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And the winner is...
unior Mark Pilja, who was named Big
Ten athlete of the week in men's cross
country for his performance last w\eek-
end in Seattle. Read all about it online.
michigandaily.com/sports
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THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 28, 2000
8A
Struggling Falcons next for 'MI
STEPHANIE
OFFEN
By David Horn
Daily Sports Writer
'Athletes lose skht
of9SP ortsmansz i,
fter both of his touchdowns in Sunday's victory at
Dallas, San Francisco 49er Terrell Owens ran to mid-
field, stomped on the Texas Stadium star and prayed
to God -- or at least that's his version of the story.
But to most fans, Owen's excessive celebration looked
like poor sportsmanship at its worst. To me, the act displayed
a grown man who for some reason was a little too excited
about the team's poor 1-3 record after beating another NFL
bottom-dweller.
The worst part about Owens' actions is that he can't even
admit that what he did was in poor taste.
Owens told the San Francisco Examiner on Monday that
"I don't regret what I was doing."
Even little Johnny would apologize to Bobby after laugh-
ing when Bobby fell in the puddle on the playground.
Apparently Owens never made it out of third-grade recess.
Dallas safety George Teague gave Owens a taste of his
own medicine when he leveled him after his second touch-
down celebration. I'm not an advocate of violence by any
means, but in this case I side with'Teague. Every time I see
the replay on ESPN. I smile to myself.
Owens is what is wrong with athletes today -- most
recently with football players. Today it seems that all these
players care about is personal gain. But all the act ends up
doing is shedding a bad light on the entire team and its
coaching staff.
Over the past two weeks, there have been four instances
- including Owens'-- displaying poor sportsmanship from
football players.
Last Saturday, North Carolina State safety Terrence Holt
celebrated the team's overtime victory over Georgia Tech by
leaning over receiver Kerry Watkins and screaming obsceni-
ties in his ear after Watkins let a possible game-winning pass
through his hands. Koren Robinson joined Holt in gloating
with an inspirational throat-slashing after the victory.
The ironic part of this story is that the ACC released a
sportsmanship video for the conference informing players on
fair play. What kind of message do these players' actions
send to the rest of the conference when their coach can't
seem to comply with the message of the rest of the confer-
ence? It makes the coaches look bad when it is the players
who can't keep themselves in line.
Steve Spurrier tried keeping his players in line after the
ever-popular throat slashing occurred in the Gators' game
;against Tennessee on Sept. 16. Jabar Gaffney and Alex
See OFFEN, Page 10A
The development from perpetual
underdog to occasional favorite some-
times happens quickly.
In the immediate sense, the transition
has happened within a week for the
Michigan men's soccer team (0-1 Big
Ten, 3-3 overall). The Wolverines lost to
No. 2 Penn State on Saturday, but
should handle 2-5 Bowling Green easi-
ly tonight.
On the season, the Wolverines, now
with their first Big Ten game under
their belt, have the confidence and the
experience to expect success against a
number of opponents remaining on
their schedule.
The Falcons are coming off a 2-1 loss
to Vanderbilt. They have struggled to
persevere in close games, all but one of
their losses coming on the disappoint-
ing end of a 2-I score. Tonight's match
against Michigan will be Bowling
Green's last nonconference tussle
before its Mid-American Conference
schedule begins.
But even Michigan, a team ahead of
its self-imposed pace, cannot count on
anything. The focus of coach Steve
Burns - his team still in its infancy -
is on steady development, regardless of
the opponent.
"Bowling Green is a team very much
like us," Burns said. "They have a cou-
ple of special players that are surround-
ed by a bunch of guys that will carry the
piano more than they will play it."
The difficulty for the Wolverines will
be, as it has been all season, finishing
chances on their offensive attack.
Falcons goalie David DeGraff has 43
saves this season with a 1.86 goals
against average.
Last weekend against Penn State
Michigan lost 2-1 in overtime. The lone
goal came on a combination of a pair of
Kevins: Freshman Kevin Robinson's
goal on an assist from freshman Kevin
Taylor tied the game against the Nittany
Lions in the 67th minute.
"In the Penn State game, we learned
that our team's discipline and work
ethic are both strong," Burns said. "As a
young team, this was a good step."
The two Kevins are among the play-
ers Burns considers "special." The
Wolverines have received (strong offen-
sive output courtesy of freshman mid-
fielders Ian Hirschfield and Tom
Gritter, who have each contributed to
the offensive cause with four point,
Burns cites Gritter as an example of
a player who has exceeded expectations
this season.
"He is a player that has emerged as a
Division I player," Burns said.
Putting the ball.past DeGraff Will not
be the Wolverines' only challnge
tonight. While interaction between
middle and front third of the field has
been the focus in previous games,
Michigan will now work on moving the
ball in their own half of thelield.
"In training this week," Burns said.
"we have been addressing how we:build
up as a team from the back third of the
field through the middle third of the
field when we cannot go directly inte
the front third.
"This isn't anything special in te4
of our game against Bowling Green. It
is the next major part of our game thai
we need to address.
The Michigan players were anxious
in anticipation of the Penn State game
Having met their expectations for that
game, the Wolverines can now
approach nonconference games against
mediocre opponents with the confi-
dence and security of a team with a
clear path for improvement.
iALSSA W ,OD Udy
Defender Steve Huber and the Wolverines will work on generat-
ing offense out of their own end against Bowling Green today.
Women face two big road tests
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By Rohit Bhave
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's soccer team
(3-1 Big Ten, 4-4 overall) hits the road
this weekend against Iowa (1-2, 7-3) and
Illinois (2-1, 6-3).
Coming off a 1-I weekend that
Michigan coach Debbie Belkin
Rademacher nevertheless called "suc-
cessful," the Wolverines seek nothing
less than a weekend sweep in light of last
Friday's disappointing 1-0 loss to
Wisconsin.
Rademacher is encouraged about her
team's goalkeeping. The tandem of
senior Carissa Stewart and freshman
Suzie Grech has only allowed two goals
in the last five games, posting three
shutouts in that span. Grech blanked
Minnesota last Sunday despite the
Gophers' 13 shots, helping turn the
game into a Michigan rout.
Michigan tangles with the Hawkeyes
and lilini this weekend with the knowl-
edge that they must win both games to
preserve their Big Ten championship
hopes.
Last year, Michigan lost just one
game, yet finished in second because of
a late-season letdown against Wisconsin.
With No. 6 Penn State the only
unbeaten team in the conference thus far,
Michigan appears to be in good shape
despite having one loss. But, if the
Wolverines slip up, a highly anticipated
home showdown against the Nittany
Lions on Oct. 13 could lose title impli-
cations.
In order to win this weekend,
Rademacher's squad must contend with
two very different styles of play.
Tomorrow, the Wolverines must tackle
another physical team in Iowa. Sunday,
they need to corral the speedy Illini.
Iowa's physical play should not be
anything new to the Wolverines -
Wisconsin and Minnesota played rough,
but Michigan asserted its toughness in
both games.
Still, Iowa will battle for every ball,
seeking to out-grit the young
Wolverines.
The Hawkeyes boast a First-team All-
Big Ten selection in forward Sarah
Lynch along with leading scorers Kate
Walse and Linzy Wolman. In addition,
Iowa's confidence is soaring after beat-
ing No. 17 Wake Forest.
When the Wolverines travel to
Champaign on Sunday, they must switch
gears - to fifth or sixth if possible.
See WOMEN, Page 9A
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