ICE HOCKEY
The Cold War to be featured on ESPN
The Spartan hockey team will receive even more national exposure this week, stemming from its record-setting outdoor hockey game on Oct.
FOOTBALL
Spartan Stadium will be torn apart in spring, growing by mid-June
Deadlines need to be met for the Spartans to enjoy their first full season on natural turf in 32 years.Associate Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Greg Ianni - one of the masterminds behind the $2 million Spartan Stadium transformation - said the project should begin next spring if weather permits.
FOOTBALL
Rayner wins starting spot
MSU freshman kicker David Rayner didn’t have extensive kicking coaching in high school. He knew his chances to play this year would be slim.
SPORTS
Toughman Contest to pit rivals
If Spartan fans feel they haven’t proven their dominance over Michigan, their chance is coming. The “Toughman Contest,” an amateur boxing event seen on Fox’s FX Network, is challenging fans, students and alumni of MSU and U-M to represent their schools in the ring on Jan.
FOOTBALL
Football recruit shows interest in U, likes coaching staff, players
Kyle Brown, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver from West Bloomfield High School is so highly sought that football powerhouses around the nation didn’t renege scholarship offers after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament early this season.
SPORTS
Mason wrestler gives verbal to Spartan team
MSU’s wrestling squad landed its third recruit from the area, when Mason’s Tony Greathouse verbally committed to the Spartans on Monday.Greathouse - No.
ICE HOCKEY
Goodenow puts health problems behind him
Reporters weren’t asking Joe Goodenow the questions he expected to hear in his first three seasons at MSU.Instead of queries about hat tricks, tape-to-tape passes or bone-rattling body checks, Goodenow has had to explain separated shoulders and groin pulls.Those are certainly not the topics the 5-foot-10, 196-pound Toronto native wants to be synonymous with his collegiate career.“The last four years have really been a struggle to be healthy,” said Goodenow, a senior left wing and center.
VOLLEYBALL
Win at Indiana solid before problems begin at Illinois
Champaign, Ill. - Unforced errors cost the Spartan volleyball team a perfect weekend, as it settled for a split after Illinois swept MSU 3-0 in Champaign, Ill., on Saturday.The Illini handled the Spartans for all three games of the match winning 30-27, 30-26 and 30-22.The Spartans (11-4, 4-4 Big Ten) suffered more serve and pass breakdowns against the Illini, recording 12 service errors and 13 return errors.
SPORTS
Toloff leads mens cross country team to sixth place
The No. 16 MSU men’s cross country team ran to 234 points and a sixth-place finish out of 35 teams Saturday at the Pre-NCAA Meet in Greenville, S.C.No.
SPORTS
Womens cross country tops No. 1 Colorado
The No. 13 women’s cross country team beat the top-ranked team in the country, by placing second out of 34 teams with 118 points at the Pre-NCAA meet in Greenville, S.C.No.
SPORTS
Weekend ends with win
After opening the weekend with a disappointment, the Spartans women’s soccer team returned Sunday with more intensity and resulted in a better outcome.The MSU women’s soccer team (6-5-2 overall, 3-4-1 Big Ten) lost to Purdue 2-0 on Friday and beat Indiana 2-1 on Sunday.The Spartans struck quickly against Indiana (6-4-1, 3-3-1).After only five minutes of play, sophomore midfielder Trisha Kenny sent the ball down field to sophomore forward Tiffany Laskowski, who put the ball in the net.Kenny also attacked the Indiana defense tenaciously in the second half, creating several opportunities because of her increased intensity, Kenny said.“I always try to use my speed, because that’s really all I have,” she said.
SPORTS
Field hockey teams win streak at 4
The No. 6 field hockey team’s winning streak grew to four games as it beat Kent State 3-2 on Sunday and Indiana 3-2 in overtime Friday. MSU improved to 12-4, which is the team’s most wins since the 1996 season.
SPORTS
U showed class with firefighters
MSU’s Homecoming weekend was New York City firefighter Mike Cantwell’s first visit to the Midwest. And it sure was a memorable one.
SPORTS
Trustees pick crew to start Spartan Stadium turf grass project
Plans to convert the playing surface in Spartan Stadium from artificial turf to natural grass took a step forward with the hiring of the Lansing-based Haussman Construction Co. The firm outbid six other construction companies with a price tag of $649,832 and the MSU Board of Trustees accepted that lowest bid at its meeting Friday.
BASKETBALL
Teams debut with afros, bell-bottoms, new faces
The sounds blasting over the speakers may have come from the past, but the faces on the floor reflected the future for the MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams.At 10:30 p.m.
FOOTBALL
Secondary comes up big without starters
MSU’s defensive secondary may have entered Saturday’s Homecoming game against Iowa as a question mark but emerged as an exclamation point in the Spartan’s 31-28 win.The loss of both starting cornerbacks to ankle injuries in the bye week gave MSU reason to worry.
ICE HOCKEY
Lakers flooded by Spartan offense
Top-ranked MSU’s two-game series against Lake Superior State wasn’t much more than target practice for the Spartans, who outshot the Lakers 85-33 Thursday and Friday at Munn Ice Arena.MSU’s re-emphasis on offensive production was plainly evident in the sweep, as the Spartans (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-1 CCHA) torched the Lakers (0-2-0, 0-2-0) for 11 total goals - a number the Spartans only eclipsed in one CCHA series last season.Ron Mason, MSU’s head coach of 23 seasons, has encouraged this year’s team to utilize its raw offensive talents, even at the expense of the Spartans’ time-tested defensive tradition.At one point in the second period of Friday’s 6-1 win, all five Spartan skaters darted below the circles in the Laker zone - a move that would have been sacrilegious for a Mason-coached team in recent years.“Our system that we’re playing gives us an opportunity to pursue a little bit more,” said Mason, who earned his 899th career win Friday.
SOCCER
Wolverines cant keep up
The fans at Old College Field expecting to see a classic battle between MSU and Michigan were not disappointed.After several shifts of momentum, the Spartans (8-2-1, 3-1 Big Ten) left the field with a 4-2 victory over rival U-M (7-4-1, 1-3 Big Ten).The Spartans grabbed control of the game early with two goals off penalty kicks - one by junior midfielder Nick DeGraw and one by senior midfielder Anders Kelto.With an early lead, the Spartans said they felt a great deal of pressure lifted off them.“(Scoring first) is huge against a team like Michigan,” DeGraw said.
FOOTBALL
Spartans cant overlook Hawkeyes like last year
MSU alumni won’t be the only ones returning to Spartan Stadium on Saturday for the Homecoming football game against Iowa.