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Sports | Hockey

SPORTS

Monday musings

Tom Keller
April 17, 2006

NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's girlfriend faces a reprimand after she had a pit-road confrontation with driver Kurt Busch's fiancee last week. Race officials wouldn't disclose the exact nature of the argument, but did say it involved a bumper sticker and Calvin peeing on something. Ohio State fans are uniformly upset about proposed changes to the school's football uniforms. The main point of contention: The buckeye stickers that are attached to a player's helmet for good play are reportedly being replaced by scratch-and-sniff smiley face stickers. The St.

SPORTS

Come playoffs time, it's a whole new NHL season

Some people dig March Madness while others live for the NFL and NBA playoffs. And a large percentage of the United States is fascinated with the MLB playoffs (which seem to last deeper into October each year). Not to say I don't enjoy watching those events, but the NHL playoffs are my sports Christmas, and, to my delight, are soon to be back. There are so many things to watch for come playoff time.

FOOTBALL

Youthful look

The college careers of wide receivers Kyle Brown and Aaron Alexander are over. Now it's time for seniors Matt Trannon, Jerramy Scott, Kerry Reed and junior Terry Love to help the offense live up to the expectations as one of the Big Ten's best. In 2005, the passing game was the deadliest attack for the Spartans.

FOOTBALL

Player's sentencing postponed until May

Steve Highfield
April 14, 2006

MSU football player Cole Corey's sentencing for pleading guilty to a single count of possession of a controlled substance has been adjourned until May 18. The sentencing was supposed to come down Thursday morning in the Lenawee County Circuit Court, but was adjourned to allow Corey and his attorney to argue some factors that could affect his sentence. "We're challenging some of the allegations in the presentencing report," said David Goldstein, Corey's attorney.

FOOTBALL

Dwan's career back on track after injury

Tom Keller
April 14, 2006

John Dwan didn't see it coming. Three years ago, he was a rising pitching prospect, a powerful left-hander from Illinois who had compiled a 25-5 record at Libertyville High School and broken the school record for strikeouts. He committed to MSU and turned heads during fall practice with a nasty fastball and baffling changeup.

SPORTS

Simmons brothers take team's top award

Tom Keller
April 12, 2006

All-America brothers Nick and Andy Simmons shared the MSU wrestling team's Most Outstanding Wrestler Award, announced at the team's annual banquet. Andy Simmons, a 141-pound junior, compiled a 36-6 record this season and took fifth at the NCAA Championships. Nick Simmons, a 125-pound junior, finished the season 36-2 en route to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Championships.

FOOTBALL

Bandit player switched to free safety in spring ball

Ethan Conley
April 11, 2006

MSU football fans perusing the team's spring depth chart may be jolted when they see where Sir Darean Adams is listed. Instead of the bandit position, where he tallied 60 tackles and three interceptions as a sophomore, the 6-foot, 230-pound Adams is penciled in as the backup free safety.

SOFTBALL

Complete shutouts

Steve Highfield
April 10, 2006

The MSU softball team used two complete game shutouts from its starting pitchers to sweep a home doubleheader Sunday against Indiana. In the first game, junior Rachel Turney went the distance for the Spartans (27-11 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) and pushed her record to 12-5.

SPORTS

Monday musings

Tom Keller
April 10, 2006

A different take on the sports world. The NFL could suspend Ricky Williams for the entire 2006 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy again. Williams' lawyers say the running back's defense will center around the 420th Amendment. Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre says he's still undecided about whether he will return to play next season. In a related story, a majority of NFL fans are still undecided about why Favre's name gets pronounced like it does. Paul Davis is listed as the third-best center prospect in this year's NBA draft class by ESPN.com, while Maurice Ager is ranked sixth at shooting guard. Matt Trannon, meanwhile, is ranked first among people who play both basketball and football. Japanese outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto set a world record last Sunday when he played in his 904th consecutive game without missing an inning. When time zone differences and the exchange rate are factored in, however, Kanemoto's streak only stretches about two-and-a-half hours. Former Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella says he'd consider a return to the bench, but only for a contender. Former New York Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer says he'd also consider a return to the bench, but only if Pedro Martinez is kept behind plate glass.

SPORTS

Front and center

Laura Collins
April 10, 2006

The State News caught up with MSU senior cornerback Demond Williams, who MSU head coach John L. Smith said has been emerging as a leader in spring football. • On how he has changed … "There's no secrets, just knowledge.

SPORTS

Debacle receiving too much hoopla

The talking heads from the NBA's pregame shows and broadcast booths gathered on Sunday to discuss Ben Wallace's recent dispute with Pistons head coach Flip Saunders, in which Wallace refused to re-enter a game in the waning moments.

FOOTBALL

Secondary works to improve struggling image

Eric Fish
April 10, 2006

In John L. Smith's three-year tenure as head coach of MSU football, it's been no question that the offense has dominated the program's ambitions. Players like senior quarterback Drew Stanton and sophomore running back Javon Ringer have soaked up the highlights while defensive players have been touted as the "team goats" by much of the public. In 2005 alone, the defense surrendered an average of 28.7 points per game and 5.8 yards per play while being the culprit of most passing offenses en route to a subpar 5-6 season which kept the Spartans out of a bowl game for the second straight year.