Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Mark Dantonio were voted the nation’s number 1 coaching combo in a recent poll; up from #7 last year. Yes, in the two college sports that people care about, you can’t find a better one-two punch then H to tha Izzo and MD. However, there was once a time in Spartan lore when both Tom Izzo and Nick Saban were coaching in East Lansing, Michigan.
The overlap period was 1995-1999, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better pair in modern college sports history than Izzo and Saban. The two remain close friends today.
Tom Izzo was in Chicago for the Big Ten meetings/media day, and he spoke at a launch party for Prime Time Lockers, a product he endorses. It’s similar to that commercial where he’s dancing on top of a ladder. Tom Izzo is definitely profiting now off that “blue collar” Upper Peninsula image that Michigan State, the Big Ten, ESPN et al have marketed to us.
His thoughts on the Big Ten hierarchy:
“In football, we’re struggling a little bit as a league, but in basketball the past three, four, five years Wisconsin should be the pick of the litter, they have everybody back from a Final Four team, but two through ten you’re going to be able to flip coins there’s so many good teams.”
“And then we’ll all be young again, so the future is going to be even better.”
“If anyone stays in school anymore”
Prime Time Lockers are part of Gladiator Garage Works, a Benton Harbor, Michigan based concern that is part of Whirlpool Corporation.
Tom Izzo at #B1G Media Day Eve. @gladiatorgw launch party. #MSU #MSUBB pic.twitter.com/EtsOhEK7cI
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) October 15, 2014
As we’ve pointed out, and since we’re talking about celebrity Michiganders, Whirlpool Corporation is where Kate Upton’s money and connections come from. There are a lot of young women who are as attractive as Kate Upton, but when your great grandfather invented the modern washing machine and founded Whirlpool…well being born on third base helps a lot towards getting ahead in life. Fred Upton, the uncle of Kate Upton, is a Republican who worked for Ronald Reagan and is currently the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
And both Kate Upton and her sister Laura Upton grew up enjoying the sport of the elite super-rich, horseback riding. As Laura Upton is a very accomplished equestrian athlete at the University of Georgia. Back to Tom Izzo and Nick Saban. Izzo brought up his buddy Nick last night during his speech at the launch party. The podcast of the entire speech is embedded below, and there’s a lot of great moments. Izzo was definitely working the room; and he was on point with his comedic game all night. Lots of amusing one-liners, but the Nick Saban talk begins at the 12 minute mark.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2