Despite an early falter, this season's MSU football team has the opportunity to make history.With a win against Minnesota, this would be the best start for a Spartan team since they finished second in the polls in 1966.But with senior defensive end Greg Taplin questionable (sprained knee) for the game and junior defensive tackle Brandon McKinney out, the No.
If the old adage "You're only as good as your last game" is true, then the Spartans look like one of the top teams in the Big Ten. The only problem - they're not. In each of the MSU volleyball team's two-match, nonconference weekends, the Spartans went on the road and swept both games.
An online football recruiting database has reported that Garfield Heights (Ohio) High School running back/cornerback Tony Howard has orally committed to MSU.Howard, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior, reportedly told SpartanMag.com that he was committed to joining the Spartans' 2004 recruiting class.
MSU senior defenseman Joe Markusen took a puck in the jaw for this win. If he hadn't, the No.
West Lafayette, Ind. - The No. 16 MSU volleyball team continues its roller-coaster ride through the season. For the third straight week, MSU (11-5 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) split its two matches.
The MSU field hockey team won their fifth straight game on Saturday, upsetting No. 6 Iowa, 3-1, in Iowa City. After falling to a 1-0 disadvantage early on, the Spartans (10-3 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) rallied to knot the score at one just before the half.
By Bob Darrow Special for The State news The MSU men's soccer team has heard coach Joe Baum tell them that in order to win a game, they have to give 110-percent effort for the full 90 minutes. After Sunday's 4-2 loss to rival Michigan, the Spartans are likely wishing that half the amount of time would have been enough. The contest at Old College Field was a tale of two Spartan teams - one that was thoroughly dominated by Michigan in the first half, and the other that stormed out after halftime to score two quick goals and continue to threaten the Wolverines' lead for the duration of the game. For the first 46 minutes, the action belonged almost entirely to U-M.
Please note: This is a work of complete fiction. The scene is two months from now, Atlantic City.
Urbana-Champaign, Ill. - The trip was three-and-a-half years in the making. And when junior running back Tyrell Dortch reached the end zone for his first career touchdown, that wasn't enough.
The MSU women's soccer team's home unbeaten streak will be tested this weekend against two Big Ten foes. The Spartans (7-4-0 overall, 3-3-0 Big Ten) will host No.
After being ranked No. 4 nationally this week, the MSU women's cross country team will travel to the Michigan Intercollegiate in Hudsonville on Friday with the men's team. The women's team is ranked 13 places ahead of Wisconsin to be the highest-ranked Big Ten team. The Intercollegiate will begin at 4 p.m.
MSU baseball will play a Green & Gray World Series beginning this weekend at Kobs Field to wrap up its fall practice and scrimmage run. Game one is at 2 p.m.
This isn't the first time Findlay hockey head coach Pat Ford has been a part of the Ice Breaker Tournament against MSU. Findlay's second-year coach was a part of the inaugural tournament in Madison, Wis., as a Badgers assistant in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Spartans in 1997.
After finishing the nonconference season, the No. 16 MSU volleyball team was hitting on all cylinders and was looking forward to starting the Big Ten season at home.
Both MSU tennis teams continue with fall tournaments this weekend to prepare for the 2004 spring season. The men's team will visit Ann Arbor on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the Michigan Invitational. The women will host The Spartan Cup beginning at 9 a.m.
After sitting out all of last year and catching only nine passes for 64 yards in the first five games this season, sophomore receiver Matt Trannon finally busted out of his shell last weekend. And his coaches and teammates couldn't be more excited. "First of all, you got to remember he hasn't gotten very much time on the field, and I think you'll see him begin to continue to steadily improve each week," senior quarterback Jeff Smoker said.
If the MSU basketball team is lacking one thing, it would be depth in the post. The Spartans took a step in the right direction Wednesday when Lansing Everett senior center Goran Suton orally committed to MSU. "I'm going to stay here and be a Spartan," Suton said in Everett's Earvin "Magic" Johnson Gymnasium. With the early exit of freshman Erazem Lorbek last season and the possibility that sophomore Paul Davis might leave early if he has one or two spectacular seasons, the Spartans' most pressing need was at the center and power forward position. When Florida Air Academy star Alexander Kaun, who orally committed to Kansas, eliminated MSU as one of his potential schools, the Spartans put more effort into recruiting Suton.
The Spartans must enjoy playing do-or-die soccer games.The MSU men's soccer team (7-2-2) played in its third straight double overtime game, this one being a 1-0 victory over Oakland University.Sophomore forward Ryan McMahen scored on a header in the 106th minute giving the Spartans their third straight double-overtime victory.
As one athlete died, he took his teammate's career with him.Dan Snyder of the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers was a passenger in teammate Dany Heatley's Ferrari when Heatley spun off the road and smashed into a brick and wrought iron fence.
It seems simple enough, but in recent years, MSU has had a problem keeping control of the football.With the re-emergence of quarterback Jeff Smoker and linebacker Mike Labinjo, one of the major reasons for the Spartans' early success is winning the turnover battle.The past two seasons, the Spartans (5-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) gave up the football 52 times and gained it on an opposition turnover 44 times.