x 4. .~. .-" "' .~ 4~ MEN'S BASKETBALL, MISSOURI 96, No.1 Kan. 94 (20T). No.195. Carolina 84 No. 3 Ken. 79 (OT) No. 10 CLEM. 69, W. Kentucky 55 No. 16 V'NOVA 81, W. Virginia 70 No. 25 IOWA 75, No. 24 Indiana 67 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL No. 4 La. Tech 80, ARK. STATE 59 No. 9 TENN. 78, No. 23 Wisconsin 74 No. 11 LSU 79, S.E. La. 57 No. 16 VANDY 77, S. Illinois 47 PRO BASKETBALL NEW JERSEY 111, Vancouver 105 ORLANDO 111, Indiana 87 CHARLOTTE 115, Minnesota 101 PRO HOCKEY Ottawa 4, BOSTON 3 DETROIT 1, St. Louis 1 N.Y. ISLANDERS 4, Anaheim 3 PHILADELPHIA 1, Buffalo 1 11 Wednesday February 5, 1997 . I 1 - THE BAD AND THE GOOD - Suspensions force State oe frosh to give up redshirt Spartans' fight for title rests with new goalie By Mark Snyder Daily Sports Writer Western Michigan coach Bill Wilkinson must have been salivating at the thought - a Michigan State goal without a goaltender between the pipes. While this may seem to be a far- fetched scenario, it wasn't as unrealistic as one might imagine. Michigan State will have to face Western Michigan on Friday without starting goaltender Chad Alban and backup Mike Brusseau in the lineup. Both are suspended for the game for fighting. If the Spartans lose, they could fall nine points behind Michigan in the CCHA standings. They play Michigan on Saturday at Joe Louis Arena. Immediately following Michigan State's 3-2 loss in overtime Friday at Western Michigan, the problems began for the Spartans. The game-winner for the Broncos had been knocked in by left wing Matt Cressman as time expired in overtime. Michigan State players felt that the goal shouldn't have counted because time had expired, and they began protesting the non-call. MARKR IEDMAN/daily Michigan State's run for the CCHA title has hit trouble. Goaltender Chad Alban and his backup will miss Friday's game. Instead of watching Big Ten hoops on television, Maurice Taylor prefers his soaps. Sweetp Lous sweeter --point parade rewards Bullock with honor Then the teams began pushing each other and six players from each side received game disqualifications - forcing them to sit out of their team's next contest. Unfortunately for Michigan State, two of them were Alban and Brusseau. Michigan State coach Ron Mason has a third goaltender on the roster, but freshman Mike Gresl hasn't played yet this season and was prepared to red- shirt. Forfeiting Friday's game was an option Mason entertained - but not for long. "(A forfeit) was our last resort,' he said. "We could have put a defenseman in goalie equipment if we had to." Michigan State became desperate for a goalie to suit up Friday, and Gresl was faced with a decision. If he chose to play, his redshirt status would be lost and this would count as a season of eligibility. "This situation arose and I told him, 'Hey, it's your decision,"' Mason said. "(Gresl) said, 'I've been working all this (time) and it's my chance to play."' See GOALIES, Page 13 By Danielle Rumore DailSports Editor iey say one is the loneliest number, bat,;Michigan guard Louis Bullock wv od probably disagree. ; )lock was named Big Ten Player of thelWeek after averaging 22.5 points and 4-' Zbounds in wins over Penn State and Miciigan State. It is the second time this season that Bullock was named Player of the Week, becoming the first player since Gray Grant in 1988 to earn the rner twice in one season. I nterestin gly enough, some of Michigan's most notable players since '88 Glen Rice, Chris- Webber and f d Juwan Howard, to name a few - did not achieve the same recognition. "I don't know what t (statistic) says," Michigan coach eve Fisher said. "Lou played excep- tional'(last week). It is nice that he won it, and it's well-deserved. 3ullock has been one of the Wolverines' most consistent players this season, averaging 16.3 points and 2.4 assists per game. Bullock, Michigan's leading 3-point shooter, has buried 131 career 3-pointers. He is just four 3-pointers away from ipsing the Michigan 3-point record setby Rice, who was instrumental in giiaing the Wolverines to their only N:A title, in 1989. N'1l be proud of myself, but I see it as jupart of the game," Bullock said of the-accolade. "I don't think about refirds. It's only a number" st' only a number that would take But ock, a sophomore, not even two full sesons to achieve. The 3-point line was tiuted after Rice's freshman season, -ie had just three years to set the record (1986-89). But Bullock will break the record in less than three sea- sons - a testament to his long-range prowess. Bullock set the freshman record with 70 3-pointers last season, and thus far this season, he has 61 triples, surpassing the school record of 52 threes in one sea- son for sophomore players. A PERFECT 10: Michigan has not won a Big Ten title since 1986, and all eyes have been on this crop of Wolverines to bring the title back to Ann Arbor for the first time in more than a decade. The Wolverines sit at 6-3 in the con- ference, good for a third-place tie with Purdue behind Minnesota (8-1) and Iowa (6-2). So is it possible to chase the Gophers for the coveted title? "It's definetley realistic,' Bullock said. "We know Minnesota will eventu- ally lose in the conference." The Wolverines started Big Ten play at 2-2, after dropping their home confer- ence opener to Ohio State (4-5), which is currently in a four-way tie for sixth place, and then losing at Minnesota. Since that time, Michigan has won its past four of five conference games, los- ing at Indiana, 72-70, on Jan. 21. "Our long-range goal since Oct. 15. was to win the Big Ten," Fisher said. "But I have not lost a lot of sleep over not winning the Big Ten. I have lost a lot of sleep over losing games.". NOTABLE QUOTABLE: Six-foot-nine forward Maurice Taylor says he's super- stitious. But he didn't mention a pre- game ritual or doing warm-ups the same way every game. "I'm superstitous that I don't watch any other Big Ten games," Taylor said. Not even to scout opponents? "I wait until films. I'll watch high- lights on ESPN;" Taylor said. So what does he watch? "I'll watch soap operas before other Big Ten games." Sloan works overtime By Jim Rose Daily Sports Writer For some guys, hockey is life. For other guys, hockey is a part of life. Blake Sloan plays hockey for Michigan. But most people know that. Most people know that Sloan is a senior defenseman, and an assistant captain on the best college hockey team in the nation. Most people know that he is, as coach Red Berenson says, "one of the top defensemen" on the team. But that's just the Blake Sloan that most people know. There is another side to Sloan, and the people familiar with that side are not hockey fans. They are elemen- tary school students, charity organiz- ers and hospital patients. In an age when it seems that the only athletes making the front pages are the ones denying allegations or appealing suspensions, Sloan is the type of athlete you don't hear enough about. He is involved in the University's M-PACT Society, an organization of students trained to help other stu- dents with personal problems. He is a participant in SHARE, in which student-athletes read to area elemen- tary-school children and answer questions. He has been to the cancer ward at C.S. Mott's Children's Hospital. As part of the DARE pro- gram, he has spoken to fifth-graders about the dangers of drug abuse. "It's something that I've always been a part of," Sloan says. "It's a way to give back, and it's also a little bit of a chance to step back and see the kids who are not too privileged. "It makes it seem a little less important if you have a good game or a bad game. It definitely puts things in perspective. "It allows me to realize that my life is pretty darn good." Berenson says that Sloan's activi- ties are even more amazing consid- ering his personality on the ice. "Nobody competes any harder," Berenson .says. "You'd never dream he'd be the one to organize trips to the hospital or participate in other (campus activities). Because when he's around the rink, he's all busi- ness. "But Blake is one player who has been able to participate, and still take an interest and try to do some- thing more than just be a hockey player." As varied as Sloan is in his activi- ties outside of his sport, he makes it clear that hockey isn't just some hobby, not just another event he squeezes in during his spare time. Blake Sloan is a hockey player. "Hockey is a very big part of my life," he says. "But I would say I've used it as a vehicle to establish myself in some other activities. If I was just doing those other things (and not hockey), I think I'd be lack- ing the competitive aspect of my life. Hockey fills that void beautifully." The ironic part of Sloan's story is See SLOAN, Page 12 FILE F Doing much more than skating, Blake Sloan has become a hero to many. T /..# S w ! of ti s -Y Z q:.rr: ' i. " . 3 aq " " '.aY7" '.: :.x Y...w"S'; Z:'.'e1FX. :" a .. . 3 .5.. '. d".: H.. i*..li " :;"C ~ i '.. Y . ., - ..H:- .. Zs D .n'a. ; 4 T .r.' 'L ., ' . q-"'.: . ems.:: y .a E'. :k s. ". . t. :. .'"v:.t , f ,. y " ,,". ms 's a National Public Radio's award-winning weekday talk show is coming to Ann Arbor! Live National Broadcast ===