Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Sports

SPORTS

Spartan recruit earns top high school award

The Associated Press DETROIT - When people talk about Kelvin Torbert, this year’s Mr. Basketball, the word “special” is used a lot - and not just because of what he does on the court. On Monday, Torbert became the 21st winner of the award. Torbert is headed to MSU next year, joining a long list of Flint standouts who’ve played for head coach Tom Izzo. “I’m real excited to go up to East Lansing and play for a coach like coach Izzo and play with players like (last year’s Mr. Basketball) Marcus Taylor and (1999 Mr. Basketball) Jason Richardson; that caliber of players,” Torbert said.

SPORTS

Spartans beat Cinderella hopeful Bowling Green and arch-rival U-M

James Jahnke
March 19, 2001

DETROIT - Everything was green in Detroit on St. Patrick’s Day. Green-clad fans cheered as the CCHA Tournament championship banner ascended to the Joe Louis Arena rafters with a brand-new green addition at the bottom. The joyous bunch of hockey players, donning green and white jerseys, huddled together on the ice with the inaugural Mason Cup. And No.

SPORTS

Six wrestlers place in NCAA tourney, earn All-American

Keith Dunlap
March 19, 2001

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Six Spartan wrestlers came to the NCAA wrestling championships in Iowa this weekend, and four of them can now call themselves All-Americans. Junior Chris Williams (125 pounds), senior Pat McNamara (133 pounds) and sophomores Gray Maynard (157 pounds) and Nik Fekete (197 pounds) earned the prestigious status by finishing in the top eight in their weight class. The foursome helped lead MSU to a 15th-place finish from the event.

SPORTS

Spartan baseball drops three games, softball splits matchups

MSU baseball’s six-game winning streak came to a disappointing end this weekend with three losses and a single win over the Ohio University Bobcats. The Spartans split a doubleheader Sunday, losing 14-9, but came back with a 10-4 win. The Spartans scored first during the second inning of Friday’s game, but was quickly overpowered by the Bobcats, who held the lead, finishing with a 7-3 win. The Bobcats dominated Saturday’s game with nine home runs, winning with a score of 21-2.

SPORTS

Golf show offers tips for pros, hackers

Dan Woike
March 19, 2001

Many people will list the Detroit Auto Show as the best place to learn how to smooth out a drive, but golfers know Lansing’s Golf Show will fix the type of drive they’re concerned with.The Lansing Center, 333 E.

SPORTS

Miller named Player of the Year by CCHA, Nail, Hutchinson win defensive awards

James Jahnke
March 19, 2001

DETROIT - MSU sophomore goaltender Ryan Miller will have to clear off some mantel space in his East Lansing home. The All-CCHA goalie walked away from the CCHA Awards banquet in Detroit’s Fox Theatre on Thursday with an armload of new trophies and plaques. Among his numerous honors, the CCHA named Miller as the league’s Best Goaltender and, more importantly, the Player of the Year. “My teammates are why I’m here right now.

SPORTS

Tickets not too tough to buy

Tim Mosley
March 16, 2001

Winning the NCAA National Championship should have caused a ticket frenzy at Breslin Student Events Center for the 2000-01 basketball season, but as many students found out, getting a season pass was as easy as picking up the phone. “I just called Jenison and ordered tickets,” fisheries and wildlife senior Andrew Cole said.

SPORTS

Lugnuts to host Midwest All-Star game next summer

Visitors to the 2002 Midwest League All-Star game may be surprised by the crazy antics of Myron the Noodleman, a popular Lansing Lugnuts act.Myron and other acts will add some extra fun to the All-Star game, which will be hosted next summer by the Lansing Lugnuts.Lansing competed with the Kane County Cougars, a suburb of Chicago who hosted the game in 2000.The Lugnuts last hosted the game in 1999, and before that in 1997.“We’ve had great success in the past with All-Star games,” Lugnuts Marketing Manager David Proutsaid.Plans are in the works for attractions to liven up the events and sponsors are soon to be determined.Midwest League President George Spelius said that from past experience, Lansing was an ideal place for the occasion.“It was a top notch situation there, they do everything big-league,” he said, referring to the way the Lugnuts run their games.Fan support makes Lansing an attractive venue for the game, Spelius said.

SPORTS

Ballinger ready for tourney despite injury-filled season

Eric Mckinney
March 15, 2001

The most feared opponent in sports is the injury bug, and no one knows that better than Adam Ballinger.In three years at MSU, the redshirt sophomore has fractured his fibula, played an entire season with back pains and shattered the thumb on his shooting hand.“The years haven’t gotten off to the best start, but hopefully I’ve got it all behind me,” Ballinger said.As MSU heads into the NCAA Tournament, Ballinger is injury-free and hoping to help the Spartans defend their 2000 NCAA Championship.Despite only playing in 19 games and averaging a minuscule two points a game, Ballinger’s teammates are confident he can contribute.“We definitely need him to give solid minutes coming into the tournament,” senior forward Andre Hutson said.

SPORTS

Prosecution unlikely for those who gamble on NCAA Tournament via Internet

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Criminal justice sophomore Brad Collins said he enjoys betting on the NCAA Tournament because “it’s fun to be in a pool with a group of your buddies.” But Collins, who said the pools he enters normally have small entrance fees, admitted there should be red flags waved when betting on college athletes goes too far. “I see it being a problem because people are winning and losing money based on amateurs’ performances,” he said.

SPORTS

Spartans five wins from national title

James Jahnke
March 12, 2001

The top-ranked Spartans took the first step of what they hope will be a monthlong climb to a national championship this weekend at Munn Ice Arena.With the two-game sweep of Alaska-Fairbanks in the first round of the CCHA playoffs under its belt, MSU is likely five wins away from its first national title in 15 years.“We came out and needed to get on the board (in the playoffs) and we did,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said.

SPORTS

Its a great time to be a hoops junkie

Eric Lacy
March 12, 2001

I’ll never forget the first time I realized why - besides that first 60-degree day of spring semester when Spartan women start sunbathing on the banks of the Red Cedar - this is the most special time of the year.