dv im*. I . 4
MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL
Divsional Playoff
Schedule
Today
Cleveland at
New York, 8:13 p.m.
(Fox)
Houston at Atlanta,
1:07 p.m. (ESPN)
San Francisco at
Florida, 4:07 p.m.
(ESPN)
Tomorrow
Baltimore at Seattle,
8:07 p.m. (NBC)
Houston at Atlanta,
1:07 p.m. (ESPN)
San Francisco at
Florida, 4:07 p.m.
(ESPN)
Thursday
Cleveland at
New York, 8:13 p.m.
(Fox)
Baltimore at Seattle,
4:07 p.m. (ESPN)
Friday
Atlanta at
Houston, TBA
Florida at San
Francisco, TBA
Saturday
Seattle at
Baltimore, TBA
New York at
Cleveland, TBA
PRO FOOTBALL
San Francisco vs.
Carolina, inc.
Tuesday
September 30, 1997
10.
'M' icers begin practice
with new faces in old places
By Sharat Raju
Daily Sports Writer
For the past three seasons, Michigan
hockey coach Red Berenson knew what
to expect at practice. He knew he had
nine players who needed little direction
and guidance to succeed.
But yesterday at Michigan's first
official practice, when Berenson looked
out on the ice, he didn't have those
famed nine players. Instead, he has nine
new ones who need to be broken in.
"The upperclassmen have to get used
to the fact that there are no Morrisons
or Botterills or Luhnings or Leggs or
Maddens or Sloans or Schocks (of last
year) to lead this team," Berenson said.
And what a change that should be.
Those departed figures guided the
Wolverines to a national title in 1996
and three CCHA championships. So for
the first time since 1993, the
Wolverines are in somewhat of a
rebuilding process.
"It's a start, we've got a lot of work to
do like every other team;' Berenson
said. "Part of it is getting conditioning
down and part of it is for the freshmen
getting used to the style of play of
Michigan."
The Wolverines haven't been com-.
pletely away from the ice, however. For
the past two weeks they have been
working out as a team at Yost Ice Arena,
participating in 'unofficial' practices.
Since no coaches were involved dur-
ing those two weeks, the Michigan vet-
erans directed the flow of the workouts.
"Bill Muckalt and Matt Herr are
already taking a serious leadership
role on this team," Berenson said.
The first day of practice was certain-
ly more intense than the unofficial
workouts. The coaching staff employed
a variety of drills, followed by intense,
fast-moving scrimmage situations.
The coaching staff also arranged the
Wolverines in various lines, none of
which are considered final. In fact, a
few freshmen had the opportunity to
play on lines that consisted of seasoned
veterans.
For the nine newcomers, the pace and
intensity of the first day of practice is
much different than what they've bee
accustomed to.
"Practice went well with a good
tempo, but it was a lot faster today,"
Michigan freshman Josh Langfeld said.
"I learned a whole lot of stuff today and
it's only the first day of practice.'
Although the freshmen might have
been overwhelmed by the level at which
they were expected to practice.
Berenson was pleased with their perfor-
mance and preparation overall.
"I've been impressed with the leveW
of conditioning;" Berenson said. "Our
team has come in real good shape. And
our younger players are probably in bet-
ter shape than our typical freshman
class."
Better physical shape doesn't always
translate into a solid team. In college
sports there is constant turnover--play-
ers graduate and freshmen arrive. One of
the most daunting tasks is to familiarize
See PRACTICE, Page:1$
Michigan captain Matt Herr and the rest of the Michigan hockey team
preparing for the season that begins Oct. 10 in Minnesota.
WARREN ZINN/Daily
began official practice yesterday. The Wolverines are
Carr still in disbelief after Michigan's near crash against Irish
By Alan Goldenbach
Daily Sports Editor
Two days after the fact, Michigan
football coach Lloyd Carr still
seemed to be in shock over his team's
ability to avoid football suicide in
Saturday's victory over Notre Dame.
"I don't ever remember winning a
game where we turned the ball over
three times in the fourth quarter on
the short end of the field, or any end
of the field," Carr said. "That is
something from our vantage point
that we have to get corrected."
Michigan's first three possessions
of the final quarter all ended with
fumbles, two coming on hard Notre
Dame hits and the last one on a poor
exchange on a handoff.
But the offense's penchant for but-
tery hands gave the defense an
opportunity to redeem itself after a
lackluster first half, which saw the
Wolverines allow their first two
touchdowns of the season.
"It was inspiring to see the defense
go on the short end of the field three
consecutive times and play great
football after having a very difficult
time in the first half stopping (Notre
Dame)," Carr said. "I was very con-
cerned at the half because I thought
if our defense didn't do a better job
in the second half, it was going to be
very tired late in the game against a
big Notre Dame offensive line."
The numbers show. Despite being
slightly outgained in total offense by
the Irish by almost a two-to-one mar-
gin in the first half, Michigan's
defense buckled down after halftime,
holding Notre Dame to just 127 total
yards, 100 fewer than the first 30
minutes.
Altogether, the Wolverines were
outgained by the Irish, but Notre
Dame did hold a commanding 35:44-
24:16 advantage in time of posses-
sion. Although the latter fact is often
looked upon as a key to victory, Carr
saw the Michigan silver lining in
those figures.
"When you consider what we did
in 24 minutes, what it took (Notre
Dame) 36 minutes to do, offensively,
we did alright," Carr said.
"Statistically, it wasn't as bad as it
seemed."
CoMMISSIONER CARR SPEAKS:
Carr gave his opinion of what direc-
tion the Big Ten should go in order to
keep up with the nation's top confer-
ences. And it does not differ from the
trend that many collegiate and pro-
fessional leagues are following.
Expansion and playoffs.
"When I look at the schedules, I
think there are some definite advan-
tages that certain teams have and I
think the schedule's going to play a
role (in determining the conference
champion)," Carr said. "That's why,
in my view, I'm hopeful that as soon
as possible we can add a 12th team. I
hope the presidents and athletic
directors are looking in that direc-
tion."
The topic was broached to Carr
when he was asked whether he
thought Michigan got stuck with a
bad schedule this season. According
to last year's opponents' records, the
Wolverines have the toughest sched-
ule in the nation this season.
That schedule was made a whole lot
tougher when perennial Big Ten door-
mats, Illinois and Purdue, were left off
Michigan's schedule this season as the
two opponents that can't fit into the
Wolverines' eight-game Big Ten slate.
This decision was made by a com-
See CARR, Page 12
SARA STILLMAN/Da
Michigan's Chris Howard scampers by with the help of teammate Tai Streets. In Saturday's win over Notre Dame, both the
two Wolverines were Instrumental to Michigan's offensive efforts in the second half. Streets scored a 41-yard touchdown on
the second play of the half, while Howard ran the game out, collecting 73 yards in the final seven minutes.
U El
J O3FA 9
Tuesday, October 7, 1997
Michigan Union
1:00pm - 5:00pm
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