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Sports | Football 1081

ICE HOCKEY

Comley answers critics, leads MSU to NCAA title

Eric Fish
April 9, 2007

St. Louis — MSU head coach Rick Comley has been picked apart by the media, fans and the public ever since he was named Ron Mason's successor in 2002. He has dealt with two seasons in which the team failed to meet lofty preseason expectations, ultimately falling short of an NCAA Tournament bid. But with Saturday's 3-1 victory over Boston College to give MSU its third national championship in program history, Comley has met those lofty expectations, silencing the critics in the process. "I want to publicly thank Ron Mason," Comley said of MSU's athletic director.

ICE HOCKEY

MSU receives fan support from families, league commissioner

Eric Fish
April 9, 2007

St. Louis — Ralph and Joanne Gentile weren't able to travel to the Czech Republic when their son Brandon, now a sophomore defenseman on the MSU hockey team, was playing in the biggest event of his pre-college career. As a member of the United States National Team Development Program out of Ann Arbor, Gentile and Team USA won a gold medal at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation's World Under-18 Championships in the Czech Republic. Mom and Dad were unable to attend. "I had been overseas, and they unfortunately couldn't make it," Brandon Gentile said. But that just made his parents' trip to St.

SPORTS

Izzo to Kentucky talk makes no sense

Other than "What the #$&% is up with this weather?" the question I've been hearing most often lately is, "Would Tom Izzo really leave MSU for Kentucky?" As hypotheticals go, that's a pretty heavy one — it's as unsettling a thought to MSU fans as "Would the pope convert to Judaism?" is to Catholics.

SPORTS

Defense controls 1st scrimmage of spring season

Matt Bishop
April 6, 2007

Head coach Mark Dantonio didn't have a real hands-on experience with his team during the squad's first scrimmage Saturday. Instead of coaching like it was a practice, the coaching staff stepped back and ran the scrimmage like a real game, with coaches manning the press box and plays being sent in via hand signals. "We got some good work in," Dantonio said Tuesday.

ICE HOCKEY

The comeback kids

Eric Fish
April 6, 2007

St. Louis — Resilient. It's the word MSU head coach Rick Comley has used again and again this season to describe his team. The Spartans continued to define the term Thursday in the Frozen Four national semifinal game when they found themselves down 2-0 to Maine less than four minutes into the game.

SPORTS

Coleman earns top gymnast honors

Michelle Ortlieb
April 6, 2007

The last time an MSU gymnast was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, the president of the United States was George HW Bush and "The Little Mermaid" was playing in theaters. Eighteen years later, George HW Bush's son is the president and the films like "300" are in theaters.

ICE HOCKEY

Frozen Four flashback

Eric Fish
April 5, 2007

Prior to this season, the Spartans last saw themselves in the Frozen Four in 2001. Anchored by the goaltending of All-American goaltender Ryan Miller, the Spartans earned a No.