EDITORIAL: Kim Jacob among the best ever at UA
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 5
Kim Jacob had a stellar career as a University of Alabama student-athlete. The 2013-14 Capital One Division I Academic All-American of the Year award, which Jacob won last week, was just the latest of an array of honors to come her way during her four years at the Capstone. The senior gymnast capped an impressive competitive legacy this spring by winning the 2014 NCAA all-around title, the creme de la creme of the 36 individual titles she claimed during her career. She helped the Crimson Tide finish in the top four in the nation for four straight years, including NCAA team titles in 2011 and 2012. She is an 11-time All-American — her four first-team honors this year was the most in the nation — and she never stopped improving, posting career-best scores as a senior on all four apparatus and in the all-around. In the classroom, Jacob carried a 4.0 grade point average while pursuing her degree in exercise science. She was the SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year for a conference-record three consecutive years, is a 2014 SEC Postgraduate Scholarship winner and was a finalist for the H. Boyd McWhorter SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. … Kim Jacob represented the University of Alabama with class and distinction throughout her career. We thank her for her community spirit and congratulate her for all of her well-deserved honors.
New SEC Network may cause shockwaves
Alabama Public Radio – Aug. 5
With the launch of a new network in August, college football in the Southeast is approaching faster than ever before. SEC football fans are excited for the debut of ESPN’s SEC Network. The change in infrastructure is not without its victims. It may be hard to imagine a brand new network could have such a huge impact. Unless of course that network is associated with one of the most powerful conferences in collegiate sports. It hasn’t even debuted yet, but the SEC Network is already causing shockwaves throughout the sports media world. Some estimates project the network to be the fourth most profitable sports network on broadcast. … Andrew Billings, director of the sports communication program at The University of Alabama says that while the money may come in, there may be some injured parties in the process. “So you get a sense that the pie is getting bigger, and perhaps that means other properties are going to have more value,” said Billings. “But if you’re looking at the core value of college football and the rights to past games, I don’t think you have the value in local entities that you used to.” One example of those “local entities” is WVUA-TV in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The network previously broadcast Alabama athletic events such as baseball and softball, as well as reruns of previous football games on Sundays. With the SEC Network now controlling those rights, those broadcasts may no longer be possible. Steve Diorio is Associate Director of News and Sports at WVUA-TV. He says that will be a huge adjustment for his station. “It’s a big change for us,” said Diorio. “We’ve had to rethink how we do programming as far as sports now because we relied on those shows, those events. And in turn it would help make revenue from a sales aspect of it. It’s going to be difficult losing that revenue coming in. “ That’s not to say that WVUA-TV will completely scrap sports programming.
Back-to-School Preps
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 5
We are just a few days away from the start of the new school year in Tuscaloosa County and City schools, and there are a couple of ways you can make sure your student is prepared to head back to school. Of course, making sure your child has a regular sleep schedule and a full belly before heading back to school is important, but UA education assistant professor Dr. Shannon Henderson says with new rules, literacy is also crucial. Captivating your child in critical thinking can help make sure he or she is prepared. And Henderson says children should be engaged in opinionated debates. “They’re always engaged in conversation with them and about meaningful topics especially with the new college and career readiness standards. In Alabama, we are expecting a lot higher levels of thinking of our students.” Both Tuscaloosa County and City schools start back this Thursday, Aug. 7.
Guilt may spoil benefits of mindless entertainment
Today Online – Aug. 5
People who play video games or watch television to unwind after a hard day may end up feeling worse about themselves, not better, said a new study. Although enjoying something pleasurable can restore vitality after a draining bout of work, researchers found that users of entertainment media will get less benefit if they see the activity as procrastination rather than rest. The spent state following a period of self-control to complete a difficult job is known as ego depletion, said the study’s authors, and people in that condition are likely to crave pleasurable food and easy, mindless entertainment … These feelings of guilt were associated with fewer positive effects of media use and reduced recovery and vitality after media use, the authors wrote. “I thought the study added a new layer of understanding to the research that has come before, so I really think it’s important work,” said researcher Elliot Panek from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, who was not involved in the study. “I think the new wrinkle this study provides is context, so playing a video game isn’t inherently bad — it’s not necessarily going to make you feel good or bad,” said Mr Panek.
Heroin use in teens discussed at UA’s Superintendent’s Academy
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 5
School superintendents from around the state are in Hoover for a conference this week. They are tackling some serious issues. That includes the disturbing rise of heroin use in high schools. Heroin use in Alabama is way up among young adults according to U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance. Vance spoke to a group of school superintendents and other school administrators in Hoover today. She says that the old stigma of a heroin addict no longer applies. … Vance is seeing a disturbing increase of heroin use in high schools, and she wants schools to look at how to respond to the increasing popularity of these dangerous drugs.