SPORTS
Dukes, Stanley signed as free agents in NFL
Two more former MSU football players were taken following the NFL Draft on Sunday. Defensive end Clifford Dukes was signed by the St.
SPORTS
Baseball team plays Indiana Tech today
The MSU baseball team added a midweek contest scheduled for 4 p.m. today at Kobs Field against Indiana Tech. The Spartans currently are 15-8 and 6-6 in the Big Ten.
SPORTS
Golf team earns bid to NCAA regionals
The MSU women's golf team earned a No. 14 seed in the Central Region of the NCAA Women's Golf Regional Championships on May 5-7 in Lubbock, Texas, the Spartans' seventh consecutive appearance in the championships. The NCAA Championship round, May 17-20 in Corvallis, Ore., will feature the top eight teams and two individual players from each region. The Spartans finished third in the Big Ten Championships this past weekend in Ann Arbor.
SPORTS
Huntington hired as men's track assistant
Walled Lake native Randy Huntington has joined the MSU men's track and field coaching staff as an assistant, coaching the throwers, jumpers and multi-event competitors. Huntington will bring almost three decades of experience coaching professional and amateur athletes to East Lansing, including eight Olympians and seven World Championship members. "Bringing Randy in gives us a better understanding of the scientific part of coaching," MSU head coach Darroll Gatson said in a statement.
ICE HOCKEY
League changes playoff format
The CCHA is in the process of revising the league's playoff system, which will shorten the regular season by one week and extend the postseason from two to three rounds. The new playoff system will give the top four teams in the regular season first-round byes, and the remaining eight teams would play a best-of-three series with their corresponding seeds. The winners of the eight-team first round will then advance to face the top four teams in the division that were awarded the first-round byes.
SPORTS
WEB ONLY: Women's tennis loses at Indiana
The MSU women's tennis team finished its season with a 6-1 loss at Indiana. Sophomore Sarah Andrews picked up the lone point for the Spartans after Indiana's Brianna Williams retired while up in the match. At No.
SPORTS
WEB ONLY: Spartans place third in championships
The final round of the 2005 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships in Ann Arbor was canceled because of the weather. This meant MSU finished in third place with a three-round score of 933. Sophomore Heather Rose led the Spartans with a fourth-place finish.
FOOTBALL
Quarterbacks have options with receivers
After two seasons of dropped passes and inconsistency at wide receiver under MSU head coach John L. Smith, the position that gave the Spartans trouble in the past looks to be one of their greatest strengths entering the 2005 season. With wide receivers Aaron Alexander, Kyle Brown, Agim Shabaj and Matt Trannon all entering their senior years of play and junior Jerramy Scott and sophomore Terry Love returning to the program as well, the Spartans might have one of the best lists of wide receivers in the Big Ten. Alexander said the group is coming together well, but there still is work to be done before the fall.
FOOTBALL
Spartans finish 4-week spring practice
The MSU football team ended spring football with a scrimmage Friday, moving indoors to the Duffy Daugherty Football Building because of poor weather. The scrimmage concluded the Spartans' 15 practices during a four-week period, a spring session MSU head coach John L.
SPORTS
MSU drops final home match of year
It was a long weekend for the MSU men's tennis team after dropping two dual meets at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. MSU lost a grueling match 4-3 against No.
SPORTS
2 days of NFL draft too long for viewers
I woke up this morning and thought, "I better check ESPN to see if the NFL Draft is still going." I was shocked that it was finally over. It was the second-longest first round ever - thanks to the Detroit Lions, since they only took two minutes to make their selection.
SPORTS
1st day of NBA playoffs has comebacks, Webber hitting some shots
Saturday proved to be a most interesting day of basketball. It was a day of monster comebacks and elation on my part. The day started with the Detroit Pistons against the Philadelphia 76ers on ABC. To say the least, the Pistons didn't get off to a great start, being outscored 28-16 in the first quarter. Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala threw down a sick reverse jam after Allen Iverson saved the ball from going out of bounds.
FOOTBALL
4 Spartans selected in draft
When former MSU running back DeAndra Cobb was 9 years old, his mother signed him up for a local little league football team with encouragement from her brother, even though she knew little about football. "We signed him up, and they actually called him 'Turbo' and we have been running with him ever since," Cobb's mother, Terri Cobb-Harden, said. She had no idea that years later, she would watch her son be drafted into the NFL on national television and share in the excitement. Four Spartans were drafted in the sixth and seventh rounds of the NFL Draft on Sunday afternoon.
FOOTBALL
Goss No. 1 kicker without Rayner
Practice is just about over, and members of the MSU football team start gathering together. Instead of circling around MSU head coach John L.
SPORTS
Time for Detroit Pistons to 'go to work' part deux
It's time to go to work - again. After last season's championship run, the Detroit Pistons will look to make it two in a row when the NBA playoffs start at 3 p.m.
FOOTBALL
Seeking: NFL job
Former MSU place-kicker Dave Rayner lined up for a 45-yard field goal at the Duffy Daugherty Building on Tuesday with no one rushing, yelling or attempting to block his kick. It was just him and the ball. This has been the scenario for Rayner during the past couple months, preparing for the 2005 NFL Draft. "I come in here kicking at least twice, sometimes three times a week," said Rayner, who is MSU's all-time leader in scoring, field goals and extra points.
SPORTS
State News sports desk NBA Playoff picks:
The State News sports desk predicts this year's NBA Playoffs: Brian Charlton Eastern Conference Finals Detroit over Miami in six games Western Conference Finals Phoenix over San Antonio in seven games NBA Finals Detroit over Phoenix in six games MVP Chauncey Billups, Detroit Chris Meagher Eastern Conference Finals Miami over Detroit in six Western Conference Finals Seattle over Dallas in six NBA Finals Miami over Seattle in six MVP Dwyane Wade, Miami Matt Bishop Eastern Conference Finals Detroit over Miami in seven Western Conference Finals Dallas over Phoenix in six NBA Finals Detroit over Dallas in seven games MVP Tayshaun Prince, Detroit J.
FOOTBALL
49ers' No. 1 overall pick could be Smith
MSU football head coach John L. Smith said Tuesday he doesn't know where his nephew Alex Smith -?the potential No.1 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft on Saturday - will go. "I know where I'd like to see him go, but I have no clue where he's going to go," Smith said of the former Utah quarterback. John L.
SPORTS
Season is long, don't give up on teams yet
When was the last time a baseball season was decided after the first week of play? That's right, it never has been.
SOFTBALL
WEB ONLY: Spartans complete doubleheader sweep
The MSU softball team recorded 4-0 and 5-0 victories at Oakland on Tuesday, its first doubleheader sweep against the same opponent since the 2002 season. Sophomore Rachel Turney and Freshman Lesley Noel each pitched the complete-game shutouts in the doubleheader sweep. Turney's shutout was the second time in her last three starts that she has blanked an opponent.