Well, Hyde came out of the closet much earlier than I expected.  It only took
him 4 days.  MSU pulled the "let's play to the level of our competition" routineagain last night in South Bend and came home with another 1-1 tie.  (This
hasn't been one of your more thrilling series this year, with MSU winning it
1-0-2, outscoring ND 5-2 in the three games).  The Spartans are now in the
position that they cannot afford to lose any more point opportunities to insure
a second-place finish in the conference and the all-important second round bye
in the CCHA playoffs (that is, provided we don't play to the level of our com-
petition again and wind up losing the best-of-3 here in mid-March).  So, of
course, who should come to town now?  The team that treats Munn like its THEIR
home ice, Ferris St.  In the last five meetings between the two, FSU holds a
3-1-1 lead, including the victory last year in the CCHA quarterfinals that put
MSU "on the bubble" as far as the NC$$ Committee was concerned, a bubble which
subsequently burst (I know the head-to-head with Northern argument, but the lossto Ferris put us into the situation where the Northern game became a deciding
factor).  IMO, the Spartans need to finish with at least 5 points out of the
last 3 games and make it to the finals of the CCHA to insure staying at home
for the NC$$ Regionals.  Something less and we might be staying home all to-
gether (and wouldn't that be cozy :-)).
 
G. M. Finniss
Michigan State University
WVU '87, UTenn '92, MSU who the hell knows when?
 
P. S.  The latest edition of The Sporting News has a "The Word On..." column in
        the hockey section on JohnH's favorite player, Bryan Smolinski of the
        Boston Bruins, who might have an outside shot at being Rookie of the
        Year (he played less than the minimum last year after leaving MSU).
 
P. P. S.  Manning for 'Nique?  What, is Ted Turner nuts?  First, he colorizes
          "It's a Wonderful Life,"  then he marries Hanoi Jane, and now this?
          He's traded a proven All-Star and team leader and crowd pleaser for
          a proven whiner.  I hope the Pistons catch the Hawks now (and that's
          saying a lot).  Congrats, IMO, to the Clippers for getting the "Steal
          of the Century."  Who needs Excedrin when you can just trade your
          headaches away?