Summertime is here, and with MSU baseball, softball and all the athletes having recently wrapped up their seasons, MSU's 2006-07 sports campaign has come to an end. It was quite the year for Spartan fans, as they have seen some great moments and some not-so-great ones. Here are sports reporter Sean Merriman's best and worst MSU sports moments of the year.
(Not so surprisingly, the worst moments came from the football team).
Best of the year
1. Hockey team wins 2007 NCAA Championship
I am not a big hockey fan, and I can tell you, this was - hands down - the game of the year in college hockey. With the game even at one goal, sophomore Justin Abdelkader scored the go-ahead goal with under 20 seconds left in regulation to win it for the Spartans. The team scored all three of their goals in the final period en route to a 3-1 victory over Boston College and recaptured the NCAA Hockey Championship for the first time in 21 years. I will never forget the crowd's reaction as I waited for more than an hour to get a seat at Buffalo Wild Wings. The place erupted after Abdelkader's goal and MSU fans were on top of the world.
2. Crowd rushes the court as MSU defeats No. 1-ranked Wisconsin
I have sat in the lower-bowl Izzone every year since I have been a freshman at MSU, and every year I wait in anticipation to get a chance at the No. 1 team in the nation. Fans got their chance in the past against the stacked Illinois team with Deron Williams and Dee Brown, but could never beat those Fighting Illini. Now, another Big Ten foe was ranked No. 1: The Wisconsin Badgers. Breslin Center was rocking the entire game, and when Drew Neitzel hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with just under four minutes to go, it was the loudest I have ever heard the crowd. MSU held the lead, and when the final buzzer sounded, fans stormed the court and the celebration began. It was a special moment for MSU hoops.
3. Nick Simmons is MSU's first four-time All-American in more than 30 years
While wrestling might not get the headlines like basketball and football, senior Nick Simmons and his dominant career at MSU cannot be overlooked. With a 41-2 record in his senior season, Simmons secured All-American honors for his fourth straight year at MSU. He finished his renowned career at MSU with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships with an 8-0 major decision in his final match. While hockey and basketball grabbed the headlines, Simmons - who has a 138-20 career record at MSU - was, by far, the most dominant individual this year in MSU sports.
Honorable Mention: MSU football's 38-point comeback against Northwestern marking the biggest comeback in Division IA history.
This was an incredible moment and I was there to view it all. With that said, it would be even higher on my list, but I also was there to view the entire first half, which was possibly the worst half of football I have ever seen. I can remember looking over to my friend and saying "We drove all the way down here for this, maybe we should just leave." He convinced me to wait it out. I'm glad we did. Despite it being MSU's only Big Ten win, it was still an unforgettable sight and deserves credit.
Worst of the year
1. Football team's fourth quarter collapse against Notre Dame
At the end of every Spartan football game, I share my commentary with whomever I am with at the time. However, as I walked out of Spartan Stadium on the night of Sept. 23, after a devastating loss to Notre Dame, for the first time in a long time, I was speechless.
It looked like a hurricane outside as fans were on their feet, shirts off and screaming at the top of their lungs in the pouring rain. It was an explosive atmosphere at Spartan Stadium but something took a turn for the worse.
The Spartans gave up a 16-point lead in one of the worst fourth quarter collapses I have ever seen at any sporting event.
2. MSU football team and John L. Smith embarrassed against Illinois
It was the day of Homecoming and MSU had just come off that devastating loss to Notre Dame. Luckily for the Spartans, they drew the assignment of Illinois. MSU was outplayed the entire game, and a young quarterback with the first name of Juice ran all over the Spartans and led Illinois to a 23-20 victory. It was the Illini's only Big Ten win of the season, and more notably, it came in front of an excited Homecoming crowd. After the game, John L. Smith approached the podium at the post-game press conference and slapped himself across the face.
3. MSU men's basketball team scores a season-low 38 points in a loss to Purdue
After getting off to a 17-4 start, the MSU men's basketball team looked to be exceeding all expectations. However, the team ran into a tough stretch of three straight losses and needed a victory against a mediocre Purdue team.
MSU held close in the first half, but in the second half team members played their worst 20 minutes of basketball the entire season. They shot a measly 25 percent from the field and lost to the Boilermakers 62-38 in the two teams' only meeting of the regular season. Purdue held MSU's leading scorer, Drew Neitzel, to a season-low five points on 2-11 shooting.
Sean Merriman can be reached at merrim22@msu.edu.
