Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, June 19, 2015
The Lansing State Journal is counting down the Top 50 Michigan State football players in history. No. 50: Denicos Allen.
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No shock here: Michigan expects an eight-year high in season ticket sales this season.
Having seen season ticket sales drop in recent years, Michigan is rebounding thanks mostly to the hiring of Jim Harbaugh and a 2015 schedule featuring home games against both Michigan State and Ohio State.
"We had to get the revenue moving line back up," Hackett said. "One of our core strategies was getting a special football coach."
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Good story from Sam McKewon of Omaha.com on Nebraska offensive tackle Alex Lewis, the bellwether of the Husker line. And it?s a line that Lewis would like to restore to the days when Nebraska had tough fronts.
?Last year was a roller coaster when you?re talking about consistency,? Lewis told Omaha.com. ?What affected us was preparation. You could just tell when guys didn?t prepare the right way. I?m not talking physically - everybody was physically prepared. But football is a game of mental toughness, and if you?re not mentally prepared for your opponent - if you don?t know their defensive schemes or what plays they like to blitz on or what kinds of blitzes they?re running, that?s not good. It wasn?t at the same level week in and week out.?
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Excitement is bubbling around the Purdue hoops team. And it will all unfold on a revamped Keady Court.
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Count Penn State?s James Franklin among the many fans of Mark Dantonio.
"I think when you look at Michigan State you have to talk about the consistency they have there, and they obviously have a plan and have stuck with the plan," Franklin said recently at Dakota High School. "They've had continuity on their coaching staff, although they did lose Pat Narduzzi this past year.
"But again, they showed they have a true program there, they promoted from within, and they are continuing to do the same things."
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Your latest Jim Harbaugh snippet: Remember the time he padded up and practiced with the 49ers? No? Well, check it out.
"Pads, helmets, everything on," ex-49er Delanie Walker told The Tennessean. "He had the whole uniform on. We came out and said, 'Who is that dude out there?' And it was Jim Harbaugh. He had some old high top cleats on."
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The high school coach of dismissed Indiana safety Antonio Allen says he was and can be special. Too bad we never may find out.
"When he was with me, he was one of the finest young men I know," Ben Davis coach Mike Kirschner said this week. "I know it doesn't look like it right now.
"I love the kid. My family loves the kid."
Indiana State Police have video of Allen selling drugs to an informant, according to court documents. Police executed a search warrant at his apartment in the 400 block of E. 19th Street in Bloomington. They reported that they found a Colt .45 handgun, 47 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of heroin, three half-smoked blunts and $920 in cash.
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Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com wonders if Virginia Tech can beat Ohio State in Blacksburg this fall a year after the Hokies won in Columbus. Turns out, there?s a 10 percent chance it could happen-according to this report.
Lesmerises notes that a year ago, the Hokies were filled with questions when they came to Ohio State. This year, they're filled with experience and getting Ohio State at home. Last year, Virginia Tech was the only team in the country to beat the Buckeyes and the Hokies should be significantly better this season. Interesting.
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Wisconsin fans hankering to relive last year?s march to the national title game will want to pick up the book ?Make ?Em Believe,? which chronicles the team?s journey to the summit.
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Penn State has themes for its games. Kinda neat. The Rutgers home game will be a ?stripe out.? Check out all the themes here.
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| About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
