The Wolverines always have been known for defense. But any time a player draws comparisons to former Michigan great Charles Woodson, ears perk up a little more than usual.Woodson, who plays for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, was easily considered the best defensive player in all the land during his days in maize and blue.
Rivalries are great. There’s no doubt about it. But what makes them truly great are the trophies.
They’ve got to be feeling just blue, as the maize is tarnished by scandal after scandal. It’s been quite a year since the Spartans thumped the Wolverines in the Wood Shed. The athletic program in Ann Arbor has had quite a booster of support in light of C-Webb and the Flab Five. I’ve got a little tune for those of you feeling down with the maize and blues. Cough.
The MSU football team’s toughness has been in question during the last three weeks, but its intrastate rival has not escaped similar criticism. After getting overpowered in a 34-9 loss to Iowa last week, Michigan has had to answer more than its share of toughness questions. Wolverine offensive lineman Tony Pape admitted the front five weren’t physical enough against the Hawkeyes (8-1 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) and the Wolverines (6-2, 3-1) need to run the football against the Spartans (3-5, 1-3) when they meet at 12:05 p.m.
After weeks filled with intense practice the men’s basketball team finally will suit up for its first exhibition game today at Breslin Center. The Magic Johnson All-Stars, are a full professional squad from Australia, that also brings to the table three players who have won a National Championship at MSU - Earvin “Magic” Johnson (1979), David Thomas and Mike Chappelle (1999). Little is known about the rest of the team due in part to its orientation overseas, and as a result the Spartans will take the court sans a specific game plan. “You have no scouting report or anything, you really don’t know much about them,” senior forward Adam Ballinger said.
Rivalry games are simply magical moments, and when MSU and Michigan take the field in opposition it’s no different. Saturday’s showdown in the Big House marks the 95th meeting between the Spartans (3-5 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) and the No.
The race for the Heisman Trophy continues to keep college football fans on their toes. Any given week, a candidate can come out of nowhere and step into the forefront or stumble back into the middle of the pack.
The fact that MSU sucks at football doesn’t matter this week, as the Spartans prepare to play Michigan on Saturday.
Heading into its inaugural season in the Midwest Alliance Soccer Conferences’ Northern Division, the MSU men’s club soccer team had no idea what to expect.
Versatility has been the name of Jared Nightingale’s game so far this season. The 6-foot-2, 191-pound freshman is a defenseman by trade, but he has played half of MSU’s games as the fourth-line right wing this year. Where Nightingale lines up on a given night seems to depend on whether freshman defenseman Evan Shaw is playing or not.
“Let’s sign a brick you guys.”Field hockey head coach Michele Madison speaks to her team’s Leadership Group in the field hockey locker room with a smile on her face, beaming with pride over a perfect 10-0 season at the MSU Field Hockey Complex.“We have to sign a brick, we just went undefeated at home,” Madison said.Matching last year’s 16-6 overall record, Big Ten Championship and Elite Eight appearance is no small feat, but with the help of four women this year’s No.
Saturday’s game with Michigan marks the 94th intrastate battle and the 49th since the Spartans joined the Big Ten in 1953.The No.
It was three weeks ago, and the Spartans haven’t forgotten. The then-No. 18 Spartans went to Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor for their match with the Wolverines hoping to take down the intrastate rivalry.
With only two fall team meets this year the women’s crew team is feeling good. Last Sunday the team took first place in all five varsity events at The Head of the Elk in Elkhart, Ind.
What would Big Ten football be like with an instant-replay rule?The fumble-filled game between Michigan and Illinois in 2000 wouldn’t have been a Wolverine win; MSU might not have had one last second of glory last year; and Joe Paterno might be at ease with his team’s record.
With the MSU hockey team enjoying a bye this week, it seems like an appropriate time to mention Adam Nightingale. After all, Nightingale is in the midst of an entire bye season with the Spartans.
A year ago, Dora Vastag was defeated in the round of 16 by Northwestern’s Marine Piriou at the Omni Hotels/ITA Women’s Tennis Midwest Regional.
Junior defenseman Joe Markusen’s name usually doesn’t spring to mind when listing the offensive threats on the MSU hockey team. But the light-scoring blueliner made a huge play late for the Spartans in Friday’s game against Lake Superior State at Munn Ice Arena. With the score tied 2-2 and the clock winding down in the third period, Markusen corralled a high pass from sophomore defenseman Duncan Keith at the point and fired a long feed to sophomore forward Brock Radunske at the side of the crease. From there, Radunske simply guided the puck into the mostly open net to lift the Spartans to a 3-2 victory with 2.7 seconds left. “I knew he was in the area,” Markusen said of Radunske.
The top left corner of the Spartan backdrop peels behind MSU head coach Bobby Williams, who stood before the media fielding questions in a press conference after Saturday’s loss, serving as a reminder that even the duct tape has given up on the football program here in the land split by the Red Cedar. No spin could distract from the four pieces of gray tape that couldn’t hold on Saturday - neither could a hundred green-and-white gridders. If duct tape can’t keep the Spartan football program together, don’t expect this team to fix itself, as duct tape can fix anything - so my father once told me. My father, a skilled man, never coached this football team. The green-and-white paper folded and so did the program marred by poor play and scandal. “This is the most disappointed I’ve ever been as a coach,” Williams says. Put up or give up. The fans, the alumni and, seemingly, the players have given up on a season of fumbled football - a few team members have at least given up on team rules. They’d throw in the towel if it wasn’t likely to be intercepted. As Saturday night’s glowing lights illuminated a Spartan Stadium tomb, the last of the 75,507 grains of sand slide out of the bleachers before all time had run out. Standing there in the cool crosswinds, only a few fans remain - clad in MSU mittens, winter caps, hooded sweatshirts and Spartan jackets - in section 13, usually dominated by students. The bleachers here are mostly empty, littered with popcorn boxes and hot-dog wrappers. “This year, I think the fans gave up before the football team,” elementary education sophomore Katie Neddermeyer says.
The No. 25 MSU volleyball team played two different kind of matches this weekend, but in the end, they did just what they expected - pick up two victories.