crbe Airbigan & i PORTS ONDAY We're going to Disney World! Citrus Bowl bid sends 'M' to Orlando By Jim Rose Daily Sports Editor Months of speculation and debate came to a boil yesterday, and for Michigan, the end result - despite a wild final weekend that rearranged the Bowl Championship Series - was actually not much differ- ent from what many fans envisioned weeks ago. Michigan is going to the Citrus Bowl. The Wolverines accepted an invitation yesterday to play a Jan. I game in Orlando, Fla., against Arkansas, the SEC's second-place team. "We're thrilled to death to represent the Big Ten conference," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "All of the other coaches and players I've talked to have had the highest regard for the hospitality they've been extended from the community of Orlando." Arkansas . coach Houston Nutt, who led the Razorbacks to a 9-2 record in his first season as their head coach, echoed Carr's sentiments. "Our players have been pointing to Florida from day one," he said. Citrus Bowl Info "They can't wait to get there, and they're happy Who: Michigan (9-3) vs. to be representing the Arkansas (9-2) Southeastern . Where.rlando, Fla. Conference." When: 1 p.m. ' nene. htV: ABC In recent weeks, it Tickets: ticket information looked as though the Js available from the Wolverines might get Athletic Department's bumped from the Citrus Website at Bowl if Ohio State were wwwmbuecom excluded from the BCS. Acommodations: The But losses by UCLA Orlando Hotel Hotline is and Kansas State on the (4Q7) 423-2476. final day of the season meant an at-large BCS bid was handed to the Buckeyes, leaving the Citrus open for Michigan. Arkansas was faced with a similar situation. Had SEC rival Florida not been selected by the BCS, the Gators would likely have been selected to face the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, bumping the Razorbacks from the picture. As it is, Florida will face Syracuse in the Orange Bowl. Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles said the school had already sold about 12,000 tickets, even before the bowl situation had been decided. "The phone's ringing off the hook right now," Broyles said. "I've got 28 in my family, and I'm bring- ing all of them." Michigan athletic director Tom Goss said his depart- ment did not have a total for ticket sales, but expected to have one later this week. Goss said he expected the University's "large alumni base in the state of Florida" would lead to a strong showing. The Citrus Bowl's executive director, Chuck Rohe, said the area's appeal should be enough to bring both teams to town early. "It's 83 and sunny," Rohe said. "You probably could have played 36 holes of golf down here today." II WARREN ZINN/Daily Tailback Anthony Thomas and the Michigan football team will travel to the Maglc Kingdom for the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1. The Wolverines will play Arkansas in Orlando. No word on whether Mickey Mouse will make an appearance. Bowl, baby, bowli Yesterday, the bowl bids were announced. Here is where everyone plays come Bowl Week: AP PHOTO Leon Jones and the rest of the Michigan men's basketball team was knocked around by Western Michigan yesterday, losing 81-74 to the Broncos. Broncos buck -men'shoops in Kalamazoo By Pranay Reddy Daily Sports Editor GRAND RAPIDS - Roughly a year ago at Crisler Arena, Michigan guard Louis Bullock had trouble getting open looks against Western Michigan in a 68-63 loss. In fact, Bullock's record of 44 straight games with a 3-pointer was broken. But yesterday, in front of 6,685 at Van Andel Arena, Bullock had no trouble getting his shot off against the Broncos as the senior put up a career-high 32 points. Nevertheless, it made no difference, as Western Michigan (3- 3) held off a late rally by the Wolverines (4-5) to upset Michigan for the second season in a row, 81-74. In a game characterized by Michigan's inability to play defense or rebound, Bullock's offense was the only redeem- ing part of anl otherwise Ak hard-to-swallow defeat. ' Western M hIgmn 81 "This was not a good Michigan 74 loss," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said. "Defensively, we didn't make plays. For us to give up 81 points is totally unacceptable. We've got to go back to the drawing board and try and jump-start some indi- viduals to give some more defensive effort. "I can handle missed lay-ups and missed open shots easi- ly on the offensive end, but I can't handle defensive non-pro- duction. To make matters worse, Michigan guard Robbie Reid's shots were misfiring as much as the Wolverines' defense, forcing Bullock to shoulder the offensive load for the major- ity of the game. On the other side of the ball, Western Michigan's trio of Tony Barksdale, Isaac Bullock and Kylo Jones contributed a total of 49 points. "By keeping Reid under control, we cut their offensive productivity in half," Western Michigan coach Bob Donewald said. "We forced them to go to players they usu- ally don't go to." The combination of Michigan's unbalanced offense and "unacceptable" defense resulted in a game-high 15-point lead for the Broncos with just over seven minutes left in the contest. But with the 2:37 remaining, and Western Michigan holding a 73-62 edge, the Wolverines staged a furious come- back by scoring 10 consecutive points. Helped by some added defensive pressure, Michigan for- ward Brandon Smith stepped up to aid Bullock's offensive See BRONCOS, Page 58 Bowl Fiesta** Rose Citrus Outback Sugar* Gator Cotton Orange* Independence Peach Sun Liberty Holiday fHumanitarian Alamo Micron PC MusicCity Oahu Aloha Motor City Las Vegas Site Tempe, Ariz. Pasadena, Calif. Orlando, Fla. Tampa, Fla. New Orleans Jacksonville, Fla. Dallas Miami Shreveport, La. Atlanta El Paso, Texas Memphis San Diego Boise San Antonio Miami Nashville Tucson~ Honolulu gonolulu Pontiac Las Vegas Teams (overall record) Tennessee (11-0) vs. Florida State (11.1) UCLA (10-1) vs. Wisconsin (10-1) Michigan (9-3) vs. Arkansas (9-2) Penn State (8-3) vs. Kentucky (7-4) Ohio State (10-1) vs. Texas A&M (11-2) Georgia Tech (9-2) vs. Notre Dame (9-2) Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Texas (8-3) Florida (9-2) vs. Syracuse (8-3) Mississippi (6-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-4) Virginia (9-2) vs. Georgia (8-3) Southern Cal (8-4).vs. Texas Christian (6-5) Brigham Young (9-4) vs. Tulane (11-0) Arizona (11-1) vs. Nebraska (9-3) Idaho (8-3) vs. Southern Mississippi (7-4) Purdue (8-4) vs. Kansas State (11-1) North Carolina State (7-4) vs. Miami (Fla.) (8-3) Alabama (7-4) vs. Virginia Tech (8-3) Missouri (7-4) vs. West Virginia (8-3) Air Force (11-1) vs. Washington (6-5) Colorado (7-4) vs. Oregon (8-3) Marshall (11-1) vs. Louisville (7-4) San Diego State (7-4) vs. North Carolina (6=5) Date Jan. 4, 1999 Jan. 1, 1999 Jan. 1, 1999 Jan. 1, 1999 Jan. 1, 1999 Jan. 1, 1999 Jan. 1, 1999 Jan. 2, 1999 Dec. 31, 1998 Dec. 31, 1998 Dec. 31, 1998 Dec. 31, 1998 Dec. 30, 1998 Dec. 30, 1998 Dec. 29, 1998 Dec. 29, 1998 Dec. 29, 1998 Dec. 26, 1998 Dec. 25. 1998 Dec. 25, 1998 Dec. 23, 1998 Dec. 19, 1998 *Bowl Championship Series game **BCS national championship game I :M' icers sweep Ohio weekend By Mark FruiceScUW Daily Sports Writer BOWLING GREEN - The sign outside the Bowling Green lockerroom on Saturday read "What did you do to beat Michigan today?" Unfortunately for the Falcons, they didn't do much. The Wolverines, taking advantage of three scoring opportu- nities in third period, squashed Bowling Green 5-2 on Saturday at BGSU Ice Arena. This followed a nailbiting 1-0 victory at Miami on Friday night. "You look at the standings and you say 'these are two teams that Michigan should beat," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "But when you get on the ice and play in their buildings, these were two hard-fought victories." Michigan (9-1-1 CCHA, 11-2-2 overall) now reigns at the top of the CCHA, one point and two games ahead of Ferris State. Bowling Green's winning streak ended at two. The Wolverines had to prevail through a sloshy, penalty-rid- den battle before dispatching the Falcons. Outside the arena, the temperature hovered in the low 60s, which made the ice choppy all game long. A misty fog erupt- ed where the action got the craziest, and players were sweating like waterfalls. "It was extra tough because of the weather," Berenson said. "But we played through it. Fog on the ice in December is something new for me." The first period looked more like a party in the penalty box as the two teams played 5-on-5 for only 6:23 of the 20 min- Women Sweekend By Josh Borkin Daily Sports Writer Wins over Central Michigan and Cincinnati were stepping stones for the Michigan women's basketball team. Michigan is in the midst of a six game win - st re ak CincinnBU 57 - one win away from tying the team record. Michigan outscored this weekend's opponents, 169-95, and was able to establish a solid defensive foundation, while letting captain Stacey Thomas prove why she is one of the best play- - j~l ... 4 . ..: , , :rLt- ; $ s a . is 'ks .s?'. .. t l .