The MSU baseball team is about to embark on its “biggest weekend of the season” head coach Ted Mahan said. “We’ve got four weekends left - 16 games - and we want to make the playoffs.
Goodbye. Farewell. See ya.Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson - we barely got to know ya.But as they say, life goes on.The news of the two Spartans jetting for the NBA has sent shockwaves through MSU’s campus.I have to ask: Why is this so shocking or even surprising?Maybe we were spoiled before.
The MSU football team will conclude spring practice at 1 p.m. Saturday with an open-to-the-public practice at Spartan Stadium.However, one thing that won’t conclude is the quarterback controversy that has engulfed the team during the spring.
The MSU hockey program didn’t receive any National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, but assistant coach Tom Newton said there was “no problem” with MSU’s recruiting class expected to sign this week.Left wings Kevin Estrada and Mike Lalonde and center Ash Goldie are still expected to sign with MSU this week, bringing the Spartans’ recruiting class for the 2001-02 season to seven players.NCAA rules prohibit MSU officials from speaking about players until the school has received National Letters of Intent.MSU head coach Ron Mason is out of town and Newton said he hadn’t heard of any letters that have arrived at the Office of Compliance Services yet.
Ivory McCoy is familiar with doing more than his share. Last season, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior split his time on MSU’s football team playing his primary position at tight end and spotlighted as a pass rush specialist for the defense.
Well, things didn’t work out. The Spartans looked like they might do it. They looked like they might be able to win MSU’s first national championship since 1986. But then it came to a crashing halt in Albany, N.Y., with a 2-0 loss to North Dakota. And Spartan fans have another long summer in front of them waiting for next fall’s Green and White game, which officially gets the hockey season under way. Before you close the book on this year’s team, here’s a look back at the highlights and lowlights of 2000-01, the year that almost was. Best moment Clearly have to give it to standout sophomore goaltender Ryan Miller for breaking the 70-year-old NCAA career shutouts record Feb.
With all the additions on offense for the MSU football team, it would seem like a no-brainer that the scorekeeper at Spartan Stadium will be very busy in the fall.
For a struggling MSU baseball team, having to play an afternoon game after coming home at 4 a.m. from a road trip earlier in the morning may not have seemed like the best way to break out of a slump.
Sophomore guard Jason Richardson’s decision to leave college early for the NBA hit MSU fans hard, but things may get worse before a recovery can begin. At 1:15 p.m.
As the nation’s top prep player of a year ago, Charles Rogers came to East Lansing confident of his abilities as an athletic, big-play receiver.
Replenishing its graduation-depleted roster, the Spartan hockey team expects to add three more players to its recruiting class today, bringing the class total to seven. Left wings Kevin Estrada and Mike Lalonde and center Ash Goldie have given verbal commitments to sign National Letters of Intent with head coach Ron Mason’s program today. Mason is out of town and NCAA rules prohibit him from talking about recruits until they have signed National Letters of Intent. Estrada, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound left wing, plays for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League - the same team that produced former MSU center Jeremy Jackson, who was dismissed from the Spartan squad in February. Estrada led the Chiefs with 118 points (34 goals, 84 assists) in 59 games this season. Lalonde, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound left wing, plays for the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCJHL.
By JAIME ARON The Associated Press IRVING, Texas - Troy Aikman’s NFL career ended with the Dallas Cowboys after all. The three-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement at a news conference Monday at Texas Stadium, where he starred for 12 seasons. “You watch and you think that your time will never come,” said Aikman, fighting back tears as he announced his plans.
A beautiful day for softball produced even prettier results for the MSU softball team, as it defeated Purdue 8-3 Sunday at Old College Field. After falling behind 3-0 after three innings, the Spartan bats came alive with timely hits in the middle innings. The Spartans pushed across two runs in the fourth thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly by senior Shealee Dunavan, who plays first base, and an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Tiffany Wallace.
Football fans who cheer on the Spartans this fall might have a new section. The Bobby’s World section, named after MSU head coach Bobby Williams, might have its name changed if the Student Alumni Foundation agrees on a decision tonight.“It is kind of a cheesy cartoon character’s name, no offense to coach Williams, and they want something a little catchier,” said Derek Byrne, a general management freshman and co-director of the former Bobby’s World section for the Student Alumni Foundation.Byrne said the group wanted to have a section for students to cheer and last year it was named Bobby’s World.He said there was a general consensus among the foundation’s members to change the name.“Some people think it is kind of cheesy and some people want to patent the name and there might be conflicts with the show ‘Bobby’s World,’” said Michael Campian, a criminal justice freshman and co-director for the former Bobby’s World section.Campian said the organization has been poring over a long list of names but hasn’t come to a conclusion yet.
All-American junior tailback T.J. Duckett will sit out the rest of spring football practice after undergoing minor shoulder surgery Friday.“I expect him back at full strength by the time preseason camp opens in August,” MSU head coach Bobby Williams said.Duckett, who finished last season with 1,353 yards rushing and a team-high seven touchdowns, has seen limited action this spring.In the spring’s first scrimmage he carried the ball just four times for 25 yards, and didn’t participate in Saturday’s second scrimmage.Following doctors’ orders to rest, Duckett was unavailable for comment Sunday.Sophomore quarterback Jeff Smoker said the Spartans have plenty of depth at running back.
ALBANY, N.Y. - With MSU out of the race for a national title, Spartan fans who stayed for Saturday’s NCAA Championship hockey game had to pick which remaining team would get their support.Many Spartan loyals made their decision while mingling with opposing fans at FanFest, a three-day celebration in front of Pepsi Arena.
What a bittersweet end for two MSU teams.After making it to the glory land - the Final Four and the Frozen Four - the Spartan basketball and hockey teams bowed out without reaching one championship game between them.Both teams had remarkable seasons, but both ended the same way - in shockingly uncharacteristic and uninspired performances.Doubt lingered concerning the gigantic holes in leadership and spirit that former Spartan and current Detroit Pistons guard Mateen Cleaves took with him.The season was spectacular in almost every way, as the Spartans were undefeated in the preseason, and won their fourth-consecutive Big Ten regular-season title.The senior class also became the winningest in Big Ten history, claiming 115 career wins.
ALBANY, N.Y. - No longer will Boston College head coach Jerry York have to listen to jeering chants of “1949” from opposing fans. The Eagles (33-8-2) claimed their first national championship in 52 years with a 3-2 overtime win over North Dakota (29-8-9) on Saturday night at Pepsi Arena. “We’ve been very, very close to winning three straight national championships prior to this tournament,” said York, a BC alumnus who coached Bowling Green to a title in 1984.
After a disappointing 5-6 football season that saw MSU give up 689 yards worth of penalties, the Spartans have begun taking the first step in spring practice to reduce costly mistakes.With an emphasis on poise and self-control on the gridiron, MSU head coach Bobby Williams said the squad has responded well to the challenge of avoiding costly errors.
ALBANY, N.Y. - It was almost a storybook season. MSU’s hockey team held the number one spot in the national polls since Nov.