FOOTBALL
Late picks could prove to be hidden gems
Sick and tired of all the pointless dribble spewed by those self-proclaimed NFL Draft experts? Well, flip over to 2A for the Sudoku page.
SOFTBALL
Rainy weather leaves team, games in lurch
The MSU softball team is trying to get better, head coach Jacquie Joseph said. It’s just running out of chances to do it.
SPORTS
Loss leaves Spartans winless in Big Ten play for first time since 1991
In his final regular season match, MSU men’s tennis senior John Allare refused to go down without a fight. After getting “run off the court” in the first set Sunday against Illinois star Roy Kalmanovich, Allare knew he would need to reach deep to mount a comeback in the second set.
BASEBALL
Spartans pick up first home loss of season
The MSU baseball team had its undefeated record at home ended abruptly Sunday in its 9-2 loss to Michigan. Between Oldsmobile Park and McLane Baseball Stadium, the Spartans were a perfect 10-0 at home before the loss, their best home start since 2004, when they won 12 straight at home before dropping an 8-7 game to Ohio State.
BASEBALL
Spartans can't finish sweep of U-M
Entering Sunday’s game against Michigan, the MSU baseball team had already captured a weekend series against the Wolverines for the first time since 2002. But the Spartans weren’t satisfied taking only two of three games — they wanted to repay the Wolverines for sweeping them the past two seasons.
BASEBALL
Spartans baseball overtakes U-M, 8-7, in crucial victory
The MSU baseball team chose its most hectic and crucial week of the season to turn out its longest game of the year on Friday. But they aren’t complaining. In a game that lasted nearly three and a half hours and went for 11 innings at McLane Stadium in the middle of a five-game week, the Spartans put together two late-inning comebacks to cap off an 8-7 win against Michigan that could serve as the turning point in their season.
BASEBALL
Spartans best Lugnuts for 1st time in 3rd annual Crosstown Showdown
Oldsmobile Park is technically the Lansing Lugnuts’ home field. But on Thursday, the MSU baseball team firmly stood its ground on the diamond it has occasionally called home in commanding fashion against a most formidable opponent.
FOOTBALL
Q&A with starting tight end Charlie Grant
The State News talked with junior Charlie Gantt, the Spartans’ starting tight end. He has scored four touchdowns so far in his MSU career, with 19 passes for 302 reception yards.
SOFTBALL
With boost of confidence from CMU win, team readies for Iowa
Coming off the biggest comeback of the season, a 7-6 extra-innings win over Central Michigan, the MSU softball team is looking to use the confidence from the victory to push it to the first Big Ten win this season.
FOOTBALL
Versatile Jones ready to take stab at middle
Junior linebacker Greg Jones is willing to play anywhere to help benefit the MSU football team. Jones originally was recruited to MSU as an outside linebacker but played several positions last season including the MIKE, or middle linebacker position, where he had great success and is starting to get more comfortable.
FOOTBALL
No secondary issues
For the better half of the decade, the secondary has been one of the MSU football team’s primary concerns. The Spartans have finished in the lower half of the Big Ten in pass defense in five of the past six seasons. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Spartans also finished in the lower half of the Big Ten most of those seasons.
SPORTS
Anatomy of a shot put throw
Often shot put gets classified as simply big guys throwing heavy things. But this assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. To throw the shot put takes precise footwork, extreme strength and phenomenal balance.
SOFTBALL
Spartans recover from early-inning blunders to top Central Michigan
The MSU softball team snapped its seven-game slide with a late-inning flurry, beating Central Michigan 7-6 in extra innings. Although the Spartans took six innings to score their first run, they only needed three batters to take the game in the bottom of the eighth.
SPORTS
Kueny's decision to come to college proves to be correct
MSU women’s golf head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll thinks junior Laura Kueny is well on her way to becoming a professional golfer and winning her fair share of tournaments on the LPGA Tour.
BASEBALL
Bucciferro's gem paces Spartans to 6-0 win
A breakout three-run inning coupled with a masterful pitching performance from freshman Tony Bucciferro led the MSU baseball team to a 6-0 victory against Western Michigan on Wednesday at McLane Baseball Stadium.
BASEBALL
Spartans looking to get back on track during busy week
MSU baseball head coach Jake Boss Jr. said there is still time for his team to get back on track in the Big Ten schedule. Fortunately for them, they can do it in the confines of their friendly Lansing-area ballparks.
ICE HOCKEY
Goaltending key for many teams in West
The Stanley Cup has made its home with teams in the Western Conference for the past two seasons. And that won’t change this year.
ICE HOCKEY
Rivalries will make East games intense
The Stanley Cup playoffs are always fun, and generally, the Western Conference seems to have more intense games than its counterparts in the Eastern Conference.
FOOTBALL
Early enrollees transitioning to new positions
The jump from high school to college football requires more strength and a better knowledge of the game. To help better prepare for this jump, freshmen Donald Spencer and Patrick White decided to get a head start on the process by enrolling at MSU early so they could participate with the team in spring practices.
SPORTS
MSU golfer misses Masters cut by 3 shots
A historic week for MSU golfer Jack Newman ended Friday after he fell three strokes short of making the cut at the Masters in Augusta, Ga. Newman, a junior on the MSU men’s golf team, shot a four-over-par 76 in his second round, leaving him four over par through two rounds. The cut was one over par.