After posting a career-high 10 blocks in MSU's upset of No. 16 Purdue last week, freshman middle blocker Vanessa King was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
In the last home game of his career, senior quarterback Drew Stanton was forced to watch most of the action from the sideline after a hit he took in the first quarter led to dizziness. Because of the injury, Stanton might be forced to the sideline again for his final game as a Spartan on Saturday at Penn State. "We'll prepare (sophomore Brian) Hoyer at this point as the starter and see what transpires as the week goes by," head coach John L.
Sophomore slump? Or comeback of the year? If last week's performances were any indication of how the rest of the season will pan out for sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg, then forget about a second-year slump. In two games against Ferris State last week, Lerg stopped 64 of 66 total shots, including all 35 pucks fired his way in a 6-0 shutout of the Bulldogs in Big Rapids in the series closer. For his performances, Lerg was awarded CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors for the first time this season. "Everyone talks about the CCHA and the goalies and how well they can perform," Lerg said.
The biggest factor in determining whether Thursday night will be a triumph for the Green and White or the Burnt Orange might be a matchup between two 18-year-olds. MSU (3-0) faces No.
The MSU offense had no trouble moving the ball between the 20s on Saturday, racking up 344 yards of total offense.
Big Rapids — It's amazing what a few days of rest can do. Only three days after a fatigued Spartans team squandered a two-goal third-period lead to settle for a tie against Ferris State, a rejuvenated MSU squad skated into Ewigleben Ice Arena on Friday and dominated the Bulldogs, 6-0. "Tuesday, I think you could see how much fatigue was a factor," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
When Mia Johnson transferred to MSU from St. Louis, one thing MSU women's basketball head coach Joanne P.
When Drew Stanton and the rest of the fifth-year seniors came to MSU in 2002, I don't think any of them expected college careers quite like they've had.
When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? What I'm doing now — a basketball player. Do you ever play as yourself in video games? I don't even have a video game.
After a sluggish first half in which it shot just 30 percent, the No. 17 MSU women's basketball team shot 47 percent after halftime to finish off its exhibition season with a 68-47 win against Ferris State on Sunday afternoon at Breslin Center. "We're getting better, bit by bit," MSU head coach Joanne P.
They didn't allow a point for the first eight minutes of the game. They held their opponent to less than 30 percent shooting from the floor.
There were plenty of reasons to be depressed about MSU football on Saturday — the defense that whiffed on tackles, the running game that spun its wheels in the mud and the stadium that was embarrassingly empty. But there was one sign of hope. Brian Hoyer's line may not have been pretty.
A balanced scoring attack is what MSU didn't have last season, as three players combined for almost 80 percent of the Spartans' offense. But a balanced attack is what the MSU men's basketball team got Sunday evening at Breslin Center, as eight players recorded at least six points each to lead the Spartans to a 73-41 win against The Citadel. Pacing the attack was junior guard Drew Neitzel with 17 points, followed by freshmen Raymar Morgan and Isaiah Dahlman with 10 each. Both Morgan and Dahlman were effective from outside, each going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. "I think he had his best game," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said of Dahlman, who turned 19 on Sunday.
The Detroit Tigers traded three pitching prospects to the New York Yankees last week for disgruntled power hitter Gary Sheffield. The Tigers then traded another minor-leaguer to get a muzzle for Sheffield. Several tennis players at this weekend's WTA Championships reportedly were upset that models were used as ball retrievers. Event officials counter that it's the only way they can get Anna Kournikova on the court for the finals of a tournament. Three different Johnsons — Jeremi, Rudi and Chad — scored the Cincinnati Bengals' first three touchdowns Sunday. It was the first time three players with the same name scored in one game since Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck. Two-time major champion John Daly filed for divorce last month with his fourth wife. Tabloids are already predicting how long it will take for Daly and fellow recent single Britney Spears to become Hollywood's new power couple. Rasheed Wallace has been called for a league-leading four technical fouls in the Detroit Pistons' first seven games, part of a league-wide crackdown on in-game complaints by players. NBA commissioner David Stern said if Wallace doesn't stop complaining to the referees soon, the league will have no choice but to send him to his room and put him in timeout.
About eight hours before his team kicked off its 2006-07 season, head coach Tom Izzo was busy introducing one of the most touted recruiting classes of his tenure. Guards Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Chris Allen, who signed letters of intent Wednesday, make up a three-guard class that's ranked No.
Ever wonder where all of Roy Williams' and Jim Boeheim's hair has gone over the years? Maybe it's a pesky gene that caused the tops of their heads to become bare as their coaching victories piled up. Or maybe they've just spent too many years pulling their hair out because of turnovers. And if that's the case, Tom Izzo's hairline might not be far behind. The Spartans committed 38 combined turnovers in their first two exhibition games, including 21 against Northern Michigan on Nov.
MSU women's basketball sophomore Lauren Aitch, who appeared in 32 of 34 games last season, will be out for the season after tearing her right ACL last week. Aitch, a 6-foot-1 center from Lansing, averaged 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.3 minutes a game last season.
Only three days removed from its most lopsided loss of the early season, the No. 6 MSU hockey team will look to get back on track when it hosts Ferris State tonight in a conference matchup at Munn Ice Arena. "We're definitely eager," sophomore forward Justin Abdelkader said.
Has anyone considered changing the football coaches' salaries paradigm? Instead of paying these coaches large guaranteed contracts and for a guaranteed number of years, why do we not offer them a set salary and then for each game they win, they get a guaranteed payment? This would force coaches to actually coach and tie their paycheck to their success, instead of the current system in which these coaches get paid if they win or lose and then the universities have to buy out the large contracts for coaches who failed to produce. For instance, a football coach could have a base salary of $500,000 and then get $100,000 for each game won.
After MSU football head coach John L. Smith was fired Wednesday, his basketball counterpart, Tom Izzo, said he wanted to be involved in the hiring of Smith's replacement. On Monday, Izzo reiterated those statements and took some personal blame for the way Smith's tenure at MSU played out. "I think I let (Smith) down because I didn't know him as well, I didn't jump in there with the help I could give him," Izzo said.