10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 24, 1994
Lacrosse looks ahead to weekend tourney
Wolverines seek top seed for defense of conference championship
By ELISA SNEED
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
This weekend, the Michigan men's lacrosse
team travels to Bloomington for the Big Ten East-
ern Division Tournament. But it's not really a
tournament at all.
"When you think of a tournament, you think of
people winning, and coming out with trophies,"
Michigan coach Bob DiGiovanni said. "That's not
what this is."
DiGiovanni said the team prefers to think of this
weekend as the Eastern Division playoffs. The
Wolverines will get the opportunity to scout and
play against other members of the Eastern Division
- Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue and Illinois.
That is crucial because seedings for the Big Ten
Championships, held in mid-April, are determined
by a team's won-loss record against the other teams
in its division.
Since travel and scheduling can pose some dif-
ficulties, "tournaments" such as this are set up so
schools can play against the teams they haven't
scheduled during the rest of the season. Because of
this, some teams have scheduled three games this
weekend, but Michigan will only play against Purdue
and Indiana.
Although Indiana has not posed much of a threat
to the Wolverines for several years, Purdue has
perennially been a strong opponent. While the
Wolverines have been winning the Big Ten club
title the past four years, Purdue has presented a
major challenge, finishing second or third in the
conference.
"Purdue will be a strong team," DiGiovanni
said. "They've always got a strong team, but I'm
hoping we can go undefeated (in the Big Ten).
Some of our biggest challenges are behind us."
The most difficult challenges were the games
against Ohio State -a varsity team which dealt the
Wolverines their only loss - and the Detroit city
league team Michigan played earlier this season.
While the competition is no longer the largest
threat to the Wolverines, injuries still are.
"On defense, we're three-deep in every posi-
tion," DiGiovanni said. "But we've got people
hurt from before our spring trip and from the trip.
We're short on middies and attack."
The Wolverines started the season with seven
attackmen and are now down to four. They will
also lose some players returning home for Pass-
over.
DiGiovanni saidthegames won't beeasy with-
out a full roster because although the team still has
several strong defensemen, the middies are a key
to stopping opponents from scoring.
"If the middies get tired, the other team gets
through and you get people waiting down there for
easy goals," he said.
"It's not going to be a cakewalk, but I expect
we'll do well."
Archer hears new stadium
DETROIT (AP) -Mayor Dennis
Archer and top Detroit Tigers offi-
cials met into the wee hours yesterday
and came out smiling but not reveal-
ing whether Archer will support pro-
posals for a new ballpark.
'They were able to answer all my
questions, and I raised all the ques-
tions that I indicated I would raise
when I met with the Tiger Stadium
Fan Club," Archer said after the meet-
ing.
Archer said he would announce at
tomorrow'sCity Council meeting whether
he believes the Tigers should get a new
stadium orwhethertheoldone-builtin
1912--should stay inuse.
"We're very optimistic," Tigers
vice president Atanas Ilitch said.
"We're going to give them some time
to give it some thought."
The late-night briefing was given
by seven Tigers representatives, in-
cluding a stadium architect and urban
planner. Team owner Mike Ilitch did
not attend.
Along with a hard pitch, the mayor
got detailed drawings and maps of the
stadium Ilitch wants to build near the
Fox Theatre, which he also owns.
Archer said a key factor in his
decision will be how Ilitch intends to
redevelop the neighborhood around
the proposed ballpark.
proposal from
"The stadium is not the issue. The
issue is the whole area around the
stadium and what will be best for the
city of Detroit," he said before the
meeting began.
The five-hour meeting broke up
around 2 a.m. yesterday. The hastily-r
called conference came after the Ti-4
gers issued a news release suggestingt
Ilitch would consider moving the team
out of Detroit if he doesn't get a new i
stadium.
Ilitch has said he will spend $175
million for a new stadium, but would c
need another $200 million from state
and local governments to complete i
the project.t
Tigers brass
In Lansing, state Sen. John Kelly
(D-Grosse Pointe Woods) said he will
introduce related legislation to help
Michigan communities economically.
That, he said, would pit many Michi-
gan communities - and their state
representatives - against Ilitch and
encourage the preservation of both
cities and Tiger Stadium.
Kelly, a long-time critic of build-
ing a new stadium with public funds
for the Tigers, said his legislation
would offer two-year, interest-free
construction loans.
He said he wants to take $400
million to help communities rebuild
their downtown areas.
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
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THE SPORTING VIEWS
Magic deserves shot at coaching in the pros
By BRENT McINTOSH
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
respect you so they will do the things you tell them to."
A lage chunk of the remaining fourth is hav*''h ..LeL1UjhtLI.)n n
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Magic is back, and he certainly should be. team through an 82-game campaign, and still be ready to take on the world's
Randy Pfund's tenure as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers ended best basketball teams in theplayoffs. Magic hasproven hisdedication timeand
Tuesday with his firing, and the franchise immediately put the reins in the again. Take his shooting: never a great long-range gunner, he spent endless
hands of Magic Johnson, a former Laker and cultural icon. The job belongs to hours in the gym making himself an outside threat.
no one more than Magic, and I'll tell you why. Even before he could shoot the three, though, he was the best player in
I don't care about the situation. It's never pretty to see a coach fired as the history. Forget Wilt the Stilt, the Big 0, Dr. J, or Air Jordan. Magic was a god
season winds down, but basketball is a business now. on the court. He did things under pressure that nobody else could imagine.
I don't care about his lack of coaching experience. Magic is a veritable hoops He earned three MVP awards, won five NBA titles and had more assists than
deity; former guards know the game, and Magic's the best guard of all time. anyone in league history. He took a pay cut to bring another player onto the Laker
I don't care about his HIV status. Let me rephrase that: I don't think it's a roster, Most impressively, he has dealt gracefully with the threat of death.
factor. Let me rephrase again: It's not a factor. But I'm not writing to debate who the best player is; mine is only one man's
I don't care about his somewhat-botched attempts at broadcasting and opinion.
franchise-ownership. Coaching has nothing to do with those things. Coaching I'm writing to say that Magic has paid his dues to the Lakers, to the NBA
is about savvy under pressure, knowledge of the game, and intangibles. Magic and to the game of basketball - nobody debates that he revitalized a league
had a virtual monopoly on those qualities for over a decade, that had fallen into disfavor with the public - and now he is being rewarded.
Still disagree? Ask Kurt Rambis, a former teammate of Johnson's; At the very least, he deserves the chance tocoach, and he's being given that.
"He knows the game," Rambis said. "The players on the team respect him. Now we get to-see whether the greatest paiayerof all time can duplicate his feats
Nowadays, that's three-fourths of the battle in the NBA, getting the playersto in the coaching ranks. I, for one, hope he does. He deserves it.
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Magic Johnson was hired yesterday to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
Johnson led the Lakers to five NBA championships as a player.
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TIPS FOR WOMEN TO WARD OFF MUGGERS OR RAPISTS
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Picture a woman walking from
the store to her parked car and
nearly being assaulted. As the
assailant comes closer, she
reaches for her cord. By the time
the assailant is about five feet
away, she pulls the cord and a
loud alarm blares. Virtually
everyone around her hears the
noise and looks to see what's
happening. Astheassailantruns
away, the woman thinks to
herself, "I'm glad I carry this
alarm."
Situations like this happen daily.
Here are some tips to help scare
away muggers and rapists. First,
don't walk close to bushes,
your body. If you let it dangle,
you can catch the attention of a
mugger and make yourself a
target.
Fourth, always have your keys in
your hand ready to open your
door (whether it's your car,
house, etc). If you search or
fumble for your keys at the door,
you're providing the criminal with
an opportunity to get the "upper
hand."
Fifth, carry the pepper spray
that "shoots' like a mini fire
extinguisher or torch (long as 20
feet - wide as 5 feet). The
average pepper spray is only
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fact, many police officers
frequently say that the best
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The Mugger Stopper is only
I