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Gymnasts finish as big winners
If it was indeed their last college gymnastics meet, then two MSU gymnasts may have saved their best for last at the NCAA men’s gymnastics championships.
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Hockey team looks to have tough D next year
If defense truly wins championships, the NCAA should strongly consider giving MSU the 2001-02 national championship trophy right now.The Spartans, who dominated the nation defensively this season, probably look downright scary to next year’s opponents.Not only does MSU head coach Ron Mason return his five starting defensemen from the unit that led the nation by only allowing 1.36 goals per game in 2000-01, but he also welcomes back Hobey Baker Award-winning sophomore goaltender Ryan Miller.To put MSU’s defensive accomplishments in perspective, Cornell owned the second-best defense in the NCAA at 2.18 goals per game.So, with another year of experience under the belts of Miller, junior defensemen Andrew Hutchinson and Jon Insana, sophomores John-Michael Liles and Brad Fast and freshman Joe Markusen, will anyone score on MSU at all next season?“Obviously, you can’t go a whole year shutting everybody out,” said Miller, who led the nation with 10 shutouts this season.
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Softball comes off successful weekend
The Spartans won two of their first three games on their weekend road trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota. MSU (17-28 overall, 4-5) stole the series opener 1-0 from the Gophers on Saturday with a first-inning run by senior Shealee Dunavan that stood up for the whole game, according to MSU sports information. Dunavan scored on a two-out single by sophomore Tiffany Wallace, who finished 3-for-4 on the game.
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Spring practice is over and head coach Bobby Williams still hasnt decided on a starting quart
The spring practices are over, but a starting quarterback is still yet to be determined.And in an intrasquad, no-hit practice that was open to the public at Spartan Stadium Saturday, both senior Ryan Van Dyke and sophomore Jeff Smoker made their case as starters for MSU’s first regular-season game against Central Michigan on Sept.
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Lugnuts split series with South Bend
A mediocre start to the Lansing Lugnuts’ season carried over to their weekend series with cellarmate South Bend at Oldsmobile Park on Friday and Saturday.The Midwest League’s two bottom-dwellers split a pair of games in Lansing before heading to South Bend to finish the four-game series Sunday and today, according to the Lugnuts’ front office.
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Conference tourney in doubt after loss
There were no sweet Easter goodies for the MSU baseball team Sunday, as it fell to Ohio State 13-3, finishing a four-game weekend home series.
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Richardson, Randolph must really love money
Well, the fallout has just about ended in the wake of now former MSU basketball players Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph bolting to the NBA, and numerous aspects of their decisions have popped out to most observers.
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Baseball team puts on rally caps for playoff run
The MSU baseball team is about to embark on its “biggest weekend of the season” head coach Ted Mahan said. “We’ve got four weekends left - 16 games - and we want to make the playoffs.
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Richardson, Randolph made the right move
Goodbye. Farewell. See ya.Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson - we barely got to know ya.But as they say, life goes on.The news of the two Spartans jetting for the NBA has sent shockwaves through MSU’s campus.I have to ask: Why is this so shocking or even surprising?Maybe we were spoiled before.
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Football squad will have open practice
The MSU football team will conclude spring practice at 1 p.m. Saturday with an open-to-the-public practice at Spartan Stadium.However, one thing that won’t conclude is the quarterback controversy that has engulfed the team during the spring.
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Coaches wait for recruits, Anzalone returns to LSSU
The MSU hockey program didn’t receive any National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, but assistant coach Tom Newton said there was “no problem” with MSU’s recruiting class expected to sign this week.Left wings Kevin Estrada and Mike Lalonde and center Ash Goldie are still expected to sign with MSU this week, bringing the Spartans’ recruiting class for the 2001-02 season to seven players.NCAA rules prohibit MSU officials from speaking about players until the school has received National Letters of Intent.MSU head coach Ron Mason is out of town and Newton said he hadn’t heard of any letters that have arrived at the Office of Compliance Services yet.
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McCoy ready to give up offense to play defense
Ivory McCoy is familiar with doing more than his share. Last season, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior split his time on MSU’s football team playing his primary position at tight end and spotlighted as a pass rush specialist for the defense.
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Hockey team left some great memories
Well, things didn’t work out. The Spartans looked like they might do it. They looked like they might be able to win MSU’s first national championship since 1986. But then it came to a crashing halt in Albany, N.Y., with a 2-0 loss to North Dakota. And Spartan fans have another long summer in front of them waiting for next fall’s Green and White game, which officially gets the hockey season under way. Before you close the book on this year’s team, here’s a look back at the highlights and lowlights of 2000-01, the year that almost was. Best moment Clearly have to give it to standout sophomore goaltender Ryan Miller for breaking the 70-year-old NCAA career shutouts record Feb.
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Linemen ready for tough battle
With all the additions on offense for the MSU football team, it would seem like a no-brainer that the scorekeeper at Spartan Stadium will be very busy in the fall.
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Spartans pummel Broncos
For a struggling MSU baseball team, having to play an afternoon game after coming home at 4 a.m. from a road trip earlier in the morning may not have seemed like the best way to break out of a slump.
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Rogers ready for football beyond practice
As the nation’s top prep player of a year ago, Charles Rogers came to East Lansing confident of his abilities as an athletic, big-play receiver.
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Hockey team lands three recruits
Replenishing its graduation-depleted roster, the Spartan hockey team expects to add three more players to its recruiting class today, bringing the class total to seven. Left wings Kevin Estrada and Mike Lalonde and center Ash Goldie have given verbal commitments to sign National Letters of Intent with head coach Ron Mason’s program today. Mason is out of town and NCAA rules prohibit him from talking about recruits until they have signed National Letters of Intent. Estrada, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound left wing, plays for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League - the same team that produced former MSU center Jeremy Jackson, who was dismissed from the Spartan squad in February. Estrada led the Chiefs with 118 points (34 goals, 84 assists) in 59 games this season. Lalonde, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound left wing, plays for the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCJHL.
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Aikman ends NFL career with Dallas Cowboys
By JAIME ARON The Associated Press IRVING, Texas - Troy Aikman’s NFL career ended with the Dallas Cowboys after all. The three-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement at a news conference Monday at Texas Stadium, where he starred for 12 seasons. “You watch and you think that your time will never come,” said Aikman, fighting back tears as he announced his plans.
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Spartans come back to win
A beautiful day for softball produced even prettier results for the MSU softball team, as it defeated Purdue 8-3 Sunday at Old College Field. After falling behind 3-0 after three innings, the Spartan bats came alive with timely hits in the middle innings. The Spartans pushed across two runs in the fourth thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Shealee Dunavan, who plays first base, and an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Tiffany Wallace.
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Bobbys World section may get name change
Football fans who cheer on the Spartans this fall might have a new section. The Bobby’s World section, named after MSU head coach Bobby Williams, might have its name changed if the Student Alumni Foundation agrees on a decision tonight.“It is kind of a cheesy cartoon character’s name, no offense to coach Williams, and they want something a little catchier,” said Derek Byrne, a general management freshman and co-director of the former Bobby’s World section for the Student Alumni Foundation.Byrne said the group wanted to have a section for students to cheer and last year it was named Bobby’s World.He said there was a general consensus among the foundation’s members to change the name.“Some people think it is kind of cheesy and some people want to patent the name and there might be conflicts with the show ‘Bobby’s World,’” said Michael Campian, a criminal justice freshman and co-director for the former Bobby’s World section.Campian said the organization has been poring over a long list of names but hasn’t come to a conclusion yet.