season marred by disappointment and controversy will come to an end for the Spartans in University Park, Pa., against Penn State. The entire coaching staff from this season will be relieved of duty at the end of the season, and the program will be under completely new reigns. At this point, Athletics Director Ron Mason hasn't picked anyone to lead the team, making it impossible to know the program's direction.
This one is for Bobby. As controversy clouds begin to push on past Spartan land, home to the season of shame, I finally found one of those "positives, positives, positives, positives," he was speaking of only weeks before his firing. Suit up senior strong safety Thomas Wright. Known by those close, "T" is the leader of the 2002 Spartan squad. He became the role model junior quarterback Jeff Smoker wasn't during a season desperately looking toward somebody, anybody, with answers. Whether he wanted to, the head-shaved, goateed leader assumed the role of the go-to captain, as senior tailback Dawan Moss and Smoker found themselves indefinitely suspended. And so Wright's casual stroll out of Duffy Daugherty says "follow me." His play inside Spartan Stadium says "play at my level." His walk talked all season.
With three senior cornerbacks on the roster, it seemed improbable that a first-year player would get any significant playing time in the secondary this season for MSU.And that's exactly the mentality freshman cornerback Ashton Watson carried into the game against Michigan on Nov.
Who is MSU's biggest rival? If you said Michigan, you're right. Who is U-M biggest rival? If you said MSU, you're wrong, dead wrong. Let me explain. I'm not saying it isn't a rivalry at all, what I'm saying is it's not mutual. MSU fans get all riled up for this one big game all year, while U-M fans get the luxury of looking past the Spartans and yearning for the Buckeyes. And thanks to the most recent 49-3 drubbing MSU got this season, it makes the case for another rival even more appealing.
If the Spartans hope to muster any sort of offensive attack against Penn State, they'll have to find some way to handle one of the nation's best defensive fronts. From end to end, the Nittany Lions' defensive line is stacked.
The MSU men's basketball team didn't dominated UNC Asheville the way it was expected to Friday night, but it still picked up the win.
Women's basketball kicks off season Senior forward Syreeta Bromfield was labeled one of 30 Players to Watch for the Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to the country's senior player of the year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball. The Kingston, Jamaica, native led the Spartans in points and rebounds per game last season, averaging 15.6 and 6.5, respectively.
If you analyzed the MSU hockey team's schedule before the season started, you probably wouldn't have singled out tonight's game at Bowling Green as a pivotal matchup. But that's what it has become, thanks to MSU's rocky .500 start (5-5-0 overall, 3-3-0 CCHA). The Falcons (2-8-1, 0-7-1) don't look very daunting on paper, but the Spartans can't take them lightly - MSU desperately needs a win at 7:05 p.m.
Bowling Green, Ohio - Bad luck and a lack of goal-scoring doomed the MSU hockey team again Friday night.The Spartans took a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes to play against Bowling Green, but the Falcons tied the score with 1:54 to play and then won it in overtime at BGSU Ice Arena. The 3-2 loss dropped MSU's record to 5-6-0 overall and 3-4-0 in the CCHA.
It looks like the race for the Heisman Trophy is not the only competition that will need the full college football schedule to determine a winner.
DATE OPPONENT TIME 11/22/02 UNC Asheville 7 p.m.11/28/02 Montana (Great Alaska Shootout) 11:59 p.m.11/29/02 Great Alaska Shootout TBA11/30/02 Great Alaska Shootout TBA 12/04/02 Virginia 9 p.m. 12/08/02 Cleveland State 1 p.m.12/14/02 at Kentucky 4 p.m. 12/17/02 Loyola 7 p.m. 12/21/02 South Florida 1 p.m. 12/28/02 Jacksonville State 7 p.m. 12/30/02 Toledo 7 p.m. 1/04/03 at Oklahoma 9 p.m.1/09/03 Ohio State 7 p.m.1/11/03 at Iowa 2:34 p.m. 1/14/03 at Purdue 7 p.m.1/18/03 at Minnesota 2 p.m. 1/22/03 Penn State 6 p.m. 1/26/03 at Michigan 1 p.m. 1/28/03 Indiana 7 p.m.2/02/03 Illinois 1 p.m.2/08/03 at Indiana 7 p.m. 2/11/03 at Wisconsin 7 p.m. 2/15/03 Northwestern 3:01 p.m.2/18/03 at Illinois 7 p.m. 2/23/03 Syracuse 2 p.m. 2/26/03 Minnesota 7 p.m. 3/01/03 Purdue 2:34 p.m. 3/05/03 Iowa 8 p.m. 3/08/03* at Ohio State 12:17 p.m. 3/09/03* at Ohio State 2 p.m. 3/13-3/16# Big Ten Tournament TBA*The date for the MSU-Ohio State contest has yet to be determined. #The Big Ten Tournament will be played at the United Center in Chicago.
MSU men's basketball coach Tom Izzo has made his goals for the 2002-03 season no secret. Izzo wants the Spartans, who are ranked ninth in the Associated Press preseason poll and 10th in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, to bring MSU basketball back to a level of play unmatched by anyone. "I'm really looking forward to this year, maybe as much as any I've ever looked forward to," Izzo said.
The MSU men's basketball team's return-to-dominance bandwagon is packed these days. MSU was picked first in both preseason Big Ten polls, it landed a No.
Yeah, this season hasn't been much fun to watch. To be perfectly honest, it's been down right torturous. But at least we've had our weekly installment of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood to count on. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior has been nothing short of spectacular.
Today when the No. 3 MSU field hockey team boards the plane to Louisville, Ky., it will be landing in uncharted territory. Not in the history of the program has any Spartan team ventured so deep into the postseason waters, but this year's squad is determined to return to East Lansing with nothing less than a national championship. "Our goal for the season was to make the Final Four, and we did it," sophomore back Annebet Beerman said.
Shooting Guard: Sophomore Chris Hill - After the early departure of Marcus Taylor, Hill is expected to play major minutes at the helm of MSU's offense.
The Spartans basketball season kicks off Friday and the MSU men's basketball team is expecting the 2002-2003 campaign to be a memorable one.The main goal for the Spartans, who are ranked ninth and tenth in The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls, is to make some noise and return to glory."We're looking for championship effort, so we can take this thing to an elite level," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
Although the MSU football team had a familiar result when it lost to Purdue 45-42 at Spartan Stadium, interim head coach Morris Watts said there was a difference in the way the team played. "One of the things I felt very good about was how hard our young men competed through the four quarters," he said.
To receive consideration for the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans arguably need to win three of their next four contests. And for the MSU volleyball team, making it to the postseason for the ninth consecutive year won't be the easiest of tasks if this season has been a guide. MSU (16-10 overall, 8-8 Big Ten) sits in a tie for seventh place in the conference with Indiana.
Say aloha to the Spartans. MSU and University of Hawaii athletics officials signed a contract Monday to play three football games against each other starting in 2004. The Spartans will play at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu on Dec.