12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 27, 2000

Lebowski'
in iration
for all to
kit lanes
f you've ever happened to catch pro-
fessional bowling on television, I'd
like to commend you on your
resourcefulness. Because ESPN2 sure
does a damn good job of hiding it
If some PBA
event isn't being
aired in the early Andy
hours of a weekday Latack
morning, then it's
on when every
other sports fan on
the planet is watch-
ing something else,
like the Super
Bowl.
But if you have COUNTER
stumbled across LATACK
televised bowling,
I'm sure you lin-
gered on the channel for a few minutes.
Eventually, you shook yourself from
your slack-jawed, couch-ridden submis-
sion with horror, much as you do when.
you realize you've just watched that
crazy Australian chase and subdue
crocodiles for two hours on "Animal
Planet °'
That's because, as far as professional
sports go, bowling ranks just above
bass fishing in terms of glamour.
Insomniacs can't believe what they're
seeing when they tune into events with
names like the Las Vegas Open and are
treated to fat, balding, middle-aged
men (and women) who look like high
school principals.
Not exactly the stuff that spawns
dreams in the heads of children nation-
wide. I haven't seen many inner-city
kids grab old soccer balls and two-liter
soda bottles, breaking into impromptu
pickup bowling tournaments in back
alleys simply for the love of the game.
If there was any marketing appeal in
bowling, don't you think Nike would
have stuck its intrusive nose in the
sport, manufacturing bowling shoes,
shirts, bags, balls, and towels? In fact,
the only place bowlers seem to be con-
sidered athletes is on those insufferable
ESPN telecasts, but bear in mind that
this is the same network that considers
the horse Secretariat one of the top ath-
letes of the century.
But while bowling may still be wait-
ing for its poster boy/slob to emerge,
the sport does have an ambassador
without even realizing it. I can safely
say that this person, albeit fictitious,
has inspired me and my counterparts to
flock to the alley with that 'i-am-Tiger-
Woods' idolizing gleam in our eyes.
f That man is The Dude. The protago-
4ist of the movie 'The Big Lebowski,'
has, with assistance from the rest of the
brilliant cast, singlehandedly revitalized
theonee-dormant sport of bowling.
Okay, maybe that's a little far-fetched.
The Dude, Walter, and Donny didn't
exactly do to bowling what Michael
Jordan did to the NBA, but they have
certainly peaked some interest.
Take Tuesday nights at nearby
iolonial Lanes as an example. Week
after week, students from Michigan
take over the alley for a rowdy, often
lcohol-aided display that can only be
described as league play at its finest.
Note: The remainder of this column
featues more than afewreferences to

the masterpiece knowvn7 as 'Lebom ski.'
to those ofyou who have not seen the
movie and therefore cannot appreciate
its splendid humor,; Ioffer no apology
and in turn demand one fiom .voufor
not havingseen the movie. Having said
that, I'llproceed...
The surroundings at Colonial are
replete with the indelible mark of
Lebowski.' Calls of 'Over the line!'
can be heard over the blaring music.
Brave bowlers do their best attempt at
Jesus Quintana's post-strike dance, and
team names such as "Shomer Shabbas"
dot the standings.
It's really rare that a humorous movie
~.could have such inspirational power.
'Caddyshack' didn't make you want to
go hit the links. Necessary
Roughness,' despite a gripping perfor-
mance by Sinbad, didn't entice audi-
ences to play football.
But after watching 'Lebowski,' more
.and more people approach their recre-
-ational lives by heeding the words of
Walter Sobchak: F- it, Dude. Let's go
bowling'
Those words were a way of life for
my housemates and I this summer,
when a 'Lebowski' viewing and a trip to
the alley were part of the daily routine.
Because for The Dude, bowling was
the solution to all problems. His life,
not to mention his johnson, was at
stake throughout the movie, but he

A FRESH START

0

I I

hen Michigan captain Sean
Peach asked about fellow
defenseman Roemensky, he
replied, "Are you talking about
Dale?"
Just a little over a month ago, the
answer to that would have been yes.
But not anymore. In one short
month, the Wolverines, in an
unprecedented move for the
Michigan hockey team, added a play-
er to the squad in the middle of the
season.
Not to be confused with former
winger Dale Rominski, the
Wolverines added defensman Mike
Roemensky to the team just before
the Great Lakes Invitational
Tournament on Dec. 29.
And no matter how hard he tries,
Mike will forever be associated with
Dale, if not for their similar names,
then for the number they share.
In his four seasons playing at
Michigan, Dale donned the number
23.
So does Mike. But it was by coin-
cidence, he swears.
"We just went over the numbers on
the phone and I decided to go with
23," Roemensky remembers. "Later
that day I was flipping through the
media guide and I saw that Dale was
No. 23 and my eyes got wide. Even
though I remember seeing him play, I
didn't know before that his number
was 23."
But in his short time here at
Michigan, Roemensky has made an
identity all his own.
Mike was immediately thrown into
the lineup, playing in Michigan's

By Stephanie Offen
game of the new semester,
few weeks after joining the

- Daily Sports Writer

second
only a
team.

His play has been noticed by
Michigan coach Red Berenson, who
has called him a "solid, smart play-
er."
It may be a little early for the Yost
fans to be able to recognize their new
No. 23 by face, but Roepnensky has
already made the crowd stand up and
take notice of his quiet but effective
style of plav.
In his first game against Miami on
Jan. 14, Mike entertained the Yost
crowd with an amazing hit, flipping a
RedHawk flat on his face. And while
the crazy students in the front row
pounded the glass to praise Mike,
they probably didn't have the
slimmest idea who they were cheer-
ing for.
THE RECRUITMENT
That hit may have been a little
unusual for the player who was orig-
inally described as "plain and ordi-
nary" by the Michigan coaching
staff.
"Mike first caught our eye in the
1998-99 season," Michigan associate
head coach Mel Pearson said. "We
originally bypassed Mike because he
is one of those defensemen that you
just don't notice on the ice. But that
can be a good thing - it means that
he wasn't making mistakes."
In late November, while watching
one of next year's recruits, Andy
Burns, in an all-star tournament for
Compuware, the Michigan coaching
staff took
notice of

DAVID KATZ/Daily
Some may mistake new freshman Mike Roemensky for last year's captain because of their similar names and numbers, but
the new No. 23 is quietly making an identity that is all his own.



Roemenskv. They noticed how he
might be able to help with the sea-
son's defensive woes.
After the game, Pearson
approached Mike with the offer of
joining the team right after
Christmas.
Mike was also given the option of
joining in the fall, but decided that
with three defenseman coming in
next season, the former option would
give him more of an opportunity to
play.
"The whole thing was a real shock
to me," Roemensky said. "I didn't
even know that it was a possibility. It
was totally out of the blue."
Or, if you will, out of the Blue.
THE DECISION
But there was a flip side.
Roemensky lost a semester of cligi-
bility and had to get acclimated to a
new team and university life, when
everyone else had already found
their niche.
The difficulty of getting acclimat-
ed to a new school and new team-

w
Share same number 23
Grew up 15 minutes apart

U Played for Compuware
Share same last name


--I

mates was compounded by a family
tragedy. His mother died from cancer
right before he came to Michigan.
"We were concerned that he had so
much to deal with when he first
came in here," Pearson said. "But
with everything he had to deal with,
he was amazing. He looked good
right away and he is getting better
every day."
And Roemenskv's father was
incredibly supportive in every step of
his decision. Mike grew up in a
hockey family, so his father knew his
added pressures.
"It was tough because his mother
died the same day that he made the
decision," said David Roemensky,
Mike's father.
David played hockey at Northern
Michigan from 1967 through 1971,
but didn't try to sway his son to
attend his alma mater.
"I may have had a little allegiance
to that school, but I can't tell him
what to do," Mr. Roemensky said.
"He was old enough to figure that
out for himself."
And for Roemensky, the decision
was a no-brainer - playing at
Michigan had always been a dream
for him.
He also already had a core group
of friends at Michigan. Last season,
Roemensky played with current
freshmen John Shouneyia, Mark
Mink and J.J. Swistak on
Compuware's national championship
team.
"I had other offers," Rocmensky
said. "Northern was looking at me
and so were St. Lawrence and
Michigan State. But the opportunity
to play at Michigan is second to
none."
Unlike the other players,
Roemensky was not placed in a dorm
room with another athlete.
And although he sometimes miss-
es the comfort of his own home in
White Lake, he found his place at
Michigan quickly.
There was a flip side for the
Michigan coaching staff as well.
With such an impulsive decision
on a player, Berenson said that he
really didn't know exactly what he
was getting into until Roemensky got
to Michigan
When Berenson watched

Roemensky play for Compuware,
week before he was supposed to start;
at Michigan, Roemensky struggled.
But, at that point, there was noth-
ing Berenson could do beside
accept his decision and hope for the
best.
And that's what he got.
THE MOVE
Four weeks after he received
Michigan's offer, Roemensky packe
up his bags and left his home
White Lake.
He left behind Compuware, his
father, and the ponds where
Roemensky and his brother used to
skate when they were little.
But just like his brother, who lefA
home to try to walk onto Westerp-
Michigan's hockey team, Roemensky
was also making the move to the cola
lcgiate level.
As soon as he arrived at Michiga
he was thrown into practice. His firs
day at Yost, he was thrown onto the
ice and into the drills. He immediate-
ly became part of the team.
"I was nervous," Roemensky.
recalls. "I was kind of looking.
around at everyone, wondering what
I should do"
He figured it out right away.
Berenson praised Roemensky for
the fact that, under all the circur*
stances he faced, he was able to fit
right in.
He said that he stepped right in,
and played the kind of hockey that a,
Michigan defenseman is asked to
play.
Peach, a fellow member of the.
defense, also noticed Roemensky's
amazing acclimation to the team.
"He solidifies our defense and
gives us an extra body," Peach said,
"He has the potential to be a gre*
defenseman here at Michigan"
And this Saturday, as Roemensky
skates onto the ice to face Ohio
State, the Yost fans might still not
know who he is.
They may scratch their heads,
look at the name and number on the
back of his jersey and say
"Rominski'?
But now that Roemensky h
unpacked his bags, he will ha.
three-and-a-half years to set himself
apart from his predecessor.
It might not take that long.

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