BASEBALL
MSU drops Monday finale
This was going to be the turning point, the rally that made all the pain from Sunday's heart-wrenching, final-inning loss disappear.
ICE HOCKEY
Jeff Lerg named Player of the Month
Sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg was named CSTV: College Sports Television/Hockey Commissioners' Association National Division I Player of the Month on Monday for March and April for his performance in the postseason. Lerg posted a .919 save percentage and a 2.24 goals-against average in those two months.
SPORTS
Monday musings
Zach Johnson finished a stroke over par, but that was good enough to win last week's Masters and take home a $1.3 million purse.
SPORTS
Spartans' year ends, Robinson moves on
The MSU gymnastics team finished fourth in the six-team NCAA Central Region Championships held Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a team score of 194.800.
FOOTBALL
Offense takes back green jerseys in 2nd spring scrimmage
Consider the score even. In the first spring football scrimmage of 2007, MSU's defense beat the offense, 71-70, on March 31. The offense struck back on Saturday, and junior running back Javon Ringer was a big reason why. After failing to break off any long runs in the first scrimmage, Ringer exploded for a 65-yard jaunt to the end zone and finished with 130 yards on 15 carries.
BASEBALL
Late-inning letdown
David Grewe sat at the end of the MSU bench, alone. The dugout was empty, except for a few pieces of equipment and some discarded sunflower seeds on the ground.
FOOTBALL
New scheme relies on running
Ask someone who follows the MSU football team for the differences between head coach Mark Dantonio and his predecessor, John L.
SPORTS
Hankins named national team coach
MSU men's golf head coach Mark Hankins will be leading the U.S. men's golf team to the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. The U.S.
BASEBALL
Watching Dennis Jones? Try not to blink
Dennis Jones is fast. You can tell that much just by watching him patrol center field for the MSU baseball team. But it's hard to gauge just how fast he is unless you look at some of his cheetah-like statistics. Jones runs the 60-yard dash in 6.3 seconds — about the same pace as the MSU track team's all-time record holder in the 60-meter dash. He's stolen a team-high 10 bases in 11 attempts this season — only three players in the conference have stolen that many bases with better efficiency. Baseball scouts rate foot speed on a scale of 20 to 80.
ICE HOCKEY
Bright future in store for MSU
The MSU hockey team has barely had time to appreciate this year's national championship, but it's already looking ahead. With five seniors graduating, including captain Chris Lawrence, the Spartans will lose valuable leadership and character players.
BASEBALL
Weather postpones baseball games
Because of inclement weather, the baseball series against Penn State has been postponed. Originally scheduled to begin at 3:05 p.m.
ICE HOCKEY
Title should spurt growth in hockey, fan enthusiasm
A stone has been cast by the hockey team's national championship victory, and the ripple effect could be enormous. When I came back to South Case Hall at 3 p.m.
SPORTS
Ryan Brehm scores weekly honors
After bringing MSU to a nine-shot win and winning the individual title at the Boilermaker Invitational last weekend, junior golfer Ryan Brehm was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week and Golfweek Player of the Week. Brehm was the only player at the Boilermaker Invitational to finish the 36-hole tournament under par.
BASKETBALL
Neitzel scores AP honorable mention
The Associated Press recently named MSU junior basketball guard Drew Neitzel as Honorable Mention All-America. Scoring 20 or more points in 17 games during the season, Neitzel averaged a team-best 18.1 points per game — good for fourth-highest in the Big Ten.
FOOTBALL
Defense wants to play on instinct
When Mark Dantonio was introduced as MSU's newest head coach, he stressed that players play their best when they play the fastest, and they play the fastest when they know exactly what to do. Knowing "exactly what to do" wasn't a common theme in the previous coaching regime.
ICE HOCKEY
NHL playoffs fun for all
State News sports reporter and hockey fanatic Matt Bishop talks about the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs, which kicked off Wednesday with four games. Question: So, opening thoughts on this year's playoffs? Answer: I am like a kid in a candy store right now.
SPORTS
Gymnasts ready for NCAA Regional
If anything is going to bring the MSU gymnastics team to victory, it will be its teamwork. Team-oriented workouts, spirited group cheers and a solid support system have been regular parts of the team's vigorous preparation for the NCAA Central Regional Championship meet Saturday. "It helps us bond and learn how to perform as a team," freshman Nicole Curler said of the cooperative approach. "We are much more of a full pack.
SOFTBALL
Weather dampens spirits, practices
Jacquie Joseph has never seen weather like this in her time as MSU softball head coach. The snow storm that hit East Lansing on Wednesday canceled the Spartans' game against Central Michigan, marking the fifth game MSU has lost in the last week due to weather. "I can tell you in my 14 years here that this has never happened," Joseph said.
FOOTBALL
Adams, defense adapt to scheme
For most players on the MSU football team, a new coaching regime brought new schemes and faces to learn.
BASEBALL
MSU tops Broncos in matinee
Lansing — Some people have to wait years to get redemption for their mistakes. Brandon Doherty only needed a few pitches. Moments after making a throwing error in the ninth inning that brought the go-ahead run to the plate, Doherty made a lunging grab on a line drive to preserve the MSU baseball team's 6-5 win against Western Michigan on Tuesday at Oldsmobile Park. "If that error cost us the game," a smiling Doherty said afterward, "I'm not going to be happy the rest of the night, that's for sure." The Broncos (8-16), who entered their final at-bat down two, had a runner on second with two outs when Chris Lewis grounded weakly to Doherty, a junior shortstop. "I kind of looked away right there because I thought it was an automatic," MSU head coach David Grewe said. But Doherty's throw was wild, allowing the runner from second to score and Lewis, the tying run, to move into scoring position. The next hitter roped one to Doherty's right, and for a moment, it appeared his error on the previous play would prove extremely costly.