Month: May 2023

Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork stands by Texas A&M-Texas rivalry renewal

Amid the SEC Spring Meetings, Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork sticks by the renewal of the Lone Star Showdown between Texas A&M and Texas.

On Wednesday, a new batch of SEC coaches and administrators took to the podium to continue their verbal barrage, mainly concerning the wild nature of the NIL landscape; Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork shifted the conversation to the potential renewal of the Lone Star Showdown between the Aggies and the Texas Longhorns, who last played on the gridiron during the 2011 season.

With Texas and Oklahoma slated to join the SEC in 2024, the issue of future scheduling, specifically the debate between an eight and nine-game SEC schedule, has both Bjork and Longhorns AD Chris Del Conte in agreement that for the rivalry to resume finally, a 9-game conference schedule is the preferred path.

As usual, most of these potential changes involve monetary issues, especially ESPN’s financial burden of paying for additional conference matchups, as the network is slated to become the new home for SEC play next season.

So, assuming that all is well and Texas A&M will play Texas as soon as they become full-fledged SEC members in 2024, Ross Bjork stated on Wednesday that the first game would take place in College Station to kick things off after a 13-year drought. What time of the year will the game take place? Bjork favors resuming the usual Thanksgiving weekend slot, currently occupied by LSU but knows that the importance remains unchanged no matter when the matchup occurs.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s the first game of the season or in middle, it’ll be a monumental game.”

Bjork also had some fun sniping back at Alabama head coach Nick Saban and others who called out the Aggies, Texas, and USC’s “pay for play” spending habits due to their notable collectives, which are entirely legal and abide by NCAA rules.

“They’re speculating. .. The last two years our athletes have received more than $10 million in NIL across all sports. Our fans are passionate.”

As these issues will all (hopefully) be sorted out in time, this week is just a reminder that the 2023 college football season is getting closer and closer, and for Texas A&M, the stakes could not be higher for head coach Jimbo Fisher, who Ross Bjork has all the faith in the world in going forward.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

Bengals’ strength of schedule measured by PFF’s ELO

Here’s how the Bengals’ schedule shapes up by a different metric.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

Much has been written and analyzed (overly so, really) about the 2023 schedule for the Cincinnati Bengals.

But let’s take one more look at how tough it is compared to the rest of the NFL, this time thanks to Pro Football Focus rolling out schedule difficulty tiers based on their ELO algorithm.

Said ELO accounts for factors like past records, game locations, injuries and changes to rosters.

In compiling the rankings, PFF’s Amelia Probst says the Bengals have the 15th toughest schedule next year:

Projected win total: 10.9
Easiest game: Week 10 vs. Houston Texans
Hardest game: Week 17 vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Bengals have a bye in Week 7 and a relatively easy schedule before it. After their bye, not so much, with the 49ers and Bills on the schedule.

It could be worse, right?

Arguably more important than the overall difficulty of the schedule for these Bengals is the structure. They face some of their easiest games of the year early in the schedule before a gauntlet to close the season that features San Francisco, Buffalo and Kansas City, plus four AFC North games from Week 8-18.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Shannon Sharpe is reportedly leaving Fox Sports and fans wondered what would become of ‘Undisputed’

Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless have been a sports staple for the last seven years.

An end of an era is coming for sports fans.

On Wednesday, the New York Post reported that Shannon Sharpe is set to leave Fox Sports. According to the report, Sharpe and Fox Sports have come to an agreement on a contract buyout agreement, with the broadcaster’s last show set for after the 2023 NBA Finals end in June.

For the last seven years, sports fans have tuned in to hear Sharpe’s thoughts alongside Skip Bayless on Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, one of the centerpieces of sports talk television. While Sharpe and Bayless argued often on the show, the pair had a pretty public blowout after Bayless posted a soulless tweet when Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. Sharpe skipped out on Undisputed after the incident, and when he did return, Bayless interrupted his explanation.

Sharpe is also reportedly set to take his popular podcast, “Club Shay Shay”, with him when he departs.

This news will no doubt have ripples across the sports media landscape. Undisputed has been a major part of the sports talk show sphere for some time and now fans are wondering what will become of it if Sharpe reportedly leaves.

Ken Talley shares which teammate he thinks could be a head coach in the future

Ken Talley joined the SD4L Show:

Michigan State football fans are looking forward to the addition of Ken Talley this upcoming season. The defensive lineman looks to make a big presence for the Spartans.

But for now, Talley is restricted to only showing off his personality to the Spartans fanbase, which doesn’t disappoint.

Talley joined Justin Thind and Matt Sheehan on the SD4L Show on the Woodward Sports Network and shared which teammate he believes will be a coach at MSU one day.

You can watch via the show’s Twitter page below:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Two Spartans named to All-American team

Two Spartans were given All-America recognition

Michigan State tennis had a breakout season in part due to the masterful performance by Ozan Baris and Max Sheldon. The two were rewarded for their efforts; they were named All-Americans by ITA Tennis.

Baris and Sheldon are the second doubles team in program history and the first doubles team since 2015 to earn All-American honors.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Emoni Bates shares why he decommitted from Michigan State basketball

Emoni Bates shared why he decommitted from Michigan State in a recent interview:

Emoni Bates was once the biggest and best recruit to ever commit to Michigan State. Unfortunately, he eventually decommitted, and the rest of his career played out as it did.

Now, as Bates prepares for the NBA draft, he sat down with Shams Charania and shared his thoughts about decommitting from Michigan State.

You can watch the interview via Twitter:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

This projected 2023 stat line for Derek Carr would be a big disappointment

This projected 2023 stat line for Derek Carr would be a big disappointment. It has him averaging the second-fewest passing yards per game of his pro career:

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

What are the expectations for Derek Carr in 2023? Obviously the most important goal is for him to lead the New Orleans Saints back to the playoffs and end their two-year postseason drought, but what about his individual performance?

Let’s start by checking in on this projection from Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay, who sees Carr as a big upgrade over New Orleans’ past options at quarterback (at least since Drew Brees hung up his cleats). But it might be too little, too late for Carr:

The New Orleans Saints have their best quarterback since Drew Brees thanks to their offseason signing of Derek Carr. While Carr fell out of favor with the Las Vegas Raiders at the tail-end of a disappointing campaign last year, he could experience a resurgence in the Big Easy.

With a decent group of wideouts that includes 2022 first-round pick Chris Olave and a once-elite veteran in Michael Thomas—who is trying to prove he has something left in the tank himself—Carr could put up some surprisingly decent numbers for the Saints.

Projection: 68 percent completion rate, 3,901 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns; 13 interceptions, 30 carries, 118 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown.

It would help take the edge off if Carr guides the Saints to the postseason (something, it’s worth noting, he only did once in nine years with the Raiders), but that stat line would be a major disappointment with or without a playoff berth.

An average of 229.4 passing yards per game would be the second-lowest number in Carr’s pro career. A 68% completion percentage lines up with his recent performances with someone better than Josh McDaniels calling plays, and it’s worth noting he’s only thrown 30-plus touchdown passes once (in 2015). Carr has thrown 14 interceptions in each of the last two seasons, so that’s a comparable total, too.

As has been observed at other outlets, Carr can’t just be the same guy he was with the Raiders. He needs to elevate his play and that of those around him to justify the Saints’ decision to make him the face of their franchise. If he’s just turning in more of the same that got him run out of town in Las Vegas, fans in New Orleans shouldn’t be happy. Hopefully projections like this one end up being the floor, not the ceiling, for him in 2023.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Buha: Lakers would prefer to sign and trade D’Angelo Russell

The Lakers reportedly want to use guard D’Angelo Russell as a trade chip to improve their roster next season.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, dominos to fall for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason is the fate of starting guard D’Angelo Russell.

He will become a free agent on June 30, and fans seem split on whether the team would be better off keeping him on a new contract or using him in a sign-and-trade to secure an upgrade, such as Kyrie Irving.

Reportedly, the team doesn’t have any real interest in making another run at Irving. However, that doesn’t mean it will not use Russell as trade bait to improve its roster in some other way.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers would prefer to use him in a sign-and-trade than keep him on a new contract (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via The Athletic:

“My read on the situation is that the Lakers would prefer to use D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade, but I’m not sure the market is there.”

However, the journalist also wrote it’s more likely the team re-signs Russell or lets him walk in free agency.

“If ranking the probabilities for Russell’s future, I’d go: 1) The Lakers re-sign Russell; 2) The Lakers renounce his cap hold and let him walk; 3) The Lakers sign-and-trade him.”

The Lakers could perhaps win the NBA championship next season by running it back and adding one or two more role players, as they should improve at least a little bit simply by having a full training camp together. However, the Lakers have a history of being fixated on chasing stars, and doing so this summer simply cannot be ruled out.

Henry Hasselbeck to take official visit to Michigan State football this weekend

Matt Hasselbeck’s son, Henry, has set an official visit date to come to East Lansing, the first QB in the 2024 recruiting class to do so

Michigan State is gearing up for a huge month of June that is set to feature over 40 recruits taking official visits. Quarterback is a huge position for MSU to secure as the month goes on, and it has officially locked in its first QB official visitor of the month.

Henry Hasselbeck, the son of former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck, is set to officially visit Michigan State this weekend, June 2.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Memphis ATH shows off visit to Michigan State football

A 2024 ATH from Memphis showed off his visit to MSU:

Tristan Boyce, part of the 2024 recruiting class, hails from Memphis, Tennessee. He plays high school football at Whitehaven High School.

Boyce, who does not have a ranking yet, shared on Twitter that he took a visit to East Lansing.

Boyce does not have an offer from MSU, but has taken a number of visits to Power Five schools, looking to jump start his recruitment.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]