Ur tcW#9jiB 1ii scores- MAJOR LEAGUE Seattle 4, BASEBALL KANSAS CITY 3 DETROIT 4 . CHICAGO (AL) 4, Texas 0 Milwaukee 1 Ap A.* New York Yankees 8, BOSTON 6 Baltimore 9, CLEVELAND 3 TORONTO 2, Anaheim 0 Oakland 5 , MINNESOTA 1 Philadelphia 1 New York Mets 0 MONTREAL 5, Pittsburgh 4 CINCINNATI 5, Chicago (NL) 2 Atlanta at LOS ANGELES, Inc. Florida at SAN DIEGO, inc. St. Louis at SAN FRANCISCO, inc. Houston at Colorado, inc. Wednesday September 10, 1997 13 edulig itses bad or college *botball as that a rabbit punch coming from John Cooper at the Michigan football program? The Ohio State coach had some choice words about non-conference schedules, which often make or break a _eam'S season. "I don't know a lot of people who want to go out and play a real tough non.conference schedule because of the strength of the schedule in our con1er- ence," Cooper said. "Some athletic dire6tors want to play tough non- conference sched- ules and some don't." Wonder what (Ochool he had in mind? Hmm. What team plays a non-conference ALAN schedule year in GOLDENBACH and year out that is as tough as they TB oe come by? Just wlho is that little devil Cooper is talking about? Cooper, with all due respect, has *radually improved the rigor of the Buckeyes'non-conference schedule over the years since he arrived in Columbus in 1988. This year he has respectable foes in Arizona and Wyoming to compensate for patsies Bowling Green and Missouri. But Ohio State's first two games last season were against Rice and Pittsburgh, two teams - albeit, compa- able to high school teams - that nenehow got snubbed come bowl time. fAgainst Rice, Cooper politely halted tle bludgeoning at 70-7. The following vek, however, the Panthers weren't so Jacky, getting humikiated, 72-0, because Cooper felt a larger margin of victory was the only remedy for his team's drop in the polls. The Buckeyes actual- ly dropped a spot in the AP poll, from No. 9 to 10, after the Rice game. The victory over the Panthers con- *luded a four-year series Cooper sched- uled with Pittsburgh in which the Buckeyes won at four games by an average score of 57-11. There are three kinds of approaches athletic directors and football coaches take when preparing their non-confer- ence schedules: the bully, the crybaby andthe wannabe . The bully is the one popularized by Cooper, and even more abused by the likes of Florida, which just slaughtered *entral Michigan, 82-6, last weekend. This is the type of schedule where you play teams on which your 5-foot-8 cousin is the starting left tackle and the team nickname is something you'd find in an aquarium. The bully is able to run up ridicuious numbers in games like these: 500 yards rushing, 15 sacks, seven touchdown passes ... in the first half. Then there's the crybaby. This approach is taken by teams like Rice and Pittsburgh, which want the national recognition, but are a couple of players - like Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson - away from getting to that point. So the brilliant athletic directors schedule opponents that can easily tear limbs off your starting quarterback with the hope of gaining national respect when the score is kept to a lower mar- gin than expected. 0 Not surprisingly, Rice and Pittsburgh are still routinely the butt of all jokes when they roll into opposing towns - indicative of this approach not working. Finally, there's the wannabe, the cate- gory in which Michigan seems to fall year after year. This only applies to teams that are good, but not great. You plan a schedule packed with tough opponents. You may win some, you'll robably lose one or two Regardless, the intention here is to show the national pollsters that you have some chutzpah, that you're not afraid to chance a 9-2 record by going up against the nation's best. The goal, ultimately, is to win sympathy points with pollsters. Does it work? Sometimes, but only Griese will be starter Saturday against Buffs By Danielle Rumore Daily Sports Editor Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr announced yesterday that fifth-year senior Brian Griese would start at quar- terback against Colorado on Saturday. "I have decided, and Brian Griese will start at quarterback for Michigan on Saturday,' Carr said. The announcement puts an end to the speculation and questions surrounding whether Griese or junior Scott Dreisbach would start at quarterback for the season opener. The questions began to emerge after the Wolverines', 17-14, loss to Alabama in last year's Outback Bowl. After the loss, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said that he did not want to start a quarterback controversy for next season. Although Dreisbach had started the entire 1996 season, he struggled toward the end and was replaced by Griese for the Outback Bowl. Griese's numbers were good against the Crimson Tide but not stellar, and even though Carr wanted to avoid a controversy, that's exactly what he got. Carr finally made the announcement yesterday, three days after he said that he had reached a decision but declined to release the name of the starter. Griese said that Dreisbach sprainec his right wrist in practice and is wearing a cast that will be removed tomorrow. Griese said that Carr told him he would start over the weekend. "I kind of had a feeling that I wa. going to be the guy," Griese said. "l'c been taking some more snaps in prac- tice, and I felt good about the way I vWas playing. "We (Scott and 1) talk everyday. He's been kind of nicked up, so hopefully he'll be all right for Saturday, if need be." For the past two seasons, Griese and Dreisbach had flip-flopped as the start- ing quarterback. Dreisbach went down with a thumb injury in practice after leading the team to a 4-0 start during the 1995 season. Griese replaced him, and the Wolverines went on to end the season with.a 9-4 record, including a 31-23 win over then- No. 2 Ohio State. But then Griese hit a plateau. In fact, Carr said that he was displeased with Griese's development from the end of that season through the spring. "Quite honestly, I wasn't very pleased with Brian's progression from that point to the end of the season,' Carr said. "I See GRIESE, Page 16 FILE PHOTO Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr announced yesterday that fifth-year senior Brian Griese will start at quarterback against Colorado on Saturday, kicking off Michigan's first game of the 1997 season. Last season, Griese only started against Alabama in the Outback Bowl. Morrison signs multi-year NHL deal with Devils By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Writer Four years later, the New Jersey Devils finally got their man. After selecting former Michigan center Brendan Morrison in the 1993 Entry Draft, the Devils waited and watched as Morrison blos- somed into one of college hockey's best players. And now the Devils can call him one of their own. Morrison inked a multi-year contract with New Jersey yesterday in East Rutherford, N.J. Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello made the announcement. Terms were not disclosed by Morrison's agent, Kurt Overhardt. "The important things is that the negotiations are done and both sides are happy," Overhardt said. Yesterday's announcement by Lamoriello sig- naled the end of the Devils' four-year courtship of the 5-foot-11 Morrison, which started when New Jersey selected him 39th overall in the 1993 Draft. The selection came after Morrison's strong sea- son with the Penticton Panthers, his junior hockey team in British Columbia. He tallied 94 points in 55 games, on the team that lists the NHL's Paul Kariya and Brett Hull as former players. The selection was followed by Morrison's spectacular career at Michigan, where he left his mark as one of Michigan's best players of all time. Morrison won the H obey Baker Award as the nation's top collegiate player for 1996-97, tally- ing 31 goals and 57 assists during his senior sea- son. Morrison capped off Michigan's NCAA cham- pionship run during the 1995-96 season by being named the NCAA tournament's most outstanding player during his junior year. His career totals at Michigan consist of 102 goals and 182 assists for a total of 284 points. Both his assist and point marks are all-time records at Michigan. Overhardt, who had been entrenched in nego- tiations for quite some time, was pleased with the signing - especially since Morrison can now get down to business. "Now Brendan can focus on what he does best, and what he enjoys the most," Overhardt said. "He is primed to be an NHL player, and he's determined to do that this season." And Morrison appears to be right on schedule, as his signing yesterday coincided with the open- ing of Devil's training camp. Morrison may be ready to go, but it is obvious that he will have a number of adjustments to make before he ever steps onto the ice in an NHL arena. Nevertheless, Overhardt has confidence in his young client. "I think he needs to stay on the course he's been on for 22 years," Overhardt added. "I'm confident he'll work his way into the lineup at some point in the year." Morrison joins former Michigan teammate John Madden with the Devils, who signed during the summer as a free agent. FILE PHOTO Former Michigan hockey player Brendan Morrison signed a multi-year contract with the New Jersey Devils yesterday. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Schedule Today, No events scheduled Tomorrow No events scheduled Friday Volleyball vs. Central Florida at Tiger Invitational, Baton Rouge, La., 5 p.m. Soccer vs. Butler, Michigan Soccer Field, 4 p.m. Field hockey vs. Kent State, Ocker Field, 3 p.m. Student life is hectic enough. Wouldn't it be great if you could get the information you need without spending your valuable time surfing the Web? your campus, career tips and grad school information, plus up-to-the- minute world, local and entertainment news from leading sources like CNN, Rolling Stone, E! Online, The New 1