| Wednesday, September 4, 2013 |  |
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| Professor creates product to detect chemical agents | |
 | While the nation awaits Congress' decision whether to take military action against Syria, Todd Mlsna, an associate professor in the chemistry department at Mississippi State University, continues to better the gas chromatograph, an early warning system for chemical warfare. |
| Mississippi Gator Season Busy | |
 | We've seen plenty of big alligators caught recently -- some have broken state records, set just days previously. The most recent big gator was caught just up the road from Meridian at Lake Okatibbee. That alligator measured around 12 feet long. But to find why we have seen so many large alligators and why are they growing so large, WTOK-TV asked MSU-Meridian's Dr. Jarrod Fogarty. |
| U.S. Poet Laureate to Read at Mississippi State | |
 | Gulfport native, Pulitzer Prize winner and current U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will visit Mississippi State Sept. 24. Trethewey will read from her works and offer commentary during a free program to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Colvard Union's Bill R. Foster Ballroom. A question-and-answer session will follow. Trethewey's campus visit is sponsored by MSU African-American Studies; centers for Student Activities and Teaching and Learning; College of Arts and Sciences and its Institute for the Humanities; English department and its Mississippi Quarterly; Richard Holmes Cultural Diversity Center; and the Office of the Provost. |
| Researchers find link between habitat and deer antler size | |
 | Research conducted by Mississippi State University Deer Lab scientists has determined northern deer may have bigger bodies but they don't necessarily have bigger antlers. The discovery, made by scientists in the university's Deer Lab, a unit of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, shows that antler size depends more on diet than latitude. "In white-tailed deer, large antlers are generally found on deer with large bodies. However, the largest antler measurements were found in the Midwestern states and not the far North, as commonly believed," said Bronson Strickland, associate Extension professor and researcher in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center. |
| MSU Research Rates Deer Sizes | |
| Research conducted by Mississippi State University Deer Lab scientists has determined northern deer may have bigger bodies but they don't necessarily have bigger antlers. The discovery, made by scientists in the university's Deer Lab, a unit of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, shows that antler size depends more on diet than latitude. The ecological theory known as Bergmann's rule predicts animals found in northern latitudes require larger body size to maintain body temperature in cold weather. This relationship holds true for body size of white-tailed deer, but Mississippi State deer biologists Bronson Strickland and Steve Demarais decided to see if a similar relationship existed for antler size. To find out, they used data from Florida to Maine and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. |
| Maroon Alert System May Have Flaws | |
| Colleges, school districts and emergency management agencies all are starting to use text messages and emails to alert people about dangerous situations. "The Maroon Alert system is how we communicate with our faculty, staff and students in case of any type of crisis on the campus," says Sid Salter. Depending on the time of day, the Maroon Alerts come in emails, text messages, and even Twitter and Facebook. When shots were reported being fired near the campus early Saturday morning, the university's system went into action. Salter stresses the safety of students, faculty, and staff are the number one priority. |
| Aldermen lower proposed tax | |
| Starkville's Board of Aldermen backed off its original proposal for a 2.78-mil ad valorem tax increase for fiscal year 2014, instead proposing a 1.98-mil increase during its regular meeting Tuesday at City Hall. The board voted 4-2 in favor of modifying the proposed tax increase, with Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn opposed. Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver recused himself from voting after participating in discussion on the motion. The modified increase would bring the city's total operating ad valorem millage to 21.98, and the board scheduled a public hearing on the increase and the proposed budget for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17. |
| Secretary of State unveils latest edition of Blue Book | |
 | A short bio on Gov. Phil Bryant to a litany of U.S. Census information, such as how Mississippians commute to work, can be found in the latest edition of the Blue Book. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann unveiled the newest edition of the Mississippi Blue Book on Tuesday at his state Capitol office. "We have worked to make this not only a history of Mississippi, but a look at where we are going," said the second-term Republican secretary of state. Hosemann, whose office is the handler of official state documents, is tasked by state law with producing the Blue Book. Many states produce versions of blue books that provide various information and statistics. The origin of the name blue book goes back to a 15th century publication in England, according to various accounts. |
| Sanderson Farms renews as PGA sponsor | |
 | Sanderson Farms is renewing its title sponsorship of Mississippi's only PGA Tour event, played each year in Madison, and is upping the purse and scheduling the event earlier in the season to draw more of the tour's top players. The Laurel poultry producer announced Tuesday it will be title sponsor for what is now the Sanderson Farms Championship at Annandale for the next three years, beginning with the 2014-2015 tour season. The PGA is switching to a new calendar in which its season will start in October and run through spring into summer. |
| Poultry Industry Could See Changes In Production | |
 | Poultry is Mississippi's biggest agricultural product but advocates for chicken workers say proposed new rules would make processing plants too dangerous. As soon as this month, OSHA and the USDA could let factories speed up their processing lines to 175 birds a minute and shift some inspection responsibilities to companies. Tom Fritzsche with the Southern Poverty Law Center says that is too fast for workers who are already under pressure. However, many in the poultry industry are supportive of the changes saying it is appropriate to update rules that have been unchanged for decades. Mike Cockrell with the Mississippi-based poultry company Sanderson Farms says the portrayal of his industry is not rooted in reality. |
| Report: Not so fast on chicken processing changes, USDA | |
 | The Department of Agriculture needs to hit the brakes on its plan to allow poultry plants to speed production lines by 25 percent while replacing government inspectors with plant employees, a congressional report advises. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, the research arm of Congress, says in a not-yet-published report that the USDA hasn't done enough yet to address food safety-related concerns related to its proposed expansion of its HACCP-based Inspections Models Project, or "HIMP." |
| Harper not sure U.S. should take action; congressman wants to see proof on Syria | |
 | Congressman Gregg Harper, R-Miss, said he will need further evidence before deciding whether to support military strikes against Syria, adding he has yet to see reason enough to take action. "At this point, I'm going to take a lot of convincing that a strike is what we should do," said Harper, who represents Mississippi's third congressional district. "My problem with a military strike is this -- who are our friends, and who are we helping? If we do an attack that weakens Assad, who steps in?" Harper discussed a variety of political issues, including the situation in Syria and the Affordable Care Act, during an editorial board meeting Tuesday with the Hattiesburg American. |
| Palazzo, Wicker want answers on Syria | |
 | Two of Mississippi's representatives in Washington want answers before signing off on President Barack Obama's intention to use the U.S. military to intervene in the Syrian civil war. Prior to flying to Washington on Tuesday for a classified Senate Committee on Armed Services meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, Sen. Roger Wicker said there's still plenty he needs answered. U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo has signed a letter urging Obama to consult with Congress. Through his spokesman, Sen. Thad Cochran declined to issue a statement. "The senator will study the facts and the arguments for and against using U.S. military force in Syria," Chris Gallegos said in an email. |
| Bryant names Steve Renfroe new public service commissioner | |
| Steve Renfroe has been named as South Mississippi's new public service commissioner by Gov. Phil Bryant. Bryant made the announcement at a press conference this morning in Biloxi. Renfroe, who worked for Chevron for years, replaces Leonard Bentz, who left the post to become the head of the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District. "I think proper management of energy and resources in Mississippi is critical," Bryant said, adding that Renfroe was a good choice because he will be free from political influence in his decision making. |
| Governor fills PSC post | |
| Steve Renfroe says he's coming into his appointment as Southern District public service commissioner without preconception on the biggest issue before the agency: the Kemper County power plant and how much South Mississippi power customers will have to pay for it. Renfroe's appointment to the Public Service Commission by Gov. Phil Bryant Tuesday comes close on the heels of Mississippi Power Co.'s announcement of more overruns on building the plant. Bryant has supported the Kemper project in the past. But Renfroe said the governor never vetted him on the Kemper plant issue before appointing him to the three-member commission on Tuesday. Louie Miller, director of the Sierra Club, one of the groups fighting the Kemper plant, said he knows and respects Renfroe from his days as an environmental specialist with Chevron. |
| Southern Democrats campaign as 'problem solvers' | |
 | As Democrats try to curtail GOP dominance in the South, the party's top recruits for 2014 elections are trying to sell themselves as problem solvers above Washington's partisan gridlock. They're casting the Republicans' anti-government mantra and emphasis on social issues like abortion and gay marriage as ideological obstacles to progress on "bread-and-butter" issues like public education, infrastructure and health care. That goes beyond their usual effort to distance themselves from President Barack Obama and national Democrats, and it's the closest thing the Democratic Party has to a unified strategy in the region beyond simply waiting for demographics to shift in the long term to ensure they can compete with Republicans. |
| Mississippi, Texas Guard balk at same-sex benefits rule | |
| The Texas National Guard refused to process requests from same-sex couples for benefits Tuesday despite a Pentagon directive to do so, while Mississippi won't issue applications from state-owned offices. Both states cited their respective bans on gay marriage. Texas and Mississippi appeared to be the only two states limiting how and where same-sex spouses of National Guard members could register for identification cards and benefits, according to an Associated Press tally. Officials in 13 other states that also ban gay marriage -- including Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan and Georgia -- said Tuesday that they will follow federal law and process all couples applying for benefits the same. |
| U.S. documents detail al-Qaeda's efforts to fight back against drones | |
 | Al-Qaeda's leadership has assigned cells of engineers to find ways to shoot down, jam or remotely hijack U.S. drones, hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses upon the terrorist network, according to top-secret U.S. intelligence documents. Although there is no evidence that al-Qaeda has forced a drone crash or interfered with flight operations, U.S. intelligence officials have closely tracked the group's persistent efforts to develop a counterdrone strategy since 2010, the documents show. U.S. spy agencies have concluded that al-Qaeda faces "substantial" challenges in devising an effective way to attack drones. |
| CDC targets needless deaths due to poor lifestyle habits | |
 | At least 200,000 Americans die needlessly each year due to heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, and more than half of these deaths occur in people younger than 65, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All of these premature deaths could be prevented by quitting smoking, controlling blood pressure, keeping cholesterol levels in check and taking aspirin when recommended by a physician, public health experts said. "These findings are really striking. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of deaths that don't have to happen," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC. "It's possible for us to make rapid and substantial progress in reducing these deaths." |
| Ole Miss grad dies in DUI car crash | |
| Friends and family are mourning the death of a recent Ole Miss graduate after he was killed in a fatal DUI accident over the weekend. Jared "Petey" Peters, 23, was killed early Saturday morning when a car driven by his best friend crashed into a wall at an intersection in Henderson, Nev. Henderson police said Arnold Cheung, known as Paco, 24, was driving fast and failed to turn either right or left at the dead-end intersection. Peters graduated from Ole Miss in May with a bachelor's degree in marketing. He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and once played on the university's lacrosse team. |
| Natchez native engineers clean water for Africa | |
 | When villagers in Togo, Africa, are able to clean and purify their dirty drinking water, Joanna David's goal to help the world will be closer to complete. The Natchez native and recent University of Mississippi engineering graduate completed undergraduate research on drinking water treatment through an electricity-free, solar disinfection method. The project, David said, was part of her undergraduate thesis, which was a graduation requirement in the Sall McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. |
| Double Quick, Inc. partners with Delta State to produce arts education initiative | |
| Double Quick, Inc. and the Bologna Performing Arts Center at Delta State University are excited to announce a brand new initiative, Arts Education Fueled by Double Quick, which will allow 1,000 students in Bolivar, Leflore, Sunflower, and Washington counties to experience the performing arts at a reduced cost. |
| Scholarship program makes iPads available to JSU freshmen | |
 | Jackson State University handed out iPads on Tuesday to 1,300 incoming freshman students as part of the university's second annual scholarship program. Jackson State has partnered with the Mississippi e-Center Foundation for the program that integrates the device into the curriculum and tracks students' learning through an ongoing study. "It gives me the opportunity to do better things outside my laptop. I can download apps, which can help me in class, and download e-books," said JSU freshman Christofer Weeks. |
| Person of the Day: JSU's Everett Neasman | |
| Professor Everett Neasman looks outside the window of his office at Jackson State University and sees Shakespeare. Fortunately, he doesn't see the bard himself---the playwright has been dead for nearly 400 years---but what he does see outside of his office window is the intersection of drama and "real life," the evolving human story that the legendary Elizabethan playwright drew inspiration from centuries ago. "If what we are doing in class does not apply to what's out of that window, then we are wasting our time," Neasman says. Though JSU has been his first experience at a historically black college or university, his parents were graduates of Spelman College and Morris Brown College, and he describes his upbringing as one that was "groomed for college success." Neasman is in the process of gaining tenure at JSU. |
| U. of Alabama names interim Continuing Studies dean | |
 | The University of Alabama has named Rebecca J. Pow interim dean of the College of Continuing Studies. Pow assumed the new role Sunday, after the retirement of outgoing Dean Carolyn Dahl at the end of August. Pow joined the College of Continuing Studies in 1988 as assistant director of academic programs and services. Most recently, she served as senior associate dean and director of academic outreach for the college, according to a release from UA. |
| U. of Alabama Insurance Day welcomes industry leaders | |
| The executive heading risk management for the World Trade Center and the now-retired CEO who had led MetLife during the nation's recent financial crisis will be among the speakers at the University of Alabama's Insurance Day 2013 on Oct. 23. The annual daylong event also will feature a panel with the state insurance commissioners of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia and other noted speakers. Alabama Insurance Day is in its 30th year and its seventh consecutive year with the University of Alabama as its host, said William Rabel, a UA professor of insurance and financial services. It is designed for people working in or interested in the insurance and financial services industries, attorneys and accountants, he said. |
| U. of Alabama history professor Joshua Rothman scores research grant for barbecue | |
| For Southerners, barbecue -- like college football -- inspires pride, intense rivalries and seemingly endless debates. Over the course of the fall and winter, University of Alabama history professor Joshua Rothman and two graduate students will explore Alabama's food culture of barbecue as well as a broader focus on foodways -- how the state's regional cuisine developed -- after receiving an $18,000 grant from the Southern Foodways Alliance, a nonprofit organization based at the University of Mississippi that documents and celebrates the food cultures of the South. "I think the goal ultimately is to figure out how barbecue came to be in that place where it stands as emblematic of Southern culture," Rothman said. |
| Trustees OK financing for new U. of Florida dorm | |
 | A new dormitory designed with special features to accommodate students with "multiple handicap challenges" is one step closer to becoming a reality at the University of Florida. The UF board of trustees Tuesday unanimously authorized a $25 million finance plan for the 82,000-square-foot, 255-bed dormitory to be built adjacent to Disability Resource Center in the Yulee housing complex along Southwest 13th Street. It must go to the Florida Board of Governors for final approval. "It is not a huge amount considering the size of our student body, but (the additional dorm beds) are very important to us," Dave Kratzer, vice president for student affairs at UF, told the board during a conference call. |
| U. of Florida trustees sign off on raise for grad assistants | |
| The 4,000-plus graduate assistants who work at the University of Florida will get a 4.4 percent raise on top of a 10 percent increase in their minimum stipend starting Oct. 1, under a contract approved unanimously Tuesday by the University of Florida board of trustees. "I'm very heartened to be able to do this," board Chairman David Brown said. The new pay scale and raise will increase the graduate assistant payroll by $3.6 million over a salary base of $72 million. Provost Joe Glover said the agreement was reached after considerable bargaining. The increase brings graduate assistants at UF close to parity with their peer institutions, said Kelsey Antle, co-president of the graduate student union. |
| Texas A&M University scientists part of effort to study dark energy in universe | |
 | Researchers at Texas A&M are quite simply trying to solve the mysteries of the universe. Far from the headlines of staff outsourcing, mascot memorials or the antics of football antiheroes, a team of A&M scientists has set out to unravel the mystery of dark energy -- the force that is believed to be expanding the universe. Without much fanfare, the first official image in the Dark Energy Survey, a collaboration between nations to study dark energy, was taken on Saturday. The image, made possible in part by Texas A&M scientists, was recorded by one of the world's most powerful digital cameras. |
| U. of Georgia employee arrested for impersonating an officer | |
 | John Michael Patterson, 40, was arrested in downtown Athens early Tuesday morning after he caused a drunken disturbance and flashed a badge, Athens-Clarke police said. A taxi driver called 911 at 12:10 a.m. to report that a customer refused to pay his fare and that he was cursing at people. When officers questioned Patterson about the badge, he showed them a 7-pointed star badge that had on it the words "Fulton County Coroner's Office," police said. Patterson's address was blacked out of the police incident report, in which his employer was listed as the University of Georgia. |
| More Students Turn to Social Media to Inform Their College Search | |
 | The share of prospective students who used social-media Web sites to learn about colleges they were considering has more than doubled in the last four years, according to the results of a survey released on Wednesday. Even so, a majority of the students surveyed said they had not used such sites in their college search. Forty-four percent of prospective students surveyed in 2012 said they had used social-media sites to inform their college search, up from 18 percent in 2008. That's according to a report based on the latest student poll from the Art & Science Group, a higher-education consulting firm. |
| GEOFF PENDER: Businesses give MDA director a $47,000 bump in salary | Geoff Pender (Opinion | |
| The Clarion-Ledger's Geoff Pender blogs: "Per a 2012 law, businesses can contribute to increase the salary of the Mississippi Development Authority's director. The list of businesses contributing to a $47,000 stipend for MDA Director Brent Christensen is below. Christensen makes a base salary of $83,000 a year. But officials with the Mississippi Partnership for Economic Development has announced it's adding another $47,000 to his pay. Per the 2012 law, which was hotly debated, private economic development groups can donate to a stipend of up to $47,000 a year, at the governor's discretion and pending specific goals are met." |
| Protect American food innovation | Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Opinion) | |
| Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, writes for Politico: "It's obvious why foreign entities would be interested in purchasing American food companies: We've created the gold standard for global food production and food safety. So it's no surprise Chinese food giant Shuanghui International recently announced its desire to buy Smithfield Foods, America's -- and the world's -- largest pork producer. China sees that it is in its strategic interest to obtain American innovation and expertise in food production, both to sell domestically and to potentially boost its exports and grow its agriculture economy. The question is, are foreign purchases like this one in America's interests, for our food security, national security, and for our economy? A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is raising this question." |
| BRIAN PERRY: Should we strike Syria? | |
| Consultant and columnist Brian Perry writes: "What, if any, military response should the United States take against Syria after apparently using chemical weapons on its own people? President Barack Obama has asked Congress for a resolution of force to support a strike. Published reports show Mississippi's delegation is divided. ...The White House has said this is not about regime change. And for us to attack Syria for killing its own people while allowing regimes like North Korea or African warlords to kill thousands of their own people, sends the message it is fine to murder your own people as long as you don't do it chemically. But it is in our national interests to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction from Syria to groups who would use them to attack us. Whether that can be accomplished without collateral damage among the Syrian people, or some American boots on the ground, remains to be seen." |
| CHARLIE MITCHELL: Bryant shouldn't be coy about nuclear waste | |
| Longtime Mississippi journalist Charlie Mitchell: "There was a dust-up last week about whether Mississippi should ever-ever-ever become a home for nuclear waste. Guess what? Mississippi has been a home for nuclear waste for nearly 30 years. As of 2008, there were 770 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Claiborne County. As of 2011 there were 1,020 casks of this material, government reports say. Doubtless, there's more now. Tons more." |
| BOBBY HARRISON: Pains of age and decline hit vicariously in athletics | Bobby Harrison (Opinion) | |
| The Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes: "Roger Federer looked old on Labor Day night and that made me feel real old -- ancient. Federer lost in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Tennis Championship -- his earliest departure from the Grand Slam tournament in a decade. At age 32, the Swiss native is far from old in the real world. But in the world of professional tennis, it could be argued that one foot is in the grave and the other is on a banana peel. ...Tennis always has been billed as a lifetime sport – something that a person could play for his or her life to stay active and in shape. But statistics tell us that professional tennis players have a much shorter life span than most other pro athletes – perhaps shorter than even football players." |
| SID SALTER: Feds will sue over voter ID, but not over marijuana | |
 | Syndicated columnist Sid Salter writes: "Seems U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is fully prepared to sue Southern states over Voter ID laws, but is not willing to sue Colorado and Washington in their efforts to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana. Holder's logic is apparently that while states should have lots of leeway on how they deal with enforcement of federal laws against smoking and selling weed, states should not have that same leeway when it comes to efforts to fight perceived voter fraud. And, in Holder's world, what the U.S. Supreme Court has to say about the enforcement of voting rights can also be ignored if the Obama Administration doesn't agree with it. But since the Obama Administration apparently thinks decriminalizing marijuana laws are a peachy keen idea, they will wink and nudge at existing federal anti-drug laws that clearly make marijuana sale and consumption illegal." |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs' Hill looking to finish his hero's journey | |
| Growing up in Crawford, Brandon Hill watched as former West Lowndes running back Keffer McGee rose to stardom at Mississippi State. When Hill was 6 years old, he found out his hero tragically passed away in a drowning incident in 1997 in what would have been McGee's senior season in Starkville. Twelve years later, Hill vowed to finish McGee's story at Mississippi State when he became Dan Mullen's first commitment of the 2010 recruiting class. That pledge came one step closer to reality as Hill, now a junior tight end, made his first career start against Oklahoma State this past weekend. |
| Mullen, Prescott confident that Mississippi State QB is ready for start | |
| Reliant Stadium was hushed as Tyler Russell lay motionless on its turf. Both sidelines stared out to the training staff that huddled around Mississippi State's starting quarterback at the 30-yard-line. Dak Prescott was one of the few people there in constant motion. With each warmup sling, the backup quarterback glanced toward the training staff on the field. "That's my brother. When he goes down like any brother you're nervous and you're scared at first," Prescott said. But Prescott didn't allow the nerves to consume him. The next snap, he stood under center. |
| Bulldogs continue to struggle against zone-read options | |
 | Instead of an unconventional high powered passing attack, it turns out the Mississippi State University defense should have been more worried Saturday about the typical zone-read option. After the Bulldogs' 21-3 loss to No. 13 Oklahoma State in Houston, MSU coach Dan Mullen knows his team will see the running attack out of a condensed formation zone-read option again numerous times. This season, six other MSU opponents (Auburn University, Troy University, University of Kentucky, University of South Carolina, Texas A&M University and University of Mississippi) run a version of the zone-read option offense. "You know, it's just making that adjustment," Mullen said Monday. "The benefit is now we've seen it. We're going to see other teams run that stuff and now we actually have clips of us defending it, a lot of different variations." |
| Williams excited about chance at back-up quarterback role for Bulldogs | |
| Maybe the goal for Damian Williams should just be to get the entire first-team offensive unit to know him by name -- or at least his junior center. "One can only hope," MSU junior center Dillon Day said Monday. When asked what he thought of "Damian's progression" Monday after practice, Day said juniors "Ben Beckwith and him" were competing on that side of the offensive line. He had no idea the reporters were referring to the new backup quarterback and not offensive tackle Damien Robinson. "My fault, I had no idea who you were talking about," Day said. "Clearly we don't know much about him right now but he's next in line and I'm sure he'll be fine by Saturday." |
| From Harpole to Candlestick, Josh Boyd earns place in NFL | |
| Josh Boyd played his high school career with the Philadelphia Tornadoes at Harpole Field. Sunday, he'll be playing for the Green Bay Packers when they take on the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. The game will be the late game on Fox, kicking off around 3 p.m. Boyd has come a long way from playing junior high ball at Philadelphia and now he has made it in the NFL. Drafted in the fifth round out of Mississippi State earlier this year, Boyd learned Saturday evening that he had made the Packers' 53-player roster. "It was sort of like draft day, only in reverse," Boyd said. "I didn't want the phone to ring. The deadline was 5 p.m. and I kept going back and checking the Internet. Then my agent called and told me I had made it. It was unbelievable." |
| JOHN L. PITTS: Logan's MSU run begins | John L. Pitts (Opinion) | |
| The Daily Journal's John L. Pitts writes: "Nobody would have blamed Brad Locke if he never got back in the car in drive to Starkville again. After all, he nearly died on his way there from the Daily Journal office back on Feb. 1, 2010, in an auto accident south of Tupelo. But as soon as he could, Brad was back at work as our Mississippi State beat writer. This week, Brad begins a new role, as our coordinator of online content. ...Our MSU beat is now staffed by Logan Lowery. For the past five years, he's been involved with a Rivals.com website that covers the Bulldogs. And I can't wait until somebody calls to ask, inevitably, where Logan went to college. 'He got his degree at MUW,' I'll say, and there will be a long silence on the other end of the phone." |
| RICK CLEVELAND: Saints and Mississippi: From A (Archie) to Z (Zanders) | |
| Mississippi sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "From A to Z, the reasons the New Orleans Saints, who open Sunday against the Atlanta Dirty Birds, are Mississippi's team... 'M' is for McCrary (Fred) and McKinley (Alvin), two Mississippi State Bulldogs who played for the Saints." |
| T-shirt gun gets at least one-game suspension at Arkansas after intern injured in misfire | |
 | The Arkansas Razorbacks will not use a T-shirt cannon Saturday when the Razorbacks host Samford in Little Rock after an intern was injured by a one of the launchers during the Razorbacks' home-opener Saturday in Fayetteville. Arkansas officials said an intern in the school's marketing department was hospitalized after a T-shirt air cannon malfunctioned at Razorback Stadium during the Hogs' 34-14 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. The intern was treated and released from a local hospital. "At the time of discharge, the launching device was not in the process of being fired and was lying on the turf," a news release from the university states. |
| How to run college athletics, at UNC and nationwide: Institutional control, limited spending key | |
 | As president of the Association of American Universities, Hunter Rawlings is well aware of the fate met by numerous reports urging reform in college athletics: recommendations, however sound and well thought-out, go nowhere in the face of pressure to keep recruits coming and cash flowing to big-time sports programs. But this time is different, he insisted Tuesday while announcing the suggestions of a panel he chaired at the request of former University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp, who sought advice on how UNC and its peers might "tackle what most agree is a challenging issue for all of higher education." |
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