Time is running out. There’s two weeks left for the MSU football team to qualify for a bowl and two weeks left for the prognosticators to be wicked smart.
Sue Smoker insists it’s her humble son, not a cocky Big Ten quarterback, who telephones home periodically just like any other college freshman.But, as the mother of a talented football player, Smoker realizes her son Jeff isn’t living the normal college experience.“Jeff will say, ‘Mom, it’s not normal to have to turn your phone off, or to have 70 e-mail messages every day,’” Sue Smoker said from the family’s Manheim, Pa.
The MSU men’s soccer team enters today’s Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed, facing No.
When MSU and Michigan compete in women’s volleyball, it’s about more than wins and losses - it’s about pride.To be specific, it’s about the State Pride Flag that goes to the winner of head-to-head play each year.The tradition started in 1990 when the flag was awarded to U-M.
If men’s head basketball coach Tom Izzo was happy to hear verbal commitments from three recruits - among them one of the most highly-touted players in the nation, Kelvin Torbert - then today should be Christmas in November.Flint Northern shooting guard Torbert, Minneapolis guard/forward Alan Anderson and Indianapolis shooting guard Chris Hill are all expected to sign letters of intent today to play for the Spartans next fall.Torbert will be MSU’s newest Flintstone, following the heels of former players Antonio Smith, Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and senior guard Charlie Bell.
After beating the No. 1 team in the nation on the road Saturday, the Spartan hockey team jumped two spots in the national polls released this week. Ranked No.
In such dire times where MSU has had to deal with losing more often than winning, it’s good to know coach Bobby Williams still has a sense of humor.He showed it at his Monday press conference when asked how he’ll simulate the Purdue offense this week in practice.“We’ll put in 10 receivers, run them all out there and just have the quarterback stand back there and throw it because that’s basically what it’s like,” he said.
Men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo and his squad will open up preseason play against Izzo’s alma mater, Northern Michigan, at 7:30 tonight at the Breslin Student Events Center.
Ziehl Kavanaght’s teammates call him “Frenchie.”Mike Labinjo misses his favorite ketchup chips.And Luc Mullinder doesn’t get to eat West Indian food anymore.These are just some of the transitions three Canadian natives on MSU’s football team deal with in a foreign country.Kavanaght, a Brossard, Quebec native, has had the toughest transition because of the language barrier.
The names are synonymous with winning. James “Buddha” Edwards, Vinny “The Microwave” Johnson, Dennis “The Worm” Rodman, John “Spider” Salley, Isaiah “Zeke” Thomas, Bill “Lambo” Laimbeer, Rick “Bad Boy” Mahorn and of course, Joe Duuuuuuuuumars.Rodman smothering opponents with clutch defense, Laimbeer exchanging pleasantries with the referees after controversial calls, Rick Mahorn banging opponents to the ground with his hefty posterior - those were the good ol’ days.
The MSU volleyball team continues to struggle in the Big Ten.The No. 22 Spartans split their weekend matches, losing to Illinois (6-15, 15-4, 12-15, 15-1, 12-15) on Friday, then rebounding to beat Purdue (15-6, 10-15, 15-5, 15-6) on Saturday.Through 14 Big Ten games the Spartans (14-9, 7-7 Big Ten) are still in sixth place.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - For all the success he’s had this season, Jeff Smoker is only a freshman and his youth showed against Ohio State.After MSU (4-5 overall, 1-5 Big Ten) jumped ahead 13-3 in the first quarter, the Buckeyes (7-2, 4-2) began blitzing the first-year quarterback from Manheim, Pa., disrupting Smoker and the MSU offense en route to a 27-13 defeat of the Spartans.“They didn’t blitz too much early,” Smoker said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - For the first quarter Saturday, the Spartans put their scoring woes behind them. MSU scored touchdowns on its first two drives of the game, and were dominating the line of scrimmage to the tune of 115 total yards and a 13-3 advantage after 15 minutes of play.Then, as has been the theme all season, the Spartans (4-5 overall, 1-5 Big Ten) succumbed to mistake-laden football, resulting in a 27-13 loss to Ohio State (7-2, 4-2).MSU was clinging to a 10-point lead when senior safety Richard Newsome intercepted Buckeye quarterback Steve Bellisari’s pass at Ohio State’s 34-yard line with 11:18 remaining in the second quarter.
Sometimes sports fans get so wrapped up in the glitz and glamour of big time college athletics they forget intercollegiate athletics is more than just entertainment - it is a tool used to shape athletes as people.The core of this process can be seen more clearly when looking at athletes like MSU senior forward Steve Williford, who plays soccer - a nonrevenue sport where the media does not cake-on layers of hype.“I think I learned the most in life through soccer,” Williford said.
ANN ARBOR - It’s big in football. It’s big in basketball. And it’s big in hockey.The Michigan-MSU rivalry has perennially pitted two premier teams against each other, and Saturday night at Yost Ice Arena was no different.The No.
Field hockey The MSU women’s field hockey team closed out its season in Ann Arbor on Saturday with a 2-0 loss to Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
With nicknames like “Energizer bunny” and “Rudy” it’s obvious freshman outside hitter Jenny Rood and the rest of the freshmen bring something extra to the court when the MSU volleyball team plays.MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said the freshmen are more expressive on the court and that’s something the Spartans have been missing the last few years.“I think the freshmen are much more emotional in terms of how they express their passion for the game,” he said.
MSU volleyball returns home this weekend for Big Ten rematches against Illinois and Purdue.The No.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The MSU women’s soccer team fell 3-1 to Illinois on Thursday in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.The fourth-seeded Spartans only managed to score one second-half goal while giving up three second-half goals to the fifth-seeded Fighting Illini.
Ten people wearing sweaty Spartan basketball jerseys run up and down the court, fighting for loose balls and reaching to block passes. It looks like an MSU basketball game.