The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - inuary 12, 1998 - 3B Q&A: Amani TQomer A Toomer Former Michigan star Amani Toomer talks about adjusting to life in the NFL and his movie debut in Jerry Maguire' JOHN Just two years ago, Amani Toomer; a Wolverine senior receiver at the time, was preparing for football Saturdays and teaching the under- classman the ropes of the college game. During his four seasons with the Wolverines, Toomer stacked up 143 receptions, leaving him second all-time, behind only the 161 grabs by Anthony Carter (1979-1982. During his time at Michigan, Toomer returned punts for the Wolverines as well - taking two in for scores. bomer is still making receptions and returning punts for touchdowns, but now he is doing it on Sundays as a member of the New York Giants. And in only his second year in the league, Toomer is now on the learning end as ie is taught by the veterans on his team. One of his best teachers is Giants receiver and Michigan alum, Chris Calloway (1987-1989). Now the two former Wolverines, along with a third Michigan play- e, Tvrone Wheatley, lead the NFC East ch a m p io n Giants. The Daily's Jordan Field spoke with Toomer at a Giants game earlier this sea- son against the Detroit Lions in. which both he and Calloway reached the endzone. The two spoke about Michigan athletics, the Michigan contingency on the Giants and Toomer' movie debut in Jerry Maguire. Daily: Coming back to the metro Detroit area to play the Lions, did you and teammates Tyrone Wheatley and Chris Calloway have any extra incentive to play hard? Toomer: We definitely wanted to up our play. We talked about it dur- ing the week, and we wanted some- thing to happen. It just worked out that everything fell in our favor. People in Detroit and from U of M don't get to see all of the Giants games, so this was an opportunity for all of my friends that are still in Ann Arbor to see us play. It's a good feeling coming back here. I not originally from around here, so I don't really have family coming to the game, but I know that there are people from the University that came here to see us play. D: How important is it for every Michigan football team to get to the Rose Bowl'? T: It is definitely the ultimate goal every year. Every Wolverine wants to get to Pasadena no matter what. D: It sounds like you're pretty familiar with the Wolverine schedule. Have you followed Michigan football since leaving? T: I always catch the games on Saturdays. Any chance I get, I sit down and watch Michigan play. It's fun to watch them play because they play with such emotion and with such fire under them. I haven't been back at all, but I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again. D: Here with the Giants, you have a couple teammates that played at Michigan. What about the other guys who you played with in school - do you still see them or speak with them? T: Well we played against Derrick Alexander and the Ravens and it was good to see him. He is still doing his thing, and he'll going well down there. It's always fun to see those peo- ple and to play against them. I'm planning on going over to the Lions lockeroom to see Coach (Gary) Moeller in a few minutes. As far as the guys we have here, I've really learned a lot from Calloway. He's old school at this point, and he really knows so much about the game. I always ask him questions, and he's always willing to help me. It's defi- nitely a good relationship between us here. I couldn't get to the endzone fast enough after his touchdown to grab him and celebrate. D: You may have heard there is a lot of controversy surrounding the Michigan basketball program as well as the Athletic Director's office. What are your feelings about the whole sit- uation, and what was your experience as a student athlete at the University? T: I never ever experienced any type of booster donations when I was in school. I really feel that a big part of that is isolated to the basketball program. Any of the minor allega- tions when I was in school tended to be from the basketball program. I really feel that the University of Michigan is a class school, and I think that it is unfortunate that stu- dents are put in the situation that there are and it's unfortunate that things did happen. But I'm sure the program will be able to handle the problems and move on. D: What are you best memories as a student-athlete at the University? T: Probably beating Notre Dame my junior year on the last-second field goal by Remy Hamilton, beating Penn State in Penn State the first time we visited Happy Valley. There were so many good memories and so many things that I am thankful for that came from being a student at U of M. D: Would you say you still have important ties to the Michigan foot- ball program? T: Well, you're always a part of it. I watch every game, try to keep an eye out for anyone else from the University. Everyone on this team knows I went to Michigan and every time something happens there, people rub it in and tease me, but we haven't lost a game yet, so no one is on my case yet. D: We've talked about Michigan and the NFL, but what I really want to know about is what was your experi- ence acting in your first movie, "Jerry Maguire?" T: I can't believe you recognized me. It was a lot of waiting. We waited for hours, and I wasn't even in it for that long. I hate to have to see how long the real actors wait. I was in the hotel room for almost two days just watching TV I don't see how they do it, because it was really boring sitting around. Actors must have a lot of hob- bies. It was fun though. To see my face on the screen, it was just a quiet thing, but it was fun. - For questions or suggestions about future or past Q&A s, Jordan Field can be reached via e-mail at jmfield i~umich. edu. LERI Out of Bounds Turco J accomplisvhments are something eard ometimes even your closest friends can be your harshest critics. At least that seems to be the case for Michigan goaltender Marty Turco, whose teammate and close friend Matt Herr told him earlier this year that Turco had no chance of breaking the NCAA career wins mark. Shows you how much Herr knows. Friday, just 24 games into the season, Turco. scratched and clawed to his 112th win, breaking former Wolverine Steve Shields' four-year-old record. And while nobody can diminish the magnitude of his accom- plishment, Turco sure tried. "It's nice to get it over with and shift the focus to winning games," Turco said after Friday's 4-2 victory over Bowling Green. "It wasn't a dream come true, but the moment was self-gratifying considering where I come from and what has made me what I am today." The moment was also a testament to the premier program that coach Red Berenson has transformed Michigan into from the shambles that shackled it a decade ago. Marty Turco did not build Michigan into a dynasty. Shields and Waren Sharples had a much larger hand in that. Turco was able tride the program's coat- tails of success. He was fortunate enough to win the starting spot at the beginning of his fresbman season when Al Loges provided little competition. He was lucky enough to play, behind three of the most talented college hockey teams ever assembled. But Turco's achievements cannot be attributed to luck. He has talent - a lot of it. His bio is studded with crowning achievements: an NCAA championship, a 52-save performance in a triple-overtime loss to Maine in the 1995 NCAA semifinals, and All-America honors in 1997. And what makes Turco's newest record so great is that he was around to break it in the first place. The Wolverines lost the best recruiting class in college hockey history at the end of last year. Jason Botterill, Brendan Morrison, Mike Legg, John Madden, Warren Luhning, Blake Sloan, Harold Schock, Chris Frescoln and Peter Bourke left behind a solid, but less intimidating, lineup in Ann Arbor. Michigan's defensive corps took the biggest hit. Junior Bubba Berenzweig and sophomore Sean Peach were the only truly experienced blueliners Michigan had left. You can see why Herr was so skeptical. The prognosis was not good. The Wolverines were picked to finish in the middle of the CCHA, a place they had not resided since a fourth-place finish in 1990. Turco could have easily left for the NHL. But he stayed in Ann Arbor :o finish his senior season and get his degree. Forget the critics (with the possible exception of Herr), Michigan hockey is not dead, Turco thought. And with a crop of inexperienced defensemen and many of Michigan's snipers lost to graduation, Turco has led the Wolverines to the top of the CCHA at the season's halfway point. His credentials are outstanding. His accomplishments are nothing short of incredi- ble. His perseverance and dedication broke Shields' record. Luck had nothing to do with it. And while Turco has never laid claim to the place in history that Shields has-it is time to recognize that Turco's place may be even more special. He has taken the Wolverines to heights that have never before been reached. He didn't turn this prq- gram around, but he helped build it into a dynasty. "I'm a part of this program," Turco said, "a part of this institution that has provid- ed me with so much since the day I stepped on campus. I'm more thrilled for this program when you look back and see what coach Berenson has brought this pro- gram .from, accumulating all these wins and creating such high expectations." Now Turco has created even higher expectations for the Michigan program, and that deserves to be admired. It was tough to follow Sharples and Shields and even more difficult to raise the lofty bar that they set. But Turco has brought the Wolverines a national championship, and with it respect and admiration throughout the country. And for that, we owe Marty Turco a lot. - John Leroi can be reached via e-mail atjrleroi@umich.edu. I I -'; ,1 The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHAT'S HAPPENING I rw.pub.umich.edu/daiy/ Intramural Basketball Officials Needed!! NOTICE: NEW RESIDENCY GUIDELINES In July 1997, the Regents approved new Residency Guidelines to replace the current Residency Regulations. The Guidelines take effect beginning Spring Term 1998. The new Guidelines provide more thorough information regarding students' rights and responsibilities with regard to their residency status. The Guidelines can be obtained from the Residency Classification Office at 1514 LSA Building, 313/764-1400, or they can be viewed at http://www.umich.edu/~regoff/resreg.html. * No Experie Necessary * Officials ar Paid for All Games Work nce e e d .e ed Get a Free Shirt oFlexible Hours The INTEFLEX PROGRAM welcomes back to campus one of its distinguished graduates I A- - "/'1t .