Like Traverse City St. Francis football star Max Bullough hopes will help him, a semester head start helped propel Casey Townsend to a prominent role on a national championship team in the Maryland soccer program last year.

It doesn't seem like much at first glance, but those extra few months can be a massive boon for a college player. Like Traverse City St. Francis football star Max Bullough hopes it will help him, a semester head start helped propel Casey Townsend to a prominent role on a national championship team in the Maryland soccer program last year.

Dwaun Anderson had an interested observer at a workout Monday night. Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was in Suttons Bay to watch the 6-foot-4 junior. Izzo is taking a serious look at Anderson, who averaged 20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists last season.

Whitehall's Laura Kueny shot an opening round 6-under 66 Monday to grab a four-shot lead in the Michigan PGA Women's Open at Crystal Mountain Resort.

Suzy Merchant will represent the United States this summer. The Michigan State women's basketball coach and Traverse City native was named an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's World University team.

Alisha Glass, and her Penn State teammates, depart for Brazil in May once school is out for two weeks of international volleyball competition. In June, the All-American will return home and work as an instructor at the Northwest Michigan Girls Volleyball Camp at Leland High School.

Record-Eagle sports writers share their takes on what Michigan State must do to upset North Carolina. Dennis Chase: Look for the unsung hero; James Cook: Exploit a matchup, again; Mike Eckert: Avoid the early knockout.

The run is done for the Michigan State women's basketball team, but head coach Suzy Merchant is still dancing. The Traverse City native will be in Detroit today for the men's Final Four attending various University functions. And when the Spartans tip at 6 p.m. with UConn in the first national semifinal, Merchant will be rooting for the Spartans.

Theres keeping it real, and then theres keeping it reel. Busy as a graduate assistant for the Michigan State basketball team, Bryan Tibaldi doesnt get to do much of the former, but the latter is another thing.