UrM iig mz # aiIv
COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
San Diego at
(12) STANFORD, inc.
(21) OKLAHOMA 81,
Texas-Arlington 63
(23) MARYLAND 81,
Cairleigh-Dickinson 70
PRO
BASKETBALL
Boston 122,
TORONTO 109
ATLANTA 98,
Washington 89
ORLANDO 112.
LA. Clippers 94
HOUSTON 95,
New York 84
MILWAUKEE 87,
Detroit 79
Vancouver 100
DENVER, 87
PHOENIX 90
Minnesota 108
Los Angeles 97,
UTAH 92
Dallas at
SACRAMENTO, inc.
PRO
HOCKEY
New York 3,
FLORIDA 1
NEW JERSEY 2,
Calgary 1
Colorado 6,
WASHINGTON 6
Anaheim at
SAN JOSE, inc.
- R -
. 0 .
10.
Wednesday
November 19. 1997
Seeing
red,
getting
ready
, ;
0
- * '
Cooper has
to think of
Michigan _-
everyday
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS - Revenge fuels
most good rivalries, but at Ohio State,
the bitterness borders on obsession. It
has hung over coach John Cooper's
head for years now in the form of a
sign, which stares down at him and his
players as they train each day in the
Woody Hayes Center: "WHAT HAVE
YOU DONE TO BEAT MICHIGAN
TODAY?"
The Buckeyes were unbeaten and
ranked No. 2 under Cooper the past
two ;years before their annual season
finale with the Wolverines, only to
lose, ruining their national champi-
onship hopes. Their situation mirrors
the one they enjoyed from 1971-75,
when they sullied an undefeated
Michigan team's record five times.
But that is no consolation here now,
not with No. 4 Ohio State traveling to
Ann, Arbor this week with the Rose
Bowl on the line again.
Cooper wasn't coach in the '70s.
The legendary Woody Hayes was, and
Cooper's players said he will never
creep from underneath Hayes's shad-
ow in the eyes of Ohio State faithful
until he can accomplish his mission --
beating Michigan - which he has
die, just once in nine seasons.
Nothing else matters. Cooper has
been a finalist for the Coach of the
Year Award each of the past three
years, has finished first or second in
the Big Ten each of the past five years,
and has sent 12 first-round draft picks
to the NFL since 1991. "But the fans
would be happier if we went I-I1 - if
that l was a win over Michigan," right
tackle Eric Gohlston said.
And Cooper has to live with that.
"I'm 1-7-1 against Michigan - in
Buckeyes relish "
underdog role "
By Alan Goldenbach
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS - John Cooper tried
his hand at humor when a reporter asked
him the one question that has nagged
him worse than a bad habit.
"You've done everything here
except ... ," the reporter started.
To which the Ohio State coach replied
with a grin, "I'm 1-7-1 against
Michigan, in case you guys don't know
- in case it hasn't been printed in your
paper this week.
"Sometimes I think, gosh, what is it
going to take to win this game?"
Other than that, Cooper was all busi-
ness at his weekly press conference. In
fact, he is trying to make his team's prac-
tice environment as businesslike as pos-
sible, typical of a week leading up to any
opponent other than Michigan.
There was no talk of any David
Boston quotes; no talk of any Charles
Woodson quotes; no talk of any talk.
Cooper just wants to play some football.
"Why do you think that what one
player says will give the other team an
advantage?" Cooper asked. "That's bull.
"Let's talk about the game."
But that may be too much to ask, since
this is a game that Ohio State students
have been counting down to for more
than a month. Emotions and chatter
weigh pretty heavily among this crowd.
"The Michigan game is everything to
us," Ohio State linebacker Jerry
Rudzinski said. "In the off-season,
you're thinking about it. Lifting weights,
you're thinking about it. Going to class,
you're thinking about it. During spring
ball, all you think about is them because
of what they represent."
What Michigan represents to Ohio
State is a team that has ruined two per-
feet seasons in a row - and in the
process, two shots at a national title -in
its final regular-season game.
Now that the Wolverines have the
The word from
Columbus:
The Michigan Daily was in Columbus
yesterday, hoping to run into some
nutheaded Buckeyes. Other than
John Cooper, a couple of players
voiced their opinions on Saturday's
game - but David Boston was
nowhere to be found. Here's a sam-
pling of what was said:
"They say paybacks are a mother,
and there will be some paybacks on
Saturday."
-- LB Kevin Johnson
"The Michigan game is everything
to us. In the offseason, you're thinkL
ing about it. Lifting weights, you're '
thinking about it. Going to class,
you're thinking about it. During
spring ball, all you think about is
them because of what they repre-
sent."
- LB Jerry Rudzinski
same potential the Buckeyes had, there is
an addition to the laundry list of en
tions stirring in the Ohio State locke
room - revenge.
"They say paybacks are a mother, and
there will be some paybacks on
Saturday" Ohio State linebacker Kevin
Johnson said.
With the Buckeyes in the unfamiliar
underdog role this year, the chances of
exercising that payback and upsetting
the Wolverines exist, especially since the
Buckeyes possess weapons that couJk
give even the top-ranked Michig
defense problems.
Ohio State alternates two quarter-
backs - Stanley Jackson and Joe
Germaine - each with markedly differ-
ent styles. Jackson, the starter, but who
See CONFERENCE, Page 11
Coach John Cooper's Buckeyes have had a tough time beating Michigan recently. Ohio State has defeated the Wolverines just
once in the teams' past nine meetings. Above, Joe Germaine is sacked In last year's 13-9 Michigan victory in Columbus.
case you guys don't know - in case it
hasn't been in your paper yet this
week," Cooper joked with the media
yesterday, before he turned serious. "I
feel bad. Gosh, I ask myself what it's
going to take to win that game. I know
we're not the only school to go
through something like this and that
the cycle will turn.
"But will it turn while I'm here? I
can't answer that."
Ohio State officials had planned it
would. Cooper, ironically, was hired
because of his demonstrated ability to
beat Michigan in big games. As coach
at Arizona State in 1985, Cooper led
his Sun Devils to a 22-15 victory over
the Wolverines in the 1986 Rose
Bowl. So when Earle Bruce was fired
by Ohio State in 1988, Cooper seemed
a logical choice.
As it turned out, his selection paid
off handsomely. Cooper is among the
nation's top recruiters. He bolstered
the Buckeyes' prestige. He has never
been investigated by the NCAA. He
has taken his team to a bowl game
every season but his first, and he's
earned hundreds of thousands of dol-
lars for Ohio State by playing in pre-
season games three of the past four
years. Buckeyes merchandise is in the
See COOPER, Page 11
Two losses to start? It's been a while
By James Goldstein
&aily Sports Writer
The last time the Michigan men's
basketball team dropped two straight
games to open the regular season,
Brian Ellerbe was a rookie.
Not a rookie coach, not even a rook-
ie assistant. Ellerbe - the 34-year-old
coach of the Wolverines - was getting
familiar with Rutgers as a freshman on
campus and was in the early stages of
his collegiate basketball career.
The year? 1981.
Bill Frieder was in his second year as
Michigan coach and forward Thad
Garner was the captain of the team.
The last time Michigan lost its first
two home games was at the beginning
of-the 1967=68 season - Crisler
Arena's inaugural year. A forward
known as "Rudy T" led the Wolverines'
charge.
Curious about the results of those
two seasons? In 1981-82, the
Wolverines went 8-19 and tied for sev-
enth in the Big Ten. In 1967-68,
Michigan's record was 11-13, good
enough for sixth place in the confer-
ence.
Tonight, Michigan will try to avoid
starting the 1997-98 season with a dis-
appointing statistic when the
Wolverines host Cleveland State (0-1)
at 7:30 p.m.
Like Michigan, the Vikings lost in
their home debut. Freshman Theo
Dixon came off the bench to score a
team-high 17 points in Monday's 74-58
loss to Alabama-Birmingham.
Cleveland State has yet to beat
Michigan in seven attempts. The
Vikings came close on their home floor
last year - cutting a 16-point
Michigan lead to two with a minute
remaining - but the Wolverines pre-
vailed, 80-74.
Last Saturday, the Wolverines had an
11-point lead against Western Michigan
with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
But the Broncos capitalized on numer-
ous Michigan turnovers and a 33-point
effort by Saudi Washington to come
back and win, 68-63.
Ellerbe knows that the Wolverines
cannot afford to be sloppy tonight
against a team coached by defensive
mastermind Rollie Massimino.
Michigan turned the ball over 24 times,
16 in the second half, against the
Broncos.
Even in Cleveland State's loss to
UAB, the Vikings forced 24 turnovers,
scoring 26 points off those giveaways.
"I think we are going to see a lot of
different looks," Ellerbe said about
tonight's game. "We are going to see
some full-court pressure, some multi-
ple zone defenses. We are going to see
a lot of changes that are going to try
and disrupt our guards. We'll have to
try to do a good job in recognizing
those things and try to attack them."
With Massimino's constantly chang-
ing defensive styles, the Wolverines'
backcourt will have to hold onto, and
shoot, the ball better than it did against
Western Michigan.
The guard tandem of Robbie Reid
and Louis Bullock combined to shoot
2-of-14 from the field and turn the ball
over six times against the Broncos.
Reid's four turnovers were two more
than his point output in his first regu-
lar-season game as a Wolverine. And
despite going 10-for-10 from the chari-
ty stripe, Bullock was 1-of-9 from the
floor, missing on all five three-point
attempts.
"Louis struggled a good bit," Ellerbe
said. "It was a night where he never
really got things going. We'll just have
to do our best to get him off to a good
start (tonight)."
If it wasn't for Robert Traylor's
team-leading 22 points on 9-of-15
shooting, the Wolverines would have
been in deeper trouble against the
Broncos. Ellerbe said he is pleased
with Traylor's play so far, but wants
him to cut down on the turnovers.
"He had seven turnovers, which takes
away possibly five or six more opportu-
nities," Ellerbe said. "In essence, he
may have had 20 attempts had he not
turned the ball over. And when you talk
about turnovers for a post guy, they're
usually going to take away shots
because they are close to the basket."
fa
SARA STILLMAN/pa
Robert Traylor and the rest of the Michigan basketball team will have to take bet-
ter care of the basketball tonight if they hope to beat visiting Cleveland State. The
Wolverines committed 24 turnovers in Saturday's 68-63 loss to Western Michigan.
Pankratz's program has 'come a long way'
By Evan Braunstein
Daily Sports Writer
For years, the Michigan field hockey team wal-
lowed in mediocrity. It was never really bad, but it
was never that good, either - until this season.
The Wolverines burst out of their shell to cap-
ture their first-ever Big Ten championship, sharing
the title with Penn State. In the process, the team
won a record 15 regular season games, including
The Wolverines lost only five games and were
7-3 in conference play. Coming from a team that
was 35-103-8 in the Big Ten prior to this season,
those conference victories speak volumes about
Pankratz's influence.
The turning point in the season came on the
Sept. 26 matchup against Iowa, a team the
Wolverines had lost to 31 straight times. Flachs
scored the game-winner in a 2-1 victory.
Nevertheless, the season was a huge succe
with the Wolverines setting almost as man
records as they won awards.
Pankratz won Big Ten Coach of the Year honors,
while Flachs, the Big Ten's Offensive Player o ;the
Year, set records for career goals (47) and goals in
a season (29). She scored in 17 of 22 games,
including 10 game-winners.
Gannon won Freshman of the Year honors,,and