays its first five games of the nonconference slate at Humphrey Coliseum before traveling to the state capital to take on Jackson State Nov. 21. A road trip to Marquette follows four days later. Coach Vic Schaefer's bunch will also partake in the Vancouver Showcase in Vancouver, British Columbia and the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas. The Vancouver Showcase field has yet to be announced. Taking a closer look at the impending matchups, Southern Miss is an intriguing opening game.
 
Mississippi State women's golf releases 2019-20 schedule
Trips to courses around the country and the Bahamas make up Mississippi State's 2019-20 women's golf schedule. The Magnolia Invitational highlights a five-tournament fall slate that will prepare 10th-year head coach Ginger Brown-Lemm's Bulldogs for three tournaments in the spring. "This is probably one of the strongest schedules that we've had since Ally McDonald played for us," said Brown-Lemm. "For the first time in a while, we have some good depth. We have been really young the last couple of years. The combination of that and us playing really well last season, moving from No. 70 to No. 42, has really opened some doors for us scheduling wise. We finally have the depth to really be competitive. I'm really excited about this schedule because we are covering a lot of different parts of the United States. It's important for our ranking that we play head to head with all these different programs."
 
U. of Tennessee will test beer sales this weekend at Thompson-Boling Arena concert
The University of Tennessee has announced plans to test beer sales Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena during an Alice Cooper concert. The Knoxville Beer Board approved permits for vending company Aramark to sell beer at Thompson-Boling Arena for games and non-athletic events if they could meet some additional requirements. A Tuesday statement from the university said everything is in place for sales to start at the concert. However, the show will act as a pilot to test the security and systems that are in place. Part of Aramark's plans mentioned cracking down on beer hand-offs to underage people in the crowd. People could be asked to show an ID anywhere in the arena, not just at the concession stands. The Beer Board said earlier this month that it would approve beer permits for Thompson-Boling Arena, Neyland Stadium and Regal Soccer Stadium pending some additional requirements.
 
LSU baseball creating 'pitching lab' for injury prevention and player development
LSU plans to convert one of its batting cages inside the Marucci Performance Center into a pitching lab before the start of fall practice. Injuries have ripped through the Tigers' staff the past two seasons, so in an attempt to analyze its pitchers, LSU will install slow-motion, edgertronic cameras. "You can virtually slow down the release frame-by-frame," coach Paul Mainieri said. "By doing some analysis of that, we can maybe see if anything is causing discomfort. We're entering into that technology era so many schools, so many major league teams are taking advantage of, and we don't want to be left behind on that either."
 
With new football facility opened, Will Wade says LSU basketball in 'desperate need of upgrades'
After watching the unveiling of the renovated LSU football operations center last week, men's basketball coach Will Wade is hoping to get the ball rolling faster on upgrades to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and practice facility. During a Tuesday media availability in which the third-year coach previewed his team's upcoming 10-day tour of Spain, Wade was asked about the facility upgrades he's talked about for the past two years. Wade said he met Monday with Tiger Athletic Foundation officials, who raised the funds for the $28 million football ops renovation, about speeding up the process for helping out the men's and women's basketball teams. "We're trying to raise the money to get this practice facility re-done," he said. "We've had some donors step up. We've raised probably about 25 percent of what we need to raise."
 
Texas A&M celebrating 125 years of football this season
Texas A&M has several celebrations planned during the upcoming season to commemorate 125 years of Aggie football. Fans can vote to determine the greatest moment in A&M football history online at 12thMan.com with voting through mid-August. Fans will vote in a 32-moment bracket to determine the winner. The football team will wear special decals on their helmets. Limited edition souvenir stadium cups will be sold at Kyle Field featuring great moments in Aggie football history, including the first touchdown scored by the 12th Man and A&M's seven-overtime victory over No. 8 LSU in 2018. A&M will open the season at home against Texas State at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 29.
 
College Football Playoff's Bill Hancock on Big Ten's Playoff absence, expansion
Bill Hancock, the College Football Playoff's executive director, appeared on Monday's Paul Finebaum Show with Brad Edwards to discuss selection committee protocol, the Big Ten's absence in the final four over the past two seasons and the likelihood of expansion in the future. Edwards' first question to Hancock centered around margin of victory or loss and whether it makes a difference during the selection process. "Protocol says one of the tiebreakers is comparing results is against common opponents without inventing margin of victory," Hancock said. "That's where margin of victory is reflected in the protocol that the committee has. Now outside of that comment common statute, the committee examines each team's games sides by side. They're full season results and the committee is aware of what happens in every game. That includes the question, 'Did either team dominate this game?' It's very much a common sense approach."
 
Lawsuit over Rams-Saints playoff 'no call' dismissed
The last of three federal lawsuits against NFL officials over the failure to call a blatant penalty in January's NFC title game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams has been dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge in New Orleans, leaving one state court lawsuit over the no-call still alive in Louisiana state court. At the center of all of the suits is the failure to flag Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman for his helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Tommylee Lewis with a pass in the air at a crucial point in the game. The Rams won and advanced to the Super Bowl. Judge Susie Morgan's Tuesday ruling came in a class-action lawsuit against the league, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, three game officials and the NFL's vice president in charge of officiating. Morgan rejected arguments that people who bought tickets to the game are entitled to damage payments under Louisiana's civil code.



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