• In Cathy George's head coaching debut, the Spartans swept Kent State. Maybe John L. Smith should ask George about her game plan, since the football team opens against Kent State.

• For the first time since 2001, the Lions will play in a nationally televised primetime game when they face the St. Louis Rams tonight. ABC must be trying to play off of the popularity of "Desperate Housewives" by marketing the Lions as having a "Desperate Fan Base."

• Ex-MSU star Kristin Haynie and the Sacramento Monarchs earned the top seed in the West for the upcoming WNBA playoffs. Haynie recovered from an illness that even the team doctors couldn't figure out, Monarchs head coach John Whiesenant told the Sacramento Bee. But Sacramento center Yolanda Griffith had another take on Haynie's illness: "We just wear our rookies out. Sooner or later, they're going to hit the wall."

• So what class does a star quarterback, in his fifth year at Southern Cal, enroll in with two credits needed for graduation? Ballroom dancing, of course. Matt Leinart, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, signed up for the class with girlfriend Brynn Cameron, who's on the Trojans hoops team. How does he explain how he put off pro football for a year to learn the cha-cha?

• A 14-year-old Florida Marlins bat boy was suspended for six games after accepting a dare from L. A. Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, a former Marlin, to drink a gallon of milk in less than an hour without vomiting. "It's kind of ridiculous that you get a 10-game suspension for steroids and a six-game suspension for milk," said Penny, who offered the bat boy $500 for the stunt. Maybe the Marlins were right to discipline the kid, but weren't they kind of bullies to take his milk money?

Complied by Esther Gim and Tom Keller