Ryan Talbot’s decathlon rise and his Title IX mom’s influence

PHOTO (Michigan State Athletics): Ryan Talbot celebrates his Big Ten decathlon title with a school record 8,064 points. Teammate Heath Baldwin, who placed third, joins him this week at the NCAA Championships. Visit my website homepage, TomShanahan.Report By TOM SHANAHAN Michigan State’s 2022 track and field season opened with Ryan Talbot essentially a newcomer to the decathlon, the 10-event all-around athleticism test. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out his first college season, 2020. He was injured in 2021. By…

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Climate change, thankfully, is real in college basketball’s men’s and women’s games

PHOTO: Johnny Juzang drives against Michigan State. By TOM SHANAHAN College basketball is refreshing again. The Final Four -- on both the men’s and women’s sides – has knocked us off our feet two straight nights, the women on Friday in San Antonio and the men Saturday in Indianapolis. The climate change has displaced the predictable air clouding the sport through the previous decade. Kentucky has been blown into the background, watching the NCAA tournament with a 9-16…

Continue ReadingClimate change, thankfully, is real in college basketball’s men’s and women’s games

From a snap judgment call to a call for accountability, we’ve come a long way with a long way still to go

PHOTO: Marquette coach Al McGuire (L), Jerome Whitehead (54) and Bernard Toone celebrate winning the 1977 NCAA title. By TOM SHANAHAN The basketball gods can turn quickly, even on a star athlete described as a “gentle giant.” March Madness is in full swing, making this a good time reflect on Marquette center Jerome Whitehead's story. From one NCAA tournament to another, he went from a hero, justly, to a goat (lower case), unfairly. Whitehead emerged a Final Four…

Continue ReadingFrom a snap judgment call to a call for accountability, we’ve come a long way with a long way still to go