You can expect blood and sweat, but don’t count on any tears when MSU and Michigan face off in the ring. Students, faculty and alumni from the age-old rivals will be going head-to-head in a Toughman Contest at 8 p.m.
It’s hard to believe, but only four players on MSU’s roster have ever won a game against Western Michigan. All four - right wing Adam Hall, left wing Joe Goodenow, and defensemen Andrew Hutchinson and Jon Insana - are seniors now.
After losing three road games in three weeks, the No. 25 Spartans finally return to Breslin Center on Saturday to take on Wisconsin. A home game could be the catalyst MSU (9-6 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) needs to pull itself out of the Big Ten’s basement.
Sometimes a change of scenery can be a good thing, but for the Spartan women’s basketball team leaving the MSU campus creates some challenges.The Spartans (10-4 overall, 0-3 Big Ten as of Jan.
To raise money for New York area charities, officers from the Michigan State Police and Ontario Provincial Police are trading in their uniforms for hockey jerseys. The two departments will square off in a charity hockey game at 7 p.m.
When he steps onto the court, the reception he gets doesn’t rival that of senior guard Mat Ishbia.But when it comes to walk-ons, Flint native Tim Bograkos is MSU basketball head coach Tom Izzo’s guy.With only eight scholarship players, Izzo looks for depth when the starting backcourt needs a breath.
The Spartan women’s basketball team continues its uphill battle in the Big Ten.Fifth-ranked Wisconsin (13-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) poses the next challenge for MSU (10-4, 0-3) at 7 p.m.
MSU volleyball head coach Chuck Erbe announced the signing of Caroline Belichto a National Letter of Intent for the 2002-03 season. “She’s a tremendously well-rounded player that will fit in well with all the players we have here,” Erbe said. The Illinois native was a three-year letter winner at Lyons Township High School, leading her team to conference and regional championships as a junior and a senior. Belich, a 6-1 outside hitter, earned all-conference and all-region honors as her team reached the sectional finals the last two seasons. “She’s a great athlete,” said Erbe.
Quick, who leads sixth-ranked MSU in goal scoring?No, it’s not senior captain Adam Hall, sensational freshman center Jim Slater or even thunder-shooting junior wing Brian Maloney.It’s John-Michael Liles - a 5-foot-10 defenseman from the renowned hockey hotbed of Indiana.Against Quinnipiac on Saturday, Liles became the first Spartan to notch 10 goals this season.
Bloomington, Ind. - The No. 25 MSU men’s basketball hasn’t lost three games in a row since 1997.
Trust me, this is not a plea for T.J. Duckett to return next fall. Actually, I have no clue if the big guy will depart the banks of the Red Cedar for the NFL’s big bucks, but speculation has the 3,379-yard career-rusher fleeing MSU in a limo after his 4 p.m.
The possible departure of junior running back T.J. Duckett would be a “disaster” for the Spartan football team, one top college football analyst said.ESPN college football expert Beano Cook said if Duckett takes his game to the NFL, MSU would struggle to compete in the Big Ten conference.“It’s a disaster for them - you can count on two more losses (for the Spartans),” he said.
The chant “T.J. Duckett, T.J. Duckett” has roared within Spartan Stadium countless times.
Swimming MSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished competition Saturday in the 26th annual Rainbow Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii.
Nothing hurts a program more than a player renouncing his eligibility to turn pro. It leaves programs with unexpected holes to fill and no reasonable way to fill them. It’s kind of like driving down the highway at 70 mph and suddenly throwing the car in reverse.
With a 2-1 record thus far, the Spartan wrestlers are not only in good shape for this season, they have four junior college national champion transfer students hoping to lead the way. Arsen Aleksanyan, Rashad Evans, Anton Hall and Ryan L’Amoreaux have provided the Spartans with valuable depth. MSU head coach Tom Minkel said the Spartans don’t recruit just anybody, they look for potential. “You have to know they can compete at the national level,” Minkel said.
Redshirt-freshman right wing Steve Swistak was in the American spotlight for a couple minutes Monday morning.
Joe Namath he’s not, but that didn’t stop Charles Rogersfrom making a bold prediction after a 44-35 victory over Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.
The new year found three new faces in the Spartan lineup searching for, well, new beginnings.MSU head coach Ron Mason used a nonconference series against overmatched Quinnipiac to insert freshman goaltender Matt Migliaccio, junior left wing Steve Clark and redshirt sophomore forward Pat Brush into the Spartan lineup.Each played one game of the series - Clark in Friday’s 4-1 win and Migliaccio and Brush in Saturday’s 3-1 victory - but all hope the appearances won’t be their only cameos of the 2002 campaign.“I try to approach every weekend as if I was going to play,” said Brush, who had played in one previous game on Jan.
The new year brings new honors for two MSU freshmen. After being selected as second-team Freshman All-Americans by The Sporting News last month, offensive guard William Whitticker and linebacker Ronald Stanley made the Football News Freshman All-America teams. Whitticker received first-team honors after starting 11 of 12 games this season.