BASKETBALL
Women's basketball prepared to play with target on back
Despite losing three captains to graduation, the Spartans aren’t worried about playing as the top dog this season.
ICE HOCKEY
Hockey swept by Lake Superior State
Late scoring and mistakes ultimately doomed the Spartans this weekend as they were swept in two games by CCHA opponent Lake Superior State. The Lakers’ victories snapped a four-game MSU winning streak in the series, which spanned back to 2009-10.
SOCCER
Women's soccer escapes with win over Indiana in overtime
Coming off a mid-week 2-0 win against in-state rival Michigan, senior forward Hannah Peterson was vying to keep the momentum rolling. Peterson netted her second goal of the season in overtime to give the Spartans (12-4-0, 5-3-0 Big Ten) a 2-1 win against Indiana (6-9-1, 2-6-0 Big Ten).
FOOTBALL
Game weekend busy for police, fire department
The East Lansing Fire Department responded to calls almost non-stop beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday on through the early hours of Sunday and had paramedics on hand at Spartan Stadium during MSU’s football game against the University of Michigan.
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball beats Northwestern, nearly upsets No. 1 Illinois
For the fourth consecutive weekend, the MSU volleyball team split its weekend games, toppling Northwestern 3-1 on Friday but dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to No. 1 Illinois.
FOOTBALL
Spartans beat U-M, 28-14, for 4th straight win over in-state rival
For the fourth consecutive year, the No. 23 MSU football team defeated No. 11 Michigan on Saturday at Spartan Stadium, 28-14.
FOOTBALL
Running game key in MSU's 4th straight win over U-M
With 39 of the last 41 games won by the team with the most rushing yards in the rivalry series, junior running back Edwin Baker and the No. 23 MSU football team knew they needed a big day on the ground to beat No. 11 Michigan.
FOOTBALL
A state divided
This summer, senior quarterback Kirk Cousins was asked a question he’ll probably never forget. While speaking to a K-8 grade school in Michigan, Cousins opened it up for questions when a second-grader raised his hand.
FOOTBALL
Spartans expect U-M unfazed by past losses
The Paul Bunyan Trophy is a coveted award for MSU and Michigan, and Saturday, the Spartans will compete to keep the trophy in East Lansing, where it’s been for the past three years.
BASKETBALL
Obama to attend Veterans Day game
President Barack Obama will have a seat on the USS Carl Vinson this Veterans Day to watch MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans take on North Carolina in San Diego, Calif., an Obama spokesman said in an email to The State News on Thursday.
FOOTBALL
Football looks for 4th straight win over in-state rival U-M
When most of this year’s senior class first arrived in East Lansing in 2007, the times were much different. The Spartans were loved by many, but undoubtedly Michigan was seen as a maize and blue state.
FOOTBALL
Dueling Column: Entitlement is Wolverines' biggest flaw
What’s more sickening? That Michigan is ranked No. 11 in the country, or that I offer the newspaper I saw those rankings in as toilet paper for my apartment?
FOOTBALL
Dueling column: MSU's recent success means nothing at national level
For the 115 years since you started playing football, you’ve been obsessed with waging an imaginary battle against Michigan. Your original fight song included lines of “smash through that line of blue” and “Michigan is weakening.” Your name as the Spartans came as a direct response to Michigan being called the “Athens of the Midwest” (Athens and Sparta were rival city-states in ancient Greece. Wikipedia it. I hear that always works for class.).
FOOTBALL
Gov. Rick Snyder surprised by Sparty
Gov. Rick Snyder got an unexpected surprise Thursday — one he likely wasn’t happy about. Sparty, a rival of Snyder’s University of Michigan Wolverines, paid an unannounced visit to the governor’s office when he was between meetings Thursday.
BASKETBALL
New leaders ready to take over women's basketball team
After winning the Big Ten outright for the first time in program history, the Spartans are looking to continue that success with a much younger squad this season. Thursday afternoon, head coach Suzy Merchant and members of the team met with members of the media to discuss the team’s upcoming season.
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball set for 2 tough road matchups
The MSU volleyball team will face its biggest test of the season when it travels to Champaign, Ill., on Saturday to take on the No. 1 Illinois Fighting Illini, but the Spartans are not looking past Friday when they will face the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill.
SPORTS
Field hockey looks for 1st Big Ten win against No. 18 Ohio State
The Spartans (6-9 overall, 0-3 Big Ten) are coming off a tough 4-2 loss against Indiana while the Buckeyes will be looking to rebound from a 3-0 shutout at home from No. 17 Iowa.
ICE HOCKEY
Hockey heads north to take on Lake Superior State
The Spartans will open up a two-game road series this weekend at Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., against Lake Superior State.
BASKETBALL
Fans invited to Midnight Madness to tip off basketball season
Friday, the annual Midnight Madness will tip off the 2011-12 basketball season at Breslin Center. Doors will open at 9:30 p.m., and admission is free.
SOCCER
Women's soccer earns shutout win over Michigan
With her first goal of the season, Megan Marsack snapped a winless streak against Michigan that dated back to before she even stepped on campus.