Monday, April 20, 2026

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FEATURES

Pootie doesnt translate to film

Sketch comedy rarely transfers over to the big screen very well. But, on occasion, a popular TV character makes it to the movies and entertains. Pootie Tang is not one of those. Based on a character from Chris Rock’s HBO talk show, “Pootie Tang” in film form is a waste of time, money and talent.

SPORTS

Championship in training

Big Ten football survival involves a lot of hard work - hard work that usually goes unnoticed by the fans that wake up early on fall Saturdays to tailgate and cheer for their favorite team. While these fans spend their summers at the cottage barbecuing and chatting with their peers about the upcoming season - and making their predictions for what will happen - college players around the country are sweating their summer days away to give fans the show they expect to see come fall. MSU is one of the big-time football programs that puts their players through a hard summer regimen.

NEWS

McPherson leads African hunger plan

Although more than 35,000 meals are served on MSU’s campus daily, President M. Peter McPherson worries about food production an ocean away.To ease the concern, the university’s chief executive met with leaders from the United States and Africa in Washington, D.C., last week to unveil a 15-year plan to cut hunger in Africa.“There are many institutions that were there and interested,” McPherson said.

NEWS

South Fox Island under fire

SOUTH FOX ISLAND - An MSU alum who founded and funded MSU’s Victor Institute for Responsible Land Development and Use has come under fire for being what some say is less than responsible with a Lake Michigan Island.David Johnson, a Bay Harbor developer and founder of development firm Victor International, requested a consolidation of the land he owns on South Fox Island, which would leave him with 625 southern acres of the island and a historic lighthouse.The state would receive 665 acres including a Native American cemetery currently on Johnson’s property.Although the island is less popular among tourists than North and South Manitou Islands, nearly 60 conservationists, Native Americans, historians and concerned citizens set out on a charter boat Thursday to see the island property in jeopardy.“This is too beautiful and awesome of an island that it should only be allowed to be enjoyed by so few people,” said Ramon Westbrook, a former Department of Natural Resources employee who feels the land trade should be postponed until more issues are decided.

COMMENTARY

First steps

The Red Cedar River is about to get a face-lift and it’s a good thing too, because it’s been getting pretty ugly lately. Last fall, researchers found unusually high levels of E.

SPORTS

Pistons needed colors revival

It’s the sort of nostalgia that any avid sports fan - like me - needs.Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars announced Monday that the burgundy and teal uniforms the Pistons have sported for the last five seasons will be replaced with the comforting red, white and blue of Piston championships past.

NEWS

States Golden Boy

NEW YORK - Following the selections of three high school players and a Spanish national, former MSU guard Jason Richardson was the first collegiate player to be drafted in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Richardson was picked No.

MICHIGAN

Police to watch for drunken drivers

The Michigan State Police are putting the brakes on drunken drivers during the Fourth of July holiday.“Our troopers are being instructed not to work on investigations that are not essential, but to concentrate on patrolling,” said Sgt.

SPORTS

The Cold War on record-setting pace

The ticket sale count for the MSU vs. Michigan hockey game in Spartan Stadium is at 43,500, sports information director John Lewandowski said. That number would break the North American record for attendance at a hockey game, which stands at 28,183, set at the ThunderDome in St.

FEATURES

A.I. deserves an A+

“A.I. Artificial Intelligence” is a thought-provoking science fiction drama that works on many levels and reveals deeper meanings long after the movie is over.

SPORTS

Is Richardson more of a man after NBA draft?

NEW YORK - For Jason Richardson, I bet last night’s NBA Draft was a lot like my bar mitzvah when I was a 13-year-old with a face full of acne. Just to clarify for those of you unfamiliar with bar mitzvahs, it’s not when a Jewish boy is circumcised - rather it’s when he earns the status of manhood in the eyes of his religious community, regardless of his maturity level. Just to clarify for those unfamiliar with the NBA Draft, it’s not the circumcision of college basketball players either.

NEWS

Gridders to miss season

The MSU football team will be without the services of two capable wide receivers and a bruising fullback for the upcoming season.Wide receivers Shawn Foster and Marcus Waters were declared academically ineligible to play this year and fullback Bradshaw Littlejohn has been dismissed from the squad for violating team rules, sports information director John Lewandowski said.Both Foster, a senior, and Waters, a sophomore, are still enrolled at MSU.

NEWS

Student alliance position to be cut

After this summer, East Lansing police Officer Larry Sparkes will no longer be able to spend his days meeting MSU students and listening to their concerns.Sparkes, who is currently the student alliance officer, will be returned to road patrol at the end of the summer because of budget cuts.“It’s unfortunate I will no longer be in that capacity,” Sparkes said Wednesday.

FEATURES

Symphony orchestra on deck at ballpark

Flying an American flag is a way to pay homage to our country, but heading to the sixth annual Symphony at the Park would give an earlier start to Independence Day festivities. The Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra will be performing popular patriotic songs, Hollywood and Broadway hits and Disney selections at Oldsmobile Park, 505 E.