Two days and one month before the MSU football season begins against the Broncos of Western Michigan, I saw the movie "Seabiscuit." For those of you not in the racehorse know, I'll quickly summarize the story of the legendary horse. Seabiscuit had very low - if any - expectations. Seabiscuit was a descendant of the famed racehorse Man o' War yet, as a colt, he showed very little promise.
Three of last season's four football captains were benched, suspended or jailed.The 2002 captains - quarterback Jeff Smoker, center Brian Ottney, safety Thomas Wright and running back Dawan Moss - are a stark contrast to the humble disposition displayed by this year's group, a bunch of linemen and a linebacker."Last year the guys didn't follow through," senior captain Paul Harker said.
Coming into the 2003 season, the MSU running backs are overshadowed, undersized, thin on depth and inexperienced - but that might not be a bad thing.After the Spartans lost their top two running backs from last season - Dawan Moss to graduation and David Richard to Missouri on a transfer - the running corps were looking depleted.
After a first NCAA Tournament berth in school history, the MSU women's soccer team has its sights set on a Big Ten Championship. Junior midfielder Ashley Lawson said losing just two starters to graduation leaves her team with an advantage for the upcoming year. "Obviously the seniors will be missed," she said.
Detroit - As Charles Rogers stepped out from behind a closed door on Ford Field's concourse level, camera bulbs popped and hundreds of heads turned to catch a glimpse of the Saginaw native and former Spartan star clad in Honolulu blue and silver."It's nice for me, being a prospect from Michigan," said Rogers, while sitting down to sign autographs.
After sitting out his freshman season at MSU for academic ineligibility, "Tarzan" will be suiting up as a wide receiver for the Spartans this fall."Tarzan" is just a description for sophomore wide receiver Matt Trannon.
Summer is usually a time to relax, but not in the case of the MSU volleyball team. Usually preseason is the time teams start practicing together, getting a feel for what they will be able to accomplish during the upcoming season. But with four seniors and 11 returning letterwinners, senior co-captain libero Emmy Miller and senior co-captain setter Nikki Colson wanted to get a head start on their competition.
Two MSU basketball players, junior guard Chris Hill and sophomore center Paul Davis, were named to the John R.
Lansing - Three straight wins and a 5-0 shutout of the Fort Wayne Wizards on Sunday at Oldsmobile Park have the Lugnuts thinking they've righted the ship.With so much of Lansing's recent slump coming off poor hitting and sloppy play, the Lugnuts combined to score four runs in the eighth off fundamental hitting and base running."Everything that we could do well as a club, we did today," Lansing manager Julio Garcia said.
MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo and the rest of Team USA faced its second loss at the 2003 Pan American Games on Tuesday, forcing the Americans to move to the bronze medal game. Team USA (2-2) lost to Brazil 92-80 in the last five minutes of the semifinal game.
Team USA rallies to beat Argentina, 80-79 In a dramatic opener to the Pan American Games on Saturday, Team USA squeezed out a one-point victory, defeating tournament-favorite Argentina, 80-79. After holding a six-point lead in the first quarter, the Americans (1-0) fell into a slump during the second and trailed by four at halftime.
To a lot of people, this weekend doesn't hold any special significance.But this weekend is not just any weekend.
In an effort to increase knowledge about coaching, MSU is offering three new online courses through the Department of Kinesiology. The classes are graduate-school level but are available to anyone who is a part of the lifelong education program.
Lansing- If the Lugnuts had their wish, baseball games would have one less inning. Another bad inning cost the Lugnuts the game, with its 4-1 loss to the South Bend Silver Hawks on Sunday afternoonThe Lugnuts (15-22) have struggled lately to put together an entire game.
Head coach Rick Comley finds this year's schedule to be an improvement over last year's. The 2003-04 ice hockey schedule, released Wednesday, offers numerous chances to see the Spartans at Munn Ice Arena. "Last year we only had 17 home games," Comley said.
MSU's Athletics Hall of Fame will gain five new members in September when the Class of 2003 is inducted.
Lansing - The Lansing Lugnuts stole the game from the Fort Wayne Wizards on Wednesday by sacrificing their way to a 3-2 win at Oldsmobile Park. After plating only one run on five hits through eight innings, the Lugnuts (15-18) went back to the basics.
The USA World Junior Championship team had a rocky stretch during the weekend, falling to Australia, but rebounding to defeat Slovenia and Puerto Rico to close out the basketball tournament in fifth place. Team USA (7-1) defeated Puerto Rico on Saturday, 82-80.
Team USA still perfect after edging Lithuania The USA Junior World Championship Team is still dominating the 2003 FIBA Men's Junior World Championships. MSU sophomore center Paul Davis and sophomore guard Maurice Ager continued their undefeated exposure to international basketball on Tuesday with a slim 87-84 victory over Lithuania. Davis scored 13 in the evenly-matched game, his most weighty basket a score with just under seven minutes remaining to give Team USA (5-0) a 71-68 lead.
Fans of MSU or Kentucky basketball without tickets to the schools' Dec. 13 matchup are officially hard-pressed to find a ticket because "The BasketBowl" is sold out.After season-ticket holders and university donors from both schools claimed the first 50,672 seats, the remaining 19,028 tickets allotted to the general public on Tuesday sold out in a span of four days, according to the Ford Field Ticket Office.