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 I41 13- cat ~ o i 4 *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 i Have you experienced sudden onsets of four or more of the following symptoms? r - -t I_ i _!f_ ffl_ _ 1 I/ . c ,s * ai4 n r rS r e a *+Ed ir ±S .i.rra..J.