Tuesday, January 2, 2000- 1ine mcngan uauy - i =SPORTS BRIEFS- .Hockey team to distribute shirts for "Maize Out" The Michigan basketball crowd is usually the one trying to mimic the crazy atmosphere at Yost Ice Arena - not the other way around. But on Saturday night the crazies f Yost will take a page from the Maize Rage and the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. Tom Brooks, Michigan Director of Marketing has confirmed that 2,500 "Maize Out" shirts will be given out on a first- come first-served basis for this Saturday's game against Ohio State. Shirts will be handed out at the South State Street student entrance, and all students are encouraged to *ome to the game early and already dressed in maize attire. The Wolverine icers will follow suit, donning their maize sweaters. The term "Maize Out" comes from the fans of the Winnipeg Jets, now the Phoenix Coyotes, who received the name "White Out" after filling their entire arena with fans dressed in white during playoff games. Brooks also confirmed that there are still tickets available for the Wolverines' March 4 game against Bowling Green, during the student spring break. With the exception of standing- room only, all other games are sold out for the rest of the season. By Chris Grandstaff Daily Sports Writer Paterno inks five- year extension with Penn State Ftom staff and wire reports Joe Paterno signed a five-year contract extension Monday, and the 73-year-old Penn State coach said he has every intention of staying hrough 2004. "I enjoy coaching and would like to continue as long as my health will permit," Paterno said in a state- ment. "I look forward to fulfilling this contract and, deep down, to going even longer because I'm excit- ed by all of the positive things that are happening at Penn State." The university would not release the terms of the contract. The exten- sion should quiet ongoing specula- *0n about his retirement. Many con- sidered his 1999 team a last, best shot at a third national title. But he said after Penn State's appearance in the Alamo Bowl that he is staying. r"I have absolutely no plans to retire," he said. "I am going to coach until I feel I can't do a good job." As recently as 1998, he had said he would coach "at least four ore years." Penn State's 24-0 vic- ry over Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl was his 20th in the postseason - the Division I record. He has 317 victories at Penn State, six short of the Division I record set by Bear Bryant. He could break the record as early as Oct. 21 against Illinois. Paterno is entering his 51st year on Penn State's staff, his 35th as head coach. Jansas forward suspended for drunk driving Kansas forward Lester Earl was indefinitely suspended from the bas- ketball team Monday after his arrest for drunken driving. Earl also was charged with driving with a suspended license this weekend after he was stopped for speeding early Sunday, said Bill Long, police chief of Eudora, east of Lawrence. Long said Earl failed a breathalyz- er test and was jailed. Earl was released on bond and was back in school on Monday. "I regret this happened," Earl said. "My bad decisions have put a negative light on our program and again, I *gret that." Earl will not participate in games nor travel with the team until the sus- pension is lifted. s I am saddened and upset by this situation," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "Our entire team understands this is a serious matter and we will deal with it in what we feel is the appropriate manner." Earl, whose transfer from #ouisiana State in 1997 caused hard feelings between the two schools, was arrested in August for missing a court date on earlier charges of speeding and driving with a suspended license. His career at Kansas has been clouded by the transfer, which came Red Simmons, still 'Michigan's ageless wonder' By Ryan C. Moloney Daily Sports Writer The rock music unabashedly shook the bow- els of Cliff Keen Arena so loudly Friday night that those walking by the building in the freez- ing cold cast an inquiring eye through the doors. The Michigan wrestling team's Joe DeGain and Northwestern's Matt Hueber paced around the mat, fire in their eyes as blood-thirsty fans cast their choicest barbs into the gladiator pit towards an oblivious Hueber. "Ladies and gentlemen," meet announcer Matt Stout bellowed. "Please welcome the old- est living Michigan coach - celebrating his 90th birthday, Red Simmons!" The fans applauded respectfully as a gentle- man whose age is nearly as immortal as his legend, stood up without the slightest bit of hesitation or strain and acknowledged the temporarily muzzled crazies with a gallant wave. How appropriate. Simmons was always the sensible buoy in an often triumphant and tur- bulent sea of Michigan athletics. He sat down on the hard, uncomfortable bleacher and remained there for the rest of the meet - sitting bolt upright, watching the action as intently as in his coaching days. Heck, the memory of himself out there on the mat isn't too far away. "I wrestled myself in 1929," Simmons said. "Coach (Joe) McFarland has really got these guys in great shape." Indeed, Simmons is 90 in fact only. He is Michigan's ageless wonder - as svelte as men half his age, with only a hint of gray in his thin red hair. In speaking with him, a full retrospect of each of his 90 years does not seem absurd but rather a real possibility. "I get up at 6:30 every morning and work out with these guys," Simmons said, glancing towards the Michigan wrestlers. "I still com- pete in the Senior Olympics. "I am in the 85-90 age bracket, so showing up is practically a victory." The legacy of Ken "Red" Simmons is alive today in the successful inclusion of women's sports into the Michigan athletic community. In 1960, Simmons started "the Michigammes," an Ann Arbor-based track club exclusively for women. In 1976, Simmons' efforts for equality came to fruition when he was hired as the first head coach of women's track and field. He held that position until his retirement five years later. Unlike the leading advocates in two of col- lege sports' staple issues - Title IX and TV revenue - Simmons has been around since the time of dirt tracks and wooden backboards. As college sports have grown, so has the length of Simmons' analysis and belief. "I pushed for Title IX for a while," Simmons said. "All the women needed was a chance - the same opportunities and facilities." Even if it meant a slightly different approach to coaching. "When I took the head coaching job for women's track I asked that my wife come along on all the trips - I didn't want to deal with 18 year-old girls by myself. "They took to calling her Mrs. coach." But hasn't the increasingly sprawling land- scape of college sports been a detriment? Not necessarily. "The concentration on sports is much more intense - it's reached a point where lots of events are scheduled based on television. "But people don't realize the expense involved with running these facilities. A build- ing like this, with (Canham Natatorium) attached probably costs at least $850,000 a year to run. Plus, Title IX takes a lot of money. "In this day and age, it's a necessity." The old coach reached into his pocket, "let me show you something," he said. And there, in Simmons' right palm, was a treasure almost as valuable as his memories. "M WOLVERINES," it read on the front of a 10K gold metal. A ferocious Wolverine crouched on top of the 'M', showing its fangs. Simmons turned it over to reveal an inscrip- tion: "1929, first place - 440 yard dash."- "I carry this around with me," he said. "It's good luck. You see, I wasn't supposed to win this race - the guy ahead of me tripped." And with that, he walked away. Still the modest gentleman, still the standard by which all other Michigan coaches are measured. Syracuse proves its worth with big victory over Connecticut SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Syracuse answered another question with its most impressive victory in a so-far perfect season. The fourth-ranked Orangemen remained the nation's only unbeaten team with an 88-74 victory over No. 6 Connecticut last night as six players scored in double figures. It seemed no matter what Syracuse did this season, there was a question about how good the Orangemen really were. Syracuse's first 10 games were all at home and the competition wasn't too steep. Then the Orangemen (16-0, 6-0 Big East) went on the road for three straight games and won all three. Connecticut (13-4, 2-3) was the first ranked team for Syracuse and the Orangemen responded with an emphatic win. "That's about as well as we've played this season and we're getting better," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after the Orangemen matched the 1917-18 team for the best start in school history. "We did a good job defensively and a good job on the boards. We played well." The game also added to the ques- tions facing Connecticut, which has lost three of its last six and has now doubled its loss total from last season's national championship run. "To put it bluntly, they punked us," Connecticut guard Khalid El-Amin said. "They got up on us, got in our face. We didn't bring our intensity tonight and that's not characteristic of this team. We're 2-3 in the league and can't afford to drop any more games." Ryan Blackwell had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Syracuse, which fin- ished with a 47-31 rebound advantage, while Etan Thomas had 15 points and I I rebounds. Jason Hart had 14 points and eight assists for the Orangemen, Tony Bland had 12 points and Damone Brown and DeShaun Williams added 10 each. "This is a great accomplishment," said Preston Shumpert who had six points for the Orangemen. "We proved that we're a great team. A lot of people have been riding us, the sched- ule, whatever. Tonight we showed that we can play with anybody and beat anybody. They can't say nothing now." Jake Voskuhl had 19 points for Connecticut, while Kevin Freeman had 14 and El-Amin nine, six in the first half as he was held below 10 points for just the third time this season. "They were able to cut the head off the dragon with us a little bit with Khalid," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "They locked him up." Syracuse put this one away with a 22-2 run in the first half as it broke from an 18-18 tie. Williams, a fresh- man, had eight points, including con- secutive 3-pointers that made it 40-20 with 5:11 left. The Orangemen led 44- 26 at halftime and it could have been a lot worse as they missed their last 10 shots from the field in the half. The Huskies, whose three other losses were by a total of 12 points, never could get a sustained run in the second half. A dunk by Thomas on a nice pass from Hart with 11:14 left gave Syracuse its biggest lead, 66-41. Hart's 3-pointer with 8:01 left made it 69-47 and was the Orangemen's last field goal of the game as they went 19-for- 23 from the line the rest of the way. "It seemed like at one point (in the second half) that they were looking around like they didn't know what hit them," Thomas said of Connecticut. "They were surprised the way we came out and just attacked them, played with so much emotion, and just kept going." AP PHOTO As one Syracuse fan celebrated his school's 88-74 victory over Connecticut last night, the Orangemen proved they are for real in the Big East. Thomas paralyzed in accident LIBERTY, Mo. - Derrick Thomas, one of the most feared pass rushers in NFL history, has a broken neck and back and might never walk again. The star linebacker of the Kansas City Chiefs has paralyzed legs follow- ing a car crash on an icy road in which his friend was killed. Thomas has use of his arms and upper chest, and doctors held out hope he might fully recover. Doctors said the 33-year player faces extensive rehabili- tation and probably will have surgery. "I don't think you can say anything right now" Dr. Jon Browne, the Chiefs' team physician, said yesterday "These THE DAILY IS LOOKING FOR PHOTO STAFF MEMBERS. CALL DANA OR Louis AT 764-0563. type of injuries have a mind of their own and a treatment pattern of their own. They're all uniquely and individu- ally different." Thomas was being transferred from the Liberty Memorial Hospital to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Thomas was born in Miami and his mother lives there. Friends and teammates came to the hospital Monday. Also visiting was Steve Palermo, a former American League umpire who was shot in 1991 and left partially paralyzed. "Do not rule anything in;" said Palermo, a Kansas City resident and friend of Thomas. "And do not rule anything out. He understands the gravi- ty of it. But rte's also very optimistic." Thomas has fractures in vertebrae in his neck and back. "Derrick's injuries are primarily to the spinal column," Browne said. "He does have some neurological impair- ment which is continuing to evolve." With an infections smile and fun- loving attitude, Thomas is one of the most popular athletes in Kansas City history, almost on a par with baseball great George Brett. Friends dubbed him "social director of the NFL' 1. 2. 3. 4.- 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. New Hampshire Wisconsin Michigan North Dakota Maine Boston University Michigan State Northern Michigan Boston College Rensselar 18-3-3 19-6-1 19-6-0 16-2-2 15-4-4 14-6-5 17-7-1 16-6-2 14-7-1 - 13-7-2 400 332 290' 281 264 195 170 92 45 .42 2 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 Others Receiving Votes: St. Lawrence 29, Northeastern25, Colgate 14, Niagara 13, Minnesota 3, Ferris State 2, Colorado College 1, St. Cloud 1, Yale 1. -III SUMMER1llh 9 a in Health Administration for Undergraduate Minority Students at The University of Michigan School of Public Health ePaid Internships .GRE course by NIWLIE: .KAPLAN and r ~ H3 meother benefits F; hhta enstein or :: rmen MT-PROaRns STUDENTS WITH CROHN'S DISEASE OR ULCERATIVE COLITIS Please join Dr. Ellen Zimmermann Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology, U of M For an informal discussion of topics including: the Michael Rn Gutteran Award in betty Ye Roy W Cowden Memorial Fellowship I'he Louise and George Piranian Scholarshp of Health Management & Policy M3226 The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 734-936-3296 Will be announced Tuesday, January 25 3:30 itm.