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Sports

SOFTBALL

'U' to host Valpo in home opener

Returning home to Old College Field after more than a month of road games, the MSU softball team (15-10) begins its home schedule against Valparaiso (3-8) on Saturday. MSU looks to improve upon its 0-3 record when facing nationally ranked opponents this year with the start of their home schedule and Big Ten Conference games. Head coach Jacquie Joseph conceded the team has dropped a couple of games they could have pulled out, but added that they are in a good position for this time of the year. "We are exactly where I thought we would be," she said.

SPORTS

Former 'U', Red Wings stars come to Lansing

Scott Bartosiewicz
March 25, 2004

The Grand Ledge Education Foundation will host a hockey matchup on Saturday between former Detroit Red Wings stars, local high school hockey players and local celebrities. Former Red Wings players will take the ice first, facing the combined high school varsity teams from Grand Ledge and Lansing Waverly.

SPORTS

Former Spartan hurt in Blackhawks game

Esther Gim
March 25, 2004

Former Spartans defenseman and Hobey Baker finalist John-Michael Liles, currently with the Colorado Avalanche, suffered a right knee injury in Tuesday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. In the Avalanche's 2-2 tie with the Blackhawks, Liles got tangled with Scott Nichol in the third period and had to be helped off the ice.

FOOTBALL

Coach to take part in July safari to Africa

Evan Rondeau
March 25, 2004

John L. Smith is excited, and not just because he's looking forward to the start of spring practice. The Spartans' head football coach will get the opportunity to ascend 19,341 feet to the top of Africa's tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. "To be on Mount Kilimanjaro, watching the sun come up while sitting on a glacier, it's a moment to take your breath away," he said.

ICE HOCKEY

Athletics director named Hobey Baker 'legend'

Esther Gim
March 25, 2004

MSU athletics director and former Spartans ice hockey coach Ron Mason will be honored as the Hobey Baker Award Foundation's 2004 "Legend of Hockey" at the Frozen Four on April 10 in Boston. The award is given to the person who has committed a significant amount of time and energy in promoting college hockey.

FOOTBALL

Injury keeps QB spot open

As he rehabilitates his knee this spring, with hopes to be next season's starting quarterback, sophomore Drew Stanton said the memory of the Nebraska player who "cheap-shotted" him at the Alamo Bowl in December will serve as motivation. "I've never had such a pain in my leg before, and I remember the guy over top of me, laughing and talking trash," Stanton said during a spring football press conference Wednesday. "That's something that motivates me every day to go out there and make sure that I'm at the top of my game and showing everybody that that was a cheap shot and that I will be the starting quarterback around here." Stanton was a backup quarterback last season, but because of his athleticism, he was used mostly on special teams. Head coach John L.

SPORTS

Spartans teams to hit road for outdoor open

Scott Bartosiewicz
March 25, 2004

The MSU track and field teams are set to open the outdoor season this weekend with the men traveling to Palo Alto, Calif., and the women heading to Raleigh, North Carolina. The men's team finished ninth at the Big Ten Championships and will be led by NCAA Indoor All-Americans senior Steve Manz and junior Steve Sherer.

FOOTBALL

Spartans compete for employment in NFL's Pro Day

Chris Mackinder
March 24, 2004

The NFL Draft is exactly one month away, but that didn't stop a handful of Spartans from smiling inside Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center on Tuesday afternoon. It was NFL Pro Day and Detroit Lions head coach Steve Mariucci and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman, along with numerous coordinators and scouts, were on hand to watch MSU players display their talents in hopes of being drafted. Senior quarterback Jeff Smoker, senior linebacker Mike Labinjo, senior defensive end Greg Taplin, senior guard Paul Harker, senior tackle Joe Tate and junior defensive tackle Matthias Askew were the bigger names that worked out on Tuesday.

SPORTS

Season ends for 3 Spartans wrestlers

Scott Bartosiewicz
March 24, 2004

The MSU wrestling season came to an end last week as redshirt freshman Andy Simmons, sophomore Darren McKnight and senior Nate Mesyn were eliminated from the NCAA Championships. In the consolation round, Mesyn faced Ohio State's Blake Kaplan, but came up short, losing, 3-0.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers content in underdog role

Esther Gim
March 23, 2004

Maybe it's the extra motivation that drives the MSU hockey team to win games its critics say the Spartans should lose. They took the season series away from CCHA regular-season champs Michigan by tying and winning the final two regular-season contests against the then-No.

BASEBALL

Baseball team loses 5th straight contest

The MSU baseball team (4-9) dropped its fifth-straight game Sunday in a 8-5 loss to Kansas State. In the fourth inning, junior center fielder Travis Gulick increased MSU's lead to 5-2 with a two-run triple.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans earn No. 3 tournament seed

Esther Gim
March 22, 2004

For any regular bystander, it looked like a normal Sunday afternoon at a local bar - small tables of people watching the basketball games and a few shooting pool or throwing darts. But in the back area of Reno's East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbott Road, members of the MSU hockey team and their families waited anxiously to hear the Spartans' NCAA Tournament fate. Toward the end of the half-hour selection show, MSU finally was announced, prompting the fight song to break out - with "ball" replaced by "hockey." No.

BASKETBALL

March sadness

Seattle - Paul Davis couldn't watch. He sat on the bench with his head down, picking at a towel as Nevada's Todd Okeson hit the free throws that put a fork in his sophomore season. For the second time in the last four games, Davis sat helpless as his team's offense crumbled without him.