Spartans start as No. 1
Top preseason poll for first time
There isn’t much Michigan State has yet to accomplish under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, from Big Ten titles and Final Four trips to winning a national championship.
The Spartans can now add another milestone to the list: They are No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college basketball preseason poll for the first time in program history.
The Spartans were the overwhelming choice with their veteran returnees led by star Cassius Winston. They topped 60 of 65 ballots in voting results released Monday, easily outdistancing No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Kansas as the only other teams to receive first-place votes.
Duke was fourth, followed by Louisville, Florida, Maryland, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Villanova to round out the top 10.
STEELER LB CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo was charged with simple assault against his girlfriend on Sunday. Alysha Newman told police that Chickillo grabbed her “by the biceps and forced her against a wall and door of the hotel room causing injuries,” and smashed her phone, per records obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Newman is also a professional athlete: She’s the Canadian record holder in the pole vault.
Chickillo was arrested on Sunday at a casino 70 miles south of Pittsburgh. According to the Post-Gazette, police documented redness and bruises on Newman.
Chickillo admitted that he shoved Newman to the ground, but claims she punched him in the head first. Newman told cops that she punched him after Chickillo threw her to the ground, and Chickillo responded by smashing her phone. She then locked herself in a bathroom and waited for police.
NYC MARATHON CHAMP FLANAGAN RETIRES
Four-time Olympian Shalane Flanagan, who ended a 40-year American drought when she won the New York City Marathon in 2017, is retiring from competitive running to become a coach with the Nike Bowerman Track Club.
“I have felt my North Star shifting,” the 38-year-old Flanagan said Monday on social media. ”My passion and purpose is no longer about MY running; it’s more and more about those around me.”