Octopussy
Octopuses are flying off fish-~arket shelves and soon will be flying at Joe
Louis Arena. Most Detroit Red Wings fans are familiar with the tradition b
now. It dates back to 1952, when the first of the eight-armed creatures
was tossed at defunct Olympia Stadium - each arm representing the
number of victories needed to win the Stanley Cup. That now requires 16
wins, the first of which the Red Wings will seek Wednesday night in the
opener of their first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.
w- -w
NCAA forces Spartans
to forfeit football wins
The Associated Press
EAST LANSING-Michigan State
will forfeit all five of its 199- Football
victories because an ineligible player
wasusedPresidentM. Peter McPherson
announced yesterday.
. McPherson said NCAA regulations
*ere violated by an academic adviser
in order to keep a player eligible and
thata technical violation occurred when
N a Florida man gave gifts to recruits.
But McPherson said other allegations
contained in a NCAA letter of inquiry
were unfounded, including that the uni-
versity had demonstrated a lack of in-
stitutional control and monitoring be-
,tween the 1989-90 school year and the
,994-95 school year.
McPherson said he hoped the
university's decision to forfeit the 1994
victories will head off stiffer sanctions
when the NCAA infractions committee
meets June 1-3.
"There is a presumption of a bowl
game when there is a major violation,"
he said, adding athletic scholarships
also could be cut.
The investigation into Michigan
State's football program was launched
in 1994 based on allegations by former
football player Roosevelt Wagner.
The university had refused to release
an NCAA letter spelling out the allega-
tions. But Ingham County Circuit Judge
Lawrence Glazer on Tuesday ordered it
to do so after the Lansing State Journal,
WILX-TV and WLNS-TV sued to gain
access to it.
The university already had imposed
some sanctions on itself for rules viola-
tions regarding the football program,
including cutting two scholarships.
All of the alleged violations occurred
before Nick Saban succeeded George
Perles as head coach after the 1994
season.
M' takes 2 from Purdue
y Mark Snyder
:aily Sports Writer
The Michigan softball team cleaned
up everything but the infield dirt en
route to a two-game sweep of Purdue
yesterday afternoon.
The Wolverines, who had commit-
ted seven errors in their past seven
games, played flawless softball. Defen-
sively, they were on their game in the
two victories.
The Boilermakers, however, were not
as perfect. In the first inning of the
opening game, Michigan's Traci Conrad
singled to start a rally, and took an extra
base on left fielder Jody Meister's er-
ror.
Purdue pitcher Jenny Deno threw two
wild pitches in the frame, and the Wol-
verines capitalized on each one. The
first advanced Conrad to third, and the
second put Cathy Davie in scoring po-
ition.
Meister's miscue started off the mis-
takes, and the problems spread like a
virus. Still in the first, catcher Susan
Denny's attempt to throw Tracy Carr
out on a steal failed. The ball rolled into
center field, setting up a run.
Although Purdue finally closed
Michigan out ofthe inning, the Wolver-
ines were up 2-0 with their leading
winner on the mound.
Sara Griffin set the tone for the game
as she retired the first 11 hitters in
succession. Her dominant outing was
just the opposite of the situation Deno
faced.
After walking Jessica Lang to open
the second inning, Purdue coach Carol
Bruggeman replaced Deno with Sheryl
Scheve. Deno's day was over but not
before she was charged with another
run as Kellyn Tate knocked in Lang.
Although Scheve went the rest of the
way without allowing a run, two wild
pitches of her own seemed to show a
lack of control on the Boilermaker
mound.
Without any more activity, both pitch-
ers set down the opposition, with the
game ending in a 3-0 Wolverine win.
Griffin got the victory to improve her
See PURDUE, Page 13A
y
Thursday
April18, 1996
Central
walksin
victory
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Writer
Just a walk in the park.
Two of them, actually.
Two walks were the difference yes-
terday, as the Michigan baseball team
received a gift-wrapped, 3-2 win from
Central Michigan at Fisher Stadium.
With the bases loaded in the ninth
inning, Chippewa pitcher Phil Rob-
erts walked in the tying and winning
runs for the Wolverines.
Michigan entered the bottom half
of the last frame trailing 2-1. With
one out, Jason Alcaraz and Kelly
Dransfeldt each singled to start things
for the Wolverines. Derek Besco
loaded the bases when his shallow fly
ball to right-center was dropped by
Central Michigan rightfielder Brett
Haring.
The error apparently shook up the
Chippewas' Roberts, who proceeded
to walk the other half of the Besco
connection - Bryan - on four
straight pitches to tie the game.
Then Michigan junior catcher Mick
Kalahar stepped to the plate. Roberts
was a lost cause by then --he walked
Kalahar on five pitches, forcing in the
winning run for the Wolverines and
ending the game.
Of all the walking going on in the
ninth inning, the toughest walk had to
be the one by Roberts - off the field
and into the Central Michigan dug-
out.
For Kalahar, it was the easiest game
winning RBI he'll ever pick up.
"I was pretty lucky," Kalahar said
of his late-inning heroics. "He pretty
much gave it to me. I had to take a
strike, and then when he finally threw
me a strike, I had the hit sign. (Wit-
the count) at 3-1, all I was looking for
was a fastball, but he threw me a
curveball - I don't know why, but he
did, and it was ball four."
The victory puts Michigan's over-
all record on the high side of the .500:
mark for the first time this season:
The Wolverines are 12-4 in the Big-
Ten, 18-17 overall. The loss drops th
Chippewas to 21-11 overall for the
season.
The win was a particularly swee
one for Michigan because the maize
and-blue offense managed just fiv
hits all afternoon. It didn't produc
much - but it did produce when i
had to.
"We weren't swinging the bats rea
well, but Central's a good program,',
Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said
"We're just happy to get a win."
Kalahar, whose 1-3 showing at the
plate kept his season average at .333
agreed with his coach.
"It was kind of a slow day at the
plate, but we hung in there," Kalaha
said. "Our pitchers kept us (in the
game), gave us a chance to put some
pressure on (Roberts), and he cracker
for us."
Although some of the credit for thic
Wolverines' win certainly goes tc
Central Michigan's pitching, ever
more goes to Michigan's four hurlers
who combined to surrenderjust sevet
See CHIPPEWAS, Page 13A
rii 21, 1996
5K Run
4x 1 Mile Relay
2 Mile Walk
,nsors:
n of Kinesiology and
iic Scholarship Fund and
JOSH BIGGS/Daily
Sophomore Derek Besco's triple was Michigan's only extra-base hit yesterday against Central Michigan.
Wolverines'leadoff men struggling
By Will McCahill
Daily Sports Writer
"Just get on base." Something that
one hears from many corners of a
baseball park.
The fans yell it at the players, the
coaches yell it at the players, the play-
ers yell it at each other.
So it should come as no surprise to
even the most casual observer that the
player most likely to receive strong
verbal encouragement to put himself
on the basepaths is the leadoff hitter.
Although the Michigan baseball
team has won 17 of its last 21 games,
getting its first batter of the game to
first base has often been a problem.
First-year skipper GeoffZahnjuggled
the spot earlier in the season as the
Wolverines plummeted to a 1-13 record.
Center fielder Chuck Winters didn't cut
the mustard. Right fielder Brian Bush
fared little better. Putting freshman
Bobby Scales in the leadoff spot as
designated hitter didn't procure the
needed results, nor did sophomore in-
fielder Brian Kalczynski fill the bill.
Now, however, Zahn may have
stumbled onto something. Last Thurs-
day against Detroit Mercy, he inserted
third baseman Mike Cervenak into
the leadoff spot. Cervenak was com-
ing of a blockbuster series against
Minnesota: four hits in a dozen trips
to the plate - including two home
runs in one game - and five runs
batted in.
At Detroit, Cervenak collected two
hits and a walk while driving in three
runs. At last, the leadoff spot was
contributing to the Wolverines' win-
ning ways.
The redshirt freshman did little to
make the team regret Zahn's decision
last weekend against Northwestern,
as he batted an even .500 for the series
(7-for-14), batting in three runs and
scoring four while walking three
times.
Cervenak is no stranger to batting
at the top of the order. "Senior year in
high school I hit leadoff," he said. "I
enjoy it."
Despite the team's early problems,
he said he believes that whoever bats
first is a moot point, given the squad's
current success.
"I don't think it really matters who
we put in leadoff because a lot of guys
are hitting the ball well," he said.
Whatever the case, Zahn said he is
pleased with Cervenak's performance
and plans to keep him where he is, for
the foreseeable future.
"I think he'll stay there," Zahn said.
Cervenak's former spot lower in the
lineup - either the fourth or fifth slot
- is as productive now as it was
before, as other players' bats have
come alive.
"With (Derek) Besco hitting the
way he is (at the No. 5 spot), and
Bryan (Besco) starting to hit, (the
fourth, fifth and sixth) spots are pretty
well set," Zahn said.
"We'll play it by ear," Cervenak
said of the top spot. "It all depends on
what (Zahn) thinks, how he feels."
Replacing the question mark at lead-
off with an exclamation point cer-
tainly takes a lot off Zahn's mind.
With a little less to ponder, he and the
team can now concentrate on staying
atop the Big Ten. With third-place
Penn State in town this weekend, look
for Cervenak to be in the thick of the
action.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
8ly Holmes and the Wolverines threw down Purdue twice yesterday.
WHO WANTS
A REALLY COOL JOB?
"I1 do.'"
. a
"Eat and Meet"
Alumni Day for Seniors
What it is:
Part of Senior Days '96
Network with Atumni from around the country
Discuss career (ocations
Career advice
Frm frrnA