Every little bit...
While Michigan's hockey team ranks
fifth in the newest USCHO poll, col-
lege hockey's other major poll rnmks it
fourth. Go online for the full poll.
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Young, Michigan to take Wake test
CHRIS
DUPREY
..,. ,
GLFS OldMan finds
Cup goryone last CI'ne
The Old Man is gone today, and
while no one this side of the
border will pay any attention to
this fact, let it be assured the entire
nation of Canada is mourning.
Sunday's Grey Cup was the final
time Lui Passaglia
had the privilege of
donning a British
Columbia Lions
uniform and play-
ing in the Canadian '
Football League.
Passaglia is 46
vears old, a 25-vear
veteran of the CFL,
and no one can
blame him for
hanging up his
shoe.
His kicking shoe, .
that is. That's how
Passaglia has man-
aged to stay in the
league a quarter- Passaglia, victorious
century. You want a receiver covered or
a block thrown, don't talk to Passaglia.
If you want someone to get you points
on third down, perhaps by kicking a 16-
yard field goal, then Lui's your man.
Passaglia is the classic cult hero. He
was recruited to Simon Fraser
University in B.C. as a quarterback.
but switched to kicker. After gradua-
tion, Passaglia landed the kicking job
with the hometown Lions. Twenty-five
seasons later, he was still around -
never having changed teams, never
abandoning his loyalty to search for
greener pastures.
He's the Canadian equivalent of
Kirk Gibson, who starred at
Waterford Kettering High School and
Michigan State before becoming the
Tigers hero of 1984. Except Gibson
didn't play 25 years.
Fans love Passaglia's Ralph S.
Mouse look. They respect how active
he stayed in his community. They
admire how this average guy, seeming-
ly no more skilled than anyone else in
the league, has managed to hang
around the CFL so long.
Some believed Passaglia shouldn't
have returned for this, his silver
anniversary. His punting statistics were
starting to decline, and vet he still
maintained a firm grip on his job, out
of loyalty and hope. Retiring wouldn't
have done anything to diminish his ,
legacy as a CFL legend.
Still, Passaglia burned for one more
s in
title. He'd already won two with the
Lions, in 1985 and '94. He thought he
could steal one before time cut him
off.
He almost wasn't given the chance.
Despite Passaglia doing his part, lead-
ing the league in
field-goal per-
centage (40-for-
44, 91 percent),
the Lions were
failing. in danger
of missing the
postscason.
But a late-sea-
son four-game
winning streak,
buoyed by a fake-
field-goal touch-
down run by
Passaglia himself
in the final game,
pushed B.C. into
AP PHOTO the playoffs with
n his final Cup. an 8-10 record.
That was all the opportunity B.C.
needed. The Lions won both playoff
names on the road, never trailing in
either game, to get Passaglia his one
shining moment - a return to the
GCreyv Cup.
Sunday, the Passagl ia worshippers
were out again. One hoisted a full-
body cardboard cutout of Passaglia in
uniform, helmetless. Others settled for
the more mainstream poster.
All this for the 46-year old kicker
whose most eloquent description of his
career was "it's been fun."
After three misses early in the
Cup game, it finally did get fun
again for Passaglia. He converted a
field goal to give the Lions a 28-20
lead in the fourth quarter. That
proved to be the margin of victory in
B.C.'s 28-26 win.
Leaving McMahon Stadium in
Calgary to the cheers of his support-
ers, Passaglia made it through the
champagne showers for his final inter-
views. He told CBC that retirement
wouldn't hit him "until I take this jer-
sev off."
By now, Passaglia has done that. For
the first time in what seems like forev-
er, B.C. will be searching the wire for
a kicker this week. The Old Man has
finally decided to rest.
Could a run for Prime Minister be
next?
- Chris Duprev can be reached at
Cdupr )TE1'{7m7T17hjedlu.
By Raphael Goodstein
Daily Sports Writer
Members of the Michigan basket-
ball team knew that freshman Bernard
Robinson could score. And many
knew that sophomore LaVell
Blanchard should score. But few
thought junior Chris Young would
score.
Yet three games into the season, the
forward/center has become the all-
important third scorer onthe team,
averaging 14 points per game to go
along with his seven rebounds.
Since Young only averaged eight
points and four rebounds last year.
there is reason for optimism for
Michigan post play, which has been
the team's weak link in recent seasons.
"It's just aggressiveness." shooting
guard Gavin Groninger said. "Last
year, he would get the ball and imme-
diately look to pass it back out. Now
he's feeling the defense and making a
move right away.
"That helps a lot. Eventually he'll
start to draw a double team and open
things up for (the shooters). It's going
well right now but he'll be tested
against Wake Forest."
Guards Robert O' Kelley and Craig
Dawson lead the 12th-ranked Demon
Deacons in scoring. averaging a com-
bined 33 points per game.
But while O'Kelley and Dawson
effectively man Wake Forest's perime-
ter, forwards Antwan Scott and Darius
Songalia make Wake Forest danger-
ous. The duo averages 13 and 12 points
per game, respectively. More impor-
tantly, the inside presence prevents
opposing teams from guarding the
As of Nov. 27, 2000
first-place votes in parentheses
Team Record
1. Duke (60) 5-0
2. Kansas (1) 5-0
3. Michigan State (8)3-0
4. Stanford 4-0
5. Arizona (1) 3-1
6. North Carolina 3-0
7. Tennessee 3-0
8. Seton Hall 2-0
9. Illinois 4-1
10. Florida 1-0
11. Notre Dame 3-0
12. Wake Forest 4-0
13. Maryland 1-2
14. Oklahoma 5-0
15. Southern Cal 3-0
16. Connecticut 3-1!
17. Temple 4-1
18. Utah 3-1
19. St. John's 3-1
20. Syracuse 4-0
21. Virginia 3-0
22. Cincinnati 2-1
23. Wisconsin 1-1
24. Dayton 2-1
25. Arkansas 3-1
Pts
1,740
1,583
1,579
1,550
1,473
1,410
1,266
1,238
1,197
1,100
1,016
771
741
728
590
552
491
463
439
363
340
336
329
266
212
Pvs
2
3
4
5
1
7
9
10
8
11
14
17
6
19
20
12
13
23
25
16
18
24
perimete'.
This balance
is what Michigan
strives for. The Wolverines' interior
was ineffective because of foul trouble
against Oakland in the season opener.
As a result, Michigan lost.
"It's much easier with guys like Josh
Moore, Josh Asselin and Chris Young
whom can pick up a lot of slack for us
guys on the outside," Robinson said.
Young "has developed a lot of confi-
dence and he's playing excellent ball
and it's definitely showing in the game.
He's basically dominating right now."
The Wolverines will need Young to
continue to dominate if they are to win
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Junior Chris Young has developed into an interior threat for Michigan this season. If the
Wolverines hope to upset No. 12 Wake Forest today, he cannot disappear in the paint.
Pilja shines for rebuilding harriers in.2000
SEASON WRAP
By Shawn Kemp
Daily Sports Writer
All of the hills in Ann Arbor may
have served a helpful purpose as the
Michigan men's cross country team
consistently climbed to the summits
of its challenges.
With the loss of 1999 All-
Americans Jay Cantin and Steve
Lawrence, and coach Ron Warhurst's
decision to redshirt All-American
Mike Wisniewski, the spot for the
No. I runner was up for grabs.
Junior Mark Pilja took advantage
of the opportunity and led the
Wolverines from the start of the sea-
son to his debut as the team's lone
representative at the NCAA champi-
onships.
Pilja finished first for the team in
every race he entered. He ended his
season with a 17th place finish at
nationals, running 30:48 for the 10-
kilometer race, good for All-
American status.
"Mark Pilja had a tremendous
year," Warhurst said. "I think the
mere fact that he ran All-American
triggered the others to think 'if we
train as hard as he did,' that they can
do the things he did."
Pilja took his position as the
team's leader in stride after two
years of practice at the collegiate
level.
But the pack of five freshmen that
followed Pilja added to the
Wolverines' depth. John Hughes,
Mason Ward, Tom Greenless, Dave
Sage and Ryan lesselink continual-
ly found their presence in the lineup,
even at the national level.
"We were taking guys that ran 30-
40 miles a week in high school to 60
miles a week at more intensity,"
Warhurst said about the freshmen's
transition. "This isn't your local
county meet, where mommy and
daddy are holding your hand, where
your girlfriend's giving you a hug
because you didn't do good.
"This is the big show."
Although Warhurst knew the sea-
son would be a struggle from the
beginning, his young harriers
stepped up for the "big show." The
See CROSS, Page 13
Food For Thought
The Women's Role
During massive casualty situa-
tions, nurses worked around the
clock to conduct triages, clean
wounds, assist with tracheoto-
mies and amputations, and com-
plete operations so doctors could
get to the next critical patient.
For the nurses' story, read Home
Before Morning, by Lynda Van
Devanter.
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