I
Scoreboard.-
MAJOR LEAGUE MINNESOTA 2.
BASEBALL Cleveland 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE Anaheim at
BOSTON 9, Oakland, inc.
Baltimore 6 Texas at
VEW YORK 5, Seattle, inc.
Tampa Bay 2 (Boston clinches
MANSAS CITY 6, AL Wild Card with
ANhicago 4 win over Baltimore)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
SAN FRANCISCO, 6
Pittsburgh 2
Montreal 3
ST. LOUIS
Philadelphia at
FLORIDA (postponed)
Milwaukee at
Los Angeles, inc.
S e idin bg
Reading 'M' papers
Check out The Michigan Daily versus The State News
this afternoon, 5 p.m. at Elbel Field. Last season the
Daily defeated Michigan State's paper in resounding
fashion. Come see just how athletic journalists are,
Friday
September 25, 1998
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*You have
to laugh or
cry at State
tradition
think I was about three when I
heard my first Michigan State joke:
"What does a Spartan say on the
first day of work?"
"Ya want fries with that?"
It's an old, tired joke and when I
was three, it was meaningless to me.
All I knew was that my father
ught green and white was akin to
tragedy and
when he
laughed, so
did I-
And consid-
ering the
material the
MARK Michigan
State faithful
SNYDER have supplied,
*ark My we've laughed
Words a lot over the
years.
But before I go off target like a
Paul Edinger punt, I feel as if I owe
an explanantion
Despite the maize and blue that
coarses through my veins, I was
almost a Spartan.
My applications to Michigan and
State flew into the mailbox on the
ye day. And my automated accep-
tRce to the East Lansing honors pro-
gram came back just as fast.
But waiting for Michigan, I had to
sweat it out. At a school where they
actually review applications, mine
ranked among the rankest. Somehow,
I got by the censors.
But that's not to say I know no
pain. I am a proud student in the
D'jrision of Kinesiology. My class-
Wes are the players who stroll the
sidelines on gameday.
',Kines" is our version of Michigan
State
We get ripped on by all of Ann
Arbor, so I sort of know how it feels.
There's a lack of respect for our class-
es, so I can sympathize with your
plight.
The difference is, when I come
home to sit on my couch, it's not
abiize - unlike my wool hat you
4iacs burned three years ago at the
game. That's ok, because at least I
lived to see that day. The night before,
just because I was wearing a
.Michigan jacket, I almost got
squashed crossing some nameless
campus street.
've figured out what's wrong up
there. It's a lack of class.
No, that's not a reference to your
need Oceans discussion or an unex-
cused absence from a bowling-for-
credit lecture. I'm talking about
respect.
Time and again, you've suffered a'
crushing blow to Michigan. The
Wolverine machine would roll,
regardless of the sport, and dominate.
Sure, the occasional victory would
surface due to a missed pass interfer-
ence call (1991) or a "juiced-up" kick
returner (1995), but the cream would
filly rise to the top.
But you all keep speaking like the
Iltimate victory is coming. Let me
ell you, keep dreaming.
The problem with Michigan State
sports teams is more of a complex in
recent seasons than anything else.
One of my few Spartan friends
spoke all last year about his glorious
hockey team, which stepped on
igan every time during the regu-
Ia ason and CCHA playoffs..
That gave me a chuckle as I ate
crab legs in Boston during Michigan's
1998 hockey national championship.
But-basketball must be the
Spartans' sport, I was told. Mateen
Cleaves knows what I'm talking
Season so
far shows
I
Wolvernes
true blues
he scene was once again a
familiar one at theB Lig House
The Wolverines had stompei
the opposition and the maize-and-
blue backers_- all 300 or so that
were left in the stands - were clap-
ping politely in appreciation, bring-
ing to mind a rowdy crowd at a
John Tesh concert.
There was no shortage of celebra-
tory Tang or
Ed Martin-
baked goods.
The tri-
umphant -
Michigan
players belted
out a spirited
rendition of JOE
the fight REXRODE
song, then The State
prepared for a News
nice, quiet
evening at the
strip club with their agents.
And now, after a week of baskin
in the glow of the stunning upset
over Eastern Michigan, the
Wolverines think they're ready to
take on Michigan State.
Never mind 30 second-half pot
surrendered to Notre Dame. Forget
that Syracuse had sent the fans
home earlier than usual the week
before, running up a 38-7 lead
before garbage (Drew Henson)
time.
Head coach Lloyd Carr is back in
charge. His stingy defense is back
as well, having held the Eagles'
vaunted attack to a mere 424 yards.
The performance has sparked
rumors of the Wolverines leaving
their conference behind and moving
on to greener pastures.
But before Michigan can make
the long-awaited jump to the MAC,
thus clearing the way for Notre
Dame's arrival, they'll have to play
out their Big Ten obligations.
And it all starts tomorrow with
Michigan State, a team that admit-
tedly has had problems of its own.
For a stretch, starting in the second
quarter against Colorado State and
extending through the Oregon
game, the Spartans played about as
poorly as a team could play -- out-
side of Ann Arbor, that is,
But Michigan State has shaken its
early season blahs, as evidenced by
the 42-point first half they smacked
on the Irish. Boy, were Bob Davie's
troops surprised.
They figured that anyone who
can manhandle Michigan should
have no problem with the lowly
Spartans. Ouch.
After tomorrow, everyone else
will know painfully well what they
know in South Bend and Syracuse:
the Wolverines, now with one of the
lowest payrolls in college football,
are on the slide. With Ed Martin's
hands tied, players have actually
been forced to borrow money from
See REXRODE, Page 17
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Heisman hopeful Michigan State taliback Sedrick Irvin looks to bolster his stats when he leads the Spartans into Michigan Stadium. Which team will be
laughing when the dust settles at the Big House?
With this rivalry, anything can happen
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Editor
Lets face it. This game is just much
more appealing when both teams are on
the same level.
Last year, everybody thought both
teams were good. It turned out, eventu-
ally, that Michigan State was no better
than in most years, but before the game,
it appeared that both teams were good.
So it was exciting.
This year, neither team has been any
good - and again, it's exciting. They're
on the same level.
So it's a blessing, probably, that the
Wolverines are 1-2. If they were, say, 3-
0, this might be just another weekend.
OK, so that might be a bit of a stretch.
But the fact is, both teams are 1-2. Both
teams need this game - badly. The
winner stays alive in the Big Ten race,
and could still wind up in a major bowl.
The loser might be tempted to spend the
rest of the season breaking in a fresh-
man quarterback. Then again, both
teams have been doing that anyway.
At any rate, breaking down this game
piece-by-piece is a little like those
Michigan Stadium guys who try to herd
students into the correct seats - pretty
pointless. Once Michigan and Michigan
State are both out on the field, anything
can happen.
MICHIGAN RUNNING GAME VS.
MICHIGAN STATE AGAINsT THE RUN:
After two abysmal weeks of (not)
running the ball, the Wolverines finally
got their act together in last week's game
against Eastern Michigan. Was that
because last week's game was, in fact,
against Eastern Michigan? If nothing
else, the Spartans should shed some
light on the situation.
Anthony Thomas leads a group of
running backs that, even with an ailing
Clarence Williams, should be able to
rely on its depth. Defensive end Robaire
Smith is a star for the Spartans, but after
him, they're questionable, especially
with the big guy on the other end -
Dimitrius Underwood - still doubtful
after a high-ankle sprain.
As always, in Big Ten play, depth is
key.
EDGE: MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN PASSING GAME VS.
MICHIGAN STATE AGAINST THE PASS:
Tom Brady should thank his lucky
stars. If there's one defensive backfield
he'd want to start off the Big Ten season
against (other than his own, of course)
See MATCHUPS, Page 16
Charles Woodson
was a hard pill for
State fans to
swallow last year.
This season
Michigan looks
elsewhere for the
big play.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
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