| Tuesday, October 8, 2013 |  |
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| Upcoming campus construction includes parking garage | |
 | Mississippi State University will begin construction on a five-story building with two levels of parking garages and three floors of multi-purpose classroom space in January. Dan Whatley, construction administrator at the Physical Plant Administration on campus, said the whole building will be roughly 150,000 square feet with 60,000 square feet dedicated to 148 pay-parking spots. Whatley said it would be right behind the post office. Mike Harris, director of Parking Operations, said the garage is designed to serve the needs of guests. |
| FUN. coming to The Hump | |
 | Some nights people might stay home, but they should reconsider on Wednesday when the Top-40 band FUN. brings its #MostNights summer tour to Humphrey Coliseum. Music Maker Productions, a nonprofit student organization run by Mississippi State University students, organized the FUN. concert. Sarah Margaret Hewes, president of Music Makers, said the organization thought FUN. would be a good presence for the community and university. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Hood: Houston office has gone smoothly | |
 | State Attorney General Jim Hood said his office has not been disrupted by his decision to move back to Chickasaw County and work primarily out of a newly opened office in Houston. Hood, the state's only statewide elected Democrat, spoke of the decision to move back home and a litany of other issues Monday at the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute/Capitol press corps luncheon in Jackson. |
| AG pressuring Google to crack down on illegal prescription sales | |
 | Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is leading a charge to force Google to crack down on illegal Internet sales of prescription drugs and intellectual property theft of music, movies and other copyrighted material. Hood, president-elect of the National Association of Attorneys General, says Google has taken some steps to curtail illegal drug sales since he and other AGs have pressed the issue. Hood addressed the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government's regular Capitol Press Corps luncheon on Monday. He covered a variety of topics. |
| Hood hits Google on guarding intellectual property | |
 | Attorney General Jim Hood says he's trying to organize state attorneys general to push Google to better protect intellectual property such as music, movies and software. Hood said Monday during a luncheon sponsored by the Capitol press corps and Mississippi State University's Stennis Institute of Government that he's circulating a letter to other states' top lawyers, seeking a meeting with Google. "Maybe Google will come to the table," he said. |
| Attorney General Hood Expresses Growing Concerns About Hackers Getting Into Electrical Grids | |
 | If something can connect to a network, it can be hacked. While computers and cell phones are still popular targets Attorney General Jim Hood says he has a growing concern about what impact computer hacking can have on public safety facilities such as electrical grids. "And that's what I figure sometime in my lifetime that we will probably have an electrical shutdown. Some terrorist hooking up with some hacker that goes in and shut down a region of our nation," he said. Hood made the comments at Mississippi State University's Stennis Institute-Capitol Press Corps luncheon in Jackson yesterday. |
| Local site gets big-time backers | |
| Paul Burke describes himself as a "serial entrepreneur." For more than 30 years, Burke has founded, operated and worked with several companies, including toy and comic book company TMP International, Inc. and business advisory firm Helix Global Partners. He built many connections through this experience, and he said he put those connections to work when he became chief operating officer of YeHive. YeHive is a Starkville-based social networking company led by Mississippi State University graduate Brad Fuller that builds social networks around different events. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| MSU Picks Homecoming Court | |
 | Senior English major Jennifer S. "Jenni" Brown of Winona reigns this week as Homecoming Queen at Mississippi State University. Brown, the daughter of Stephen and Debbie Brown, recently was chosen in campus-wide elections. She and the eight class maids will be presented formally during halftime Saturday [Oct. 12] of the MSU-Bowling Green football game in Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Seniors Michael A. Hogan of Memphis, Tenn., and Shelby M. Sims of Hattiesburg are this year's Mr. and Miss MSU. They also were selected in the voting and will be introduced during the ceremonies. |
| John Grisham's New Book 'Sycamore Row': An Excerpt | |
 | The following is an excerpt from John Grisham's new novel, "Sycamore Row," which will be published by Doubleday on Oct. 22. The book returns to the character of Jake Brigance and the Clanton, Mississippi courthouse of "A Time to Kill," Grisham's 1988 bestseller that is being adapted into a Broadway play this fall. "Sycamore Row" centers on a new trial that exposes Clanton's troubled past with race relations. In the serial tradition of Charles Dickens and Tom Wolfe–but with an online update–each day this week, the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog will run a thrilling excerpt from Grisham's new novel. Below is the first installment. Check back in daily. |
| Some federal agencies in state feel shutdown's impact | |
| Federal government services, such as courts and Social Security offices, have begun to feel the pinch of the week-old partial shutdown mandated when Congress failed to pass a new budget. But at least one group -- 1,400 military technicians who work for the Mississippi National Guard -- will return to work from furloughs today. Another 700 Guard employees in the state remain on furlough. North Mississippi's federal court employees continue working without pay until Congress resolves the situation. The only federal agency which appears to be shut is the Internal Revenue Service. Regardless, people still must pay taxes owed and file scheduled reports, a recorded message says. The FBI based in Oxford is "deemed essential," said Agent Scotty Peters, so he and his colleagues are on the job. "We're still working," he said Monday. "We just may not get paid." |
| At a Nissan Plant in Mississippi, a Battle to Shape the U.A.W.'s Future | |
 | The United Automobile Workers -- desperate to make inroads in the anti-union South where Toyota, Volkswagen and other foreign automakers have assembly plants -- has never tried a unionization drive quite like the one at the Nissan plant in Canton, Miss. At a time when the U.A.W. has fewer than one-third of the 1.5 million workers it had in 1979, its organizing push in the South has taken on urgency and is being watched closely by labor leaders across the country. "It's a life-and-death matter for the U.A.W. to succeed in the South," said Nelson Lichtenstein, a professor and labor historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "That's why they've put their best organizers into this campaign." |
| Nissan's Union Battle is About to Heat Up | |
| Tensions between the United Auto Workers union and Nissan Motor Co. are rising over a push by the union to organize workers at a plant in Canton, Mississippi. The UAW has been working for the last several years to build support at the factory and is about to expand upon its recent claims that the company is blocking its efforts to meet and communicate with Nissan workers. On Tuesday the head of the Mississippi NAACP will issue a report in Washington alleging that Nissan is interfering with organizing work by its own employees. It claims Nissan's actions violate international labor standards. |
| Education hottest topic as Speaker Philip Gunn kicks off statewide listening tour | |
| State House Speaker Philip Gunn on Monday kicked off a 10-city tour of town hall meetings to gather ideas for the 2014 legislative session that starts in January. Gunn opened the tour at the Clinton Police and Justice Center in his hometown. Gunn got input on numerous topics on Monday, a majority dealing with education. Gunn also heard a lot about Common Core education standards, both from supporters and opponents. Mississippi Parents' Campaign Director Nancy Loome of Clinton said she supports Common Core. She said the reading list in Common Core isn't required, and local officials have the option of selecting the books for their district. Loome said she supports Common Core because it will allow Mississippi students to compete against students in other areas of the country. |
| Tea party crashes speaker's talk in Olive Branch | |
 | Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, brought his town hall-style meeting tour to Olive Branch on Monday evening and heard strong criticism of the Common Core education approach and steps by local officials that have barred citizens from carrying firearms in public buildings. Several speakers in the early part of the meeting came from outside DeSoto County, including Tate County, Panola County and Oxford. At the start of the meeting, Gunn said he and five local legislators who were present came to hear from citizens and did not come to speak themselves. A man who identified himself as Bill Ford of Panola County called Common Core "a Muslim takeover" of school systems. Citing things which he said backed up his position, Ford said, "We are talking about our children being Muslims by the time they are in the fifth grade." |
| Emboldened Republicans defy Washington's norms | |
 | One is a former Texas talk-radio host who had never held public office until he won a seat in Congress in the 2010 tea party wave. Another is an MIT-educated inventor who has all but shelved his scientific pursuits to reinvent government. Others are back-bench, right-wing lawmakers who have served in Congress for years but suddenly find their once far-afield views have more currency within their party. These are the House Republicans who have convinced Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) to use the federal shutdown and a possible debt default as leverage to reduce the reach of government. They are not just tea party members but a combination of newcomers and veterans who, by sheer force of their personalities, and emboldened by safe conservative districts, have chosen to defy Washington's traditional norms of conversation and compromise. |
| A Federal Budget Crisis Months in the Planning | |
| Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III gathered in the capital to plot strategy. Their push to repeal Mr. Obama's health care law was going nowhere, and they desperately needed a new plan. Out of that session, held one morning in a location the members insist on keeping secret, came a little-noticed "blueprint to defunding Obamacare," signed by Mr. Meese and leaders of more than three dozen conservative groups. It articulated a take-no-prisoners legislative strategy that had long percolated in conservative circles: that Republicans could derail the health care overhaul if conservative lawmakers were willing to push fellow Republicans -- including their cautious leaders -- into cutting off financing for the entire federal government. |
| Shutdown hurts American cybersecurity, panel warns | |
 | The government shutdown has imperiled American cybersecurity at a time when the country can least afford to be disrupted and disorganized, some of the country's top cyber-experts and advocates warned Tuesday. "To think we would take a pause, a step back in cyber -- the Russians and the Chinese are licking their chops at the thought of that," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), who appeared at POLITICO's Cyber 7 event in Washington. he government shutdown has meant furloughs for Defense Department, intelligence community and other employees who play an essential role in defending U.S. computer networks. Although some of them are coming back to their jobs this week, Chambliss and his fellow panelists blasted the risks involved with the shutdown as well as the time and energy wasted on the political battles in the Capitol. |
| Rove tells Republicans in Tuscaloosa that GOP needs to advocate own policies, not just rip Democrats | |
 | Karl Rove told a Republican gathering in Tuscaloosa Monday night that Republicans next year need to advocate their own ideas for health care and other reforms in addition to attacking policies of the Obama administration and the Democrats. Rove, senior advisor for President George W. Bush from 2000-2007, was the keynote speaker at the Tuscaloosa County Republicans Seventh Annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. "We as Republicans better be comfortable getting up and talking about what we're for," said Rove, who drew a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Rove criticized President Obama, but he told an attentive audience that it will take more than criticism for the GOP to do well in the 2014 elections and the 2016 elections. |
| Behind the scenes, business leaders press for immigration overhaul | |
 | While the immigration debate has been put on the back burner in Washington, national and local business heavyweights have been working behind the scenes -- and using their financial might -- to press House Republicans to bring legislation overhauling the immigration system to a vote. The well-organized groups are led by some of the biggest names in business, such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. They've set their sights on GOP lawmakers from Southern states like North Carolina, Texas and Florida, and have recruited local business leaders and chambers of commerce to deliver a unified message that immigration legislation is crucial to the success of local economies. |
| Meltdowns Hobble NSA Data Center | |
| Chronic electrical surges at the massive new data-storage facility central to the National Security Agency's spying operation have destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of machinery and delayed the center's opening for a year, according to project documents and current and former officials. There have been 10 meltdowns in the past 13 months that have prevented the NSA from using computers at its new Utah data-storage center, slated to be the spy agency's largest, according to project documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The Utah facility, one of the Pentagon's biggest U.S. construction projects, has become a symbol of the spy agency's surveillance prowess, which gained broad attention in the wake of leaks from NSA contractor Edward Snowden. It spans more than one-million square feet, with construction costs pegged at $1.4 billion---not counting the Cray supercomputers that will reside there. |
| Russia's Sochi Games: Why you may want to leave your laptop at home | |
 | Visitors to the upcoming Sochi Winter Games will be able to access Internet services that are faster and more widely available than at any previous Olympics, and it will all be provided to guests for free. But all that connectivity may come with a hidden price. Russia's FSB security service is reportedly installing a sweeping and invasive surveillance system, which security experts have dubbed "PRISM on steroids," to ensure that they will be able to intercept, read, and even filter every single digital communication passing through the city's telephone and Internet networks during the Games. Drones, which were not used in London, will reportedly patrol the air over Sochi, manned by FSB and Interior Ministry security teams. |
| Higgs Boson Researchers Awarded The Nobel Prize In Physics | |
 | Peter Higgs and Francois Englert have been jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their theory of how particles acquire mass, the Swedish committee announced yesterday. The prize was given "for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider." In 1964, Higgs of Britain and Englert of Belgium (along with a now-deceased colleague), independently proposed a particle as part of a mechanism to explain how the universe works at its most basic level. The existence of that particle, known today as the Higgs boson, or Higgs particle (and sometimes the "God particle"), was confirmed after a series of high-energy collisions at the LHC. |
| Some Mississippi Valley State alumni oppose William Bynum to be university's next president | |
| Some Mississippi Valley State University alumni are complaining about the nomination of William Bynum to be the university's next president. Roosevelt Yarbrough, president of Valley's alumni association, said at a news conference he wants the school to be led by an alumnus, and says he's worried that Bynum doesn't have any experience working for public universities. Valley is struggling with falling enrollment, and some of its buildings are in bad shape. One dormitory had to be closed recently after the bricks fell off it. Some alumni fear that the College Board is trying to neglect Valley to death, saying it's a stealth version of the proposal that former Gov. Haley Barbour floated to merge Mississippi's three historically black colleges. |
| Person of the Day: William Bynum, MVSU preferred candidate | |
| On Oct. 3, the Mississippi College Board announced that William Bynum, vice president of enrollment management and student services at the private Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., is the preferred candidate to become president of Mississippi Valley State University. MVSU is the smallest of Mississippi's eight public universities. It's located in Itta Bena. The College Board selected Bynum after a months-long closed search. Officials reviewed more than 70 candidate applications that a campus search advisory committee chose for submission to the board. The board will vote on Bynum's appointment after Bynum completes a visit to the MVSU campus to meet with faculty Tuesday. |
| Hueys make history at East Central Community College | |
| For the first time in Decatur's East Central Community College history, a husband and wife have been named Alumnus and Alumna of the Year, respectively. Max and Carolyn Cook Huey of Picayune, both members of the Class of 1965, were recently selected for the honors after each was nominated by a different person and later selected by a committee of ECCC alumni representatives. They will be recognized during the college's annual homecoming celebration. |
| Four students charged in attack on Northeast Mississippi Community College officer | |
| Four students at Northeast Mississippi Community College have been charged in an attack on a college police officer. Booneville Police Chief Michael Ramey tells the Daily Corinthian that the unidentified officer was attacked Friday morning at Yarber Hall dormitory. Ramey says the officer has been released from Baptist Memorial Hospital in Booneville. Nineteen-year-old Willis Tomaz Cork of Weir; 20-year-old Rico Quartez Kimble of Belden; 19-year-old Marquez Desean Holland of Shannon, have each been charged with assault on a police officer and hindering prosecution. |
| U. of Alabama studies impact of trauma on children | |
 | The University of Alabama is preparing to spearhead a study on the effects natural disasters have on children. AL.com reported Monday that the university has been given a $1.9 million grant to fund a five-year study to focus on the impact of natural disasters like the April 27, 2011, tornado have on externalized behaviors in children --- like aggression and bullying. Aside from behavioral data, clinical psychology professor John Lochman says researchers will also collect data on children's nervous system functioning. |
| Louisiana college savings plan gets clean audit | |
 | Louisiana's program that encourages parents to save for their children's college education has seen "significant growth" in the past five years, the state Legislative Auditor's Office reported Monday. The Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust savings program got a clean bill of health from the auditor's office. The state-sponsored trust fund, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service, allows parents, such as Gov. Bobby Jindal, to put money away with the benefit of having the state match those dollars. Jindal's financial disclosure reports shows the governor as an active participant in the program routinely contributing money to accounts opened on behalf of his three children. |
| UF Foundation names two Florida professors as preeminence award winners | |
 | The University of Florida Foundation has granted the first "Preeminence Term Professorships" to two faculty members doing medical-related research. Fan Ren, a chemical engineer developing medical diagnostic technology, and Mark Atkinson, a pathologist looking for a cure for diabetes, will receive $25,000 each, the UF Foundation announced Monday. The Preeminence Term Professorships were established to celebrate UF's top research faculty members and recognize their contributions to making UF a Top 10 preeminent university. |
| Bill reintroduced to shield Florida university searches from sunshine | |
| A Florida lawmaker has reintroduced legislation to move state university president and other university executive searches out of the sunshine, saying the open-meeting and public record laws prevent the very best candidates from applying. The bill by Rep. Dave Kerner, a University of Florida law school graduate and Democrat from Lake Worth, would exempt personal identifying information from public records law and exempt meetings or parts of meetings where candidates' names and other personal information are identified. Only when a final group of applicants is selected would their names be released. The bill said such safeguards protecting the identity of candidates are needed to prevent a "chilling effect on the number and quality of applicants" for president, provost or dean of a state university or college. |
| Board Names Broadway Arkansas Department of Higher Education Director | |
| The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board has voted to lift the interim tag from its department director's title. The board voted via teleconference on Monday to name Shane Broadway to the post. Broadway is a former state legislator from Saline County and has been interim Higher Education Department director since February 2011. Twenty applicants sought the position and the board picked two finalists. Broadway won the position when the other finalist withdrew. |
| UGA researchers get grant for loggerhead research | |
| Researchers at the University of Georgia have received a grant for their work in genetically "fingerprinting" loggerhead sea turtles. UGA says the $1.3 million grant will allow its researchers to continue their work with the threatened turtles in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The project has been in place in Georgia since 2008. The grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allow the researchers to continue their sampling work for another three years. |
| U. of Tennessee journalist organization to present 'Page One: Inside The New York Times' | |
 | The Society of Professional Journalists' University of Tennessee chapter will be presenting the acclaimed documentary "Page One: Inside The New York Times," at 7 p.m. Thursday in the university's College of Communications building auditorium. The documentary goes inside The New York Times newsroom with close to unlimited access of the inner workings of the newspaper. The film goes in depth on the newspaper as it is changing in a more digital world. The overall goal of the documentary is to ask both Times readers and non-Times readers alike, will they move past the traditional, fact-based reporting for a more social media driven website in the coming years? Hannah Cather, president of SPJ's UT chapter, hopes the experience will benefit not only students pursuing a career in journalism but to students, faculty and members of the public that may not be journalists, but look at the news on a daily basis. |
| New U. of Missouri Press director has plans to stabilize finances | |
 | The new director of the University of Missouri Press says his priority is to improve the financial situation of the operation, and one way to do that will be to publish more science titles. David Rosenbaum, who will start as director of the UM Press on Nov. 1, said getting finances in order will be a challenge. Rosenbaum said part of stabilizing the press financially means aligning its titles more closely with the mission of the university. "That is a value that is beyond a truly financial value," he said. |
| Georgia Tech fraternity under investigation for 'rape' email | |
| A Georgia Tech fraternity is under investigation after one of its members sent others an email with instructions for "luring rapebait" at parties with the help of alcohol. The Phi Kappa Tau chapter member's email, posted on several online sites Monday, offered tips for approaching female students, starting conversation and dancing. But it's the email's explicit directions for engaging in sexual activity that are under scrutiny, the university said in a statement released to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. |
| U.S. Will Be Fastest-Growing Foreign-Student Destination, Report Predicts | |
 | The United States is projected to be the largest and fastest-growing destination for foreign students over the next decade, according to a report released on Tuesday by the British Council's Education Intelligence global-research service. But American universities' heavy reliance on students from China and India could make them vulnerable if an economic slowdown in those and other emerging countries put a college degree---particularly a costly foreign diploma---out of the reach of many families. India and China are predicted to account for fully two-thirds of the growth in international students at American institutions from 2011 to 2024, the research shows. Worldwide, the two countries are expected to contribute 35 percent of total foreign-student growth during the forecast period. |
| U.S. adults rank below average in global survey of basic education skills | |
 | Eight years ago, a national survey on adult literacy offered data on the extent to which Americans -- even those with college credentials -- were declining in their proficiency to do the basic kinds of reading people use in everyday life. The finding, published just as President Bush and his education secretary, Margaret Spellings, were cranking up a national commission on the state of higher education, was often cited as evidence of the failings of colleges and universities. A study released today could have a similar effect, because it not only questions Americans' literacy, but also taps into concerns in some quarters about the country's declining standing in the world. |
SPORTS
| Mullen's past meets present | |
| Dan Mullen spent six years cutting his teeth as a graduate assistant at Wagner College, Columbia, Syracuse and Notre Dame. Then in 2001, Mullen followed first-time head coach Urban Meyer from South Bend to Bowling Green to become the Falcons' quarterbacks coach. That turned out to be life-changing for Mullen, then 29 years old. Not only did he meet his wife Megan during his two-year stint in Ohio, but ultimately it led him on a journey to become Mississippi State's head coach in 2009. If Mullen had a chance to give the younger version of himself some advice, he wouldn't change a thing. "I like my life right now, I wouldn't want to mess him up too much," Mullen said. "I've got a great wife, two great kids, a job that I love and am around great people getting to coach great kids here. I'd be scared to say anything." |
| Mississippi State's Jones stepped up against LSU | |
| Chris Jones finished his first play as a Mississippi State Bulldog laying on top of Oklahoma State quarterback J.W. Walsh. Since MSU's first game, Jones hasn't had many return trips to the backfield. Saturday against LSU, the true freshman introduced himself to LSU's quarterback quite a bit. "I came in trying to prove a point. Great players make big plays in big games," Jones said. "So I want to be out there, that I'm a great player, my whole mindset is to make big plays when my chance is called, when my number is called, I just try my hardest to make big plays." Jones finished with a career high four tackles, including two for a loss and a sack. He also stepped in the face of Zach Mettenberger forcing the quarterback's only interception of the game. |
| Fourth-quarter troubles dog Mississippi State | |
| Dan Mullen stood at the podium in Houston and criticized his team's inability to finish. Weeks later, he approached a different podium with the same message. Mullen played the same tune at home Saturday after Mississippi State's third loss of the season -- still campaigning his team's need to finish. "An awful lot has improved since then. You go back at the start of the season, you know missed assignments. We had more missed assignments," Mullen said. "The only other game was the Egg Bowl last year had that close to missed assignments on offense. From the first game of the season, where I think we were down to 18 total in all three phases of the game this weekend." |
| Mullen credits LSU for performance on offense | |
 | Dan Mullen said Sunday he didn't see a lot of missed assignments in the secondary after he watched the film of the Mississippi State football team's 59-26 loss to LSU on Saturday. "I give them credit. They made a lot of plays," Mullen said Sunday during his media teleconference. "They were multiple times in the game when you watch their DBs leap, jump, and just tip the ball away from our receivers. That didn't happen on the other side. We didn't jump and tip it away from them." |
| Youngsters make quick impact for Bulldogs | |
| Mississippi State has used six true freshmen so far this season with several making key contributions. Defensive lineman Chris Jones, cornerback Tolando Cleveland, running back Ashton Shumpert, quarterback Damian Williams along with wide receivers De'Runnya Wilson and Fred Ross have all seen the field this fall. Jones and Wilson made their presence known Saturday night in a 59-26 loss to LSU. Jones, a Houston native, notched four solo tackles including two stops for loss and his first career sack, while Wilson hauled in two passes for 80 yards including a 59-yard touchdown. "It was good to see those guys start to grow," said MSU coach Dan Mullen. |
| Former Bulldog Slay learning lessons in NFL | |
| Darius Slay his rookie season in the NFL would be easy. Slay has learned the hard way it isn't. The former Mississippi State cornerback burst onto the scene after the Detroit Lions used the No. 36 pick in the second round of the NFL draft in April. A little more than four months later, Slay was learning as a professional, earning a start in the Lions' season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. |
| Bulldog at heart: Petal's Jackson says he'll play for MSU | |
 | When it came time to announce his college decision, Jesse Jackson avoided the theatrics that have often plagued other decisions of this sort. He reached straight for the middle of three college visors that sat on the table in front of him, and made Dan Mullen a very happy camper. Jackson, the Dandy Dozen wide receiver for Petal High, made it official Monday, announcing that he intends to sign with Mississippi State to play college football. "Coach Dan is a great guy and the players are great," Jackson said of the Mississippi State head coach and players. "I got to talk to a lot of them at the Troy game (during an official visit). And it was a blessing to be with those guys this summer." |
| Bulldogs get sharp in fall softball | |
| There are no championships or regional berths on the line in the fall, but that doesn't mean this time of the year is any less important for the Mississippi State softball program. Seven games have been scheduled for the Bulldogs over the next three weeks and coach Vann Stuedeman wants to use those outings to introduce the newcomers to the game at a higher level. "The biggest thing is to get these freshmen up to speed quickly, get them with the gameplan and system and see how they are going to handle it," Stuedeman said. (Subscriber-only content.) |
| Ashley Bonck Wilson to fill opening created by Jenny Moshak's departure from UT | |
 | Tennessee has found an athletic trainer to work with Lady Vols basketball on the staff of another SEC school. Ashley Bonck Wilson has been hired as an associate director of sports medicine, UT announced on Monday. Her primary role will be working with women's basketball. Bonck Wilson has been the athletic trainer for the Ole Miss women's basketball team. Bonck Wilson will fill the opening left by long-time Lady Vols athletic trainer Jenny Moshak. The former associate director of sports medicine, who worked at UT for 24 years, took an early retirement in August over issues related to a lawsuit against the university. Moshak is a co-plaintiff in a U.S. District Court lawsuit against UT alleging discrimination and retaliation. |
| A Growing Race With Big Risks | |
| The simplest way for the authorities to identify a mud-stained Avishek Sengupta as he lay unconscious in a West Virginia hospital last April was by the series of numerals written in a black permanent marker on his forehead: 69989. It was Sengupta's bib number for the Tough Mudder, one of an increasingly popular series of events -- more obstacle course than weekend run -- that tests competitors with physical and sometimes dangerous challenges. Sengupta, 28, had been taken to an area hospital in an ambulance April 20 after jumping from a platform into a frigid pool at one of the course's signature challenges -- called Walk the Plank -- and failing to emerge. By the time rescuers pulled him from the muddy water several minutes later, he had no pulse. A day later -- after he was removed from life support at a Northern Virginia hospital -- Sengupta became known by another number: in four years of Tough Mudders that have included more than 1.3 million participants, he had become the first to die. |
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