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Sports | Football 1087

BASKETBALL

Izzo weighs in on Oden, Durant

Tom Izzo is in the unique position of having coached against the two college basketball prospects who have pro scouts salivating the most. In addition to playing against Ohio State center Greg Oden the last two Saturdays, the Spartans also faced Kevin Durant — Texas' 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward — on Nov.

SPORTS

Spartans prepare for final stretch in Big Ten season

At this point of the season, the MSU women's basketball team has to be asking itself one thing: Where have all the home games gone? Thursday's game at Northwestern marks the beginning of a stretch where MSU will play four of its final six regular-season games away from Breslin Center, including trips to No.

FOOTBALL

Fans invited to witness 2007 recruits

MSU football fans have been invited to join head coach Mark Dantonio when he unveils the 2007 recruiting class Wednesday at Breslin Center as part of the NCAA National Signing Day. Spartans football and Detroit Pistons announcer George Blaha is slated to serve as the host of the event.

SPORTS

Grapplers split road meets over weekend

After a stunning 19-14 upset loss to Ohio State on Friday, the No. 19 Spartans (3-6 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) bounced back Sunday at Purdue (10-6, 0-6) with a 21-14 victory. Perhaps even more surprising than Friday's defeat was 133-pound No.

FOOTBALL

MSU scores verbal in 4-star recruit

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio scored a verbal commitment during the weekend from Cedric Everson, a 6-foot-1 athlete from Detroit Mumford High School. Everson is a four-star recruit, according to Rivals.com, and committed verbally to become a Spartan on Feb.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans unbeaten in last 7 contests

As soon as the Spartans took the ice Friday in Omaha, it was clear they left their travel legs on the airplane. MSU (17-8-2 overall, 13-6-2 CCHA) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Friday's game against Nebraska-Omaha and ended up winning, 5-1, in a penalty-free game.

SPORTS

Spartans show offensive potential in wins

The MSU's women's basketball team might just be finding an offensive rhythm. The evidence: MSU has recorded two of its highest point totals of the season the last two games, and in Sunday's 80-70 win over Illinois, four Spartans scored in double figures, led by a season-high 22 points from sophomore guard Mia Johnson. Add to that a season-high 19 points from sophomore forward Aisha Jefferson and 14 from freshman center Allyssa DeHaan, and MSU could have the makings of a lethal inside-out combination. DeHaan, for the most part, had her way with the Fighting Illini, shooting 7-of-8 from the field with seven rebounds in a nice bounce-back game. "If (DeHaan's) really focused, you can expect some special things," MSU head coach Joanne P.

SPORTS

Monday musings

Minnesota high school officials imposed an eight-day suspension of wrestling competitions and practices after 24 cases of herpes were reported by teams statewide.

SPORTS

Coleman wins gymnast honors

Senior gymnast Kristen Coleman was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week. It's the first time she has received the award in her career. The honor came on the heels of posting a score of 39.525 in the all-around competition at the "Flip for a Cure" meet, which broke a 10-year-old school record. Coleman also garnered first-place performances on the uneven bars and balance beam, and finished tied for first with fellow Spartan Nicole Curler on the floor exercise.

ICE HOCKEY

Versatile Howells is key in Spartans' success

Sometimes, just going with the flow can be a good thing. The no-questions-asked mentality of versatile senior Tyler Howells has made MSU head coach Rick Comley's job much easier. When the team was riddled with illness and injury, Comley tried a number of different line combinations. He tried senior forward Brandon Warner — with a career total of nine points — on the top line.

SPORTS

From the road

Women's hoops reporter Matt Bishop spent Thursday through Monday in State College, Pa., and Somerset, N.J., covering the women's basketball team's losses to Penn State and Rutgers.

SPORTS

MSU seeks revenge against Penn State

There could be some bad blood brewing between the MSU and Penn State women's basketball teams. When these two teams met at Penn State last Thursday, the Lady Lions upset the Spartans, 69-58 — but that's not all that has MSU upset. With the game in hand, less than five seconds left on the clock and the Spartans no longer defending, Penn State guard Brianne O'Rourke flew in from near half court to try to pad the score. O'Rourke missed the uncontested shot, but it was followed by Kamela Gissendanner as time expired for the make. "That's how they wanted to handle the end of the game," sophomore forward Aisha Jefferson said.

ICE HOCKEY

Comley weighs in on NHL

According to television reports, last week's NHL All-Star game, which took place on a Wednesday night in an attempt to boost ratings, experienced a 76 percent drop in viewership compared with the 2004 game. The all-star game and skills competition from Dallas was televised nationally on Versus as opposed to 2004's All-Star game, which was shown on ABC on a Sunday afternoon.