Distractions. It's practically impossible to watch SportsCenter, a Fox Sports report or any other sports-oriented program today without some segment being on the latest distraction in the world of sports. These distractions come in all forms and find their ways into every major sport, whether through the organization as a whole, the players, the coaches or the owners.
The MSU gymnastics team took first place at the 15th annual Spartan Invitational on Saturday with a final score of 195.725. The Spartans (7-9) had season-high records in both the team floor and team bars scores, finishing with 49.475 and 49.200, respectively. Sarah Alexander tied MSU's fourth-best event score with a season-high 9.95.
The No. 17 women's basketball team got blown out Sunday at Breslin Center by a very determined Ohio State squad. The Buckeyes (15-8 overall, 7-5 Big Ten) opened the game with a 13-0 run and never looked back en route to a 72-53 win over the Spartans (19-5, 9-4). "It was a great game by Ohio State," MSU head coach Joanne P.
The Spartans softball team started off its season strongly with a 2-1 weekend record at the USF/Wilson Tournament held in Tampa, Fla., on the South Florida campus. MSU split on Sunday.
Orlando's Orange County National Golf Course will hold the dual match between MSU and Northwestern this weekend.
The Great White North. No, not Canada - Alaska. It's where the MSU hockey team has been since Wednesday, gearing up for its weekend series against Alaska Fairbanks starting today at 11:05 p.m. Adjusting to the time difference - Alaska is four hours behind - prompted MSU head coach Rick Comley to hit the road two days ago despite MSU holding a 10-2 advantage at Alaska. "Players are so tired when you get there - they want to sleep constantly during the day," Comley said. "It's what you do with the trip mentally.
Following a strong performance at this past week's Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame, the MSU men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Ames, Iowa this weekend to compete in the 14th annual Iowa State Classic.
MSU hockey gained another recruit for the 2004 season when they picked up Minnesota's Jim McKenzie. Nicknamed "Big Mac," McKenzie stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 205 pounds.
National Signing Day has come and gone, and thus begins a sad, arduous and lonely time for yours truly.
Rivalries are built on passion, respect and hatred, and the MSU-Michigan matchup in women's basketball is no different. "It's an in-state battle," sophomore guard Lindsay Bowen said.
Quiet and unassuming are words that come to mind when looking at junior point guard Kristin Haynie. Until you watch her play. It's then you realize this soft-spoken athlete runs the show for one of the nation's top 20 teams.
Champaign, Ill. - The Spartans figured they couldn't win every game with offense alone, and they got hard proof of that against Illinois. The Spartans (12-9 overall, 7-3 Big Ten) gave the Illini too many offensive opportunities, and Illinois (16-5, 7-3) took advantage, outshooting MSU on its way to a 75-51 win. MSU's defense has concerned coach Tom Izzo throughout the season, but the Spartans have recently overcome that with a high-powered offense.
The MSU hockey team has been close to perfect in holding its opponents off the score sheet when the Spartans play with one man down. MSU is killing off penalties at a rate of 94.6 percent (35 out of 37) since the UMass-Lowell series on Jan.
The MSU swimming and diving team named Matt Gianiodis its new head coach Monday, just in time for the Big Ten Championships. Gianiodis has served as interim head coach since October and is in his seventh year with the Spartans.
The past is in the past, or so the saying goes. But the Spartans say last year's game against Illinois in Champaign isn't erased from their memories. It's a game that MSU would like to forget, but for the sake of revenge, the team has scrapped through a year's load of memories to bring the 70-40 shellacking to the forefront of its brain. At one point, the Spartans trailed 69-28 with less than three minutes to play in the game before ending the contest on a 12-1 run. "Oh, we remember," senior center Jason Andreas said.
The No. 17 MSU women's basketball team tied the school record for the highest ranking in the program's history on Monday afternoon. The last and only time the Spartans (18-4 overall, 8-3 Big Ten) were ranked this high was March 16, 1977.
The women's track and field team was successful at this past weekend's Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
The MSU wrestling team lost a 19-13 match to No. 21 Purdue on Sunday. Juniors Craig Trombly and Matt McCarty won their first dual meet victory and Big Ten dual competition of the season, respectively. At Oklahoma on Friday, the Sooners trumped MSU, 29-6.
The No. 20 MSU women's basketball team beat Northwestern for the second time this season, but this time it was a little easier. "Our defense there was just horrible because we weren't adjusting to what they were doing," junior guard Kristin Haynie said.
Six field hockey players have signed to the 2004 Spartan lineup. Mandy Yocom from Mountain Top, Pa., joined MSU as a goalkeeper after starting for four years at Twin Valley High.