Prior to this season, what was the last major league baseball team to win 100 games and not make the playoffs? (Answer, page 2) Inside SPORTSMonday 'M' Sports Calendar 2 AP Top 25 2 Griddes! 2 Q&A 3 The R.H. Factor 3 Football 4-5 Field Hockey 6 Major League Baseball 6 Hoops Tickets- 6 NFL roundup 7 M' defense grounds Hawkeyes' attack Blue triumphs in '93 Big Ten opener, 24-7 By ANDY DE KORTE DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER Summer drives down Michigan expressways invariably encounter construction. And as travelers make their way through the delays, road signs bearing stick figure expressions change from a frown to an expres- sionless face to the long-awaited smiley face as the end of the construc- tion nears. Like a trip to the Upper Peninsula, the Wolverines (1-0 Big Tbn, 3-1 overall) started down a long road with- out too many smiles after losing to Notre Dame. But following the Wol- verines' 24-7 victory over Iowa (0-2, 2-2) Saturday, Michigan coach Gary Moeller thought his team's play no longer deserved frowns. But by no means did he feel they were near the end of construction. "Obviously, our defense was im- proved. We'll continue to work on that, but I think we did a good job getting more (players) to the ball," Moeller said. "Offensively, we self- destructed. I don't think we blocked as well as we should have. We can't self-destruct, which we did with pen- alties. I don't feel good about our team right now. We're a better offen- sive team than that." Before the offense self-destructed, it did manage to wreak havoc on theI Hawkeye defense. The way the Iowa offense played, a 14-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter represented an unassailable lead. Running back Tyrone Wheatley started the Wolverine scoring with 6:24 left in the first quartet with a five-yardrush. His day'sworkdidnot start with the touchdown scamper- seven previous rushes for 29 yards set up the score on the drive. On the ensuing kickoff, Iowa gave Michigan an early chance to get a stranglehold on the game. Returner Sedrick Shaw fumbled the ball charg- ing into a wall of Wolverine defend- ers at the 25-yard line. Unfortunately for the Michigan faithful, the penalties soon started to accumulate. Instead of first down on the Iowa 13, a holding call made it second down and eight. A freak back- wards pass by Todd Collins, that was ruled a lateral, bounced safely out of bounds and resulted in a 16-yard loss. A poor punt gave the Hawkeyes the ball back right where they lost it -- their own 25. Although Hayden Fry's team came back with an im- pressive drive going 55 yards, that possession led to the second Wolver- ine touchdown. Michigan defensive tackle Jason Horn blocked Todd Romano's 47- yard field goal attempt. Collins found Wheatley with a dump pass, which the tailback proceeded to take 48 yards for a touchdown and the 14-point lead. The next 5:08 belonged to the Iowa. The only scoring drive the Hawkeyes mounted started at the 23- See IOWA, Page 4 Taillback Tyrone Wheatley led the Michigan offensive charge, gaining 202 all-purpose yards (113 rushing, 60 receiving, 29 kickoff returns) Wolverines defeated Iowa, 24-7, in Saturday's Big Ten opener. MICHELLE GUY/Daily as the No. 9 With victory over old rivals to begin Big Ten campaign, Wolverines nose their way to improvement An odor hung over Michigan Stadium Saturday as the Wolverines defeated Iowa, 24-7. Did you smell it? It surfaced at the beginning of the game, when Michigan took a Hawkeye punt, drove down the field in 12 plays, and scored a touchdown on a five- yard run by Tyrone ADAM Wheatley. MILLER The smell was Miller's sweet then, and it Crossing intensified as Wolverine Steve King recovered Sedrick Shaw's fumble of the ensuing kickoff at the Hawkeye 25. But - mark my nose - the next five plays dissipated the aroma. At about the time of Todd Collins' mistaken lateral that dropped the Wolverines back 12 yards from their original line of scrimmage and forced them to punt, I lost it. Yet, five minutes later, there it was again, as Collins connected with Wheatley for a 48-yard scoring strike and a 14-0 Michigan lead. This pattern continued throughout the game, and I found it quite disturbing. At times, the Wolverines seemed to be playing great, and things smelled like, a ... uh, they smelled pleasant. The offensive line, suspect for much of the early season, routinely opened holes for Tyrone Wheatley, Ricky Powers and Ch6 Foster to run through. Maybe not gargantuan holes, but holes nonetheless. Compared to Michigan's first game against Washington State, when the only successful Wolverine runs were around the ends, this looked, and smelled, pretty good. Particularly impressive was that first score from Wheatley. He ran through the right side of the line, and went in untouched. Collins, too, seemed to have more time to throw. With the return of receiver Derrick Alexander, and enough time for Collins, the Michigan deep passing game was reestablished. At one point, after a holding call in the backfield, Michigan faced a 2nd-and-23, and Collins found Alexander over the middle for 29 yards and a first down. Furthermore, the defense showed improvement - that catchword of the early season - as well. Defensive tackle and co- captain Buster Stanley had a great day, with 10 total tackles (seven solo), including three tackles for a loss and two sacks. He also forced a fumble and recovered the ball. Strong safety Shonte Peoples had a sack and an interception. Fellow hard hitter and cornerback Alfie Burch broke up a pass with authority, leveling Ryan Terry and sending the pigskin flying. The postgame interviews reflected this situation, as coaches and players alike complimented the Wolverine effort. "We're on the right track now," Wheatley said. "We certainly want to congratulate Michigan here today," Iowa coach Hayden Fry said. " They're an extremely good offensive and defensive football team." Improving, yes. But extremely good? The Wolverines' performance, while better than in earlier games, was not all sweetness. Often, it was quite sour. For instance, on three occasions that Michigan had the ball deep in Hawkeye territory in the first half, the best the Wolverines could do was kick a field goal. In addition to the sequence mentioned above are these two drives from late in the second quarter: U With 10:45 remaining until halftime, Michigan took the Iowa kickoff on its own 39. Eleven plays later, the Wolverines had driven to the Hawkeye eight, where they had first-and-goal. Two penalties, a sack, and a couple of short passes later, and Michigan had lost 13 yards and was facing ~fourth-and-goal from the 21. A field goal? Nope, wide left. Then, four Hawkeye plays later, Stanley recovered a fumble on the Iowa 15 with just over a minute remaining until halftime. Four plays gained zero yards, and Pete Elezovic made the field goal this time. The situation didn't improve in the second half. Michigan took the opening kickoff, but punted four plays later, and never reached the level of performance it displayed at the game's onset. Yet, before we condemn them too harshly, remember that the Wolverines did win. They held Iowa, a traditional nemesis, to seven points, and even kept the Hawkeyes out of the end zone on their last desparation drive at the game's conclusion. So the odor for the day wasn't entirely sour. I'd say that, overall, it was pretty sweet. I just can't decide if it smelled like flowers ... Or tangerines. "Spikers sweep Hawkeyes, fall to Golden Gophers Coaching for a Championship By J.L. ROSTAM-ABADI DAILY SPORTS WRITER You win some and you lose some. The Michigan women's volley- ball team (1-3 Big Ten, 5-7 overall) proved this age-old cliche true this past weekend. The Wolverines de- feated Iowa at Iowa City in three games Friday night,15-9, 15-11,15- 12, before falling to Minnesota Satur- day night, 15-2, 15-8, 15-11. Saturday, the Golden Gophers (2- 2 , 10-5) wasted no time in taking control of the contest. "They jumped all over us the first game," Michigan coach Greg Giovanazzi said. "Minnesota is a very good team." Minnesota's Katrian DeDecker, a freshman from Belgium, dominated the Gophers' offensive prowl, deliv- ering 24 of their 56 kills, and boasting a .372 attack percentage. the trip, but was unable to play her usual left outside hitter position. Defensively, the Gophers were led by Gretchen Dahl, who had 12 digs. Sue Jackson handled the setting re- sponsibilities, ending the night with 42 assists. Across the net were Michigan's JoAnna Collias and Shannon Brownlee who led the Wolverines with 12 and 15 digs, respectively. "(Setter Erin) McGovern came in about halfway through the second game, which is when the match turned around, and I think she had a lot to do with that," Giovanazzi said. "She did a good job of getting our middle hit- ters involved -- Shannon Brownlee and Suzy O'Donnell." Sophomores O'Donnell and Brownlee combined for 20 of Michigan's 38 kills. "The only really bright spots (Sat- By BOB ABRAMSON DAILY SPORTS WRITER f you asked new Michigan women's soccer coach Linda Hamilton how to get to South University Ave. in Ann Arbor, a look of confusion would probably spring up across her face. "I never know where I am going in Ann Arbor," Hamilton exclaimed. "The girls on the soccer team all laugh at me because I get excited when I recognize something like, 'Hey, that's Touchdown Cafe, I've seen that before."' Forgive her complete lack of direction. Michigan is like a foreign country to this coach. Coming from the deep south of Atlanta, she knows about two roads in Michigan - the freeways that take her back and forth between her home in Farmington Hills and the confines Hamilton leads resurgence of women's soccer club became a starting sweeper on the 1991 U.S. women's national team, which would go on to become the first American team to ever win a World Cup. This will be Hamilton's seventh year as a starter on the team. Pick a big game in the last seven years of women's soccer and Hamilton's name would probably be mentioned in the conversation. In college, she was the 1988 ACC Player of the Year and a four- time All-American. She played three years at North Carolina State and eventually transferred to North Carolina, where she would go on to claim a national title. "She had an incredible season that year. She hung in there and helped us win a national championship," North Carolina and U.S. women's national team coach m