Sonstiges » he bigs inside to rebound, get out and run

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Its rare these days for a team to beat Michigan State so soundly that the game is essentially over midway through the fourth quarter.Alabama did it in last years national semifinals, and now Wisconsin has a blowout win over the Spartans on its resume -- the latest sign that the Badgers should be treated as contenders in what could be a loaded Big Ten.Wisconsin forced four turnovers and held Michigan State to 75 yards rushing in Saturdays 30-6 win over the Spartans. The Badgers moved up three spots to No. 8 in the AP poll Sunday, and Michigan State fell nine spots to No. 17.Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0) has not allowed more than 17 points in a game this season, and the Badgers have allowed only three offensive touchdowns.Well, Ive been lucky. Ive been around some really good defenses, coach Paul Chryst said after Saturdays win. Today, it was big and I thought again it was a good plan by our defensive coaches because our kids understood it and they were able to execute it and they were opportunistic.If Michigan State sometimes seems overlooked in a league that includes Urban Meyer and Jim Harbaugh, one can only imagine how Wisconsin feels. The Badgers won three straight Big Ten titles from 2010-2012, but theyve made only one appearance in the conference title game since -- a 59-0 loss to eventual national champion Ohio State in 2014.With Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State in the East Division, its hard for teams on the other side of the league to earn too much of the spotlight, but Wisconsin has an opportunity to change that. The Badgers already have beaten LSU and Michigan State, and their next two games are at No. 4 Michigan and against No. 2 Ohio State.If they win either of those two, theyd have another significant victory that could serve them well with the playoff committee if they were to win the league championship.Every time I get on ESPN theres all this talk about this stretch of three games, defensive end Alec James said, after Wisconsin won the first one with ease.Michigan State rushed for 260 yards the previous weekend at Notre Dame, but Wisconsins front contained running back LJ Scott and pressured quarterback Tyler OConnor. Michigan States low rushing total was partially because of sacks and a mishap on a punt, but the Spartans couldnt establish any consistency moving the ball.With Michigan State needing more from the passing game, OConnor was intercepted three times.When some things, you know, opportunities presented themselves, turnovers we were able to capitalize on, Chryst said. Obviously we think its a really good Michigan State team and a good offense, and we respect their running game, but guys were doing their assignments and they were finishing and that certainly gave us a chance.A season after leading the nation by allowing 13.7 points per game, the Badgers are allowing an average of 11.8. On Saturday, the Wisconsin defense gave up only two field goals and scored a touchdown itself on Leo Mussos 66-yard fumble return.The Badgers are now 12th in the nation in total defense and 10th against the run, and if anyone doubted the legitimacy of this teams impressive start, well, Michigan State can certainly vouch for it.Wisconsin played good, fundamental football. They come into the football game, we talked about that all week, how theyve got both hands on you up front, Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said. They know what theyre doing, and they do it very, very well. They have a system, and they do it very well.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister and the APs college football website at www.collegefootball.ap.orgCheap Red Sox Jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Boston Red Sox Shirts . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. https://www.cheapredsox.com/ . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Custom Boston Red Sox Jerseys . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Boston Red Sox Gear .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre.MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves have accomplished their summer mission to bring better 3-point shooters and more positional balance to the roster. Now the questions left for this team to answer are whether it can successfully guard anyone and how to divide playing time among a suddenly deep, if healthy, group. The Timberwolves finalized contracts on Friday with a pair of small forwards whose skills were central to their plan, Chase Budinger and Corey Brewer, and another, first-round pick Shabazz Muhammad, whose playing-time prospect appears dim for this season after a flurry of post-draft moves. Budinger agreed to terms last week on a three-year, $16 million contract. Brewer agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal on Wednesday. The Wolves had to manoeuvr through the leagues complicated salary cap rules before they could actually sign them, which led to the trade of guard Luke Ridnour to Milwaukee. Brewer, of course, was the seventh overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Wolves, but he didnt hit his stride until after he left. Last season with Denver, he averaged 12.1 points in 24.4 minutes per game. Shooting is not his forte, but the Wolves badly needed a reliable defender on the wing, and his athletic ability to run the fast break with fancy-passing point guard Ricky Rubio was what cemented him as the right fit to replace the departed Andrei Kirilenko. "Its always different when you come in with the expectations of a top-10 pick and youre counted on to carry a team. Hes not going to have to carry this team," President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders said. With Budinger and another veteran acquisition, shooting guard Kevin Martin, Brewer is probably bound for an energy-off-the-bench role. With him, Derrick Williams and the rookie Muhammad, finding time for everyone will be tricky. Williams played a lot of power forward when star Kevin Love was hurt, but with Love back and Dante Cunningham and Ronny Turiaf behind him, thats a crowded position, too. Saunders stopped short of declaring this the deepest team in tthe franchises woebegone history, but he said the group might be more versatile than the 2003-04 squad he coached with Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell that reached the Western Conference finals.dddddddddddd. Thats the only year out of 24 that the Wolves have advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Budinger was limited to 23 games last season because of a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee. But his familiarity with coach Rick Adelmans system from their prior time together in Houston and his ability to shoot and move without the ball on the wing made him a priority for the Wolves to bring back. This also is a much taller team than last season, when the 6-foot-2 Ridnour was playing out of position at shooting guard. Assuming centre Nikola Pekovic is re-signed, there are three 6-foot-11 guys on the roster with rookie Gorgui Dieng and Chris Johnson. Brewer is 6-foot-9. Budinger and Martin are 6-foot-7. Ronny Turiaf, who was still in the process of finalizing the two-year, $3.2 million deal he agreed to on Thursday, will be a 6-foot-10 backup to Love. "I do believe that its going to be a very exciting team to watch play, just because of how we have the ability of the bigs inside to rebound, get out and run with Rubio," Saunders said, adding: "Our big question is, everyones going to say: We think you guys will be able to score. Are you going to be able to defend? Thats why getting Brewer and getting Turiaf, a perimeter defender and an inside defender, I thought was going to be very big for us." Saunders also praised Adelmans ability to produce capable team defence out of individuals who might not be the best at guarding. Once Turiaf signs, securing Pekovic is the last piece on the summer to-do list. Hes a restricted free agent. "People think he can go pretty much where he wants to go, and he can sign an offer sheet, but we have the ability to match anything," Saunders said. "Right now where were set in our budget, we have an ability to sign Pek, so we expect he will be back." ' ' '