We've got an actual, live college football game to reach to on this week's Spartan Speak! Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari and Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch discuss Michigan State's win over Western Michigan that proved a bit costly, as two key defenders went down with injuries. 

Plus, we talk about Jacoby Windmon, the offensive line, the wideouts, Mel Tucker calling out (maybe) MSU's nutritional team, and we preview Saturday's game vs. Akron. 

Michigan State football's season opener is Friday night against Western Michigan. Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari and Lansing State Journal sports columnist Graham Couch get you caught up on what to expect in the game, discuss the newest details in Tom Izzo's contract extension and then we do over/unders and predictions for the 2022 college football season. 

Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari and Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch catch you up on the latest news in Michigan State sports. 

This week's topics:

• Football and basketball recruiting
• 6 MSU football observations (Keon Coleman and special teams among the topics)
• Listener questions

The Spartan Speak podcast has returned from its annual sabbatical, and just in time, as the Michigan State football team is well into preseason practice and the season opener against Western Michigan is right around the corner. 

The Detroit Free Press's Chris Solari and the Lansing State Journal's Ryan Black take you through the latest in Spartan news. Topics:

• Tom Izzo contract extension
• MSU basketball recruiting lands Coen Carr, Xavier Booker, Gehrig Normand
• 6 MSU football preseason tidbits
• MSU football recruiting
• Listener questions - including 6 hot takes

Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari are two of the few people in the world who have already seen the new Magic Johnson documentary, "They Call Me Magic," which airs on Apple+ this weekend. 

We spend the first 14 minutes talking about that before discussing Julius Marble's decision to enter the transfer portal and Joey Hauser opting to return for one more season. 

We then shift to football, with RB Donovan Eaglin and CB Antoine Booth entering the portal, and then a discussion on the spring game. 

It's a listener question episode of Spartan Speak this week! Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari answer your questions ahead of the Michigan State football team's spring game on Saturday. 

The latest Michigan State news is basketball heavy, as longtime assistant basketball coach Dwayne Stephens is leaving the program to become the head coach last Western Michigan. And last week, freshman Max Christie declared for the NBA draft. Will he change his mind and return to campus? Plus, spring football talk. 

On this week's Spartan Speak podcast, Michigan State beat writer Chris Solari and Lansing State Journal sportswriters Graham Couch and Phil Friend discuss the Spartans' second-round loss to Duke in the NCAA tournament, while also looking ahead to next season's squad. 

They also talk about Foster Loyer and MSU's win over Davidson, the Big Ten's disappointing performance and more. 

After a decent run in the Big Ten tournament that saw the Michigan State basketball team beat Maryland and Wisconsin before losing a competitive game to Purdue in the semifinals, the Spartans drew a 7-seed in the NCAA tournament, and oh, boy, there are storylines galore. 

MSU drew 10-seed Davidson in the first round, and its leading scorer is former Spartan Foster Loyer. And if MSU wins that game, longtime nemesis Duke likely awaits in the second round in Mike Krzyzewski's final season with the Blue Devils. 

Then, Chris, Graham and Phil make their Final Four and national title predictions before ending the podcast with a little football talk. 

If you're from Greater Lansing or a Michigan State alum, the new HBO show "Winning Time" has something for everybody. The series debuted on Sunday night and Graham, Chris and Phil give three thumbs up as we open the podcast with a discussion about the show. 

We then move on to previewing the Big Ten tournament, debating which teams are in the bubble, discussing the seven-seed Spartans' opener against 10-seed Maryland, predicting who will win the tourney, and then predicting who wins the MSU game.