The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 19, 1998 - 13A " Backing he ur,, Two opposing columnists square off in a battle of wits Experience wit/h rivahy leaves mark en I entered my cousin's kitchen on Thanksgiving Day 1996, I knew something was different. The three-hour ride from Ann Arbor to suburban Cleveland had frustrated me immensely, as I feared a flurry of comments about Ohio State's supposed superiority. Yeah, that's how it is between my imme- diate family and my cousin's family. We wear blue with pride and trash the Bucks, they wear red in shame and take pot-shots at o scandalous athletic program. ut upon passing through the threshold of their home, surpris- ingly, no venomous comments came our way. In a dramatic moment of understate- ment, the only item on their kitchen table was MARK a simple, clear bowl, filled with water and a SNYDER er's head floating Mark My * op. Words A rose bowl. Of course, being a Michigan student, I ould never have dreamed Ohio State could ctually go to the Rose Bowl, so the symbol- sm of the gesture was initially lost on me. But Shawn Springs bailed me out. Just a ew days after Turkey Day, the Buckeyes' 1l-America cornerback did his best chicken mitation, watching from the grass as Tai ts blew past him into the endzone. Vindication, in the form of Michigan's 3-9 victory over the previously undefeated uckeyes, satisfied me for yet another sea- on. And so my cousins, one of whom gradu- ted from The Ohio State University, and thers who consider themselves true hioans, maintain their team will triumph ne of these years. But now, with my four years coming to d - we only spend four years in X 01 at Michigan - the 1998 Michigan eam is poised to become only the second eam since the pre-Woody era to sweep the ucks. The problem with this annual clash is at, although Michigan always comes away rom Columbus with a victory, the state as a hole ends up causing problems. Four years ago, several Michigan Daily Despite loss, beating Blue would be sweet redemption ichigan. If you're a Buckeye, the word alone causes anxiety and apprehension, hatred and loathing. The numbers - coach John Cooper's record against the Wolverines - cause embarrassment, with- every one of the eight losses a bitter reminder of opportu- nities lost and humiliations: suffered. a1998. The year Ohio State was x { supposed to win it all, a CHRIS wire-to-wire dream team. Loaded with talent and filled with expectations, the Buckeyes looked unbeatable. Ir E T Ohio State Lantern a-half point spread in the Bucks' favor only puts a jinx on them. The Bucks are, more or less, in a must-win situ- ation this year. While it won't be for a bid in the national championship game, it will be for arguably more important things. Pride. Redemption. Sanity. It may mean Cooper's job. It probably will mean the Rose Bowl. But most of all, it will be for the fans. The alumni and students who have sat through loss after disappointing loss deserve this one. The Bucks aren't playing for a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, and a win doesn't even assure them of a Rose Bowl. They're not playing for those little golden pants, or even for bragging rights. They want a win to chase away the Michigan demon that follows the program; they're playing to shake the title of choke artists. Getting back into the national championship is a near-impossibility - too many things need to hap- pen. Yet a lot of Ohio State fans really don't seem to care much about that this week. All they want is one victory against the hated- but-grudgingly-respected Wolverines. A record of 2-8-I really won't look so bad. - Chris Tribbey is a junior journalism major and editor for the Lantern, who plans a looting spree if Tai Streets breaks loose for another touchdown on Saturdav. Being No. 1 from start to finish didn't look so improbable. Then they were blindsided by Michigan State. Now it's the last game of the season again, Ohio State vs. Michigan, Scarlet and Gray vs. Maize and Blue. Forget Army vs. Navy. Southern Cal vs. UCLA pales in comparison. Yale vs. Harvard isn't real football and Stanford vs. Cal is a joke. This is real rivalry, where fans have no-holds- barred hatred toward each other, where a sellout is a given and you can pay for next month's rent, bills and groceries by scalping your ticket. There shouldn't even be a line on this game and a 10-and- MARGARET MYERS/Daily careers undefeat- Clarence Williams and the rest of the Michigan seniors could end their college ed against Ohio State with a win on Saturday. reporters were pulled over in their car - with Michigan plates - and given citations. Two years ago, the Daily reporters returned from the game, violently ill after food poi- soning struck at a Columbus meal. But neither my family feud, the sur- rounding media's antagonistic tendencies nor the local dining establishments' vendettas against Michiganders will determine the out- come of the game. This one's about the players. This season, just as in past years, it appears that Ohio State may have an edge in talent. Lloyd Carr called this Ohio State team the best group of Buckeyes since he came to Michigan in 1980. Michigan offensive lineman and captain Jon Jansen said Ohio State is "the best team in college football" and Sedrick Irvin said, well, you already know what Irvin said. The talkative Michigan State tailback announced the Spartans were going to shock the world by beating the Buckeyes. He accu- rately predicted the inevitable Buckeye col- lapse, just a few weeks too early. So now, three months after John Cooper announced Ohio State's goal of Fiesta Bowl- or-Bust, the Buckeyes are facing the bust. The best-case scenario of a Buckeye win combined with a Wisconsin loss sends them to Pasadena. But for Cooper, it doesn't seem that anything less than a national title is good enough. Michigan's traditional role of spoiler shifted slightly last year as the Wolverines - without the benefit of paying their dues - won the elusive national championship. Cooper's paranoia is a bit ridiculous. By postponing Senior Tackle, a late-season tra- dition in Columbus since 1931, he's sending the message that he's scared of the past (1-8- 1 against Michigan) repeating itself. He bet- ter hope it doesn't scare his players and fans. He already lost one. My cousin's son enrolled at Eastern Michigan in September. - Mark Snyder can he reached via e-mail at msnyder@urnich.edu WARREN ZINN/Daily Tal Streets has broken loose - and broken Ohio State hearts - before. This Saturday he can try to make his own personal record 4-0 against the Buckeyes. Clash with Titans could be nightmare for men's basketball 4) I . _ By Andy Latack Daily Sports Writer Michigan men's basketball coach Brian Ellerbe is having a recurring night- mare. It is one that has haunted him throughout both of the Wolverines' loss- es to open the season. Everything starts out normal enough. All pregame indications suggest that nothing is out of the ordinary. Even a glance at the lineup card does not hint at the terrible fate that is about to befall the Wolverines. The opponents' starting five looks standard, with two guards, two forwards and a center. But shortly after the ball is tipped - and this is where it gets scary - Michigan's foes start to play a nasty trick. ! They peel off "Mission Impossible"-style masks, revealing themselves to be ... a team made entire- ly of guards. Gulp. Such a lineup has given the Wolverines (0-2 overall) fits this season; they have lost twice to teams with short, quick lineups that favor finesse rather than brawn in the post. Florida International and Ball State, each of whom have handed Michigan defeats in the young season, didn't have a player over 6-foot-9. But they had quickness in the paint, something Michigan has had difficulty defending. And things might not be getting any better for the Wolverines. Michigan hosts Detroit Mercy (1-0) tonight, a team that relies on - you guessed it - speed and quickness. This combination proved problematic in Monday's loss to Ball State, which saw the Cardinals' tiny guards pose matchup problems for larger Wolverines. Ellerbe said he expects to see a similar game plan from Detroit. "They've got really good guards who are small and quick," Ellerbe said. Yet there is one major difference between the Cardinals and the Titans. While Ball State entered the season lack- ing a proven scorer, Detroii Mercy has a few of them. And with the Titans returning four key players on a team that went 25-6 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan will have its hands full with last year's Midwest Collegiate Conference co-champs. Pacing the Titans' offensive attack is guard Rashad Phillips, who was last sea- son's Midwest Collegiate Conference newcomer of the year. Phillips scored 26 points in Detroit's season opener, an 84- 50 win over Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday. And the Titans' guards-disguised-as- post players - 6-4 Jermaine Jackson and 6-5 Bacari Alexander- will present a challenge for Michigan big men Josh Asselin, Peter Vignier and Chris Young. "Their post guys are in the 6-5, 6-6 range," Ellerbe said. "They'll be tough matchups for Josh, Pete and Chris. They're more like small forwards than they are post guys." Ellerbe intends to adjust his attack when former Michigan assistant Perry Watson brings his team to Ann Arbor, but he isn't giving away any secrets. "We're going to change a few things and give ourselves a chance to be suc- cessful," he said. Care to elaborate on that, coach? "I'll let Perry figure that out when he gets here," Ellerbe said. [ READ TOMORROW'S SPE- CIAL SECTION PREVIEWING THE MICHIGAN-OHIO STATE FOTALL GAME. YOU NEVER CAN GET ENOUGH HYPE. Why Pay More to Call Asia? We have rechargeable phone cards, flat-rate phone cards, and connection fee phone cards. Low rates plus discounts to these countries: China 49 cpm Taiwan 25 cpm Seoul 18 cpm Japan 14 cpm Malaysia 24 cpm Indonesia 49 cpm India 59 cpm USA 10 cpm www.asiarates.com/800-679-5681 zI Iowa WARREN ZINN/Daily eter Vignier and the rest of Michigan's post players will have to counter Detroit lrcy's quick guard play tonight. The Titans basically have a four-guard lineup, arting just one player taller than 6-foot-5. Name Game Detroit's speedy guards might have the Wolverines' heads spin- "ng. As if that weren't enough, there are two Titans whose names Fight cause an identity crisis. Jermaino Jackson, who, as far as we know, has no relation to Janet, Tito, Latoya, or even the King of Pop himself, scored 14 points in Detroit's first game. The other Titan who might have the Wolverines doing double takes when they look at the roster is 6-6 sophomore Michael Jordan, from Livonia. So far, "His Airness" is 6-for-2 from the floor with one - -. _- . AEW tPIGL NlP Z. Tk''R.Aru2E S'PR rvG -rev, iqqq I