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Sports

FOOTBALL

Football runs in the family for MSU wide receiver Monty Madaris

Monty Madaris, redshirt-junior wide receiver and defensive back at MSU, played for the skinny bricks alongside his cousin Rodriguez. Lined up across the backyard on the roughnecks were the boys’ other cousins, Greg and Michael Means Jr. While also in the Eastside of Cincinnati, their cousin Isiah Gentry was growing up a few years behind the six-year-olds’ makeshift league. Madaris, Means Jr. and Gentry, all products of Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati and all wide receivers, now play NCAA Division I football across the Midwest, with Means Jr. being a redshirt-junior at Akron and Gentry a redshirt-freshman at Minnesota.

BASKETBALL

Valentine triple-double helps Izzo to 500th victory in MSU rout of Boston College

MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo earned his 500th career victory at MSU on Thanksgiving night as his No. 3 MSU basketball team (5-0) defeated the Boston College (3-1), 99-68, in the first round of the Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif. Senior guard Denzel Valentine led the Spartans with his second triple-double of the year, finishing Thursday’s contest with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

FOOTBALL

Dantonio downplays senior day, Cook still in question and more notes on MSU football

Before No. 6-ranked MSU (10-1 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) takes on Penn State (7-4 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) this Saturday head coach Mark Dantonio held his weekly press conference, here are a few takeaways from Dantonio's statements to the media: Some things come before sports Before Dantonio began speaking about football he took time for some special acknowledgements. "First and foremost, just want to acknowledge and let everyone know at the University of Michigan and Chad Carr's family that we're deeply sorrowed by his passing on Monday.

BASKETBALL

Spartans jump to AP No. 3, blowout EMU, but Izzo still narrowing down lineups

The Spartans followed their AP Top 25 Poll jump from No. 13 to No. 3 on Monday with an 89-65 victory over Eastern Michigan, in which 13 different players scored. Head coach Tom Izzo said he is “still playing too many people,” though, and he hopes to solidify a consistent rotation soon. “I think I played 12 guys who played seven minutes or more and that’s going to be a little chaotic but I am continuously trying to figure out who are going to be my eight, nine and 10 and who are going to be my 11, 12, 13 and 14,” Izzo said. “And it is starting to separate itself.”