Michigan State extended the contracts of just about all the major players in their athletic department, including giving head hockey coach Rick Comley an extension through 2013.Comley would be 66 when the contract expires.

It's kind of a curious situation given how terrible Michigan State was last season. Not only did they just barely finish out of last place, which in itself is probably inexcusable for a Big Ten school with their resources playing in a league with tiny schools like Lake Superior and Ferris State, but Jeff Lerg may have helped hide just how badly MSU was dominated last season. The Spartans gave up 431 more shots on goal than they took, which is historically bad. The only teams in recent history I could find with a worse shot differential were the 03-04(-563), 04-05(-483), and 05-06(-517) Alaska-Anchorage teams. The one-win Alaska-Anchorage team of 2002-2003 actually came out a little better than the Spartans at a mere -392 shot differential.

In any case, even if the MSU brass views last year as a one-time deal, and expects MSU to rebound and be better next season, it seems premature to lock in Comley for this long without seeing some improvement first. If they don't turn around soon, it could be disastrous for Michigan State. The combination of the cost of tickets, a struggling economy, and other outlets like basketball taking the public's discretionary dollars created some pretty dismal crowds and forced MSU to start practically giving away tickets last season. A few more seasons in the bottom half of the league could set MSU back for years.