The Daily Helmsman

Daily Helmsman The

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Derrick Rose in MVP Contention Chicago point guard, former Tiger, would be youngest MVP in NBA history

Vol. 78 No. 108

see page 8

Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Bookstore bonanza

Grand re-opening of University bookstore planned for next week

by Brian Wilson

BY ERICA HORTON News Reporter

The campus bookstore will host a grand re-opening next week. While a change in ownership has been enacted, it will remain in the same building for the time being.

Music, free Pepsi and University of Memphis football coach Larry Porter will be highlights of the grand re-opening of The University’s bookstore next week.

Free and open to students, the celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in the V. Lane Rawlins Service Court Facility.

“I hope every student comes to the grand opening to meet the new bookstore manager, Donna Collier, and her staff,” said Sandra Barksdale, director of auxiliary services at The U of M. “They are here to serve the students.”

Activities at the opening include Pepsi sampling, performances by both The U of M Pep Band and student and classical guitarist Aaron Brock, a meet-and-greet with Porter and a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Shirley Raines, president of The University.

Previously operated by Barnes & Noble, the campus bookstore is now run by Follett, which also brings a Seattle’s Best coffee location to the venue.

At the opening ceremony, students can sample food from the facility.

“In addition to a relaxing bookstore atmosphere, it offers a nice, limited variety of food items, such as salads, fruit, soup, sandwiches, quesadillas,

cakes, pastries, etc.,” Barksdale said.

There will also be a 25 percent discount on clearance and clothing items, Rent-A-Text registration and prize drawings. Barksdale said students can register for the book rental program during the grand opening.

“It packages the benefits of rental with the convenience of a local, on-site campus store,” said Stephen Ellis, assistant manager at The U of M bookstore, in an email. “Students can expect to save 50 percent or more compared to the cost of buying a new book.”

Ellis said book rental will be a choice offered to students to help provide more affordable options.

Jasmine Jones, junior criminal justice major, said she usually buys her textbooks every semester and sells them back after classes end.

She said given the choice to rent or buy her books, she would probably rent.

“Renting means I can just give the book back and not worry about it any more at the end of the semester,” she said.

Jocelyn Neal, junior psychology major, said she buys and rents her books.

“It’s cheaper to rent,” she said. “When you buy books, then sell them back, you get less back than what you paid for them. There have been times I bought a $200 book and sold it back the next semester and only got $30. It upsets people to have to do that.”

Hobnobbing on TN Capitol Hill

BY CHELSEA BOOZER News Reporter College students from across Tennessee will experience a day in the life of a legislator today at the Tennessee Capitol, participating in mock court demonstrations and interacting with state officials.

Students attending Tennessee Intercollegiate t is an State Legislature’s Campusincredible Capitol Connection, including University of Memphis opportunity Student Government to learn about Association President-Elect Tyler DeWitt, will have the the legislative opportunity to converse with process at the Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and other state officials, who state level as will make presentations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. well as hear Higdon, TISL goverfrom some very norCory and junior political science and economics major esteemed at The U of M, has served legislators and as an intern for the state legislature in Nashville since lobbyists.”

January.

“The whole point of the — Katie Bogle event is to get students TISL house speaker engaged in state government and to give them the main idea of what goes on at Capitol Hill,” Higdon said.

see

Hobnob, page 3

by Aaron Turner

“I

Tiger Den chef Rick Nelson serves students and faculty at the new grill outside the Tiger Den. The outdoor dining location will be open for the remainder of April, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

What’s cooking on campus?

BY AARON TURNER & CHRIS DANIELS News Reporters University of Memphis students who enjoy the smell of a backyard cookout may find their final weeks of the semester quite pleasant.

The aromas of burgers, hot dogs and grilled chicken surrounded the courtyard outside the Tiger Den on Tuesday as Tiger Dining employees fired up their newest campus dining idea for the first time.

Fresh Food Company Grill, a new initiative launched by senior food director Chuck Wigington, was set up Tuesday outside the Tiger Den and will continue to operate in that location Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the remainder of April.

Tiger Den manager Deidrea Houston said the new grill gives students “hot, fresh, convenient, quality

see

Cooking, page 3

2 • Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The

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Daily

Helmsman Volume 78 Number 108

Editor-in-Chief

Scott Carroll Managing Editor Mike Mueller Copy and Design Chief Amy Barnette News Editors Cole Epley Amy Barnette Sports Editor John Martin Copy Editors Amy Barnette Christina Hessling General Manager Candy Justice Advertising Manager Bob Willis Admin. Sales Sharon Whitaker

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dailyhelmsman@gmail.com The University of Memphis The Daily Helmsman 113 Meeman Journalism Building Memphis, TN 38152

The Daily Helmsman is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum of 10 copies from each issue available to a reader for free, after which $1 will be charged per copy.

1. Shooting near UM leaves three dead

by Chelsea Boozer

2. Simpson commits to play for Tigers

by John Martin

3. Acting up: Death of a Salesman 4. Warrior on reserve

by Michelle Corbet

5. Student hits officer with car, tries to flee

by Erica Horton

DOMINO’S PIZZA Across 1 Explorer Vasco da __ 5 Political channel 10 Blabbers 14 Actor Sharif 15 Broom rider of comics 16 Brother of Daniel, William and Stephen 17 Titanic bane 18 Alaskan native 19 “Battle for __”: Peter Yates WWII book 20 Unable to reach a human, no matter which buttons one presses 23 Highest ordinal number?

24 Changed course 25 Word processor setting 31 Ryder rival 32 Screech owls don’t make them 33 ‘Hood pal 36 It may be put in a washer 37 Bingo relative 38 Pet plaint 39 Observe 40 First of 12 popes 41 Bed that can be stored during the day 42 1791 legislation 44 Prison in 1971 headlines 47 Some pop-ups 48 Verify ahead of time, and a hint to what 20-, 25- and 42-Across have in common 55 Skye of film 56 Mythical weeper 57 Baking soda target 58 Let go 59 Swashbuckling Flynn 60 Mosaic piece 61 Without 62 Type in again 63 White man’s makeup?

Down 1 Mongolian desert

by Chris Daniels

550 S. HIGHLAND

No Waiting!

323-3030

Have opinions?

Care to share?

Send us a letter

dailyhelmsman@gmail.com

2 Congregational yes 3 Wonderful, in slang 4 Mythical sailor 5 Affectedly elegant 6 Trig function 7 Fellow suspect of Mustard 8 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit 9 Hailing from 10 Stove nozzle 11 Hitching post?

12 Prove false 13 Bawl out 21 “__ have to do” 22 Camera eye 25 Poster mailer 26 Greeting from a deck 27 Hayride seat 28 Grave robber 29 False

30 Theme 33 Sister of Meg, Jo and Amy 34 Carrot or cassava 35 Has title to 37 Tiny Yokum’s big brother 38 Pictures of perps 40 Elect 41 Bona __ 42 Curl beneficiary 43 Hardly ever 44 Etching supplies 45 Birch of “American Beauty” 46 Mortise’s mate 49 Galway’s land 50 Driver’s decision point 51 Bassoon kin 52 Server’s edge, in tennis 53 Court plea, for short 54 Depicted

S u d o k u

Complete the grid so that each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

Solutions on page 7

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 • 3

Hobnob

from page 1 TISL is a group of students from Tennessee colleges who have an interest in political science. They discuss ideas about local, state and federal issues, often working with state legislators to express their views on bills and laws.

Higdon and other executive officers of TISL have been organizing the event since they were elected in November. He said the event is a recruiting tool for TISL. This year, a record 90 students were registered for Campus-Capitol Connection as of Tuesday afternoon.

Jeff Wilson, executive director of TISL, said typically, about one-third of participants don’t pre-register for the event, which he anticipates more than 100 students will attend.

Along with Haslam, speakers at the event will

include two U of M alumni who formerly served as TISL governors: Tre Hargett, Tennessee secretary of state, and David Lillard, state treasurer. William Koch, justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, and Beth Harwell, speaker of the state house, will also speak, according to TISL’s website.

DeWitt, senior accounting major, serves as a TISL Supreme Court justice and will help demonstrate what TISL’s moot court competitions are like.

He said even though he’s part of a demonstration in the conference, he still expects to benefit from attending.

“Honestly what I’ll get from it is networking with other college students and getting to meet (Haslam),” DeWitt said. “And getting to understand how the real thing works — not just read about it in a book, but to meet the people (who) are making the decisions and to

actually be there.”

Katie Bogle, TISL’s house speaker and student at Middle Tennessee State University, said she also thinks she will gain a lot from the event.

“It is an incredible opportunity to learn about the legislative process at the state level as well as hear from some very esteemed legislators and lobbyists,” Bogle said in an email. “I will get to meet many great college students from around the state (who) are anxious to learn about TISL, and I will also get to network with some of the aforementioned guest speakers.”

DeWitt said U of M students have always played a major role in TISL. “We historically have been very dominant at TISL,” he said. “We have had backto-back governors, Cory (Higdon) and Gian (Gozum).

We’ve been very successful at TISL.”

TONIGHT

Multicultural Night 7 p.m.

UC Ballroom

Cooking from page 1

food cooked right in front of you that you can take while on the go — or sit and enjoy under (a) tree with friends.”

Students can purchase hot dogs for $1.99 each or hamburgers, cheeseburgers and grilled chicken sandwiches for $2.99 eacg. Potato chips, canned sodas and chocolate chip cookies are also for sale.

Houston said demand was high for food from the grill Tuesday, and she received great feedback.

Matt Rupprecht, senior graphic design major, said he didn’t know about the newest dining option on campus but thinks grilling hot dogs and hamburgers outdoors is a great idea.

“I feel like if they publicized it more and students knew more about it, it would be something everybody would be interested in,” he said.

Currently, the grill only accepts card payments: dining dollars, Tiger Funds or credit cards.

Houston said the grill does not accept cash because Tiger Dining does not want to put its employees at risk by handling cash in an open environment.

After students order at a pay station adjacent to the grill, they receive a color-coded card listing what food they purchased and present it to the chef, who prepares the order.

“Cards are (used) so that the chef doesn’t have to handle anything but food,” Houston said.

“It hopefully makes it easier to get a chance to interact with the chef and his team while they are preparing the food.”

Tiger Den chef Rick Nelson manned the grill on its first day and said that depending on sales, the grill might add other items to the menu, like “Italian sausages and veggie burgers.”

Tiger Dining officials said they plan to continue the grill if it becomes popular with students, faculty and staff.

“We are excited to be doing something different,” Houston said.

Coming Up

Friday, 4/15 Friday Film Series 7 p.m.

UC Theatre

4 • Wednesday, April 13, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Campus Events

World

Honduran police ignore rise Speaker to discuss Polish in attacks on journalists, gays women and shift toward democratic government in the hemisphere.

Experts say killings have risen because of a surge in narcotics trafficking, general crime and the chaos after the June 2009 coup, which monopolized Honduras’ attention for months. Of the 10 journalists killed, most died in the year after the coup.

They also say the government bears some blame for the murders.

“This isn’t to say that the state commits the crimes, but by not investigating ... it is complicit.

It sends a message to the criminals, the paramilitaries and the hit men that they can do as they please,” said Osman Lopez, who heads the Committee for Free Expression, a news media advocacy group.

BY HANNAH C. OWENGA News Reporter Magda Biejat, a native of Warsol, Poland, will speak at The University of Memphis today about how the transition from communism to democracy has affected the rights of rural Polish women.

Biejat will present her lecture, titled “Democratization for Women? How the Farmers’ Wives Associations Were Left Behind” at 3 p.m. in room 429 of Clement Hall. The event is hosted by The U of M’s Center for Research on Women and is free and open to the public.

Jennifer Gooch, research asso-

ciate for the Center for Research on Women, coordinated the event and said she hopes that students will discover how Polish women’s lives have transformed and adapted.

“This event is for everyone, not just women,” Gooch said. “It is a cultural event everyone can learn from.”

Gooch said Biejat, graduate candidate at the Polish Academy of Sciences, is a young scholar who has spoken at many other schools. After Biejat’s presentation, refreshments and the opportunity to speak with Biejat will be offered from 4 to 4:30 p.m. in room 337 of Clement Hall.

Thursday, April 14 1 - 4 p.m.

On the Lawn at Baptist Collegiate Ministries (across Patterson from the Living Learning Center)

Live Music by Marcela Pinilla & Orquesta Caliente Free Food from Las Delicias • Arts & Crafts

Come Join The Fun! Presented by Hispanic Student Association with support from Student Event Allocation

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In Honduras, a nation with the highest murder rate in the Western Hemisphere, it’s perhaps not a surprise that someone armed with a 9 mm pistol opened fire last month on Franklin Melendez, wounding the radio journalist in the thigh.

What astonishes is what happened next: Police refused to go to the crime scene. Later in the evening, the three officers on duty also didn’t budge when the alleged assailant waved his gun out of a moving vehicle and threatened to shoot another reporter for the radio station.

“He pointed the pistol at me and said, ‘You’re next, bitch. We’re going to kill you,’” recalled Ethels Posada, a 30-yearold part-time reporter.

Numerous witnesses saw the assailant shoot Melendez and threaten Posada, but the police wouldn’t act without a formal complaint. Once the complaint arrived, eight days later, they still refused to do anything, saying an arrest order was needed. The assailant has now fled the area.

“They didn’t lift a finger to help us,” Posada said of the police.

That inaction underscores why gunmen in Honduras have gotten away with a string of attacks that have claimed the lives of at least 10 journalists, 60 lawyers, 155 women and 59 gays, lesbians or transgender people since 2008.

Those cases remain unprosecuted, a trend that’s alarmed international human rights advocates. In its annual human rights report last week, the U.S. State Department noted the upswing in “hate crimes” against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Honduras, including two transvestite leaders, one of whom was executed

by gunmen on a motorcycle.

The Obama administration has deployed FBI agents and prosecutors to Honduras to help investigate murders in several of the more prominent cases. In response, Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez in March announced the creation of a special unit to look into the murders.

Yet no one is expecting much to happen.

The number of murders committed in Honduras has soared, from 4,473 in 2008 and 5,265 to 2009 to 6,236 last year, a 39 percent increase in two years. One is five times more likely to be murdered in Honduras (population 8 million) than in Mexico (population 112 million), making Honduras the deadliest country

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BY TIM JOHNSON McClatchy Newspapers

Em nnection Dub

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r i l 20 @ 6 p . p A m. e n To • 1 91 i H e P o p la r Th $1 0 A d m i s s ion

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 • 5

Higher Education

Federal guidelines issued to curb campus sexual violence way.

Schools must also have sex discrimination policies in place and an employee responsible for manSchools must do more to prevent and respond to sexual violence on aging the institution’s compliance with Title IX, the law that prohibits campus, Vice President Joe Biden said Monday as he introduced new discrimination based on sex in education programs. Sexual violence federal guidelines to combat the is included in the problem.

“Students definition of that tudents across the country discrimination. across the country deserve the safest deserve the safest possible envi- Finally, schools must make propossible environronment in which to learn.” cedures for filing ment in which to learn,” Biden complaints based — Joe Biden said. “That’s why on Title IX violaVice President tions clearly available. we’re taking new steps to help our Almost 20 percent of women nation’s schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual prevent it from happening again. and 6 percent of men are likely to be violence on campus.”

Regardless of whether a victim files victims of attempted or actual sexBiden was joined by Education a complaint, the school must inves- ual assault while in college, accordSecretary Arne Duncan at the tigate the incident, even if a crimi- ing to a Department of Education University of New Hampshire, nal investigation is already under report.

BY JULIE MIANECKI Tribune Washington Bureau

“S

which was chosen because of its highly regarded efforts in sexual violence prevention.

Under the Department of Education guidelines, schools informed about sexual harassment or violence must take immediate action to stop the abuse and

6 • Wednesday, April 13, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Philanthropy

ATO letting ladies get lucky, for right price of gift certificates for dinner and some form of entertainment, like putt-putt golf or a movie.

Last year, ATO raised over $7,000 for Make-A-Wish. Due to last year’s success, the fraternity has acquired more items for the auction, aside from the bachelors.

Weston Wylie, sophomore real estate and finance major, said he believes he and the other members of the ATO philanthropy board will produce a bigger event than last year.

“Last year was our most successful year, and now we’re starting to grow,” he said. “We have added more items this year, and more means bigger.”

ATO will auction off two NASCAR Garage Passes, good for any Sprint Cup or nationwide race and valued at $650, a signed Grizzlies poster and an autographed CD by hip-hop artist Wiz Khalifa at the event.

ATO philanthropy chairman and senior linguistics major Kam Talley said he is confident that more money will be raised this year than last.

“We provide a fun night and an easy way for students to help an important foundation,” he said.

Tickets to the auction are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. Advance tickets are available for purchase from any ATO member prior to the event.

BY ROBERT MOORE News Reporter

U L G N I R P S

SPONSORED IN PART BY THE STUDENT EVENT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE

OD FO FR EE

A H LA O AU

GAMES

L O V

B Y LE

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For ladies at The University of Memphis who like NASCAR or rapper Wiz Khalifa or are just looking for a date, members of The U of M’s Alpha Tau Omega fraternity have something for them tonight in the University Center.

ATO will host its annual Bachelor Bid at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Theatre. During the event, members of several fraternities, including U of M men’s basketball player Will Coleman, will be auctioned off to the highest female bidder for the evening.

All of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the MakeA-Wish Foundation.

Taylor Vance, sophomore marketing major, put himself on the auction block last year but said he still has some reservations about tonight.

“I’m kind of nervous about being auctioned off, but I’m very excited at the same time,” Vance said.

“Last year I was so scared, I was texting people in the crowd right before I went on stage, begging them to bid me off.”

Vance added that Bachelor Bid is one of his favorite events of the year, and he believes it will be a success.

Winning bids for bachelors come with packages that consist

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LLC LAWN 3 -5 P.M.

The University of Memphis

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 • 7

Health

BY DAWN TURNER TRICE Chicago Tribune Children began teasing LaNiyah Bailey about her weight two years ago when she was in pre-kindergarten. She told me they called her “fatty-pants” and “big, fat elephant girl.” Some kids said LaNiyah’s distended abdomen looked like she was carrying a baby. One adult, a former day-care provider, even called her “fatso.”

LaNiyah’s mother, LaToya White, said that although most adults don’t say anything, many do stare when she and her daughter are in the grocery store. LaNiyah is now 6 and weighs 115 pounds, about 70 pounds more than the average child her age.

“People look at me like, ‘What are you feeding her?’” said White, 34, who works for a property management company. “When we’re in the store, they look in my shopping cart expecting to find a bunch of junk food. But she’s always eaten healthy.”

So, as this west suburban Berkeley, Ill., child finds herself at the intersection of a couple of hot

issues — the country’s epidemic of childhood obesity and the destructive effects of bullying — her parents are determined to make sure neither erodes her self-esteem.

White said that she and LaNiyah’s father, Songo Bailey, first noticed their daughter was gaining an abnormal amount of weight when she was 3 years old.

The family met with a nutritionist who put LaNiyah on a strict 1,800-calorie-per-day diet. They also hired a personal trainer, but LaNiyah’s weight continued to increase. She gained 30 pounds during 2009.

“The personal trainer said, ‘Something is wrong,’” White said.

“Outside of the training, she’s a very active girl. She’s taken dance classes, and she has a treadmill at home. And she runs around the house with our puppy.”

White and Bailey took their daughter to doctor after doctor, and they blamed LaNiyah’s weight on bad dietary habits.

“One doctor told me, right in front of LaNiyah’s face, ‘She’s just fat because you’re feeding her the wrong things,’” White said.

MCT

Kindergartner’s book aims to educate peers about obesity, bullying

6-year-old author LaNiyah Bailey plays the board game CandyLand with her mother Latoya White and father Songo Bailey in Bellwood, Ill. “She became so self-conscious that she doesn’t wear jeans at all. She wears sweat pants, and I buy her cute tops. Or she’ll wear dresses because she’s a girlie-girl.”

Outraged and frustrated, LaNiyah’s parents continued taking her to doctors until one ordered an X-ray, which showed LaNiyah had a swollen colon. Other tests have shown evidence that she may have a hormonal abnormality.

She now is being treated by an endocrinologist and a gastroenterologist.

“We want people to know that childhood obesity isn’t always food-induced,” said Bailey, 33, a firefighter.

Dr. Rebecca Unger, a pediatrician at Children’s Memorial Hospital and a member of the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, said it’s unusual for children to be obese because of issues not directly related to overeating. But it does happen.

“By far the most common cause of childhood obesity is the imbalance between calories in and the amount of energy expended,” said Unger, who is not LaNiyah’s pediatrician. “But even when a child’s weight gain is because of medical reasons, the goal is to get it

under control so there aren’t other adverse physical and psychological effects.”

White said that while LaNiyah’s health was her biggest concern, she worried about how the weight was affecting LaNiyah’s self-confidence. So she and her daughter decided to write about it. The result is LaNiyah’s new book, “Not Fat Because I Wanna Be,” self-published by her mother.

LaNiyah said it explains how the teasing made her feel as well as how “you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“I came home crying to my mom and dad when I got teased and bullied,” said LaNiyah, who is an effervescent and cute little girl. “I want people to learn that bullying isn’t cool to do to other people.”

White said that when she talked with her daughter about what to put in the book, the way LaNiyah expressed her feelings broke her mother’s heart.

“I showed what I had to the editor (whom White hired), and she said that we had to make it more fun to appeal to kids,” White said.

“But when I read it to my daughter, she said, ‘I don’t want it to be fun.

It’s not funny.’”

True Blue Choices Video Contest with Prizes!

Upload a 30-second or more video about healthy activities you & your friends like to do without alcohol to: www.facebook.com/tbcmemphis Videos must promote a healthy activity & use some TBC statistics from facebook page, and be submitted by Friday, April 22.

Prizes will be awarded to the Top 3 videos with the most facebook “likes” 1st 2nd 3rd $250 Target gift card

$150 Target gift card

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Bailey said that when LaNiyah told him she was writing a book, he was surprised by how motivated and self-possessed she was.

“I started to cry because I knew what she had been through and I was so impressed with her,” he said. “As a firefighter, I’m obligated to protect people and it doesn’t matter what they look like. It hurts me that people don’t have that same decency or kindness toward my child.”

White said it’s not clear what LaNiyah’s future will hold in terms of her weight. She just wants her daughter to be healthy.

“Right now, her confidence level is through the roof,” White said. “She told me she wants to be a chef, or day-care provider or a firefighter like her dad.”

White said she understands that we live in a weight-obsessed world. She said she used to sing in a group, and her record label wanted her to be super-thin.

“They make you feel like you have to be stick-thin,” said White, who at 5-foot-6 weighs about 160 pounds. “At my thinnest, I was 120 pounds. I’ve learned to accept myself the way I am, and I want LaNiyah to accept herself too, no matter her size.”

Solutions ...have a nice day and, uh, have a nice day.

8 • Wednesday, April 13, 2011

www.dailyhelmsman.com

Basketball

Chicago’s Rose an MVP favorite

BY BARBARA BARKER Newsday The NBA has never been a league for understatement. It’s not a place in which marquee players go about their business quietly, figuring that if they do what they are supposed to on the court, the world eventually will take notice.

So how unexpected is it that a guy like Derrick Rose is the leading candidate to win the MVP award? Rose is to hype what LeBron James is to restraint. Rose is not a big image guy. He’s not into producing reality shows, he doesn’t live in a mansion or own a fleet of sports cars.

What the Bulls’ point guard does do, according to his coach, Tom Thibodeau, is work as hard as anyone in the game.

“He doesn’t beat his chest or draw attention to himself,” said Thibodeau, a former Knicks assistant. “He’s so driven. He gets there early and stays later.

He practices hard and he cares a lot about his teammates doing well and winning. He’s gotten better and better and is never satisfied.”

The Bulls, who play the Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. That’s the first time that has happened since the 1997-98 season, when Michael Jordan won the last of his six rings. And Rose, the Bulls’ third-year point guard, is the biggest reason why.

Rose, averaging 25.1 points and 7.8 assists, is coming off a 39-point game in Orlando on Sunday, which was Chicago’s 60th win. He has received MVP nods from everyone from Jordan to Celtics coach Doc Rivers to Nets coach Avery Johnson.

If Rose does win the award, it would be noteworthy on a number of levels.

First, at 22, he would be the youngest MVP in history, passing Wes Unseld, who turned 23 days before winning the award as a rookie in 1969. Second, Rose would become the first MVP to win it while still chronologically eligible to play in the NCAA; he would have been a senior at Memphis this past season if he hadn’t left after his freshman year.

Finally and most tellingly, the Chicago native would become the first MVP in years to come out of nowhere. In his two previous seasons, Rose didn’t get a single vote. Every other player in this season’s MVP conversation — Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade and James — finished in the top 10 in balloting last year.

So what happened? Rose basically took his game to a new level this season by improving his jump shot, bringing his assist level up to where it was in his rookie season and improving his free-throw shooting.

Rose has always had great speed and leaping ability for a 6-3 player. Now that he can knock them down from outside

Rose

— through 79 games, he’s made 126 three-pointers after hitting only 16 last season — defenders don’t seem to know what to do with him.

If that’s not enough, he also plays defense. In leading the Bulls to a win over the Nets last month, Rose scored 21 points and helped hold Deron

Williams, another talented point guard, to 1-for-12 shooting.

“He makes the biggest shot on the biggest stages, and that’s part of what I look at as an MVP,” the Nets’ Johnson said.

“He seems to always be there in the last two minutes of the game. Everybody knows the play is for him, and you still can’t stop him. That’s when you’re really getting it done.”

Said the Celtics’ Rivers: “Derrick Rose is the best player this year in the NBA. And when you have the best player in the NBA, your team is usually pretty good.”

Part of the reason Rose has improved so much this season is his strong relationship with Thibodeau, the Bulls’ first-year coach who is also a tireless worker. Rose lives in a relatively modest three-bedroom townhouse near the Bulls’ practice facility. Sometimes when he is bored at night, he likes to

bring his friends to the facility to shoot with him.

“Whenever I’m there, he always seems to be in his office working,” Rose recently said of Thibodeau. “I was there at 2:30 in the morning, and he’s up there working. It’s crazy.”

Rose was feeling pretty good about his game and his team coming into the season, after having won a gold medal at the World Games this summer.

Though usually not much of a talker, he does believe in being honest. He asked reporters, “Why can’t I be MVP?” on media day last fall when asked about his attitude toward the season.

“You want to set the highest goal you can with a season,” Rose said. “People thought I was crazy when I said it, but I know how hard I worked during the summer and I wanted to keep pushing myself.”

Perhaps all the way into the record book.

Softball

Tigers open TSU home series

BY JOHN MARTIN Sports Editor The University of Memphis softball team will take a break from Conference USA play this week, starting today with a doubleheader against Tennessee State at Tiger Softball Complex.

Last week, the Tigers swept both Alabama State and Marshall on the way to four straight wins.

During the winning streak, the Tigers improved their batting average by almost 30 points and are now hitting .230 on the season.

Tennessee State, on the other hand, enters the game as losers of five of its last six games. The Tigers are allowing 5.82 ERA on the season.

Junior Jessica Phillips enters the series with 11 home runs, two shy of breaking the program record for home runs in a single season. TSU has given up 42 homers on the season.

Service on Saturday Sponsored by Students Advocating Service “Highlighting Your Life With Community Service”

Meets THIS SATURDAY UC 3rd Floor • No commitment required • Meet new people • Serve the community Breakfast and Lunch included!

Sign up at University Center, Room 211 for preferred service Questions? Contact: Angellika Campbell (Chair): mcmpbll4@memphis.edu Kiara Jones: ktjnes12@memphis.edu April Marcus: aemarcus@memphis.edu

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