SPORTS
Sports briefs
Men’s cross country ranked No. 14 in preseason poll The men’s cross country team is ranked No.
FOOTBALL
Punter takes hobby to new heights
From Cougar to Spartan, Jason Daily has made the transition from junior college standout to Big Ten starter.But growing up in Santa Clarita, Calif., the 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior punter never imagined football would be his ticket to success.
ICE HOCKEY
Empty net
Ryan Miller was back in his hometown of East Lansing Tuesday after spending the previous day in Buffalo - the city he hopes to call his hockey home in the near future. The 22-year-old star goaltender met with local media Tuesday to explain his decision to forgo his senior season at MSU in favor of professional hockey.
SPORTS
Two U.S. cities selected for 2012 Olympic games
Chicago - New York and San Francisco were selected Tuesday as the U.S. finalists to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, while Houston and Washington, were eliminated as contenders.The U.S.
VOLLEYBALL
Spartans working for perfection
All summer, the MSU volleyball team has been lifting weights and conditioning, trying to increase strength and endurance for the upcoming season.With two days until the team’s first regular season matchup, the No.
ICE HOCKEY
Miller leaves behind legacy, questions
One would assume that Matt Migliaccio and Justin Tobe would be feeling a little pressure now that the unenviable task of replacing Ryan Miller has officially begun. After all, Miller was one of the most prolific goaltenders in college hockey history before signing with the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
FOOTBALL
Speed over size for defense
When the Spartans take the field Saturday against Eastern Michigan, don’t expect to see last year’s defense.Middle linebacker Josh Thornhill has moved on to the NFL, and the smash-mouth style MSU fans learned to love went with him.The task of replacing last season’s leading tackler goes to junior Mike Labinjo, who finished third on the team with 64 tackles last season.
ICE HOCKEY
Miller leaves Spartans for pros
The first day of fall semester classes brought beginnings for most MSU students, but it signaled the end of Ryan Miller’s collegiate athletic career. Miller, a two-time All-American goaltender, forfeited his senior year of eligibility and signed a contract with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
ICE HOCKEY
Fans react to goalies departure, remain optimistic for new season
Not long after the announcement that MSU goaltender Ryan Miller had signed with the Buffalo Sabres, forgoing his senior season, Spartan hockey fans weren’t bashful with their opinions. Miller had arguably done everything a player could do at MSU.
FOOTBALL
New faces given chance to start as season nears
For the MSU football team, preseason practices have created some interesting battles for the season opener’s starting positions. Some of the headliners include the jockeying for the second wide receiver spot and backup tailback.
SPORTS
Spartan soccer starts strong
The men’s and women’s soccer teams finished a combined 2-0-1 over the weekend. The No.
SPORTS
Amateur Night
Eric Jorgensen isn’t used to this kind of attention. The MSU senior golfer can’t drive a cart 10 yards at Forest Akers West Golf Course, home of the MSU golf team, without someone stopping to congratulate him on his successful summer.
ICE HOCKEY
Alumni return to Munn
The MSU hockey program held its version of a family reunion last week, but instead of burgers, beer and dorky party games, there were pucks, slap shots and shards of glass.For the third-straight summer, Spartan assistant coach Tom Newton welcomed back former MSU skaters for a weeklong “pro camp” at Munn Ice Arena.
SPORTS
Spirits soar as seasons approach start
Incoming freshman and returnees alike were introduced to hockey, basketball and football players Friday - without even buying a ticket.Despite a steady drizzle all day Thursday, thousands of students flooded Spartan Stadium for the annual Spartan Spirit rally to support their school.The event provided a familiar atmosphere for new students who were feeling a little overwhelmed by campus, classes and being away from home.Hiroaki Toda is in his first year of study at MSU.
BASKETBALL
Center adjusts to life in U.S. as a Spartan
Walk-ons for the men’s basketball team usually help the team by competing hard against the scholarship athletes in practice.
ICE HOCKEY
Millers pro decision still cloudy
Evidence continues to mount that Spartan goaltender Ryan Miller will forego his senior year of eligibility in order to turn professional. Miller, reached at his parents’ house Sunday afternoon, pleaded the fifth on the issue, as he has all summer.
SPORTS
Lions restore the roar in Detroit
Detroit -They’re back. After 25 years in the suburbs, the Detroit Lions returned downtown Saturday to open Ford Field, their new $500 million home. The indoor stadium was designed to be everything the Pontiac Silverdome wasn’t: charismatic, innovative and state-of-the art. Fans who packed the 65,000-seat venue for an afternoon exhibition contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers certainly took notice. “It’s absolutely beautiful, gorgeous,” Tim Jones, a 35-year-old sales manager from Farmington Hills, said before entering.
VOLLEYBALL
Green takes White in Spikers debut
Prior to the MSU volleyball team’s Green & White game Saturday, head coach Chuck Erbe called the inter-squad scrimmage a “coming out party.”Anyone who listened to the radio or was in attendance at Jenison Field House didn’t have much of an argument.
SPORTS
HARDY: Mulder, MLB look at strikes
Detroit - Mark Mulder knows strikes. From the mound, the lanky former Spartan and flame-throwing lefty has seen 352 batters return to the pine during his three-year career with Oakland - he also mulled over a school-record 113 in his final season at MSU in 1998. Baseball fans know strikes, too. They’ve seen eight work stoppages since 1972. And as negotiators go into the ninth inning of bargaining before Friday’s deadline, we can all wonder who will strike next? Mulder or the players? “None of us want a strike,” Mulder says with his casual, cool tone as he stretches on the Oakland Athletics’ green-padded bench with his legs up inside the visitor’s dugout before Sunday’s opening pitch at Comerica Park, where the A’s swept the series against the Detroit Tigers under a deep-blue sky with temperatures in the low 80s. The 25-year-old pitching stud feels little heat, though, even as the sun breaks from behind clouds one day after talks between baseball management and players soured. “This is about keeping the game going,” he says.
FOOTBALL
Gridders use practice to move up the ranks
With two-a-day workouts behind them and the season opener less than a week away, the MSU football team is ready to get on the field against another team. “I’m really excited,” junior wide receiver Ziehl Kavanaght said after a Wednesday scrimmage.