StI ~a~ MEN'S HOUSTON 104, BASKETBALL Cleveland 84 Connecticut 74, SAN ANTONIO 97, Arkansas 64 Orlando 93 PRO LA Lakers 102, BASKETBALL VANCOUVER, 98 (C OT) Ottawa 3, FLORIDA 2 NEW JERSEY 4, NY Rangers 0 Hartford 5. TAMPA BAY 2 Los Angeles 1, ST. LOUIS, 2 Toronto 1, PHOENIX 1 (OT) PRO BASEBALL PHILADELPHIA 6, Detroit 1 Chicago White Sox 6, BOSTON 1 MONTREAL 5, Baltimore 1 TORONTO 5, Pittsburgh 4 S Chicago 96, TORONTO 83 Atlanta 103, LA Clippers 88 PRO HOCKEY NY Islanders 6, BOSTON 3 Friday March 28, 1997 8 - I .Nit The Michigan basketball team defeated Florida State to win the NIT while the defending national champion hockey team fell to Boston University in the NCAA semifinals. CHASE WIT 0 i01 It Icers a symbol of success despite loss One word for Blue: champions By Andy Knudsen Daily Sports Writer MILWAUKEE - The only people giving Boston University a chance this week were the Wolverines. Why? Because they know from past experience how hard it is to win games in the NCAA tournament. Michigan has had seven consecutive -30,win seasons but has lost in the semi- finals four times in the past six years, ith a quarterfinal loss in 1993-94 to Lake Superior. After Michigan won the national championship last season, the fans and media seemed u - Q to forget how dif- ficult it really is to win a national <{ championship. People forgot that Michigan was r not the favorite to f win last season. And that nothing goes exactly like it's supposed to in sin- gle-elimination tournaments. "When you get to this point in the sea- son, you have to be playing your best," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We obviously didn't play our best game.' Boston has been on a hot streak, very similar to Michigan last year. The Wolverines have been well-pre- pared for every game this season, and last night was no exception. "I think we were mentally ready to play," defenseman Harold Schock said with teary eyes. "It was the most impor- tahi thing in everybody's life on our team this week, and for the majority of this season - to win this tournament.' The shocked and dejected lockerroom last night showed the importance of the game to the Wolverines. "We just didn't have that edge with the puck tonight," Berenson said. "Our good chances were going astray, and we weren't as sharp as we need to be." It has been said all year that the season would be a failure without a national title. Ridiculous. No team has repeated as national champion since Boston in 1971 and '72. A streak like that doesn't last 25 years by coincidence. "These kids aren't machines," Berenson said. "They've lived up to expectations until this one game." Expectations of a championship from the first day of practice are foolish. A sullen Brendan Morrison knew his team couldn't consider itself a failure. "We can't walk out of here with our heads down," Morrison said. "We made a good run at it this year. Unfortunately, things didn't work.out in the end." Morrison and his class of nine seniors have taken Michigan hockey to its high- est level in three decades. They became the first class ever to win four regular-season CCHA champi- onships. They brought the national title back to Ann Arbor for the first time in 32 years and raised the program's already high standards. Many will say last night's 3-2 loss in the semifinals is a continuation of a post- season jinx. And many will say Michigan still can't win the big game. But how can a program that has fin- ished third or higher in the nation in five of the past six years be considered any- thing but a success? While it may have taken consecutive titles for this team to historically go down as a dynasty, Michigan fans should have nothing but fond memories of this senior class and Michigan hockey in this decade. NEW YORK - Champions. It's a sweet-sounding word, three syl- lables that athletes and coaches at every level put their hearts and souls into, spill blood, sweat and tears to be able to utter. And after last night's 82-73 victory over Florida State in the NIT champi- onship game, it is a word that aptly fits the Michigan men's basketball team. Never mind the fact that it's not the NCAA title. Forget all the speculation about violations. For the Wolverines, none of that matters - W they have them- selves a national MCCAHILL championship. Whatcha talkin' The Wolverines 'bout Willis? have been playing inspired ball since being denied entry to the Big Dance, and now the Wolverines are savoring the fruits of their labors. And they deserve it. It's been a tough year for the team, for coach Steve Fisher down the line. There were times when the team's emo- tions were lower than the chilliest Midwest winter temperatures. And although that's not been forgotten, win- ning the NIT has given the Wolverines a large measure of redemption. You could see the relief on the play- ers' faces as they cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden last night, as they donned their NIT championship hats and t-shirts. After watching Minnesota cut down the Crisler Arena nets, the Wolverines got to cut down some of their own, got to exorcise some of the demons that would've made the off-season colder and bleaker than any Ann Arbor winter. It was a happy bunch of Wolverines on that floor last night, and it was a good thing to see. The difference between last night fnd late in the Big Ten season - during Michigan's five-game skid - was night and day, and you couldn't have wished it for a better group of guys.,t was tough to cover this team wherrthey were losing, tough to see the players hang their heads, scowling at their* shoes after another tough loss. But the Wolverines came to New° York to win, to take a big bite out of the Big Apple, and they did. And nobody was more personally" responsible for the tournament run than sophomore center Robert Traylor, who was named the NIT MVP. After scoring a career-high 26 against Notre Dame to get Michigan New York, Traylor kept pouring itor' kept on going and going like a giant Energizer bunny. Last night he equaled his career high and added 13 boards for good measure. He played huge down the stretchforp- ing a key turnover by Florida State guard Kerry Thompson, then blockaing a 3-point attempt by Thompson that would've cut Michigan's lead to five with 33 seconds remaining. Another huge game from the bid . The MVP trophy would've looked funny in anyone else's hands. Fisher is off to Florida for a vacation, and after all he's been through this year - both with the team and at the hands of the media - he deserves one. The Wolverines could have stayed home, they could have turned down the NIT's invitation, or they could have half-heartedly accepted the bid, then made a hasty and disappointing exit. to Fisher's credit that they didn't. T Wolverines said they were in the NTh for a title and nothing less, and now they have the hardware to prove it. So enough with the shoulda's, woul- da's and coulda's. Enough with the what-ifs. Only four teams in the cQ1g- try are playing further into March than the Wolverines. Michigan deserves some congratulations. Don't sully the team's achieveme iit with hypotheticals. Give the Wolverins their due. Because they're something that most college basketball teams aen't. Champions. - Will Mcahill can be reached ave e-mail at wmcc@ umichedu. PRINTING LOWEST PRICES! HIGHEST QUALITY FASTESTSERVICE 1002 PONTIAC TR. * 994-1367. SARA STILLMAN/Da4!y NIT Most Valuable Player Robert Traylor was all hugs after the Wolverines defeat- ed Florida State, 82-73, last night to win the NIT. Traylor tied his career-high with 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds In the win. He also forced a turnover and made a key block down the stretch to seal the game for the Wolverines. The University of Michigan School of Music Friday, March 28 Faculty Recital Margo Halsted, carillonist A concert of American music Burton Memorial Tower; 7:15 p.m. Tbesday, April 1 Faculty Discussion "Music, Emotion and Imagination" by Marion Guck 1524 Rackham, 12 noon. Guest Master Class "Living Dangerously on the Horn" by David Kaslow Denver University Britton Recital Hall, E. V. Moore Bldg., 5:30 p.m. Campus Philharmonia Orchestra Chris Younghoon Kim & Adam Glaser, conductors McIntosh Theatre, E. V. Moore Bldg., 8 p.m. Arts Chorale Hugh Ferguson Floyd, conductor Hill Auditorium, 8p.m. Thursday, April 3 Music Engineering Seminar Series "Wavelet Signal Processing of Digital Audio with Applications in Electro-Acoustic Music" by Corey Cheng, University of Michigan 2039 E. V. Moore Bldg., 4:15 p.m. Jazz Ensemble Ellen Rowe, conductor John Clayton, bassist/composer Ed Sarath, keyboard Sachal Vasandani, vocalist " music of Clayton, Sarath, Rowe and others Rackham, 8 p.m. Stearns Collection Virginia Martin Howard Lecture "Exploring West African Music: Atsiagbekor, Ritual Music from Ghana/Togo" by David Locke, Tufts University i7m5u.u LLecture notes sold at Grade A Notes, second floor of Ulrich's Bookstore and also at Michigan Book & Supply. M an Call 741-9669 for more information. 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