The season for the MSU football team has not developed the way anyone could have imagined. The Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) have dropped three of their last four games - two of which have been blowout losses. “We’re not anywhere near where we should be or where I expected this team to be,” head coach Bobby Williams said at a Tuesday press conference.
The San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels aren’t the only teams playing baseball this deep into October.The MSU baseball team took the field Wednesday afternoon for the last time this year in the final game of the three game Green/Gray World Series.In the contest, the Gray team came out victorious with some last inning heroics.
Last season, the MSU men’s basketball team lacked enough healthy bodies for intense practices. The Spartans had just eight scholarship athletes on the roster and various injuries - including redshirt junior forward Adam Wolfe’s season-ending injury - forcing walk-ons and others to play minutes they had not earned. Head coach Tom Izzo said practices were played “safe.” This fall, the first three days of practices have been more to Izzo’s liking.
Hockey head coach Rick Comley’s ax finally fell last week, and little-used junior defenseman Mike Porter took the brunt of it. Porter, a 6-foot, 185-pounder, was cut from the MSU team to fulfill Comley’s wish for a 26-man active roster. The 23-year-old Northville native played three games last season, but didn’t register any statistics.
MSU defeated Big Ten rival Michigan 2-1 Sunday in Ann Arbor. With the victory, the Spartans jumped to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten, while the Wolverines fell to 4-6-1, 0-3. After an equal first half where each team registered six shots on goal, senior forward Brett Konley broke the tie, floating one past Michigan goalkeeper Joe Zawacki at the 66:36 mark. Two minutes later MSU struck again, this time on a header from junior midfielder Jeff Krass to put the Spartans up by two. MSU faces Notre Dame in its next matchup at 8 p.m.
Sophomore forward Michelle Carstens was awarded Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors Monday after netting three goals in weekend action. The first tally came Saturday in a 5-1 victory over Indiana (3-9 overall, 1-2 Big Ten). Carstens went on to strike twice Sunday during a heated matchup against No.
The Spartans finished the Minnesota Invitational this weekend with six doubles wins. Two doubles teams, seniors Adam Hourani and Jimmy McGuire, and sophomore Anthony Stefani and freshman Mike Brown, each collected two victories in the tournament on Sunday. The Spartans will travel next to Madison, Wis., after 10 days of rest to compete in the Omni Hotels Region IV Tournament.
The Spartans improved their record to 10-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten this weekend after downing No.
CCHA arenas don’t get much farther away from MSU than Nebraska-Omaha’s Civic Auditorium.But they don’t get much closer to home for Spartan hockey players Tim Hearon and Chad Hontvet.Hearon, a junior center, and Hontvet, a freshman right wing, both played their junior hockey in the Cornhusker State.
A jam-packed Breslin Center helped both the men’s and women’s basketball teams usher in the start of the 2002-03 season Friday night.Master of ceremonies Terry “Boom Boom” Braverman got the Midnight Mania crowd riled up, followed by the Spartan Marching Band leading the crowd in the school fight song.San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci sent a message to his buddy - men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo - via video screen.“Tonight is the first step to another championship run, Izzo,” he said.
Iowa City, Iowa - Saturday’s 44-16 beating at the hands of Iowa provided more than just embarrassment for the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten), it also opened the door for a possible quarterback controversy. The door was unlocked roughly three minutes into the third quarter when MSU head coach Bobby Williams sent sophomore quarterback Damon Dowdell into the game. On the Spartans’ previous possession, junior quarterback Jeff Smoker fumbled after a 3-yard scramble.
Omaha, Neb. - Amid the cheering for the victorious Denver Pioneers, one could almost hear the sigh of relief from MSU fans at the Omaha Civic Auditorium this weekend. Very rarely do Spartan fans take any solace from a one win, one loss weekend.
Iowa City, Iowa - Under rolling gray skies, the Spartans couldn’t weather the Iowa storm on a dreary Saturday in Hawkeye country. Five turnovers coupled with MSU’s worst offensive performance - 249 total yards - the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) extended their losing streak at Kinnick Stadium to 14 years with a 44-16 loss to a talented Iowa squad (6-1, 3-0). “It’s really very, very hard to play over the number of turnovers we had and give up big plays like we did,” MSU head coach Bobby Williams said. And unless the Spartans begin to execute like the team expected to come out of the preseason, the forecast for the rest of the season is dismal, as MSU still has to play top-ranked programs Michigan and Penn State. “Obviously, they have an up field battle,” ESPN analyst Bob Davie said.
Weather in the mid-40s and continuous wind gusts didn’t keep the MSU baseball team off the diamond Sunday afternoon.The Spartans were divided into two teams, creating the Green/Gray World Series.
Omaha, Neb. - In the wee hours of Saturday morning, head coach Rick Comley watched the replay of MSU’s humbling 5-0 loss to Denver with a tally sheet in his hand.He was counting the number of turnovers his seventh-ranked hockey team made against the Pioneers in the first round of the season-opening Maverick Stampede on Friday.Comley’s final calculation: 110 MSU giveaways, including 50 by the defensemen, in 60 minutes of hockey.
Say it ain’t so, say it ain’t so. Just six games into a much anticipated season, many are wondering how good is the MSU football team - or how bad? The facts say the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) are average.
No. 5 MSU field hockey team had a tough matchup Sunday but came out on top, downing No. 11 Louisville 4-2.With the victory, the Spartans improve to 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten this season.“They really put their passing game together today,” head coach Michele Madison said referring to her team.
The No. 18 MSU volleyball team went into State College, Pa. to face the powerhouse Nittany Lions, knowing it would be a tough match.The Spartans found out the hard way in their second straight loss.
The No. 5 MSU field hockey has compiled an 11-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten record so far and is looking to finish its final seven games of the regular season the same way it always has - with convincing wins. This season the Spartans have dominated the competition, outscoring opponents 52-9.
With college football at its midway point and the bye week behind the Spartans, MSU is ready to tackle the second half of its season. But MSU (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) was expected to be sitting with the big boys by this point in the season, at least according to most preseason predictions. The Spartans were ranked 18th in both preseason polls and selected by the media to finish third in the Big Ten.