Sports Monday Trivia What was the last season in which Michigan State had a losing record in football? (For the answer, bottom of page 2) Inside Sports M' Sports Calendar AP Top 25 Results Griddes Water Polo Q&A Sheran My Thoughts Football Coverage Ice Hockey Coverage Soccer Crew Men's Basketball Field Hockey Men's Rugby Monday 2 2 2 2 3 3 4-5 6 7 7 7 8 8 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 I ~ -, - I