DieBruderschaft.com

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki gets a quick pep talk from a teammate or two before every game.Be Mike, they say.Its taken him some time to figure out exactly what that meant, but hes on the right track. Gesickis found his way in Penn States emerging offense with 14 catches over the past three games and has become Trace McSorleys most reliable receiver.Hes a different Mike that the one who played the last two years. That one was enamored with thoughts of stardom and his overconfidence never let nerves seep in before games. That Mike led the team in drops and played less and less as the year wore on.I wanted people to know who I was, Gesicki said. I wanted to go out there and make big plays. I wanted to be the guy. When that kind of stuff didnt happen for me, I wasnt doing the things that I wanted to do, I just changed my whole mindset. I dont care if I walk down the street and nobody knows me. As long as Penn State wins, thats all I care about.With his fresh outlook, the 6-foot-6, 252-pound Gesicki appears primed to play a big role against No. 2 Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.Wisconsin used tight end Troy Fumagalli to move the ball against the Buckeyes last week. Fumagalli caught 7 of 9 targets for 84 yards with three third-down conversions. Like Fumagalli whos also 6-foot-6, Gesicki creates mismatches against most players in coverage.He can go up and get the ball, Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith said. And when you cover a guy like that, youve got to respect his speed and try to get hands on him.Gesicki has learned to take advantage of them in coordinator Joe Moorheads offense. The former Fordham head coach always had big plans for Gesicki and hed developed tight ends in the past. Three of them combined for 203 catches for 2,025 yards and 16 touchdowns in Moorheads last four years at Fordham.With Gesicki running routes deep and across the field where hes done most of his damage, Penn States passing game has developed as McSorleys kept plays alive with his feet. McSorleys completed 17 passes of 25 or more yards and his willingness to throw deep has provided Gesicki with more running room after catches with safeties are backed up, Gesicki said.Its much different from the last two years when he struggled to pick up blocking assignments and dropped balls when they came his way. It was on the plane ride home from the teams bowl game that Gesicki mulled over his first two seasons -- humbling 11- and 13-catch campaigns.Eric Fierro, who coached Gesicki in football and basketball at New Jerseys Southern Regional High School, points to a YouTube video of basketball highlights where Gesicki is draining 3s, sawing through the paint for finishes, slamming home alley-oops and blocking opponents seemingly at will to illustrate how used to dominating he was.A lot came for Michael really quickly in a lot of sports in high school, Fierro told the AP. A lot of attention from a lot of colleges came really quickly and as you can imagine for a 15-year-old kid whose dream is coming to fruition right before him, he had some growing pains going through high school and going to Penn State.A standout in the weight room, Gesicki spent most of the latter months last season staying after practice to pop the tackling sled or catch extra passes. Hes still doing that this season and feeling something different as a result.Before the first game this season, I was so nervous, Gesicki said. I was sitting at my locker just thinking about everything. I was talking to (teammate) Saeed (Blacknall) about it and he was like, `Its because you put in so much work. Nothing has ever been this important to you. Nike Air Max Outlet Schweiz . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Nike Air Max Billig Kaufen . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. http://www.airmaxschweiz.ch/ .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Air Max Schuhe Sale . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Air Max Schweiz . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio --?LeBron James is an unabashed NFL fan who attended the Cleveland Browns 35-10 loss to his beloved Dallas Cowboys?on Sunday during a rare in-season off day for the Cleveland Cavaliers.Based on the NFLs television ratings -- down by 19 percent for Sunday Night Football, 24 percent for ESPNs Monday Night Football and 18 percent for Thursday night games through the first seven weeks of the season compared to 2015, according to the Washington Post -- the NFL could use more fans showing that same type of loyal viewership.James, one of the NBAs most high-profile stars, said he isnt sure why fans are tuning the NFL out.Ive heard some of the comments from some of the players, as far as the game, the fun part of it is kind of being taken away. And I know when I played football, I played it for that reason, James said after Cavs practice Monday. For the competition, one, and for the fun of it ... Ive seen a couple of the main guys talk about how the game is not as fun. Its all political, things of that nature, at this point. You definitely dont want to take the fun away from the game. Thats why we all fell in love with sports in general is because you have fun with it at the beginning.But Im not the commish. Im not on the board. I dont know what [the explanation is]. Football is such a great sport, but I dont have the answer for why fewer people are watching.Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was one player who pointed to the NFLs reputation as the No Fun League as a primary reason for its decrease in popularity.Because the league isnt fun anymore, Sherman told reporters last week. Every other league, you see the players have a good time. Its a game. This isnt politics. This isnt justice. This is entertainment. And theyre no longer allowing the players to entertain.While NFL ratings are struggling, the NBA is seeing its viewership grow. Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors drew 30.8 million viewers,, making it the most-watched Finals game since?Michael Jordans final appearance with the Chicago Bulls?in 1998.ddddddddddddTo know that you were a part of a game that people watched and wanted to watch you [is special], James said. When they say it was the highest ratings since Jordan in the Finals, thats a lot of pride. Thats like humbling. Thats great that people want to watch you and watch your team. People are always going to talk about that moment. Its a great feeling.Major League Baseball also enjoyed a strong World Series, with Game 7 between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians drawing 40 million viewers -- the most for a World Series since 50.3 million people watched Game 7 in 1991 between the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins.Ive known baseball for years, they needed a push, James said. I think with the World Series and playoffs in general it definitely helped. Being a part of three of the World Series games, the Cubs and the Indians, I think that history of them not being part of the World Series and not winning it definitely helped, and also being two Midwestern sports teams as well helped as well.And then the games in general, when you go out and compete and youre watching these two clubs go at it, that definitely helps the ratings. People want to see what happens next, whats the storyline going to be tonight?James didnt want to imply that the NBAs and MLBs momentum could allow another sport to unseat the NFL as the most-watched sport in America.Were just trying to continue to build our game, James said. I dont want to talk about a shift and things of that nature. I havent done -- I know people [calculate] numbers where they can gauge whats been happening over a number of years; I havent done that -- but I know what happens in our sport, and I can have a sense of what happened with baseball this past season. ' ' '