The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 24, 2000 - 11 Wildcats'A.D. set to retire, remain coach MARQUETTE (AP) - Northern Michigan athletic director Rick Comley is leaving the post of athletic director, but will remain as hockey coach, the school announced yesterday. He has been athletic director for 13 ears and hockey coach for 24 years. Comley will end his athletic director role July I jo concentrate on running the Division I hockey program he estab- lished at Northern in 1976. "This is what I want to do. I wouldn't trade the experience, but the truth is, holding down both jobs has become too nuch for one person," Comley said in a news release. "It's time to return to coaching and do the best job I can with he sport I love the most." He has been the only head coach in the 24-year history of Northern Michigan hockey and has compiled a 553-451-62 career record, During Comley's tenure, the Wildcats won national championships in hockey (1991) and volleyball (1993, 1994). A national search for a full-time ath- letic director will begin immediately, said president Judi Bailey, 'ordan speaks out on NBA so-called stars CHICAGO (AP) - Michael Jordan says the NBA is trying to create stars who haven't earned that status. "When I was playing it was never done," Jordan, now part owner of the Washington Wizards, told the Chicago Sun-Times, "You didn't create Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. They created vemselves," Players like LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant are, given success before they surprise anybody, Jordan said. He is impressed by some players in the league, including the Detroit Pistons' Grant Hill, but said the NBA is making a mistake by pushing Hill and others as the next Michael Jordan. Jordan said players such as Bryant nd Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors ill have much work to do on the court. "Kobe, he's got to continue to grow" Jordan said. "But Vince doesn't play defense." Jordan said the Wizards' Juwan Howard, another who entered the league amid extremely high expectations, works hard and can be a winner. But Jordan insists Howard makes too much money. "He's not a franchise player, although s paid like one," Jordan said. owa State coach nabs Coach of the Year ST. LOUIS (AP) - Larry Eustachy, who led Iowa State to the Big 12 regu- lar-season and conference tournament championships, was selected Coach of the Year yesterday by the United States Basketball Writers Association. *Under Eustachy, in his second year, the Cyclones are 31-4 heading into yes- terday's NCAA regional semifinal game. He is 46-19 in two seasons at Iowa State and 205-105 for his career. ;The Cyclones were picked last in the Big 12 in some preseason polls. The 31 wins is a school record. Gophers' grades rise under Monson reign *MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The grades of Minnesota men's basketball players have risen significantly in the first semester under coach Dan Monson. The team earned a collective 2.50 grade-point average for the spring semester, improving upon the 1.71 6PA - or D-minus - turned in after ring quarter last year, when the team s involved in academic scandal. Monson replaced Clem Haskins, who was bought out of his contract for $1.5 million last year before investiga- tors implicated him as knowing about academic cheating in the program. Three Big Ten teams advan( Michigan State overcomes 10-point deficit at half, prevail r- AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Mateen Cleaves and Michigan State are still on a mission for a second straight trip to the Final Four thanks to a defense that held Syracuse score- less for the last 5:54. Charlie Bell, aching knee and all, scored 12 points and sparked a second-half comeback as top-seeded Michigan State, after trailing by as many as 14, roared back to beat Syracuse 75-58 yesterday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals. The Spartans (29-7) will play Iowa State tomorrow night for a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis. Syracuse (26-6) looked ready to run the Spartans right out of The Palace, to SWEET 16 the dismay of a highly partisan Michigan U State crowd. But Cleaves, who returned for his senior season with the expressed hope of winning a national championship, wouldn't let it hap- pen. Cleaves, scoreless in the first half, scored 10 points - most of them early in the second half-- to get the Spartans rolling. Morris Peterson had 16 of his 21 points in the second half, too. Iut it was Bell - who scored nine of his points in the sec- ond halt who put the Orangemen away. IOa STATE 80, UCLA 56: Iowa State used its quickness and defense to ground UCLA's high-flying offense, then put the liruins away with steady shooting and strong inside play. Marcus Fizer, Stevie Johnson and Michael Nurse had 16 points each as the second-seeded Cyclones beat the sixth- sceded Bruins 80-56 yesterday night in the Midwest Regional semi finals. Jamaal Tinsley added 14 points to help the Cyclones (32- 4) extend their winning streak to 10 games and advance to the final eight for the first time. lowa State will face top-seeded Michigan State tomorrow. The Spatrtans beat Syracuse 75-58. ULI.A's acrobatic offense, which produced 14 alley-oop baskets in a 35-point victory over Maryland in the second round, never got started against the Cyclones. Pcttrwv 75, GONZACA 66: Gonzaga is gone, done in by defense and rebounding, and Purdue coach Gene Keady is one victory from his first trip to the Final Four in 20 seasons as coach of the Boilermakers. Purdue slowed the game to a half-court pace and pestered Gonzaga's guards into a miserable shooting night to beat the Bulldogs 75-66 yesterday night in the West Regional semifi- nals. Jaraan Cornell, whose season-long shooting slump came to an end when the NCAA Tournament began, scored 18 points for the sixth-seeded Boilermakers (24-9), who play the win- ner of Thursday night's LSU-Wisconsin game in tomorrow's regional final. In Keady's 20 seasons at Purdue, the Boilermakers have been to the round of 16 five times, including the past three I e AP PHOTO n points. F ; 4 E DU NYS Dancellear This half ofthe bracket is much like the board game Stratego. Duke is the last remaining No. 1 and could advance to the Final Four if it holds serve. But the Blue Devils must beware the lurking Spy - a role played by Florida first, and then Oklahoma State -- which could knock them out at any time. EAST REGION No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Florida SOUTi REGION No. 4 Tengjessee vs. No. 8 North Carolina Neither of these teams were expected to be alive at this point. The Tar Heels were thought to be early-round fodder for Missouri or Stanford, and after Tennessee limped out to a nine-point deficit against Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round, few thought the Volunteers would live to see the t Senior point guard Mateen Cleaves flexed his muscles i Michigan State's 75-58 win over Syracuse, scoring 10 p Weird that a team can NCAA Tournament, advance, and its stock can drop. After slipping past No. 8 Kansas this past Sunday, Duke's future in the tourna- ment is now being doubted. Granted, this isn't the typical Duke team that wins by 40 points until the Final Four. But the Blue Devils are as solid as they've always been. A motivated Kansas team was able to give them a run, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Duke is still one of the top chal- lengers left in the field, For Flurida, winning win in the THIS WEEKEND NCAA TOURNAMENT East (today) Duke v. Fkonia 7:38 pan. OklahomStv.SetonHall:55 South (today) Miami (Fa) v . Ti 7:55 p.m. N. CadmavTen.Tme10:15 pm. Tomorrow's games Pundkk vs. Wisavsin 4:40 p.m. MIvr S r . S:7:00 p.m, Sunday's games De/a mnnerxvsOklahcma Well, they're1 America will ha% deal with it. Carolina pride carried the Tar F through two rou North Carolina sh start to resemble 12-loss team it for the most of year - and Tenn( will be there, lic its lips at the opp nity. Tennessee North Carolina' Sweet Sixteen. here. ve to has Heels ands. tould the was f the essee -king ortu- 79, 70 years. But this will be just their second appearance in a regional final in that span. WISCONSIN 61, Lot IsIANA STATE 48: Wisconsin is still winning ugly, with the plodding but productive Badgers beat- ing Louisiana State 61-48 yesterday night to make it an all- Big Ten final in the West Regional. The Badgers (21-13) will meet Purdue (24-9) tomorrow for a spot in the Final Four. The Boilermakers beat Gonzaga 75-66 in the other semifinal. Coupled with Michigan State's win over Syracuse in the Midwest, the Big Ten has three teams in the final eight. Jon Bryant led Wisconsin with 16 points. Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith each scored 12 for Louisiana State (28-6). Louisiana State, which used its speed and frontline duo of Swift and Smith to beat Southeast Missouri State and Texas in th first two rounds, hit a wall against a Wisconsin team that forced its deliberate, halfcourt offense and man defense on the frustrated Tigers. The 48 points were the fewest scored by Louisiana State this season. Ti e is now for Blue crew would take their program to a new level. It was at this point last season where the Gators lost to Gonzaga. One year older and one year wiser, Florida is hoping for a different out- come. Too bad it ran into the wrong team. Duke 84, Florida 76 No.3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Seton Hall Sadly, Seton Hall looks to be fol- lowing Connecticut's footsteps, los- ing its top guard to injury in the middle of the tournament. Shaheen Holloway's severely sprained left ankle might end this game before it begins. Holloway's injury cripples what has been a landmark run for the Pirates. As good of a game as Ty Shine had in relief of Holloway in an upset over second-seeded Temple this past Sunday, Shine will be hard- pressed to offer an encore, especial- ly now that other teams know who he is. Oklahoma State will benefit from this free pass to the Elite Eight. It's rare to advance so easily this late in the tournament, and that will keep the Cowboys well-rested for a Sunday matchup with Duke. Oklahoma State 82, Seton Hall 64 SwaeSeon Hallwt Te Nt*-(xthCa tiam ac this game { in TBA No. 6 Miami (Fla.) annem vs. No. 7 Tulsa ,r TBA Every time Tulsa advances, my djsdain for WAC basketball becomes even more costly. But things were much worse in 1998, when Utah advanced to the final against Kentucky. That was scary. This is an undesirable game to pick. It could go either of two ways -- Miami could win, or Miami could lose. Just kidding. Still, this will likely be the ugliest Sweet Sixteen game in the field. Expect a low score, a grind-it-out style of play - and a sacrificial lamb for Tennessee. In a wacky game, I might as well take a wacky winner. Take a deep breath. Tulsa 67, Miami (Fla.) 64 YESTERDAY'S RESULTS The reason my performance is buried so low in this column is because I'd rather no one saw how poorly I fared. I went 1-3. Michigan State over Syracuse was my only correct pick, which also happens to be the pick I am saddest to count as a victory. As for Wisconsin-LSU (Wisconsin won), Gonzaga-Purdue (Purdue won), and UCLA-Iowa State (Iowa State won), I went 0- for-3 on those. Maybe tonight's games will treat me a little bit kinder. By Albert Kim For the Dlaily The No. 6-ranked Michigan crew team kicks off the 2000 season this weekend with a race against No. 2 Virginia. The race will be held in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Wolverines will also take on North Carolina over the week- end. The women are hoping to improve on last year, when they ended the season as the No. 5-ranked team in the country. Racing against a highly ranked team such as Virginia this early in the season is not cause for celebration, but it will pro- vide a good measuring stick in regards to how far the rowers have come from last year. "It'll show us where we are, what changes we have to make, and how we stack up against the competition" Michigan coach Mark Rothstein said. The Wolverines have been looking forward to the season, and there is a sense of urgency as the opening race looms near. The rowers have worked extremely hard over the winter, and have improved beyond expectations. The team is eager to race someone other than their own teammates, and intensity in prac- tices has reached new heights. "This is the time when the hard work over the winter is going to pay off. It's time to see what we can do, sophomore Liz Nelson said. The team has just five seniors, and is top-heavy with sophomores. Some may point to this youth as a factor that might affect this team, but looks can be deceiv- ing. Many of the sophomores that are 'youthful' raced on varsity last year, and are ready to take the next step. "The team is much more mature - there's no more building to be done," All- American Kate Johnson said. The addition of six new rowers, two transfers and four freshmen, has helped the depth of the team immense- ly. This has created some fierce intra- team competition, but it has actually helped the team by bringing everyone closer together. "The intra-team competition has made us stronger, particularly in our ability to rise to the challenge," Johnson said. In each of the past two years, the row- ers have been within striking distance of the national title. Each year, they have fallen short. Through all this, though, the team has gotten stronger, younger, and more mature. There is a quiet confidence that is building, a result of the dedication dur- ing the offseason, and a desire to win. With no major injuries, and no setbacks, the stage is set for the Wolverines. "We've got the potential to be the best, it's just a question of whether we can cap- italize on that potential," Johnson said. Sit back, and enjoy the ride, because for this team, the time is now. ;t :;,. ,_ ~fr Yshine Yesterday's NBA results: M wA.,KU! 105. INDIANA84 C Y~AN 10l4, DALLAS 98 t 0N110. LA. Cofs 95 ror 100. DENVER 86 NHL Standings SophumO~PY ndjniors WCENTRAL St. Louis Detroit Chicago Nashville WL 47 17 43 22 29 36 26 41 T 9 9 8 7 w4oRMEWr W L T Colorado 34 29 11 Edmonton 28 30 16 Vancouver 26 34 14 Y y 29 36 9 w4AMC W L TI Dallas 40 25 8 Los Angeles 34 30 9 Phoenix 35 30 7 Sacslose 31 34 9 Anaheim 31 32 12 EW#Rfll4AST W L T Toronto 40l 26 7 RT 0 2 2 7 RT 1 8 8 RT 4 4 2 7. 2 RT r r PTS HOME AWAY 103 22-8-6 25-9-3 97 25-9-3 18-136 68 13-194 16-174 66 13-20-313-214 PTS HOME AWAY 80 21-124 13177 80 17-11-9 11-19-7 74 15-194 1115-10 72 19-126 10-24-3 PTh HOME AWAY 92 2014-3 20-11-5 81 19-154 15-15-5 79 20-15-2 1515-5 78 19-15-3 12-1 , 76 17-14-7 141-&5 PMS HOME AWAY I Infterested -in sales or marketing? Want to Work Durirn the Fall/Winter Semesters?