Fast Break

College football

Michigan State fires Smith

The up-and-down tenure of John L. Smith at Michigan State is coming to an end.

Smith will finish the season as the struggling Spartans head coach, but he won’t be back in 2007.

The firing came as no surprise. The Spartans are 22-23 under Smith and have been maddeningly inconsistent.

Smith, the former University of Idaho head coach and Washington State assistant, spoke with reporters after practice Wednesday for less than 5 minutes. He didn’t answer questions about the problems with the program, but focused on what he wanted to accomplish in the next three games.

“If we prepare as hard as we can, and play as hard as we can, hopefully we can be rewarded with a bowl game,” Smith said. “It would be a heck of a going away party.”

Smith, 57, came to MSU after five seasons at Louisville, which included five bowls and back-to-back conference championships. His career record is 132-83, and he started this season tied for 14th place for victories among active Division 1-A coaches.

College basketball

Stuckey picked

Eastern Washington basketball star Rodney Stuckey, who was the collegeinsider.com Freshman of the Year after his outstanding debut, is one of 16 players named to the Web site’s preseason All-America team.

Stuckey, who was the first Eagle to be named to the preseason Wooden Award watch list, was the Big Sky Conference MVP after setting the school season and single-game scoring records.

College football

Ferris standout selects EWU

Eastern Washington’s football team received its first oral commitment over the weekend from Ferris defensive end Pat Parham.

“I just wanted to be an Eagle,” the three-year starter said. “I just made up my mind.”

The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder said Montana was among the schools looking at him.

The commitment does not become binding until the national letter of intent signing period in February.