SPORTSBEAT by Peter Jakey: Greene?s late season progress at NMU

Kyle Greene of Rogers City is poised to make a splash in his last year of college eligibility next season at Northern Michigan University. He transferred from Glen Oaks Community College, where he was a two time all-conference player, to play his junior year with the Wildcats. He had offers and interest from other parts of the country but ultimately decided on the upper peninsula college. In looking back at the 2007-08 season, the Wildcats took their lumps and lost their first eight games, but only the last one in the streak was at home. They won the ninth game of the season over Michigan Tech by 10.

GREENE WAS a steady contributor on the boards all season, including a team-high seven December 5, but continued to substitute into head coach Dean Ellis? line up until getting a starting nodwith a quarter of a season left. He started at forward and center. He moved into the starting lineup right about the time his dad, Jim, saw an outstanding game, as Kyle had three dunks to go with eight points in a win against Wayne State University. It actually was one of Greene?s best overall performances of the season with 10 rebounds and three blocks. He saw about a half dozen games, while Kyle?s mom Deb, squeezed a few more weekday games in and was at about 10 games. His mother, who serves on the Rogers City Council, is a NMU alumnus.

FROM THAT January 19t game at home, Greene?s minutes went up and his role increased. He started every game through January until the second to last game. His season best point total occurred in a blowout win against Northland Baptist where he put in 13 February 4, and 11, 10 days later against Northwood. He really shined in the rebound department, though. He grabbed a Wildcat season best 16 boards against Northland Baptist and was the second leading rebounder on the NMU squad with 121 for the season (4.7 per game). He was fifth in scoring with 94 points (3.6 PPG), but had the best shooting percentage on the team, as he made 38 of his 82 attempts. It was kind of cool when I searched his name on the Internet and Greene appeared on an ESPN website because he played in an early season tournament in East Lansing.

AGAIN, THE sky appears to be the limit for Greene next year, as he looks to help the Wildcats turn around their first losing season in more than a decade (7-20), but without two of the highest scoring players from the 2007-08 season. And if Kyle isn?t doing anything in the fall, maybe the Wildcat football team will need his services as a tight end at the Superior Dome since he was an all-state football player at that position for the Rogers City Hurons. College athletes keep plenty busy, so there probably wouldn?t be much time for that. Greene is majoring in sports science on the shores of Lake Superior.

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THE TIGERS? opener didn?t end the way fans had hoped, and it?s probably because that much-heralded batting line up left 10 runners in scoring position, but better days are in store this year. There were plenty of great signs. Miguel Cabrera looked as if he?ll have no trouble clearing the fence at Comerica Park and Carlos Guillen still has a sweet swing that packs quite a punch. The pitching was good, but the Tigers need to score more than four runs a game, and probably won?t have a difficult time doing so.

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THE SONG ?Take Me Out to the Ball Game? is 100 years old this year. In what has been a baseball institution during the seventh inning stretch for as long as anyone can remember, the words were written by an individual who wanted to go to a game. Jack Norzworth was inspired to put the words together while riding the subway. He saw a sign in the New York City area that said ?Baseball Today ? Polo Grounds.? It went on to be a number one record on the radio. For Norzworth, it took about 32 years before he actually saw a Major League Baseball game.

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