File this under the poor life choice category.... 

MSU Commit for 2013 WR Jay Harris will not be a Spartan, Instead a rapper: philly.com/philly/blogs/r…

— The B1G Time MSU (@TheB1GTimeMSU) May 14, 2013

Yep, you're reading that correctly, Jay Harris, a three- star WR recruit (according to 247sports composite) notified Michigan State coaches on Monday night two weeks ago that he will not attend MSU and is instead focusing on of all things... a rap career. You can now call him Jay DatBull.... 

I'm not sure which is more of a crap shoot, chasing a dream of playing in the NFL or getting rich from a rap career, but judging from this YouTube clip we were alerted to by our own SpartanWill, Ya... good luck with that pal. 

Were back for another dose of our Top 25 Players in the Big Ten! We last left you with No. 22 and that was Ohio State’s Carlos Hyde and today we switch back to the defensive side of the ball with one of the most athletic linebackers in the B1G.

A fellow linebacker at times overshadows him on his team, but this man has made a name for himself over the last few years in the Big Ten.

Before we get into it, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

With that, let’s look at one of the best linebackers in the B1G…

The college football arms race continues and this time it's the Spartans of Michigan State stepping up their game, at least according to a report from the Detroit Free Press. 

In the report it's claimed that MSU will begin work later this summer on a $20 million dollar renovation of Spartan Stadium. Well, it's really more of an addition than a renovation if you ask us, but semantics, schemantics, right? 

So, what will the new parts of Spartan Stadium include? According to the report it will have the following: 

The plan calls for a two-level building at the north end of the stadium. On the first level will be locker rooms for both teams and coaches, a locker room for officials, an equipment room and a media center.

Now, if you know what game day is like for the media, officials, and players this is about the smartest move they could make. Us in the media get a lovely trip to a trailer for interviews, officials don't even have a locker room to speak of, and well... from what I know the Spartans locker room isn't exactly a thing of beauty or even mild space. 

Welcome back into our post-spring look at where the Big Ten stands in terms of talent. We got things kicked off on Thursday with a look at our No. 25 Player, Christian Bryant of Ohio State. Yesterday we moved on to our No. 24 player, Ryan Groy of Wisconsin . Today we move on to a player that has been a rock for Michigan State’s Top 10 defense for the last three years, and a starter for the last two.

Before we get into it, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

Let us dive into one of the hardest hitting defensive backs in the B1G.

The 2012-13 season was an interesting one for Spartan fans, as not many can be disappointed with the amount of wins, as MSU compiled 27 victories. Michigan State also seemed to beat every team that they should have, only losing one game to a team that did not make the NCAA Tournament. That loss came in the season opener against UConn, a team banned from the post-season.

But the Spartans did not win a thing. No B1G Title, no B1G tournament Title and no Final Four appearance. Because of that, it is hard for Spartan fans to be happy about the 2012-13 season. Though they shouldn’t worry about the future of this program, as up to 4 starters could return for the 2013-14 season. Depending on the NBA decision coming from Adreian Payne, the Spartans could enter 2013-14 as one of the favorites to win it all.

How We Predicted Things:

Regular Season Record:23-7

B1G Record:12-6 (5^th Place)


Postseason:NCAA Tournament

How it Actually Turned Out:

Regular Season Record: 27-9

B1G Record:13-5 (3^rd place)


Postseason: NCAA Tournament 3rd Round - Loss to 2nd seeded Duke

- I will take no credit for this prediction, as I didn’t even know that we had one! Andy was pretty darn close here on his prediction; his prediction of 12 Big Ten wins was only one game off of the Spartans 13 B1G wins. And his prediction for the regular season was eerily close as well, my hat’s off to you Andy!

Well we all expected it, and we got it: The defense outplayed the offense in another spring game.  With a 1:48 left in the second quarter the White defense had outscored both offenses 14-3. Chris Laneaux had a 25 yard interception return for a touchdown (thrown by O’connor) and Kyler Elsworth recovered a fumble and took it back 41 yards to the house. But the Green team was quick to respond giving us our first offensive touchdown of the game, a 22 yard pass from Connor Cook to DeAnthony Arnett. Surely Spartan fans loved that hook-up as many have been calling for Cook and Arnett both to see more time on the field. That score took us into the half wondering if it was a sign of things to come or was it going to be the lone passing touchdown of the day?

Apparently the teams wanted to keep us guessing as the only score in the 3^rd quarter came on a Nick Hill 7 yard run. With 4:32 left in the game a name that has been popping up all spring popped up again when AJ Troup took a short pass from Andrew Maxwell 46 yards to the house. Some may say the defenders took a bad angle and that is why Troup scored, but regardless the walk-on got his name out there again! Kevin Muma and Kevin Cronin both had a 30 yard field goal’s and the game ended with the white team winning 24-17.

But what can we take from this? Were any key position battles answered? Who stepped up and made a name for themselves today if anyone?

ESPN’s College GameDay’s Spring Bus Tour made a stop in East Lansing today to check in with the MSU football team. For those of you unaware of the perks that come along with this Spring Bus Tour, there was/is still a live blog coming from those at ESPN and updating constantly about the visit. Unfortunately (I’m joking) many of those updates are coming from Chantel Jennings, who is a reporter for WolverineNation through ESPN. She has been able to show some pretty cool pictures and information that the normal fan would never get the chance to see, check out the new banners:

"Team" Banner with former captains Greg Jones and Kirk Cousins.

To say Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio has a reputation as a bit of a "frosty" individual would be putting it mildly to say the least. Legend has it Dantonio has never cracked a smile or let out a good belly laugh in his time in East Lansing. However as ESPN's traveling caravan took a swing through Spartyville apparently there was an actual picture of said curmudgeon... GASP!.... cracking a smile:

Mark Dantonio shares a laugh with Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer on the ESPN College Football Live remote set. twitter.com/MSU_Football/s…

— Spartan Football (@MSU_Football) April 18, 2013

Well, frankly that's not much a smile at all and one could argue it's more of a look of "what the hell are you guys talking about," but for MSU's media relations I guess it's wise to stretch that thing into a smile. 

If this is a new softer version of Dantonio we readily welcome it, lord knows it's no fun going through life always pissed off at the world and those who cover you and your team for a living.

About the Spartans:

Record:29-7

2013 NCAA Tournament Path:2nd round W (65-54 over Valparaiso); 3rd round W (70-48 over Memphis)


History w/Duke:Izzo is 1-6 against coach Krzyzewski, but 1-1 against coach K in the NCAA Tournament. The last meeting between these two was in 2011 where Duke won 74-69.

It's not secret that Michigan and Michigan State are rivals - although getting Michigan fans to admit they hate anyone not from "Ohio" is like pulling teeth, their reactions to events tell us something completely different. Well, in the 2013 NCAA tournament the two teams and thus the two fan bases were placed in the same venue - The Palace of Auburn Hills. 

Apparently it has given some Spartans fans a whole new outlet to express their hatred for everything University of Michigan... Or the folks over at mgoblog have been having a bit o' fun at the expense of Sparty?

There's an ENTIRE SECTION of Michigan State fans in SDSU gear who learned their fight song.

— mgoblog (@mgoblog) March 22, 2013

If true, well done Sparans fans, well done... If not, and we're leaining highly to that one because we all know Spartans fans aren't that creative (don't worry we're just piling on for fun's sake), then hat tip to you MGoBlog as you've one uped Sparty in the twittersphere. 

Either way well done fans, well done...