"... I couldn’t help but think of how many people had helped me along the way. One of those people I wanted to personally thank for opening doors was Jimmy Raye. This book tells how some of those doors got pushed open. I’m sure you will enjoy reading about the journey!" - Tony DungyArchived
Click here for a page to visit my updated website
Click here to visit my updated website that has been renamed https://tomshanahan.report/You'll find my latest stories on Michigan State, the Spartans' Underground Railroad teams that led college football integration, Duke football and basketball and my AFAN series, stories...
Timing right to reexamine Bear Bryant folkore
PART VIParts I, II, III, IV and V links at the bottom.Podcast on the impact on Michigan State's Underground Railroad and the southern Black high school coaches that laid the tracks* * * “Although no one in the documentary says it, there seems to be a feeling that Southern...
Duke stands out with its helmet statements
By TOM SHANAHAN Duke football opened the season with anything but a dink-and-dunk approach to addressing Black Lives Matters and social justice. Teams warming up in T-shirts sends a message, but as a statement it’s basically a dump-off pass. The Blue Devils took the field...
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67396668/1188062393.jpg.0.jpg)
Poll vote for Duke reflects Notre Dame respect
By TOM SHANAHAN Poll voting can be misleading. That’s true of both the Associated Press ballots cast by writers and the USA Today tallies from the coaches. In the past decade or so, Michigan has been the butt of overrated scoffs. The Wolverines brought it upon themselves with...
Duke can look further down road than year ago
By TOM SHANAHAN Duke is again 0-1 after opening the season against a Top 10 team, but the similarities to 2019 stop with the record as the Blue Devils prepare for their home opener at noon Saturday against Boston College. Duke only stayed with No. 2 Alabama last season for...
Iconic QB says no national champ this year
Tom Shanahan, Special to Detroit Free PressTerry Hanratty answered his cell phone with a muffled voice. Quarterbacks don’t speak softly, but Hanratty wore a mask while shopping at his local market. He has been masked up since surviving his toughest foe, the COVID-19 virus.“I feel...
McCoy leading from fullback room to end zone
By TOM SHANAHAN Sandon McCoy is playing his fourth Army football season. He’s a “Firstie” in West Point vernacular –a senior. In other words, hard work is nothing new. So, let his first quote to me sink in when the Black Knights fullback describes fall camp. “I haven’t seen...
Brice likes what he sees up front for first start
By TOM SHANAHAN Chase Brice knows the look and presence of a ranked team’s offensive line. He played behind one the last two years as a Clemson backup on a 2018 national championship team and 2019 national runner-up. He’s aware Duke lacked such physicality to matchup in the...
Brice brings experience behind shuffled O line
By TOM SHANAHAN Now the question is if Duke’s offensive line can simulate Clemson’s standards for quarterback Chase Brice. Duke announced Brice, a Clemson graduate transfer, earned the starting job over weekend for Saturday’s opener at No. 10-ranked Notre Dame that has the...
Blue Devils are tapping into O Line versatility
By TOM SHANAHAN Duke is shuffling its experienced offensive line sooner than expected, but head coach David Cutcliffe was prepared for another reason. The COVID-19 pandemic forced him to recognize Plan Bs may be at a premium. In addition to the scourge of injuries, a player may...