Recruiting: In-state prospects to watch as Michigan State camp season looms - Detroit Free Press
The first few weeks of June will go a long way towards determining which area prospects Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio and the Spartans prioritize for the class of 2013.
The staff will have multiple opportunities to evaluate prospects first hand at the Sound Mind-Sound Body Camp held in Metro Detroit, and at the Spartans own player camp in East Lansing.
Last year, Southfield Lathrup High School standout Jamal Lyles performed so well at the Sound Mind-Sound Body Camp that MSU offered him the following day. Tight end Josiah Price of Indiana and defensive back Jermaine Edmondson of Ohio also earned offers after excelling at MSUs 1-Day Camp. Several local recruits have already indicated that they will be attending one, if not both, camps.
Here is a list of five in-state players that have a legitimate shot to earn a MSU scholarship in the next month:
• Offensive tackle Dennis Finley of Detroit Cass Tech:
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound prospect already has Bowl Championship Series offers from school such as Illinois, Indiana, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Purdue. Finley has family that attends Michigan State and projects at a position of need for the Class of 2013.
• Athlete Mycial Allen of Detroit King:
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Allen is a player that has already impressed many this spring on the camp and combine scene. He picked up his first Big Ten offer on Wednesday from Iowa. The Spartans like his ability to play on either side of the ball
• Defensive end Luke MacLean of Grand Blanc:
The Spartans are looking to sign multiple speed rushers to the Class of 2013 and the 6-foot-4, 235-pound MacLean excels at getting after the quarterback. MacLean is friends with several current Spartan commitments including Jon Reschke of Brother Rice and Gerald Holmes of Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
• Defensive tackle Nate Jeppesen of Portage Central:
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Jeppesen was initially being looked at for the offensive line, but the Spartans now want him to come up and take repetitions as a defensive tackle. Jeppesen is very powerful and already holds a host of Mid-American Conference offers.
• Offensive tackle Poet Thomas of Detroit Country Day:
The 6-foot-6, 295-pound Thomas burst on the recruiting scene after being offered by Florida earlier this year. MSU has been in frequent contact and the staff wants to work with him personally before making the call on a scholarship. Thomas also has a BCS offer from Colorado.
With limited scholarships available for the Class of 2013, the Spartans are going to be very selective. With that said, dont be surprised if one of the above prospects ends up signing with Michigan State come National Signing Day in February.
Matt Dorsey is a recruiting analyst for SpartanMag.com and Rivals.com
TEXT-Fitch:Spanish cable proves resilient amid contagion fears - Reuters
May 25 - Fitch Ratings said that Cableuropa S.A.'s (Cableuropa or ONO) recently announced bank refinancing combined with the strength of its operating and financial results, provide solid support for Fitch's view of the sector and the company's ratings. The company has a Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B' with a Positive Outlook.
Current conditions - both in economic terms and the financing environment in Spain - make liquidity and market access an important (and potentially overriding) feature of any credit view. With the closing of the EUR1.4bn bank deal, along with the earlier success in 2012 in the bond market (when Cableuropa raised USD1.0bn in senior secured 2018 bonds) the company has demonstrated solid debt market access and has put its maturity profile on a similar footing to more highly rated and less regionally challenged peers such as Telenet ('BB'/Stable) and Virgin Media ('BB+'/Stable).
ONO's bank deal sees the majority of bank maturities pushed out to 2017/2018, which along with its long dated bond maturities, effectively alleviates financing pressures.
The success of both its bank and bond financing in 2012 demonstrates investor appetite for the sector, and highlights how companies with the right business model remain financeable despite one of the most difficult periods in the eurozone's history.
Fitch cautions that with a total of USD1.225bn of dollar denominated bonds, and no overseas earnings, a currency mismatch exists, with in Fitch's view, eurozone concerns are likely to sustain euro weakness at least in the near term. High rates of unemployment, the collapse of the property sector and uncertain long term effects of austerity in Spain, all underpin caution in the rating, despite financial metrics that provide ratings headroom.
The effectiveness of the cable model is evident in recent Cableuropa results which contrast with those of Telefonica ('BBB+/Stable'). The Spanish incumbent is undergoing significant pressure in its domestic operations, with Spanish revenues in Q112 down by 10.7%, including mobile revenues down 13.7%. Top-line pressure of this scale is inevitably putting pressure on margins, with the Q112 domestic EBITDA margin of 42.8% down by 1.4 percentage points.
In contrast, Cableuropa posted Q112 revenues 5% ahead year on year. While some margin pressure was reported (due to an increase in low margin wholesale revenues), an EBITDA margin of 48.6%, down 0.5 percentage points, was nonetheless solid and highlights the resilience of both the company and the sector.
Notably, ONO is growing its small and medium sized enterprise (SME) business, where revenues were ahead by 13.4%. With margins at similar levels to the (high margin) residential fibre operations, traction in the SME segment should, in the agency's view, provide some offset to competitive pressures likely to persist in the residential business given actions being taken by Telefonica to defend its domestic business.
Stephan Ward admits to living the Republic dream - Football
Published: 25 May 2012 - 06:17:01
Stephen Ward admits he has to pinch himself when he contemplates the prospect of running out for the Republic of Ireland at the Euro 2012 finals.
The 26-year-old Wolves full-back is a relative newcomer to the squad with only 10 senior caps to his name to date, but he has established himself as a key member of Giovanni Trapattoni's first-choice back four. Indeed, he is the only fully fit member of that back four ahead of Saturday's friendly against Bosnia at the Aviva Stadium.
However, simply preparing for the finals of a major tournament is a dream come true for a man who was a schoolboy the last time Ireland made it on to the big stage a decade ago. Ward said: "Just to be in and around it here and be in the squad is something I could only have dreamed of."
He added: "I pass by houses of my friends on the way to the training ground and the flags and everything are out, so it's a little bit surreal. But we have arrived and we need to cherish every moment.
"I have said many a time that a lot of your fondest childhood memories are when Ireland have been in major tournaments. You remember everything that happened, the goals, the parties when they came back, and to be on the other side of the fence is something I can only ever have dreamed of as a kid."
The Republic, of course, came within a hair's breadth of the reaching the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 when they were beaten on penalties by Spain in Suwon despite going into the tournament without skipper Roy Keane following his infamous Saipan bust-up with manager Mick McCarthy.
Spain will once again stand between the Irish and their hopes of qualification this time around with the current World and European champions vying with Trapattoni's men, Italy and Croatia for a way out of Group C.
Ward is well aware of the severity of the challenge, but he remains convinced Ireland can progress.
He said: "I don't think we would be going there if we didn't think we could get out of it. We are under no illusions that it's a strong group and we are going to come up against some really good sides.
"But if you look at us as a team and how we play and the manager we have, he is world-class and he gets the best from us as a squad of players. We feel on our day we can frustrate anyone and be a match for any side, so there's no reason why we can't go there and cause a few upsets."
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