W eboaiA~d--... racking 'M' alumni TIONAL San Jose at Former Michigan basketball standout Maceo Baston HOCKEY LEAGUE colorado, inc. abandoned the Chicago Bulls, who drafted him with Detroit at NCAA the last pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, by signing with Montreal 1, SatDego state at the Quad City Thunder of the CBA yesterday. BOSTON 1 Brigham Young, inc. New Jersey 2. N.Y. ISLANDERS1 FrIday OTTAWA 3, October 30, 1998 Philadelphia 1 Beware of Gophers 'M' looks o t ke By Jim Rose Daily Sports Editor It's time to Gopher broke.1 As stupid as that sounds - and it ueds, admittedly, pretty stupid - this weekend marks Michigan's last real chance to blow it.a A loss tomorrow in Minneapolis' Metrodome would put the Wolverines between a rock and a Nittany Lion, with a Badger and a Buckeye eachx waiting their turns. All realistic hopes of a Big Ten title would take a serious hit with three top 10teamswaiting in > the wings. On the other hand, a win tomorrow .r tld mean, for the second straight season, that Michigan would enter November with a legitimate chance of ending the season as the conference champion. And, of course, a win tomorrow a would mean Michigan keeps the famed Little Brown Jug for yet anoth- er year. : "I had Mark Campbell stand up in* *nt of the team and explain what it ,means to play for the Little Brown Jug;' Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.y "We try to educate the freshmen and' sophomores because there is a great tradition involved with the Little Brown Jug, especially since we have MARGARET eYEoS/Dady had it for a while." Anthony Thomas' Halloween costume - his Michigan uniform - isn't quite as scary as it was last year, but the Wolverines See GOPHERS, Page 11 do carry a five-game win streak into the haunted house known as the Metrodome. ,o point-a-miute for Michigan? No problem Parents are trick to help Blue get treat By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer Even if the Michigan hockey team gets scared this Halloween weekend, the Wolverines will have their mom- mies and daddies near to give them a big hug and make it all better. This weekend is Parents' Weekend for the Michigan hockey team, which might give the Wolverines a much- needed edge over their two opponents - Bowling Green tonight and Northern Michigan tomorrow. "This will be the toughest two games so far this season," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "All but two parents will be here this weekend." Parents' Weekend gives the players a chance to cure any homesickness, especially with no real chance to go home until winter break. Reactions among players, however, are mixed as to whether Parents' Weekend will help or hinder the team. "There will be a lot of distractions because of it," senior captain Bubba Berenzweig said. "But it is important to recognize the parents for the help they gave us growing up." Even if parents aren't the ultimate cure for Michigan's worries, the Wolverines (3-0 CCHA, 4-1 overall) will need all the help they can get because the Falcons and Wildcats are scarier than previously thought. Michigan's first trick or treat comes tonight against Bowling Green (2-2-1, 3-2-1). This season's Falcons are much more ferocious than last season's squad, which finished a disappointing 8-27-3 overall. Not only is Bowling Green in third place in the CCHA, but the team is one win away from total- ing half the number of victories it did all last season. "There's a good atmosphere here because we're a lot more experi- enced," Bowling Green coach Buddy Powers said. "It's a big factor and we're a lot better than we were last year." But Powers said the game will be more physical than usual, because the Falcons don't match up as well with Michigan's speed. "Michigan plays an up-tempo game, and we're just going to have to keep up with them;" Powers said. Berenson expects only the best from the Falcons, especially after the Wolverines took all three games from them last season. "Already, you know that Bowling Green has shown that they are a better team than last year," Berenson said. "They are going to come in and try to pressure us." Michigan's second opponent, Northern Michigan (2-0, 6-0), is off to its best start in school history. But it doesn't come as a surprise to the Wildcats, especially after they fin- ished fourth in the CCHA last season despite media and coaches predictions - to finish last. And it looks like they could use that success to climb even higher, with only three players not returning and plenty of experienced seniors. "They're going to come out hard, but it's our barn and we're just going to have to bang with them,' junior Josh Langfeld said. "It's going to be a good test for us." Michigan will face this test without defenseman Sean Peach, who again has problems with "lace bite. Forward Craig Murray, still recover- ing from his leg injury, practiced this week but will remain sidelined this weekend. y Sharat Rau wily Sports Editor On Oct. 31, 1903- exactly 95 years ago, tomor- row - Minnesota fans poured out onto the field after the Golden Gophers scored a late touchdown against Michigan. The 20,000 fans from the bleachers, the stands' and even treetops and telephone poles rushed out, n before the final whistle sounded in nneapolis. The pandemonium was so great that the game had to be called with two minutes still left to play. But the Gophers didn't even win the game. They tied the Wolverines, 6-6. Probably never in history has a tie been so miraculous and so wildly celebrat- ed. The Gophers managed to halt a 28-game win- ning streak, stopping the Fielding Yost-led Michigan demolition unit known as the 'point-a-minute' team. Also, the Little Brown Jug rivalry began following that game. If it was still possible to have a tie in college foot- the Gophers would be almost as ecstatic to manage one against the Wolverines this Saturday. So not much has changed. Here are this week's matchups, for The Jug: MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. MINNESOTA PASSING DEFENSE Minnesota's secondary is the worst - worst - in the Big Ten. It has given up 303 yards per game in the air, 70 yards worse than the next closest team. Meanwhile, with each game, Michigan quarter- k Tom Brady continues to show signs of improvement. Actually, he continues to show signs of finding Tai Streets - wherever he is on the field. That's big. Streets is the go-to guy and if Brady con- tinues to realize it, he should get along alright. The Wolverines will tear up the Minnesota sec- ondary. EDGE: MICHIGAN MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MINNESOTA RUSHING DEFENSE Here's the tell-tale sign of return a rushing defense is bad: The safety is the leading tackler. If the running back makes it all the way to the safety, then your defense isn't doing too well. Safety Tyrone Carter leads Minnesota in tackles. It is the fourth-worst rushing defense in the con- ference, making the total defense dead last in yards allowed per game with 404.3. Is there anyone who can't wait to see what speed- demon Justin Fargas can do on Astroturf? The answer is yes, the Gophers can wait. But they have no choice because the speedy freshman tailback for the Wolverines will probably be the second tailback in the game after Anthony Thomas and will proba- bly burn holes in the carpet at the Metrodome. EDGE: MICHIGAN MINNESOTA PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE The Gophers have been in the midst of a quarter- back controversy of sorts. After entering in the mid- dle of the game and leading the Gophers in a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Michigan State last week, junior Billy Cockerham will get the nod against the Wolverines over benched Andy Persby. The big Minnesota target is wideout Luke Leverson, who is among the conference leaders in receiving (six touchdowns, 48 receptions, 13.4 yards per catch). But he is just about it. The Gophers are second from the bottom in pass efficiency (101.9). After preventing Indiana's sensational quarter- back from completing more than a few passes to wide receivers last week, Michigan's secondary is starting to look ... decent. But decent is all the Wolverines will have to be. EDGE: MICHIGAN MINNESOTA RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE The Minnesota ground game also leaves some- thing to be desired. Junior Thomas Hamner averages only 64.5 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. Michigan's linebacking corps, however, has shown marked improvement with the resurgence of Ian Gold, Dhani Jones and Sam Sword. Most likely, Minnesota will have to utilize the passing game to make up for the lackluster running game. EDGE: MICHIGAN SPECIAL TEAMS Last week, Leverson made a dramatic 68-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Spartans. Earlier in the season, Carter returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Kicker Adam Bailey kicked a successful onside kick and nailed the game-winning field goal against the Spartans, earning him special teams player of the week honors. See MATCHUPS, Page 11 Michigan winger Dale Rominski needn't be too scared this Halloween. If Northem's squad gives him the heebloJeebles, his mommy and daddy will be there to hold his hand. WARREN ZINN/Daily r ____ JOIN THE MOST PROMISING PROFESSION OF THE 21ST CENTURY Prospective Teacher Education Meeting Tuesday, November 10, 1998 6:00 p.m. Schorling Auditorium Room 1202 School of Education Building Call 764-7563 for more information. irr . w s Rob Van der Voo Professor of Geological Science and IDirector, LS&A Honors Program The Pulse of the Earth * anaging a Kohl's Department Store is no small task. But then, running any multi-million dollar business has its challenges - all within as little as four years of graduating! Kohl's Manager-in-Training Program is geared to ensure your success and keep us as America's fastest gr o w i n g r etail e r . S ee y o u rPa c m nt D i e t o_ _TO !_ Placement Dicector - TODAY! E Tuesday, November 3,1998 4:10 PM Rackham Amphitheatre Reception follows Pubic welrme Presented by LISA Palkageographic Maps x1499 Christopher R. Scotms. Used wfth permission.