NBA SKETBALL MIAMI 128, Detroit 122 (20T) WASHINGTON 94, Atlanta 87 CHARLOTTE 100 Orlando 86 Indiana 119, NEW JERSEY 112 NEW YORK 92, Cleveland 84 SAN ANTONIO 89, Philidelphia 76 Boston 103, TORONTO 90 DALLAS 108, Golden State 96 Milwaukee 98, HOUSTON 93 Phoenix at DENVER, inc. Seattle at LA. CLIPPERS, inc. L A. Lakers at UTAH, inc. NHL HOCKEY Los Angeles at PITTSBURGH, inc. fbe £tiu it Tracking 'M' teams The Michigan women's tennis team Continues its fall season as they travel to Columbus tomorrow for the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. Wednesday November 3, 1999 9 *Around the Horn= Conference bow/picture taking shape oe Paterno's coaching record at Penn State this century has been a little strange. He's been the Nittany Lions' coach for exactly half of the century, 50 years.. He's spent 35 of those years as the head coach. He put together three undefeated teams in his first 10:years as head Josh egach, but he 't win a Kleinbaum onal title unstil his 17th, and that 1982 team had one- loss.y He spent most of those yearsm without a confer- ApOCALS effce, which may Now have hurt the national title chances of some of *se undefeated teams. In 1993, the Lions joined the Big Ten to make sure that didn't happen again, but a year later, he put a 12-0 record together and still found himself the bridesmaid instead of the bride. Wouldn't it be fitting, then, in a college football century that could be defined by Paterno as much as anyone, to close it out with a Joe Pa national title? Slot if Minnesota, Michigan or Michigan State have anything to say about it. With just three weeks left in the season, those are the obstacles Penn State must topple to reach the Sugar Bowl. Gripping a No. 2 BCS rank- ing with a sizable lead over No. 3 Virginia Tech, Penn State controls its own destiny. If the Lions do their business on the field, they'll be par- Ig on Bourbon Street come the ginning of January. But what about the rest of the con- ference? As the Big Ten season enters its last lap, the big three con- ference bowls - Rose, Citrus, Outback - are all up for grabs. A glance at the schedule reveals six key games that could decide who's playing on New Year's day and who'll be stuck remembering the *mo. Two of them are this weekend. Ohio State and Wisconsin can decide who's the better quarterback - Michigan State's Bill Burke, who looked like a Heisman candidate against Michigan and will play the Buckeyes this weekend, or Purdue's Drew Brees, who actually is a Heisman candidate but didn't look like it against Michigan. Brees and the Boilermakers host Wisconsin on turday. In the final two weeks, Michigan plays Penn State and Ohio State, and the Spartans host the Lions. This is what it all boils down to: 0 If Penn State wins out, the Lions go to the Sugar Bowl. If they lose a game, they go to the Rose bowl. If they lose two games ... well, it's not going to happen. If Wisconsin's secondary can *ndle Drew Brees, the Badgers lock up a spot in the Rose or Citrus bowls. With lowly Iowa as the Badgers' last game, they'll clinch the one-loss conference season, and their Rose Bowl fate rides on Penn State's national title hopes. Even if the Badgers lose to Purdue, they'd have just two conference losses, and could slip into the Rose or Citrus bowls because ... The race for third place is a Ass. After this weekend, either Michigan State or Ohio State will have a third conference loss - prob- ably Ohio State. So will Michigan after it plays Penn State next week- end. That means the only team left with just two conference losses will be the Spartans-Buckeyes winner, and that team will have its hands full in the season's final week, when the artans play Penn State and the ckeyes play Michigan. Throw Purdue in the mix, too - a victory over the Badgers and they'll end the season 5-3 in the conference. After all is said and done, here are the predictions: Penn State wins out and plays in the Sugar Bowl. Wiscnsin heats Purdue and nlavs in M', ions may renew rivalry By Dan Williams Daily Sports Writer in 1994, Penn State and Michigan split two extremely close games in both schools' inaugural seasons of varsity soccer. Since then, the two pro- grams have grown into the most talented in the Big Ten and a rivalry has developed. In the premier battle of the ongoing war, Penn State nipped the Wolverines in the regular season 1- 0 last year. Michigan quickly gained revenge in the Big Ten Tournament, upsetting the Nittany Lions in a game decided by penalty kicks. The rivalry has reached a new level recently, as the two teams have risen above the rest of the Big Ten competition. This year, they played to a score- less tie in the regular season. After that game, Penn State went unbeaten, and Michigan finished one game behind the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten. "They're the team to beat, and we want to beat them, and they would like to get back at us because their only blemish two years in a row has been from (Michigan)," senior Emily Schmidt said. Unless a major upset occurs, the rivalry will be renewed Sunday in the finals of the Big Ten tourna- ment. While both teams assert that getting to the finals takes preference, neither team will deny that they crave another shot at each other. "When you go through the conference undefeat- ed except for one team, you'd like another chance at them," Penn State coach Patrick Farmer. Penn State holds a 4-2-3 advantage in the head- to-head series. Only three games have been decided by more than one goal. This year, the numbers of weapons each team possesses, makes Michigan and the Nittany Lionsthe favorites to win the tourna- ment. The teams have an answer for each other's stars. Scoring? Michigan brings superfrosh Abby Crumpton, who leads the team in points with 23. Penn State counters with all-world freshman Christie Welsh, who leads the Big Ten with 18goals Goaltending? Penn State boasts sophomore Emily Oleksiuk, who allowed just 14 goals in 19 games. Michigan replies with junior Carrisa Stewart, the team's all-time leader in victories with-_ 29. Experience? Michigan seniors Shannon Poole and Emily Schmidt have played in all 84 games dur- ing their careers at Michigan. Penn State senior Courtney Lawson is second on the team in points, and the current Big Ten player of the week. Still, despite the apparent similarities in person- nel, the team's play very different styles of soccer. "Their ability to control the pace of the game makes them dangerous," Farmer said of the Wolverines. "They're possessive without being bor- ing." Penn State relies more on the physical advantages of their offense. "They play directly to their forwards and run down balls," Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said. "They have a couple of real special players like Christie Welsh who can take over a game." When they played earlier in the year, both teams saw opportunities to win fall by the wayside. A great save by Oleksiuk on Michigan senior Mari Hoff's header prevented the Wolverines from tri- umphing. "We had our opportunities," Schmidt said. "To beat them, we'd have to shut down their offensive threats and capitalize on our chances this time." Farmer said, the rivalry hasn't turned bitter despite the fact that the programs are competing for recruits as well as titles. A mutual respect exists, but the teams are still looking for a rematch. "Neither team had their best game the first time,; Farmer said. "We definitely hope to meet them this weekend." MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily Senior Shannon Poole will compete in the final grudge match between the Michigan and Penn State if the two teams avoid upsets on the way to the Big Ten finals. November shows improvement for Michigan runners By David Horn Daily Sports Writer A second place finish at the Big Ten Championships re-established Michigan as one of the top programs in the conference. November is to cross country what October is to Major League Baseball - a month of post-season heroics and magic. The Wolverines' November began by sur- prising the rest of the conference with upsets over nationally ranked Minnesota and Michigan State which overshadowed the victory of No. 5 Wisconsin. "Our team can achieve anything," Michigan's top runner, Lisa Ouellet, said. "We ran with courage." Entering this race, Michigan was the fourth-best team in the conference statisti- cally. Last season the Wolverines placed sec- ond at the Big Ten meet, but this year they have fallen from the national rankings while helplessly watching Minnesota and Michigan State climb in them. But with a first-team all-Big Ten showing by Ouellet and second-team all-Big Ten showings by junior Katie Clifford and senior Elizabeth Kampfe, the Wolverines edged out Minnesota by three points for second place. Wisconsin had long since set itself ahead of its conference competition. By running at such prestigious meets as the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., Wisconsin seemed more interested in their competition at the national level than their Big Ten foes. Close races against Stanford and Arkansas, the two top ranked teams, speaks for the quality of the Wisconsin team this season. Even in August, Wisconsin seemed to be out of reach for coach Mike McGuire and his Michigan team. "Realistically, Wisconsin is not beatable," McGuire said last week. Playing second fiddle to the Badgers is one thing, but Michigan did not expect to be going into the Big Ten meet fourth in the conference. Minnesota and Michigan State had strong seasons to earn the No. 17 and 18 national rankings, respectively. Minnesota's Rasa Michniovaite, a returning member of the 1998 all-Big Ten team, had been running well all season. Junior Corinne Nimtz, who ran a person- al best time of 17:57 in late September, was also expected to raise the standards for the Gophers' competition. Meanwhile, Michigan has struggled. Complaints and frustrations were common- place among both the athletes and McGwire. Following a disappointing showing at the Wolverine Invitational two weeks ago, McGuire didn't want to make excuses or create false expectations. "We have to improve," McGuire said then. "We really didn't improve. We haven't really improved in the last month. Some people have, but some people have gone backwards. We've got to dig down." Then the Big Ten meet, the rest of the conference saw a team effectively will itself to success after sensing a failed season looming. There was a general feeling of relief among the Michigan team that had not existed in the past few months. Like the New York Mets' surprising turn- around during baseball's postseason, the Wolverines will try to continue their Renaissance well into November. To do so will mean a top two finish in two weeks at the Great Lakes Regional in Terre Haute, Ind., thereby qualifying Michigan for the national meet in Bloomington. The Wolverines overcame an unexpected fourth-place regular season finish with a strong Big Ten championship. I--- * MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS * ARTIST ON STAFF * RUSH ORDERS " NEAR U OF M CAMPUS 1217 PROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665-1771 t with this ad. http:/Iwww.tshirtstudio.com --I =A # J(a RWI