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Sports

SPORTS

Pistons hurting due to loss of Mehmet Okur

Matt Bishop
January 11, 2005

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. For the Detroit Pistons, the darlings of the NBA just seven months ago, wins and the championship effort that was prevalent last season have been few and far between. Of all the things one could point to as causing a problem this year - the brawl, lack of effort, complacency, and so on and so forth, are all secondary to one thing. The loss of Mehmet Okur. It is beyond obvious that losing Memo and his multitude of abilities has hurt the World Champions in all aspects of the game. Now with the Utah Jazz, Okur has averaged 11.7 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.

BASKETBALL

Break 'nothing good' for team

Brian Charlton
January 11, 2005

Tom Izzo has always wanted to be a football coach. He loves the sport. But now that the head coach has eight days off until his team faces Wisconsin - similar to the time between football games - he's wishing he could face the Big Ten rival sooner. "There's nothing like having a situation like this and having eight days (off)," Izzo said.

SPORTS

Clutton gets 9th win of season in invite

Emily Sorger
January 10, 2005

Junior Ian Clutten won his ninth swimming event of the season, as he took first place in the 100-meter breaststroke at the University of Miami's Matt Gribble Invitational Friday in Coral Bables, Fla. Junior Rachael Hagerman and sophomore Eve Brusie placed second and fifth in the 50-meter freestyle, joining senior Tammy Jones and junior Katrina Kniff for the 400-meter freestyle relay, where they took fifth place. The MSU men's swimming and diving team took third place overall in the invitational and in the women's competition, the Spartans took fourth place behind Florida, Penn State and Colorado State.

SPORTS

Bowen's 17 leads team past Iowa

Chris Meagher
January 10, 2005

The MSU women's basketball team came out of the gate with a lot of intensity in the first half and didn't let down as the Spartans rolled past Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Breslin Center, 68-56. The Spartans (13-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) used a stifling, aggressive defense and a 19-0 run to pull away from the Hawkeyes.

SPORTS

Hill's streak of zero turnovers extends to 3 games

Brian Charlton
January 10, 2005

Chris Hill can't remember his last turnover. Nor should he. In the last 76 minutes of play, the senior point guard has gone without turning the ball over once. And for the Spartan with the ball in his hands the most, not turning it over has helped lead MSU to a 2-0 start in the Big Ten season for the first time since 2000, when the Spartans won a national championship. But that doesn't mean Hill is going to resort to safe bounces or two-handed chest passes to keep the streak going. Saturday's was Hill's third straight game with zero turnovers. "When the ball is in my hands as much as it is, one is going to come sooner or later," Hill said.

SPORTS

Q&A Player of the week: Jim Slater

Eric Fish
January 10, 2005

The State News will feature a new weekly Q&A section, recognizing an MSU athlete for his/her achievements in the past week. Hockey senior captain Jim Slater is this week's athlete of the week.

SPORTS

Icers unable to complete sweep with 4-1 defeat

Eric Fish
January 10, 2005

Oxford, Ohio - The MSU hockey team hoped to turn its season around and establish consistency after winning the Great Lakes Invitational to close out 2004, but the Spartans only were able to manage a weekend split in their return to CCHA play. After a 4-0 drubbing over Miami (Ohio) on Friday, MSU (11-10-1 overall, 6-8-0 CCHA) was unable to sweep the RedHawks as the Spartans suffered a 4-1 loss Saturday night at Goggin Ice Arena. "When you get the first (win), you want the second," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

SPORTS

Spartans on a roll since break

Brian Charlton
January 10, 2005

Before the fall semester ended, the MSU men's basketball team was figuring out how to recover from two disappointing nonconference losses. But the Spartans turned the tables in the month of December, as the No.

BASKETBALL

7th Heaven

Matt Bishop
January 10, 2005

Riding on a six-game winning streak, the No. 20 MSU men's basketball team made very few mistakes, committing a season-low of eight turnovers while forcing 19 in a 87-58 win over Northwestern on Saturday at Breslin Center. MSU (10-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) snapped the Wildcats' four-game winning streak while extending its own to seven games for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when MSU opened the season with 12 straight wins.

SPORTS

Team names new coach

The MSU athletic department named Cathy George, former Western Michigan volleyball head coach, to take the spot vacated by Chuck Erbe just one week ago due to retirement. "When you have a person almost in your backyard who meets and exceeds many of the qualifications we had set for the volleyball coach here, it's kind of a no-brainer," MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason said. George has coached collegiate volleyball for 18 years, including 11 seasons at Western.

SPORTS

Spartans face Irish for 2 games

Matt Bishop
December 10, 2004

If there was ever a weekend to make a turnaround, this is it. The MSU hockey team will look to climb the ladder in the CCHA standings when the Spartans face Notre Dame in a home-and-home series. Notre Dame has limped out of the gate to a 3-8-4 record, which puts them in the basement of the league.

SPORTS

Smith staying positive for next season

Megan Homanick
December 9, 2004

In his last official press conference of the year, MSU head football coach John L. Smith talked about everything from the Hawaii game to recruiting players. Overall, Smith tried to stay positive about what happened and the future of MSU football.

SPORTS

Spartans need more 'best efforts'

Honolulu - Standing in the tunnel leading to the visitors' locker room at Aloha Stadium after his team blew a 21-point lead in a loss to Hawaii, sophomore quarterback Drew Stanton was searching for answers.

SPORTS

Icers not living up to preseason expectations

It's been a trying first half of the season for the MSU hockey team, as inconsistency plagued the Spartans to this point. MSU was tabbed by both the media and the coaches to finish second in the league in their preseason polls. But the Spartans are just 7-8-1 overall record and a 4-6-0 mark in the CCHA.