Lots and lots of links to get to in the wake of the Big Ten spring meetings. Your first step, however, should be to check out the tight contest between Alan Anderson and Derrick Mason to get the 64th spot in the Favorite Spartan Bracket. Remember -- we're looking for your favorite Spartan, not necessarily the one who had the best numbers or the most awards. The poll closes at 9 PM Eastern tonight, so get your votes in. Onto the links!
MSU's Delvon Roe 'having a blast' acting, sets sights on Hollywood | Detroit Free Press | freep.com Roe stands to make $5,000 this summer for his role in a superhero movie being filmed in Michigan. Since Roe got the job as a student (he's a theater major, just like Drew Neitzel can use his left and right hands and Matt Trannon plays basketball), there's no whiff of improper benefits here.
Spartan Avenue | A Michigan State Spartans Blog Give a hearty welcome to the newest Michigan State blog on the web!
MSU offer changes English's outlook The junior defensive end from Georgia now has MSU in his top four along with South Carolina, Arkansas, and the other MSU (Mississippi State, that is).
Road games a concern with 9-game sked - Big Ten Blog - ESPN Mark Hollis has a few words with Adam Rittenberg about the possibility of a nine-game Big Ten schedule in the distant future. I'm split on it -- I'm all for a game against a Big Ten team rather than (insert MAC team with open date in 2020), but the nonconference schedule will suffer. If a nine-game schedule was instituted, I'd guess many years there'd be a nonconference schedule of a FCS team, MAC team, and Notre Dame.
PluckPersona | Journal and Courier | jconline.com More news from the Big Ten, including the possibility of men's basketball playing a few conference games in early December to prevent overlap with bowl games in early January. I don't like that idea one bit -- it's not like basketball games distracted me from the bowls this year. Just keep basketball off of New Year's day, and keep the start of the conference schedule where it is.
Jasmine Hines Named PARADE High School All-American - MICHIGAN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE The 6'3" forward set Michigan records for points and rebounds, and should be a fine piece in the post along with Madison Williams in the fall.
Good news for MSU basketball teams, Michigan women in APR scores | Detroit Free Press | freep.com Speaking of the women's team, both them and the men cagers (along with the men's soccer team) ranked in the top 10% of their sports in APR (a metric the NCAA uses to calculate progress towards graduation). Congrats y'all!
Gene Washington Elected To College Football Hall of Fame - MICHIGAN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE Congratulations are also in order to one of the best Spartan receivers. Washington was also a track and field star, with one NCAA indoor championship in the 60-yard hurdles along with six Big Ten track titles.
Entering the Hall: Gene Washington - Big Ten Blog - ESPN Ritternberg has a few details on Washington's life post-football. Washington started the minority college recruiting program for 3M in his time there as a recruiter.
SpartanMag.com - Rivals.com updated Preseason Top 25 Michigan State comes in at #17, the third Big Ten team on the list behind Ohio State and Wisconsin.