BASKETBALL
Men: Ohio St. preseason No. 1, MSU not in Top 3
Chicago — It's a great time to be an Ohio State fan. With its football team already ranked No.
SPORTS
Comeback was fool's gold it's time for Smith to go
When do you pull the plug? When lesser opponents are dominating? When players are showing up on the police blotter?
SPORTS
MSU wins finale, but postseason hopes dashed
When the MSU women's soccer team completed a 1-0 win against Michigan in its final game of the season Friday, all the Spartans could do was cross their fingers and wait.
SPORTS
Monday Musings
Smokey IX, Tennessee's canine mascot, was accused of biting an Alabama player before the teams played. In a related story, Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner complained Saturday that Sparty gave one of his players a wedgie. NBA Commissioner David Stern said during a preseason conference call that he'd prefer it if the league's players leave their firearms behind when they go out. Stern did make one exception: Dallas Mavericks players are not only allowed, but also encouraged to bring guns to any team function where Mark Cuban is present. The Miami (Fla.) football players who were suspended for their role in a sideline-clearing brawl will participate in the Miami-Dade County police's "Join a Team, Not a Gang" program as part of their sanctioning. The players also are responsible for creating a new motto for the program, but they were rejected when they gave their initial proposal: "As long as it's a team that gets in fights!" After the NCAA rejected McMurry University's appeals to keep its American Indian mascot last week, the school's board of trustees decided to forgo a nickname altogether. Now, school officials must decide which one-word name they want to go by: Pelé, Cher or Shakira. The NCAA declared 7-foot-3 UConn freshman Hasheem Thabeet eligible to play this season. It also declared him to be huge. Glendale Arena, home of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, will be renamed after the online employment service Jobing.com, the team announced last week. The team also considered selling the arena's naming rights to Facebook.com, but reconsidered when the Web site asked to keep a mini-feed of every fan in attendance.
ICE HOCKEY
WEB EXTRA: Icers hope to pick up pace with weekend matchups
After dropping its past two games, the No. 9 MSU hockey team is looking to build some momentum and get on a roll this weekend when it plays host to St.
SPORTS
To keep season alive, MSU needs to win, get some help
The heat is on the MSU women's soccer team. After a disappointing start to the Big Ten season, MSU (7-9-1 overall, 3-6-0 Big Ten) has lost control of its own destiny. Now, the Spartans must beat Michigan on Friday and have Wisconsin lose to Northwestern to leapfrog the Badgers, secure the final spot in the Big Ten Tournament and keep their season alive. "We dealt with that after Friday night's loss to Ohio State and kind of put that aside," MSU head coach Tom Saxton said.
SPORTS
6-foot-9 DeHaan tries to keep low profile
According to MSU women's basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie, all freshman Allyssa DeHaan has to do to be effective this season is get stronger, faster, quicker, tougher and meaner. But once she does all that, McCallie says the rest will take care of itself.
SPORTS
Yuhasz's week: No goals allowed, 1 Big Ten award
After posting shutouts in wins against Central Michigan and No. 13 Indiana, senior field hockey goalkeeper Stephanie Yuhasz was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Yuhasz's second shutout, a 1-0 decision against the Hoosiers, was MSU's first Big Ten win and its first win against a ranked opponent this season. Yuhasz improved her record to 6-7-0 and bumped her season shutout total to four, which ranks third in the Big Ten. The Spartans (6-10 overall, 1-4 Big Ten) return to action Saturday against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
ICE HOCKEY
Gentile, Dunne fight back from injuries to anchor MSU blue line
Sophomore defenseman Brandon Gentile still cringes a bit when he remembers an incident that happened three seasons ago. At the time, he was playing for the U.S.
SPORTS
Freshman named men's Big Ten Runner of Week
Freshman Amol Huprikar, who took sixth place in Friday's Eastern Michigan Classic, was named the Big Ten's Men's Runner of the Week. The Novi native finished the course in a personal record of 32 minutes, 29 seconds.
SPORTS
Word on the street
"Absolutely. The Red Wings now suck, I never had hope in the Lions and the Pistons are falling down hill.
SPORTS
After leading comeback, Stanton is Player of Week
Senior quarterback Drew Stanton was named the Big Ten's Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his performance in the Spartans' 41-38 win against Northwestern on Saturday. Stanton went 27-of-37 for 294 yards and two touchdowns.
FOOTBALL
No inspirational halftime speech needed here
Saturday's game had all the necessary ingredients to be made into a Hollywood film. One team struggled and faced an almost insurmountable deficit.
SPORTS
Prognosticators' special: Tigers version
Tom Keller — St. Louis' projected starting pitchers for the next three games: Chris Carpenter (reigning Cy Young winner), Jeff Suppan (1.86 ERA this postseason) and rookie Anthony Reyes (surrendered only four hits in Game 1 win). Even with Carlos Guillen and Craig Monroe hitting the cover off the ball, the Cardinals should win two of those games. But with the series back in Detroit, Kenny Rogers breaks the consecutive playoff scoreless innings record — without the aid of pine tar/dirt/Flubber — and wins Game 6 to keep the series alive.
SPORTS
Janicki's 2 game-winners net Player of Week honor
Men's soccer senior defender Greg Janicki was named the Big Ten's Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring the game-winning goals in MSU victories against Valparaiso and Northwestern. His goal against Valparaiso on Wednesday was the first of his career, while the goal on Sunday came in double overtime and gave the Spartans their first conference win of the season.
SPORTS
What to make of this bipolar team?
How quickly the tables have turned. MSU has earned significant negative attention in the national spotlight the last couple of weeks.
SPORTS
Monday Musings
Starting next season, several Major League Baseball teams will sell caskets marked with their team colors and insignia. Among the early buyers: The Kansas City Royals, who will use the caskets to house their playoff hopes once the season is a month old. Almost half of baseball fans want Barry Bonds to fall short of Hank Aaron's home run record, according to an Associated Press-America Online poll released last week. Worse for Bonds, almost 98 percent of fans hope he doesn't break Placido Polanco's record for biggest head in the league. In other baseball news, MLB players and owners reportedly have reached a tentative agreement for a new labor contract.
ICE HOCKEY
Exhibition game gives brothers taste of what's to come at MSU
A.J. Sturges will have bragging rights at this year's holiday dinners. Sturges, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound defenseman and the brother of MSU sophomore forward Dan Sturges, helped the U.S.
FOOTBALL
For once, breaks go Spartans' way
Evanston, Ill. — It takes a lot to overcome a 35-point deficit in less than 22 minutes.
SOCCER
MSU gets 1st conference win in 2OT
After 90 grueling minutes of regulation play, the MSU men's soccer team entered overtime against Northwestern, needing a clutch goal to capture its first Big Ten win of the season. With less than three minutes remaining in double overtime, MSU junior midfielder Ben Pirmann lifted an impressive pass into the box.