N. . UOix £tcmtgn 1aitg MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL BALTIMORE 6, Cleveland 5, Gm. 1 Cleveland 4. BALTIMORE 1, Gm. 2 N.Y. YANKEES 7 Boston 6 MILWAUKEE 11, Chi Sox 10 Kansas City 11 TEXAS. 9 Minnesota at ANAHEIM, inc Detroit at OAKLAND. inc. Toronto at SEATTLE, inc. PHILADELPHIA 2 N.Y. Mets 1, Gm. 1 PHILADELPHIA 2, N.Y. Mets 1. Gm. 2 Colorado 7, FLORIDA 1 PITTSBURGH 5, Montreal 4 ATLANTA 5 San Francisco 4 Cincinnati 4, CHI CUBS 1 San Diego 4, HOUSTON 3 Los Angeles at ST. LOUIS, inc. PRO FOOTBALL DALLAS 21, Philadelphia 20 ~0 Tuesday September 16, 1997 10 Golfers place 9th in Twin Cities Carras pleased with Vernick's play By Kevin Rosenfield and Rick Harpster For the Daily 'After losing 60 percent of its team to graduation, the Michigan men's gOlf team entered its season-opening tournament in Minneapolis faced with many questions. A young, inexperienced team matched against a long, difficult course and a top-notch field pro- duced somewhat predictable results t- the two-day ReliaStar Collegiate hvitational. Despite a strong final day of com- ,petition, the Wolverines failed to gain ,any ground on the 12-team field, yes- terday, finishing the tournament in ninth place, 34 strokes behind the leader. Tournament host Minnesota emerged on the final day to win the 54-hole event with a team score of 855. Louisiana State, the 36-hole leader, finished second, with an 863. "With four top 20 teams, this is as tough a field as we'll face all year," Michigan coach Jim Carras said. "It's a respectable start for a team with little experience. Coming into the tournament, with the exception of Mike Harris, our team was full of question marks, and I think we answered some of those questions this weekend." Junior Kevin Vernick was a bright spot for the young Michigan squad, posting a team low 218 (74-72-72) to finish tied for 15th overall. Vernick's performance was especially impor- tant on a team desperate for someone, besides veteran Mike Harris, to emerge as a leader. "Kevin has arrived," Carras said. .He's been working hard and has improved tremendously. He will be someone we can count on as the sea- son progresses." Sophomore Mike Harris, the lone returnee from last season, posted a 221 (73-73-75) to finish tied for a28th Senior Keith Hinton finished at 223 (76-74-73), while freshman Scott Hayes posted a 229 (73-82- 74). Mike's younger brother, fresh- 'man Kevin Harris, rebounded from a poor first day to finish at 237 (80- 84-73). "It was a tough situation for a 17 year-old who just arrived on cam- pus," Carras said. "Yet Kevin really battled back and seemed to find his own comfort level." Michigan returns to action in two weeks, competing in the Northern Intercollegiate beginning Sept. 27 in East Lansing. Avoiding a letdown,- Carr 's first concern Coach pleased with freshmen's performance By Alan Goldenbach Daily Sports Editor Michigan has been down this road before, even this early in the season. A big victory over a highly ranked opponent shoots the Wolverines up in the polls only to make them a larger target for the next opponent. That leaves the door open for an underdog to hand Michigan a surprising and resounding defeat, bringing talk of letdowns and disappointments. A No. 8 spot in the Associated Press poll after a victory over its fifth-straight top-10 opponent has the Wolverines primed for a fall. And that is Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's biggest concern heading into this weekend's affair with Big 12 cupcake Baylor. But Carr admits that he cannot implant maturity in his players' heads. "As a coach, you don't have any control over what the players think," Carr said. "You do have an influence and they have to be mature enough, responsible enough and smart enough to under- stand that when you look past someone, when you think about all the good things being said about you, when you're not in the present, when you're not taking care of taking care of today, tomorrow has a way of going south." Last year, Michigan fell prey to a pair of let- downs. After a 38-9 shellacking of UCLA ran Michigan's record to 4-0, a 16-0 fourth-quarter lead at Northwestern wasn't enough, and the Wolverines fell apart in the final 15 minutes, losing 17-16. Two months later, after racking up 45 points against Michigan State, the offense drew blanks against Purdue for the second year in a row, drop- ping a brutally painful 9-3 decision in West Lafayette. "We have guys that learned that lesson a year ago;" Carr said. "We came off a great win, and went down to Purdue and were not ready to play." Carr also addressed Michigan's high ranking in the new polls. The Wolverines are ranked ninth in the USA Today/ESPN poll released Sunday. "We don't know how good Colorado was," Carr said, "and because of that we certainly don't know how good we are. When you look at polls, they mean absolutely nothing. "All you have to look at is the number of teams in the top 15 who have already been beaten. Those preseason polls serve one purpose: They are great for the enthusiasm they create about college foo ball. Until you get to the middle of the season, th they mean a little bit. But none of them are fool- proof and perfect in terms of who is the best team.' HEY YOU, GET IN THERE: With the game in hand by the middle of the third quarter, Carr was able to afford a number of freshmen a rare opportunity - significant playing time against a top-10 team in their first collegiate game while on national televi- sion. "The great news is that we got to play a'lot of people in a game that normally you're fighting win right to the last minute of the game;' Car.said. "We got (quarterback) Tom Brady in there fora few snaps in a pressure situation where he is down near his own goal line." And players who were expected to see time any- way, like tailback Anthony Thomas, saw even more time on the field. "Anthony Thomas got nine carries, and that's of major significance because he should be better this week;' Carr said. "He looked very good on two or three cuts he made. I don't think by any stretch of the imagination you saw what he's capable of. 13 he did get to play on national television in a big game. So now he's been there, and next time he's going to be more relaxed" Carr also was pleased to get freshman corner- backs DeWayne Patmon, William Petersoin and James Whitley minutes as well. Patmon, in fact, saw action on the first series of the game. I did help, however, that Michigan was facing a primari- ly passing offense and was without the services of starting free safety Daydrion Taylor. INJURY UPDATE: Taylor and starting centeZ Adami, who both sat out against Colorado; should be all ready to go this weekend. Taylor has been nagged by an ankle injury since the start of fall practice. But with the strong play of the freshmen along with the excellent performance turned in by sophomore Tommy Hendricks, Taylor's absence wasn't as noticeable. Adami, who is shifting to center from right.urd this season, missed his first opportunity to play at his new position. But Carr said resting Adami -should prove to be a good decision come this Saturday "It's a real plus that we didn't have to -play Adami," Carr said. "He couldn't play and that will help him this week." Michigan running back Clarence Williams did not see as much playing time as usual against Colorado. Anthony Thomas took over, giving Michigan coach Uoyd Carr a good look at the freshman sensation. Griese, Steele honored as Big Ten Players of Week Vols' Fulmer: 'It's all or nothing' CHICAGO (AP) - Big Ten football went 10-1 over the week- end, so it's no wonder that six players were honored yesterday. Player of the Week awards went to two Michigan players - quar- terback Brian Griese and defen- sive end Glen Steele lowa's Travian Banks, Purdue's Billy Dicken Indiana's Jay Rodgers and Minnesota's Tutu Atwell join the pair of Wolverines as conference award winners. Griese was 21-of-28, passing for 258 yards and two touchdowns in Michigan's 27-3 victory over Colorado, while Steele had six tackles, four for losses, and two quarterback sacks, including one that caused a fumble. Banks rushed for 314 yards and scored four touchdowns in Iowa's 54-16 win over Tulsa on Saturday. Dicken completed 26 of 38 passes for 352 yards in Purdue's 28-17 upset of Notre Dame. Rodgers, a sophomore, com- pleted 27 of 39 throws for 408 yards and five touchdowns in Indiana's 33-6 whipping of Ball State. Atwell had kickoff returns of 89 and 93 yards for touchdowns as Minnesota beat Iowa State, 53-29. Independent Florida Alligator GAINESVILLE, Fla. (U-WlRE) - Since the Southeastern Conference split into two divisions prior to the 1992 season, the Tennessee-Florida game virtually has determined the Eastern Division crown. Every year except 1992, when the Volunteers beat the Gators, 31-14, in Knoxville, Tenn., the winner of the early-season conference matchup has gone on to win the East Division title. In '92, the Vols dropped three league games in a row against Arkansas, Alabama and South Carolina, handing the Eastern Division title to the Gators. But not since then has Tennessee beaten Florida, losing four straight to the Gators and finishing as run- ner-up in the division all four sea- sons. That is what makes the Florida- Tennessee game so pivotal: The win- ner essentially gets a two-game lead in the divisional race, and nobody knows how tough that is to overcome more than Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer. "It makes it very, very difficult if you lose," Fulmer said Sunday dur- ing his weekly teleconference. "We've proven that the last two years, ending up in the top 10 but yet aren't able to go to the SEC Championship Game, so it's all or nothing. "Our kids understand the impor- tance of this football game. You can't hide that if you wanted to. From a conference standpoint getting to th SEC Championship Game that what it is basically." And that is what most likely will happen this year. The winner gets a shot at the SEC title, and the loser most likely receives an invite to the Citrus Bowl. The Vols have made two consecu- tive trips to Orlando. The Gators, however, have won four straight SEC Championships and played in the last two national title games. Saturday's showdown probably will determine each team's plans for December and January. "We're ready to play now," Fulmer said. "There's not a lot to be done. It's just looking forward to the foot- ball game now and being as good as we can when that time comes." I r __ 7] "We need a steady flow of new talent into our organization to add to our strengths and develop our company's future leaders. That's where you come in." Larry Bossidy, chairman and ($0 - gnaI Wacom.! Feature : Report y: Information No"s FinaciI Iformation 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 f;; +v%,3 ::::y .OF'.. I