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Sports

SPORTS

HARDY: Welcome to Mr. Rogers neighborhood

No, this isn’t the land of Make-Believe. Welcome to Michigan State University, otherwise known as Mister Charles Rogers’ Neighborhood. And it’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, where Mister Rogers has made us believers, posting the most impressive statistics possible in his green-and-white fairy-tale career here. And you can get here to watch King Saturday, MSU’s legitimate Heisman Trophy contender, by taking a magical Capital Area Transit Authority Trolley ride to the land split by the Red Cedar River. Won’t you join me in a short trip to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood?

SPORTS

Womens team runs to victory in invitational

The No. 9 MSU women’s cross country team dominated the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday, placing first in the 22-team competition hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Scoring 72 points to win the meet, MSU outdistanced second-place Arizona State, which finished with 107 points. Winning the invitational was a product of hard work and a preface to upcoming meets, head coach Jim Stintzi said. “We’ve been working hard all summer for this season,” Stintzi said.

VOLLEYBALL

SPORTS UPDATE: Volleyball team notches first Big Ten win

Chris Mackinder
September 29, 2002

The Spartans had more trouble then they would have liked with the Hawkeyes on Saturday. But in the end, MSU (9-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) defeated Iowa (6-6, 0-2) in four games, 30-26, 30-25, 19-30 and 30-27 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “I think we were very fortunate to win,” MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said.

FOOTBALL

SPORTS UPDATE: Rogers breaks NCAA touchdown record

Spartan junior wide receiver Charles Rogers set the NCAA and Big Ten records with 13 consecutive regular-season games with a touchdown catch today as MSU (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) toppled Northwestern (2-3, 0-1), 39-24.The 6-4, 205-pounder caught a 21-yard pass from junior quarterback Jeff Smoker with 6:10 left in the second quarter to break the record previously shared by Marshall’s Randy Moss, Michigan’s Desmond Howard and Pacific’s Aaron Turner.On the day, Rogers was held to a mere three catches for 53 yards, ending his MSU-record streak of eight 100-yard games.For more information about this report, see Monday’s edition of The State News.

SPORTS

Gods must be crazy if Spartans lose

PIGSKIN PROGNOSTICATORS McSkinny’s betrayal of the Spartans pulled him within a game of Death Ro as last week proved to be hard times for your Pigskin Prognosticators. Death Ro (12-7) came out of the weekend with a 1-3 mark, as the Spartans cost him another loss, USC (2-1) tanked and the Gators (3-1) shocked the Volunteers (2-1) in Knoxville. McSkinny (11-8) didn’t fair much better at 2-2.

SPORTS

Rogers thrives despite stumbling team

Andrew Fifer
September 27, 2002

Although the MSU football team hasn’t measured up to preseason expectations, junior wide receiver Charles Rogers has stood tall. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder has posted 29 receptions for 634 yards and six touchdowns in four games, which has propelled him into the national spotlight.

SPORTS

Quality teams match up in conference start

Iowa (3-1) at No. 12 Penn State (3-0) The two most impressive teams in the Big Ten this year are arguably the Hawkeyes and the Nittany Lions. Both teams had their ups and downs last year, but neither moved into the spotlight like both are doing now.

SPORTS

Men tee off in annual tournament in Indiana

No. 11 MSU men’s golf team will compete in the annual Northern Intercollegiate this weekend at the Indiana University Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind. The Northern Intercollegiate is a fall preview for the 2003 Big Ten Championship, which Indiana will host May 2-4. MSU tied for third place in the Inverness Intercollegiate Invitational Sept.

SPORTS

Northwestern tailback rushes into spotlight

Eric Mckinney
September 27, 2002

When Big Ten football fans hear the name Jason Wright, fear is the last thing that comes to mind. In fact, most simply ask, “Who?” Considering the 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior tailback carried the ball just three times his first two seasons at Northwestern, that’s a reasonable question. But Wright, who is attempting to fill the shoes of the Wildcats’ all-time leading rusher Damien Anderson, leads Northwestern (2-2) with 346 yards on 66 carries (5.2 yards per carry). “I’m not going to lie, it definitely feels good to be back at my natural position,” said the former first-team all-state tailback at Diamond Bar High, in Diamond Bar, Calif. That’s right, the reason many Big Ten fans haven’t heard of Wright is because he spent his first season and a half playing wide receiver for the Wildcats.

SPORTS

Mens tennis to open up its season at Ball State

The MSU men’s tennis team will open its 2002-03 season this weekend in Muncie, Ind., at the Ball State Invitational. This is the second-straight season the Spartans have opened at Ball State. The team will be led by eight returning letter winners from last season, including seniors Adam Hourani, Jimmy McGuire and Goran Topalo, juniors Mike Jonckheere, Chris Mitchell and Eric Simonton, and sophomores Andrew Formanczyk and Cameron Marshall. The Spartans will travel to Nashville, Oct.

SPORTS

Heisman watch

Eric Mckinney
September 27, 2002

After five weeks of action, the Heisman Trophy race has been shaken, not stirred. Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey, the former front-runner, is being overshadowed by his own teammate.

SPORTS

Conference title up for grabs as multiple teams eye Rose Bowl

Andrew Fifer
September 27, 2002

As usual, the Big Ten season is loaded with unpredictability. The 107th year of conference play could go down as one of the most competitive in history. Michigan, Ohio State and MSU - voted by the Big Ten’s media to finish first, second and third, respectively - haven’t pulled away from the competition.

SPORTS

HARDY: Spartan struggles call for shake up in starting lineup

Pull up one of those Gunson Street all-purpose, ratty couches - you know, the type that has springs that find you in all the wrong places and kicks up a little funk when you plop down - and join your favorite ol’ armchair quarterback for a little pregame play calling. Comfy?