With three senior cornerbacks on the roster, it seemed improbable that a first-year player would get any significant playing time in the secondary this season for MSU.And that's exactly the mentality freshman cornerback Ashton Watson carried into the game against Michigan on Nov.
Who is MSU's biggest rival? If you said Michigan, you're right. Who is U-M biggest rival? If you said MSU, you're wrong, dead wrong. Let me explain. I'm not saying it isn't a rivalry at all, what I'm saying is it's not mutual. MSU fans get all riled up for this one big game all year, while U-M fans get the luxury of looking past the Spartans and yearning for the Buckeyes. And thanks to the most recent 49-3 drubbing MSU got this season, it makes the case for another rival even more appealing.
If the Spartans hope to muster any sort of offensive attack against Penn State, they'll have to find some way to handle one of the nation's best defensive fronts. From end to end, the Nittany Lions' defensive line is stacked.
Women's basketball kicks off season Senior forward Syreeta Bromfield was labeled one of 30 Players to Watch for the Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to the country's senior player of the year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball. The Kingston, Jamaica, native led the Spartans in points and rebounds per game last season, averaging 15.6 and 6.5, respectively.
If you analyzed the MSU hockey team's schedule before the season started, you probably wouldn't have singled out tonight's game at Bowling Green as a pivotal matchup. But that's what it has become, thanks to MSU's rocky .500 start (5-5-0 overall, 3-3-0 CCHA). The Falcons (2-8-1, 0-7-1) don't look very daunting on paper, but the Spartans can't take them lightly - MSU desperately needs a win at 7:05 p.m.
It looks like the race for the Heisman Trophy is not the only competition that will need the full college football schedule to determine a winner.
The MSU men's basketball team's return-to-dominance bandwagon is packed these days. MSU was picked first in both preseason Big Ten polls, it landed a No.
Yeah, this season hasn't been much fun to watch. To be perfectly honest, it's been down right torturous. But at least we've had our weekly installment of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood to count on. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior has been nothing short of spectacular.
Today when the No. 3 MSU field hockey team boards the plane to Louisville, Ky., it will be landing in uncharted territory. Not in the history of the program has any Spartan team ventured so deep into the postseason waters, but this year's squad is determined to return to East Lansing with nothing less than a national championship. "Our goal for the season was to make the Final Four, and we did it," sophomore back Annebet Beerman said.
Shooting Guard: Sophomore Chris Hill - After the early departure of Marcus Taylor, Hill is expected to play major minutes at the helm of MSU's offense.
Although the MSU football team had a familiar result when it lost to Purdue 45-42 at Spartan Stadium, interim head coach Morris Watts said there was a difference in the way the team played. "One of the things I felt very good about was how hard our young men competed through the four quarters," he said.
To receive consideration for the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans arguably need to win three of their next four contests. And for the MSU volleyball team, making it to the postseason for the ninth consecutive year won't be the easiest of tasks if this season has been a guide. MSU (16-10 overall, 8-8 Big Ten) sits in a tie for seventh place in the conference with Indiana.
Five members of the No. 3 MSU field hockey team were named to the 2002 STX/NFHCA Division I All-West Region Team this week, tying the record for most players from a single school.Sophomore midfielder Annebet Beerman and freshman goalkeeper Christina Kirkaldy nabbed first-team accolades, while senior back Cynthia Martin, junior mid fielder Sophie Rosmalen and sophomore Judith van Haeringen all earned second-team honors.Kirkaldy also was dubbed National Rookie of the Week this week for her efforts during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament during the weekend.
No matter what, Tom Newton was going to be at the BGSU Ice Arena this Friday. But the MSU assistant coach probably wishes he was directing the Bowling Green bench instead of being in a supporting role with the Spartans. Newton applied for the Falcons' head coaching vacancy this offseason, but Boston College assistant and fellow BGSU alumnus Scott Paluch got the job.
Senior Eric Jorgensen was one of 24 selected to compete in the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic at the El Paso Country Club in El Paso, Texas. The tournament, hosted by the Sun Bowl Association, will be held Sunday through Tuesday. The tournament opens with the Titleist Long Drive Contest and the Ping Putting Contest.
For the second year in a row, the MSU men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the NCAA Championship. The teams received the news Monday and will compete Nov.
In the wake of two discouraging losses to Ohio State, the MSU hockey team doesn't have much choice except to regroup and look to the future. But the bad news for the Spartans (5-5-0 overall, 3-3-0 CCHA) is that they face a rocky road ahead. The sweep at OSU started a stretch where MSU will play 10 of its next 11 games away from Munn Ice Arena.
MSU's swimming and diving teams had mixed results Friday during a home meet against Eastern Michigan at IM-Sports West's Charles McCaffree pool. The women's team won its first meet of the season with a final score of 128-115.
MSU women's basketball put a final stamp on its exhibition season Sunday with a convincing 77-48 win over the Basketball Travelers Inc. at Breslin Center. Even with the victory, MSU head coach Joanne P.
Before we discuss sports today, we'll discuss sports etiquette, as it seems a few of you out there need a nonalcoholic refresher on how not to be that guy. As I sought refuge inside my sports haven, a local sports pub named Reno's, for a weekend of marquee matchups, I couldn't stomach one of those tasty Reno's Hat Trick sandwiches because I couldn't digest the discussion among some drunken Spartans. I'll give credit to beermakers, though.