28 - The Michigan Daily - January 18, 2000 - SportsTuesday
NFL PLAYOFFS
Titans squeeze by Colts, 19-16
No. 1 'M' gymnastics
second in Chicago
1
e A=ictligan Dou
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Eddie
George did what he was supposed to
do. Jevon Kearse didn't, but his pres-
ence allowed his defensive mates to
make plays.
And Tennessee goes to Jacksonville
knowing that a third victory over the
laguars, whose only two losses were to
the Titans, puts them in the first Super
Bowl in the itinerant franchise's 40-
year history.
The Titans (15-3) upset the Colts 19-
16 Sunday, going ahead for good on
George's 68-yard touchdown run on the
third play of the second half and shutting
Rams offense
blows by Viki ngs;
Tampa Bay next
ST. LOUIS (AP) - There's this one
problem with the' St. Louis Rams
offense: Not enough footballs to go
around.
If the Rams could stretch NFL rules,
they'd gladly find a way, to get footballs
in the hands of Marshall Faulk, Isaac
Bruce, Tony Horne and Kurt Warner at
the same time. Then they'd be scoring in
triple figures with regularity.
As it is, they just might reach the 100-
point mark before this charmed season is
over. They got almost halfway there in
Sunday's 49-37 defeat of the Minnesota
Vikings in the first home playoff game in
the city's 33-season history.
They'll take those weapons into next
Sunday's NFC championship game
against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers will
bring a sound defense to St. Louis. But
Warner isn't sure even the stingy Bucs
can handle the NFL's top offense.
The Vikings certainly couldn't prove it.
Warner, whose storybook season took
down Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James
and Marvin Harrison, one of the NFL's
most explosive offensive trios.
George finished with 162 yards on 26
carries. Manning, a 62 percent passer in
the regular season, was just 19-of-43 for
227 yards. He wasn't sacked, but he was
under pressure for much of the game.
James, the AFC offensive player of
the year, gained just 56 yards on 20 rush-
es and caught just one pass for eight
yards.
Harrison, who led the AFC with 115
receptions caught five passes for just
65 yards.
him from the Arena League and NFL
Europe to become the only quarterback
other than Dan Marino with 40 touch-
down passes in a season, finished 27-for-
33. He set team playoff records for yards
passing and touchdowns.
Rookie QB in the
championship
game? Bucs 14-13
TAMPA (AP) - No razzle, no daz-
zle. Just another victory for the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers, who proved you can
win in the playoffs with a rookie at
quarterback, 14-13 over the
Washington Redskins.
The Bucs have insisted all along that
Shaun King is not a typical rookie, and
with one of the NFL's best defenses
behind him, there's no reason he can't
lead them through the playoffs.
The Bucs wiped out a 13-point sec-
ond-half deficit with a pair of touch-
downs set up by Washington turnovers,
then held on to win when a bad snap
botched the Redskins' 52-yard field
goal attempt with 1:08 remaining.
By Dan Dingerson
Daily Sports Reporter
Michigan's only 1999 national cham-
pion, the men's gymnastics team, finally
began the defense of its title on Saturday.
The top-ranked Wolverines traveled to
Chicago to participate in the Windy City
Invitational against six other teams
ranked in the top-20, including No. 2
Ohio State.
The Wolverines performed well, fin-
ishing second, but were unable to defeat
the Buckeyes, who exacted some early-
season revenge for their defeat at the
NCAA Championships last year.
Contributing to the Wolverines' sec-
ond-place finish were a variety of
injuries which kept some of the team's
top performers out of their best events.
Sophomore Daniel Diaz-Luong did not
compete at all, and Brad Kenna, Scott
Vetere and Justin Toman all missed at
least one event due to injury.
All four were All-America selections
last year.
Overall, the performance was strong
for the Wolverines. The team had an
opportunity to work some of the gym-
nasts into events in which they do not
usually compete, and some very good
performances emerged amid the early-
season chaos.
The Wolverines won three events; the
pommel horse, the still rings, and the
parallel bars. Michigan narrowly fin-
ished second in the floor exercise behind
Illinois, which finished third overall.
As was the case last season, the high
bar proved to be the team's weakest
event. This time around, it prevented
Michigan from taking first place in the
competition.
While the finish was a disappoint-
ment for the coaches, they were not
overly concerned.
"We've got a plan for the entire year,"
assistant coach Mike Burns said. "We
missed some guys this week, tried some
new routines, and tried to get some of
the younger guys some experience,
which will all help us later."
Even more impressive than the team
performance were the individual perfor-
niances by the Wolverines. Team co-cap-
tain Toman set the school record in the
floor exercise by scoring a 9.85, good
enough to win the event.
Meanwhile, Vetere was the bench-
mark performer in two events, claiming
the still rings and parallel bars with
scores of 9.85 and 9.675 respectively.
Vetere also placed second on the pom-
mel horse, and tied for fourth in the floor
exercise.
Perhaps the most impressive part of
the meet was the success of the three
Wolverine freshmen. In their first inter-
collegiate event, all three freshmen com-
peted in at least one event, and all placed
in the top five of one event.
Kris Zimmerman competed in four
events, tying for second on the still rings
with a 9.8, and leading the team on the
high bar with a 9.45. Jamie Hertza took
third on the pommel horse, scoring a 9.5,
and Conan Parzuchowski took fifth on
the still rings with his score of 9.65.
All three freshmen earned their varsi-
ty letters by posting a score above 9.0
that counted for the team score.
Who: Matt Wright
Hometown: Wichita, Kansas
High School: Wichita Collegiate
Why: Wright advanced to the finals of the Big Tfen Singles t
Championships in East Lansing yesterday. Wright lost a close 7-5, 6-4
decision to Tyler Cleveland - Iowa's No. 1 singles player.
Background: 1998-99 ... All-Big Ten Conference Team .
Academic All-Big Ten Conference ... U-M Athletic Academic
Achievement ... listed 11th in final ITA Region IV rankings
19-12 overall record, including 12-9 record at No. 1 spot .
tied for third on team with 7-3 conference record
CLUB SPORTS REULTS NBA STANDINGS
I
Sport: Tennis
Year: Senior
Balance beam gives
M' win over Gophers
Jaguars stomp Miami; Johnson resigns
JACKSONVILLE (AP) - The
Jacksonville Jaguars can sing it loud.
They are a legitimate Super Bowl threat.
In the second-most overpowering
playoff performance ever, the Jaguars
routed the Miami Dolphins 62-7
Saturday to move one win away from the
Super Bowl they've been pointing
toward all season and singing about the
past week.
With Dan Marino stumbling through
possibly his last game, and Jimmy
Johnson stumbling through his - the
coach resigned Sunday, to be replaced
by Dave Wannstedt - the Dolphins
(10-8) didn't offer much of a challenge.
Still, for at least one day, those who
doubted the Jaguars (15-2) because of
their soft schedule and ridiculed them
for their Super Bowl rap song can give it
a rest.
Only the 1940 Chicago Bears, who
beat the Washington Redskins 73-0 for
the NFL title, have scored more points
in the playoffs. The 55-point margin also
is the second-largest in playoff history.
WRIGHT
Continued from Page 1B
On the final rally, Wright hit a topspin
lob, which looked like it was going out,
but spun down to hit the line. Ramey
responded by initially letting it go, but
changed his mind in the middle and
yelled, "Oh wait, no!" and played on.
Flustered, Wright thought Ramey
called the ball out, and then stopped
playing. An argument then ensued
because Wright thought the judge
should have overruled Ramey's call and
give him the final point. In the end, the
point was replayed and Wright yelled an
emphatic, "Out!" after Ramey's shot
sailed past the baseline.
"Ramey changed his mind and Matt
had a good complaint;' Michigan coach
Mark Mees said.
Every Wolverine won his first match,
a feat unmatched by any other team.
"We're really happy with the way the
guys played," Mees said. "But we need
to continue to play this well."
Of the six Wolverines to win their first
match, two players knocked off one of
the top eight seeds. Senior Ron Nano
defeated third-seeded Northwestern's
Brad Erickson, in straight sets.
Sophomore Danny McCain defeated the
sixth-seeded Michigan State's Francisco
Trinidad, after Trinidad was forced to
withdraw because of an injury.
Beam had one of the most impressive
victories of the day, blowing by
Minnesota's Tyson Parry. Beam used an
overpowering serve and a nice forehand
return to defeat Parry, the No. 7 seed and
Minnesota's top player.
"What I tried to do was hit the serve
hard, hit the return hard and hope that
they go in," Beam said.
Four Wolverines advanced to the
quarterfinals on Sunday. Senior John
Long fell to Minnesota's Harsh Mankad.
McCain also lost a close match to Ohio
State's Chris Porter, 7-6, 7-5.
After flying past Ramey in the first
set, Beam tripped up and lost a close sec-
ond. In the third, Beam was up 5-4 with
match point, but was unable to close it
out.
"I hit a really nice serve, but he
(Ramey) flicked his wrist and the ball
tripped over the net and in," Beam said,
The final set tied 6-6, Ramey was able
to get past Beam in the tie breaker.
"It was still a good way to start out the
season," Beam said. "I didn't really
expect to beat the people I did."
By Richard Haddad
Daily Sports Writer
Saturday night, the Michigan women's
gymnastics team battled yet another elite
opponent. And in the form of the No. 4
Minnesota, another top-14 squad fell at
the hands of the mighty Wolverines for the
fourth time of the young season.
"We won't see any tougher competition
than we have so far" Michigan coach Bev
Plocki said, alluding to the Super Six
Challenge that Michigan participated in
last week, as well as Minnesota. "We've
held our own against the best, so anything
from here is just another meet. Now we've
seen it all before."
In Minneapolis, Michigan senior cap-
tain Sarah Cain secured the all-around title
with a 39.200 and led a vault lineup that
swept the top four individual places in the
event, as Janessa Grieco, Sarah-Elizabeth
Langford and Christine Michaud all
earned a second-place tie with a 9.700.
Michigan experienced uncharacteristic
struggles on the uneven bars. The event
was the only one in which Minnesota pro-
vided the high score, but Michigan's
Bridget Knaeble managed to tally a per-
sonal season-best 9.825.
While the Wolverines didn't have any
falls on the event, they just "didn't per-
form the routines as beautifully and effort-
lessly as they ideally should have," Plocki
said.
After the slight scare allowed the
Gophers to diminish Michigan's lead, an
excellent performance on the balance
beam put Minnesota back in its place.
Coming off of a subpar showing on the
beam at last week's Super Six, in which
the Wolverines recorded a meet-low
48.075, they rebounded to outscore
Minnesota 49.025-47.425.
Freshman Cami Singer tied Cain for
first place in the event with a 9.850 to earn
her first collegiate win. Grieco, Katy
Nellans and Shannon MacKenzie tied for
third to paint the event's top five places
maize and blue.
"The fact that the meet came down to
the balance beam just like it did at
Georgia, and that we competed success-
fully this time, shows me marked
improvement in the last week or so,"
Plocki said. "They knew what happened
mentally, and they didn't let the pressure
get to them this time. They approached it
like they would in practice and were able
to attack the apparatus calmly and aggres-
sively"
Michigan's progressive improvement
over the course of the meet left Plocki
pleased. She noted that the Wolverines
started out a little bit nervous and didn't
perform up to their caliber. But instead of
panicking, the gymnasts settled into the
meet and stepped for the win.
"Watching our reactions to adversity,
the way they relaxed and did better in the
face of it, was a great thing to see," Plocki
said.
Michigan's ability to end aggressively
and competitively was particularly
impressive.
"In the preseason, our focus is 90 per-
cent physical and 10 percent mental,"
Plocki said. "Now, its 90 percent mental
and 10 percent physical. Our improve-
ments now come from the mental stand-
point, and that allows us to compete to our
full physical potential."
After going 4-2 on the road against
strictly top-10 opponents, Michigan will
finally get to show off its talents in Ann
Arbor next Thursday.
And the rest of the country should be
worried, because as Plocki puts it, "We're
always better at home"
Riflers shoot past
Michigan State
and HMA
The Michigan rifle team is on its
way to achieving its 15th league
championship in as many years.
The Wolverines were victorious
over Michigan State and Howe
Military Academy in a 3-way match
Saturday.
Paul Moore led the team with a
score of 526, while Michigan fin-
ished the event with a team score
1,862.
The Howe Military Academy,
which is located in Indiana, finished
second with a score of 1,827, while
the Spartans finished with 1,746.
Ray Braekevelt tallied 455 points
and finished second for the team.
- compiled from staff reports
'M' SCHEDULE
Wednesday January 19
Men's basketball vs. Northwestern, 8 p.m.,
Crisler Arena
Thur-da- Januaw 20
Women's gymnastics vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m.,
Cliff Keen Arena
Women's basketball at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Wrestling vs. Northwestern, 7 p.m.,
Cliff Keen Arena
ice hockey at Ohio State, 7:05 p.m.
Sal Iar Jaua 22
Men's swimming/Diving at Purdue, Noon
Women's swimmngDiving vs. Rice, 4 p.m.,
Canham Natatorium
Men's gymnastics vs. Iowa, 7 p.m..,
Cliff Keen Arena -
Men's basketball at Iowa, 8 p.m.
Men's track and field hosts Red Simmons
Invitational, TA, Indoor Trad and Field Building
Women's track and field hosts Red Simmons
Invitational, TBA, Indoor Track and Field Building
Snda Januay23
Men's Tennis vs. Western Michigan, 1 p.m.,
Varsity Tennis Center
Wrestling vs. Michigan State,1 p.m., Cliff Keen
Arena
Women's basketball vs.Iowa, 2 p.m., Crisler
Arena
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(8) Kansas at TEXAS A&M
(6) SYRACUSE 80, Notre Dame 57
St. John's 82, (4) CONNECTICUT 77
MICHIGAN 95,(21) Illinois 91 (OT)
(5) Auburn 51, MISSISSIPPI STATE 45
(22) Tulsa 67, RICE 49
(7) Duke 85, FLORIDA STATE 54
(19) DePaul 77, HOUSTON 68
(25) UCLA 71, (14) NORTH CAROLINA 68
(10) INDIANA 86, Minnesota 61
(18) Ohio State 58, NORTHWESTERN 44
(15) TEXAS 79, (17) Oklahoma 66
(1) CINCINNATI 73, Ohio 59
Bowling Green 77 vs. Central Mich 74
Chattanooga 68 vs. The Citadel 59
Col Of Charlston 82 vs. Geo Southern 68
East Carolina 66 vs. George Mason 75
Eastern Mich 64 vs. Miami Ohio 73
Kent 73 vs. Northern I 54
EASTERN
Miami
New York
Philadelphia
Boston
Orlando
New Jersey
Washington
CENTRAL
Indiana
Detroit
Milwaukee
Toronto
Charlotte
Cleveland
Atlanta
Chicago
W L GB
2511 -
21 15 4
21 17 5
20 17 5.5
18 17 6.5
16 21 95
PCT HOME AWAY STK
.694 15-2 10.9 Won 3
.583 13-5 8.10 Won 3
.553 13.6 8-1 Won 1
.541 12-8 8-9 Lost 1
.514 13-2 5-15 Lost 7
.432 12.8 4.13 Lost i
13 2211.5 .371 10-8
5 29 19 .147 4.13
3-14 Lost 1
1.15 lost 3
WESTERN CONFERENCE
MIDWEST W L GB PCHOMEAWAY STK
Utah 24 11 - 066 15~3 9-8 Won 2
San Antonio 24 14 15 .632 14.3 1011 Lost 2
Minnesota 18 16 5,5 .529 11-8 7-8 Lost I
Denver 17 19 75 .472 14.7 3-12 Lost 4
Dallas 12 2412.5 .333 7-9 5.15 Won 2'
Houston 12 2412.5 .333 6.11 6.13 Won 2
Vancouver 10 27 15 .270 5-14 5-13 Lost 3
PACIFIC W L GB
LA Lakers 32 6
Portland 28 9 3.5
Sacramento 2312 75
Seattle 24 13 75
Phoenix 21 15 10
LA Clippers 10 26 21
Golden State 6 30 25
PCTHOMEAWAY STK
842 18-2 14-4 Won I
.717 13.3 15.5 Lost 1
.657 15-2 810 Won5 $
649 12.6 127 Won 4
.583 165 510 Woni
.278 7.9 3-17 Lost 4
.167 3-16 3-14 Lost 12
(Till" o tSords'e gam.6
EASTERN CONFERENCE
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Boston 105, WASHINGTON 101
Milwaukee 107, ATLANTA 101
PHILADELPHIA 101, New Jersey 96
Seattle 82, LA LAKERS 81
GOLDEN STATE 113, Orlando 100
NEW YORK 105, Detroit 94
Toronto at Charlotte, inc.
Indiana at Minnesota, inc.
Houston at Dallas, inc.
San Antonio at LA Clippers, inc
NHL STANDINGS
(Through Saturdays gamesi
WESTERN CONFERENCE
24 12
22 14
21 163
16 20
16 22
15 21
12 261
2
3.5
8
9
9
13
,667
.611
.568
.444
.421
.417
.316
12-5
12-4
12-7
13-6
7.11
11-10
7-11
12-7
10-10
9.9
3-14
9-11
4-11
5-IS
CENTRAL
Detroit
St. Louis
Nashville
Chicago
W
27
27
16,
15
NORIF W
Colorado 23
Calgary 20
Edmonton 14
Vancouver 14
L
13
12
24.
24
L
17
19
191
21
L
17
21
18
21
T RT P73 HOME AWAY
5 3 60 18-5-2 9-8-2
6 0 60 15-5-4 12-7-2
5 3 40 9-11-2 7-13-3
6 2 38 7-123 8-12-3
T RT PTS HOME AWAY
5 1 52 14-5-1 9-12-4
5 1 46 13-6-3 7-13-2
12 6 46 10-5-8 4-14-4
8 4 40 7-12-3 7-9-5
T RT PTS HOME AWAY
5 2 53 129-1 11-8-4
5 0 53 12-7-2 12-8-3
5 3 50 129-2 9-12-3
7 3 46 9-8-3 9-10-4
5 1 44 11-9-3 8-12-2
Won 2
Won 1
Won 2
Won I
Lost 6
Lost 1
Lost 3
0
W L GB PCTHOMEAWAY STK
I
,'
x i
PACIFIC
Dallas
Phoenix
San Jose
Los Angeles
Anaheim
W
23
24
21
18
19
EASTERN CONFERENCE
NORTHEASTW L
Toronto 26 16
Ottawa 23 15
Boston 14 19
Buffalo 17 21
Montreal 14 24
T RT PTS HOME AWAY
4 3 59 18-5-2 8-11-2
6 2 54 126-4 11-9-2
12 2 42 7-9-7 7-10-5
6 1 41 11-10-3 6-11-3
6 1 35 6-11-4 8-13-2
T RT PTSHOME AWAY
5 3 62 17-4-2 10-9-3
6 1 57 15-5-3 10-8-3
3 5 44 12-6-2 6-16-1
7 3 42 10-10-2 6-10-5
6 0 26 5-15-3 5-12-3
ATLANflC
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
N.Y Rangers
N.Y Islanders
W L
27 13
25 13
18 22
16 20
10 27
SOUTHEAST W L TI
Fonda 26 14 3
Washington 18 17 7
Carolina 17 19 8
Tampa Bay 11 25 6
Atlanta 11 28 4
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
RT PYS HOME AWAY
3 58 15-3-2 11-11-1
1 44 11-46 7-14-1
0 42 9-9-3 8-10-5
4 32 8-9-3 3-16-3
3 29 8-12-1 3-16-3
0
Ottawa 4, N.Y ISLANDERS 3 (OT)
Washington 6, TAMPA BAY 3
Atlanta 3, BOSTON 3(0T)
FLORIDA 3. Philadelphia I
Phoenix at Colorado, inc.
NEWJERSEY5, Carolina 2
San Jose at Chicago, inc.
Toronto at Vancouver, inc.
Buffalo at Anaheim, inc.
Attention All U of M Students!
it's a New Year
and a
New Century.
Start a New Beginning
with the Student Organization of Your Choice at...
I., W -ter- Is't
confidence, pride,
[grit]
and plenty of time
to shower before calculus.
4 Over 130 st4 dent onzctions
4Informawtive wat'#hopt!
Cha*pohn
I.