8 - The Michigan Daily -- SPORTSMonday - Monday, January 9, 1995
Cowboys set up NFC title game showdown .
IRVING, Texas (AP) - No sur-
prise. It's the defending champion
Dallas Cowboys against the San Fran-
cisco 49ers in the NFC title game for
the third consecutive year-just like
everyone predicted in August.
The Cowboys, despite losing All-
Pro running back Emmitt Smith to a
hamstring injury formost of the game,
gave rookie coach Barry Switzer his
first playoff triumph by defeating the
Green Bay Packers 35-9 on Sunday
behind the pinpoint passing of Troy
Aikman.
Smith, who scored the Cowboys'
first touchdown, re-injured his left
hamstring late in the first quarter and
did not return. His status for Sunday's
championship game was uncertain.
The Cowboys, 12-4 in the regular
season, will play San Francisco next
Sunday in Candlestick Park. The 49ers
eliminated the Chicago Bears 44-15
in the other NFC divisional playoff
game on Saturday.
Dallas, a 21-14 loser to the 49ers
earlier in the season, is trying to be-
come the first team to win three con-
secutive SuperBowls and become the
first franchise to win five. Pittsburgh,
Miami, San Francisco, Green Bay,
and Pittsburgh all have won two con-
secutive Super Bowls.
Aikman, 7-0 in playoff games he
has started, had only one touchdown
pass in his last five games. But he was
on target Sunday, hitting 23 of 30
passes for a club playoff record 337
yards and two touchdowns - includ-
ing a record-setting 94-yard hookup
with Alvin Harper - before leaving
in favor of Rodney Peete with 7:55
left.
Tight end Jay Novacek caught 11
passes for 104 yards, Michael Irvin
had six catches for 111 yards and
Harper had two catches for 108 yards.
It marked the first time since 1982
that three receivers topped 100 yards
in the playoffs.
Aikman was 16 of 21 for 272
yards in the first half as the well-
rested Cowboys took a 28-9 lead over
the Packers to put the game away
early.
Kevin Williams' 36-yard return
of the opening kickoff got the Cow-
boys rolling on a 51-yard drive with
the payoff coming on Smith's 5-yard
run.
Smith sustained apulled hamstring
in the first quarter and missed the rest
of the game after he had 44 yards on
seven carries.
After Chris Jacke kicked a 50-
yard field goal, Aikman and Harper
put their names in the playoff record
book with their long TD play.
Harper outran the coverage of
Terrell Buckley and George Teague
and caught Aikman's 55-yard pass.
Buckley and Teague ran Harper
down on the 14-yard line but he cut
back, broke Teague's arm tackle
and scored. It broke the record of 93
yards from Buffalo's Daryle
Lamonica to Elbert Dubenion in
1963 against Boston.
Dallas made it 21-3 in the second
period behind Aikman. He hit Irvin
on a 53-yard pass and found Novacek
open for a 22-yard pass to the Pack-
ers' 1. Blair Thomas, who replaced
Smith, scored three plays later from
the 1, the first of his two TDs.
Brett Favre, who was 18 of 35 for
211 yards and an interception, hit a
59-yard pass to Robert Brooks on a
74-yard scoring drive which was fin-
ished off by Edgar Bennett's 1-yard
run on fourth down to make it 21-9. A
pass for 2 points was broken up by
James Washington.
Aikman, helped along by a 39-yard
kickoffreturnby Williams, victimized
Green Bay with short passes while
working the clock. He hit Irvin with a
12-yard slant pass. Tight end Scott
Galbraith scored his first TD of the
season on a 1-yard pass from Aikman
with five seconds left in the half.
Dallas wentconservative in the sec-
ond half but Aikman pieced together a
fourth quarter drive in which Thomas,
a free agent picked up late in the sea-
son, finished it off with a 2-yard TD
run.
Smith reaggravated his left ham-
string on an 8-yard run late in the first
quarter. He pulled the muscle on Dec.
19 against New Orleans and sat out
the last game of the season against the
New York Giants. Smith also pulled
his right hamstring earlier in the sea-
son but hasn't been bothered by it
again.
Dallas defeated the Packers 42-31
on Thanksgiving Day in a game Ster-
ling Sharpe had fourTDpasses. Sharpe
is out with a career-threatening neck
injury. The Cowboys also beat the Pack-
ers 27-17 in the divisional playoffs last
year.
01
AP PHOTO
The Cowboys' defense swarms Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre during
Dallas' 35-9 victory over the Packers' Sunday. The win sent the Cowboys to
the NFC Championship game, where they will face San Francisco.
Missed field goal
ends Miami's season
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Somehow,
Stan Humphries and the San Diego
Chargers overcame the crazy calls and
the Miami Dolphins.
And in the end, the ball finally went
the Chargers' way. Pete Stoyanovich
missed a 48-yard field goal with one
second left Sunday and San Diego
emerged with a 22-21 victory over the
Dolphins that sent them into the AFC
championship game.
Humphries, deprived of an appar-
ent touchdown pass late in fourth quar-
ter on an official's call, threw an 8-yard
touchdown pass to Mark Seay with 35
seconds left to tie it and John Carney
kicked the winning point.
The Chargers will play at Pitts-
burgh next Sunday for a trip to the
Super Bowl. San Diego defeated the
Steelers 37-34 in the final regular-sea-
son game, although Pittsburgh had al-
ready clinched the home field and rested
some injured starterS.
Sunday's game was filled with sev-
eral controversial calls, including a rare
illegal double pass in which Miami's
Keith Jackson appeared to lose the ball.
The Chargers advanced to the AFC
title game for the first time since Dan
Fouts got them there following the
1980 and'81 seasons. They have never
been to the Super Bowl.
San Diego joined Pittsburgh, San
Francisco and Dallas-each of whom
have four Super Bowl titles - in the
NFL's final four.
The Chargers also blocked what
could have been Dan Marino's last
realistic shot at getting the Dolphins
back to the Super Bowl, which is at
Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium.
Marino moved the Dolphins to the
San Diego 31 in the final seconds and
Stoyanovich - 8-for-10 between 40
and 49 yards this season - came on
with a chance to win it.
But a high snap seemed to throw off
his timing, and Stoyanovich missed
badly to the right.
WINKLER
Continued from page 1
especially the freshmen and the other
underclassmen. "We don't have to
prove anything. We just have to
show our talent and let our opponents
know that we are serious," Brian.
Coach Bob Darden agrees. He
expects his Wolverines to go all the
way to the NCAA Nationals hosted
by fellow Big Ten rivals Ohio State
university this year. In his 12th
season as coach, former member of
the Michigan men's team Darden
feels very confident about his team
this year. Next week the Wolverines
will get the chance to formally
compete as they head to the Windy
City Invitational hosted by the
University of Chicago.
Afteran impressive career, Brian
Winkler will be ending his four-year
reign as the gymnast to beat. "I feel
that this will be one of my best years
personally. I know how it feels to sit
out, and I am very anxious to
compete."
For the future, Brian will be
graduating with a degree in Civil
Engineering, with plans to take this
summer off to rest and relax while
spending time with his fiancee,
before he begins job hunting in the
fall. As for his childhood Olympic
aspirations, he plans on going to
Atlanta in 1996, as a fan instead of a
participant.
Dedication has offered him many
rewards, but has also taken its tole.
"I would like to still compete, but
unfortunatly my body can't take
another year."
OPENER
Continued from page 1
people. We've been fooling around
with it since late September, early
October."
Roberson has set up a committee
within the athletic department to or-
ganize other activities to occur in con-
junction with the Pigskin Classic, in-
cluding a possible parade and/or ce-
lebrity golf tournament.
The second reason the Wolver-
ines will play in this game is their
schedule for next season. For the first
time since 1982 when Michigan de-
feated Wisconsin, 20-9, the Wolver-
ines open their schedule with a Big
Ten game atIllinois. The Pigskin Clas-
sic provides the Wolverines with a
"warm-up" game prior to the confer-
ence slate.
In three of the past four seasons,
Michigan altered its schedule to get a
game in prior to facing Notre Dame
and won all three contests. The rear-
ranging of the games created an open
week in each of those years.
The Wolverines already have two
open Saturdays in 1995, making the
regular season one of the longer cam-
paigns in school history. Beginning
with the Pigskin Classic, which will
be Michigan against most likely an
ACC opponent (Duke, North Caro-
lina or Virginia), the Wolverines sea-
son extends into the last weekend in
November. On Nov. 25, Michigan
hosts Ohio State.
The newly installed game will
force players to report four days ear-
lier for training camp.
"The four extra days didn't seem
like a lot," Roberson said. "Part of the
attraction of (the game) is the two
weeks off."
Tickets for the game will be in-
cluded in the general public's sea-
son ticket package but not in the
student plan. Yet, students will have
an option to purchase seats for the
game.
Proceeds from the game go to the
American Football Coaches Retire-
ment Trust (AFCRT), NACDA and
its foundation and the participating
institutions. Each team is guaranteed
at least $650,000 for appearing in the
sixth edition of the Pigskin Classic;
all additional funds will be split
roughly 40/40/20 amongst Michigan,
the other team playing and the two
associations.
0,1
INTRAMURAL
SPORTS
PROGRAM
AWESOME!
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
.
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BASKETBALL
TEAM
RACQUET-
BALL
BROOMBALL
(Sgis & Dbls)
Instant Scheduling: Tues 1/10 11am - 5:30pm IMSB
Entry Fee: $59.00 per team
Manager's Meeting (Mandatory): Tues 1/10 6pm/9pm
Play Begins: Thurs 1/12 at IMSB and Sports Coliseum
NOTE: BASKETBALL OFFICIALS NEEDED (see below)
Instant Scheduling: Tues 1/10 11am - 5:30pm IMSB
Entry Fee: $35.00 per team
Manager's Meeting (Mandatory): Tuesday 1/10 7:15pm
Play Begins: Monday 1/16 at IMSB
Instant Scheduling: Tues 1/17 11am - 4:30pm IMSB
Entry Fee: $40 per team
Manager's Meeting (Mandatory): Tuesday 1/17 7:00 pm
Play Begins: Thursday 1/19 at Yost Ice Arena
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The deadline for SWIMMING and DIVING entries
is Thursday February 2
while entries for the RELAYS MEET are due Tuesday February 28.
OFFICIATING OPPORTUNITIES
OFFICIALS NEEDED!!!
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