Friday's here again, and before you start cranking out those TPS reports this morning, take a look at these links we've put together for ya.
Bulldogs close deal on Brown duo | Clarion Ledger
"They all thought I was going to Oxford for my Ole Miss official visit, and instead I showed up there and surprised them," said Brown, who did not go public with his commitment until Wednesday. "I was sitting in their office when they walked in and committed."
It certainly quelled the anxiety in MSU's offices in the Bryan Building last weekend. Fans, though, had to wait until National Signing Day to hear Brown's decision, which provided the final piece to the Bulldogs' defensive-heavy recruiting puzzle: a four-star linebacker and the state's only Parade All-American.
Less than two hours earlier, Florence, Ala., linebacker Beniquez Brown picked MSU. Auburn reportedly offered him a scholarship at 5:45 a.m. At his signing ceremony, he faked out friends and family by lifting an Auburn hat before trading it for the maroon of MSU.
Mullen sends message on signing day | Columbus Dispatch
With a consensus top-30 ranked recruiting according to national recruiting websites Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247sports.com, the Bulldogs responded on paper, and Mullen backed it up at the podium.
"A lot of people are going to get up and preach about what their program is and when they get there, the guys all of the sudden realize it is something very different," Mullen said Wednesday. "They get up and preach but yet they don't live it. These young men had the opportunity to not just hear us preach about our program, but see that we actually live it."
Exhausted bulldogs glad to have week off | Clarion Ledger
State was dealt a big blow when freshman point guard DeVille Smith left the team to tend to health concerns - headaches, dizziness and loss of memory - on Jan. 20, leaving State to fend off opponents with a seven-man rotation.
Smith was averaging 16.1 minutes a game, spelling a tiring Bost (35 minutes per game) at crucial points in games.
"We have to be smart as coaches from the standpoint of fatigue and we've got to be smart about what demands we put on them from a mental standpoint," Stansbury said. "Right now, I don't want to put a lot of pressure on them mentally."
State women downed at Georgia, 70-60 | HailState.com
Still, the Maroon and White hung tough. After an erasing an early 12-1 deficit, MSU still fell back down 10 points at the intermission. An early second-half surged found team teams tied 40-40 with 14:12 left. From there, the homestanding Lady Bulldogs scored the game's next 15 points and eased to the victory.
"If you play hard for 40 minutes, you learn how to win," MSU head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said. "I am proud of the effort tonight. Even in the last couple of minutes, we found a way to make plays and score some points. Turnovers were the difference in the ballgame. We were almost even in rebounds. We have to rebound more consistency, but we also have to take better care of the basketball."
Georgia scored the game's first seven points and quickly built a 12-1 lead before MSU's Kendra Grant hit a 3-point basket with 14:17 left in the first half. The Lady Bulldogs fell down by 11 before scoring seven straight points, including a 3-point basket by Diamber Johnson.
Bulldog Tennis hosts TCU in Home Opener | HailState.com
MSU is 4-2 coming into the contest, while TCU is 1-2. With their last meeting decided 4-0 in favor of MSU last season in Fort Worth, Texas, the series between the two schools is at an even 2-2 slate.
Undrafted, but no longer overlooked | Sporting News
If you can get your hands on the first pick in the draft, as the Giants did with Eli Manning, you can win a Super Bowl. If you know what you're doing, you can get there with the 199th pick, too, as the Patriots did with Tom Brady.
If you can get there with players that never have "draft pick" attached to their names, though, you're really doing your job.
New England isn't here for Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI without Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead, Dan Connolly and BenJarvus Green-Ellis on offense, and Kyle Love, Kyle Arrington, James Ihedigbo and Sterling Moore on defense.