The MSU baseball team earned its first win of the season with a 4-2 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala. Senior pitcher John Dwan got the win, recording four strikeouts while only allowing three hits and one run. The Spartans broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning by scoring three runs.
Drew Neitzel was hampered by flu-like symptoms in Saturday's game against Indiana. The bug subsided, however, after Neitzel ran it off screens for the better part of two hours. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre could miss up to 10 weeks after undergoing scheduled surgery on a bone spur this week. On the bright side for the Packers, the procedure won't count against their salary cap because it's covered by Favre's AARP plan. Japanese star turned Boston Red Sox free agent Daisuke Matsuzaka outlasted all other pitchers on the team last week by throwing a 103-pitch bullpen session. Scouts caution, however, that with the exchange rate for yen, Matsuzaka's outing only works out to about a pitch and a half. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens is reportedly considering undergoing surgery on his ring finger. Owens also is considering having doctors permanently extend his middle fingers to better reflect his attitude toward the world. The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators played a fight-filled game last Thursday that ended with 136 penalty minutes handed out. Suspensions are unlikely, however, since league officials said they understand emotions might have been high with the final episode of "The O.C." airing later that night. Mickey Meyer, a goalie for the Southern Cal hockey team, was ticketed during a game last week after he dropped his pants on the ice and mooned the crowd. Meyer was cited for indecent exposure of the five hole.
Victoria Lucas-Perry called MSU's rebounding effort against Minnesota on Sunday "embarrassing." Despite coming away with a 57-50 win, the Spartans were outrebounded, 50-33, by the Golden Gophers.
Senior brothers Nick and Andy Simmons will wrestle in their final dual meet tonight when the No. 22 MSU wrestling team takes on No.
The culmination of the indoor track season — the Big Ten Championships — is set to take place this weekend. The men's team will travel to Indiana and the women head to Illinois for the conclusion of their respective seasons. Several team members are coming off both personal and school-breaking records and are ready to compete. "We're working to control ourselves, to not get distracted," director of track and field Walt Drenth said.
Senior forward Tyler Howells learned a few things on the ice during his four years at MSU that he never would have acquired from in a classroom. Howells has played every position — except for goaltender — in a Spartans' uniform, and he considers the experience valuable beyond the rink. "Going out into the work world, you've gotten used to being moved around and learning new things very quickly, accepting new roles," Howells said.
When MSU and Illinois last met Feb. 4, the Spartans were still stinging from two previous road losses. Since then, the MSU women's basketball team has gone on a tear, knocking off two top 15 teams in Purdue and Ohio State. Illinois has gone the other way, losing four of its last five games. That begs the question: Which MSU team will show up?
Nick Foles has MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio anticipating big things. The newest recruit for the 2007 Spartans football team, Foles signed a National Letter of Intent on Feb.
Don't tell the hockey team that four goals over its last three games won't cut it in the playoffs.
Austin Thornton, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound shooting guard from Cedar Springs, has verbally committed to the MSU basketball team.
Sports editor Eric Fish spent Friday at Lawson Ice Arena watching Western Michigan host MSU in a CCHA battle.
Allyssa DeHaan's "baptism by fire," as MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie likes to put it, finally paid off in Sunday's 62-59 win over Ohio State. Because of MSU's tough schedule, its freshman center had to face some of the top post players in the country, including LSU's Sylvia Fowles and Maryland's Crystal Langhorne. Suddenly, facing the Buckeyes' Jessica Davenport on Sunday didn't seem like such a monumental task. "It makes you realize the value of a great schedule," McCallie said at her Monday press conference.
The Spartans were centimeters away from playing an overtime frame in Friday's 4-3 loss to Western Michigan. After taking a closer look, maybe they should have been in overtime. Sophomore forward Tim Kennedy sent the puck toward the net and supposedly hit the left goal post in the waning seconds of the game.
While the growing number of "bracketologists" attempting to predict the NCAA Tournament field are undoubtedly operating more from conjecture than fact — MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo jokingly called them "proctologists" last week — their projections can be a fairly accurate gauge of a team's standing.
Drew Neitzel took the court on Saturday with a heavy heart and a hot hand. The junior guard lost a friend just two days before MSU's 81-49 win over Iowa at Breslin Center. Adam Visser, Neitzel's "good buddy from back home," died Thursday night.
The No. 18 MSU gymnastics team fell to Illinois on Saturday at Jenison Field House, 194.700-193.925. Freshman Rochelle Robinson won the only individual event of the night by scoring a 9.850 on the vault.
Former NBA player Charles Barkley, whose weight has ballooned since his playing days, beat 67-year-old referee Dick Bavetta by inches in a footrace during Saturday's NBA All-Star festivities. Barkley, who trained for the event with former Olympic medalist John Carlos, celebrated by eating Bavetta. ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale was named one of 15 finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame last week. Shortly thereafter, the hall announced immediate plans to install soundproof insulation. Another ESPN analyst, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, will not return to the network next year. Looking for someone less grating and opinionated to replace him, the network has narrowed its search to everyone else in the world. Michigan forward Brent Petway made headlines when he arrived for Saturday's game with a block "M" shaved in the back of his head. Unfortunately for Petway, it was spelled wrong.
Why are the Spartans struggling now of all times? Depends on who you ask. MSU's game Tuesday against Ferris State threw an obstacle at its nine-game unbeaten streak as the team was forced to play its third game in five days.
The No. 6 MSU hockey team learned a valuable lesson in Saturday's 2-0 loss to Western Michigan — there are 20 minutes in each period, right down to the last fraction of a fraction of a second. Broncos forward Patrick Galivan tallied the eventual game-winning goal for Western Michigan (16-15-1 overall, 13-12-1 CCHA) with what is believed to be .01 seconds remaining in the first period. "I thought the period was pretty much over," sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg said.
Columbus, Ohio — After a disappointing defensive effort at home Thursday against Northwestern, MSU came out with a renewed focus on the defensive end, holding No.