Say it ain't so, Joe! reported yesterday. Montana spent two years with the Kansas City Chiefs after winning four Super Bowls in 11 seasons with the San Francisco Y .49ers.. 4.9ers..Page 11 Wednesday April 12, 1995 Baseball looks to get back on track against Madonna today *3y John Lwro wily Baseball Writer April showers bring May flowers, .ut April snowstorms cause baseball 3ames to be canceled. After the Michi- gan baseball team split two games with Penn State Saturday, the next lay's doubleheader was called be- *ause of snowfall. The twinbill was rescheduled for Monday afternoon, but once again, .now spoiled any hopes of playing Jaseball. Now the games are forever .ost. The Big Ten conference man- Iates that teams have only three days to play four games. Instead, the Wolverines (4-6 Big Ten, 12-18 overall) will face Ma- donna, today at Fisher Stadium at 3 p.m. Michigan has already beaten the Fighting Crusaders once this year. After Toledo canceled its trip to Ann Arbor April 5 due to freezing tem- peratures, Madonna was invited to Fisher the next day. The Wolverines squeaked by the Crusaders, 5-4, in 10 innings. Senior leftfielder Sean Coston carried Michi- gan offensively, racking up four RBI - including the game winner -- on three hits. In that game, Madonna commit- ted three errors that led to four Michi- gan runs. "(The game) was more of a gift than a win," Michigan coach Bill Freehan said. "They just self-de- structed on some plays and we came out ahead." Freshmen Mike Hribernik, Chris Hesse and Derek Besco took turns on the mound for the Wolverines, but junior closer John Arvai took over in the eighth inning and picked up the win to improve his record to 4-1. Any combination of the three freshman hurlers may see action to- Today's game: Michigan vs. Madonna Fisher Stadium 3 p.m. day for Michigan. Freehan used last week's game against the Crusaders as a test for his first-year pitchers. "All our guys did well (against Madonna)," Freehan said of his young hurlers. "I am glad they all got to pitch." Junior Brian Simmons paces the ballclub in homeruns (seven), RBI (27), triples (three), total bases (66) and slugging percentage (.641). He is also tied for the team lead in hits (33), but his production has dropped off in re- cent weeks. Simmons has only I1 hits in his last 39 at bats. The preseason second- team All-American fanned three times in nine at-bats against the Nittany Li- ons. Designated hitter Scott Weaver leads the team in batting at a .327 clip. Rightfielder Rodney Goble is the team leader in runs scored (28), doubles (seven), stolen bases (11) and is tied with Simmons for the team lead in hits. Simmons, Goble, and Coston are the only Wolverines who have suited up for all 30 games. Weaver, Coston and first baseman Chad Chapman have shouldered most of the offensive burden lately. Coston is hitting .500 in his last three outings with five RBI, includ- ing his performance last week against Madonna. Weaver was 3-for-7 at the plate last weekend, knocking in three runs and scoring two more. Chapman went 4-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored against the Nittany Lions. Knuble inks pro deal Wolverine forward finally signs with Detroit By Barry Sollenberger Daily Hockey Writer It didn't take Mike Knuble long to get back into a championship race. It's just that he's not sure which one it will be. The senior right wing signed a four-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings yesterday and might be assigned to the team's minor league club in Glens Falls, N.Y. as early as today. The Adirondack Red Wings begin the playoffs tomorrow in the race for the Calder Cup - exactly two weeks after Michigan lost to Maine in the NCAA semifinals. Since those playoffs start so soon, he might just skip them and join the United States' team in Sweden for the World Championships April 23-May 7. Or he could possibly do both. Right now, it doesn't matter. "I'm just happy to get my career going," Knuble said. "I'm glad that I've finally achieved (pro hockey) what I've worked for ever since I started hockey." He was originally drafted by De- troit with the 76th pick in the fourth round of the 1991 draft. If he decides to only go the route of the World Championships, he'll report to the Red Wing organization next fall. Initially, there was speculation that Knuble might skip Adirondack and join Detroit for the stretch run in the NHL playoffs. The Red Wings, however, are loaded at forward and own the league's best record. If he were promoted to Detroit, Knublewould probably domore sitting than playing. "It's disappointing that I'm not joining them, but you're not guaran- teed anything," he said. "I don't want to mess up their chemistry, and the way they're playing, they don't need me." Knuble said that his deal was a "two-way" contract in which he will be paid a certain salary next year in the minors and a larger one if he is promoted to the parent club. He said that his contract doesn't start until the fall, but he will get paid a percentage of his signing bonus this summer. He would not disclose the value of the contract and said only that he was "extremely happy with the deal." Regardless of the amount, you can bet that it's paying better than McDonald's. "Rick Willis, Ron Sacka and I went out to price cars and I picked one out," he said. "It's probably going to be a Cherokee." By comparison, former Wolver- ine Cam Stewart signed a three-year deal with the Boston Bruins worth approximately a million dollars two years ago. While Knuble'sprofessional hockey career could start as early as tomorrow, his education is on hold. The senior was able to work out plans to receive credit for this semester, but he won't be around for the spring semester - the one he needs for graduation. He'll be back, though. "I have an education clause in my contract," Knuble said. "I'm not go- ing to go through life without a col- lege education." After a slow start this season, Knuble was goalie enemy No. 1 by March. The second team All-American led the nation with 38 goals and fin- ished tied for fifth on Michigan's all- time list (103). The Wolverines reached the NCAA semifinals three of Knuble four years, but never ad- vanced further. Mike Knuble signed a four-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings' organization yesterday. DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily Locked-out umpires may strike Want to write for Daily sports this summer? Sure you do. Come to the mass meeting Monday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in the Student Publications Building at 420 Maynard. NEWYORK(AP)-Majorleague umpires, locked out by owners be- cause ofa contract dispute, could picket spring-training parks when exhibition games start Thursday. "It's a possibility. The discussion has come up," Bob Opalka, an asso- ciate of umpires' union head Richie Phillips, said Tuesday. The picketing, not yet approved by the umpires' executive council, would *be informational and not intended to stop people from entering stadiums. Exhibition games for the regular big league players begin Thursday, and the rescheduled opening day is set for April 25. Picketing at regular- season games remains a possibility if there's no settlement, Opalka said. A collection of former major and minor league umpires, along with col- lege and high school umps, called exhi- bition games held with replacement players earlier this spring. A similar group of ex-pros and amateurs would likely handle the upcoming games; no active minorleague umpires were asked to fill in. The start of the regular season was postponed about three weeks after the players' strike ended March 31. Umpires originally asked for a 60 percent pay raise during a four-year period, up from their base salaries rang- ing from $60,000-$175,000. They also sought to double their postseason pool, about $20,000 per umpire in many cases, because of the increase in games under the expanded playoff format. / I Jit yr Th w . W F or fast relief from the nagging ache of taxes, we recommend TIAA-CREF SRAs. SRAs are tax- deferred annuities designed to help build additional assets-money that can help make the difference between living and living iel after your working years are over. As the nation's largest retirement system, we offer a wide range of allocation choices--from TIAA's traditional annuity, with its guarantees of principal and interest, to the seven diversified investment accounts of CREF's variable annuity. What's more, our expenses are very low, -which means more o( WEDNESDAY APRIL 1 12, 1995 ,I I ,I I II