MSU coach Merchant pregnant with second child
It seems life is going well for Michigan State women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant.
The Spartans are ranked No. 10 in the preseason Associated Press poll after last year's Sweet 16 run. She made a special announcement following the Spartans' 79-47 preseason win over Wayne State Thursday night at the Breslin Center.
Merchant said she is pregnant with her second child. Her due date is late May or early June.
Merchant and her husband, Gary Rakan have a son, Tyler.
Suzy will definitely have some babysitters available with a 16-member roster. The players better get ready to change some diapers.
MSU hockey team off to surprising start
The Spartans' hockey team is off to a 6-2 start, but going under the radar in national polls.
The Spartans are by far the biggest surprise in college hockey. After a terrible 2008-09 season (10-23-5, 7-17-4 CCHA), they were predicted to finish ninth this season by the league coaches.
Well, the Spartans went into Oxford, Ohio and split with the Miami Red Hawks who advanced to the national title game last season and are currently ranked No. 1.
So, the Red Hawks are No. 1 nationally with a 6-1-1 record while the Spartans are no where in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 despite a 6-2 (3-1 CCHA) record.
The Spartans will have a chance to open up some more eyes Thursday at Munn Arena when they carry a three-game winning streak into their league game against No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha.
Junior forward Corey Tropp leads the Spartans with seven goals and 13 points. Freshman forward Derek Grant has four goals, three on the power play, and 10 points.
Oh, and by the way No. 4 Michigan plays a weekend series against No. 1 Miami, beginning Friday night at Yost Arena.
Eagles have best chance to get victory against Ball State
Eastern Michigan will get its best chance to win Saturday when the Eagles (0-6, 0-3) face Ball State (0-7, 0-3) at Rynearson Stadium in a battle of winless teams.
Ball State was one of the main stories in college football last season, entering the MAC championship game unbeaten and with a No. 12 national ranking. The Cardinals lost the MAC title game to Buffalo and the GMAC Bowl to Tulsa -- and also lost quarterback Nate Davis to the NFL.
Ron English was hired as head coach at EMU and has yet to taste victory. English and the Eagles were welcomed by a crowd of 14,449 at Rynearson in the season opener, a 27-14 loss to Army. Just 2,401 were in attendance Saturday when the Eagles (0-6, 0-3) fell to a 3-4 Kent State team, 28-6.
That's right ... just 2,401, only 66 more fans who were watching Alma beat Kalamazoo College in a Division III game just down the street from where more than 27,000 fans packed Waldo Stadium to watch the CMU-WMU rivalry that same day.
You can bet Stan Parrish will be wanting a win aganst the Eagles. He is 0-8, including the bowl loss to Tulsa, as head coach at Ball State, to go with his 0-21-1 mark during his final two years as head man at Kansas State in 1987-88. He could go 0-30-1 with a loss Saturday.
"As a leader you can't get down," English said during the MAC coaches' conference call Monday. "You can't focus on the record. We're building for the long haul."
Winters doing outstanding job at Wayne State, Warriors ranked 19th
Wayne State football coach Paul Winters talked prior to the season about how his team needed to finish games to beat the elite teams in the GLIAC.
Winters had drilled the point across to his players and they have responded by helping the Warriors become a national power.
Wayne State ... a national power? That's right. On Saturday, the Warriors came back from a 33-20 halftime deficit to defeat No. 18 Ashland, 47-40 for a successful Homecoming.
Wayne State entered last week with a No. 22 national ranking, it's highest in school history. By beating Ashland and quarterback Bill Cundiff, last year's GLIAC Player of the Year, the Warriors moved up to No. 19.
"I'm proud of these kids," said Winters who took over a 1-9 team following the 2004 season and now has it on the verge of making the national playoffs. "We have a bunch of hard working guys who show up every day, do what you ask them to do and are now getting rewarded for it."
The Warriors are led by senior All-American running back Joique Bell, but the defense also stepped up against Ashland.
There were two keys," said Winters of the win over Ashland. "No. 1, our defense really stopped them in the second half, and came up with a great goal line stand. And, No. 2, our offense continued to score points with Joique Bell having a great game.
Bell already has matched his rushing yards of a year ago. He rushed for 272 yards on 32 carries and scored five touchdowns against Ashland to push his total to 1,162 (186 carries, 15 TDs), compared to 1,152 yards (218 carries, 12 TDs) last year.
"Last year was a bad one for Bell and that was probably because we didn't sustain our offense and give him enough carries," Winters said. "He's in great physical condition this year and our offensive line has improved."
Freshman quarterback Mickey Mohner has also played well, throwing for 153 yards and two touchdowns against Ashland.
Wayne State is off to its first 5-1 start since 1976. The Warriors are 4-1 in the conference, one game behind No. 1 Grand Valley, and will play at Northern Michigan Saturday. Their showdown with Grand Valley is set for Nov. 7.
So how can the Warriors keep up their impressive play?
"We just need to stay healthy," Winters said.
And, it doesn't hurt to keep handing the ball off to Joique Bell either.
Alma QB could use bye week to rest arm
Alma senior quarterback Mackenzie McGrady is probably thankful for a bye week. His arm could use the rest.
McGrady set two Division III records last week. Unfortunately, it came in a 40-27 loss to Wisconsin-River Falls.
McGrady set national records for completions (52) and attempts (84). He threw for 576 yards and four touchdowns. He also had five intercepted, including returns of 99 and 81 yards for touchdowns.
McGrady's record performance came a week after he threw for 353 yards and four TDs in a 51-3 rout of Rockford. He has completed 74-of-124 passes for 929 yards and eight TDs the last two weeks.
Fans should expect a lot of footballs to be flying in the air Oct. 17 when Alma (2-2) plays at Kalamazoo College. K-College senior Brandon Zuczak has thrown for 17 TDs the last three games to put the Hornets (3-1) atop the MIAA standings.
Zuczak on roll for Kalamazoo
Brandon Zuczak is on some kind of streak for Kalamazoo College.
Zuczak, a 5-foot-11, 246-pound senior quarterback from Rochester, has thrown six touchdown passes in consecutive weeks to lead Kalamazoo to wins over Rockford and Manchester.
In the 44-9 rout of Rockford Sept. 12 in Kalamazoo, Zuczak threw four first-half TDs to give the Hornets a 37-3 lead. He finished 27-of-45 for 417 yards and a school-record six TDs with two interceptions.
In last week's 48-37 win at Manchester, he rallied the Hornets back from deficits of 23-0 and 37-14. Zuczak completed 39-of-59 for 452 yards and six TDs. The Hornets scored the game's final 34 points, and Zuczak ended the run with four straight TD passes.
Kalamazoo was 1-8 (0-7 MIAA) two years ago and 2-8 last year when Zuczak had 20 TD passes and as many interceptions.
The Hornets (2-1) will be going after their third win of the season Saturday at home against Blufton.
Jones feels father's presence during dramatic CMU win
Central Michigan coach Butch Jones buried his biggest fan, his father, last month in Saugatuck.
Jones felt his father's presence during Central Michigan's dramatic 29-27 upset win over Michigan State at Spartan Stadium Saturday.
"I had the I.D. bracelet he wore in the hospital in my pocket during the game," Jones said. "During the timeout, I took it out and put it in Andrew's hand. I told Andrew (senior kick Aguila) 'Hold this. Don't worry. My Dad will do the rest.'"
Aguila then went out and kicked a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left for the difference.
The Chippewas had just scored a touchdown on Dan LeFevour's 11-yard pass to Paris Cotton with 32 seconds left to pull within 27-26, but LeFevour failed to hook up with Antonio Brown on the two-point conversion.
Aguila then executed a perfect onside kick that Bryan Anderson recovered, making the field goal possible.
"I definitely felt his presence," said Jones of his father, Lyle Jones who was chief of police in Saugatuck for more than 25 years and watched his son work the sidelines with great pride. "All the seniors attended the funeral.
"In more than 20 years of coaching football I've never been involved in a game like that where you miss a two-point conversion to try and get the lead, then recover an onside kick and win. It was a great win for our program."
Jones was busy on the hour bus ride back to Mt. Pleasant, handling national interviews with The New York Times and Fox Sports. He talked to his former boss and friend, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez Saturday night and watched more games, enjoying the highlights from the CMU-MSU game.
"It was overwhelming," said Jones of the phone calls and text messages he received. "I was exhausted."
And most of all Jones felt his father's presence which made the victory - one of the biggest in school history - that much more special.
MSU, U-M rank high in hoops magazines
The college basketball season is still a couple months away, but some national publications have already hit the stores.
The Spartans and Wolverines have received a lot of respect. MSU is predicted to once again reach the Final Four by Athlon and Lindy's. The Spartans reached the national championship game last April at Ford Field.
The Spartans are ranked No. 2 by Athlon and No. 3 by Lindy's. MSU's Kalin Lucas is ranked as the top point guard in the country by Lindy's with the publication also listing the Spartans as the team with the best backcourt.
Michigan is ranked No. 9 by Lindy's after the Wolverines defeated Clemson in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Oklahoma. The Wolverines are also No. 23 in Athlon's preseason poll. Each magazine has the Wolverines advancing to the Sweet 16.
Michigan's Manny Harris is the No. 2-ranked shooting guard by Lindy's.
Lindy's and Athlon also has Oakland winning the Summit League.
In women's basketball, Athlon has MSU ranked No. 5 and Lindy's No. 7 nationally.
The Spartans, who reached the Sweet 16 last season, return all but one starter, including 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan, who is listed as a third-team All-American by Lindy's.
Transfer Charles Dowdell running show well at Saginaw Valley
Charles Dowdell has opened up some eyes since transferring from Indiana State, making Saginaw Valley a dangerous team in the GLIAC this season.
In his Division II debut with the Cardinals, Dowdell threw and ran for 270 yards in a 23-17 win at No. 8 California (Pa.), a team that advanced to the national semifinals the last two years.
After completing 13-of-20 passes for 208 yards against Cal, Dowdell followed it up with a 19-of-32 effort for 213 yards and a touchdown in a 21-13 win at Wayne State last Saturday, a team that was predicted to finish fourth in the GLIAC.
Now, the Cardinals â€" picked for fifth in the GLIAC -- can show they are contenders when they travel (again) to face No. 1 Grand Valley, the four-time defending GLIAC champion.
Saginaw Valley's last win against Grand Valley came five years ago. Grand Valley lost the following week against Northwood and has won 44 straight regular-season games since.
It's hard to believe Grand Valley will have its streak come to an end Saturday night, but Dowdell could make things interesting. He certainly has been exciting while causing damage with his arm and legs the first two weeks of the season.
Hillsdale treats Otterbein to 100th win in thriller
Hillsdale College could be heading for a special season. The Chargers gave their coach, Keith Otterbein, a special win Saturday -- 37-35 at home over Michigan Tech for his 100th career victory.
Hillsdale also scored 37 in its opener, a 37-7 rout of Saint Joseph's (Ind.). The Chargers will try to push their record to 3-0 Saturday at Northwood.
Otterbein, who played his high school ball at Southfield-Lathrup, is enjoying his time at Hillsdale, where he played from 1975-78. He took over as head coach in December 2001 after working as an assistant coach at Ball State.
Otterbein became the youngest head coach in the nation when he took over the program at Ferris State at age 28 prior to the 1986 season. He turned the Bulldogs into a national power, winning 30 of 36 games during one stretch (1992-94) before moving on to Ball State.
Otterbein has a chance for a strong season in 2009 after the Chargers finished 7-4 (6-4 GLIAC) last year. They have an outstanding offense, led by quarterback Troy Weatherhead, running back Vinnie Panizzi, wide receiver A.J. Kegg, 6-foot-9 lineman Jared Veldheer and kicker Mark Petro.
Weatherhead, who threw for 2,874 yards and 21 TDs last year, has completed 51-of-71 for 619 yards and three TDs. Panizzi, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, has 153 yards and four TDs, and Kegg has 14 receptions for 152 yards.
Weatherhead knows all he has to do is get the Chargers in the red zone and they are likely to end up with points. Petro has connected on 6-of-7 field goals this season.
It's highly unlikely Hillsdale will wins its homecoming game Oct. 10 against No. 1 Grand Valley, but the Chargers are gaining momentum with every win. And Otterbein has them playing well, winning 17 of their last 24 games. Look for this team to win eight or more games and challenge for a spot in the Division II playoffs.
