In Yahoo’s mock draft

Brain freeze decision to kick the FG on the 1 yard line and go to 2-point conversion (from the 3) AND stop Toledo on their attempt.

Candle had to be turning cartwheels.

I've always thought he's not smart. Confirmed,

among other things. Jim Larrañaga on why he’s stepping down: "I'm exhausted... What shocked me beyond belief was after we made the Final Four, 8 of my players said they were gonna leave. You have to ask yourself, as a coach, what is this all about?"


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I mentioned earlier this week that sometimes we know stuff but our sources ask us not to share for strategic reasons. Regarding the Nick Marsh NIL situation, I can share further information now.

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BREAKING: Red Wings Fire Lalonde, Name New Head Coach​

As Detroit Red Wings bench boss Derek Lalonde has just found out, the holiday roster freeze around the NHL doesn't apply to head coaches. But hey, at least they waited until after Christmas. The Wings have fired Lalonde and replaced him with NHL coaching veteran Todd McLellan.


McLellan has posted a career .581 win percentage, in 16 years as an NHL head coach, with the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings.


Detroit is a disappointing 13-17-4 this season, after coming into the season hoping to snap an eight-year playoff drought.

The Michigan State football staff has been busy on the first official day of the transfer portal for the 2024-2025 winter window.

The portal opened on Monday, Dec. 9 and runs through Saturday, Dec. 28.

The MSU staff has already scheduled several visits. Please keep in mind that recruiting the portal is very fluid. Planned visits can change quickly, so I am only including those who have told Spartans Illustrated a firm date (or those based on a reliable report that we trust).

This is a running list that will be updated as more news comes in.

Here are the transfer portal visitors who are planning to take a visit to Michigan State (with date):

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Michigan State has landed the commitment of Air Force transfer outside linebacker/edge rusher David Santiago, following his official visit to East Lansing during the weekend of Dec. 21.

He was offered by the Spartans during his visit to MSU this past weekend.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Santiago will likely play the rush end position for head coach Jonathan Smith, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi, co-special teams coordinator/rush ends coach Chad Wilt and the Spartans.

More here, via @Brendanmoore101:

As an early Christman present to the Spartan (and other Big Ten fans) out there, this is part two (of two) of my annual simulation-based analysis of the Big Ten basketball race. Here I break down MSU's schedule, forecast the total number of wins, predict BTT seeding, I even know the odds and most likely record needed to hang a banner. Check it out:


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our subscribers!

As the transfer portal officially opens up in two next weeks, I thought I would start a thread sharing guys who enter who and who are getting at least some interest from the staff.

2024-25 Michigan State Men’s Basketball Schedule



Sunday Oct. 13 at Northern Michigan (exhibition) Marquette, Mich. 1 p.m. MSU 70 NMU 53 W
Tuesday Oct. 29 FERRIS STATE (exhibition) East Lansing, Mich. MSU 85 Ferris State 67 W

Monday Nov. 4 MONMOUTH East Lansing, Mich. MSU 81 Monmouth 57 W (1-0)
Thursday Nov. 7 NIAGARA East Lansing, Mich. 8pm MSU 96 Niagara 60 W (2-0)
Tuesday Nov. 12 vs. Kansas (Champions Classic) Atlanta, Ga. MSU 69 Kansas 77 L (2-1)
Saturday Nov. 16 BOWLING GREEN East Lansing, Mich. MSU 86 Bowling Green 72 W (3-1)
Tuesday Nov. 19 SAMFORD East Lansing, Mich. MSU 82 Samford 75 W (4-1)

Monday Nov. 25 vs. Colorado (Maui Invite) Maui, Hawaii MSU 72 Colorado 56 W (5-1)
Tuesday Nov. 26 vs Memphis (Maui Invite) Maui, Hawaii MSU 63 Memphis 71 L (5-2)
Wednesday Nov. 27 vs UNC (Maui Invite Maui, Hawaii MSU 94 North Carolina 91 (6-2)

Wednesday Dec. 4 at Minnesota * Minneapolis, Minn. MSU 90 Minnesota 72 (7-2)
Saturday Dec. 7 NEBRASKA * East Lansing, Mich. MSU 89 Nebraska 52 (8-2)

Tuesday Dec. 17 at Oakland Detroit, Mich. MSU 77 Oakland 58 (9-2)
Saturday Dec. 21 FLORIDA ATLANTIC East Lansing, Mich. 2 pm MSU 86 FAU 69 (10-2)
Monday Dec. 30 WESTERN MICHIGAN East Lansing, Mich.

Friday Jan. 3 at Ohio State * Columbus, Ohio
Thursday Jan. 9 WASHINGTON * East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday Jan. 12 at Northwestern * Evanston, Ill.
Wednesday Jan. 15 PENN STATE * East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday Jan. 19 ILLINOIS * East Lansing, Mich.
Saturday Jan. 25 at Rutgers * TBD
Tuesday Jan. 28 MINNESOTA * East Lansing, Mich.

Saturday Feb. 1 at USC * Los Angeles, Calif.
Tuesday Feb. 4 at UCLA * Los Angeles, Calif.
Saturday Feb. 8 OREGON* East Lansing, Mich.
Tuesday Feb. 11 INDIANA * East Lansing, Mich.
Saturday Feb. 15 at Illinois * Champaign, Ill.
Tuesday Feb. 18 PURDUE * East Lansing, Mich.
Friday Feb. 21 at Michigan * Ann Arbor, Mich.
Wednesday Feb. 26 at Maryland * College Park, Md.

Sunday March 2 WISCONSIN * East Lansing, Mich.
Thursday March 6 at Iowa * Iowa City, Iowa
Sunday March 9 MICHIGAN * East Lansing, Mich.


Wed. – Sun. March 12-16 Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind.
Tues. – Wed. March 18-19 NCAA Tournament – First Four Dayton, Ohio
Thurs. – Sun. March 20-23 NCAA Tournament – First & Second Rounds Multiple Locations
Thurs. – Sun. March 27-29 NCAA Tournament – Regionals Multiple Locations
Sat. – Mon. April 5&7 NCAA Final Four San Antonio, Texas


The full Big Ten men's basketball TV schedule:

Michigan State will have six games that will be exclusively on Peacock:
vs. Samford 11/19
vs. Minnesota 1/28
at USC 2/1
at UCLA 2/4
vs. Indiana 2/11
vs. Purdue 2/18

MSU will have nine games on FOX or CBS:
at Ohio State 1/3 FOX
at Northwestern 1/12 FOX
vs. Illinois 1/19 CBS
at Rutgers 1/25 CBS
vs. Oregon 2/8 FOX
at Illinois 2/15 FOX
at Michigan 2/21 FOX
vs. Wisconsin 3/2 CBS
vs. Michigan 3/9 CBS

Update: Many MSU fans will want to discuss the Lions because of expectations. Let's create one ongoing thread so we can keep it in one place.
















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Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs suffered a hamstring injury at practice Monday night, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Gibbs was being evaluated for a leg injury after departing the practice session early, though it was unclear on which play he was injured.

Gibbs, 22, is coming off a Pro Bowl rookie season in which he rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with 316 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.

Breaking: The Michigan Panthers have signed quarterback Rocky Lombardi, one of their #UFL College Draft Picks. Lombardi played college football at Michigan State and Northern Illinois. He threw for 7,390 yards and 42 touchdowns throughout his career.

Press release from MSU Athletics:

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Former Michigan State volleyball standout Kristen Kelsay has been named the eighth head volleyball coach in program history. One of MSU's career assist leaders, Kelsay spent the last two seasons as associate head coach at Minnesota.

"I'm thrilled to announce that Kristen Kelsay is returning to East Lansing to guide the Spartan volleyball program," said Alan Haller, Michigan State Vice President & Director of Athletics. "From her time as a Spartan student-athlete to her ascension through the coaching ranks, including nine seasons as a Big Ten assistant, her journey has brought her back home and prepared her well for the task at hand.

"Kristen has a passion for Michigan State University, Spartan volleyball and our entire community, and has first-hand experience with success at MSU both as a student-athlete and a coach. As a player, her work ethic, volleyball IQ, and team-first attitude helped her excel on the court, and those same qualities will be equally impactful as she mentors her student-athletes. She's an excellent recruiter who has strong relationships with volleyball clubs throughout Michigan and the surrounding states. I'm excited to watch her grow as a head coach and pour her heart and soul into building a successful Spartan volleyball program."

At Minnesota, Kelsay worked with the setters and led recruiting efforts for the Golden Gophers. In 2024, Kelsay helped Minnesota to its 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and regular-season Top 10 victories over then No. 1-ranked Texas and No. 7-ranked Wisconsin. Setter Melani Shaffmaster was named First Team All-Big Ten, AVCA All-Region and was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention under Kelsay's coaching. Her 2025 recruiting class was ranked by multiple sites as a top-10 class nationally.

"I am honored to return to Michigan State University as our women's volleyball head coach," said Kelsay. "This program has shaped my life in remarkable ways. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to President Kevin Guskiewicz, Athletic Director Alan Haller, and Executive Senior Associate AD Julee Burgess for this opportunity to return to the Spartan Family.

"I love this University and my passion for all things Green & White is unmatched. I look forward to meeting with the team and reconnecting with our loyal fans, alumni, and Spartan community. Go Green!"

Kelsay had two Big Ten coaching stops prior to Minnesota, serving as an assistant coach at Northwestern from 2019-21 and at Michigan State under former head coach Cathy George from 2015-18.

In 2022, she worked as the associate director and recruiting coordinator of Volleyball Club Nebraska where she was the lead coach for the U16 and U18 Elite teams. Kelsay also assisted with the USA National Team Development Program where she worked with the U15/U16 age group.

As an assistant at MSU, Kelsay helped the team to a four-year record of 85-48 along with an Elite Eight appearance in 2017, the first regional finals appearance for the Spartans since 1996. Kelsay coached Michigan State's all-time assist leader and two-time All-American, Rachel Minarick.

A two-time team captain while wearing the Green & White from 2010-13, Kelsay ranks fourth in program history in sets played (473) and seventh in career assists (3,040). Kelsay set the Spartans to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2013. Following her senior campaign, Kelsay was awarded Michigan State Athletics' Chester Brewer Leadership Award and the Dr. James Feurig Achievement and Service Award. Kelsay also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and was a three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten selection.

After her graduation from MSU, Kelsay was awarded a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship and served as a graduate assistant in MSU's Student-Athlete Support Services department where she served as an academic counselor and helped oversee the department's community outreach initiatives.

Originally from Wheaton, Illinois, Kelsay graduated from Michigan State with a bachelor's degree in psychology and obtained a master's in sports administration from Northwestern.