Had Kim Schram not been in MSU's lineup this weekend, the Spartans might have not picked up two victories.But the sophomore outside hitter was on the floor - and she delivered.
Tom Izzo has a problem. Tom Izzo has a good problem. Tom Izzo has a problem that would make most college hoops coaches salivate, dribbling up and down courtside. Izzo is taking auditions for leader of the 2002-03 MSU men's basketball team. And his players are standing in line to sign up, 6 and 7 feet tall. "I don't think our effort from our leaders is what it should be," Izzo says following the Spartans' first season win Friday as they beat North Carolina Asheville, 66-52. "We're still a leaderless
State College, Pa. - Not only did Penn State's Larry Johnson single-handedly embarrass the Spartans on Saturday, he solidified his place among the NCAA's best all-time tailbacks.With 279 rushing yards on 19 carries (14.7 per carry), Johnson became just the ninth running back - and the first in Big Ten history - to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in a single season.
It's a strange race for the Heisman Trophy this year. The nation's best athletes - Marshall's Byron Leftwich, Ohio State's Maurice Clarett and MSU's Charles Rogers - have been eliminated by injuries or a terrible surrounding cast.
The MSU football team has virtually nothing to play for in the last week of conference play.The Spartans (4-7 overall, 2-5 Big Ten) sit alone in eighth place in the Big Ten standings, and their final push for a bowl bid was thwarted last week in a zany 45-42 loss to Purdue (5-6, 3-4) at Spartan Stadium.But senior offensive guard Paul Harker said in addition to playing for pride, ending the season with a win is enough incentive to play hard."This is the last game we'll play together with these guys," he said.
The Spartans are expected to pick up their first two-win weekend since Oct. 25-26, the last time they played Purdue and Illinois, but they know the task won't be an easy one. MSU has struggled on the road all season long, especially in the Big Ten.
No. 9 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State Buckeye faithful don't want to even think about the past while Wolverine fans are hoping for déjá vu all over again. Once again, Ohio State will bring an undefeated mark into its contest with U-M, and if recent history is any guide, the Buckeyes will exit Ohio Stadium with a blemish in their record. In 1993, an unranked Wolverine squad demolished the No.
season marred by disappointment and controversy will come to an end for the Spartans in University Park, Pa., against Penn State. The entire coaching staff from this season will be relieved of duty at the end of the season, and the program will be under completely new reigns. At this point, Athletics Director Ron Mason hasn't picked anyone to lead the team, making it impossible to know the program's direction.
This one is for Bobby. As controversy clouds begin to push on past Spartan land, home to the season of shame, I finally found one of those "positives, positives, positives, positives," he was speaking of only weeks before his firing. Suit up senior strong safety Thomas Wright. Known by those close, "T" is the leader of the 2002 Spartan squad. He became the role model junior quarterback Jeff Smoker wasn't during a season desperately looking toward somebody, anybody, with answers. Whether he wanted to, the head-shaved, goateed leader assumed the role of the go-to captain, as senior tailback Dawan Moss and Smoker found themselves indefinitely suspended. And so Wright's casual stroll out of Duffy Daugherty says "follow me." His play inside Spartan Stadium says "play at my level." His walk talked all season.
With three senior cornerbacks on the roster, it seemed improbable that a first-year player would get any significant playing time in the secondary this season for MSU.And that's exactly the mentality freshman cornerback Ashton Watson carried into the game against Michigan on Nov.
Who is MSU's biggest rival? If you said Michigan, you're right. Who is U-M biggest rival? If you said MSU, you're wrong, dead wrong. Let me explain. I'm not saying it isn't a rivalry at all, what I'm saying is it's not mutual. MSU fans get all riled up for this one big game all year, while U-M fans get the luxury of looking past the Spartans and yearning for the Buckeyes. And thanks to the most recent 49-3 drubbing MSU got this season, it makes the case for another rival even more appealing.
If the Spartans hope to muster any sort of offensive attack against Penn State, they'll have to find some way to handle one of the nation's best defensive fronts. From end to end, the Nittany Lions' defensive line is stacked.
Women's basketball kicks off season Senior forward Syreeta Bromfield was labeled one of 30 Players to Watch for the Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to the country's senior player of the year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball. The Kingston, Jamaica, native led the Spartans in points and rebounds per game last season, averaging 15.6 and 6.5, respectively.
If you analyzed the MSU hockey team's schedule before the season started, you probably wouldn't have singled out tonight's game at Bowling Green as a pivotal matchup. But that's what it has become, thanks to MSU's rocky .500 start (5-5-0 overall, 3-3-0 CCHA). The Falcons (2-8-1, 0-7-1) don't look very daunting on paper, but the Spartans can't take them lightly - MSU desperately needs a win at 7:05 p.m.
It looks like the race for the Heisman Trophy is not the only competition that will need the full college football schedule to determine a winner.
The MSU men's basketball team's return-to-dominance bandwagon is packed these days. MSU was picked first in both preseason Big Ten polls, it landed a No.
Yeah, this season hasn't been much fun to watch. To be perfectly honest, it's been down right torturous. But at least we've had our weekly installment of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood to count on. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior has been nothing short of spectacular.
Today when the No. 3 MSU field hockey team boards the plane to Louisville, Ky., it will be landing in uncharted territory. Not in the history of the program has any Spartan team ventured so deep into the postseason waters, but this year's squad is determined to return to East Lansing with nothing less than a national championship. "Our goal for the season was to make the Final Four, and we did it," sophomore back Annebet Beerman said.
Shooting Guard: Sophomore Chris Hill - After the early departure of Marcus Taylor, Hill is expected to play major minutes at the helm of MSU's offense.
Although the MSU football team had a familiar result when it lost to Purdue 45-42 at Spartan Stadium, interim head coach Morris Watts said there was a difference in the way the team played. "One of the things I felt very good about was how hard our young men competed through the four quarters," he said.