id Roberts, referring to the September call-ups that allowed him to expand his pitching staff to 18. The start that Kenta (Maeda) gave us

The quarterback position was a big mystery when Michigan commenced preparations for this football season.It is now one of the teams biggest strengths thanks to the stellar play of sophomore Wilton Speight.Speight has exceeded all expectations and attempts to help the No. 3 Wolverines (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) remain unbeaten when they visit Iowa (5-4, 3-3) on Saturday (8:12 p.m. ET, ABC).The 6-foot-6 Speight outlasted Houston transfer John OKorn in a competition that began in the spring and continued through late August.Once he landed the gig, Speight responded with consistently good play, topped by last Saturdays 362-yard passing effort against Maryland.Hes superseded the hopes, hes gone past what we were hoping hed be -- in a big way, coach Jim Harbaugh said in a press conference. Hes been outstanding. Outstanding. Id be lying if I said he hasnt done more than what we hoped hed be this season.Hes met the challenge at every pass. Hes acquitted himself more than good. Hes got a hot hand and its come through preparation and its been really important to him. And thats really why you dont put expectations on people and you dont limit what you think they can be.Ironically, Speight considered transferring prior to Harbaughs first season after being berated by coach in the spring of 2015.The segment aired in an HBO special. Speights face and jersey number were blocked out but there was no denying that a really tall quarterback was told the following:If you want to look at me with that look, go (expletive) somewhere else, Harbaugh barked.Speight and his family investigated leaving before he decided to remain with the Wolverines.That redshirt freshman fall camp, I was on the phone with my parents basically, OK, Im out, lets find a different school. They were on board. They obviously wanted me to stay here, but they were going to support my decision.Things are working out well now for Speight and Michigan and he enters the game against the Hawkeyes with 2,053 yards and 15 touchdowns against three interceptions.He will look for more production against an Iowa squad that is reeling after being pounded 41-14 by Penn State last Saturday.The loss was the second straight for the Hawkeyes and a humbling one for coach Kirk Ferentz.We got hit right on the chin, Ferentz said in a press conference. The whole challenge is to get back up on your feet and go back to work. We have to do it this week because the team we play is going to be a big challenge for us.Iowa is just one game off the pace in the Big Ten West despite its recent struggles. An offense that has topped 40 points on three occasions has suddenly gone dormant and combined for just 23 points in the two defeats.Senior quarterback C.J. Beathard has passed for fewer than 200 yards in six of nine games. His 204-yard effort against Penn State matched his second-best output of a season in which he has thrown for 1,584 yards and 13 touchdowns against five interceptions.The sharing of backfield duties by junior Akrum Wadley and senior LeShun Daniels has been a strength. Wadley has rushed for 664 yards and eight touchdowns and Daniels has 642 yards and six scores.The defense was gashed for 599 yards by Penn State -- a staggering amount with stars such as senior cornerback Desmond King (12 career interceptions) and junior middle linebacker Josey Jewell (Big Ten-leading 87 tackles) headlining the unit.I think you try to keep people motivated, coming in every day and giving it their all, Jewell said in response to a question about a possible leadership void. Thats what we have to focus on now.Michigans defense has had few issues all season long as the unit leads the nation in scoring defense (10.7 points per game), total defense (246.3), passing defense (138.9) and third-down conversion defense (19.0).Sophomore outside linebacker Jabrill Peppers has fueled the success with a team-best 13 1/2 tackles for losses. Senior middle linebacker Ben Gedeon has been consistent all season and has a team-high 74 tackles while senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis (two interceptions) is in top form after early season injury issues.An offensive player performing well is senior tight end Jake Butt, who became the schools all-time leader for receiving yards (1,521) by a tight end in last Saturdays 59-3 trouncing of Maryland.The Wolverines have lost in each of their last three visits to Iowa so nobody is taking the Hawkeyes lightly.Iowa, this is a championship (game), and we take that to heart, Speight said. We know its win or go home. All this means nothing if were 9-1 this time next week.Shoes Sale . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Fake Shoes From China .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. https://www.fakeshoeswholesale.com/ . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Fake Shoes . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Black Friday Shoes . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim.LOS ANGELES -- A three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday could go a long way for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they get ready to embark on a 10-game road swing.After an off-day Thursday, Los Angeles opens a three-game set against former manager Don Mattingly and the Miami Marlins, who posted a four-game sweep at Dodger Stadium earlier this season. The Dodgers follow that by visiting the New York Yankees for three games (Sept. 12-14) before capping their trip with a four-game series in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks (Sept. 15-18).The Dodgers will play 17 straight games before getting another day off.Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged how taxing the run of contests can be on his starting rotation and his bullpen. However, Roberts is confident his club, which currently leads the San Francisco Giants by four games in the National League West, can weather whatever the baseball Gods can throw at them.It helps to have a bunch of arms out there, said Roberts, referring to the September call-ups that allowed him to expand his pitching staff to 18. The start that Kenta (Maeda) gave us (Monday) was certainly big. But now its a lot easier to mix and match guys and kind of be really mindful of their usage. Were in a good place but after that weve got (17) straight games. But weve got some numbers.Rookie pitcher Brock Stewart (0-2, 7.94 ERA) will start Wednesdays game against the Diamondbacks. Stewart will continue a Dodgers trend of using their young arms to start games in large part due to injuries.ddddddddddddWednesday) we have another rookie that were going to have to look at on film and figure out a way to beat him. Weve got to get one game in this series, Arizona manager Chip Hale said.The Dodgers are starting four consecutive rookies for the second week in a row. Jose De Leon performed Sunday, Maeda worked Monday and Ross Stripling did the honors Tuesday. All three won.From Aug. 27-31, Los Angeles started Julio Urias, Stewart, Maeda and Stripling.It was the first time the club started first-year pitchers in four straight games since Sept. 8-10, 1952, when the club went with Ken Lehman, Bill Loes, Ray Moore and Johnny Rutherford.Stewart, who will be facing the Diamondbacks for the first time, will oppose Arizonas Robbie Ray (7-12, 4.36 ERA).Stewart made his last start for the Dodgers on Aug. 28, when he limited the Chicago Cubs to two hits with a career-high eight strikeouts in five scoreless innings but did not factor into the decision in a 1-0 Los Angeles win.Ray also received a non-decision in his last outing on Sept. 2, when the Colorado Rockies tagged him for six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.Ray is 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA in six career starts against the Dodgers. Ray beat the Dodgers the last time he faced them on July 17, striking out seven on a four-hitter in seven shutout innings. ' ' '