Wisconsin

‘He’s the next Megatron:’ USC’s Ja’Kobi Lane breaks out against Wisconsin

Published

3 months ago

September 29, 2024

‘He’s the next Megatron:’ USC’s Ja’Kobi Lane breaks out against Wisconsin

LOS ANGELES – It was just another Tuesday practice in the middle of Red Mountain’s season, and wide receivers coach Diego Hernandez had no possibility to prepare for the show Ja’Kobi Lane unfolded before his very eyes.

He ran a simple out route, Hernandez remembered, his spindly limbs arriving to his destination before his quarterback could deliver. The ball arrived late, as Lane was already creeping towards the sidelines. So the kid threw his hands behind his back, toe-tapped to stay inbounds, and pinned the toss in his mitts.

“I was like, ‘Dude, that’s – human beings shouldn’t be allowed to do that kind of stuff,’” Hernandez remembered.

They have seen it coming, from Lane’s earliest days in Mesa, Arizona, a community waiting for the greatness to bloom within his towering frame and beating heart. He was the center of attention, at all times, because there was no way to ignore a 6-foot-4 kid who’d walk around campus bumping music from his headphones and dancing with cheerleaders and asking teachers for candy. And his coaches, throughout time, have tried to figure out how to steer Lane straight, a special talent coming with a complex package.

And for two years at USC, flashes of greatness have come interspersed with growing pains, the program curating a delicate ecosystem for Lane to both feel prioritized and challenged in his maturity.

“He’s the next Megatron,” Lane’s high school coach Kyle Enders told the Southern California News Group earlier in the fall, comparing Lane to NFL star Calvin Johnson, “if he wants to be.”

He made that leap Saturday in USC’s win over Wisconsin, preparation and personality and potential fusing together in an emphatic explosion. In another concerningly slow start for USC’s offense, as seemingly everything that could go wrong did in every facet of the game, Lane strapped up his behemoth of a right-arm brace and went to work in a star-making third-quarter drive.

Down 21-10, with some momentum deep in Wisconsin territory after a muffed punt recovered by long snapper Hank Pepper, quarterback Miller Moss – who’s become both an off-field friend and on-field mentor – found Lane for a first down on a third-and-7. A few plays later, on a third-and-15, Moss rolled right and Lane drifted with him to the sideline, waving an outstretched left hand.

Moss fired, and with incredible mind-body awareness, Lane planted both his feet in a deep lunge inbounds before catching and toppling out-of-bounds with a first down.

“He stepped up,” head coach Lincoln Riley said postgame, “and made some big-time plays.”

He simply looked unguardable, stretching himself both horizontally and vertically, going up high for a go-get-it fade ball in the end zone on that same drive. He played with toughness, when USC desperately needed it, hauling in one second-quarter ball over the middle and immediately thumped so hard his helmet flew off.

Immediately, Lane pointed in a signal for a first-down, beaming from ear-to-ear.

“These things are always, there’s a little bit of a grind to it, obviously,” Riley said, earlier in the fall. “A lot of time, all that, involved. When you got people that are high-energy people that everybody enjoys being around, they affect the mood of the group, the energy level of the group so much.”

He gave USC a jolt, on each of his 10 catches Saturday, racking up the first 100-yard game of the season by any Trojan receiver. And even as a host of issues have plagued USC’s young receiving corps this season, and continued on Saturday – drops, missed blocks, poor clock awareness – they followed in Lane’s wake in much-needed second-half playmaking.

Fellow vertical target Duce Robinson caught just two of his five targets, but made them count, with a 32-yard grab late in the third quarter followed by a touchdown snag three plays later. Burner Zachariah Branch struggled mightily to start, muffing a punt and taking a poor route on a one-on-one ball that was intercepted, but made a couple big second-half plays in the flat and finished with 44 yards.

“We’ve made strides in being mature, becoming more football smart,” Lane said postgame. “Knowing where to be, when, why we’re in these spots.”

And USC, now, may have found it top target in a crowded room, their next Megatron finding his breakout moment when his program desperately needed it.

Originally Published: September 29, 2024 at 2:03 p.m.

Source link

Related Topics:Featured Usc Football usc sports

Click to comment

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Jan. 6, 2025

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Jan. 6, 2025

The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 6, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

17-34-46-66-67, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

Midday: 2-2-4

Evening: 4-5-9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

Midday: 4-1-1-0

Evening: 4-9-0-3

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning All or Nothing numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

Midday: 05-06-07-09-10-13-14-15-16-17-18

Evening: 02-04-06-08-09-12-13-15-17-18-19

Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Badger 5 numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

03-05-06-16-31

Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning SuperCash numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

03-13-16-17-21-24, Doubler: N

Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.

Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?

No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.

When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Wisconsin

Packers, Sargento Foods continue ‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ during playoffs for Wisconsin Hunger Relief

Published

9 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Packers, Sargento Foods continue ‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ during playoffs for Wisconsin Hunger Relief

Following another successful season of Touchdowns for Hunger resulting in a donation of $104,000, Sargento Foods Inc. will continue donating $2,000 for every Packers touchdown during the NFL playoffs. The Packers ended the regular season with 52 touchdowns.

As the Official Cheese of the Green Bay Packers, Sargento donates $2,000 toward hunger relief in Wisconsin for every touchdown the Packers score during the regular season. These funds are shared by **Paul’s Pantry** in Green Bay and **Hunger Task Force** in Milwaukee who are on the front lines of hunger relief.

“‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ demonstrates our pride for the Packers and our community,” said Sargento Chairman & CEO Louie Gentine. “We’re proud to continue our donation in the postseason and cheering for Packers touchdowns to help feed families across Wisconsin.”

Since it began in 2002, Touchdowns for Hunger has raised more than $1.9 million to help alleviate hunger in Wisconsin and has provided more than one million meals for those in need.

With over 2,500 employees and net sales of nearly $1.8 billion, Sargento Foods is a family-owned company that has been a leader in cheese for more than 70 years. Founded in 1953 in Plymouth, Wisconsin, Sargento is proud to be the company that successfully introduced America to pre-packaged sliced and shredded natural cheeses and cheese blends. Today, Sargento Foods is still based in Wisconsin, where they manufacture and market amazing shredded, sliced and snack natural cheese products, as well as ingredients. Company leadership lives to serve local communities and employees, whom they refer to as the Sargento Family. www.sargento.com.

Source link

Wisconsin

Wisconsin's first Black-founded alcohol distributorship adds new whiskey line

Published

17 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin's first Black-founded alcohol distributorship adds new whiskey line

Mequon-based Big League Distributing has announced that it will distribute Illinois-made Alexander James Whiskey expressions – a brand created by former Division I college athlete Jesse Steward Jr. – in Wisconsin.

Steward – who was a sprinter and jumper at Purdue University and Lewis University (as well as being an operations supervisor at O’Hare International Airport, which is probably a challenging sport of its own!) – has a bourbon and a rye so far.

Each is distilled by Two Eagles Distillery in Mount Prospect, Illinois, aged four years in charred American white oak barrels and bottled at 90 proof.

“Big League Distributing and Alexander James are a great match,” says Steward, who launched his whiskey brand on his 30th birthday in October 2021. “The BLD team understands that behind every high-quality product is a meaningful story. And those stories are key ingredients.

“Alexander James was born of my family’s rich history passed down to me from my father, his father and so on, each story told over a glass of whiskey. BLD also made history in its founding. Wisconsin is a state of discerning diners and drinkers, and we are confident that Alexander James will resonate.”

The deal is the first to distribute Steward’s whiskeys outside Illinois.

But, I admit I’ve buried the lead here, because Big League Distributing (BLD), founded in March by former professional baseball player Larry Hisle Jr. and journalist James H. Burnett III, appears to be Wisconsin’s first-ever Black-owned alcohol distributor.

“BLD, to the best of our knowledge and that of alcohol industry veterans we consulted, is the first Black-founded, minority-owned alcohol distributorship in Wisconsin,” Hisle says, noting that four years of planning went into the 2024 launch.

“Black-founded because two African American men created the company before bringing in our third partner, an Indian American man (Krishan Mehta), whose father was a successful first-generation immigrant from India.”

In addition to Steward’s bourbon and rye, BLD distributes more than a dozen wine varietals from two different California-based wineries and a New York-Jersey Metro-area importer. Among them are Baker Family Wines, which is co-owned by former LMB star Dusty Baker, and Robert Randolph Prosecco, a label created by Grammy-nominated guitarist Robert Randolph.

“We had a great tequila brand on board as well, but a catastrophic production issue iced that arrangement,” Hisle says. “It has been a roller coaster ride – but thankfully far more ups than downs – as we’ve grown our business over the past five years.

“We’ve learned a great deal, including the solution to the chicken-or-egg question of which to put the most energy into at first/up front: scoring more ‘carriers’ or building up a variety of product offerings and inventory to ensure stability and lower the risk of supply line interruptions.”

What they learned? Focus on the latter and the former will come.

“Now that we’ve got a healthy variety, we’re making an aggressive push to get into more venues,” he says. “We hear from restaurant and tavern owners every week requesting meetings to either taste or coordinate the purchase of our products. This game is a marathon and not a sprint. And we’re in a good place, a great place.”

To help further expand its business, BLD will host an industry tasting event later this month for owners, managers and buyers at local restaurants, taverns, retail outlets and entertainment venues that sell alcoholic beverages.

Of course, the Alexander James Whiskey bourbon and rye will be featured.

“We’re especially excited to work with Jesse Steward, founder of Alexander James, for several reasons,” Hisle says. “His distillery produces quality whiskeys. To date, his products are the closest to Wisconsin that we carry, geographically. So, the logistics will be easier.

“And there’s a personal element. We want people to work with us because we offer great products and service. But we recognize that we’ve made history with our entree into the wholesale alcohol business. To be executives on the distribution side of this industry is extremely rare for people of color, especially Black Americans. It’s less rare but still something of a novelty to see ‘us’ on the production side. So we feel a bond with Jesse as both his operation and ours push to rise and thrive in this industry.”

Source link