The Vanderbilt Hustler 02-12-14 by The Vanderbilt Hustler

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VOL. 126, ISS. 6

HEROES OF THE HAWK 2014 Baseball Preview

A trio of All-Americans — pitcher Tyler Beede, third baseman Xavier Turner and closer Brian Miller — take Hawkins Field after leading the Commodores to an SEC-record 26-win season in 2013

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

OPINION

LIFE

An empty spot on the bench

Rites of Spring breakdown

Get to know the Rites lineup artist by artist, complete with quick facts and songs to check out beforehand

PAGE 8

Columnist Michael Greshko reflects on Dean Carolyn Dever’s departure and the student body’s reaction — or lack thereof PAGE 7

CAMPUS

Dance Marathon to be held Feb. 15 The student-run organization hopes to set a new fundraising record after last year’s $130,000 finish

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campus VANDER

BITS Search committee named to find McCarty’s replacement as provost

PHOTO COURTESY OF VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

By ANDRÉ ROUILLARD Editor-in-chief --------------------

On Tuesday, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos assembled a search committee, which he will chair, to find a replacement for outgoing Provost Richard McCarty, who will step down June 30. McCarty has served as provost since 2008. The committee is composed of representatives from various branches of Vanderbilt’s faculty and administration. In addition to Zeppos, the group includes Board of Trust member Eugene B. Shanks, Jr., Vice Chancellor and University General Counsel Audrey Anderson and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Brett Sweet. Faculty from all undergraduate schools and several graduate and professional schools are also represented on the committee. They include Kenneth Catania, Benoit Dawant, Lynn Enterline, Tracey George, Christopher Loss, Bunmi Olatunji, Sohee Park, Sandra Rosenthal and Eric Skaar. This group of faculty and administrators will conduct a national search for McCarty’s replacement. McCarty has stated he will take a leave of absence for a year before rejoining the faculty.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “One page resume. Thank you notes. Stay late and get in early.” MATT RUBINGER, VU ALUMNUS ON FORBES’ 30 UNDER 30: MARKETING AND ADVERTISING, ON ADVICE TO STUDENTS

VU introduces semester in D.C. program Through partnership with the Washington Internship Institue, students can receive VU credit while interning in the nation’s capital By TYLER BISHOP

InsideVandy director -------------------When Mark Dalhouse, former director of the Office of Active Citizenship and Service (OACS), departed Vanderbilt to take over the Washington Internship Institute (WII) in 2012, he said he hoped that he would stay connected to Vanderbilt. Less than two years later, a new partnership between Vanderbilt and the WII will allow him to do just that — while affording students the opportunity to study for a full semester in D.C. “We basically act as a satellite campus for Vanderbilt in Washington, D.C. so that students can study away for a semester, but still earn Vanderbilt credits,” said Joshua Gortney, director of external relations for the WII. Students who enroll in the program, which will be administered through OACS, can study either in the fall or spring semester. Because the program is administered during full academic semesters, students who receive financial aid and scholarship funds will be able to apply those funds to housing and living expenses in D.C. “Whatever their financial aid package is should be unaffected by it,” Gortney said. “It’s nothing additional for students. You’re paying exactly what you would be paying at Vanderbilt, you’re just going to be in D.C. The biggest expense beyond that is living because it is a different socioeconomic climate than Nashville.” The new program is similar to the partnerships that the WII already has with many schools across the country. Students who enroll are assigned an adviser who helps them find an internship related to their field of study or interests. Gortney said that when many people think of internships in the D.C. area, they associate it with positions in the federal government and law. But in reality, he noted, there are opportunities in nearly every industry. “The most popular internships are with think tanks like the Brookings Institution or Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Capitol Hill,” he said. “But even outside of

vanderbilthustler STAFF

ANDRÉ ROUILLARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

HANNAH SILLS — NEWS EDITOR KELLY HALOM — LIFE EDITOR ERIC LYONS — OPINION EDITOR ALLISON MAST — SPORTS EDITOR

BOSLEY JARRETT — PHOTO EDITOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS

Students can apply for the Washington Internship Institute partnership program for the fall 2014 semester until July 1. government, there are opportunities across the spectrum. It’s a huge city.” Students in the program typically intern four days a week, and on Fridays take an academic course and a seminar. According to Gortney, most students will earn six to nine credit hours through the internship, in addition to six hours from the two courses, for a total of 12-15 hours for the semester — depending on the field of study. “It’s very much set up like a study abroad opportunity, but it’s just in Washington D.C.,” he said. “The advantage of D.C. is hard to quantify or explain. Our learning experience is based on an experiential model — by being there, doing things, talking to people — and then reflecting on it.” OACS currently offers a competitive summer internship program called the Vanderbilt Internship Experience in Washington (VIEW). Though the new partnership is a separate program, the WII may have a bigger hand in VIEW in the near future. “We’re also helping with the VIEW program in D.C. As they expand to other cities, we’re going to be kind of taking over the D.C. version of the program,” Gortney said. The new semester-long partnership program WII, which is currently only open to students in the College of Arts and Science, is actually already underway. Its first participant, senior Eli

DIANA ZHU — DESIGN DIRECTOR JENNA WENGLER — ASST. DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNERS DESIGNERS

ZACH BERKOWITZ KAREN CHAN ZOË SHANCER KATHY ZHOU HAN DEWAN HOLLY GLASS

Yussuf, is currently interning at Mary’s Center, a federally-qualified public health center in Washington. “You get to have a lot of free reign out here, and your D.C. experience as well as the role you play in your internship is largely up to you,” Yussuf said. “For folks hailing from a smalltown environment, living in one of America’s largest metro areas for a few months can be a refreshing experience; there’s literally too much to do and see.” Yussuf, whose family is from Ethiopia, has been able to work on connecting families in his home country to health care opportunities through his internship. “It’s definitely a good opportunity for him,” Gortney said. History Professor Charles Shwartz, who had a hand in the implementation of the partnership, said the program will provide opportunities to students that no current program on campus can provide. “Altogether this new arrangement is a winwin situation for Vanderbilt students, and I think that there will be many who want to take advantage of the opportunity the WII presents,” Shwartz said. According to Gortney, students have until July 1 to apply for the fall semester. More information on the Washington Internship Institute is available at http://wiidc.org.

ALEX DAI — CHIEF COPY EDITOR COPY EDITORS ALEXIS BANKS ANDREA BLATT KATY CESAROTTI LAUREN HEYANO

WESLEY LIN ASHLEY SHAN KARA SHERRER SOPHIE TO

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CAMPUS

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12th annual Dance Marathon taking over SLC Feb. 15 This year’s event hopes to set new fundraising record after last year’s total of more than $130,000 raised By CHRISTIE BOK News reporter --------------------

On Saturday, Feb. 15, the Vanderbilt community will come together in the Student Life Center Ballroom for the 12th annual Dance Marathon event. This 13-hour “marathon,” the finale to a yearlong fundraising campaign, will celebrate money raised for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. From 12 p.m. to 1 a.m., students will stand and dance for the thousands of Miracle Families who are supported by the children’s hospital each year. Last year, Vanderbilt Dance Marathon raised more than $130,000, and the studentrun organization hopes to set a new fundraising record this Saturday. Throughout its history at Vanderbilt, VUMD has raised more than $1 million. Despite its name, participants of the event do not actually dance the whole time. Some participants do try to stand for the entire event though. “We stand for the kids who can’t stand,” said Nihar Patel, commercial relations chairman on the executive board for VUDM. Patel has been involved with Dance Mara-

KAREN HUNTER-LOWERY / VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

At the 2013 Dance Marathon event, it was announced that more than $130,000 had been raised in support of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. thon for four years and says his involvement is driven by the kids whom the event benefits. “It’s amazing to help out with a cause that’s so close to home and make a difference in the kids’ lives,” he said. “Dance Marathon is a very worthy cause, and it’s great to see that the hard work and fundraising goes to a tangible

place.” This year, VUDM has a variety of activities and entertainment planned for the 13-hour event. A “morale dance” will be featured every hour — an eight-minute mashup of dance songs meant to boost the energy of participants. The morale dance was originally insti-

tuted to keep people awake throughout the night because in previous years, Dance Marathon ran from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. VUDM is particularly enthusiastic about the entertainment and performance lineup for this year’s event. Several Vanderbilt student performance groups, such as Vibe, Swingin’ Dores, BhangraDores and Dueling Pianos, as well as Jamie Lono, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice,” will perform on Saturday. In addition to the entertainment, attendees can expect a different theme for each hour of Dance Marathon. In fact, the Miracle children receive a list of the themes beforehand, which in past years have included the Olympics, Disney and Western. The children often dress up accordingly when they attend the event with their families. To participate in the campus-wide event, a students can either register as “dancers” by purchasing tickets before the event for $20, earning them a shirt and unlimited meal access, or they can register at the door for $10 and receive one meal. The funds raised throughout the year, as well as those raised on Saturday, directly benefit the Miracle Families.

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Q&A

The Vanderbilt Hustler: I read an article about you in Forbes late last year, which told the story of how you got started selling bags in high school. Can you elaborate on what drew you to trading? Matt Rubinger: I just thought it was fun. I started by being a scavenger – I found interesting things around the house and sold them. I thought it was fun to discover a piece, research it, market it and sell it. I think it taught me more about sales and marketing than I realized at the time!

MATT RUBINGER VU alumnus on Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Marketing and Advertising list

VH: When did you decide that you wanted to make a career out of what Heritage calls “luxury accessories”? MR: When Heritage offered me the job. Although I had significant expertise in the area by that time, I was more interested in pursuing a more traditional marketing career. When I was approached by Heritage to launch an entire category, however, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

By KATIE FUSELIER News reporter --------------------

Matt Rubinger, at age 25, is director of luxury accessories for Heritage Auctions, an international auction house. Three years after graduting from Vanderbilt University in 2010, Rubinger made $9 million for his company, according to Forbes. Rubinger made his career in sales after spending his high school and college years buying and selling luxury handbags, educating himself about the merchandise with which he dealt. Fresh out of school with a European history degree from Vanderbilt and never having run

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT RUBINGER

an auction before, Rubinger was offered a job and a six-figure salary by Heritage. He was also charged with heading the brand-new luxury handbags department of the firm. This year, Rubinger landed a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30: Marketing and Advertising list. He spoke to The Hustler via email about his interest in selling and buying, his professional experiences and the influence his Vanderbilt education had on his success today.

VH: How did your European history major help or hurt your career, if at all? What made you choose that field of study? MR: I chose European History because it was one of my favorite areas in high school. I have a knack for languages and love to travel, so it all seemed to fit. I was always excited about studying abroad, so I thought this would be the right major to get me ready for that. It didn’t have too much to do with the work I was, and am, doing, but it did tangentially relate in some ways. Retail, particularly in the luxury and fashion sectors, has its root in

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

Europe. Many of the brands that we work with are based in Europe and have been around for hundreds of years. VH: Can you elaborate on the experience of getting such a major job offer right out of college? How did you approach that challenge? MR: Fake it ’til you make it. Just kidding. Sort of. The answer is confidence and hard work. I knew I was good at what I was doing and had faith that the team who hired me knew what they were doing by hiring me. Given that I was so young, I knew that I had a lot to prove. I worked long hours and I worked weekends. I answered all my emails and returned all my calls. So much of being successful is just being willing to work hard. VH: How did your time at Vanderbilt shape your career and your life today? MR: Vanderbilt has shaped my career and my life in many ways. Personally, it is where I met many of my best friends, and my girlfriend. It was one of the best times of my life. Even though it likely made my career what it is today, I still wonder sometimes if taking that semester off was the right choice – you only get to go to college once. Vandy is an amazing place. Professionally, it is where I learned to be a person. I learned many of the skills required for the working world during those years. VH: Do you have any suggestions or words of wisdom for current students as they look towards their futures? MR: One page resume. Thank you notes. Stay late and get in early.

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opinion

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Dever (and McCarty) fly under the radar, while we become obsessed with whom Bob Shoop follows on Twitter.”

MICHAEL GRESHKO

THE

RANT Something got you peeved? Irked? Honked off? The Rant is your place to anonymously vent your spleen on any issue you want. To get your rant on, visit the InsideVandy.com Opinion page. Check out this week’s Rant on our Twitter account @InsideVandy.

Are we such delinquents that Sarratt can’t trust us enough to put a stapler next to the printer by Last Drop? Do we really need to walk back to the desk and have them supervise us stapling our printed papers?

KARA SHERRER is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science and social media director for Vanderbilt Student Communications. She can be reached at kara.n.sherrer@ vanderbilt.edu.

The expression “Take a shit” doesn’t make sense. You don’t take a shit, you leave a shit. if someone took a shit, that would be a weird person. When I go to Rand on a Sunday morning for a bit of a recovery breakfast, the last thing I need is loud children’s television on. Still bitter. #kissam SAE has two houses worth of parking, LXA was kicked off and still has all their spots, and Phi Psi has more parking spots than everyone else combined. KTS — care to explain? Dear people who were eating lunch and talking loudly in the upstairs room of alumni hall with the long tables: You are horrible, horrible people. There are tons of places you can eat and talk on main campus, but there is only one where I can get some work done in absolute silence, and you just took that away from me. Fuck you, you selfish people. That room is there for the five of us who were trying to study in silence. Shut up or go somewhere else.

vanderbilthustler EDITORIAL BOARD ANDRÉ ROUILLARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@insidevandy.com

HANNAH SILLS

KELLY HALOM

NEWS EDITOR news@insidevandy.com

LIFE EDITOR life@insidevandy.com

ERIC LYONS

ALLISON MAST

OPINION EDITOR opinion@insidevandy.com

SPORTS EDITOR sports@insidevandy.com

Getting lost in college dating Conventional college dating ‘rules’ contradict themselves

n Friday, couples all over the world will celebrate Valentine’s Day, the annual holiday devoted to all things hearts and chocolate, and for 24 hours the number of PDA incidents around campus will spike dramatically. Every time I pass a couple holding hands in Rand this time of year, I always wonder how they met. Many like to laugh about “getting that MRS degree” in college, but this joke is just a humorous manifestation of traditional advice, namely the “it’s easier to meet people (read: potential significant others) in college than in the real world” line. Furthermore, there’s evidence to suggest that this is actually true: A Facebook Data Sciences survey released in October revealed that 28 percent of married U.S. users met their spouse in college. But the advice “Try to find a serious significant other in college” actually contradicts many other pieces of conventional wisdom that are sagely dispensed to college students. For example, here is an incomplete compilation of some of the most common college dating “rules” I have heard over the years: Rule No. 1: Don’t date your classmates. What if you break up before the end of the semester? AWKWARD. And don’t ever

coordinate your schedules so you take a class with your significant other — you never know what might happen to your relationship mid-semester. Talk about uncomfortable group projects. Rule No. 2: Don’t date people in your student orgs. Like Rule No. 1, but more serious. You’ll probably want to be involved in a student org for more than one semester — maybe even all four years — which becomes problematic if your ex-main squeeze feels the same way. The tension triples if you have a leadership position in said org because you can’t just quietly drop out if you feel like you’re dying a little inside every time you have to be in the same room as them. Rule No. 3: Don’t date people who live in your dorm. Also known as “dormcest.” This follows the same logic as Rule No. 1 except you will potentially live in the same Mayfield with them for two semesters instead of one. In other words, double the breakup awkwardness. Yay. Rule No. 4: Don’t date your co-workers. Unlike the other rules, this one also applies to your post-graduation, full-time, pay-the-bills job as well. But in college, it’s just one of the many other dating pools you’re excluded from. Rule No. 5: Don’t date strangers, though. When you were a kid, your parents probably taught you that it was bad to talk to strangers. Obviously, the older we get, the less we follow this rule, and hookups actually tend to occur between people who

The Vanderbilt Hustler Opinion page aims to stimulate discussion in the Vanderbilt community. In that spirit, columnists, guest columnists and authors of letters to the editor are expected to provide logical argument to back their views. Unreasonable arguments, arguments in bad faith or arguments in vain between columnists have no place in The Hustler and will not be published. The Hustler welcomes reader viewpoints and offers three methods of expression: letters to the editor, guest columns and feedback on InsideVandy.com. The views expressed in lead editorials reflect the majority of opinion among The Hustler’s editorial board and are not necessarily representative of any individual member. Letters must be submitted either in person by the author to the Hustler office or via email to opinion@insidevandy.com. Letters via email should come from a Vanderbilt email address where the identity of the sender is clear. With rare exception, all letters must be received by 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The editor reserves the right to edit

know each other only nominally, if at all. However, when it comes to a serious longterm dating relationship, the “strangers equal bad” rule still applies in certain ways. Sure, that random guy you pass in Rand sometimes is cute, but what if he’s a kleptomaniac? What if the pretty girl from Central Library is insane? Who knows, maybe she even (gasp) actually likes the Rites of Spring lineup?! So what do all these rules tell us? Conclusion No. 1: Don’t date people you know. Also don’t date people you don’t know. Conclusion No. 2: Basically, date your cat. Or your fish, since Vanderbilt doesn’t allow us to keep real animals as pets. Or be kind and adopt one of the squirrels on campus. All of this flies in the faces of meeting your future spouse. How are we college students supposed to meet these future spouses if we aren’t supposed to date the people we know? Classes, dorms and workplaces apparently aren’t acceptable locations to meet a potential significant other — so what locations do we have left that are acceptable besides Lonnie’s? What’s more, opportunities to meet people with significant-other-potential only decrease after you graduate. Meeting someone at work is frowned upon whether or not you are in college, but after graduation other opportunities disappear as well. There aren’t 500 student orgs to join, intramural sports to play or volunteer projects to organize together. That whole built-in social network almost completely disappears. Yet paradoxically, we are told not to take advantage of these social opportunities during the four short years that we have them. I’m not claiming that I have a solution to the college dating paradox (or that it wouldn’t be awkward to serve on the same student org board as your ex). I’m merely pointing out that society is broadcasting two competing signals when it comes to college students and the dating game. Sure, the modern dating landscape is hard for everyone to navigate — but it’s exponentially harder for college students thanks to all the contradictory “advice” we’re given.

and condense submissions for length as well as clarity. Lengthy letters that focus on an issue affecting students may be considered for a guest column at the editor’s discretion. All submissions become the property of The Hustler and must conform to the legal standards of Vanderbilt Student Communications, of which The Hustler is a division. The Vanderbilt Hustler (ISSN 0042-2517), the student newspaper of Vanderbilt University, is published every Wednesday during the academic year except during exam periods and vacations. The paper is not printed during summer break. The Vanderbilt Hustler allocates one issue of the newspaper to each student and is available at various points on campus for free. Additional copies are $.50 each. The Vanderbilt Hustler is a division of Vanderbilt Student Communications, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Vanderbilt Student Communications.

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Losing an impact player

Dean Dever performed an underappreciated but indispensable role in growing an already prestigious academic institution

MICHAEL GRESHKO is a senior in the College of Arts and Science. He can be reached at michael.a.greshko @vanderbilt.edu.

ot even a week after the BBVA Compass Bowl, a transformative Vanderbilt leader responsible for increasing the funding, resources and prestige of a university division announced plans to leave Vanderbilt to take a job at a school in a Northern athletic conference. The position at the Northern school offered a chance to be closer to home for the leader, who grew up in and has family in the region. Feeling the leader’s imminent absence already, Vanderbilt has found a highly capable internal interim while gearing up for a national hiring search — one that may or may not involve David “Goldfather” Williams. The new story hits on familiar themes: A changing campus culture! A university committed to excellence! Curiosity over how successors will keep up the positive momentum! Media buzz in Nashville and within the industry! Undergraduates invested in the story and hiring process! Wait, no, sorry, that last one isn’t true. As ESPN-worthy as I’ve tried to make it sound, Vanderbilt’s ongoing search for a new dean of the College of Arts and Science just hasn’t captured the campus imagination. While I can understand why — academic deans don’t exactly invoke the excitement of the football field — I want to underscore the importance of the Arts and Science dean’s job and how well Carolyn Dever, our departing dean, has done it. Taking over in 2008 following Richard McCarty’s promotion to provost, Dever — also an accomplished English and Women and Gender Studies professor and Nashville yoga instructor — reorganized pre-major advising and set up a CASPAR office in Commons, strengthened our connec-

tions to international academic partners and presided over enormous increases in faculty research grant awards (28 percent) and donations to the college (52 percent). The college has 118 more scholarship funds than it did when she started, and more people are competing for them: Applications to Arts and Science have ballooned 56 percent since 2009. She leaves Vanderbilt for Dartmouth, where she will take over as provost and chief academic officer. Dean Dever, but what were you thinking? The Ivy League is not even close to the SEC. Would you rather have the Iron Bowl or The Game? My rage is, of course, feigned: We still have her until July 1, and Dartmouth marks what ought to be a nice return for Dever to the Northeast: She went to Boston College for undergrad, went to Harvard for her doctorate and started out in academia as a professor at NYU. She’s clearly a northern bird, and Dartmouth should be lauded for making such a strong — and regionally appropriate — hire. In fact, success as dean made her the strongest Vanderbilt contender to replace Richard McCarty, our departing provost and chief academic officer. (McCarty plans on taking a year off before returning to join the Vanderbilt faculty as a psychology professor. Vanderbilt announced a nationwide hiring search in early December.) Her departure for Dartmouth, announced a month after McCarty’s, represents a one-two punch for the Vanderbilt administration, which has invested enormous amounts of resources over the last decade to improve Vanderbilt’s faculty and academic output. Steady, capable leadership is crucial to keeping up our positive momentum toward increased global academic

prominence, and Zeppos and the Gang are on the clock for finding people who can fill McCarty and Dever’s big shoes. Despite her laudable contributions, however, let’s not get ahead of ourselves: Dever is not an academic James Franklin. The institutions that back our academic success have been strong historically; her departure doesn’t prompt fears that the sky will fall. And keep in mind that Dever’s move to Dartmouth won’t result in large-scale professor poaching. Only her husband, film studies professor Paul Young, will make the jump to Hanover with her. This is probably why Vanderbilt students haven’t given much of a hoot about Dever’s departure: We get invested in the minutiae of leadership at Vanderbilt if and only if we think there’s a chance for things to go poorly, and academic excellence is part of what Vanderbilt is. Football success is not. Therefore, Dever (and McCarty) fly under the radar, while we become obsessed with whom Bob Shoop follows on Twitter. (Similarly, VSG becomes a topic du jour when it screws up, but no one shows up to open Senate meetings to offer suggestions or ideas.) I’m not expecting feverish, SportsCenter-esque coverage of our academic hires — I’m not even sure Dean Dever has a Twitter account — but remember this: Before we were “all in” on our football team, we were “all in” on our academics. Having already won the unofficial SEC conference title in intellectualism more times than we can count, we’re looking for curators, not prospectors, of our excellence. As we get ready for Dean Dever’s departure, let’s tip our hats to an academic Derek Mason: a quietly charismatic champion of “intellectual brutality” with an emphasis on the intellectual.

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Even though there is still plenty of time until Rites of Spring, it’s never too early to start preparing for the show. If you don’t know some of these artists, here’s a quick guide to who they are and what you should be listening to. By Matt Lieberson, life reporter

life

KNOW YOUR

RITES STEVE AOKI

2 CHAINZ

COURTESY OF THE MUSIC GROUP

DELTA RAE

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

Genre: Electronic dance Quick facts: Steve Aoki’s father, former professional wrestler Hiroki “Rocky” Aoki, founded the first Benihana restaurant in 1965 in New York City. Aoki attended University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with 2 B.A.s: one in feminist studies and one in sociology. Aoki had built his own record label, Dim Mak, by his early 20s. Similar artists: Martin Garrix, Daft Punk, Krewella What to add to your Rites playlist: “Turbulence,” “Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix),” “Boneless”

THE MOWGLI’S COURTESY OF THE MUSIC GROUP

Genre: Alternative rock Quick facts: The Mowgli’s played at Live on the Green in August 2013 with Matt Nathanson. The band named itself after Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book.” The band’s top hit, “San Francisco,” reached No. 11 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in the summer of 2013. Similar artists: Walk the Moon, American Authors, Grouplove What to add to your Rites playlist: “San Francisco,” “The Great Divide,” “Say It, Just Say It”

Genre: Rap Quick facts: 2 Chainz went to Alabama State University on an athletic scholarship. He was a standout basketball player, and he graduated after four years with a 4.0 GPA. Since his days as Tity Boi, 2 Chainz has been featured on at least 100 other artists’ songs, from Drake to Juicy J to B.o.B. His most recent album, “B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time,” came out in September 2013 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Similar artists: Gucci Mane, Future, Waka Flocka Flame What to add to your Rites playlist: “I’m Different,” “Used 2,” “Feds Watching”

TWENTY ONE PILOTS

BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

COURTESY OF THE MUSIC GROUP

Genre: Country, folk rock Quick facts: Delta Rae formed at Duke in 2009, with its first performances being on campus. Delta Rae partnered with Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac on its track “If I Loved You.” The band hit the festival circuit last summer and impressed, earning rave reviews for its performance at Bonnaroo. Similar artists: Fleetwood Mac, Little Big Town, Lady Antebellum What to add to your Rites playlist: “Bottom of the River,” “Chasing Twisters,” “If I Loved You”

MISTERWIVES COURTESY OF THE MUSIC GROUP

Genre: Pop Quick facts: MisterWives only played its first show together in February 2013. The band’s debut EP, “Reflections,” came out in January 2014. The trio from New York City is opening for The Mowgli’s on their current American tour. Similar artists: St. Lucia, Owl City, Florence and the Machine What to add to your Rites playlist: “Reflections,” “Coffins,” “Twisted Tongues”

Genre: Punk, pop Quick facts: Twenty One Pilots is a two-member band, formed by Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun in 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. In the fall of 2013, Twenty One Pilots opened for Fall Out Boy on the Save Rock and Roll Arena Tour. The duo’s album, “Vessel,” peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Similar artists: Fall Out Boy, New Politics, Linkin Park What to add to your Rites playlist: “House of Gold,” “Holding Onto You,” “Guns for Hands”

HARPER BLYNN STIX IZZA COURTESY OF THE MUSIC GROUP

Genre: Rock Quick facts: Formed in 2001 at Amherst College, the band started touring extensively in 2010, performing more than 150 live shows a year. The band’s Jason Blynn and Pete Harper performed on “I Choose You” of Sara Bareilles’ album “The Blessed Unrest.” Harper Blynn will release its third album sometime this year. Similar artists: Young the Giant, Animal Kingdom, Schuyler Fisk What to add to your Rites playlist: “Models/ Dancers,” “In Another Life,” “Bound to Break”

COURTESY OF THE MUSIC GROUP

Genre: Hip-hop Quick facts: Stix Izza is from Nashville, Tenn. He won mixtape DJ of the year at the 2008 Southern Entertainment Awards. Stix Izza has been featured on thousands of mixtapes and albums across the country and has also released 11 mixtapes himself. Similar artists: Young Buck, Nas, Starlito What to add to your Rites playlist: “Come on Home,” “Baby,” “Eternity”

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

How to spend your Valentine’s Day Let’s face it — Valentine’s Day can be one of the more polarizing holidays. Love it or hate it, it is impossible to avoid. Thankfully, Nashville’s got you covered for something to do no matter what your relationship status is By ALISON VON DEYLEN Life reporter --------------------

Single and proud of it: If you’re tired of all this talk of love and couples, take a different approach to Valentine’s Day by focusing on yourself this year. Book yourself a spa day and enjoy a massage, facial or even a new haircut. Studio 27 Salon and Day Spa has a special on Swedish massages this weekend, and Essence Day Spa is offering packages that include massages, facials and a mani-pedi combo. To end your day on a high note, head over to Kocktails and Kouture for its Anti-Valentine’s Day Party featuring twofor-one drink specials. Single and ready to mingle: If you’re hoping to meet someone this Valentine’s Day, look no further than the Nashville Hot Chocolate 15K/5K this Saturday. Benefitting the Ronald McDonald House, this race features a course throughout downtown and the Vanderbilt campus area. Between the endorphins you’ll get from running and the chocolate-filled post-race party, the Hot Chocolate Run is the perfect Valentine’s Day treat. For more information about the race, visit http://hotchocolate15k.com/nashville. New relationship: If you just started dating, you may want

to hold off on the fancy, romantic dinner. Instead, try dinner and a show at one of Nashville’s many live performance venues. “Always a Bridesmaid” is playing at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre, accompanied by a special Valentine’s buffet. For those of you who prefer musical acts, Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant is hosting the 60s tribute band Boomerang. Tickets to the show at Puckett’s also include Puckett’s special Valentine’s Day dinner menu. If you’re looking to enjoy local artists, check out the Listening Room Cafe. Featuring a four-course meal and local Nashville singer-songwriters, it is sure to be a quintessential Nashville experience. Serious relationship: For a romantic dinner with your significant other, Nashville has many different dinner specials this weekend. The Southern is featuring a special four-course meal, with options such as coconut mussel soup and wood-fired filet mignon for $72 per person. If you are seeking a bit of a more festive evening, Cantina Laredo’s Valentine’s Day Especialidad includes three courses for $35 per person and an additional $15 for the cocktail pairings. For something a bit more secluded, nearby Love Circle always makes for a quiet place to stargaze. To get there from campus, head west on West End Avenue from Carmichael Towers, turn left on Orleans Drive, right on Acklen Avenue and then left on Love Circle. Follow

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This view atop Love Circle is the perfect place to spend some quiet time with your significant other on Friday. the road up to the top of the lookout for some stunning views of the city. On the verge of marriage: If you’re of the “Ring by Spring” mentality,

there’s no time like the present. Belmont Mansion will be hosting couples that are looking to tie the knot for elopement ceremonies throughout the day. You can’t be too spontaneous though; reservations are required.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

HOW TO

PARTY

DRINK Keep it classy by serving some Russian-inspired cocktails, even if they are completely inauthentic. Russians tend to drink their drinks straight … and unfiltered.

WHITE RUSSIAN MILKSHAKE INGREDIENTS 4-5 scoops of vanilla ice cream 1 1/2 ounces of vodka 1 1/2 ounces of Kahlua

INSTRUCTIONS Blend ice cream, vodka and Kahlua until smooth and creamy.

MOSCOW MULE

LIKE AN OLYMPIAN

If you haven’t been keeping up well with the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, we at The Hustler are here to give you some inspiration. Make a party out of the viewing with these fun Olympics-inspired drinks and games By Brittany Matthews, life reporter

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LIFE

INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 ounces of vodka Wedge of lime Ginger beer

INSTRUCTIONS Pour vodka into glass with ice. Squeeze lime over vodka, and drop wedge into glass. Fill glass with ginger beer to taste.

SIBERIAN SUNRISE INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 ounces of vodka 4 ounces of grapefruit juice 1/2 ounces of Triple Sec

INSTRUCTIONS Mix all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender and pour into highball glass. Or you know, a red Solo cup.

FEELING LAZY? INGREDIENTS 1 bottle of champagne Handful of Life Savers

INSTRUCTIONS Mix champagne with Life Savers to make an Olympicstyle cocktail.

PLAY WARNING: Though drinking games are illegal on this campus, if you were hypothetically inclined to play, we’ve got some ideas for you. Honor the Greeks who invented the games by making your viewing party a toga party. Nothing shows Olympian pride like being wrapped in a sheet.

BEER OLYMPICS

There is no better excuse for Beer Olympics than to hold it in honor of the actual Olympics. Divide into teams and play a round or two of your favorite beer drinking games. We suggest ﬂip cup, beer pong, quarters and Horse Race. Each time your team wins any game, one point is allocated to the winning team. In the event of a tie at the end of the night, a case race is the ultimate tiebreaker. Gold medals are awarded to the winning team, as well as individual awards for drunkest, fastest chug and biggest bladder.

THE WINTER OLYMPICS DRINKING GAME

If you want to watch the games more seriously but also want to spice things up a bit, we’ve compiled the ultimate guide to a Winter Olympics drinking game. Just take a drink every time: • • • • • • • • •

You hear an Olympic horn You see an American ﬂag A competitor complains about a game You hear the term “triple” during figure skating Someone wipes out Someone cries A narrator uses the words “inspiring,” “tragedy” or “against all odds.” You hear our national anthem An American female is named “America’s (insert sport here)

• • • • •

sweetheart” You hear the words “ﬂaming tomato” You hear that a snowboarder gets “big air” Each minute you manage to sit through cross-country skiing Someone makes Olympic history America brings home the gold — and take a shot of Goldschlager instead. Or better yet, a shot for every medal ceremony.

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GO SEE THIS

Vanderbilt University Theatre presents ‘The Winslow Boy’ A story of the fight for a family’s honor, Terence Rattigan’s “The Winslow Boy” comes to Neely Auditorium starting Friday, Feb. 14. Nicholas Mecikalski (right) stars as Ronnie Winslow, a 14-year-old naval cadet accused of stealing, and Jake Abell (left) plays Sir Robert Morton in the VUT adaptation of the play. Performances will also take place the following weekend. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $7 for Vanderbilt graduate students and free for Vanderbilt undergraduates.

— Bosley Jarrett, photo editor

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

BASEBALL PREVIEW

DE YLER BEE

OHN NOR WOOD

POSITION : RIGHT FI ELD CLASS: JU NIOR HEIGHT: 6-2, WEIG HT: 205 LB S.

The junior served as afrom New Jersey primar but is expe designated hitter last ily season ed to fill the left behind ct gap in batted .328 by Mike Yastrzemski.riNght field plate appearwith 14 runs and 19 hi orwood ts over 58 ances.

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V INCE CONDE 3

POSITION: CE NTER FIELD CLASS: FRESHM AN HEIGHT: 5-5, WEIGHT: 155 LBS.

ruggled d finalist st Spikes Awparer Regionals but en ld o G e Th 2.32 ERA l in the Su with controe 2013 season with a 3 strikeouts 10 th ed ed h st o is p n fi cord. He walking 63 batters. and a 14-1 re gs while likely in n over 101 inason All-American will The prese e Friday starter. serve as th

ANSBY SWANSON

R O COLEMAN1

ER N: PITCH POSITIO R NIO CLASS: JU S. HT: 215 LB 6-4, WEIG HEIGHT:

SPORTS

/ VANDERBILT

CLASS: JUNIOR

Conde started his sophomore season at third base but moved to shortstop after injuries put Dansby Swanson and Joel McKeithan out of commission. Over 238 at-bats, Conde posted a .307 batting average with 43 runs, 73 hits, 18 doubles, six home runs and 44 RBIs.

UNIVERSITY

After a disappointing end to a record-breaking season, the Vanderbilt baseball team looks to bounce back early with a young roster full of powerful pitching and heavy hitting By Allison Mast and Katie Walden

X AVIER TURNER9

N HETT WISEMA

shman season, Swanson had a roughhfre a foot injury and missing six weeks wit h a hurt shoulder. His ending the season witshortstop last season career start came at te. He ended the against Long Beach Sta r 16 at-bats with one season batting .188 ovekeouts and a .435 RBI, four walks, five stri OBP.

LBS.

A member of the first -team Freshman AllAmerica team, Turne impact with his bat anr made an immediate Toward the middle d glove in 2013. the season, he went on a 15-game hit strof eak that was eventually snapped against Missi of the season, he had ssippi State. At the end a .324 batting averag with 71 hits and 36 RB e Is. PHOTOS BY BOSLEY JARRETT / THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER

HEIGHT: 6-5, WE IGHT:

215 LBS.

Harvey had a sm ering of starts plate last season att and was named tobehind the Academic Honor Ro the SEC batting .250 in 52 at-ll. He finished the season ba ts wi th nin e RBIs, five walks and 11 strike outs.

YLE SMITH

NATED HITTER POSITION: DESIG ORE CLASS: SOPHOM IGHT: 220 LBS. HEIGHT: 6-3, WE

and the outfield, infield Smith appeared inspot in his first year as a designated hitterring his first career start Commodore. Du a grand slam, helping in left field, he hitt Tennessee 12-8. He ended Vanderbilt defeafour home runs and 16 RBIs the season with appearances. over just 40 plate

Z ANDER WIEL 43

D BASE POSITION: SECON RE CLASS: SOPHOMO T: 175 LBS. HEIGHT: 6-0, WEIGH

POSITION: CATC HER CLASS: JUNIOR

HEIGHT: 6-0, WEIGHT: 190 LBS.

What’s in the cards?

POSITION: THIRD BASE CLASS: SOPHOM ORE HEIGHT: 6-2, WE IGHT: 220

C HRIS HARVEY44

POSITION: SHORTSTOP

Coleman, a Chica go native, played school ball at Sim high he hit .525 in his eon High School, where he led his team tosenior season. In the fall, Black and Gold victory in Game 3 of the two hits and oneSeries. He collected two runs, RBI in his three atbats. JOE HOWELL

LEFT FIELD POSITION: OMORE PH SO CLASS: 0 LBS. , WEIGHT: 19 11 5: HT HEIG

ances as pinch ring of appear ted hitter spot st a d ha an m na Wise t in ter in the desig hitter and starseason, getting his first star t rs fi s an Hi m . sh ril fre Ap his t UT Martin inh-hit walk-off left field agains nc pi a as w run was batting career homeAt season’s end he ks, 25 against UIC. at-bats with 17 RBIs, 13 walOBP. 1 60 12 .3 er a ov d .298 e home runs an strikeouts, thre

POSITION: FIRST BAS E CLASS: RS SOPHOMO RE HEIGHT: 6-3, WEIGH T: 215

LBS.

A 2013 All-SEC freshm Wiel brought power to the plate, going 3-foan, with a home run and five RBIs in his firstr-3 career start, an away game against Georgia. He finished the season batting .305 over 82 at-b walks, five home runs andats with 27 RBIs, 10 a .549 slugging percentage. JOHN RUSSELL / VANDER

BILT UNIVERSITY

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righty T.J. Pecoraro, who posted a career-high 5.97 ERA in an injuryplagued junior season. Left-handed junior Jared Miller worked out of the bullpen last season (23 1/3 innings and a 2.31 ERA) and AllSEC freshman Carson Fulmer was lights-out for the Commodores, with a fastball in the high 90s and a 2.39 ERA in 52 2/3 innings pitched.

BRING ON THE DIRTBAGS

Commodores travel to Long Beach State for season opener

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Sophmore left-handed pitcher Jared Miller (28) delivers a pitch during Vanderbilt’s game vs. Long Beach State at Hawkins field on Feb. 17, 2013. The Commodores fell to 2-1 on the season after being defeated 13-9 by the Dirtbags. The game was called after eight innings due to travel concerns for Long Beach State.

By KATIE WALDEN Sports writer --------------------

The Vanderbilt baseball team opens the 2014 season with a weekend series on the road against Long Beach State Dirtbags. The SEC-Big West matchup will be the

second in as many years for both programs, as the Commodores and Dirtbags opened the 2013 season in Nashville. The Commodores are coming off a 54-12 season and 26-3 conference record that clinched the SEC regular season title. The Dirtbags finished 29-27 overall and 15-12 in conference play, good for sixth in the Big West.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

The pitching The 2013 MLB draft took six Commodores but left the Vanderbilt bullpen mostly intact. Junior right-handed pitcher Tyler Beede will be the Friday night starter, replacing 2013 second-round pick Kevin Ziomek. Other weekend starters have yet to be named, but possible contenders include senior

The opponent The Dirtbags lost only four players in the 2013 draft and come into the season with a deep infield and bullpen. Ino Paton at first base is a three-year starter who hit .301 with 30 RBIs in the cleanup spot last season. Freshman Garrett Hampson is the Dirtbags’ lone preseason All-American and starting shortstop. Colton Vaughn is expected to get the opening day nod at third base, after batting .263 with 28 starts in 2013. Other infield options include sophomores Alex DeGoti and Zack Domingues, both solid defensive players. Richard Prigatano, a three-year starter in right field, hit .302 in 44 games last year. Junior Johnny Bekakis returns to center field and the leadoff spot after academic ineligibility benched him in 2013. Senior Michael Hill will likely play left field, but his ability to work in the infield may allow appearances by sophomore Zack Rivera or

senior Colby Brenner. Friday starter Ryan Strufing went 7-3 with a 2.99 ERA his sophomore season and took a medical redshirt in 2013 for Tommy John surgery, as did right-handed closer Kyle Friedrichs. The likely Saturday starter is redshirt sophomore Andrew Rohrbach, a junior college transfer. Sunday frontrunner Nick Sabo had five starts last season, going 3-3 with a 3.43 ERA. At the backstop will be sophomore Eric Hunting, who started 35 games and averaged .270 at the plate. The last time these teams met The Commodores won last year’s series 2-1, outscoring the Dirtbags 31-19. Beede had a fiveinning, one-run outing, but the Sunday pitching tandem of Pecoraro, Fulmer and both Millers was tagged with 10 earned runs in a time-shortened 13-9 loss. The first two games averaged more three hours, and Sunday’s was nearing the four-hour mark when a travel restriction ended the game at eight innings. Both teams bring new Friday starters but loaded bullpens to the series. Vanderbilt’s position players are comparatively young but bring offensive strength and running speed that will challenge the Dirtbags’ defensive skill.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

SPORTS

Scarred star on the road to recovery

Freshman pitcher Jordan Sheffield underwent Tommy John surgery at the beginning of his senior year of high school. It’s the main reason he’s at Vanderbilt instead of signing with a professional team

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THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM By BEN WEINRIB Asst. sports editor --------------------

Jordan Sheffield couldn’t find the plate. The Rawlings High School All-America pitcher was two strikes away from finishing off the fourth inning on Tullahoma High School’s opening day on a near-freezing March night, but his pitches were dying before they reached home plate. Ball one. A glance to the dugout. Ball two. Another glance over. By the third pitch, Sheffield knew he had to come out of the game as tightness in his forearm and a loss of sensation in his fingers caused him to lose control. After taking three weeks off from throwing full bullpen sessions, Sheffield and his parents drove to Pensacola, Fla., to see Dr. James Andrews, one of the nation’s top orthopedic surgeons, who confirmed their worst fear: Sheffield had a torn UCL and needed Tommy John surgery. But Sheffield’s great misfortune became Vanderbilt’s windfall. Players as good as Sheffield — the sixth-best high school player in the nation according to scouting service Perfect Game — usually sign with MLB teams instead of going to college. But his surgery put a hold on

his major league dream. In eighth grade, Sheffield made plays at shortstop that a coach at rival Spring Hill High School thought even high schoolers couldn’t make. As a 14-year-old freshman, Sheffield was throwing 90 miles per hour, leading his team to a victory over previously undefeated Columbia Central High School in the district championship. He ran a 6.5 60-yard dash in high school, an impressive time for a prep player — MLB all-time steals leader Rickey Henderson ran a 60 in 6.4 seconds. Sheffield showed off his speed on the football field through his sophomore year with a jaw-dropping YouTube highlight film to match and would have kept playing football had he not made the USA Baseball 16U national team the summer before his junior year. “He’s the most dynamic athlete I’ll ever coach,” said Tullahoma baseball coach Brad White. “I think that’s pretty safe to say, and one of the top two or three to ever come out of this town.” Sheffield’s stock continued to skyrocket when his fastball was clocked at 98 miles per hour in October of his senior year at a showcase in Jupiter, Fla. But all of that positive momentum fell by the wayside when Sheffield found out he needed elbow surgery.

THE VANDERBILT HUSTLER u WWW.INSIDEVANDY.COM SPORTS From surgery to Vandy Tommy John surgery is a major surgery, but it’s become somewhat commonplace in baseball since the procedure was introduced 40 years ago. More than a third of the active major league pitchers have undergone Tommy John surgery, with many more minor leaguers and high schoolers added to that staggering total. A full recovery for a pitcher usually takes a year, but the success rate is estimated at 8590 percent, according to BaseballReference. “Tommy John now is like going to the dentist, pretty much,” said Travis Sheffield, Jordan’s father. “Guys are coming back bigger and stronger and faster and able to throw harder than they were before.” After hearing his diagnosis, Sheffield elected to have surgery the next day, prematurely ending his senior season, and leaving him with a five-inch scar to show for it. Sheffield’s torn right UCL was replaced with his right Palmaris longus — the tendon in your wrist visible when you touch your first and fifth fingers together. Once harvested, the tendon is weaved through holes drilled in the upper and lower arm and will eventually recreate itself into a ligament.

While Tommy John surgery was necessary for Sheffield to continue his career, it put a big dent in his draft stock. Once projected to be a first-round pick in line for a giant signing bonus — the average first-rounder gets $2.6 million — Sheffield fell to the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round. After the 10th round, teams have to get creative to sign players for more than $100,000 due to rules in the Competitive Bargaining Agreement. But Sheffield was ready to come to Nashville. Though the Red Sox called with an impressive lastminute offer right as his family dropped him off in Gillette Circle at The Commons, Sheffield began taking summer school classes at Vanderbilt in early July 2013. “Honestly, once I had the surgery, I knew I was going to come to Vanderbilt,” Sheffield said. “It was just a better situation; I’m not all by myself. Plus (Vanderbilt baseball athletic trainer Chris) Ham has helped me a lot, and I knew I’d have a trainer every day there with me, helping me through it instead of me having to get up and do it myself. Having somebody pushing you is a little bit better.” Going through rehab Jordan Sheffield isn’t the first Tommy John patient Chris Ham

has worked with. Mark Lamm missed the 2010 season and came back with a 2.00 ERA over 27 innings of relief for his senior year. T.J. Pecoraro underwent surgery at the end of his sophomore year and returned less than 10 months later to post a 5.97 ERA over 34 2/3 innings in 2013. Catcher Curt Casali had Tommy John after the 2009 season and followed that up by finishing third on the team with a .446 on-base percentage and eight home runs. Since Sheffield didn’t come to campus until nearly four months after his surgery, he had already gone through the toughest stretch of rehab by the time he began working with Ham. The first step is regaining range of motion, essential for a normal recovery. “(The first day of rehab) was tough,” Sheffield said. “I couldn’t move my shoulder or arm that much. It was more mentally just kind of talking my way through it.” Initially, Sheffield did light shoulder work for 30 minutes a day, using the wall as resistance. Eventually, he worked with stretching bands to build his strength back up. He even talked to Tullahoma graduates Bryan Morris (a Pirates reliever) and Dewan Brazelton (Tampa Bay’s third overall pick in 2001) for advice on

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

how to rebound from Tommy John surgery. By the time Sheffield reached campus, he was almost ready to start his throwing program. Ham and the rest of the coaching staff monitored him as he graduated through a step-by-step program that had him slowly progress, throwing in 30-foot intervals until he was ready for his first bullpen on Oct. 22. When Sheffield wasn’t throwing, Ham had him do early morning full-body workouts for an hour before summer school, doing drills from functional movement patterns to squats to single leg squats to add to the wiry 6-foot, 160-pound frame he arrived on West End with. “The elbow’s going to heal if Dr. Andrews did his job,” Ham said. “We’ve got to make sure everything else is working right.” The season ahead When Vanderbilt played its annual intra-squad Black and Gold Series in mid-November, Sheffield was one of two players unable to fully play. But while Sheffield didn’t pitch, head coach Tim Corbin did use him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in the outfield. And for the beginning of the

2014 season, that’s the role Sheffield will continue to play. He isn’t expected to take the mound mid-March, but Corbin is more than willing to utilize his speed in games for short doses of time. The righty’s rehab is progressing well; his latest benchmark is a 25-pitch outing in a scrimmage. Although he hasn’t thrown an offspeed pitch yet or checked out his velocity on a radar gun, Sheffield and the team are comfortable with where he is. With so much pitching talent on roster — the Commodores have five very capable starters led by All-American Tyler Beede and arguably the best bullpen in college led by All-American Brian Miller — there’s no big rush for Sheffield to come back. Corbin says he will still need to monitor how many pitches Sheffield throws, which will mostly be out of the bullpen this season. But once the freshman is back to full health, he’ll be one of the most valuable pitchers on roster. “The sky’s the limit because he’s a special talent, that’s for sure,” White said. “I think he’s a top of the line SEC pitcher that can help them hopefully get to Omaha and compete for a national championship.”

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014

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