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 ,* - , , r I ----------------- m r~a v k 1 '4 . : 1 ..~l j A rnrr em1wAl lllft 5.alhImtm _ Ir am Am A 4- 1 14 I m _k:; lvj low