AMERICAN
L.EAGUE
SEATTLE 12,
Minnesota 7
DETROIT 2,
.hicago O
Boston 9,
NEW YORK 4
jexas 6,
TAMPA BAY 8,
Anaheim 1
CLEVELAND 7,
Toronto 5
NATIONAL
LEAGUE
(G1) HOUSTON 6,
New York 5
HOUSTON 4
ATLANTA 3,
Philadelphia O
Chicago 4,
SAN DIEGO I
(G1) Pittsburgh,
ST. LOUIS
(G2) Pittsburgh,
ST. LOUIS
f1ie Lidrigifg
.
-'BALTIMORE 5 (G2) New York 8,
Presented with
otions, the Bik
Ten decibes
s a defensive back, there's nothing like the feeling
~ &of reading the olensive line and sensing a run up
he middle.
Then, on a typical dive play, you see the fullback break-
ing through the line. You come up with a full head of
steam, ready to flatten the unsuspecting brute who hap-
pens to be twice your size.
Then the collision - the full forces of speed, power
and physics at work - a momen-
tary flash of white light, and then
your senses return to find yourself
on top of the ball carrier.
Wait a minute ... he isn't even "
carrying the ball! What's going on?
After a second of panic, you know it
- the option.
'The dreaded option. Meanwhile, SHARAT
the quarterback has pitched to the RAJU
tailback in the flat -- the same tail- Sharat
back that you were assigned to tack- in the Dark
le in the event of an option play.
'the above scenario -- although it varies from one
defensive scheme to another --has been common for
Michigan and its Big Ten allies.
The option is super-popular this season. The Wolverines
have been left in the dust trying to scramble to find where
the hell the ball was against Syracuse and Notre Dame.
This week, Michigan will not face the option, since
Eastern Michigan doesn't run it. But Ohio State will have
to lace a pretty tough one this week against Missouri.
Missouri quarterback Corby Jones "is the best option
QB we'll see all year" Ohio State coach John Cooper
said. "We don't have one in our league, and they do a
good job at it."
Actually, Ohio State employed the option last year, as
part of its two-headed quarterback monster.
So why is everybody scared of the option? It's a rela-
tively easy offense to teach a team, one that is utilized by
high school teams around the nation. It stands to reason
that if it is so simplistic, then how come teams can't figure
out a possible defense to stop the option cold?
With limited scholarships now, "probably the most dif-
ficult thing is to have a scout team impersonate the other
team," Iowa coach Ilayden Fry said. "You just don't get a
good picture in practice."
Last week, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr joked about
playing the part of Syracuse Donovan McNabb as part of
the option in practice. Perhaps there's more truth in that
than meets the eye...
With the 85 limited scholarships and an inadequate
scout team, is the option unguardable'? Well, a fter witness-
ing last Saturday's thrashing of the Fighting Irish, appar-
ently Michigan State can guard it. So the answer is no, the
option is not invincible.
You always worry when you don't play the option
much, whether you'll be able to stop the option,
Michigan State coach Nick Saban said. "And the fact that
we got ahead in the game and they got out of their game a
.;little bit, they had to throw the ball a little bit more in
order to catch up."
, So the best defense against the option might be a good
;ffense. Two pass-happy teams will pick on the Big Ten
This weekend. Indiana will have to face Tim Couch and
Kentucky. Couch, a Heisman Trophy favorite, has been
4earing up opponents, benefiting from a four-wideout set.
And to hear Indiana coach Cam Cameron tell it, he'd
rather face an option team than a 'real' quarterback.
"I went back and looked at all 1I games last season"
Cameron said. "And (Couch) is the most accurate quarter-
ack I have seen as of late. This kid is just so sharp."
Purdue faces the same scenario, having to play Daunte
fulpepper's cannon arm and Central Florida.
'The problem defending the option might just lie in the
tradition-bound Big Ten. Other conferences seem to have
more dynamic coaches wgo know their talent level and
manufacture their offense in such a manner.
Whatever the case, 'option' is the word around the
nation, and other teams have no option but to shut it
down.
- Shar't Raju can be reached at saju@,)umich.edu.
With a Saturday football game scheduled between Michigan and
Eastern Michigan, the schools got a jumpstart on the rivalry
yesterday in soccer, and so began ..
The
'ash
PART ONE
DANA UNNANE/Daily
Michigan forward Amber Berendowsky fights past an Eastern Michigan defender In yesterday's slugfest. Berendowsky and the rest of the
Wolverines fought off the Eagles, 2-1, in overtime yesterday.
Big Mac eats
ST LOUIS (AP) -- It took Mark McGwire
only one at-bat to regain the lead in the home-run
derby.
McGwire, pinch-hitting in the ninth inning, hit
his 63rd home run last night to move ahead of
Sammy Sosa in the great race. lie ended a six-
game homer drought with a solo shot off Jason
Christiansen in St. Louis' 8-6 loss to Pittsburgh
in the first game of a doubleheader.
"He's been doing it for a year and two months,
people cheering 'C'mon Mark, we want you to
hit one,"' Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
"Boom, he hits one! How does he do it? I have no
idea, except that he's remarkable."
McGwire's swing had been out of sync after he
hit his 62nd home run Sept. 8, and he was 3-for-
18 with three singles in six games before hitting
his sixth career pinch homer.
He had an RBI double and a bases-loaded walk
in the Cardinals' 9-3 victory in the second game,
and just missed on a couple of other at-bats, hit-
ting high fly balls to right in the third and center
in the fifth. He also walked twice, extending his
NL record to 154 walks.
The fan who caught the ball had no immediate
plans to give it back. McGwire has received
every ball from homer No. 56 on, but John Grass,
46, was looking to cash in.
"The ball is worth something to someone and
I'd like to have something for it myself," Grass
said. "He makes millions of dollars, I don't think
upNo. 63
there is anything wrong with something coming
to me."
Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said
he didn't expect- the team to negotiate a deal for
the ball.
Kevin Young's three-run home run snapped a
fifth-inning tie in an opener that featured six
homers, two by Cardinals rookie J.D. Drew.
Young's homer off Donovan Osborne (4-4)
snapped a 2-for-35 slump.
Sean Lawrence (2-1), the third Pittsburgh
pitcher, allowed a run in 2 1-3 innings. Rich
Loiselle got two outs for his 19th save.
In the second game, Drew and Brian Jordan
also had RBI doubles in a three-run first against
Jose Silva (6-5). A fourth run scored on a two-out
throwing error by third baseman Aramis Ramirez
in the third.
THE TALLY
SOSA:
YESTERDAY:
1-5, 2 K
MwRE YESTERDAY:
GAME 1: 1-1, HR
GAmE 2: 1-3, 2 RBI
You're Invited to a Grand Opening!
THE "NEW"
Mr.Stadium
Coin Laundry and Dry Cleaning
M us Iim i
When: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 1998
Where: 1964 S. Industrial Hwy.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 668-7928
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