data-mm-id=”_dec1bcv71″>The Big Ten is no longer a collection of dust from three-yard gains. All manner of newfangled offensive schemes have come and gone and the scoreboards have reflected a more uptempo, freewheeling game. And yet, deep down in the soul of everyone from Cedar Rapids to Happy Valley who is of a certain age, there's a certain nostalgia for steel-curtain defense on sun-starved and frozen brown fields. The ship has arrived for that sect of fans. The nation's four top scoring defenses reside in the conference. Wisconsin is holding opponents to 7.3 points/game while Penn State is just behind at 7.5. Iowa is at 8.5 and Ohio State at 8.6. It's beautiful. Michigan State, which may have the most fearsome unit of all, is 14th at 15.0. The Spartans join Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Penn State in the top-10 stingiest in the yards/play category. The Badgers, Buckeyes, Spartans and Hawkeyes are all in the top-10 in total defense as well. How good is the top half of the conference's defensive units? Last week, for example: Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa combined to allow 25 points. Total!The country's best player — on either side of the ball — is Chase Young of Ohio State. He and teammate Jeff Okudah are legitimate top-five NFL prospects. Penn State's Yetur Gross-Matos and Kenny Willekes should also find their way into the first round. Allow me, a Midwesterner, explain why this is so great. You see, when you grow up in the cold, you learn to love the cold. The brutality of life. The suffocating hardship of doing anything in the snow. You start to believe life is not supposed to be easy.That thought seeps into our brain and manifests on Saturdays. It's not supposed to be easy for the pretty boy offense to get the ball and breezily move it up and down the field. There should be some resistance, some obstacles. If life is hard for you, it damn well be hard for other people.This is true Lake Wobegon stuff. Petty and vindictive. There's a sharp bite behind all those friendly smiles. It's okay to love defense. No reason to get defensive about it.
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Arsenal preserved their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-1 win over the Cottagers at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
It was arguably the least fluent Arsenal have looked this season but they managed to get the job done, with Gabriel Magalhaes getting the winner to make amends for the error that initially gifted Aleksandar Mitrovic the opening goal.
Captain Martin Odegaard had levelled for the Gunners prior to Gabriel s 85th-minute goal, which ensured Arsenal began the season with four successive wins for the first time since 2004.
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Mikel Arteta will be able to call on Mesut Ozil for his first game in charge of Arsenal as the Gunners visit Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
Arteta labelled the much-maligned Ozil a massive player for Arsenal on Friday after he was confirmed as the Gunners new head coach.
However, Ozil, who was struggling with a foot injury, was not involved as Arsenal drew 0-0 with Everton in Freddie Ljungberg s final match in temporary charge on Saturday, with Arteta watching on from the stands at Goodison Park.
The playmaker who Ljungberg said would not have been involved even if fit due to his petulant reaction to being subbed off against Manchester City has now recovered from the problem, however, and will be available for selection at the Vitality Stadium.
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Our rivalry is only on the pitch – Ederson opens up on relationship with Liverpool counterpart Aliss
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson insists his rivalry with Liverpool counterpart Alisson only exists on the pitch, despite competing with each other on multiple fronts.
The pair have battled it out for domestic and European honours during their time in English football, while also vying for the number one jersey with Brazil.
Ederson has played second fiddle to Alisson on the international stage, but the 26-year-old believes their intense on-field competition can only be considered a positive.
I think it s a good sign for all the goalkeepers in Brazil and for the country, he is quoted as saying by several British newspapers.
You look at Europe and you find two great goalkeepers playing at high level in two of the best clubs.
— Alis…
Xherdan Shaqiri scored a pair of sensational goals to earn Stoke City a 2-0 victory over struggling Hull City, who slipped into to the Premier League s bottom three with defeat in front of a sparse crowd at the KCOM Stadium.
Switzerland international Shaqiri was instrumental in Stoke winning successive Premier League matches for the first time since March with a brilliant display, suggesting the Potters sluggish start to the season may be behind them.
The former Inter winger picked out the top corner with a 25-yard stunner in the 26th minute to put Mark Hughes team, unchanged from their first top-flight win in eight against Sunderland last weekend, on the path to victory.
Shaqiri added his second early in the second half via a sweetly struck free-kick, making him…
RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano s long-term future appears uncertain, though there is a strong possibility he will end up in the Premier League.
The France international centre-back has emerged as one of Europe s most-promising defenders in recent seasons and is part of a Leipzig side that has conceded just 12 goals in 15 Bundesliga games this season.
Upamecano, 22, looks certain for a big-money move eventually, and although his next destination is unclear, he has plenty of admirers in England.
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Manchester United will not sell Anthony Martial, according to . It has been reported that United have decided that they will not offload the France international forward in the summer transfer window, as he remains part of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plan for this season.
claimed on July 24 that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in Martial. claimed last week Spurs and Everton want to sign the former AS Monaco striker this summer.
Martial has scored in 167 appearances in the Premier League so far. The United forward made 17 starts and five substitute appearances in the Premier League , scoring four goals and providing three assists in the process. The 25-year-old scored two goals and gave one assist in five Champions League matches and played thrice in the Eur…
River Plate striker David Trezeguet has revealed that he rejected an opportunity to return to Juventus in the January transfer window.
The experienced striker left the Bianconeri on a free transfer in the summer of 2010, and has since featured for Hercules, Bani Yas and River Plate.
Following a disappointing start to the current season, the 35-year-old was linked with a return to Turin, but the transfer never materialized.
Trezeguet now reveals there were some contacts, but that he ultimately pulled the plug on the deal.
“There was a key contact to return to Juventus, but my future is at River Plate, where I want to end my career,” the Frenchman told radio programme This is River on AM 770 Radio.
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Inter have been fined 50,000 euros after their fans racially abused Milan forward Mario Balotelli in Sunday s derby.
Inter have been fined 50,000 euros after their fans racially abused Milan forward Mario Balotelli in Sunday s derby.
Reports in Italy claim Inter fans waved inflatable bananas at their former player, who was also fined 10,000 euros for spitting in the fans direction during the 1-1 draw.
Inter were previously handed a 15,000 euro fine after the club s supporters racially abused Balotelli during the win over Chievo earlier in February.
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Belgium striker Jonathan Benteke, also known as the brother of former Aston Villa and Liverpool forward Christian Benteke will join his sibling at Crystal Palace, according to reports from Belgium.
Leading Belgium newspaper HLN reports that the 21-year-old leaves Zulte-Waregem as a free agent and that the Premier League side Crystal Palace have already made an approach to lure the younger Benteke to Selhurts Park.
Alan Pardew is keen to bring Christian s younger brother in order to help the club-record £32 million signing settle in as best as possible.
With summer transfer window now closed, European clubs can still make moves in the market for free agent such as Jonathan Benteke who leaves the Belgian side after only two years spent with the Essevee.
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Michu proved a revelation when, after completing a £2million move from Rayo Vallecano, he scored 18 Premier League goals in his debut season, earning his solitary Spain cap as a result.
However, injuries halted his momentum during the 2013-14 campaign and an unsuccessful loan spell at Napoli followed last term.
For a man who was arguably one of the hottest properties in English football at one stage, Swansea have found it particularly tough to offload Michu, but his exit remains a priority for Monk in the coming days.
We are still negotiating, …