MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Chicago White Sox 9, TEXAS 2 Kansas City 4, BALTIMORE 1 Detroit 11, TAMPA BAY 6 Cleveland 10, SEATTLE 9 N.Y. METS 1, Philadelphia 0 San Diego 10, CINCINNATI 2' ATLANTA 2, Milwaukee 1 ST. LOUIS 6, Los Angeles 0 FLORIDA 11, Chicago Cubs 6 San Francisco 9, HOUSTON 4 (13) Colorado at ARIZONA, inc. NHL HOCKEY WASHINGTON 5, N.Y. Islanders 2 PHILADELPHIA 3, Chicago 2 ftbe Bd jiim 04v~ rraIldg 'M'teams For the second day in a row, the Michigan baseball i team's talents will be on display here in Ann Arbor. This afternoon's game against Detroit begins at 3 p.m. at Fisher Stadium. Wednesday April 1, 1998 19 Trayor knows rik/t time to go ETROIT - The military official usted the flags in the confer- ence room so everythingwould ~e perfect. Potted plants were set out to add an effect of comfort, but little could disguise what was about to occur. And Robert Traylor - despite his stated hesitations - followed through as expected "I'm going to leave college early to enter the 1998 NBA Draft," Traylor said, unflinching in his resolve. To a casual observer - and in the midst of 75-degree March tempera- tures, it was assuredly casual - Traylor's announcement beckons sad- ovi ng { - f. ness. After all, Michigan is los- ing its best play- er and unques- tioned emotional leader. It is two-time captain Traylor who leads the cheers and serves up the monster dunks. . It is Michigan MVP Traylor MARK SNYDER Mark My Words who slaps teammates on the butt after exciting plays, and waves the towel to incite the Crisler crowd._ It is Traylor whose jersey spurs clothing sales for local merchants. It was Traylor. But as much as it hurts, he must be applauded for his decision. Look how far he has come in just three years. Traylor weighs significantly less than he did when he arrived and is obviously more agile. Over the course of three seasons, he has developed a soft jump shot and moves with the quickest feet this side of Baryshnikov. When he came to Michigan, he was a project, a large man who could dunk over anyone. Now, his aunt Lydia Johnson is chal- lenging that claim. "She said, 'I bet I can name three guys in the NBA you can't dunk on,'" said Traylor, referring to Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutumbo. "But I don't care." And therein lies Traylor's greatest strength - aside from his massive arms. The man has unimaginable confi- dence and lets nothing stand in his way. I discovered this the hard way as the 300-pounder hurdled me on his way to hug his grandmother after the Big Ten Tournament. His family remains at the heart of his decision and will continue to play a role as the NBA experience develops. An entourage of family members - 13 people of differing ages, sizes and surnames -joined Traylor at the front table as a show of support and a demonstration of the unity of his extended family. But while Traylor's eight-year-old brother, Walter Glover, shied away from the television lights, the former Michigan man embraced the spotlight and discussed how obstacles wouldn't hinder his cause. "When you have a chance to achieve a goal, you can't let roadblocks stand in your way," Traylor said. And he's speaking from experience. The allegations, incidents and acci- dents of his career read like a laundry list of emotional baggage - all of which he has overcome. Compared to that, the pros must be the easy life. Just ask Maurice Taylor. - Mark Snyder can be reached via e- mail at msnyder@umich.edu. Postseason sh ows true team colors By Fred Uank Daily Sports Writer Before the season, Michigan captain Matt Herr warned that the Wolverines might lose 10 games in the first half of the seaon, but when it came time to perform at the end of the season, the Wolverines would be ready. Contrary to Herr's warning, the Wolverines played well in the early part of the season. But toward the end, it didn't look like the Wolverines were playing the kind of hockey they needed to win a championship. With the CCHA regular season title on the line, the Wolverines lost three of their final six regular-season games. And once the playoffs began, the Wolverines weren't playing their best, either. After surviving their first-round matchup against Notre Dame, the ------------- Wolverines looked terrible Hockey in losing to Ohio State, 4-2, in the CCHA semifinals. Commentay And to make matters------------- worse, heading into the NCAA West Regional last weekend at Yost, defenseman Sean Peach was sidelined with a concussion. So, coming into the NCAA Tournament, most people didn't expect the Wolverines to do much. They weren't "peaking at the right time," many observers said. But like most cliches, "peaking at the right time" doesn't mean a whole lot. Against North Dakota on Saturday, the Wolverines played their best game of the sea- son and pulled out a victory in a game few expected they could win. So now, instead of being destined for failure, the Wolverines are being cast as one of the sur- prise teams of the NCAA Tournament. But the truth is, Michigan is not much dif- ferent this week from what it was a week ago. As Berenson has said time and again this sea- son, the Wolverines aren't much better than anyone else, but they're not much worse, either. , And so Michigan's fate will depend on how well they do the things they need to do to win. This time of year, nothing matters but how well a team plays in each game. Against Ohio State, the Wolverines didn't have their heads in the game. Usually reliable players like Bobby Hayes and Marty Turco made terrible giveaways, leading to two Ohio State goals. Forward Bill Muckalt missed the net on several power-play chances, and the See HOCKEY, Page 12 0 4 MARGARET MYERS/Daily Marty Turco's primary responsibility tomorrow will be to stop pucks Instead of opposing players. In order to defeat New Hampshire and advance to Saturday's NCAA title game, Turco will need to once again be at the top of his game. Tei1ers ' Dru'ry ends career on low note C' The Daily Free Press (U-WIRE) -- Chris Drury was the last player out of the Boston University lockerroom before the start of overtime last night. He glided over to Boston's net, twice skated in a circle to the right of goalie Michel Larocque, and, as he does before the start of every period, tapped his goalie on the pads with his stick before heading to the faceoff circle. He didn't know it then. Neither did his team- mates. And the Terrier fans that made the trek to Albany, N.Y., for the NCAA East Regional Final against New Hampshire would not have believed it, either. But, in fact, Drury was going through his rou- tine for the last time as a Terrier. There was reason for Boston fans to think otherwise. Just a year ago, in the same round of the tournament, Boston was tied with Denver heading into overtime with the season on the line. Drury came up with the winner that sent the Terriers to the frozen four. Last night, with a trip back to Boston and the FleetCenter at stake, it seemed inevitable that, if not Drury, someone would come up with this year's miracle. But Wildcat forward Mark Mowers scored a shorthanded goal 10:49 into the extra session that snatched the 4-3 win and ended both the Terriers' season and Drury's illustrious collegiate career. "It's tough in general to see all the seniors go," junior defenseman Dan Ronan said. "But playing with Chris Drury - I really don't know what to say. He'll probably go down as one of the best players ever to play college hockey and Boston University hockey." Just where among the many stars that have worn the Terrier uniform Drury stands is a tough question to answer, but his place among the very best will never be questioned. His 113 career goals are the most in team history, and he's third on Boston's career points list with 213. With two assists last night, which brought his career total to 100, Drury also became the first Terrier to record 100 goals and 100 assists in a career. But to him, it's never been about the numbers or the awards. It's been about the joy he got from see- ing 20 of his best friends every day and putting it all on the line with them night after night. "A lot of guys say it, and a lot of NHL guys say it when they're retiring, and fortunately, I'm not retiring yet," Drury said. "But the thing I'll miss the most is the 15 to 20 minutes before and the 15 to 20 minutes after a game or practice,just having See DRURY, Page 12 I -------- '2 N' Baseball edges Western, 7-5 By Jacob Wheeler Daily Sports Writer Sometimes it seemed like the first win would never come. Michigan pitcher Brian Steinbach, who became the team's ace after going 9-4 last year, finally won his first game of the season yesterday, 7-5, over Western Michigan. Opponents on teams much tougher than the Broncos hit Steinbach (1-4) extremely hard in his first four out- ings. But once he threw the opening pitch yesterday, Steinbach had no trouble. Steinbach gave up only five hits in his six innings, never allowing more than one hit per inning. He gave up only one earned run, a solo homer to Western Michigan cleanup hitter Derek Ottevaere. "That's the old Steiney we know," Michigan catcher Mick Kalahar said. "He's keeping the fastball low and get- ting them out with his changeup." The Wolverines (1-3 Big Ten, 8-12- 1 overall) wasted no time giving their pitcher run support, scoring one in the first inning, four in the third and two in the fourth to build a 7-2 lead. Michigan had 13 hits yesterday, but it wasn't the beef of the order that did the damage. Derek and Bryan Besco - the fourth and fifth hitters - went a combined 0-for-10. Instead, Michigan's tablesetters pro- duced the runs. The first three hitters - Scott Tousa, Jason Alcaraz and Mike Cervenak - reached base 10 times against Western Michigan. Tousa and Alcaraz scored two runs apiece. "Tousa's been doing the job all year'" Michigan coach Geoff Zahn said. "Alcaraz is gonna hit, Cervenak is gonna hit. But the Bescos are str gling right now. The other guys are going to have pick them up until (the Bescos) start swinging the bats:' After Steinbach left the game, the Broncos put on their rally caps, string- ing six hits together in the eighth and ninth innings. Western Michigan scored three times in the eighth and later sent the go-ahead run to the plate with two men on base in the ninth. "I was a little nervous, the wayt season had gone," Steinbach said. "A I was confident (we) would get the job done.' FILE PHOTO Matty Herr didn't pitch yesterday, because he was in Boston getting ready for the final four. But the Wolverines managed, as they bucked Western Michigan 7-5. PURSUING A CAREER IN ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION? °I CTGGr n JJGFICCGCCnIP-.~CCC!RL,,p mL,'EC '! -c nJCCGn nJCC Ga.* izA H o u s e (J U Pr.tlng Michig an Athfet!cs .ry I ,...-"..___r-__ i I