The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 20, 2000-78
Finals mis
tling
yDan Williams
Y Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS - The final session of the
three-day NCAA wrestling tournament
reeked of phoniness.
After 800-plus matches-were complet-
by Saturday
emoon, the pow- WRESTLING
ers-that-be traded in
the action-packed, Commentary
blue collar atmos-
phere that made the rest of the event so
exciting for a mostly ceremonial finals
bent on bringing the sport into the main-
stream.
First, there's the television coverage,
wring on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. Thursday.
If you want to get a completely off-
se perception of the essence of the
urnament, make sure to tune into
$PN's programming. The total sports
network is planning to air only the 10
final matches, ignoring the stories that
took place as 330 grapplers sought to ful-
fill their wrestling dreams. Commentator
Lonny McEchern, half of ESPN's broad-
cast team, didn't show up to the event
until its final day.
He missed Illinois' No. 8 seed Carl
rry electrifying the crowd by upsetting
owa's returning national champion,
Doug Schwab, in the waning moments of
the contest.
He didn't witness Penn State's second-
ranked Jeremy Hunter overcoming
Minnesota's third seed, Leroy Vega, on an
illegal hand lock in a tiebreaker (a 30 sec-
ond period of pure adrenaline that occurs
when overtime ends scoreless), despite
,;c ;
Ro
lit ,
Mic1.
in 10
<:,_.,_
til
tp~ ~
to coxer
Seo fall
of the
entinal
iseemed to have a leash on
hm fr the finals, He exchanged his
trademark calls to uncharacteristically
explain the rules of the sport to the audi-
ence as the match happened.
The whole attitude of the sport
changed for those last 10 matches. The
Celemony sUrrounding the tournament
seed more appropriate for a Victorian
ga than the wrestling finals. Women in
om dresses escorted past national
champions with overly stiff posture to the
nter ofhe arena to the sounds of cathe-
dral music.
tO
.21 ~
(OX/ti.-
~ re>ie
~ the
'e reascon
th final Elegance is out of place at a wrestling
y iet cvet. It certainly was an aberration from
the working-class mentality of the rest of
a rot as pu up o a the season.
h cmpev- Wrestling is under-appreciated, and
Syeaces NCAAs are too often shunned by sports
Srm, fans. Watching the various national
m ma champions leap into the arms of coaches
and family after their final victory would
so an send chills down anyone's spine.
n 'r nrvus- But turning a championship into too
st ters much of a promotional tool is a mistake.
'Th finals in any sport should be a cul-
n ngin si- minaition of all the events leading up to
tlaweaking uh fiat of that point.
The players and coaches would proba-
sn erc bfl never admit that the championships
arc flawcd. Truthfully, college wrestling
Ed 'Lri has is a sport that can't afford criticism from
d with in ifor- the inside.
But the one-on-one battle of strength
soe oxer on and will is quite unique from other
e~ busmess I) stt In the manner in which the
s - \ AA finals were conducted, potential
lst fans ing only the last session
failed to experience the soul of wrestling.
.6 T
APP'O.TO'
Junior Damlon Logan lost twice to Northwestern's Scott Schatzman, but still managed to repeat as All-American.
ThreeearnA11An h:
Try again: 4
improve lN I
By Ryan C. Moloney
Daily Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS - All season long, the Michigan wrestling team
fought against the ravages of injuries and the mental drain of
competing in the country's best wrestling conference, the Big
Ten.
That said, their experience in the NCAA championships were
as much about getting a taste of what the future has to offer,
rather than making up for lost time.
The Wolverines finished 13th in the weekend tournament -
lower than their pre-tournament No. 8 national ranking - with
a score of 38 points.
Iowa captured its 16th title in 20 years in heart-stopping fash-
ion, knocking off second-day leader Iowa State 116-109.
Minnesota took third with 80 points, followed by Oklahoma
with 69.50, Oklahoma State with 66.50 and sixth place Illinois
with 59.50.
For Michigan, senior Joe Warren, junior Damion Logan and
sophomore Matt Brink captured All-American honors at the
133, 141 and heavyweight classes, respectively.
The combination of the tournament's grueling format and the
relative inexperience of the Wolverines gave coach Joe
McFarland reason for satisfaction.
"We've been around that all year, and quite honestly, I don't
know how much better we are than that," McFarland said. "We
brought five freshmen or sophomores here - we're pushing to
be a top-five team and to win this tournament some day, but
right now we just don't have the numbers coming in.
"The one thing I can say is they all came here and competed
hard, even the guys that didn't medal. That is encouraging for
what we're going to build on"
In particular, this can be said for Warren, Logan and Brink.
For Warren, the honor gave suitable closure to a career of
ups-and-downs with one consistency - his trademark, confi-
dent swagger. He grabbed third place with a business-like473
decision over Pittsburgh's Rob Loper. In his last college match,
Warren begrudgingly admitted satisfaction in finishing thirdx-
"I'm pretty happy with it," Warren said. "I didn't accomplish
my goal, to be a national champion, but this is the second-best
thing."
Logan wrapped up All-American honors on the second day
and needed only to wrestle for place on Saturday. Perennial foe
and hometown favorite Scott Shatzman again got the best of
Logan - 17-4 in the fifth-place match.
"That's not really the match Damion wanted," McFarland said.
"He's been battling injuries and that match just got away from
him. But he's a two-time All-American and I'm proud of him."
Brink's eighth-place finish was arguably the surprise for
Michigan - the quiet sophomore wrestled all year in a weight
class laden with upperclassmen and never received fanfare for
his low-scoring, technical matches.
But on Friday night, Brink decisioned arch-rival Matt Lamb
of Michigan State 7-2, breaking into an elite fraternity f col-
lege heavyweights that includes his father, Dan Brink, wio was
an All-American for Michigan in 1975. The moment was as
sweet for father as for son.
"Twelve years of hard work, to see your son take on the chal-
lenge - he's worked through so many adversities," thesenior
Brink said. "Today was definitely his day."
As usual, the younger Brink dead-panned about the acgom-
plishment.
"I think I wrestled hard, I did what the coaches wanted'me to
do," Brink said. "The hard work paid Qff."
By David Moss.
Daily Sports Writer
Two weeks after travelling to
Indianapolis for the National Football
League's scouting combine, several
Michigan football players with hopes of
hearing their name called in next April's
draft had a second opportunity to show-
case their skills.
On Friday, NFL scouts and coaches
descended upon Ann Arbor to take one
last look at the Wolverine stars. "Pro-
day" an occurrence at virtually every
Division I school offers players a chance
to perform on their home turf.
Leading the Michigan contingent
was quarterback Tom Brady who fol-
lowed up his strong combine perfor-
mance with another solid showing.
Scouts continue to marvel at his cool-
ness and precision.
"I was shockingly impressed with
Brady," CBS draft analyst Russ Landie
said. "He is very poised and makes
"good decisions. He may not have a great
arm, but he has smooth mechanics and
throws easily catchable passes. He is not
the type of guy who is gonna get scared
and force passes across the middle"
One of Brady's favorite targets
throughout the season was receiver
Marcus Knight. Knight is one
Wolverine who placed enormous signif-
icance on Friday's workout. After run-
ning a disappointing 40-yard dash at the
Combine, he hoped to improve his time
on Oosterbaan Field House's track.
Knight ran a 4.5 flat shaving .16 off his
combine time, but was still not satisfied.
"I'm not really happy with my time,"
Knight said. "But there's nothing I can
do about it. I've done all I can, and now
I'm just-gonna see what happens:'
Fullback Aaron Shea also eyed Pro-
Day as an opportunity to put an excla-
mation point on a remarkable two
months, which has seen his stock skv-
rocket. The Washington Redskins timed
Shea's 40-yard dash at 4.62 seconds.
Shea attributed his strong workout in
large part to being in Ann Arbor.
"You definitely feel better at home;"
Shea said. "It's a lot more comfortable
having your coaches there."
Iowans do1minate crowd at NCAAS
Shea
end ad
to hi' i
"I B
pi1ays. 1
b ack n
for 11.v
backr
sas a
to pav
ran au-
fora .
iit~
DANA INNANE/Daidy
dwill lIkely be headed towards
z o CBS draft analyst Russ Landle.
ung consistent defensive player in 1999, is
xcr- xviewed by some as being too small to
k ight play the position.
k prior "The question with Gold is his height
and weight" said Landie. "He needs to
u can he xvcry productive, because he is not the
rnake type of guy who is gonna take on line-
Ipal rnenf at tile point of attack."
Unlike Gold, Dhani Jones and Josh
Wiianms both experienced fairly
'iques- unspecltacular senior seasons. Yet both
's ln- performed wxell at the combine and Pro-
s pos- day, catapulting their draft status. Both
tabbed 'ones and Williams appear to be virtual
l s to py at the next level.
Snhegair of defensive stalwarts
d temselves very much on the
Sbub.Safety Tommy Hendricks and
oe Rob Renes both opted not to
ke pa the scouting combine and a
as a rst wil be judged largely on
ae tpes of their play this season.
This cod be a blessing for Renes, but
cod spel bad news for Hendricks.
a litle disappointed in Tommy
rcks' pay this season," Landie
at year, he caught everyone's
ihw good he was. I thought he
betr than Rav. This year he missed
tkles and his stock really dropped.
n guy who you'd rather not
se wrking o ut because he's not gonna
es you," said Landie. "But if you
h on film, he's always making
the type of guy who may not
ed but could be starting five
Landie also cited Renes' ability to
long snap as a major boost to his
chances of being selected.
By Jon Schwartz
Daily Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS - Right around where I-
64 passes the Kiel Center, site of the 2000
NCAA Wrestling Championships, a bill-
board looms over the road.
"Iowa - come be our guest," the sign
boasts.
Over the weekend, the reverse hap-
pened. St. Louis got the chance to host
thousands of guests from Iowa.
The entire city was decked out in black
and gold - Iowa's colors. And with the
Iowa fans wearing these colors, it certain-
ly appeared to be a friendly atmosphere
for the Hawkeyes. In return, the Iowans'
support for the event showed their appre-
ciation.
Throughout the three-day tournament,
fans from the three Iowa schools filled
their respective sections, and took turns
bellowing out their schools' cheers to the
jeers of the fans from the other 49 states.
One would think that the group leading
the charge against the Hawkeyes would
be the fans from Iowa State. As it was, the
two schools were battling throughout the
event for first place, with the leader
changing almost as often as Dennis
Rodman's hair color.
After all, most Michigan fans love
hearing about all of rival Michigan State's
mishaps on and off the playing field. The
mere thought of an Aged Maize Rager
cheering for State in the Big Ten
Tournament, even if Michigan was out of
the picture, is a sacrilege.
But the Iowa versus Iowa State rivalry
is different than the one between the
Wolverines and the Spartans.
Cyclone fans are happy to root on their
rival Hawkeyes, just as long as the two
grapplers don't find themselves on the
mat together.
"I think that we have a pretty good
rivalry between Iowa and Iowa State,"
said Iowa State fan Greg McCullough,
who actually attended both schools
before graduating from the latter. "But a
lot of the kids are Iowa kids. It's kind of
hard to root against them unless they're
wrestling other guys from Iowa State"
It all adds up to a pretty simple conclu-
sion about next year's Championships in
Iowa City.
The place is going to be nuts.
While it seemed like half of the fans at
this year's tourney were affiliated with an
Iowa school, next year, at Carver-
Hawkeye Arena, it should take on the
atmosphere of a home meet for Iowa.
For example, it is obvious that there are
going to be a plethora of Iowa supporters
in the building. Add that to the fact that
there is a common outcry among oppos-
ing fans that there is a different standard
for the Hawkeyes, and there is potential
for a problem. Others, not from Iowa, but
claiming a more educated view on the
sport, feel differently.
"You try to think of it as unbiased, but
that bias comes out with the program
they've developed," said Bob Sater, a high
school coach from Ohio. "Does that
affect the refs? I think it does"
But it takes more than refs to create a
dynasty. And Iowa has done just that.
By winning its 20th title this year, Iowa
continued a reign of dominance that has
spanned the last two decades.
To create that dynasty, it takes fans.
And the fans will be in full force at
Carver-Hawkeye.
"It's just kind of scary that it's going to
be in Iowa next year," Michigan' 141-
pounder Damion Logan said. "They're
going to probably have like 17,000 of the
20,000 people there. It's going to be hard
for the other competitors to compete in
that kind of environment."
But while the setting for next year
leaves some of his wrestlers apprelen-
sive, Michigan coach Joe McFarland
thinks otherwise.
"It's going to be right there in the mid-
dle of the wrestling Mecca, and it's going
to be a great tournament," McFarland
said. "I'm looking forward to that.AndI
want my guys thinking about that ring
the summer."
If the Wolverines don't think about that,
though, they can think about the fact that
although the Kiel Center set a record for
total fans at the tournament this yearvith
more than 96,000 during the thrdeday
event, there were still some emptyseats.-
Next year, with the entire state trying to
get in, it'll be much harder to find an
empty seat than a free ticket to the to the
Super Bowl.
"It's going to be wild,' Michigan assis-
tant coach Sean Bormet said. "GeVt your
tickets now."
line
Drafting a projection
With the NFL Draft 26 days away on, A
are hopeful of being drafted. Hre: i
Russ Landie projects each to go.
M
QB- Tom Brady
WR- Marcus Knight
FB- Aaron Shea
LB- Ian Gold
LB Dhani Jones
DE- James Hall
DE- Josh Williams
SS- Tommy Hendricks
NT Rob Renes
IuP
/ "~iu
want to [ [ 1 [
over the Internet9 -
A number of Web sites now make it possible to
locate and download music in a digital format -W -
called MPEG-1 layer 3, or MP3 sites (for example,
napster.com). These sites allow people to select music files, transfer
them over the Internet, and store and play them on a personal computer.
While this may sound like a great idea, using the Internet for MP3 access may create serious problems for
you and others who use computing resources at the University of Michigan. Before downloading electronic
music files from MP3 Web sites, please consider the following:
Transferring large music files may overload the network and degrade services
All of us in the University community rely on the network to get our work done. Transferring large
MP3 files can slow the network making it less responsive or even unavailable to you and to others.
U 172
Graduating StudentsL
q
s. r