Don’t let the London Olympics make you forget about the 2012 College Football Season. Go Green!

If this is your first time checking out my blog, you might expect for my blog posts to be all about the 2012 London Olympics. The Olympics are great. They keep getting all of our attentions. However, I never forget that the 2012 college football season is a month away. As a senior student at Michigan State University and a huge Spartan fan my whole life, I cannot wait for another epic season for MSU Spartans to start.

Mike Carter/US Presswire

According to Tim Staudt, a reporter of Wilx, MSU’s football players will be officially reporting to campus this Friday that their first practice will be set for this Saturday, April 4th. “Media day is set for Monday and then preparation begins in earnest toward the season opening game” against Boise State, which starts at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 31st at home. “Mark Dantonio begins his 6th season as head coach” (Staudt, July 2012).

Ever since Dantonio started being a coach, not only have the Spartans won more games than any other Big 10 team (24 games in the past 4 years), they have won 22 games since the 2010 season, which became the highest two-year total in program history and they became the seventh best among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Teams (FBS).

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“Andrew Maxwell is ready to take over as Michigan State’s starting quarterback in 2012 (MSU Football Official Website).

This year, Dantonio is aiming even higher achievement of the team and states, “Really what we’ve got to do is try to build on what we’ve accomplished thus far, and I don’t think that ever stops. I think you have a vision for where you want to go, a vision for the future, and you’re trying to get there. Really, you continue to build. That’s what we’ll always do here” (Dantonio, July 30)

After Kirk Cousins left the team for a professional team, Andrew Maxwell (20),  a Junior Quarterback, took over the role played by Cousins, a third-year-starter. Needless to say, the biggest game to pay attention to is the Spartans vs. University of Michigan, Wolverines at the Michigan Stadium on October 20.  On July 27, ESPN’s Joe Schad talks about Maxwell’s ambition for this MSU vs. UM game in this season on Twitter.

Bleacher Report

In addition to the Wolverines, the teams that you don’t want to miss are University of Wisconsin, Badgers (The Spartans and the Badgers’ last two meetings have made them a notable rivalry), Northwestern, Wildcats (They find a way to beat a ranked team in the Bowl Championship Series every year), as well as Nebraska, Cornhuskers (Taylor Martinez, a Junior Quarterback, is expected to be a large part of the team’s strong offense).

With the new season around the corner, if you know which athletes and what games to pay your extra attention to, you can enjoy and be more knowledgeable about the games! Be excited for the 2012 College Football Season!

Pay attention to Ryan Lochte at the London Olympics

With the 2012 London Olympics right around the corner, what game and athlete are you most excited to see compete this summer? The very well-known names like LeBron James, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are who we hear over and over again, but this summer, make sure to keep your eyes on our fellow American swimmer and a 6 time Olympic medalist, Ryan Lochte. Believe it or not, Lochte is expected to dethrone his teammate and rival, Michael Phelps this summer in London.

Lochte calls himself a ‘trouble-maker‘ who has had many injuries during his athletic career. He has suffered from a knee injury from break dancing, a fractured foot from skateboarding, a bruised knee from a scooter crash, as well as a sprained ankle while playing with his dog. But what made big news was a groin injury he got in July, 2010 that forced him to back off his training and a few IM meets he was already scheduled for (Woronoff, 2012).

That old Ryan Lochte, who has always finished second or third to Michael Phelps, is all gone. Four years ago, he completely changed his diet and broadened his training. He got a large attention from the media; the TV commercials and the magazine covers started featuring Lochte. Gillette Commercial is an example. Lochte cut his hair very short before the U.S. Olympic trials last month when Phelps arrived with a so-called, “dirty uncle mustache“. Lochte was clean-shaven as he was trying to get more attention from his female fans.

Lochte is a fun-loving, laid back swimmer with a unique fashion style, who just wants to go nuts twenty-four seven. However, the fact that Phelps acquired eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics fueled Lochte’s fire for competitions and he won six gold medals at the 2010 Pan-Pacific Championships, as well as four in 2009 and five at the 2011 World Championships.

He was able to change not only because he got bigger and faster, but also he got healthier.  His favorite food was McDonald’s and he was never serious about what he ate while training and competing. He can be such a big and good-looking swimmer, but he did not know how important it is to care about what he puts in his body. His Olympic Head swim coach, Gregg Troy totally changed his unhealthy behaviors. What made him even bigger and faster was Gatorade and proper nutrition while training.

Surprisingly, even Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman mentioned that “Michael’s breaststroke wasn’t bad…It’s obviously pretty good competition,” but “Lochte’s breaststroke is better”. “Lochte was the best swimmer in 2010,” Bowman continues.

At the interview with the NBC Olympics, Lochte says, “I could be having the worst day, but once I step foot in that pool everything just disappears. And I’m a very competitive athlete. I just love racing; I think that’s what keeps me going day to day in practice and going to swim meets”.

Lochte will have to win gold medals at the 200-meter backstroke and freestyle. This will help the U.S. team win medals at the 4×200 freestyle relay, where he will be paired with Phelps to compete.

Ryan Lochte, who will be turning 28 on August 3 during the Olympics, is more prepared for these Olympic meets than any other meet he has had before. Now, you know why you should pay extra attention to this world’s next swimming legend in a few weeks.

YouTube video: Ryan Lochte World Record: Win From Within

Follow Ryan Lochte on Twitter with a hashtag #Jeah!: @ryanlochte

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