Here’s the Weekend High Five:

• MSU football added to its 2009 recruiting class with another solid in-state pickup in Jeremy Gainer, a rivals.com four-star linebacker from Livonia Clarenceville. The state’s #13 prospect decided not to wait for his upcoming official visit. In a separate recruiting story, the Freep mentions some other MSU prospects, a list that curiously omits Dion Sims, also scheduled for an official visit in January.
• In yesterday’s High Five, the Mitten made a case for the Lions steering clear of a quarterback the with the top pick in next year’s draft. Apparently that was a hot topic, because soon KJ from the Spartans Weblog let me know that ESPN.com published a whole section on our beloved, pathetic Lions, including an article pointing out that the team should steer clear of drafting a quarterback. Here’s the link to Kevin Seifert’s story, and there’s a sidebar with links to the other Lions’ stories.
• Then, lo and behold, Tom Kowalski did the same thing.
• Peter King is one of a surprisingly large group of experts picking the Lions to win this week, so maybe, if this is the start of a two-game winning streak, they won’t have the top pick after all. (I’m not saying it’s likely, just mathematically possible.)
• As you prepare for MSU’s showdown with Texas, turn to the Spartans Weblog both for the definitive game preview and to find out why Kalin Lucas isn’t shooting well.

This weekend’s schedule:

Friday, December 19:

• NBA: Utah at Detroit, 8pm

Saturday, December 20:

• College basketball: Michigan State vs. Texas in Houston, 2pm
• College basketball: Michigan vs. Oakland at the Palace, 4pm
• NHL: Los Angeles at Detroit, 7pm

Sunday, December 21:

• NFL: New Orleans at Detroit, 1pm
• NBA: Detroit at Atlanta, 2pm