Ice Hockey
vs. Minnesota
Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Yost Ice Arena
SPORTS
Football
vs. Northwestern
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Michigan Stadium
The Michigan Daily
Wednesday, November 6, 1991
Page 9
Frosh start!
Talented rookies give new look to
by Albert Lin players. But this may change by
Daily Basketball Writer opening day.
Members of the media met the "If three or four of those fresh-
Michigan basketball team yesterday men prove to our staff that they're
at the team's annual Press Day. Fol- the best, we're going to play them,"
lowing a press conference with he said.
Michigan head coach Steve Fisher, INJURY UPDATE: The coaching
players were available for photos staff received a scare last week when
and comments. frosh forward Chris Webber went
Fisher talked about his outlook down with a knee sprain. But Web-
for the upcoming season. ber practiced yesterday for the first
"I won't have to force quite as time since the injury and is making
many smiles, at least for today, progress.
when we start taking questions Fisher said his biggest concern.
about who's going to play where, now was the health of senior Fred-
because we've got a few more play- die Hunter, who has been diagnosed
ers to play there," Fisher said. "And with a minor case of spina bifida.
we're hoping that (the frosh are) as "I didn't experience any pain
good as many of you have said they from it until last May," Hunter
are. said. "So I dealt with this summer
"That's the beauty of it also," he just basically trying to get it better.
added. "We've got 16 players - And I was doing good, doing great
four starters back, and they are not in pre-practice conditioning, and
going to give up without a fight. two weeks ago the problem flared
They are in for a fight, and they up again.
know it. "So I just have to deal with it,"
Fisher said that if he was forced he added. "It's something I'm al-
to choose a starting lineup yester- ways going to have. I've been doing
day, it would include no first-year some things, taking painkillers,
Wolverine hoops
wearing a brace in practice and when
I'm not in practice, to take some of
the pressure off my back."
"(The injury) really concerns
me," Fisher said, "because you know
what he brought to the program last
year. He can do that and more for the
baliclub this year."
BLUE-WHITE: The team will
hold a free intrasquad scrimmage
after this Saturday's Northwestern- ;
Michigan football game.
"I'm hopeful that we can get a;
good number of folks - the curios-
ity seekers, and some that want to,,
keep warm - that will come in af-
ter the game and watch some of it,"
Fisher said.
Crisler Arena will open at the
conclusion of the football matchup.
RUSH-ED OUT: The Nov. 14 ex-
hibition vs. the Cuban National
Team scheduled for the Palace has'
been moved to Crisler because of a
Rush concert. The women's teamn
will play the Cuban women at 5:45',"'
p.m., and the men will take the court
at 8. Students may purchase $5 tick-
ets at the ticket office or at the door.
Chris Webber conducts one of many interviews during Michigan's annual Press Day yesterday at Crisler
Arena. Webber returned to practice this week after suffering a sprained knee.
f
._ -.. V._' y i
Wrestling
legend Cliff
*Keen dies
at age 90
from staff reports
Former Michigan wrestling
coach Cliff Keen died in his Ann
Arbor home yesterday. He was 90.
Keen coached Michigan's wres-
tling team for 45 years from 1925
-to 1970. His tenure is the longest of
any coach in any sport in NCAA
history. Keen's teams won 13 Big
Ten titles and finished lower than
third only five times in 45 years. He
coached 68 All-Americans and 81
Big Ten champs during his tenure.
Keen also was a member of the
Michigan football coaching staff
for 33 years and is the only coach in
.modern times to coach Big Ten
champions in two different sports.
He guided the Wolverine 150-pound
football team to two titles in the
only two years Michigan had the
team and introduced the "T" forma-
tion to Michigan.
In 1980, he became a member of
the University of Michigan's Hall
of Honor. In 1990, Michigan's, Var-
sity Arena, was renamed Cliff Keen
*Arena in his honor. Michigan will
host the Cliff Keen Invitational na-
tional dual meet championship for
the first time this February.
Keen remained involved in the
Michigan athletic community and
even attended Saturday's Michigan-
Purdue football game.
"He used to stop and see us all
the time, just to talk wrestling,"
current Wolverine coach Dale Bahr
said. "He was so active, so Michi-
gan. I told my wife today, 'They just
don't make 'em like that any
more. '"
As an athlete at Oklahoma
A&M (now Oklahoma State), Keen
was a national champion in wres-
tling, an All-American in football
and a sprinter on the track team. He
was named to the 1924 U.S.
Olympic wrestling team but did not
compete because of a broken rib.
Keen received his law degree
from Michigan and was a member of
the Michigan State Bar. He spent
three years as a Naval Commander
during World War II and also had a-
book on wrestling published.
Skrep named Lombardi finalist
by Theodore Cox
and Matt Rennie
Daily Football Writers
Michigan offensive tackle Greg
Skrepenak has been named one of four
finalists for the Lombardi Trophy,
awarded each year to the nation's top
lineman.
The 6-foot-8, 319-pound Skrepenak is a
fifth-year senior and the anchor of the
Wolverines' heralded line. Michigan
coach Gary Moeller has nothing but
praise for his huge leader.
"He's a kid that has never missed a day
of practice; he never misses a game. He's
always there," Moeller said. "The best
thing I can say about Greg Skrepenak is
last week he probably had the best game
of his career at Michigan, and that really
means a lot to me to see a guy keep his
motivation up."
Skrepenak passed up the opportunity
to enter the professional draft at the
conclusion of last season.
"Even if I wasn't named a finalist for
the Lombardi Award my fifth year has
been great," Skrepenak said. "The team
has been successful and we're on the right
track now hopefully to get to the Rose
Bowl."
The Wolverine co-captain believes that
the award is more of a tribute to the
entire offensive line, rather than to a
single individual.
"Hopefully, I could win the award,"
Skrepenak added, "because I think it will
go down not just as my award, but an
award deserving of past Michigan
linemen and be a reflection of the
program as an entire team and the entire
offensive line unit, which works very
hard and sometimes goes unnoticed."
BRING ON MICHIGAN: The two
Northwestern upsets over Illinois and
then Michigan State have given the Wild-
cats so much confidence that the players
actually chanted "Bring on Michigan" in
the tunnel following their Spartan vic-
-tory.
"The press is trying to make much
more out of it than it is," Northwestern
coach Francis Peay said. "If you scratch
and you scratch hard enough and long
enough, you're eventually going to draw
blood."
Wide receiver Mark Benson may not
being drawing blood, but he certainly is
causing problems for defensive backs. The
Wildcat scored twice against the Spartans
Saturday, including the game-winning
touchdown with 1:48 left.
For his efforts, Benson was named Big"
Ten offensive player of the week. Iowa
defensive end Leroy Smith took the defen-
sive honor.
KENNETH SMOLLERIDZ
Yesterday, Wolverine tackle Greg Skrepenak was
named one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award.
Berman banters to Blue fans
by Chad Safran
Over 1,000 people came out to see the man
who makes sports fun.
ESPN's Chris "I'll Never Be Your Beast
of" Berman spoke to a crowd of laughing and
cheering fans who packed the house at Rack-
ham Auditorium last night.
LSA sophomore Dave Dayen was excited
about the opportunity to see Berman live. "I
watch too much ESPN. I am an admirer of
him," Dayen said.
First-year LSA student Kim Bardakian
agreed: "I've seen him on T.V. and wanted to
see what he is like." Students like Bardakian
welcomed Berman to the podium with a stand-
ing ovation.
Berman, the first speaker in a new lecture
series called Sports Speak, sponsored by UAC
Viewpoint Lectures and the LSA Student
Government, is one of the most popular
broadcasters in sports television.
When the name Chris Berman is mentioned,
inevitably everyone asks him how he got into
the the nickname business. He gave a list of his
favorites to the crowd, such as John "Tonight
Let It Be" Lowenstein and Bert "Be Home"
Blyleven
"It started at Brown. We were big sports
fans and made up the names while sipping our
favorite beverage-Perrier," he began. "In
1980 at ESPN, it was late, I was doing the 3
a.m. show, and it just slipped out. It was prob-
ably Frank Tanana 'Daiquiri' or John May-
berry 'FRD.' I created a monster."
An imposing figure on the stage with his
6-foot-5 frame, Berman managed to intensify
the audiences enthusiasm with his rousing
opening comment, "See ya at the Rose Bowl."
Berman continued on the subject of Wolverine
athletics, specifically the basketball team.
"The best and most dangerous expression
in sports is 'unlimited potential,"' he stated.
"It is good because who knows how good
Chris Webber and the boys will be. It will be
exciting to see the players develop and learn,
but at the same time they are only 18 and 19
years old. They are going to be real, real
good."
Berman went on to detail his life in broad-
casting. He began his career in a small town in
Rhode Island, then moved on to Waterbury,
Conn., where he hosted a 90-minute radio
sports talk show.
In addition, Berman said he did traffic re-
ports from his car in the mornings and late af-
ternoons. When Cha'nnel 30 in Hartford was
looking for a weekend sports person in the
summer of 1979, Berman was hired to work
the 11 p.m. news.
ESPN began broadcasting Labor Day week-
end in 1979 and Berman began there as "the
low man on the totem pole." He worked the 3
a.m. sign-off show. Back in the early years,
ESPN was a small network and their success
has not changed Berman's outlook
"We were the underdog back then, and we
still are underdog because we are the ones who
are taking the time to do it right," he said.
"We are the ones doing it every day."
The Sport Speak series will continue with
such noted speakers as Mitch Albom and
Bernie Smilovitz.
According to Marc Bernstein, chairman of
the View Point Lecture Series, "This is just
the beginning of a very ambitious program.
KENNT IH SMULLtR/Dally
ESPN Sportscaster Chris Berman, famous for his baseball nicknames, speaks to a crowd
of over 1,000 Michigan students at Rackham Auditorium last night.
Read
David
Schechter
on
Michigan
Baktbl
f
qy (*
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
Success can be
a matter of making
the right
connections.
Reporting & Writing Q
Magazine Publishing Q
Broadcast Journalism Q
Newspaper Management QI
The new curriculum Q
Wednesday, November13,1991
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Michigan Union
Graduate School
and MBA Day
Meet with recruiters to investigate advanced degree options
Compare costs and content of programs across the country
RECREATIONAL SPORTS
Intramural Sports Program
WRESTLING MEET
(TUES, WED & THURS NOVEMBER 19, 20 & 21)
Conference Highlights
Graduate School: The Forms, The Funds, The Focus
"Map out a plan pnor to meeting + Wednesdav, November i3
with ,graduate cholreprese',ntatives.10:0 -fy 1100,- Iam