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Sports

BASEBALL

Oldsmobile Park might be renamed; Lugnuts fans don't mind

Kelly Thesier
July 8, 2004

Lansing - Wearing his usual white Lugnuts cap and a faded gray baseball T-shirt Dexter Olsen takes his seat in Oldsmobile Park more than 30 minutes before game time, just as he has done for almost every game since 1996. Olsen, a retired autoworker, has only missed about 10 home games of his beloved Lugnuts in the ballpark named after one of the divisions of General Motors Corp.

SPORTS

Former Spartan coach crashes into airport

A former Spartan assistant wrestling coach crashed his sport utility vehicle into a Florida airport terminal Sunday. Alexis Vila, a 33-year-old Cuban defector and Williamston resident, sustained no injuries and was detained by authorities after slamming through a wall, and into a ticket counter at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Before coming to MSU in 2000, Villa won a wrestling bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics for Cuba.

SPORTS

Ockerman to transfer from 'U', leave team

Kelly Thesier
July 6, 2004

The MSU men's basketball team has lost another player to transfer. Walk-on sophomore Justin Ockerman has decided to transfer to another school, according to MSU assistant sports Information director Matt Larson. The 6-foot-9, 265-pound center played in 15 games for the Spartans with season totals of six points, eight rebounds and 34 minutes of playing time. Ockerman had spent three years as a pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization before coming to MSU.

SPORTS

Harmon finishes 2nd at Michigan Amateur

Andrew Kolly
June 29, 2004

MSU sophomore golfer Matt Harmon, from Grand Rapids, finished second at the Michigan Amateur Championship on Saturday. Harmon defeated East Lansing's Korey Mahoney, 2002 Michigan Amateur Champion, in the semifinal round on Saturday.

SPORTS

MSU softball team gets new assistant

Kelly Thesier
June 29, 2004

The MSU softball team announced the hiring of Kathryn Gleason as assistant coach on Monday. Gleason has been the assistant coach at Purdue since 2001 and spent four years before that as the assistant at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Gleason graduated from the University of Michigan in 1996 with a degree in sport management and communication and earned her master's degree in sports management from UMass-Amherst in 2000.

ICE HOCKEY

Booth, Thelen await NHL Draft fates

Kelly Thesier
June 24, 2004

A huge smile appeared on MSU junior forward David Booth's face expressing his anticipation of fulfilling one of his dreams - being drafted into the National Hockey League. "Growing up all you think about is playing in the NHL," Booth said.

BASEBALL

Collins' swings are now connecting

Kelly Thesier
June 22, 2004

It's 1:30 p.m. on a sunny Monday afternoon, more than five hours before game time, and Lansing left fielder Kevin Collins is already down in the batting cage, working on his swing. The Lugnuts slugger was recently named the starter and designated hitter for today's Midwest League All-Star Game, a long way from last season when his number of strikeouts almost doubled his number of hits. "Last year was a long year for me," Collins said.

BASKETBALL

Fans celebrate championship in downtown Detroit with Pistons

Dawn Klemish
June 21, 2004

Detroit - History junior Sean McDaniel squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight Thursday morning at Detroit's Hart Plaza. "Boy, having a reason to wake up early - besides school - was great," he said. McDaniel and a group of his friends were among the one million people who crowded into downtown Detroit on Thursday for an afternoon of celebration. The reason?

SPORTS

Lansing wins 8-7 on homer

Kelly Thesier
June 21, 2004

Lansing - With a playoff spot guaranteed, the Lansing Lugnuts had only one thing to play for Sunday afternoon - a chance to be in the record books. An 8-7 win over the Battle Creek Yankees tied the Lugnuts for the franchise record of 38 wins for a half-season, as they now head into the All-star break. "The record doesn't mean a whole lot to us," Lansing manager Julio Garcia said.

SPORTS

WEB ONLY: Honorary Alumna passes away at age 84

Sarah Al-ramadhan
June 17, 2004

The first woman to have ever served in the Big Ten Conference as a faculty athletic representative, Gwendolyn Norell, died on Tuesday at age 84. A counselor to minority students and others in need of special assistance, Norell was valued for her important contributions to those around her. "She was a leader in outreach efforts in the Detroit-area in terms of diversity interests and played an important role in the Honors College," said Lee June, vice president of student affairs and services.

BASKETBALL

Izzo not interested in Raptors, plans to stay put

Kelly Thesier
June 15, 2004

Despite speculation that MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo will meet with Toronto Raptors general manager Rob Babcock about the team's head coaching vacancy, Izzo said Monday that he is committed to MSU and is not interested in the job. Through a statement, Izzo said he knows a lot of candidates have been interviewed for the Toronto job but that he is not one of them. "I have a commitment to this program and that is to try to win another national championship," Izzo said. Questions surrounding Izzo's interest began when a source close to the Toronto search told ESPN.com and college basketball analyst Andy Katz that Izzo had talked to Babcock, the newly hired GM, and that the two will meet at a yet to be determined time. Katz said he didn't know of Izzo's interest in the job vacancy but he did know Izzo took the call from Babcock and the two talked. According to Jim LaBumbard, Director of Media Relations for the Toronto Raptors, no candidates for the coaching vacancy have been announced. "Rob has not said anything on the coaching search and will likely not comment on the search until it is over," LaBumbard said. Babcock could not be reached for comment. Izzo is one of the candidates being considered for the position according to a report by the Toronto Star.

SPORTS

Ager, Brown named finalists for USA team

Sarah Al-ramadhan
June 14, 2004

MSU basketball players, junior Maurice Ager and sophomore Shannon Brown, are scheduled to attend training camp in mid-July to prepare them for competition at the 2004 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials. The two will compete along with 22 other players from across the country for 12 positions on the 2004 USA Basketball World Championship for players 20 years old or younger.

SPORTS

Fans show colors, support for teams

Kelly Thesier
June 14, 2004

Auburn Hills- The Detroit Pistons are in the NBA finals for the first time in 14 years and the fans are enjoying every minute of it. The excitement around the Palace this weekend hit a new high as fans flooded Auburn Hills to be a part of history.