One would assume that Matt Migliaccio and Justin Tobe would be feeling a little pressure now that the unenviable task of replacing Ryan Miller has officially begun. After all, Miller was one of the most prolific goaltenders in college hockey history before signing with the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
When the Spartans take the field Saturday against Eastern Michigan, don’t expect to see last year’s defense.Middle linebacker Josh Thornhill has moved on to the NFL, and the smash-mouth style MSU fans learned to love went with him.The task of replacing last season’s leading tackler goes to junior Mike Labinjo, who finished third on the team with 64 tackles last season.
Not long after the announcement that MSU goaltender Ryan Miller had signed with the Buffalo Sabres, forgoing his senior season, Spartan hockey fans weren’t bashful with their opinions. Miller had arguably done everything a player could do at MSU.
For the MSU football team, preseason practices have created some interesting battles for the season opener’s starting positions. Some of the headliners include the jockeying for the second wide receiver spot and backup tailback.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams finished a combined 2-0-1 over the weekend. The No.
Eric Jorgensen isn’t used to this kind of attention. The MSU senior golfer can’t drive a cart 10 yards at Forest Akers West Golf Course, home of the MSU golf team, without someone stopping to congratulate him on his successful summer.
The MSU hockey program held its version of a family reunion last week, but instead of burgers, beer and dorky party games, there were pucks, slap shots and shards of glass.For the third-straight summer, Spartan assistant coach Tom Newton welcomed back former MSU skaters for a weeklong “pro camp” at Munn Ice Arena.
Incoming freshman and returnees alike were introduced to hockey, basketball and football players Friday - without even buying a ticket.Despite a steady drizzle all day Thursday, thousands of students flooded Spartan Stadium for the annual Spartan Spirit rally to support their school.The event provided a familiar atmosphere for new students who were feeling a little overwhelmed by campus, classes and being away from home.Hiroaki Toda is in his first year of study at MSU.
Walk-ons for the men’s basketball team usually help the team by competing hard against the scholarship athletes in practice.
Detroit -They’re back. After 25 years in the suburbs, the Detroit Lions returned downtown Saturday to open Ford Field, their new $500 million home. The indoor stadium was designed to be everything the Pontiac Silverdome wasn’t: charismatic, innovative and state-of-the art. Fans who packed the 65,000-seat venue for an afternoon exhibition contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers certainly took notice. “It’s absolutely beautiful, gorgeous,” Tim Jones, a 35-year-old sales manager from Farmington Hills, said before entering.
Prior to the MSU volleyball team’s Green & White game Saturday, head coach Chuck Erbe called the inter-squad scrimmage a “coming out party.”Anyone who listened to the radio or was in attendance at Jenison Field House didn’t have much of an argument.
Detroit - Mark Mulder knows strikes. From the mound, the lanky former Spartan and flame-throwing lefty has seen 352 batters return to the pine during his three-year career with Oakland - he also mulled over a school-record 113 in his final season at MSU in 1998. Baseball fans know strikes, too. They’ve seen eight work stoppages since 1972. And as negotiators go into the ninth inning of bargaining before Friday’s deadline, we can all wonder who will strike next? Mulder or the players? “None of us want a strike,” Mulder says with his casual, cool tone as he stretches on the Oakland Athletics’ green-padded bench with his legs up inside the visitor’s dugout before Sunday’s opening pitch at Comerica Park, where the A’s swept the series against the Detroit Tigers under a deep-blue sky with temperatures in the low 80s. The 25-year-old pitching stud feels little heat, though, even as the sun breaks from behind clouds one day after talks between baseball management and players soured. “This is about keeping the game going,” he says.
With two-a-day workouts behind them and the season opener less than a week away, the MSU football team is ready to get on the field against another team. “I’m really excited,” junior wide receiver Ziehl Kavanaght said after a Wednesday scrimmage.
Lansing - The wait is over. With their 11-6 win over Kane County Friday, the Lugnuts (34-30 second half, 71-62 overall) snapped a seven-game slide and officially clinched a berth in the 2002 playoffs.
Now that hockey head coach Rick Comley has moved from Marquette to East Lansing, he’s looking at ways to loosen up the rickety offense that plagued the Spartans’ 2-0 loss to Colorado College in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
In 2001, the men’s soccer team earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1969, and this year’s team looks just as promising. With the addition of four new recruits and return of its top four scorers, the Spartan kickers look to improve last season’s 13-6-1 record, the best numbers the men have collected since the 1986 season when the squad went 13-7-1. Greg and Steve Doster of New Lenox, Ill., are members of the Chicago Magic Soccer Club and head coach Joe Baum says both are able to play multiple positions - Greg Doster plays in the backfield and his brother Steve plays in the midfield and on defense. “Greg is a very athletic, hard-nosed defender,” Baum said in a statement.
Another season is upon us, and that means it’s time for another season of pigskin prognosticators.
As another baseball season winds down, the Lansing Lugnuts find themselves toward the top of their division, hoping to snag one of two coveted second-half playoff spots. Lansing has qualified for the playoffs in four of the past six seasons, including 1996 - the Lugnuts’ inaugural season - and 1997, the year Lansing claimed its first league championship. The 1998 ’Nuts squad missed the playoffs by half a game, but rebounded in 1999, capturing the division title in what has been the most-successful season yet, where Lansing advanced to the league semifinals before getting eliminated by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
The MSU fight song will undoubtedly be heard a few thousand times this fall when Spartan sports teams start their seasons. But the fight song could be in even greater use by November. The football, field hockey, volleyball and men’s soccer teams are looking to improve on strong finishes last year and live up to lofty expectations this year. If those teams live up to the hype, it could create a buzz similar to March Madness, just four months earlier. The postseasons for field hockey, volleyball and men’s soccer begin in November and Spartan fanatics could be going wild.
If you’re one of the google of students who plan to be in a confined space with many sweaty, loud students - pay attention.