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Sports

SPORTS

Smith back from Africa

Kelly Thesier
August 2, 2004

For weeks leading up to his Africa trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, John L. Smith was asked many times about his sanity for climbing a mountain in his off-season to which he responded, "Oh, it's a Gucci climb." Now back from his six-day climb to the top of the largest freestanding mountain in the world, the words out of Smith's mouth are not quite so calm. "I joked about the ease of the climb ahead of time, but the truth is - it's not all that Gucci," said Smith with a chuckle. "When this group got done with the climb, they said it's the hardest thing they've ever had to do." For a man who has sky-dived out of a plane, barrell-rolled in a fighter jet, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain and starred in his own rap video, that is no small statement. Smith and 10 other climbers made the journey to climb to the top of the 19,340-feet Uruhu Peak in Tanzania and reaching the summit on July 21.

SPORTS

Court rules against MHSAA again

Kelly Thesier
July 29, 2004

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the current schedule of Michigan sports discriminates against female athletes. The ruling made by a three-judge panel said that the Michigan High School Athletic Association, based in East Lansing, violated the equal protection clause of the U.S.

SPORTS

Smoker signs 3-year deal

Kelly Thesier
July 29, 2004

Former MSU quarterback Jeff Smoker signed a three-year contract with the St. Louis Rams Tuesday, the day before the Rams' training camp was set to begin. The terms of the contract were not disclosed but Smoker said that he was happy with the deal and glad to be finished with negotiations. "It's kind of a relief to have the contract aspect finally complete," Smoker said.

SPORTS

Rowley picked for Big Ten team

Kelly Thesier
July 27, 2004

MSU sophomore forward Delco Rowley will get a chance to showcase his skills this summer after being selected to play on the Big Ten Men's Basketball Foreign Tour Team. The Big Ten men's tour takes place Aug.

SPORTS

Rowley picked for Big Ten team

Kelly Thesier
July 27, 2004

MSU sophomore forward Delco Rowley will get a chance to showcase his skills this summer after being selected to play on the Big Ten Men's Basketball Foreign Tour Team. The Big Ten men's tour takes place Aug.

SPORTS

Trophy circuit stops at Rotunda

Lansing - Fans decked out in Detroit basketball memorabilia lined up at about 9 a.m. on Thursday to catch a glimpse of not one, but two prestigious men's and women's professional basketball trophies at Lansing's Capitol Rotunda. In the middle of its trophy tours, the Detroit Pistons' Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy and the Detroit Shock's WNBA Championship Trophy were on display at the state Capitol last week.

SPORTS

WEB ONLY: Dragons dominate Lugnuts in 8-4 win

Kelly Thesier
July 26, 2004

Lansing - Eleven strike-outs against the Midwest League's leading strike-out team, the Dayton Dragons, and a solid start by its own batters had the Lansing Lugnuts staring at their fourth straight win on Sunday afternoon. However, strike-outs don't mean too much when the other team starts getting hits as Dayton did in a 8-4 win Sunday afternoon over the Lugnuts. "That's the way it goes with stats, you know they are struggling but there are two or three guys in their lineup who can hit and turn the score around at any time," Lansing manager Julio Garcia said.

SPORTS

Lugnuts lose slugfest, 15-10

Kelly Thesier
July 22, 2004

Lansing - With temperatures in the upper 80s and the wind blowing toward the outfield, hitters for the Lansing Lugnuts took advantage of an ideal day for swinging the bats. Unfortunately the Lansing (12-14) pitching staff suffered as a result of the conditions, losing 15-10 to the South Bend Silver Hawks. "It's one of those hard days with the wind blowing out, any ball that was up in the air had a chance to go out," Lansing manager Julio Garcia said.

SPORTS

Radunske leaving, Lerg coming to 'U'

Kelly Thesier
July 22, 2004

The MSU hockey team lost one of its forwards to the NHL this week but added another player to the 2004 recruiting class. In the same week that forward Brock Radunske signed a three-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers to forego his senior season, the Spartans signed forward Bryan Lerg to a National Letter of Intent. Lerg, 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, spent the past two years in Ann Arbor as part of the U.S.

SPORTS

Brown's USA dreams alive and well in N.J.

Megan Homanick
July 22, 2004

MSU sophomore guard Shannon Brown is one of 13 finalists for the 12-man roster of the 2004 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team. The players will continue to practice at the New Jersey Nets facility in East Rutherford, N.J., until Friday, when the team will be finalized by cutting one player. "I think we'll have a pretty good team," USA and Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson said in a written statement.

SPORTS

Brown heads to USA Basketball trials alone

Megan Homanick
July 15, 2004

MSU sophomore guard Shannon Brown will compete for a spot on the 2004 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team this weekend. "It's great, the ability to go out and compete for your country," Brown said. Brown was originally not supposed to take this trip alone, as junior guard Maurice Ager was also selected as one of 24 players under age 20 to come try out for the 12-person team.

BASEBALL

Lugnuts left-hander finding his niche in Lansing

Kelly Thesier
July 15, 2004

Lansing Lunguts catcher Jake Fox almost winces when he talks about the first time that he caught one of Clay Rapada's pitches in practice. Fox has caught many pitchers in his two years with the Chicago Cubs organization, but he said the first one from Rapada will forever remain ingrained in his memory. "It was just a little slider, but when I went down to block it, the ball moved and hit me in the chest," Fox said. "He's got that trajectory that moves the ball all over the place and makes him so tough to catch, but it's also what makes him so good." Rapada, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound relief pitcher, has become well-known around the league for his tough pitches.

SPORTS

Lugnuts win, 7-0

Andrew Kolly
July 12, 2004

Lansing - The Lugnuts were seeking to split their series with the Burlington Bees on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Oldsmobile Park. They were able to accomplish the split with a combination of good pitching and even better hitting en route to a runaway 7-0 victory over the Bees. The pitching was phenomenal for the Lugnuts (8-10). Lansing starter Ronald Bay pitched a solid game as he went seven innings, giving up five hits, no earned runs, no walks while striking out seven.

SPORTS

Women's basketball gets new assistant

Andrew Kolly
July 12, 2004

MSU women's basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie announced Al Brown as her new assistant coach this weekend. Brown will be filling the void left by Darren Bennett, who is now the head coach at Skidmore College. Brown has been coaching college basketball for 27 years and has the unique prestige of being the only person to coach in a national championship game for both a men's team (Purdue 1969) and women's team (Tennessee 1996-98 and 2000). "I was interested in coming to Michigan State because I believe (McCallie) is one of the finest coaches in the women's game," Brown said.