The Michigan Daily - Spprts Monday - November 19, 1990- Page 7
High Step Returns
There is a rumor going around that I never say anything positive
about the Michigan Marching Band.
* Wrong.
What do you expect me to say after last week's on-field debacle?
In the mode of "what have you done for me lately," Saturday's
performance rated better. Of course, that's not saying much when
you've hit rock bottom. But it was significantly better.
Something relatively new was introduced at halftime: The high
step.
Yes, the band high stepped and high stepped some more, even
threw in a little corp style - which is okay in small amounts. What a
difference.
The pregame (always top notch) was excellent, as the band
formed a block 'M' and then high stepped their way to the south
endzone and played "Get it On." Nice job.
There is another rumor that I always say the other band was better.
7' Wrong.
Notre Dame could not light a candle to Michigan's, and Minnesota
looked like a phony imitation of the Wolverines. They attempted to
high step and enter on a percussion entry cadence similar to the
Wolverines. Imitation may be a high form a flattery, but when it comes
to the Gophers, I'd rather have them stay in a hole.
The drill was not real intricate this week - but there were only a
few days to prepare due to consecutive home games. The five-
*'eighth notes created during "Strike Up the Band" looked nice.
Playing songs meant for a marching band will always help out. A
salute to George Gershwin sounds much better than Miami Sound
Machine. (I can't wait for next year's Milli Vanilli Show). "Rhapsody in
Blue," "Strike Up the Band" and "I Got Rhythm" sounded particularly
good.
Michigan came close to achieving the recipe for a good halftime
show. The high step was in vogue (it wasn't that bad was it Gary?), the
songs were booming and interesting. Only time, in two ways, hurt
Michigan. They could have used more time to prepare and make a
r more intricate drill, and they could have used more time on the field to
perform more songs.
After subtlety suggesting band director Gary Lewis take the next
bus out of town last week, we may have to consider renewing the
lease on his house another week after all the high stepping at
a halftime. It looked good, and I can't say that enough.
Oh yeah: To the members of the band. I would like to thank all of
you, who noticed me while I stood on the 30-yard line for the final
minutes of the game, and began chanting my name. I always wanted
to know what that would sound like in Michigan Stadium. The review
of your chant: tone, good. Pronunciation, perfect.
See, I'm not always negative.
-MIKE GILL
Sugar Bowl losls
out by selecting
Virginia too early
by Mike Gill
Daily Football Writer
Minutes after Michigan had
pushed Minnesota out of its way so
concentration could begin on the
task of defeating Ohio State and
earning a trip to the Gator Bowl,
sentiments varied about Michigan's
bowl fate.
Virginia, who many believe stole
Michigan's Sugar Bowl slot when it
backed out of the Fiesta Bowl, had
just been upset by Maryland.
"I think the Sugar Bowl got what
they deserved," Michigan co-captain
John Milligan said, when learning of
Virginia's defeat.
Offensive lineman Greg Skrepe-
nak echoed the feeling. "Who's Vir-
ginia to say what bowl they go to?"
But Gary Moeller tried to say a
bowl game is a bowl game, the fact
is that Michigan will have the
chance to play an extra game. "Send
me to the Cherry Bowl, I don't give
a damn."
According to interim athletic di-
rector Jack Weidenbach, Michigan
simply accepted the best available
offer.
"To be very honest with you, we
were never looked at that seriously
by the Cotton or Sugar bowls,"
Weidenbach said. "How many times
has a Big Ten team gone to the
Sugar or Cotton? They did not scout
us until the Illinois game. They
only have one spot open, and noth-
ing happened." F
This year's bowl match-ups are
not as enticing as they could have
been, due to late season upsets and
early invitations. "The lesson to be
learned here is win early and lose*.
late," Weidenbach said.
The fact that the Wolverines did
just the opposite this year hurt their ;
bowl picture - if they lose Satur-
day, they will attend the Liberty
"We were all pretty down," Mil-
ligan said of when the team learned
its bowl fate. "But we don't have
any say in the matter, so we can't
really complain." 'r
Weidenbach said no itinerary has
been set for either bowl possibili-
ties. With the Liberty Bowl played 4 "
on December 27 in Memphis, Ten- 2.
nessee, the Wolverines will have
only a short time to prepare after ex- ~
ams. Weidenbach said Michigan will JOSE JUAREZ/Daih
talk with bowl representatives next Jarrod Bunch raises the Little Brown Jug to celebrate Michigan's victory
week to finalize plans and could elect in the traditional Big Ten clash.
to practice indoors in Ann Arbor.
INDIVIDUALS COMPETE WELL
FOR MEN'S GYMNASTICS TEAM IN WISCONSIN
Round
by Charlie Wolfe
Daily Sports Writer
Categorizing the Wisconsin Open
as "a meet to have fun in and test
drive some new routines," Michigan
men's gymnastics coach Bob Darden
took his squad for a cruise around the
block this weekend, kicked the tires,
and liked what he saw. The team
may need work yet, but showed
every indication of being Big Ten
road worthy before the regular season
begins in January.
The Wolverines' top performer in
the preseason meet was junior Jim
Round, compiling an all-around
score of 99.04. This placed him
tenth overall in an individual meet
that saw gymnasts from all over the
Midwest, including many of the Big
Ten teams, come to compete.
The competition began Friday
night with the all-around com-
pulsory events, in which Round and
teammate Royce Toni took part.
Round compiled a score of 48.65,
which placed him in the middle of
the pack of 28 competitors according
to Darden. Toni nearly matched his
teammate's total with a score of
46.45.
That concluded Toni's partici-
!1sinesi
pation for the weekend, but Round
joined the rest of his teammates on
Saturday for the preliminaries that
began at 1 p.m. The preliminaries
included the six compulsory events
that Round performed the night
before, plus routines the individual
gymnasts created themselves, called
optionals. Darden alluded to the fact
that the team's showing could have
been stronger here, but was
especially pleased with Round's
performance once again.
"We weren't as polished as I
would have hoped," Darden said,
"but Jim really shone through."
That was evident as Round
captured team bests in four of the six
events. First-year gymnast Ben
Verrall surprised his coach by taking
16th place in the floor exercise with
a score of 8.95, and senior Matt
Harrison equaled that 16th place
finish with an 8.65 on the pommel
horse. Aside from those fine
Wolverine performances, however, it
was all Round. He took fourth on
the rings with a score of 9.45, sixth
on the horizontal bar (9.25), seventh
on the vault (9.1), and 14th on the
parallel bars (8.45).
in open
"It was really the first time that
Jim had been in both the
compulsories and optionals because
of injuries the last two years, so it
was sort of like the first-meet
jitters," Darden noted. "But he'll
have no problem working that out
with subsequent training.
"He has such great intensity...it's
great to watch him training in the
gym."
As for overall meet results, Ted
Haynes won the gold in the floor
exercise and Mark Diab took the
rings, both former national
champions from Iowa State. In the
other events, David Augustine of
Wisconsin won the vault, Erik
Heikkila of Iowa finished first on the
horizontal bar, and Mark McKiernan
from Minnesota took the gold on
both the pommel horse and
horizontal bars. The all-around
winner of the Wisconsin Open was
Chris Kabat of Iowa, who compiled
a top score of 108.2.
Adding an inspiring twist to the
preseason meet, former U.S.
Olympic team member Kurt Thomas
took part in his first competition
since announcing his comeback a
events.
short while back. Thomas lost his
chance at an Olympic gold medal
when, as a member of the Olympic
team in 1980, the United States
boycotted the Moscow Olympics.
But showcasing the awesome talent
that had previously made him a
world-class gymnast, the 33-year-old
captured the gold in the
compulsories Friday night with a
score of 55.05.
Michigan will now continue
training in preparation for their
season opener versus Minnesota in
January. The Wolverine coach
knows the conference will be strong,
but believes his squad will be up to
the challenge.
"The Big Ten looks to be a
dogfight once again," said a realistic
Darden. "Minnesota and Iowa both
looked excellent, and Wisconsin is
going to be a major surprise."
But Darden was pleased with
what this weekend's meet showed
him and the team about their needs.
"It was an eye opener for the
guys, and I think it gave them{ a
better focus to see what other teams
are doing," he said.
Bills dump Patriots for eighth straight
Associated Press
Vaughn rushed for 28 yards on 7
carries, as Ricky Powers took most of the
I
* load.
Vaughn is still nursing an injured
ankle. I don't think Jon Vaughn is 100%,"
Michigan coach Gary Moeller said.
OPPONENT ATT YRD
AVG TD
LONG
.-. %.R v r v " +m
Y 7 i s " _ .
Notre Dame
C LA
Maryland
Wisconsin
Michigan St.
Iowa
22
32
22
15
26
18
12
25
14
7
201
288
89
94
162
93
91
139
56
28
9.1
9.0
4.0
6.3
6.2
4.8
7.6
5.6
4.0
4.0
0
3
2
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
24
63
26
35
42
13
47
35
11
9
The Buffalo Bills have the most
productive offense in the NFL. The
way they're going lately, they could
wind up with a defense to match.
Buffalo won its eighth straight
game Sunday, blanking New
England, 14-0. It was the Bills
second shutout in three weeks and
they have allowed only 24 points in
the last four games.
Buffalo added only 14 points to
its league-leading 274, but that was
plenty against the inept Patriots (1-
8), who have the worst record in the
league and have lost eight in a row.
Thurman Thomas carried the
offense with 165 yards rushing and
clinched it with an 80-yard
touchdown run with less than two
minutes left. He also scored in the
first quarter on a five-yard run.
49ers 31, Buccaneers 7
The 49ers tied the accomplish-
ment of the Bears in 1933-34 and
1941-42 and the Dolphins of 1972-
73 with their 18th straight victory.
Joe Montana hit Brent Jones for two
scores and San Francisco allowed
Tampa Bay inside the 49ers' 30-yard
line once. The 49ers sacked Chris
Chandler seven times.
Montana was 23-for-35 for 230
yards and two touchdowns and
became the first player ever to
eclipse the 3,000-yard mark in
passing yards seven times. His one
interception was returned 65 yards
for a touchdown by Wayne Haddix.
Bears 16, Broncos 13 (OT)
Field position in overtime was
critical for the Bears (9-1), Denver
started at its 12, eight, and four in
the extra period.
On the Broncos' final possession,
they couldn't move out of the hole
and Johnny Bailey returned a punt 20
yards to the Denver 34. Kevin
Butler, atoning for a missed field
goal at the end of regulation that hit
the upright, kicked a 44-yarder for
the victory.
Packers 24, Cardinals 21
With the Majik Man on the
sidelines with a shoulder injury,
Anthony Dilweg worked some of his
own tricks. He threw a one-yard
touchdown pass to Ed West with 16
seconds remaining for the victory.
The Packers (5-5) trailed 2 1-10
after.Timm Rosenbach's third touch-
down pass with 13:14 remaining.
But Dilweg (11-for-21 for 134 yards)
cut Green Bay's deficit to 21-17 on a
15-yard pass to Clarence Weathers
with 6:20 to play.
Cowboys 24, Rams 21
Dallas, which won once last year,
now has four victories, more than
the Broncos, Browns and Rams, all
playoff teams a season ago.
The latest victory was engineered
by Troy Aikman, who threw for 303
yards and three touchdowns, and
Emmitt Smith, who had 171 yards
in offense.-
Aikman completed 17 of 32
passes and had touchdown strikes of
10 and 61 yards to Michael Irvin and
six yards to Tommie Agee foi the
Cowboys (4-7), who had not scoled
a touchdown in their last two games.
Vikings 24, Seahawks 21
Fuad Reveiz kicked a 24-yard
field goal as time expired for-the
Vikings' third straight victory. The
Vikings (4-6) tied it with 2:28 to go
on Herschel Walker's 58-yard touch-
down run, his longest of the season.
Reveiz's kick came after Dave
Krieg's pass bounced off Paul
Skansi to Minnesota's Joey Browner
at the Seattle 36 with 1:59 left. The
Vikings moved to the Seattle seven
in six plays.
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Minnesota
G
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9
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r
Totals
197 1236 6.27 9 63
:.. .........T en.
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2. YhoSae5
iF t. Mc~ia Sae5
For exam preparation, choose to EXCEL
-Learn to Anticipate the Exam.
-Improve Your Test-Taking Skills.
-Use Your Study Time More Effectively
-Achieve Your Maximum Potential Score.
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