MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Playoffs -1st round CLEVELAND 9, Boston 5 NEW YORK 3, Texas 1 ATLANTA 7, Chicago 1 SPORTS~y 1at~ Tracking 'M' teams Check out the defending national champion Michiganl hockey team's annual Blue-White exhibition game, played tomorrow night at Yost Arena. The puck drops 7 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $1for children. Thursday October 1, 1998 IOA Despite doubled prices, hockey tickets sell out By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer Beanie Babies, Tickle Me Elmos and Cabbage Patch Kids all sold out of stores - evenatbhigh prices. gMichigan hockey tickets have now done the same. sDespite a price increase that approximately dou- bled the cost for season tickets, the Michigan ticket office reports that Michigan Hockey tickets have mostly sold out for the entire season. Thus, 6,100 screaming hockey fans will once again fill Yost Ice Arena, hoping for repeat of a national championship season. There was, however, a significant drop in the number of student season tickets sold. Michigan coach Red Berenson wasn't particular- ly surprised that the tickets sold out so easily. "When you look at it, nothing has changed," Berenson said. "We haven't changed, I haven't changed, our program hasn't changed." When the Michigan Athletic Department discov- ered that the prices they had been charging for years were around half as much as some other compara- ble schools, the season ticket cost jumped from $85 to $155. Jerenson wanted people to look at it in a more "If a student has to pay $2.50 more for a game, I don't think that's a problem. Now if it is, then he's worrying about the wrong things. Most kids will spend $2.50 on nothing five times a week." - Red Berenson Michigan hockey coach positive light: That there hasn't been a significant price increase for a long time. "We haven't had a price increase in some seven years; this is unbelievable," Berenson said. "I think maybe it was too good to be true." a Berenson said he was surprised that student sales were down, and that he feels some of the lost stu- dent support was caused by media attention to the increased prices. "The students are a huge part of our fan base," Berenson said. "I'm surprised that the students would (buy less), and I think it may be more about what they read than about what they knew." Berenson also added that he believes that the price increase won't really affect students in the long run. "If a student has to pay $2.50 more for a game, I don't think that's a problem," Berenson said. "Now if it is, then he's worrying about the wrong things. Most kids will spend $2.50 on nothing five times a week." STILL WANT TO SEE RED AND BLUE?: Season ticket ,holders may have gobbled up most of the tickets, but as of yesterday, there is still hope for anyone interested in seeing Michigan Hockey. The annual Blue-White exhibition game will take place tomorrow night. Tickets are on sale at Yost for $4 for adults and $I for children. All proceeds will go to the Dekers Club - the booster club of the Michigan Hockey team. - MARGARET MYERS/Daily Geoff Koch returns for the Wolverines this season, as does the majority of last"x year's national championship team. The departures, however, were notable ones. Making big plays easy as milking a cow for Hawkeyes' lineman DeVries By Sharat Raju Daily Sports Editor On cold Iowa mornings, a young Jared DeVries would wake up, bleary- eyed and ready to start the day. The sun, still low on the horizon, did not have a chance to warm up the prairie home- stead. "We usually got up at 6 a.m. before leaving for school," DeVries said. "We'd have to do 42 pails of grain and 17 bales of hay a morning." Most kids were still snug in their beds, snoozing until morning cartoons came on TV. DeVries, on the other hand, was out in the fields, helping out his parents. "We did mostly grain and livestock;" DeVries said. "We only own 150 acres and custom farm 15,000. I'd like to give back (to my parents) after they raised five children. "But they can wait a year. This might pay off their debt." From baling hay to bowling over offensive linemen, DeVries has been working up to paying back his parents since his arrival in Iowa City. Over the past three years, few defensive linemen have been as respected as the Aplington, Iowa, native. "I like DeVries," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He almost single- handedly beat us last year:' Last year against the Wolverines, DeVries recorded 10 solo tackles and one assist. Four of those tackles were for a loss and three were quarterback sacks. He also broke up a pass and caused a fumble, en route to being named Big Ten defensive player of the week following the game. That game would prove to be the toughest for the Wolverines in their championship season last year. DeVries' performance nearly doomed the Wolverines, who were trailing by 14 at halftime. Michigan "was obviously one of my better games statistically," DeVries said. "I had struggled before that. Michigan thought they had the personnel for one- on-one blocking.- "Obviously, they were mistaken." The Wolverines may have been mis- taken, but they did pull out the victory. DeVries' dominance at defensive tackle continued throughout the 1997 season, however. He finished with eight sacks, 19 tack- les for losses and 73 total tackles, earn- ing him Big Ten defensive lineman of the year honors. DeVries was also selected to the All-American second team and all-Big Ten first team. The season before that, the former farmer amassed 67 tackles (22 of those for a loss) and 13 sacks, and was an all- Big Ten team member. As a freshman, he racked up 12 sacks and 54 total tack- les. So the 6-foot-4, 284-pound senior is not sneaking up on anybody this season. Everyone knows he's coming. How has that worked out for the Hawkeyes, you might ask? Oh ... just fine. Last week against Illinois, the fifth-year senior made tackles and two sacks, and was nanm the Big Ten defensive player of the week. "Rushing the passer is one of my strengths," DeVries said. "I'm obviously not the biggest guy, but I'm quicker than most offensive linemen, so I can get into the backfield." DeVries has gotten into the backfield eight times, dropping ballcarriers for 30 yards of lost field in the '98 campaign. He's also recorded three sacks and pounced on one fumble. Now, into his third season playing for the Hawkeyes, there is no question if he can play well, if he can dominate a fot- ball game or if he is a potential profes- sional superstar. The only question is: Would he have been a better farmer than football play- er? "I was the only person to work on the farm'" Devries said. "I love to do sort of thing. Two years ago was the-l time I could go home during harvest time. They say I bale well. I didn't lift weights until I was a sophomore in high school.tk "But I sure could bale hickory good." AP PHOTO lowa's Jared DeVries (94) learned the value of hard work early In life, working at the crack of dawn on his family's farm in Aplington, Iowa. DeVries, a second team All-American a year ago, recorded 10 solo tackles in the Hawkeyes' near-win over Michigan last season. On Saturday, DeVries and the Hawkeyes welcome the Wolverines into Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Williams is back on ball after early struggle By Jim Rose Daily Sports Editor M'Clarence Williams has been through a lot in the past few weeks. He didn't exactly start the season off they way he'd have liked, fumbling away a momentum-turning kick return that eventually yielded a touchdown at Notre Dame. Then he got hurt, courtesy of a knee in his lower 'ack, and though he's played in all four games, he's "een less than 100 percent. But against Michigan State, Williams played what -ouch Lloyd Carr called "his best game at Michigan." That's strong praise for a senior who's been playing ;iilce he was a true freshman. "Not only did he run the football well, but he made some good blocks, too" Carr said. "He played a com- lete football game." For Williams, who had 88 yards on 17 carries, the fact that he played so well against Michigan State was zspecially gratifying. For the Detroit native from Cass Tech High School, the emotion that accompanies the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry was ingrained in Williams long ago. And after struggling in the early part of the season, Williams didn't want his last shot at the Spartans to be one associated with disappointment. Carr said he thought the Michigan State game held "special signif- icance for" Williams. So, in a team meeting, with his teammates surrounding him, Carr challenged his senior tailback to pick up his level of play. "I challenged him last week, that it was time for him to play like he was capable," Carr said. "And I think he did. He picked up his play." Williams admitted that he was happy to play well against a longtime rival, but also said that he thought he could - and should - continue to play as well in coming weeks. And with the bulk of the Big Ten sea- son still ahead, the Wolverines will need the depth he provides at running back. "I thought we did a good job keeping them off-bal- ance," Williams said. "We mixed it up very well, and Michigan State didn't know what to expect. "I think we can do that every week, if we play together and listen to the coaching staff." A VERY BRADY WEEKEND: Quarterback Tom Brady was named the co-offensive player of the week by the Big Ten for his performance against Michigan State. Brady was 15-of-26 passing for 208 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. His touchdown pass was a five-yard jump-ball to Tai Streets that pulled the Wolverines out of a 10-10 tie. Later, Brady scored Michigan's final points of the game with a one-yard sneak in the fourth quarter. It put Michigan up 29-17, and came just one play after Brady hit Marcus Knight with a 48-yard strike down the left sideline. Brady has completed 65 of his 105 passing attempts (61.9 percent) in four games, for a total of 707 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Brady shared the weekly honors with Wisconsin's Ron Dayne, who ran for 168 yards on 22 carries in a 38-7 victory over Northwestern. Michigan Students, Faculty & Staff ... Are You Ready to Take the After being hampered by a nagging back Injury, running back Clarence Williamnidil what coach Uoyd Carr calls "his best game at Michigan" against Michigan StateZ The senior ran for 88 yards on 17 carries against the Spartans THE $25,000 CHALLENGE Just answer 1,566 questions correctly and win $25,000 in the world's toughest test of trivia & gen- eral information. Or get the most correct and win $10,000. (There are also $1000 prizes for the five n innr.-i in\ Ton eifficult? Yun have nearIv two Here are some sample questions for you: What Tv sitcom character wore a Band-Aid in every episode? Why is R2- D2 so named? Mike is a narcoleptic street hustler in what film? What two women served as the models for the Statue of Liberty? Who created the World Wide Web? What lobe of the brain gov- erns smell? What are dinosaur droppings called? Who was the youngest US general? What city in the Russian language means "ruler of the east?" 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