Scoreboard,. cS NHL NFL OCKEY FOOTBALL Dallas at Green Bay at CAROLINA, inc. DETROIT, inc. Anaheim at CHICAGO, inc. Colorado at Phoenix, inc. T1eLuag Tracking 'M' teams The Michigan men's and women's cross country teams will be in Ann Arbor for a rare home meet this Sunday morning at the Michigan Interregional. The race will take place at the University Golf Course. S- 5.':' - '~5'-t ~ fl' Cat-astrophe? 1995 is a distant memory for former Big Ten champion By Jim Rose Daily Sports Editor They've been called everything from hapless to hopeless, from lucky to fluky, from purple people eaters to pansies. And, in some circles, they're known as the Northwestern Wildcats. Whatever they may be called, they've Stainly seemed to have Michigan's ber in recent years. Three years ago, they shocked the Wolverines in Ann Arbor, 19-13, en route to a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl appearance. People said it was a fluke. One year later, they pulled it off again, 17-16 this time, on a last-second field goal in Evanston. They went on to be co-champs of the league. People said it was luck. Last year, Michigan finally exacted a asure of revenge with a 23-6 win rthe Wildcats. And people went back to saying they were purple. But purple or not, the truth is that in each of the past three years, the winner of this game has gone on to win at least a share of the Big Ten championship. And it's only been Michigan once. Northwestern(0-3 Big Ten, 2-4) hosts Michigan at 7 p.m. tomorrow night at Ryan Field in Evanston. The Wolverines (2-0, 3-2) likely need to win to keep their Rose Bowl hopes alive. The Wildcats likely need to win to keep their fans' interest alive. After two magical seasons, Northwestern, it seems, is once again Northwestern. Last season, the Wildcats missed postseason play and ended 5-7. Their slow start this season has fans and skeptics wondering exactly what turned the perennial doormat into a two-time contender - and then back into a door- mat again. If nothing else, the departure of quar- terback Steve Schnur contributed. In his final two seasons, the Wildcats were 19- 5 (15-1 in the Big Ten). Since then, they're 7-11. This year, redshirt freshman Gavin Hoffman has handled the duties behind center, and although his stats are modest (176 yards passing per game), he does have one valuable asset at his disposal. His receiver. D'Wayne Bates, a fifth-year senior and Biletnikoff Award candidate as one of the nation's top receivers, is a game- breaker. He's on pace to set a new Big Ten record for career receiving yardage. Five more receptions would place him fifth in Big Ten history for receptions. Quite simply, he gives the Wildcats a chance. "D'Wayne Bates has been a thorn in our side for a long time now, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I'll be glad to see him graduate and move on." Another holdover from the Wildcats' Rose Bowl trips is another fifth-year senior, placekicker Brian Gowins. Gowins kicked the last-second field goal that beat Michigan two years ago, and holds seven of eight Northwestern kicking records. He's also the leading scorer in school history, and is chasing his second straight berth on the all-Big Ten first team. On the other side of the ball is one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten. Fifth-year senior Barry Gardner had 20 tackles against Michigan last year and led the conference in that category en route to becoming a first team honoree. The best thing about him? He's a former walk-on. "Gardner, a year ago, just killed us," Carr said. "He's a football player that, every week, plays hard. He's 250 pounds, and he doesn't stay blocked." His presence is of particular impor- tance this week because Michigan tail- back Anthony Thomas is not expected to play. Thomas is nursing an ankle injury and would likely play only in the event of an emergency situation. FILE PHOTO Michigan's Josh Williams and the rest of the Wolverines were able to put enough pressure on Northwestern to win last year's contest In Ann Arbor, 23-6. A struggling Northwestern lineup will try to stun the Wolverines at home, as it did two years ago. Niagara hits town for pair By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer It's about time. Time is of the essence this weekend for the Achigan hockey team and its opponent, Niagara. or the Wolverines, it's about time that every player on the team gets some ice time, according to Michigan coach Red Berenson. With only three games to base his lineup choices on so far, Berenson will give his lineup a little more variety this weekend in an effort to answer a prob- lem, if one can call it a problem, in the depth of the Michigan defense. With nine quality defensemen competing for six available spots, Berenson has lots of skaters to choose from. So tonight, two more players - sophomore Bob Gassoff and Freshman Jay Vancik - will get their first shot to impress the coaches on defense. The tandem is scheduled to replace Sean Peach and Scott Crawford, both of whom will mostly like- ly play tomorrow. Gassoff, who was scratched against Lake Superior, did play in the exhibition game against Guelph, but as a forward. Berenson said he believes that seeing all the Wolverines in action is extremely important before Michigan resumes its CCHA schedule next week- end with a pair of road contests against Alaska- Fairbanks. See NIAGARA, Page 12 Ray to miss next three games There has been quite a bit of confusion surrounding the NCAA's ruling on how many games Michigan football safe- ty Marcus Ray is required to miss. Since the last report on Wednesday, the situation has been straightened out. Ray will miss the next three games, instead ofjust the next two. "There was some confusion during the conversation on the telephone Thursday (Oct. 8) as to what we understood the length of Ray's suspension to be," Michigan Athletic Director Tom Goss said in a written statement. "When we received the official letter late Friday, the NCAA spelled out that Marcus would have to miss 50 percent of the season" In an I-game season, Ray would only serve a five-game suspension. Since Michigan scheduled a 12th game this sea- son - Nov. 28 in Hawaii - the penalty is six games. Ray will not be eligible until Nov. 7 against Penn State. - Daily Sports Editor Sharat Raju. Caenwul ~ " ® s ,.,- - ; " t s a y¢' r1 r " { I ,, , o r Th-oldieDugSft Surveillance department at Parke-Davis is currently hiring students/externs to perform data entry of adverse event information into a database. Qualified candi- dates will have excellent task/time manaement skills, an ability to quick learn new rocesses and work independently. " Typing and computer skills as well as familiarity with database concepts are essential. These positions will cover the afternoon/ evening shifts (Spm-12am), and run 4-6 months. Succcesful candidates will have an understanding of medical terminology. " Preference will be given to students studying healthcare professions (pharmacy, nursing, pre-medicine, etc.) and in at least their 3'd year of study. " Interested students should fax their resume to: Parke-Davis Worldwide Drug Safety Surveillance, Attention: Student Positions, (734) 622-2721 or mail their resume to Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, Drug Safety Surveillance, Attention: Student Positions, 2800 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48105. E-Mail resume using DSSQueries@wl.com, Attention: Student Positions. ~ PAARKE AIS I..I Rivalries are always huge, and Michigan soccer has a heated one with eternal enemy Michigan State. The next chapter is today, in East Lansing. NATHAN RUFFER/Daily Soccer rivalry heats up Live with British students in the very center of Oxford as an Associate Student of a medieval Oxford college. Summer and graduate study available. Since 1985, students from 240 leading U.S. Colleges have studied in Oxford through W.I.S.C. Washington International Studies Council 214 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E. (Suite 370) Washington, D.C. 20002 Phone Number: (202) 547-3275 Free Telephone: (800) 323-WISC Facsimile: (202) 547-1470 E-mail: Wisc@erols.com *Josh Borkin+ ly Sports Writer Michigan versus Michigan State is one of the strongest rivalries in colle- giate athletics. Today's soccer game, however, will most likely turn into a; lopsided affair. Michigan (4-3-1 Big Ten, 10-3-1) is currently ranked 19th by Soccer America and is riding a three game win streak. Michigan State (2-9-1, 0-7-1) is Winless in the Big Ten, is in last place in 0 Big Ten and their leading scorer, READ THE DAILY FOR COMPLETE $PORTS COVERAGE. .quit Ducking Around! 'Add color to grab Gina Dawson, only has four goals this season. Michigan has been building momentum the last couple of weeks. Last weekend, they beat ranked Indiana and defeated Illinois on the road. And against Toledo this past Wednesday, Amber Berendowsky became the all- time leading scorer in Michigan history. "I think we are playing a lot better as a team," Berendowsky said. "Our See RIVALRY, Page 12 AfIsofut Fridays Stoli Jon.Gak Weekm'ena, Tan ueray Jac $1.50 Call Drinks ~ Over 25 Beers on Draft-~ Including: Beli's, Newcastle, I i I m