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Sports | 1000

BASKETBALL

Izzo seeks more effort, vocal leadership from team

Sean Ely
October 28, 2008

You don’t have to do much to upset MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo. That’s nothing new. But as a team, the Spartans won’t have much time to apologize to the coaching staff for being too soft and lackadaisical in their second week of practice — as the 14th-year head coach plans to swamp his squad with two-a-days, one practice immediately followed by another after a short break.

BASKETBALL

Freshmen looking to make immediate impact for Spartans

Cash Kruth
October 27, 2008

It wasn’t anything personal, but in all honesty, Porschè Poole didn’t like Courtney Schiffauer in high school. That’s how it went in Ohio’s Federal League Conference when Poole, a 5-foot-8 guard at McKinley High School, constantly battled Boardman High School and Schiffauer, Boardman’s standout 6-foot-1 forward throughout their high school years.

SPORTS

Hoyer's skills take MSU to 35-21 win over in-state rival

With seven yards to the end zone, three minutes on the clock and the weight of a state’s expectations on his shoulders Saturday against Michigan, the call came in for Brian Hoyer to throw the ball on third-and-a-career. U-M, the down-and-out rival trailing by a touchdown in the defining game of its season, needed one stop to force a field goal.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans take 3-of-4 points from Northern Michigan

Alex DiFilippo
October 26, 2008

The horn sounded throughout the latter half of Saturday night’s MSU hockey game at Munn Ice Arena, but it wasn’t the horn to signify a goal being scored — it was the horn to signify a fire. Thankfully Munn didn’t go up in smoke, and despite a few stoppages, the errant false alarm didn’t disrupt the No. 12 Spartans’ performance as they won Saturday’s game 2-0 and took 3-of-4 points during the weekend series against No. 18 Northern Michigan.

FOOTBALL

Go green go white

Cash Kruth
October 26, 2008

One year ago, Blair White was a walk-on at MSU, stuck on special teams while occasionally seeing time at wide receiver. Saturday morning, he was an afterthought — just another wide receiver filling a role as the No. 3 man on the MSU depth chart. But by Saturday evening, Blair White was a household name for MSU football fans across the country, as the junior hauled in four catches for 143 yards and a touchdown — the first of his career — in MSU’s 35-21 victory over Michigan.

VOLLEYBALL

MSU drops both weekend games

The MSU volleyball team suffered another rough weekend, losing to No. 19 Illinois and No. 18 Purdue. The Spartans, on a five-game losing streak, have now fallen to 11-10 on the season and 3-7 in the Big Ten. The team struggled mightily against Illinois on Friday, falling quickly in three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-17). MSU seemed overmatched, as Illinois used long rallies in the middle of all three matches to open up insurmountable leads.

SPORTS

No. 8 Spartans drop overtime heartbreaker to No. 10 Iowa

When the No. 8 MSU field hockey team played No. 10 Iowa on Saturday, both the Spartans and Hawkeyes lived up to their billings, playing a tough match with Iowa eventually coming out on top 4-3 in overtime. Iowa, who before the game had outscored its opponents 25-6 in the first half, stayed consistent — jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead despite MSU possessing the ball for most of the first half.

FOOTBALL

U-M coordinator criticizes young QB's performance

Alex Altman
October 26, 2008

Another week meant another loss for the Michigan football team, who fell to the Spartans 35-21 Saturday at Michigan Stadium. The loss, U-M’s fourth straight, snapped a winning streak against MSU that dated back to 2001. It also was the first time the Wolverines lost to the Spartans at Michigan Stadium since 1990.

SOCCER

Goalkeepers stellar in 0-0 deadlock

Alex DiFilippo
October 26, 2008

Sophomore goalkeeper Avery Steinlage stopped six shots and recorded his third straight shutout Sunday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. But the Spartans offense couldn’t find the back of the net to earn the victory against Valparaiso, and the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

SOCCER

Spartans tie Jackrabbits 1-1

Sean Ely
October 26, 2008

The MSU women’s soccer team had never lost a home game or gone into overtime at any point during the season. After hosting South Dakota State on Sunday, only half of that statement still holds true.

FOOTBALL

Bringing down the Big House!

Jacob Carpenter
October 25, 2008

Ann Arbor — Six straight losses to Michigan — over. Eight consecutive losses at Michigan Stadium since 1990 — over. Snarky putdowns of “little brother” and guarantees of victory against MSU — over.

FOOTBALL

Spartans look to come back from Ohio State loss with victory against rival

Cash Kruth
October 23, 2008

Ohio State exposed MSU’s biggest flaw that everyone already knew about — speed kills the Spartans. With Michigan becoming the latest Big Ten team to employ a version of the spread offense, this could theoretically be another long day for the MSU defense. That being said, U-M’s offense lacks playmakers, and the Spartans — with the exception of last week — have played their “bend but don’t break” defense to perfection.