Sports Monday Trivia
What was the last season
in which Michigan State
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(For the answer,
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turn to the
The Michiaan Daily - Sports Monday
October 28, 1991
'Wolverines bury Gophers
in early hole
'M' must maintain
motivated mindset
MINNEAPOLIS - The fat lady sang the national
anthem. And Michigan had a 14-point lead before she
had even put her microphone away.
Nothing went right for the Gophers, and nothing
seemed right about this game. It was played on a
Friday. At night. In a dome. In fact, this didn't feel like
a college football atmosphere at all.
Minnesota did its part to ruin
Matt the ambience by playing like a high
school team. Michigan coach Gary
Moeller complained all week
about playing the game on a Friday
because it gave the Wolverines one
less day of preparation. Gopher
coach John Gutenkunst apparently
made amends by giving his team the
whole week off. And that included
Friday.
By the end of the first quarter,
most of the 32,577 fans in atten-
dance spent less time watching the
game and more time finding places
to hide in the Metrodome until
Game Six of the World Series the following night. The
Minnesota faithful couldn't wait for the baseball
game to start so they could see some scoring.
Scoring wasn't a problem for Michigan, though. The
Wolverines did that at will, racking up touchdowns at
a wholesale pace. Three different Michigan quarter-
backs led the Wolverines to paydirt. Even third-
stringer Ken Sollom, whose former idea of engineering
a scoring drive was holding on extra points, marched
the offense down the field.
Sorry, Yogi, but this one was over long before it
0 was over.
See RENNIE, Page 5
Michigan
maximizes
Minnesota
Miscues,
by Jeff Sheran
Daily Football Writer
52-6
MINNEAPOLIS - The Min-
nesota Golden Gophers dug a hole
big enough for a pack of Wolverines
to bury them in during Michigan's
52-6 victory at the Metrodome Fri-
day night. Minnesota fumbled three
times in the first 6:35 of the battle
for the Little Brown Jug, allowing
the Wolverines a 21-0 first-quarter
lead.
"To give them the ball like we
did, I don't know what you'd ex-
pect," Gopher coach John Gutekunst
said. "We put them in position to do
what they wanted, and they cer-
tainly did."
While Minnesota broke down,
Michigan broke records. Quarter-
back Elvis Grbac hit split end
Desmond Howard for bombs of 65
and 41 yards, giving Grbac the
Wolverine record for career touch-
down passes (49). Howard's two
scores earned him the Michigan and
Big Ten record for single-season
touchdown receptions (15).
The Wolverines used Howard
early and often. Although tailback
See GOPHERS, Page 4
KENNETH SMOLLER/Daily
Michigan safety Shonte Peoples celebrates after a fourth quarter interception against Minnesota. The sophomore defensive
back recorded his first career interception during the Wolverines' 52-6 victory Friday night.
Sizzling spikers smoke Boilers, chop Illini
I iv I
by Adam Miller
Daily Sports Writer
Natalie Cole appropriately performed at
Detroit's Fox Theatre this-weekend. Because the.
0 Michigan volleyball team was unforgettable.
The Wolverines (6-4 in the Big Ten, 14-6
overall) finished their first conference weekend
sweep, beating No. 17 Illinois and Purdue.
Saturday's 16-14, 15-6, 13-15, 15-12 victory
over Purdue (4-6, 7-12) marked the first time the
Wolverines have beaten the Boilermakers since
1981.
The two teams traded scoring runs of three
and four points throughout the first game.
Purdue had two chances to take the game, up 13-
10 and 14-12, but Michigan's California connec-
tion, Aimee Smith and Julie Scherer, came
through with key blocks and the Wolverines
stole the game, 16-14.
"When we lost the first game, I think that
affected our players' confidence," Purdue coach
Carol Dewey said. "After that, we really strug-
gled."
Michelle Horrigan had five of her team-lead-
ing 18 kills in game two, leading Michigan to a
quick two games-to-none lead.
"I was a little surprised to be up 2-0,"
Michigan coach Peggy Bradley-Doppes said. "I
knew that Purdue was a good team, and that if
we eased up, we were going to be in trouble."
Michigan apparently did ease up, falling to an
11-4 deficit in game three. But after a Wolverine
timeout, Michigan stormed back to even the
score at 11.
"The comeback was unbelievable," Bradley-
Doppes said. "We were actually out of that
game."
Michigan took a 13-11 lead, but a question-
able-double hit call on the Wolverines allowed
Purdue to tie at 13. The Boilermakers went on to
take the game, 15-13.
Despite Purdue's ability to hold off the surg-
ing Wolverines, Dewey wasn't encouraged.
"I don't think it gave us any confidence," she
See SPIKERS, Page 8
I
Center
of
attention
by Theodore Cox
Daily Sports Editor
"Man, I was boxing him out,
but those elbows kept nailing the
back of my head," New Jersey Nets
forward Terry Mills said while
getting dressed at the Breslin
Center in East Lansing. The former
Michigan cager then raised his arms
and began imitating exactly what
Chicago center Bill Cartwright
had done in the NBA exhibition
game. A few seconds into the act,
the other players burst out in
laughter.
It has been over a year since
Mills has been the center of
attention on a basketball team. The
much-heralded Wolverine center,
who helped lead Michigan to a
national championship in 1989, is
finally close to being the NBA
success story that everybody has
been predicting since his high
school days.
But no one could have predicted
all the adversity Mills has had to
face on the way. In one year, he has
been the property of four
professional teams.
"It was hectic," Mills said.
"You can't even imagine being
moved around that many times in a
season."
It all began with the 1990 NBA
draft, where the Milwaukee Bucks
made Mills the 16th player
QP1PPA C wiA a~r +he mAC
Terry Mills finds his
place with the Nets
Greece. "When you come from a
program like Michigan, you expect
discipline, and it was something
they didn't have."
The atmosphere was so bad that
players often smoked before the
game. And the fans weren't any
better; there would be a layer of
haze below the ceiling of the arena
before game time.
Both sides agreed to terminate
the contract, and Mills headed back
to the States. Denver certainly
didn't welcome him back with
open arms. The Nuggets would
only offer Mills the league
minimum, $170,000 a year. So as
the season was set to tip off, Mills
sat at his house in Romulus, Mich.,
doing nothing.
"I never want to go through
that situation again, because I love
the game too much," Mills said.
He finally came to terms with
the Nuggets Nov. 22, signing a
two-year contract worth $1.35
million. But after all the haggling
and fighting, Mills still didn't see
any action on the hardwood.
"They couldn't find playing
time for me," Mills said. "It was
like they were holding a grudge
against me, because I had more or
less sat out.
"We were saying, 'I don't have
any hard feelings.' And they said
that, but it seemed like we were
having hard feelings. We would
JENNIFER DUNETZ/Daily
Junior defensman Patrick Neaton advances the puck in the fog during
Saturday's 4-4 tie against Michigan State.
Spartans catch 'M'
icers in afog -,4-4
by Rod Loewenthal
Daily Hockey Writer
This weekend the Michigan
hockey team skated into the fog,
but never came out of it. After a
5-3 drubbing at the hands of
Michigan State Friday night on a
cloudy rink in East Lansing, the
Wolverines travelled home Sat-
urday, only to be followed by the
fog en route to a 4-4 tie.
A tenacious Spartan defense
led by senior goalie Mike
Gilmore's 37 saves was all but
impenetrable Friday night. The
rough ice of Munn Ice Arena, al-
though it plagued both teams,
seemed to especially hinder
Michigan by working against the
speed and quickness of the
Wolverine offense.
After a scoreless first period,
the Spartans came out gunning in
period after Smolinski, called for
cross-checking from behind,
nailed Ward into the boards. Flat
on the ice, Ward squirmed and
then lay motionless for the next
15 minutes as team trainers and
then doctors attended to him.
Ward was then strapped into a
stretcher and taken to a local hos-
pital. He was released later that
night after X-rays and other tests
revealed no serious injury.
"My head snapped back from
my head when I hit the boards,"
Ward said. "The next thing I
knew my body went numb, except
I felt a great surge of heat coming
up my spine."
A little over three minutes
later, State captain Dwayne Nor-
ris scored on a four-on-four situa-
tion to put the Spartans up, 3-0.
C
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