bie £ttguu aiIv Ex-Wolverine Smith signs with Miami Former Michigan football captain Waiter Smith has recovered from a serious knee injury that kept him out of football for two years. He hopes make up for lost time this fall with the Miami Dolphins, "I'm going to be killing people," Smith told The Ann Arbor News. "I've been through a lot of frustrations. I know how it feels to be at home. There's a lot of hate, anger and bitterness in me." I Friday March 15, 1996 10' CCHA semis pit Michigan against State By Nicholas J. Cotsonka Daily Sports Editor. Things have looked so bad for Michigan State re- cently, Spartans coach Ron Mason said publicly that he would not have been disappointed if Ferris State had eliminated his team from the CCHA playoffs last week- end. Third-seed Michigan State (28-11-1) is a near lock for the NCAA tournament anyway, and a weekend off would have kept the Spartans from having to face sec- ond-seed Michigan (29-7-2) tonight in the CCHA semi- finals at 8:30 at Joe Louis Arena. "I wouldn't have said that," Michigan coach Red Berenson said of Mason's comments. "But they've been having a rough time." The Spartans faded at the end of the CCHA season, falling from the league's top spot. Michigan State has been hobbled by injuries lately as well. Defenseman Bart Vanstaalduinen hasn't played since banging up his knee Feb.17, the last time the Spartans faced if .. .:the Wolverines at the Joe. Forward Mike York is out of the lineup. Combined with other injuries, that effectively left Michigan State with only nine forwards and four defenseman two weeks ago at Yost Ice Arena. Due to their lack of play- * ers, the Spartans ran out of gas in the third period of that game, losing 3-0. Don't expect the same tonight, Berenson warns. "Both teams are going to be putting their best foot . forward, and I don't think Who: Michigan vs. fatigue will be a factor," Michigan State Berenson said. "Remem- When: Tonight, 8:30 ber, each time we beat Were: Joe Louis Arena, (Michigan State) this year, etroCt theyplayeda game the night hsbefore. They'll be as fresh as they can be (tonight)." Michigan is coming off of an easy sweep of Miami (Ohio) in its first-round series. The Wolverines, who beat the Redskins 5-1 and 3-0, had little of the trouble the Spartans had at the beginning of their playoff run. But Berenson nevertakes aplayoffgame, or amatchup with Michigan State, for granted. "It's the playoffs, and it's special," Berenson said. " It's like the run for the Stanley Cup. You have to play your best every night." If the Wolverines get by Michigan State, they will face either Lake Superior or Bowling Green tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Joe. The fifth-seeded Falcons upset fourth-seed Western Michigan last weekend and are viewed as danger- ous enough to drown the first-seeded Lakers. "(Bowling Green) has started to play like everyone thought they could," Berenson said. "They are the type of team who can upset people. They beat us." The Falcons clawed the Wolverines, 6-5, Jan. 27. But Lake Superior is just as dangerous. The Lakers swept a two-game set with Michigan Feb. 23-24, 5-4 and 7-3. "It's going to be a tough weekend," Berenson said. "We've only (won the CCHA playoff title) once since I've been here." Michigan won the CCHA playoff title in 1994. Lake Superior eliminated the Wolverines in 1995. THE NCAA TOURNAMENT .MICHIGAN VS. TEXAS TONIGHT, 1 3 te 'M' opes to. Traylor to dress, may play By Paul Barger Daily Sports Writer One year ago the Michigan men's basketball team began the NCAA tournament with high hopes. Although the squad man- aged a mere 17 victories during the season, many felt the Wolver- ines had the talent to make things exciting. Now, after a similarly disappointing regular season, Steve Fisher leads Michigan (20-11) into the tournament against Texas (20-9) tonight. No one is sure what to expect, and many wonder if the Wolverines will be able to do what they could not do last year - advance past the first round. Michigan will be trying just about everything. Freshman Ro ert Traylor, who was thought to be out for the season with a brok arm, will dress for the game and at least go through TotIh warmups. His cast came off U"g " game yesterday. Who: No. 7-seed Michigan Fisher said he doesn't ex- VS. No. 10-seed Texas pect Traylor to play, but he When: About 10:30 tonight also said "stranger things Where: The Bradley Center, have happened." Milwaukee. On paper, Texas appears AtA firstround to be a very difficult first- Midwest game round opponent. Much of the Longhorns' success begins with 6-foot-6 junior guard Reggie Freeman. Freeman averaged 22.8 points-per game and 3.9 assists per games to lead Tom Penders' squad. "Reggie Freeman is one of the premier players in the country," Fisher said. "He can score from lng, long range. If you come out to guard him, he'll beat you off te dribble." Texas often uses a three-guard set that usually features Free- man, senior Lamont Hill (9.9 ppg) and freshman DeJuan "Chico" Vazquez (6.1 ppg). While the Longhorns' strength lies in their quick guards an good perimeter defense, it is not as strong down low. The oth two starters on the team are 6-foot-7 senior Sonny Alvarado and 6-foot-5 freshman Kris Clack. Clearly the lack of height will hurt the Longhorns again t Michigan big men Maurice Taylor and Maceo Baston.4 - However, the Longhorns can flat-out score, averaging8.9 ppg as a team. They scored at least 80 points 17 times this season and won all 17 games. The least amount of points they ever scored ii a victory was 69. If the Wolverines can knock off Texas, they will likely face Wake Forest and All-American Tim Duncan Sunday. The Demon See TEXAS, Page 1 Maceo Baston and Michigan must dunk Texas tonight if they want to play on Sunday in the second round. p 1 I ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MEDICATION RESEARCH STUDY: If you are a healthy,18-50 year old male, and your weight is between 110 and 220 pounds, you may qualify for a medication research study. You must not have a history of: You must not: * Ulcers * Take daily prescription medications 9 Allergies to Aspirin or Ibuprofen Payment for completing this study is $2,422.00. For more information, please call Ann or Barb at (313) 996-7051, Mon. - Fri., 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis, Community Research Clinic, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. 7th Annual Spiritual Seminar at UM Sponsored by Students In Christ March 22-24 Theme: CHffISTI9U1A EYI/DE QCES Speaker: Dr. Patrick Mead, Morgantown, West Virginia Friday, 7:30pm- "Something IS Out 'There"at 1220 S. UNIVERSITY DR., STE. 208 ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 313-998-0200 httpAvww.ciee.og/cts/ctshome.htm EURILPSSS ISUD O-T, 0 OT JONATHAN LURIE/D Ily Michigan freshman Robert Traylor, who was thought to be out for the season with a broken arm, will be dressed tonight - In uniform, not street clothes. No matter what your place ,: looks like - you can find a: